CaptainSteve

Hello Sam
Well I am pleased I made you laugh but I stand by what I said.
Carl is correct, if you order from the UK they should deduct the VAT before they invoice you, that is if the cost includes the VAT if not on the invoice in the VAT part should read 00.00.
 
Jo.

Lou, sand might be a little harsh but considering it has sat in a box for more than 15 years I think it's safe to say I wont do it any harm. Heck, it may not even work anymore. and yes, not having to pay $5.00 for 50 or more pounds of sand when all I need is a quart or two is a plus. I dont know about kitty litter, we use the clumping kind, I wonder how that would be absorbing the excess polishing compound in the bowl.....
 
Jo, that Carl's a smart feller aint he?
 
Sam

Sand blasting sand should do a great job even though it may be a little harsh on your polisher as well. An extra pIus is that you can get it from work! I kind of wonder how Kitty litter, or what ever you may call it where you live, would do? 

Lou, yes, mine is the same way. I figure I would have to clean the bowl out with denatured alcohol and then soap and water. Then use Some #60 sand from our sand blaster at work. I don’t think corncob or walnut husks would do it. I have not had good luck with just a chemical dip for cleaning, I have had better results with an abrasive cleaning followed by soap and water then an acid like vinegar to get the last of the impurity’s off. Even then small parts have never really come out the way I would like. 
Carl, that’s good to know because at some point better half and I are supposed to take our “real” honeymoon to Ireland. 
 
Sam

They may apply it, but they shouldn't apply it when shipping abroad, i.e. outside the European Tax Area. It is not a trick, it is your right to be charged without VAT. If you live in the EU as an American you would be charged VAT on your purchases, untill you take it out of the country, where you can get the VAT amount returned through customs (most non EU citizens do not know that) Usually that excludes food as you are normally prohibited to take that on e.g. a plane.

Exquisite work, Slog ... as always !!
(Also, I note that you are buying the new maxi-sized Tic-Tacs, these days)
 

Exquisite work, Slog ... as always !!
(Also, I note that you are buying the new maxi-sized Tic-Tacs, these days)
 

Exquisite work, Slog ... as always !!
(Also, I note that you are buying the new maxi-sized Tic-Tacs, these days)
 

Like the plywood, strips of 3/32” x 3/64” basswood supplied by the kit were cut to the approximate length and soaked. I was able to press the wood to the complex bends for these pieces with my fingers against the now dry and formed backing. The wood strips were glued right over the cathead openings cut into the plywood and left to dry. The markings on the backside of the bulwark backing shown below, indicates that it fits on the Starboard side and the arrow points to the bow.

Since I started the bulwarks at the bow with my prototypes, I just continued aft. The bulwarks next to the bow I consider to be the toughest to make…so far. Every piece of these bulwark constructs must be formed into a curve shape conforming to the frame. After numerous false starts I started to make some headway.
 
As before, I started by making card stock templates for the 1/64th birch plywood backing. After I marked and cut out the openings for the catheads in the plywood, I soaked them in water for a few minutes to make them flexible. The backings were then placed in positioned and held in place with clothespin clamps. I left them there overnight due to its complex bend. The bow curves both horizontally and vertically as the bulwark angles outward around the curve of the bow.

thanks J.........but I'm trying to cover over all this white    my........this transfer of color is trickier than I thought?!?!  the grill screen looks great.....but this one isn't finned at all,  so a screen like that won't work out well.  I have something of a mural in mind  

Jim, that's for sure.
 
Slog, the seat/cockpit turned out great. You'd be surprised how much of the black paint wears off, since the seat is a sometime work platform for a crewchief. Looking forward to see how you continue. Navy jets always looked beat, since the corrosive environment they lived in, needed a lot of grease and oil for protection.  When we'd use Air Force jets in similar environments, they'd need a trip to the wash rack soon after coming home to remove the salt.
 
Most newer jets have the parachute built into the seat. We had similar Martin Baker seats in the Phantom. Made you lean forward too much. TheF-15/16  seats have more of a lean back attitude, especially the F16.

Plastic modeling sure has changed in the past fifty years.

nicely done Slog!     that's the main reason I smile,  when I see that the clear plastic is in it's own bag.........I've had that happen to me on a few occasions as well.   don't be too critical on the exhaust.....the effect can be seen...there's always the gray area on just how much,  and I think you captured it quite well    welcome to the plastic forum.......always good to see new faces.   I started with the funny car,  but with the nice weather,  and the indication from my last project in this forum,  I fear the wood bug is starting to make me itch.   I've still got a couple non ship plastic projects in the Que,  so I think I'll be keep'in ya company for a while.  very fine job on the Crusader........following along to see how she turns out   

Thanks Slog -for a very detailed and interesting log and fine photography as well. 
 
