Jump to content
MSW Spring Donation Drive

Blue Ensign

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,284

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Blue Ensign

  1. Blue Ensign
    Always look forward to progress shots Thomas, I so admire your work. B.E.
  2. Blue Ensign
    Windlass. I think this is better made and fitted before the thwarts are permanently fixed, more room to work with. NMM model of Medway Longboat 1742. Rather than just stick a pin in the end of the Windlass and engage it in a hole in the Risings I followed the arrangement of a reinforced slotted block as shown on the NMM versions. (see above) 1807 Windlass blocks being formed on the Mill. 1820 I firstly had to get the overall length of the Windlass as it would fit into the blocks before I went to the trouble of shaping the real thing. This was very much a trial and error exercise. In practice my Windlass worked out at 42mm o/a length as compared to the plan indicated length of 47mm. The difference is accounted for by the thickness of the risings/reinforced mounting blocks and the inward curve of the hull. 1815 Using some 4mm square stock I firstly made a windlass of Beechwood to practice my technique and fix the proper dimensions before I moved onto my precious Boxwood stock. Beech is easy to carve, and is far better than Limewood at holding definition. 1816 So far so good, onto the proper version. B.E.
  3. Blue Ensign
    I agree with the comments above, as an overseas customer I would prefer to have the complete set rather than have to order them separately at a later date. Regards, B.E.
  4. Blue Ensign
    The Maple looks good Steve. B.E.
  5. Blue Ensign
    Thanks mobbsie, had a couple of good days but came back before Storm Brian came in. Didn't fancy 17miles of road works and narrow lanes on the M6 in bad weather. Thwarts n'all I replaced the soft Limewood strip with Boxwood. In considering the thwart dimensions I would suggest that the kit instructions be ignored as their dimensions are incorrect. Go by the plans and have a look at Chuck's log of his build. The plans show thwart widths of 4.5mm and 6.5mm (for the wider mast thwart) I cut this out of some wider stuff and shaped the central mast support section. 1732 Thwarts trial fitted but not finished. As can be seen in the photo the process has resulted in some scuffing of the paint, but this is only a first coat. 1735 1733 1736 Still pondering whether to paint the stern sheets or leave them varnished, but I have decided to leave the thwarts in their natural state. 1822 Before the thwarts are fitted it is a good time to set the heel chock for the mast. I made mine from a bit of Boxwood stuff with a square cut mortise to take the mast heel. Thwarts one - three from the bow can now be glued in position. I will now leave the fitting of the remaining thwarts until I have made and fitted the Windlass. B.E.
  6. Blue Ensign
    Great work Ken what a fine model you have made, love the look of the furled sails, very well done. 😊 B.E.
  7. Blue Ensign
    Very nicely done David, a great result. Re; your earlier question about the 'fan shaped' rigging, these attachments were called Crowsfeet, and reached the height of complication in the 17th century. Getting them to look right without pulling other rigging out of alignment where there is nothing to tension the lines against is one of the more tricky aspects of rigging ships of this period. One approach is to stiffen the 'Crowsfeet' with either diluted pva or wallpaper paste before putting tension on them. Small weights as a counter are attached to the line to which the Crowsfeet are to be attached to which sufficient tension is then applied to keep them straight whilst stiffening. Once they stand erect on their own, they can be carefully rigged. Regards, B.E.
  8. Blue Ensign
    I like your stuff Jim, you certainly have a talent for marine art, one of the more difficult genres I think. Well done, and long may you enjoy your art. B.E.
  9. Blue Ensign
    Hope you enjoy Pickle as much as I did mobbsie, it’s a fine little model. 😊 B.E.
  10. Blue Ensign
    Neat work Steve, nice job on those frames👍 B.E.
  11. Blue Ensign
    Not too significant, fortunately the thwart butts against the next frame along so the spacing won't be affected. There are more than one or two examples on my build where things could have been done better, but they tend to reduce in significance as the build progresses. B.E.
  12. Blue Ensign
    A good fix Alde, apart from planking issues the smooth sheer on this model is what gives it its beauty. Looking at your last photo; has bulkhead No 3 (5th from aft) slipped out of true? B.E.
