Blue Ensign

Photo Content Below .... Oh the Excitement eh!
 
Hi All,
  Well the Gratings/Hatch's have been faired and sanded to a 'pleasing' shape (ie one that follows the camber of the deck, which is actually a rather complex shape as it differs somewhat as you move aft !) the shape was achieved by placing some sand-paper onto the deck directly over where the Hatch will end up and working the Hatch fore and aft in short strokes along the sand-paper, after a very short time you will sand the particular Deck Camber at that point into the bottom of the Grating/Hatch.  The curved top was a result of simply sanding the Hatch in a rocking motion as opposed to holding it 'flat' to the sand-paper !   Simples !!    (BTW re the 'Top' curve.. you mayl also end up with weird shaped fingernails on the finger & thumb that are holding the rather thin Hatch .. mine ended up flat on one side..    )
 
All Righty Then It's Photo Time !!
 
Note the hatch's are not glued in place yet and have not been Matt Varnished, the dark colour is a result of my giving them a gentle wiping with White Spirits.. Oh and the little bits of stick protruding from them are just to remind me which way is forward!
 
Thanks For Stopping By Folks
 
Stay Well
 
Eamonn

After a little absence,I have something of an update.Aside from very little time,my broadband connection is giving me grief   Either lightning fast or more commonly working at a snails past.I shall contact my provider and give them what for when in the right frame of mind.
Anyway,half the deck planked,given a scrape and light sand and then a couple of coats of poly to prevent glue marks whilst working on the other side.I have moved away from shellac as firstly,I like the variation of tones and secondly it means I can use my acrylic ageing techniques should I choose.I am ,due to the pleasing appearance,considering NOT treenailing and risk spoiling the effect.
The other side of the hull is now built and shaped so my next job is to sort the upper gunport frames on this side.
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Martin, re the gunport strip, I found it useful to also make up a gun to check that they sit squarely in the ports, don't want to find after the event that they are too high or low.
 
I'm impressed with your journey into figure carving I think you have an emerging talent there.
 
I like the holly decking, what are you using for caulking?
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Many of my golfing mates visit Florida for that purpose, I think I would rather visit Bob to look with amazement on his Essex.  
 
B.E.

Many of my golfing mates visit Florida for that purpose, I think I would rather visit Bob to look with amazement on his Essex.  
 
B.E.

Many of my golfing mates visit Florida for that purpose, I think I would rather visit Bob to look with amazement on his Essex.  
 
B.E.

Many of my golfing mates visit Florida for that purpose, I think I would rather visit Bob to look with amazement on his Essex.  
 
B.E.

Many of my golfing mates visit Florida for that purpose, I think I would rather visit Bob to look with amazement on his Essex.  
 
B.E.

I made some progress over the last week and got the main deck laid. I used the very nice maple strips supplied by Caldercraft and am very happy with the way they look. 
 
After getting all of the planks laid and scraped smooth I drilled the holes for the treenails per the AOTS book. I'm still debating how to represent the treenails, but am leaning toward using regular old birch toothpicks sharpened to a point and glued in the holes.  I'm still doing a little mock-up testing but I like the very subtle contrast they provide with the maple. 
 
Still thinking about it... 
 
 

A minor milestone -- work on the gun deck is complete. I have made, installed and rigged the last four guns, added their deck ringbolts and made and installed the jeer capstan, the second of the three required capstans. I also tied the line for the main course tacks to their bulwark cleats.
 
The guns were done the same way as all the others (very glad to be done with them). The capstan was done in boxwood, with a pear cap The pawls (stops) were also made from boxwood, painted black and added to the deck.
 
Next up will be the deck framing for the gangboards (midship decking).
 
Bob

I've now made and installed the first part of the waist deck framing. As with the quarterdeck and forecastle deck framing, the beams, carlings, ledges and hanging knees are boxwood and the lodging knees are cherry. In addition, this portion of the decking required support stanchions. These were made from square boxwood strip with the round portions done with files and sandpaper. As always, the wood was finished with Wipe-on Poly. I am now working on the remaining waist deck framing.
 
Bob

Great job on the Pinnace Grant, and those frames for the cutter look as delicate as butterfly wings, make mine look as tho' they've been hewn out of a tree with a chain saw.
 
