On 7/17/2026 at 2:56 PM, Bomber_County said:

Hope the bites were not to serious, wasps are nasty little predators but do some good deeds for the environment. This built is rocketing along is an amazing feat of wooden engineering in your very capable hands.

i never sought medical help, but was told in no uncertain trems that if the swelling in the side of my chest had been in my neck i could have died, that was by the person i hired to kill the nests off, £300 later the two nest found are now dead,

day 7 17 july 2026 the rib spacers/protectors

i felt like pants today, i itch and generally feel under the wather, i didnt know that Antihistamines make you drowsey

i managed to replace the gunport sides that fell loose and make up the spacer to protect the ribs weh sanding

day 8 faring, the bit i hate the most, and gunport painting

most of the morning was spent sanding, im happy with the results, but more needs to be done, i turned the page over to expect to see planking, but thats not the case in this build, my problem is im a messsy builder and if not faired properly i stand to damage/displace some of the internal fittings correcting it

I was also surprised not to start the planking after the fairing. I suspect that I might need to fair the hull a little bit more when I do start the planking, although it does look OK.

7 minutes ago, Glenn-UK said:

I was also surprised not to start the planking after the fairing. I suspect that I might need to fair the hull a little bit more when I do start the planking, although it does look OK.

its always the stern for me, seeing every angle

Coming along nicely Kev!

Glad to hear you survived your encounter with the yellow stripey stingy things!

Andy

day 13 gun deck and lighting

good evening everyone

day 13 already and ive done about as much work as would have in two days on previous builds

she is being fully lit im using a combination of oranage and yellow flickering leds, i may have overdone it but as the build goes on i will adapt it,

the gundeck is matt varnish on top and painted black under to stop any light bleed

as a side project the carronades are being built up

17 minutes ago, Kevin said:

The gundeck is matt varnish on top and painted black under to stop any light bleed

It is coming along nicely. I will shortly start the carronade construction task.

Many used ago when designing a phantom jet flight simulator for the RAF I ended up using a silver then black paint finish on the underside of the cockpit instrument panels to prevent light bleed through, except for the engraved white text. The silver acted like a mirror to reflect the light backward and away from the front.

I'm looking forward to seeing Surprise all lit up. I'm a huge fan of these flickering lights. One thing I found on my Indy was that the more lights the better. What might feel like overdoing it at this stage looks more understated once more layers and decks and beams and clutter are added. I reckon this is going to look fantastic, but man these lights need a lot of forward planning.

Can anyone recommend a supplier of the lights. If recall there are two types, grain of sand size and normal LED.

34 minutes ago, Bomber_County said:

Can anyone recommend a supplier of the lights. If recall there are two types, grain of sand size and normal LED.

I bought a couple of packs of "Switch Electronics 10 x Flickering Yellow 3mm Candle Effect LED Light Bulbs" from Amazon- about £4 for ten.

All you need then is a 3v battery pack, some lengths of black and red cable (I used 28 gauge), and either a soldering iron (I did it by learning soldering), or, as Kevin has been doing it, some electrical cable connectors.

2 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Can anyone recommend a supplier of the lights. If recall there are two types, grain of sand size and normal LED.

Try Evans Designs in Colorado USA....

33 minutes ago, Sterling59 said:

Try Evans Designs in Colorado USA....

This company has a good website with lots of options for modelers, reasonably priced too.

i use these and a 12 vol power supply, possibly two on this, one for the lower decks and one to do lanterns and cabins, i had intended to use wifi lights with an induction coil but there is nowhere to hide the coill close enouth

30pcs 12 Volt 5mm Orange Flicker LED Lights Emitting Diodes Candle Flickering Lights Pre Wired 7.9 inch DC 12v LED Light Clear Lens Small LED Lamps : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

day 15 inner screens

my airbrush is playing up, its grubby but after a stripdown it still not usable. one dec its fine then blotchy

annyway the screens are in a lemon yellow, was goin to be dark blue but changed my mind, i will varnish these before putting into position

I feel your pain with the airbrush. When they clog they are a pain, but when they work the finish is first class. Sounds as if it needs a bit of a soak in cleaner.

The lemon is striking. Contrasts well with the red I see you are using for the gun deck.

Nice Kevin. I am a bit after you.

Your build looks great. I can’t believe what you accomplished in 15 days.

8 hours ago, RossR said:

Your build looks great. I can’t believe what you accomplished in 15 days.

oh dont look at this one then, im only getting a couple hours in daily but its the new me, it dont like what im left with, but it will have to do HMS Surprise 1796 by modelshipdood - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Page 3 - HMS Surprise - 1796 - Vanguard Model Kit - 1:64 - Dry Dock Modeler

She’s coming along nicely. Will you be doing the rigging or will it be admiralty style?