Brucealanevans

A detour to make sails, which I've decided to add. The oars will be stored.
Need to address this before beginning the rigging, as the sails will need to be rigged to the yards prior to erecting the mast and adding the standing rigging. Will also need to order a few more blocks and more line as the model is not equipped for sails.
Also noted on the Smithsonian plans there is a boom to which the lower end of the mainsail is attached, so need to make that.
At this scale going to use cloth instead of silkspan. Dyed appropriate cloth with coffee and a few drops of black paint, and cut them out.
Will be doing some experimenting with the admiral on hemming them - she has a sewing machine foot that rolls and stitches a small seam, but we're not sure it will handle this thickness without fraying the edge. If the experiment fails, will turn and iron a 1/8 inch seam and likely sew it rather than use fabric glue like I did on the Morgan sails.

Finished and (temporarily) mounted the rudder with the tiller. Almost forgot to add the nails. That was a bit of a pain.
Added details to the forward cockpit which I felt might not be terribly accessible once I start the rigging. Glued the stove in place with a couple of implements, and added a number of half barrels and a box containing bar shot and balls, as shown on the Smithsonian plans.
For fun, added some fake water in the bailing well along with the water scoop also shown in the Smithsonian plans (which apparently were drawn to guide the construction of the replica).
Now, on to the rigging.

Finished and (temporarily) mounted the rudder with the tiller. Almost forgot to add the nails. That was a bit of a pain.
Added details to the forward cockpit which I felt might not be terribly accessible once I start the rigging. Glued the stove in place with a couple of implements, and added a number of half barrels and a box containing bar shot and balls, as shown on the Smithsonian plans.
For fun, added some fake water in the bailing well along with the water scoop also shown in the Smithsonian plans (which apparently were drawn to guide the construction of the replica).
Now, on to the rigging.

Finished and (temporarily) mounted the rudder with the tiller. Almost forgot to add the nails. That was a bit of a pain.
Added details to the forward cockpit which I felt might not be terribly accessible once I start the rigging. Glued the stove in place with a couple of implements, and added a number of half barrels and a box containing bar shot and balls, as shown on the Smithsonian plans.
For fun, added some fake water in the bailing well along with the water scoop also shown in the Smithsonian plans (which apparently were drawn to guide the construction of the replica).
Now, on to the rigging.

Back from a great Mediterranean cruise on the worlds largest ship with sails.
Back in the shipyard today -
Finished the stove. Bricks made with sculpy formed in the sheet the kit "bricks" of basswood were in. Modeling paste for mortar. Set up a charcoal fire in the stove. Suitably sloppy brick work!
Also added the pintels to the rudder.

Back from a great Mediterranean cruise on the worlds largest ship with sails.
Back in the shipyard today -
Finished the stove. Bricks made with sculpy formed in the sheet the kit "bricks" of basswood were in. Modeling paste for mortar. Set up a charcoal fire in the stove. Suitably sloppy brick work!
Also added the pintels to the rudder.

Back from a great Mediterranean cruise on the worlds largest ship with sails.
Back in the shipyard today -
Finished the stove. Bricks made with sculpy formed in the sheet the kit "bricks" of basswood were in. Modeling paste for mortar. Set up a charcoal fire in the stove. Suitably sloppy brick work!
Also added the pintels to the rudder.

Finished up the cap rail, the catheads, and the tholes, bits, and mooring bit. Put the cleats on the cap rail as well.
The forward facing 12 pounder sits a bit crooked in its carriage as you can see - I'll be fixing that later.
I'm going to depart from the instruction book sequence because I mean to do some detailing on deck supplies and equipment visible on the original Smithsonian plans, and that will be easier without working around the rigging and the canopy supports. So next will be the rudder hardware, the stove, and some other deck stuff.
Meanwhile tho I've tidied everything up and put the tools away as we are leaving on a 2 week vacation. Nice place to pause, as I've finished 5 of the 7 parts of the Ships in Scale series on this build.
Thanks for all the likes.
Does anyone have a favorite very thin cotton material for sails? Silkspan is not appropriate for this scale. Will probably use the same material for the awning - I don't like the stuff that came with the kit.

Finished the ceiling planking. Had a look at the Smithsonian plans which arrived afterwards, tho, and the interior planking was wider than the 1/4" (6 scale inches) the kit uses. Oh well.
Put the decks in - I cut the deck pieces into individual planks as I didn't like the scribed planking which ended up really highlighting the midline join between the port and starboard pieces. The cuts "lost" enough of the total width that I had to add a small piece to either side to make up the difference. Suggested by the Ships in Scale series. Also some fiddling due to the "drift" of the false keel amidships (see posts above).
All in all tho I'm pleased with how it looks at the moment.
Before I stain the interior I'm going to simulate the decking nails (they were iron nails, not trenails) with holes/black mono-filament line. Since I want to give those a light sanding I have to do it before I put the stain on.
I reinforced the place where the hausepipe hole goes through the exterior planking since those planks were not edge-glued. That's visible between the exterior planks and the ceiling near the bow in the pictures.
The arms chests are just placed on the deck in these pictures. I'll not glue those or the knees in until I've done the staining. I'll stain those pieces individually prior to gluing them in.
Having a lot of fun with the Smithsonian plans (I'd better since getting them was a real splurge) - a real wealth of detail for fitting this boat out.
Interestingly, also shows fascines - bundles of small diameter wood - hanging above the bulwarks to give sailors some additional protection. I'll have to decide if I'm going to include those.
 

