Rick01

Love the dinghy, particularly the rope bumper. I chose to provide two seats rather than the single that you've provided.
I've finished mine after a reasonable tussle with the rigging, eventually examining photos of the replica, models of le Cerf and various American cutters of that period as the French rigging seemed to compare with the American style rather than British navy. Anyway here are a few (bad) shots of the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Rick

Hello!
 
Another small update.
Been working on finishing the dinghy.
Finished the caprails, and made the thwarts and floorboards.
 

 
Made the rowlocks and decided to put a rope fender along the rail.
 

 
Finally I made a pair of oars out of toothpicks and scrapwood.
Also mounted two eyebolts to take the hoist from the davits.
 

 
With this I think I'll call the dinghy finished!
 
Stay safe!
 
Gaffrig.

Hi Louie - next kit (Caldercraft Snake) arrived yesterday - will start the log in a day or two.
 
I'm an Adelaide boy through and through (to the extent that when my application for memberships of the SACA got to the top of the list, I accepted it) though I left SA 30 years ago - 10 years in Cambridge and the last 20 in Sheffield.  My grandparents lived in Melbourne so I spent most of my summer holidays there and have been through Ballarat more times than I can remember - always stopped for pies and pasties from the bakery.  
 
And, I'm the right age to know where the image of Louie da fly comes from - straight from rubbish tip to you!

Some thoughts on the model kit
Instructions. Are of distinctly limited value - which for an obvious beginners project is very disappointing.  That said the main problem is with how terse they are, and I seemed to work it out.  I'm sure all beginners would welcome more "how to" information, particularly on planking.  What they actually say, is so useless it's worth quoting "We advise dampening the battens in water at one of the ends, then applying heat with a plank...' Materials. I've no complaint about the provided materials, though there being exactly the correct number of blocks, eyelets and rings seems a little mean - and meant I had to be more careful than perhaps is natural (for me, anyway) Historical accuracy As Rick pointed out, they provide the wrong flag - it's easy enough to source the correct one, as shown in the pictures above, from becc.co.uk The gunwales being absolutely horizontal seems implausible, all the images I can find of ships boats isn the 18th and 19th century show at least some 'dishing' Thole pins.  Rick pointed out that thole pins were usually simple wooden pegs and usually found in pairs.  I was on the cusp of adopting that view when Google revealed many examples of single pins and the oar lashed to that pin.  So I left them as in the kit.  I took the view that if they were metal they should be black.  But reading recently about the virtues of tree nails (not being iron they did not rust, and so did not split and rot the timber) I suspect they should be timber and probably not belaying-pin shaped.  But I like the look of them. Scale.  The instructions claim this is a 1:50 scale model.  From stem to stern the model is 26 cm, so at this scale the real boat would have been 13 m in length, have a beam of 4.5 m and a height from keel to masthead of 13.5. .  That wold be a large boat for a ship of the line, never mind a 30 m long barque.  I've just read Peter Moore's Endeavour, which has a reproduction of the Admiralty's plans, and scaling from that, the distance between the quarterdeck and the forecastle is 10.3 m.  So a 13 m boat could not possibly have been stowed on the ship.  A scale of 1:25 strikes me as much more realistic - giving a boat of 6.5 m in length; beam and height half of the above. Rigging.  Given the scale issues, running rigging of 0.15 mm in the model is actually 3.75 mm full scale - clearly that would not be happy choice.  The standing rigging at 0.5 mm being 12.5 mm full scale with a mast of 6.5 mm doesn't seem very comfortable either.  But really, I'm being picky.  A bigger deal for me is that the gaf halliards are arranged so that the resultant force on the gaf pushes the mast end of the gaf down the mast.  So for that reasons the gafs (and the booms) need to be glued to the masts, which is a little sad. But these are the things that are wrong. Much is right.  It's simple, but I had to learn a lot.  It looks very nice on the shelf next to me.  And now I'm hooked.

