NMBROOK

I've now completed the deck planking. The deck is planked with holly strips. I decided to plank over the openings in the subdeck and mount the deck furniture items on the deck, rather than inset them into the planking. The caulking is simulated with pencil on one side and one end of each plank. After the planking was complete, I "treenailed" the deck using the drill and fill method.The holes are #75, filled with golden oak filler. The deck was then finished with Wipe-on Poly. The next step was to add the waterway, which was done with 1/4 round strip that I had on hand. The waterway was painted red and then glued in place. Lastly, I touched up the bulwark paint, as necessary, as result off-me less than careful sanding of the deck.
 
Next up will be the planking of the upper outer hull.
 
Bob
 
 
 
 
i ha

While awaiting my order from Crown Timberyard, I used what I could from my remaining stash of boxwood strip to plank the inner bulwarks. I used 1/16" strip for the spirketting and 1/32" strip for the remaining planking.This was fussy work because of the need to fit the planking around not only the gunports, but the numerous sweep ports as well.
 
After the planking was installed and sanded, it was painted, using four brush coats of Vallejo carmine red, lightly sanding between coats. Since I still don't have the wood for the exterior hull planking, I'm going to plank the deck next.
 
Bob

It's taken a bit, but I've done the planking of the lower hull. A couple of general comments: Since the lower hull will be painted in part and the remainder covered in copper sheathing, the principal concern was to get a smooth, even surface; despite this, I still decided to do the planking in a prototypical pattern, using scale length planks.This meant tapering the planks at  the bow, prebending each plank and beveling the mating edge of  each plank to obtain tight joints. I was able to use only two stealers at the stern and no drop planks at the bow. I've also made a decision that although the kit calls for double planking, I'm not going to do a second layer. I see no reason to do so because of  the copper and paint.The only exception will be to build up the wales.
 
I'm not sure what I'm going to next, because I'm waiting for the imminent reopening of Crown Timberyard to get the boxwood that I need for the upper hull and inner bulwark planking.
 
Bob

I've been moving along in the "less fun" portion of the build. This most recent work involved the initial strake of planking, representing the position of the wale. This sets the position of the bulwark/ gunport pieces. I decided, after considerable internal debate, to go with the ply pieces rather than building up the gunport framing. Although they were a pain to deal with, I'm pleased with the result, and I'm doubtful that it would have been better or easier to do it the other way.
 
The first step was to set the upper line of the bulwarks on the bulkhead extensions. Next the lower line was drawn in on the gunport pieces while they were clamped in place.Lastly, the lower portion was trimmed and the pieces finally fitted. I had to wet heat bend  the forward end to get a smooth fit. Before mounting the ply pieces, I glued the laser cut port frames in place and cut and sanded the ports to fit the frames (thanks David Lester for the sequence). After mounting the bulwark pieces, it was necessary to trim down the bulkhead extensions to 1/16". This was tedious work, made a little easier by the fact the bulkheads are basswood, rather than ply. The bulwark pieces were then glued in place, using clamps. The last step was to add 1/16" square framing pieces for further support of the planking.
 
 Finally, I added the ply transom piece, following the same steps as used for the bulwark pieces.
 
Bob

Further steps in the basic construction have been completed. These involved making and mounting the bow and stern blocks, fairing of the hull, and making and mounting of the stem, keel and stern post.
 
The blocks were an interesting exercise. The drawings and instructions provide little, if any, help. There are no views showing them. The bow blocks were relatively simple, because the shape was pretty self evident. The stern blocks, on the other hand, are mostly a creation of imagination, since there is no guidance as to what the shape and size should be. There are a couple of photos from which a general impression can be gained, but that's it.
 
The fairing went pretty well,, after shims were added to various bulkheads. I expect the there will still be some additional tweaking  required when planking begins, particularly in the stern area.
 
 I didn't like the kit stem pieces, so I decided to make new pieces for the stem, keel and stern post. I cut them from boxwood sheet and strip, and made them slightly wider than the keel former to create a small rabbet, since none is provided for by the kit pieces or instructions. The pieces were pinned and glued in place. The joints for the stem are hardly perfect, but will be covered by planking.
 
I now need to decide how to tackle the gunports.
 
Bob

I've now done two further steps in the framing process.
 
First, I added bracing between the bulkheads toward their outer edges. These were done with 1/4" square basswood strip .Tedious, but not very difficult. I also boxed in the mast mounting slots.
 
Next, I added the false deck. The kit has a thin plywood piece with slots to fit around the bulkhead extensions. I found this unwieldy to work with, so I cut the deck into six sections, and fitted and mounted each separately. The slots required some adjustment to get a good fit, but that went smoothly. 
 
