gjdale

Hi Sean, The smaller blocks are definitely an improvement and they look okay with the frapping. The only other thing I could suggest would be to have a look at Dafi's photo etch material that he supplies for a 1:100 scale Victory. I would think that the scale difference would work in your favour here. Might be worth investigating/considering.

Looking terrific there Bob. As Augie said, enjoy the holiday/family time, but as this is to be an "extended" visit, I'm sure "time off for good behaviour" will allow you the occasional visit to the shipyard!

Congratulations on reaching a major milestone Mark. She looks great and I can't wait to see the planking started. You must be feeling very pleased with yourself - and rightly so too, especially after the brave decision to start over when Ver 1.0 wasn't going to plan.

Looking good Sean. Have you considered sourcing your blocks from Chuck's Syren company? They look to be first class - way better than any other commercially available blocks.

Lovely little touches of detail to complement your fine build there Gil.

Very cleverly done Chuck!

I'm with Toni here Remco!!! And for Remco's next miniature challenge....................

That deck looks lovely Boyd.

That's looking seriously good Ben!

Just beautiful Toni!

Just had another thought Sean, Try checking with somewhere like Cornwall Model Boats. They carry lots of parts from the various manufacturers and might have some suitable canons.

Hi Sean, I just went and counted what's on my model and I have 30 plus 10, so it looks like Mamoli has stiffed you two guns/carriages. If you can't get replacements (which might be difficult after the fire they had), then two options might be to leave one port closed on each side (say, under the poop deck), or leave two ports closed on the "wall" side.

Congratulations on a stunning model Matija. Your attention to detail is superb, as is your craftsmanship.

Just found your log Matija. Beautiful work so far - I just love your decking. I'll pull up a chair and follow along from here too.

A very nice collection there Ray. Diana is looking superb.

Nice to see you back at it Sean. Congrats on the new arrival too!

Thanks Dave, that's a good thought and worth consideration. I'll probably stick with the copper wire though as it gives me what appears to be a pretty satisfactory outcome.

Thank you Doc, Richard and Steve. More votes for the black option confirms the decision! Richard, I believe the bolts were one inch diameter in actual practice (from my study of the scantling table in AOTS). I have no idea what size the bolt heads would be. EdT (Naiad and Young America logs) often uses black monofilament fishing line for this purpose. I can't seem to find any of that over here, so the copper wire seems to be a good option.

Thanks Lou, Bob, Mobbsie, Alan, Joe, Steve and Sjors, and all of the "likes". Mobbsie - that's a trick of the light making it appear shiny. Viewed "flat" all appears well covered. Steve - the bolts are to hold the double frames together, so they aren't sheared through. Overwhelming opinion seems to be to go with black, which was my inclination to start with, so black it shall be. Ran into a bit of a problem with chocks agains this afternoon. Going back to the drawing board on this one and will try again next weekend.

Great update Wayne. Nice addition of detail.

Yup, wot he said! Nice rear end Mark

Thanks Mobbsie, Augie and Ben. Mobbsie - the overheating problem hasn't been solved as such, but I'm keeping an eye on it and if necessary will do my sanding in shorter bursts to avoid the problem. I figure that the worst case is that I will need to get the motor rewound at some point. Resumption of Play Testing of Frame Bolts Jeff’s drawings indicate large bolts/treenails either side of the chocks on the double frames. The drawings in AOTS show a significant number of additional bolts on these frames. Having seen these additional bolts added on Spanien’s build log on MSB, I decided that I would also add these. As far as I can tell from the scantling list in AOTS, these bolts would be one inch in diameter. At scale that translates to 0.53mm. Compromising between accuracy and aesthetics, I have chosen to use copper wire of 0.9mm diameter. I stretched the wire to breaking point to work harden it as well as to straighten it, giving it a final diameter of 0.8mm. I’ll call that the diameter of the bolt head, not the shaft! These were inserted into pre-drilled holes in the frames and secured with epoxy. Once the glue had set, the frames were sanded to remove excess glue and set the bolt heads flush. My dilemma now is whether to leave these as bright copper, or to blacken them (which I think would be a more accurate representation of iron). I tested this with my Test Frame D1/D2, leaving one side “natural” and the other blackened. The good thing about using copper in lieu of brass is that copper can be blackened with Liver of Sulphur (LoS), which can be painted on in situ and the excess cleaned off with water, without staining the surrounding timber. Here’s a few pics of the test pieces. Here is an overall shot of the natural copper bolts: And for comparison, an overall shot of the blackened bolts: A close-up of the natural copper: And a close-up of the blackened bolts: I’m leaning towards the blackened bolts, but am not yet decided. Opinions welcome! Here’s a couple of shots of the test frame in the jig: All looks good to proceed, so it's back to making frames and fitting chocks - properly this time!

Looking really good Augie. I like John's solution. Good luck with the negotiations - I find that bribery works quite well, especially jewelry (but save that until you're almost done, for maximum impact).

That is truly amazing Karl - just stunning!

Nice work on the reef points JesseLee. By the time you're finished them you'll be an expert in placing that second knot!