BLACK VIKING

Scratch that, apparently it's awful. 
 
 

Belaying Foremast Jeers, Nave Line and Jeers
I spent some time looking at plan sheets 15 to 19 to check the various belaying points for the foremast rigging.  With reference to the Fore Mast (Aft) aka Main Topbowline Belay Pin Rack I ended up allocating the belaying assignments as shown in the photo below, noting I included the plan sheet belaying reference as an aide memoir.

I did note in Longridge's book the inner tricing line is shown belayed to one of the shroud cleats, so I might revert to that option when I get round to adding that rigging.
 
The next photo shows the Nave Line which is linked to the truss pendents and then dropped down to the deck via a single block attached to the rear of the fore platform.

The next photo shows the jeer blocks and sling

The next photo shows the fore mast (aft) belaying rack, after the various rigging ends had been belayed. The unused belaying points will be used for the inner tricing line and the outer & mid main course bunt lines.

The next two photos shows the truss pendants double block belaying arrangement.

In the next photo the jeer can also be seen being fed through the lower left hole in the bitt pin.

Moving on now to the instructions for step I, as shown below, it was time to tackle some of the trickier parts to apply to the ship.

 
    The tape backed gilded finish ornamental railing facing parts T6 & T8 had to be stuck into place at the stern with their top edges even with the top edges of the existing railings. While they had to butt into the transom trim and align with all the openings, they also needed to blend into parts T9 and T10 (to be added next) and cover the canopy cover tabs at the same time. It took me numerous dry fits before working out an approach to doing all of that before removing the tape backing to permanently attach them, but it worked out fairly well.
     Doing the longer railing sections was done similarly, but the very fact that they were so long, made them difficult to keep lined up for their full length. Try as I might, they would not quite reach all the way to the head-rails. (That had yet to be installed!) I think that it had something to do with the fact that they were single pieces trying to match the numerous jointed hull sections. I think that it was somewhat of an accumulated error.
    The head-rail assembly, normally a complex arrangement, was greatly simplified in the kit. Part #203 had four gilded finish upper rails and two lower black rails. Continuing with the skeleton motif, there were ten (although the plan only showed eight) taped back number T1 vertical rail parts that were actually stretched out skeletons. I applied them to the rails before actually setting the assembly on the ship, since it was easier to apply pressure to secure them on a solid backing without deforming the rails. The assembly was secured to the ship by slipping the bent middle portion into a slot just behind the figurehead and two additional tabs into corresponding slots on the bow.
    And yes, that is when the noticeable gap in the joint showed up. While not totally satisfied with the results, I felt it was close enough. (Or as my father was always fond of saying “close enough for government work.)😇
    Here are a few photos of this step.

 

 

 
    Next up is adding the remaining deck fittings and the bowsprit.

One wheel assembly completed with the 40 steel spokes…should add interest to the model. Replaced the inflation nipple with a bit of leftover brass from Mikasa, and painted the spoke nipples around the rim. They looked kind of cool left as brass but I think painted is a probably a little more realistic. Overall I’m quite happy with the outcome as opposed to the plastic version.

It really has
 
Here's mine, had Ninja's and various others but there's just something brilliant about this bike.

With the port side also ready, the standards are made to height. A simple way to measure, is to use a wooden plank as a template.

 
A mold for the semi-circular gun ports. This is slightly conical, so up to the arrow and no further, otherwise the hole is too big.

Ready.

This is how far we have come, next is the last piece of planking on the bow.

Thanks for following

So a bit more bedtime research on the engine and I think I've found some better references images for the engine. And also some stand ideas to display it. 
 
 
 

And here we are, the finished Diorama.
 
Thanks for all the comments and likes along the way

Very well done, David, I think this is the first one I have seen fully complete, she looks very nice indeed!

The Ensign has been painted by my daughter Kate and I have rigged it on a separate line. I used steam to set it and tried to impart some feeling of movement to it. I’m not sure if I’ve succeeded or whether I like the way it hangs. I’ll think about it for a while.




