aliluke

Hi Mike

That Photoshop play is very clever. Shows that you should be truly proud of your hull. Plus you don't need to rig it now .

Seeing your question about open hearts in other logs...have a look at Blue Ensigns log for Pegasus. I think he answers your question but not sure what page it is on. It is beyond my rigging knowledge at the moment but the open heart would seem right for the style and period of rig on Endeavour.

I seriously have to think about adding furled sails now. They are a superb complement to the model. It is way down the track for me but with your log I have a reference back to it. Great work it looks amazing.

It looks brilliant Bob. Picture perfect and your pictures are great too. Very well made - actually immaculate from what I see!

Hi Brett

My deck timber was found by luck at a local hobby shop. It is white cedar or Japanese cedar. By pure chance it was the right size. The guy at the shop couldn't even remember where he got it from. At $2 a strip it was a bargain - only needed about 8 strips for the whole deck which was all he had anyway. It is very hard and very fine grained. I used basswood sheet from the same shop for the margin planks.

Holly - I'm using this on my Fly decks - comes up more or less the same and would be my choice if you can get it. Jeff Hayes at Hobby Mill is where I now get upgrade timber. Really well milled stuff and grain/colour matched but his stuff is so popular these days that you have to wait for several months!

Hi Brett

Looking good.

I hope you are upgrading the deck timber  - the basswood that came in my kit was rubbish and, in terms of finish, this was the most valuable upgrade that I made.

I had lots of missing strip sizes and even stranger the kit came with strips that weren't listed or needed at all. Poor quality control. I can't remember what I used for the hatch coamings. I'd just go with your instincts.

Louis

I'm with Jason, I used a thick superglue too. It must be almost impossible not to get some glue on the outside of the plates. I used acetone and a very fine steel wool to clean any residue off.

Man some of us here are overly hard on ourselves but you take the cake for that award!!

Your work looks extraordinarily good to my eye. I can't see anything other than precision in that rudder and its hinges. The stern and quarters also show complete control and accuracy.  It all looks brilliant to me.

Cool your boots - you are doing fantastic stuff and I am watching your progression in awe!

Everything looks very fine Mike. The curve on the bowsprit is very good but the bumpkin curve beats it hands down. Wow, that must be hard to do.

There are other ways to age copper but there don't seem to be many takers for my method...

Hi Boyd

I'm not a regular visitor to HMS Victory build logs. I don't have many ideas about this ship or the kits that portray it. Wonderful thing about this site is that from your comments in another forum I took a look at your work.

It is brilliant work. Smooth, accurate and crisp. Although I can't add any advice on Victory I'll keep dropping by to see your progress.

Bob- More fool me I should have read your text more carefully. It is all looking brilliant.

Beautiful work Bob - the stern looks fantastic - just spot on.

One wee note - which you can choose to ignore - the rudder hinges should be in copper and not represented as iron. Visually, I actually like the iron representation that you have gone with but it would produce a catalytic reaction leading to quick decay and they, the hinges, were coppered or in copper to prevent this. I think Dirk, (Dubz) discusses this in his Syren log.

Louis

I agree with everything Jason says. You have quite a bit of fairing to do - take your time.

Martin

Certainly that fore hatch is a ladder hatch. I've built one for it and that is how I will portray it. That is the only ladder I'll be showing from the main deck downwards. The aft most hatch is also a ladder hatch but I have put a grating in that one.

Stunning work Michael. The gratings look superb but everything else does as well.

Very fine stuff Bob. Perfect knees - all else is as well. Your work is inspiring to say the least.

Superb work Robert, I turn my head and suddenly see you rocketing along. Great stuff.

Very elegant. The seeming simplicity of this ship I'm sure understates the complexity of making a model of it. Love it - well done!

Hi Mike

All my bulkheads and false keel on Fly were in plywood. There is nothing wrong with MDF just don't wet it! It will absorb moisture and expand.

The deck ply for my Fly kit is just fine - in fact all of the parts are. I believe Spyglass got a bad run on the deck ply but I'm not sure why.

I'm not sure about the size of the bitts but I don't care as I'm making my own anyway to the dimensions in the FFM.

Hi Jesse

Your work is fantastic. Taking on the belaying pins is commitment indeed and well worth it!

Carry on and keep ship modelling!

Looks darn good to me Martin. I hardly rounded the corners at all. Just a little snip on the top leg of the box joint.

Are you putting a ladder in that fore hatch?

Looks really good Brett. You can keep that natural finish with pride.

Middle of winter here too of course. Blue skies, no wind but hell we struggle to muster 21 degrees in summer!

Hi Louis

I've had a closer look at your photos. To be blunt- you are in trouble. You really need to take a step back. The model is founded on the plywood patterns, bulkheads and first planking. You need fillers between the bulkheads - see my log - and much more fairing of the bulkheads. The plywood pattern must follow the flow of the hull. If it is flat and the planks below it angle down it is wrong. This, by your photos, is what you have made. Sanding and filling will not fix this. You will really struggle from here on if these issues aren't fixed and the kit and your investment in it deserves better. There is joy to be had in making these things but I see pain ahead for you.

I do not like saying this and you don't want to hear it, but to continue, with success, you have to undo the plywood gun port pattern and all of the planking to date. This is my opinion. This forum would be pointless if I couldn't express this and I hate to see model makers fall at the first hurdle and then disappear.

Hi Jason

I had a warp in my Fly false keel. Perhaps not as bad as yours. I soaked it for a good while and weighted it with steel angles = very heavy weights. I think I left for 2 to 3 days until it was completely dry. The rust from the steel made it look really ugly but it worked.

Hi Louis. Speedy progress by you.

Some comments:

I agree with Jason, getting the turn up of the planks to the lower counter at the stern correct is very important even on the first layer. I think your planking looks a little loose there at the moment.

At the bow the planks should all be tapered so that they all meet the stem. That is the lower planks shouldn't turn up to butt into a planking band above them as you have done. This doesn't matter on the first layer but is worth pursuing on the second layer. To do it, only the first plank below the plywood pattern is not tapered. Every other plank is and the taper needs to start quite a long way back on the hull.

I think there are some good photos of the bow planking in Blue Ensigns log and there is a photo of my stern planking in my log.

Keep enjoying yourself!!