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I could suggest another possible option here Ron. Before I throw out old appliances or tools, I always disassemble them and salvage anything useful, especially if they can be used for models. If you have a small old electric motor driven tool that you no longer use, you could use some of that fine copper wire that's wrapped around the armature. The smaller the motor, the finer the wire.  If it's disguised as rope and it needs to be draped, it can easily maintain the curve and there is no fuzz to deal with.  

Another brief update:
 
I tried making some rope small enough, but with the thread I had on hand, it wasn't quite thin enough.   After thinking I might have to try enlarging the holes, I found (I think it came from Bluejacket) a spool of rope in my small stock that fit!   I will dye it just a shade darker--
   
You can't quite make out that the line is through the hole, so--

 
I also tested soldering the pins.  Since they won't be seen, I can overlap the brass, instead of butting it.   This is a much easier joint to solder.   I clearly missed centering the pin on this one (I maintain it moved while soldering!), but again, it won't show, and I'll drill each hole in the cap rail "custom" to match.  (Or maybe I won't use this one!)  I think I have now satisfied myself that these will work. 
 
While I continue the production of the hammock cranes, I am considering how to replicate the oiled cloth (which I guess it is) as shown on Glenn's model that covers the hammocks stowed within these cranes. 
 
All for now,
Ron
 
 

I could suggest another possible option here Ron. Before I throw out old appliances or tools, I always disassemble them and salvage anything useful, especially if they can be used for models. If you have a small old electric motor driven tool that you no longer use, you could use some of that fine copper wire that's wrapped around the armature. The smaller the motor, the finer the wire.  If it's disguised as rope and it needs to be draped, it can easily maintain the curve and there is no fuzz to deal with.  

That's it for today 

I continue with the structures of the head:
 









 
 
 

As my interest in jigsaw puzzles and ship modeling is well know by my friends and family, I was presented at X-Mas with this 3D model kit of Queen Anne’s Revenge (Blackbeard’s ship) by my wife's nephew and family. It’s more or less, a combination of my two interests in one box weighing in at a substantial 3 lb. 7 oz.
    While it is certainly not an accurately detailed rendition of the vessel, it will be my first entry into card models and I look forward to it’s assembly, which judging by the 23 page illustrated step by step instruction manual, (in 7 languages no less) should not be too difficult to complete.
    There are a total of 391 pieces including the display stand. The vast majority is printed on 15 sheets of 11” x 16.5” pre-punched sheets of 1mm card stock printed in color, but the sails are on 3 sheets of textured paper and there are 22 plastic canons, a small sheet of double sided tape, a card hole puncher, and small sheet of prefinished Mylar to represent stained glass on the rear of the ship.
     Although glue is not required for construction, obviously if you would like to keep it for display you might like to use some. No tools are required, other than the hole puncher that is included with the kit. It claims to be rated as a 6 in complexity, but not sure if that is out of 10 or what. I tend to believe that according to its estimated construction time of 4 hours it can’t be all that complicated.
    This kit is designed and manufactured by CubicFun Toys Industrial Co. Ltd out of Guangdong, China and is referred to as an anniversary edition, but I’m not sure if the company has produced an earlier model or if it refers to something else. While there is no indication of scale, the completed size of the model is listed at 29.1” X 10” X 24.4” (or 74cm X 25.6cm X 62cm).
     As this was a gift, I have no clue about its cost or if it’s a pirated copy of some other company’s product, but from what I can see, it is well produced and nicely packaged. While the model is admittedly more toy like, it is not pretending to be anything other than a 3D puzzle.
    Overall, I think that it seems to be a good introduction to card models especially for modeling fans that are inexperienced or just want to get their feet wet, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Cisco and Theodosius, and all watching.
 
Here is how I tackled drilling 228 holes with a #78 drill (.016" or .40mm)--

 
Two pieces ended up being deemed unusable, so I now have the 34 hammock cranes that I need, plus two extra--

 
I broke two more drill bits (for a total of three).  Those carbide bits break if you breath hard on them.  Actually, after the initial careless one, the breakage on the other two seemed to be related to how many holes I had drilled already (they may have been getting dull?), and how flat the piece remained held in the wood through the drilling--sometimes the piece lifted up when withdrawing the drill, in spite of my care to hold it in place.
 
