Blue Ensign

Post Ninety-three A peep into the Captain’s Quarters. The laser cutting of these parts is spot on and Chris has done a great job in providing the makings to allow us modellers to re-create realistic framing without many hours of work. 2363 I had some experience of making Lodging knees for my Sphinx build, and I’m so glad Chris thought to include them on ‘Indy’. 2365 The addition of scale cabin furniture is a nice touch and I’m very much pleased with the effect. 2366 I have no intention of hiding this detail, apart from the margins the Poop deck will remain unplanked. 2367 2371 2374 One of the main issues once the cabins have been completed is keeping dust out during further sanding and cleaning of the deck beams once the Lodging knees have been fitted. 2360 To this end I use some thin polythene threaded beneath the beams and over the fittings. The dust can be sucked off without the risk of dislodging any fittings. 2378 I’ll use the false deck to help keep dust out while I attend to the Stern/Qtr Galleries. B.E. 17/10/2023

Cheers, Nipper, I get a feeling of great satisfaction that my log has helped others, part of what we're here for I think. B.E.

Post Ninety-two Poop deck beams Before I proceed, a small problem to sort. 2300 As can be seen in the above photo the forward screen sits around 1mm above the first Poop deck beam(PD1) This looks the same as the manual photos but doesn’t allow the Poop sub-deck to sit down flush across all the beams. I had initially wondered whether the deck would run flush to meet this ‘rebate’ but decided to sand it flush with the deck beam which allows proper seating of the deck. 2331 2332 I am pleased to note that the Poop sub-deck slips seamlessly into place without any adjustment. There will be much less of it when I get to that stage. Forward cabins The beams have few considerations as there are no full hanging knees to work around the cabin fittings. 2340 The beams and knees fitted into place with the minimum of fuss. The Great cabin This is a different story as there are three sets of full hanging knees to fit, plus two sets of short versions. It takes some careful thought to work out the sequence of beam fitting to give the best access for the long knees without the risk of dislodging any previously fitted furniture, but I found I could progress furniture adding as I moved along. There is scant information in the manual regarding the fitting of knees other than to refer to the plan (Plan sheet 5) For what it’s worth this is the sequence I adopted. The first long hanging knees fit against the screen on the inner side. 2335 These are easy to fit as it is done before any beams are installed. I found it necessary to reduce the height of the knee along the top edge by 2mm to bring it clear of the window frames. 2334 Once fitted they are painted to match the bulwarks. At this point only the sideboard has been fixed into place. The remaining beams of the Great cabin roof are now painted white. 2346 Beam PD5 can now be fitted followed by the second set of long knees which are again painted insitu. The guns are now added, followed by Beam PD7, followed by the last set of long knees. Access is still good to position these. At this point the remainder of the furniture is added to the deck. In my case the rather elegant pedestal table, desk, and chairs. Beam PD8 is now added together with short version knees. Beams PD9&10 follow, no hanging knees involved. Finally Beams PD6 and carlings are put into place, these form the support for the Skylight. Short knees are attached to beam 6 but they need to be trimmed to keep them clear of the gunport. They are necessary to provide spacers for the Lodging knees. 2362 2373 The final action is to add the Lodging knees. 2379 So, the fitting out is complete and it proved less frustrating than I had first imagined. I will post some photos of ‘what lies beneath’ in the next post. B.E. 16/10/2023

Thank you Ron, The practicality of the Bitts position will only really become apparent when the rigging starts. The kit shows only the Mizen Topsail/T’gallant sheets , Boom Topping lifts, and Main Topsail yd braces belaying at the Mizen Bitts. The sheet lines catch my eye; these as you know feed thro’ the sheet blocks beneath the yards close to the cleats and belay where else, but the Mizen Topsail sheet Bitts. The lines are usually run more or less vertically from the sheave to belay. With the Indy set up they are required to angle aft to belay. As a full sail man you would be involved with a lot more lines belaying at the bitts, Reef tackles, and halyards come to mind. This is all academic to me with stump masts only so time I moved on. ps; This is the first time I’ve looked the rigging plans, and I have to say Chris has done a fine job, beautifully drawn.👍 B.E.

