Blue Ensign

Stern Gallery Modification Mark 11 My eye kept drifting back to the stern decoration on the NMM plan The decoration is classical and is related to Pegasus. Not that what appears on the drawings would necessarily be reflected on an actual ship, but it does make sense. In the centre of the Tafferal is the ships namesake (as with the kit) Top left and right the head of Medusa, complete with snake hairdo. On the Port side of Pegasus is Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa, and to the Starboard the headless body of Medusa, from whence Pegasus sprang. On either side of the stern gallery on the Upper Quarter piece, where the Norman Knights reside on the kit, stands Perseus, and below him sea creatures presumably representing the watery kingdom of Poseidon, the father of Pegasus. Note also the space between the hull and the Upper Quarter piece on which the figure of Perseus stands. I rather think that the standing figures are facing slightly outwards and are carved in solid relief. For those of you who didn’t study Classics at school - A little bit of Greek mythology. Pegasus was the son of Poseidon, God of the Sea, so quite appropriate for a ships name. His Mother was the Gorgon Medusa and Pegasus sprang from her neck when she lost her head to Perseus. Medusa was apparently a bit of a looker, but the sort that knew it; She attracted the carnal attentions of Poseidon, which upset the Goddess Athena who gave her a snake hairdo and a look that could turn men to stone. As for Pegasus he took up an association with a likely lad from Corinth called Billy Ruffian but it all ended badly for Billy whereas Pegasus found a comfy billet in the Olympian Stalls and was given a job in logistics by Zeus collecting and delivering his lightning and thunderbolts. Slightly bigger bangs than the six pounder pop guns on his namesake the Sloop Pegasus. The whole family have been well represented in the names of British Naval ships, Gorgon, Medusa, and Poseidon, (if you stretch a point and use his Roman name Neptune). There never was an HMS Poseidon as far as I know, but the unfortunate Billy did get remembered. So there you have it Classics in a nut shell. The Upper Quarter piece tapers down to the lower quarter piece which fays into the Wale at its lower end and on the kit is decorated with a sea serpent much as shown on the plans. Decoration is also shown on the top outer edge of the Tafferal The profile of the Quarter badge also seems to be flat but the decoration is closely followed by the kit. All this mythology stuff started to dwell on my mind and my aversion to the stern decoration finally got the better of me and I took the scalpel to the stern. Early attempts to create three dimensional figures using Fimo had not been a success, but given a lead to Preiser 1:87 scale figures, provided me with suitable candidates to replace the incongruous 'Norman' Knights that featured on the stern Quarter pieces. Some in this Adam and Eve set looked to have potential for my purpose, providing I can get them to look right on the model. I have modified a couple of the standing figures to represent Perseus. Here for the Port side Quarter piece, Perseus is depicted holding the severed head of Medusa. The figures are 22mm high which match the 'Norman' Knights but the Norman Knights extend above what would be the Quarter piece onto the Transom. This presents a problem in fitting a three dimensional figure without performing some radical surgery on the transom as a whole. Firstly the Upper Quarter piece is cut back and the transom is notched to take the head of the figure. The lower Quarter piece is modified at its upper end to form a platform for the feet of the figure. For this three dimensional 'carving' the idea is to give the impression that the figure has been cut from the solid. Having created a platform to support the feet of Perseus the figure is super-glued into place. All looking pretty rough at this stage. Work then proceeds to infil with timber strip and filler to 'bond' the figure to the Quarter piece and give it more of a hewn look. Still a lot of tweaking and cleaning up to do, but the project is coming together as I envisaged. Moving on .... The Starboard stern works receive the scalpel treatment. All looks a bit scary, particularly as I'm sort of making it up as I go along. The Starboard Quarter figure has now been modifed. This one again represents Perseus with the shield given to him by the Goddess Athena to deflect the gaze of Medusa I have started to infill around the Portside figure. May be a tad grand for a simple Sloop but who's to say; even Eighteenth Century model makers grandified the decoration and there are examples of contemporary sloop models with decoration that probably never ended up on the vessel. The next post should see the completion of the stern bash. B.E.

The decoration and relief figures have now been applied to the stern. I have also started to form the Rudder coat but this won’t be completed until later. The provided brass etched lettering for the name looked too puny for the counter space, the lettering should be as large as the counter would allow at the time period in question, and the name in any case should be painted on the counter and not stand proud. My preferred method is to use dry rub transfer lettering which gives a more muted effect. The lower Quarter piece decoration is now in place, this is a modification that really need to be done in my opinion to improve the aesthetic look of the stern. A capping rail which runs over the Tafferal is yet to be fitted. Onto the Quarter Badges... These are also resplendent with brass etched decoration, but a point to ponder is the flat profile of the Badge given that there are two small side windows in addition to the central main arched light. Many of the Quarter Badges on Swans are canted so these two additional small lights would make sense, giving an oblique view forward and aft. With a flat profile the lights simply cover the hull planking to no good effect. I have decided rightly or wrongly that these two little lights would be false and so I have backed them with painted board rather than glazing. This was also the point to finish off the Quarterdeck bulwarks and fix the capping rails. The inner Tafferal has also been boarded over. I have had a change of mind about the relief decoration colour having studied some contemporary models. This has now been re-coated in ochre on the Tafferal and Quarter badges to give a darker bolder profile, which I think sits well with the boxwood hull planking. Will still be adjusting with darker and lighter tones to try and improve the effect. The bulwark decoration which would have been painted on I have left with the paler more muted colour as I don’t want it standing out too much, part of the that decoration can be seen in the first photo. This modification sits easier with my eye, those incongruous Norman Knights hanging in mid air I simply couldn't live with. However, this is not the end of the story, when I received the Pegasus plans from the NMM my imagination was set racing as you will see in the next post. B.E.

Stern Gallery, fixing and modifications Chris Watton has obviously given a deal of thought to the decoration of the stern gallery. Separate stern facia and Tafferal pieces and built up etched decorations provide for relief and make for a great looking stern area. Having said that I do have issues once the stern gallery is attached. Although the instructions suggest that the basic facia be attached to the hull before the tafferal with its decorations are attached, I decided to complete the stern gallery in part off the model. The first decision is the colour scheme. I have decided to go with the blue ground as used between the rails and pick out the cove below the tafferal in red. This was a common feature on ships of the period. The cove by all accounts had a textured finish, which I reproduced simply by pricking the surface with a fine point. I mention this in case it is mistaken for poor sanding on my part. Much of this will also be covered by decoration. Card templates were made for each of the window openings in the stern panel to match the window glazing. Before dressing of the gallery can take place the stern part needs to be checked for fit against the hull and a little gradual shaping of the bulwark ends is required. Trial and error is the order of the day but any minor discrepancies will be covered by mouldings and internal planking. The stern gallery is one of the critical build areas and the fixing strategy needs to be worked out well before final painting and the adding of the decoration. The gallery piece is kept clamped over a curved surface to impart some round to it which will make fitting easier. Holes are drilled in each of the two central window pillars to take brass pins to better secure the facia to the hull. Two more are drilled to secure the top of the tafferal to the bulwark ends, all this will be covered by decoration. Elastic bands secured around some dowel passed thro the Quarter light space will assist to pull the facia to the hull whilst the glue takes. Tape is used to ensure that the facia sits centrally during fixing. The gallery can now be removed for fixing of the window. The brass etched windows were metal primed and painted with thin coats of matt white humbrol enamel rubbed down with a feather touch using P800 wet and dry between coats. The kit guide suggests fixing the frames first and then adding the clear acetate windows afterwards securing with epoxy resin. This is the method I followed. The window frames are fixed, a little touching up required after handling, and the acetate ‘glass’ is installed using the card templates as a guide. Before fixing the gallery to the stern the cove decoration was added, and then the assembly was glued and pinned into place. The removal of the stern bulkheads and the opening up of the Great Cabin, has had the desired effect of giving depth thro’ the gallery windows and some indication of the interior. There has been one aspect of the stern gallery that has bugged me from the start. It is the way that the gallery piece overhangs the hull and sort of just stops there. There is a brass etched decoration piece that runs down below it against the hull and over the wale but it just doesn’t sit easy with my eye. I can’t believe that Georgian style and elegance would just leave it like that. It seems that Chris Watton may have omitted a lower quarter piece, but even if he didn’t I think there needs to be a piece that finishes off the gallery and links down to the wale. This Lower Quarter piece is quite a complex shape and I laminated three strips of timber to give me the required thickness and width from which to carve the form. It has to curve down and a little forward to meet the wale and be thinned to the wale thickness at the lower end, to allow the decoration to run over the wale. The upper end has to meet the stern overhang and fair against the hull. Easy to say it, but a sod to make; It had to be shaped by trial and error and I scrapped several attempts before getting something I could live with. Fortunately this area is painted so filler can be used to make up any deficiencies in the carving. Here primed to check the final shape. The moulded rails above and below the lower counter are fitted. The next post will concern the completion and fitting of the stern decoration. B.E.

