realworkingsailor

Always glad to oblige you folks with a photo or two when opportunity presents itself. Popeye, you should know there's no such thing as "normal" in the transportation industry The way I'm looking at it, two months now means a longer break until spring AND I get Christmas at home... Well worth it if you ask me BE, Steve, thank you both for stopping by. Always nice to get some positive reinforcement from a couple of Pegasus/Fly vets such as yourselves. Jason and Sjors you're just two of many names that popped into my head when I thought of doing my own rigging manual... Keep in mind that at the moment it's still only a possibility, I'm neither a writer, and artist or a teacher, and there's a lot of ground to cover.... That and I'd like to try to get my ship done next spring...... I hope... Andy

Personally I think it looks ok. I think it will be a nice contrast if you plan on leaving the planks below the wale a natural colour. Keep at 'er and you'll be done planking that football field before you know it Andy

I think it has been done in a limited sense already. The Lumberyard's Oneida comes with all the frames laser cut. I think the bigger issue is the limited market. Although on here you may see a very strong enthusiastic positive response, but as large as this group of dedicated ship modellers is, I don't think we're the whole global market. Maybe in the future it will become economically viable... You never know... Andy

Looks excellent! Great to see her stretched out like that. Andy

Well... this will probably be the last little bit of "fun in the sun" until next spring. I expect to leave Thursday morning, so the shipyard will have to be tidied up before then, and I don't plan on any more building until I get home in December... and by then it's too snowy for outdoor pics. As it is I had to wait until just before noon for enough sun to filter into the backyard... Another sign the days are getting shorter and cold weather is coming. Hopefully this will satisfy a few of the photo-addicts that lurk around here..... (you know who you are.... Sjors.... ). Incidentally... based on the number of questions I've received from people... I may have to consider writing my own rigging manual.... and for some reason that strikes me as rather odd.... since I'm far from an expert on the subject.... I dunno.... Something to ponder over then next few months anyway..... Andy

Thanks everyone for your kind comments Sherry, they are a worthwhile purchase, that's for sure. Chuck is to be commended for making them so well, and accessible to the market. Wes, I'm sure you can do it too. All it takes is a good resource to follow and a little patience Andy

Thanks Michael There's plenty of opportunities to make furballs out of rigging a ship, I figure anything I can do to try to keep things in order has to pay off at some point. Welcom aboard, Jack. The friezes are photo etched brass that came with the kit, the trick is trying to make them look painted on... judging by your comments, I guess I did alright... thank you.. Small update time. The weather today has turned...well... fall-ish. Good day to stay indoors and poke at model ships... In that light, I went after the boomkins and their associated rigging. By and large, fairly straight forward, the biggest challenge is maintaining some semblance of symetry. The fore-tack blocks mark my first use of Chuck's excellent aftermarket blocks. I'll need to order a few more before I get finished rigging. Besides, you can never have enough extras laying about Oh yeah... another GFP... Andy

If the weather cooperates I'll be sure to add a few more before I head back to work

It's like an over engineered primordial bottle screw...

Nice job on the open rails, looks really good. Andy

Robbyn, properly it was a length of served rope. But for the purposes of model building, something a bit more rigid like wire or bamboo works better. With all the counteracting lines at that point (shrouds, futtock shrouds and catharpins) threatening to turn the top of the shrouds into a rat's nest, you need something to keep everything separate and aligned. Andy

Only a few short steps and you'll be into the rigging! You're moving along at a great pace. Andy

What dark sordid path did this build just wander down?! I'll admit, I may have given it a shove... But whoa (I like Brooks' films too )

Thanks everyone! Anything I can do to help. Everyone is more than welcome to ask questions on how I do things and I am more than willing to do my best to demonstrate. I've got another length of wire ready to go, so tomorrow I should have the lower futtock staves all in place. Andy

When a ship is sinking, does it really matter which end goes first? She's going down....get the ******* off!

