Ray

The quarter deck open rails
 
 
I looked at the photos in my books and worked out a hight for the top rail, and then drew out a template, (see photo), which would give me good idea of what it would look like,  I also used the template to cut out the uprights. Firstly I made a trim to go at the top of the bulwark and under the bottom rail. The bottom and top rails were made from 5x2mm beech which bends really well even after a short soak the uprights were fitted into slots in the bottom rail which when they were all made were painted and glued on, the top rail was bent to shape, and all the upright positions marked, the rail was then drilled to just under the breaking through point,and then cynoed onto the uprights, one down one to do.
 
Rail profile drawn out

 
trim added under bottom rail


 
bottom rail

 
bottom rail and uprights

 
Top rail ready to fit

 
Top rail fitted

Hi Andy   Rope coils
 
I tape down some masking tape sticky side up, and just start the coil with a small loop, holding the rope with my finger and wind it, around it, pushing it down to keep it sticking to the tape, it takes a bit of practice and sometimes two or three goes to get started, as getting it to stick to the tape is the trick, only use the tape once, when you are happy with the coils brush them with dilute pva and leave till dry then slice of the tape. Hope this helps I have added some photos.
 

 
After pva treatment and dry

 

Guns fully mounted
 
All the guns have now been fitted and the ones that can be seen have been fully rigged. Next job to finish the gun deck fittings.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Deck FittingsAt the same time as making up the main deck guns and rigging them I also started making some of the deck fittings, hatches, bits, ladders and the stove the photos below show the progress.
 
The first hatch

 
The first hatch finished

 
Hatches and ladders

 
Hatches test fitted


 
Stove added

 
The fittings and the guns


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Coppering tile plate applying guide 
Copper plating seems to scare some builders so here is the way I actually fix the plates/tiles to the hull THICK cyno is always used and I very rarely find the need to remove any excess, and if I do I use a wet/baby wipe. Cutting is done with a heavy duty Stanley type knife on a self-healing cutting mat, and any extra dressing to fit carried out with a sanding disc or needle file.
 
1st thick cyno going onto tiles max I do at one time is three

 
spreading glue on plates

 
Triming at plate

 
Fixing tiles/plates standerd fix and a cut in fix


 
Fixed ordinary and cut in tiles plates

 
 
 
 
 
 

The galleries have now been completed there is one more bit to add on the top but that will be done when the quarterdeck rails have been added, no real problems adding the trim and decoration and the photos show the stages, now back to the plating only a few more rows on the second side to go.
 
Decoration going on one side
 

That side done
 

Decoration going on the stern

 

Galleries finished

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

David, Juergen, Andy, MarkThanks for the comments guys David she is quite large but I agree with Andy you have to build the one that floats your boat.
 
Mark….. The gore line I could not find any information that lays down rules for where it should be, and I am not a fan off the method where two or three rows of plates that go in a band around the water line, so I set the gore line so it looks right to me, I did the same on Pegasus and I looked at her, and used her as a guide as the hull shapes are not dissimilar, hope this is of help.

The main wale                       The main wale planking was done next; again the timber needed dressing before it could be used, as the edges were very rough. After all the planks were fixed I taped over the top thinner plank so as to protect it, and to maintain the difference when rubbing down the rest of the wale. The wale was rubbed down and filled and top plank uncovered and the whole wale painted black.
The whole of the hull including the wale was given a coat of 50/50 satin water based varnish and water, I use this as a sealer, I find both paint and the copper tiles adhere to it very well (I did a test strip to make sure).
 
First plank on

 
Ready to fill and paint


 
Narrow top wale plank

 
Wale in progress and lined gun ports

 
Masked up and painted

 
Wale completed and 50% water-varnish sealer on



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Second Planking 
I started planking from the top of the wale, this position was marked out as per the instructions measuring down from the main deck gun ports. I like to lay the second planks semi-wet to damp and fix with cyno gel; I find the cyno grabs damp timber much better than dry timber. One thing I will comment on is the quality of the planking the 1x4mm being the worst, it is nowhere as good as the planking supplied in the two Victory kits I have built, the edges are rough and splintery, and also show saw marks, four out of ten would be my best mark I could give the 1x5mm a little better, So before soaking I had to sand all the planking edges a bit of a pain. I went downwards with the 1x5mm for five rows,( the instruction say plank right down to the keel and plank upward last), I then went upwards with the 1x4mm only because I thought it was only a matter of time while working on the bottom I would break or damage the fore or quarter deck sides, this way their thickness would be doubled and be a lot less fragile. The planking as gone ok so far.
 
Jason
        At the end I have posted two pics with Diana along side Pegasus hope this gives you the size compassion.
 
Rough planking
 

 

 
First few planks on

 
Working upwards


 
 
Planked upwards to the top

 
Planking well under way
 


 
Diana and Pegasus
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

First planking continued
An update on the first planking no problems so far I am laying the planks damp to very damp, I soak the planks in an blanked off length of pvc pipe, and then bend and cut them damp, I fix with pins using PVA speed bond and after fixing the first two rows full width, I am tapering the rest at the bows I do it by eye and feel.
 
