04.03.2025
 
The work on the drawings is now complete, and I can gradually start the construction. I have scanned all the sheets with parts, as well as all jigs and templates, in case anything gets lost or damaged. This way, I can always reorder a laser-cut part using these scans. In fact, I have already ordered the keel parts to be cut from my pearwood. I wasn’t satisfied with the grain structure of the wood used for the keel parts in the kit, so I decided to make them separately.
While waiting for the keel parts to be made and finishing the copper plating on Victory, I am slowly beginning work on Alert. To optimize workspace and improve efficiency, I have outlined a preparatory plan for the frames before assembling the keel and the building jig:
PREPARATION:​
1. Cleaning – Removing sawdust left by the CNC router to minimize mess later.
2. Numbering – Marking each part with its respective number.
3. Sorting – Extracting and organizing each frame’s parts into separate bags for structured storage.
4. Trimming – Removing milling tabs and ensuring 90-degree angles in rounded router-cut corners. CONSTRUCTION:
5. Gluing – Assembling frame parts using dedicated jigs.
6. Sanding - removing glue and polishing the surface.
7. Shaping – Refining the frames to achieve the correct geometry.
8. Simulating bolts that join the frame parts.

Only after these steps will I proceed with assembling the keel and the building jig, where all these parts will be joined together.

 
 
Chapter 1. Frames​
 
1.1. Cleaning​
 
To minimize constant mess, I tackled the dirtiest part of the work first. (In fact, I did this even before documenting the kit.)
The router left a lot of sawdust on the blanks, most of which I removed using a special vacuum nozzle.
 
However, not all sawdust was easy to remove. Some blanks had smooth cuts, where dust could be easily brushed off and vacuumed. But a few sheets had rougher cuts with fibers that trapped sawdust tightly, requiring me to pick it out with a needle.
 
The most difficult parts were those that hadn’t been milled all the way through. Fortunately, there were very few of these in this kit.
 
As a result, after cleaning, some parts will be easier to work with (only requiring the tabs to be cut), while others will need additional sanding to remove the fibers—but thankfully, not too many.
 
Now, handling the blanks will be much more pleasant without dust constantly falling off. Next, I will move on to numbering all parts—starting with the frames and keel—so I don’t have to waste time searching for the right pieces later.

10.03.2025
 
1.2. Numbering.
Not a very difficult stage, but very important. In order to bring everything to maximum automation and conveyor, you need to prepare everything correctly.
I have already bought 100 zip-bags, in which I will group all the parts for each frame. But first, I need to pick out all these parts from the dies, and there are quite a few of them...
 
So far I have only signed the frame parts and will work only with them until I get them half-ready. Then I can work on the keel parts and only after that I will assemble the slipway. But I think I have already talked about this))
 
 11.03.2025
 
 I printed out the numbers of all the frame pairs on colored paper. There are 77 of them + half-parts, and in total there are 85 zip bags. Now when I take the parts out of the buns, I will put them in the corresponding bags and then work with them: sand, glue and contour. And all this time they will be dry, tidy and in their place. That's how pedantic nerd I am)))

 
12.03.2025
 
1.3. Sorting – Extracting and organizing.
I am shocked myself, but today I completely extracted all the parts of all 85 pairs of frames and sorted them into prepared zip-bags.
Luckily, all the parts are available (there was even one spare) plus 14 additional pentagonal connecting parts.
I extracted them using a scalpel of this shape. By simply pressing along the grain, the holders were cut off. The only thing where there were very large holders, I had to cut them with a jigsaw.
 
In the end, this is what we got. Well, the next stage is cutting the holders and gluing the frame parts together in special templates.

85 zip bags and at least 4 times more parts.
 
14.03.2025
 
1.4. Trimming.
After removing the parts from the molds, you must first remove all the holders so that the parts can be correctly inserted into the gluing templates.
 
Some parts (as shown above) were held on a half-millimeter circular holder along the entire plane. I cut them out with a scalpel and then used nippers to cut off the excess along the perimeter and sanded the correct profile.


But mostly the parts were held on 4-6 holders. They needed to be ground down to the correct geometry, as shown below.

