mikeaidanh

Back again. After a longish break some further progress has been made. But first the colour scheme and roughing it up a bit!
 
It is my belief that these hard working boats would have been maintained in top working order but not as "tiddly" ( R.N term but probably universally understood. ) as the ships boats that ferried captains, admirals and other upper echelon types to and fro. To this end I have "dirtied" the interior of the model somewhat, excluded glossy finishes and adopted the muted ochres and black paints of the period. I do not intend to apply bright coloured hull highlights or stern embellishments. 
 
This image shows the boat interior after fitting all the ribs and stringers and the stern benches,
 

 
The mounts for the small cannon and other small additions.....
 

 
Next job was the gunnel capping. The instructions in the kit call for this to be applied in sections but I decided to trace of the actual shape from the model onto sheet timber. The outer curve was then cut on the band saw and the inner curve scribed from it before cutting and final sanding to shape on a belt sander. The two curved section, two quadrant sections and two straight sections were then glued to the hull.
 

 

 

 

 
The final piece of gunnel capping required a curve over a short length in 3.5mm timber. I snapped my first attempt so laminated three sections of 10mm x 1mm which worked well and when sanded and sealed will not be detectable under a coat or two of paint.
 

 
The next task was to build the framework that supports the main cannon and to fit this in place. Care must be taken here as this framework, thwart No.3 from the bows,and the mast step are all closely interdependent for position. The frame and the cannon itself are fun to put together.
 

 

 

 

 
Number three thwart and a section of mast are placed but not fixed.
 

 
Then the cannon framework is offered up, shaped where it meets the forward gunnel capping and then the No. three thwart can be adjusted in position.
 

 
Now the other thwarts can be cut and shaped and their positions established.
 

 
Central supports for the thwarts must be fitted before they can be secured and the mast step needs to be completed.
 
Thats it for now. More soon......I hope!
 
Mike.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Further progress on the inner hull.The floors are now finally fixed in place and the ribs are being shaped.
Note the high tec plank bender; new employment for old curling tongs and a "clamp" made from parcel tape.
 

 
The ribs are pre painted before fitting.
 

 

 
Fixing the ribs to the hull. I used CA for this job as devising curved surface clamps to use with PVA seemed likely to cause headaches. Kiss principle.
 

 
The .7mm x 7mm dome head pins at each rib junction are purely decorative but they do enhance the look of the hull interior.
 

 

 
All in place. Just some cleaning up to do.
 

 
More anon.
 
Note. Other buiiders of this model will have noticed that I am not following Panart's colour scheme. More about this later on.
 
Mike.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Getting on with the internal decks.
 

 

 

 
This is enjoyable work. Filling the floor voids with planking and the gratings. I found cutting and fitting the gratings to be tricky.
 

 
Using useful sizes of the kit supplied timber to jig up the fitting of the foot treads.
 

 

 
The internal decks finished and lightly oiled with Danish.
 
Moving on.
 

 

 
Planking in the bow and stern areas.
 
This is as far as I have come to date. The next tasks will be to finally fit the internal decks into the hull before starting on the ribs and stringers.
 
More anon.
 
Mike.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

......And more progress.
 

 
Both internal decks framed and shown in situ for a trial fit.
 

 
Partly planked deck void. Slapped some yellow ochre on before applying a decent top coat.
 

 
Bought myself a cheap and simple air brush. How quickly the paint goes on! This sounds like I do not have a painters patience. Correct!
 
 
 
 

Progress report.
 

 
First planking completed - pretty rough but I have two more layers to go to improve my technique.
 

 
Second planking complete. A little better but still full of errors some of which have been sanded out. Thank goodness for sanding products!
 

 
The hull structure is now strong enough to let me remove the 2/3 of some of the bulkheads which are no longer needed. I am pleased to get shot of them as this allows me to do some remedial work on the visible interior planking.
 

 

 

 

 
Third and final planking. Fitting a drop plank to put right one of my technical errors.
 

 
Third planking complete and in the sanding phase.Overall I am reasonably happy with this my second attempt to plank a model
ship but, one of these days, I must learn to do it properly. I would love to watch a "master" at work.....are there any videos ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello QA,
 
Thanks for that.
 
