I'm moving the pics and progress of my Maiden build with the new cutfiles here instead of in the thread for those cutfiles.

First, the parts cut out:



The beauty of having something fiddly cut out with a robocutter:


Progress on decking:


Pieces, pieces, pieces:

We have wormsign....er...mastsign!

Moved from the thread on the Maiden cutfile creation:

Assembly has lagged a bit.

When I printed the transparencies for the first time last week, I found that I hated the quality of the prints and the type of transparencies I had. They're for inkjets and they have a haziness to the film that looked cheap to me. So, I had to track down some laser transparencies and order them and then go through cutting them. I cut them with my SD, but it only cut all the way through on about 1/2 of the lines. In trying to finish the cuts by hand without a straight edge, all I did was make a mess. I thought the groove would be there enough that I could just follow it with my blade, but apparently not. So, that meant redoing them all. Still, using the SD helped--especially with the rounded parts like the anchors.

And then as I was sandwich gluing the various parts together, I found that I had a big problem with warping on some of them. Not sure if it's the glue I'm using or fluctuations in humidity here lately that are to blame. The glue would often start drying/absorbing into the cardstock before I could get it all applied where needed. Never seen it dry that fast, but this is my first build using just plain cardstock. So, I'm playing with a few other glues I've got to try to minimize warping.

And on top of all this, my department had training all week and my team and my boss were in town for that. I usually manage to work from home at least 3 days a week and that lets me get in some work on my builds off and on throughout the day, but that wasn't possible this week.

Anyways, I've got a deadline of next Saturday for my Maiden build 'cuz our next Skull and Shackles session is tentatively for then and will possibly be hosted at my house. I'm hoping to spring the Maiden on them as a surprise when they arrive. That means I gotta make some serious progress this weekend.

I got some laser transparencies and started using those, but found the toner gets scratched off or flakes off way too easily. Had several pieces glued with those inserted before I started experiencing this problem. They'll also flake off easily when you flex the transparencies, so I suspect that'll create some problems over time with the ratlines. I picked up some clear acrylic sealants from Michael's and ran through a day of testing them for look, effectiveness in protecting the prints, etc. In the end, though, I'm just going back to using the inkjet transparencies. I don't like the textured look of them, but every sealant on the laser ones would end up looking worse. Some, to be honest, created a pretty cool "old, cheap glass" effect, though, so I can see some use for them at times.

My deadline for this build is this Saturday when I think we'll be doing our next session of Skull and Shackles. The GM is really bad at communicating--even with email. And that's odd 'cuz the guy is a network administrator.

The photos make the parts nice and shiny. Are you using photo paper?

Actually, I'm not. I used to use photo paper on my previous builds, but this is the first with just cheap cardstock from Staples. It's the first with my laser printer, though, too, so maybe that's adding to that glossy look. Or I'm just bad at taking pictures.

Progress on the hull:


And masts:

I'll note that I scored the tops of the upper ratlines about 1/16 to 3/32 inch higher than indicated on the printout. If I'd stuck with the original score lines, the tension would be so much that my crow's nests would significantly bend upwards at the ends.

Oh, I cut all my transparencies using my Silhouette SD, by the way. It managed to cut all the way through on about 60% of the lines. For the rest, it just made a shallow cut and I had to get out my blade and straightedge and finish those. Still worth it to not have to do all those cuts by hand.

Got mah decking done:


And mah bowsprit:


Even got dem masts done:


Something that looks like the hull, too:


Having a heck of a time with those support beams, though.

Ain't it purdy?

Yes it is, but it's a lot of work.

Just heard from my GM for our Skull and Shackles campaign that we might not be able to start playing until 5 or 6 Saturday night. I agreed to teach that night from 7:30 to 8:30, so I think that kinda means I'm not playing or hosting. I'm in less of a rush to get this done, then, so my pace will likely slow a bit.

More progress:

Dang. I finally bit the bullet and bought the Maiden here on WWG's store (originally got it through RPGNow or some other website) so I could get access to all the kitbashes. MAN, I wish I'd done that before starting this build. Those alternate mastheads people made look so darn good! And the pirate sails are awesome! Unfortunately, I'd printed out and robocut my sails yesterday.

Well, the sails ARE replaceable, and the masthead - is that glued on? I can't remember. Anyway, what I wish I had used was the 3d yardarms. I'll have to redo my masts. I've got photopaper now, too!

You could get away with no gluing the masthead, but it could easily be knocked off, then, so I don't think many would do that. I know I glued mine on.

Almost done:








I'm almost done, but I'm really starting to run into issues with everything fitting together well. Those front rat line ledges are the biggest pain to try to glue. Man, they really won't fit the shape of the bow--and even when they do, they start causing the walls of the hull to warp in response.

Worse than that, though, is that the top levels aren't fitting in all that well. The center deck goes in ok, but the forecastle and sterncastle just aren't fitting in well and don't look like they belong.

Ok, here are my questions/problems at this point, with pics. Maybe someone can tell me if these are normal or if I did something wrong.

My forecastle doesn't fit in flat. It's tilted up in the front:


There are these spaces on the sides of my forecastle 'cuz the forward hull shape doesn't match the shape of my forecastle decking:


My sterncastle isn't really fitting in well. It doesn't match up with the hull in back and it wants to tilt a little up to the rear:



Other than trying to figure out what is with those issues, I'm about done. I just glued on the ratline extensions a few minutes ago, which I think is the last thing.

The first time I put my deck pieces into the hull, I had similar problems. I got frustrated & left it for a day. The next day I just fiddled a bit -- everything actually fit. I had a bunch of little seating problems: I'd put the bow section in a little too far forward, the stern was caught on some railing, etc. Once you get it together, it really is amazing how well it fits. Now I can almost drop the deck sections in and they sit well.

thanks for the pics. I needed this to get pack to my build tasks

Done!






Some of my masts tend to want to twist so they're a little crooked. I think I must have glued both crow's nests on a little crooked on those 'cuz the holes look like they're cut properly. I might want to redo those masts to fix that 'cuz it bugs me. Sails came out great, though. It's one time where the Scotch Clear Glue's tendency to warp works in my favor.

I shaved off a little of the foamcore on the bottom back edges of my sterncastle. That helps it fit into the hull a bit better. My main deck seems to be bowed a little. I might want to redo it. That would also give me a chance to add in the Box Entrance and Stairs. I didn't realize until late in the build that there isn't really an obvious way into the lower level with the stock build. Perhaps that hole in the floor of the forecastle is intended for that, but it seems like there should be other ways into the hold.

Is the forecastle supposed to tilt upwards towards the front? I can't see how it would fit otherwise, but it's not clear from the promo pics.

Amazing! Do you have a total construction time estimate (without counting the time to help generate the cutfiles...)?

First action shot!

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! And in great time. Almost speed build!

I just realized Maiden doesn't come with any pennant flags. Maybe we can use one of the banners from CastleWorks Ultimate to fly from the top of the foremast as an option from a pirate flag?

That extra space at the front corners of the forecastle seem normal. Maybe that's where they stow the hoisted anchor instead of it banging against the outside hull during the voyage... As it is, mine are dangling at the sides.

Does 25 hours seem unreasonable? I think that is what I guessed on my recent one.

That is definitely true. I built mine with a very focused timeline and was rather motivated at the time. I had also already built one before, so I had an advantage.

Another action shot:

A truly excellent Maiden. Remember, no-one is more critical than the builder. All the flaws you see are invisible to everyone else.