B.E.

Great job on the Pinnace Grant, and those frames for the cutter look as delicate as butterfly wings, make mine look as tho' they've been hewn out of a tree with a chain saw.
 
B.E.

The bow grating and decoration are proceding very slowly.  I found the middle headrails very frustrating. 
 
The first few photos show the completion of the hawse hole and grating.  For those who have not reached this stage, before final fitting make sure you trim and prepare the supports for the gratings so that the decorative trim for the middle and lower headrails is flush with the top of the notches provided.  You will need to put wallnut strip over them later - which I suspect will be very difficult indeed - particularly for the front support.  My solution is shown later.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Preparation for fitting the top head rails.  I got a bit carried away with sanding, but a bit of touch-up paint has already disguised it.
 

 
Here are the headrails dry-fitted.  A bit of touching up needs to be done.
 

 

 

 

 
This is where things turned nasty. It took hours to get the middle headrails fitted and symmetric.  I had not anticipated the need to adjust the notches to receive them.  Doing it on the model was rather fraught.  As well, to enable the wallnut strip to cover the grating supports I found it necessary to file the decorative strip.  The last photo shows this.  Even with this it's going to be difficult. The decoration here looks a bit messy but looks fine on the model.
 

 

 

The full stop is now on.  The name is a bit high, but replacing it doesn't bear thinking about.
 
The strip above (2x2mm and 1x1m)has now been attached and seems to have worked out acceptably. It is the same width as the decorative strip supplied and I hope my 'strip' and the kit's which will go on side galleries will not look inconsistent.
 
I have just sprayed that stern panel with polyurethane (the photos were taken beforehand).  The letraset letters are a bit more fragile than the advertising would suggest and the poly should protect them.
 

 

 
I am at the stage now when I can complete the bow and stern decorations.  Once that is done the guns are supposed to go on, then the next deck.  Until now I have been able to put the model upside down to do various bits and pieces. Once the guns etc, are on, it would be difficult to turn the model upside down again.  Can anyone think of anything that can be done now before the thing is irrevocably the right side up?

All the fore deck fittings have been added to the ship, getting close to the hull completion, only the hamock cranes and netting to do.
 
Gratings added

 
Plus bitts and stove pipe



 
Completed fore deck





 

Love that stern shot Ian, and the headworks look to be coming along just fine. In my opinion these are two of the critical areas that can make or break a model, and your improvements are cetrainly making it.
 
B.E.

A bit of progress around the rear end. I have now added arches, pillars and sills around all the lights.
 
I will soon be re-attaching the thinned, rear casting. Before doing so I am trying to decide whether to paint it as per John's version above or whether to 'guild' it. Will the guilded version be more in keeping with the natural wood effect of the rest of the ship? I am not sure. Below is a photo with the casting held temporarily in place with clothes pegs. Any views on this point?
 

 
Also I think the galleries should have been mounted about 2mm lower to make the lights line up better. Something else for others to look out for.  
 
The arches and pillars also unfortunately highlight the higgledy-piggle nature of the glazing bars on early Corel plastic casting.

Thanks B.E. and Alan.
 
In my last post I commented on the difference between the Dremel and the Marathon Micro Motor rotary tools.  Here is a pic to show the relative size.  Not only is the Dremel considerably larger, it is much bulkier to handle, heavier, and has no effective speed control (despite it being nominally variable speed).
 

 
Ship's Boats continued:
 
I finished the planking the Pinnace today, along with an initial (rough) sanding.  As this hull will be painted, I could afford to take a few liberties with planking technique.    So while it is not absolutely correct, it does provide a good foundation.  I will be applying a little filler using a new (to me) product next, to achieve a nice smooth hull surface. I am inclined to do this prior to separating the hull from the build board.  In the meantime, here are a few pics of the progress to date:
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Thank you Lawrence, Ben, Mark and Jesse, and also to all of the "likes".
 
Minor update this weekend - not a lot of time in the shipyard after another week away.  Did manage to find time to host a visit from fellow Canberra modeller Leanne (Moo) - always nice to make personal contact with other members of this great community!
 