 
 
Anyway that was the finishing touch and so my first effort of building a ship from Vanguard Models is complete. I like the way that the basic hull slots together so easily and the laser etched bulwarks and deck add to the simplicity of the build. Trial was fun to do and makes a lovely model
I have already received my next ship, HMS Speedy, from Chris but I’m inclined to lay my own deck and bulwarks on this build. I’ve a few weeks to mull it over while on holiday in Shetland before making a start.
 
Thanks to everyone for looking in and for all the helpful comments and support.
 
David
 

It's  been a while since my last update but work has progressed, albeit very slowly. 
 

I changed my mind (again) about removing the excess ABS, mainly because it would have been impossible to hold the internal stringer/gunwhale(?) in place with it sill there. So I went ahead and removed the excess ABS, and then positioned the stringer/gunwhale and the internal (fake) ribs. I also drilled out the hole for the propellor shaft and cut the access hole for the rudder support strip that extends from the keel. I decided to replace the kit-provided stuffing tube and propellor shaft with some after-market parts from Float-a-Boat in Melbourne (following the lead of Wayne (@a49kid)). At the same time, I ordered some universal joints and a brass propellor to replace the kit-provided plastic one. Unfortunately, with the additional thickness added by planking the entire hull, a propellor of the same size (40mm) will not fit. I’m still deciding as to the exact size that I will use, but it will be either 35mm or, more likely, 30mm.
 
The picture below shows the internal ribs in place along with the stuffing tube and propellor shaft temporarily positioned. I may well need to adjust the length of the stuffing tube/propellor shaft once I’ve got the steam plant sorted.
 

 
Before proceeding further with the hull, I needed to sort out the steam plant and its positioning/securing in the hull. That meant doing a trial run of the plant. I bought this plant from Miniature Steam Models (MSM) over 18 months ago and had not done any final assembly and testing to date. It comes almost fully assembled, requiring only the attachment of the steam line (from boiler to engine) and the gas line from gas tank to boiler. Unfortunately, for some reason the steam line was a few mm too short to be connected. This was very surprising as MSM have a very good reputation for quality. 
 
Anyway, I enlisted the assistance of a fellow Canberra modeler who is something of a guru on all things steam engines. He advised cutting the existing pipe and inserting a short joining section to make up the length required. He also very kindly machined up the required part and silver soldered it in place for me. The result can be seen in the picture below, highlighted by the red circle. We did a short test that proved the join was secure and together we are now conducting some “set-to-work” trials.
 

 
There are still a few other issues to deal with before proceeding with the hull, but I hope to resolve those in the next few days.

Aaaand . . . done. I will post the Big Reveal tomorrow. Time for bed now!
 

 
And one more shot of the one-time adversaries together.
 

 
G'nite!

Morning all, it was the model show yesterday, an enjoyable wander around for a couple of hours. I thought I'd share some pics.
Interestingly I didn't see a single built B-25, I did see quite a lot of Sea Kings though and a lot of Lancasters and Spitfires, no surprise there. 
 
There were some fantastic dio's, a world record attempt at the largest model railway, some amazing railway set ups that must have been a whole project in themselves to get them there and set up. 
 
 

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

Here you can see the ply pattern clamped and glued in place. No pins were used at all in fixing these. They were first clamped in place and then brush glued. Note there are no kinks in the lower edges at all, all fits nicely. The second pic shows were I am up to, checking the very first iteration of the outer bulwark skin and main wale, just clamped loosly in place to check general fit. The final ones will have engraved detail. Next job is to first plank the hull, which I shall start next week.

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

It looks very good to me 
Martyn 

So I've decided which plane to make. I really wanted to do a full chrome version and I wasn't taken by the sharks teeth that are okay of the kit to be honest. At the same time I wanted to find an airframe with a history and keep it as accurate as I can. So I'll be making 'That's All Brother' from the 340th BG, I've found this photo on the net.
 

