NMBROOK

Good to see you back in the shipyard NickLining gunports is a thankless task,so doing something else at the same time is a good idea
Kind Regards
Nigel

Hi everyone - the stern is now finished. The rudder & chains were installed along with the gunport lids. The instructions showed them 3/4 shut with no cannons,but I decided to show them open & added cannon barrels from my stash. They were made curved to match the curve of the counter.
 

 

 

 
An afterthought of the stern problems - I think it all started with the lower row of windows. They were made with way too much curve in them, resulting in having to build the side sections too low so all the windows would line up. I took a picture of one of the pics in the instructions to show you what I mean. The stern fascia is laser cut & the windows are PE brass,so not a lot I could do with it without scratch building the whole thing(not gonna do that with this kit). Don`t know why they made the actual kit parts so different from what`s shown in the instruction manual.
 

 
Mark 

A little more progress.......The the railing & mouldings are now done,which nearly finishes the stern of the ship - came out better than the semi-disaster of the side galleries. Since I am not following the order of assembly of the instructions,I think I will finish off the stern by installing the rudder & making the 2 gunport lids.
 

 

 
Mark

Hi everyone - a little more progress. More mouldings & some paint work done. Also,the railings for the galleries are now done - a bit fiddly to line up all the stanchions. More windows have also been added forward of the galleries. Still have another railing to make for the stern fascia,and of course, more mouldings. Thanks for looking in!
 

 

 
Mark

Denis: You may be right. I also now know, that the orlop decks are usually flat. These internal parts of ships are all new to me. That particular deck was to be water free. I also think, in retrospect, that caulking those planks may have also been unnecessary.  Still learning.
 
That said, its close (camber)– but the camber of my installed orlop deck has actually too much.  Should have been flat I think?
 
After fitting more gun deck planks (amount to be determined) and installing carriages I may add shims to the deck frames to increase the camber just a tad of the lower gun deck.
 
Patrick: Yes I intend on adding knees. I did not for the orlop deck, OcCre did not, and many drawings that I have seen did not either. It was a mixed decision.
 
Both gun decks will indeed have knees, as well as the horizontal side braces that I will add. May need to play with the kit provided knees  they are all ply-board bits. May just make some up. Though I must say the kit bits are a perfect fit.
The last photo is my guide. Notations had been made previously.
 
Thanks for your comments mates.
 
Cheers,
 

Evening all
 
Yikes, can't believe it's been over a year since my last update... (well actually I can... ). I've not worked on Le Mirage for quite a few months until about a month ago. Decided I should line the gun ports even though the instructions make (as far as I am aware) no mention of this. It's one of those tasks that would have been a lot easier BEFORE I put on the second planking! . I try to spend half my build time at a go doing those before doing something else far more interesting like planking the deck. 
 
Slowly (very slowly), it's moving along. Just nice to see some progress. Here are some progress shots.



Thanks for looking in.
 
Nick

Robert: Thanks for your kind words. Your Victory is looking very awesome. Your shipyard is also a “dream”. 
Your lantern technique sure is clever as well. Thanks for dropping by.
Anthony: Yes, that would be nice. Had not thought of that. But my stern side is very unkempt. Have paid little attention to that area (planks don’t quite align, LED wiring will wrap around vertical framing as well, treenails not added, etc,.) Thanks for the idea…I may re-consider.
Patrick: Thanks as well. I sure like the beak grids on your GH. !!
 
Started the lower gun deck (barely). Need to determine how much planking – do want to rig the carriages (at least three of them)
Also need to add barrels to orlop deck.As always mates, thanks for the likes and dropping by.
 

 
 

Oops,
 
forgot about adding a vertical brace between the hold and the orlop deck. OcCre asks for two, side by side. (not really looking at the instructions)
One is fine. I will add two as gun carriages add to weight. 
 

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

Excellent work Michael.Two suggestions re lanterns.One is to cast them with the LED inside using clear casting resin.Other option would be to buy larger LEDS and file to shape.The body is clear epoxy I believe so should shape and polish with files and wet and dry abrasive.
Kind Regards
Nigel

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel

Almost completed:

 

Hello dear friends,
thank you all for your feedback, praise and "likes", I am pleased reading your words and feeling your great support. I do apprecite it a lot.
I agree with you, the challenge of doing things again and better keeps our work more interesting. I want to improve my abilities and build more realistic ship models and I am sure, that without obstacles it is not possible.
Yesterday I almost finished decoration on the stern - taffrail.
This part of stern ornamentation was the most difficult. On Vale´s  painting I was not able to recognize details on that area, those ornaments are uneven and asymmetric, so I decided to create my own unique desing and using typical patterns and ornamentation from that period - for example cherubies, stylized statues of fish and seahorses....
The decoration was unique on each ship, so my design does not copy any of them.
Please enjoy the pics:
 

 

Working on this deck’s planks. Done here, open plank area to my liking, but thinking of adding some barrels at the back area (at least). Then onto the inner sidewall timbers, and lower gun deck framing as well as adding a lantern to the just finished area below. As always thanks for the posts and just dropping by.
Cheers,
 

 

Thanks for kind words everyone, welcome back Nigel, and welcome Ian and channel.
 
