Stuntflyer

I Just finished up the chain pump construction. Definitely a fun kit to build. I'm going to add the fragile tongue later. I found it easier to install the drain plug handle first, before adding it to the pump. There are numerous "boards" that have to be beveled on one side only in order to conform to the rounded hood of the pump. In doing so, I removed all of the char on that one side while being careful not to overdo it. Just enough to clear the char. This gives the appearance of a tight joint when placed against the previously installed board. Mike

Joe, Jean-Paul, I dilute with water until I get a smooth flow out of the airbrush without having it come out too watery. I usually set the compressor between 35-40 psi. Hope that makes sense. Fred, thank you! Sometimes I feel the same way you do. . . "If only I were half as good...". Mike

Nice work, Frank. I assume that you faired the outer stern frames to the proper width. Mike

I use Winsor & Newton or Grumbacher water based Acrylic paints in a tube.

I thought that it would look better in red so I went with that. Brushing would have been iffy, at least for me. I used the airbrush with a coat of Dullcote on top.

I forgot to add this in yesterdays post. Ready for paint. . . Mike

Paul, thank you for the kind words!

Thanks, Tom!

More progress. . Mike

Aren't the filler pieces already made for you whereby you would just need to bevel the sides for fit. Don't over think it, Frank. Mike

Hi Frank, It's probably just the photo but I'm wondering how the batten looks against the framing in this area. Mike

Looking wonderful! Mike

Just a small update on the progress made over the last few days. Mike

The only way to recess those eye bolts in boxwood is to remove some material. I understand that the Yellow Cedar is soft enough, where just a push on the eye bolt will recess it. Mike

Before adding the forward bulkhead I needed to get the two guns which sit between the bulkheads installed. Here are some of the things I did when I made the carriages. The laser char was removed with a sanding stick. Afterwards the diameter of each truck was measured and grouped according to size. The axles were partially shaped with a pillar file and some sandpaper. Then I used a drilled hacksaw scraper to make the axle round. I did this with a push and turn motion while moving along the axle. The mill was used to make the holes for the bolts Sections of the carriages were assembled and spray painted with an airbrush. By turning a round needle file, I was able to remove material from the carriage so that the eye bolts would sit deeper into the carriage side. The filed area was painted red before inserting the eye bolts. After adding the two more gun port lids, I installed the two guns. All of the guns will be pinned to the deck with 28 gauge wire inserted into the rear trucks. Then the forward bulkhead was completed along with some lodging knees. Mike

Thank you, Thomas and for all the "Likes" Mike

Thank you, Frank! Well, for sure I'm no artist so painting the friezes would not be an option for me. Mike

I've started work on some of the deck details starting first by painting the inside of the transom. When I airbrushed the bulwarks there was good control of the color depth and I was able to mask off as well. Not being able to easily mask off the transom area, I decided to use a flat 1/2" stroke brush instead. I started with W&N Crimson for several coats, followed by my usual 10:1 Crimson and Burnt Umber. This gave me better control over the darker tone while making sure that the color didn't get too dark. I removed all of the char from the Quarter Gallery beams except for the bottom edges. After fitting all of them in place they were numbered from 1-20. The last beam that goes against the transom had to be scratch built. The shape of my transom and the supplied laser cut beams didn't match up well and I wasn't going to try to edge bend them into shape. I moved onto assembling the bulkhead at the great cabin. I decided to leave one door open. The three exposed edges of the door were painted to better match its overall color. I didn't paint to a perfectly even color. Instead I left the darker color showing through in places in order to simulate wear and tear that might occur during normal use. The top corner of the door is glued to the beam above to help keep it in open position. I added the two gun port lids that will remain closed at the cabin. Also, I removed the rudder due to the pintel at the top breaking when I accidentally pushed the rudder too far. I was able to remove it without removing the top of the rudder trunk. Once it was off the ship it was easy to fix. I removed just enough off the top of the rudder in order to make it possible to push it up high enough to clear the pins. The top of the rudder still cannot be seen when it is in place. I will put the rudder on when I feel it is safe to do so. No harm done! Mike

Nope! I won't be putting them on the Winnie. I see that your working on your own Winnie. Will we ever see photos of your progress? Mike

Matthias, Areas of the figureheads lower back where removed in order to get it to sit close to the forward edge of the stem? The stem was left untouched. The cheeks and hair brackets were added to the model before any of the friezes were applied. Mike

Well, here goes another update. . . Not a small task was completing the work on the cheeks and hair brackets. Rather than repeat what Chuck has already described it might be useful to mention a few things I did, including some observations, while completing the work. After assembling the four cheeks, the outer two layers were thinned down even more. I would say that I removed about 1/64" overall Before rounding off the center insert for the hair brackets, I lowered its profile a bit before rounding off. If it's too round the frieze won't span its width. I did not use the three laser cut pieces which go between the cheeks. They were about 1/64” short in height on my ship and I didn’t want any gaps showing at the outer end between the cheeks. Luckily, I had some .025 boxwood sheet from a previous build. The bolster was scratched as well. Drilling the hawse holes at an upward angle is crucial. I recommend filing the holes from both directions. After adding the bolster it was easy enough to cleanup the transition between the hawse holes and bolster with some wood filler. Prior to adding the friezes, I painted the paper edge with un-thinned POLY Scale Dark Green 414272 which I found to be a close overall match. My suggestion when adding the friezes to the cheeks and hair brackets would be to do that after those pieces are glued in place. Even though the friezes overlap, establishing the proper length in order to match the frieze pattern should not be too difficult to do. The wash cants were added after painting them black. I think I'm going to add the short decorative molding along the front of the figures leg after the figure is glued in place. There was what seemed like an endless amount of fitting, adjusting and more fitting needed in order to get all the parts working together. Getting both feet of the figurehead to sit against the hair bracket was tricky. The joints between the cheeks and hair bracket as well as a uniform tapering of those parts all required some of extra work. Even the angle of the carving had to be tweaked. No rushing here, at all! The knee was made by first shaping one side and then pinning that side temporarily to the hull. This was done in order to make it easier to fit the other half to it. Using a hand turned disk sander with tilt table makes it easier to get the angle just right between the two halves. The finished knee was painted off the ship. Mike

Looking really nice, Ben. Lining off pays off. Mike

Here you go. . https://www.micromark.com/Doc-ObrienS-Powders

I've been waiting patiently for a Saturday get-together. They are always lots of fun and it will be great to see everyone. As much as I worry about packing it safely into the car, I will bring the Winnie. M

Nicely done, as ALWAYS! Mike