Beef Wellington

Cheers gents,
 
Small update reflecting this weekend's work.  Have been unsure what to do with the fore companion ladder and whether to include the safety lines and whether these would look right, but approaching point where decision is needed.  I seem to recall reading in TFFM that the hand ropes would have been secured to small ringbolts in the deck below (there really should be a word for the situation where you remember reading something but then are subsequently unable to find the reference when actually needed!).  Small PE ring bolts were used in the lower deck and 0.3mm line secured to them with a false splice.  RB Models stanchions were used as they seemed a little more to scale, rather than the kit supplied items which appeared too tall - these may not be completely period accurate, but are close enough to my eye. 
 
I feel there should also be something around the main hatch companion ladder, but cant quite see what this would look like, as the iron supports for the pumps are obstructions.
 
The only way I could figure out to install these was to estimate the length of line needed and then attach the ringbolts off the model to - I was anticipating many redoes here but luckily seemed to get it how I was hoping on the first attempt.  The location of the ringbolts was determined by dry fitting the companion ladder, the ladder only being finally installed once the hand ropes were all in position.
 

Cheers gents,
 
Small update reflecting this weekend's work.  Have been unsure what to do with the fore companion ladder and whether to include the safety lines and whether these would look right, but approaching point where decision is needed.  I seem to recall reading in TFFM that the hand ropes would have been secured to small ringbolts in the deck below (there really should be a word for the situation where you remember reading something but then are subsequently unable to find the reference when actually needed!).  Small PE ring bolts were used in the lower deck and 0.3mm line secured to them with a false splice.  RB Models stanchions were used as they seemed a little more to scale, rather than the kit supplied items which appeared too tall - these may not be completely period accurate, but are close enough to my eye. 
 
I feel there should also be something around the main hatch companion ladder, but cant quite see what this would look like, as the iron supports for the pumps are obstructions.
 
The only way I could figure out to install these was to estimate the length of line needed and then attach the ringbolts off the model to - I was anticipating many redoes here but luckily seemed to get it how I was hoping on the first attempt.  The location of the ringbolts was determined by dry fitting the companion ladder, the ladder only being finally installed once the hand ropes were all in position.
 

Cheers gents,
 
Small update reflecting this weekend's work.  Have been unsure what to do with the fore companion ladder and whether to include the safety lines and whether these would look right, but approaching point where decision is needed.  I seem to recall reading in TFFM that the hand ropes would have been secured to small ringbolts in the deck below (there really should be a word for the situation where you remember reading something but then are subsequently unable to find the reference when actually needed!).  Small PE ring bolts were used in the lower deck and 0.3mm line secured to them with a false splice.  RB Models stanchions were used as they seemed a little more to scale, rather than the kit supplied items which appeared too tall - these may not be completely period accurate, but are close enough to my eye. 
 
I feel there should also be something around the main hatch companion ladder, but cant quite see what this would look like, as the iron supports for the pumps are obstructions.
 
The only way I could figure out to install these was to estimate the length of line needed and then attach the ringbolts off the model to - I was anticipating many redoes here but luckily seemed to get it how I was hoping on the first attempt.  The location of the ringbolts was determined by dry fitting the companion ladder, the ladder only being finally installed once the hand ropes were all in position.
 

Love the long shots of the deck Jason. A superb build.

This looks fantastic, Jason! It is just a pleasure to follow along!
 
Thomas

Hi Jason,
I`m delighted to study your well built HMS Diana and enjoyed your progress to date, keep it going...
also very nice pics...
 
Nils

Really beautiful work.   Love looking at your updates. 

Second planking complete! My knee injury is allowing me to work half days, so ship progress has been significantly slower of late.
 
As a whole, the second planking went A LOT better than the first, but I still felt like I'd need to plank the same hull a third and maybe a fourth time before I'd have it mastered to my satisfaction! I definitely think I gained a lot from going keel-up first time and whale-down the second time. Problems seem to arise as planks stack up so it was helpful to have my first planking, which was more correct towards the keel, to aim for as I progressed down. I also got better at recognizing problems when they could still be fixed.
 
The method of breaking the hull into bands and measuring at each bulkhead was definitely a good way to break down an otherwise insurmountable task of learning the flow of planking. Having grasped the concept, however, I barely used my excel sheets on the second planking, going more with feel and the lay of the planks.

I enjoyed learning the differences in working with the walnut wood as opposed to the lime. I found the walnut strips expanded a lot less when wet and dried a lot faster, which made it easier to not leave gaps when gluing planks down, but challenging to get them cut while they were still wet. The walnut was a lot less malleable and required a lot more coaxing to bend to my will. There even seemed to be variety across the different shades of planks with the more grey-brown planks being more brittle and harder to bend and cut without the knife following the grain. I also discovered that I have a nut allergy... to walnut... wood;P! If there wasn't a decent breeze blowing across where I was sanding, even the slightest amount of sawdust made my nose run! A problem that I never experienced with the lime. As I beveled both inside edges of every plank for a snugger fit this meant I spent a lot of time outdoors chasing the breeze!
 
Not being able to pin the planks down (to avoid "unsightly pinholes" as the instructions put it) also created an interesting challenge, both is shaping and cutting, and in gluing without gaps. Although I made general decisions in bands of 5 to 7 planks, I found it easier to cut and glue no more than 3 planks at a time, as I had to hold the previous loose planks in place to measure the next one. For securing the planks I used a combination of wood glue (painted on in lines with a tooth pick) and CA glue (in dots at intervals between the wood glue):

This seemed to work pretty well where the planks weren't under too much pressure. I took to putting CA glue directly on the the plank at bow-most end (the first centimeter or so), sticking this first, then sticking the length of the plank that runs flat to glue on the hull, then putting CA glue on the last stretch of plank as it curved around the stern under a little more pressure.
 
I started with the planks above the whale and really struggled! There should have been exactly seven planks between the whale and the deck but they just didn't want to lie flat around the bow! I ended up with a degree of clinkering that I was highly unimpressed by. The only way to avoid it seemed to be to taper down the first planks and then add in stealers closer to the deck. I decided that that would be even more unsightly and just accepted the defects. The seventh plank also ended up being higher and lower than the last lime plank in different places. Sanding should fix most of it but I had to add a stealer at the stern (best seen in photo six). Strange how the best made measurements can still go awry!

I added in a long stealer immediately after the whale plank to ensure that I didn't have the same bow problem the whole way down!

I based the size of my correctional stealer on the natural lay of the next plank. Although the two stealers seemed to be about the same size, as I approached the keel I found that the right side needed almost a full plank more than the left, despite no other planks having been tapered across the middle bulkheads by that stage. You will therefore see that the planks on the left next to the keel had to be a lot narrower across their width than those on the right. Coming around the bulge I also found the need to add in a stealer that dropped off on both ends to correct the deviation of the planks upwards across the middle bulkheads. The stern ends of theses stealers are easy to pick up in the next photo, but you have to look very closely to see the drop-off at the bow as well.

I committed wholeheartedly to my potentially cheat move of tapering planks across bulkheads 9-10 and then widening them again as they reach the stern. I don't know how legit it is but the end result was a complete lack of the need for any stealers down the stern post! Though a full stealer was obviously still needed for the massive width of plank terminating on the bottom of bulkhead 12.

Following the correctional stealer below the whale, the bow planking gave me little trouble. Being bluff bowed it still required the customary dropped planks but I found it far easier the second round being able to drop them exactly where I wanted to instead of having to aim for termination on a bulkhead. I did struggle a bit with the final bow termination of the planks as my first planking wasn't the most precise in this area and could maybe have done with a bit more sanding.

The planks did clinkering a bit more over the first bulkhead about two thirds of the way down the bow, but the gaps are smaller and only visible in certain directions. You can see a small stripe of white demarcating one such instance to the left on the photo below. The two sides also didn't always completely match with the levels that the planks terminated at, but close enough!

By the end I was finding that sanding down excess plank was giving me a closer fit than cutting as I could sand it in a bevel, leaving the slightest lip to cover over any gaps. Another reason that a third planking would have looked even better;P! Here's a close up to prove it!

My final challenge was getting the stern post planks to stick down properly at their stern-most extent. CA glue was the perfect solution for the lime planks but the walnut refused to cooperate. The only thing stronger than CA glue that I know of is contact adhesive (or snot-glue as we used to call it as kids) but I deemed that far too messy to even try. Then I remembered my ship's instructions warning about how fast CA glue dries when the planks are wet. Wet planks are also obviously more cooperative in the bending department. I therefore dripped water onto the stern planks until they were soaked through and used lots of CA glue. They stuck! But an odd, hopefully sand-off-able side effect of using CA glue on wet planks is that everything turns white!

All in all, I'm quite happy with the final product of my second planking! Next, to begin with sanding it down!

Two questions going forward:
 
1. Any advice on wood fillers? I'm sure I'll be in need of a bit of something to fill the small gaps once I've sanded down my clinkered planks. I take it I have to try mix different colour wood fillers to get the closest match. I could perhaps cut very thin slivers of wood to press into the cracks. I would imagine that it would give the closest colour match but I'm not sure it's worth the extreme amount of effort if wood filler will look just as good. I even found some general wood recommendations of using wax crayons, as apparently it's easier to match the colours. Any thoughts on this? Would that work for model ships too? I can't imagine paint, stain or varnish sticking very well to it!
 
2. My instructions say: "Using a pair of flat nosed pliers, very carefully twist and pull off the exposed bulwark tabs on bulkheads 1-3 above deck level". You can see these solid 5x5mm chunks of wood in the third photo. I cannot imagine them carefully twisting off! Am I missing anything or would it be better to carefully saw them off with a craft knife?
 

Gents, very much appreciate the information being shared.  Could I please suggest that any further discussion on gun rigging and cannon firing techniques and procedures find their way into a specific post for that purpose, there are already quite a few of these already on the site and definitely better placed there to keep all content relevant and on topic.  Of course more than happy to answer questions on the approach taken for this model.

Many thanks all for the comments and likes, definitely good to have people along for the journey..
 
Feels like a chapter is coming to a close, finally seem to be closing in on completing the upper deck.  Definitely a multitude of time consuming small tasks.  First off I needed to address the fixed part of the gangway.  This is shown quite clearly in plan view on page 46 of AOTS Diana, however it is not shown in profile.  Given that it appears to contain its own lodging knee, I decided to extend the profile of the deck beam.  This seems to make sense when recognizing that a ladder will eventually be located here.  This highlights one of the inconsistencies in the AOTS book, many diagrams show the non-flush gangboards which I understand were going out of fashion at this point to be replaced by flush gangboards.  Hoping I'm not too far off the mark here.  A strip with a slight profile was added also to the deck beam to sit flush with the false quarterdeck.
 
The base plate to the stove was ripped off and replaced despite my intentions to leave as, hopefully this sits a little more harmoniously.
 

 
Cables have been added and "secured" to the various ring bolts beside the midship gratings.  AOTS describes these as being used for stoppers, but decided to secure with simpler ring ropes as described in Lever.  Stoppers have been modelled as per Lever on the 2 foremost ring bolts, but not yet tied on or attached permanently to allow me to finally decide (or others to refute) the approach taken.
 

 
Even though this area will only ever be glimpsed, time was spent fully building out the area around the foremast with the For jeer and for topsail sheet bitts as they would appear.  The actual bitts on the fo'c'sl will be mounted to the deck, seemed unnecessarily complicated to build these fully.  Couldn't quite figure out what was represented on diagrams for the fore jeer bitts until I saw interior photos of contemporary models in the Roger's Dockyard Model collection - but still no clue what the "swan neck" arrangement is called.  What is very interesting is how crowded this forward area really is, fighting these guns must have been a real challenge.
 

 
Warning:  Here follows some highly indulgent closeups taken on Captain's rounds!  This is the closest I guess I'll get to seeing what this looked like in practice
 

 
And finally...some overall shots with where things stand..
 

So, some bit of progress.  The lower hull is completely painted!
 
The most time-consuming aspect of this was getting good clean lines where the wales join the side planking.  One of the peculiarities of the kit is that the wales are moulded with tremendous variation in their projection from the hull planking; around the bow, it’s almost 3/32”, but in other places, it’s a shy 1/32”.
 
The important thing is that the line be clean, and not bleed onto the planking.  I have had little success with masking, so the best way was to cut it in by hand.  When I did bleed, I would quickly wipe away the mistake with a dampened Q-tip.  If I noticed other irregularities, in process, I would very gently scrape away at the still-soft acrylic until the mistake disappeared.

What was satisfying is that I found an application for all of the distressing mediums that I had bought to experiment with.
 
The Van Dyke Brown oil paint was, of course, the main distressing agent.  I found that the starboard side - which I distressed after doing the port side - was darker in appearance, so I had to then go a little darker on the port side.
 
Rather than a full application of VDB, I applied small dabs with a Q-tip, in a sparse but well-distributed pattern, along the run of guns and between the wales.  I then used my “dirty” chip brush to spread and blend the paint, evenly, across the surface.  This was an easy solution to the problem, and quickly brought both sides into agreement.


The walnut ink was the perfect distress medium, over the ModelMaster Insignia Red of the gunport linings.  It was very easy to dial back the effect with a slightly damp brush, if the accumulation was too heavy.


Lastly, I was able to muddy the spray-primed ultra-white waterline  with two different Testors enamel stain washes; first, I brushed on a light layer of grey wash, and wiped off the excess with a Q-tip wrapped with a t-shirt scrap.  I found that two applications of the grey - one after the other, with only a 5-minute set time in-between - gave me a satisfyingly lead-white color.  To finish, though, I used a brown enamel wash, and only one coat was sufficient to give me the ring-around-the-ship effect of the vessel anchoring at what was likely a pretty polluted waterway, at Brest.  This was one area where leaving the moulded kit grain was beneficial because the grain caught traces of the brown wash.
 
The very last thing was to seal everything under a spray-coat of clear matte medium, which homogenized the two different kinds of black acrylic that I used for the port and starboard sides.
 
So, now, I can begin laying out the mounting base and constructing the model - 🥳!!

Many thanks all for the comments and likes, definitely good to have people along for the journey..
 
Feels like a chapter is coming to a close, finally seem to be closing in on completing the upper deck.  Definitely a multitude of time consuming small tasks.  First off I needed to address the fixed part of the gangway.  This is shown quite clearly in plan view on page 46 of AOTS Diana, however it is not shown in profile.  Given that it appears to contain its own lodging knee, I decided to extend the profile of the deck beam.  This seems to make sense when recognizing that a ladder will eventually be located here.  This highlights one of the inconsistencies in the AOTS book, many diagrams show the non-flush gangboards which I understand were going out of fashion at this point to be replaced by flush gangboards.  Hoping I'm not too far off the mark here.  A strip with a slight profile was added also to the deck beam to sit flush with the false quarterdeck.
 
The base plate to the stove was ripped off and replaced despite my intentions to leave as, hopefully this sits a little more harmoniously.
 

 
Cables have been added and "secured" to the various ring bolts beside the midship gratings.  AOTS describes these as being used for stoppers, but decided to secure with simpler ring ropes as described in Lever.  Stoppers have been modelled as per Lever on the 2 foremost ring bolts, but not yet tied on or attached permanently to allow me to finally decide (or others to refute) the approach taken.
 

 
Even though this area will only ever be glimpsed, time was spent fully building out the area around the foremast with the For jeer and for topsail sheet bitts as they would appear.  The actual bitts on the fo'c'sl will be mounted to the deck, seemed unnecessarily complicated to build these fully.  Couldn't quite figure out what was represented on diagrams for the fore jeer bitts until I saw interior photos of contemporary models in the Roger's Dockyard Model collection - but still no clue what the "swan neck" arrangement is called.  What is very interesting is how crowded this forward area really is, fighting these guns must have been a real challenge.
 

 
Warning:  Here follows some highly indulgent closeups taken on Captain's rounds!  This is the closest I guess I'll get to seeing what this looked like in practice
 

 
And finally...some overall shots with where things stand..
 

Gents, very much appreciate the information being shared.  Could I please suggest that any further discussion on gun rigging and cannon firing techniques and procedures find their way into a specific post for that purpose, there are already quite a few of these already on the site and definitely better placed there to keep all content relevant and on topic.  Of course more than happy to answer questions on the approach taken for this model.

Hi Guys,
 
Thanks for the comments (I have just got back from work, (it is 1.07am).
 
Speedy is coming on just fine, I am working on the prototype model. Masts and spars turned, blocked up, stepped and shrouds and ratlines added. Hundreds of construction pictures taken, which I will need to assemble into a manual once the model is finished. I have to complete the model first as I then need to get the box art done and sent off to the printers. Printing the box lids can take a while, so getting the model finished, and then box art, and then instruction manual is the order of priority. When building and taking pics, I am away from the PC. When at Amati, others sorted out putting the manuals together, box art and sorting materials. I have to do it all, as I am the only one...
 
I have nothing to update when building the model, I have to spend a lot of time on it to make me look half decent for the pics, but rest assured, because I have been quiet on here doesn't mean I have been twiddling my thumbs. Also, I don't want to keep adding pics that look mostly the same, with one small part or a yard added, that would be boring. The next pics I put up will be of the completed, or very nearly completed model.
 
I think it may be a good idea to offer the pearwood strip for the second planking as the primary material, rather than Tanganyika for Speedy. No one wants the Alert with the cheaper wood, so I assume Speedy (which is more expensive anyway) will be the same. There will be three options though, pear or cherry at the same price, or a cheaper Tanganyika version. I am about to order the 4 and 3mm wide pearwood for Speedy.
 
Regarding Bristol, when I first started doing this, I really wanted Bristol as my second kit, and I do have some parts already made and cast for this model, plus I have drawn the bulkheads, keel and decks. However, a couple more smaller kits makes more economic sense, as Bristol is a big kit, and will take 6 months at least (full time). I want to start developing new kits full time as soon as possible. If I have three kits released and they sell well, I can give up my day job (safety net) and concentrate fully on Vanguard Models. A model like Bristol would prolong this - but the smaller models are taking 3-4 months each at the moment, even with my day job. But it is very long hours, hence the lack of updates on here. Saying that, I do not mind, as I chose to do this, I just wanted to try and explain what is going on right now. 
 
Cheers,
 
Chris
 
(Ready for bed...)
 

I've been working on some odds and ends. I finally decided I'd like to make the gun carriages out of boxwood. I liked the look of the boxwood carriages we used in the 17th Century Battle Station build. We used Mike's plans, and I had   the carriages cut out of boxwood. Here they are, without the cannons. We have another idea for those!!!

Nice save Dave.  For copper, look into Liver of Sulfur as it doesn't affect the wood.  EdT uses it in his models with great success.  You brush it on, give it a bit and then wipe it off with a damp cloth.  

Hamilton:  The idea was to keep the framing relatively simple, so a novice builder would be comfortable.  I have no earthly idea why I chose copper for the bolts!
David:  The Beech is really nice to work with!
 
After I realized my mistake in using copper for the keel scarf, I figured out a strange way to blacken the copper.  Normally to simulate black bolts I would cut of the ends of toothpicks and let them sit in a bath of Solar-Lux Jet Black wood dye.  The dye penetrates the full thickness of the toothpick so no white core.  Just put the tip in some CA glue and push them into place. Clip and sand.
 
This is kind of crazy but let me explain what I did to "blacken" the copper bolts in the keel. I first tried "painting" the exposed copper with Jax Black and Brass Black. The black residue that formed bled into the surrounding wood and made a mess. I sanded back to bare wood and metal and tried again. I tried painting the copper flat black, but the results were not uniformly round, and the paint looked terrible. Sanded to bare wood and copper again. The I saw something on the internet! 
Hard boil, cool and peel 2 eggs. Chop up the eggs and break up the shells and layer them on the bottom of a plastic container with a tight fitting top. Secure the keel to the top with bread bag ties so the part isn't sitting on the eggs. Wait over night. You can see the results in the photo. I did put a coat of poly over the blackening so that I don't damage it or rub it off somehow. The bolts still look like metal - but used and oxidized metal! It's the sulfur in the eggs!

OK, Speedy hull now complete.
 
I did have to reduce the length of the chainplates for the 5mm deadeyes by 2mm, as they should only be pinned to the main wale, so the ones shown are a little too low - but rectified for the kit.
 
Hand pumps finally in place, nice easy builds with PE parts, and the stove chimney is PE this time, to give the correct scale appearance. Everything is now glued down apart from the boat, which is simply pinned in place at this time. Boomkins are missing, but they will be added once bowsprit gammoning is in place (experience...)
 
I have also included half a dozen hatchets, which were used primarily to cut fouled rigging away.
 

Many thanks all for the comments and likes, definitely good to have people along for the journey..
 
Feels like a chapter is coming to a close, finally seem to be closing in on completing the upper deck.  Definitely a multitude of time consuming small tasks.  First off I needed to address the fixed part of the gangway.  This is shown quite clearly in plan view on page 46 of AOTS Diana, however it is not shown in profile.  Given that it appears to contain its own lodging knee, I decided to extend the profile of the deck beam.  This seems to make sense when recognizing that a ladder will eventually be located here.  This highlights one of the inconsistencies in the AOTS book, many diagrams show the non-flush gangboards which I understand were going out of fashion at this point to be replaced by flush gangboards.  Hoping I'm not too far off the mark here.  A strip with a slight profile was added also to the deck beam to sit flush with the false quarterdeck.
 
The base plate to the stove was ripped off and replaced despite my intentions to leave as, hopefully this sits a little more harmoniously.
 

 
Cables have been added and "secured" to the various ring bolts beside the midship gratings.  AOTS describes these as being used for stoppers, but decided to secure with simpler ring ropes as described in Lever.  Stoppers have been modelled as per Lever on the 2 foremost ring bolts, but not yet tied on or attached permanently to allow me to finally decide (or others to refute) the approach taken.
 