The Quarterdeck Breast rail The kit arrangement consists of five wooden stanchions and three rails. 2x2 strip is used to make up the lower part of the stanchions below the middle rail. The provided stanchions are the typical turned bottle shaped column affairs. These should really be complete, passing thro’ the rails, with sheaves let into the lower part which is square in section. The sheaves are important because of the many lines that belay to the Breast rail. Two turned boxwood? newel posts are provided but are poorly finished and look ridiculously heavy for the scale. In addition they are too wide for the hand rail that is supposed to sit atop them. Another instance I suspect of Amati using generic pieces from their fittings range without proper consideration for scale or suitability. I approached the job by fixing the base rail to the quarterdeck; this allows the Middle rail which also includes the hand rail running to the newel post on the Gangway to be trial fitted before it is permanently fixed. One slight puzzlement there are two base pieces (121) exactly the same, but there is no indication that they have to be fitted as a pair. Once the base rail is fitted the height of what should be the lower part of the stanchion is determined and a sheave is drilled thro’ each one. In practice I made no attempt to form a proper sheave, two small drilled holes will suffice to carry the lines which will then hide any detail anyway. These were then glued into place followed by the middle rail. At this point the projecting handrails need to be checked for alignment with the point on the fixed gangway where the supporting newel posts fit. The turned columns are then glued followed by the capping rail. Not a particularly secure arrangement this and I may come to regret not going the distance and making complete stanchions to fit thro’ the mortises in the rails. I am undecided at this stage whether to fit the Hammock cranes across the top of the rail, not seen any contemporary Swan model with them, or indeed any mention of them in the ffm books. Finally two newel posts are made to support the hand rail on the Fixed Gangway. The kit supplied parts were binned. Cmdr Gore gives scale to the completed rail. Eyebolts have been added to the Breast beams of the Foc’sle and Quarterdeck. Not quite sure what they are for at the moment but I work on the principle that you can’t have enough attachment points on a Square rigger, and they would be awkward to retro fit. I have made the ladders for the entry steps to the waist and the fore hatch. I considered the Amati provided steps (strip assembly) not very convincing, and a little puny for the model, again I suspect they are generic stuff rather than kit specific. I did give some thought to the enticing winding steps version promoted in the ffm, but I think I would need a little more machinery to do a decent job of cutting the slats for the treads at the slightly different angles involved on the left and right stiles. So it is straight ladders for me but better looking ones I hope. B.E.

The Gallows atop the Main Topsail sheet Bitts. I have touched on the subject of the Gallows top a couple of times earlier in the build. The proportions seemed all wrong to me and the provided top is of a shape and length I cannot find any information on. It has the look of a Chinese pagoda roof about it in profile, and a scale length of 12’ 6” Looking at many contemporary models the shape has little resemblance to the kit item and the gallows top is invariably shorter than the kit version. The ffm book gives the dimensions as 9.0’ long, 7” wide, and and 11” deep. This equates to a length 42.9mm, a width of 2.8mm, and a depth of 4.4mm I decided to bin the kit gallows top, but I have used the provided gallows uprights. These have been tapered a little for scale and reduced in length so that a new top would sit at the correct height- level with the Quarterdeck. Still wip and I’ve yet to sort out the Rhodings and decide the colour scheme, but at least now I’m happy with the style and size. Rhodings, Winches and Axletrees. There seems something not quite right about setting up the pump winches with this kit. In the instruction drawings the Rhodings (represented by a brass etched piece) sit just above the bitts cross piece. This brings the winches (cranked handles) down in front of the cross piece and when in the lowest position are perilously close to the Main Hatch cover. A scrape your knuckles job if working the pumps. In the ffm the Rhodings are much higher up the gallows uprights and the winches crank down above the cross piece, which brings them higher above the hatch cover. According to ffm the rhodings should be centred 17.5mm (scale) above the deck, in practice on the model it works out at 12mm. It is somewhat academic tho’ because the Rhodings are fixed by the height of the pump cisterns to which the pump rhodings are attached. So we are where we are. Finishing off the Bitt uprights. These have already been tapered, now cheek blocks are added (to take the clew Garnets) and sheaves cut into the uprights to take the Topsail sheets. Rhodings. I dispensed with the provided brass etched items which lacked a certain realism and replaced them with rhodings made from spare capsquares fixed to block spacers to line up with the Axletrees. Axletrees The kit suggests 1mm brass wire bent into shape to form both axletrees and winches, running from the pump cisterns to the stanchion supports forward of the Main Hatch coaming. At 1:64 scale I think an improvement can be made to this rather basic arrangement. I have used 1mm ø brass tubing for the Axletrees, running from the pump cistern rhodings to just forward of the bitts cross piece where it ends to take the cranked square section part of the Winch. Winches For this I have shaped 2x1mm section styrene to fit over the end of the Axletrees and connect with the round section of the winch, again 1mm ø brass tubing. There is a similar arrangement at the forward end where the winch is secured to the stanchion. Before the pump stuff is all put into place some thought about placing eyebolts around the Main Mast to take rigging is required. The important ones are for the jeer falls and the truss pendant tackle. There is a difference in layout between the kit plans and the ffm plans, and also the belay points for various lines. From this point on I will be using the ffm backed up by Steel to position the required deck fittings, so they won’t necessarily appear as per the kit rigging plans. A real puzzler are the Main Jeer tackle falls. They should of course belay at the jeer bitts. These support the Quarterdeck and sit right behind the pumps. The pumps as can be seen block the sheaves for the jeer falls. The two loops of cotton pass thro’ the jeer bitt sheaves, and I hope to attach the falls to these and pull them tho’ at the appropriate time. The kit plans appear to show the jeers belayed at the Topsail sheet Bitts which gets around the problem. A few overall shots. The Brake Pumps are in place here. These are not provided in the kit, but commercial scale versions are available. The completed effect, the Gangplanks have also now been fixed into place. B.E.

