Blue Ensign

You've nailed that classic look Augie, I'd be feeling  'pretty good' about it too.
 
Love the build.
 
B.E.

You are a fine artist Doris and a true inspiration to all model makers.
I am pleased to see your work once again.
 
B.E.

Love the shot of the guns along the Quarterdeck  rail.
 
B.E.

The bulk of the heavy lifting on the stern and quarter galleries has been completed.  Here are a few different angles:
 

 
The photo etched garlands and metal castings were finished with Model Master 'Wood' color (never claimed to have much imagination) then given a coat of clear flat acrylic.  We've already discussed the glazing.
 

 

 

 
And now for the classic CONFEDERACY shot: 
 

 
Have a few things to add to complete the stern.  Neptune (he's at about 11 o'clock) needs his Trident, the gun ports need hinges, eyebolts and lanyards and there's a little touching up to carry out (one or 2 stern lights needs 'caulking').  That will all wait until I get the rudder and it's fittings mounted.
 
I have to fess up and admit I didn't think I'd get it to come out as well as it did.  But thanks to Chuck's design and a little care with all the alignment going back to the stern framing I feel pretty good about the way she looks at this point.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Those carronades look excellent Ray, and the arrangement on the deck suits just fine. As I understand it the arrangement where the bed was fixed thro' the gun port cill was an early one, around 1780 according to Brian Lavery. By 1795 when Diana received her carronades, Lavery at least suggests the pad arrangement was typical.
 
B.E.

Good to see a little progress Nils, nice mock up of the gun rigging.
 
One question have you added 'dolphins' ie lifting rings to the guns, I only ask because they are more a feature of 17th century naval guns and land based guns rather than those of the 18th century.
 
Regards,
 
B.E.

Carronades
 
The first photos show the first carronade fully rigged, next photos show the stages in which they have been rigged, I tied up all the tackles first and then just hooked them on and set them up, glued down the end of the rope and added the rope coils, they look a bit shiny in the photos but not in real life,they just need the paint touching up on the hooks and eyes, next I will add the nine pounders to complete the deck guns on one side of the quarter deck.
 
The first one being set up

 
The first Carronade rigged


 
The second one being rigged




 
 
 
 
 
 

On the old site there were a few build logs of Pickle which gave insight  into this beginner level kit, but all that has been lost.
 
I have a build log already done for this fine little model and I will re-post it here for the benefit of those, particularly beginners, who may be interested, and as a contribution to replacing our lost content.
 
A little background to Pickle
 
She is best known for carrying to England the bitter sweet news of the crushing defeat of the French / Spanish fleet at Trafalgar coupled with the news that Nelson had died.
 
The Pickle was a purchased schooner originally named Sting but was renamed in 1802.

Her origin is a little obscure with opinions differing. She is often referred to as a six gun Bermudian schooner, but there are grounds for thinking that she carried eight or even ten carronades given her size, and the corresponding armament of similar sized schooners and cutters etc.
 
A model in the RNM shows her with 10 carronades, but details in works by Peter Goodwin and Rif Winfield list her with eight carronades.
 
She is pierced for 14 guns excluding the stern ports, but the forward most two are adjacent to the windlass etc which would make operating carronades more difficult.
 
She did have a career after Trafalgar and on 3rd January 1807, she captured a French privateer La Favourite of 14 guns off the Lizard.
 
Eighteen months later, on 28th July 1808, the Pickle was grounded on a shoal as she entered Cadiz harbour, and was wrecked.
 
The kit
 
Pickle represented my return to POB kits after an absence of many years, and one I can recommend particularly for those who want to put a toe into this genre of model ship building.
 
The kit is reasonably priced, the brass etched fittings are of good quality, and there is a good backup from Jotika. The instructions are clear and the kit builds up into an attractive model of a vessel with an interesting link to Nelson and Trafalgar.
 
Although I didn’t use much of the supplied timber in my particular build, there is nothing wrong with it, and an out of box build will produce a very nice model, of convenient proportions.(it can easily be accommodated in a domestic setting)
 
One advantage for newcomers to this type of kit is that it is not too bluff in the bows, which makes for easier planking, the rigging is much less complicated than say a ship rigged vessel, yet it provides an introduction to all aspects encountered in larger vessels including the coppering of the lower hull.
 
