hamilton

A bit more work on the upper deck framing. I've made all three of the deck beams and started to refine them (they're not quite finished but I'm not aiming for perfection, so....). My main task now is to make a framing jig so I can assemble at least the major components (beams, beam arms & carlings) off the model as I did with the lower deck. As of now I've gotten as far as making a template of the deck with the beams marked on. My model deviates slightly from the layout given in the practicum (modeller error is the blame here) so I'll use the drawings as reference for finishing the template. I had thought of making a simple jig - fitting a couple of 1" (scale) thick battens along the port and starboard side to simulate the deck clamps (into which beams are let down 1") and then a 5-1/2" batten down the centre line (the deck rounds up by 5-1/2"). We'll see how this goes and whether I need to expand on this basic concept..... I am a little concerned about the beam arms - these seem to be a little finicky to get right considering the round up needs to be sanded into them as well....I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks as of Friday and this week's a busy one getting ready to go, so it's hit or miss whether there'll be any time in the shop...but...in the meantime enjoy the photos and happy modelling. hamilton

After another relatively long break, I've managed to find a bit of time to work on Echo this afternoon. No great strides forward, though I did manage to make a test of one of the upper deck beams. I made a template out of card paper using the drawing in the practicum against some carbon paper, and then rubber cemented this to some 9" boxwood that came with the original framing package. I think that next time I will simply use copies of the drawing itself, printed onto card. I think this will likely lead to a more accurate template and a better result. Fortunately I have enough of the 9" box to do a bit of testing before committing to anything. I had imagined that the test beam would be fit forward, but it ended up being a fraction to short for that purpose. But it fits perfectly athwartships in the aft beam position at frame 5. So even though right now the piece still looks very rough (as seen in the photos below) I hope I can tidy it up and perhaps use it since it does fit so nicely....I also made a strake of deck planking to fit in line with the port side lower deck waterway - not too difficult or exciting. The upper deck framing is going to be quite tricky I think - I'm not looking forward to making and fitting the beam arms and am a bit concerned about the beams being at the correct height.....but we'll see in the next little while how it comes together. Enjoy the photos and bye for now hamilton

Been a while since I checked in here - she's looking really nice, Yves hamilton

This looks like a very cool model! hamilton

At this scale the rigging gets very crowded indeed - I followed Lees for the entire rig of my version of this kit - it was a challenge to get everything just so, but Lees facilitates things through his period-based breakdown of rigging practice by period and rate. From what I've read here, Lees is a very good standard to work to. I also have no idea what the logic was behind the reversal of the preventer and stay in this case - but as we see all the time, questioning people who've spent their lifetimes learning about specific things is a good way to get things wrong, while following them is a good way of learning how to do things right. hamilton

Last update of the day....the lower deck planking is now done, as are the ceiling planks on the starboard side. I ended up using 1 12" plank to round out the deck planking...it stands out a bit, but hopefully when the upper deck is done it will be a bit less noticeable. Bye for now hamilton

Managed to install a single ceiling plank this morning and to mill the remaining strips for the lower deck planking. I will have to fudge the planking a little bit, as the space to be filled is not exactly equal to the number of 10" wide planks that will fit there - there is a roughly 2" space remaining, so I'm going to mill a couple of 11" strakes to compensate for this - hopefully the difference won't be too noticeable at this scale. I'll also need to figure out the spirketing plank on the port side - this will require some spiling to fit against the curved waterway. I won't be fitting ceiling planks on the port side, in line with the overall concept of alternating the planking decks and hull) port and startboard. Externally, I'll plank the port side but not starboard below the wales, but I won't leave the frames exposed at all above the wales. hamilton

After a longer-than-expected break, I managed to put some time in at the bench today, working on the lower deck planking. I realised that I had forgotten, when I installed the strakes around the mast partners and hatch, to file out a notch for the passage of the break pump shafts...so I lightly pried those pieces off and completed that step - truthfully, I broke one of the originals in this process and made a new one to replace it! I had milled a relatively small amount of 10" x 2" boxwood for the deck planks - only 7 strips total. So after installing the strakes around the hatch/partners, I had only 5 strakes. My plan is to lay only 3 strakes outboard of centre on the port side and full plank the starboard side - this alternates with the full planking of the inner hull on the port side and only partial planking there to starboard. I will also lay a binding strake along the inboard edge of the port side waterway - this will have to be spiled on the side laid against the waterway to account for the slight curvature on that side - noted above.... Quick question - were the lower deck planks trunnelled? Hope you're all doing well - happy modelling and enjoy the photos. hamilton

Looking good Harlequin! This kit seems more sensibly designed than Greyhound. Are the strips supplied for second planking narrower? The first planking strips seem very wide for the scale - though the planking work itself is very good! hamilton

In the most famous version of the painting, Icarus is just a pair of legs sticking out of the water - typical Breughel humour! There is another version of the painting floating around that also shows Daedalus flying off in the distance...that would be much harder to render realistically! The model looks really nice! As small as it is, it has a grandness to it. hamilton

One of my favourite paintings of all time and the subject of a lecture I give on technology and ethics - will be nice to see that lovely ship come off the canvas! hamilton

Following the prototyping process is such a treat!! Thanks for sharing this with us Chris!! Does way more than build excitement for this kit! hamilton

I think you're doing a great job with this build - despite the noted deficiencies of this kit!! Peace be with you too! hamilton

