shihawk

I hold my hands up , Kevin is correct my stern gun ports are at completely the wrong angle to shoot anything other than the rudder Just goes to show how an unnoticed mistake early in the build can cause problems later own All i can do now is remove the guns and tell the crew they can us them to fish through cause this captain ain,t changing them !! Have FUN

Tks for looking in folks , Kevin .i,m not sure what you mean about the gunports ,when you say acute angle do you mean the line of the ports ,or the angle to the galleries ??, Several realignments mean they could have finished up anywhere ,and don,t worry about criticism the more the better ,it,s a great way to learn !!

Finally ordered the brass decor set plus some lettering and when it arrives i will hopefully get the stern finished . Have moved on to the bows area and again because i,m not painting most ply parts will have to be replaced ,decided to start with the cat heads and work my way forward ,will make everything and dry fit the complete bow area as it,s going to get complicated getting all the curved wood work to meet up ,been searching other logs to pic up any info possible but still finding it a challange , but enjoyable .May not finish up like the real one but if it looks good i,ll be happy As i said still dry fitting to find where every thing fits best

Looking great Mike , will you be making a display case ??

I have used this method for second planking and found it very speedy ,but a word of warning ,i did finish up with a lot of springy planks and although this may have been due to my inexperience care must be taken to avoid a similar outcome

Rudder completed ,tryed caseys brass black and thought i had succeeded but a lot of it seemed to rub off the straps while fitting but the aged effect is to my liking so will let it be . The rudder supplied was sanded down a couple of mm and then vinered , in hindsight i should have completely remade it with 4x4 but again it,s turned out acceptable so i can live with it

Lookin great Simon the Cruiser should be no problem to you Boyd

So the carving of my own stern decorations was a lovely thought but with my lack of carving skills and knowledge not practical , i won,t even post a pic of my efforts . so im returning to Keiths solution of buying the 1:78 brass ones from CMB ,when they get them back in stock !! I then had a revelation that maybe i should leave all the brass parts unpainted and posted the question about painting brass bits but on further examination of the parts provided several will need a few modifications so painting or blackining will be necessary. My worry is that if i change my mind it,s practically impossible to paint some of the smaller parts when fitted . I do like the look of the natural brass with wood and hope to leave at least some that way

thanks for the suggestions folks and on closer examination of the kit parts last night the rudder straps are in the inventory as TAPE which means they will have to be replaced and the chain plates seem to be a straight strip of brass so they will also need modification ,therefore painting or blackining of some sort will be necessary . I do have the Tamiya gun metal and like the effect so may use that on any parts that need soldering etc. Liked the thought of leaving the natural brass so may still do so where possible

My usual indecision has raised its it,s scratching head again !! ,so i thought i would ask for some opinions and advice before i have another sleepless night . As some of you will know i am building a Billings Victory with a few personalised alterations ,mainly due to there constant use of plywood and my persistant desire not to use paint or stains through the build . So far i have managed to solve the problems that have arisen , but i have now come to the stage of the scrolls and decorations on the rear of the galleries . The ply ones provided are plain to say the least and i would prefere not to use them and that leaves me 2 options 1 carve my own which after several failed attempts i can now rule out ! the other solution was kindly suggested by Keith (clearway) and seems to be the most sensible answer , buy brass fitting kit and leave natural . As he said polished brass looks well with natural wood but this is where my problem arises , If i go with this solution should i then leave all the brass fittings on my build unpainted I have already tried blackening a few cannons without much success and finished up painting with gun metal , i then started to think of all the other brass parts that would have to be painted , the very thing i didn,t want to do ? my query is this, would rudder straps ,chainplates ,eyebolts ,belaying pins and all the other brass fittings look acceptable left as polished brass ,are there any issues with discoloration over time or should i coat the brass with anything ? Any past experiences , opinions or suggestions will be greatly appreciated . Boyd

