Cathead

That slight tilt in the stern got to bugging me.   I just had to try to fix it.    Below is my attempt.    I soaked the last four bulkheads and then jury-rigged up something to try to straighten it out.   We will see what happens tomorrow when things dry out.
 

 
More experienced modelers will probably get a good laugh at my expense,  but I have always had a hard time keeping track of the various wood strip sizes.   I have tried laying it out on a table, labeling them with paper and clamps or rubber bands.  Labels seem to fall off especially with the very thin wood that only has a few strips.    And over time, left over wood from previous models just adds to the confusion.
Nothing seems to be a good solution.   Seems I always end up digging through a pile of wood trying to find the correct piece.
 
Anyway, I had some spare 1" PVC pipe around and started playing around.   Below is what I came up with... Not elegant,  and maybe even a little crazy, but for my simple mind it seems to work.   The taller pipes in the back are 14" and labeled with tape.    The shorted pipes in front are 3/4" and 5" long.   They hold the same size as the larger pipe in back but for wood strips shorter than 14".   I used tape for labels as it seems there are countless sizes of wooden strips and easier to change a tape label than if it was permanently marked.   In this rack there are 25 slots so I can account for a number of different sizes.
 
Once complete I added the wood from the Chaperon and other wood left over from other models.   I have to say, while some may laugh, I really like the idea of being able to go right to the size of wood I am after rather than continually digging through a pile of wood.    Just thought I would share... but I know some will think I am crazy.
 

Cool idea, count me in.

Here are a couple of better pics of the "Nantasket"... I have also began collecting post cards of her. I believe one of them shows her under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Cathead,
Thanks for the information.  I will check out yours and Brian's latest builds.   As I have said earlier, I am somewhat new to this so I have a lot to learn.
 
It has been a few days since I last got a change to work on the ship.   At this point I have completed fairing bow parts 1A P/S and bulkheads 1 through 5.   The supplied etched lines on these part are pretty accurate.   As trimming progresses be sure to verify the angle with a piece of planking to insure the planks will have a good gluing surface..    Also completed was the fairing of the stern parts 29A/B and 28A/B on both the starboard and port sides.   As before this is pretty easily verified as you trim will a piece of planking.
 
Box sections:

 

 
Stern sections...  In the pictures they look to be a bit cock-eyed...   They are somewhat, but not as much as what is shown in the pictures.   Earlier when I repaired the stern section, I thought I had it square, but somehow in the clamping process a little bit of tilt came on.    I have dry fitted the decks above and from what I can tell, the very slight tilt either goes away or is not noticable.   
 
Having said that, I may still try to dampen the last part of the keel and try to get it back to square.   I have had issues on other models when the keel/bulkheads are not true.   It is an error that can really keep coming back to bite you throughout the entire build if you are not careful.    We'll see what happens.
 

 

 
Now the part that really terrorizes me....  As others have done I decided to use a 3 prong Tee nut and bolt for the stand.   As such it has to be done at this phase.    Below show the two blocks made to insert between the bulkheads with the bolts.
 
   
 
Main scary part of this process for me (at my still level) is cutting the two bulkheads where the blocks will be inserted.   The part to be cut out is shown in red below.   To strengthen the area a little bit before the cut I added a few strips of wood.    Basically the bulkhead will be cut down to the added strips and the block inserted.   Once the block is inserted and glued, the area will be far stronger than before, but during the cutting process, I easily could see me breaking what was left of the keel.

 
Anyway, I had a lot of fear for nothing.... with a fine tooth saw and a little patience, I was able to pretty easily cut out the section of the keel and insert the block without breaking the keel.   Below show the first block inserted and drying.   Tomorrow I will take on the other block.   As I do not have the final stand for the ship, with some scrap wood I will build a temporary stand to hold the hull while the decks are built.   That is the beauty of the Tee nut and bolt - easy access to take the ship on or off the stand.
 
 

 
 
Below will be the temporary stand for construction.   Basically one 1"x8" board on the bottom and two 1"x3" boards on top leaving a slot in the middle for the keel.   Bottom board is a little longer than the top boards to allow for construction of the paddle wheels at the stern.  I have drilled the holes and verified the ship will sit properly in the stand.    Ship will not be actually bolted to the stand until after the hull is planked. 
 

