Blue Ensign

Post Fifty-four

Centre line fittings. (Part One)

These consist of the hatchways and ladderways.

They are provided in the kit complete with grating sets and attached shot garlands in pearwood.

The kit grating sets go together very nicely, and the gratings  fit neatly into place with minimum effort.

The depth of the coamings (2.8mm) equates to a height above deck of 7” which looks a tad low to my eye for a ship of this size.

1465

Looking at the Adm plan of Indy, the coamings, assuming a 1:48 scale, equate to a height of 9½” above deck. *

At 1:64 scale this equates to 3.77mm

The Lower deck coamings are much lower, as are those of the Qtr deck.

*By Navy Order 1795 coaming were to be built well clear of the deck, approx. 15-18” (5mm – 7mm at scale)

Goodwin (Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War)

Indy went into service around the same time as the Navy Board issued the new order.

Lavery (Arming and fitting of English ships of war) notes;

Coamings and ledges varied considerably in height, according to the size of ship and their position. They could be as high as 12” on a large ship and as small as 3” on a sloop or Brig. By the late Eighteenth century much higher coamings were fitted on the gundeck than other decks, as water was much more likely to come in thro’ the ports of that deck.

With all this in mind;

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I have beefed up the underside of the coaming frames using a combination of 3mm x 2.5mm and 2mm x 2.5mm strips.

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The finished height will be tweaked once I have decided about the round-up to the head ledges.

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The main problem with getting into this sort of detail is that Indy is a late age frigate conversion of which there seems to be a dearth of detailed information. Most of the contemporary large frigate models from which a visual appreciation may be gained, date from the 1770’s and earlier.

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The beefed-up hatches on the vast expanse of the Indy gundeck don’t look out of proportion, to my eye at least.

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I next need to look at the round-up to the head ledges.

B.E.

19/07/2023

I can see the issue Kevin, are you fitting the mouldings in individual pieces or long strips? The aftermost piece looks out of kilter which would throw the line off.

It needs a graceful curve to meet the Qtr gallery;

I would remove the last piece and run a length  across the ports, and fit it as it conforms to the sheer line, without paying too much attention to the manual photos.

From the bow to the  midships it looks just fine.

B.E.

Creating such wonderful models from scratch, I’m amazed how far you get in such a short time, Nils, interesting stuff.👍

B.E.

Post Fifty-three

Planking the gundeck

For this I am using mainly 1mm x 4mm Boxwood strip provided by Hobbymill eu. Broader strips will also be required in certain areas.

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I have already prepped the deck by the addition of carlings beneath the hatch openings and have opened up the deck area above the Lower deck ladderway down to the Orlop.

The gundeck will otherwise be fully planked.

The first job is to fit the margin planks.

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These are not too difficult on Indy; the forward section requires cutting out from 1mm Box sheet but for the greater part 6mm strip can be used with gentle edge bending.

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I added a couple of scarph joints just for interest and with the open and clear decks on this minimalist build, they should be visible.

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The part that will represent the waterway and contain the scuppers will be fitted once the Spirketting is in place.

Before I can get stuck into the main planking, I need to consider the centre line fittings.

These are intended to be simply glued atop the finished deck planking but I prefer to fit these in place first and plank up to them.

This will involve beefing up the depth of the coamings etc by 1mm to compensate. I also like to see a round-up to the head ledges so these will also be modified.

B.E.

17/07/2023

A lot I would say Glenn, if I could produce planking such as on  your 'Winnie' the thought would never have entered my mind.😁

B.E.

Thanks Alistair, It did cross my mind to partially plate it, and I seem to recall a contemporary model displayed that way. Can't find it for the life of me now, but I was reminded seeing the early stages of kevin's 'Indy' plating job with the plates partly running up the stem and keel posts, but left low in the centre.

Just a thought, but I've got a while now before the question faces me again.

Cheers,

B.E.

Valid point James, and the waterline cutting factor has great appeal. 👍

Thanks for the clarification Chris, no criticism inferred.

I like the look of both of them, and for me either would do an effective job on Indy. Were I  to opt for plates, as cost isn't a factor, I would use the Vanguard set.

Regards,

B.E.

Post Fifty-two

Copper

To copper or not to copper that is the question.

If to copper, is poncing around with copper tape to produce around 2500 indented plates worth saving the £150 cost of pre-formed plates or is it a worthy expense to preserve what remains of my sanity.

