HMS Vulture 1776 by Dan Vadas - 1:48 scale - 16 gun "Swan" class sloop from TFFM plans - Finished

[mtaylor]

Danny,

What Druxey said.   Looks great.

[Kevin]

Danny just caught up with your log, after an absence, i just continually get the WOW factor from your work, thank you

[gjdale]

Nice set up Danny, even if a little cosy. Very well organised too - puts my workshop to shame!

 

Looking forward to seeing the resumption of play with Vulture.

[Larry_D]

I had a similar problem with my screen going dark every 30 seconds or so. It turned out to be the monitor. Found out by plugging in one that I knew worked.

 

Larry Davis

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Druxey, Mark, Kevin, Brian, Geoff, Grant and Larry.

 

I wonder whether Danny is going into the workshop building business.

 

 

I know I've had plenty of practice at building workshops over the last few years Geoff, but NO .

 

I had a similar problem with my screen going dark every 30 seconds or so. It turned out to be the monitor.

 

 

It's not my screen going black that's the problem Larry. The actual Window shuts down and I have to click on it (anywhere) to re-open it so I can continue typing. For some reason it's working fine this morning - go figure. I'm still going to take the puta in for a cleanout later this week - I'm pretty sure I have some kind of annoying virus .

 

Looking forward to seeing the resumption of play with Vulture.

 

 

Just for you Grant ..... .

 

After marking the positions of the ledges on the head beam and knees I removed them and cut in the mortices :

 

 

I then glued them back in permanently :

 

 

Head Timbers

 

Next up were some of the most difficult items to make in the whole ship - the Head Timbers. Getting the shape for these required a lot of measuring and card templates. Unfortunately I was without my camera for a while when I was building these, so I didn't get any pics of their actual shapes before I'd glued them in. Here are a couple of pics from above :

 

 

 

And some from below. The head timbers have a molded covering board on their outer edges. The Lower Rail has also been fitted :

 

 

 

Continued next post .....

[Dan Vadas]

.... continued.

 

Once the head timbers were all installed I could fit the rest of the ledges. Note the parallelogram shape of the carlings for the fore Seats of Ease. Apart from the aft ones which fan out the ledges are all parallel, even if they don't look like it (camera angle) - they have a slight roundup to match the head beam :

 

 

 

Saddle

 

Another thing that could now be finished off was the Saddle at the fore end of the main rails. First I cut a piece out oversize and finessed the under side to fit over the rails. This was then glued in place before final shaping :

 

 

 

The saddle after shaping :

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[Trussben]

Those look really good Dan, and congrats on the workshop.

 

Ben

[Sonofagun]

Danny,

Thanks for sharing this finicky portion of the model. I always learn so much from your posts.

I will be moving into a new home with a workshop that is more than twice as big as my current place. It

Will be 12 x20 feet with 10 foot ceilings. Any pointers? All I have now is keeping my sawdust producing

equipment ( saws, sanders, etc) from my finish and assembly area.

I also want to thank you for inspiring me to build a stand alone, adjustable height, tiltable work station

for my current build. Next build, I will add a gantry to the board.

Again, thank you kindly,

Bryan

[Richard Griffith]

Thank you Dannyy for this amazing build log - it is very inspiring~!  And I hope you stay healthy.

 

Duff

[dgbot]

It is nice to have the room to work around. 

David B

[michael mott]

Danny the picture of the full model sitting on the workbench was a bit of a surprise, for some reason I had not equated the scale of your model with its actual size. Your photographs and the level of detail in many of the small items led me to thinking this was a much larger model. Then with the last pictures of the head timbers, I realized just how small and fiddly these parts are.

 

Hats off to you sir for some very fine modelwork.

 

Oh

  and congratulations on the completion of the move.

 

Michael

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, Danny!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the replies Ben, Bryan, Duff, David, Michael and John .

 

I will be moving into a new home with a workshop that is more than twice as big as my current place. It
Will be 12 x20 feet with 10 foot ceilings. Any pointers?

 

 

Plan your entire workshop before starting to build benches etc. A workshop of that size gives you a lot of scope to build a very good one .

 

Keep the "dirty" area away from your Assembly bench as much as possible. Use an extraction fan or vacuum system for the saw, sander etc.

