GrantGoodale

Tonight, I was hypothesizing about how I might go about laying out the new upper bulwark frieze.  My initial plan was to simply scrape away the existing shells, fleur-de-lis, and knotted rope twists - as well as the raised sheer strakes - and just build it up from scratch.  I think that is ultimately what I am going to do.  What was fascinating to me, though, was the realization of just how directly Heller pulled inspiration from the color rendering of the ship.
 

 
If you really study the pressing for the kit upper bulwarks, it becomes apparent that the placement and alternating arrangement of the shells and fleur-de-lis is a direct takeoff from the drawing.  The knotted rope twist things are simplified representations of the lattice-like grid, into which the shells and fleur-de-lis are placed.  It's all simplified, but it is there.  It's just not as profuse and continuous as depicted in the color draft of the ship.
 
I still think that the way to go is to scrape it away and build it up from scratch.  Perhaps I can preserve sections of the sheer strakes, but only in so far as they flesh out the raised, horizontal elements of the frieze; there will necessarily be breaks in these strakes where the grid drops down to intersect between levels of sheer strakes.
 
Inevitably, though, after scraping away portions of the raised sheer strakes, the shells, the fleur-de-lis and the rope twists - no matter how carefully and completely it's done - their ghost image will remain in the plastic.  My hope is that the overlay of the new frieze will completely minimize whatever trace clues remain.  I think that part of the answer, here, is to use the existing placement of elements to layout the new frieze, so that new more detailed elements take the place of the old.

Did a bit more filing of the bulkheads and frames...gluing and clamping... now waiting...

Welcome to my official first build log and first ship build. After careful consideration, and thanks to many of you, I have decided on the Batelina as my first ship build. I was told this would be a good choice to get me going, so, I picked up this kit from Rick at Modeller's Workshop. He also hooked me up with Zoran from MarisStella, both are really nice guy's, going out of there way for the hobby.
 
Now to the kit itself, I noticed how nice a quality the wood was, properly bundled, no warping whatsoever. The laser cut plywood parts are equally nice. The step by step manual looks complete and readable, good pictures and a full scale plan with all the views needed.
 
One more reason I picked this kit was the two build logs I found on this forum. Both have super detailed build pictures and extra info not found in the kit.
 
Here is the one from Zoran
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11779-news-and-info-from-marisstella-ship-model-kits/?p=420044
 
And this one is from donrobinson
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/14153-batelina-by-donrobinson-finished-marisstella-110/?p=438912
 
 
I'm not sure that I can add much to what has been done. This will simply show how a first timer can do at this kit. All that I can hope is for mine to turn out half as nice.
 
Here are some pictures after a few nights. Slow but steady....
 









Here you can see my home made Keel Clamp. Rudimentary but it works...

Update....
 
aft mast, the two load beams (connected to mast) and the two stand alone load beams, flag post....
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 

 
mast with most of the fastening points for rigg and blocks and belaying pins, the beams are still unpainted
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

Running rigging now completed! 
New pics of finished rigging........

Other than tying the last rat line clove hitch, I can't think of a more satisfying point of celebration in a build.
This has been the most challenging rigging I've ever done, mostly due to the lack of clear plan sheets.
Thanks again to Bill Short for providing a lot of daylight with the material he passed on to me.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments and likes! Still contemplating a rebuild of the hull. Meanwhile...
 
Cleaned up some of the castings and laser cut pieces,and built a couple of smaller items.

Skylight Windows.
 
I think I have made hard work of making these and many of you will have improvements to suggest. If you do feel free to advise.
 
One of the key elements I wanted to achieve was to set the protective brass bars within the frame and have them separated from (not sitting directly on) the window acetate. This reflects the design on the original. This had to be done while minimising the thickness of the window frames so that it looks to scale. The window are 1.1 x .980 inch and I wanted them less than .100 inch thick
 
Because I needed to make a number of matching frames I made a simple jig. This was cut from one of my wife's chopping boards. (To clarify I have one wife and she has a number of boards I find one is more than ample)!!!! As yet she has not discovered the theft.
 
I find nylon chopping boards make ideal jigs particularly if they are to be used while gluing components. The glue does not adhere to them and the glued and dried components are easily removed.
 

 
The first layer of the frame is built from .040 inch thick mahogany. Slots of .025 inch wide and deep were accurately cut into the mahogany to take the brass bars which are cut from .024 inch wire. The side strips of the frame was then cut - .100 inch wide.
 

