hamilton

Hi Andy: It's these kinds of jobs that will probably permanently bar me from scratch building - carving and decorative finishing....I say "not my strengths", but I really should say that I don't even know where to start....anyway...at some point I'll have to just sit down with a knife and a stick and start practicing.... hamilton

Weren't hedges ever in fashion as ship's decorations? Just dolphins and unicorns and cherubs and stags I guess...What about the mighty hedge!!! hamilton

Well I guess the word is in....I agree....I was looking at the dry-fit piece again this morning and realising that I was really just "improvising" in a situation where it isn't appropriate. Thanks all for the intervention!! hamilton

Another brief update - not much modelling done recently, but I have managed to finish the forward hatches and the build the 3 ladders running from the main to the lower deck. Here are a couple of pics.... On another note, I mentioned in an earlier post that I purchase some brass bare tree frames from a local model train store that I thought I might use for the decorative elements along the bulwarks forward & aft and on the transom. Here is a shot of the item I bought. And here is a bit of it dry fit onto the bulwarks aft.... Be honest with me, people - I know this is not really historically accurate and I'm willing to live with that - but beyond that, do you think it works? It will be very painstaking and tedious to apply this stuff, and I would rather have something on the bulwarks than leave them bare - I don't think it will look awful, but I'm just not sure it's worth it to go through with it....Unfortunately I have no real back-up plan and if these don't go on, I'll simply leave the bulwarks undecorated......your thoughts will be much appreciated...thanks as always! hamilton

Thanks for the comments all! Very much appreciated....Ian - unfortunately I'm allergic to cats!! And as for more - the sun has finally come out in the Pacific Northwest (a rare enough event) so I've been spending a lot of time getting some much needed yard work done. In the evenings I have barely enough energy left to lift a mug to my lips let alone fiddle around at 1:100 scale....but more progress should come soon... In any case - thanks all for your thoughts! Despite the limitations of this kit, adapting it to the Blandford has been a real adventure so far....my first real kit bash, and a lot of fun. I think the next one's going to be something very simple and straightforward.....HA!! hamilton

That rudder looks magnificent - a beautiful tone and finish all around - that jig works wonders on the pintles/gudgeons! hamilton

Hi Ferit: I feel like I've been starved for pictures of your beautiful Berlin! And now I see you're on to the rigging! It's looking good close up but I'd love to catch a glimpse of the whole thing....but maybe you're saving that for later..... hamilton

Congratulations on the twins! I feel like we have our hands full with just one! And this work is exquisite! Such a pleasure to look at! Looking forward to more hamilton

Ingenious! Produces excellent results - can I commission one? hamilton

Amazing job - especially considering the material you were working with! Very clean and precise - which I could get results as good! hamilton

Thanks Mark! Since the last update I've made only a little bit of progress - even though I'm technically on "vacation" the last week and a half has been very busy at work, and the summer has finally kicked in out here in the Pacific Northwest....it doesn't last too long so it's important to take advantage! Anyway, I've now finished up the following little things: 1. Catheads, knightheads, timberheads & fish davit cleats - pretty straightforward and not much to note here - timberheads arrayed at bows and along the quarterdeck rail. 2. Fenders and ladders outboard - I've had to deviate slightly from the Blandford plans here, since (once again) Corel's kit design does not allow the positioning of these exactly where Goodwin has them....In Goodwin, the outboard ladders are just aft of gun port 6, but I've had to be put just in front of this mark. Because of this I also had to reposition the double fenders which in Goodwin are just forward of gun port 6 - I've placed them rather absurdly just aft of gun port 4....anyway.... 3. Outboard rigging details - drilled a bunch of holes (for the bowsprit, for the rudder, for a couple of sheave blocks); added a number of ringbolts for the standing ends of sheets, tacks, bowsprit shrouds, main course braces, jibstay tackle....); also the pump dale scupper at midships in the filling strake - a small yet significant detail! 4. The aft hatches and capstan platform - these took a bit of finagling to get to fit (lots of little swipes of the sanding block) but eventually they went in snugly. That's it. Only a few photos - but they show all that there is to show - enjoy and take care all hamilton

Excellent work on that bulkhead! The effort taken to scratch-build these parts is always worth it - the kit supplied part can't even come close! Looks great! hamilton

Amazing work Augie - tell me: how do you shrink your hands to get in there and belay those lines? I'd love to know your secret! hamilton

I'll simply echo the other comments here - great work. I'm with Ferit on the elevation screw...of course there may be historical reasons for leaving it with the brass finish - I'm certainly no expert! Anyway - keep up the great work! And thanks for sharing hamilton

Hi Augie - very high quality indeed! Have a nice fishing trip! hamilton

Beautiful work! hamilton

The mystery revealed! I'm still impressed, though! hamilton

Hi Mike: Thanks for the compliments and for stopping in! The Unicorn looks like a really nice ship - generally I think Corel makes good kits (I've done the Toulonnaise, the Brittany Sloop and the Flattie and all were a lot of fun and very high quality - I also have the Bellona and it looks like a real beauty!). The Greyhound seems to be an exception to the general rule - though even before I discovered the extent of the badness, I'd already decided to bash the kit quite heavily. Thanks also for the tip on CMB - I will check it out and see if there's anything at 1:100 that might work! I would strongly recommend you have a go at scratch-building the transom and galleries - despite some historical inaccuracies on mine (which you can avoid by being less lazy and more keen eyed than I am) I am much happier with (and prouder of) these results than I would have been had I stuck with the material supplied by Corel. Having said that - Harlequin's Greyhound build is proof that you can make a beautiful model even with a kit as desperately imperfect as this one! Looking forward to the Unicorn and bye for now hamilton

Thanks a lot BE - much appreciated! The kevels were tricky...even though they are too big for scale, they are yet too small for me to have provided a real chamfered head for them...I also wish I'd taken some "in process" shots to document the construction...I can describe it for those interested.... I drilled some 4mm holes in 1.5mm x 10mm lime. I then rough drew the form of the kevel "horseshoe" around these holes, cut out the top and filed the inner part down. I then cut the piece out and filed and sanded down the outer edge. For the cross piece, I took some 1.5mm x 5mm x roughly 15mm lime and filed two square sections out on each side in line with one another and positioned for the arms of the horseshoe part. I then trimmed the length on either side to something appropriate and then sliced the strip in half. This left me with two 1.5mm thick strips, each with 2 small sections filed out I then glued one to one side of the horseshoe part and the other to join with it fitting around the heads. Presto! An oversized bulwark ornament!! Anyway, words probably don't do it justice - but they were definitely fiddly little bits to make....thanks again BE for stopping by! hamilton

Thanks Ferit, Andy and Augie! I have to keep remembering that the more the ship progresses, the more the little nuissances tend to fade into the background - not much can be done about the big nuissances (in modelling as in life!) but..... The Goodwin and Lees books have been really great investments - Lees in particular, since his descriptions cover vessels throughout the classical age of sail and can be applied to many a ship model. Goodwin has just helped resolve the ample ambiguities of the Corel kit... Anyway, I'm still wrestling with how to do the decorative elements on bulwarks and transom - haven't had time to follow up on Andy's earlier suggestions, but hopefully will have a moment or two on the weekend to poke around the local hobby and second hand shops for some workable trinkets and figures....I'm trying to delay this as much as possible but eventually I'll have to face it.....for now, more little jobs to do, maybe a rudder... Hope you all enjoy your weekend! hamilton