 

Have been going over building logs and the plans before proceeding on the rest of Stage 'A' of the building plan. There are a number of items left to finish Knightshead &Timberhead install, Covering boards for forecastle, Gunport framing, Forecastle and Quarterdeck breast beam and the Waterway. In addition to that I've added Poopdeck removable bulkhead which isn't really mentioned in the plans, planking the upper hull to the deck line and removing the fillers in bulkheads A-C, I-L. That should take most of if not all the weekend or more. Then it is on to checking the fairing again, installing the gabbard and whales and marking the bulkheads for planking.

O, here we go! These are from November of 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, photos and captions are by Bill Kammermeyer.
 
                   
Covering the underside of the waterway        The open and closed portions of the            Waterway finished                          
                                                                                       waterway masked for painting
        
Hull on 45-degree angle lift to facilitate easier access by Tim and Vince in               Final fitting aft casement
painting the ceiling inside the walls of the sides.
 
   
Final fitting forward casement
 
OK, I'm going to post these pictures to see if they come through. Next series is of making the cannon barrels and trunnions. Back soon.
 
Tim

Time to make a start on the planking for the next set of decks. To make my life easier I chopped the false deck into six pieces. I started off on the gangways to warm myself up for the rest of the job. I added a small upstand which runs along the inboard edge of the gangway. This is shown in the AOTSD drawings and it is useful in that it hides the exposed edge of the false deck. The planking was fairly easy with just 4 straight planks and an edge filler piece. I added trenails but, as this is a very visible part of the model, I took the added precaution of measuring their position rather than installing them freehand as I did on the lower deck. I added a trim piece to the top of the quarterdeck breast beam and forecastle breast beam. This will give the deck planking something to butt up against. The junction between the gangway and forecastle has some complexity but close enough to the drawings.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I then located the next piece of deck which is part of the quarterdeck. I checked that the gratings, ladderway and capstan step all matched up with what was happening below. I thought I might change out the companion as the kit version was quite plain. I didn't have much to go on by way of drawings and it seems that there was quite a variation in the design of these structures. The AOTSD drawings indicate that it was glazed on the top and sides so I had a place to start. I formed the coamings out of maple and added the lower windows using 3D printed parts and acetate. I initially started off with five windows on the long side to make them square as possible but I soon reverted to the four shown in the AOTSD Drawings. The cornice was made out of maple as well as the gable ends. The ridge beam was fashioned out of a walnut strip. The rafters and beam fill were 3D printed. Windows were made out of acetate while I used styrene for the rest of the mullion covers and flashing. I added some protective bars which were 0.5mm diameter brass rod. These bars look a tad heavy so I swapped them out for 0.3mm diameter steel wire.  Once finished I was unsure if it was any improvement on the original. The original consisted of 8 pieces while this one has 74 so it was a whole lot of bother for no real gain. I think that I would have to reduce the structure by about 25% to give it the lightness I was looking for.  It looks better from the inside though.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The ship's wheel that came with the kit was a bit thin. I decided to upgrade to the Caldercraft luxury version. This is a little thick but has a lot more detail than the original. It was quite easy to put together. I used the kit stanchions and lathed the drum out of a beech dowel. I formed the spindle out of 1.5mm brass rod. I added some dark walnut paint and left exposed brass sections to give it a bit of pop.
 

 

 

 
I mocked up the companion, ship's wheel and dummy masts to see how they all went together. I added a step below the ship’s wheel and mast collar. The NMM drawings hint at this being there although it looks like it is flush with the deck while I have made mine sit proud of the deck. The tiller rope is 0.8mm diameter. It looks a bit too chunky to me so I will probably swap it out for some 0.5mm. I am pondering the bitts that sit between the companion and the mast. These are shown in the kit drawings and the contemporary models with a cross piece while the AOTSD and the NMM drawings the cross piece is omitted and there is just a pin. I am leaning towards the cross piece though.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

I decided not to attempt the internal partition work for the gun deck as I had moved some of the gunports to avoid the bulkheads which meant that the partitions would need to be relocated and that would have caused a clash with a deck hatchway. Decision having been made it was now time to get on with covering up the gun deck.
 

 

 
I first had to install all of the beams that carry the quarterdeck and forecastle as well as the skid beams. I started at the quarterdeck and proceeded as per the kit drawings however when I dry fitted the false deck for this area I noticed that the framing ignored anything that was happening above. Beams sailed through openings, clashed with the capstan position and bypassed columns. I then decided to saw off the bulkhead beam stubs and locate the beams where they made most sense. This ended up with quite large distances between the framing so I had to introduce some additional members to ensure that the deck does not have to span too far and run the risk of producing large deflections. With great hindsight I probably should have just located the beams as per the NMM drawings but this would not confer any great advantage other than me being smug in the knowledge that I had an authentic framing layout. Instead I ended up with a slightly odd looking framing layout.
 

