hollowneck

The NRG (our forum’s parent) notified their members when MSW went down.

Congratulations, B.E. Your model is a reference for everyone who decides to follow and build Vanguard's excellent kit: superbly executed details and creative solutions await future modelers, in abundance. I'll hit my one year Sphinx (HMS Camilla) build anniversary this September. Time does seem to fly when you're having fun...

My copy arrived today, July 26. … a Day of Re-Connection: first, our forum was restored then an agent of the U.S. Government delivered my missing Journal. Life is good.

Phew! This is the stuff of nightmares, for everyone on the forum. I can’t imagine what a few terabytes of lost data would mean to our community. ‘Bravo” to the crew who sorted this out over the past 24. “You don’t know what you’ve got, till it’s gone.” - Joni Mitchell/Big Yellow Taxi, Ladies of the Canyon, 1974

Thank you. You may be living at the “bottom of the world” but your beautifully executed Winchelsea is at the top of the planet! Superb work. Thanks, druxey. My Quadhands has made several previous appearances. It is worth the investment. I can’t think of a more useful shop item for rigging with the exception of my needle pointed tweezers and embroidery scissors. I’ve used detail powders on scale figures in my last diorama as an experiment ( to enhance facial details in the painted metal sculpts). As I studied Camilla’s flat-looking MDF anchors, I recalled the technique applied to the kit’s cannon by the kit’s prototype builder. I did need to purchase a dedicated ‘set’ of powders for this job. Doing so turned out to be quite fortuitous since this material also enhanced other “metal” details as I experimented. I sincerely hope some of my approaches for materials (and tools) can help others in MSW world.

Just came across your Diana build. You've achieved some very tasty upgrading and impressive work. The coppering is especially nice. Diana was my second model and her beautiful lines elicit strong, positive responses from onlookers. Can't wait to see how you rig her!

A milestone approaches...yard rigging is nearly completed. Populating the yards is painstaking and sometimes very tedious. The QuadHands station makes this task so much easier. The flexible arms hold the workpieces securely and as you tie-on the various components (lots of them) you can easily bend the arms to effectively rotate the work toward or away from you: very handy. Having two sets of arms is quite a luxury too (the QuadHands come in various arm/base configurations). The multiple tentacles allowed me to maintain spacing consistency by visualizing a completed yard while working on its sibling. This is the completed main topgallant yard. With the exception of the fiddle blocks for the lifts, all the remaining blocks are 3.0 mm. The loops for the strirrups are about 0.5mm and were made off this jig on my smaller, simple ThirdHand jig before lashing to the yard. I've added the small black rubber "boots" to the alligator clips so they don't mar the paint job on the yard (the clip "booties" come with the QuadHand). On the previous photo the alligators were grasping the iron rings mounted the yard's wood so no need for the rubber alligator boots. My trusty 0.79 mm thumbdrill just won't go away (not that I want it to). Here, a 3.0 mm stropped block gets its hole properly opened up so rope can more easily pass through when subsequently running the lines. It pays to do this with every block, regardless of size. It's very frustrating to be running a line and have a block be - well, blocked. It's not easy to open tiny holes on some blocks that are in very difficult to reach spots. Behind the block and drill is its topgallant yard. Some builders can work with 2.0 mm blocks. I find them nearly impossible to prep well. In this kit (scale= 1/64), the smallest blocks are 3.0 mm and they are extensive in the rigging set-ups. After staring at my two anchors made from MDF and pear, I decided to try and enhance the look of the anchor. I noted this technique in the Sphinx manual by Jim Hatch wherein he uses a metallic weathering powder for adding realism to the model's cannon. Here you see a small brush with some metallic weathering powder that's been applied to the edges (mainly) of the anchor. I believe this is an improvement to the previous flat black color; previously, to my eyes, it just wasn't a very convincing anchor. After taking this photo I also added the weathering powder to the anchor's four stock bands as these are also made from iron. And here's what I've used to add this realistic treatment to the anchor (and other items- see next photos): Tamiya Weathering Master. Of the metallic colors indicated in this particular set (there are other color sets), I've chosen the light gun metal. The "Titanium" was too bright for a proper light reflectance from iron. These weathering materials are used extensively by our brethren in the plastic model (and train layout) world. Two tips are better than one. The tapered cotton tip (also from Tamiya) worked a little better in some tight spots...like... ...Here. I also used this same weathering powder on the cannon muzzles, the chain linkages as well as bolt heads, even on the tips of all the stanchions and hammock cranes. The result is very subtle in most cases and as it should be. It is very easy to over do this kind of embellishment. The powder itself is somewhat viscous, almost "wet" feeling when applying and adheres nicely. The compound has an extraordinarily fine texture: one is hard-pressed to see any granules of shiny, metallic bits. A view with all of Camilla's yards nearly completed. A starboard progress view; a rigging milestone has been reached. Next up: some finessing of the footropes, finishing-off the crane netting to port and then onward to yard jeers, tyes and halliards. A view showing the effects of the light gun metal weathering compound on various "metal" parts of the ship: cannon cascabel, rear breeches, chain pump iron bars, deck bolts/rings, even the cannon balls. The dale pumps were also touched-up; unfortunately, in this shot you can't see the effect, but it makes the delicate P/E mechanisms look considerably more realistic. I've applied a tiny touch to all the tips of the stanchions and hammock crane irons. The King's monogram on the eight midship cannon have also been lightly "dusted" which adds a little more visibility to this fun detail (cannon monograms by Syren, not included in the kit).

