AnobiumPunctatum

If I do this keep in mind that building a miniature is not easy.  These scales are harsh on the eyes and the parts are super delicate. The hair brackets are .015thick boxwood.   The trailboard carvings are laserboard.   This will be a super advanced kit just for the dexterity and light hand you will need.   
 
The framing will be very similar to the longboat kit...just much smaller.  Frames will have a break-away center.   But the mid-ship frames  will be only 1 3/4"wide.   The hull will be 7 7/8" long and the breath will be 1.75".
 
mid ship frame below…
 
My original intent was to just build this mini for fun...and then it morphed into making a limited run of ten kits to give away at next years joint clubs.   Our New Jersey club is hosting next year.   I may still do that.   But if I do make them for joint clubs I will have switch gears and just work on the mini for a while.  One year isnt exactly a huge amount of time.  But if there is broader interest I will just work both together and think of something else for next year's joint clubs show.
 

 
so if there s any interest please let me know so I can plan ahead.

It looks perfect.

Just a small update on the progress.  Getting into the stern framing now.   But first I needed to add 3 more aft cant frames under the quarter piece.
 
The cant frames are self explanatory and the same as the others.    Just sand off the char and add them.  But before I added them under the quarter piece I had to glue a small block on the inside of the quarter piece on both sides.   The block is laser cut and matches the shape of the bottom of the quarter piece.   This makes the area thicker which we will need when we fair the inboard side.   This will all be covered up on the inboard side so it wont show.  It will be planked over on the inboard side.
 

The small blocks will be faired along with the inboard frames when we do that much later.  But it is probably a good idea to start that now and do a little preliminary removal of material.  Its just easier to do at this point.   I did it after gluing them in but they could just as easily be shaped before you glue them in.
 

 
Now the stern framing starts.   First up are the fashion pieces.  These are very very complex.   This hull has a square tuck much like the Cheerful.   So to simplify things it will be made in two layers.   Only the first layer will be added at this time.  They are laser cut for you and 5/32" thick.   There are laser etched lines on both sides.   You can see how I faired the shape into it following the etched reference line.   The two ends also need to be tapered slightly.  I am talking very slight tapering to sit against the deadwood and under the wing transom.   The other side of the piece has those etched reference lines.  Just sand in the bevel to match on both ends.  Then give it a test fit.
 


 
I found it easier to test fit these while the hull was upside down.  They will need to be 1/8" away from the stern post as mentioned.   This was easy enough to do.   I just drew a reference line in pencil.  I used a 1/8" wide strip and held it against the stern post and just drew the line on the deadwood.
 

When test fitting these the bottom will sit along the curved edge on the deadwood.   Right along the bearding line.  Try and get a nice clean and tight fit there.   The top end will fit under the bottom of the wing transom.   The aft edge is flush with the same on the wing transom.  Then I faired them along with those last three cant frames I added.  Its all coming together now.  Just a bit more framing to go.   
 
Next up will be that last aft cant frame.  It actually sits against the fashion piece we just added.  This is why that needed to be added first.  Then a small cant filler will be added which essentially finishes up all the hull framing.   After that there are the stern frames and a few odds and ends to finish it all up.
 

 
 
 

I finished the model base:

Very nice Mike. Thank you for the description and pictures. They will be a great help.

I just finished a clay maquette of the Bellona figurehead, at double scale, or 3/8" =1'-0".
Here is a filler showing location and fit with the cheeks:

Then taking the advice of David Antscherl's Fully Framed Models tutorial on carving, I used an artist's guide to dimensions of the female figure to get the right proportions of things, and initially modeled Bellona with no clothes yet:

It is a good thing I did this, because I discovered that the original figurehead on the first Bellona model had lower legs way too short for the torso, minuscule feet, and a head pushed too far forward from the neck. To me, she also looks too cherubic to be the goddess of war:
 

Since I had to add arms anyway, I looked at other artistic renderings of Bellona for a fiercer, more war-like look. I found a haunting image by Bertrand MacKennal of a sculpture in the Australian War Memorial https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Mackennal_-_War.jpg.
 
Mine is not as haunting, but as good as I can do, first go around:
 

Next, reducing this by one half, and doing another maquette. I might try to do it in Sculpey so I can take measurements from it for the wood carving version after it is hardened. Does anyone know if Sculpey shrinks when baked in an oven?
 
Mark
 
 
 

Thank You...
 
With the framing almost completed I was able to finalize all of the master carvings.  I did the final prep work for casting.   They will be sent off to be cast in a light tan like the Winnie carvings.   I hope they can get some sets to me soon.
 