The copper adds an attractive dimension to the build, but  the supplied plates are a little over-scale in terms of the number and prominence of the nail heads. Amati in their Victory models range now provide a much better  style of copper plate.
 
In my build log I have sought to show in some detail the process of putting together this kit, my methods are my way and I don’t put them forward as the definitive approach to pob kit building, but I hope I will at least demonstrate what is involved with Pickle.
 
First peek at the Box

All the stuff was there, nothing outstanding about the timber, average quality I would say.
 
The etched stuff

These appear to be of excellent quality.

The provided boats are resin hulls with added wooden and etched fittings.
 
The brass turned carronades are very nicely turned out but measure only 13.36mm overall length.
Assembly of these will provide a stern test of patience.
 
I will cover all the aspects of assembly of this kit but in a rather more concise way than my original  log.
I started the kit in February 2010 and it was completed in November of that year, so not a project that will tie anyone up for too long.
 
B.E.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Introducing ‘Dick’
 
Aka John Richard Lapenotiere, of Pickle fame. I needed a mini Pickle Captain and here he is. Someone to give scale to the model and assist in assessing the scale validity of the fittings.
 
Looks a little older than his thirty five years but then he’s had a hard life, tossing about in smallish boats, constantly wet, ’tween decks height of only 4’ 6” when he’s 5’8” Not much influence, not many mates by all accounts, but now a life chance with the prospect of carrying the news of Trafalgar back to England, the lure of promotion and the £500 quid he will receive if only he can keep ahead of that b*****d Sykes of the Nautilus who is determined to get there first.
 

Hand over those dispatches says Sykes, no way says brave Dick I’m under direct orders of Admiral Collingwood to deliver my dispatches by hand so I respectfully suggest that you do one.

Not to be put off the dastardly Sykes races our hero all the way to England but fails by minutes to beat him to the Admiralty.
The rest as they say is history, so my mini Dick will stand proudly on the Pickle’s deck casting (no pun intended) a critical eye over progress. He has the look of a rather a severe critic about him to me.
 

Dick is an Amati 25mm cast metal figure, looks a bit scary under the digital eye but is ok at normal viewing perspective.
I think they modelled him on Arthur Wellesley ,a rather arrogant look and he does have that fine hooked nose.
Dick will continue to make guest appearances in various progress shots to give a human scale to proceedings.
 
Rigging a Carronade – thoughts on the Pickle kit
 
Been in the back of my mind for a while, I wasn’t over impressed by the Jotika arrangement as shown in their build photos.

Breeching rope lead ring is I think too far forward, a consequence perhaps of the over scale blocks to the side tackles. The breeching rope has an unnatural lie and seems merely to be pushed under the bulwark ring.
 
To assist in the tackle forming I rigged up a spare carronade in a mock gunport, to see how things fared.

With the rigging tackle so small I find it easier to work out a gun rigging strategy with a mock-up rather than go straight in on the model.
The breeching ropes of 0.5mm Ø line are simply knotted to the bulwark rings and are sealed with dilute pva before trimming.
A small paper clip gives scale to this ‘toy’ carronade.
 
Here a couple of shots of the carronades in-situ and the Breechings fitted.

 

I can now proceed with the somewhat testy rigging of the side tackles.
 
B.E.

Thanks John for dropping by
 
The stern transom
 
I had been viewing this with a little concern as it presents an excellent opportunity to cock things up big time.
 
There are subtle curves to attend to and the trimming back of the bulwarks to meet the stern piece is critical as far as fit is concerned.
In the standard Jotika build the stern facia is un-planked on its outer face, simply being painted black.Their idea is that the stern piece should be sanded back to meet the bulwarks, and the paint scheme carried over the stern piece edges.
 

I was a little unsure about this as most of the small vessels of this type I have seen have the stern piece extending outside of the bulwarks by a small amount.
 
I was also not over impressed with the way the bulwark rails met the stern piece with the basic kit arrangement.
 

The sort of arrangement I feel more appropriate is along the lines of the Royal Naval Museum model of Pickle, as above.
 
So a few modifications were in order......
 
The outer face has been planked with ‘ebony’ 3.4mm strip and a moulding added around the edge to match and reflect the bulwark capping rails.
 

The inside of the stern piece was planked with boxwood to match the bulwarks.
 

