glbarlow

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 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. 

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.
 

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

Very nice work, great looking model!
 
 

Nicely done!

So far as I know there are no records of how ships were painted and for the most part captains could paint it as they wished, using their own money for the paint. As none of my models are destined for the Smithsonian I choose to paint them as I wish. I would say though painting beautiful boxwood should be considered a crime 😁

Not accepting a .5-1mm variance, taking the time to do it over, is the sign of an exceptional modeler. Well done!

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

Planking on the port side from the frieze panels down including the channel wales completed.

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.

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.

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.

Turns out my Flirt did gather dust for a long while. Following the 3 years to build Winchelsea, then a few months with the Royal Barge and with just a few extra rope coils for my Medway Long Boat it’s time to revisit Flirt for some masting and rigging fun. 
 

Interesting to see the difference between 1:26 and 1:64 scale. 

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

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.

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.

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.

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.