dafi

HMS Victory
1:96 Scratchbuild Project
Part 18 – Eye Splices and Strops
 
 
Cyanoacrylate Glue
 
CA glue is one of my least favorite substances to work with. Its difficult to remove from skin, it runs where it is not wanted, its difficult to apply in measured doses, excess can be impossible to remove, it sometimes adheres where desired, but always adheres where not desired. However, I do not believe Victory’s complex rigging, at this scale, could have been modeled very well without it.
 
I once spilled quite a bit of a bottle of this stuff on my workbench. Believe me; that will never happen again. Below is a picture of the simple holder that I always use when using this glue.
 
 

 
I do not use the applicator tip on the bottle because dosage can’t be controlled with it and it immediately plugs anyway. I use a homemade brass wire applicator like the one next to the bottle above. A close up picture of the end of this is shown below.
 
 

 
To make this, a piece of .030 inch brass rod is slit down one end with a fine blade on a jeweler’s saw, the end is then de-burred and shaped as shown above. The idea is to get it to work like an old style drafting pen, holding a limited amount of liquid. A bit of trial and error is necessary to get the amount it holds right, but it is capable of delivering a very small amount of CA, which is what is needed for rigging at this scale. The applicator is just dipped into the open CA bottle. Two or three of these are needed because they quickly get gummed up. When that happens, I drop them into a tall closed jar of acetone and take out a clean one ready for use. Keeping the jar tightly closed is important. Acetone is hazardous to health and flammable, and the vapors in the closed jar help dissolve the glue above the liquid level.
 
I used the thin grade of CA on all the rigging work. All you really want to do with this is get the rope fibers to stick to one another in a knot or a simplified mimic of a splice. CA was never depended upon by itself.
 
 
Eye Splices
 
There are relatively very few actual knots in Victory’s rigging. Almost everything is fastened together with spices of some sort, usually eye splices. These were then fastened with seizings or lashings. So, there were very many eye splices to be made.
 
For the very largest lines like the main and forestays, actual splices were made for the model, but that was impractical for anything smaller. So the following process, or some variant of it was used for virtually all the splices.
 
In the first picture below, the rope is untwisted enough to insert a needle, with an eye large enough to take the rope, through the strands. For small, unmade rope, the needle is merely pushed through the center of the thread fibers.
 
 

 
The short end of the rope is then threaded on to the needle (which can be pulled mostly through to save rope), and the rope is pulled through itself as shown below.
 
 

 
In the next picture the loop has been placed over a piece of stiff wire the size of the desired opening in the eye splice. The short end has then been pulled up tight and the long end has been twisted to tighten up the rope.
 

 
The short end is then lapped over the long leg and the splice touched with a small drop of CA as shown below.
 
 

 
Before the CA has had a chance to completely cure, remove the splice from the wire and clamp it in pliers to give the splice some shape as shown below.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the final result after the short leg has been clipped off with scissors. I use small sharp embroidery scissors for this clipping. They, too, need to be cleaned in acetone from time to time to remove CA.
 
 

 
Eye splices from large sizes down to the smallest, 1½ inch (.007 diam.) rope were made this way and have withstood rigging tension without any failures.
 
Stropping Blocks
 
There are very many different types of block strops on the model – too many to cover here. Many required some innovative application of the techniques discussed below. Some of the larger blocks, like the jeer blocks, were done completely differently and much more authentically.
 
The following process, or some near variation was used for the great majority of blocks.
 
First an eye splice is made in the rope as described above. For very small lines I just tied double overhand knots to make the loop around the wire post and wet that with CA. In the picture below, an eye has been put in the rope by the method above. Because the stropping process requires at least three hands, the surgical clamp shown below is an essential tool.
 

 
With the block held between the fingers by the surfaces with the sheave holes, the rope is pulled tight so the splice is down on the top of the block. The rope is then pinched together just below the block with the fingers. The strop is then clamped to the sides of the block with the surgical clamp as shown below.
 
 

 
In the next picture the clamp is laid down so the bottom of the block is up. An overhand knot, simulating a splice can then be tied across the bottom. This is then pulled tight and touched with CA.
 

 
In the picture below the finished block has had the excess rope clipped off and is shown attached to another line with a seized overhand knot, one of the many different ways used, depending on the line.
 
 

 
Another method, used on larger blocks is shown below.
 
