Siggi52

Hello Mark, thank you for your efforts, the ropes to open the lids are not the problem. They are overhead with a tackle. I mean the ropes to hold the lid shut. Version 1 or 2? Regards, Siggi

Hello Mark, I made a picture for you and extra large. I hope it is what you liked to see. At the moment I'm waiting that the varnish of the deck will dry, before I start with the Bolts for the canons. Best wishes, Siggi

Hello, thank you all for the kind comments. At the moment I'm working at the gun deck. The beams for the upper gun deck are ready, the lodging knees installed and all is painted. The hanging knees following step by step when I install the beam permanently. But before I come to that, I have a question about how where the port lids secured? I couldn't find any hint about that. Did they have an own loop bolt (1) or where they just fastened to the ring bolt for the breeching, (2) what I would prefer? Kind regards, Siggi

Good morning, first, many thanks for the kind comments about my work. To answer your question Christian, with a tiny brush and lots of patience. I use Humbrol Enamel brand paint and a 10/0 brush with synthetic hair. It's more rigid then marten hair and you could control the brush better. After I had painted the word Dragon the second time, I got cooler and from that time on it works fine. Regards, Siggi

The next thing is the gun deck. That is now real time. The beams of the upper gun deck are only for get them ready when needed. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Regards, Siggi

With the outside ready, I started with the hold and orlop deck.

But now it comes. The thing I had the most respect for, the carvings. That was after my visit of London. I saw at the British Museum carvings, after that I thought that I could carve 3 time larger figures blind ;-) Here you can see also that the color of the hull changed. Most of the gold and yellow is gone. To the stern carvings I have to explain, some know them already from the so called Thunderer. I think that this model is the Dragon. Both ships where build at Deptford and launched 1760. From the stern carvings I would say, that this are Dragons and there is the batch of the Prince of Wales. At those times the later Georg III. Wales has a lot to do with Dragons in there mythology, the red and white one. And the draughts of the Dragon are nearer to the model than the draughts of the Thunderer.

Then came the stern. That was real hard, but I think I got it.

Next came the outer skin. Don't worry about the color, I changed that.

The next pictures are from the real beginning. I started with a model of the model, to get the feeling. Then I cut the frames in paper and build a shipyard. When the keel was installed, the Captain fired a canon. After all frames ready, he fired three canon and I had a brandy!

Hello everyone, after I had so much positiv response about the pictures of my model in the gallery, I decided to start a blog about this ship. About the Dragon is to say, it was a third rate ship, designed by Thomas Slade and build at Deptford. Launched 4.3.1760 and sold 1784. It is not the first ship model I have build, but the first 18th century and framed model. A friend told me about the Bellona and I'm interested to learn more about these ships. My first name is Siegfried and that name is program, Siegfried was the most famos dragon fighter here in Germany, or the only? So I would build the Dragon. I ordered the plans from the NMM and a lot of books from everywhere. Then I started learning. Because the whole ship would be too large in 1:48, I decided to build only the stern part, from the 10th frame backwards. After 3 month I started with the model. That was in the winter of 2011/12. In 2012 a friend of mine was in London and I asked him to take pictures from the models at the NMM. That was a great thing and helped me a lot. In 2013 I visited the NMM and the shipyard at Chatham. Here I saw the Superb, the third ship of the Bellona class. That visit changed a lot, you will see it in the pictures. I changed mostly the color of the hull. I will post the first pictures in a fast pass, to get update with the actual level of work. And please excuse my english. Regards, Siggi

I forget to mention that the two plans do not match each other. What I learned the hard way was, that as an example the decks have a different high! So may be there are other differences. Siggi

Mark, that was the plan for the inboard profile I posted. I posted that plan, because the plan you posted looked similar. The first picture I send now will explain fore witch ships that plan was used also. The second picture are the writings at this plan. Sorry I could't read it. The third picture is the from the sheer plan. That is the plan for only the Dragon and no other ship. May be that plan is better for your research. Regards, Siggi

Why shod you wait, I made a screen shot of the plan. It's late here ;-) Siggi

Hello Mark, I looked at the plan, in color and it is really in color there. Wait until you get plan from me. That plan was used for 27 or more ships! Greetings, Siggi