Bob Cleek

Remember, best results are realized when you only use synthetic bristle brushes for water-based paint (acrylics) and natural bristle brushes for oil-based paints (enamels.)
 
For very fine detail, check out the offerings on eBay for "nail brushes" (sometimes called "dot brushes,") used by manicurists for painting fingernails. They come in a variety of small sizes and are dirt cheap. Buying fine artists' brushes in small sizes can get expensive fast. 
 
Beyond that, the size and type of brushes to buy depends on the size and type of painting you are going to do. Find a local art supply store and buy brushes as you need them. You'll soon build up a good selection. Clean and store your brushes properly and they will last a very long time. 

Brushes come in a wide range of quality, and their prices reflect that. Avoid packaged sets that sell for like $1.99 at Hobby Lobby. But neither do you need to lay out the dough for top-end brushes (though they are nice). I have found mid-priced white sable brushes work quite nicely for me. I use large-ish square-tipped brushes for doing large areas, like hulls. I use an assortment of medium- to small-sized round-tip brushes for detail work; I use such brushes for applying PVA glue as well.

You'll probably be just fine. A good finish on  the exterior should prevent leakage. 

Just to add to Bob's comments: I have been using Vallejo et al. acrylic paints pre-diluted for airbrushing in such pens. As they come in bottles with pipettes, they are easy to adminster to the pens. Both, a curse and a blessing is the fact that acrylics dry very fast. So frequent cleaning of the pen is required, but that is easy.
 
The typical draughting sets usually also include such pen-inserts for the various compasses, which could also be useful for making your own decals in this way.
 
Earlier this year I also was able to buy cheaply one of those old-time gadgets with which one can generate broken lines - the pen is lifted and lowered by a toothed wheel as you run it along your ruler. Thought it might come handy for exactly that purpose or for generating rivet lines using a tailor-made toothed wheel and acrylic gel ... in fact the pens might come useful for generating welding seams as well, though I had not need yet to try this out.

Sand off the paint that is not right.  Buy a can of shellac (clear or garnet) and one of shellac thinner (likely ethanol).  Make a mixture of thinner and shellac 1:1.  Use a piece of an old T-shirt  to pad it on - just wet no build up.  When dry, dress it with a Scotch Brite pad and tack rag it.  Give a thought to doing another coat of full strength shellac.  A better base for follow-on paint would be difficult to find.  It dries fairly quickly and is not messy.

Looks like an indexing setup. Place a piece between the centers, and cut X number of flats, or drill X number of equally spaced holes around the circumference. Used with the milling machine. For example make a round bar, into a hex bar, then drilling a hole centered on each face, Drilling four holes in a mast, at 90 degres apart, etc.

And now, the final product... 
 
I will post these to the gallery of completed kit builds.

Well, I learn something new here every day! I've had one of these pin vises for years, along with a collection of others. I never had any idea it unscrewed to open and contain two double-ended collets!    

As mtaylor said, you are definitely exhibiting the symptoms of scratch-building, AKA "kit bashing." This is known as "going over to the Dark Side."  It seems you've discovered the dirty secret of most kits: there's no way anybody can build a model that looks like the the picture on the box the kit came in without supplementing what the box contains. To achieve a model as good as what's on the box cover, the builder has to do a lot of customization and research, not to mention having the skills necessary. Your work is quite impressive for a novice. The next thing you know, you'll be building from scratch. Before that, do a couple of really good quality models. Don't let the average-quality European (or, God forbid, Chinese counterfeit) models turn you off to the hobby. Try one of the really good kits to really impress yourself with what you can accomplish. 
 
Just a couple of observations... I'm not sure if your photos show your coppering as complete or not, but in the off chance they were showing what you thought was a completed job, be aware that the coppering covers everywhere there's wood below the waterline, including the entire keel and rudder. You might also consider adding a patina to the copper (if the tape hasn't been coated to prevent that) or paint it to accurately depict the true appearance of a coppered bottom. This is a stylistic thing, I suppose.  Some like shiny copper bottoms, but they don't really exist in real life. Also, cannon balls are colored black, so you may want to paint them flat black. 
 
Nice work on the propeller, although I'd be hesitant to encourage people to "flick" it when the model is done.  If it isn't permanently mounted as yet, you may want to file or sand the casting seams from it. Fortunately, Mamoli did provide an historically accurate two-bladed propeller. Some kits provide inaccurate details like that, since it's cheaper for them to use the same castings in multiple kits. The propeller would have been of iron and should be painted flat black, of course. If you really wanted to make yourself crazy, you could install an electric motor to slowly turn the prop at scale speed and a smoke generator for the stack. (Smoke generators are a model railroading item, sold in model railroading catalogs.) I mention this just to give you an idea of how creative some modelers have gotten.  

