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Hello, Updates: So after looking at Gimo's critique in the post above and with gentle nudging from my wife, I took on the task of dismantling and rebuilding (reworking) the canopy arches. Grudgingly, I must admit that I'm glad I did Thank you Gimo for pointing out that my work could be better! I spent a few long nights shortening some of the arch ends and lengthening a few and then with careful sanding, putting it all back together. Here are the results: Anyway, Time to move on! The Corel kit supplies some decorative gold rope to be added as trim. The gold was way too shiny for my tastes, so I figured out the length I needed for the stern and painted the line with the Antique Gold I have been using. (Photo is before painting) The painted decorative line added to the edges of the stern lip. There is a metallic decorative piece that is fixed to the stern of the canopy area. Decided that I should add this now, before the rudder assembly is attached. Again, The metal was too shiny for my tastes, so I painted the piece with the Antique Gold and the blue paint I have been using. The piece added to the stern of the model.

Hi Clark, Here is a photo of the Fleur De Lis rudder. It looks to be the same or similar as the Corel plan. Frank

Thanks for the photo Clark! Looks nice. Strange that the rudder tiller seems to go into the Royal seating area. Did the king steer the boat? Lol! Joking! I'll try to be more careful with the sheet metal. thanks for bringing the issue up . Frank

Hi Clark, Yes, the sheet metal is real flimsy! Do you have any photos of the upper part of the rudder assembly? I will have to start working on that soon. thanks, Frank

Hi Michael, I just received the pieces of Mica in the mail. When I finish the area of the model I am working on and do some repairs spotted by Gimo, I will see if I can make some use of the Mica. I am trying to think of a way to attach the window opening pattern copied from the plans onto the Mica and then grinding to shape. If I can find some glue that will come off the Mica when I'm done shaping, I think it might work! Thanks Frank

Hello Gimo! Thanks for stopping by. Also I appreciate your input. So, I checked the model and there are no dips on the left (Port) side. The Longitudinal planks are straight and do not dip. I do think, however, you are really talking about how the arches sit on the upper rail plank. I noticed that some of the arches reach almost to the end of the railing and some end in the middle. Good catch! You have a good eye! I made the arches 2mm thick, but neglected to grind the tips on some of them to the 2mm thickness. So, after I finish with my current work in progress, I will sand down some of the longer ones and build up the 1st two a little to make them more even going along the side. I didn't think they were that noticeable, but I guess I was wrong. LOL!! Thanks again for the positive input. Appreciated! I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Frank

Welcome! I look forward to watching your progress with the Billings kit! Have you been to the Vasa Museum? It is definitely on my list of places to visit in the future. Good luck, Frank

Thanks to all for stopping by and the "Likes". Appreciated as always! Michael, Mica is on order and just shipped. When I receive it, I'll play around with it and see how it goes. The method I chose to use for making the 8 arches seemed to work and (I believe) came out well. Finished forming the 8 arches and trial fitting them. I pre-painted the areas that will be hard to get to after installation. Next step was to mount the main beam at the centerline to the correct length. A slot cutout was added on the front end for the mounting of a smaller beam later to the small arch at the right. The main beam was tapered down, from the back of the stern arch to the left end. Wood beam tapered from 4mm x 3mm to a square 3mm x 3mm as shown on the Corel plans. A cast figurine will be added later on the aft end. The 8 arches were added by glueing to the underside of the main beam and to both sides of the upper railings. As mentioned on the previous post, I had to build up another .5mm to the top fwd arch on the port side. I must have been too aggressive with my sanding. Flat board added on each side of main beam 8 small beams (4 on each side 1mm x 1mm) added. The fwd arch is wider than the stern, so these pieces are tapered towards the stern. All painted and finished. Now to start working on the outside areas of the stern section. Thanks, Frank

hi Michael, A quick thought. Do you have a thickness sander? If you thinned down the pear wood might you be able to put a veneer on top of the upper and lower gun deck areas? If you don't have a thickness sander, and if you think it might work, you could always send me some pear wood and I could thin them down to about .5 mm or so for you. Just a thought, Frank

Thanks Michael. I'll definitely give it a try! Frank

Looks good Clark! Glad the flexible wood worked out for you! Wish me luck! Lol! Frank

Thanks for experimenting Michael. I will try to get some on order to experiment with! talk soon, Frank

