Beef Wellington

Ensign...conclusion:
A tiny bit of steam was used to soften the ensign while various "rounded implements" with different radii (dowel, metal file shafts etc.) were used to try and introduce various folds.  I'd love to be able to describe a reproduceable scientific process, but thats not what happened.  It was really just a continual serious of tweaks, leaving to dry and most importantly trying not to introduce creases.  Steam worked fine to initially soften and allow the structural folds to be introduced, but isn't really a good ongoing solution as it tends to undo any previous work.  Real care is also needed to not 'over wet' the painted flag, not sure I was completely successful here.  Final tweaking was done by wetting very gently any tools used and trying to hold in position while it dried and the fold takes.

...and with that milestone, I'm declaring this build FINISHED!  
 
This was my first wooden ship build, and first model I've built for over 30 years.  Its taken probably 8 years to get this far off an on (probably 7 years more than it should), but I have to say I'm glad I was able to finish her.  I've come to realize that I enjoy the journey more than the destination, and I certainly experienced moments when I could easily have put her aside permanently, mainly due to me recognizing unfixable mistakes or compromises that that could so easily been enhanced had I known more at the time.  Given the length of time taken to complete, this progression in knowledge and execution is very apparent to me, but I hope is less apparent to others.  All in all, this was a most enjoyable project that exposed me to the necessary knowledge and techniques that I hope build on and leverage in the future.  I still need to make up a protective case, and will probably continue to see needed fixes and touchups before she (hopefully) is put in a place of rest.  I would like to thank this entire community for the ongoing help, support and encouragement - without which I would not have reached this point.
 
Few pictures to celebrate, apologies that these aren't exactly studio quality.

 

@ Eammon - I think you and many others deserve a perseverance award for sticking around
@ Sjors - Its great that you'll be starting a Snake build as well, there are a number now in progress, and there is still a chance you will finish yours before me 🙂
@ Mike - Thanks for reminding me that you put these on your badger, she really is a nice looking model
@ Martin - Hope it helps, like always, we stand on the shoulders of those who go before
 
The Ensign:
Really the only missing item at this point is an ensign.  Making one's own is really the only option as aftermarket items are the wrong time period (the cross of St Patrick in the Union Jack was only introduced after the Act of Union in 1801), only white ensigns are available and they seem somehow a little too perfect, and the material they are made from seems overly heavy.  There seem to be a couple of very similar approaches to making these, and here is how I approached it.  This was my first effort, and although results are not the height of perfection, I'd say this is something that any modeler should feel comfortable taking on.  I am not quite finished in that the final article needs to be 'folded' to sit more realistically, but I'm stepping back for a moment to think through options as I'll probably need to use some steam to help make permanent - and this seems like it could be a little catastrophic if approached incorrectly.  Open to thoughts here!
 
The first decision was to decide what sized ensign to create.  I printed on paper various sizes to see what looked good to my eye before committing further.  I'm rather taken with the majestic look of a large flag, and have erred on the side of larger size, even if it would be perhaps more appropriate to use a smaller size for a ship not under sail or in battle.  If I could make one recommendation to a modern navy, it would be to use larger ensigns!  The other factor that played into my decision to err on the larger side was that when tweaked to hang more realistically, it will look smaller and less obtrusive to the eye.
 
The first step was to soak some modelspan tissue in water and stretch over a frame to dry.  I used an old cheap picture frame which worked quite handily, and the modelspan tightened quite nicely.  Once dry, dilute PVA was painted on, this causes the paper to stretch and wrinkle again.  Once dry, it becomes taught again and the outline of an ensign was very lightly drawn on with pencil tracing from an appropriate pattern.  After that it was a simple case of slowly layering dilute acrylic paints.  I was somewhat limited to what I could get my hands on, using Tamiya XF-7 Red, XF-8 Blue and Vallejo 'Off White'  used on the cutter.

Some masking tape was used where the hoist will be to try and limit mistakes in that area, and while this did work, masking tape did not seem to be able to provide a clean edge for the rest of the flag so it was pretty much all painted free hand.  Both sides were painted, and for the field of the flag, brush direction was alternated in horizontal and vertical directions. 

I forget how many dilute coats were applied, but I stopped before the colour became too solid and while there was still some translucency when held up to light (the horizontal and vertical lines were still somewhat visible).  Once removed and cut to size, the hoist was trimmed to an appropriate size so it could be doubled back on itself and hard crease introduced.  This is just visible below at bottom left of the flag.

In reality, the ensign would have been attached with either toggles or loops to the halyard, I decided to avoid reproducing this exactly because it would likely look a little out of scale and introduce some unnecessary complexity.  In the end, a length of rope was lightly glued into the crease of the hoist, which was then then lightly glued back into place.  Two knots were then placed into the rope where this would normally attach, and a false seizing placed above (on the top) and below (on the bottom) to give the impression of a loop.  The hoist was then tidied up with a little off-white paint.

The ensign could now be trial fitted by threading the halyard through the small block on the end of the gaff.  An ensign staff would have been used on larger ships, and even some earlier smaller craft seem to have a temporary mount to be able to place a staff.  With the platform, there is really no space for such a feature, so I'm going to proceed with the ensign flying from the gaff.  Given the spartan, utilitarian approach to the rest of the ship design, it does not seam unreasonable that this was the approach taken, similar to what I understand was done for smaller cutters.  I'm also proceeding on the assumption that the ensign halyard would just have been secured to a cleat on either the side of the stern.  I would welcome some additional insight or correction on this point.

 

Michael - welcome aboard and thanks to you and the others for the interest.
 
Nun-Buoys:
I've been trying to get my head around these for some time, there seems to be little info on these in sources but seeing how others have tackled these (esp. BE and Chuck) were of great help.  I seem to recall that the buoys should be around 1/3 to 1/4 the length of the anchor but for the life of me can't find the reference or place that I read that to confirm.  The body of the buoy was shaped from some spare dowel, and 2 ringbolts inserted at the extremities leaving some of the length exposed.  These would have been made from leather and would have been 'served' with leather strips as suggested by Lavery, but this was a detail I ommitted, and these were simply painted with brown and black paint.  In a slightly larger size, these would be fun items to add a little more detail on (as I think BE did on his on his Pegasus build)

To make up the anchor buoy slings, eyes were seized into some rope, and threaded onto the rope that will become the hoops.  I wasn't quite sure what size to use, but considering that in practice these would have been wormed, parcelled and served - presumably for protection - it seems likely that they would be reasonably substantial.  I used some Syren line to get a little definition, and used a black marker to darken as I only had some tan stuff handy.

Mounting the slings on the buoy itself proved quite the challenge.  Firstly, the hoops were made up with a single overhand knot, secured with GS Hypo glue, and then trimmed.  The slings on each end need to go underneath the hoop on the opposite end.  I found the best method was to suspend in some helping hands to fine tune, although this proved very fiddly.

Once everything was satisfactorily in position, the 4 slings were seized around the ringbolt (which simulates the loop the slings would make), and then trimmed.

This was then attached to a pre-made coil to represent the length of rope needed for given depths of water, and then secured to the shrouds for storage, and attached to the anchor.  On many models, these are shown as rather drab items, I have to believe in practice that these would have received some sort of brightly coloured paint to aid visibility, but I stayed with the more conservative muted tones.



So at this point, the only item remaining to be completed is an ensign of some sort, and some tweaking of the rigging...
 
 

Thanks whitejames, Eamonn, Joe, Martin, Stergios, mugje, Mike and all the 'likes' for the continued interest and encouragement.  Happy New year to everyone!
 
Anchors:
Adding some appropriate features here at the bow will do much to enhance the overall look of the model, the kit itself leaves the bow area a little sparse, especially the rigging which has already been commented on.  The kit provides 4 full sized 'bower' anchors.  However, Steele indicates that a ship of Snakes size and class would only carry 3, in addition to a smaller kedge and stream anchor : “Ships of 110 to, 100, 98, and 90 guns, have seven anchors; from 80 to 20 guns inclusive, 6 anchors; ships of 300 tons, and sloops, have 5; and brigs and cutters 3 anchors.” - This would include the large (best, small, and spare) bower anchors, stream and kedge anchors.
 
As for positioning, per Steele:  "The spare anchor is stowed on the starboard side, and is seldom used, but when one of the others is lost......The stream anchor is stowed on the spare anchor; and, when used, it is sent in the long-boat or launch, with its cable bent, and let go at any particular spot, either for steadying the ship, when riding by only one bower, or to assist a ship when in shore, or to warp her, &c. ......the kedge is stowed on the stream and spare anchors, and is frequently used to stop a ship for a tide in little winds…”
 
A number of years ago (!) I had purchased a smaller Caldercraft anchor for the kedge anchor, and luckily was able to find it.  Not much to cover in the making up of these anchors, which had previously started some time ago.  The ends of the stocks were rounded of and tapered.  One mistake I did make that I am now aware of is that there should be gap between the two halves, speculating to retard rot.  I found the 'puddening' particular challenging to complete as the pieces are hard to hold securely but finally got there - once again the 'springiness' of the kit supplied rope seems very capable of undoing work at the most inconvenient moment.
 
The next question was how to install on the model.  Info on anchor handling practices seems to be a little sparse, with diagrams and descriptions appearing in 'Lever' being replicated in other reference books.  Other logs, especially BE's fantastic Pegasus build, helped fill in areas of confusion.  Again Steele sheds a bit more light:  “The best bower is then placed forward near the bows on the starboard side; the small bower near the bows on the larboard side, a little abaft their respective catheads; and are secured by their stoppers, from the catheads and shank-painters. The stopper has one end clinched round the cathead; the other end passes through the ring of the anchor, returns upwards, and leads over a large thumb cleat bolted to the cathead, and is made fast with several turns, and the end hitched round the head-rail and timber-head, on the fore side of the cathead.”

Anchor hawse clinch:
The approach to attaching the hawse to the anchors using a clinch is shown pretty clearly in 'Lever'.  A bight is made by lashings ("no larger than the anchor ring") and the hawse fed through the anchor ring and the bight.  Nothing too complicated, but this was rather tricky to execute because it needed to be done in situ, a tin was used to rest the anchor while this was performed.  Before the last bight lashings were put on, the intended end of the hawse was seized to prevent it unravelling once cut.  This approach seemed to work well, and the extra untrimmed length of the hawse was helpful in keeping things positioned to allow the last lashing to be put in place.
 

Anchor stopper:
Per Steele:  "The stopper has one end clinched round the cathead; the other end passes through the ring of the anchor, returns upwards, and leads over a large thumb cleat bolted to the cathead, and is made fast with several turns, and the end hitched round the head-rail and timber-head, on the fore side of the cathead." 
 
The rope would likely need to be reasonably substantial, and given a diagram in Lever which corroborated, 0.75mm rope was used.  Although the size looked appropriate, the poor quality of the kit rope led me to look for options, and a solution became clear after looking at some photo's of Victory.  It seems the stopper was served (presumably for protection), so this was replicated and it went a long way to improving the visual appeal.
 

Cat block:
The cat blocks seem to be a nice feature to add for visual interest.  The blocks were made up from a couple of kit 7mm double blocks and shaped.  Card was used for the iron band and brass ringbolts used for the hook and the simulated axle.  A small PE eye bolt was installed on the rear of the cathead and 0.5mm line attached and fed through the block before securing to a cleat at the base.
 

 
Shank painter:
Per Steele:  "The shank-painter hangs the shank and fluke of the anchor to the ship's side outboard; and when stowed, the shank-painter is passed under the inner fluke round the shank of the anchor, and made fast with two or three turns, and the end stopt round timber-heads on the forecastle."  Lever also has a well replicated diagram showing how this would be used.
 
Luckily I had some spare chain left over from the rudder, and this was used for the shank painter together with some 0.5mm line.  At first, I felt this was a little oversized, but looking at photos again of Victory it doesn't seem too out of line.  Against the black background of the hull it sits OK with my eye.  I suspect that the end of the chain ended in a hook, but this detail was omitted for convenience, as it would not be very visible.
 

Undecided as of now whether to leave the port anchor suspended from the catblock or replicate that used on the starboard side.

 

Ensign...conclusion:
A tiny bit of steam was used to soften the ensign while various "rounded implements" with different radii (dowel, metal file shafts etc.) were used to try and introduce various folds.  I'd love to be able to describe a reproduceable scientific process, but thats not what happened.  It was really just a continual serious of tweaks, leaving to dry and most importantly trying not to introduce creases.  Steam worked fine to initially soften and allow the structural folds to be introduced, but isn't really a good ongoing solution as it tends to undo any previous work.  Real care is also needed to not 'over wet' the painted flag, not sure I was completely successful here.  Final tweaking was done by wetting very gently any tools used and trying to hold in position while it dried and the fold takes.

...and with that milestone, I'm declaring this build FINISHED!  
 
This was my first wooden ship build, and first model I've built for over 30 years.  Its taken probably 8 years to get this far off an on (probably 7 years more than it should), but I have to say I'm glad I was able to finish her.  I've come to realize that I enjoy the journey more than the destination, and I certainly experienced moments when I could easily have put her aside permanently, mainly due to me recognizing unfixable mistakes or compromises that that could so easily been enhanced had I known more at the time.  Given the length of time taken to complete, this progression in knowledge and execution is very apparent to me, but I hope is less apparent to others.  All in all, this was a most enjoyable project that exposed me to the necessary knowledge and techniques that I hope build on and leverage in the future.  I still need to make up a protective case, and will probably continue to see needed fixes and touchups before she (hopefully) is put in a place of rest.  I would like to thank this entire community for the ongoing help, support and encouragement - without which I would not have reached this point.
 
Few pictures to celebrate, apologies that these aren't exactly studio quality.

 

@ Eammon - I think you and many others deserve a perseverance award for sticking around
@ Sjors - Its great that you'll be starting a Snake build as well, there are a number now in progress, and there is still a chance you will finish yours before me 🙂
@ Mike - Thanks for reminding me that you put these on your badger, she really is a nice looking model
@ Martin - Hope it helps, like always, we stand on the shoulders of those who go before
 
The Ensign:
Really the only missing item at this point is an ensign.  Making one's own is really the only option as aftermarket items are the wrong time period (the cross of St Patrick in the Union Jack was only introduced after the Act of Union in 1801), only white ensigns are available and they seem somehow a little too perfect, and the material they are made from seems overly heavy.  There seem to be a couple of very similar approaches to making these, and here is how I approached it.  This was my first effort, and although results are not the height of perfection, I'd say this is something that any modeler should feel comfortable taking on.  I am not quite finished in that the final article needs to be 'folded' to sit more realistically, but I'm stepping back for a moment to think through options as I'll probably need to use some steam to help make permanent - and this seems like it could be a little catastrophic if approached incorrectly.  Open to thoughts here!
 
The first decision was to decide what sized ensign to create.  I printed on paper various sizes to see what looked good to my eye before committing further.  I'm rather taken with the majestic look of a large flag, and have erred on the side of larger size, even if it would be perhaps more appropriate to use a smaller size for a ship not under sail or in battle.  If I could make one recommendation to a modern navy, it would be to use larger ensigns!  The other factor that played into my decision to err on the larger side was that when tweaked to hang more realistically, it will look smaller and less obtrusive to the eye.
 
The first step was to soak some modelspan tissue in water and stretch over a frame to dry.  I used an old cheap picture frame which worked quite handily, and the modelspan tightened quite nicely.  Once dry, dilute PVA was painted on, this causes the paper to stretch and wrinkle again.  Once dry, it becomes taught again and the outline of an ensign was very lightly drawn on with pencil tracing from an appropriate pattern.  After that it was a simple case of slowly layering dilute acrylic paints.  I was somewhat limited to what I could get my hands on, using Tamiya XF-7 Red, XF-8 Blue and Vallejo 'Off White'  used on the cutter.

Some masking tape was used where the hoist will be to try and limit mistakes in that area, and while this did work, masking tape did not seem to be able to provide a clean edge for the rest of the flag so it was pretty much all painted free hand.  Both sides were painted, and for the field of the flag, brush direction was alternated in horizontal and vertical directions. 

I forget how many dilute coats were applied, but I stopped before the colour became too solid and while there was still some translucency when held up to light (the horizontal and vertical lines were still somewhat visible).  Once removed and cut to size, the hoist was trimmed to an appropriate size so it could be doubled back on itself and hard crease introduced.  This is just visible below at bottom left of the flag.

In reality, the ensign would have been attached with either toggles or loops to the halyard, I decided to avoid reproducing this exactly because it would likely look a little out of scale and introduce some unnecessary complexity.  In the end, a length of rope was lightly glued into the crease of the hoist, which was then then lightly glued back into place.  Two knots were then placed into the rope where this would normally attach, and a false seizing placed above (on the top) and below (on the bottom) to give the impression of a loop.  The hoist was then tidied up with a little off-white paint.

The ensign could now be trial fitted by threading the halyard through the small block on the end of the gaff.  An ensign staff would have been used on larger ships, and even some earlier smaller craft seem to have a temporary mount to be able to place a staff.  With the platform, there is really no space for such a feature, so I'm going to proceed with the ensign flying from the gaff.  Given the spartan, utilitarian approach to the rest of the ship design, it does not seam unreasonable that this was the approach taken, similar to what I understand was done for smaller cutters.  I'm also proceeding on the assumption that the ensign halyard would just have been secured to a cleat on either the side of the stern.  I would welcome some additional insight or correction on this point.

 

Michael - welcome aboard and thanks to you and the others for the interest.
 
Nun-Buoys:
I've been trying to get my head around these for some time, there seems to be little info on these in sources but seeing how others have tackled these (esp. BE and Chuck) were of great help.  I seem to recall that the buoys should be around 1/3 to 1/4 the length of the anchor but for the life of me can't find the reference or place that I read that to confirm.  The body of the buoy was shaped from some spare dowel, and 2 ringbolts inserted at the extremities leaving some of the length exposed.  These would have been made from leather and would have been 'served' with leather strips as suggested by Lavery, but this was a detail I ommitted, and these were simply painted with brown and black paint.  In a slightly larger size, these would be fun items to add a little more detail on (as I think BE did on his on his Pegasus build)

To make up the anchor buoy slings, eyes were seized into some rope, and threaded onto the rope that will become the hoops.  I wasn't quite sure what size to use, but considering that in practice these would have been wormed, parcelled and served - presumably for protection - it seems likely that they would be reasonably substantial.  I used some Syren line to get a little definition, and used a black marker to darken as I only had some tan stuff handy.

Mounting the slings on the buoy itself proved quite the challenge.  Firstly, the hoops were made up with a single overhand knot, secured with GS Hypo glue, and then trimmed.  The slings on each end need to go underneath the hoop on the opposite end.  I found the best method was to suspend in some helping hands to fine tune, although this proved very fiddly.

Once everything was satisfactorily in position, the 4 slings were seized around the ringbolt (which simulates the loop the slings would make), and then trimmed.

This was then attached to a pre-made coil to represent the length of rope needed for given depths of water, and then secured to the shrouds for storage, and attached to the anchor.  On many models, these are shown as rather drab items, I have to believe in practice that these would have received some sort of brightly coloured paint to aid visibility, but I stayed with the more conservative muted tones.



So at this point, the only item remaining to be completed is an ensign of some sort, and some tweaking of the rigging...
 
 

Thanks Jason .. I'm not at your level yet though ! (Perhaps after another 8 years.. Or should that be 7 and half   )
 
Finished the Port Side Dead-Eyes and had a quick tidy around whilst I was there ..  Stbd Side next .. Probably tomorrow as I think a John Wayne Film beckons on this Wet Cold Late January Day ..
 
All The Best
 
Eamonn
 
 

I would suggest diluting the solution more, the flaky finish seems to be common when the concentration is too strong resulting in an overly fast reaction - at least from my experience...

OK, I never meant to plank the whole Sphinx hull, as this model will be thrown away once all the info I need has been taken from it. But couldn't help myself. this is a very quick planking job (a day), using scrap 1x4 Tanganyika instead of wasting the pear on a disposable hull - no filling, just a quick sand so I have a smooth (ish) surface for checking all parts that are to be fixed to it. I am happy with the hull lines, nice shape to plank, too.

And I’m back, deck decals replaced and hull numbers added. 

Thanks for kind words Walrusguy, Joe, Chris, Jean-Paul, Robert and all the likes.  I hope this log is useful to others, just as I've benefited from so many others.
 
@Carl - know you've been there from the start, so congrats on hanging in there
@Ben - I have no doubt looking at your 'mockups' that you will end up with a fine model, seeing other models with upgraded rope made me green with envy (that is one of the things that I would have done differently)
@Eamonn - maybe I'm being unfair to myself, maybe closer to 7 1/2 years, you'll get there as well buddy, the Ballier is looking outstanding
@Mike_H - not going anywhere and will continue to follow your great work.  I will be getting back to 'Jason' at some point but there are some decisions I need to make now, I'll make updates in due course.  What my "vision" is probably the biggest
@Vane - I'll be keeping up with your many builds, and will certainly be interested to see more progress on Snake
@Martin - I have on the shelf a case I had ordered from BlueJacket, all I need is the glass I think and someone to put it together because I have no idea how to do that.  Definitely open to recommendations here as I haven't clue who to ask!
@Mike - There are some key decisions I need to make on 'Jason', most notably the decking and how to approach some of the detailing (e.g. scrolls etc).  I have been having a horrible time trying to get my hands on some decent material for the deck (unfortunately CMB have been less than consistent there...).  so I'll probably be moving forward with the Queen Anne Barge primarily

I started making the decks with using 1mm cardboard and decal, however in the process I forgot to look at the instructions so the deck was thinner than the kit. When using decal paper for flooring I think it is not really suitable if using water-based glue as it is not sticky, however this will be solved if I cut off the parts of decal that have direct contact continued with the details on the deck.
 

