marktiedens

Thanks Greg & Pete - I should be farther along,but with the weather turning nice progress has slowed.Even with Pete`s guidance it still takes me a while to figure out all this rigging stuff. I am also a little short on eyebolts,so I need to make a few more before moving on.

Mark

A small update - the necessary blocks & wooldings have been added to the masts. More blocks & eyebolts need to be added to various parts of the decks yet before stepping the masts.

Mark

Thanks Michael.

Mark

Thanks Greg - Yes,Pete did send me a detailed description,but I opted to simplify it somewhat. I can always change it again later if I feel the need to.

Mark

Another small update - I decided to re-do the rudder chains. I removed the ropes attached to the rudder & used chains with rope pendants instead. It`s a simplified version,but I think it will do.

Mark

Update  - after a bit of a break,I finally got the bowsprit pre-rigged with the necessary blocks & sprit topmast shrouds.

Mark

Pictures are ok now.

Mark

Hi Ken - nice progress. For some reason I can`t see the pictures in post #50. Anyone else able to see them? The pictures in post #51 look fine.

Mark

Can`t speak for holly or maple,but I bleached my walnut deck planks & they came out a nice light gray & didn`t seem to hurt the wood any.

Mark

Hi Mr.Pucko - you are off to a good start. I couldn`t help but notice the templates have the gun ports parallel to the frames. I am pretty sure they should be parallel to the planking & wales. If you look at a picture of the real ship in the museum you will see what I mean. I drew some lines on your picture to show you what I mean. It seems that none of the kit makers can get things right even though they have the real ship to look at. Just an observation.

Mark

Hi Ken - before gluing the middle gun deck in place I dry fitted all the upper decks at the stern & made sure the holes for the mizzen mast lined up. Then with the mizzen mast in place I made a step for it on the lower gun deck. You can either use long strips or individual blocks for the dummy guns,whichever is easier for you. Whichever way you go,make them plenty wide & tall to give you a lot of leeway for positioning the gun ports. My middle row of gun ports is a little too low,which made everything at the bow a little off. I would say the middle gun deck could then be glued in place. Refer to Pete`s info too - he may have different thoughts than me.

Mark

Hi Ken - welcome to the Royal William club. This is a challenging build,but from the looks of your past build you should do very well. If you run into any snags,don`t hesitate to contact Pete(piratepete007). He wrote the interpretive info on Euromodel`s web site & is very helpful - been a great help to me.

Mark

Thanks Greg,much appreciated.Thanks also for everyone looking in & hitting the like button. My rigging skills are not the greatest,so we`ll see how that goes.

Mark

Hi Scott - you are doing a fine job with this kit. I built it many years ago. One thing I noticed when I built mine was the bottom row of dummy gun barrels stuck out way too far. I didn`t notice it until they were all glued in place - I should have shortened them or got shorter gun barrels. You might want to test fit them & see what you think. 

Mark

Thanks Pete - the tedious work has yet to come(rigging).

Mark

A small update - all the yards are now built. Next I will be adding the necessary blocks & ropes to the masts & yards before permanently mounting them to the ship.

Mark

Greg - no problem with the language differences. I have more problems with some of my fellow Americans who can`t write a coherent sentence.

Thanks Keith.

Mark

Thanks for your hard work Pete. I am still finishing up the yard assemblies,so it won`t be too much longer before I start the actual rigging.

Mark

Thanks Greg - although the pictures don`t show it well,there is quite a difference (cheap camera,artificial lighting,poor camera skills,etc.,etc.

Mark

Well,after spending the better part of the day applying a wash to all those gold decorations,I think there is a real improvement to them. The first picture is before & the next three are after applying the wash. They actually look better in person than my cheapo camera shows.

Mark

Thanks everyone for your opinions & suggestions - I will be heading out to the local hobby shop shortly to get some of the Vallejo washes & see how it goes. I agree that the decorations are a bit too "fresh" looking & hard to see the details.

Mark

Keith - I am still tweaking things,so a black wash is not out of the question - it can be applied at any time.

Pete - my reason for using gloss black is that glass is very reflective. I may tone it down with a coat of clear semi-gloss to see how that looks.

Mark

Well,I decided I didn`t like them either,so I pulled them off & painted the panes black. A ship in port with no sails set would probably not have the lanterns lit anyway. The liquid glass I used never did dry right & looked a bit foggy.

Mark

Hi  Michael - the lantern glass is not painted. I painted the interior of the lanterns yellow with a touch of red to try & simulate a flame & filled the panes with liquid glass. what you see through the "glass" is the painted center of the lantern. Unfortunately,it did not turn out as I hoped it would. I may still try & do something with them,though. 

Mark

Don & Greg - thanks very much! Also thanks to everyone looking in & hitting the like button.

Mark