hamilton

wow, that's a big improvement at the gallery!
well done!

Thanks Ferit, Andy, Augie and BE!!
 
It was definitely worth the effort, though some refinements could have been made - particularly with the window frames....A thinner styrene instead of 1mm x 1mm basswood might have made for a cleaner finish....
 
In any case, last night I started on the transom and though my mind is a little muddled on how to put it together and finish it off, I'm confident that it will look at least a little better than the horrendous part supplied with the kit.....
 
I will post photos documenting and explaining my approach to building it once it's all done - I've just got the cabin windows and frames completed now and will begin planking it up sometime soon - maybe tonight or Thursday.....hopefully it will be all done by the end of the weekend and I can move on to some more straightforward elements of the build!
hamilton

Hi Augie - I don't know what you mean by "doesn't look like a whole lot" - looking at your Syren, this phrase literally makes no sense! It looks like a whole lot to me!
hamilton

Hi Augie - I don't know what you mean by "doesn't look like a whole lot" - looking at your Syren, this phrase literally makes no sense! It looks like a whole lot to me!
hamilton

Thanks Ferit, Andy, Augie and BE!!
 
It was definitely worth the effort, though some refinements could have been made - particularly with the window frames....A thinner styrene instead of 1mm x 1mm basswood might have made for a cleaner finish....
 
In any case, last night I started on the transom and though my mind is a little muddled on how to put it together and finish it off, I'm confident that it will look at least a little better than the horrendous part supplied with the kit.....
 
I will post photos documenting and explaining my approach to building it once it's all done - I've just got the cabin windows and frames completed now and will begin planking it up sometime soon - maybe tonight or Thursday.....hopefully it will be all done by the end of the weekend and I can move on to some more straightforward elements of the build!
hamilton

Like it hamilton, nice colour toning, a great improvement., well done
 
B.E.

Nothing left to say.  BIG improvement and a great job.  Looking forward to the transom.

They look great on the hull. Worth the effort, and a hundred-fold improvement
 
Andy

Hello Hamilton,
They look top quality work and fit perfectly to where they belong...

Hi Jason, I have looked at the framing on Pegasus, the ports sit between frames but there are filler frames below and above the ports some of which are extended to a timberhead, one being directly above the Bridle port, but there are also a couple further aft.
 
The knightheads were intended to give lateral support to the bowsprit, and certainly on Pegasus sit close either side; the arrangement you show wouldn't fulfil this purpose so I think there may be some doubt as to the  accuracy of their position.
 
B.E.

Have you tried fitting your bowsprit yet? (Even just the unfinished stump) it may give you a better idea of how things may look, and whether or not you want to make changes.
 
Andy

Hamilton, you're too kind...and I'm still pondering.
 
After some reading I found the following (not for the Snake of course), clearly shows the timberhead above a port, so that could be OK.  However, this also shows the knightheads much closer to the bowsprit (as Hamilton describes) and sort of what I would have expected for this to be a pretty fundamental to any ship design.  I'll wait for others thoughts and opinions before I resort to anything drastic with the knightheads.

Amazing work, as usual Ferit! Isn't it nice to see the ship finally start to move upward? It would be nice to see a profile shot with the mast to get a sense of the height - no pressure, of course!! I know it's far ahead, but are you going to add the sails?
hamilton

Good luck with the planking - head down, eyes open, bottle to hand (but not too close!)
hamilton

Thank you, Elmir and Hamilton for looking in.
 
Sjors, Sorry about the long reply.
 
 
After much thought about "what next" and much fear and trembling... PLANKING!!!!!!!!!!    So there's fear because I've never single-planked before.  Trembling because I'm looking forward to it...  and maybe too much coffee.   So I gathered the three planking guides from the Articles area and Planking the Built Up Ship Model from ME and studied.  Scratched my head.. said "oh.. nothing to fear".... and got on with it.
 
 
First step was I realized I didn't have a suitable clamps.  So I made 5 of these out of some scrap cherry and maple.  No particular reason other than I had a bit <cough> of scrap.

 
First plank on each side is laid.  I'd doing the planks from just above the wale to the chain wale.   I may go farther up before heading below.  One reason is because the planks between the wales need to be sanded and I don't want to damage the wales.  Also, need some playtime experience with minimal tapering and spiling.  I hope....     I'm using swiss pear for the main planking.
 
FYI... the hawse holes I already drilled aren't on the same plane.  My bad.  I'll redrill after planking.
 

 
 
 

Carl, good to hear from you
 
Building 18 carronades is quite frankly, tedious!  Haven't had much in the way of build time recently but I'm getting close - they are simply very fiddly and with so many to do its a task I need to break up.  Worked on getting some more of the structural bow details on, namely the timberheads and the fore pinrail. I had already cut the holes for the pins of the pinrsil before I had installed the fore platform as it would be next to impossible to do afterwards.  Photos are pretty self explanatory.
 
