Blue Ensign

Post Ten Released from the board To fill any minor gaps I use diluted pva and Pearwood dust, it’s then just a case of sanding until a finish is obtained. Snipped across the central bar the bulkheads came away without trouble with a simple twist with pliers. 00216 With the bulkheads released, the internal planking can be fully assessed. 00219 Only a little ca staining at the bow end which will hopefully be covered by the fore deck. 00231 Use of pva for the majority of the glue work bore fruit in that cleaning up of the internal boarding only required a wetted paintbrush and a micro chisel, the excess glue just came away. 00230 The hull is very delicate, and a light touch is still very much required, take care not to apply lateral pressure to the hull sides. 00247 The next stage is to add the internal frames; the blurb simply says glue short lengths, inside the hull around 5mm to 6mm spacing – as shown in photo 23. 00248 Once the ribs are in place the hull becomes much stronger. As with the planking I seem to have come up short with the ribs(Y28) but I used one of the seat support strips (Y27) for the shorter ribs, which were sufficient at a pinch. The kit has four internal seat support strips but only two are required, I think the kit would benefit from a couple of extra rib strips. B.E. 03/02/21

Post Nine Completion of planking 00190 The final spiled planks butt against the Garboard. 00207 One more plank to go. 00205(2) This is a tricky plank to shape and I tweaked the Garboard to get a reasonable fit. 00208 00209 00210 A relief to complete the planking but a fair degree of fettlin’ is required before she’s released from the building board. 0211(2) This is all that is left of the planking material, a close-run thing! blurb 34 indicates - fitting the wales (from the planking sheet). On the planking sheet the wales are not separately identified, so they must be represented by planking strips, and I have insufficient to make the wales. Not a disaster for me as I am using Ebony strip for the wales, but I think additional strips in the kit are needed, to give us fumble fingers a little more leeway.🤞 B.E. 01/02/21

Thanks Chris, I haven’t looked at the Pandora book for a long time, but there it is large as life in full colour. I’m glad I didn’t have to tackle that on my Pegasus.🙄 In the TFFM in relation to Sixth rates David Antscherl comments: There is only space for three strakes in the width of the wale on a sixth rate. The uppermost strake is worked parallel, and the lower two are worked top and butt. In larger ships these strakes were hooked, but in a sixth rate this does not appear to be the case. His reference is the planking elevation, topsides of Hornet, dated 1776. Still it is all academic and you have done a very fine job with Sphinx. Ps Leading me back to Pandora reveals a 22’ Yawl, spritsail rigged, looks like the yawl build will take a bit longer.🙂 Regards, B.E.

Thank you Jan, that is something I've not seen before. I wonder if they used a half scarph that wasn't carried through to the external face. I note that the expansion plans were dated 1808 which post dates the other plans by some years. Personally I think the arrangement on the model looks a little too fussy, and although I fitted top and butt wales on my Pegasus build I don't think I could have managed those additional features even if authentic. B.E.

Out of curiosity Chris, what did you base the Top and Butt wale planking on; I don't think I have seen that additional scarph joint arrangement on the legs. B.E.

Well done Jason, she looks great, and you should be well pleased. 👍 Thank you for your kind references to my Pegasus build. Regards, B.E.

One thing to think about Erik is that with the reef points threaded through the sail they will invariably stick out needing pva to persuade them to hang down naturally. To do this there is a greater risk of marking the sail with glue, which will be difficult to remove. I opted for the less authentic, but hard to spot the difference, method of gluing pre knotted reef points to the sail each side which obviates the issue. I wish you luck with this tiresome business, whichever method you choose. B.E.

Blind leading the blind eh Richard.😉 I didn’t paint my cutter, but I guess that Chris/James thought the hull small enough to do it simply by eye. I suppose the waterline could have been included on the line drawing of the boat on it’s chocks, but the example on James’s model is probably close enough. Ps; I have my covid vacc tomorrow afternoon 🙂 B.E.

They certainly are a challenge and the fragility is a result of the use of near scale timbers, which do produce the most authentic looking boats I've seen at this scale. B.E.

Thanks Bruce, the planks are nominally described as 0.6mm in thickness but mine actually measure 0.7mm + Cheers, B.E.

