NMBROOK

Fitting the rudder is a matter of cutting down a couple of the hinges and drilling the holes for the sternpost, and then shaping them to conform to the hull.  The hinges are supplied pre-blackened and look quite nice.  Once I’d finished fiddling around with them I dipped them in Birchwood Casey Brass Black to get rid of the shiny bits, I also blackened the brass nails. I’ve not permanently fixed the rudder yet, but it does actually work with the whipstaff. 

 



 

After all I was saying earlier about painting below the waterline, once I’d rubbed down the hull and applied a thin coat of matt varnish I’m not sure at all.  I’ve looked at it on its pedestals and to be honest I now think it will look nicer just varnished plain wood.  The jury’s out for the time being, any comments would be welcome.  In the meantime I think I’ll start on planking the main deck.

 



 



 



 

 

 

 

That’s the second planking below the whales completed.  I decided to use the 4mm strips intended for the deck, and use the slightly less than 4mm to plank the remainder of the decks (the ones you can see).  There is plenty of wood provided as I’ve around 20 strips left after the 2nd planking and the already completed decks. The other bundle of is about the same in number which is more than plenty, and probably enough left over to plank another smaller model.

 

 

The actual planking itself is fairly straightforward, starting at the lower whale, allow the strips to follow the natural curve at the bow, and then hold your nerve as you plank towards the area below the waterline if you don’t want to add stealers to the visible planks at the stern. The rest is a matter of filling in using the underside of the hull to fit fillers, and adding stealers as necessary.

 



 



 



 

I have temporarily dowelled (good old toothpicks) the sternpost and rear section of the keel so I can remove them to make fairing in the planking in easier.  The keel itself is in two sections which join with angled scrarf? joints.  To make these joints tight I needed to sand a little off the tips which resulted in the keel being slightly too short by a couple of millimetres, I’ll add a small piece at the end rather than lose width on my sternpost.

 



 



 

I was in a bit of a quandary as whether to paint the hull below the waterline or not, but after consultations with the First Lady of the Admiralty, a.k.a. Head of quality Control, and comparisons with similar models on the net, we, (that’s the royal we) decided, aesthetically it would balance the heavy upper decoration out if it were painted, so I have my orders and painted it will be.  At the moment the hull has its first coat of sealer ready to be rubbed down and then I’ll matt varnish it before attempting to mark out the waterline, masking, spraying, filling etc.  Has anyone any good tips how to avoid the mandatory paint bleed?

 

I think the model has now reached its interesting stage and I’m really looking forward to the remainder of the build now as all the ‘hard’ work is done.  My earlier reservations about MDF bulkheads were founded, a couple of tops at the forecastle didn’t survive, but they come off anyway so it’s really no big deal.  

 

The next logical job on the hull will be to fit the rudder, I’ve had a quick look at the hinges and they don’t seem too bad, always a good sign, maybe I might not have to make my own for once.  Will update as to progress.

 

Cheers

 

Martin

Another quick update.  That’s the lower whale position set and planked.  I took my time over this job because I felt it was critical to make sure the lay was correct to the lines of the ship.  It did get a little tricky the closer I got to the lower whale position as the planks were having to bend way out of their comfort zone and needed quite a bit of gentle persuasion with my steam iron to conform.

 

 

Don’t want to tempt providence but I think that’s the hardest bit of the planking (around the bow) over with.  I didn’t actually intend to put butt joints along the planks but the plank above the lower gunports wasn’t quite long enough at 600mm provided, so I decided to stagger the planks where they looked reasonable.

 



 



 



 

I have sealed the planking with sanding sealer, mainly because it helps stop those nasty annoying little areas of planking which haven’t quite glued springing when sanding.

 

So where next? Do I give myself a little treat and build a bit of deck furniture or something, or is it straight on with planking the lower hull?  Let’s go for it!!!!!

