bdgiantman2

It's not a competion.  LOL.   Your work is looking great.

I have been working two jobs lately and so stretched very thin on time to be able to do modeling among my many other adult duties. Thankfully I have been able to do small amounts in very limited progress but it all adds up sooner or later. I have finally indeed gotten my deadwood timbers straightened -  had to soak in water and then place under weights on a flat surface until dried. Now it is attached to the rest of the keel. I still have the stem pieces to cut out as well as finishing the sternposts. Today I was able to get some cutting done. I made the deck transom piece which will be sitting on top of the sternpost, two of the stern frame pieces, as well as the two frame pieces for one of the carronades. I will in no way be able to match the modeling details of some people on here, especially Archjofo, but this will be an interesting undertaking.

Here are the piles. All the split rings and eye bolts were made from 24 gauge wire.
 
On the left are around 140 split rings. They were formed around a #41 drill bit. 
On the right are around 315 eye bolts. The eye was formed around a #61 drill bit.
 

 
Now the work on the carriages can commence. 
 

Hi All
 
I've now made the quarter deck beam which I think has gone ok.  The drawings do not give a separate drawing for this piece so the template's must be made from 3 different views of the same piece number 13.
 
A few pictures below of the result
 
Cheers Mark
 
 

The knee of the head:

 

 
a touch of color:

 

 

 

 

Making a little progress. Yes I know I didn't paint the stem black. Just seems a shame to paint over all the joinery on the stem

I feel I'm on the homeward stretch with the hull planking now, just two bands each on port and starboard sides. I've redone the lining out to reduce the risk of ending up with a narrow plank.
it all looks pretty even and symmetrical to my eyes!
just a bit untidy, but I'm hoping a good dose of sanding will go some way to rectifying that.
especially at the bow!
Anyway, the last batch of planking is imminent, then it's onto the stern and QG's, which I must admit I feel a bit of trepidation at.
That's it for now, thank you to everyone for the interest and continued support. 
Cheers

Inspirational as always...

Hello from a new member, My 'teaching assistant' will be the half hull project with the excellent online instructions and commentary. My background in modeling consists of a few solid half hulls--two from kits, one I carved--and radio-controlled airplanes. I thought I'd go after this one hammer and tongs and make the half-hull into a complete ship model. I doubled the keel members and cut out an additional set of ribs from correspondingly thick basswood, the process providing me with a great excuse for buying a scroll saw. Not sure how it will go, but here are a few pics.  

Back to the Winnie...prep for Binnacle
 

This is the Speedwell.   The model on the bottom is Greg Herbert's model.  There is a lot of info available mainly because David Antscherl and Greg have already documented it in their two book series.   In addition there are plenty of original drafts and the Contemporary model. Making a kit with laser cut pieces and CNC carvings is a logical next step in my opinion.  I cant think of a better suited "learning" subject for a POF model.  Mainly because of its size and decorative appearance.  Plus the not to burdensome number of guns and two masted rig.  I figured why not do this one before it gets pirated so a legit version could be made available of it.
 
See here for Greg's beautiful scratch -built version.
 
and here
I am hoping because of the support and available resources that there will be a great deal of interest in such a project.  Especially if many have the books but not the tools or experience or confidence to build it entirely from scratch.
 
Not to gunk up this build log too much but please feel free let me know if this is a subject that could be of interest.
 
 

Currently under consideration....fully rigged.   Planked above the wales with frames exposed below.
 

Yes I hear you....its tough for me as well.   I have a lot of planning to do on it.  Its just in the very very early stages.  I havent even really decided on the scale yet to be honest.  At 1/4" scale the Speedwell hull is about 20" long.  Quite tiny by comparison to Winnie.   I have even been considering enlarging it more to 3/8 scale...thats how early the planning stages are.   When the time comes I will start another topic for it to get everyone thoughts.   
 
At 3/8" scale it would be just over 30" long and at 1/2" scale a bit over 41".....
 
After building large for the Winnie I am very aware that it may be the first POF for many, and larger would be easier.   But how large....OR is it important to keep it at the traditional 1/4" scale although it may make building it a bit more difficult for some.  Space considerations aside.   Honestly I havent even measured it fully rigged yet.  Maybe Greg can tell us what those measurements are.  In the end I will probably be 1/4" scale.  But my brain does seem to go where it wants to with this stuff.
 
