Gregory

A link always helps, especially for new members. https://thenrg.org/resources/Documents/articles/MastingAndRiggingSpreadsheet.xlsm Don't struggle with being too precise. Visually on a model, a little smaller than exact scale tends to look better, as well as consistent proportions. Block size, in proportion to the line size is also important.

The points are not a problem visually on the first planking. Small gaps are not a problem either. Not having them on the 2nd planking is a worthwhile goal, but with kit provided material it may be hard to avoid. Pointed planks can be blended in to the overall look to provide a nice look on the finished model. You may see a kit build that looks like this in the rough, and it will be pretty much what the instructions call for. A finished model that looks pretty good, points notwithstanding. Just do the best you can with what you have in the kit.

There were 11 when I got mine.. Who got the first one?

I would buy them tomorrow!

Do you have a drawing with dimensions? I have an idea I want to explore?

If I may. My understanding is that you will want to avoid a plank end taper that is less than 1/2 the width of a full width plank. You can do this with drop planks, and the illustration you show is one method. Your illustration shows reducing 3 planks to 2. You can also reduce 2 planks to 1. Here is an example from Chuck's Winchelsea. You can view his method here: ( Click on the arrow in the upper right corner of the content above) Here is another image I used to illustrate turning 8 planks into 7. It's really not that hard to do, but the main obstacle is that it takes some wider stock, twice as wide, than what is provided in the kit. This is a common problem with kit supplied material. If you can source some veneer that matches your stock, you may be able to use this method. If not, you should be able to overcome your problem with simple tapering and not breaking, or just fudging a little on the 1/2 rule. Looking at your image from the previous page, you have to take the number of planks at a midship bulkhead ( A ), then divide the space at B by the number of planks and this would give you the width that the planks must taper too. Whether or not you can do this without some of the planks coming to a point, remains to be seen. You can turn the space covered by 20 planks at midship into 1/2 or less at the stem. If you are limited to the material provided in the kit, this may be your only option.. We have seen a lot of kits that have produced very nice models without following " The Rules ".. The important thing is to sharpen your skills and don't give up.. A lot of kits are abandoned because the builder gets discouraged about not getting it perfect. Don't let ' perfect ' be your goal. I hope this helps. Gregory

Any chance you will be making hooks and eyebolts from this mystery stuff? Would be a great relief from the PE ones, since they wouldn't have to be blackened.

I got those from Crafty Sailor, but he may have stocking issues because I believe they came from Russia.. Won't hurt to check, cause I could be wrong.

There is gravity, and then there is inertia....

I'm with twokidsnosleep. They take a little getting used to. They have a nice aged look rather than the bright look of untreated blocks. I used Fiebing' for these blocks. There is some variation, because the blocks were from mixed batches I got from Syren. Try rubbing them down with some satin poly thats been thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits.

Well that's interesting. It shows the inhaul\train tackle at the rear of the sides of the carriage, with no indication of the two eyebolts we have been discussing. P.S. I see your drawings are from the civil war era, and not a good match for the carriages we are looking at originally.

This size chart from Syren is a pretty good way to get you in the ball park. https://syrenshipmodelcompany.com/resources/Suren Ultra Scale Rope Size chart.pdf

But, to refer back to this contemporary drawing, it seems to be a standard feature.. Since gun carriages were often damaged and/or might be moved for one reason or another, the extra ringbolt for a specific deployment, doesn't compute for me.

Allan, the replica is clearly not rigged for action , but the question still remains about the circled eyebolt. It is shown on contemporary drawings and is present on the artifact shown above, but we can't seem to find any reference for it's purpose. My best guess is that it may have been used for moving off of, and onto the ship. The two points of connection would have provided more stability. Of course there would be any number of ways to rig a harness for moving, but the two eyebolts would offer a quick solution using hooks. Can anyone find a picture of a carriage being loaded onto a ship? The only pictures I can find are just the barrel.

I wonder about the source of Sal's image in the OP. Chances are it is a mirror image. I noticed the orientation of the arrows and the olive branch are reversed from what is commonly seen. That said, I think the orientation of the wings is Sal's primary concern.

Because it would up the cost of production in a kit, just to include useful information or detail that is going to be ignored by the builder. Most kit builders are not as detail conscious as the members at MSW, and kit manufacturers are not going to go to extra expense to include those details. The guys who really care are the members here, and they can count on guys like you for information to take their build to the next level.😁

Henry, the 'presidential eagle' was my example of a Google search. I think Sal is needing the eagle from the Great Seal, but with the wings oriented downward. I just did a search for 'federal eagle' and did come up with this: I'm just not seeing the Great Seal with the shield on the chest and the banner in the beak with the wings oriented downward. Mabey a graphics wiz could combine two or more images to get Sal what he is looking for.

No kit was getting those features ( headrails ,etc. ) right until Chuck came along.. Vanguard is making some very respectable stuff. I'm hoping to get up to speed in Fusion360 and create some respectable parts on my own with CNC.. I'm spending more time on method, than I am on ship building. Maybe I will get to a point where I can help someone out with their kits, but I'm not really interested in doing any full-time production stuff.

https://www.google.com/search?q=presidential+eagle&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRquHD9_L-AhVclGoFHeXgAxAQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=1920&bih=1097&dpr=1

Dave, the scrolls in the image you provided are part of the hair brackets, extensions of the cheeks, which are quite different than the typical moldings running the length of the ship, which are similar to the brass pieces you show. Here is a reference from Chuck's Winchelsea which shows how they are built up from lase cut parts. It might not be too difficult to make similar parts from scratch. The rail caps may end in a scroll, but the molding pattern is still somewhat diffierent than your brass pieces. I apologize if I am not understanding what you wish to accomplish.

It would be hard for me to comment on the drop plank at the bow. The drop plank helps to keep the taper from being too profound. You want to avoid getting the width less than 1/2 the original width. It looks to me that your tapering looks consistent with a good appearance. For the stern, I agree consistent width looks better, but at this point, no drop plank would give you a plank tapered to 4.375 mm, which i think would look OK I think it is up to you. Once it is all finished smooth and oiled, or whatever finish you choose, I think it will look good either way.

Here are some ideas. I was messed up on my math for the stern problem. 3.5cm Means you need 7 x 5mm planks to fill the space. You can do this with a drop plank. The possible issue with this design, is you need stock that is wider than 5mm. There are a couple ( or more ) ways you can approach this. Here are two possibilities. A filler piece like this that you blend in as well as you can. ...or like this. Again, matching up the wood as best you can. I hope this helps. Gregory

For the bow, just taper the planks to 4mm. At the stern you could taper to 2.5 but it would look better with wider planks closer to 5mm. This could be done with maybe 2 drop planks. It would be later today for me to suggest a plan..

Here is what I have for you so far. Without knowing the measurements at A, B & C I cannot say what kind of stealers and or drop planks you may need. How many full width planks can you place at B, or will the space divide evenly by 5? You may need a stealer at A rather than a drop plank, or you may not need any. If C is twice the distance at B you would need 8 stealers to fill the space, as a stealer replaces 1 plank with 2. A drop plank reduces 2 planks to one. From Mondfeld. Your stern would look like this if you had to turn 4 strakes into 8 to fill the gap. ( It would be done without the sharp points ) It may be difficult at this stage of the planking to make these corrections without removing some of the planks

I heard from somewhere that the forests of Britain were wiped out during the Golden age of sail.