David Lester

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I don't feel so bad now. I now feel empowered to continue to use CA without beating myself up over it as if its use was some sort of character flaw. I'll strive to apply the glue as carefully and sparingly as I can.
 
James - I've already started to touch up the seizings with flat black, not because of the glue, but because I've started using light coloured thread for the seizings on black line. The contrast makes it easier to get a nice even wrap.
Allan - thank for the video link; that's a great explanation.
Thanks again
David

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I don't feel so bad now. I now feel empowered to continue to use CA without beating myself up over it as if its use was some sort of character flaw. I'll strive to apply the glue as carefully and sparingly as I can.
 
James - I've already started to touch up the seizings with flat black, not because of the glue, but because I've started using light coloured thread for the seizings on black line. The contrast makes it easier to get a nice even wrap.
Allan - thank for the video link; that's a great explanation.
Thanks again
David

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

The discussion of the best glue for ratlines in another thread has me thinking about my seizings. The consensus seems to be that anything other than CA glue is the way to go, but for some reason I cannot seem to get anything other than CA to actually secure my seizings. I've tried PVA, watered down PVA, podge, shellac and varnish. In every case, the seizing will always fail. After I've let the glue dry, I snip the ends of the seizing line and everything will be fine, but as soon as I snip the ends of the actual line being seized close to the seizing, it will always slip through. This is especially true if, for example, I am seizing a block to an eyebolt or hook. Just a little bit of pressure and the line around the block will slip out of the seizing and release the block. It seems that the glue is holding the seizing, but not the actual line and the seizing itself is not enough to hold the line in place. As a result, I always end up resorting to CA, trying to use as little as possible. It holds well, but goes hard and looks a bit rough. I would love to avoid CA, but I have never had success with other glues.
 
Does anyone have any ideas of what the trick is or what I might be doing wrong?

The discussion of the best glue for ratlines in another thread has me thinking about my seizings. The consensus seems to be that anything other than CA glue is the way to go, but for some reason I cannot seem to get anything other than CA to actually secure my seizings. I've tried PVA, watered down PVA, podge, shellac and varnish. In every case, the seizing will always fail. After I've let the glue dry, I snip the ends of the seizing line and everything will be fine, but as soon as I snip the ends of the actual line being seized close to the seizing, it will always slip through. This is especially true if, for example, I am seizing a block to an eyebolt or hook. Just a little bit of pressure and the line around the block will slip out of the seizing and release the block. It seems that the glue is holding the seizing, but not the actual line and the seizing itself is not enough to hold the line in place. As a result, I always end up resorting to CA, trying to use as little as possible. It holds well, but goes hard and looks a bit rough. I would love to avoid CA, but I have never had success with other glues.
 
Does anyone have any ideas of what the trick is or what I might be doing wrong?

A short update of this weekend's work. quarter deck is progressing.
 

 
Henrik

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Rigging the bowsprit
 
I just had a couple of items on the hull to finish before I could start rigging. First, the rails on the quarterdeck:

 
These were straightforward to construct, with each railing made from three patterns laser cut from 1mm wood sheet. To hide the laminations I applied water-based filler to the top of the handrail and rubbed it down before painting. However the pieces are quite fragile, and despite my best efforts one of the supports broke as I was installing the starboard rail. Fortunately the kit provides 14 spares, two for each of the seven supports, each of which is slightly different:

 
The last little job was blackening and fitting the stove flue:
 

That last photo reminds me of a small detail I forgot to mention before. I like to simulate bolt heads where appropriate - two are visible on the timber just aft of the flue. For bolts like this I use an old hairbrush with black nylon bristle which are just the right diameter when inserted in a hole and trimmed off.
 
Here she is ready for rigging to commence:
 

I started with the gammoning, using about 1 metre of 0.5mm line (dark brown spun from 3 strands of Gutermann Mara):

Here's a link to my Speedy log describing the method I used. It took ten turns to fill the gammoning slot, and a lot of patience to weave the line through the head rails! In particular, the Speedy log describes how I differed slightly from the kit instructions which show the loops running parallel between the bowsprit and the slot. I followed full size practice in which each loop starts at the front of the bowsprit and goes to the aft of the slot, resulting in a twisted effect.
 