Finally got a couple of days working on my build though spent a bit of time working out a new timber order and a flexy for my Dremil type drill , might try carving the stern decoration and see how i get on . can always buy them if it dosn,t work out .Finished planking the stern and gave it a coat of varnish to see how it looks and discovered at least one plank will have to be replaced due to color Got around to trying out my blacking product ,not a great success on the brass cannons but more acceptable on some copper eyelets All that dipping in vinegar ,washing in de-ionised water and rinsing in baking soda seems a lot of work just to achieve a metal finish especially as the results are so unpredictable,so i stuck on a couple of coats of Tamiya gun metal paint with a brush to see how it would look and think it,s better finished of one cannon to see how it looks before mass production begins ,Not bad but i ordered some Caseys gun black to-day and will try it before i do any more Spent to-night looking at the bow and i will probably have to replace a lot of the ply parts especially those that will be more noticable . Is ply really that cheap that they had to use for everything ?? Will sign of now cause i said i wouldn,t complain any more !!!!

Very interesting building at that scale ,would be a great way to learn the actual structure of a ship.

The light caulking looks well ,what wood did you use for decking ?

Thanks all for the kind words ,I,m glad you like it cause if you hadn,t i sure wouldn,t have been re-doing it . Others have built complete kits quicker but it was the only way i could get the effect i had in my head , so right or wrong it will have to do I wonder what the next stage will bring??

Finally ready for a quick update , work time has been scarce but i have been working at the galleries and hope it has been worth it .My resent obcession with buying a new saw was partly brought on by trying to cut the strips for window frames ,it,s hard to get them even cutting with a blade !!! So finished my last one to-night although looking at the pics i may have to redo a few but will decide after cleaning up and varnishing , it,s been like a small model on it,s own , Think i might order brass scrolls etc as those provided are crap ,if they had been anything only ply i could maybe have done something with them but you get what you pay for !! Winter arrives this weekend so hopefully more build progress

Maybe put it off till next Christmas

I feel an early christmas present coming on !!!!!!

Thanks folks for coments so far ,but still not convinced either way , perhaps the wait and see option is the best but then think on all the time wasted if i buy it now ??? could go with the cheaper version and see how much i us it but that might only be money wasted on an inferior saw ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Bob that is exactly my worry ,using it once or twice and then having it sit gathering dust for a couple of years ,.If i was milling my own wood i wood have no doubt but my building is slow enough without more hassle

It,s not that i,m a miserable sod but i don,t want to be one of those modelers who spends more money collecting fancy tools and never using them,. I believe the mayority of opinions are that i must buy a Brynes saw and possibly the sander as well , and boy wouldn,t the thickness sander look well beside them . I wonder would he do a deal on all three,must inquire .Now look what you lot have talked me into , somebody change my mind before it,s to late

My usual indecision has prompted me to ask this question . I want a Brynes table saw ,but do i really need it and will i use it enough to justify buying it .I have read all about it and the reviews all agree it is a superb saw and a credit to jim,s enginnering skill ,but at present and for the forseeable future i,m quite happy buying my wood pre cut and am worried that if i buy one it will simply sit on the bench as an seldom used work of art . i have a cheap fret saw which i use to cut many one off pieces and with a little patience it is suprising what can be done with a good scalpel, and file . Is a table saw not mainly for repeditive cuts rather than one offs and shaping planks etc ? Scatch building is probably my ultimate goal but again unless for making my own planks will i use for much else or is it the case that if i had one i would use it for everything and wonder how i lived without it ?.By the time i buy all the bits and pieces it would work into the price of good ship kit or enough pre-cut timber for a couple of scratch builds ,but please tell me i need it ,cause i really want one !!!! Boyd

Looking sturdy ,keep at it

Now there,s an idea i hadn,t thought of , and would save possibly disasterous carving experiment ,and as you say brass with natural wood looks well Thanks Keith i think i,ll give it a try , have to order a few more pieces from cornwall shortly anyway Boyd

lookin good , never coppered myself and look forward to seeing your finished result , Can imagine it gets boring but worth it in the end

Been trying out the wooden scrolls,etc for the stern and i have to agree they are very disappointing Not sure yet what solution will be ,either try carving my own ,or vinering over the supplied ones ,both options mean a considerable amount of carving which is new to me but then most things are !! look forward to seeing yours fitted may give me some other ideas . Boyd