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Rick01

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Everything posted by Rick01

  1. Rick01
    On top of the discomfort all you can see from the seat is a part of the instrument panel! I stood slightly back from that position in the Walk Through frame just to get an idea of what my father had experienced - all I can say is "Not Nice". Rick
  2. Rick01
    I don't know if you've been supplied with parachute packs, but if so, here's the positions and order of bailout from a Mk II (unchanged I guess from the Mk I. . All very well - unless your bomb aimer manages to pull his ripcord whilst still in the nose! Wireless operator and front gunner bundled him up and threw him out. He ended up with a strained groin,treated by a local Dr and passed back to England by the underground. The rest of the crew spent the rest of the war as POW's. Rick
  3. Rick01
    It's a "walk through" display at Brooklands Museum alongside R-Robert. Basically just a fuselage using assorted items collected over the years, but it really does make you appreciate what the crew went through every time they flew. Rick
  4. Rick01
    This is the bit in real life. 🙂 Note the cut-out in the seat for the control column (useful when pulling back hard to get an enemy fighter off your tail ). Rick
  5. Rick01
    No argument - the one on the right. I've seen R-Roger in the UK and the colour was very close to the right one (as was the earth colour you have shown). Rick
  6. Rick01
    Thanks Andy - I have seen it but my skills are just not good enough to do it justice I'm afraid. These are two of the exits when told to bail out. This one is a kick out panel on the side of the aircraft (just below the roundel position). It would have been a bitch to get throufh when wearing full flying gear plus parachute. ... and this was also kick out after lifting the duck boards, although not all the Mk I/II series had the blank for a belly gun position. This shot does give a fair representation of the colour of the framing. Rick
  7. Rick01
    I can also add a direct interest in the build. My father was 2nd pilot in a Mk II , shot down over le Havre on his second time out and spent the rest of the war in Stalag VIIIB. Rick
  8. Rick01
    Did that at the same time as posting these photos. 😉 Thanks for following, I wonder, if I'd put a couple cannon on it and built it as an 18th century dhow, would it have gained a little more attention? I do have another couple of builds under my belt, but they didn't make it here, now to decide what next. Rick
  9. Rick01
    Finally finished. For anyone else attempting this model I'd strongly recommend a good magnifying glass to read the instructions and study the pictures. A lot of research on what these vessels actually look like, including the rigging. Measuring and dry fitting items at every step. Before gluing anything check ahead in case you find that fixing the item may interfere with later actions i.e. deck furnishings. Other than that - enjoy. Rick
  10. Rick01
    First assemble, then dress the yard. According to the instructions it's assemble,sew on the sail, then mount the yard.After that then add various blocks once the yard has been hoist. Much easier however if you fully assemble all items that are attached to the yard before hoisting it. It was then just a matter of sewing on the sail, hoisting the yard and then commencing the rigging. I I re-arranged the siting of the sea chest and amphora so as to not interfere with any rigging and the mast stays are only mounted on the starboard side of the ship (see my previous post). I also re-sited a some of the bow rigging in order to effect a free flow of the cables and a more effective control of the sail. A couple of shots of the finished item will follow. Rick
  11. Rick01
    Finally pinned down a couple of illustrations of dhows to help with rigging the main mast/sail. This is a short description of an Indian two-masted "dhow" measuring 40 ft (the kit measures 70 ft along the deck) https://journals.openedition.org/archaeonautica/594?lang=en . This is a 60 ft modern dhow clearly showing the rigging to the main mast https://www.eastafricayachtcharters.com/60ft-zanzibar-charter-boat-dhow . In both variations it's pretty clear that there are no stays on the "sail" side of the mast. I've also seem a few photos of working decks but no good close-ups, these seem to show that they are pretty untidy including ropes piled rather than neatly coiled/hung from gunwales. I'm working on the main mast and spar and should have something further to post shortly. Rick
  12. Rick01
    Well after considerable searching on the net the only half way constructive advice I could find was this nice item here. It seems that the jury is out on a number of items concerning rigging this type of sail and thus I'm working on what (to me) seems common sense. First I stripped back the cover supports as they were fouling any run that I attempted for control of the sail foot and spar tip. I then added two more cleats to the mast, this way the sail hoist, a second rope used to hold the spar against the mast, plus the rope which tensions the mast brace, all have a separate securing point. In the foreground is a further brace for the mast, on the opposite side to the sail. There will not be one on the other side. Next I built a strengthener with cleats for the top of the fancy work on the counter. This was added as two sections to allow the rudder bar free play. Despite appearances the cleats are inboard, not on top of the reinforcing strips. The end result has allowed me to rig the lines controlling the sail foot and spar tip to be added, without (again) using one cleat for two lines and without rubbing on any woodwork. The end result isn't too bad and once I've dealt with the sail to give it the impression of wind filling it, all the lines should run freely. I know the sail is pretty average but it's past my ability to construct a better one, arthritis in my fingers is severely hampering my dexterity. Rick
  13. Rick01
