hamilton

Hi hamilton,  if i dont catch you - happy holidays have a great yule and all the best with the family and the new little one.
 
 
C.

Coming along beautifully.
 
Thanks for the tip on how to keep the rigging fluff free.  With cats around the house, I can't afford not to build a case one day...

Hi Hamilton......long time no see......... your build is really looking good now. I will soon be starting on Bellona again.......soon......been mad busy with one thing and another including starting to play my banjo again (badly). Anyway if I dont visit your build before Christmas have a good one and a greast new year.....i've already stocked up on the malt whisky. 

Nice work, Hamilton.  I'm happy to hear all is well with the little one and things are settling in.

Rigging is coming along really well. I'm in agreement with everyone else, she's looking amazing.
 
Andy

Glad to hear all is going well.  And she's looking spectacular.

That looks very nice, Hamilton.

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

Hello all: Thanks for the kind notes!
 
Wolf - the rigging lines are only free of fluff now - later there will be a veritable winter wonderland of fluff polluting the lines. I don't build cases for my boats, because I'm an idiot. This opens them all to the wear and tear of any other household item. I read somewhere that using a small fan-shaped paint brush and running this along the lines can help - and this is what I normally do once a week on the models I keep around the house. I think that a can of compressed air might work too - especially on decks - as long as everything is good and secure!! However others on the forum might disagree - this might be a good question (if it hasn't been asked already) for general discussion.
 
In other news I've received a "commission" for a model boat from a friend of my wife's - it will be the Mamoli Yacht America - I'm just waiting for ME to ship it - I've been waiting for over 2 months!! This may pre-empt the Dos Amigos/Fair Rosamund build that has been commissioned by our close friends' 7-year old.....busy busy! The current build will go to our newborn - though he won't be in a position to even see it properly for quite some time. 
 
Bye for now
hamilton

Looks great Augie! 
hamilton

Thank you very much Jeff, Nils and Mark.
 
Well, I think I was just lucky with the first planking. Believe me, the kit supplied walnut stripes for the second planking are of very good quality. Besides the bulwark area needs a stronger planking.
 
And here are the first pictures:
 

 

 
 
Look at this:
 

 

 
This is a very remarkable stern design for a ship of the 19th century.

What a gorgeous hull! I turned my laptop upside down to take a good look! 
hamilton

Hi Collingwood - I tapered pretty much all the planks at the bow from the deck line to about 1/2 their width. I also soaked them overnight - 1.5mm is thick, but seems also to be standard first planking for Corel. I'll be starting the OcCre Dos Amigos and the first planking for that is 2mm!! This stock might end up getting replaced.....
 
Anyway, I think you're doing a great job - I'm really impressed with the time you've taken to plan out your modifications - I just kind of ran headlong into them  and thus confronted all kinds of little compromises.....bye for now
hamilton

Thank you, Keith.
 
Well, here are some impressions of the sanded hull:
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
And here is the start of the second planking:
 

Hi Collingwood:
 
Nice to see you have a start here. You might have already noticed that the keel does not fit the drawing of the CNC part provided on the plans. In fact, I recommend you leave Corel's plans and instructions behind almost entirely. They are vague and even deceptive. Check the bulkheads carefully - I had to shore up bulkheads 9 and 10 considerably (adding a good 8mm worth of .5mm veneers to create a fair hull). There are areas where you need to modify the bulkhead edges a lot to get a fair run of planking. Not sure how much ship modelling experience you have, so maybe these words are expended unnecessarily - and apologies if they are! It's a frustrating build to begin with but is quite a bit of fun in the offing.
 
Keep in mind the fudges or structural modifications that might be necessary in order to achieve certain effects - like the open bulwarks as represented on the HMS Blandford, which I achieved at some cost to overall integrity because I did not foresee the structural modifications that would have been necessary in order to get a "perfect" look....
 
Anyway, bonne chance and let me know if my experience with the kit can benefit you at all
hamilton

Thanks for the kind words all!
 
Collingwood - I didn't bend the wood. I bought a sheet of 1mm thick walnut, laid the hull upside down on it, traced the line of the bow onto it, rough cut it out into a curved shape, sanded the curved edge to match the bow more exactly, took a compass and marked a line 4.5mm in following the curve and then cut that out, being careful not to split the wood. I then sanded the inside down so it was 4mm thick all along and attached it....presto! I don't have photos of this process, unfortunately....
hamilton

I've done the stern windows and the inner stern planking around the windows. Since I wanted to have something that would look right on both the inside and outside and since the kit provided 10 laser cut frames for the 5 windows, I decided to do something a little different. I decided to build up window "sandwiches", consisting of 2 frames with a piece of clear plastic between them (I'm sure that I've seen this done somewhere on MSW). With some thickness sanding, this created a perfect fit for the depth of the stern frames.
 