With the bracing and deck in place, the structure is surprisingly rigid, and ready for fairing, which I have begun.During the fairing process, I will also have to shape and add the bow and stern blocks.
 
Bob

My first actual progress was the usual mundane work of preparing and assembling the keel former and the bulkheads. I found that it only required relatively minor adjustments by sanding to get a good fit. My principal concerns at this point were to get the deckline right by fitting and sanding as I added each bulkhead and, of course, to mount them square. I use two heavy steel squares to square the bulkheads and then add square strip wood bracing. I have no doubt that, whether as a result of poor parts or my own errors, there will be need for considerable fairing and some shimming to get an even outer surface for planking. Frankly, over the years, I've come to expect that. With the exception of Chuck's almost perfect keel former and bulkheads for Cheerful, that is the rule.
 
My next tasks will be to add additional bracing between the bulkheads, to box in the mast holes and to add the false deck.
 
Bob

Another welcome aboard to all of you.
 
Joshua, I've been following your log, and I'm in good company.
 
Grant, I have no idea what happened to the photo, but here it is .
 
Bob

I will begin by explaining my choice of this kit. As some of you may be aware from my posts in other logs, I have really been taken by the barque Stefano kit from Marisstella. I decided, however, that I am no longer capable of, nor willing to commit to, such a large, complex multi-year build with endless rigging. My age (78) and diminishing dexterity in my hands, just seemed to rule out such a project. When I started Halifax, I had pretty much decided to go with smaller vessels in larger scales, but upon looking around for my next project, I couldn't really find anything that I wanted to do that would fill those criteria. I came across the Prince de Neufchatel (PdN) kit on E-bay (it has been out of production for a number of years), and it seemed to be something of a compromise for my goals. While the model is large and at 1:64 scale, it is a fairly open and straightforward build with a rig that would not be as challenging to me as the Stefano.
 
I bought the kit as brand new in it's original sealed box and was delighted to find that the keel former and bulkheads, although 12+ years old, were straight and true and good to go. I will spare you all from another display of kit contents, as they have been shown in other logs here. I am attaching a copy of the photo from the kit box. I have not fully figured out what I intend to do to enhance the kit, but some things are fairly certain: I will plank the upper hull with boxwood, plank the deck with holly and copper the lower hull. I expect to use boxwood to replace the kit wood for the deck furniture and will certainly use Syren blocks and rope for the rigging. Other changes may be made as well.
 
 I've cleared away the debris from the Halifax build, and I'm ready to go. I hope you will join me for the ride.
 
Bob

Thanks Bud

Looking forward to the next installment :D. You're build always inspires me to get back to my Ballahoo.

Hi Again Folks .. Well The Ballier is back in the house along with my tools and I have the rigging plans pretty much drawn up .. all I need now is the actual space to do something .. (there is a nice big kitchen table with Balliers name on it lol
I will take a photo shortly and post it..
 
All The Very Best The 'Speedy' Boat Yard
 
Eamonn

Update - the bow gratings are now done. quite fiddly working out the curvature along with the framework. The bow knightheads have also been added - the plans show it as 10mm thick,which I thought was a bit excessive,so I thinned it down somewhat. The holes in the gratings seemed a little large,but being at 1/46 scale maybe not too far off. With that out of the way, I will move on to the deck furnishings. Looks like I need to do a good dusting also.
 

 

 
Mark

Thanks for all the likes.
A bit more work on the X section. The next deck installed and the guns fitted. A table was placed between the guns and some hammocks hung from the beams. A lantern was wired in and the wires led down the side of the hull. Next job gluing the next deck on. 
Thanks for following 
Martyn

First off, thanks everyone for the likes and comments, my apologies for not responding sooner.  I haven't been able to keep up with everyone else's builds as much as I would have liked.
 
Been tinkering with a number of items that I want to get a head start on hopefully avoid pitfalls later.  I'm leaning toward getting as much work on the hull planned out or complete before the cannons get installed and the upper deck can go on - although that will still be a while because I needed a break from gun carriages.
 
Trimming the bow height:
Way back I'd mentioned that I took the approach to build the bows up higher than I would likely need to allow for the unforeseen.  I have now shaped these to be much closer to where I think they will end up, less a little finishing.  The bulwarks at the bow appear to be parallel to the whale, just like the rails, which was used as a guide.  This was an exercise in reconciliation as of course various small (or not so small) errors have crept in along the way.  This proved not too difficult, the only hiccup was found when dry fitting the deck, to ensure that the height of the bulwark is symmetrical on both sides, some shims were added to the top of some of the forward bulkheads.  The error is unlikely to be in the kit cut bulkheads, but more likely a combination of small discrepancies in my positioning of the position of the whales, waterline etc.  You can see in shots below the discrepancy in the height of the foremost gunport, this was a result of positioning the ports to be of equal height off the deck, which was clearly not fitted as well as it should have been.  These add about .5-0.75 of height on the starboard side, but the very small 'twist that this will introduce will not be noticeable.  The sheer rail at the bow has also been added.
 

