marktiedens

Ferit, BV,
 
Thanks for your comments. Certainly appreciated. blush (;-)  --- Also thanks mates for the "likes" always a pleasure.
 
PS: Had I walked into this kit today after all that I have learned following other build logs, I would have done things differently with the hull planking as well as with the cannon framings. 
 
Well the two under my table should benefit, i guess..
 
Regards,
 
Michael

Thanks for all your likes and comments guys! It is very much appreciated. 
 
 
Not as great as PiratePete's Interpretive Info. Any prospective modeller who wants to attempt this kit is well advised to take a look there. I have read and re-read it so many times that I have almost committed it to memory. Still - this is a very large and complex kit - there is plenty of info which Pete has not included. I am hoping that if you take the sum of all our build logs and Pete's I-I it will make things much easier for others. 
 
I am very open about posting my mistakes and what I have to do to correct them. If I were to re-attempt this kit, I would do a much better job of it. Hopefully, someone else who comes along will not repeat the errors that I made, and I have made plenty. 

stunning work, its a pleasure to watch her come together

Very good information Keith for future builders of this model. Isn't this what makes this sight really great?

Well,for what it`s worth here`s what I did on mine.
 

 

 
This was built about 20 years ago so it is probably incorrect. I built it with the bowsprit centered. I put the 4 false guns in the upper openings & put lids on the lower 4. After looking at mine it doesn`t seem right - I don`t know how they would fire the lower guns without hitting the planking that curves around the front . I was pretty much a novice then so I just built it to look like the picture on the box.
 
Mark

For those who have yet to cut out the gunports, you should take note that the position of some of these gunports is absolutely critical. Not all are. 
 
Ideally, Euromodel should provide pre-cut plywood gunports, like other kit manufacturers. If they don't, they could supply a paper template - but they don't do that either. Instead, they supply plans. Whilst the plans are very good, they are a 2 dimensional representation of a 3 dimensional shape. As a result, the position of any features drawn in the plans which curves away from flat in the real ship can not be trusted. 
 
Furthermore, what most RW builders have done is trace out the plans on tracing paper, then align the tracing paper on the model to cut out the gunports. This is not reliable either. I have multiple gunports which are off by as much as 10mm - in 1/72 scale terms, this is a massive error. 
 
Fortunately, the position of most of these gunports don't matter very much. But a few of these gunports definitely matter, and I would like to draw your attention to them. 
 

 
1. The position of this gunport should be located at the end of the transom support (Parts 54/55). It abuts, but does not cross Frame 7. Because this gunport does not open, I would suggest that this gunport not be cut out until the transom support is located. Otherwise your transom support might foul the gunport opening. This is not a discovery you want to make when your second planking and wales have already been installed. Fortunately, mine were correctly cut out. 
 
2. This gunport is located immediately under the termination of the poop deck. As other posts have indicated, the length of the Euromodel supplied poop deck is incorrect when compared to the plans. Most of us have shortened the poop deck. If you do this, you will now find that the gun carriage which should be installed in this position will foul the curved staircase that should be installed. 
 
If you have an eye for this kind of detail, I invite you to look at all the pictures of Euromodel RW that you can find. You will see that this is a common mistake - a mistake that I also made. I had to fix my error by re-locating the gunport (install wood blocks, re-cut). Don't do what I did - learn from my mistake! 
 
3. The position of this gunport on the second quarter deck should be exactly one length of metal part 11184/11185. You will see from my above post that I did not realize this. Fortuitiously, on one side of the ship the position of the gunport was exactly correct. On the other side, I was off by 5mm and had to make repairs. 
 

 
4. If you locate these gunports improperly, you will not be able to install the fenders. I realized this before the second planking went on, and I had to relocate a number of gunports to accomodate the fenders. 
 
The fenders are 3mm wide. I suggest you cut a strip of 3mm wood and check that the position of your intended gunport does not foul the fender before you cut it out. 
 
Take reference from the location of the side entrance. It should abut (but not cross) Frame 1. 
 
5. If you do not take care in the location of this gunport, you will foul the cathead. Do not cut out this gunport until the location of the cathead has been determined. 
 
6 and 7. Neither of these gunports have their position accurately marked in the plans. This part of the ship curves away thus the position can not be trusted. You will note that neither of these gunports can be opened, and the position is strongly influenced by the position of the beakhead railings. I suggest you do not cut out these gunports until you have dry fitted the beakhead railings. 
 
With the rest of the gunports, you can have an error of a few mm and up to 1cm but it won't prevent you from installing any features. These are the only gunports you need to worry about. 

Hello again, mates!
 
More than an update this is a recount of something I had to do again.
 
After placing the doors in my last post, I tried to open the hole for the bowsprit to pass through.
 
This is what happened.
 
Ouch! It was a tough call, but it has to be re-done.  Fortunately, I managed to save the doors.

 
So I removed the old planking and start over.

