Craigie65

good evening everyone
day 291-19
its been a couple of weeks since my last update, real life has hindered the progress, lost central heating for nearly a week, the puppy has had a operation to remove his bottom fangs, but some progress has been made i will let the photos do the talking, but i am presently working forward to aft, and every now and the i will go and tie in some more ratlines,
loving this build, and have another @chris watton kits for Christmas " the Duchess of Kingston, amongst other non maritime kits

 
 
 
 

Lower Mast Rigging
 
With only one mast to worry about, there is only a small amount of serving of ropes needed so I decided to prepare all the ropes before rigging them. I have used dark brown cotton ropes from Ropes of Scale for all this standing rigging.
First off and not included on the kit plans are the pendant tackles. I used 0.6mm rope and they are fully served with Gutermann dark brown sewing thread . They come to about 1/3 of the way down the mast. I drilled out some 5mm deadeyes for the thimbles but when the pendants were put up on the mast they looked oversized and I replace them with drilled out 3.5mm deadeyes that look more in scale.

The 5mm thimbles compared with a 3.5mm deadeye

The finished pendants of tackles using drilled out 3.5mm deadeyes
 
Next are the shrouds which I also made from 0.6mm rope. The foremost pair of shrouds are served along their whole length (in reality they were wormed and parcelled before serving) The other three pairs are served to about 8’ (scale 38mm) below the stop of the hounds.
The pendants for the running backstays are then fitted. I used 0.45mm rope and made them to be 140 mm long. I also served these pendants for 38mm below the stop.

Finally the forestay. This is 1.2mm rope served to 40mm below the mouse. An eye is made in the end of the rope The mouse is not shown on the rigging plan but I can’t see how the eye can be held in place on the rope without one. I made it from two pieces of styrene tube the smaller glued inside the larger.

The former made from 1mm and 2mm styrene tube
 
This former is wrapped in stretch fabric sport strapping which has a nice texture to simulate the cross threading. Initially I coloured the mouse in walnut wood stain which dissolved all the glue on the covering. So after I recovered it with fresh strapping, I painted it in dilute acrylic paint.

The stay in position with the pendants, shrouds and backstays
 
The mast is not fixed in place yet as, once I've got the correct length, I think it might be easier to fit the deadeyes off-model.
 
Thanks for the likes and continuing to look in
David
 

Post One hundred and eighteen
 
Thoughts about the Figure
 This seems a good time to check out the Figure.
 
The resin warrior version provided by Chris is a mini work of art, beautifully detailed and styled.

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We don’t know what Figure ‘Indy’ actually had, but the choice of a Bronze age Greek Warrior fits perfectly.
 
During the late 18thc it was practice to paint Figures in natural colours, rather garish looking in some cases.
I have been pondering how to finish the figure, and I’ve concerns that too bright a finish may clash with the more muted tones of my build.
 
I have several books on the subject, but contemporary ship models of this period with ‘painted’ figures are hard to find.
A lot of Navy board models are without figures, and for those that have them they are usually either gilded or varnished.
 
For ‘Indy’ I want to use more muted tones with reduced contrast between the shades.
How that will turn out I’ve no idea at this point, but I first need to wash and prime the figure.

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3006
I use Vallejo Surface primer which shows up the detail beautifully.
 
Before I start painting, I create a colour chart of the likely shades I will use.

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These are painted over the primer coat so I can determine the coverage required.

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Incidentally, these little lidded 3.5ml pots obtained from Amazon are ideal for paint mixing small quantities and keep it fresh for a long time.
I painted the model in life colours but aimed for a soft tone. Vallejo paints were used throughout.
 
This is the result.

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3071

3073

3074

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I think the colours tone in very well, and the figure sets off the model beautifully.
 