Have you seen this "probe" lens, Gaetan? A new pro photo tool for macro shots (24mm) and it's configuration could produce some very interesting photos of models - interiors as well as exterior. f14, built-in LED lights at front lens. About a 3/4" dia to the tube. Manual focus. Pretty decent glass. It's $1,600 USD, but It can also be rented. Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 2X Macro Probe Lens with Canon EF Mount

Thank you, druxey. Your encouragement is much appreciated!

Crossjack/Mizzen mast rigging completed The mizzen mast's crossjack yard carries no sail. The crossbracing is shown here. A closeup of the crossjack yard details. The shaped octagonal center of this yard will clearly be visible since this yard is near fully-rigged. .

Moving right along...now advancing the rigging at the stern, the gaff & halliards; crane netting details... There are a number of moving parts to the gaff rig on the mizzenmast. After scratching the yard itself I rig it with it's parrels and most of its blocks and set it in position around the mizzen as I measure and tie-off its various halliard lines. It's easy to misjudge the length of these lines. Better to have too much left over rope than not enough. How do I know this?.... I have two strong overhead lights over my bench. These lights cast shadows in some of my build photos and also make the model's deck appear "mottled" in part owing to the color temperature of the ceiling lights. For me, good-quality, indirect lighting is especially important throughout a build, but especially when it comes to the intricacies of rigging. There are different methods for throwing additional light on your subject including head worn ones. This rigging would have been nearly impossible to execute without having pre-mounted blocks to the masts in the earlier mast building stage. The multiple, large fold-out plans provided in the kit are excellent but they don't explain the complex SEQUENCE of steps and procedures to this challenging task. The stern lateen yard has been mostly set-up, however there are additional rigging lines to be mounted as well as a set fore/aft "spanker" sail; the sail will be loose footed. In a few years time, the shipyards would add another boom yard at the foot for better control of this sail - as it grew larger. When it was set, and when the wind conditions allowed it to assist the rudder, this important sail helped the helmsman to achieve a correct compass heading. Bending the model's sail is doable after temporary rigging here because the gaff itself and mizzen mast are both still reasonably accessible - which is not the case with nearly all the other yards. The spritsail at the bowsprit is also reasonably accessible for sail mounting. Now that the gaff has been rigged, the crossjack (lowest yard on the mizzen which carries no sail) is ready for its various blocks and brace lines. Detail photo of the substituted gaff parrels (no alternating ribs) placed around the mizzen mast. In shipyard practice these round "roller balls" were typically made from wood; I wished the kit had furnished small wooden beads. I don't like the shiny black plastic ones provided, so I substituted these "tarnished brass" ones. There are other colors of jewelry beads but they are all shiny, plastic-looking. I admit one COULD paint them, but not this sailor. I have a small collection of jewelry findings including these particular beads. I like the metallic tone and imagine them to be machined brass: fancy, upmarket rigging for this Captain! The parrels and ribs assembled here are prepped for a topmast, not the gaff which only required 9 parrel beads. As I've mentioned previously in this log, I'm a big proponent for using high-quality rope on any sailing model. As can be seen here, this rope raises the detail interest level several notches higher in my estimation. This three-stranded halliard rope measures less than half a millimeter in diameter (.45mm). I use dark brown rope for standing rigging and most lashings which is a good approximation of "Stockholm Tar". The lighter beige color rope resembles hemp and is used for all my running rigging; it will also be utilized on sail management lines (clews, bunts, reefing, etc.). On the left, a Syren fiddle block (DIY, shaped boxwood) and on the right, a 4 mm single sheave