dvm27

One completed keel assembly.

Still needs finish applied, I may opt just to use sanding sealer.  I'm not a huge fan of wipe-on poly.
 
Everything pretty much fell together once things were tweaked just a bit.  

Couple of things...
Be very careful with the knee of the head, I sneezed and broke one. When trimming the apron blocks, be sure to use a very sharp blade and very small slivers, as I chucked a couple I popped the first frame out of it's sprues (and yes I think USPS played football with my box, as most everything was detached).  I'm going to look like Popeye after sanding all the char off these frames.
 
I need to probably tackle putting the build board together before I get to far ahead of myself.

Shawn

Terrific start. If you haven't downloaded the instructions from our website http://chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://admiraltymodels.homestead.com/Echo_cross-section_framing_instructions.pdf
please do so. They're free but not sure how long the website will remain there.

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

Thanks guys...There are a lot of things I could work on next but I am eager to get the decks planked.   So next up I will make all the coaming and gratings down the center line so I can plank around them.   Once that is done I will add the waterway and start on the fun bits.   It should come together rather quickly once I plank the decks.  A quick look at sheet 5 still being tweaked which has all of those details.   
 
 

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

Lovely job on those fixed blocks Chuck. Cutting them in-situ would be stressful for most of us!
 
Are the sills of the sweep ports to be left natural or painted red as well?

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

Hi, and thanks ☺️
 
 

I did a variety of things over the last week.  I built the jib outhaul block (shown in the painfully enlarged photo below . . . warts and all, haha).  Mike (stuntflyer) has an excellent tutorial for that on his Cheerful build, so I followed that.  I then made a card stock mock up of the starboard side seat.  I used the card stock templates as a pattern to cut out the parts.  As others have said this is a bit finicky.  I have a feeling the second one will be more of a challenge as I try to get it to match the first.
 
I spent some time this week reading ahead in Chuck's monograph chapters to get a list of the last little bits I need to finish the build.  I ordered some Albion Alloys brass tube.  I also messaged Chuck, Mike, and Glenn (glbarlow) with questions about the thread type/size/color they used with Chuck's scale rope for seizing and serving.  Today I went on a region wide road trip to fly fishing shops and fabric stores.  Most of my dark brown rope is Chuck's old style rope, other than the .012" new Ultra for rat lines (so I don't need thread for seizing or serving the brown Ultra rope).  My tan rope is a mix of his old rope and the new Ultra rope.  These tan colors are close enough in shade to mix on the model, but I wanted thread for seizing that matched each shade.  The photos below are color corrected to be as close to accurate as I could possibly get the images.  The Gutermann thread is for most serving and seizing.  The smaller diameter UNI-Thread fly tying thread is for tiny serving and seizing.
 
Here's what I came up with based on what I could find locally.
Using with Syren old brown rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 593 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Dark Brown
Using with Syren old tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 512 - UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
Using with Syren new Ultra tan rope - Gutermann 50wt CA02776 Polyester thread Color 509 - also UNI-Thread 72D 8/0W Tan
 
Also, as Chuck had answered, the thread he uses for seizing and serving his new Ultra rope is as follows (I researched what actual size/diameter it is in wt and tex).
Ultra Brown rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 682 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
Ultra Tan rope - Gutermann Mara 150 50wt/20Tex  Color 263 or for smaller uses Mara 220 77wt/13Tex
This is hard to find in the US, so Chuck recommended this place: https://www.williamgee.co.uk/product-tag/mara/
 
Erik
 

Hi All, 
 
About to start the Syren Speedwell build. I have received the chapter 1 and 2 parts and have gone through them all - the quality is great. As this is my very first ship build I will be taking it fairly slowly and will be learning from the other excellent builds on this forum. Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated ! 
 
I have already assembled the build board from 25mm thick MDF and have glued x2 50x25mm strips to the underside of the board lengthways, along with a series of smaller strips across the width between the 2 long pieces. Hopefully this ensures the board does not warp. The plan I have had printed and have secured to the board using 3M mount spray aligning using a centre line on the board as reference. 
 

 

Well the move was completed after our new home was built on Oak Island.
The new model workshop/office is far smaller than my previous one at only 13x13 but I’m using shelving and other things to maximize space which is ongoing.
Winchelsea is now waiting for me to start Chapter 7 on the Quarter Deck hopefully in the next couple of weeks as soon as I find all the parts!

I have a Sherline Lathe with a milling column.  It is a well made machine. I am glad that I bought it.  The milling column fitted with Sherline’s sensitive drilling attachment is by far the best way to drill small holes with wire sized drills.  Sherline seems to have learned from the old Lionel electric train company as they also sell an endless variety of accessories.
 
Sherline lathes have one feature that I don’t like.  The usual way to turn a taper is by offsetting the tail stock, and then turning the part between centers.  The Sherline tail stock cannot be offset.  Sherline overcomes this problem by advising users to rotate the headstock.  In normal usage, the headstock is rigidly keyed to to the lathe’s bed with a spline.  With the headstock rotated, the spline must be removed and the headstock/bed joint relies on friction alone.  I have found that this is not sufficient to accept the side forces from taper turning. Sherline does offer an accessory cross slide that will supposedly turn tapers.
 
Roger

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

Alan,
 
During the process of building a fully framed model I occasionally arrived at a place where the stress overwhelmed the fun of doing a hobby. At those times I took a break to work on other projects. Sometimes for a week, sometimes longer but  when I came back to it the stress was gone and the work improved.

Like the rug in the classic movie "The Big Lebowski" it ties the whole thing together.  Such a beautiful model!

What a difference some paint makes.   Bulwarks are painted however as usual, I will be applying many more thin coats over the next few weeks as I progress.   
 
Before and after...
 

 

The masts for the United States are done. Now I will "dress" them. Which means eye bolts and cleats where needed and slings, blocks for the stays. And of course finish painting them!

We've all been there Johann! At least, hopefully, you can reuse all the fittings you've made. I'll wager these took a lot longer than fabricating the yard.

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

Lovely job on those fixed blocks Chuck. Cutting them in-situ would be stressful for most of us!
 
Are the sills of the sweep ports to be left natural or painted red as well?

Love your approach to the swivel hardware.
 
I hope your model ends up in one of the prestigious European competitions. It has Gold Medal written all over it.

Hello,
because today the summer ended we had here the last weeks and it rained again the whole day, I was busy at the yard. 
This is cutter No. 3 and I think now it works. The handles are a little too bulky, but when they are slimmer they would break. The spooks have a Ø of 1,6 mm!


Now are only 17+ spooks left

It looks like an older kit.
 
Model Shipways just released a new version of their Prince de Neufchatel kit.
 
Also, if you have the books Search For Speed Under Sail and The History of American Sailing Ships by Howard I Chapelle, the plans of the Prince de Neufchatel are complete enough to build a model.
 
Those are what I used to build mine.
 
It came out quite nicely and was my first scratch build.