hamilton

Alright - though I've been away I have been working on the ship's boat. We just arrived back this morning and after putting the boy down to sleep I did a tiny bit of work and finished it off.
 
It was made from a Model Shipway's ship's boat kit (the 3 3/4" version). The boat is just about the right size - pretty much right on the length of the metal boat provided by Corel and only a touch wider on the beam. I deviated from the design of the ship's boat - mostly by referencing the pinnace drawings from the Blandford book and the large cutter drawings from the AOS Bellona. I could not achieve the precise effect of either of these boats and mine is something of a mongrel. It is probably most like the yawl in the Goodwin book in the end....
 
Anyway, I'm more or less please with the results. My main issue is that my dad didn't have any blue paint, so I was unable to paint the sheer strake blue as I had wanted - I could (and should) have left it raw for when I came home, but exercising my usual impatience I just painted it all black...Here are the pictures
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hi there:
 
It seems I've had to divide this post in two - I was having trouble uploading some of the photos in the last post - not sure why....let's try again
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright - though I've been away I have been working on the ship's boat. We just arrived back this morning and after putting the boy down to sleep I did a tiny bit of work and finished it off.
 
It was made from a Model Shipway's ship's boat kit (the 3 3/4" version). The boat is just about the right size - pretty much right on the length of the metal boat provided by Corel and only a touch wider on the beam. I deviated from the design of the ship's boat - mostly by referencing the pinnace drawings from the Blandford book and the large cutter drawings from the AOS Bellona. I could not achieve the precise effect of either of these boats and mine is something of a mongrel. It is probably most like the yawl in the Goodwin book in the end....
 
Anyway, I'm more or less please with the results. My main issue is that my dad didn't have any blue paint, so I was unable to paint the sheer strake blue as I had wanted - I could (and should) have left it raw for when I came home, but exercising my usual impatience I just painted it all black...Here are the pictures
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Always a joy to behold! I'm wondering, Ferit - did you bend the wood for the crow's nests or did those come as CNC or laser cut parts? Just wondering how the crow's nest was worked up - it is very elegant looking!
hamilton

Happy birthday, Hamilton.  And here's wishing you many more! 

Wishing you all the best, Hamilton!  Safe travels as well - what part of NB are you visiting?

Hamilton,
 
Many happy returns of the day.
 
42 is a good age to be. You will still have the energy of the young plus you will be a long way towards developing the wisdom of the not so young.    

I hoped you would like the analogy.  Only had the pleasure of seeing that tidal bore once but your birthday brought back the memory vividly.
 
We can wait for the photos !

I got the cracks filled using Chris's method of finish and sawdust and then sanded with 400 grit.  I'm holding on the 600 grit sanding until the whole outside is planked.  All the gunports have been squared up per the drawings.  So far, so good in my estimation but it can be better.  I'll turn her and do the "not the wall side" and see if I can improve. I'll probably revisit some of this side after the other side.
 
I'm re-thinking my main wales. Only the top one will be ebony, the rest are blended in to it and the regular planks so I'll go with the swiiss pear and leave it natural for that.  At least the ebony that's there will help set the tone for the sheer.  A darn sight easier to work with. 
 

The masts are ready to be glued into the hull.  In one photo I have of the Bluenose I found that there is a collar (Boom Jaws Rest) on each mast.  The kit includes 20 brass rings (10 for each mast) to secure the Main and Fore Sails to their respective masts.  These rings were placed on the masts then the Boom Jaws Rests glued in place.  This really helped prevent the rings from dropping all the way to the deck and in the case of the Main Mast they would have rested inside the Fife Rail.
 
With the masts in this configuration I set about epoxied them into the hull.  On this model there is no rake to the masts so they are set perpendicular to the deck.  I cut some cardboard braces to size and secured them to each mast to hold the mast at 90 degrees while the epoxy set.
 
I believe I’m ready to move on to the booms, gaffs, and jaws.

Wow---- the birthdays are coming in like the tide at the Bay of Fundy.
 
Many happy returns 

Many happy returns!
 

Happy birthday Hamilton, happy lifetime...

Happy Birthday Hamilton, here's hoping the day brings all the nice things you want.
 
Enjoy Buddy.
 
mobbsie

really nice build on the fittings, hamilton..
and enjoy your trip!

Have a great trip and return safely!

Here's wishing you a safe and enjoyable.. nay.. make that a "safe and great" trip.

Yes, family is one of the most important events in the world... We are the scratch builds of them... Happy you must be to visit your dad having same tastes with you... Happy travel, happy visit, happy modelling...

Safe travels - enjoy your visit!

Hamilton,
 
Have a good trip.
 
If Blandford sprouts a pair of wings we will know that your dad has been helping you out.    

