gjdale

Thanks for the comments and "likes" folks. Bug - assembly line is the only way to go for these parts! Working with a larger piece of stock is also much easier than trying to shape these little critters individually. Kevin - welcome back. I've been keeping an eye on your Bismarck, but I'll be looking forward to seeing more progress on your Victory. Mobbsie - you just knew I wasn't quite satisfied with them didn't you? I agree, the anvil is still a little heavy. I've got an idea half formed that I might try tomorrow - now that I've got the basic shape and method worked out, it shouldn't take too long. My biggest concern though is making the horns too fragile. To answer your other question, fixing to the shrouds will be via lashings around the "legs" and also around the centre portion - as per the actual ship fit. That's the intention, anyway.

I most certainly do Remco, and this is even better, if that's possible!

Fascinating to watch this come together Ed. As usual, a highly instructive log.

Okay, been thinking about Shroud Cleats for a couple of days and decided that the method described above by Colin was probably the most likely to achieve success (thanks Colin ) First up, I needed to draw something up with dimensions so that I had a clear picture of what I was trying to achieve, so I knocked up a quick diagram in TurboCAD and was fairly satisfied with the overall size, proportions and shape of this: This cleat pattern is 5mm "wide" by 3mm "tall". I had intended to use this as a pattern, glued to the wood to aid cutting, but in the end didn't use it as such. The important thing was the dimensions, which determined the cutting process. The next important consideration was getting the grain direction correct on the finished piece to maximise strength and minimise potential for breakage. For some reason this messed with my head for a while, but I eventually worked it out. Taking a piece of Boxwood sheet 3mm thick and about two inches wide, I cut 5mm wide strips across the grain. This means that in the finished product, the grain will run along the length of the cleat. Then having worked out that I wanted the "feet" of the cleats to have a 1mm thickness for securing to the shrouds, I cut a dado using a 0.020" kerf blade in the Brynes saw, 1.67mm deep on both sides of the strip. These dimensions were important to achieving the final shape. You can see in the above pics that the stock on one side of the cut is thicker than the other side. The next step was to creat the "anvil" shaped horns for the top of the cleat. This was done using some curved riffler files, with the stock held in a small vice. In the next photo, one side of the anvil has been shaped: The stock was then returned to the Brynes saw and a very shallow "kissing" cut was made along the centre of the top side. This was used as a guide for a round file to then shape the curve across the top of the anvil, and leaving a very shallow recess to assist in securing the cleat to the shrouds. In the next pic you can see the final shape, with the curve and recess visible. The last step was to return once more to the Byrnes saw and slice off individual cleats 1mm thick. The hardest part of this process was catching the little buggers as they flew off the saw! Here's the yield from one piece of stock originally measuring 5mm x 3mm x about 2 inches (about 30 cleats all up, a few of which will be further modified to make mast cleats): And here they are, stained black and ready for installation. They still look a little "chunky", but I think I'm happy with them - they seem to be no worse than the metal versions available, at any rate. Now I just have to attach them to the shrouds.

Hi Spencer, There is an excellent article in the MSW database written by Wayne Kempson on drafting ships plans in CAD (which is what you are asking about, I think). Of course, it requires a CAD program of some sort. There are many available at a range of prices. I use TurboCAD and it seems to work well for a reasonable price. Here is a link to Wayne's article: http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/plans_and_research/DraftingShipPlansInCADwayne.pdf Hope this is what you were after.

Good to hear Sean - you'll find Longridge indispensable!

Lawrence, Do yourself a favour and use Chuck's line for ALL of your rigging. Sorry Wayne - back to your ship.

Looks like you're off to a great start Gary. I look forward to following your progress.

She just gets more lovely with each additional touch Danny.

Very nicely done Andy.

That's a great looking sheave block Bug!

Mine is probably not the best example to use for a reference Sean - you really don't want to look too closely at some aspects of it! I think if I were in your position now, I probably would put in the bearding line/rabbet - I suspect it will make the hull planking easier/better. With all the advice and support from the knowledgeable folks here, you can't really go wrong. But then again, you're the Captain, so it's your choice ultimately.

Looks like a really nice build. Think I'll pull up a chair too - did anyone bring the popcorn?

Fantastic Danny. Not only your usual excellent workmanship, but also your customary speed - what else should we expect. Someone is going to be a very happy camper when you finish this.

Hi Sean, No, I didn't do a beading/rabbet line - mainly because way back then I didn't even know what one was!!! Your solution to windows sounds similar to mine - I found a product sold by Micromark that paints on like diluted white PVA and dries to a clear solid finish, with that antique glass look. You should be very happy with the results you get from that approach.

Another nice touch with the details John. Very impressive build.

Thanks Colin, I like that approach too. Need to see if I've got some stock of the right size to try that. Definitely worth a go.

Now THAT is an impressive piece of scratch building ingenuity Remco. But then again, no one here ever doubted that you would come up something brilliant!

Nice idea for the curtains Sean. What did the kit provide for window glazing? Is it still that awful blue celluloid that originally came with my kit, or have they replaced it with something better these days? Or are you going to do your own thing with this?

I'll look forward to seeing your launch evolve Mike. Scratch building these little guys at 1:90 scale is lots of fun!

Hi Lawrence, Thanks for your kind comments. Sjors was referring to "another" 10 years from now. This build has now been underway for coming up 18 years (on and off), so yes, I'm keen to get finished and start something fresh. But there is no point in rushing - it will be finished when it's finished to my satisfaction. Only problem is, the longer I hang around MSW, the higher the standard for satisfaction becomes!!! In the meantime, I've found that Cornwall Model Boats, in the UK, stock some Amati 5mm Anvil Cleats (in metal) that look like they will do the job nicely if I can't manage to make something sufficiently usable from timber. So we have a back-up plan!

Wow Ed! That's a REALLY brave way to tackle that job! I'm impressed!!!

Nice to see you back Rob. Hope you manage to find a little more time for modelling soon. The ship is looking great.

Rigging is looking very nice Wayne. Have to agree with you on Chuck's rigging thread - it's a real treat to work with.

I hope not Sjors!!! I would like to be completely finished by Easter this year. That will depend on how crazy work gets in the next few months, and how many other little "surprises" I find as I complete the rigging.