Dutchman

Hi Floyd, I did a quick check on the Carronades and I think I'm OK. I included a photo so if this triggers your mind and I'm wrong, let me know.
 
When lining up the gun port lintels I realized I must have had a brain faze fitting the gun port sills. 1/4' is a smaller number than 3/16, right...., apparently not, so I glued in both rows orientated vertically instead of horizontally.
After a few choice words and a frantic search further down the manual to see where it could cause me trouble I think I might have gotten away with it.
(In the end I might even feel smart, because I got away with a lot less sanding than what I would otherwise had to do.....lol).
Lesson learned: Concentrate & tripple check those silly imperial numbers when you are used to metric.
 

Dutchman, sorry for leaving you out. And yes, it was intended for you too...

Hi
and welcome to the syrens club
i also got the bad plywood so I contacted M.E and got a replacements frame 
I think its Because of saving product cost  that M.E  at newer time provide the kit with bad plywood 
its not a good ting to do with a grait kit designed by Chuck 
 
Svein erik

I think this reply was (also) meant for me. I will try and contact ME. Thanks for the advise!

And the work is going on... even in a slower tempo. The side rienforcments of the hull, the side chanels, the front gunport hutch, the ladder and other details on  the side of the hull are finished.

Some progress on Chapter 3. The "plank bender" turned out OK.
A great stage of the build if you like sanding....

Just an update with a few photo's.
I am close to finishing Chapter 2. Still need to varnish the lower deck and some sanding to bevel the bulkheads a bit more.
I got a bit of a scare when one of the back bulkhead extensions broke off when it got caught on my shirt while sanding the blocks down. It's glued back on but without any extra support because all 4 sides need to be accessible for future work. It's going to be fun managing that...

We returned to Florida after a week away, just after our power was restored. Fortunately, there was no damage done and life is returning to normal. "Normal" means back to work on Halifax, so here's an update.
 
The next order of business was to complete the decking for the aft most section. In order to do that, I needed to at least rough out and position the deckhouse/companionway/binnacle structure first. Once I got started on it, however, it was too much fun to stop, so I finished it completely. The structure was made as follows: the walls were made from individual planks cut from 1/8" x 1/16" boxwood strip; the walls were shaped to match the camber of the decks; the walls were assembled using square strip at the inside corners; interior dividers were cut from 1/16" boxwood sheet and fitted to form the companionway walls and the binnacle cabinet; moldings were added to all of the walls using 1/32" boxwood strip; the doors were made in the same manner as the walls; the roof was cut from 1/32" boxwood sheet and bent to fit the camber; final detailing was done using PE door hinges and roundhead brass pins for door handles. I couldn't resist doing a compass for the binnacle, although it really can barely be seen. The compass was made from a slice of brass tubing, with a styrene disk for the face. I used Micro Krystal Klear for the "glass". One of the photos shows the structure in place temporarily, but it won't be mounted permanently until later.
 
The deck planking was done in the same fashion as before and provides an open look into the stern cabin.
 
Bob
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's the current status of this build.  All the deck furniture has been glued in place except the tiller, which hasn't got any poly yet either.  I just completed the railings, and I still have to build the cannon carriages, swivel guns and swivel gun supports before I start rigging.  The masts and sprit are just sitting in place.

Agree with you that the scale seems to be off with the size of the capstan and the too high height of the bow railings. My choice of finish was based on a strong preference for wood finish and I find Hermoine's modern colors too colorful for me on what is essentially a warship. Think the model finished as per spec., (as you have done very well) results in a brighter look than the real ship. At least that's how it appears to me in pictures of the real ship. The kit was also a bit of a surprise to me as I purchased mine from the Modeller's Workshop site in Montreal and the picture they still have there (shown below) is of the old kit. I assumed that even if they had changed the kit I could still finish it as per this picture. That turned out to be a lot more of a challenge due to there no longer being a 2nd layer of finish quality planking provided. Considered leaving out the nets off the railings and only putting some string in the middle but building the parts was a challenge so I kept them.

