AnobiumPunctatum

Well, I have finally made it past the standing rigging. I recently noticed that the cleats going around the lower mast are evenly spaced, just not in the right starting position. They all need to be shifted 5-10° in one direction to match the plans. I don't see this as anything to be concerned about, but I will leave the top mast stay tackle long, should I need to move it to another cleat later. It's impossible to take the photos the way I want to show them, that is the entire image, full size and high resolution. Can't have everything, but hopefully you will get the idea.

 

Mike
 

Keith
 
These anchor kits should be out in a week or so.   I have to finish them up for Cheerful first.  As far as the Barge kit,  That will sit waiting until I completely finish Cheerful now.  I am just about done as you can see.  Once completed I will resume work on the Barge.  
 
Here is what the anchors look like painted with the bands on the stock.  Th e metal bands are just tape.....painters tape which is smooth....I lay a strip on my cutting board and paint it black.  Then I cut the tape into strips the correct width.   I wrap the tape around the stock two or three times.  No more than that as it will look too clunky.  
 

 
I think its safe to say that unless someone picks up these anchors they would hardly know they were made from boxwood.   They were painted black with an airbrush and then some weathering powders...both a rusty brown and a grimy black were added.  That really does the trick and gives it a nice finish when buffed off lightly with a brush.
 
The bands were added to the anchor stock only after it was positioned on the shank.  This was because the stock opens up and putting the bands on ahead of time would have been problematic when the stock was closed.
 
Next up is to make the ring for the anchors and do the puddening with rope.  These anchors are 2 1/4" long or 58 mm.   That measurement is without the ring.
 
Chuck

It's looking really good. Will you go the way with doubble and single frames, if we discussed at January?

Anguriel,
 
the thickness of the regular frames is not that important in 1/48 (1'' is 0.5mm in that scale). If you take the medium thickness and make all frames the same it's absolut ok. I think the typical position of the single and double frames and the special frames at midship are typical for an English ship and special for your choosen pattern.
 
But if you like the fun to build it more close to the original ship, do it the more complicated way.
 
I wouldn't you black paper for the frames. The joint is not stable enough. There exist a one layer pulp, which you will find in a hobby store. If you use this the joint is much better.
Black paper should show the caulking. As far as I know there is now caulking between the tmibers of a frame. If you want to higlight the joints, it is better to use brown color which is a little darker than the used timber, Have a look on page 4 in my build log.

Anguriel,
 
 I checked the values. They are correct. I've had a look to my drawing project. At cutters the first futtock is also wider than the floor timber.
As far as I remember the position of the gun ports  of the group build matchs the original drawing.

Anguriel,
 
I will check it this evening.

No problem, here are the values for the regular frames from Elements of Naval Architecture (Steel):
 
floor timber: 12 1/2''
1st futtock: 13''
2nd futtock: 11''
3rd futtock: 10 1/2''
4th futtock: 10 1/4''
top timber: 10''
 
Source: Allan Yedlinsky: Scantlings of Royal navy Ships 1719-1805, SeaWatchBooks LLC, 2014

Aguriel,
 
if you have Antscherls TFFM have a look in volume 1, page 88. There is a description for the correct position of the treenails in the chocks.
 
To your observations and questions:
correct correct correct Yes, only the floor timbers and first futtocks are glued together. The timbers for the other frames are thinner and there the double frames will be connected with spacers. B and D are single frames. The change of double and single frames is common for English ships of this period. Frame 0: floor timber 1ft 4in, second futtock 1ft 3in, fourth futtock 1ft 1in; Frame 1 and (A): first futtock 1ft 4in, third futtock 1ft, 2in, top timber 1ft 1in That's a question of what you want. In the group build all timbers ofthe frames have the same size. In the original ship the timbers will become thinner. In my opinion and if this is your first try I would follow this simplification. If you like to know the correct sizes I will have a look in my book. Yes, there are the spacers. If you follow the dimensions in the books the top timbers are 1/4in smaller. I think that this is negligible in 1/48. The position of the gun ports gives the position of the frames The sizes of the timbers and the tolerances define the space. I would start to build the double frames and position them correct. Then I would add the filling frames (single frames) regular between them. See answer 6

Aguriel,
 
if you build the frames original,why don't you use the original frames design? You can use the pattern of the Group Build for this, if you let a little bit timber outside of the lines. It would be very interesting to see the 3 thick frames at station 0.
 

I normaly use treenails. I put them in before installing the frames. I am not sure if brass or copper wire will work in the same way. But it's easy to test. Cut one futtock a little bit oversized. Put it some wire and treenails and sand them to the correct size. So you will see if your idea´and material work as exspected.