I am particularly pleased with the Bronze used on the metal work, and the Red for the cloak which has a dark wine colour.
The reinforced linen of the Pteruges (skirt) were painted with Dark sand, and the tassels in Ivory.
For skin tones I opted for Ochre brown with a spot of Burnt Umber added.
The shield is Hull Red with the embossed hub and rim in Bronze.
                                                                         
I had intended to apply washes and varnishes, but I’m now thinking I should quit while I’m ahead.
It is after all a figurehead on a ship not a real-life depiction as may be created for a specific model figure.
 
A pleasant diversion from recent activity, but back to the build now.
 
 
B.E.
15/12/2023
 

 

Foremast Lower Shrouds
I have continued with my work adding the lower fore shrouds and the deadeyes have now been added. The seizing still needs to be completed. I have done my best to get the shroud deadeyes to the same level and for the most part I am happy with how the shrouds are looking in that respect. There is a bit of room for adjusting the deadeye positions by adjusting the lanyards.
 
My progress has been slow as I have been taking my time with positioning each of the shroud deadeyes. The method I have been using has yielded much better results compared with some of my previous builds.

Spent the weekend sanding, filling and shaping the gun-ports and sweep-ports; this is still not finished yet, but the bulk of the rough shaping done, down to using fine filler now before getting around the painting the inner edges.  This was thirsty work! 
 
The other area I have moved onto whilst waiting for filler to harden, was looking at adding waterways at the foot of the spirketting.  The NMM sections plans show these, so I had an attempt to fashion these out of strip that I had spare.  This would have been more realistic (and easier) had I thought to add waterway first and then shaped the deck to suit, but hey-ho, better later than never.  The thin strip was sanded to put a radius on it, then glued in place at the edges.  The spirketting was obviously then going to be a little high, so careful sanding of the bottom edge ensued.  I have not fixed this permanently yet, but after a first coat of red ochre I have done a "Trial" fit, see what I did there! 
 
Thanks for looking in.

She looks absolutely fantastic in her new home and what a feature to have in any room, although it will need to be quite large. Haha You must be very proud so take a bow David.
        I will definitely be looking at alternatives to acrylic as although it is lightweight it is also very expensive. 

I have finally got Diana settled in her new home.
I was planning to make a case out of acrylic sheet but I found a local supplier of aquariums who was prepared to make a case. The cost was about the same as I could have bought the acrylic sheet so there was nothing to think about really
Jungle Pets of Buxton, Derbyshire (junglepets.co.uk) made the case in 6mm glass and delivered it a while ago but I have been waiting for a piece of furniture on which to place it. This was delivered earlier in the week.
With me in the role of supervisor, my daughter and partner – much younger, fitter and stronger than me, manoeuvred the case into position over the ship and onto the baseboard without mishap. We breathed a sigh of relief.


I guess this is really the end of the Story of Diana for me.
Thanks again to all those who have followed, commented and given advice
 
David

She is a lovely ship; excellent, clean build. The flag is very realistic, how did you do that?
You have given me the inspiration to get back on with my current build - thank you.
Looking forward to your next log. 

She is a lovely ship; excellent, clean build. The flag is very realistic, how did you do that?
You have given me the inspiration to get back on with my current build - thank you.
Looking forward to your next log. 

I always find it better to do just a little fairing of the most extreme parts before gluing in place, and then doing the main faring once the whole skeletal structure is securely in place - because the material is homogonous, sanding should be quite easy when compared to ply.

I use Rhino which is used to design ships and my background is designing and doing structural modelling for ships and some naval vessels.
I also use it to design and concept furniture.
I use it as well in my day job now in TV Film and games modelling. so yes I have a lot of experience in a professional capacity.

I us a  tool in Rhino to develop non developable plates and shapes that are not able to be "unrolled"  you may know them as ruled surfaces, but Rhino has tools called squish and smash which do it and allow for stretch and compression.
its good enough to use in ship plates productions so....

https://docs.mcneel.com/rhino/5/help/en-us/commands/squish.htm
If you look at my SS Tamahine build which is assembled and made the exact same way you can see the fits and the developed inverted stern parts fitted.
 