Technically this is not a build log - since I've built her!  But not having discovered this forum until about halfway through, I feel I've missed out, so I thought I'd post a few pics, point out what I got wrong, and just chat about how much fun I had.  Chat back if you like!
 
There is one complete build log on the forum for this boat - by @Rick01, and a few partial logs.  If you want to see the full evolution of the build have a look at Rick's log.

You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din. I look forward to seeing what I feel must be the first ever model of a hulc. Except perhaps this:
 

 
And a boojum is a snark, but a snark isn't necessarily a boojum. You may serve it with greens and it's handy for striking a light . . .

Got a few steps further.

Bilge pumps made and located but not yet fixed in place. Fore boom also completed. Ran out of parrels so gaff is still dismounted.
 
 

Bowsprit completed together with dolphin striker.
 

Little bit of the rigging also under way. This area is causing some problems - I've been on crutches for near 9 months and this has played havoc with my shoulders, surprisingly with fine work your shoulders seem to take quite a bit of strain which has meant that much of the rigging is on hold 'til I'm walking without crutches again - quite soon I hope.
 
Rick
 

A little more progress. Fore mast being worked on now
 

Fore gaff, boom and yokes under construction
 

and assembled ready to be cleaned up and dressed.
 

I know the build is slow but I'm getting there. Lower masts now stepped

and main mast top plus boom etc. fitted.
 

Majority of the rigging has also been added with the ratlines yet to be installed and some loose ends tidied up.
 
 

I'm thinking I should let you get ahead of me for a while then I can check with you for instruction errors/omissions. 😉
I'm just starting on the masts already I've one error, but at least it isn't hard to fix.  Main mast requires the top to be painted black for 62 mm, the only trouble is that the cheeks fitted under the "crows nest" are 26 mm long which added to the 52 mm tip of mast to "crows nest" isn't the 62 mm indicated on the instructions!! So it needs 80 mm of black to work properly.

 
The next bit is just personal preference.
I can't see that the shrouds on the top mast would be tied directly to the mast without anything preventing them slipping down as they expand/contract with the weather, so I've provided a shoulder to loop them over, a little delicate rough carving it but I got there. I'll fully dress the masts before fixing them in place and I'll probably just use the various stays to hold the main mast in place rather than glue it as I find this just as effective with no fear of it moving whilst the glue sets.
 
 

 
Rick 

I'm thinking I should let you get ahead of me for a while then I can check with you for instruction errors/omissions. 😉
I'm just starting on the masts already I've one error, but at least it isn't hard to fix.  Main mast requires the top to be painted black for 62 mm, the only trouble is that the cheeks fitted under the "crows nest" are 26 mm long which added to the 52 mm tip of mast to "crows nest" isn't the 62 mm indicated on the instructions!! So it needs 80 mm of black to work properly.

 
The next bit is just personal preference.
I can't see that the shrouds on the top mast would be tied directly to the mast without anything preventing them slipping down as they expand/contract with the weather, so I've provided a shoulder to loop them over, a little delicate rough carving it but I got there. I'll fully dress the masts before fixing them in place and I'll probably just use the various stays to hold the main mast in place rather than glue it as I find this just as effective with no fear of it moving whilst the glue sets.
 
 

 
Rick 

Hello all!
 
Been a few days without internet here, but that translates into more time for modeling!
 
Rick01, Thanks for the link, great pictures of a beautiful model. And probably a great book too.
Regarding a traveler, looking at the pictures in that link, that is the way the travelers was rigged.
I think I'll follow the Instructions more or less as they are, and rig without a traveler.
 
The weatherforecast came true, with lots of rain and indoor time. 😆
So quite a bit has been done on the model.
I've got the caprails painted and mounted.
 

When dryfitting the transom I was not happy with the way it fit, so I glued on a strip of wood to the bottom to make it a little higher, and that made it fit much better.
 

 


 
I've made the rudder fittings and fitted the rudder.
 