Hi Michael, Thanks for dropping in and for giving me great ideas as always! How thick is the Mica? Also if you are looking at the window from both sides, how would you glue it on? My biggest issue is this. The "Fleur de Lis" plan does not call for any windows at all, just railing posts holding the upper and lower rails. I wanted to do it that way (I think Clark, on his log, will be doing it with the railing posts), but I didn't want the edges of that rear platform I just finished to be seen. So I compromised by just creating openings(without windows). Sort of a mix between the 2 plans. Anyway, I will order some of that Mica tonight and try cutting them to the exact opening of the ports and see if I can glue the Mica in so it looks good from both sides. If I can do this, I think it will look better than the way it is now!! Thanks again for the idea. Best, Frank

Hi Clark, thanks for stopping by. so, so far I am finding that all the forms (8 arches) are fitting perfectly on the starboard side of the centerline. On the port side, they all seem to be a little high relative to the forward large arch (number 209). My thinking is that I sanded down the port side of item arch 209 too much. So right now my plan is to add (build up) the port side of major arch 209. We’ll see if that works. If my whole plan doesn’t work, I can always go back to the way Corel wants us to do them with the flexible wood. Thanks, Frank

Hello, Thanks Clark and everyone else for stopping by! Began work on another platform situated behind the Royal seating area. This platform does not follow the slope of the railings. It sits parallel to the water line. The Corel kit seems to indicate that the modeler just glue the edges to the inside of the window panels on both sides. I wanted to make the platform sit more securely (It will hold a large Flag pole and flag). The plans call for 4 beams (2mm x 2mm) on the underside of the platform. I left the first one off and glued it to the side panels (as you will see in a bit) and 2 legs were added at each end of the front of the platform. These 2 legs will sit on the inside of the lower railings, allowing the platform to be at the correct angle with more support to the structure. Underside: I had to decide on what type of deck planking to put on this platform. Since I am guessing any member of royalty or person of importance would not be on this platform, It was decided to plank using the same Eastern White Pine, stained with a light oak finish. (Same as the other areas of the model). Finished Planks: Installed platform between the two side panels with legs sitting on the inside of the lower rails. The next photo shows the platform viewed from above. Trim has been added. The plans also call for a 2mm round bar to be attached to the inside of the side panels. Not quite sure yet what this bar is for, so I decided to play it safe (In case it supports some rigging etc) and drilled thru both sides of the side panels, finally sliding the bar thru in order to give it more support. View of finished platform. The angle of the platform can be seen along with the first underneath beam attached to the slots in the side panels. Now I have to start working on what I view as the most difficult part of the model: the canopy arches. Yikes! The plans call for (see next photo) 8 wooden forms (nos. 232 - 239) to be fitted onto 2 pieces (nos. 231) and sit inside the seating area. Then I am supposed to use 2mm x 2mm flexible wood and bend the arches around the frames and attach them to the ship. Once they are in place, I am supposed to dismantle the forms underneath and remove. I am not a fan of this method, because I am not crazy about leaving wood in a stressed state. So, I will spend some time and try a different way. Not sure yet if I'll be successful! First step is to trace the form on a ground 2mm piece of wood. Using a hard wood (cherry) for this. Using the scroll saw and oscillating grinder, the inside of the contour was finished. Then the outside was ground so the contour was 2mm thick. I cut each end past the marks indicated on the wood form and then kept dry fitting on the model and kept cutting back until I obtained the correct height and angle. Completed 4 of the 8 arches so far. Still have a ways to go in order for me to see if this will work. At least the arches have no natural stress in them and they should stay in position once fastened to the upper railings. Sorry for the long posting! Frank

Hi Michael, I like the color of the pear wood! Did the wood come with the kit or did you buy it? I hope all is well. Frank

Hello, Continued on with the building up of the stern section of the model. The Corel plans show windows on both sides of the stern canopy area, above the lower railing (installed in the last post above.) The method the Corel plan calls for in making these windows is to attach a piece of wood on top of the lower rail and then glue this etched brass piece onto the wood and finally inserting wood posts in-between the etched windows. This issue I had with this was that while you would see the false windows from the outside, looking from the inside of the structure there would be no windows. The "Fleur de Lis" plan seem to show no windows at all, but just vertical spindle supports between the lower and upper railing. So, I decided to split the difference and made openings similar to the window shapes of the brass sheet, but left the ports open. The opening areas were painted an antique gold and the wood posts in red as shown. Installed on both sides. The ports (assembly) end flush with the bottom of the slots for the upper railing. View from port side and the interior of the starboard side. Views with the top rails installed. It is hard to believe, but there is another platform I have to work on making and installing next. This platform will sit between the port and starboard railings behind the stern arch. Thanks for stopping by, Frank

Excellent Job on the gun rigging Mark! Frank

Michael, Clark, Mark and Gimo, thanks all for the Likes on my last post!! I was able to continue working on the stern construction. I have been concentrating on the interior of the canopy area. The false deck for the seating (chest) area is now installed and ready for planking. I finished the arches, then painted and attached the decorative brass. The tops of the arches are left unpainted so I can sand the correct angle after installation. The arches are fastened and glued then the side panels are added. The top of the panels sit flush with the bottom of the lower arch slots. The attached panels make the assembly very stable and strong. Planks are added to the inside of the side panels and painted the ship's red. Painted panel walls The sitting area (Top of the chest) is done with walnut strips that I cut to size and sealed with a satin based sealant. Trim strips (all painted red and shown with green arrows) are added around the walnut seating area. Stanchions (shown with the blue arrows) are fixed to the inside of the side panels and sanded flush to the top of the panel. The location (placement and spacing) of the stanchions are at the points where the 8 canopy arches will be located later in the build. At this point, the lower stern railing is added. The railing slides into both lower arch slots. This ship model is starting to get really long from bow to stern!! lol! Thanks, Frank

Nice work with the mahogany! Great for the contrast you are looking for. Frank

Nice solid lathe! Great job! Frank

I now turn my attention to the stern of the ship. Before beginning the build of the stern canopy, I needed to plank the deck. I decided to use the same "Red Heart" wood for the darker planks, as I did on the checkered pattern in front of this deck. I also chose a pattern similar to one I used a few years ago on my Italian Xebec build. Next is the installation for the sides of the bench surface. The sides were planked and painted. The floor trim was added around this area. I will finish the floor trim after the installation of the arches and side walls. The building of the stern canopy and arches require the fitting and alignment of quite a few parts. On top of that issue is the fact that the canopy angles upward towards the stern. I decided to fabricate a few of the parts and get them just right, before beginning the installation. Pattern for the Fwd canopy arch. I made the arches using Poplar wood that I had. (Will be painted) Pattern for the stern canopy arch Pattern for the side wall, made from Walnut Arches Assembled The sides of the arches had to have 2 slots machined into them at the angle of the canopy slope for the side railings. To get the right height and angle I clamped all the pieces together and marked the positions and cut. Next step is to paint the arches and brass inlays and assemble onto the ship, along with the side walls. This will then allow me to finish the trim along the deck edge. Thanks for stopping by, Frank

Hello, I finished up a few small items before moving on to the stern of the ship. There are 5 cleats on the sides of the main center structure, which are now installed. All fwd of the main mast. Two blocks with eyelets installed behind the main mast hole. One block and eyelet near where the cooking platform will be. An eyebolt and chain for future rigging and another with a block attached on the starboard side of the center structure. And finally a block with a hook attached to an eyebolt near the stern. Now onto the stern area. Thanks for visiting and for the "likes" Appreciated. Frank

Thank you Gimo! I often refer to your beautiful log as a guide to assist me. Frank

Hello, I made some progress with the midway section of the model. First step was to fabricate the mainmast partners(Support). Mainmast Partners made and ready to assemble. I also constructed the wood portion of what is called the "midway beam support". The finished Mid Beam support Assembly installed. The brass plates and nails are blackened. The assembly will later support a beam attached to the stern roof assembly. You will notice a hole under the assembly, roughly below the second nail from the stern (I forgot to add an arrow to the hole!) This hole is where rigging line that runs under the platform will come out. Mainmast Partners Installed. I had to "trial and error" move the partners forward and aft until I found the correct angle for the mainmast to fit. The midway planks were cut from the same Eastern White Pine wood with black construction paper. The planks cut to the correct width and trial fitted in the mid section. Then all the pieces were numbered on the backside and removed. All the pieces had tree nails installed followed by staining of the same light oak and finally sealed. In comparing the Reale de France plans and La Fleur de Lis plans, there were some differences. The width of the planks are wider on the "Fleur de Lis" (which I Followed) and the "Fleur de Lis" plan also shows a hatch just forward of the mainmast partners. I added this hatch, which is hinged in the middle and opens on each end. View of finished midway planks forward of the mainmast. Looking at the next photo, I had to do a few things. Sheaves (rollers) are installed just behind the mainmast (2 on each side) under the first 2 planks. The first two planks have notches cut into them for some mainmast rigging lines to pass thru and around the sheaves. Using the rigging plans, I estimated the length of line that runs under the midway planking and prepped the line under the planks before attaching the planks. Finally I glued all the planks to the deck, except for the first 3 planks behind the mainmast. I will have to remove these in order to run the lines around the sheaves and back up the mainmast later in the build. I will glue them down later. Finish midway photo Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Frank