egkb

Hi Just finished tapering masts, spars and jib booms. used many methods including proxxon lathe but found using a David plane and hand sanding to round the easiest for me. disappointed with the quality of the birch dowel some of which tore badly and as a result have had to raid my Bounty kit for additional dowel which I will replace later.
 
Now i have to start the hard part of attaching blocks and deadeyes after painting and assembling the masts but all enjoyable.
 
Sorry about the quality of the pictures

I have finally plucked up the courage to post pictures of my 'Convulsion' which I have been working on since early in the year but took a break in the summer due to work, gardening and DIY. I have virtually finished the hull and deck fittings with only the anchors, pumps (which will be fitted post rigging, and bowsprit to complete. 
 
I would like to thank all those contributors to MSW both 1 & 2 who provided the inspiration for the hobby and also the tips & techniques to enable me to get as far as I have.
 
My first problem was that the false keel was twisted but this was overcome by wetting the wood and clamping it to a solid piece of flat oak for a week to straighten it out. It took a while to be brave enough to properly fair the bulkheads but once planking was started the need was readily understood. Overall I was pleased with the planking but too much filler led to the decision to paint the hull white and then the rest of the wood with walnut paint.
 
For the deck caulking I used a permanent marker on one edge of each plank, I think the effect is okay. The trickiest issue were the deadeyes and chainplates because I had got the wales too low. I will make my own chainplates and deadeye strops in future. Started off trying to paint the brass fittings but now use brass black again not a bad result but find most of the blackening comes off on my hands. I was too reliant on CA but more latterly have got to grips with pining and using titebond which provides much wore strength. 
 
Some of my work particularly at the start has been clumsy but the more I do the more I understand the value of reading other modeller's build logs. I wish I had drilled the holes for the deck rings earlier and taken more time to drill the hawser holes which are a bit of a mess.
 
The biggest problem is working out how to take decent and focussed pictures - not sure they  are that good but hopefully show her off so far. Tried as advised not to use a flash so the pitctures are a bit dark - as I wiork all day I can only take them at night and lighting in the shipyard is not the best for photography and is surrounded by dark furniture and the Admiral's shoes (I think she must be related to Imelda Marcos)
 
Best tools I purchased are the dremel multi tool, and a magnifying light - even used it to thread the Admiral's needles this evening so a tick in the box for me.
 
Happy to receive any constructive feedback.
 
Glyn
 
 

Hi Guys,
 
OK I think I've got the problem sorted so this is a sort of trial test.
 
1st pictures are of the served ropes around the Main Mast Head
 
2nd are of the shrouds with loose lanyards
 
3rd Lanyards are tied tight
 
4th the Catherpins are fixed in position
 
This is where the fun begins. They are all coming in as thumbnails but at least they are on the screen.
 
Any comments, suggestions or remarks are more than welcome, I can take it.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

75% completed the stern steps, driven me to book an appointment at the opticians, wait for the glue to set - then will ensure they are all level
   

Excellent progress today!
 
Glued the crosstree assemblies onto the fore and main masts and replaced the shrouds that I had previously removed. Rethreaded all of the shroud lanyards and just need to seize the ends around the shrouds. I'm pretty much back to where I was before the accident. After that it's back to finishing off the ratlines again. Never thought I'd be glad to be back to ratlines....!

These are those little things that make you happy to follow a build !
Great job on the sheaves Bob !
 

A very small change of plan. I decided to do the scuppers and bulwark sheaves, before moving to the inner bulwark drilling. Like on many other things  on this build, scale has caused me to simulate these items. 
 
The scuppers were drilled from both sides and do not connect, although I tried to position them as closely as possible to direct lines. I also did not use tubing, but merely painted them with Floquil graphite to represent the lead liners. The painting was done with a toothpick.
 
The sheaves are also "fakes", consisting of two drilled holes with the space between them deeply scribed to represent the sheave.The scribed line was blackened using an ultra fine marker.
 
