vulcanbomber

Looking good.

Awesome, magnificent, amazing, stunning, astounding, spectacular, impressive, fantastic, remarkable..... .... or maybe I should just say - WOW!!!!! Can't wait to see her on mounted on the rails.

Thanks for the comments and likes. Yes, that's correct. I have invested in a magnifying lamp that clips onto my work. It has an 8x magnifier and nice bright LED's. It's great!! I'm planning to work in a diagonal, I am concentrating on the top left page at the moment, but there will be some 'spillage' onto the second top page where some of the same colour just creeps in, I will also be doing the same thing on the second page down the left hand side. Once the top corner is complete, I will move first to the page below, then onto the second page on the top row. (if you can understand what I mean!)

Thanks guys for all the comments and likes. I enjoyed stitching it and am glad it is now done. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. 😲😲 I hope it doesn't take me that long!!!!

Hi Jan, they are floss holders. I usually make them from old cardboard boxes, but as it took so long to do the Agamemnon, the cardboard became weak and would break at the holes, so I invested in some plastic floss holders for the Victory and Temeraire. To make it easy selecting the correct floss for the symbol on the chart, I printed the symbol and corresponding floss number on a sticky back sheet, cut them up and stuck them to the floss holders. This way I don't need to keep looking at the 'key' sheet to find the correct number for the floss colour, I only have to look on the holders themselves as all the information is there. You can just about see the stickers on the plastic holders in the photo in my first post.

Thanks druxey. Yup, the next one is up and running. Must be a glutton for punishment!! Approx 162,240 stitches. My next one is more than double that at about 362,700 stitches.

My neighbour loved his Koi cross stitch picture and is hanging in pride of place in his lounge. Aggie is now finished - I started on 2 October 2009 and finished on 26 Jan 2020 - 10 years 3 months and 24 days after I started! I didn't do anything between Dec 2010 and Oct 2011, between Nov 2011 and April 2013 and again between Dec 2014 and May 2019. So in effect it took about 3 years and 7 months for the actual stitching to be done! Anyway here is a photo of the last stitch going in Before washing and pressing The back view for those of you interested to see what the back looks like. After washing and pressing. Ready for framing. I have made a start on my next project - The Victory and Temeraire as discussed earlier in this log. I have started a new 'Stitch log' for it and it can be found here.

During my Agamemnon cross stitch project (which can be found here), I asked for help in choosing a subject for my next cross stitch project and it was settled on the bow view of the race to the French line between Victory and Temeraire. It is adapted from a painting and shows the HMS Victory and HMS Temeraire with HMS Neptune just behind. It was @vossiewulf who suggested the picture and with help from @SteveM the cross stitch pattern was created. Thanks to you both for a great subject. I am using Zweigart Evenweave 28ct - easy count fabric. The picture is 650 stitches wide x 558 stitches high and will measure approx 23 1/4 inch (59cm) wide x 20 inch (50.5cm) high. There will be a total of 362,700 stitches when completed (hopefully in less than 10 years) and I am using 120 DMC colours. The pattern consists of 45 full A4 sheets and 9 partial A4 sheets. Here are some of the materials ready for starting The first couple of hours work. The shaded squares on the pattern are the completed stitches. I have chosen the 'Easy count' fabric with the grid lines in the hopes that it will make it easier for counting as they correspond with the grid lines on the pattern. The lines on the fabric will wash out and won't leave a mark.

That is a superb job on the second planking. It will look amazing with the beauty of the planks brought out when varnished. I love the colour differences in the planks and think it adds extra interest. Regarding coppering, I was initially undecided about coppering the hull on my Pegasus, but in the end decided to, just for the experience as the hull on my San Francisco was uncoppered. I didn't like the coppering experience and found it fiddly, though I am pleased with the results, but I won't copper any more hulls, I like to see the planking instead, especially with the scale lengths. Planking the stern counter - it's down to personal preference. I didn't plank mine as I actually liked the piece of walnut that was used. Like Spy suggested, a light varnish, just to seal the hull. The next thing I did was to remove the bulkhead piece (if not done already) and plank the insides. You will find it easier to paint the lowest plank red before installing them, that way you won't get paint on your deck. Some builders (myself included) made bulkhead walls for the bow and stern at this point too. They make a nice little scratch build project - but again, just personal preference. The wales can be fitted now too. Make sure to leave the correct gap for the quarter badges at the stern. Then I made some of the deck fittings for the lower deck, but didn't glue them in until much later in the build. Sometimes making the little things is a nice reprieve from the big stuff! After that I made the gunport linings - again personal preference - and made the gunport lids. Then I painted the upper parts of the bulwarks for the frieze and the wood parts for it and glued at them all on. I think there is a lot there to get to grips with!!! Great progress.

Great to see you back Haiko. Look forward to seeing your progress.

Thanks for the tip Chris. I'm looking forward to starting it, watching Danny's 'Bulgar' come to life is so inspiring. It's amazing to think so detailed a model can be created with paper and card.

I have received my card model of the 1/25 scale T448P diesel loco. It is published by Modelik, a polish model company who seem to produce excellent card models (if this one is anything to go by) of a wide variety of subjects. I blame Dan Vadas for my purchase of this model, after seeing the fantastic build of his 2-6-6-4 'Bulgar' Steam Loco, (yes Danny, this is all your fault!!!) I have made card models before, mostly free card models found on line like the Mark Twain paddle boat created by Disney (I had a log of the build of it on MSW1, but sadly I couldn't resurrect it when MSW1 was lost. I only hope that I can make a half decent model of the T448P loco with the skills I have, and tips and hints learned from Danny's card model build logs. Here are pics of the 'kit'. I also have the laser cut frames and wheel. The details are simply amazing! When built it will be approx 543mm long. It will be a while before I can make a start, but I am looking forward to it. Laser cut frames & wheels.

A little more progress over the Christmas period on the Longboat for Pegasus. Floorboards installed and bow & stern platforms. Frieze (hand painted paper) added to hull. Thwarts, mast step and stern locker wall. Mast, gaff, boom and bowsprit made. Now on the the windlass and other fittings.

Nice bit of pipework there!

That's a very good attempt at planking for the first time. Well done!