Glenn-UK

I thought today I would share some of my build methods in a bit more detail and I have focused on todays work which was the bowsprit bitt, ships bell and windlass assemblies. Parts Check Before I start any assembly I ensure I have all the parts. I also refer to the build instructions / photos for additional guidance. The picture below shows this. Bowsprit Bitt Assembly I started by removing the laser char from the two parts. I also rounded off the square tops. Once that once done I did a test fit of the bitt in the locating holes on the deck. In this instance, as seen in the photo below, the bitt did not locate fully. I did not wish to force the part in the holes and risk damaging the bitt. On closer examination I noticed that there was a very tiny slither of the base beneath the deck which was causing the problem. I took my square file and filed away the excess. After a few minutes I retried and this time it was a perfect fit. Now that I was happy with the installation aspect I checked the fit of the cross member timber. As there was no fitting issues I applied some wood glue to the contact surfaces and held the parts together with a clamp for a few minutes. The completed assembly was then dry fitted in place with a length of 6mm dowel inserted to check the bowsprit would locate correctly, which it did. Ship's Bell Once I had removed the laser char from the ship's bell support frame I did a test fit and found that the part located perfectly first time. Next I moved on the the ship's bell. I placed a brass pin through the hole at the top of the bell, using a touch of ca gel to secure it in place. The pin was then bent to 90 degree angle. I drilled a 0.5mm hole in the headstock and glued the bell in place. The pin showing in the headstock opening has been removed. Once that was done the head stock, fascia panels, cleats and windlass pawls were added. I did blackened the cleats and windlass pawls prior to installation. Windlass There was some excess bits of resin on the octagonal winch drum supplied with the kit, as can be seen in the next photo. Using a craft knife I very carefully removed the excess material and tried a test fit with the winch drum. No problems were detected. I then applied a couple of coats of walnut paint to the octangle winch drum. It was then a simple task to glue the various bits together. The two windlass belaying rails also locate in slots provided on the ship's bell support frame. Therefore when I was gluing the rails in place used the ship's bell assembly to set the rails position correctly. Main Deck Steps I also assembled the two main deck staircases today. This was a bit fiddly. There is an inner and outer rail for each set of steps which you do need to consider when assembling. I did make a small pencil mark on the two outer rails which helped me greatly. The final picture is of the main deck. All the deck items are dry fitted for the time being.

Hi Rusty. I had noted the gun ports were painted red. I am planning to do the same. With regards to the rigging of the cannons, I think, due to the cannon assembly, it will probably limited to the breach rope and maybe the rear tackle train.

Thanks Bob, I am just pondering if I should rig the 6 cannons. Any thoughts?

I have had a very productive day in the shipyard as can be seen in the following photos. Test Fit Of Mast Dowels I decided to insert some dowels (of the correct diameter) in the mast holes as can be seen in the photos. I have not used all the kit supplied dowels as I had a spare length of 8mm dowel which I used for the foremast test fit. There is a very nice looking rake to the mizzen mast. Aft Rail If I was to tackle fitting the aft rail again I would not paint and varnish the capping rail prior to fitting the aft rail as the paint and varnish applied did close up the aft rail locating holes. I was able to correct this by filing the aft rail fitting tabs so they would locate. Take care as the aft rail pillars are very fragile and easy to snap off. Eyebolts I then moved on to fitting the eyebolts to the main deck. The method I used for this task was: a) run a 0.6mm micro drill through all the eyebolt locating holes. b) test fit an eyebolt in each locating hole c) put a touch of ca gel on the eyebolt stem and insert fully, ensuring the eyebolt is correctly aligned. Bits and Bilge Pumps I then assembled the Main Mast Gallows and Main Mast bits. I removed the laser char and rounded the tops on the main. I then moved on to building the two bilge pumps. In the manual the 4mm dowel required for the bilge pumps needs to be cut to approx. 30mm. I was pretty happy with my dowels, as can be seen in the following photo. The items are only dry fitted on the deck for the time being. Deck Hatches I then assembled the 3 main deck hatches. The hatches are only dry fitted on the deck for the time being.

Really nice job, it looks amazing.

Thanks Rusty

Many thanks Derek. I have now fitted the aft rails. Be warned fellow builders they are very fragile and very fiddley to fit.