Alright - the last time I updated this log seems an eternity ago! I have not, however been idle (unless you ask the admiral, in which case I am only ever idle...) As I mentioned previously I have completed the rails. I've left off the decorative metal scrolls that Corel supplied and opted for something very simple - and closer to the representations in the Goodwin book. I also had to confront a structural problem that is very difficult to describe but that resulted in a situation where if I had followed the exact scheme of laying the rails as provided by Goodwin I would have had gunports that were 12mm wide and roughly 20mm tall!! Clearly absurd and to be avoided at all costs. Goodwin's book shows Blandford with open bulwarks - the cap rail along the waist establishes the top of the gun ports and should be 12mm above the gun port sills to create a nice square opening. However, given the height at which the quarterdeck and forecastle sit, I could not build the bulwarks up in a way that truly reflected Goodwin's drawing. I might have been able to do this had I anticipated it back when I was building the framework - but that would have involved replacing and recrafting each and every bulkhead in the kit - something I am not equipped to do....so the structural aspects of the Corel kit are, in this instance, inadequate for reproducing the Blandford as depicted in Goodwin. I needed to make some compromise - and what I chose to do was to make sure that the gunports were of normal dimensions. This necessitated making a little "step" in the main caprail both towards the forecastle and towards the quarterdeck. Goodwin shows the main caprail running smoothly from the break of the quarterdeck to the break of the forecastle...mine does not do so due to this unanticipated aspect of the Corel kit.... The results are not altogether awful, though they make the ultimate appearance of the vessel less satisfying than if I have been able to achieve the nice smooth lines of the Blandford.... Anyways, I'm trying not to get too upset about it.... Along with the rails have gone the frame ends in the waist as well as a set of sheave blocks situated in the open bulwarks for sheets and tacks. In other news, I've also completed plotting out the belaying arrangement and re-doing my rigging tables based on information gleaned from Lees and Goodwin - the Lees book is quite amazing and will undoubtedly come in handy when I turn to the Bellona some time in the future. I finally returned to actual building two days ago and have now completed the rigging details on the inboard bulwarks (cleats, kevel cleats and kevel blocks). The kevel cleats are a bit large for scale....but I am not entirely annoyed by their appearance.... My next step will be to shape & fit the catheads, add the knightheads and bow/quarterdeck timberheads, fish davit cleats, and some outboard details (ringbolts for rigging elements, fenders, ladders, etc.). Not sure how much I'll be doing in the next week since, though I'm technically "off" for the summer", Fall registration begins on Monday and as a program advisor for my department, I expect to be swamped with emails from anxious students about what they should be doing (should have asked a month ago!).... Anyway, photos follow - hope you all are keeping well and happy 4th of July to our American friends!! Oh - and happy belated Canada Day to all the Canucks! hamilton

I recall driving with my mum between St. John and Fredericton NB one late summer/early fall evening in the early 90s. There was construction on the highway and we were crawling along at around 20km over gravel, but it being a Sunday there was no one around and not much other traffic. We were good naturedly bickering about something when a shadow fell across her. It was a very large bull moose jogging beside the car. My mum decided it would be "fun" to roll down the window and have a chat. I argued against this, but she's a powerful woman. She had the window down and the moose lowered its head and looked in at us as it was running alongside. I thought we were in serious trouble - especially if the beast decided to try to put its snout in the car....my mother was giggling like a school girl and I was probably swearing like the proverbial longshoreman (no offence to any stevedores out there!). After what seemed like an eternity in which my mum cooed at the moose like it was a newborn babe, it finally peeled off, jogged across the highway and disappeared into the woods....the closest I have ever been to one of these majestic animals Sorry for hijacking your brilliant Syren log for this anecdote, Augie! hamilton

Hi Mobbsie: I had to go back and check the date of your last update - June 28....6 days ago - and in that time, how many guns did you rig?!?! I hope you've been getting enough sleep! And going easy on your eyes! Should we be worried.....? Have a great holiday! The closest I'll get to a walking tour any time soon is in about 10 minutes or so when I'll walk out to buy some vegetables up the road....I'm jealous... hamilton

Happy 4th of July! And congratulations on reaching another stage of the Rattlesnake build - such an elegant looking hull! Can't wait to see more hamilton

Thanks a lot Mobbsie and Wolf! Much appreciated coming from such great craftsmen! hamilton