Jump to content

Blue Ensign

NRG Member
  • Posts

    4,196
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Blue Ensign

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    The Green Shires of England
  • Interests
    Eighteenth Century Naval History, ship modelling, wandering the Lakeland Fells, cocker spaniels, Golf, and too keen an interest in red wine.

Recent Profile Visitors

11,981 profile views
  1. That fourth. photo gives a great impression of the mass of rigging involved with a square rigged sailing vessel. Nicely done Kevin.👍 B.E.
  2. Thanks for the links Allan, I agree the convention for Pinnaces was for a single banked set-up with the thole pins off-set port and starboard. There is 1:48 scale drawing of a 32’ Pinnace in the AotS book Diana which also shows a bench board running down the centre between the thwarts. This feature also shows on the Adm drawings. I will look to at least modifying the thole pin set-up on the kit Pinnace. B.E.
  3. Post One Hundred and Fifty- eight. Building the 32’ Pinnace (Part One) This is the one boat example that I may include on the skids of my Indy. I think the Pinnace is the nicest looking boat type and my go to for display on a ship. I have built an example of every boat type in the Vanguard range, and my detailed logs are elsewhere on MSW, most recently on my Sphinx log. My approach in building the Pinnace will be as previously recorded, so I’ll include less detail with this log. There are a few areas of approach to building these bijou boats that may be of use to others. Setting up the frames. These are delicate parts and I like to protect the framing, and I add support pieces to protect the bow and stern. 3981 These slotted strips protect the very delicate stem by avoiding the risk of flex when fitting the first strakes. 3979 At the stern the transom is secured square. 3982 This is a weak part and support boards are added to reduce any risk of flex during fairing or attaching the planking strakes. The planking strips are nominally 2mm x 0.8mm and as I found with the Sphinx Pinnace, they have very little excess in length to accommodate edge bending which applies very near the bow end. 3984 Both lateral and edge bending and also a degree of taper is required to maintain the flow of planking. These features were applied once the first plank had been installed. 3988 The first four planks fit into the stem rabbet, followed by the addition of the Garboard plank. For the Garboard I used a wider 3mm strip. 3993 Planking continues to completion. The final spiled plank that sits below the round of the hull is traced onto Tamiya tape and cut out of the 0.8mm Pear fret. 3998 3999 Three days’ work and the planking is completed, albeit still in a rough state. This will be cleaned up before moving onto the next stage. B.E. 16/03/2024
  4. Post One Hundred and Fifty- seven Mast Making. Starting with the Mainmast:- For the reduced height masts I firstly need to work out the relative positions of the wooldings, iron bands, and the point where the side cheeks and front fish terminate. 3967 I replaced the Pear laser cut cheeks and fish with Boxwood versions to better match the Ramin masts. The iron bands need to be fitted before the cheeks are put into place. With a 12mm ø mast my go to use of heat shrink tubing will not work, so it’s back to thin strips of black card. Once the cheeks are fitted the remaining iron bands need to be applied, they sit beneath the Front fish. I work the bands so that the join will also be beneath the Fish. 3970 The Fish is then fitted 3972 3973 3974 3976 3977 The saddle for the Driver Boom was also replaced with a Boxwood version. 3978 3971 The woolding remains to be done, but I am out of the correct line sizes. B.E. 12/03/2024
  5. Post One Hundred and Fifty- six Bits and pieces From this point on the comforting crutch of the glossy manual has ended. There are many small fittings to add and in this session I will mainly be referring to Plans 5 and 9. Working from in to out there is brass wire(0.8mmø) to be inserted thro the faces of the skid beams across the waist (plan5)- shown as belay pins on (Plan 9). 3955 The arrangement seems to have been taken from that of the Victory where one rigging source indicates that the triple aft three relate to the belay of the Staysail sheets and those on the second from forward beam for the Main Topmast Stunsail downhauls. Fortunately for me this has no practical application. 