Falkonet pear one. Both blocks have been colored with a raw sienna coloring pen. The less dense grain of pear absorbs the alcohol-based colorant a little better. A view of the main yard with mating jeer blocks stropped and prepped for their hauling ropes. I'll add this yard's other details (mast lines, stirrups, footropes) before these go to their next stage. As I rig I place many components in temporary positions as a reference: it's easy to misjudge the lengths of some lines by estimating and eyeballing it, especially for yard tyes and jeer lines. The starboard side gangway hammock crane netting is nearly completed. Here I've positioned a length of precut tulle fabric and fastened it to the inside rope with some Liquitex matte adhesive. When dry, I'll pull the loose netting's end up through the opening and carefully position it to be glued to the outer rope. This is, without question, a very fiddly task as the fabric seems to have a mind of its own. I'm pleased with the results despite the amount of time to accomplish it. Once both edges of the netting have set, I'll use my pointy embroidery scissors to trim off the excess bits at the tops of the ropes. A lashing line tied along the outermost rope hides some of the random fabric "fuzzies." A closer view of how I position the tulle netting for attachment (note that the tulle appears lighter colored here due to my overhead lighting). This tulle is a very good color match to the hemp colored rope I use throughout the rigging. If one gets very, very close to the model they'll see tiny bits of residue from the matte adhesive. I haven't conceived of a better way to attach the netting without this compromise. PVA, even diluted, still leaves a minute visible residue. So does "Tacky" fabric glue. Perhaps someone here has a better idea. The front rope gets lashed with a .1mm rope and this hides some of the idiosyncrasies of the netting's attachment. Two of the gaff's rigging lines have been temporarily belayed to a belaying rack on the mizzen. I have yet to make a kit- regardless of the source - with it's supplied rigging "strings." I understand why this is the case with manufacturers, a compromise. This also the case with most kit blocks too. Including higher quality rope and blocks (even with expensive kits) would add a substantial prime cost (especially a large model like this one) resulting in unsold boxes sitting on shelves. I estimate that Camilla will have an additional $125-150 of additional investment with my aftermarket upgrading, just between substituted rope and blocks; this doesn't take into account the additional pear and boxwood I've used to scratch the masts and yards. My approach is not for everyone - and I get that. In this photo, the belaying pins (8 mm) are pear and aftermarket from maker, Falkonet. The Vanguard kit provides P/E brass belaying pins, a big upgrade to the horrifically out-of-scale, clunky ones found in most other sailing era kits. I've used nicely machined, accurately-sized brass ones (Model Shipways) but painting them is inadequate as the paint inevitably scrapes off in their racks and onto rigging lines, not to mention how necessary it is to paint them an acceptable wood color in the first place. I was beyond happy to source these genuine looking, and beautifully turned pear ones. There are a couple dozen total in the build. Next update I.m hoping to have Captain Pennypincher make a Cameo appearance, on Camilla's deck. It's time for a shipyard inspection!

I just came across this thread. Interesting information. Thanks for posting this to our community, very helpful. I recently purchased the Neewer LED lighting panels you've mentioned. These are a "game changer" from my previous strobe (& hot light) set-ups, whether studio or location. Mr Bordeleau has a very nice, professionally-equipped photo studio: there's lots o' pro photo gear shown (as well as pro studio monitor speakers). My point? It would be difficult to take a bad photo with a Canon DSLR with all this equipment! I was a photog for many years (film & digital) and I do use a full frame DSLR for critical studio photos; this said, the new iPhone 13 (Pro Max) offers a dramatic challenge to the DSLR model (for our macro modeling shots). New tech/gear is changing many assumptions about what is required for "good photography."

