Jack12477

Thank you so much for your kind words.
 
Popeye, That’s a first for me. Another neat design by Chuck.
 
Andy I know you can do it!
 
Augie, The plans are the best I’ve ever seen but it’s Chucks design and
outstanding instructions that put it way over the top.
 
John, It’s always nice to hear from you. Thanks
 
Daniel, The wood is Holly and it simulates white paint really nice. Thanks.
 
Well we have completed our trip down memory lane. It was a fun one.
 
Thanks again to all of you who shared it with me.
 
Here are some pictures of the finished model.
 
Cheers!  
 
 

Hi Mark,
 
2 comparisons with 64 and 74 guns.
 
-Observe the similutude between the pilaster, on yours and on the 74.
 
-Roughly, planking has 2 thickness.
 
For the 64 guns, 1729, in orange is the thickess and  in purple is thinner.
I would guess that 40 years later, although planking still has 2 thickness, they simplyfied the process.
 
For the 74 ,  in black, for the wales only, planking is thicker and in yellow, thinner.

Mark - 
 
Those PDFs were excellent and the decorations will make this an outstanding model.
 
Dan

Mark I have missed you work so much , i cried for you (well not actually cried) when you abandoned the last one

John - 
 
You are obviously more restrained than I am.  My usual exclamation is "Merde!!"
 
Dan

Hello Santiago,
 

 
I really can't offer any advice other than what Jason and Ulises said.   Pick the one you want to build first and open build log.  A build log is the best way to get help when you need it.

Arrr ...
He be on to me !!

Thanks for the "likes" and comments.
 
Druxey.. I'll try. 
 
Dan... thanks for explaining the anchor stowage planking.  You beat me to it. 
 
Hi John,
I have the pictures from Boudroit's History of the French Frigate 1650-1850    As built, she had wales similar to the English but her decorations including quarter galleries were typical for the period.  See pictures.

 
After a rebuild/Great Repair or whatever the French called it, she resembles the Belle Poule and it also appears the L'Hermoine is similar (same period) in galleries, planking but Licorne, has the full Arms of France for the stern decoration due to not having the chase ports on the quarterdeck level.   The wales were converted to as shown and also as you explain.  It's been a bit confusing at times especially since Hahn thought it was Le Venus that should be used.  Le Venus  was an 18-pdr of a later period and design. 
 
One big surprise was they went from 5 stern windows (4 real and 1 deadlight) to 7 windows (4 real and 3 deadlights).  Also, the original design had lids on the ports.  After the rebuild.. no lids.
 
One thing I did discover from Boudroit's works is that the 8-pdr and 12-pdr frigates were very similar and the biggest difference as far as visual is that on a 8-pdr, the quarter deck stops on the aft side of the main mast.  On the 12-pdr, the quarterdeck continues to the fore side of the mainmast.  
 
The more I get into this build, the wilder some things seem to get. 
 
Edit.. accidentally hit "post" while writing this.

Can anyone explain why this model has a deck pad of 3/32" thick x 1/8" wide 5 planks on each side of the center-line and the remainder of the deck is 1/16" thick x 1/8" wide?  I read that it is a raised area, but then what do you do about the transition from 3/32" to 1/16"?  Seems a trip hazard to me. LOL  
 
Jeff

Elder Scrolls
Now I remember where I have seen that face before. Wicked, mean, nasty and ugly. 
But he swings a mean club.
And probably holds his beer, whiskey, rum and gin pretty well.

Har Har, Matt !!
Nay. That game hath been played to death. But I do plan on taking holidays at work when the next Elder Scrolls doth arrive-eth !!

Build log 2 – plans and lifts
 
Thanks for joining me and for the likes and comments.  She is an elegant liner and should make a sweet model if I am careful. 
 
Now that I had the paper plans in hand I took them to my local blueprint copy shop.  For not a lot of money they digitized each sheet at 300 dpi.  Since the sheets were 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, this made for some pretty large files, but well within my computer’s capacity.  It did mean that they take a while to open in Photoshop, but that was a minor inconvenience.  I also took some of the plans from the internet and used them for planning.
 
