Glenn-UK

Much appreciated Mark

Many thanks Jim

A mixed bag of items in this post detailing what I have been working on over the last few days. I have made all the main and fore mast shroud lines. They have been position on the two masts but they can be removed if required before I a, ready to add the lanyards. I have also made the main and foremast stays and preventor stays, and one pair is shown below. Next I moved on to adding the various blocks and footropes to the main yard. The first task was to seize threads to all the blocks. The yard was then held in position, using my quad hands. In the next photo the central blocks have been added to the yard. The footropes have also been added. Moving outwards the next three blocks were added to the yard. In the next photo all the blocks and footropes have been added. The yard was then then test fitted to the mast. The next job was to add the deadeyes to their respective strops. Next I started to add the chain plates and links. Using the shroud line as a guide I marked the position for the first chain plates and link. The first four chain plates and links have now been added.

Work has been progressing slowly on the Harpy, partly due to a short holiday and partly due to enjoying the mini heatwave. I have completed all the work related to the main and foremast, such as: a) The platforms have been added b) The various PE parts have been added c) The various blocks have been added d) Cleats and iron banding have been added above the platform I have also added the channels to the hull. I am waiting a new supply of blackening solution so the strops and chain plates can be blackened before they are added.

Ditto, I had also noted the belaying of those "hidden" cleats so I have not fitted the ladders

I am now prepared for around 2 to 4 weeks work of adding the various blocks and footropes to all the yards and masts. I have cleaned up the work area and brought out the quad hands and homemade thread dispenser so I am now ready to make a start. Today I concentrated on the topgallant yards for both the main and fore masts. It is a simple task as there are only two blocks and two footropes to add per yard. The one central and two end flying leads will be added later on in the rigging process. I started with the footropes. I cut 4 lengths of black thread and created loops on each end, noting the loops position can be adjusted and closed up as required. The footropes were added to the central section of the yards and the loops closed up. The other ends were then thread over the ends of the yard and the position of the loops seizing was adjusted as necessary and the loops were closed up around the yard. In the next photo I have added the footropes and I am using some clamps to double check overall shaping looks symmetrical. I have also brushed on some very diluted pva glue to the footropes to help maintain the shape once the clamps have been removed. Once that was done I added the blocks. The completed topgallant yards, noting the locating pins will be trimmed. I will not be in the shipyard until early next week as my wife and I are taking a short break away.

Thanks Mark

Work over the last few days has been making the various yards. I used my mini lathe to add the tapers. I used a sanding stick to create the hexagonal mid section of the main and topsail yards (both fore and main). In the photo below I have added all the PE parts. The various blocks and footropes still need to be added. I have added the required camphor to the driver boom jaw. I found fitting the driver boom to the main mast a bit difficult as the mast cheeks hindered the fit of the jaw. I ended up opening the jaws to compensate for the cheeks. The eyebolt has not been glued in place as this will be removed so a 4mm double block can be seized to it. The next photo shows the stun sail boom in place. I have added the hole in the stun sail booms, as can be seen in the photo below. The heptagonal shaping can also be seen in the next photo. After varnishing the masts they were painted black. I am now making a list of the various blocks and deadeyes required for all the yards and masts and I will spend a few days preparing these items ready for installation. For example the main mast will require: 2 x 3mm single blocks with thimbles seized with 500m long threads. 8 x 3mm single blocks 2 x 5mm single blocks 2 x 5mm (inner) & 3mm (outer) single block pairs 2 x 3mm single blocks each on a 42mm flying lead. 2 x footropes

Work still continues with making the various masts and yards. After I had made the bowsprit, spritsail and jibboom I completed the work in this area by making the spritsail yard. All these items will require the various block, deadeyes and footropes adding. I plan to add these items once I have completed making the remaining masts and yards. In the two photos below the spritsail yard has only been pinned in place. Next I moved to to making the topsail and topgallant masts for both the main and foremasts. The Harpy is slowly coming to life, but there is still many more days work required on making all the yards.