 

Famous last words, “should be straightforward”!  Firstly, the manual indicates that the hull second planking should be 5mm strip, in my kit, the supplied strip is 4mm or should I say 3.8mm to be exact. In fact there’s no 5mm strip-wood in the kit full stop, which isn’t very clever as the whales are 5mm wide.

 

Secondly the manual indicates that to set the lower whale you need to measure down from the gunports and pin a strip of 5mm and take the planking from there.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, that seems a bit ‘hit and miss’ especially as you have to manipulate the strip to take into account the excess curve at the bow, giving very little control over the lay of the plank.  Not a good start!

 

Have to put the thinking cap on and figure out how to do this taking into account the lack of right material, (it’s not getting 5mm strip, it’s the colour match that mainly concerns me).  More about that later.

 

Fortunately I did have some 1 x 5 mm walnut left over from a project which I could use to mark the location of the whales and make the actual whales, (the actual ones are glued on at a later stage after painting), and decided it was better to use the run of the gunports as a guide. 

 

First job was to plank the stern, the starting point being to lay a strip of the walnut above the gunports as a datum for the termination of the lower whale. The rest is according to the instructions.  

 



 

Following that I steamed the walnut strips to conform to the gunports, and also a shorter piece that would curve around the bow 10 mm above it (the second whale up is staggered).  The stern end is fit so that 4 planks - 16mm down it would line up with the stern datum (should really be 15mm, 3 x 5). Everything checks out with the plans so I’m not unduly worried so far, and at least I have something to butt my planks up to when planking down towards the lower whale giving better control (will still take a lot of steaming to lay correctly).

 



 



 



 



 



 

My main concern now is, if I can’t get hold of some 5mm strip there will have to be a lot of fiddling around to get the right widths as I plank upwards above the gunports, the whole thing is designed to use 5mm.  I have tried to e-mail Amati via their website but everything has bounced back so far, so if anyone knows an address or contact could you let me know please.

 

A bit of a disappointment, it’s not insurmountable but I would have expected better from a kit of this quality. 

 

A quick newsflash, I e-mailed Cornwall Model Boats to ask their advice this morning, they have just got back saying they have passed everything on to Amati and to the UK Amati supplier.  Watch this space.

 

Hi
 
Well, that’s the first planking completed, always a milestone!  In honesty it wasn’t really that painful, just the bow to concentrate on as the stern took pretty much care of itself not having any counter to worry about.  It’s just a matter of steaming a curve at one end of the plank for about 50-60 mm, I soak the wood at one end for a couple of minutes and use an old travel steam iron to form the curve over a suitable template (the edge of my workbench).  I pin the plank in place and use the next one down to mark where to taper it.  As long as you let the planks fall naturally along the hull, making sure theres full contact with each bulkhead, there’s no problem.
 

 
 
One thing I did make, was a stand for holding the hull upside down for planking and sanding, those upper bulkheads are pretty fragile and I didn’t want any nasty accidents.  
 

 
I did have my reservations regarding MDF but found it made the whole operation easier, you can push dressmakers pin in easily, and also get them out without any problems associated with nails. I use slow drying cyano for the bow and stern and PVA for the rest, running thinned PVA between the planks.
 

 

 

 
I did say earlier that I normally make a start on the masts/yards etc. at this stage, but once I got started planking I kept going.  It must have taken around 12 hours or so over three sessions, because I put on an audio book when I started, and finished both around the same time.
 
So where next?  According to the manual it’s setting the lower whale position and then on with the second planking downwards.  All being well there shouldn’t be any problems there, most of the planking is below the waterline and painted afterwards.

Setting up the side patterns for the planking isn’t particularly difficult, and I think it would take a lot of determination to get it totally wrong, but it’s worth investing quite a bit of time checking and double checking the positioning before glueing.  It is also worth reinforcing the bulkheads where the patterns join, MDF isn’t very forgiving to pins and can easily split.  