 

 
Instead of the simulated splice, a seizing is put around the rope to form the eye. The eye is then put over the wire as before and the overhand knot in the thread shown above is pulled tight and pushed right up to the wire.
 
 

 
A second overhand knot is then added. Perhaps we should call it “an underhand knot,” because it is tied from below to avoid a knot-like appearance. This can be followed by another overhand knot on the top, and so on, depending on the size of the block and how large a seizing is appropriate. A small drop of CA is then applied to the seizing. If the drop of CA is too large in this step, the rope won’t bend around the top of the block. The bottom splice is then applied with an overhand knot on the bottom as shown below.
 

 
I think we’re getting close to the end, but not quite yet. The next part should wrap it up.
 
Ed Tosti

Hello friends,
I have a mistake of the rope from the Cathead to the three block-in.
Change takes place coming soon.
 
Vielen Dank an Günter Ulrich für den Tip.
 
Regards Karl

Got something for you:
The original blocks from Götheborg that they excavated from the wreck site. These are the real deal!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Eric

I posted pictures of the skis a while ago........yea.....it's been that long John
 

 
I found them on page 11.    the Denny-Zen is finished.........the skis are all thats left to the Phylly C.   I thank you for the good word. 

thanks Frank.......got one toe over the finish line a we speak!  thanks for the good word
 
yea.......Andy reminded me of how the dome should look........they look the same on our tractors  {truck}.    they look good enough for me.....I'm just going to leave them as they are.  they won't look like that in the future,  I assure you
 
the skis are a tough nut to crack......I thought of going out....buying some  "barbie shoes".....and cut them up to make the bindings.  I have been looking at images of skis,  so I have a good idea of what I have to do.  I was going to make them out of brass {sheet} and paint them, but it sounds like a pain,  so I'm creating some material.
 

 
this is sail cloth soaked in diluted white glue.   when it is dry,  I'll make a jig so I can fit the material into what I need.  perhaps Froyd wouldn't mind coming over so I can check for fit.......hee.....hee. 
 
I made up the wipers for the both of them.   the way I did it was pretty neat......I was going to cement a thin strip of brass on the arm and paint it flat black....but in seeing how they looked,  I didn't bother. 
 

 
the blade is soddered on the end of the arm at an angle
 

 
the dry fit showed that I needed to alter the angle a bit.  but once they were adjusted,  the blade was painted flat black.
 

as you can see,  some of them need a little help.  I can fix them though.....I began the task of sanding them......lots of sanding.
 


 
keep an eye on that sawdust pile
 

 
I got six of them sanded down.....I could go a little more,  but I'll do that later,  when I go to install them.  I worked on getting the others done first.  I couldn't get a decent picture of them,  so I set them on a piece of flat stock,  to see if that would help.
 



 
I got a couple more of them.
 

 
.....until I got them all.....I didn't lose a single one!
 


 
the sawdust pile grew to be quite large......I'm saving some,  so I can make some home made filler.
 

 
I wouldn't suggest to anyone that they should do this......it took me a couple days to do this.   it was just an experiment to see if this would be a viable alternative.   the only thing I can see,  is that it might have been better to use smaller stock........1/32......or even 1/64.  these would be suited for the larger grates, the kit provides the smaller ones......it might be best if I used them......but you never know,  I might try it.

I do have one more bit of progress to pass on to you.   I would have posted this,  but this was when the site went down.....believe it on not.....so this is fairly recent.   I had ordered a grate kit from the place where I had ordered the 3.5mm deadeyes for the Gothenborg.  it was taking so long to get them,  I canceled the order.   while I was waiting though,  I thought about how many of those kits I would have to order...and the cost involved.  I decided to try and make them.  I bought two packages of 1/16 square stock and cut them into short lenghts.  with just a tiny bit of cement on the ends,  I cemented ten of them down onto a small piece of wood,  spacing them equally {1/16 wide}.   placing another layer on top of them, spacing them the same way,  they form a cross - thatch pattern.





 
third row
 

 
fourth row
 


 
fifth row
 

 
I was running out of the strips......and only half way as high as I want to go.   the only recourse at this time,  would be to cut this in half,  fit it together the best position possible,  and glue it together.   so, I finished with what I had and did just that.
 




 
when this was dry,  it was sliced into wafers.   they will be sanded flush,  making them thinner in the process.   there were some of the tiny pieces that broke free.   they were repaired and set aside to dry,  I would just pick up another one and work on thay one in the meantime.
 


 
for some reason,  I got eleven of them........I thought I'd only get ten.   a bonus.

more

more

more

more

HMS Victory
1:96 Scratchbuild Project
Part 14 – Serving Rope
Posted to MSW 8/29/10
 
 
Some of the very first lines to be rigged required serving. Creating served lines on the model is simplified from what was done in real practice. Standing rigging that was subject to wear from rubbing or required additional protection was wormed, parceled and served. Worming refers to wrapping a rope of smaller size into the grooves in the main strands of the rope. The only lines on the Victory model that were wormed were the anchor hawsers and the mainstay. Others were too small for this. The next step, parceling, involved wrapping the wormed rope with tarred flannel – like tape. None of this was done on the model. Finally, the wormed and parceled rope was served. This involved wrapping it tightly around its circumference with small sized yarn. Many lines on the victory model were served – stays, lower and topmast shrouds, stay collars and all but the smallest that were specified for the treatment in the rigging schedule. None but the largest block beckets were served.
 
The Serving Machine
 
Some sort of device is needed to facilitate the serving process. Below is a picture of the machine I made for this. The basic principle of this machine is that a rope stretched and clamped between the two lower shafts, would be rotated in the same direction and at the same rate from both ends to avoid twisting the rope. Fine thread could then be closely and uniformly wrapped around the rope from a spool as the rope was turned.
 
 

 
This is a closer view of the internals of the head end of the machine. A crank turns the shaft with the larger gear. This shaft is connected by a thick wire jackshaft to a large gear of the same diameter at the other end. These two gears rotating at the same speed drive smaller gears at each end on shafts to which rope is clamped. One turn of the crank gives, I think, three turns to the rope. Rope is held at the end of the shaft by jaws formed at the ends. The jaws are made tight on the rope by a threaded collar with a screw, which is slid forward. The screw is then tightened to hold the rope on the shaft centerline. At the other end, after clamping, the rope is pulled tight by sliding the shaft at that end backwards. With the right tightness on the gear set screw this can be done without having to tighten the set screw every time. Only enough tension is needed to keep the rope reasonably taut.
 

 
The serving yarn used was very fine cotton thread. The spool was given its own shaft so it can unwind as needed.
 

 
The Process
 
First, the portion of a line to be served was marked out with a white chalk pencil. Often this was done by putting the line in place on the ship to get this right. Small sewing needles are passed through the rope between the strands at each ends of the area to be served. The rope is then clamped into the machine, which was clamped in a vise. This is shown below in the following demonstration.
 

 
The end of the thread from the spool is then passed through the needle at the right hand end. It is then pulled through the rope and the needle is set aside.
 

 
After being passed through the rope the thread is passed through the eye of the second needle and that needle is pulled through to a point where the thread is close, but not yet into the rope. The purpose of this is to keep the thread alongside the rope for the first part of the serving process. This is shown below.
 

 
The next picture shows serving in process. The crank is turned so the thread gets laid over the top of the rope where it can be seen better. This helps assure that the turns are tight up against each other.
 

 
After about ten or fifteen turns, the crank is stopped and the thread that runs along the rope to the other end is clipped off with small scissors as shown below. That end of the thread is now securely fixed under the first turns, leaving a nice neat beginning to the served portion.
 
 

 
The serving then continues right up to the second needle at which time the thread is cut off as shown below, while maintaining a hold on the thread.
 

 
The loose end is then passed through the eye of this needle and pulled through. It is then clipped off. The fully served line is shown below before being removed from the machine. I usually wait for the line to be installed before clipping this right up close. At that point the line is taut and in position, so it’s safe to put a tiny drop of CA on this end before that final clipping off.
 

 
Eye splices were served by marking out just the loop of the eye itself. The needles were set at these points as above and the area between them was served exactly as above. Then the line was removed from the machine and the eye splice made. I will describe how this was done later. A needle was placed at the end of the area to be served below the eye. The eye itself was then clamped in the machine and the thread was tied to the bottom of the eye loop. The line was served up to the needle and finished off the same way.
 
Where needed on stays, a mouse was formed in the serving machine in a much simpler way than the original. Thread was fastened at the mouse location and a bump was built up in the shape of a mouse by winding the thread over itself and touching it with a small drop of CA a couple times as it built up in diameter and shape. It was finished off with a clove hitch to secure the end of the thread.
 