Ganging up on Pegasus Before any further deck fittings are put into place I need to attend to the short Gangways that extend from the Quarterdeck forward to allow access from the Upper deck, and outboard of the ship. Plywood shaped blanks are provided in the kit to form the gangways, and they are a match to the dimensions given in the Swan book. Once again in this build I am faced with a problem, the drop from the Qtr deck to the gangway seems too much even allowing for the provided step (a small section of walnut) With the kit arrangement the gangway fits beneath the Qtr deck forward beam and is rebated to fit around the bulkhead tab. This gives the forward end a position just below the waist capping rail. According to the TFFM the gangway at its inner end was bolted to the underside of the Qtr deck breast beam and at its forward end supported by a bracket, as with the kit version. The difference is that the gangway according to TFFM should just sit slightly above the capping rail at the waist. The position has a bearing on the more interesting question of the fitting of Gangplanks between the Quarterdeck Gangways and the Foc’sle. These would need to fit beneath the forward end of the gangway to come level with the top of the waist capping rail. Use of gangplanks does seem logical given that they were in use a fair time prior to Pegasus, and without them ladder access from the Upper deck to the Fo’csle involves positioning ladders at an unnaturally steep angle. Access would seem to involve squeezing around the number two gun, added to which the ladders would also foul the proper operation of that gun. The deciding factor for me is that relating to the Gangway the original plans for Pegasus label that feature Fix’d part of Gangway implying that there was another part; ie the gangplanks.(Antscherl Tffm Vol 11) The Gangways I decided to modify the Gangways by removing the part that fits around the bulkhead tab, and raising the gangway a little, fitting the aft end on a bearer glued to the face of the breast beam. The Gangways are angled to match the Quarterdeck camber to allow water to drain outboard. To enhance the gangway I have fitted a frame simulation around the edge on the inboard side. In the slightly raised position the need for an additional step is removed. The Gangplanks These are the width of the fore end of the Gangway and comprise two planks supported on knees fixed along the bulwark. A little shaping was required to match the curve of the waist rail, and I fixed the planks atop of a wider strip to bulk up the thickness of the plank to scale. The length of the Gangplanks works out at a 28’ scale feet, Just about within the bounds of length without butts. Four brackets support the gangplanks along the bulwark, and are angled so that the planks slope down towards outboard at the same camber as the fixed part. So the Gangways are in place. The slight raise above the capping rail is evident in this shot. The range cleats fixed to the bulwarks and once again the paintwork is marred to provide a better glueing base for the brackets and gangplanks. The block beneath the Gangway is to keep pressure off the bracket whilst working. The supporting brackets are fitted. The next step is to position the gangplanks with a tight fit against the waist rails and with the correct camber. I found it quite tricky getting the supporting brackets at the correct height as they would keep falling off the bulwark as pressure was put on the gangplanks to fit them. On the downside use of Gangplanks does obscure the waist guns a little, but then there are two less ladders to make, and I never could resist the temptation to deviate from a kit plan. A little more fettlin’ before I am completely happy with the set up on the starboard side but then with the method proven I can move onto the Port side to completion. B.E

Gun side tackles The gun tackles were fitted with 1½” circumference rope which scales to 0.19mm ø line. I’ve used Morope 0.15mm ø line which is pretty close and provides a nice size contrast with the breechings and the 2mm size tackle blocks. The blocks are around 6” = to 2.38mm. Stropping the tackle blocks My trials with stropping the 2mm JB blocks with line resulted in too heavy a look; seizing the bulwark block to the eyebolt also reduced the distance between the tackle blocks which doesn’t look good. For ease of fitting I am using a tackle with a hook on both blocks rather than seizing the bulwark block to the eyebolt. Using separate hooks seized to the block strops also resulted in a much reduced distance between the blocks, and gluing a hook into the end of a very tiny block resulted in destroying or interfering with the sheave. The blocks compared to a normal 2mm eyebolt and a 0.3mm brass etched eyelet. I have therefore stropped the blocks with 34 gauge copper wire the ends of which are formed into a hook. The lanyard is attached to the strop of the bulwark block with a small knot. The set completed, the wire tails now have to be formed into hooks. This departure from authenticity is acceptable to me given the scale, and is much preferred to the over-scale side tackle set-ups seen on many models. The down side is that the strops and hooks have to be painted, but once all in place they look authentic enough. As with the breeching ropes I rigged the side tackles on the model although it was a bit of a pain. Stropping the blocks and rigging four guns has taken a week to do. The process begins. The tackle falls are frapped. One side completed apart from line trimming. On my Pegasus there are no Flemish coils, (cheeses) frapping is my method of choice to display the tackle falls. This also does away with the need to stick anything to the deck. The Port side now to do and then onto the deck fittings. Port side all frapped and tidy. Thankfully only eight ‘show’ guns to do. For the sake of completeness I include the details of the other tackle stuff involved with the guns. Gun Tackle eyebolts In scale 0.4mm ø with 0.70mm ø internal size. Set vertically just above the Breeching ring bolts. Training Tackle eyebolts* These were used when traversing the gun left or right Same size as the Port Tackle eyebolts, set at the same level but mid way between the Sweep ports. *Note: With regard to Pegasus these were not fitted as she was lost in October 1777, and they were not featured (according to the Swan book) until 1779. Train (Relieving) tackle Attached to an eyebolt at the rear of the carriage and hooked at the other end to a ring bolt in the deck. I have not fitted these on my build, I don’t like too much clutter across the decks. Onto the Gangways and Gangplanks. B.E.

Fitting out the waist Gun tackles in place and Range cleats temporarily fitted. The Fore and Main Hatches have now been fixed along with the Stopper bolts and relieving tackle bolts in the deck. The three stopper bolts adjacent to the ports do not line up exactly with the port centres but are slightly offset aft. A ladder has been constructed for the Fore Hatchway; another little indecision, does the ladder lead to the port or starboard side of the Upper deck? On instinct I have gone with the Port side, but nowhere in my ever burgeoning collection of books could I find whether there was a standing arrangement in the Georgian Navy. I think I will leave the hatch open as it gives depth to the model, but there is also a grating that can be put into place. Gun Rigging – Part One – The Breechings Five days of unbridled fun, surprising how long it takes to add the breeching ropes to eight guns. I have already fixed the breeching ringbolts in the bulwark. There are two options for seizing the breechings to the bulwark ringbolts, on or off the model. I have always preferred to rig the guns when they are fixed in position on the deck, rather than fiddle with inserting the ringbolt stem in the receiving holes drilled in the bulwark, after the gun is rigged. Either way it is a fiddly business. The breeching rope is 4” circ = to 0.5mm ø line, and three times the length of the guns bore which at scale measures 81.3mm. When I was playing around with the ‘hidden’ guns I decided upon 0.70mm ø (JB models) hemp line which was ‘spliced’ around the button fed thro’ the breeching ring bolts on the carriage and secured to the bulwark. The breeching rope should be attached to the bulwark ring using a half hitch and seizing, but this looks too big and clumsy, so I’ve gone for a simple seizing using ultra fine silk thread secured with diluted pva. So here’s the result. This JB cotton line is very soft and pliable, and naturally sits where you put it. Onto the side tackles...... B.E.

Rigging the Ship’s wheel The job needs to be done now before anything else gets in the way of fitting the tackle blocks . Trickier than it looks to rig the wheel as it will keep moving about; five turns of the line (0.4mm dia) are required, and this needs to be put on to determine the position of the forward rigging blocks set into the Quarter deck spirketting. The process is started by using ca to fix what will be the third (central) turn of the rope to the top centre of the barrel. Starboard and port turns are then taken starboard forward, port aft. The lines are then weighted over the bulwark of the ship square to the central line and the position of the forward rigging blocks is marked. The rigging blocks (3mm) are stropped to the eyebolts before fixing to the spirketting and the eyebolts are then ca’d into the pre drilled holes. The wheel rigging completed, first use of the new Morope, I’m quite pleased with it. My rigging differs from the kit suggested arrangement which is more complex and appears to be based on that of the Bounty as detailed in the aots book by John McKay. Notably additional blocks are utilised at the base of the wheel to direct the tiller lines down to the deck before feeding thro’ the spirketting blocks. This seems to have some logic to it as the tiller ropes are less exposed and are less of an incumbrance across the deck. However, David Antscherl specifically makes the point in the ffm that the arrangement of the blocks and lines are as shown on the original plans for HMS Vulture. The centre line fittings of the Quarterdeck are now complete. The new replacement Rudder head cover for the replacement rudder head cover is in place and the Binnacle is secured to the deck. The 'tarred' canvas cover for the top of the Rudder head cover is that useful standby Microporus tape. B.E.

