Ryland Craze

The details in the coaming and head ledge corners, gratings, gun port linings, and deck furniture are very well done.
Allan

Hi
After mothballing my HMS Fly for eight years and delving in making Wingnut Wings WWI plastic kits, I am returning to Fly with the intention to render it as a hull only model but keep the option for future rigging by making the mast stubs removable. Here, in this reloaded log, I will compress my previous log but keep the information that might be useful to other Pegasus/Fly builders. After I finish the reload I will delete the old log. Many years ago I bought all four volumes of the the FFM Swan Class Sloops from Seawatch Books which I have been studying in the last few days as I did when I was working on Fly. Stupidly during the first phase of building I kept no notes of what I was using - rope sizes, paint colours, block sizes; etc. - so the old log is good for a memory jolt. I will keep a notebook from now on! As a rule I try to get the details historically correct - the FFM helps as do other logs here (especially Blue Ensign's) - but I also defer to my own aesthetic taste in instances where this may be slightly incorrect, e.g. my quarter badges which attracted some comment back then. My method of weathering the copper clad hull also attracted a lot of comments! But I stand by it.
 
So to kick off this reload:
I started by scratch building the binnacle - this was to get my head around the model's scale and to navigate my way forward with the build:

Next I reworked the quarter badges - I think 'Realworkingsailor' sent me the profiles. I got some comments about how this was historically wrong for Fly but I still much prefer them to the flat white metal kit supplied badges. I also reference VII of the FFM, page 293 - 297 which describes a similar badge. I'm using styrene to build the window frames but kit PE for the panes. The "dolphins" are also kit PE but difficult to fit to the window head. At this point I'm still avoiding the hull...
 



Scratched quarter badges versus kit supplied:

Next I got into the hard yards of the hull. I actually really enjoy this part of the build as mere frames become a three dimensional thing. Through practice and many failures I have lost the fear of planking but I know it is a steep learning curve for first time builders as it was for me.
 
Framing complete

 
The lower deck is planked where it might be seen through the hatches.

 
The 'false' main deck is checked for fit and marked out for future planking. In my model version this deck comes in two halves which needs work between fit with the frames and uplift in the middle.

Next I fair the frames and balsawood block and fill to the bow and stern which really helps both with the fairing and with planking. It gives you shape and adhesion where you most need it.
 


I added a bulkhead at the end of the main deck. This is not glued at this point. Made from cardboard with a light, dirty wash and walnut frames. I try in vain to see it now but it is there...

Next up the deck is installed smoothed off, main mast partners installed and deck planking begins. I bought after-market holly for the decks. This was after experimenting but holly is very white and almost free of grain. I like it but it might not be for everyone. On many models I see poor decking is a let down for an otherwise really good model and I think it is worth experimenting and planning before you commit. I mapped the main deck on tracing paper and transferred that to the actual deck. I also have trouble with treenails on a model deck. Black nails can start to look like pimples especially if the deck set out is not well planned. So I opted for a pale wood paste for the deck nails. Several people pulled me up for this but I like that you can see them when you want and they disappear at other angles. Caulking was done with a pencil on one edge only. With a tightly fitted deck that works fine to my eye.


The hatches are from boxwood with box corner joints. They sit within the decking rather than on top. this requires a bit of cross coordination but works for me. The top edge of the hatch is slightly rounded. Lego is a great squaring device for making hatches.
 


Next I test the hatch fit and smooth off the main run of planks. I still haven't grappled with the edge planking but it still fits my mapping. I'm not saying I got this right but certainly the planning made me feel better about the outcome.
 

Then I drill for the treenails...this to me looks far too pimply so I fill with pale paste.
 


At this point it is time to do the first planking. Gulp. This kit, as many others do now (or then, I can't remember...), provides a plywood pattern for the gun ports and upper works. As challenging as this is to fit - it just takes time and patience - it is a brilliant guide to all the planking that is to come. However poor fitting of the patterns has undone some modelling. I think Chuck expresses this perfectly - "Just take your time." It is an adage for all model making...Notice that the forecastle and quarter deck templates are dry fitted to guide the plywood pattern. Finally getting the patterns to join at the bow is when you know it fits. And take some extreme measures such as clamping and nailing. Get these parts right and you are underway.

