Blue Ensign

Cheers Guys, @ Richard, - I feel for me too, but it has to be done.🙂 @ Bob, - the stitching does seems to become less obvious over time, I don’t notice it as much on the Fifie now. @ Erik - Marking the bolt ropes is no problem, but the stitching on the sails is so fine that the risk of bleed onto the sails is too high for my tired old eyes. It all gets a bit complicated with dyes, it comes down to relative proportions with combined materials, but the clincher is that hot dyeing would be required and there is no way that Mrs W is going to let me loose on her induction hob with a pot of dye. 😄 @ Glenn, - a few hours ago neither did I, 😉 but it sounds good, still not sure how to go about it yet.🤔 I'd better make a start on those reef points. B.E.

Thank you Rusty and Bob, and for the 'likes' Post 41 Sails The sail set comprises, Fore, Mizen, and Jib. I am using the nicely made but expensive kit provided addition, but even these can be enhanced by the addition of reef points. It is a tiresome exercise but certainly appropriate at this scale. One other item I need to consider is whether to add cringles to the luff and leech of the lug sails. Underhill indicates rope cringles around iron thimbles for the leech and iron ‘D’ type thimbles for the Luff. My first job is to check that the sails fit the yards and add the details to the kit sail plan. 9019(2) The sails are a good fit to the plan 9026(2) The Reef points and cringles are marked on the plan. Just the small matter of adding 268 14mm knotted lines to the sails. Wonderful.🙄 This will be done after the sails are dyed. Colouring the sails This is the description given in the Sailing Drifter book by Edgar J March. Sails were ‘barked’ a rich, dark brown, almost black colour. They were seldom tanned the warm Red of the English drifters. From my experience with the sails on my Fifie build I am aware that the sail stitching and bolt ropes do not take dye at all, leaving them stubbornly white, which is annoying against the rich brown sails. The Dye blurb says add salt for cotton, rayon, or linen, and vinegar for nylon, silk, and wool. That is white vinegar, not the stuff you put on your fish and chips. To replicate the colour, I am using Rit brand (cocoa brown) dye powder. The recipe’ and procedure I used was as follows:- Before I start I wash the sails gently and iron out the creases, well Mrs W does. Into a plastic bowl I poured 4 pints of hot water. 4 teaspoons of dye powder (virtually the whole packet) were dissolved in a 1 pint jug of near boiling water from the kettle. This was added to the bowl followed by a dessert spoon of salt, and two dessert spoons of white vinegar. The mixture was well stirred, and the sails added. I am mindful that the jibs were coloured but were only lightly dressed so it was immersed first for only a few minutes. I stirred the lugs around for approx 20 minutes which gave me the depth of colour I thought was ok. The sails were then rinsed in cool water until the water ran all but clear. They were then hand washed in warm water with a mild detergent added, rinsed, and put to dry flat on an old towel. 9039(2) Still wet, the colour difference of the Jib reflects the much lighter dressing applied to this sail. 9045(2) The sails have dried a little lighter in shade, and there is also a little shrinkage in the lug sails, no doubt due to their longer immersion in hot water. 9044(2) As with the Fifie sails the bolt ropes and seams have not taken the dye so I suspect they are of polyester. I tried samples of silk (Which took the dye) and polyester (Morope) which didn’t. It looks like I will need to use a fine point waterproof marker to colour the bolt ropes and reduce the starkness of the white. The seam stitches are more problematic as there is a high risk of overspill. This concludes Part one of the sail saga. B.E. 25/11/20

She’s a sweet little cutter Doug, well done. 👍 B.E.