The Quarterdeck Upper Capstan This is quite a prominent feature on the Quarterdeck, and bears some tweaking. There are too many Whelps around the kit version and they are too thin. Six are required and by gluing two whelps together a more realistic size is achieved. (I had to fabricate a couple of extra whelps from spare walnut sheet) Fitted towards the top and bottom of the Capstan and between the whelps are the Chocks. (Amati simply have a ring fitted around the bottom of the Capstan.) The chocks are made from some walnut strip shaped to fit between the whelps. An interesting feature of these chocks is that the upper ones are convex in their outer profile, and the bottom ones concave. Around the top of the drum head is fitted an iron plate, here represented by a card circle, and the domed central top is from the central cut out from the walnut rings used in making the drumhead. The two Capstans are now aligned and connected as they should be, or at least will be once the Quarterdeck is installed. The completed Capstan fitted inline and connected to the Upper deck Capstan beneath the Quarterdeck. The Binnacle. At least the kit provides one but it is of a style as fitted to Victory. Greg Herbert in ffm suggests a simpler affair taken from a sixth rate contemporary model which I agree is more appropriate for a modest vessel such as Pegasus. Note – no chimney just holes bored to allow escape of the smoke. The light compartment has a solid door rather than glass to stop extraneous light catching the Helmsman’s eyes. The Wheel A brass etched job and quite nicely done, built up by the addition of outer rings and centres. The assembled wheel does then have to be painted to replicate a wood finish. In the kit the stanchions that support the wheel are shaped with splayed legs but appear to be the correct height. It is a style of wheel support that I have seen in the Bounty aots book but to my eye it looks a little cumbersome and I think a plainer boxwood version suits better. The kit barrel which is made up of walnut discs which fit together over the central spindle also looks a little over-scale and chunky. There should really be only a rim on the aft end to prevent the tiller ropes riding over the barrel. A new barrel was turned out of Lime dowel with a rim incorporated at one end only. Note: since this stage of my build Chuck has produced a very nice wooden wheel that I would probably have gone with. The Tiller The provided Tiller is a simplification, the wrong shape, the wrong fitting to the Rudderhead and looks a tad short to me extending only 32.5mm , I calculate it as 38mm to reach the steering wheel stanchion whilst allowing enough space to fit a Binnacle between the Mizen mast and wheel. Square in profile I made a replacement tiller out of boxwood section mortised into the tiller head. An iron band with eyebolts set into it is fastened around the outer end to take the tiller lines. Rudder head cover The long narrow style of the kit provided cover doesn’t particularly appeal to my eye and the open end seems a little narrow to allow for adequate swing of the tiller. Two different versions are shown in the ffm; initially I tried a simple triangular affair. I thought it too utilitarian for pretty little Pegasus so I made a second octagonal shaped version. As it has to be painted with a tarred roof covering I made this version out of styrene, here still in an unfinished state. I think it looks more in keeping with the Georgian age. Before the Rudder head cover is fixed, one small item remains; Another tarred coat is fixed around the rudder head to prevent water ingress. This is represented by micro-porus tape.

Quarterdeck Fittings Coamings and Gratings. The companion coaming was made as a separate item and the leading head ledge was made to slot into the aft grating head ledge. A grating was also made to fit the companion (fall back position if my attempt at the clerestory lights failed.) Grating coamings in place and the Quarterdeck ladder fitted. Gratings in place, also the Toprope scuttles let into the deck just forward of the Companion. According to the David Antscherl in the ffm book the familiar pitched roof skylight as provided in the kit was a later development. Not fully convinced about this as the concept seems so simple, but I rather like the idea of an interchangeable grating or clerestory light, and besides I am usually up for anything that modifies a basic kit. I rather suspect that the inclusion of the kit version was an Amati soft option. My initial attempts at a clerestory light using timber strip were less than successful .The timber kept splitting at the small scale I am working, so I reverted to styrene to make the four sides. Onwards.... B.E.

Quarterdeck bulwarks Sooner or later in any pob build a point is reached where things just don’t seem to fit quite right. In my case that point was reached when fitting the Quarterdeck inner bulwarks and accommodating the planksheer and capping rails. Previously pristine paintwork is now scarred as the bulwark is built up and the margin plank cut away to fit in the Planksheer at the break of the QD The inner bulwarks were pre cut to meet the deck curvature and then faced up with boxwood strip . The inner facing was painted red ochre prior to fitting. With the QD bulwark now completed attention can return to cleaning up the deck planking before the fittings are added. The deck is scraped and the butt join treenails marked by the simple expediency of small drilled holes darkened with a lead pencil point. At this scale at least I am not a fan of overtly marked treenails and prefer the subtle approach. For the same reason I do not mark the treenails along the planks where they would cross the theoretical deck beams. In reality they would be barely seen at 1:64 scale, but the eye expects to see something, and the impression at the butts fulfils that expectation. Up next are the centre line fittings. The kit shows two small gratings in raised coamings positioned just forward of the Ladderway. These are the scuttles for the topropes; I have gone with solid planked flush fitting scuttle lids which I think would be the more likely arrangement. In this pic the scuttle lids, not yet bedded down flush with the deck can be seen. Just aft, the ladderway coamings and head ledges rise above the deck by only 2mm with a head ledge roundup of 0.8mm. Behind the ladderway sit the partners for the Capstan. These are wedge shaped tapering aft to bring the surface level to the base of the capstan rather than follow the slope of the deck. As with the lower capstan I have modified and beefed up the whelps and fitted the capstan on partners rather than the deck itself. The run of three gratings I am not happy with and these will be replaced. There remains the question of the Companion lights. The kit version is the familiar pitched roof style with opening lights whilst the ffm book suggests either another grating or a clerestory style companion. I haven’t quite decided which version to go with but I will make a coaming into which either a grating or a clerestory light can be fitted. When in doubt defer the decision. B.E.