Bob
 
 

I am doing a bit of painting when I get the chance but what with the drying time etc........
Also The Admiral is taking quite a bit of my time
It will get done soon I hope
There's just not that much time left free at the moment

Hi John,
 
To answer your question mate, I am currently working the shipyard at the moment. I had to wait for some 1.3 rope so that I can continue with the shrouds on the Main Mast, that rope has dually arrived so work goes on.
 
I have now made all the main shrouds and placed them on the mast but I haven't fitted the lanyards yet, that will be done today, depending on how I get on I will also fit the Catherpins and futtock shrouds.
 
It has been slow going mate what with the holidays and Grandparent duties but I should be able to speed up a little now were almost back to normal.
 
I will post some pics later today.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

This update will cover the cap rail.
 
I obtained a 1/16" sheet of basswood and copied one side from the plans. using a digital caliper to check the width I drafted the second line using a compass.
 

 
I rough cut the shape using my scroll saw.
 

 
final shaping used a table sander for the outer edge and the dremal sander for the inner curve. You can see my rigged vacuum. I try to be diligent about running a vacuum when sanding. First of all, I work in the sunroom and need to control that sort of thing since it is part of the house. Second, who wants to breath that stuff?
 

 
finally ended up with:
 

 
Now came the interesting part. I decided to attempt the 1/16 x 1/16 edge to the cap rail with a beaded finish per Chuck's note about advanced builders. ( I am not an advanced builder by any means but figured I should at least try.) After a couple of false starts I decided on a very simple approach that turned out to be surprising effective.
I used a divider, opened at half the width of the piece to score the center of the wood going ... very... VERY gently. The I alternated between a dental pick and sanding stick. I went over the edges lightly to give them the outside curves and then use folded sandpaper that I kept slightly opened with my finger in the center of it, to model the inner curves from the scored line. I have to emphasize that I have never worked with so light a touch. I am amazed that my ham handed grip was able to accomplish it.
 

 
This shot is before dusting and painting. Whenever possible I paint before adding to the ship. I use an airbrush which I think leaves the really fine details showing without paint build up obscuring it. Its just easier to do a little touch up later as required. anyway, I could not get the beading to show well once painted. It is noticeable when viewing the actual ship and I think it adds a really nice touch of realism.
 

 
finally mounted on the ship with glue. One of the nice things about using wood laundry clips is that you can cut the tips to shape in order to clamp in some difficult spots. (and they are cheap.)
 

 
Touching up black parts has become a lot easier once I have found this stain in a felt tip pen. It is almost unnoticeable once it dries.
 

 
I am glad I tried the beading and believe that I will attempt most of Chuck's hints for advanced builders. Heck, how else will I learn?
 
We'll see if I still feel that way after trying to joggle the deck planks
 
A happy new year to all.
Richard

Thank you very much for the information. I enjoy it very much. Thanks again.

used Wikki to explain one of the todays events   Siege of Cattaro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia     Siege of Cattaro Part of the Napoleonic Wars
View of Cattaro (present day Kotor) from the castle of St. John Date 14 October 1813 – 3 January 1814 Location Cattaro, Illyrian Provinces, Adriatic Sea,
(present-day Kotor, Montenegro) Result Anglo-Montenegrin victory[1] Belligerents  United Kingdom
 Montenegro
 Kingdom of Sicily  French Empire Commanders and leaders  William Hoste
 Petar I  Jean-Joseph Gauthier Strength 800 Marines, soldiers & sailors
One 38 gun fifth rate
One 18 gun Brig
3 gunboats 600 men[2] Casualties and losses 20 casualties All captured [hide] v t e Adriatic campaign
of 1807–1814   Timeline of the Adriatic campaign Lissa 29 November 1811 Pirano Cattaro Ragusa The Siege of Cattaro was fought between a British Royal Naval detachment and Montenegrin forces under Captain William Hoste, John Harper and Petar I Petrović-Njegoš respectively and the French garrison under command of Jean-Joseph Gauthier of the mountain fortress of Cattaro. The siege lasted from 14 October 1813 to 3 January 1814 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars when the French surrendered.[1] The engagement was fought in the Adriatic Sea for possession of the important fortress of Cattaro.
 
