Blue Ensign

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.

The nine pound carriage guns were made up in the same way as were the eighteen pounders. The caronades were made up in stages as shown in the photos, I first looked for the tackle arrangement and used the one that seems most common, the issue was the fixing of the front carriage pin it shows it pinned through the bulwark on the bottom of the gun port, the problem with this would be, in lowering the bottom of the port to keep the cartridge level, it would be to low and look wrong, so I looked at every photo of caronades I could find, on models, and as mounted on H M S Victory, and most had the front swivel pin going through a block mounted on the deck in front of the port, so that is how I built mine.I am just starting to rig them in place.
 
Carriage parts

 
assembling carriages


Carriages built up minus barrels and some rigging eyes

Extra rigging brackets from spruce and 3mm rings

Made up and painted

On deck working out how the rigging will run

Hi everyone,
 
Thanks for the nice words about my first attempt.
 
I just posted several pics in the completed ships section, if you care to visit that would be very kind.
 
Nigel she looks as she did forty years ago. I attempted, then to "age" her a bit. The stairs for example. I also used an air brush to highlight certain areas with stain, then Watco oil to preserve the wood.The oil was rag applied.
 
Then finished the rigging. My nineteen year old girlfriend did the sewing for the sails (She's still by my side). The only changes are with some of the rigging which has lost some of its original color and "relaxed a bit. I hesitate to go in and adjust things.
 
Here are a couple more pics. Thanks for dropping in. Its been almost a time capsule looking ship, hard to believe that it was such a long time ago. A couple for footnotes; I paid $70.00 USD, and I only had sandpaper, a basic Dremel and rarzor blades. Whoa how our hobby has improved with helpful machines. I note that this ship is still being produced today with full color booklet instructions (:-)
 
OK now back to the Vasa.
 
Regards,
 
Michael

Nicely done Michael, a clear sign of things to come!
 
B.E.

A small but fun item accomplished. I made and installed the remaining cabinetry at the stern in the Great Cabin. This consisted of the rudder head housing and two benches. They were made from boxwood sheet and strip and finished with Wipe-on Poly. The "cushions" on the benches are boxwood, shaped and then painted a maroon color. The cabinet knobs are the smallest nails that I had on hand. The penny in the first photo gives an idea of the size of these pieces.
 
Bob

Both your builds are impressive Kevin, but as my mindset is firmly in the Eighteenth Century, I would go with Victory, she looks magnificent.
 
B.E.

Hi Grant my vote is for Option 2;
 
I have to admit a preference for both taut and slack rigging on a model and the yard tackles hanging below the yard and hooked to the futtocks gives an opportunity  to display this.
 
The arangement you have with the Long tackle blocks and falls needs some fettlin' to get them to look their best along the yard, the lines pulled close thro' the sheaves and hanging in a realistic curve to indicate a certain heaviness in the tackle.
 
To achieve this I tend to stretch the lines and paint them with dilute pva or similar and then weight them to get the result.
 
I know Longridge advocated hooking them into the channels to help secure the yards against the upward pull of the lifts, but for me it's the least attractive option.
 
Cheers,
 
M.

More work on the Launch.
finished hull faring, added the wale planking and the "skids" that runs at the base of the hull. Working in this very small scale I use plastic strip to create the fineer details: the internal battens etc as wood is just not fine enough.
 
I then sprayed with Tamiya undercoat ready for painting yellow ochre on the inner and satin off white on the outer. I use an off white as white is too stark a contrast against the other colours of the ship.
 
After painting I will add all the details, thwarts etc
 
thanks for looking, cheers Mike

Back to small scale, i successfully removed the launch from the jig, and have now carved out the solid pieces to form the inner frames. I just need to fare them from the inside, clean up and apply filler then add the smaller half frames with plastic strip

This hobby of ours is all about satisfaction and pleasure and if you're getting neither from a build the only option is to start again, look on this build as a practice piece. With your retirement Mark and the skills you have developed, I'm sure we shall see a superb new version rising quickly on the stocks.
 
Looking forward to Licorne ll
 
B.E.

That T'gallant mast is surely taking a hammering Grant, one more time  and I think there will be a Board of Inquiry to examine whether there is a case of negligence to answer
 
Very nice progress tho'
 
M

That T'gallant mast is surely taking a hammering Grant, one more time  and I think there will be a Board of Inquiry to examine whether there is a case of negligence to answer
 
Very nice progress tho'
 
M

Thanks again for all the nice comments and "likes".
 
Daniel (Dafi) - thanks for the unashamed sales pitch, but I don't think I'll be needing your product.
 
A small update......
 
