Chuck

Wonderful job on the model and a much deserved Gold medal. Congrats!!! What a fun way to end a build log!!! Chuck

She looks absolutely beautiful....you did an amazing job on the kit. I hope you really had fun with it. Its not a really long project and that is what makes it fun to build.

The last thing I did before leaving was to prepare for planking. This entailed the usual batten placement. I cant stress enough that this is probably one of the most important procedures for any ship model project. The batten represents the run of the wales and if there are errors and dips and waves with your placement it will impact countless aspects of your project later. Not just the run of your planking but also your placement and angle of the quarter galleries, your curve of the sheer, your placement and shape of the headrails. So take your time with this. The top of the batten strip represents the BOTTOM of the wales. I followed the laser etched reference lines on the bulkheads but this is just a start. Some of these will be "off" for various reasons. So once you have the batten in position you should eyeball it from as many different angles as possible to correct any issues. You want a nice smooth run. Note where the batten intersect the stem at the bow and its proximity and location to the scarf joint on the stem. There is a gentle "s" curve to the run of the wales at the bow and this can be tricky for folks who never noticed it before. The batten is nailed temporarily in position. At the stern, it could get tricky also. Note where the top of the batten rests on the lower counter. For those of you who may build this model, the top of the batten falls right in the middle of stern frame "D" as if you ran a line directly down the outside edge. As soon as I get back I will start planking the lower counter. The lower counter planking will all be laser cut and pre shaped. There will be six strakes of 1/4" planking. Next stop is the beach with where I will sit with a drink in my hand ...maybe even with one of those fancy little umbrellas. See you when I get back. Oh and the online store for Syren is now officially closed until I get back.

Bob That looks great!!! You made it look easy. You are home fee now. The rest of the project is pretty straight forward. I hope you are having fun with it. Chuck

Revisiting the lantern... As I prepare to leave for a short vacation, I decided to wait until I get back to start the planking. I want to be fresh and rested before I start that. But in the meanwhile, I have been working with Mike on some fittings and have revisited the lantern. I wanted to try and make an all boxwood version for the larger Winnie. So I redesigned some pieces. This would address some end-grain issues and also account for slightly thicker windows etc. Not that much thicker however. I wanted to avoid laserboard all together to eliminate the need to paint any pieces because unless you are an expert painter the lantern could look sloppy. To avoid this I began by thicknessing some boxwood sheets for laser cutting down to .015". I was worried they would be too fragile and the windows wood break along the end grain. But to my surprise, if they are handled carefully they hold up quite well. The prototype is shown below. The inside of the lantern will of course be painted red with a white candle in the middle. I didnt even insert the acetate windows. I am just proving out the new design changes to see if everything fits. I havent put the hardware on the door yet (hinges and handle). I will do that when I build another and rewrite the instructions. But it came out rather well. I am quite happy with it but it is an advanced little mini-kit. You must go slow and sand everything very carefully to ensure a tight fit of the parts while keeping it clean and neat. This prototype took me about 5 hours to assemble. I havent drilled the vent holes in the top yet either. These small details will be added on the next one I make. Wipe on poly was applied as the finish. My guess is the next one which I will actually use on my model will take longer as I add the other details and paint the interior etc. No photoetch or laserboard.....all boxwood this time around!!! The pictures are a bit misleading because this is still a very tiny and complex fitting to build. Chuck

Yes it is a soft wood. You need to be careful and treat it like you would basswood. Although it leaves a real sharp edge and doesnt get fuzzy. The end grain also doesnt darken much when you apply a finish. You just need to be careful and cut your nails. Chuck

Chris....its a wonderful model. I wish you the best of luck. Congrats on getting out of the gate running. I am sure this will be a very popular kit and we will soon see many of them being built on MSW. Chuck

simply beautiful work....well done. Great display.

Wonderful work. That carving looks very good indeed.

Looking really good!!!

Thanks Jim....It was a pleasure and loads of fun. I dont know how I missed your post sorry for the delay in responding. I am cutting new barge kits right now.....then longboat masting packages....then a bunch of serving machines and ropewalks.... After those are all done I will start another batch of longboat kits. I just have resock everything else first. Chuck

Just to let you folks know!!!! I have just laser cut a bunch more of these carving blanks and they are ready for purchase. So if anyone hasnt yet joined this group and would like to try out some carving as an introduction......click the link below. Carving Blanks click here!!!

Really nice work......what a charming diorama!!!

Grant Welcome yo the group......I am so happy you are having fun with the project. Nicely done joints. And yes, Its so important to keep your area clean and your hands too. It keeps the cedar looking vlean and crisp. Enjoy the kit!!

Wonderful work. This should look lovely in Cherry.

