JSGerson
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Forecastle Deck Beams The forecastle deck beams were made almost exactly the same way as the quarterdeck beams. The only difference was that two of the beams had thicker widths than the rest. The thin beams (like the quarterdeck) were made of 1/16” x 5/32” and the thicker ones 3/32” x 5/32” boxwood.
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For all intents and purposes, the Quarterdeck is complete...at least for now.
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Getting a firm grip on the small pieces is tricky if you want to keep your fingers intact. Anyway, these ladders work.
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The gangplank ladders were constructed from 1/16" x 3/16"boxwood with 1/32" x 1/4" steps. The angle and width of the ladder was left up to the builder. The only criteria was that the ladder have 5 steps. Up to this point, I've constructed two ladders with limited success, but that was OK. They were mostly hidden once installed. These are out in the open. Once more I attempted to cut the 1/32" (depth & width) step grooves with the Brynes saw. I did a bit better, not perfect, but better. The problem is the pieces being cut are so small, the Miter Extension doesn't get close enough to the blade so I have to extend the extension with a piece of wood.
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Well I might as well throw my two cents in. I guess it would depend on what time frame the model represents. As you well know, what it looks like today, is not what it looked like in the thirty's never mind what it looked like in 1812. Today the actual ship has a red stripe, in the past it didn't. If the rest of the model represents the ship as it looks today then by all means add the stripe. But that's just me.
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I'm curious about the copper tape. I have seen other tape from cellophane tape to masking tape to duct tape dry up or get gooey over time. I'm talking decades of years. Does anybody know how the material used for "coppering" the bottom of model hold up? I'm asking because in about a year or so I hope to start my Conny model. It would be a shame if after all the hard work,patience, and devotion to detail were to unravel due to the ravages of time.
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All it takes is a little practice and patience. Oh yes, it helps to be little crazy.
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Well there it is. This build log covers the time span from October 2010 to the present, June 16, 2013 and is now up to date with my build progress. Obviously all future entries will be at a much slower pace. The next step is constructing the gangplank ladders.
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There is a curve handrail from the upper stanchion to the quarterdeck fore rail. Using a copy of the rails from the Hahn’s deck plans to make a template, it was rubber cemented to 1/32” x 5/32” swiss pear. The Practicum however called for 1/32” x 3/32”. I couldn’t see how that would work. If may be as a result the dimension change I made when constructing the quarterdeck fore rail. The pieces were then cut out, trimmed and fitted. The upper surface of the handrail hand the upper edge rounded over while the bottom was kept flat.
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The construction process however is the same as before including the pin the bottom of the stanchion to help affix it to the gangplank.
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The upper stanchions are the same but different. Instead of boxwood, they are made of swiss pear. The Practicum calls for 3/32” square stock which is not supplied in the wood package (I have informed HobbyMills so hopefully if you purchase the wood package now, it will be supplied.) so I cut down 1/8” square swiss pear to 3/32” square with the Brynes saw. Now it appears to me that the Practicum goes total bogus when describing how to create the upper stanchions. The dimensions provided bear no relationship to the final product. Here is a crude schematic (not to scale) representation of what I did.
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At this point the Practicum gets a little confusing. There is a decorative hance that needs to be made for each side and installed that provides the transition from the quarterdeck rail to the waist rail. The problem is that the images in the Practicum show the hance on top on the waist rail which at this point hasn’t been installed yet and it won’t be for another 39 pages of the Practicum. Also note that the referenced photo of the hance on page 75, 2nd paragraph has a typo. Instead of P8.1.11-17, it should be of P8.1.11-16. This will be tackled at that point. The outer rails were then installed.
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Before I added the planks, the edge of the bulwarks had to be finished so that the rails by the gangplanks could be installed. A piece of swiss pear wood was installed in the end of the bulwark to provide the finished look. The planking was then installed. After the pictures below were taken, removed them and replaced them with a wider piece.
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Building the gangplank support looked pretty simple in the Practicum, but it gave me fits in practice. First there is a piece of 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood that goes across the quarterdeck from one deck clamp to the other. It appears that Mr. Hunt placed it on top of the quarterdeck at the forward edge. As I interpreted Mr. Hahn’s plans this piece is the edge piece. So instead of placing on the deck, I placed it on the edge of the deck. But just to fancy it up a bit, before I glued it into place, I cut a fine 1/64” deep groove with the Brynes saw with my thinnest blade. Then I gave the groove a slight V-profile using a V-needle file. The piece was then given a curve to match the deck. The gangplank was supported on the outer edge by the deck clamp and on the inner edge by a stanchion. A beam ran between this stanchion and the deck clamp and another piece was attached to the first quarterdeck beam to form a ledge for the planking to sit on. Note: I believe there is a typo in the Practicum. On page 73 just under the picture P8.1.11-8, the Practicum calls for 1/32” x 1/32” boxwood for the quarterdeck ledge. First 1/32” x 1/32” boxwood is not supplied with the wood package and second 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood works much better. A piece of 1/32” x 3/32” boxwood of proper length was glued to the top of each stanchion and then placed and glued into position. Finding that position took a bit of trial and error. Everything had to line up.
