Landrotten Highlander

Sorry to hear about your husband.  You have made a wonderful model, and I am sure he will appreciate the thought of having the entire ship to you and him.

All that remains is to add anchors and flags.
 

 
 
The crew was originally supposed to be on the model, unfortunately I was struck by a very cruel life event, when my husband died a few months ago and it changed a lot in my life. There will be only two figures on the model that will symbolize me and my husband, it is a remembrance and a tribute to the best person I have ever known and spent with him more than 20 years. He had a wish for me to successfully complete the Royal Katherine, and I want to fulfill his wish as best as possible.
 
Doris

And here are already finished sails (made of cloth), including  other rigging:
 

Preparation of paper templates for making sails:
 

Almost complete running rigging:

 
Here you can see how big the model really is - towards its builder:
 

Running rigging and completing the yards...
 

Hello dear friends, 
First of all, I want to wish you all the best in the new year.
Thank you also for your comments and kind words.

I am currently completing the model, almost all the rigging is already done and the ship also has sails.
Here are several photos from the process of tying the ropes, as well as some examples from the books I followed and used on the model (Andreson and Lees).
 

Hello,
 
between the holidays I was able to spend more time on model building.
Unfortunately there is nothing spectacular and new to report:
 
Continued: Ratlines - Enfléchures
The last ratlines knots on the port side lower shrouds of the foremast have been set. Now all lower shrouds of La Créole are equipped with ratlines.

The preparations for the missing futtock shrouds on the foremast are already in progress. I am currently making the corresponding rigging elements.
 

Next pictures

Thanks so much, druxey, and a better new year for all of us!
 
I proceeded with the spline idea. A little jig for the mill made quick work of the slots in the standards themselves:


 
For the slots in the deck beams, I made a little marking jig, ensuring the slots would be laid out parallel to the sides of the beam, on the center line, and also the correct distance from the end of the standard. Then a few holed drilled out to hog out the main waste, and then chisel work to clean up.
 


 
I did discover a slight flaw in my plan. If I made the splines as long as I had expected, the standard could not fit over the spline and then slide under the upper deck clamp. So I had to shorten the splines and keep them as far out from the sides as possible. This allows me to fit the standard down on the spline, and then slide into position while completely flat on the beam. But still more than enough area for gluing.
 
Three down, just 19 to go....
 
Mark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The work continues on the second fore deck. We have 3 ovens on this 74 guns: 1 for the bread on the first deck, and 2 on the second deck: 1 for the pastries and the last one for the kitchen.
 
To be homogeneous in their manufacture, the 3 were made with orange bricks. Emphasis was places on the different layers of the kitchen oven: plank, salt or layers of bricks, brick and sheet metal. Is it the salt or the brick which dissipates heat best, I do not know. As for the salt, we know that the salt can resist to the heat, by example in a recipe of salt crusted fish, but how the salt would resist to heat  in a long period of time is another question. We can guess it can resist, because if not, they would not have used it.

Now I have all the frames cut out and fitted to shape. What remains is to thin them down to about 2 mm thickness. I do that last now when I know that the shape is good in all other dimensions.
 

In the end I cut the two first and two last frames from solid pieces. I determined the shape using the same method as for the other frames, that is using card and copying the angles of the planks to the frames. It worked OK, but since I could only fit the cards to one side at a time, I got the shape of two frame halves. The angle between the halves was a bit hard to get right. For one of the frames I ended up splitting it and gluing it back with the correct angel.
 

Happy New Year to all of you some photos of the small advancement of the Victory.

Thank you Alex M, I have to say I learned many things from you.
Forecastle and quarter deck beams preparation - hatchway openings, capstan steps and mast wedges.

