davyboy

Hello, and many thanks for your likes and comments
 
Ian, I would be lucky if there where no sanding or glue marks  But at least, now the last are gone
Marc, with the symmetry it's such a thing. Because I had no real experience with this way to build a model, I chose a too thin plywood. So the starboard side is some millimetres broader then the port side of the ship. But you would't notice it without a ruler.  
 
Here a picture with all 12 pounders in place, but now not permanently. Notice also my efforts to make the walls of the QD symmetrical. 

As long as the oil has to dry, I'm looking how to set up the cabins. At the sheer plan the first bulwark begins 1m behind the wheels. At the floor plan directly behind them. That may also be a mistake in the sheer plan, or there where some cabins like at the model of the Centurion? The wheels here are behind the mizzen mast. And is there a cabin for at least the master? I looked at the pictures of models and plans from that period. They are all different. Even from plan to model  I prefer the way they did it at the Medway. That correspondent with the way they did it at the 60 gunner model I saw at Chatham. And I think that it will work, when the bed place for the captain is at least 2 m broad. 

Indy Build Status
My time in the shipyard has been very limited over the last 10 days so progress has been slow but I have completed adding the stays and preventors for the main and mizzen masts.  I have attached a couple of photo's of the current build status.

Since my last post I have added the main stay and preventor. The aspect which I found difficult to add was the snaking. It took me a few false starts before the snaking was completed to an acceptable level, albeit it is far from perfect.

Next I added the mizzen mast stay which was a very easy task to complete.

Before I move on to adding the top and topgallant masts there are a few more blocks which I need to add to the three masts, as shown below.

Post One Hundred and fifty-one
 
All things brass
A few days taken up with the fitting of deck eyebolts, stanchions, and hammock cranes.
3810
These items are beautifully crafted by Chris particularly the waist cranes with integral retaining hooks and eyes.
 
Cranes also line the Qtr deck bulwark and are placed atop the Qtr deck breast rail.
Before removal from the fret I clean with fine steel wool which aids the subsequent blackening process.

3813
Once removed the Qtr deck cranes needed careful cleaning up to remove all traces of the fret nubs and are then trial fitted to reduce handling later.
They are given an acid bath, followed by the blackening procedure.

3818

3819

3814
I use 0.5mm ø brass tubing to maintain the line whilst progressively fitting the waist cranes.

3815

3816

3817

3823
I did notice that cranes or stanchions are not provided for the Fo’csle rails between the timberheads. 
Should there be, I don’t know. 🤔
Victory was equipped with cranes, and the Sphinx model has stanchions around the Fo’csle.

The contemporary model of Amazon (32) 1773 had stanchions around the Fo’csle between the timberheads.
 
I am inclined to think that 'Indy' may have had them for safety on the exposed Foc’sle, particularly as we know these razees were prone greater rolling.
 
I’ll have a ferret thro’ my spares box and see how they look.
 
 
B.E.
29/02/2024

HI brunnels,
 
I have a pack of identical looking blades which I inherited about 20 years ago. They are called Balsa hobel klingen (plane blades) manufactured by a German firm called Martor in Solingen. I've only ever used them for scraping decks etc,they're good steel and hold an edge. I suspect your blades are likely a product of the PRC.
 
Dave   

Hi ☺️
 
 

Hi All
 
So it's time to put all of these pieces together and just generally catch up with myself.  So firstly I put in all of the nails that I had missed and finished parts for the hatch above the stove.  I also had to make the decorative rail that covers the end of the last beam.
 
Loads of small clamps on the rail to get a nice even curve

Then it was just a case of assembly and clean up.  The results are below.






So thats the forecastle deck and detailed work below pretty much finished.  I'm a little unsure what to do next but I think its probably about time I finished off the planking of the hull.
 
Cheers Mark

Some more work done - This time it's the small office/store cupboard.  It's a very simple construction with brass hinges and lock.  It has a small shelf too and many angles come together for a good fit.





So now I have to bring all of these parts together and finish off some of the little details that I have missed
 
Mark
 

I have completed the bench lockers and rudder trunk.  This finishes up the inboard side of the transom nicely I think.   I have taken many step by step photos but rather than go through the whole process here are some pictures.
 
Its pretty self explanatory actually.
 
The panels are made in two layers of .025 Yellow Cedar for the benches and rudder trunk.  Then its just a matter of shaping them to fit snug and neat in position.  You want a tight fir against the planked sides of the cabin.  
Small lengths of 24 gauge black wire was use for the benchtop lids.   Some laser etching showed where they go.  To finish it all up I added that aft-most beam permanently and also the framed for the rudder.  Everything s laser cut for you...even the planking for the inside portion of the counter.  The sides of the rudder trunk panels were beveled so they could be fit together with a tight mitered seam between them.  I have not added wipe on poly yet.  I want to do a bit of clean up and repainting where thing got scuffed up a bit.  But I expect it will clean up OK.  And I have already cleaned the inside of the windows as well.   It will get harder to do that now that this detail was completed.
 

 


 







 
 
 
 

Thanks so much, Marc, Hakan, Allan, Mark and Dan. It really means a great deal to me to hear from all of you. I have a meeting with a pain specialist on Friday, and hopefully I will be able to get past this soon!
 
In the meantime, I have been working away on what has been the biggest challenge for me so far, the stern. I plan to make a number of posts on this, starting today with an overview of the end goal; what will it look like?
 
I have always aimed to base my model on the original design and the first model, shown here:
 

 
Although this model shows mainly the framing system, it does have a hint of what the original design intended on the stern at least down to the bottom of the captain's balcony. Everything past this is speculation for a reconstruction!
 
The second model, made twenty years later after a major refit of the ship itself, shows much more detail (see below). At first glance, this provides information on all of the detail not shown in the first model. But the second model changed the original design in ways I did not find pleasing. It added an ugly railing above the roundhouse (nice for the sailors, bad for the aesthetics). The balcony railing makes a sharp turn into the stern one bay inboard on each side, whereas the original model has a nice sweeping serpentine curve across the entire stern. The original model has nicely proportioned vertical supports (painted red) with nicely detailed fretwork, whereas the second model skinnies those down and punches crude holes for detail. The first model carries additional carving down to the bottom of the railing adjacent to the large corner post carvings of women, linking things together visually. The second model unsatisfyingly smashes the balcony into the corner sculpture.
 
And in terms of color, the second model uses white for the balcony fretwork and the pilasters on the band of windows, which I find visually jarring relative to the rest of the ship. There are a few other examples of white windows, pilasters and fretwork on other roughly contemporary ships, most notably the Princess Royal in the Annapolis museum; but not many either in models or paintings of the period. This is not typical, in other words.
 
I suspect this was the modeler's effort to give visual "punch" to his model, not a reflection of common practice in the actual ships. I suspect the Princess Royal model has white details like the Bellona second model because it was built by the same modeler; the friezes on both ships are identical in painting style and technique, and the models were likely built at the same time. It may be two different modelers used the same frieze painter, but given the rarity of this look in most other ships, I think we are seeing the personal signature of a modeler here. I would be very interested to hear if others have another view of this.
 

 
So, how can I reconstruct the original model, from the incomplete information in the original model? Here, for better or worse, is my first shot at a reconstruction (see below).
 
I reproduced the balcony geometry, the carvings, and the wider balcony vertical supports with the more elaborate fretwork. I picked up the little bust carvings below the balcony from another contemporary ship. I accepted the pilaster design from the second Bellona model, although in the spirit of visual harmony I  continued the red down from the balcony into the boards behind the pilasters. In the same spirit of visual harmony, I propose to keep the pilasters and the window frames natural wood, along with the carvings and mouldings.
 
The second model friezes and paintwork on the upper and lower counters are really quite delightful (just like on the Princess Royal). So why not use them, with no other sources to draw upon for this? I propose to reproduce those paintings in my model, including the tone and hue of the background blue paint.
 
I would be very interested to hear any opinions as to whether I am on the right track on this reconstruction.
 
Next posting will discuss the very complex geometry in this stern, and my efforts to bring it under control for construction.
 
