davyboy

Taking a break from doing the rigging and started my ferret mk2 scout car. Doing Canadian version without turret.

Shrouds and ratlines done. On to yard arms, rigging  and sails.

Anchors away. 

Work continues as does the snow outside.

Still working on the decks, main deck laid , forecastle deck laid as is the poop deck. Need to make some deck furnature etc. but some stowaway is using the port head.

Guns and port hole covers on, working om decks and a wee bit of rigging.

Hello,
thank you for all the likes and comments. For today only a short update. I finished the collecting planks for the starbord side.

This pice, with the rudder support, was a little tricky. So I build it twice and nead now a medical plaster for my left index finger! But it is't soo bad.
And here it is installed

Post 49
Roof boarding
The painted roof boards look attractive, but I suspect in reality they would have been tarred or sheathed in lead to prevent water ingress particularly for the starboard side Pantry.
I have decided to Lead the boarding as a contrast to the paintwork.

0656
The lead foil is patinated using Pewter Patination fluid following a dip in white vinegar.

0657
I trimmed the  boards a little to reduce the overhang at the front and longside.

0653
It proved quite tricky to secure the roof  and I had to get inventive with a clamping arrangement.
I did pre-bend the boards before gluing using pva. I didn’t want to use Cyano in case any got on the paintwork or lead.

0661

0664
It is useful at this point to check the fit of the stern davits that sit atop the capping rail.
 
While I was waiting for glue to dry I had a play around with naming Harpy.
The kit doesn’t include lettering for the stern, and it’s debateable whether these Brigs even had name plates.

0654
However, that’s no reason not to have a look; I used 5mm  stick on vinyl lettering  in the only practical place on the transom.
I do rather like a name on the stern even if it stretches credulity.
I’ll ponder it a while, but application of the name is best done before the outer transom piece is glued into place.
 
B.E.
05/03/2025
 

As usual, apologies for it being so long since I last posted. Firstly, I’ve now put the stern lanterns in place. I’m not sure about the colour (yellow ochre), which perhaps stands out a bit too clearly. So I may try painting the tops of the lanterns bronze. And they do need a tiny chimney on top. Comments welcome. I may even have another go at making them, as I’m not all that happy with their look, though as usual they seem better in the flesh than in the photo. The small scale does not help on that score. Oh yes, I used a much thinner wire to hold them in place than that shown in an earlier picture. I knows the rigging in this photo looks a mess, but it will soon be sorted. 

 
I though it time to have a go at the anchors. At this scale, there’s no point in trying to find a way of making metal ones, nor was it worth troubling my grandson to see if he could do them with his 3d printer. So, they are wooden, with flukes cut from card. Here are the various bits and pieces more or less ready to be assembled, and the final version

Anchor dimensions are conveniently set out in by Steel in a table; he also has a drawing which is useful. It was a bit fiddly getting them thin enough, and fitting the rings was harder than it should have been. My first effort used much too thin a gauge of wire, but some plastic-covered garden wire worked all right, and meant that I did not have to try to serve the rings with rope. One question was what colour to make the anchor cables. This has been a matter of some debate on this site, with opinion generally favouring a pale colour on the grounds that it was unlikely that the cables were tarred. Photos of HMS Victory show pale anchor cables. However, I went with black. Partly this was on aesthetic grounds, and partly because the model of HMS Mars in the National Maritime Museum has black cables. The anchor cables on the Mary Rose were coated in pitch, though fibres themselves curiously do not look to be tarred. Of course, the chronology reduces the value of this evidence.  See https://maryrose.org/blog/collections/doing-the-twist-anchor-cable-cleaning/ . I think, however, that it would have been normal to tar the cables to prevent them from getting soaked, but I could well be wrong.

Hi photo Anson 

The orlop deck beams have all been preinstalled.
No hump this time!
Tomorrow I'll mark the centerline and the carling locations, then remove the beams and begin notching them
 

Ok, some surgical time was put in LR and results are, ah, well, so-so but at this moment not able to do better without scraping it in wood-burning pizza oven, which I don't want to do.
I was able to glue back broken pieces and now, need some sanding and special techniques to hide those spots where extra glue and cracks are visible at this moment.