 
Even though this area will only ever be glimpsed, time was spent fully building out the area around the foremast with the For jeer and for topsail sheet bitts as they would appear.  The actual bitts on the fo'c'sl will be mounted to the deck, seemed unnecessarily complicated to build these fully.  Couldn't quite figure out what was represented on diagrams for the fore jeer bitts until I saw interior photos of contemporary models in the Roger's Dockyard Model collection - but still no clue what the "swan neck" arrangement is called.  What is very interesting is how crowded this forward area really is, fighting these guns must have been a real challenge.
 

 
Warning:  Here follows some highly indulgent closeups taken on Captain's rounds!  This is the closest I guess I'll get to seeing what this looked like in practice
 

 
And finally...some overall shots with where things stand..
 

Finally, inner walls done!
Now on to a very delicate part of the process which will really be visable once the kit is finished: finetuning the gun ports and adding wales.
 
So i better dont screw this up.

Gents, very much appreciate the information being shared.  Could I please suggest that any further discussion on gun rigging and cannon firing techniques and procedures find their way into a specific post for that purpose, there are already quite a few of these already on the site and definitely better placed there to keep all content relevant and on topic.  Of course more than happy to answer questions on the approach taken for this model.

Gents, very much appreciate the information being shared.  Could I please suggest that any further discussion on gun rigging and cannon firing techniques and procedures find their way into a specific post for that purpose, there are already quite a few of these already on the site and definitely better placed there to keep all content relevant and on topic.  Of course more than happy to answer questions on the approach taken for this model.

From what I've seen, the edge would be rounded off, but to varying degrees.  The more tapered at the top of the stem, the more rounded the profile.  Nearer the keel the profile would be more square as it transitions to the width of the keel.

Good evening everyone
 
whether it is right or wrong, yet again i find myself building the big bits, and yes even some of the kit is being used
Funnel and mast
the moulded banding is removed, as is the top spider the body is then covered from the PE set
these two units are made up from the box

more soldering

poor photo, was there to show the ladder against the funnel

4" gun
two shields are in the kit 1 suare the other curved, not know which im using yet so made them both


the bandstand went together better and anticipated

legs folded out

wooden spoon to shape the ring

edges tacked in numerous locations

i decided to solder this first before adding, it actually worked ok, there is a ridge the disc sits in, so once in place it was just tacked again
th
and the wheely bin again

 
 
 
 

 
 

Many thanks all for the comments and likes, definitely good to have people along for the journey..
 
Feels like a chapter is coming to a close, finally seem to be closing in on completing the upper deck.  Definitely a multitude of time consuming small tasks.  First off I needed to address the fixed part of the gangway.  This is shown quite clearly in plan view on page 46 of AOTS Diana, however it is not shown in profile.  Given that it appears to contain its own lodging knee, I decided to extend the profile of the deck beam.  This seems to make sense when recognizing that a ladder will eventually be located here.  This highlights one of the inconsistencies in the AOTS book, many diagrams show the non-flush gangboards which I understand were going out of fashion at this point to be replaced by flush gangboards.  Hoping I'm not too far off the mark here.  A strip with a slight profile was added also to the deck beam to sit flush with the false quarterdeck.
 
The base plate to the stove was ripped off and replaced despite my intentions to leave as, hopefully this sits a little more harmoniously.
 

 
Cables have been added and "secured" to the various ring bolts beside the midship gratings.  AOTS describes these as being used for stoppers, but decided to secure with simpler ring ropes as described in Lever.  Stoppers have been modelled as per Lever on the 2 foremost ring bolts, but not yet tied on or attached permanently to allow me to finally decide (or others to refute) the approach taken.
 

 
Even though this area will only ever be glimpsed, time was spent fully building out the area around the foremast with the For jeer and for topsail sheet bitts as they would appear.  The actual bitts on the fo'c'sl will be mounted to the deck, seemed unnecessarily complicated to build these fully.  Couldn't quite figure out what was represented on diagrams for the fore jeer bitts until I saw interior photos of contemporary models in the Roger's Dockyard Model collection - but still no clue what the "swan neck" arrangement is called.  What is very interesting is how crowded this forward area really is, fighting these guns must have been a real challenge.
 

 
Warning:  Here follows some highly indulgent closeups taken on Captain's rounds!  This is the closest I guess I'll get to seeing what this looked like in practice
 

 
And finally...some overall shots with where things stand..