 
 


Next it is finally time for the first planking layer. Although this is only my fourth plank on frame model, I now treat the first layer as if was the only one. That is I try to make is a good as I can as that teaches me for the second layer. I don't approach it as being sacrificial and try to make the plank runs flow from stem to stern as they must on the second layer.

Next is the outer layer of planking. The kit provides walnut but I find this too dark and too variable in colour. I replaced it with boxwood which is a colour I prefer and a beautiful timber to work with. The second layer was eased by the effort on the first - I just followed those planks with full adhesion along the length of the hull.
 

 

 
 

Next up for me was painting and fiddling those details.
 


Then fiddling with other details such as making a stove.

And the capstan upper and lower details.
 


Another thought on the photo above. I work hard to fit the gratings into the hatches so that all the edges are symmetrical across and along. the two aft hatches here have a thin edge aft and forward and a fatter edge starboard and port but they equal. It seems minor but is easy to do and the alternative just looks...bad.
 
Next up were the wales. These are critical to the hull shaping and look and were the most scary part of the hull build. Wales that waver off line look really bad, even on a good hull. I challenged myself to make them in the correct figure pattern - I don't know what to otherwise call this - but it helped with the part. I sure know that the stem to stern look and flow of the wales is critical to the model and defines everything above and below on the hull.



 



Unfortunately my efforts to paint and polish the wale almost completely eliminated any visual proof of the planking technique. And it does have a wobble here and there.
 
Will continue tomorrow. time for bed now.
 
Cheers,
A 
 
 

Unfortunately the sawing of the keel has parallax problems that may be beyond correction and although I have resisted buying a scroll saw due to space considerations, I may need to reconsider that decision.
 
Now a one month interlude, going to Washington D.C to see my grandchildren and also fit in a visit to the US Navy Museum at Annapolis.
 
 

Although not pictured the bulkheads have bee sanded down to size.
 
Built a support jig for the project.

Finally the French curves I had purchased awhile ago came in handy to transport bearding line to the other side.

Ahoy! Haven’t had much time to spend in the shipyard, but I’ve managed to continue on Medway. With exception of the flag halliard and making the oars, Medway is  completed! Coiling the ropes drove me nuts, but a first effort, I’ll take it. I’ll have a summary on the build in a few days. 
 
Best Regards …. Rick

Hey Sailor! Welcome aboard. I spent 6 years of the Cold War chasing subs from my P-3. 👍😀

Welcome aboard!

Welcome from coastal Virginia Joe, enjoy your first wooden model, as I am building my first also. The folks on this  site have been a tremendous help. 

Joe, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard. 

hello Joe, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'.
 
John

Welcome to the site Joe.  I am a novice builder working on my fist ever build.  The support and guidance I have received on this site excellent.  I would have struggled without this site.

My name is Joe Sexton.  I am a retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer who spend 22-years on submarines.  In 1992, we pulled into Ketchikan, Alaska.  The entire town welcomed us with incredible Alaskan hospitality.  This was my first introduction to sailing.  I was invited to sail with a resident on his Island Packet 38.  When the wind filled her sail and she heeled over, I was hooked.  I have always been fascinated with sailing ships and the history behind them.
 
Now, I am embarking on building model ships.  In my research, I was referred to this forum for information, help, and mentoring.  I am excited to start my first wooden model ship and meeting and learning from experience of its members.  
 
Thanking you,
 
 
Joe Sexton, YNCS(SS), USN (Ret).

Found some more time to work on the Dory. The thwarts were painted bulwark dark green. I was looking for some contrast with the yellow ochre. The thwarts were glued in using CA glue. I didn't want them coming loose when the oars are glued on. The thwarts definitely stand out. I played around with different oar combinations to get them to look the same in size and shape. I aligned the oars with the leathering. Next were the thole pins. My kit didn't have the 3/64" dowel. What I got was a 12" length on 3/64" x 1/8" strip of basswood. Fortunately I have friends in other hobbies. My buddy Wayne builds train layouts in N gauge. He had some plastic 3/64" dowel. Yeah !!!. All I had to do now was get it to look like wood. I used some 150 grit sandpaper to give the dowel some texture, kind of like wood grain. I then painted the tholes yellow ochre. Another contrast between yellow ochre and bulwark dark green which is what the cap rail was painted with. Great progress so far. Next will be mounting the Dory to the base and installing the beckets. 

