Beef Wellington

Evening everyone,   here are the pics as requested  - 
 
The spraying went quite well  I think.
 
OC.

I have ordered my paint  - Tamiya Acrylic rattle can.
 
Also we had a day in the sun on the patio, so I brought my HMS Greyhound out for a swim.
 
Thank You sincerley for all the comments and likes - it sure makes building this tube  more enjoyable.
 
OC.

Entrance to Portsmouth harbour with a First Rate Line of Battle ship and Frigate passing a 'Two Decker' doing some rigging maintainance.
W/C 15" X 9"
'Pompey' is the RN name for Portsmouth
Jim

USS Robert H McCard. Leaving Charleston Naval Base with the old Cooper River Bridge.

Haven't been painting for a while, but did this yesterday and today 'Dispatches' no particular ships.
Jim
watercolour 14" X 10"

Hello all,
 
Thanks again for all the interest, likes and comments.
 
I made a start today on wiring up the mast and yards,   for this I used my stash of very thin copper wire,  I started with the top level and attached them to the two yards, then I came a quarter of the way down the mast and added the two support wires.
After the wires were secured with ca glue,  I gave the cables a coat of black  and the mast/yards light grey,  next was to drill the placement hole on the deck of the rear block and secure the lower mast.
 
I then attached the two support cables to the edge of the rear block and secured with ca,  and to finish off I glued in place the radar ontop of the mast.
 
Here are a few pics.

Bit more progress this evening  - they are painted and fixed down.
 
OC.

Hi all for the interest and the kind words and likes!  Have been on a bit of a hiatus, other distractions and a need for a little break.  Think I'm now back in the groove with the passion back again....looking forward to catching up on everyone else's progress on their builds.
 
Tim - the photos are maybe being overly kind, no airbrush, just regular brushes.  I generally don't dilute the Admiralty paints, but do tend to use a damp brush.  The blue on the hull is an exception where layers of dilute blue have been built up to avoid brush marks where possible, the Tamiya paints don't really lend themselves to this as much, but it seems to work.
 
 

Evening all,   more progress today   starting with the correction I did last night, I checked the side wall/front hanger door situation  - and I had corrected it ok,    I then attached a circuler device on the rear of the hanger deck (not sure what purpose it serves).
 
Next was time to start on the funnel (warspite only has the one)  this is built in various sections including a searchlight platform and sub deck below that,  my thinking was to use the kit part with the pe plating ontop,  but to fit the sub deck out of pe, these platforms are fitted to two colums with the searchlights fitted ontop of these.
 
The photos show the platforms fitted to the funnel but not fitted to the boat deck, there is still quite a bit of pe work and scratch building to be fitted.
 
Thank you for all the continued interest in my build and the comments and likes.
 
OC.

The ole lady was nearly finished off with one of these bad boys, but her stuberness and resolute attituide saw her through despite sever damage and no power, not to mention taking on 5000 tons of water.
 
Photo curtosy of wikipedia.
 
OC.

Hello,
 
The Agamemnon has a new home......
Because I don't have much space in the house I was looking for a new home for her.
Someone from the building where we are living has seen the Aggy and I told him that I need a good place for her.
Just around the corner of our home there  is a nursing home.
They want to show the model in a meeting room on a book shelf.
I bring her and a lot of older people just came in to take a look and.....the oh's and ah's are flying around  ( In Dutch of course )
I'm very pleased that now others can admire her.
And if I want to see her.....no problem, just 3 minutes away......
Here are the pictures.
 
