Chuck

Dont glue the figurehead on yet at all. That wont be until much later after the headrails are all done. Otherwise you will wish you hadnt. Chuck

That is a beauty!! Thats the way to build it. Careful and neat…i can tell you took your time with it. And it paid off.

Cant beat that. Well done

Just a quick photo of work that has been sitting in a dark corner for many years. this is Alaskan yellow cedar on my cross section after mellowing and finding its aged color and tone. It has been sitting on dark shelf for almost four years. No dents….just dusty but it has taken on a warm amber color after using only wipe on poly. Thought I would post as I was pleasantly surprised. compare to the color and tone when I was building it four years ago.

Hows the planking coming along? So far this model looks outstanding. A beautiful handling of the upper planking.

Beautiful work.

You will absolutely regret using birch ply when you get to the point of fairing the hull. Its tough stuff. Lite-ply usually made of poplar is the way to go with the bulkheads if it isnt to late for you to switch. Thats why you are killing so many blades. Just think about trying to sand that stuff. Glad you started work on her.

Great stuff

Thank You guys. You all will be up to this point shortly. Just a quick photo to show the fcastle painted and installed. Now to do it all over again on the other side. The qdeck is looking very naked. But that will be up next. Just a few more details to finish up on the fcastle.

NO CHAR FOR YOU!!!! Seriously though....knowing that some of you are now referring to me as the "Laser char nazi". There is a very valid reason. But its not all bad. There are times when removing the char isnt as necessary. BUT...I cant understand why it is left on items to remain bright...or painted red which shows. More on this later. LOL Time for the Fcastle rail and timberheads. There are twelve timberheads per side. Thats quite a few. And then let us not forget the many along the qdeck. These have been laser cut for you and yes there is a lot of char. Now I know that some of you will start to see these wonderful details being added which make the whole project special. And the more details like this the easier it is to lose your will to slow it down and you you start cutting corners. Because lets face it, getting these details on the model makes a huge difference and you want to see them on the model as quickly as possible. I suffer the same affliction, trust me. BUT...lucky for us, we do not have to go crazy here removing the char from these timberheads which are quite small, with lots of inside corners for the char to hide. You will still need to give them a good cleaning to smooth out the surface for painting. I use sanding sticks and 420 grit sandpaper. The surface must be prepared but dont try and remove it all. You will distort the shape and also make the timberheads too small to fit snug in each hole of the rail. You can see how clean I made those timberheads. They are still pretty clean with just a light swipe of the sandpaper. So you will save some time here which is good news because.... Because, I strongly urge you not to cut corners on the next step. You should certainly take the time to shape the timberheads on all four sides. Many of you will be tempted to just use them as is. That might be quick…but it would be a mistake. The reason why this is so important is because they will appear much too heavy otherwise. Too many kits have ridiculously heavy and thick timberheads. It looks too kit-like. By chamfering all four sides at the top of the timberheads they will appear slimmed down and in scale. In addition, the angled front and back sides… You will need to slice down towards a "stop cut" to create the proper shape. See the photo above. This will make a huuuuge difference. So yes its ok to cut corners on the char here. But please do shape each timberhead carefully. I also sanded the rail itself smooth and softened the four corners along its length. As I finished each timberhead, I slid them from the bottom into position along the rail. I have created a small "stop" ledge on one side of each timberhead. If you didnt over sand them and remove this detail, it will keep the rail level and The rookie at the same height across all of the timberheads. Hope that makes sense. In addition, this “stop ledge” detail should always face forward when you slide the timberheads onto the rail. This is important. When all the timberheads are cleaned and shaped, test the rail in position. The laser cut tenons on the bottom of each timberhead are not as wide as the holes in the caprail. So you should have wiggle room to adjust the timberheads and rail. Dont glue the timberheads into the rail yet. And dont glue the rail onto the model. While test-fitting in position, you need to add the fancy end piece. See below. Just glue it onto the end of the rail and let dry. When dry, remove the entire rail from the model. Remove all the timberheads from the rail. I numbered the timberheads but that probably isnt necessary. Then do your best to fill the seam between that fancy end piece and sand it so you can not see any trace of the seam before painting the rail black. Here is a picture of the forward end being tested below. Everything fits great. Nothing is glued together yet. Once that seam is acceptable to me, I will paint all of the timberheads black individually and also the rail. Then I will reassemble it for the last time and glue it on the model. This will take some considerable time....then I have to do it all over again on the starboard side. Any questions???

