HMS Sphinx 1775 by Ronald-V - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Ronald-V]

35 minutes ago, SaltyScot said:

You have a new follower, sir. What a fine build. I will be hopping aboard for the rest of the ride!

Your welcome Mark! And thanks for your compliment  

[Ronald-V]

Just a little update before I have attached all the rails.

 

I had almost all the rails attached except for the big complex one on the bow. I didn't really know how to get them on properly without getting everything covered in glue. I then looked at other logs including Bleu Ensign and he cut the whole thing up and glued it on piece by piece. I don't know why I didn't think of this myself?!

 

Too bad I only read this at the end because then I think the rest would have been easier to attach to the hull. I read that Chris also considered this and ultimately decided to attach everything together. Personally, I think it would be easier to do it in segments, since they are already lasered in the right shape/radius. But of course, these are preferences that everyone has to determine for themselves.

 

The problem I now encountered was that the holes (to center the rails) sometimes ended up exactly on the edge of the gun port as in the example below. If I were to cut that away, a half moon would remain, which is of course not so nice.

 

 

Anyway, I noticed that certain parts of the rails didn't "come out" nicely this way. So I carefully removed all the rails around the gun ports with some alcohol and adjusted them in the following order.

 

First sanded away the piece with the hole that would not fit well with the gun port edge.

 

 

Then glued a piece of scrap wood on top.

 

 

Sand it to size and score the decorative lines with a knife.

 

 

And of course a little WOP over it so that it is protected and the difference is minimal.

The decorative lines on the applied piece are not that visible in this photo, but you can see them in real life.

 

 

The second thing I am currently working on are all the center holes. I have to say they were great for positioning all the rails, but I personally want them to be hidden so you get a nice clean look.

 

For that I am sanding down a few belaying pins on the lathe (left over from my HMS Pickle build)

 

 

I glue them into the holes with a dab of glue.

 

 

And when the glue is dry, cut it off with a knife and of course finish it with a little bit of WOP. The end result is at normal viewing distance very fine in my eyes. But still have to fill a lot of holes this way, so I'm still busy for a while.   

 

 

All in all some extra work...which of course is not necessary, because you can just leave it as it is of course. But I myself think it adds something if everything looks nice and tight and neat...plus you have even more fun with such a kit  

[SaltyScot]

24 minutes ago, Ronald-V said:

For that I am sanding down a few belaying pins on the lathe

 

Nice fix, Roland. I have found that in situations like this a wooden tooth pick works well also. Yes, they may need to be stained a little to match the wood but, as they are tapered at the ends anyway, I found them very useful for plugging holes.

[Ronald-V]

2 hours ago, SaltyScot said:

 

Nice fix, Roland. I have found that in situations like this a wooden tooth pick works well also. Yes, they may need to be stained a little to match the wood but, as they are tapered at the ends anyway, I found them very useful for plugging holes.

Good tip! I can try that too.  I just have to see if I can get the color right with a layer of WOP, since toothpicks are a bit lighter in color I think

Edited Saturday at 05:35 PM by Ronald-V

[Loracs]

it indeed worth the extra work...  it does show.  ;_)

[Nearshore]

Hi Ronald,

Your Sphinx is looking absolutely gorgeous. I like the attention to detail you are doing on this ship. 

 

Nearshore

 

[Ronald-V]

16 hours ago, Loracs said:

it indeed worth the extra work...  it does show.  ;_)

 Thanks Loracs!

 

16 minutes ago, Nearshore said:

Hi Ronald,

Your Sphinx is looking absolutely gorgeous. I like the attention to detail you are doing on this ship. 

 

Nearshore

 

Thank you for your kind words!

 

And thank you all for the likes!