Post 40 Mast making. There are only minor differences between the Underhill plan dimensions and the kit dimensions, and I will be working with the kit dimensions, not least because the expensive but very nice kit sails are presumably cut to suit the given dimensions. I am using Walnut Square stock for both Fore and Mizen masts. 8851(2) Allowing for extra length to fit in the lathe chuck and tail stock, the square sections are marked to the correct point above the partners and the taper was marked at the quarters on a card to allow for a running check on progress. 8854(2) I start the process by shaving the square stock into eights on a ‘V’ jig and scraping with a scalpel blade. 8858 The rounding and tapering are completed on the lathe using sanding papers and emery cloth. Always worth wearing a face mask when doing this job, Walnut dust is nasty stuff. Fairly straightforward and there are few fittings on the mast. 8950 1½ sheaves at the Fore Masthead, iron straps and a band with an eye to secure the Fore Burton stay. The Mizen mast has a single sheave and a band with an eye for the Burton stay. 8875 Secured on the fore face of the squared Fore mast is a plate to take a wire strop to secure the hooks of the jib halyard when not in use. The yards. Only two to make, and here I am following the Underhill arrangement. Fore Yard This comprises a 38’ spar with an offset taper. At the slings the diameter is 12½” tapering to 4” on the long end and 5” at the short end. 8869 At scale this equates to 180mm length, 4.9mm ø at the slings, 1.6mm ø at the head, and 2mm at the fore. Atop the centre part is an iron plate with an eye for the yard halyard hook. This portion of the yard is served both to secure the iron plate and for protection. Mizen Yard The Mizen yard has the same set up It comprises a 32’ spar with an offset taper. At the slings the diameter is 7” tapering to 3¾” on the long end and 4¾” at the short end. At scale this equates to 152.4mm length, 3.0mm ø at the slings, 1.5mm ø at the head, and 2mm at the fore. 8942(2) The yards before they are stained, and the serving is applied. 9015(2) The yards are stained with Dark Jacobean Oak and served with 0.1mm line. Bowsprit The Underhill plans show an overall length of 49’ (233mm) which is a scale 16mm shorter than the kit length, not much in the overall scheme of things. 9004 At the inboard end there is a shoulder cut to butt against the saddle. 9002 9000 I left the ladderway open but decided to otherwise enclose the ‘skeegs/Skegs’ (Mast Housing) with boarding cannibalized from the fish hatch cover. 8987(2) At the Bowsprit outer end, a half sheave is cut to take the jib outhaul. An iron band is fitted over the end, and a Cranse iron is yet to be fitted. The kit does provide a brass etched cranse of sorts (PE12) but it is a simplified version. I won’t actually fit the Bowsprit for a while yet, too much risk of catching the end whilst rotating the model. It will in any case be secured without glue when the time comes. 9008 Wedges can be seen aft of the masts used to secure the angle of rake required. The Mizen wedge has yet to be cut to length. 9010 8991 I think that will do for the sticks for a while, time to check out the Boys own book of sail enhancement. 😉 B.E. 24/11/20

Your hull looks good Erik. Personally I like to see strake lines thro' the paint to a degree on period ships, imparts a reality in my view. otherwise you may as well have a plastic hull. When I did the Top and Butt planking on the wale of my Pegasus build, I positively wanted the lines to show thro' otherwise I might as well have used straight planks. I used to have this argument with my Dad in relation to door painting. he always strived for a plastic smooth finish. I aimed for a smooth finish but didn't mind seeing some grain show thro' provided there were no runs/ thick spots etc. A matter of taste I suppose. B.E.

Ah Richard, Richard, it hasn't taken long, fresh from your success with the Fifie I see you're a lost cause now fully seduced into the world of model ship building. 😀 There's no cure you know. Following on from what James said, if you mark on the plank towards the stern where it starts not to lie flat, dampen it, put the strake in a vice, twist it using pliers whilst applying heat with a hair dryer and Robert's your Mothers brother, - works for me. ps Love that expression 'coggle over' know what you mean about using a six inch metal rule, but sometimes it's the only thing that will do, annoyingly I've misplaced mine and I miss it. B.E.

Thank you for the suggestion cotrecerf. 👍 According to the reference caraway seeds are 2mm in length. At my scale the herrings would be around 3.5mm - 5mm in length, still you have given me something to think about, and painted and piled into a cran basket may do the trick. Regards, B.E.

Thank you all for your 'likes' and generous comments. @ Martin, - I was surprised when the phone was answered, he sounded a really nice chap, and I don’t think us modellers need much of an excuse to talk endlessly about the subject.😃 @ Glenn and John – I did think about making some scale ‘silver darlings’ when doing my Fifie build, but then reality kicked in.😉 I will however make a set of Cran baskets, quite relaxing basket weaving. Cheers, B.E.

All looking good to my eye Tim, nicely done. 👍 B. E.

Great backdrop to a wonderful model, a work of art. B.E.

Post 39 Completion of the hull Three months of fairly consistent working and the hull and deck fittings are complete. Time for a photo shoot before I clear the work bench and move onto the second stage of Mast making and rigging. 8849 8848 8845 8842 8840 8838(2) 8833(2) 8828(2) 8817 8811(2) Modifying this excellent kit to reflect a specific boat has added immensely to the build enjoyment for me, and my thanks go out to Chris for providing the makings. The high basic accuracy of the kit make it a good subject for modification, and had I decided to model the Zulu Fidelity (BF 1479) very little reconstruction work would have been required. B.E. 18/11/20

Thanks John, even so reports would indicate that Zulu's were a hard place for those prone to sea sickness. I think the same was said of Flower Class Corvettes, that would 'roll on wet grass'. Regards, B.E.

