Beef Wellington

Post Twenty-six
 
A little more whittling
 
I continued to fettle the Monogram using a combination of micro chisels and sanding sticks shaped to fit in the nooks and crannies in an effort to impart some round to these tricky areas.
 
 Chuck makes reference in his log to ‘Analysis Paralysis’

1759
Each check of the macro lens reveals tiny areas displeasing to the eye that are not there at a viewing distance of eight inches, and even less so on the model.

1763
Once I reached the point of satisfaction to my admittedly old eyes, but assisted by the optivisor, I  brought proceedings to a halt.
 
The Monogram was placed in a small container of Isopropanol to free it from the backing.
I had used a thin smear of dilute pva (non waterproof) to secure it but even after four hours it showed no sign of releasing.
 
At this juncture I did what Chuck wisely advises against.
 I tentatively slipped a scalpel point beneath the top part which has the least fragile parts, and gently eased it a fraction before replacing it in the alcohol.
I repeated the process a few times until I could get a sliver beneath it thus allowing greater access to the alcohol. Over the next two hours, by degrees, I eased the part until it came away intact.
 
Macro views of the Monogram temporarily in place on the Flying Transom.

1793(2)

1788(2)

1790(2)
 
From a normal viewing distance as gauged below, it looks ok to my eye.

1783

1792
I will leave as is for the present and turn my attention to the hull decoration.
 
Even tho’ I escaped without issue with the Monogram, I think the pva is perhaps a little too strong for the purpose, so I purchased a Pritt stick to temporarily secure the hull decoration.
 
I took the precaution of doing a test piece before committing to the real thing, and release was much easier after around four hours.

1771(2)
The decorations have been labelled to run fore to aft and I was careful to ensure I had the Portside decorations the right way up to mirror the Starboard set.
 
Looks like I’ll be whittling away for a while yet.

 
B.E.
07/05/21

 

Post Twenty-four
 
Stretchers
 
These are bars running athwartships across the floor boarding for the oarsmen to brace their feet against to give purchase when rowing.
They are secured by chocks cut into long timber strips that run along the inner sides of the boat above the decking.
 
The question is how to approach the job, it seems quite tricky at first thought.
 
The strips that hold the stretchers need to be even on both sides, remain vertical, but have both a convex curve on the horizontal plane, and a concave curve on the vertical plane, to follow the frames on which they sit.

Chucks Model
 
The plan in my kit (2018) does not reflect the required set-up, and the exact positions can be seen in the instruction photo’s as shown above.
 
My approach.
The two easily determined points are at either end of the strip.
 
I glued the Port and Starboard strips at both ends to the frames in the correct positions and used temporary cross pieces (stretchers) to check the squareness before the glue fully set.
 
At this point I have not glued the remainder of the strip length to the frames.

1692
The related temporary thwarts were put into place to check they ran in line with the stretchers.

1694
One side of the strip was then glued down using weights until the glue grabbed. Small wedges were used to make sure the strip didn’t move downwards towards the decking.

1697
I then glued the stretchers in place at the two end positions followed by the remaining contact points on the opposing strip, which was also then weighted.

1720(2)
The remaining stretchers were then glued into place having checked that all the thwarts lined up with the stretchers, and that the stretchers were level across the deck.

1708(2)
I had an issue with the laser cut thwarts in my kit which Chuck has quickly sorted out, but I used the now scrap (inverted) thwarts for test fitting purposes.

1711(2)
The thwarts sit well along the risers and I am content with the result.

1712(2)
Satisfying to see that the stretchers are not a bad fit for the test oarsman.

1713

1716(2)

1717(2)
 
While I wait for the new thwarts to arrive there is plenty of other stuff to get on with, not the least the carving aspect to the decoration.
 
B.E.
01/05/21

He first put in an appearance on my Pinnace build also at 1:24 scale

0922
His origins are a Dean's Marine 1.24 scale figure, but he underwent some serious surgery.
Originally he was a Vietnam War period American soldier in Jungle gear. His arms were broken in two places, his uniform and jungle hat cut away and he was given some clothes from the slop chest.
I was pleased that at a given 1:24 scale he fitted the boat spot on, as he seems to do on the Royal Barge.
 
