hamilton

Minor update re - fairing the frames. As can be seen from the photos above, there's quite a bit of fairing to do on my cross-section. I think that much of this could have been circumvented by completing all the frames and checking them for fairness prior to installation, but....
 
So far I have been sanding inboard and outboard since this past Sunday and the work continues. Fairing seems both easier and harder with a fully framed model. On the one hand fairness is much easier to gauge since the frames are so close to one another, making it much easier to identify where the trouble spots are. At the same time, it is not possible to just grind into the frames and care needs to be taken not to dislodge them either from the keel (which has happened now once) or from the battens at the toptimbers (which has happened several times) or to break off a futtock (as also happened once)....so there's a balance to be found between the elbow grease necessary to actually get wood and a light enough touch so as not to damage or dislodge the frames....
 
I'm working largely with three sanding sticks - a 4" square one, a 1" round one and a 2" flat one - all with 100-grit sandpaper. I've also cut some 2" x 3" sheets of sandpaper at 100, 250 and 400 grit for finishing. There were a few placed both inboard and outboard where I used my Dremel with a drum sander to sand down frames where they were standing significantly proud. I was very nervous about using the rotary tool, but in the end it proved quite easy and safe for removing excess wood quickly and along one frame at a time without touching the adjacent frames. 
 
There is still more fairing to do, but I hope that by the end of the weekend I will have completed the final components of the initial framing of the cross-section - namely, the keelson, exterior ribanbs and the the top timber extensions for frames 2-A and 3-F above the gunport.
 
No photos today since the work is not yet done. But soon...
hamilton

Lots of scrolling on this page!! Hope this post will push the log to page 3 - I imagine people are getting sick of scrolling, as I am.....
 
In any case a final post before we head out on holiday - just a quick one to show frame set 4 completed and raised on the keel. These two frames were very straightforward, though I wish I had added the taper to the toptimber before assembling the frame - I'll do this with 5-aft which has a similar taper. The only other feature is a notch filed into the aft face of frame 4-aft for the pump dale scupper. There was some difficulty getting these symmetrical port and starboard, but in the end they went ok - we'll see much later in the fitting out stage....
 
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the model as it stands. I head back to full time work on Aug. 15, and I'm hoping to be able to complete the framing before then - assembling and mounting frame set 5, adding the gunport and sweep port sills, installing ribands along the toptimbers and making and installing the keelson. I will then be taking a break from this build - hard to say how long, but I think it's time I returned to the Bellona for a while - she's been neglected in the excitement of making frames and I know that once I get through the lower hull planking the real fun can finally begin.
 
Hope all are well and bye for now
hamilton

Earlier question I missed on  scupper support blocks: they are flush with the frames inside and out. The scupper hole is drilled through the planking and support blocks at the same time after planking.
 
As for lofting frames, we all learn this on the job as we go!

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Lots of scrolling on this page!! Hope this post will push the log to page 3 - I imagine people are getting sick of scrolling, as I am.....
 
In any case a final post before we head out on holiday - just a quick one to show frame set 4 completed and raised on the keel. These two frames were very straightforward, though I wish I had added the taper to the toptimber before assembling the frame - I'll do this with 5-aft which has a similar taper. The only other feature is a notch filed into the aft face of frame 4-aft for the pump dale scupper. There was some difficulty getting these symmetrical port and starboard, but in the end they went ok - we'll see much later in the fitting out stage....
 
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the model as it stands. I head back to full time work on Aug. 15, and I'm hoping to be able to complete the framing before then - assembling and mounting frame set 5, adding the gunport and sweep port sills, installing ribands along the toptimbers and making and installing the keelson. I will then be taking a break from this build - hard to say how long, but I think it's time I returned to the Bellona for a while - she's been neglected in the excitement of making frames and I know that once I get through the lower hull planking the real fun can finally begin.
 
Hope all are well and bye for now
hamilton

Frame set 2 is now complete and raised on the keel. Frame 2 aft is shortened in line with the gunport and also contains the aft notch for the scupper block (to be added later), so reference lines were drawn for these and the frame was notched out for the scupper block. 
 
I added a batten across the aft face of frame 2F at the level of the lower edge of the lower gunport sill and used this to align frame 2A. It will also be useful for bracing the frames when the time comes to remove the upper part of the toptimber to open up the gunport. I won't do this until after I've raised frame 3F, since this one is subject to the same treatment. 
 
One photo below shows the notches for the scupper block - the photo makes the it seem out of alignment, but I promise you it is not....
 
Altogether this is a very fun build. I have been really intimidated by the framing process - having observed others do it so well....but it is a really fun challenge so far - though maybe talk to me when it comes to the deck framing, which seems an even trickier business than this!
 
Bye for now
hamilton

Both frames in frame set 2 have now been assembled and it remains only to mark/cut out notches for the gunport sills and the scupper. This was a challenging process with the cast toptimber of framer 2F, but in the end it was not quite as difficult as I feared it would be and I'm very happy with the results. I do want to take a bit of time to outline the process...
 
