mtaylor

Ah.. the weekly fix has arrived. And well worth the wait, too. Wonderful work, Glenn.. just wonderful. Is the everything being glued down the main deck at this point? I'm assuming the boiler/mechanical works are all completed.

Lovely work, Hans.

I hope you'll test it and let us know, Mike. Blackwood is/was supposedly the original "ebony" a century or two ago. I have no knowledge other than what I read. As for testing... when done, clean your blades and tools with acetone (outside of course). Or, if you'll using the wood and need cutting it again, label the blade and keep it for ebony only. I've found it leaves a residue on the blades and transfers that residue to other woods.

I'm thinking it's one of these from éric lémaillet's webpage: http://maquettes-marine.pagesperso-orange.fr/renommee/renommee.html The other models are just as stunning.

Sweet work on the stack, Ken. And another great tutorial.

Tension? I hope not. Your hull looks great.

Have a nice wedding, Nenad. You are right about life not waiting. Her Majesty is patient... Been there still myself, fighting with life for time in the shop lately.

Mike, Have a look here for African Blackwood: http://www.righteouswoods.com/african_blackwood_rosewood.html I looked at some other pages I have bookmarked for wood and they all say essentially the samething. They all report this is harder on blades and to work with then ebony.

Brian, I'll see if I can help.... The vertical lines represent the stitching that joins the cloth pieces together. Sails are/were made of bolts of cloth of a certain width depending on country. The "bar" are horizontal cloth reinforcements for the reefs, which are the "dangly" things. The reefs allow the sail to be "reefed" up in high winds such that there's not more strain on the masting and rigging then they can tolerate. If you can, find a copy of zu Mondfeld's Historic Ship Models. There's copies available pretty inexpensively and while it's not perfect or accurate in all respects, it is a great reference for parts of a ship and what they do.

Impressive isn't quite the right word, Danny. What Pat said works for me also.

Shoe? All I see is a well-done model being built. I think you did it sir...

Nice... I like the hull shaping.. coming along very well. And the new masts look great.

Keep going, Piet. I think you've got the hang of this carving business.

Maristella has come out with an interesting approach in their 4-ship beginner set. I think that's right term. Each one builds upon the previous. They don't appear to be long-term projects but teaching tools that make a nice model. It will be interesting to see how they do with this.

Mau, You can PM Mr. Delacroix. From Belle Poule monograph (ANCRE) about 32-36 pieds. I have no idea if this applies to Les Gros Ventre.

Now that is a cool picture. That smile says she's really into this.

Thanks for the help and support. Part of the fun of this build is the research. I've learned that the French had a very different life aboard a frigate than their British or American counterparts. Examples being the sleeping arrangements, the use of the Great Cabin as we know it was different. I'm very much suspecting that at the time of her capture, Licorne had been or was still being used as a testbed. The French were pretty good about this. Take a good design and then pick a ship of that design and tweak it. Her masting shows that as her masting is the same dimensions of an 18 pdr built after she was captured . The fact that she has more in common with Belle Poule than Renommee. Looking at the "as built" versus the "as captured" I see a trending in what was done... no port lids, the change in planking and wales. the change to the transom appears to be an intermediate step. As for the galleries... my sense is that these also were in transition also from the galleries on ships like Renommee to the time of Belle Poule. But that's what I have, a sense... and not hard facts. Everything I've mentioned is circumstantial except for the two sets of plans. I think the roof on the galleries is correct way to go. I won't be fully committed to that until the moment I glue it on. And I'll continue researching up until that moment. I know there's an answer... somewhere. In the meantime, I hope that someday, my building skills get to be at least equal to my research.

Jud, I'm with Chuck... back in drag racing days, i used to get a lot of "I'm going to build a car.. this will be cool". They soon depleted their budget, and had no idea what to do next. There's a learning process in anything. Some things have a steeper learning curve than others. Fair warning should be given. Let's face it, wood is a totally different critter than plastic or metal models. To open a kit and suddenly see nothing but a pile of wood and few castings with instructions that say "Now plank the hull".. "Got that done, add the masts and rigging, next". is overwhelming.

Brian, I hope you haven't glued on that boom, yet. The rings go on top of the boom so that when the sail is raised, so will the rings. I think you're ok on the foremast as there doesn't appear to be a boom on it. Otherwise, shipshape and Bristol fashion.

Sweet, isn't it? I'm liking the French ships. There's just something about the lines and the details.

Dave, We have had some relatively new builders do the Syren. Chuck did an excellent practicum/instruction booklet which I think is still available on the Model Expo site for download. It's not a beginner kit but the instructions do go a long way in helping the builder visualize the build as you go. I'm very much on the fence about recommending this one, only because it has a lot of repetitive tasks... guns, masts, rigging, etc.

Yes, Gaetan. I have the English version... Beudroit? I've been pouring over that one a lot the last few days. Either there is something undocumented that only occured during certain rebuilds or.. the NMM drawing is just flat wrong even though it was made as "as captured". Hmm... yes.. similar but different. The Licorne drawing shows that it doesn't go all the way back to the transom. Also, here's the drawing I found of La Bellone.... different gallery entirely.

Gaetan, He took it from the NMM plan. His deck plans, lines, etc. all seem to match the NMM. Even his "squiggles" for the carvings are if not the same, similar to the NMM plan. The line is there on the NMM plan but it's faint (or I have a bad copy).

Brian, What Rick said about the mast hoops is correct. As tor the third hole.... I have no idea unless it's for lifting the boom or securing something to it.

Lovely work, Siggi. I don't know all the names either, but you're doing a beautiful job building them.