Thanks for looking in Gary, I love that model of Victory, but the arrangement lasted but a few years around the mid 18thc. Victory 1765 The Poop on Victory is similar to how the Poop would have looked on Indy when razeed, but before it was further reduced in depth at the request of Pellew. The official plan only shows the original modification but notes that the request was made and actioned. 2358 You can see from the plan a bitt pin very close behind the Mizen mast and the Skylight, or maybe a hatchway close behind it. On the kit interpretation the Mizen bitts are some 8’ from the mast, which is a long way from the usual arrangement It can be seen that the poop extends beyond the third port and gives some cover to the helmsman. How it was actually configured we shall probably never know, so it’s down to educated guesswork, and I’m still troubled by the position of those bitts. The simplest option for me is to leave them off, that way I won’t continually look at the model and think- should they really be there. Ps I must get back up to Hartlepool, been a few years since I last visited Trincomalee. B.E

Thank you Thuky, Writing this stuff helps me sort my own thoughts, and provides a record of why I did things. In the past I have been asked why did you do that, and I was damned if I could remember.🙄 It also provides me with a break from actual building, and I simply enjoy it. I'm glad you find it helpful. Cheers, B.E.

The skylight in it’s original position did look odd, and much better moved to over the Great cabin. Had the Poop deck remained as originally designed to incorporate the Mizen then the bitts on the Poop deck would have been in order. With Pellew’s request to shorten the poop, leaving the Mizen exposed on the Qtr deck, Mizen bitts on the poop make no sense, they are badly positioned for belaying many of the lines that directly lead down the mast. The one thing common to Bitts is that they are close to the mast. Could there not have been a mast ring on the Mizen, there looks to be room. At this point I have not looked at the kit rigging plans to see where lines such as the clews, lifts, and bunts are belayed as I am not masting and rigging her. It is a tricky business trying to interpret what may have been, but for me it just feels wrong in this instance. I acknowledge the effort and thought you put into the design of these models Chris, I too agonise over details, and we all hope to get things as good as they can be. Always more questions than answers. B.E. exposed on the upper deck

Post Ninety-one Ponderings about the Poop In the early days of development of Indy Chris made a few modifications in this area. development photo Forgot to mention, I have moved the poop skylight back by 3 beams, as I realised it was too close the edge of the poop, so it is now over the great cabin, and not in the position shown. development photo As I moved the skylight back so that it is now over the great cabin, I saw no reason not to add mizzen bitts and belaying cross rail. Sensible modifications based on a practical approach in the absence of any original information. The official Indy plan (ZAZ2371) shows the skylight in its original position, and I cannot find a plan of the modified razeed Indy’s Poop deck framing. We 20th century people have no idea whether Pellew may have preferred the light over the coach, rather than the better lit Great cabin, but aesthetically it certainly looks a lot better. We do know that he wasn’t even very keen on the poop deck arrangement at all, but the Navy Board did not accede to his wishes. 2348 In framing the Poop deck Chris has left the timber arrangement of beams and carlings for the original position of the skylight before Indy was razeed. For an oob build this has no relevance at all, but for my hoped-for arrangement it impacts on the Mizen Bitt placement should I choose to fit them. I had in mind to place the Bitt pins atop the beams and leave that area unplanked, but under the present set-up there is no convenient beam to support the bitts. In reality Mizen Bitts would be set into and bolted to the adjacent deck beams. 2352 One thing that bothers me about the placement of the Mizen Bitts is the distance from the Mizen mast. Most of the lines of the mast, the lifts, clews, and the like, come down thro’ the tops and belay close to the mast, often on a mast ring, even on large Frigates. Maybe Chris’s original idea of racks incorporated either side of the Poop breast rail would work better, they would certainly be closer to the mast. Even so, the bitts are a nice feature and should I choose to fit them I have two options; Maintain the decking in that area, which would hide much of the Bedspace/Coach; which I don’t really want. Or; 2349 Fit a ‘false’ beam (as above) between the carlings above the coach to support the bitts, plus carlings as necessary. 2350 I think I can tweak the position of the bitts by a couple of mm or so either way. 2353 Not decided which way to go, but I’ve some time before the need arises. B.E. 14/10/2023

Thanks Jim, As you can see from your photo above, the screen rises around 1mm above the beam; decision made, I'll sand it flush. B.E.

Sorry you've had a poor end to your hols Chris, especially as it was your first break in eight years. It's obviously dangerous to be out of your workshop, Have you checked whether it's Covid or flu, but either way I hope you are back firing on all four pdq Cheers, B.E.

Hi Jim, Sorry to bother you, I have a small puzzlement about the Poop deck beams. Section 418 shows part PDO attached flush with the top of the forward screen, no issue. 461 When the first Poop deck beam PD1 is fitted the screen sits above the beam level as seen on the manual photos in section 454 and as it does on my build. At the time of fitting I thought the deck pattern would run up to the screen level making the area flush, so thought no more about it. However, the Poop sub-deck runs across the screen top, so I thought I would check whether you sanded the top of the forward screen level with the first beam or just fitted the Poop sub-deck over it as is. My feeling is it should be flush, but I didn't want to sand it and then find there is some subtle reason why the screen stands proud. Regards, B.E.