 
I did this with a circular sander. I sanded the outside in the usual way.
 
Since I don't have an oscillator machine, and the angle grinder didn't allow grinding concave parts (the part rested against the rim around the disk), I improved it a little. I cut a recess in the rim (in the table, in fact), and now the part didn't rest against this place.
 
And now I could insert the part into this recess and grind the concave parts.
 
In this way, I prepared 50 sets of frames out of 85 today! So, one more approach and I will glue them in templates (naturally, before this, each part will be slightly adjusted to this template and to each other, so that all fragments of the frame are without gaps in the glue seam.


By the way, the frames in the set consist not only of two parts, but also of 4, 6 and even 7!

 
It's still a bit of a worry for me, but it's going much faster than I thought, and I really like that.
 
Continuing with the already mentioned types of frames (type 1 is one fragment on each side, i.e. two halves; type 2 is exactly like the one in the photo below, made of 4 fragments, two on each side...
 
... type 3 - I showed above, it is from 3 fragments on each side, i.e. 6 parts; and type 4 and 5, I also indicated in the previous post, 7 parts in a frame, different configurations). But there is another type, we can say type 6 - this is a frame that consists of 8 parts, as shown below in the photo. 

 
18.03.2025
 
 So, it turns out that there are as many as 6 types of frames in the set and this is great!

So, we continue to prepare all 6 types of frames for gluing.

From the features, or rather from the flaws in the set! I thought that there were none, but still there were a couple, but it's good that they are not serious.

1. I thought that I had one extra part AL-61-3 (a fragment of a frame), but it turned out that AL-53-1 was also duplicated, BUT! No, what's worse, it turned out to be part AL-55-1. But, fortunately, it is completely the same as the extra AL-53-1, only shorter in the straight section, so I shortened it and replaced the number.

2. The second point is that these are different parts that should be the same. But, here too, I was lucky, because you can always make a smaller one from a larger one)))
 
3. But the third point is a little worse. Parts AL-67-1 and AL-69-1 have different contours after milling. I don't know how critical this will be, I will try to place the defective parts where the frame profiling will take place, and maybe these parts will be ground off. Or I will have to add a little material where there will be a depression, but I think everything will be fine.
 
Let's continue. The half frames were turned in a different way. And after removing them from the die, it was necessary to remove the circular holder.
 
And after I had prepared all 85 sets of frames, I began to prepare them for gluing. And for this, it was necessary to create sharp corners for joining the parts. After the milling cutter, slightly rounded corners remained and I created a sharp angle with a file and corrected the plane, as shown in the photo below.
 
Without these manipulations, the parts cannot fit together as accurately as in the photo below.
 
In order to put it all back together correctly later, I put dots in certain places to mark where and what is connected.
 
Well, those cracks that you see will be filled with glue and after sanding everything will look great.
 
Now all this needs to be taken out and put into the template film and glued in it...
 
 
20.03.2025


1.5. Gluing – Assembling frame parts using dedicated jigs.
(1.6. Sanding - removing glue and polishing the surface).
To prevent the frames from sticking to the templates, you need to use cling film for insulation.
 
I didn't notice how I ran out of good PVA glue and had to glue with office glue (white), which dries for a long time, and therefore I glued the first 10 sets with it. Then I bought Titebond II premium and will glue the rest with it. I checked on samples, the glue seam is the same for both glues, although the second is much more yellow than the office glue. But I will write about the samples in the next post, and there I will also show the results of opening with tung oil and imitation of bolts.
 
To avoid unevenness, I placed dumbbell weights on the blanks to hold them.
 
And after the glue dried, I polished the planes of the frames directly in this template with sandpaper, abrasiveness 240 (I don’t see the point in polishing with a lower abrasive, since then the oil lays down worse than after 240).
 
Then I pulled out the frames...
 
... and polished it on the other side.
 
BUT!!! Then I realized that it is better to do it differently. It is better to immediately pull out all the blanks, take out the film, put them back and polish the first side, and then just turn the template over and push all the frames so that they protrude as an untreated surface. And then polish the second side. This is easier, because it is more difficult to insert the frames from the back side, since their surface jams in some places in the templates and you have to grind it down. But if you insert them as they were and push them deeper, this can be avoided. If the explanation was complicated, I will show later how I did it. Well, after grinding, the 4 mm blank became 3.85 mm. This did not affect the appearance of the dimensions, but made the frame even and smooth.