Post 38 Bilge keel To add or not to add, that is the question. The Underhill plan doesn’t show them but both the George MacLeod model in the NMM, and the Gordon Williams model show this fitting. There is also a photo of the Zulu Mary Jeanie 1898 in dry dock which also clearly has them. The version on both the George MacLeod and Gordon Williams models looks like a flat board rather than a keel piece. 3488ab Gordon Williams model. My understanding is bilge keels were more of a shallow triangular profile pointing downwards and outwards below the round of the hull. Purely on the off chance and with little expectation that the telephone number was still extant I called Gordon Williams who lives in Monmouth and whose splendid model of Muirneag resides in the museum in Stornoway. To my surprise he responded and I had very interesting conversation about his model and his inclusion of Bilge keels, which were absent from the Underhill plans. Gordon had personally examined the NMM model which informed his own build and he had taken the inclusion and style from the model in the NMM. This had been built in 1955 by George MacLeod who had taken the measurements directly from the vessel before it was broken up in 1947 and formed the basis of the Underhill plans. Amongst other things, I did confirm the pronunciation of the name Muirneag – Moornach which he had got directly from those who know whilst visiting Stornoway. At least I now know how to say my models’ name. 3587 The Zulu Research (originally Heather Bell) under restoration at the Fisheries Museum, Anstruther. The aft end of a bilge keel can be seen that looks different to the form on the two models. Research is the last surviving large Zulu. A boat of 80’ she was built in 1903 so is a contemporary of Muirneag, and she had a long career, fishing until 1968. With such a long active service with many modifications over the years I don’t know if the bilge keel is original or a later addition. 8753(2) Not having any direct plan to work from I estimated the position and length from a combination of photos and models, and I drew an approximation on the kit plan. 8752(2) A 1mm thick Pearwood strip was fined down to dimensions that looked right to my eye; 140mm in length with a centre width of 2.5mm tapering to 1.75mm at the ends. A degree of lateral bend was imparted, and the outer edge was thinned to 0.75mm. That is the easy bit, retro fitting the keels less so, and the more I looked at it the less I fancied it. It will involve messing up the already painted hull, positioning is everything, and ca would have to be used to get a rapid grab. However, having satisfied myself that Bilge keels were appropriate, there was no putting the Genie back in the bottle. 8792(2) The first job is to mark the position of the keels; for this I used a strip of lining tape. 8800(2) To aid positioning and final gluing fine pins were inserted through the keels into corresponding holes in the hull. 8806(2) Went somewhat better than I feared it would 8758 I took the opportunity with the hull needing attention to add the keel straps at the bow and stern. These are reinforcing straps where the stem and stern posts meet the keel. 8766 I used Syren card gudgeon straps at the stern and soft pewter strip at the bow which took a better curve. Hopefully, this concludes the messing about with the hull stage. B.E. 17/11/20

Strakes look spot on Erik, for small additions they do take a fair amount of work don't they. I made the same point in my log about the supply of an extra length of 1mm walnut strip, it is a tricky timber cut that thin. B.E.

Cheers Glenn, Richard, and John. @ Richard – I’ve a way to go yet, but I would hope to finish it by the end of the year – I’ve other boxes of delight below my bench awaiting attention. 🙂 @ John - Interesting snippet there John I wasn't aware of that. I see what you mean from this photo taken at Charlestown back in September. There is definitely a blueish/green hue to the glass; whether I can replicate that at 1:64 scale is a different matter. 🤔 Regards, B.E.

Post 37 Side light boards Navigation lights were introduced during the 19thc initially for steam powered vessels but later extended to sail. I can’t find any contemporary photos of Zulus at sea with navigation boards in place, perhaps they were unshipped when underway in daylight; the nature of the fishing business was that herring were fished at night with the return to port in the morning. Still they are a valid addition to the model and present another interesting little modelling exercise. I scaled down from the Underhill drawings to produce a mock-up made from thin card. 8709(2) Once I was happy with the proportions, I made the items out of 0.6mm x 6mm Boxwood. 8712(2) The dimensions are 18mm long, 4mm high (reducing to 3.5mm) and 4mm wide (reducing to 3mm) 8704(2) The board is supported on stanchions 14mm apart slotted into sockets I had previously fixed to the aft side of the stringers. For ease of construction the stanchion and support frame are made in two parts. Uprights using 0.9mm ø brass tubing fit thro’ the sockets into the deck. 8702 The board support arms (0.6mm ø brass wire) slot into eyebolts on the aft side of the board and are angled to throw the board parallel to the centre line. The arms slot into the upright tubing. 8727(2) 8735(2) 8732(2) I need to sort out the lights but I think I have now added all the inboard fittings indicated on the Underhill plans. There is a decision to be made about bilge keels before I move onto mast making. B.E. 14/11/20

A helpful how to, and excellent result on those margin planks Glenn. ps: Love your little pointing trowel. B.E.

