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Blue Ensign

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Everything posted by Blue Ensign

  1. Thank you Yves, not sure about pushing perfection, but your kind words are very much appreciated. B.E.
  2. They are very nice Nils, but all down to Chris who is providing an excellent service to ship modellers. It is also good that he is supplying them at different scales. This 3d printing malarkey is having a major impact on the quality of fittings available for which I am truly thankful. B.E.
  3. Post One Hundred and Thirty Seven Command candidates. When I first saw Chris’s latest figures of Pellew and Hornblower I was pretty impressed, enough so to buy the 1:64 scale versions to satisfy my curiosity. They are indeed finely sculpted and detailed and altho’ not period dressed for Sphinx at least in her early years, they do look very fine on her deck as scale comparison figures. Both figures stand over six feet in scale height (sole of foot to Bi-corn hats) which is tall for the era, but Pellew was known to have been a tall man. I am not a fan of the bases which as a trial I have removed. 7410 I used side snippers to firstly reduce the base size by degrees, cut thro’ the centre between the legs using an etch razor saw, and snip away the remaining base. 7413(2) Beneath the soles of the feet, I supported the legs and then snipped away but not down to the feet, and then carefully sanded to the sole. Sir Edward did lose his foot during the surgery due to heavy handiness on my part, but it was quickly re-attached using ca. 7414(3) From aft the macro reveals a crack running down Hornblower's shoulder, this was not visible to the naked eye – well mine anyway. With the Hornblower figure, be careful in handling as the sword extension beyond his frock coat is very vulnerable to breaking. (Don’t ask me how I know) 7415(2) A fine pair of Quarterdeck officers. 7416(2) Hornblower would certainly have to duck beneath the beams. He is standing next to Capt. Grimm who stands at a scale 5’ 8” 7421 They do look good, particularly standing on their own feet and not on a pedestal. One or other could be re-identified as Captain Richard Lucas who commanded Sphinx in 1794. 7424 Back to the main event… B.E. 04/07/2022
  4. That should prove an interesting exercise in self torture, I look forward to seeing the event. I hope you photo the process Grant, or is that a secret of ship bottlers, a bit like magicians not revealing their tricks.😉 B.E.
  5. That is tiny work Grant, does it have the system whereby the mast and rigging are inserted flat into the bottle and pulled upright with a string, or does it fit fully erected thro' the base? B.E.
  6. Love the Mermaid figure Thomas, and that port quarter stern shot is stunning. B.E.
  7. There’s something seriously out of sync there Mark. Are you sure the deck beams were properly set before laying the deck pattern? Is it possible to remove the deck pattern, I can’t see from the photos what else to do. b.E.
  8. Post One Hundred and Thirty-six Billboards, bolsters, and Linings. These do not feature on the Sphinx kit, but she presumably had them, and they are shown on the Marshall Painting. The Billboard is clearly shown, but the bolster can’t be identified, and there is no indication of the linings. I added this feature to Pegasus and will do so for Sphinx The dimensions of these fittings are given in the FFM Vol 11 for the Swan sloops which will be my guide for Sphinx. I firstly made the Bolsters in two parts using Pearwood strip. They are rebated on the back side to fit over the Preventer plates. With the bolsters in place the Billboards can be made. For this I use some 1mm pearwood scrap inscribed with 3mm wide boards which reflect the topsides planking. The topside decoration is carried across the Billboard. 7397 I haven’t yet decided whether to paint the bolsters to match the strakes. 7386 The decoration comes courtesy of some old Pegasus etch. 7390 The bolsters are only pinned in place in case I wish to remove them, but so were the originals. 7392 I did initially have some reservations about adding this feature in case it distracted in some way from lovely lines of Sphinx. It does appear on the contemporary model of Amazon, and I note that Chuck has added it to his Winnie build. 7396 I have still the Linings to do yet, a pity to cover up part of that nice top and butt wale planking, but they are part of the set. B.E. 02/07/2022
  9. The NMM blurb about this model indicates that it is on loan from a private lender. Perhaps it's the lender who's short of funds. B.E.
