NMBROOK

I continue with top masts, shrouds and ratlines. Work goes slower than I expected. But the model starts to increase in height.

I have fully sanded the deck smooth.After this,the deck was wiped with an extremely diluted mix of Liver of sulpur gel,http://www.metalclay.co.uk/patinas/,thiswas to take the shine off the copper,rather than turn it black,which a stronger mix would have done.It has removed the shine and darkened the copper ever so slightly.So far two coats of poly have been applied and the deck has been rubbed down ready for the third.
 
Happy New Year everyone
 
Nigel

Excellent question Crackers!!After studying the pics of the builders model on the NMM website,of which there are many,the following need addressing if you want a historically accurate model.The upper gunports are one too few and the spacing needs adjusting.The beakhead area and stern are completely wrong.Both of these areas are actually very complex and are described in John Franklin's Navy board models.The stern balcony is actually grated with the carvings acting as supporting'gussets'.This allows water to drain through.According to John Franklin.this is the only ship he was aware of with this arrangement.The beakhead also has a raised grated deck.I feel that to incorporate these details,Euromodels would have to have increased the price by a large amount.If Mordaunt cost more than Royal William,no one would buy the kit.So yes Van de Velde's pic is accurate.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I am building mine inline with Van de velde's work and the builders model.The gunport quantity position was already been addressed when I cut them.The stern balcony arrangement will be added when I add the stern framing.I never intended to build as Euromodel intended from the start.The actual hull shape is correct OOTB,the stern involves lengthening the hull sides by around 15mm above the counter.Tweaks have also been made to the sheer of the top edge of the hull.The hull around the beakhead is also correct,it is how this area is enclosed by the 'three step' arrangement each side that changes things.If your search 'Mordaunt 1681' on the NMM website,you will see all the pics which explain things clearer.The area under the foredeck is also enclosed,a curved bulkhead featuring belfry is missing from the Euromodel kit.
The bigger question is,which way are you going to build yours Crackers?
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel
 
P.S. I hope you start a log,kinda lonely being the Mordaunt builder on here

Excellent question Crackers!!After studying the pics of the builders model on the NMM website,of which there are many,the following need addressing if you want a historically accurate model.The upper gunports are one too few and the spacing needs adjusting.The beakhead area and stern are completely wrong.Both of these areas are actually very complex and are described in John Franklin's Navy board models.The stern balcony is actually grated with the carvings acting as supporting'gussets'.This allows water to drain through.According to John Franklin.this is the only ship he was aware of with this arrangement.The beakhead also has a raised grated deck.I feel that to incorporate these details,Euromodels would have to have increased the price by a large amount.If Mordaunt cost more than Royal William,no one would buy the kit.So yes Van de Velde's pic is accurate.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi,
Time to explain the work done to fit the prop-tube.
First I made some filler blocks to cover the cutout needed to run the tube. Then they were drilled whilst clamped to the keel so some 5/16 dowel could be used to locate the keel after cutting the tube slot. The keel was then cut to fit the tube. The cut then dropped lower and was run parallel to the bottom edge of the keel up to nearly the second bulkhead from the bow.
The blocks were fitted back to the keel (dry). This then gave me a slot that was wide enough in the keel to fit the tube, but the blocks needed a slight radius cut in them to accommodate the tube. So I pulled out a homemade reamer made for my other build.

It is machined from stainless steel and has a diameter of 5/16 to suit prop-tubes. The first 1" or so is reduced to the thickness of the keel and acts as a guide. Teeth were cut into the stepped face with a cutting saw in a Dremel. It requires a lot of chip clearing in use, but gives a much smoother safer finish than can be obtained with a drill or file. The bulkheads were fitted dry as I reamed the hole and this gave a nice neat hole for the tube.
Another problem with the tube is the diameter when it comes to the bearding line. The keel is 4mm ply and the tube 8mm. To solve this I machined an extended rear bearing out of solid bronze. This allowed me to increase the bearing area so the sides of the bearing can be faired with the keel. A small 5mm dia was machined on the end to aid with keeping things even when fairing (also to act as an end to the bearing where the prop will have contact).
Time will only tell if my ideas work. I am using a prop-shaft with a dia of 4mm, so I really cannot afford to fair the stern too much. I am also limited with how much room there is to fit the prop in between the stern and rudder post, so i have decided to not run a nut behind the prop. I hope this doesn't give me any issues down the track.

G'day All,
 
Here I am starting my second log and my first planked hull. This time I am going for a challenge by trying my hand at fitting a working steam engine and radio gear into what is a static model kit. Yes, I may be crazy trying this on only my second build (& the first isn't finished yet either)!! My choice for this comes from building stand alone steam engines, and wanting to take it a step further by adding the building of a boat to house one. My choice of kit came from being happy with my first kit from A.L, & the fact I fell in love with the shape of the hull on this tug.

