HM Schooner Pickle by mobbsie - Caldercraft - Scale 1:64 - Heritage Series

[mobbsie]

HM Schooner Pickle was entrusted to carry the dispatches from Admiral Cunningham to the Admiralty in London informing them of the victory at Trafalgar and of the sad loss of the Admiral Lord Nelson.

 

Pickle was finally lost in 1808 whilst again carrying dispatches, she ran aground off Cape Santa Maria on the Chipiona Shoal, there was no loss of life.

 

First up we have the obligatory box shots. Nothing too complicated here and I do have a few ideas for some changes, we'll see how things develop.

 

 

I have made a start on her, the Main Keel and Bulkheads have been glued up and faired to take the first planking. As you can see there is a slight warp in the Keel, this will be removed.

 

 

It was at this stage I decided to plank the False Deck, it has made it so much easier so far. By fixing the False Deck in place the warp has all but gone, just a slight bow left.

Using the Gunport Pattern Former the bulkheads have been faired.

 

 

So that's it for now, I have made further progress but they can wait until my next post.

 

Its all pretty straight forward so far but I hope you enjoy the pics. As always guys comments and suggestions are always welcome, both good or bad.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

 

 

 

 

[Beef Wellington]

Yeah! I'm first to the next Mobbsie build and get the best seat.

[kier]

Great, with Mobbsie building.  I shall take that second chair next to you Jason.

 

 kier

[donrobinson]

Should be fun to watch this one

[robdurant]

Fantastic! This was the first wooden model I built. Such a lovely model to work on... well designed, brilliant instructions (streets apart from Caldercraft's earlier models) and plans, and makes up into a really handsome model (although I'm sure yours will be streets ahead of my humble efforts). Hope you don't mind if I pull up a chair too.  I notice that your first bulkhead from the bow doesn't suffer from the uneven top that mine had.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

glad to see the start of Pickle Tony  .......and I get a seat near the front too.....an even bigger boon!   have fun with your new project  

[alde]

An attractive and historic little ship. I am looking forward to watching her come together.

[mobbsie]

Thanks Gents,

 

Apologies for the ropey start guys, just a bit out of practice in both setting up the log and downloading into it, in my defence it's been a pig of a day with Plumbers and Electricians trying to fix my Central Heating System, I'm sure most of us have experienced that type of thing before.

 

I have also been following a discussion in Landlubber Mike's log about copper plate patination, I tried out a few tests and I will post the findings in my next update.

 

It's lovely to have you along guys and I hope I don't disappoint you, if I do please say so.

 

That's it

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[Barbossa]

It's lovely to have you back with us. Mobbsie . So I'll follow along

[Blue Ensign]

Hope you enjoy Pickle as much as I did mobbsie, it’s a fine little model. 😊

 

B.E.

 

[gjdale]

Great to see you starting on this one Mobbsie. I’ve grabbed a front row seat too!

[Canute]

Hmm, guess I can start the second tier, Mobbsie. Looks like a fun build.

[mobbsie]

Hi Guys,

 

Its great to have you gents following along, thanks.

 

As I stated in my previous post I'm interested in the patination of the copper plates for this little boat and so I conducted a few tests to see which gave the best results, here are my findings, I hope you find them interesting.

 

First up was to fix 10 plates onto small boards x 4, a gentle rub down with some wire wool to remove any protection.

 

I mixed two solutions of Tomato feed and both Red Wine Vinegar and White Wine Vinegar, once these had dissolved completely I then brushed the mixes onto two of the boards and set aside.

 

Next to mix up Miracle Grow Soluble plant food with Red Wine Vinegar and the same plant food with White Wine Vinegar, again when dissolved the plates were brushed with the mixtures.

 

Here are some pics after approx 2.5 hour's.

 

First up is the Tomato feed mixtures Red Wine Vin on the left, White Wine on the right. Not a lot of change and so it's not worth bothering with.

       

 

Next up is the Plant food mixtures.

 

First is the White Wine mix. After a couple of weeks I'm still getting changes, the samples have turned to a Bronze colour.