 
I am seriously tempted to crew the barge in the style of the Museum model, but it won’t be cheap having a crew of nine plus the Queen at 1:24 scale made.
 
B.E.
 
 
 

Thanks Guys for your interest and nice comments.👍
 
Post Twenty-one
 
Internal stern fittings
 
I am following Chuck’s suggested order of work for the internal fittings, starting with the stern area.
 
Progress has slowed a little mainly due to a relaxing of covid restrictions, and a spell of fine weather tempting me out with the camera.
This next part also bears some thinking about, even tho’ Chuck has laser cut all the parts, careful positioning and a little tweaking is still required, and I wanted to take my time with this important area of the build.

0172
The bench armrest were fitted first followed by the stern sheets internal boarding.

0173
For these I made card templates to tweak the fitting requirements before I committed to the Cherry versions.

0175
These were trimmed to fit and heat treated whilst clamped in place.

0183
I also made card templates for the bench seat supports before fitting.
The ‘T’ square is used to mark the frame positions for the supports, taken from the plan, and to check the vertical line.
A spacer is taped to Frame 10 to position the aft support piece.

0186
The pinky red colour reproduction on these photos is not realistic. On the model the Vallejo flat red is true.
 
Once the glue has set, this area will be painted before moving on.
 
 
 
B.E.
21/04/21

 
 
 

Post Seventeen
 
Adding the nails
 
Following on from my last post I have applied wipe-on to the decking and the framing below the hull planking, and a further coat to the keel pieces.
 
I now need to consider the nailing.
 
Having applied some several thousand copper nails to the clinker hull of my Alert build, this seems like light relief.
 
20lb black Filament is supplied and a#74 drill bit is recommended for the purpose.
Some 1650 mm of line is provided which is sufficient for 330 5mm lengths, more than enough to fulfil Chuck’s suggested arrangement.
 
I’m not familiar with either filament or #sized drills, but converted to metric a #74 drill = 0.5334 mm ø drill
                                                                                                                                           #75 drill = 0.5334 mm ø drill
 
The filament has a 0.5mm diameter, and I used a corresponding drill to suit.
 
0.5mm ø at scale equates to 0.47” which seems somewhat overscale, and less than half of this is probably more appropriate.
However, I appreciate that the whole nailing set-up is purely artistic license, but I rather like the effect.
 
For the lower plank I have restricted the nails to only where the plank crosses a frame, it seemed pointless to insert a nail into a plank without anything to connect it to.
 
In reality a clinker-built boat would be planked from the keel up.

1520
For this operation I inverted the boat for ease of working.

1522
I eyed the position of the nails and used a simple jig to fix the drill point at 1mm from the edge.
 
For the upper plank nailing I followed the kit scheme, again sighting and marking the position, and using the jig for the drilling.

1532(2)
This time I had the boat the correct way up for marking and fitting and inverted for drilling.

1542(2)

1543(2)
I have decided not to apply any more wop to the planking until I have fixed the moulding rails which is the next stage of the operation.
 
B.E.
07/04/21
 

Post Fifteen
 
Completing the fairing of frame and rail.
 
The method I trialled on the first few frames worked out well.
 
Use of the scalpel speeded up the process, and I also used the scalpel to carefully reduce the width of the rails which saved a lot of sanding.
1414
Having sanded the outboard of the rail flush with the planking I used dividers to lightly score the near finish line which was sufficient to prevent the scalpel point running off-line.

1421(2)
I used a template from the plan to guide the shape at the bow where it meets the stem post.

1428
Not there yet but getting closer.

1433
Using the width gauge to check a uniform width of 2mm
Once satisfied with the rail I turned my attention to fine tuning the frames.

1434(2)
The simple width gauge can be seen lying on the frame centres.

1438(2)

1435(2)

1442(2)

1444(2)

1445
The prominent sheer is apparent in these shots.

1439(2)
It can be difficult to know when to stop, but I think I’m there with the rails and frames.
Test fitting of the floors may prove me wrong in relation to the frames.
 
