Ronald-V

3 hours ago, Glenn-UK said:

Machined ones, much better than the standard kit ones.

Yeah, that's what I thought... I'll probably order them for my Sphinx too. Although I'd also considered Syren's 3D-printed blocks. It's not quite there yet, so I still have some time. The advantage of ordering them from Chris is that I can order the whole set for the Sphinx right away.

I love your close-ups! This way I can get a good look at them up close.  👍

Are these the machined walnut blocks? Or the standard kit blocks? They look the machined ones?

3 minutes ago, Pitan said:

Those figures look great Chris.

I'm wondering about the front legs of Aubrey's chair, could the tops be a tad shorter?  Maybe just proud of the seat?
They look uncomfortable, digging into his right thigh (I doubt the change would affect Maturin's stance).
 

Chris literally answered the same question above your post  

13 minutes ago, RossR said:

I would be painting the hull at the gun deck level, not the deck itself.  Leaning towards the Alaskan Yellow Cedar depending on the lead time to get it.    

That makes sense 🙏

Looking really good so far!

Nice bigger challenge for sure! Love it! Have fun on this new journey  

3 hours ago, tarbrush said:

I think the Alaska Yellow Cedar would look better than paint.

I agree with this...just sounds a bit weird to paint a section of the deck?

8 hours ago, SaltyScot said:

I have been away for a while, Ron, and am pleased to see your progress. Very nicely done indeed!

7 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Not accepting a .5-1mm variance, taking the time to do it over, is the sign of an exceptional modeler. Well done!

Thank you both! 🙏

2 hours ago, hollowneck said:

Your work is superb, the attention to detail underscores your desire to create work of art. I couldn't help but notice your use of the Sakura pen to mark tiny holes; I use my set in the same way, couldn't model without them!

Thanks for your very kind words Ron! Yes the Sakura pens are really nice. I always used them for artwork on paper, drawing mandala's etc, but they are also great for modeling  

Great figures, Chris! Are the raised front legs of the chair where Aubrey sits (which end in his pants) some kind of reinforcement for printing? I don't mean this to be critical, I just found it interesting

What a lovely build! Well done!👏

Looks handy! Before and after pic?

Good safe with the alignment of everything! Looks not easy...I just started with it, so going to take some lessons from this 👍

It might follow the same line as the deck planks that will be placed on top? These also taper towards the stern.

Welcome! And good choice for a first build! You can't go wrong with a Vanguard kit

Looks amazing! Really nice work Chris!👌

Learning experience  

Always nice to see you modifying stuff  , this will be another beautiful one like all your work!

I also used that Amati "form a plank" bender a lot with my build, I find it very easy and useful 👍

Lovely build so far!

Looks much better now! Well done!  

5 minutes ago, Frecap said:

Hi, Ronald! Your work is an example for me of how important it is to be meticulous in the details. I have little experience, and I'm learning a lot as I build my model. Thank you for providing a detailed description of your work. The result is impressive! Good luck to you!

Thank you Freecap! 🙏

Definitely not easy at those scales! Well done sir  

Indeed! It's spectacular! Also love your color pallette, nice soft tones 👍

2 hours ago, Loracs said:

very well done...  those are trickier than it looks.  The wood can easily split apart in the process.

Thanks Loracs! Yeah you need to be careful with those, but with vertical drill stand it's a lot easier to be honest  

2 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! that is some absolutely spectacular planking work.

I'll pop in from time to time to follow your progress.  

 

Well thank you! I really enjoy your work with the USS Constitution, really nice build!  

And ofcourse everyone else that liked the post, thank you very much! 

Update:

All the channels are mounted, including their knees. It wasn't a difficult job, only the knees were a bit fiddly when it came to removing the laser char. They're small and difficult to hold, etc. But I'm happy with the end result. The color of the channels turned out a bit darker than I'd like, but that's just how it is when you're dealing with different sheets of pearwood...they're not all the same. But it's not really a problem.

I initially thought the channels should be flush against the decorative moldings, but I discovered in other build logs that several people didn't have this. So I abandoned that idea.  

By the way...the manual advised to paint them black, which looks indeed nice with a painted hull. But I have chosen to leave them natural, I think it looks nicer with a unpainted hull.

Here's a brief description of what I did. First, I used a needle to center the channel, which will soon be drilled with a hole for a reinforcement rod to give the channels some extra strength for attaching to the hull.

Drilled a 0.7 hole (with a dremel in a vertical drill stand) so that it is straight.  

Small cut nail with CA glued in it

Some channels still needed a bit of sanding to fit (which is understandable, as every hull is slightly different, of course). You could clearly see if they fit properly from below.

Then, I pre-coated the bottom of the channels that are against the painted hull with WOP (so the varnish doesn't touch the painted hull). I didn't put the entire channel in the WOP because so many parts still needed to be glued. I thought that would be better on bare wood.  

I made a mistake here... somehow I didn't thin the varnish or even stir it (my mind was elsewhere). This resulted in a very thick layer, which is still visible in the final result. I could have sanded it down and re-varnished it, of course, but since it's on the underside and I almost never look at a ship that way... I just left it as is.  

The respective knees used as guides to glue the channels at the correct angle (parallel to the waterline).

End result after putting 2 layers of WOP on the channels

Here you can still spot the error between the diluted and undiluted lacquer  

I'm really looking forward to the next step...all the prow/bow stuff. HMS Pickle didn't have any of this; it was a very simple bow, so this will be really fun to do for the first time (I think ).