  13. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Steve, Martin and Alde. @ Steve - if I re-do the stern decoration I would have to remove the strip frieze as well, not something I particularly fancy doing - we shall see @ Alde - Thanks for looking in, I see you have just started this build, hope you have a smooth run, at least along the planking. @ Martin - I have coated the stern decoration with Admiralty flat matt varnish ( how this differs from Matt Varnish I have no idea) but it has dulled it down a little. Good insight re the white paint, I hadn't thought about it re brightening the red paint I had so carefully toned down to give it a more 18th century look whatever that is. There have been times of late when the description 'nice little build' was the last thing on my mind. Still I'm due to be off to the Lakes and Mountains tomorrow,..... maybe, ...... if ex Hurricane Ophelia calms down a little, may have to defer for a day or so in which case I can fiddle with my Thwarts. Cheers, B.E.
  14. Blue Ensign
    Interesting idea Steve re the colour strength, I'll photo edit it and see if a more faded version improves the look. Cheers, B.E.
  15. Blue Ensign
    Cheers Bob and Jason, and for all the 'likes' Finishing the exterior. The decoration along the sheer is applied using pva and a 0.8mm square Boxwood strip applied below it as the moulding. 1500 Matt varnish is then applied to the decorative strip to seal it. 1493 The hull down to the waterline is then coated with Ochre enhanced satin varnish of the water based kind. Fairly happy with the treenailing effect along the hull, visible but not intrusive. The stern decoration was a little more involved. The kit provided patterns were far too large and would involve cutting away part of the design to fit. I downloaded the patterns provided by Chuck and the smallest version fitted just fine. I cropped and printed off several copies of this example on an A4 sheet to provide me with a few goes to get it right. 1494 As it happened the first attempt went on just fine using pva. The macro photo's reveal a little touching in is still required. A mixed blessing the macro lens, but at least it does act as an aid to failing eyes. 1495 The white border around the design was varnished over to match the hull. 1489 Not entirely sure I like the transom decoration, I think it has something to do with the greater depth and width of the transom on the kit model as compared to the NMM version. The NMM model has finer lines, a narrower transom profile, and greater depth of stern post which all reduces the impact of the stern decoration, more proportional I suppose. Fitting the rudder should help reduce the effect, something to ponder on awhile. B.E.
  16. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Derek and Steve, you're not kidding Steve, one to torture yourself with. but as I found with the Pinnace once past the planking part and into the detail, I became happier with the build. Thinking about the waterline. I had decided to paint below the waterline as per the contemporary NMM models, but the process caused me trouble. The waterline should run from the top of the stern post along to the stem, but I found getting this to look good ain't that easy. 1365 I fiddled around trying to get an even curve around the hull; I initially tried Tamiya tape for curves but it didn't seem to have much bite and kept falling off. I reverted to the usual yellow stuff which worked much better. 1370 So having achieved what I thought was a reasonable line matched each side it was time to bite the bullet. For this model rather than use white paint I decided to try a new 'Light Ivory' offering from Admiralty paints. 1469 It has a less stark appearance than white and is perhaps more scale friendly. 1470 This paint does seem to have a slight sheen on it so I will flat it out with Matt Varnish. 1478 1479 1480 At this point I have also laid some paint down on the capping rails. As with the Pinnace this is a mix of paints to achieve a tone that is pleasing to my eye. I am undecided as yet whether to paint the thwarts and cockpit seats red but this can wait. My inclination is to dispense with painting the Caprail edges and moulding strips white, a little too fussy for my taste, but it will also relieve me of a tedious painting job. Similarly a plain varnished edging to the Transom decoration will suit my eye better. In the next post I will complete the exterior of the boat. B.E.
  17. Blue Ensign
    Raising the Risings This is a crucial part of fitting out the boat. The Risings support the thwarts, and if they are not level each side of the hull the thwarts will clearly not be horizontal, something that will be instantly be apparent and this will spoil the whole effect. I have used the kit provided Limewood strip, but I have faced it with Boxwood which provides a smooth clean surface. Note: The kit instructions indicate use of 5/32" strip (3.97mm) but the plan shows a narrower width of 2.5mm. I have gone with the wider stuff not least because of the Windlass fitting. 1457 A simple jig is used to mark the upper line of the Risings along the frames, and one side is glued into place. Once set the other side can be temporarily pegged into place along the adjacent line and temporary thwarts used to check the alignment. 1460 Satisfied with the second Rising position, it too is glued into place. 1464 1466(2) The knee at the bow is pre-cut in the kit, but I replaced it with a Boxwood version. At this point I also added the locker front in the stern sheets. 1467 I forwent the pleasure of scribing decorative lines along the Risings, but they will be added to the Thwarts. I will next be looking at the waterline. B.E.