That was a long break for Winchelsea now, I had to do something against the mice under our living-room flooring.

Then, more fun, some macro planking

These old Floorboards are wonderful stuff. About 200 years old. Just lovely.
 
Anyway, back to my breastrail
 
I first made a jig for the detailed profiles, to get them all in line around the columns.

Next step was sanding the profiles in a nice shape
 

 
... and polishing each corner to get this lovely dull gloss, wich this material has, when being polished.
 

 
... cutting the collumns in the right length and assemblying everything...
 

 

 

 

 

 
Finally the installment on the model...
 

 

 

 

 

 
This almost finishes chapter 10. I have to do the eyebolts for the guns on the quarterdeck and then proceed to chapter 11.
 
Matthias
 
 
 
 

Thanks for the sorting ideas. When I get to the planking I’ll sort the wood. I’m planning on doing the deck in Holly, I have a hunk to cut up. I bought this display rack a few years ago from a place that went out of business. Makes a great storage rack, wood is sorted by size for convenience. 
 
Best Regards …. Rick

druxey, that’s a good point. I will keep it in mind.

Your attention to the run of plank at the bow is so important; so many models have the planking rise too high at the extreme bow with the result looking less than graceful. I hope your kit builders take the same care!

I have somehow missed this delightful build Chuck; looks great and up to your usual very high standard.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Yes that wont work at all.  I will absolutely do so.  Once I put the final touches on the template I will print both and show them.

Beautifully done Chuck. It might be interesting to show folks why using the sheer plan without expansion does not work due to curvature of the hull.

Great progress, Mr. Passaro. Your model of the Speedwell looks amazing thus far, and I am looking forward to seeing much more happening with her.
 
Brian D

Windlass & Rudder
 
I decided to go ahead and place the photo-etched brass decorations now, while the hull is easy to handle.  The instructions have you `doing it basically last, after all the masts/rigging are on.  I think that's unwise, particularly for a clumsy one like me.  These are very east to put on, but I had to cut a bit off the last one up at the bow, even though I was putting them VERY close together like the instructions say.
 

 
Now we build the windlass.  A good bit of carving The square holes are a bit of a trick, it helps a lot if you have a small square file.  You can get them almost square with an x-acto #11, but the file sure helps.
 

 
completed item, mounted with the handles in place.  They are removeable so I set them aside for final assembly.
 

 
On to the rudder. Some more carving and shaping, getting the leading edge rounded and the trailing edge thin:
 
 
 
T

 
Then we need a tiller.  Instructions have you bend a piece of 5/32" square, and carve the little  handle and ball at the end.  As you can see, mt attempt at this was very sub-optimal.  So I took another stab, this time building it up from parts.  Lower example shows 3 pieces of strip sotck glued together at an angle to form a rough curve which we will sand a bit later to smoot out.  Then I turned a handle from some dowel in the Dremel and used my Screw Punch to make some disks from 1/32" scrap. 
 
And then a ball for the end:
 

 
Assembled and sanded a bit
 

 
Finally, we paint it, along with the Britannia metal pintles and gudgeons, and then mount it.  It's removable, so I'll lay that aside for protection as well for final assembly later.
 

Post 16
With the rails in place the stem bolsters have to be shaped and fitted.
Chuck describes this step as challenging and provides six blanks from which two finished bolsters are required.
Hoping that’s enough, but if it isn’t, perhaps I need a different hobby.

0346
To give me a feel for shaping these bolsters I carved a Balsa block before moving onto the cedar.

0349

0350
To achieve the shape, I used a No11 scalpel blade, and finger sanders with a curved profile.

0351

0352
Once the bevels are cut the most difficult part is holding the bolster to impart the concave shape down to around  0.8mm thickness at the bottom edge.

0353

0354
Multiple trial fittings are required during the shaping process.

0362
The final finishing was done with the bolsters in place.

0372

0367
All went well with four blanks left. The recess for the bolster roller was cut using micro chisels.

0370

0373
I can’t help thinking that the boat looks better without those baulks of wood, necessary as they are to perform one of the  main operational functions.
 
Perhaps once the decorative rail and decoration is applied they won’t look so prominent.
 
 
B.E.
08/03/2023