Chuck

Solid hull projects are fantastic. There are reasons why you dont see any new kits being developed this way. First it is very expensive. The machinery alone and tooling required for each new kit is problematic. There are few people with that lost knowledge and expertise as well. In addition...the restriction on the size you can make a hull. This is why those old kits were so tiny. They were all so much smaller than folks like to build these days and the subjects were smaller vessels. Any frigates and such were restricted to 1/8" scale. You would need a huge machine and a whole lot of wood to make them larger. In addition, new builders just hate taking the time to properly shape the solid hulls. Using templates and chisels etc. They dont have the patience for it. So they are not very popular. In this world of instant gratification, they want a kit to be as close to a lego set as possible. Just assemble and do a mediocre job of fairing and got on with it. Unfortunately this is the case. Its a shame because there is a lot to be learned when you are presented with more "hand-work" on a kit. Like those old MS yellow box kits. There was so much "scratch building" required that by todays standards those kits would hardly be called kits. They just dont sell. It is much more cost effective to use plywood or MDF for a POB project. Yes the typical MFG should at least double the amount of bulkheads. But either way...as you said, it is very easy to fill the spaces between the bulkheads. That is if you are willing to take the time to fair the hull properly. It will take a lot of effort and elbow grease. Chuck

Looking great Mike...

Lovely results

Outstanding!!!

Excellent rope. And on your first try. You will never buy another package of rope again. The model is looking very good indeed. I am enjoying your progress.

Its looking great....Dont over think it. That can be paralyzing to a project. Just go slow and steady and it will all work out in the end. Chuck

Outstanding!!! Such a beautiful display.

Nope.. not at all

Only have brown mara 120 at the moment. But I could have laid this up tighter. sorry its upside down but that the only way the calipers would stay upright. I think the thread you are using is not actually the correct dia…for mara 120. Because I didnt even lay this up that tightly. The calipers are barely open at all. but either way….you are making beautiful rope. Glad you are enjoying the process.

It does look beautiful...If you need something thinner try and experiment with other threads. I dont know what to tell you about the size issue but it sure is fine looking rope that you are making.

Head to toe size comparison with the Winnie… Greg you are a madman to build her at 1/4” scale. You have my utmost respect at that size. I couldnt even imagine it.

Yes it will be sold just like the Winnie in Chapter sets. There are far too many parts to make a complete kit all at once. The framing that you see below (once its completed) will comprise the first two chapters. Although its a lot of parts still and I may break that into three chapter sets. Then others will follow. Keep in mind that because of its size and complexity this will not be a cheap project. Its almost the exact same size as the Vanguard Indy kit. She is a big girl. But this has so many more parts so you can get an idea of where this project may end up cost-wise. Figure in the range of "2 large". I wont know how much until its all done so its impossible for me to put a number on it....but just figure what it costs for the Indy and add a little bit more. I say this because I dont want anyone to start this project and be surprised by the cost as it continues. I am quite the terrible salesperson...but I am just being up front with you guys. This isnt being made in China so its going to be expensive to manufacture. Its not a project that can be rushed. So buying chapter sets over time is the best way to go.

Yes and I hand worked it to clean it up a bit and sharpen some details. But these are 3D printed. Chuck

They will do the trick. You guys will be so surprised at so small these are even for 3/8" scale. The model is a big girl however at nearly the same length as the Winnie. Just a wee bit shorter. But very narrow at the stern which gives it that beautiful elegant shape.

Thank You... With the framing almost completed I was able to finalize all of the master carvings. I did the final prep work for casting. They will be sent off to be cast in a light tan like the Winnie carvings. I hope they can get some sets to me soon. Here is a look at the quarter badges. They are quite small actually. I will let my casting guys alter these because there are some areas that wont cast well. For example under arms of those tiny reclining figures. Those open areas will need to filled in order to cast these.

Thank you guys. Chuck

Looking good Rusty…Slow and steady. I am sure you havent built headrails like these before…let me know if you have any questions.

And if you would indulge me...I forgot that I should test the fit of the transom carvings as well. There were so many angles to hopefully get correct when developing them. Doing the transom as one piece was the only way to do it for Speedwell as the carvings are so intertwined. I was really nervous how everything would fit as it was very expensive to develop these. But I am relieved to say that the master fits perfectly. That is such a relief. I was so stressed about that. The curved transom as developed sits perfectly in place. No bending needed. The shape above the windows and their position also match really well.