 
I am going to shamelessly confess that this time I am cheating. I will use again the pre-scribed balsa wood that I have in hand for this job.
I am here gluing some business cards in the back for added strength.

 
Actually, it was more work trying to fit exactly this part on all four sides plus the bowsprit opening.
Here I am placing a mock bowsprit. Had to add a couple of wood pieces so the bp could make full contact with its support.

 
Fixing that fix so that it looks good.

 
Things start to look better.

 

 

 
With doors attached. Which looks better....?
 
This...

 
... or this?

 
 

 
 
Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. Badly needed!!!
 
Best regards
 
Ulises

Another update. 
 

 
Having decided to put off the transom for the time being, I am now installing the metal side decoration pieces. The lower limit of the decoration was determined by reading the plans - 1cm above the last wale. I simply took a compass, set it to 9mm, and drew a line exactly parallel to the last wale. I subtracted 1mm because the black line will be hidden under the metal decoration and I wanted some leeway. 
 
Other RW builders will note that the plans call for the side of the hull to cut exactly at the termination of the poop deck. I did not think that this would look very nice so I made sure that I had at least 1mm to play with. 
 
Each metal piece needs to be shaped to conform to the hull, with holes cut out for gunports. Initially I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel, until I found out that a pair of Xuron nippers did a much faster and neater job. It does leave a nipping mark, but this is easily cut off with a scalpel. Oh yes, the metal is soft enough to be carved with a sharp scalpel! 
 
You will also note that the side window (Euromodel part 11260) has been replaced with a scratch built window. This is necessary to let the light from the LED's through. It also looks much better than the Euromodel supplied part. 
 

 
I have completed side decorations to the area of the fo'c'sle but decided to stop for the time being while I install the beakhead. I fabricated a replacement for the Euromodel supplied part. This is Mk. 1 of the piece - I do not like the look of the archways so I removed them. I will be fabricating another replacement soon. 
 

 
Pins were soldered to the railings and holes drilled into the hull to accomodate. As you can see, the railings happily sit on the hull without any glue whatsoever. 
 

 
A cursory examination of the railings tells you how much they need to be bent to fit the beakhead. 
 

 
... and they need to be bent in three dimensions. Not going to be an easy task. 
 

 
Having determined the position of the cathead support, I proceeded to cut out a hole for the cathead. 
 
Uh-oh. 
 
As you can see, the cathead will be much too close to the first gun, and this was despite cutting out the gun position exactly as per Euromodel's plans. Here you can see me moving the position of the gunport - glue in a filler block and recut the gunport. 
 

 
While i'm at it, I also found that I cut the starboard poop deck gunport FIVE MM short compared to port! As a result, the metal decoration does not quite fit. Here you can see the repair - remove the decoration, fill in the defect with a block, then re-install the decoration. 
 
I will have some thoughts on gunport positioning in the next post. 

Ferit: Thanks for always dropping by and posting encouraging words. I have to assume, as also with most builders,  the last bits will be the flags.
 
Edwin : appreciate your visits and thoughts - Thanks
 
=======================
 
Working on rebuilding the mainmast lower platform. The one that I had started pre-building (same size as the foremast one) turns out is a bit too small. This one is easier, having struggled through the first two; now have a better grasp on how to make the small bits at a faster clip
 
MIchael
 

Cheers guys (Yes Mort, I can only imagine it getting heavier, especially with all the cannons in place as well!).  Good news, the fix to the boo-boo turned out just fine.  Lesson learned, so will be putting some protection on these delicate areas going forward. Not much to show for time but feel I need to get up to date.  Lots of sanding sessions to get a nice shape, and the weather hasn't really been cooperating.
 
 
Batten at the waterline has been installed.  Tried thinning down some 1x1mm strip to approx. .5mm thickness but found that this was just too delicate a procedure, so thinned as much as possible and it was pretty easy to take more off once installed.  Used PVA to attach which worked just fine as it develops a sufficient tack needed for this thin stuff, even in the curved areas which just required a few minutes of finger pressure.  To help with this, I temporarily attached some scrap walnut strip to act as guides.
 
Once in place, put on a single coat of wipe on poly to protect the surface and then used some walnut stain to colour below the batten.  Although this will be coppered, think its better to have a darker surface in case there are gaps between the plates.
 

 
Also started to put in place the oar and vent ports.  Each needs to be individually shaped as I think it would follow the profile of the other planking.  Getting a uniform (or as best I can) fit takes a bit of fiddling.  Captain Sterling is keeping on top of things in his new nice new uniform....
 

 
And where things stand...
 

Update
 
Foremast finished and ready for mounting to ship later on....
The blocks are all left-overs from my HMS Pegasus build
The buff color is silk-finish, resin based, called "Desert Sand" (Wüstensand)
 
Nils
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark, Michael, Kirill, and Jan,
 
Thanks for visiting and for your comments!
 
The Vasa was a fun build.
 
I am cleaning up my work room in preparation for my next project!
 
