NMBROOK

Thank you very much indeed Bob Kind Regards Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Alistair I am glad that I have moved away from my preferred boxwood for the deck.It was upon seeing a fine model of la Salamandre on other site by a professional French builder that made the decision.The warm glow of the finished pear against the ebony swung it for me The only boxwood used was for the carvings.I am hoping that any dramatic colour variation will be toned down with the shellac(another first and learning curve for me ). Kind Regards Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Mark and Matti I know some very notable modelers Dr Mike included advocate colouring the glue Mark.To be honest the idea fills me with some trepidation.First off is the glue will conform to any irregularity in the plank edges,but more so is Pear is like a giant sponge and can't help but think bleeding issues may occur.I can understand it working with Boxwood as this has minimal absorbency and is a very different animal all together. Kind Regards Nigel

I think even if you did have a scroll saw Nick,the walnut might be prone to breakage with those curves.Even with pearwood on caroline I had the odd few planks relegated to recycling due to breakage.Yes a set of French/ships curves is on my list.I have one of those flexy curves but could I find it It will turn up when I have no immediate need for it Kind Regards Nigel

Apologies for not being around much of late Nils and having to play catch up.I love your 'model engineering' approach to creating the details,great work! Kind Regards Nigel

Just a couple more pics to illustrate the 'tissue technique'.There is still a fair amount of scraping to be done,the dark spots are low spots.Just gave what I had done a light scrape to tidy things up as work progresses. Kind Regards Nigel

Thank you Pete I am feeling chuffed to actually put an idea into practice that nobody else to my knowledge has done before As I said to Eamonn it is a slow process and much care is needed,but the results seem superior to other methods.When I have a little time,I will post a little tutorial on using it as the techniques differ a little to using paper due to the very delicate nature of the tissue. Kind Regards Nigel

Thanks mate Yes it has a nice warm hue to it when finish is applied.It can be a pain to work with as the add piece has some wacky grain pattern to it and has resulted in a couple of planks hitting the recycling The tissue I am more than pleased with,it gives the sharp line but not quite as wide as paper.the strength issue is also sorted as I glued the waterway sections together into one length and fitted and bent it as one piece!The deck laying process due to the tissue and tapering is ridiculously slow,but I am confident worth it in the long run. Kind Regards Nigel

A bit of an update.Taking a fulltime job that was really too good to miss has slowed everything down to a painfully sedate rate .The rear section of the port side of the hull is now complete.Before continuing further and completing this I have got a little sidetracked .I wanted to 'prove' all my methods and theories regarding the interior.Having given my timber choices a great deal of thought over the past couple of weeks I have changed things a little.Basically everything will be pear and ebony apart from the ornaments.The hull below the waterline is in abeyance as to whether to go with box or pear,but pear is the current favourite.I realise my stairwell has been done in box,but I have the option to airbrush a thin brown wash on this to darken it.However when the stairs are fitted this will become almost invisible anyway. First job was the waterway,this was milled using a 6mm dia ball cutter in the mill.The waterway is in sections joined together using single scarph joints.The 3mm thick spirketing is hook scarphed together,probably done too good a job on these because they are almost invisible .The quickwork is simply 1.5mm planks.This takes me up to deck clamp level.There is a small gradual taper to add to the top of the quickwork to suit deck levels as it approaches the stern.This is easier to do on the model to ensure everything works out to the upper gunports. Now the decking The central planks are parallel but from then on there is a for and aft taper to follow the waterway.Decking of this period has many similarities with the French method.I measured the width from the last parallel plank to the waterway at each deck beam position and divided by the number of remaining planks.This gives the required taper when transferred to the pear.The deck planking is sawn edge on from 6mm Pear sheet.This gave me the option to make it well overthick to allow for scraping and blending to the concave waterway.After each plank is cut and tapered,black tissue paper is glued to one edge and one end and trimmed flush when the alaphatic is in a 'green' stage.The top face is not so critical as scraping will remove any excess.The black tissue has been used on all joints,deck and waterway,up to the top edge of the waterway.The spirketing upwards features no caulking. The pics are rather 'warts and all'.any funny discoloration is due to the copious amounts of water brushed on during the gluing process to remove glue seepage.This will disappear when everything is scraped and sanded. Kind Regards Nigel P.S.Yes it just started to rain when I took the last two pics