One thing I noticed when placing Eduard pre-coloured PE onto my spitfire build was there was a problem using CA in that it tended to attack the paint maybe I just wasn't being careful enough.
 
Anyway after some research I have since gone over to micro crystal clear for attaching the PE - not sure if this will be robust enough over time. 
 
Love the console. Your dry brushing doesn't look bad to me - maybe a wash will darken it down if you are not happy with it?
 
Look forward to more
 
By the way I have located some links to other builds over at Scalemates 
 
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/eduard-11110-crusader--1067628

All I can say is 😲.

Hi All,
 
I thought I may as well jump on the plastic aircraft modelling bandwagon and show my current progress on what I was working on earlier.  I started this at the beginning of last year as a change from the card modelling thinking it would be relatively quick and at least get one completed build under my belt.  As usual life got in the way and it stood still until now but back in Perth for the Easter break so hoping to make some progress on it.
 
This is my first plastic kit since my early teens so getting on close to 4 decades since I tackled anything like it so bear that in mind.
 
On to the kit; this is Eduard’s limited edition release of Hasegawa’s F-8 Crusader and no it is not pirated.  Eduard take the best example of other manufacturers models and beef it up with aftermarket which I will cover below.  This kit was released by Hasegawa and is quite old now but as mentioned probably the best example of this type in 1/48.
 

 
 
A few observations about the kit.  For a 1/48 scale aircraft I was surprised on how big it is in the flesh.  As a kid it was always 1/72 Airfix and had never seen a 1/48 or 1/32 aircraft kit as they were well out of pocket money range.  I was also surprised in the relatively low parts count for this kit at least.
 
Although I have used photo etch in the past this is my first experience of pre-coloured PE and it just looks fantastic.  There is also a small fret with normal brass PE for access panels and the cockpit.
 

 
 
Eduard also include a number of Resin parts.  This will also be my first time using resin and seeing it firsthand I have got to say the detail on the ejection seat is incredible. Also the resin set comes with resin “weighted” wheels, which gives the correct sag and side wall bulges.  I think as a minimum to any aircraft build, aftermarket cockpit/seat and weighted wheels are a must.
 

 
 
Eduard as usual for special editions and profi packs give decals for multiple schemes.  The decals are by Cartograf, one of the premium decal companies who supply to many other kit manufacturers. There are five marking options and I have chosen the Death Angels flying out of Da Nang Air Base 1968 for no other reason than I like the markings best.
 

 
 
I really like the concept of aftermarket accessories and detail sets for sharpening up models so also purchased the Eduard resin exhaust but on closer inspection it probably isn’t really necessary. I also got Eduards resin rear air intakes. Apart from having open intakes and some PE reinforcing panels won’t really add much.
 

 
 
I also came across this miniscule turned brass pitot tube and just had to get it!
 

 
 
Lastly I purchased the resin wing box and the resin wheel bays by Aires and again the cast resin detail is just stunning.
 

 
 
I probably went overboard with the accessories for what is essentially my first plastic build and have stunning models built straight out of the box but I always jump in with both feet.  Detail sets, photo etch etc really appeals to me, so be as well get experience of it now.
 
 
On to the build!
 
Starting with the cockpit there are a few bits of Eduard PE to fit such as rudder pedals, a floor plate and a couple of side panels.  I found with the side panels that the spacing to clear the floor hump is overly large (not an issue) but that they also stick up past the side consoles by quite a bit and here was the first issue.
 
I trial fitted the colour PE flush against the side plates and when fitted in to the fuselage halves the PE pushed the starboard side plate off.  I made sure the PE consoles fitted into the fuselage ribs so guessed there wasn’t enough room.  As can be seen in the photo below I left the Port one sticking up and trimmed the starboard one down to the console level.  I did lose some detail on the side plate but doubt much will be visible when finally installed.
 

 
 
The tub painted and the stick installed.  To keep things simple I used the recommended paint call out from the instructions and this was MR Hobby, Hobby Colour H317 Gray (FS36231).  I have just placed the PE consoles on to show the Port side butted against the sticking up side panel and the starboard side over the trimmed side panel.  I wish I had just trimmed them both but I’ll get over it.
 

