Zarkon

About the figurehead, I plan to try out the fruit wood gel stain and see how that goes. If needed I can also apply some wet wash to accentuate the crevases of the figurehead. Lastly, I can dry brush the top layers for more depth. But it's really a subjective thing as to how much painting will he needed. Jeff

Thank you everyone for the compliments! To answer your question Jack, I did not use a layer of wax. I followed Chuck's instructions: First I sanded with 220 sandpaper. I then sanded with 400 grit. I dont have 300 grit right now. I made sure not to touch the wood I was varnishing with my hands so no oils got on it. I then took a soft painter's brush and brushed off the sawdust. Lastly, applied 1 coat of wipe on poly with a foam brush. Waited 1 min, then wiped the access off with a lint free towel. I noticed that it was important to do the last step because that helped to eliminate brush strokes. I realized it really doesn't take much wipe on poly to cover what I was varnishing. Chuck's instructions are the best I have seen, and his tips make all the difference! I hope to complete my building board this week so I can start placing the bulkheads Jeff

Thank you everyone for the likes!!! Thank you Chuck, I won't worry about the warping and will straighten it out on the build board. A small update, I glued thr stem and false keel on the ply, and also put 1 application of the wipe on poly and described in chapter one. I also added the nails as well. I REALLY like how the wipe on poly looks on the cherry! I am ready to build the building board! I will give an update once its built. Happy new years!!! Jeff

Hey all! After seeing so many wonderful build logs of this ship, and also following along with Chuck's log, I couldnt resist and had to start a build of my own. I don't have as much time as I would like, so I decided to order the bulkheads, chapter 1, and chapter 2 from Syren. I ordered it on dec 22nd as a Christmas present, and I was very surprised I received it on the 26th! With the holidays, I was sure it wouldn't come in until after new years. Thank you Chuck! You never stop impressing me! From what I have done so far, I have completed the stem except for adding the wipe on poly. It is amazing how well the laser cut parts fit together! It really required very minimal sanding. The Chery is very beautiful and I am very happy with the result. It was great that Chuck included a few extra cuts of the smaller pieces in case any of them got damaged while sanding or trying to fit the part. That did come in handy for me. I then looked at the bulkheads and false keel pieces. I noticed that quite a few of the plywood boards were warped some. So this will need to be corrected. I glued all 3 pieces of the false keel together on my desk. Since 2 out of 3 pieces were somewhat warped, I took a wet towel and dabbed it over the curved sections and put weights on those places to straighten it out. Once I have my building. Board made, I will move the false keel to the building board to make sure it's as true as I can get it. I am surprised at how big the ship is! It will be very impressive to look at through out the entire build. I did talk to my wife and got the approval to get a nice table saw to mill the wood I will need. I will be ordering it in January. Jeff

I couldn't help myself! I ordered the plywood laser-cut bulkheads and the Chapter 1 and 2 cherry packages! I will make time to start This build looks so much fun I can't wait! Chuck has made an excellent product, and I want to support his efforts. Jeff

Chuck, you are doing a fantastic job! I wish I could start my build, but life keeps getting in the way! Jeff

Wow! Exceptional repair and continuation! Keep up the great work! Jeff

Hey all, It sure has been a while since my last post. That is because I had to have a 5 hour ear surgery. The recovery time was over 5 days. The actual recovery was very hard. I still get dizzy and asking the doctor for help. BUT the good news was that the operation was a success! I have not worked on her since then because the dr said I need to rest , not get dust in my ear, or do anything very physical. But below are pics I took starting the planking. I will probably not post much until my ear has healed and get the okay from the Dr. I have completed a little more than this, but not much. I hope to be able to get back to her in a month or so. Thanks! Jeff

Most excellent workmanship!!! Jeff

Hey all, Finally started planking the hull! Instead of using the supplied basswood of the kit, I will be planking with boxwood and walnut strips. These strips will he much more accurate in width for the ship than the kit supplied wood. I am trying to upload pictures, but I think I have a poor connection for my location. I'll upload some pics later. Jeff

You are 100% correct!! I spent 100% of my time with him on the weekends and until he is asleep on the weekdays after work. I really enjoy spending time with my son and wouldn't change it. Would I like to have more time for the build? Of course! But family always comes first. I only work on her at night after everyone goes to sleep if I have enough energy. Thanks for the comment Dutchman!! Jeff

So small update! I've been so busy and tired after work and running around with my 4 year old son, I have not been able to work too much on her. But, I have finished adding the vertical gunport walls so now, all I need to do, is to sand them and make sure the hull is ready for planking!!! Finally!!! I cant wait to start planking! I will plank above the wales first. I will be using Chuck's technique described in his Winy project. I have to say, I am super impressed by his ability to not only craft his models, but also how to explain his techniques! His explanations will really carry me through the planking. Thanks! Jeff

Just found your log. Your plaking looks great! I look forward in reading your updates! Jeff