 
And I've also found decals for it
 

 
Here's a link to the history of the squadron for those who are interested. The plane was deployed to the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during world war 2.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/340th_Flying_Training_Group
 

The ropes on my model are not to scale with respect to the cables. I did it consciously, because I believe that they are a unique decoration of every sailing ship.

Hi Lucien,
Many of us scrap first and second attempts so you are not alone by any means.   One small suggestion, the plug looks to be grooved similar to the method Frolich details in his book The Art of Ship Modeling.  I found this to be troublesome with the frames getting stuck in them at times.  An alternate is to leave the plug smooth and glue tiny spacers where the frames go.  Just need to be sure they are shallower than the frames.   For scantlings of every part of many types of English boats, W.E. May's book Boats of Men of War is a great help.
 
The below is 1:128 scale 31 foot long boat using the plug method so it can be used at least down to that scale.  The last photo is a larger plug (1:48) that shows the spacers. 
 
Allan

I have the second in my new line up of alternative printed resin boats almost ready. This is a 24 and 26 foot launch, complete with windlass and davit.

I can’t escape the fact that I continue to fail at this chain-making exercise.  As the old maxim goes, though, every failure is one step closer to success.
 
I’ve now thrown away two whole batches of chain preventer plates.  While I was quite right to follow Andre Kudin’s example, for the process of their manufacture, I eventually discovered that that process is not entirely transferable from 1:48 to 1:96 scale.
 
After forming his basic links, Andre solders them closed at one end, and then places the closed link back onto the two pins so that he can crimp an eye on each end with his round pliers.
 
Well, the 28 gauge brass wire I’m using does not provide enough surface area for a strong enough bond to survive the crimping.  My success to failure ratio was pretty poor:

So, my lesson from that exercise was that I needed to do the crimping before soldering one end closed:

These soldered loops will be the lowest end of the chains, bolted into the wales.  That way, I could induce a series of bends into the upper half of each preventer plate, so that they could overlay the next small link:

Above I’m just using another preventer plate to check that the bends I’m making are sufficient.
 
So, I spent a good chunk of time cleaning up the solder and inducing bends into the remainder of the preventer plates.  The solder joint will be re-enforced with the CA glue that fixes the pin-bolt in place:

With that out of the way, I could make a new, slightly closer-spaced pin jig for the next small link, which is only crimped on one end, where it seats beneath the preventer plate.
 
Now that I have a process that I know will work, and now that I’ve had all of this practice, these next links should go fairly quickly:


I have a lot of these to make, solder and bend - about 70 to ensure I can use the best.  This has all been a colossal PITA, but it was really important to me that all of this look very clean and uniformly shaped.  In the process, I have acquired some very valuable metal skills that will only enhance this and future projects.
 
That said, I am going to experiment with using black nylon thread of an appropriate diameter to connect the deadeye strop loops to the small links.  This would essentially be a variation on the way that the stock kit represents these links, but I will do individual chain loops that draw tight with some form of slip-knot that I can pull up and hide behind the deadeye strop.
 
Andre had a great method for producing these variances, but it is all just that much more tedious in the smaller scale.
 
The advantages of doing this are several.  So long as there is not a jarring difference in appearance between the black thread and the blackened metal, it will save me tremendous amounts of time.  It also simplifies the difficulty of accurately measuring and keeping track of a series of increasingly longer links as the shroud angle increases from fore to aft.  Lastly, it greatly simplifies the placement of the deadeyes because I can add the retaining strip, in advance, and it also makes it much easier to locate and properly secure the bottom two links.  Hopefully, that will work out.  
 
Well, I keep saying that I’m going to get back in the swing of the project, and then I get sucked into coaching another basketball team - now my son’s Spring rec team.  Meanwhile, the Rangers and Knicks are just too compelling to ignore this post-season.  At least for now, I can see the end of the tunnel for these chains, which is tremendously motivating, and then I can return to the more immediately gratifying work of outfitting and arming the main deck.
 
Thank you all for taking the time to look back in on This Old Build.  More to come!