NMBROOK

The gunports...
 
Dražen

Here, you can see the finished and grinded hull.
 
The photos I took before more than two years so, they may be approximately three years old.
 
Dražen

Well, let us post some photos here,,,
 
The first ones are of very low quality since photographed from a camcorder screen, but you can get the impression what is going on. If you visit my build log (Zeven Provincien, 1665), you can probably see a bit more detailed explanation of the first steps which were similar to Mile’s.
 
First: Making the hull...
 
Dražen

Starboard main mast channel attached, and brass supports from above...
Position check with chainplates to end before the wale...
 
Nils
 
 
 

three supports
 

chainplate length fits

Dear friends model builders,
 
I am starting here a new build log in the name of my very good friend Mile Bijelić. We have registered Mile last weekend and since Mile has limited access to a computer and is just learning in getting used to it, I will be posting his photos more often. Nevertheless, Mile will read the comments and reply - possibly with a certain delay, you may excuse him.
 
First to introduce Mile Bijelić from my point of view: Mile is a very kind and dear person who impressed me since many years with his extremely exact way of working with the models. As far as I am concerned, Mile made something over 20 model ships of higher complexity. I myself was always getting my jaws dropped when looking at the beauty he managed to express with his models. All the photos I made cannot express the feeling when I observe them in the nature. At the same time, Mile is an extremely uncomplicated, openhearted person willing to help without end. We were sitting, I can remember the winter where we had some repairing at the electrical installation in the district of the town Zagreb and it was cold, we were sitting in the coats in his room for 13 hours and in the evening we were using our pocket lamps. He was and is always here for me to support me with my (challenging) project (De Zeven Provincien, 1665 in scale 1:45).
 
Mile won gold at the world Championship twice: in August 1998 with the Royal Caroline 1749, scale 1:35 and in September 2013 with the Royal Prince 1670, scale 1:70.
 
Just for the introduction, I will post here the photo of Mile (he is in the blue shirt on the right, Royal Prince in the middle and myself am on the left side) and a second photo of Mile with his awards.
 
From now, I will add photos under my name and Mile will write from his account directly.
 
Cheers
Dražen (in the name of Mile)

Thanks man, there are many ways to paint so google and youtube model weathering and you'll find great tutorials and info, at least on plastic models.
 
I've been working on the gunports lately. The look I want is when the gunports are not strictly opened, but some are closed or halfway opened. I like the uneaven rough and everyday life look of it. Here are some pics of Batavia and Götheborg with the look I like:
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
That ment I had to plan for the cannons to be inside. I also had to plank the back of the hatches as the original BB are hollow. That was actually good as it was easy to stain the planks in the same color as the rest of the ship. The closed hatches are scratched. Here is how far I've gotten:
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
/Matti
 

Thanks mate!You have a good one too and hope all goes well with your Gordon Ramsey bit   I have discovered there is a direct relationship between the manual thickness sander and the kettle on/off switch,I suggest you try there first          
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Sjors
I have changed the bulkheads to make it easier for me later to produce the feature I want.I have taken a picture of a Navy Board model to show you what I mean.If you look where my 'Arrow' is pointing you will see that the hull frames are left open between the upper wales.This is the feature I want to replicate.I would have had to chop pieces of the plywood away later using the full kit bulkhead but replacing them now is easier.If it wasn't for this 'detail' I could have kept the bulkheads as they were.This is also the reason I have changed to single planking,I had worked out how to do it with double planking but it was just making the job complicated.Please feel free to ask all the questions you like.
Kind Regards Nigel
 
P.s.I have a large supply of the clamps,I could do you a special deal      

Thank you Sjors  .If you look at post 36 on page three,there is a photo of a builder's model.I intend to leave the planking off between the upper wales like in this photo so the frames will be visible
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Nigel,
 
I don't understand what you are doing with all those frames but it looks great !
That I don't understand it is not your fault but mine.
When there is to much text, it's difficult for me to follow it.
But I like it     
 

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you very much indeed mate   I can't help with the disappearing post    She does remind me of Neopolitan icecream at the moment   I don't know whether you have that in Sweden,but it is strawberry,vanilla and chocolate with the three different colours and flavours as stripes  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Huh, weird, my reply disappeared.
 
Awesome work Nigel, she is starting to look beautiful allready!
 
/Matti

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Al, Ben and Nigel, thanks for looking in and the words of encouragement. I have been steadily getting these bulkheads up to standard. It's a slow process though. I'm cutting out the starboard side of the copies of the plans, tracing the profiles onto 1/8" thick basswood sheets and cutting these out. Once I've got the proper shape on the starboard side then I take that same template or gauge and use it on the port side and then I'm assured symmetry. 