As anticipated, rigging work is getting denser, more difficult as the tasks involved require doing even smaller, more precise work. As anyone knows who has fully rigged an 18th-C ship at this scale (1:64), access gets progressively difficult and specialized tools and diligence are required: it's very easy to break something with a slight slip of a sharp tool, miss with an errant paintbrush touch-up, a head-slapping mis-read placement of a rigging line. It's also getting more difficult to take explanatory photos that aren't confusing; there is so much now to look at in each and every one. I'll do my best to focus on the important points in my upcoming photos. But I'll try... Voila! A completed anchor temporarily placed on the port bow. The anchor rope hasn't been secured yet, nor the anchor chain, buoy and associated lines. These anchor details will be added in the final phases when all else is completed. At the stern q'deck, I've turned a pear ensign staff in my lathe and mounted it with a halliard line for hoisting The King's Colors...at yet, another final stage. Oops. In a previous post I'd advised mounting the boom cranes (large yards) AFTER all else has been attached to them. This is why! The P/E boom ring snapped-off with a clumsy bench move. The kit's P/E includes a couple spare parts, but only two large and two medium-sized pieces. The repair was straightforward and I simply removed the broken stem and re-inserted a replacement ring. There are some thoughtful spares throughout the kit (both lasered wood and additional P/E). This is a good thing. I wasn't looking forward to scratching a brass replacement for this problem. An interesting experiment during this repair: I bent the P/E in the opposite direction (the non-intuitive one) and this seems to have resulted in a more secure method as the brass recess allows it to be bent forward on itself, a closed right angle creating a more solid piece. I also applied a small drop of CA to this bend-created "joint" and this may indeed be the best way to affix these delicate parts - even if one does them last in the yard fabrications. In any event, this repaired one with a REVERSE P/E bend feels much stronger to the touch now. Too bad I didn't try this earlier. Build and learn...build and... The lower spritsail rigging on the bowsprit is nearly completed. This yard is easier to fashion than the others, but its rigging is quite tricky to set-up properly. The small, hanging clamps are helping to set the foot ropes in gentle "rope-like" curvatures (overnight). I'll brush diluted white glue on the ropes and switch to another method/device to exert gravity on them when the balance of the spritsail rigging is completed. The kit shows an additional sprit topsail mounted to the jib boom, but I'm not certain I'll add this as the additional sail management lines would result in a quite complex mounting task. I'll ponder this on my ponder list, which is gradually shrinking. Another (slightly tilted) view of the spritsail rigging partially set-up. The forecourse yard has been populated and awaits its sundry ropes. The foot rope stirrups fall BEHIND the yard, as they should (Thanks, B.E.). I'm awaiting some correctly scaled fiddle blocks for the course's lifts from Syren. I'll then add the stunsail booms to them. Because I'm mounting sails to all her yards, the bits n' pieces along the yards need to be in-place prior to this work. I intend the bottom ones (main & fore courses) to feature furled sails but all the yard components will be quite visible from the rear of the sails. The furled sails are intended to give "visual space" to the model; large sails would look impressive but obscure viewing of all the beautiful detail this kit offers on her decks. Most of Camilla's yards have now been scratched and painted. The mizzen boom and its top yards await, as do the topgallants for the main and fore. This month is roughly the 10th month of my build thus far; I anticipate I have another few weeks ahead of me to finish rigging and adding her sails. I'll take a break and then in the Fall, make her water display diorama.

Thanks, druxey. The stocks are mounted correctly. What took the most time making these anchors (only two for Camilla) was sanding off the laser char from the various pieces before assembling them. Wrapping the puddening ropes to the hawse rings was also time-intensive, wrap after wrap!

