NMBROOK

Hi Mates,
 
Continuing with the bow anchor cathead details, now turning to their needed kevels.
 
It turns out that I had built and installed a second pair that was at one time attached to the quarter-deck, turns out that this was incorrect (see first two pics).
 
 An early Vasa museum plans set (1980) showed two sets per side at that location, as did Landsröm. A second plan set dated 1981 had one set removed. I communicated with Fred Hocker, who indicated that the ’81 set had been corrected.
 
So the two kevels were just lying around, how convenient; shortened them for use at the bow railing, and just added a framing bit for attaching.
 
After gluing, then drilled small holes and inserted black fishing filament to simulate the needed nails.
 
The brilliant fishing line idea is not mine but belongs to one of our MSW members; apologetically I don’t remember whom (I did post a notation on his build log at the time of seeing his very clever idea)
 
Inserted the lines from the rear and left the front ends just a tad proud to simulate nail heads-sort of J
 
G-S cement is perfect for this task. If there were a bit of glue that travelled through the hole to the front end, after a few moments it can be removed with your thumb nail or tweezers, pulls completely off as would rubber cement. LOVE this glue! It has proved to be so versatile. Ferit thank you Again!! You found this.
 
Hint: I attempted to just “hack of" the front tips of the black filament to adjust them, but the blade snagged them and some resulted in angled cuts. Solution was to actually use the razor blade as a slicer moving the blade as I cut. Worked very nicely allowing for a nice clean flat cut. PS: Exacto type blade not up to the task.
 
--------------------
 
Thanks for your “likes”, dropping in for a look, as well as the very welcome supportive suggestions and comments J
 
Regards, as always
 
Michael

I would give serious consideration to waiting for Amati's Victory to hit the shelves in 1/64.This will certainly 'trump' all others as the leviathan of model ship kits.There is also the fact this will probably be one of the most advanced wooden kits on the market when it is released.It's development is shown in the Amati and Chris watton thread if you haven't seen it already.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

That looks spot on Michael Like Ferit says,sometimes we can't see the wood for the trees when we get wrapped up making these details.Looking at your recent pics reminds me of the great amount of work you have put into your model and what a joy and privilege it has been to follow your journey.I look forward to continue following along with the rigging and masting
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I would give serious consideration to waiting for Amati's Victory to hit the shelves in 1/64.This will certainly 'trump' all others as the leviathan of model ship kits.There is also the fact this will probably be one of the most advanced wooden kits on the market when it is released.It's development is shown in the Amati and Chris watton thread if you haven't seen it already.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I would give serious consideration to waiting for Amati's Victory to hit the shelves in 1/64.This will certainly 'trump' all others as the leviathan of model ship kits.There is also the fact this will probably be one of the most advanced wooden kits on the market when it is released.It's development is shown in the Amati and Chris watton thread if you haven't seen it already.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Very interesting. I saw this too, and the plans for the Chris Watton, Amanti HMS Revenge, which I'm super excited about. Thanks

Jim, Mobbsie and Frank...welcome aboard!  Always appreciate more people looking over my shoulder.
 
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
 
Wish I could take pictures of 'thinking' and 'fiddling' because I'd have more progress.  Wanted to get caught up on a few things before I lose sight of them.
 
The stern and counter:
Heres a current state photo of the stern.  I built up the rearmost bulkhead by laminating some additional waste ply to the forward face to hopefully give me a bit more surface area to play with and glue planks to when I get there, same is true for the shaper pieces attached to the keel former.  You can see how I'm hoping then sandwich in a replacement section in boxwood for the exposed sternpost.  Some additional scrap was used to provide some additional strength here as well as the stern is hanging of a relatively thin extension until I get this installed.  The starboard side has had only rough shaping, I'm still working on the port side.  It was apparent that the rabbet for the first planking needed to be extended further up than indicated in the plans.
 
I have decided to leave the troublesome transom profiles (26 & 27) off until last possible moment, and use the gunport positions to help determine the vertical position of the quarter galleries and the stern fascia.
 

 
Interior of foremost frames:
The kit indicates that interior planking on the upper deck should terminate at bulkhead 4.  I wanted to bring this as far forward as possible to give me some options as I may want to add some additional detail in this area (forward bitts, manger etc).  However, the upper deck forward frames are thicker than required so I had to reduce their thickness at the upper deck level to be consistent with the other frames.  The was a bear to do, and wish I had done this before the frames were installed, you can see where I've inadvertently disfigured other parts of the bulkheads.
 

 
The other thing to note is the additional ply added to frame 3.  The plans indicate that gunport 1 sits right over the 3rd frame, which is just plain poor design by Caldercraft.  To hopefully give me some options to cut gun port in the correct place, I built up the rear so to maintain structural stability in the event I cut through the original bulkhead.  Hopefully with planking in place this should be enough
 

 
Decking:
Have started the upper deck planking.  I replaced the supplied tanganyika decking material with maple which seems a pretty cost effective alternative to holly on such a large ship.  Edges were still quite jagged, and rather than sanding each strip individually I used a small jig to line multiple strips and sand all together to get a smoother edge.  Definitely quicker!  You can see the comparison of the maple against the supplied tanganyika which has lots of brown stripes and flecks - didn't like it.
 