Sjors
 
      15/5000    

Greetings  All
                        I have taken my Diana out of storage, and decided to continue my build after approx three years.  I tell a lie !!!!!.   All I hear from friends is. “ Where’s that Diana ?”   “ That Ship should have been finished by now” or “It’s about time you started building that ship again” or words to that effect. So I have given in to all the earache I get. As I said I have today got my self ready to continue. I had reached the stage of cutting out the gunports after finishing the first  planking. The ports are roughly cut out on the starboard side, and I intend to line them next, and then start on the Port side.  Unfortunately I cannot locate the two instruction books which I know are in the house somewher,  but I do have  all the plans to hand. What I need to know is the gunport sizes which I think are 14mm x17mm  and if the four gunports with lids ( three at the stern, and one at the bow) are the same size.  I also need to know the strip size I should be using for the linings.  Thanks to you all in advance for your help. DAVID.
 

Been plugging along slowly. Haven't posted until now because there would be too little to show until I got a little more done. By the time I rig a line or two I am in so much pain I have to leave it and come back later so it takes a while.
 
Since my last posting I have rigged the main & fore topmast backstays, main & fore topmast stays, main & fore topmast preventer stay, fore & main topgallant shrouds, main & fore topgallant backstays and the main royal backstays. It doesn't look like that much in the pictures. When trying to rig the block and rope coil for the main royal backstay I snagged the door to the companionway and snapped it off. It went right down the hole below so I have to make another. I have accidentally cut a line or two and have had to re-rig them. I found it very difficult to rig the lanyards for the fore topmast and fore topmast preventer stays. There is very little room to work with. I am still not satisfied with my mouse making but they are ok.

With all the sudden and unexpected interest, I'll throw you good folks a bit of a bone (not one of Freyja's chew bones though). I'm out of the shipyard for the near future, but I'll share a few pics of how far I managed to get with the planking. Not really too many more strakes left to go, I can't remember if it's eight or nine by my last count. The wales are done, but not fully painted, just the top and bottom edges.
 
And popeye, it's not so much the pitter patter of little feet.... more like the thundering footfalls of a herd of galumphing baby elephants!
 
Andy

From the pointy end to the square end:
 
For the past few weeks, I've turned my attention to the stern.  First up are the windows.  The kit's stern piece is thin ply, and it would work fine, but it's not boxwood.  So I decided to continue with my bashing and try to scratch out everything.  For the frames, I glued in some fairly thick stock (1/8 inch):
 
                                           
They required a little bit of trimming, just to ensure that the actual windows would follow the curvature of the counter (which seems to be a bit less pronounced on NMM's plan).  To get the windows into the proper angle, I used the kit's stern piece as a framing jig:
 
                                           
 
That worked pretty well.  You can see that I marked out the alignment of each of the center frames, and that helped a lot.  I used 3/64" stock for the frames, and cut lap joints for the corners and to set in the horizontal cross piece.  For the vertical cross piece, I cut only one lap in the horizontal piece, and then set the vertical piece up as close to the top and bottom as I could.  That helped with the alignment.
 
                                          
Here they are all in place, with the munions.  In this photo the munions look out of alignment, but I just went back and checked, and in real life they don't look as bad.  Plus they'll be covered with pilasters. 
 
My one gripe is that the 3/64 inch stock makes for some pretty thick looking windows.  I don't think I could have gotten anything thinner to work, since these are pretty delicate as is.  (I might also mention that as I was dry fitting one window in place, it shot out of my tweezers, and flew into the Captain's Cabin.  It took my strongest flashlight, a long bent wire, and 90 minutes of patience to fish it out of there.  That's also when I saw LOTS of shavings and dust lying in there that I also extracted.)
 
Next is the taffarel.  FFM details a lamination process that took me a while to understand, but I think I have worked it out.  It consists of 3 layers.  The bottom, with the grain running horizontally, is the main outline of the taffarel.  I simply traced the kit's piece onto some 1/16" stock, and cut it out.  The middle layer constitutes the three coves along the bottom of the taffarel, and its grain runs vertically.  Then the top layer forms the "arch of the cove" or the border, and it is very thin and fragile, even with the grain running horizontally.  I cut a mold on my bandsaw out of some pine scrap:
 
                                    
 
In this I first glued up the top two layers, covering them with plastic wrap so they wouldn't stick to the mold:
 
                                    
And then I clamped the mold together overnight. 
 