This is indeed the first attempt at the buildboard for Speedwell.  I have some tweaks to it but it will be an upright build.  Without all of that retched scaffolding you typically see on some POF kits.   We will build it in a more traditional way using laser cut parts and learning the tried and true step by step methods.  I believe its the easier way to go actually....than building those crazy boxes.  We shall see...time will tell.   If you start off POF building with all of those crutches and jigs and scaffolding, it will be that much harder to just pick up a set of plans which is not a kit and build it POF.   You will become too reliant and conditioned to look for the "ugly-box".  So learning the ropes so-to-speak is something this project will be all about.  But its very much on my mind too.  
 
I also posted a picture below...from Greg of the Speedwell hawse timbers vs the Pegasus hawse timebrs.  Keep in mind that the Pegasus is much smaller than the Winnie as well and would dwarf the Pegasus hawse timbers.   So that should give you an idea of how large the Speedwell will be at 1/4" scale.  At the dead flat mid ship the hull is 4.75" wide.   Compared to the Winnie at almost 8".
 

 

 

 
Chuck 

Binnacle test on the model.   This was fun to build.  I have plenty of construction photos which I will soon upload as well.  A big Thank You to David Antscherl who was kind enough to paint the friezes for the binnacle.   More to follow soon.   But breaking for dinner now.
 



 
 
 

I chose to model her for a couple of reasons. First,  she would fit into the last available space in my study (fully rigged). Second, she's a relatively easy rig when compared to a three masted ship. But most importantly her carvings and profile make for a beautiful model. I believe that Chuck will make this kit both accessible for first time POF modelers and a beautiful representation of the NMM model.  

Do you have any specific ships in mind, like a 1:48 scale Niagara or a Schooner like Pilgrim Pride? The Constitution is popular but she is very complex even in smaller scales. There is the Confederacy model that seems to be doing well, I hear that one is also complex. Or would you go for something more simple like a Lobster Smack model that has more details? Whatever decision is made, I look forward to reading more about this new endeavor.

Do you have any specific ships in mind, like a 1:48 scale Niagara or a Schooner like Pilgrim Pride? The Constitution is popular but she is very complex even in smaller scales. There is the Confederacy model that seems to be doing well, I hear that one is also complex. Or would you go for something more simple like a Lobster Smack model that has more details? Whatever decision is made, I look forward to reading more about this new endeavor.

Atta boy, sir! Well done and a great looking model ship. She will look great on display in the future.

Atta boy, sir! Well done and a great looking model ship. She will look great on display in the future.

Hi All
 
Well at last I've now completed the other side of the hawse timbers 😃
 
I must be honest and admit that I have found these few timbers to be the hardest on the build so far.  The drawings are complicated and yet very precise and complete but the translation to the wood was difficult for me.  I think that this was partly due to the way each piece is stacked onto the next piece.  Assembly without glue is hard and yet the dry assembly is critical.
 
I can now see the shape of the bow and its another milestone for me.  I have not yet cut the top timbers to their finished height as this will wait until the outside of the hull is faired.
 
I have made the hawse holes and also made the small triangular filler piece that fits between hawse timber 1 and the top of frame 1.  I need to finish the hole for the bowsprit and I'll try and get that finished tomorrow; if I do I'll get some more pictures up for you.
 
Phew I'm so glad that this is done even if they are not the best joints I've ever made.
 
Thanks to you all for the encouragement - Mark 🙂
 
 

Will you put anchor, Mr. Passaro?

I have managed to get a little more work done on Swallow.  The rest of the fittings for the gun carriages have been made and the cannon have been installed on to the carriages.  The swivel guns have been installed onto their mounts.



I discovered that I did not fit the latches on the bitts, so they were removed and the latches were installed.  The hooks are made from sheet brass which was shaped with an A/O thin disc.


The tackle for the cannon was installed, as well as miscellaneous ring bolts on the deck.  The swivel guns and cannon were temporarily installed and the paint has been touched up.

 

Greg and Druxey, thank you for providing more details about this. I did not realize that the dales were removeable, but agree that they would be a tripping hazard in a already confined space.
 
Brian D. 

So far so good I think. On the starboard side I used temporary double sided tape to attach the template.
With this I was able to mark off the location of the cheeks and hair bracket. I had to make some minor
adjustments to the stem and figurehead to get everything in an alignment that I liked. 
 

 
The frieze on the checks was left a little long to overlap onto the hair bracket.
 

 
Once the hair bracket was in place I used a sharp scalp blade to cut the frieze.
 

 
There will be a lot of cleaning and paint touch up once I'm finished. On to the port side now.
 
 

Sneeeeeaky! Veeeeeerrrry Sneaky! I like how this turned out though, a creative way to solve those decoration pieces. Great job on this ship model.