Looking pretty good amipal...keep the pictures coming...

Cheers Jonny! I've finally received issues 16-19, so I'll be able to make a start on the Victory soon. And they'll be more photos definitely!

Very nice in deed amipal, I had a similar accident as you after applying too much force and like yourself, ample glue and spare wood to strengthen the join...all is back on schedule...

And so the build continues...

First up, I fitted the last part of the ribbing and the rear brackets. This was easy enough, and they didn't sag under their own weight due to the tight fit:


Next up was fitting the middle gun deck support beams, then testing that the deck itself fit correctly. As you can see, there was a bit of a misalignment with the forward mast hole. I sanded the deck itself to try to get the two ellipses to make a better circle:


Dry-fitting the middle gun deck beams, no issues here:


I was rather surprised to read that we were to draw in the visible planks of the middle gun deck. I thought this was a bit of a cheating way of doing things - I knew that if I didn't do something that I thought would look better, I'd forever look upon the lines of pencil with an air of annoyance!
So using some spare exterior planking, I began to measure and cut things up:


Vallejo black applied to the edges of all planks to represent the caulking:


Test-fitting the painted planks:


I added some of the black paint to the PVA when I glued them in place, meaning that when the glue inevitably squeezed through the cracks, it didn't look odd. And yes, its a helluva mess at this point!:


And the finished planks in place. These were sanded flat by hand - the hull planking is quite thick, so needed a bit of work done on it before it was thin enough. I kept both port and starboard section next to each other to ensure the planking would be level on both:


I then glued all of the middle gun deck sections in to place, using items from my kitchen cupboards to help keep them in place:


And here it is, the (almost) finished middle gun deck planking. I did think about leaving it as is, but on second thoughts I'll apply a walnut stain to get the correct colouring (link):


Next up was fixing the final parts of the bow in place before fairing could commence:


And then something had to be done about the infamouse rib 15:



And that's about it for now! Again, I've moved on since taking these images, so the next update should include the fairing and some (eep!) hull planking.

Thanks for looking!

:edit
Wrong image linked!

looks good amipaL i thought the same as you about the pencil planks so i planked the whole deck but i ran a black permanent marker down the edges

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated!

After working on the planking for the middle gun deck, I've now managed to convince myself that I should have done more... I blame it on these images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28321983@N02/4815564454/in/set-72157624551492058/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28321983@N02/4814943951/in/set-72157624551492058/

Please, someone convince me not to rip up the current deck to build this!!

hi ..i would its only one plank so get it right and it will cause you less probs later...cheers paul

hi,are u single planking

Good job mate.
Good luck with planking. You need to take it easy, no rushing there :)

Tom

The end of 2010, I finally managed to get some planking started! So I continued this into 2011.



It wasn't too problematic in the end, I think my fear of mucking it up held me back for too long. Here's a view from the stern of the work in progress:


I don't have a plank bender, so I soaked the bow planks for 20 minutes in hot water before gently bending them around the frames. I then pinned these in place and left over night for the wood to dry and keep its shape:


I've now fitted six rows, and am ready for the marking and cutting of the gun ports. I'm slightly worried by this, as I feel like I've done a good job so far - I don't really want to cut into it!


Forestalling the cutting, I decided to work on a bit more of the planking at the front of the ship, as well as shaping the gallery area around the stern:



And that's it for now. My next instalment will contain holes in the hull, as well as some blood, sweat and tears I expect.