robdurant

Time for an update. The sub-deck has been put in place. It clips in nicely, and once glued provides a good solid structure,
 

Once in place, the doublers at the stern can be glued in, and I added some slightly watered down carpenter's glue to give these areas some strength before continuing with some fairing to get ready for the bulwarks. This area is quite vulnerable, but with a little care and attention it hasn't caused me any problems.

After getting the fairing near to where I felt it should be, the keel parts are glued into place (thus saving them being sanded away unintentionally... 


 
I like this way of doing things. It gives you the double benefits of good access to sand, and a neat finish. Kudos, Chris!
 
Now the bulwarks can be fitted... They aren't glued above the sub-deck, but can be clamped... Again, it all seemed to go very smoothly.


Having waited again for things to dry overnight, the sub-counter was soaked, clamped in place, and allowed to dry overnight - again - and then glued in place... 
 


Then - having allowed it all to dry again - it was time to start the planking... 

And that's where I've got to so far...  Thanks for looking in. I'm really pleased with how things are going
 
Rob

Time for an update. The sub-deck has been put in place. It clips in nicely, and once glued provides a good solid structure,
 

Once in place, the doublers at the stern can be glued in, and I added some slightly watered down carpenter's glue to give these areas some strength before continuing with some fairing to get ready for the bulwarks. This area is quite vulnerable, but with a little care and attention it hasn't caused me any problems.

After getting the fairing near to where I felt it should be, the keel parts are glued into place (thus saving them being sanded away unintentionally... 


 
I like this way of doing things. It gives you the double benefits of good access to sand, and a neat finish. Kudos, Chris!
 
Now the bulwarks can be fitted... They aren't glued above the sub-deck, but can be clamped... Again, it all seemed to go very smoothly.


Having waited again for things to dry overnight, the sub-counter was soaked, clamped in place, and allowed to dry overnight - again - and then glued in place... 
 


Then - having allowed it all to dry again - it was time to start the planking... 

And that's where I've got to so far...  Thanks for looking in. I'm really pleased with how things are going
 
Rob

Time for an update. The sub-deck has been put in place. It clips in nicely, and once glued provides a good solid structure,
 

Once in place, the doublers at the stern can be glued in, and I added some slightly watered down carpenter's glue to give these areas some strength before continuing with some fairing to get ready for the bulwarks. This area is quite vulnerable, but with a little care and attention it hasn't caused me any problems.

After getting the fairing near to where I felt it should be, the keel parts are glued into place (thus saving them being sanded away unintentionally... 


 
I like this way of doing things. It gives you the double benefits of good access to sand, and a neat finish. Kudos, Chris!
 
Now the bulwarks can be fitted... They aren't glued above the sub-deck, but can be clamped... Again, it all seemed to go very smoothly.


Having waited again for things to dry overnight, the sub-counter was soaked, clamped in place, and allowed to dry overnight - again - and then glued in place... 
 


Then - having allowed it all to dry again - it was time to start the planking... 

And that's where I've got to so far...  Thanks for looking in. I'm really pleased with how things are going
 
Rob

Time for an update. The sub-deck has been put in place. It clips in nicely, and once glued provides a good solid structure,
 

Once in place, the doublers at the stern can be glued in, and I added some slightly watered down carpenter's glue to give these areas some strength before continuing with some fairing to get ready for the bulwarks. This area is quite vulnerable, but with a little care and attention it hasn't caused me any problems.

After getting the fairing near to where I felt it should be, the keel parts are glued into place (thus saving them being sanded away unintentionally... 


 
I like this way of doing things. It gives you the double benefits of good access to sand, and a neat finish. Kudos, Chris!
 
Now the bulwarks can be fitted... They aren't glued above the sub-deck, but can be clamped... Again, it all seemed to go very smoothly.


Having waited again for things to dry overnight, the sub-counter was soaked, clamped in place, and allowed to dry overnight - again - and then glued in place... 
 


Then - having allowed it all to dry again - it was time to start the planking... 

