Blue Ensign

some more pics for the steering....
 
 
 

acc. to plan and etch parts the wheel is soldered together from 5 individual parts plus drum and shim disc at the aft side
 

tiller shortend a bit and eyelets for the Tackling set
 

 
 
 
 
Nils

Setting the tiller for steering either for Manual direct, or for steering with tackle rope and wheel. In raw shaped condition, Needs to be fine tuned...
 
 
 
 

here the tiller parts
 

tiller mounted to the Fitting socket
 

tiller upwards curve for Manual steering
 

or in downwards mode for rope steering (via blocks and wheel)
 
 
 
 
Nils

Build log part 34
 
 
 
concentrating on the Quarterdeck
 
 
 

the deckbeams arecready to take on the deck
 

the uncolored figure is 25 mm hight...
 

the painted figure is 28mm hight
 

the cutaway of the Quarterdeck allows sight to the inside
 

gratings, capstan, Skylight housing and deckframe for ladder added
 

 
 

 
 
Build log part 35 to follow...
 
Nils

Thank you Floyd
 
Hi Augie, I hand paint the varnish on the guns using a very light touch. If you've got the equipment an air brush would probably be better.
 
I did quite a few trials before I came up with the finish I was happy with.
 

 
 
These are the various trial stages I went thro’.
 
1) Basic blackened gun (paler than in reality)
2) Gun buffed up – not a displeasing result, metallic in appearance but lacks a depth of colour.
3) The gun coated with Carr’s Electroflux, a clear lacquer which is supposed to prevent metal black  
     patinas from being rubbed away. The result too shiny for my taste.
4) Gun coated with Humbrol mattcote; again no disturbance to the surface in application and a deep  
     black matt finish resulting. I had originally tried Admiralty matt varnish but being of a milky tone on 
     application it was difficult to gauge the evenness of the coat, so the mattcote was the option I
     decided upon.
 
I should add perhaps that when I added the GR ciphers to the guns there was an inevitable  overspill of ca which needed an acetone scrub.

The contamination can be seen here after the first solution dip
 

Cleaning and re-dipping resolved the problem.
 
Once blackened I use surgical gloves to handle, and handle as little as possible.
 
B.E.

Hi Mates,
 
Still working on those carriages.
 
Here is a minor update.  First pic. is of the upper and leading edge carriage metal frames after I chemically darkened the brass pieces. As I mentioned earlier each four piece set is specific a particular one of the 14 carriage.
 
I then glued all of the pieces. Subsequently realized that the black chemical process did not allow the glue to adhere to the carriages. I had not washed off each small piece for fear of having them go down the drain, so glued them directly. Instructions do say "wash off" Hmmmm
 
I then needed to scape off the glue sides to re-adhere the small parts. It would have been probably easier to paint them. Though I feared that over time the paint would peel off.
 
Next was painting the cannon barrels. I initially chose a water-based paint made specifically for airbrushing. BIG mistake. Paint would not adhere after drying. I knew of this potential but was rushing myself.
 
So after scrubbing off the first attempt at painting, I then used an enamel paint that needed to be thinned and was a bit messy at cleanup, but looks excellent.
 
Next was scraping the emblems to bring out their details.
 
Next steps will be to attach the cannons and add the upper restraining hinges, then on to the ropes/blocks. Again, thanks so much for visiting it is so appreciated.
 
Regards,
 
Michael
 
 
 
 

Sorry Grant I misread the figure on the build board as 20' but 68mm or 95mm it's still nicely done.
Incidently the 19' Longboat for Pegasus works out at 91mm, seems we both have interesting times ahead.
 
B.E.

Sorry Grant I misread the figure on the build board as 20' but 68mm or 95mm it's still nicely done.
Incidently the 19' Longboat for Pegasus works out at 91mm, seems we both have interesting times ahead.
 
B.E.

68mm  from Transom to stem, incredible work at that small scale, can't wait for the next installment
 
B.E.

Thanks Mark, Keith and Danny, and once again, all the "likes".
 