    Things are now about to come to a screaming halt! Again I've amended the build slightly, the "shade" area at the stern now consists of a number of flat slats, not the convex cover shown in the plans. 99.9% of the actual dhow photos that I've seen use the slats and only a very few use a tent like structure and these latter seen to be tourist boats. Masts have also been stepped. Spars and rigging next and this is where I have major problems. As you can see, the instructions are pretty poor and illustrations as clear as mud. The bottom left illustration seems to indicate a hoist for the spar coming down to a cleat on the mast. Now check the next page. Here illustration 2 and 3 show what appears to be a brace for the mast, again terminating on the same cleat but over the spar hoist. Surely you don't release the mast brace every time you lower or raise the spar! Nest problem is the two braces (green thread) shown at 4 and 5. If these are correct then the spar is effectively working fore and aft only. The same is shown later for the main mast/spar. Again every illustration of a dhow under full sail shows the spar as working almost as a square sail. So, at this point I'm off to find some sort of dhow rigging manual to try and clarify this area. Rick
  14. Rick01
    When making my coils for the belaying pins I make up a jig from scrap MDF . Standing on edge I put a number of small nails/pins in close to the edge and after making a coil of 6~8 loops, place it over a nail/pin hanging down. To shape it so that it sits somewhat realistically I then use white PVA glue and carefully pinch the coils into the required shape. make sure you do have a small space at the top so that you can use short length of line to tie the coil to the belaying pin. See the sample I posted further up this page. Rick
  15. Rick01
    Absolutely NOT my best photo yesterday so I re-did a couple today. Here is a better couple of shots of the work on the fore deck. Rick
  16. Rick01
    On to the fore deck fittings. First get a magnifying glass, the plans are pretty small in this area and, unless you've 20/20 eyesight they're a pain! I'll mount the anchor later as it's a poor casting and needs some attention. Looking closely, parts 117 and 118 need a slight groove for the rope to run in. Additionally I found that part 118 also needed another 2mm added as it did not project high enough over the gunwales at the recommended 18mm. I also added a lashing where the part 117 rests against part 118 although this is not shown on the plan. I did this after finding a number of photos on-line showing the deck of a working dhow where everywhere any fixture crossed another it was secured with lashings. The next step was assembly of the bowsprit. This appears to be only slightly tapered if at all and from what I could find on-line seems correct. Having cleaned and shaped parts 130 through 133, I assembled them before mounting on the deck. The instructions appear to recommend mounting to the deck then lashing - try that and you'll tie yourself in knots with the attempt! Instead of using the brass wire (133) I used a wooden spacer, less of a problem than trying to drill the 1mm holes in very splintery dowel and also more likely to have been used on the real thing. It was a little fiddly getting the parts 132 the correct length but not impossible. Rick
  17. Rick01
    At least make up a couple and give it a try. It just finishes off the rigging. It's basically a matter of making a coil of 6~8 loops round something like a thick pen, with 4~5 centimetres of line tucked under the loops. Tie it off to hold the loops together and use a little PVA glue to shape the rope into something resembling a natural fall. Once it's dried then, using the excess line hook it up onto the belaying pin, a little more PVA to position it and it's done. Fiddly I know but worth the effort. Different ship, but you get the idea. Rick
  18. Rick01
    Are you going to add coils of rope where-ever you've ended any running rigging? Rick
  19. Rick01
    As someone else has suggested - ground up, middle outwards and front to back. All standing rigging needs to be completed first (but after such items as booms etc), then the ratlines and finally running rigging. This is similar to actual practice, after all you re building a miniature ship. It will be a little awkward but not impossible. Rick
  20. Rick01
    Main deck now finished, although there are a number of buckets to add at a later date. Personally I can't see that 1/2 dozen wooden buckets would be sitting loose on the deck so that will need some thought.I varied the hinges and latch on the chest using a heavy black cartridge paper instead of trying to blacken the brass they suggest. I also placed all three medium size barrels in the crate and put a lashing around them to secure them. Who leaves a barrel on its side to roll around the deck as the plans illustrate? Rick
  21. Rick01
    Generally looking good, but the footropes on the main spar look a little "low" from this angle. Ideally they should be set so that man using them would be able to lean against the spar at waist height. So they should work out at a scale drop of around 85~90 cm approx. 14 mm +/- I think. I've always had problems with them myself and have found that to get a realistic hang to them a 50/50 solution of PVA glue and water will help set them properly. Rick
  22. Rick01
    Whilst you've got reasonable access to the mast you may want to think about adding a rest to the mast for the yoke to sit on. This is how I've fitted one to s tripped down version of the Lady Nelson. ... and here's one on a replica of a similar period ship. It'll make life easier when fitting the boom. Rick
  23. Rick01
    Hatch covers and a few other items now fitted, including the rudder, here I've used a stiff black paper to simulate the actual mounts. PVA glue then penetrates the paper, stiffening it further and attaches it securely to the hull. Interesting point here - I assembled the rudder/tiller exactly as shown, but when mounted the tip of the tiller is approximately 2 metres above deck level!! As the rudder is only resting in the mounts, it'll be easy to remove and shorten the post that the tiller sits on. When fitting the transverse items (page 14 and 15) measure the actual widths on your model. I found that my gunwales were slightly wider than the sample used for the instructions, which necessitated making these "beams" longer. Rick
  24. Rick01
    I don't see the cleats on the lower section of the mast, did you forget them? It can also be a bit of a pain fitting the boom and gaff as attaching the parrel beads to the yoke jaws will be a bit more fiddly. Standing rigging itself does look good. Rick
  25. Rick01
    May I suggest that you complete fitting the bowsprit, boom and driver gaff before fitting any rigging. You'll find it much easier than trying to work round any existing rigging, particularly the boom and gaff. I have built this model although I don't have the build on this site. Rick

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