Bl**** He** I hope so.... But then again, I think Popeye's the only one whose's log has not yet been...um.... shall we say "flushed" down the..... uh.... hrm........

Futtock staves.... here's what I've come up with: I started off with some 0.020" Brass wire, because the 1mm kit supplied wither is too thick to be used if you're going to serve them, as they should be. Even the 0.020" wire looks a little thick (by my "calibrated eye"), but it will do. Serving is easy in this case, just tie off the end and start wrapping. When I had enough wire wrapped, I dipped the whole thing in acrylic matte medium, and let it dry. I did this a couple of times more. This won't secure the thread to the wire, but it will secure it to itself, and will hold long enough, that when the time comes to cut the stave to length, there's enough time to get a drop of glue on the end without having the whole thing come unwound. Having flush cutting nippers helps, and is pretty much a necessity. I don't recommend regular wire cutters becuase in order to restore the flat end, you'd need to pass a file over it, and that's just too risky. After all that it's simply a matter of scuring the staves to the shrouds. I just used a simple clove hitch on an angle across the stave and shroud, I would also alternate the angle: / or \, to keep the thing from twisting too much. Tie off three or four to start (spaced a couple shrouds apart). That will be enough to hold the thing in position. Let the glue securing the knots dry, cut the leftover ends and tie a few more. Continue until finished. Finally I did a final trim to length, and after the glue dried, added a small dab of black paint on the end of the wire. Mobbsie, unfortunately my rest time at home is going to be very limited, I will have to go back to work next week. Just one of those things, I'm affraid. The good news is, I'm hoping to stay until December so I'll get Christmas at home, and hopefully my holiday will extend to next spring fitout. Fingers crossed. Andy

Quite some progress you've accomplished to date! Andy

Another option is to consider something from The Lumberyard... Check out the "Oneida"... According to the kit info, all the hull timbering is laser cut... Andy

Nice job, you're just motoring through the rigging! Andy

The big issue with the Endeavour that I've seen (according to a few people that have built her),is her particularly bluff bow can be a b***** to plank, even for an experienced builder. But don't let it discourage you, there are enough people around here who have succeeded building her, so it IS possible. Another option you may wish to consider, is the Model Shipways "Syren". She's from a slightly later time period, but there are many here who have built her, and the kit designer himself has been known to hang around here and offer his assistance. Andy

Ok...well, I made it home last night... A little tired... But that's too be expected. Had some running around to do today, but I did make a start on the futtock staves. I started off trying the kit supplied brass wire, but I found it a little too thick, especially after being served. So...I scrounged around and found some 0.020" wire, which, although still a little thick, looks a whole lot better. I'll try and have some photos up when there is some actual progress. I'm still in the test/experimental stages as I figure these things out... Andy

These things work great: http://www.micromark.com/spike-insertion-plier,8242.html I can't believe that more people don't use them..... Andy

I don't think any one manufacturer would count as "the best". Some offer more stylized models, others offer some more prototypical kits. It all depends on what your goals and abilities are. The more prototypical kits tend to require a bit more skill, whereas the others may tend to be simpler in construction. Of course I'm speaking in sweeping generalizations here... So don't take what I say as the ultimate rule of law when it comes to kit quality. To really get the most out of this hobby, it's best to start with something simpler, but still within your interests. Cut your teeth on an inexpensive kit. There's no point throwing down $$$$ on an expensive model only to end up tossing in in sheer frustration. If you like the Endeavour, I'd suggest starting off with an Amati "Lady Nelson" or a Caldercraft "Sherbourne" cutter. Both are fairly simple inexpensive, well designed, plank-on-bulkhead kits, of the same era. You could have either of them done within the timespan of about a year. What's better, if I'm not mistaken, is Caldercraft's Endeavour is the same scale, so you could, in the long run, work your way to a nice little display. Hope that helps a bit Andy

Is your figurehead resin? If so you can fix any misshaping by a quick dunk in boiling water to temporarily restore its plyability. Otherwise, she's looking really nice. Andy