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Fixed Gangways Coming off of the quarterdeck is a small deck on each side called a gangway. The gangway was a permanent structure and was slightly lower than the quarterdeck itself. In some models I have seen, the gangway is extended from the quarterdeck to the foredeck. The Mamoli kit does this and I believe the Model Shipways does as well. The Hahn model does not. If the HobbyMills wood package continues to be true to the Practicum (which for the most part it is) then there is probable not enough Holly planking for extended gangplanks if I decided to add them. Hey, this is my first wooden three masted sailing ship, I’m not ready to wing a large model design change so I’ll stick to the Practicum…for the most part. There are two stanchions on each gangplank, a lower and an upper; both are fancy pieces of stock that would typically be turned on a lathe, albeit a very tiny lathe. These however, were carved by hand and were relatively easy to do. Following the instructions of the Practicum I think the lower stanchions worked out pretty good.
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The Practicum called for the rail to be 2 1/8” in length but based on Hahn’s deck plan, and verified on my model, I found that the length should be 1 15/16”. Notches were then cut into the aft side of the rail one by one verifying each position in turn and finally glued into place.
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At this point, it seems to me it would have been the perfect opportunity to create the belay pin holes in the rail. Why the Practicum does not do this is a mystery at this point. I did not realize the rail had the belay pins until I looked over the plans that came with the kit. I was paying too much attention to them since I wasn’t following them. Marching along oblivious to the miss opportunity, masking tape was used to lay out a straight line on the quarterdeck and the seven stanchion position marked. The stanchions were then put into position.
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Quarterdeck Fore Rail The fore rails at the forward edge of the quarterdeck are made from seven 3/32" square swiss pear stanchions and the top is made from 1/32" x 1/8" stock stained black. Mr. Hunt stated in the Practicum that he later realized that this dimension of stock was not figured into the wood package. After verifying that my wood package did not contain the specified wood stock, I informed HobbyMills so that hopefully future packages would contain it. Why this was not brought to HobbyMills’ attention earlier is anyone’s guess. The Practicum went on to state that the shapes could be easily created from 1/32" x 1/4" boxwood and 3/32" x 1/4" swiss pear trimmed down from stock. 14 pieces of 3/32" square swiss pear stock were cut to a length. They were shaped into the truncated 4-sided pyramid stanchions. Pins were inserted and glued into the bottom of each stanchion for added strength when attached to the deck. Seven of these pieces were aside for future use for the forecastle rails.
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Fore Brace Bitts The fore brace bit in contrast to the binnacle is quite simple – three piece of wood notched and glued together.
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Looking at the Hahn’s plans and the photo of Hahn’s model (which I believe you need approval to print, which I don’t have) the legs are supported with some corner pieces. So I carved some with some needle files. Additionally I added the little black chimney on top. A little bit of stain and it worked out fine. This won’t be installed on the model until latter due to its delicate nature. As it turned out, you really can’t look into the binnacle window to see the interior, but I know it’s there.
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It was time to create the binnacle legs and they were fragile. Using the Byrnes table saw cuts were made in the bottom box. However in the process of removing the excess wood, I broke two of the legs.
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In addition to that I added the interior of the binnacle with red and green balls made from the tops of pins with balls on top and a small wooden disc to represent the metal compass adjusting balls and the compass. A piece of clear plastic completed the interior. The interior shelf top was stained and then everything was assembled.
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The Binnacle This was another fun little mini-project. At 3/16" scale, it was very small. The upper, box portion was made from 1/32" x 1/4" boxwood. The sides are glued to each end of the front and back pieces. This is important otherwise the box will be too narrow. Glued up in this manner, the top and bottom fit creating a slight overhang on all four sides. After assembling the four sides, glue the top and bottom. Before I did this however, I cut an opening for the binnacle window in the front piece. The Practicum would have you do this after it was assembled which I don’t understand.
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That was the easy part. The four timbers that support the taffrail were a bit trickier. The top surface of the transom is not parallel to the bottom surface of the taffrail in the fore and aft direction and the each one is at a different angle in the vertical direction. Each timber piece had to be custom made by trial and error.
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The Taffrail The taffrail is the rail across the stern transom that connects the two quarterdeck cap rails. There are four timbers beneath it that support the rail. The rail is arched across its top surface and also across its aft edge.
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