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Blue Ensign

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Everything posted by Blue Ensign

  1. Blue Ensign
    Ha Ha Martin, I find myself in a constant state of decision constipation on this build, but I’ve gained some temporary relief by kicking the decision into the long grass for the time being. 😀 B.E.
  2. Blue Ensign
    Hi Paul, if you're referring to the official inboard profile plan, I don't see either the cap rail level seats or the second cathead, perhaps ignorance is bliss😉 B.E.
  3. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Guys for your input. @ Paul, Yes I have read that, I think it was a comment in one of other Cheerful logs. The arrangement of one seat of ease and one locker makes sense to me, somewhere to store ready to use small items, but I'm 200 years down the road, so what do I know🤔 @ jnugid, On examples I have seen including the small platform across the counter on the Cutter Alert, the boards run athwartships. The areas on Cheerful are not that large, around 4' 9" x 2' 6" but I don't know whether a solid sheet or boards would have been used. @ Dave, I will also add a discharge chute, purely for my own amusement. I think this would taper, with the exit thro' the counter planking somewhat smaller than the top opening. @ Chuck, Two heads for a crew of around fifty does seem very generous in 18th century terms. I haven't actually seen a detailed photo of the Surly arrangement, but to duplicate it on Cheerful would be the logical thing to do, in the absence of more compelling evidence. On reflection those fittings shown on the plan of Cheerful, do look more like as you describe. On checking I see that on the Cutter Alert plans (Peter Goodwin) similar fittings are shown; they are described as a step block and bracket to hold a Mizen mast. @ Peter, thanks for checking out your photo's and for providing that very clear photo of the stern area. For the time being I think I will leave the seat tops as removeable items, no need for a decision at this point. Regards, B.E
  4. Blue Ensign
    Kind words, thank you Wallace and Martin. 🙂 Post 54 A question lavatorial I now turn my attention to the stern area to fit the platform containing the 'seats of ease' Chuck has used 1/32" sheet to form the construction parts, as have I. 4857 A trial and error (mostly error) job this with multiple tweaks to get it anywhere near right. 4876 Fitting these surely does mess up the paintwork at the stern, re-finishing will be required. 4877 Chuck has included two 'seats of ease' at the stern of Cheerful; seems quite generous considering that a first rate only had six for the whole crew, excluding officers. I had wondered about the prominent position of these 'facilities' at the stern as modelled, but these items as shown on the Upper deck plan of Cheerful, appear to be 'seats of ease' Upper deck of Cheerful. The holes on the model plan initially looked quite large to my eye, but they are only a scale 7.5" diameter. As for position on the platform I requested the Commander to check that their location provided a practical seating position. 4879 He seems quite at ease. Apparently in naval circles it was considered good manners to use the Lee side seat of easement if at all possible. Anyway I digress, I wonder if in reality these small platforms would have been planked rather than solid sheet? I also wonder if in practice they would really have been painted, presumably being scrubbed down and also used for access to the Taffrail, or a height advantage point on the cutter. All speculation of course , but examples of cutters I have seen with small aft platforms all were planked and in some cases used to mount Stern chasers. 4888 Purely for my own amusement I planked over the card template I used to make the platform using thin boxwood strip, to see what it looked like before I committed to the real thing. Once again obsessing over minutiae, to paint or not to paint, to plank or not to plank, one hole or two. There is such scant information on the subject, particularly for small vessels. B.E. 15/12/2018
  5. Blue Ensign
    Cheers Guys for your support. @ Michael An interesting question Michael that I can't really answer. I had used this arrangement on my Pegasus build as indicated in the Swan series books, and also it was the arrangement Chuck used on his Cheerful build. I can't find any clear examples of the curved /hooded planks layouts in any of my modelling books, apart from mentioned above, they all seem to show the 'joggled' arrangement. I wonder if you have in your mind the strakes of top and butt planking that were commonly placed against the margin for four strakes or so, certainly on larger vessels of the time. Regards, B.E.
  6. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Thomas🙂 Post 53 Completing the decking. The last four strakes include hooded planks where otherwise the planks would taper too narrowly. I rather enjoy making hooded planks and they make for an interesting feature, a change from the more familiar 'joggled' arrangement. 7/32" and 9/32" wide strips were used to form the hoods, a fairly painless process. The final strakes against the margin plank also require 9/32" strips. To form these I use a Tamiya tape pattern to form a template to produce these final planks. 4807 The final plank marked for spiling. 4826 Completion! A process of scraping the decks now ensues, I don't sand decks. I will use Admiralty Flat Matt Varnish to seal the surface. Some photo's to record the twelve month point of this build so far. 4838 4832 4837 4836 The eagle eyed will notice that I have cut out holes in the Main hatch grating to allow passage of the anchor cables. 4834 This marks completion of this major milestone in the build. Fitting the rudder beckons.... B.E. 07/12/2018
  7. Blue Ensign
    A fine build Joe, I like it very much.👍 B.E.