Finishing side framing and Fairing same:
Just 2 short paragraphs and little explanation for what turned out to be a long and frustrating stage.
This stage includes the forming of the stern lights (window).
Position, angle and size from the framing plan.
The upper part of 1st aft cant needs to be cut off at the appropriate height (cutting a part off the hull is always traumatic for me).
An extra “limb” attached to the fore side forms the fore side of the window-the other (aft) side is one of the “fillers” that sit on the counter frame.
The upper cant frames learn forward-this slopes back and 2nd cant frame at an angle therefore cut as a blunt-ended wedge.I decided not to glue in place yet so that I could build the window on the plan before fitting.
This,like the other fillers, follow the line of the aft cants but as no patterns are available, I used wide blanks (15mm) and for the most, kept them the same thickness of the other cants.
The aft side of the window sits on the counter frame, parallel to and at a distance shown on the framing plan. The angle of the sills is also shown. 
The position of the sills marked with on the side frames-
Not clear from the plan the thickness of sills, so I guessed at 3mm lower and 2.5mm upper.
The TFFM shows a “v” shaped mortise for lower with a variant for upper joints.
I thought I’d be clever and use a “V” milling bit to a depth of 1.5 and widen the V with the chisel but with my defective thumb I found this impossible. So I cheated and used a square ended bit with a width of sills. 
 Forgive me.
The other fillers caused me more difficulty than anticipated.
Balanced on the thin counter frame they needed the small fillers at the top to be held in place while drying. Keeping alignment was anticipated thus the excessive width of the blanks.
There is also some variety of thickness-again referencing the framing plan. 
Angling correctly the “feet” was fiddly and lack of patience on my part (fatal for a modeller) caused frequent dislodging of bits.
Also an overly tight wedge between two tops, caused one of the counter frames to part from the wing transom.
This necessitated unsticking the adherent bits, realign the counter frame as before, and start again.
The PVA glue has a fast grip, but be left overnight for good adherence.
Fairing:
Because of the extra wide fillers, window frames and sills, lots to take off. So I used the hand band sander for these.
The rest of the sanding was time and effort and I’m sure any modeller is familiar with this.
Just to emphasise the need to support the work -by hand and clamped beams.
I again left the lower external fairing until keel more stable.
These stages have taken me more time and frustration than anything so far. Perhaps the designation ”filler” suggested something simple and I didn’t give the attention and respect needed
I’ll try not to repeat this mistake.(Modelling is like life-nothing is as simple as it seems)
 

A patient day of final shaping of the standards, and making bolts. Starboard done today, port tomorrow. then clear finish and final installation at last!
 
The Foredom drill press converted to a sander worked very well for final shaping.
 

 

 

 

 

Thames Estuary again. 14” x 10” w/c

With Sea Watch books no longer selling plans for the Swan class we have decided to provide them as a free download from our website
http://admiraltymodels.homestead.com/Plans.html. Feel free to take use this set of plans if building a Swan class ship model in the future. Be aware, however, that the sheet with the sheer, half breadth and body plans need to be printed commercially due to their size. I have had no end of problems getting these plans printed to spec in the past even though there are scales printed on it. Therefore, we are now providing them as a free download with the caveat to check them very carefully after printing. The best advice I can give is to make sure the distance between perpendiculars is 96' 7" (scale) or 24.15" full size.
 
For those who have purchased Mylar plans in the past from us there should be no problems as they were checked and dimensionally stable.  But David and I feel that we can no longer charge for plans for which we have no control over the final product. With so many of our Swan  books having been sold over the years we didn't want to leave you without any options for producing plans so this is the best we could come up with. Thank you for all your support over the twenty years we have tried to provide the best product possible.
 
We are hopeful that we may be able to conduct a workshop late next year but, like everything else in this strange time, we shall have to wait and see.
 
Stay healthy and best wishes from David and I for a better 2021!

Regarding the building I have started sawing out the frames.
 
To find the shape I use five cards and arrange them to find the angles.

 
Most of the frames only go up to the fifth strake. Then there will be a beam across and a knee that supports the sixth strake. The seventh strake is for most of its length not supported by any knee or frame, instead there are two stringers on the inside as reinforcement.
The first and last frames are more V-shaped and will not have a crossbeam. 
 

