hamilton

Planking Progress:  Done!
 
Finally, the planking is completely done.  The sunken cockpit is planked.  I mistakenly didn't cut individual planks for the cockpit so I had to go in and cut small lines in the planks to represent plank ends.  I then tried to work some lead into the cracks.  
 

 
Here is the cockpit scraped and smooth.  As you can see, I accidentally cut into neighboring planks on a couple of the cuts.  I am a little disappointed with the results of this fix but I think it will likely not be too noticeable once the model is complete, though I will know the errors are there.
 

 
Test fitting the aft deck house to make sure everything fits well and it does.
 

 
Next, I will be trying to cut new strips for the cockpit grating.  The kit supplied grating is grossly over-sized.

Build update:
 
The aft deck is scraped and looking good.  Last bit of planking is the sunken cockpit which should not take too long.  Then, it is on to something different.  I know what you are thinking... "Thank God, the repetitive planking updates are almost over!"  lol
 
Pictures!
 

 

A quick update:
 
The aft deck planking has been coming along nicely, though it is time consuming.  The planks have been bending easily without the need to do anything extra to them, thankfully.  Below are a couple pictures of the progress so far.  
 

 
Now is the time to decide whether a king plank is the way to go or just have the planks meet in the middle in a criss-cross or zig-zag fashion.
 

Hey guys!
 
Hamilton, welcome to my build log and thanks for the encouragement.  So far I have been happy with how the build is turning out, although I am probably one of the slowest ship builders around haha.  If you have pictures of your Phantom, I would love to see the finished product.  Also, if you do end up restoring yours, start a build log as I would be very interested in seeing a model come back to life after needing some TLC.  In case you aren't already aware, there will be a POB version of the Phantom coming out sometime in the, hopefully near, future.  
 
I finished scraping the fore deck and the boxwood is really showing its colors now.  I need to repaint the inner bulwarks but I will wait until I am done with the aft deck planking before doing that.  All the decking will be getting a coat of polywipe satin(I think I have the satin version).   I test fit the deck house again and it still fits.
 
A photo of the scraped deck. 
 

I have started work on the boiler tops. Thus far I have made the top to the actual stove body on which the boiler detail will be added. This consists of a thick piece of N/S that fits between the stove sides, end and back of the grate. To this I have soldered a piece of 0.3mm N/S sheet that overlaps the sides and ends. This gives a solid base to the boiler detail without having thick edges on show.
 
The stove top is not permanently fixed in place yet. I will have this part on the bench to make detailing easier then fix it in place one the detail is complete.
 
The next photo shews the top of the stove temporarily in place.
 
 
 
I share my workshop with my youngest son's pet snake. It was time to clean it out. Periodically I photograph it to record its growth which I duly did this time. I was intending to photo it around my wrist but it took an interest in my workbench and made a lunge for it.
 

 
This was nearly the end of the stove!   

A bit more progress on the stove.
 
I tried embossing the 1mm angle to represent bolt heads but this distorted the angle so that was a non starter. I could have milled some more 1mm angle but made it thicker then use ferric chloride to etch the bolt heads but decided against it this time. The 1mm x 0.3 strip embossed OK but there was no point doing the strip and not the angle. So they are without simulated bolt heads at the moment.
 
I cut four lengths of the 1mm brass angle to represent the corner legs and soldered them on. I made them over long by about 3mm so that they could be "planted" in to holes in the base. In between the angle I soldered on the 1mm x 0.3mm strip as per the plans.
 
The next photo shews these items in place. I have drilled four holes in the brick base and the legs are temporarily fitted in to these. The legs in the middle of each side will be fitted nearer to the end of construction since they will be quite delicate.
 

 
Also shewn in the picture is one of a pair of pan/kettle supports (the other is out of sight) which supported utensils over the fire.
 
They are very fiddly to hold so to make these I soldered some lengths of 1mm strip either side of a piece of scrap brass.
 

 
These parts are mirror images of each other so they can filed together as a pair - the other one is on the back of the scrap brass. 
 

 
Having filed them to shape I heated up the scrap tapped it on the bench and off came two ready tinned parts. No extra solder was needed to fix them to the stove - they just needed folding to shape.
 
Again these were items that would have been more easily fitted prior to the grate rails.

Moving to the rear of the stove I made up two new cocks. These were turned in the lathe:
 

 
The turnings were cross drilled and fitted with 0.3mm wire handles. These cocks were then fitted to the stove.
 

 
Next up are the stove legs. I have 1mm angle brass milled ready for this. I am experimenting with embossing them with cosmetic rivets to see if they are worthwhile.
 
