Timmo

Dipping back in.  What great work Jason. A beautiful bow. 

Dipping back in.  What great work Jason. A beautiful bow. 

Dipping back in.  What great work Jason. A beautiful bow. 

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all the US MSWers, and greetings and best regards to everyone else in the community.  I had  a couple of presentations to give recently, so my time had been focused primarily on work and slides for the last few months.  I am glad that is done for a while, and am now delighted that I can take just a wee bit of time to focus on making some progress on the Sphinx build while away from HMBV Granado.  I'll reiterate what everyone already knows, the Vanguard Sphinx kit is superb, and makes building a model ship a real pleasure.  The only tricky part I have run into is getting the gun deck settled into place, which took some sanding and swearing, but once it snapped into place I knew I had succeeded.  I've got some sanding to do now.....but I am pleased to have things moving in the right direction.  Here is a quick pic of where things stand at present.  I hope everyone is doing well and want to extend my thanks for stopping by and taking a look.  This community is an awesome positive reinforcer for beginner modelers like me and I appreciate that a lot.  Cheers all.
BT

Harrier has been sailing for a while now but I've finally got her how I wanted her with some modifications to improve yard rotation and hence windward ability and also the cosmetics like gun and other rigging. 
Also, I've got evidence that she sails uploaded to youtube, (check my other vids and you can also see my recently built cedar canoe that's kept me from ship modelling for a bit).
 
Thanks to all who offered advice and knowledge, whether you knew it or not, and provided actual bits for her. It wouldn't have happened without you.
 
 
 
 

 
Harrier cleared for action.
 

 
The deck hatches lines offering access to the radio gear disappear at the right angles. You can see the rear hatch to the left in this shot and the clear tape that's used to seal them before sailing. After many attempts to get a self sealing hatch with rubber seals this was far easier and more effective.
 

 

The tiller is functional with the lines coming from a drum servo below decks and pulling it to either side. The wheel, however, is static as it felt like one more thing to go wrong and a little fragile. It's nice watching the tiller swing under a ghost helmsman's hand.
 

 

 

 

 
Sailing into the sunset. I've got plans scaled for a 1/36 Enterprize class 28-gun frigate and might start on some smaller pieces of that in near future. However, if the bank balance allows this year I'll crack into my real dream of a 1:1 sailing dinghy. Time for the real thing.
Thanks for following this drawn-out build.

Thanks Jerry, your instructions were very helpful around coppering.
I'm keen on copper over paint to get a nice aged patina and this project is a bit of a test of materials and technique so given its still way cheaper than a kit another $40 for the real thing looks like small beer.
Did you use any CA glue or anything else to stick it down or just rely on the adhesive backing and if so how has it lasted? I've tried a test run as below and the adhesive bond feels very solid considering the tape is very thin. I'd like to just do this and maybe a dash of CA here and there but worst case scenario is applying a thin coat of resin to it after the patina is how I want it. I'd rather avoid the resin though.
 
Anyway, as per the inventive Jerry Todd and a few other builders like Fam http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8675-brick-de-24-by-fam-scale-148-1809-pob/page-7, a stamp was made from timber with holes drilled for the small brass pins that come with ship kits. The plate size 1:1 is about 13-14inch x 4 ft. The vertical plate join is scribed onto the copper tape with the back of a blade. A small overlap on the horizontal edges was tried on the uppermost join but not on the bottom. It's so imperceptible I don't think I'll bother with overlap as I'm going for the 3ft rule - if it looks ok from that distance it's worked.
 
The tape is Masterfoil plus copper tape from venture tapes. It's aimed at the stained glass industry and is 3/8inch or 9.53mm wide.
 

Hi Jerry, just been enjoying both your constellation and Macedonian builds. They are great builds and very informative. I'd love to do something similar one day.
What are your ballasting/keel plans?

A diversion here-
That trip to collect my grandfather's stock of timber netted more than expected. Most of it is rimu which has a lovely warm red glow for the heart timber sort of like pear for those in the northern hemisphere. There's also some outer stock with a lighter colour. The grain might not be tight enough for smaller pieces of ship fittings but I'll be keen to try to work some in somewhere in future builds.
My father will be kept in woodwork for many years to come with that pile.
 

 
Also while on the trip I uncovered a forebear of mine was also a ship modeller.
A copy of a newspaper clipping , date unclear, of my great grandfather in his later years with one of his efforts.