I have no idea why triple planking was used. It is a bit of a pain to do but now that I have the end result is a very sturdy hull. Ah, so that is why it is trippled! There are no frames or bulkheads so the strength and rigidity must be within the hull itself.  Until you asked the question I had not considered the obvious! Thank you for opening my eyes.
 
The upside of this build is working in 1:16 scale. It is a delight. I shall post some updates to the build log in the near future.
 
Mike. 

At last I have made some progress on this model. As I said earlier my intention was to use this build as a break from my HMS Surprise build and to try my hand at a larger scale model. What has in fact happened is the realisation that I do not have enough time to devote to one model let alone two! Never the less progress has been made on both models.
 
The following is a simple photo diary of 1803 Armed Pinnace to date.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This is as far as I have gone and the model is back on the shelf as I return to my HMS Surprise (see).
 
 
 
 

I am about to start this build in an attempt to de emphasise the amount of work, and in particular repetitive  work, that lies ahead for me in building my HMS Surprise.
 
In the very early stages I am told to apply candle wax to former edges to prevent adhesion whilst laying the planking. This is necessary as the formers must be removed and modified afterwards and the new sections replaced and glued in. Two questions: Is candle wax the best medium for this work and do i need to edge glue the planks? The model is triple planked in, firstly, 1mm x 7mm Walnut then 1mm x 6mm Lime wood and, lastly, 1mm x 6mm Walnut. 
 
Once I have some work to show off I will post photographs and comments.
 
If anyone has a build log for this model I would love to see it.
 
In advance....my thanks for any comments or suggestions.
 
Mike.

Nice Pinnace Mobbsie! I too had great fun building that model. Good luck with "Pickle". I enjoyed that one as well!

Hello Mobsie,
 
I really enjoyed my time building this one! At this scale there is plenty of scope for attention to the smaller details. In fact you can make anything you like of the model, just let your imagination flow!
 
Good luck!
 
Mike.

Greetings Jack Dusty and a welcome from an ex" wafu". 

Greetings Dean from MIKE in Milton Keynes. Once upon a time I serviced aircraft on the old Grey Funnel Line.

Greetings Dean from MIKE in Milton Keynes. Once upon a time I serviced aircraft on the old Grey Funnel Line.

Greetings Phil from Mike in Milton Keynes.

This was my first attempt at model ship building. It is incomplete as the cannon were not built. I found 1:64 to be too small for me. The job was hurried because i wanted to try out all the aspects of the build to see how i liked it. I liked it a lot which is why i am about to take a very great deal of time building the AL 1:48 HMS Surprise.
 
The following photographs form a pictorial record of the build. Sorry....no words.
 
Mike.
 

Back again for the final part of this build log.
 
There were an assortment of parts to be made to complete the below deck display and, in no particular order, here they are:
 
Storage racks,
 

 
Tiiddly table hangers,
 

 
Table,
 

 
Water breaker,
 

 
Plates, knives, cheese, tankard and "square meal"
 

 

 

 

 
Fire buckets,
 

 
Hammock,
 

 
The "tidy" gun showing training levers, fire bucket, cartridge and tackles,
 

 

 
Serving tools,
 

 

 
Bench with squeeze box,
 

 

 
Grease bucket and brush,
 

 
Tompions, flexible rammers and spongers and a deck broom,
 

 
The Legend.
 
HMS. Innominate Is carrying out some self maintenance. One of the great guns has been serviced and tidied away with all the serving tools neatly stowed. The gun crew are about to enjoy a meal and, maybe, some music.
 

 
Meanwhile the second gun is still being worked on. One trunnion strap is open and grease is being applied. There seems to be a problem under the barrel as well as it has been hoisted up to the deckhead and secured whilst work goes on.
 

 
The training and hauling tackles have been used to position the gun. The training levers are seen acting as wheel chocks; I have no proof that this was done but logically it might have been.
 
Where are the crew? They are in my minds eye. They fade in and out of this representation of a moment in time and, if you concentrate, you will see and hear them as I do.
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
I have greatly enjoyed this model and by using the plans as a guide I think I have achieved an interesting object that, hopefully, my great friend and O'Brian aficionado  will enjoy whilst he reads of Jack and his adventures.
 
