Landlubber Mike

Yeah, those look like cross-eyed cannons The cannons in my kit seem to be very nice (haven't open the bag holding them yet as I tend to lose things). On the extra port, Chapman shows one port pretty much up against the stern gallery. I haven't closely compared them, but they could be spaced and located a bit differently than how Corel does it.

On the Badger, I generally followed the order of construction in the instructions. For some reason, the instructions have you add on some of the rails, but not all, then add deck details like the cannons, and then go back and add the remaining rails, drill hawse holes, etc. I probably ended up popping off each cannon two or three times adding the rails and other external hull items. The blame is mostly mine though, as I tended to work on the model on my coffee table, and many times, on my lap. For the quarterdeck guns, I bought 4-pounder Caldercraft cannon kits from Cornwall Model Boats, which are 26mm in length (Model C85040AK) to see how they look. The guns are marketed as 1:64 scale guns circa 1790, so probably somewhat close to the 4-pounders for the Unicorn's period. I also bought the Corel 25mm cannon barrels (Model CC21) which are blackened like the kit guns and in the same style - at first glance, they seem like they would fit on the Caldercraft carriages. Interestingly, the Caldercraft 4-pounder carriages are almost the same size as the Corel carriages. The sources I've read differ when it comes to the number of guns on the Unicorn: -- Corel: total of 32 guns, with 24 on the upper deck and 8 on the quarterdeck. -- Chapman: his notes show the ship as having a total of 34 guns -- 24 nine-pounders on the upper deck and 10 four-pounders on the quarterdeck (no swivel guns). -- Gardiner: his Frigate book says that when the Unicorn and Lyme were launched in 1748, they only carried 24 nine-pounders on the upper deck, then notes when talking about successor ships to the Lyme-class like the Guadeloupe, that from 1756 these ships were allocated 4 three-pounders on the quarterdeck to introduce the new rating of 28-gun ship. -- Wikipedia: lists the ship as having 24 nine-pounders on the upper deck, 4 three-pounders on the quarterdeck (after September 22, 1756), and 12 half-pounder swivel guns (after November 11, 1756). Gardiner is listed as one of the Wikipedia references, so that's probably why Wikipedia and Gardiner are very close. I'm a little unclear as to why Chapman listed the Unicorn as having 10 four-pounders on the quarterdeck - my best guess is that the Chapman plans show five pairs of portholes on the quarterdeck (versus Corel having four pairs). Interestingly, Chapman also show 13 pairs of gunports on the upper deck, whereas Corel only has 12 pairs. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I'm thinking of going with the Gardiner approach of either as launched with no guns on the quarterdeck, or adding 4 three-pounders on the quarterdeck as a post-1756 version. The Caldercraft four-pounders at 1:64 scale could probably work as three-pounders at 1:75 scale. I highly doubt that I'll add swivel guns, as they may make the model look too busy and from a practical perspective, I don't know where I would mount 12 of them. More to research I suppose

Really nice work Ian. The cranks are perfect. Have you thought about the cannons yet? The nice thing is that the carriages are already put together I would make sure that you have done everything you want to the exterior of the hull, as I can't tell you how many times I popped cannons on my Badger because the barrel was sticking just outside the gun ports. Are you planning on using the same cannons for the main deck and the quarterdeck? If I remember correctly, Chapman's book notes that the ship had 24 nine-pounders, and 4 three-pounders on the quarterdeck (or something like that). The kit of course gives 32 guns.

Very cool, thanks Vince for sharing!

Like Ulises recommends, I would start with a kit that has a practicum for it (preferably one that is free). I did the Caldercraft Badger, which is rated as a beginner's kit, as my first kit, but I fumbled around quite a bit as I got myself up the learning curve. If I had to do it over, I probably would have started with a kit that had a detailed practicum available for it like the Phantom.

Vince, thanks for taking the time to repost the pics. This has been a great log to follow, and we all appreciate you sharing your work. Just out of curiosity, how did you weather the staircase? It came out very well.

Nice work ZyXuz, you're moving right along on the build. You'll be done by the end of the year at this rate

Thanks Ian that makes a lot of sense and explains why my pieces never get sanded flat

I was wondering about this - can you use the thickness sander where the piece is fed through the machine on its thinner end? Or do you build some sort of sled so that the piece stays perpendicular to the table? I did invest in a Byrnes thickness sander, but unfortunately it was damaged during shipping last week. Jim has been very helpful in working with the shipping company.

Thank you guys!

Hi everyone, I've decided on my next build to replace the kit would with better wood from Jeff at Hobbymill. I'm thinking ahead about how to create and finish the keel and stem post. I have the Byrnes table saw and disc sander at the moment, but was wondering, for the longer pieces, how do you sand them to have a perfectly straight line? On the disc sander, I think you're only supposed to sand on one side of the disc. So for longer pieces that exceed the radius, can you use the disc sander? Or is there some other way to ensure that long lines are straight? Thanks!

Yes definitely some nice ideas. I agree about the davits and the dolphin striker. Not sure about the doors under the forecastle either - will need to research that. The tiller is a nice touch My new plywood arrived yesterday, and it looks very good. I should be able to start actually working on the model now, rather than just thinking about it

Not yet, still have a long way to go I blame all the skilled modelers like yourself for making me feel very much the novice

Hi Denis, I'm a newly proud owner of Jim's table saw (and disc sander) as well. Amazing quality, isn't it? I just got an email from Donna that my thickness sander is coming today - woohoo! Enjoy!

While looking up figurehead pictures, I just so happened to come across this 1:48 scratch build of a Unicorn. The builder carved the figurehead himself, which looks incredible. He also made some modifications to the rest of the ship, including a completely different stern, an open waist, open portholes on the quarterdeck (connected by rails rather than a wall), and a crane-type setup off the stern off which a small boat is hung. Very nice build. http://shipmodeling.net/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=1318

Hi Ian, For all the issues with the Corel kit, your stem and figurehead came out very nice. I agree though that any modifications to this section would be very ambitious and quite in a different league from the scope of your other modifications I took a look at the Pegasus practicum, and the way Amati does it, the stem for the kit is shaped like a seat (an "L" shape) where a slot in the back of the figurehead sits neatly onto the seat and the legs straddle the stem. Then, you backfill the open area between the back of the seat and the back of the figurehead with wood so that there is no gap between the stem and the figurehead. It is a bit hard to tell on the Chapman plans whether there is an open area or not (probably not), but regardless, it looks like the figurehead area of the stem should maybe extend upward and more forward a bit so that the figurehead sits higher and further back onto the stem. That's going to be a really complicated modification, as from what I recall, you are right that the figurehead in some areas is actually narrower than the stem. I bought a spare figurehead from Cornwall Model Boats as I thought that I might paint one white and other colors and the other in "wood" to see which I liked better. But, I might use the spare to figure out whether it's feasible to cut the figure in half, or cut a slot out in the back. I guess if that doesn't work I can always try carving or sculpting my own The Corel figurehead is actually a nice model to work from for the general design, though it did strike me as being perhaps a tad small for the ship. I could make it a bit larger and wider, and cut a slot in the back into which the stem could sit. It was ambitious to think about carving the stern figures, but carving the figurehead would be a whole other ball game

Excellent work Peter - your sails are coming out very nicely. Well done!

Hi Ian, Yes, I think a ship like the Unicorn would only have one lot of gammoning. My guess is that it would be more appropriate to keep the aft one. I spent a few hours tonight drawing out how the various parts of the stem would be constructed. In doing so, I noticed that the Corel plans differ from Chapman in not only the gammoning, but also in how the headrails (I think that is what they are called) are constructed. In Chapman for example, the lowest headrail runs under the gammoning slot and into the figurehead's rear feet (Corel shows the lowest headrail running above the gammoning slot and curving upward. The upper headrails seem to have a different run to them as well. Another thing I noticed was that the figurehead on the Corel plans fits lower, and more forward, than the Chapman plans and the figureheads generally on other ships. It seems like the figurehead should sit just under the bowspirit, but the Corel plans have quite a bit of space between the figurehead and the bowspirit. Ian, just out of curiosity, how did you fit the figurehead to the stem? Did you shape the stem to fit the figurehead, or did you cut a slot into the back of the figurehead to accommodate the stem? I was a bit surprised that the figurehead is a solid piece. If I remember correctly from the Pegasus kit, the figurehead has grooved slots in the back and bottom so that the figurehead could sit right on the stem. I am thinking that it might be better to make any adjustments, cuts, holes, etc. to parts before they are on the model. Too many times on the Badger I did the modifications once parts were fixed to the model, which led to logistical problems, or worse, other parts that were broken off.

Thanks Nigel! Learned something new tonight

A little present from Jeff at Hobbymill arrived at my doorstep this morning Gorgeous wood and impeccable customer service from Jeff - thank you! Now I just have to learn how to use my new power tools - safely of course! The pear will be used for the hull planking, including the areas to be dyed black near the gunports and stern. Boxwood will be for the deck planking and accents on the hull (rails, headrails, etc.). I'm also thinking about trying to carve some of the decorations on the stern in boxwood. I've been setting up my workshop, and studying plans to figure out how to modify the keel piece. I am going to try building the stem and keel in parts, so I've been drawing things out on the plans (and made copies at my local Fedex Office). Also have been comparing the Corel plans with the Chapman plans and plans for other similar vessels. One discrepancy is that Corel's plans have you add two gammonings to the stem, whereas the Chapman plans and other vessels of that size from my research seem to only have one. Guess one more thing to add to the list of changes. I can't really start much building until my new order of plywood arrives. I ordered two sheets from Micromark, which arrived even more warped than the Corel keel To Micromark's credit, they refunded me the purchase price, and I ordered a stack of 6 pieces of plywood from Hobbylinc that should arrive on Friday. Hopefully one of the six is flat. So, I'll probably practice with my scroll saw and new table saw in the meantime so that I'm a little more skilled when I have everything I need to start the build.

Thanks very much guys, I appreciate the kind words! Frank, the case is 30" x 27.5" x 12" (width/height/depth). The posts can be cut down to size, but I was a bit nervous doing so. I'm actually glad I left them as is as I like the extra space on top. The width barely fit the model, with less than 1" clearance on both sides of the studdingsail booms. It was a bit nerve-wracking because you need to lower the case (without the base) onto the base, and then use clips underneath to lock the base into the case. Of course I kept finding specs of dust and other blemishes, and had to pull the case off three or four times. Thankfully the ship modeling gods were with me, as I figured that with my luck, I would hit a studdingsail boom and pop off a bunch of lines of rigging Alistair, I'm going to do the Corel Unicorn as my next build. The Unicorn is a bit simpler, but I'm planning to do a number of modifications in order to come up with a more accurate build. The Pegasus is probably much more amenable to building straight from the box, but I figured I could use another kit under my belt in order to do that kit justice -- especially with all the gorgeous Pegasus, Fly and other Swan-class builds going on at the moment. I'm strongly considering a second build alongside the Unicorn for those much needed breaks and to avoid burn-out. I probably will do the Charles Morgan, mostly because the Pegasus would be very similar to the Unicorn. But, it seems like the Morgan requires lots of scratching (in large part because the wood and fittings are not very good), so I'm still thinking about which to pursue. Kester, thanks for well wishes. The cut healed fine, and I now have a nice memento in the form of a scar on my palm. The Admiral just shook her head when she saw me bleeding like a stuck pig, but thankfully I didn't need to ask her to take me to the hospital to get stitches

Well it's official -- finally got the Badger in a case. It's interesting how having a model in a case really gives the model more of an aura. Either that, or maybe the glass just helps obscure all the imperfections? The display case is from Model Expo (wait for them to go on sale). The glass is acrylic/plexiglass. I tried to save some money and cut the plexiglass panels myself, but I had problems with the plexiglass breaking cleanly, and the last straw was when a piece broke and gave me a nasty cut on my hand. So, I decided to find someone else to cut the panels for me, and ended up going with Dulles Glass and Mirror (www.dullesglassandmirror.com). Their website was very easy to use to place an online order for custom cut glass, and the package was sent quickly and was well packaged. I highly recommend them. A bit sad that the book is finally closed on this model, but it was a fun journey, in particular since I met a lot of friends through MSW, and now I'm looking forward to starting my next build(s). Thanks again for all the help and advice and support over the years.

Hi Nick, very nice work on your Le Mirage I am about to start the Corel Unicorn, and actually spent last evening mapping out how to modify the one-piece keel piece to add the stern post, keel, false keel, and various components of the stem. Your approach is exactly what I'm planning to do and it's nice to see it executed in a beautiful way One thing I'd note - in my limited research, it looks like the scarph joints for the keel run a bit differently - essentially run vertically, so you don't really see the long joint. I could be wrong though. I'm subscribing to your log and look forward to your progress!

Looking really great Eamonn. Time to go enjoy your drink of choice in celebration before on to the next step of the build

Great choice of a next model, I am looking forward to following your build. Your Vasa came out great, so I have high expectations for this build (no pressure!)