Well, I learn something new here every day! I've had one of these pin vises for years, along with a collection of others. I never had any idea it unscrewed to open and contain two double-ended collets!    

Sure do. Lots of them. A good selection of tweezers, forceps and hemostats for openers. Do a search on YouTube for "how to tie surgeon's knots" and you'll find tons of video tutorials for medical students on how to tie suture knots with instruments. The micro-surgery videos are very instructive. There are tricks to using the instruments to tie fine knots in difficult places. I recommend you get a pair or two of long 10" or 12" tweezers which can reach across a deck to tie half-hitches on belaying pins on pin rails. I am also a big fan of the "ear polypus.' Here again, get a long one with some real reach.
 
https://www.pjtool.com/4368-8-ear-polypus-alligator-clamp.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=ear polypus&utm_content=Tool- PLA- Shopping&utm_campaign=Tool- PLA- Shopping&msclkid=1bff71b841351a0b9cf9114e069d22e3

Now that you mention it, I remember seeing that technique in Darch's book. At the time, I also winced at the use of lead shot, which could "bloom" and fall apart. While I haven't yet had occasion to try it, I'd do much the same with FIMO, but instead of placing the line inside a ball of soft FIMO, I'd use a piece of lost wax wire* which would melt away when the FIMO was baked in the oven, leaving a small hole for the line to be run through. If the hook or eye at one end of the block had a small hook in its mounting peg and the FIMO was formed around it, the wire hook or eye would be well held in the hardened FIMO after baking. As most know, FIMO plastic clay (which is sold by other manufacturers under different brand names) can be rolled very thin and block cheek shapes can easily be cut or stamped cookie cutter fashion from the thin sheet of FIMO.
 
*  "Wax wire" is used by dental labs and jewelry manufacturers in the lost wax casting process. They are sticks of uniformly sized casting wax in various diameters, usually expressed in wire gauges. See: https://contenti.com/jewelry-casting-supplies/carving-specialty-waxes/round-wax-wires

I still have a stash of that MS "balloon cloth" from the "Yellow Box Era." I don't think it's really anything other than a finely woven linen cloth. It was called "balloon cloth" (or sometimes "ballooner cloth") because they used to make hot air balloons out of it. It was also used by bookbinders to bind high quality hand-bound volumes. I searched for it online and kept getting hits for fabric with hot air balloons printed on it! I only found one source which appears to be the read deal, in three weights: heavy, medium, and light: https://fabrics-store.com/all-fabrics?hsa_tgt=kwd-77240888451493:loc-4084&hsa_grp=1235851277083946&hsa_src=o&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=&hsa_acc=6560444710&hsa_kw=www fabric-store com&hsa_cam=1705433906&msclkid=83c7a17969641b583bd5c18f2c462432&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[TDM] Branded&utm_term=www fabric-store com&utm_content=Branded

Yes, there are easier ways to bend planking. Check out the "more" drop down menu at the forum masthead. There are planking tutorials there which you'll find most helpful. There are many approaches. My favorite is simply dry heat, using a plank bending iron ( a modeling tool) and/or a small travel iron. It's fast and not messy. 
 
For a first effort, it appears you are doing quite well. It can be a steep learning curve, but, obviously, you have what it takes to succeed. 
 
Study the planking tutorials in the forum for tips on planking. I'm not familiar with the model you are building, but I'm sure there are more than one build log on the forum which you can follow and see where the pitfalls are. It's always better to learn from others' mistakes than to learn from our own!  You may want to consider buying after-market planking stock. Generally speaking, the planking material in most kits, save the "boutique" kit companies like Syren and Vanguard (See their sponsor ads on the forum homepage) run the gamut from poor to abysmal. Most experienced kit builders end up using better materials than what are provided with the kits. (Some wood species are much easier to work with than others.) Rigging line is a major after-market item, as are blocks and deadeyes. I can't speak to the quality of your Mamoli kit, but you can see here in the build logs what others decided to do in that respect. 

As mtaylor said, you are definitely exhibiting the symptoms of scratch-building, AKA "kit bashing." This is known as "going over to the Dark Side."  It seems you've discovered the dirty secret of most kits: there's no way anybody can build a model that looks like the the picture on the box the kit came in without supplementing what the box contains. To achieve a model as good as what's on the box cover, the builder has to do a lot of customization and research, not to mention having the skills necessary. Your work is quite impressive for a novice. The next thing you know, you'll be building from scratch. Before that, do a couple of really good quality models. Don't let the average-quality European (or, God forbid, Chinese counterfeit) models turn you off to the hobby. Try one of the really good kits to really impress yourself with what you can accomplish. 
 
