DarkAngel

Well, there's not much room for sailing... I'd go for a lake personally. However it may be a good place to test the Ballast needed in the lower hull.

Hull warping This is an interesting subject, if anyone wants to add to this discussion... I'm all ears I heard a story of a commissioned build where the hull warped and twisted on a 1:48 scale scratch built HMS Endeavour. It was fixed by submerging underwater in the bathtub for 2 days to soften the wood before twisting the frame back into position with clamps on a straightening jig and allowing to dry like that.

Check, I have done some smoothing of the bulkhead edges, however I need to monitor the fit each time it's time to add a plank. I think a combination of measuring, precutting and post timming is on the cards. For the 1st planking I have an opportunity to see what works best before committing to the 2nd planking.

Update Gallery Sectioning the Hull Currently dividing the Hull into sections to calculate the required tapering for each plank. I think it'll be easier to glue in and then cut the required taper once cured with a sharp blade as I go. Also having sections enables me to get more planking done each day as I can plank one piece per section and cure overnight before further planking. I'm looking forward to seeing how the first planking goes, and may need to use walnut wood nails on the 2nd planking before finishing.

Georgian era gallery... Here's some pics I have sourced for my build... Brass Unicorn and Lion pedestal I plan on building the ships pedestal with the Royal Coat of Arms as my inspiration. With 2 unicorns supporting the sides and maybe a single lion holding a larger George III coat of arms as the bow pedestal. Or something like the Lion pictured below. Another option is to use a merlion statue (like the ones from Singapore) and a pair of mythical hippocampii (sea horse steeds Posideon uses) for a nautical take on the coat of arms. Georgian furniture study I may have a go at building some furniture for Lord Nelson. Note the lions feet on the legs Georgian coat of Arms This may have been the inspiration for the HMS Victory... maybe a crown with a Lion ontop was there before the Prince of Wales emblem was added after the Battle of Trafalgar... and currently displayed to this day.

Ah I see. I don't know whether I shall copper the hull. I think I prefer the natural stained wood look Build Mods... I bought some mahogany 2mm x 0.7mm & 3mm x 0.7mm strips for the Captains quarters and entry doors to Lord Nelsons cabin level because they were on sale. Also sourced some Amati 1:98 bits... like the cast 12mm entry doors onto the Middle Gun Deck and the cast metal Stern section. it looks good and I can use it as a rear access hatch to be held on with magnets Just have to rebuild the Stern with a new frame to accomodate the Amati precast sections. I guess I am spending a bit on this model, however as I only paid AUD$250 for the Corel kit, I can justify it. I think I've spent about 2x that on tools and 1x that on extra parts... and I have got the sails to consider. Cornwall models in the UK I found the best deals with the biggest selection with spare Corel 30 mm cannon barrels and the Amati castings. Postage was cheap from the UK, and I think the GBP sterling has taken a pre-Brexit hit.

Shipwrights Journal Build Plan Calendar October Complete hull planking underneath the waterline on both sides Stain outer layers on hull Build long 12 lb'er carriages for Upper Gun Deck Consider adding another staircase leading to 3rd deck behind stairs near middle mast, depending on stair parts left. Consider opening up Upper Gun Deck floorplan to increase floor space (and add more fittings incl. complete long 12 lb'er cannons with carriages) Design stern cabin floor plan, dedicate lowest level for electronics setup and maintenance access. Design circuit diagram for ships electronics and input area's for charging micro usb port(s) for battery cells. Test lighting system and install once lanterns crafted New Supplies ordered Wireless bluetooth 4x relay system Billings 18 mm (long 12 lb'er) dummy cannons x10 4mm brass wire reels for smaller pulleys in posts Artesania 33mm (smaller) grills for Quarterdeck

October update Wireless planning I've been considering the logistics for adding a circuit board, battery, lighting wiring and a blue tooth speaker into the HMS Victory. My first plan was to hide inside the hull but then there is the issue of allowing an access hatch to gain access to the items listed above. My current strategy is to dedicate the lower stern level from the back cabins to electronics with a pull out shelf that can be accessed from the stern, not the hull. So stay tuned for another plan for the Stern section. Therefore with this approach I can complete the hull first and build the Stern cabins later, with the whole stern section as an access hatch to view inside the stern cabins. This is also convenient for placement of hidden micro usb charging plug(s). For the bluetooth speaker, I'm thinking of having a hidden button insider the anchor holes in the bow... using a pencil to poke in and turn on / off the blue speaker there and having an extension micro usb for charging wired up to a female plug inside one of the Stern cannon hatches. Hull planking To be undertaken now, does anyone know how much 1mm x 5 mm walnut strips are left over after hulling is complete ? I'd like to use them for building the doors around the Ships wheel house.

