JeffT

Ratline Video's
I have added two video to YouTube showing me adding some ratlines to the foremast shroud. I recorded two videos, each taken from a different view point, in an attempt to keep the back of hands obscuring the view, but it was not always possible.
 
Links to the two videos:
Ratline Video 1
Ratline Video 2
 
As a general rule the I cut a length of thread that is approx. twice the width of the shroud for the ratline. The thread is then pulled through a block of beeswax a few times. I then use a hairdryer on the thread which helps the beeswax to flow.
 
As each clove hitch knot is created I check the position with the template. Once I am happy I brush on some diluted wood glue to the knot and ratline
 
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Another big thank you to dunnock,DavidEN and Beef Wellington for helping me with their Diana build logs and getting me through  a number of issues with the head  rail assembly.  Once again I used boxwood for the various parts including the catheads and  cat head supporters and cathead knee. I temporarily made up a section of decking and using 1mm walnut and planked this small section to ensure I had the correct positions of the catheads when making the cathead supports and also enabled me to fit the Ekeing and lower rail too. I used a 1mm milling cutter for the cat head reeve slots rather than using thin strips  as depict in the Caldercraft plans. I then touched the paint work between the sheer rails and replaced the sheer rails and when the glue dried I removed the necessary sections from the sheer rails to fit the Cat head supporters. 
        Next up is the Main and false rails  the kit parts come as one piece but don,t think the main rail will make a good job so will make this out of boxwood. I will then attempt to modify the combined Main and false rail by removing the head rail and discarding it. AS the false rail is painted black , I think this walnut section can be used.
 
   
 
 


 


Phew ! Almost complete. It has taken me almost a month of work on the head section  alone to get thus far and was definately the biggest challenge so far. Just the grating pieces to make out of boxwood , seat of ease and to finish off some fittings on the catheads. The combined cathead together with the knee and supporter are not yet glued into position as I will need to remove these to gain access to remove the temporary section of decking and fit the upper deck at a much later stage. 
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Another short update. I finally got all the deck stuff done. Struggling with some health issues the past several months so I've been a little slower than usual.
 

Another quick progress update. Most of the outer hull work is done. I ended up using water based wipe-on poly to secure the photo etch details and it worked out very well. It ended up being pretty easy to do.
 
Its turning out to be a very nice looking model.
 

Progress update. It looks like I'm a little behind on my build log. I finished most of the main hull work, just have to put the photo etch details on. Here is a couple of pics of the progress. 
 
I wanted to show how I'm assembling the ladders. I was struggling to get them squared up properly. I used an angle block to steady things up (shaky hands).
 
Here I clamped one side of the ladder to a machinist square and lined up the slot just a hair above the top of the square.

 
Then I glued the ladder step on with just a tiny bit of CA glue to be sure it didn't stick to the metal. This worked great to make sure everything was square.

 
The ladder step sits flat on top of the square and I used the back of the square as a reference to line up the step.
 

 
I did one step on both sides of the ladder on opposite ends and ended up with this.

 
Then I glued both halves together and finished installing the steps. I reinforced the steps with glue on the back sides of the steps.

 
Current progress. I really struggled with getting the quarter galleries built but it turned out okay. I had to scratch build some of the parts as the kit parts just wouldn't work. I really screwed this up somehow.  I also had to butcher one of the lower pieces of PE to get tit to fit below the lower rail. Not sure why it turned out that way.
 
I'm not sure how I will approach the PE along the port and starboard. A couple of pieces are pretty long and somewhat easy to distort. I don't know yet how I will put them on the model. I may separate them into smaller pieces.
 
I painted the top of the channel knees black to cover up the char that remained.

 
Stern view. The PE on the right is slightly off target and may have to debond and fix it, or not. The stern and the rudder were both kind of like little models all by themselves. I enjoyed the process of completing them.

 
The bow. Not a great picture but I painted the inside of the bow parts blue to cover up the char.

 
I started assembling some of the deck components while I think about the PE. I chose to have the hinges and the door handles face outwards on the forward bulkhead. I just think its a nice detail to not hide. I had to make some adjustments to the deck beams as they were a little too wide. Probably because I couldn't use the jigs after I broke all the tabs off (accidentally). I test fitted all deck beams and most needed some adjustment. Of course that means the deck itself will need some work to get a good fit 🤔

 
 
 
 

Found it in glennards build log. The piece goes underneath the gallery.
 

Thanks hollowneck. Are you referring to the placement of the stern fascia? I saw the note in the instructions and noted the issue in the build logs. I do think I have everything positioned correctly or close to it. I'm getting ready to attach those parts soon. I was confused by the picture in step 220 as part 45c doesn't appear to be there.

A quick update. I finished the second layer of planking (finally). Added some filler in the area where it will be painted and sanded smooth, nothing too exciting. The next part is, at least for me. Laying in the foreground is the main wale piece. I don't trust my skills on trying to glue this on in one big piece. I'm going to use a scalpel and try very delicately to separate it into 3 pieces. The idea is to cut along the engraved lines to hide it as best as possible. If that doesn't work out I will just plank the wales with planking material. Onward and upward.

I finally have an update. I finished the first layer of planking. I was just winging it and wasn't really being too careful here as the second layer will cover everything up. I still have a bit of sanding and filling to do to make sure I have a nice smooth surface for the second layer.
 

 

 

 

Current state of the sphinx. The only variation from the instructions is the extra support added along the false deck.
 

 

 

 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Another short update. I finally got all the deck stuff done. Struggling with some health issues the past several months so I've been a little slower than usual.
 

Another quick progress update. Most of the outer hull work is done. I ended up using water based wipe-on poly to secure the photo etch details and it worked out very well. It ended up being pretty easy to do.
 
Its turning out to be a very nice looking model.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Progress update. Finished all the hull stuff. A couple odds and ends to clean up but I'll do that in the end. Pressing on to building the boats and starting the rigging.
 

Lower Foremast Shroud Progress Is Slow
I am different to many of modellers as I actually like adding the ratlines. I find the repetitive nature of tying hundreds of clove hitch knots can be very therapeutic at times.
 
Today I completed every 7th ratline on the left-hand side.  These are the ratlines that are connected to each shroud line. Next I added a ratline to every 5th position as I find this helps to maintain the shroud shape. Also to help keep the shape I have also completed the first 5 ratlines at the bottom, as can be seen in the photo below. With regards to the pencil markings on the template the X's indicate every 5th ratline and the O's indicate the central ratline between each 5th pair.

I also like to add a complete set of 5 ratlines near the top as this also helps to keep the shrouds line running true.

The next photo shows the mid section of the shroud with some of the completed 5th (X) ratlines. I have now started to add the middle ratlines, as can be seen with ratline 7, marked with an O.
In the past I have rushed through adding ratlines but I am taking much more time with this build and I can already see the benefit. I should have the left-hand shroud completed in the next couple of days. I then have to do it all again on the right-hand side.

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

His machines were amazing.  A sad day indeed.

Well said Kevin. Based on my own limited contact with him, I am sure your experience with Jim was repeated many times with modellers all over the world. 
He really cared about his creations and took the time to help the people using his machines.  This was a rare quality.