st george

Well, relatively, yes, very rough. It has been built just to check parts - planking took almost a week, but I needed to plank it full to check all designed parts.
 
One thing, as I mentioned, there will be quite a few changes for the production prototype that Jim will have. Nothing major, more refinements. For example, the waist rail will be in two layers of strip, not one as shown, and as already mentioned, the poop skylight.
 
All hull detail above upper deck level is pre cut.  The poop barricade is my idea, and I have integrated belaying racks either side, in lieu of the missing mizzen bitts. The flag lockers at the stern will be populated with PE parts (square compartments).
 
For the quarter gallery tile effect, I have opted for laser cut black card. I think they are much easier to apply than PE parts, using PVA wood glue, and look better too.
 
I was not 100% sure about the poop step gangways, should I keep them, or have the steps directly attached to the poop? problem is, if I do that, the steps are very close to a 42 pounder, so kept with the platforms.
 
As Indefatigable was stationed in home waters at the beginning of her career, I do wonder if she would have had all of the latest 'innovations' early on, like quarter davits. Bet she did...
 
Anyway, still a lot to do. I will send Jim the production parts in the next couple of weeks, once I have nailed the bow area.

OK, little update.
 
Designs for Indefatigable are now about 85% complete. The pictures shown are of the pre-prototype, so looks very rough as usual, as many parts have been glued, ripped off and new parts added in place - and is built for part checking only (just like Sphinx). There are still a few mistakes on this prototype model, so does not entirely reflect the final designs.
 
I have also included a drawing I did of the basic outline of what I think Indy would have looked like during most of her career. The only concession I have made is keeping the forecastle timberheads, rather than berthing up this area, with the decision based purely on aesthetics (plus the plans show this anyway.
 
What I did change is the quarter bulwarks. I know she had 7 gun ports per side and three (with spare chase port) at the bow, so the 7th port had to be worked in, and this meant altering the bulwarks to the same height. I have placed the additional 12 pounder long chase guns right at the front, as I could not see Pellew being chased, more the chaser...
 
I have tried to keep the poop profile as low as I can. Pellew didn't even want the poop at all, and would have been happy to have his cabin on the main gun deck and Indy fitted with sloop like quarter badges (would have looked odd..). With this in mind, I have kept the poop profile to a minimum, as I am sure Pellew would not have requested anything that would have increased windage. I will add 'iron stanchions' to this area, and that's it.
 
I have the bow area to design, which will be the last of the main areas, and then I need to do all the photo etched parts. (Oh, and of course, a figurehead and stern decoration - which will be minimal). For the first time, I decided to go with laser cut and engraved columns for in between all lights/windows, and I am very happy with how they turned out. Channels are made by laminating three patterns together, a wider and thicker centre and not so wide and thinner top and bottom.
 
You will be able to build this without the open slots in the decks if you so wish, they are not mandatory. The stand is 4mm acetate and a 2mm duel colour engraved nameplate.
 
ETA - Forgot to mention, I have moved the poop skylight back by 3 beams, as I realised it was too close the edge of the poop, so it is now over the great cabin, and not in the position shown.

Forgot to add my initial side profile I did before I started designs..
 
The production model will be shown with coppered bottom, and fully painted sides in black and yellow ochre
 
(The figurehead is from Vanguard, and used as a placeholder until I get her own made)
 

Just to let you know, I haven't stopped working on Indy. This (beginning) stage takes a lot of time, and a lot of hull assemblies before the final hull design is decided - more so for Indy, as it has that darned little poop. At a later stage, I will try to explain in my thread the reasons for certain decisions I have made regarding appearance for this model.
 
There will be 9 different thickness of wood for this kit, so it won't be cheap. Also a full outfit of 5 boats.

All of my kits are FULL kits. It will be entirely up to the modeller as to what to leave on or off, but the kit will be complete - full hull, decks, fittings, masts and rig. What you see is simply a work in progress, the model is nowhere near complete!
 
Here are the upper and poop sub decks (to be planked over) They come with tabbed slots, so you have a choice whether to leave them in situ or remove them, so you can see the deck below.

On a happier note, Indefatigable development moves on relentlessly. I have started the first planking of the hull, which will take a few days. Still not sorted a figurehead though, but all armament, anchors and other castings type fittings have already been produced.
 
I decided to 3-d print the majority of the belfry. This is still quite small, and the original has many shapes.  I did originally design it in separate parts, with laser cut and engraved supports, but it would have been quite fiddly to assembly, and I don't like fiddly if I can help it. I then designed it with the stanchions and canopy (always a problematic shape if in wood form) as one piece, and the bell cross beam in pear.
 
