Kusawa2000

Everyone: Its done..... after 12 years of on again.. off again work, my HMS Agamemnon (Aggy) is finally completed. Im still waiting for a friend to make me a stand for it but the rigging is finally finished. Its bit surreal that I can say that but she no longer darken my shipyard but instead have a nice spot on a shelf in our living room. 
 
Did a lot of "kit bashing" with her.. milled maple planks for the deck and hull, treenailed the deck, have full guns and carriages on the gun deck either than the dummy guns supplied with the kit, rigged the guns, made my own flag, and added a "few" sails (made by friend Wendy!).  It was a great project. took a littl longer than planned but glad its done and I can now move onto my next project the HMS Winchelsea through Chuck Passaro's practicum. Definitely ready for a new project. 
 
Enjoy the pics! 
 
MIKE

Congratulations! Very nice pictures; she looks beautiful!

Chuck: All I can say.. is keep at it. Just delved into the first dozen pages of chapter 1 of the Winchelsea project and I can say I am definitely looking forward to this project!
 
Mike Draper

Everyone: Its done..... after 12 years of on again.. off again work, my HMS Agamemnon (Aggy) is finally completed. Im still waiting for a friend to make me a stand for it but the rigging is finally finished. Its bit surreal that I can say that but she no longer darken my shipyard but instead have a nice spot on a shelf in our living room. 
 
Did a lot of "kit bashing" with her.. milled maple planks for the deck and hull, treenailed the deck, have full guns and carriages on the gun deck either than the dummy guns supplied with the kit, rigged the guns, made my own flag, and added a "few" sails (made by friend Wendy!).  It was a great project. took a littl longer than planned but glad its done and I can now move onto my next project the HMS Winchelsea through Chuck Passaro's practicum. Definitely ready for a new project. 
 
Enjoy the pics! 
 
MIKE

Chuck: All I can say.. is keep at it. Just delved into the first dozen pages of chapter 1 of the Winchelsea project and I can say I am definitely looking forward to this project!
 
Mike Draper

Everyone: Its done..... after 12 years of on again.. off again work, my HMS Agamemnon (Aggy) is finally completed. Im still waiting for a friend to make me a stand for it but the rigging is finally finished. Its bit surreal that I can say that but she no longer darken my shipyard but instead have a nice spot on a shelf in our living room. 
 
Did a lot of "kit bashing" with her.. milled maple planks for the deck and hull, treenailed the deck, have full guns and carriages on the gun deck either than the dummy guns supplied with the kit, rigged the guns, made my own flag, and added a "few" sails (made by friend Wendy!).  It was a great project. took a littl longer than planned but glad its done and I can now move onto my next project the HMS Winchelsea through Chuck Passaro's practicum. Definitely ready for a new project. 
 
Enjoy the pics! 
 
MIKE

Everyone: Its done..... after 12 years of on again.. off again work, my HMS Agamemnon (Aggy) is finally completed. Im still waiting for a friend to make me a stand for it but the rigging is finally finished. Its bit surreal that I can say that but she no longer darken my shipyard but instead have a nice spot on a shelf in our living room. 
 
Did a lot of "kit bashing" with her.. milled maple planks for the deck and hull, treenailed the deck, have full guns and carriages on the gun deck either than the dummy guns supplied with the kit, rigged the guns, made my own flag, and added a "few" sails (made by friend Wendy!).  It was a great project. took a littl longer than planned but glad its done and I can now move onto my next project the HMS Winchelsea through Chuck Passaro's practicum. Definitely ready for a new project. 
 
Enjoy the pics! 
 
MIKE

Chuck: All I can say.. is keep at it. Just delved into the first dozen pages of chapter 1 of the Winchelsea project and I can say I am definitely looking forward to this project!
 
Mike Draper

You are welcome.   I will be the first to admit that I take forever to design and produce these projects.   I cant rush through them.  So many kit mfgs seem to announce the availability of new kits every few months.   That is something I can never do.  This next project will be a bit of wait.   Hopefully worth it.  POF projects have triple the parts and more complexity.   I prefer quality over quantity any day.
 
I am also trying out some new design features to make it easier to build.
 
Chuck

Chuck: Thanks for the "keep at it" approach.  There are often so many promises out there for a final product and the completion date keeps getting pushed back. Its nice to see the follow through. 
 
MIKE

Chuck: Thanks for the "keep at it" approach.  There are often so many promises out there for a final product and the completion date keeps getting pushed back. Its nice to see the follow through. 
 
MIKE

The forward seats...
 
Here is a look at some contemporary models.  On the Winnie model,  note the poop shoot.  It has slipped down over the years and hasn't been repaired.   But its a nice feature usually never shown on a model kit.
 

 

 
On Minerva you can see the two seats from above   The top of the seat should be about 14" high off the grating.   Thats about 5/16" so remember that.   Maybe slightly less but not much.
 

 
To make the seats its real easy.   Cut a very small length of scrap wood strip.   A 1/8" x 1/8" strip.  Cut it very very short...maybe just 1/8" long.  Its just to use so you can keep the seats squared up.
 
Glue the two thinner sides onto this small 1/8" square as shown.  Note how on one side the tops are flush.  This will be the top of the seats.
 

Then glue the other sides on. Easy peasy!!!  At this stage paint the tube inside and out black and then glue on the top.
 

Glue it onto the model.  Make sure you face it the correct way.   Look at those contemporary model pictures again of the poop shoot.  Remember to keep the top of the seats about 5/16" above the gratings.  Get them both to match.
 

Also note that in that same photo I added a 3/64 x 3/64" strip against the outside face of the seat.  This helps hold it into position.   Dont worry about the dust at this stage.  Sand any rough spots and touch up the paint.  Then add those final two battens on each side.  Use the curved ones that we used earlier.  You should have plenty left over.
 

At this stage start to clean everything up and repaint.  Keep it neat and tidy.  Here is an overall shot since these close ups are brutal.  I have lots of cleaning and dusting and repainting to do once its all done.
 

 
Next up the false rails and aft seats on the head gratings!!!  Getting close now.
 
 
 
 
 

Before I glue the roof into place, it needs to be tested against the gallery once the outer skins are added. 
 

 
 
 
 
WIth those glued into place, the roof is finally trimmed to size and also glued to the model.

 
 
 
On top of that is the pear cap which will slightly overlap the shingles that will later be fitted. The pear parts that make the lower galleries are now shaped and fitted.

 
 
 
 
Time to fit the outer stern panel and quarters. I highly recommend you use CA for this so there's no curling of the parts.

 
 
 
 
These are then shaped and the gallery/stern area given a finishing sanding to even up all edges etc.

 
 
 
And lastly, the engraved upper stern is fitted and then also sanded into the rest of the hull. 


 
 
 
 
More next time...

For the head gratings, you have to be methodical.   I started by lightly sanding the initial for pieces and painting them black.  These are 1/16" thick.  Each of these pieces is laser cut slightly longer than you will need because everyone's model will vary a bit.
 

The first two pieces are the two cross beams with a camber or roundup on them.  These are the two that run port and starboard.
 
Sand them to length a little at a time taking equal amounts off both sides until they fit snug in the notches of the main headrail.  Dont make it so tight that it spreads your rails apart.  Make it fit just right.  
 
Then the two pieces that run fore and aft can be added next.  I recommend a dry fit of these four pieces before you glue them in permanently.  Make sure you have the notches facing the correct way.  Study these photos.   Because next we will be adding the smaller gratings pieces.
 
When you have these last two pieces in dry-fit only.  Examine them to see if they are running straight with the center line of the hull and that they are both centered.  Dont worry about the dust...you will be screwing up the paint job.   Once you glue them in permanently you can give the top a light sanding with 600 grit sandpaper.  Then touch up the paint.  But dont worry about it being perfect yet because you will be sanding and painting more with each step.

Next up are the smaller 3/64" thick battens which are also laser cut for you.  These are laser cut really long because you have to cut them to fit your model exactly.  I painted them black first. They have a slight curve as you can see.
 

I inserted one end into a notch in the head gratings and then marked the length I needed as it spanned across to the other side.  You will only be added the first six on each side at this point.  Those last two wont be added until after we put the seats in position later.  Carefully measure and cut all six grating battens and dry fit them first.  Then glue them in with yellow glue or tite-bond.   Brush away any excess glue to keep it neat.   Once dry you can lightly sand the joints and paint.  It should look like this at this current stage.
 

Then go back to the 1/16" sheet and remove the two knees with all the notches in them.   And also remove the long curved pieces with notches.   These can be painted black ahead of time as well.  Yes, even the bottom side.  The knees will be put in position first.  The longer leg of the knee sits along the main headrail.   You will no-doubt have to adjust the angle of the knee so it fits your model properly.  Both legs should sit firmly against the inside of the main rail and also the cross piece of the head.  
 
Note how it sits against the inside edge of the main rail.  Do you see how it slopes down rather than sit flush with the top of the main rail.  THIS is very important.  You see, there is the other curved piece with notches that will sit against the hull.  Those notches will have more battens running from them to its corresponding notch in the knee.   You want the platform created by these battens to have a nice flow into the hull.   You dont want them slopped up or down.   
 
Remember this when you place the curved piece against the hull.  As designed, I intended for this piece to fit directly under the fancy molding as shown in the photos.  Does this make sense?  Its real important but may vary on your model.  You may have to place it lower...every model will vary slightly.  
 
In that same photo you can see that I started added the battens between it and the knee.   I did the first two.  The inner two lengths.  I added these first because I wanted to show you guys that these two battens will/should run parallel to the center line.  This is yet another important piece of the puzzle and when you add the notched curved section along the hull be conscious of this.  You want that first notch to line up directly across from the one on the knee so those first two battens are straight with the center line.  Makes sense???  Plan the placement of those curved and notched pieces against the hull carefully.  
 
One end of this curved and notched piece is longer than the other.  I did this purposely so you would know which side should be the aft end closest to the catheads.   The longer end is towards the cathead.  
 
Tomorrow I will continue adding the remaining battens.  Then its onto the seats of ease.  Speaking of seats of ease.....until tomorrow then.
 
You should ask questions if you have them when doing this part.  There are lots of little details to remember about the placement of these pieces.  Read through the instructions a few times.

 
 

I am in very deep trouble when my wife gets home, it is way too big to hide anywhere!

three more quarter filler frames installed.

A quick update to the 36-pounder Obusier

Thanks, guys 👍
I use Catia V5 for this work.

Part 5 The Stern Galleries
 
Once more thanks to for interest and encouraging comments.
 
First off, I'd like introduce the ship's cat "Pogo". Project manager, little best friend, and lays on the exact tool I'm looking for. Been on job just about 15 years.
 
(Bottom photo) This is what Victory looked like for years, so after finishing the middle deck with the 24 pounders, it was time for a sanity break to start closing in the back of the ship. 
 
Each of the middle deck windows consists of 32 individual pieces of wood. I made templates for all of them.
 
The upper deck balcony was especially fun to build.
 
"Victory" was painted by cutting a mask and then sprayed with my airbrush in gold leaf lacquer. The ladies are hand painted with a brush in oils. I had to chuckle at the drawn stage curtains revealing the gun ports. 
 
This is the pattern I made in Photoshop for the balcony balustrade using the 1765 model for reference.
 
Next, in Part 6, the magnificent figurehead that was removed in the 1800-03 rebuild.
 
 

Hey Gary: Yup..  I have been working on the Agamemnon way too long but I can say Im close to the finish line.. thank god.. the last few months have been a slog. Adding sails to her was a not my brightest of moves.. but I do like how she looks. I have been getting all of the Winnies chapters and parts installments collected and keen on starting but I do need to get the Agamemnon finished. I have some flags to make, anchors to rig, and some stern lanterns to install. And I do need to get the woodshed filled for next winter as well. Its nice cutting firewood in the summer with the long days rather than being in a rush in the fall while its threatening to snow.
 
But I do agree Chuck has done a amazing job on this project and I cant wait to get started. I agree the installments did help keep the sting out of it.
 
I will definitely keep a eye out for your build and I will be posting my Agamemnon when she is completed and also when I start the Winnie. 
 
Take care and good to hear from you
 
Mike Draper
 

Hey Gary: Glad to see you are getting on board with this project. Its on my "next to do" after I finish the million little things that need to be done on the Agamemnon before I say that project is done. I am stoked on getting it started and look forward to a fresh, new project later this summer. i will be keen on seeing your progress.
 
Mike Draper

More on Session #4 - The rear cabins under the rear quarterdeck were already built and I completed the beams structure on top of it: 
 

 
The section around the main mast is delicate and requires some thinking and vision, if you want to make it fit.
 

 
Of course, the bulwarks must be built before, since the beams are resting against them.
 

 
At this point, all the beams are in place, all the walls, cabins and guns located under the quarterdecks have been built and glued.
 

