Friday, August 25th, 2023

I applied a quick coat of oil for wood to even out the color of the various pieces . .

01 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823111138.jpg


In this second image you can see the slight adjustments I had to make on the portside hawse lock to be able to fix it in the correct position . .

02 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823111145.jpg


Some general views of the model as it appears today . .

03 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823182128.jpg


04 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823182144.jpg


05 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823182154.jpg


06 La Belle Photos/IMG20230823182216.jpg


See you soon.
Jack Aubrey

Monday, October 23rd, 2023


In my previous message I highlighted two problems that arose during the installation of the stringers inside the hull.

The first problem, the one linked to the shape of the hawse oarlocks, is quite evident: its curvature does not exactly follow the trend of the stringers in the remaining parts of the hull. The problem could be due to an incorrect execution of the activities related to their building, quite complex in truth, or to the chosen construction method.

Honestly, I'm not able to understand what exactly happened: perhaps more effective templates were needed to more precisely define the internal and external shape of the piece. The kit offers two templates for the upper and lower ends, perhaps, to achieve a better result, others would have been needed in the intermediate areas.

The second problem, however, is linked to the shape of the frames themselves: some show a clear discordance with the previous or subsequent frames, resulting in a trend with humps on the stringers. This second problem is easier to control but highlights, in my opinion, an incorrect method for assembling the individual frames. In my opinion there would have been a more accurate one.

In my message of July 17, 2023 I showed some frames assembled according to the method proposed by Hachette. As you can see, Hachette supplies an MDF element that acts as a spacer for the upper ends of the frame itself. This element ensures that the frame has the right width.
However, nothing is provided to control the shape of the frame in the lower part of it.
To overcome this problem, see message dated 19 July 2023, with the clear intention of allowing a more correct assembly, at least from a mirrored perspective, I have prepared a grid over which to build the frame itself.
With hindsight I can write that it would have been better to have a printout underneath with the precise, total shape of the frame, as it's also recommended by various sources.

In theory I could have done it, as I have the original drawings of Boudriot's "La Belle" monography.

But it's a shame that these drawings are in a different scale so I hadn't thought it necessary to do all the work of modifying the drawings. And now I'm paying the price: for the external part of the frame the problem can be fixed later quite easily when I'll have to plank externally, but for the internal part this has almost always proven impossible.

I don't know how clear I was in my exposition. If you have problems following my reasoning, ask and I will try to do what I can to clarify.
Best regards, Jack Aubrey.

I'm trying to adopt a bi-lingual style of posting messages; perhaps may be useful to someone ?

Wednesday, October 25th, 2023

Il lavoro continua. Ho aggiunto un paio di nuovi bagli e, sopratutto ho aggiunto una paratia che divide la stiva di poppa dal resto dello scafo. Nelle due foto che seguono si può osservare la paratia abbastanza facilmente, sia davanti che dietro.

My work continues. I added a couple of new beams and, above all, I added a bulkhead that keeps separate the stern hold from the rest of the hull. In the following two images you can see this bulkhead quite easily, both front and rear.

01 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231025192030.jpg


02 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231025192047.jpg


Thursday, October 26th, 2023

Aggiunto altri due bagli. La paratia comincia ad essere meno visibile nelle foto. Osservare i dettagli nella stiva diventa sempre più complicato . . .

Here I added two more beams. The bulkhead is now starting to be less visible in these photos. Observing the details in the hold becomes from now on increasingly complicated . . .

01 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231026181422.jpg


02 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231026181453.jpg


Monday, October 30th, 2023

Altri bagli aggiunti: qui è presente una variante in coincidenza con un probabile apertura sul ponte. Queste foto, a differenza di quasi tutte le altre, sono state scattate alla luce naturale; da qui la differenza evidente di colore. Inoltre i bagli più chiari non sono ancora stati trattati con olio impregnante e ravvivante per legno.

Below other beams added: here there is a variant coinciding with a probable opening on the deck. These photos, unlike almost all the others, were taken in daylight; hence the obvious color difference. Furthermore, the lighter beams have not yet been treated with the wood impregnating and reviving oil that I usually apply.

01 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231030102953.jpg


02 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231030103021.jpg


03 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231030103031.jpg


04 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231030103046.jpg


05 La Belle Photos/2023-10-30/IMG20231030103059.jpg


A questo punto è prevista una nuova paratia che dovrebbe creare una ulteriore nuova area nella stiva.

At this point a new bulkhead is planned which should create a further new separated area in the hold.

Best regards, Jack Aubrey.

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

In recent days I started installing the beams in the bow area. However, before applying the beams, I had to install a small platform positioned at the bottom of the hold.

And here I ran into an error in the assembly instructions that made me install this platform in correspondence with the wrong frame: in short, I applied the platform starting from frame VI while the correct one was VII. The problem is that by the time I realized it, it was too late.

And this error emerged a few building instructions issues later, when I had to apply a bulkhead at the bow (similar to the other two I already applied at the stern): this had to fall exactly next to the platform but due to the error this was not possible and the bulkhead fell on it.

Consequently I took the liberty of modifying the model as you can see in the image below (and also in the last one). Purists will probably be shocked but unfortunately that's how it happened. This fact teaches me that it is always better to read well beyond the dossier you are working on.

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In questi giorni ho iniziato ad installare i bagli nella zona di prua. Però, prima di applicare i bagli, ho dovuto installare una piccola piattaforma posizionata in fondo alla stiva.

E qui sono incappato in un errore presente nelle istruzioni di montaggio che mi hanno fatto installare questa piattaforma in corrispondenza di un ordinata sbagliata: in breve ho applicato la piattaforma a partire dall'ordinata VI mentre quella corretta era la VII. Il problema è che quando me ne sono accorto era ormai troppo tardi.

E questo errore è emerso alcuni fascicoli dopo, quando ho dovuto applicare una paratia a prua (simile alle altre due già applicate a poppa): questa doveva cadere esattamente a lato della piattaforma ma a causa dell'errore ciò non è stato possibile e la paratia vi cadeva sopra.

Di conseguenza mi sono preso la libertà di modificare il modello come potete osservare nell'immagine qui sotto (e anche nell'ultima). I puristi rimarranno probabilmente sconvolti ma purtroppo è andata così. Il fatto mi insegna che conviene sempre andare a leggere ben oltre il fascicolo su cui si sta lavorando.

01 La Belle Photos/2023-11-15/IMG20231115104704.jpg


02 La Belle Photos/2023-11-15/IMG20231115104712.jpg


03 La Belle Photos/2023-11-15/IMG20231115104723.jpg


04 La Belle Photos/2023-11-15/IMG20231115104730.jpg


05 La Belle Photos/2023-11-15/IMG20231115104800.jpg


Alla prossima . .
See you nezt time . . .

Best regards, Jack Aubrey.