                                     
 
Out of the mold, I hollowed the coves a little bit, and here we are:
 
                                     
 
For the carvings, I'm pretty much planning to follow the layout on the NMM plans, of the King & Queen of the Seas, with various sea monsters around them.  I thought of trying to make the King & Queen a merman & mermaid, but I couldn't get the fishy lower part to look right, since it needs to curve over the cove.  But I do think that instead of the putti flying in the middle section I'll try to carve a Kraken.
 
A few years back I started carving the figures into the taffarel itself.  I gave that up when I saw other builders glue figures onto the taffarel.  And so that's the procedure that I'm following.  And this time as well, instead of using a power carver, I'm using a high number of #11 exacto blades (it's the sharp point that has proven most useful, and it breaks easily).
 
So far I've mostly finished Her Highness:
 
                                        
I was pretty disappointed when I saw this photo, because she looks like nothing more than a blob.  I did cut the folds of her skirt, some curls in her flowing locks, and something of a "face."  But obviously I'm going to have to do some more refining, to get the details to stand out more -- and of course with poly wiped on, they will show up a bit more, but so will all the flaws.
 
And that's where I am.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin

Hi Mike -- thanks for stopping by, and for the nice words.  The head is seriously challenging, and proved too many times that my skills are wanting.  I used to say that being baffled by straight lines showed that I was romantically anti-palladian, but now I know all too well that even the curvaceous line of beauty lies beyond my grasp.
 
And I confess, I do have a fondness for real turkey rather than those domestic ones we're reduced to carving up.  But my fondness for backyard wildlife exceeds my appetite.
 
And thanks to everyone who clicked the Like button!
 
Last night I cut out the two Catfall Blocks.  These have an angled notch, and a decorative tail that is also mortised around the timberhead.  FFM says this mortise should go all the way round the timberhead, but the NMM plans show the tail going only about a third around.  I was surprised I was able to cut these so quickly (there was plenty of time left to take Mrs W to dinner).  I just used the jeweller's saw to cut the notch, then opened the kerf with 180 grit sandpaper.  The decorative tail I sawed then refined a bit with some files.  And Ditto with the rear notch I was able to get away with instead of a mortise.  Here's the starboard version, dry fitted in place:
 

 
I made a fleeting effort at using some wider stock to follow the curve of the planksheer, as FFM says would be the case, but the curve on mine is so slight that I decided the effort wasn't worth it.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin
 
 
 
 

Doing my best to put the Headworks behind me, I've moved on to the Timberheads -- a small task by comparison. 
 
I first marked out the location on the planksheer for both the Fo'c'sle and the Quarterdeck by using the kit's planksheers (which have pre-cut mortises) as a template.  Then I cut some 3 dozen little Timberheads out of 1/16 inch stock, 1/8 inch wide and 1/4 in long.  These I shaped by cutting a notch 5/32 inch from the bottom, and then cutting toward that notch from 1/32 inch down from the top:
 

 

 
After cutting that wedge on all four sides, I just filed a chamfer along the top edge, and there it was.
 
The next task was to cut all the mortises for the timberheads.  Since these needed to be 1/16 inch wide, I was able to use my handy 1/16 inch chisel from Veritas. 
 
 

Of all the chisels in the set, this one is shaped as a mortise chisel -- whether to create rigidity at that tiny size or what, I don't know.  But it works brilliantly at cutting 1/16 inch mortises.  I have to say that after cutting the mortises for the Fo'c'sle on the wood mill, I worried I wouldn't be able to cut them on the quarterdeck, since I'd already installed the planksheer there.  But when it came down to it, that fabulous chisel knocked the 24 mortises out in no time -- possibly even faster and more accurately than the mill did.  Hooray for hand tools! 
 