And that's where I've got to so far...  Thanks for looking in. I'm really pleased with how things are going
 
Rob

First.
Thanks everyone for watching, liking and comments.
 
Building the upper part of the hull at the waist. We change from fraims on the inside of the planking to standards on the outside. Planking is quite thin here, only about 4cm 1/1 scale.
First the stadards, luckily some of these remained. And my standards were created based on them. One by one, time consuming

Glue the standards in place after dry fitting

Then the planking on the rear castle is neatly cut.

The first plank


The second plank, all hands (clamps) on deck.


Additional supports around the gun ports.

Glued the middle rail in place

And the top rail.


The starboard side is ready, the tops of the rails still need to be shortened slightly. 
I'm happy with the look of this part, if I say so myself 

Proper stays now installed.   

I was looking at the shrouds and thinking how to keep them spread for the ratlines.  I then realized this kit does not include the lower futtock shrouds and catharpins needed to spread the shrouds and to secure the top platform deadlines from below the top.   I suppose Heller didn't see these as necessary since their shroud tool does the job.  So I can fabricate these myself.   

Post One hundred and Seventy-one
Album photo's
I have at last got around to taking the completion photo’s which will form part of the Photo build record book that I’m currently putting together.

4395
4361A

4392

4364

4365

4391

4390

4396

4369

4405

4395

2161A

2145a

4397

2162a

2164a

4380

4379

4388

4494a
I am currently faffing around with a clinker built 18’ cutter, and ‘Indy’ is yet to be enclosed in her case, so the story has not quite ended.
 
Then there’s the 26’ Launch, still on my mind.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 

A little more progress today, putting the framework together.


Lots of this goes together dry, and then diluted PVA is added later to fix the whole together. Even without the glue, it's very solid. The only potential gotcha I'd point out is step 17, where a doubling part is glued in place, but you'll want to make sure it's lined up well, because in step 19, you'll insert a positioning tab (32?) that will rely on that glued piece being in the right spot. Having built another Vanguard fishing boat I spotted that coming, and so, although I took a break between these steps, it didn't catch me out. Anyway - we're spoiled by the quality of these instructions! And if you're setting out to get started, you could do much worse than just reading through the whole instruction booklet a few times and getting familiar with the sequence before you start out. It'll help you see these things coming, and prepare you for the kits you may move onto, where your hand will not be held in the same way
 
Thanks for looking in, and happy building
 
Rob

Yes, most will not be seen, as I have to take into account the depth of the carronade carriages and the various openings down the centre of the deck. When I started this, my main thought was that I want to include a ships stove, and it kind of progressed from there.
 
However, as some build logs of Sphinx and Indy has shown, the modeller can choose how much of the upper deck is planked, and this one will be easier due to the sub deck being much less prominent, and the beams being flush with the upper surface of the ply deck.
 
I always think back to the excellent Tamiya kits I have, where they have details that are almost, sometimes completely covered up once fully built. 

Harpy also has 17 bulkheads with lots of bracing, so very structurally sound..
 
Yesterday I clamped and then glued the final iteration of the gun port patterns - as usual for this sort of kit, no gunports or oar ports need to be marked and cut out, these will be already done.
 

Here you can see the ply pattern clamped and glued in place. No pins were used at all in fixing these. They were first clamped in place and then brush glued. Note there are no kinks in the lower edges at all, all fits nicely. The second pic shows were I am up to, checking the very first iteration of the outer bulwark skin and main wale, just clamped loosly in place to check general fit. The final ones will have engraved detail. Next job is to first plank the hull, which I shall start next week.

A little more progress today, putting the framework together.


