JeffT

Pressing on to the rear compartments. I deviated from the build method in the video for this area. I just couldn't figure out how to assemble in that sequence and guarantee the finished structure would fit. Here I am checking the templates keeping in mind that the height is critical to ensuring the decks will fit on top properly. I temporarily positioned a couple of the deck supports to help with that. These parts are technically all the same shape. Here is the sequence of assembly I chose. I made the back wall first and then attached the two walls seen here along with the walkway. This helped me make sure they would sit perfectly on the deck. I glued these in here. Then i made the forward bulkhead and glued it on. And then made the last wall and glued it in. And finally made the last two parts and glued them in. From here I'll do some clean up and then there are two knees that are glued inside this area and a set of steps that lead up to the walkway. There is also another bulkhead to make just ahead of this area. The template is in the pictures. I will also get some staining done.

Sorry to hear that. I do understand the vision struggle.

I finished the well and the shot locker. It ended up being more of a challenge than I expected, particularly the top of the locker. This was probably the the simplest structure to build. to build but maybe not. Again, not glued in. I'm moving it out of the way for the next structure. I haven't stained the hold yet but will do that soon. I plan to use an oak stain since the majority of the ship was constructed from oak. I don't have any so need to get some. The video would have you make the steps next but I'm moving that to later. Template for that is here. Instead, I'm going to work on the stern storage. This is a bit complicated. The picture below shows what this should look like. The video would have you assemble this entire structure off model and then drop it in. Will need to think about this very carefully. There is no drawing of this structure either. This also requires that a piece of decking be glued in. This was the easy part. Note the mast locator. I'm having a vision of the mast passing all the way down through all the decks into that location hole. It does line up well with the notch below due to the locator notches. Here are the templates for this stern structure.

Thanks Bob

Update. Started work on the hold structures. This is the hold assembly drawing provided with the kit. There are no 1:1 drawings of the hold structures other than the templates. Starting with the pump well. I made the first two parts. I only used the "A" template as the A and D templates were virtually identical. I checked each template against there finished location and to make sure of the correct fit. As mentioned earlier, I glued the templates to cardstock and then glued enough planks together for each part. Here are all the parts for the pump well. I made sure the parts matched each other correctly. I used various tools to cut them out. Jewelers saw, Dremel scroll saw, exacto blades. It is necessary to make the door as well. This was a little troublesome as it was difficult to keep it from breaking, it took a couple of attempts. I ended up cutting out the window first and then the door. Glued all the parts together. Need to pay attention to the video for the correct orientation of the parts. The final well in place. I'm not gluing anything in until all the structures are made and placed. The position of some of them is critical to another structure later on so some adjustments may be necessary. Its necessary to make sure the proper fit of the deck cross beams as well. I made the slots in the structure a little too wide as its otherwise difficult to get the cross beam in. It does appear this cross beam is cut later. Its also important to make sure the height and shape of the structures in the hold don't interfere with the deck installation. It will be hard to see any of this later once the decks go in. This is actually the second pump well that I made. I didn't like the first one. There is a shot locker that attaches to the back of the well and here are the templates. Working this next.

I have decided to take a shot at building this kit. This will be a test of my vision but I'll do my best. I have an opinion on a few things that I may state but its just my opinion. First of all, this is classified as an elite level kit by AL. My take is that this means that you need elite skills to build it and so far I believe that to be the case. The videos are great but they don't offer any insight on some things you need to pay very close attention to. This kit is complicated and requires a bit of scratch building to finish. I really think that a kit like this should have written instructions (my opinion). You must think far ahead before completing a step and I don't recommend following the order of construction in the videos. This is critical when installing the inner frames. It would also have been nice to have drawings to scale for a build like this, particularly of the hold area. The hold drawing is virtually useless for lack of a better way to say it. There are templates provided for the various structures that you will need to build. The first thing I did was glue these templates to a piece of cardstock with an Elmer's glue stick. They are too floppy otherwise. Also, in the video, they will have you glue a bunch of planks together to make a sheet to cut the parts from. I'm not doing it that way. I'm gluing just enough planks together to create a specific part as needed. I think there will be less wasted wood that way. In addition, in the video, the builder is gluing the planks on top of a sheet of paper creating a mess to clean up on the back of the planks. I'm doing this on top of a piece of parchment paper. The glue will stick but pops loose from the paper easily with no cleanup needed. And very conveniently, I can see that the builder is cutting out the parts with a laser cutter. I don't have that convenience. On with the build: Assembly of the hull is pretty straight forward and now in addition to the videos, you can use the written instructions for the full hull version to help you along. I do love this hull assembly method. The inner hold planking isn't too difficult but does require some thought on getting the planks to clear the bulkheads at the bow and stern as seen in the videos. The videos would have you glue in the mast step after finishing the planking but I left the mast step out for a reason that you will see in a minute. I live in a very arid environment so a lot of parts are warping badly. I was able to straighten the hull using the build board and then the planking holds it. Here is where things get interesting. In the videos, they have you draw a line using a provided template to position the inner frames. If you do this and nothing else, you will have big problems later. Specifically with installing the orlop deck (is that right?) pictured here. The frames must be positioned perfectly in order to fit this deck. You have about 1/2 mm of wiggle room all the way down the length of the ship to play with. If the top of the frames are off by more than that there will be troubles. The first thing to think about are these decks and how they will fit. The deck is assembled from 4 pieces. Mine didn't fit lengthwise or across the width. I suggest dealing with this before assembling anything in the hold. This required some fairing of the inside of the bulkheads to fit across the width. I didn't want to take anything off the decks in either direction on the length because of the various structures that are sitting on top of this deck. I do think my most forward bulkhead was slightly out of alignment top to bottom (not a kit problem, just my eyes). I ended up chiseling away some of the thickness on the hold side of the bulkhead to get the decks to fit lengthwise. I am using the orlop deck as a template to align the top of the bulkheads ad as you can see, there is very little room for error, almost none. The videos don't address this at all. I'm using the template provided in the kit to align the lower part of the frames and the paper template for the walkways. This why i didn't glue in the mast step.

Okay, try now. They should be good.

I'll take a look.

Moved build log to 1801-1850 category.

I have moved this build log to the 1751-1800 category.

This build log has been moved to the 1751-1800 category.

Thanks guys. I’m feeling optimistic that things will get better.

Hello everyone. Just wanted to let everyone know that my build is temporarily on hold. I'm the unlucky recipient of not one, but two autoimmune disorders, one of which is affecting my vision. My immune system has decided that my eyes are a foreign invader and is attacking them. As a result, I'm having vision difficulties. I have started treatment and I'm hopeful things will improve enough in a few weeks to get back to it.

I like it 😀

Nicely done