While I am working on that, I am also working with Chuck of Syren models, who is going to laser cut the window frames and balcony fretwork for me, using my drawing templates. I had long wanted to make everything on this model myself, but I finally had to face the reality that I did not have the skill to make window frames just .023" thick, or even worse, the pierced fretwork. And after a long and fascinating chat with Chuck at the Admiralty Models workshop on carving in Annapolis in October, I came to see that this is just using another tool to achieve my modeling needs, still based on my drawing. Thank you Chuck!
 
By the way, Chuck also pointed out to me that the very fine details like window frames were made of ivory in original models, because it could hold the detail better than even boxwood. Most models seem to have colored this; the second Bellona model builder maybe put up the freshly cut window or fretwork and thought, "looks good as is!"
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi
Realization of the 2nd part captain’s camera
 

 





 

 
Adrián Sorolla

That is a dream workshop Gianpiero. I love the way your bench power tools slide out for easy access. And you have your very own museum to boot! Speaking for everyone else here - we're jealous!

This instead is the front room where I stored all my lifelong models......
 

here is my workshop in its current state....!
 




 

Kevin, I'll accommodate you now!
here is my workshop that has just been refurbished:









 
 

Finishing up the stern structure, there is just 4 more pieces I need to add 

these are here to help with planking, the lower pieces have a fairing reference line as you can see below

the horizontal pieces get installed first

and after you have sanded the lower pieces they can then be installed. You can see the notches cut into the top, these just fit right under those frames and should line up with the bottom Of frame 25.

now I will completely fair out the stern and prepare the counter for planking. A .25”x.0625” rabbet strip will also need to be added to the stern.

Happy sanding!
 
JJ
 

We are slowly approaching the end of the poles and ropes, the latest situation.

Little progress in my work on Blagoev.

Don't cheat, you cannot go nowhere without that WD40 Keith! Can't see the duct tape however, that must be in the drawer.

Hi, and thanks to all
 
I generally use small chisels and gouges made from carbide shanks of broken cutters, or tailor's needles or hypodermic needles, I don't use motorized cutters, due to the smallness of the details, and I have a normal helmet with interchangeable lenses

Good evening everyone
big lesson learnt
i didnt mess up, but i did try to go my own way on this build and work fwd to aft on the rigging, well im not clever enough for that, and lost my way, i will always remember the fact the sequence  of rigging is for a reason, nothing is lost or damaged, just looks a mess at present untill i catch up

so i am back to plan 16 with just some upper ratlines to do, and then move onto 17 and progress the main and mizzen backstays 

 
 

HI brunnels,
 
I have a pack of identical looking blades which I inherited about 20 years ago. They are called Balsa hobel klingen (plane blades) manufactured by a German firm called Martor in Solingen. I've only ever used them for scraping decks etc,they're good steel and hold an edge. I suspect your blades are likely a product of the PRC.
 
Dave   

I’m looking at the third photo of the interior and can’t wait to see how you are going to replicate that!

The lego sorting is finished and the eye is Ok for some low dust workshop activities (I wore a pair of goggles just to be sure). Yesterday and today I recommenced work on the hull.
 
The following three pictures show internal views of Cangarda.


In the accommodation spaces the hull frames are hidden behind the internal cladding. I assume that space between the cladding and hull is full of insulation.  The only space where the framing is left exposed is in the engine room. 
 
In the accommodation spaces I decided to use balsa to create the walls. 

This was installed in the fashion of barrel making - the balsa only being slightly thicker than the depth off the webs on the frames. An internal view might make this confusing remark clearer. The internal surfaces will be sanded flat and clad internally when Cangarda is removed from the building board.

With the circular saw being out of action the cutting of the balsa was done with a razor saw.
 
I was distracted from the balsa work when I realised I had mistakenly made the prop shaft casing 18mm diameter when it should have been 14mm. I started carving it back but decided I needed a guide, so I turned up the guide indicated by the white arrow.

Positioning the guide in the casing allowed me to roughly carve the casing to approximately the correct size.

I then shaped a sanding block to the correct external diameter and finished the resizing by sanding.

It will probably take another week or so to finish the balsa work. The walls of the engine room will be devoid of the balsa filling.
 
 
 
 
 

Hi ☺️