NMBROOK

Thanks for visiting gentlemen!
 
Alistair, your AVS is simply amazing.  Going to be quite the tough act to follow!  I notice you suggest replacing the rope (I already have Syren rope for this build) the blocks, and the deck.
 
The blocks in the kit really look quite nice, although my only 'live' point of reference is the blocks from the Carmen kit by Constructo that I just finished.  What do you use to determine that the blocks are 'bad' relative to Chuck's?  Here are the kit parts - the deadeyes and little round things really look good to me, the blocks are a bit uneven, so maybe worth upgrading.
 

 
By the 'deck', are you referring to the false deck, or the planking material, and what did you use?  I know I've read on some logs that replacing the false deck plywood with basswood is a good investment for fitment reasons, and of course many people seem to upgrade the deck planking to holly or some other material.

Hi Nigel
 
I really like the contrast of the wood colours. Lovely build.
 
Nick

Nigel,
 
There you go again "raising the bar" sweeeet work!! A pleasure for the visual senses.
 
Cheers mate
 
Michael

Can it really be over twelve months since I last caught up with your build Nigel, but it never disappoints to see the ingenuity displayed in your updates.
Such wonderful model making and all deriving from one of my favourite Counties, the full package I would say
 
B.E.

I have completed varnishing the balcony deck and is rubbed down and burnished with steel wool.This will allow adhesion with of a final spray application of matt poly once the model is complete.
I have framed another two windows(hard going on the eyes) and applied one coat of matt poly to the panes.Another coat will be required before I can sand the face of the glazing bars smooth.
The stern chaser ports and opening for the tiller arm have been cut out.I have prepared a piece of ebony to 0.8mm thick to form the linings for these openings.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

One mini project I have been working on in conjunction with everything else,is what will be the floor of the balcony.I mentioned earlier that this was a grated deck,but I wanted something a little more visually appealing.
I have prebent a piece of 1.5mm Ebony on a jig and this was secured at the ends with some scrap boxwood and cyano.I have then tiled the upper surface with 4mm square boxwood and ebony.I haven't photographed the manufacturing techniques for this as it is covered in many other logs.A propose to apply a few light coats of Poly prior to removal and shaping.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

A little bit of a update More progress on treenailing.I then took a little break to concentrate on a job that needs doing before I can complete the framing of the stern.The lower set of windows need completing as access will be greatly restricted when the upper stern section is in place as this overhangs these windows.
After the outer framework was installed,mica was used to glaze these from behind.The framing is in 0.8mm square boxwood.The mullions have been added in one piece.The transoms are being fitted in sections.Everything is being glued in place with PVA.The plan is to fill the panes with matt polyurethane as before.This should also fix everything in place and allow me to lightly sand the face of the framework flush with the aid of a custom made sanding stick.
Now having a break as my eyes and head is spinning cutting 2mm long pices of strip and gluing them in position
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel 

I have completed varnishing the balcony deck and is rubbed down and burnished with steel wool.This will allow adhesion with of a final spray application of matt poly once the model is complete.
I have framed another two windows(hard going on the eyes) and applied one coat of matt poly to the panes.Another coat will be required before I can sand the face of the glazing bars smooth.
The stern chaser ports and opening for the tiller arm have been cut out.I have prepared a piece of ebony to 0.8mm thick to form the linings for these openings.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have completed varnishing the balcony deck and is rubbed down and burnished with steel wool.This will allow adhesion with of a final spray application of matt poly once the model is complete.
I have framed another two windows(hard going on the eyes) and applied one coat of matt poly to the panes.Another coat will be required before I can sand the face of the glazing bars smooth.
The stern chaser ports and opening for the tiller arm have been cut out.I have prepared a piece of ebony to 0.8mm thick to form the linings for these openings.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have completed varnishing the balcony deck and is rubbed down and burnished with steel wool.This will allow adhesion with of a final spray application of matt poly once the model is complete.
I have framed another two windows(hard going on the eyes) and applied one coat of matt poly to the panes.Another coat will be required before I can sand the face of the glazing bars smooth.
The stern chaser ports and opening for the tiller arm have been cut out.I have prepared a piece of ebony to 0.8mm thick to form the linings for these openings.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have completed varnishing the balcony deck and is rubbed down and burnished with steel wool.This will allow adhesion with of a final spray application of matt poly once the model is complete.
I have framed another two windows(hard going on the eyes) and applied one coat of matt poly to the panes.Another coat will be required before I can sand the face of the glazing bars smooth.
The stern chaser ports and opening for the tiller arm have been cut out.I have prepared a piece of ebony to 0.8mm thick to form the linings for these openings.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Nigel
 
Really nice work on the windows.  But, the balcony deck is just mesmerisingly beautiful.  Are you sure that you're not secretly a piano maker by any chance?
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Truly amazing work Patrick!!!!!!!!I am once again in awe of your ability to work with such minute details.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi All,
 
Another small milestone as I just completed my first ever rigging work by adding the tiller rigging.   The rope ,blocks and hooks are all from Chuck and are a huge improvement on the kit supplied items. After attaching the hooks to the blocks, the ropes were secured using diluted wood glue.  I found serving the ropes evenly to be the most difficult part...next time I may try using some thinner thread than the same 0.008in rope I used for the rest of this work. These simple pieces took me about 4 hours to do so I hope with practice I can speed up at least a little. Overall,  I am pretty happy with my first rigging attempt and I think I can use the same basic rigging layout for the cannons.
 