Preparing for the Quarterdeck A couple of little jobs to do before the false QD can be fitted. The main Jeer Bitt uprights need to be put into place, they support the QD breast beam. A little conflicting information here. The kit plans show the jeer bitts cross piece fixed to the forward side of the uprights, whereas the ffm books indicate it is attached to the aft side; except that on the rigging plan in Volume 1V it is shown on the fore side. From a practical point of view on the Pegasus kit the fore side is better as on the aft side the jeer belay would foul the QD breast beam. Even so the pump covers are very close to the cross piece making access difficult. Cheek block have also been fitted to the outside of the uprights. A couple of small additions to the uprights are the Rhodings for aft crank handles of the pumps. On the kit the cranks don’t extend beyond the pump heads. In reality the cranks should extend to be fitted in pillars further beneath the QD but which with the kit layout can’t be fitted in. Finally the Quarterdeck support beam is faced with boxwood, and will also have a moulding attached a little later. This facing is allowed to rise above the false deck level to hide the false deck edge. Before the QD goes in I fix some strip beneath the false deck to represent the carlings etc and give depth to the hatchways etc. The representation of the breast beam is also fixed across the fore end of the false QD. and the King plank is put into place. This is needed at this stage as from this point the deck planking stagger will be measured. The Quarterdeck is fixed and Planking commences. Unless you follow the basic route and plank in straight lines to the deck edges, the Quarterdeck planking presents an interesting little exercise. I will be using 120mm long planks (25’ at scale) with 30mm (6’) shift between adjoining plank butts. A three butt shift pattern will be used, that is three plank widths between butts. A king plank of 12” wide will run down the centre of the deck. A margin plank will be fitted and hook planks will abutt the margin. Outside of the centre line impediments 3.4mm planks tapering to 2.8mm will run to meet the hook planks. Well that’s the theory. To get some idea of the layout a drawing has to be made to get an idea of how the planks work out. A centre line is drawn and parallel lines at 30mm apart to mark the position of the adjoin butt shifts. These lines are transferred to the false QD as a guide for planking. I have fitted the King plank before fixing the false Qtr Deck. With the False Deck fixed the bulkhead tabs can be removed. The Veener saw is so useful for this type of job. Planking can now commence. I start by filling in with 3.4mm planks until I am clear of the centre line hatches etc. These are parallel to the King Plank. The first full length plank is 120mm and stretches from the breast beam to line 4 on the deck. (120mm) Matching planks both port and starboard are fitted. From this point on the planks are given taper. To get a balanced run of butts the sequence of 1.3.2.4.1.3.2.4.1 etc; is used. The athwartship lines give the shift pattern and starting point for each successive plank. On the port side the next full plank will start in sequence to the right of line 4, at line I, then line 3 and so on. The starboard side will mirror the port pattern. The stern gallery is temporarily fitted to give a line to butt the planks to. There is a small gap between the fd end and the gallery. Here the centre line planks have been fitted, and on each side the first full length tapered planks. The divide into two planks was made after tapering to ensure a clean run and butt. Next the Margin planks are fitted, not too problematical with only a gentle curve. 6mm strip was used for the Margins but the inside bulwark planking will reduce this to 4mm. I am now left with a space of 9.9mm at the forward end and 32.9mm at the stern. At this point there will be more than a little trial and error as I try to balance the remaining plank widths out. The first hook plank is fitted. The Tamiya tape pattern for the next can be seen. Once the first hook plank is in the pattern is largely set, the main concern is then hoping that a small gap is not left at the end. The process continues and the first four butt shift butt can be seen level with plank one. Small adjustments can be made in the plank widths as laying proceeds, but overall scale has to be born in mind. I am now left with a final space that thankfully is of acceptable size. The spile plank pattern is cut. And the final plank is put into place. The curvature of the planks can be seen here. The Port side decking completed. I seem to have ended up with three more hook planks than shown on the ffm plan, but I can’t see how I could have done it differently without having over-scale wider planks . The Treenails have got to be marked and the deck scraped to its final finish. The margin Plank will be reduced in width once the inner bulwark planking is fitted. Onto completion.... B.E.

I am now moving onto the Quarterdeck but before I do the hidden guns need to be fixed. Four guns are fitted beneath the Quarterdeck, although pierced for sixteen guns Pegasus carried only fourteen. A tad tricky seizing the breeching ropes in this position. For these guns I have only fixed a side tackle on the side that may just be visible beneath the Quarterdeck. The blocks are stropped with 34 gauge copper wire, the extension of which forms the hooks that connect to the carriage and bulwark hoops. The guns are held in position by a pin thro’ the carriage bed into the deck. I still haven’t decided whether to strop the ‘show’ guns with line and separate hooks, or go the wire way. Need to be careful now with four muzzles protruding from the broadside. Note the uniform of my Marine, not the Round Hat and short Coatee of the Trafalgar era. I can now proceed to fixing the Quarterdeck and begin the intricate planking pattern which involves both tapering and hooking, scale plank lengths, and a four butt shift. B.E.

The Foc’sle Rail and Belfry This requires a critical look. The main issue I have is that the kit double rails run parallel into the Belfry sides and don’t have the proper cradle next to the Belfry to take the ends of the spare topmasts. The heel end sits on the Gallows just aft of the Main Hatch, and the arrangement supports the Ships boats. With the kit arrangement the forward end of the topmasts rest on top of the rail which is not very authentic. The kit stanchions that fit thro’ the rail are represented by 1.5mm sq walnut strip that need beefing up to 1.8mm sq. I used a boxwood alternative which allows for sheaves to be cut and a decent shaped top to be formed. The Walnut kit stanchions are in front of the assembly, the Headstock is in the original kit position. This involves making the cradle to fit between the Belfry and the inner stanchion. The top rail at this stage has to be cut. Before final trimming the cradle height has to be checked for level against the Gallows. Belfry This is one of the feature items of the model, It is a fairly plain affair which is ok but a little additional detailing won’t go amiss. I’m not too sure about the proportions, if anything the Belfry is too tall by several mm, they were quite small features. Within the Belfry the Headstock looks too high above the deck. The bell should really hang quite low within the Belfry. A slight problem is that the headstock fits into pre cut mortises in the side uprights which limits modification of the original part. After some faffing about I ditched the kit parts and scratched new uprights. The headstock was modified and set lower down. The head of the bell was slightly changed and the strap that held the bell to the headstock was fitted. Cleats were added to the uprights to belay the Fore T’gallant braces. With the canopy roof I took a little artistic licence. It should be covered in lead but I funded a more expensive copper covering. So here are the modified Belfry parts. The headstock is in the lower modified position here. The coppered roof in place. Before final fixing the underside of the assembly will require shaping to meet the deck camber. Trial fit of spare masts from the Gallows. The Gallows are not too far out for height, but I’m not too sure about either the shape or width, but that’s a problem I can defer for the present. All these parts will now be disassembled and stored for later fitting. The modified rail is quite tricky to fit which has to follow the camber of the deck, whilst keeping the Belfry uprights vertical. To achieve this I pinned and glued the rail close to the belfry whilst using a spacer block to keep the uprights vertical. The outer part of the rail was then clamped until the glue set. Finishing off the Galley Chimney Cowl. I made this out of brass tubing and it passes thro’ the deck to join with the stove below. 0.6mmø micro tubing was used to form the baffle slide housing and 0.3mmø tubing for the Baffle plate slide. The handles were made from some brass etched fret I had lying around. The Baffle plate was punched out of some thin styrene sheet. The cowl was chemically blackened, for the moment I have not buffed it up. Fore Jeer Bitts. These sit aft of the Foremast and are identified by the standards which support the uprights on the aft side. Immediately a discrepancy, the kit cross piece is scored to fit in the aft side of the uprights, whereas the ffm shows it on the fore side. Looking thro’ all my books it appears that the cross pieces are sometimes fore and sometimes aft but mostly matched as a pair. I can’t find any definitive answer as to why, or whether it was period thing. The problem with the Pegasus kit as opposed to the ffm is also that there is no room on the forward side to fit the cross piece without inhibiting the tackles for the Main Topmast and Preventer stays. So for practical purposes I have gone with the kit arrangement. Fore Topsail sheet Bitts. These sit forward of the mast and apart from adding cheek sheaves I also removed the mini standards which don’t seem to appear in any of my reference books. The cross pieces to the bitts were fashioned from boxwood glued into place and then fixed with a pin thro’ to the bitt upright. B.E.