Post Eight …. and more planking As the planking progresses a jig to secure the plank/stem connection proves useful. 00144 A new version is required for each succeeding strake. 00165 Each plank now takes on an individual shape but as the edge bend comes close to the end, I live in fear of breakage of the bow tip. I soak the planks well to reduce the risk. The seventh strake is the last one before I fit the Garboard plank, and the first that I taper toward the stern. At this point the blurb does suggest that the planking now be worked from the keel upwards fitting infil/stealer planks to suit. I have decided to fashion the Garboard Planks from the 0.6mm planking sheet that secures the standard planks. 00176 Useful strips can be cut from the outer frame which allows the Garboard to be cut slightly broader than the planking stock, which is both authentic and hopefully eliminates any awkward thin slices to complete the planking. 00183(2) Planking these bijou models is time consuming, I have now been seven days on the planking and still not completed. In the same time frame I had completed the first planking on the Fifie build. 00182(2) 00181(2) Moving onto the last phase now with only three planks per side left to complete the hull. Three planks will just about do it providing I don’t break any in the shaping process. B.E. 30/01/21

Post Seven ...and more planking Things start to get a little more interesting from the fourth strake. Bending both with the grain and laterally is indicated at the bow in addition to the taper. So the procedure is. Mark and taper. Mark and edge bend Round bend Bevel Hope it fits 🤔 My newly found hobby of how many clamps can you fit onto a 105mm hull continues. 00119 00120 Even so more options are needed. As the planking continues the clamping space gets smaller and I didn’t find the Amati clamps particularly useful in these circumstances, effectively they are too large and don’t get a good purchase against the plank and frame. 00133(2) Whittling down some cheap wooden clothes pegs to suit make convenient clamps to hold the strakes. 00132 One type has a frame width slot on the back leg to fit over the frame. 00124 The other type is shaped to fit between the frames to hold the strakes together. B.E. 28/01/2021

Post Six Planking continues. The second strake which also slots into the bow rabbet is now fitted. This strake is also untapered. 0073 Even with a rabbet this plank proves difficult to clamp close to the first two bulkheads, and a degree of inventiveness is required. 0075 The stern area is also tricky to hold the plank firmly against both stern board and adjacent plank. 00109 Looks like some bevelling is required between planks. 0107 The question now is how to proceed? I have decided to use ca to glue the bow area strakes. This is a tricky area to clamp and without the benefit of a rabbet may prove a frustrating exercise. The main issue with ca is marking the wood surface particularly on the inside which is difficult to remove, and won’t be obvious until the frames are removed. The get out of jail card is that the forward area of the Yawl is covered by a Fore deck which will cover any minor internal marks. Between this area and the stern I will use pva which can more easily be cleaned as I work along. I wanted to get an idea of how the planking will work out. 22 planks are supplied in the kit, 20 will be required to plank the hull, leaving two spares, one of which has broken during the bending process. I think that probably two extra planks each side would cover the risk of running short of useable planks. The third plank requires heat bending and tapering from the third frame forward. 00111 Using ca across the first two frames takes a lot of frustration out of the process and wetting the plank end aids rapid grab. 00115 For those who don’t know, what you see in these photos are Hairdressers sectioning clips, very useful for clamping lightweight objects where a firm but not fierce grip is required. They can be bent and filed into different shapes to suit and get into places where even other small clamps won’t fit. Having spent most of the day fitting three planks I have a growing appreciation of the fortitude shown by Mr Hatch in completing numerous of these teasing little beasts. HeyHo B.E. 26/1/21

Oh please no! B.E.

Unlike the revised Cutter kit the Yawl kit doesn’t have a lower rabbet. Only the first two planks fit into the stem rabbet on the Yawl kit. The others will have to butt up against the stem. With very little to get a purchase to clamp at the bow I think I will have to revert to ca for the bow area across the first two bulkheads and use pva for the rest of the length. I haven’t quite worked out a strategy for the subsequent planks yet. Cheers, B.E.

Post Five Fairing and Planking – resumed. With the stem hopefully fixed the boat is once again inverted on it build board. 024 I have taken the precaution of fitting a stem guard to the board, those familiar with Chris Watton’s kits will recognise its origin. 035 Sanding the mdf bulkheads is almost too easy, need to guard against removing too much by frequent checking with a test board along the hull. Despite my soft hands and using fine grade sanding paper the Pearwood stern board (Y11) snapped in two where it fits over the stern post. In this case the vertical grain is a weakness when it comes to lateral fairing. 030 I re-glued the part but took the precaution of using it as a template to make a horizontally grained version if needed. 050 The degree of fairing to get a fair run of planks can be seen in this photo. The kit blurb suggests using pva to glue the planking rather than ca. PVA is my preferred method but securing the planks on this tiny hull is a lot trickier using pva than using spots of ca. 046 048 For the initial planking runs I used inverted Amati clamps and any other suitable holding devices that came to hand, sometimes bent into diverse shapes in an attempt to hold the planks in place. 069 Pins fitted thro’ the base board at the stern hold the plank against the stern board. 062 Heat is used to create the bow curve into the rabbet. 066 The first plank has a convenient shoulder to sit against and doesn’t require tapering. With some relief, once the first planks are on the whole structure becomes stronger with both stem and stern board secured. B.E. 24/01/21

Loving that wine stopper boiler. 👍 B.E.