I have attached my original drawing for this, it will not look as 'clunky' as a wood only part. As with the anchors and guns, this is produced using black resin.

Just a little, if regretful update:
 
Over the past few months, material costs have risen from 10-25%, from essential materials to stuff you don't really give a second thought to, packaging materials. On top of this, in the UK at least, electricity/fuel costs are rising - this does have an impact, especially for larger kits like Sphinx, which takes a whole day of laser cutting time per kit, a lot of electricity.
 
With this in mind, from Monday, I have to increase prices across the board by 10%. I really don't want to, but have little choice. I have swallowed any past extra cost as best I can, like the import duty costs for my materials from the EU, but I cannot soak up the new price rises for the rest of the materials I have to buy that go into each kit. 
 
 

Little update...
 
I now have another 5 boats available:
 
Cutters:
20 foot
22 foot
24 foot
25 foot
 
And a 36 Foot Admirals Barge
 
Ship’s Boats (various types) – VANGUARD MODELS
 
Thanks to James Hatch!
 
Also, I started Indefatigable designs a few weeks ago, and am currently nailing the hull designs. Throughout all this, I have had terrible toothache, culminating in tooth removal yesterday, so still feel like a bear with a sore head...
 
The pics show the very first assembly of the first parts I cut for Indy, and other pics show the second cut of modified parts. Hull design is now set in stone, so onto deck and bulwark stuff.
 
I decided to include full deck beams to scale, also scale distance for the upper and poop decks. I am still working on these.
 
The only parts that are glued on the assembly are the gunport parts.
 
This is quite large...

Thanks for following along....
 
More paint... the black this time.  Needs a few touch ups but I'm pretty happy at this point.   Now to sort the red and blue at the top of the hull and how to work around a few "gotcha's" like not paint where things like the channels need to be and the issue of the decorations going under some various bits.
 
Here's photos as she sits at the moment.

Be sure and give us a photo tour when you are all set up.

Great Idea Chris 👍
Mind you, i suppose the grading is subjective. Having been following most (if not all) the Sphinx builds, a lot of people are saying that with a little patience it's buildable by all skill levels. That's a testament to your design skills. 
Wishing you the best of luck with this new phase.
RB
 

Another little update.
 
Since the beginning of 28th September until last week, we had builders here to convert our garage into a proper unit, split into two rooms, one room for the laser cutting and raw materials, and another for packing (and gym...). They did quote 2 weeks, but it was over 5 weeks. We have a new roof, floor levelled and walls skinned in OSB boards, including the partition.
 
All new shelving arrived yesterday, so this week we are fitting the rooms out. Next Monday my new laser machine arrives, so I will be able to develop much larger kits (Sphinx is the largest I could go with my current machine, unless I split the keel, and I prefer not to do that if at all possible)
 
I now have all Vanguard Models kits in stock, after a nightmare couple of months chasing suppliers up with my orders (notably, photo etched brass). As I have mentioned, because of the headaches this has caused me lately, my next three kits are having the photo etched sheets produced locally here in the UK. They cost more, but then again, all photo etch  suppliers are increasing prices anyway, due to shortages of raw materials.
 
Right now, I am laser cutting the Nisha and Erycina production parts. Today I received the 3-d printed castings for the kits, as well as sample sail sets for each. The production versions are being made now, so will hopefully be ready in time for the kit releases.
 
I have read all the build logs, most notably the Sphinx logs. When designing/developing Sphinx, my design philosophy for this kit (aside from wanting to develop kits that I would want to buy) was to make the build as painless as possible for builders who were used to kits like Fly, Vanguard, Duchess etc.. So intermediate modellers.
 
I wanted to include cut parts that are never really included in older kits, where these parts are either left off altogether, or the modeller needs to make them from strips of wood or blocks of wood. All they then need is final finishing and, in some cases, like the quarter gallery, all three edges require shaping. But for the most part, if the parts are not painted, the top and bottom edges need slight filing/sanding to remove the char, which, being laser cut, I can do nothing about. Sphinx will still take a while to build, but a lot of that time should be cleaning up pre cut parts, and not making them from scratch.
 
In summary,  wooden model kits are not designed to fall together when you shake the box (as many allude to Tamiya), but each part still needs to be worked on and test fitted multiple times, and maybe adjusted, before fitting. Sphinx takes 8 hours to produce each kit.
 
I have said before, if I designed each kit like most other mainstream manufacturers, I could honestly produce a dozen or so new kits per year, as there's really nothing to them. But where is the fun/challenge in that?
 