And here is the result:

 
... I also removed some of the remaining glue and smoothed out the uneven edges... and the frames are ready for the next process.
 
The locks look good, all the seams are more or less the same... and where there are errors, I will use those sides for contouring, and these errors will be sanded down.
 
 
24.03.2025
 
So, in the last post I showed how I made the frames of the front part of the hull. Today I will show how I assembled the frames of the rear part.
In general, everything is very similar, but I did some things a little differently, so I will show you in detail again.

 Spoiler: some of the rear frames had to be redone, because (if you remember, I showed this) there were defective parts and they had to be redone, but I will tell you about this in the next post, but for now...
 
Assembly and adjustment, as with the front frames, was carried out in special templates, which is very convenient. With experience, all manipulations become faster and more accurate.


Then, all the parts are taken out, a film is laid and they are assembled back, but with glue!

 
To prevent the glue from opening the glue seam when drying, I apply a strip of glue over the seam. Then, after drying, I take out the glued frames again and remove the film, check the joints and the accuracy of the glued parts. (In the next post, I will tell you how to fix it if the parts are glued incorrectly, with an offset).
 
Then I cut off the excess glue with a sharp knife to make it easier to polish, because this glue is very strong and sandpaper cannot cope with it, but we get stuck in it.
 
It takes a couple of minutes, but then it saves a lot of time and simplifies the polishing process.

I polish with 240 grit sandpaper.

 
I like it when the joints are so thin and the glue seam looks like a cut =))
  
Then, to polish the back side, I turn the template over...
 
... and I push it so that the frames stick out. This method (compared to how I did it at the beginning) saves a lot of time, since you don't need to take out the frames and you don't need to insert them from the back side, where they usually get jammed and don't want to stick in, since the laser cut on the back side is slightly smaller by microns than on the front.
 
Well, after that, all that remains is to polish the back side and go lightly along the ends, removing excess glue, and the micro-steps and frames are ready for contouring!
 
 So far I really like the pace... let's move on!  =))

 

25.03.2025
 
Remaking defective (and white) parts.

If you remember when I cut off the holders on the milled rams I noticed some parts with milled defects.
 
Some differed from each other (although they are duplicates), and some were even irregularly shaped in pairs. Which led to voids in the template.
 
Half a millimeter may still be permissible (during the final polishing this place is likely to align), but here a millimeter is definitely too much and there will be a depression. Therefore, I decided to redo these details, as well as those that did not completely coincide with the template.
 
I put a sheet of paper under the template and outlined the profile of the part. Then he cut this pattern and found on it a place on the dies where it was possible to place such a size and geometry of the part.
 
And then a very interesting idea came to me... If I have already decided to redo something, so why not redo all the white details?! Light brown will do well with other shades of brown, but the snow-white details are knocked out from the general background. And since there were only 5 of them, plus 4 in defects, there was not much work.
 
One point was that I had already managed to glue some parts (12th and 69th, pictured above).

But we all know that PVA glue is a reversible glue, and if you heat it with an iron, it sticks out.

 
By the way, as promised, I tell you: that if you overlooked and the details stuck together crookedly, then this place can also be heated with an iron through the foil and then you can re-glue it correctly. (The photo below shows that a large step has formed in the glue seam and after warming up, I re-glued it all correctly. The only thing I noticed was such a moment. When heating the clerical (white) PVA, it was easily divided. But Titebond II had to be pulled, it was a lip, stretched like gum and with difficulty, but came off. This is the word about the strength of different PVA. (Plus, in order to simplify grinding at the glue sites, it is advisable to scrape off the glue as soon as it hardens. If you do this in a day, the glue will become very hard and this will complicate its processing. I will talk about this later).
 
So, I decided to redo 9 parts: 4 (marked in red) those that are defective and 5 (marked in blue) those that were made of white wood. They were placed on a suitable size fragment of the die and circled their profile, since I already had them done.
 
