HMS Leopard by toms10 - FINISHED - 1:85 scale POF/POB

[toms10]

Hello again MSW,

After finishing my first build (Constellation) by AL I finally decided on a second adventure.  I finally mustered up the courage and decided to do a scratch build of the HMS Leopard.  I had come across the plans and for a first scratch build it seemed to have all the ingredients to test my abilities.  There seemed to be plenty of information available to guide me along with my MSW friends so I went for it.

 

Naturally, I have the 50 Gun Ship book by Rif Winfield.  I took the 1:96 plans that came with it and enlarged them up to 1:85 scale.  The 1:96 was just a bit small to me.  I scaled it up to 1:72 and it was bigger than I have room for so I split the difference and ended up at 1:85... same as my Constellation.  Working in an engineering office, I have access to the CAD program Solidworks so I transferred the 1:96 measurements from the drawing to the CAD and just played with the scale until I liked it.  I have been researching, planning and drawing frames for the past month so there is not much to show at this point. Scratch building is forcing me to learn tons of information on ship building practices which is not a bad thing.

 

My plan is to build the model with both frames and bulkheads.  The reason is I want to cut away the center area of the hull on one side to show some of the Orlop and Lower deck arrangements.  I figured I have the plans/layouts so why not use them.  I will use frames in the area of the cutout and bulkheads on both ends since these areas will not be seen inside.  Below is a sketch of my thoughts.  The area inside the heavy outline will be the cut away area.

 

Here also are some pics of the frame work I am playing with now.  Band saws and belt sanders will be busy!

 

Next is to design the fore and aft bulkheads and the deadwood layout.  If I do this right, the summer when the shipyard is open as much,  will be spent designing and roughing out the skeleton.  Then when the New England winter sets in I will have plenty to keep me busy.

 

Hope you enjoy the build,

Tom

 

[RedDawg]

Hi Tom, it's nice to see a fresh start on the Leopard. As you progress I'll be watching and learning. Many years ago when I did my first build the Bluenose Two,I would never have imagined where the possibilities could lead. I have been reading and imaginating over scratch building the Leopard. With your build I will learn. Today I happened to go over to Lowes to see what they had and was disappointed. Some Redoak and Poplar was all I found. I did find a couple of really cool tools though! I just finished the lower hull of my Sovereign and am sanding away. When I tell people what we do and the amount of time we spend they just shake their head. So as time passes you will have a dedicated follower.

[toms10]

Had some downtime this weekend so I made some of the frames and bulkheads.  Still have to cut out the notches for the keel and make a few more frames and bulkheads for the bow area.  As I mentioned the bulkheads will be used starting where the canted frames begin.  I also need to start thinking of the type of wood for the hull planking, keel & stem.  I am probably going with maple for the decking with a light stain and walnut for the keel and trim.  Still up in the air about the hull planking.  Also need to figure out how much of each to order.

 

Tom

[mtaylor]

Looks good, Tom.   Rule of thumb... figure out your needs and then increase it to 1.5 times teh amount you think you need.  And get a large scrapbox.   At least that's been my experience.   

 

Disclaimer:  Some will say double it, others get the amount you think you need.  Any leftover wood and go towards the next build.

[toms10]

Mark,

Thanks for the tip.  I am thinking along the 1.5X also... at least for a minimum.  Better to much than not enough.

Tom

[WackoWolf]

Always better to have more than to find out you don't have enough. And like Mark said, what's left over is for the next build.

[Jparsley]

Way to go tom I am eager to see your build Glad you decided to scratch

[toms10]

It has been a bit slow going in the shipyard as of late.  Too many major soccer (futbol) tournaments that need to be watched!   I have been modelling my framework to give me a better understanding of how things will go together with this build.  Below are some snapshots.  Being my first scratch build there is a lot to learn and research... but everybody here at MSW already knows that.  I hope to put an order in for the deck and hull planking wood in the next week.  In the mean time I have some bulkheads to finish up.  I need to set up my build board and then the assembly process can begin.  Enough planning and layout work!  It is time to make sawdust!

[Jparsley]

Good luck dive in I want to see this girl grow

[toms10]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

 

I just started ripping planks for the inner hull from left over wood (poplar) from past furniture projects.  Bought a 9" bench top band saw and turned my drill press into a drum and thickness sander.  I guess the old adage "Necessity is the mother of invention"  is true!  I put a couple of home made rip fences on my saw and drill press and now I am making planks to whatever width and thickness I need.  My next tool purchase will most likely be a "real" thickness sander but I would rather spend my limited budget on wood and such right now.  My homemade setups work just fine for now.  

 

I still need to buy some walnut for the keel, stern post and bow stem.  Once I get that I can start assembling frames.  I plan on getting a piece of 3/4" maple from Home Depot and ripping/sanding it down to make the deck planking but that will come later.  I am also planning on some pear or cherry for the outer planking. Leaning towards pear.  That should keep me busy for while.

 

Tom

[src]

Whooooo-ey! Second build and going for a scratch build! gotta admire somebody who just dives right in, I will be following along.

Sam

[toms10]

Hi Sam,

I just hope the water is deep enough!! 

Glad to have you along for the ride.  

 

Tom

[src]

Just don't forget your floaties and you'll be fine.

Sam

[mtaylor]

Floaties?   I thought around here we had to use an old inner tube.   Ah well.. modern times.  