A small deviation from the instructions to install the quarterdeck bulkheads rather than the forecastle.
These are formed with thin ply held in place by grooves in the curved bulkheads. Simple but effective but also potentially tricky to install as there are many parts requiring dry fitting together before glue gets anywhere near it.
The bulkheads themselves rest between two lateral bulkheads with slots cut in the ply decking pattern where they fit. These slots always appeared oversized to allow room for movement in installed the QD bulkheads and the deck planking was run over the edges to allow ,ore room for trimming back once the bulk head positions were established. There's not much room for manoeuvre here as the decking must meet flush at the bulkhead sides otherwise there will be gaps around the edges. The bulkheads are faced with .5mm walnut when finished so there's a little bit of room for mistakes there but not much.
 
Bulkhead and panel dry fitting beginning with the port side
 

 
If it won't fit force it - and here's the result. The tight fit of the starboard side panel resulted in the ply crumpled when it couldn't get any further. Another panel pattern is easily cut and shaped better to fit. The panels are specifically shaped for each section and the only ones needing trimming are the two side most. Trimming the others will result in more problems that it will solve..
 

 
Most panels dry fitted
 

A lot of boring mast work has meant no updates for a while but here's where we are at.
The masts were stained to match the rest of the walnut in the kit using very diluted admiralty stain.
Main topgallant mast freshly turned and some kit stock as an example.

 
The mainmast cheeks are ply so the faces were painted to hide the laminations.
 

 
 
The main yard before painting.
 

 
Here's the finished result with wooldings on the mainmast and bowsprit rigged at bottom. A new half circle sprit sail saddle was turned from kit stock to replace the ply version which didn't fit too well.
The yards etc ere painted with the airbrush to save time, my paint stocks were low but I managed to get caldercraft's admiralty black to flow through the airbrush with some isopropyl alcohol to dilute.

 
The hawse cables and messenger have also been rigged. The thread was lightly stained with dilute walnut stain to give it a more subdued colour. I wish I'd done this with the gun rigging but the difference shouldn't be that noticeable once a mass of rigging is on.
New messenger snatch blocks were made from stock walnut as the kit ones were either absent or had been lost in the 2.5 years since the kit arrived.
 

 
I've tied bowsprit and mizzen rigging and the mainmast is the next stop before some masts will be stepped.

The pumps were built up largely as per the instructions with the addition of some black paper iron banding. The handles were all left blackened rather than painted a woody colour. It would have still looked like a metal piece.

A long time distracted and then rigging guns but here they are. Remaining deck furniture up next including bitts, pumps, QD barricade and the tiller housing.

Minor progress with the chain plates pinned in place. A mast was put in place and some rigging line tied off to give the run of the chainplates.
I pulled my old Sherbourne out recently to contribute to a display of my dad's woodwork and boats and noticed I must have fixed the chainplates as per the plans rather than following the rigging line. It's only noticeable on the Sherbourne now I know what to look for but I'm keen to avoid that mistake with Granado.


The fleet takes in the last of the autumn sunshine together.

Channels unvarnished but pinned on.
There are elbow brackets that sit on the tops of the main channels that are provided in the kit as photo etch but it simply looks too thin so they will be fabricated out of kit walnut. Probably ply with the laminated surfaces painted.
There's also a couple of pedestal brackets on each side to sit on the main channels.

Building beer of the day is a Black Duck Porter from Hawkes Bay Independent Brewery. A London style porter with some decidedly chocolate and coffee tones and possibly a hint of smoke. Nice but a bit syrupy so one is certainly enough.

Channels and chainplates under construction. The facing on the outside was 2mm walnut, the 1.5mm recommended in the kit seems too narrow.


Facing yet to be trimmed but here is a problem in the offing- one of the sweep ports on the main channel on the starboard side is too far to the rear. As a result it's partially obstructing the chain plate. It's not quite as bad as it appears on the pic as the chain will be slanted further aft but it looks a little awkward compared to the others. The port side is fine but I'm wondering how I got one positioned about 4mm off.
Tomorrow I might shave the port lid and hinge off and see if I can shift it forward a couple of millimeters without exposing the port hole.
Any other suggestions welcome.