  8. Blue Ensign
    Post 52 Decking continues. With a little help from my friends 👍 issues with getting the curve right for the bandings are resolved and I can move on. The way my centre line planks worked out there is a requirement for a wider plank with tabs and cut outs immediately adjacent either side. 4724 These were tricky to form as there are double tabs and cut outs on each of the two planks that form the run. A two plank run falls within the overall acceptable scale lengths and avoids a butt joint at an inconvenient point. 4759 These planks were formed first without any consideration of tapering or bending. 4771 The inner band of planking now defined by an adjusted and less acute tape line, and the individual plank lines re-marked. 4776 The two plank lines adjacent to the centre section are now glued into place and braced during the gluing process. The next thing to work out is the shift pattern. On British ships a three or four plank spacing is usual between any butts across a single beam On the Cheerful plan a four butt shift is shown. I couldn't follow the deck plan layout exactly as I opted to use just two planks for the run immediately outside the centre planks, with the first butt just aft of the main hatch. 4781LI I tweaked the plan arrangement to take into account the butt joint of these first planks. Using a photo of the model I take the precaution of marking these out on the plan before I start. Planking of the inner belt then becomes simply a matter of length and taper matched to the tick marks laid out on the false deck. For caulking I use a Pilot broad chisel point waterproof marker which dries instantly and doesn't run. This is applied to one plank edge only. 4786 4789 4791 The inner belt completed, minimal cleaning up at this stage as I prefer to wait until the deck is completed. Moving onto the outer belt with its four strakes and interesting hooded planks. B.E. 05/12/2018
  9. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Chuck for the quick response, you have settled the issue in my mind. I was concerned that a curve wouldn't show up if I moved the line outwards. Thanks for the photo Paul, it is reassuring to see that I have similar shapes to the planks adjacent to the centre line set as on your build. 🙂 A nice shot of your butt shift pattern as well. Thanks Dave, until Chuck resolved the matter for me, I was beginning to think why don't I revert to the 'joggled' plank arrangement! Once again, thanks for your help guys. B.E.
  10. Blue Ensign
    Thanks guys for your support🙂 I am getting down to the deck planking but having applied the taped lines to establish the curve it appears that the taper at the bow end would in particular results in far too narrow plank ends. 4745 Any less curve would result in barely any 'curve' at all. 4739 In this shot the two plank runs outside of the centre line planks are in process of being fitted to accommodate the tabs around the hatches. They have not been tapered at this point. My question is did other Cheerful builders have any issues with this, and how wide did the six tapered planks of the first belt end up on their builds. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Regards, B.E.
  11. Blue Ensign
    No model maker should be without it, a true classic. I have two copies, an original dating from 1970, much dog eared and marked with pencil notes, with falling apart plans. … and a pristine copy dating from 2002. Shame about the parlous condition his iconic model has been allowed to fall into, and no longer on display as I understand. B.E.
  12. Blue Ensign
    Those are the Bunt line blocks Doug. On a 'bare stick' model a simple knot will suffice to secure the bunt line before it goes thro' the lead blocks beneath the tops and down to belay. Cheers, B.E.
  13. Blue Ensign
    Post 51 Getting down to decking. I have glued into place the side tackle eyebolts for the guns, and ensured the ring bolts will slide easily into their holes later on. The deck beam positions have been marked on the false deck and the centre line fittings glued into place. I spent a fair amount of time staring at the deck plan and noting the reference details. It has been over seven years since I last planked a deck, one year into my previous Pegasus build, and I'm feeling somewhat ring rusty. The long planks outside of those between the centre line fittings range between 32 - 35' scale feet, and there is a four shift butt pattern.( 3 plank widths between butts across a beam.) The provided plan shows a joggled layout but Chuck has opted for a curved plank arrangement with hooded planks. I last used this arrangement on the Fo'csle deck of Pegasus, but they were much shorter lengths and far fewer in number. The process starts with the centre line planks and the narrative indicates that the first is placed right down the centre of the deck. The plan shows the centre two planks joining along the centre line. 4730 I played around with both arrangements to see which provided the better outcome when I came to fitting the adjacent full length planks either side. 4734 I eventually settled on the 'Chuck' arrangement but either way I would need to cut wider planks for the outside run to avoid slivers of planking alongside the centre line fittings. The section around the Bread room scuttle at the stern required cutting from some 3/64" x 9/32" strip. 4725 Tricky little patterns to cut but they do make for an interesting layout. 4727 With the planks in place the scuttle was sanded flush with the deck. 4731 4728 So another milestone reached which is also twelve months from the start of the build. I now need to do some working out of the remaining deck layout before I move on to complete the planking. B.E. 29/11/2018
  14. Blue Ensign
    Hi Dave, Steel makes reference to the standing end of the clew line being timber hitched to the yard and then stopd. B.E.