3946 The inner guide rope stanchions (PE59) are fitted along the waist gangboards followed by a wooden rail (2X1mm Pear) atop the inner hammock crane arms, the fit into the brass etched crutches is perfect. I have diverted from the plan by adding iron stanchions between the timberheads around the Fo’csle. 3953 Not provided in the kit I used spare items from the Sphinx kit- a slightly shorter stanchion. It seemed reasonable to me that given the low height of the rails, stanchions would have been fitted. The kit provides etched versions of the belay pins, they are a mere 8mm in length, and barely 0.8mm in width, but still have a visible shape, and I think they look quite good at the scale. 3947 3956 Blackened to give them some tooth and painted a bare wood colour I added a few to the pin rails for effect. 3949 There are quite a few eyebolts to add along the channels together with the iron work for the Main studding booms. I dare say I will find other little additions as I continue to re-check the plans but for now I am moving onto dressing the stump masts. B.E. 10/03/2024
  6. Thankyou Yves, the drawings in the AoTS Bellona provide a good guide, and the given anchor dimensions for a Seventy-four are taken from Steele. If your anchors match the scale the arrangement looks ok to my eye, at least on paper. 'Indy' is more problematic, ideally the anchor arm should fit between the first and second deadeyes, to bring it as close to the hull as possible, but there is no room. This accords with the Adm plan. The aft bower is easier as it will fit as per the Bellona drawing. Victory had a different arrangement. 1834 Here, Billboards and linings are dispensed with and the anchor fluke sits in a heavy shoe. How they manipulated that 81cwt lump of iron into position without marring that pristine paintwork I can only wonder at.🤔 These of course are replicas. B.E.
  7. Thank you Bug, glad to see work has restarted on your Pegasus.👍 Post One Hundred and Fifty- five I continued to fit the Port side billboards and linings. 3939 3936 3937 I think I have made a better job of the Port side, so off came the starboard side for a re-fit. 3941 Starboard side re-done, happier now. 3942 I have also taken the opportunity to replace the bow port lid and add double lifting lanyards. 3852 Small sections of telephone wire sleeving are used to represent the port lanyard tubes, but they did need drilling through to take the 0.30mm line which was stiffened with ca for the purpose. 3932 Another small job is to add the rudder chains. I used some Caldercraft Brass chain, 18 links /per inch. I will get around to trimming them at some point. B.E. 08/03/2024
  8. Post One Hundred and Fifty- four This post follows on from Post 152 having a close relationship to anchors. One of the reasons I made up the anchors is that I have also been thinking about anchor linings and billboards. These do not feature with the kit and do not tend to appear on contemporary plans. Many contemporary models show them, as on Amazon above. They were an important feature on ships of the period to protect the hull from the anchor flukes. Chuck’s Winnie My go to reference, here you can see the lining running over the wale. 7396 I added billboards to my Sphinx build as above. 3906 Having an anchor made up is useful in that the arc made by the anchor as it is swung horizontal from the cathead for securing, determines the position of the lining and billboards. In considering Bolsters and Billboards for Indy I am hamstrung by the absence of specific sizes of timber to use. With Sphinx it was relatively easy having the TFFM book to refer to. I know where these fittings were placed so it is basically down to what looks good to my eye. I firstly made the Bolsters using some Boxwood square stock of 2.75mm. This was topped by some 3.5 x 0.7mm boxwood strip. 3910 The length of the bolster worked out at 26mm. Notches were cut out of the back side to fit over the first two preventer plates of the Fore channels and a slight curve was induced to match the curve of the bow. The bolster was fixed to the Black strake only with pins. 3913 With the bolsters in place the Billboards can be made. For this I use some 1mm Boxwood scrap inscribed with 3mm wide boards which reflect the topsides planking. The Linings 3914 These cover the main wale in the case of Indy and scribe an arc at the fore end that follows that of the anchor swing. I settled on using some 0.6mm Pearwood scrap which suits my eye. 3917 3919 3929 In fixing the linings I have used double sided tape. This gives me the option of easy removal if I decide I don’t like them, and the jury is still out on that. Altho’ I’m not fitting the anchors I don’t think it will be an easy fit to get the bowers to look right. 3923 3924 If the bill is to rest on the Fore channel there is little room between the deadeyes. 3930 A possible fixing with the arm atop the fore end of the channel secured with shank painters around the timberheads. I will be interested to see how others tackle the anchor rigging.🤔 B.E. 07/03/2024