 
I've fitted the "thingys" on the bow, don't know the english word for these...
 

I've made the caprail(?) for the dinghy. I ended up laminating this from mahogany to get the right shape.
And painted the interior white.
 

 
Here one side is glued and sanded, the other waiting to be glued..
 

 
So, all in all a pretty productive weekend.
Looking forward to start rigging.
 
Gaffrig.
 
 
 

I poked at this one a couple of times......not enough to constitute a real update event.  I have some paints that translate to the German equivalents....I tried to stay close.

I guess the best word to describe the model,  would be pette........really slim fuselage.......it's a small model.  there was a bit of a problem fitting the cockpit into the fuselage......kept wanting to miss the tabs on the other side and cock over to one side,  but it is assembled now.......
 

 
the prop root was fitted into the cowl and it too was assembled.......the prop will turn   
 

the under belly is to be paint something of a blue/gray...... Humbrol #87 is a steel gray,  which looks close to Humbrol's #248 ,  which is called Himmelblau.  both of these color has the blue/gray quality,  but I don't have #248.  the latter will have to do.
 

I'll start with painting most of the parts.......and assemble more later.   more soon friends!   

Hello to all.
 
Been away sailing for a while, gotta play a little with the big boats too!
Have been back at it for a couple of days and here's a little update.
 
Rick01, I like your beefed up davits, they look great! Definetly something I'll copy when I get there if you don't mind.
Your version of the forward pinrail looks great too! Something to think about.
 
I've been thinking about the anchorcable, and maybe it would work to make a horisontal capstan on the bollards/bitts that holds the bowsprit?
Might be tight between that and the forward companionway though.
 
Rick01, you mention the bowsprit, here's how I did that.
In between different coats of paint I have made the bowsprit. The kit supplies a 8mm round dowel that is supposed to be formed into a 8x8mm octagon...
There's an interesting task for you! 🤣😂
I ended up sanding it square and glueing on pieces of 0,5x3mm mahogany from the Bluenose deck I'm not using. Then sanding "between" the square to get the octagonal shape. This turned out good enough.
 

After sanding..
 

And painting..
 

For shaping the rest of the bowsprit I used a small planer first, and then put the whole thing in a battery drill and sanded it smooth.
Finished it of with linseed oil.
 
Also made a new fitting for the tip.
 

I've soaked and shaped the rubrails, and started painting them
 

I've masked and painted the black stripes, and cleaned up and painted the insides of the gunports.
 


 

 
Still need a little "cleanup" here and there, but all in all I'm happy with the result.
 
Gaffrig.
 
 
 
 
 

Whilst I'm re-writing the instructions I've made an executive decision and gone down a different route for the fore fife rail. 
This is an illustration of belaying pin spacing on a working replica ship of the same period.

 
This is the fife rail with pins fitted as per kit instructions. Very close together, I am using slightly larger pins but even with the metal ones supplied it was still to tight.

 
So off came the original rail, a quick look around the internet and I've come up with an acceptable solution based on other contemporary models. You'll also notice two hawse holes where I intend bringing the anchor cable onto the deck rather than through the hull into what would probably be crew quarters. In the replica they must have had an electric winch below decks, whereas originally the anchor would have been been hoist by either windlass or block and tackle as a best guess. 

 
The next interesting build will be the octagonal section on the bowsprit - as it stands I can't see that their instructions will work.
 
Rick

... and my revised boat davits and boat.
 

 

 
The davits and cross bar were doubled in thickness 5mm removed from the davits length and the holes for the block and tackle were set back 5 mm from the end. This is all based on a couple of photos I found on line for the replica and make more sense than the kit version. The boat is also built as a clinker design.
 
 
Rick 

Possibly
Antipodean Antique Navarchs?
 
or
 
Parsupial ShipRights?

Welcome Andrew - beginning to look like we have enough Aussies to set up a sub-forum by now! 
 
Rick (Another Locked Down Victorian) 🙂
 

Welcome Andrew - beginning to look like we have enough Aussies to set up a sub-forum by now! 
 
Rick (Another Locked Down Victorian) 🙂
 

... and my revised boat davits and boat.
 

 

 
The davits and cross bar were doubled in thickness 5mm removed from the davits length and the holes for the block and tackle were set back 5 mm from the end. This is all based on a couple of photos I found on line for the replica and make more sense than the kit version. The boat is also built as a clinker design.
 
 
Rick 

Whilst I'm re-writing the instructions I've made an executive decision and gone down a different route for the fore fife rail. 
This is an illustration of belaying pin spacing on a working replica ship of the same period.

 
This is the fife rail with pins fitted as per kit instructions. Very close together, I am using slightly larger pins but even with the metal ones supplied it was still to tight.

 
So off came the original rail, a quick look around the internet and I've come up with an acceptable solution based on other contemporary models. You'll also notice two hawse holes where I intend bringing the anchor cable onto the deck rather than through the hull into what would probably be crew quarters. In the replica they must have had an electric winch below decks, whereas originally the anchor would have been been hoist by either windlass or block and tackle as a best guess. 

 
The next interesting build will be the octagonal section on the bowsprit - as it stands I can't see that their instructions will work.
 
Rick

Whilst I'm re-writing the instructions I've made an executive decision and gone down a different route for the fore fife rail. 
This is an illustration of belaying pin spacing on a working replica ship of the same period.

 
This is the fife rail with pins fitted as per kit instructions. Very close together, I am using slightly larger pins but even with the metal ones supplied it was still to tight.

 
So off came the original rail, a quick look around the internet and I've come up with an acceptable solution based on other contemporary models. You'll also notice two hawse holes where I intend bringing the anchor cable onto the deck rather than through the hull into what would probably be crew quarters. In the replica they must have had an electric winch below decks, whereas originally the anchor would have been been hoist by either windlass or block and tackle as a best guess. 

 
The next interesting build will be the octagonal section on the bowsprit - as it stands I can't see that their instructions will work.
 
Rick

Remember that the davits holding the boat will hide some "mis-fitting" of the cap rail. However as with the catheads these will need to be doubled in thickness. Currently the kit asks you to believe that the ship's boat is held safely by a couple of 2 metre lengths of timber 10 cm sq. 
Here's my version.

 
... and here's an illustration of a more realistic method of rigging the lifts. Similar to the catheads rigging.

 
I've been looking at the various photos of the replica and it seems that the arms should also be shorter as the boat when hoist appears very close to the transom - still thinking about that item.
 
Rick

Remember that the davits holding the boat will hide some "mis-fitting" of the cap rail. However as with the catheads these will need to be doubled in thickness. Currently the kit asks you to believe that the ship's boat is held safely by a couple of 2 metre lengths of timber 10 cm sq. 
Here's my version.

 
... and here's an illustration of a more realistic method of rigging the lifts. Similar to the catheads rigging.

 
I've been looking at the various photos of the replica and it seems that the arms should also be shorter as the boat when hoist appears very close to the transom - still thinking about that item.
 
Rick

Whilst I'm re-writing the instructions I've made an executive decision and gone down a different route for the fore fife rail. 
This is an illustration of belaying pin spacing on a working replica ship of the same period.

 
This is the fife rail with pins fitted as per kit instructions. Very close together, I am using slightly larger pins but even with the metal ones supplied it was still to tight.

 
So off came the original rail, a quick look around the internet and I've come up with an acceptable solution based on other contemporary models. You'll also notice two hawse holes where I intend bringing the anchor cable onto the deck rather than through the hull into what would probably be crew quarters. In the replica they must have had an electric winch below decks, whereas originally the anchor would have been been hoist by either windlass or block and tackle as a best guess. 

 
The next interesting build will be the octagonal section on the bowsprit - as it stands I can't see that their instructions will work.
 
Rick