Cannon study From right to left Corel stock 25mm cannon (short 12 lb'er) nicely crafted and suits the length for the short 12 lb'er Artesania 25mm cannon (short 12 lb'er) slightly smaller barrel diameter at the end than the stock Corel 25mm cannon Billing 31mm cannon pipe (long 12 lb'er) brass cannons, nicely crafted and barrel looks good. Artesania Victory 30mm cannon (long 12 lb'er) casting on barrel is oval and mismatched on all 3 I received 2nd row Corel stock dummy cannon (24 lb'er) looks good, but should only be fitted to 2nd and third row as 24 lb'ers located on the lower 2 levels only. edit: I prefer the Billing 31mm brass cannon pipes for the long12 lb'ers on the Upper Gun deck and the 2 on the Quarterdeck. There are also Billing 18mm false cannons in brass you can buy too. These would be good for the false cannons on the Upper Gun deck. I am still considering the layout for the Upper Gun Deck, as I'm adding lighting there is an option to open up the whole deck with long 12 lb'ers to be added instead of false cannons and allow viewing through all the cannon hatches on that level. Here's the current view of the Upper Gun Deck.

Yes it is... It must have moved before the glue set. I'll fix it. I'm thinking of using a smaller grate for that section and may widen the grate sections slightly. Thanks for the heads up. Gallery update Working on a few different things around the wheelhouse.

Crafting Bell tower I'm not happy with the Corel design for the bell tower roof, so I had a go at crafting one myself from some kind of white wood I found in a craft shop. Also trimming down railing 'feet' to just under 3mm wide and shaping balustrade posts for the Bell Tower currently.

Quarterdeck Bell tower Working on more fittings based on my plan of the Quarterdeck. I am using red cedar to carve out the Bell tower posts and the railing posts. Check out my progress thus far... taking pics helps when doing comparisons with real photo's of the HMS Victory, to check dimensions are accurate and in line with other objects... like the Admirals Barge height. edit: I need to drop the height of the railing a bit and check the height of the brass rope stantions nearby for a comparison height. Also the funnel is oval and needs to be much wider and more tapered at the neck and opening. I'll use wood filler and cover with thick tin foil to see how that looks before blackening it,

"Anatomy of the Ship" The 100 Gun Ship Victory book by John McKay: That is an awesome book, I'll have to keep an eye out for one to purchase. If anyone has a second hand one they want to sell... I'm interested Glass Panes I have found Microscope cover slides are quite cheap to buy 100 thin glass panes. These would be great for windows on the stern cabins and doors behind the Ships wheel on the Quarterdeck and also the skylight on the Poop deck.

Awesome... I have a feeling they may be up by the Carronade's

I'm thinking of taking out the false cannons from the quarterdeck and the Upper Gun deck as the barrels on the false cannons look like they may be from the 24 lb'ers which are only found on the lower decks. Also I am now wondering where the 2 medium 12 lb'ers are on the Quarterdeck... In Lord Nelsons cabin maybe ?

Cannon study Short 12 lb'er Short: Barrel length (7'6" or 2.13m) 1:98 scale 21.73 mm Carriage length (?) stock Corel carriages look about right however Long 12 lb'er Barrel length (9' or 2.74m) 1:98 scale 27.95 mm Carriage length (5' 6 5/8" or 1.69 m) 1:98 scale 17.25 mm also has bigger front wheel. So the mockup cannons pictured in previous post would be better suited to a longer carriage on the Upper Gun Deck and pretty much kept the same length considering the extra bit at the back of the cannon barrel which is not measured in the 27.95 mm calculation but is on the 30 mm model size.

New Supplies arrived... Here's some mock up pic's... unfortunately I only received 3 out of the 12 cannons I ordered, the others were a different size (25mm) and look the same as the stock deck cannons. The Ships Wheels are going to be brass blackened to a dark brown hue and the cannons blackened to iron black. The barrels I'm thinking of adding an outer layer of off cut planking around the outside and oil them to achieve a darker hue. Check out the pics

Bluetooth devices Ok I have discovered these two awesome devices to potentially mount in the HMS Victory ship... for less than AUD$40 for both items ! 12v bluetooth 4x relay Each relay can be wired up to a series of my SMD LED lantern lights, dividing the ship into 4 lighting sections to be controlled via phone or tablet remote control. Tiny Bluetooth Speaker 2W Really simple 1 button device with micro usb recharging, has enough battery for about 1 hour built in.