Below is Tamahine note stern wrap part on bench, the curved part.
 

Fitted

On the TEV Wahine which is my personal project which is 4.3m long the plates are also developed with the same tool
See below, the most advanced structure I will ever do .



 
 

Thank you all for the likes and @Blue Ensign @dunnock @DaveBaxt @mugje @DB789 @Dave_E @RossR and others for your encouragement, it means a lot. 
 
Something slightly out of sequence today from the instructions, while I have been building the hull I have also been working on the 3-Pounder Guns and 12-Pounder Carronades, as some thing different to do while waiting for various stages of the hull to dry; be it glue, filler or paint!
 
Here is a sequence of pictures of how I built up the ordinance.  As I was flitting between these and going back to the hull I did treat them as separate assembly stages, starting with assembling the Carronades, then the more numerous carriage guns.  The printed barrels needed little attention, a rub with a stiff old brush to remove some tiny fibres and drilling the opening just a little to provide deeper holes for looks.  These were then painted in flat black, washed in grubby "gunmetal" then dry brushed again in flat black to make them look more like metal.  Chris is right they do need painting even though the resin is black, the fines detailing is almost transparent.
 
I did go a bit off-piste with the wheel and axles.  Not wanting square axle ends I substituted the ends with some dowel, these were then drilled for a wire axle pin.  The ends of the axles were then wrapped in black card to simulate iron bands.
 
Other detailing I added was a bed for the quoin and the quoin itself got a handle of sorts added (lead shot), which was then painted brown.  More eyebolts were added, but not sure if I am going to fully rig these little guns as the tackle might look too much for this size armament.  I added split rings cut from tiny chain for the Cap Square hinge bolt and the Cotter pin chains; the chains themselves were actually just black thread, I don't have any ultra fine chain to hand, but think they look okay.
 
Back to the hull now and for breaks from that I might jump to the hatches and gratings. Thanks for looking in.
 
 

A little update:
 
I am still very busy, and have just completed another batch of Sphinx laser cut parts. After that was complete, I moved onto the new cannon and carriages (including carronades), which I am almost finished laser cutting and 3-d printing. I will paste the full list of cannon and carronades I will offer below - the carronades are now sold in pairs, instead of singles.
 
Once these are done, I need to produce more Indy stuff, as we are now getting very short of some parts. And after that, I can finally produce my laser cut part for my little kits, so I can get those prototype models finished. I have already completed all of the plans for them, but cannot continue until I have cut the prototype laser cut parts.
 
Here is the full list for cannon and carronades I now offer (I am still waiting for the PE for the early 12 pounder carronade, which will be back in stock as soon as the sheets arrive):
 
New and updates cannon and carriage kits - Cap Square now integrated with carriage sides
All Sets are priced per pair and all 1:64th Scale. Laser cut pear and 3-D printed barrels
Armstrong 3-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 24mm) - £4.20
Armstrong 4-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 29mm) - £4.40
Blomefield 4-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 29mm) - £4.40
Armstrong 6 pounder, 6 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 34.4mm) - £5.00
Armstrong 6 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 39mm) - £5.30
Blomefield 6-Pounder, 6 feet length (Barrel overall length – 31.4mm) - £5.00
Blomefield 6-Pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 38.5mm) - £5.30
Armstrong 9 pounder, 7 feet length (Barrel overall length – 37.2mm) - £5.80
Armstrong 9 pounder, 8 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 44.4mm) - £6.00
Blomefield 9-Pounder, 7 feet length (Barrel overall length – 36.5mm) - £5.80
Blomefield 9-Pounder, 8 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 43.6mm) - £6.00
Armstrong 12 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 40mm) - £8.30
Armstrong 12 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47.2mm) - £9.00
Blomefield 12 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 39.1mm) - £8.30
Blomefield 12 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 46.25mm) - £9.00
Armstrong 18 pounder, 8 feet length (Barrel overall length – 42mm) - £8.30
Armstrong 18 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47.8mm) - £9.00
Blomefield 18 pounder, 8 feet length (Barrel overall length – 41.8mm) - £8.30
Blomefield 18 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 46.6mm) - £9.00
Armstrong 24 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 50.6mm) - £11.00
Blomefield 24 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47mm) - £10.50
Blomefield 24 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 49.3mm) - £11.00
Armstrong 32 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 51.2mm) - £12.50
 
