JeffT

Post Forty-four
 
That stern business
I had intended to fit the port linings next, but with the stern patterns and Qtr galleries on my mind, I won’t settle until it’s sorted.
I have to admit that I approach this task with a deal of trepidation. I have not actually fitted a Qtr gallery  for over thirty years, Pegasus had a Badge, not a gallery, and that was tricky enough as I recall.
 
This is one of the critical areas of construction with multiple parts requiring to be aligned.
 
Additional self inflicted difficulties arise because my intention is to open up the galleries and install seats of ease, which means a deal of modification to the Quarter gallery patterns.
Whether I can pull this off, or come to the conclusion that it’s not worth the effort I don’t know until I get into the assembly.
 
I had done some preliminary work when I fitted the lower counter, so I will start with the Stern facia inner and work everything from that.
This needs to be high enough to allow for the 1mm  Quarterdeck rail with 1mm to spare.
The Upper counter (inner) requirements will then be clear.
 
The assembly will be looked at concurrently with the Qtr Gallery fitting as the top and bottom edges of the counter are critical to the mouldings that match up with those of the  gallery. There will be a lot of temporary pinning and fitting before I finally commit to glue.
To begin the process I separate all the parts relating to this area so they are handy to check fit as I go along. Identifying, locating, cutting, and sorting all the parts took a surprising amount of time.

1451
The Inner stern facia is pinned into place; tape is used to mark the line 2mm below the point where the bulwark meets the facia. A check is made to ensure the extensions are equidistant each side.
 
The upper counter can now be tried in place.

1469
As can be seen there is a gap between Facia and counter, not unexpected but I need to decide whether to fit the upper counter hard against the facia or fill both sides.

1474
At this point I am also trial fitting the Quarter Gallery pieces to get a feel for how the assembly will  hang together.

1465
I think I will  bevel and butt the upper counter against the facia bottom, the lower gap is less  important as is more easily filled and covered with a moulding.

1462
The line of the galleries suggests to my eye that the positioning is  ok so tomorrow I will glue the facia and upper counter in place.
 
B.E.
30/11/21
 

Hello and welcome to Model Ship World 

Thanks for looking in hamilton. Looking forward to seeing your build someday.

Glad to see you here Mark.

It took me a little while to get started but finally have a small update. I received the missing instructions and plans from CAF so all is good there.
 
I started to put the keel together and started to build the cradle.
 
The thin wood parts for the cradle were significantly warped so I needed to find a way to deal with that. I opted to get a nice straight piece of wood shelving from Lowes and nailed the lower parts to the board and then nailed 3 cradle parts on top down on top of that. Takes a little more space for storage but it worked as planned. I'm a little worried that the warping may be a problem throughout the cradle parts.
 

 
The keel assemble was pretty straight forward. There are 3 sections for the keel. They are CNC cut and have a pretty nice fit. Some cleanup is required as expected to get a nice fit.
 

 
 

 
How I did it.
 

 
And the assembled keel in place.
 

 
Up next is assembling the stem and stern deadwood. A little worried about messing this up so a few deep breaths to start.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

An exciting start - I just ordered this kit, but probably won't be starting it for a while. Will be nice to watch your work here in the meanwhile!
hamilton

Thank You for posting.
 
Today chapter ten was started.  You saw that I had already planked the qdeck along the bulwarks after adding the margin planks.  So before I could plank down the center I had to get the coamings all made.
 
The coamings are build exactly like the others we built.   They are laser cut for you.  Just build them using the 3/64" thick right angle template as before.   Round off the corners......yada....yada....and add the cambered gratings.  Two packages were enough to do these three.
 
But dont glue all three down yet.  Only glue the forward most grating and coaming in first.  This is very important.
 

As you can see above, the first coaming was positioned and then it could be used to help position the capstan partners.   These are also laser cut for you.  But because so much depends on where you placed you beams.....where you placed your lower capstan, etc....
 
I laser cut the three parts for the capstan partners a bit longer on both ends (forward and aft).  This will allow you to adjust to suit you model and get the round opening directly centered over the lower capstan.   Then trim the aft side so it falls on the deck beam nicely.  The aft end of the partners should cover half the beam it sits on.
 
Then the other coamings can be glued in position.  Make sure to center them down the qdeck of course.
 

In that same photo above you can also see the mizzen bitts.   These must be glued to the forward side of the beam before you start planking.  So these were made up next.  They are laser cut but you must finish the top timberhead shape as is usually the case.  There is a hole laser cut through these as well.  They will accept a 1/16 dia. rod.   Use either brass, or even styrene or wood.  It doesnt matter.   You will have to clean out the holes with a 1/16" drill bit first as the laser doesnt cut a perfect right angle.  So I made this hole slightly smaller as a pilot hole.   Drill them again with a 1/16" bitt and insert the rod.  Use the plans to get their length.
 