In the next part, I will describe how blocks and deadeyes were made.
 
 
 
Ed Tosti

HMS Victory
1:96 Scratchbuild Project
Part 15a – Making Shape Scrapers
 
 
Since putting up the Victory log I’ve had a few requests for more information about the scrapers used to make moldings and block profiles, specifically about how to make them, so in response I am inserting this post into the series. If this does not answer all questions, let me know.
 
 
Using Shape Scrapers
 
Generally, I have made these as needed, without too much forethought, getting the shapes perfected by trial and error. They are easy to make and produce surprisingly good results.
 
There are a few different ways to use these, depending on what is being shaped. The pictures below illustrate some examples. In all cases multiple light cuts should be used.
 
 

 
In this picture a wide strip is being shaped for a molding. When the shaping is complete, the molding will be ripped off on the circular saw. This method assures that the molding will be of uniform thickness if more material is removed at one end or the other. Also, some moldings will not be thick enough to work with the cutter. Its best to keep the stock at almost right angles to the cutter vertically and at a right angle horizontally. More tilt over the cutting edge can be helpful at the start, but by the end of the cutting the wood should be at right angles to get the true shape from the cutter.
 
 
 

 
For shapes where the strip needs to be cut to size first, for example on blocks where all four sides need shaping, the cutter would be used this way – but hopefully more at a vertical right angle to the work. For this application the pattern should not be cut too deep in the plate, but it’s always a good idea to have enough depth to provide entry of the stock before the pattern is reached. The sides should also confine the wood so it cannot get off the track of the pattern. For blocks, the rounded vertical shape of the block can be cut into the scraper, which can be cut deep enough to reach the center of the block body. Uniformly rounded blocks can be made easily this way.
 

 
Here’s another picture where the right angle rule could use a little more application. If the pieces are short and can be accommodated in a vise, this approach works well. Here the sheave groove for a single block is being cut. Note the rounded sides on the cutter.
 

 
Simple grooves of very small size can be cut with scrapers where saw blades or files are too big. Using the clamping device in this picture as a fence allows one cutter to be used for several different groove locations by varying the distance from the cutter. The clamp is made from two pieces of 1/8” carbon steel, rounded off on their edges which a file, then drilled and tapped to take a tightening screw.
 

 
This is pretty much the collection used on Victory.
 
After scraping, avoid using sandpaper on the shapes. It will obscure the detail. A buffing with very fine steel wool or fine grade non-metallic 3M abrasive pads, will polish up the shape nicely.
 
 
 
 
Making the Cutters
 
My cutters are made from scrap pieces of 16 gauge stainless steel, only because I happened to have some. Most cutters have limited use, so they could be made from plain carbon steel or even hard brass plate.
 
If you are going to use hardened steel plate, say, for example a carbon steel saw blade, then that will need to be stress relieved to make it soft enough to cut with a saw or file. To stress relieve hardened steel, heat the piece with a torch until it is “cherry” red, then allow it to air cool. It can then be worked with files and saws. Hardened steel can be worked as is with abrasive wheels in a motor tool, but this might limit the profiles that can be made. I would recommend avoiding this by finding a piece of roughly, 16 gauge (1/16” or 2mm) plain carbon steel scrap.
 
For moldings, where the final shape can be sliced off after shaping, I would start by cutting a square slot the width of the molding, then lightly rounding the side edges of this, so the wood will slide within the sides without scraping. The pattern can then be cut on the bottom face of the slot.
 
The pattern should have crisp edges where it will be scraping away the wood. When cutting the pattern, cut at a right angle to the plate. An angled knife edge is not needed, just a sharp unrounded corner.
The pictures below show a cutter being shaped using just a jeweler’s saw. Very fine patterns can be cut with this tool tilting the blade to one side or the other. For fine detail this is the tool of choice.
 

 
Use the jeweler’s saw to cut on the pull stroke. Blades in many sizes down to the very finest are inexpensive and easily replaced when they break. Get them from a jeweler’s supplier – or even Amazon.com. A jeweler’s saw frame can be had for $20, or so, and is a good investment – for this and many other modeling tasks.
 
