Aussie048

Thanks guys, we will be fine...
 
So I got my breach ropes done, thanks so much for the advice all
 
3rd photo shows tackle, I understand one end should be coiled or in my case I'm deciding to wrap between the blocks.. But the other end I.have just put a knot to stop from coming through block.. I feel this isn't right.. Advice appreciated
 
4th photo shows tackle, I think I should put them on an angle, attached to the next rib along the bulwark.. You may see the holes for eye pin on rear of canon.. More advice that I would love to receive.. Many regards ollie to

Thanks David - the wood for the taffarel is Castello Boxwood. I'm using dark Swiss Pear for the Capping Rail.
 
Thank you Greg - I imagine it would have taken quite a while to hollow out all the Coving from one piece   . I notice you didn't fit the Capping Rail or Quarter Pieces to your Pegasus - any reason for that? It would have been nice to see it all fitted to your ship - it was a little difficult trying to imagine the whole assembly from the plans.
 
Thank you too Al.
 
Capping Rail
 
The Capping Rail is very tricky to make. I traced around the taffarel to get the inner shape for the five pieces which I cut on the scroll saw from dark Swiss Pear to match the rest of the railings. Much finessing was need to get a good fit   . I found it best to work from the centre toward the ends :
 

 

 
  Danny

It took one more round of steaming & clamping overnight to get them to the final curve I needed because the wood resisted the bending. Taking these several steps at a time prevented any cracking & splitting. Now these parts are ready for when I get to them which is coming up soon.

After soaking clamped the parts with clothespins to pull down on them while steaming them. Used a hair straightener to heat dry to hold the new shape. 
 

Thank you dragzz .
 
I finally feel well enough to make a return to my van and therefore this Build .
 
In three days I managed to fit the rest of the deadeyes and chains, and made a start on the Shrouds. The lower Foremast ones and half the lower Mainmast ones are now fitted. I'm not totally happy about the varying heights of the upper deadeyes, but they look in keeping with the rest of the ship   .
 

 

 

 

 
More work will be done in the coming couple of weeks, as I'll be returning to the van over Easter and the Anzac Day long weekend.
 
  Danny

...... continued.
 
I made the taffarel base from three pieces. This will save a lot of carving, and won't be at all noticeable.
 

 
I drilled out the bulk of the inner parts of the top section, glued it to the middle section and clamped it into the baseboard to dry :
 

 
Then I finished the outer edges and glued the pieces to the main lower piece and clamped it again. I spot-glued the main piece to the baseboard - this will ensure it doesn't straighten out and also gives a good steady rest for the carving etc :
 

 
Once the three pieces had dried I started carefully carving and cutting the waste out of the middle holes. This was relatively easy, thanks to the earlier removal of most of the waste :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

Taffarel
 
The stern structures begin with the Taffarel Base.
 
I started by making a "building board" which has the same curvature as the stern. I used a couple of pieces of pine - the lower convex one is the actual board, and the concave one is used to clamp the pieces of the taffarel whilst they are drying :
 

 

 

 
Continued next post .....
 
  Danny

Thanks all. Good to know I'm on track.. I just rigged up my blocks I made earlier today, I've spent a lot of hours today with seemingly small amounts of progres. But it's there and lots of re doing and general learning.. Yards were basically completed this morning.
 
I find contradictory pictures and info. I get confused.
Like other hobbies of mine it would seem learning to research is key..
 
Dave I would like to know your technique for soften and defuzz..
 
P,s did I.mention the shipyard is facing temporary or worse closure to a category 5 cyclone.. Oh it's only 300km/hr winds..never mind that the bar will remain open.. it's all action lately. Regards Oliver

A 3/64" shim (1.2 mm) was added to bring my foremast main pinrail sections into alignment with each other;  we'll see how well the stain will mask the seams...

Peace on earth ... kids are in town, Admiral is in Gym, and I am alone  ready to work
 
Aft deck finished
 

 
Nibbing was not so hard as on front deck
 

 
And again cat`s hair on my model !!!!!
 
I do not see it, but camera does. I need to think about this.
 

 

 
And here is She with brand new dress, struting like a peackok !!!
 

 
Next stage, sanding decks and colouring to final colour
 

Thanks mate, that helps lots, I just did a dummy run and think I'm.on the right track.. Canon on left is what I think is right.. needs refining.. Will also be adding the blocks and tackle if I can manage it.. I will manage ..