It took a very long time to saw all this with a hand jigsaw and I just separated them into separate fragments...
 
... and then the angle grinder gave them the desired shape. This is faster and simply tens of times more predictable.


It was ridiculous when I almost made one part and then turned it over and found that it had traces of a milling cutter right on the work surface... had to be redone again =)))

 
As a result, here is the result of one detail (out of 5) replacing white with a darker one.
 
And here is the replacement of white parts and defective on two pairs of frames.
 
At the end of all the preparatory work and alterations, I glued all the details together...
 
... and now almost the second half of the rear frames is ready for the next stage.
 
I really like that now there are no (at least in the frames) white details and everything looks harmonious, and most importantly without defective details.


The next in line are the one-piece frames of the central part of the hull...
Today I have already started to do them and it is much more difficult and longer than what I have already done. There are more connections, more frames, as many as 41 pieces and I understand that this is for a long time))).

 

26.03.2025

Solid frames.

So, before that there were paired frames, i.e. which consisted of a left and a right half. I have already made 10 front ones (which needed to be glued) and 14 rear ones, now let's move on to the 41st solid frame of the middle part of the ship.

Of the 41 frames: 20 of one type and 21 of another, and each of these frames consists of 7 parts. And accordingly, there will be many times more work on them...

But first, I needed to make one tool that would speed up the processing of one important unit.

 
This is a homemade engraving machine attachment. Where the disk should be fixed (it did not suit me), I made my disk out of wood and sandpaper.


First he gave the disc a perfect round shape...

Then he glued sandpaper on both sides so that he could be processed on both sides at once without changing the position of the engraver.
And as it became clear, all this is for one single part, which came from the set with a 4 mm slot.
But in the template, the simulation of the keel frame is 4.8 mm, although the 5.2 frame itself will be somewhere up to 5 mm after polishing. That is, accordingly, you need to make a 1 mm wider groove in the part. This is most likely done specifically so that when milling from a milling cutter, the acute angle of the workpiece is not damaged.
So I milled 90% of the wood and finished the corner with a file.
Then the part took its place in the template.
Well, then, everything is as before - fitting and replacing white parts. Now, there are only a few of these white connecting parts left, and they will practically not be visible, but I decided to remake them into darker ones.
And one more of these white parts, of which there are several (which is good that there were spare parts in the set, maybe in such a case, although I think they just made a mistake with the number))
After fitting one side, you had to glue it together... By the way, I would like to remind you once again that it is better to remove the glue as soon as it hardens, scraping it off, otherwise, in a day it will be very hard and it will be more difficult to remove it. This is me about Titebond II.
So, solid frames are assembled first in halves...
... after glue hardening, retaining fragment is separated from template, halves of frames are turned over and fitting continues from middle to other side.
The downside is that the fitting and gluing of the first halves can be done at the same time, but the second halves can only be glued one by one, since the other frame, which is standing next to it, is crossed with the others.
That is, the first stage can be done at least with all frames at the same time, but the second stage - with only one at a time (on one side). But if you start working on several templates at once, then with quick-drying glue, the work progresses without pauses and expectations.
By the way, the templates are connected with special clips that prevent them from changing the original geometry.

In total, in 2 days I made 4 full frames...

... and 8 halves of frames...
... that in fact is 8 out of 41 frames and this is 20% of the total. So another 8 days of monotonous repetitive work awaits me... eh... let's go!


02.04.2025

 

Moving on at a fairly good pace. I didn't count, but I definitely made more than half of the solid frames. When I finish, I will show you how to grind such horseshoe-shaped frames so as not to damage them. In the meantime, a couple of life hacks when working with templates.
The most obvious, but not always everyone does this (which leads to deformation when glued or glued to the steps in the glue seam). This is a fixation of glued fragments. The simplest method is to put the template on a perfectly flat surface, and put the load on the frames. In my case, these are dumbbell pancakes.
The second point is the clamps to maintain the correct (original) pattern geometry. So, there are only 9 of these latches. And if you glue the second parts of the frames, then only a maximum of 2 frames can be glued at a time. And in order not to wait until the glue dries and assemble on several templates at once (I do on 3-4 at once), these latches are not enough. Therefore, it is possible to glue ready-made fragments as they are manufactured and no longer use latches in this zone, but use them on new templates.
As shown in the photo below: in the green oval there are already permanently glued fragments, and then in this area no latches are needed (shown by the red oval), and the latches can be used further (shown by the arrows). And those latches that are free - use on a new template.
At this pace, I will soon finish gluing all the frames and you can start contouring them after grinding...