Btw, I'm no longer stressing about losing the knight's helmet's plume on the figurehead. It appears I've left no room for it, which is puzzling as I don't see how I could have fitted the figurehead and the bowsprit any differently. 
 
Next set of tasks will be finishing the rigging to the bowsprit.
 
Derek
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -
 
Lower yards - jeers and trusses


For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)
 
Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -
 

 
Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.
 
I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.
 
Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 
 
David
 
 
 
 

OK, the thing I like the least about any build is the (bleeped) little boats. I never have good luck with them. The Charles W. Morgan had seven of them and it was almost the end of me.
 
Thank goodness there's only one for the Speedy, and at long last I have it finished. Initially, I messed it up so badly, that I had to order a new one. And by the way, for those of you in Canada, I discovered that Vanguard has a distributor here -The Crafty Sailor, which provides very good service. So I bought my replacement one there.
 
Here are a few representative pictures:
 



 
I've had the interior together, taken apart and back together again so many times, I've lost count and I've stripped and repainted the white paint at least three times. In any event, I think the result is now acceptable, and it will have to be, because that's as good as it's going to get.
 
I enjoy every other aspect of a build, but for some reason these boats always have me strung out. I'm not sure why. I have four of these coming up for Agamemnon, so I think I might get them out of the way sooner rather than later, then I can relax for the rest of the build.
 
I've also been making progress of the Speedy rigging, which will be in my next update.
 
Again, thanks for checking in!
 
David
 

Good Morning,
Time for an update. I have pretty much finished the standing rigging. I don't really have too much comment to make as it all went very routinely.
 
Topmast shrouds in place -

Ratlines - I have always used black thread in the past for the ratlines, but the instructions here called for natural thread to be stained afterwards. Does anyone know why that would be? Is natural thread inherently better for ratlines than black thread? In any case, I decided to give it a go. I used India ink to colour them.

I decided to try to make my own mouses (mice?) for the forestays. I started with a 1/8" dowel and drilled about a 1mm hole into the end of it. Then I started paring the wood away with an xacto knife, sanded it smooth and then cut it off.
 



Once I was happy enough with the tension, I glued and trimmed all the lines -




 
So next up is the lower yards.
 
David
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
Lately, I've been working on the cannons and other deck furniture.
 
The items have not been installed yet, they're just sitting in place for the pictures. It will be very easy to locate them accurately and securely, as the deck is cut out to accommodate them and they go all the way down to the "deck" below. This is quite different than my Model Shipways experience where the fife rails in particular always cause me a lot of grief. Just gluing them to the surface is never quite secure enough. Drilling them and adding pins helps, (in fact, it's essential) but locating those holes in the deck in order to get them to sit square and accurately is always a challenge. Definitely not the case here.
 

 

 
I used Tamiya Deck Tan on the trucks and the grates. I thinned it down on the trucks to get a natural wood look. I'm pleased at how well the etched details show through.
 

 

 

 

 
I'm taking a short break from Speedy for now, as I continue with the second planking on Agamemnon.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David

I found a small error in the manual when working on the deck pumps. There is a second hole in the bottom deck to stear the dovel right. However, the instructions say the dovel should be 40mm. So I added some length so the dovel goes to the bottom. 

Hi All,
 
Thought I’d be all excited about getting the shrouds back in place, but after I did… I’m scratching my head wondering how am I going to pull this off. Looking at the LN as she is, it’s like a catch 22. If I had proceeded with rigging with the shrouds and rat lines done and in place, getting to other parts of the rigging looked nay impossible. Now the rest of the rigging is done and I wondering how to do the rat lines. 😳 I see lots of logs where the standing rigging all gets done first. Is that the norm? Did I mess up completing all the rigging first? Looking at it where she lay, how bad is it?
 

More Strops
 
Thanks for the kind comments and likes - much appreciated.
 