 
The fist (top layer) of the window was then assembled in the jig from 7 separate pieces and glued with PVA. 
 


 
The second layer of the window is constructed from .018 inch thick by .100 inch wide mahogany. The strips for the top and bottom of the window were glued in place (PVA) to reinforce the 1st  layer. The brass bars were positioned and fixed with CA glue. 
 



 
Then the bars were closed in place by edge strips in the .018 inch mahogany.
 

 
The final layer forms the recess for the acetate and is .040 x .040 inch in section.
 

 
Having cut all the components and with a bit of practice assembly time for each window is less than 30 minutes.
 


 
The acetate was cut to fit - at this stage it still has its protective covering.
 

 
Many more lights still to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have decided to use the kit 20mm guns as with a little cleaning up they do not look to bad(I cant handle the PE ones to be honest )   but what I am doing is adding the PE shields as they do add a bit extra detail,  after painting I am sure they will look fine.
 
Well here is one complete -
 
OC.

FOREMAST MAIN STAY AND PREVENTER STAY
 
I served .045 rope for the main and .035 rope for the preventer stays.
 
I then measured them for length, and clamped in a closed heart.  I purchased 7mm closed hearts from Chuck and Syren. Great product again. After some assembly, I gave them a coat of cherry stain and finished with tung oil.
 
I was able to position my portable vice with a spring clamp close enough to insert the heart for lashing. The heavy served stay ropes were pretty stiff, so the whipping was a bit challenging. I weaved a section of .018 tan rope for the lanyard.
 
Once done, I threaded the lanyard and tied it off on the upper lashing of the heart. It turned out pretty good.

Sliding drawer completed, sliders on and top drawer lined with felt. Top on bench sanded down with two coats of Linseed oil. This felt I bought from Michael's is made from recycled plastic pop bottles so its a bit of a nuisance to cut, price was right though.There was a few war wounds on the top but hey that's character!
 
I will line my side drawers with felt and inside the cavity as well. More to come ... Jeff
 

 

 

 
 

Further progress..
next job is adding some contour blocks and sand everything ready to start with planking.

Another photos
 

 

A bit more work folks - after checking the instructions and checking the frets, I realized that the rear Barbette did not have any funnels included in the kit, so after doing a bit of searching in my wood kit box, I came across some box section wood that needed to be brought down in scale thicness almost by half, I did this with sanding sticks and a fine file then I cut two lengths similar to the forward ones.
After sticking to the tape I panited the edges slightly darker and the faces the same shade as the barbette,  when dry I fitted them in place.
 
A few Photos folks.

Bit more work this evening not much to write but Funnels attached to the forward barbette, and a couple of coats of top coat to seal them in place.
 
Just one pic folks.
 
OC.

Thank you very much Carl and Michael,
 
and all the "likes"...
 
Carl,
the etched stair sides and the steps are only folded and you`re right, afterwards (after priming and painting) glue into place with a drop of CA
 
Michael,
right, I agree, although I have highest respect for the skills of those professional builders work in much earlier days
 
Nils
 
 
Here is a little update .......
on the making of the aft handrail portion in place where the railing performs the rounded bend. I tried several times two flat bend the mahagony handrail by wetting and soaking, with and without heat, etc, very frustrating and without success. Then came the idea not to flat-bend over the 1,5 mm wide side, but to flat-bend and laminate 3 single 0,5 mm thick strips with CA and with help of a little jig, Sigh of relief, it worked out well. Only have to mount and carefully sand down to the required flatness
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Thanks for the "likes", the comments, and the discussion.  
 
Things have been running, shall we say, dead dog slow here lately in the shipyard.  I'm putting the hours in but seems like nothing gets finished.     Probably normal then at this  stage.
 
The center line furniture aft of the main mast is done except for the pantry which is on hold.  No point in blocking access at this point.  Also the two crew ladderways forward of the main mast are done.  The pic shows the capstan but it's only set into place at this point so it doesn't get misplaced or damaged.  The crossbeam for the pinrail forward of the main mast has  been safely tucked away so it doesn't get damaged.  I'm moving forward on the deck to the remaining hatchways.   After the planking the rest of the deck and doing the ceiling, I'll install what I have ready and make the pumps (do over!!!) and the fireplaces.
 