[twintrow]

Toms10
If you have a Woodworkers source nearby.  Go to their cutoffs bin.  I find cherry, walnut and some exotic woods there, any where from 3' to 18" long x 6 -12" Wide.  Usually for just a couple bucks.  You need to cut it down of course, but with your ingenuity sounds like that won't be an issue.

Tom

[toms10]

Toms10

If you have a Woodworkers source nearby.  Go to their cutoffs bin.  I find cherry, walnut and some exotic woods there, any where from 3' to 18" long x 6 -12" Wide.  Usually for just a couple bucks.  You need to cut it down of course, but with your ingenuity sounds like that won't be an issue.

Tom

One man's scrap is another man's gold... or in this case wood.  I will definitely check into this.  Thanks for the tip.

Tom

[toms10]

I finally got around to putting together a build board to hold the keel while I start the frame assembly process.  After I received an order of wood from Jason at Crown Timberyard I am ready to start.  I purchased some maple for the decks, Swiss pear for the outer planking and some walnut for some of the wales, keel and stem.  It was my first purchase from Jason and I was quite impressed.  I dry fit the frames/bulkheads I had previously built just to get an idea of what I am getting into.  It seems like it is going to be a fun ride.

[mtaylor]

I like what I see.   I find it interesting that you're using a mix of bulkheads and frames.  

[toms10]

I like what I see.   I find it interesting that you're using a mix of bulkheads and frames.  

Hi Mark,

I am using the frames in the middle because I plan on opening up one side of the hull to see the lower decks.  The ends where the bulkheads are will be fully planked on the outside.  The first post  on this thread shows the rough cut out I plan on making.  I think I will eliminate the "tab" of planking I was going to leave on the upper side.  I was thinking I wanted to include all the steps down the side of the hull.  After further thought and since there will be a full set of steps on the other side that is fully planked, I am going to make the cut out a basic rectangle type shape.

Tom

[Bluto 1790]

Looking great Tom! . . . I'm looking forward to seeing it once you've got some "flesh" on it!

 

. . . I'm sitting here, waiting patiently! 

[toms10]

Thanks Bluto,

I hope you have a lot of patience. But then again you must if you are in this hobby.    I am not exactly a speed demon, especially in the summer. 

Tom

[WackoWolf]

Amazing.

[Bluto 1790]

MMDD ~  back in 2014, on my own build log of Leopard, Nenad posted about Larisa's Leopard >>>

 

At that time I could only find a couple of photos of her Leopard but your photos are great. I wish I could have found these photos back then . . . they would have been a great help to me in my attempts with my own build.

If you have any more photos of Larisa's Leopard I would love to see them.

Thanks. 

[toms10]

Tom,

excellent build.

 

in 2014 Ukrainian women ship modeller Larisa Rumyantseva won the NAVIGA championship

with Leopard in scale 1-48

 

mmdd,

Thanks for the encouragement and the beautiful photos.  It is really nice to see such a wonderful build.  As an added bonus, the pics give me a much better understanding of what everything looks like.  Thanks again for sharing and even though I am two years late, congratulations to Larisa.

Tom

[toms10]

 

  WOW, that is absolutely fantastic, second ship who are you kidding, I think I've just received my cue to pack up and retire, as for jumping in the deep end do'nt worry, knowing you, you wont sink,

 

  best  regards John.

G'day John,

Don't even think about packing up and retiring!  You are one of my many inspirations on this site.  It really is my second build and I have to admit that I am already freaking out about the carvings of the figurines even though they are a ways off.  I have never done that before.     I am thinking 5 pound bucket of sculpey should be enough to get one done...      .  But for now, I am still in the shallow end of the pool.

Tom

[toms10]

Progress update.  I started to glue the frames in place in the past few days.  Instead of making a framing jig I opted to go the old fashion way with a couple of square blocks and a 6" square.  I figured it was going to take a lot of time and effort to make an accurate jig that I will just toss later.  If the frames are made symmetrically, I can put down a top view drawing layout of the ribs on the build board and position it with the keel fixture.  Once the first rib is in place and squared up, I use spacers to position the next rib along the keel.  If all is correct, they should line up with the drawing below.  I use the 6" square to true up the faces and the out ends with the drawing lines.  To me it seems much faster and easier than the jig.

Here is where I am today.

 

 

Pic showing how I centered the frame on the keel (port to starboard).  If the edge of the square sits even with the edge on the drawing and the frame itself, life is good.  The other side should fall into place provided you did a good job making the frames symmetrical.

 

 

 

I then squared up the frame aft to bow.  With spacers precut to the same length and if the frame is straight all should line up. I check it with the square.  The edge of the square should be lined up with the face of the frame on the drawing and touch the lower and upper face of the frame.  If it does, once again, life is good.  As a second quick check, I use a square block to check squareness with the keel.

 

Tom

[Bill Morrison]

I am most impressed!  What part of Connecticut are you in?  I live near Groton/New London.

[toms10]

Hi Bill,

I am in Wolcott.  I am sure you have heard of it.  It is a major metropolis of universal importance.     

Tom

[Bill Morrison]

Okay, I have to ask.  Where is Wolcott?  Although I live in the Groton/New London area, I teach high school U.S. History in Hartford, and two UCONN courses in Western Civ.  The high school is the oldest public high in the U.A.,  Hartford Public founded in 1638.

[toms10]

I did hear a rumor that there are only 2 people left in the world that do not know where Wolcott is located.    It is between Waterbury and Bristol.  Now there is only one left... hmmmm.