James H

I've not photographed the planks or dowels. You'll all know what those will look like. 😉

Ok, here are the parts sheets. I've not gone to town on these too much as they won't be used in the manual. These are just to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

I'm just this minute sifting through the sheets and splitting off the duplicates. Surprise will be just beautiful. The etched gun deck gives a good idea of relatively narrow she was.

1: 64 HMS Surprise prototype build - Vanguard Models Before we can tuck into a plate of 'eggs 'n bacon' next year, we have the not very small matter of HMS Surprise to attend to. We believe this kit will make many, many folk very happy indeed! There's been so much interest in this that it was about time we saw it released in typical VM style. This is the build which will feature in the instruction manual and here you'll see mostly images that will appear there, plus maybe a few other less polished photos which show the clutter that I really surround myself in! Here's an in-progress profile that Chris is currently working on, of Surprise. This will feature in the plans, along with a whole ton of extra folding paper for you to study. This extremely heavy box arrived about an hour ago. This isn't the complete kit either, but there are two sets of everything to build the hull up to and including planking. Chris has used an Indy box to ship this in, so those of you who've built Indy, will recognise this behemoth of a packing box. So far weighing in at around 12kg. A statement? A fact? Definitely one of those. I'll shortly be digging through all of the contents and doing a few iPhone photos for this build log. ...coming very soon 🤪

Wow, this is a blast from the past! I had a few days before Surprise rocked up here, so thought I'd spend some hours on the pretty little Avos kit from Master Korabel. The first three photos were left over and unpublished from 2019, so I're resurrected them here. The first pic shows the hawse bolster/cheek and metal tube temporarily fitted over the newly installed wales. Everything on this gorgeous little kit, fits like a dream. In this photo, the prow is temporarily fitted too so I could accurately fit the wales and gunwale. You can now see that gap between the deck and the bulwarks. That's all fine...it's meant to be like that. The waterway margin plank is then assembled and profiled before gluing into place and completing the look. Deck fittings are quite traditional in construction. The companionway is built from interlocking sections and then sheathed in pear. The fit is just perfect. Grates are made from combs etc. and the stack is made from brass tube that needed cutting and setting at 90 degrees. The keel is now properly cleaned up and glued to the hull. And here we see the work, again, before Avos goes into hiatus while Surprise takes the bench. All the deck fittings aren't glued on at this stage. You can also see that I fitted the belaying pin racks. The external channels are only test fitted at the moment. Until next time 😁

Don't worry about it. You were perfectly happy until you saw that. I'm definitely not bothered about that change.

Not yet. Work will resume on this after HMS Surprise.

That really looks fantastic! You did a great job of that stowage.

I'm as guilty as many on here of having a signature that's WAY too long. So my solution is to post my signature in here and link the post to my shortened signature. So, if you click on the link in my sig, it will point here to the complete list of my builds. So, here goes. This topic isn't a discussion topic. Feel free to reply by posting your own list of completed builds after this post, and link your specific post to your shortened signature. On Hold: HMS Winchelsea Double Capstan - Syren Ship Models - 1:48 'Oseberg' Viking Ship (V3) - Pavel Nikitin - 1:25 Finished US Baltimore Armed Privateer Schooner Grecian 1812 (prototype) - Vanguard Models - 1:64 'Zulu' fishing boat, Vanguard Models - 1:64 Fifie' fishing boat, Vanguard Models - 1:64 HMS Flirt 1782, Vanguard Models - 1:64. Duchess of Kingston c.1780 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 HMS Sphinx 1775, Vanguard Models - 1:64 ERYCINA - Plymouth Ketch-Rigged Trawler 1882, Vanguard Models - 1:64. 'Nisha' - The Brixham 'Mumble-Bee' - Vanguard Models 1:64 'Saucy Jack' fishing boat - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Ranger 'Barking Fish Carrier' - 1864 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 HMS Indefatigable - 1794 (production prototype), Vanguard Models - 1:64. HMS Harpy - 1796 (production prototype) - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Indeterminate: H.M.S. Victory (production prototype) - Amati - 1:64. HMS Granado 1742 (cross section) - CAFModel - 1:48

Can't beat an Eggs'n'Bacon

Just for you, I changed the text for this area 🫡

I sincerely hope you didn't refund this clown?

She is just beautiful 😍

Definitely watching this one. One of my favourite aircraft.

No concerns at all with the kit. So far, it's built up very nicely. All those plank strakes have fitted as they should, and the materials are very, very good. Vanguard Models has these in stock at the moment: https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/products/the-viking-ship-oseberg-version-3-ships-of-pavel-nikitin

We have both kits reviewed here:

We perhaps should've had this in our tech area of the site. This feature has been in play a long time, but even I'd forgotten about it 😆

I don't understand the issue. The cam rotation and the mechanics involved with it, mean that when moving, only one piston can go full stroke at any one time, then falls in sequence as the next rises etc. Piston stroke is entirely sequential.

That is crazy good! I should try these sometime.

Just bought a set of 4 from Amazon UK for £5.99. They look real useful so thanks for that tip!

To those who HAVE posted, the issue is with the content provider, not the journal. It would seem to be intermittent. For example, I've logged in first time, with no delay. When an issue is made 'subscription only', it's one click which does this for the entire membership, so it's not an individual thing I need to do for each single member. Please be patient with this as we simply can't control any issues with the content provider.

That looks insanely good!

Video coming very soon.

Conclusion Out of all the engines I've built so far, this is by far one of the easiest in terms of design and accessibility for the various fasteners that inevitably go into awkward places. I do think I'd have liked the LEDs to have been a little brighter, but they do show up well in subdued light. If helicopters are your thing, then this is most definitely one to add to the collection, especially anyone who liked the Black Hawk. Great kit, easy assembly, and very rewarding. My sincere thanks to EngineDIY for the sample you see here on MSW. To buy direct, click the link at the top of the article.