Tim Curtis

Hello,
 
it is done, the hull is planked! 
It went not all as I aspected, but I'm more or less satisfied with the result. Some putty and sanding will do the rest and paint will cover it later 
 

 

 

 
And thank you all for your likes and comments. 

Here are laser cut boxwood panels that need adding.
 

 
Again Chuck added extras because the are VERY DELICATE. Old hammer hands only broke
a couple but it was nice to know there were plenty of spares!
 
 

 
 

 
The inboard painting is done unless I make a boo boo. Next I'll be cutting out the printed friezes and inserting them in the panels.

Thanks Mike, Al, Dirk, Thomas Pat, Joe and all the likes for kind words and continued interest.   It feels like its been so long since I provided an update that I'm going to do just that, even though I don't think I've really reached a "point of completion" worthy of note, it will serve to document a few things before I forget.
 
Ladders:
How to approach these?  Having known for some time I wouldn't be happy with the kit supplied items I've been pondering how to get a half decent result without the table saw that I aspire to one day!  In the end, a simple jig made up some 2mm thick strip with one face carefully angled using a Proxxon disk sander proved to do the job well enough.  Once the treads were cut to the same length, simply slotting into the jig, placing glue on the ends and placing the stringers proved simple enough.  Removing from the jig after a couple if minutes before the glue cures fully makes for much easier (lower stress) removal.  The central stringer on the wider ladder was simulated with individual 1x2mm pieces.  The sharper eyed among you will notice a notch cut in the back of the wider one, more on that in a moment...
 

 
Everything is just dry fitted, but pretty pleased with how these look in place.  (Side-note:  I did go a little crazy and placed a grating on the false lower deck as shown on the plans.  This proved to actually be quite visible, more so in person than shows up in the photos and adds a little additional depth).
 

 
For the main hatch, I ran into a little dilemma.  In previous posts you can see how I had simulated the cross beam from the plans, this did cause a problem though when it came to figuring out how the ladder fits here.  First attempt below was of a shorter stringer with one less tread, but although this terminates at the height of the beam, it just didn't seem right as it would be a real stretch for Captain Stirling to hoist his leg up reasonably.  I also built a longer version with one additional riser, this seems more appropriate, but requires the aforementioned notch to be cut into the back of the stringer to fit around the beam.  Despite hiding a feature I had quite proudly included, it does look better to my eye and certainly more practical - I can only speculate that this is the solution used on the real ship.
 
Rejected first solution:

 
Dockyard approved solution:

 
Cole Pumps:
Another very dominant feature that will be visible are the Cole chain pumps.  The kit provides 3 pieces to build up into the cistern and the domed cover, but these would require painting.  I wanted to try and improve on these, and possible explore keeping these a natural finish.  After struggling to reconcile the dimensions in the AOTS book, I gave up because none of the scale diagrams agree to each other.  In the end, I used the guidance in TFFM to approximate dimensions and adjusted to account for the wider width of the partners, and ensure that the height of the top of the cistern is a scale 3' 7" off the deck as TFFM specifies - this makes total sense as this would likely land mid chest for most people which would be an optimal height to operate most efficiently.  The covers are still a work in progress as I will cover in castello planking.  These are still in process, but overall, these took quite a while to figure out and proved to be very fiddly, but they are a heck of lot of fun to do!
 
The mainmast partners have also been simulated using a simplified structure as this will be almost completely obscured when all the various pumps and cross pieces are finally in place.
 

 
Paint choice for metal:
Think I've decided on the colour to use for metal items, Tamiya Dark Iron XF-84.  The photos of course don't show the subtlety visible to the eye, being a definite browny black, but this colour is very very similar to blackend brass.  I've been reluctant to paint the beautiful RB barrels and the fact that this colour blends in so well means that I think I can now feel sure to keep these as is but know that non-metal items can be made to trick the eye.  I built the stove provided in the kit up to prove this out and is a pleasant contrast to the Admiralty 'matte metal black ' used on the coamings and other wales.  BTW - despite assembling this, I'm pretty sure I will be trying to scratch build my own stove....just because....
 

Love your build. Love your wonderful attention to detail.
Ratlines seem to have just right amount of slack....beautiful.
Tim

Love your build. Love your wonderful attention to detail.
Ratlines seem to have just right amount of slack....beautiful.
Tim

Many thanks.
All about 600 pcs reef points are in place. Now the only thing left is to attach the sails on the yards.

Love your build. Love your wonderful attention to detail.
Ratlines seem to have just right amount of slack....beautiful.
Tim

Love your build. Love your wonderful attention to detail.
Ratlines seem to have just right amount of slack....beautiful.
Tim

Love your build. Love your wonderful attention to detail.
Ratlines seem to have just right amount of slack....beautiful.
Tim

I finished the ratlines. Did them on the futtock shrouds too.
I failed to give enough detail. After tying off the lines the watery glue is brushed on and let dry to seal all the line ends where they are tied and hitched. Shape as needed as the glue gets about half-way dry. When the whole thing is done I water brushed them to thin down any areas where the glue may show on the knots and hitches. You want them to look like you just tied them. After all this I usually do another light brushing of water with a drop or two of paint to match the original rope color to mask any glue washed look to them. This is a very light wash. I immediately dry it by lightly pressing front and back sides between my fingers where space allows this. I try to have cut pieces of cloth like handkerchief material around my fingers. You can also use cotton swabs in hard to reach areas. I have chosen dark brown instead of black rope for my standing rigging so I had a drop of black and brown in the wash. This can sometimes slightly tighten it up when the wet ropes dry. I learned this from my flagpole ropes outside. You can also use a stain for this if you want instead of the water/paint wash. I don't like it as well because to me the ropes turn out looking more wet/oily looking from the stain. The water paint wash leaves them flat and dry looking like regular rope. I know some will think this overkill but I love the final resulting look.
 