 



 



 

Before glueing the patterns I made up the cannon carriages which need to be glued into position first.  The carriages are milled from one piece, and don’t look too bad, I’m not sure about their historical accuracy, but they’re certainly good enough for the lower decks.  I might do a little bit of research before I fit the ones to the upper deck.

 



 

Another job is to fit the gunport surrounds which I suppose can be done anytime, but I did say I’m going to try and stick to the manual.

 

All that remains is to screw my planking gizmo to the bow and a-planking we will go.  A quick reminder to myself…don’t forget to put Sellotape on the gizmo so it don’t stick!!!!

 



 



 



 

I'll update as planking progresses, I do normally make a start on masts and yards at this stage when I'm all planked out and need some respite, wish me luck

 

Cheers

 

Martin

Planking the stern gallery is pretty straightforward, the two side patterns and stern window bulkhead are pinned temporarily in position.  Starting with the cross section, the planks are laid butting up to these.  One thing I do, rather than pin these parts, is use double sided sticky tape.  I hate putting holes in things unnecessarily, and I’m still not sure how confident I am pinning to MDF.

 

The fit of the side patterns looks pretty good, I’m not going to do any minor tweaking at this stage, I’ll worry about that when it comes to setting them up prior to planking (not too far away now).

 

 



 



 

Another small modification I made was to make the four upper deck support posts from wood rather than use the MDF ones.  I simply cut off a 4mm strip from one of the dibetou sheets and used that.

 



 

I’ve also test-fit all the decks and enlarged the hole for the main deck hatch to fit my custom frame.

 

Time to finish sand the bulkhead profiles and set up all the side patterns ready for planking the hull.  The whip staff bulkheads and helmsman platform I’ll glue later, there are four doors to fit to them, but I’m waiting for some Birchwood Casey Brass Black to be delivered from Amazon to use on the etched brass fittings.  I’ve never used it before so it will be interesting.

 



 



 

Just for your interest I reckon I’ve spent around 70 hours so far, doesn’t time fly when your having fun!

 

Another update,  as much as I would like to crack on, it’s Friday evening, the boss has just come home from work, so what better way to kill a few minutes while she gets ready to go out.
 
 
I’ve completed the whipstaff assembly and planked the stern lower decking.  I’ve also planked the two bulkheads that fit either side of the helmsman’s cabin (or whatever its called).  The manual says to just stain these but for the amount of time it takes why not?  I’ve also made up the ladder hatch just behind the mizzen mast.
 

 

 

 
The next step is to plank the stern gallery which involves setting up the side patterns so I didn’t really want to start that this evening, tomorrows another day (besides the pub’s calling).
 
Cheers
 
Martin

A quick update on progress so far.  Started working on the bow which is a matter of setting out ready for planking the deck. Again the manual indicates planking off the model but the deck takes quite a lot of flexing to position, so I decided to plank with the deck fitted.  When it came to sanding I did keep an eye on Bulkheads 3 and 4, they are very thin, a disaster waiting to happen.

 



 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed the mini clothes pegs in the photo, I picked them up in an art shop, I think they’re designed for Xmas cards etc. but they’re brilliant for small work and rigging, I think they’re £4 GBP for about 50.

 

While at this stage I checked the fit of the masts and bowsprit, I don’t want any nasty surprises later.

 



 

I’ve fitted the deck beams towards the stern, I did notice the two beams nearest the stern were quite a sloppy fit so I had to pack them so they were the right height.

 

The last job was to make up the capstan, the staggered holes were quite tricky, it too me twice as long to set up my Unimat with the dividing head than it did to drill them, i did try to do it by eye but after scrapping a couple thought better of it.

 



 

So its onwards and upwards figuratively speaking. I’m going to be working on the stern and whip staff assembly. I think this is where things get interesting as it entails setting up the stern galley and side patterns, lots of dry fitting me thinks.

