Aussie048

the starboard side was cemented in place......then I got busy with the port side
 

 
the stand was stained and felt was put on for the time being.  when I clear coat it,  I put some better stuff on.
 

 
both sides are on now 
 

 

 

 
 

this session,  the bow got some work done on it.   the plug had been removed from under the grating frames,  and the decoration was pressed into place.  it fit tight enough,  that I did add any glue.....I figure the clear coat will do the job for me.
 

 
the thin strip for the grating was stained and cut to shape
 

 

 

 
the trail boards are a bit different in the pictures.  weighing it out,  I chose to go with the kit supplied boards,  encasing them in a frame of their own.
 

 
they need to be alter a little to fit well on the bow.  working with the starboard side first,  the inner side was stained.  then the holes were covered with scotch tape,  trimmed to fit and pressed in place.  on the outer side,  scotch tape was laid over it and the center was trimmed out.
 

 
it was then painted with Mediterranean blue........unfortunately,  it's a gloss.........the clear coat is a flat, so I'm hoping it dulls it out
 

 

Holy cow!   I just realized that I hadn't posted last Friday's pictures!  basically,   it was aimed at setting the mast collars so I could stain the masts.   the mizzen has already been done.....once it's set in place,  it won't move.  to set the main and fore mast though,  I had to come up with a pair of jigs for the proper rake.
 
it took a while to do......a lot of checking,  at different angles. 
 

 

 
from the bow,  all of the masts are in line with each other.......I tried to take this as dead on as possible.
 

 
the main mast has almost the same rake as the mizzen mast........the fore mast has what I would call a negative rake.....leaning toward the bow.  the jigs are quite simple,  and once the masts were set,  the collars were tacked with a touch of CA.
 

 
it only took a couple of minutes for the glue to set....I was able to pull the masts.   the jigs were then broken apart to remove them from the masts.  the collars were then glued from the bottoms,  so that there weren't too many blotches.   the masts were then stained with the dark walnut....and then done with the mahogany,  for the reddish tone.  I still need to do the other parts I've stained earlier.
 

 
the mizzen and bow spirit
 

 
I was hoping you could see better,  how the nests came out......they are a bit blotchy.  I figure that I'll touch them up before I give them the clear coat......I'll need to experiment a little.

today.......I did a little here.......and I did a little there.   I got this real crazy idea.......what a time for laser cutting,  not to be on my side,  with this kit.   I'm sure a lot of you folks experienced this from time to time......open your kit,  and pop out a few of the parts,  only to find that the plywood lamination had separated.   some would complain......some would simply glue it back together.  I usually choose the latter route......but I lament......I now wished it had happened to the rudder.  my idea depended on this to happen.....and it didn't!  I must make it so!  water.........water separates everything!  it separates pebbles from silt.......it separated my son and his girlfriend, when they were kissing {that was fun}.......it even separates with the wave of a hand {I didn't see this......it was in a book I was reading}.  so, I soaked it in hot water.
 

 
after an hour or so,  I laid it on my table,  and waited for the outer laminates to curl.  it didn't.....wasn't wasted time though.....I got my computer stuff done.  OK then......the next logical option is heat.  I got the admiral's Iron,  I set off on plan B.  the admiral saw me with it,  and the quiz show started.  I promised her that I would buy her a new one.  I told her "don't try this at home!"........she came back with  "I don't have to.....I have you!" {she's been with me too long.......she's a heck of a straight man}.  after pressing it with the Iron for a few minutes,  I was able to remove both sides with a razor blade.
 

 

 
taking it over to the table,  I sanded the residue off of both sides.
 

 
now.......I've taken what would probably equate to about 1.5 to 1.8 mm from the thickness of the rudder, which is 4 mm to begin with.  I think that by planking it over with thin strip stock,  it will have a much better finish,  than the bland surface of plywood.  I'll continue with it tomorrow
 
I also made a trip over to the local Hobby Lobby.  my focus was on two items......stars and diamonds. 
    my search was slow.......until I got into the paper craft dept.   here I found these brads....probably used to clip multiple papers together....not sure,  I don't do the craft.
 

 
with the supplied decorative parts for the ship......there is the moon,  but no stars.  it's clear to see that there are at least five or six stars,  along side the moon.  these come in many colors and finishes.........
gold,  silver,  copper,  antique,  as well as red,  white,  and blue.
 

