Bob Fraser

Have this one in a stash put away for when I have the time. (Home schooling 2 kids leaves very little free 😞 )
Your fantastic build will be used as inspiration for it.
Besst wishes,
Bob

Final update, the anchors.
 
The anchors of the kit.

The improved version of the anchors and 2 of the 5 figures that will be used

Discovered that the anchor cable i used is a bit too thick...

Anchors in place

This is where the build of this model ends.
Friends of ours bought this kit for the kids, forgot about it in the attic, and then it almost ended up in the bin.
To be built later by someone who only has experience with plastic military models
Overall, I am satisfied with this little model it gave me many hours of building pleasure

Photos of the complete model.

To bring some life into this diorama.
An inspector from the Royal Navy listens to what the shipbuilder has to say about the ship, before it is approved for service
It probably didn't work that way at the time, but these 2  figures supplied with the kit were very suitable for this setup

Thanks everyone for following, comments, good advice and likes

Those nun buoys sure made me all loopy.
 

 
Getting close to the finish line... Now to tackle something I've been pondering on and dreading for quite a while. 
 

 
A little test fitting of some pretend hammocks (netting and stanchions to follow). Big thank you to dafi for your suggestion of balsa which is actually quite easy to mould into shape and looks fairly weathered.
 

 
Stanchions made by bending some staples over a needle nose plier. Staples are pretty tough to cut compared to softer metals like copper!
 
Fingers crossed it all works out later, stay tuned...
 
 
 
 
 

looks a whole lot better than mine..........I can't even recall if I ever finished it   she looks awesome Jonathan!

Still here and trucking away slowly. Since I am putting lights on it I decided to leave a few rooms open, granted the doors are small so looking inside is limited. I started painting the first level room walls white, and putting a rudimentary steam engine in the room closest to the stern. Hours at work have been long and I just purchased a nee truck so rather than shop and try to buy stuff to make the engine, I decided to use old stuff I had sitting around. I used a piece of 1 1/2 oak dowel for the engines itself and painted them black, painted a nail black and a washer silver and used that for the cap on the end. It’s not very accurate, but it was quick and took my mind off things. 
 
I haven’t decided what the room next to it will be, so if anyone has any suggestions I’m open to them haha







 

Still working on the deck planking, I forget what the name of this style is, it sure is painstaking to do, it sure does look great when it’s finished. 
 
for the second level, I have started the rooms for it and had quite a hard time bending the walls around the frame. On both pieces the walls broke at the top of the door frame. Easy fix, just needed some extra glue and a clamp, so overall no big deal. 
 
I also had to contact Artesania Latina for more walnut planks, after finishing the hull I tossed the rest out. Bad idea
 
my good buddy also got me this awesome bourbon decanter, figured I’d share if witg you guys 

New hand rails made from 2x2 Sapele wood:
 
 

I have been working steadily but it has been slow going. Admittedly I am a slow builder. The second deck has been planked. Lots of fun, its just too bad so much of it will be permanently not visible on the finished model. Work on the state room is done. I added trim around the vents and base boards for a more finished look.

Hull Painting and First Big Mistake 

It seems like the conventional wisdom is to glue the hull halves together and then paint the whole thing. But I wasn't aware of that guidance at the time, so I decided to paint the hull halves separately. I reckoned that the detail work on bow and the gallery would be easier with the hull half laying flat on the bench. I'm not sure that was wrong. 
 
Inexperience came to bite me in other ways though. I wasn't nearly as careful with the masking as I should have been and in particular I got the bottom boundary on the gun port stripe completely wrong. 
I did wonder why the ridge was going through the bottom port of the gun ports, but I taped off at the bottom of the ports. but it wasn't until I was looking at some other build logs here and working on the Gallery and bow  painting 

that I realised that the stripe is supposed to end where the ridge is (of course, why else would they give you the groove?). I do still imagine that this would look kind of clumsy with gunport doors closed. But I'm leaving doors off entirely except for the two most forward, and they will be open.  I see that it makes much more sense to stop at the ridge to blend in with the bow and the gallery. Easier to mask and paint at the ridge line as well. What was I thinking?
 