Nobody is getting rich selling this stuff unfortunately...but its a living!!! Beats sitting behind a desk though....I prefer sitting in front of a workbench, LOL. So the quarter pieces are not that easy Greg!!! Ok yes they are... Basically there are two really not so hard things you must do to this piece before you glue it on the model. First....sand a bevel onto the inboard side. Not the outboard side with the laser etched reference lines.....the inboard side. If you bevel the outboard side side the piece will be ruined. Then step 2.....on the outboard side you have to bevel a few parts. The two tabs that sit against the last aft cant frame. And then the aft side of the piece. As shown below. Also note the reference marks for your fixed block and where the other aft cant frames will fall along the bottom edge. Then glue it on...thats it. The two tabs are flush with the outboard face of the cant frames. This means you will need to fair the outboard side of the hull before you add these. It wont work if you dont. At least not as well. Here are photos of both quarter pieces on the model. They have been faired on the outboard side as well although not completely. I will wait for those last few aft cant frames. And I couldnt resist just test fitting the transom piece. We wont need this for a while but if my design skills and concept didnt work for the hull framing and this didnt fit....then it would be firewood. But lucky me it fit just perfectly. The hull has ended up the perfect width and shape. I can finish up the framing with confidence.

No but if you add so many of a completed model where many views are almost identical it is like spamming. Think quality over quantity. And no under construction photos.

Thats not a very accurate method either. It flattens and widens each strand. The single best way in my opinion is to use a calipers. That is is you dont have access to a digital laboratory microscope which I do. Set the calipers first...if you are trying to make .018 rope, then set you caliper first and lock it. Most digital calipers have a screw to lock it so it reads .018. Then use a magnifier so you can get up close and see what going on. Hold the rope you made loosely so you are not stretching it. Try and place it in the calipers. Its that simple. If you use an optivisor and get close you can see very clearly if it slips between the space and just touches the sides. Without compressing. If it does so....you have .018 rope. If you see room on either side of the rope then its too small. If it doesnt slide between the calipers without any resistance and you can see the rope thickness compress....then its too big.

Really nice work on the rudder. It all looks as it should. Nice and neat.

Next up is the Wing Transom.... This is pretty straight forward. Especially after shaping all of those frames. This is laser cut but still requires some shaping because of the many angles. I removed the char from the top and bottom first before adding the provided templates. You can see the untouched wing transom in the photo as well. The top template is glued on with rubber cement. The top has the notches in it for the stern frames and quarter piece. Then the bottom template.. pretty easy so far. Then use a sanding stick to sand the bevels on each side using the templates for a guide. This will create the desired parallelogram shape. Then the wing transom is glued into position. Make sure your hull is vertical on the build board. Especially the stern post. Then use your squares to line it up with the build board plan. Make sure the height is the same port and starboard. Use titebond here so you have more open time to level this and get it all squared up. Then it is time to add the last "top jig". But before doing so, I must mention that the forked bracket will be removed that holds the stern post vertical. I know...its important. But seriously we wont be needing it any more. We will add the last top jig first and then remove the bracket immediately after. This way you can still use that string to check that this last jig is aligned and centered. The last jig is added just like the previous two others. Make sure its aligned down the center. Make sure its the same height port and starboard. You can use a string like before and a square. Once satisfied and taped in position along the puzzle piece connection, you can remove that forked bracket as shown in the photo below. This last top jig actually comes with two rectangular holes on top. There are two keys that slide into them which will now hold the stern post perfectly vertical. They are "T" shaped. Dont glue the keys in position. They are snug tight fit. Just push them into the holes. See how they holds the stern post vertical? You will want to remove the keys if you decide to turn the hull upside down to fair the hull later. It wont sit flat with the keys in position. But we only need to use them for a short time. Then the quarter pieces are added. Here is the one on the starboard side completed. I will detail how its shaped when I do the other side. I know this may look a bit odd to some folks but its all going to workout in the end. There are some laser etched bevel lines etc on these pieces and I will explain how they need to be handled and in what order. But basically, this quarter piece sits on the end of the wing transom (a notch is there so no quess-work) and the top is angled inboard to match the sloping sides of the hull. It sits against the edge of the "top jig" The forward end is glued to the aft face of the last cant frame. Note how it extends over the wing transom a bit further aft by about 5/64". That is correct on done on purpose. It will be important later when we do the square tuck. Having this all done and laser cut in one piece makes it a lot easier. The framing as you can see in the photo would have been tricky. Just read through Greg's log to see how tricky it is. I was initially going to just leave this part solid but then I decided to have a little fun. I made it look like the framing was actually there even though we are planking from the wales up anyway. We will add the remaining cant frames (really only half frames) soon. They fill in the bottom below this quarter piece. When faired and planked nobody will ever know. The hull framing is getting there!!! Nearly complete. And a snapshot of the working plan....just for clarification.

Thats it in a nutshell. You need to give it a tighter lay. Much more twists....but you are just guessing on the diameter. That is not how you should measure. Measure with a calipers....and much much tighter.... It looks great though

Only one more to go!!!