garym

here's a little bit more progress on the 'ole girl.   along with starting on the cap rails,  the cat heads need to be made and installed.   the main body of the cat head is a little less than an inch long,  so it's darn small to work with.   each one needs a whisker and I want to add banding to it,  to help hold the whisker in place.   the starboard side bow section of the cap rail was fitted and painted with earth brown.......the entire cap rail will be this color.

slots need to be cut into the fore deck bulwarks,  to allow for the cat heads.   they are a bit larger than the slot,  so I had to slot the cat head,  to allow the cap rail to ride over it.

while I was at it,  I made a couple tracings of the transom on a piece of 1/8 flat stock.   good to have a second......even in a duel   after all......what is dual........two!    clever lad!  not wanting to mince words {cut to ribbons},  I used the half round piece of mahogany to trace the inner cut.

I do have one of the cat heads assembled...touch up is all that's needed.  I'd put the dime up next to it,  but I think I spent it on my son's car.

well......I must say......this has been a fun filled week.  my thanks to mother nature,  who kept it nice 'n wet outside for most of the week.  

I also took a couple of progress pictures of the companionway and the aft cabin.   it's all back together and the roof is done.  I still need to apply the stain and do the companionway roof,  but here is how it looks now.
    for the skylight.......once I had it sanded down to where I wanted it,  I decided to give the sides a coat of med flat green.   I also did the companionway the same way.   I kinda fancy this color...I've used it on a couple of my past builds.  combined with a compatible brown,  it make for a great color scheme.  I think it will work well here.   once dry,  the window panes were filled in with the window maker.   I used a razor blade to remove the excess from the roof frames.  now they need to dry,  where it will become clear.
 

I must have been like a one armed paper hanger yesterday...........trying to catch up here,  and tinkering with the structures.   I decided to get the main deck cabin roof done.   first,  was to edge it all around with the dark mahogany.......including the outer edges.  the kit supplies 0.5 x 2 mm blonde strips......I've read where the common choice for decking was yellow pine,  so I went with this scheme.
    I was going to do calking between the planks,  but figured that it might not look right,  so I didn't.   once the roof was planked over,  it was lightly sanded and given a wash of some light stain.....I let it totally soak in.  then it got a coat of semi gloss lacquer......it will get another coat later,  when the first coat is dry.   I also fitted the fore and aft doors on the cabin as well.   the plank line do show up slightly........probably due to the slight infusion of mahogany dust.   works for me  
 

Photos of the staircases in place with the newly constructed quarterdeck breast rail.
 
Next up is finishing up on all of the remaining deck fixtures, boat supports, and remaining forecastle guns.
 
Vince P. 

as you can see by my posting on a Sunday.......I did not go to work.   I'm still battling the effects of the stomach bug.   I won't go into too much detail.......distasteful as it is,  let's just say,  that after two days,  I'm back up and running again.
 
the one good day I had did result in a bit of progress........the other day was spent at work on Saturday.......by the end of the day though.......I was hoping that the little blue pill I took,  would wear off!.    to dress up the pump,   I ended up doing a few attempts,  bending the shaft to accept the three connecting rods.   I had drilled out the cylinders to give them more room.
 

 
when I had one that was reasonable enough,  brass eye bolts were used as connecting rods.....a little tedious to get them all in order.   it still needs to be trimmed.......but at least it is now assembled.
 

 
thanks for your patience.

The anchor bits are completed and in place.
 
Now the hard part is to construct and install the quarterdeck breast rail. 
 
Vince P. 

The gangways between the quarterdeck and forecastle along with the ladders and stairs are completed.
 
Next up is the maindeck anchor bits and quarterdeck breast rail. The breast rail will be a challenge with all of the curved railings. The railings could be made with a more squared off look and would still be fine, but I am going to attempt to include the decorative curves. 
 
Vince P. 

The maindeck gun battery is completed. A lot of busy work here. 
 
Next up is the gangways between the forecastle and quarterdeck.
 
Vince P. 

Mark:
I have been there in this situation. It is quite common. Your work so far looks great. This is a beautiful model. But, work on her when you feel like it and not when you don't.
 
Russ 

She is looking real nice, sorry to hear about your frustrations but sometimes it is a good idea to just put it aside and come back later when the mind is refreshed

The starboard main deck gun battery completed. Putting this much detail is very time consuming. I have completed several ships with complex rigging, which is my favorite part, but rigging these guns is tougher. The close quarters and short lengths is a real challenge. I still have to do the port side.  The quaterdeck and forecastle guns are even smaller.
 
Vince P.

One main deck gun station completed. I am trying to put as much detail in as possible. It is fun making all of the items from scratch.
 
Vince P.

Hi Vince
 
Nice looking cannons, they will look even better when you have rigged them.
 
You are giving us all a lesson in model building a master class if ever I have seen one.
 
Well done and keep up the good work.
 
Denis.

The main deck guns are complete. Next up is to mount them on the deck. I am going to full rig them.
 
Vince P.

Working on the main deck guns. Many tiny parts have to be made and assembled. I tried to go into the most detail by including parts like the quions and wheel spikes, all of which had to be made from scratch. All of the shiny brass pieces were blackened to give a more realistic look. The last photo shows all of the pieces ready to assemble into the guns.
 
Vince P.

I have placed the timbers between the rails on the starboard side. I did not use the metal strips supplied in the kit, although they are fine. I made some decorative strips with wood from my stash and milled out the center by hand. I think they look more like the drawings and of other high quality models I have seen around.
 