Lots of this goes together dry, and then diluted PVA is added later to fix the whole together. Even without the glue, it's very solid. The only potential gotcha I'd point out is step 17, where a doubling part is glued in place, but you'll want to make sure it's lined up well, because in step 19, you'll insert a positioning tab (32?) that will rely on that glued piece being in the right spot. Having built another Vanguard fishing boat I spotted that coming, and so, although I took a break between these steps, it didn't catch me out. Anyway - we're spoiled by the quality of these instructions! And if you're setting out to get started, you could do much worse than just reading through the whole instruction booklet a few times and getting familiar with the sequence before you start out. It'll help you see these things coming, and prepare you for the kits you may move onto, where your hand will not be held in the same way
 
Thanks for looking in, and happy building
 
Rob

A little more progress today, putting the framework together.


Lots of this goes together dry, and then diluted PVA is added later to fix the whole together. Even without the glue, it's very solid. The only potential gotcha I'd point out is step 17, where a doubling part is glued in place, but you'll want to make sure it's lined up well, because in step 19, you'll insert a positioning tab (32?) that will rely on that glued piece being in the right spot. Having built another Vanguard fishing boat I spotted that coming, and so, although I took a break between these steps, it didn't catch me out. Anyway - we're spoiled by the quality of these instructions! And if you're setting out to get started, you could do much worse than just reading through the whole instruction booklet a few times and getting familiar with the sequence before you start out. It'll help you see these things coming, and prepare you for the kits you may move onto, where your hand will not be held in the same way
 
Thanks for looking in, and happy building
 
Rob

A  (very) long introduction to my latest project – the repair and completion of a model of the barque ‘Herzogin Cecilie’ for the Australian National Maritime Museum. I will be working on the ‘Duchess’, as she was known, in my time at the museum, while the ‘Meteor’ model will come home, to be worked on when I can.
The Story Of The Ship

The four masted barque ‘Herzogin Cecilie’ was built in 1902 at Bremerhaven by Rickmers Schiffbau AG as a cadet ship for the prestigious German shipping company  Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was built to the very highest standards as she was designed to not only be a cadet ship for Germany’s most prestigious shipping company, but also a floating ambassadress and showpiece for the German Second Empire. She was met with great excitement and media acclaim wherever she went.
Her name, Herzogin Cecilie, is from the German – Duchess Cecilie – as she was named for Herzogin (Duchess) Cecilie Auguste Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was later to become the fiancée and wife of Crown-Prince Wilhelm of Germany.
The ‘Duchess’ as she was affectionately known, engaged in the wheat and later nitrate trades to the Americas prior to World War I sometimes with salt, timber, or coke as the outward cargo. She found herself isolated in the port of Coquimbo, Chile, when war broke out. This put her in a difficult position as she would certainly have been taken as a prize of war if she had attempted to return to Europe from her neutral port.
She remained at Coquimbo until June 1920 when she loaded nitrate at Celata Colosa and sailed for home. As soon as the cargo was discharged at Ostend she was handed over to the French Government as part of war reparations. The French didn’t want the ship and decided to sell her. She was finally purchased by the well-known Åland Islands owner Gustaf Erikson on the advice of his most experienced captain – Reuben de Cloux.
Thus began the final, and probably most well recorded, era of the ship’s career. Erickson sent her to Australia looking for wheat cargos – cargos that could be loaded slowly and cheaply in the small Gulf ports of South Australia – cargos that could survive the long, slow voyage back to Europe without damage and without losing value. His Master of choice for the ‘Duchess’ was the same Captain de Cloux who had inspected the ship at Ostend, a man who sailed the ship hard (and somewhat expensively as he was prone to carrying canvas too long and losing sails in strong winds). She made twelve voyages to Australia in all, mostly to the South Australian Gulf ports, but also to Melbourne – usually with outward bound cargos of timber. In between her Australian voyages she also made several nitrate voyages to South America.
Reuben de Cloux stayed in command of the ‘Duchess’ until the middle of 1929, when he went into retirement as a Ship Master and handed over command to his First Mate, Sven Eriksson, a distant relation of the owner, Gustaf Erikson. Gustaf was evidently not too happy about offering command of the world’s most famous and best loved sailing ship to the inexperienced Sven, however the very tight-knit network of Åland Islands family connections is thought to have forced his hand.
During the period when Sven was in command the ‘Duchess’ continued to regularly win the so called ‘grain races’, with the fastest voyages home from Australia, but this may say more about the speed of the other ships involved than the ‘Duchess’ as there are several extant letters from Gustaf Erikson to his Captain reminding him to always take in sail early and not on any account to risk losing sails in strong winds!
As the 1930’s advanced, luck began to run out for the ‘Duchess’. In June 1935 her donkey boiler exploded while she was discharging grain in Belfast, killing two of her crew and injuring several other people including the Second Mate. Considerable damage was also caused to the ship’s structure and rigging. Only essential repairs were carried out at Belfast, the remainder being completed in Erikson’s own shipyard in Uusakaupunki, Finland, and the ‘Duchess’ sailed on her final voyage around the world on 29th September, 1935.
The bad luck continued as she sailed up the Kattegat on her way to the North Sea. She sailed straight into the stern of the German trawler ‘Rastede’, causing heavy damage to the trawler, which had to be towed into port. The ‘Duchess’ was held entirely responsible for this collision, and it later cost her owner dearly. After the collision, Sven simply continued his voyage to Australia.
She sailed from Port Lincoln, in South Australia on 28th January, 1936, arriving at Falmouth, for orders, on 23rd April and on the 24th she sailed for her discharge port of Ipswich on what was to be her final, very brief, voyage. At 0350 on the 25th April, in heavy fog, she struck the Ham Stone in Soar Mill Cove and, leaking badly forward, settled to the bottom with her poop still above water. Several attempts were made to get her off, but it was not until 19th June that she was finally refloated and towed to Starehole Bay near Salcombe, where she was once more allowed to settle on the bottom. On 19th July Sven Eriksson wrote to Gustaf Erikson that several seams had burst and a bulge in the plating was noted on both sides near the mainmast.