 

Back again with a quick update.
 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I aren’t really keen on the deck hatches and gratings, so I’ve decided to make my own as I’m leaning towards displaying the hatches without gratings so part of the lower decks can be seen.  It’s not a massive job, but I think it’s worthwhile as it (in my opinion) enhances the appearance.
 
To do this I made a simple jig for setting the framing, especially as there is another the same size on the upper deck.  To do this I set it out in SketchUp (3D CAD package) and printed it out. I then glued the drawing on to a piece of scrap board and framed around it using some spare strip.  It’s just a matter then of building the hatch.
 

 

 
Before fitting I removed the beams which cross the opening and I added four support posts, which were a bit fiddly to position. I don't know if you can see them in the photo.  
 
 
The ladders are pre milled and the treads are pre-cut to length, I’m not sure what wood they are but look nice when put together.
 

 

 
Next step is to glue the aft decks in place and then start work on the bow.  I’ve actually got to page 9 in the manual now, only another 76 to go.
 

 
 

Hi All,

 

Once again many thanks for your comments.  

 

I’ve set to work on building the keel and bulkheads.  The first job was to check the fit of the bow, and keel pieces which, as expected, were perfect.  Another little job was to make an aid for planking the bow, which is simply to cut out the area of the bow from the MDF sheet, glue two pieces either side which slightly overlap the curve of the bow forming a slight lip, which will then be temporarily screwed to the bow to form a rabbet for planking.  Hopefully this will cut out the need for using small nails to hold the planks in place.  I’ve added a couple of images as a picture tells a thousand words.  

 



 



 

 

So it’s on to the trusty old building board, nothing fancy, just a side from an old MDF unit with four ‘L’ brackets.  Bye the way, if anyone’s interested the two strips are for holding stripwood while sanding their edges.

 

 

When fitting bulkheads I always start amidships and work forward and aft checking for square as I go.  As I mentioned earlier the whole hull is fairly self aligning so no great problems there.  Before I glue the bulkheads in place I roughly profile them using my Dremel.(I’ve yet to fit the three stern ones)

 



 

The main gun-deck required a little tweaking to sit properly, which I think was due to Frame 4 (from the bow) being too low.  Fortunately I spotted this and took a measurement from the drawings and set its height from there. There being a lesson learned, fortunately in time, the manual is so self explanatory I almost forgot the drawings.  They’re now pinned up on the wall so I can’t miss them!

 

The gun deck is in two halves and the manual indicates planking off the model and then fitting, but the pictures of the deck in situ show quite a distinct irregularity, for want of a better word, where they are joined once the decks are fitted.  I know you can’t see much of the gun-deck once the upper deck is in place, but this would drive me mad (it’s a personal thing).  Anyway, for that reason I fitted the gun-deck and then planked it after.  

 



 

Now, I don’t think this has ever  happened to me before, the planks ended up absolutely symmetrical about the centre line, this is not a testimony to my planking, but to the accuracy of the laser cut parts included in this kit, I’m not sure if you can see it in the photograph below.

 



 

So, for the time being I’m all planked out, time for some respite and on with the deck hatch framing and ladders. 

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

 

Time to make a start, nothing too taxing to begin with, so I’ve decided to plank some of the lower decks.

 

I think it’s a case of what looks right for the model and decided that a length of 100mm is a good size to work with, laid out in a four butt shift pattern (I think that’s what you call it).

 

 

First job is to mark where the planks will butt together, and just for interest I do this by lining up two strips of graph paper along the deck and marking every 20mm across. Keeps everything nicely at 90 degrees to the centre line. 

 



 



 

 

With regard to the caulking, I like to keep decks fairly subtle, so I simply run a medium pencil along the edges.  The full length planks I cut in small batches, and with my Unimat and a jig I made to square the ends, sanding them to length checking with my ‘high tech’ measuring device. The sanding jig also has a 45 degree fence for mitre joints, I’ve included a photo so you can get the idea if interested.