Just a brief update. I've had to head off to Sydney again on family business, but did manage to take a couple of pics of progress on the Pinnace before leaving. Now I've had a chance to upload these
 
Having fitted all the frames in place, the next stage was to install the Stemson.  I used some 1/32" x 3/64" castello box for this.  It is simply bent (with the aid of a small travel steam iron) to follow the curvature of the keel/apron:
 

 

 
Next was the creation of the Hawse Timbers.  The same 1/32" x 3/64"stock was used for these, and again they were simply bent to follow the shape of the Stemson.  Here are the first pair of Hawse timbers going in - they have yet to be trimmed to shape:
 

 

 
The remaining Hawse timbers were then created in similar fashion, following the curve of the last piece and stepping back along the curve of the bow, to eventually fill in the space between the keel/stem and the first frame.  They are yet to be trimmed to length and faired in.
 

 
Next job will be to trim the ends of these to match the shape of the first frame, and then fair them to form a smooth, solid surface around the bow.  This will provide a good foundation for the planking at the bow.  Sounds easy enough - what could possibly go wrong?   
 
 

Although VOC - ships used to carry up to six anchors I,ve decided only to make two of them (the manufacturer didn't supply more )
 
One side is finished now:
 

 

 

Thanks B.E.I found human faces hard at first,but it became a little easier as you program yourself as to the common proportions of the human face,even remembering a couple of pointers from art class in the early eighties   Problem now,animal anatomy     Will be watching wildlife on one reruns to get my head around it On a serious note I am going to do lots of googlin to establish some basic proportions.As further investigation shows that the lion is a complete figure with only one tiny notch on the prow,the overall thickness of limbs and body need to be close as it isn't split in half.I envisage the figurehead carving to take up months of intermittent work,so that is why I would like to get stuck in.Ersin Derebek's Royal william figurehead took him 500hours of carving,so whilst this is nowhere near as complex,it is definitely more than a couple of days work    
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel.

Hi Nils, according to the ffm the capstan bars were 8' long = 38mm at scale, and when in use gratings would cover the hatchways. I think the Quarterdeck ladder would be removed when the capstan was in operation, I doubt there was room to swing it up beneath the deck beams.
 
B.E.

Jesse - thanks for the kind words, just sharing the learning experience I'm going through.
 
And thanks for the 'likes'....
 
Finishing up the mizzen topmast ratlines, these are proving to be quite challeging as the shrouds don't have anywhere near as much tension as the others due to the fact they transfer all tension to the lower shrouds/futtock stave and would pull that all askew.  With all the other ratlines, they tend to want to pull the shrouds together, here, the shrouds are thinner line and close together and its the opposite effect where the ratlines want to push them apart.  Anyway, its coming together.
 
Bit of a diversion, as next step will be to rig the mizzen backstays and there were a couple of items I wanted to get done before the backstays make access a bit more difficult.  Installed a copper 'sheet' where the driver gaff will go (yes, its a spare copper plate from the hull rolled as flat as I can to get rid of the bumps - it looks better in person and should tone down with age.)  Its an approximation and not mentioned in instructions, but adds a bit more interest.  The tops are shaped to the angle the gaff will sit at once installed.
 

 
Next up was installing a saddle which again is not mentioned in the instructions.  This was a square strip of styrene bent to shape.
 

 
I've stared at the driver boom and gaff jaws ever since I opened the box and wondered how they would look.  Well, I got my answer, pretty awful - they just look a bit big and flat, and didn't look that great to my eye.  Anyway, I dutifully assembled these and then decided to try to improve them by building up with some spare walnut and then sanding to shape.  I much prefer the end result.
 
Built up with spare strip wood and roughly shaped

 
Finished driver boom, iron bands simulated with paper, ring bolts and holes not added yet, more work to do on the boom itself first.  The 'out of box' solution is next to it.

 
Driver boom in place sitting on its saddle.  Still maybe a little big (?) but I'm happy.  Now to do the driver gaff which will be a little more tricky because of the angle that needs to be built into the jaws.

Hi Nils, according to the ffm the capstan bars were 8' long = 38mm at scale, and when in use gratings would cover the hatchways. I think the Quarterdeck ladder would be removed when the capstan was in operation, I doubt there was room to swing it up beneath the deck beams.
 
B.E.

