Blue Ensign

Post 42 Deck Planking Part 2 With the counters in place I concentrate on the aft deck section. Once the centre planks are in place I begin to taper the planks. 0500 0513 This is done by eye, the objective to get a curve that runs parallel to the outer deck line. At this point I move to the Bow section. 0503 0505 Apart from the four planks either side of the centre, the other are all tapered and nibbed into the Margin planks. 0509 The area of the sub-deck remains to be planked but the indication is that a fair run of planking will follow.🤞🤞 0511 Looking a bit rough at this stage and very much w-i-p. Hopefully this belies the end result once the deck is scrubbed, or rather scraped up, to a reasonable finish. B.E. 24/02/2025

Hi Walter, For what it's worth, with Indefatigable I created a paper version on Word. I didn't like the colour of the decal provided with the kit. 3162 I used a black coloured base which suited the counter, selected a font I liked, tweaked for size and curvature, and cut out to fit the full counter exactly. I printed out on quality paper, and sprayed with Artists Fixative before cutting out. I used the counter template to provide the print boundary. 3170 You can't really see the the join and paper decoration was the go to on historical models, and still today if you refer to Chuck's wonderful Syren kits. Hope this helps. B.E.

Amazing progress ECK., at this rate you'll be finished before I complete the deck planking. B.E.

Post 41 Planking the gundeck Part 1. I start with a margin plank cut from some Boxwood sheet using the kit deck pattern to form the shape. 0465 0467 It is only needed for the forward hull curve, for the remainder 4mm strip will be used. 0477 0476 The kit deck pattern provides a useful template for marking the positions of the centre-line fittings. 0480 The Capstan step, aft companionway, and skylight are designed to sit atop the deck pattern whereas the Hatchways sit upon the beams. 0487 I added a base to the Capstan step to bring it up to the correct level; it was then glued to the beams along with the hatchways. 0483 These were glued sequentially using the deck pattern to ensure correct alignment. This is where it starts to get tricky, imagining a complete run of planking but leaving non connective areas unplanked, without giving the impression that they would not align were they planked. I am generally using a combination of 3.4mm. 4.5mm wide boards, but wider strips may be required in placed. 0490 0489 I am starting at the centre line between the Fore Ladderway and the Main Hatch. 0493 Here the planks are supported only by the deck beams and as I’m using slightly thinner boards (0.6mm) care must be taken to avoid putting too much pressure on them. Once I move onto the sub-deck areas there is no issue. I next need to fix the Inner counter boards at the stern. These need to be in place to get a tight fit of the deck planking against the lower counter pattern. 0495 The Upper counter panel required some adjustment to fit, made tricky by the fragility of this piece. 0496 On my build there is a gap between the lower counter and the sub-deck, but the fit against the upper counter is as it should be, a nice tight line. Movin' on...... B.E. 22/02/2025

Your planking is too good Cisco, to let something slip, listen to your OCD.😉 B.E.

Coming along nicely Glenn, well done.👍 B.E.

Post 40 Prelude to planking. 0449 I have spent a morning cleaning up just these five fittings. The Char proved very stubborn. 0446 I do intend to paint the coamings Black, but I prefer to keep the insides bright, which proved to be the most difficult to clean. The gratings will be given the w-o-p treatment. 0443 I decided I couldn’t live with the kit small steam grating set-up (on the right) so I re-made one more to my liking. 0459 Looking a lot better now. 0452 I can now proceed to planking. 0460 I think my assistant is telling me it’s time for (his) lunch. B.E 20/02/2025

That's a cracking shot of your 64, Ron, and the copper colour is spot on for what I'm after. Love the small details - lead sheathing on the stem and Tompions in the Hawse holes. 👍 Post 39 Thinking about the deck As with Indy and Sphinx I want to leave as much of the lower deck open to view as is practical. The ply sub-deck gives the basic shape to be over-planked but the area will be increased sufficiently to house the carronades. 0384 At the bow around the Fore-Mast I have cut away an area to show more detail of the forward cabins. This necessitates adding carlings to the deck beam behind the mast to support the mast partners. Retro fitting carlings is a little tricky. The centre line of the boat will be planked where necessary between the various fittings. Hatchways and Companionways will be fitted before planking. Chris has designed these to fit within the etched deck cut-outs, directly on the beams, so I don’t need to make adjustments to the height of the coamings etc. The first job is to make up and fit the grating sets. Quite time consuming the assembly and fettlin’ of these items, there is a lot of heavy char to be removed. It pays to take time, they will be prominent features of the Upper deck. 0435 For the first time on a build, I have not had to add a round-up to the head ledges of the coamings, Chris has included this feature in the parts.👍 0393 Veneers wettened and clamped around a suitable former, in my case a plan tube, are used to cover the coamings/ head ledges. The instruction suggest leaving them for 36 hours before use, but I blast them with the hair dryer and leave overnight. I perceive on the gratings a sort of ribbed effect I have not noticed on previous builds. They benefit from a light sanding to reduce this. 0402 The Instructions suggest that rounding the gratings isn’t necessary; I found it of benefit, and I applied the hairdryer treatment but without dampening the grates. 0404 Main Hatch 0432 The only issue I had with assembly was with the Fore grating and stove chimney cover. I had to add side pieces to get a good fit. All these fittings are in their raw state at present. When going off-piste with the decking it is advisable to check out all the fittings to ensure sufficient deck planking is in place. 0423 0424 Here the riding bitts and standards are dry fitted. I will need to support the standards with decking. 0412 Additional carlings were required to support the small steam grating above the stove grate, which otherwise just sits on the etched deck. 0414 Not sure what the small cut-outs on this grating are for? They almost look like a fault. 0417 0419 0420 All the char will now be removed and the centre line fittings glued into place. B.E. 19/02/2025