Also, I finished adding filler pieces at the bow, feeling like a dentist when you go for a crown work: put crown on, bite, not good? Sand, bite, not good? Sand... since I was able too use plan template for filling pieces only up to certain point; after that was all test fitting/sanding... but I got it decently installed.

Aslo, working on installing stern parts which will have a hull ready for more sanding.

I am running out of wood so need to place an order for more woods which will put LR on short hold until wood arrives.

Happy modelling.

It has been one of those days were I have spent plenty of time in the shipyard but have not really made that much progress.
 
I started by fitting the bow spirketting patterns. This took some time as I need to make sure the holes provided for the eyebolts lined up with the holes on the bulwarks. Once I was happy with the overall fit the patterns were glued and clamped. I did insert a couple of eyebolts at each end of the spirketting, as can be seen in the photos below.
 

It was then a case of repeating the process for the rear spirketting patterns. When they were glued in place I used three eyebolts to assist with the alignment, one at the front one int he middle and one at the rear. Before fitting the patterns I did check that an eyebolt would locate in each of the bulwark openings. In some case it was necessary to run a micro drill in the hole to remove some of the glue deposits.

Once the glue had been given time to cure the clamps were removed.

I then made a start at cleaning up and painting the gun port openings.

Following on from a previous post with regards to the rear cabin roof / gunwale I did a trial fit. The left hand side does not require any remedial work.

I will have to trim the top aft section of the right hand side bulwark however.

Finally I did make a start on a margin plank for the deck / stern board joint.  It still needs a little bit more work but so far so good.

Post 48
Adding the Capping rails
Following on from Post 47 I am adding the Capping rails, but there a few preliminaries to attend to.
The spirketting and top rails have been fitted and painted.
The Gunwale tops have been levelled and sanded smooth.

0627
The Bowsprit opening at the Bows has been fettled and a Bowsprit section along with the stop have been temporarily put into place.

0637
The short forward sections of Capping rail are then glued into place.
I next assemble the Catheads and use them to mark the distance for the placing of the long section of capping. I am not fitting them at this point.

0633
At the stern I have levelled off that area of the deck cabin structures to allow fair run of the capping rail to meet the transom.
I notched the transom to allow free passage of the rail, it splintered a little but that is of no consequence as the outer transom pieces fit over.

0642

0641
Easier without the boarding in place to line up the capping at the stern.

0646

0651

0649

0645
I didn’t think it necessary to paint the rail prior to installation but I did run the edge of a chisel tipped waterproof marker along the inside edge.
 
Movin’ on…
 
B.E.
04/03/2025

The billboard, bolster and lining:
 










 

Deck clamps installed... and so we begin installing the orlop deck beams again, this time with some experience under my belt.

Hello and many thanks for your likes and comments
the next two strakes are ready. Now there are only two others left. The uper plank here is the rodrarhufr plank. In this plank later come the holes for the oars. She is a little thicker, 0,65mm.




And here you see also the thick fingers, who build this all 😁

The roof of the two rear cabins have now been added. I have just noted @Blue Ensign comment on his build log regarding the position of the roof with regards to the gunwales and I have the same issue with the rear section of the gunwale being above the level of the cabin roof. I do not plan to do anything with this for the time being. I also plan to add a margin plank between the deck and stern board joint.

My next task is to install the inner bulwark sheer rail and spirketting patterns. Experience has taught me that I need to check the position of the sheer rail with regards to the various belaying racks to ensure the racks can be installed without fouling with the bottom edge of the sheer rail. I plan glue the belaying rack in place before the sheer rail so that I can sure the racks are full engaged in the locating slots provided.
 
In the photos below I am test fitting the sheer rail and spirketting patterns, both of which required a little bit of trimming. In the final photo below I am also making sure the bowsprit will fit through the hole provided at the bow. Before fitting the racks and patterns I will coat the various parts with sanding sealer and then paint, red for the patterns and black for the racks.

 

Hi Mark,
A quarter round may have been an option had the lower counter had a more convex  shape, but sadly not.🤔
 
Post 47
Roof boards and Capping rails – which is the chicken, which is the egg.
I had been thinking of adding the roof boarding at this point.
Again this is a slightly oversize pre-printed shaped board.

