cdrusn89

Head Timbers - what fun. Given my previous less than successful use of rubber cement I decided to try another approach. I located where the provided head timber template would locate the forward two timbers and added a .032 phosphor-bronze pin there. Then I drilled .032" holes in the center of each head timber and used these to locate the head timbers while trying to get them to fit under the head rails. I fitted the port side aft timber and then the starboard side aft because it just made life much easier with only one variable (the height of one side of one head timber) to change during each of what was probably several dozen "fittings. With one side of one timber finished I moved to the other side of that timber, another few dozen fittings then rinse and repeat for the forward timbers. One word of caution - with the beveling and notching of the timbers they become somewhat fragile. Probably why Chuck included three sets of each. Anyway, I finally deviated from the instructions and cut the notches before I did the beveling. To cut the notches I followed the instructions to get the "line" of the notch across the edge of the timber and then tried to line that up in the vise so that I was cutting as close to vertically through the timber as the size of the piece and the configuration of my vise would allow. This made it easier (for me) to keep cutting down the notch on both sides. I used a very fine flat needle file cutting on the file edge which was very close to the notch width. The picture above is of the after head timber as my photos of the others being filed did not turn out as well as I had hoped. So here is the forward head timber after the notches were cut but before the beveling. I have all three sets of timbers fitted (pending one final review) and in the "paint shop" so should have them ready for "installation" shortly.

JJ - sign me up as an admirer. I have two Vanguard models (Speedy and Sphinx) lined up behind Winnie but would work Portland in as soon as it is available.

Thanks JJ - yes, down to all the "fun" head rails and such. Happy New Year to you as well. I got the head rails assembled per the instructions- since I have both the Cherry and AYC materials I put both sets together even though I plan on using the Cherry - the AYC was "practice". Once they head rails were assembled, char removed and thinned per the instructions I tried fitting them to the hull. It took a bit of "fiddling" with the forward end to get them to fit at the stem and I removed part of the fancy molding but eventually I got both sides to "sit" in position. However, it was not clear to me that I could get them to return to a consistent position while fitting the head beams. The instructions suggest using rubber glue but my previous experience with it was not confidence building so I though I would try something else. I carefully measured where the rail fit against the cat heads and drilled a .032" hole in the back side of each head rail and put a small piece of .032" phosphor-bronze wire in the holes. I used phosphor-bronze because it needs to be bent so the head rail will stay parallel to the hull. Then I estimated where that wire would intersect the cat head and drilled a corresponding hole there. Hopefully this will allow me to repeatedly place the head rails in position as I adjust the head beams. I used by height measuring device to check that both rails were (more or less) in the same position on each side. Here is what they look like head on. Hopefully the slight difference in where they appear to be relative to the hull planking is either caused by the photo optics or will not be noticeable when all the other rails and items are added. It would appear that I did not get both sides of the hair brackets exactly aligned but there isn't much I can do about that now. Should have taken this photo months ago.

Thanks Frank - a Merry Christmas to you as well. Watching your Winnie come together makes me want to start all over again although I doubt I could approach your level of craftsmanship.

Frank, This looks fantastic! Having just completed Chapter 11 and the swivel gun supports now might be a good time to chisel out the molding where they are located. Don't ask me how I know but doing it with the railings and deadeyes installed can lead to unwanted consequences.

Deck beams completed and long boat in place (just sitting there at the moment). May need to adjust the long boat position aft some and add a support on the after most deck beam. But that is for "later". Now I fixed the railing on top of the starboard q-gallery, added the swivel cannon supports on the starboard side and the newel post and railing. That about wraps up Chapter 11. On to Chapter 12 after Christmas.

I must have missed the section where the railing around the main passageway was installed. Unlike the two previous railings I used 1/16X1/16 boxwood for these rather than the 3/32X3/32. It is hard (for me) to tell the difference but the small ones are probably more in scale. I used the Dremel to fashion the stanchions as before but bearing in mind the smaller cross section I was conscious not to use too much pressure and let the file do the cutting. Getting four that were nearly identical was no easier - I think I made 10 before I had four that were close to identical. I drilled #72 (.025") holes in the center of the bottom and all the way through the upper square cross-section on all four and then a hole perpendicular to the first one but not all the way through on two stanchions. I threaded a piece of .025" phosphor-bronze wire into the center hole in the bottom of all four stanchions and the through holes on the pair with two sets of holes - these will be the stanchions parallel to the opening. I drilled a #72 hole in the hatch coaming on the forward side of the hatch and set the two forward stanchions in place. I adjusted the location of the stanchions to get them vertical and then used a drop of thin CA to hold them in place. In the photo above you can see the installed set and the two that will form the sides of the railing I used a similar procedure to mount the other two stanchions but first adjusted the wire so that it was just short of touching the forward stanchion. When I had the stanchion glued in I very carefully slide the wire so it engaged the hole and used a drop of thin CA to secure the wire to the stanchion. Above is the port side stanchion in place. And here are all four with the excess wire trimmed off but not yet painted. Before I added the wire I should have used some 320 or 400 sandpaper and gotten the "shine" off the wire; hopefully without bending it. It is hard to get the paint to stick to the shiny wire - but it can be done. Something to remember for the next model. And here is the "finished product". You will have to take my word that the stanchions line up. I will remove the cover board after I get the waist deck beams installed as that will be the final items before moving on the Chapter 12 and fun and games with the heads rails, etc.

