Barbossa

Hi Ray, Whenever you’ll get to the fitting of the top deck, just a word of caution. There are 2 sorts of cavel cleats ( parts 114& 115 ) . The “open bulwark”-version might require to shorten the latter and the horizontal one seems necessary in the belaying plan. At least , if my understanding is correct. As you can see -in combination with the eyebolts for the rigging of the guns- it’s a bit narrow in that area.

Hello Mort, Many thanks for your input. The idea of including swivel guns is great and very tempting for more than one reason. Therefore I'd like to refer to B.E.'s HMS Pegasus superb buildlog : the swivel guns supplied in the box are to be replaced by something more suitable. And as I have this "Peggy" on the shelf and both Diana and Pegasus are in the 1/64 scale... Besides, I’m looking for some extra 3mm blocks. "The sailing Frigate" appears to be an essential book as so many MSW-members refer to and quote from it. Time to spent some money (again), so it appears .

Hi Timmo, Just went through your buildlog and the effort you made regarding the ornament rails shows that your future Diana will be just as nice as mine. I guess it still comes down to that basic rule : I always try to imagine every different episode as a separate project. But on the other hand I'd like to quote Mobbsie : sometimes you have to call it a day. I've tried to make a lamp from scratch : you really don't want to see this.

hello, many thanks and greetings to you all Anja & Sjors, BE , Ray, Kevin. This input encourages me as I'm moving slowly and little by little towards the mast & rigging part of this build, I just my might need this support, I'm afraid. B.E. : regarding the figure head : you've read my mind. As this cast build figure is still dry fit , it is time for some experiments Ray : a quite rightly query. I have this kind of gooze that you can easily find in hobby and craftsmen stores and will also try this option in dry fit modus. Although I wonder -for easthetical reasons- if this option might decrease the elegance of the open bulwarks. So this remains to be seen. Something different now : perhaps you noticed the cupboards intended for flags or whatever stuff, underneath the real practical reason : it comes in handy if you want to remove dust, wooden parts from the inside of your stern gallery windows. So these parts are also to remain dry fit.

that's all folks !

continuation

Hi Anja, I've secured the lamp with some extra (self-made) eyelets. Hammock cranes (only midships in this build) are done and furthermore I made sure that the lads on my ship could not break their backs by falling down the stairs. Another thing is puzzling my mind since a long time : how about the color of the figurehead in the bow section ? I've seen intersting approaches on "the net" , however I'm more inclined to give this a more "wood-look-a-like" touch but how and which coat to apply on this cast figure ? Any suggestions ? Anyway, here's the actual status to be continued

Hello Pierre, very sound advice from Mobbsie, I would do the same and purchase through Caldercraft or similar. I've met my own limitations quite a few times in my current build and I even plan to start a topic under " General discussion" called : "Silly ideas, what was I thinking". It is about how I tried to avoid fixing the supplied cannonballs around the gratings. Thought I had a plan B for this but it went totally wrong.

Hi Nick, To quote other members " a warm welcome at MSW" Now referring to your question ; I don't know about the Netherlands but in Belgium , special retailshops dedicated to modelling are becoming scarce in the " internet-era". However : I purchased 50 yellow-looking wood strips (1x4 mm) through such a shop a few years ago, and I hope they're still in business. I used them for my Diana and I'm quite happy with it. here's a recent pic at close range

Hi Mobbsie, Transoms at period ships are always "to handle with care and precaution". HMS Diana required some adjustments too. I'm confident you'll recover this just fine. Very nice job on the coppering.

Hi Timothy, Just went trough your log and this is quite amazing.(the build as well as the story of your professional life) So, another build to follow. Enjoy your holidays, Sir !

Hello Timothy, Thank you for your kind words. You're always welcome, Sir The lamp is fixed now and the large hammock cranes (midships) were already painted in matt black. Hope to install this next week.( so pics are to be expected ! ) There are also small hammock cranes , intended for the quarterdeck bulwark, but this will not suit on my open bulwark, I'm afraid.

Hi Sjors Many thanks for showing interst, still wish I had more time to look into your and many other members logs. There's so much going on at this forum. Hello Andy, well there's only one lamp but three of those would be an overkill for sure. Take care.

