Bill97

Oh I agree Marc. Very food conversation I was even thinking about just last night. It did seem to me that this was going much faster than my Victory, which did concern me. Like you I do very much enjoy the journey and do not want this to come to completion to quickly. On one hand I do not want to limit the amount of time I allow myself to work on it because I do enjoy it so much and on the other I am accomplishing a lot maybe too quickly. I looked back at my Victory blog to see where I was in the similar amount of time. Of course on the Victory there was much more time spent on the detail of the hull with the painting of the stripes and the incredible stern, and adding Daniel’s etched pieces over each of the cannon hatches. I am further along on my SR at the same amount of time. Part of that is due to what I learned from my Victory. I knew I was going to add the Evergreen around the hatches so I had that on hand and just did it. Where as on the Victory I had to learn about it, find it, and study how to do it. I expect the knowledge I gained on building the Victory will speed my process at various times along the way on my SR. Other than adding the Evergreen to the hatches and the detail I tried to add to the paint job (nail heads, weathering, etc) there was not much other bashing I could do. That is when I decided to ask you guys for advice as to things you recommend I do before moving to the next big step. The upper bulwarks will be very time consuming. I will be doing gold leaf against a blue background on all the ornamentation. I expect this will take days and days. I also expect rigging of the visible cannons will be time consuming and tedious. Which reminds me I need to get some 2 or 2.5 mm blocks before that time comes. Looking ahead in the instructions it appears I will soon be getting to the bowsprit which will need various blocks attached to it. On my Victory I used a combination of wood and plastic blocks. On the SR I am aiming to go all wood blocks and deadeyes if I can find the sizes I need. I do have a great supply of plastic blocks I got from Kevin and the Heller blocks that came with the kit surprisingly do not look to bad. The deadeyes not so much! I don’t know if Heller improved their blocks mold. Will have to send photo. So there are some decisions I need to make soon and shipping times to be accepted. That can all take place while I work on the he upper bulwarks on the side. On top of all that it does seem to me that at least 3/4 of my Victory build time was once I started adding the mast and rigging. I constantly read through other builds looking for any “oh I should do that”s.

Getting close to next deck being added. Any thoughts or recommendations before I do?

That’s ok Henry. From what you say I am guessing later in the instructions I will add the #162 around the mizzenmast.

Decided to go ahead and drill a pair of holes above each hatch for the cover halyards. I spaced them the same distance apart as the molded eyebolts on the hatch covers which is where later I will add actual eyebolts. I ean appropriate size thread through one hole an out the other and then added a spot of glue on the inside of the hull over it he thread which I hope will prevent me from accidentally pulling it out before I need them. Once I put the next deck in my hey will no longer be accessible. Also added the anchor rope through the hawser hole.

Ok Ian and Marc. Here is what I have matching the instructions, I think. Yes Ian I was guilty of forgetting to trap parts 258-259 between the deck halves. Luckily I noticed it while the glue was still wet and I was able to pry the halves apart in the center to get the part in then close it back up. I still need to add all the eyebolts, part # 343. I am making them from brass wire and blackening. Oddly enough the next page in the instructions has me put in the bottom deck, stern , and rudder which you seen in photos that I have accomplished. Then the next page has me preparing for the next deck coming up but includes step #26 which is gluing parts to the bottom of the main deck that I worked on in steps 6-14. It is almost like someone writing the instructions forgot a step and then when they remembered just stuck in it.

The instructions interesting recommend doing particular task in an odd order, but oh well. Right away it has me building the top deck which will be installed obviously later. The majority is pretty straight forward. I have a question I wonder if someone could help me with. I have attached two pictures. The first is the full page. The second is the step I need help with. Step 10 shows a part #162. In all the other steps on the page an arrow shows where the part goes. In step #10 there is not an arrow showing where part #162 is to be glued. Can anyone help?

Yes Henry, I looked at them after our conversation and saw the two molded rings. There are also two on the reverse side I assume to represent the pull down. When the time comes to work on the lids (a year or two from now 😀) I will make my final decision. And if I use your idea I adding the rope later I don’t need to bother with that now.

Oh ok I understand. Those are a lot of unseen carriages!

Marc tell me about the carriage blocks you have over each gun. It also looks as if you have made a means to fortify the bottom of your fore and mizzenmast? I completed installation of the stern section and rudder today. Required a little bit of putty and sanding of the seam but surprisingly fit pretty good. A little paint touch and it is good.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my MSW friends who celebrate it. I am definitely thankful for all your help and support this past year. I noticed in the photos of the design I am somewhat following this builder went with one lanyard. This does not look bad or completely inaccurate. Marc do I understand you plan to display the lids fully open with the outside flush to the hull and one single haul-down lanyard mounted in the center? Do you just place the end of the lanyard into the open hatch out of the way of a he barrel?

