Greif8

I just finished looking through your build thread John. Your work amazes as always due to your high skill level and standards. Ernest

Very beautiful build David! I really like the low-viz paint scheme you did. The photos with the background and the flag really show the build well. Ernest

2020 for me; I completed 5 LSP builds and 3 builds of other topics. Ernest

Mine are: 1. WNW Sopwith Dolphin 1/32 2. Kotare Spitfire (mid) 1/32 3. Academy Panzer IIIJ 1/32 The Dolphin will be my next build once I am finished with the Constitution. Ernest

Poor weather this weekend meant I could spend a lot of time at the bench and I managed to make a fair amount of progress. Bending the sails to the yards is some pretty exacting work as there is a fair amount of prep and while the technique of attaching the sails to the yards is not complex, you have to pay very close attention to where you are running a line as it is very easy to cross an area that should not be crossed! I had to re-thread several lines to get them right, but I got there in the end. My wife got a good laugh when she looked in on me yesterday while I was sewing loops into the corners of a sail. She said I looked like I was learning to be a seamstress! Below is where things stand right now. A shot of the front of the Main and Mizzen masts with the Royal, Topgallant and Top sails in place. The Main Top sail is a big beast. And here is a look at the backside of those masts and sails. You can see I have stacked the clew and sheet lines for the Royal and Topgallant sails out of the way so I could work without them being in the way. Closeup of the Mizzen Top Sail bent to it's yard. More prep work was required for the Main Course then the other sails as it, and the Fore Course, will be "Brailed Up" and needed to be prepared for that process. Here is a close up of one of the loops at the lower corner. I have given it, and the other loop, extra seizing as that is how these were actually rigged. Each corner has three blocks fastened to it. The smaller block will have a clew line run through it and the two larger blocks will have a sheet and tack line run through them, one line for each block. The Main Course bent to it's yard. This took some time as the yard has a lot of stuff attached to it and I really had to work slowly to make sure I ran all the attachment lines right. Photo showing the Mainmast with all four sails attached, though the Royal is not in the photo. The Top Sail and yard will be temporarily removed while I work on prepping the Main Course to be "Brailed Up" and then actually doing that. Looks rather majestic in this shot I think. The lines that will be used to "Brail Up" the Main Course have been attached and run. Here are the clew lines ready to be worked. The other six tan lines belong to the leech and bunt lines. Those lines run in front of the sail. The line attached near the outer mid-point of the sail is a leech line, and the two inner lines are bunt lines. These lines run through blocks attached to the yard and then up to and through further blocks positioned under the fighting top before teminating at the respective spots on the belays. They work together with each other and the clew lines to position the Course in a few different configurations. Closer shot of the starboard lines. This should give a good appreciation for just how complex - and crowded - the rigging on a square rigged ship of the time was. Getting all this run correctly requires a lot of thinking ahead both to run the lines correctly, but just as importantly, thinking through the best sequence to do this so that you can maximize the effectiveness of the process while minimizing either the chance of breaking something, or to have an unpleasent surprise later as you find out you can't reach a spot to run a line. All that said, I am having a (mostly) good time doing this; it is pretty cool to see the rigging "grow" with each step, and I have enjoyed learning how standing and running worked, and figuring out to replicate that - at least in part on this build. The next update will show the Main Course "Brailed Up". Ernest

Very well executed diorama. The models are well built and it must have taken a lot of work to modify them for the fire and smoke. Ernest

Superb build Max! The camo is spot on and exceptionally well airbrushed. Your photography is very realistic as well! Ernest

Beautiful build Alain! You did a first rate job on the PE and scratchbuilding and the camo is very eye-catching. Ernest

Awesome work Paolo. You got the camo perfect. The "night" photography is stunningly executed as well! Ernest

Very nice work all arond! Ernest

Wonderful build! The base is quite clever. Ernest

Progress continues on the sails. I have shaped the sails that will be deployed, and prepared the sails that will be clewed or brailed up. I bent both the main Royal Sail and the main Topgallant Sail to their yards during the last bench session. The following photos show some of the progess of that. The main Topgallant Sail after shaping, and awaiting some final prep work before the process of bending it to its yard begins. I used the kit sails as forms to shape the sails that will be deployed. I did this by watering down white glue 50/50and brushing it on the sails while they were laid atop the kit sails. This worked pretty well, and I can also do further shaping as required because while the sails have been stiffened they are still flexible. The stiffening process also helps greatly reduce any fraying. The lower corners of actual sails during the age of sail had rope looped through them. This was reinforced by banding or wrapping additional rope and sewing it into the fabric of the sail. I final band was added just past the tip to give the loop final form and strengthen it as well. I replicated as much of this as possible in scale to try and get a more realistic look. The first shot shows the front of a corner and the second the rear. The main Royal Sail bent on it's yard and clewed up. The main Topgallant Sail bent on its yard. I was very happy with how this turned out though the process is very concentration intensive as you have to make sure you run the bending line correctly, don't cross other lines, and keep any blocks free. I had to re-run a couple of wraps to correct one of those issues. I'll be honest that I am suddering at the thought of bending the main and fore Courses to their yards given how "busy" those two yards are. A close up of the Topgallant sail on the yard. The only wrap that I did not nail was the center one. Due to the amount of "stuff" where the yard and mast meet, I could not thread the line like I wanted. I am going to try a different tack on the next sail in this area. Rear view of the main Topgallant Sail. You can see just how many lines there are, and this is not all of them! I ran the clew line and the sheet lines. The clew lines are the slightly smaller ones that I have used to clew up the Royal Sail. The thicker lines running through the blocks are the sheet lines. I will place all these out of the way when I step the mast and run the lower shrouds and stays. Finally a close up of the rear of the clewed up Royal Sail. You can see one of the clew blocks doing the job it's name implies. I am trying to make both the standing and running rigging as accurate and functional as possible, taking scale limitations into account. When I clew up the Royals for all three masts I am actually running the lines and pulling them to shape and position the sails as they would have looked when clewed up. Clewing up the Royals is actually pretty easy as there is not a lot of lines for those sails and figuring out how to "work" them was really not that hard. On the other hand, "Brailing Up" the main and fore Courses is going to be a much more complex process as there are several different lines and blocks that have to be "worked" to get the right look. I am looking at that project with a bit of trepidation to be honest. Well, the "top hamper" is starting to take shape. Hopefully in a few weeks the sails will be mounted, the masts stepped and secured, and the standing rigging complete, but it is a slow process. Ernest