Making the Sphinx kit's anchors. The provided pieces are pictured here as well as the tools and materials I use to upgrade their assembly. The MDF (anchor), thin plywood (the anchor flukes) and pear wood (stock pieces) are the components provided to fashion anchors. There are four sets like the above provided. I plan to add only two anchors to my build. To my knowledge this is a first and a unique approach to making these vital parts of a ship's sailing inventory; most of the kit models I've built have supplied cast metal anchors. One new anchor assembled (foreground) and nearly complete. The slightly larger anchor above it is from another 1:64 older model I've built (HMS Ardent/Caldercraft). I wanted to compare these two since the kit provided a new approach to make these components. As already noted, these new anchors are, I dare say, a radical departure from the "normal" kit pieces in that the anchor itself is made from a laser-cut MDF pattern and not cast metal. I colored the pear stock with my Promarker alcohol-based pen and to my eye it resulted in a quite acceptable simulation - along with a flat black acrylic paint applied to the anchor itself. As shown on the cast metal anchor, thick rope "puddening," will be added to the brass ring on the new anchor assembly. There are small but visible metalwork details to the cast metal anchor (the shaft lines and flukes) and both approaches are meant to represent black iron. The kit's all-wood anchor offers somewhat of a detail trade-off, but after detailing them, I'm O.K. with adding them to Camilla. With materials for four anchors provided in the kit (normal for a ship of this size) using MDF instead of cast metal surely lightened-up the kit box contents and shipping cost! There is also thin "black card" provided to make the iron straps ( also used for boom iron strapping on the yards), but I much prefer to use graphic arts tape. After assembly of the seven pieces that comprise this new anchor, one adds iron straps and a hawse ring. The Micron pen (.20 mm tip, from maker Sakura) is used to add the tiny black bolt details on the anchor stock (both sides). The bolt positions are etched in the pear laminate finishing pieces, as are lines to guide the application of the simulated iron strapping. The bolt heads in the pear laminate are too subtle without darkening them and need emphasis, as shown here. To make the anchor stock's four straps, I use a graphic arts 1.5 mm wide black tape (which is self-adhesive). After trimming I apply a tiny drop of CA to the end to insure that the tape stays affixed. The tip of the Micron pen used to "fill" the black bolt markings on the pear laminate stocks. The brass ring awaits rope "puddening." I'll wrap this hawse ring tightly with either black or dark brown thick rope, as was the shipyard rigging practice. The puddening cushioned the terminated hawse cables rubbing against the iron ring from excessive wear and tear; the worn puddening rope was frequently replaced in practice. To fashion the anchor's brass hawse ring, I use these stepped mandrel pliers - a great tool for making reasonably small metal rings. I used finger pressure only to wrap the brass rod (.89 mm) around the largest cylinder. After obtaining a round shaped ring section of the brass, it was cut off with my Xuron cutter and then the open end was closed-up with a small pair of regular needle-nosed pliers after inserting it into the anchor's opening.

B.E. You gave me an idea. Thank you. Since I haven't begun the yard's rigging (jeers, lifts, etc.), the only thing I'll need to re-do by "flipping" the topsail yard is fashion a new pair of slings and attach them on the opposite side of the spar after switching the mounting pin. A little paint scraping and touch-up. All other yard attachments will present correctly so it won't be necessary to start over with removing and redoing these. This change is only a tiny diversion from today's workshop plan...and your comment reminded me that I need to scratch an extra main top mast for her midship skids.

You knew, didn't you? Indeed. HMS Camilla does seem to get smaller as I am preparing to squeeze-in other rigging lines in tight places! This one is 1:64 scale, but in challenging rigging moments she can seem I:700! Nonetheless, Thank You druxey. I'll humbly acknowledge your kudos - at any scale.

Thanks again for your comments B.E. In fact, I am not aware of that stirrup detail, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for your keen observation! The knowledge of the Universe resides here on my desktop. I plan to stiffen the stirrups and finesse the foot ropes once her sails are mounted. So much of what these complex and magnificent looking ships are about can be straightforward engineering dynamics and - good, commonsense. I'll correct my stirrup error on the remaining yards and drape the stirrups BEHIND, but I'm going to refrain from re-doing the one that's completed. All the foot ropes will appear behind Camilla's many sails, tucked amongst her sail lines and other rigging bits, so I'll live with my error ...in perpetuity. And only you, myself and 42,000+ MSW'ers will ever know. Cheers!

