mtaylor

A well-deserved congratulations, Denis. Very well done and she does deserve a place of honor.

Interesting conundrum. On the kits I've done, the stern post went on after the planking. It should probably go on after planking on my Licorne... but.. I'm an idiot at times. Give some thought to trimming down the deadwood and adding a post. Or fake it with thin veneer and not trimming down the deadwood.

"Looks pretty good" says he. "Ha!! Looks great!!!" says I. You used good info on the fixes and I hope that your mum loves it.

I'm wondering if alcohol will degrade the wood? I was soaking some glued pieces in the stuff and found the wood became very pliable and then re-hardened after it dried. Any thoughts?

Sweet work, Adam. This database is really growing.

Here's a link to making one: http://www.ehow.com/...bow-sander.html

Chris, I guess I'm not seeing the problem you circled. The bulkhead could be trimmed out in center area for the ladder.

It's coming together beautifully. Cristiano.

Nenad, I would think black paper since it was/is probably metal on the real ship. Easy to work with and fools most people.

On most ships, there are gunports that get in the way of a fair run of the chains. Moving the point where they clear the port seems to be normal even on the real thing. The last one goes aft of the port, the next one goes foreward of the port.

Thanks Druxey, That's a reference I don't have. I was aware of how the British gunned her, not about the 12-pdrs. I'm thinking it would be a safe assumption then that they re-gunned her on a 1 for 1 basis to replace the French 8-pdrs. Back to more mundane research and thoughts like the watchkeeper's bench and probably chicken coops.... Keeps the mind occupied will shaping and fitting the gunports and sills.

Dilute white glue seems to work to harden it. I used basswood for a mold and set the surface with the glue mixture and then poly'ed it.

Druxey, That's what I'm thinking but based on the drawings and the number of guns, this port would need to used. I need a time machine. Ofencer, No.. this is a frigate. There was a Licorne earlier but this one isn't it. This Licorne was with Belle Poule in June, 1778. Belle Poule escaped the English and went on to glory in it's famous battle. There is a lot of confusion about Unicorn and Licorne. This ship was taken into British service as HMS Licorne as the Unicorn name was already taken. Mr. Delecroix helped to straighten me out on the history in my log that I had published as even certain web sites had it wrong.

Yeah!!!! This great news. I can't wait to see the finished pictures.

Err.... I guess we didn't.

First, some background: The ship was built in 1755 and had a major repair/rebuild at some point. It's listed as an 8-pdr frigate. The NMM plans call it a 32 gun ship. However, the NMM plans also have some inconsistencies in that they show the quarterdeck with the temporary roundhouses (as captured) and there's some illegible notes relating to modifications and armament and some faded areas on the drawings that I'm not seeing what's there very clearly. Hahn's drawings do agree with the NMM drawings but he apparently used the wrong reference for rigging but that's another story. My first problem is this. The first port, is 2 feet square. All the other gunports are 2 feet, 4 inches square. The forward port is on the fore side of the fireplaces and somewhat isolated by them and the anchor bitts. There is room for a French long 8-pdr to handle the recoil/reload. The framing part of the Hahn plans at the first port is obscured by a tapeover so I can't see what he did though the side drawings show the ports and agree with the NMM as to size. I'm wondering (musing?)... would the first port have been filled? Could she actually have been a 30 gun even though the British rated her as a 32 gun with 9-pdrs? It just seems strange that this port is smaller than the rest. And my second problem... There's a suspicion in my mind that the British did away with the watchkeeper's bench from in front of the companionway which was common on French ships and added a grating but that is pure speculation on my part since there is no other logical place for the bench which is not shown on the NMM drawings. I'm guessing it's possible that the bench could have sat on the grating...? I'm open to any thoughts on these as I'm hitting the proverbial brick wall.

Chris, It's basically boiling down to: "It's your ship. You are the Captain. Do it your way". Treenail seems to one of the more "emotional" topics around here with "yes", "no", "do it this way", "do it that way". There really is no right or wrong way as far as method nor are they mandatory.

<cough> Sjors.... the darkside beckons <cough>

Mike, Rule of thumb... always test ALL stains and finishes. Polyurethane seems to give all wood a yellowish hue. If you don't want any change in color, a clear lacquer will work well. I've been trying to do the paint with wood thing, but my painting usually seems to be from a dried up palate :D . Silver maple doesn't seem to be as white as holly, IMO. But it does have some more grain but I think that depends on the tree itself not on the type of wood. I'm no help on stains. The only one I've tried is Min-Wax Ebony Black. I know a lot of builders (both kit and scratch) swear by Fiebling's leather dye and it comes in a rather large assortment of colors. If you go that route, follow the instructions for mixing with alcohol instead of water so as not to raise the grain. BTW, to clear up some perceived confusion, pear is usually a nice light brown. Swiss pear is usually pink. And not all plain (not Swiss) pear are equal. Same goes for cherry, etc.

Beautiful work on the railings and belfry, Cabrapente. I'm enjoying watching your build.

Wow. I'm rather speechless....

Those are ingenious and brilliant spacers for holding the planking against the sides. A very lovely build, Zbigniew.

With the hits your getting, there's a lot of us quiet types watching and learning. On the gunport vs. main channel, I can't quite make out what you're saying. Are you saying the gunport is in the middle of the chains/deadeyes? This isn't that uncommon.

Bedford, I'm curious. What happens if you put a switch after the speed control but before the receiver and servos? Or switches such that the radio comes up first and then turn on the servos? Might be cheaper for a couple of switches and a power-on checklist.

Very nice work, Mike, on some difficult areas.