Some background on myself, as I am newish to the site and probably should introduce myself.
I am a Fitter and Turner by trade, and have little patience for working with wood (yes, I think it's funny too).
I live down here in the lovely state of Tasmania in Australia and this gives me access to a wonderful selection of specialty timbers native to this area. I am also blessed with a hand-me-down collection of hard to get timber such as Tasmanian Huon Pine, Black Heart Sassafras, King-Billy Pine and Myrtle. I look to incorporate some of these into the ship.
I am married, with two daughters, one aged 4 yrs and the other 5 months. This means I spend a lot of time with my trusty hound (the only other male in the house) building things in my shed.
I work full time as a maintenance fitter and have too many hobbies. This may mean I get distracted for periods of time, working on other projects and I apologize now if I leave you waiting for updates from time to time.
 
O.K, Time to get started!
Some pics of the pre-cut parts.



My first step was to start working on making room in the hull for the go-bits.
This was a headache as the finished size of this model is about 600 mm (24") long and I am trying to fit lots in it.
I decided to use the cutout for the prop-tube to make a cut along the keel to help remove the unwanted framing material later. Then the necessary bulkheads were marked and cut on a scroll saw to aid removing the centers later.
I will try to let the pics tell the story as I am slow at typing and struggle to explain things sometimes.


Any questions on how or why I am doing things the way I am will be explained the best I can, so feel free to ask.
Cheers for now, Scott.

Hello Mike , thank you for visiting my build log . For now on I read some things and do some tests with fiberglass . When I'm ready to apply the fiberglass to the ship I will post photos from the whole process .
 
Regards
Dimitris

Dear visitors of my build,
 
here is some update on the Royal Caroline model.
 
Thanks for watching.
 
Regards,
Jan

I have fully sanded the deck smooth.After this,the deck was wiped with an extremely diluted mix of Liver of sulpur gel,http://www.metalclay.co.uk/patinas/,thiswas to take the shine off the copper,rather than turn it black,which a stronger mix would have done.It has removed the shine and darkened the copper ever so slightly.So far two coats of poly have been applied and the deck has been rubbed down ready for the third.
 
Happy New Year everyone
 
Nigel

I,like Matti prefer a brush.The biggest issue with wood,especially basswood,is that the first coat lifts the grain.I tend to apply lots of thin coats by brush with plenty of flatting back every couple of coats.You are gaining very little tooling up with an airbrush as any imperfections are sanded away anyway.However I do spray everything with clear polyurethane afterwards.
Painting areas that will be hard to reach as you go is highly recommended.
As Matti says though,there is no right and wrong,we just find a method that works best for us.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She looks wonderful Vic It is almost a shame to apply any colour,instead leaving everything Pear i.e.Belgian style.I agree with George,modesty is a good quality,but I think you are being far to hard on yourself.I would question anyone that claims they never make mistakes and some tasks take a number of attempts to get right.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

thanks for the heads up.......hmmmm....if i don't beat myself ....nothin happens....nothin ..........inertia is my bigest hurdle........another hmmmmm.....no color wales etc......hmmmmm have to think about that one.......

hi....this is not a real build log, but rather a once in awhile ''where i'm at build'' along with sharing some experiences along the way and seeking some advice..............hmmmmm....maybe that's a build log.....
     i wasn't going to bother posting on this forum since i couldn't come close to competing with the exceptional builds here of the confederacy, since i'm a 30% impatient-30% trial- and 30% error builder....and as i've discovered.....no....i can't change, no matter hard i try...even at my age.........but.....somehow the models come out looking ok.........
    so this is a ''don't do this at home'' kind of post....or bare my butt log........for example......i have the ship on my lap.....lean over to sand a plank on the belt sander, and gouge a chunk out of the the planking below the wales near the bow....ha!...and you know what, to top it off??...i panick!!.....and grab the sanding block and try to sand down the gouge, and of course i end up with paper thin planks.....so.....i have to cut out and replace maybe 5 planks at different lengths so they  would blend in better and not stand out like a square patch.....and that wasn't easy....if i slipped and cut into a neighbouring plank, i'd have to cut that one out too.......so there.....this is the me i have to deal with, and i thought people here, wouldn't mind getting a laugh at this, or experience an i've done that too .........oh.....i oversanded a bit on another section too, but i just reinforced the back with 5 min epoxy instead of re-planking.....see how much fun this will be?....i have to say how nice that chuck designed so many bulkheads, which reduces this kind of thing from happening....for others, that is
   used swiss pear, which is a wonderful wood to work with, though it does have a bit of mottling in the grain, which is why i decided to use the rub on satin urethane instead of the tung oil, which i would have really prefered, but didn't use, as it would bring out the grain more......have only applied a quick rub on with urethane, to check apperance.....will use bass on the deck......
   i purchased a few cannons from syrene ship model cause the ones in the kit were ...hmmmmm........
anyways, i'll mold and cast them, and paint the number required instead of purchasing all brass.....they do seem a bit slim though, and i wonder if the nozzle hole should be widened somewhat.......and of course, i found a better ships wheel......
   anyways, until next time, and we'll see what other foibles i can come up with.....
oh....i do have to say that this is a super kit, and so much fun!.....and so much work has gone into the plans and manual...never seen anything like it....and in english!!!...a first for me.......now i can find out what everything is called...ha!......cheers, vic