In my last update, I had made and fitted, but not installed, the main jeer bitts. They are now mounted. I have also made and mounted the main topsail sheet bitts. The other new items are the forward cranks for the chain pumps and their supports. As with the other deck fittings, the wood parts are boxwood . The cranks are blackened brass wire and the belaying pins in the bitts are blackened brass parts. As with the aft cranks, I chose to simplify them by merely bending the wire, rather than attempting a multi part assembly at this scale.
 
I'm now working on the next batch of guns.
 
Bob

I was about to complete the quarterdeck framing when I realized that I had forgotten to do the elm tree pumps, which had to go in before the deck framing. Whew.
 
The pumps were made up from boxwood strip and a tiny bit of wire. The body of the pumps are  square strip, sanded eight sided and drilled out at the top and for the drain. I also made up the main jeer bitts and drilled their mounting holes before in stalling the deck framing. They have not been installed yet.
 
The remaining deck framing was done like the previous sections with the beams, carlings, ledges, lodging knees and hanging knees.
 
The next items will be the main topsail sheet bitts and the completion of the chain pump cranks and supports.
 
Bob

B.E.
 
Yes they would have. I've seen them shown at both lengths. The full extension looked awkward at this scale. They would have been set in place as needed  - not a permanent fixture
 
Sorry for hopping in here Bob.........LOL
 
Sam

Thanks for that Adam and B.E.   Well, I hope I don't disappoint anyone and more importantly, myself..  
 
Twelve frames cut, fitted to build board (but not glued).  Reference points marked and will be re-checked after they are glued in.  One of the references is totally off as I cut it at the gunport mark and not the wale mark... argghhh.. 
 

 
 
Plan of attack on this is evolving... due to new items I've discovered.  I do want all the full frames cut and fitted before doing the rest of this.
 
1) Fit frames to keel.  Keel needs to be modified such that the area above the rabbet needs to be 5/32" instead of full width of 3/16".  I'm holding off on this as long as I can as I'm thinking I need to change the angle of the rabbet anyway.
 
2) Re-recheck reference marks and cut gunports into frames. 
 
3) Glue to build board.
 
4) Add spacers and keel.
 
5) Fair, sand, sand, sand.... and sand somemore both inside and out.
 
Then in some semblance of order, fit the sills, half-frames, hawse frames and punt.  I'm still picking apart details from La Venus such as frigates had herringbone pattern decking in the great cabin...  oy... And I'm sorting out how to remove the quarterdeck and forecastle deck clamp reference tabs for easier planking. 
 
 
 

Love  to see what's otherwise 'hidden' beneath Nils, nice job on those gunport lid hinges.
 
B.E.

Build log part 33
 
 
 
 

here the Messenger cable (dummy Black) goes round the front Posts in the bow
 

 
 

 

continuing with the functional gunport lids, here the last one on starboard
 

 
 
 
 
Nils

I will be following your approach to figure creating with interest Nigel, something I've always shied away from.
 
B.E.

I will be following your approach to figure creating with interest Nigel, something I've always shied away from.
 
B.E.

What a beautiful frame you have created there Mark, and I'm impressed by your plan to aid precision, a work of art in the making.
 
B.E.

Beautifully neat work on those cranks Ian, a fine job you're doing.
 
ps. I agree with your kids re darkest Herefordshire and area, although as it's only an hour from me, I can enjoy what it has to offer in short visits.   Thanks for the link to the Museum .
 
B.E.

Thanks Frank, it's a trick I learned from scratch building in styrene. Use dymo tape, the old hard kind that's used for making labels. place it where you need the groove. Then just scribe with a exacto blade after the tape. First a light stroke with the sharp side then with the backside of the blade. Go light on the hand, so you don't lose control.
 
For wider grooves you can use a sharp screwdriver, but I think it would be to wide for these grooves. You need a new piece of tape for each groove as the glue will not stick more than once, at least not on wood like this, so buy a few rolls
 
Not difficult to do but takes a little practice to get used to. And you need to be cautious as always using an exactoblade. Easy to hurt yourself when slipping.
 
Yeah right now it's a little to much at work now but it's a peak and will settle in a mounth.
/Matti