Where the shape requires smooth curves the pattern can be dressed up with very small files. Just be careful not to round off the cutting edges. Small files in various shapes are available from suppliers of modeler’s tools. Sharp edged files for sharpening Japanese style saws are very good for narrow slots. I usually try to avoid using files on both metal and wood because they can leave metallic smudge on the wood. Separating these uses is not always easy. I still prefer the jeweler’s saw for most of the work.
 
The best way to know if you’ve got the right shape is by trial and error. Careful marking out with a scriber is a good way to start, but I have found that sooner or later testing the width or the pattern with a piece of the wood stock will need to be done.
 

 
Ed Tosti

HMS Victory
1:96 Scratchbuild Project
Part 16 – Shrouds and Ratlines 
 
 

Shrouds
 
The shrouds for the Victory model were made from multiple strands of linen, twisted up on the ropemaking machine as described earlier, except for the topgallant mast shrouds, which were too small.  A heavy black mercerized cotton polyester thread was used for these.   All the shrouds are laid up left handed and are four strand if the size could be obtained that way.  If not, three strand rope, though not historic, was used. 
 
The lower and topmast shrouds are all served over some of their length.  The first shroud in each set was served over its whole length, because of the rubbing it took from the yard and other rigging.  All these shrouds were served where they wrapped around the masthead.  The following picture shows the served portion of shrouds just below the foretop.
 

 
 
The next picture shows the served shrouds where they are wrapped around the masthead above the top.
 

 
Once served, the shrouds go over the masthead in a specific sequence.  Shrouds are generally paired in twos and after draping around the masthead are lashed together with a seizing.  Some of these lashings can be seen in the above picture.  For appearance sake, care has been taken to place these pairs neatly on top of one another and have them oriented so they do not twist over each other as they descend to there proper deadeye.
 
Once all the shrouds were lashed into their positions at the top, the next task was to secure deadeyes to their bottom ends.  These needed to be secured at the right length or the deadeyes would not be aligned when the shrouds were pulled tight by their lanyards.  The following sketch, shows how this was accomplished on the model.
 

 
 
This picture is a composite showing a number of separate steps to attach the shrouds to their deadeyes.  First a thin piece of rectangular hardwood about 1/32” thick was cut to be used as a jig for lashing up the shrouds.  This was placed on the channel just behind the bottom row of deadeyes, which were installed earlier.  Spots were marked at the bottom of this on either side of a few of the deadeyes. The wood was removed and small holes, to take thin copper wire were drilled on these marks.  The wood was then returned to the channel and the wire twisted around some of the bottom deadeye chains as shown.   A horizontal line was then drawn on the wood at the desired line for the top row of deadeyes.  Each shroud was then pulled down to its bottom deadeye and a line drawn at the location where it passed over the horizontal line.  The wood was again removed and two holes were drilled at roughly the spacing of deadeye holes on the horizontal line either side of each shroud line.  Thin wire was then used to secure each top deadeye to the wood as shown above.  The wood was then returned to the channel and secured as before.
 
Having done this, each shroud could be connected to its proper deadeye, assured that it would take its final place along a neat horizontal row with its mates.
 
To secure each shroud it was pulled with moderate tension around the deadeye and clamped back on itself higher up.  The short leg of the seized shroud should always be to the right when viewed from the outside. Once tensioned and clamped each shroud was seized with three lashings as shown and the excess clipped off.  The shrouds remained attached to the wood after it was removed from the channel to avoid mixing up the shrouds.   Starting at the front they were then removed one at a time, first one side then the other, for installation of the lanyards and initial tensioning.  All lower and topmast shrouds were installed in this way.
 

 
The above picture shows the finished fore channel.  The various stays that were installed between the lower shrouds were rigged up individually, not part of the above process.
 
Rigging of the lanyards was straightforward.  A knot was put in one end of a lanyard rope, to which some beeswax thinned in turpentine had been applied and rubbed off.  The other end was wetted with CA and clipped at an angle with scissors to give it a sharp end.  This was then threaded from the back through the top left deadeye hole, down through the left front hole on the lower, then from the back through the middle hole in the upper, and so on until all the holes were filled and the lanyard had emerged from the lower right hole at the back.  This loose end was then pulled up to put some initial tension on the shroud.  This process was then repeated, side to side, front to back, until all the lanyards were installed. 
 