A long time ago when I was a teenager, I used to watch a wrestler from France called Le Giant Jean Ferre here in Quebec. You may have heard of him as Andre the Giant. Here he is taking out King Kong Bundy so perhaps the capstan was designed for french sailors of the same size?  
 

Thanks, all, for the help so far! I've taken some time off from building over the summer for travel and work. But now I'm back at it!
 
Since my last post I have planked the deck, attached and planked the bulwarks, finished most of the deck furniture, and begun attaching the keel. Most of this I did in fits and starts when I could squeeze time in, so I didn't take detailed images or record notes. I'll try to recall some of the more difficult stages and describe how I worked through them here.
 

Deck planking was straightforward. The planks are very thin, so they warp. Especially when they're wetted with glue. I let each one dry for an hour before applying the next one and pressed each one firmly against the last. Sometimes I used nails when planks were especially warped. In the image above, the starboard side is completed and lightly sanded. The image below shows the deck complete and the wale bases applied. This was tricky, but after planking the ship it shouldn't bee too difficult. You can see I have been preparing the gunwales as glue sets, etc.

Not shown is the penciling in of the timbers and the nails. I used a decently hard graphite pencil and applied some pressure, measuring and lining up all markings based on the provided plans. This was tedious! 
 

To attach the wales, I soaked the balsa in tepid water for 12-13 minutes. (I chose this amount of time after running a couple tests on the scrap pieces.) Then I nailed them and let dry. The next day, I removed them, applied glue, and put them right back on. Worked fairly well, although I didn't get them quite as flush as I had hoped in places. 
 
The deck furniture on this kit seems to be straightforward and simple. Drilling the 1mm holes was the hardest part (I split a few boards doing this). Masking tape face-up helps with the scuttles:


Starting to come together:

 
More soon.
 

Made some more progress and have a question. First, deck furniture is complete, I've framed the gun ports and put the bulwark timbers in.



My question involves opening the hole for the bowsprit. I started with a small bit and am progressively increasing the size. Unfortunately, the veneer is finicky and wants to tear out. Any ideas? Pic below.

Stairs and safety nets are on.... the bell ... and so on.

And on...

No u r right... pictures are foggy. I did paint yellow because my desicion.is that am building the replica not the original ship

I decided I needed to punch up the stern on "Clio" (Independence).  It looked kind of pale and vanilla.  I added vertical beaded molding made of rosewood between the lights.  I think it highlights the windows and ties them in with the quarter badges.   The photos show the comparison.   I added the gudgeons and pintles and mounted (temporarily) the rudder.  I finished the channels.  I'm ready to start the quarter deck/poop deck railings and swivel gun mounts.  Then it's glue all the deck furniture in place and start rigging!  

Installed last sail🍻  now im getting the bowlines done and itll be down to some of the finishing touches ie. Cannon covers, anchors and a few other goodies.  Its been a treat working on the model, and having completed the rigging for the most part, a pattern emerges and its far less intimidating than when i started.  I actually quite enjoy the rigging, other than ratlines lol.

Again??
 
enjoy!
 
Sjors

I decided to make my masts and sprit out of swiss pear.  They need to be 5/16" in diameter at the base, and tapered.  Obviously there is no commercial source so I'll make my own.  The first step is to drill a 21/64" hole in some mild steel.  Then I cut out mast blanks on the table saw a hair larger that the hole.  I sharpened the tip of the blanks, then chucked them into my 1/2" electric drill.  Using the steel as a drawplate, I pushed the spinning wood through the hole.  The resulting dowels were a bit rough, bu I have at least 1/64 to play with and they clean up easily.  Once they're at 5/16", I'll taper them.  Here's a photo of the blanks and the resulting unsanded dowels.  I also linked to a You Tube video showing the technique.
 

Oh, well done! Beautiful! I'm still trying to work out how to get the chainplates and lower deadeyes fixed. Your build is a very nice example to me. Thanks! Are you going to rig the sails as well? And do you have any idea what your next build will be?

Ive been steadily working away on the cannons and other details. I finished the rudder which turned out nice. The hinges worked out better than on the launch. I did those by securing the pin first and then adding the other parts. Then i started work on the mizzen mast.