allanyed

Hi T 
Another option is to drill and insert copper wire.  Snip the end and file it to give a flat end. Wipe off any filings with a wet paper towel and the you can then blacken the copper in situ with diluted liver of sulfur.  The LoS will not stain the wood.  
Allan

Even 40 plus years in this hobby does not alleviate the opportunity for me to learn.  Seems I find new and useful information on this site nearly every day.
Allan

Please add my warm welcome to MSW
In light of your very well said comment  I am surprised no one has mentioned this, but you may want to consider putting your kits aside for the time being and start with a high quality beginner kit to learn good habits and skills.   There is a thread here at MSW on this as well as many build logs of beginner level kits that are well designed with clear instructions and drawings such as the three boat series from Model Shipways.
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/13703-for-beginners-a-cautionary-tale/#comment-421943
https://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-Shipwright-3-Kit-Combo-Series_p_5465.html
 
Allan

I can't correct you as you are correct.

And so you are a trouble maker Craig, 😀 because she is going to kill me when she asks what I would like from Santa this year.   
 
The rollers fore and aft are indeed another issue as I have no idea why they are there.  You mention C.  I have posted below what I believe you are speaking about so others are aware of this item.  Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
Thanks for the input Craig, VERY much appreciated!  This is one of the most detailed plans I have seen but it has indeed raised questions, including why double lift rings fore and aft.  This was a new one for me. 
Allan
 
 
 

Allan, thanks for taking the time to present that detailed set of references - will be invaluable. Pete

Amalio
Your work is impeccable and you have shown some interesting alternatives on how to make things like the carriage trucks.  Can you share your source or post the original drawings of the carriages that show the stepped joint line (Item A in the photo below),  This step was new for me so interesting to see an alternative to the information I currently have on hand and I would like to add this to my current project files on these kinds of details.
Thanks
Allan

Amalio
Your work is impeccable and you have shown some interesting alternatives on how to make things like the carriage trucks.  Can you share your source or post the original drawings of the carriages that show the stepped joint line (Item A in the photo below),  This step was new for me so interesting to see an alternative to the information I currently have on hand and I would like to add this to my current project files on these kinds of details.
Thanks
Allan

It sounds like you have virtually no experience with wooden ships.   If that is the case, many folks here will attest to starting small and learning before tackling a more complex model.  It seems a major winner in that category is the three vessel series by David Antscherl available from Model Shipways.  https://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-Shipwright-3-Kit-Combo-Series_p_5465.html is one source, there may be others.  
 
You mention wanting a British ship but list Grecian which is American. 😀
 
Allan
   

What are pedestals A and B?  I can see B possibly being a rest for a boom, but if that is the case, how would it be secured to the boat knowing it will not be in place when not under sail.   
 
The boat is from 1801 and identified in the description at the top of the plan as a 31 foot longboat.
 
Thanks  
Allan
 

Kinsale played a big role in the 17th and 18th centuries and built at least one RN frigate, HMS Kinsale.
Kinsale Dockyard - Wikipedia
 
According to this page HMS Kinsale was the only ship built there for the RN:
List of frigate classes of the Royal Navy - Wikipedia
 
Nothing I have found in The National Archives catalogue contradicts this.  There was a lot of activity but it was almost exclusively maintenance and repairs.  Ireland produced a lot of shipwrights for HM shipyards but I speculate that this was due to a healthy trade in merchant craft.
 
HTH,
Bruce 

Sounds like you are setting up a challenge and I would love to see some take you up on it as I am curious to see the results of other attempts.  That scale is a killer for most of us.  Hard enough to see things at 1:48 let alone half the size.  
Allan

Your work looks great to me.   I think most/all of us at MSW hope to improve with experience so you are part of a huge team of like minded enthusiasts.  
Allan

Obviously crude in many ways, I admire what you plainly state; an exercise/study into displaying the primary features of such a vessel. A success, in my humble opinion.

Thanks Theo and Ron,
Contemporary models of this era show  a round-up to the head ledges, but difficult for kit manufacturers to do unless the coamings are made up separately. The laser cut approach taken by Vanguard provides a neat solution to these combined runs of hatchways and ladderways, but aesthetically I prefer the cambered style, and I think it helps reduce the 'kit' look, along with clearing all the laser burn.
 
 
Thanks Ron, I'll give it a go.👍
 
B.E.
 
 

Post Eighty-six
 
Fitting out the Cabin area. (Part 1)
Firstly, the Rudder housing is glued into place.
I like this Rudder housing with its compass design, and its properly scaled bench, something I had to contrive for myself with Sphinx.

2194
I firstly fitted the two aft sections (233/234) which slot into the stern framework. These are given a slight bevel to meet the adjoining pieces (231/232).  The central end panel (230) is then put into place.
At each stage the line-up with the top is checked.

2198
The top of the bench front, previously fitted, rises a little above the stern framework which gives the top a slight tilt aft to its fitting in the notched stern frames.
This seems to accord with the elevation drawing on plan 5.
 