When we get time, we will add a section on my website, grading each kit according to the experience required to build each kit.
 
Cheers,
 
Chris

As soon as it's fully rigged, yes...definitely. 
It's full steam ahead now so Chris can add that stuff to the Rev.2 instruction manual for next batch of kits. 
The rig stuff isn't really needed for the manual as that's usually all done via plans anyway, but it's nice to add some of it to the next updated manual.

Wow, Chris's website shows the 1st run of the Sphinx is sold out.  Must be some sort of record. Congratulations to Chris and James. Long may the Vanguard line prosper. 
 
Malcolm   

Chris, time matter question;
Have you been able to make my regular 24 hour day to 30 hours?
 Seems like you, James and Chuck have found the golden source to extend the day.
Looking good and fascinating. 

Here's my last update before the final completion images.
 
The masts are pretty straightforward. Cartridge paper is used for the iron banding, the battens then fitted over these. When complete, the masts are varnished and then sections painted black before then fitting out with rigging blocks etc. For this model, I've used the optional pear blocks (except for deadeyes as the pear weren't in stock when I started). 
 






 
 
All yards are then built, including mizzen gaff, ensign pole etc. These will be fitted out as soon as the paint is dry.

 
 
Whilst waiting for paint drying, I fitted the bowsprit and rigged the shrouds and stays after first adding the gammoning. Boomkins are also rigged.

 
 
And this is the result so far.

 
 
Catch you when she's finished...

USS North Carolina, 74 gun ship of the line, launched Sep 1820. It's a picture of an oil painting on wood in the collection of the Insurance Co. of North America and was used in their 1950 Ad.

Jingyang,
 
I played around with 3d years ago and never came close to the skill you are showing. Well done.
 
David

Hi Adam
 
Must admit that the Prince has long been a favorite ship of mine. I've built the Airfix plastic one twice and hope to get around to building a wooden model one day. I look forward to seeing your Build.
 
David

I have no plans for 48th scale kits in my initial list of future developments. I prefer to stick to one scale for now, more so when considering the larger vessels I wish to develop.

Thank you so much, guys, very much appreciated!
 
These new kits do need a lot of time spent on development, and with Sphinx, it needed a lot more than any kit I have done before, Victory included. It really is a mad kit!
 
Even full time working on these, larger kits will still require 6 months minimum development time, from conception to finished prototype, but I do plan to do a couple of smaller kits after Sphinx (including more ships boats, cutters etc.), before starting on a (really) big one. 

Just another very small update, but a big one for me...
 
I have now left my day job to concentrate fully on Vanguard Models. It got to the point where something had to give, and Vanguard Models won out.
 
So, hopefully, I have made the right decision, and in the meantime and from this day forward, all of my time energy will be focused on new developments.
 
I still feel very apprehensive, as this is a new sensation for me, but felt I had to do this.
 
Also need to say a big thank you to Jim Hatch, who has helped with prototype models, photography and manual text immensely, meaning the kits have been finished a lot quicker than I could have hoped. When a development is complete, I make sure they are brought into the market as quickly as possible, and Jim has been a very big part of this, so credit where it is due.
 
So, because I do not have to worry about getting ready for a 12 hour shift, I think I will get all Sphinx CAD plans complete by the end of next week, which I will then send to Jim for the rigging (he already has all plans except rigging).
 
I am also most grateful to all of those who have bought my products, and making the decision to move full time developing new products easier.
 
ETA - My wife's leg/knee is healing well, and she can now get around without any aids!

Cheers
 
Right now, I make sure that every penny goes back into the business, hence the reason we both still have day jobs. I believe it is important to get the business up and running and be self sustaining, with all equipment bought before I take any money from it.
 
I need another laser machine (larger bed and more powerful, for the larger kits I have in mind), and this also means I need to turn our garage into a fully fledged work unit, to house both machines and kit boxes. Before I can think about taking money from the business for ourselves, these things need to happen first.
 
By the way, orders are not delayed, we are now fully up to date!

I have mentioned before, a Tamiya Spitfire that my wife bought me inspired me to design Victory with inner detail, if plastic models have such unseen detail, why not the upper tier wooden kits, rather than the usual block model. I always liked to look at models and peer into the hatches and gun ports to try and find more detail. My new kits are simply an extension of this thought process. There will still be some tricky areas that need sanding and manipulating, like stern and bow parts. But for most other stuff, I am hoping the build will be relatively easy and a nice result at the end.

No, the hull planking starts at the lower edges of the main wale position. Here it is double planked using 1x5mm limewood and 0.8x4mm pearwood. This is the only planking you need to do.