Blue Ensign

Hi hamilton,
 
Nice work on the Transom, love the way it ties in with the Quarter galleries, and I like the  round you have achieved on those galleries which so often come out as wedge shaped.
 
Not quite so sure about the diamond pattern windows for period, here's a link to a fret supplier I have used for windows and the like, may be of use for future reference.
 
http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Doors___Windows___Scale_1_76.html
 
Regards,
 
B.E.

Continuing:

Details of the sails.




These were drawn from the plans of Boudriot and are made of Modelspan
tissue .
 



 



 
Attaching reef points nearly destroyed what little was left of my sanity.



As did the ratlines using 125g copper wire.
 

Almost done.


 


 


 

 







 

From Le Superbe to Le Praetorian – A  Heller Seventy-four, after Boudriot

This is a summarised record of my attempt to modify a small scale plastic
kit by reference to the works of Jean Boudriot. Very few of the original kit
fittings were used in the build.
 
This was to be a first attempt at fully detailing a model of this scale,
adding sails and displaying in a waterline setting.

Early progress
 

 

Lower deck detail.
 

Upperdeck showing Galley and Pastry oven.
One unfortunate fellow is spending time in the bilboes, for swearing on a Sunday.


Restyling the Foc’sle rail.
 

 

Modified waist railings using brass strip.
 
 
 


 
 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Just for you JP I'll dig out my posts on the subject.
 
A Simple man’s guide to small scale sail making.
 
For this I used modelspan tissue at 21gsm.
 
This is where it all starts, my patent jig for sail making.
 

 
Well alright it’s a box with a hole cut into it.
 

The Modelspan tissue is taped over the hole – make sure the hole is large enough for the sail dimensions.
 

The witches brew – ear of bat, eye of toad, you know the sort of thing - actually pva diluted to the consistency of milk with a little yellow ochre  paint added.
 

Once the potion is mixed it takes on a fetching ochre colour.
 

The potion being applied, note the colour change and how the tissue has started to sag.
 

The completed effect, just needs to be set aside to dry............. but if you’re impatient like me...
 
 

A quick blast with the CPO’s hairdryer, diffuser in place – and were ready to go.
 
The tissue is now as tight as drum skin and much the same colour, a little more ochery than appears in the photo.
The sail ‘material’ is removed by cutting around the edges of the hole with a scalpel, or any other such sharp implement that is to hand, and is taped over the drawing as previously made.
 

I had previously  drawn out a scaled sail from the works of Jean Boudriot.
 
The lines are transferred and the fiddly business of making the sail up begins.
 
This will be the subject of the next post.
 
B.E.

Hi Lukas, yes I glued the hull halves together before fitting the gun deck.
 
One or two things you might want to consider before glueing.
 
Heller did not see fit to provide guide holes along the hull for the gun-port lid lanyards, but it is quite feasible to fit lanyards at this scale so the holes had to be drilled. To this end a small jig is required, I made mine from styrene strip.
 

Two strips to fit snugly within the gun-port are glued to the uprights which have guide holes positioned at the right level. It is but a simple job to then to move the jig from port to port drilling thro’ the hull.
The Quarterdeck level bulwark windows have been fitted with glazing bars of 0.25 x 0.5mm styrene strip, and backed by acetate strip.
Gun-port lids were not provided at the Upper deck level although in practice they did have wooden panels (Half ports) that could be fitted from the inside; these had a hole to take the gun muzzle and had a canvas muzzle shaped cover over the outside.
 
The aftermost gun-port at Upper deck level is interesting, split horizontally, and shaped to fit around the gun muzzle; it is glazed to allow light into the Wardroom.
 

This is not a universal fitting on French Seventy-fours but Boudriot shows it so I also included them on my effort, fashioned from brass, clear acetate and strip styrene – tricky little beasts but we got there in the end.
Over two of the Upper deck gun-ports they did fit Rigols (1st and 4th from the stern) why these two I don’t know but I replicated them with brass wire shaped over a former, and flattened a little on the anvil.
 

Inside the hull halves the bulwarks were painted, - Red ochre – what else, much easier done before assembly as the tumblehome restricts access.
Holes were also drilled to take the eyebolts for the gun tackle of those cannon visible in the waist, and on the Quarterdeck, an awkward job with the hull assembled.
Heller, for reasons best known to themselves, decided to provide that section of the bow containing the hawse holes as a separate moulding. In retrospect I think it better to glue this in place at the outset, particularly from the point of view of painting.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

 

A fine job you made of that windlass Richard, nice to see it can be done. I failed miserably to get it to look right and had to scratch one in the end.
 
Well done
 
B.E.

Hi Jason, I have looked at the framing on Pegasus, the ports sit between frames but there are filler frames below and above the ports some of which are extended to a timberhead, one being directly above the Bridle port, but there are also a couple further aft.
 
The knightheads were intended to give lateral support to the bowsprit, and certainly on Pegasus sit close either side; the arrangement you show wouldn't fulfil this purpose so I think there may be some doubt as to the  accuracy of their position.
 
B.E.

Your rigging is a pleasure to behold Augie.
 
B.E.

Like it hamilton, nice colour toning, a great improvement., well done
 
B.E.

Hi Jason, I have looked at the framing on Pegasus, the ports sit between frames but there are filler frames below and above the ports some of which are extended to a timberhead, one being directly above the Bridle port, but there are also a couple further aft.
 
The knightheads were intended to give lateral support to the bowsprit, and certainly on Pegasus sit close either side; the arrangement you show wouldn't fulfil this purpose so I think there may be some doubt as to the  accuracy of their position.
 
B.E.

Thanks all for the comments...
 
This is why I seem to make such slow progress, decided that I couldn't live with the knightheads as they were so had a go at fixing.  Photos pretty self explanatory, removed the paint, loosened the PVA glue by saturating with rubbing alchohol and filled the holes.  I then shortened the knightheads by the thickness of the rail and pinned securely in place. Much happier with the result and the deviation from the plans, I'll leave everything else as is.
 

I just love your work Juergen, beautiful execution.
 
B.E.

Finished chimney flue. Probably should have airbrushed it but that bit of gear is off on loan and 4 coats of brush paint did the trick. Hard to see on with artificial lighting in these shots but I rub some scraped graphite off a pencil onto larger metal parts like this with a finger. I realise painted ironwork on the real thing would be fairly flat black but I like to display the differences in materials on these vessels otherwise the iron chimney looks the same as the painted wood. The graphite catches the edge and makes the surface look a little more metallic.

Main mast...
Main topsail...
Main topmast...
Some blocks...

Nicely done Richard, the capping strip sets it off a treat.
 
B.E.

Thanks Mark! - I've managed now to (almost) finish the starboard side quarter gallery and am very happy with the results. I cut all the parts for both quarter galleries at the same time to ensure they will be of equal size. And I'll wait until both are complete before attaching them to the hull....Here's the process
 
Each quarter gallery is built up out of 7 strips - 2 5mm x 5mm strips for the roof and the lower part; 2 5mm x 3mm strips as a false backing for the windows; 2 6mm x .5mm strips for the sill and head of the windows; and 1 3mm X 1mm strip for a finishing strip on the top. I shaped all the pieces according to a curve I determined.
 

 
I then shaped the pieces to get the appropriate cant into the quarter gallery.
 

 
Next step was to finish the pieces - I stained the rood and the bottom piece and all other parts were painted black.
 

 
I then assembled it and added posts using 2mm x 2mm walnut.
 

 
Finally, the window frames were added using 1mm x 1mm strip wood, painted white
 

 
Here is a comparison between the kit supplied part and the one I made.
 

 
I still need to add a fnishing piece at the bottom, which I will attempt to make out of sculpy, since I need to do some shaping and my carving skills are nonexistent. Tomorrow I'll do the port side quarter gallery, and then spend the following night making the sculpy finishing pieces and designing the scratch built transom....lots of fun ahead!
hamilton

Glued the cleats to the masts and the top secured with 0,5 mm pins and also finished the rope wooldings of the masts and yards.
 
 

Finished the parrals.
 
 
For large and more detail photos see also:
http://www.flickr.co...han_gokcay/sets
Best go into the set and choose slideshow or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilhan_gokcay/sets/72157626433922489/detail/?page=47

I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labours Hamilton, whichever design you settle on.
 
Re the tiles: my approach would be to cut them from paper or perhaps adhesive backed foils. The lead may well have been coloured with ochre to give the appearance of gilt, but on the Victory the lead sheeting has been left natural. When I built my Victory model I used exhaust repair tape coloured grey to represent the lead.
 
B.E.

Hi Hamilton nice work on the decks.
 
Re the Quarter gallery.
 
Drawing D4/2 is quite difficult to picture in 3d, I would imagine it is not quite as angular as it looks, but rather had a slight round to it. The little roof which would be slightly concave would possibly have been tiled in decorative shingles, using overlapping semi circular discs of lead.
 
I’m a little puzzled by the broad timber running from the cill to the rail as the dotted line looks to be the transom line, and I’m struggling to see the relationship between that timber and the gallery.
 
I think you initially need to make up the basic shape and see how it looks on the model, and think about the mouldings and decoration later. Had you considered using sculpey to form the lower finishing, I would imagine it would lend itself to forming those fancy shapes as shown in the drawings.
 
One other thought drawing D4/1 shows a Quarter badge similar to Pegasus, it can be made either flat or canted as Andy (realworking sailor) has done on his build, and there you have how he went about the job.
 
At least with that type you would have a reduced number of glazing bars for the lights. Certainly the flat version can be cut from thin sheet and the window frames made up on the base. Styrene strip could even be used to form the  curves and glazing bars if they are to be painted.
 
Cheers.
 
B.E.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.
 
ZyXuz - welcome to my log.  Grab a seat and help yourself to some popcorn from Sjors.  If you need a drink, Mark is tending the bar tonight.
 
Marc - not too sure about the skills thing, but I'm trying and I'm learning at the same time.
 
Sjors - you'll have to wait and see what the new scratch project will be, but I guarantee you're gonna love it!
 
A further small update to keep "you know who" happy:
 
Finished the exterior planking today.     That's one good thing about these miniatures - they may be fiddly, but there isn't much of them! I noticed that when I held the boat up to the light, I could see right through the planking:
 

 
That pic was before any sanding.  Here's a few following some sanding/polishing.  No finish has been applied yet - what you see is just the natural timber (Holly) sanded and polished:
 

 

 

 
And just to remind you all of the scale of this little thing, here it is next to my ham fist. (Note the bandaid on the finger - managed to stab myself with the Exacto, but fortunately kept it from bleeding all over my lovely Holly).
 

 
That's it for today.  After a productive long weekend, it's back to W@#$ tomorrow   .  Oh well, at least it pays the bills and allows me to indulge in my Hobby.

The Rudder...
 
The kit provided version was noticeably lacking any copper plating so, just for yucks, I thought I'd build my own version of the rudder...
 
It has always struck me as odd that the Revell Constitution has a cylindrical rudder head instead of a squared one similar to other period ships.  My first thought was to replace that... But then I did some research.  It turns out that the good folks at Revell probably got that right!  We do see the cylindrical rudder head on the Hull model:
 

 
When Constitution was first launched she had a typical "rule joint" type rudder with the square rudder head.  This rudder type required a larger opening in the lower transom to allow for the arc of the rudder head as it swung back and forth during turns.  Howard Chappelle notes in his American Sailing Navy book that the US Navy had replaced all of their  rudders with the newer "plug" type by 1801 or thereabouts.  This new innovation utilized the cylindrical shape and moved the rudder head forward so that the center aligned along the same axis as the pintles.  This eliminated the arc pattern of the rudder head - instead it spun exactly in line with the pivot point of the pintles.  This allowed for a much smaller opening under the transom - and perhaps a tighter feel for the helm.  Learn something every day.
 
Here was my approach:
 
I glued together four strips of .100 x .156" styrene (Evergreen 177) and did the basic shaping on a small vice using a heavy file.  Next I carved a groove into some appropriate rod styrene (same as what I used on the Galley Stove pipe) and affixed that to the top - centered, of course, over the leading edge.  Once done, I came back along and notched in the locations for the rudder pintles:


 
Now I needed to copper plate the thing. I used .010 x .125" (Evergreen 106) for the plates.  I whipped up a quick jig (using some available scraps) to help align the "copper" strips while I rolled in the rivet pattern on one edge.  I used the smallest roller in my collection to approximate the pattern existing on the kit plating.  The rest of the bolt heads I did by hand using my trusty scribe tool.

 
Took me about an hour to plate each side:

 
Lastly I came along and added the various straps, spectacle plate, etc.
 
Here is the result:



 
BTW - It turns out, the kit provided rudder is actually pretty good.  As noted it properly represents the "plug" type version.  This is not surprising since it is based on the Campbell plan and he consulted extensively with Chappelle. The rudder edges also taper nicely from forward edge to after edge, and from top to bottom.  Ultimately, a very nice upgrade could probably be had by simply adding the copper plates.
 

 
Thanks again folks for wading thru my entries!
EG

Good progress Hamilton, she's really starting to look the part now
 
B.E.

Thanks everyone for looking in and for your kind words - there seems to be a bit of extra interest in this little side project
 
Sjors - yes, a complete scratch build project is on the books - just have to finish this one first!
 
Ben - yes, they are delicate but I am finding that the little building board provides good support and allows me to handle the whole thing without fear of damage. Plus, once the planking starts going on, it gains strength (or at least rigidity) very quickly.
 
Mark - you have much to look forward to! 
 
A small update then:
 
Commenced the planking today.  Followed Chuck's advice in his Longboat instructions by first of all attaching the sheer plank and one extra, then "lined off" the remainder of the hull.  I decided not to attach string, tape or temporary battens with the lining off - it's just too small!  Pencil marks will have to do as a guide.  Then it was on to the garboard strake, which seemed to take forever, and I'm still not convinced I got it right.    It will have to do though.  Have attached one more plank next to the garboard as shown in the pics below.
 
I'm using Holly for the planking at 1/64" x 1/16", which is about right for scale.  The Holly is beaut to work with - a short soak in tepid water and you can almost tie pretzels with it.   For the lower strakes (ie garboard and the next few), because they will be covered on the inside by the footboards and therefore won't be seen, I've coated the entire inside of the planks with PVA glue as they've been layed.  This will add a bit of extra strength to them.
 
The hardest part of the planking so far has been finding clamps small enough to fit around the frames, and light enough (pressure wise) not to destroy the whole thing.  For the most part, I've resorted to the Mk 1 finger clamp.  While it's fairly slow, the adjustable pressure of this clamp makes it worthwhile! 
 
Here's a few pics to keep "you know who" happy:
 

 

 

Nice work on the capstan Mark, bang on for scale with the figure.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.