Anguriel,
 
looks really good. I think it is very helpful to let a little bit more timber on both sides of the frame. So you can sand the whole section in one step and egalize small differences without makeing the frames to small durig this step.

Your frame is looking really good. The joints a very clean. Have you used a black pecil for showing them? I would only use a light brown pencil.
 
If you don't understand the drawing, please ask. I am happy if I can help you. I hope the following information help you to understand the drawing a little bit better.
 
The drawing is a part of the originial Disposition of Frames Drawing for HMS Triton. It shows the arrangement of the frames. The small numbers and letters at the bottom indentify the station lines. The midship frame is at station 0. It is a single frame with a thickness which is not common for ships of this period. Therefore the shipbuildes have given the dimensions of the different timbers. The next frame is a double frame. From the second futtock to the top you see a double line, because there is air between the frames. To connect the frames spacers (small timber blocks) are necessary. Under the gun ports are two single frames which have the regular dimensions. Allan Yedlinskys book is a fantastic reference for finding the correct dimensions. The next frame is a double frame, also with air ventilation.
 
If you need further information, please let me know.

Not too much to show for this weekend's work  The weather has been so bad for the last several weeks that the garden called to me louder than the workshop.
 

 

 
I had just enough time to make the trail boards.  These are located between the upper and lower cheeks.  There is a hole through it for the gammoning.  On Atalanta there is a frieze painted onto it.   This show's two of Atalanta's apples.  On the Fly, the only other Swan class whose plans I have, there are two dragons on the trail board and the cheeks are decorated as well.  I left the starboard side unadorned and put the frieze on the port side.  The gap between the starboard trail board and the hull represents the thickness of the planking.  The frieze was made the same way the rest of the friezes were made, painted onto paper and then applied to the wood with a thin layer of glue.
 

 

Hello,
 
More progress pictures.
 
You will probably notice the knee under the last beam placed on the inside in first 2 pictures - that was a mistake and I took them out since then. In picture number 8 they are on the outside as they should have been in the first place.
 
I started the small wheel this morning and it is more complicated to build than I expected. I thought that the small one will be easier to do than the big one first but because is small all pieces are thin and break very easily. The two wheels are made from 6 arched pieces each - think I had to cut at least 4 more to replace the broken ones. Plus the horizontal/vertical spokes are square 2mm thick in section and they join at half wood. Those broke a lot too. But in the end I managed to do them and they look quite sturdy now after the full assembly. Quite happy with them.
 
Alexandru

Greg,
 
this are very good news. The book will be then a very nice Christmas present. From the size, the model is an ideal choice for my favorite scale, 1/32.

Greg,
 
this are very good news. The book will be then a very nice Christmas present. From the size, the model is an ideal choice for my favorite scale, 1/32.

Yes, Danny, I did say that. And I really mean it after this model is completed!
 
Your stagecoach is awesome. Glad you're back.
 
Speedwell has a beautiful quarterdeck bulkhead (see NMM photo above) which I'm working on now. The arched door and molded frame has taken me almost two weeks to reach this point.
Thanks for those who have commented. David and I are hoping to get the first volume of our Speedwell book into print this year (late, very late). It will give three options for building - plank on frame, plank on bulkhead and lift method. Volume two will cover masting and rigging.
 

 
 
 

Thank you everyone for the likes and comments.  Time to move on to the head.
 
This is an absolute birds nest of inter-related structures which appears daunting but (so far) is not horribly difficult if one fabricates and installs one piece at a time.  Sorry that there are no construction pictures but taking photos of 3-D objects while keeping everything in focus is beyond my simple camera.  The key to each structure is one word...template.  The lower cheek is constructed first.  Make a template in the horizontal plane.  On the plan, determine the total thickness of the cheek, remembering that there is a gentle curve upwards as the cheek follows the knee of the head.  Also remember that the hull drops away inferiorly so make the aft arm wider than per the plan.  Draw out the templated cheek on the wood, keeping the arms along the grain as much as possible.  Cut out the rough blank and offer it up to the hull until a good fit is achieved; It is still oversized in thickness at this point.  Next, draw the curve onto the side of the blank and shape it  with sanding discs.  The edge of the cheek has a molding cut into it.  Make another scraper (since none of the other shapes made so far are correct) and carefully scrape the shape onto the cheek.  Simple, right?  Actually, very tedious although not technically difficult.  The first one took four hours to complete.  On my model the starboard side is unplanked so there  is a gap between the frames and the knee corresponding to the thickness of the planking.
 
