aliluke

Totally smart moves in all respects! Good stuff and a great result. Now I have to rebuild my ladder and coaming to a similarly good outcome...

Hi Brian

I've been away from the forum and my model for a while. Your work looks superb except for that hatch and grating...I've just ripped out the aft ladder and hatch coaming on my model - destroying them both. The ladder was wonky within a good coaming but they all had to come out. Your grating and the coaming needs to be re-built otherwise they'll annoy you for ever after. A pain it is but we all go through it. Try, as Frank said, to get an edging around the grating. You could also try to combine the grating with the stove flue - a trick I borrowed from an earlier AVS - Pete Jaquith's??? As Russ says you've got to get it right to your eye otherwise it is like an itch that will need endless scratching.

Looking really good Martin

I'm intrigued by your carving for the wales at the stern counter. I didn't have to go through that - I just twisted those last pieces in a compound curve by double wetting. Carving seems like a tough pathway to a similar result.

But whatever - the result seems much the same and doing the anchor stock pattern is a great add - even though mine needs a bloody magnifying glass to see it!!!

Nice work on the planking Mike. Sanding with mittens...gulp.

A couple of thoughts:

- At the bow/stem I found it quite easy to get every plank through to the stem without stealers or joggle planks. You just have to start your taper further back on the hull I reckon. No need for spiling either. - just a simple tapered planks and none need (or should) come to a pointed end.

- At the stern I completely sanded away the first layer from the bearding line all the way to the stern post. Otherwise the centre keel plus the first and second layer is too thick for the post. Spyglass had the same issue but smarter than me (and you perhaps ) he didn't even plank that area on the first run of planks. Sanding it right back isn't a biggy as long as you have thick mittens (or you could pop down here to do your sanding under cloudless skies, no wind and 28 degrees C).

Hi Jay

Good to see you back. I've been away on summer holidays for a few weeks and missed your return. As always your suggestions are welcomed whether for the Connie or ship models in general.

Happy new year my friend!

Great work Joe. Calling you a fast builder - which you are - would undermine the extremely high quality and accuracy of what you do. Great to watch and with all that extra space we, who are snail paced, will be afraid...very afraid ...

Really nice work Jesse - you can't be far away from the finish line! And with those sails she's going look magnificent.

Hi Caroline

I didn't use any triangular fillers at all. According to the FFM they weren't used on a hull of this size. See page 17 onwards in my log. B.E went the same way. You start at the keel and work upwards using overlaps to to increase the upward curvature at the stem and stern as you go. I tried to follow the lines of the planking and I think there is a stern shot in my log that shows this.

Sometimes I had to trim the end of a strip to get a good flow to the next strip. I worked in strips of two to three tiles for the bigger overlaps but used strips of five tiles for the straighter runs. I sort of just felt it out as I went. The only tiles I cut into triangles were those that met the bead at the waterline. Also worth noting that there are port and starboard tiles - the rivet positions are different for each.

I wasted a lot of tiles to start with but once I got into a groove it became much easier and wastage disappeared.

Any way best bet is not to triangulate at all but to overlap. I trust B.E agrees!

P.S. Happy to take some close ups of the pattern if that'd help but it would have to be soon - off on holiday shortly...

Hi Caroline

It's great to see you cracking on with Pegasus again. Your log was one I followed and studied when I started and I look forward to your updates. Aside from your amazing cabin details (too late for me to add) we are at about the same point in the build I think. Any way, having another Swan Class build in progress on the forum is great.

That last shot in your post is amazing Ken. A blue sky behind it and it could be the real thing. Congratulations on your model - finished yet or not. It is a stunner. Happy new year! And I look forward to your next project whatever it is.

Happy new year to you to Martin. Looking forward to your Fly updates next year. I'm kind of stalled on my build right now but chipping away at wee bits...

Hat elastic! Brilliant and looks great - going to try this. Where does your wife buy it? Spotlight?