Thank you Mark, TJM, and Alan. @ TJM - I was hoping to avoid the nasty stuff like Ammonia and Copper sulphate, and even the option of hard boiled eggs would require a large bag to to hold the hull, and a fair bit of puff to inflate it. @ Mark - I'm in no hurry to follow this up. @ Alan - I have kept the test samples exposed to air pinned to my plan board, I will leave them to mature. 0394 You can see the current state compared to the virgin plates for the Rudder. B.E.

Hi John, I was spoilt really by the beautifully matched Pear wood I obtained from Hobbymill E.U. that I used on my Sphinx and Indy builds. I thought I would get away with it on Harpy as there was to be only a few strakes on view. I dare say I will grow to love it.🫤 Cheers, B.E. Post 38 Thinking about Patina. During the plating I had also been playing around with patina. I set up a test sample of plates. Day 1 0204 These were scoured using fine steel wool, followed by cleaning with acid dip and Isopropanol. Having long been a fan of the copper finish achieved by Alistair (Aliluke) on his ‘Fly’ build. I next tried his ‘natural’ approach. Unusual maybe, but the chemical is widely available, free, and instantly on tap. 0278 0279 My own supply had no instant effect, but after several applications over several hours this is the result. 0284 Washed with clean water, and a comparison with the old penny look I am after. A way to go yet, I think. 0286 A further application and left overnight. 0287 Again, washed with clean water. If I was looking for a weathered effect maybe, but not what I’m after. Day 2 Fresh supplies and several more applications. 0288 Result after overnight. 0289 I am also applying the urine method to a sample of plates as supplied, without any cleaning beyond a wipe with isopropanol. Day 3 0349 More fresh supplies, and several applications later, and result overnight. Not a great deal of difference. 0353 Neither with the other sample. Day 4 0382 Not much changed, and I’m not impressed with the look. I prefer the look on the model as is rather than either the rather dirty looking treated plates, or a bright and shiny look that would result from the wire wool treatment. Movin’ on… B.E. 18/02/2025

Nice work on those Drop planks Richard.👍 B.E.

Thank you Frank, and you're welcome. My Pegasus build was on the stocks for 7 years which makes your build now in its 15th year. The standard of fittings now available are so much better, look up Vanguard Models, run by the original designer of the Amati Pegasus kit, Chris Watton. Regards, B.E.

Post 37 Back to the Construction Three coats of W-o-P have been applied between Wale and Water-line, but I’m a tad disappointed. 0369 Despite my efforts to colour match the Pear strips, there is some striping evident. 0355 The mdf tabs have been removed in preparation for deck planking. The lower deck has been covered to prevent dust which may be tricky to completely clear. 0357 0359 A second support cradle, has been re- purposed, from Cheerful I think, for working with the hull upright. The supplied working cradle is good for some things but holding the hull steady ain’t one of them. 0362 0368 0374 0378 The kit instructions now indicate use of the engraved deck section before adding the inner bulwarks. I am looking to plank the deck using Boxwood 3.4mm x 0.7mm strips, and I need to work out a plan before I begin. B.E. 17/02/2025

Thank you Mark and Ron. @ Ron - Jotika/Caldercraft are still supplying those domed headed plates, difficult to understand why. They don't seem to have moved on very much in their fittings, but I do like their sets of 0.3mm etched eyelets sold in sheets of 250. B.E.

Post 36 The copper saga continues. I decided to add a batten along the copper top line. 0323 0326 For this I used 1.0.x 0.7mm Pearwood strip. 0327 0329 0332 0334 0337 A fairly easy process using cyano on dampened wood, working along the hull by degrees. Acetone was kept handy to clean as I went along. Any tiny gaps were sealed with thick copper paint. The next stage is clean-up, apply w-o-p to the woodwork between wale and copper. Add the Outer Bulwark sheer rails, and remove the mdf bulkhead ears to clear the deck for planking. I will return to the copper sheathing in due course. B.E. 15/02/2025

I did decide to fit a batten, spent today fitting it. It does neaten up the copper line. B.E.