 
I introduced carlings to take the coamings around the staircase, gratings and companion having learned my lesson from early on in the build. I constructed the coamings around the ladderway as well as the gratings. I decided to not attempt the slight taper to these gratings as shown in the drawings as I was not confident of achieving a satisfactory result. I built the step that sits under the upper capstan out of walnut to match the rest of the fittings in this area. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I decided to build and install the ladders at this point while I still had reasonable access to the upper deck. I also took this opportunity to install the handrail stanchions and deck eyebolts to take the rope handrails the ends of which were tied off at this stage while access was still possible. When installing the ladders that sit forward of the quarterdeck breast beam I modified the structure from that shown in the AOTSD drawings. I introduced a beam that spans between the quarterdeck breast beam and the skid beam. In the AOTSD drawings this should return at right angles and cantilever from the hull but my solution gave me less of a headache. When installing the ladders to the gangway I noticed that they clashed with the handles of the elm tree pumps so I had to yank these out and shorten the handles.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I added belaying pins on the after skid beams and forward skid beams as shown in the AOTSD drawings. I noted that most people do not install these which probably means that they are not required for the standard rigging but I have not yet studied the rigging diagrams. They are fairly unobtrusive so if I end up not using them it is not a disaster.
 

 

 
The installation of the beams under the forecastle were less problematic with just a slight relocation necessitated by a clash with the stove rotisserie and deck openings. With all of the beams in place I will have to start the deck installation. I will attempt the gangways first as they appear to be quite simple.
 

 
 
 

The guns on the main gun deck are now installed. Looking from the outside they seem to line up OK. Time to finish up the gun deck by fixing all the remaining fittings. Most of these have been built already so it is a fairly easy task to locate and install however there are a few tricky bits that will require some effort.
 

 

 
I positioned the anchor cable. I could have easily left this off but I quite like the look of a hefty rope sitting on the deck. I wasn't keen on the supplied cable which is labelled as 2.5mm diameter but measures 2.85mm. This is too large and the colour is not the best. I sourced some 2.1mm cable from Ropes of Scale. This is slightly undersized as I believe that a ship of this size would have an anchor cable that would scale to 2.34 mm diameter. The cable itself is much improved from the kit supplied item and it looks very similar to cable I have seen in historic photographs but from certain angles the look was a bit jarring. Perhaps it is a bit too articulated in combination with the sheen and colour I chose but it put me in mind of something my Granny might have knitted. I saw on their website that Ropes of Scale has just introduced a new range of cable-laid polyester rope which seem to have a more muted look. They have also introduced a 2.4mm size which is very close to my requirement. I have speculatively ordered some in a different colour and I am currently awaiting delivery. I hope I will not be too disappointed however I will wait to see how it looks before I decide if I will replace the original as it will be quite an onerous task with all of the upper deck beams now in place. I installed the deck stoppers, six per side. These were fashioned out of 0.5mm rope with ringbolts to attach to the deck. They came out a bit scruffier looking than I intended.
 

 

 
I constructed a number of tiny stanchions so I could fasten the ends of the rope handrails. These were made out of a section of 1.0 mm diameter thin walled brass tube with an eyebolt epoxied into the one end. I used a 2mm outside diameter photoetch eyebolt with the leg cut off to form the bottom flange. I tried a detail where the end of the handrail rope is fastened into a ringbolt on the deck. I had seen this detail in a drawing somewhere but once in place I decided I didn't like it and it clashed with the anchor cable so I reverted to just tying off the handrail at the top.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I installed the stove onto the pre-installed base. I later discovered that there was a slight clash between rotisserie attachment and one of the deck beams which required that the beam be relocated forward a couple of millimetres. This beam relocation was necessary anyway as it also impinged on an opening in the forecastle.
 

 

 

 

 
I located all of the columns and then proceeded with the installation of the pumps. This is not such an easy task as the chain pump brakes thread their way through the columns and there are bearings located on each column.
 