I agree with Augie! Looks just fine to me. I think you're being just a little too hard on yourself and you certainly shouldn't be embarrassed by posting a build log. It's one of those "we can learn from each other's mistakes. 
 
Cheers 

Hello,
I wish you all a happy new year.

The building report continues with  the breeching ropes of the carronades.
The special feature is that the rope in the rear region of the
breech is protected by a leather taping in the form of a tube.
Here are some pictures of the work to breeching ropes.

 

 

Fantastic as always Nigel, just wonderful.  I'd never thought about LoS being used for this, but very interesting.  Do you think that it could also be a solution to providing an aged patina to copper hull plates?

I have fully sanded the deck smooth.After this,the deck was wiped with an extremely diluted mix of Liver of sulpur gel,http://www.metalclay.co.uk/patinas/,thiswas to take the shine off the copper,rather than turn it black,which a stronger mix would have done.It has removed the shine and darkened the copper ever so slightly.So far two coats of poly have been applied and the deck has been rubbed down ready for the third.
 
Happy New Year everyone
 
Nigel

I have fully sanded the deck smooth.After this,the deck was wiped with an extremely diluted mix of Liver of sulpur gel,http://www.metalclay.co.uk/patinas/,thiswas to take the shine off the copper,rather than turn it black,which a stronger mix would have done.It has removed the shine and darkened the copper ever so slightly.So far two coats of poly have been applied and the deck has been rubbed down ready for the third.
 
Happy New Year everyone
 
Nigel

I,like Matti prefer a brush.The biggest issue with wood,especially basswood,is that the first coat lifts the grain.I tend to apply lots of thin coats by brush with plenty of flatting back every couple of coats.You are gaining very little tooling up with an airbrush as any imperfections are sanded away anyway.However I do spray everything with clear polyurethane afterwards.
Painting areas that will be hard to reach as you go is highly recommended.
As Matti says though,there is no right and wrong,we just find a method that works best for us.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Lawrence I apologize not noticing your post earlier.Alas due to other build commitments,I do not have the time to devote to this model.I am itching to get back on with her,but she will have to wait a little longer.I am also suffering from withdrawal symptoms from woodcarving   .I have had to do the odd bit on Caroline to make some moulds,and it has made me realise how much I enjoy it.Good job really as there is probably in excess of 1000 carvings to produce on Sovereign  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Yup, spray cans are great for applying large coats of paint. Here's a tip: immerse your spray cans in hot water for 10 minutes before using them. This causes the pressure in the cans to build up, so the spray that you get is finer. If you let your cans get cold / or let the pressure go down, the paint comes out in droplets and causes a blotchy effect. 

I,like Matti prefer a brush.The biggest issue with wood,especially basswood,is that the first coat lifts the grain.I tend to apply lots of thin coats by brush with plenty of flatting back every couple of coats.You are gaining very little tooling up with an airbrush as any imperfections are sanded away anyway.However I do spray everything with clear polyurethane afterwards.
Painting areas that will be hard to reach as you go is highly recommended.
As Matti says though,there is no right and wrong,we just find a method that works best for us.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I,like Matti prefer a brush.The biggest issue with wood,especially basswood,is that the first coat lifts the grain.I tend to apply lots of thin coats by brush with plenty of flatting back every couple of coats.You are gaining very little tooling up with an airbrush as any imperfections are sanded away anyway.However I do spray everything with clear polyurethane afterwards.
Painting areas that will be hard to reach as you go is highly recommended.
As Matti says though,there is no right and wrong,we just find a method that works best for us.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hallo Dimitris, Nils, Elia, Nigel, Mark
 
I will following the discussion on the finish of the hull with great interest, i thank you for the valuable information, i need to learn much about this ...
 
Regards
Mike