MEDDO

Figurehead, 64 Gun Ship, Scale 1/48
 
Karl
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have completed the port strakes from the wales to the molding. Certainly not perfect, but better. I can really see how fairing and having all of your planks the same thickness  is a requirement. I’ve done a light sanding and can see mostly dips where the planks are a little thinner, it really stands out and makes a huge difference. Good thing I like to sand. 😏
 
Best Regards …. Rick

I've tried making a few Tom Lauria rope coils. The methodology for making coils seems pretty foolproof though I had poor results with white glue - I used diluted Titebond - and much better results with small amounts of carefully placed CA. The problem I have is getting the coils to lie naturally. I can't see a solution to that at the moment. Still, they don't look to bad. I will certainly settle for them. About another dozen to make and Cheerful will be done!
 



 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello every one. It's been awhile since I posted any thing on Montague/Alfred but wanted to get the the planking done on the Winchelsea and after 6 month's or so of building the bulkhead's and planking her in boxwood I finally went back to work on Montague/Alfred. Been slowly working on adding more beams to the upper deck. I added a few photo's of the Winchelasea  and do hope you enjoy the photo's. Sorry about the delay on getting back to her. Gary

For the frieze on my pinnace I simply used a child’s glue stick.  Worked great

Thank you for your kind words Greg...I must say that some of my best ship modeling memories come from the convention down in Tampa a few years ago and the time spent with you and all of the other ship modelers....great bunch of folks all willing to provide answers and information willingly...I am still using many of the "tips and tricks" I acquired during that convention.
 
Best Regards,
Cliff

Thanks chaps for your kind remarks. Here is an update on my Cheerful build. The end is in sight for a much enjoyed project.
 
I hoped the sheer pole would enable me to pull my wonky deadeyes into facing front. Here are the outer two:
 

And here all four. I'm pleased with the outcome. The sheer pole looks a bit curved in the picture but it is straight enough on the model. Looking at the picture I shouls perhaps have worked a little harder on the Syren deadeyes with fine paper.

And here the lanyards tied off. A bit scruffy but the best I could do.

Starting work on the ratlines. Chuch's instructions say use .12 rope. I tried it and thought .18 looked better. Big mistake and one I cannot undoe without destroying all the rigging done to date and that is a bridge too far for me. Not only do the lines look too thick but the wider diameter rope significantly increases the size of the knots. Irritating - but, oh well,  live and learn!
 
I also dragged in one of the outside shrouds (aft starboard - see below). Not quite  kiss of death territory but practice required.
 




 


Starting on the backstays
 


 

I struggle a bit with seizing lines together/to blocks. Cotton thread seems sometimes to take on a determination to go its own way rather than where its wanted. That or just getting too much CA so the knot is a little disfigured. Again more practice required.
 
Here using the cathead for temporary tightening a line. A lot of this section of rigging requires careful tensioning in particular to keep the yard arm where it shoud be.




 

Thats all for now. Not much to do and I shall be done. I heartily recommend Cheerful to anyone contemplating a semi scratch build. 
 
All the best
Fred
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wow, it's been 6 months since my last post!
 

This next post is sort of a moment of truth. It’s time to grind out these numerous bulkheads down to forms that resemble the actual shapes of the interior framing of the boat. Which is no small task given the volume and number of these bulkheads. Numerous tools were considered for the job. The work in the above picture was done with the drum sander attachment to a Dremel.
 

Here are some hand tools I tried, in an effort to see how safely and efficiently wood could be removed.
 

But it was pretty clear that the job called for more than just a Dremel. It was time to invest in a Foredom rotary tool. The Foredom is essentially the same kind of tool as a Dremel with a flex-shaft, but there are an amazing number of handpieces that can be attached to a Foredom.
 

So I set up the workbench outside, with a hanging stand for the motor and a bullnose bit attached to the handpiece. This tool works very well and generates huge amounts of sawdust.
 

It makes quick work of grinding down the frames, but I had to make a deal with myself to only go so far with this tool. It could very easily do serious damage if I lost control of it.
 
In the bow, there are four frames just aft of the bow filler blocks that I will not grind down.
 

As a reminder, certain of the frames had been previously brought down to their proper molded dimensions, to serve as guides for future fairing of the frames between them. Three of these frames are visible here.
 

As I got closer and closer to proper molded dimensions, I decided to temporarily glue sacrificial blocks that were of the target thickness of the frames in those areas.
 

I could mark these with pencil and watch to see when I was starting to hit their surface in order to get an idea of when I was getting close.
 

Sort of like topography lines on a topo map, the blocks are lined up on the points at which each frame should have a certain molded dimension.

It was a lot of work bringing the frames down to their proper dimensions. Here I am using sandpaper to take off the really coarse marks left behind by the bullnose bit.
 

 
 
 

This was how I handled the forward third of the hull. In the middle third, I kept the bulkheads in place for the moment, because I wasn’t certain of the stability of the hull.
 

In order to stabilize the ground-out bow segment, I moved on to installation of the deck clamps. In this picture, the measuring blocks for the molded dimensions of the frames at the level of the sheerline have been removed. In their place, new blocks have been installed that properly space the deck clamps from the sheerline.
 

Using these blocks, the initial stringer of the deck clamps was installed. (I guess this particular piece would be called the deck clamp, and then additional pieces inboard of it would be the beam shelf.)
 

These spacer blocks were then removed.
 

Here the thickness guide blocks are being removed from the areas where proper thickness has been achieved.

That is a very satisfying look.
 