First few rows on

 
A few more rows on

 
A few more rows on shows balsa filler helping with pinning planks


 
Stern planking


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

One half of the gun deck has now been planked top & butt, then 13 rows of 3mm planks and lastly two rows of 5mm up to the edge, where the gratings come to, the part left in the centre of the deck reverts to 3mm planks, I will fill that in after the other main half has been done, so far I a pleased with the effect and the maple. The other photos show my planking station just some pined down glass paper and spare 1.5 x 5 mm planking pined to allow the ends to be sanded square.

 
This might be the last update for a while as tomorrow the 6th I am going into hospital to have replacement knee surgery not looking forward to it very much, hopefully after the first few weeks I might have a lot of time to put into the build.
 
3mm planks ready to lay

 
Sanding station

 
Sanding edge

 
3mm planking being layed

 
3mm planking done

 
One side finished

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Gun deck plankingI started the gun deck planking by adding the waterway plank, it was trimmed and shaped from a 7mm wide length of maple, it was set hard against the frames and with a bulwark plank set on top, this gave the waterway a 4mm width. I then cut out a few shaped planks and worked out a straight line in from the waterway parallel to the deck centre line at about amidships wide enough to cover the planking pattern, which is four planks wide, this was the compromise as in the last post, the top and but planking was then laid from that line to the waterway. I tried the ply top decks on, and you just do not see where the top and but planking tapers you only see it at full width. Next I started laying the 3mm wide planks and I will say the 3mm timber was nowhere near as good on the edges as the 5 & 7mm and requires a lot of sanding, as showed a few rows have been laid the rest to do.
 
 
Waterway & stright edge for distance

 
First row of planks

 
Two rows

 
Top & but finished one side


 
 
Top & but finished one side with ply top deck in place

 
 
 
Top & but finished one side with the first rows of 3mm planking and a bulwark plank in place

 
 
 
 

Hi Guys thanks for the comments.
 
 
Firstly Jotika/Cladercraft I e-mailed them and this is the guy who responded John Wright a Director    johnwirght@jotika-ltd.com  so this approach might be worth a try .
 
Secondly head-rails, they are difficult  to get our head around,  but I found them not as difficult as on Pegasus, as that was my first time, building up a head rail bow section, and  this time I could look back on how I did them on her. So I have tried to go through this part step by step to give a guide and will post the next part in a few days when I have sorted out the Photos (and taken the admiral Xmas shopping).
 
Thirdly there is no problem with the cannons they all move up and down,handy if knocked or caught when moving her about,I must try and remember to set them all up before photos.

The bow Section
 
Next I started on the head rails and all the bow details including the cat heads. The bow frame head timbers were dressed and glued together and the fit adjusted to the bow. The curved cheek rails were then fixed to the side of the bow frame together with the cheek blocks,the head timber assembly was bevelled as necessary to aline with the main rails and the bow frame, and the slots for the decorative strips were filed out the the assembly was then glued to the main bow frame after painting.
 
I rememberer at this point that I only had three lengths of the decorative strip (340) which sits in the slots on the timber head and goes up to the bottom of the cat head and I would need four lengths I must have been one short as I had not wasted any around the stern, I e-mailed Jotika and they posted me two lengths the next day a very good service indeed.
 
The main rails were painted and added I cut notches into the rails on the hull rather than filing the main rail sides to get a nice fit, so far so good.
Next make the cat -heads and finish off.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The bow Section
 
Next I started on the head rails and all the bow details including the cat heads. The bow frame head timbers were dressed and glued together and the fit adjusted to the bow. The curved cheek rails were then fixed to the side of the bow frame together with the cheek blocks,the head timber assembly was bevelled as necessary to aline with the main rails and the bow frame, and the slots for the decorative strips were filed out the the assembly was then glued to the main bow frame after painting.
 
I rememberer at this point that I only had three lengths of the decorative strip (340) which sits in the slots on the timber head and goes up to the bottom of the cat head and I would need four lengths I must have been one short as I had not wasted any around the stern, I e-mailed Jotika and they posted me two lengths the next day a very good service indeed.
 
The main rails were painted and added I cut notches into the rails on the hull rather than filing the main rail sides to get a nice fit, so far so good.
Next make the cat -heads and finish off.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Very neat and tidy Ray.  Starting to get a real sense of how the front end will look, should be really impressive.  I can't help but notice a lowered #2 cannon, hope that it is nothing serious?

Yeah... headrails.... everybody's favourite head-scratching, how-the-he** moment.
 
Nice work you've done.
 
Although... that second canon.... sorry to say.. but...uh.... he seems to be aiming a bit low......
 
Andy

The bow Section
 
Next I started on the head rails and all the bow details including the cat heads. The bow frame head timbers were dressed and glued together and the fit adjusted to the bow. The curved cheek rails were then fixed to the side of the bow frame together with the cheek blocks,the head timber assembly was bevelled as necessary to aline with the main rails and the bow frame, and the slots for the decorative strips were filed out the the assembly was then glued to the main bow frame after painting.
 
