HMS Beagle 1820 by Mike 41 - 1:48 scale - Cherokee-class brig-sloop

[Mike 41]

 

This set of photos shows the stove installed. The upper deck hook is installed and the deck framing has been started.

 

 

[Mike 41]

The upper deck framing is about half done. This set of photos shows the progress on the deck and some misc. deck items. The framing is European Beachwood and the forward hatch is bloodwood.

[Jim Lad]

Looking very nice, Mike.

 

John

[Mike 41]

Thanks John,

I hope to finish the framing today and start the deck planking tomorrow.

Mike

[Mirabell61]

excellent build Mike !

 

Nils

[Mike 41]

Thanks Nils,

She is coming along fairly well.

Mike

[Mike 41]

With the addition of the rest of the main deck ledges the deck framing is complete. The forward, main hatch openings and the bowsprit step will be finished before the deck is planked. This set of photos shows the progress to date.

[usedtosail]

That is really nice deck framing, Mike.

[Mike 41]

Thanks Tom,

The framing matches the deck plan plus or minus.

Mike

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work, Mike.   I like your choice of woods which are setting off the framing and planking.

[Mike 41]

Thanks Mark,

I think the different colored woods make it easier to see the overall layout without everything blending together.

Mike

[Mike 41]

The main hatch openings and the bowsprit step are installed. It looks like I need to add a few more things before planking the deck like the windlass, main jeer bits, azimuth compass, capstan and steering wheel. Installing the bowsprit step involved a little more work than I expected. This is a few photos showing how it was installed.

 

 

[Mike 41]

This set of photos shows the progress on the windlass and the lining on the main deck. The lining needs to be installed so the crank handles can be added. I don’t have an organized approach to building but she seems to be moving along well.

[Mike 41]

This set of photos shows the main deck planking and lining with the gun ports in place. The port side is left open to show some of the framing.

[Mike 41]

For me this week was not a good week for model building. I had cataract surgery on my right eye last Tuesday so I didn’t get to spend much time in the shop.

I did get the forecastle deck planked and have started the exterior planking. There will be a 6-pdr Carronade on the deck that will take up most of the space so I didn’t leave openings to view the main deck under the gun.

This is a few photos of the forecastle deck as it currently sits.

 

[Mike 41]

This is a few photos of the exterior planking. I still need to add the wales. I will be posting the ships wheel next.

[Mike 41]

This is a few photos of the ships wheel and catheads. I will be adding the poop deck, flag locker and azimuth compass next.

[Mike 41]

This is a few photos of the compass and binnacle. I used bloodwood for both items it turns very well.

I guess adding the rails will clean up the overall appearance of the ship, these are progress photos so far. I am using walnut for the rails.

[Mike 41]

This is a small update I added the wales and taffrail and am looking at the false quarter gallery. I guess it will be a solid block of wood without access to the interior of the ship.

Is this the way most false quarter galleries are modeled? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[usedtosail]

Looking good Mike. I like your use of rubber bands (or elastics as we say up here in New England) and clamps to hold the wales. All of the false quarter galleries I have seen are badges that fit over the planking, but I am not sure if there would be an opening into the hull under them in the real ships.

[Mike 41]

Thanks Tom,

I found that elastics and clamps are easier to use than little nails with my big hands. You are right a false quarter gallery would be a badge I just didn’t think of it that way.

I looked at the beautiful work you did on your Beagle. The layout of the main deck is different than the drawings in Heinz Marquardt’s book but all the models I have seen on line look different from each other.

I found that a lot of drawing views do not match up in his book and the size of stuff varies a lot but that is not uncommon in the AOL series of books. This book is a lot better than the one I used for my Pandora. http://modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?3031

Mike

[Mike 41]

The Horn davits and false quarter galleries have been added to the model.

I started to make the quarter galleries out of solid blocks of wood but wasn’t having much luck squaring up the windows and went to using 14 individual pieces for each gallery. I used boxwood and walnut and like the way they turned out.

 

 

[Mike 41]

The skylight for the chart room was easy to make since it has square windows. After cutting the sides to length I drilled holes at the four corners of each window, removed the center waste with a Dremel tool and cleaned up the corners with a square file. This is a few photos showing the construction and installation of the skylight.

 

 

[Mike 41]

 

This is a few photos of the stern trim and poop deck rails. Another compass was added along with the timber blocks for stowing the 28 foot whaleboat, ensign staff, mizzen mast and ladders to the poop deck.

 

[Mike 41]

 

I have been working on the main deck items and added several hatches, pumps and the main jeer bits with attached winch. The main mast, mizzen mast and ensign staff are set in place. I will be working on the gun port covers and pin rails next.

 

[Mike 41]

 

The boat beam along with the pin rails and gunport covers have been installed. All the gunport covers are shown in the closed position. There will be two cannons shown sitting on the main deck per the book drawing.

 

[mtaylor]

Nice work, Mike.   I do have an observation...  check here on MSW for other English ships of the period as quarter galleries aren't "square" when viewed from the top but rounded.

[Mike 41]

Thanks Mark,

The quarter galleries did look a little better after I rounded off the corners. They were a bit too thick also. The hard part was removing them from the side of the model.

Mike

[Mike 41]

 

The hammock cranes looked like a good place to start after returning from the family vacation. This a few progress photos of the work so far. I cutout the blanks from Beachwood and drilled .8mm holes for the netting support rope (brass wire). I use a band saw to cut out the rough shape and finished with a square file. An ebony black stain was applied and they were installed on the model. The next step will be adding the netting and hammocks.

 

[Mike 41]

 

The hammock netting is made from some plastic fabric I found at Hobby Lobby it was very stiff and difficult to install inside the cranes. To solve the problem I made a mold from basswood the same thickness as the inside of the cranes and twice the height. I marked lines at the distance to the top of the cranes on both sides of the mold and secured the slightly oversized netting with clamps then applied a diluted glue solution (4:1 water to glue). After the glue dried I used a straightedge and knife to cut the netting to size. The first photo shows the netting on the mold and the glue solution the rest show the netting installed on the model. I still have to attach the netting to the support rope with some of my infamous needle work and add some hammocks.