Hi Jasseij, You know the story : lots of "parlé" and in the end the captain decides ( that will be mrs. Barbossa ) Anyway, think positive : the sooner you have this kind of debate, the sooner you ( we ) can resume shipbuilding Hi Mort and David I really appreciate your kind words Here's the update regarding the bow section and in addition : to lamp or not to lamp ? It is still dry fit but I like it. The blue strips weree made of paper that was overpainted with blue gloss ( humbrol n°14) I believe something similar needs to be done on the catheads. And regarding the lamp , I'm planning to fix it with some extra supports on both sides (painted in black)

Hi Ray, Jasseij, Tim and Mark, It feels good to be back and catching up with all you fine people and thank you all for showing interst. Hope to post next update very soon, regarding : - hull fittings - bow section and then move over to the ships boats. Jasseij : This evening "family meeting" , and the topic is "kitchen furniture & equipment" This should be fun....

Hi Sjors : To be honest , the most of the work (regarding the house) is done by others (masons, carpenters,...) but this still requires some follow-up. So if you combine those activities with a full-time job, well there's not much time left for shipbuilding, I'm afraid The good thing is that I'll dispose of a dedicated hobby-room, (room for a lathe and other stuff...) so who knows what the (far) future will bring : still more ships !? Indeed, HMS Diana is a raher big ship (120 cm) but I understand that in addition to Le Mirage and San Ildefonso you're planning for HMS Agamemnon.... Perhaps this is a subject for a topic in the "general discussion" section : what is to become of our finished builds ?

Hi Andy, Just consulted Ed T 's Naiad : as always, whenever I visit a scrath-build log I get the same feeling : a severe lesson in humility. But there's hope : if I got it right the pics of the Naiad show that the center part of these rails is "bumping up" instead of "sinking in" if you like. So a small strip of card painted in blue could suffice. Thanks for your input Dag/Bonjour Pierre, Went through both of your buildlogs several times . For the known reasons at present I can return the compliment : very nice work. I wish there were more Belgian co-citizens on this forum.

Hi Here's the idea behind the bow modification or at least the effect I wish to gain.

Hallo Anja, It is a pleasure to be back again. Regarding my exam for the bilingual status : I'm expecting the news ( be it good or bad ) this week or the next week coming. Underneath the reason for the delay ( regarding my build ) As you can see : still a lot of work to do....

Hi Timmo, Thanks for showing interst : the pillars are made af 0,8 mm brass wire that I overpainted in a matt white color using Enamel Humbrol. Then I fixed this on the blue painted quarterdeck and transomparts.

Continuation

Hi people, at last an update ( it was about time) but referring to previous posts, life was getting a bit in the way of shipbuilding. First an apology and a warm greet to Timothy : usually, I always respond to replies on my posts but unfortunately I oversaw yours. Aside I’d like to dedicate this post to Ray : your Diana is going to be a superb model as well as you buildlog is and I wish I could explain all those different building episodes to all members as good as you do. Anyway : back to topic and here’s some points of interest regarding the actual status : The rope coils : I know, they are to be secured alongside the gun carriages but I as I put some effort in this detail, I wanted it to be visible The barricade assembly : instead of square supports, I preferred round ones For Ray : The bulwark pin rails, especially part 77, I had to shorten it and sacrifice one hole, otherwise it was not possible to insert it between the guns. Also, please mind about the emplacement of the eyebolts that are to receive the blocks for the gun carriages. If you are to fix the bulwark pin rail, there’s not that much space left in the “open bulwark” version. The ships wheel : I preferred a brown color instead of painting this part in white Regarding the last pic : it is puzzling my mind since a long time but what about adding a small blue strip to both curved rails (upper and lower) on the bow section . Someone any thoughts or ideas on this ? to be continuated (more pics)

Hi Ray It is a pleasure to follow your progress. Whenever I go through your log, I hear my Diana calling for attention. Just in case : perhaps you took already this precaution to compare the position of the gunports of the quarterdeck with the(main) channels.

Hi Sjors, For several reasons life came in between this wonderful hobby and me. One problem is already solved and is related to professional business. As you know Belgium has aside from Dutch also French and German as official languages. Having Brussels as working place, a bilangual status can be pretty rewarding in your c.v. Therefore you must succeed in an official examination or contest if you like. The third and last part of the contest occured this morning. I won't bother you with the details but I'm confident regarding the result. So very soon you'll hear of me. Please, sent my regards to Anja.

Thank you Mobbsie and Kevin for your kind words. To Anja and Sjors I would like to return the favour as I understand that tomorrow is a special day for every Dutchman. And I hope you will enjoy tomorrow day as much as I did today. If whether or not you will sing along the "Koningslied" , well... I'd rather not go into that debate. Regarding my Diana : it is a huge cliché but life is getting a bit in the way lately but I hope to resume my activities very soon.