Great idea

Today I have made the spritsail and jibboom masts. As can be seen in the photos everything looks OK when they test fitted with the bowsprit.

Following on from my last post I thought I would show, in a bit more detail, how I shaped the fore mast. Starting with squaring the end I tape the start point. I then make a small cut, using a razor saw. I use a craft knife to remove most of the material. A sanding block is then used to remove the remaining material and to smooth the surface. I use a pencil to indicate any areas which require a little bit more work, after checking the width with a vernier gauge. In the next photo a vernier gauge is used to check the width have been reduced from 8mm down to 6.5mm. The above process are then repeated on the opposite side so that the overall width is reduced to 5mm, as shown below. The process is then repeated on the other two side so the dowel end has been shaped to a 5mm square, and the final check is fitting it with the platform frame. This is shown in the next two photos. The next task is to round of the top section. The area is marked with tape. I use a craft knife to change the shape to an octagon. Sandpaper is then used to round the end to a 5mmD. Once rounded the end cap is test fitted, as shown below. The excess material above the cap is cut away, as can be seen in the next photo. Any gaps will be filled with wood filler. And now a few photos of the completed fore mast. I then made a start with making the bowsprit.

Today I started work on making the main mast. The first task was to construct the main platform supporting frame. Once that was done I shaped the upper section of the main mast. Starting with a length of 8mmD dowel I created a 5mm square section on the upper section. This was done using a combination of a craft knife and sanding block. I worked on one side at a time, using my digital vernier to check the dimensions as I went along. The final check was to check the fit with the main platform supporting frame. Next the top section of the dowel was rounded off to 5mmD, using a sanding stick and sandpaper. The mast cap fit was the checked. I also check the fit of the platform. I will use some wood filler to hide the gaps when it is time to fit the mast cap. The mast cap will then be painted black. Next I added the flat surfaces for the two cheeks. It was necessary to reduce the dowel width from 8mm to 6mm for this. I used a combination of my craft knife and sanding block for this task. Using my sanding block I created a flat edge for the fish. I used tape to ensure I was sanding the right area. After coating the mast varnish it was painted yellow ochre and then test fitted on the deck. Next up was to add the ring for belaying pins and the support for the main boom, these parts were painted black before they were fitted. The next couple of photo's shows the Harpy with some of my other Vanguard models. The next task was to add the iron banded strips. These were cut from black card. The final task for today was to add the two bibs.

Many thanks Mark

It has been a good couple of days in the shipyard as I have now completed all the deck work and I am now ready to start work on making the various masts and yards. The work I have completed over the last couple of days include the following: a) adding the shot garlands. These were painted black and then once fitted the shots were added. b) adding the hawse rope and fitting the hatch cover where it feeds through c) adding the mast rings, which were painted black before fitting d) The position of the winch assembly was reversed, as its alignment is incorrectly shown in the build manual. e) all the deck eyebolts have been fitted. f) The binnacle and ships wheel have been fitted. I opted for a red and black painting scheme for these items. I will add the rigging for the ships wheel when I am ready to start the rigging phase of this build. Here is a collection of photos showing the completed deck details.

I have spent the last couple of days working on the deck items, With the exception of the ships wheel and shot garlands I have completed all the work. The various parts have been painted and installed. The deck eyebolts and belaying pins also need to be added. Starting with the bow area the bitts have been painted flat red. The shot garlands have been painted black but, as yet they have not been properly positioned and glued in place. The coaming that sits in front of the stove is not added, as I need to add the hawse rope. In retrospect it would have made more sense to do that before the fore mast bitt assembly was installed. Moving toward the main mast area everything has been added. I did add the hand pump drain pipes in the wrong place, but I am sure nobody will notice if when looking at the model. I did paint the capstan top with a black iron band. Shot garlands still need to be painted and glued in place.