I rememberer at this point that I only had three lengths of the decorative strip (340) which sits in the slots on the timber head and goes up to the bottom of the cat head and I would need four lengths I must have been one short as I had not wasted any around the stern, I e-mailed Jotika and they posted me two lengths the next day a very good service indeed.
 
The main rails were painted and added I cut notches into the rails on the hull rather than filing the main rail sides to get a nice fit, so far so good.
Next make the cat -heads and finish off.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

I always lay the margin plank first.  As the planking goes forward, I cut the joggling into the end of the plank and lay this over the margin plank and mark the shape of the joggled end with a sharp pencil on the margin plank.  The margin plank can then be cut with a very sharp blade to take the end of the plank.
 
John

I thought I'd add another update; I am getting close to finishing this monster finally after almost a year...
 

 

 

 

 

 
I am now in the process of addind the last details around the ship that I have missed . Gotta say I'm a bit scared of the rigging but this isn't the HMS Victory so I do feel lucky about that!

Below are some photos of the completed upper decks.
 
Next I will finish a few bits on the sides such as the entry steps and then turn my attention to the bow and the cats heads.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Mobbsie great work on the ships boats they look fab wise move not to fix them until after rigging but nice to see them in place. Diana is not much smaller that Aggie and storage is a problem I cannot have mine in cases and Diana will take the last space. I may build Aggie next alongside a (dog boat) a motor gun boat it will delay the storage/display problem but will compromise my building space time will tell.

Kevin;  Just stumbled upon your build, and it's looking great!  I must say, however, if you are creating a great and accurate model from history, as we all are, why omit the swastika?  The symbol itself has been around much longer than the third reich...  It's all a part of history.  If I were recreating a confederate warship from the 1800's I would include the confederate flag, for realism;  history should not be offensive, we should all educate ourselves and our children in order to prevent the terrible mistakes we've made in the past, and as model ship builders we should embrace the wonderful engineering and design that went into these magnificent vessels;  they all were created by great minds that, In My Humble Opinion, were horrified at how the war mongers ultimately used them to satisfy their own selfish agendas.
 
That being said, I look forward to your build;  I haven't done plastic since I was a kid, but this looks like a great kit, and It's tempting...

Hi Guys,
 
Wow, I never expected a response like this, makes me feel so very humble, thank you all for the kind words.   :)  
 
Popeye,    All the boats have been lashed to their cradles and will be positioned on the beams, none of the boats are stowed on top of another, I don't have a photo at the moment but I will take one with them in position. With regard to the oars I found the specifications which fits all sizes,
 
Outboard Length is 1.25 x the Beam of the Boat
Length inboard is      .35 x the Beam of the Boat
Length of Blade is     .30 x the Length of the Oar   This also includes the blade housing on the shaft
Width of Blade at Tip         Six Inches ( 6" )
Diameter of Shaft       1/48 Length of the Oar
 
As the beam is different on all the boats they are all slightly different in length. I did cheat when making the blades, I cut them from card and trimmed when the oar was complete. Hope that makes sense mate. :mellow:  :mellow:
 
Keith,     There is no historical colour scheme for any of the boats, I just thought the Pinnace would be used by the Captain or senior officer and so should be different from the rest, I quite like the colour though. I have thought about giving mine to some poor unsuspecting person but I don't know if I could inflict that much pain on anybody, if I tried they would probably ask for the monitory value instead.  
 
John ( Jim Lad )    The boats will be placed as recommended in the manual, I haven't put them on yet as there are Cavel Cleats below on the gun deck and I will need to get to them when rigging, with the boats on that would be virtually impossible.
 
Wayne,   I think I understood what you were saying, thank you.     :D      
 
Frank,   Sjors is over his ailment now and has put a bit of weight on, I don't think the little boats would do the job.    
 
Augie,   Your not wrong about the time it takes to knock  these little ones out, I suppose I've been working on them for the last  2 - 3 weeks, not continuously because life gets in the way plus I've had side projects as well, of the construction type for he who cannot be named.
 
Sjors,   Sorry mate their stopping here, no more room in the case.  
 
Hamilton, Pierre & Jim,   Thanks guys for your very kind words.
 
Also for those who have hit the like button, thank you very much, it's appreciated.
 
OK gents it's coming up for 02:30 here so it's time for me to hit the sack.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

One half of the gun deck has now been planked top & butt, then 13 rows of 3mm planks and lastly two rows of 5mm up to the edge, where the gratings come to, the part left in the centre of the deck reverts to 3mm planks, I will fill that in after the other main half has been done, so far I a pleased with the effect and the maple. The other photos show my planking station just some pined down glass paper and spare 1.5 x 5 mm planking pined to allow the ends to be sanded square.

 
This might be the last update for a while as tomorrow the 6th I am going into hospital to have replacement knee surgery not looking forward to it very much, hopefully after the first few weeks I might have a lot of time to put into the build.
 
3mm planks ready to lay

 
Sanding station

 
Sanding edge

 
3mm planking being layed

 
3mm planking done

 
One side finished