Her back was broken. The ‘Herzogin Cecilie’, the beautiful ship, was now a total loss! Her rusted remains can still be seen in the sand at Starhole Bay to this day.
 
The Story Of The Model
The model of the ‘Duchess’ has a long and complex history.
Back in 2007, one of the museum’s model makers, Col Gibson, was asked by two friends if he would be interested in seeing a model of the ‘Duchess’ that was owned by their neighbour. Of course, Col said, “Yes”, and in February 2008, while he was having lunch with his friends, they introduced him to their neighbour, Vera Grainger, and her model of the ‘Duchess’.
Vera’s husband Malcolm, the builder of the model, had passed away and Vera expressed an interest in donating the model to our museum however the model couldn’t be accepted into the National Collection unless complete, and thus the “Duchess” model’s long association with the Australian National Maritime Museum and the museum model makers began.
 Work on the model had commenced in South Africa prior to the Grainger family migrating to Australia in 1978 and had continued here up to the time of Malcolm’s retirement, however after he retired the model languished with the hull and most of the deck fittings completed, and some of the spars completed but quietly resting in a box. Vera expressed an interest in the model going to the National Maritime Museum, and wrote a letter and report to the museum concerning her gift.

The model as received by the museum
 
Nothing further happened for about two years, when Col had an unexpected visit to the model makers’ bench by then Senior Curator Dr. Stephen Gapps, who was enquiring about the fate of the model described in Vera’s letter and report. This visit finally resulted in the model being collected from Vera’s home and taken to the home workshop of another of the museum’s model makers, George Bambagiotti, as he had agreed to complete the model.