 

    

 

Next is the Red Wine mix, this turned out the best to my mind. The times on the right of the boards is the time on the same day.

 

   

The Red wine mix again is still changing and has a vivid green hue to it, one problem is that its very fragile in that it rubs off easily. Another problem could be the method of applying the mix, as you can see the mix stains the back board so if using this stuff BE CAREFULL.

 

OK, back to the build,

 

The Gunport pattern is now fixed in place, 

 

 

The first plank of the first planking has been fixed.

 

The first planking is now completed with no major problems, that's a first for me I can tell you.

 

 

I also made a start on the Gundeck, I don't think the deck is going to give me any trouble to fit and so I thought it would be easier to plank the deck prior to fixing in the boat.

I decided to change the planking from 1 x 4mm Tanganyika to 1x4mm Swiss Pear, I cut the Waterways from a sheet of 0.5mm Lime.

 

 

I looks as if the outer planks are beginning to splay out but that is just the camera angle.

 

Christian, Binnacles were usually positioned just in front of the ships wheel so that the helmsman could steer his course, a lot were moveable and used to be cleared away below deck when the ship was called to action stations.

 

That's all I have for you at the moment gents, just as soon as I have more I'll stick it up.

 

OK gents that's me for now.

 

Be Good

 

 mobbsie

 

Edited October 21, 2017 by mobbsie
Keep losing the text

[rafine]

You're moving right along Mobbsie -- and very nicely.

 

Bob

[gjdale]

Moving along with your usual speed I see Mobbsie. Great work so far, and an interesting experiment with the copper. Just a thought, if you remove any protective coating, won’t the copper “age” naturally just exposed to the air?

[kier]

mobbsie, may I ask how do you work so quick or maybe I am so slow?

 

                 kier

[popeye the sailor]

I would think that once you achieve the patina you desire,  you could spray it with a flat clear coat.  then it would be OK to handle.   great job on the hull planking! 

[mobbsie]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks gents for your kind comments and the likes.

 

I have been consumed and totally blinkered with my central heating and getting it fixed, it's been out for the last 3 weeks but it's sorted out now and were back on track, it's surprising how many ways there is in trying to keep warm and I'm keeping a lot to myself.

 

Grant, that my friend is exactly what I going to do, I found that after a short time the patina was flaking off leaving a dirty brown metal base, not a pretty sight.

 

Popeye, I haven't tried spraying lacquer on but I'm thinking that it may stabilise the surface and stop further reaction but I'm not sure if it would stop the flaking, I'm               putting this test / experiment to bed now but that's not to say it will stay there, never say never.

 

Kier,  the answer to your question mate is that I'm retired, I retired in 2011. I have a wonderful wife who is quite happy for me to spend as much time as I like in my         boatyard, thinking about it does seem strange because she positively encourages it. She takes on all the garden chores and some house DIY. I don't think she           likes me very much ha ha.

 

OK time for an update.

 

I have completed the Gundeck planking, although I'm not completely happy with it mainly due to the boxiness of the joggleing, I'm hoping that the deck furniture will detract from this. For the Treenails I used some Lime sawdust, I drilled 0.6mm holes and mixed up a paste of sawdust and diluted white glue.

 

      

I then tackled the Stern Counter, this is made from 0.8mm ply and from the start fitted nicely, this was glued, sanded down and planked using 4 x 1mm Swiss Pear.  

 

  

Next up was fitting the Wale and Black Strake, the kits 4mm Walnut was substituted for Swiss Pear, the positioning of the first plank is critical in that the measurement to the gun ports varies along the length of the gun port pattern. Once this first plank is laid the second buts up tight beneath it, these form the Wale, for the Black Strake a piece of 0.5 x 4mm Walnut is fitted to the top plank of the Wale.

 

   

    ,

I then painted the Wale and Black Strake dull black using Admiralty Paints, I also marked the waterline although this will be planked over.

 

I will be posting another photo of the Gundeck as there is far too much shine and also the Treenails cant be seen.

 

That's it for now guys, see you soon.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

 

[S.Coleman]

A far cry from your aggie build. I followed that build and I think I'll follow this too. Great start off.