Part of the bog that's slowing things down is taking measurements for the planking and transferring them to the drawings I'm making for the laser.  
 
I do find myself being happier with my output as I think I'm getting better at joinery and even more patient with fitting things than I was before.  After a couple of "by your leave, sir" hassles, I found I need to measure 3 times before transferring any measurement to the wood.  A bit of confidence here and there goes a long ways.  
 
Here's the pic and as always, comments, critiques, and discussion are welcome.
 

Did a fairly simple tree nail pattern using Early American Minwax putty. Opinions?....still a little too dark?
 
Tried some bamboo (draw plating is no fun) on a piece of drilled wood and after you sanded it down it hardly showed at all.
 
Might sand this and wipe on some Tru Oil to see what this looks like.
 
I've kinda committed to the tree nailing now, so wish me luck..
 
BTW...I will likely replace the plank with the gap.
 
Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 185 – Iron Mast Bands 2
 
In addition to the shrunk-on hoops that reinforced the masts, there were bands for other purposes.  On the lower masts these included bands with eyebolts to secure rigging, bands to secure the spencer gaffs and bands that supported the lower yard trusses.  These other bands were generally clamped on the mast rather than heat shrunk.  I experimented with two different methods for making these.  The first picture shows a clamp band bent around the mast ( actually the mandrel) to be soldered in one piece.
 

 
The next picture shows a band made like the reinforcing bands to which parts will be soldered to form the clamp joint and in this case the bracket for the yard truss.
 

 
This band is made from thicker material.   The tabs on the truss bracket in the lower part of the picture were bent around some band stock to size the gap.  The bracket was then hammered square before soldering.   In the next picture the truss band has been soldered together and a wire bolt added at the clamp joint.
 

 
In the picture the band is pushed on to the mandrel for finish filing and polishing.  The next picture shows the special bands on the foremast.  These are the three at the top.
 

 
At the top is the truss band – blackened.  More on that below.  Below that is the band that supports the fore spencer gaff.  The eyebolt on the aft side of this is not visible in the picture.  Next is the futtock band with six eyebolts for the lower futtocks and one on the aft face to secure a block for another line, I believe one of the main staysail's downhaul.  The bands below these are the normal reinforcing bands.  The joints that show on these will be covered by the forward chafing batten.  The next picture is another view.
 

 
In this picture the horizontal eye for the spencer gaff is visible in the band below the truss.  The pattern of the eyebolts on the futtock band and the chafing batten may be seen in the drawing.
 
The last picture shows the fore mast with all its iron bands installed.
 

 
Some bands are blackened on this mast and others not.  The plan going forward is to defer all blackening until all other work on the mast is complete – hounds, bibbs, battens, cap tenon, yard sling eyebolt, etc.  Blackening just before installing the mast will reduce handling of the blackened parts and the resultant rubbing off of the black.  It will also help keep the wood surface of the mast clean of black.  These were problems on the first main mast.  A replacement is in progress.
 
 
 
Ed

A little progress.

More 'learning experiences' thank you Mike! I actually managed to sand a hole clear thru the $#@-ng hull trying to get that nasty bump out! I got it out alright.. now I have a nifty patch on the starboard aft quarter. Fixed! Decided to take a break from planking as the paint set will be here tomorrow and a bottle of varnish is included. I want to varnish the cap rails and everything above them but not the deck so I started to make the launchway. That's when I discovered that my plastic miter box cut a different angle every time. A quick trip to the hobby shop and $20 later and I have a new aluminum miter box and saw. My old saw of course would not work in the new box. Oh well, you can't have too many tools, my dining room table, the piano behind it and one kitchen chair cannot be found for them even though I have stopped to clean up several times. I hope this forum is not too boring, it's more of just a log for me anyway with pictures and a place to keep it where I can find it. Thanks for looking and a special thanks for the encouragement, suggestions and replies. Oh, here are two examples of my homemade stain. The deck will be the same as the cockpit sole and the cap rails. It's still a cockpit on a boat but now it's the flight deck on an airplane and dykes are now diagonal cutters! Ah to be politically correct sometimes vacuums....

Update :
 
Build log part 50....
 
