Richvee

A little progress on my Medway Longboat.  I have finished the ironwork on the bowsprit, installed the forward thwart and knees and installed the bowsprit.  I used a miniature jewelers file for the support brace hole in the thwart and forward platform.  As Chuck said in the instructions, you only have one chance to get it right.  I was glad that I had not glued the platform and thwart to the hull as I was able to work with these off the model.  I took my time and was happy with the outcome.  I blackened the support bar and used some weathering powder on it.  I also pinned the bowsprit to the caprail where it would not be seen.
 
Next step is to make the traveler ring and a couple of hooks and then rig the jib halliard and outhaul.  Only two pages left in the instructions.
 

 

Thank you David! Lots of tweaking was necessary to align the pieces, but also very satisfying! 
 
I finished Chapter 2 of the instructions. I realized the smaller gun ports at the stern were not square but rectangular as shown in the plans, so I had to cut out the lintels I glued and change its position slightly. I also glued down the false decking. I just used yellow carpenter's glue to hold down the layer. Before sticking it I first sanded some bulkheads down which were not in level with the others. Also had to widen some notches for the pieces to fit nicely. Here are a few pics of where I am at with the fillers also glued and faired:
 





Next I will build a small deck sample to see how the treenails look, then will start on the planking at the bow section, and then the gun port framing!

Thanks all for the likes! I installed the lintels. It was fairly straightforward.... but a long process. I went through this part very slowly, measuring 3 times or so before gluing each piece permanently. I measured the distances between the top of the frames to the top of the lintels, and all seem to be symmetric. While the glue set, I placed a toothpick on top and then used the kitchen counter as the background to see if it was completely flat. 
 

Next I will be fairing the exterior and then installing the sills. 
 

Yes Gary, I'm finding it very challenging, and I'm still at the early stages of the chapter!! 
 
When installing the piece HH, I noticed the starboard side did not fit. The portside part fitted ok. I actually needed to cut of about 5mm for the starboard one. Instead of doing that, I snapped off the starboard AA and BB pieces 😬, and glued in a small sliver of wood to fix this deviation. Here is a pic showing what I mean: 

All the pieces were now identical, the HH piece could fit without cutting a significant portion off, and the rest of the installations were fairly straight forward. When aligning the HH pieces, I spanned a ruler across both beams to make sure they were completely flat.


Next I'll be installing the lintels. I have a feeling more problems may arise..... 

I decided to go ahead and try out the tung oil on the frames, and got a pleasant surprise!! The frames appeared darker than what they were originally, and also darker than the other places I used tung oil on. I think it is because the surface is actually an edge grain transitioning into an end grain through the curve. I also noticed the oil being soaked in the wood like a sponge! I'll be applying one more coat tomorrow. 

I dry-fitted the stern frame pieces, and noticed a huge gap between the portside and starboard side pieces. After many minutes (maybe even an hour!) of wondering why and measuring everything, I noticed that somehow the starboard piece needed to be angled upwards and not sit flush with bulkhead 8B. So I glued in some rough pieces of wood to achieve the correct angle:

I then glued all the pieces in place. I made a photocopy of the stern plans, and made sure all the pieces were oriented correctly while the glue set.

I'll continue with the stern framing. What I have seen in other logs, many complications may arise when framing the ports in this section, so I'll be sure to take my time and not rush anything.

Thank you Peter, Eamonn, and Bradley!! The nice comments mean a lot!
 
@Peter Bloemendaal, Your log has been tremendously helpful. I found myself constantly referring back to it whenever I got stuck (which is almost a daily basis! 😅). 
 
Anyways.... as promised, here are a few photos of the completed model. Building this ship has been a blast!! And I couldn't have done it without the help of this forum. Everyone has been very helpful in providing tips, technique, and guidance. So I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to the countless number of members who have helped me out with this build. I would also like to thank @Chuck again for designing such a good kit that beginners like me can easily follow, and also for taking the time to answer the numerous questions I had.
 
Nevertheless... the photos!















































 






 
 
 
I actually took three times as many photos, but I think these will do! 😄
 
My next build will be the USF Confederacy. I may fully rig it, but I may change my mind as I progress through the build. For those interested, I have a build log set up which can be found through my signature below.
 
Again, thank you all for following this build and leaving the nice and helpful comments throughout this journey.

Hey guys just want to introduce myself and say hello. I'm a friend of Chuck's and been doing some work for him and now I'm going to be branching out.
I don't want to step on any toes till I become a sponsor. But if you have any questions follow the link and email me.
Oops, I failed to mention I am now taking orders.
Thanks,
Joe
http://www.modelerssawmill.com/

Joe is all set up and ready to go.   Here is his website.  He should have Swiss Pear in a couple of weeks.  But for now....Boxwood, Yellow Cedar and Cherry.   Contact him for stripwood needs.
 
http://www.modelerssawmill.com/
 
Joe will be coming onboard as a sponsor real soon....so look for his banner. He has signed up as a member as well.   If you need to send him a PM.
 
 
His username is "Joe V"
 
Chuck

Just a heads up. A new company…actually a one man shop like Hobbymill is starting up in the USA.  Finally another source to by stripwood and sheets of precision milled wood.  
 
His name is Joe Volpe.  He will start off slow increasing the species he offers over time.
 