Now I need to trim them, file the ends, and hope that I can thread a line through the tiny holes.  Hopefully I won't have to experiment on "punching" the holes a bit bigger.  Oh, and soldering pins on the bottoms.
 
All for now,
Ron 
 
 

The spar deck is slowly taking shape. The unpainted parts in the photos have not been glued into place yet. After making sure that all the parts are compatible with each other, they are painted and glued.

Couple more items completed.  Forward deck hatches.

 
Deep sea sounding wench.  Does anyone know if they stored the rope on the wench, or just attached it when in use?  Instructions don't show any rope on the wench, and its hard to find any images of deep sea wenches of the period.  I think it would look good with some rope wrapped around the drum.

That is probably true, but it just makes your results just that much more remarkable! 
    My paternal grandfather was also very good at carving by hand back in the depression with his own handmade tools.  I was always impressed by how he could create such beautiful sculptures and furniture from the most basic tools and scraps of lumber that he could get a hold of.
    I think that's who I inherited my urge to recycle rather than replace from.

That's a very remarkable improvement on such a small detail!

That is probably true, but it just makes your results just that much more remarkable! 
    My paternal grandfather was also very good at carving by hand back in the depression with his own handmade tools.  I was always impressed by how he could create such beautiful sculptures and furniture from the most basic tools and scraps of lumber that he could get a hold of.
    I think that's who I inherited my urge to recycle rather than replace from.

That's a very remarkable improvement on such a small detail!

Been working a lot on all the deck fixtures which means lots of painting and brass blackening of tiny parts.
 
Poop deck hardware, azimuth compass, and hand railing.

 
Windlass painted and glued in place.  I'm going to have to figure out what to do for the windlass handles, i formed up the brass rod to exactly match the kits template and they turned out not to be long enough, I tried to reform them to work but they just looked way to mangled up and I wasn't happy with them. The one material that Occre seems to be stingy with on this kit is the brass rod, so I am either going to have to order some more or find an alternative solution. 

 
Spent a while saturday night trying to rig up the carronade to somewhat match up how it is in the AOTS book.  It doesn't look great and the blocks look way out of scale, but it's way better than just the single rope the kit instructions called for. 

 
Sunday I finally decided to tackle the deadeyes, these took the better part of the day to install but weren't nearly as difficult as I was expecting.  

We the day finally came, all the sail rigging is complete. The only things left to do is rig the cutting stage, attach the davits and then rig the whaleboats to the davits. Sounds simple enough…..yeah right!😂🤪😜😁



The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!  😁
Tom

That is probably true, but it just makes your results just that much more remarkable! 
    My paternal grandfather was also very good at carving by hand back in the depression with his own handmade tools.  I was always impressed by how he could create such beautiful sculptures and furniture from the most basic tools and scraps of lumber that he could get a hold of.
    I think that's who I inherited my urge to recycle rather than replace from.

That's a very remarkable improvement on such a small detail!

That is probably true, but it just makes your results just that much more remarkable! 
    My paternal grandfather was also very good at carving by hand back in the depression with his own handmade tools.  I was always impressed by how he could create such beautiful sculptures and furniture from the most basic tools and scraps of lumber that he could get a hold of.
    I think that's who I inherited my urge to recycle rather than replace from.

That's a very remarkable improvement on such a small detail!

The oil has dried out. Color in natural light.

Basically, I have finished the longboat. I don’t see the point in further detalisation. There will anyway be a boat on top. I didn’t do the the rudder as well, because I don’t have to install it anyway. All that’s left is to cover it with oil.

I went back to the old technology. And got the expected result. Now the filling has to be done.

Lovely result with your hand carving Kortes. More satisfying for you than having a computer driven machine making them for you then just glueing the bits on   I wish I had your skill,I am struggling a bit attempting to do the carvings on my Speedwell build.
 
Dave 

I have made two elements of the carving. Unfortunately I don't have a CNC. This is the result. For now everything is not yet fixed. . Assembly is yet to come.

I have installed the beams and filled in the grate of the top flooring .