Vivian Galad

Thanks! I don't think I am going to lay carpet but, I was considering a rug...
 
So more progress tonight. Support columns dividing the sleeping area from the main space have been installed. Doors are also in place closing off the forward cabins. Little by little she is coming together. Next up I have started to build the table and then the chairs which are still under design. I think I am going to have a lot of good build time this weekend and if so then we may just see this cabin finished out.

Few more walls and some furniture are now in place and the Admiral's cabin is starting to look like something. Still have several things that need to go in before I close this cabin off. Table and chairs, and some structural components and doors leading into the forward compartments. Also the lantern for lighting or all of this is pointless!! More updates soon!

Back to work on S.R. this weekend and I have started to build the Admiral's Cabin. Obviously this one will be fancier than the Great Cabin and therefore a lot more wood work will be installed. I am hoping to build in some actual furniture such as tables, chairs, a bed and possibly some cabinets. There will of course be another LED lantern to illuminate the interior so all this fancy work doesn't go to waste.
 
Surprisingly, I have found myself really enjoying building these interiors. a large part of that is I think due to the freestyle nature of it. Other than the layout of the bulkheads, there is not much to tell me what kinds of decorations or furnishings would have been in her or where. So, as long as I can keep things looking like they would belong in the early 17th century and are things that would be found on a ship, I can pretty much let my imagination run free. After spending so many hours checking, double checking and repeating those checks again and again while rigging Couronne, this freedom of building is rather refreshing.
 
More to come as I have just gotten started so enjoy the update and I will have more in the near future!
 

Great Cabin interior is complete! Built the tables and benches this morning and after finding some airline tube for an aquarium while out buying toys and treats for the puppy I managed to finish up the lantern this evening. While it is a little oversized for the scale, I am rather happy with it as I am working in only about an inch of space!
 

 
In this picture I am holding the stern windows in place. This was the template that came with the kit however, this is not the configuration I will be using. I will modify this to have a 6 window layout with two of those spaces acting as doorways to the balcony. I just wanted to see how much visibility I would have of the interior when it is closed in. I think with the light in there I will be able to see plenty.
 
By the way, the light does flicker to simulate a flame and not just a steady light.
 
Next I am moving upward to the Admiral's Cabin. To do this I need to install the false main deck which covers the entire length of the ship. So before that happens I need to blacken in spaces below gratings or plank them, (yet to be decided), and also install a conduit through all the false decks for the wiring to come out the bottom. This is kind of a crucial step in that once I start planking in this cabin, I do not want to take off this deck again so I need to make sure there is nothing else that needs to be below it. More to follow soon though I may use this as a stopping point to go back and do some more rigging on La Couronne. I will see how quickly the plans for the next steps take shape in my mind.
 

I got a lot done tonight and the great cabin takes on more life! Exterior bulkheads are up, doorways to the quarter galleys cut in and built a couple of bench/storage lockers. Next up I am going to try to build a table and a couple of benches and then I will be ready to run the wires to the lights. I plan on trying to design a couple of small hanging lanterns for the lights to go in. I bought flickering LEDs in hope to simulate candle lighting. We shall see. 

while the instructions call for finishing the upper part (build the railings and second plank the bulwarks) I decided to do the hull planking first. I divided the hull into 3 belts, the middle one was the trickiest due to the pronounced round shape. The kit supplies 2x4 mm basswood strips for the job, good quality and well cut. The soft wood easily bends after soaking for ~10 minutes.
The only watch out is the planking around the false deck beams. They are perpendicular to the bulkheads, and do not follow the deck line. The 4 mm strip is not the best choice to plank around 5 mm beams, fortunately I had some 5mm spares. The small triangular gaps are fine at this stage, but I have to do a better job during the second planking. But for now I will sand the hull, and make the railings.

then planked the bulwarks. as the bulkhead extensions stay as they are, each segment must be planked individually. this takes some time. in the bow area I used a paper template to get the angles right.

the inner bulwarks to be planked next with 1mm strips. Now, that's a fiddly job between the bulkheads. There are 14 segments to do. Some MDF parts stay visible (like the two short bulwark posts ) - at this stage probably they can be cut off without the risk of distortion, I just chose to leave them as they are.

In the last days I made some progress on bulwark planking, but this is close to the actual stage.
Next task will be fitting the rear deck. So far, this is three weeks of evening work, 1 -1,5 hours, ~4 times a week.
 

then on to the deck planking. 0,5x8 mm, unusually wide strips used, very similar the Occre second planking material. The upper beams on the frames make some areas difficult to reach. 
I liked the aged look of the deck in the instruction pictures, and applied a coat of stain to the deck, to be sanded back later. While I like the result in general, I overdid it. Should have diluted the stain, as it was pretty thick. I gave the deck a thorough sanding on the visible areas, and left the covered part as they are - will not be visible and sanding below the beams is an awkward job anyway.

two bulwark panels fit each side. the unusual proportions of the ship,short, but high and wide, become visible.
the rectangular openings are for further deck beams.

I decided to get back to ship modeling. In a 10+ years period I always had something to build on my desk (namely a Billings Mayflower, Corel Prins Willem and the Occre Diana), while the birth of my older son in 2009 brought the end of the woodworking. Kids, time, space, work, other priorities.. probably you know.
But the time has came, and I looked for something really simple. No guns. No painting. Not too big, to be able to finish in reasonable time. Visible progress even in an hour. Not aiming for the perfect model. Just to work with the wood, and have some relaxing time. The Amati Coca, a relatively new offering, advertised as a beginner kit just fits the bill.
The kit is based on the famous Mataro ship, and will look like as the Amati picture shows:

Just a little update on my experiment to use cherry veneer. The transom was planked first leaving a gap for the rudder post. The lower hull planking was then started. This veneer has to be spiled around the bow - there`s no edge bending this stuff! With the scale of this ship at 1:46,I am cutting the planks from the veneer sheet at 7mm wide,tapered down to 4mm where it`s spiled at the bow. The veneer is a bit fiddly to work with but so far,so good. This is gonna take a while...............................
 

 

 

 
Mark

Hi Mates,
 Vivian, welcome aboard as well – so nice of you to want to follow along.
 Got the veneer from eBay so first steps have started. Self-explanatory – so will keep it brief.
 Added notations within –  A good start –
 
PS: The veneer is really working out. It is, however, very fragile – hates, scissors, razor blades and my fingers. But once I got the hang of it we got along well, so far haha
 
Cheers,
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Late congratulations, Michael. It was great to follow your log and see ALL the details coming alive in só beautiful a ship, as the Wasa comes to be. Marvelous piece to expose!!

Hey! I'll be picking up my seat along! Think there's a chair right there. 
 
Nice to see a new project ongoing! I'll be following this one too, If u don't mind. 
 
Love cross sections. 

What a perfect accuracy and cleanliness. This is so breathtaking. Thank you for this great inspiration and the possibility to watch your masterpiece.
 
Best regards,

Hey! I'll be picking up my seat along! Think there's a chair right there. 
 
Nice to see a new project ongoing! I'll be following this one too, If u don't mind. 
 
Love cross sections. 

Thanks Vivian & welcome aboard! Yes,a nice looking ship - I hope to do it justice.
 
Mark

Hi there, Mark! I'll join the expectators on your build. Great work, so far. Neat first planking. It seems you've got a nice ship to work on.