For some reason that I cannot recall I decided early on to include a ship's boat on the deck on my model. I already have the long boat built (from the Model Expo 18th Century Long Boat kit) but now need to add the deck beams that will carry it. Luckily the drawings show these deck beams so I did not have to guess where they went. I had extra cherry deck beams since I used both cherry and AYC deck beams. So I carefully laid two pieces of masking tape on the workbench and marked where the beams should go according to the drawing and where the aft end of the walkway planking should be.. I used a small square to make sure the lines were perpendicular to the tape. I put the tape on the walkway and had to move one side just a little bit (like 1 mm) so that they "looked" perpendicular to the centerline. Here are the beams just sitting on the walkway. I am going to drill a small (.025") hole in the walk way where the beam centers are and use black laser board to simulate the "crutch" that holds the beams above the walkway as shown on the drawing. I have the holes in the starboard side done now. Port side next. Oh, and I fixed the railing on the port q-gallery save some WoP. On this side the vertical pieces were still intact, just had to clean things up, add the very tender center pieces and the top rail. On the starboard side everything but the lower rail is "gone". Will require a bit more effort.

Port side Chapter 11 completed - swivel gun stanchions and newel posts and fancy railing. I will not add the actual swivel guns until everything else is complete. Too easy to snag one while working elsewhere. I decided to dispense with four of the swivel guns, the two aft of the foremast shrouds and the two in the stern. So this model will only have four swivel guns on each side. Captains choice. FYI - while working on the newel post and railing I broke the forward most deadeye - again. This time I had to replace the entire assembly. Not nearly as easy with the channel already attached to the hull but I managed. Luckily I still had a few extra deadeyes already assembled, tumbled and WoPed. Next on this side is to "fix" the railing atop the quarter gallery. I do not believe there is any more work that will endanger these rather delicate structures - but I have thought that before.

Channels, deadeyes and chainplates completed on port side. Added the gangways and decking to both sides then added the last eight cannon amidships. And yes the decking on the port side has a dip near the center. Hopefully I can "fix" this without having to redo the entire piece but if it comes to that so be it. I also upgraded the lighting in the new workshop (aka the "office" on the plans) so I can actually see what I am doing. Girlfriend offered me sunscreen when she saw it for the first time. Here are the gangways and cannon. A word of caution (don't ask me how I know this); the deadeyes are kinda fragile and can be broken off without much effort while cutting the molding for the swivel gun stands or similar task near the channels. A drop of medium CA can reattach the deadeye but depending on exactly what failed the chainplate may also require "mending".

For the port side I decided to prepare all the channels with the deadeyes and chainplates before gluing the channel to the hull. I will also check the channel alignment with the associated gun port to make sure the chainplates do not interfere. A lesson learned from the starboard side where I cut out the fancy molding based on the drawing. I also put a drop of thin CA on each deadeye to keep them in the correct orientation and attached to the channel while I attach the chainplates. Another lesson learned from the starboard side - the deadeyes (some at least) would fall out of the channel when I was maneuvering it around to get the chainplates attached. A word of caution though - once the deadeye is glued into the channel and it gets broken off somehow (don't ask me how I know this) getting the remnants of the strop out of the channel can be challenging. A very fine set of needle files comes in very handy. Anyway where the port side channels with deadeye ready for chainplate assembly.

Starboard side billboard installed. On to the port side after some workbench clean up and material restowing - also need to fix the qdeck railing where it was damaged during the mizzen channel installation.

Looks really nice Frank. A level of craftmanship we can all aspire to.

Starboard side forward chesstree, eyebolts, channels, deadeyes and chainplates completed. Need to add the billboard (WoP is drying) and then on to the port side. FYI, not trusting myself with a paintbrush in the confined spaces I used a Sharpie to blacken the heads of the brass nails. Some took two "coats" but still easier (IMHO) than trying to paint them.

Thanks Chuck - new workshop is working okay, at least for now. Starboard main channels, deadeyes and chainplates completed.

I also got the boarding "ladder" and the fenders installed. I have not yet got the molding between the fenders replaced. I used two different profiles for the upper and lower fancy moldings and can't find any scraps of the lower so will have to make some more. I originally used frieze on copy paper on the fenders and the top step but it seemed to "stand-out too much. It drew my eye to that feature rather than seeing the "whole ship". After some trial and error I finally managed to print the frieze on some silk span that I had from my days making sails. It seems pretty close to the "tissue paper" mentioned in the monograph. Of course some of the ink jet ink leaks through the silk span so you not get as opaque a frieze as with regular copy paper. It turns out IMHO that the silk span's reduced level of opaqueness helps the fenders to blend in with the frieze behind it. Will work on the chesstrees after I finish the main channels/chainplates.