Marc I will need to get a better understanding of what you’re planning to do. Seems interesting.

Well two it will be then. Thanks Marc. I knew you would know.

Marc surly knows. I will look at the lids in the kit to see if they have one or two lanyard indentations.

Would this be the best time to drill holes for the cannon hatch ropes? Should I drill a pair of holes above each hatch and put a thread through each with a knot on the inside for later attaching to the hatch cover? If so I would need to do it before I add the next deck. How do you guys do it? Got the cannons installed on the bottom deck. I sanded a flat spot on the wheels where they make contact with the deck to improve glue contact.

Bottom deck installed. That is always a battle of wills. I say it is going on and it says it is not! We had a pretty good battle but in the end I prevailed.

Part 266 epoxied in place with a little piece of tooth pick to get it level. Will skip capstains and just loop anchor through hawse holes.

Thanks guys. Ian I was surprised to when I was putting the bottom deck halves together and discovered there is only a hole for the main mast to go through to the keel. We will see as I go along if it eclipses my Victory. Henry I appreciate your advice on securing the part 266. I will confirm it is secure before I cover it with the deck. While I have you guys here check this out for me. In the instructions it shows two capstains are to be placed forward of the main mast hole on the bottom deck. However the molded knobs on the deck that the two capstains will set on are to rear of the main mast hole. I don’t think that it makes a difference since they will not be seen but curious which is correct? You will notice I have reinforced the seam with Evergreen. Hope that is what you mean.

Great Marc. So that is how you spell sprues 😊 Not sure how I was trying to spell it.

Oh my gosh Marc! I had to really search for that rectangle. Thanks. One thing I can already tell I preferred about the Victory instructions over the SR instructions is the Victory instructions had a page showing you what sprul number each piece could be found on. If I needed part #52 the instruction page said it is on sprull #11 as an example. The SR instruction book does not have such a page. When I needed above part #266 I needed to search every piece on every sprull before finally locating it. This could be very time consuming in the future, especially when looking for a very small unrecognizable piece. I wish there was an online source to find such a list.

Any of you guys know what this part #266 is far? I found it in the parts but can not tell from the instructions what to do with it. Is it just some kind of seam brace?

My mad scientist base design worked! Look how minutely precise I had to drill through the stern end of the keel! I could not afford to break through the edge of the keel or bottom of the hull since it would show above the pedestal. Drilling a hole through the keel at the bow end was not as critical since the entire keel is hidden down in the pedestal. A trying part of mounting the ship to the base was getting the hull level to the base. I had to add pieces of black felt to the port side of the cradle to make the hull tilt more to starboard. At the height of the edge of the hull being out of level would not have been real obvious. However once I got up to the height of the topgallant yards out of level would have been painfully obvious.

Marc are you shoveling snow?

Thanks Marc. Today I will find out if my mad scientist plan works when I attempt drilling everything and putting it together! 😳

Worked on another battery of cannons. Still one to go. The last battery along with 10 cannons from the battery I am working on will have the trunnions modified and eyebolts installed for rigging. They will all be visible. I also designed and made my custom base. I decided not to use the Heller base. I made my base using mahogany and brass pedestals. I will finish it by doing a final very fine sanding and a thorough coat of teak oil to preserve the rich mahogany color. I had to grind the top of one of the brass pedestals down to match the small height of the keel at the front of the hull. I have a threaded rod I will run up through the base, pedestal, and hull. I poured a pool of epoxy inside the hull at the stern end where the rod will come up. I wanted a flat level surface for the nut to tighten. Henry I will epoxy around the nut once tightened. My original plan was just to have the two pedestals but I was concerned the SR would be quite a large ship to rely just on the top of the two pedestals to hold it solidly so I added the center cradle that will prevent the model from tilting on the base. Reference the reinforcement of the seam on the lower deck with styrene. Will I be able to expand the hull enough to get in? Luke the Victory the instructions show putting the two sections in separate and folding them together.

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? OK this is my first what would you recommend post. I will soon be putting the bottom deck into the hull. I have thoroughly looked through the instructions and the blog of other builders. So far I have not found anything that different from just gluing it in. It does not appear any rigging or structural aspects go this far down into the ship so I don’t know if I need to strengthen it anymore than just the OOB instructions. I have yet to paint the deck sections. Not sure if I need to waste the paint since it will not be seen. Prior to putting in this deck I have to make my final decision on the display stand. I am thinking of a couple different designs that would use brass pedestals and need a bolt through the keel. If I go that way I obviously need to do that before putting in the deck. If I go with the Heller display stand or other cradle design I can move on with the deck. in the meantime I have two more batteries of cannons to make.