RMC

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

Hi Alan - this is a belated thank you for your kind thoughts.  In the usual chaos before going away, I didn't get around to it.
 
Well I did get the opportunity to work on the yards between eating and drinking far too much  The little Proxxon lathe was invaluable in tapering them. Even so the job was very time consuming and the smaller yards I found to be quite difficult and in one case, easier to break.
 
I found it best to taper in stages (see an earlier photo - I think on the previous page of this log). For example the fore topsail yard stunsail boom is 134mm. long tapering from 3mm to 1mm.  From the plan, 57mm along the boom its diameter is 2mm. I then tapered that part of the boom from 3mm to very slightly more than 2mm (in fact 2.2mm). Next, a further 38mm along the boom the diameter is 1.5mm. I then tapered this part of the boom (again to a diameter very slightly greater than 1.5mm). I then blended the two lengths of taper. Then finally the taper from 1.5mm to 1mm was done.  The reason for the slightly larger diameters and the 'blending' is that the dowel supplied is not perfectly round and it was impossible to accurately centre the spindle of the lathe, so that the 'joins' of the tapers are slightly offset.  The extra diameter of the tapers allows a bit of judicious sanding for a suitable adjustment to be made.
 
Here are the tapered yards (except the fore and main yards)
 

 
And with a coat of paint.
 

 

 
Thes are the stunsail booms for the upper yards.  Those for the fore and main yard are yet to be done.

 
For those who may be interested, this is sunset on the summer soltice - the sun is as far south as it will go.  The interesting part of the photo is the mountain to the right of the setting sun. It is called Pigeon House Mountain, named by Captain Cook on his voyage up the New South Wales coast in 1770 before he got to Botany Bay. How he could see a pigeon house in this is a bit of a mystery to me, though perhaps there is another resemblance.
 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

I have finally glued the fittings to the foredeck. The cannonballs have yet to be put in to their shot garlands, but that's about it.
 

 

 

 
The middle rail has now been attached as well as the supports for the stanchions. I've assumed these to be 1x2mm strip. I can't see a measurement in the plans, so I've assumed it is the same thickness as the side railings. The quarter deck capping rails have also been glued.  Finishing the curved part at the end of the capping was a bit of a problem. I eventually used some 5 x 0.5mm scrap, put it in a mug with some water and microwaved it for a couple of minutes.  I then wrapped the softened strip around some old PVC pipe of about the right diameter and left it overnight. It turned out quite well. I also tidyed (sp?) up the vertical part under the front of the capping with the 5 x 0.5mm strip.
 

 

 

 
The wheel etc. are only dry fitted.-  just to see what they look like.
 

 

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

The forward and middle rails are now glued.  Before doing so I have finally glued on the cat heads - something I have been delaying as long as possible. Sticking out as they do, is a sure invitation to disaster, to which I am quite prone.
 

 
I found it is best to make the cuts in the forward railings (to provide for the guns) before they are glued to the model. Doing so makes them a bit more pliable, so that if you need to put a little more bend in the rail to fit, there is no great problem.
 
Since the following photos were taken, some minor touching up has been done.
 

 

 
.
 

 
The bowsprrit is dry-fitted here - just to see what it will look like.
 

 

 

 
 

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

Here is the beginning of the main yard.  There was not as much progess over the weekend as I'd hoped.  Doing the octagonal centre piece turned out to be not as difficult as I first thought and it turned out quite well.  Having more suitable tools would have helped however in making the edges more defined.  Once I had worked out the dimensions of each side of the octogon, I used Tamiya tape to delineate the edges, then used an Exacto knife to plane the surface flat. (The little plane I bought has proven to be the most useless tool in the box.)
 

 

 

Once the octagonal section was done  I used my Proxxon lathe to taper each end.  The tapering was done in stages. For example I first measured 40 mm along the yard from the end of the octagonal section, referred to the plan to see the thickness of the yard at that point, and tapered the intervening distance appropriately. I then did to same for the next 40 mm ......  The following picture shows about 80mm tapered.