That is looking great…Its almost sad and nostalgic when a project gets close to completion. But it looks wonderful.

That looks great. What a fine molded detail on the outboard edge of those channels. This is an often overlooked detail that really makes a model rise to the next level. Well done.

Very nice

Satin but wiped and buffed off with a lint free cloth. So no shine at all.

I am using wipe on poly on all surfaces if you need something to compare it to.

One solution to get rid of the shiny spots is to use weathering powder. But hopefully your rigging is somewhat crisp still without large lumps of CA. There isnt a thing you can do about lumps. but if you just have shiny spots they can easily be fixed. Especially the dark brown or black rope. For tan you will need to do your best to select a tan weathering powder that matches the rope color. Just be sure to cover the deck below because no matter how careful you think you are the powder will fall to the deck. If it does…blow it away quickly. Dont wipe it or you will be weathering your deck and fittings. i use a smallish paint brush to apply to the rope. I usually use it on served rope. But I have done so on tan as well. Sorry I have no photos but hopefully this makes sense.

That square tuck looks wonderful. A very tricky thing to model correctly. Outstanding!

That is the cleanest set of molding I have seen on any Sphinx build to date. Well done.

Thanks Dan… Like you I just muddle through sharpening. I have a good sharpening stone but I am far from being an expert. I am mostly using a sharp #11 blade like you and go through a ton of them. But I have 2 or 3 favorite micro chisels for delicate work and do sharpen them a lot. The chisels dont look pretty when I sharpen them but they are sharp. I have an old leather strap that I finish them with after using the stone. I am far from being qualified to explain proper technique. For the cathead support knee…I have that all figured out I believe. Chuck

Thank You....I just added more images of the contemporary model to the gallery album. Also this is a good one that shows the cathead as you guys will soon be adding it to your model. Interesting white painted panels but I didnt care for that look. So I am going all natural. Again note how the bottom edge of the cathead lines up with the bottom edge of the molding on the hull. Keep this reference in mind when you cut those notched. Outboard side of notch to the molding like this. The inboard side is taken all the way down to the deck.

This means however that you wont have such an "error-proof" reference for where to place the moldings on the hull. But I think you could start with the shear molding and then add the verticals. Then the second molding....repeat etc. Although I think Chris added references on the planked laser etched hull as well. But that presents another problem possibly....if you are too heavy sanding the sides of the molding and make them noticeable narrower then those etched reference lines on the hull will be visible. So use very fine sandpaper and a very light touch. But it is very much a necessity. Although those areas are likely to be painted blue and covered with the frieze so no worries. The other option depending on you comfort zone would be to discard the laser etched molding aside from the top piece with fancy volutes and scrape you own for the lower two....then there is no char at all to remove. But I realize many wont feel comfortable with that and want to use all of the kit supplied pieces. Its a choice that builders can make after weighing their options. There are quite a few options depending on the skill level of the builder.

For parts like that...no silver bullet I am afraid. Just need to be careful. But looking at the shape of those parts and the way they are cut, they lend themselves to breaking along the cross-grain. So if it were me cleaning those, I would preemptively break those moldings in the most delicate spots such as the areas that broke for you. I would have carefully cut those cross-grain vertical pieces away so I could more easily hold the molding and sand them a little at a time individually down their length with some 420 grit sandpaper. I would cut the vertical pieces free right up against the fancy molding. Indicated by the red lines. But thats just me. If you are really worried about placing the vertical elements back where they should be, you could also cut them free leaving a small nub against the fancy molding. But leave the break point as a clean break so the pieces will glue back without even ever seeing the seams. Then I would assemble the moldings separately on the model and add those vertical pieces after the fact....all cleaned and crisp. Any gaps would be filled before the second layers were added. I wouldnt have laser cut those moldings in one piece. The simple breaks (or absence) of the etched lines of the fancy molding are more than enough of a reference to see where the vertical pieces like fenders and such go. But if I felt I needed more reference I would have drawn them with a pencil before removing as indicated by the blue lines. But again thats just me. For me as a builder there would be no reason to make cleaning the char more difficult to try and attempt it in one huge piece like that, and as such I would remove all vertical element cross grain pieces before char removal. They are super easy to add and locate back later on. I would use a sharp blade to do so. Lightly score the back side and bend to snap them clean away. I would leave the area as a clean break with no sanding so the pieces removed will fit back perfectly without any issue when the time comes. Especially since they will be covered up with a second layer. Its just a different approach...one that would make me more comfortable.