 



 



 



 

I lay the planks starting at the centreline and work outwards, the joints being a mirror pattern. Not sure if that’s how the Elizabethan shipwrights did it but it looks alright (to me anyway) when finished.

 

 

Once the planks are laid I scrape them flat with an old Stanley blade and then seal with several coats of Shellac Sanding Sealer.  I apply this with a cloth, much the way as in French Polishing, the idea being to squeeze the sealer between any small gaps and uneven surfaces. I allow 30 minutes between coats and sand lightly using progressively finer grades of wet and dry, every second coat, until I get an nice smooth, even finish.  I then finish off with 2 to 3 coats of thinned matt varnish.

 



 

 

 

Now we come to the first of my own personal criticisms, and it is my own personal preference and in no way a criticism of the kit.  The etched brass gratings provided….. I really don’t like them. I think I know why they went for brass rather than the traditional wooden ones (scale thickness when displayed open) but the holes aren’t square, and they don’t look right (to me anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that). The design certainly simplifies the deck hatches, the frames being one piece laser cut so as to fit above the deck openings leaving a lip for the gratings to sit in, but call me old fashioned, I like to see the hatches properly lined when open.  It’s not a big deal, it just means there will need to be a little doctoring when I come to the upper decks. (Sorry Chris)

 



 



 

So now I’ve broken the ice its time to turn my attention to the keel and frames.

 

 

Hi Jan, it is
 
My first job is to identify the parts and remove them from their sheets to test fit.  The plans make this simple and checking them against the drawings the parts are very accurate.  I’ve dry fit all the bulkheads and deck sections from the MDF  sheets, again no problems at all.  The frames fit easily but with enough play to allow for plenty of glue, and with the decks fitted the hull is very much self aligning. 
 

 
Looking at the general alignment from bow to stern the lines look pretty good so I don't anticipate any great problems profiling the frames ready for planking.  Another consideration will be to take into account the plank thickness at the stern, the false keel is 4mm thick and the stern post is 5mm, so I’ll lose some thickness by tapering the stern.  The actual bow, keel and stern post are fitted after first planking and the fit of the bulkheads create enough of a rabbet.
 

 

 
It is my intention to follow the steps laid out in the manual as much as possible (it took me years to realise that when manufacturers provide instructions they generally have a good idea of what they are talking about) so my next step will be to plank the lower deck and rough profile the bulkheads before I start glueing.  
 
 
 

At last, the long awaited release of the Amati/Victory Models ‘Revenge’ is here, and I’m sure this will be one of many build logs of this vessel coming in the near future.

 

Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Martin (the emelbe  are merely my initials), and I live in St Helier, Jersey.  This is my first ever build log, in fact it’s my first ever posting on any forum. I’ve been modelling off and on for many years so I’m not new to the hobby and have completed probably 8 or 9 model ships over the years (I’ve probably started a lot more!).  My latest models are HM Brig Supply, Amati Xebec, Amati New Bedford Whaler and the Amati Wells Fargo Stagecoach.

I had decided over six months ago that the Revenge was a ‘must have’ after seeing the photographs of Chris Watton’s prototype, and have been keeping a watchful eye out for its release ever since.  It was just by chance I logged in to the Cornwall Model Boats website to see the announcement on their home page ‘Revenge now in stock’. No brainer for me, out with the debit card, announce to the missus in my best authoritative voice “I’ve bought another model” (take the flack before you start building) and four days later here it is in all its crowning glory.  At this point I would like to take the opportunity to give Cornwall Model Boats full credit, every time I have used them, their service is second to none.

 

Anyway enough about me, what about the model, what exactly do you get for your money?

 

To start with a healthy 8.2 kilo of glossy box, beautifully illustrated, usual Amati, and for once they haven’t gone to the great trouble of neatly packaging ‘fresh air’ as in some of their kits (big box with not a lot inside).  The whole thing smacks of quality.

 



 

 

On opening the box you can see how much pride Amati have taken to ensure everything is well protected from damage, and there’s not a great deal of spare space in there. 

