jastrząb

Thanks for showing this useful tool to do the ratlines
 
You've reached a nice outcome of your work. Nicely done.
Cheers,
Paweł

Thanks for all the likes and comments, definitely keeps one going.
 
Just a few progress pics on the ratlines.  Judging from the majority of comments, these seem to be one of the most disliked steps and maybe one of the last major hurdles for a first build (after planking, coppering, rigging carronades).  All said, I'm pleasantly surprised and actually finding this a quite enjoyable.  But lets be clear, my results are far from perfect, but passable I think.  Obviously work still to do.  Although natural line seems to be in vogue, found this a little distracting so went with black glacee thread close to the needed dimension.  Overall, pretty happy for a first effort.
 
Lessons learned for next time:
Masts and shrouds should be built and mocked up prior to identifying the line of the chains.  Not too noticeable, but my 'rough and ready' method didn't take account of the actual lie of the shrouds over the tops and resulted in some of the chains not lining up as well as could be with final shroud placement I hate to blame materials, but I suspect that aftermarket ropes would result in big visual improvements and build enjoyment vs the standard supplied stuff which never seems consistent in size, shape or 'roughness'.  My mind is absolutely made up that additional cost is probably worth it. The tops and the channels are not parallel, although it looks best (IMHO) if the ratlines are parallel to the top and the channel where they meet, its pretty simple to slightly adjust the ratlines to achieve this in between.  
4mm spare walnut strips were used to 'clamp' the shrouds and provide the correct spacing (found that sitting these on top of the knots below and tying next set on top resulted in the almost exact spacing needed.  This technique helped a lot!

 
Overhand knots were used on first and final shroud as these seemed least bulky, I just couldn't get the cow hitch to work well for me, maybe next time...Snakes's channels are mounted very high so a ratline is needed right on top of the deadeyes.  This means that deadeye lashings make most sense 'sitting' on top of the deadeyes as I've seen in a few photos of the real thing (not prettily lashed to the shroud).  I also wanted to try and get a little natural sag into these, results are proving to be mixed, but adjusting is easy once in place to try to get close to desired look.
 
 
And the current state...quite the mess with all the untrimmed ends

Analising the pics the location is visible (I have compared to my AoS). The capstan should be located there, hovever, like mentioned before - Santa Maria is like a ghost ship. We can only compare her to the ships of those times...

I'd like to see more pics of your wonderful progress

A couple of pics showing the footropes and stirrups. 
 
The stirrups are made by sewing the rope with a needle. Then they are coiled round the yard.
 
The rope that is used as a footrope has been done by myself. It looks better than the ropes from the kit ( I thinks so at least  )

It is very good. This
scale is difficult to do all the details we want to...

Well, FINALLY!!!!  Here are a couple of shots - not sure how well you can tell the difference, but first is a picture of the shrouds on the fore mast.  These are with the kit supplied thread.
 

 
This shows the shrouds on the main mast using thread from Chuck. I used the brown vs the black - think it is a better approximation for this scale.  To me, the thread looks better than the kit thread but, more importantly, it is much easier to work with!
 

 
 

A couple of pics showing the footropes and stirrups. 
 
The stirrups are made by sewing the rope with a needle. Then they are coiled round the yard.
 
The rope that is used as a footrope has been done by myself. It looks better than the ropes from the kit ( I thinks so at least  )

I agree with Kamil, it looks great with your old look.
 
Glad to see your updates.
 
 
/Matti

A couple of pics showing the footropes and stirrups. 
 
The stirrups are made by sewing the rope with a needle. Then they are coiled round the yard.
 
The rope that is used as a footrope has been done by myself. It looks better than the ropes from the kit ( I thinks so at least  )

Kamil you have done a wonderful work so far. I like the colours you've made. When you reach the cannons, make'em black. I bought in Poland (via allegro) a blackening substance. Previously, I was painting the metal parts and the outcome was so-so. 
Any questions- don't hesitate to ask and write.
Cheers,
BTW thanks for some tips in PM

Excellent colours. Well-done!

I'm going to use "the chemical forces" - I'm a chemistry teacher The results will be publishen in my building log HMS Pandora.
Previously I was painting the cannons too and the effect was "edible". I can't wait to see your painting

Hi Vivian,
 
I agree that the look of your ship is awesome. It looks like the real ship of her period. Take your time in each step. Don't do anything too fast Someone wrote that every single part should be treated as a separate model itself. It helps concentrate on details then. 
 
Keep up your good work. I will be observing your progress
 
Paweł

Hi Vivian,
 
I agree that the look of your ship is awesome. It looks like the real ship of her period. Take your time in each step. Don't do anything too fast Someone wrote that every single part should be treated as a separate model itself. It helps concentrate on details then. 
 
Keep up your good work. I will be observing your progress
 
Paweł

I see a coherent matter... My wife also asks me about the number of ships I'm going to do...

Today's progress.... I'm quite happy with the eye-spliced rope I've made. It was pretty easy using only a needle to do it. 

Grant - I have three girls, 15, 14, and 9.  I'm all about embarrassing them when I can.  I'm the crazy ex combat veteran all the neighborhood boys fear.  I like it that way.  :-)
 
- Bug

That's hysterical Eamonn!  A great plan. My middle daughter for one is obsessed with them.
 
Last nights work - display adjustments.  When I first moved into my house I built a bookshelf into the wall of the downstairs family room to accommodate the pretty large number of books and movies we have. My San Juan Nepomuceno was on display in the upstairs family room on an end table. Looked good, and people saw it when they came in the house, but it was a little obtrusive and my lovely wife wasn't super fond of it.
 

 
That led to the discussion of "What are you going to do with the Santa Maria." Then a FURTHER conversation when I started mentioning my future build of an HMS vessel - a more adamant "Well, where's THAT going to go, we don't need giant ships all over our house!"
 
So here's my solution - I converted the bookshelf to hold my builds.  The square in the center (that currently houses my Jamaican chess set (I collect chess sets - yes, I'm a nerd) will house the Santa Maria. Then, the shelves on the right will be converted later to house the future build.
 

 
I still intend to install some plexi-glass over the ship display areas, but I'm pretty happy with the temporary adjustment.  Once the future build is done I'll make necessary adjustments and finalize the entire thing and make it permanent. 

ANother set of pics. Some of them have ben made by my son (7) and I MUST place them to show you

The technique I use to form the shape of the ropes. I have a diluted glue (not CA but for wood). Maybe the steps will turn out to be helpful for some of you - but I have copied this technique from DANVAD ( thanks:) ) as I remember well

The technique I use to form the shape of the ropes. I have a diluted glue (not CA but for wood). Maybe the steps will turn out to be helpful for some of you - but I have copied this technique from DANVAD ( thanks:) ) as I remember well

Thank you for your comment Matti. The progress is rather slow because the main shrouds are really time-consuming.
Moreover, it was nice to read you liked the outlook. I will try to post more tutorial pictures, however, any comment and idead are most welcome
 
Thanks again

..just thought I'd mention it...I haven't had the opportunity to go further with it.  the cloth does go through with little problems.....no cloth jams :D

Thanks Popeye, I read about similar technique a couple of years before. It was to prepare the cloth and printer, cover the cloth previously with a chemical substance (a kind of varnish or so), secure it wit a paper frame (not to let it move) and then run the cloth through the printer. I should do something with it while constructing my HMS Pandora.