Issue 52 - Contains sides for the second companionway ladder, grating hand rail parts, turned columns, wood strips and another 12-pounder gun; and has instruction for the making and fitting of both companionway ladders, the fitting of the grating hand rails and the fitting of the bitts, (the first pair of ladder sides and two tread strips were supplied within issue 34).

Assemble the gun kit as per your chosen guise, and carefully store the 3x3mm & 1x3mm strips and turned columns.

Companionway ladders - You will need to make two ladders which will be located into the ladderwell of the medium and large gratings, the ladder treads are cut from 1x5mm strip.

Take one of the ladder sides and hold it down through the ladderwell of either the large or medium grating, so that the bottom of the ladder side sits on the deck below and that the slots for the treads look level, then make a pencil mark in line with the top of the grating. Before cutting to length, cut a second ladder side to match making sure you have a left and right pair, and that the lengths are exactly the same, and that the slots for the treads align from one ladder side to the other.

Cut a flat on the tops of the ladder sides about 3mm long and square to the tread slots, this is so that the ladder sits firmly against the edge of the grating; then make up seven treads by cutting strips of 1x5mm wood, each tread being exactly 31mm long.

Take the two ladder sides and check that the treads have a snug sliding fit into the ladder sides, if not, gently sand the end of the tread so that you get a slide-in snug fit.
Now take the two ladder sides and two treads and glue them together making sure that they are square and flat, and allow to thoroughly dry before continuing, then slide/glue the rest of the treads into place.

Ensure you have the ladder the right way round in relation to how each is positioned in the ladderwell, apply glue at the top and bottom of the ladder then locate the ladder in place.
If by chance your unlucky enough to drop the ladder inside of the hull, tip the model so that the ladder slides to the stern, where it can be easily extracted.

The ladder build process is repeated for the second ladder/grating ladderwell, ensure that both ladders are located so that they slope towards each other, i.e. located on the correct side of the grating.

Grating Handrails - You will require 8 eyebolts (4 per ladderwell) and the brown thread.
Start by drilling four 0.7mm holes 2mm deep around the entrance of the ladderwell, then insert one eyebolt into each hole, but do not glue at this stage as you may find it easier to glue the thread with an eyebolt removed, (store the excess eyebolts for later use).

Insert the thread through an eyebolt and fold a short length back on itself, then glue to create a splice; then thread it through the other eyebolts taking note as to the orientation of the thread in relation to the stairwell, cut the thread to length at the opposite side leaving enough to make another splice.
Repeat for the handrail of the second companionway taking note as to its orientation in relation to the opposite ladderwell.

Fitting the bitts - The bitts were constructed in issue 47 and need to be attached to the deck just to the rear of the medium grating forward of the main mast. A reinforcement joint needs to be made for the securing of the bitts to the deck.
Drill a 0.7mm hole about 6/7mm deep in the bottom of each leg of the bitts, make sure the hole is drilled central and upright.
Cut the heads off two planking pins, and glue each into the holes drilled (with the point facing outwards), which should protrude about 3mm.
Position the bitts centrally against the edge of medium grating, gently push down on the bitts to make two positioning marks in the deck - DO NOT try and push the bitts all the way into the deck without first drilling 0.7mm holes at the marks, as you make crack the decking; then glue the bitts in place using superglue.

That's it for this week!

Issue 53 - Contains wood strips for the deck support beams of the centre and forward section of the quarterdeck; and has instruction for the height adjustment of central span of deck supports, the fitting of the deck support beams of the centre and forward section of the quarterdeck, and the assembly of the ship's wheel.

Issue 54 - Contains wood strips for the decking & deck support beams, pins and a length of 8mm dowel; and has instruction for the continuation of installing the main deck beams, trimming the tops of the frames and planking of the quarterdeck - The dowel is used as a test piece for the mizzen mast, where holes will need to be formed in the deck support beam and deck.

Issue 55 - Contains wood strips for the making of the centre pin rails, 30 metal belaying pins and another 12-pounder gun; and has instruction for finishing the quarterdeck openings and constructing the centre pin rails.

Issue 56 - Contains quarterdeck planking strips, cabin partition parts, wood strips, eyebolts and yellow acetate sheet imprinted with gallery windows; and has instruction for the completion of the quarterdeck planking and the cutting of the quarterdeck gun ports.

Issue 54 - Contains wood strips for planking the deck & deck support beams, plus pins and a length of dowel; and has instruction for the continuation of the main deck beams, trimming the tops of frames and the planking of the quarterdeck.

The parts supplied complete the deck support beams and enable you to lay the first 17 planks in the central deck area outlined in yellow (see final photo).
The quarterdeck will be completed in issue 56, where additional planks are supplied to complete the deck The decking needs to be sanded smooth as its a feature point of the model, so you only apply the simulated nail heads and plank joins AFTER the deck has been sanded.