I decided to try and shape the timberheads a bit to give them less of a 'cut out of plywood' look which was pretty straightforward.  First picture shows the before and after comparison.
 
One thing I'm not sure of and as always would appreciate comments and suggestions.  The second photo shows the side profile once complete, and I have timberhead sitting right over the bridleport which doesn't seem quite right.  These were placed into the holes pre-cut in the capping rail, but books I references seem to indicate that these would have been adjacent to the port (see second picture).  The difference is quite a bit and the plans are less than clear on this.  Not sure I can change anything, but I wonder if the capping rails should have met at the front of the bow, this would be closer but still not completely right.  It would also prevent the bowsprit from fitting unless the ends were trimmed.  None of this is mentioned in the instructions of course, and of course it wasn't apparent until I was cleaning my paintbrush!  Are the knightheads too far apart, should they be closer to the bowsprit?
 

Main mast...
Main topsail...
Main topmast...
Some blocks...

I finished all the doors and installed them.  I then sprayed the whole assembly with 10 coats of clear flat sealer.  I added support posts to the overhang on the forward deck.  I decided to put the inside planks on the bulwarks before installing the the bulwarks.  I temporarily installed the bulwarks using pins and carefully marked the outline of the decks and walls, then I installed two large pins as dowels so that when I removed them to do the planking they would reinstall in exactly the same place.  When I finished the interior planking I applied 10 clear coats and later installed the bulwarks using glue and short straight pins which had very small heads so I could sink them and leave them in for added strength.  I modified my needle nose pliers by filing two notches, one that you can see in the picture and one centered and perpendicular to it from the notch you see to the end of the nose.  This allowed me to place the pins securely in the pliers with the notch you see as clearance for the pin head and the shaft of the pin in the other notch.  The pins pushed in easily and I used a fine nail sink to set them.
Now I will proceed to sanding and planking.  I didn't order balsa online.  How critical is the balsa?  If I don't use it will I screw things up or is it more of a convenience?  I noticed they didn't include it in the instructions.  If you think I would be making a big mistake please say so.  I can put the planking on hold and do other things while I wait for the balsa.
 

Thanks a lot Andy, Augie, Ferit & Mark! Your compliments mean a lot - especially coming from such great craftsmen. I don't know about going to the dark side......yet....though in secret I've been looking at a couple of lumberyard kits.....
 
Tonight I finished the port side quarter gallery, and so now it's a nice pair. I still have to make the decorative finishing elements on the bottom of both pieces. I'll do this tomorrow. Here's how they currently look on the model.
 

 

 

 
Next up is the transom - I have to say that I feel a lot more confident in making this now that I've made the quarter galleries. It's not going to be incredibly decorative, though I've been on the hunt for things that I could use as decorations in a pinch....Hopefully I'll be able to build the transom in such a way that I can add elements (if I find them) later but if I don't it'll still look ok....
 
Until next time
hamilton

Thanks a lot Andy, Augie, Ferit & Mark! Your compliments mean a lot - especially coming from such great craftsmen. I don't know about going to the dark side......yet....though in secret I've been looking at a couple of lumberyard kits.....
 
Tonight I finished the port side quarter gallery, and so now it's a nice pair. I still have to make the decorative finishing elements on the bottom of both pieces. I'll do this tomorrow. Here's how they currently look on the model.
 

 

 

 
Next up is the transom - I have to say that I feel a lot more confident in making this now that I've made the quarter galleries. It's not going to be incredibly decorative, though I've been on the hunt for things that I could use as decorations in a pinch....Hopefully I'll be able to build the transom in such a way that I can add elements (if I find them) later but if I don't it'll still look ok....
 
Until next time
hamilton

Thanks a lot Andy, Augie, Ferit & Mark! Your compliments mean a lot - especially coming from such great craftsmen. I don't know about going to the dark side......yet....though in secret I've been looking at a couple of lumberyard kits.....
 
Tonight I finished the port side quarter gallery, and so now it's a nice pair. I still have to make the decorative finishing elements on the bottom of both pieces. I'll do this tomorrow. Here's how they currently look on the model.
 

 

 

 
Next up is the transom - I have to say that I feel a lot more confident in making this now that I've made the quarter galleries. It's not going to be incredibly decorative, though I've been on the hunt for things that I could use as decorations in a pinch....Hopefully I'll be able to build the transom in such a way that I can add elements (if I find them) later but if I don't it'll still look ok....
 
