Brucealanevans

Er ....

Maybe not today. One of my blocks was wrong and the topsail sheet - a combination of chain and rope - was more fiddly than anticipated. Got those done and the stirrups up. Run some lines tomorrow and up she goes.

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

Gone on a family trip for a while, and I always have trouble motivating myself to beaver away on a repetitive job - in this case building the whaleboat stations as I finish off the standing rigging and prepare for the running rigging.
I finished the 3 portside stations.
 
I now - but not earlier - appreciate the precision with which the positional interplay of the channels, deadeyes/chainplates, shelter platform supports, and the components of the whaleboat stations need to be carefully worked out very early on. Because of even minor variances, I have had more than a little trouble with the davits and lashing posts and their rigging interfering with the shrouds and deadeyes. Consequently, I have some distortions and/or twisting I'm just going to have to put up with on the finished model. This is one of my big takeaways from this - my first really challenging build. I was a bit cavalier in placing the channels and the chainplate holes in the channels at that point. Well, build and learn.
Eyeballing the starboard side, I think the 2 stations there will be less of a problem, especially as I am now forewarned about the clearances I will require.
 
Here are a few photos of the port side stations with the blocks and hooks rigged. I used Syren Co. laser cut black hooks - I like the way they look.

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

Well I began working on the spars, starting with the lower main yard.
Oof - I was afraid I'd really hit the wall on this one. Where you look at the plans and what you've already put together and what you've mounted and say to self "how in the world am I going to be able to do that?"
Lessons learned in working slowly past that low point:
 
Look at the plans again and again and again. Note everywhere there is a block attached and do it with the spar in hand so that a nice seized end is possible. I ended up with too many ugly tie in place knots.
 
Look at the plans again and again to make certain every eyebolt is in place while the area is accessible. If it's going to be hard to get to tie a loop of line through it for later. When I was building the mast I saw that the eyebolt for the chain from which the yard hangs was going to be poorly accessible due to the cheeks so I put a loop of line through it and was able to tie the end of the chain to it using that line when the yard was mounted. It would have been better to attach a length of chain to it right away before mounting.
 
For blocks that will be hard to get to - and maybe for all blocks - go ahead and measure and put the final line through them before mounting. You will end up with a nest of lines to manage but the alternative of trying to get the line through the blocks when things are mounted is, at least for me, extremely difficult. I have snapped off and repaired 4 (!) davits while rigging this yard because of this. I'm gradually learning to be very aware of how I withdraw my arms/hands and tweezers from a tight place after rigging something. When mounting blocks to eyes either before or after confounding bits of construction, remember to check carefully whether the block needs to have the "origin" line stropped to it. I had to remove a couple of blocks are re-rig them because I missed this.
 
I've rigged a furled sail for this yard and didn't leave "ears" that were quite long enough. This reduced the visual prettiness of the main sheets.
 
Aside from that a couple of challenges of the model itself:
 
The chain block (attaches to the underside of the yard and passes the upper main yard's sheets from a sheave on the ends of the main lower yard down towards the deck for belaying) in the kit is a simple piece of solid metal. I couldn't do anything with that so I had to fabricate one that would not only pass the chains but allow them to be adjusted. Unfortunately my skill level is not such that I was able to do this in scale so the chain blocks for the main and fore lower yards are too big. Oh well, looks OK to me.
 
The lower mainsail sheet passes through a sheave in the hull outside to inside and ties off to a pin that is nearly inaccessible due to the shelter roof. It goes up to the block at the corner of the sail - on the yard in my furled sail - and back down to an eye on the rail near the sheave. There would be no way for me to adjust and tighten this line at the belaying pin. Using a right angle forceps with tiny remove action jaws I was able to snag a loop onto the underside of the pin and twist it over the top and pull it tight with a tweezer. Then I rigged the line "in reverse" and will adjust and tighten it at the eyebolt which is accessible.
 
None of the lines have been tied off yet. There are so many with partially opposed actions that adjusting them is going to be a bit of a challenge. I just finished the last line - the main yard lifts - this morning and I think I'll let things sit for a day or two before I tied them all off.
 
Overall this one yard has been much more work and anxiety than I had ever anticipated. Hopefully with lessons learned the next one will be easier. I'm going to have one or two upper sails set on the main and fore masts - we'll see how that works. There is a barely accessible eye just under the main top for a block that is part of the lower foremast brace. I'm already concerned about being able to rig that without further destruction.
 
I'm using silkspan painted with dilute yellow woodglue and a bit of ochre paint after drawing the panel seams with a sharp white pencil. I fold the seams around a line (about 3 mm overlap) and glue them with fabric glue while drawing out a small loop at each corner and tying it off.
 