Thank you D.B.! I am hope for fair winds and water as well! Ernest

Though I have not posted any updates recently, I have been either researching or testing techniques on mockups. After a lot of reading about how running rigging actually worked, and then testing some ideas over several bench sessions, I finally arrived at the stage where I feel like I can put the sails on the yards and then either rig to show them brailed or clewed up, or deployed to catch the wind. Following is the Mizzen Royal sail, that I have rigged clewed up. Detail shot of part of the sail "bent" to the yard. Due to the scale it is not possible to bend sails to the yards as they would have actually been, so I used a technique I learned from a very good sailing ship modeler. Though I did not get everything perfect it actually looks pretty good when the entire process is complete - IMHO that is! This poor shot shows the two different lines that were either attached to the lower corners of smaller sails, such a Royals; or blocks positioned at the lower corners of larger sails. The smaller line on this sail will be run through the clew block and the larger line will be run through a pair of blocks on the Topgallant yard below the Royal sail. The lines in place. On actual ships they work in together as we shall see. Ok stupid me, ignore the image above, below is the correct one. The small frays will not be seen once I have clewed the sail up. For sails that will be displayed as deployed I will have to make sure I get them cleaned up. An example of how this part of the running rigging works. I have pulled on the clew line (the smaller one) to bring the corner of the sail towards the center of the yard. The heavier lower would have been slackened on real ships to allow the sail to be clewed up. The process was reversed when the sail was deployed. Though I still need to make some adjustments to the footropes, and do some minor forming of the sail, it has now been "clewed up" just as it would have been on sailing ships of the day. I brushed on watered down white glue so that I could shape the sail and also stiffen it in place when dry. I then bunched it as would have been done on an actual ship and tied off what were known as long reef lines to finalize the placement. I made sure to keep the two rigging lines clear as they will be run down to their respective location on belay pins and tied off later on. Photo of the front. Again, I did not do a perfect job here, but I think it looks the part. I still need to do some minor cleaning up and shaping, but this Royal sail is almost done. I plan to do the Main and Fore Royals next. The huge challenge is going to be "brailing up" the Main and Fore Courses as there are a lot more moving parts and the yards are much more crowded than the Royal yards. Keeping my fingers crossed I am up to the challenge. Ernest

Hi Ray, both my research and several discussions with knowledgeable ship modelers point to the fact that the sails on American warships dueing the War of 1812 period were white. According to the experts, this was due to the type of cotton and the cloth making techniques used in America during the early 1800's. So I plan to leave them the slightly off-white color they are. Ernest

Great story OBG, I got a good laugh! Ernest

Happy belated birthday Mike! I hope you have many more ahead of you! Ernest

Very well built, painted and weathered. Cool vignette as well! Ernest

Very clever display of an attractive model! Ernest

Suberb work as always Dave. The weathering on the wings, the replication of the wood fuselage and the figures uniforms especially stand out. Ernest

Superb work Denis! Both your scratch building and your paint work is first class. A joy to look at! Ernest

Very attractive build Tom! Ernest

A fair amount of work finished for a small update. As the shrouds/ratlines on the fore topmast look pretty much like the one for the main topmast I will spare you all a bunch of photos that look almost the same. This completes the topmast and top gallantmast shrouds/ratlines for all three masts. Overall they turned out fairly nice and look much better than the soft plastic pieces that are in the kit. I should now be considered an Able Seaman when it comes to tying clove hitch knots! Following are two shots of the finished work. I tried to take a photo showing the center line that is run for all topgallant shrouds. On actual ships of the time these were tied off on or near the lower center deadeye to provide stability. I ran and tied off the line as it would have been on the real ship. You can just make it out running behind the shrouds/ratlines. Finally, here is one of the sails, it is the Foretop Sail, I had made to use on the build. It is made out of a material called Silkspan and whoever the seamstress is that made the sails he or she is very talented - the sails look great. Shaping and attaching them are going to be a yet another first time challenge for me. And I see some very slow methodical work in my future. I'll have to attach the Fore and Main Courses, and all three of the Royal Sails (which will be very loosely furled) with the yards on the masts. Because I opted to rig both the main and fore yards more realistically then called for in the instructions those to yards had to be attached to the masts fairly early one. As for the Royal yards, that was a stupid mistake by me gluing them to the masts. I am sure attaching the sails to those yards is going to be as fun as a barrel of monkeys. Ernest

Excellent work, the NMF turned quite nice! Ernest

John I think you will like the movie. It is too bad it did not do well enough at the box office to generate sequels. Ernest