hollowneck

Keep that pinky finger away from sandpaper or your MAC will remain locked forever!

Love the bench towel. So far, no apparent signs of blood, the true sign of an artisté...

This was a difficult decision for me too, deciding what to do with the fit of this decorative piece. I decided to "trim-off" a piece of the fretwork and mortise it against the top rail - as shown in the manual. I've noted that your approach aligned it nicely but the compromise was an awkward slope to the roof tiling. Here is a pic of how I approached this area. I also used a section of flat Evergreen styrene for my HMS Camilla capping rail and it worked a treat; I'm glad you also decided to paint it black. The ochre didn't look good to my eye either as this contrasting color interrupted the clean, continuous line of the black capping alongside the quarterdeck. I have a new aphorism for us detailed-obsessed ship modelers: Macro Never Lies...or, if you're feeling very satisfied, take a macro photo and see if you still feel the same way about your work. Your model is looking superb, B.E. Captain Barnacle must be pleased! Your hand painted transoms was such a good decision.

I believe Indy's main topgallant mast would get entangled with the crystal chandeliers at the Watton's residence.

...don't tell anybody but I kinda like rigging....I hope to finish rigging by the end of July. As the Plague recedes, Summer beckons!

Beautiful work.

These puzzled me too. The large "hoop"- as well as the symmetry - is certainly something not intended for running rigging. I'll bet you're correct on these serving as crutches for a boom used for emergency jury-rigging broken rudder steerage.

Details, m'Lord, mere details.

Nice detail. the slotted entry for the rope makes really good sense!

Very interesting and clever...a mold to align and hold ribs. But I'll need to buy a load of those precision clamps!😆

You've read my mind, Chris: the transatlantic telepathic distance presents no hindrance! For HMS Camilla, I'm planning on having one (1) superb, miniature Lord Cochrane placed on her Quarterdeck - and no others on board - this, a departure from including a small complement of crew figures on my diorama models. As you've suggested, having a single figure is adequate to show scale and admittedly, this is experimental on my part. If, at the end of the day, if it looks "goofy", inappropriate, I'll figure-out a way to add some more crew figures(pun intended). We'll see what presents itself when HMS Indy exits the shipyards in a year or two...should a Vanguard gun crew magically appear in the next few months, all bets are off! One gun crew = five (5) sailors X 64 guns = 320! Gulp.

Psych!🤯...easily TWICE. Oh well, creative license by film directors.. should I build this one with sails I'm planning on having a separate room to display her! (if one browses through my history of builds below, most of them are displayed in my home, so I am truly fortunate to have SPACE..."The Final Frontier...") Not bragging, just thankful.

You're not alone, Glenn. Hopefully by July my HMS Camilla's rigging may be done. So many grandchildren, so little time...

Chris, these master sculpts are very nice, indeed. These are from clay (Sculpy, whatever) I presume, neither resin nor 3D printed as they are on armatures and going on nearly 20 years old. Did you make them or were these done by another Amati vendor?

Thanks for the tip, B.E. I'm having difficulty visualizing the better arrangement from your description; so much to learn, so little time. However, I'm sure you're correct. I don't think I'm going to disturb these little creatures, uncertain that reversing them will present a "functionally correct" look (to my hybrid)! And, at the end of the day, this is now the decision of Captain Pennypincher - and I'm not going to risk a flogging...

I considered this, one aboard with another in tow...until recently deciding that Camilla will have shortened sail, on a chase in rough water, a looming squall ahead. Please don't shut up! I consider MSW's denizens as Better (knowledgeable) Angels, never harsh nor bothersome critics.

Thank you kindly, B.E. As we know, "hybrids" for transportation are gaining in popularity. 😬 There will be many details to examine when HMS Camilla's completed. This is a large part of the journey we perfectionist ship modeling types pursue in our quests! I intend to have only one other item across her midship's skids: a spare topmast. This item and her boat should still leave some "space" to see all the work on her gundeck.

Dalmore 18 yo? Cheers!

I built this model years ago. I believe Chris designed this kit for Amati's "Victory" range somewhere in the early 2000's, perhaps even late 90's. These castings weren't terrible and, in fact, considerably better than some of the other offerings from unnamed Italian kit manufacturers. One of the main issues with these alloy castings is their ductility; very difficult to bend. I've heard that one should heat the metal, then with gloves gently bend them to suit. Silly process, but there was no alternative ...back in the day. Comparatively and more contemporary, resin rocks! - whether cast or 3D printed.

Gracias, Señor Oldsalt1950!

Amen.

"Hear Ye! Hear Ye!" ...Oh, yeah!..I have absolutely no problem combining plastic and wood. Acrylic paint, mineral spirits stain and polyurethane sealant. Ditto Resin & PolyBak. Laserboard and cardboard. Chris' process is called "Using Creative Technology." Bravo!