 
New Carronade kits (includes 3-d Printed wheels) Now sold in pairs and all to 1:64th Scale
Laser cut pear and 3-D printed barrels and wheels
Carronade – 12-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 18mm) - £7.00
Carronade – 18-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 20.5mm) £7.50
Carronade – 24-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 22.5mm) £8.00
Carronade – 32-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 24.8mm) £8.50
Carronade – 42-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 27.3mm) £9.00

Thank you to all for the likes and encouraging comments, they're much appreciated.
 
Topmast
I looked at the kit plan, Lees and Steel and decided that my topmast would be based on a mizen topmast with square block and heeling. Whether it’s historically accurate or not I don’t know but I like the way it looks. The use of stop cleats at the head may be a simplification for the kit and looked a little too fragile to me, so I will make octagonal hounds.
 
Because I am making a square heeling, the provided 6mm dowel is too small. I used 8mm and cut a square block and heel using chisel and file, initially to 6mm and then reduced the heel to 5mm and the fore and aft sides of the block to 4mm to fit the hole in the crosstrees. The heeling is 12mm: twice the length of the block. The hounds are 5mm long and were first filed 5mm square then finished octagonal after tapering the mast in the lathe.



 
A sheathe is cut fore and aft in the hounds and the fid-hole drilled out and made square.

The round hole in the cap needs to be sanded out to allow the cap to sit at the correct angle on the mast.

The cap and topmast are not glued and will be disassembled for rigging

Trial as she sits now. 
 
 

Foreyard
It took quite a bit of time to add the various blocks to the foreyard. It is important to ensure the block holes are correctly positioned and orientated on the foreyard, in readiness for the rigging stage later on in the build process, as they are added.
 
After the all the blocks had been secured to the foreyard I turned my attention to the truss pendant rigging. I started the process by creating a thimble to one end of each truss pendant. The truss pendants were then secured to the foreyard.
 
The final task was to add the footropes. Thankfully this turned out to be a relatively straight forward task. I started by creating the loops either side of the foreyard mid point. The footropes were then passed through the footrope stirrups. I then made a loop each end which were placed over the end of the foreyard and positioned just before the end cleats. The two end loops were then slowly tighten up until I was happy with how they footropes looked.
 
I have added a selection of photos of the completed foreyard. Before securing the foreyard to the foreyard I will add the lower fore shrouds to the foremast.

I lied!
 
I did add Clews, sheets and tacks for the square sail yards! I didn't mean to, must have got carried away....
I did mean to leave them off completely...
 

Foreyard Stunsail Boom
I had been pondering where to fit the stunsail boom in relation to the foreyard. I had an inking should not be positioned directly above the foreyard but was not 100% sure. With many thanks to @allanyed who confirmed that the stunsail boom should be rotated forward by approx 45 degrees for ships built after 1773. I used Allan's information to set the position of the yard irons, as can be seen below.

Block Fitted to Foreyard
Before moving on to adding the various blocks to the foreyard I decided to do a bit of research to try to understand their purposes and to check the required rigging lines from Chris’s excellent rigging plans. There are quite a few blocks to seize and fit, as detailed in the ensuing text.
 