The vertical timbers of the head rails were made up from some curved pieces of ply from the kit that were unused from the hair brackets. In a technique copied from Mitsuaki Kubota's fine Bellerophon build they were painted blue and some half mm walnut were laminated to the sides. This was sanded back to give a nice edge.


Careful shaping ensured a close fit.


The centre hair brackets running horizontally between the upper cheek and upper rail have been made up and painted and await cutting and fitting to slot between the verticals.
I'll be glad when this lot is finished.

With all the changes to the head rails the bowsprit was temporarily fitted and gammoning applied to make sure there was nothing that would be in the way later.

 
A small but nerve wracking addition was the hawse holes.
I added a reinforcing plank between the cheeks as per AOTS and as a result thinned down the bolster a bit and rounded the top and semi circle edges.
The bolster was held in place while holes were marked with the flat end of the 3.5mm drill bit dipped in paint. A smaller pilot hole was drilled first before the larger one. This was done with a Dremel. The bit was too long and had a little bit of wobble making the hole slightly bigger than I would have liked but nothing major. Tape on both faces prevented splintering which was my big fear. Not a lot of second chances with this area.


 
Now the final centre head rail can be knocked up.

The head rails had a centre section carved out to created raise prfofiles on either side. It's a little rough thanks to the file slipping and he grain on the walnut but it'll do. The centres were painted up to match the rest
Two part epoxy was used to attach the head rails. It claimed a setting time of 4 minutes but was more like an hour resulting in a lot of smearing to remove and paint over later.



 
While the epoxy was out the remaining stern figures were added. The castings are not quite symmetrical so bit of gentle pressure bent them on the right angle to have their heads resting against the taffrail. The bases they rest on had the edge facing the hull shaped to fit neatly.
The wee dolphin carvings were set further back towards the stern than the kit instructions show. According to AOTS Granado they are almost a continuation of the stern carvings.


 
His majesty's bomb vessel Granado as she now stands

Great work BE.
I've drifted away from ship modelling for a bit so missed most of this build an am having a great time catching up. Fine work indeed on a fine kit. You've nailed the aesthetic of the period. I'm seriously considering a Vanguard kit now as scratch building's so time consuming.  

Great work BE.
I've drifted away from ship modelling for a bit so missed most of this build an am having a great time catching up. Fine work indeed on a fine kit. You've nailed the aesthetic of the period. I'm seriously considering a Vanguard kit now as scratch building's so time consuming.  

Great work BE.
I've drifted away from ship modelling for a bit so missed most of this build an am having a great time catching up. Fine work indeed on a fine kit. You've nailed the aesthetic of the period. I'm seriously considering a Vanguard kit now as scratch building's so time consuming.  

Great work BE.
I've drifted away from ship modelling for a bit so missed most of this build an am having a great time catching up. Fine work indeed on a fine kit. You've nailed the aesthetic of the period. I'm seriously considering a Vanguard kit now as scratch building's so time consuming.  

Cheers Guys,
 
As it happens in the past week, I have received my printed pictorial build album.
 I have done one of these for all my builds, it is a shame not to use all those build photos and record those internal details lost from view.
 
A few pages to give a flavour.

9094

9095

9096

9097

9098

8926(3)
Once again, thanks for your support, much appreciated.
 
 
B.E.
05/11/2022
 
 
 

It's been a while but Enterprise sits with her masts finished but stored and her framing and building stocks safely hidden away. 
 
Here's the reason...  my new boat is taking shape- a 14ft ilur class sailing dinghy. 
Hoping to have her launched around the end of the year and then back to the Enterprise next year at some stage once I need something to build again. Also, after spending all the family treasure and garage space on this one I'll need to reduce scale of size and money again. 
 

Granado is finished! A mere six years after she was started and four years after my last post I've returned to finish her off with the final bits of rigging, anchors and a base.
 

 
The base is rimu timber from an old bookshelf with an edge routed on. I'd always wanted to incorporate the lovely detailed plans of the original vessel from the Greenwich maritime museum.
 

I copied this at a slightly smaller scale and cut them into sections to arrange the profile, plan view, stern and builders details to best effect underneath the model. This is sanwhiched between two 3mm sheets of acrylic and held down with the screws through the base and into the model. Thin routered strips hide the edge.

 
The grounded anchor ties the ship to the base visually and fills a bit of a blank space on the plans.
A rewarding project overall.