To start,  He will be offering Boxwood, Cherry and Alaskan Yellow Cedar.  Joe is the guy who currently mills all of my wood for Syren Ship Model.  He has decided to open up to everyone.  He also has some swiss Pear coming soon. 
 
He is finalizing the website and I will announce when he opens.  No online store as its going to be very similar to Jeff at Hobbymill.  You send Joe an email with what you need and he will give you a price.  You pay via PayPal and he lets you know when the order ships.  At least for now anyway.
 
Joe is a really nice guy and mills with precision.  I am very happy with his product and if you ever bought wood from me then you have seen his work.
 
I encourage you to give him a try once he opens.
 
 

This was posted in the Nautical/Naval History forum but is not being seen by many so I hope it is not wrong to post it here as well.  The gentleman doing the podcasts and gaining some traction on having a TV series produced about Nelson would love to see our membership sign on.   I received the following email from Adam Preston and as you can see, this could turn into a wonderful series that most of us would probably want to watch.  Also note his interest in our hobby.  Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abby fame is promoting the Trafalgar series as well.  Hope he plays Nelson!!
 
Dear Allan 
  Thank you for getting in touch - and for your offer to help with the project ‘Trafalgar’. My current target is to get 10,000 sign ups at www.trafalgar.tv because that is the kind of number that will get broadcast executives sitting upright. I am now at 1050 so I have a way to go.    To help spread the word I have created a podcast which I launched on the weekend. You can subscribe here https://shows.acast.com/trafalgar-squared please share this with anyone you know who is interested in this subject area. The podcast has already had 500 downloads from all over the world (as many in North America as the UK)   I am interested in the documents you mention Allan - I am a great devourer of this kind of stuff - do you have them as a PDF or something that can be mailed?    I am hoping to one day do a podcast episode about the world of model ship making and am slowly gathering info on that. Am I right in thinking this is an area of expertise for you?    With best wishes   Adam   
 
 
 

Update. My progress has been slow,but although my work isn't up to the level of some other builds, I'm pretty happy with my ship.
The picture shows her as of last night. Some things are glued down, others such as the rails around the masts, ships boat etc which might get in the way of future work are not. That the aft cabin is unattached and has more things to be added.
You'll note that the foremast channels are not in place. I only recently noted that the port channel was not parallel to the mainmast channel, too much to tolerate. I broke it loose and it's a good thing I did for another reason. I had installed it backwards with the aft end forward and vice versa. This meant that the deadeye spacing would not match that of the starboard channel and would have been VERY obvious once I started adding shrouds 🥶. I ended up taking both channels off and reworking them so they're both correct (I think). I reinstalled them after I took this picture.
Other Pride of Baltimore II news-- my wife and I will be sailing on her as guest crew for a two overnight cruise!! It's been a lifelong dream of mine to sail on a tall ship, and I'm more eager than you can imagine. I'll take many pictures, so if anyone wants views of any particular parts of the ship, let me know. This will be at the end of June,starting on my birthday.

we made it to the museum store  so that means finished.
 

 

I added four cannons on the quarter deck. Since these guns will be fully visible I added more details to the carriages than what I did for the carriages on the lower deck.

I have finished working on the head for now. I made and installed the grating, seats and the other details.

I have made and install the catheads.

I continued with the rails on the forcastle

Cap rails done and the barricade and belfry were made.

Building a case for model can be a fun challenge. I tried for my last diorama but it did not succeed.  This time I made a sketch and went back to the local glazer who does a nice job
 
345  i made a sketch and measured it twice
 
346 to 349 i am happy with it.  i hope it makes it to the display next month

 

 
 

 

 
cheers 

Then I'd say buy two! My guess is if one is used for it's intended purpose, it will soon be useless for our rigging needs. 😉

Then I'd say buy two! My guess is if one is used for it's intended purpose, it will soon be useless for our rigging needs. 😉

Then I'd say buy two! My guess is if one is used for it's intended purpose, it will soon be useless for our rigging needs. 😉

My wife asked to borrow them, but I would not let her.  I felt so bad that I purchased a pair for her.

Then I'd say buy two! My guess is if one is used for it's intended purpose, it will soon be useless for our rigging needs. 😉

It has been a while since posted, but thought that I would share a useful tool that I use for rigging.  It is a toenail nipper that I purchased from Walmart.  It is manufactured by Japonesque.  It has a flat bottom to it and it is a flush cutter.  It also has a sharp point that you can get really close to the line that is to be cut. 
 
   
 
     Side View -  Notice the sharp point.
Here is the link to the one that I purchased: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Japonesque-Velvet-Touch-Pedicure-Essential-Duo/994640842?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&&adid=22222222227276419523&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=332285858061&wl4=pla-636753874486&wl5=9008419&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=994640842&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvYSEBhDjARIsAJMn0li5sJXPBooROIN4T83y-d0T8uMp-ZL5P39GuFWCNafxp1fJ0GQOGgAaAm_sEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
Here is a link to the manufacture's website: https://japonesque.com/products/implements/hand-foot-care/velvet-touch-pedicure-essential-duo/
 
I was able to purchase it in the store.  It was well worth the $13 I paid for it.

Thank you very much, Rich. I am glad you like it.