Hi Ian:
 
You should give it a shot. Mine is a bit over-sized for scale (perhaps about 1-1.5mm too tall), but I think it was worth it to take a stab at it. It's one of those things where, as I said before, the more you build yourself the harder it gets to use the kit-supplied parts, mostly because when you do they'll stick out like a sore thumb! The capstan was not too difficult in itself to fabricate - I actually used the kit supplied one to trace the circumferance of both the base and the drum head on thin sheets of basswood. After that it was just a matter of cutting a square section out of the sheet with the traced circle in the middle, trimming it down and then sanding it into the circular shape you see in the finished piece....I used the kit supplied capstan also to mark the holes for the capstan bars on the appropriate circle (before cutting it out) - this was 1mm thick, and sandwiched between 2 .5mm thick pieces. I filled out the holes with the thin edge of a flat micro file and then assembled the head. After assembly I drill a hole through the centre and inserted a blackened brass nail (this protruded out the end and was used as a support when I fixed the central post) . I used a 3mm dowel for the central post and drilled a hole in one end to accept the nail from the drum head. These parts were then assembled together. I then drilled another hole in the bottom of the central post and also through the centre of the circular base. I inserted a piece of brass wire through here again to provide extra support for the whole assembly. The welps were made from 3mm x .5mm basswood, which I rough cut in an upward slope before installing (8 in total positioned between the bar holes on the drum). I then used a hobby knife to trim these further down for a better look.
 
Once again, the capstan is by no means perfect, but I'm happy with the results and I know it looks better than the kit supplied one would after it had been slathered with red paint....
 
Now that I've installed all the cannons, I'm wishing I had scratch built the carriages! The Corel ones are "just fine", but only just....My next step is to build the elm tree pumps, which at this scale could be very difficult...especially the brake handles which will be shaped out of 1mm x 1mm walnut...and the brackets which I'm thinking of fashioning out of wood to simulate iron....anyway, these are very small parts and will test whatever skills I've managed to acquire over the last little while.....
 
hamilton

Hi Ferit:
 
I know I've asked before for wide shots to see the state of the whole thing, but I have to say I love the detail photos, too - it doesn't seem to matter how close you get the camera to the model - it still shows an absolutely flawless build! Inspiring work
hamilton

Looks like update time... 
 
The port side (or as it's called around the shipyard:  The Wall Side, has it's first area planked.. namely the area between the main wales and the chain or sheer wale.  Not sure what to call it really... since only the main mast channel sits on it.   Planked, and then final shaped the gunports.  A bit (for me) of weirdness as I was doing this and sent me scrambling back to the research department.  Seems the gunports are NOT square.  The sides are straight with respect to the frames but the sills follow the deck.  So.. some look really "extreme" to my eye but they match the Hahn plans, the NMM plans, a couple of shots I received via PM of the original French plans from when the ship was first built in 1755.  Footnote... I'm building her as she was in 1778 after a major rebuild/repair but not "as captured".  I don't like the roundhouses on the poop/quarterdeck as Hahn built her.
 
I've also started adding the wales.  Notably the chain/sheer wale first.  This took a bit of figuring out due to the nature of the mailns.  I was going to use the walnut that came with the timbering set but didn't like the look against the swiss pear planking. I wanted the look of ebony for contrast.   Tried staining the walnut and then sanding it.... which created a different set of issues since the wales are blended into the lower hull planking..  sanding killed the stain and after testing, I realized I couldn't restain without ruining any planking and the stem.       So....back to the drawing board.  Finally concluded... it has to be ebony.  
 
I've played with my homemade bender and think I can overcome the biggest problem and that's bending the stuff using the thickness of the wales I need.  We'll see... I may be laminating.   On the plus side, I've got enough ebony lying around to do this but not enough to finish the build (rails, trim, etc.) so I found a supplier who's shipping me some at a reasonable price.
 
Anyway.. here's photos... still needs to be hit with the 600 grit and then finished but I'll hold on that for awhile.
 


 
I know, I have talked people out of using ebony because it's just nasty stuff.  I really am not fond of it.  But if someone knows of a different solution (no paint--please) let me know.

The base of the mizzenmast...
And the bitt...

Hello all. 
 
My son and I are off to visit my dad back east tomorrow so there won't be too much going on here for another little while....things starting to slow down with the approach of another school year, too....I always say that the coming year will be easier than the last, but this is never true! I don't know why I continue to deceive myself.....
 
Anyway, my dad is a modeller, too (planes), so I think I'm going to smuggle the Blandford ship's boat kit out there in my carry-on so I can sneak in a little time at his workbench (which is much more well-developed and well-equipped than my dining room table!)....We'll see. I know he'll want to tour me around his latest projects and he may be interested in seeing how these little boats come together and lending a hand, who knows?
 
In the mean time - happy modelling to all
hamilton