Thanks for the likes!! So I was able to glue on the stem! I think it turned out very well! It's not 100% perfect, but they are all minor things I can improve on in my next build! The last thing to do before I plank above the wales is to add in the vertical gun port walls! Thanks! Jeff

Hello all! I've been super busy, so not too much time to build. But for an update, I have faired the hull as well as finally added the correct rabbet strip. This should help with planking. I also have had to create a new stem piece because the one provided wouldn't fit properly with the rabbet added. I debated on making the individual pieces or making it as one piece. I decided on 1 piece because of a few reasons. First, it's small scale, so it would be harder to make all the pieces. Two, this is my first time trying to make a stem out of just a sheet of boxwood. So making one piece would be a good intro into making custom parts with my scroll saw. This is how it turned out: I am pretty happy with it! All that is left, is to cut out the holes according to the plans. It is slightly (1%) bigger than the kit supplied stem piece. Hopefully I will have time to finish it this long weekend. Thanks!!! Jeff

Most excellent! That looks better than the kit!!!! It really makes me want to work on mine, but I just had surgery today. So I am out of commission for a few days. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!! Jeff

Thank you Rick! I really appreciate your kind words! Your encouragement inspires me to do my best, and beyond! I hope to be able to sand the hull this weekend. I also hope I will be able to order a small hobby table saw soon because I will need to make my own strips. This Monday, I have ear surgery. I have had a constant ear infection in both ears for 3 months now. I really hope it will be fixed. So I might not be able to work on her for a few days next week. Thank you everyone for your kind words and likes! Jeff

Hey all! I am still working on her, very slowly! I have added where I want the gunports to be. I also added supports to the horizontal gun ports so they shouldn't break off when sanding. I want to file/ sand the ships frames now. After that, I will add the vertical sides of the gunports then do a final sanding before planking above the Wales. My only issue is finding the time to do the sanding. I can't do it where I normally build because it's too much dust. I hope I can get to it this week! Here's to hoping! Jeff

Mike, Thank you for the great reply! Your thoughts really helped to answer my question. I think I will go with a light colored wood, boxwood/Alaskan Ceder, for the gun deck, and walnut for the lower hull. I will paint the wales black. The wales, I hope, will be the on only thing I will paint. I would like to check out cherry for my next build as it seems swiss pearl is hard to find in the US right now. Thank you very much for the help! Jeff

So as I looked through the cd of instructions, I noticed that you dont make the rabbet. I think making one would be helpful for planking, so do add one, I first had to make some custom braces. On the left are the bow supports. On the right are mine. I traced the original ones, then, removed 2mm on the curved side. I used my scroll saw to cut both out in their basic shape. Then I hand sanded them down to the correct width. They are made out of boxwood because that's all I have right now! Haha! Here is a pic of the rabbet on the bow. This is my first time doing this, so I was actually pretty impressed at how it turned out! I also added the other supports and stern pieces. I did NOT add the last pieces of the stern like the instructions say to. They look way too weak to withstand my fileing/sanding the hull. Next up is to add the rest of the gunport supports. Then I will be sanding/ filing the hul! Jeff

Thanks RussR! I looked at your build log and it was very impressive! I only hope I can make mine half as good as yours! I build very slow because I dont have mich time. But I try my best to work on her every day. I do agree with you about the instructions. I wish they came printed instead of the CD. I also agree that the scale seems a bit small. I can tell I will have trouble on the smaller parts of this model. But I am enjoying the build so far! Jeff

Fantastic RussR! Your ship looks great! You did a wonderful job! Good luck on your next model! Jeff

Thanks everyone!! I finally finished planking the other side. I learned from the first side, and made improvements in my opinion. Tell me if you think this side looks better. I think it turned out a lot better if you compare these to my previous pics. I need to figure out a new place to get swiss pearl. I won't have enough to complete the model, but the online store I got this swiss pearl from is now not in business. I know I said earlier that I may use walnut to plank the bottom part of the hull. But I'm not quite sure now.. I was thinking of using Alaskan Ceder or boxwood for above the wales. But below, not sure if I should use the same wood, or use a dark species. Any opinions are welcome! Thanks! Jeff

Thank you Messis! I do have a second kit. I did take a hard look over what I had completed, and I was not very happy with the results. I took my first attempt as a huge learning experience. I still have the first attempt model. I did not throw it away. Instead, I look at it thoroughly to see what I messed up on, and figure out how I could do better. Nothing comes to me super easily, and so I usually fumble around, learning along the way! This time though, I am really taking my time, learning from my mistakes, and making slow but steady progress. Jeff

No problem. I am early into the build, but I do have something to show at least... I am currently building the other side to complete this step. As you can see, I have removed the tops of the bulkheads because to me, they stuck out too far and were not very accurate. I hope this gives you a better idea of what I have so far. Thanks! Jeff