Jesse
 

At long last I have started my CWM. This kit has been in my stash for quite some time.  I saw no point in photographing the kit contents as there are quite a few Morgan build logs showing the parts.  I will note that, contrary to the instructions, the center keel was a single laser cut piece, not 2 pieces. I do not know if this is still the case, but it makes for an easier start to the build. The photo shows my building slip set up to start test-fitting the bulkheads.

So, today I made a bunch of little rope coils, stuck them all over the cutter, dusted off the display case, cleaned the glass, and put the cutter in it. I'm calling it good enough. I may make a flag later, but as far as I'm concerned, Shenandoah is done. Whew! She looks pretty nice on the island between the family room and the kitchen.
 
I think I'm going to try scratch building something next. Cheers, everybody!
 
Steve

And the work completed on the real

A pic of the final version of my drilling template. I would draw a line across the deck at the butt joints, then center the 4 hole pattern on that over a butt joint at opposite ends of the deck and drill. Then i'd draw two lines through all the holes. To drill the remaining holes i'd center the holes in the pattern over these lines, then center the plank edge under the reference holes, hold down and drill. I tried tracing out lines and drilling free hand, but even after starting with a sharp point i found the template to be quicker and more consistent. 
I started toothpicking with bamboo. First area confirms i got exactly the effect i was going for. Very subtle but noticeable at the same time.
 

Yay, I have now finished the planking and the treenails above the water line, which is all I plan to do.  I am investigating ways to put copper on the bottom and am planning some tests for the finish above the water line.  
 
I have also started sanding down the hull on the port side, causing the treenails there to almost disappear.  Overall I am pleased with the planking.  It is far from perfect, and I am not ready for a model left in natural wood state, but it is workable.
 
I continue to be a bit concerned about the transom.  Those top two or three planks should have hung out farther I think.  I'll probably need to do some patching there and that will likely prove difficult.
 
 

The next step is to start cutting out the planks in swiss pear to match the precut planks in the kit. This is really easy and takes about 5 or 10 mins per plank.
I glued the kit plank to the strip of pear with UHU, so that they can be easily separated later. Then carefully cut around the plank with a sharp scalpel.

Finally I gently sanded around the edge of the two planks while they are still stuck together so that they are exactly the same shape. I used a nail file stick.
Then gently separate them, and hey presto, I have a plank in swiss pear that matches the Annegri kit plank exactly. Two finished examples set out below.

It still remains to see if the "iron on" glueing process will work. But preliminary tests have been encouraging.
 
Tim.
 

A quick snapshot of where I am to date. My progress will be slow as I am still finishing my Scottish Maid, for which I have a separate build log.

Here is some of the bulkhead planking which come as laser cut veneer sheets, with gunports already cut, and planking scribed by laser.
The external planking is in annegri wood, which has a pronounced grain which responds badly to staining with markers, so I ended up painting this (which took ages) with about ten thin layers of acrylic.
Internal planks are walnut, which I stained red, once, with permanent marker in about 2 minutes....

 

Here are a few photos of the cannons. Again pretty teensy at this scale.
They come as a separate little laser cut kit, with barrels cast including a vague royal seal.
There is some laser scribing in the wood which I like, partic the detailed capsquare. Ring bolts are PE brass, included in the kit, but I have not fitted them yet.

 

Here is a photo of the windlass. It comes as a neat little kit of its own. I have stained the posts with permanent marker, which is quick and tidy. 

Here are some photos of the longboat. About 90mm long at 1:72. Its pretty teensy. But a good little kit with most of the wood being pear. Sadly the keel and prow are in very crumbly ply which is hard to work with, and has a poor finish.
Stained the wales, rail and top plank with permanent marker to get some tidy colour, without the difficulty of painting at this little scale.

Here is a photo of the scribed decking. It was pre-scribed by laser cutter. I deepened and darkened the scribing and the treenailing with a 0.3mm 2H pencil. I am pleased with results, especially at 1:72.

Starboard gun tackle complete. I might do something else for a while, perhaps start on some spars, there's only so much time I can spend on making tiny blocks and hooks and tying tiny knots before I need a rest.
 
Cheers, David.
 
 

and some new photos

I have been swamped with trying to rebuild my inventory before the Connecticut show.  But yes I have made some progress but nothing really new.  I basically have caught up to where I was on the earlier version.  This is where I am at right now.  The good news is that I have completed the set up in shop for some serious model building after the show.  I am ready to go and have set up an area to take better pictures.....hopefully.  Right now everything is kind of thrown onto the same table....as you can see.