aliluke

Happy with the result for the new bulwarks ,look better and a more realistic thickness to them
 

Log #58: Revisiting the Rudder and the Windlass
I seem to have a bad habit of deciding not to do something and then some time later, when it is much harder to accomplish the task, decide I want to do it after all. Inspired by @dunnock’s excellent job with the rudder cover, the more I looked at Alert the more the omission bothered me. And so I found myself attempting to install a cover on the tiller and the rudder.
 
I sketched out the rough shape for the horseshoe on an off cut of 1mm pear and then carefully cut it out and sanded it till it was approximately 0.5mm thick.

I then attached a bit of the same material I previously used for the mouses (a bowling alley sock similar to tights). This ultimately proved to have too pronounced a weave which I had to correct for later with many layers of varnish and paint.

I then glued it to the lower counter and folded over the excess to tuck inside to give it bulk. This ended up not being quite enough and so I slipped an extra bit into it as well.

I then glued it in place with wood glue and manipulated it to get the appropriate shape.

Then came many layers of paint and varnish to give it a sort of tarred look. I also painted the horseshoe with a bit of a metalic look to give the impression of metal. This is a similar process to how I have previously described, just for metal you make your transitions much more dramatic and the reflection points more pronounced. The only thing on this I will note is when painting reflections it is important to make sure they all line up and so the reflection points match where the highlights on the counter background are.

I also made a quick tiller cover using the same tissue paper I used for the rope ends. This time I just painted it the mix of black and dark brown that I used for the mouse to give it the impression of being tarred.

I have long been looking at the windlass as the kit arrangement (though much easier) does not look quite as nice as the Iron bars laid out in the Goodwin drawings. So after looking at it for a while I decided to attempt to modify it.

This involved very careful sawing and then sanding and painting the area. The painting did not take long and most of this area will be covered up and not be visible once the bowsprit is in. I mostly painted it a darker red to accentuate the shadow the area will be in.

I do think the effect of these two changes really adds to the look and I am pleased I went back. Also I am pleased that nothing broke of fell off when I flipped it over :).

Log #57: The Shrouds Part II
Work has slowed down a bunch mostly due to difficulties with the rigging. I have made at least four attempts at the pendents for the spar halliards and though I think I now have a acceptable solution, I don’t have much yet to show for the work.
 
Despite this I have also been making slow progress on the shrouds. This represents work that has been going on in the background for the last month or more.
 
First step was to make a jig to correctly space the deadeyes based on the plans.

I used a fair bit of tension for this step to ensure that when I come to attaching the deadeyes I have wiggle room without pulling them too close together. A small bit of super glue was used to hold the deadeye in the correct position. As a note of caution I used it in too many spots and it caused some issues later when it came time to seize them. I would recommend just a small drop at the bottom, this is not for securing them, rather is just to hold it in the correct position until the seizing can be added.
 
After doing this I labled each of the shrouds (as now the order they go on matters since I have set the lengths) and removed them from the model. Using my knockoff quad hands I got of amazon I held the deadeye in place and then pulled the two ends of the shroud tight.

I then seized them together using a sewing needle and some 0.2mm thread I got @BenD to custom make for me.

As a note I turned my deadeyes right handed as I used cable laid rope for the shrouds. If I had used shroud laid rope the correct method would be to turn them left handed.
 
With the seizing done I made the decision to also add the canvas caps to the end of the ropes. To do this I took some tissue paper (the kind you put in gift bags) and painted it an off white to look like canvas. In case anyone wants the specific colours I first painted it with citadel’s palid witch flesh and then with karak stone. I did this in a haphazard fashion to not fully cover the previous layer to give colour variation to it. I cut out a small ‘L’ shape to form the cover.

This was carefully folded over the top of the rope end using a very small drop of super glue to hold the center in place and then watered down matt varnish to adhere it to the model. I then did a quick whipping with 0.25mm rope and covered the whole thing with another layer of matt varnish and left it to dry (note: the picture below shows the state of affairs right before whipping).

Once dry I cut the ends and then again added another watered down layer of varnish.
 
At this point I also decided to make some modifications to the shroud cleats to make them look more like the diagram in Lees. This was a slow process of sanding and carefully cutting notches with my craft knife and then filing the grooves with a triangle file.

Once complete I used a small spot of super glue to attach them to the shrouds. Once the fully dry I can remove the shrouds from the model and add rope to attach them as well.

As a final note I also attached the plates for the running backstay. At this point I only attached the bottom bolt as I want to be able to adjust their angle depending on what exactly I do with the running backstay.