Finishing off the Fo’csle There is a certain awkwardness to the inner bulwark due to its low and tapering almost to nothing profile. To bring it up to the same thickness as along the waist 1.5mm lime wood is used. I have fitted this as one continuous strip around the bows. This entailed soaking and bending the strip around a suitable profile and leaving it for twenty-four hours. With the basic shape achieved it was glued using ca and sanded back to the exterior bulwark level. The timber was then faced up using 0.6mm thick boxwood strip pre –painted before fixing. Fore Topsail and Jeer Bitts. These have been modified a little, the slight flare into a mini standard at the foot of the bitts has been removed, and cheek blocks have been added to the outside of the uprights, and similarly to the Jeer Bitts. Sheaves have also been let into the Bitt uprights, for this the drill stand had to come out to ensure vertical holes. I rather feel the cross pieces are a tad short so this will be replaced. The steam gratings. Tiny little things these, could really have done with a finer grating set but they don’t look too bad once curved to shape. One additional item I have taken from the Swan book is the bowsprit Partner. The gratings are fixed but the Bitts will not be put into place until later. B.E.

Making a start on the Foc’sle deck The planking roughed out here on the false deck. Margin planks made. The trials and tribulations of Eighteenth Century deck planking. Planking the Foc’sle. Firstly the waterway/margin plank is fitted, slight inconsistencies where it meets the bulwark will be covered by the bulwark inner planking. Rather than just plank the deck in straight lines and either trim to fit or joggle into the margin, I thought I would follow the arrangement in the Swan book where curved and tapered planks were used once past the impediments of the hatches, gratings etc; and around the edges where hooded planks were fitted to meet the margin. I seem to recall reading something about the shaping of deck planks before the use of joggling, but I’m damned if I can find it now, but apparently Pegasus had this arrangement in 1776. The deck will not need any butts as the overall length is within the scale plank lengths. That’s the good news. The planking scheme looked interesting but I didn’t have a clear idea of how it should be done, so it was a case of trial and error, mostly error with me. To do this sort of planking wider boards are necessary to cut the hooded planks and shape the plank curves I did start to use the standard 3.4mm planks with taper but I didn’t like the effect and ripped them all off. Plan A binned. A template pattern was made of the first plank past the central impediments, this was curved on one side only; and one of the following planks which were concave on the inner side and convex on the outer. From these the pattern was drawn onto the plank material. Two adjoining planks were cut at the same time with a central join – in the hope this would afford a tight join when they were abutted on the deck. After a day fitting all the planks when I got to the hooded planks it was evident that an awkward little space would be left along the margin, and some of the planks looked too wide, so.... off they all came again. Plan B binned. Onto Plan C.. Back to the 3.4mm planks with each one being individually shaped to the curve. In practise not a huge degree of curve is necessary. There are only twenty planks involved, but I must have cut around thirty-five to get the fit including one hooded plank which took five attempts because the fine point kept breaking off just as I slipped it into place. But with perseverance I got the set of three hooded planks in place with a final filler of reasonable proportions. Each plank was glued with pva and wedged in place and held under weight until set sufficiently for me to set the next plank. The inward curve of the planking can be seen in this shot. After some scraping the deck begins to clean up. I think the topsail sheet Bitts will need a little modification, can’t recall seeing mini standards on the fore side of those bitts on contemporary models. Both sets of Bitts will need sheaves cut into the uprights, and additional cheek block fixed to the outside. Next up will be cleaning up the margin plank, fitting the steam gratings, and fixing the inner bulwarks. The bulwark will consist of 1.5mm thick lime wood faced with 0.6mm thick boxwood. B.E.

Beneath the Foc'sle (Part 2) This is a little modification that can be done by those who may be technically challenged (me) yet are concerned about what just may be glimpsed thro’ the foremost ports beneath the Foc’sle. It may also appeal to those who are reluctant to weaken the deck support system, or get too involved in serious modification at the bows (me) Firstly, the solid false keel extension piece between the Foremast lug and the bowsprit step is converted into a beam and pillar arrangement by removal of the solid centre. This allows light to pass from one side of the ship to the other thro’ the foremost (Bridle) ports. Next a section of dowel which represents the continuance of the bowsprit to what would be the chock and step, is cut to the stive and fitted in the available space. This can be seen thro’ the Bridle ports where a gun is not situated, but cannot be detected as being separate to the actual bowsprit. Once the legs of the Fore Topsail sheet Bitts are in place they form what would be in reality the angled uprights of the bowsprit step. This is completed by the addition of the Bowsprit step chocks. With the Bitt uprights in place, the set up is complete. Next the Manger boards and the related deck cants. Are also seen thro’ the ports, and are cut to meet up with the second bulkhead frame. The final modification is of the Fore Jeer bitt uprights. In the kit these travel thro’ the Foc’sle deck to seat in the upper deck, just forward of the Galley stove and abaft the Foremast. In reality they should be pinned to the Fo’csle deck beams, this frees up a very crowded area on the Upper deck and gives more space to work the stove. The modification involves fixing short sections of brass square section tubing beneath the Fore deck into which the Bitt legs can be glued. The arrangement is formed into a deck beam. With a tight fit and strong glue the bitts should hold against any pull of the rigging. All of this of course is totally unnecessary in the overall scheme of things but....... you never know who you may find peering thro’ that open port. Hi Daniel. And this does provide tantalising little glimpses of what one would expect to see without revealing the sham nature of the modification. So what does lie beneath.. Thro’ the port side bridle port a fair amount of detail can be identified. The Bowsprit is clearly in view here, along with the manger boarding. Here the manger boarding and bowsprit step are evident from this shot taken beneath the Foc’sle deck. One modification that I didn't do, but wish I had, was to modify the Bridle port. On the kit the port is the same size as the other gunports, but it should be somewgat narrower. B.E.

Beneath the Foc'sle (Part 1) The Foc’sle guns are fitted and the Riding Bitts and Galley Stove are put into place. The Riding Bitts could use a little chamfering of the cross piece which is not bad to scale for this item. I ran a pin thro’ the back of the uprights into the crosspiece to give a little more strength. The cross piece also had a separate facing nailed onto the aft side, this I have represented with a scribed line and slightly different colour. Side tackles have been fitted to the aft side of the Foc’sle guns as they are visible beneath the deck. I am keen that they should not look over-scale, the generic Amati 2mm blocks are a tad large, but the smaller JB blocks are the very devil to strop and include a hook in the end made from an eyebolt, to attach to the bulwark ring bolt. The starboard gun tackle I rigged with hooks made from blackened eyebolts and the strops from 0.25mm line. There has been a high attrition rate in drilling the holes to take the hooks. The port gun I stropped the blocks with copper wire and formed a hook out of the tail. Not sure which way I will go with the ‘show’ guns, but the scale is spot on and hopefully by the time I get to them I will have it right. My instinct is to frap the tackles as in the two above; I’m not really a fan of those pretty little coils, but I will probably include a couple to show the difference. The Galley chimney here in its raw state will be refined by the addition of the baffle plate and fittings. Note I have recessed the deck beam where the steam grating will fit. I have decided not the fit the Foc’sle bulkhead screen preferring to see a glimpse of the stove and Foc’sle guns. The screen was in any case removable, but I have fitted the cants on the deck which held it in place. To get the correct location I still had to make a mock-up of the screen. Note the curve to the Hatch grating, a simple modification but one that improves the look of naval models of this period. The cants were only tacked to the deck so that they could be easily removed if necessary. I had done this before I decided to modify the Foc'sle detail, which is the subject of the next post. In retrospect it would have been easier to do the modification first. B.E.