Hello Darrel I am glad you are finding my build log helpful. I class myself as an enthusiastic amateur. I have found my building skills have improved from following advice I have found on other peoples logs.

The upper aft rail has been assembled and I am currently waiting for the glue to fully cure. Please be aware the aft rails are very delicate. I have managed to snap off one of the support beams. It is not a major issue as it can be fixed very easily. In the meantime I have now added all the items to the upper deck, including all the cleats and eye bolts, excluding the belay pins for the mizzen bitts, which I will fit during the rigging phase. I have now started work on building the various items required for the main deck, which should keep be busy for a few days. I did prime and paint the spiral staircase PE rails gold. The tiller housing Binnacle, mizzen bitts and spiral staircase.

Looking forward to buying the Sphinx, once it is released.

I have found the LED light magnifier headset to be a real help when doing the close up work, such as the seizing of the blocks and eyebolts. Moving on from this morning work I have now fully rigged the ships wheel. I started off by cutting a 600mm length (this was a tad too long) of 0.25mm natural thread and starting with the centre point I wrapped this thread round the ships wheel assembly. Once this was completed I threaded the 2mm blocks / eyebolt and tiller assemblies to the rigging line. It took a steady hand and the magnifier headset to complete this activity. Next I dry fitted the ships wheel, eyebolts and tiller to make sure everything would locate correctly. A touch of ca gel was then applied to each eyebolt and then they were inserted in the deck one by one followed by the tiller and the ships wheel. I also added the final two eyebolts where the rigging ends are tied off. I continued to feed the rigging lines through the blocks until there was some tension on the lines. Once I was happy I tied off the two ends. I also added tiller house fascia panels and roof and spiral staircase. It would have made more sense to fit the spiral staircase prior to the mid ship bulkhead so I could actually see to insert the staircase bottom tab in the slot provided, but I was able to locate the tab in the slot.

I thought I would start this post with a picture of the mid cabin bulkhead, complete with the mid deck bulkhead door canopy which has now been glued in place. Do not make the same mistake as me which was to remove the resin door canopy from the excess resin before it was painted gold. It makes much more sense to paint the dome and then once dry remove the excess resin. As indicated in a previous post I have been working on seizing the 2mm blocks for the ships wheel. This consists of seizing a very small 2mm block and then attaching an eyebolt, a total of 6 blocks with eyebolt attachments are required for the ships wheel rigging, plus an additional two off 2mm blocks attached to the tiller (as covered in a previous post.) I thought would detail how I have seized and then attached an eyebolt to the 2mm (very small) blocks. In terms of time it took me around 20 mins to complete each block and eyebolt assembly. The method I have used is much better described, much better implemented and much better illustrated on page 15 (post 433) of Derek's (DELF) excellent Speedy build log. According to the manual the ships wheel rigging should be done using 0.25mm natural thread. The first thing I did was to carefully run a 0.4mm drill bit through each of the blocks hole. I have two drill bits set up in separate mini drills (with different drill bits) and I did inadvertently try to run a 0.6mm drill through one block which split in two as a result. Once I had enlarged the blocks holes I then set about seizing the 2mm blocks using my quad hands. With the 2mm block held in place I cut and positioned a length of 0.25mm black thread and then using 0.1mm natural thread I started the seizing process with a half hitch knot. Working toward the block the seizing was completed using a series of half hitch knots top and bottom. I was pretty consistent with 4 to 5 knots on the 6 blocks seized. A touch of ca was used on the final knot and the excess thread trimmed. I agree with comments made that I should be using even thinner thread for the seizing. To that end I have ordered some fly tying thread for use on future seizing's. An eyebolt was then attached to the 0.25mm black thread tail and the block was clamped in place along with the thread, as shown in the photo below. It was then a case of repeating the seizing method of alternate top and bottom half hitch knots. As can be seen with the attached close up macro photo it can look a bit cumbersome, but compared to my previous projects this is a marked improvement on my seizing ability. Undoubtedly this would have looked so much better with thinner seizing thread. Once the eyebolt had been seized a touch of ca glue was applied to the final knot and the excess thread trimmed away. I completed the process by applying a thin coat of black paint to the seizing and also touching up the eyebolt. I will now move on to install the ship wheels rigging, which will be covered later on, once the task has been completed.