Here are the results.  First the Fo'c'sle:
 

While I was at it, I went ahead and put in the Timberhead Bollards.  And I should mention that since this picture I have smoothed out that huge and ugly joint between the cathead supporter and the eking rail.
 
And here's the Quarterdeck:
 

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a small departure from the plans.  FFM says there is one timberhead forward of the break in the quarterdeck.  That number is supported by the kit plans.  But the NMM plans clearly show 2 at that location, so that's the number I put in.
 
These little details induce far less stress than big complex matters.  It took me only a few nights to get all the timberheads done, I'm happy, and excited to move on to a few other small details.  Another way of saying that is that I'm putting off even thinking about the stern for a while.
 
And on another front, here's the latest new borns to pass through my yard:
 

Cheers from turkey land,
 
Martin
 
 

First off, thanks everyone for the likes and comments, my apologies for not responding sooner.  I haven't been able to keep up with everyone else's builds as much as I would have liked.
 
Been tinkering with a number of items that I want to get a head start on hopefully avoid pitfalls later.  I'm leaning toward getting as much work on the hull planned out or complete before the cannons get installed and the upper deck can go on - although that will still be a while because I needed a break from gun carriages.
 
Trimming the bow height:
Way back I'd mentioned that I took the approach to build the bows up higher than I would likely need to allow for the unforeseen.  I have now shaped these to be much closer to where I think they will end up, less a little finishing.  The bulwarks at the bow appear to be parallel to the whale, just like the rails, which was used as a guide.  This was an exercise in reconciliation as of course various small (or not so small) errors have crept in along the way.  This proved not too difficult, the only hiccup was found when dry fitting the deck, to ensure that the height of the bulwark is symmetrical on both sides, some shims were added to the top of some of the forward bulkheads.  The error is unlikely to be in the kit cut bulkheads, but more likely a combination of small discrepancies in my positioning of the position of the whales, waterline etc.  You can see in shots below the discrepancy in the height of the foremost gunport, this was a result of positioning the ports to be of equal height off the deck, which was clearly not fitted as well as it should have been.  These add about .5-0.75 of height on the starboard side, but the very small 'twist that this will introduce will not be noticeable.  The sheer rail at the bow has also been added.
 

 
Headworks:
Have been doing a lot of thinking about how to approach the headworks, clearly a rather challenging area.  Frankly, the kit supplied parts are a little disappointing being rather grainy and splintery, with some questionable dimensions.  The main rail seemed to be the place to start, and after a lot of experimentation decided to build this and the false rail together rather than in separate pieces - mainly because it seems sturdier, and less challenging as the false rail is rather lengthy and thin at this scale.  The main rails were cut from 2mm castello, and a profile introduced using a scraper to simulate the various features of the genuine article.  Curved, tapering shapes have to be the hardest to get right, especially with fine details and there were many time consuming rejects which painfully got me up the learning curve until I was happy.  The AOTS side elevations were scanned and manipulated digitally to correct for the angle to get the appropriate shape.  Caution!  I think the placement of the slot for the boomkin is not shown correctly on the AOTS side profile, I adjusted this looking at contemporary models - the revised position matches closely with the kit part which does provide some comfort.
 
The false rail was cut from 0.6mm pear sheet and 2 were laminated together.  The panel section of the false rail was cut out carefully to be shaped later by beveling the edges before replacing back in place.  First photo below shows a little how these were built up, with the first successful but discarded prototype, and a main rail that failed scraping.  Second photo below shows the kit supplied part next to the one of the scratched final articles.  Ignoring the quality of the wood (and to be fair, I made no effort to clean up the supplied parts), the AOTS plans suggest a subtly different profile curve, and a thicker main rail which looks too thin on the kit part.  The head of the main rail was deliberately cut a little longer to allow final shaping once these are finally installed.
 

 
These were then positioned with the head of the main rail vertical in both head on and side elevations.  It was found that these were quite easy to keep in place using mini modeling clothes pins  (scale replicas of the actual clothes pins used in actual ship construction  ).  Posting a lot of photos because I would really appreciate comments and suggestions from those more experienced with this to help me avoid fatal errors!
 