A holiday from rigging. Building a Better Boat. First, a little touch-up on the belaying pins on the Mizzen. The ProMarker tip works a treat for turning these pins into nice dark wood. The pen looks HUGE but the tip is quite small, pointed. The other end of this marker has the standard "Sharpie" point. The color is the same pen from my previous post. Captain Pennypincher inspecting the crew's paint job on his ship's only way to get from ship-to-shore, and vice-versa. The Sphinx kit has components for building three ship's boats. I'm only mounting one as my model is going to feature sails and attendant rigging and I didn't want to cover-up all the nice detail on the midships and weather decks. It's still amazes me when these 800% enlargement close-ups are transferred to my computer-🥵 Note: the tiny P/E oarlocks are reversed from the photos shown in the instruction manual; I believe these were intended to be mounted in the manner I've shown here, two pieces, facing inward to form a metal "U" in which the oar would rest. The brass P/E pieces to form these are a quite clever way to depict these miniscule details, and crucial to present an accurate representation of a ship's boat. "The Devil's in the details, right Captain 'P'"? Here is a partial collection of the bits n' pieces supplied in the kit for making three ships boats. I scrounged parts from these thin pear patterns as well as some of the brass P/E. There were plenty of choices that I modified to make my boat look like a PinnacleLaunchYa'wl. That's a hybrid. Your mileage may vary. I was very pleased to get one of Chris' new 3D resin cast yawls (24') with the amazing clinker and internal rib details. The challenge for me was fitting-out something credible from the kit's other components that were designed to make the boat's from a combo of pear and brass P/E. I'm certain most Sphinx builders will make all three boats from the kit when they present her as a "dockyard" model, san's masting & rigging. I need to make a reasonable length of coiled rope and attach it to the small anchor as well as detail a full set of oars (6, provided as nicely-etched pear patterns in the kit). These will rest inside the boat, across the thwarts. Of course, the boat will be lashed down to the skids. A view from the fore top. Grappling hook askew, anchor unfinished. I simulated the interior color of the boat to match the predominant color(s) of the other pear wood for the model. This was a combo of two acrylic colors which got me close to what I envisioned the boat's wood would look like. The "white" clinker hull of the boat is actually a creamy, tallow hue, not "white." The Liquitex acrylic primer spray (Titanium White) worked great for a second finish coat; the same color on the interior gave me a good primer base to then add the "wood" color to the resin and brass P/E. Another view of Camilla's only boat: a PinnaceLaunchYa'wl. .. made in Alabama...a rediscovered, 18th-century technology related to how a Russian Missile Cruiser can transform into a submarine (now resting on the bottom of the Black Sea)... And, one more, lower angle. Now, after some tweaking of a rope coil and fashioning a set of oars (provided in the kit)...I'm... ...back to rigging. Thanks for looking-in after my respite from this seemingly endless endeavor!

I can attest that the Russian Polotsk kit is superb - in so many important ways. The materials (especially the laser-cut & etched Swiss pear) are excellent throughout and the unique approach to the build is very innovative, particularly the stern as well as stem sections; an interesting and effective departure that utilizes jigs one makes to assist.The 1/72-scale Polotsk includes spiled pear "second" planking. The photos here are self-explanatory. The spiled laser-cut, thin hull planking has a self-adhesive backing and when heat is applied it firmly bonds with the traditional first planking. I have completed the model's hull and her rigging is ahead of me. The black wale is NOT painted; the supplied wood for both - as well as other hull components - are dyed black, presumably pear. The thickness of the pear wood spiling is approximately 0.5 MM that also makes the "veneering" of the hull easy to apply (with a heat wand) with resulting, excellent joinery. In addition to the hull planking, the upper bulwarks, including both bulwark interiors are also precision, laser-cut pear wood. The dyed black capping rails were too light and inconsistent in hue so I added a flat black acrylic to better match the wales, stem and stern areas. The windlass, belfry assembly and other deck furniture are detailed very nicely. The completed model photo is from a Russian modeler who has finished his build. As indicated here, the Polotsk was schooner-rigged and saw service in the Black Sea in the early-to-mid 19th-century. The basic bulkhead structure is a "plug-in" design that's quite effective. The keel is 5-ply plywood...just when we thought plywood was "Old School!" Sharp eyes will note that the thin pear transom has split on both sides when glued to the shaped underpinnings; this wasn't critical as there was a black veneer mounted later. The stern shaping approach with "stacked" sections worked better than I had anticipated it would. On the starboard side, the first planking has been applied; it will get the thin skin of pear pear in a second planking procedure. The holes in the keelformer accurately locate the actual pear wood keel/keelson. This warship model is considerably better built than most Russian army war materiels...tanks as well as Navy Missile Cruisers that serve double-duty as submarines... The provided jig (that one assembles) is used to get the stem bulkheads properly aligned. You'll toss it out once everything's properly glued. Note the beveled stem bulkhead. The stern also has a fixture for aligning all the pieces correctly, before planking. Lots of sanding here, but the visual guide is a good reference on how much to shape the upper and lower transoms and wings. Like the Stem fixture, you'll toss this one too once you've aligned and glued everything. A little tricky, but effective if one proceeds cautiously on this element of the hull's construction. The kit has a full-color instruction manual that is well-done. Like all instructions, look ahead in these pages before getting too far ahead of yourself. The kit does have written instructions in pidjin English: these are pretty useless (and not necessary). Throughout my build thus far, I only referred to the picture guidance (and the clear nomenclature identifying the parts). The stern view on my Polotsk's nearly completed hull. The "golden" trim, Russian eagle insignia and Cyrllic characters are nice, malleable brass P/E. One can see how accurately and cleanly the spiled hull planking meets at the sternpost. No stealers. No filler.

Teams. More than one "specialist" pro worked on the Navy Board models according to several pro model maker sources. The teams also had to "crank" these models out for their clients (typically the ship building companies competing for Admiralty contracts). Many fingers make light work.😄