 
I had been pondering, even before I got the kit, about the absence of port lids on the stern ports. Jotika have not included them, but it just doesn’t seem logical to have two large opening in the stern to allow in sea water from a following sea right where the helmsman is standing.
 
The model in the Royal Naval Museum does not have them either, but Geoff Hunt has shown them in his painting of Pickle.
I am not sure, but in case I decide later to fit the lids I have made a pair whilst I had the stern counter off the model, to do the fitting.
 
Capping Rails
 
These are pre-shaped in Walnut but even so need some fettlin’ and trimmin’ to get ‘em to sit right. The critical point is faying the rail at the stern to meet the transom.
 

Pinning first to get the fit and then finally gluing with pva and pinning; rapid work is needed to apply the pva adjust the seating of the rail, and apply pressure to secure.
 

A weighty problem this:
 
Once secured the pins can be removed and final tweaking and sanding of the rail can be done.
I had considered dyeing the rail, but decided in the end to paint it with Admiralty ‘dull black’ followed by sanding sealer to give the same finish as the hull.
 

 

 

 
To this point the build has taken about three months of fairly regular working.
 
B.E.
 

Planking the deck
 
The instructions call for the deck to be fully planked before moving to fitting the hatchway coamings and head ledges which then sit on the deck.
 
I was in two minds whether to fit these first and then run the planking up to them but decided in the end to do the planking first.
 
Again I departed from the Jotika scheme, replacing the supplied 4mm x 1mm Tanganyika strip with boxwood 3.4mm x 0.6mm. Apart from any other consideration I thought the slightly narrower planking was more in scale.
 
I Used a three butt shift pattern ie three plank widths between butts on any joist. The planks are the scale equivalent of 29’ x 8.5”
PVA was used to fix the planks which were line edged with a Pilot broad chisel marker pen(instant dry and water resistant) to replicate the caulking. There was no evidence of bleed into the wood.
 
The plank ends were joggled into the Margin plank at the bows.

 

Planking in progress, planking usually starts with the planks either side of the centre line and progresses from the stern forward and outwards.
 

Joggling completed.
 

 

A little time now will be spent scraping the deck (not sanding) to remove any unevenness, and tidying up the mast and rudder head holes.
 
Next stage will be fitting the stern transom, and assembling one of the carronades to check gun port levels.
 
B.E.
 
 

Planking the Bulwarks
 
Jotika supplied 1mm thick walnut planking for both inside and outside the hull, plus the 0.8mm gun port pattern.
 
I have used 0.6mm thick boxwood strip, so to add depth to the bulwarks I have double planked the inside of the bulwark with 6mm wide boxwood strip over-planked with 4.2mm strip.
 
Having un-lined gun-ports results in rather untidy looking planks ends from the four layers that make up the bulwark.

These required filling to smooth them out.
 

They were then painted Red ochre, one of the few areas where paint will be used.
 

With the internal planking completed Pickle looks far more solid.
 

 

 
I can now progress to the deck planking.
 
B.E.

Completion of the second planking
 
Planking of the Port side is now completed and ready for final finishing.
Here just a small insert, or Spiling plank to go.
 
Now you see it.

 
Now you don’t.

To form these Spiling planks I cover the gap with Tamiya tape, cut around it with a scalpel and stick it on the plank as a template for shaping.
 
Any tiny gaps in the ebony planking will be filled with a mixture of the filler and Admiralty hull black water based paint.
The Upper hull in the line of the Ochre stripe has been planked in box.
 

 

The planking has had an initial sand which tends to lighten it, but will I think take on a more ochrery hue when finished and varnished which tends to darken the effect.
 
I intend to use minimal paint in this build.
 

 
The particular ebony planking arrangement is to ensure that above the waterline only ebony planking can be seen.
 
I have now applied a coat of sanding sealer and the colour contrast is coming out.

 

 

 

 

 
Ready now for coppering.
 
B.E.

Sand and fill...
 
Sand and fill, fill and sand, sand and fill, well that’s the order of the day..
 
Running my fingers with eyes shut over the sleek lines of Pickle, feeling out any little bumps and depressions, to be marked and attended to, before another round of sand and fill.....
 
Actually very little filler has been used, I got hold of some stuff called Model Lite which sands very easily, dries quickly, allowing several application/sanding sessions within a short time scale.
 

