AlanDavison

Hi James,

just wondering, do you intend to publish any pictures of the model fully rigged?

I am glad to hear you wife continues to recover and I wish her well.

I am sure that working full time for Vanguard Models will prove a wise choice (you certainly seem to have the skill set) and I wish you every success for the future.😊

Magnificent

Hi Glenn,

just curious, are you still recording you “time spent”

I must say that I agree with James H, MDF is far superior to ply. In my experience it does no swell warp or split under normal working conditions. I agree that MDF is softer than ply but if you treat it with care it is fine. As with any timber you have to treat it with respect, don’t force it, work with the grain (if there is one), etc. With my Speedy, I left the fragile stern counter framing off until I had almost completed the first planking, thus reducing the possibility of damage. Looking forward to future build instalments and the release of the kit, I guess, in late spring, early summer.

I agree that Caldercraft/Jotika make some fine models, even if some of the kits are now becoming a bit dated and are in need of a makeover.

Regarding the HMS Surprise model, I don’t think you will ever see it in production from Caldercraft as I suspect it is more than production issues that prevented it being marketed. If you think about it Jotika must have spent a lot of money in development and to stop production at a stage when it was just about ready to go on sale says to me that there are other technical/legal issues in play. We will probably never know why the kit was not issued, but we have a growing market with other companies so we have more than enough to last most of use a lifetime of happy model making.

Congratulations on a superb build. I particularly liked the quality of the paint finish. Perhaps when you’ve completed your bathroom conversion you might post some photos the boat in its natural watery element ie floating along side a squeaky duck!!😂

looking forward to the album.😊

Glen,

I’m sure you do yourself an injustice regarding your skill level!
regarding cost, some of us who live on modest pensions do have to watch the pennies but £500+ doesn’t sound to bad for the quality and detail we will receive.

 Hi Chris,

Spring, early summer was my guess. Do you intend to offer any option like you did with Alert & Speedy, or is that too complicated?
Have you any idea of price, yet. Are we talking £4, 5, 600 or more.

I note you intend a full compliment of ships boats, which is great, but will you also be including other often forgotten items such as seats of ease, flag lockers, manger and so forth.

This has to be the model to die for. Can’t wait

If Chris can’t do them then you can try the Model Monkey web site, they do a range of 3D printed 1/48 (and most other scales) ships canon as well as a host of other nautical items.

I usually finish with a spay coat coat of matt or semi-matt varnish, so it really does matter weather you use gloss or flat paint

Looking good.

But how do you keep your workstation so tidy? I try, but end up with all sorts of files, knives and brushes scattered all over the place!

Sorry, my mistake. The comment was to gennard2535's build.

Your build is really motoring along - are you looking to set a record?

Keep up the good work 

The “yellow and white” scheme referred too, was the pre war colour scheme used for warships on what was known as the China station, ie South China Sea and surrounding area.

If you want to use this colour scheme you will need to ensure your ship was posted there, also you may need change armament etc to configure you ship to pre war layout. Not sure why yellow/white was chosen and perhaps someone could shed some light on this. By the way, great weathering to the model RGL am looking forward to seeing the finished article

PE is absolutely fine by me.

I think that the more detailed and accurate the design the more people will search for faults. Human nature I guess!

No one and no kit can be absolutely 100%, but I also think that Chris is having a good go.

Once you've rigged a canon you can hardly noice whether the ring bolt is round or flat, after all we are talking 1/64 scale (5ft4ins to the inch), if it were 1/24 (2ft to the inch) it might be a different matter. 

Design has to stop somewhere when producing a commercial kit. I an sure Chris could produce a true to scale kit using iron in stead of brass, copper plates of scale thickness with scale nails, decking plank with scale treenails etc; if he had a mind, but then how much would it cost and how long would it take to develop.

So let's not be super critical and be thankful we have a innovative designer producing sate of the art models.  

Hi, regarding your comment on steering I have found an article on the net called "McIntosh Boat & Shipbuilders  - The era of the Scaffie, Zulu & Steam Drifter 1830-1918" ( www.glennmci.brinkster.net )

This article has a picture of the Zulu "Annie Jane" with the skipper Alex Smith sitting next to a horizontal tiller wheel which was a unique characteristic of the Zulu.  

The article also has a picture of a Zulu in the process of lowering the main mast, this was done when casting the drift nets in order to reduce speed and improve stability. 

So Chris's depiction of a horizontal wheel is correct. I recommend this fascinating article to all who are building the Zulu model

Regards

Alan

Superphaltic glue works extremely well. Just spread it onto you wooden hull, I use my fingers, and the apply the copper tile. A little heat from a small iron or similar also helps. Once glued it’s there for life!

For me it’s the etched deck every time, but I hope you enjoyed the exercise! Well done.Moving further on in the build, I’ve been pondering the anchor cable would be weighed. From the plans the anchor cable descends into the cable tier via the square holes in the foremost grating. To me this seems too soon, as the opening is very close to the bow and a long way from the capstan, so how would the messenger cable be fixed and used. Any advice from you knowledgeable folk out there would be fantastic.

Yes, that’s how I did mine. The fit is so good and the ply is so bendible(?) that apart from a little wetting there no need for building a separate jig (in my humble opinion). I did score the back of the lower transom piece as this aided in forming the concave surface and I think this helped as it reduces the tension on the glued surfaces. I also left off the transom pieces until I had fixed the rear gun port pattern to avoid the possibility of breaking them, and it worked fine.

Sorry, still don’t understand. You could score the kit template on the inside to help bending and you could clamp the wetted template to the kit sides to allow it to pre-form, leave to dry and then when happy glue the template to the model? Your method seems an unnecessary exercise.

 I trace the outline of half the ship (from above view) from the plans, transfer that to a piece of 1x4 inch lumber, cut out the half hull profile with a scroll saw, cut a few notches into opposite side, soak the gunport patterns a few hours then clamp and rubber band it to dry on my board.  

Can I ask, why did you not use the kit provided patterns or am I missing something?

I will use the laser etched deck, saves a lot of work and time. From Bobs picture you seem to be a proficient scratch builder, so are well able to “kit bash”. Chris’s innovations are first rate and I am sure will encourage more modellers to take the plunge into wooden ship construction. Bearing in mind the cost of wooden kits and the fact that some were designed and first produced 30-40 or more years ago, it is refreshing to see a Vanguard Models using the latest techniques such as laser engraving and resin castings to bring the hobby into the 21 century.

I have built several plastic model ships and I have never used any of the ‘wooden’ deck kits. To my mind they are too bright, too out-of-scale and too brown/yellow. If you consider a wooden deck would weather and be washed down ending up a very pale greenish, greyish brown. Also remember some warships had their wooden decks covered or painted, so check you references carefully. You also need to consider ‘scale effect’ which means that a models colour will be less intense than in 1 to 1 scale.

.

Vanguard Models in the UK is a new company and is about to release their second kit which is a model of a two masted brig sloop HMS Speedy. Their first kit of an armed Reveue cutter is excellent in both design, instructions and timber quality.

It would be worth a look as it will include several new innovations and also come in a range of options in respect of material. 

Not sure what the shipping cost to Canada would be though.