HardeeHarHar

Just curious, the timberheads as provided in the kit don't fit in the recesses in the forecastle capping rail where they are to be positioned. I figure I can file either the timberheads down or the recesses bigger and get them to fit, or figure out how to attach them so that they are firmly attached to the capping rail, even though not set within the recess. I suspect many of the ship modeler's on this site have encountered the same issue, and have figured out the best way to proceed. If so, please reply with your ideas or solutions (I realize this may be a trivial question, but that is why I am asking it, because it must be a no brainer to everyone but me....). Thanks in advance for any and all assistance. Brian

Greetings Adam, and welcome to the community.

So, the timberheads are fiddly, like a lot of things are for me. In this case, they have to be trimmed and formed so that they fit neatly in the bulwarks, along with the cleats. I got them in position and glued in place with CA with some cursing involved. In the photo below, I realize the forecastle deck looks in need of some work, as do a lot of things, but I just put a little wear on the planks and still need to clean it up and poly it again. I realize this isn't that remarkable of an accomplishment, but its done and i am moving forward still. Thanks for the thumb up Grandpa Phil!

Let me know if it rubs off when done, I have had a lot of issues with that. I have gone to painting, because of that issue, where it ends up more on my fingers than on the part. By the way, your mortar housing look fantastic.

I'll be interested to hear how things turn out Kev! On the positive side if successful, you can take solace in the fact that re-reattaching is a lot better than re-re-reattaching.

In the immortal words of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: DON'T PANIC! All will be well in the end. Breathe deep, breathe deep, breathe deep again, and overcome adversity. Of course, adjusting one's attitude is often called for in this endeavor... Just be thankful you didn't cut the keel off before you attached the stern post like some knucklehead I know once did (yes, you know that's me =). I work with mass spectrometers that have intricate little parts to focus charged molecules (ions), and there were some spring clips on the ionization sources that we used to call "Jesus clips", because when they shot off into the ether never to be found again you instinctively yelled "Oh Jesus!" If you let your wife, children, neighbors, or dogs/cats (or any other living thing loose in the area) , I can assure you they will find it by either having it stick into their foot or by eating it and throwing up the remnants. Also, to make you feel better, I have just spent a few hours working on two tiny timberheads that have to be perfectly fit into the bullwarks on the Granado, and I held on to them for dear life. Presently, I think I can still locate them, stain them, and use them as intended. However, what they are used for, I have no idea yet. Hang in there, and fight back. You got this! P.S. Perhaps that is why I prefer CA over nails, because CA doesn't fly away into the ether. It can always be found, right on my fingers....

Looking great Vane!

Looking good Vane! I agree with you that those mortar housings are a LOT fiddly to deal with, that is for sure. I see you also lined the cabin lights, and are preparing the quarterdeck bulkhead. It's really great to see your Granado build log back in action!!! Wishing you smooth sailing ahead. Brian

Outstanding work. Love, love, love your artwork. Simply fantastic!!! I have a lot of empty wall space that could use a few of these 😃

Doooood, you crushed this build log, and what a beautiful ship and case and presentation. AWESOME WORK.

Thanks for the shout out and the continued encouragement Kev!!! Believe me, I have often wondered "what in the heck am I doing building the Granado as a second build!!!!!!" Still, it did seem to me that any model ship takes a considerable effort and lots of time to complete, so why not push the limit a little bit and see what happens.... The killer part is that I am also upgrading the wood, and the rigging, so while I am not a perfectionist, I do want to make it look as good as a newbie like me can. I have recently begun to realize that I have a ton of work left to do, and that there is no time like the present to forge on with the rest of the woodwork in relative haste so I have plenty of time to work on the masts, yards, and rigging etc., which definitely takes considerable time, skill, know-how, and steady hands and calm mind (none of which I have a lot of). I have a couple of other kits on hand that I have been tempted to start in parallel, but that even I considered C R A Z Y considering that I am such a newbie. Once/if i show I can complete the Granado, I'll build more than one at a time if I so desire 😃. Thanks again for the support brothers @Peanut6 and @VTHokiEE and the rest of you kind souls who throw thumbs up my way during the Granado build!!!

I agree with you both, you have to watch out for the CA smearage. However, I have recently learned that masking the area you don't want smearage on with tamiya kamoi masking tape appears to be successful in preventing that from happening to any great extent. I also agree that using CA very sparingly, with a needle or a pin is often more than sufficient. If I didn't use CA, I think I would be lost and have to quit building (I simply have no patience and faith in most PVA applications, and even less experience 😃

Well, I will say one thing is for certain. You are doing a much better job on your jolly boat than I managed. It looks great! I like the fact that you are focused on making it as real-life as possible, with removable rudder, etc. That kind of thinking was way over my head in design and construction. I haven't even fixed the keel on my launch, and it looks terribly wonky and is certainly more noticeable than I would like. But I figured if I tried to fix it, it might go one step forward, three steps back, and I didn't want that to happen. I also never worried about nails splitting wood on my Jolly Boat model, because if I was worried, I would have simply glued the gudgeon, and then cut the heads from the nails and glued them on to look lie they were actual nails. The more I learn, the more willing I am to try new things out or redo something that doesn't look right or is simply wrong. Every aspect of this hobby, from construction, to staining, painting and finishing methods are entirely new skills I am learning from scratch. Despite my lack of skills and experience and irrational fears, I am trying to enjoy the process, improve my knowledge and skill sets, and avoid mistakes. I also do absolutely enjoy your approach to your build log, where you provide your rationale and reasoning. Keep up the good work, it is looking great and your hard work is paying off! Oh yeah, one more item: I think I used a paper clip to make the horse out of, it was the right diameter, etc.