 
 
The instrument panel was next and I enjoyed doing this.  It was sprayed using Tamiya XF-Rubber Black and then the first piece of PE with the gauges was CA glued to the cleaned up plastic part.  To attach the bezel PE I used Tamiya X-22 clear applied quite liberally and then pressed it home.  The clear varnish filled in the space over the gauges nicely but I did go back and add a drop of Clear into each bezel. There is still the HUD and a number of tiny PE levers etc to do but that will be later once installed and the front canopy fitted to protect it.
 

 
 
I was really looking forward to doing the seat to do some work with resin and decals.  I believe it is a Martin Baker MK.7 series seat.  I also discovered that the horse shoe shaped ‘head rest’ is in fact the parachute, which I thought was pretty cool.
 
 The resin plug was chopped off the base of the seat and flash removed to open up any spaces such as the ejector handle and some pipes round the back.  I sprayed it up with XF-85 and the call out called for H80 Khaki Green which I started doing on the seat squab and the ‘head rest’ but found it quite dark.  A look at some images on line showed different colours so used H58 Interior Green on the lumber pad to lighten it up a bit.
 

 
 
First attempt at decals wasn’t too bad despite the small size which probably hides any issues.  I used the obligatory Microscale Set and Sol.  The only part I am not happy with so far is the dry brushing with Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminium, which is far too heavy. I even tried dry brushing neat thinners and then Rubber Black to try and reduce it but things were starting to go downhill so stopped before I wrecked it.  I should have resprayed the black but already painted the greens and didn’t want to redo that (I have decided I dislike brush painting!)
 
I had planned to dry brush lighter green on the edges of the upholstery but after the silver experience decide against it.
 

 
 
There is still all the colour PE harnesses to add but will do that later.
 
A couple of shots with everything dry fitted.  There are the throttle and flap levers and a few other bits and pieces to go on but will wait until installed.  I think I will also wait until the tub is installed before fitting the side console PE so nothing gets popped off during fitting.
 

 

 
 
I thought I would have a bit of fun with the photo-etch HUD and made a little projector lense from clear sprue and painted it with Tamiya clear green.  It took 3 attempts to fit the supplied acetate screen so got a bit a bit messed up LOL
 

 
 
Next up will be fitting of all the replacement resin upgrades and I have shown the kit part for comparison.  The main gear well is a straight drop in replacement and the difference in detail is staggering.  There are still a few resin detail and wire parts included to fit as well.
 

 
 
 
 
Despite the massive plug on the bottom there is enough space in the fuselage for it to drop straight in.  I had to remove some flash from the holes where the undercarriage fit in to but that was it.
 

 
 
The front wheel well would be the most difficult and will require hacking off the kit one from the intake duct and removing the large plug from the underside of the resin part as well as shaping the correct curves.
 
I was undecided whether to use this or not.  The wheel well alignment to the underside of the fuselage will prove tricky as it fits from the inside. As can be seen the resin part doesn’t really add much from the kit part so not a big loss.  I will just use some of the resin details such as doors etc not shown but were supplied with the wheel well.
 

 
 
The F-8 has a Variable Incidence Wing and the whole wing lifts up by approx 10 degrees at the front for take off and landings to provide extra low speed lift.
 
There are so much nice parts in the resin wingbox from the distribution pipes, the insulated main line and the bundles of cables running down the sides. It’s a pity most of this will be hidden even with the wing in the raised position.
 

 
 
The resin wing box has a 3mm plug on the underside which requires removing.  I didn’t trust myself to cut the 3mm plug off the full length and width of the wing box with a razor saw and spent about 45 minutes slowly sanding it down on a large flat sanding block with quite an aggressive grit.  After lots of sanding and trial fitting on each fuselage halve separately it slipped in.
 
The only tweaking required was to gently sand the top of the front bulkhead to get to reduce the height of the top curve.
 

 

 
 
Now that the fuselage halves were together it was time to sand the fuselage join seams and fill and sand the intake.  Of course sanding removes some panel line and rivet details so was time to try redoing these.  I mentioned previously my plastic modelling was limited to pre/early teens Airfix kits (decades ago) using tubes of poly cement and brush painting Humbrol enamels so had to investigate what’s what.
 
For panel line scribers I settled on giving RB Productions Scribe-R a try as readily available, reasonably priced and I only found one video which sounded good to me.
 