Cabin screens/partitions
These need to be assembled to use as a guide to mark the areas of the coach and bedspace for planking.

2195

2197
I used 4x1mm Box for planking which had to be placed to leave a 1mm spacing to allow the aft screen to sit down on the sub-deck. A 1mm strip was used for the purpose.

2201
Fitting the longitudinal screen between the bedspace and coach proved a little tricky. I found it necessary to trim the forward end to allow the front screen to fit and trim the bottom to allow the tab to sit lower in the deck screen slot.
I wonder if this is because the kit is designed for maple 0.8mm decking, and I’m using 1mm stuff.

2202
This is a critical area of the build and dry fitting and looking several steps ahead is essential in my opinion.
 
The parts can now be disassembled and made ready for painting and finishing.
 
B.E.
01/10/2023

The Villefranche wreck (Genoese carrack, sank 1516), also known as the Lomellina, had internal planking from the bilge up to the level of the lowest deck. It was not planked internally above that level.
 
The English Mary Rose (sank 1545) was fully planked internally

The San Juan (Basque whaling ship, sank sometime around 1550) was not internally planked
 

So it appears that not all ships in this period were internally planked. This may have been a time of transition - and it appears that the more important ships, and later ships, were fully planked inside, but not those less important or earlier in the 16th century. Your galleon is both later and more important, so I think it probably would have been planked inside.
 
Steven 

I never thought too much about the scale of those ladders until you mentioned it. They simply 'looked' good, and that's all I was going on, until now. "Now", those ladders are really starting to bug me! I might need to scratch build some new ones with proper scale dimensions and realistic steps... @#$%! This is reason #967 why I really don't want to buy any more pre-manufactured kits. In all honesty, the only thing that I have truly used, as intended, from this kit is the ridged frame that forms the hull shape of this ship model's section, which is probably not accurate either!        

Welcome to MSW George. Is this boat for the steam yacht Greta, 1895 or some other vessel and year?  In what country was she built?  Finding an appropriate motor driven ship's boat might be a bit easier with a little more information.  There are a lot of designs I found on the internet including the one below of a 30 foot boat of 1911 but it may be totally inappropriate in design.  If you have not already  contacted the folks at the the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, they may have some useful information in their archives.   https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/archive-and-library
Allan
 

It sounds like you have virtually no experience with wooden ships.   If that is the case, many folks here will attest to starting small and learning before tackling a more complex model.  It seems a major winner in that category is the three vessel series by David Antscherl available from Model Shipways.  https://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-Shipwright-3-Kit-Combo-Series_p_5465.html is one source, there may be others.  
 
You mention wanting a British ship but list Grecian which is American. 😀
 
Allan
   

She is a beautiful model! Your planking was done so well that I am sad to see paint covering your great work.   
Allan

Your work looks great to me.   I think most/all of us at MSW hope to improve with experience so you are part of a huge team of like minded enthusiasts.  
Allan

As there is no scale on the planking expansion drawing you can check the distance between station lines on each drawing near midships. If both drawings are the same scale I THINK the distance between stations would be the same.  On the profile drawing the distance between station lines is about 1.21".  What is the distance from station to station on the outer planking expansion drawing near midships?  It's a shame there is no scale on the outboard or inboard expansion drawings of the Diana.  I checked some others and found the expansion plans of the Squirrel has a scale so it was apparently not universal to include/exclude it.  
 
Allan

Your work looks great to me.   I think most/all of us at MSW hope to improve with experience so you are part of a huge team of like minded enthusiasts.  
Allan

As many others have suggested, if you have limited experience building wooden ships I would recommend you start smaller. That is not to say it is not possible to do any of the ships you listed (if you had to pick one I would suggest maybe doing speedy), but especially if the idea of rigging intimidates you, starting with a one masted ship might be better.
 
I like you when I first jumped into this wanted to do something bigger (closer to the ship of my dreams so to speak), but in the end after much reading I decided to start with a cutter. And I will be honest, I do not regret that choice in any way as the learning curve was steeper than I expected and I will be better prepared when I move on to my next model to do something more in line with what I imagined when I started this hobby.
 
With that I would recommend you take a look at either the Trial or Alert cutters from Vanguard for the following reasons:
They are solid kits with great instructions that means you won’t be fighting with the kit itself to get a good result. Though starting with something even smaller (like a fishing boat) would probably be a better idea, whatever you do needs to inspire you to some degree and so this does offer a ship with guns etc that I get the sense you seem to want. One mast means much simple rigging which will allow you to focus on it more to get the skills down. The kits have a lot of scope for improvement if you find you want to push yourself more. You don’t need to do this as you will produce a great model out of the box, but having a simpler model lets you consider adjustments as an option. This can be done in very minor ways or bigger ways. Check out Blue Ensign’s Log or mine (see my signature) if you want to see some ways you can modify the Alert kit. This can be done to a greater or lessor degree depending on your desire/skill level.