IgorSky

What an awesome build!  Congrats on a really superb job!!

Ok, now that is one of the more interesting builds. Great patience and great job!!
 
-Brian

Thank you, Glen!

Just now getting to look at some of your work.  Absolutely fantastic!  There's so much I can learn from your build logs.  I've got some studying to do!!

This project is now complete...

Fantastic work, Glen!
My congrats!

By the way, I did not show what the new kit does on the plastic conductor (;C) of our invention.
We have protected this our invention with a patent.
This allows you to assemble the hull very easily, quickly and very-very accurately!
And you get the most accurate contours of hull.

Fantastic work, Glen!
My congrats!

Fantastic work, Glen!
My congrats!

Below are the side brackets, the fore and hind axletrees, and axles.  The axles will be cut to their final length later.  For the side brackets, I made them with 4 “steps” instead of 5 like the plans show (and pretty much every other carriage I’ve seen).  I need a lower profile for the brackets.  The normal profile would hide too much of the bottle and potentially obscure the front half of the ship.  The fore axletree will sit vertically in the final assembly and the hind will lay flat.

For the “lug nuts” on the wheels, I used brass nails that are 3/8” long with a 3/32” diameter head, which I ground down to a flatter surface.  They are supposed to sit flush in the wheel, but I do not have a flat base counter-sinker.  So I used an end mill router bit to countersink each of the 80 holes.  

Since finishing the Aurora a few weeks ago, I found myself stressing out about all the yardwork and home fix-up things needing attention.  I figured the only way out of that trap was to get started on another ship project.    

So I took a trip to Total Wine looking for cheap alcohol in unique bottles.  You get some interesting reactions from store clerks when they see you grabbing bottles off the shelf, turning them sideways, and just staring at them.  
   
After an hour of perusing the aisles, a bottle of Cruzan rum with a longer neck caught my eye (1st pic below).  When I turned it sideways, it sort of looked like a cannon barrel to me.  Or maybe I had too many of the numerous free samples they were giving out around the store.
   
Regardless, I got this idea about a display with a warship in the bottle and the bottle sitting in a cannon carriage.  Hmmmmm.  So I bought the $20 bottle of Cruzan.  That’s over my usual budget for this stuff, but I do like rum drinks so it won’t go to waste like the rotgut I bought for the Aurora.  
 
I did some searching to see if I could find where someone else had done a similar SIB.  I found several cannon carriage wine bottle holders for sale but nothing with a ship in the bottle.  So maybe I’ve got something that’s a bit unique here, which would be pretty cool.

Next was deciding what warship to build.  I went thru Chapelle’s book on US naval history as well as the Naval History and Heritage Command website and decided on the USS Independence - the 1814 version and not the later Razee (new term I learned in my research).  I liked the name of the ship, its history, and the fact that it was the first US Navy ship-of-the-line.  Plus, a ship armed with 90 cannons would be a new challenge for me compared to my previous builds of commercial ships (Morgan and Aurora).  The 2nd pic shows the basic concept I’ve got in mind.
 

And my rendition of the 1814 Independence is complete!  I wish I was better at photography and knew how to take better pictures thru glass like this, but these shots will have to do.
 
Huge, massive thanks to @Keith Black, @mtaylor, @Landlubber Mike, @BANYAN, @gjdale, @GrandpaPhil, @Ian_Grant, @John Fox III, @ccoyle, @Joe100, @Snug Harbor Johnny, @Roger Pellett, @CiscoH, @michael mott, @SUBaron, @AJohnson, @bdgiantman2, @Prowler901 for following the whole build or peeking in along the way.  Your encouragement, ideas, and suggestions made the final result so much better than I could have have possibly done on my own.      

Many thanks, GrandpaPhil!

Thank you, GrandpaPhil!

Many thanks, GrandpaPhil!

Thank you, GrandpaPhil!

Congratulations!  Very nicely done!

Congratulations!  Nicely done!

And some final photos...

And some final photos...

And made "the waves" on the surface of "the sea"

And some final photos...

And made "the waves" on the surface of "the sea"