The first step was to transfer some reference marks from the disposition of frame drawing to the frame drawing, using tick strips to measure off and square these up. Horizontals were drawn across the frame drawing to ensure symmetry athwartships. I then clamped the frame components in place on the drawing and transferred the marks to the outside and inside edges of the toptimber.
 
I then cut a template from a printout of the dispotion of frame drawing - actually 2 to tack onto the outside and inside edges of the frame, being careful to orient them correctly! These were tacked with rubber cement and the areas to be cut down marked onto the frame piece. This was a little finicky since the disposition of frame drawing does not accout for the outward curvature of the frame itself, resulting in templates that are short compared to the toptimber piece itself. This was not too difficult to correct for, but required a lot of back and forthing from plans to part. The area to be cut was marked out on both inside and outside edges.
 
I then clamped the piece to a slab of 3/4" ply and, using a #11 blade stated gradually removing the wood by making a cut down to the line, slicing wood off carefull edgewise from the face of the piece to that cut and then using sanding block and file to clear out the excess material. I did a little bit at a time, following the gradual shallowing of the cut and then sanded the surface down smooth. 
 
To cut the other side, I glued a small strip of basswood of an appropriate thickness to the plywood slab to accomodate the cutaway I made previously and to straighten the piece so I could remove material on the other side using the same technique described above. This took a bit of time and care, but worked out ok in the end. And now I have my first properly cast toptimber! 
 
If I can get a bit of time tomorrow I'll notch the frame out for the elements described above and then raise the frames on the keel....fun times!
 
Enjoy the photos and happy modelling

Make sure to apply pencil marks to the inside and outside of every frame. It is very easy to identify the low spots this way. Once they start to disappear switch to 150 or 180 grit paper and sand with the grain. When all the pencil marks are gone your hull is faired. I usually start at the bottom and work my way up. You should really have the upper sill in place when fairing.

Minor update re - fairing the frames. As can be seen from the photos above, there's quite a bit of fairing to do on my cross-section. I think that much of this could have been circumvented by completing all the frames and checking them for fairness prior to installation, but....
 
So far I have been sanding inboard and outboard since this past Sunday and the work continues. Fairing seems both easier and harder with a fully framed model. On the one hand fairness is much easier to gauge since the frames are so close to one another, making it much easier to identify where the trouble spots are. At the same time, it is not possible to just grind into the frames and care needs to be taken not to dislodge them either from the keel (which has happened now once) or from the battens at the toptimbers (which has happened several times) or to break off a futtock (as also happened once)....so there's a balance to be found between the elbow grease necessary to actually get wood and a light enough touch so as not to damage or dislodge the frames....
 
I'm working largely with three sanding sticks - a 4" square one, a 1" round one and a 2" flat one - all with 100-grit sandpaper. I've also cut some 2" x 3" sheets of sandpaper at 100, 250 and 400 grit for finishing. There were a few placed both inboard and outboard where I used my Dremel with a drum sander to sand down frames where they were standing significantly proud. I was very nervous about using the rotary tool, but in the end it proved quite easy and safe for removing excess wood quickly and along one frame at a time without touching the adjacent frames. 
 
There is still more fairing to do, but I hope that by the end of the weekend I will have completed the final components of the initial framing of the cross-section - namely, the keelson, exterior ribanbs and the the top timber extensions for frames 2-A and 3-F above the gunport.
 
No photos today since the work is not yet done. But soon...
hamilton

Minor update re - fairing the frames. As can be seen from the photos above, there's quite a bit of fairing to do on my cross-section. I think that much of this could have been circumvented by completing all the frames and checking them for fairness prior to installation, but....
 
So far I have been sanding inboard and outboard since this past Sunday and the work continues. Fairing seems both easier and harder with a fully framed model. On the one hand fairness is much easier to gauge since the frames are so close to one another, making it much easier to identify where the trouble spots are. At the same time, it is not possible to just grind into the frames and care needs to be taken not to dislodge them either from the keel (which has happened now once) or from the battens at the toptimbers (which has happened several times) or to break off a futtock (as also happened once)....so there's a balance to be found between the elbow grease necessary to actually get wood and a light enough touch so as not to damage or dislodge the frames....
 
I'm working largely with three sanding sticks - a 4" square one, a 1" round one and a 2" flat one - all with 100-grit sandpaper. I've also cut some 2" x 3" sheets of sandpaper at 100, 250 and 400 grit for finishing. There were a few placed both inboard and outboard where I used my Dremel with a drum sander to sand down frames where they were standing significantly proud. I was very nervous about using the rotary tool, but in the end it proved quite easy and safe for removing excess wood quickly and along one frame at a time without touching the adjacent frames. 
 
There is still more fairing to do, but I hope that by the end of the weekend I will have completed the final components of the initial framing of the cross-section - namely, the keelson, exterior ribanbs and the the top timber extensions for frames 2-A and 3-F above the gunport.
 
