Rick01

Much better (and stable) stand, plus doubling the thickness of the other components gives a more realistic look to the kit. You only going with the one anchor? I did purchase a second one and have rigged them slightly differently.
 
 

 
Rick 

Much better (and stable) stand, plus doubling the thickness of the other components gives a more realistic look to the kit. You only going with the one anchor? I did purchase a second one and have rigged them slightly differently.
 
 

 
Rick 

Hello all!
 
In between all the rope coiling, I started the cradle that comes with the kit.
It seem like there has been a glitch in the lasercutting as the pieces in the kit are missing the two notches for the crosspiece.
(see red circles in pictures)
 

 

 
I cut out the notches, but then decided to make a different cradle alltogether.
I don't like the idea to have the model balancing with the keel in two small notches.
 
So i cut out and glued together a contraption of some wood I had laying around..
 

 
Gave it a couple coats of oil and ended up with this..
 

 
I finished painting the scrollwork/nameplate and glued to the transom. I'm not happy with the result of the whit paint here, but I couldn't get it better with my limited painting skills. If anyone has a tip for painting small photoetched brass parts in more than one colour, feel free to share them!
 
I also finished the crossbeam on the davits and added the "boomkin" piece as suggested by Rick01.
 
 
 

 
I also replaced the blocks and hooks for the dinghy hoist with smaller size ones.
 

 
Now the dinghy comes up pretty snug to the davits and I think this looks better.
 
Stay safe out there, and happy modelling to all.
 
Gaffrig.
 
 
 

Day off today and it’s too hot to go to the beach so did some more work on this. Did the radiator intake
 

 

 
tucked away and probably not seen again, but if anyone does have a sneaky peak it should pass the test!
used streaking grime to get the reddish tinge it seems to have and then a thick black wash and highlights
 

 

 

 
I’ve replaced one of the cannon bases with the brass one... 3 to go. Didn’t know the outer cannon stuck out more than the inner. All the small details you only learn when you have to work on it

Hello to all.
 
Sorry for the long abscense here. Got a waterleak in the bathroom that ended with a complete rebuild... This has eaten up all my modelling time the past month and a half. Seeing the end of the bathroom fix now, and hopefully some more modelling!
 
Tompslattery, those instructions look even worse than the ones I have. I have the same ones that Moltinmark posted.
 
Have done a little bit in between bathroom work.
Have finished the standing rigging.
Really enjoy the rig work. Even the ratlines was fun to do!
 

 
Time to start the sails and the running rigging.
Feels like I'm getting closer to the finish line!
 
Stay safe out there and a happy new year to all!
 
Gaffrig.

I have been studying the rigging of topsail schooners for several years, and I am of the opinion that there is no single "accurate" rigging plan. From photos of modern schooners and drawings of historical ships it seems there are about as many ways to rig the sails as there are ships. And the rigging on a ship sometimes changed while it was in service.
 
I think Lennarth Peterssons's  Rigging Period Fore-And-Aft Craft is a pretty good general guide. He states that the rigging plan is based upon a single model with a few modifications, so you can't expect every topsail schooner to have been rigged this way. Every shipowner, Captain and bosun had a preferred way to do things. Unless you have photos, or very reliable drawings, of the ship as it was rigged at the time you are modeling it you will never have an "accurate" plan.
 
Petersson's book is a good guide for the general way the rigging was done. However if it has a fault it is that it is over rigged! He shows just about every possible line. I don't know if any single ship carried all of that rigging, but I know of quite a few that didn't. For example, he shows how bowlines were rigged to control the fore course and topsail, but I have never seen this used on a schooner. It is much more common on larger square riggers. Another example  is the lifts and halliards for the foremast spars. Look at photos of modern schooners and you will see that some have both, some have only the halliards and some use only the lifts. Petersson shows a way to rig the peak halliards for the gaffs, and other books show a half dozen ways to rig them.
 
The "accuracy" of a ship model doesn't require that every line be rigged in some perfect way. It is more important to have all the lines necessary to control the rig, however these lines are tied off on deck. And some ships did tie lines to cleats on the shrouds.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about. Has anyone tried using electromagnetic levitation devices inside a model to display it? Planes just look so much cooler in flight and gear up. Silly gravity 

Don't know if you've found this site http://renard.dechorgnat.com/index.html which covers some of the errors that appear in both the Soclaine and AL kits. Also there is no windlass and the anchor cable appears to go into the hull rather than onto the deck then down to the rope locker via a windlass. There wouldn't be room for a windlass below decks on a cutter so hoisting the anchor via a windlass or by hand appear to be the only option. Another possible error is with the siting of the various deck furnishings. Coming forward from the stern there's an item that may or may not be the binnacle housing for the compass almost directly after that is a companionway. These are sited so close together on the plan that you would not be able to open the doors on the companionway fully, in addition the binnacle is fixed to the deck but my understanding is that it would be lashed down and could then be stored below decks during any action. 
In fact the AL kit seems to be a copy of the replica with its amendments to comply with current regulations not of the original.
 
Rick 

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

A quick shot of recent progress.  I still have 2 yards to go

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

You could join this forum and ask for some assistance in locating a Kiwi Hurricane pilot. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/forum.php The guys there are very helpful and have a wealth of knowledge between them all.
 
Rick

Hi Tom,
 
One of the AL problems is less than clear instructions. In this case the "connections" are eye bolts, just above and forrard of them is a hole that the running rigging for the yard arms is passed through before attaching to the relevant knight heads. I rigged mine model with somewhat more complexity than AL show, so if you look at this photo you'll see a block at the yard arm tips.

 
The yard brace is then run up to the block and back down, through the gunwales and then looped round the knighthead (if that's the right word). It just makes more sense to me to run the braces this way than the way AL illustrate. 
These two shots should make it clearer.

 

 
Apologies for sort of hijacking your thread here Gafrigg 😞
Forgot the cleats - just a drop of supa glue and a prayer that I didn't become part of the attachment.
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Hi Tom,
 
One of the AL problems is less than clear instructions. In this case the "connections" are eye bolts, just above and forrard of them is a hole that the running rigging for the yard arms is passed through before attaching to the relevant knight heads. I rigged mine model with somewhat more complexity than AL show, so if you look at this photo you'll see a block at the yard arm tips.

 
The yard brace is then run up to the block and back down, through the gunwales and then looped round the knighthead (if that's the right word). It just makes more sense to me to run the braces this way than the way AL illustrate. 
These two shots should make it clearer.

 

 
Apologies for sort of hijacking your thread here Gafrigg 😞
Forgot the cleats - just a drop of supa glue and a prayer that I didn't become part of the attachment.
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick