Blue Ensign

After that much research I needed something easy to relax ...
 
On the left Hellers version of the rudderwheel, right dafis version, just enjoy, no further explanations :-)
 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 
Gute Nacht, Daniel

Act 3
Happy End
 
And here they are, our happy actors ...
 

 
... from the inside ... 
 

 
... and with a mockup crane.
 

 
Huuuuooorrrrrraaaaaaayyyyyy!

I'm caught up on the updates from my previous log... Now we are in new territory!
 
I've started in on the spar deck hatch coamings... I thought I should build them up a bit and add some curvature to the surface.
 
I started by adding Evergreen no. 144 (.040x.080) to the side edges of all the coamings.  Next I added Evergreen no. 164 (.080x.080) to the front and back edges.  This built up enough material to allow for shaping the curved edges:
 

 
Then I prepared the patient for surgery by masking the decking to protect against random scraping as I used the file to shape the edges:
 

 

 
I lined the hatch interiors with Evergreen no. 129 (.020x.250) leaving a slight lip for the gratings:
 

 

 
Still need to finish off some more interior details and perhaps soften the curvature on a few of the hatches.
 
Thanks for following along.

Everyone: So to get the progress of my Caldercraft back into this folder, attached is my most recent progress of My Aggy. I have the stern and gallery windows. I now have the spar deck on and have begun planking the deck as well. Once I have that completed I will provide a updated pic of that as well
 
Mike Draper
Whitehorse, Yukon
Canada

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
More to follow
 
B.E.

I have lots of favourite hand tools, they are all favourites when it comes down to need for a particular job.
 
However, I would not like to be without my Swann- Morton scalpels and No. 11 blades. I get through copious amounts of No 11 blades.
 
B.E
 
 

And it continued with an answer from Jan here in MSW:   You will drive yourself insane! My guess is that your next "problem" will be to get these tiny blocks stropped according the rule book Next you will realize that blocks have sheaves, that sheaves are held into position by iron pins, that these pins have nail like heads, that.... etc.   We will follow your route to insanity with ever increasing admiration!   Jan   OK-OK-OK, Jan´s challenge was accepted :-) The stropping we had already, so the next is ...     ... put a 1 mm poly rod into the machine, drill with 0,4 mm, turning the chuck of the lathe of course by hand ...     ... and cutting it off still on the drill to 0,5 mm slices ...     ... and this is the result of the production.   So what is missing next for some good blocks? The casing:   So milling a double slot and a single slot into a 2,5 mm x 1 mm batten ...     ... doing some carving ...     ... colored the disks with marker for not adding to the thickness ...     ... inserted the disks and the axles  ...     ... and cleared it up.     And here the family shot with the benchmark, the wonderful 2 x 2 x 2 mm block from JB.      While stropping I finally re-remembered the great power-splice, which makes things easier and cleaner, prepared a loop ...     ... and slid the block into it, secured with glue and  ...    *drummrollandsmallfanfare*   ... and the thing on place :-)   Lessons learned:  It is really possible to make blocks of 2,5 x 2,5 x 1 mm with turning sheaves! And by pulling on the loose end, the tackle works much easier than the other ones without :-) :-) :-)   The most difficult? Checking if the sheaves are turning after securing the axles with glue. Managed to do this with the point of a needle. Confirmed positivly!   ;-)   Liebe Grüße Daniel

And some more basic work. To do the side takles of my guns in 1:100 I need small blocks. The smallest commercially available are the 2 mm from JB, great stuff but still a little bit to big for my taste. So I wanted to see what there is still possible :-)
 
Literature shows several ways of doing blocks, most of them done in a similar way, so I am following that, just have to take out most of the machinery because of the size.
 
First I prepared a batten of 1,5 mm high and 1 mm thick, and marked it all 2 mm which gave the basic size of these ambitious project ...
 

 
... each of these marks got a diagonal cut in one direction and after all done, the batten was turned and the other side cut, so the grooves on one side were finished. Repeated on all four sides ...
 

 
... and this was achieved rather fast, some matt varnish to strengthen the edges ...
 

 
... and first drilling tests ...
 

 
... with the 0,5er drill. Result, difficult to get the right place, so more testing until it looked like in a swiss cheese factory ...
 

 
... and finally the enlightenment: 0,5 mm drill fixed in the stand, a stop in 0,5 mm distance is fixed. The stop has the width of 2 mm which facilitates positioning. 
Now hold the batten tight and near at both sides and slide it up the stop until drilled ...
 

 
... move down and turn the batten 180° around the longitudinal axis, slide up and drill the second hole :-) 
(I spared you the fingers on the picture :-)
 
Looks already ok, the four blocks left of my little worker are the single blocks of 1 mm x 1 mm x 2 mm - hihihihihi - ... 
 

 
... a second coat of varnish, the cutter makes the groove on the side for the line - the most difficult part on the whole action - some sanding off of the edges, some more varnish and done. They stay on the batten and will be cut just prior to production for not getting lost - just in time production  :-)
 

 
Just a family picture: the Krick 3 mm, the JB 2 mm and Microline from dafi, and as it looks nice a macro shot.
 

 
So I already see the crowd out there laughing in anticipation of the knots in dafis fingers, while trying to tying some rigging onto these littel bits ...
 

... and this was the result with a descent rope:
 

 
*jumpingofhappiness*
 
Not yet perfect, but the direction is right :-)
 
Lieber Gruß, Daniel

Just one more set guys and that should  bring the magazine up to speed.

And the final set.

And more!

Still more photos.

More photos.

More photos.

Well, perhaps I'm mistaken, so I've sorted out a selection of files and will post them in the following few posts.
 
Again, if anyone has any questions on what the heck I was doing up to now, please don't hesitate to ask.
 
John

Here is a PDF of the friezes.  I reduced some of the transom images further and it should be good to go.  Remember...if anyone needs a further resizing let me via PM.  All of the six transoms are different sizes so hopefully out of those posted you will find one you like.  Download it below.
 
longboatfreizes.pdf
 
Chuck

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.
 
 

Oh these days I used the whole 2,5 meters of my Reeperbahn :-)
 

 
The anchor cables and messengers were due
 
As the small motors were to small dimensioned, I had to use the electric drill. And for long ropes or ropes with many single threads ...
 

 
... one has to knot each of the three strands on the predrilling side together for not getting small lumps. Three of the resulting cables were laid further to create the bigger ones ...
 

 
... and for an enjoyable result :-)
 
The anchor cable has a diameter of 2 mm which equals about 24" circumference on the original, the messenger should have about the half, this one being still too thick with 1,5 mm. This means, half of the yarn is not resulting into half the diameter.
 
Interesting is, that even though I used the same proportions of the colors Tan and Rusty Dun, the resulting cable have different colors. Possibly because the messenger is tighter laid, there is not as much light from the surface penetrating the outer yarn and being reflected inside.
 
To compensate I added one part of white to the existing two colors ...
 

 
... and the result can be seen compared to the middle messenger. On the bottom the thinner messenger of 1 mm is shown, which - using the same colors as the first one - appears lighter due to be laid less tight.
 

 
That the first messenger was laid too tight I realised, as some of the outer fibres were broken ...
 

 
... so less tension was used for the following cables. The problems on the broken one I was able to fix by cutting off the bitts and smoothening it with Uhu-Plast.
 
Next came parcelling and servig
 
That one is for you Evan ;-)
I realised, that on a lot of great models, the parcelling and serving made the cable too thick, due to the too thick diameter of the material used. But as the fishing line is like dental floss, it flattens up while beeing wrapped around ... 
 

 
... and even shows the structure underneath, something I saw on the originals :-)
Still a little ink or chalk to get the plastic gloss off, and it will be ok.
 
And of course I could not resist, to try out a spliced eye on the messenger :-)

Come on baby...don't fear the Reeper
Baby feel the thread...don't fear the Reeper
 
If one is stuck one should do what should have been done in the start - Listen to your inner voice and listen to the others :-)
 
Not: "I-wanna-have-a-ropewalk-and-do-same-nice-ropes-as-seen-on-the-modelling-exhibition" but "I-need-great-ropes-for-my-Vic" :-)
 
That changes a lot as I am building a completely different scale. Changes a lot towards the materials and the usage of the walk. So freshly focussed back to work:
 
First listen to the others:  Oli/Modellbaumechaniker and Holger/Pollux from my german forums gave me the right hints for the right materials. Fil au chinois and flyfishing lines were the right hints!
http://www.neheleniapatterns.com/html/filagant.html
http://www.baker-flyfishing.com/shop/bindematerialien_faeden.php?v=n183
 
And this is what came:
The bigger bobbins are the fil au chinois, numbers for the colors see the picture
The smaller bobbin sare from the flyfishing, Uni-Thread green 8/0 the thin one, orange 6/0 the middle one, the thick 3/0 and the superthin 17/0
 


 
The fil au chinois is cotton with very little fussy bits, the Uni is free of fuzz :-)
The Uni has a large range of colors avaliable, unfortunately not all colors in all sizes. The 8/0 and 6/0 are great for my purpose, the 3/0 has the great appearence of colored dental floss and the 17/0 is also quite uneven and transparent.
 
First tests proved to be the right direction sizewise :-)
 
Left the fuzzy thread from the supermarket, my thinnest possibility before this date. Then comes the fil au chinois, the Uni 8/0 and the Uni17/0, always the original strand, then two, 3 and 6 stranded with blocks of 3 mm, 2 mm and 1,5 mm for comparison.
 

 
And the first test also showed that turning the axis by hand is a tad tiring and the cordless screwdriver is a little bit unhandy and also too insensitive ...
 
...
 
So ...
 
... reopening the Fischertechnik box from my youth, getting the motors out, glueing them with double sided tape onto the machinery, here the pretwisting side to be seen ... 
 

 
... and the laying side ...
 

 
... the motor can be turned sideways to reposition the hooks ...
 

 
... and felt was put untderneath for easy gliding, and a steel ruler in the middle to control the movements of the sliding parts :-)
 
Both sides were clampedto the rail to be able to put the yarn properly. After chasing behind the bobbin for several times, a holder like the sewing machines ones was introduced, and from there the the yarn was brought to the hooks of the pretwisting side - I am showing a 6-stranded rope - ...
 

 
... and after 3 times twice forth and back ... 
 

 
... the yarn was fixed on the laying side.
 

 
The steel ruler shows the movement of the slide - I use 10% on this rope - loosen the clamp on the laying side, the pretwisting hooks start turning and the opposite slide starts moving miraculously towards the predrilling slide :-)
 

 
If the required distance is achieved, I clamp both sides onto the rail, and the three strands are laid until the required tension is achieved ...
 

 
... some CA for fixing ...
 

 
...going with the fingernails over to release unwanted tension ...
 

 
... and you can make a clean cut :-)
 
 
Lessons learned
 
You can see two things:
 
First: I am not using any more the little guide block :-)
No difference to be seen apart from that it is much more even ;-)
 
Secondly: I am fixing both sides while laying the rope! In the first trials I had the trouble, that the start of the rope was coming out nicely tight and the second half was much more loose ...
I realised that at the start of laying the pretwisting slide does not move, and the shortening of the rope is only compensated by the lateral spreading of the yarn. Just later on the slide starts moving. But it was not just after I forgot once to remove the clamp of this slide and got out a great and even clean cable that I realised, that the loosness of the rope came from the missing tension on the other side.
 
The next tests without the guide and fixed slides prooved to be successful :-) Just if the motor is having to work too hard, I stop it and I loosen the tension a tad by carefully moving the slide and then contimue.
 
 
Come on baby...don't fear the Reeper
Baby feel the thread...don't fear the Reeper
 
... and the part that should be pronounced is: feel the thread :-)
 
XXXDAn

A slight setback
 
Planking has continued, I used 6mm box strip below the waterline to cover the hull more quickly, but five strakes into the planking from the keel I experienced that problem feared by pob builders - a sprung plank.
 

The problem originates with the first layer of planking and is made obvious when the second layer refuses to lie flat against the hull.
What to do?
First of all I ran some ca down the inside of the hull to strengthen and stabilise the first run of planking; then the second planking strake was cut vertically with a scalpel and opened up to clean out what was beneath. An application of ca and the jobs done.
Better not to have it occur in the first place by close attention to the gluing of the first layer, particularly if it is above the waterline but if it does happen all is not lost.
 

The gaps requiring stealers can be seen at the stern on this shot and the stern post is now in place.
 
This is the result of sloppy work, the first planking is secured to the bulkheads and plank edges with PVA, temporarily held in position with pins and clamps. The inside of the hull is then brushed with diluted PVA to assist the bond.
You can't easily use nails because of the subsequent sanding of the hull requirement, and the thinness of the planking material.
The planks tend to spring between the bulkheads when the edge to edge bond is not good; I was obviously too sparing of the glue where it happened.
 
A case of less haste I think.
 
B.E.

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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Brian,
 
As a rule of thumb, the breeching would be around three times the length of the gun barrel.
 
Recoil distance was limited by the center line obstructions on the deck, so there was not a lot of space bewteen the muzzle and the port with the gun run in.
 
In more restricted places such as cabins a shorter barrel length gun was sometimes used, but partition panelling was usually struck down when working the guns.
 
With breechings on a model there should be obvious slack if the gun is run out, but the exact amount is probably best left to your eye given the particular set up on your model.
 
B.E.

Here is my effort to replace the pitiful kit provided brake pumps:
 


 
I bulked them up a bit using a bit of octagonal styrene, some brass eyelets, and a small length of brass rod. The stems protruding from the bottoms will aid in positioning them on the deck thru holes drilled in the appropriate spots and hopefully keep them more secure.
 
I should pause to say that the OOB pumps should NOT be placed in the bow as the Revell instructions instruct:

 
This positioning is almost too bizarre to merit discussion... Suffice to say that the pumps are better positioned on the gun deck.  The guidance I've used is from Chappelle's layout of the President taken from the drafts made of the captured ship by the British.  It shows four brake pumps - two near the aft part of the main hatch and two a bit farther forward near amidships.  The layout of the Revell deck does not lend itself to positioning two pumps near the main hatch.  Instead, I've elected to place them in the more traditional location near the main mast in between the chain pumps.  The other two were placed in the pre-existing holes on the deck that would normally have eyelets inserted.
 

 
I think these are also referred to as "Elm Tree" pumps - something to do with that being the preferred wood for the rot-resistance qualities when exposed so long to moisture.
 
I think these will do well enough as is and I'm on to the camboose...

I was going to wait until I had the brake pumps completed, but here are some quick snaps of the current state of things:
 
I've got the bitts completed (except for some rings for the stoppers that'll wait until after the initial painting):


 
Also have completed the cisterns and covers for the chain pumps - still need to fashion some handles:

 
Just for a bit of extra fun... I've left off the cover on one of the cisterns to "expose" the underlying chain wheel:


 

 
It started with me strolling through the model train store for something to use for my capstan drumheads.  I didn't find anything suitable, but this little packet did catch my eye:
 

 
And I thought, hmmmm...
 
So after forking over too much hard earned cash (I think each wheel ended up being over a buck!) I trimmed them up slightly and glued on some small lengths of styrene rod then snipped off the ends.  I suppose some spare PE railings or scale ladder bent around the circumference would've worked as well:
 

 

 
They are really cable sheaves and aren't quite perfect for the job, but at this scale, and barely visible thru the openings, it should suffice well enough.  I'm just gonna paint it black then leave well enough alone - I don't fancy trying to replicate the chain.  That'd be too fiddly and would likely diminish the effect.
 
And just to make sure people know these things don't all work out on the first try... Here is my debris field:

 
Thanks for following along

Planked the inside of the bulwarks. I used here white glue and clamped the thin planking all the way in order to prevent  warpage.
Next I fitted the wales at the deck level and above it.