Background[edit]For more details on this topic, see Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814. The Northern walls of the Cattaro fortress Captain William Hoste who famously ordered guns to be hauled up the mountain to besiege Cattaro Cattaro had belonged belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro, by 1797 they passed to the Habsburg Monarchy with the Treaty of Campo Formio. In 1805, Kotor was assigned to the French Empire's client state, the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy by the Treaty of Pressburg, but occupied by Russian troops under Dmitry Senyavin until they left after the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807. Three years later it was incorporated into the French Empire's Illyrian Provinces. Austria declared war on France in August 1813 and by the Autumn the Royal Navyenjoyed unopposed domination over the Adriatic sea. Working in conjunction with the Austrian armies now invading the Illyrian Provinces and Northern Italy, Rear Admiral Thomas Fremantle's ships were able to rapidly transport British and Austrian troops from one point to another, forcing the surrender of the strategic ports, Zara for example had been liberated in December.[3]
Meanwhile Royal Naval Captain William Hoste with his ship HMS Bacchante (38 guns) and a brig-sloop HMS Saracen (18-guns), under Captain John Harper had been given orders for the swift expulsion of the French in the region.[4] They took part in an attack that seized the islands of Hvar and Brač and moved along the coast. Cattaro was next on the target for the British; a body of Montenegrin troops under Petar I Petrović-Njegoš a popular spiritual and military leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the Petrović dynasty had surrounded the place. Saracen arrived first just outside Cattaro Bay but it was impossible to sail direct to the main fortress so Harper called on the local inhabitants to tow her along the rocky shore for 3 miles. Hoste in Bacchante arrived soon after with three Sicilian gunboats carrying fifty soldiers and assumed command. The British and Sicilians forced the passage between Herceg Novi and Fort Rosa and secured an anchorage some three miles inside the outer bay. [5]:141
Blockade and Siege[edit]On the evening of the 14th Harper left with two gunboats, the launch and barge of Bacchante and the boats of Saracaen entered the inner bay where he was fired on from the Island of St George. Afterwards heading four miles towards Cattaro he found four gunboats in a state of revolt and took possession of them. He then landed at various places where the local inhabitants were arming themselves against the French and collected volunteer crews for his new captures.[2]
At Perast Hoste found that the locals had taken possession of a French fort with 3 guns which they placed at his disposal, hoisting the English and Austrian colours. At 6am he used these guns, those of his gunboats and the newly acquired gunboats to bombard the island of St. George. Then within 15 minutes the Royal marines and the Sicilians under Captain Harper attacked, captured the island and the French had been driven from their guns and had offered to capitulate. The prize gunboats each had a long 24-pounder in the bow and two of them carried a 12-pounder carronade.[2][5]:137
