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Well, thanks in part to the lockdown, I've now finished the first 14 books in the series and I'm waiting for number 15 to appear (June, I think). Thanks again for a great recommendation. I said in an earlier post how much I'd enjoyed the first volume, and I've been impressed with how well the author has kept up the standard of his work throughout the series. Derek

Looks excellent - well done! Derek

Wow! She’s really coming to life.

Thank you Edward, Chris, Glenn (X 2!), Eric and SpyGlass for your kind comments, and thanks as always for the 'likes'. Good recommendation Glenn. Amazon don't sell this exact set in the UK but I managed to get something similar. I tried out the scraper that looks closest to the one you use and it worked perfectly for getting excess glue from the angle between the batten and the hull. It made it a lot easier getting the port batten fitted as I was comfortable using CA this time. Thanks again Eric for suggesting brass sheet for scraping excess glue. I particularly like this method as I can easily cut a piece of brass to the exact size and profile I need, and I've used a couple of these scrapers to tidy up the hull. Derek

Hi Glenn I just remembered this exchange we had a few weeks ago, and realised I'd done nothing about it. I've now saved my recently completed Pinnace log and this Speedy log to date. The only method I could find in Chrome was to save each page separately as a full web page. It didn't take long though, and all the text and pictures are now saved on my hard drive and external backup. Thanks again for prompting me to do this. By coincidence, just after I finished saving the logs I was trying out a scraper I'd made from a piece of brass sheet (thanks EricWilliamMarshall for the suggestion) when I remembered I'd used exactly the same method to finish the decks on my Royal Caroline - but that was years before I kept logs. The learning point for me was the value of keeping logs, not just for others' benefit but to save oneself having to reinvent the wheel all the time! Derek

Coppering - finished the starboard side this morning. Overall I'm quite pleased as this was my first go. I'm also pleased I used a batten on the waterline as suggested by Glenn. Port next. Derek

More great progress. At this rate you'll beat Chris's benchmark of 50 hours to complete Speedy! Derek

Wearing a face mask and having a fan behind me blowing the fumes away has certainly helped. My nose has begun feeling a bit stuffy since I started coppering again, but nowhere near as bad as it was before when I was sneezing and my nose was running constantly. I still believe the best solution would be a vacuum system piped to the outside, but that will have to wait. Thanks for the suggestions Eric, I'll certainly try a piece of hacksaw blade. Brass works fine for me for scraping profiles - I'll try a small sheet as a flat scraper. Thanks SpyGlass. I used a box knife blade for initial shaping on my second planking before sanding, but found it a bit hit & miss. But that may have been my technique - if you look at earlier Speedy pictures you'll see the bloodstains! Derek

Hi Glenn Apologies if you’ve mentioned this and I’ve missed it, but have you applied a finish to your copper, or do you plan to? I see some people use varnish or lacquer whilst others prefer the copper to tarnish naturally. What’s your preference? Derek

Good point. I have a cabinet scraper I use for full-size jobs but it’s much too big for model work. But I should be able to make something similar on a smaller scale. I might just cut down the scraper as I rarely use it nowadays. Derek

More great progress. Will you mount all the swivels? I recall Chris saying that would have been unlikely on the real ship, but on the other hand it might seem a shame to leave any off. Derek

Thanks Vane - good tip about CA. I’ll try it on a spare piece before risking it on the ship! Derek

Thanks again for the likes and supportive comments. Much appreciated as always. A quick update. I wasn’t very happy with the waterline I’d drawn so I dug out my laser level – a tool I normally use for DIY jobs around the house. Along with the Proxxon stand which has a ball & socket joint, I was able to shine an accurate line on the hull, connecting the three points on the waterline I’d marked at the bow, stern and midships. Then came the hard bit. I wanted to follow Glenn’s lead in using a batten to define the upper edge of the copper. I understand this was full-size practice when the copper strakes were cut into the waterline rather than running parallel to it. Likewise on the model, the batten should make it easier to get the cut edges to line up along the waterline. I milled the 0.8mm X 0.5mm battens from some boxwood strips. The hard part was getting them to stick to the hull. I didn’t want to risk getting CA on the uncoppered parts of the hull, and after some abortive experiments with glue sticks I decided to try Super ‘Phatic as also recommended by Glenn. This very thin aliphatic resin has a comparatively fast drying time, and by pressing a few inches of the batten at a time against the hull with my fingers I was able to get it to stick. I started in the middle then worked outwards, first to the bow then the stern, holding each section for about two minutes. Laborious but it worked. It doesn't look straight, but I understand that's an optical illusion caused by the shape of the hull. The deeper draught aft is also very evident. I've now learned (thanks to a query to the MSW community) that this is called positive trim. Derek

Believe it or not I'm quite enjoying the coppering, despite the CA fumes. It's a new challenge, and for me that's half the pleasure of modelling. Having said that, I suspect I may not want to do it again once I've finished Speedy! Derek

I have just found your log for the first time after seeing your completed model in the gallery. I wish I had found it sooner! I am very impressed by the beauty and precision of all your work - in particular your rigging and woodworking skills set a very high standard for the rest of us to aim for. Derek