 

 
I need the white ones......no need to paint!   I did find some even smaller ones in the dept that deals with embossing hats,   belts,  and other articles of clothing.  they are even smaller than these that I have here.   they go by the product name  "Bedazzles.....Bedazzleit"....something like that.....card package with a bubble box with the product inside.....really colorful package.   they cost $5.99.  I would have bought both items,  but the other part of my search,  was proving to be a bust,  so I had to turn to a more expensive alternative.   the diamonds were proving to be harder to find.........I was looking for the playing card shaped diamond...not the glittering bobble that melts a young girl's heart.  these diamonds adorn the sides of the stern's artwork.  the thing that stuck in my head though was that while the stars would have been an addition to the transom {and probably carved},  the diamonds would have been painted on,  and would then produce no rise in the artwork itself.  I bought a package of decal paper.  all I need to do is go on line and find an image of a diamond.  then copy it and import it into the decal maker.   there I can replicate a string of them and size it down to fit in the space.  it will have a light color background,  so this should work out quite nicely.
 
one other item I got,  was the wood for the stern rail details.  I have painted up the .5 x 3 mm thin strips red and white,  and I got some 1/16 x 1/8 x 24 strip stock to do the job.  these will be stained,  cemented in place,  and the striped strips will be laid over the face of the rails.
 

 

 
this is what is to come........when this is done,  the bow will be next,  and then the entire ship can get a flat clear coat,  to liven up the finish.   I'm going back in my rabbit hole now.....call me for tea,  won't you

with the exception of the bow spirit......the masts were dry fitted on the ship.   they stood up proud,  without too much prodding.......so I was able to get these pictures.   why waste the moment!
 

 

 

with the fore and main masts somewhat completed,  I looked at getting the mizzen mast squared away.
 
once the correct dowel was chosen for it,  the adjustment of the rake,  was the next step.   using the bottom hole as the pivot,  sanding at the front of the upper deck hole took place.   there is a mast collar for the main and upper deck holes.....they were stained at this time.
 

 

 
I noticed that the main deck collar was a little lighter than the upper one.......I just ran a Q-tip with some mahogany stain over it,  to darken it up.   after the collars were cemented in place,  a little more sanding needed to take place,  for the mast to fit through.
 

 

 
a little more sanding was done......still needed a bit more.   I got it to about 1mm,  and will leave it as is.....as mentioned,  if I go any more,  it will be out of alignment with the main mast.
 

 

 

 
to sand out the mast hole,  sand paper was cemented to smaller diameter dowels
 

 
the rest of the mast was assembled......the cross tree and upper section of the masting.
 

 

oh......it was so nice to work only in my smock again {actually it's a button - down shirt,  but I have a habit of wiping my hands,  and the mouth of the paint bottles on it}.   I'm not a sloppy person.......I just look 'lived in' :D !
 
I made some good progress......the mast steps have been assembled.   they still need to be sanded and cleaned up.......stained and {or} painted.   I also took care of the Mizzen mast......it's not perfect,  but if I went any further,  the darn thing would be perpendicular to the deck.......and that just would NOT do 
 
I started to assemble the fore mast......I have already whittled down the top part of the second section for the cross tree and cap for the final section.
 

 

 

 

 
how I whittled the top part down,  was to score around the dowel with miter box and saw,  and then shave it using an x-actor knife.
 

 

 
I took those photos,  while I was assembling the main mast.
 

 

thanks Adam.......I actually did the rails separate,  and put them on after.  it worked out better that way  {masking can be a real pain} 
       thanks for the good word !
 
thanks Lawrence.....been a bit of a break though......our furnace decided to crap out {a s-l-o-w, agonizing death}.    we had a new one installed today........out with the oil and in with the Natural gas.  I hope it saves me money!  thanks for the good word! 
 
thanks Frank.......there's a fine line between scratch and bash.....but I am having to scratch out a few parts.  the crow's nests seemed to be the biggest problem.....a lot of the parts were missing in the kit.   the main mast nest gave me some trouble, but I think I have it sorted out pretty well.  now that the heat is back on....I assembled the fore and main mast.  the second steps are just dry fitted at the moment,  but I did that after I took these pictures.  I hope to have more up soon.  I'm not sure if I'm up to snuff with some of the other folks here,  I favor chalking it up to  "creative modeling" 
 

 
I hope no one get nose bleeds easily........we're going to up
 

 

 
here is what the frame work under the nests looks like
 

 
thanks for the good word Frank!   I'm still playing catch up here on the site.........I hope to see your fine build in the list! 

