glbarlow

Too bad Crafty Sailor went out of business, they had nice ones.

Well let’s see; extensive use of plastic, horribly out of scale belay pins, cheap cheap blocks, overt copying of your deck locking design among other things I’m sure, walnut walnut, cheap looking transom, definitely threatened by your best in class instruction manual, and at 58” long (20” more than Winchelsea) who needs it. I bet they didn’t pay Cold Play for digital music rights. On the upside for some, lots of little toy figures to paint. It is a nice video, maybe you and James make one handholding your phones😂 Congratulations, you’ve reached the point where large companies are copying your work. I’m so proud to know you. Now, do you need my address to send the first copy of a quality version of Surprise. I may fly over and pick it up, may be cheaper than shipping 😁

Well I am old school 😁. Appreciate the clarification.

I understand the the thought and the limitations but I still prefer wood. Stropping blocks is a pain, but it’s part of the process for me. Now it there was a way to eliminate laser char I’m all in😁

I hope you’ll reconsider not continuing to share as you have always done. I think the majority of us enjoy watching the development process. On the other hand there is no need for the designer to respond or justify every decision based on awkward and unnecessary commentary from the many arm chair experts about. A simple “this is my decision and direction, thank you for your comment,” then ignore it and move on. Your sharing as you do is in part what makes Vanguard special. Doesn’t mean every comment deserves or requires a response.

Best wishes to you and your wife Glenn

Mast Assembly The plans for Flirt are well designed, mast assembly is simply a matter of following them. No real instructions aside from the plans are needed, nonetheless Chris and James provide nice photos and a few hints in the manual for referral and maybe a little positive affirmation. I couldn’t add anything so I didn’t repeat them here. The real challenge is getting three masts with their accompanying platforms stacked up in a straight and level line. That takes some patience, time, and a great deal of care in the fitting. The laser level is invaluable for this process. I glued and leveled each mast one level at a time from bottom up, waiting for the glue to set before the next was added. While I used CA in some of the subassembly, I used Titebond for quick setting with enough time to twist and turn for stacking the masts. Next up tying all the various blocks, including the bowsprit, and adding dead eyes before installing on the ship. There are a lot of blocks…

Much faster than I managed, looks great.

I’m pretty sure I planked three sides of a hull on Cheerful, fortunately with Winchelsea I got better. Maybe only 2 ½. With single planking you have to do it right, wood filler doesn’t cut it.

The obsession over these figures itself is humorous to me. They are incidental to the ship being modeled and mostly obscured once the model is complete. To me they are only of interest in demonstrating scale. But it’s hobby, whatever makes people happy. I’ll give mine to my granddaughter to paint however she wishes.

The scrapers are a great addition, the boxwood set also looks great!

Your usual meticulous work, well done!

Masts I decided to make all the sticks first, if it doesn’t work out I can always start a small fire. And because I can use the fun tools I haven’t used in a while. I have a friend who has a mill, lathe, planer, sander, and table saw. His take up most of his garage, mine all fit in the corner of my much smaller workshop. His of course are a bit larger. First up the mill. With Cheerful and the Long Boat I started with square stock and rounded them. I’m back to doing the opposite. I have the Limited Shipwright edition of Flirt, everything is cut from boxwood. Everything except the same old walnut dowels. The mill makes the squaring off a fairly easy task, just have to get the measurements right. I was going for the 5x5mm required by the plans and despite my careful measurements my cuts were off. I was thinking I needed to start again until I realized I was off by 0.24mm, seems like an acceptable tolerance. These precision tools…. Because it has been 4 years and I stopped before doing this, it seemed like a good time to check the now shaped main and fore mast will mount up ok. Good that I did, I had to pop off the mast bases, easy as I’d used PVA, and correct minor straightening issues, much easier than after the full mast is completed. All good. Next the lathe, an easier way to spin the dowels to create the semi-hour glass look of the tops. A log of spin-stop-measure following the plans. Even more so since the main and fore tops are identical. This photo was after the fact for the photo. I wrap whatever is in the chuck with blue masking tape to prevent marking. The Proton lathe is nice for many reasons, one is the ability to insert the dowel deep through the housing so the part being worked is closer to the chuck. I’m enjoying my return to Flirt - thought there are still a lot more sticks to make, and the opportunity for future kindling if that doesn’t work out. Trying to get back in the swing of writing logs. Hopefully I can make them more interesting as I proceed. Thanks for stopping by.

A slow re-start, beginning with the anchors. Amazing how 5 pieces of wood can be turned into realistic anchors with Admiral Ironwood Black paint and Rusting Red weathering powder. I made the rings with 22 gauge wire, going for a larger ring than the PE one supplied with the kit. I did the puddling on one, but not sure I like it so held off on the other two for now. Flat black masking tape was used instead of the traditional black card, I find it a better look. It’s not going anywhere after applying WOP to the stocks. Not very exciting I realize, but it’s a start. The box has been on my shelf four years now waiting for this re-start. I decided an inventory to get reacquainted was a good idea. I was once again amazed at the quality of Vanguard instructions, and especially amazed at the detail of the rigging plan sheets. I’ve already starting shaping the masts, I also need to get back in the habit of taking photos. Since completing my Winchelsea log I’ve built both the Syren Royal Barge and Medway Long Boat, but didn’t do a log for either. As those of us who create build logs know, it’s a chore to keep up with both building and posting, hoping others find the latter useful. Back to the masts.

Nicely done. The soft sanders are great, I use their adhesive sandpaper with them, though it’s hard to find it theses days.