AnobiumPunctatum

Thanks a lot, Mike.
Believe me, that really annoyed me too. Especially since you spend a lot of money on these aftermarket kits, which makes it even more frustrating.
I would be very happy to see a little twin of my ship in one of your build reports.
 
Preparing the interior of the wheelhouses proved to be a real challenge. After a few setbacks and starting over, it finally worked.
And the many helpful tips from users in all the forums where I post my build logs contributed greatly to the success.
But now, on to the forward wheelhouse.
There was much more space here than at the stern, and I could really let my creativity flow.
You probably know how it is. Making and preparing repetitive parts is often a tedious and boring task. But when it comes to arranging them on the model, it’s like Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. That’s when I really enjoy it.
That’s exactly what happened in the Mikasa’s wheelhouse. I arranged the individual parts as shown in the pictures of the museum ship. Again, I positioned them a little further away from the base of the compass mast to save space.
 

 
Officer and sailor on deck and full speed ahead.
 

 
In room two, a sailor I had modified sits in front of the desk. The officer is shouting instructions.
 

 
Let’s put the lid on and see what else is visible of the whole scene.
 

 
It’s very difficult to get a proper exposure with the camera. Because I have to get the lens very close to the wheelhouse, I’m blocking the light from the work lamp.
 

 
However, I think you can see enough to guess what is going on in the room.
 

Finished the planking below the channel wales, now for the “black” strake ( which on this model happens to be black according to the paintings ) and then the Main wales.
 



 

I was able to attach a lot of the upper
carvings yesterday as well as some trim. All the laser files are dialed in and ready to go. The Taffrail was a bit tricky, made up of two layers of very thin boxwood, it requires a lot of patience.
 
The carvings required some clearance work against the trim as expected, otherwise they fit absolutely perfect.

I have to return to work on Friday so this will probably be the last update on the model for 6 weeks. Will be finishing the stern and lower windows when I return and the rest of chapter 3. Then on to the gun deck!
 

"I might possibly release my plans and files for my ropewalk and we could have a group build.  You could make it without a laser cutter.   I could work up a material list and the sources to buy the stuff needed.  Would you guys be interested in that?"
 
I would definitively enjoy that. I already have your ropewalk and enjoy making ropes - in moderation and as needed. I could use a second one (I hate changing the configuration between 3- 4- strands), I was even planning on getting a second one when shortage happen. I can't see doing a build without it. 
 
The first time I made ropes I was a beginner (still a beginner but with a couple builds under my belt - and enough ambition to get me in trouble), and I can attest that your ropewalk and tutorials were great to get me started.  Without YOU, I don't think I would have ever started making my own - and liking it.... so, thumb up for the above. I think that, at heart, you are a mentor and teacher... and enjoying it.

Coming  along nicely

Hi ☺️
 
 last photos before putting the glass on the model

Ciao ☺️
 
 

Ciao ☺️
 
 

Ciao☺️

Some more done on Le Rochefort.
 
Taking the advice given I made some pads for the gudgeons on the un-planked side and also recessed them further into the stern post.  Great advice as they definitely look and fit better.  I did make a real mess of the recesses though - Now I know what I know I would mill these when making the stern post in the future.  It would make the process much easier and tidier.  I don't think these pieces are my best work and the rudder does sit slightly high but I've learnt a lot during the process.
 




A picture of the ship with the rudder fitted

The next part to make was the tiller arm which is quite a prominent part so it needed to be as accurate as possible.  I made the arm and the knob on the end separately and used a treenail to help get a good bond between the two parts. 
 


I also straightened up the metal banding around the rudder to make it all look a bit better.





Another little milestone in my build is now complete.  I am so tempted to now finish off the stern and fit the railings and taff rail but I know that they will get broken at some point.  So instead I will resist this and make the main hatches and the pumps.
 
Thanks for the help
 
Mark

And here is the other version...or one of them just so they are all in the same place.  This was the different lower counter design.   
 

 
sternfriezespeed.pdf
 

A really long youney comes to an end. It was a great pleasure to follow your log over the last years.

Start of new project: diorama of the engagement between HMS Nymphe (capt. Pellew) and the French Cléopâtre (capt. Mullon). 1:350 scale scratchbuilt wood. The gundeck and firt strakes of Nymphe finished.

With the topgallant rigging complete, attention was directed to the ship’s boat. I had a plug left over from the same task on the Gros Vendre build, so that was shortened and the stern modified. Midship frames were dry steam bent and the rest sawn with the lot glued to the keel with.CA. I used Swiss Pear for the bulk of it, with the shear and cap in Walnut. It was then glued amidships to the spare top masts and rigged to the mainstay pendant tackles. 
That pretty much concludes the build except for  repairs, dusting and paint touch up here and there. Final photos to follow. 
 

She is looking beautiful.

Getting near the end of installing the main wales.
I'll be away from the shop for a few days.
When I get back I'll install the last 2 sets and then work on planking the lower transom and sanding the wales to the planking.

And finally it all comes together by Adding the upper balcony panel. This is a bit tricky and requires everything before it to go well. 
 