Thanks Bindy..
 
Decided I might just use supplied dowels, when I think about it none of the timber in this ship really matches what the original would have been..
 
I can see why kit supplies gunports, they were a nuisance to make but I'm sure they would be much easier second time round. But jeez I take my hat off to those that make a hundred or so of these.. You have extreme patience.
 
Im happy with the result, they will stay in any position by themselves but I will need to add ropes to act as operating setup.. Ollie

Paint!
 
Folks -
 
Apologies for the long gap between updates - I just got caught up in the flow and haven't paused to add to my log.
 
It may be hard to believe, but I've actually begun to smear some paint over some of the plastic...
 
I've got the gun deck and associated furniture mostly done with a few minor touch ups needed here and there:



Spare Anchor:

Camboose:

Capstan:


Chain Pumps:

 
I was a Floquil paint guy in the past, alas, we know how that has gone.  I'm now trying Vallejo paint and I'm becoming a big fan.
 
Thanks for looking in
Evan

Now the ship is on its "legs"

hull nearly finished

On the board:

All Righty Then, some more fascinating updates from The Ballyhooer !! exciting ain't it
 
Well the planking march down the hull towards final victory is on-going.. I have measured and found that I am now well below the Wale line and am almost at the Waterline so it is near change over time to Walnut planking (I don't want to use up all the 'Good' stuff in areas that will be painted, The Wales and the area between them and the Waterline will be black, and there will be a little 1 or 2mm black strip of timber between the Wale and the Capping Rail)
By The Way I also removed the Bulkhead Extension Pieces, just need to be sanded level now. Heady Stuff Eh?
 
And on that Bombshell it's photo time ..  Oh the excitement  Woo Hoo.. :mellow:  :mellow:
 
All The Very Best Folks.
 
Eamonn
 

Managed to get a few things done before Spring drives me outdoors
 
Firstly, I talked about thinning the bulwarks.  The first two photos show the 'before' version.  You can see the thickness of the bulkhead frames, combined with the outer planking, gives me an overall thickness of 1/4" +. 
 

 

 
This needed to be brought down to an overall thickness of 5/32" at the caprail and 7/32" at deck level which is seen in the next two photos:
 

 

 
The transom had been previously done.
 
It was then time to add the cap rail to the transom.  Although it may have been possible to do this with one continuous piece (I tried but couldn't), the kit provides two laser cut pieces to handle the curves and a third section is added to the center.  This worked quite well although I need to work on the seams a bit.  They are actually perfectly smooth to the touch, but not to the eye.  Here it is depicted from a few different angles:
 

 

 
Finally, the quarter galleries are making progress.  The first layers have been added.  There is an overlaying layer and additional vertical area to be added.  But I'm pleased so far with the arrangement:
 

 
The interior areas of the QG were stained before it was closed up.  Not much will be visible once completed but this was a good time to get it done.
 
That's it for the time being.  Everyone grab your favorite beverage and sing out a toast to the long-awaited Spring, 2014!
 
 

Hello folks,
 
here are some pictures from tie the blocks and hooks
 
 
 
   
 
 
     
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 

 
 

it is much happen but unfortunately not much to see.
Blocks are tied and secured to the side walls.
The carriages are currently being completed with trunnion straps and securing pins
Here some pictures in unannotated sequence,
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
Have fun
 
 

Thank you Geoff and Curtis.
 
I have been practising my sewing only on days when I am home alone with the wife at work. That's not very much time. After reading lots of articles and watching Youtube videos, I taught myself how to use this machine. Amazing what you can find on the net these days! Oh yes, and CurtisW - your tip to let the machine do the pulling really did the trick. I found I was trying to push the cloth into the machine. I now try to hold the cloth straight. It works.
 
