Chuck

Thats perfect. Thats also the way everyone should approach building. These arent plastic models and you will always need to adjust and tweak. You did that perfectly. Good practice for when you tackle the headrails.

Just a small update.... We finished the 3 vertical head timbers earlier. But now that the cathead support is completed, you can add the fourth "half" head timber. I rarely if ever see this on any kit which is strange. You can see the half head timber on the contemporary model below. Its the aft most head timber. It sits between the main headrail and middle rail against the hull. This (like all of the head rail parts) is a part that needs careful tweaking. It is laser cut for you but left just a bit long. The top edge should be angled on a curve to sit flush with the underside if the main headrail. The bottom needs the same treatment but also must sit against the hull neatly. Here are the laser cut pieces. I will supply two sets just for practice purposes. Shape the pieces on sheet "R" first to fit and make sure this half timber is spaced equally from its "full partner" just forward of it. All of the head timbers are equl distance apart so its easy enough to measure. Once you have a good fit, you can add the cover board (also laser cut) and the frieze. Then it can be glued into position. Keep tweaking it ever so slightly for a really neat fit. Remember to match its angle and placement on the other side. Darn it!!! Yes you have two of these to do. Also note that I had removed the fancy molding where this half head timber will sit against the hull. Then I added it back after it was glued into position. I dont know if this made it easier but I thought I would let you know. We are in the home stretch now!!!!! Finally. The only things remaining on the model to do are - The head gratings which will be next. -The False Rail -The seats -Lastly the bumpkins Thats it really.... Here is a wonderful photo of the Minerva showing the head gratings and seats and bumpkin. Also the false rail. Note how the head gratings are curved or have a roundup. This is yet another feature that is never shown on commercial kits no matter how well done they are. We will be emulating this. No one-piece laser cut head gratings that never fit for this project. We will be assembling them just like you see it below. It will be so much fun! Our head grating will have slight differences but I wanted to show you whats next using these insane photos. Study them. The plan we will be using is below as well. And a shot of another contemporary model showing the head gratings as well. The gratings here are closer to what we will be doing. Although from a larger ship. Interestingly they are painted white on the underside....we wont be doing that. But a nice view none the less. Note the poop shoot!!!

Really nice holly in the USA can be found that is really really white. But eventually it will mellow and possibly darken a bit. But I have pieces that are years old and still remarkable bright white. As you can see. Its hard to find and expensive. This is a 1 7/8" thick by 5" wide and 15.5" long brick of very nice holly. It cost me around $50 years ago.

The issue is its not easy to find boards that clean and clear. If you look at that wood on many sites it can get very grainy. So unless you can go in person and pick out some nice clear and color correct boards you may end up tossing a lot of it. I buy my woods in bulk and you have no idea how much of it turns out to be not useable for our purposes. It just ends up as firewood. If you arent in the business of making thousands of parts commercially your best bet is to just stick to the classics and buy a little at a time. Just stockpile it over time so its not a big one time expense. Hold out for the best holly too. Nice white pieces. I know Joe at Modelers sawmill just picked up a batch of really nice holly. It was a small batch but when you see nice stuff you should grab it. Chuck

I would have probably built a model of the model....because source info is scarce on her. The model in the NMM of course. I would have found a draft of a similar ship and used those lines but then I would try and replicate the model. It would be tough with it being in the UK however. But if it was in the Rogers Collection I would do it for certain.

A great looking model Toni. Makes we want to build her too.

Looking great Gary....you will be at the fun stuff before you know it!!!!

Absolutely lovely!!! I cant wait to see more.

Quite nice!!!

And another

Steve, You must make a scraper in the usual way for the winnie model. There are many topics on the forum that discuss this in detail. I use thin brass sheet or a straight razor blade. i also like to use a portion of hacksaw blade because its much more rigid. You must file or cut the reverse profile into the edge . Everyone has their own best/comfortable way of doing this. Here is how one Winnie builder did his. Do a search on the entire forum for Molding Scrapers or Making Scrapers

Looking good…keep going!!! But do t rush through it. A good planking set up and plan will make or break a model’s overall appearance.

That looks great Rusty. Missed you at the workshop. I just got back to New Jersey. But its fantastic to see you back at the model. Get well soon and dont push it. That bug could get nasty quickly.

No but no heat and bend. Take a sheet and trace and cut the bend.

Thank You....Yes there will be a cherry version as always.

