Glenn-UK

11 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

One of the most thorough logs I’ve seen with your exceptional level of detail. Congratulations on completing your project, I’m sure you are justly proud.  Well done.

High praise indeed from you, many thanks 

49 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Beautiful work, Glenn!

Many thanks

36 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Quite a journey you've had with this kit Glenn, and she does look impressive.

Well done.

 

B.E.

Thank you

30 minutes ago, schooner said:

Absolutely stunning work! I'm bookmarking this log as a reference for all future sailing ship builds.

Congratulations and thanks for all the work in putting this build log together. 

Glad you enjoyed the build log

1 hour ago, James H said:

Doesn't it feel great to have finished something as complex as Sphinx!

 

Well done, and it was definitely a nice move in starting over too. If I have one suggestion it would be to re-angle and tidy up the hammock cranes and rope along the gangways. ✌️

Many thanks James

It was a moment of great relief and happiness once I had added the two anchors yesterday afternoon.

I did manage to dislodge the seating (broke the glue seal) of the hammock cranes along the gangways during the rigging process which is why they are at a funny angle at the moment. I totally agree I should fix them back to the correct position again. I did keep pushing them back to the right position every now and then as I was rigging, but I did not reglue them to keep them secure as I knew I would keep knocking them with my big hands.

Build Completed

The final task was to assemble and add the anchors to the hull. I did build the 4 off supplied anchor assemblies, but I decided to only fit the two leading ones for this build.

I have really enjoyed building the Sphinx and I have learnt a lot of new skills during the construction of this beautifully designed model. Many thanks to @chris watton and @James H for their invaluable support and advice during this project. I have also really appreciated the support, comments, advice, etc. from everyone who has been following my progress, so many thanks to you also.

I have now cleaned the shipyard and will be starting another build very soon. This will be the Erycina. I have created a build log for this (Erycina Build Log) to record by progress.

In no particular order I have taken a few photos of the completed Sphinx for you all to enjoy.

I am ready to start work on building the Erycina. I am really looking forward to this build project, which will be my 6th Vanguard Models kit build.

I will post regular updates showing my progress, along with photos. I will also detail some of the build processes I normally use to complete the more complex constructional aspects.

I use a 50 / 50 mix of white spirit and ronseal clear poly matt varnish. This is wiped on with a cotton cloth. 

You've done a great job on the mast and yards, etc.

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Lovely work, Glenn. 

Thank you

12 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Looking very good, Glenn, you should be proud of that!

Many thanks Chris. 

5 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Well done Glenn, looking good👍🏻
 

B.E.

Many thanks Maurice

27 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Glad to see UK Glenn is making such excellent progress. Well done!

Thanks Glenn(USA). 

18 minutes ago, DelF said:

Just catching up Glenn - she's looking really good!

 

Derek

Many thanks Derek. I have used many of techniques you have kindly shared on your build logs which helped me enormously.

19 minutes ago, Dave_E said:

OUTSTANDING Sir, beautiful! 👍😀

Many thanks Dave for your support and very kind words.

Rigging Completed

I have now added the sheet, tack and braces to the 3 off fore yards. This now means I have completed the rigging phase of the build. The only task left is to build and fit the anchors. As mentioned in a previous post I am not planning to build and fit the 3 small boats for the time being.

The following 5 photos shows some different aspects of the yard rigging for the foremast yards.

The following photo shows the foreyard and fore topsail yard brace rigging as it passes through the various blocks on the main mast stay

The final few photos

Nice work. When adding ratlines I have found it better to work from bottom and to add every 5th one first (The 0's in attached photo). Then I add the middle ratlines between every 5th one (the 1's in the attached photo). Finally I add in ratlines in the gaps.

Very neat work, looks great

This is a great kit and I'm sure you will enjoy the build.

Main, Topsail and Topgallant Yard Rigging Completed

I have now added the sheets, tacks and braces to the main, topsail and topgallant yards. For the most part I am happy with the end result, however when taking some photos I noted one slight error, which can be seen in below. This error can be corrected if I remove and rerun the rigging line. I have lost count have how many times I have already rerun some of the rigging threads to avoid tangles and crossed threads therefore it will stay as is for the time being. I am not best pleased with myself for missing this one. 

I have not been able to master the art of tensioning and securing the rigging thread free ends to their respective belaying pins and cleats as it should be done. The thread tends to unwrap itself as I try to manoeuvre it around the pins / cleats. More often than not I have to resort to using small amounts of ca to hold the thread in place during the belaying process.

Here are some photos showing the current build status. I found it very difficult to take decent photos.

The next task will be to rig the fore, topsail and topgallant yard sheets, tacks and braces. Once that is done the anchors will be added which will be the final build task for this build.

Looks like you've made a good job of the shrouds.

A great build so far. 

13 minutes ago, Bowline said:

I bought some sails - thought I'd have a go at that especially since all the hard work has been done. Also my Vanguard HMS Alert arrived - it looks like a big step up.

You certainly have the skills to build the Alert 

19 minutes ago, Bowline said:

more photos:

Nice work. Looking at the deadeyes I assume they are free to rotate so they are correctly aligned when adding the lanyards.

2 hours ago, James H said:

I left the hammock cranes off the model as they would've fouled the shrouds. That won't be a problem with your build. 

Ditto, left off mine also

Mizzen Mast Rigging Completed

After belaying the mizzen mast sheets and tacks rigging, I decided to add the mizzen yard braces. The first two photos show both the topsail and topgallant yard braces as they pass through the final blocks located on the end of the mizzen gaff.

The crossjack yard brace threads are secured to the rear most main mast shrouds and are then fed through the yard brace blocks. The threads are then fed through blocks located on the same shroud lines. The starboard shroud line, with the brace rigging, is shown in the next photo

The next photo shows the crossjack brace with the thread rigged.

The crossjack braces rigging is then belayed to cleats located on the back of the main mast shroud line, as shown below.

I have added a few photos of the completed mizzen mast rigging.

Main Mast Sheets and Tacks - WIP

With the completion of the mizzen mast and yard rigging I moved on to the main mast sheets and tacks. As can be seen in the picture below the main yard rigging is quite involved. I did cover the preparation of the blocks for this task in a previous post.

The next photo shows the start of the rigging with the thread (blurry) seized around the main yard. The thread can also be seen passing through the yard block also.

The next photo shows the upper part this rigging.

Now a close up of the double block.

The thread from the center of the double block is fed through a hole in the hole and then belayed to a cleat on the inner bulwark. Not brilliant belaying but the thread is secure.

There is still a little bit more rigging to add to complete this task.