Not as bad as it looked it was going to be about half way through "gluing" the sheer rails.

So, the color of the sheer rail is not as important as it is getting the sheer rail attached to the boxwood hull with no gaps. That is clear to me now. Getting the sheer rails to hold in place, that took some patience, elbow grease, and thank goodness for Tamiya's masking tape that prevented me from getting CA everywhere. Now I know that next time I will use an epoxy, and I will make sure I get the rails painted in a color that is satisfactory before I put them on. I will do some touchup on the rails and then put a little wipe-on poly to make the whole thing look a little bit better than it does right now. Photos and details to follow once I get my fingers un-glued.

Those rails are too bright blue, don't you think?!? I am thinking I should give it a try with a coat of the Admiralty French Blue...sound like a good idea?

I attached the fish davit cleat onto the capping rail and poly'd the forecastle to look wornish (heh heh, see what I did there...). I did see in @Timmo excellent Granado building log that he had answered my question on reducing the 8mm dowel to fit into the bowsprit step and illustrated it quite nicely. I think I will soon need a little lathe and marital therapy? I also did an attempt at painting the sheer rail in black and blue in an attempt at giving the whole boxwood planking a nice bling along the capping rail. It needs work, or maybe I should just go straight black, that is the question.

One thing I should note, I did make a mistake that is fairly significant, but not immediately apparent I suspect. I am wondering if someone will be able to pick it up, and if so, I will ask them if it is worth "fixing" it. And one other note, I will poly the forecastle deck once I get it in a little better shape..... And thanks for the thumbsup @GrandpaPhil @Spellapeaka and @Penfold!!!!

Proceeding apace again, I was able to line the freshly planked forecastle deck with a nice red bulwark, which wasn't that easy considering how little purchase there was to be had. Once that was in place, I added the capping rails and the decorative step down rails from the forecastle capping to the main capping rails. Once that was in place, I started to repair the damage that had been done to the forecastle support beam by sanding of the forecastle planks. Hopefully that makes sense, but you can see that the beam is still not stained well, and there is lots of touch-up work to be done around the capping rails. However, I was able to sand the rails back to be relatively flush with the hull, and it looks pretty good. I'll finish some touch up and move on.

Onward we go, with the forecastle deck planked semi-askew (ugh), I now need to repair the damage done to the beam while trying to make sure things were aligned well at least in some aspect of the build. I will also have to consider how to fill the gap between the planking and the beam (that was created due to the camber of the deck). Nevertheless, I am happy just making forward progress that doesn't have to be completely redone, just touched up a lot!!! I have also learned some important lessons along the way, and enjoyed it to some degree 😃

@VTHokiEE one other question. How do you get the NRG badge etc. tp show in your comments. I recently joined and have enjoyed their one publicatin i have received! Cheers! Brian

Hey @VTHokiEE Thanks for the shout out and kind words. Good question about black seizing....as it does look strange side by side with one without the black. I got the concept from watching this video (see below). I ordered the finest thread i could find for use on the more visible cannon tackle. I am glad you agree I can reduce diameter at end of bowsprit and not worry that much about it. thanks very much!

Hey ya'll experts around here, and especially those who have completed the Granado.....i have one quick question: The bowsprit step has a hole in it to receive the bowsprit, but the hole is like half the diameter of the prescribed 8 mm diameter dowel that is to be used for the bowsprit. Since I already covered the bowsprit step with the forecastle, I am left thinking that I should just reduce the diameter of a small (4 or 5 mm) portion at the end of the dowel that will be used for the bowsprit so that it can slide into the step and be glued in place, rather than try to drill the hole in the step to a size that can accommodate an 8 mm diameter dowel. Does that make sense, the instructions don't appear to address this issue AT ALL. =( Any thoughts are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated!! Thanks, Brian

So, hurdle finally cleared, and looking downfield for the next one. I got the second bowchaser in place and locked down. Woot! It looks alright, but I see all the mistakes and warts, and there are a lot of them if you look closely. However, if your eyes are as bad as mine, it looks fine (especially when you consider they are covered and will remain unseen. You will also note that I starting seizing the tackle lines with black on the second cannon, and will adapt that approach going forward. I also added some barrels and a rope hank just for kicks, even though they will never be seen again (I hope). I am now planking the forecastle deck!!! Full speed ahead (until next hurdle)....

So, when I try to do the seizing as shown in the video, it has only worked once. Every other time it makes a knot before the seizing has been reduced to the size needed. I am wondering if waxing the seizing material I am using will prevent this, or if there is anyone who can tell me what I might be doing wrong! Any help or words of advice would be MOST WELCOME and GREATLY APPRECIATED! At least my knot tying is improving, just not where its needed =(, Brian