 
Headworks:
Have been doing a lot of thinking about how to approach the headworks, clearly a rather challenging area.  Frankly, the kit supplied parts are a little disappointing being rather grainy and splintery, with some questionable dimensions.  The main rail seemed to be the place to start, and after a lot of experimentation decided to build this and the false rail together rather than in separate pieces - mainly because it seems sturdier, and less challenging as the false rail is rather lengthy and thin at this scale.  The main rails were cut from 2mm castello, and a profile introduced using a scraper to simulate the various features of the genuine article.  Curved, tapering shapes have to be the hardest to get right, especially with fine details and there were many time consuming rejects which painfully got me up the learning curve until I was happy.  The AOTS side elevations were scanned and manipulated digitally to correct for the angle to get the appropriate shape.  Caution!  I think the placement of the slot for the boomkin is not shown correctly on the AOTS side profile, I adjusted this looking at contemporary models - the revised position matches closely with the kit part which does provide some comfort.
 
The false rail was cut from 0.6mm pear sheet and 2 were laminated together.  The panel section of the false rail was cut out carefully to be shaped later by beveling the edges before replacing back in place.  First photo below shows a little how these were built up, with the first successful but discarded prototype, and a main rail that failed scraping.  Second photo below shows the kit supplied part next to the one of the scratched final articles.  Ignoring the quality of the wood (and to be fair, I made no effort to clean up the supplied parts), the AOTS plans suggest a subtly different profile curve, and a thicker main rail which looks too thin on the kit part.  The head of the main rail was deliberately cut a little longer to allow final shaping once these are finally installed.
 

 
These were then positioned with the head of the main rail vertical in both head on and side elevations.  It was found that these were quite easy to keep in place using mini modeling clothes pins  (scale replicas of the actual clothes pins used in actual ship construction  ).  Posting a lot of photos because I would really appreciate comments and suggestions from those more experienced with this to help me avoid fatal errors!
 

 
Finally, to confirm the layout of the boomkin slot, a copy was copied and scaled from the AOTS diagram.  This shows the tight proximity of the boomkin and seat of ease.  The triangular gap at the rear of the grating behind the false rail screen is where I believe there should be another seat of ease.
 
Again - I'm fumbling my way through this following the excellent TFFM book, so please do not be shy to point out errors and mistakes!
 

 

Hi everyone - work on the ship continues(slowly).  Working on the head rails,I was hoping they would go a little smoother than the stern work - not so.  The upper head rails are pre-cut from 1.5mm plywood & attach to the bottom of the samson posts which are pre-cut from 5mm plywood - glued end to end. So what I did was make the .8mm brass bar for the trim a bit long to overlap the post for strength,plus I tapered the inside part of the post to make a better transition to the much thinner rail. The plans show using some 1mm brass wire for the trim,but I thought that looked a little cheesy,so I used square brass bar instead. The middle head rail was pretty straightforward & fit where it was supposed to.  The lower head rail was shown attached to the bottom of the cat davit support knee,but to do so it would fowl the first gunport,plus it would be impossible to bend the 1.5mm plywood to conform to the curve of the hull without breaking it. So instead I fastened it to the rear edge of the samson post/upper head rail assembly.  The rails were painted black,with the yellow pinstriping in the center before glueing in place. After the rails were glued in place,the short pieces were added between the rails. Still need to finish the starboard side,then work on the bow gratings.
 

 

 

 
Mark

Hi - a little more progress. The next thing I did was installed the small poop deck.The columns across the front were to be made by cutting the large supplied columns in half,which would be a pain to do and get them all even,so, I used some from my stash that were just the right height. There was nothing at the transom to hold up the aft end of the deck,so I just glued a couple of pieces of wood to the transom to support the deck.
 

 
Next, I started working on the bow. First thing to do was glue the figurehead in place. It was a bit heavy,so I added a pin at the back of the lion`s head to help hold it. Next was the cheeks & their rails. The cheeks & rails consisted of 2 pieces each & when glued together fit pretty good. They are to be painted black with a yellow stripe down the center - no problem painting them black, but much trouble painting the yellow stripes. So,I decided to use some very thin pinstriping tape instead. The tape was sealed down with 2 coats of clear. Then,the fairings for the hawse holes were glued in place & the holes drilled into the hull.
 

