glbarlow

Auto can vary shot to shot. I recommend you set on flash, which is a constant 5500, as well as a constant green/magenta setting optimal for flash which may vary more than the Kelvin settin in Auto.

I shoot all my build log photos with my iPhone 12 Pro mostly because it’s a pretty good camera, in that case or casual photography for most people, like those that use Auto on their cameras, your statement might hold. Anyone doing serious photography, I offered up my website as example, certainly has a need for understanding the technical aspects of photography for a capturing a quality image. Not wave lengths or museum rules technical but definitely manipulating how the camera captures the image including in some cases managing RGB channels. Perhaps it’s a misunderstanding of “technical” in this scenario, or perhaps the camera is in Auto.

That is a good tip, one I will definitely use going forward. Thanks!

Former, Rabbet and Stem Work has begun, so an update. Using my 1KG weights and the acrylic sheets I bought as a flat surface I glued the three sections of the bulkhead former together with Titebond. I initially wondered why the middle one was reversed from the other two (easy to tell with the laser engraving and burn marks). Then I read Chuck’s reason why, the laser doesn’t cut perfectly 90 degrees, by reversing certain parts he gets them to fit together perfectly…oh, that makes sense. Just another example of the planning and thought Chuck puts into these builds. While that was drying I assembled my build board using the brackets obtained from Syren and my nice piece of oak from Home Depot. I initially made the brackets tight to the former, knowing I’d have to add a little slack to accommodate the ¼” keel and stem once attached, easy to do with the slots already in the brackets…loosen, adjust, retighten. It was good I did, despite the care in using weights, gluing only two sections at a time, and the acrylic surface, I had a slight (very slight) warp in the former’s center. No problem, after a day sitting in the tight fitting build board it straightened itself out, You go build board. I pre-bent the rabbet strip using the billet the bow section was cut from. Though it didn’t need much I heated it with my plank bending travel iron by holding it near the curve and letting the steam do the work. I could have bent it on the ship, but why when it was so much easier pre-bent. We know we can never have enough clamps, for this particular job I can also never have enough rubber bands. At first I thought centering it would be a challenge and so I cut a little wood gauge. It turns out the wood used for the rabbet is essentially the same size as the middle layer of the ply- just follow the lines. The gauge did come in handy for removing excess glue. I started with TiteBond II but then remembered from Cheerful the Titebond III dries more clear and more importantly gives me a few more minutes set up and alignment time. Not to be repeated here, he said emphatically, Cheerful dropped from my work table with the skeleton mostly complete and shattered, I had to start over... it was unrecoverable ... not a good day. What didn’t shatter was a single Titebond glued joint, so it really is, as it claims, stronger than wood. Also probably the one and only chance I'll have to use the Amati keel clamp. My Ibex thumb planer is perfect for running a slight bevel on the former along the keel after the rabbet is installed, just one long smooth pass. My freshly sharpened Veritas chisels along with a little sanding block made short work of carving out the deadwood below the bearding line. Chuck’s suggestion of temporarily gluing a rabbit strip at the stern (the stern keel section is different than most models, it covers this area without the rabbet strip used for the rest of the keel). I left a space and left it long with spot glue to hold it. It made for a perfect reference for how much to remove, I just popped it off when I was done. Next up is the stem. I cut out its drawing from my second print of the plans, placed it under the acrylic sheet and, not being very good at puzzles, assembled the pieces. Nothing is glued here yet look how well it all fits together. I recall from Cheerful my first impression of Alaskan Yellow Cedar was like this, not that great. The transformation once it is sanded and finished with WOP is amazing, I’m looking forward to seeing the completed stem. So far my only challenge is removing laser char. Fortunately that isn’t done between the pieces that fit together, makes for a nice tarred fitting as Chuck notes, but I do have to remove it for outward facing wood. I worked on the bottom of the keel for practice and I still haven’t removed it all. I’m always thinking I’ll sand to much off and the whole model is toast (actually that’s the opposite of the problem, it looks like toast with the laser char:-). I’m using a sharp #11 blade as a scraper and 220 grit sandpaper, but if there are any secret methods out there I’d like to hear them. I’ll be sanding the forward of the stem once its all assembled so I don’t mess up the fit. I’ll save the rest of the keel bottom after its on the ship. So none of this is news for the many Winchelsea builders already far ahead with their logs, but it’s fun and news to me. Maybe the next new builder will find this mildly interesting. I should just include this line on the bottom of every post from here on I suppose. Thanks for the likes and your comments. thanks to all those Winchelsea builders in the group for their inspiration, and thanks to Chuck for the help I’ll invariably ask for as I move along.