Sling Thimble
A loop is wrapped around the central point of the foreyard with a thimble positioned on top. This is used to hold the foreyard in place once it has been hoisted into position using the jeer block and tackle. This thimble is linked to a second thimble which is wrapped around the foremast end cap. To create the sling a length of 0.25mm black thread was double wrapped around the thimble and seized (10 upper and lower half hitch knots) with 0.1mm black thread. The excess thread ends were trimmed to leave the required sling which is ready to be secured to the foreyard.

 
Jeers
Two double blocks are located on the foreyard, each situated either side of the foremast. These will be linked to triple blocks which are wrapped around the mast (above the platform) and hang down below the platform. These blocks are used to hoist the foreyard into position.
 
A length of 0.25mm black thread was wrapped around each jeer block and was seized with 0.1mm black thread.
 
According to Longridge’s book, reference Plan No.8 (page 213) two loops are added to each jeer block which are then tied together to secure these blocks to the foreyard. I will secure the jeer blocks to the yard either using a simple clove hitch knot or a reef (square) knot.

 
Fore Topsail Sheet and Yard Lifts
Blocks and tackles are used to hoist the sail up from the deck  using the clewlines which are attached to the outer corners (clews) of the sail. Once the sails have been hoisted up from the deck they can be tied to the yards.
 
A double block arrangement is fitted to each end of the foreyard. The inner larger block is used for the topsail yard clewlines and the outer block is used for the yard lifts.
 
Clewlines, taken from the fore topsail yard, are fed through the inner end blocks, and are then fed from through additional blocks on the foreyard situated beneath the jeer blocks and are then belayed to the bitts.
 
Yard lifts are used to adjust the foreyard position in the vertical axis, in conjunction with blocks fitted around the mast cap. The outer blocks are used for the yard lifts.
 
To create the double block arrangement a length of 0.25mm black thread is wrapped around the outer smaller block and seized with 0.1mm black thread (4 lower and 4 upper half hitch knots). The two free ends are then wrapped around the second larger block and seized with 0.1mm black thread (10 lower and 10 upper half hitch knots). The correct method for securing these double blocks to the foreyard should be via linked loops (as per the jeer blocks) but I will use a simple clove hitch or reef knot.
 
Seizing the outer block.

The second block held in position, using my guadhands, as is ready be seized.

The completed double block arrangement.

 
Foreyard Tackle
The yard tackles are used to allow the yards to be used as cranes. They can be stowed, when not in use and they hang down from the foreyard when in use. They are located at either end of the foreyard and each tackle comprises a double block arrangement. Chris’s plan sheets shows both rigging options so it will be left to the builder to configure either way.
 
The double block will be created as per the topsail / yard lift double blocks with the addition of a thimble. These will be attached to the foreyard with a flying lead with either clove hitch or reef knots. The flying leads will be secured to the blocks via the thimble.
 
This is a photo of how the double block should look which I did replicate.

The block arrangement, complete with the flying lead seized.

 
Foreyard Braces
The braces operate as a pair of lines used to rotate the foreyard around the mast, either to port or starboard, to allow the ship to sail at different angles to the wind. They are located at each end of a foreyard. Once seized the blocks will be secured to the foreyard via clove hitch or reef knots.
 
Bunt and Leech Blocks
There are two blocks per side for the bunt lines. There is one block side for the leech lines. The bunt and leech lines are used to lift the middle and outer edge sections from the deck.
 
These are simple blocks to seize and will be secured to the foreyard with clove hitch or reef knots. Each block will be wrapped with 0.1mm black thread and seized using black fly tying thread. In the photo below the blue arrow shows the bunt lines and the yellow arrow indicated the leech line, which could be secured to the mid point or bottom corner (orange arrows).

 
Fore Sail Tack
The clue line starts on the foreyard and is taken down to the fore sail tack block arrangement and then feeds through the clew line blocks located on the foreyard before being taken down to the deck level. The clew line blocks will be wrapped with 0.25mm black thread and seized with 0.1mm black thread and then secured to the foreyard with clove hitch or reef knots.
 