I found another blunder after placing some of the timbers at the forward end of the rails. When I bent the outward curves into the rails, I tried to match the drawings, and think I came pretty close, BUT, the stem is too thick and too high as provided in the kit. There is no room for the gammoning ropes to fit in between the inside of the lower rails and the stem. I would have to have known to shave the thickness of the stem piece, or cut it way down from the top beforehand. In looking at some scratch built models, the stem piece is cut way lower from the top to allow the ropes to run between. Nowhere in the plans does this seem obvious, but someone smarter than me would probably catch this. Anyway, if you are following this log, you can avoid this by fixing it before placing the lower head rails. I will have to run the gammoning outside the rails at the lower end and then feed them up inside to the bowsprit. I have seen other ships of the period do this, but not the RW.  
 
Vince P.

Placed the gratings inside the head rails. As was already pointed out, they are lower than the drawings show because the curvature of the upper head rails is a little too low. I am however not too disturbed by this. Since my build log seems to be ahead of the others, I am the one who will make some mistakes for others to benefit. That is why build logs are so important, and one of the reasons I stick my neck out and publish my work for others to see.
 
Vince P.

Finishing up with adding the remainder of the head rails. After placing the rails, I noticed that the top rail was curved so that it was way out from the lower rails. This would make the head timbers uneven and at a impractical angle. I had to remove the top rails and completely rebend them so they followed the curve of the lower rails more closely. Since they were already painted, using a torch was not a good idea. I had to bend them by hand, very carefully and slowly so as not to break them. The last photo shows the top rail hugging the hull more closely. Another mistake I learned from. Installing the rails from the bottom up would make more sense.
 
Vince P.

Good day folks,
 
Well, what can be said other than that it is so sad that all the beautiful input has been lost from this site. There were so many wonderful models and a wealth of information for all to share. Now is the time for us all to rebuild the site together.
 
Today I will just post a photo of the stern of the Sovereign as she sits today while I consider if it is possible to revive the log as it previously was.
 
 

 
 
More to folllow...........
 
Regards,
Bill

In the next series of photos I am showing the development of Aeolus, God of the Winds. This carving was in a way more complicated than Victory as it involved a bird as well. Ths first shot shows the rough carving compared to a dime.
 

 
In the next show it shows Aeolus in its finished state.
 

 
And now in position on the hull. Note that Neptune is also added on the left side of Victory. Additionally, I have added wings to Victory. Note that Victory has rings around each arm. These rings are part of the Victory carving, not added later. By now you have noticed the Bells Scotch bottle in the background. A source of inspiration in my carving.
 

 
More to folllow............
 
Bill
 
 

As Victory was a major turning point in my carving, I will post a couple of in progress shots of her. The first shot shows her size in relationship to a Canadian dime.
 

 
The next photo shows the carving compared to a section of the Lely Portrait which was my guide in creating her.
 

 
And finally, Victory mounted on her pedestal on the stern.
 

 
More to follow....................
 
Bill

The next two carvings to be added to the stern were Jason holding the golden fleece and Hercules holding a club. Both carvings are standing on pedestals with a decorative motif.
 

 
As the carving proceeded, I began the central carving of Victory. It was by far the most complicated carving to date and took many hours to get it to where I thought it deserved to be on the stern. This photo shows Victory in progress held against the stern. Note the arch over her head with sculptures of clouds with faces in them.
 

 
More to follow.................
 
Bill

You may have noticed the presentation of the leaded glass windows on the stern.  I had experimented with black thread soaked in a mild solution of white glue and water and trying to create a grid but this method failed. Finally I fell upon using plastic window screen. I stretched the screen to make the openings in the screen diamond shaped and pinned them to a teflon sheet on a board. I then painted the area with white glue and let them dry overnight. In the morning the pins were removed and the shapes maintained themselves. I cut the appropriate shape and placed it on the hull and laid the boxwood window frame over the grid. It turned out to be an effective method or reoplicating the glass.
 
 

 
 
More to follow...........................
 
Bill

You will notice that the area above the top two arched windows has dimples carved in the left most panel.  I was struggling with the effect I wanted to create and did not keep that presentation. The next photo shows a curved piece of boxwood that has a series of tear drop shaped openings that alternate like theatre seating as the rows expand. This is how these areas were filled in, using one strip and later adding partitions to create panels.
 

 
In this shot, you can see the two strips in position with partitions placed over them to create the panels. More carvings are added and the windows treatments were added.
 

 
More to follow........................
 
Bill

Having made the decision to modify the hull, I proceeded to make the changes to achieve a profile close to the Lely Portrait of the stern. The following picture shows the beginnings of the stern construction.
 

 
As you can see in the photo that follows I decided to "paint with wood" in my depiction of the Sovereign. It meant that I would only use different colour woods to represent colour on my model and thus the decision to plank below the water line in American Holly and above it in Swiss Pear. Not an easy feat as I found out.
 

 
With no experience in carving, I consulted the Seaways List for information as to how to go about carving ornamentation. There was a limited amount of information available in print. The preferred method was to trace the outlines of the sculpture on a piece of wood and start carving.  I soon found that when the lines disappeared, it was like driving in fog. This left me to do some soul searching and find a way to get around this. I discovered that drawing the item to be carved on paper, and then on the wood, was the answer.  This allowed me to commit the image to memory, so when the lines began to disappear as I carved, I still knew what the object looked like and could continue to carve without fear. The following photo shows my very first carving for the stern of the Sovereign. It was carved using a Proxon engraver that holds 3/32" burs.
 

 
The Proxon Carver
 

 
The next photo shows some additions to the stern which include some of the arched window frames, carved from Boxwood with rotary tools.