So I masked it correctly, and sanded it down...

and repainted. 
 
I still have some cleanup to do, but This looks a lot better to me. 
I think it's also interesting to note that there is a lot more space between the edge of the gunport and the gallery on the starboard side than on the port side 
 
It's kind of embarrassing to be going public with these blunders, but I recovered. 
 
...and I'm learning. 
Until next time, smooth sailing! 
Paul  

I am still here! Sorry for the delay, I have been fiddling with this occasionally but life has been crazy lately. My wedding was originally postponed until next year due to covid but last minute we decided to take a trip and get married by ourselves on an island, and I had to make an epoxy table for someone else for a wedding gift. 
 
This kit surprisingly did not come with a stand, so this last week I spent some time and planes down a piece of solid walnut, cut it in half and then glued it together so the stand will have a mirror image in the wood grain. 
 
I have also been taking my time on planking the upper decks, I am attempting to finish all of the structural components first along with the stand as I am planning on adding working deck lights and a few lights inside of the room so planning for the wires has added a level of difficulty, that’s for sure. 

Hi msw, yet another update. 
 
The hull is nearly finished, just need to add two more poles on the foredeck to secure the bowsprit. 
The first "rigging" part, constructing the bowspirit, went really well. Better than anticipated. This, http://www.animatedknots.com/knotlist.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com , helped a lot! I'm actually looking forward to the rest of the rigging now. 
I ran the thread through wax because I read that this helps with manipulating it. Most recommended are beeswax and microfiber wax (eg renaissance wax). I didn't have any of these so I used Mr Zogs sex wax (surf wax). It didn't do any harm but it also had little effect on the thread, besides making it smell good, so I ordered microfiber wax instead. It is still due to arrive but next time I'll be able to share my experience with this. Btw, do you have to wait inbetween wax layers or can you just pull the thread through a few times in a row?  
 
I will put the masts on the ship one of these days, but I have no clue about what ropes to tie first and the manual doesn't mention anything about this. What order would you guys recommend? 
 
Thanx for watching and possible answers,
your friend Halfdan
 
 
 
        
  


 
I tried making the cross section on the bowsprit as firm as possible so I added a little pin and adjusted the cross section so it would fit on the bowsprit better. (I do apologize for my poor terminology, it's a work in progress  )
 

Got the second level deck finished and did a little dry fitting. I am skipping around in a few steps in an attempt to finish all of the decks since it’s such a slow painstaking process. 
 
I also started on the box closing bars, using my small cutoff wheel to cut the 45 degree angle and then clamping it in my vice to file down the recess for the plank to fit in.

Progress at a snails pace, but I finally finished planking the second level deck. Putting the deck nails in and the second layer or varnish next using the same method as I did in the first level deck 

Began the mast construction over the last few days. Worked with several color and pattern ideas before deciding on the one I used. Took some ideas from other CS builders on this blog and went with a color combination that matched the deck houses. This is probably not authentic in actual color scheme but I think it makes for an attractive display. Anxious to get the yards on to see the full effect.  Mast are currently just setting in place and will come out to attach the sails. Curious about the studding sail booms. Not sure if i should add them or not?

Hi,   I’m making good progress on the hull at the moment and all is going along quite well. I’ve not been keeping the log exactly up to date but here is a catch up.
 
I’ve put the capping on the edge of the decks, the instructions suggested the fore and aft curves should be done in small sections from the strip provided, I didn’t think that this would look too good. I had a small piece of walnut in my stash, not enough to do all of capping but if careful, enough for the curves. I made up a cardboard template first as I only had enough for one shot at it. I put the curved sections on then added strips along the straight part.
 
The brass platings along the upper part of the hull were then cut to shape, drilled where the portholes were needed and glued into place. I drilled holes for the riveting and used brass nails for them, I then put the wooden 2x2 strip bellow.
Lastly I put the brass ports and scuttles in.  I gave the brass a good polish to finish it off.
 
