harlequin

some of the top deck round cannon ports added and a brass insert fitted.......and the addition of the cannon....

a selection of my mini power tools that help me build......mostly minicraft, but i also have a proxon sander... 

it is starting to look like a ship...

Upper deck now fitted along with the inner bulwark planking and the planksheers....needs finishing off, but gone well....the planksheers are flexible beech which allows them to bend easily and glued in position before they can regain their shape. 

Second planking now completed......good sanding down needed but it all looks ok.......Lower deck with cannons....not going to put any rope work on the lower deck cannons.....beams fitted ready for the upper deck..

second planking only needs a couple of planks and a couple of steelers to complete, then a good sanding.....will probably apply a matt finish to the hull......

Transom being prepared for fixing.....second planking will probably be finished in the next couple of days....then a good sanding to smooth out the whole hull.....the transom will be fixed and allowed to dry thoroughly before the windows and decorations are fixed....a dry fitting seems to suggest all will be ok. 

Unicorn doesnt have a stern post so I took a gamble and shortened the length of the hull to accommodate a stern post. Overall it has ended up a strange shape but with the addition of the rudder I can live with this peculiarity....the colour is different, but I can do something about that later...  the hinges have yet to be fitted.

Unicorn doest have a stern post in the plans so I have fashioned one....looks kind of odd but will probably look better when the rudder is added...

second planking going well....garboard on both sides fitted...

18 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

Good heavens - just seen your log - THAT takes me back.  I built Unicorn it must have been at least the early 90s if not earlier.

 

The black wood supplied was discoloured and they supplied a ridiculously over large amount of replacement - I still have about 20 strips left.  I think it is actually dyed but it is a nice true black throughout so can be sanded without discolouring.

I have used on severa builds where a bit of a contrast without paint is needed

 I was very pleased with the end result .  My figure head  was total rubbish compared to yours !

the kit is ancient SpyGlass....i bought it for 15 quid so no pressure to complete.....they call this black strip fibreboard....some of the second planking is very brittle, but I am going to continue with it and see what happens......it is going ok I think.....corel kits have a lot of detractors but i actually dont mind them at all...

Unicorns position when eventually fixed much later in the build.....second planking continues apace.....

given Unicorn a weather beaten look....

1 minute ago, Old Collingwood said:

Great work mate  - takes me back to my  Greyhound/Lyme  build.

 

OC.

those were the days....i have just dusted Greyhound and looks in fine shape.

Unicorns position at the bow.......paint job needed on unicorn....

ah ha yes hamilton....blood......hope you are well....old greyhound was indeed a frustrating build.....glad you were there with me otherwise i think it would never had made it....cheers. 

just enjoy what you are building.....it doesn't have to be perfect or accurate....in fact all the little mistakes make your build more interesting.....I hate a build that is so perfect....there is no soul to it.....a robot may have well built it....I love the irregularities of a build...the scratches, the knife marks....i love to see these in a build...

yep....I am quite enjoying Unicorn....

I always like to get a feel for the ship as I progress....for a kit that I only paid £15 for it is going ok.....the deck furniture is placed on Unicorn to give me an overall view further down the line. 

second planking continues at a decent pace. I have also found some bigger push pins which cover the whole width of the plank when applied....very useful...

black background painted......decorations not yet fitted, the transom will be fitted to the hull before the bright work is fixed......looks rather good me thinks....

this is roughly what the transom will look like when installed. I will probably paint the background black....The outer decoration is a cast metal which i have heated to soften then bent to shape....overall it doesnt look too bad......the new unicorns have a precast transom which makes this stage easier....im happy enough with the result. 

15 hours ago, Thistle17 said:

Nice work harlequin! My Unicord, a 1980's kit is sitting in a container maybe never to finish as the materials then were quite second rate by some standards. Maybe, just maybe you can inspire a restart for me with your good works.

Joe

This one of mine is ancient and to be fair it seems to be going ok....go on give it a go.....you know you want to...

Well, Unicorn has had a few more second planks added...the black boards are a weird sort of material and I am hoping they take a matt varnish without too many problems.....

greyhounds instructions are aweful.....keep cross referencing everything .....my greyhound build log was lost when this site crashed a few years back so most of the build isnt shown....keep asking if you need further help and i will try my best......i still think i have my instructions somewhere...