Here is a look at the quarter badges.  They are quite small actually.  I will let my casting guys alter these because there are some areas that wont cast well.  For example under arms of those tiny reclining figures.   Those open areas will need to filled in order to cast these.   
 

 
 

Yes it will be sold just like the Winnie in Chapter sets.   There are far too many parts to make a complete kit all at once.   The framing that you see below (once its completed)  will comprise the first two chapters.   Although its a lot of parts still and I may break that into three chapter sets.   
 
Then others will follow.  Keep in mind that because of its size and complexity this will not be a cheap project.   Its almost the exact same size as the Vanguard Indy kit.  She is a big girl.   But this has so many more parts so you can get an idea of where this project may end up cost-wise.  Figure in the range of "2 large".  I wont know how much until its all done so its impossible for me to put a number on it....but just figure what it costs for the Indy and add a little bit more.  I say this because I dont want anyone to start this project and be surprised by the cost as it continues.   
 
I am quite the terrible salesperson...but I am just being up front with you guys.  This isnt being made in China so its going to be expensive to manufacture.  Its not a project that can be rushed.   So buying chapter sets over time is the best way to go.
 

 
 

And if you would indulge me...I forgot that I should test the fit of the transom carvings as well.   There were so many angles to hopefully get correct when developing them.   Doing the transom as one piece was the only way to do it for Speedwell as the carvings are so intertwined.   I was really nervous how everything would fit as it was very expensive to develop these.  But I am relieved to say that the master fits perfectly.  That is such a relief.  I was so stressed about that.  The curved transom as developed sits perfectly in place.  No bending needed.  The shape above the windows and their position also match really well.   
 


 

Nobody is getting rich selling this stuff unfortunately...but its a living!!!
 
Beats sitting behind a desk though....I prefer sitting in front of a workbench,  LOL.
 
So the quarter pieces are not that easy Greg!!!  Ok yes they are...
 
Basically there are two really not so hard things you must do to this piece before you glue it on the model.
 
First....sand a bevel onto the inboard side.   Not the outboard side with the laser etched reference lines.....the inboard side.   If you bevel the outboard side side the piece will be ruined.
 

Then step 2.....on the outboard side you have to bevel a few parts.   The two tabs that sit against the last aft cant frame.   And then the aft side of the piece.   As shown below.
 

 
Also note the reference marks for your fixed block and where the other aft cant frames will fall along the bottom edge.
 
Then glue it on...thats it.   The two tabs are flush with the outboard face of the cant frames.  This means you will need to fair the outboard side of the hull before you add these.  It wont work if you dont.  At least not as well.
 
Here are photos of both quarter pieces on the model.  They have been faired on the outboard side as well although not completely.   I will wait for those last few aft cant frames.
 

 

 
And I couldnt resist just test fitting the transom piece.  We wont need this for a while but if my design skills and concept didnt work for the hull framing and this didnt fit....then it would be firewood.   But lucky me it fit just perfectly.   The hull has ended up the perfect width and shape.
 
I can finish up the framing with confidence.  
 

Greg is unhappy with you for turning an extremely difficult area of the model into a "fun" diversion. A lot of innocent boxwood pieces sacrificed their lives in order for me to successfully frame that area. And then there was the errant elbow strike elbow...
 
Seriously, brilliant work Chuck!

Your model is a dream. A model of one of of the most famous ships in her original (as far as we know today) appearance.

Absolut fantastic. Hoy do you paint the friezes? They look really realistic especially in the small scale

Build board (pt.1)
The boards platform was made from a sheet of 1/2" MDF cut to 12”x 42".  For support I added primed 3/4”x 1 1/2” strips underneath. All of the strips where shaved on the table saw in order to establish a straight edge when gluing them to the board. The shorter cross strips were shaved slightly deeper than the two long ones in order to recess them. Clamps were used to hold everything in place while the glue dried overnight.

3/4" Polyester Felt Tape was added to the two long strips to allow for sliding the board on the work table. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01455QMX4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I primed the MDF with a few coats of Krylon colormaxx white primer. https://www.amazon.com/Krylon-K05584007-COLORmaxx-Spray-Aerosol/dp/B07LFWPFLC The primer was then lightly sanded smooth with a  flat sanding block and some 400 grit sandpaper. The build board was now ready for the plan sheet.
 
