MEDDO

Welcome to the Forum!  You’ll find plenty of helpful people here. Please start a blog blog when you can
 
One issue with the search is you will find all posts which mention Beagle in them.  To make it easier to find build logs you can use the tags.
 
Once you find a particular build log you can click on the tag at the top of the build named Beagle and it will bring up every build log we have for the ship without all the other topics which may have mentioned it.

As a lover of small boats I thought this one was especially nice.  I am glad there is a full build log to go along with the book.  The book is very nice with lots of tips and techniques.  This is a strong contender for a future build once I acquire some more skills.  Or if Chuck wants to expand Syren's line of small boats........

Welcome to the Forum!  You’ll find plenty of helpful people here. Please start a blog blog when you can
 
One issue with the search is you will find all posts which mention Beagle in them.  To make it easier to find build logs you can use the tags.
 
Once you find a particular build log you can click on the tag at the top of the build named Beagle and it will bring up every build log we have for the ship without all the other topics which may have mentioned it.

Well, since I already started, I finished one outrigger in cherry. Satisfyingly strong and light, but I'm sure a false step could see it crumpled.
The tip is a real fiberglass fishing pole... well actually, an ice fishing rod blank... perfect size!
 

 
3 feet of outrigger, light as a feather:

 
 

 
 

We RC'ers model FUNCTION as well as form... the boats get moved around too much to bother with display cases.
 
Get your boats wet!
 
 
Keep those models out and ready to use:

As I received my new toy: a table saw from the Byrnes brand, I was finally able to start working on my base.

At first, I wanted to buy a Proxxon table saw for Christmas, but finally I decided to wait a little longer to allow me to buy the reference of the table saws : a Byrnes and I do not regret my purchase. Donna and Jim are really charming and very professional. The order tracking is perfect: in less than a week the saw had arrived in Switzerland. In fact it took longer for delivery in Switzerland (less than 200 km) than for that from Florida to Switzerland !

The pear wood was purchased from Bibigon in Russia. A very good address with quality service.

Then it's just a matter of patience ...


 
 

I discovered a box containing af Chapman plans of Architectura Navalis in the early 1980's in an antiquarian bookshop in Cologne. I got it for then 100.00 Deutschmarks. The box contains 6 carton folders with all plans, "frontispiece" showing Stockholm at the time of af Chapman and the rigging overview of all ships shown in the plans..
 
In this non-digital era I made lots of photocopies of the English cutter plans (side elevation and frames) scaled to 1:50. When I got internet access in the 1990's I sampled much more detailed information and could compare plans of various contemporary cutter builds, as the Chapman plans do not show much detail of deck fittings and other details.
 
We ship modellers are lucky nowadays: all the Chapman plans and many others are available in digitalized formats.
 
best regards an I hope you enjoyed a Happy Fourth!

That second link has similar single hole deadeye 

Welcome.  Resurrecting a build is a great way to get back into the swing of things. Looking forward to seeing your progress

Welcome. Definitely check our paper section mentioned above.  Lots of great examples there

Welcome and wonderful work

Welcome and wonderful work

That second link has similar single hole deadeye 

Here are a couple off eBay that probably also need to be saved....
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-30-CIRCA-1800s-HAND-CRAFTED-WOODEN-LARGE-SHIPS-MODEL-IN-ORIGINAL-PAINT/324097417586?hash=item4b75b62172:g:II4AAOSwyWheWC2S
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TERRIFIC-TALL-OLD-WOOD-SHIP-MODEL-WITH-LEATHER-SAILS/133415642880?hash=item1f10312700:g:cXEAAOSw-1texKS0#shpCntId

Hello everyone and thank you for the welcome greetings. The fishing boat is a “Zeesboat” from the region of the European Baltic Sea. I also found a Zeesboot from @Mirabell61 here in msw - a nice model. I build in 1:20 scale. The fuselage and stems are made of pear wood and the metal parts are made of brass. Starting as a test model, it has developed quite well. But there are also some mistakes I have a construction report on the boat in other forums. Inserting this here takes a lot of time. It also needs to be translated. If there is a lot of interest I can show it a little bit shortened. I show some impressions from the boat here. That is the current status. See you soon Matthias

HMS Enterprize (1774)
 
CAF Models
 
Review by Dr. Kerry Jang
 
HMS Enterprize was the lead ship of the Enterpize class of 1770.  The class was designed by Sir John Williams with a gross dimensions and tons of 120’6” (gun deck), 99’6” (keel),  33’6” (beam),  11’ (depth of hold) and to carry 200,men.  Armament was 24 x 9 pound guns on the upper deck, 4 x 3 pound guns on the quarter deck, and 12 swivel guns.   She was ordered in January 1771, Keel laid on September 9, 1771 at Deptford, launched  August 24, 1774; hulked in 1791.  Twenty-seven ships composed this class.
 
