Beef Wellington

The counter applique looks fantastic, great idea, assume you will seal this somehow.  The curvature on the counter rail looks spot on, did you prebend this?

Hi Mike - yes they do taper, and I took exactly the same approach used for the quarterdeck planking described in post #668, being about 3mm at the bow and 3.8mm at the waist, and re-used an appropriate section of the template used to shape the quarterdeck planks rather than creating a new one.  I've found that until you really get well into it, the curve is rather hard to discern, but the good news is that there isn't the same constraint as on the quarterdeck to terminate against the waterway.
 

bitao, Greg and druxey thanks for the support and encouragement 👍  I honestly don't mind putting mistakes and problems that I have into this build as hopefully it will help another builder in the future.
 
So onto the helm port - I really enjoyed making this part!  I cut out the three parts required and discovered that one of my counter timbers is not quite vertical.  So the first thing I did was to mill a slight taper onto the port leg so that it fitted correctly.
 
Next I glued and pinned the parts together as I needed to get as much strength into this assembly as possible.  The reason being was the cutting of the port hole.  In Adrian Sorolla's book he glues these parts to the ship and then cuts the hole at a later date.  This seemed like a very difficult thing to do considering its position, shape and angle.
 
So I free handed a hole out on the mill which went ok and then finished it off with a file.  I think I've saved myself one hell of a job later in the build.
 
So my next job is to check the fairing inside the hull to make sure that I'm happy with it.  I then need to strip down my jig to give me better access to the hull and I then want to mark out and make the deck clamp.  Should be fun!
 
Mark

Leetle by leetle, Soleil Royal rises from the ashes.  This will be my best paint work, yet:
 

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Happy New Year everyone!  Know I have been absent for what seems an eternity, my usually slow pace was additionally impacted by the many hurricanes and storms that hit the US earlier this year, our basement had some water damage that put an end to ship modelling activities until it was sorted....which it just has been.  Luckily, no damage was sustained to any models, but, I did lose a number of kit pieces and wood strip supplies that were stored in cardboard boxes.  Luckily nothing terminal.  Decent maple strip now needs to be even more carefully husbanded but hoping I will have enough to ensure consistent material on the remaining planking.
 
The holidays provided an opportunity to get back into it and finally was able to complete the quarterdeck planking.  Very slow and intensive, but I am happy with the result and the fact this is task at least is done.  The pictures below show the deck without any tidying up and show the slight differences in plank thicknesses and pencil lead smudging, so next step will be to clean all of this up.  The forecastle planking will require a slightly different approach and planning, but there are some additional things to finalise first which can wait for a future post.
 
Cheers

Finding a little time to update some (small) progress, thanks everyone for the interest, comments and likes.
 
@Eamonn, @Mike - One comment off the bat, certainly would not want to be claiming this approach as my own.  I think we all stand on the shoulders of others, and it was Rob's Ethalion build that inspired me to try this approach...how's it going?  Read on....
 
Before pressing forward with the deck, I had to decide how the companionway cover would sit.  While not being quite sure how much would be visible through the tiny windows, the decision was made to once again install some false beams and carlings for the companion cover to sit on.  This sits quite nicely in place, and is once again put aside for final detailing.

 
Jumping into planking proper, it quickly became clear that initial steps required a bit of fine tuning.  Once the various coaming are glued into position, quite a bit of  care is needed to ensure alignment to the centerline, and also address any potential symmetry issues.  It was necessary to re-attach the rear hatch coaming as it was clear that this was slightly off-center and the misalignment would have been emphasized by the run of the planks.  The only other slight complication was the need to cut custom planks to flank the hatchway, capstan step and rear grate coamings.  Not difficult, just time consuming to ensure a fit and keep the necessary curvature for the run of the planks.
 
Overall, pretty happy with how this is turning out.  The only other thing to comment on is that the decision was made to plank the top-tackle and pump scuttles which seems more consistent with the original plans, rather than the raised gratings suggested by the kit. 
 
Note - The planking lines drawn onto the subdeck are not 100% accurate, and they're there just to help plan the butt-shift and get a better sense for the how the alignment will eventually run into the waterway.  There's also a little bit of pencil lead smudging from the caulking which always seems unavoidable and hasn't been cleaned up yet...