Thanks Alistair I'll probably get 1 after looking at it , I was going to replace the metal "boat" like object that comes in the kit!
 

It's looking good. Will be a benchmark for this kit when finished I reckon. Your very good efforts make me glad I painted my rendition - planking was easy as it was all covered up at the end!

Like you, Richard, I'm picking up my kit from years ago. I also got the RB barrels to replace the kit guns which were hideous, all-in-one things. The replacements might not be spot-on historically but they are miles better than the kit supplied product back then and only the very best ship historian is going to spot the inaccuracy, whatever it might be. Keep it up - it's a challenging build but a very sleek little ship. If you want a boat for it, I definitely recommend the Vanguard Models pinnace which I've just finished.

It's looking good. Will be a benchmark for this kit when finished I reckon. Your very good efforts make me glad I painted my rendition - planking was easy as it was all covered up at the end!

It's looking good. Will be a benchmark for this kit when finished I reckon. Your very good efforts make me glad I painted my rendition - planking was easy as it was all covered up at the end!

Post One Hundred
 
QD planking cont’d
I next fit the Margin planks using 6mm x 1mm Box. This covers the rough edges where the bulkhead tops still show.
Fortunately, the curve is soft enough to allow an edge bend even with timber this broad.
For the remaining planks I followed the etched design on the sub-deck as far as possible. This involves a degree of taper as the strakes run aft.
Three days works sees the completion, and I’m  fairly content with the result.

2575

2551

2554

2569

2580

2584

2585
Still work to do, deck scraping and tidying up before the inner bulwarks are fitted.
 
At this stage clearing dust and debris from the Upper deck is a constant issue.
At least with this amount of open space, I can get to remove it.
 
B.E.
28/10/2023

Stunning! Thanks for sharing your great log. I'd love to try one but shipping puts it out of reach...

Standing rigging I think now complete. No big issues, but it’s certainly been more complex than the Vanguard fishers, albeit only harder than Alert in that there’s more of her having two masts not one. 
 
The gaffs and boom are just held on by parrel beads and are not in their final positions. 

She’s not an easy model to photograph well in her entirety without a photo bay with white background given the height of the masts and lengths of bowsprit and boom. So apologies for the not great photos below. 

There’s a lot of lines going to the bowsprit, but the Vanguard plans are incredibly clear and split these out superbly across a couple of plan sheets. Aided by Jim H’s excellent build log photos of Grecian. 
 
Phil thanks for the advice on gammoning, that worked a treat. 

With Alert. 

Running rigging and foremast spars still to be added. Anchors I’ll fit last. No decision on the ship’s boat yet, I need to do more work on it before deciding. 
 
Thanks for all the likes and encouragement. She’s a great kit and I thoroughly recommend her to other builders - surprised I’m the only Grecian build log on MSW other than Jim’s prototype. 

Thanks Chuck
Hear what you are saying. I can get access to a laser cutter but I'm kind of opposed, in my own workshop, to anything except hand tools (well it is my wife that is...). That said, getting a scroll saw seems to be about a base line for scratch building so I may have to invest and hide it somewhere. Then there's the drill press...and...
 
Good to see the prospect is filled out with turned gunnades. However you furnish it and package it, it is looking really tempting. I'll wait for your decisions on that and just keep watching for the time being.
 
Thanks

That looks seriously good. With your access to plywood and a laser cutter will you be offering pre-cut bulkheads and a centre keel with the plans as part of a package? I realise that heads you towards a full kit supply as I'd guess gun, rope and blocks from you could be packaged in as well. I'd certainly be interested in a bigger package combined with Jeff Hayes timbers. But that might be an expansion path that you don't want to go down...
 
In any case looking forward to more as this unfolds!

I'm another who has been looking forward to this one. Seems like we won't have to wait long for progress. Great!

Stunning! Thanks for sharing your great log. I'd love to try one but shipping puts it out of reach...

Stunning! Thanks for sharing your great log. I'd love to try one but shipping puts it out of reach...

Stunning! Thanks for sharing your great log. I'd love to try one but shipping puts it out of reach...

Stunning! Thanks for sharing your great log. I'd love to try one but shipping puts it out of reach...

Blimey Glenn, you make me blush, I don’t consider myself more worthy, whatever that means.
Any worth in pursuing our interest is surely the satisfaction we derive, and the desire to get better, whatever our level of experience.
If you’re enjoying it it’s worth it.
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 

Post Ninety-nine
 
Quarterdeck planking
Back to deck planking, and an activity I quite enjoy. I am using mainly 4x1mm Boxwood, and some broader strips where the layout dictates.