 



 

The firs thing that grabs you is the plastic bag containing all the 20 sheets of plans, the sheet of

flags, the ‘precious paper’ decorations and the instruction manual.  The manual is in itself a masterpiece, beautifully finished, lavishly illustrated step by step instructions, and the added bonus of the primary language is English. The whole thing is like having one of those DeAgostini part works but without having to pay ten times the price for the kit.  I did chuckle at the introduction when it stated they estimated around 200 to 250 hours of building, yeah right….and the rest!.

 

The plans are extremely comprehensive and are as follows:

 

3 Part identification.

2 Ship profiles and decorations

3 Sails

5 Masts and Yards

7 Rigging (scary)

 

I was intrigued as to what ‘precious paper’ decorations were, but I suppose it speaks for itself, very good quality paper, very nicely printed with the hull decorations.

 



 



 



 

The fittings are packaged in three stout boxes which include all the rigging thread, blocks, cannons (wooden carriages thankfully), sail cloth and the etched brass sheets.

 



 

There appears to be plenty of wood for planking etc. these being Tanganikya for the decks Lime for first planking and, I think it’s basswood for secondary. The rest of the wood is made up of Walnut strips of varying sizes.

 

The sheet wood is mainly MDF for hull construction and Dibetou (African Walnut) for the rest of the parts, all nicely laser cut.  The masts and Yards are Walnut.

 

One really nice touch is the inclusion of a base with what appears to be brass pedestals, why don't more manufacturers do that?

 



 



 

 

Overall the kit exudes quality, it seems the manufacturers have gone to great lengths to take the model kit to the next level.  I a immensely looking forward to this build (perhaps not the rigging so much, but I’m sure I’ll get plenty of advice if I need it).  So ‘once more into the breech’ or something like that, study the plans and dry fit so I get a feel for the model.  Here goes.

I concur with George,superb attention to detail Michael    I feel that not only have we witnessed you model grow throughout your log,your skills and ingenuity have grown at the same time  Outstanding work,a true pleasure to be following along
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

After trying several variations which included served futtock shrouds ,black futtock shrouds with white seizing and the other way round ,attached with hooks and without hooks i finally settled for a fairly simple method which was within my abilities  . the ratlines are tied with a  clove hitch i found the overhand knot difficult to keep tight , and although not perfect i will have to be content
 

 
I used 2 4mm strips cliped together to roughly measure the spacing 
 

 
Been trying to work out how to finish the mast top , getting there but is still ongoing 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This post was prompted by a request to further explain my rigging of deadeyes and i must admit when i looked back over my log my previous post on that stage where slightly confusing with my many wandering ideas . As i am at the rigging stage at present it seemed a good idea to explain more full my method and hope it may be usefull to others who like myself have not mastered soldering . Excuse the many pics but i find it the best way to explain .
 

 
this is .5 mm coated brass wire ,any finer may not hold it,s shape , any stronger is too hard to bend . once you have the correct length they are simple to mass produce .
 

 

 
the 2 ends are pushed past each other which leaves a double thickness at the bottom of the hook 
 


this then fits snugly into the slot in the channels 
 

I then drilled and put a very fine pin in to hold the deadeye in place and take the pressure of the chainplates 
 

the cap on the channels then covers everything 
 



the first link of the chainplates is then hooked in and the end closed in , No solder was used at this stage either as the pin inserted earlier will take the pressure of the chain , I hope .
 

The top deadeye was measured for length using the simple tool and then siezed in place 
I didn,t worry about leaving a small space at the top of the deadeye as it turned out usefull when finishing tieing the lanyards . 2 further seizings finished the process 
 


The 2 on the left have been trimed and are hopefully finished .When tieing off the lanyards i brought the line through the space between the deadeye end the first seizing on the shrouds , this kept it in line and ment the final tieing is on the back of the deadeye . Hope that makes sence ? I,m pleased to say that the solderless stroups held up under the strain of tightening the shrouds so i think i can safely say they work !!!!     Any further expanation needed i will gladly provide ?
 
last 2 pics show the mainstays from the missen mast ,i have been warned they are better fitted now than when the shrouds are on the mainmast .