 

 
I used Master Pastel and water to accentuate the rivet details on the deck, however I still feel dissatisfied because it seems that the Master pastel that I use clings quite a bit to the floor color. seems a bit black compared to what I intended.
 

 

 

 
after making the decks I began to wrap the hull with 300gsm paper
 

 
I used Matit putty to fill the protrusions on the hull
 

 
I spent a lot of time with these details and I used the red color as shown in the instructions of the kit and with the help of my little angel finally finished coloring. She seemed to be interested in joining me in coloring :)).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
And then there was a layer of 1mm cardboard, which hurt my fingers and it took me three nights to fully wrap the hull. however, the result is quite smooth.
 

 
 

 

 
I fixed the outer backbone with these studs because I don't think the glue is strong enough for this part.
 

 
Followed by the boatside on the left and right sides of the ship
 

 

 

 

 
I used this homemade tool to identify the submerged hull
 

 

 

 

 
I use metallic copper paper and an indentation tool (the main function is to make needle mark marks in leather) and it took me 3 consecutive nights to get it done. I use a glossy finish to protect the color from fading over time.
 

 

 

 

 
to be continued...
 
 

And with that, I declare her finished! 2 years, 2 months and 8 days. Of course, I took a couple of months to do a Fishing Trawler, and 4 months to do a whaleboat. But who's counting? I'll post some more photos soon.
 

 
 

Some great ropework there....

OK Folks .. The Deadeyes are re-done .. I just need to tidy them both up now then re tighten all those Lines I had to loosen off in order to facilitate the De-Construction ..  Simples..
From there it's onto a general tighten and tidy, then comes some Rope Coil/Loop making and rigging the Anchors to Ballier with their Anchor Buoy's etc.. Getting Close to a Finnish now (Fingers Crossed 😉🙄🙃)
 
All The Very Best Folks and As Usual Thanks For Dropping By !
 
Eamonn
 

Again a little update.
 
The gun bulwarks are in place.
It was a little tricky but it goes better than I thought.
A few minutes soaking in hot water and the job was done.
Also placed the stern facia and stern facia knees.
And the stern counter facia.
The first plank can be placed.
Enough talking so time for some pictures.
 
Sjors
 
 

Congratulations!  One of the nicest models ever posted on these boards.  Beautiful work!
 
Forgive me if I missed it, but did you say what your next project was going to be (if any)?

Congratulations on a fine build, Jason.  As I and others have already said, the quality of your work is most impressive for a first build -- it's even hard to believe that this is your first one!
 
Your photos show off the many nice details that will give viewers lots to look at.  You'll definitely want to get some kind of case, or the dust will coat the rigging in no time.  Such a beautiful model deserves a proper display.  (And if you find a place nearby to help you build a case, let me know!!)
 
I can absolutely agree with you that the journey is the more enjoyable part.  Figuring out how to solve the problems posed by each detail is a delight matched only by researching the 18th century when these magnificent ships really did get built and sailed.
 
Do you have plans for the next build?
 
All the best,
 
Martin

Congratulations,  a very beautiful model.  Although I am building a different model I still visited your detailed work to admire and learn from.
 
Robert

Superb realization. What a magnificent HMS Snake. Well done.

Smashing result! Great photo set, too!

An amazing build and I am happy you finalized it. Your HMS Jason will be even better but this one is definitely one of the better Snakes I have seen on the forum!
Congrats!   

Truly exceptional Jason.  The quality of the final model, and your well-documented journey of learning and discovery, are inspirations to anyone, like me, following in your footsteps.  And while I have already learnt a lot on technical matters, I think the biggest point is your patience, and obvious enjoyment of small, individual pieces of progress.  I have no real expectation of replicating either the technical proficiency or the patience, but I know I'm already doing a better job for trying.
 
A final point: this won't be a final point!  I do hope you are still active on the forum so I can ask many questions in coming months and years.  Perhaps you might like to fully rig your Jason - that will keep you active on the site.
 
So, many congratulations - for finishing a project started in pre-history, and doing it in such style.
 
Mike

Cracking Good Looking Model You Have There Mate .. Has been a pleasure to follow you and Snake along ! 
 
8 Years to build ..  We must be related somewhere   
 
Cheers Bud
 
Eamonn
 
BTW Lovely set of photos too !