Hello all,

I started this build on May 29, 2021. I’ll be updating this build log with my progress to date before continuing to document the build as I move forward.

Harshil

Bulkhead former, keel, and stem

Build started on May 29, 2021

Bulkheads

Harshil

Stern Framing

Harshil

Hull and Gun Port Framing

Harshil

Planking Above the Wales

Harshil

Planking Above the Wales (continued)

Planking Below the Wales

Harshil

Planking Below the Wales (continued)

Finishing above the wales with tung oil, and below the wales with wipe on poly

Harshil

Painting the Exterior

Harshil

Fixing Planks Around the Quarter Gallery

Rudder Opening and Stern Post

Fixing Planks at the Lower Counter

Harshil

Quarter Gallery Construction

Ship Name (Trials)

Ship Name (Final Trial)

Planking the Internals

Harshil

Quarter Gallery Construction (continued)

Starting to Plank the Deck

Planking the Deck

Harshil

Planking the Deck (continued)

Building the Windows

Harshil

I was not able to find some photos from earlier in the build (e.g., planking and painting the bulwarks), but I was able to get most of them.

The previous post should be around the April 2023 mark, and this is where I took a pause on the build as I was relocating to Australia. I resumed the build on 17th January 2026.

Ladders

Quarter Gallery Tiles

Note (Based on comments from Werner Weiss - paraphrased): The floor of the great cabin was likely laid out using a cloth with a chessboard pattern, so there would not likely have been tile edges.

Cannons and Carriages

Harshil

External Hull Details

Scuppers

Scuppers inboard:

Scuppers inboard:

Blackening them with Casey's Blackening solution

Once installed, shading them with pencil:

Eyebolts

Harshil

I continued working on the stern details. The quarter gallery drop was a bit too thin for my model, so I glued some strips of wood at its back before priming and painting it. Once it was installed on the model, I filled the gaps with wood glue and painted once dry.

To install the figures, the cap rail were first notched and painted black:

The tiny gaps between the figures and the notched cap rail were filled with the wood filler, and painted black.

Once all the figures were installed, I noticed that the plans had the side figures facing 45 deg outwards (rather than facing directly aft). So then I removed them, cut out the cap rail, and sanded them at the appropriate angle before gluing them back in:

I previously wanted to try carving the scrollwork myself. But then I found a post by @yancovitch (which is unfortunately now deleted because of the MSW wipeout, otherwise I'd have posted a link here) and thought to try out these steps instead. Below are some photos of my attempt. I applied 2 coats using the CA glue shown. I needed to be careful not to apply too much, otherwise the surface tension of the glue wouldn’t hold and would overflow from the sides. 

And here is the end result:

Once the CA glue dried, I applied primer and painted them. Gluing them to the model was very finicky, especially the smaller pieces. I used a wood glue for most of the surface area, and a bit of CA glue in localised spots. I found that this helped me make tiny adjustments to their locations.

Here is how it turned out:

Next, I started working on the rudder. Assembling the pieces was fairly straight forward. But sanding it to the correct shape did take some thinking. First, the forward edge of the rudder was sanded to have a triangular cross-sectional shape:

Then, after reading some sources (TFFM books and Naiad), I found that the taper of the rudder is only from the top to the bottom (and unknown for forward to aft ). Based on this, I only tapered it in one direction from top to bottom.

I drew some lines with pencil indicating the final thickness. I then sanded the rudder slowly, making gradual progress constantly flipping it to try to be as symmetric as possible. Sanding was done by dragging the rudder on sanding paper glued to a flat sheet of wood (rather than holding the sand paper and fixing the rudder). Below are the final results.

Then applied 2 coats of tung oil:

Now, I am slowly making progress with the pintles. These are very tricky to make. I found the gudgeons are a lot harder to make since they are longer strips of brass. I will focus on that next. I am using CA glue to attach the pins to the pintles. They are not very secure though...

Harshil

All the to-do tasks prior to the chapter on cannons on the instruction manual are now completed! I went backwards on the manual, and wrapped up all the bits and pieces which were remaining from prior chapters.

Firstly, I decided to simulate the fake window panes on the side windows. I mixed up some black with small portions of white, to create a dark grey paint mix, which I then painted on card stock. The side windows were then removed carefully, then I traced the outlines on the card stock, and used a sharp blade to cut the grey panels to shape. Small portion of glue was then used to glue the grey panels to the window frame, then glued back to the ship itself.

Next, I carried on with the rudder assembly. As mentioned previously, this was very finicky. The gudgeons and pintles were dry fitted to make sure they contoured the hull and rudder properly. To make sure they fitted well, I bent them to a tighter fit, so when they are on the hull/rudder, they were secured well.

Once I was somewhat happy with the dry-fitting, the parts were blackened. I decided to omit simulating the bolts. I found that getting consistently shaped CA glue droplets at regular intervals and in a straight line close to impossible. Once blackened, I dry-fitted the parts, and used a thin piece of scrap wood (as shown below) to create a gap, which was wide enough for a toothpick to fit through to apply some glue with. I used gorilla wood glue, and tiny droplets of CA to secure them in position:

I was pleasantly surprised by how this turned out. In my previous models, this was one of the most trickiest part of the build. This is the reason why I skipped this part previously to work on more attainable bits of the model. And to my additonal surprise, the rudder does swivel while being very close to the stern post.

Another thing to note, I remembered posts prior the MSW crash, the rudder needs to sit slightly higher than the keel, to prevent it from knocking on the sea floor.

Lastly, all the hinges to the closed ports were installed. I used diluted aliphatic resin to secure them. Below is the final outcome of the above. Next I will continue with securing and rigging the carriages to the ship.

Harshil

Continuing with the cannons and carriages - from my previous Syren build, I remembered wanting a more secure way to fix the carriages in place rather than gluing them directly to the deck. Before the MSW crash, I came across Stuntflyer’s builds, where he drilled holes into the deck and secured the carriages with pins. I liked that approach and decided to follow the same method here.

To locate where the holes need to be drilled, I lightly marked the location of carriage wheels and axle (POV from directly above the carriage):

Next, the intersection of these lines indicated where the hole needs to be drilled. Also, when fabricating the carriages, I drilled holes to the wheels, which could accomodate the pins. Here is a photo showing the pins, and the holes on deck:

I am a huge fan of this method, the carriages are very secure, even without glue. Here are a couple of photos showing all the carriages in position after securing them with pins using the above method:

I also started on rigging the cannons. I am finding this very challenging, but I think after doing a couple of them I’ll start to get into a groove.

I ended up not following the method shown in the instructions, as having a predone breech line makes it a bit difficult to make tiny adjustments. Instead, these are the steps that I found are working for me: First, gluing the middle of the rope to the cannon. Next, inserting both ends of the rope through the rings on either side of the carriage. I then used tweesers to create a tight bend to where the ring is located (to make the rope look like it has weight). This was then followed by tying half-hitch knots to the eyebolts. Next, making tiny adjustments to the position of the half-hitch to make sure the rope droops at a consistent length on both sides. Finally, cutting off the excess rope, and seizing the end.

Below are a couple photos of the outcome:

Harshil

And now this brings me to where I am currently at with the build.

It took a while, but I’ve finally reached a significant milestone: all the cannons are now glued to the deck and rigged with their breech lines.

Below are a few photos of the progress:

The next step is tackling the gun tackles! 😁

Harshil

Fantastic build. I had been following along previously and am looking forward to continuing.