Blue Ensign

Thanks Jason and Timmo 🙂 B.E.

Well done Timmo, a very fine model, and I love the way you have incorporated the plan into the base. 👍 B. E.

Good question Gary 😃 I haven't firmed up my approach as yet, but it will have to be done from the keel up, and certainly for a novice like me I think having a solid plank base to work off will assist the process. B.E.

I agree with Chris about the Walnut planking on Pegasus, I discarded it on my build. I used thin 0.7mm Boxwood strip from Original Marquetry in the UK, not that expensive, and the bonus is it comes in different widths up to around 12mm I think. Well worth the investment for me. B.E.

Thanks Gary I’ll check that out 👍 B.E.

Oh do shut up Dave, you're making me feel ravenous . 😄 B.E.

Post 6 Planking continues I have inserted a balsa filler in the lower hull between bulkheads 4 and 5 which has the greatest space, but I don't think fillers are necessary elsewhere. 739 I planked the hull down to the lower deck level, using a rule of thumb taper and bend method. Below this where planking gets tighter I lined off the hull into two bands, the upper of five strakes and the lower of six planks. 737(2) I used the tick strip method to determine the required tapers. 741 Once tapered water and heat was used to form the necessary edge bend and bow curve. 930 I have given up on trying to leave a space for the second planking in the stem slot, it just doesn't work for me. 931 I will work the remaining strakes up from the Garboard plank which will probably leave me with a spiled plank on the underside of the hull. 932 As with all such builds it is the bow area that is the trickiest, the run of planks to the stern is fairly straightforward. 933 This is the state after a light sanding, one or two lumps and dinks to fettle but I'll leave that until the planking is complete. The quality of the Lime-wood planks is good, and they take a tapering cut very well. I have twelve strakes left to complete and there will be three full lengths of first planking left when I've finished, barring any mishaps. I have scrapped a couple of lengths which snapped during the bow bending operation and another couple due to mis-cuts, but I am left with a small pile of shorter lengths which would come in if push came to shove. I rarely enjoy this first stage of a build, but I know from experience that it will come right once the sanding is completed. On the subject of first planking it is refreshing to see that Chris has chosen to show in the build manual, the hull in all its roughness with ridges and hollows and clinkering, the point at which many new builders look and think Blimey, will this ever look right? - yes it will with careful finishing. 797 The shipyard is now closing for a week whilst we head up to North Yorkshire, looking forward to those fish and chips at the Cod and Lobster in Staithes. B.E. 11/07/2019

A very fine model Mark, congratulations and well done. 👍 B.E.

I would agree with Peter, the rectangular shape of the light is a per the Swan drawings and other examples I have seen. It would be quite authentic to see boards behind the glass panels. These features were more ornamentation than practical purpose, and even on larger vessels with quarter galleries, some of the lights were dummies, there for purely aesthetic reasons, and sometimes blanked out for privacy. B.E.

I have eleven ship models around the house in scales ranging from 1:150 - 1:24. Different scales and subjects do allow for more display options, if I built everything I have in 1:48 scale I would have a wonderful collection of models - but no wife! B.E.

The instructions indicate that the front of the plank is fitted into the slot in the bow pattern which is what I did having pre-bent the plank to fit around the bow, with the ends 50% into the slot each side. I did cut a small rebate in the plank end to reduce the thickness at this point. I still found that I needed to brace the plank against the aft edge of the pattern by inserting a strip between it and the forward edge of the pattern, until the glue set; otherwise the natural inclination of the plank is to hold against the forward edge of the bow slot. B.E.

Perhaps it's me then Chris, 🤔,or perhaps my particular stem piece had a grain line in just the wrong place. As far as medium choice is concerned I do generally agree with you that mdf would restrict those who prefer to varnish rather than paint. I intend to paint this one, (I have Cheerful as an unpainted Boxwood model) My worry was that the stem would break at a point of no return with some of the planking in place. I do have three strakes in place now and I think the further down the stem I go the less stress on it there will be. It is clear to see even at this stage she does have very nice lines.🙂 Regards, B.E.

Fortunately Dave there is not a lot of dust involved, just from the fairing of the bulkheads, I do wear a mask tho'. It's the cutting out of all the basic parts from sheet stock that I prefer not to do, you'll no doubt be relieved when you have all the parts ready for construction. Cheers, B.E.