2514
As with the Upper deck the centre line fittings of hatch/ladderways and Capstan step are fitted before planking.

2518
The fittings were designed to sit atop the planking so have been raised by the depth of the planking to compensate.
 
In addition to the hatchways there are grating sets that represent the covers for the Top-rope and pump scuttles and sit flush to the deck.
I have some reservations about the Top rope scuttles being represented by gratings, they are generally shown as closed boards, without framing, and with lifting rings attached.
This is how I will display them.
 
The deck planking layout requires some careful thought.

2519

2520
A tricky part is planking around the scuttles. To this end blank scuttle templates are temporarily fixed in place to run the planking to, and the specific parts used to check.

2524

2525

2526
The centre line section completed, I will now move onto the outer strakes and Margin planks.
 
B.E.
26/10/2023
 

 

Finished and Epilog
 
Making the call that she’s finished since the minor work remaining won’t impact any pictures.  Look for photos of her cased in the gallery, probably in a month or so.  Here as a panoramic photo taken with my iPhone.
 

 
Epilog
 
What an experience.  The kit has everything needed out of the box to build a beautiful rendition of the ship.  The plans are good and I found the instruction booklet easy to follow.  And there are many extra PE parts to cover mistakes.
 
One comment about the plans is to understand that parts, say eyebolts are identified with a number and symbol.  The eyebolt symbol appears in each location on the plan, however each symbol does not have a number.
 
Notice that a part can be identified by looking on the plan, and in the bill of material in the instruction book.  The bill of materials is divided by material type (wood, brass, casting, etc), then part name and quantity.  If the instructions call to install a part and you do not know what that part looks like, find it’s name on the bill of material, ID what it’s made of, and the quantity, then look in the sealed bag for a quantity match.  I also found the photos at the end of the instructions book helpful for identifying the smaller amidship stacks.
 
Pay attention to part and component spacing, on the amidships superstructure in particular.  Notice the center hatch on the amidships superstructure does not have a coaming, I added it to my model and much later found my stack spacing was slightly off.  Much is happening on the amidships superstructure so make sure the components are spaced according to the plan.  
 
Last is part numbering, I did find a few inconsistencies between the booklet and plan.  Not a big deal.
 
Not much else to say other than it certainly is worth the effort.  I’d say anyone who has a few kits under their belt, can take it on.  That being said finishing is a major effort, an airbrush is suggested.  My ship is finished with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics.
 
Finally Bluejacket is immediately available if you have a question.  Just give them a call.
 
Best of luck if you take this on.  Feel free to message me if you have a question.

WOW!!! WOW!!! That is a triumph, reflecting your skills and the quality of the kit. Brilliant from all angles.

Hi
It's been a while. I've had major health setbacks which I won't bore you with but they taken away time to work on Fly. 
 
I have managed to finish the 28' pinnace by Vanguard Models. An amazing little kit but trickier to build than the VM launch. Some minor changes to the kit that I made:
- Added mast steps
- Added ringbolt to the front eyebolt
- Added locker to the stern seat
- Added capping rails to the stern transoms
- Added anchor rope
 
The colour scheme is just my choice. I know there are some historical inaccuracies but I'm mostly building out of the box and looking for ease rather than historical perfection.

I stole the oars from the launch...
 


Slight annoyance - there is a knot in the third thwart from the bow. Nothing I can do about that but it looks like a stain...

Hi
It's been a while. I've had major health setbacks which I won't bore you with but they taken away time to work on Fly. 
 
I have managed to finish the 28' pinnace by Vanguard Models. An amazing little kit but trickier to build than the VM launch. Some minor changes to the kit that I made:
- Added mast steps
- Added ringbolt to the front eyebolt
- Added locker to the stern seat
- Added capping rails to the stern transoms
- Added anchor rope
 
The colour scheme is just my choice. I know there are some historical inaccuracies but I'm mostly building out of the box and looking for ease rather than historical perfection.

I stole the oars from the launch...
 


Slight annoyance - there is a knot in the third thwart from the bow. Nothing I can do about that but it looks like a stain...

Gallbladder surgery allowed me to get out of doing fall chores and cleaning! My wife suggested to go and build my ship because it allowed me to just sit and heal. Got all of the sheerpoles tied off and the mizzen ratlines completed-both sides.