Noel, the stain was a mixture of 2 Minwax stains - Gunstock 1/3 and something darker 2/3. Can't find the can at the moment. Stains were suggested in the Ships in Scale series, and I liked how they looked. He was trying to match the look of the reproduction Philadelphia.
Art, to this point most of my additions have been cosmetic - I have added nails (fake, see above) to all planking and fake bolts (see above) to everything attached to the hull, such as the knees, the cathead, and so on. None of this is necessary for the build - I went into this looking to detail alot. The deck in the kit is in several large pieces which I cut into planks and (due to subsequent material loss for each cut) had to fabricate some extra material along the edges. Again, not necessary to the build and requires a precision saw.
Also, as has become my practice, I replaced all the blocks and line with material from Chuck's Syren Ship Modelling. Not necessary but I like the look.
I spend so much time building these that I don't mind spending extra to dress them up, but the stock model material would make a perfectly adequate model.
Added some cannon balls (not in the kit) and some small plastic hinges for the lockers (not in the kit).
I'll be fabricating stuff, such as making bricks for the stove from modelling material rather than the wood pieces the kit provides, as well as bailing scoop in the aft well, and equipment for the guns. Got some barrels too. All of this is eye candy and not necessary for a good looking model at your stage. That was my stage when I started with Picket Boat #1 and then the CW Morgan. I fell off the wagon when I made the Morgan's blubber rendering stove out of 2x3mm individual bricks with spacers for mortar.
The main thing is to have fun!

Finished up the cap rail, the catheads, and the tholes, bits, and mooring bit. Put the cleats on the cap rail as well.
The forward facing 12 pounder sits a bit crooked in its carriage as you can see - I'll be fixing that later.
I'm going to depart from the instruction book sequence because I mean to do some detailing on deck supplies and equipment visible on the original Smithsonian plans, and that will be easier without working around the rigging and the canopy supports. So next will be the rudder hardware, the stove, and some other deck stuff.
Meanwhile tho I've tidied everything up and put the tools away as we are leaving on a 2 week vacation. Nice place to pause, as I've finished 5 of the 7 parts of the Ships in Scale series on this build.
Thanks for all the likes.
Does anyone have a favorite very thin cotton material for sails? Silkspan is not appropriate for this scale. Will probably use the same material for the awning - I don't like the stuff that came with the kit.

No had some plastic hinges lying around. That's why they're 2 different sizes 😀

I've rigged the guns, using blocks from Syren (Chuck) and rope from the same source. Chose to strop with line rather than wire. Appreciate advice in one of Chuck's posts about seizing with a series of carefully placed tight overhand knots rather than wrapping line, with a drop or two of dilute white glue and some compression/shaping as it dries - much easier and looks good to my eye.
Constructed and set up the mast and mast band to the mast partner. At this scale I thought it would be fun to put actual sheaves in the main and topmast, and did so using discs cut off of appropriate sized dowels and mono-filament line as axles.
Lower deadeyes also placed; in this ship they are anchored with rope place through the ceiling planks and hull with stop knots on the exterior.
Will work on the cap rail today, but the shipyard will be closed soon for two weeks as the admiral and I take a vacation (on a five masted sail ship!).
I'm pleased with how it's looking so far.
 

I've rigged the guns, using blocks from Syren (Chuck) and rope from the same source. Chose to strop with line rather than wire. Appreciate advice in one of Chuck's posts about seizing with a series of carefully placed tight overhand knots rather than wrapping line, with a drop or two of dilute white glue and some compression/shaping as it dries - much easier and looks good to my eye.
Constructed and set up the mast and mast band to the mast partner. At this scale I thought it would be fun to put actual sheaves in the main and topmast, and did so using discs cut off of appropriate sized dowels and mono-filament line as axles.
Lower deadeyes also placed; in this ship they are anchored with rope place through the ceiling planks and hull with stop knots on the exterior.
Will work on the cap rail today, but the shipyard will be closed soon for two weeks as the admiral and I take a vacation (on a five masted sail ship!).
I'm pleased with how it's looking so far.
 

