piratepete007

.... and Brian, Because of what I did (and what you will do), the hole generated for the bowsprit seating does not need to go right down to the bulkhead - just enough to secure the mast. Pete

Brian, That is exactly what I did - planking first and then the bowsprit but either way it would not be a problem. Vince is to be commended for his attention to detail. The only real indication of the bowsprit seating comes in Plan Sheet 8 which is intended for the finer detail of scratch building. Just a matter of interpretation.

'Red Mahogany' I can definitely tell you that the second planking supplied by Euromodel is walnut - 'European Walnut' comes in a variety of colours. A common complaint with mahogany (and there are many different colours for that as well) is that it is so brittle. It would be most unsuitable for second planking and I doubt that Euromodel, given their excellent record on quality control, would have supplied that by mistake. I sent them a query and they do not generally keep strips of mahogany in stock. On occasions, they DO include a few pieces of mahogany but that is only for carving and definitely not as strips. I did obtain some 0.5 x 2 mm. strips of mahogany last year and even after soaking in ammonia solution for three days, it was still brittle. Strips of mahogany are something I keep away from. Pete

Currently building Euromodel's Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde and before going too far with the Main Deck, I have decided to look at the two ship's boats - a barge and a cutter. My first dilemma is whether to use them at all in the sense that if cannons are projecting out through the hull, then the ship is in a state of readiness for battle in which case these boats would be and being towed behind. Too pedantic ? Probably ? The kit supplies two plastic boats - the thick material is actually so easy to carve and that is a plus. My main question is about finish. I know the purists would construct the complete boat from scratch and the boats I have seen are generally presented in their natural wood state. But if I shortcut and use the plastic, what colour (s) could I use ? One good example is the provisioning launch from the HMS Victory at Portsmouth which is painted 'white' with a black gunwale. So my intention at this stage is to replicate this colour combination but preserve the natural timber of the frames, boards etc that will go inside these supplied hulls. Well .... that depends on what comments come from this thread !!!!! Look forward to some guidance here before I go too far ! Pete

I have been building the Royal William along with the La Renommee and posting my results on the Euromodel website. Vince P has started a build log for the Royal William and already his contributions have prompted some serious re-writing for my earlier comments on that ship. Fantastic to have somebody doing the same thing I have done and then be able to incorporate those ideas into my work.[ Entirely non-commercial if anyone asks, I just do it for fun] If we get a few more doing the same build, then we will finish up with a great document. Ponto - I have done a fair amount on the LaRenommee, a beautiful French frigate and would love some support in this area. Pete

To Vince and others who may build a Euromodel kit. I have started on many of the Euromodel kits (as I have said before as a voluntary, non-financial and fun thing, run their Helpdesk from South Australia and so I have to keep darting from ship build to ship build to answer questions) but am currently working on the Friederich Wilhelm zu Pferde which is a German frigate. By the way, have a look at their web site under Customer assistance to see what I have written. Here is a point to keep in mind when building any of their kits. Most kits are a two plank system - first plank and then a second plank. Euromodel kits are very detailed and the bulwarks above deck tend to be thicker than the first plank plus an inner and outer layer of second plank so on the Friedrich I used a double first planking followed by the inner and outer second planking. The resulting thickness gives a far better appearance, is sturdier (less inclined to warp) and much easier to work with. This is not to suggest that the thinner planking is unsuitable but just that if you go to a little extra trouble, the result can be so much better. That is the very essence of their kits - there is just so much of your own thing you can put into their builds. To Vince in particular - you could easily follow this variation with the RW build. To somebody else (could not find the posting), Euromodel do supply cloth for the sails with excellent drawings as well. Pete

Avsjerome2003 and Brian C - I read that you are working on the Falmouth and Royal William respectively .... these are two of my 'current' builds so I would be very interested to know how far you have progressed and compare that with my work. Our discussions could then maybe assist others. Pete

Mike - as you know, this is my current construction and more than any other Euromodel build, it has dragged me further into a quasi scratch build using some supplemental material which I did not have to use but could not help myself. An absolutely fascinating experience to extend past a straight kit build. Pete