Above you can see the bitts pretty good.  But you can also see a modeler's convention for adding the slots for the ships wheel rigging.   This is laser cut in two layers 3/64" thick.   The lower layer is glued between the deck beams first.  It has a laser etched reference for the second final layer.  Just glue it on top like in the photo.  We will plank around this.
 
Finally the planking can commence down the center of the qdeck.   Use your template as a guide like when you planked the fcastle.
 
This will complete the planking or most of it.  We still have the gangways to do but that will be done much later.  You can see I also test fit the upper capstan.  I still have to paint it red and add the metal band.   But its all coming together.   That will be done next along with the pawls....and also the mizzen mast coat.  
 


 

 
With each update she is getting less naked.  Its is starting to fill out nicely with details.  Any questions. On the workbench…

Hello Emil. Welcome to MSW 

I'm still working on the galleries...  specifically at this time the finials.  Tiny little things they are and I suspect that for me, the photo etch on them will be a big stretch.   One is done and the other is getting there.  I do see it needs a bit more shaping to match the curve of the stern. I hope these actually look like what drawings and photos show.... Feel free to critique in the comments.   
 
Gap filling and paint will come as soon as these are done and glued into position.

 

I'd like to watch this build Jeff, I'm pulling up a seat.

I hope it will be, winter is comming soo  

Welcome to MSW, Emil.   I hope your new adventure is a good one.

Hi
 
Welcome!
 
Vahur
Hobbymill.eu

Hi all  

My name is Emil (aka Bryantes -nickname from basketball). Im from Slovakia - Central Europe, i come from small city but now im working at capital city Bratislava.
Always see something in the scale models more than happines. And in 2020 first lockdown, buy my first ship model kit Golden Star. And its amazing feeling when im done!   And after this i come to this Group and im searching for new adventure new ship  But im still amateur.

Soo Hello from Slovakia to the world :))

Emil R. (Bryantes)

It took me a little while to get started but finally have a small update. I received the missing instructions and plans from CAF so all is good there.
 
I started to put the keel together and started to build the cradle.
 
The thin wood parts for the cradle were significantly warped so I needed to find a way to deal with that. I opted to get a nice straight piece of wood shelving from Lowes and nailed the lower parts to the board and then nailed 3 cradle parts on top down on top of that. Takes a little more space for storage but it worked as planned. I'm a little worried that the warping may be a problem throughout the cradle parts.
 

 
The keel assemble was pretty straight forward. There are 3 sections for the keel. They are CNC cut and have a pretty nice fit. Some cleanup is required as expected to get a nice fit.
 

 
 

 
How I did it.
 

 
And the assembled keel in place.
 

 
Up next is assembling the stem and stern deadwood. A little worried about messing this up so a few deep breaths to start.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Welcome to MSW 🙂

Welcome to MSW 🙂

Small update - Things are moving slower than I would like. This is mainly due to shipping delays with my new laser machine (and other items), which has been more than a little frustrating. 
 
However, it is being delivered tomorrow, at long last, 15 weeks after placing the order!
 
Nisha and Erycina should be due for release next Friday (3rd December). I am not putting these on pre order due to the problems I had with Sphinx, so I am not putting them on until I have absolutely everything here and they're ready to be boxed. I do have all of PE sets here, though, and the manual and plans are due Wednesday.
 
One item I will need to put on pre order is the sail sets. The company that produces these for me had to shut down for 14 days, due to a Covid outbreak at their place, but I am hoping to have these with me in the next 2-3 weeks. This is equally annoying for me, as the sail sets have all been paid for, but cannot be helped.
 
I do now have Nelson figures in 48th and 96th scale in stock. These are 3-d printed 'In-House'. Most (but not all) future castings like figureheads and stern decoration will also be 3-d printed in house. I have attached some pics of some sample parts I sent to Jim. There are figureheads for Duchess, Sphinx and Bristol, and the sterns are Sphinx and Duchess.
 
Here is the link to the Nelson figures, there are 4 scale choices now:
 
Figure – Lord Nelson 1:48, 1:64,1:72, and 1:96 scales – VANGUARD MODELS

I have faired and glued the stern counter frames and spacer beam this morning. I have also dry fitted the gun deck base, which comes in two parts.
 

 
As you will note from the above photo I have test fitted the deck items. I think this is an important step to make sure the parts will fit once the gun deck in in place.
 
