dunnock

Thanks to Dave and Andrew for your kind compliments. Yes it's beginning to take shape and I'm quite pleased with how it is turning out. Apart from planking a portion of the lower deck, so far I'm just following Chris's instructions which are comprehensive and easy to follow. I will be using Steel and Lees as further references for the masting and rigging as I have with previous builds. David

Good start on the planking Andrew. Splitting the hull into three bands is something I wish that I had done. David

Thanks for all the likes. It has taken a few days of sanding, filling and painting the hull with Valejo Off-White to obtain a finish I was happy with. Most work was needed on the stern to obtain a smooth transition from planking to sternpost. The stern board has been repaired and new pieces cut where required. The outer bulwark pieces are glued in place. I gave these and the stern counter a single coat of diluted matt varnish followed by sanding with a 600 grit sanding stick to provide some sealing and protection. Further coats will be applied after the wales and rails are added. The laser-engraved deck needed only a little fettling with sandpaper on the starboard edge to get a neat fit. The photo shows it resting in place. Sanding of the surface and around the hatches is needed before it is glued in place. I briefly contemplated planking the deck from scratch but quickly dismissed the idea. I could never make such a good looking deck. I noticed that at this point in the build manual, the photo at stage 63 shows that forward most ports in the ply bulwark patterns have been removed. Although present in the photo at stage 61, there is no mention in the instructions of removing them. It is a simple matter to cut them out. David

Thanks for your likes and comments which are always welcome. The second layer of planking is finished. Overall I’m pretty happy with the way it went. With four strakes left on each side, I completed the planking by working down from the keel. There was a slight difference between the two sides in the final strake. I needed a slightly wider plank to finish the starboard side where it got a bit out of line towards the stern and which I cut from an 8mm strip of boxwood. The stern inner bulkhead is a very delicate structure. I have already repaired it once but broke it again while sanding the hull. I’ve decided to leave off the repair until I’ve finished sanding and painting, so for now it is covered with masking tape. The photo below shows the hull after first sanding and filling with Ronseal wood filler; So now it's sand fill and sand again. David

Thanks for your thoughts Thukydides. I noticed the same thing when I looked at the photo and checked the line looking end on. It did seem to be straight so I guess that it's the camera angle. There is some small difference between strakes meeting at the stem which I will correct as I go along. David

Thanks to everyone for the likes and to Andrew and mugje for the encouragement. I'm slowly continuing with second planking and up to 8 strakes per side now. I find it easier and more accurate to measure the width of plank at each bulkhead using a micrometer rather than marking off onto a piece of scrap and then using that to mark the plank. I’m checking and rechecking the remaining space after every couple of strakes to keep things even but generally it’s going better than the first layer of planking. Onwards and upwards... David

Great that you are taking the time to serve ropes. It will add a lot of authenticity to your build. David

I’ve been slowly working on the second planking trying to follow David Antscherl’s Practicum. Even if it is probably overkill on a model like Trial, it's good practice which I certainly need. I pinned the first plank below the bulwarks as per the instructions and then fixed the garboard plank. I divided the space between these planks into two bands of 8 and 7 strakes. As planking has continued, I think it may have been better to split the hull into three bands of 5 planks. I have laid three planks per side so this is still a possibility. I'm using CA gel to fix the planks with a dot at each bulkhead position and a dot on the preceding plank between bulkheads. I removed the bulkhead patterns because I found that trying to work around brass pins in the first plank and clamps holding on the bulwarks very awkward. I marked the line of the bottom edge of the bulwarks, removed them and glued the first plank in place and then rechecked that the bulwarks still fitted correctly. David David

Welcome back Andrew. Happy to hear that you are able to get back to Trial. I'm hoping that you will soon catch me up and show me the way 😄 David

Rob, I had the same dilemma over a case for Diana. I was going to make one myself from acrylic sheet but at the time, my daughter was looking for a larger aquarium for her fish and since a case is just an inverted aquarium, I asked if they could make one for me and they agreed. The price was not much more than the price of the acrylic sheet. I'm waiting for delivery but if I'm happy with it, I will log the details. David

Hi Sizzolo and welcome to MSW. That's a great start to Diana. I love the attention to detail and I'm going to be following your build with interest. The accompanying pint of beer always helps with these repetitive tasks David

She is a lovely ship Rob and an beautifully built model David

Thanks very much Theodosius for your confidence in my abilities but I think that it's mostly just me muddling through! I've done some planking revision while away. A little more reading and watching Chuck's videos and I'll make a start on the second layer of planking over the weekend. David

Thanks GlennUK and Glenn B for the compliments and support and to everyone for the likes. David

Thanks to Jack-in-the-Blue and Thukydides for the complements and to CiscoH and Glenn for advice and encouragement and to others for the likes. This afternoon I've worked on the preparatory fittings for the second planking, completing the prow assembly, stern post, keel and stern counter. To fit the stern post, the inner counter pattern needed a little fettling around the rudder slot and I had to trim back the ‘garboard plank’ a fraction to fit the prow covers otherwise it was all straightforward and according to the manual. I used some scrap 1.5mm limewood to make sure that the keel slots aligned with the slots in the hull but it probably wasn’t necessary. Stern counter fitted and sanded back The bulwark patterns also needed some sanding at the bow to make all the gun ports line up and these are now clamped in place ready to begin the second planking. It looks like the first plank below the bulwark pattern is not tapered but that is for another day as I’m off to Norfolk for a few days birdwatching. I'll be taking some planking homework ready for when I get back. David

I’ve completed the first layer of planking and despite my best efforts to make a mess, I think it doesn’t look too bad. I may have been a bit over zealous with the filler but I hope that it’s now a decent base for the top layer of planks but before I get to that there’s the prow facings, keel, stern counter and sternpost to add. I've re-read Chuck's pdf on lining off and hull planking and I'll read around the subject a bit more before embarking on the second layer. David

Thanks to everyone for their support , comments and advice. My approach was to measure the length of each bulkhead, divide the length of the longest bulkhead by 5mm to obtain the number of planks required and then divide this number into the length of each bulkhead. This gave me 3mm for each plank at the prow and tapering from bulkhead 3. I rechecked these numbers after every three planks and adjusted accordingly. I don't know why this method didn't work but I'm sure that for whatever reason, I didn't taper the planks enough or from far enough back. It required a few stealers and some odd shaped planks to complete the planking but it's done now and I'll post some pictures in my next post. David

Thanks for all the likes. I have begun the first layer of planking with 5mm limewood but have run into problems and I’m not sure why. The first three strakes went on easily but the next three gradually required more extreme edge bending at the bow to make the plank lie flat on the bulkheads that it was no longer becoming possible to continue in the same way. I stripped back the last three planks and tried different tapers and although better, I still find I need to put in some quite severe bends. The manual, and Chris’s photos of his prototype show that this shouldn’t be necessary. Maybe I have bevelled bulkheads too much. In desperation, I have started planking from the keel but I know that I will need some strange shapes for the last one or two strakes. Thankfully, this is the underlayer but I need to resolve the issue before continuing with the top layer. This shot shows the first of the three planks replaced and two planks added from the keel downwards David

That's quite a project you've taken on newbee but you seem to have got it by the scruff of the neck and made some great progress in stripping it back to something that you can build from. David

Thanks Andrew but you didn't need to go as far as Menorca - 30deg here today and I'm enjoying a glass of wine in the garden contemplating the new wildlife pond I'm going to have to dig this week. Progress on Trial may slow down - unless I can persuade someone that it's too hot for digging and it would be safer to do something in the shade! Enjoy your holiday. David

Schoolboy Error. I carefully lined the horizontal etched line of the bulwark pattern with the level of the false deck and clipped the pattern at every bulkhead. I applied a bit of heat to set the shape and all looked good so I glued it up and even added the first of the limewood planks. Then I noticed a 2mm gap at the slot in the prow. Checking the manual, I realised that I had not read instruction 44 properly which says’ the lowest line (my underline) should be placed at the top edge of the false deck’. Thankfully the plank and bulwark patterns came off without any damage occurring and are now placed in the correct position. The first plank below the bulwarks have also been added. A small amount of tapering at bow and stern and some edge bending at the bow is required for the planks to sit correctly. As it says on the first page printed in red, ‘take plenty of time to study this manual’. Lesson learnt! David

A lovely package arrived from Vanguard Models arrived the other day. I have built ships boats and some of the deck furniture from Vanguard but this will be the first of Chris’s ship models that I have built and I was excited to get started. The box contains a comprehensive (70 page) photo-illustrated building manual, 11 sheets of plans and part diagrams as well as numerous sheets of mdf, pear-wood, PE brass, strip wood, dowels and stand on which to display the finished model. Andrew (AJohnson) has already posted photos of the contents of the box so I won't repeat it here. The build starts by making a cradle for the initial stages of building up the hull structure. It looks delicate but is more robust than it appeared when removed from the mdf sheet. The bulkheads drop nicely into the keel without any need for sanding. I found it easiest to begin the preliminary sanding of the bow section bulkheads with parts 15 and 16 fitted (but not glued) in place. Once bevelled parts 15 and 16 are put aside until later. Chris’s manual shows the bulkheads being bevelled using a Dremel. I’m not so brave but it doesn’t take long to sand them back by hand. The stern assembly is next up and once glued and sanded back, it required a little bit of easing to slot into the keel. The centre-line patterns are given as 14 in the book but are numbered as 23 on the parts themselves. I fitted and glued the lower deck (part 25). Belatedly, I then decided to put some strips of planking down the centre line. They probably won’t be visible when the final deck is in place but I may want to have some of the hatches open. Once the longitudinal bracing parts are slotted and glued in place the whole structure firms up nicely. I sanded and applied a couple of coats of matt varnish to the deck beams and ledges before gluing them in place. The stern frames are next to be added but first I sanded off the char from the parts that are later to be painted. Part 85 is the inner layer of the stern transom and the book advises that the design was changed to make it less delicate, however I still managed to crack it when I removed it from the sheet. Luckily it didn’t break in two so I was able to glue it and no harm done. The inner stern counter pattern is fitted next. I gave it a quick dip in water and clamped it in place and left it to take up the slight curve of the hull. Other builders of Vanguard kits have said how well they go together and HM Trial is no exception. The kit is very well thought out and goes together without any need to fiddle around sanding back bulkhead slots or worrying that everything is square and correctly fitted. The last couple of days have been a joy. David

A great start Andrew and no better way to spend a wet Bank Holiday. David

Thanks again for all the likes and generous comments. Diana is the biggest and most complicated ship that I have built but I've really enjoyed the challenges that it presented. Although it took a lot of time and some hair pulling, I'm glad that I went with the open rails on the quarter deck and my thanks go to Ray and Robdurant for showing me the way. Also my thanks to the many others on these forums that have posted tips, help and advice that I have shamelessly copied. I've managed to take some better photos of the finished model which I've added below. I hope I haven't overdone it! Thanks all for looking in. I hope to see you again on my log of HM Cutter Trial David

Dave, My understanding is that glass would be heavier even if I might be able to use thinner sheets. The density of glass is about twice that of acrylic sheet. Also I would be quite nervous of handling the size of glass sheet I need. David