Jared

Lovely work.

I started this model in 2006 and worked on it slowly over the next 6 years, finishing off the hull, deck and much of the deck structures. In 2012 my late wife was diagnosed with ALS, which resulted in work stoppage on the model. About a year after she passed away, I woke one morning with significantvvision loss in one eye. With the loss of 3D vision, I did not think I would ever be able to complete the model. However, one finds ways to adapt to handicaps and I picked up the model again around 2019 with no real expectations I would be able to finish it. Two drivers that kept me going were this MSW log which I joined at the time and my joining a local model ship club. The rest is history, all well documented in this build log. As for my next model, I realize that with my vision issue building another highly rigged ship would not be the best choice. When working with thin threads it is very difficult to tie knots and thread blocks without 3d vision. I do enjoy the working with wood part which is not as demanding for 3d, and I have always been fascinated with Admiralty models since first seeing them at the Science museum in London in the late 60's, and at Greenwich UK. So earlier this year, I purchased an admiralty-style kit of the USF Essex 1799 from Model Shipways and am eagerly waiting to start it. I am thinking about modifing the Essex kit to expose a small section of its inner timber construction. Two photos of the model Essex as below, from the manufacturer.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. As I complete the few items I have a question. I had planned to install flag pennant and flags but having now looked at them, I am having second thoughts. They seem to be a bit tacky looking. What do you all think? I noticed George left them off in his beautiful model. Also, what is the likelihood that such ships wold have had their flags flying when in port? Thanks for your suggestions.

Today I finished rigging all of the braces on the fore mast yards. I have also tightened up the other rigging on the model where it was needed. I have also touched up any needed spots on the model requiring this. So little remains to be done before final launch.

I am going to have a 5 sided acrylic case made at a local shop. I will make a wooden base for it myself. There are several acrylic laces in the greater Toronto area that can do this. A fellow modeller has recommended two. He thinks yhe cost for the size I need will be under $250 Cdn. For my last ship (Charles Morgan Whaler) I built my own case out of glass and oak. It weighs a ton. I won't make that mistake again.

Your Cutty Sark is looking great. You will enjoy rigging the braces! I have had the pleasure of touring and photographing the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and am planning to do so again next month.

No bunt line, no clew lines. Enough. Installed the brace today on the lower yard on Foremast. Only 4 braces to go. Then the only rigging left will be the flag halliards and ropes on the davits for the ships boats. I also have to mount coils on many of the belay pins. I will be having an acrylic case made for it very soon.

With the repairs behind me its full speed ahead. All braces on the main and mizzen masts are complete. These add a whole new layer of complexity and beauty to the model. After working with all the tight and very challenging on the inner rigging, the far more easily accessibke braces were a real joy. I will now work on the foremast yard braces, and leave the mounting of the ship's boats to the end of the build.

The removed rigging on the repaired top foremast has now all been replaced.

A build log would be of limited value if it only showed the forward achievements and none of the worts that occurred during the build. About a month ago I had a bit of an accidental disaster that I did not mention. Photo 1 shows a floor lamp I use to light my work area. Its a great lamp except for the fact it is top heavy and poorly balanced. Well the inevidable happened last month. It toppled over and grazed some of the foremast and bowsprit rigging on the model, pulling out a few of the securing eye bolts holding lines. As these were easy enough to repair, I chose not to comment about it. I fixed the lamp problem by adding two 3-pound weight to the based. And so I thought thatvwas the end of it. BUT NOT SO 😪. Early last week I noticed that the thin diameter top section of my foremast was leaning, and on further inspection realized that in fact the cause break was a complete. I was at wits end what to do about it. Fortunately a fellow member of model boat club I belong to (Model Shipwright's of Niagara, MSON) is a master builder and restorer of model ships (Ray Peacock). He was able to save the mast by drilling holes in the adjacent broken ends and epoxy gluingvthem back together with a brass pin inserted in the drilled holes like a dowel (see last photo). Thanks Rayvfor saving the day! I have to reinstall 3 stays then the repair will be completely done. The moral of this story is that sh!# happens in models build's but things are often repairable. Thanks for reading.

I wish you the best with your new job and adventures ahead Geirge.

Sorry to hear about your painful problem. Best wishes.

As a diversion from the endless rigging I decided to install the boat davits and complete the insides of the 2 ship's boats which will hand from them. I used the kit's Brittania cast boats which I had previously painted. I then used a crimping tool to curve the wood strip boat ribs, gluing them in place. The wooded floor boards were then glued in place, and then the sests. For the oars I carve a small notch into some small length wood strips then glued the oar handles (narrow diameter incence sticjs) into the notches. The paddels were sanded to shape, painted, then glued and tied into the 2 boats. The unpainted wood parts were coated with tung oil as finish.

Beautiful well made model. Congrats

Over the last week I have been rigging the braces for the yards on the mizzen mask. They went pretty well and are now completed.