If you look closer, though, you can see the difference between the frames that were made from sandwiched layers of Castello boxwood and those made with Baltic birch plywood. Also visible are beads of squeezed-out glue from planking installation.
 

Now I moved on to the stern third. The two aftmost bulkheads will stay in place.
 

Once again, the bullnose bit was used initially.
 

And then thickness guides were installed. I really needed a faster way to bring the frames down to proper thickness, without the violence of the bullnose bit.
 

I had seen this device used by other builders on their build logs, and it appeared to be ideal for getting into small areas better than any other attachment. It requires a different handpiece attachment to the Foredom (a right angle attachment) and is a bit of an investment, but the same handpiece can be used for other useful things like an angle grinder.
 

 

After smoothing the frames, the deck clamp was installed.
 

Then on to the midships portion of the hull, with the same technique. Here I am using a hand held thingie to which I could apply adhesive-backed 60 grit sandpaper for fairing of the interior surfaces of the midships frames.
 

These support blocks did their job of supporting the free-floating frames in the unplanked portion of the hull.
 

The midships portions of the deck clamps are being installed.
 

Then the keelson was manufactured in 3 parts. It was carried to just short of the deadwood.
 

The keelson installed.
 

 
 

Deck clamps and beam shelves fully installed.
 

Time to remove the support pieces of wood between the frames.
 

 
 

In addition to the unplanked frames, a portion of the deck in this same area will be omitted to show the deck beams, carlings, and ledges.
 

Primer has been applied to the exposed frames.
 

I applied some paint just to see how it would look, and the appearance indicated that smoothing with filler would be necessary. Doing this helped to make the frames look the same as one another, whether they were sandwiched boxwood or birch plywood.
 

This was after 2-3 coats of brown paint.
 

Since the deck will be partially unplanked, I also applied the paint to the portion of the interior that would be visible through an unplanked portion of decking.
 
This picture gives a preview of some of the deck beams and carlings. This process will be covered in the next post.
 

Weirdly shaped planks is my middle name😁.  Looks nice from here

I have always liked this ship.  It will be a joy to see it progress.

Thanks chaps.
Allan - no port lids on the Cheerful save the stern chasers which have lids.
Glenn - I have read your log and all the other Cheerful logs several times over. Another really good log, well worth a read, is Cutter Alert  1777 by Dali: a fantastic build. What a incredibly useful club - is that what it is?  - Model Ship World is.
Fred

I’ve been MIA, but still making progress.  

The book Ships’ Boats by Ernest Blocksidge (1920) lists the following proportions for lifeboats.  Dimensions in feet and inches:
 
Capacity (people).       Length     Beam.    Depth
16.                                  18.            6’-3”.       2’-4 1/2”
18.                                   19.            6’-6”.      2’-6”
 
Hope that this is useful
 
Roger

Had the guys over to the shop.  Tale of two Winnies.  One is mine and the other is Mikes (stuntflyer).
 

Thanks guys.  There will be a barge but I am taking a break from Winnie for a bit.  I am going to catch with with making inventory of blocks and rope once I get back and maybe start work on Speedwell.  
 
I also have to write the last chapter and cut parts for folks.

You are welcome.   I will be the first to admit that I take forever to design and produce these projects.   I cant rush through them.  So many kit mfgs seem to announce the availability of new kits every few months.   That is something I can never do.  This next project will be a bit of wait.   Hopefully worth it.  POF projects have triple the parts and more complexity.   I prefer quality over quantity any day.
 
I am also trying out some new design features to make it easier to build.
 
Chuck

Thank you so much guys.  Its always a bit weird when you finish project that took years.  I cant believe its done actually.
 
writing the last chapter today.

Congratulations Chuck on this fine build.  I have to echo the comments of those above.  Truly a masterpiece.  The build log is wonderful as it was interesting how you developed the various components and the thought process behind them.  Truly enjoyable.

Congratulations on the end of a wonderful journey Chuck! Didn't even take you the full two weeks to finish her up. I'll bet you're already in the workshop catching up on orders.

Well, hearty congratulations at the end of a long trail, Chuck. This is a lovely prototype of your kit. Hopefully it will spark more interest in the 18th century aesthetic that these ships represent and inspire other model makers. Well done indeed.

Almost 5 years to the day....she is finally finished.   Always a bit anti climactic.   Thank you all for following along all these many years.  For those of you building her,  I hope you are having as much fun with it as I did.
 
Well here goes the final pics.  The top picture is of course of the Winnie contemporary model which inspired me as well as the Amazon.   I hope I did them justice.   Everyone should build a Georgian style model of an English frigate at least once in their lifetime.
 


 












 
 

The cabin walls and internal cabin screen are now painted, and the screens fitted out.
 


 
 
 
I can finally glue into place the cabin walls, screens and partition. Note the eyelets are added to the ports and floor. 

 
 
 
Did I say this came with a cabinet? No? Well, it does, and this is now fitted into place.


 
 
 
The carronades in this area differ from the others as they will retract into hull during the hull painting process. They can be rolled out into position when that job is complete. These are now fitted to the cabins area.




 
 
 
Time for some furniture and maps too. 


 
 
 
Hope you like the work so far. Onwards!!

Thanks Jeff!
 
The fcastle work continues. The coamings were added along with the planking and the bitts that
were made quite some time ago. Also the mast coat was made from the Syren laser cut parts.  
 
Next I'm on to the belfry.

Hold on a minute!
 
You live on a paradise island in the Caribbean and you need a get away cottage?  🤔
 
When are you going to post a schedule for your modeling pals to visit?  Obviously we just want to see you model in person 😎

Good morning, capone crane arms.