Blue Ensign

Hi Robert, as per our recent conversation,  I see that Mars was equipped with 6 pounder guns, as was Pegasus, so I can provide you with some details for those.
 
Fittings on the ship.
 
Breeching ringbolts in bulwark
These are 5”ø overall = to 2mm at scale.
I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
 
Port Tackle eyebolts in Bulwark
2¾” ø overall
I used Amati fine 2mm copper eyebolts, reduced slightly in the size of the eye, and set above the Breeching ringbolt in the bulwark.
 
Training Tackle eyebolts in Bulwark
These were used when traversing the gun left or right
Same size as the Port Tackle eyebolts,
 
Relieving Tackle ringbolts – set in the deck opposite (or nearly) each gunport.
3⅞” overall diameter =1.54mm at scale. I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a  modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
Note: on Pegasus some of the larger stopper bolts do double service also acting as tackle bolts.
 
Fitting on the gun carriages.
 
Breeching ring bolts – 3⅞” overall diameter =1.54mm at scale.
I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a  modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
 
Gun tackle Loops - 2” overall ø = 0.8mm o/a
I used Amati fine 2mm copper eyebolts, reduced slightly in the size of the eye and countersunk a little in the carriage to look like loops rather than eyebolts.
 
Gun breeching rope
4” circumference - scaling to 0.50mm dia line.
This looked a little thin to my eye so I used 0.7mm diameter line.
 
Gun side tackles
The gun tackles were fitted with 1½” circumference rope which scales to 0.19mm ø line. I’ve used Morope 0.15mm ø line which is pretty close and provides a nice size contrast with the breechings.
 
Side tackle blocks
The blocks are around 6” = to 2.38mm. I used 2mm JB Pearwood blocks, but I reckon Chuck’s 3/32nd single blocks would be just about right.  
 
I see from your build log that you are using Chuck’s 12 pounder barrels masquerading for the six pounders. Six pounders did come in different lengths and I used RB 32mm guns for Pegasus.
 
I have examples of Chuck’s six pounder barrels and I also thought they looked a little undersized for Pegasus. The Twelve pounder barrels are very similar to RB’s 32mm in diameter, but are longer by 5mm, equating to a 7’ 9” barrel which is still within the six pounder range.
 
Twelve pounder guns incidentally had a breeching rope of 5½”  circ. (0.7mm) which is what I actually used on Pegasus.
The tackles were of 2½” line (0.3mm at scale) but I only used line half this thickness.
 
I provide the above as a guide, but as with all things items don’t always look right with direct scale reduction so let your eye be the final arbiter.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Hi Robert, as per our recent conversation,  I see that Mars was equipped with 6 pounder guns, as was Pegasus, so I can provide you with some details for those.
 
Fittings on the ship.
 
Breeching ringbolts in bulwark
These are 5”ø overall = to 2mm at scale.
I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
 
Port Tackle eyebolts in Bulwark
2¾” ø overall
I used Amati fine 2mm copper eyebolts, reduced slightly in the size of the eye, and set above the Breeching ringbolt in the bulwark.
 
Training Tackle eyebolts in Bulwark
These were used when traversing the gun left or right
Same size as the Port Tackle eyebolts,
 
Relieving Tackle ringbolts – set in the deck opposite (or nearly) each gunport.
3⅞” overall diameter =1.54mm at scale. I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a  modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
Note: on Pegasus some of the larger stopper bolts do double service also acting as tackle bolts.
 
Fitting on the gun carriages.
 
Breeching ring bolts – 3⅞” overall diameter =1.54mm at scale.
I used Amati 2mm brass rings for this purpose clenched in a  modified 2mm eyebolt; the eye reduced in size and squeezed around the ring.
 
Gun tackle Loops - 2” overall ø = 0.8mm o/a
I used Amati fine 2mm copper eyebolts, reduced slightly in the size of the eye and countersunk a little in the carriage to look like loops rather than eyebolts.
 
Gun breeching rope
4” circumference - scaling to 0.50mm dia line.
This looked a little thin to my eye so I used 0.7mm diameter line.
 
Gun side tackles
The gun tackles were fitted with 1½” circumference rope which scales to 0.19mm ø line. I’ve used Morope 0.15mm ø line which is pretty close and provides a nice size contrast with the breechings.
 