George Bambagiotti holding the stripped down model
 
Malcolm Grainger had commenced the model using plans for the ship as she was originally built, but many major and minor alterations had been made to her structure over the years, even when still under the ownership of Norddeutscher Lloyd. It was finally decided that the model should be altered and completed to show her as she was when she was engaged in the grain trade to Australia, as that was the most relevant period of her life for Australian maritime history, and the way most of the world remembered her.
George started cleaning and disassembling the model while Col started on the required research. Researching such a well-known ship sounds easy – there are literally hundreds of photos of her and many books; but the books usually don’t mention alterations to the ship, and almost all the photos are undated, so trying to find out exactly what the ship looked like in early 1936 was no joke.
Progress was much slower than anticipated due to many factors, sadly including George’s increasing bouts of ill health, but he was not easily put off. I remember sitting on his bed at a Rehabilitation Hospital together with Col as we tried to work out exactly how various parts of the ship actually looked at the time of her final departure from Port Lincoln.
As time started to drag on, Janos Nemeth and I were asked to contribute to the build. Janos, because of his well-known expertise with small carvings, was asked to make a new figurehead for the model, and I was asked to build a new suite of boats. I was also asked to consider rigging the model, with Janos asked to assist with this if needed.
The two final blows were the closure of the museum due to Covid in March of 2020 and, far worse for his colleagues and friends, the death of our dear friend George on 27th February, 2020. George’s death was a shock to all his friends at the museum, but most especially to the team working on the ‘Duchess’! While we coped with our grief at the loss of our friend, we also had to consider the future of the model, as the ever-worsening Covid pandemic with its threats of lockdowns made future actions uncertain. We also had to consider relieving Lyn Bambagiotti of the worry of having the model stored in her garage.
Fortunately, the museum was able to arrange to have the model moved to the museum prior to everything locking down, but we then lost track of our lovely ‘Duchess’. She had been sitting dreaming on one of the museum store shelves while Col and I wondered what had happened to her until a recent visit to the modelmakers’ desk by one of the museum curators. Not only was the safe ‘Duchess’ in the model store, but the museum wanted the model’s status to be resolved!
Things then started moving quicky. Several of the museum’s senior staff became involved, and the project was suddenly moving again. Our beautiful ‘Duchess’ is now on the upper gallery of the museum in her own secure display case and work table, and will be starting to sort our the mess on the model and the mass of possibly relevant bits and pieces that were collected from George’s home starting next Monday.
 
Sorry for it being such a long introduction, but it's been a pretty complex story!!
 
John

I’ve decided to not use the Heller shroud tool and instead thread them myself.  Here’s today’s update.  Disregard the forestays, those are just temporary to prevent the shrouds from pulling the masts backwards during installation.

A promising start this morning. As with the Lady Isabella, this kit is exquisite. The parts fit is immaculate, the parts clearly labelled, and easy to find, and the instructions very clear and simple.
 
For anyone setting out into building model boats for the first time, I'd recommend going gently with the sanding of the MDF bulkhead parts... you'll probably end up needing to take them back further than you think, but slowly and carefully is the way forward. Vanguard provide lines to show where they need to be sanded back to, and plenty of great full colour pictures at ever stage to guide you through the process. (And no, I'm not being paid by Chris at Vanguard to write these things - I'm just enjoying this kit)...
 
Anyway - here's progress so far.
 
Bulkheads cut out and the initial bevelling done (with a combination of scalpel and sandpaper stuck to a board...

And assembly - all dry-fit at this point. The reinforcing parts on each side at the bow will be stuck in and then tabs placed through, ensuring that they're in precisely the right position.

 

Assembly was achieved with a good tight fit of all parts straight out of the box. Gently supporting the parts and tapping them into place worked wonderfully.
 
Right... that'll do for today  Thanks for looking in, and for all the likes and encouragement.
 
Rob

I have the second in my new line up of alternative printed resin boats almost ready. This is a 24 and 26 foot launch, complete with windlass and davit.

A promising start this morning. As with the Lady Isabella, this kit is exquisite. The parts fit is immaculate, the parts clearly labelled, and easy to find, and the instructions very clear and simple.
 
For anyone setting out into building model boats for the first time, I'd recommend going gently with the sanding of the MDF bulkhead parts... you'll probably end up needing to take them back further than you think, but slowly and carefully is the way forward. Vanguard provide lines to show where they need to be sanded back to, and plenty of great full colour pictures at ever stage to guide you through the process. (And no, I'm not being paid by Chris at Vanguard to write these things - I'm just enjoying this kit)...
 