  10. Preventer plate saga continues… Chris has advised me that on the Admn plan the Main preventer plates are slightly longer than those of the Fore channels. I checked the plan and indeed they are, but the lower chains are shorter on the Mains (apart from the aftermost two) than on the Fore. The kit provides a standard length of lower chains for both Fore and Main (PE50) which fit the Fore channels, but create the issue (for me) on the Main channels. The problem sent me rooting thro’ my brass etch spares box; the solution came in the form of brass etched chains from the Amati Fly/Pegasus chains set that I bought years ago during my Pegasus build. 7362 It is serendipitous that the middle and lower chains of the Fly/Pegasus set are a perfect match to the Sphinx Main Preventer plates. 7355 So what you see is a sort of Sixth rate hybrid arrangement, Preventer plates courtesy of Sphinx, Middle and Lower chains courtesy of Pegasus/Fly. 7358 Problem solved for me but I believe the one sized middle and lower chains of the Sphinx kit may create issues for other builders, in relation to the Main Channels. That remains to be seen. B.E. 30/06/2022
  11. I did a bit of d-i-y shimming on my clamp. 7352 I dismantled the clamp and lined both cup and ball with fine cotton material from an old handkerchief . I then applied a little lump hammer technology and bashed the spines on the retaining ring until it tightened to the point that movement was stiff. Hand tightening of the ring wouldn't hack it. With Indy I think you're going to need a bigger clamp, but if you buy another you can always use the spare bar clamps to give additional support. B.E
  12. It remains a great puzzlement to me Ron, The gap between the underside of the Fore and Main channels and the Wale is the same on both plan and model. The Middle and lower chain parts (PE49/50) are the same for both Channels, only those for the Mizen and backstays are smaller (PE54/55) The preventer plates for the Fore Channel fit just fine but for a reason that escapes me those for the Main Channel are 1mm+ longer than those for the Fore. This is enough to throw the bolt holes of the preventer plate and lower chains out of sync as in the photos above. Maybe I’m missing the point but I simply can’t see why have two different sizes of preventer plate? Any minor adjustments would normally be done tweaking the middle link. B.E.
  13. She's looking very impressive Ron, and that is excellent work on the snaking, not the easiest task to get looking right. Well done. B.E.
  14. Well done Dave, cutters make such attractive models, and yours is a fine example. B.E.
  15. Post One Hundred and Thirty five Fitting the chains There is a fold line on the Lower chain link which allows it to sit flush with the hull. Against this the top of the preventer plate is bolted, and you will note that this too has a slight rebate in the top end where it joins the lower link chain. I needed to check them carefully before fitting as the blackening reduces the clarity of these features. Fitting the preventer plates raised a question in my mind. The kit arrangement appears to have them with a gap between the hull and where they bolt to the Black strake at their lower end. My understanding is that these should be flush with the hull at all points and were cranked slightly to fit over the Black strake. Careful pressing of a hard edge just above the strake produces this effect. On Sphinx the bottom fixing of the preventer plates (PE51/PE52) run along the top-line of the wale, which provides a useful fitting guide and the lower link (PE50) joins this at the top end. In reality the middle links (PE49) varied in length as appropriate to each deadeye fitting, the preventer plates and lower chain links remaining constant. I am prepared to make replacement middle links if required using 0.5 mm ø brass wire which is scale to the 1¼”ø iron applicable. My approach; The lower chain and middle link are brought together thro’ the deadeye loop and trial fitted for line -up against the preventer plate top hole with the plate in the desired position. The preventer plates are then fixed with a bolt thro’ the bottom fixing. The shroud line is used to mark the position. Once satisfied, the pin is driven thro’ to secure both preventer plate and lower chain at the upper end. Fitting these things is a tiresome business made more so by my Amati keel clamp having developed the alarming habit of lurching violently in one direction or other without warning. I suspect that the ball and cup which allow it to rotate have worn like an old hip joint after many years of use. Time was taken out for a bit of remedial surgery. 7351 It took most of a day to fit one side of the Fore channel, and fortunately fiddling with the middle link proved unnecessary. 7340 7342 The backstay and Mizen chains are much simpler to fit having no preventer plates to consider. Every thing was going so well until I came to the Main Channels. Here a combination of preventer plate PE52, lower chain PE 50, and Middle link PE49 just simply would not fit. 7345 7344 I tried various combinations of middle and lower links combined with the preventer plates all to no avail. No one else has mentioned issues with this and I am at a loss to understand where things have gone awry. My options appear to be; Fix the preventer plate lower fixing on the wale, which does not accord with the plan - I don't fancy this option. Scratch make smaller middle chains, which I have a feeling may look too small. Ask Chris if he will supply me with a set of the smaller PE51 preventer plates as used on the fore channels. These do seem to match the fit. I will play around further but I think option 3 may prevail. B.E. 29/06/2022
  16. Very nice work Chris, the Hornblower figure looks a great addition to the range.👍 I am still hoping you will take pity on us Sphinx builders and provide a suitable deck figure for scale comparison. I would envisage a uniform of the 1774 issue - back vented frock coat with turned back lapels and cuffs, white breeches and waistcoat, topped with a Tri-corn hat. There are excellent examples in the book Dressed to kill by Amy Miller, (published by the NMM) which covers the uniform development from 1748 - 1857. Hint, hint. B.E.
