Stevinne

Tonight's project was mounting the cannon on the gun deck. Because I'm worried about the barrels getting knocked loose during construction, I drilled holes into the pre-carved wooden carriages and inserted brass wire, which I then bent. A test or two showed the cannon tompions snap into place and are held there by the wire. I figure once I have the ship built, I will add a touch of glue to the tompions and then slide them in through the gunports and into place. Here's hoping it works.
I measured the space between bulkheads and found and marked the center and then glued in the gun carriages with a healthy dollop of wood glue. Once everything dries I will glue on the gun port frames. I was worried that the gun carriages and brass rod would be visible from above once the model is complete, but a quick check showed I was wrong. 
 

Moving along slowly. Back from a vacation in Charleston, S.C., with a visit to the Stede Bonnet monument at the Battery and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island - a much more interesting and enjoyable place to tour than nearby Fort Sumter in my humble opinion.
Tonight I sanded the gun deck to ensure it followed the line of the frames, so there won't be any surprises when I start planking and then painted the metal gunport frames so they will match the wood that will surround them. Next comes the process of gluing the frames in place and trying to ensure they all lineup correctly with the hull planking.

Installed the planking on the gun deck. Not sure I'm all that keen on the Mamoli instructions, which don't seem to have a master parts list, are written in really poor English and aren't particularly clear. The instructions do call for planking and installing the cabin fronts on deck first, but I'm thinking I will wait on that because I don't want to damage anything while I'm turning the hull around and working.
I do think I should have fitted the deck before gluing the frames and false deck, since the deck planks appear a little wavy.
Once everything has a chance to dry, the next step will be shaping the outer deck plank to ensure it follows the contour of the hull planking.

Spent a little more time this evening sanding the slots to hold the gundeck planks. I'd tried using needle files, but found a long strip of 100 grit sandpaper worked a lot better. Now the planks slide in with no trouble

So, with Spring, hopefully around the corner my thoughts turn back to the water and ships.
Today I worked on fairing the frame, sanding the bulkheads and making sure, hopefully, that everything will lie nicely once I start planking.
The bulkheads have a slot to put in planking that will be the gun deck, though the slot is awfully narrow, so spent a lot of time opening that up, too. Next step will be installing the gun deck.

Moving on with the build. I sanded the slots in the frames that will hold planking for the gundeck. I figured I'd do this before I had the upper deck on to make things easier. Then I had to form some crossbeams for upper deck supports, which was accomplished using my mitre box and then some sanding to get a curve in the top of each beam to give the deck the bowed appearance. I put those in place, but then realized I had to remove the beams for the poop and quarter deck, as the sequence of installing the decks dictates when the beams can be put in place.
Put in the decking at the very bow of the ship, which caused me to come up with my first question for you folks out there.
The instructions don't say anything, but I don't  think I should sand frame No. 1 that is extending past the deck to follow the curve of the deck, While this will assure there is no gap when I start to plank, it would also require I sand frame No.2 I will likely just sand the edges, to allow for a nice bend, and then plank the deck to follow the lay of the hull planking, if that makes sense.
Anyone disagree?
Thanks in advance for any input.

Time to add the bulkheads. The big beams down the center assure things are kept true.

So the build begins. This is the first time I've had to deal with a multi-part main frame. A little glue and some weights should do the trick.
Had some help from my second mate tonight. A thunder storm was rumbling through, and she felt it important to be as close as possible to guard my feet.
 

It's with a little trepidation that I start my first build log on MSW. The Roter Lowe is my third plank-on-bulkhead build, the first being Constructo's Enterprise, followed up by AL's Renard. It's by far the most complex build I've undertaken, and my first with multiple gun decks and decorative woodwork. In this kit, the decorations are a mix of inlaid wood and printed cardboard. Not sure how I feel about the cardboard, yet. The materials look nice and the instructions come on five dual-sided sheets of plans.
I'm a bit concerned because the guns on the enclosed gun deck are to be mounted on carriages - I worry about them coming loose during the build and rattling around in the hull. I have to figure out some way to address that.
I picked up the kit a couple of years ago when Model Expo was having a moving sale. 
I'm a very slow builder, with lots of starts and stops, so be warned.
All that being said, let's post some pictures.

Welcome! Look forward to seeing some of your work.
 

It has been slow but steady work on the hull over the summer. Usually two or four planks per weekend, but I have finally completed the first layer of the lower hull. If anyone is ever building this kit, please take my advice and install balsa bow fillers between the frames. I'd thought about it, decided I didn't need them, and started regretting it almost immediately. This was my first galleon-type ship, and it is now my opinion that on these craft, bow fillers are a must.
Sir Francis Drake, who has been watching my work said "I told you so."
I have to say the wood was nice to work with.
I need to do some stealers around the stern and then I will plank the deck and install the cabin facings before finishing the first layer of bow planking.
 

Completed the first layer of planking around the gunport frames and added some additional planks. Also picked up a crewmember, courtesy of my printer. He's a little thin, but that's what happens when you live on naval rations.

So, with Spring, hopefully around the corner my thoughts turn back to the water and ships.
Today I worked on fairing the frame, sanding the bulkheads and making sure, hopefully, that everything will lie nicely once I start planking.
The bulkheads have a slot to put in planking that will be the gun deck, though the slot is awfully narrow, so spent a lot of time opening that up, too. Next step will be installing the gun deck.