The CA-related symptoms have calmed down a bit so I've had another go at coppering today. In the meantime I'd finished a bit more deck furniture: I've not used photo-etch before and I'm really impressed with the detail you get - particularly on the deck pumps. I'd struggle to scratch build work of this quality. The recommended AK 174 burnishing fluid leaves a nice finish. The fluid looks like Casey's Brass Black, which I normally use, and works in a similar fashion. I mentioned the importance of cleaning the brass in a previous post. I should add that, as with Brass Black, I find I get the best finish by dipping in the fluid until the brass is sufficiently black all over, taking it out and rinsing in cold water, rubbing all over with a cotton bud to remove any surface powder then repeating. This leads to a deeper and more consistent black. On with the copper. I'll just show one area that I struggled with initially - the bows. You'll see from the photos that I didn't get it right straight away and I'm going to replace at least one of the plates. This is the area I'm working on - I wasn't sure at first how the curved plates on the hull should meet the flat plates on the stem. This is the approach I developed.: I started with a strip of paper the same width as the copper plates and laid it on top of the last row of plates on the stem. Holding the strip flat I pushed the paper into the join between the hull and the stem, and marked the join with a pencil. The following photo shows that I cut the paper template just outside the pencil line - this is to allow a small strip to overlap the hull: Using the template I cut the plate with my Xuron scissors. These are very sharp and precise - great for cutting thin metal and planks. I'd tried using a small pair of tin snips but they tended to raise the edge of the copper plate. Next, I used a piece of scrap wood with a mitred end to crease the plate into the join, before gluing it: A simple matter then to complete the row with another small piece of plate. I then used the same paper template method to cut out the next plate on the hull. This time I cut the template exactly on the pencil line so that the copper plate overlapped the plate on stem: The next shot shows the area in close-up: Things never look as neat in close-up! I'll definitely replace the first of the curved plates, but the next two actually look OK from a normal viewing angle. I should add that I'm using surgical gloves every time I handle the copper. I was lucky enough to buy a box of 100 pairs well before CV-19 was heard of. They certainly help to keep the plates free of marks. As for the CA sensitivity, a fan and face mask certainly help. I'm still sneezing a bit, but nowhere near as bad. Ideally, I should have a vacuum pump exhausted to the outside to suck the fumes away. Anyway, I'll persevere - at this rate it'll take longer than the planking and I'll never catch up with Glenn and Vane (not that I'm competitive ). Stay safe everyone. Derek

Great progress Glenn. Looking really good. Derek

Thanks Guys, much appreciated. HMS Speedy will keep me occupied for a while. Alongside that I'm currently torn between your Queen Anne's Barge (having read Meddo's log) and your 18th Century Longboat. I love your small vessels. I will also get back to HMS Winchelsea when I can get my act together. I started well on her but hit a block when I found the keel pieces didn't fit together well. Basically, I'd messed up copying the plans. I've had other projects to keep me occupied so I think I've been putting off getting back to Winchelsea. But I shall. Derek

Thanks Chuck. I decided to replace the base. There was nothing wrong with the kit-supplied material, I just felt the castello boxwood was a better match. Hardly surprising, as I milled the planks from the same sheet. I'm definitely marking the log as 'finished' now. Thanks again everyone for the likes and comments. This was my first build log and I really appreciated the support. In another sub-forum Chuck suggested supporting new loggers this way and he's absolutely right, it does make a difference. Derek 31 March 2020

Hi Glenn I think I'm just in the unlucky 5% that're susceptible 🤧. The good news is that proper ventilation seems to be the solution, which I'll try when the symptoms allow. If that doesn't work I'll dig out my old scuba gear and wear that. Come to think of it, that gear might be handy anyway in the current crisis. Derek

Hi Meddo I just found your log and I've enjoyed catching up with your latest build. I'm particularly impressed that you've had a go at carving your own decorations. Having recently enjoyed building one of Chuck's other designs, the English Pinnace, I'd planned to have a go at another small vessel, probably the 18th century longboat also by Chuck. However I'm now seriously tempted to get the QAB for my next project. She'll look stunning when she's finished (looks pretty good already!). Derek

Thanks Sea Hoss. Glad to hear the fan works for you. That’s definitely the way I’ll go. Derek

Probably not long on each session. Like you I went fairly slowly - maybe two or three pairs of planks per day. However I was doing it almost every day until I got the second planking finished, and I think it was that prolonged stretch that brought on the adverse reaction. I would strongly advise playing safe by getting appropriate ventilation. Derek

I started coppering Speedy. Unfortunately I've had to put the work on hold for a while as I've developed an adverse reaction to CA. I started to notice a problem during second planking when I suffered a streaming nose and constant sneezing. I didn't think it could be an allergy as the symptoms persisted long after exposure, and I'd used CA plenty of times before. I just thought I had a seasonal cold. However the same symptoms started again almost as soon as I began using CA on the copper plates. I did a bit of research, and according to Wikipedia around 5% of people will develop sensitivity to CA after prolonged exposure, and will suffer flu-like symptoms. I think prolonged is the key word - I'd never used CA for extended periods until I did the second planking, and that seems to have triggered the sensitivity and now I seem to be stuck with it. Looking for alternatives I tried odourless CA but I couldn't find one up to the job, and other glues don't seem suitable either. So I've concluded I need to let the current symptoms settle down, then start using the CA gel again but this time wearing a mask and with a fan blowing the fumes away. Probably should have been doing that all along. In the meantime I'm tackling some of the deck furniture, starting with the capstan and pumps - small but satisfying mini projects. On the pumps, I tried the AK 174 burnishing fluid that Chris recommends in the manual. It works well, but I found that for good results it's best to rub the photo etch pieces with very fine (#0000) steel wool before assembly, then soak them in acetone or white vinegar for a few minutes before using the AK fluid. The result is much better than trying to paint such small and detailed parts. Derek

I'll add my congratulations to the richly deserved plaudits above. Some (few) others may equal your skills as a modeller but none match the care you take in detailing and explaining your research and your building techniques. Thanks as always for taking the rest of us along for the ride, and I await your next build with anticipation. Best wishes Derek