 

04.04.2025
To date, it remains to glue another 8 halves of frames, i.e. in fact 10% of all 41 solid frames. Then grinding everyone and you can start contouring those that are needed, there are about half of all 77 of them. But it still feels that I am already at the finish of the first chapter...
And another small life hack... so that very small edges of the workpiece do not break off (especially if it is on wood fiber), you can glue with cyanocrine that cist that can be chipped during processing.

Below in the photo is a part before processing glued CA and the same after processing.
Today I also decided about wood for the keel frame for the second building, and for replacement in this one. After 1.5 months, I hope the blanks will be sawn into dies and 9 parts of the keel frame will already be cut out on them (the only thing is that I connect the bottom 3 parts and make the joint an imitation, so in fact 7 parts). And that most likely I will have already completed all the frames by this time and will collect the slipway and may even begin to collect the keel. You also need to think over the stand mount... in a word, work is in full swing...
The parts that are highlighted in rainbow colors are the ones that I will redo for the set and the same second set will be for the second case. By the way, I will try to have the Latin numbers on the keel - this time. And the second is the thickening of the keel in its front upper part from 5 mm to 6-6.5 mm, as indicated in the anatomy and which is not in the kit.

 

05.04.2025

 

1.6. Grinding.

 Hooray!... I finished gluing the one-piece frames together. There are 41 of them and a total of 65 frames that had to be glued together. And this stage is over. I finished it 2 days earlier than expected. Now it remains to grind them.
Frames that were halves I already showed how I polished out. Everything is simple there. In a stacked template, everything is first ground on one side. Turn, push and grind on the other side.

It is impossible to do this with solid frames, since they can only be side by side with halves at the same time. Therefore, the grinding method is as follows: on a sheet of sandpaper 240, we grind along the fibers, as indicated in the photo. Yes, this is long (although not very), it is not very convenient (but this is very)), but all surfaces are flat and there is no risk of damaging the frame.
And this is the result...
Left - before and right - after grinding. I think I will cope with 35 remaining ones in a day and then a more interesting procedure - contouring...

 

1.7. Shaping – Refining the frames to achieve the correct geometry.
To make it easier to bring the front and rear frames into the correct geometry, you need to give the most suitable shape. To do this, the set includes not only templates for gluing, but also templates for drawing lines along which grinding will take place.
In the photo above, the 5th and 6th pairs of frames with their templates. There is an internal and external template. We must not forget that we do not make the same halves, but mirror ones! I.e. left half of the frame - mirror right!
We lay the frame between two templates, fix it with clips and draw a line with a pencil.
One moment... by patterns you need to cut the tips along certain lines, but I will not do this, but only draw these lines.
And I will cut it when I adjust the frame under the body. So I will definitely not cut off too much and the connection will be tight. I saw this mistake from other masters that after the cut they had gaps in the joints.
The second point - I extended the length of the grinding zone by about 4 mm. 
In some frames, the cut point falls exactly at the end of the grinding zone. And in this place there may be processing defects, chips or grooves from the abrasive. Therefore, I raised the level a little so that the cut falls on a flat polished surface.
To limit the grinding zone, I made a wedge-shaped notch with a knife.
And so we have a grinding line, a notch on the edge, and now I draw a control line.
And now between these two lines I am grinding the frame, you can say cutting the angle. I do it with a portable engraver with such a nozzle.
I recommend looking at such an angle that the working plane of the abrasive nozzle is parallel to these two lines.
You need to try so that the grinder does not grind these lines, but only the wood (angle) between them. The control line is very important, since when working you clearly see the grinding boundary and do not remove too much!
Well, after I finish finishing the surface with a file. This is not necessary, since after assembly there will still be a general grinding of the case, but I still remove the rough scratch from the grinder and check the correctness of the geometry.