Thank you Thuky and Nipper. It's my interpretation of an 18thc wash stand, but more Ikea than Sheraton. The portrait is of Edward Pellew, painted in 1797 when he was Captain of the Indefatigable. I thought it added a nice touch above the sideboard. Now how do I model a 1:64 scale ships decanter to stand on the sideboard.🤔 B.E.

Post Ninety Back in the furniture shop I have re-visited the finish of the furniture. 2302 I was looking for a tone that better matched the varnished Pear of the sideboard and the stern bench. 2305 This time I played around with enamel paints. To get the effect I used Revell Wood brown satin (382) with added drops of Humbrol Matt Scarlet (60) to both darken and redden the tone a tad. I think this more has the look of Mahogany about it, more typical of the 18th century. Musings about cabin space. I toyed with the idea of including a Captain’s cot in the bedspace but couldn’t quite figure out how it would be arranged. The cabin has a mere 9’9” depth and that 42 pounder carronade sits in the middle. I have seen arrangements where the cot/hammocks are hung above guns, but there is only 1’6” space between gun and deck beam above. The most obvious arrangement would be slung from the beams inboard of the gun and taken down each morning. It would otherwise inhibit access thro’ the double doors. The Coach is less of a problem, where a table and chairs can be accommodated. Referred to as the Captain’s Dining room, I don’t see why anyone would want to dine in the confined space of the coach when the light and airy great cabin is available. It would be more practically used as the secretary office / Captain’s larder/ storage. Nelson’s expansive dining room as shown on Victory, this ain’t. I have enjoyed myself today playing around with the furniture on my sea going dolls house. 2315 2316 2321 2322 2327 2323 2325 2326 Fairly happy with the outcome, moving onto deck beams. B.E. 12/10/2023

The Caldercraft HMS Mars, is a Brig of the 1770’s, not the 74 launched in 1794. B.E.

Post Eighty-nine Cabin fitting (Part 3) The ring bolts have been fitted to the bulwarks and deck. Again I preferred Amati stuff to make up the bolts. 2273 At last the rear screen is fixed into place. Cabin carronades. 2277 I like the way Chris has designed these to slide in and out to facilitate finishing off the outside of the hull. The carronades are fitted on the ‘inside’ principle whereby they sit on chocks fitted against the bulwark, but with rear transverse trucks to allow the gun to traverse a few degrees. I don’t see why the carronades can’t be assembled to allow them to pivot on their bases; if desired, fit a pin long enough to travel thro’ the blocks and into the deck with the slide part left to swivel on the pin. Lavery shows a system whereby separate pivots are fitted alongside the central one to allow the pivot bolt to be relocated to allow stowage of the carronade alongside bulwark to save space. 2284 I gave some thought to detailing the elevation screw with the addition of the turning bars, but at the scale involved the madness soon passed.🙄 2280 Just four of these seemed to take an age to assemble with the multiple stages. The iron work was chemically blackened, and the barrels treated with dark brown weathering powder after painting. I replaced the kit breeching ring with Amati 2mm rings and added the Royal Monogram to the barrel. 2292 The Forward screen is now fixed and the carronades can be glued in place. 2293 2294 2297 2298 I reversed the QG doors to an open position, the light passing thro’ gives more depth to the QG lights. 2300 2301 Looking forward to furnishing the cabins.🙂 B.E. 11/10/2023

Good looking mouses 👍 B.E.

Thank you Nipper, we can live in hope.🤞 Post Eighty-eight Fitting out (Part 2) The internal panelling comprising delicate 0.6mm sheets proved tricky to fit; mine needed reducing in depth to fit beneath the deck clamps, and I suffered some breakage around the door area. The alignment with the gunports is critical and I spent the best part of a day tidying up the gunports of the cabin area in conjunction with test fitting the internal panelling. Once content with the fit and with the aft screen, they could be prepped for painting. 2247 I primed the aft screen using Vallejo white/grey. I made a colour palette up of my pastel/ blue grey range of paints for the internal decoration of the Great cabin. 2246 Humbrol (87) Steel Grey, and the kit recommended paint AK11817 are very similar, the Humbrol just a tad darker in tone, I would be happy with either. Mrs W had the casting vote, and AK it was. It is a good representation of a pastel shade so beloved of the Georgian age. 2250 The bulkhead panels were given a very light sanding with P1000 paper after painting. Windows The clear windows are fiddly little beggars to fit without smearing. I used stuff called Glu’n’Glaze to run around the hairline gap between glaze and opening. Frames I leave these brass etched items on the fret for prepping. They are position specific. Acid is used to clean the frames before priming with VMS Metal prep 4K. 2252 For colour I’m using Vallejo Ochre brown for the varnished screens, and matching colour for the painted Great cabin screen. 2254 2256 2259 A final dry fit before gluing into place. 2255 2271 I had a fair bit of cleaning up around the area of the doors thro’ to the Quarter galleries. I will probably switch the doors around and position them open. This part of a build I particularly enjoy, but it surely is time consuming, three days’ work on this area. B.E. 08/10/2023