I had exactly the same issue with Mordaunt Euromodel plans show a 'parallelogram' port following the shear right at the front whilst all the others are square.Builder's model shows all square.I went with the builder's model,but the port actually works out slightly higher than the rest in relation to deck level. Kind Regards Nigel

Looking at the pics I can't help but think that is the finished product.I suspect the other side is fully planked and this side is to be left open to show the frames.This does follow actual construction process on the real thing but can't help think it is frought with problems on a model even with a planking expansion drawing. Kind Regards Nigel

You are correct Steve,yes Charlemagne it is,another positively crazy looking French Pre-dreadnought Over to you Kind Regards Nigel

You have the right country Jan,wrong ship Kind Regards Nigel

Ok I have found one,but off to bed so you will have to wait until morning for an answer Kind Regards Nigel

I agree with Demonburger,as the market stands now i.e. with Amati's new version not on sale,the enphatic answer has to be Caldercraft.This gives the most accurate version out of the box with pretty decent instructions. Kind Regards Nigel

Excellent planking work Nick It is no mean feat getting the planking to conform to contemporary style.Are you cutting the planks from sheet or edge bending normal strip? Kind Regards Nigel

It will have to wait until Tuesday and my luck will have run out mate I shall post one in the morning as I have just returned from my Bank holiday ritual of pub and takeaway kind Regards Nigel

It seems we are posting at the same time Jason Yes the structural timber will have been of Oak but decking was quite often made from cheaper,easier to obtain timber. Kind Regards Nigel

Thanks mate Yes these are more 'art' than 'authentic'.They do however add a nice feature to the deck.Theory behind it stems form the two king planks on french vessels that actually act as a binder longitudinally along the deck beams. As Eamonn mentions quite a common feature of the Russian Palace style.I have a few drawings of Italian origin 'mimicking' this,but to be frank they got it all wrong and looks too over the top.Hardest thing is gauging the distance apart,I have seen some builds on the net with them close together,definitely looks more GT40 than period ship.Ummed and arrd about using them on Mordaunt,but I am having ebony frames on the gratings on the upper deck to reflect the black on the museum model so would have been too much going on.See Alex's Cumberland build,he did his in Ebony. Kind Regards Nigel

Some seem hard but maybe easy,at least if your luck is in Is it the Novik? If it is,wish I put some money on euromillions now Was looking at this vid on youtube the otherday so may be at an advantage Kind Regards Nigel

Your deck looks fabulous mate more than worth the time and thought you have expended on it! Kind Regards Nigel

Hi Max In actual fact the small superstructure sections that the spiral stairs run from are your 'friend' here.they mean that you don't have to plank the deck right up to the waterway as there is a small square in these corners that are covered by these. Regarding my red,a simple question,but not a simple answer .The red was mixed using tamiya red XF 7 and black XF1.The colour was applied in very thin coats ,first a lighter mix then gradually darker to create an uneven blended appearance.It was then sprayed with matt poly and then covered in three washes of XF 84 dark iron.This was then burnished with fine steel wool to create the 'aged' appearance and a further coat of clear matt poly sprayed on.If you do decide to use the Tamiya acrylics,I recommend using their thinner.These paints don't flow and dry too quickly without using it. Thank you for your kind words,I do agree the thought process with these models is as enjoyable as the building itself.The Panart 'instructions'.whilst better than some in the mantua group are definitely open to interpretation to make the build run a little easier. Kind Regards Nigel

Hi Max, If I were to build this as instructions,yes I would detail this bulkhead fully before commencing the planking,things are tight in there and any extra access will help no end.Even planking the bulkhead will be easier due to the tumblehome. Kind Regards Nigel

Great work mate I love the outdoor shots and the characteristic 'vasa' sloping top on the mainmast.I also aren't getting much build time in as I now have two jobs .I am plodding away when I get chance. Kind Regards Nigel

Sorry Jason,don't get much time online Monday to Friday I do believe Eamonn has checked for an Irish connection already .I may well commence my search tomorrow night,that is of course unless someone finds the answer Kind Regards Nigel