Anyway - here's progress so far.
 
Bulkheads cut out and the initial bevelling done (with a combination of scalpel and sandpaper stuck to a board...

And assembly - all dry-fit at this point. The reinforcing parts on each side at the bow will be stuck in and then tabs placed through, ensuring that they're in precisely the right position.

 

Assembly was achieved with a good tight fit of all parts straight out of the box. Gently supporting the parts and tapping them into place worked wonderfully.
 
Right... that'll do for today  Thanks for looking in, and for all the likes and encouragement.
 
Rob

I can’t escape the fact that I continue to fail at this chain-making exercise.  As the old maxim goes, though, every failure is one step closer to success.
 
I’ve now thrown away two whole batches of chain preventer plates.  While I was quite right to follow Andre Kudin’s example, for the process of their manufacture, I eventually discovered that that process is not entirely transferable from 1:48 to 1:96 scale.
 
After forming his basic links, Andre solders them closed at one end, and then places the closed link back onto the two pins so that he can crimp an eye on each end with his round pliers.
 
Well, the 28 gauge brass wire I’m using does not provide enough surface area for a strong enough bond to survive the crimping.  My success to failure ratio was pretty poor:

So, my lesson from that exercise was that I needed to do the crimping before soldering one end closed:

These soldered loops will be the lowest end of the chains, bolted into the wales.  That way, I could induce a series of bends into the upper half of each preventer plate, so that they could overlay the next small link:

Above I’m just using another preventer plate to check that the bends I’m making are sufficient.
 
So, I spent a good chunk of time cleaning up the solder and inducing bends into the remainder of the preventer plates.  The solder joint will be re-enforced with the CA glue that fixes the pin-bolt in place:

With that out of the way, I could make a new, slightly closer-spaced pin jig for the next small link, which is only crimped on one end, where it seats beneath the preventer plate.
 
Now that I have a process that I know will work, and now that I’ve had all of this practice, these next links should go fairly quickly:


I have a lot of these to make, solder and bend - about 70 to ensure I can use the best.  This has all been a colossal PITA, but it was really important to me that all of this look very clean and uniformly shaped.  In the process, I have acquired some very valuable metal skills that will only enhance this and future projects.
 
That said, I am going to experiment with using black nylon thread of an appropriate diameter to connect the deadeye strop loops to the small links.  This would essentially be a variation on the way that the stock kit represents these links, but I will do individual chain loops that draw tight with some form of slip-knot that I can pull up and hide behind the deadeye strop.
 
Andre had a great method for producing these variances, but it is all just that much more tedious in the smaller scale.
 
The advantages of doing this are several.  So long as there is not a jarring difference in appearance between the black thread and the blackened metal, it will save me tremendous amounts of time.  It also simplifies the difficulty of accurately measuring and keeping track of a series of increasingly longer links as the shroud angle increases from fore to aft.  Lastly, it greatly simplifies the placement of the deadeyes because I can add the retaining strip, in advance, and it also makes it much easier to locate and properly secure the bottom two links.  Hopefully, that will work out.  
 
Well, I keep saying that I’m going to get back in the swing of the project, and then I get sucked into coaching another basketball team - now my son’s Spring rec team.  Meanwhile, the Rangers and Knicks are just too compelling to ignore this post-season.  At least for now, I can see the end of the tunnel for these chains, which is tremendously motivating, and then I can return to the more immediately gratifying work of outfitting and arming the main deck.
 
Thank you all for taking the time to look back in on This Old Build.  More to come!
 

Good luck with both your project and your long-term recovery!

