NMBROOK

Today I built the first of la Couronne's canon. I needed one that I could use for laying out the main decks gun ports. I did not care for the kits supplied carriages so I ended up building my own that I am much happier with.

Evening all
 
time for my 8 monthly update  . Where does time fly? Oh yeah work, kids, sleep, etc   . Finally got one side replanked. I'm much happier with the result. Here's an overall shot to start off with.
 

 
Here's a couple of before and after shots.
 

 

 
and finally
 

 
Just need to finish the other side and then I'm back exactly where I was in the summer last year!   
 
Nick

I have to chime in and agree with Mark on this one E J.My research on Sovereign revealed cannons facing towards the maindeck.Main aim to mutilate any boarding party that dare attempt it.Yes it would work,but half the masting and rigging would be destroyed in the process Mary rose had similar cannons None of it makes sense now,just the way they built ships back then
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dar
 
Jaager has pretty well covered all bases.Your best bet is to order some Titebond from Cornwall model boats.Pretty much everyone on here,myself included uses CMB for bits and bobs materials kits etc.It is worth the expense.Normal evostik type PVA from B&Q isn't quite the same.Building PVA stays rubbery when fully set,not ideal on models.Here's a link for the wood glue,Titebond is near the bottom
http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/wood_glues.html
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

One will go a long way Dar,when you eventually finish the bottle,I would rather get a 'fresh' one nearer the time
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dar
 
Jaager has pretty well covered all bases.Your best bet is to order some Titebond from Cornwall model boats.Pretty much everyone on here,myself included uses CMB for bits and bobs materials kits etc.It is worth the expense.Normal evostik type PVA from B&Q isn't quite the same.Building PVA stays rubbery when fully set,not ideal on models.Here's a link for the wood glue,Titebond is near the bottom
http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/wood_glues.html
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dar
 
Jaager has pretty well covered all bases.Your best bet is to order some Titebond from Cornwall model boats.Pretty much everyone on here,myself included uses CMB for bits and bobs materials kits etc.It is worth the expense.Normal evostik type PVA from B&Q isn't quite the same.Building PVA stays rubbery when fully set,not ideal on models.Here's a link for the wood glue,Titebond is near the bottom
http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/wood_glues.html
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have heard Amati rigging line is probably the best off the shelf non rope product
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Greg,I'm with Jaager on this.I read your post earlier and Cypress sent alarm bells ringing,but haven't had time to investigate.Somewhere I had heard that Cypress has an open cellular grain.Trolling the net doesn't confirm or deny this.However it's density and low hardness would say this is probably correct.I feel that the wood is swelling and shrinking at different rates as others have said.Due to it's characteristics,it could even be the moisture from the glue that is causing it.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Greg,I'm with Jaager on this.I read your post earlier and Cypress sent alarm bells ringing,but haven't had time to investigate.Somewhere I had heard that Cypress has an open cellular grain.Trolling the net doesn't confirm or deny this.However it's density and low hardness would say this is probably correct.I feel that the wood is swelling and shrinking at different rates as others have said.Due to it's characteristics,it could even be the moisture from the glue that is causing it.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have heard Amati rigging line is probably the best off the shelf non rope product
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have to chime in and agree with Mark on this one E J.My research on Sovereign revealed cannons facing towards the maindeck.Main aim to mutilate any boarding party that dare attempt it.Yes it would work,but half the masting and rigging would be destroyed in the process Mary rose had similar cannons None of it makes sense now,just the way they built ships back then
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have to chime in and agree with Mark on this one E J.My research on Sovereign revealed cannons facing towards the maindeck.Main aim to mutilate any boarding party that dare attempt it.Yes it would work,but half the masting and rigging would be destroyed in the process Mary rose had similar cannons None of it makes sense now,just the way they built ships back then
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have to chime in and agree with Mark on this one E J.My research on Sovereign revealed cannons facing towards the maindeck.Main aim to mutilate any boarding party that dare attempt it.Yes it would work,but half the masting and rigging would be destroyed in the process Mary rose had similar cannons None of it makes sense now,just the way they built ships back then
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

No experience with MarisStella myself,but can't praise Daniel Dusek's work enough.His company is also a site sponser,see the link on the right for Dusek Ship kits.Also have a log for his latest kit listed in my signature
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

After shaping the bottom figure,I decided to relieve the back of the carving.This lended to a more 3d appearance allowing me to open up the area between the legs.
 