Frank

Its looking great. Neat work.

The last weeks I have finished a ship in a bottle.
 

 

Wonderful job,Frank
 
Mark

Hello!
 
Here are the last photos for this log!
I finally finished with the case.
 
Vasa attached to the case base.
 



 
Brass name plate attached to holder and screwed to base.
 


 
Vasa enclosed with plexiglass 3/16" thick
 



 
Now it is going to cost me a lot of money to have my wife buy a piece of furniture that I can put this large model on  !!
 
Thanks for visiting,
 
Frank

Thank you Martin,
 
for your nice comment on the lanterns,    
fortunately my wife always askes me before things (out of forgotten corners) get tossed away, and also its very fortunate if you have a room for yourself to bunker such things
Am looking out for your update progress on "HMS Fly"  Martin ?
Here`s a little impression what my desk looks like, without tidying up every time.....
 
Nils
 

I have built the Corel & Sergal versions. Corel`s is by far the worst - very poor cast figures,poorly shaped stern,etc.,etc. Sergal`s is quite large & better than Corel`s - all decorations are cast bronze,but many are not accurate although better than Corel`s. Both need a LOT of work to get even close to correct. For the price & accuracy it looks like the Billings kit is probably the best.
 
Mark

I have built the Corel & Sergal versions. Corel`s is by far the worst - very poor cast figures,poorly shaped stern,etc.,etc. Sergal`s is quite large & better than Corel`s - all decorations are cast bronze,but many are not accurate although better than Corel`s. Both need a LOT of work to get even close to correct. For the price & accuracy it looks like the Billings kit is probably the best.
 
Mark

I have built the Corel & Sergal versions. Corel`s is by far the worst - very poor cast figures,poorly shaped stern,etc.,etc. Sergal`s is quite large & better than Corel`s - all decorations are cast bronze,but many are not accurate although better than Corel`s. Both need a LOT of work to get even close to correct. For the price & accuracy it looks like the Billings kit is probably the best.
 
Mark

I have built the Corel & Sergal versions. Corel`s is by far the worst - very poor cast figures,poorly shaped stern,etc.,etc. Sergal`s is quite large & better than Corel`s - all decorations are cast bronze,but many are not accurate although better than Corel`s. Both need a LOT of work to get even close to correct. For the price & accuracy it looks like the Billings kit is probably the best.
 
Mark

Took a break from the coppering and decided to add some detail like the rubbing strakes, which are painted black and will be some of the few painted parts on this model.
 
 
mike

Update and a mini-practicum.
 
Hello all. A small update on working on the bow area of the ship.
 
Although I described it before in another thread, I will post again here my method of making doors. I hope someone will benefit from it.
 
Start of planking/closing this area.

 

 
Here is how I make doors.
 
Start by spreading glue on an old business card. (Go to your desk. I'm sure you will find dozens of business cards of people you don't even know who they are. Put them to good use. )

 
Now glue a line of ROUND toothpicks. Try to avoid the glue from squeezing through the sides of the toothpicks. The cleanliness of the area between them is critical. (NOTE: The photo here looks exactly the opposite to what I am trying to tell you to avoid. It is from a previous attempt. 

 
Clamp and let dry overnight. The wet card will try to bend like in the photo above. This will help to prevent that.

 
When dry, paint with flat black paint. Here I used on the left milk paint, and on the right spray paint. I did not notice any difference by using either. Important: make sure the paint goes all the way between the toothpicks.

 
When dry, sand down to about half of the toothpicks. The roundness of them will allow you to make the black line between them wider or thinner, depending on what you want.

 
Here I made an experiment: after sanding both elements to about the same depth, I re-painted the one in the right to see if there was some difference after sanding it again.

 
Here is the result. The one in the right is the re-painted one, which I like better. To me it has more "personality"

 
Now cut to size

 
Here I added frames and sanded down a bit to reduce thickness.

 

 
Here I am sanding down the "Zs" to reduce thickness.

 
Drill small holes on the wood. I put a drop of Boiled Linseed Oil on a piece of fine sandpaper. The dust will mix with the BLO and fill the holes. This will make the effect of plugs. Great for deck planking. 

 
Doors ready and in place.

 

 

 

 
Thanks for visiting!!!
 
Best regards.
Ulises

Cutting notches into the supplied blade will make the rudder not protrude from the stern post the correct distance? It will look shorter? I added timber on either side of the hinges for this reason. My two cents

Just a 'one-liner" but had to put it somewhere .... looking at the cramped height conditions surrounding the Main Deck capstan on the Royal William and thought it had to be a mistake .... the drawings showing only 1600 mm. height from deck surface to underside of Quarter Deck above ? Did some research and found military records of the time showing the average height of males during this era .... and guess what ? It was only 1600 mm or 63 inches. So 1600 mm. is a passable height after all (maybe as long as you kept your head down a bit !) Gee, the average height of males has increased over the years !!
 
Pete