 
Here is the (semi) finished yard tapered at both ends (the tapers turned out to be pretty well spot on to my pleasant surprise).  The octagonal section does not show up well in the photo unfortunately
 

The photo of the screen was quite blurry.  This should be a bit clearer.
 

Thankfully the planking  etc is finally finished. While taking a break from treenails I began the quarter deck barricade assembly.  It proved, and is proving a very tricky little job.  The columns are tiny - about 6mm high and about 1.5- 2mm in diameter. I used a pin vice to drill 0.6mm holes top and bottom of the columns and in the bottom part of the assemby to receive the columns.  Brass 'rod' (from small eyelets) was inserted in the bottom assemby and the columns glued using 'slow' CA.  Nails had been inserted in the tops of the columns to enable the columns to  be properly aligned with the curved top-piece of the assembly.
 

 

 

 
The screen has now been added and I have dry fitted the rear hatch, binacle and the mizzen mast, just to see how things look.  The stairs and the hand ropes in the hatch have been done in the same way as earlier done. I gives a good result and is far less trouble than alternative methods.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

I have been working on the forward railings and the gunports on the upper deck. I have just realised that the rear end of the side railings require an angled piece of timber to join the upper and lower parts of the rails. As well there seems to be a curved bit of timber required that butts onto the end of the lower part of the railing that covers the curved decorative molding. I can't see a part like this listed, so I guess it needs to be fabricated.
 
The forward railng is dry-fitted here and I'm not looking forward to gluing it over the curved timber to which it must be attached. It will be under a fair amount of stress.  The side railings must then be fitted to the front railing and in doing this, the corners with the protruding decoration will be an intereresting exercise .
 

 

 
 
The lower sills of the gunports required filling - I used Intergrain water-based woodfiller. (The Intergrain is far superior to others I have used.) The openings then need to be painted. As all the rest of the hull is already painted, each opening needs to be carefully masked.  For this  I used Humbrol Maskol again. It's effective but a bit fiddly to work with. So far I have only completed one side. Once both sides are painted, a couple of coats of polyurethane should finish the job.
 
The next two photos show the gap between the exterior of the hull and the inside wall. Here, for the filling, the exterior was masked by Tamiya tape.
 

 

 
The gaps filled.
 

 
The gunport openings painted awaiting two coats of poly.



 

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

I have finally done something about the gap between the ship's railings on the fore and middle decks. It's not quite as I would like it. I think Arthur's nice rounded shape provided a better finish (the side decoration, not Arthur), but that's the way it worked out.
 
This photo is a bit blurry but it shows how a piece of timber connects the top and bottom of the front railing.  The plans here are rather sketchy.

 
This shows the curved transition from the fore to the middle deck which has caused me some angst.
 

 
The front railing dry-fitted
 

 
The two railings both dry-fitted

 

 

 
The railings are still to be finally painted, poly applied and a bit of touching up will need to be done before gluing everything together.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic and not much progress on the model has been made.  However I did finish turning the mizzen cross jack yard.  It is derived from 8mm diamenter dowel, the cross-section of middle part is supposed to be a hexadecahedron (16 sided)(I hope my memory is accurate, even if my spelling is not).  I thought (it turns out corrctly I think) to be rather a waste of effort.  My method was to make an octagonal cross section and then to trim off the corners.  It proved quite effective.  However when viewed from a foot or two away, it wasn't reaaly possible to discern the difference between the 16 sided cross section and a circular cross section - and I'm quite short-sighted. Anyway it's done now.
 
Some of the quite small diameter yards are also 16 sided cross-sections and I really don't think it's worth the effort. I may, however do the cross sections as octagons.
 
Other than that I have experimented with tea-dying material for the hamock netting.  The material I propose to use is blindingly white, and I would like to tone it down a bit.
 

 

 
And just when you think you've seen some weather ....