hamilton

Hi Bob Just read through your log - I have to say you've done amazing work despite the challenges you've faced with the kit. She looks like she's starting to shape up. My current build (the Corel Greyhound kit) suffered some similar issues - two of the bulkheads were completely out of whack and I had to build them up with 1mm x 4mm strips. The rest of the bulkheads were also mis-dimensioned, though not as severely. In the end, constructing the skeleton was complete guesswork on my part, though I had the best of intentions. I tried scaling up the lines contained in Goodwin' AOTS Blandford, which clearly served as one of the design templates for the Corel kit, but this proved only to confuse matters. The lack of reliability in the parts and the plans (which were so woefully inadequate that I completely stopped using them almost as soon as I began) meant that I had essentially to plot things out to achieve something that would work rather than something that was really accurate to the ship's lines..... Anyway, I really admire your perseverance and have great sympathy too for Sam, who I imagine has been driven to some distraction by these issues. I'll follow along here with interest hamilton

Looks great Mobbsie - the pinnace looks like a fun project - I build a small ship's boat this summer for the Blandford - the technique is slightly different than the CC one - and to be honest the CC kit looks like a more secure construction method than the Model Shipways one I made. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out hamilton

Glad you didn't wait for an update - the carronade rigging looks really great! hamilton

There it is - would love to see a profile shot, but maybe you're waiting till she's done... hamilton

This is an art work that definitely needs to remain visible! I continue to be amazed at the amount of fine detail you're able to achieve here Ian - incredible! hamilton

Hi Richard: I love the close up shots - gives a great impression of the fine points! And it's also exciting to see the rigging dangling around waiting for the final touches - very exciting! hamilton

I've learned a new word! And of course been suitably impressed by your craftsmanship, Augie! You're working fast! The fact that there is only one page of comments between your photo updates is a testament to your agility at both the workbench and the keyboard! hamilton

Nice looking stand Jack - can't wait to see more of the rigging! hamilton

The futtock staves look very nice and neat, Andy - if I had seen this before starting mine on the Blandford, I'd have mimicked this technique - I might still do on the Main and foremasts if it doesn't look too contrasty with what I have on the mizzen. Have fun! hamilton

Thanks all for the compliments! Ferit - I'll be straightening those curls soon! But she will still be a lady hamilton

Well I've received word that the 2mm blocks are winging their way across the pacific! And I think I'll be ready for them when they arrive.... Since my last post, here's what I've managed to do: 1. All lower masts & mast tops completed 2. Lower shrouds & stays/preventer stays (where appropriate) added (though not all rigged) 3. Mizzen mast stepped; mizzen lower shrouds & stay rigged 4. Mizzen topmast constructed & installed 5. Mizzen topmast shrouds, stay & backstays added (but not yet rigged) So right now, the Blandford looks to be in quite a bit of disarray - lots of lines hanging around not doing much. Nevertheless, given that it's been a while since my last photographic update, I'll add a few photos....enjoy! hamilton

Would love to go there someday....our annual vacations normally don't take us back east, but maybe soon.... hamilton

Looks great Mobbsie - have to say I can't imagine what a triangular deadeye looks like! Or how such a thing could make it into a kit box in the first place...Regardless, excellent work! hamilton

This just keeps getting more and more impressive!! Ian your work is a real inspiration hamilton

Hi Ferit: I'm assuming that the idea of you not building another ship model is just exaggeration.....no one with your talent for this should give it in! Anyway, prior to the Greyhound/Blandford, my experience with Corel was quite good. But it seems that like all kit manufacturers there are, as Mark says, both major and minor inconsistencies. You would think that on a high end kit like the WVH the inconsistencies would be of the minor variety - the Corel Bellona, sitting on my shelf now, looks to be a really nice kit....and the WVH is a step up from there....I would love to see how that giant would look after passing through your hands! Pretty amazing, I'm guessing hamilton

Looks great Augie - this seems like a very useful tool for those tight corners - might be worth the investment! hamilton

Thanks John Ferit and Alistair! John - obviously you have to come up with a "portable modelling workbench" for those times when you're away. Not only will it allow you to enjoy your holidays more thoroughly, but you could probably also make a tidy business out of such a thing! Ferit - though I'm a university prof in a communication department, I try not to complain too much about grammar! It's hard enough to get ideas across in one's native language let alone another one! Alistair - thanks for the offer! See my PM to you. I only need 6 for the crowsfeet tackles....the size is intimidating - and I had thought of fudging it with some 3mm blocks, not yet clearly knowing how awkward they might look.... Anyway there's been a bit of progress amidst work. I've now completed and dressed the foremast and the mizzen mast, and stepped and rigged the mizzen. I've realised that it will be necessary for me to construct, install and rig the main topmast before I get to the foremast. This is because I need to set the main stay and main preventer stay tackles at the foot of the foremast and this will be very tricky with the foremast shrouds rigged. This evening I hope to finish off the main mast (I need to re-position a block or two and add the rail on the mast top) and then add the rigging elements (shrouds, stay, preventer stay), with the rigging to come tomorrow. Then its on to build a couple of main mast tops (one to be installed and one for support of the ship's boat on the gallows. I figured I'd build both at the same time so I can get them as close to matching as possible. Anyway it's started raining here - something which will be more or less continuous for the next 6 months. No time is better for modelling, and yet there is no time!!!! Hope you're all enjoying yourselves! hamilton