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thanks mate!!got plenty of time to devote to her this week so the updates will be coming thick and fast  

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Things are getting interesting now    I have tack glued some temporary stringers to keep all the frames plumb and true and placed a couple of key braces to keep things following the centreline.I had come up with a fancy jig design but sacked that as to be honest it was unnecessary and would only restrict access.The hull was then infilled from the gun deck upwards partway using Obechi simply because it is easy to sand and shape and the local modelshop happened to have some 1/4 inch sheets..These followed the shear,but the tops were then trimmed down so that they a parallel to the waterline below the top of the first upperwale.I won't call this a chainwale as the channels sit above this according to photos of the builders model.Some extensive draughting was required to sort theTransom side timbers as there is no frame here in Euromodels design,simply fresh air.The transom is still a flat block as this permits easy measuring and marking out.There is a 10mm arc in the transom face which will be added later,but is why there doesn't appear to any overhang of the stern counter at the moment.I want to fill the gaps between the frames to coincide with the top edge of the upper wale.The futtocks would have in reality finished lower down,but I am doing this for asthetics and then there won't be unsightly holes.The visible section of the upperframes and gunport linings will be in Pear to provide an interesting contrast to the boxwood.The 'combs' that provide an anchor for the upperframe sections and fill the gaps I chose to make from European boxwood to further highlight this detail.Rectangles that are horizontal and follow the centreline were cut form box making sure there was enough material to allow contouring to the hull lines later.These were then milled on the MF70 with 5mm wide slots to accomodate the upper frames.The slots are deep enough to ensure the base of the frames lie below the top of the wale and the top of the blocks are high enough to go above it.The idea being that once they are all in place,temporary wales will be attached and the shear marked and trimmed on the top of the combs.The rectangular blocks had the bulk stock removed after milling prior to gluing in place.Final shaping will be done when they are all inplace.I am concentrating on the aft section of one side as there is a temporary upright holding things true at the stern.When this section is complete,I can fit another upright the otherside of the centreline then remove the existing one.This will give me the access to work on the inside of the hull at the inside.I am trying to avoid fitting the transom framing until later as it will make sanding the inside much more awkward.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

It's been two weeks since I've posted on this log. If you're wondering "What the h**l has that guy been doing?" I'm here to explain. When I started on the Niagara I had some suspicions that the bulkheads weren't matching from the left side to the right side. I started to get that feeling with Connie too. I checked the plans and even the plans didn't have perfectly matching contours when comparing the left and right sides (I'll use proper sea-going terms when this starts to look like a ship). The sides of my ship are not matching up to one another despite carefully aligning the center lines of them to the center line of my false keel. This is going to make life difficult when trying to plank given my slight case of OCD with this build. To try and correct this I cut apart plan sheet one into the separate bulkheads and then made copies of them all. This will also help with future builds of sister ships   . The pictures I've included today are of my plans, the Connie skeleton with the poplar blocks sanded down, and my start to adding wood to the bulkheads so I can get them to the proper shape and mirror imaged from left to right. I've also included a picture of another project that has stolen from my ship building time and the lazy shipyard overseer. Thanks for looking in.

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have started to fit the upper hull starting from the stern forwards.By notching back the temporary stringers,I am able to use plain pear strip overwidth,rather than trying to develop individual shapes for each of the frame sections.There is a not very clear photo showing this.Each piece was fitted with an obechi infill individually.By using the digital vernier to check running dimensions as I went along,this avoided any accumulative build up of error.The obechi was thickness sanded(using a sanding block   )to suit each location.There is variation in frame spacing due to working with the constraints of bulkhead positions,but it is so small,it unnoticable to the eye.I have set the obechi 2mm above the base of the upper trim(bottom of the ebony planking).This is to allow fine adjustment of the ends and then capping with 3mm boxwood.Doing it this way means no tool marks will be visible on the frames from shaping the ends of the obechi.This complete section has been trimmed 3mm below the cap rail so I can fit a square pear 'binding' stringer to tie everything together.I got this idea from Dr Mike and makes alot of sense to tie all these laminations together.It also provides a sanding guide for upper frame thickness.This will be pinned later into the top of some of the frames for additional strength.The length of this upper edge is overlong at present and steps down to a lower level,which will be cut back when the next section is complete.My technique just leaves a section to sand back when the temporary stringers are removed.I am considering replacing these afterwards,but bolting to the hull with M2 bolts as this area will be planked over.I am also considering using threaded rods as well to keep the upper hull the right distance apart as work progresses.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Beautiful Stuff Nigel.. btw I picked up one of those Thickness Sanders last year, but cant seem to find where to switch it on..  
 
All The Best Mate, and a Great Weekend to Ye Both !
 
Eamonn