Mikeaidanh 19/02/15
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here we are back again after knee surgery. This will be the final post for this build as the model is now in my study in its final position.
 
Making the internal fittings and fixtures:
 

 
The anchor and its rope and stowage.
 

 
Two buckets made by parting a solid barrel and turning out a recess and adding a lid to one. This is not the LA method.
 

 
The gun serving tools. There are also two smaller versions for the small cannons.
 

 
One of six oars.
 

 
General view of some of the internal kit.
 

 
Milling the cannon ball tray. I thought I would try this rather than making a framed tray. The "milling machine" is a Dremel drill and stand above a Proxxon X-Y table. There is so much "slop" in this device that I hesitate to call it a milling machine but, with care, a result can be achieved. I must improve on this aspect of my tooling!
 

 
The completed tray and some buckets with contents.
 

 

 

 
The model on its display base. I have not mounted the vessel vertically but allowed it to come to rest on its port side skid.....it is on the beach.
 
The profile on the base was made using my old and trusted Wadkins Handy Trimmer. I reckon I have had this for about 40 years. They were sold as laminate trimmers and came with a selection of jigs for that purpose. I have made lots of "special" and "one off" bases to enable various routing tasks to be performed. The unit is small and can easily be use one handed yet it is powerful enough to take most things in its stride. I reckon it will outlive me!
 
The following images show the various internal fittings in situ:
 

 

 

 
Thats it folks! Done and dusted. I am reasonably pleased with the result and my decision to make this model as a hard working boat. I could have gone further with the "distressing" work and I will once I have got to grips with weathering techniques and materials.....and that is an art within an art.
 

 
I have greatly enjoyed this build with the possible exception of triple planking. I found the kit to be pretty good. The instructions were not great but the pictures told most of the story. The materials were ok and mostly sufficient with the exception of the sail cloth which was woefully short. To my mind this is a good kit to experiment with.The scale is large enough to encourage an individual approach rather than a slavish adherence to the build notes. I recommend it as a very interesting project.
 
Mikeaidah. 11th July 2014.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I love mine so much that I want a second that always cross cuts and the other is the ripper!

I love mine so much that I want a second that always cross cuts and the other is the ripper!

Hello Frosty, welcome!
Where in the Uk are you?
Best wishes,
Mike in MK.

Chuck, I would like to join the group please.
Mike.

Chuck, I would like to join the group please.
Mike.

Retired mine some time back. it is now fitted with a blade suitable for metal, rough cutting at that, and lives under my bench waiting for the rare occasions that I cut metal.
I fell foul of the buying cheap and regretting it. lesson learned. I now have a Byrnes.
Mike.

Retired mine some time back. it is now fitted with a blade suitable for metal, rough cutting at that, and lives under my bench waiting for the rare occasions that I cut metal.
I fell foul of the buying cheap and regretting it. lesson learned. I now have a Byrnes.
Mike.

Back after a break to make progress on my Armed Pinnace build (see).
 
The following three images show work towards the completion of the margin planks which were fitted in four pieces an then further "joints" were added with scalpel.
 

 

 

 
The hatchways and ladders do not follow the kit but are, I hope, true to the Surprise of this build. The rudimentary stove is made from balsa with scant details applied. I made the hatches and ladder ways as modules and the linings clean up the deck piercings quite well.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Wiring for LED lighting installed. The small LED seen here is, in fact, too small for large areas but will be used as general gun deck lighting. Larger, 5mm, LEDs will be used elsewhere. All LEDs are "12v" with internal limiting resistors. The exact arrangement of the lighting is not yet determined but pre wiring to all possible areas will sufice for now. No LED will be "seen" only the glow.
 

 

 
Blocking the bows and starting first planking.
 

 

 

 

 
 
Once all the upper planking is completed I intend to sand back, fill, re send then seal and sand again and then apply a base coat ready for final painting.
 
More anon.
 
At 04/04/2014.
 
I have paused this build to concentrate on other projects and also to think about how I am going to solve a rather major misalignment problem. I may have to fudge the issue and simply make it look good where seen. In the mean time a little further progress was made as can be seen from the following 5 images.
 

 

 

 

 

 
That's all for now folks. HMS surprise is signing off for now.