I also made a bit more progress on finishing off the cannon ports. The kit provided some brass finish rings for the outside of the ports, but no extras for the inside of the bulkwarks  So, I made my own from thin brass sheet by initially drilling out the holes in several stages or I found the thin sheet would tear.  The rings were then roughly cut from the sheet using my small tin snips, before being filed to shape using my needle files. I just have to blacken them and glue them into place and I can then start to rig the cannons.
 
I also checked the fit of my replacement cannons.  I caught a break as Chuck's cannons fitted nicely onto the carriages I had already made. His cannons are beautifully machined as are his small swivels. Image below shows the improvement over the kit cannons pretty clearly I think. I hope the swivels will be a nice detail once I've figured out how to make some interesting supports to perhaps compliment the carriages.
 
Thanks to those who hit the like button and of course everyone for following along.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Good to see you back on your build Jason but sorry to see the rework,however it happens to us all.With something like this,I have walked away and come back to resolve it later. Definitely something to do with a cool head.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Jeff and Nils
I am about to add coat five of poly to the deck,it looked super smooth when I sanded it,but after the first coat,it was apparent there was a lot of grain in the Ebony.I don't mind this on hull sections,but not on a deck.I didn't have this issue with the Ebony used on Royal Caroline,just goes to show there is variation in this very dense timber.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Good to see you back on your build Jason but sorry to see the rework,however it happens to us all.With something like this,I have walked away and come back to resolve it later. Definitely something to do with a cool head.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Jeff and Nils
I am about to add coat five of poly to the deck,it looked super smooth when I sanded it,but after the first coat,it was apparent there was a lot of grain in the Ebony.I don't mind this on hull sections,but not on a deck.I didn't have this issue with the Ebony used on Royal Caroline,just goes to show there is variation in this very dense timber.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Truly amazing work Patrick!!!!!!!!I am once again in awe of your ability to work with such minute details.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi everyone
 
A milestone has been reached!   The deck has finally been glued down, which means that the interior is well and truly completed.  
 
So, the photos below show the hull with the deck glued down.  I've also done a little bit more work on the skylights and assorted deck furniture, as well as the bowsprit.  The cardboard templates on the deck will eventually be used to represent the partially planked deck planks.
 
Still heaps of work to go, but fun, nonetheless!
 
All the best
 
Patrick

Hi everyone and many thanks for your Likes and comments, all of which are greatly appreciated!
 
Well, lately, I've been working mostly on finishing off the interior details, such as cushions on the settees, bedspreads, pillows,  etc.  They're all fiddly little bits, but important, nonetheless, as they 'finish' off the overall look of the fit-out.  Once I'm satisfied that enough is enough, I'll glue the deck down (no turning back then!), so I'll have to be sure that I haven't missed anything.
 
I hope you enjoy these photos.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick
 
 

Hi everyone
 
I've just done a bit more work on the deck furniture, including the sliding companionway hatches (i.e. the one at the rear that leads down into the owner's stateroom and the main one which leads down into the main saloon.  Below decks, in the owner's stateroom, I did the double mattress and striped cushions on the settee.
 
I hope you enjoy  the photos.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi everyone
 
Today I got a chance to start on the cockpit area which is located in the middle of the huge cabin and leads down through the companionway below decks.  The real ship has striped cushions and a large folding dining table in the cockpit, which is perfect for entertaining guests.
 
In order to simulate the striped cushions, the best I could come up with was to use part of the barcode of an Uncle Toby's muesli-bar box.    Not exactly like the real cushions, but, pretty close and not too shabby at this teeny tiny size.
 
I hope you enjoy these photos.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick 

Hi Piet, Ben, David, John (Neptune), Carl, Denis and all those who hit the Like button!
 
I really appreciate your comments as they provide heaps of motivation to move forward.
 
Well, today I've tackled the multisided skylight that sits atop Symphony's cabin roof. The skylight has 12 sides, spaced at 30 degrees per side in a radial pattern. There was no easy way of doing this precisely at this scale (the skylight is only about 7mm in diameter). Anyhow, I muddled my way through it and managed to build it out Jarrah veneer. As you can see from the photos, it's still pretty rough and needs some filing and cleaning up, but at least the hard work's done.
 
I hope you like the photos.
 
All the best, everyone!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi Marty, Mark, Ben, David and Frank
 
Many thanks for your comments!  Greatly appreciated.
 
Today, I managed to do a bit more on the companionway stairs, i.e. the ballustrading.  I've included a few photos below.
 
Hope you enjoy.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick