Beef Wellington

Not much progress, but I want to ask a question, so felt obliged to post  a few photos 
 
Progress made on the upper and lower counter rail.  These need to follow quite a curve, more so than they appear, and were pre-bent to shape using a failed counter template I had kept.  Seems very important visually to get a smooth curve.  The ends of these rails will need to butt up against the side gallery rails and so were angled to approximately 45% in preparation.  Using a single pin amidships proved to be the ticket here ensuring that the rail could be consistently placed while the ends were fine tuned - the small hole should be pretty easy to mask afterwards with filler.  The top rail is not glued in place yet, but its possible to get a feel for the run of these rails.  Overall, I'm rather relieved and pleased with how this turned out with the name placement.  
 

 
So, to my question.  The Diana kit provides two 'ladies' at either side of the stern fascia which are pretty good castings (represent the goddesses Hera and Athena from Jason's story) which I'd like to use.  The tafferal is quite thick, and when compared to the AOTS diagram, the female figures appear to have some depth.  I thought that by this time, complex carvings in the round would not be in vogue for economic reasons, so I'm wondering if what is illustrated is a simpler relief carving on an angled corner.  If so, then the approach could be to simply angle the corner.  The hesitation here is that after so much work on the stern, I'm wary of making a mistake...but I do like the more 'fitted' look in the AOTS picture as it seems to gradually transition the thickness of the tafferal in a visually pleasing way.  Angling the corner would be easier with the upper counter rail off, but until that's decided its a roadblock to moving forward with the rest.
 
Opinions, thoughts and recommendations sought...
 

Thomas, Bob, Eamonn, Pat and Mark (nice to have you back!) - thanks for the comments guys and the likes, I very much appreciate your interest.
 
The upper counter and the proof of the pudding...
 
Finally plucked up the courage to attach the stern fascia, really have done about as much on this as I can before fitting, and any final adjustments should be done in place to get a proper feel for the various lines and angles and how this will fit with the side galleries (esp. out edge and gunports).  Epoxy was used for maximum strength, so it better be right.  It all went pretty painlessly as the placement had already been determined.
 
Then comes the upper counter...this should simply fit between the edge of the upper counter and the stern fascia.  I have been planning to use a single piece of 1mm pear for this (I think the kit instructions indicate for this to be planked) and I didn't relax for the whole weekend while I worked on this part.  Philosophically, it is what   it is at this point as I had done everything I could think of to ensure this fitted well. 
 
After making a template for the upper counter and leaving material to allow for fine tuning, the lower edge of the stern fascia (where the upper counter rail will go), was chamfered back to receive the upper counter and ensure the correct angle to the vertical along its length.
 

The edge of the upper counter was then gradually chamfered to meet this angle.  I found using a razor blade scraper a very effective way to do this as it kept a nice flat profile and allow the angle with the stern fascia to be followed easily.  I had painted the upper counter prior to this process to give a better feel for the shape during this process.  (The lower edge was simply masked so the lower counter rail can be glued more easily as I prefer to use PVA glue).  The profile at the end shows how this fitted together.
 

Only one potential problem remained.  The face with the join needs to be the same width as the upper counter rail (3mm) which required many, small adjustments.  See photo below for how the various rails will be positioned.

This is not glued yet, but the overall I was very happy with the way this turned out, and 2 small pegs are all that's needed to keep it in position.  Before this is attached I need to figure out how to apply the name, at this point I'm leaning toward painting this.  I've been playing with some templates made in Powerpoint to just get a sense for size and alignment.  This is Time New Roman, 50pt font with y-rotation of 340% and 100% perspective adjustment.  I now feel I have proper ship under construction.
 
As always, suggestions welcome!
 

 

Carl, Rob, Christian, Niles and the likes - thanks for your kind words, encouragement and patience on this slow voyage...
 
Jesse, Dave - Of course you are right, but no matter how many times I tell myself that it doesn't help...I probably have one of those personality disorders along the lines of "well he did it, so why can't I?"   And yes, its gets me into trouble with those fixes around the house that I maybe shouldn't be tackling.. 
 
Anyway a little update as I really can do no more to the bow at this point, which means I need to get back to the stern...then I remembered that that was basically the reason for me taking a break and starting work on the bow...There are a couple of questions at the end.
 
Once the cheeks and the rails were done, I needed to tackle hawse holes and the bolsters.  These had me really thinking, but first step was once again to shape from some thick stock, only this time I had to take it even slower as pretty much the entire interior face needed to fit tightly against the hull because any errors would be really obvious once the holes were cut.  The balsa filler blocks were also removed (Interestingly, you can see the outline of the recess that I had put in a long while ago to try to introduce a void behind the expected hole placement to look a little more authentic...seemed a good idea at the time but they would have been in slightly the wrong place)
 
The holes themselves are ~6mm in diameter, and taking a drill bit of that size was clearly out of the question.  The hole centers were estimated and I drilled with a 2mm bit in a hand drill.  This was large enough to get a round microfile in to gradually enlarge and then use a larger round file.  Once the holes were approx. 4-5mm and still quite rough, some tapered dowel was used with sandpaper around to again gradually enlarge until they were approximately the right size.  All the time doing this, the bolsters were held in place with fingers so everything would align - I didn't want to commit to gluing in place just yet.

Once again, I knew I'd be making my own out of castello, but continuing the trend I think the kit supplied parts are way undersized.

One other item to take care of is the Gamming knee, the kit supplied part was generally oversized, but it was necessary to cut a new piece because the back of the knee was undersized.  Not sure how much of this will be visible, but it fun to make.  The hole is for the mainstay collar, some alteration will likely be needed on the head timbers but that is for another day.  This is not attached yet.
And the final results...these pieces seem to really bring out the face of the ship and to my eye really add some character.

 
Some questions:
The bulwark are considerably thinner than they would be in scale, and although the photo makes it more obvious, this is apparent if you look for it.  Also, I know that the hawse holes were lined in lead, but I'm not seeing this as a feature standing out to me looking at models, in many it seems these were just painted ochre...would welcome other's thoughts and suggestions here.  I'm leaning toward a 'lead like' grey just on the inside of the bulwark but not extending over the bolster. For fellow Diana kit builders.  I placed the waste rail on the starboard bow side only as it seems to me that this could cause problems with the fitment of the bow grating against the hull - anyone have any experiences on this?  
 
 

Hi Chaps, we'll I am back after a little hiatus.   Ron, Mark, Pat, Bob and the likes - thanks for the kind words as always. 
 
Sjors - Its nice to have the option to use the kit part rather than nothing, its insurance 
 
I've landed a new job, which is some relief - even though I had time on my hands I couldn't enjoy building but did what I could when the mood took me.  I'm not sure how the scratch builders feel, but these cheeks and rails had me thinking I'd never get them done and asking myself if I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
 
First off, I had to decide how I wanted to terminate the rails.  This period seems to be a bit of a mix in styles, mixing more elaborate decoration with a hint of future frugality.  I decided to err on the side of ornamentation after studying some NMM models, which basically just meant a larger scroll on the hair bracket and lower cheek I tried to follow guidance in TFFM as much as I could, and I've shown the progress pics below.  This wasn't as hard as I thought and for a first effort I was pretty happy, but I'll leave final judgement to others.  I knew I'd be painting these, so I found myself occasionally putting a think coat of paint on to get a better sense for the contours which is difficult with the pale castello.  
 

Once the scrolls were done, I made a scraper for the contour and tried to add the profile.  I found this very tricky and found myself battling the curve, the changes in width and the slight grain, especially in the thinner sections.  First approach was to shape the cheek piece and the rail and then glue together (I did these off the model painting would be next to impossible once mounted).  This didn't work as well as hoped, the profiles didn't match and the edges had rounded, but some filler and rework did the job.  For the others, I glued the cheek piece and the bracket before profiling which seemed to work fine.  I used a touch of sepia wash to highlight the profile.  Near the scroll, there is barely a profile so paint is needed to give the effect.
 
Overall, I give myself a "C" on the profiling:  hopefully could do better next time but needed to move on or forever be stuck in hairbracket purgatory.  Next time () I think I'd try using pear rather than castello but didn't have any of the right dimension to hand to try.

Lastly, couldn't resist adding a little more detail than the kit offers and wanted to add both a Filling piece and Trailboard.  Looking at contemporary Artois models, the filling piece is quite substantial and adds a distinctive look.  First off, I tried making a 1mm thick version bent to the hull shape - too thin.  I next tried a 2mm think version, but again felt it was too thin.  Tried 3mm, but it was impossible to bend, so went with a 5mm castello sheet and shaped as needed.  This was quite a bit of work as none of the sides are at 90deg, and the hull curvature needs to be accounted for, luckily this doesn't need to be perfect as the interior faces will be hidden by the  cheeks.  The trailboard was relatively simple but again took a while to get the appropriate shape.  Once complete these should go together like a jigsaw puzzle.....

And the finished result.  These will not be glued until I have the port side pieces finalized, but they fit together just fine.  Overall, I found this tricky and time consuming, but educational.  Without detailed plans there was a lot to consider to get the alignment looking right to my eye, for example, the lower cheek scroll terminating at the foot of the figurehead, the hair bracket scroll aligning with the rounded top of the lacing piece.

Finally, recognition for all those failures forever consigned to the wastebasket of progress....

Wow..Christian, Doug, Pat, Harvey, Carl, Tom, Wayne, VACorsair, Eamonn, and the likes, thanks guys for interest and the overly kind words.  Narrative below will explain more, but think I've irrevocably stepped off the 'being happy with kit parts' ledge...this can only mean even slower progress...but perhaps more fun
 
I know I'm bouncing around a bit so apologies for that, but continuing foundational aspects which seem easier with the ship careened over on a towel.
 
Challenging Cheeks:
 
The kit supplied cheeks are hair rail are not that great.  The cheeks themselves come nowhere near to fitting the hull, and I'm pretty sure the hull form is correct.  The only option was to scratch my own cheeks.  Aside from the fit, they are also seem rather undersized.

The next consideration was the hair rail and lower cheek, and decided to go whole hog and redo these as well.  Given that there needs to be two of everything, I cheated and sparingly glued with PVA glue some 3mm sheet together and then cut to shape.  The pieces were then separated using rubbing alcohol, and voila, 2 matching parts with the work of 1!  These parts are still very slighty oversized to allow them to be fine tuned once other parts are made - necessary given I don't have any true plans to work from and that these pieces form quite a complex shape. 
 
Photos below show hair rail prior to separation.  The difference in dimensions is quite evident to that appearing in AOTS which I used as a guide for the scratch piece.

As a side note, the quality of the walnut parts are just not good, the main/false rail would need a lot a work to get presentable so suspect these will also be remade at some point.

The cheeks themselves took a long time (days) to get right due to the angled concave curve and lack of plans.  Pretty happy with the results, though the parts still need some fine tuning as the rails are a little thick still I think.  I'm hoping to use a scraper to give a profile to the edges, and a quick test shows that this should work OK even for a quick test.  This also commits me to what will probably be my first simple carvings on the scrolls, but that's for another day.
 

Side by side comparison of scratch vs kit supplied pieces..

BE, Pat, Joe, Michael, Nils, Wayne, JPAM  and the likes - thanks so much.
 
Ron - I'm hoping to make it, would love to see your fantastic Diana in person, my challenge is always football/soccer as I coach my sons team and that takes a big bite out of weekends at this time of year.  If I could just arrange a game in New London then I'd be set!
 
Small update, I've been missing making posts but I have a little to share and hope pictures make up for it.  Continuing to work on the more foundational aspects as I can.  Paint has been applied to the upper hull - I used Tamiya matt XF-18 medium blue.  I applied many layers of watered down paint and corrected larger imperfections, but left the slight imperfections from planking visible.  I'm no painter and have limited experience with modern acrylics!  Watering down the paint gives a nice smooth finish, but at the expense of surface uniformity - this should disappear completely once a clear sealer is applied so not concerned.  I found that using a brush the undiluted paint dries so quickly that brush mark are inevitable.  Lots of touchup to do which should be pretty easy, but I want to get a protective coat of poly onto the boxwood to reduce the risk of mishaps.
 
The waist rail has been applied on one side and the side steps added.  I left gaps for the fenders, after having already cut these roughly to shape - using boxwood of course adds the number of pieces that need to be fabricated to keep consistent.  I wont attach these until later.  Steps were made using 2x2mm boxwood strip and a different profile scraper to the side molding and then cut length and shaping the ends.  These hopefully give more of an impression of the fine molding as keeping that to scale was just too much for me.  The upper and lower 2 steps are not glued yet.  I think they pass the scale test with the assistance of Able Seaman Lewis.


I've also made up the anchor lining bolsters, not identified in the kit plans but approximated from AOTS and TFFM.


And the usual 'all over' shot of where things stand..

 
 
 

Started to work some more on the stern and its positioning as well as trying to get the rudder finalised.  Hopefully photos are self explanatory.  First off though going to revisit a question raised earlier, i.e. whether ports without lids should have lips...consensus was that they didn't as there was no need, however I did get a chance to visit the Rogers collection at the Annapolis Naval Museum, and voila, the ports clearly have lips, maybe not as pronounced as those with lids but they're definitely there - I can only assume that this mirrored reality.  Side note, this collection is just incredible and very inspirational, a must visit for anyone who is able.
 

 
Stern Fascia
 
Placement of the stern fascia seems so important to the look and feel.  This is still not glued (hence the clamps), but I'm starting to get a sense for where I'm going with this.  I epoxied a curved piece of wood to ensure consistent placement, this still needs to be fine tuned to shape.  To get the appropriate position I came up with a compromise between the a number of dimensions on the plans as well as estimated from AOTS.  Having built up my own stern template I shortened the stern by 2mm to ensure appropriate angles with the upper and lower counter (basically because there is a shelf built up under the lights which extends 2mm beyond the fascia proper.  This was as much look and feel as anything and if I need to adjust upon reflection I can easily enough. Last photo shows a cardboard template in place for the upper counter which illustrates the complex multiple curves joining in this area.
 

 
Pintles and gudgeons
 
An unforeseen issue with making my own rudder was that the supplied cast pintles and gudgeons aren't the correct size (being uniformly 5mm wide, phots below show comparison to supplied rudder).  I ended up making my own out of wood strip.  Pintles weren't too problematic, but the gudgeons were very fiddly and hard to figure out how to secure properly because they are so small.  In the end, I CA'd all of these in place, but reinforced the top ones with pins to take the weight.  Holes in many of the 'non structural' gudgeons were drilled bigger than necessary to make it easier to mount the rudder.  Coppering this irregular monolith took quite some time and many choice words.  The gap between the rudder and sternpost is the smallest I could manage, and completing this took many redos. 
 

 
With the rudder finally in place (at least temporarily), I was pleased this turned out the way it did and in retrospect I'm glad I tried this modification despite the many extra hours of work and pondering.  The last photo shows the dramatic difference between the one built to AOTS dimensions and the kit supplied piece which to my eye looks too flimsy in comparison.
 

 
 
 

A little update to what must be the worlds slowest moving build log.  Coppering on the hull is pretty much done, the only piece still to do is the aft side of the sternpost which will need some work done on pintles/gudgeons finished before I can do...more to come on that in a follow up post.  Just for a cathartic moment for me, pictures of where I'm at.  Like others, I wanted to give the copper more of an aged patina, all personal taste. Rather than following the bodily fluid method used by others (I must confess to being worried my model would smell like a car park for evermore!) I experimented with a chemical from JAX called - BROWN Brass, Bronze, Copper darkener (they also make a 'BLACK' version which seems to work well).  I diluted this to around 25%-33% by experimentation which seemed to give the best results.  It takes a number of applications, and I simply 'painted' it on with a modeling nylon brush.  Found that rubbing and agitating the surface while doing this gives best results.  Initially, the surface is very hydrophobic, but once the oxidation starts, its becomes much easier to keep a consistent surface covering and beading is not desired as it leads to dark spots.  The more dilute solution tends to green more upon drying, but this can be easily wiped off with water and/or rubbing alchohol.  Personally, I didn't want a green monster, and was happy to have a little patina in the crevices/nail holes which is almost  a negative effect for how the plates are supplied.  I'm not planning to seal the copper (yet if at all) as this should then continue to age naturally, I very consciously forced myself to stop despite there being some patchy spots but these all blend in and to my eye have a natural look anyway.
 
Bunch of photos which hopefully show the copper plate pattern in various areas, hope its not overkill, these are the kinds of pictures that I find useful from others.
 
More to come soon on the rudder..
 

OC, Carl, Rob, Thomas, Mike, Dave, Pat and all the likes...definitely helps keeping one moving forward!
 
Finally, have all the guns in position an the breeching ropes in place.  Amazingly time consuming, no more need be said, and glad its behind me.  I did allow myself the small concession of using a ringbolt for the less visible guns, and went with a ringbolt and ring for those visible in the waist area.  Despite the latter being more 'correct', the jury is still out on whether the results totally warrant it at this scale as the eyebolts only version seems acceptable to my eye (comparison photo below).   As usual, dilute PVA was used to help keep the breech ropes in position and to try give them a sense of weight.  Photos seem to call attention to all the little dings and dents that seem unavoidable and thankfully not really noticeable during normal viewing.
 
A very simple jig was used to help keep lengths consistent.  When using rings, I found that opening up a ringbolt using a small metal point and reclosing was easier, faster and predictable than opening up the ring itself.
 

Oh yes, and I've been working on the sheer rails on the starboard side (mental note, must catch up on port side!). The scrolls were scratch built rather than use the walnut in the kit - those parts are reasonable wood, but seem to me to be slightly the wrong shape...
 

Happy building
 
Rob
 

I've finished the starboard gallery now. I decided to mimic the decoration from the builder's model on the Greenwich collection here using painted paper... this meant I could design and print out the pattern and then cut it out, paint it, and stick it to the model because it _should_ form to the upper part of the gallery... At the moment the pva has made it rather glossy, but I'm hopeful that a coat of matt varnish will flatten it and make it look more in place with the rest of the gallery decoration. The "verticals" were added between the windows adding an extra element of depth, and the decorations added as per the stern. The close-up's brutal, but it looks rather nicer in person...

I've also started attaching the deck furniture and adding the cross beams. (I still need to remember to add the cleats! MUST NOT FORGET!)...
 
Yesterday evening I scratch built a couple of elm-tree pumps... The support for the handle supplied for the kit is the same width as the 1:24 diagram - that wouldn't do, so I used some spare photo-etch (chains from HM Schooner Pickle) to fashion a more fitting support for the handle. The pump links are Pickle photo-etch eyelets. Here they are with some of the kit parts in front of them...

And in place... (the chain pumps are still waiting to be finished off an attached.)
 

In the meantime my daughter and I have been doing some card modelling
 

Not bad for a ten year old!
 
Happy building
 
Rob

Post 69
Completing the Chainplates
I now get back to fettlin' the Chainplates and with the deadeye strops completed I can now gauge the width of the chainplate fold over to secure them.
A further 'on model' trial fit of the Chainplates to check positions and form the bends required where the Chain fits over the wale.

6078
This is a bit of a scary exercise and is done with the model supported on towels and a flat metal edge used to press the chains into shape.
This needs to be done before blackening for obvious reasons.

6080
The chains are then  blackened;
 washed in soapy water, rinsed, dipped in acid, rinsed again, submerged in the brass black. and once again rinsed.
I also tested a deadeye in the blackening fluid to test the effect on the Boxwood. There was no visible effect on either the colour or the stability.
This is just as well as once the chainplate has been messed about fitting and adjusting the connecting loop, a further dip in the brass black is required.
This is one of the downsides to metal blacking items such as this rather than painting them, but for me the finish is far preferable.
All this is a fiddly exercise, particularly getting the deadeyes to sit reasonably level with each other. Tiny differences in the strop and chainplate loops contrive to work against you, to produce an uneven top line.

6129(2)
In relation to the fixing of the chainplates I have followed the Admiralty plan and placed the second bolt above the wale, also shown on Chuck's plan, rather than have the two fixings thro' the wale.
It took a days work to complete one side of the Chainplates, with still a little more adjusting and touching in to do.
 
Backstay plates
I am using Caldercraft 5mm brass etched hooks for the rigging attachment to the Backstay plates so the plate loops need to be made to accept these.

6133

6119
Much quicker to make and fit the backstay plates.
Overall three days work to complete and fit  the ironwork.

6125

6120

6128

6131
I can now leave the Blacksmiths Forge and return to the Carpentry shop.
 
B.E.
15/02/2019
 
 

The hull red and black hull colors do not lend well to a defined water line. So I thought it might look better if I created a thin white later line. 
To do so, I cut a thin strip of white decal paper to a width that looks suitable and apply it along the waterline. The decal paper is ink jet waterslide paper sold by a company that's now defunct, Bel Decals. I was sad to learn they went tango uniform, but fortunately for me, I bought white and clear decal paper in bulk packs of 25 each, 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, before they went the way of the Dodo Bird. 

Thanks everyone for the very kind words and likes....we've reached another "phone a friend" moment to assist with my indecision:
 
Hauling Tackle rethink:
A previously described, looking to assemble hauling tackles off the ship.  Initially planned to use 0.3mm Syren line for the block stropping and 0.2mm for the tackle fall to get a little size contrast.  While initially happy with the result, after making some of these up and staring at them I can't help but feel the 0.2mm is undersized.  A tackle was made up with 0.3mm line to experiment, this is a little harder to work with the frapping but think a suitably repeatable processes is possible after experimentation.  Once made, they are very easy to hook into place, and seem to sit nicely even without dilute PVA.
 
So, which size do you think looks most appropriate?  While still a little undecided, I'm now leaning toward the 0.3mm, and suspect 0.25mm (if available) would be spot on!
 
After rigging the tackles and mounted in the serving machine, the frapping then becomes more manageable.  The final turn is simply fed through the previous turn and is held in place by friction quite securely.
 

 
The comparisons:  The 0.2mm tackle fall below:

 
The comparisons:  The 0.3mm tackle fall below (the line has not been trimmed yet)

 
And side by side (0.3mm on the left, 0.2mm on the right)

So over the w/e I sprayed the hull bottom.

Deck is finished.
For surface finishing  I choose Shellac instead oil, because I really like warmer tone and also try to implement different finishes and techniques into model. 4 layers of shellac was used.
Difference to kit deck is obvious (last photo) .

Chris - did you consider a similar approach to that which Chuck is taking on his Winchelsea project...the carved results are just amazing.

Chris - did you consider a similar approach to that which Chuck is taking on his Winchelsea project...the carved results are just amazing.

Chris - did you consider a similar approach to that which Chuck is taking on his Winchelsea project...the carved results are just amazing.

It has been a while, but I have been busy.
 
I have almost completed the hull assembly for my version of Alert, I am now waiting for the castings to come back to me (cannon barrels, small winch drum, anchors etc.). I have made quite a few changes to the designs whilst building this.
 
Apart from the deadeyes, all the fittings are bespoke, which means that for once, the drum winch doesn't look out of place (or out of period..). The belaying pins are quite small on this model (following Goodwin's AotS book Alert, so I did those in PE. I have tried to make it as detailed as I can, while still being quite easy to fit together.
 
Am glad I chose Tanganika wood for the second planking (although would love cherry), as it gives the hull a 'warmer' look. I wanted to use this wood for the prototype of Pegasus, as I knew it would suite the overall look of the model much better, but unfortunately, someone else started the hull on that one..
 
Was apprehensive about putting these pics on here, as it's my first model I have done outside an external company, to eventually put on the market, and it's quite scary (buy also a little exciting..)

Thanks all for the speedy replies.  Going to go down the 0.3mm route.   After making the post I realized that it was the time already invested that was giving me pause.  After hearing your opinions, the demons have been purged.
 
Pat - The cap squares are the PE parts provided in the kit, they seem to work quite well.  These were rather fiddly to introduce the curvature, and I wasn't able to quite get the hard angle it ideally should because of  the thickness. but think they are passable at viewing distance.

Thanks all for the speedy replies.  Going to go down the 0.3mm route.   After making the post I realized that it was the time already invested that was giving me pause.  After hearing your opinions, the demons have been purged.
 
Pat - The cap squares are the PE parts provided in the kit, they seem to work quite well.  These were rather fiddly to introduce the curvature, and I wasn't able to quite get the hard angle it ideally should because of  the thickness. but think they are passable at viewing distance.

Thanks everyone for the very kind words and likes....we've reached another "phone a friend" moment to assist with my indecision:
 
Hauling Tackle rethink:
A previously described, looking to assemble hauling tackles off the ship.  Initially planned to use 0.3mm Syren line for the block stropping and 0.2mm for the tackle fall to get a little size contrast.  While initially happy with the result, after making some of these up and staring at them I can't help but feel the 0.2mm is undersized.  A tackle was made up with 0.3mm line to experiment, this is a little harder to work with the frapping but think a suitably repeatable processes is possible after experimentation.  Once made, they are very easy to hook into place, and seem to sit nicely even without dilute PVA.
 
So, which size do you think looks most appropriate?  While still a little undecided, I'm now leaning toward the 0.3mm, and suspect 0.25mm (if available) would be spot on!
 
After rigging the tackles and mounted in the serving machine, the frapping then becomes more manageable.  The final turn is simply fed through the previous turn and is held in place by friction quite securely.
 