No photos today since the work is not yet done. But soon...
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

The Syren kits come in both 1/48 and 1/64 scale so the 1/64th should be the same size (more or less) as these.
 
I did notice that there appears to be a PE version of the stern lantern on the PE sheet (PE-30). If you are familiar with bending PE into shape this might be a faster solution.
 
I have built the 1/48th Syren stern lantern (for Wincheslea) and it takes a steady hand - you have to glue each side of the lantern to the base keeping the sides just in contact. I think it took me three tries to get one acceptable lantern.
 
You can see the final one in these photos.

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

Back from holiday now and back at the bench both yesterday and today to finish up the final frames - frame set 5. These were mostly straightforward except the toptimber of frame 5 aft is shifted forward 1.5" - not difficult to achieve with some shims under the frame. The only other features of these frames are a notch on the forward face of 5-forward to match the one on 4-aft for the pump dale scupper and a fore/aft tapering of the top of the toptimber of 5-aft. 
 
The final stage of the framing of the cross-section has now bee reached - installing the sills on gunports and sweep ports, inboard & outboard fairing of the frames, installing the the keelson and temporary ribands along the toptimbers. I am going to be finishing the model, but I'm not sure whether to do the inside edges gunport and sweep port frames now or later. Makes some sense to do them now, before laying any planking, but maybe there's merit to doing it later on? 
 
I do have the practicum for fitting out the cross-section, but it isn't possible any longer to order the wood package as pre-milled sheets and strips. I do have a Byrnes thickness sander and micro table-saw, and have a stock of unmilled 2" x 3" lengths (30") of boxwood, as well as the wood list that was posted on the now-defunct Admiralty Models website. I invested in a thin-kerf blade for my 10" table saw, so I think all I need is a good set of digital callipers and I can mill the wood necessary for the fitting out. There is quite a bit leftover of the wood supplied in the framing package, as well, so....we'll see how things progress. At any rate, when I complete the components noted above I'll be going back to Bellona for a while - at least until I finish the second layer of hull planking and clean up a few things from earlier in that build. I may return to Echo then, as it has been a lot of fun so far. Confidence building for a fully framed model of a complete ship - ideally I would love to build a 1:48 fully framed version of the HMS Blandford, which I built about a decade ago from the rather poor Corel kit....but my lack of drafting knowledge beyond some rudiments is a real obstacle....
 
In any case - here are the pics - enjoy and bye for now
hamilton

The starboard masking for the gunport edges went much faster, only 3 days of masking.....

 
So now I am ready for the black Wales at last. Just one more round of final sanding for the sides (some masking tape ghosts to clean up).
 
As I was preparing to paint this last round of red, my airbrush compressor suddenly stopped pushing air. I looked around for the cause and noticed that the hose connecting the compressor to the filter had completely severed at the fitting pressed onto its end, either rotted away or twist stressed. I did my best to cut a clean edge on the hose and reattach it to the screw fitting, only to discover that there were slow leaks at several other cramped points in the hose. I taped those up, completed the painting, and then the other end of the hose severed from its pressed on fitting. I had to order a new hose, and the black wales will have to wait for delivery. The compressor was probably 15 years old, maybe the shelf life for hoses....
 
Mark
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've been working on a number of things lately. .
 
The two inner stern frames where in need of some shortening as they were well above the top edge of the transom. I used a fine saw to make the cuts. I believe it's called a JLC razor Saw.


Then I added the 3/32" cap rail to the bow section. Actually, these were taken down with the thickness sander slightly thinner than 3/32". I did this so the top edge of the scroll molding would align with the cap rail in a smooth contour along the shear.

Then I scraped the 1/32" x 3/32" fancy molding for the outer hull. I went with a simple shape here.

Lower platforms (fore)
I went with Chuck's design for the Gauge which is needed when setting the depth of the beams inside the hull. What can I say other than it was easy to make and it worked perfectly.

The disc sander really comes in handy when making these beams, especially since they are boxwood. To establish the angles for each beam, I used a slightly shorter one than needed from scrap wood. Being shorter, I could hold it against one side of the hull and approximate the angles needed. Adjustments were made to the disc sander until I was sure that the final beam would work. For the most part things went smoothly with only a few throwaways. keep in mind that the beams should not only sit nicely against the frames, but also the tops should lay flat to one another for the planking.

Mike

Beautiful job on the planking Ronald! 
hamilton

Beautiful job on the planking Ronald! 
hamilton

Just a little peek, because I'm quite excited what's happening with the wipe-on poly.
 
I first taped off the location of the wales so the oil wouldn't get on that area.
By the way, I just use Polyurethane lacquer and dilute it with white spirit (about 60/40) Minwax like our friends in America use is unaffordable here  
 
In the second photo I just applied the WOP so it still has to dry, but it looks already quite good!
Here and there still a few little white spots of glue residue, but nothing major.