Side tackle blocks
The blocks are around 6” = to 2.38mm. I used 2mm JB Pearwood blocks, but I reckon Chuck’s 3/32nd single blocks would be just about right.  
 
I see from your build log that you are using Chuck’s 12 pounder barrels masquerading for the six pounders. Six pounders did come in different lengths and I used RB 32mm guns for Pegasus.
 
I have examples of Chuck’s six pounder barrels and I also thought they looked a little undersized for Pegasus. The Twelve pounder barrels are very similar to RB’s 32mm in diameter, but are longer by 5mm, equating to a 7’ 9” barrel which is still within the six pounder range.
 
Twelve pounder guns incidentally had a breeching rope of 5½”  circ. (0.7mm) which is what I actually used on Pegasus.
The tackles were of 2½” line (0.3mm at scale) but I only used line half this thickness.
 
I provide the above as a guide, but as with all things items don’t always look right with direct scale reduction so let your eye be the final arbiter.
 
Cheers,
 
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.
 
 

There is a useful book for those building Warrior - Building a Working Model Warship  (HMSWarrior 1860) by William Mowell.
 
Available from the HMS Warrior Trust.
 
http://www.hmswarrior.org/supportus/mailorder
 
B.E.

I got my replacements from RB Models.
 
Here's their website and also one for Radek ship models.
 
http://www.rbmodel.com/index.php?action=products&group=011
 
http://www.radekshipmodels.cz/en/list-of-kits-and-accessories/accessory---armoury
 
When you've worked out the scale length of your guns, you might just find suitable replacements.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

This last week has been even more hectic at work, but now its close to christmas. Ive managed to make the floor planks for the beakhead. Still need to weather them to make it blend better.
 
I made the planks thinner then the plans suggested, that also gave me the chance to make them look slightly uneven like on the real ship. When positioning them I tried to catch the irregular look of the original. I overdid the curve at the end though. 
 
 
/Matti
 
 

A couple of more

Today was rather brief in the shipyard.  Got the wood scrap bin made.  It sits on the port side and is where the scraps went after the oil was cooked out.  From here it goes in the fire when needed as fuel.....next is the cooling tank which goes on the starboard side....

Cannons – Blackening
 
Using the process outlined in many places on MSW, I chemically blackened the guns.
 
Maybe some minor variations from what others use for mixture ratios or the duration of each step in the process, but pretty much the same drill:
Silver solder trunnions in place Acetone bath for grease removal (15 – 20 Minutes) Muriatic acid bath for surface etching (15 – 20 Minutes) Thorough rinsing with cold water Blackening bath, 5 parts Birchwood Casey Brass Black, 1 part distilled water (approx. 2 – 4 minutes) Thorough rinsing in cold water Following a few minutes of air drying, buff with a soft cloth The end result, depending on the lighting, looks like a pretty attractive deep, gun metal gray.
 
While I think they look kind of nice as is, the shine is a bit overwhelming for 1:64 scale.  Therefore, the final step will be to seal them with a coat of clear, matte lacquer.
 
The result of the matte finish treatment can be seen on the gun at the far right.  With the reduced light reflection, it now looks more black.
 
Onward to making some carriage bolts, eyebolts, and ringbolts...
 
Robert

I got my replacements from RB Models.
 
Here's their website and also one for Radek ship models.
 
http://www.rbmodel.com/index.php?action=products&group=011
 
http://www.radekshipmodels.cz/en/list-of-kits-and-accessories/accessory---armoury
 
When you've worked out the scale length of your guns, you might just find suitable replacements.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Detail shots of the completed model


Long boat with the sheep pens beneath.
 

Activity on the Qtr deck, the crew are converted ‘N’ scale rail figures.
 

Poop deck detail.
 

 

Crew ascending the Main shrouds.
 

Fore deck detail.
 

Crew at the Fore Topmast head.
 

 

Head details.
 


 

 

Stern Qtr details.
 
 
Full shots of the model
 


 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Secure in her protective case.
 
I think this has been the most exacting build I have undertaken due to the small scale and my
less than good eyesight, I am very pleased with the result but I don’t think I
will attempt another at this scale.
 
I am much more comfortable with 1:64 scale, as with my current Pegasus build.