Is it even worth bothering with nail indents at this scale?

023 (2011)

I last coppered a ship back in 2011 with my Pegasus build. Once the plates were cleaned they were left to patinate naturally.

I was pleased with the indented Amati plates which don’t look overscale to my eye.

The Amati plates were also handed, and accommodated the overlap, without having to overlap, by having the indented perimeter nail heads on only two sides.

These are not to be confused with the much pimpled copper plates supplied by Caldercraft, as used on their Pickle kit and others. I’m amazed they continue to issue this less than convincing version.

I suspect that the specific plate sets from Vanguard originate from Amati, but these sets have the nail indentations around all sides of the individual plates.

For those who don’t wish to bother with tape, there is a saving to be had by using the Amati versions. Seven sets of handed plates (2548 in total) will cost around £95 (£13.63 per set from CMB)

The rub is getting them, they seem to be hard to find in stock at present.

1410 (2023)

1411 (2023)

Difficult to photograph thro’ her case cover but this is the  natural oxidation effect after 12 years, not that much different over the years but pleasing enough.

As usual I am racked with indecision; the ‘Indy’ hull is I think good enough to leave bare, but then I quite like the look of a coppered hull, and coppering adds hours of fun to the build time, increasing the time frame before I am tempted by the next wonderment to issue forth from the Forest of Dean.

When in doubt do nowt;

Having pondered overnight I have decided to plank the gun deck which won’t preclude me from inverting the hull for plating at a later stage, should I ever make my mind up.🙄

B.E.

16/07/2023

Thanks Ron,

I usually do a preliminary check and sort of wood strips.

The Pear I got from Hobbymill EU  was very consistent for colour, and I just used it as it came, it  worked out fine.

Staining always has a risk, and in some areas on the port side Boxwood it came out patchy. A re-scrape, and re-application sorted the problem.

B.E

I do have some Vallejo Acrylic Varnish. I am interested to know why this is applied before the scraping.

Read the post again Glenn.

B.E.

Glad you enjoyed your hols Glenn, and that your back is improving.

A good scraping will make a world of difference to the deck, but I would be very cautious about applying wood stain, you may find it results in patchiness, beyond the natural colour tones of the wood.

With Boxwood (which I always use for decks) I use a water based matt varnish following scraping. Admiralty paints used to do a flat matt varnish, but on Sphinx I used Vallejo Matt Acrylic Varnish.

ps nice job on relocating those gun securing slots around the margin.

B.E.

Post Fifty-one

Boxwood hull planking

I had in mind from the outset that the Boxwood above the wale planking would echo the ‘yellow paint generally applied to these vessels.

Not that I will be following the realistic painting scheme of the era. As a Navy Board style model I will apply a degree of artistic licence, and follow the tradition of contemporary models in using minimal paint.

This also means that I will allow the natural boxwood planking to follow the sheer rather than the deck line paint job which was the fashion of the time.

The Topsides consist of pre-cut Pearwood sheets of plain wood with added mouldings and rails. At the lower edge a rail below the channel line will cover the join between pear and Box.

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In its bare form the Boxwood is too pale for my liking, so I have been looking at methods to enrich it somewhat.

Application of w-o-p darkens the tone but not quite to the degree I have in mind.

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Having tested various combinations on Box strip I decided on using Colron English light oak Wood dye.

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Three coats have been applied by brush, immediately wiping off with a soft cloth.

A coat of w-o-p was then applied to seal the effect.

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At this point the aftermost gunports have been fully cut into the wales which were then repainted.

Onwards…..

B.E.

15/07/2023

Hi Chris,
What’s the difference with these to the kit supplied version?

B.E.

Not a problem Chris, you’ve got to leave something to challenge us.😉

B.E.

Always a good result when the Qtr galleries line up with the stern gallery, well done Kevin.👍

Fills me with dread whenever I approach that area of work, it's such an important  feature of the hull.

B.E.

Post Fifty.

Time to add a coat of w-o-p.

I make my own up using spirit based Black friar clear satin Poly varnish diluted 50% using white spirit.

Applied sparingly with a soft cloth the first application will reveal those areas that may need more attention.

 Application of w-o-p darkens the pearwood, and brings out the richness, but of more importance the overall tone of the wood is uniform and consistent.

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The colour tone is close to what I had hoped for to contrast with the Boxwood and is not far off the patination I would aspire to achieve were I to copper the hull.

