HMS Atalanta by tlevine - FINISHED - 1775 - 1:48 scale - from TFFM plans

[WackoWolf]

Beautiful, the best word to me that describes the work your doing. Will be waiting for more pictures.

[rwiederrich]

Magnificent work of the highest quality....thank you for treating us to such a fine example of model ship building.

 

Rob

[mtaylor]

That appears to be a rather complex bit of wood, Toni.   I'm looking forward to seeing how you approach this.

[albert]

Hi Toni very nice work.

[druxey]

Now you are on to the really tricky pieces, Toni! That looks like a nice clean job.

[dvm27]

Nice job, Toni. Only three hours with no redo's. Impressive.

[tlevine]

Thanks everyone for your support.  Greg, I still have the sheaves to mess up so don't jinx me.

[dgbot]

Toni, when ever I had the pleasure of seeing your work is gives me inspiration to try and up my own skills.

David B

[tlevine]

I will try and demonstrate how I made the cathead.  Sorry for the picture quality but I was more interested in showing the technique than in cleaning up the model after each step.

 

I went to the plan to determine the length and lateral bend of the cathead.  TFFM has an excellent drawing of the upward angle.  Because of the size of wood available to me I decided to transfer the drawing from TFFM onto a piece of 0.375 wood and cut this out on the scroll saw.  I cut this overlong for final sizing later.

 

 

 

 

 After that was done, I drew the lateral bend from the plan onto the blank.  Please remember, these are mirror images of each other.  As you can see, the port is cathead is already notched for the beams.  My goal was to make them as similar to each other as possible.

 

 

 

[tlevine]

Now comes a scary part, cutting a hole into the hull.  Mark the location for the hole based on the plan.  Since the port side is fully planked I had to cut out a segment of the frieze and some of the molding.  On the starboard side I removed a piece of ribband and one frame top.  Once the cathead is installed, I will replace that frame top and secure it with filler pieces on either side.  The cathead is inserted at an angle so the opening is directed downwards.

 

 

 

 

Referring back to the plan, note the angle that the cathead takes, insert it into the hole in the hull and place it under the third beam.  Mark the beam location on the cathead and cut out the mortise in the cathead.  Replace the cathead and temporarily place the second beam assembly on the deck clamp.  Mark this beam location on the cathead and cut the mortise for this beam as well.  

 

 

 

 

On my ship, possibly because of my previous measurement errors, the cathead crosses very close to the deck clamp.  As a result I needed to notch both the first beam and the under surface of the cathead to get it into place.  The unexpected benefit of this is that it locks everything securely into place.  With the cathead secured, the outboard face was sanded to make it perpendicular to the water line.  All the exposed edges were chamfered and the aft end was smoothed over, following the angle of the third beam.  Still to go are the holes for the sheaves, the sheaves themselves and the decorative cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[albert]

Wonderful work Toni.

[Maury S]

Looking good!  Getting those clamps in place must have been a challenge.  

Maury

[tlevine]

Work progresses on the forecastle framing and installing the catheads.  There are two 9" sheaves in the cathead.  These were made by drilling a series of holes along the length of the sheave opening perpendicular to the water line and then connecting the holes with an 11 blade.  The sheaves were made from round brass stock, cut off on the Preac saw.  These were then drilled for a pin.  The cathead was also drilled and after blackening the sheaves and pin was inserted.

 

The cathead was inserted under the third beam and glued into place.  Then the second beam with its associated knees were installed.  Bolts were inserted through the two beams into the cathead.  The first beam was then installed.  Finally, the knee between the first and second beams was installed.  This was initially fabricated as one piece.  With the cathead in place, the middle portion of the knee was removed for a snug fit.  Carlings were inserted between the deck clamp and the first beam to support the bowsprit partner.  Mortises were made for the half hook laterally and the partner medially.  Finally, the half hoods and partner were installed.

 

I have been practicing carving the cap for the cathead.  Let us just say that it is a work in progress...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Lovely, Toni. However, has that top piece of moulding been knocked out of line? Should be an easy fix.

[tlevine]

Yes, sir, it has.  It won't stay that way long.  I have a question about the foremost swivel gun mount.  Should it be perpendicular to the water line or in line with the hull configuration?

[rwiederrich]

Fantastic work......

 

Rob

[Maury S]

Great work Toni.

Maury

[albert]

Hi Toni very nice work

[druxey]

The swivel mounts (generally) were vertical, or nearly so. The portion of hull forward above the knuckle should be vertical, so that the mount ought to automatically be positioned this way. Hope this helps.

[tlevine]

It has been a while since my last postings.  Summer is always very busy and leaves little time for modeling.

 

I built the forecastle hatch coamings and gratings.  These are made like the ones on the upper deck except the scantlings are all smaller.  When making hatch coamings, it it much easier to build the grating first and make the hatch fit the grating.  Needless to say I made two sets of hatches.  

 

 

 

Before there was any more detail to knock loose, I decided to apply the horseshoes and dovetail plates.  These are from Greg's photoetch set.  They were cut off the sprue and their outline was drawn onto the hull.  Using an 11 blade, I make a light impression just inside the pencilled outline.  Then I cut away the inner area with a 3mm chisel.  The bolts are blackened brass wire.  I enlarged the holes in the plates to a 75 drill bit to accomodate the wire.  The plates were then epoxied to the hull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will be applying minimal planking to the forecastle deck.  The waterway was made by taking a template of the outline of the bulwark and then cutting out a piece of costello to fit.  The rebate was hand cut.

 

[druxey]

Ah, progress once more! Nice, Toni.

[dvm27]

Sweet job insetting those plates, Toni!

[Geoff Matson]

Gee, if I only knew you needed a horseshoe, I could have  made one for you 

[Martin W]

Toni -- I had to laugh when I read that you cut two sets of hatches -- I'm working on the same detail (on a less ambitious project), and (ahem) cut three sets before learning the lesson. 

 

Is that cherry you used for the coamings?

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[tlevine]

Druxey and Greg, thanks for looking in.  Also, thanks for the likes.  Geoff, maybe next time.  But nothing is stopping you from putting them on your build!  Three sets aren't that many Martin.  And yes they are cherry.  I wanted just a little color contrast on deck.

[wyz]

Glad to have you back Toni.  Being away from model building for the summer is easily forgiven.  A number of us have had a recess, but I believe things will pick up as we get into the fall.  I too like the contrast with the cherry wood for the hatch coamings.

 

Tom

[albert]

Hi Toni,great beautiful work.

[tlevine]

The next decision was how much planking to show on the forecastle.  I decided on sufficient planking to support the fore jeer bitts, leaving the rest of the deck unplanked.  The planks run the entire length of the forecastle deck, tapering slightly stern to bow.

 

 

The fore jeer bitts are bolted onto the deck.  The location varied among the different Swannies.  On Atalanta, the crosspiece is on the fore side of the standards and there is only a 9" gap between it and the foremast.  On Fly, the crosspiece is on the aft side of the standard.  On Vulture, Dan Vadas states there are no standard because of the width of the hatches.  The standards are bored for a 7" diameter sheave.  There is also a cheek block with another 7" sheave, similar to the fore topsail sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the next step is adding the eyebolts at the foot of the foremast, I decided to apply the wood finish to the forecastle structure and fore jeer bitts.  It is amazing what a difference that makes.  

 

 

[DaveyJones]

Toni - Beautiful work as always. However, I am concerned that your new crosspiece fitted to the fore jeer bitt is out of scale. It should measure about 7 x 5 inches in section. That new piece looks larger than that to me.

 

Dave

[albert]

Wonderful,very nice model.