here is the step by step for making the cathead supports. These pieces are among the most difficult to make for any ship model. This method may seem a bit unorthodox....but bear with me here and I will explain as best I can. Ask a lot of questions!!! The laser cut parts will get you only so far...about 80% of the way. You will need to shape these and tweak them to get a really good fit. But its leaps and bounds better than anything you will find on a kit as long as you take your time and dont rush through it. Read the instructions several times. Step one...A laser cut template from 1/32" thick wood is provided. Temporarily glue this in position with just a few drops of glue or rubber cement. Mark the side where you will have to remove the molding so your support will fit between them. Cut the molding free with some sharp chisels. NOTE....cut inside your lines and make the gaps smaller...dont make them too large. You can always make them larger later as you test fit each piece. The template is longer than you will need on both ends so you can cut it to fit your model so it fits. Look at it from many angles to see if the curve is graceful and it runs well into the middle rail where it connects. There should be a pleasing continuity from the template onto the middle rail. Step 2...assemble the cathead support....NOTE, the entire span will be made of two lengths. This portion of the support is just half and is directly under the cathead. There are several layers...the bottom is the longest. It is 1/4" thick cedar. On top of this glue two more shorter layers of 1/4" thick cedar. Then to finish the assembly...glue on the a final piece which is 5/32" thick boxwood. It is super important to make sure you use the boxwood layer as the top layer. This layer will show and its the tip or outboard end of the cathead support. Four layers in total. I said it was gonna get weird. But just stick with me here. There are templates in paper for this piece. See them in the photo. Step 3....Glue the template onto the piece so it all fits nicely. There is plenty of room. I glued it on the outside only. Use this as a guide to shape this piece. Remove the heavy stuff with a sharp blade until you get close to the template and sand the rest. This will get you 80% of the way to a good fit. After shaping....below. Dont over sand. Just smooth out the sides. Dont try and remove all the char as it doesnt matter. You just want to have a smooth surface to add the outside layers in the next step. Step 4....There are laser cut outside layers that are super thin. These come in two pieces. They are glued on both sides. Do this neatly and get a nice clean joint between the two sections. You may want to lightly sand the char from where the joint will be between these two pieces so it wont show when its all done. It will look like this. A few things to note... Before gluing them on each side I rounded the edges of the support or chamfered them. Then add the thin outer layers. Sand them flush on all edges although NOT on the front fancy side where the friezes will go. Similar to the cheeks we made you want to leave the edges standing proud on the front side to form a slight lip. see below. I left it a little more pronounced until after the friezes are added and its all cleaned up. Also note the second length which will connect to it and the middle rail. This is laser cut for you and also gets thin outside layers. This is important because these two pieces will join together like the cheeks did with the hair brackets. You will need to get a nce joint between them which wont be seen when these are glued together. Step 5...this forward length is laser cut but needs shaping. It has one curve cut into it but you need to shape the other side. You need to sand the curve that fits against the hull. Just like the cheeks above and below the hawse holes. You have done this before. See below. Also note the angled forward end which needs to be sanded into it. This end is what attaches to the middle rail. I rounded off or chamfered the outside edges before adding the two thin layers. All of these parts are cut extra long so you can shape and tweak to fit you model. This is where is gets interesting.... You should have both halves at this point completed.....like this. At least roughly done so we can test and tweak them on the model. There are lots of angles here. Step 6A....This is just a dry fit of both lengths trying to get a tight seem between both lengths. First I added the cathead support...tI tweaked the top edge so it was at the proper angle to fit against the bottom of the cathead. You will no doubt have to do this. You will also have to tweak the shape that fits against the hull. Dont sand away too much. Do a little at a time and keep testing until it fits nicely and follows the path of your template. Then temporarily glue it in position with a drop or two of glue. Step 6B....Do the same tweaking of the forward half so it sits flush against the hull. But you also need to create a nice tight joint between the two halves so it looks seamless. The angled forward end should fit snug against the middle rail. Keep working both lengths until you get a pretty good fit....below. See how it fits between the molding on the hull? Step 7...now you can do some last minute tweaks and glue it all on the model. I added the friezes after the both lengths were glued on the model. I put the friezes on in two lengths. It was just easier this way. Then I sanded the edges of those outside layers a bit with 600 grit paper so the the beaded edge wasnt standing too proud of the friezes. Overall I just did some touch up work. I think I still need some more but this is about it as far as the method is concerned. There is NO easy way to create these. This is not a plastic kit model. But this technique can be adopted for scratch building. This is indeed how I make these parts when I do a scratch built model. I just translated it to laser cut parts. Having said this, because everyones models will be slightly different you will need to go slow and shape them for a best final fit. And as always....ask a lot of questions.

Lovely work!!!

this is how I will probably show the barge. I agree that skid beams were in use but it was hit or miss. It also doesnt look as pretty. In addition only one boat like this one is the best approach for me. More than this and the boats just take up all the interest and become the focal point. Something I would like to avoid. The contemporary model pictures is from the era. A real good match to what we are doing with Winnie.

Actually you have a choice. You can use skid beams or you can use two spare topmasts. Its up to you. I am gonna use two spare topmasts.

I am really not sure what you are asking. It depends on what I am using it for. For planking sheets used to rip planking strips ....yes I will cut cherry or AYCedar that way. But other types of wood may be different. But on Cherry and AYC that is the best way to get grain free clear strips for planking....

Its getting crazy now…yellow cedar used to cost me $10 per bf. As of this week after placing an order it has shot up to $19 per bf. This is for the primo stuff which we need. You can buy garbage Cedar wood cheaper but would have to throw half of it in the fireplace. boxwood and pear is way up there in the USA. Its actually cheaper for me to order a few hundred pounds of pear from Europe and have it shipped to me than buy it in the states. Its nuts. I havent raised my prices for my products yet over the last six years but sadly after the wood prices almost doubled now…I may have to. Chuck

Very nice save. That is a very tricky part of the build. A square tuck is always a challenge and yours looks really good.

I just lifted the stern and put the buildboard on a six inch block. That worked for me.

Ihave no idea...but let us know how your experiments work out.

I use either regular copy paper with my ink jet or when I want to go really thin so you cant see the paper at all I use tissue paper. Chuck