 
To form the pump brakes I used 0.8mm diameter brass rod and some brass strip for the joints. I drilled holes and rounded the ends of these. The joints were then soldered to the brass rod. The bearings that are attached to the columns to take the pump brake shafts were carved out of styrene. Getting the correct height and alignment was quite an intricate exercise and one of the sections ended up woefully off line. Funnily enough, by a trick of perspective, it is only apparent when viewing from a certain angle. This detail will not be visible once the quarterdeck has been installed so I decided to just live with it. All of the brasswork was then painted black.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I had a slight dilemma installing the last stanchion. The AOTSD drawings are a bit vague but seem to indicate some sort of bent stanchion. I eventually took inspiration from Beef Wellington's solution shown in his excellent  Jason build. I have also seen similar details in contemporary models so there is some precedent.
 

 

 

 

 
Now that I have struggled through the completion of the gun deck I have to start covering it all up.
 

 

 
 

Very neat work at this scale, kudos!!!    Just as an FYI for the future, if the guns are rigged in the "stored" position, they would not be run out, but rather would be completely inboard with the muzzle secured up against the inside of the bulwark.  The downside is that from a viewing standpoint it would not look nearly as impressive as having the muzzles coming through the gun ports like you (and most of the rest of us) show them.       
Allan

Time for the cannons. My previous build was a whaling ship so this will be my first cannon experience. I am probably more confident in the harpoon department. I started off building a carriage from the kit. I noticed that the side bracket was thinner than the dimensions shown in the AOTSD drawings so I decided to 3D print the carriages. I was considering going the same route with the barrels but the turned brass versions included in the kit were a good quality and dimensionally accurate. The only thing I did to these was to change the diameter of the trunnion from 1.5mm to 2mm. This necessitated drilling out all of the barrels but it is closer to the size indicated in the AOTSD drawings.

 

 
I mocked up a couple of guns and noticed that the sat a little bit too low in the gunport. I attempted to remedy this by swapping out the front wheels with ones of a slightly larger diameter. I figured that they will not be too visible once all of the rigging is in place.
 

 
I added the myriad of bolts and tackle loops using the heads of nails, nails without heads, eyebolts and brass rod. These were then all painted black which was a tedious activity. I have subsequently sourced some thin blackened annealed steel wire which could have saved me some build time. I had initially thought to use pins to fasten the capsquare which I would then trim and file down to simulate bolts but I eventually broke down and added a capsquare eyebolt out of brass wire and a capsquare joint bolt out of a photoetch eyebolt.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I thought that the kit supplied blocks were quite poor so I started looking around for replacements. I examined 3D printing, cast metal and CNC milled varieties. I think that the CNC milled ones are the winner. Looking at the AOTSD drawings I went for a 3.5mm block which seemed about right. I initially ordered these from Vanguard models but the pesky post office conspired against me and the delivery was held up for a couple of months so I ordered some others from HiS Models. The Vanguard blocks eventually arrived and look quite good so I may use them for the upper deck cannons. I also sourced blackened photoetch hooks from HiS Models. These are 3mm long and much improved from the 5mm hooks included in the kit. The below photo shows a 3mm hook alongside a 2mm block resting on my fingertip. If you drop either of those on the floor there is a good chance you are not getting them back.
 

 

 

 
It was with some trepidation that I prepared the post concerning the cannon rigging as I have noticed that nothing jolts the aggrieved pedant from their fitful slumber than historically contentious cannon rigging. I decided to model my cannon rigging on the photographs of examples on restored ships. I am aware that a lot of this is done to prevent lawsuits served by lumbering tourists tripping over ropes but I like the neat look with the port and starboard tackles frapped and the breech ropes lashed over the top of the barrel but without the relieving tackle to prevent deck clutter. The model is destined for a shelf in the house and not a museum so I can make such wilful decisions.
 

 

 
Seeing as I had to complete the frapping on 56 tackles I decided to build a basic serving machine to help me speed up the task and achieve a more uniform result. I designed and built the device using CAD and the 3D printer. Not the most elegant of solutions but it worked after a fashion although the design of the machine requires a lot of tweaking. It was meant to be adjustable with the upper brass tube able to slide back and forth but I should have made the entire support structure move to reduce the amount of play at the clip end.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I purchased around five different types of rope for the breeching but none of them were satisfactory. I eventually found the Ropes of Scale website from a reference on Dunnock's Diana build log and their ropes are a lot better than any of the others that I procured. I noticed that most of the breech ropes that I have seen in photographs are quite substantial. I experimented with different diameters starting with 1.2mm diameter which was too big. I then tried 1mm diameter which didn't look too bad but I discovered that the 0.8mm diameter rope corresponded to the actual dimension used so that had to be the winner.
 