 The two raised strips like wales were added next, these were made up of 4 x  .5x 3mm walnut strips. It was quite time consuming getting the curves at the stern to sit flat, the picture of the plan shows this. The newer kits supply these wales  as pre cut ply with the ports cut out, I believe that this version just does not work as they won’t curve and stay flat against the stern, most builders just leave them off and just paint the stripes on.
 
Ken   
 
Sorry about the order of the pictures, I'm not too good at doing it
 
 

After a little over a month the new doors are ready to be fitted.
 

 
The side frames will be trimmed once they're in place.
 

Well, gonna call this one finished.  The aft of the deck is badly warped, so were the masts.  The mizzen leaned so far forward, there was no way to make it look good.  The strain on the standing rigging would have been too much and something would have snapped.  The mast pieces were also very warped. 
 
So I have decided to wrap this one up.  I am happy with my first model in over 25 years.  I'll find a little case for it and show it happily. 
 
I am going to move along to my vintage 96 scale Cutty Sark.
 
Be back soon!
 

Did a little test of the Parrel beads for the driver boom. I sourced some 2mm beads (couldn't find anything smaller, 1mm would have been ideal) from the local craft store. Maybe tiny styrofoam balls could work better? Anyway, here goes...
 

 
 

 
I felt it was too risky to drill into the boom so I opted for a simple overhead knot on both ends. One end cemented and the other left as is in case I need to remove it if I change my mind later.
 

 
 

More lollipops made and some colour corrections for the mizzen topsail yard.
 

 
While waiting for the paint to dry and nothing much else to do, I painted the rest of the gunport covers. Seems a little too glossy, but they'll be facing down so may not be too obvious.
 
 

 
 
Now finding more work to do in between rigging the yards, I turned my attention to the netting.
 
After much thought and based on my limited resources currently, I opted to try copper wire bent over a spanner, lightly hammered and squeezed with pliers to mold around the square edges 
 
 

 
Trimmed to shape.
 

 
And now to test the product claims made by Gorilla Glue. Small drop of the CA and gingerly balancing them on the rails whilst waiting for it to set.  I chose the poop deck rails to test this out, as they were the easiest to access. 
 
 

 
Success (?) The scale seems a bit off so will need a trim and adjustment. 
 
 

 
I decided to leave out the eyebolts on the ends for this step. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable when complete🤞
 

Boat time again!
 
I had previously attached the boats to the chalks and checked it's location and fit of the supports with the pinrails.  I continued with adding the lines and chains, fastening the boats to the eyebolts.   As you can see, I did the work off the ship using some plastic containers to allow me easy access to all of the eyebolts.  The next step will be adding the studding sail yards, spars, and accommodation davit.  If I can fit all of that stuff on the beams. 

 

 

 


 
 

Hello again msw,
 
finally I made some mention worthy progress.
 
I spent a lot of time deciding upon the ship’s colors and on trying to figure out how to make the aftercastle.
 
Finishing; I applied 5 layers of thinned dark oak varnish with soft sanding in between layers. For the colored stripes I intended to use black but after giving it some thought I wanted something less “boring”. I could not make up my mind between green and blue so I did both. I started with a layer of thinned blue followed by a layer of green and did this twice, so four layers in total. 
 
Aftercastle; I decided upon a simpel layout with limited bling. I used foamboard, woodfineer, brass wire and L profiles, pre made windows and a plastic transparant sheet. I tried making the windows myself but I could not get them as clean and detailed as the pre made ones so I used the latter instead. The whales and the painting stop naar the stern, this is where the aftercastle will be fitted and cover the unpainted part. The castle is not completely finished yet as I plan to fit it in a later stage, I’m worried about damaging it while working on other parts of the ship.
I also ordered some ornaments that I might add.
 
So far the build is going pretty smooth without too much difficulties. I did spent a ridiculous amount of time glueing the whales on tho, persistence is key! 
Next up are all the structures, ladders, etc on the deck. 

hello everyone,
 
thanks for your support Harry!  I've been learning to use the lathe.  I've been accomplishing turning threads at the correct pitch and turning rods to the correct diameter within a 1/10000 of an inch. I have a way to go to before tackling anything of substance.  working on skills.  I'd like to make some parts for my tiny wood working lathe (like a following rest) and make some jigs for modeling.  Eventually I want to turn the ships bells, stanchions for the rails, sheaves and maybe cannon and  belaying pins. 
 