The panel is 1/32 AYC and designed to fit over the QG’s and stern framing, it’s pretty delicate so be careful. 

start by clamping the panel on one
side at a time, making sure it fits around the windows. It should have a snug fit right over them as they protrude out of the QG slightly. You may also need to do some minor trimming at the bottom so they fit on top of the balcony beam. That 1/32 ledge behind the QG is exactly for this purpose. 

above you’ll also notice that I have the cove installed, I finally decided to print this along with the aft deck beam for the poop deck. This fits into some notches in the stern frames. 

I installed a temporary beam
to maintain the measurement between the two stern frames where the printed cove/beam install, I should have done this before I installed the QG’s it would have made things much easier, thankfully it was only about 1mm out so I pushed the ends in and quickly glued down the piece of scrap.

above you can see where the printer beam fits into the notches. It should sit at its proper angle. CA works best when attaching printed parts.
 
once satisfied with the fit, I pulled the balcony panel off and painted the beam red, we will Be adding an AYC margin plank to the top of the beam shortly.

I also painted the margins of the window with the blue I’m using to match the friezes, I chose to go on the dark blue side, similar to the contemporary  Bristol model.

With all that completed I set the panel back on and strategized how to attach it. With the arrangement above it wants to lift off on the outboard ends. So I glued all the clamped spots with PVA so I had working time and then once everything was set and clamped I worked the outer edges with CA, I used similar thick pieces of scrap to carefully hold the edges down while the CA set.
Once the panel was secured and drying I attached the upper part of the cove to the panel, if everything went well then it should already be a tight joint, I just let CA flow into it and it set.

now is the inner laminate part of the panel, this just gets us closer to the tidiness we want and stiffens it up. I cut the piece so the grain runs the other way to help it conform. I had to do some very minor trimming to get this to fit. It should drop in nicely. I secured it with PVA and some CA on the edges.

Finally we add the upper beam, this spans the stern frames and will be responsible for holding some knees later on in the build. This is a laminated piece. Way above you can see it in the parts sheet along with the 1/4” MDF jig that will help with providing the correct camber 

Once the beam it ready go ahead
and bevel the end that Fits against the panel until it fits nice. It can be secured with CA. And finally paint it all red.
as you can see once it all was finished I continued with painting the back side of the upper balcony panel blue, in fact the paint is still wet… it’s getting cold in the garage this time of year.
Today I will move onto finishing the upper stern with all the fun carved goodies, the reward for all the hard work.
JJ

Outfitting the QG’s.
 
before I permanently attached the QG’s I painted them and fitted the interiors. You won’t see much but I added some panels and the head, I wanted to hide as much 3D print as possible.
below are the parts to outfit the QG, we have the window frames, the columns and the head. Also I have some etched flooring as well as ceiling panels

in the photos you can see the flooring and overheads going in, along with the toilet. I will cover this more in detail in the instructions.

below we have the lower beam, since it will be visible through the windows I doctored it up with some thin AYC leftover from planking, I added a little shelf that will go over the head.
Before fully attaching the QG, I went ahead and taped off the frieze panel and painted in the red area, this way I don’t have to mask the QG.

after that was completed I went ahead and double checked The fit, made sure to sand down the added panels so they fit against the hull. Once that was completed I attached the QG, I screwed it down and then I pinned it with some copper rod (.040”) and CA.  

once firmly attached I used flush cutters on the soft copper and carefully filed down the rest.
on the back side I just folded the pins over, except where there will
be interior paneling, once the ca cured I flush cut that end as well and filed it down flush.

The rest of the QG outfitting will be completed once the transom is assembled, the molding has
to go on and then the columns can follow. You can also see the drop installed which is pretty straight forward, just a lot of sanding and adjusting until it fits tight.

Really wonderful result, Allan. I thought a really long time how to do this my sloop Fly and you are showing me a possible solution. Thank you.

The model is now ready for the second planking. Any rough or low spots have been filled and everything sanded smooth. I have penciled lines where the bulkheads are. These will be where the butts of planks are placed. I use trenails throughout. I also measure along each line to figure out my overall taper. I'll do 5 to 10 planks and then remeasure and adjust rather than breaking the hull surface into smaller divisions. This allows me to deal with any problem in tapering before it is apparent and so do a milder taper over a longer stretch.
Rich

Thanks Druxey !
 
I have paused the installation of frames at 49 and turn my attention to the wing transom and transom frames.  I need room to work with these tricky components.

Perhaps this is a good reason to buy a 3D printer. This model is a nice add-on to the NRG capstan project.

The first time one does hawse timbers it means a lot of do-overs. Looks like you've nailed them now. Well done!
 
I prefer to file out the majority of the material for the hawse holes before I install those timbers. Saves drill tear-out issues and establishes the slope up of the holes.

I finally got a chance to start assembling the bow section.  One side complete.  This was very satisfying after wrestling with the hawse timbers for weeks.  I will be very happy when this part is done and I can move on to the remaining cant frames and finally the square frames.