EJ_L

Welcome to MSW! Best of luck with your build. I hope you can get a new copy of the instructions so you can continue. Great to have you with us and I look forward to seeing some of your work!

My first planking goal has been reached. I now have 20 strakes, 10 on each side of the keel complete. You can start to see how much it takes to plank these large ships of the line when you realize that although I have already gone up 10 strakes on a side, I still have not gotten out from under the bottom of the ship! Something to think about if you are new, watching this build and considering a large build. I have spent 25 hours planking and still have very little to show for it and remember, this is a double planked hull so I get to do it twice! As you can see my planking can still has room for improvement which is a why I like double planked hulls. Gives the extra practice and allows the 2nd layer to cover the bad spots. Still, I want people that are learning to take note of a few things that may help them. Remember, these are my tips and methods not rules and certainly not the only way. I am constantly learning new ways to improve myself. One thing that I see that gets asked all the time is how to measure the widths of the planks at the stem? Since you do not have a bulkhead there that runs all the way from the keel up like you have for the other locations you have to measure this differently. What I do take a long piece of plank and draw the known taper angle across the face from about 4 to 5 bulkheads back. Start by measuring the distance from the stem to the first bulkhead, then 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 etc. and mark those spots on your plank. Then mark the width of the plank at those locations. This will give you a line of dots that you can then connect with a straight line. Extend that line past the first frame to the end of the board and this will give you the width at the end of the plank where it butts to the stem. Now draw a straight line across the bottoms of the frames where they meet the keel and extend that line straight out to the end of the stem. This is the line for your garboard plank. To make life easy, I cut a small scrap board to the width if the plank at the stem and laying it against the line from the garboard, I trace out the next line and repeat until I have the same number of marks down my stem as I have on the edges of my bulkheads. See the below close up of the bow. Then when you plank all that has to be done is to make the plank fit within the space you just marked. Note: My garboard strake is wider than the first space. This is because the garboard is wider than the rest of the planking and this is where it tucks into the rabbet or in my case just tapers into a fake rabbet. Something else to look at is the fairing on the bulkhead edges. Planking should lay flat and even across the edges with no sharp corners showing or gaps between the plank and the frame. Mine mostly do but I know there is a gap at the first frame. This will need to be shimmed up. By making sure the edges are properly faired you can make planking lot easier as the wood will lay down smoother and have a stronger connection. I also went ahead and built a cradle for her to sit in. My normal vise that I use for this stage of building is too small for her. I need to build an adjustable build board just have not gotten around to it. So since I have reached my goal, it is time to take a break from S.R. and return to La Couronne to build her fore top mast and continue on with rigging. When I return in a week or two I will plank the next 20 strakes which will bring me up to just below the lower gun deck on both sides. Before that I will need to establish the wiring pathways I need for the L.E.D.s. Seeing her up on the cradle has given me a clearer picture of where and how I want to run them, just need to test and see. No idea why the pictures did not stay in order but they are all there!

I am assuming that you are using CA glue since time is of the essence. What I do when I need to get a thin line with CA is I use a sewing pin to spread the glue across the surface. Just quickly place small drops on the edge then swipe the pin through it to evenly spread it. The nice thing about the metal pin is that you can wipe it off and even if the glue sets up it can be scraped off easily so the pin can be reused. Same thing would work with wood glue or similar. Spreading the glue thin across the surface helps to keep it from pushing out along the seams when installing and gives a better coverage than trying to cover with a small bead.

Welcome to MSW Bruce! A lot of picking the best first kit comes down to is your personal skill level not just with model ship building but also models in general. What kind of tools do you have and what types of things have you made in the past? That being said, you are thinking along the right paths. Typically, plastic is more straight forward in that the instructions are more step-by-step compared to wood which are more like reading blueprints to see the final design but having to figure out how to achieve it yourself. You always run the risk of missing or faulty parts in any kit, wood or plastic. Replacements for either are usually fairly easy from most of the reputable hobby shops and manufacturers. The difficulty of any detail work, be it rigging, planking deck furniture etc., always increases the smaller you go. However, the larger a model becomes, the more room it takes and more work is created due to the sheer size. It is a balancing act to find what you are comfortable with. A smaller model is typically better for learning though as there is less work to be done. A solid hull is simpler than planking on a frame simply because there is a lot less involved and you now have a solid surface to plank over which provides better support in the difficult areas. There are way to many kits out there both wood and plastic to really give suggestions. I recommend looking for something that is simple however, as you already said, a lot of those do not appeal to you. Finding a ship that inspires you is very important but you do not want to become overwhelmed. Whichever you decide, we will be more than happy to help you through the learning process so you will have a model to be proud of and hopefully discover a hobby which will provide you many great hours of happiness in your retirement. Good luck to you and I will look forward to seeing what you decide to start with!

Welcome to MSW Ted! Good to have you with us. There are lots of great ships out there for you to choose from and while I always recommend starting with something simple to get your feet wet and learn the basics, we will gladly help you through any build you decide to try out. Best of luck to you on your first build and happy modeling!

Yards are secured with parrel beads that attach to the yard, wrap around the mast and connect to the yard again. Depending upon the ship, era and yard defines how these are actually rigged. Look up "parrel beads" in the search bar and you will see many builds with them. If you are looking for a "dummy" attachment to hold the yard in place while you rig, then I recommend drilling a small hole in both the mast and yard and inserting a tiny pin, wood or metal doesn't matter, then gluing them together. This will help add strength and hopefully help to prevent accidental knock off.

Thank you very much for the kind words. I am glad you enjoyed reading through and now can sit back and watch the new work!

Those side panels are called "bulwarks". I think you have a good plan to build them. What you have designed is basically what most kit instructions would have you do so I think you are good to go! Hope you finger heals well and quick. I've done similar injuries to myself over the years, hazard of my job and hobbies.

I have a similar problem coming up on my build with the lamp arm. One thing I have done which has helped in the past is to mount the base of the arm on the side of a forward corner. This still allows it to swing to all the places that I need but also keeps it in front of the ship so there is less chance of it hitting a mast. Combining that with the lights on my OptiVisor, I am usually covered for safe lighting. Another option you could try would be to mount the base on the wall higher than your model. Then you can pull the light down and the arm swing should be above all your work instead of next to or behind it.

Quick progress update. I have completed the first 10 strakes on the starboard side and have now started the port side. Garboard strake is in place and strakes 2 and 3 have begun. Planning on getting a lot of work time in this weekend as we have an ice storm headed our way. Good time to just stay inside and build. My plan is to go 10 strakes on both halves of the hull and then I will stop again to switch back to La Couronne. While working on her, I will start figuring out where I want to run the wiring for the cabin lighting down and out the bottom. I am also going to look into the cradle design I want to use and make sure I can hide the wires either in it or in a place that won't be easily seen. I needed the bottom of the ship planked but not very far so I could still get inside to run the wires. I am having to do a lot more forward thinking on this one since I am changing the build so far outside the instructions. Adds some more excitement!

You will have a great looking model and you are right, the vast majority of your viewers won't know the difference. First models are learning experiences. My first wooden ship is full of imperfections and quite honestly some horrible things. Still, she sits proudly in her case in my living room. I like to see where I started and have always said that as long as you are improving from build to build you are growing and learning. This hobby is as much about the journey as the finished product. Keep up the good work you are doing!

I guess the repairs come down to how much work do you want to put in and what do you want the end result to be? The easiest and fastest way is to simply split the space with two planks and fill it in. It will not be technically correct but it will fill the gap. The other way unfortunately would be to remove all the planking below the whoops and resuming planking from the remaining plank down to the keel. This will provide you with a much nicer finish in the end though it may cost you some replacement planks and will teach you an extremely valuable skill that you will use a lot while building model ships: the art of rebuilding!

Welcome to MSW Jim! I think getting glue on the windshields of our first model cars is a problem that plagues all of us as kids. That is a great kit to start with and as you have already found out, the build logs on here will be a great help to you. Have fun looking around the site and "sponging" up all the useful information on here. I will recommend starting a build log though. When you hit those tougher spots and have questions, the logs are a great place to get answers as we can see what you are struggling with and provide better answers. Good luck to you on your first ship build. I hope you enjoy it as much as all the other models you have done!

Your metal work is amazing. Just the details in that alone are a subject of study. Looking great!

Thanks for the compliments and I am glad you are learning as well. That is the greatness of this site. Showing off our work is good too but, being able to share in how we build so others can learn and grow is it's true success. Welcome to the log and I will go take a look at your build also.

You are off to a good start on your first build. Keep going and you will have yourself a nice model when done and gained a lot of skills for the next!

If I was, I would probably bleed out before I noticed it without the glaringly obvious red spots on white wood! Now that you mention blood wood though, I do have some out in the wood shop. I may look at ripping some down to use in lieu of red paint. I don't need a lot for this model so it might be worth it. Something to think about. Now if only trees produced royal blue wood....

Amati does sell their plans separately according to their website. Are you in the US? If so, try contacting Ages of Sail, see our sponsors list on the front page. They are a distributor for Amati and may be able to help you out in obtaining the plans.

When I packed up the old ship yard I had years worth of stuff everywhere and it all went in to boxes that are now stacked in my closet. I unpacked the stuff I use all the time and stuff that I know I will need but a lot of the extras that have been hanging around over the years are still packed away till needed. That combined with the fact that my table is now three times bigger than what I had at the old house and the clutter doesn't pile up as fast. Plus I am trying to keep up with the mess since it is a new house and all... I will have to take some in between pictures especially when I am planking so the true mess shows.

Interesting to watch you design and print this model. I think this is going to be a rather fun and informative build. Looking forward to seeing your progress unfold.

Welcome to MSW! I have seen a couple of excellent 3D builds on here now that were truly fascinating. They were of modern yachts though so I am very interested to see what you can do with an older ship like the Surprise. I will head over that way and follow along! As to your user name, you can call yourself what ever you would like. A lot of people though will put their first name down in their signature if they would prefer to have people use it. You can do whichever you feel most comfortable with.

The work you are doing on this tiny model is truly excellent. If you can do this good of a job on something this small, I am willing to bet a bigger model would be even more amazing. Get that dissertation fixed so you can get back to building!

That planking came out sharp. Well done! Seeing the wales, bulwarks and stern windows coming together and finally moving on past the hull work must be a great feeling. I like the choice of stain and paint that you have used. She will be a beautiful ship.

I have been having the same issues with rigging La Couronne. Anderson's books have been an invaluable resource and while they contradict the drawings from Corel at almost every step, I am trusting to their accuracy more so than the plan sheets. I have also been taking a lot of ideas from the Vasa and it's museum model. While they still may not be completely accurate to French practices or specifically the ones used on La Couronne, they are similar enough as the French based a lot of their design on the Dutch and the time period and style of ship are the same. I also have your great build and log to help guide me and discover the ways I do and do not want to do something. At the end of the day I am still just guessing but I try to make it as educated as possible.

Major milestone passed tonight as I have now shed my blood on the ship. I was wondering when he first time this would happen would be and it looks like hour 43 gets that distinction! On the plus side of things, I am happy to report that my plane is still extremely sharp and ready to continue working. I am never sure if this is a good sign or a bad one but, at least it is proof that work is being done! I do not think I have built a model ship yet that I did not become blood brothers with. I think the annoying part isn't so much that I manage to cut my fingers or sand the skin off, or any of the other ways I manage to draw blood but more in the fact that I don;t always notice that I am bleeding until I lift my fingers from the part I am working on and see the red dot or streak. I then sit there and stare at it with a WTF expression until it hits me that that sharp pain I felt a while back was indeed an actual injury....