The upper cheek is made in similar fashion except that it must fay into the hair bracket with a scarf.  On Atalanta it is slightly thinner than the lower cheek at the aft end and tapers in width going forward.  That simply makes adding the molding even more fun because the fore arm molding must be cut free hand.  The hair bracket is simple to make after the cheeks are installed.  Again, make a template.  The molding is cut in free hand because the width continues to diminish on the ascending arm.  I used a dull #11 scalpel to gently impress the design.  Then a 2 mm V-chisel was used to cut the groove, changing direction as necessary to always cut with the grain.  Finally, it was finished with jeweler's files.  The scarf was cut into the hair bracket first.  This was then drawn onto and then cut into the already installed upper cheek.  The hair brackets were installed and the joint cleaned up so that the molding flows between the cheek and the hair bracket.  This can be seen when one compares the second and third photos below.  The total time invested so far on the headwork is two weekends.
 



 

 

Well it has been quite a while since the last update.  I had the pleasure of spending a two weeks abroad and then had to catch up on everything which was neglected during that time.
 
The next item to tackle was the fixed gangway.  It is comprised of a lightweight frame with planking.  This platform is situated a few inches lower than the quarter deck breast beam.  It is attached to the undersurface of that beam and the fore end is supported by a hanging knee.  There is a newel post at the aft end of the curve but this will be made later.  I found the description in TFFM a bit confusing, and hope I interpreted it correctly.  The text states that the outboard edge of the gangway is above the level of the planksheer (by about 2" in the sketch) and that it is canted at the same angle as the deck beams to facilitate drainage.  In looking at Atalanta's plan and comparing it to Fly's it looks like the outboard edge on Atalanta is at the planksheer, not above it.  So this is what I have constructed.  Please chime in if I am wrong in my interpretation as it is easy enough to correct at this stage.
 

 
The planksheer was installed next.  There is a decorative molding on the outboard edge.  The gangboards extend from the fore end of the fixed gangway to the forecastle breast beam.  The rest of hanging knees which were installed earlier.
 

 

 
There is a breast hook overlying the bowsprit opening.  A shim was placed under the starboard arm of the breast hook to simulate bulwark planking.
 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful result, Tony

OK guys, you convinced me. I tried a couple of different stains last night and did not like the look of the lighter ones, so I went all in and used Dark Walnut. They are a nice rich dark brown now, and as a bonus the deadeyes are darker too which look more like the real ones. Here is how it looked right after I stained the lines.

And here is how they looked after they dried overnight. I was a little worried that the lines would get stiff, but if they did it was not very much.
I am very happy with the result. Thank you for getting me to change this. Keep those suggestions coming....
 

absolut fantastic and stunning. I hope that my cutter will somedays looks also so nice. 

HI ALL
MANAGED TO GRAB SOME MODELMAKING TIME OVER THE LAST WEEK.......NO WORK! NICE LITTLE BREAK.
STOVE HAS BEEN PAINTED AND PUMP WELL AND SHOT LOCKERS FINISHED.
TIME TO START ON THE MAIN DECK.
BEAMS HAVE BEEN PREFABRICATED FROM SLIGHTLY THICKER STOCK AND SANDED TO SHAPE.
BASIC RUDDER ASSEMBLED  JUST NEEDS THE IRON WORK DOING.
PRECUT SOME HOLLY READY FOR TURNING THE HOLD PILLARS.
 
TREATED MY SELF TO A NICE LITTLE SHERLINE SELF CENTERING CHUCK........OUCH A TAD PRICEY IN THE UK!!!!
BUT INFINITELY SUPERIOR TO THE FAR EASTERN OFFERINGS.
 
THATS ALL FOLKS...FOR NOW AT LEAST.
 
CHEERS....MICK

There are some Triton builds with the planking showing joins inside. Some even show the anchor stock planking that is even more correct at particular levels. I don't know if there is an online diagram showing this, but the following is the illustration from David Antscherl's book The Fully Framed Model. I would recommend this book if you want to make future similar models, if you can afford it.
 

 
Apart from the planking on the upper deck, it's hard to see the planking on the remaining decks unless you light it up. So only you are likely to notice joints between the ceiling or inner planks unless you leave the frames fully exposed without planking on the other side.
 
Tony

I have had a bad month electronically. Following the swimming lessons of my ipad, my imac died a fatal death. So i am in computer rehab trying to come to terms with surfing the net on an iPhone. Not good.
 
Just got my new ipad pro set up and the new camera and built in video flash is great. I also was able to recover the files off the cloud so should be able to start post in in the near future. I actually took a break from modeling, married my last daughter so am ready to get going again.