marktiedens

Thanks Frank! It was a lot of work to fit all those castings,but I think it came out pretty good. It also helped that the castings are very nicely detailed. I must say,though,that it would not have turned out half as good without Pete`s (piratepete007) guidance.

Mark

A small update - decided I might as well mount the stern lanterns,so I made some side braces from some .8mm brass rod & glued them all in place. Next ,I cut & shaped all the stunsail yards. The stunsail irons were made from some brass & copper tubing & they were fitted on the stunsail yard with .8mm brass rod. I made caps for the end of the yard out of thin copper strip. They were attached at a 45 degree angle from the center of the yard I only have the fore topsail yard completed,so 3 more to go. The irons around the yard was made from black card stock.

Mark

Congratulations - & well deserved!

Mark

Thanks Greg - the yards will be painted all black. Still have a little fine tuning to do on the sling cleats. The stunsail booms will be stained walnut & not be painted.

Mark

Update - all the yards are now cut & shaped. Battens were added to the center portion of the appropriate yards,along with the cleats at the ends,& the sling cleats where needed. I found one error on the plans - the battens on the fore topmast yard were about 3mm off center,so I had to file off the previously installed battens on that yard & re-do them. All the other drawings were spot on.

Mark

Michael -  the black painted tops were a normal feature on English ships of this era. Not sure exactly why they were painted black - maybe to slow down wood rot. Those flat tops would most likely have water sitting on them from time to time. All the yards are also painted black.

  Ahh,yes,the fids - hard to see in the pictures,but they are there. The bolsters are there also.

Mark

Another update - mizzen mast is now completed. As before,all components were cut & shaped according to the plans. The mizzen mast is angled back a few degrees,so the cheeks were cut at an angle so the top would sit level.

Mark

I would say you could go either way,but you may want to set the deck in place & mark the extensions at the level of the deck first so you won`t have a dip when you lay the deck planks. In other words, the extensions should be cut off at the same level as the false deck. Hope that helps.

Mark 

I would think that the lateen yard would be semi-permanently mounted since the topsail yard braces run through blocks attached to the upper end. Also,which side of the mast would it normally be attached to - port or starboard side?

Mark

Thanks guys. Other necessary items such as blocks & wooldings will be added later,before permanently gluing them in place. I might add that the mast sections were stained with Minwax "special walnut". The larger sections were turned down with a lathe,while the smaller sections were shaped with a small hand plane,files,& sandpaper.

Mark

Another update - the main mast was built identical to the fore mast,except larger. Hard to get a good picture of it since the height is about 770mm above deck level.

Mark

Thanks Lawrence - rigging is not really my favorite thing to do,but I will do my best.

Mark

You are right about that,Pete - the main top alone is 83 separate pieces. So nice that the plan sheets are full size so the mast parts can be made directly from the plans without having to do a lot of extra math or measuring.

Mark

Thanks Greg - The picture issue is probably my fault. I will figure it out eventually(I hope).

Mark

Update - after a lot of cutting,shaping,filing,& sanding the foremast has been assembled & painted.

Mark

For some reason,all the pictures are in reverse order.

Thanks Greg . All the mast parts need to be scratch built from the supplied wood,so it`s a little slow going anyway.

Mark

Hi Greg - I have taken a bit of a break due to catching a cold a couple of weeks ago & feeling lousy. I am much better now & should be up to speed soon. I have made a little progress on the bowsprit. The dowels were tapered & shaped according to the plans,then the top was cut from the supplied 1mm plywood & planked on both sides with a 1x3mm strip glued around the outside edge.The trestle trees & cross trees were then cut & shaped to fit & glued in place. The whole top assy. was then painted black. The chainplates were made by bending some .8mm brass wire around the deadeyes & soldered shut. The lower end was flattened in a vice & holes were drilled for nails. The design of the bowsprit is a little different than I have seen before - the top is offset to one side & the jibboom goes through the top rather than under it.

Mark

I have one of those & it is great for plank bending. It was made by Aeropiccola,which is no longer in business. I wouldn`t give mine up for anything. As far as getting one,keep searching ebay or maybe a site called Craigslist. It`s a great tool - I sometimes wonder why no one has continued to make one like it. Maybe the patent for the design is still in effect.

Mark

It will be a while before I start mine - I am in the middle of another build right now.

Mark

Hi Anja - I also have this kit,so I will follow along with great interest .

Mark

Thanks Frank .

Mark

Pete - thanks so much. I could not have gotten to this point without your guidance & encouragement.                                                                

Bill - from the pictures you posted yours should end up every bit as good as anyone else`s.

Mark

Thanks Rick - the hinges you provided to me came out pretty good.

Mark

Thank you all for your nice comments & likes . As far as weight,all I have is one of those old step-on scales,but it shows about 11 pounds,which is quite heavy for a model this size. After picking it up & moving it around many times,I would say it is at least that heavy. That converts to about 5KG if my conversion chart is right.

Mark

Update - moving right along,I added some cat heads to the catheads . Then I added the staghorn cleats to the quarterdeck bulwarks. I am pretty sure the hull is now complete  except for the stern lanterns,which will be installed later .

Mark