 

 

 
Mark 

Who would of thought a bit of silicon,toothpick and tape could look so effective! Excellent Michael
Kind Regards
Nigel

Hi Mates,
Not an update. Shipyard has been very part-time for a week or so +. Now returning to same task, working on carriages.
These won’t have as much detail included as those from my Vasa, but for at least the “front row” they need to be a bit more detailed (weather deck will get all the details that I can manage)
Posting some obvious info, but could be helpful to members new to our hobby that might drop by.
As always Mates thanks for comments, likes and just dropping by.
 Regards,
 

 
 

I received my copy of the DVD today after a short wait for it to come from the USA.In a nutshell and Australian film crew spent 8 weeks filming with Dr Mike in his workshop.Michael Bezverhny is a Russian master modelmaker who at the time this DVD was produced,was the only modeler to ever score a perfect 500/500  in the world shipmodeling championships.He is actually a fully qualified heart surgeon who earns more money building ships to commission.I only actually stumbled on this DVD by per chance when looking at Dr Mike's work on the internet.I do thank Brian C for confirming it was well worth the purchase as he already had a copy.This DVD is by no means a new release,but doesn't appear to have been mentioned here before.
The DVD is just over three hours long and rather than actually following the build of a specific model,Dr Mike demonstrates various techniques used throughout the build process,however is work in progress build 'Rivoli' is used many times to illustrate where the various techniques apply.
Don't expect a Steven Spielberg production as the editing is amateurish and a little disjointed in places,however the is nothing amateurish about the work being demonstrated.On the whole,any builder whatever there level of experience will learn something from this DVD.My only disappointment was that Dr Mike's hot melt adhesive technique for hull plating wasn't shown.
So if you fancy an insight into how IMHO one of the finest,if not the finest model shipbuilders in the world does it,this is well worth a look.
Details can be found at  www.modelshipbuildingsecrets.com
I am in no way affiliated with the production company involved,just a happy customer.
 
Kind Regards Nigel

Hi Mates,
 
Minor update. Added a bit of cargo to the orlop deck. Need to prob tie down those two large barrels as well.
Now moving on to fabricating needed gun carriages. Kit furnished carriages in a single metal piece. Prefer to
build wood ones.
I do like the kit included cannons. Had several of the crested guns left over from Vasa days. May go for those brass ones
If I decide to use kit guns will need to re-work the rear portion of the carriages a bit, and of course, air brush the guns black.
As always thanks...
 
Regards,
 

 
 
 

Thanks for the comments I always appreciate your suggestions, critical eyes and help mates. E.J Yes that would be an excellent next project for you indeed. We all inspire each other don't we! - you inspired me to add lighting 
 
Small info. update.
 
Had such good luck with the 0.5 mm lead using it as the cleats for inside wall timbers, thought about using smaller 0.3 lead for the deck treenails.
 
Wanted to get brown lead, but only red and other in-appropriate colors are available, so black it is.
Tried the 0.5s too large and out of scale for these tiny planks IMO.
I think that that "is it" with lower gun deck planks - no mas
 
Also ordered a 0.2mm pencil from Japan – never know may be useful one day.
 
Regard,
 

fantastic job.
One question: how do you finish the knots of the cabuyeria? With cyanoacrylate? no stain or color change is seen.
a greeting cabrapente

Thank you guys for all comments and likes. I am very happy because number of followers reached 100.
To druxey: I have tried the metod of making ropes you describe, but the result was not good for me. If you unwind the thread and rewind it left handed before spinning resulting rope is not the same quality as the ropes without unwinding (my opinion). From this reason I decided to make the left handed ropes.
To cabrapente: I dont undestand the word " cabuyeria ", but all knots are fixed with diluted white PVA glue.
To Ryzuhr: Most information is taken form Anatomy of the ship PANDORA book. But this book does not include the all necessary information so I use the following books for addition:
James Lees - The masting and rigging of english ships of war
David Antscherl The fully framed model, rigging a sixth rate sloop of 1767-1780
Klaus Schrage - Rundhloelzer, Tauwerk und Segel.
So and now some new pictures - installation of topsails. 

Hi all back on track with the Triny 
The new lights have been fitted. The lights on the Orlop deck where no problem but the one in the hold was a real pain with no room and the deck fitted over the top of the wires . The only way to put the lantern in was to run the wires behind the central beam but as this kit is seen from the front they won't be seen.
i have started rigging the guns on the lower gun deck. These were fitted with cut down blocks and rigged to the eye bolts.
i then made some tables to go in between the guns and made some trenchers and a bottle of veno with some mugs.
Next job rigging the guns on the other side.
Thanks for following 
Martyn