 

I was not happy with the hood front so I took it and the left side off. The next photo shows the replacement side in place. I cut it the right height, plus the rear edge was cut to the correct size, but the front was left over long for now. This was fitted. The replacement hood front is lying in front of the stove.
 

 
I actually had difficulty fitting the new front so I produced a new one with a large tab on the top. When soldering it in place I gripped it using locking tweezers on the tab which allowed the part to be pulled in to position.
 
The tab and the excess on the left side was filed off.
 
To finish the hood body I added a plate on top which has a slight overhang to represent the flange between the hood and the flue (to be constructed). When the stove is installed the main part of the stove will be go in through the waist area. The flue will have to be installed separately down through the foredeck. To help align the flue I have fitted a small length of brass rod on top of the hood.
 
I also decided to model the hood in the open position. The hinges were short lengths of 1mm x 0.7mm strip. They were soldered to the lid part first, bent to shape then the whole unit was soldered to the hood front.
 
The various plans and pictures show the lid either being held up by a latch or a length of small link chain. A reasonable representation of small link chain can be made using two pieces of fine wire twisted together. The more it is twisted the smaller is the simulated link size. I used some core wires from instrument wire. I took a length bent it in two then trapped the cut ends in the vice. I put a small drill bit through the loop end. Then using the bit as a wrench carefully twisted the wire. This makes the two wires wrap around each other. If you grab the end with pliers and twist, one part of the wire tends to remain straight whilst the other wraps around it. This latter approach does not give the desired effect.    
 

 
In hind sight, soldering these hood parts together would have been easier if I had left the fire grills off until after this point. This would have allowed it all to be soldered from underneath.

Only a minor update for today.
 
I've glued the elm tree pumps into place and fixed the anchor to the anchor cable.
 

 
Well, it wasn't even a good idea to paint the casing and the outlet black...
 
 
The anchor will be stowed later
 

 
 
And at last a total view as of July 27.
 

Hi all, the next part of the deck fittings is done: the elm tree pumps. The assembly was quite time-consuming.
 
The first image shows all the parts of the pumps
 

 
Referred to the instruction the outlet should be just glued to the casing and nothing else. I decided to fit the parts into each other. I also drilled a little hole into the outlet.
 

 

 
In the next step I've glued the two parts of the yoke together and glued then to the side of the pump casings.
 

 
The rest of the assembly was quite easy.
 

 

 

Hi Guys,
 
OK I give up.
 
Sjors has lost his marbles, Popeye wants a big slice of cake, Wayne's trying to get everybody into trouble so I give up, the Admiral gone to the shop for apple pie, that's after she swept under the fridge for some round spherical things for Sjors.
Please don't worry Sjors, you'll get yours.  
 
 
Some pics as promised
 
Bow Catch Netting ( made possible by Grant )

 

 

 
Bulkhead colour scheme ( hope you like it )

 

 

 
This is my way of putting in the calking

 
Adding treenails

 
Completed fore deck

 
Completed aft deck

 
First coat of varnish applied fore deck

 
 
First coat of varnish applied to the after deck

 
I don't think the 2 butt worked out to bad in the end
 
That's all the pics for now guys, I hope you enjoy them, now for the bulwarks and the deck furniture.
 
If there are any complaints about picture quality would you please take it up with Sjors.  
 
mobbsie

Hi Hamilton,
She looks powerful...
Do you think to rig the gun carriages and to make red long oars as in the photo from the museum?...

Happy holidays Hamilton
A very fine build to return to!
 
Cheers
Alistair

Hi Hamilton, she looks really nice.

Have a good trip.  See you on the flip side.

Hamilton,
I agree with Augie...not a mongrel.  One has to remember that the Continental kits get some strange things done to them by the designers.  I'll bet they counted openings and assumed that they were all gunports.  After all, who wants to build an 18 gun ship when they can build a 20 gun? 

Updates have been slow the last few days.  The coppering is tedious and I wanted it to look as good as I could do it.  It was definitely a learning experience...trial and error emphasis on the error.  I do realize that it is one of the most important visual details on the hull so it has to look good.  This is not perfect, but I am satisfied with it.  I found I had to use Testor's Green glue for Wood & Metal models.  I'll include a picture with my next series.  By putting this on the hull it prevented the lift caused by finger oil or wood imperfections and down right buggering it up with clumsy fingers which I am notorious for.  The glue stopped all of that.  So with further adoo,  here is the port side, which now leaves the starboard side tomorrow.

She's not so much a mongrel as she is an 'artist's rendition'.

Syren actually has the forwardmost ports as bridle ports (closed) and also 2 at the rear.

