glbarlow

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

T
 
That's a milestone worth celebrating. Like everything else it's well done!

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

27 months after starting the Last Plank has been laid (More coats of WOP to come). 

The two center outer rows were a treat (that’s what I say when endeavoring to be positive). 

I can delete this photo, I generally don’t like other models in my log. However I thought sharing how my cheeks and hair brackets lined up might be of help, especially given how different they are or at least for comparison. 
 

Glenn - Yours is one of my "go-to" logs because (a) it appears to me you are a bit of a perfectionist (b) you are clearly a wonderful photographer and (c) you are always willing to take the time to help  - so thank you.
 
I think I probably need to line up the upper hair bracket with the top of the stem (as you have done) and fiddle the fit of the bottom layer of the upper cheek. If I do otherwise I fear I may run into problems with the rails.  If I splosh a bit of paint around I suspect all will be well. 
 
Thanks
Fred 

I can delete this photo, I generally don’t like other models in my log. However I thought sharing how my cheeks and hair brackets lined up might be of help, especially given how different they are or at least for comparison. 
 

Thanks JJ and for the likes.
I've started on the cheeks and hair brackets and run into a problem. If I sit the bottom segment of the upper cheek on the top of the black strake - where it should be - the hair bracket sits a little too low against the stem. If I move the cheek up a coupls of millimetres I'll get a better fit with the hair bracket but have an awkward gap with the ends hawse hole pieces when they go in (if you see what I mean). I am inclined to go for the latter and put  a little filler sliver above the black strake to fill the void. Any sugestions would be very welcome.
 
Here is  a picture of the bottom segmentsitting on top of the black strake but see how low the hair bracket is.
 

Here is the middle segment filed and sanded to fit.
 

And here with the top segment. The Syren one was a little tioo thin to fit so I used it as a pattern and cut a new one from slightly thicker boxwood. The whole is held together by prit-stick glue so its no problem to move.
 

 
Subject to finalising the position and a little more delicate sanding I think I'm ready for a bit of CA and to splash a bit of paint around.
 
Fred 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks for the comments chaps.
 
Here is an update. I have completed the deck. That seems a big milestone - with the hull and deck planked all the repetetive donkey work is behind and now its the fun fiddly bits.
 
To plank the hull I fixed a battern with a curve that looked something like it and then tick stripped and planked from the outside inboard. I know its not the approved way but it works for me.
 
I glued the deck fittings down with a prit-stick - is that what you Americans call rubbber glue? - so I could pull then up to sand the deck easily.
 



I left out the captain's chequerboard floor. I'm not quite sure why. I suppose I slightly prefer plain old planks. What, I wonder would the chequerboard be made of? Patrick O'Brian has Captain Aubrey rolling his up when calling action stations I seem to recall so I guess its a waxed sailcloth ?
 
I mad the fixed blocks up on my Proxxon mill.

 And here is the present state of play:





All the best everyone
Fred
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

There is no way those aren’t actually tiny real bricks cemented together 😳

I still think you used real brick you got from the mini-brick yard. 😁

Excellent point of view. Maybe I’ll portray mine as after a very light battle to account for any faults in my build. That small dent in the AYC, glancing blow from a small swivel gun 🤣

Nice, I’ll use this technique for the quarterdeck guns. This should work great with a lighter look on those rails. 

Continued progress on chapter 10. 

The deck furniture is just roughly sitting there, still more work to do on wheel plus the final outer row of planking to add. Mini-me dropped by, I like that he provides scale to see just how big this ship was in reality. 

Continued progress on chapter 10. 

The deck furniture is just roughly sitting there, still more work to do on wheel plus the final outer row of planking to add. Mini-me dropped by, I like that he provides scale to see just how big this ship was in reality. 

Looking really good. Glenn.  She is shaping up to be a very superb model.

Thanks JJ, still seems like a long way to go, but I’m in no hurry to get there. 

Continued progress on chapter 10. 

The deck furniture is just roughly sitting there, still more work to do on wheel plus the final outer row of planking to add. Mini-me dropped by, I like that he provides scale to see just how big this ship was in reality. 

Thank you for the kind words. Mine isn’t close to Chuck’s but is a testament to the quality of his design, instruction, and parts. I am glad when my log is a reference for others as I do try to provide useful detail. 

Thank you Matt, much appreciated. I have a lot of good modelers like you to copy…I mean emulate. 

Thank you Chuck, I really appreciate the comment. I remember looking at your model long ago wondering if I could even come close. 

Thanks For the comment. 
 