As a result, absolutely symmetrical halves of frames are obtained.
These frames (4th, 5th, and 6th) without lock joints, but! According to the anatomy and even according to the manufacturer's instructions, they should be with them. But I understand that this element has been simplified. I did not want to add locking joints to these frames (this is long and not so easy), but I will make imitation of these joints using a simple method. The silhouette of the lock joint is cut with a knife to a shallow depth, polished and after covering with oil, the lines stand out and become like an adhesive seam.
Well, this is how real locking joints look before and after contouring and grinding.
Another point. Some patterns are not the same length as the frames themselves...
... therefore, these need to be positioned at the bottom edge in the corners, and see that the side contours coincide and if there is a line for cutting the tip too, so that everything matches there.
Well, if there are any doubts about the accuracy of the positioning of the templates, it is better not to completely grind such frames, leaving excess for the formation of the profile after assembly. This will save you from geometry failures.
With solid frames, everything is almost the same, but for convenience I follow the following protocol.
First I apply an internal template, on one side, I draw a line...
... then I turn the same template over and draw an inner line on it on the other side of the frame.
Then I turn over the frame and take the outer template and draw the outer lines...
First, on the one hand, I turn over the template and draw the outer line on the other side of the frame.
So it will be more difficult to get confused where to apply what.
All other stages are exactly the same as with halves. I have already done the front frames, the rear ones remain, and then you can start creating imitation bolts in the places of lock joints.

 

11.04.2025


Who else but me would notice the similarity of the frames with DNA? )))


 

12.04.2025

 

You can congratulate me, I have finally completed the preparation of all 85 sets of frames (and toptimbers).

In some places it was monotonous and 100 times repeated, but the way I did it for the first time - I really liked it! I finished contouring and the frames are completely ready to be fixed to the keel... but! According to my plan, I still have to wait for the imitation of bolts in the joints of the parts of the frames.
And here I have a dilemma. Let's just say that I am very lazy, and I do not like to do something that will practically not be visible. Everything that is inside the case (provided that I will not cut it, but I will not sheathe it with slats either) practically after laying the deck beams will not be visible so as to make bolts inside. I don't have that much time, and I don't have that much desire either.... but outside... they will somehow be missed if they are not made. Drilling and inserting brass wire is definitely not for me. Yes, this is correct, beautiful and I take my hat off to those who do this, but again, there is no time or desire for this.
1.8. Simulating bolts that join the frame parts.
And I have a little option on how to do something similar to imitating bolts, but faster, and I'm interested in your opinion. I conducted small tests coating with tung oil on small fragments of frames. At the joints, I pierced the holes with a regular needle (diameter + - 0.4 mm), at the places where the bolts should be approximately. The puncture was done to a depth of + - 1 mm. And then he polished this place a little with fine sandpaper, filling this puncture with dust from grinding. And then he wiped it with a cloth, blew it and covered it with tung oil. The oil penetrated the injection site and visualized it. And the dust that remained inside the puncture did not make the injection hollow, and the oil sealed it. By the way, I tried to close the injection site with glue, but even without it, the result was exactly the same as with it, so I removed the extra action. The result is this.
The photo does not convey the view that I see, but it is already clear that the dots are different from the frames, they will be simply visible without a hole in general view. Their location is only visual so far. And I remind you that the thickness of the frame is less than 4 mm! By the way, this is approximately what wood looks like without and under tung oil.

To be honest, I expected a little more from cherries. I understand that this is not a pear, but there is a small ripple that wears a little. I'm not even talking about the fact that there are a lot of different colors in the set and in general I already expect a traffic light on the model))) But for a skeleton it is even good, the details are separated one from the other and there is something in this. The second body will be made of pear. It is a pity that teak oil did not show itself as I wanted, but before applying the oil I will definitely make probes and give another chance to teak oil, if not, I will cover it, as I thought it would. Regarding bitumen, this issue will be resolved only after the same probes.
Well, what do you think about imitation bolts.
- to do,
- do, but only outside,
- not to do at all.
Well, when to do it? Now, while all the frames are in disassembly? Or already on the model, which is more logical, since after the main grinding you can walk with a needle, do everything and then finally polish it together with imitation (punctures). But more inclined to the second option...

