Chuck

I’ve been working on the chain plates. I used a brass sheet and old 90 TPI blade on the Byrnes
table saw and cut strips for the chain plates. I roughly bent them to shape and will fit them to
each individual location as each one will be unique. I chose to paint the assemblies too.
 

 

 

 
 
For the deadeyes I cut some correct sized dowel to and then using files and sandpaper shaped them.
 
 

Thank you for the kind words Paddy.
 
Also thanks to everyone for stopping in and all the likes.
 
The deadeyes and chain plates have been completed on the port side. I left
the pin head unpainted in this picture so you could see how it simulates
the bolt head. I just have to touch them up a bit, adjust the deadeyes position
and then it’s on to the starboard side.
 

Looks good.  But you you should absolutely taper that stem more where the figurehead will go.   It should be a gradual taper so the sten thins down quite a bit where the figure sits.
 
Chuck

Well, checking the stats people are hitting the DB - so thank you all for the support and glad it is useful to folks so far!  The holidays took me out of ciruculation,  nothing major just a lot of traveling here there and everywhere (my wife has a very large family so seems like most of December was spent going to someones house =) ).
 
I have started adding Billings boats to the list, those should be done shortly.
 
Also, have added colums for length and height in mm   so now both inches and mm are represented.   New ships going in will auto convert whichever way needs being done,  for those ships already in the system you will see blanks for the mm columns - I have yet whipped up a nice script to go back through and adjust everything; that is next on the plate =)
 
 
Thanks again all!
And happy building!!

Thanks, Grant - switching to his rigging thread made a huge difference in both my satisfaction and the ease of rigging!

An other trade to master, stone  masonry ... 
 
I cancelled the stones I had ordered and got a rubber mold from dioramadebris.co.uk instead , now I can cast my own bricks in the color I want. First I made a big batch with slightly different colors (plaster & pigment)
 

 
Then I had to find a way to make the mortar. At first I glued the sones with thin paper sheet in-between to get an even spacing. I had planned to use sculpey to make the mortar but this doesn't stick to plaster :-( 
So I had to find an other solution, from the DYI shop I got a pack with powder mixed with water this is used to fill holes in walls, as this dries in just under 1 hour it looked good, but this didn't stick to the plaster too :-( 
 

 
So I mixed it with titebond and pigment and this was a working formula. The surplus removed just before it dries and with a wet brush I softened the flushing. 
 

 

 

 

 
At this point the chimney needs to be made, I'll make this from brick and not steel like my original plan. In the two holes two big cooking pans are fitted. The square hole's on the sides will get a metal hinged doors. Opposite to the hearth I'll make a pantry with different kitchen utensils. I must say it's really time consuming to make but this is really a lot of fun to do. The admiral is complaining she didn't see me all weekend :-D 
 
Remco

Now I dry fit soaked planks using a paper clips, they dry overnight, and next evening I glue them. One pair of planks per day, but turned out to be easier then bending and drying!
 

 
Dont forget to put some scrapmpieces between the clip and the plank, otherwise it will leave an ugly traces. Soaked basswood is much softer then I thought

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

Looking Good Augie...    
 
Of course those scrapers work!!!  Sometimes the etching goes too long and the point is a little dull.  But for soft woods it works a treat.  I have to deepen the grooves for harder woods.   You will notice many extra profiles on the sheet.  You wont need then for the kit,...I just thought I would throw in several extras.  They come in real handy.  SHH!!!   Dont tell EXPO 

A very small change of plan. I decided to do the scuppers and bulwark sheaves, before moving to the inner bulwark drilling. Like on many other things  on this build, scale has caused me to simulate these items. 
 
The scuppers were drilled from both sides and do not connect, although I tried to position them as closely as possible to direct lines. I also did not use tubing, but merely painted them with Floquil graphite to represent the lead liners. The painting was done with a toothpick.
 
The sheaves are also "fakes", consisting of two drilled holes with the space between them deeply scribed to represent the sheave.The scribed line was blackened using an ultra fine marker.
 
Bob
 
 

Yes the kit as I researched is intended for those 8 and up.   At least according to the few places I saw it offered.  Its only about $25.
 
Chuck

Great looking project Ben.  I will be following along with much interest and so far you are doing a fantastic job of it!!!

To complete the model...the grapnel was painted and rigged. I made mine from scratch using boxwood.  I think they replaced the one in the kit with a cast metal version they had in stock,  It was added to the model so the rope looked natural.  I made some oars and placed them in there as well.  They were just cut from a 1/16" sheet and the handles rounded off.  Then they were painted.
 
That is essentially the end of the project.
 
Chuck 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the stays and rigging were added at the bow.  This pretty much finished it up.  Last was teh flag halliard.
 