Camilla's yards & their fittings: making progress. Adding hammock crane netting. I use a fine bridal veil material known as "tulle" ("tool") for making the netting for hammock cranes. It comes in black, white and this taupe color which I prefer as the light brown resembles hemp rope and it's a better look than using either stark white or the black color. The thread spool is for color comparison in the photo and is used to lace this netting to the safety ropes on the cranes. The tulle material is polyester (or nylon - Quel matériel?) and tricky to manipulate into the cranes, but it can be done once its trimmed into a shape that forms a "U" and then poked down into the iron cranes and positioned for gluing to the safety ropes. I like this particular fabric for this netting purpose. It appears very scale-accurate for a 1:64 model. Inexpensive. It can be purchased at JoAnnes's Fabric stores, but be aware you'll have to buy a minimum yard (or two) which will easily outlast most people's model building hobby! Once positioned into the hammock crane, I attach the tulle with tiny daubs of matte adhesive, then carefully trim off the shaggy tulle bits at the ends of the loose fabric after the adhesive has set. I then lace a fine rope (.1 mm) through the tulle openings and around the hammock crane safety rope. Due to the configuration of the fine detail on the hammock cranes, I'll need to repeat this process for each "compartment" along the gangways. This is very fiddly work to get the tulle pieces to fit- and creating the first netting segment is the most difficult- but the hammock crane P/E supplied in the Vanguard kit is beautifully detailed as is evident here. Accomplishing this detail will take a lot of work to get both starboard and port dressed but I believe it will be worth the effort. Closer view of the hammock crane netting, post touch-up trimming; miniscule drops of matte medium (applied with the tip of a toothpick) holds the fine netting in-place. The lacing rope along the safety line is barely perceptible but will get noticed on a close inspection. A set of Camilla's "BIG" yards (fore & main courses, and fore and main top yards). The main top yard (black one) is complete with its myriad of blocks, cleats, stirrups, ropes, stunsail boom yards, brace blocks, etc. The parrel bead rollers that allow the yard to roll along the mast have been pre-strung, and the completed assembly sits behind the yard. A review: all the yards (with the exception of the stunsail booms) are made from square stock boxwood. All masts are made from Swiss Pear. The cleats on the yards pictured above are made from pear. The foot ropes on this yard are suspended with rope lengths per convention of the era; I chose to not use the P/E stirrups provided in the kit. Also, once the yard is mounted (with its accompanying sail), the foot ropes will hang loose from the stirrups in relaxed, catenary shapes. I pre-form the foot rope shape by applying matte medium adhesive so they drape naturally; the adhesive permanently sets them in this loose-looking shape. The three unfinished yards have had their cleats and ironwork mounted; blocks await mounting after these yards have been painted or stained black. A TIP: don't mount the stunsail boom yard end rings until last. They are quite delicate and easily bent due to the P/E scoring. There are another 8 yards to fabricate (not including the various boom yards and ensign staff), but they are easy-peasy compared with what's required for scratching these four. There is an iron strap that needs to be fabricated to wrap around the ironwork for the stunsail boom rings. I use a 1.5 mm black graphic arts tape (roll on the right side), sealed with a tiny drop of CA after it's secured around the yard's boom hardware. Two blocks await their ropes: a violin (fiddle) block for the lift rigging (the Syren DIY boxwood ones) and a single sheave 4 mm one for the yard brace (Falkonet, pear). The cleats shown here on the tip of the yard are ...tiny ... Be careful to get these placed properly so they are symmetrically mounted to the tapered yard and not too close to the boom ironwork since there will be a ropes that secure to the very ends of these yards. A view of the mainmast's main course and top yard, temporarily placed. I plan to affix ("bend" in maritime parlance) furled sails to both fore & main courses. The remainder of Camilla's yards will carry set sails. Four yards temporarily placed. The lighter colored ones (unfinished boxwood) will be painted black, the next step prior to attaching blocks, ropes and booms...and, of course, sails. A closer view of a nearly-completed top yard (mainmast). The stunsail booms extend to deploy stunsails. At this stage of my build I'm leaning toward NOT deploying these with sails as the width of the overall model may become too onerous with the addition of these as much as I'd like to add them! The foot ropes haven't been given their final shapes yet. She's starting to look like an 18th Century Royal Navy frigate. I may break-up some of this intense rigging concentration work with making Camilla's anchors (a sanity break). There are four provided in the kit, however, I think I'll likely only mount one to each side.