I`ve taken down all the boatsdeck, the dry fitting and vents, etc, in order to prepare for the permanent mounting of the aft boatsdeck half. But first there must be some fitting out to the promenade-deck-after-half portion like....
- fitting the mahogany handrail to the long railing
- mounting the 6 anchors on each side for the aft mast shrouds and backstays (they will go upwards through the boats deck in twelve places whilst the boats deck is glued on to the brass framework and the deckhousings below. Also the holes for the vent tubes and the aft mast that go through the deck have to be brought in alignment. Trust that all will be quite a tricky moment, hope it will go well and like it was intended.
- All the figurines on the aft half of the promenade deck must also be placed before the boatsdeck goes on (otherwise no access later !)
 
The little red tape markings on the outside frame are for showing where to put on the clamps when glueing the deck down...
 
Nils
 

 
Mahagony handrail all around. Red little tape markers, where to put on the clamps
 
 

 
 

 
10 of the 20 benches (scale 1:144) go on to the total promenade deck
 
 

 
 

 
the blackened anchors go through the boatsdeck when it is on and are for fastening the aft mast`s buckle screws of the shrouds and backstays
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

The wales
 
Gluing the wales was routine.  Here are some pictures.
          Temporary shutdown   The shipyard will be closed for the winter on account that it is located in an unheated garage.   Don't have much of a vocation for freezing my tush.  The shutdown will give me time to explore other projects I've been postponing for awhile, but in no way is an indication that I'm abandoning the Syren.  I'll be back.   To be continued ...

Hi Everyone,
 
It's been a while (again). I'm sorry for that, but I started my new study at the univerity of Rotterdam Mainport, so I couldn't do a lot. But unfortunatly I had to stop this study. The reason is personal. But this gave me some time to do some moddeling again.
 
And I started just where we left off last time. 
 
I wasn't quit saticfied about the result of the 1st planking. So I decided to add a second planking. Besides that I finished the construction of the ship, underdeks as well as upperdeks. And here are finally some pictures again;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, Model Ship World!  My name is Marc and I hail from NYC.  While I am new to the site, I am not a novice to the hobby.  Owing to the early growth of my two children, and the development of my career in woodworking, it has been some time since I built a ship model.  About sixteen years, in fact!
 
Most of my hobby time, in the evenings, has been devoted to a series of woodworking and furniture projects, which fall under the umbrella of something I refer to as the Heirloom Furniture Project - a legacy project for my kids to inherit sometime far down the road, I hope!  Despite my interest in that, and my role as an active and involved Dad, I never stopped reading and acquiring books about my particular interest in ships and ship modeling: the 17th C. ship-of-the-line, and particularly French naval architecture of that period.
 
My recent discovery of Pinterest has really accelerated my understanding of the unique design differences in the stern architecture of the French first and second rates.  For anyone who's curious, my Pinterest page titled French Vaisseaus can be found under my member name Tafferal.  The imagery I have been able to compile, there, has made it possible for me to begin designing a build that I have long been grappling with.  Here's the link:
 
https://www.pinterest.com/tafferal/french-vaisseaus/
 
This will not be a fully-framed scratch build, but rather an extensive modification of Heller's Soleil Royal.  I plan to test out my "Theory of the Ship," in plastic, so that I might re-create the ship, in wood, with all the scratch-built bells and whistles, when I eventually retire.  This will be my second build of the Heller kit.
 
The first was begun at the age of eight; very cautiously, I proceeded to the main deck level where I stopped the build, understandably, until I had developed enough skill to competently complete the upper works.  As a teenager, I completed everything up to the masting and rigging.  After college, I finally finished the model and had a very nice case made to house it.  I have been transporting it from apartment to apartment for the past twenty years.
 
It is, in my opinion, a very carefully fit and assembled model (no injection marks, gaps or flash lines) that is impeccably painted.  It is not, however, a realistic depiction of the ship, or of a sailing ship, in general.  That notwithstanding, I, like many others before me have become completely captivated by the conjectural splendor of what the actual vessel must have been like.
 
The short-comings of the Heller kit have been thoroughly documented on a number of forums.  I'm assuming that most who come to read this thread are already well acquainted with the inherent omissions and short-comings of the plastic kit.  Unlike so many others, though, I believe that there lies within the kit, great potential to build an accurate scale model of a French first-rate ship from the 1660s.
 
Now, it bears mentioning that I have read the forum moderator's post on overly ambitious build threads,  and I can certainly appreciate and agree with the thinking, there.  This is going to be an ambitious build!  I expect it to go on for quite a number of years.  This is not, however, a passing fancy.  I am a devotee of incremental progress:  whatever little can be accomplished, most evenings of the week, gradually adds up to a thing taking shape.
 