The fifth and fifteenth frame has two cross beams and has an additional knee which supports the seventh and eight strakes. The eight frame also has two crossbeams and sits just in front of the mast where there only are seven strakes.
 

 
Thus far I have eight (of seventeen) frames roughly sawed out. They are still to long and to thick, and will require adjustment to fit right.

 
 

Hatchways.
 

Thank you Mark.   Am planning on installing the gundeck guns permanently, and then just work carefully around the barrels sticking out as I proceed. I just haven't found a better way. I did find plans that show the standard and others that had it drawn in. The plan of Alfred shows both the standard and the breast hook and another plan I found shows from above how this was put together. Am not sure what they called it  but a metal strap  across the front side to strengthen the standard and breast hook. Goodwin is a good source but I try to go beyond what he gives us and look for primary stuff that back's up what Goodwin is showing us.  Some times I have good luck at finding what am looking for and no luck at all on other things, such as a finding the layout of the scuppers. Reading contracts is a big item for me which helps me in building MontagueI. I upload some photo's showing a little jig that help's me mount the front trucks of the  gun's to the deck, by aligning up the pegs  in the front trucks with the drilled holes in the deck. Like you knocking them loose is a big thing if they are not well secured. Should give you a ideal or two to help you. Am also adding the rigging for the port lid's  which would be a real head ack if I waited to install them after the beams are in place.  

Thanks, Alan, you make me feel a little better!
 
I have worked periodically through the holiday, making more standards for the gundeck. Only 8 out of 22 to go.
 

 
As I approach the end of this,  I am thinking ahead to another challenge, explained in Rob Napier's Legacy of a Ship Model book as the "Chinese Puzzle Effect". You have to do A before B, but A cannot be done until B is completed.
 
I am getting to the point where the guns have to be installed, before I can eventually proceed to the upper decks. But the cannon barrels sticking out are clearly going to get in the way of further outboard work, including planking to the top and painting the wales and friezes. The outer work needs to be done first. Also, cutting all of the mortises in the clamps for the upper decks will make a mess of dust falling into the cannon on the gundeck. So these need to be cut before installing the cannon.
 
Indeed, just about everything following is in danger of knocking about or dislodging altogether any cannon sticking out of a gunport. I am beginning to wonder if I should install the carriages now, and only towards the end of the project slide the gun barrels in through the ports and then fasten them down. I can't imagine how I bolt the carriage capsquares down onto the barrel trunnions, when I no longer have access from the inside; working entirely through the gunport. And the breech ropes would have been installed along with the carriages (because the rope goes through a ring on the carriage) long before I try to slide a barrel through a gunport; how would I get that rope to fit nicely onto the barrel cascabels, working from outside and not from within?
 
By the way, I have decided not to plank the outboard edges of the gundeck as a platform for the guns. I really like seeing the lodging knees. So I will make a little 4" base under each gun, which will allow me to pin from underneath into the trucks of the carriage, and then pin the platform down to the beams. I am worried about these coming adrift over time, especially with the vulnerability of the barrels sticking out. So some major anchoring is needed.
 
Hmmmm......complex problems, these ship models!
 

 

 

 
 
 

Czech modeler Doris Obručová advised me to use an external matt spray topcoat. I tried matt Vallejo varnish ..
 

 
Tests outside the ship have shown the best way to pour a horizontal layer of paint ... Bingo
 

 
Then dry with a hair dryer and .. the surface is matte! Ship finally unpacked ..
 

 
I will not edit any more..💥 O.
 

 


 

 

 

 

Visually there isn't much difference between this update and the last one, only a lot of small holes for the rivets. I will now cut out and fit in the frames, so I have started to measure out their positions. I could have proceeded with the rivets, but I think it will be easier to get the frames to fit if I do that while the inside is smooth.

I needed a model to prepare the lighting, so I took the boats