 

 

 
I rigged the cannon by fixing the breeching rope to the cannon before fixing it to the model. The rings at the end of the breeching are also added at this stage. I just did a simple seizing as I couldn't get a satisfactory knot.  I then drilled and glued a pin in the rear wheel of the carriage which was inserted into a pre-drilled hole on the deck. I thought this would give me a more secure fixing as I imagined I would eventually knock some of the barrels while working on the rest of the ship and it would be very difficult to recover a cannon that had become loose under one of the upper decks. The rigging was then attached to eyebolts that I had previously installed in the bulwarks. It took a while but once I got a rhythm going the installation went fairly quickly so I carried on and ended up rigging all of the cannons and not just the visible ones.
 



 

 

 


 


I still have not mastered the art of getting the ropes to hang naturally but I am hoping that will come with practice. I am also not too happy with the finish on the 3D printed carriages and will be looking to experiment with more of a timber/3D printed hybrid when it comes to the cannons located on the upper deck.
 

 
 
 

Before ploughing on with the cannons I decided to tackle the gratings at the bow. The kit parts look like they contain too much solid and not enough void while the AOTSD drawings indicate a very complicated structure with a lot of subtle curves and non orthogonal shaped beams. I felt that a simplified version of the AOTSD structure would be best. Expecting some dramatic asymmetry I used some heavy paper stock to cut out a template that fit the available space. I then drew the beam pattern onto this which allowed me to determine the exact dimensions for the main cross pieces. These were notched and joined together with the carlings and I then added the ledges.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I started off building the seats of ease out of notched timber planks to form the case but I was struggling to keep these square and level. I decided to cut my losses and just drilled a hole through a length of square walnut section. Much simpler and neater looking. They were then finished off with a seat and painted black.
 

 

 

 

 
The ledges next to the bow were quite tricky to place but once everything was glued together I was able to remove the whole section which facilitated painting and finishing. After that was completed it snapped back into place with a satisfying click. I did a last check to see if the long drop through the seats of ease avoided the rails below and then glued it in place.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
While I was in the neighbourhood of the bow I constructed the anchor lining. The kit piece is just one section of laser cut walnut. I was sceptical that they would make this out of a single piece of timber in real life so I used some artistic licence and laminated horizontal timber planks on top of verticals and finished with an edge strip. These were then installed on the anchor lining bolster. I Just have to fix the top joint. Subsequent to building this I saw a contemporary model with a similar arrangement of horizontal planks.
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Item 59 – where are you?


 
Item 59 is the bar supports for the open area and they are not included in the kit, you have to manufacture 8 of them.  I scanned the picture of the piece, traced it in a drawing program and scaled it for an 8 mm height.  The parts list identifies the part as a 5 x 8 mm piece but when I measured the tracing it was smaller; it was too delicate to make for my skills so I stretched the tracing to match the part list dimension. 

These are the dimensions I came up with (all dimensions are in mm):  

 
I printed out several copies of the part and glued a strip to walnut scrap from the paddle wheel brace parts.  Three of the four pieces turned out so I made a bunch more using up the scrap. 
 


 
I cut the closing bars to the size identified in the parts list which is precisely the distance for the bar supports.  To make the bars cross like the picture you need to cut a longer piece (90 mm).  I also made a little piece to cover the hole from the tab for the forward structure.


 

 
I attached the paddle wheel supports.  I started to work on the floor of the second deck.
 




 

I made the carlings the same way I did on the capstan project. I first milled the notches in the beams and cleaned them up with a small chisel. I cut the tenons in the ends of the carlings with a razor saw to fit into the notches. The plans show these angling toward the center which I was able to do with the carlings between the aft and middle beams. The notices were milled at the 87 degree angle of the carlings so the ends fit correctly in them. The plans show the carlings between the middle and fore beam are also angled and go under the standards, but the standards are notched to fit down over the beams. I could either have removed some of the bottom of the standards to fit over the top of the carlings but I decided to just fit them so they didn't go under the standards. I also added two boards along the insides of the standards on the three beams that the stove base plate sits on, since it does extend all the way to the aft beam. The legs on each end of the stove line up nicely with the middle and fore beams. Here is everything so far dry fit.
 

 
Next I will clean up all these pieces, round the appropriate edges, and add the details to the cross piece. Then I can start putting them all together.