Hard to say really. Would be easier to answer if you posted a picture. Chuck

Oh jeez I really dont remember. Model Expo provided a pair of pedestals and I just used them. I cant remember what size they were. I will have plenty of blocks and rope though. Chuck

It looks very good so far. No need to rush it. It will get finished eventually. I will see you saturday. I am bringing my barge to display.....

Beautifully done. It looks fantastic unrigged. Maybe add a small jolly boat or cutter with the display which would be very interesting on the unrigged version. I do hope you enjoyed building her!!! I thought she was a delight to build.

That looks fantastic....nicely done.

Thanks for saying... For those who asked, here is a non blurry photo of the figurehead. It was getting dirty do to handling with dirty fingers. So I cleaned it up and applied a coat of sanding sealer. It looks really good in person but is surprisingly hard to photograph in focus. The color matches the stem quite well and its still hard to believe this was carved by machine. I didnt use wipe on poly because I dont want it to darken too much. The stem where it sits will be painted black eventually. Compare with the contemporary model. You can see how crude it was carved, I dare say that Jack did an excellent job improving its appearance. Actually the knee is painted blue and black below it. I am not sure if I will do the same. I may just go with black. Note the headrails. They are not carved. Instead there are friezes painted on them. That will be an interesting detail to replicate. Chuck

Thank you very much!!! And happy Easter!!! I didnt feel like actually working today so I finished the starter package. The last items to be completed were the bollard timbers. Just like most projects, there is at least one item that will prove very tricky and challenging. The bollard timbers arent too bad though. They are similar in difficulty to making those "bolsters" at the bow of the longboat. Every model has at least one or two complex parts to shape. Its not unusual but most kits usually drop the ball on how these items are presented. I believe its just a matter of breaking the process down into many steps ahead of time so mentally it becomes a lot easier. Each individual step is not very difficult and once completed, you have shaped a very complex piece of modeling. The bollard timbers at the bow are laser cut as blanks. You need to make a pair of these that match as mirror images. In the center, a chock spans the gap between them. Here are the blanks which are 1/4" thick. Before you begin, it is important to fair the inboard side of the hull. The bulwarks and stem need to be reduced to 1/8" thick. You dont have to fair the entire hull inboard....just up towards the bow. Its easier to shape the bollards after fairing and having the bulwarks thinned down. Then place the bollard timber in position so the inside edge sits flush with the rabbet as shown. But make sure you sand all of the laser char off first. This will help keep the piece clean as you shape it. In fact your hands should be washed and super clean once you get the char off. You will be handling these pieces a lot and they will get dirty otherwise. This piece will stand proud of the bulwark framing so that the exterior planking will be level/flush with it. Therefore, you must create a bevel on the front and back sides. Once placed in position, use a 3/64" thick plank that has been beveled (just like you would when planking) and position it along the bollard. Then draw a line down the edge which will determine the bevel needed. This needs to be done inboard as well. Note the bollard timber on the port side is already completed. I will attempt to make a mating pair. There is a very detailed drawing on the plans for these parts. The photo below shows the bevel completed on both sides.....note the finished example which I keep handy so I can make a matching pair. Next, file the round cut-out that forms the top using a round needle file, sandpaper etc. You can use the shape created by the laser on the other two sides to guide you. Then draw a line just below the where you filed. Do this on all four sides. You will be filing a groove all around the piece. I actually used a #11 blade to make a stop-cut on the line. Then I chiseled a bit off towards the line on the top side. I then rounded it off so it looks like the plan. This is what it looks like completed. But you will also notice that I cut a little skewed square from a 1/64" thick strip. Its very thin but still not thin enough. This should be glued on top of the bollard timber to "simulate" a nice carved detail. This detail would be much harder to carve and file into the top so I cheated and glued a separate piece on top. After I glued in position, I sanded it even thinner to about half its original thickness. This is what it looks like....below...but we are not done yet!!! The circular slot for the bowsprit still need to be filed on an angle to match the stem. You can position the bollard on the model and draw a line to follow when you start filing. This is shown below. Once that is completed the bollard timbers are finished. They can be glued on the model and then the cross chock positioned between them. Sand the char off before you do this. You will also need to sand the same angle into the bottom of the chock so the circular opening will accommodate the bowsprit. The photo shows this all done and the chock glued into position. It was sanded flush with the bollard timbers inboard and out. Remember that I am making this model out of Yellow Cedar. You can see how well it holds an edge with these tricky timbers. No finish has been applied yet. But the softness of the cedar made it very enjoyable and easy to sand, file and carve.

Just beautiful!!! 😃

Thank you very much. It will be a while yet. I dont want to release the starter package until I am well ahead of folks. Not until at least the planking is completed. I did however finalize the starter package parts and I will probably start laser cuttinf them next month. I just want to start stockpiling them for the eventual release. But yes it will be a first come first serve sort of thing.

Thats because you need to upload bigger pictures.... Seriously though, very nice work. Making some great progress there.