B.E.


 


 


 
 
 
 
 


 



 
 
 


 


 


 
 


 


 
 


 


 


 


 
 


 
 


 


 


 


 


 


 

I've done the stern windows and the inner stern planking around the windows. Since I wanted to have something that would look right on both the inside and outside and since the kit provided 10 laser cut frames for the 5 windows, I decided to do something a little different. I decided to build up window "sandwiches", consisting of 2 frames with a piece of clear plastic between them (I'm sure that I've seen this done somewhere on MSW). With some thickness sanding, this created a perfect fit for the depth of the stern frames.
 
As I had indicated early in this log, the width of the stern frames was excessive and this required some careful filing to open the spaces between the frames to get the window frames to fit. The window frames were painted white after they were sanded to fit. I then glued in the outside window frames, placed the the clear plastic behind them and then glued in the inside frames. This was all going well until somehow I managed to have an inside frame jump out of my grasp and become a permanent resident of the ship's hold. As a result, I had to make a replacement from strip wood. Thankfully, it's on the side that will be covered by deck planking and not visible.
 
After the windows were installed, I chose to do the planking around them on the inside. This was done with boxwood, finished with Wipe-on Poly. I've started on the Great Cabin cabinetry. That and the exterior planking around the windows will be the next update.
 
Bob
 
 

Thank you for visiting my log Saloir, much appreciated
 
Hi BE,
 
In a way of speaking it is your Pegasus buildlog that is a motivator for me trying to improve myself, and I'm sure many MSW -members share that opinion.
And just calling it a buildlog is doing you injustice as to me it is more a tutorial entitled" How do I get the most out of a kit".
So I try to follow your fine example.
 
 

Thank you very much B.E., Alistair.
 
Bill, thanks.  All of the recent work, and most of the model, is Swiss Pear.  The hull and deck framing is American Cherry, the deck is Maple, and there is some (only on the stern at this point) Castello Boxwood trim.
 
I'm not counting this as an official update, but I did get some work done today, just not much worth showing.  I epoxied the bulwark pin rails, and some additional cleats.  Did some work on enlarging the bowsprit hole with a file, and started locating the hawse holes--
 

 
 
There is a piece of wood marked with the correct (I hope!--using Charles G. Davis as a reference for this) spacing, sitting on the stem.  Rather difficult locating the holes along the angled bow, but they look pretty close in the photo.    The holes vary from where they are drawn on Chapelle's hull plan drawing--  
 

 
 
However, in this case I trust my locations more than Chapelle's drawing--I suspect he "eyeballed" them rather than working it out.  Not a big deal, but it might end up having some minor effect on the head rails vs. how he drew them.
 
Ron

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

continuation

Nice job with the decorative strips Michael, I'm pleased you are enjoying the Mill. Thank you for your very generous words about my use of the Mill, but like you I'm very much a beginner.
 
However, I think it is useful to show pics of what we do on the Mill, even at our superficial level it gives a lead to others who may be just starting.
 
Good idea of yours to use  the balsa support for the strip whilst milling.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Love what you've done with the Try-works John, a great feature.
 
B.E.

Nice job on the first planking Richard; I'm interested to see your gunport cutting thro' to completion and hear your views on the plank/cut method compared to using the provided gunport patterns.
 
B.E.

Hi Bob,  a fine job you've done on the coppering.
 
Not much can be seen of the false keel with the model the right way up, but basically it was a strip of wood nailed to the bottom of the keel to protect the copper in the event of the keel grounding.
 
I fitted one to my Pegasus.
 

It was just a thin strip of  timber slightly narrower than the keel width ca'd to the  bottom of the keel. I didn't go to the trouble of scarph jointing the false keel but just used a continuous strip.
 
It obviously needs to be done whilst the model can be inverted.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Great choice Robert. Aren't we lucky that Chuck decided to start the Syren company? I sincerely hope he goes from strength to strength with it, for what he has done for the modelling community he deserves every success with it.
 
These will look fabulous on your superb build.

sitting on the deck, not glued yet...probably won't attach, until  all  the other parts are all built....then do it all at once knowing how everything fits.  That is the workbench, cooling tank, insulation boards, and rendering bin...

some more

Now for some paint and trim out...

Just trying out the fit to make sure it's ok