When picking a kit, one can see if there are builds of that kit already on site.  I have an interest in the Oseberg Viking ship, and read two or three builds on the recent Billings kit.  I could see every step they builders took, and noted their comments on what they liked or didn't like ... and the solutions they used in each situation.  Selected pictures were screen-captured and printed for reference.  That gave me a good feel for how I could go about it as a future project - so I ordered the kit to be sure I'll have it when the time comes.  And then I'll revisit those builds again, since I'm in the middle of a build myself.
 
  I've learned a LOT from other builds (not all complete, but many are far along the way) on my present build, and have made alterations based on the gain of knowledge.  Let me tell you, doing something for yourself is a great teacher - and many things can be corrected or otherwise 'done over' as you go.  Ultimately, a builder does a project for self-satisfaction regardless of skill level or detail level in the work.  It will definitely be a LOT better than any "20 dollar toy" you can find.

The oar port lid has been installed.  The hinge is flattened copper wire and the knuckle is brass rod.  My metal skills are insufficient to build a functional hinge this tiny, so the lid is glued in place.  Although the plan shows two fenders, I only had room for one.  I must have made a measurement error at the beginning of the build and I refuse to start over!  The outer face of the fender is carved with a scraper and bolted to the hull.  I had to make five scraper shapes for the various fittings seen in the picture.  The steps were made in one long strip which was cut to length and the side curves were made with a U-chisel and files.  Aft of the gunport are the holes for the pins which will attach to the channel.

Looking good, but can I suggest the frames don't need to be anything like so heavy - check out the frames on surviving ships of this period.
 

 
 

 
The first is a Viking knarr (Skuldelev 1) , the second is the Bremen cog (with through-beams for strength).
 
The timbers of your frames can be considerably lighter - both thinner and narrower - and still produce a strong sturdy hull. The deck-beams, and particularly the through-beams,  provide rigidity to the frames and help the hull keep its shape.
 
And here's a modern reproduction to show just how light a construction you can get away with, particularly when you build in clinker.
 

 
And it's even better in a model, which is not subjected to the same kinds of forces a full-size vessel has to contend with.
 
Best wishes,
 
Steven

Before gluing the frames in place, I will make the deck and through beams and glue them to the frames.  I redrew the frames with futtocks, deck  beams, and through beams as appropriate.  
 
I am looking forward to building the same ship a couple times at the same time.  It will be an exercise of 'consistency' between the two models.  Besides, I feel like I have a bit of 'catching up' to do with some of the rest of you!     I want to make sure my technique is good before tackling a larger project.  
 

Okay, Here is the photo.  

Here are the current frames dry fitted.  Some of the frames have notches that ended up too wide and need to be remade.  The first two frames are glued in place; the stem post being to the right.  
 
Louie da fly was a great help in answering questions about making frames etc out of solid stock or out of laminated stock or plywood.  
 

After researching how to build keels and frames and asking experienced model shipwright questions, I decided to start over.  That being said, I am using my first attempt as a learning exercise before building frames by constituent parts and to build them one frame at a time.  This will also allow practice making the planks, strakes, and wales before attempting the start over.  I created a jig to hold the model as the frames are put into place.  The photo shows the jig and the stem and stern posts and the keel in place.
 

Thank you for the kind words, Richard and Steven! 🙂
 
Continuing on with the quarter gallery construction with the mouldings and cap rail. I opted to go for two mouldings on the roof instead of the three as depicted in the plans and instructions. Reason being, the space between them was too narrow for the brass scrollwork, so I decided to omit the middle strip. I will try to carve out some larger scroll pieces that fit in the larger space.
 
After gluing the cap rail, I realized that the middle piece was a slightly different tone of color than the side pieces. I think it will be less noticeable when all the carvings are in place. So I decided to leave it as-is (and I was also afraid I may damage the other delicate areas surrounding the piece if I tried to remove it). 
 
Below are some photos of where I have reached:



 


Lastly, I placed a 1/16in thick strip as a sample deck plank, and it seems like I do not need the extra plank below the bottom white plank. Any comments would be appreciated!

Now I am thinking to finally start working on the carvings. I have no idea how they will go as it is my first time trying it. If my attempts fail I will use the supplied pieces.

I added notches to the front of the bitt pins for the cross piece and to the back for the beam they are attached to. I also cut down the width of the cross piece to the correct size. I then cut notches into the standards for the three beams they sit on.
 