Thank you Nipper for your kind words, I sympathise with the confusions, I spent a lot time and head scratching to reach my conclusions on cutter rigging, there are a lot of inconsistencies in the Alert Book, and I certainly don’t put forward my efforts as the definitive arrangement. For what it’s worth I detailed my approach to each aspect of the rigging in my log, and I don’t think I can add to that. Whatever you decide Thuky, I doubt anyone will gainsay you, there was a lot of variation in cutter rigging. B.E.

They grow up so quickly, need to spend this time enjoying their puppyhood and getting them socialised to meet the world. B.E.

Post Eighty-seven Cabin furniture It was the prospect of having nicely made scale furniture to fit out the cabin that released my inner dolls house maker, and partly persuaded me to invest in ‘Indy’. I liked the idea of having this stuff insitu, clearly visible thro’ the mostly unplanked Poop deck. The trick is to make it look good as achieved by the painter of the prototype build, detailed in the manual, and Jim’s build. I would have dearly loved a sitting version of Pellew, at his desk or table, maps sprawled out before him, deep in thought. This famous painting of Nelson on the eve of Trafalgar, gives the sort of idea. Come on Chris, how about it? Awaiting receipt of some paint for the Great Cabin, I have spent a couple of days playing around with the furniture. It is painted with Vallejo acrylics. 2241 This is the combination of colours I used. 2213 The items were washed is soapy water, and then primed. I use Vallejo Surface Primer (Black) The base coat was made up using Burnt Umber lightened with Grey white and Sand Yellow, with added Hull Red and Dark vermillion. Flat earth, Sand yellow and white grey were also used for dry brushing to highlight areas. This is not formulaic; I just tweak the mix until it suits my eye. 2228 I did have some concerns about the obvious difference to the laser cut pearwood sideboard and thought about painting it to match, but the jury is still out on that. 2234 Not all this furniture will in the Great cabin. 2236 The wood tone changes depending on the lighting. I probably won’t be able to resist fiddling with it further, perhaps some sheen to the tabletops. Time to get back to the main event – I can see the Postie coming up the road.🤞 B.E. 05/10/2023

That looks excellent Mugje. 👍 B.E.

Thanks Theo and Ron, Contemporary models of this era show a round-up to the head ledges, but difficult for kit manufacturers to do unless the coamings are made up separately. The laser cut approach taken by Vanguard provides a neat solution to these combined runs of hatchways and ladderways, but aesthetically I prefer the cambered style, and I think it helps reduce the 'kit' look, along with clearing all the laser burn. Thanks Ron, I'll give it a go.👍 B.E.

That looks good, but don't underestimate how much room the set will require above the retaining ring. the kit indication is nowhere near enough. B.E.

Post Eighty-six Fitting out the Cabin area. (Part 1) Firstly, the Rudder housing is glued into place. I like this Rudder housing with its compass design, and its properly scaled bench, something I had to contrive for myself with Sphinx. 2194 I firstly fitted the two aft sections (233/234) which slot into the stern framework. These are given a slight bevel to meet the adjoining pieces (231/232). The central end panel (230) is then put into place. At each stage the line-up with the top is checked. 2198 The top of the bench front, previously fitted, rises a little above the stern framework which gives the top a slight tilt aft to its fitting in the notched stern frames. This seems to accord with the elevation drawing on plan 5. Cabin screens/partitions These need to be assembled to use as a guide to mark the areas of the coach and bedspace for planking. 2195 2197 I used 4x1mm Box for planking which had to be placed to leave a 1mm spacing to allow the aft screen to sit down on the sub-deck. A 1mm strip was used for the purpose. 2201 Fitting the longitudinal screen between the bedspace and coach proved a little tricky. I found it necessary to trim the forward end to allow the front screen to fit and trim the bottom to allow the tab to sit lower in the deck screen slot. I wonder if this is because the kit is designed for maple 0.8mm decking, and I’m using 1mm stuff. 2202 This is a critical area of the build and dry fitting and looking several steps ahead is essential in my opinion. The parts can now be disassembled and made ready for painting and finishing. B.E. 01/10/2023

Another interesting card project Richard, they make up into such attractive models. I look forward to seeing your progress . B.E.