Swivel Guns Thinking about ½ pounder swivels. The ½ pounder swivel gun is three feet in length equating to 15mm at scale. The provided kit swivel guns are integrally moulded affairs with the yokes, and are not quite the right shape. They are slightly over-scale and too thin at the muzzle. Another example of generic Amati fittings creeping into a specific kit. I have replaced them with 15mm turned brass barrels from JB Models. These match the replacement main armament six pounders and are spot on for scale. Here then is a comparison between the prototype replacement and the kit provided gun. The Amati version looks more like something out of the 17th century and the moulding does not bear close scrutiny. The JB version is a perfectly formed little gun and a great improvement on the cast Amati offering which can be seen does not stand up well to the macro eye. Disgraceful really and not worthy of the kit, but for very little expenditure and a little more effort, the build can be so much improved. I invested in some 15mm turned brass barrels from JB Models. These match the replacement main armament six pounders and are spot on for scale and at a replacement cost of £4 well worth the investment. The makings of a swivel gun. To form the yokes I originally used fine copper eyebolts flattened on the anvil and super-glued into a length of 1.56mm diameter brass tubing which represents the pivot. The prong on the cascobal was also made from partly flattened fine copper eyebolts. These had a grip that could be slipped onto the end of the prong when the gun was being used. This time around I didn’t seem to have much success with the copper eyebolts (too flimsy) so scratching around for an alternative I lighted upon these little fellows. Brass etched hooks. Not an immediate candidate I admit but the eyes were exactly the right diameter and the hook part once straightened out allowed for the shaped stem to be formed into the yoke. Much more robust to stand up to the rigours of final finishing. The fitted swivel, the trunnions still have to be trimmed at this stage. At the scale size involved which is quite small this is a satisfactory method of producing these items without recourse to soldering or drilling of brass section. The swivels now need to be trimmed and cleaned up prior to blackening and final fitting into the swivel mounts already fitted to the hull of Pegasus. The swivels are now blackened, I used the same procedure as I did with the six pounders. On some swivels I have attached the prong onto which the grip is fitted when required. I am quite pleased with the way they have turned out. B.E.

Next up is to check the alignment of the gun on the deck and fix the securing pins that will hold the carriages in position thro’ the carriage bed. The guns are then trialled on the deck to check the alignment in the ports. The Vents and the ciphers do show up reasonably well. There seems to be a fair run along the broadside The aim is to get the gun muzzles central in the port, so that theoretically both elevation and depression would be possible. Dressing the Guns. The guns have already been enhanced by replacing the Amati generic stuff with RB models brass barrels, adding ciphers and vents, and replacing the kit wheels with aftermarket Amati stuff. The kit does provide brass etched capsquares that are supposed to be fixed to the carriages with brass pins. Fair enough but it is possible to do better than that and further enhance the effect by replicating the Joint bolts and eyebolts that should properly fasten these items. The Joint bolts, at the aft end of the capsquare, effectively a hinge mechanism, are formed from a small eyebolt. The capsquare eyebolt (at the fore end) is fashioned from brass etched eyelets. The Key and Chain that lock the capsquare in place thro’ the eyebolt present a problem – finding chain small enough. The finest chain I had is 27 links to the inch which is way over scale; I did find some 42 links to the inch chain from Jotika that just about fit the bill. Untrimmed chain at this point. Time consuming exercise dressing the guns, attaching the chain to the eyebolt, the eyebolt to the capsquare, and the chain to the carriage, trimming it down to the number of links required, is a testy business. There are aspects of a 1:64 build that are still quite bijou. So here is the completed set, a full weeks’ job on only eight, thankfully I am not building a ship of the Line. Still the rigging to be done but that’s another story. B.E.

The final eight Guns–Tarting up and blackening. I trialled gun blackening further back in the log but I will detail the final procedure I adopted here. Firstly all the required potions are gathered together. Attaching the ciphers. The area is cleaned using an acid dip and neutralising rinse. The gun is set in a blue tack mould to secure it and the cipher is applied using ca. The ciphers are exceedingly small, and can only be checked for proper orientation under high magnification. The crown and if you squint the GR can just about be made out. A spot of ca is applied to the gun in the required place and the cipher is pressed down using a simple jig with a concave end to match the round of the gun. The primary aim is to limit any ca spread that will need removing before the blackening is done. Needle files are then used to blend the edges into the gun, this has the added benefit of winkling out those ciphers with a weak bond. I had a 1 in 8 failure. The vents. For these I have used 0.25mm x 0.75mm styrene strip, again fixed with ca. The vent is drilled out using a 0.3mm drill. The vents are in place and the cipher edges have been softened into the barrel. The area is now very carefully cleaned around the ciphers and vents to remove any stray ca. which would ruin the blackening effect. Acetone on fine wire wool is used for this purpose. I am careful not to let the acetone seep around the glued area as it is a debonding agent for ca. Preparation for Blackening. From this point on the guns will only be handled wearing surgical gloves. First an acid dip and scrub to clean the gun, followed by a dip in a Neutralising rinse. The guns are then dipped in Carrs Blackening for Brass diluted by 30% with de-ionised water until the desired depth of colour is achieved. This took some 30 seconds in my case. The guns are then rinsed again in de-ionised water before being blow dried with a hair dryer. The end result showed up small areas of contamination (ca) on all the guns. These are then further cleaned with acetone before repeating the cleaning process, and re-blacking the guns. Here’s the evenly blackened guns, awaiting the final sealing process and attachment to the trucks. Finishing of the guns Before deciding on the final finish I once again experimented with different sealing types. I settled on an unbuffed surface sealed with Humbrol Mattcote. This is the result. The guns are now ready to be seated on the carriages. B.E.

Time for a little gun blacking. I need to black those ‘hidden’ guns that will fit beneath the Fore and Quarterdecks. I use Carrs Metal Black for Brass. The barrels were thoroughly cleaned with liquid soap, scrubbed, and well rinsed. They were then put into a container with neat Acetone and further scrubbed. Rinsed under running water and then dipped into de-ionised water for a final rinse before drying. The guns were suspended and swished about in a solution of Carrs diluted with 30% de-ionsised water for about 90 seconds in which time they turned solid black. Rinsed again, they were then dried off with a hairdryer and buffed up with a paper towel. This is the result An unbuffed gun is on the left A further dip in the solution deepens the colour. Not quite there yet but coming along and the results so far give me confidence that a good finish can be achieved without resorting to paint. The surface of my previously blackened guns proved insufficiently stable to maintain an even dull black finish. Even with careful handling some rubbed off giving a patchy effect. A further clean and scrub in acetone, a rinse in de-ionised water, dry, and then immersion and swishing in diluted Metal black for brass for a minute or so resulted in an even matt black finish. A sample gun was coated in Carr’s Electroflux, a clear lacquer which is supposed to prevent metal black patinas from being rubbed away. The lacquer went on by brush without disturbing the surface and resulted in a denser black finish albeit one with a sheen to it. This would no doubt help protect the patina but the finish was too shiny for my taste. These are the various trial stages I went thro’. 1) Basic blackened gun (paler than in reality) 2) Gun buffed up – not a displeasing result, metallic in appearance but lacks a depth of colour. 3) The lacquer coated gun 4) Gun coated with Admiralty matt varnish; again no disturbance to the surface in application and a deep black matt finish resulting. This was the option I decided upon. The first gun is fixed in position beneath the Fo’cstle, the cap squares were super-glued into position and the Capsquare joint bolts and eye bolts fitted. These were represented by modified eye bolts. The breeching rope of 0.7mm (JB models) hemp line was ‘spliced’ around the button fed thro’ the breeching ring bolts on the carriage and secured to the bulwark. I was pleased with the way the line draped naturally around the gun, no coercion was needed to persuade it to hold its position. Note: the strange beetroot colour is the result of taking the photos on my desk using an ordinary 60w opal bulb. (My 150w daylight bulb blew up yesterday) Because the carriages for the ‘hidden’ guns are fixed it proved a little trickier to fit the barrel, life will be easier doing the ‘show’ guns as they can be fitted off the model. Having six ‘hidden’ guns to work with at least allows the fitting skill to be honed and a strategy to be formulated. More enhancements and detailing will be applied to the ‘show’ guns. By diverse means I have obtained some brass etched GR monograms to tart up the six pounder barrels. These are incredibly tiny things, in fact it is difficult to see which way up they should be when applied to the gun. Even under close magnification it is difficult to make out the GR and the crown is just about discernible. The etching is oval in shape and badge like with a rim around the edge which doesn’t really look authentic. The main value of adding the monogram will be giving an impression of something that should be there, and the purpose of this post is to record the results of my test. I am interested to find out how well it sticks to the barrel and what effect the blackening process has on the ca. and vice versa. The barrel is first chemically cleaned and the monogram is applied with ca. Quite tricky getting the position correct between the trunnions. Don’t even think I have got this one the right way up, but it will do for the test. To reduce the badge effect a needle file is used to shape the edges into the round of the barrel. The other addition to the gun is a vent with the touch hole. I thought about using brass strip for this but it proved very difficult to drill the necessary hole in strip of the required dimension I therefore tried some 0.25 x 0.75mm styrene strip. Easy to work and worth a punt for the purposes of the test. So this is the gun prior to blackening. Another dip in the neutralising agent and then into the black for brass. Evidence of ca contamination can be seen. Further scrubbing and a touch of acetone on the affected area* and the cover comes good. *Slightly risky operation given the effect of acetone on ca. I am pleased to see that with scrubbing and dipping the vent has held good as has the monogram. A touch of matt black paint will blend the vent in. A buff up and this is the effect. Better than I had hoped and the vent has held. So are the additions worth the effort. I think so. B.E.