By now only the main fortress of Cattaro was left and Hoste, Harper and his assortment of allies; British, Croats, Montenegrins and Sicilians surrounded the area. With the help of Montenegrins and the Pro Austrian natives of the liberated Bay of Kotor shores, Hoste found himself in an unpleasant position between the Montenegrins and their support on one hand, and the pro-Austrian population who were unwilling to submit themselves to Montenegrin domination on the other. Hoste made sure of his neutrality and the main objective was the defeat of the French in the region. He knew that politics would eventually play a role if and when the area was under allied control. He also had to make sure that by satisfying the British commissioner in the region Lord Aberdeen that the Austrians were the ones to end up with the spoils.[4] Hoste meanwhile had been ordered to attack elsewhere leaving Harper with the Saracan in charge. Hoste in the next month helped to take Split with troops of the 35th Foot and for the next month a hard blockade was made on Cattaro and the hope of the arrival of Austrian troops. Bad weather had not helped the situation, Hoste after capturing Cavtat further North soon returned to the bay but found no Austrian troops.[5]:137
By early December the local French commander, General Gauthier, had retired to Fort St. John with 600 men.[2] This fort lay on the side of the hill protecting the Western side of the fortified town of Cattaro. Hoste and Harper both agreed that use of the local armed populace would make do for the final stages of the siege. Preparations were made to put batteries all around Cattaro which meant using the top of the hill of St John as a primary position right above the fortress itself. Hoste and Harper ordered the difficult task of scattering batteries down the forbidding slopes of the Cattaro hills using block and tackle. In an "unmilitary manner" after 3 weeks of great exertion by Bachannte and Saracaens seamen in continuous rain an 18-pounder was hoisted to the summit on 23 December, a height of nearly 3,000 feet.[6] Meanwhile Bacchante and the rest of her crew mounted further pieces of ordnance; two batteries of 18 and 32-pounders were added. Hoste despite being ill personally helped the men get the equipment up the slopes of the mountain but further North and South respectively of the fort and the main battery on the slope.[2]
Medal commemorating HMS Bachannte'sbombardment of Cattaro 1814 On Christmas Day once all guns were in position and good weather had returned Hoste ordered the commencement of the bombardment. Fire was opened up from four different points with the 18 pounder above the St John fortress being particularly effective. Saracan and Bacchante were kept out of range by the forts guns until the bombardment started and opened up all they had. Hoste on the 2nd ordered Harper to lead a surprise night time assault. This was not necessary however as on 3 January 1814, when Harper was about to lead an assault, Gauthier offered to surrender. After ten days of shelling and no hope of relief the French surrendered to Hoste under honorable conditions and the British and Montenegrins took control of the fort and the town.[7] After a ten-day siege, the French garrison had no alternative and surrendered on 5 January 1814.[4][7]
Aftermath[edit]The loss on the British, amounting to only one seaman killed, and Lieutenant of marines slightly wounded. In the course of the twenty-day siege, Hoste had counted on the support of Austrian infantry which failed to show up. Hoste signed the articles of capitulation and the remaining French and Italian troops marched out in surrender, after which British troops marched in along with the Montenegrins. Hoste gave the town to the Montenegrin commission under Peter which aggravated Lord Aberdeen but Hoste argued that he had no choice in the matter.[8][citation needed]
Hoste with Bacchante and Saracen after a short rest and recuperation left Cattaro to sail to the fortress of Ragusa where they laid siege to the place in a very similar manner to Cattaro and on the 28th it surrendered.[5]:141 By the end of March all towns and cities had surrendered to the British or the allied rebels that had risen in revolt, leaving the Adriatic in complete allied control with the exception of Corfu. Cattaro was restored to the Habsburg Monarchy of the Austrian Empire by the Congress of Vienna.[9]