Post 35 A critical look at the coppering. At this point I do a finger test of the plating. Any snags felt require additional gluing or replacing of the plates. 0258 Plates do remove easily once a scalpel blade is inserted beneath one corner. Cleaning the plates with Acetone as they were applied has paid dividends in that the surface colour is even and without any indications of glue marring. It is quite tricky to get a completely smooth and even line at the copper top line because inevitably small pieces are required to meet the marked waterline. This is an area where use of copper tape makes life easier. To address this, tape is once again applied to the copper to show any areas that require further trimming. 0261 A new scalpel blade does cut thro’ the copper plate, but care and a steady hand is required. I took this series of photos to check how the line looked and if anything caught my eye. 0264 0265 0267 0271 0272 Doesn’t look too bad I think, but when I coppered Pegasus I added a batten along the copper top line. Brian Lavery makes reference to this, and indicates use of a 3” elm strip, which equates to around 1mm at scale. 5390 5492 Use of a batten does cover any minor irregularities in the copper line. I will have a play around and see if I prefer the look with or without a batten. As an aside it is interesting to note that Harpy is slightly bigger overall than Pegasus. Heavier, broader, and only shorter by 1’7” on the gun-deck. She is also much more heavily armed, and with an official complement of only four less than Pegasus. What she lacks is the aesthetic beauty of Pegasus. Personally I prefer the more decorative vessels produced up to the last quarter of the 18th century. B.E 14/02/2025

Post 34 Coppering cont’d The eighth day sees the Starboard bow section completed. Many small pieces require cutting to fill in at the water-line and stem, and these take a lot of time. The cutwater is next plated. I needed to think a little about the approach. The facing plates of the cutwater run vertically and are folded over the horizontal plates that extend from the hull. These in turn are lipped over the hull plates by around 3” (1mm at scale). The concern at model scale is that the effect does not look over bulky. The provided plates exceed the width of the stem by the line of the outer nails each side which allows for a very fine return around the stem. With the horizontal plates fixed up to the edge of the stem, the vertical plates were started at the waterline. 0215 I scored a line down each reverse side of a plate which allowed a lip to be formed for the return around the stem. 0254 This eased the fitting and allowed the cyano to quickly bite. The ninth day sees completion of the plating. 0243 0245 0246 0247 0250 0228 0229 0234 0236 On completion I have 237 plates unused, so Chris has included plenty to cover mishaps and miscuts. 0257 I had very few off-cuts left at the end. Not quite the end as the water-line needs cleaning up, I have a couple of options for this. Some plates to be replaced, and then there’s the final cleaning and deciding on the finish. B.E. 13/02/2025

Post 33 Coppering cont’d. 0205 Sixth day and the cutwater is reached on the Port side at least. 0208 0211 0212 0213 Seventh day and the second sheet of plates has been used up, around 600. One sheet to go. 0210 The Port side has been completed, bar the cleaning up and fettlin’ the waterline. So far, so good, I don't dislike the colour, a sort of sea scoured pink, but my model preference is for flatter and browner, as in old penny. B.E 11/02/2025

Cheers Guys, @ Glenn, UK – I suspect a few of those plates will be coming off again for re-setting once I’ve completed the whole thing. @ Glenn (USA) – I’m glad I went down the route of coppering side and side about, it removes that sinking feeling of going thro’ the whole thing again. Even so, I’m glad I didn’t copper ‘Indy’.😉 It was Cheerful that gave me the info and example to follow on the Square Tuck, there’s so much in Chuck’s builds that are useful on any other projects. @ Ron – Ha , Ha; I’ve already got the largest room in the house, as my Office/studio/workroom, completed in 2016. As I lurch towards decrepitude I think that phase of my life is done with.🫤 Thanks for the heads up on the Pic n stic , Amazon UK don’t have them, maybe just as well given the price, but I think I will get by with my poor man’s tooth-pick. Thanks Bug, and Mark for your supportive comments.👍 B.E

Nice work ECK, I like the shade of Red used, which paint is that? B.E.

Post 32 Coppering cont’d As the copper plates follow the lines of the hull it becomes apparent that in some areas the plates won’t fit square to both edges of the adjacent plates. I find using a needle file to impart a slight concave curve as necessary to get a reasonable fit works, together with a slight angle cut on the short edges. 0176 0182 The most time- consuming aspect is cutting the plates to match the curve of the water-line. 0190 0192 At this point after four days work I have used up the first of three sheets of plates, 299 plates applied. 0197 I can see that one or two plates will need re-fixing and a careful run of fingers over the hull gives a sharp reminder where corners stand proud. I test the fit before applying the cyano. Here I'm using a small pick-up stick that doesn't obscure the plate edges. 0199 0200 Five days and a long session yesterday, but still a way to go. B.E. 09/02/2025

Certainly with cyano, I applied w-o-p to the hull before plating. My test on bare wood suggested the cyano does not take as well. I also applied sanding sealer to the hull following the first planking layer. Applying a primer is a good idea, you could also use copper paint. B.E.

Nothing special Glenn, simply a length of dowel with the end rounded a little. I have also used one of those cheap mechanical pencils with the rubber in the end, that works too. You can see it here on the right hand side of the tile next to my pick-up tool. That could also easily be a small diameter length of dowel, covered in micro-porous tape, and dipped in tacky wax. B.E.

Well done Chris for re-visiting this model she looks splendid. .... and well done James for the great artistry in the paintwork and finish. My order for the 1:48 scale version will be going in. B.E.