I've rigged the guns, using blocks from Syren (Chuck) and rope from the same source. Chose to strop with line rather than wire. Appreciate advice in one of Chuck's posts about seizing with a series of carefully placed tight overhand knots rather than wrapping line, with a drop or two of dilute white glue and some compression/shaping as it dries - much easier and looks good to my eye.
Constructed and set up the mast and mast band to the mast partner. At this scale I thought it would be fun to put actual sheaves in the main and topmast, and did so using discs cut off of appropriate sized dowels and mono-filament line as axles.
Lower deadeyes also placed; in this ship they are anchored with rope place through the ceiling planks and hull with stop knots on the exterior.
Will work on the cap rail today, but the shipyard will be closed soon for two weeks as the admiral and I take a vacation (on a five masted sail ship!).
I'm pleased with how it's looking so far.
 

Interior structurally done, and exterior stained.
I made hauser pipes from brass tubing and glued the kit-supplied end pieces over the ends after the staining (as per the Ships in Scale series on this build, which I have found enormously helpful).
Then built the carriages, glued the cannon tubes together, stained the carriages to match the exterior stain, airbrushed the cannon tubes, and blackened the various bits including the washers for the transverse bolts (I used black covered 19 gauge wire for those) and the trunion caps (used Bluejacket pewter blackener for those as brass blackener won't work on brittania metal), and put everything together. Fasteners for the trunion caps made from a loop of black wire on one end, and brass wire flattened on one end with a hole drilled for the fastening bolt. Nails again simulated with inserted and trimmed monofilament line.
I did not glue the trunion caps down; they can be removed as I will want to remove the cannon tubes during further construction.

ALERT
Lesson learned: stain first, THEN place the monofilament pieces. 
I thought I was very careful with the glue but still ended up with many halos after first staining. Had to spend time touching up with matching paint. Thank heavens this is a slapdash beat up looking ship and end result was ok. 
Will give stain a sanding when dry, then wipe on a light final coat as I did with the inside. 
 
 

Not my original idea. Chuck showed this on his barge prototype. Unfortunately here I had over 700 to do on the outside (many fewer inside. Just finished this morning. 
Did a google for black monofilament line and picked one supposedly 0.4mm diameter and used #76 drill bit. I think it came from Japan. 

By the way, I think I made the separator character with an integral sign and strikethrough and italic styles applied. Can't recall for sure.
 

By the way, I think I made the separator character with an integral sign and strikethrough and italic styles applied. Can't recall for sure.
 

Just a comment on the lettering. I used a word cell with black background and white or gold letters and put it on with modge-podge stuff, then flat clear over. 
One advantage is the choice of fonts to match the real Morgan. A  styilized italic "s" with strikethru style added gives you that divider character on the transom. 
You can see the result in my build.  If your ebony is true black it should work. 
Got the idea from John's Morgan build log. 
 

Interior structurally done, and exterior stained.
I made hauser pipes from brass tubing and glued the kit-supplied end pieces over the ends after the staining (as per the Ships in Scale series on this build, which I have found enormously helpful).
Then built the carriages, glued the cannon tubes together, stained the carriages to match the exterior stain, airbrushed the cannon tubes, and blackened the various bits including the washers for the transverse bolts (I used black covered 19 gauge wire for those) and the trunion caps (used Bluejacket pewter blackener for those as brass blackener won't work on brittania metal), and put everything together. Fasteners for the trunion caps made from a loop of black wire on one end, and brass wire flattened on one end with a hole drilled for the fastening bolt. Nails again simulated with inserted and trimmed monofilament line.
I did not glue the trunion caps down; they can be removed as I will want to remove the cannon tubes during further construction.

By the way, I think I made the separator character with an integral sign and strikethrough and italic styles applied. Can't recall for sure.
 

Interior structurally done, and exterior stained.
I made hauser pipes from brass tubing and glued the kit-supplied end pieces over the ends after the staining (as per the Ships in Scale series on this build, which I have found enormously helpful).
Then built the carriages, glued the cannon tubes together, stained the carriages to match the exterior stain, airbrushed the cannon tubes, and blackened the various bits including the washers for the transverse bolts (I used black covered 19 gauge wire for those) and the trunion caps (used Bluejacket pewter blackener for those as brass blackener won't work on brittania metal), and put everything together. Fasteners for the trunion caps made from a loop of black wire on one end, and brass wire flattened on one end with a hole drilled for the fastening bolt. Nails again simulated with inserted and trimmed monofilament line.
I did not glue the trunion caps down; they can be removed as I will want to remove the cannon tubes during further construction.

Interior structurally done, and exterior stained.
I made hauser pipes from brass tubing and glued the kit-supplied end pieces over the ends after the staining (as per the Ships in Scale series on this build, which I have found enormously helpful).
Then built the carriages, glued the cannon tubes together, stained the carriages to match the exterior stain, airbrushed the cannon tubes, and blackened the various bits including the washers for the transverse bolts (I used black covered 19 gauge wire for those) and the trunion caps (used Bluejacket pewter blackener for those as brass blackener won't work on brittania metal), and put everything together. Fasteners for the trunion caps made from a loop of black wire on one end, and brass wire flattened on one end with a hole drilled for the fastening bolt. Nails again simulated with inserted and trimmed monofilament line.
I did not glue the trunion caps down; they can be removed as I will want to remove the cannon tubes during further construction.