Final tension was applied when the forward stays for the mast were installed and tensioned.  Each shroud was then tensioned in turn and the end of the lanyard secured in what was a somewhat sloppy, if historical way – as follows.  The loose end of lanyard was brought through the small opening between the top deadeye and the first seizing on the shroud.  It was then wrapped several times around the shroud and secured to the shroud above these turns with its own seizing.  It was very hard to get all these loose ends to look relatively uniform.
 
Here is another picture.
 

 
 
Once the lower shrouds were installed, futtock staves made from blackened stiff wire were lashed to each shroud some distance below the top.  A number of horizontal catharpins were then lashed to a shroud on either side at this stave.  It was important to get uniform initial tension on these catharpins because they are part of the system of lines, which secures the topmast shrouds.  If they are too tight the lower shrouds will be pulled inward. If they are too loose tension on the topmast shrouds transferred through the futtock shrouds will pull the lower shrouds outward.  The following picture shows how these lines interact with each other. [/size]
 

 
 
Here, the lower, futtock and topmast shrouds are all installed, including their ratlines.  The horizontal futtock stave across the shrouds on one side and the catharpins lashed across between them can be seen.  It can also be seen that the topmast shrouds transfer their tension through their lower deadeye chains (which are not secured to the top platform), down through the futtock shrouds to the catharpins.  Also, the forward lower mast stay is putting forward tension on the lower shrouds.  All this required a bit of care in tensioning.
 

 Ratlines
 
The ratlines are relatively easy to install but it is a repetitive and somewhat tiresome task, especially higher up where arm fatigue can set in.  The ratlines are much smaller rope than the shrouds.   They are set 13 inches apart.  On the prototype they were lashed through eye splices at both ends to the outer shrouds and tied with a clove hitch to each shroud in between.  On the model all the shroud connections were done with clove hitches.  The process is shown below.
 

 
First, a card with lines 13 inches apart was mounted directly behind the shrouds as a guide.  Then thread was tied to the leftmost shroud with a clove hitch and touched with a small drop of CA.  The thread was passed over the front of the next shroud, the end pushed behind the shroud, pulled out from the left of the shroud under itself, pushed behind above itself and then pulled out through its loop with tweezers.  I’m sorry if this is complete gibberish, but after a few knots this process became quite mechanical, and so many knots were done that I can recall the exact process easily after three years. 
 
Once the knot was loosely formed, the end was pulled to straighten out the ratline between the last shrouds, then gripped at this point tightly with the tweezers and the knot pulled tight.  This last step is shown below.
 

 
After tying off to the last shroud, tension was examined and, if necessary, adjusted by loosening and resetting each knot, before applying a final drop of CA to the last knot.  With practice few adjustments were needed.
 
One last task to be done on the fore lower shrouds was to install the tiny boxwood shroud cleats, which were used to belay a number of lines.  Space for belaying points was scarce in the on the forecastle and there were many lines to be belayed in this area, hence the use of shroud cleats.  These were carved individually and lashed to the shrouds with fine thread.  They are shown below.
 

 
 
The rigging experience will continue in the next part.
 
 
Ed Tosti
 
 

A very quick update as I don't think I'll get much build time over the next few days.
 
I've finished the flag lockers with one showing the flags and the other with the canvass cover on.  I'm reasonably happy with how they turned out although it was a bit time consuming.  I then finished off the poop and made a start on the poop ladder assemblies.
 
Pictures:-
 

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 138–Stern Galleries 4 –Quarter Piece Figures
Posted 6/18/12
 
The ratio of hours spent per cubic inch of wood has been skyrocketing lately. The work is still being driven by the necessary construction sequence. As I mentioned earlier, I want to finish all the work that requires the hull to be upside down before returning to the detailing of the quarterdeck, so this meant doing all the stern detailing earlier than expected.
 
The first picture shows the stools and rim for the port quarter galleries being installed.
 
 

 
The next required timbers are the quarter pieces, which need to be in place before the quarter gallery windows are done. To do the quarter pieces I wanted to have the quarter piece figures carved so all this could be fit up together.
 
The next picture shows the final (I think) design for the quarter piece figures.
 

 
Several versions of these figures have been developed and some carved and fit up. In this picture, patterns for the figures for both sides have been pasted to pieces of European boxwood and the shapes cut out on the scroll saw.
 
