Landlubber Mike

I've completed the outer hull first planking to the edge of the wale.  Nothing too difficult, but I did use a little filler here and there to address any low spots.  The one thing to note is that the plans, as well as the actual ship, show the area between the plankshear and wale as seven rows of planks.  This comes out around 14mm of space to plank, or 2mm per plank.  The planks given in the kit don't seem to match that width, so what I did was end up using five wider planks and one narrower plank for that section.  Once I get to the second planking, I'll cut the ebony planks in the widths I need to get seven rows of fairly equal widths.
 
 

 
This ship is different than a lot of ship kits you see out there as there is no independent row or rows of planking for the wales - instead, the wale line is demarked by a thicker line of planks that extend at the wale line and lower.
 

I've been taking my time in trying to get the stern right, as I think the stern tends to make or break a lot of models.  You can see from these pictures how curvy the stern is, and how the planks tuck around the transom and up into the counter.
 


The European kits I've worked on tend to use stern extensions and a counter piece to frame this area.  This kit (and it looks like other kits in the Model Shipways line), require you to create a framing block with a number of curves into it.  The plans are good in this regard, but it still is a little complicated if you're a relative beginner like myself and are working through it the first time.  To help others that are building the kit, here are top and bottom pictures of my block:
 

Here is how my stern looks at the moment.  I think I've managed to capture the curves pretty nicely, and the wale will run into the middle of the name board as you can see on the plans and on the pictures of the actual ship.  I used filler to help get the lines right, but being able to sand down the first planking should help as well.  Thanks for looking in!
 

Hi - Some more steps forward. 
Rope coils finished for cannons and ladders installed. No room around ladders eh?
Capping rails all done. Certainly improves the look of the build once those edges are covered.
 

 
Skylight (glazed), Binnacle (glazed and with a shelf), Ship's wheel in place and rigged. The wheel rigging simplified, not as plans indicate and used 0.5 thread and not 0.25 as on plans. Don't ask me why, fixed the blocks to the side and not onto the deck as on plans. maybe thought they would sit better.....
Tiller had balsa wood added and rounded off and painted hopefully to look as timber. Tiller housing shortened, didn't look right as supplied in kit.
Ladder fitted and it sits fine as seeing on previous builds the ladder hits the hatch below. Had made lower hatch smaller to avoid this problem.
 

 

 
Overall views
 

 

 
Thank you for looking in. Thanks to Blue Ensign, Martin W, and aliluke (looking forward to seeing your build back on) for your previous comments and those who pressed the 'like' button.
 
Regards
 
Doug
 
 
 

So will be off on the family holiday for a few weeks this weekend so needing to step away.  Here's where things stand, not wanting to jump into anything else as I know I'll be rushing, so "down tools" it is.  The quarter gallery berthings are both now glued and the edge with the upper counter tidied up, everything else is dry fitted.  The lower finishing proved to be quite the interesting pieces to make.  The profile is very clear from the stern and side elevation, so combining that with the curve of the quarter gallery berthing and the straddle over the wale edge meant plenty of shaping, and checking to see things looked OK from all angles which was more of a challenge than I would have expected.  Decided to dispense with the kit supplied metal molding for the drop as this didn't seem to match, and anyway seemed easier to take my own approach than fight with that.  Drops still to be made.
 
The provides a PE "X" for each side, which I think is an approximation for some decoration looking at some of the Diana models.   I'm leaning toward painting my own decorations here but will think a bit.
 
Hopefully pictures speak for themselves from the various angles...the macro gods are surely against me as the finish looks more acceptable in person 
 

Antony asked for more pictures, so here are a couple that show some interesting detail.
 
I really like the bulkhead decoration and door detailing.  The instructions say to paint the brass yellow, but I've left it natural brass.
 
I also uploaded a picture of some of the deadeyes on the side.  They sit on top of a platform the manual calls a "channel", and each one is individually fixed to the platform with a metal strap.
 
Thanks, David Robinson
 

She looks great, you are doing that fine name of yours justice . I'll be watching for more progress

I have benefited from others' posts about the Revenge, so I thought I'd post my status partway through the build, with the decks complete and ready to begin the masts.
 
This is a fantastic kit, with wonderful quality and instructions.  You'll notice that I have kept the hull natural vs. painting it white below the waterline.  The videos in other Revenge logs on plank bending were a fantastic help, although I found that steam + hair dryer worked best and fastest for me.
 
Happy to share my experiences up to this point with anyone who may be at an earlier stage.

Build log HMS Bellerophon
 
 
 
 
Introduction
 
 
A model of a ship of the line from the Napoleonic wars was something I wanted to build for a long time. From the range of kits available I ended up with 2 favourites. The selection of those two was because of kit quality (should be good), scale and size of the finished model. As my last 4 projects were all in 1/64 I tended towards the same scale.
Finally I had to choose between Caldercrafts Agamemnon (64) and Victory models Vanguard (74).
 
The decision for Vanguard was made because of the following points:
- the 74 is the classical ship of the line
 
-I can build the Bellerophon variant which I like for her direct connection with Napoleon (Here, in Switzerland, he had a much bigger influence (not all negative) than Nelson).
 
- copper plates are of better quality
 
- the scale is with 1/72 close enough to my favoured one and...
 
-  the overall size is 10% less.
 
 
As additional information source I will use Brian Laverys book 'The 74-gun ship Bellona' from the Anatomy of the Ship series.
After checking the available build logs and comparing them with the Bellona plans as well as with the Bellerophon plan in 'The Ships of Trafalgar' I think that I will check and perhaps alter a few points:
 
- The bulwark of the quarter deck must probably be lower in its forward part to be similar to Bellerophon plans in the internet or to Bellona's profile. I will have to find out if the heightened bulwark was an later alteration and if it was in place in 1805. However in the book 'The ships of Trafalgar' is a plan for the Bellerophon which shows the lower bulwark variant.
 
 
plan from the kit...
 

 
 
...and from the one available from NMM (on my wish list)
 

The rail on top of the foremost gun ports is here interrupted. On other plans it is running through in one piece. As Bellerophone's skipper I will install a continuous rail (looks smarter).
 
- The kit's gun carriages are very nicely cast and show a lot of details - but look different from all the examples available in books or the internet. I have no idea where they found a prototype like that. Replacing them would be a lot of work and money. I will try to rework them a bit.
 
- The dummy guns on the lower deck are not quite satisfactory. Possible solutions would be replacements by full guns (again expensive and requiring a lot of work for an mediocre improvement) or the installation of 'dummy carriages' similar to those used by Michael (md1400cs) on his fantastic Vasa.
 
- The stern should gain a bit more transparency. I could make lighter side galleries and leave a door to them open. I guess to change the whole stern construction to enlarge the visible part of cabin and wardroom would be too much work for a small and hardly visible gain. However the taffrail overhanging the skippers balcony seems to low - overshadowing the cabin windows. The Bellona model looks a bit different. I will try to cut back that overhang a bit.
 
- The question if any, how and what sails will be bent on will be decided when starting on the masts.
 
- I haven't decided yet if the colour scheme will be pre- or post-1800. The Nelson scheme has a dark elegance but hides the wood...

What a great idea for the oars - they say the simple ideas are usually the best.

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

Well, this turned out to be a bad idea.  The saw had 658 looks, 42 watchers, 4 bidders at the last minute and sold for $125 and ebay will take 13%.  I had over $350 in it, but no one was interested so I lost my a__.  Oh well, that's the way things are going these days. My Admiral Diane, had another stroke last night and is back in the hospital.  Anyone with any extra prayers would be appreciated.
Thanks guys,
John

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

Slightly different hull shape, and no pesky gunports or cannons.  On the other hand, you've got 7 whaleboats on the Morgan and lots of different deck items relating to the whaling operations.  Nice change of pace for sure.  In particular, it's nice to not have to rig the cannons with 2mm blocks 😳

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

I like your determination, Mike.  It has to be strange as well, moving from the 18th-century Pegasus warship to the much later American ship.  Different hull, and just about everything, right?
 
Cheers,
 
Martin

Hey Martin, thanks for looking in.  We haven't hit 100 yet here in DC, but it's been close with lots of humidity.  Not a good sign to wake up and see condensation on the windows.
 
Not sure of the reason for the planking pattern.  It does seem pretty unique as you say.  I'm curious if others might know the reason.
 
I've been spending the last few nights fairing the bulkheads to get a smooth run of planks.  Even though I'm double planking the hull, spending the time now should make things easier down the road - particularly since the kit has you working with thinner planking than I've seen in other kits.  It's taking some time too because I've found I've needed to add shims on some of the bulkheads to avoid low spots.  Big temptation to throw on planks, but hopefully after the first planking goes on, I'll only have minor areas to correct.

Hey Martin, thanks for looking in.  We haven't hit 100 yet here in DC, but it's been close with lots of humidity.  Not a good sign to wake up and see condensation on the windows.
 
Not sure of the reason for the planking pattern.  It does seem pretty unique as you say.  I'm curious if others might know the reason.
 
I've been spending the last few nights fairing the bulkheads to get a smooth run of planks.  Even though I'm double planking the hull, spending the time now should make things easier down the road - particularly since the kit has you working with thinner planking than I've seen in other kits.  It's taking some time too because I've found I've needed to add shims on some of the bulkheads to avoid low spots.  Big temptation to throw on planks, but hopefully after the first planking goes on, I'll only have minor areas to correct.

Best wishes Denis - hang in there!

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

Best wishes Denis - hang in there!

Beautiful work with the ebony, Mike.  I can't wait to see close-ups.  And that is a curious planking pattern, as you say.  I've seen others on MSW build the Charles W Morgan, but haven't read enough to understand the reason behind that curiosity.  Could you offer any background?
 
Enjoy your yard work  while you can -- if it's 100 F here, I assume it will be that hot in DC soon enough!!
 
Cheers (Sweatin' in Oklahoma),
 
Martin

Me thinks Mark needs a new avatar picture - something like this:
 

Long overdue update, but spring is a busy time for me with kids, yard stuff, etc.  I've been making progress over the last couple of weeks, planking the section of the hull between the main rail and planksheer (which is in yellowheart).  It really wasn't all that bad using ebony.  It's not as easy to work as pear or boxwood, but it cuts very cleanly and sands to a beautiful sheen.   I'm cutting strips about 0.7mm in thickness, so they are pretty flexible.

 
 
It's probably hard to tell from the pictures, but the first section of the bow to about the third bulkhead is comprised of 10 rows of planks (approximately 1.2mm in width).  The remainder is six rows.  In looking at pictures of the Morgan, the planks in the six-row section of the hull are beveled at the edge.  
 

With the ebony planks only being 0.7mm in thickness, beveling was out of the question.  So, what I ended up doing is taking a scalpel and slowly working it between the plank rows to add a little more definition between the planks.  Seems to have worked out ok, I'll try to take close-ups soon.
 
After that, I sanded the planksheer back to the edge of the ebony planking.  This will ensure that when I put the holly molding along the planksheer, it will be a uniform thickness along the hull.  I also planked the transom with some thin basswood strips, and added wood filler to the filler block areas since I did a crappy job with the filler blocks in sanding back certain areas too much.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Long overdue update, but spring is a busy time for me with kids, yard stuff, etc.  I've been making progress over the last couple of weeks, planking the section of the hull between the main rail and planksheer (which is in yellowheart).  It really wasn't all that bad using ebony.  It's not as easy to work as pear or boxwood, but it cuts very cleanly and sands to a beautiful sheen.   I'm cutting strips about 0.7mm in thickness, so they are pretty flexible.

 
 
It's probably hard to tell from the pictures, but the first section of the bow to about the third bulkhead is comprised of 10 rows of planks (approximately 1.2mm in width).  The remainder is six rows.  In looking at pictures of the Morgan, the planks in the six-row section of the hull are beveled at the edge.  
 

With the ebony planks only being 0.7mm in thickness, beveling was out of the question.  So, what I ended up doing is taking a scalpel and slowly working it between the plank rows to add a little more definition between the planks.  Seems to have worked out ok, I'll try to take close-ups soon.
 
After that, I sanded the planksheer back to the edge of the ebony planking.  This will ensure that when I put the holly molding along the planksheer, it will be a uniform thickness along the hull.  I also planked the transom with some thin basswood strips, and added wood filler to the filler block areas since I did a crappy job with the filler blocks in sanding back certain areas too much.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Best wishes Denis - hang in there!