Blocks ready to be added
After a fun day seizing all the blocks are now ready to be added to the foreyard. I have stopped work for the day as the light is starting to fade.

All the shrouds set up. Catharpins done. Now death by a thousand knots.
 

Thoughts On Adding Foreyard to Foremast
As mentioned in a previous post I think it might be easier to secure the foreyard to the foremast before the stays and shrouds are rigged. The reasoning behind this is for ease of access and I know @ECK has done this with his Indy build. 

I plan to add the threads for the burton pendant, shrouds and stays to the mast before I add the mast cap but I will not rig the other ends so they can be kept out of the way whilst I rig the yard jeers, sling, truss pendants and nave lines.
 
To help me fully understand the yard rigging process I have made the following notes. It has very interesting to work out the function of the various aspects of hoisting and securing a yard to the mast.
 
Jeers
The yards are hoisted up into position using the jeer block and tackles. Two double blocks are located on the yards, each situated either side of the mast. Two more triple blocks are seized to the figure of 8 wrapping around the mast (above the platform) and they hang down, so they are positioned below the platform but above the yards position. The rigging between these blocks then allows the yard to be lifted up in position. Once in position the free end(s) are belayed.
 
Slings
Once the yards have been raised to the required height, using the jeers, they are then supported by a sling arrangement. A loop is wrapped around the central point of the yard with a thimble. A second longer loop is wrapped around the mast cap with a thimble on the end. The two loops are then linked together with thread, via their respective thimbles.
 
Truss Pendants
Once the yard has been hoisted, using the jeer block and tackles, and held in place with the sling, truss pendant are used to keep the yard in place with the mast. The truss pendant comprises two parts, with each part located either side of the mast. Each pendant is a loop tied around the yard with a thimble on one end. With the yard in position the other end of each pendant is placed behind the mast and is then feed through the other pendants thimble before they are belayed to the deck via a block and tackle arrangement.
 
Nave Line
The nave line is used to hold the truss pendants in place. The nave block is located on the underside of the platform, centrally on the rear crosstree. The thread that passes through the nave block has a thimble on one end and the other end is belayed to the deck. A length of thread is passed through the thimble and each end is then secured to the truss pendants.
 
More Thoughts And Progress on Rigging
I have been doing a little bit more on some rigging and testing bits and pieces on the foremast and I thought I would this section of this post with some information regarding the seizing threads I like to use.
 
Seizing Blocks
When seizing blocks I use different threads, depending on the block and / or rigging thread size. For most 3mm and 4mm blocks I normally use Semperfli 18/0 spyder thread (black, white or beige).

For larger rigging thread and / or blocks I normally use Gutterman thread CA02776 (COL722 and COL000), which is akin to 0.1mm thread.

 
Foremast Top Section
When looking at the following photo in Longridge’s book I noted there is a curved section added to the top of the mast cap. I decided to add this feature to my Indy build. I also noted the figure of 8 wrapping required which the jeer blocks are seized to.

I simply cut a slice from a dowel and then added the groves for the lifts and sling rigging. The curved block top does need to be painted black.
 I then made the slings and lifts rigging which were then very loosely test fitted in the slots. Sorry the photo is out of focus.

 
The lift blocks will be secured to the cap using the lashing method as shown in Fig 174 (Longridge). I tested this method in the following photo (blue arrow). The yellow arrow in the photo shows the sling test test fitted. The free end of the sling thread has been fed through the eyelet on the other end of the thread but I will seized once the yard has been fitted so the sling's thimble can be set to the required height above the yard. I have also added the figure of 8 wrapping around the top of the foremast (orange arrow). I then threaded the two triple jeer block threads in place. I have not seized the jeer blocks threads to the wrapping as this will be done once the foreyard has been added so I can ensure they set to the right height above the yard.

I am about to start the manufacturing process of the lower foreyard which should keep me busy for a few days, noting my wife and I will looking after our 2 year grandson this weekend so I'm not expecting to spend any time in the shipyard.