  17. Thanks Ron, I can think of quite a few more superb beaches in Wales it’s my near local playground. Talking of standing stones, on my return I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to download the Starz play app to my TV so I can watch Outlander series 5 & 6, I could have advanced Sphinx a fair bit in the same time, but got there in the end. Post One Hundred and Thirty four Chains and Plates These are all chemically blackened before fitting, a tiresome business with the various stages of cleaning these multiple small parts, but infinitely better than having to make your own. 7325 Once blackened each piece is buffed using a cotton bud to remove the excess blackening. To aid getting the angles right for the Preventer plates along the hull, dowels equivalent to the lower mast lengths at the bolsters are used. 7327 Temporary lines to represent the shrouds were rigged to give the angle for the Preventer plates. 7328 It is a tricky business fitting the preventer plates so that they all line up along the hull and at the correct angles. I expect that adjustment to some of the uppermost links may be required to achieve this. So, my work for the week ahead is set out, what joy! B.E. 26/06/2022
  18. Nice shots of the channels and deadeye rigging Ron, I like the realistic look, can barely tell it's a model. B.E.
  19. Didn't quite get away from ships during my absence. Rising from the sand, like a sea dragon, the remains of the barque Helvetia wrecked on Rhossili beach in 1887. After 135 years I wonder how much longer before the bow timbers are fully lost to view. B.E. 24/06/2022
  20. Nice job on the rat lines Ron, I’m with you on the ‘eyeballing’ method, I found a pattern behind the shrouds got in the way of my clove hitching. B.E.
  21. Post One hundred and thirty three Channel deadeyes re-visited With extra supplies received I have re-checked the deadeyes for misplaced holes, replaced some, and re-made others. With these standard deadeyes there is an outboard face usually better finished than the inboard face, and even if the holes are ok from outboard quite often they are out of line on the inboard side. For the Topmast backstays and Mizen shrouds I have re-made the deadeyes using the kit 3mm + stock deadeyes which have been reduced in circumference. 07273 To this end my serving machine was brought into use in an attempt to reduce the size uniformly. Threaded on a taut wire thro the holes, a sanding stick was held against the deadeye whilst turning, it seemed to do the trick. I reduced the circ to the level of the groove and then re-grooved. Some of the strops also needed reducing in size. Finally w-o-p was applied to the surface of the Deadeyes. 07303 Despite all this extra work I prefer the more scale appearance of the now three deadeye sizes along the channels. 07304(2) 07306(2) 07308 The shipyard is closing now for a week whilst we enjoy the pleasures of the Gower Peninsula. Sphinx is secured beneath her protective cover for the duration. B.E. 18/06/2022
  22. Mine came out exactly the same, altho’ I didn’t use the kit provided Capping rails, Rough tree rails, or swivel posts. I also replaced the lower counter pieces and crutches but this didn’t affect the set up. It is a puzzlement as the sheer line on the model looks as per the kit drawings and photo’s, but I think that on the profile drawings the crutches may be mistaken for the transom giving the impression that the Rough tree rail runs below the top line level of the Transom. The look on the model didn’t strike my eye as odd so I didn’t change the arrangement. I will be interested to see how your revised rail layout looks. Regards, B.E.
  23. Thank you Oldsalt, I'm not in the right mind-set to tackle those brackets yet, but it's a job that can be deferred. Cheers, B.E.
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