This kit is much more of a challenge than I expected when starting it. I'm learning a lot to apply to my next build if I ever finish this one.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

If pieces need to be "re-hardened" how would it be done.  I'm thinking of pieces that need to be bent, but then need to hold some weight or pressure.
 
Richard

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Welcome to the multiple thumbs club.
I also snapped a davit I had to glue back together.
All back together now.
Let's see how much damage I can do when I come to rig the main yards.
I have a set of micro reamers from micromark that work well to enlarge the holes in blocks and deadeyes twirling by hand. I bought a second set cause I broke one and they're not quite as good as before (especially the finest one). They must have changed the manufacturer.

After the unnecessary frustration of lower hull, the aircraft and boat hangars have to be done next, the is no way around it any very little reference to it. Not much is visible and the back of the ship has a lot of photo etch details but the first step is the hangar doors which on the new tool have to be cut in half to show them open. The last photo shows what a bit of aftermarket rivet lines can do and how they compare to the old tool.
 
The flyhawk upgrade includes these doors buy Pontos does not. They should look ok after some paint.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Thanks much
I find the details draw my eyes - it's what got me going on this hobby to begin with.
My wife, who is a (typical) surgeon, says she'd never put up with the fiddly bits. Horses for courses I guess. (She has other strengths!)

Homer
Me too!
Just finished running rigging on my Morgan's mizzenmast. Would go faster and look better if I'd stop snapping things when working elsewhere. Klutz.
Thinking ahead to next build which I'll likely start while working on the 7 (!) whaleboats when I finish the standing rigging. To do shelf will unfortunately likely outlive me or my dexterity.
I think Granado although also plan Echo cross section to try my hand at a smaller scratch frame project. Confederacy still muttering to me from the shelf. I Just gave away a previously purchased Victory since once I started building my own models I tired of telling people "I didn't build that one". Unfortunately I had already bought a display for the Morgan so now I have a large unoccupied case. That's the biggest argument for the fully masted Granado over the Confederacy. Must stop buying models for a while.
The admiral just smiles.

I've finished the running rigging for the Mizzen. Thought it was nearly perfect until I snapped the boom lines with a wandering elbow while tying off the final jackspar lift line. The repair is OK, but the nice symmetry and nice tight lines I had prior are, well, not so perfect now.
Earlier, I had notice that I forgot to install the cleats on the inside rim of the aft rail that needed to go on before the hurricane house was roofed. I had just stuck them on the top of the rail but every time I looked at the aft view it irritated me as the two cleats pretty much obstructed the view into the hurricane house showing the wheel, the lifesaver, and other details.
I finally just cut them off to force myself to figure out a way to glue them to the inside edge of the rail through the small opening. I ended up putting a pin head into the base of two wooden cleats, drilling small holes through the rail from the outside, and after covering the pin with medium CA guiding them into the hole from the inside with an angled tweezer, then turning them 90 degrees before the glue set. Not perfect, but better than before especially once the boom lines were tied off to those cleats.
 
I put in all the lines to handle the spanker, including head and foot uphauls/outhauls and downhauls/inhauls, as well as the brails for gathering the sail into its current configuration. Since I am not setting the gaff sail I simplified the rigging there.
 
Next I'll start on the mainmast yards completing them off the ship. Will have to figure out how and to what level of detail to handle the sail rigging since they all will have furled sails. I may take a bit of a break to put together my HobbyZone shipyard building board for a change of pace and to get ready for the next ship.
 
Current plan when running rigging is complete is to add the cutting stage which will complete the model except for the whaleboats. I'll likely start the next ship then (probably Grenado) and work on the whaleboats on and off at that time. I don't want them to detract from the model so I don't think I want to sit down and make all 7 without something else to work on to keep from rushing the repetitive work involved.
 
Here are a few pictures.                                                                 -

Homer
Me too!
Just finished running rigging on my Morgan's mizzenmast. Would go faster and look better if I'd stop snapping things when working elsewhere. Klutz.
Thinking ahead to next build which I'll likely start while working on the 7 (!) whaleboats when I finish the standing rigging. To do shelf will unfortunately likely outlive me or my dexterity.
I think Granado although also plan Echo cross section to try my hand at a smaller scratch frame project. Confederacy still muttering to me from the shelf. I Just gave away a previously purchased Victory since once I started building my own models I tired of telling people "I didn't build that one". Unfortunately I had already bought a display for the Morgan so now I have a large unoccupied case. That's the biggest argument for the fully masted Granado over the Confederacy. Must stop buying models for a while.
The admiral just smiles.