Cathead

Well done, Cathead! The colors are great and the display looks very good.

Great finish on the final. I like the "longboat on the way"

Excellent job CH, she looks great! I too like the color scheme.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

I've been experimenting with sail-making (special thanks to samueljr, who PMed me to offer advice). I tried three materials: sail cloth, basic index-card cardstock, and nice bond paper (conveniently left over from Mrs. Cathead's graduate thesis many years ago). I made a pattern from tracing paper, and used that to make equivalent sails from all these materials.
 
For all three materials, I followed several similar steps:
Cut out core sail shape from intended material. Cut, score, & fold paper strips to serve as edge reinforcements (even for the cloth sail, as I was quickly convinced I couldn't sew hems or seams remotely to scale for this model). Make corner rope loops by clamping a folded-over length of rigging line in a clothespin, twisting the two ends until they tightened up into the right-size loop, securing the twist with another clothespin, then applying CA to the twist. When dry, I cut most of the tail end off and had a nice stable loop with enough tail to hold it within the sail's hem. Glue rope loops into pre-cut paper strips, along the creased center line. Spread wood glue thinly along the interior of each paper strip, then fold over the sail and clamp tight with a series of clothespins. I also tested coloration, using artist's pastels that have long been a staple of my weathering toolkit for models. Both paper and cloth take pastels nicely without need for adhesives. In the photo below, you see three completed tests; all-cardstock (top), cloth with cardstock hems (lower right), and bond paper with cardstock hems (lower left).
 

 
I overcolored the cloth sail to get a sense of when to stop, and tested two different lighter colorations on the paper sails. I had already been convinced I didn't want to use cloth sails, the materials didn't play well together, the sail was too floppy, and the weave too coarse. I also tested a bond paper sail with bond paper hem, but found that the material was too soft to hold well as a hem; it crumpled with the moisture of the glue and didn't stiffen the sail well. The cardstock hems worked great, really stiffening the sail and allowing me to impart a nice curve to it without needing to treat the whole sail.
 
I liked the bond paper sail best, the finer quality of the paper made a nice sail, while the cardstock hem didn't stand out as different while being much stiffer and easier to work with. I carefully traced stitching onto all of these with a ruler and pencil to check how detail would stand out. I learned that it's best not to do the pencil work until you're otherwise done, as it can smudge as you adjust the pastels or otherwise handle the sail. In every way I liked the sail at lower left best (bond paper with cardstock hem and very light weathering/coloration); here's a closer look:
 

 
Satisfied with this attempt, I decided to see how it looked on the model. Here it is, fully rigged but not permanently. Most lines are still loose, held in tension by a series of clamps hanging from the lines (hidden behind the model).
 

 
What do you all think? Now's the time for me to make changes or try a different approach, before I rig the mailsail permanently and move on to the stay sail and jib (note that there's still a temporary line run to the masthead from the bowsprit traveler, to help me shape the jib properly even though that line won't be there on the final model).

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

Bravo!  Looks great.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

Wonderful job cathead. It looks like it is gently heeling to port on a smooth broad reach.
 
Best, Ian

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

The longboat is finished! Work really slowed down as summer kicked in, and I struggled some with getting the standing rigging right, but it's done. I'm not happy with the quality of the deadeyes supplied in the kit; the holes are drilled in really uneven patterns, but I chose the best ones and made do. I had difficulty getting the tiny ironwork right, too, as you can likely see in the photo below, but like the rest of the model, it passes the "more than a foot away" test. Especially since the only folks who will likely ever see it will know less about sailing than I do!
 

 
I made four oars, but left out the anchor and windlass handles, because I decided I wanted the hull to look cleaner and less cluttered. The sails add a lot of life to the model, and I decided that was enough. I built a simple base, mounting the boat on thin wire inserted into holes drilled into the keel and base. This allowed me to bend the wire slightly, heeling the boat over onto her port side a bit, as she would be with the sails set this way. I think it adds some life to the display. Here's a photo gallery of the completed longboat.
 






 
I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. It wouldn't win any awards at a show, for sure, but it's pleasing to the eye. The sails and the new color scheme make it feel unique, and gave me a feeling of ownership over a very common kit.
 
Many thanks to all of you who followed along, offered advice and encouragement, and politely overlooked my shortcomings. And thanks to Chuck for such an interesting little kit.

After countless hours I finally finished the treenails on both decks. I look at my draw plate in a whole new light now. Having the stanchions out of the way worked well.
 

 
Now begins the process of installing the stanchions and planking them. I made templates at every bulkhead to ensure the proper curves were maintained. The fore deck had a 5/32 plank added first to bring it to the same level as the aft deck. Then a 1/16 square piece was attached the entire length of the ship. I'm now in the process of making and installing the stanchions. This will be followed with one more 1/32 plank below the main rail.
 

Your right, my son is really into Lego and Minecraft but I can't wait to get him involved with AutoCAD. Just so few still interested in model kits anymore. Our Hobbytown closed down about a year ago - not enough business to keep them going. I have to admit that I probably would have gone in a different direction if I had had 3D printing at his age but I'm determined to get my son involved with woodworking and metalworking.

That is gorgeous.

More pictures as the planking continues. This is a single planked kit, and the planks are 4mm X 1.5mm walnut. As I get closer to the keel, the planks need to be bent against the 4mm width. In three days I've managed 3 planks on each side.
 

 
 

 
 
To take a rest from plank bending, I jumped to deck beams at the head of the ship.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Now back to the plank bending. I lack 15 planks on each side.

Saturday, July 2nd, 2016  
Second phase of the oars construction: the blades have already been shaped by a specific processing, using, for roughing, the belt sander BS/E from Proxxon fixed on a vise in a inverted position and, for finishing, a normal sandpaper. Then, when the 30+ blades were over, I went further to stain the wood as its natural color, as you can see in the picture 02, is too light.  
01 20160629_172404.jpg

 
02 20160629_172351.jpg

 
Finally, I painted a) the blades (work still in progress, four coats of paint are needed !!) with the same acrylic yellow used to paint the shields and the handle of the oar, painted with the same dark red used for shields too.
 
03 20160703_171942.jpg

 
04 20160703_171746.jpg

 
Their appearance seem now to much new !! Just left the shipyard . . Thinking to another ageing process.
 
 To next time, Jack.
 

I've been diligently working while continuing to dig for information.  I've looked at what seems to be a zillion plans, paintings, sketches, etc. online of French frigates...   this darned ship's galleries don't match any of them.  There's a couple of other odd things I noticed but since the NMM plans have them, I have to assume that the guys in the yard taking the lines, etc. knew what they were doing and drew what they saw in front of them..  My eyes are killing me from staring at the computer and the NMM plans...  Aspirin helps. 
 
I've reworked the roof to match the lines (and this time allowed for tolerances and my own stupidty) and then stained it black.  I momentarily thought about using ebony but 1) didn't have the proper size stock and 2) didn't want to deal with the mess.   I've reworked the rail/decorations.  These appear to be more decorative than an actual railing so I'm cutting the pieces as individuals and will fit them as I go.  
 
In the pics, one set of decorations has been cut and etched on 1/32" (<1mm) Euro Boxwood.  The other still needs cutting but I need to thickness another chunk of wood for that as i wasted a bit getting the settings right on the cutter.  There will be a black covering board for the roof top with a piece of boxwood trim around it.  
 
Well.... here goes....  wish me luck as I dive off the deep end.  I hope there's water in the pool... metaphorically speaking.
 

So pretty it gives me the shivers.

So pretty it gives me the shivers.

So pretty it gives me the shivers.