Thanks Jens and Paul, your comments are stimulating to update my diary. Thanks again. Jack.

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008

As I said in my last message there is plenty of tasks to do on the model: in spite of my previous list I decided to build the side steps.

Considering the huge size of the Santìsima Trinidad's gun decks also the side steps are quite impressive.

The kit manufacturer instructions were to use two kind of stripes to build the steps: a mm. 1x4 stripe and a 2x2 stripe, both in sapele wood. I decided instead to change the kind of wood: boxwood for the 1x4 and walnut for the 2x2. Especially the boxwood was for me a very good choice.

An important thing was the building process: I made a kind of sandwich made alternatively with a 2x2 stripe and 1x4 stripe glued together one over the other for six times.
The new stripes, approx 12 cm. length, were then cut in small pieces of two different lengths (18 o 8 mm) and refined with sandpaper.

The last task was to fix them on the hull sides with some points of glue, a final coat of matt transparent paint and . . . . the work is done ! Time elapsed two sessions of 1 hour and half.

The first two images show the starboard side steps and the remaining two the larboard. In the last image you can also see the skid beams, for raising barrels, etc. and to protect sides against boat being raised, close to the steps.

Kind regards. Jack.Aubrey

Jack

Some stunning work from you - looks brilliant.

That must have been a massive ship in real life with its 4 gun decks - must have been a frightening sight to the opposing side.

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008

Yesterday I have completed another interesting task: the construction of the poop rails.

To achieve this (for me) good result I did not follow the kit instructions but I used a different method and different materials.

First of all the small columns I used. They were not supplied by the kit manufacturer (the supplied was a brass rod to be cut at the proper length). The columns I used were a remainder of a previous kit (Le Mirage from Corel built by me 30 years ago).

The first image shows these small columns.

Second, the total number of columns used, I used more or less twice the number suggested by the kit.

The last image is an overall overview of the ship. You can also see that I have painted in black a part of the side ladders.

Regards. Jack.Aubrey

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008

Building the main mast channels

Last monday I started to build the mast channels (I have found they are also known as chain-wales; is it right ?). First I started with the two main mast channels, then the mizzen channels and last the fore channels.

Main mast channel: it's the bigger of the three kind of channels. The overall length is 135mm. and it is built starting from a piece of mahogany with a thickness of 2mm. The wood supplied for this task was very good and it was enough to me, for achieving a good refinement, to clean it with sanding paper of different grains.

I followed the kit manufacturer instructions: I had to drill several holes for the chain deadeye/shroud chain places at the proper distance and position. The diameter of the hole(s) was of 1mm.

But my main problem was the fear that the glue on the thickness of the wood was not strong enough to support the future manipulations so I decided to:
- make 7 holes (0,75mm. diameter) in the thickness of the channel where
- I have glued, with the cyan-acrylate, some brass pivots of the same diameter, leaving them prominent 4-5 mm;
- I have then made the opposite holes in the side walls;
- I have removed the paint from the surface to glue to provide the best support to glue;
- I have installed the channel with vinylic glue and
- a bit of cyan only near the pivots and
- I let time to all to dry.

Then I have applied the channel support brackets in the proper position and I performed the usual tasks to clean the piece from the glue excess.

To complete the work, a coat of danish oil. I decided to use the danish oil instead of paint because it allows in the future to use without risks both vinyl and cyan glue. This work was done last monday; two days later the oil was totally absorbed by the wood and now it is totally matt and smooth like paint. The color of the mahogany wood, from the other side is greatly highlighted.

The first image represents the starboard side main channel, while the larboard side channel is shown in the second image.

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008

Building the foremast channels

Wednesday I started the building of the foremast channels.

Fore channel: the overall length of this channel is 105mm. and it is built with the same mahogany wood used for the other channels. The building process is totally equal to the one of the main and mizzen mast channels; here I have used six pivots to strengthen the installation.

The first image represents the starboard side fore channel, while the larboard side channel is shown in the second image.

At the time I shot the images I had just finished to apply the danish oil, so the channels seem gloss. This is due to the fact that the oil was not yet absorbed by the wood. Today, after some days, the oil is totally dry and the appearance of the structure is the same of the others.

Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008

Here are two detailed images of the head. The main improvements vs 15 days ago are:

1) the installation of the figurehead, this task will be explained in a future message,
2) the installation of the three rails (main rail, middle rail and lower rail).

I made a lot of thinking on how to install these rails because it wasn't an easy task. At the end I decided to use the epoxy glue (two components to mix together before their usage) because I consider it the most powerful glue for this kind of situation and I had to temporarily fix the rails to their beams with very thick steel nails, later removed. I took a total of two days to install all the rails but the result is very satisfactory.

When the glue was dry, I made the necessary cleaning tasks and I have applied a first coat of polyuretanic black paint as primer.
Then, to follow, two coats of golden poly paint.

Many thanks davetwin . . really appreciated, jack.

Beautiful work, joy to see....

Regards

Alan

Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008

Two old images I did not publish before . . .