Bill Hime

When mounting the yardarms I'll normally drill and glue a pin to the back side of the yardarm then drill a hole into the mast to receive the pin. I don't think just a spot of glue will hold it for very long

I decided to build and mount one yardarm all the way though -- shape, paint, varnish, rig, and mount.  Now that I've done that, I can batch all of them in those stages.
 
I posed a question above as to whether I should mount the yardarms now, or wait until the stage of the plans that shows all of the mounting rigging (like the yard lifts).  Having done this one, there's no question that I'd have been in the deep stuff if I had waited.  The parrel assembly is not easy to mount and I really needed to be able to manipulate the mast a lot as I did it.
 
First picture below shows the parrel assembly (ribs and beads in three separately strung rows) after I strung it.  I used small binder clips to hold it together.
 
The second picture shows how the parrel sits on the main mast.  The threads that run through it then wrap around the yardarm.
 
The third picture shows the mounted yardarm.
 
I need some advice from those of you with more experience doing rigging than I have.  I decided to put a few dabs of CA glue on the parrel to fix it to the mast, but the only thing holding the yardarm right now is the rigging from the parrel.  More will be added later with yard lifts and of course all of the rigging that attaches to the yardarm.  But right now, there is play in the yardarm -- just a bit bow to stern, and a fair amount rotating back & forth like a clock hand.  Question:  am I better off carefully aligning the yardarms now and fixing them with glue so that they are stiff to the masts, or leaving them as is and rigging carefully to maintain proper alignment?  Any and all advice would be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
David

Here is the second crow's nest for the foremast, and per my earlier post I departed from the instructions and built this one differently.  Very difficult and took a lot of tries to get the first two rings done simultaneously, but as you can see, the result is a better finished product than my first one (a few posts up), as the spacing between rings is even all the way around.
 
Best regards, David Robinson

I started on the masts today, and got to the main mast crow's nest.  It looked like it was going to be fun, but ended up a cross between an adventure and a nightmare.
 
The problem is in the instructions:  they have you glue four support brackets to the middle ring, let dry, and then fit to the bottom ring before adding more brackets.  The problem with that is that there is a lot of play in the brackets, and even though they looked  level, when I tried to fit the assembly to the lower ring, it wouldn't fit, and as I worked to see if I could get it to pop in, it broke.  Before I was done, I had the delicate center ring in 5 pieces.
 
So I started piecing it together, adding brackets as I went along, with the help of lots of BSI medium CA gel and Insta-set.  You can see the end result (along with the liberal use of CA) in the first picture.  It's painted black in the end, so it will look OK on the mast.  If you look at picture 2, you can see more space between the first two rings than betwen rings 2 & 3 -- and they are supposed to be evenly spaced.
 
Anyway, it was a more or less successful rescue of what was looking like a disaster.  There is a second identical crow's nest on the fore mast, and when I get to that I'll build it differently -- installing the initial brackets simultaneously on rings 1 & 2 so that I get the alignment right.
 
Regards, David Robinson
 
 

Antony asked for more pictures, so here are a couple that show some interesting detail.
 
I really like the bulkhead decoration and door detailing.  The instructions say to paint the brass yellow, but I've left it natural brass.
 
I also uploaded a picture of some of the deadeyes on the side.  They sit on top of a platform the manual calls a "channel", and each one is individually fixed to the platform with a metal strap.
 
Thanks, David Robinson
 

Denis:
 
I went through your build log when I was starting out on the Revenge, and it was really helpful to me.  I saw that you had to pause for your health.  I really hope you get better quickly.
 
Thanks, David Robinson

Christian:
 
Thanks for your nice comment.
 
This model requires precise placement of the "wale" planks, and that in turn requires intricate side-bending of the finish layer planks (some of mine had a "S" shape by the time I was finished bending them!).  I used steam, clamps, and a hair dryer plus a plank bender.
 
At the bow, I started with bow-to-stern planks, and then finally let the planks turn upward and worked out to the bow again.  You can see it in the attached picture.  The only place I used stealers was at the stern, where it really flares out.
 
Thanks, David Robinson

I have finally had some time to devote to the workshop.  Construction has resumed on the head structures.  There is a grating on top of the main rail.  This is supported posteriorly by the head beam and anteriorly by the cross-piece.  The head beam has two knees on its posterior face, connecting to the main rail.  In front of the head beam, the grating mortices into the lining of the main rain.  Behind the head beam, the grating connects to the hull with the use of a morticed bolster.  There are openings in the grating to accomodate the fore seats of ease.  I forgot to take pictures during the process so what is shown are the deconstructed structures after it had been partially completed.  You can see that everything is pinned together.  If only one thing shifts, the rest of the construction will be wrong.  In the first two pictures the battens, cross-piece and head beam assembly are in place and the carling and liner are marked for the grating.
 