Anyway, this is my machine:
 

 
I took the plans for the sails off the plans, but the two spritsails were not drawn on the plans. I looked at McKay and cut out some paper templates to test for fit on the model:
 

 
I drew out the outline on cloth using a disappearing ink pen:
 

 
... then proceeded to stitch all the sails. I now have a full set of sails, ready to be mounted:
 

 
I am not sure whether I want to show the sails furled or unfurled. At the moment I am leaning towards furled, so as not to hide all the detail I put in the boat. The problem is, I do not know what furled sails on a Launch are supposed to look like. Plenty of googling later and I am still none the wiser. Does anybody know?

I think this is final test, and I am on right way to get what I am looking for
 
... something which has visible wooden structure, with visible caulking, with aproximative natural colour of wood ... and in same time in grey gamut ...
 
looking at from close distance and in right angle, it seems as ...
 
looking from sharp angle ... almost grey
 

 

 

 
There will be time for some more tests, because all sanding and "caulcing" works have to be done before applying any paint, and I think that all of three decks must be planked simultaneously and painted at the same time with same colour and same method of weathering
 
PS
 
On third picture can be seen stowaway in his way to board on Her Majesty - a hair from my daughters Persian cat. I didnt see it by eyes, but camera catch unwanted intruder ,,,

The Sheer Clamps have been installed and the Thwart Risers are clamped in place for forming. They will be installed tomorrow. No Treenails on this one for me. At this stage in my building experience I just want to get one under my belt. As I learn more and gain more confidence I will strive for more detail. Right now it's just learning the basics. I have to say that this is a whole lot more fun for me than plastic. 
 

 
Al D.

Rear top deck in place and planked with caulk and treenails using the pencil along the edges and simulated nails drawn on.

I began planking the main deck.

 
I cut all my planks and colored the edges with pencil in batches as I went.

 
I got glue all over my fingers.

 
I made sure I was symmetric and off the cuff with the pattern.

 
And am halfway done now.

 
I plan on simulating the treenails as I did with the rear deck sanding and staining with wipe-on.

Here are some photos of the partially painted hull.  I decided to leave the white bottom until a little later.  I'm going to start on the floor boards and risers next.  I like to airbrush my models, but masking can, sometimes, be a real pain.  The interior probably took me a good three hours to mask, and only 30 seconds to paint!  Never the less, I feel that the results were worth it.  I'm using Floquil antique white, ATSF red, and depot buff.  I'm not very happy with that last color, but it's time to keep moving froward.
 
BobF

I'm at the point on the model where having an accurately built cradle can be beneficial.  It occurred to me that the scrap wood that held the frames might be of some use in building one.  After some experimentation, I found that the areas that housed frames 4 and E would work.

Because of the added planking on the hull, some trimming was required, but it worked out well.  Using scrap wood, I was able to build the cradle.

The extension and stop at the back of the cradle will insure that the model always sits in the exact same orientation, which will help with laying out the waterline.  I do this for all of my models.

When I checked the plans, I noticed that the hull had a little drag to it.  (The stern sat lower in the water than the bow.)  At first, I thought this might be a printing error, but checking some references, I found another longboat that also had this characteristic.  So, the craddle was adjusted accordingly.
 
BobF

As stated earlier, I'm trying to duplicate some of the features that are shown on the NMM models.  Although my model won't have an anchor davit off the stern, I still want to show the features that would be required if one were used.  I realized that my transom wasn't high enough, and if a davit were mounted, the horse would be in the way.  So, I sanded down the top of the transom, flush with the cap rail, and mounted a slightly higher piece.  In the photos, the notch that the davit would sit in has been started, and will probably be cut a little deeper.
 
BobF

Today I was able to install the starboard dingy hatch doors and gave it one coat of paint on the inside of the doors.  I still need to give it one more coat and then touch-up the outside and some needed trimming and futs'n with it, as usual.  I always find stuff to tweak here and there. 
 

This shows the dingy hatch doors installed and closed seen from the port side.  It still needs touching-up paint and some dye for the slats and whatever else I see that needs to be prettied up. 
 

This is looking forward and uh oh, what de we see?  Ah, I need to to redo the wooden slats on the starboard doors   I didn't see it on the model, but does it show up on the pictures though.  They need to be toughed up anyway.
 

This shows the hatch doors open with the first coat of interior paint in dark grey.  The dingy loading / unloading crane beam acts as the center hatch door support.  It'll hinge on a pivotal brace just aft of the conning tower.
 

This is looking forward with a plastic boat acting as a temporary dingy 
 
Cheers,