That’s a story for another time.

B.E.

14/07/2023

Cheers Guy's, thanks for looking in.

@ Ron - An especially good job on conforming the one-piece wale.

Unlike Sphinx, Chris opted not to provide  a laser etched wale, and indicated use of three 5mm strips for the purpose. 

On my 'Indy' the wales are made up of four strakes of Top and Butt planking which I felt  provided a more authentic look.

Regards,

B.E.

Post Forty-nine

Sanding the hull

For this I’m using a combination of 120 and 320 grit papers for the initial clean up.

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As I go, I collect the pear dust for use in any minor gaps between the planking.

After a full day of sanding and stiffening fingers, I think I’m nearly there.

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I’ll review it in the morning, and once I've had a general tidy up  in my office, perhaps wop a coat of wop on it.

B.E.

13/07/2023

Yeah, me neither

8070

B.E.

Thanks Kevin, Andy, and Alistair, and for the 'likes' - much appreciated.

@ Andy - the jury is still out on the  coppering question.

@ Alistair - don't know about a masterpiece, but I'm fairly satisfied that the planking will be good enough to give me the  'unadorned' option.

Post Forty-eight

Planking completion.

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Two strakes to go and the hull is re-marked for the last time to shape the planks.

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The final strake.

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Last plank and completion.

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Complete. 🍾

Altho’ it feels I’ve spent a long time doing the second planking it has only been 25 active working days including the drop planks and Top and butt wale planking.

Not very long in overall terms for a build of this magnitude.

The work does involve several re-markings of the strake lines on the hull to keep things on track, the transfer of each reference point on the planks cut to scale, and the necessary tapering and spiling to get the fit.

There were failures along the way but the incidence of scrapping planks was thankfully low.

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Onto the sanding and cleaning up the hull.

B.E.

12/07/2023

Post Forty-seven

Nearly there!

With ten strakes to go the trickiest part is the sharp bends and twists where the planks abut the stern post.

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In this example the plank is wider at the end than the otherwise tapered run.

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The planks sometimes take on a serpentine shape.

Over the weekend I made a concerted effort to push ahead with the planking and I put in two longish days at the workbench.

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The serpentine shape of the planking runs is evident here but I am now happy that there will be no crowding of the planks at the stem.

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I have concentrated on the bow planking as this is the most critical area, and I am pleased that there is no excessive sny as the planks follow the round of the bow.

Two days later……..

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Two strakes left and they will be of pretty uniform shape - I’m relieved to see.

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A small satisfaction to be had when both sides match.

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My shipyard assistant casts a critical eye over my efforts, is he impressed, hard to tell, but I'm satisfied. 🙂

Cheers,

B.E.

11/07/2023.

Post Forty-six

Planking continues.

One of the downsides of the ‘Indy’ hull is the sheer size and weight which becomes very wearing given the constant need to turn it about and shift it from inverted to upright and back again to check the run of the planking.

I’ve obviously spent too much time on small hulls in recent times, I think back fondly to those fine little fishing boats and even Sphinx, which at the time I also thought was a big beast, but seems quite small now.

Not moaning, just musing, - on with the show.

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I have now re-marked the hull with the plank widths at each reference point. Sixteen 5mm planks are now required at the two central bulkheads ‘M’ and ‘9’.

Another week and this is the state of play, now four months into the build.

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I am now planking alternatively from wale down and keel up, it is a slow business and I’m achieving around two strakes a day.

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I am closely watching the run of planks at the bow, and at this point I will re-mark the runs, hopefully for the last time.

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Tapering is now a feature from around Bulkhead 11 to the stern, but towards the keel the boards also broaden out a little.

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Little by little the gap is closing, and the finish line is in sight. Ten strakes are now required, and another week should see the second planking completed.

B.E

08/07/2023

Cheers Guys for your ongoing interest.

@ Glenn - wise words, it is the same on Indy, it is between 3 and five that the sny  can get excessive.

@ Allan -  Already in hand, I fined the wale down following fitting, and it will be done slightly more when I get around to final finishing.

Regards,

B.E.

A fine job Kevin,  I imagine you're a lot happier with the build now than you were a few weeks ago.

The copper against the black hull looks very striking.👍

B.E.

Looking good Kevin, should be completed by the weekend.👍

Are you intending to keep it bright or weather it a little?

B.E.