Hi Steve, No, the grain runs horizontally across the stem. The weak point is the small section aft of the slot, that is glued atop the false deck. Any pressure put on the stem by the first two planks during fitting will find the fault lines in that area. In the absence of a quality wood like box I think MDF would be a preferred option. B. E.

Thank you Chris, my stern frames are now fitted, it's the stem piece (21) that's giving me some concern. Regards, B.E.

Welcome Caspar, a beautiful boy you have there Nils. We too have never been able to go for long without a canine companion in the house, as you say Nils they bring such joy to our lives, despite the sadness we feel when saying goodbye to old friends. B.E.

Post 5 That fairing business. With the underside of the deck strengthened I can now proceed to fairing the bulkheads. This is one of my least favourite ship modelling jobs, and I never seem to achieve full satisfaction with my efforts. It is however so important as a basis to get the subsequent planking right. These are fairly thin bulkheads so a reasonably gentle approach is required, no bashing away with a coarse sanding stick. These are a fraction of the size of the Cheerful bulkheads and there are less of them. I did wonder if an additional bulkhead might have been appropriate between bulkheads 4 and 5 just forward of the mast hole. I may resort to filling this area along with bow and stern fillers. The first plank of 1.5mm x 5mm lime-wood runs along 4mm below the tops of the bulkhead extensions. 578 In practice this is quite a tricky plank to fit; it needs to be both edge bent to follow the sheer, and have a curve at the bow end to fit into the rabbet slot. 583(2) This first planking is quite substantial and I used water and heat to induce the necessary shape. The induced curve for the bow rabbet is particularly necessary due to the inherent weakness of the stem piece, specifically at the top end of the rabbet /slot. Failure to take sufficient spring out of the bend around the bow will stress the stem and any flex may result in a split along the horizontal grain of the 3mm wood. 581 To counter this I added 0.5mm Boxwood strips to the inner sides of the stem above the deck. In my view it would have been better if the stem slot were a true rabbet, or the stem made of better quality timber, but kits have compromises. On reflection I should have re-cut the stem out of Boxwood sheet. 582 With the plank pre- shaped pegs are sufficient to hold it against the bulkhead, only one pin required at the aft end. 595 Attaching the Port side upper strake. A strip of wood is inserted between the plank and the stem in the slot to hold it hard against the after edge while the glue dries. It also protects the slot for the second planking. The second strake below also requires the heat and water treatment to take the stress out of the bow curve and sheer. Pinning as well as glue are necessary for this strake. During fitting, as feared, the stem did give way along the grain line on the inboard side at the top of the slot. 606(2) I re-glued it but now a clamp is attached to hold it in position during strake fitting. 604(2) 611(2) I did not taper these first strakes. 605(2) With the first two strakes in place the hull is now quite rigid, but be careful with that stem piece folks. B.E. 02/07/2019

The deck plan and profile drawings held by the NMM refer to both Alert and Rattlesnake of 1777. These were sister ships designed by John Williams to the same specification and both launched within a week of each other. There are other layout differences in the Cole model; he has switched the positions of the Main ladder-way and the glazed Companion-way over the Captain's cabin, this he seems to have taken from the layout of the Hawke model in the NMM. Incidentally the Hawke model has the fore hatch on the centre line. I think I will stick with the layout as per the kit and the Goodwin book. Regards, B.E.

I would have to think long and hard about raising the platform, it presumably has implications for the transom. Not at all sure about moving the Fore hatch, the Admiralty plan of Alert and Rattlesnake show the hatch in the normal position. I wonder if Roger Cole is guilty of applying 20th century thinking to 18th century practice. We had the same thoughts about the side ladders and chase gun ports with regard to Cheerful. In the end I overcame my instincts and went with the plan as per Chuck. Moving the hatch should be a fairly simple, and in the scheme of things such minor structural features don’t make much difference. Who’s going to know apart from you, me, and members of MSW.😀 Cheers, B.E.