Starboard side mizzen channels and deadeyes complete. Word to wise, do not cut out the fancy molding based on the drawing alone- don't ask me how I know but it is possible that your model and the drawings do not match exactly. The middle two deadeyes on the mizzen channel should fall on either side of the gun port below. I had to move the channel forward about 1/8" to make that a reality. Otherwise the there will be no place to attach one of the chainplates. I should have moved mine over another little bit to get the chainplates on each side to be more or less vertical. The forward one has to angle forward to clear the gun port. I will be more careful on the port side. And yes I see that the qdeck railing has come adrift - was trying to make a jig to hold the mizzen stool in position while glue dried - used medium CA instead of PVA but still managed to damage the railing in the attempt,

After much hemming and hawing using stain, dye and WoP I finally decided to go with the natural finish deadeyes. Getting the vinyl strops was more of a struggle than I had imagined, especially for the 6mm ones (somewhat counter-intuitive since they are the larger). Luckily I had two sets of the vinyl hardware so the fact that I broke 15 or so of the strops trying to get them around the deadeye was not a complete disaster. Anyway here they are ready for installation on the channels.

I used the Syren "you assemble them" deadeyes in the suggested 65 and 6mm sizes. I also used the "block shaper" to "take the edge off. Unfortunately the block shaper does not remove the "bridge" between the outer shell and the inner piece. See photo below: And this is one of the "better" examples. I decided that since one side will be against the channel I only had to remove this on the upper side to avoid having the strop rise above the surface of the deadeye at the top where in would be the most noticeable. So I used a very small needle file to remove the bridge on the upper side of the dead eye (the side with two eyes). Now that I have done all that it occurs to me that one way to avoid this "extra" work would be to cut the upper side of the connector on the carrier sheet of the center layer before gluing the three carrier sheets of deadeye layers together. Okay, maybe next time. The monograph says that the deadeyes were "dyed" brown. Chuck says to use fiebings leather dye, medium brown. I will have to acquire some but in the meantime I tried stain. In the photo below there are two examples of each stain I have in my "stain locker". The upper row (left to right) is two using walnut and two cherry - the bottom row is two unstained and two honey. The walnut might work if the leather dye turns out to be "too hard" - Chuck warned that it will dye anything it touches.

Frank, Thank you and I hope your and your family have a safe and joyous holiday seasoI will be back to the Winnie when my holiday guests go home - which is tomorrow..

While waiting for the turkey to cook I started working Chapter 11. I started by assembling the 5mm deadeyes while I await delivery of the Scotch Spray Mount Artist's adhesive for the channel assembly. As it turns out I needed another set of the 6mm ones to have some spares and I decided to order the cherry material for chapter 11 as I may decide to do the channels in cherry for some additional contrast. I will likely assemble both the cherry and boxwood (or maybe they are AYC) channels and then decide which to use. I need to go baste the turkey so that this will be as far as I get today - food and football to follow.

It took longer than I had thought (doesn't everything?) but I have finally gotten at least the inside portion of the workshop relocated. I will really miss the 400 sq ft dedicated workshop I had at the old house but once I get a part of the garage climate controlled I think this will work out. The plan is to have the power tools (Sander, table saw, etc.) in the garage to keep the dust and debris level down in the house. I also am moving the wood storage to the garage so there will probably be more trips to the garage then before but I really need the exercise - while moving is stressful, eating as a stress reliever has its drawbacks. Having seen what others have for work spaces I am grateful to be able to devote this much space to model shipbuilding.

I think this is the end of Chapter 10 - and not a moment too soon. I have decided to not plank over the "Great Cabin" as I am still considering adding some furniture there. All I have been able to find in 1/48 scale is doll house items some of which (table and chairs) may be "okay" but everything else I have found is either plastic or not the sort of thing you would find in this space. Last post until sometime later this year after I get a workable arrangement in the new house to allow me to finish this job; and hopefully start a new project not related to painting or otherwise laboring on the new house.

Thanks Fred - yes quite the "nerve shredder" although with closing on Tuesday I believe everything that needed to be done is done or is "well in hand".

The "fleet" is in! I had to move most of the model collection out of their display cases in preparation for the upcoming move to new (to me) house. Hopefully they will be out of harms way here in the workshop when the movers come. They will be transported one-by-one (it is only 8 miles) once the new house is "settled" or at least the display cabinets are back in place as settled is probably a 2024 "event". I got the fancy molding completed on the port side, including that side of the stern transom molding absent some MORE touch-up painting - does it ever end? Hopefully the starboard side today and the six fairleads tomorrow and some more touch up painting. Then Chapter ten is done and I am off to Europe for two weeks and moving to the new house. FYI - as you can see in the picture above the quarter gallery railing did not survive the fancy railing's installation as well as one might hope. I delayed installing the q-gallery roofs until well after Chapter three (when they were installed in the monograph) but clearly not long enough. The starboard side is in worse shape so they will have to be dealt with during the Chapter eleven and twelve work.