There is no decoration plan for Naiad, so these figures are speculative. Naiads were fresh water nymphs so I wanted the figures to appear young and graceful. I looked at a lot of 19th century romantic artwork featuring mythological nymphs before settling on a design. In a previous post I showed an early version of the figures to be used toward the center of the taffrail. Those will be redone.
 
In the next picture these have been glued to a wood block with a layer of paper in between to allow them to be removed easily. Carving has begun. The plan was to carve these together to assure that they were at least similar.
 

 
This approach worked well. I had also made rough mockups of the taffrail figures using epoxy modeling compound. This was helpful in determining the amount of relief needed in various places on the figures. For the final carvings I started with the faces and if they looked Ok moved on to areas that needed to be deep. Both rotary tools and small carving tools were used.
 
The next picture shows one of the figures pasted in place temporarily on the starboard quarter piece to check for fit.
 

 
The figure is not finished, but the back has been sanded back to fit against the taffrail and post. The next picture was taken at the same time.
 

 
This picture helps give an idea of the proportions. I resized these a couple of times. There is a cap rail to be fitted on top of the taffrail. The figures hand will rest on this. The next picture shows the figure on the other side being fit in the same way.
 
 

 
The next picture shows the stern with both figures further along and pasted in place again. There was a lot of this back and forth.
 

 
In the last picture the figures have again been returned to the wood block for more detailing and polishing.
 
 

 
Hopefully the final refinements on these will get them to a finished state.
 
Once these are installed I will probably move on to all the windows. I’d like to do all these at once – rear and sides.
 
 
Ed

Hello Yon, happy to have this build back! I like it very much!
 
daniel

And the weekend show, some quantum leaps -  means very small and little :-)
 
fitted the last lid ...
 

 
... and fitted with lanyards.
 

 
The holes in the brass fittings were deepend into the plastic by means of a hot needle ...
 

 
... so the brass is not damaged like with a drill and the deep is automatically fixed by the cones of the needle tip and the size of the hole in the fitting ...
 

 
... and it looks like this.
 

 
Grüßle, Daniel

Here both versions side by side, same ship, only 40 years of difference in between ...
 

 

 
... fascinating, as a good friend of mine would say ;-)
 
Got the gun carriages messed and gave a brownisch oil coat to the barrels as some of the ingredients - rust and tar - suggest ...
 

 
... and the tompions plain without color, sticking out and not todays fancy thread in the middle, as the artifacts in NMM and museums suggest. Just one try with a line that goes around, but it does not look to convincing.
 
The shoe for the anchor was fixed in the appropriate place and that is the thing for the moment :-)
 

 
Cheers, Daniel

Hello,
 
Foremast, Foretop, Bibbs, Rubbing-paunch
 
Karl
 
 
 
T e i l  23

Frome a late 19th century German source for steel guns: rub down the barrel repeatedly with vinegar. Once a firmly attached brown iron-oxide layer has developed, paint in lineseed oil. To be rubbed down with a cloth soaked in lineseed oil for maintenance. Be sure not let the vinegare etc. into the barrel (particularly in the case of rifled barrels).
 
This seems to implicate that the barrels were of a satin brownish colour, which is also evidenced by contemporary paintings.
 
Cast iron guns, according to the same source were to be painted in oil paint.
 
wefalck

Hi Niklas and Adam, thanks for the kind words.
 
It's going on with the Main Wale. I done it in the same manner as John McKay is shown at his plans.
I made two templates at first because I must produce many equal pieces.

 
Also it must drawn the postion of the Main Wales to the Frames.

 
Thereafter began the agony

 
Here's the result

 
Juergen

Hello,
 
after I put off my Triton build I started a new project. Now I want to build the 50-Gun Ship HMS Leopard 1790 (POB) ,1/64 scale
Therefor I bought the book The 50-Gun Ship from Rif Winfield. At this are the plans of the Leopard drawn by John McKay.
I don’t make many words about the build of the frames because that’s often described here on MSW.
 
Instead I show some photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Juergen
 

Hi, Dafi! 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/454-24-pdr-bronze-gun-le-fleuron-1729-by-garward-m-124/

A little light reading for you Daniel,
 
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Seamanship/Fordyce(1837)_p47.html
 
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Seamanship/X804Obs5.html
 
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Shipbuilding/Sutherland(1717b)_p190.html
 
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Shipbuilding/Sutherland(1717b)_p185.html
 
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Seamanship/Fordyce(1837)_p51.html
 
Hope it helps.
 
M.