I think some tidying up is required before I proceed to the next stage.
 
 
B.E.
01/04/21
 
 
 

Thank you Rusty.👍
 
Post Fourteen
 
Fairing and thinning.
 
I felt myself getting a touch of the modelling yips trying to decide on the best approach to this task.
 
At first glance the fining down of the frames and thinning of the rails seems a task fraught with danger given that there are some 46 delicate frame sides to reduce to a uniform and elegant shape.
 
I decided to start at the stern area taking in the aftermost five frames.

1410
I am using a No11 scalpel blade to pare away in an upward motion to achieve a narrowing curve up to the rail.
This reduces sanding time, creates a nice clean line, but has its risks in that I am working with the blade coming towards my steadying fingers at the rail.
For this reason, a fresh blade is used every two or three frames, keep it sharp, keep it clean.

1411
Once I have pared down the frame to rail level, I sand the rail horizontally and repeat the exercise.
I use a pair of dividers set a tad over 2mm to score the width of the rail which I then line with pencil as a guide.
 
I picked up on Rusty’s log where he describes his use of a simple width gauge to check the rail width as he progresses.

1412
The difference to the yet unworked frames is clear.
At this point I decided to move forward to the following frames and reduce them to the same degree before returning to fine tune the whole set.

1413
In my next post I hope I will show the successfully completed frame reduction task, but this may take some time.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
29/03/21
 
 

Post Twelve
 
A Barge emerges.
 
A point in the build that I suspect many builders are pleased to reach.
 
The hull is removed from its building board. I took this slowly and carefully as advised by Chuck, and it didn’t prove too onerous.
I now have my first sight of the model the right way up unencumbered by the board.

1235
Front part of the board removed, so far, so good.
 
At this point I was tempted to add the Garboard strake as shown in Chuck Seiler’s build, which would also no doubt help to counter any tendency for the hull to hog, given the length and fineness of the keel.
 
I rather liked to look of it, but I also liked the view of the deadwood at the stern which would be obscured by the Garboard strake.
Decisions, decisions, but in the end I opted for the original Chuck presentation.

1238(2)
I modified the building board for the second stage of the build as suggested in the instructions. Stem and stern post supports are necessary to hold the hull secure.

1242(2)
I am a big fan of Balsa blocks to support models whilst working.
They are endlessly re-worked to suit each new project.

1244(2)
The barge is now held firmly in place for me to begin the business of frame centre removal.

1246(2)
For this delicate operation I am using an etched fine-toothed scalpel saw.

1286(2)
The whole process went very well, a few of the frames broke away from the planking but were easily re-glued, and there were no breaks in the frames themselves.

1281(2)
Once cut, the centres came away easily using a gentle rocking  motion. The discarded centres will no doubt come in for other projects.
 
 
My covid hairstyle continues to develop, and still several weeks away from a barber, but who needs a barber when you’re busy building a Barge.

1278
With all the centres removed I can now sight along the hull and clearly see whether my fitting of the Transoms looks right.

1287(2)
 It looks ok to my eye, but stare at something too long and……….

1290(2)
A chance to compare this 36’ Royal Barge to my 21’ Pinnace, both at 1:24 scale.

1292(2)

1295

1298(2)
Four weeks fairly steady work to reach this point and I have what looks like a Barge in Frame.
 
Back under its cover for the Pinnace, and onto what Chuck describes as the most delicate stage of the build.
 
I suspect progress is about to slow down.
 
B.E.
24/03/21
 

Thank you Michael and Kirill.
 
Post Ten
 
Completing the planking.
 
Three planks per side to complete what is the Sheer strake.
For this work I have the hull the right way up as I find it easier to see and check the fit.

1126
I work with the model atop of the kit box which gives me a comfortable working position.

1128
The first bow plank (5) requires a bend to follow the bow curve into the rabbet and also a little twist so it lays square to the rabbet.
 
A little tricky this one, on my build anyway; getting the plank to sit tight down on lower plank between the first Futtock and the rabbet was the main concern but a hairline gap should be covered by a moulding.
 