I added the breasthook at the bow. This was straight forward. It is laser cut. Unlike the one on the gun deck at the bow I cut this one in one piece. So you may have to adjust and tweak it to fit snug and tight against the bulwarks a the bow. Dont forget to chamfer the top and bottom edge on the aft side. That is customary. Unlike last time you see I also added some bolts. There are four on each arm or side of the breasthook. I used 30lb black fishing line for this. In the same photo above you can also see the cathead I made. But most important in that photo is the slot for the cathead. Note how it has been notched out with a sharp chisel and blade. I did so on the inboard side right down to the deck. Take the INBOARD side down to the margin plank. Remove the waterway as well. Do this carefully. You will need sharp chisels or blades. Careful not to mar the deck. On the outboard side it is a bit different. See below. I only notched the outboards side down to the top of the frieze.....OR better yet described, remove the fancy molding where the notch will be. Then deepen the notch down to the bottom edge of the molding that remains. Its not as deep as the inboard side. This is what will give the cathead its proper angle. I hope this makes sense so far... The catheads... These are pretty easy to make but dont rush it. The main cathead is in three layers. The two outboard layers define its shape. They line up with the front or OUTBOARD end of the cathead. But this is very important. The goal here is to not show the seams between the three layers if possible. To minimize this, you MUST thoroughly clean the char from the edges of the center piece. Its 1/4" thick boxwood so there is a lot of char. Dont be afraid to scrape it and sand it. I compensated for this and if you dont clean it well enough, the two outside sheaves of the cathead will be too wide. So do go ahead and sand away!!! Also test the sides periodically to check the width of the two outer sheave slots. Glue the layers up with tite-bond. Make sure you line everything up and center the side pieces up and down. Then sand them smooth top and bottom. But also sand the center to the shape of the outside layers. That shape is very important. Note the finished cathead in the photo above. Use a sharp chisel to get most of the heavy stuff off and when you get close to the shape switch over to a sanding stick. Sand it to match the shape....test it in the slot on the model. ONE MORE NOTE: the front side of each cathead is NOT at a 90 degree angle. It isnt supposed to be. It is a much steeper angle actually and that is a detail not usually shown n models. The angle of the front of the cathead is important and before you glue the star onto it you should make sure its flat and shaped appropriately. Look at the laser cut sheet and I think you can better see the actual shape of the cathead on the side panels. I made sure I gave you guys an extra cathead just in case. The front piece is similar. It has that wonderful star pattern etched onto it. Sand the four sides flush. But also try and scrape some of the char away from the perimeter of the star. I used the tip of a #11 blade to scrape away a good amount of the char around the outside of the star. It cleaned up really good. I found it easier to do after I glue it onto the cathead. Test it on the model... In this photo above you will also notice how I added an iron band around the outboard end. Its very thin. I just used some black tape for this. Dont make this too heavy and wide. Just a really thin band. Use the seam from the star piece as a guide. Cover up that seam or at least put the band right up against it. It really finishes it off wouldnt you say? When positioning it....the inboard side is also very very important. Remember you want it to look like one piece with the cat tail under the beams. Do your best to line them up assuming you positioned all that stuff carefully enough early on. See below. we are just trying to simulate the cathead and cat tail being in one piece. Do the best you can. Its a very difficult part to make otherwise. Especially with a cathead as detailed as this one. Oh and yes there are laser cut sheaves for the cathead as well. You can see them in the photos. Just glue them into the slots for them. I am not sure I pulled it off 100% but its real close. I am happy with the results. Especially after looking at how the catheads are usually portrayed on most kits. They seem like afterthoughts. But they are an important detail in my opinion. Now to do the other side....any comments or questions??

Looking great…nice clean work.

Wonderful step by step. And the mode is looking fantastic.