Everything looks good midships above the deck

 
 
Everything also looks good below the deck with all the items aligning nicely into the lower deck slots.

 
Moving on to the bow section, again every looks good above the deck

 
However it is a different story below the deck with the bowsprit support which does not locate in the holes provided even after a bit of jiggling. I will remove the gun deck to check the fit and I am sure everything will be fine. I also will add some additional supports to the gun deck before it is glued in place.

Post Forty-two
 
Fixing the wales.
It may be thought that this is a fairly straightforward procedure, given the marked lines of fitting on the hull coupled with pre-formed wales, there is no working out for yourself that critical wale position.
 
I considered constructing my own t&b wales as I had with Pegasus, but the thought lasted but a nano second.

1367(2)
The kit supplied pieces are nicely engraved with the Top and Butt planking lines, and it would be a pity not to use them.
The trick will be colouring it without covering up the plank lines.
 
I followed the given procedure and used fine pins liberally to secure the wale strip against the hull for the shape forming process.
The hull was then left overnight to fully dry out.
 
Probably due my increasing decrepitude I didn’t find fitting the wales the easiest of tasks.
They have to be correctly positioned, and held in place while pins are inserted to hold them fast, all before the pva starts to set.
 
Preparation is the key. I have the fine pins inserted in a balsa block for quick access, a micro pinvise, a jar of water and brush to clean off any pva overspill, and the pin pusher close to hand.

1376
The pva is decanted into a small jar and is slightly diluted. It is applied by brush as the wale is fixed along the hull.
The hull is secured in the keel clamp, better to see the required line and piled towels are used on the opposite side to support the hull against the pressure of the pin pusher.

1377(2)
Tamiya tape is applied above and below the wale position to mark the glue line and reduce the risk of overspill marks.
The forward end of the wale strips needs a slight bevel to fit tight against the stem.

1381
On my build the wales required a lot of pins to hold it firmly against the lower edge and additional pinning and clamping on the upper edge.

1387

1388
A prime objective is to get the wales looking symmetrical at the bow.
The stern area is the tricky part where the aftermost lower edge needs to curve downwards laterally very slightly, to meet the round of the hull.

1393
 I was able to clamp this by using a pin head on the wale and the rudder port as anchor points.
The  set-up was then left overnight for the glue to fully cure.

1402(2)

1405(2)

1408(2)

1410(2)
 
Before I move on I need to resolve a puzzling issue with the  pre-drilled scuppers, of which there are six.

1412
The forward two are offline against each other and the preceding four, which run along the top edge of the wale. This is not reflected on the plans where they all run along the top edge of the wale.
 
This in itself is an issue as they are too close to the top of the wale with no allowance for the flange that would surround them.
I rather think they should exit thro’ the Black strake above the wale, which is how I will position them.
 
The holes on the wale will be filled before painting.
 
This is a small thing and overall the wales look good and surely save an awful lot of T&B  cutting.
 
B.E.
28/11/21
 
 

Hi All,
I decided to do something positive on the Bismarck, well what I can do at the very least.... 🙂
I downloaded all 140 (+1) PDF's for the build and started to go through them, nothing of any huge significance, just quite a complex set of tasks, esp. in the last couple of PDF's, 140 - 1 and 140 - 2
 
(Here is the URL, if you are interested, click on "The Build" tab to access te PDF info.)
Bismarck | 1:200 Model Ship Full Kit | ModelSpace (model-space.com)
 
The thing that really stood out for me in the very last PDF was a small comment, easy to miss, that states, "Under no circumstances should the Printed Decks be brushed with varnish."
 
This information may be well known to many but it was news to me!! I guess the "Definition" of the Decks could be severely damaged esp, if the varnish/polyurethane used contains thinners.
(I was planning to use an Acrylic poly, "Crystal Clear.")
 
I'll now plan to Airbrush Vallejo Semi gloss clear  followed by "000" Steel Wool.
 
Anyway, I thought I'd post this for the Amati Bismarck builders on this site, or, indeed anyone dealing with printed wooden decks.
 
The reading/research continues.... 🙂
 
Cheers....HOF.
 
 
 

Welcome to MSW 🙂

This isn't really an update but a suggestion.....
 
I'm working on the quarter galleries and I hit instructions 218 to 220.  I was trying to figure out how to install that piece and running into problems... tweezers didn't work... too thick.   Finally, I took a bit of scrap wood to use as a spacer and glued it to the piece then glued it into place.   As a side note, I think it was about 0.8 mm thick for the spacer but was trying different thicknesses until I found one that worked.

Welcome! And thanks for the earworm (an agreeable one)!

Hi Rick,
 
From one new guy to another, welcome!
 
Dave