Sorry, I haven't posted.  Unfortunately, I've been working long hours as a result of COVID-19 and when I've had time off, I wasn't overly productive and didn't feel like being in front of a computer screen.  I don't think I checked email more than once a month.   Anyway, I have worked on the Model some when I can get myself motivated - seem to be in a funk and extremely tired.  Then I moved my home work environment from my house in Virginia to my house in Florida for the month. 
 
On to rigging - 
I continued work on rigging the mainmast.  I continued with rigging the ratlines, using templates created for both sides.   

 
The template is designed to be up against the shrouds to align the ratlines. The view of the template isn't aligned with the ratlines in the photo (its leaning against the mast, so the ratlines don't line up with the correct template lines. 
  
You might notice that there are two groups of lines red and black.  I screwed up which was evident when I checked the port and starboard alignment and height above the deadeyes.  The red lines are the corrections to the spacing. 
 

 
port side

 
some views of the foremast and the pin rails. You can see the serving of the main stay.
 

 

 
a view of the fore top from aft.  can see the 

 
Next is some work on the ship's boats
thanks
Marc

I think I'm correct in remembering that the tall 'baskets' on the stern deck house ('monkey poop') were for the crews use; one contained apples, the other water. I assume they were at that location so the captain could monitor their consumption. They would have been strapped to the deck.
The ones at the break of the poop were fire buckets, much like the leather ones on the 'Victory'.

`Hi,     Thanks again for the likes, it's good to know someone out there is watching.
 
 
More progress on the hull. I finished the second planking without encountering any difficulties except for the state of the wood which I have already mentioned. My first thoughts were that I would never get rid of the grain and achieve a smooth enough surface for a painted finish but I set about it and the end result was so good that it surprised me, although it took longer than the actual planking.
 
I first gave it a thorough sanding, taking away about half the planks depth.
I then spread a thinned water based filler over the entire hull and when dry sanded that right back.
I gave it a very light coat of spray primer, this highlight any imperfections and shows where the seams will show fine cracks. I worked in filler again to the imperfect areas, sanded and again sprayed, I did this twice.
I was then left with an acceptable surface but after spraying again I had to use a fine acrylic filler intended for hiding the seams on plastic models before getting a perfect surface. A fine sanding and another light spray completed the job.
A lot of work but in the end well worth the extra effort.
 
I’ve attached some pictures of each stage so that you can see the progress.
 
Ken 
 
 

 

Hi,
As you know I was unhappy with the decking and was in the process of having another go at it. I had made the same mistake on my Royal William build so why I didn’t learn from my mistake I don’t know, anyway it’s now completed and I’m delighted with the result, it was well worth the extra effort.
 
I used a mouse type sander and sanded off all the walnut planking, the waist deck proved quite difficult and I only managed a slight reduction here, I also removed the skirting from around the cabins in preparation for the re planking.
 
Like most of you I have a small stash of wood left over from other builds but I didn’t have enough of the same type to complete the decks, I didn’t want to have to buy any so I used what I had. I had enough light coloured wood but it was of different types in different widths and thickness, four in all. I used my small Proxxon table saw and cut them to the same width 3mm. I was quite surprised at how clean it cut lengths of planks, the edges didn’t even need sanding. I didn’t mind the different thickness as once laid I could sand them down to a uniform height. I cut them into 8cm lengths for a four butt pattern. I tried some dyes on test pieces to see if I could get their colour and texture similar, I ended up choosing a light oak.
 
I had no problem laying the planks although it was now awkward working around the cabins with the upper decks in place, I used white PVA to fix them. I sanded them back, rubbed some walnut filler into the seams then rubbed in the oak dye. I find that the filler soaks up the dye like end grain, slightly darker and gives a very slight appearance of corking, enough to take the plainness off. I re fitted the skirting then finished off with a coat of sanding sealer.
 
I am now much happier with the look of the deck, I think it was well worth the effort.
 
Ken