Yay! - 0.6mm PolyBak. I assume this material will take staining - or must it be painted?

This is the NEXT LEVEL, gentlemen. Superb detail, Chris. Bravo! This highly detailed stern appears to be a combo of laser cut pear with resin cast (or 3D printed) decorative bits. The little black holes to either side look like they are for dual stern lanterns mounted with three iron supports. Love the optional open/closed window sash. Yum. (are you seeing this, B.E.?)

I'm late to this opinion party, but also agree with my colleagues: less is more. Dump the cradles. Your Navy Board model is beautiful and these extra bits muck it up.

Spar Making Continued (processes)...I'll add detailed explanatory text a little later. In the meantime... I have been remiss for not mentioning that the Sphinx kit does include very good quality walnut dowels for masts and spars. Square-to-Octagon, one yard planed down. One yard (Main Topmast) completed, temporarily mounted. Sanding the taper into one end of a yard...this is a process requiring patience. When I first tried shaping tapered spars with woodworking mini-chisels and other small tools, the results were unsatisfactory and the process was difficult. Attempting to remove large amounts of wood to achieve the taper faster just didn't work with cutting tools. When reasonable pressure was applied to the workpiece with a cutting blade it would loosen from the tailpiece and in some instances, just snap into irreparable pieces. Also, it was harder to gauge the taper properly with larger cutting tools. The tool rest for the Proxxon is also too short to brace a cutting tool the entire length of the yard. Other, larger lathes might work better but this isn't an option with my little one. I will add that there are at least two other ways to sand the yard tapers which include clamping the yard into a hand drill. Another method is the "shoeshine" method: one clamps the yard firmly onto a table edge and then using a long length of sandpaper, rigorously sand and then rotate, sand and rotate, sand and rotate... Finish sanding the tapered yard (at one end). A beauty supply nail file (all wood modelers need dozens of these) with different grits handles the final finishing on the tapered ends of the yard. A super smooth, fine finish to the boxwood isn't necessary as the yards will be finished black. A finely sanded finish to my Swiss Pear masts is more important. Four yards have been planed to their octagonal center shapes and then taped-off for subsequent lathe sanding. The 2.5 & 3.5 pencil nomenclature are references for the ends of the tapers on the respective yards, in millimeters. These four yards (main courses - fore & main) and fore & main top mast yards are the largest on the model and require the most work to create properly. All other yards are considerably smaller in diameter (4, 3 & 2 mm stocks) and present other shaping challenges. Adding a mounting pin to the backside of the yard. A .69 mm brass pin is positioned dead-center on the yard. A corresponding hole will be hand-drilled into its mast to take the pin. Although the yards will carry all the conventional rigging tackle to support them, this building method is a tried n’ true one that makes the extensive rigging (especially true with mounted sails), much easier to accomplish; the yards will stay put as you rig them! Primary sanding on the lathe with various sandpaper strips. The Proxxon mini-lathe can accommodate up to 8 mm round stock through the open center chuck. The adjustable tailpiece holds the end of the stock securely as long as you make a small ‘pilot’ hole in the workpiece in order to firmly hold it to the rotating tailpiece. For tapering the octagonal boxwood, I start with 100 grit paper and as material is removed I gradually change to slightly finer grits. I hold the sandpaper strip UNDER the workpiece so I can see what I'm doing; not positioned as I've shown here draped across the yard. Lots of sawdust vacuuming! There is no easy attachment for disposing of the fine sawdust with a lathe (talk to wooden bowl turners!). I use a medium-slow speed on the lathe for this work; this helps to keep the yard stable as you sand as well as reducing the amount of fine airborne particles. The Proxxon lathe is a simple electric affair: an on/off switch and a continuously variable speed control. The motor is surprisingly powerful and I haven'y had any problems with stock up to 8 mm (1/4" dia.). I did purchase the three jaw chuck separately as an add-on. Double-check the measurements at the tips of the yards as you make them; here the"stop" tape has been peeled off where the octagonal profile meets the round one. If the tape looks crenellated like the above, then you’ve achieved a decent transition from octagon to round at the junctures. You can touch-up this transition area with a small file after removing the piece from the lathe. Taping-off the Octo-to-round profiles. For a sanding reference 'stop’ I use Tamiya masking tape (10mm width); wrapped around a few turns, it works great. It's also a cushion when I chuck the stock into my lathe so the jaws won't mar the wood. 'Stop" tape removed. You can see the smooth transition from the octagon center shape in the middle of the yard to the beginning of the round tapered portion. Both sides of the yard's taper should be symmetrical so you'll confirm that you’ve sanded uniformly on both ends with stepped caliper measurements. A completed yard still mounted in the lathe; you’ll do this operation on both ends. For this yard (main topmast) it took me approximately 45 minutes to complete (post square stock prepping). Like many other rigging tasks you’ll need to take your time. If you don’t, you’ll risk breaking the yard using this lathe technique. There are other methods to achieve yard tapering as I've indicated, but I much prefer this technique since it produces very precise, good-looking results. Wear a mask, fine boxwood is airborne - instantly - when sanding like this. In addition to a large vacuum at the edge of my bench, I have a large, ceiling-mounted air filtration system in this shop area. The mainmast top yard is temporarily mounted to the main mast with a pin registered hole. I use a small section of .89 brass wire which is glued into the yard with some CA. When the yard is finally ‘dressed’ with all its blocks, cleats, stirrups and other hardware, I’ll also mount sails before I attach the completed yard to its correct position on the mast. Note that the yards can be braced only slightly with this approach. This is only of concern when sails are to be added; Camilla's canvas will be depicted upwind in my diorama with minimal yard bracing required. Checking the position of the crossing marks with the aid of a small center-finding jig. These lines are a visual reference when you’re planing down to an octagonal cross section. It helps you maintain equal dimensions across the 8 planed lands. This cheapie little plastic tool gets more use than I thought possible when I casually bought it. Round & square stock. Pencil line allowance groove is clever and accurate as long as your marking tool is sharp; sometimes I scribe lines using an awl. Geppetto's workshop. Your wood shavings should look like these after you’ve planed the square stock into an octagonal shaped stick. Expensive boxwood kindling! Comparing a square section to a completed, planed octagon; the pencil marks that indicate the center of each help immensely to inform you on whether or not you’ve got an even measurement to each of the eight resulting lands. The black spot on the planed yard is a small hole drilled so that the lathe's tailpiece point hits the optimum centered position when its properly chucked. The main and fore course yards and the two top mast yards are ready for lathe sanding. Boxwood is a good hardwood choice for creating realistic looking yards. All the yards will eventually be painted - or stained - black, before bending sails.