The 8mm dowel is used as a test piece to allow the fitting of planking around the mast, it will also be used in later issues so don't discard it.

Balance of the main deck support beams - The rest of the deck support beams are fitted in a similar way to those you added in issue 53. However, this time because of the angle of some of the frames you'll need to assemble some of the beams within the hull.

Ensure the 8mm dowel fits into the mizzen mast hole, and goes all the way to the bottom, you'll find it easier to insert if you sand a bevel on one end.

Using the same method as in issue 53, cut two beams to fit at the frame closet to the stern (frame 30), due to the shape of frame 30, you cannot insert the beam in one piece, so glue the pieces together at the same time as gluing them to the frame - Repeat for frames 28 and 27.

Cut the beams for frame 26, and use the dowel as a guide to make a cut-out to clear the mast, glue the beams in place being careful not to glue them to the dowel.

Fit and glue the last four beams in place on frames 22 to 25, and allow the glue to dry before continuing.

Trimming of the frames - Before planking the deck, you need to trim the frames that will be planked on the inside to form open bulwarks around the quarterdeck.

The #7 parts and frames 12 to 16, and 22 to 25 need to be reduced to 3mm thick - Make a 3mm gauge by gluing two scraps of 1.5mm strip together, and use this to mark a line 3mm from the outer planks on the #7 parts and on frames 12 to 16, and 22 to 25.
Then saw down the lines using a razor saw, note that you will have to cut away the excess wood on the #7 parts by using a knife, as there is no room to use a saw.
Remove the excess from each frame by sawing across the bottom, close to the deck support beam.

Cut the tops of frames 17-21 close to the bulwark, then remove by cutting close to the support beam. DO NOT trim the outer planking. You will plank over the frames later.

Planking the quarterdeck - This process needs careful reading of the steps, and don't forget to caulk each plank along one side as you go.

With the deck support beams fitted, you can lay the deck planking. This time, you will lay the central area, which includes leaving two openings, you'll find it helps if you number each beam in relation to the frame number.
Measure the width of the hull across each frame, divide by two and then mark the centre line down each beam. Then measure and mark a line 2.5mm to the port (left) of the centre line. You will use this line to position the first plank, which is the one that runs adjacent to the centre plank.

Align the first plank with the outside of the marks you made, running from the forward bulkhead to frame 20, you will need to make a cu-out for the fore mast.
Fit a second plank from frame 20 to 27, this plank will require cut-outs to fit around the main and mizzen masts, and complete the run by fitting a short plank at the stern.

You can now mark the positions of the openings in this deck.
Make a pencil mark on the plank directly over the front of the grating on the upper deck (3rd). Then make a second mark, directly over the bitts.
Make two more marks in line with the edges of the beams at frames 22 and 23.

Lay the centre plank from the bow to the mark you made over the front of the grating, leaving a gap with the ends cut to clear the mast holes.
Fit the next sections of planking from the mark you made over the bitts to the forward mark you made at frame 22, again leaving a gap to clear the main mast.
Fit the aft sections of the centre plank, running from frame 23 to frame 30, this time leaving a gap to clear the mizzen mast.

Fit a further three planks - one on the left, two on the right - inline with the planks fitted earlier, this will make a total width of five planks, with the centre plank in the middle - don't forget to make the cut-outs for the masts.
The parts of the first plank which overlay the openings will be removed at a later stage.

Add another six planks each side, running from one end of the large opening to the stern. A single plank is too short to reach the full length, so you will need to use two strips for each run. Stagger the joints between them so that they fall alternately on frames 27 and 28.

Add a further 15 strips at the bow, so that you have a total of 17 planks with the centre plank in the middle, you will trim their ends later.

Further work on the main deck planking is in 55 and is completed in 56.

That's it for this week!


Future issues:

Issue 55 - Contains wood strips, metal belaying pins and another 12-pounder gun; and has instruction for finishing the quarterdeck openings and constructing three centre pin rails.

Issue 56 - Contains quarterdeck planking strips, cabin partition parts, wood strips, eyebolts and yellow acetate sheet imprinted with gallery windows; and has instruction for the completion of the quarterdeck planking and the cutting of the quarterdeck gun ports.

Issue 57 - Contains assorted wood strips, and has instruction for the lining of the bulwarks and cut outs, adding the below poop deck gun support rails and preparing the cabin partitions.

Issue 58 - Contains assorted wood strips, grating strips, knees, flag locker and skylight frames; and has further instruction for the cabin partitions (staining, glazing and fitting), painting of the bulwarks, fitting of the ships wheel, fitting the poop deck support beams and planking the poop deck - In short, lot's to complete in 58!