 

 
The next two pictures show the curvature of the carling of the head and how it mortices into the cross-piece.  The third photo shows all of these structures in place.
 

 

 
 
 

 
 

Work continues with the fabrication of the lower rail.  Compared to the main rail, this is duck soup.  Only one size of profile cutter is necessary.  The shape is determined by the same expansion drawing that was done with the main rail.  In the pictures you can see pin holes for securing it in place.  The head beam and cross piece were removed to facilitate fitting.
 

 

 

 

 
The first photo shows the mortices marked on the various structures.  I started with the fan-shaped grating behind the head beam.  As Atalanta had four seats of ease, only six ledges were required.  If there were only two seats of ease, then eight ledges were installed.  Each piece was marked since they would be stored away until the entire head was completed (or for photos).  This provides, along with the pins, a lot of structural stability for the head assembly.  At this point, the rest of the ledges and the small carlings for the seats of ease were constructed.
 

 

 

 

 

 
The false rail is a decorative board located on top of the main rail.  It screens the aft seats of ease, so it must have been the preferred location for doing one's duty.  The pictures show it set on top of the mail rail but it has not been finish sanded at this point.
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin
I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!
 
 
Bill

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin
I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!
 
 
Bill

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin
I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!
 
 
Bill

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin
I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!
 
 
Bill

Holy Smokes Dave!!! That "Progress Update" wore me out just reading it! LOL, that describes my ongoing journeys around the house. Always multi-tasking, to my own chagrin
I'm learning a lot here. looking forward to the cross beams and stanchions!
 
 
Bill

This is the best "First Build" I've ever seen. You have a great talent for model ship building.

Im really excited to see a mast all done up with the ratlines so im completing just the main mast before going back to a complete other small tasks.  The ratlines are going smoothly but it is a pretty slow process.  I use a piece of paper with 7mm spacing to set the first knot in each row, then eyeball the rest.

Starting on the shrouds for the main mast.  I still have to complete the front mast but wanted to see what the rigging was like.  For the deadeye placement i just set the length with the shrouds a couple mm short and used the lanyards to apply a bit of tension and the deadeyes moved into a level position.  Much easier than i expected and no need for jigs.  I seized the top of the shrouds about 5-6mm just to keep things nice and clean.

Ive find myself looking at the model quite often, just appreciating all the things you learn about these boats as you go, and of course the work that has gone into it.  I cant wait to appreciate it, and the others to come😈, in the little hobby room we have repurposed. 
 
This is the room and it will be dedicated to models.  I plan on filling the walls with shelf mounted displays.  The statues are temporarily giving the room a bit of character while i have no models to display... And no, im not in a hurry to mature lol.

Ive been steadily working away on the cannons and other details. I finished the rudder which turned out nice. The hinges worked out better than on the launch. I did those by securing the pin first and then adding the other parts. Then i started work on the mizzen mast.

trying to balance time between a home improvement project and the boat, but managed to get some more of the detailing done and starting on the top deck cannons.  I chose to use a loop and hook to connect the blocks to the inside of the boat, looks nice and I was having a heck of a time twisting the little metal loops around the block.  Also, I came upon my first situation with missing parts.  The brass posts for the railing were missing 4, so i repositioned what I did have and evenly spaced them.  No problem.

Now on to the some deck accessories and cannon rigging.  I went with something different for the rigging, as I was having a very hard time twisting wire to make loops for the little blocks.  So I used the loop attached to the side of the boat as a makeshift block because it can't really be seen.  On the upper deck I will use a different approach that will use a little hook attached to the block. 

Could resist a little colour

While working through the planking, I also started building cannons for the next stage, this provided a nice break from the repetitiveness and also made sure I was ready to move on at the next stage.  I've continued this approach throughout the build.

When it came to the underside planking, which with the more aggressive curves and more difficult to work with sepele, I decided to copy the technique used by Youtube user Bill Bergmark(thanks!).  Rather than tapering each end piece like it seems is more accurate and preferred by experienced modelers, I chose to run straight pieces right down the middle and the fill in the sides from there.  I thought this would give me the best balance of aesthetics and likelihood of success lol. 

Planking.  This was a little intimidating, but I learned some things from the launch, did lots of research and took my time.  Lots of dry fitting before applying glue. I also made the early decision that I would nail everything as I really liked the added detail it provided to other peoples builds.  Initially I bent the planks using a bladed bender, but switched to heat and soaking.  I have a kettle with uninsulated metal sides that worked perfect for bending and significantly shortened to the process, which came in really handy for the sepele planking!