Ship's Boats continued:
 
I applied some filler to the Pinnace hull, using a product recommended in my Warrior practicum - Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty (that's a 4 pound (1.8 kg) can in the photo:
 

 
It comes in powered form which you then mix with water to a consistency of softened butter or 'soft cooked cereal'.  It is then applied using a small stiff flat brush, left to harden for a couple of hours and then sanded off.  It claims to never shrink.  Clean up was easy (using only water).  Sanding was also pretty easy, and the putty sands off in a dust form, similar in consistency to talcum powder.  This product is not readily available in Australia, so as usual I let my fingers do the walking and found some on-line.  The postage cost more than the product, but all in all not expensive.  Having used it, I can say that I like it - and I now have a "lifetime supply".  It is much easier to use than regular wood filler, especially on the extremely fragile boat.  I suspect similar results could be obtained with Spakfilla (for the Aussies reading this).
 
I then released the boat from the build board.  I was a little too enthusiastic with this and damaged a few frames in the process.  Managed to repair them all without too much fuss.  Still a bit of cleaning up do do, but here is how she looks now:
 

 

 
And just as a reminder of the scale of this little one:
 

 
I've also finished the first part of cutting out the frames for the two Cutters, so should have them in the build boards next weekend, as well as progressing with the Pinnace.

Thanks Augie, Mark, Bob, Sherry and Mike, and once again to all the "likes".
 
Even though it has been a long weekend here this weekend, I'm afraid I didn't get too much time in the shipyard.  I did however, get to collect my new case for Victory.  Even though I haven't quite finished her, I wanted to get her under a cover to protect her from damage and keep the dust off while I finish off the last few bits and pieces.
 
I know I could probably have made a case for a fraction of the price I paid for this (which was a lot!), but I wanted a "frameless" look for this model, so had it professionally made by a local plastics firm (Plastic Creations in Fyshwick for the local Canberrans - highly recommended).  I also decided that rather than use a wood base, I would continue the theme and had a black perspex base made at the same time, with a channel routed in it to accept the "box".  The idea of the black base (which is also partially reflective) was to tie in the black and yellow colours of the ship.  I like the effect.
 
I took a few pictures of it this afternoon, but it was getting a bit dark.  I've shown a couple of pictures here, but they don't really do it justice.
 
Here's one with only what's left of the daylight:
 

 
And here is one with the overhead downlights on. 
 

 
The table that it sits on I originally made to display my Cutty Sark model.  I think the timber is Yellow Stringy Bark if memory serves me correctly.
 
While I had the camera out, I thought I may as well take a picture of the Cutty Sark that has sat proudly in this position (just inside the front door) for many years until usurped by Victory.  This was a Billings kit and was my first serious foray into wooden ship building. As such, it is fairly basic - if only I knew then what I know now!  The case that this one is in I made myself. It has survived four house moves, including from one side of the country to the other and back again.  The only damage it received was to the rigging on one move, which I then replaced and did a better job on.  Even so, when I look at that rigging compared to Victory, it seems ever so basic.  It is now in the lounge room as a "temporary" measure until we figure out what to do with it. A "Viking Funeral" is still on the cards..........
 

 
You can see in the reflection of this photo my wife's collection of stuffed animals - they at least are an appreciative audience!
 
Ship's Boats continued:
 
With the limited time I did manage in the shipyard this weekend, I did manage to paint the internal hull of the Pinnace, fit the Risers for the thwarts, and fit the previously made footling.
 

 

 
I'm now making up some gratings to fit, using 1/32" pear stock that Jeff Hayes at Hobbymill made up for me some time ago.  It's the same stuff that I used on the Launch.  Hopefully I'll get that installed next weekend and then be ready to paint the exterior of the hull before moving on to the fittings.
 
 

That sits easy on my eye now Jason
 
B.E.

For those who may not wish to go to the trouble of making their own serving machines there is one available from Shipahoy Models based in Boston USA.

 

I came across the link on the old MSW. Here are the contact details.
 
Robert Prezioso shipahoymodels@yahoo.com
 
B.E.
 
 

Looking forward to seeing you work your magic on this new project hamilton.
 
B.E.

An interesting solution Nils, and one that doesn't look out of place. Those Foc'sle ladders that seem to foul the guns always looked awkward to my eye.
 
B.E.