The middle section (6) simply requires cutting to length and ensuring a close butt joint to the previous plank.
 
The aft section (7) required a little shallow bending to round Futtocks 9 and 10 without tension, but I found it the most tricky to attach to the Transom and the extended plank run.
 

1135
I devised a bamboo pole support system to hold the plank tight against the Transom. Balsa wood support blocks prove useful in this situation.

1138
The final plank is put into place.
It may all look a bit dramatic but the pressures are light and hopefully sufficient to produce a good bond.

1142
I left the hull to cure overnight.

1148
I have started to feather the clinker towards the stern, more to do but I think I will wait until I have fitted the Flying Transom which will stop any flex in the planking.

1145(2)

1146(2)

1155
The next stage is to fit the Flying Transom.
 
B.E.
20/03/21

Post Nine
 
 
Fitting planks 3 and 4
 
 
This is where the clinker comes into play.
 
Port and Starboard can get a little confusing when it comes to these pre spiled planks. What initially looks like the outboard face of Plank 3 on the fret is in fact the inboard face.
 
When working with the hull inverted I have to remind my addled old brain that Port is on the right and Starboard on the left.
 
Having bevelled the inward face of plank 3, the corresponding bevel of plank 1 is carefully pared down at the bow to allow  plank 3 to fit into the stem rabbet with a feather edge.
 
I find the 2mm Swann-Morton chisel blade perfect for this.

1071
The plank is water/heat treated to form the bend around the bow, and a small amount of lateral twist is imparted to the end of the plank to allow it to sit flush against the stem rabbet.

1069
With the plank temporarily in place the aft end can be marked for trimming on Futtock 2.
 
As with the first planks I prepare both sides before any glue is applied.
 
 The Portside plank went on without trouble using ca, but I keep a small pot of acetone at hand to clean off any overspill on the face of the plank.
 
The main concern now is to ensure that the opposite side plank has a uniform meet at the bow rabbet.

1073
For this reason and to give me a little tweak time I used pva for the rabbet join and the first two Futtocks.
 
This allowed me to sight along the bow and make any minor adjustment before clamping in position. Use of ca would have precluded this.
 

1078(2)
Light pressure is used and the model is set aside for the pva to cure.

1083
Plank three successfully (I hope) attached. I continued to use pva which worked out ok.

1084(2)
It will stand a little more feathering into the bow but that can wait awhile.
 
 
Onto Plank 4
 
Very little fiddling needs to be done, I did impart a little twist towards the end to allow the plank to lie flat without tension across Futtocks 9 and 10 and the Transom.
 

1100
At the sternpost I added a balsa support piece to brace the planking for gluing the extensions beyond the transom.

1106
The final plank 4 goes on without incident.

1113

1108

1111
At this point the clinker has yet to be feathered out at the stern.
 
 
Onward and upwards to the sheer strake.
 
 
B.E.
17/03/21

Post Eight
 
 
Progressing the planking strakes.
 
I begin with the Starboard aft first strake which is a simpler arrangement than the bow section.

1024(2)
Dry fitting the aft plank.
 
I imparted a shallow bend to assist the plank to lie flat across Futtocks 8 and 9, followed by a shallow outward bend between Futtocks 10 and the transom. This is to create a concave sweep running into the Flying Transom.
 

1025
This photo shows the concave curve that will run to connect with the Flying Transom.

1027
As with the stem, a support block is temporarily fixed to the board to support the Transom and counter any lateral pressure when gluing.
At this point I haven’t glued the aft plank to the transom, I will do that once the second (Portside) plank is fixed, and I can tweak the set up with both in place.
 

1030
Aft piece shape.
 

1051
The Transom is held steady for the gluing.

1050(2)

1036

1048(2)

1063(2)
A small block of balsa is used to support and protect the transom.
 
 
B.E.
13/03/21

Thanks Rusty, sometimes that ‘handle’ feels a little fragile, this is a build that surely concentrates the mind, but enjoyable all the same.
 
Post Seven
 
First fixings
 
I have spent most of yesterday faffing around with the first planks.
 
The final tasks before gluing is to bevel the plank for the bow /rabbet fit and trim the plank to terminate at the forward Futtock ‘O’.
 
The Portside plank went on fairly easily, but the Starboard version not so. To my increasing frustration the ca initially refused to grab on several of the Futtocks.
 
The bow strake/rabbet connection was particularly stubborn and in the end I left it until last and used pva which allowed me to tweak the level to match the Portside.
 

0991
There is an element of flexibility in the as yet unsupported stem, and it really needs holding in the vertical line whilst the first plank is applied.
 

1013

1012(2)

1007

1001(2)

0993

0996

1018(2)

1009(2)
 
I am satisfied with the outcome, and not a little relieved that this first critical task is completed.
 
 
B.E.
12/03/21

Post Five
 
Fairing.
 
I approach this job with a degree of trepidation, being aware of the damage that can be done by a simple lapse of concentration in holding or manoeuvring, or a degree too much pressure put on the frames.
 
Chuck re-iterates this point more than once.
 
Using the fret from the Futtock sheets, I practised sanding the edges with a variety of different grade papers to gauge the removal effect and effort required to achieve it.

0929
I am using a finger sander with P150 and P240 papers, and Sheet P240 papers were also used.
 
 
Using a fine touch was uppermost in my mind but even so a couple of frames dislodged from the keel at the stern, but it was easy work to re glue them.
 
The process mainly seems to consist of cleaning off the char with actual bevelling only being applicable to the forward four and aft five Futtocks/frames plus the Transom board.
 

0935
I use a 0.7 x 6mm Boxwood strip to check the lie of the strake across the Frames.
 
 
I am taking this very slowly, a lot of the fairing I do is along the vertical line to clean the char to avoid putting lateral pressure on the frames.
 
This also has the effect of easing the friction when applying the necessary lateral strokes to fair the forward and aft frames.
 
I didn’t do too much fairing at one time lest my natural inclination to complete the job got too much and the speed of working picked up.

0930
With the test strake fully sitting across all frames at various points I decided it was time to move on.
 
 
A coat of wipe-on-poly is applied.
 

0942

0943(2)

0939

0953(2)
The planking phase beckons.
 
 
 
B.E.
09/03/21
 
 

Just to show you a different look with the barge here is a friend of mine building it right now.  Early paintings show the planking painting white.......it looks nice.
 

Thanks for your input Guys.
 
Thanks for the advice Chuck.
 
@ Glenn – you’ve got to be working on the kit to appreciate the problem, but I doubt you will have any issues once you get around to it.
 
@ Bradley – useful insight, and yours turned out beautifully.
 
@ Derek -  It’s always worth having one of Chuck’s kits on hand, in fact I’ve also got the Longboat kit  beneath the bench.
There are so many exiting new projects coming along now from Syren and Vanguard, - too many models not enough time – surely does resonate.
 
Post Four
 
 Completion of Keel/frames assembly
 
I did a little more work on the slots and tabs to give the lateral movement necessary to align the frames. I concentrated on the underside and didn’t touch the upper edge.
 
I also took Chuck’s advice and made a pass of the sanding stick across the tabs.

0862(2)
The keel then fitted much better and I felt confident enough to apply the glue.

0924(2)
The forward section went somewhat easier, but I still managed to break the tab on the single frame H, temporarily secured with Tamiya tape.

0918(2)

0923(2)

0915(2)

9012(2)

0914(2)

0913(2)
 
 
Moving on to fairing.
 
 
B.E.
06/03/21
 

Thank you, Jason,
 I found your insights and tribulations regarding the frames of great assistance, and also a little worrying, good that you are returning to the build.
 
Post Two
 
Prepping the frames.
 
With the keel section completed a simple jig/building board is made to hold the keel straight and prevent warping whilst I attend to the Futtocks and frames.

0759
A slow process but valuable in the sense that it lowers the natural build pace. This is not a project to rush, deliberate movements and soft hands are I suspect essential to avoiding mishaps on this build.

0765
I started with the fore half and found that futtocks J – F required tape over the tabs to give a good fit, and Futtocks E -B required the building board slots easing for a good push fit. The final two Futtocks ‘A’ fitted without attention.
 
 
One slight hitch, I mistakenly glued a Frame O to Futtock A because the incised reference letter was closer to the O than the A frames on the fret. There are two Frames A and O.
 
My error was quickly rectified but I note it as something to watch out for.

0767
The aft half of the Futtock/ frames generally fitted without attention, only a couple required slot sanding and the application of tape.

0819
Before going further I test checked each of the frame bottoms into the keel slots, most needed a pass with the sanding stick to fit in the slots.
 
I hesitated about what to do with the keel slot for Futtock 7. This was narrower because the long central keel slot section was slightly reduced to fit on the keel.
 
I settled on a combination of shaving a fraction off the forward edge of the slot and reducing the frame bottom. I didn’t want to thin the frame bottom too much lest it weakened the structure.
 

0832(2)

0825
Having checked both slots and tabs the parts will now be taken apart and the building board support blocks added to the underside.
 
 
B.E.
04/03/21
 
 
 

Shipman: Gosh, some folk are never satisfied! Here are some lower viewpoint pics. Hard to do through the acrylic.
 
Thanks again everyone, for your interest and kind comments.
 

Thank you, everyone. So, we come to the end of this particular journey. I appreciate all who have followed along. Happy model-making to you all.
 
BTW, I've no idea what might be next - yet.
 

On with the copper plates.
 
Starting with the starboard side, I laid the first two rows of plates beginning at the keel and sternpost. Thinking that the overlap would be easiest if I used the dimples as a guide, I glued the first two rows. I realised at that this was creating too much of an overlap between plates making the joints look much too thick and as you can see from this photo, a lot needed re-gluing. On subsequent rows I reduced the overlap to the minimum which looks much better.
 

 
I tried various methods of holding and placing the tiles, including using tweezers, and a piece of dowel with Blu-Tak on the end. Finally I settled on using a piece of scrap basswood just smaller in cross-section than a tile and cut at an angle. A piece of double-sided tape on the end provides just enough tack to hold the tile while a dab of CA gel spread is spread across with a piece of scrap walnut strip.
 
 
 
The biggest puzzle so far has been deciding where to put the gore line. There doesn’t seem to be any formula for this, so based on looking at other builds on this forum, I just went with what seemed right. I ran three straight rows and then used tape as a guide to mark the line.
 

 

 

 
So far it seems to be working out…
 
 
Onwards and upwards …
 
 

Hi @BranPie - you're right. This took longer than I was expecting. It's the first time I've done top timbers like this, and it takes perseverance... But no more than a deck full of guns, or a shroud full of ratlines  The main challenge is to neatly cut the walnut to the correct angle for the deck both at the bottom and the top without knocking the corner off. I did this by using a scalpel to cut through the grain on the far side to prevent it splitting out, but it doesn't make it more time-consuming.
 
Once they were all cut down to size carefully, with an xacto saw, I added the pre-cut parts that form the rail. These parts fitted beautifully.  No adjustments were necessary - just care to ensure they were glued with a 4mm gap on either side of the hull. This was achieved using plasticard as packing. Weight was applied to get the parts to follow the curve of the freeboard. 
 
I pre-painted these parts, leaving a small gap on the under-side where it fixes to the freeboard. I didn't fancy trying to cut the paint in along the toptimbers!
 
Here are a few photos of the process.
 
First, the parts were tacked together at the joints with masking tape, and laid on top of the hull to check the layout. The parts were left in place while the individual parts were glued to ensure they would eventually fit.
 

 

 
Then the parts were painted, and glued in place one by one, with the packing around the sides to ensure they were lined up with the freeboard...
 

 
Because the walnut has quite a lot of grain, the parts were sanded and then painted again a few times to smooth them out, and to knock off the very sharp edges. This is especially important where the end grain meets the edge. Sand with the grain, not against it... otherwise it could splinter out.
 
I worked from the stern towards the bow.
 

 
And here's the end result...
 

 
There's a little touching up to do, but I'm very pleased with how it's come together... The contrast between the white and black is very striking, along with the tanganyika and walnut of the deck. Onwards and upwards!
 