As I had indicated early in this log, the width of the stern frames was excessive and this required some careful filing to open the spaces between the frames to get the window frames to fit. The window frames were painted white after they were sanded to fit. I then glued in the outside window frames, placed the the clear plastic behind them and then glued in the inside frames. This was all going well until somehow I managed to have an inside frame jump out of my grasp and become a permanent resident of the ship's hold. As a result, I had to make a replacement from strip wood. Thankfully, it's on the side that will be covered by deck planking and not visible.
 
After the windows were installed, I chose to do the planking around them on the inside. This was done with boxwood, finished with Wipe-on Poly. I've started on the Great Cabin cabinetry. That and the exterior planking around the windows will be the next update.
 
Bob
 
 

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

Hi Guys,
 
Thanks every body for your very kind comments and remarks and all those who pressed the like button, it's very much appreciated.
 
I have a little update to show so will be posting some pics in a moment.
 
What have I done so far, Mizzen mast shrouds were served and fitted, Catherpins made up and fitted, Mizzen main stay served and fitted, I used Arthurs method of making the mouse and it works fine, Mizzen Futtock shrouds made up and fitted and finally Ratlines completed on the Port side. 
 
The Catherpins look a little thick and I guess they are, I used 0.25 brass wire, served with 0.25 thread, attached it to the Futtock staves then fitted them to the shrouds, this made the process of fitting the Catherpins so much easier, I tend to look for as much as possible to do off the ship, that way there is less chance of doing damage which I'm prone to do.
 
I'm a little disappointed with the shroud servings, they are not as level as I would have liked above the futtock staves, the only saving grace is that it is a bit crowded in that area and difficult to see clearly.
 
The mouse was made using Arthurs method, anybody wanting to know what that is please look at HMS Vanguard by AEW, page 19 post 280, it really is a good method and so simple to do. I experienced the problems with serving in that the thread kept sliding down the mouse, this was cured by a drop of PVA.
 
The result of all this was that the Mizzen mast is now in it's correct position, tight and vertical with the correct backward angle of 2 degrees. I was a bit worried that the mast would lean over to port as was happening before fitting the ropes.
 
Pictures, not that many and not the best quality but you will get the idea of where I am. ( must change my camera ).
 
Portside deadeyes

 
Mizzen stay deadeyes

 
Mizzen mouse

 
Mizzen tops with the jungle of ropes

 
Beneath the mizzen tops showing the futtock shrouds and ratlines

 
Catherpins

 
Starboard deadeyes from the stern

 
Starboard deadeyes again

 
So there we are guys, your right up to date with where I am. 
 
Your comments will be well received regarding the thickness of the Catherpins, I wont be changing what's done but will make alterations to the Main and Fore masts if you think they are too thick.
 
Stay Safe and Warm
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie
 
 
 

Thanks for the kind words all!
 
Collingwood - I didn't bend the wood. I bought a sheet of 1mm thick walnut, laid the hull upside down on it, traced the line of the bow onto it, rough cut it out into a curved shape, sanded the curved edge to match the bow more exactly, took a compass and marked a line 4.5mm in following the curve and then cut that out, being careful not to split the wood. I then sanded the inside down so it was 4mm thick all along and attached it....presto! I don't have photos of this process, unfortunately....
hamilton

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

Thanks for the kind words all!
 
Collingwood - I didn't bend the wood. I bought a sheet of 1mm thick walnut, laid the hull upside down on it, traced the line of the bow onto it, rough cut it out into a curved shape, sanded the curved edge to match the bow more exactly, took a compass and marked a line 4.5mm in following the curve and then cut that out, being careful not to split the wood. I then sanded the inside down so it was 4mm thick all along and attached it....presto! I don't have photos of this process, unfortunately....
hamilton

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton
 

Thanks Collingwood and John:
 
And sorry for the late response! It's been a nutty time out here in the grey Pacific NorthWest. But now the baby is a bit more settled, the semester is over and I can put a bit of time into the Blandford once again. Last night was the first time I touched the thing in about 3 1/2 weeks. I managed to shape, fnish & (mostly) outfit the mizzen yard. 
 
The rigging of it is a bit of a mystery - judging by Corel's plans (no surprise here), but I need to re-read Lees and see if I can't come up with an adequate interpretation for the Blandford. The typical lines are easy enough (throat, lifts, bowlines, truss, etc.), and I've left off rigging elements that are associated with the sails (blocks on the yard for the various bridles). But it's the rigging of the aft end of the yard down to the deck that is confusing. I'm going to spend some time with Lees this afternoon and some new rigging elements may get added next time I sit down at the bench.
 
In the meantime, enjoy the photos and be back soon
hamilton