Juts catching up here - the decking looks great! hamilton

Yes - that's true - the gratings were pirated from my Syren kit and they were slightly short of the correct length, so I had to add some padding on the fore/aft inside edges of the head ledges...so those are too wide - the coamings port and starboard are 6" x 4" as noted in the practicum...Buth the head ledges ended up at 7.5" instead of 6.....next time I will make my own gratings to size - I was just cutting corners...not good modelling practice, but..... hamilton

A small update on Echo. I've made and installed the spirketing plank above the lower deck waterways on the starboard side. As noted above, the port side is asymmetrical to the starboard and the waterway curves inboard as it runs aft. I made a spirketing for the port side, but this curved waterway means that I need to sculpt the plank a little bit more than was the case with the starboard side....I'm considering not planking the port side lower deck to avoid this....and rationalising this choice by deciding to alternate the full planking port and starboard...anyways, there's lots of time to make decisions... I also started the lower deck planking - beginning with the strakes just outboard of the hatch/mast partners. These have to be notched around the hatch, which is wider than the partners, and a notch needs to be cut in for the passage of the outboard chain pump shafts. I marked these cut-aways out and removed the wood on the scroll saw, cleaning them up with some needle files after. I will be planking the deck fully on the starboard side, but will only install one or two other strakes outside of the currently laid one on the port side. These planks are as yet unfinished - a light sanding and sealing will happen once all the deck planks are in place. Happy modelling and bye for now hamilton

Managed to get a few more hours in the workshop this afternoon and made/installed the lower deck waterways. These were relatively straightforward, though I had to take time to mill a 3" sheet of boxwood. I then discovered that there is a bit of asymmetry in the frames, as there is a noticeable wasting aft on the port side but this is more subtle on the starboard side - this means that the port side waterway is slightly curved in shape while the starboard side is more or less straight.....this is teaching me a lesson for the next time I try something like this. In any case the waterways were chamfered on the outboards lower edge to fit nicely against the frames, as well as on the outboard upper edge to fit the spirketing (which is next up on the list). The plans show them reducing to 2" to meet the deck planking - I simplified this by chamfering off the inboard upper corner at as oblique an angle as I dared - not perfect and not reflective of actual practice, but.....I'm keeping a list of things that I need to work on more rigorously next time..... Enjoy the photos and bye for now hamilton

Well it's been way longer than I had hoped, but work has been busier than usual and so I haven't been able to clock any time in the workshop until today. The morning saw the completion of the lower deck mast partners. This involved first cutting a dowel to serve as a blank for the main mast, cutting a tenon into the lower part to fit into the step and then dry fitting that to get the position of the mast hole in the partners. I used a combination of round and half-round files as well as the dremel tool for finishing. The hole is not entirely even, but this will not be very visible in the end, so I'm not too concerned. Marking, drilling and filing out the square holes for the chain pump shafts followed a similar process. I already milled a bunch of 11" square stock for the pump shafts and, using two of these, I marked them out on the partners. Small holes were drilled on the drill press and then widened and squared using an assortment of files. The partners were then installed permanently on the deck framing. Next step will be to make the lower deck waterways and spirketing planks, and then lay the deck planking. I'll fully plank the port side and leave part of the deck framing exposed to starboard. During the planking, I'll also have to consider the run of the return shafts of the chain pumps....but that's for later. In the meantime, here are some photos. Enjoy and happy modelling hamilton

Thanks Benjamin - there were definitely a few hiccups in the build - let me know if you hit any snags and I might be able to provide some useful advice hamilton

The second photo shows the way the plans came for me when I ordered them, so this is not atypical. I did not find this an issue when making the bulkheads, since I always made sure to take tracings from the plans of each of the parts I needed to manufacture - specifically the keel pieces and bulkheads. If you invest in some carbon paper, tracing paper and card paper you can make multiple templates of each part - for my own part I know I made the keel pieces three times and the bulkheads at least twice (some three)....if you trace them off the plans, you just focus on one area of the plans at a time and ensure that they are not too awkward to work around those folds....fortunately, they're not hard folds so with a bit of weight on them they should be fine to use.... Good luck with the build - I'll follow with interest hamilton

Beautiful results as always, Yves - so nice to see her out of the cradle - you really get a sense of the sleek lines - a great looking model! hamilton

I imagine many of us are familiar with that feeling! hamilton

The ironies of ship modelling.....from the photo any imperfections are completely invisible! hamilton

Wow - that really holds up to scrutiny! hamilton

After spending a week looking at the lower hatch, I found myself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with it. So today I rebuilt it. The most difficult part of this was prying the old one off the model - I used a micro saw for this and worked very slowly and gently until it came loose. Sanding down the deck framing and re-applying some wipe-on poly made it look fine - a couple of blemishes, but these are hidden by the hatch itself, so not a big deal. The blanks for the partners are obviously just dry fit for now - lots of work to do on those before they're ready to be installed! It's still not perfect, but I think it looks much cleaner than the last one. I had intended to spend today milling the pump shafts, making a mast dummy and starting work on the lower mast partners, but that now is put off to a later time..... I hope to be able to find some time in the workshop this coming week - work is in a very temporary lull until the week after next, when we have our spring break at the university - a time for the kids to go to the beach and the grown-ups to mark mid-term assignments.....fortunately I'll be doing that at my parents place in the woods of eastern Ontario with a decent supply of beer and cookies (obviously not consumed together!). Enjoy the photos and bye for now. hamilton