Yes, don't worry guys, as I said i want to scratch build the ports.
 
I trialed many fake tree nails before biting the bullet and I'm happy with result... 0.6mm holes, darkened up the natural putty with cedar.. They look more subtle in real life.
 
From what I can gather about tree nails is.. They really are a just representation of something, it is no use making them the same color or even close to the same color as you will not see them, but you want them dark enough to show up.. Its a happy medium thing. Just be sure you trial them with your chosen varnish as this obviously changes the putty color completely.. 
 
My best tip would be to varnish before drilling and puttying tree nail holes.. It firms up the timbers fibres and you get a neater hole, plus the putty doesn't get all in your grain and caulking..   Ollie
 

Crosstree assemblies are now complete. They're not perfect but i'm very happy with how they have turned out. I just need to paint both assemblies and then glue back onto the fore and main mast.
 
Getting there......

Probably best to wait on the new wood.  I know it's hard.  Any other parts of the build you can work on in the meanwhile??
 
Good hearing from you.

Quite pleased with myself! The scratch building is going pretty well so far.
 
Made two of the crosstrees. First cut pieces of 2mm x 15mm walnut to rough size, I then used a file to file the angled ends and then the notches to size.
 

 
The trestletrees were a little more complex. Fortunately, I was able to rescue a single piece from the wreckage and use this as a template.
 

 
I cut several pieces of walnut to approximate size and then pinned the trestletree to a piece.
 

 
I was then able to cut and shave the wood to shape using the template. Managed to complete three successfully so far. Two more required.
 

 
 
 
 

Quick update, here is where I'm at with sails and rigging so far. This one is a bit more complicated so I'm taking a break from it for a day or so to study the plan sheet more and pictures of others work on this kit.
 

 

 

Thank you very much, guys.
 
Alfons, the area is to big for painting so I'll use my airbrush.
 
Well, time for a little update. Some more rows on and time for planking the keel.
 

 
 
Again I started with the bulb area covering using 3mm stripes
 

 

 
 
The rest was planked with the 5mm stripes
 

 

 

 
 

Thanks for the compliments guys..  After looking at various logs and pictures I have decided to do tree nail..
 
I have chosen a Natural color as it was the lightest and i like "Cabots" Brand.  It shows up a bit darker than decking, blends in from a distance but nice up close..  The left hand run of single plugs are 0.8mm holes and i think this suits...     Regards Ollie
 

Or the 0.5 you showed previously also looks good, Ollie - have you tried the small holes with the filler?
 
John

Oh and Happy New Year too Eamonn.

Hi Sjors - no, there is no platform on the mizzen mast, the mizzen mast seems quite 'stunted' compared to larger ship rigged vessels.  The mizzen cross tree is about the same size as the crosstrees on the main and fore top masts.
 
Here is a picture of the deadeyes but not yet tightened fully, please tell me if I've done something wrong.  I first put the shrouds around the mast and then looped around the deadeyes before seizing them.  As is the shrouds looks taught, but I'm not sure how taught these need to be - the .75mm line seems much stronger than the masts at this scale and I'm worried I'd break something if they needed to be much tighter.  
 

Cheers Mobbsie and all the 'likes'.
 
Think I'm officially into the rigging stage.  Mizzen mast stepped and the shrouds in installed.  I'm going to wait to finish 'tightening' these until later.  Found the method of getting the 3.5mm deadeyes into the shrouds at the correct height very fiddly, after many choice words found that using 2 pieces of wire in the holes worked better for me (rather than a single one as called out in the instructions) as this provided some more stability.  Hopefully the 5mm deadeyes will be a little easier.
 
Theres quite a stack of shrouds around the mast which is quite pleasing, glad that these were served.  Following Andy's advice the Burton pendants were 'painted' with quite a bit of dilute PVA and then weighted so that they followed a more natural, less gravity defying line.
 
A belated Happy New Year to everyone!!
 

Thanks Tom and Jeff.. Back into it..  I have done about another 4 hours on various tasks...  I have finished deck planking, felt good putting that last plank in even though it was the trickiest.. .Very happy with result and i have to thank those who helped me..
 
I ended up with some with black from the pencil going into grain of some planking but i actually don't mind the effect...
I have scraped flat, sanded and satin clear coated, (still wet in some photos so looks glossy)
 
I also tried some tree- nailing with wooden tooth picks on my trial deck..  interesting how dark they come up after finishing... (because its end grain)
 
One trial is 1mm holes and other is 0.5 mm.. I would like them a bit lighter.. Will get some putty and other tooth picks tomorrow.. Still deciding.... will try more techniques.. Also showing my jig for cutting deck planks,, worked well, always square and good for trimming..  Ollie
 
 
 
 

Thanks Eamonn, work on this build is coming along nicely and could possibly be finished by late this evening if all goes well. I have the sails finished besides adding the reef lines yet after that I'll be starting on the rigging work. I'll post an update with pictures a little later.