Following the advice/opinions of you good folks, I made a minor tweak to the Mast Cleats prior to installation, which required re-blackening as well (no prob )
 

 
And here are the Foremast set installed (Main and Mizzen Mast Cleats have also been installed):
 

 
And with the Truss Pendant falls re-done to belay on the Mast Cleats:
 

 
This shot shows the forward Kevel Cleats (with working sheave) installed, with the Fore Yard Lifts belayed to them. (The Kevel is on the right of the photo, next to the bulwark):
 

 
And finally, those pesky Shroud Cleats.  I've finished installing the Foremast Shroud Cleats.  Fortunately, the Main Mast Shrouds don't use any Shroud Cleats.  So, just the Mizzen Shroud Cleats left to install.  The only real difficulty in installing the Foremast Shroud Cleats was the fact that the Foremast Yard was already in place, causing a "poke your eye out" hazard (the optivisor saved me several times).  The Mizzen ones should be a little easier to do.
 
Taking a photo of the installed Shroud Cleats also proved problematic.  This is about the best I could do in that regard.
 

 
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way both of these cleat sets have turned out.

That's a neat jig Michael, something to bear in mind I think
 
B.E.

Continuing...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
She will now take her place in the Dining Room to compliment the Naval cutter model that I bashed quite some time ago.
 

They are a good match I think, and more importantly have the full approval of Mrs W
 
Specific reference works I have used during this build I list here.
 
The Naval Cutter Alert -  Peter Goodwin  (Conway AotS series)
 
The Global schooner - KH Mardquardt
 
The Colonial Schooner - H. Hahn.
 
Rigging Fore and Aft Craft - Lennarth Petersson
 
News of Nelson John Lapenotiere's race from Trafalgar to London  - Derek Allen and Peter Hore
 
My thanks to all who have  made such supportive comments on this log which I hope will provide a useful reference to those contemplating the build.
 
Regards,
 
B.E.
 

Completion Photos
 
This post concludes my log of a nine month build.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
More to follow
 
B.E.

A few odds and ends
 
Rudder coat and pendants.
 
I usually make rudder coats out of micro-porus tape as it has a sort of canvas finish to it and has the added advantage of a sticky back.
Rudder coats are a sort of bell shape in plan but cutting a pattern for a particular ship is a matter of trial and error.
 
There should be an element of ‘bag’ in the coat to allow free movement of the rudder
 
This is difficult to achieve without padding out the interior, I use a little cotton wool off a cotton bud for this purpose.
After this it is just a matter of teasing it into shape around the transom and rudder.

The canvas was tarred to waterproof it as much as possible and I have represented this with a black grey finish.

 
The Rudder pendants
 
Evidence is that even smallish vessels like Pickle would have had some system for retaining the rudder after all loss of rudder was no small matter.
I could not find any detailed information exactly how the pendants and chains would have been fitted on Pickle; similar smallish vessels are shown with the pendants taken up over the transom and secured to cleats on the inside. This method would foul the stern gunports in the case of Pickle.

I fitted chains to eyebolts secured in the rudder and to eyebolts in the lower transom, and contented myself with this arrangement for the present.
 
Anchor buoys
 
These too are an essential part of a ships equipment, they need to be clearly seen on the water, and the standard size is 54”x 30” with something in excess of 100’ of line.(475mm)
 
Smaller vessels such as Pickle would have had a smaller version and I scaled mine down to 36” x 20”
I made an egg shaped core from the cone shaped tips of two cheap bic prop pencils and planked these with styrene strip.
 
With the addition of eyebolts either end and 0.25mm line to form the slings and hoops and the job’s done.

I don’t normally adhere to scale lengths of line but in this case I have measured out 18 fathoms of line (scale of course) to coil on the shrouds.

 

 

Nearly there
 
 

An excellent post mobbsie, a fine job you've done on the 'rattlin' down.
 
B.E.

Hello Everyone,
 
I became a bit frustrated, so I thought I would share a solution that has certainly been thought of before, but for me, as a "newbie" still reinventing the wheel Hmmmm
 
 I decided to loosely pre-install the ropes into the deadeyes before mounting them to the channels. My first fingered attempt was fated to succumb to an obvious half hour of frustration (first pic). Which was, as it turned out, the catalyst that I needed to head downstairs for some nurturing music as well as something to quench my frustration understandably so - no?.
 
So, having regained a sense of perspective I dropped any further similar attempts at threading the deadeyes by fingers, and thought that some sort of a jig would be helpful.
 
Here are some initial photos in this regard. I hope that this post is not redundant for most of you, but I thought that I would none-the-less share. As we all know Never throw out scrap pieces of wood.
 
A now more peaceful,
 
Michael

Since this is still my log, I would like to add another 'trial'. It is my first attempt to include some coiled rope on the belaying pins. This is along the bottom of the mizzen mast and along my 'bad side'; the port, where I make my first trial runs.
 