Until next time
hamilton

Thanks a lot Andy, Augie, Ferit & Mark! Your compliments mean a lot - especially coming from such great craftsmen. I don't know about going to the dark side......yet....though in secret I've been looking at a couple of lumberyard kits.....
 
Tonight I finished the port side quarter gallery, and so now it's a nice pair. I still have to make the decorative finishing elements on the bottom of both pieces. I'll do this tomorrow. Here's how they currently look on the model.
 

 

 

 
Next up is the transom - I have to say that I feel a lot more confident in making this now that I've made the quarter galleries. It's not going to be incredibly decorative, though I've been on the hunt for things that I could use as decorations in a pinch....Hopefully I'll be able to build the transom in such a way that I can add elements (if I find them) later but if I don't it'll still look ok....
 
Until next time
hamilton

Thanks Mark! - I've managed now to (almost) finish the starboard side quarter gallery and am very happy with the results. I cut all the parts for both quarter galleries at the same time to ensure they will be of equal size. And I'll wait until both are complete before attaching them to the hull....Here's the process
 
Each quarter gallery is built up out of 7 strips - 2 5mm x 5mm strips for the roof and the lower part; 2 5mm x 3mm strips as a false backing for the windows; 2 6mm x .5mm strips for the sill and head of the windows; and 1 3mm X 1mm strip for a finishing strip on the top. I shaped all the pieces according to a curve I determined.
 

 
I then shaped the pieces to get the appropriate cant into the quarter gallery.
 

 
Next step was to finish the pieces - I stained the rood and the bottom piece and all other parts were painted black.
 

 
I then assembled it and added posts using 2mm x 2mm walnut.
 

 
Finally, the window frames were added using 1mm x 1mm strip wood, painted white
 

 
Here is a comparison between the kit supplied part and the one I made.
 

 
I still need to add a fnishing piece at the bottom, which I will attempt to make out of sculpy, since I need to do some shaping and my carving skills are nonexistent. Tomorrow I'll do the port side quarter gallery, and then spend the following night making the sculpy finishing pieces and designing the scratch built transom....lots of fun ahead!
hamilton

Thanks Mark! - I've managed now to (almost) finish the starboard side quarter gallery and am very happy with the results. I cut all the parts for both quarter galleries at the same time to ensure they will be of equal size. And I'll wait until both are complete before attaching them to the hull....Here's the process
 
Each quarter gallery is built up out of 7 strips - 2 5mm x 5mm strips for the roof and the lower part; 2 5mm x 3mm strips as a false backing for the windows; 2 6mm x .5mm strips for the sill and head of the windows; and 1 3mm X 1mm strip for a finishing strip on the top. I shaped all the pieces according to a curve I determined.
 

 
I then shaped the pieces to get the appropriate cant into the quarter gallery.
 

 
Next step was to finish the pieces - I stained the rood and the bottom piece and all other parts were painted black.
 

 
I then assembled it and added posts using 2mm x 2mm walnut.
 

 
Finally, the window frames were added using 1mm x 1mm strip wood, painted white
 

 
Here is a comparison between the kit supplied part and the one I made.
 

 
I still need to add a fnishing piece at the bottom, which I will attempt to make out of sculpy, since I need to do some shaping and my carving skills are nonexistent. Tomorrow I'll do the port side quarter gallery, and then spend the following night making the sculpy finishing pieces and designing the scratch built transom....lots of fun ahead!
hamilton

Thanks Mark! - I've managed now to (almost) finish the starboard side quarter gallery and am very happy with the results. I cut all the parts for both quarter galleries at the same time to ensure they will be of equal size. And I'll wait until both are complete before attaching them to the hull....Here's the process
 
Each quarter gallery is built up out of 7 strips - 2 5mm x 5mm strips for the roof and the lower part; 2 5mm x 3mm strips as a false backing for the windows; 2 6mm x .5mm strips for the sill and head of the windows; and 1 3mm X 1mm strip for a finishing strip on the top. I shaped all the pieces according to a curve I determined.
 

 
I then shaped the pieces to get the appropriate cant into the quarter gallery.
 

 
Next step was to finish the pieces - I stained the rood and the bottom piece and all other parts were painted black.
 

 
I then assembled it and added posts using 2mm x 2mm walnut.
 

 
Finally, the window frames were added using 1mm x 1mm strip wood, painted white
 

 
Here is a comparison between the kit supplied part and the one I made.
 

 
I still need to add a fnishing piece at the bottom, which I will attempt to make out of sculpy, since I need to do some shaping and my carving skills are nonexistent. Tomorrow I'll do the port side quarter gallery, and then spend the following night making the sculpy finishing pieces and designing the scratch built transom....lots of fun ahead!
hamilton