Since taking these pics,the carving has been separated from the stock and has had a thin coat of yellow ochre acrylic.The reasoning behind this is that the wood I use for carving is far too yellow for this model.The carving would not blend with other boxwood the hull is planked with. I hope that after applying a coat of poly it will blend better.If not,it is small enough to strip and try again to find a suitable method.If I get this right,it means I can use the cast wreaths around the gunports.These are good quality from a detail point of view and a better alternative to carving 22 identical ones!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you very much indeed Nigel
 
The upper character is now complete(well apart from the great lump of boxwood to be cut off later )
 
I have now started on roughing out the lower one.This one is crouched down with hands together
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

No experience with MarisStella myself,but can't praise Daniel Dusek's work enough.His company is also a site sponser,see the link on the right for Dusek Ship kits.Also have a log for his latest kit listed in my signature
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

No experience with MarisStella myself,but can't praise Daniel Dusek's work enough.His company is also a site sponser,see the link on the right for Dusek Ship kits.Also have a log for his latest kit listed in my signature
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Reached the point where I need to decide what I want to do with the rear bulwarks, built up or open.  After reading various sources, it seems that Jason would have been built with the built up barricades at launch which were back in fashion by the time of construction, even though various plans of the Artois class show open bulwarks.  I've decided to go with the open bulwarks like many who have built this kit as this more in keeping with the look of the NMM models which I'm going for. 
 
Armament seems also to cause a little confusion due to changes at the time, with slightly varying numbers quoted.  Seems there is no reason to deviate from what is suggested by the kit, and I'll stick to having a few carronades for visual interest rather than replace with cannons.  So what does this mean?
 
I decided to keep the ply bulwarks and reshape them, I'd already planned the other planking around using these so this was no issue.  The required shape however had me scratching my head for a while, but then it suddenly dawned on me that the top of the bulwark would simply follow the sheer.  To get a nice smooth curve some strip was used to a consistent height from the whale (in this case ~50mm, leaving just a tad for some potential future fine tuning).  I estimated the position from various pictures which all seem to vary slightly - this seems good enough
 

 
The front portion is brings in a few additional challenges, so I cut out the stb main drift to help with shaping

 
The curve of the top of the bulwark is quite apparent...shading beneath the ports is not correct at this point, which needed to be tackled next...

 
Once cut, the next thing was to adjust the port sills as these seemed too high.  To do this the deck was fitted and then measured up approximately how far the port sills should be for the cannon and carronade ports followed the line of the deck allowing for the final deck planking.  The lateral position was not changed.  The shading indicates material to be removed.

 
And finally glued in place....planking can continue.

If we're talking strictly about wooden models, then I'd say '10-15 of the "big players'" is a generous overstatement; it's more like a half-dozen. My guess is that is easier for smaller fish to join in these days thanks to the advent of 3-D design software and cheaper laser cutting and CNC milling machinery. And thank goodness for that, too, since it means modelers have more choices now than ever.

Excellent work Jason!!!!
 
Kind Regards 
 
Nigel

No experience with MarisStella myself,but can't praise Daniel Dusek's work enough.His company is also a site sponser,see the link on the right for Dusek Ship kits.Also have a log for his latest kit listed in my signature
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

update - I got the upper quarter deck installed & planked. Then I found some mast coats at Ages of Sail & glued them to the decks - had to file them out slightly for the masts to go through.
 

 

 
Then I located the cast metal bulkhead that fits on the upper quarter deck. After cutting out & painting it doesn`t look too bad - may still need to do a little touch up. also made the windows with the Kristal Klear window maker liquid.
 

 

 
While waiting for paint to dry I thought I would make the bitts & capstan. I had to shorten the capstan to fit under the forecastle deck beam, but it still looks ok.
 

 

 
Mark

A minor update, model wise.  A biggie for me.      The stern is more or less complete.  It still needs the carvings and the taffrail needs the finials but those are in-work and may be that way for some time as I move on to other things.   I carve while waiting for glue to dry, etc.
 
I was playing with the camera and some settings... here's the inboard side of the stern unplanked and then planked in silver maple.  I'm using the maple where things would have been white-washed.  The planked version also shows part of the taffrail installed.
 

 
From the outboard side with part taffrail installed.
 

 
This is the two other pieces of the taffrail on the scroll saw using the ScrollSander to clean off the laser char and finesse the fit.  The final finessing was using a file and sanding sticks.
 

 
And with the full taffrail installed.  It needs a bit of cleanup and some wipe-on poly, but I'll that when get the carvings ready.  The quarter galleries need to be built also before finishing.  It's a  bit off (about 1mm on the port side) but I'll live with it.  
 

 
All in all, I'm pretty chuffed about this as it was a big learning curve.  I wanted the joinery perfect.. not quite there yet but to my eye, it looks good.  Next up is the rudder while I sort out the quarter galleries.  These have a bit of unusual shape in that they curve out past the stern and then back to the hull, like a half circle only not...  Hard to explain but I'm researching and sorting it out.