aliluke

Sweet work Timmo in every respect. A superb model and I always look forward to your updates. I'm dealing with the cap rails on Fly right now - they may seem easy but noooo. You've done a great job on them.

Good one Jason and glad you have it sorted through replacement parts. Onwards and I'll keep watching.

Welcome back Bill. Sometimes people disappear from the forum and you wonder where they have gone. Good to hear you are alive and kicking and ready to make some dust and shavings.

To be honest Brett I had no idea about the correct plank lengths when I did my deck for the AVS. I just made it up to suit my eye. It is a pathway you can choose too. I'm on the same path with Fly = accurate to a point and then by eye. I guess the best I did by it was to get the butt shifts right and keep it all symmetrical. I understand now that 26' would be makeable in those days. That's close on 8 metres which is a seriously long piece of wood. Well...who knows?

I never noticed that advice in the practicum about the gratings but, if it is there, it is wrong. The top grates should run fore/aft. Never mind - only train spotters will notice and who cares if they do!

I look forward to your progress - she's looking the part now.

Hi Brett

I don't remember the length of my deck planking but if you have a look at my log you'll get an idea of the set out I used.

Your work is looking good but I'd urge you to redo that grating if you have the parts and patience. The upper bars should run fore-aft and the lower bars starboard/port. Yours are the other way around. The grating should also have a slim frame on all 4 sides where it sits into the coaming (I think my log shows this as well). Minor details but they can make a lot of difference.

This thread just cost me NZ$66. But happily spent . Can't wait for it to arrive.

My thought is that I wouldn't scrape or sand any area of deck until the entire deck planking is complete. Doing one area first and then adding more makes the process much more difficult to keep even. You end up with the scraped planks being lower than the newly added ones and then can tend to overwork the line of that step to smooth it out.

Thanks Mike

That is very clear and similar (except for the brass strip) to the technique I'm using for the cap rails.

Hi Mike

I'd be tarred on the gammoning myself.

I'm intrigued by how you bent the bumpkins. Is it by a jig - wet the dowel and then dry in a forced bend? Or do you shape to the bend from a much larger piece? I'm trying to edge bend some 1.5mm thick walnut for my waist cap rails at the moment and find it wants to revert to being straight. I edge bend it, dry it and a few days later it is more or less straight again...the wood seems to have a memory.

Very nice update Vitus. Superb deck planking - you sure beat me for symmetry - it looks spot on.

Have a look at my log for your breast beam plank question. It strikes me that the ends of the planks need to butt to a perpendicular plank. The exposed end grain of the planks would absorb moisture something bad if not for this.

P.S. Just had a look back through your log - there are lots of missing pictures. Could you re-load them for us?

Hi Larry

It is great to see you back. I missed your return, went under my radar. Your Niagara is really hitting the straps now - looking good, very good. I'm sorry to hear about the loss in your family - take care and I, for one, look forward to hearing of happier times at your workbench.

Hi Ian

I'm sure that I've looked at your Unicorn log before but never replied...What you are doing, making and researching is fantastic. I'll scroll back through your log for looks and tips. Wonderful work and a superb log. Thank you.

Hi mrcc - don't even try to fix it! If Timmo hadn't pointed it out I wouldn't have known or noticed it. You are doing very well with the kit - it is looking better with every post - and an "oops" is seen in every build.

Looking great Ron. You seem to have a head of steam of the moment! Moving fast but with accuracy. Nice to see.

Looking really sharp Ken. Nice stuff, she's headed for a great outcome.

Hi Martin

My fore ladder hatch is the same size as Spy's. Your ladder looks much better than the kit version - good move by you to remake it from scratch.

Bob you are very hard on yourself. I can only just pick that up from the photos and only by you prompting the thought of the difference. I'd live with that and the boats cover it.

I understand your obsession though...I'm seriously reconsidering ripping off and re-doing all my quarter deck planking because the fake treenails look too big. Hey, we get dumber and dumber and look too often into a mirror that no one else can see into. In the case of my QD - rip it up and start again? I guess I have to because otherwise it will bug me forever - complete madness. In your case I reckon you are saved by the boats and your mirror won't be much seen by others if at all.

Some rope will be on the way in the next few days!

This painting with wood stuff is starting to sound really complicated . I think I'm feeling better about painting with paint!

I think the bulkhead extensions are pretty critical to getting the gun port pattern properly fixed. I had a look at my hull - the extension at the fore end of the QD and the aft end of forecastle are highly visible but the rest of those under the upper decks are virtually invisible. I think you could get away with leaving these ones in place as they are and just stain them. Perhaps dry fit those upper decks and have a look - replacing them isn't going to be easy. Also I faced the breast beams on the QD and forecastle with boxwood + mouldings which reduces the painted effect and is very easy to do but it does make the upper decks slightly longer by about 2mm. The kit supplied beams are now completely invisible.

Ironically my stem and rudder are quite dark and, to closer match the boxwood, I would've preferred blonde. A pity we can't swap.

That's a shame Ollie but good on you for admitting it.

I feel a big struggle with the lift from the AVS to the Fly but I also feel one step at a time will get me there. Your work on Mermaid should be good enough for anything but...big but...build what you want and what gives you joy. Endeavour is a hard one and I will, if I ever finish Fly, next head towards smaller ship kits at a larger scale.

There are so many people here who start something and then disappear. I guess they have attempted something beyond them. That is a shame too as there are plenty of kits that they could hone their skills on. Those that leave often never say why. Again, good on you for saying so.

Your Mermaid is brilliant and I hope you find a new model that can reflect your skills and keep you in touch with the craft.

That looks very good to me. These are seriously small parts . Do have the AOTS for Dreadnought? It has been recently re-released and you can get it quite cheaply. It is a fantastic book even if you aren't making a model of it.

Mike

From Spyglass's comments and yours I must find favour with my Fly kit. It is not nearly as bad for variation and the kit plywood is fine. Toss a coin I guess. I'm replacing some parts for a more accurate projection rather than for poor wood stock. For the most part the kit stock I have would make for a great model. I'm just a little bit more obsessed...

Hi Mike

It sounds like a very comprehensive scheme. Much more ambitious than mine.

My only note of caution is the walnut. I have some walnut stock from Jeff which I bought for my AVS. Perfectly cut as always and grain matched too. But I do not like this species compared to the others I use:

- It is very brittle and inclined to splinter or shatter.

- It is very hard. Hard to cut.

- It has a very pronounced grain with deep incisions which is not good for scale.

- It is difficult to bend.

I managed to make it work for the AVS but I mostly painted it which allowed me to use fillers. However the coamings on my AVS are natural walnut from Jeff. I will try to use up my walnut stock as I need to but I really don't like it at all!

Nice Ron, really nice. They look like very difficult parts and you've nailed them.

Hi Martin

I did one bulkhead at bulkhead 10 (it can be seen on page 4 in my log). I made it out cardboard which I washed with a pale yellow and then delineated the panels with narrow and thin strips of walnut. This made it quite easy to do. When the QD is on you can just see the bottom of the bulkhead. You can't see the windows that I put in the doors. I think when all the other details go on you won't be able to see it at all! So from that point of view I wouldn't loose too much sleep about it as a detail. I think what you've got will be just fine.

I just noticed that your gun port strips aren't on. I'm thought you had put them on or am I mixing up your log with someone else?

Congratulations Robert. Nothing feels as good as finishing except, perhaps, starting all over again. Your Virginia is a very fine model. Bloody well done!!!