glbarlow

Definitely a beauty - so masterfully built.

Thanks Chuck. It definitely looks like an actual ship now. Very rewarding from those long days of planking the hull.

The Bulwarks and Cabin It’s been a minute. While the bulwarks seem like an easy and quick task, for me it wasn’t. A lot of adjustments and time to get what I wanted to get. Plus the holidays and family time reduce time in the workshop. Other than this one with the scroll I failed to get any photos of the lower deck planking and beam installation seen in the outer edge of the photo. There are two of these openings for eventual hatch covers, and make for a nice touch. There will only be a glimpse below once the deck is built out, I still added a little red paint down there for the hope of a little color showing. Even if it doesn’t these were fun to construct. Next up is adding the false deck. It’s in six pieces and important to get lined up along the centerline Having the lines lasered for deck furniture placement and the grid lines are a big plus. The deck openings helped line up 6 pieces along with temporary pins, I took the time it took, including a plumb string, to get the centerline correct, starting with the center pieces, then aft, then the bow. I probably didn’t need this much weight to hold it down while the glue dried but I do now know its firmly in place. I used white PVA to allow me time to make any last minute adjustments for fit. Getting the first half of the center was a bit of a challenge, the rest fell into place as they should. I got caught up in the building and didn’t get many photos. There are multiple widths of wood, ¼, 3/16, and 7/32 making up the first layer to get the proper fit deck to rail. Once it was complete I went back and touched up the paint on the ports. A few things to note: This was a good time to check the run of planking at the waist. I pulled out a strip of the 5/16th wood used for the eventual cap rail and made a few minor adjustments for a good fit with the moulding on the hull exterior. Much easier to do this now before painting and without apprehension of damaging anything else, ok, less apprehension. I’m sure the build order as described by the monograph is done with good purpose. However, if I were doing it again I’d install the false deck and bulwarks before doing the exterior work of chapter 3. I did a lot of clamping as I installed bulwark planks and was constantly concerned about damaging the fine detailed work on the exterior the of the hull with the clamps. It would have been easier, I think, without the frieze work and moulding to clamp the outside. Again, that’s just me. One absolute mistake I made was gluing on the quarter panel roofs at the end of chapter 3. I absolutely should have set these up in my cabinet and added them much later. I try to be careful, but I’ve knocked off and had to replace the ornate fence on its top twice now. Just me being rushed with hand movements as I painted but still why have them there as a target for reckless movement. Naturally, me being me, I wasn’t always satisfied and pulled a plank or two I didn’t like. The Byrnes Thickness Sander once again proved its worth, I ran all the planking through it before adding them to the ship and minimized the planks I wanted replaced. The deck clamps are important to get right. I was glad to have chapter 7 parts on hand to test fit a couple of beams, I took the time for careful measurements to ensure they’d be squared up. With the port clamp fixed I adjusted the starboard side for an accurate fit, the beams are now square and the clamps in alignment with the etched laser grid marks on the false deck. The laser etched cabin panels are another nice touch. I did have to make a number of adjustments to fit my model, but fortunately they were minor. I guess my placement of those port sills way back at the framing stage were pretty much where they were supposed to be. The tape at the stern came in handy in preventing small pieces from disappearing forever into the dark hold. When installing these panels it’s important to find out just how many clamps you can get in there to hold it while the PVA dries. I think I did pretty well in achieving max, and likely not entirely necessary, clampage. Once again affirming the rule, when you think you have enough clamps, buy more clamps. The second layer of planks, just 1/32 thick (actually a bit less), add a really nice look to the bulwarks, it takes time for alignment and installation but fun to see the result it brings. Here’s really weird iPhone pano of the starboard side. It’s obviously warped but still a fun look at the completed bulwarks. Ready, set, paint. I pride myself on being extremely neat and organized as I mask the deck and ship for bulwark painting, or maybe not. I’m am a firm advocate for Tamiya tape. It is perfect for this task, flexible and once applied no paint is going to leak beneath it. In this regard for my model work it leaves the usual blue painters tape in the dust. On a side note, @kurtvd19 recommended the large “eraser” block also shown in the photo for cleaning sandpaper of embedded sawdust. It does this quite well. It has the added benefit of being the perfect size to lift and tilt the build board for better working angles. Unlike wood blocks, being rubber, it doesn’t slip. It's worth the purchase for this alone (available on Amazon). Back at the beginning I chose Winsor & Newton Galleria Crimson Acrylic for my bulwarks, ports, and other deck work. I thinned it with Liquitex Matte Medium. I’m sure there are better explanations for this verses water, for me it imparts more translucence to the paint as well as more of a matte (hence the name) finish than water thinned acrylic. I’m sure this is debatable, everyone has their own choice and thoughts for paint work. Seven coats of paint and many days later the bulwarks and cabin are complete. It’s difficult to get a photo of showing this in any interesting way. The paint is matte, but the work lights impose a bit of a glare, it’s either that or photos in shadow. I hope you can tell how nice the 2nd layer adds to the affect. I’m really happy with the color. It may not be historically accurate (though some shade of red was), it does make for a nice model. I like a similar shade of red on my Cheerful. Like then I decided if I’m going red, I should really go RED. While I was painting, and under the premise of paint early often, I also painted the deck side of the transom. The paint is still drying and there is touch up underway including the black of the transom top. I’m glad to get this done now, much easier access at this point. Finally the stern cabin ‘wall” is complete to include the stern margin plank. A rudder housing and benches come later. On I go to margin planks and deck planking. I’ve already milled a batch of planks and run them through the thickness planer. I also get to build some coamings and the first of the deck work in the process. I guess the big sanding and paint work is done for me and a year of two of detailed (and fun) work is ahead. Thanks for stopping by, for the likes and especially the comments, they are appreciated.

In the third book (I'm re-reading them) Aubrey replaces the mast with mast for meant for a 36 gun frigate. He is please with the added speed he gets with this and other adjustments of his own design. So if you're building it as Aubrey sailed it in the books, the larger mast is correct.

Yay, the surprise is Surprise!

The Surprise is an excellent choice. I am rereading the series now and finding myself wishing I had a better idea of its layout. Caldercraft/Jotika had for the longest time, years, HMS Surprise as a soon to be released model. I kept waiting on it, but it never came. Frigates are far more interesting subjects, I personally have no interest in another ship of the line. I also have no more room for another large model.

This is a common challenge, you can get some ideas from other logs that have resolved it. As Chuck noted you only need a small width.

My bad, I thought you were on chapter 12.

Beautiful model Rusty! So now that you’re almost finished what will you do next😀?

Well done!

Best of luck taking this on as a first build, welcom to the group.

The bow wave and the water work in general are well done and very realistic.

Your work is exceptional, not a single reason to be apprehensive in posting photos of such a quality model. While I like my red paint, your deck furniture is so well done it looks quite nice natural, either way will make for a great model. Just don’t stain it, that would be a crime with that beautiful boxwood. You’re making excellent use of your new mill, I love mine. btw: as it turns out England still hasn’t beaten the US 🤣😁. If they can keep our young team together we might make a deeper run in 4 years, especially playing here in the US. Some of the games are here in Dallas, I’ll definitely be looking for tickets.

So intricate and detailed. Just incredible work. Always enjoy seeing your progress and hoping mine turns out near as well.

They go on the top of the completed planking as the plans show. Painted similar to the transom they are largely decorative. I’ve alway called them, perhaps incorrectly, fashion pieces since they’re fungi’s to look pretty.

Can you share any plans or diagrams for the stand? I’m not exactly sure how to measure out the three pieces for the cradle. I have a cabinet making friend to make a nice base Not that I need it anytime soon.

That’s very sad news. Bob was a fine modeler and one of the Winnie builds I often referenced. He was always pleasant to chat with about our respective progress. Rest in Peace.

Not that I’m anywhere close, but I have the same thought about rope on the ships wheel. I know it would look good, but so would breech ropes on cannons and I’m not doing that. My current thinking is rope free is rope free. But who know when I get to this point sometime this decade.

Looks really nice. Well done! Your bulwarks painting is flawless!

PVA diluted about 50:50 with distilled water, put that in the gap with a pin trying to contain the glue in the gap as much as possible, add sawdust from the same wood you’re using, try to pack it in with a flat tool. Neither the glue or the sawdust has to be a perfect fit, just minimized as much as practical. Let it dry thoroughly then lightly sand with 320, 400, 600 sandpaper until nothing is on the surrounding wood, just in the gap. Also being careful not to over-sand and creating a gouge. It’s a bit of an acquired skill, but done well it can lead to virtually invisible fills. I don’t use wood stains, but it does take Wipe On Poly just fine. This is all in reference to small gaps, large gaps I don’t know.

You shouldn’t need any stealers, between ¼ and 5/16 planks should be able to cover it. How will you finish the stern planks at the counter, the monograph has them fitted behind the counter, yours are extending past it?

My opinion, unfounded on historical accuracy whatever that might be, is any combination of the usual French Blue, red and yellow ochre, white, and black you like. The Captain has some leeway to do as he chooses.

I did apologize to a yellow cedar tree on our trip to Alaska for the amount of its brother I used planking Winchelsea. 😁

Creative solutions, as always. Nice!

For a direct answer to your question: Not only for ratlines but for all rigging I use White PVA diluted with distilled water to about a 50:50 mix. I also use mat medium clear acyrillic in some cases, both dry near invisible. I’m a fan of CA for other purposes in model building, but not on rigging.