[popeye the sailor]

looking really good Mobbsie......deck looks great too.  most go from a light color deck to a darker color for the tree nails......they tend to stand out better.  looks like you've done the opposite,  so you may not get the effect you desire.   while it may not be seen too well in your pictures,  a closer look may show them better.   it's definitely a nice bit of detail to add      well done so far   

[rony]

Hii
How did you stick the wooden poles( planking ) with no nails ?

Edited November 1, 2017 by rony

[gjdale]

Looking good Mobbsie. Don’t be concerned about the visibility of the treenails - I can just see them in the photo and at this scale you want them to be only just visible if you look closely.

[paulb]

Great start, Mobbsie. Judging from your work on the Agamemnon, this is bound to be another excellent project. And I mean both the result and the process.

Cheers, Paul

[cookster]

Great start Mobbsie, good luck moving forward!

[Ensign]

Hello Mobbsie,

 

I shall follow along with your Pickle build as well, I do have an ulterior motive however. The admiral and I visited Kangaroo Island in South Australia just before Christmas and whilst there we went to an inlet called American River where an American Brig called the Union was based for sealing in 1803. They built a small Topsail Schooner called Independence to enable access to shallower inlets in order to catch seals. This small schooner has the honour of being the first vessel built in South Australia, consequently the folks in American River are now engaged in building a replica, and this is where I come in. They found out that I have just finished building the Caldercraft Victory, photos in my log under "Ensign". They have asked me to build them a model of Independence for fund raising purposes and as it happens Pickle is identical to Independence except for the deck fittings which are not an issue, kitbashing to the rescue.

They would like an estimate of build time and costing from me. Like you I am retired so can put in the time. Would it be possible for you to give me some idea of how long you think this project might take, I have built a number of larger ships so am not fazed by this.

Secondly, and I realize this could be more difficult, the costing issue, I'm not sure what would be reasonable. I have only built for myself before now.

Hope I'm not being too much of a pain, but as a Pickle builder you won the prize, sorry.

 

Regards

Gary 

[mobbsie]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the good words and the likes gents, most appreciated. 

 

It's about time I gave an update and that will be happening very soon, I must admit to have taken a short break but I am back in the game now.

 

Gary, I will PM you and let you know my thoughts.

 

rony,  When doing the planking I use "Push Pins", these have a shoulder on them which leans onto the plank and keeps them in place, to cement them, I first soak the planks for 10 - 15 minutes, wipe off any surplus water and then use a thick super glue gel, you have to be quick and accurate as the glue will set in seconds, it can also be a bit messy if you get it wrong. Hope that answers your question mate.

 

Denis, I promised you some better pictures of the deck with the lighter coloured treenails, hope these do the job mate.

                                 

OK, now for a quick update, second planking is now complete and as you will see it does look a little different, because below the waterline will be coppered I didn't want to use all my Swiss Pear and so used the kit Walnut to finish off. 

        

As you can see I haven't put the stem or keel in yet, they were the next job to be done, unfortunately no pictures.

 

Coppering has started, and finished, I used the individual plates as supplied by Caldercraft, I like these plates and they are easy to work with, my one problem was that I didn't have a plan to work to and so it was a case of trial and error, believe me when I say there were a lot errors.

                                                                                    

 

 

                                     

My next move was to lace a 2mm x 2mm strip along the top of the waterline, this was painted black prior to gluing on but that will be for the post.

 

That's it for now gents.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[gjdale]

Great to see an update Mobbsie! Both the planking and the coppering look to be up to your usual first class standard.

[popeye the sailor]

gee....now I feel like a heel for not looking...spoke too soon      you've made quite a bit of progress....she looks great with the copper bottom     very nicely done!.......tree nails look good too!

[rafine]

Plan or no plan, I really like the look of the copper -- and everything else.

 

Bob

[rdsaplala]

Hi Mobbsie,

 

Just caught up with your latest build, you're doing an excellent job as per your usual standard. I love the modifications you're doing to this beauty, keep them coming, my friend