I've tried to continue following full size practice in rigging the various blocks and deadeyes to the masts. I'll describe the method used in rigging a 3mm deadeye to the fore main mast.
 
Following the steps I described in my previous post I produced a served line 0.5mm in diameter and 40mm long, with spare serving line left at each end and cut on the diagonal just outside the served portion . The line needed to be long enough to form an eye at each end, seize the deadeye and wrap round the mast leaving a short gap between the eyes. The gap doesn't need to be too precise - just wide enough to allow a decent lashing between the eyes.
 
To form each eye I held the cut end in a loop with self-close tweezers while I wrapped the spare serving line round the join (I think I must have been stirring paint with those tweezers😬😞
I tried gluing the join first but found the result too bulky. Instead, I wrapped the join first, finished the serving line with a half hitch round the served line, applied dilute PVA and trimmed when dry.
 
Here's the result with the deadeye seized in:
 

Previously I would have used 18/0 fly tying thread for the seizing, but I found that the Gutermann Mara #150 I used for serving was thin enough to do a decent (ie non-bulky) job. I'll probably still use the fly silk for smaller tackle.
 
I've also got the #150 thread in the shade I plan to use for running rigging (shade #854 for running rigging, #696 for standing) so I used that for the lashing. I started by tying one end to a loop...

 
...then with the strop in place round the mast I used a needle to thread the line back and forth between the eyes to create the lashing, finishing with a hitch round the centre:

 
I've probably got the gap between the eyes a little wide in this example, but I still like the extra little detail.
 
Lots more blocks to attach to the yards next.
 
Derek
 
 

Rigging the Masts & Yards
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated.
 
On my last model I found rigging the bowsprit quite challenging, especially the part where four deadeyes had to be seized into a ring. Here's how I tackled it on Speedy. This time round I decided to try a different approach,  making a strop from a circle of served line into which I seized the deadeyes. I worked out the length of line I needed by adding together the circumferences of all the deadeyes and the bowsprit, plus 10mm to allow for overlap and seizings. To my surprise this actually worked out about right!
 
As the line would be served I used some spare thread from a kit, while for the serving line I used Gutermann Mara #150 in dark brown. #150 is the finest thread I've got, apart from fly tying thread. I've not measured it precisely, but I doubt it's more than 0.1mm. With the kit thread it produced 0.5mm served line. Here's the Syren Serv-o-matic set up with a fine needle starting the serving line off:

Not shown on the photo, I spread dilute PVA on the first few millimeters of line before serving it, just to prevent any tendency for the serving to unravel. I wanted to leave plenty of spare serving line, so to prevent it tangling up as the machine span round I taped the excess out of the way:
 

To save having to cut long new lengths of thread for each strop I clipped the thread holder to the handle, meaning I was always dealing with a single complete line and minimising waste:

I'm always losing stuff in the workshop, so cut down on the frustration I try to keep tools where they're needed, as far as possible. So on the Serv-o-matic machine I've stuck a magnetic strip to hold the fine needle I only use for serving:
 
When I got near the final served length I smeared dilute PVA on the last few mills then threaded the needle through again, with a clip on the serving line to stop it unravelling:
 
When dried I made diagonal cuts at both ends, just outside the served portion, glued the cut ends together to form a circle, wrapped the spare serving line round the join, then finished with more dilute PVA before trimming:

I felt the result was a bit chunky, so on my next attempt I trimmed the serving line right back then used fly tying thread to reinforce the join. Here's the strop with the first three deadeyes seized in:

On reflection I could have used black fly tying thread as the brown is too light, but the join will not show as it will be hidden under the bowsprit. With 3 deadeyes in position I slipped the strop over the bowsprit and into its final position before seizing in the final 3mm deadeye:

I'll tackle strops on the masts next.
 
Derek
 
 
 

I really need to bite the bullet and buy a couple 1:64 scale dudes. I tightened up the foot ropes. Haven’t glued the inner points yet.
 

 
 

Middle yard complete on to the upper.