Just a couple of observations... I'm not sure if your photos show your coppering as complete or not, but in the off chance they were showing what you thought was a completed job, be aware that the coppering covers everywhere there's wood below the waterline, including the entire keel and rudder. You might also consider adding a patina to the copper (if the tape hasn't been coated to prevent that) or paint it to accurately depict the true appearance of a coppered bottom. This is a stylistic thing, I suppose.  Some like shiny copper bottoms, but they don't really exist in real life. Also, cannon balls are colored black, so you may want to paint them flat black. 
 
Nice work on the propeller, although I'd be hesitant to encourage people to "flick" it when the model is done.  If it isn't permanently mounted as yet, you may want to file or sand the casting seams from it. Fortunately, Mamoli did provide an historically accurate two-bladed propeller. Some kits provide inaccurate details like that, since it's cheaper for them to use the same castings in multiple kits. The propeller would have been of iron and should be painted flat black, of course. If you really wanted to make yourself crazy, you could install an electric motor to slowly turn the prop at scale speed and a smoke generator for the stack. (Smoke generators are a model railroading item, sold in model railroading catalogs.) I mention this just to give you an idea of how creative some modelers have gotten.  

Well, I learn something new here every day! I've had one of these pin vises for years, along with a collection of others. I never had any idea it unscrewed to open and contain two double-ended collets!    

Thanks for the replies. Hauling the traveller back to the bowsprit cap to make it easier to handle the sail makes sense.
 
But ...
 
I have seen photos of vessels that have a traveller but do not use it when lowering the sails. Here are some photos of the modern La Recouvrance topsail schooner. First a clear shot of the outer jib and traveller. It appears that the outer jib stay also serves as the outhaul. The vessel also has a jib and a fore staysail.
 

 
Here is a shot of the fore sails lowered:
 

 
The dolphin striker (martingale) is visible, and the traveller clearly hasn't been hauled back to the bowsprit cap.
 
Finally a photo of the furled sails.
 

 
The traveller is still near the forward end of the jib boom. Why have a traveller if you don't use it?
 
Many modern schooners do not have a traveller for the jib(s). So I was wondering how common it was in the past.

Not just setting it.  Lowering it without first bringing it inboard via a traveler runs the risk of dumping it in the drink and sailing over it.
 
There are several contemporary prints from the 1700’s showing small sloops with furled sails where the jib is run out to the end of The bowsprit but hoisted In stops, presumably to be set by pulling on the sheets.  I rigged my Longboat mode.l this way.
 
Roger

I have made a variation on the sewing needle Eberhard refers to. I beat the end of some 2mm brass rod down to a fine blade and cut a groove approx 1mm deep into the end of it and mounted it into a dowel handle. The whole thing is approx 250mm long giving plenty of room to hold it and reach across the deck. 
All you have to do is hold tension on the bitter end while guiding the line around the bit, pin or cleat. 

In the UK there is a real steam-engine scene, whole in continental Europe and much of the rest of the World these thingies may be only known as a historical phenomenon. Also, due to the industrial development lagging behind, they have not been as wide-spread, as in the UK. Having had the Matchbox model of a traction engine, I was aware of their existing from an early age on, even though I grew up in Germany, I certainly was not aware of the extensive 'steam scene' in the UK until I came to live there in 1987. I then attended various 'steam-fairs' and it turned out that the uncle of a colleague of mine actually had one ...
 
This model was built around 1989/90. I just got my watchmakers lathe, but building a working model was certainly out of scope at that time. I happened to chance upon the Keil-Kraft kit, which was still current then - the company faltered since then. Just at that time the monthly Model Engineer published a series on building a working model of a Fowler Z7 (HAINING, J.: Countryman‘s Steam - Fowler Class Z7S.- Model Engineer, 5 August 1988 - 1 June 1990.), which came very handy for detail drawings, particularly for the actual steam-engine. A local museum owned a Fowler Class BB1 ploughing engine which I could photograph and sketch for more 'typical' Fowler details - the makers followed their design practices independent of the size of the engine. The visits to various steam-fairs furnished further photographs of Fowler engines.
 

The assembled, but not yet painted model
 
The Keil-Kraft kit was ok with respect to the proportions and the principal structure, but lacked most of the technical details that are very visible on such engines. Most notably, there was big hole, were the two-cylinder compound engine is supposed to be. So most of these details were built from scratch in brass, steel, aluminium, Plexiglas, and styrene. The engine, of course, is not working, but the appearance of the engine, the gearing, the ploughing gear, etc. has been faithfully reproduced as far as it is possible at 1:76 scale.
 

 
Fowler was a very interesing and innovative company in the field and the market leader in steam-ploughing sets. A set consisted of two identical ploughing engines and a so-called balance-plough that was hauled between them across the field. The sets were expensive so that only very rich land-owners with large fields could afford them. Typically they were operated by contractors, who would move from farm to farm. Off-season they were employed in drainage work, pulling tree-stumps and everything, where a strong winding drum with a steel-cable was needed.
 

 
The winding drum has an interesting history and was the key innovation by Fowler. The invention was not made by John Fowler himself, but by a young German engineer, who came to the UK to learn and in search of work. Max Eyth also became an important sales engineer, first helping the Viceroy of Egypt to build up a cotton industry and later in his home country from where he worked also in Eastern Europe. In Germany he also became known as a writer through his memoirs and various novels.
 

Compound cyclinders with their drainage cocks, safety valve, and steam-operated whistle
 
The history of Fowler as a company is written up here:
 
LANE, M.R. (1980): The Story of the Steam Plough Works. Fowlers of Leeds.- 410 p., London (Northgate Publishing Co. Ltd.).
 
Fowler not only produced plouging engines and ploughs, but also a wide range of traction engines, locomotives, and other items.
 
 
 

The clutch-system to connect the winding drum to the steam-engine
 

Two-speed driving gear and clutch and boiler-feed injectors including water-hose
 

Driver's view
 

Driving stand with all the levers, valves and gauges
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I still have a stash of that MS "balloon cloth" from the "Yellow Box Era." I don't think it's really anything other than a finely woven linen cloth. It was called "balloon cloth" (or sometimes "ballooner cloth") because they used to make hot air balloons out of it. It was also used by bookbinders to bind high quality hand-bound volumes. I searched for it online and kept getting hits for fabric with hot air balloons printed on it! I only found one source which appears to be the read deal, in three weights: heavy, medium, and light: https://fabrics-store.com/all-fabrics?hsa_tgt=kwd-77240888451493:loc-4084&hsa_grp=1235851277083946&hsa_src=o&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=&hsa_acc=6560444710&hsa_kw=www fabric-store com&hsa_cam=1705433906&msclkid=83c7a17969641b583bd5c18f2c462432&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[TDM] Branded&utm_term=www fabric-store com&utm_content=Branded

Now that you mention it, I remember seeing that technique in Darch's book. At the time, I also winced at the use of lead shot, which could "bloom" and fall apart. While I haven't yet had occasion to try it, I'd do much the same with FIMO, but instead of placing the line inside a ball of soft FIMO, I'd use a piece of lost wax wire* which would melt away when the FIMO was baked in the oven, leaving a small hole for the line to be run through. If the hook or eye at one end of the block had a small hook in its mounting peg and the FIMO was formed around it, the wire hook or eye would be well held in the hardened FIMO after baking. As most know, FIMO plastic clay (which is sold by other manufacturers under different brand names) can be rolled very thin and block cheek shapes can easily be cut or stamped cookie cutter fashion from the thin sheet of FIMO.
 
*  "Wax wire" is used by dental labs and jewelry manufacturers in the lost wax casting process. They are sticks of uniformly sized casting wax in various diameters, usually expressed in wire gauges. See: https://contenti.com/jewelry-casting-supplies/carving-specialty-waxes/round-wax-wires

I still have a stash of that MS "balloon cloth" from the "Yellow Box Era." I don't think it's really anything other than a finely woven linen cloth. It was called "balloon cloth" (or sometimes "ballooner cloth") because they used to make hot air balloons out of it. It was also used by bookbinders to bind high quality hand-bound volumes. I searched for it online and kept getting hits for fabric with hot air balloons printed on it! I only found one source which appears to be the read deal, in three weights: heavy, medium, and light: https://fabrics-store.com/all-fabrics?hsa_tgt=kwd-77240888451493:loc-4084&hsa_grp=1235851277083946&hsa_src=o&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=&hsa_acc=6560444710&hsa_kw=www fabric-store com&hsa_cam=1705433906&msclkid=83c7a17969641b583bd5c18f2c462432&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=[TDM] Branded&utm_term=www fabric-store com&utm_content=Branded

J boats had their day before the invention of synthetic fabrics. The color would have been a light cream.

Now that you mention it, I remember seeing that technique in Darch's book. At the time, I also winced at the use of lead shot, which could "bloom" and fall apart. While I haven't yet had occasion to try it, I'd do much the same with FIMO, but instead of placing the line inside a ball of soft FIMO, I'd use a piece of lost wax wire* which would melt away when the FIMO was baked in the oven, leaving a small hole for the line to be run through. If the hook or eye at one end of the block had a small hook in its mounting peg and the FIMO was formed around it, the wire hook or eye would be well held in the hardened FIMO after baking. As most know, FIMO plastic clay (which is sold by other manufacturers under different brand names) can be rolled very thin and block cheek shapes can easily be cut or stamped cookie cutter fashion from the thin sheet of FIMO.
 
*  "Wax wire" is used by dental labs and jewelry manufacturers in the lost wax casting process. They are sticks of uniformly sized casting wax in various diameters, usually expressed in wire gauges. See: https://contenti.com/jewelry-casting-supplies/carving-specialty-waxes/round-wax-wires