Thanks all
 
I got my top yard done today, a bit fiddly..
 
I'm rigging my canons, I have made my own blocks..
 
I am trying to decide whether to have 'recoil ropes'... right term? .. Should they go over 'rear' of canon or just off large rings?? Regards Oliver

Moving along with it now, so I,ve got the bulkheads cut out, and I'm now gluing them in. Once they are in I'll straighten the keel, as it has a slight bend, by putting in a couple of planks flush to the deck level while it's clamped. That should sort that little problem out. Then I'll fair the frames. In the meantime it's a little difficult deciding on which timber to go with for the planks. I've looked at some cherry veneer, but i've never used it before. I also like the look of Jarrah, it's got nice red color. Then there's Teak? Choices Choices. 
 
As always I hope you are all having fun with your builds,
                                                                                       Matt.

Hi Mates,
 
Still working, very slowly, on the carriages. This post is in the form of a question. Would any of you kind soles have a "perfect" idea on how I might replicate the axle stops so that the wheels won't fall off?
 
The small pieces that I am using for the axle supports that attach vertically to the carriage are a bit too wide to be added to the axles as keys. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I do know that most who are kind enough to drop-in do so silently, but any ideas that have worked for you would be a treat. This is my first attempt at gun carriages. 
 
 
Michael

The newest additions to my Fair American are the poop deck rail, the gangway steps and chess tree.  This completes the outside of the hull (except for the quarter badges).   The poop deck rail follows the painting scheme of the Rodger’s model, which I like. I painted the cavil black, as well.  The gangway steps are made from a 1/32 inch piece of boxwood laminated to a 1/16 inch piece.  They are unpainted except for the upper one which is painted black.  I used a round file to shape them.  The chess tree was made from two pieces of 1/16 inch boxwood since I didn’t have a boxwood 1/8 inch square plank.
Next up are the timber heads, knight heads and the cat heads. 

the last segment is cut and cemented in place......even though there is a 1/32 difference,  it looks much better.
 

 

 

 
I am thinking of using some .5mm strips to make up the difference.  it would cover those nasty seams and it would look a bit better.  I ran a center line down the middle.
 

 

 
I have some 5mm wide strips.......but then I thought of the dark mahogany strips I have.   these strips are an inch wide {about 25 mm}......the insert is about 5 inches wide.  it will save me from dealing with all those smaller strips.
 

 

 
not to worry about that cover I wasted my time on.........I'll put it to good use......somewhere 
 

well Bob........you did say you wanted to see me back at work on my builds :D ...careful what you wish for    I found out that I'm not on Santa's nice list........I guess in a way it'll be good......I'll need all the coal I can get to power the heaters at the wharf
 
never a dull moment Adam.........never a dull moment     I love it as well!
 
 
 
well.......the cover is dry now.  I fitted it in place,  and to be honest,  I'm not happy with it.   it sticks up in places,  the curvature isn't right,  and there's gaps.   I could add a border strip around it,  raising it up a little,  but then I'd have to contour it to the deck curvature.....too much work,  in my view.
 

 

 

 
since there is a lip around the hole,  and I do have some 1/16 flat stock,  I decided to go the route I should have done in the first place.   the cover will have to be made in three pieces......so I cut the first segment.   the decking is 3/32 thick.....I'll have to make up the difference somehow.  I cut the second segment,  and held it in place.
 

 
it looks pretty good........I cemented them down.  for the seam in the middle,  I reinforced it with a strip of wood,  so it would mate flush.
 

 

 
now to cut the last segment......I reinforced the seam here as well.
 
 

Whew! I finished mounting the rudder. Thanks for the tip of doing the top & bottom hinge first. It really helped. I used a drop of crazy glue in each hinge and set the pin so it wouldn't keep falling out while I tried to mount it to the hull. Then I used a wood sliver as a wedge to keep the hull hinge full deflection so as to  make a tight fit while I nailed it. It worked. About every third nail bent and had to be pulled out.

Still working on the rudder. It's like working with miniature Mexican Jumping beans and doing surgery on a flea!