I haven't found the need to use isopropyl I remove and separated parts simply using water. For glue excess, water on a paintbrush seems to do the job. B.E.

Great set of photos Yves, a fitting conclusion to a beautiful build. Nice photo of your good self with the model, I had no appreciation of the size of the beast, very impressive.👍 B.E.

I have used it on my builds for some years, wouldn’t use anything else, it does have a quick grab time. I rate the stuff highly. B.E.

Thanks for your supportive comments Guys, much appreciated. Your right Tony, trying to produce something to add to a kit is one of the pleasures for me, and the more you do it the more adventurous you get. Having an appreciation of the ‘art of the possible’ is a valuable asset in ship modelling. @ Martin – they say that necessity is the mother of invention, and I’m sure I’m not alone in our model making fraternity in looking at everyday items and thinking hmmn 🤔 that may prove useful at some point. 😀 The only issue is remembering what it was or where I put it. 🙄 Post 36 Mizen boom fitting This involves positioning the Boom saddle and boom chocks to support the after-sail boom. In the kit instructions these are referred to as the boom support and boom bracket. I remade these items to better reflect the Muirneag fittings. A chain necklace secures the inboard end and an iron strap in the manner of a cap square at the outboard end. In considering the position of these supports the Mizen boom needs to be test fitted as it passes very close to the horizontal ships wheel. Fixing these parts proved quite tricky not least due to the stern overhang making supporting the hull difficult in this area with the rudder in place. Pressure is required to form and fix the strap over the stern boom saddle but putting any pressure on that area of the deck causes the hull to shift. 8666(2) I got around the problem by securing the horizontal bar of the keel clamp in the jaws of the vice which prevented any downward movement. The kit dimensions for the boom are spot on compared to the Underhill plans, 4mm dowel is used tapering to 3mm at the outboard end. 8669(2) Forming the ‘iron’ strap. 8688 Blackened and fitted. The retaining pin for the strap can be seen on the outboard side. If you think the wheel looks a little weather beaten, the finish has been battered because I decided to solder the stem to the underside of the wheel. I had originally ca’d the wheel to the stem but it stubbornly refused to sit firmly no doubt because of the tiny area to take the glue. 8679(2) 8676(2) The chain necklace can be seen at the inboard end. As with the Bowsprit a shoulder was cut in inboard end of the boom to rest against the face of the chock. 8674(2) 8689(2) Onwards… B.E. 11/11/20

Thank you Radmancoop, I'm pleased my log is of help, and I hope you are enjoying your Pegasus build. I've looked back through my files and below I have copied the section on the Bowsprit netting and set up. 09/02/015 Returning to the head With the Bowsprit fixed and the gammoning in place I can return to the head . 14 The Berthing rail and stanchion which provide a safety barrier can now be put into place. For the rail 0.7mm brass tubing is used. I had previously fixed the eyelets to take the rail and small hooks inside the False rail to hold the lower edge of the netting that completes the job. 26 For the netting I returned to my stock of old net curtain material which has 1mm square holes; cut on the diagonal it looks about right. Colron Light Oak wood dye was used to colour the netting, the dye was simply brushed across the netting both sides and allowed to dry. This produced a pale hempy colour similar to the running rigging scale hemp and to my eye gives a reasonable scale effect of untarred rope. The Boomkins Dimensions taken from Steel and made from 3mm dia dowel tapered down to 2mm. Outside of the False rail there is a curve in the spar, this was induced by firstly soaking and then curving over a suitable former. 30 69 48 51 60 Regards, B.E.

Looking very nice Jason, some good 'fixes' there to get around making those tricky little fittings. The cutter is a great little addition to the deck, beautifully made. B.E.

Well done Erik, a very fine planking job. B.E.

Cheers Guy's glad you like it. Post 35 Riding lamp completion Before I cleaned up and blackened the lamp I wanted to make sure I could fit the lamp glass. I did eventually settle on using a fine paintbrush cover, slightly opaque and of 3.5mm ø. Several attempts later I managed to get a 1.5mm slice of the tube that fitted snugly in the lamp. 8615(2) 8620(2) With the lamp ‘glass’ looking ok I could move onto the blackening. 8627(2) The glass was removed, and the body cleaned using micro files, fine wire wool, and acid, before immersing in the blackening fluid. 8640(2) Came out a lot better than I had dared hope, given the small size and delicate handling required during cleaning. 8637(3) 8634(2) Time to get back to the main event. B.E. 09/11/20