I am building the fictional version of this ship.

Following along 🤗

I will not create a full Build Log for the hull, however where I run into things that might be helpful to other DDM builders of this kit, I'll post my thoughts, advice, etc and photos as they pop up.

1. Be extra cautious when moving the hull structure around in the initial phases of building the superstructure. The MDF pieces are tough but they will break-off. I broke one off (the second bulkhead extension), but I fixed it with PVA and a clamp.

2. See the close-up here of the stern "skeleton;" I include this close-up to emphasize that this is a delicate assembly that requires some very adroit handling (and clamping) while getting two critical stern support pieces into position and subsequently gluing them. The necessary clamping is tricky and one could easily break these stern pieces.

3. One more item: the yellow tape (Tamiya, could be any tape you have on your bench) is positioned across the gunport pieces to insure that they don't end up on the floor as you continue to work on the superstructure. These pieces are designated for specific positions and when they are inserted at this stage, they are not glued! This means that some may fall off. These gunport pieces are laser marked on the sheet, but NOT ON THE PIECES THEMSELVES. I marked the numbers in pencil on them and an arrow indicating which end is up.

So far, all the many pieces fit together with perfection. I'm amazed at the tolerances on these parts- I've measured +/- .010. Only minor char sanding is required on the MDF and a handful of pear pieces.

Take your time when fitting the longitudinal support spars; it is all too easy to press these into the bulkhead extension with too much finger pressure. We all know what happens then (item 1)...

4. Anybody need some bubblewrap?

Lean n' mean fighting machine.

Don't let the gunport frames escape. You DON'T GLUE THEM into position at this stage of the build.

Be VERY careful when manipulating the two MDF stern frame supports.

Good start, Ron! I know you can do it. 😜

13 minutes ago, IgorCapinos said:

Good start, Ron! I know you can do it. 😜

Thanks for your encouragement, Igor. Warms my heart...😂

A heads-up, hopefully to eliminate any confusion encountered.

On Page 33 of the Build Manual there is a photo that appears to be of the stern of the Grecian kit juxtaposed and adjacent to a closeup of installing the main cabin rudder trunk and cabinets for Surprise. I did a double take at first, wondering why there wasn't a tab to remove with pliers. Did I miss a page?

Fugedaboudit. No Tab. No Pliers. Move on. Ignore the photo.

Good luck and thanks for creating a log. I will be following.

9 hours ago, modelshipdood said:

On Page 33 of the Build Manual there is a photo that appears to be of the stern of the Grecian kit juxtaposed

@Chris Watton 😆

Lot's of fun with your little lady. I am really sure that you will build a wonderful model of her.

Yes, there is an 'anomaly' on page 33. I used the Harpy manual file as a template for Surprise, also being A4. Somehow, this errant pic was not removed when compiling the Surprise manual. This will be correct for the second run of prints, but it does not affect the build sequence at all for Surprise.

No matter how many times I check these things before comitting to print, there's always something that slips through...

Corrected page:

This will be a nice one! Looking forward for your updates!

6 hours ago, AnobiumPunctatum said:

Lot's of fun with your little lady. I am really sure that you will build a wonderful model of her.

Thank You. Much appreciated. Like others here, I've been excited to get the latest from Vanguard and to jump into the deep end once again!

5 hours ago, Ronald-V said:

This will be a nice one! Looking forward for your updates!

Thanks so much. My updates in the early stages will be infrequent. If I run into something that could help others avoid a problem, I'll post it. Should I bash anything significantly (I don't anticipate this), I'll post what I've done. Many of my early "creative decisions" will be about finish and color choices.

6 hours ago, Chris Watton said:

it does not affect the build sequence at all for Surprise.

The Terror of The Template File! eeeeekk... You're correct, of course, this anomaly doesn't affect anything, it's just a "false flag."😆

looking good from here, a day or so ahead of me

I have finished fairing on the interior and exterior and installed the gundeck and interior lasered pear inner bulwarks pieces.

When it comes time to mount the gundeck, simple gluing along the centerline won't be adequate to fully secure this piece to the superstructure's lattice of beams. I diluted PVA and used a brush to add glue to the numerous beams; this was done briskly so that the glue wouldn't dry by the time I had finished applying it. I immediately maneuvered the one-piece limewood deck into place, aligning the open spaces (mast holes, bitts, etc) carefully so they lined-up. I suggest clamping the edges of the gundeck to the beams all around. As shown here, there is space to fasten small clamps. The photo here shows that you can never have too many clamps! These edge clamps were in addition to placing heavy objects along the center of the deck fore and aft and clamps and at the edges of most center openings. Although the inner bulwarks (and spirketting) will provide downward pressure on the deck's edges after they're added, I wanted to make sure the deck's curvature conformed tightly to the beams, especially in the waist which will be visible when my build is finished.

At this stage I added the grey stain I've chosen for my decks (gundeck and - critically - the weatherdeck to be installed much later). The stain color I applied is a single brushed on coat of Minwax "Weathered Oak." Although a majority of this deck will be hidden from view, the waist area will be visible. I also want this underdeck color to conform to the top weatherdeck.

In the photo here that shows the interior stern area (as well as a portion of the inner bulwark), you can see the rudder box and cabinets are colored. The stain I've chosen here is Minwax "Natural." I'll be using this natural stain throughout my build on most of the pear components, interior and exterior. I've followed the manual for the gunport linings, but chose a darker hue of red (Crimson). I'll be following the manual on many of the black components but I will likely choose a non-glossy matte.

Obviously, these color choices deviate substantially from the build shown in the Manual. I prefer to present my ship models in a realistic, "slice-of-life" style, especially when I'm choosing to present them in seascape dioramas. Most sailing ships I've been on (and some steel navy ones too), the decks are some shade of grey.

Clamp the edges of the gundeck while the glue sets. No Weathered Oak stain applied yet!

A lime wood piece shows the sharp color contrast between the weathered oak stain and the unstained deck material.

The stern has been colored with Minwax natural stain while the cabin wall (pear inner bulwark) hasn't been stained yet. Although the deck in this area won't be easily seen, it will be in the waist and on the weatherdeck; I wanted a visual color match with these two decks. In fact, I may add a second grey (weathered oak) coat to darken the top deck.

Edited July 13Jul 13 by modelshipdood
Did I mention that I HATE auto-correct!!

That deck stain has come out really well, looking forward to seeing the overall effect contrasting with the bulwark colour, are you going Red or Yellow Ochre?

Thank You. I haven't decided yet but I'm leaning toward using neither Red nor Ochre. I'm also not coloring the cabin or screens in the ivory color Jim chose, leaving this (mostly) unseen area in a Natural stain.

As I've never used it, I always wondered how glue reacted to surfaces where everything has minwax coating it.

Obviously, it makes sense to do areas before lots of details are added, but is there no issue doing this?

Jim,

Here in the States a lot of people use Minwax products. In my model ships at some point I use it quite often. It has never posed a problem with gluing other pieces later.