Post 4 Thinking about the deck My preference is to make several outline templates drawn onto card sheet. These will be used to mark out the planking pattern and use as a template to form the margin plank. The first thing to decide is the position of the deck beams. For this I have used the Goodwin book, and my main concern is not to have a butt ending up at an incorrect point such as mid way along the main hatchway where a main beam would in practice not be. I will be using a three butt shift with scale planks around 20' with shifts of around 5'+. Each plank within these constraints will of necessity have minor adjustments to take account of the closest appropriate beam. Using standard repeated one length planks would result in the butts appearing at unlikely places. If you're not over fussed by such considerations you can't go far wrong using the Deck planking article by Ulises Victoria in the MSW database, which I used albeit in a modified form. I start with planks each side of the centre line, and planks wholly within the spaces between the deck encumbrances will have no butts as the lengths are within the maximum. 484 After some trial and error I eventually got a pattern I was happy with and this was transferred to the false deck. 489 At this point I also rough cut the margin planks using Boxwood sheet. Once the false deck is in place I don't think it will be easy to remove. It is fairly flimsy (of necessity) and there are notches on the bulkheads which will lock it into place. 490 Having said that, handled carefully it fit quite easily, the hardest part is applying pva over the whole framing, and setting the deck before it started to dry. Handy to have a good supply of weights available. 494 The deck edges may be a little vulnerable to breakage during the fairing process so I think I will beef the underside up a little with strip wood. The final addition in this section is the Platform deck over the rudder housing at the counter. 525 This slotted easily into place and does provide some support for those delicate stern frames. 532 The facing panels fit neatly into the frame slots. 531(2) Temporary support blocks are inserted between the stern frames. 529(2) This completes the initial assembly stage, mostly painless, but watch out for those stern frames. B.E. 29/06/2019

I bought them Kurt, I want some more but for the life of me I can't recall where I got them. They are really good for gentle but secure clamping, far better than the household clothes pegs readily available, which I tend to use when I want to form them to suit a particular holding job. If I ever discover where I got them I'll let you know. B.E.

Post 3 Assembling the skeleton. Preparing the false keel I have marked the bearding line and attached a strip of 0.5mm x 1.5mm styrene strip along the area to gauge the required 0.75mm each side reduction. 354 According to the instructions the keel and stem are not attached to the false keel until all the bits that make up the basic frame are completed. I think it is easier to attach and clamp the stem and keel to the false keel flat on the bench rather than with all the bulkheads in place. 358 With the keel and stem in place the model is also better supported on the building board. Once secured I added the stern post which slots into the false keel. 357 It is quite a loose fit and the tabs need to be glued down against the lower slot to properly align with the keel. 364 The whole thing was then reassembled dry to check the fit before applying pva to the bulkheads and inserting the lower deck. 369 Whilst the glue was setting I temporarily fitted the longitudinal securing patterns to align the bulkheads. The system of a slotted lower deck and securing patterns negate a lot of the work otherwise involved in ensuring the bulkheads are both square to the keel and vertical, so the initial assembly is fairly rapid on this build. To complete the main skeleton filling pieces* are added at the bow and stern. * if you pre-attach the stem it helps to fair the edges of these fillers before fitting. The final part is attaching the rather delicate stern frames. The fragility of these fills me with some trepidation. 374 A point to note. On my kit the frames which come in three pairs were not placed on the holding sheet in the same configuration as in the build manual part identification drawings. As they are slot specific the parts need to be removed and checked against the drawing before numbering them up. I would advise test fitting these very gently before gluing them into place. Even so I snapped one of the outer frames during this process. 375 One other point to note is that on my build all the stern frames are at the same height, the manual build photo's at this stage appear to show the two inner frames (17) lower than the others? 382 In common with my other builds I do like to have a glimpse of the lower deck thro' the various hatches/ companions etc; so I have indulged a little kit bashing to facilitate this. Totally unnecessary but it's one of my little foibles. 384 The next given stage is to fit the Upper deck, but I think I will consider fairing the bulkheads first, besides I want to plan out the presumed beams and planking pattern before proceed. B.E. 26/06/2019

I am at that stage Kurt, and have already noted the issue about the stern frames in the post I am shortly to make; I snapped one during fitting but managed to repair it insitu. Sorry you have experienced such an attrition rate they are very delicate and tricky little beggars to fit. B.E.

A very attractive model Tim, well done 👍 B.E.

Thank you Dave, I believe it is called the Square sail yard, which carried as indicated a large square sail, the equivalent of a Main sail on a square rigger. The Topsail attached to the yard below( the spread sail yard) at the clew The Topsail had a very large roach to it so it didn't cover the square sail to any great extent. Not something that will worry me, I'm strictly a bare stick man for full hull models. Cheers, B.E.