Gun port lids. After some debate I decided to make my ship somewhat unique in the SC&H fleet by outfitting her with closed gun ports. I love the black and white checkerboard look of these sailing ships and you really lose that without the lids. Since I don't envision trying to do a broadside of working guns anytime soon I also decided to not even cut out the gun ports.

The lids themselves were made from thin basswood strips. The hinges were made from copper tape painted bronze color, with pin marks to simulate bolts and small metal rings on each end. To finish the look I added a white rhombus shaped detail cut from plastic in the middle. Considering the time it took to finish all twenty I can only marvel at the people who tackle the Victory size models with their 100+ guns.

As a side note, I tried six or seven times to draw a rhombus pattern using ruler, pencil and Mark I eyeball... with little success. Who knew it was so hard to draw and cut a tiny rhombus? My bemused wife got on the computer, imputed the dimensions in Word and printed it out in about 30 seconds. Guess she wants her namesake to look prim and proper lol.

Deck. Next I squeezed the deck into the hull and clamped down the bulwarks to get a feel for how it will eventually get glued together. I had to do a little bit of sanding on the bulwarks to get them to fit tightly. Right now I'm thinking of using Bondo like Dan did for the underside waterproof seal. This looks to be the most challenging part of the entire build.

Crew. Meanwhile the Theresa Maries made their first inspection of the shipyard. Not a bad looking crew so far: Captain, 3 officers, 1 midshipman, 2 dignitaries and 9 seamen. Press gangs may be out looking for more in the future.

Gun #1. While I studied all the steps needed to glue the deck and bulwarks in place, I took some time to assemble the gun carriages. I painted one cannon bronze to see how it would look. I'm thinking of extending the forecastle a little bit and rigging one or two bow chasers up top. Since she won't be brandishing broadsides, having some cannons with gun crew upfront might be a nice touch.

Week 5