Nigel and Ferit,
 
Thanks so very much for your advice. I have made the subtle, but very noticeable change to the knots by counter-sinking the holes. I have also changed how the blocks were laced.
 
Lastly I added the small details of the metal bracings at the sides of the cathead pulley rods.
 
Cheers guys and (:-) for you
 
Michael

Thank you very much indeed Tom for you kind words I do plan on returning to this model,possibly over the Christmas period.Everything is so involved with this build,I just can't do a bit now and then and life is hectic at the moment.A two week holiday from work with a little festivity,but a lot of modelbuilding should remedy that        
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I would give serious consideration to waiting for Amati's Victory to hit the shelves in 1/64.This will certainly 'trump' all others as the leviathan of model ship kits.There is also the fact this will probably be one of the most advanced wooden kits on the market when it is released.It's development is shown in the Amati and Chris watton thread if you haven't seen it already.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Nigel,
 
Your post got me very interested and I found this, a comprehensive look at the kit in development. Looks to be awesome. I'm sure that some of you may have already seen this pdf......but in case not, here is the link.
 
http://www.shipmodelersassociation.org/misc/VictoryKitResearchWatton.pdf
 
Michael

I have edited this first post in view of my log relocation.This build did start as a modified version of the Deagostini partwork,but as you read through the log,you will discover virtually nothing remains from the kit.
  To date I have built and planked the hull.So far the only kit parts I have used are the bulkheads.These had to be reprofiled at the stern to give a 'proper' round tuck stern.The planking below the walnut wales is maple and that above is boxwood.The walnut section at the top is to be painted black(I used walnut as it is a third of the cost of boxwood).I have cut the gunports as per the instructions but I am going to 'double line'the gunports on the upper deck to reduce them in size.
 At present before I final size the gunports and add anymore detail,I am replicating the treenailing on the whole hull.After reading about the many different techniques I chose to drill 0.4mm holes then use dark wood filler.The hull was glass smooth and fully sealed before starting,and I found the process fairly simple akin to grouting tiles,although I estimate at between three and four thousand holes to be drilled!I made a simple jig to assist in marking where the frames would be.
Regards Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Tom for you kind words I do plan on returning to this model,possibly over the Christmas period.Everything is so involved with this build,I just can't do a bit now and then and life is hectic at the moment.A two week holiday from work with a little festivity,but a lot of modelbuilding should remedy that        
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Wow Nigel, just read through this whole log. What wonderful carving. I can't wait to see you back at it.

Thanks Nigel.,Thanks Mark,Thanks İanmajor

Thanks Nigel. I totally understand what you're saying. Models as complex as these are labours of love, so I know that your hands are full at the moment. Mine took 3 years, even at such a small scale.
 
I'm sure that someone will stick their hands up.
 
Anyone?

That is a very generous offer Omega.I would have said yes as I would like to build a model of Lennox,however it will be a long while before I start anything else.It would only be fair to let someone else have them who would put them to use quite a bit sooner.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi all. One of my original purposes for doing this build-log was to freely offer the plans for Lennox to anyone who wants them. First come, first served. I no longer need the plans and they only take up rooom in my house. The 1/48 scale plans were ordered from Richard Endsor, author of the beautifully detailed book, Lennox, 17 th Century Restoration warship.
 
So, if you're interested in obtaining my set of plans, pls say so and I will post them to you!!

Ha! - yes I will use Bitumen - but not on this build - I just want to finally finish Confederacy after almost 5 years in !

As Nigel said, my pleasure.
All of us sometimes focus our attention on main affair and can skip a nuance.
And it's a pleasure to see obviously your enthusiasm and happiness are growing by overcoming upward details...
I respect your care and ability. Really stunning improvement Michael.

My pleasure Michael,sometimes it is only a case of a second pair of eyes
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Those blocks look great Michael If I may make one small suggestion.You could counterbore the hole where the knot sits,this would allow it to sit down a little in the cathead.I know not historically accurate and it is obvious you have got the knot as tight as possible for the rope size,just thought it would make the knot less obtrusive.Just an idea and I know it would mean re-rigging the blocks
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

My pleasure Michael,sometimes it is only a case of a second pair of eyes
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Ferit,
 
Thanks so much. This was a big error, and you are so kind to allow me to know of this. I so appreciate your post and pic. I have fixed this, as well as following Nigel's suggestion regarding the knots. I will post some updated pics along with the new kevels that I have just installed for the anchor catheads. Again thanks so much for your help (:-)
 
PS: Your Berlin ???? So many of us so love your work.
 
Regards,
 
Michael

Those blocks look great Michael If I may make one small suggestion.You could counterbore the hole where the knot sits,this would allow it to sit down a little in the cathead.I know not historically accurate and it is obvious you have got the knot as tight as possible for the rope size,just thought it would make the knot less obtrusive.Just an idea and I know it would mean re-rigging the blocks
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel