Chuck

Very nice…your model will look dramatically different when the friezes are added. Its a real milestone moment of the project.

The family tires me out. I cant sit at the beach doing nothing for hours. So today i stayed behind to relax on the deck looking out over the ocean. While writing of course. Yesterday I walked 8 miles on a cliff walk along the mansions of Newport. Im tired. Plus I have to do the grilling for when they get back from baking on the beach for hours. Not fun for me. Relaxing on deck while sipping a pint is much more relaxing. Those are a portion of my kids and their pack well ahead of me yesterday with even more of them really far ahead out of camera range.

Chapter 11... Chaptereleven.pdf

Just away on vacation...will be back on Monday and reopen for business.

Its a gradual taper to 3/32" thick along the top of the transom. This is so the cap for the transom is not huge and too wide which is what you see on many models and kits. The transom with at the cap should be narrow and elegant. Not wide and chunky....same is true of the cap shear along the sides of the hull.

Lovely model. Well done

Your care and attention at the stern will pay off in dividends later. You will be rewarded for getting it right.

I have completed the prototype for the cathead support knee. This knee is directly under the cathead and is quite complex. It twists and turns while tapering thinner as it gracefully extends down and connects with the lower rail. The frieze follows the same look and feel as the contemporary model. This piece is kind of assembled like you guys did for the cheeks and hair brackets...if you are wondering. This will be built in two lengths. Each length is of course made up of many pieces. I will detail the assembly process soon when I make it for the other side. There will be templates laser cut to help you and assist in the shaping and positioning. Once the other side is finished I will make the fourth "half" head timber that is positioned between this and the main rail. Here are a couple of pics of the cathead support knee on the port side. I am happy with the results considering that the pieces were all laser cut. I have made these from scratch before and these seemed to come out just as good. Its the first time I tried out this concept and laser cut approach. I believe you can now start to see how the finished headwork will look. Hopefully you will agree that it doesnt look like any kit you have ever seen before.

You really should taper the stem more. Not just the front 1/4". This should be a gradual taper from the aft end of the stem. It should be flat and straight so it doesnt look like a curved rounded front end for the stem. There is still plenty of time to correct that. What you have now is more of a rounded bevel than a taper. Its unlikely your figurehead will sit on the stem properly as it stands now. Chuck

Really nice progress. That planking looking great.

That looks really good Ben. Its nice to see an update on this unique Winnie build.

Nicely done. Thank you for that.

Much better. Its looking great.

Welcome to the project!!! Yes the center is flipped for that exact reason. The same concept is used throughout the model. This includes the stem parts you are about to assemble. Losing some ply wont matter that much although it may make them weaker. You may have to reinforce them at some point or just be very careful. Have fun with the project.

Thanks Hoping to have chapter 11 available really soon guys. Sorry for the delay. Lots going on here in NJ. Daughter starting Med School, Selling my Aunts house after moving her to a nursing home...Spring house duties....Vacation starting next week. When I return from vacation all should be back to normal. Heading to the beach in Rhode Island and then up to Maine. All 12 of us including the kids significant others. LOL...need a break. Although with that many young people it may be tough to relax.

That was the plan…that should be the goal of all kit makers. Sadly most fall horribly short.

So a quick recap...Proceeding with headwork. First.... Use the handy jig I showed you to mark the locations of the first 3 head timbers. Second... Build the two main head rails as I described in length. Test these on the model but dont glue them in position. You will need to test them and retest them and retest them as you shape the head timbers next. Third....shape and test your head timbers... Rubber cement is your friend. You will need to temporarily position all of these elements while shaping the head timbers. Rubber cement works well for this and is easily removed by rubbing it off with your fingers. Here is a photo of the three head timbers ready for shaping. They are laser cut and etched on both sides. There are laser etched reference marks on both sides to help you shape them...In the photo below you can see both sides of each timber with their etched reference lines. Start by sanding both sides clean and dusting them off to reveal the etched lines more clearly. Then start shaping the first, smaller head timber. All three are shaped in the same way. Begin by sanding the bevels indicated on the top and bottom of the head timber. This is needed to establish the correct slope (for and aft) so you can slide this first head timber over the stem knee and test it. You can go ahead and test it. You may well be adjusting the angles from time to time as we proceed through all three head timbers. If you have to widen or deepen the slot in the head timber so it sits directly down onto the stem and hair brackets you can do that. This photo shows the top and bottom beveled to the reference line. Next, Sand/carve the sides of the head timber up to the reference line. Keep the surface or face of the head timber flat when doing so. This is needed so the cover boards will sit in position neatly later on. Next...the dreaded notches for the lower rail... These are etched onto both sides. But they are not in the same position. To make filing this notch easier, and so you get a sense of the crazy angle you will need...go ahead and draw the width of the notch along the side of the head timber. Basically connect them with a reference line using the laser etched notches on both sides with a pencil. See below. Does this make sense??? This notch is not only angled but it is deeper on one side than the other to accommodate the angle of the lower rail. If not for anything else, this will help you gain an understanding of the complexity of these rails. Many compound angles exist. You may want to make them slightly wider/deeper as the lower rail is 1/16" thick. Making them slightly wider gives you some wiggle room on the lower rail without having to make these notches super huge. That is usually the case on most kits. It looks horrible. See below, one side is completed. Once finished with it, sand off any remaining laser char and paint the entire head timber black. Test it on the model and also test the main rail on top of it. Adjust the angles a bit if needed. Proceed with the same process on the two remaining head timbers. Test and retest and retest.....really. My head timbers started out perfectly vertical when testing them on the model but as I started to test the second and third head timber these were adjusted. There are a lot of optical illusions which you will find yourself compensating for. Just keep testing until all three head timbers fit while the main rails sits properly on top of them. What you see below is just a test fitting. Nothing is glued into position yet. Yes I did go ahead and make the lower rail at this time also. You can do that. Its just a matter of sanding off the char and rounding off the outside edges. I also ran some sandpaper down the fancy grooves to clean them up a bit. It removed some of the char from the laser etching and enhanced the fancy molding appearance. A few notations..... Note: The top, bottom edges and back side of the lower rail will be painted black as well. But do a lot testing first. The lower rail is cut slightly longer than needed so you can adjust to fit you model. Note: The aft side of the lower rail is beveled to sit flush against the hull. Note: The top of the stem has been sanded down flush with the hairbracket scroll and main rail. We will be gluing a bolster here soon. Note: The lower rail sits comfortably in the notches of each head timber but the notches are NOT too big. The lower rail does indeed sit in those notches deep enough that the cover boards will sit flat on the outside face of each head timber. If they stick out and stand proud you should adjust your notches to suit. Note: that the outside faces of each head timber as tested above are NOT flush with the bottom edge of main rail. They need to be inset a bit to accommodate the cover boards we will add shortly. Otherwise the cover boards will stick out and sand proud of the main rail which is not correct. When you are 100% satisfied with the test fitting of all these elements, you can paint it all as described. The inside of the head work is all black. Fill any gaps and glue everything into position permanently. Cover boards and bolster below. Thats it....nothing to it.... Here is a shot of the inside of the head work so far. Everything painted black and neat and tidy. Note the black laser cut bolster now glued to the front/top of the head rails. It is laserboard. Just trim it if you need to so it fits and glue it on top. It will hide all of those joints if they didnt meet your standards so no worries there. You can even sand the interior sides of the head timbers at this point to bevel them if you want and make them cleaner then touch up the black paint. Most of that wont be seen however under the head gratings. The cover boards are laser cut for you and have a laser etched and recessed center. They are very thin and should be glued onto the outside faces of the head timbers. Make any adjustments before gluing them on. The friezes were glued onto them before they were positioned permanently. Note how they are finally flush with the outside lower edge of the main rail which is what you are shooting for. Yes you will have plenty of paint touch up as I now have. I recommend that you remove the figurehead and swivel guns while doing this work. Examine the rails and headwork at multiple angles as you proceed and make any adjustments....no matter how small. Just take you time. I know its a bit involved and not like any other kit on the market but then again you wont see results like this on any other kit on the market. You will have questions trust me so feel free to ask when you get to these. Yes spare parts for these elements will be available. Go slow and be methodical. Test a lot. Ask a lot of questions...and study....really study the images of the contemporary model. I know I may have forgotten some details but we will address them all as time goes by. Next the cathead support knee and connecting with the lower rail.

Dave....How is progress coming along?

Fine work!!!

Lovely work on the headrails. I am working on mine as I wrote this so I know what a task it is. Your head work looks fantastic.

Indeed..a terrific model. Well done. Chuck

That looks very good.....but it all looks very shiny and glossy.

That is a nice start. Yes she is a big boy!!! Its literally almost the same size as the Winnie in 1/4" scale. The winnie is 930mm long. You will love working at the larger scale. Its a luxury really. Chuck

That is my thought as well. here is a photo of the jig you will use to find the locations for the headtimbers. it is laser cut in three pieces with the center being 5/32” thick. Its the same thickness as the knee of the head and will slip over the top and sit against stem. Mark the locations of the head timbers and also chisel away the stem if needed so you can slip the head timbers in position down to the top of the hair bracket. You might be able to see how I did this but the paint is also warn away from me slipping the head timbers on off while testing and retesting. Something you will have to do as you shape all of the headrail parts.

Im referring to the seat/pissdale on the bulwarks. The one with the long tube hanging tube below it. We wont be modeling that and will instead be building similar to those in red shown on the Minerva. Including adding a false rail which was more common.