I mentioned making coils before, but now I want to see what I can do with them. They are pre-made, not perfect, but so is life aboard.

I am procrastinating with tackling the main mast shrouds, I know.

Hi Guys,
 
Thanks everybody for the nice comments and remarks, and also the guys who pressed the "like" button.
 
I am going to try for an update using IE10, hopefully I've not been scuppered again.
 
The Lower Main Mast is now done as far as the shrouds and ratlines are concerned and the next step is the Lower Foremast, I have just put the ropes into the black dye in readiness for that, so as far as the pictures go it's mainly the Main Mast.
 
I have soaked the Burton Pendants with diluted white glue and they are weighted down so that they hang right.

 

 
Next up is the completed Starboard side ratlines

 

 

 
Now for the Port side, all the deadeyes had to be retied due to the mast leaning to Starboard, the shrouds on retying could almost play a tune they are so tight, but the mast is now straight and all is well.
 
This is my method of holding the deadeye and rope so that I can seize the shroud.

 
You can see by the tails just how much I have had to adjust the shrouds

 
All the shrouds have been adjusted and the ropes have been tied off and trimmed.

 
This is my method when tying ratlines, the shrouds are clamped together with two boards , the boards are the correct size for the ratlines and keep them straight, they also help to keep the shrouds from moving out of alignment but care still needs to be taken

 
Portside shrouds completed prior to trimming up

 
All trimmed and finished

 
So there we are, right up to date, a bit long winded I know but it's been a while and I wanted to give IE10 a good workout.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Practice may not make perfect, but it does make quicker, easier and, hopefully, better. The second side of the copper is done and I like it better. Now if I had a third side to do......... 
 
The last photo shows the copper with a coat of Floquil Flat Finish brushed on. Although it still looks quite shiny and bright, it is less so than before the flat finish was applied. Looking at my Syren of a few years back, which was finished comparably, I  expect a nice mellowing of the copper on Essex as well.
 
After finishing the copper I decided to move the model from a cradle to a brass pin mount, which is how it will be permanently mounted after completion. This involved using epoxy to install pieces of brass rod into holes drilled through the keel and slide these into brass tubing installed in a base. This will avoid contact with copper as much as possible during future construction, but still permit removal of the model, if necessary.
 
Next up will be some items that I've already done some work on, the rudder and the gun deck hatches. Other deck items will also be done after that.
 
Bob

Here are a few photos of the coated plates.   I certainly had hoped the cleaning would turn out better - but it's a bit late now.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Hello Everyone,
 
Started the deadeyes for the channels.  I really liked Marktiedens idea of using the Amati chains instead of the kit-supplied pieces from his Vasa log. His work looks so good.
 
I purchased those sets as well, but found them difficult to adapt to the Corel 1/75th, and they also seemed too wide. So I decided to work with the kit supplied pieces.
 
Corel's supplied chains are too long and would need to be cut, also the supplied pieces were copper wire soldered together at their lower tips so were not flat metal. Then after inserting the deadeyes they looked terrible IMO; so adapted them as seen bellow.
 
FYI. first pic- Corel supplied, after deadeye inserted, and with wire straightened a bit.
 
Purchased J-B Weld the product indicated that it could be bent and painted, so decided to "flush" the wires after drying Dremel sanded all the chains. They seemed to now look "flat".
 
The black paint held well, and they could be bent as advertised with the J-B Welds; so far so good.
 
They now need to be all measured for their proper individual angles and length cuts, flattened at the bottom (Dremel wheel) so that I can insert a flat head round nail to simulate the rounded lower tip last pic. sorry it is way out of focus, but this is where I am so far.
 
Regards,
 
Michael
 
 
 
 

Neat work Jason, the top looks  great.
 
Re the deadeye seizing; in practice the line was crossed behind the shroud on the port side and forward of the shroud starboard side. and secured with a throat seizing. The deadeye lanyards passed through the bight so formed between the deadeye and the shroud seizing before being secured.
 
It is an added complication and at smaller scale may not be considered worth the effort; I use a temporary seizing close to the deadeye to hold it in place whilst I do the proper seizing.
 
The Futtock stave was made of rope but for modelling purposes I think brass rod served with line gives a better security for the futtocks whilst maintaining a reasonably  genuine look.
 
I'm not sure that the 'stretcher' or 'squaring' staff referred to in the post above featured on British warships of the period., but certainly sheer poles were commonly seen on ships of the mid nineteenth century; clippers such as the Cutty Sark come to mind.
 
I think attaching the Futtock Stave  before rattlin' down  is a good idea, as is the initial fitting of a few ratlines at intervals to help maintain the shroud line. There is an ever present danger of pulling the shrouds out of line and anything to counter this must help.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.