It is made from photo-etch stainless steel and had to be assembled by bending the scriber and slotting into the holder.  Incidentally I have several different brands of knife handle (to take No.11 sized blades) but only one allowed the scriber to go deep enough in so the all four side could be gripped in the slots. It also comes with 2 spare scribes
 

 
 
As this is all new to me,  I have nothing to compare its performance against but must say it was easy to assemble and use and I enjoyed re-scribing with it!
 
Next up was re-riveting…again all new to me.  I would love a set of Rosie the Riveters but since I only had a rough idea of the size required it would quickly get expensive to find the right one plus availability.  So again settled on RB Productions Rivet-R which is also photo etch stainless steel and was easy to cut out and assemble.
 

 
 
The F-8 doesn’t have a great deal of panel lines and rivets to redo but shown below is my first attempt at re-scribing and re-riveting the underside of the exhaust.  On the whole pretty happy how it turned out.
 
One thing I noticed (which is not me or scriber related) is some of the panel lines don’t fully line up with each fuselage half but on other areas they do.  The picture shows the last panel line meets perfectly but the forward 2 don’t and then the 4th one next to the tail hook recess meet again.  Anyway rescribed and reriveted satisfactorily.
 

 
 
Next up was fitting the resin rear air intakes.  The clean-up of the resin was straightforward and the photo etch plate fitted perfectly to the resin.  The fit of the assembly though isn’t the best with some daylight showing.  On close inspection the rear heat panels aren’t a perfect cone with a bit of a depression near the rear.  Just going to accept it as is though. 
 

 
 
The first real fit problem with the kit encountered so far is the fitting of the rear ventral strakes.  As can be seen they only really touch at the front and rear and this is after a bit of shaping to improve the fit somewhat.
 
I ran some Mr Hobby Mr White Putty R (quite a runny filler) into the join and then cleaned up by rubbing the joint with Levelling Thinner soaked cotton buds (Q-Tips)
 
(Interesting fact, I think anyway, is that the first F-8’s didn’t have these strakes but were later installed to eliminate a tendency during catapult launches for the plane to spin out when it cleared the deck!  There is a YouTube video showing this with the plane spinning past 90 degrees to the left immediately after leaving the deck.)
 

 
 
On to the jet pipe / exhaust.  As mentioned at the beginning I bought Eduards Brassin Jet Exhaust set (shown on the right of the photo) to replace the 2 kit supplied parts.  The resin has nice detail.  I really enjoy working with resin as it slices and pares so easily with a craft knife.
 

 
 
After opening the packet of the Brassin set I discovered in the instructions that parts of the internal fuselage need to be removed for it to fit.  A couple of tabs need trimming down which is fine but they also require removing the stubs which hold the polycaps for the stabilators!
 
Apart from access I didn’t like that idea so after a bit of eyeballing the kit plastic jet pipe I reckoned I could just about fit the Brassin turbine and afterburner ring in to the back.  If it didn’t work out I could fall back to the resin jet pipe.  I attacked the plastic part with drills in a Dremil, round files, craft knife and sanding sticks and after what seemed like hours later the completed Brassin assembly JUST fits!
 

 
 
For painting I really wanted to try AK Interactive metal lacquers but couldn’t get them locally and my usual on-line store would only send them by road so got some Vallejo acrylic metals instead.  The instructions call for Dark Iron so used Vallejo’s steel and gave everything a coat.
 
I came across a couple of images looking up the jet pipe of a F-8 and everything was coated in a matt brown ‘soot’ so tried to recreate the effect with Vallejo Burnt manifold but I just couldn’t get a fine enough spray and the colour in small doses didn’t stand out. I thinned down some Tamiya Red Brown and tried to spray the pattern as per the google photo.
 
   
 
 
The effect isn’t quite how I imagined it but happy enough.  I will probably put on some black panel line wash, which I forgot to do until I was looking at the photos.
 

 
 
The main wing all glued up.  I watched YouTube videos of actual F-8s taking off and landing to work out the droop for the slats and flaps etc.  I have left off the inner flaps(?) off as these need some trimming to clear the fuselage.  Also included is a bit of PE at the front which was supplied with the kit.
 