Mark - New Year resolution is to shift over to the Royal William for a few months but my experience with building the Wilhelm zu Pferde has taught me so much that I fear I may have to make a better approach with the Royal William. Stay tuned.. Nigel - do you have the Mordaunt kit ? I had a look at the metal castings for the transom components and essentially what you see in the drawings is what you add to the build. The transom/ stern is simply covered by the metal parts and is one of the easiest of all the Euromodel builds. The Royal William transom is a gigantic jigsaw but the only mistake people make with that is that they assume the various metal components are the wrong shape. BIG mistake !! The Wilhelm zu Pferde I had to carve a rider on a horseback and so the list goes on. The Mordaunt transom is very easy. Have I answered your question ? Have attached a drawing for others to view. Keith Julier's books - he wrote a build for the Royal William AND for the French frigate La Renommee, both of which are from Euromodel. His books are another excellent tool but like my own works, should only be considered as a guide and not prescriptive. To 'follow the leader' is to destroy the intent of the Euromodel philosophy. Pete

Amfibius - and others. There are indeed seven build logs on the Euromodel website under 'Customer Assistance', all in various states of build. I have labeled them as 'Interpretive Manuals' because I am building them as I see them being built. Where else can you find such detailed plans for a kit whose plans drag you from a standard kit build and into the realms of quasi scratch build (if you want to) ? Rather than assembling a straightforward kit, these products absolutely stretch the imagination in a delightful way ! So for a number of years I have been posting this material onto their website but how I can dissect this up into small pieces for a build log on the MSW site, I am not sure. Believe me that this done for the sheer pleasure of doing something ! Piratepete

Hello Shipmates, EUROMODEL HELP DESK - without going into the reasons behind why I am running this info desk from South Australia for Euromodel, let me assure all and sundry that the work is purely non-commercial, non-financial and I just do it for fun ! I am currently building all of their ships but how far I get depends on who asks me what !!! So specifically, I am flat-out on the Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde (a German frigate) at the moment and so far have published six parts - text and photos - on the Euromodel website under 'Customer Assistance'. Have a look at it since it contains many ideas applicable to all their ships. Free to download. Purely my own ideas on how to put this ship together but at least it is a guide but definitely not an instruction manual. I would not dare to presume to tell others how to build these ships as the detail in these plans is incredible. I also read somewhere in this thread a query about sails. Euromodel DOES include cloth and detailed drawings for sails. I am easy to contact through the Helpdesk on the Euromodel website so look forward to hearing from anybody. My apologies for not posting on the MSW as I am too wrapped up in creating these manuals .... but I will try to mend my ways. Piratepete007 (actually Peter)

Hi Folks, I had a query regarding finding my build logs - they are located on the Euromodel webpage using the link 'Customer Assistance' and then going to the 'Resource' and 'Interpretive Files' They are all in pdf format and there for the free downloading. Pete

Hi David, I have been reading your thoughts about looking for your next challenge in ship building. I have posted a similar comment on MSW before but here goes. I purchased a kit directly from Euromodel and grappled with what I mistakenly thought was a problem. Their plans were SO impressive with incredible detail that it gave me some concerns to start with as I was used to copying exactly what was in kit drawings and replicating exactly what was shown. I started with their Royal William and began a comprehensive build log. So delighted were they, that they sent me another five kits to work on ! So for the last four years, I have been posting build logs on the Euromodel website for six different models. The posting is gradual for all ships and currently after all this time I am now re-writing all this material. The text provides alternative approaches and is supplemented with many photos. I have no financial connection or anything to gain from all of this but the incredible thing about these kits is that you start off with a 'kit build' and then find yourself readily drawn into a 'quasi scratch' build. The kit provides the basics but their online shop readily supplies additional material if needed. The company has proved to be vey responsive and reliable. In summary, they fill the gap beautifully between a straight kit build and a full scratch build. Hopefully, this post may encourage you to visit their website to see what I have done and what they have to offer.