 

13.04.2025 

At the end of the chapter on frames, I want to add two more points.
The first moment concerns the first three pairs of frames. According to the set instructions, they should be processed using special template stickers. Which is convenient on the one hand, but I do not recommend doing it right away.

An accurate template is good, but you don't have to blindly rely on it alone. After all, we do not collect Lego, and the details are not standard and may change slightly, which accumulates errors and as a result, gaps and inconsistencies will appear without individual adjustments. Therefore, I postponed this step until the assembly of this node.
In this case, I can more predictably adjust the connections that are shown in the oval. And I will try to convey the bends of the case inside as much as possible (shown by red arcs), since in this place it will then be problematic to grind and correct the geometry, especially if there are holes and holes.

The second point concerns the next 3 pairs of frames (4,5,6).
As shown in the drawing below...
... The 4th, 5th and 6th pair of frames also have connections (i.e. do not consist of one fragment). This has already been implemented since the 7th pair. But interestingly, not only in the anatomy of this ship, these frames were prefabricated, but in the instructions for this kit, they also consist of 3 fragments (as shown in the image above). But for some reason, the manufacturer has simplified this knot, which can be corrected.
Anyone who wants to repeat the real connection (as on the 7th pair) on all solid frames (4,5,6) (necessarily before contouring) can cut out a fragment (as shown on the 6th frame) and then paste the connecting fragment there. Yes - this is an extra action, for a long time, but it will be right, but!
Someone who is as lazy as I am can do an imitation of this compound as follows.
Oh yes! A very important point. I did not just arrange the connecting fragments in these specific places. Because (as shown in the drawing above) - these connections are located in certain places (as if in a checkerboard pattern). And in order to know exactly where their place is, it is better to do them at the moment of assembling the case. Assemble dry frames from the 7th and further and then applying the front frames to outline where the connections will be (as shown in the drawing above in the red circle).
So, how to simulate connections on the frames:
First you need to attach the connector patch template and fix it...
... then make the outline of this pattern with the blade. The thickness of the section and its depth are very important here. First, try to do it but the probe, below you will understand why.
Then you need to lightly polish with sandpaper 240-320.
Well, here is the result after coating with tung oil:
And this is why you need to make probes of depth and width of the cut. Since with a large cut, it is visualized more than the glue seam and will be more noticeable, but...
... if you choose the right depth and width of the section, you can completely achieve perfect similarity with the glue seam. But, there is also a consistency here. At the end of the post I will mention it, but for now I will tell you about the final version of imitation of bolts.
1.8. Bolt imitation (version 2.0)))
The first version with "punctures" for imitating bolts is a fairly fast and convenient way, but it has a slight disadvantage - punctures are a little more saturated than I would like and I will now show the second option, which I settled on.
It's still the same tool I used to make simulated nails on Victory's deck. Conventional helium pen. Three balls on very small sandpaper (1000-1500) until the ball falls out. And here's a ready-made cylindrical tool. To make such a round dent (injection), you need to lean the handle against the tree and gently press the top of the handle 360 degrees (the angle of inclination is small, up to 20 degrees). Or by pressing and twisting the handle around the axis. Depending on the density of the tree in different ways. The only thing is that the depth must be small otherwise either the tree will remain inside the handle, or the dent will be very saturated in color.
I understand that this is not exactly an imitation of bolts, but most likely an imitation of pins, but I really like it. This is a quick and convenient way. And these punctures do not stand out as much, but they are also noticeable enough to create additional accents.
And as promised, I tell you in what order you need to do what:
The red oval shows the place to be made before assembly. Since these are interframe surfaces and after assembly they will no longer be accessible.
But what is shown by the green oval is that the surface (like the inner one) will be ground after assembly, and therefore imitation must be done after final grinding. Well, after imitation, you can already finally polish these places 320 with sandpaper very neatly and slightly.
Live, imitation bolts and connections look like in the last photo on the right. There is a relief and here about polishing, I still think, you may immediately need to cover with oil so that this relief is not sealed with dust from polishing.

Well, how do you like this result?
All, now, officially we can say that this is the end of the first part)))

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