Chuck

Wonderful models. Its really refreshing to see some American subjects from this era. Well done and thank you for sharing them.

That is great news indeed. I will open on Sunday. Cant wait to see your progress on the model. Chuck

I get my Cedar from Condon...although I bought his last boards not too long ago. Great bunch of guys. Hopefully he will get more. I thought about trying polar but I hate those greenish streaks. But if you avoid using those greenish areas it looks like a nice wood choice.

Oh boy, that is great progress. You did a fantastic job on the hull. Nice and clean. I hope you are enjoying the kit. Cant wait to see the rigging take shape.

That really looks terrific. Nicely done.

Not for a little while yet. But soon enough.

Thanks!!!

Great to see you start a log. I cant wait to see you get started.

Its a great wood for carving large items like that. That looks very good.

For these I used a #50 drill bit.

Here is how I make split rings. Pretty straight forward. I use one of the Japanese saws with the thin blades to cut. You can see how I broke the blade on the other side. But it still works and is sharp. I have more blades if needed. I do sometimes places the drill bit into a vice to hold it all steady. It makes cutting this a lot easier. But if I am only making a dozen at a time like this I can twist the wire ends like shown and just be careful while cutting through. The trick is not to rush.....it takes as much time as it takes to cut through it. Once you have a cut started thats deep it gets easier as you can see the blade stays in the cut when I placed it on the table for this photo. Chuck

When you get those removed you will be amazed at how well you can see.

I will put together some pics....

So great to see progress. The model is looking great. Cant wait to see more!!!

just a mi kit for sure....the way the parts will be designed would make it very tough to build from scratch. There are other ways to scratch this type of boat if one doesnt want to buy the mini kit....which wont be too mini actually.

That looks very good.

You want to make another one!!!! 🤣 LOL Truth be told....I almost chose Minerva instead. But Winnie won out because of the wealth of primary source info. By the way....the Minerva is also another 5th rate with just 3 lids aft and just one up at the bow. Look closely at that forward lid.....note how the lid curves like the bow. You need to pre-bend those little pieces before you make the lid. Although not that much as I suspect that lid is curved even more due to age and warp.

Nope....that is the way it was always done. From Minerva in the Rogers Collection. Pretty close match to my attempt at contemporary practice.

No solder-easy-brass working gun port hinges..... So I like to get the port lids done early before I put the cannons in. The main reason is that I build the lids within their respective openings. This would be impossible after the cannon are in place. This is something you guys can do at anytime and you dont have to wait for chapter 5. You guys probably have all the materials to get these lids done. So first the lids... I think someone may have asked this question a while ago. But you know how you see a port lid on a contemporary model and it isnt just a flat square but actually is conformed to the shape of the hull. A port lid can be curved which is something you rarely see on a kit model. Fortunately for us the lids arent that extremely shaped. But the one at the bow will need to have each layer or strake of the lid pre-bent just like the hull planking. To explain....you must keep the run of the hull planking in each port lid. Thus it is best to use 1/4" x 3/64" strips to build the lid up. In the photo below you can see how I cut the first two strakes and trimmed them so they fit tight in the port opening. Then I glue them together edgewise right in the port opening. I do simulate the seam between each segment with a pencil just like we did when planking. The last piece for this lid is sitting on top of the sheer rail. With the lid glued up I remove it and sand the outside and inside surface smooth. Dont do this while its in position because you will screw up the finish on the hull planking. It will be hard to get the finish to match in the area you recently sanded. Then there is the matter of the second inboard layer or the lid lining. This is done with strips too....or you could just cut one piece that fits. In the case of the lining it is 1/32" thick. Its cut to shape so a rabbet is left on the bottom and the sides. To finish it up paint the inboard side red along with the edges of the port lid. Then put it back in position on the model....make sure it still fits nice. Apply a finish of wipe on poly to the outboard side. In some cases the frieze will need to be added as well. Just like hanging wallpaper, you must match the pattern. Making the port lid hinges... There are many advantages to making brass hinges from scratch. Mostly because the photoetch ones available are either shaped funny or two wide. They just never look right to my eye. So here is how I make them. You will need a brass strip 1/16" wide and 1/64" thick. K&S used to sell these. These wont be supplied by me so this is something you have to get. You can cut strips from a brass sheet if needed as well. Looking at the photo from top to bottom....some finished hinges on top Then step one....on the top of the lineup... The first thing I do is drill a hole through the end of the brass strip. Use a #74 drill bit. Then I round off the end around that hole which will become the bottom of the hinge. Step 2...Using a flat file, I file a tapered angle into the strap just above the drilled hole. You dont have to file too deep. Just enough to make a gradual taper in the hinge. Then I round off the end so it looks like a small circle on the bottom of the hinge around the hole. This step is also optional. You can go with a straight hinge that just has the bottom rounded. Its up to you. But I think these look nicer. Step 3...Measure the length of the hinge by using the plans. Mark this on the brass strip. Now its time to file a little tail into the top end of the hinge. This is easy enough. Using a flat needle file just file half of the width of the brass strip away. This resulting tail should be about 5/32" long. Step 4...Use a needle nose to roll up the tail to make a loop. Just like you do when you are making an eye bolt. Make the resulting hole in this pretty small so a 24 gauge wire can snugly fit into it....more on that later. But here is the real trick to this. Before you bend that tail into a loop, file the tail down even thinner. Just the tail. This makes it easier to get a nice small loop on the top of the hinge. It also keeps the finished hinge from looking to too bulky and chunky. Hope that makes sense. Thats it......repeat to make 20 hinges. But remember to make left and right pairs. Each lid gets a left and a right as you will see in the photos. It just means make the loop in the tail in the other direction on the top of the hinge. Blacken all of the hinges when you are done. Now in the photo above...with the port lid in position, You can glue the hinges to the lid. Try and keep them even. Try and keep them the same height etc. Then remove the lid as shown below. This is where you will drill a hole into the lid through the hole you made in each hinge. I had made the very tiny eyebolts with 28 gauge black wire. On these I added split rings that I made from 24 gauge black wire. I made the split rings by wrapping the wire around the shank of a #50 drill bit. Then I sawed them down the shank to part off nice split rings all to a very uniform size. These split rings were carefully inserted into the tiny eyebolts I made and were ready to glue into the holes in the bottom ends of the hinges. I was careful not to drill through the lid or push the tail of the eyebolts through the lids. I didnt want them breaking through to the inboard side. Lastly....create some tiny "L" shapes from 24 gauge wire which will be used to secure the lids in position. But before you place them into the hinge straps.....place the lid back in the port opening so you can drill the holes where those little "L's" will go. Drill the holes close to the hinge straps. Note the left and right hinge straps on the lid. This is done so the little "L's" are both on the inside. Then you lid will never fall off after you glue it on the hull. Here is a photo of the lids done on the starboard side. I will keep them closed until I am ready to add the cannon to avoid damaging them. Now to repeat this on the other side. Any questions....I dont think I forgot anything. That was a lot to write in one post!!!

Nice start Dave. That is a crazy way to hold that model steady.

Those were fun to make.....just take your time.....step by step!!!

Really nicely done....

Very nicely done. That will certainly pay off.

No lights except for small lanterns. But I honestly dont know much about it. see this topic about the ships barge

Boy that looks huge. Its looking really great.