Mini update on a few things, think pictures are most useful.  I saw reference to a 3D printing service somewhere else on this site (Shapeways.com) and specifically one of the 'shops' on that site Model Monkey, so wanted to give it a try.  They offer a few items in 1:64 directly taken from the AOTS Diana book and offered to 3D print.  You could browse for hours through all the items offered, but here is the most helpful link for 1:64 scale offerings, these can also be made in a variety of scales. (https://www.shapeways.com/shops/model_monkey?section=1%2F64+Scale&s=0)
 
Intrigued I ordered a few items, stove and upper and lower capstans.  Out of the packet, these are translucent and it recommended to soak these, brush gently with soapy water to remove oil residue and then expose to sunlight to chemically harden - I did 2 days.  I ordered the 'Frosted Extreme Detail' which is slightly more expensive but apparently a more true print.  With an initial coat of Tamiya arcrylic grey primer the surface texture is easier to see, and the layered structure is quite visible.  I set to work on the stove and sprayed again with a matt black undercoat before finishing with the Tamiya Dark Iron.  After a number of coats, the surface texture is less apparent and really only then in lighting scenarios from above that are unlikely in the finished model.  I was reluctant to try any sort of 'sanding' as the material seems quite soft.  
 

 
With a little bit of extra work on the stove base (evergreen sheet) I think the result compares favourably to the kit supplied parts.  Overall, the proportions look more accurate (as one would expect), and the front and rear of the stove much better represent the prototype features.  I could easily see that someone could to get a better finish and detail some more but I'm leaving as is, at least for now considering what will be visible in the finished model.  The other benefit is that this barely weighs anything, the white metal stove parts provided are really quite heavy and would need to be well secured.
 
Considering the finish, I'm leaning toward using the printed lower capstan as this will only be partially visible, and provides a reasonably detailed proxy with minimal work.   This will save some time to focus on other much more visible aspects of the build and I'm Ok with 'cheating' on this item.  The upper capstan I'm less sure about, and will likely construct my own as I don't think the finish is up to close scrutiny.
 
The bottom picture highlights this for direct comparison.  The matte black undercoat on the lower capstan shoes direct comparison the "dark iron" and the way that this colour compliments nicely in my view chemically blackened metal (barrel appears overly shiny!).
 


 
Luckily I did not need to rebuild the aft bitts as the stove fit perfectly - lucky that I'd used the estimated AOTS dimensions when these were built.
 

 
In other news...work on the cannons continues slowly: these are all near the point for further detailing and hardware as structural elements are complete.  Each has been allocated its specific location and in some case the bottom of the trucks reduce slightly to ensure good seating on the deck.  Quoins were individually placed to help ensure all barrels form a smooth line when viewed from the exterior.
 

 

It has been a while since I visited your log Jason due to not being around much of late.I must say this is one of the cleanest,sharpest kit based builds I have seen.I am also an advocate of Tamiya dark iron.It also works well with a little very light drybrushing of flat aluminium.
Kind Regards
Nigel

Hi all a bit more work done on the Triny 
I have made the lantern by using some tube from a paint brush and some plastic card. The card was stamped out with a leather punch and glued to the top of the tube a small hole was drilled to get the led inside a small circle of plastic was glued to the bottom. A small piece of plastic strip was glued to the sides.The lantern was painted with gunbolt silver and fitted to the beam . Next job the orlop deck . This was planked and glued to the beams the sides were planked as per instructions. To add a bit more interest I decided to make the surgeons office so once the side walls were built I made a roll top desk and chair with a few bottles of potions. Next job on the list more lanterns for this deck 
See you soon 
Martyn

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel

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

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel

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

Thanks for all the likes and comments 
A bit more fiddling about with the Trinny X section. I want the hold to look cluttered and a bit used so have built a rack for some wood and made a couple of buckets. The barrels have been painted and aged but there are only two of them so have ordered some more. I didn't use the supplied ballast but got some from my local model shop which looks much more to scale. Next job on the list making the lanterns. 
Thanks for following 
Martyn

Doris,absolutely fabulous work on a model of a vessel from my favourite period of English naval architecture
Kind Regards
Nigel