0621
However, the plan would indicate that the Capping rails run directly over the outer edge of the mdf  roof line, but…..

0618
On my build the mdf deck structure rises above the Gunwale on the outer side. Whether this is an expected thing or a peculiarity of my build I’m not sure.

0623
The instructions are not expansive on this aspect, but it appears that the outer edge of the structure need to be flush with the gunwale to allow  a fair run of the capping rail.
There is no indication of trimming the capping rail at its aft end.

0625
Some trimming of the board will be necessary.
 
It strikes me that it may be better to fit the capping rail before the roof boards.
This does not concur with the build sequence where adding the boards is some 34 steps before the capping rails are added, but it makes sense to me.
I can’t think why the cappings shouldn’t be added at this point, and it is the route I will take, having made the outer roof line edge flush with the gunwale.
 
B.E.
03/03/2025

Post 46
Detailing the deck cont’d
Before the spirketting is fitted it is necessary to fit the doors to the aft deck structures.

3532a
These have been fitted out with Syren hinges and handles.
 
Side panels for the deck structures (Parts 60/61)

3533a
Any hopes for a close fit were quicky dispelled, no doubt due to the peculiarities of my build.

0560
A card template was used to get the required shape which due to the differences precludes use of the outer framing pattern in its supplied form.

3534a
The shape was cut out of 0.6mm fret and lines drawn to represent the boarding at 3mm intervals. These were scored with a scalpel blade, and lined with pencil.

0604
The frames were made from 3mm strip also cut from the fret.

3541a
Trimming of the forward edge.

0609

3545a
Lower Counter
I wasn’t happy about the fit at the stern where the decking meets the lower counter; it looked unfinished and from a practical carpentry aspect was a poor arrangement.

3547a
I added a shaped Margin to butt against the plank ends and  fayed into the lower counter. This part has been painted along with the counter.

3551a
Onwards….
 
B.E
02/03/2025

John I would ignore the lot of them!  You are the one doing the work and you govern the pace; not like you are under a Contract.  So if you want to take your time you should; but, as you have indicated your intention to complete ASAP, that is your call and they should respect that. It is really a bit cheeky of them pushing you if you are doing this on a voluntary basis; they should be grateful and encouraging.
 
She is looking great BTW, very nice work.
 
cheers
 
Pat

You're entirely welcome, Bill. Here is the forepart of the ship prior to insertion of beakhead bulkhead

The beakhead bulkhead is framed and the stanchions with holes for sheaves applied. The extra planking for the anchor lining extends to the stempost according to plans which brings it up to the thickness of the main wale.

 

Cheers
Dick
 

after some time I resumed work on the model by finishing the laying of the deadeyes and chains:
 

I have spent a few days masking and spraying. Fortunately the workshop temperature has climbed to a balmy 49f / 9.5c.
 
I completed the masking using a combination of Tamiya tape for the edges and blue painters tape for the less sensitive areas. 


The larger areas were covered with paper taped at the edges.

I sprayed a white waterline band using Humbrol white enamel paint.

I then masked off the watering band and exposed the 1/32" ply compensation plates.
Having gone to all that trouble with varnishing the hull I have decided to go minimalist on the hull painting. The new plan is to paint the compensating plates green to match the hull colour. I can always paint the rest of the hull above the waterline if I don't like the result.
Getting the right green wasn't easy but by mixing Humbrol Brunswick with Humbrol Black I was able to achieve something that looked near enough. The lighter green (arrow below) is Brunswick and the second arrow is the Brunswick / Black blend.

I mixed plenty so that I didn't run out mid application.

After leaving the paint to dry overnight I peeled off the tape.


I paid a lot of attention to the tape edges before painting and thankfully the only bleed area was at the bow between the junction of the keel and the hull.
I think I will be able to scrape off the bleed with a sharp blade before touching up with a little varnish. I don't think I need to paint the remainder of the hull above the waterline.
 
 

Yes, I will try to repair it, or even replace few ribs, that is doable as well. No giving up, but need to order some woods which will take some time to arrive..
In the meantime will finish up my working area... La Rochefort will be completed, in this scale or bigger..
 
Cheers