 
For the second planking I have decided to use Boxwood and ebony strip to represent both the Ochre gun port stripe and the hull planking above the waterline. I didn’t have enough suitable old stock boxwood to plank the model but I managed to obtain a supply of 0.6mm strip in various widths that will do the job. The 1x4mm walnut strip will therefore be set aside.
 

This photo gives an impression of the colour differences between the various wood types.
Apart from any other considerations 0.6mm strip will be easier to fit than 1mm. and the quality of the strip is better than the kit provided stuff.
 

At this point I have also fitted the stern counter and re-marked the bearding line for the additional tapering to accommodate the second planking.
 
As I won’t be using the kit provided 1mm stuff the bearding will only eat 0.5mm into the first planking.
 

0.6 x 4.5mm ebony strip has been used to plank the counter.
 
Deck planking already?
 
The lower (false) deck is required to be partly planked as parts of it will be seen thro’ the various hatches etc;
 
Rather than use the kit provided Tanganyika, I have opted for boxwood.
 

Caulking is represented by running a black permanent marker along one edge of the plank.
 
I drew out a little planking plan to gauge where the butts may meet in a three shift pattern, as the feature may be glimpsed thro’ the hatches of the main deck.
 
I am now ready to start the second run of planking.
 
B.E.
 

Hi Martin, the way I got around the Walnut stem to match the boxwood planking was by using a water based varnish to which I added spots of yellow ochre paint until I got a match to the colour of the boxwood proper. I painted it on in thin coats until I got the look I was satisfied with.
 
As for the scarph scoring, I simply penciled the lines on, marked them with a pointy thing and ruler, and defined the lines using an Olfa scriber.
 
Re the 'parquet' flooring in the Great Cabin, the British are really cheapskates when it comes to creature comforts, twas no more than painted sailcloth on the floor. (If you want to get a rolling eyes look from the Guides aboard HMS Victory keep referring to it as Lino.)
 
The French however had far more style fitting their Great cabins with the real thing, at least on the larger ships. The Eighteenth Century British Navy however eschewed anything that smacked of a "Frenchifying" influence, although that didn't stop them adopting the Epaulette to adorn their uniforms, long before the official sanction in 1795.
 
Sorry I digress
 
B.E

Finished up making the wire strops for the top deadeys, usual pins and excess wood making up the jig.  Went with a slightly shorter version than my first mock up as some hooks from a 'Badger' photo-etch kit I'd ordered last year were used (unfortunately none of the supplied PE strops fitted the 3mm deadeyes).  Once bent a spot of CA was used to close any remaining gaps and a coat of paint applied.  These were then epoxied into the tops so the top mast shroud tensions don't cause any knock-on complications.  Completed one set of futtock shrouds to see if everything would work OK before continuing, and pretty happy with the results.
 
Given that I'm planning on taking Snake to the Connecticut model ship show, I'm only going to finish up the other futtock shrouds and various small repair/touch-up jobs for now.  Am planning to start on the various spars once thats complete and get these finished before installing any of the top and topgallant masts as these would be an accident waiting to happen I suspect.
 

Between knotting and splicing I made the first gun port lid and installed it. The hinge got an additional small piece of cartridge paper to represent the fixed part on the hull.
 
 

The first gun port lid is attached

Braces, sheets and tacks on lower yards will be installed last in order not to block access to the deck.
 
 
Next was the mighty main yard. First, the main sail was made similar to the mizzen top sail. Its size was reduced by about 30%. I need a little material to form a bulk in the middle of the furled sail and for such a large square sail this seemed about the necessary size. (The furled sail looks quite OK.)
 
The sail was bent to the yard and blocks for sheets and clues as well as clues and buntlines were attached. There will be 2 buntlines rigged according Lees. This means that only one buntline could be attached to the sail as it will lead through several blocks back to the sail as its own second buntline and can only be fixed with the yard mounted.
The buntline blocks on the yard were positioned wrongly (I put them up according the plans) and had to be shifted.
 
Then the sail was furled and now the yard brought to the mast. First a sling was put in place to hold the yard. Then it was held to the mast with the truss pendants (no parrel rope on this yard). The pendants lead towards the deck and are seized with simple falls via blocks to the riding bitts.
 
Now the jeers were installed and belayed to the main bitts. The clue lines were belayed on the riding bits. Finally the lifts were put up and the ends belayed – contrary to the plan, but according Lees- on the timber head near the first main mast shroud.
 
The belaying points according to the kits plans differ for several lines from those in Lees ‘Masting and Rigging...’ and I mainly followed Lees.
 
 

Main sail
 
 

Buntline attached in front of the sail. The legs through the outer buntline blocks can only be put in place with the yard on the mast.
 
 

Clew lines in place
 
 

Yard with sail furled provisionally put in place – looks OK
 
 

Thimble for the sling (in fact a spliced eye) and truss pendants put on the yard
 
 

Sling with its lanyard and the jeers
 
 

Belaying of jeers, falls of the truss pendants and clues (left to right)
 
 

The lifts are belayed at that timber head
 
 

Lifts in place

Thanks so much Hamilton.
 
I've now completed the framing of the forecastle deck. This is a total departure from the kit construction which calls for only the beams to be installed. I went with beams, carlings, ledges and knees. All of the parts were made from boxwood, except the lodging knees which were cut from a sheet of cherry of the appropriate thickness, which I happened to have on hand (I had no boxwood sheet of that size). 
 
Owing to the small size of the parts and the cuts needed to be made, I decided to build up the deck framing in sections off the model and then install the completed sections and connect them in place on the model. This was a method that I had tried successfully on my Triton cross-section and I am pleased with the results here, as well. I'm hoping that similar results can be obtained on the larger sections of deck framing for the quarter deck and midship areas. Wipe-on Poly was used to finish the framing.
 
Prior to installing the deck framing, I mounted the stove on its previously mounted base.
 
I still haven't decided how much deck planking will be used, although i'm sure that it will not totally cover the framing. Right now , I'm thinking of using very little planking, at least in this area. I can defer that choice until the rest of the gun deck fittings are done and the remaining upper deck framing is in place. The remainder of the gun carriages have arrived from the Lumberyard and I'm now working on the next batch of guns to be installed.
 
The last photo is a current full profile shot , since Nigel has pointed out that I haven't posted one in quite a while.
 
Bob

I've been continuing with work on the bow end of the gun deck. Completed and installed are the fore jeer bitts and the fore topsail sheet bitts. These were made from boxwood strip with the sheaves "faked" in the same way that I did the bulwark sheaves ( two drilled holes with a scored line between them, blackened with a marker). I also made and installed the fore mast wedges. This was done with a single piece with the wedge lines marked in.
 
I then made up the base for the stove. This was done as discussed in the various recent posts. A metal base plate resting on wooden beams, set in a metal tray with a shallow lip. The parts were made of boxwood, with the beams left natural and the metal parts painted black. This was installed but the stove was stlll left off, although it's position, like that of the bitts , was determined by temporary fitting of the forecastle deck beams.
 
Lastly, I ran the anchor cable from the hawse holes back along the deck and around the riding bitts.With the exception of mounting the stove, this concluded the work under the forecastle deck. I am now working on the forecastle deck framing and will finish that before moving back along the gun deck.
 
By the way, I've noticed that some of the earlier posted photos in the log have now disappeared. Does anyone know how to retrieve them?
 
Bob
 
 
 
 
 

I'm holding out for Chris Watton's Revenge yet to be issued by Amati
 
 

 
B.E.

Hello Nils, re the English terms used in shipbuilding - here's a little schematic I did on the plans to help me sort out what was what.
 

 
 Hope this helps.
 
B.E.

Sorry to hear that Nils, hope it eases off soon to allow you (and us) to fully enjoy your modelling activities.
 
Regards,
 
B.E.

Nice fix Ian, you're a great metal bashing man
 
B.E.

The frames were then fitted around the lined holes.
 

 
Once the frames were glued in to place I did a test fitting of the stove and its flue.
 

 
Then the gratings were tried for fit.
 

 
The gratings should be curved to match the camber of the deck but I left them flat to match the existing gratings. The frames are also rather too thick in cross section but again this matches the existing fittings. 
 
Then I had a Homer moment. I looked at Dan Vadas' Vulture and realised the lip supporting the gratings should only go across the ends not down the sides. I should have used thinner lining down the sides. Doh!