Sanity and our craft do not go together. Amazing work by you and we are all mad as maggots !

Just found your log Rob. Amazing work and great to see some of our native timbers in there. How is kauri like to work with at a small scale? I'll stay in touch with your Blanche as she moves along.

Hi Mike

Those patterns are a good milestone to get past. Looking good.

I cut out the window in the pattern behind the quarter badge with no cabin fit out but it does give a sense of depth to the glazed badge. Well worth doing in my opinion.

A superb stove Augie. If it is like mine you can't see it anymore but as you say - we know it's there. Did all of those parts come with the kit? If so it is an incredible add to the usual offerings. My Fly kit doesn't even mention a stove let alone provide one...

Hi Jason

She's looking good.

I sometimes revert to the plank nipper - it does the hard angles but I've become a soak and bend planker for the most part. In a tight corner the nipper isn't a bad choice and the poor press it gets here is a little harsh. Nothing is as good as a handy tool to get you, gently, around a really tight bend!

Have a good one and I look forward to your progress in the new year.

That is seriously nice work on your sails. Great photos too. It inspires me to try the furled sails but a while to go before I get to exercise that decision. The sailor figures make it alive. I have a shouting bosun from Amati. I might try to paint him...

Fantastic wee boat there Nils. A perfect complement to your amazing model. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to your updates in the new year.

Ken

As we say down here, your work looks sh*t hot. That rig and furled sails combo is amazing. I look forward to seeing your new ventures in 2015. Have a good one - Christmas and new year that is coming.

Looking good.

My only suggestion would be to taper the planks leading into the stem/bow further back along the hull. That is start the taper from about the second gun port aft of the bow - a long way back. With that taper you get a good upturn into the stem and it pays off later. If the uppermost planks, by this advice, are too tapered the whole planking is easier to fix than heavy tapering on the planks below them later. In other words your upper planks should rise up and the more so the better. If they stay parallel or, worse, downturn towards the keel the planks below will have a lot to correct.

Any way you'll be fine, filling, sanding and paint will sort it out and your planking looks good in any case.

Looks great Mike. I'd probably do that pattern if I had my time over. I did anchor stock patterns on the wales but under the paint the pattern is all but invisible .

In answer to Brian's question my guess is the pattern make the deck planks much more rigid especially under the recoil wheel loads of the cannon. A straight run of planks may be more inclined to lift and pop off the beams. That's a pure guess on my part.

That square tuck is a wonderful detail and precisely executed by you - as we'd expect. I quite like what I see as a slight translucency in the red paint - you can perceive the planking underneath. I'd keep it that way myself and perhaps you intend to?

Hi Brian

I used a jig of sorts. A small triangular piece of cardboard that could rest on the wale. It was cut to the angle I wanted and marked for the three holes. That way I had a guide to keep them all the same.

Hi Brian

I tried to track down my photos for the sweep ports but they are lost (total hard drive failure a few years back).

What I did is tape both sides of the ports with Tamiya masking tape. Putting the tape on the inside is important as it stops the potential of splitting the inner bulwark planks. On the outside tapes mark the the centre of the port with a pencil, then add two small pencil marks for the upper and lower parts of the port. With the tape on, you won't mark the hull timbers. Check each one for alignment and the angles and if all are good use an awl to mark the center and each outer point of each port. Drill the centre with a small bit and the outer points with a smaller bit. Take off the tape and join the centre hole to the outer holes with a # 11 blade. Finish with needle files. Using the tape is the trick - it allows you to pencil mark the set outs and adjust them without damage to the outer hull. It also holds the inner planking to stop them splitting. For drilling I only ever use a pin vise.

My best advice is keep the ports very small at first and widen to make them credible with caution. Many AVS's have sweep ports that are far to big in my opinion. I used an oar to check the credibility of my ports but that stretches me towards madness. With all my advice my sweep ports were a very difficult thing to do and came out just so-so.

Best thought - keep them small!