I'm back!! Finally!! The reason for this long absence is that my dad was diagnosed with a cancer relapse and has been in hospital for nearly 1 month plus.. So, my life was like work and go hospital everyday. Anyway, he's turning a lot better now and I can have more spare time for myself already One funny thing was that, Ian did message me in person during the MH370 incident worrying that I might be on that mysterious flight and causing this long absence (Anyway, Ian.. Thanks for your concern )
 
Another news is that I've just resigned from my job, and that will make me have more time on my ship recently BUT I'll have no laptop 'cause I was using my company's laptop all the while for both my personal and office stuffs =.=" gonna buy a new one this weekend. I'll need to return it to the company tmr.. so, I'll post the current look of my ship first now and then the progress after I got my new lappy..
 
It's a bigger leap compared to the last update since there were some progress that I haven't updated here... However, the Unicorn now is just so my version.. 
 

I added doors under the forecastle to cover the ugly interior.. I'm not sure whether any ship is built with this design? That the stove is inside the 'cabin' or very close to the manger? If so, then I can decide the location of my vent better.. hope anyone can help here
 

Belfry is also added by referring to Pegasus.. but I think I still missed out 2 cleats on the sides of the bell
 

The bitt 
Also, I've changed the rail to straight down instead of using round ones as instructed in the booklet. This might match my color scheme better
 

The bow rails and cat heads, which I ald done before CNY but haven't updated here. The one at the starboard side snapped off from position when I show my ship to my little cousin during CNY @.@ Anyway, the rails part is not done yet. I'm hoping to add a thicker rail or a jawed one on top of the others..
 
Thanks for viewing
 

Here comes a short update..
 
Ladder Making

Ladder has to be done before the hull planking, so that it's easier for me to check whether the feet of the ladder 'landing' correctly from outboard.

The kit provides the materials of the ladder, with pre-cut ladder slot for the steps. Anyway, they are not as good as expected.
 


As you can see from the picture above, the slots of the ladders are not aligned. I've tried switching them, but still only a pair matches. 

For the 'surroundings' and steps, I used these:
 


I made the wider strips inside the narrow ones, so that it acts like plug to the deck. After some measuring and checking, here's the result:
 


It's a bit terrible, isn't it? lol Especially at lower right corner..
I remade one anyway.
And then insert the steps into the slots.. steps are in 20mm length.
 


Just glue them together and they're completed.
 


View from this angle, the extended part can be seen clearer. It also helps covering the ugly plywood cross section.

As seen from deck..
 


Picture below shows how I check the angle of the ladder from outboard.
 


I haven't made the handrails of it, because the stanchions provided by the kit is way out of scale in their height. I might adjust the upper deck higher, or remake the stanchions.

Thanks for viewing!

Internal planking completed:

 
Now - the caprails!
Chuck recommends to make them flush with internal planking, but let them hang on external side.
But I'm thinking maybe it would look nicer make a caprail symmetrical, evenly hanging a bit from both sides? Will try and see. Luckily there is enough wood in the kit for experimenting with different shapes of caprails

Now the progress is really fast!

 

Christmas in April!!!     Wood has arrived from Jeff at Hobbymill.  Wonderful wood and it's perfectly dimensioned.  I'm plotting out the frame blanks and hope to start making sawdust later this evening.
 
Time to start getting this build back on the road.... err... building slip.  The wood isn't warped, the camera is having issues. I think it was the setting I choose.
 

I have now applied most of the decoration.  Applying it accurately on the model would have been quite difficult. I was still .5mm out on one decoration  - those who may be interested may care to find where.
 
 
The first two photos show how the required curvature of the facia was derived. A piece of timber strip was taped to where the facia will be attached, and the curvature drawn on a piece of paper.  I then used this as a template to shape a piece of balsa.

 

 
I then pressed the large decoration and the facia together over the shaped piece of balsa. To get the decoration to the correct height I clamped a piece of strip across the facia so that the decoration only had to be moved laterally to position it correctly (no photo, sorry).
 

 

 
The gold decorations on the facia required quite a bit of filing to obtain a good fit, and the two small decorations above the top windows did no fit and needed to be trimmed.
 

 
A fair bit of fiddling was needed on the stern to make the facia fit properly, but the dry-fit shown suggests it should turn out reasonably well.
 
 
On a different note. I have discovered that Xylene will take off any residual polish on copper better than anything else I have tried. I am now waiting to apply the clear matte sealer.  It must not be too humid (<65%) and it has rained virtually every day for the last fortnight. I didn't rain for two months before that!