Interesting discussion and a lot of good points. For once in this post there aren't a bunch of so called experts trying to out-expert one another but instead shared ideas and perspectives based on experience and background and nature of photographic work. I shoot creatively, nothing like Justin describes is a part of my detailed, and creative or not, technical process in capturing an image. Digital photography eliminates the need for gray and Color X-rite cards (I had both back in the day) unless you're held to the rules Justin must comply with. I shoot only RAW, with that White Balance is what I want it to be to create a pleasing landscape scene (www.glennbarlow.com if your interested) in post processing. I spend as much time in Lightroom and Photoshop as I do taking the image. Of course all the post processing work and camera white balance setting done won't help if you can't technically take a proper image, you have to know how to manage the camera first and the creative composition second. My only point here is photography is a broad ranging field. Landscape isn't portraits, portraits aren't forensic, forensic isn't scientific, even if the same camera and lens (All Nikon for me) is used. I just converted from DSLRs to Mirrorless, Nikon's Z7ii, Sony, and Canon mirrorless are opening new technical and subsequently creative possibilities for photographers. I did it mostly because it reduced the weight of my backpack by 12 pounds including the lenses I carry, but still. Bottom line, everyone's opinion and perspective of technical and creative photography stems from the perspective of their photographic experience and work purpose and everyone is right. Back to the topic of White Balance; shooting RAW I can change white balance to whatever works for me in post, including that of a 18% gray card should I choose. I can't be random about it when photographing my grandchildren, those images must be technically correct, more of that is done in camera based and driven by the Profoto B10 flash I normally use or skin tone if no flash is involved. Even with the sophistication and processing power of today's camera it's worth noting that Auto White Balance (my camera has multiple Auto options) is turning over the color decision over to the camera. Since I shoot in RAW it doesn't matter, I can adjust it in post, however if shooting .jpegs there are less capability to correct it. Auto can result in different white balance results shooting the same image minutes apart or by moving the camera a few degrees since the processor in the camera is judging different things to determine what it deems to be an optimal white balance. And while you can set your own white balance (e.g. 5500) the Daylight, Flash, and Cloudy settings are also fixed settings that don't allow the camera to decide and generally all you need. I used to leave my camera on Cloudy for landscape work on my old cameras (its warmer) but Auto 1 on my newer Nikons is right more than its wrong, so that's what I use now. One last point, inside fluorescent lighting messes with white balance more than anything nature can do, that's where shooting RAW can really come in handy if you're not subjected to rigorous rules for image capture, or you want to be technically correct to capture a creative image of your model. Last, last point. Color is color, it's what our eyes and brain interpret it to be. Arguing over who's method for achieving the best color is like arguing over who has the best looking grandchild, what's the point. Clearly mine are. (again Justin's record rules notwithstanding).

If I send you some brass will you make hinges for me😂🤣. Really great work, one of the reasons I embarked on my own Winnie.

Bristol…….

Hopefully you can take the second one slower and enjoy it more. Your first entry was July 31st, it will take me a least a year to carefully build this model. You track runners are just too fast🤣.

I always taper the top of the next plank laid up to the untapered bottom of prior one. Your Cheerful is looking great.

Make sure you’ve got a sharp center line marked and a crisp outline of the deck furniture locations. You’ll need that soon.

I suppose I should consider a case for some of my models, but I’ve never thought to want one. Not sure where I’d get one here anyway. I just blow and brush them off from time to time.

I’ll just follow along from back here. 😊

Well done, the carpentry and paint work are terrific.

Thank you for saying so, though it might be more challenging to provide something useful for Winchelsea, it is my goal to be helpful with my logs.

Cleaned it up after pausing Flirt, it will be a mess again soon enough. 🙂

That was a very tough step in the build process, congratulations on getting it done so well.

Having gathered the material and paused my previous Flirt build I’m ready to start Winchelsea. First I had to do a few modifications to my workshop to accommodate the much larger Winchelsea by increasing my workspace width. I’ve opted for Alaskan Yellow Cedar, after building Cheerful using it I know just how nice a wood it is when finished and how satisfactory it is to work with. It’s all there in the white topped plastic box in the corner ready to go, along with the first several chapters of laser cut parts. Since the plans are too large for the counter where I normally keep them I stored my Pegasus framed draft and hung the plans using velcro fasteners. In theory I can remove them without damaging the wall and easily change which sheet of the plans is hanging. I guess I’ll find out. I printed two copies of the plans. As I discovered with Cheerful it’s handy to have a set I can cut up at various stages of the build. I opted for the starter kit from Chuck. I have no desire to cut my own bulkheads or find the lite-ply to cut them from. I’m more than content with Chuck’s already perfectly cut set. I’ll get to know it really well during the fairing stage - after I figure out how to fair something this huge without breaking it or me. I started by transferring the bearding line using tracing paper. Interesting that the middle section is reversed from the other two with the laser etching. I also bought 1/16th acrylic sheets on from Amazon to provide a nice flat surface for it and the stem. And finally the build board, I went to Home Depot to pick up some MDF or something cheap but this scrap piece of beautiful oak called out to me. I sanded the edges and put a coat of WOP on it (why not) and will next add the brackets. Finally, my thanks to Chuck for this incredible design, his detailed chapter instructions, and parts that go with each. I’m well behind so many great Winnie builds already in progress and at every stage of construction. I know I’ll greatly benefit from those many build logs already posted, thank all of you for taking the time to post and explain your work. I doubt I’ll have much to add (if you've seen my other logs you know that won't stop me:-), yet I will enjoy sharing my progress as well as I move along. Let’s begin!

