hamilton

Continuation of parts already made, which had parts needing to be made and painted, starting with the boom buffer.
Made the two U-shape shackles from a piece of .010" brass using my turbo carver ground to shape then filed to finish shape then made ring next was to drill holes for .016" rod to go through. 
 
 

Painted boom buffer and installed onto model.
 

Next up was to finish the catheads, needed to make small chain link then attach it to the chain as per drawing then put into slot in cathead.
 

Last thing will add is the rope which goes on the end of chain as per drawing from The American Fishing Schooner, the information on this did not come on the drawings of the Bluenose, but I am sure they would have been the same.
 

 

 
Finished the hawse scroll work then painted them yellow, will add to model later.
 
 
 
Couple of pic's to show how they will look before painting.
 

 
Thanks for all the comments and all the likes do apricate it.
 
Until next time
Regards
Richard
 
 

Looks really nice Kurt - happy holidays to you!
hamilton

Looks really nice Kurt - happy holidays to you!
hamilton

The next step is to install the forward inner gundeck bulwark patterns:

 
In order to do that the inboard surfaces of the frames need to be faired:

 
Here is the port side forward inner gundeck bulwark pattern glued in place.  Much clamping was needed to make if conform to the curve at the bow:

I thought that it might be easier to apply the masking tape in preparation for subsequent varnishing and painting while the pattern was still off the model.
 
The quarter deck beam spacing patterns are the next to be glued in.  Here is the starboard pattern:

I forgot to photograph these until after I had glued in the port pattern. The larger notches slot into the bulkhead ears.  The smaller notches are for the quarter deck beams.  The letters engraved on this pattern will correspond with letters engraved into the ends of the beams.
 
They snapped nicely into position, and needed only one clamp to hold them in place.  Here they are installed:

 
 
Once these are in place, the aft inner gundeck bulwark pattern can be fitted:

 
Here is the port aft inner gundeck bulwark pattern installed:

 
Here is the current state of play:

Tis the season to be doing things other than modeling.  I expect to resume after Xmas, or possibly New Years.  'Bye for now.
 
 

OK - now that the lower hull planking (lumpy as it looks) is complete I can take a bit of a breather. I've now turned to the beakhead and the stern balcony area before commencing on the second planking. I spent this morning prepping the photoetched parts for the balcony and finishing/adding moldings and doors to the beakhead. I'm still puzzling over how to the bend the 1mm x 1mm moldings around the roundhouses....I'm now wishing that I had added the molding to these half-dowels before installing them in the model....another error in the way I'm staging the build that I'll have to think through.....
 
In any case, here are some photos of the beakhead. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 

OK - now that the lower hull planking (lumpy as it looks) is complete I can take a bit of a breather. I've now turned to the beakhead and the stern balcony area before commencing on the second planking. I spent this morning prepping the photoetched parts for the balcony and finishing/adding moldings and doors to the beakhead. I'm still puzzling over how to the bend the 1mm x 1mm moldings around the roundhouses....I'm now wishing that I had added the molding to these half-dowels before installing them in the model....another error in the way I'm staging the build that I'll have to think through.....
 
In any case, here are some photos of the beakhead. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 

OK - now that the lower hull planking (lumpy as it looks) is complete I can take a bit of a breather. I've now turned to the beakhead and the stern balcony area before commencing on the second planking. I spent this morning prepping the photoetched parts for the balcony and finishing/adding moldings and doors to the beakhead. I'm still puzzling over how to the bend the 1mm x 1mm moldings around the roundhouses....I'm now wishing that I had added the molding to these half-dowels before installing them in the model....another error in the way I'm staging the build that I'll have to think through.....
 
In any case, here are some photos of the beakhead. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 

Hi Nearshore
 
Just took a look through your recent progress and I have to say your approach to the build is much smarter than mine - I followed Corel's instructions and attached the poop sub-deck before doing the main cabin bulkhead and everything on the quarterdeck, which I'm now realising was a real error....doesn't make it impossible, but definitely makes for a challenge.....
 
In any case, I think your Bellona is looking great - the quartergalleries and transom are shaping up and the planking is coming along well! I'll definitely be looking back here when I get to that stage - hopefully shortly after the new year.....
hamilton

OK - now that the lower hull planking (lumpy as it looks) is complete I can take a bit of a breather. I've now turned to the beakhead and the stern balcony area before commencing on the second planking. I spent this morning prepping the photoetched parts for the balcony and finishing/adding moldings and doors to the beakhead. I'm still puzzling over how to the bend the 1mm x 1mm moldings around the roundhouses....I'm now wishing that I had added the molding to these half-dowels before installing them in the model....another error in the way I'm staging the build that I'll have to think through.....
 
In any case, here are some photos of the beakhead. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 

Hello All,
I have a small update on the Bellona. The second layer of planking is taking some time to accomplish. The width of the planking that came with the kit, on average, is 4.25mm in width and what I need is 4mm to match the proper number of planks that are needed. As you can imagine, .25mm can add up fast and throw off the number of planks that have been calculated. The measurement from the garboard strake to the wale at the longest measurement on the hull is 96mm. Dividing that by 4mm gives me the even number or planks at 24. This matches the number of planks that are shown on the plans excluding the 3 steelers at the stern. Not trimming the planks to this width would definitely cause me problems the closer I get to the garboard.
 
After adjusting the width of the planks, I started by tapering the bow planks first and then shaped them with the plank bender. I found a pretty cool tool while wandering around the craft store. It’s a petite press by Oritz. It is basically a miniature iron. It works very well shaping the planks while they are on the hull. It’s not very useful in making the sharp bends at the stern, but once the shape is close using the plank bender, it’s very useful as a press to help maintain the plank shape against the hull. I worked each plank from stem to stern and then back to the stem fitting the stern plank to the stern trim piece, and then adjusted the stem plank by trimming it down so that there was no buckling. I always dry fit 2 planks and then glue one plank and shape another plank so I always have 2 planks that are dry fitted. This gives me a bit of a look ahead and I can adjust accordingly if there are any errors. This technic has been working well and I am pleased at how the strakes have laid up at the stern. I still have a way to go, so it’s still bottoms up for now.
 
As I have stated earlier in my log, the kit directions do not provide a clear sequence of assembly. It has taken me a while to come up with my strategy on this build. My strategy is to complete the second layer planking, and then move on to the galleries and then the forecastle and bow before I move on to the interior. I will complete the main deck first and work my way up to the poop deck, that being the last deck that gets installed. I temporarily have pinned the poop deck in place to help protect the fixtures that I have already installed. This is a very complicated model to assemble and has certainly challenged me and is a real fun project. Well, that is it for now, and as always, your comments and guidance are always welcome.
 
Cheers
Nearshore

Hello All,
Small update on the Bellona. Before I started installing the wale strakes, I noticed that the false cannon ports were not lining up with the strakes as shown on the plans. I applied some tape to check the alignment and saw that the ports were too low by about 2mm. So, I marked them out accordingly and adjusted the openings up to where they would line up according to the plans. After I adjusted the cannon ports, I installed the planking on the stern and installed the remaining wale strakes. I only planked the stern area that was required so that the wale strakes overlapped the stern planking. After I installed the wale strakes, I cut out the cannon ports using the port post that I made earlier as a guide to achieve the proper size opening. After the cannon ports were completed, I installed the garboard strake as this helped with getting the proper measurements for the remaining strakes. I made my tick strips and measured off the space between the garboard and bottom wale strake. I used a planking fan to find the sizes of the ticks on the tick strips and then transferred these to the hull. I have begun the second layer of planking, starting at the wale strakes and will work my way down to the garboard strake. It’s going to take a while to complete this phase of the build, so it’s bottoms up for a while. Well, that’s I all have for now. I appreciate your viewing and as always, your comments and suggestions are always welcomed.
 
Cheers
Nearshore

Well, the dog days of summer are here and have pushed me into the shipyard as it has just been to hot outside. No complaints here though. Here is an update on what I have accomplished thus far. I had a very challenging time installing the quarter galleries. I must have removed them from the hull 6 times before I felt that I had them right. There is only one drawing to scale that shows the placement of them, and it was not very clear in my opinion. I spent a lot of time on them and am pleased with the outcome so far. I have a little bit of fine tuning to do and will complete this before I start the second layer of planking. I started to layout the gun ports and found that the 2 forward starboard false gun ports were off by 2.5mm. I knew this early on but had not come up with a solution to make the adjustment. Pretty significant error on my part.  What I had to do was to cut out a section that was 2.5mm to the aft and install a new bulkhead. I used a small nail to handle the small piece and glued it in place. I then filled in the void that was left on the forward section of the false gun ports. It came out ok, you won't see the repair after the second planking is in place. I installed the inner bulwark planking and cut out the port and starboard gun ports. Well that brings me up to date on the Bellona. I will have another update as I continue to make progress. Thanks for reading and as always, your comments and guidance are welcome. 
 
Cheers
Nearshore

I haven't updated my log in sometime. I have not had too much time lately but have managed to make some progress. I installed the bow deck planking and forecastle planking. I sanded and applied tung oil for the finish. I also sanded and applied tung oil to the main deck planking as well. I completed the hull planking up to the poop deck and installed the transom planking and transom. I traced out the gun ports in preparation of cutting them out. I blackened and polished the stern gallery photo etched parts and installed them. I made a template using tracing paper and cardboard to try and lay out the quarter galleries. I assembled the framing pieces and tapered them down to what I hope are the correct dimensions. I have been having a very difficult time trying to get them to line up properly and have removed them several times to make adjustments. I installed temporary bracing to help stabilize the small parts during the sanding process which I found to be very helpful. I sanded the parts from the hull side out so I could keep the outside contour of the shape and keep the port and starboard framing contours equal. It made it a bit easier. The instructions stated to install them to the hull first and then shape them to the proper contour. I have started shaping the taper on the gallery planking and dry fitting them. I have measured what I think the length of each section of the quarter gallery should be based on the dimensions of the photo etched parts that are to be installed on each section. There in only one scaled drawing of this detail showing this stage and so far, this part has been very challenging for me. It is taking me a lot of time and I still don't feel too confident that I have it right yet. I am trying to be patent and get this part right, it will affect how the final look of the quarter galleries will look in the end. So, this brings me up to date as to where I am on the Bellona. I think it will be sometime before I can get to the point of starting the second layer of planking. There is still quite a bit of work to be done before I can start to attempt that process. I will update the log as my progress moves forward. Thanks for reading and as always, your input and guidance is always welcome.
 
Nearshore
 
 
 

Hello all,
 
Just a small update on the Bellona. My brilliant idea of installing a laminate on the false keel is a bust. I managed to thin the walnut stock I had down to less then .5mm so that the overall keel thickness would only be 1mm thicker. Well the keel is 5.5mm thick and the figurehead fits quite snug as it stands. I would have to file down the figure head to fit and the accessories that accompany it would also have to be modified.  At less then .5mm, the laminate was quite brittle and just kept breaking at the grain.  So, I just decided to stain the keel to try and cover up the plywood layers. It came out ok, not what I was really looking for, but it is what it is. Like my mom used to say, " You can't make a silk sow out of a pig's ear". I moved on and finished the main gun deck planking. Not a whole lot of progress to report, spent a lot of time trying to make the laminate work. LOL 
 
Nearshore

Hello all,
 
Well, a bit of an update on the Bellona. I feel that I have reached a milestone in the build. I have completed the first layer of planking and have sanded and faired the hull down to a pretty smooth surface and managed to not break the stem piece off. The first layer planking did not turn out as nice as I would have wanted, but it is still a good base to work from. I learned quite a bit in the process and hope to not repeat the same mistakes on the final planking that I did on the first. Since the beginning of this build, I have not liked the quality of the plywood that came with the kit. The false keel does not have any finishing schedule on the plans and reviewing other builds, the plywood that makes up the false keel just doesn't seem to look right in my opinion. I thought of possibly just staining the keel, but it still just doesn't seem right. I decided that I am going to laminate the false keel with a walnut laminate that I had left over from another project. I have reviewed the details of the keel that was included in the Anatomy of the Bellona, and the kit definitely did not include the detail of the original ship. I am not going to try and piece all the parts as shown in the book drawing, but to just apply a better finish. I started the dry fit of the stem pieces to see if it truly would be worth the effort and decided that it will and is a far better finish then what came with the kit. It will add about 1mm to the thickness of the keel, which will allow me to taper the stem as shown in the keel details in the book. It will also service as the bearding line by offsetting it away from the hull.  I will apply a walnut strip on the face of the keel to hide the layers of the plywood. Well that's all I got for right now, I will update the results of the keel modifications once I've installed the laminate. 
 
Cheers
Nearshore

I received my copy of Anatomy Of The Ship Bellona by Brian Lavery from the postal service yesteday. I have been studying the contents and I must say, I am very humbled and honored to be building such a historical ship. The book contains a lot of information from her history, the captains and crews who sailed her to the construction and handling of the ship. I now understand why it is so important to research the information about the models we choose to build. I am becoming more attached to this build now that I have learned more about her history and construction. She was an amazing ship of her time and I can only hope to give her the attention to detail that she deserves. I appolgize if this update doesn't fit the content of my build log, I thought it would be relevant though.
 
 
Nearshore

Great progress John!
hamilton

Great progress John!
hamilton

Great progress John!
hamilton

Main Gaff…

Main Gaff completed…
 
Fore Boom…

I cut thin strips of brass, these Eye Bands are the smallest thus far. 

Fore Boom completed. 
 
Fore Gaff…

Fore Gaff Jaws

Peak Halliards Bands soldered

Bands blackened 

Fore Gaff completed
 
Jib Boom…

Jib Clew Band

Jib Sheet Band

Cleaning up solder

All bands blackened

Hardware complete on Jib Boom

Jib Boom completed 
 
All 5 Booms and Gaffs completed 

I think we are ready to start rigging and sails. Woo Hoo! 🍻

Ahh - sorry to heart about that!
hamilton

Ahh - sorry to heart about that!
hamilton

Ahh - sorry to heart about that!
hamilton

Maybe it's just me but I can't see any of the Vanguard kits when I visit your website and the links above give me a 404 error......are you still carrying Vanguard products?
hamilton

Thanks Tony! This one's pretty different from Bluenose that's for sure! But just as fun so far....
 
Harlequin! It's good to hear from you! I get it - I probably have more kits than I need, but I still have hope that I can complete all of them in my lifetime!! I took a long break from modelling - putting in sporadic and minor work from Summer 2017 until Summer 2021 when I built a small (undocumented here) rowing skiff at 1:12 scale. This was meant to get me back into modelling again and it worked! But like with everything, it's often good and refreshing to take a rest - I hope you return to it at some point - but either way, you're always welcome here!!
hamilton