 
 
A small tentative step towards painting with priming the main wing and elevators.  I want to try black basing instead of panel line pre-shading so laid down a coat of Mr Hobby Finishing surfacer 1500.  This is my first time using this and it went down beautifully.  I really need better lighting when spraying as the coverage isn’t uniform (but should help with the effect! LOL)
 

 
 
The same 1500 Finishing surfacer went down on the fuselage perfectly.  This will definitely be my primer of choice for future builds.
 

 
 
The one thing that is a little disappointing is on checking the box contents I found the main canopy had broken free from the sprue and has been scratched up a bit and there is also a strange line in the front canopy which may also be a scratch.  The marks/scuffs don’t look so bad in the photo and I am hoping I can polish them out.
 

 
 
I wasn’t sure if I should show the canopy as I decided to give this a go to remove some scuffs and scratches it had with rattling around freely in the box and came close to destroying it! I watched some YouTube videos on polishing canopies so went to work on it will various grades of sanding sticks and then used Tamiyas 3 progressive grades of polishing compounds.
 
I wasn’t happy with it so went through the process again and this time decided to speed things up with a Dremel and felt polishing wheel I had instead of going out to get a mop wheel.  I am sure you are all shaking your heads because as you will know the felt is far too hard and before I knew it I had burned the plastic and it had all burred up in several places!
 
I set about sanding it again to see if I could remove the burrs/burns which required sanding down a fair bit in localised spots and tried to show the worst area of distortion in the photo.  I couldn’t really capture it well but it is in the middle of the side and depending on the light disappears or is worse than the picture shows.
 
I think I managed to dodge that bullet as it looks acceptable in my eyes from what could have been disastrous.  Yet another hard lesson learned for this n00b!
 

 
 
Then on to masking up both inside and out using the supplied masks which again first time using and liked how quick and easy they were to use.  I just filled in the exposed sections with bits of Tamiya masking tape.  The rear of the main canopy was reduced in thickness as per the instructions for installing in the raised position.  The hinge points in the fuselage were also trimmed to allow the canopy to open.
 

 
 
The finished canopy with the Eduard coloured photo etch internals.  Quite happy with it.  There are still yellow decal stripes though.
 

 
 
Finally on to some painting and started to do the mottle coat on the underside of the stabilator.  I believe black basing isn’t really a good option for the navy’s high visibilty paint scheme from this era but wanted to try it anyway.
 

 
 
Finally! The current state of play.  I had finished the wings and stabilators and applied the minimal decals and stencil data using the usual Microscale Set and Sol.  I still need to apply gloss to the fuselage for all the decaling fun that entails.  I will be applying only minimal weathering as I believe the 60’s High Visibility paint scheme was very durable but will apply various staining and panel line highlights etc.
 

 
 
Cheers
Slog

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 321 – Running Rigging Continued
 
Still working on the last 1%.  Since the last post in late March, the remaining yards on the mizzen have been installed with their rigging.  All yard braces had been left off up to that time because they are obstructive to working near the centerline and to reaching into the model to belay lines at the deck.  With the completion of the mizzen yards, work on the braces is now well advanced and other finishing-up work has begun.
 
The first two pictures show the model in its current state.
 


 
Most of the upper braces have been installed.  Because there is still a lot of work to be done at deck level, the braces below the topgallant yards are either left hanging or not started.
 
The next picture shows the array of upper yard braces between the main and mizzen mast.
 
 
This area is quite congested because the mizzen braces run forward.  Fortunately there was no fouling of these lines.  I say fortunately, because there is little flexibility in running these lines.  The connections at the ends of the yard are, of course, fixed.  Lead blocks that direct them downward are also pretty well fixed.  Main mast braces need to be clear of mizzen sails at those points, as do their falls to the deck.  Also, brace lead blocks need to be roughly positioned at heights midway between the upper and lower positions of their yards, otherwise braces would have to be let go to raise or lower the yards, leaving them free to move about.  The next picture shows another view of the upper braces.
 
 
Completion of work forward has progressed sufficiently to allow the sheets and tacks on the lower fore yard to be permanently belayed, as may be seen in the next photo.
 
 
The three lines are shackled together with the clew garnets in the absence of sails.  The tacks run forward to cleats on the catheads, the sheets run aft outside the shrouds, through the hull to belay on cleats on deck.  The lazy tacks are belayed on the first pin of the main pin rails at the side.  These lines were used to control the clew of the sail while shifting the load from sheets to tacks or vice versa, especially if disconnecting one or the other.
 
This picture and the last two also show that the masking tape used to keep debris out of the hull has been removed, contributing greatly to the overall appearance.  This came up rather easily, requiring adhesive clean-up in just a few spots.
 