The first of these was the exterior hull with the deck locations indicated in both French and English.  This was taken from the deck plans poster, so I did not completely trust it, but it served as a rough guide to the overall appearance for preliminary planning purposes. 
 

 

 
First, the drawing had to be resized.  I used the known LOA dimension of the Andrea Doria which is 213.80 meters, or 701.5 feet.  Scaled down to 1:192 this meant that the model would be 1,113.54 millimeters, or 43.84 inches long.  There is a ruler function in Photoshop and it was used to enlarge the image until the drawing was the same size as the model would be.
 
Once adjusted for length it revealed that the individual decks were, with one exception, just under 5/8” tall on the plans (15mm), or 9.5 feet in scale.  This would work out well, as I could build the upper decks up from ½” tall deckhouses and 3/32” caps or roofs.  The lower hull would be built up from just the ½” layers since they did not have to match the actual height of the decks.
 
With that decided, I could start to see where and how to divide up the hull into lifts.  I began with the longitudinal cross section from the ANB plans.  It was measured in Photoshop and adjusted as needed. Then it was overlaid with lines indicating the individual lifts. 
 

 
But there was a problem.  The lifts would be exactly horizontal, while the deck map showed a substantial amount of sheer for each deck, especially at the bow.  The number and shape of the lifts had to take this into account.
 
Amidships this was a simple process.  Seven half-inch lifts would bring the model hull up to the level of the Upper Deck where the color scheme of the ship changes from black to white.  This is an important line, visually, so I based my construction sequence around it.
 

 
At the bow the rise in the sheer line meant that the color separation line was now eight lifts high and tipped up at a shallow angle.  The plan shows my  solution, which was to add a wedge shaped lift (Lift 8).
 

 
At the stern the problems were a little more complex.  It turned out that the rudder post was 2 ½ lifts tall.  Above that the hull expanded quickly to the rounded counter and stern.  This came up only 6 full lifts, then there was the open working deck, also tipped up by the sheer line.  You can see how I planned to piece it all together, with the third lift divided into a 3A and 3B lifts of ¼” each, and a wedge shaped lift 7A.
 

 
Now that I had the number and thickness of the lifts set, I had to determine their shapes accurately enough to cut out the wood.
 
The first step was to resize the deck plans to match the cross section.  For each deck the overall length was measured on the cross section.  This was then used to adjust each deck plan as needed.  Interestingly, I found that some of the paper plans were a little small and some were a little large.  Without this step I might have ended up with some serious conflicts down the line.
 
Once each deck plan had been resized they were combined in one master plan.  Each was located using internal landmarks so I could scroll up or down to see what was above or below the adjacent deck.
 

 
This would later be printed out by the blueprint people and used to build the upper decks and their details.   
 
But the deck plans did not match the lift plans.  The rise in the sheer meant that deck C was located halfway up Lift 5 at the bow, but only halfway up Lift 4 at the stern.  Although the lifts would be somewhat imprecise, this was too much to adjust during construction.  So I took the master deck plan apart and, for Lift 4, married the forward section of the deck B plan to the aft section of the deck C plan.  The combined lift was then adjusted to the measured length of the lift from the cross-section.  This was a lot of work, but at the end I had a set of lift plans that I was confident were close to the dimensions and shapes needed for the hull.
 

 

 
You can also see where, for the two lowest lifts, I penciled in some extra material at the bow for the bulb at the keel.  This was done by eye and would be shaped according to the photographs, as I never did locate an acceptable plan that showed this feature.
 

 
Next time, I start cutting wood.
 
Be well
 
Dan 

Hi everyone! Well, you 'newcomers' haven't really missed anything. With recent home events (new baby boy) I haven't really done much, at least in the 'real world.' But, I have been re-reading (on and off) some of my books on the subject, refreshing my memory of the constructions and working years of the ship. I can tell you the final voyage by heart, but it has been some time since really digging into the early life. So, I have been doing that, and starting to plan the first log entry. I have all the photographs of the kit, and a mental list of the challenges I expect to face. I am trying to decide on the extent of the history narrative that will accompany the first posting, to ensure there is enough material to cover the build. I don't know how many log entries there will be, but I am trying to establish topical 'groupings' that will be opened with the next bit of narrative. 
 
Sometime in the near future, I'll start with the first bit of history, and the kit review. But I expect this log to be slow-steaming for a bit, between having the new baby, and trying to make progress on my other project, the Doll Boat, since that one has a deadline on it.
 
Excited to have you all along for the ride!

Thanks for the "like", the comments and looking....
 
Here's the current state...  
 
The wale (wide) planking is complete on the port side.  Work is continuing on the starboard side.  I've temporarily tacked in place the garboard strakes in order to measure the remaining area for the "normal" planking strips.  I'm also sorting out how many battens I'll need...  I'm thinking probably 3 of about 8-10 planks between battens..
 
At this point, I know I'm going to need drop planks and stealers since various monographs show them...  I'm assuming this was the normal method for the French ships and not the monograph author's but haven't been able to verify it.
 
Click on the image to enlarge and as always ideas for improvement are welcomed.
 

 
 

Per, I encountered the "problem" with my kit. I searched around in my stash of wood leftover from previous kits until I found some that matched Chuck's plans and ignored MS' instructions.  Worked fine for me once I found the right wood.

Richard, sorry for delayed response - been away.  The WeCheer is 2.88 oz or 82 g. That's just the unit, it has a plugin transformer which attaches via a small cord to the unit.  I find it very comfortable to use and since it takes all the Dremel colletts I can use all the Dremel bits and still use small drills.

Richard, sorry for delayed response - been away.  The WeCheer is 2.88 oz or 82 g. That's just the unit, it has a plugin transformer which attaches via a small cord to the unit.  I find it very comfortable to use and since it takes all the Dremel colletts I can use all the Dremel bits and still use small drills.

Per, I encountered the "problem" with my kit. I searched around in my stash of wood leftover from previous kits until I found some that matched Chuck's plans and ignored MS' instructions.  Worked fine for me once I found the right wood.

Chuck, thank you for the reply. I had no intention to critisize you or your amazing kits. On the contrary. I like this kit very much. And follow the plan I will.

Slowly working through the additional rigging of the carronades and securing the in haul lines on the starboard side. I modified the bent needle nose pliers and straight tweezers by filing down to slightly blunt points; this enabled working in and around the existing lines in place.


 
Now onto the port side, and thinking of how to make the coiled lines.
In one build it looks like the builder made a fixture using magnets holding the removable side in place which I think is really clever.
 
 

Hi Ben
 
I must've missed the start of your log because this is the first I've seen of it, but, by all accounts I'll definitely be following along and enjoying the voyage.
 
All the best
 
Patrick

Model Shipways didnt have the fractional size strip available and so it was decided to go with the 1/8" wide strips.  I mentioned this a few times in other logs.  BUT yes the plans are correct in every respect...always follow the plans...
 
When I designed the kit I actually used 5/32" wide strips for thwarts.  It matched the plans.   But just as MS swapped out the hull planking for a different size recently they did the same with the the thwart material because they dont have 5/32" wide strips anymore.   This was done a while ago but they actually had the thought to change my dimensions in the instructions.  Something they forgot to do with the recent change for the hull planking.  My guess is that as time goes by more changes will be made on the MFG side without addressing the model ramifications.....yes it can get confusing..but always follow the plans.  It is something that they cant change too easily.
 

 
Chuck

Wow.. impressive work and you did earn your beer.  I'm not sure the bear would be tasty or friendly unless he got a beer also. 

Nice work Nenad! At 39 C, it's too hot to do anything except maybe raising your arm up to mouth level with a beer in it!   That's even too hot for any self-respecting bear. 

There must be an error somewhere and it's not from my side.
I have checked again and again regarding the measurements from plans vs. instructions vs. material.
The plans are correct as I have checked them with analog and digital caliper. Nothing wrong there.
But instructions says the thwarts are made from 1/8" x 1/32".
It should read 5/32" x 1/32", just like my plans are showing. I was wrong in previous posting.
Material from MS and from Jeff (HobbyMill) both measure to these dimensions.
The wide thwart for the mast is at 1/4".
Progress can now be resumed.