  18. Blue Ensign
    Really nice work on the coamings Jason, great look👍 B.E.
  19. Blue Ensign
    Cheers Martin, and thanks for the likes guys. Sand and check, sand and check, with the Longboat I resolved to reduce the frames to a finer profile than I did with the Pinnace, but the danger is that the finished job is quite fragile, and unlike the Pinnace there is no internal panelling to brace the hull, although there will still be the risers. 1339 I have now got the capping rail down to around 2.8mm and it looks about right to my eye bearing in mind that the thole pins will need to be inserted. The Footwalings are then put into place using Boxwood strip. 1338 For the stern and bow platforms a thin card template is used to get the fit and I then pva the Boxwood planks directly onto this, cut out the notches and the jobs done. 1347 I simulated nail heads in the footwalings by the use of yard brush bristles inserted into 0.5mm micro drill holes. 1349 The bow platform slopes to aft which is not really clear on the kit instruction photo's, but is apparent on the plan, and it needs to be low enough to allow the risers to pass over. 1354 At this point I also drilled micro holes (0.5mm) in the hull for the treenails. I will simulate these with coloured filler. The hull exterior can then be cleaned up. B.E.
  20. Blue Ensign
    Fine job on the stern area Bob, love the glazing effect, gives a nice period look. 😊 B. E.
  21. Blue Ensign
    Thank you Guys, Moving on... I used my etched micro saw blade in a scalpel handle to remove the bulkhead centres, mostly went well but a couple of frame extensions broke off above the sheer; easily fixed tho'. For sanding down the frames I used my minicraft drill to remove the bulk of the material and continued with sanding sticks. The frame extensions are soft and I simply snipped them off above the sheer and then sanded smooth. At this stage the hull feels quite fragile, and soft handling is a must. 1230 The cap rails I cut from some 1.5mm Boxwood sheet having made a card template. These were then glued into place and the sanding process begins. 1314 1328 1324 The sheer of the Longboat is evident in this shot. 1318 Chuck indicates that along the sheer the rail should be 3/32" or slightly wider or around 2.38mm overall. Thus far I have managed to get the rail width down to around 3.5mm, except for the flare at the bow, so I've a way to go. Similarly the frames are still a wip with more fining and finishing required. The basic hull is now complete, which is a great relief, but I see a fair amount of time is still required to address the deficiencies in the finish before I move on. Regards, B.E.
  22. Blue Ensign
    She looks so impressive Christian, I hope you have somewhere to show her off to best effect. B.E.
  23. Blue Ensign
    Thanks Steve and Jason. A bit of a tricky question Jason, no doubt after a six year absence of hull planking I was ring rusty when I started my Pinnace and following on immediately with the Longboat I did find it easier, particularly in relation to having a better appreciation of the necessary plank shapes. I think the Pinnace is a tad more difficult with its finer lines and greater length, and in retrospect I think I should have made the Longboat first, not that I think I made a particularly good planking job on the Longboat even with it being a second bite at the cherry. I did make things somewhat harder for myself by using very fine Boxwood strip (0.6mm thick) which leaves very little room for sanding adjustments. I took these two builds on as deliberate warm up to Chuck's Cheerful cutter, and I'm going to have to seriously raise my planking game before I start, but at least I have the correct Boxwood timber sizes for that build. B.E.
  24. Blue Ensign
    Thanks for your support guys. Planking is now completed. I planked alternatively from keel and Gunwale with the aim of getting the final strake just below the waterline level. 1206 1207 Worked out fairly evenly along the hull for the final spiled plank. 1208 The final plank shape was marked on tape over the hull and transferred to a broader plank to cut out. It was then a case of sanding/scraping by degrees to fit it along the hull. 1209 Final strips in place. 1210 1212 The hull now needs fine sanding and a little fettlin' to fill any hairline cracks along the plank joints. Relieved that this part of the build is completed, still not overjoyed with the planking, but it has turned out somewhat better than the Pinnace in that there is greater thickness of material left on the hull at this stage, just as well perhaps as the starting thickness was only 0.6mm. I will now spend some time cleaning up the hull before I remove the bulkhead centres. B.E.
  25. Blue Ensign
    I would have been very happy with that outcome Steve, nicely done. B.E.

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...