Bridle ports are found on the Fly/Pegasus as well. The TFFM Swan series suggest that these opened on the jamb (sideways) rather than at the head. Also it suggests that the hinge was on the fore jamb rather than the aft, so that it opened towards the aft, makes sense as it keeps the sea water out. A nice little detail to authenticate your Blandford without the trouble of making a cannon!
 
Stay earthquake free - they are seriously scary.
 
Cheers
Alistair

Hi Hamilton
This is looking really sharp. I've followed several of your models, as you know, and they get better and better. I'm with your 4 year old - ladders before guns.
 
I've seen some pictures of your retreat and having been to a couple of islands off Vancouver, I can say I'm very envious especially as we languish here in a windy winter which is now being garnished with big earthquakes!!!
 
Have a great break and spare a thought for us dealing with 200kph winds and 6.5 magnitude earthquakes!
 
All the best,
Alistair

Hamilton,
 
Enjoy your vacation.  As for the guns, leave the guns out of the foremost ports and call them "bridle ports".  Most ships seem to have those ports empty to allow for better handling of the anchors and for ventilation anyway. 

Thanks Andy and Mark - so I have not yet given up on the bulwark decorations, but I have put them on pause for a bit...To pass the time while turning my mind around my latest approach to that problem, I've decided to make the rudder and the cannons - it's fortunate that with projects like this there's always something else to do while you're figuring other stuff out!
 
I made the rudder three times. The first was out of 4mm x 4mm beach that I had left over from another build. This didn't work out - I messed up carving out the slots for the pintles and gudgeons. The second was from 3mm x 3mm lime, planked with .5mm lime. This didn't work because the shape was off. The last one was from the same material as number two, but I used a template to get the correct shape and it worked out quite well. Finished in white, Golden Oak and Red.
 
For the Pintles and Gudgeons, I abandoned the metal parts supplied in the kit and used 1/16 x 1/64" brass strip, blackened. I had thought of installing bolts, but at this scale and with only a pin vice to work with I decided against it. I did add ring bolts for the rudder chains.
 
No photos of the cannons yet - I'll save that for another post later....In the meantime, here's the rudder....Bye for now - hope you're all enjoying the weekend.
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

Wow - all this support has nearly brought me to tears!! I can't say how much I appreciate all the encouragement and helpful suggestions from all of you Thank you so much!!!
 
J - this is a great idea for a newbie such as myself - I'm not sure I would use Chuck's screens for the pinnace, but I will use this idea I think
 
Augie - I've used sculpy before for some very simple decorative scrollwork on the Sultana (another Chuck Passaro practicum suggestion). I think I'll follow Ferit's link above and check out Doris' work
 
Ferit - I can't thank you enough for your kind words! You've convinced me not to just give up - and you're absolutely right - if we're unwilling to give our time to improving our talents through this process and to making our work as nice as possible (within our own "reasonable" standards) then what's the point! I've already made the ship's rudder twice out of dissatisfaction with my results and will make it a third time tonight! So why not take a stab at this other thing? Thanks for passing on such inspiration!
 
In any case - an opportunity has presented itself that may result in some nice bulwark decorations...may take a bit of time, but it will work much better and be closer to historical than my initial (misguided and bizarre) idea of the brass tree frames!
 
Thanks once again to all - what a great group is to be found here!
hamilton

Hello there:
 
Well, I was hoping to finish all the cannon assemblies before we leave for our island retreat, but it doesn't look like this will happen....
 
The cannons are quite small at 1:100 (though I suspect they are large for scale...). I have prepared them with small eyebolts for rigging the breeching lines and used 1/16" pinstripe tape for the trunnion straps (cap squares?)
 
I've made 12 of the 20 guns, though I'm also faced with a dilemma. The Blandford is a 20-gun ship. But the position of the foremost gunports on the Corel kit does not allow for the inclusion of both the guns and ladders for forecastle access....So I'm left with a dilemma - either leave out the ladders to the forecastle or leave out the guns......My feeling is to leave out the guns and to display only 18 - this is also my little boy's preference (he gave me the same advice for the San Francisco, noting that the foremost guns on that build would have interrupted people coming up and down the ladder to the forecastle)....
 
Anyway, it's hard to argue with a 4-year old (as many of you well know) but I will "lay down the law" if the consensus here is on the guns rather than the ladders....my rule is always "first, peace in the home"......
 
Anyway, we're off to lovely Hornby Island on Saturday for our annual cabin stay - 8 days with no modelling!! Though I will get to visit with my Corel Flattie, which is stationed up at the cabin - who knows, I may find some time to make some repairs if these are necessary....
 
Here are a few shots until I return - happy modelling to all and have fun this week!
hamilton