 
I will be making the carlings next.
 

Thank you Albert, Gary, and bdgiantman2, and for those who hit the like button. A chicken might be too big but a small squab might fit. 😀
 
I have been working on the riding bitt pieces for the display. I glued a piece of pear to the boxwood cross piece and ran them through the thickness sander to even up the tops and bottoms. I then used the disk sander to shape the tops of the bitt pins and the mill to shape the curved section. I used the largest end mill bit I had and made two cuts of equal depth on each side then a third cut in the middle a little deeper. I used a large round file to remove the ridges and some sand paper to even out the curve. Here is the set up I used in the mill.
 

 
And the result with the other riding bitt pieces.
 

 
Then this afternoon the post woman showed up with three nice pieces of Swiss pear that I had ordered from the Lumberyard for Model Shipwrights.
 

 
I had to cut the three beams for the display from one of the pieces. I used the bandsaw with much better success this time by not using the fence but following a straight line by hand. I then ran them through the thickness sander to get them to the right thickness and even up the tops and bottoms. I was then able to run them through the table saw to even up the sides and get them to the right width and length. So here you can get an idea of how the display is going to look. The base and stove will sit on the forward two beams between the standards.
 

 
Next up is notching everything to fit together and making the carlings to go between the beams.

It's been about 3 weeks since I've done an update. A combination of things has slowed everything down, ranging from some extra efforts needed with work to training for the Cherry Blossom 10 mile race that was last weekend. As I age, the miles take longer and cost more. Plus, for some reason making the chain plates has been something of a blocker for me. 
 
As I mentioned in previous posts, there are three sizes of deadeyes attached to the chain plates for all three masts. The largest deadeyes use 1/16" wide brass strip which is wide enough to drill for the nails that are representing the bolts. They are 6 inches at scale and that seems about right for the size of the deadeyes. I'm using 1/32" wide brass (so 3" at scale) for the smallest of the deadeyes (these are for the backstays in the upper works). They seem right but I don't have either a drill press or other obvious means of cutting holes in the strip to push the nails through. I've worked out a method for dealing with those (more anon). There seemed to be no intermediate size of brass strip available for the lower backstays. However, @MrBlueJacket from sent me a small test strip of 1/16 by 1/64 Britannia strip. Even though it's the same width as the brass, it just looks different and somehow right for the intermediate size chain plates. Once my order arrives I'll start on those.
 

 
The pic above shows the chainplates on the port mizzen. The four large ones are in place, and the three smallest. What I wound up doing was stropping the deadeyes with some 34 gauge steel wire and then bending the 1/32 brass strip through the strop, covering the area where I wound the strop with the bend of the brass (if that makes sense). Then I put bent the brass, installed it in the channels, and cut it off where I wanted the top "bolt" (i.e. the nail) to sit. I used a bit of CA glue to attach the bottom of the plate to the hull. I then took a 5 mm strip of blackened 1/32" brass that represented the preventer and glued it to the hull about 1 mm from the bottom of the plate, and in line with the direction that the plate was facing. I could then drill two small holes, one between the plate and one below the "preventer", and glue nails into the holes. It's not perfect, but I think it works.
 
Where I am now with the plates is that I've done all of the shroud plates on the port side of the ship and the first three of the upper backstays. There are 6 lower backstay plates and another 6 of the upper backstay plates, but having worked out how to make them all, I feel more confident about moving forward. I expect to display the starboard side, so this was the "practice" side, and I've learned some good lessons for when I move to the other side of the ship. Below is a (terrible) photo of where she stands now. I couldn't get the light right, the point is that the chainplates are coming along, if slowly.
 

 
I've been doing some other steps as well. I've been adding the mast hoops to the fore mast, and will move to the main once that is done. I've also started fabricating the mast tops, that will be coming soon. I added the ladder from the main to forecastle, which I am oddly, and perhaps strangely proud. The ladder is a bit chunky (that's what happens when you don't use the fittings, I suppose), but what I'm proud of you can see in the photo below. I made the railing out of chain and 4 jackstay eyebolts. I don't know if the real ship had chain railings, but somehow I thought that they might, so I took some of the rigging chain and attached it to blackened eyebolts. As an aside, you can see the lowest of the mast hoops in the photo as well (all the paintings show the masts as painted white (including the hoops) so they are going on prior to painting.
 

 
As always, thanks for looking in!
 
Regards,
George K