I know the ships wheel is wrong way around. I will look at the skylight also. Thanks

Today I have been building and painting all the various hatches. Each hatch comprises a number of parts so there is a nice curve to each finished coaming. In the series of photos below everything has been placed on the deck but they have not been glued in place. I still need to build the hand pumps, capstan and bitts which is the planned task for tomorrow, however if the nice weather continues I may end up in the garden soaking up the sun as I did this afternoon. It is very crowded where the ships wheel, binnacle, skylight and aft companionway are located. I will paint the front edge of the companionway hatch black rather than the olive green as is at the moment.

Over the few days I have started work on adding all the deck item. Starting with the stern area I added the rudder housing and rear hatch. I opted to paint the rudder housing and outer framework of the rear hatch black. I used an olive green paint for the rear hatch cover. I have just noted there is some dried glue to remove on the top right side of the rudder housing. I still need to add the eyebolts to the gun port openings. I then turned my attention to the bow area and added the fore platform assembly which I painted flat red. I also assembled all the Harpy's ladders, 6 off in total. The two ladders for the fore platform have been added. Next I assembled both the companion hatch and skylight. The companion hatch cover was painted olive green, the basic frame work was painted black and the decorative patterns were painted flat red. The skylight framework was painted black and the window panels were painted flat red. The PE window frames were chemically blackened. In the following photos these assemblies have only placed on the deck and I will glue all the deck items in place once I have completed the assembly phase of all the various deck items. The companion hatch ladder has been fitted however. I have started to assemble the ship wheel. My current plan is to paint the wooden parts black and the ships wheel (which has been sprayed with a primer) a wood colour. The following photo shows my initial dry fit of the various ship wheel parts. The dowel will need to be trimmed to the required length.

A little bit more progress over the last few days. The chess trees have been fitted, one per side. Next two side fenders per side and the ships steps were added. I should have spent a bit more time cleaning the char for the step edges, so I will need to tidy that up. Next I attended to the stern area and added the two stern davits. Various cleats were added to the transom, noting I still need to add the eyebolts around the gun port openings. To finish of this post I did a bit of work around the bow.

A little bit more progress over the last couple of days. I have added the gunwales, timberheads and the sheer rails. I opted to paint the sheer rails flat red. On reflection I wish I had painted the upper rail flat red also rather than black. I have also added the woo and stern side counter timbers. Here is a photo of the hull prior to fitting the stern side counter timbers. A couple of photos of the bow area. The next photo shows the woo pattern. As can be seen in the next two photos now the stern side counter patterns have been fitted, I will need to add a little bit of wood filler to the right hand-hand side and I will need to adjust the bottom edge of the left-hand side so it follows the line of the wale.

Many thanks @SaltyScot

The failure of the copper plating task did knock my confidence and dented my enthusiasm with this hobby. That said I have now moved on to tasks which I tend to enjoy so my enthusiasm is returning. The first task I undertook was to add the belaying pin racks and carronade eyebolts. The next task was to add the outer transom pattern which was clamped in place. Once the clamps were removed the transom looked Ok but there were a couple of areas which required so further attention, as can be seen in the photo below (yellow arrows) The top area weas sanded smooth and then some wood filler was added along the lower edge. Once the wood filler was then painted black. The stem post was then painted black above the waterline. The bowsprit bitt assembly was painted flat red. The leading gunwale parts and catheads were painted black. I forgot to add the cleats to the catheads when they were assembled. Finally the leading gunwales and catheads were added to the hull. The bowsprit bitt and bowsprit dowel were dry fitted in the following photos.

Hello Bob It remains a mystery.

After many trials and tribulations I have finally ended up with a simulated coppered hull. After cleaning and sanding the hull after my failed copper plating attempt I painted the hull below the wales white. Next I painted the area between the wale and waterline yellow ochre. Remembering I had made a copper plating template I printed out the template on to some stiff card, and then noted that Richard did something similar with his Harpy build. Next I cut the template into strips which where then glued to the hull using Titebond wood glue. I then sprayed the hull with some copper paint. Whilst it is not a perfect solution it does give an impression of copper plated hull. With all the masking tape removed the hull does not look too bad and is OK for my needs. I still need to attend to painting the stem post, which I will probably use black paint.