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi all, seems like a long time since my last post but thought i would wait till i had something to show . I wanted to make sure i had the deck finished before i fixed the masts so i revisited the cannons and decided to add a simple back tackle , just to take the bare look of it ,also added a few cannon ball racks and think i will leave it at that .
 

 

 
these are made with 2 mm blocks with a hook at one end and a 2mm ring on the deck end  
I now have the 3 masts ready for rigging , i left the top fittings off untill the shrouds etc are fitted which means a lot of the work can be done off ship 
I decided to go with the black seizing on the natural shrouds and am happy with the result but won,t tie anything permenantly untill later in case i need to make a few adjustments 
 

 
the next few pics are of the simple tool i used to keep the deadeyes a constant distance . I have seen several variations on many logs so nothing new ,but they are a must so worth mentioning.
 

 

 

 
Next pics show masts in place although not yet permanent or squared 
 

 

 
I,m sorry my pictures seem to be mixed up at least in the preview , the last 2 were supposed to be of my latest tool purchase , the Proxxon sander . I was thinking ahead to my next build which will probably be an attempt at a Triton cross section and am hoping this will do as a thickness sander as well , time will tell ? I haven,t used it yet but i think it will be usefull 
 

 

My  mistake George ,when i reread you did say lanyard seizings . Anyway just in cases i tied a couple to see how they look 
 

 

 
I think the light lanyards and black seizing is my preference ?

Hi all ,as i promised in an  earlier post i have been trying to keep my everchanging ideas to myself untill i have something definite to report .   I have for some reason been keen to get started the rigging ,maybe just a need for a change ?? As i still have this daft idea in my head about only building to the first stage of the masts i want to do as good a job on the limited rigging as i can , (good intentions ) . I,m slowly learning that what i want and what i can actually achieve are not always the same , i tend to start of with great ideas and finish up settling for what my abilities allow . Enough excuses !!!.
First thing was to decide on the color of the rigging , should be simple ,dark for anything that would have been tarred and light for everything else ?  Normally this is the rule ,but because i,m going for the natural look i have decided to go for all natural color thread with perhaps a few exceptions .
I decided to use CC thread ,easily available ,less fluff ,all size options, fairly cheap as i expect a lot of waste !!
I have been advised to start rigging from the missen mast and intend doing so but as the Foremast was the only one i had ready i thought i would experiment on it ,plus it,s probably the easiest worked on . My next job was to learn a bit about serving, seizing,worming and all the other new stuff i am going to need . 
Then i had to decide on what thickness of rigging to use . 
CC recomended 1.3 for the shrouds , i found this looked oversized and reduced it to 1.0 but this is a personal decision and could yet prove wrong . this meant i also reduced the main stay from 1.6 to 1.3 .      All serving was done with 0.10 
Asyou will see in the following pics nothing has been permenantly fixed but i wanted to dryfit as much as possible before i make any final decisions !
 

 
Its important to keep the loop around the mast as tight as possible to get the shrouds to sit correctly 
 

 
Im not 100% sure about the black worming on the main stay but think it helps to highlight it ?? The spliceing of the eye and mouse need reworking although they may look better when tightened ?
 

 

 

 
Although i,m using LONGRIDGE  ANATOMY  as a guide and find it very use full i still intend keeping the rigging as simple as possible ,as some will have noticed i decided to leave off the burton pendants .
 
sorry for the long post but i tried to remember anything that might be relevant 
 
I couldn,t resist tieing a couple of the lanyards to see how the would look,been wondering if the 3 seizings should be done in black ??
Progress should speed up a bit now that i have the look i,was after !!!
 