Looking at the Rudder Not too bad a shape as provided in the kit but it is rather blocky and could do with a little fettlin’ to improve the finished article. I have already touched on the bearding applied to the inner edge of the rudder to allow for turning; some taper now needs to be applied in the north south line to match the taper put on the stern post prior to hull planking. The rudder is fitted to allow marking of the waterline and position of the pintles. The rudder requires plating up to the waterline including the inner face which contains the Pintle pins. For this area I have opted to use thinner copper tape rather than the provided plates. I am somewhat at odds with the plan for coppering the Rudder which shows the brick pattern as used on the hull. In practise there seems no need to adopt this arrangement as the plates are sufficiently long to cover the side of the rudder including the return around the aft face. I have gone with single plates along each side. Applying the Pintle straps is another exercise that requires some thought. Little Brass etched jobs are supplied for the purpose , but they are not fixed in a horizontal line across the rudder but have a slight downwards line, but parallel to each other. To assist getting it right, tape is applied to the top of each strap line and the rudder held in position to check it looks ok to the eye. Once satisfied the straps are ca’d into place. These straps will be coloured to reflect the alloyed metal used over the copper plates to prevent electrolytic reaction that would otherwise take place with iron straps. The two straps that are above the waterline are presented as iron and blackened. With the Pintle straps in place the holes can be drilled and the pins* fitted that will go thro’ the Gudgeon eyes. *The lowest pin should be somewhat longer than the others to allow for proper shipping of the rudder. The position of the Gudgeon eyes (represented by copper eyebolts) on the stern post can be marked with the rudder held temporarily in place. I fit them progressively making small adjustments as I go. The aim is to get the rudder as close to the stern post as possible whilst still allowing for some turn. Once satisfied the Gudgeon rings are placed thro’ the gudgeon straps and ca’d to the face of the stern post. The straps are then glued to the hull ensuring that they follow the same line as the Pintle straps. The screws for the straps are represented by copper wire, I use the ends of copper eyebolts – it shortens them only a little. The Rudder is hung so that its sole is just above the level of the False Keel. In deciding the colour of the Pintle and Gudgeon straps I need to bear in mind the eventual patina of the copper plating. Metallic Bronze paint with a touch of matt rust brown added gives the shade I am seeking. One item of iron work not mentioned or provided in the kit is the Spectacle Plate which fits just below the Hance on the Rudder. This is fairly easily made using a length of brass fret surround and a couple of brass etched eyelets. A few more general shots of the completed assembly The copper can now be given a final clean before I move on. B.E.

Copper sheathing I quite like the supplied copper, thinner, and a great improvement over that supplied with Jotika kits which is much thicker with over-scale domed rivet heads. The copper comes in sheets which easily fold and separate into single plates. Before I divided the sheets they were cleaned with white vinegar, rinsed and dried. From this point on they will only be handled when wearing surgical gloves, I hope to minimise finger prints and smearing on the copper plates. My intention with Pegasus is to leave the plates to tarnish naturally, hopefully to an even dull brownish finish. The supplied plates are ‘handed’ –separate sets for port and starboard – must concentrate to ensure I fit them all the right way up. I think the plates are designed to butt up against each other rather than overlap, and that accounts for the particular nail pattern which only runs around two sides of each plate. To accurately plate using the overlap method on naval ships, the upper edge of a lower plate overlapped the lower edge of the plate above it. This presents a far more difficult job when plating a naval model rather than a merchant ship where (more logically I think) the lower edge of the upper plate overlapped the one below. I can imagine it being very difficult to avoid glue marks trying this method. In both cases the overlaps also ran forward on the narrow side each overlapping the preceding plate. This is not such a problem. The coppering will begin at the stern keel and run forwards and upwards each successive strake staggered brick fashion. I’m going for a butt method rather than overlap, the plates good as they are are in any case overscale in terms of thickness, even the nail heads are more visible than they should be in reality. See this close-up of the plating on Trincomalee. So the plating has begun and will now continue ad nauseam to completion. The shiny areas on the copper are where I have cleaned the plates as I go along using acetone and fine steel wool to remove ca. One of the problems when I coppered my Pickle was the excess glue I failed to remove that eventually showed itself when I began to ‘weather’ the plates, and took some considerable effort to get rid of. I am being far more proactive in cleaning this time around hopefully to reduce the problem. Plating of the cutwater will be left until the other side is completed, and I have worked out how to finish this area. Standard modelling practice would be to run plates vertically up the face of the cutwater and butt the side plates to it. Strictly they should be folded around the cutwater and slightly overlap where the hull and cutwater meet. I am fairly satisfied with the plating at the waterline, no gaps and with a fair run along the hull. Application of the elm batten will complete the effect and protect the fine slivers at the top line which are very prone to snagging. It is impossible to complete the plating without getting surface marks from the ca, so the whole area has been cleaned with acetone and fine steel wool, followed by a wipe with white vinegar. The plates are then covered with cling film to keep finger marks off them. I am fairly careless in my use of plates, a slightly misplaced plate meant removal and relegation to the ‘seconds’ pile. Even so I have over 100 pristine plates left over from the starboard side, so Amati have not scrimped on the plate supply. Onto the Port side At the bows I cut the plates into the point where the stem meets the hull and overlapped the stem plates onto the hull by a scale 3” More authentic, but I’m not sure at model scale whether a neat cut into the two joins would have looked better. The plates that run up face of the knee barely allow for an overlap so the arrangement doesn’t really apply. In reality the plates folded between the keel and false keel. To replicate this I added an ebony strip along the keel base to represent the False keel. The top copper line is fairly straight but is much improved by the addition of the 3” Elm batten (1mm square boxwood strip reduced in thickness to 0.6mm) Applying this is a little tricky but it went on better than I had feared, thick ca and a damp strip eased the operation. Not snapping the batten where it meets the stern post is a main concern but liberal amounts of water to further soften it, and teasing it around the sharp join did the trick without mishap. I will now complete and fit the rudder to finally finish work in the copper area, before the copper is given a final polish with acetone and steel wool and cleaned with white vinegar. I can then get on with the build parts that really interest me, fitting out and finishing off the hull. B.E.