My main obstacle, until now, had been the difficulty in fully visualizing what I believe the original intent of Jean Berain's well known drafts of the SR's stern and quarter galleries to be.
 


 
I will expound on my theory of the ship in a moment, however, I'd like to say a word or two about why this project has legs for me.
 
The kit I am using for this build is one of the early pressings from the 70's, by Heller.  It, initially, belonged to my next door neighbor who was a kind of mentor to me when I was young.  Mark Hansen was an outstanding modeler of all kinds of military craft, but he especially loved the sailing ships.  He gave me a pretty solid foundation on what was and was not appropriate to incorporate on a sailing ship model.
 
It was his SR that I first spied on the top shelf of his hobby room.  I was instantly captivated, and from that point forward perennially obsessed with this single vessel, in a way that I still don't fully comprehend.  Mark helped me build my first SR.  He intended to tackle the kit in his retirement, but he never made it.  Cancer took him in his late 50s.  I have never known a person to be more generous with his time, and his memory remains dear.  I'm dedicating this build to him, as it is quite possible I would never have found fulfillment in the trades, if not for his influence.
 
MY THEORY OF THE SHIP
 
Soleil Royal's keel was laid down at Brest shipyards in 1666, as part of Minister to the Navy, Colbert's, aggressive reconstruction and restructuring of Louis XIV's navy.  She was launched in 1668, and completed a year later in 1669.  Her length on deck is listed as 164.5 antiquated French pieds, with a breadth of 44.5 FP.  Using a conversion factor of 1.066, this translates to 175 modern, English feet by 47' 5" in breadth, at the main beam.  She displaced 2,400 tons, and her draft measured 23.5 FP, or 25 EF.
 
As a side note, I must mention that I am in the process of establishing a point person at the Musee de la Marine, so that I might ask specific questions about my source material.  So far, I have not received any reply to my inquiries.  For the moment, though, I'm assuming that these L.O.D. dimensions I am giving are, indeed, the L.O.D., and not some other specific measurement.  This will, for the sake of scholarship and my future build in wood, be clarified.  However, for the purpose of this build, it doesn't really matter;  the kit hull halves are what they are, and in fact, the kit L.O.D. pretty exactly corresponds with 175 EF.  In the end, though, the requirements of this particular build will necessitate a certain degree of fudgery to create the impression I am after.  There will be small additions and subtractions - all to be explained in the next few posts.
 
Her designer and builder was Laurent Hubac, and her initial armament is listed as 120 guns.  As a shipwright, Monsieur Hubac was noted for building warships that were considerably wider than those of his contemporaries.  This owed to his belief that the added width improved the handling characteristics of these large ships.  Soleil Royal was, indeed, said to he a good sailing ship. 
 
One year earlier, another ship by M. Hubac was launched at Brest, and initially christened Le Royal Duc.  With the establishment of the French rating system, in 1671, the ship was re-named La Reyne.  Her listed dimensions are as follows:  L.O.D., 155 FP, by 42 FP on the main beam.  Using the above metric, this translates to a L.O.D. of 165' 3" in English feet and a maximum beam of a hair under 44' 9".  She displaced 2,000 tons and her draft is listed as 22' 10" FP, or 24' 4" EF.  Her initial armament was listed as 104 guns.
 
The two ships are of a similar size, displacement and rating.  However, unlike SR, there exist two highly detailed Van De Velde portraits of La Reyne, showing her from the starboard stern quarter, as well as, the port bow, broadside.  It is immediately apparent that the design of La Reyne's stern and quarter galleries is markedly different from SR.  Also, as is to be expected, the arrangement of her gunports is significantly different from what is known about SR, and the arrangement of her guns.
 


 
The value of these Van De Velde portraits, for me, has to do with the wealth of hull detail that is apparent (and glaringly omitted in the Heller, and vis-a-vis, the incomplete Tanneron model upon which it is directly based), as well as the ship's sheer line and presence on the water.  In pen and wash, one can see a significantly more stout vessel, in La Reyne, with a notably lower sheer line, as compared to Tanneron's interpretation of Berain's designs for SR.
 