 

The counter applique looks fantastic, great idea, assume you will seal this somehow.  The curvature on the counter rail looks spot on, did you prebend this?

That's a wonderful base B.E., amazing what you've achieved. Seems a shame to hide the wonderful paintwork but a small price to pay. These ships seem to take on a whole new persona when displayed like this and you've really done her proud.

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Hi Mike - yes they do taper, and I took exactly the same approach used for the quarterdeck planking described in post #668, being about 3mm at the bow and 3.8mm at the waist, and re-used an appropriate section of the template used to shape the quarterdeck planks rather than creating a new one.  I've found that until you really get well into it, the curve is rather hard to discern, but the good news is that there isn't the same constraint as on the quarterdeck to terminate against the waterway.
 

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Hi Mike - yes they do taper, and I took exactly the same approach used for the quarterdeck planking described in post #668, being about 3mm at the bow and 3.8mm at the waist, and re-used an appropriate section of the template used to shape the quarterdeck planks rather than creating a new one.  I've found that until you really get well into it, the curve is rather hard to discern, but the good news is that there isn't the same constraint as on the quarterdeck to terminate against the waterway.
 

Post Sixty-eight
 
 Dressing the lower counter
With the rudder hung I can attend to the lower counter, something I have been looking forward to.

Many contemporary models of this era, or in this case a painting of Sphinx by Joseph Marshall 1775, show a classical painted design on the Lower counter, far beyond my artistic capabilities.
In the spirit of the style, and with the permission of Chuck, I am using a printed classical design from the Winchelsea model kit, modified to suit Sphinx.

The print has been scaled to fit and modified to include the two stern ports which are merely outlined on the print with the addition of the hinges.

2397
The lower counter rails have been fitted, and  also the stern port hinges, at this point painted only with a surface primer.

2403

2413
Not entirely sure at this stage how I will finish the lower finishing piece of the Quarter Gallery.

2411(2)
I think I have achieved the result I had envisaged, so the next stage is to attend to the transom and the Upper counter.
 
 
B.E.
22/01/22
 
 

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

No opinion on the question of usage, but it appears gold paint called Shell Gold existed as early as the 12th Century (https://www.materializedidentities.com/single-post/2017/02/03/shell-gold-production-usage-and-handling-of-a-historical-artisanal-technique-including). Basically finely ground gold leaf in a binder.
 
Regards,
George K

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Hello all
Another update time 😉
As all the jobs go ahead, I was getting closer to the rigging stage. Seeing some great builds out there I become really unhappy about the quality of the ropes supplied in the kit so decision was made to make my own. The more research I did the more overwhelmed I got. What thread should I use, cotton or synthetic, what type… The brand is Gutermann of course as it’s great quality. I needed two colours – black for standing rigging and natural for running rigging.
Next problem was a size of the ropes. The instructions were inaccurate, so I have found rigging instructions for JoTiKa kit and recalculated the rope sizes to match 1/84 scale.
The next stage was testing and making a spreadsheet for quantities of strands in the ropes to get right dimensions.
For Tera180 thread I’ve got as follows. First number is 1/72scale, the second is 1/84 and at the end number of threads and cores. This will also depend on the amount of tension on rope walk when you twist them together. The same thread was used for rope serving.
2.5mm – 2.14mm – 3x20
1.8mm – 1.54mm – 3x16
1.3mm – 1.1mm – 3x10
1.0mm – 0.86mm – 3x8
0.75mm – 0.64mm – 3x6
0.5mm – 0.43mm – 3x4
0.25mm – 0.2mm – 3x2
0.1mm – 0.09 – 3x1
 
Lastly I had to construct my own rope walk so I had a dig in my son’s Lego box and got it done 😉 I used small drill to run the gears of course  
 
Final ropes for my build

My setup allowed me to twist about 4m of rope in one go so it didn’t take me that long. To give you a perspective I got about 2000m of thread, and I used 90% already for the shrouds and some stays…

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....


 

Hello again
Another update - rigging started
 
I managed to get shrouds in, ropes are served as per original, I fitted some blocks and slings too. Right now I need to attach deadeyes to the shrouds which may take a while if you want to do it properly...
 
I also prepared deadeyes for the upper mast shrouds with some additional rigging that goes with it. 
 