Good Point ! Hull Planning The Quarterdeck is removeable until the hull planking is complete. I still haven't finished the Upper Gun Deck level either, there will be stuff hanging from the ceiling of the Upper Gun Deck from the Quarterdeck level... such as wired Lanterns and maybe some extra fittings like a hammock, table and some powder horns. Until the underside of the Quarterdeck is done, I'm not going to add things like the bell housing, brass rope stantions etc until the hull is finished. I like to work out the positioning and logistics of everything before committing to the build. Once I complete the hull I won't have access to internal cavities I may need to install extra stuff like bluetooth speakers, a usb port for charging the internal batteries and threading the electrical wiring throughout the ship for lighting. I'm thinking of putting the USB port behind the Victory name plate at the Stern of the ship... or maybe in one of the stern cannon hatches with a switch hidden in the other one. Wireless It would be also interesting if I can find some wireless technology so I can operate the lights and audio from my smartphone.... I could record Russel Crowe from Master and Commander... you know the weevil gag.... or maybe Lord Nelson on the potty with a bit of random toilet humour. It'd be nice to tune in to the BBC radio through the HMS Victory, that's what my friend suggested when I mentioned bluetooth speakers inside.

Thanks Mark, it is always a bonus to get feedback from others... even constructive

Gallery Update Plan put into action... first look at Quarterdeck plan in place Firstly I have raised the Poop deck ceiling at the wheelhouse by lowering the floor beam there to cater for another 5 - 6 mm to house the Ship's wheel. You can also see under the Poop deck the mast base. I found a packet of what look like wooden reels for thread, which are perfect for mast bases. I can drill a 8mm or 10mm hole through them to slide the mast through which will help to secure the masts at each level. There's another image of one at the main mast position. Everything lining up nicely, however I would have liked the grates to be wider or bigger... another proportional issue with the Corel schematics. I could redo them wider maybe but it wouldn't be in proportion to the other fittings around it that I have studied from photo's... your thoughts are encouraged in this regard Here's the bird's eye view of the Quarterdeck plan, with the cut down HMS Victory Launch sitting there at 105 mm long. Should be getting the brass ships wheel and post pulley's in the next couple of days, and when the brass tubing arrives... there will be lanterns crafted

Awesome... what a great Wingman you are Mark

Supplies on Order 2.5 mm brass cannon balls (3mm is a bit big as 1:98 scale 12 lb Cannon's and 64 lb Carronades should have approx 2.1 mm cannon balls) Brass tubing ID 3mm x 0.5mm for crafting lanterns 9v rechargeable batteries or lithium 18650 cells ? (Lithium requires new LED schematic to accomodate different voltage output) more 30mm cannons for Quarterdeck (Billings brass 30mm cannons look good in 5 pack) to be cut down for short 12 lb'ers Wire reel pulleys (8mm and 6mm) to add to posts

These arrived Lighting plan for 9v battery (9V without resistors needed unless stated below) LED's Wired in series of 3 (min 2.8 v x 3 = 8.4 v @ 15 - 20 ma) which is + to - to + to - to + to - In parallel of 6 sets of 3 = 18 lanterns ( 15 x 6 = 90 ma to 120 ma) which is a series of three connected at the + to another + and - to another - . two LED's wired separately to resistors in pack... (or get another pack of 20 SMD LEDS to add in series of 3's) just have to find out how many ma are in a 9v battery... may need 2 in parallel (increases amperage but keeps voltage at 9 V output) battery connected + to + and - to - Crafting Lanterns To house the tiny SMD LED lights above, I'm going to get some 0.5mm brass 3mm ID tubing to make the 4 mm tall lanterns. I'll make a pattern to cut out, add strips and a 'hat' and then blacken with 'Liver of Sulphur' after superglued together. Stay tuned for updates on this to come in the next couple of weeks

Quarterdeck Plan After consideration I think the 'posts' around the Bell housing rail should be 4mm x 4mm... same size as belaying pin rack posts around the mast as these are both used to tie down and loop extra rigging. Also the forward grate between the mast and the bow appears to have stairs going down from the narrow top side to the Upper Gun Deck below on HMS Victory photo's.