glbarlow

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.

My Alaskan Yellow Cedar built Cheerful is already starting to "mellow" like Chuck's Photo - It catches a little sunset light from a window across the room and I just marvel at how it appears - I love the stuff and will be building Winchelsea from more of it...a lot more...

Acetone bath, rinse in distilled water, then prime or blacken (one or the other depending on purpose/finish) is how I do PE.

No need to prime wood, you should though prime PE.

Try rubber cement for attaching plans to wood, easy to remove and keep the wood clean.

Yep

May I suggest next time at least using overlapping thirds so all the joints aren’t in one place.

You’re welcome🤣😂

I’m really glad my input was helpful. The hull looks wonderful with that warm glow WOP provides when done right, which you clearly did. Well done!

Then….wow!

Did you hand paint the black and white squares? Sorry if this was explained elsewhere, it looks really good.

I have both, the Kell guide I got on Derek’s recommendation after I had little luck using the Veritas one, especially for the mini 1/8th chisel. It’s beautifully made but the single roller was just too tricky for a chisel honing novice like me. The Kell guide makes it very easy to get sharp chisels. I highly recommend it and have a Veritas guide for sale if anyone wants one. No angle guide is needed, just follow the chart measuring the distance of the chisel from the guide bar, I made a little gig and can quickly set the angle.

Don’t think that matters much, I have strips of 3x5 inch sandpaper in 5 grades, but don’t always use the 220 or 320 grade. It has to be big enough for that, a little bigger for the weight. Only thing to be sure to do is have one edge of the sandpaper meet the edge, this used only when honing the flat side of the chisel. I actually use a smooth large floor tile left over from my kitchen renovation.