The next day, when the frame had sufficiently dried, I took an assessment of straightness and stability of the frame. my build slip had done it's job very well......the deck areas were flat, and the warpage had been corrected, giving me a straight hull frame. I want to do a couple of embellishments to the build. one is the area where the life boats are located. pictures that I have of the original ship, show that there is a rack of sorts between the fore and main masts. there is a front and rear stanchion, and a long rectangular raised structure in between. I can see something sitting on top of it......a Hawser Reel perhaps {more research needed}or something similar. there are also rectangular boxes {with lids} lining both sides of the rectangular structure.....sail lockers, I figure them to be.
On the top, along with the life boats, are gaffs and poles, and tackle, hung like drying meats from the stanchions. I began by cementing in the bow stem rib extensions and the lower stern transom shelves. in doing the transom shelves, I found that I had miscalculated with the height of the stern stem brackets on my build slip. sure that I wouldn't have need of them to be that high, I cut them down, doing the same to the bow brackets as well.
The other embellishment I want to make, is to give the stern an open look. I want to open up the windows, so that light will shine through, highlighting the stern quarters. to do that, I will have to omit a couple of parts, and frame it in, so not to loose the strength of the frame. this will also give me something to cement the outer skins to. the window plates are very nicely detailed, by doing this will bring them out a lot more.
here, I have the upper transom shelf and the rear transom plate......I must omit the plate, and the "blinds", in order to open up the windows. I will also have to remove the upper stern stem and make a thinner wall, positioning it between the window partitions, as close to the center as I can. seeing that there are five windows on the aft wall, I may make two wall partitions and create a hallway in the center, with a window at the end of the hall. painting the inner walls a bright color, I can then flesh out doors and perhaps some furnishings.......but not too much......at this scale, it's best not to get too crazy!
As can be seen in these pictures, I have drawn out the center line on the deck and outlined the ribs. from here, I can figure the planking length for the decks, perhaps with simulated treenails. there are a few other aspects that I want to put into it. the kit does have some ornamentation, most of it pertaining to the bow.... .......but what about the stern? I'm looking into that......I'll let you know what I find. I'll leave you with a couple shots of the decks and the lines I drew. AHOY!!!
Oh, I almost forgot!!! I don't know if you noticed, but I have a different table! yea......my oldest son had a drafting table that he wasn't using.......he told me if I wanted it, I could have it. I took him up on the offer, and he brought it over the day after we moved. once I set it up, I found that my tools took up too much room, so I brought my old build table back into the mix. now I have quite a build center.......the admiral says that I am taking over the computer room. she might have a point there.........now if i can figure out a place for the computers..........*wink*