Don’t know if this helps, but in the AOTS for Diana this is labelled as the sheer line 

Foremast Channel Chainplates
I have now added the various deadeyes, strops and chain plates to both foremast channels. I am reasonably happy with how these have turned out. I did use a diluted mixture comprising 50% wood filler / 50% titebond to fill some of the small gaps between the channel and hull.
 

 
 

Main mast shrouds done. Lining up nicely with the chains
 

A bit dusty and in need of a wee bit of maintenance

Foremast Work and Yard Lifts
I have spent a bit more time working on the foremast. It was pointed out to me by @davyboy that the top of the lower foremast which located in the mast cap should be square and not round to be historically accurate. This is also shown in Figure 96 (page 166) of  C Nepean Longridge's excellent book The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships. But as @chris watton pointed out most kits, for ease of building, show them as round, as once they're secured in the mast cap and painted black, it really doesn't matter as they're not seen at all. I concur with Chris's point of view.
 
I have now added the platform rail assembly to the lower platform.

The unpainted cleat in the photo below has now been painted black.

Next I added the foremast channel to the hull. After the channel was pinned and glued in place I added the 5 supporting knees. After chemically blackening the strops and chainplate parts I inserted the various deadeye in to their respective strops which have been pushed in place on the channel. I normally add the eyebolts to the channel during the rigging process, as I find it is sometimes easier to add the rigging to these eyebolts before they are installed.

How I Made the Yard Lifts
This next part of this post is the method I used to make to yard lifts which will be added to the mast cap. The yard lifts consists of 2 x 5mm single blocks secured to a single length of 0.25mm black thread. Each 5mm block also requires an eyelet (thimble). I started with a length of 0.25mm black thread which I wrapped around a metal pin, as shown in the photo below. I am using my quad hands to hold the thread and pin in place.

Using some 0.1mm black thread I added the seizing to create the loop. The seizing consisted of a series of half hitch knots, three lower and three upper. A touch of ca glue was used to stiffen the thimble before it was removed from the metal pin. I am not that worried about the fluffy thread as it will not be visible once added to the foremast.

A 5mm single block was then held in the quad hand and the thread was wrapped around the block, ready for the seizing process.

Using 10 lower and 10 upper half hitch knots the block was seized with 0.1mm black thread.
From a previous test I required a distance of 110mm between the blocks, therefore it was a case of setting the distance and wrapping the thread around the metal pin again to form the second thimble.

Once again I used 3 lower and 3 upper half hitch knots to create the thimble. The seizing was done using 0.1mm black thread and the thimble loop was stiffened with ca glue before it was released from the metal pin.

The second 5mm single block was then placed in the quad hands, so it could be seized with 0.1mm black thread.

The seizing, once again, consisted of 10 lower and 10 upper half hitch knots. The end result was a length of black thread with two 5mm single blocks seized at each end, each complete with a thimble.

Thank you all very much for the encouragement and likes.  Update today just on the seemingly never ending rounds of filling, sanding , primer, paint, repeat!  Nearly there I think, just the odd remaining blemish to sort before the final base coat, prior to pre-shading the planking for a more interesting final appearance (I'm not after a uniform monotone white finish.)
Thought I would share some pictures of the stages I've been going through.  I just used a rattle can DIY grey primer initially, followed by an initial rub down with medium sandpaper to see what a layer of paint showed up - nothing like a layer of paint to point out your lack of woodworking skills!  I have then being using water-based plastic putty that can be thinned down to get into all the little imperfections, flat down, rub and repeat!  As the surface gets better I then start to use fine wire wool; this doesn't tend to "ball-up" paint layers as easily, then some old blu-roll paper towel to really bring out a shine to go hunting for flaws again holding the hull up to a light source.
Work is going to get in the way this week, so might not be much more progress until the weekend.
 
Thanks again for following along.