A pair of paintings of the ship by Joseph Marshall in 1775 is held by the Science Museum in Kensington and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
 

 
Enterprise served as a cruiser and convoy escort.  Her most notable action occurred on June 7, 1780 whilst at Gibraltar when her crew spotted six Spanish fire ships drifting into the harbour toward the fleet at anchor.  A warning salvo was fired to alert the fleet and the Enterprize’s cables cut to allow the ship to drift away from the hulks and opened fire on the hulks in an attempt to sink them.  The Spanish fleet lay outside the harbour for any British ships trying to escape so the British seamen boarded the small the fire ships to attach lines to away from the fleet and burn themselves out.
 
On April 27, 1782 near the Leeward Islands she captured the 22-gun American privateer Mohawk which was later taken into Royal Navy service.  Mohawk was sold in1783.
Enterprize was decommissioned in May 1784 and from 1790 she served as a receiving ship and hulked in 1791.  In 1806 she was taken to Deptford and broken up in 1807.
Lines, profile and decoration drawings of Surprize as built can be purchased from the Royal Museums Greenwich (National Maritime Museum).
 
The Kit
 
CAF MODELS of Shanghai, China has created a stunning 1/48 scale Admiralty model of HMS Enterprize.   Before reviewing the kit a few words about wooden sailing ship kits from Chinese producers is warranted because they are not all created equal.  In 2001 China was allowed to formally join the World Trade Organization (WTO) which meant the country had to abide by international trade agreements and practices such as copyright protection.  Prior to 2001, China was the largest source of counterfeit goods that focused on covered luxury goods, cosmetics, sportswear, and appliances.  As a result of joining the WTO, far fewer counterfeit goods are no longer produced or available in China, but remains a problem because copying has become a way of life and normal practice for many manufacturers.  This problem is endemic among many wooden model kit producers in China who readily use copyrighted drawings to produce their kits without acknowledgement or licence, and these kits are readily available on shopping websites.  They will continue to do this as long as it is profitable so do not buy these unlicensed and counterfeit kits.    
 
A concerted effort by Model Ship World and the Nautical Research Guild to highlight these practices and alert model makers to the counterfeit products is having success and has gone further to lend an open and willing hand to any Chinese producers who wish to abide by the WTO and international agreements.  One of these companies is CAF MODELS located in Shanghai, China.  CAF MODELS first came to attention for producing unlicenced kits of French vessels from the ANCRE collection of drawings and monographs.  With the help of members of the Model Ship World community, proper agreements between ANCRE and CAF MODELS are being negotiated and to CAF MODELS’ credit, has stopped selling any models based on ANCRE material until an agreement is signed.  These kits will return once the agreement is finalized and signed.  
 
In the meantime, CAF MODELS has a number of original kits for sale such as HMS Enterprize, with several more under development.  CAF MODELS kits are designed and manufactured by Mr. CAO Feng, or in English -- Tom Cao.  Tom is an engineer by profession and used CAD to design kits from Admiralty drawings and other references.  His CAD designs have become very precise and is able to detect and correct draughting errors in commercially available plans and well-known sources.  I had the pleasure of meeting him and his lovely family in Shanghai in 2018 where he kindly took me to his home to show me how he designed model kits and his extensive reference library. 
 
On a funny note, I am a third generation Canadian Chinese and speak Cantonese Chinese.  Tom speaks Shanghaiese Chinese and our dialects are mutually unintelligible.  The two of us had to use an English translator on his phone to converse!  Tom is a talented and keen modeller and with his engineering training tries to design kits that are faithful to the actual construction practices of the actual ship or model with an eye to ease of construction for the modeller.  The kits are continually upgraded to take into account improvements in design and materials or to correct errors.  All kits are manufactured in house and Tom builds the lasers to cut them out.  For his latest designs he is building a series of CNC cutting machines to avoid laser cutting char marks.  Carvings for figureheads and relief carvings are done using CNC routers guided by 3D renderings.  The wood used for the kits are cherry, boxwood, pear, and maple imported from North America and Europe.  He experiments with other traditional materials such as ox bone for window frames to replicate materials used by traditional craftsmen of the 18th Century.     
 