Rob
 
 

Hi all,
 
A little update. I've cut and glued all the uprights (top timbers?) along the edges of the deck (the bulwarks). About 160 of them in total ... all checked with a spirit level to try and get them vertical to the waterline. Now I just need to finish cutting them back to the tops of the bulwarks.
 

 

 

 
They were slightly adjusted where necessary to clear the holes that come through the bulwarks. 

Bowlines
 
Back to the running rigging!
 
Having debated whether or not to rig these lines they actually turned out to be relatively straightforward, the main difficulty being weaving them through all the existing rigging and finding space for them on the already crowded bitts. I eventually counted some 19 lines on the bitts abaft the foremast alone.
 
As usual, I started with the lower yards and worked up. However in describing the setup I'll cover all the bowlines on the main mast then all those on the fore. The kit suggests 0.1mm line for all bowlines, but I chose to use 0.25mm for the lower and topsail yards as that seemed closer to the rope sizes given in Lees' Masting & Rigging. 
 
Main yard - I tied the standing end just outside the first quarter, using a couple of half hitches and taking care to keep the knots under the yard and out of sight where I could dab them with CA and trim them neatly. I also had to be careful to avoid pinching other lines running along the yard. I used the same approach for the standing ends of all the bowlines:

From the yard the line runs down to a 3mm single block near the foremast then up to belay on the bitts:

For once I'd thought ahead, and hadn't fitted these blocks in advance. I prepared them off the model, complete with eyebolts, which meant I could thread a block on the bowline then glue the bolt into a pre-drilled hole in the deck. 
 
Main topsail yard - the bowlines reeve through the outermost of the blocks rigged to eyebolts in the rear edge of the fore top, then down to belay on the fore bitts:
 

Main topgallant yard - these 0.1mm lines run through holes pre-drilled in the rear of the fore trestletrees, then down to belay on the fore bitts:

Foremast yards - I'm not sure an exhaustive account will be of much value here as it's all in the rigging plans. Suffice to say, all bowlines run to blocks attached to the bowsprit and jibboom, back through holes in the saddle and then on to belay on bitts at the foot of the bowsprit. Seeing these extra lines running through the saddle made me glad I'd decided to rig them:
 

Next, it's on to the lower yard tacks and sheets (and tidying up all the crowded bitts!).
 
Derek
 
 

Braces
 
I've made a bit of progress in between jobs around the property, starting with the spritsail braces. These required a single long length of 0.25mm line which I clove-hitched round the fore stay, leaving an equal length each side:

Each end then reeves through the pendant blocks previously rigged to the ends of the spritsail yard, then back up towards the foretop:

Difficult to see in the photo, but the braces reeve through the inner sheaves in the double blocks under the front edge of the foretop. The next part was one of the trickiest in the whole rigging process, as the lines then have to reeve through the double blocks under the rear edge of the top. This was hard enough with the buntlines and leechlines on the foreyard, but the space under the top was more crowded and tighter now, and I couldn't thread the line through from the front and hope to get it through the rear block in one go. In the end I had to push the line as far as I could from the front then fish around with tweezers until I could pull it through from the rear. I then had to grip the rear double block with needle nose pliers and gently twist it round so I could thread the line through in the right direction. I was relieved that I hadn't rigged the blocks too tight under the top, meaning I was able to twist them round far enough. It was then an easy job to take the braces to their belaying points.
 
Fore yard braces
 
Following advice in the kit instructions I'm leaving the main brace until last, otherwise it will get in the way of other rigging. The fore yard braces don't present that problem, but I soon realised I should have studied the rigging plans more thoroughly before I got to this stage, as I found myself having to rig pairs of blocks to the main stay in order to rig these lines. It wasn't too big a deal, especially with the quadhands. I found the best technique was to rig the blocks in the middle of the stay where they were more accessible, then slip them to their final position before final tightening:

I actually 'cheated' here slightly. I should have rigged all the blocks on the main stay, but I couldn’t get the lower pair as close to the foremast as I wanted (deadeyes in the way) so I moved them to the preventer.  As with the spritsail, I made the fore yard braces from a single length of 0.3mm line, clove hitched round the stay as shown above. Form the stay the braces reeve through the pendant blocks at the ends of the yard, back to the upper pair of 5mm blocks on the stay, down to the 5mm pair on the stay near the foremast, then down to belay on the bitts. Photos later will show this more clearly.
 