Have a look at some photos...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Let's get back to work...
 
Regars
Tom

Looks really great Jason!
 
Are the planks tapering as they get to the bow?  If so, and you don't mind me asking, how are you cutting those planks?  On my Pegasus gun deck, I didn't bother tapering the planks at the ends of the deck as they wouldn't be seen, but I'm considering whether to taper them on the upper decks.  Haven't quite figured out how to go about doing so, aside from measuring and cutting a very slight taper on one side of the plank, and then squaring the ends.

Wow such a great job! Nice, crisp and attention to the details is insane. You should be proud of yourself. Keep us posted

Thanks everyone for the continued interest and kind words.
 
Planking of the foc's'l has started and wanted to catch up before I get too far behind, wanted to record how I approached this for my own benefit as much as anything.  Breaking down into the main tasks:
 
Ensuring appropriate sheer of the foc's'l:
There was always going to be something to fettle here.  There were a number of items that needed to be fine tuned before planking could get underway on the deck.  There are a number of items that need to look right:
Sheer of the foc's'l planking- this should be parallel to the wale Sheer of the deck - need to avoid any unnatural dips and bumps, probably caused by the false deck supports not being perfectly positioned These two elements need to also come together in a way that gives a gradual steady decrease in the bulwark height, and avoid situation where this does not transition smoothly This did require some filling of the false deck and additional sanding to get this to where I was happy.  Marking the edge of the deck with a pencil line really helped with the visuals here as there are many curves competing with each other.
 
Determining the appropriate taper of the planks:
Really not much to go on here and went with a planned reduction of around 10-15% between the waist and the bow which seems consistent with many pictures and plans I could find.  The only consideration here was to not taper these too much so that a 'half moon' shape develops towards the edge of the deck.  Considering this, and estimating the number of planks needed, I used the same jig used for the quarterdeck to introduce the curve.
 
Bowsprit partner:
In David Antscherl's TFFM series, he notes that sometimes partners were used on the bowsprit.  I latched onto this as a way to tidy up the way that planks terminate against the bowsprit....especially because I think at this point I will not be adding one (more on that later).  Adding the partner here neatens up the planking in this area and also helps hide the PoF constuction a little more with the bowsprit not hiding this.  This wasn't too challenging to make, first a key was cut into the false deck and a plug made to match.  This was then glued to a larger boxwood sheet that would be visible, and which ensured that the partner would sit snuggly when in place.  The top was deliberately left oversize at this point as the final dimensions would be dictated by the width of the planking.  The concave curve of the underside was made with a suitably sized file approximating the bowsprit dimensions.

 
Planking:
With all the prelim work done, planking could commence!  First step was to install some scrap wood strip on one side of the center line using a ruler as a guide.  This proves to be very helpful in ensuring that the initial runs stay true as once the coamings are installed there is no simple way to do this other than relying on one's eyeball, and once the first central plank is in place can be easily removed.  The fore-grating could now be installed, and experience from the quarterdeck suggested that using the bare minimum of PVA glue is a good idea in case that it proves necessary to fine tune the position.  Luckily however this did not prove necessary.
 
The remaining wildcard is how the planks will butt up against the installed coamings.  As for the quarterdeck, fine adjustments were made to the strips to ensure that they would not result in inappropriately thin widths around the coaming.  This also allowed the bowsprit partner dimensions to be finalised so that they all align appropriately.  It's interesting to note that the partner is a slight wedge shape, reflecting the inward curve of the planking.

Once the first 4 planks were on, the margin planks needed to be installed as all planking from here will butt up against it.  For now, only the forward section has been installed, and the joint between then will (hopefully!) be hidden by the cathead.  Planking could then continue aft, with a similar approach being taken for the steam grating coaming as before and the top of the beam being installed.  The area directly to the rear of this was a bit of a pain as the planking strips are only about 5mm long and difficult to get nice clean tight joints.
 
It proved necessary to once again make custom planks from maple sheet athwart the steam grating coaming, and these proved surprisingly challenging, mainly because there are many edges that need close alignment.  The maple being used also does have a tendency to splinter at the edges.  The gap on the outmost plank is where the top tackle scuttle will be.  Hopefully things will speed up a little now the foundations are in place, at least until hooked planks are needed....