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

Thanks BE, I appreciate your saying so.

The details are great, really fine work with the laser. The companionway is especially nice looking. There are plenty of cheap, harder to build entry models out there. It’s so nice to see Vanguard providing such detailed quality models. Undoubtedly the get what you pay for, in this case well worth the price.

Thank you for the kind words. I imagine Winchelsea is going to take a while, but I’ll come back to the little Flirt eventually.

Thank you, I put a lot of work in the log hoping to help others as I’ve been helped.

Thanks Bob, I think there’s plenty there for you get started😊 I hope that it does, as I have been by so many others.

Thank you for saying so Chris, in no small reason due to your equally gorgeous design

Finishing the hull The last step for completing the hull are the channels, strops, and deadeyes. In anticipation of that I sanded and finished (with WOP of course) my walnut mounting stand and epoxied the brass pedestals using a scrap of the same board size as the keel for alignment. All of my models are mounted this way, I like the polished look of the finished walnut and brass not to mention the firm, epoxied attachment of the model to the board. As I mentioned way back at the beginning of this log I drill the holes for this mount at the start of the build well past the keel into the bulkhead former for strength. I also add a brass plate with the name and year (so I remember), Flirt’s plate is on the way. Halex Awards is a fast, economical source for these plates. Can’t pass up the chance to use my fancy tools, The mill is handy here as a drill press to drill straight and centered holes in the back side of the channels for placing the mounting pins. With those pins (the brass nails from the kit cut to size) glued in the next step is bringing out the air brush for painting the channels Admiralty Dull Black. I like the look of the airbrush painted parts on Flirt, though I’m not sure its necessarily faster than brush painting. As I’ve mentioned it takes as long to clean properly the airbrush as it does to paint with it, still it’s worth it. Glad I’ve come over to the dark side with airbrushing…just for some things, I still prefer brush painting. Here’s my collection of tools used to for adding the deadeyes to the strops and that assembly to the hull via the channels. The colored band on the tools are also an idea I got from my dentist, making them easy to identify when I’m reaching for them I got them from a dentist supply website. Kit PE strops can be a real pain to assemble, however Vanguard has done as good a job as I’ve seen with Flirt, all one piece with enough etched detail to provide as realistic appearance as you can get and making assembly an easier task. Of course nothing about forcing apart the loop wide enough to insert the deadeye is ever that easy. I first primed the PE strops and then painted them Admiralty Iron Works Black, which held up pretty well to the stretching, I added the tape around my pliers (which on this particular pair have no grip on the business end, just flat metal) to further minimize scratching - still I had touch up work to do which I did with 20/0 and 10/0 brushes, I like coordination and dexterity tests… This drill, which is actually a battery powered screwdriver with a separate drill chuck attachment, I found on Amazon via the courtesy of another MSW member, it is perfect for this gentle work. Although a bit bulky, it is slow, exactly what I want for drilling a hole that can’t be too deep. It’s almost like spinning the pin vise myself in terms of rotation speed, this delicate work doesn’t need Dremel speed. I got the required angles by measuring the distance between the bottom of the strops using the plans and the next strop. It’s a slow process but there’s only 26 total, so it didn’t take long to complete. And with that the hull is complete. Here are a few photos, just using my off white cloth and iPhone. (you may notice the pumps are not aligned, recall I have not glued them in so I can remove them later to work on the rigging around the wench and bits). I’ve enjoyed the build of this Vanguard Models Master Shipwright Version hull. Chris has a great design and puts so much into little extras I didn’t notice or think about until I compared them mentally to other models I’ve made in the past. The design, the very detailed instructions (thanks @James H), and the quality of all the components and wood results in a model that modelers of all skill levels can be successful building, if they take their time of course. So thanks @chris watton! I am not leaving Flirt as an “admiralty model,” I intend to fully rig her starting with making my own boxwood masts. However at this point I am going to place this build on ‘Pause.’ Absolutely nothing to do with this wonderful kit, it’s just that the pull of starting Winchelsea has become too strong. With the hull complete I’m at a good point to temporarily shelve Flirt, pause this log, and begin Winchelsea. Thank you for following this build, I appreciate the likes and especially the comments. I hope you’ll join me as I begin my Winchelsea log linked below in my signature.