 

The bowsprit was easy enough to shape.  A few iron bands were made in a similar way to the ones on the mast. However,  I drilled a hole and added a small length of 22 gauge wire for one this time.  See the pics provided.  I carefully marked the locations for these two bands and glued them into position.  The one supported by the long extension was secured first.  I notched out the back of the thwart so it wouldnt wander around.  It secured it nicely.  Then the other band was secured into the stem once the proper bowsprit angle was found.
 

 
There is a sheave simulated on the end of the bowsprit.  It was all painted ahead of time before I secured the bowsprit on the model.
 

 

 
I also made the gaff and boom.  These were again pretty straight forward.  I made all of these from boxwood too.  The jaws for the gaff were added in two pieces.  Then the parrel beads were strung onto it. 
 

 

 
​The boom has a hook in it which is placed in the iron band on the mast.  I added the block to the end of the boom and painted it.   Now it was time to start rigging....the rig is simple.  It follows the NMM model exactly.  I had a few examples to research and they all matched the rig shown below.
 

To finish up the hull before the rigging starts,  I added the windless.  It was cut from square stock but then shaped with eight side in the center and the ends.  The two portions that remained square had some holes in them for the windlass handles.  These are actually square holes.  After drilling round ones,  I made them square by inserting a nail that had a pointy end that was square.  Pushing it into the round holes reconfigured them as square with a little coaxing.  Handles were cut to length and shaped as shown.   There were some knees on the sides of the hull which were cut from 1/32" thick stock.  They were positioned on top of the thwarts and against the cap rail.  
 

 

 
The rudder was cut to shape following the plans and tapered as per typical practice.  It narrows considerable as it works aft.  It was painted and the frieze details added.  The hinges (pintles and gudgeons) are just paper.  Then the horse and oarlocks were completed with some black wire.   That finishes teh hull and its now onto the masting and rigging.  I found this particularly enjoyable as its a simple rig.
 

 

 

 
Chuck
 
 
 

Next up was to add the cap rail.  I like to press a wood sheet against the model and trace the shape of the open hull.  Then I add an extra 1/32"  to account for the overhang outboard.   Then i measure and draw another line inside of that one to create a pattern 1/8" wide or there-abouts.   I cut it out on my scroll saw and glue it on.  It looks awful at this stage.  But then I go back and file the edges so they are uniform outboard and inboard.  I tried to create a 3./32" wide cap rail or just a hair narrower than that.
 

 

 

 
Finally the friezes were added.   These were printed on my ink-jet after scanning my master.  It was sparayed with some hairspray as a fixative. Once the friezes were in position I used the bottom edge of the paper as a guide to add a strip of 1/32 x 1/32' molding.
 

 

 
 
Then it was time to paint.  The inside was carefully painted as shown in the last few photos above.  It was finally starting to look like a boat.  Although I like the natural painted planking on the exterior,  I thought I would try painting it tallow to match the NMM model.  I think it ads some interest so i decided to keep that look although many might prefer to leave planking natural.

Complete.  Thanks to Chuck for providing us all with this great kit.  I look forward to my Pinnace.
 
  Bob R.

Finished at last ! 
 
So after a ship building detour to the Syren, I have finally returned to the longboat over the Christmas season with the intent on finishing her.  I was stuck for a long time, since the 10th of June 2013 to be exact, on the last little details.  The rope coils were particularly troublesome to me, and it took me weeks to try again after the first failed attempts.  I found a great resource here in another thread on Model Ship World, and be using that along with a few modification I came up with some satisfactory coils.
 
Here is a picture of the jig that I used to create the coils.  A strand of thread was started at the right of the jig, then the thread was wound clock-wise around the jig back to the beginning, where each loop was secured by a drop of CA.  After the thickness of the coil was satisfactory, I snipped the thread off at the left of the jig leaving about 2".  After the coil was removed from the jig, the thread at the right was given a few turns around the coil to simulate the attachment to the belaying point.  The thread off to the left was brought around behind and through the coil and glued with a drop of CA to the bottom of the coil to make it lay flat.  The last step was to trim the bitter end to length.  NOTE:  the picture shows the coil turned 90 degrees from how is was placed in the jig:
 

 
Another detail that I experimented with was "seizing" the anchor rope to the anchor and to the forward ring bolt in the boat.  I used a product called EZ- Line from a company called Berkshire Junction.  This stuff is pretty amazing in that is is very easy to work with, and stretches up to 5X it's static length without putting stress on the points it is attached to.  I am using it to rig a plastic steam powered ship now with some really delicate masts, and I can stretch the rigging lines to the deck with out detectable deflection in the masts!
 

 

 
The last step for me was to make up a couple of oars.  I inserted the blade end of the oars into the chuck of a hand held drill.  Then with one hand on the trigger and another with a scrap of sand paper wrapped around the shaft, I sanded it into a round profile of the desired thickness.  Using the same technique, I used a needle file to finish off the smaller diameter grips at the end of the oar.  Poor man's lathe I guess!  To finish the blade, I rough shaped it with a sanding drum from a rotary tool, then smoothed it out by hand.
 
And finally, the finished product!