 
Finally, to confirm the layout of the boomkin slot, a copy was copied and scaled from the AOTS diagram.  This shows the tight proximity of the boomkin and seat of ease.  The triangular gap at the rear of the grating behind the false rail screen is where I believe there should be another seat of ease.
 
Again - I'm fumbling my way through this following the excellent TFFM book, so please do not be shy to point out errors and mistakes!
 

 

In preparation for my week off, in Cape Cod, I am trying to prepare fleur-de-lis carving blanks for the frieze.   My current inability to print my GIMP drawing, to scale (or at all, really), has me improvising in ways that are somewhat successful and in other ways not.
 
I’ve been taking measurements off my flat computer screen with my Starrett rule, to determine that my fleur-de-lis for the frieze should be very nearly 3/16” x 3/16”.  Great, I think to myself - I have styrene strip that is 3/16” x 1/16” thick!
 
So, on a piece of vellum, and within these perameters, I begin to attempt drawing my fleur-de-lis.  This takes a few hours to arrive at proportions that are pleasing and approximately close to what I could achieve on the computer.
 
For reference, though, I went back to pics from a recent visit to the Met, which featured an exhibit on the court of Louis XIV.  Among the exquisite items and artifacts, on display, was this relatively small marble study, that depicts Benjamin Franklin and Louis XVI, on March 20, 1778, signing the Treaty of Alliance.  Aside from a relationship that would help (tremendously!) forge our American independence, what I was most drawn to were the perfectly rendered fleur-de-lis that adorn Louis’s cape.  Look, Ben’s going in for the Bro-shake:


This is, in actuality, a very small-scale sculpture of this event in Amero/Franco history, but the carving of the marble is remarkable in its detail and consistency.  Here, it seemed to me, was a perfect example of everything a fleur-de-lis should be.
 
With that settled and the first flower drawn, I next folded the vellum over that first drawing, and made a series of tracings, all in a row - 8 in all.  My objective, ultimately, is to make carving blanks from the five best tracings.
 
Reasonably satisfied, and reasoning as always, that I can correct shaping discrepancies with the tools, I pasted a photocopy of my drawing to a strip of styrene.  I wanted to preserve the original drawing for the several other sizes of fleur-de-lis that I will need elsewhere on the ship.
 
Here is a photo montage of my mixed results and several epiphanies along the way:
 

These look decent.  Workable.  After filing a few to profile, though, I discovered that they did not fit neatly within the sheer strakes at the fo’csle and quarter deck levels, as I had previously drawn.
 

Keeping them, at this size, would necessitate letting them into the sheer strakes at these most narrow points.  While this was an acceptable accomodation to me for the upper arches of the domed port enhancements, along the main deck level, I feel that this will not look passably ok with an ornament that would, naturally, be scaled to fit the available space.
 
The middle fronds of the fleurs are small enough as it is.  So, I decided to chop the points from the top and bottom of the flower until they, at least, fit within the sheer strakes.

Above is a good comparison of the difference in proportion, from where I started to where I need to be.  They should, in fact, be even a little smaller!  But, here are two revised flowers, side by side:

My experience, thus far with this casting process, is that I inevitably end up with ornaments that are larger or smaller, depending upon a number of variables related to the process of removing the ground and defining the perimeter.  There will be plenty of extras to choose from, that will fill these more narrow spaces without seeming too large, relative to the frieze lattice.  Whatever other differences, in size throughout the frieze, should contribute (hopefully, in a good way) to the handmade quality of the model.
 
I can’t wait for vacation!! 🌞🌊🏊🏻‍♂️⚓️
 

Hi folks, another update; not much but some progress.  I am being slowed b research at the moment.
 
The steering platform is now complete and fitted over an inverted 'A' Frame  - the rapson slide (not shown) slides across under the platform between the legs of the frame at the position of the cable drum.  

