Issue 66 - Contains assorted wood strips, mast rings, pin rail bitts, assorted etched brass stanchions, black thread & hammock netting, brass wire, eyebolts, dowels, cleats, brass rings, pins & die cast pulley blocks, plus a second bonus pot of copper paint; and has instructions for staining & copper painting of the lower hull.

Owing to the copper tiling set taking longer than hoped in development, the official build will feature a copper painted hull rather than copper tile's.
DeAgostini aim to have the copper tiling sets available in the online shop within the next week and will post up the information as soon as stocks are received into the warehouse, an order form will also be included within issue 66.
Complete instructions will be made available for everyone who has decided they want to copper tile the hull of their model. These instructions will shortly be added into the articles page, and will be posted into a separate section on the forum.

The cost of the copper tile pack is £59.99 including delivery, the tile's are to the scale of the model, each tile measuring approx 14.2 x 3.9mm, and approx 4,500 per set.
The copper tiles are a bespoke item which at the size being delivered are unique to DeAgostini; there is limited stock available but with the option to re-order, though lead times are quite lengthy. Therefore I recommend that you order sooner rather than later to ensure that your order is fulfilled swiftly.

Copper painting the hull - Ensure that the hull of your model is free of any surface imperfections such as pin holes, uneven planking or dents, these should be filled and the hull given a final finishing sand before a paint primer is applied.
The supplied copper paint is water based, therefore a waterbased primer should be used.

You will need to make a waterline gauge marker as described in the magazine, (a ready made tool for the job can be purchased), use this to mark the waterline break between the copper and the start of the painted upper hull.

Ensure that your hull is sat level and even, set your waterline gauge as described in the magazine, and carefully mark the waterline around the hull.

I applied two coats of a water based wood primer over the lower hull, feathering out the brush strokes approx 10mm above the waterline, and used wire wool between coats to give a key and a smooth finish .

I then re-marked the waterline and applied a fine line masking tape (such as Tamiya's fine line masking tape), and proceeded to paint the hull with the supplied copper paint.
The paint was poured it into a larger re-sealable container to allow use of a large width brush, I used a soft bristle 1" wide flat edged brush, and applied two coats of copper paint giving the hull a gentle rub over with fine wire wool between coats, there is enough paint supplied for at least two coats.
You will need to ensure that your brush strokes are even and flow in the same direction to prevent metallic shading.
The hull was set aside overnight to fully dry, masking tape then removed and another mask line applied to align with line of the copper; the above copper line was painted black and the upward edge feathered out in readiness for further painting later on.

Finally, the rudder hinge straps, gudgeons and pintles were painted with matt black metallic paint.

From now onwards, when handling the model or resting it in its cradle, you need to be careful not to chip or damage the copper-painted hull.

That's it for this week, carefully store the parts supplied with this issue.

Future issues:

Issue 67 - Contains a 1:1 fore mast plan set, assorted wood strips and fore mast top parts; and has instructions for assembling the fore mast top.

Issue 68 - Contains dowel, assorted wood strips, mast cheeks, side guides, mast cap, mast cleats, mast collar, deadeyes, blocks, brown, black & natural thread and eyebolts; and has instructions for the shaping, assembling and rigging of the lower fore mast.

Issue 69 - Contains dowel, assorted wood strips, guides & cradles, assorted bocks, foretop cap, thread, brass wire, eyebolts and a gun kit, and has instructions for making the fore topmast and its fitting to the lower mast.

Issue 70 - Contains assorted wood strips and dowel, assorted blocks, slings, brass wire, thread, quarter irons, studdingsail boom irons, and gun port wriggles; and has instructions to construct the fore topgallant mast, finishing and adding the rigging.

Issue 68 - Contains dowel, assorted wood strips, mast cheeks, side guides, mast cap, mast cleats, mast collar, deadeyes, blocks, brown, black & natural thread and eyebolts; and has instructions for the shaping, assembling and rigging of the lower fore mast.

The construction of the fore lower mast is very similar to the construction of the lower section of the main mast as shown in issue 62, therefore I'm not going to repeat the process here.

Once again, remember to check your measurements carefully before you cut, drill or shape the parts, and check regularly while you are working on them to make sure you don't remove too much material.
Once you have finished, you can try the fore mast in position in your models hull, but do not glue it in place at this stage.

Shaping the fore lower mast - The process is as before, you may wish to refer back to that issue for the shaping techniques etc, but be sure to use the fore mast plan for all the dimensions.

Assembling the fore lower mast - The process is as before but with the addition of two cleats clued to opposite sides of the mast;, you may wish to refer back to issue 62 for a description of the assembly; be sure to use the fore mast plan for all the dimensions.

Rigging the fore lower mast - Once again, this job is similar to rigging the main mast featured in issue 63; be sure to use the fore mast plan for guidance.

Finishing of the fore lower mast is as per your chosen guise, be it the natural or painted version.

DO NOT yet glue the mast in place.

That's it for this week, carefully store the assembly, the triple blocks & threads for later use.

Future issues:

Issue 69 - Contains dowel, assorted wood strips, guides & cradles, assorted bocks, foretop cap, thread, brass wire, eyebolts and a gun kit, and has instructions for making the fore topmast and its fitting to the lower mast.

Issue 70 - Contains assorted wood strips and dowel, assorted blocks, slings, brass wire, thread, quarter irons, studdingsail boom irons, and gun port wriggles; and has instructions to construct the fore topgallant mast, finishing and adding the rigging.

Issue 71 - Contains assorted wood strips & dowel, assorted blocks, studdingsail boom irons, brass wire, quarter irons and thread; and has instructions for constructing and finishing the fore yard.

Issue 72 - Contains wood strips, chainwales, blocks, deadeyes, thread, studdingsail boom irons, chainwale support brackets, eyebolts, brass wire, shroud chain links & pins; and has instructions for making and finishing the main and fore top mast yards.