Okay - so having had my immune system attack my brain (explained here... An enforced and hopefully not permanent hiatus), I'm currently unable to think at the kind of level required to make any progress on the projects I had going before (Barque Stefano, HMS Bristol (1775), and Nordkap). To be honest, I can't quite believe I ever even attempted them at all! I'm now having to learn a whole bunch of stuff all over again (new neural pathways, apparently!), and this build is part of my exploring what I'm able to do now  Progress is encouraging! Over the past month, I've gone from managing one step of a lego model per day, to being able to use a scalpel again without terrifying everyone within arm's length, to building and painting the brand new 1:48 Airfix tiger moth kit (picture below). I can recommend that kit, btw... it's a fun build! (And no, I didn't attempt the wires between the wings... )

Now, I'm excited to be taking on this beautiful kit as the next step. Having built a model of Lady Isabella before (below), I knew the instructions, kit design and support from this forum, and the simplicity of the build as a whole would be the best shot I have at getting back into this wonderful hobby! So thank you, Chris of Vanguard Models for such an excellent kit!

It will be interesting to see how close I can get to this in this new build... I'm hoping to invest in the more detailed sails for Erycina (a rough set are included with the kit, but I can confirm that they aren't a patch on the sails that I purchased alongside Lady Isabella, which I presume are of the same quality as Erycina's separately sold sail set). That Vanguard sells them separately also means I can get them as a separate purchase and spread the cost . Hooray!
 
There are already lots of excellent build logs of this kit, so I'm not expecting to exhaustively cover every step, but I will share my thoughts on it, and if I digress from the kit (not the plan!), I'll note what I've done and why, and you are very welcome to follow along and comment if you'd like to.  
 
Anyway - Erycina arrived today, and I shall get stuck in tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far. I'm sure progress will be slow! But slow and steady is just fine More sleep, first! Updates to follow.
 
Rob

Okay - so having had my immune system attack my brain (explained here... An enforced and hopefully not permanent hiatus), I'm currently unable to think at the kind of level required to make any progress on the projects I had going before (Barque Stefano, HMS Bristol (1775), and Nordkap). To be honest, I can't quite believe I ever even attempted them at all! I'm now having to learn a whole bunch of stuff all over again (new neural pathways, apparently!), and this build is part of my exploring what I'm able to do now  Progress is encouraging! Over the past month, I've gone from managing one step of a lego model per day, to being able to use a scalpel again without terrifying everyone within arm's length, to building and painting the brand new 1:48 Airfix tiger moth kit (picture below). I can recommend that kit, btw... it's a fun build! (And no, I didn't attempt the wires between the wings... )

Now, I'm excited to be taking on this beautiful kit as the next step. Having built a model of Lady Isabella before (below), I knew the instructions, kit design and support from this forum, and the simplicity of the build as a whole would be the best shot I have at getting back into this wonderful hobby! So thank you, Chris of Vanguard Models for such an excellent kit!

It will be interesting to see how close I can get to this in this new build... I'm hoping to invest in the more detailed sails for Erycina (a rough set are included with the kit, but I can confirm that they aren't a patch on the sails that I purchased alongside Lady Isabella, which I presume are of the same quality as Erycina's separately sold sail set). That Vanguard sells them separately also means I can get them as a separate purchase and spread the cost . Hooray!
 
There are already lots of excellent build logs of this kit, so I'm not expecting to exhaustively cover every step, but I will share my thoughts on it, and if I digress from the kit (not the plan!), I'll note what I've done and why, and you are very welcome to follow along and comment if you'd like to.  
 
Anyway - Erycina arrived today, and I shall get stuck in tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far. I'm sure progress will be slow! But slow and steady is just fine More sleep, first! Updates to follow.
 
Rob

Many innocent sheets of material died to bring you these pictures...
 
This is the fifth hull I have made up, with incremental changes with each new version. I usually just remove and replace the parts I change, but there are many interlocking parts with this one, that I felt more comfortable restarting the whole hull assembly with all updated designs, so that I know all fits as they should. This will not be the final form, however, but am comfortable continuing using the hull form (which is final) to get more information for parts that fit onto it.
 
Hull has been sanded, ready to take gunport bulwark template (which are next to design)
 
(This will be thrown away once all info has been garnered from it...)
 

