Landlubber Mike

Thanks Ian. I was originally intending to reduce the length of the keel, and add the stern post to it (rather than just add a stern post to the end of the current keel). That would just push the stern further out from the last gunport. But, I might need to reassess given that my keel is actually shorter than the keel diagram on at least one of the plans (it's longer as to the other plans). Keeping bulkhead 17 around as a backup plan does make sense now that you mention it. Too bad it is plywood, as it would be nice to contour it with a little curve. I could always cut a new one out of basswood or walnut to serve as the template for the shape I want, and then plank over it.

Hi Ian, that's really interesting. I always wondered what those scales referred to. I went through my resources last night to research tillers, and unfortunately I didn't come across anything that mentioned for what reasons the tiller would be on the quarterdeck as opposed to below. It looks like the tiller set up takes up quite a bit of room though - I wonder if it really was feasible (or safe) for the quarterdeck to have all that armament on it if the tiller was there? Perhaps descendants of the Lyme class had modified sterns to move the tiller below the quarterdeck? I'm not really sure. The gentleman with the 1:48 scratch build added the quarterdeck tiller to his build, so you're probably right He did add 8 cannons on the quarterdeck forward of the tiller assembly (along with 26 cannons on the upper deck). Thankfully this is something that I have a little more time to think about. If you did go that route, I think it would add a nice touch as it essentially is one of the few ways to expose the inner workings of the ship. I also spent a couple of hours thinking about how the stern modification would need to be accomplished. I really feel woefully in the dark on this as I only have one model under my belt. The Badger and Pegasus kits use gunport patterns and stern extensions to create the curve of the transom and the stern counter. Chuck's Syren kit has you add "L" shaped stern framing pieces to frame the transom and stern counter. Given the curves and modifications, this is fairly complicated for me, and pretty much a critical thing to get right. I'm thinking that I might have to go the framing route and just guess at contours as the Corel kit doesn't use gunport patterns. To move the transom forward, have it slightly curved, and change its rake, I've come to the conclusion that bulkhead 17 has to go and that extensions or framing will have to be built on the after-face of bulkhead 16. I'm thinking too that the stern counter has to be moved forward as well. The kit has you add the stern counter template to what essentially is the after-face of the stern post. In looking at Chapman however, it looks like the bottom of the stern counter should start at the fore face of the stern post. This probably means moving bulkhead 16 forward and/or modifying it a bit so that the curve of the planking to the stern counter is relatively smooth. That modification makes me very nervous as there are a lot of curves at that area. I've also been planning ahead for the rabbets - Chuck has a very interesting approach on the Syren build. Rather than cut the rabbet onto keel only, he adds to the edges of the keel a thin strip of material than is less wide than the keel piece so that you end up with a built-in rebate. From there, he chisels the keel piece a bit to ensure a smooth transition into the rebate. Seems a lot easier to do that than cut a straight consistent groove along the keel - one of those "wow, why didn't I think of that" moments Thanks Chuck!

I marked up a copy of the external hull plans to show everything that appears to be different from Chapman. I'll try and get a good resolution image up tonight.

Ian, take a look at Jay's picture on a thread about ship books. Coincidentally, he posted a picture from the page on the rudder It shows a larger ship, but is worth the look. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/6616-what-are-your-most-interesting-andor-useful-books/?p=195797

Ian, thanks very much for this extra research. I'm going to have to look at zu Mondfeld a bit to figure out how the rudder and tiller assemblies were constructed. It does seem odd that the rudder would extend into the cabin like that. If the rudder did go through the cabin, why add so many windows? Since the Lyme class were based on French vessels, maybe its a French design thing? Thanks for passing along the link to Chuck's build. Very timely! His work clears up a lot on how to scratch the stern galleries. Thanks too for pointing out the double-dotted lines in the Chapman plans. I was wondering how I would change the angle of the quarterdeck to help line up the deck with the open portholes, and that really helps a lot! The one thing I'll have to check is whether the quarterdeck and upper deck generally ran parallel - if so, a change to the quarterdeck might mean some fiddling with the line of the upper deck. I did notice that the line of the upper deck gun ports did differ a bit between Chapman and Corel. A couple of other differences between Chapman and Corel - take a look at where the channels are on the Chapman plans versus Corel. Chapman shows them sitting on the rails. Corel has the aft-most channels correct, but if I remember correctly, the Corel plans have the other channels below the respective rails. Also, the angle of the aft end of the stern post is a bit different on Chapman - if I remember correctly, it's 11 degrees on Chapman but 8 degrees on Corel. The 11 degrees approach probably looks better if one is going to change the rake of the transom.

John, welcome to Team Unicorn! It's great that you're coming back to your build, and that it sounds like our discussion here has been timely. In terms of your planned modifications, I'm not sure if bulkhead 16 is at 16 degrees or not (I'd have to double-check the plans, but it might be fairly close). I haven't mapped this out yet, but I'm thinking of adding two pairs of stern extensions to the after face of bulkhead 16. The inner pair will be longer than the outer pair, to help shape the transom curve from fore to aft. If bulkhead 16 is not at 16 degrees, I can modify the shape of the extensions such that the rake of the transom will be at 16 degrees. I agree with Ian that it might be worth considering scrapping the cast metal transom and build your own, or just use select pieces from it as Joe did on his Fox build. I also agree with Ian that it would be nice if you started a build log on here

Ian, thanks so much! I feel bad that you took a couple of hours on this on my behalf, but hopefully the exercise gave you plenty of therapeutic benefits Thanks also for the heads up on the hawse holes. In planning out the stem, I was trying to figure out where they should go, how to set up the bolsters, etc. I'd like to have everything sketched out so that I have a plan on how to proceed. Joe, as you can see I've been thinking about this kit for the better part of the year (most of that time was while I finished up the Badger), and I'm on page 6 of this log but have yet to assemble any part of the model Part of me wonders whether I should have just built the kit from the box with less ambitious plans. But, this process with Ian, you and others has really been a lot of fun and I've learned a ton. I really have Ian to thank for making me "think outside the box" so to speak and attempt to come up with a more accurate model. This process has ratcheted up my interest and enjoyment of this hobby quite a few notches, so thank you guys! I promise to start the actual build soon.

Hi Joe, The gunport patterns for my Badger were a source of aggravation for me as well. I eventually got them to fit, but I have a foggy recollection of running into a kink near the 3rd bulkhead as well. Like you said, the patterns are great for getting the run of the lines right, but I think they really fight the laws of geometry in force fitting them along the curves of the hull. I didn't try this, but would maybe cutting or removing part of the pattern near the top where the kink is relieve the issue? Not sure that I would cut the pattern completely as you lose the straight run, but I wonder if the kink can be alleviated by cutting or removing some of the material on the pattern. Then again, cutting or removing a piece of the pattern might also throw the straight line off, so maybe it's better to just work with the pattern in two sections? Sorry to hem and haw on this. For what it's worth, I think for my Badger, the slight kink issue went away after some sanding, installing the first planking, and then sanding some more down to almost the pattern at the kink area.

Yes, that's the conclusion I'm coming to as well I think dropping bulkhead 17 is the way to go. You're right that extending and adding a curve to the transom will help me pick up a couple of more millimeters which should set things up nicely. To make the curve, I probably need to modify the keel to fit stern extensions on a modified bulkhead 16 like I had on the Badger and I've seen with other kits. The transom will sit on the extensions, where the inner pair of extensions is longer than the outer pair to help set up the curve. The kit just has you slap the transom onto bulkhead 17, leading to a flat transom. Since I'm planning on adding clear windows and dropping the flag lockers, this might help me add an element of depth if one looked into the windows. I have a feeling that the stern modifications are going to take at least a month and plenty of practice tries to get right.

Here are a few pictures of plans DM1 and DM2. I made five photocopies of each to mark up and use as templates. To get to Chapman's plans regarding the stern galleries, they need to be moved forward so that they forward of the stern post, rather than sit over the rudder. I took a tracing of the stern gallery from the plans, and moving it forward 10mm, it looks much more in conformity with Chapman. Chapman, however, shows the stern gallery almost butting up against the last gunport (indicated by the arrow in the picture below). So, not only would I need to move the stern galleries forward relative to the stern post and rudder, but I would have to actually reduce the keel length by probably another 15mm or so to move the full stern area closer to the last gunport. However, I have a slight problem in using the plans. The kit supplied keel does not match either plan DM1 or plan DM2, and it's not due to creases in the plans. In DM1, the keel is too short at the stern post (almost like it contemplates the addition of a stern post), but the keel matches the plans at the transom area: In DM 2, the keel is too long relative to the plans: What to do? If I go with the keel as is, looking at DM1, the stern and stern galleries will hang even further out from the stern post and rudder than is shown in the plans. That's the opposite result from Chapman where the stern galleries sit forward of the stern post and not over the rudder. At this point, I'm thinking that the stern area of the keel is going to need a complete makeover. It will need to be shortened a bit so that the stern gallery sits closer to the last gunport. I will also have to shorten the extension on which the transom will fit so that the galleries sit further forward. Furthermore, since I'm not including the flag lockers on the quarterdeck I will need to modify the top area of the keel at stern and remove material from the last bulkhead just above the quarterdeck line so that the plywood is not visible. Too late in the evening to make any final decisions. I'll sleep on it and come back to it tomorrow. A bit frustrating that I haven't started building yet, but hopefully all this advance preparation will have been well worth it.

Ian, thanks so much for sharing the results of your research. This is all very helpful! I think you're smart in not making that modification as I think the renovation would have been a nightmare Last night I was all good and ready to cut out the new keel, when I noticed the stern gallery issue. I spent much of the evening last night agonizing about how to address it. It looks like the newer kits have the stern galleries in a similar position, if not even slightly further back as shown with the bottom decorative piece: I ended up using tracing paper to trace out the stern gallery, and used it to move the stern gallery forward until it matched up more closely with Chapman. Interestingly, I got to a very similar re-design as in your last picture - I'm very glad that I wasn't too far off The two things so far that I haven't accounted for are the rake of the transom and its width - thanks so much for sharing that with me. When I moved the stern galleries forward, I came to the conclusion that Corel and Chapman differ probably by about the width of the flag lockers. By moving the last bulkhead to just behind where the second to last bulkhead sits, the result seems to be a little more consistent with Chapman. I'll post a picture later this evening of my markup of the plans to account for the modified keel. Along with the stern, I've been plotting out the thicker wale and modification to the bow area with respect to the figurehead placement, headrail orientation and configuration, etc.

For a quick update, I finally got my workshop set up and new plywood in. Thankfully I was able to find a plywood sheet that was flat I've been working through the plans for the Unicorn and using other reference material I have (e.g., AOTS books for Pandora, Blandford and Diana) to figure out what, if any, other modifications I should make to the keel now, so that I can build the model closer to the Chapman plans. One thing I noticed was that the stern galleries on the Corel plans seem to fit fairly far back on the ship, whereas on Chapman's plans, they sit fairly close to the last gunport. So, I'm thinking of shortening the keel a bit to move the last bulkhead closer in (probably, up to where the second to last bulkhead sits). That should not only make it more consistent with Chapman, but other similar ships of that period as well. One issue in looking at the plans is that the keel part is longer at the stern area on one of the plans and shorter on the other Since the deck templates seem to fit the keel piece as is now, I'm going to work with the outline of the keel piece and just modify it a bit. I'm realizing that I'll also have to modify some of the bulkheads a bit to change the angle of the quarterdeck so that the portholes gradually open up as you proceed toward the bow. That's going to be fairly tricky I think, especially as other builders have had trouble lining up the quarterdeck portholes with the guns. Wish me luck

Hi Joe, nice kit for your next build. Caldercraft makes great kits, I'm looking forward to following along. The only issue with at least the Badger kit was that the walnut was prone to splintering, and the walnut laser cut pieces were on walnut sheets that were not solid walnut, but more like plywood. Otherwise, the plans, instructions, guns and photo-etch parts are top notch. I think there is an AOTS book for the Granado. Are you going to enhance the kit in any way? On the stern extensions, if I remember correctly, my Badger was set up similarly, so that the stern transom would have a slight curve to it. You obviously need to get the stern extension pairs even in order to have a nice smooth curve on the transom. I don't recall it being too difficult when all was said and done. Enjoy the kit!

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