GrandpaPhil

Richard,

  Thank you!  I’m not going to lie, the first dozen or so were a little annoying until I got the methodology and the rhythm down.  After that, they went pretty smoothly.

My big lesson learned is that it is better to make your own eyebolts and not to buy plastic ones.

Congratulations!  Well done!

Congratulations!  Well done!

Well done!

Excellent!

Excellent!

Welcome!

I rigged the port side gunport lids.

Half way there and I’m happy with them.

After I rig the other half, I’m making the channels.

Thank you very much!

Ah, okay.  I see.  Making 30 at that size would be annoying.

Sorry to hear that.  Be careful and stay safe.

I lived near wildfires a few years ago and that is nerve wracking.

Vallejo makes the best model paints that I have ever used.  They are just very expensive.

I usually use Delta Ceramcoat for my models, card, wood, plastic, lead, metal or resin.  It has always worked well for me.  I like the matte finish and that it can be used to make washes or dry brush.

The only kicker is that some materials have to be sealed with Mod Podge for 24 hours prior to painting, or the paint will not stick.

That is awesome!  It’s ridiculous, but awesome!

David,

  Congratulations!  Beautifully done!

If you have a Hobby Lobby or Michael’s near you, the basswood sheets are only a couple dollars.

I buy a lot of mine from the craft stores.  The other thing is that the wood pillars are pretty easy to carve yourself if you wanted to try.

I accidentally found out that I have a lot of fun making pieces like that.

Yep 

I’ll have to remember the stretched sprue method of filling seams in plastic models.

Welcome!  I agree, good start!

I like to use a scalpel for final shaping.

Excellent!

Tool wise, my work horses are an old coping saw and a scalpel with a #11 blade.  An X-Acto or an Excel brand equivalent are good too.  The Excel blades are a little sharper and last a little longer than the X-Acto.

I would discourage the use of balsa because of the coarse grain and the lack of strength.

I use basswood a lot because it works easy, is a little stronger and looks good once painted.  I also use card a lot because it is easy to work and looks good when painted.

As far as tool familiarity goes, I learned woodworking by building Model Shipways Sultana.  I strongly recommend it.  You scratch build a lot of it.

Otherwise, I would recommend taking your time and just remember to make small cuts while shaping pieces.

There are many tutorials on basic carving techniques on this site and around the web.

The gunport rigging is proceeding!

We have proof of concept!

One of the many things that I hate about this kit is that there are no inner decks and thus nothing to secure the gunport lid rigging to.  I drilled the holes and glued the rigging thread in.  After it set up, I tied off to the eyebolts.

I glued down my deck fittings.

I painted the bulwarks.

I am much happier now.

This model is a hybrid.  My modeling skills have significantly developed in the two and a half years since I started working on it, so I have many problems to fix, or just live with.

There are many areas where I have ripped stuff out and replaced it.

The areas such as the stern and the quarter galleries, and the wales, I’m leaving alone.

I could make the stern and quarter galleries better than the brass sheet.  I will make the wales (which are too narrow) correctly in my next build.

However, the amount of damage that I would inflict ripping them out, is not worth it on this model.

So, I will leave it as is and move on.

Thanks for all the likes!

The decks look better.  
 

The fittings are just sitting there, and I still have many more to make, but I’m making good progress and I’m feeling a lot better about this build than I was.  

The holes in the deck did not make me happy.