Your attention to detail and workmanship is amazing.

HELP PLEASE Yesterday I soaked 20 eyebolts in an acetone solution to clean the PE parts. I then put the eyebolts in a solution of the AK Interactive photoetch burnishing and after a few minutes all the eyebolts had turned black, as expected. Today, when I started to handle the eyebolts the blacken effect started to disappear, and simply rubs off when touched. Am I missing as step with regards to sealing (or cleaning) the blackened effect prior to handling the eyebolts? Any help or guidance will be greatly appreciated

Thanks, I had noted that in your log and is something I need to look at.

Today I have been working on the ships wheel and tiller. First task was to shape the tiller by rounding off the square edges. Once this was done I set about adding the 2 x 2mm single blocks. The first thing I did was to carefully run a 0.4mm micro drill through the blocks holes and then test fed some 0.1mm thread through the blocks. Next, using the quad hands, I started to seize the first 2mm block using 0.25mm black thread. Once I had completed the seizing I thought it looked a bit bulky so I then started again, this time using 0.1mm thread. I think this produce a better result. I used the seizing method suggested by Derek (DELF) which was to use alternate half hitches top and bottom and I worked toward the block, and this proved to be a very good method. Eventually had the two blocks seized to one length of thread which was then secured to the tiller. I had already primed and painted the brass ship's wheel PE parts so it was a very straightforward task assemble the items. In the picture below the ships wheel and tiller have both been dry fitted to check everything fits ok. My next task will be to seize 6 off 2mm blocks to their respective eyebolts, once again I will follow the seizing method outlined by Derek (DELF) in his Speedy build log. I will use a blacking solution on the eyebolts prior to the seizing. I then plan to run the rigging thread through blocks in turn and once each block has been threaded I will secure the ship wheel and eyebolts in there respective positions and then tension and tie off the rigging using two more blackened eyebolts. I have already dry fitted the Tiller Housing which I will glue in place once the rigging has been completed.

This morning work as progressed well. The painted figurehead as now been installed and the lower cheek rail was put back in place without any problems. Prior to painting the figurehead I did try a dry fit and found in necessary to remove some of the excess resin casting bits from the base and back of the main figurehead part. I did manage to knock of the feathers from the top of the helmet however. Thankfully I was able to find the very small piece and using a touch of CA gel I was able to reattach without any problems. I have added the final PE decorations to the Bow ‘V’ Frames, cathead assembly, Bow Bracket and Hawse Bolsters. The cathead decorations and bow bracket with the decorations added, with an out of focus figurehead

Great work

You have made a very wise choice with the Duchess Of Kingston. There are some great build logs to help you along the way.

I have noted that the Lower Cheek Rail leading edge (the curly bit) prevents the installation of the figurehead. I have been able to release the Lower Cheek Rail on one side and I have now test fitted the figurehead without any problems. I noted on the pictures in the build manual the curly bit has been removed. I have also fitted the Catheads, the Cathead Support Brackets and the bow upper and low rails. I have now started painting the figurehead, the blue background is now complete and the paint is now drying. I will paint the gold bits in the morning. I have been using my latest gadget, the LED hands free magnifier headband visor and this is going to be an excellent addition.

Thanks, overall I'm reasonably happy with the build. I'm slowly getting better with each build I do.

Time for another update in my progress. The two attached close up photo's show just had badly I painted the hull, thankfully it is not that noticeable to the naked eye when viewed from distance😂. I have now fitted the rudder assembly. I took my time in shaping the upper stem of rudder so that there was sufficient clearance to allow the Rudder Pintles to be seated in the stern post. Looking ahead at rigging the wheel and tiller the 2mm single blocks look very small so I will need my LED hands free magnifier headband visor to see what I'm doing. I then proceeded to fit the Lower Cheek and Upper Cheek Rails followed by the 3 Bow ‘V’ Frames which I had tapered in readiness for the upper Bow Rails. I also fitted the Bow Brackets and Hawse Bolsters. Once the glue had had time to cure I will fit the both the upper and lower Bow Rails patterns.

Thanks Grant

Thanks Rusty

Many thanks