  15. Blue Ensign
    With double skinned hulls you do get two bites of the cherry, and sanding and light filling will provide an excellent base for the second layer. For getting a little twist into planks such as where they run along into the stern post, I wet them and apply a hair dryer on full heat whilst I twist and hold with a pair of pliers. It really helps to take the spring out of planks and assist gluing. Nice start tho' James. B.E.
  16. Blue Ensign
    Those 17th century Dutch ships make very attractive models. Fine work zappto, well done. B.E.
  17. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Wallace, This is my blackening kit, during the gun blackening process on my previous build. I use the metal black for brass diluted by around 20% As you will know the greatest part of success is having a chemically clean metal to work on. Regards, B.E.
  18. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Jason, Silver soldering is fairly simple at it's basic level such as closing rings or joining two bits of metal, all I have is a Microtorch butane burner and a couple of syringes of solder at different melt points. The beauty of silver solder is that it blackens along with the alloy. Cheers, B.E.
  19. Blue Ensign
    Received today my copy of the second volume of the Rogers Dockyard Models covering Third rates. Another beautifully presented book, and a worthy addition to my library. Excellent service, 11 days from order to door,USA to UK. Thank you Bob and Cathy. B.E.
  20. Blue Ensign
    Post 50 Thinking about Gun tackle scales Fairly early in the stage, but I will fit the tackle eyebolts along the bulwarks and ensure that the holes for the breeching ring bolts are sufficiently deep and of the correct size to smooth the fitting later around all the encumbrances that will be on the deck by then. I am conscious the more stuff on the deck the more difficult it is to get the drill square into the bulwark. Chuck indicates using 28 gauge wire for the eyebolts and 24 gauge for the breeching tackle rings. I presume he is referring to AWG and not SWG which we are more familiar with in the UK. There is not a huge difference but AWG is finer than SWG by equivalent gauge. AWG 28 = 0.3211mmØ SWG = 0.376mmø AWG 24 = 0.5106mm Ø SWG = 0.599mmø I recall from my Pegasus build; Breeching rings: 1"ø 4" in the clear at 1:48 scale:= 0.5mm ø 2mm internal ø Port Tackle eyebolt: 1"ø 1¾" in the clear at 1:48 scale:= 0.5mm ø 0.92mm internal ø For the Breeching rings I used 0.5mm ø brass wire wrapped around a 2mm drill bit and snipped. A spot of silver solder secured the join. I went this extra step to reduce the risk of a ring failing and simply because I fancied doing a spot of silver soldering (or brazing as us professionals properly call it) 😉 For the bolts that hold them an eyebolt will suffice, modified slightly. 4557 Once cleaned up, the assembly is chemically blackened. 4569 4566 Apart from the forward port-side port where I don't intend to fit a gun, I will defer fitting the other ring bolts as it will be easier to pre-attach the breeching rope before they are inserted into the bulwark. With a short stub stem I find these things tricky to fit at the best of times, and the risk of marring the bulwark paint is high if the fitting hole isn't a clean fit. Time to start scratching my head over decking. 🙄 B.E. 15/11/2018
  21. Blue Ensign
    Another fine build Rusty, and one I also have beneath the bench for when I finish Cheerful. Your models are an inspiration, and a pretty hard act to follow😊 B.E.
  22. Blue Ensign
    Nice copper job Peter, well done.👍 B.E.
  23. Blue Ensign
    I too would opt for the heavier breeching line, it appeals more to my eye. I also like a clear distinction between that and the side tackles. Worth looking at the two elements together before making a final decision. Regards, B.E.
  24. Blue Ensign
    Thank you Wallace. B.E.
  25. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Wallace for looking in, and for your kind words.☺️ B.E.

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