 

 

 
Let's take a close look at the overall ship: 
 

 

 

 

 

 
And a few close-ups: 
 

 

 

 
All the above will be covered and most likely very hard to see. 
 
Yves

here is the step by step for making the cathead supports.  These pieces are among the most difficult to make for any ship model.   This method may seem a bit unorthodox....but bear with me here and I will explain as best I can.  Ask a lot of questions!!!
 
The laser cut parts will get you only so far...about 80% of the way.   You will need to shape these and tweak them to get a really good fit.  But its leaps and bounds better than anything you will find on a kit as long as you take your time and dont rush through it.  Read the instructions several times.
 
Step one...A laser cut template from 1/32" thick wood is provided.  Temporarily glue this in position with just a few drops of glue or rubber cement.  Mark the side where you will have to remove the molding so your support will fit between them.  Cut the molding free with some sharp chisels.  NOTE....cut inside your lines and make the gaps smaller...dont make them too large.  You can always make them larger later as you test fit each piece.
 
The template is longer than you will need on both ends so you can cut it to fit your model so it fits.  Look at it from many angles to see if the curve is graceful and it runs well into the middle rail where it connects.  There should be a pleasing continuity from the template onto the middle rail.
 

Step 2...assemble the cathead support....NOTE, the entire span will be made of two lengths.  This portion of the support is just half and is directly under the cathead.  
 
There are several layers...the bottom is the longest.  It is 1/4" thick cedar.   On top of this glue two more shorter  layers of 1/4" thick cedar.  Then to finish the assembly...glue on the a final piece which is 5/32" thick boxwood.  It is super important to make sure you use the boxwood layer as the top layer.  This layer will show and its the tip or outboard end of the cathead support.  Four layers in total.  I said it was gonna get weird.   But just stick with me here.
 
There are templates in paper for this piece.   See them in the photo.  

Step 3....Glue the template onto the piece so it all fits nicely.  There is plenty of room.  I glued it on the outside only.  Use this as a guide to shape this piece.   Remove the heavy stuff with a sharp blade until you get close to the template and sand the rest.  This will get you 80% of the way to a good fit.

After shaping....below.  Dont over sand.  Just smooth out the sides.  Dont try and remove all the char as it doesnt matter.  You just want to have a smooth surface to add the outside layers in the next step.

Step 4....There are laser cut outside layers that are super thin.   These come in two pieces.  They are glued on both sides.  Do this neatly and get a nice clean joint between the two sections.  You may want to lightly sand the char from where the joint will be between these two pieces so it wont show when its all done.
 

It will look like this.   A few things to note...
 
Before gluing them on each side I rounded the edges of the support or chamfered them.   Then add the thin outer layers.   Sand them flush on all edges although NOT on the front fancy side where the friezes will go.  Similar to the cheeks we made you want to leave the edges standing proud on the front side to form a slight lip. see below.  I left it a little more pronounced until after the friezes are added and its all cleaned up.  
 
Also note the second length which will connect to it and the middle rail.   This is laser cut for you and also gets thin outside layers.  This is important because these two pieces will join together like the cheeks did with the hair brackets.  You will need to get a nce joint between them which wont be seen when these are glued together.

Step 5...this forward length is laser cut but needs shaping.  It has one curve cut into it but you need to shape the other side.  You need to sand the curve that fits against the hull.  Just like the cheeks above and below the hawse holes.   You have done this before.  See below.
 
Also note the angled forward end which needs to be sanded into it.  This end is what attaches to the middle rail.   I rounded off or chamfered the outside edges before adding the two thin layers.  All of these parts are cut extra long so you can shape and tweak to fit you model.   This is where is gets interesting.... 

You should have both halves at this point completed.....like this.   At least roughly done so we can test and tweak them on the model.  There are lots of angles here.

 
Step 6A....This is just a dry fit of both lengths trying to get a tight seem between both lengths.   First I added the cathead support...tI tweaked the top edge so it was at the proper angle to fit against the bottom of the cathead.   You will no doubt have to do this.  You will also have to tweak the shape that fits against the hull.  Dont sand away too much.  Do a little at a time and keep testing until it fits nicely and follows the path of your template.   Then temporarily glue it in position with a drop or two of glue.  
 
Step 6B....Do the same tweaking of the forward half so it sits flush against the hull.  But you also need to create a nice tight joint between the two halves so it looks seamless.   The angled forward end should fit snug against the middle rail.
 
Keep working both lengths until you get a pretty good fit....below.  See how it fits between the molding on the hull?
 
 
 

Step 7...now you can do some last minute tweaks and glue it all on the model.   I added the friezes after the both lengths were glued on the model.   I put the friezes on in two lengths.  It was just easier this way.   Then I sanded the edges of those outside layers a bit with 600 grit paper so the the beaded edge wasnt standing too proud of the friezes.  Overall I just did some touch up work.   I think I still need some more but this is about it as far as the method is concerned.  

There is NO easy way to create these.  This is not a plastic kit model.  But this technique can be adopted for scratch building.  This is indeed how I make these parts when I do a scratch built model.  I just translated it to laser cut parts.   Having said this,   because everyones models will be slightly different you will need to go slow and shape them for a best final fit.
 
And as always....ask a lot of questions.
 



 

Greetings to all.
 
This will be a "sort of build" log of my scratch-built model of the Victory starting in 1991 to present. In the pre-digital photography era the few photos I have were shot with a Nikon 35mm camera. I'm not the most disciplined when it comes to shooting progress pictures. I get so excited about the build that I think there's just a few more things to do before shooting the next pictures. So here's some shots and explanations of my process from the early '90's.

Part 1
 
After the usual research and gathering of plans and photos I decided to build in 1:64 scale, or 3/16th"=1'. A good average house scale. My base plans were taken from John McKay's book "The 100-gun Ship, Victory", and C. Nepean Longridge's "Anatomy of Nelson's Ships". McKay's plans are based on how she would've looked after her 1800-1803 large rebuild prior the Trafalgar. Longridge has more detailed  drawings along with structural details of general construction of the period. My original intention was to build this version. After prolonged study the drawings I noticed the original sheer line and rails, still visible today, before the build-up of the bulwarks along the quarterdeck. So back to research for drawings of how Victory looked from 1765-1799 with stern galleries and elaborate carvings. Meanwhile the build still went on for the hull structure.
 
The first step was to enlarge the drawings to 1:64 scale. I enlarged the outboard, inboard, framing, profiles and plan views of the ship then all the frame sections. The keel, stem and stern post drawings as well.

Framing and Shaping the Hull

I used what is probably a unconventional approach to construction of the hull. Since the "Man of War" has more frames than a merchant vessel, and they almost touch each other, I figured that 1/4' thick frames would be very close for an Admiralty style builders model. All the frame sections were laid out on 1/4" thick birch marine ply and cut on a band saw. I cut 1/4" spacer sections for between the actual frames. These were carefully aligned and screwed together in stacked sections until I had the complete hull. (No photos exist of this phase). I used a 1" Makita belt sander to knock down the stair step frame sides close enough to start block sanding by hand. I forgot to mention you must make sure your frame drawings, before cutting, start amidships facing towards the bow and aft towards the stern post. That way when the shaping starts you are sanding to the line of the drawings for the proper shape. It's like making a pattern or wood buck for a mold.

After the hull is shaped and sanded to a finer grit, the next step is to unscrew all the frames and take out the 1/4" spacers. Back to the band saw and cutout all the insides of the frames and notch for the keel indexing.

The Keel, Stem and Stern Post

Next was cutting out and assembly of the keel, etc. From here it conventional construction with the keel laid upright and plumb on the building board, and frames set in position. I cut frame shaped sections out of the spacers and placed these between the frames at the middle and lower gun deck levels for strength and rigidity. Once everything is glued in position with stringers holding the outside into place, I sanded and shaped the inside of the frames.


The Planking

All the planking is Basswood used for its very fine grain. For the bow and stern areas I used my wife's tea kettle to steam the planks for the tighter radius bends.
 
Below is the completed planked hull, the cutting down of the bulwarks, The addition of the wales and moldings, upper rails. I made tooling jigs for shaping the moldings. Lower deck 32 pounders are sitting in place. Cannon construction is another project in itself. And of course one must take the motivational paint break to see how things will look.
 

Now sanding the filler blocks and fairing the frames.
Also got the dummy gun barrel struts into frames. This was a bit tricky as described in other logs of this kit.
I sanded down the outer edge of the slot in frame 2, and the corresponding edge on the strut. I then made some compressions on the inner aspect of the leading 3 cm and by levering the member at the fourth frame away from the midline (keel) and pushing from behind got the members into the slot.
Everything glued and once dry will paint the dummy barrel wood and the chamber black.