  9. Thankyou Guys for your comments and 'likes' @ Alistair - that shelf is going to need some heavy duty brackets.😉 B.E.
  10. Thank you Walter and Nipper. @ Nipper - I used Syren 0.3mmø line which equates to 2½” circ. (Lavery comments that in the 1780’s port ropes were usually of 3” rope.) Cheers, B.E.
  11. Post One Hundred and Fifty-three Anniversary Today marks twelve months since I started this log. I have worked several hours, mostly each day, over the period and have included many modifications to the basic kit, some obvious, some not so, and some now hidden. That such a large and detailed model can be constructed to this stage in such a relatively short time is all down to Chris’s planning and design and the quality of the fittings. Apart from a few minor additions, the hull is effectively completed. To mark the occasion, I cleaned up my workbench, and took some photo’s using my tripod rather than the usual handheld w-i-p shots. 3854 3899 3900 3901 3898 3863 3886 3876 3878 3889 3897 3895 3896 In the earlier stages of the build, I didn’t have the same sense of enjoyment I had with Sphinx, perhaps because it is a more difficult model to manoeuvre during building, it is large financial investment you don’t want to mess up, and it is a far testier challenge than Sphinx. More recently, with the build challenges mostly behind me, I have warmed to the task, and there’s no denying the ‘Indy’ model certainly has that WOW factor. Mrs W loves it, even if she is still asking where I’m going to put it.🫤 3905 Getting there Gov’nor, getting there. Cheers Gromit. B.E. 05/03/2024
  12. Post One Hundred and Fifty-two Anchors As a change of scene, I thought I would make up a couple of the anchors. The kit includes the four main bower anchors, if the smaller stream and kedge anchors are required they are easily obtained using aftermarket suppliers. The kit provided anchors have a scale shank length of 77mm (16’ 2”) which equates to a weight of 43cwt This weight falls between the allocated anchor weights for 38-50-gun ships. The outer diameter of the ring is 29” which scales to 11.5mm. The thickness of the ring scales to 1.4mm. A 64-gun ship had 4 bowers at 57cwt plus stream at 15cwt and a kedge of 7cwt 2qrts. The kit anchors are 3d printed and very finely sculpted. All the subtle features are moulded into the shank and arms. I think the day of the white metal anchor is coming to a close. As with all resin stuff the parts need washing and priming. The stocks are pre-cut from Pearwood and are faced with a thinner veneer that contains the Trenails correctly positioned and with engraved markings for the iron retaining bands. 3831 The only modification I felt necessary was to taper the arms thickness a little from outside the central area towards the outer ends. This reflects a more authentic shape. Once primed, I used Vallejo black/grey, followed by dark brown /rust weathering powders. 3824 The anchors on the left have had the weathering treatment, those on the right as painted. 3830 Brass wire of 1.4mm ø was used to make the rings which have an outside ø of 11.5mm. 3835 The ends of the rings were reduced in size to fit the shank and chemically blackened to give a little tooth for the puddening. The stock halves have mortises cut into the inner sides to fit against the shank. There should be a gap between them but I thought it a tad too large so I deepened the mortice somewhat. Glued together the facings are then added. 3834 Those familiar with my stuff know that I favour heat shrink rubber tubing to represent iron hoops. The final part is to add the puddening to the anchor ring. I used Syren 0.45mm ø and Morope 0.1mm stuff for the seizings. 3838 In applying the puddening unless you glue the ring in place it needs to be held steady. As I work around the ring I apply pva to help keep it in place. 3842 3847 3849 Capt. Pellew is dwarfed by Indy’s anchors. I won’t be fitting or rigging the anchors but as far as I can see there is no reference to this in either manual or plans, so other sources will have to be found; fortunately there are many available. B.E. 02/03/2024
  13. Neat work on the Mizen Stay Glenn, You know you can improve the look of the mouses on the stay collars immensely simply by using formed styrene tubing or wooden dowel covered with material from a pair of your wife's old tights, but don't let her catch you cutting them up.😉 B.E.
×
×
  • Create New...