 
The comparisons:  The 0.2mm tackle fall below:

 
The comparisons:  The 0.3mm tackle fall below (the line has not been trimmed yet)

 
And side by side (0.3mm on the left, 0.2mm on the right)

Thanks everyone for continued interest, kind comments.and likes...
 
Block Stropping:
I've started stropping blocks for the hauling tackles.  I'm opting for a double-single block combination, although I've read that doubles were only used on 32lb'ers.  What I think this really means is that the tackle consisted of 2 double blocks.  For a mid-range 18lb'er, a double-single seems appropriate and makes engineering sense.
 
This seems yet another painfully slow repetitive process!  With this progressing in the background, will be intersperse with other sundry items.  Whilst not too difficult once the approach has been proven, clumsiness never quite seems to diminish.  Overall, happy with the way these turned out which is really testament to the fantastic blocks that Syren produces.  The picture below is the result of 3 solid evenings work....sufficient for the waist guns.
Hooks were threaded with 0.3mm Syren line, and secured using 4 alternating overhand loops using tan Uni-thread (barely visible given its so close in color, but is what was also used for the breech rope seizing).  For the 1/8" double block, the strop was twisted through 90 degrees while securing to ensure the appropriate alignment with the block. GS-Hypo was applied and left to dry before trimming off excess Uni-thread Line held in position around the block and then secured with a simple overhand loop Dilute PVA applied to the overhand loop and the stropping around the block.  Was very liberal with this as it is not visible when dry, and anything that provides additional security seems silly to ignore. Trim excess stropping line once PVA has dried
 
Waist Beams:
First off, a correction needed to be made to the interior bulkhead to correct the position of the beam at the front of the main mast.  The position of these had been taken literally from the plans very early in the build and it was clear that they are not in the appropriate position relative to the mainmast.
 
Secondly, needed to finally decide how to deal with the supplied walnut beams.  These have a pretty rough grain and require a lot of cleanup to get nice smooth curves after removing from the sheet.  Following the scheme shown on the contemporary models (painted red with upper natural face of boxwood), thin strips of overwide boxwood strips were liberally glued to the top of the beam,  gradually sanded back and painted when flush.  The lamination is virtually undetectable, and it also helps ensure the walnut grain is minimised.  Filler can be used in any stubborn imperfections.  Although a bit of a cheat, I just couldn't face cutting my own from box, and quite honestly, I doubt I could get satisfactory results with tools at my disposal.
 

 
Sub-Deck alterations:
Increasing the thickness of the beams also has the benefit that the top of the beams are flush with the sub-deck.  Hoping this means that the gang boards can now be planked with the sub-deck providing a solid base, but remaining invisible from normal viewing angles.  Slots were cut into the sub-deck to accommodate the laminated top surface.  Picture hopefully self explanatory.
 
In position, the next required adjustment is revealed.  The waist opening in the sub-deck has perfectly parallel sides.  After studying various deck plans, it appears more appropriate for the gangboards to follow the line of hull (i.e. planks are constant width throughout their length).  The approximate width of the gang boards were estimated from the AOTS plans and transferred to the deck.  The hashed area indicates what will need to be remove.  In actuality, more will be removed to set it back from the actual edge of the planking proper.
 
Back to stropping more blocks....
 

Thanks everyone for the very kind words and likes....we've reached another "phone a friend" moment to assist with my indecision:
 
Hauling Tackle rethink:
A previously described, looking to assemble hauling tackles off the ship.  Initially planned to use 0.3mm Syren line for the block stropping and 0.2mm for the tackle fall to get a little size contrast.  While initially happy with the result, after making some of these up and staring at them I can't help but feel the 0.2mm is undersized.  A tackle was made up with 0.3mm line to experiment, this is a little harder to work with the frapping but think a suitably repeatable processes is possible after experimentation.  Once made, they are very easy to hook into place, and seem to sit nicely even without dilute PVA.
 
So, which size do you think looks most appropriate?  While still a little undecided, I'm now leaning toward the 0.3mm, and suspect 0.25mm (if available) would be spot on!
 
After rigging the tackles and mounted in the serving machine, the frapping then becomes more manageable.  The final turn is simply fed through the previous turn and is held in place by friction quite securely.
 

 
The comparisons:  The 0.2mm tackle fall below:

 
The comparisons:  The 0.3mm tackle fall below (the line has not been trimmed yet)

 
And side by side (0.3mm on the left, 0.2mm on the right)