 

A water supply and small sink is handy if you can incorporate one.

 

You will be able to put at least three good size benches in. Use one for the power tools, one for an assembly bench, and one for "nothing in particular" - on that one you can lay out your plans and any other temporary things.

 

The flooring should be something that is easily cleaned, and be a neutral color to make retrieving those bits that fly off the bench easy to spot. I suggest a greyish timber - I use "Floating Flooring" which is a faux timber copy of the real thing, but much cheaper than proper tongue-and-groove flooring. It will go over a concrete or chipboard floor with a suitable foam underlay. DON'T use carpet - EVERYTHING gets lost in it. Linoleum is OK but not as hard-wearing as timber.

 

Good lighting is essential. I suggest at least three fluorescent ceiling lights, perhaps dropped on chains to compensate for the high ceilings, and a few adjustable arm lights above your power tools and assembly bench to direct extra light where you need it.

 

Some guys like using natural light (windows) but I find it can be a pain if the sun is coming through a window and actually blinding me. I have pull-down blinds on those windows which can be so affected.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

False Rails

 

These are decorative boards which sit on top of the Main Rails. They give a little privacy to the aft Seats of Ease. The central portion of these are carved down :

 

 

Aft Seats of Ease

 

I've also fitted the Aft Seats of Ease. These fit into the space between the false rail and the bow of the ship :

 

 

 

Continued in next post .....

[Dan Vadas]

Cathead Supports

 

These are quite tricky to make. They curve around between the Main Rails and the Upper Cheek, finishing at the start of the Eking Rail (which comes next).

 

First I made a card template of the curve, and removed a section of the Sheer Rail and Waist Rail to accommodate them :

 

 

To shape these I used a piece of over-thick stock into which I sanded the inner curve on the disc sander, finishing it off with a round sanding stick :

 

 

 

After much dry fitting and adjusting a molding was scraped into the outer face and a scarf joint for the eking rail was cut in. Then I glued the supports in :

 

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Looking pretty swish, Danny!

 

John

[overdale]

this is one of my favourite build logs on this forum.

 

 

Mine too..

[BANYAN]

Nice work Danny, looking really good (especially for a set of heads )

 

cheers

 

pat

[ianmajor]

Dan,

 

Incredible work and equally incredible that you take the time and a lot of effort to share the details.  

[dgbot]

You are an artist Danny.  However I am not sure of those seats.  I could possibly get a splinter or two if the weather was a little rough.

David B

[cabrapente]

seeing your work, it seems easy .... 

  I want to begin every day the prow, but still do not dare. 

I will continue learning with your model. 

Greetings cabrapente

Edited August 4, 2014 by cabrapente

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you for the kind comments John, Brian, Dale, Pat, Ian, David and Cabrapente - always appreciated.

 

Eking Rail

 

The Eking Rail is an extension of the cathead support. It curves to match the hull, and cuts around the Hawse Holes :

 

 

 

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks again Geoff .

 

Cat Block for the Falls

 

The function of the Cat Block for the Falls is to lead the Cat Fall line (which is used to raise the anchor) to a horizontal plane. This enables numerous hands to haul the anchor up.

 

This is a Snatch Block - it has an open end, enabling the line to be fed on without the need to reeve it through the block.

 

I made these from English Box. A brass sheave is fitted to each. It took me the best part of a whole day to make the two of these :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boomkin Capsquares

 

I've also cut the recesses for the Boomkins, and temporarily fitted the Capsquares. These are once again made from two leftover capsquares from the guns. They needed a little modification to fit around the 8" boomkin :

 

 

The boomkins won't be fitted until a bit later in the build, as they will interfere with the Gammoning of the bowsprit.

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Beautiful, as usual, Danny.  I particularly like your snatch blocks.

 

John

[mtaylor]

Lovely work, Danny.  You seem to be flying right along on the bow details.

[dgbot]

Are you a ship modeler or a carver?

David B

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Wow, really wonderful!

It's a pleasure to follow your log, Dan

[gjdale]

Wonderful work Danny. A real joy to watch.

[Piet]

Beautiful detail work Danny.  I always enjoy my visits at your shipyard.

 

Cheers,

[Mike Y]

Ok, so I just realized that all these photos were a macro, and model is much smaller then I though! Wow!