Okay - so having had my immune system attack my brain (explained here... An enforced and hopefully not permanent hiatus), I'm currently unable to think at the kind of level required to make any progress on the projects I had going before (Barque Stefano, HMS Bristol (1775), and Nordkap). To be honest, I can't quite believe I ever even attempted them at all! I'm now having to learn a whole bunch of stuff all over again (new neural pathways, apparently!), and this build is part of my exploring what I'm able to do now  Progress is encouraging! Over the past month, I've gone from managing one step of a lego model per day, to being able to use a scalpel again without terrifying everyone within arm's length, to building and painting the brand new 1:48 Airfix tiger moth kit (picture below). I can recommend that kit, btw... it's a fun build! (And no, I didn't attempt the wires between the wings... )

Now, I'm excited to be taking on this beautiful kit as the next step. Having built a model of Lady Isabella before (below), I knew the instructions, kit design and support from this forum, and the simplicity of the build as a whole would be the best shot I have at getting back into this wonderful hobby! So thank you, Chris of Vanguard Models for such an excellent kit!

It will be interesting to see how close I can get to this in this new build... I'm hoping to invest in the more detailed sails for Erycina (a rough set are included with the kit, but I can confirm that they aren't a patch on the sails that I purchased alongside Lady Isabella, which I presume are of the same quality as Erycina's separately sold sail set). That Vanguard sells them separately also means I can get them as a separate purchase and spread the cost . Hooray!
 
There are already lots of excellent build logs of this kit, so I'm not expecting to exhaustively cover every step, but I will share my thoughts on it, and if I digress from the kit (not the plan!), I'll note what I've done and why, and you are very welcome to follow along and comment if you'd like to.  
 
Anyway - Erycina arrived today, and I shall get stuck in tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far. I'm sure progress will be slow! But slow and steady is just fine More sleep, first! Updates to follow.
 
Rob

Okay - so having had my immune system attack my brain (explained here... An enforced and hopefully not permanent hiatus), I'm currently unable to think at the kind of level required to make any progress on the projects I had going before (Barque Stefano, HMS Bristol (1775), and Nordkap). To be honest, I can't quite believe I ever even attempted them at all! I'm now having to learn a whole bunch of stuff all over again (new neural pathways, apparently!), and this build is part of my exploring what I'm able to do now  Progress is encouraging! Over the past month, I've gone from managing one step of a lego model per day, to being able to use a scalpel again without terrifying everyone within arm's length, to building and painting the brand new 1:48 Airfix tiger moth kit (picture below). I can recommend that kit, btw... it's a fun build! (And no, I didn't attempt the wires between the wings... )

Now, I'm excited to be taking on this beautiful kit as the next step. Having built a model of Lady Isabella before (below), I knew the instructions, kit design and support from this forum, and the simplicity of the build as a whole would be the best shot I have at getting back into this wonderful hobby! So thank you, Chris of Vanguard Models for such an excellent kit!

It will be interesting to see how close I can get to this in this new build... I'm hoping to invest in the more detailed sails for Erycina (a rough set are included with the kit, but I can confirm that they aren't a patch on the sails that I purchased alongside Lady Isabella, which I presume are of the same quality as Erycina's separately sold sail set). That Vanguard sells them separately also means I can get them as a separate purchase and spread the cost . Hooray!
 
There are already lots of excellent build logs of this kit, so I'm not expecting to exhaustively cover every step, but I will share my thoughts on it, and if I digress from the kit (not the plan!), I'll note what I've done and why, and you are very welcome to follow along and comment if you'd like to.  
 
Anyway - Erycina arrived today, and I shall get stuck in tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far. I'm sure progress will be slow! But slow and steady is just fine More sleep, first! Updates to follow.
 
Rob

I have noticed now that the wale needs to be raised up to sit higher against the stem. One of the best things about taking photos as you govis they can really highlight errors before they become a problem. 
Cheers for now. 
David.