Thank you Kevin, much appreciated.

Did a little bench organizing to clear the way for the spar making. Camilla's going to sit idle for a few days while her rigging carpenters get back to work... I've pulled out my square stock planing jig, the same one I used for scratching my masts. Yes, this could be Deja Vu...in this photo you'll see I've prepped the various lengths for Camilla's four principal spars (the main and fore courses and the two topmasts). I've decided to use boxwood stock for these. Boxwood is quite a bit harder than pear and thus, any possible tear out is minimized when I start planing these down to their octagonal cross sections. The spars shown here are being made from 8 mm and 6 mm stock. I chose pear wood for my masts since they're finished in natural colors. All the yards will be black (with the exception of the stunsail booms). In the background is my disassembled Ibex finger block plane. The plane's blade is secured in the sharpening guide resting on top of the diamond sharpening stone. After giving the blade’s edge a "tune up" on the stone with a few simple passes, I'll use the leather strop and compound to add even more sharpness. Neither water nor oil is used in my "honing" process. When I mount the blade back into its brass body (a brilliantly simple design), I'll set the razor sharp blade below the plane's shoe so that it removes less than approximately .2 - .3 mm of material on each pass of the plane. I test the blade's setting depth with a spare cutoff piece of boxwood stock. The thinner pieces of 2 & 3 mm birch dowel in the foreground are for the stunsail booms on these larger boxwood yards; these will not be painted black but left natural. I'm using stock I've collected over the years for these particular spars. These thin booms will have a slight taper; there's no need to plane/shape these other than sanding. The arrow points to the profile of my planing jig's stock holding stations; a series of several "V" grooves along the 20" long jig holds the square stock securely while planing. A simple stop at the end of the jig (one end only) keeps the stock from slipping off the jig as you make a cutting pass.