I thought it was time for a small update just to prove i haven,t gone away . Decided i would not post pics of my numerous and everchanging ideas as it gets confusing ,and as i,m now at the mast and rigging stage things are confusing enough ??? . After several variations on the mast platforms i have finaly decided on a finnished plan . Everything except the mast rings is scratched as usual with ideas taken from books and other build logs ,so some of it is authentic but most artistic !!!!!!! 
 

 

 

 

 
I am now trying various colors for the rigging and will probably stick to a light color but who knows ??? trying serving with different colors to make it stand out more but will post progress later . Having Fun .

It,s been so long since i posted i almost forgotten how . Not a lot new to report ,any time i had has been spent reworking the hammock netting ,finishing the gun ports and getting ready to start the masts and rigging . I also fitted a stand as once the gun ports are on i no longer can place the model on it,s side , this was made from an old piece of mahogany window sill i found . I am now working on the plan not to post untill i have deffinately finished with a stage as i change my mind constantly and some may find it misleading , apologies !!  . As you may notice from the pic of the Bowsprit i am thinking of only building the masts to the first stage , reasons ? Time saved . Much less work . Much smaller case. I don,t know how this will work ,time will tell . I am replacing the provided masts with a light walnut which i find look better than varnished white wood .Again not painting causes it,s own problems . Short masting will undoubtly cause problems with the rigging so i may have to cut a few corners to get the correct look but i,m slowly getting used to that  !!!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
Hope to make more progress soon ,been fighting the urge to start another build ??
 
 

Just in case anyone thinks i have fallen out of a gun port i thought i would let you know how things are progressing . Slowly !!!! No matter what method i tried for the rigging on the port lids i can,t find a method that doesn,t look like 2 pieces of thread ,over scaled and pushed through holes in her side . I tied white thread , tan thread ,black thread , brass wire , black wire and none look right ? Conclusion !!!   leave them off as with the eyebrows  . This build will become known ,not for the detail added but for the detail left out ????
 

 
I know it don,t look to bad in the pic but when i did 3 or 4 in a row they just looked bad  . The 2 main problems are keeping the thread taught and connecting it to the lid ring without a knot or splaches of unsightly glue , that,s why i tried wire . this is the only pic i have of my efforts as i ripped everything else off and filled the holes . Weather good , build time limited , waiting on a few supplies ,but hope to have better progress soon . 

I,m looking for some advice and honest opnions are prefered !! As last post shows i am working on the gun port lids and have 4 options for the drip shilds , rigols , eyebrows ?
The top ones are the same wood as the wales , the ones nearest the steps are brass and the bottom right are the ones provided with kit , the 4th option is leave them off . All require a similiar amount of time to clean up or make ,unless i buy the brass ones  . Maybe it,s the position i have them placed but the leaving them off completely is a definate option  .ANY ADVICE WELCOME !!!
 

 

 
 

May be rushing with pics of progress but as the better half finally set the i-pad down i thought i would use the moment ? 
I have continued work on the gun port lids and think i,m settled on my method, now need to spend the time fitting everything .I mentioned earlier about using the ply hindges provided ,but spliting them in half to thin them down ,although not perfect i believe they will do , the drip shields however i will replace and rather than buy them i will make my own from flattened brass wire ,the natural wood color of the ply did not look right against the wales !!
 

 

 
As you can see i tried the lid rigging with and without a liner in the hole . My preference is with the lining and it,s not much extra work , opinions welcome ???
The rest of the pics show the overall effect when dummy cannons and lids are fitted , nothing glued yet so some may be a bit of line , i still like to see the overall effect before glueing . One other thing i must mention is that i left my gunports much to deep into the hull and so when fitting the dummy cannons had to fill them out with Balsa painted matt black . In hindsight about 4-5 mm recess would have been enough to give the desired effect and i could have saved a lot of work if i had left them as they were in the kit , a lesson learned for the future !!!! some more pic while the sun still shines through my work window .