Several hours later...….. Post Four Fixing the stem This entails cutting a new stem piece from some spare 1mm Pearwood sheet. 0999(2) Rough cut shape 0004 Cutting the scarph, the etched saw blades are perfect for this scale of work. 0008(2) Fairly easy to shape a new part, final shaping will be done later. 09996 A scarph is then cut in the stem below the level of the break 00998 00013(2) The new piece is glued and pinned. 00018(2) A little bit of shaping. 0019(2) Hopefully, this new piece will be more robust. B.E. 21/01/21

Post Three Fairing and planking – on hold. The vulnerable stem piece is on my mind as I prepare to start the fairing. 9990 With good reason, as before I even start the stem piece comes away with the slightest of touch, and then breaks into three pieces. 9987(2) This is not going to work as the stem with its rabbet is a critical piece, requiring lateral strength to hold the plank ends. Once the stage is reached whereby the first planking strake is secured in the rabbet the whole process then becomes stronger but getting there is the issue. 9993(2) It may be that my example is particularly weak, but having this fragile upright extension cut with cross grain is probably a contributing factor. I think I need to remodel the stem cut on the longitudinal grain and form a scarph joint to hold the remade piece more securely. I may be some time. 🤔 B.E. 21/01/21

Thank you Jason, Chris has provided a great service to the ship modelling community by producing this range. So many other offering are less than convincing and need a lot of work to make them even half decent. Post two Connecting keel and bulkheads I experienced a little trouble slotting the keel into the bulkheads that have been placed in the slotted board. I found it necessary to fine sand both bulkheads and slotted keel to get the two to come together, and the keel to sit fully down on the bulkheads. Too much pressure could spell disaster to the keel, and slow and easy is the way to go. 9982 Once satisfied diluted pva was applied to the joints, and the stern board was glued into place. 9980 The fit of the bulkheads in the building board is a tad loose so as with the cutter build I added spots of pva beneath a couple of the tabs to secure the boat to the base. 9973(2) With everything set overnight I can begin the fairing process. B.E. 21/01/21

I admire your perseverance Mike, what a challenge, but one you're obviously up to. Well done. B.E.

Building a 22’ Yawl. I was pleased to see that Chris had extended his range of ships boats to cover almost everything that the builder of 1:64 scale 18thc ships could want. The only possible exception is a Longboat. Yawl as built by James Hatch. I was instantly drawn to the Yawl, a boat type I have not built, and this mini kit looked too good to pass. 9953(2) Here’s the makings for this mini kit. The first thing I notice is the inclusion of all Pearwood for the keel parts and planking and the much reduced thickness of the timbers to better reflect scale. The build board and sacrificial bulkheads are of PDF. The usual etched gratings and bottom boards are similar to the old cutter kit, but as with that kit I don’t think I will use the rudder covers. A set of Pearwood oars are provided in addition to the brass etched versions. These are very fine but provide a good template to build up the looms. A little history about Yawls. This boat type was developed at Deal on the Kent coast and was traditionally clinker built. The Yawl became part of the Navy boat establishment in 1701 but its form developed over the succeeding years. In terms of naval use, both clinker and carvel planked versions were in operation at various periods and concurrently during the 18th century, but the Navy had a preference for carvel-built boats, and Yawls built in Naval Dockyards took this form. The strength and lightness of clinker boats were often favoured by ship Captains, but the drawback to Clinker built boats was difficulty of repair compared with carvel-built boats, and the Navy only issued carvel versions to ships destined for foreign service. The kit represents a carvel version as built in a naval yard rather than a private yard where clinker would prevail For this build I am going to follow the carvel route. Looking ahead I have a fancy to mast and rig my version. First steps. The first thing that is instantly apparent with this kit is the fragility of the parts, very soft hands will be required at least in the early stages of the assembly. 9965 Even so, in the process of fitting the forward bulkheads and filler pieces, I managed with the slightest touch to snap off the upper part of the stem which contains the rabbet. This is not a criticism of the kit which by its scale nature requires fine parts. 9968 So, first stages comes to a shuddering halt whilst I wait for the Aliphatic resin to hopefully secure the now re-attached stem head. 9967 However, until the boat is secured on its board I will live in fear of the Pearwood keel snapping. B.E. 20/01/21

Great progress Glenn, I admire the standard of your workmanship. I too had thoughts about the positioning of the seats of ease, but came to the conclusion that folk of the 18th/19th centuries were far less sensitive about matters lavatorial.😃 B.E.

18th century bling - a fine job Rusty. B.E.

Hi Tim, The etched saw blades seem to be available from a few sources on the net if you google them. I got mine from here https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEM008 There is also a youtube review comparing the airwaves with Tamiya, I've not tried the Tamiya version I find them most useful for cross grain cutting on thin timber strips. B.E.