The next picture shows the focal point of most of the current work - installing rope coils over the belayed lines.  This is fairly tedious work – making the coils, allowing the glue on them to set, then placing them over the pins and adjusting them to hang with some degree of realism.  As may be seen, the pin rails are tightly packed.  So much for all that careful turning of pin shapes.
 
 
The last picture shows the really tight spacing on the poop pin rails.
 

 
As mentioned in early posts, these rails were one of a number of possible solutions for belaying the many mizzen lines.  Even with the closely packed pins on this rail and the one just forward of the poop break, several lines have to be cleated on the deck.
 
The next post will continue with work on the braces for the lower three yards on each mast, and the interesting problem of routing those on the main mast to acceptable points aft without fouling the crojack rigging.  Stay tuned.
 
Ed

Hello Mark,
 
Apologies for the delay in responding to your question - busy days.  I wanted to look at the belaying plan vs. the rigging list to see if my immediate reaction to the question about general patterns in the rigging were were at least reasonably correct.  There is some logic to what at first glance looks like a disorganized tangle.  I will stick to running rigging because standing rigging is very straightforward in comparison, and except for hardware changes, fairly constant over time.  I cannot address changes over time to running rigging and suggest James Lees work for that.  So with those caveats here are some general observations on what seems to be a consistent theme with running rigging on YA and perhaps most clippers in general during that era:
 
Fore and aft sails – jibs and staysails:
            -Belay on centerline – fife rails, forecastle rail, spider bands – halyards at the after mast, downhauls at the forward                                                                  mast/bowsprit.
            -Spanker – boom sheets, vangs, head in/outhauls to tackles at the poop rail, others run down the mizzen mast to spider                                                       band.
Square sails:
            -Fife rails and topsail sheet bits belay heavy lines like lower topping lifts, clew garnets, lower and topsail sheets - also                                                            lighter reef tackles.
            -Buntlines and leech lines for all sails belay at the side rails, arranged from forward: lowest to highest, inner to outer.  All                                              these pass behind yards along masts through fairleads in the top and on shrouds above their belay                                                                                   points.
           - Upper yard halyards have channel mounted tackles - falls go straight to pin on side rails - balanced to both sides with gin                                         blacks on large  yards, single line to tackles on alternating sides for upper yards.
           - Lower yard braces run to block arrangements at the side channels and rails, belay on side pin rails between main banks                                            astride masts.
            -Fore and main upper yard braces run toward blocks at center near after mast then to side rails.  Mizzen braces run                                                  forward to main.
           - Belayed lines on main pin rail banks astride masts: fore to aft, lower to upper, inner to outer.
 
           - Upper yard halyards have channel mounted tackles - falls go straight to pin on side rails - balanced to both sides with gin                                      blocks on large yards, single line to tackles on alternating sides for upper yards.
           - Lower yard braces run to block arrangements at the side channels and rails, belay on side pin rails between main banks                                          astride masts.
            -Fore and main upper yard braces run toward blocks at center near after mast then to side rails.  Mizzen braces run                                                  forward to main.
           
In general: Belayed lines on main pin rail banks astride masts: fore to aft, lower to upper, inner to outer.
 
It would take a much more knowledgeable person than me, to go beyond these observations.  My basis - and the basis for the YA model design - consists of a number of ship-specific belaying plans and some general references.
 
Hope this makes sense and helps address your question.
 
Ed
 
 

I don't know if your tumbler system is the same as mine Sam, but mine not only cleans the brass but coats it with a lube to assist in resizing when you get to the reload stage. I think I would be more inclined to clean them with a chemical.
 
If you don't want them to be black and still don't want to paint them you may want to try this formula:
https://www.sciencecompany.com/Patina-Formulas-for-Brass-Bronze-and-Copper.aspx#1
 
With some practice it may give you the brown color you are used to with the wooden pins.

The construction report is continued with the rigging of the bowsprit.
It starts with the jib boom footropes.
The jib boom footropes, usually fitted in pairs. They were secured to the 
bowsprit cap.
Here are some pictures:

Mastery and Courtesy...
Thank you Johann...

Hi Ferit,
I hope that the two pictures show you how it works.

Hi Johann,
 
May I learn how you tied that knot? ( I cannot see the other side)
Thank you.
 

As I have mentioned before I think, those are proper hooks, well done beautiful work as usual
Regards
Paul