Moving on with the build. I sanded the slots in the frames that will hold planking for the gundeck. I figured I'd do this before I had the upper deck on to make things easier. Then I had to form some crossbeams for upper deck supports, which was accomplished using my mitre box and then some sanding to get a curve in the top of each beam to give the deck the bowed appearance. I put those in place, but then realized I had to remove the beams for the poop and quarter deck, as the sequence of installing the decks dictates when the beams can be put in place.
Put in the decking at the very bow of the ship, which caused me to come up with my first question for you folks out there.
The instructions don't say anything, but I don't  think I should sand frame No. 1 that is extending past the deck to follow the curve of the deck, While this will assure there is no gap when I start to plank, it would also require I sand frame No.2 I will likely just sand the edges, to allow for a nice bend, and then plank the deck to follow the lay of the hull planking, if that makes sense.
Anyone disagree?
Thanks in advance for any input.

I have an earlier version of the AL Renard, and it has a windless built into the rear of the mainmast pinrail. Not sure if it is accurate, but that's how it was handled by AL at the time.
 

I have an earlier version of the AL Renard, and it has a windless built into the rear of the mainmast pinrail. Not sure if it is accurate, but that's how it was handled by AL at the time.
 

Thanks guys - here are some more pictures.
 
At one point I had intended on moving next to the US Brig Syren but I think I am done with square rigging for awhile so my next build is Endeavour (the 1/35 scale one) by Amati. Lots of hull and only a little rigging. Also a chance to put my girlfriend the quilter to work making the sails. Getting sails that do not look terribly out of scale should be easier at 1/35.
 

My Niagara is FINISHED!
 
And before anyone points it out; i know that is not the correct flag (should have 15 stars and stripes) but us poor backwoods types, stuck in the wilds of western Pennsylvania never managed to get the correct flag from those responsible for such things back at the "seat of Government" so we used what we had - like many items used in the actual construction of Niagara (and Lawrence) - they used what they had. In all seriousness this is my first try at rigging a  flag so I took the cowards way out and bought one that was as close as the correct one as I could find. I did try the Chuck Passaro method explained in the Cheerful monograph but could not get a satisfactory result - I probably do not have the "correct" tissue paper - I tried three different types and then resorted to a commercial one from Model Expo.
 
Here are some pictures of Niagara before she goes in the case which I don't have just yet. I will get some more pictures after I clean up the shop and find a more presentable background (assuming there is one).

A few months back, @vossiewulf posted pictures of some gorgeous knives he made using blades from Ron Hock, Japanese blades, etc. (haven't seen vossie on here in a while, hope he is ok).  I thought I'd give it a shot since I had the tools to add handles, and went ahead and bought a few from Hock.  He sells some knives already with handles, but I thought it would be more fun to put my own handles on.  
 
I ended up using Sindora burl for these knives (from left to right, two violin knives, a marking knife, and his 1" carving knife).  I had purchased a block that I was going to use for pen turning, but decided to split it into four blanks that I used for the scales.  For the spacer piece that went alongside the blade in between the two scale halves, I used boxwood.  The finish is what I started using when I turn pens - a coat of boiled linseed oil, followed by a few coats of boiled linseed oil/medium CA mixture, followed by a few coats of medium CA.  From there, I used micro mesh pads from 1500-15000, then put them on my buffing wheel.  Fun little project if you're looking for something different than building models.
F
Last few months I got sidetracked into a new hobby and started turning pens.  I had a lathe so I figured why not try it.  Well, like most hobbies, it can suck you in and before I knew it, I ended up upgrading to the larger bed Sherline lathe and bought a few other accessories.  I pretty much went from knowing almost nothing about lathes to now being fairly proficient, which should carry forward into model work.  It's also been fun learning about different woods, finishes, etc.  In ship modeling we try to go for wood with minimal grain.  In pen turning, I personally prefer turning wood with lots of character, including burl woods, spalted woods, etc.  They tend to be trickier to turn given that they have cracks, voids, punky wood parts, etc., but the natural beauty just can't be beat in my opinion.  Here is a batch I recently made using spalted woods from Hawaii:

You can also turn acrylic blanks.  Lots of interesting bright colors, patterns, etc.  I prefer the wood pens, but my daughters like the brightly colored ones, so I what can I do?  Here are some I've made from acrylic for my kids:


 
Anyway, just thought I'd share.  Sometimes it's nice to take a break and try something different.  Frankly, I think delving into these other areas will make me a better modeler because of the techniques and other experiences I have learned which can likely be transferred over to model work.

In my book "Mary Rose: Owners' Workshop Manual," the illustrations don't show any breeching ropes, though I can't imagine you'd want great guns rolling all over the place. One photo shows a modern wrought-iron replica with a securing rope, but no tackle to allow for traversing or running in and out. I wonder if this is because they have yet to find any indications of how the guns were rigged, so they just omitted the info?
 

Hello from Halifax, I've been a stowaway here while working away on my first build, the Bluenose MS 2130. It gave me a lot of satisfaction building a bit of local history and I think I might have caught the bug from you guys in the process. Yes I've got the Syren now sitting on deck, go figure. Hoping to start it the second half of October, when the weather begins to turn and I have some more time on my hands. Great site you have here. Glad to see you don't promote kit's produced by theft. Big thanks for all the help you give
Regards, Robin aka Nova ~
http://www.modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?33665
 

Just curious, would Model Expo sell kits not acceptable on this site? I've always figured buying from them means I'm buying a kit from a reputable manufacturer. If not, things are very confusing.

I'm interested in this one, too. I'm hoping for an update. I was very disappointed to see that Billings canned its plan to produce a kit modeled on the Geoff Hunt paintings. I'm not sure which version is more accurate, but I like the big, old-style forecastle as depicted in the Anthony Role. A lot like the Great Harry, which was one of my favorite Pyro kits when I was a kid. I'd love to see how a colorful version of this kit turns out.

I used to love the Aurora tanks when I was a kid. They were pretty high-quality models for the time.
 

I used to love the Aurora tanks when I was a kid. They were pretty high-quality models for the time.