Topsail yard braces
 
The fore topsail yard was straightforward - a single 0.25mm line clove hitched around the main stay, running up to the pendant blocks on the topsail yard, back to the pair of 3mm blocks on the stay then down to belay on the main bitts.
 
The main topsail yard was trickier. Again, I'd failed to look at the plans far enough in advance, and found I now had to seize blocks and lines to the fore topmast shrouds. Not easy with several lines in the way. I started by seizing a 3mm block in the centre of a 6" length of line (deliberately long so I had plenty to work with in the tight confines of the shrouds):

I made two of these, fastening one to each of the rearmost topsail shrouds. I had to use a pair of tweezers in each hand to pass the strop lines round the shroud then tie them with a reef knot. I did the same with one end of each brace ( I used two separate lines for the braces this time), tying it to the same shroud as the block, a couple of ratlines higher. A dab of CA and a trim later and this was the result:

The brace runs from the shroud to the pendant block on the main topsail yard, back to the 3mm block on the same shroud and down to belay on a pinrack.
 
Here's a shot with these various lines finished:

Starting to feel like the home straight now! 
 
Derek

Topsail yard ties
 
I just went slightly off plan with these. The kit instructions say the ties start off tied to the crosstrees, whereas I believe they were normally tied round the masthead. Starting with the port tie on each mast, I seized an eye in one end, passed it between the masthead and the topgallant mast and fed the free end of the tie through the eye on the starboard side. The starboard tie starts off on the port side in the same way:

I subsequently blackened the parts of the ties showing above the crosstrees with india ink as they just didn't look right otherwise. Aesthetics trumps accuracy again (although I could pretend the ties were served😬). 
 
Back to the port tie. This passes down between the forward and middle crosstrees, inside the stays and down to reeve through the double block in the centre of the topsail yard, then back up to reeve through the 5mm block suspended under the port side of the crosstrees. The tie passes forward to aft through this block (NB I chose to use 5mm blocks here as I felt the 3mm ones shown in the plans were too small). This is the set up once both ties have reached this stage:
 

Each tie ends in a 5mm block to which the falls attach:

 The fall links to another 5mm block hooked to the channels on a long strop, bringing the block well above the bulwarks.  All this is very clearly set out in the rigging plans.
 
I rushed ahead of myself at this point, rigging the topsail yard lifts then the topgallant yard ties and parrels. Unfortunately I didn't capture each stage on camera so I'll try to rectify that tomorrow so I can update the log properly. But in the meantime here's a quick (and badly focussed) shot of the current state of play:

Derek
 

Development for this particular kit has certainly been very intensive. Jim's model is actually the third prototype, the first two were mine, one a basic hull assembly, to iron out potential larger issues, the second to sieve through smaller issues, which leads to the production parts, which still need a further 'sieve' to help 'fine tune' the designs. Many, many parts have been tweaked over the past few weeks, and all for the better.
 
Tangible models need to be made, I know that when I design them in CAD, when I assemble in 3-D, all looks perfect. However, for wooden model kits, they never work out exactly how they look on the PC screen, too many issues can be very easily overlooked if the time wasn't put into assembling progressively better prototype models from the designed parts. At least, this is how I work, knowing the pitfalls of designing these things, and having to take into account all of the slight differences from one model and modeller to another. 
 
I know that most kits in the past (talking European kits, as these are the only ones I have experience with) leave the onus on the purchaser to sort problems out due to shortcomings. I wanted to address this by making a kit so complete (although you still need to pay attention and take your time), that the onus is on me, not you - most who are fairly competent at model building should really have any issues building this, but it's still not a quick build, due to the sheer amount of parts. But at least they are parts you won't have to make from scratch, some just require a little finishing..
 
Mad kit....