  
The steering compass cabinet is complete but just dry fitted.  The compass cover (pewter aftermarket part cut from its pedestal) is also only dry fitted.  If we use this it will be painted brass.  We are trying to make this by 'spinning' on a lathe to get the base form.
 
The hammock platform around the funnel has now been completed.  This is only 11mm high to give some idea of size so this is a 'close-up' which shows all the 'detail' not visible to the naked eye   As best as I can determine, there was only an outer rail.  the hammocks are stacked vertically and I assumed some are lashed to the rails for stability?  An inner ring would not work due to space and access issues.   When the original photo is zoomed right in, the stanchions and 4 rails are very clear.  I have used black cotton in-lieu of wire for the rails as, at this scale it was impossible to keep the shape of the 0.4mm wire without deformation as I bent it around and through the stanchion holes.  The stanchions are after-market.
      
The companion has also been fitted in place.
 
I have also made a steam whistle (a little early for a steam horn which did not appear for another decade or so (as best I can determine).  This was made from a tube with a rounded solid upper plug, and a bit of rod rounded and shaped to accept the actuator handle at one end - this was drilled through to accept the whistle and is intended to represent the steam cock valve.  The spigot at the base is a locating pin. The photo of the whistle itself shows the item before cleaning and some polishing - this will be left brass.  The ruler in the photo is in mm.
 

cheers
 
Pat
 

Another small update:
I have progressed the wheel and standard a little further having painted the brass wheel.  The paint to the eye looks smooth but it is very uneven when photographer so close up (noting the rim is only 1mm wide, and the wheel 14mm tip to tip).  The paint is burnt sienna acrylic with a glaze made from varnish and wood stain.  It looks pretty close to the wod used in the standard.
 
One of the photos also shows all the parts ready to be assembled; including some decals I made.  The decals were a dismal failure though as against the brown they just don't show up.  I think I will have to paint the brass plates onto the rim of the wheel after all   With my shaky hands they won't look too flash!  Work in progress so to speak.  I am not sure yet whether to try and further smooth the paint on the wheel; as i said - to the eye it looks OK. 
 
  
 
In the meantime the main companion has been completed; including the ironwork supporting the crutch for the main boom. I have included a close up extract from the quarterdeck photo as a comparison for what we have made.  The legs supporting the crutch look a little oversize but these are less than 1mm diameter so near impossible for my fat hands to get smaller unfortunately - again the close-up photography makes it look rougher than it looks to the eye (the ironwork).
 
  

 
 
cheers
 
Pat

Deck vents, so many deck vents

First off, thanks everyone for the likes and comments, my apologies for not responding sooner.  I haven't been able to keep up with everyone else's builds as much as I would have liked.
 
Been tinkering with a number of items that I want to get a head start on hopefully avoid pitfalls later.  I'm leaning toward getting as much work on the hull planned out or complete before the cannons get installed and the upper deck can go on - although that will still be a while because I needed a break from gun carriages.
 
Trimming the bow height:
Way back I'd mentioned that I took the approach to build the bows up higher than I would likely need to allow for the unforeseen.  I have now shaped these to be much closer to where I think they will end up, less a little finishing.  The bulwarks at the bow appear to be parallel to the whale, just like the rails, which was used as a guide.  This was an exercise in reconciliation as of course various small (or not so small) errors have crept in along the way.  This proved not too difficult, the only hiccup was found when dry fitting the deck, to ensure that the height of the bulwark is symmetrical on both sides, some shims were added to the top of some of the forward bulkheads.  The error is unlikely to be in the kit cut bulkheads, but more likely a combination of small discrepancies in my positioning of the position of the whales, waterline etc.  You can see in shots below the discrepancy in the height of the foremost gunport, this was a result of positioning the ports to be of equal height off the deck, which was clearly not fitted as well as it should have been.  These add about .5-0.75 of height on the starboard side, but the very small 'twist that this will introduce will not be noticeable.  The sheer rail at the bow has also been added.
 

