dunnock

Thanks Maid of the Mist. Vanguard Model copper plates are of much better scale and thinner than those found in other kits and I found them easier to cut and apply. You can find more information at entries #30 to #33 in this log David

Thanks Chuck, that's very kind David

Inner Bulwarks The doors to the stern cabins are fixed first and the bulwarks fit up to them. I used Syren’s hinges and door handles. The side walls needed some work to make them fit to my planked deck but I was able to use the supplied parts. The ends of the planking at the stern looked a bit unfinished. I used a piece of the ply pattern from the stern panel as a guide to trim the ends and then added a piece of 1mm square boxwood to cover the cut ends and finish it off. The inner bulwarks were dry fitted and left clamped overnight, as suggested in the instructions, to relax any tensions in the wood. I had misaligned the plywood patterns so had to carefully align the inner bulwark with the outer etched pear patterns. This meant sanding and filing about 1mm off the ply at each gun and sweep port. The spirketting, like the bulwarks, are painted in Admiralty Red Ochre and were carefully aligned using the holes for the carronade rigging in the bulwark. The inner sheer rails were painted before removing them from the sheet and again carefully positioned along the upper line on the bulwark. I think I will add gunport sills to cover the edges of the three patterns but first I need to check that it won't affect the position of the carronades. I added a waterway to Speedy and have done the same with Harpy. I used some 3.5x 2mm AYC that I had available and split it in two. A bevel was scraped across the cut side and fitted to the seam between deck and bulwark. The waterway has the added benefit of closing any gaps between spirketting and deck. Although glued, I still have to finish off the scuppers. Still enough deck to support the carronade bed. Thanks for looking in and for all the encouragement, likes and comments. David

Thanks very much Ron and Andrew for your kind comments David

Very impressive. I'm thinking about this as my next project David

Thanks for the likes and generous comments: they're much appreciated Planking Completed Port side planking went a little easier with fewer awkward cuts. The result is port and starboard are slightly different but most will be covered by the carronades. Sanding with 120 grit and a final scraping smoothed the decking which has been finished with a couple of coats of very dilute matt varnish. Past experience has shown that too much varnish or shellac reduces adhesion of pva. Some shots before sanding and finishing ... and after David

Thanks very much Daniel

Many thanks Maurice

Planking Part Three The starboard side is now complete. Like all plans it didn’t quite work out as expected and took quite a bit longer to complete. One plank meets the margin at a joint, which could have been avoided by putting the joint further aft. Too late to change now but something to avoid the next time. There are a couple of places where the joints could have been tighter but even so I’m quite happy with the results. I will now try to repeat the same planking pattern on the port side. David

Another great model and really like the presentation. Thanks too for the clear and very helpful log David

Planking Continued I have completely run out of 4mm strip. Because I didn’t order more supplies in time, I’m running down my limited stock of 5mm and carefully trimming it to width. I used 4mm strip for the bow section and those strips beyond the middle line are joggled into the margin plank. I cut a little more out of the sub-deck at the bow to expose the end walls of the forward cabins. I made up one of the carronade beds and slide and used it to determine where the first continuous run of planks should be. At the stern I ran them inside line of the port and starboard rooms and then worked out the taper required to fill the remaining space. The taper of planks at the bow were worked out in the same way. Instead of my usual haphazard approach, I’ve worked out a layout of the outer planks by drawing them onto the back of a section of the discarded etched deck. So far planking is symmetrical so the same plan should work for both sides Hopefully this will translate into reasonable runs and no surprises with pointy planks like I suffered on Speedy. Thanks for looking in and likes and comments. David

Thanks for the compliment on the deck planking Maurice; much appreciated. And thanks for the warning about the potential for issues of thicker planking. I checked the carronades both for the width of the area to plank and for the height of the gun port sill which look fine but I didn't think to check the spirketting. Having just had a look, I think that I may need to trim 0.5mm off the spirketting which I hope won't be noticeable.

Planking the Gun Deck The tricky centre section between hatches is finished. I’m using mainly 3.5 and 4.0 x 1mm boxwood strip. I’ve already run out of 4mm strip so now I’m cutting down 5 and 6mm strip. I have also had to use some 5mm strip along the edges of the after hatches to make a fair run. The planks are all straight but I have begun to taper the last planks fitted at the stern. I used the etched deck as a pattern to mark the cut-outs and eye-bolt points. There are still some cut-outs to work on but this section is substantially finished. I now move on to the bow and stern sections before finishing with the runs up to the bulwarks, I will leave as much of the lower deck exposed as is feasible.

I've enjoyed following your build Richard and well done on your excellent Harpy From your comments, I hope that you're not closing the shipyard and have a plan for your next model. David

Good to see you again Jason and stunning work David

Thanks to all for the likes and encouraging comments. Preparation for Deck Planking I will not be using the supplied etched deck preferring the look of my own boxwood strip. Before I can begin there are a few things that need doing. First I add the inner counter and transom pieces. These required a fair bit of trimming and sanding to get them to meet closely and to fit between the two stern compartments. They were painted off model with Admiralty Paints Red Ochre. I made up the hatch coamings and gratings a while ago while I was waiting for some parts and managed to remember where I had put them. The kit pieces for the ledges are rounded. I soaked the gratings and shaped them to match the curve. The forward and main hatches will sit directly on the beams but the capstan and hatch forward of it are made to sit on the deck. I have cut a piece from 0.8mm fret and glued it to the base so that it will now sit on the beams and I can plank up to it. Others have commented (@Blue Ensign, @AON, and @Richard44) on the small forward hatch, which is either a steam grating or with cut-outs for the hawsers (or maybe both). To have the hawsers running tight against the riding bitts and immediately forward of the stove looks unusual and awkward so I have scratched another from 4x1mm pear for the coaming and some Caldercraft grating pieces. The hatches are aligned and glued in place using the etched deck. The margin planks are the first to be placed. I made them in three pieces. The forward two pieces are cut from boxwood sheet to cope with the curve at the bow and the third from 4mm stripwood. I can now move on to the main planking but I will need to order some more boxwood from Hobbymill before I can complete it. David

Coppering – Finishing Touches Thanks for the encouragement with likes and comments. Positively the final mention of coppering. I have added some boxwood trim around the waterline edge of the plates using 1mm square strip. I have thinned it back and rounded off the edges to make it less prominent and maybe I will darken it off with some stain to reduce the contrast with the pearwood. To finish the trim at that level I have also added pieces 111 and 112 between counter and tuck. A few coats of dilute matt varnish protects the wood and brings up the colour of the planking. Thanks for looking in David

Thanks very much Andrew

Thank you Maurice. That's good of you to say so. David

Coppering Completed After10 days, I have finished coppering the hull. Diana it isn’t but even so there are over 800 plates to glue in place. The final row to the waterline involved a lot of small pieces which took some time. Any ragged edges will be covered by a boxwood strip. The final piece of this 3D jigsaw is the prow. I ran the side pieces first, continuing down from the keel to the waterline. I overlapped the plates by about 1mm onto the hull and then finished with the vertical plates down the cutwater, again overlapping onto the horizontal plates by 1mm each side. While looking over my work, I noticed that some plates had lifted at the corners so I have been checking and re-glueing those that weren’t firmly stuck down. Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments. David

Thanks Theodosius that's very kind of you. I've just looked in on your Speedy and your making a great job of it - don't believe it can be your first wooden model David

Coppering Continued Just an update on progress. I’m about 2/3 of the way along and beginning to reach the waterline and the need to cut plates. I mark the line with a pencil, score several times and then bend it until it breaks along the line. Minor adjustments and smoothing the edge is done with a fine file. I continue plating towards the stem. I'll get to the same stage on the other side before going back to finishing plating at the waterline. I also have some small pieces to add at the stern David

Thank you Jeff and Bob, that's very kind of you David

I like to finish the edge with stripwood (it covers a multitude of poor cutting). On previous builds I have edged with 1mm square section boxwood. I now also have some 1.5x1mm strip so I will decide when the coppering is complete which to use. David

Many thanks Ron and Mort for your very kind comments. It's much appreciated David