 

 
Tom is in the white shirt and myself in the black t shirt.  Note that the phone with a translator is open so we could chat and that the kit is the French bomb ketch SALAMANDRE based on the Boudriot plans.  This kit is off the market until the licence agreement with ANCRE is finalized.
 
 
 The kit provides the parts to build a fully framed Admiralty style model of the ship that measures 33” in length with a beam of 8.2”.  The kit arrives in a shipping carton containing 6 large boxes chock a block full with wooden parts and fittings, and a bundle of wooden strip stock. The boxes in total weigh in around 20 kgs!  The parts in each box are well protected in foam and sealed in bags or cello wrapped to prevent damage and loss.
 
 

 
The CAF kit is packed in six large boxes and a bundle of strip wood stock.
 
Each box is numbered and along with the parts are numbered sheets that lay out the assembly steps and identifies all of the parts contained in a box.  By way of example, the contents of box #1 contains several laser cut sheets of ship’s frames, instruction booklet, and 1:1 scale exploded view of how each frames is to be constructed.  A closer look at the wooden parts show that each piece is neatly cut by laser with no excess burning and the bevel lines are etched into the wood.  The wood on this kit is cherry, and it has a nice warm brownish tone and is very fine grained.  The char marks left by the laser cutting on the edge is relatively light and most of it is sanded away during the fairing of the hull.  All lasers cut parts on a slight angle (has to do with beam deflection as it burns through the wood) so some mating faces are not 90° degrees and must be gently sanded square using a disk sander.    
 
 

 
Typical contents of a box.
 
 
 

 
Laser cut frame parts. The plans in each box contains 1:1 scale drawings to identify each part. 
 
 

 
A close up of the laser cutting.  Parts are attached to the sheet using small tabs that are easily cut away with a sharp hobby knife. The kit contains thousands of laser cut parts.
 
 

 
Deck beams, knees, dowels for stub masts, building jig parts, drawings and the first box of fittings made from a multitude of different materials.
 
 

 
Some of the stem and keel parts and building jig pieces to construct the cant frames.
 
The kit also contains some interesting some CNC cut parts that are cut in three dimensions to capture their unique double curvature shapes that cannot be cut using a laser.  In other kits, such parts are provided as a metal or resin piece that must be painted to look like wood but in this kit it is wood. 
 
 

 
CNC cut wooden parts in three dimensions.
 

 
 

 
Strip wood is labelled, clean and straight and cut by a saw.
 
The Building Jig
 
 
The model is built in an elaborate plywood jig that holds the keel, stem, stern and frames in the exact locations and square to one another.  The building jig is also designed to hold the cant frames in the correct orientation so they can be built up and faired in place.  The jig itself is made up of several parts and is a major project in itself.
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
A selection of the framing jig parts.   The jig parts are provided in good quality birch ply and slot together neatly with little or no sloppiness to the joints.  Despite the care taken by CAF MODELS, the jig should be assembled carefully and one must ensure all joints are correct.  Any misalignment will be transferred to the hull as it is constructed.
 
 
 

 
An illustration as to how the cant frame bow jig is used. 
 
 
Fittings
 
 
With box after box full of laser and CNC cut parts, there are also smaller boxes of fittings in wood, metal, glass, and bone.  Of particular note are that the carvings and sculptures that adorn large ships of the line have always been difficult to reproduce for modellers who are not experienced at carving.  Often kits provide a heavy metal or resin figurehead or carvings that must either be gilded or painted.  Model makers have often wished that the carvings were provided in wood, just as seen on Admiralty models.  CAF Models have done this by providing the carvings in wood.  This is not pressed fiberboard but an actual 3D CNC cut set of sculptures as shown in the photos.
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
Ships guns are in cast brass and are fully detailed with the royal cyphers.  Anchors and other metal parts also provided as brass castings.  All other of the required fittings are provided in brass, glass, wood and good quality cordage.  Each is neatly labelled and packaged.
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
Note that the spokes for the ship's helm are individual parts.  Glass cover slips for microscope slides is provided to glaze the windows. 
 
 

 
The ship's stove is a miniature photetched brass kit,
 
 
 
Instructions
 
The instructions are contained in a series of booklets and plans.  The instructions are pictorial in nature so that modeller does not have to rely on a working knowledge of Chinese at all.  There are some English instructions which in some cases makes little sense because something got lost in translation - but with the picture the meaning becomes clear.  Running the Chinese text through Google Translate provides a good sense of the Chinese instructions.  The drawings and plans are crisp and the parts match the drawings precisely.  Drawings are colour coded to keep things straight and are neatly and cleanly printed.  Future kits will have better English instructions included. 
 
 
 

 
All parts are labelled and construction fully illustrated so no need to know how to read Chinese to build the model.
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
Each booklet has several illustrated steps to construction.
 
 

 
 
 

 
Full size profile and lines are provided.
 
 

 
Frame plans to help align all of the separate futtocks.
 
 
The kit also provides a full sheet of waterslide decals to reproduce the painted friezes adorning the ship’s side and stern.  The modeller can paint these friezes if desired, but the decals provide a neat option.  My advice for applying the decals is that the designs are cut close to the printed colours as possible, and applied to a glossy surface by sealing the wooden hull sides with a gloss varnish.  The designs are later sealed with a coat of matt or satin varnish as desired.
 

 
 
Conclusions
 
If you want to build an Admiralty style model and don’t have the tools, access to wood stock, skills or inclination then CAF Model's Enterprize is an excellent way to build one.  All that is required is included in the boxes that saves you from having to source materials and tools.  All of the materials are top notch and having seen the prototype model at Tom's home, is well designed and goes together well.  It is rare to find a kit this well produced and the innovation and constant upgrading CAF MODELS does on its kits ensures improves ease of construction, and quality of materials and design continually improves.  The sheer complexity of the kit will keep the modeller busy for a long time and especial care and fitting of the many parts is the order of the day -- this is no different that scratch building so your skills will be challenged and honed over time. The kit is excellent value for the money. 
 
CAF MODEL's next kit is Le Coureur based on drawings from the National Maritime Museum, and a set of figures is being designed to crew the ship.  
 
The review kit was purchased directly from CAF MODELS courtesy of my wallet.  Payment was by PayPal and China Post delivered it to Canada Post in excellent shape and in good time.  Tom Cao stands by all his products and should you find a faulty part or broke something, he will help you with replacements.  If you have an earlier kit and want the latest upgrades to it, you can contact him and he can supply it at a nominal cost.  Tom is responsive to e-mail within a day or two in my experience. 
 
With scratch building, masting and rigging can be added to really make the model stand out even moreso.  That is what I plan to do in due course.
 
Happy Modelling!
 
Kerry Jang
Vancouver, Canada
 

So who here besides me was expecting a train wreck after my last post. I cut the fashion pieces only to decide the plan size was too short for my ship, I decided that after they were glued on, because they curve into the ship dry-fitting didn’t help. So I remade them, more in a moment. The concept of a drop plank is simple and works great once you’ve done your first three and then it clicks - seems obvious and maybe that was my problem, trying to outthink it - figured it out eventually so let’s start:
 

 
I “adopted” my process for cutting out the planks from Rusty. I made copies of a section of the plan, cut out the fashion pieces and then used rubber cement to attach them to a section of 1/16th board. This process worked well, but here’s what I learned - to be clear this applies to my model your milage may vary. I noticed right away the first ones I cut seemed to “small” so to make me feel better I enlarged the copy of the plans to 105% and used those for the template. As I mentioned those still turned out too short so as you can see in the photo I added a few marks to them extra long so I could trim to fit. I’m not going to say what iteration of cut-outs wound up on the ship, let’s just say more than four are in the scrap heap though in fairness a couple were intentional victim prototypes to try stuff like bending and curving. First-timers…
 

 
I found this simple little jig helpful. a strip of 1/32nd up against the hull for the right distance of the piece back from the transom and another scrap on top of it as a backstop to align the piece equal to the run of the transom. Yes that's a cracked plank but its the lower level of the wales so no problem - else it'd be gone.
 
A good place to note I ended up adding a 1/64th shim on frame 16 to get a better flow to the eventual square tuck -or maybe I'm overthinking it again, no this time I'm right, maybe.
 

 
You might note the two fashion pieces are on opposite sides of the ship, that didn’t stop me from making as near exact copies as I could as my multiple measurements (sorry Chuck, in millimeters) taken multiple times until I got them near copies. I'm not sure why I was going to the hundredth of a millimeter, seems obsessive.
 

 
I learned from attempt one I have a bit of a curve on the lower wales plank, so to make the fit easier I modified my plank bending station to roll the fashion piece into a curve over a dowel. I did this having first “stretched” it because my counter was longer/wider/shallower that the plans - really not very much at all, but enough that bending the curve out helped. I would like to add - this worked and other than dipping it in water or wiping on a little water with a wet finger I soaked nothing (at some point I knocked my beer over, but that’s not the point). This advertisement of Chuck’s Plank Bending method brought to you by me.
 

 
Don’t look too closely at this photo because those planks don’t exist anymore except as a waste of a perfectly good Alaskan tree. I didn’t like the fit (there is a gap at the drop plank, or would be on the next row of planks) and I just wasn’t going to compromise. On a double planked kit I know I could easily make it up with the remaining planking, but here I was concerned it would just compound as I went. The problem, for me, was the alignment of the drop plank extension. First I pushed it up too far, and then let lay down too much which makes the subsequent planks less than a clean run. I figured out, and while this might come as a surprise, to glue it down the way it wants to lay naturally…go figure. easy for you to say.
 
So I ripped off the below wales planks on both sides (you'd think you'd learn the second time but no. And while I was at it, see above on fashion pieces, taking those all off with the rest. I walked upstairs and told my wife - you know how I’ve been working on this ship for the last several days - well I wasn’t because everything I did is gone. At least the frame hadn’t dropped on the floor and exploded again, at least not yet - let’s not think about that…
 

 
I lightly sanded the entire hull down and will apply a new coat of poly after installing the wales and before moving on to the rest of the planking. I'll be using Admiralty Paints Ironwork Black on the wales. I did a test strip - it both looks fine with wipe-on Poly with a slight satin look or the Poly can be painted over if I want to keep it flat. I'll see when I get there.
 

 
So, anyway, I arrived to a point where I’m ready to move on. I’ll add the 2nd layer of the wales next then start the process of lining the hull, cutting more sticks, I mean planks. Did I mention I was impressed with myself for ripping the thin 1/32nd (.79mm) thick planks required as the top layer of the wales. I figured I needed 6 but I was having fun so I cut 12. I hope I don’t need them but who knows.
 
On we go.

This is one of my concerns.  Nice to see your progress.  I am going to have to practice a ton before I start using the good stuff
 
good to see you fix those things you are unsatisfied with.  It will be worth it in the end

Welcome Kevin!  Sherbourne is a great little ship

That work look really nice.  Welcome to MSW!  

This is one of my concerns.  Nice to see your progress.  I am going to have to practice a ton before I start using the good stuff
 
good to see you fix those things you are unsatisfied with.  It will be worth it in the end

This is one of my concerns.  Nice to see your progress.  I am going to have to practice a ton before I start using the good stuff
 
good to see you fix those things you are unsatisfied with.  It will be worth it in the end

This is one of my concerns.  Nice to see your progress.  I am going to have to practice a ton before I start using the good stuff
 
good to see you fix those things you are unsatisfied with.  It will be worth it in the end

Welcome Kevin!  Sherbourne is a great little ship

I’m still here both enjoying and being frustrated by this build.
 
I just ripped off both fashion pieces after staring at them several days and have ripped off planks below the wales more than once, my first drop plank and my desire to do the best possible work hasn’t proven to be a good combination thus far. I’m hoping there is plenty of 3/16ths wood, based on the number of pieces I’ve cut and rejected I'm going to need a lot. To be clear it’s the builder not the model that’s the challenge. Seems everything I do is something I never did for a kit, so I get to learn on the job....good stuff.
 
Here is one recommendation I’ll pass on. My first layer of wales must be a tad low because the fashion pieces, cut exactly to the plans, turned out about 1mm short - which is why I ripped them off to make them longer at the bottom. My counter also needed the fashion piece bent out a little, no two models will be exactly the same. 
 
Three months ago I couldn’t rip planks worth a darn, now I’ve ripped 5/32nds at 1/32nd thick, .79mm, which is thin...so yay. 
 
So no pictures worth sharing. Patience and perseverance...