 
Headworks:
Have been doing a lot of thinking about how to approach the headworks, clearly a rather challenging area.  Frankly, the kit supplied parts are a little disappointing being rather grainy and splintery, with some questionable dimensions.  The main rail seemed to be the place to start, and after a lot of experimentation decided to build this and the false rail together rather than in separate pieces - mainly because it seems sturdier, and less challenging as the false rail is rather lengthy and thin at this scale.  The main rails were cut from 2mm castello, and a profile introduced using a scraper to simulate the various features of the genuine article.  Curved, tapering shapes have to be the hardest to get right, especially with fine details and there were many time consuming rejects which painfully got me up the learning curve until I was happy.  The AOTS side elevations were scanned and manipulated digitally to correct for the angle to get the appropriate shape.  Caution!  I think the placement of the slot for the boomkin is not shown correctly on the AOTS side profile, I adjusted this looking at contemporary models - the revised position matches closely with the kit part which does provide some comfort.
 
The false rail was cut from 0.6mm pear sheet and 2 were laminated together.  The panel section of the false rail was cut out carefully to be shaped later by beveling the edges before replacing back in place.  First photo below shows a little how these were built up, with the first successful but discarded prototype, and a main rail that failed scraping.  Second photo below shows the kit supplied part next to the one of the scratched final articles.  Ignoring the quality of the wood (and to be fair, I made no effort to clean up the supplied parts), the AOTS plans suggest a subtly different profile curve, and a thicker main rail which looks too thin on the kit part.  The head of the main rail was deliberately cut a little longer to allow final shaping once these are finally installed.
 

 
These were then positioned with the head of the main rail vertical in both head on and side elevations.  It was found that these were quite easy to keep in place using mini modeling clothes pins  (scale replicas of the actual clothes pins used in actual ship construction  ).  Posting a lot of photos because I would really appreciate comments and suggestions from those more experienced with this to help me avoid fatal errors!
 

 
Finally, to confirm the layout of the boomkin slot, a copy was copied and scaled from the AOTS diagram.  This shows the tight proximity of the boomkin and seat of ease.  The triangular gap at the rear of the grating behind the false rail screen is where I believe there should be another seat of ease.
 
Again - I'm fumbling my way through this following the excellent TFFM book, so please do not be shy to point out errors and mistakes!
 

 

Catching up a bit, love the treenails and nicely done on the molding strip.  My feeling is that impression of the detail, rather than absolute accuracy, is 90% what the eye sees, and my eye likes what it sees 😊

hull details, coppering
 
 
After installing some hull decoration strips I marked the waterline and put a1x1mm strip on it. It was then painted  dull black. To give it a more realistic finish I mixed in some white.
 
(In a book, written by a professional model railroad landscape builder he explains about colour scale. By that he means that if you look at a model in scale 1/100 from a distance of 50cm it should look the same as the prototype from a distance of 50m. And from that distance colours look less bright because of the air absorbing some of the intensity. He says that's the reason that models tend to look like toys if you use original colours. He recommends to always mix in a bit of white or grey and to avoid shiny colours. I think it works.)
 
Below the waterline strip I painted a copper strip to cover eventual irregularities at the edge of the coppering.
 
As on previous builds I broke of single copper plates and glued them on individually and overlapping, starting at the stern and the keel.
After putting on the first leaf of copper plates, I had the happy idea to check how many there are. 2400.
 
2400!
 
I just hope the skin on my fingertips will endure that as I have to peel off dried CA glue (and some skin) after each coppering session.
 
To have some variety I do small projects in between, such as adding outer hull details or more shot garlands - seems I can't stop making them, now I know how.
 
 

 
waterline marked and coppering started
 
 

 
waterline
 
 

 
 
coppering details
 
 

 
 
additional shot garlands