As a side note, there is a Belgian on another site who has outlined his build plans for converting Heller's SR into La Reyne of 1671.  What he is proposing is absolutely attainable, as the VDV drawings are remarkably clear, especially when combined with another period drawing of La Reyne's stern that shows the ornament for what it is - if not, remotely, to scale.  Like me, this gentleman sees the potential in Heller's kit for a sound scale model, although his build will necessitate re-configuring the armament.  As am I, he is still in the research stage, but I will be following his build and posting links, as appropriate.
 
I want to say, from the outset, that the question of SR's armament - whether 120 guns upon launching, or 104 at the time of her demise - is not one that I plan to resolve with this build.  I will be using the moulded kit hull halves and upper bulwarks.  I will be making extensive modifications to those parts, and completely scratch-building the entire stern and beakhead bulkhead.  Heller's kit, like Tanneron's model, is pierced for 110 guns.  I suppose I could omit the two lower bow chase ports, but that would only bring me down to 108.  Leaving them out would be a largely arbitrary decision without any clear basis in fact.  In the end, my ship will carry 110 guns.
 
There are just certain constraints of working with the pre-established port locations of the plastic hull that I am not willing to overcome.  This is the first and most glaring.  I am recycling what I can of the kit because the essential lines of the hull and tumblehome are fairly representative of period practice, and of course, it is an enormous time saver to avoid the complete scratch-building of a hull.
 
Ultimately, what I am aiming to achieve, is what I believe to be the correct interpretation of Berain's stern and quarter galleries, as well as the decorative frieze of the upper bulwarks.  In the course of the build, I will also add correct period detail - correctly scaled - to the hull, head, decks and guns, while completely re-masting and rigging the ship, according to the guidance of Lees and Anderson.
 
A few gunports, give or take, will not detract from the impression of a ship that sits slightly lower in the water, on a notably broader beam, with noticeably lower sheer;  in other words, a ship that won't capsize from the recoil of her own broadside.  My ship model will bear a resemblance to the Heller kit, but I hope to far exceed it in ornamental magnificence and correct period detail.
 
What I'm going for is essentially this:
 

 
This is a work from a twentieth century artist, I believe from the 1950's, who must have been similarly infatuated with SR.  I believe that he correctly depicts the configuration of SR's stern.  Although, I must say that even if it were the case that she were almost completely painted blue above the lower, main wales - I will not be depicting her, as such.  More on that later.
 
In future posts, I will outline what exactly my theory of the ship entails, as well as, my supporting documentary evidence.  I will then discuss exactly what I intend to do with the Heller kit, in order to bring all of this about, and then I will share with you the drawings that I have been working on, that will serve as the basis of my modification plan.  I've been corresponding with Dan Pariser quite a bit lately, and he has prevailed upon me that I would be much better served digitizing my hand-drawn images so that I could more easily develop them in Corel Draw, for example.  He is right, and I will.  After not hearing from me for such a long time, I have to credit Dan for being so generous with his knowledge and resources.  He and Mark Hansen are two of a kind!
 
So, I must first create a scale "field" - as opposed to a line and body plan (not necessary because I'm not framing) - upon which I can layer all of the new detail.  There will be some learning there, naturally, but I will share what I've arrived at, so far, in future posts.
 
Thank you all for taking an interest in this thread and I look forward to hearing whatever you might have to say on the subject.  I have also read the moderator's post on forum etiquette, when commenting on a thread or post;  I am not nearly as brittle as the plastic I will be working with, so please don't labor too much in your replies.  Just tell me what's on your mind.
 
All the best,
 
Marc

I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted.  Amazing how life gets in the way.  I was finally able to get some work done this weekend.  
 
There is an iron knee connecting the transom with the inside of the hull.  This is not a simple "L" shape.  It needs to twist inferiorly to clear the undersurface of the quarterdeck half-beam. I made the knee out of castello and then painted it black.  There is nothing unusual in the construction of the quarterdeck.  There are no stanchions.  The only carlings are related to the capstan step and the deck fenestrations.  I find it easier to begin aft and work forward (ie narrow to wide) for better access.  There are hanging and lodging knees for each beam except there is no hanging knee at beam 14 as this would have interfered with the quarter light.
 
The framing above the sternpost appears to be at a different angle than the rest of the deck in the last picture. This is an optical illusion.  The plans show the bulkhead on the fore side of the beam, not underneath.  Because this is a laminated structure I glued a thin shim on top so it would look neater.