No WOP on the paint except for coamings, since the deck, hatch are so close it works better altogether (and the wales for the same reason)
 
I use two Admiralty black paints. Ironwork black which has a nice matte finish (the stove and the guns) and Dull Black which couldn’t be more mis-named is only on the cap rail, timber heads, and forecastle rails. That finish is all the paint and is a bit semi gloss. It’s really not that shiny though, it bounces the light back a lot in photos. 

The Winsor Newton Crimson Red while very RED has nothing on it. It’s actually pretty flat and also bounces the lights back in photos. 

Chapter 9, Forecastle deck, is Complete
 
A big event for me, 9 of the 12 chapters are now complete with over two years gone by since I began. Chapter 9 is devoted to the forecastle deck and all the details that set it apart. My last post, a single photo, showed a lot of the deck complete, I’ll back up a bit to show how I got there. It’s a long post so hopefully it’s worth the read.


Like the outboard planks the center line follows the “every plank a project” with each plank unique widths and cuts. The center three planks are the interior width of the bitts divided by three (as the template shows). The planks meeting the bitt posts on either side are also a custom width. The forecastle bitts line up with the base installed below on the main deck making them seem one. This is a cool, but unfortunately barely visible detail. Someone suggested mini wireless camera under there, that might be fun.
 
I’d done complex cut-outs to fit around the main deck hatches, nonetheless these take time and patience to get a precise fit. Since the main deck I’ve acquired this very thin, small razor saw with micro-teeth that made the cross cut cleaner than with the #11 blade still used for length wise cuts.


While the mast ring provided is certainly fine I just can’t seem to remove enough char to make it work for me. So like I did for Cheerful I made my own.  They’re kinda fun to make, using a square of boxwood heavily glued to a wooden dowel and turned on the mill. The outside and inside diameter is measured and cut to form a ring, then I use some router cutters and totally wing it to create the design. I freed it from the post carefully with acetone, painted the inside Matte Black, added two coats of WOP and it’s done. Fun.

I’ve since made another for the mizzen. I had to force myself to keep this one simpler.

The catheads were made up and added. The challenge is to get the right angles, which hopefully I did. The bigger challenge is having installed one then installing the second the exact same - lots of test fitting on both separate and together before either was glued in. I’m glad I cut the rail before doing the planking. I like the extra detail of the cat beam running under the deck planking. (They are the same, the photo is slightly angled and tilted).


I posted earlier I’d gone a different direction with the belfry using a flat rope pull to the front shaped from a small bit of blackened brass and heavily weathering the roof to simulate lead. It and the forecastle rails were added, these are laser cut to fit either port or starboard, so being careful with that and a little sanding to match up to my version of the beam and they’re on. Glue and clamp in two stages, inside then outside, easier to maintain alignment. (again a little warp on the photo not the model, I need to learn to hold my iPhone straighter).
 

I noticed, and not sure how I’d missed, in the single photo I posted earlier the hatches weren’t done properly. I had two choices, leave them as they were or replace them. Who am I kidding, once I noticed it I had one choice. I was able to remove and replace them without damaging the coaming, a few coats of WOP later…
 
The spanshackle cleats are not glued in. I’m not sure I like what I made with flattened 22 gauge wire so I may come back to those later.

Up next the forecastle rails and timber heads. First I tested the fit of the rails to my bow. It’s quite remarkable (as in how did I happen to manage that…) how well they fit. As with the cap rail the key was pulling out the Chapter 9 templates long long ago when the bow was being constructed around chapter 2-3. The tape is there because the little timber heads kept flipping out of my fingers into an area it’s’ now difficult to access.

Then I got to spend lots of time with sanding sticks and a #11 blade shaping 24 little timber heads. Time consuming but well worth the time for the final look. Can’t wait for the Q-deck timber heads, lots more of them. A fun, and lengthy, process was slowly sanding and shaping the cat block to follow the curve and width of the rail plus adding the additional two cleats and support posts. A good time was had by all. They have detail that is lost in the photo due to the black paint.

First starboard then port to complete the fitting, painting, and installing the rails. These rails are extremely delicate. I broke both of them at one point or another. Fortunately they were clean breaks and I was able to repair them, after light sanding and painting the breaks aren’t visible. Once again where’s the fun if I don’t have to fix something I broke.
 
With that, some photos of the completed forecastle: 





I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out. The AYC planking, boxwood fittings, black painted railing, and RED bulwarks and breasthook really look distinctive and pretty cool I think. This is really the first element that is totally finished. A nice sense of accomplishment, and an early concern about what will I do when the whole model is finished, oh no.

The chapter 10 parts are laid out and the planking ripped and ready for work on the Q-deck. Thanks as always for stopping by with your comments and likes, hope you made it to the end of this long post.
 

Not sure about that, but thank you both for saying so.