The cathead sheaves look amazing - nicely done! hamilton

Looking good Ferit - the light in your working area looks nice too! Must be nice to work in such beautiful sunshine hamilton

Looks great Andy - what a majestic prow! hamilton

Taters for the oven and a pheasant for the rotisserie, please - at 1:75 scale, obviously....you can make them out of metal if you prefer! Shouldn't be a problem, right? hamilton

Thanks John for the confirmation, Frank for the musing, and Henry for the definitions! Much appreciated hamilton

Thanks a lot Frank - so if I read you right - just have the pendants rigged as such - hanging loose? Or would they be secured somehow - Lees mentioned lashing the Burton pendants to the topmast shrouds for fore and main topmasts....I'm assuming this would go for the tackle pendants on the lower masts, too? hamilton

Hi there: In doing more research on the rigging of the HMS Blandford (6th rate ship rigged post ship, 1719), I've been reading about (in James Lees' Masting & Rigging of English Ships of War) the following lines whose function I'm a little unclear on.... 1. "Pendants, runners & falls of tackles" - a feature of the lower fore & main masts. Lees suggests that smaller ships had one pair on each mast,with a single block seized in the end hanging at the level of the upper catharpins. He then says that runners are seldom seen rigged on models and also that the falls are rigged with a single block used in conjunction with the double block on the runner....this would lead me to believe that the falls would not be rigged on the model, either, if the runners weren't. This would mean that the pendant would just kind of hang there.....Would it be correct to rig the falls in conjunction with the block on the pendant? And what is the function of these lines - lateral stabilisation? 2. Burton pendants and falls - mentioned in conjunction with the Mizzen lower mast and fore and main topmasts - Lees says that these were standard on most ships but that the falls were "made up" in the top with the end coiled up and lashed to the fall when not in use.....but what is the context of use? And should these be rigged on the model? 3. Toprope pendants and falls - Lees shows the standing ends of these lines as being seized to eyebolts on the forward underside of the lower mast caps. From there it runs through sheaves in the topmast heel, then up through single blocks seized to eyes on the aft underside of the caps....the pendants end in thimbles. This seems straightforward enough. But Lees' description of the fore topmast toprope falls is confusing....He says that the lower block was made fast to the main deck on either side of the main hatch, with the falls leading to either side of the belfry....this makes no sense to me, as the belfry is mounted on the aft edge of the forecastle and the main hatch is, obviously, at mid-ships....I'm also unclear on the purpose of the topropes.... Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post, but any clarification on these points would be most helpful - thanks a lot! hamilton

OK let's try again..... Next after fiddling with the lengths of the lower masts, here is what I arrived at.... These are just the raw dowels set in the mast holes - the rake in the mizzen isn't accurate and the rake in the foremast shouldn't be there at all. Anyway, this is just to demonstrate relative size... Here are the foremast cheeks and bibbs which I made as 1 piece instead of separately, thinking that to make separate parts at this scale would simply be too tough. Here is the foremast top, unfinished. Corel's laser cut part was accurate with respect to dimensions, except the thickness (1.5mm) which would have made the top much too bulky after adding the planking and the margins. So I traced the laser cut part onto a 1/32 thick sheet of lime and planked it using .5mm x 3mm strips. The margins are also 1/32"lime. It looks a little mongrelly here, but after painting it's much better (sorry for the bad focus!) Finally here are a couple of the shots of the fore mast dry fitted. It's not exactly finished yet - I still have to paint the bolsters and the mast head cleats and also reduce the latter's size so they don't look so bulky.... You may notice the holes drilled in the forward edge of the top for the crow's feet, which I plan on adding. My worry here is that the smallest blocks I have are 3mm, which even at that small size is too big for the crow's feet tackle. A suitable euphroe I can probably manage, but the tackle blocks will be a challenge. I'm not sure how much I can reduce the size of the 3mm blocks supplied by corel (which at any rate are very fragile things) though I might be able to do something with 1/8" blocks supplied by model shipways and leftover from previous builds (though these are slightly larger than the corel ones!! Anyway that's a future worry. Hope you're all enjoying the day - now back to work!! hamilton