3 hours ago, myxyzptlyk2003 said:

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.

Thanks. That's good to know. Using something like that always held me back when I considered gluing extra details.

6 hours ago, Jim H said:

I always wondered how glue reacted to surfaces where everything has minwax coating it.

Jim, I've never had an issue with adhesives not working after applying the Minwax brand solvent-based stains. Minwax is also the brand for "Wipe-On Poly" that is not solvent-based but a "plastic" finish coating. I occasionally use this finishing product.

Wow you are making rapid progressnand it looks great. My next task is to fair the hull.

2 hours ago, Glenn-UK said:

Wow you are making rapid progressnand it looks great. My next task is to fair the hull.

Thanks Glenn, as you know, use caution when sanding the bulwark interiors. It’s so easy to inadvertently snap-off a protruding bulkhead as your doing this necessary task.

5 hours ago, modelshipdood said:

Thanks Glenn, as you know, use caution when sanding the bulwark interiors. It’s so easy to inadvertently snap-off a protruding bulkhead as your doing this necessary task.

Many thanks. The inner were sanded without damage thankfully. The support beams are in place in readiness for the fairing of the hull.

Because my build of Surprise will not have the topmost weatherdeck's "reveal"cutouts, I'm making some color choices that I think will be more appealing for her final presentation. A lot of the detail that Chris provides in the kit displays the gundeck's nooks n' crannies - and probably most important for most - are the many extras in the Captain's and officer cabins.

On my build, only a small portion of gundeck details to either side of midships will be immediately visible: bitts, stove, pumps, some ledges, beams and supports, etc. I have also chosen to use very little paint and opted for natural stains that I'll carry through the build as well as on the majority of the model's exterior. I love the warmth of the Swiss pear when it is kept in it's natural color; I also want to retain the majority of the detailed laser etching of the planking by use of natural stain rather than the Ochre "checker" color that does a good job of hiding this important realistic detail- inside and out. However, I am choosing to keep the black color on coamings and on a few other deck details (like the skylights and possibly the helm). I'm undecided on the capstan color at the moment; red is certainly an "eye tweaker."

As the Captain of my KIng's frigate, I've chosen to spend my dosh on extra gunpowder and crew provisions (including plenty of limes), rather than expensive paint that all too often ends up looking quite shabby after a couple months at sea...

The brick base was fun to paint but it will be almost entirely covered-up once the stove is mounted. The stove will be visible due to the large open waist, even with the wide gangways.

There will be little to see in this area once the weatherdeck is mounted. I may place the Aubrey/Maturin figures aft so that they can be seen when peering into the stern lights. I'll also likely mount the removable bulkhead screens.

Beautiful work! This kit must be an absolute dream to build......

hamilton

I particularly hoped to see at least one of the surprise builds taking the non-painted route, and from your stated aims my wish is coming true. I support this wholeheartedly! Enjoy the build, and we will enjoy watching :)

8 hours ago, hamilton said:

Beautiful work! This kit must be an absolute dream to build......

hamilton

Thank You, much appreciated. It is a fun build. In my estimation, thus far, the engineering is a landmark for ship kit design. The tolerances on every component continue to impress me. One of the biggest challenges is removing the laser char! - especially on the thick pear sheets. Since I’m not painting but a handful of parts, this is important since I’m mostly using a natural stain. I may also use Watco oil (medium) on the lower hull, particularly at the tuck of the stern.

4 hours ago, Esap said:

I particularly hoped to see at least one of the surprise builds taking the non-painted route, and from your stated aims my wish is coming true. I support this wholeheartedly! Enjoy the build, and we will enjoy watching :)

My goal in minimizing paint usage is to portray my Surprise in a seascape "action," a scene taken from one of the pivotal moments in the Patrick O'Brian novels. I'm leaning toward the livery depicted for the Rose reproduction as seen in the film, Master & Commander (even though Chris' kit is the larger actual captured French ship).

This sounds awesome! Really looking forward to this!

1 minute ago, Donsangria said:

This sounds awesome! Really looking forward to this!

Many thanks.

My first small assembly problem encountered - and then solved. Hopefully, those who are close to this step, working on the six chain pumps on the gundeck, will read the following fix before they run into the same problem I had.

Here's the bottomline, quick (and simple) solution first (then how I fixed my problem - the two photos).

Reference: Page 42, photos 191 & 193.

Before you install the six (6) 33 mm long walnut dowels, sand the tips of all the dowels! Locate the 3D printed pump bodies and test fit them so they will comfortably slide onto these placeholder dowels. After confirming a smooth fit, then glue the dowels into their holes - but be careful with this procedure because the "short pump" dowels will fall right through the holes onto your bench! To prevent this, I held the top of the dowel, eyeballed the position vis-a-vis the middle "tall pump" (that doesn't have this issue and is the guide for the depth) and I then used the very tip of a toothpick to daub a drop of glue onto the sides of the dowels to glue them to the orlop deck (in between the two decks); this space is tight, but it can be done.

If you do this necessary step, you'll easily accomplish the pump mounting, photo 203, page 43.

In case you don't follow this thread or haven't read the above solution in time, you'll need to do the following steps if you've glued the six dowels in-place and subsequently started on the pump assemblies.

STEP #1 FIX All six pumps need to be enlarged to fit on the 3mm dowels comfortably. I used a 3mm drill bit and turned it with my fingers and then I used a countersink to ream the opening slightly so it would more easily slide over the dowel's tip. Exercise caution (especially handling the thin handles) when doing this.

STEP #2 FIX Use a scalpel blade to "whittle" down the 3mm dowels as uniformly as possible. Doing this was time consuming, very fiddly, since I had jumped ahead and installed the bitts which made the fix even harder in this tight spot as shown. I assumed when looking ahead in the Build Manual that the 3D pump bodies would easily slide onto each of the dowels. My bad. Sanding the dowel tips would still have been difficult once glued to the deck without the presence of the mounted bitts.

The speed this is being built is amazing and the build quality is truly stunning.

I just found your build, and will now tag along for the ride. I hadn't realized there were so many builds in the group build section! You are making amazing progress. I really like the Minwax weathered oak on the deck. I'm going to test it for my Harriet Lane.

Tom

Another beautiful build Ron, best of luck with her.

16 hours ago, DocTom said:

I just found your build, and will now tag along for the ride. I hadn't realized there were so many builds in the group build section! You are making amazing progress. I really like the Minwax weathered oak on the deck. I'm going to test it for my Harriet Lane.

Tom

Good idea Tom. Test the stain in an inconspicuous area, see how it looks. Some woods will hold the stain well, and bear in mind that you can darken with additional coats, but rarely more than two.Pick up a small can of Natural as well as WipeOn (satin) poly, you’ll use them both assuming you want a more realistic look to your builds. My preference, obviously.

2 hours ago, driftwood said:

Another beautiful build Ron, best of luck with her.

Thank You, I’m back to my bench after a few months of drought!

On 7/17/2026 at 9:38 AM, Bomber_County said:

The speed this is being built is amazing and the build quality is truly stunning.

Thank you kindly, Phil. I remind my colleagues that I am fortunate that I typically can devote about 4 hrs/day in my workshop.

So many high quality Surprise builds but yours definitely has my attention because of the natural wood look you'll be going for. I'll be really intereted to see how it looks in comparison to the bold black and yellow ocre look on the prototype 🙂