I trimmed the plan to a desired dimension, leaving a view of the lower frames on the sheet as a reference. To protect the printed lines I sprayed on some Krylon Workable Fixatif. https://www.amazon.com/Krylon-K01306-Workable-Fixatif-11-Ounce/dp/B00023JE7U Once I established the positioning I placed some blue masking tape on the board to aid in the alignment of the sheet. I placed a centering tic mark on both the tape and plan sheet. I used Scotch Repositionable Spray Adhesive to adhere the plan to the build board. https://www.amazon.com/3M-Spray-Artists-Adhesive-MMM6065/dp/B00006IFBF My amazing wife helped me to hold this long sheet of paper while we carefully placed it on the board. 


Mike
 

Montaigne, your conclusion in the last sentence is particularly pertinent and I like it very much.
 
Regarding the specific ways used in Rhino to design a particular details, you can of course ask and so far I always managed to answer. Apart from a few organic decorative objects, all elements of the model are created with NURBS graphics. This is not only because I haven't yet had time to learn how to use SubD effectively, but mainly because this way I have tight control over dimensions and tolerances, right down to the last digit after the decimal point (in my case the document tolerance is 0.001 feet). This ensures that all the pieces fit together within this tolerance, that is so desperately needed, for example, in Boolean operations, one could say – one of the main pillars of this project.
 
Admittedly, I've been short of time lately because the deadline is looming, but if needed I will certainly try to clarify at least any issues that can be explained relatively quickly.
 
Taking this opportunity, below are some more renders for this stage of the project (30-Year's War figurine showing the scale by Captain_Ahab_62, Thingiverse).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Your model is a dream. A model of one of of the most famous ships in her original (as far as we know today) appearance.

Your model is a dream. A model of one of of the most famous ships in her original (as far as we know today) appearance.

When all blocks were cut out they were aligned upside down on a flat surface covered with wax paper and glued together. Shaping was done with sanding blocks to match the frame lines. I traced the outline that would be the top of the boat on a scrap piece of maple, cut that with the band saw and glued the boat hull plug to that. I then discovered that by saving the cut off sections I could use those as clamps during the framing process.
 
Next, the keel clamps. The whole hull construction is 1/8" wide thin strips of Basswood. The keel was laminated to the proper thickness, When dry both sides were carefully block sanded. On the upper side where the keel meets the hull wood 1/8" spacer blocks attached.
 
The plug was sprayed with a couple of coats of clear lacquer then waxed so nothing would stick.
 
Assembly was pretty straight forward. I centered the keel and taped it down fore and aft. Starting from the center thin strips, extra long were soaked in water for about 30 seconds. I did some pre-forming around a 1" wood dowel. I inserted the piece between the keel spacers with a small drop of glue and with smaller dowels rolled pressed to the hull and keel then attached the ends on both sides with a couple dabs of glue. Taped it in place with some blue tape, fit up the outer clamps, added another 1/8" spacer on each side of the frame. Repeated same until complete. Planking was done in the usual manner. Cutting hull loose along the sheer line established by the upper strake was pretty easy with a sharp No.11 Xacto blade.
 
More sanding, primer, painting was next. I mixed a warm white with a touch of yellow and deck tan for the hull. Pure white is too bright for a scale model. As in a painting white should be reserved for that super white sparkle reflected by the Sun.

Thank you Chuck, and Druxey, and all of you for your likes and encouragement. I've been playing a little with freecad (3D cad, whereas QCAD is 2D), as I discovered I can lift the 2D cad drawings into it and line them up at the correct distances... If I can join these together, I'm hoping it might make defining the difference from front to bad of each frmae inside and out more quickly than the paper and pencil method I've used before... We'll see, but I'm in no hurry, and the learning is fun... Here's the progress so far. 

 
I need to work out how to define the frame at the Aft Perpendicular... I presume this is a case of extending the lines from frame 25 to the transom (these are on the plans) and then seeing where they interpolate. When I get a few hours, I shall make a more concerted attempt, but my battery is dying, so it won't be this evening

Would you say that this is your most challenging kit to design?
Steve

That's good to know. I like to change from Windows to Mac in the future.
 
I have bothe original design drawings for the Alert cutter at home. Also there are some bigger differences. The drawings were handmade and each copy will show other difference. Here you are comparing an old drawing and a modern reconstruction. In this cases I would alway go with the old drawing, if this is possible.
 

Progress on the 1:128 mockup from my CAD drawings. I've finished cutting out the stations and added the quarterdeck, fo'csle and poop. It's been a helpful exercise in seeing the lines of the vessel, any conflicts in terms of masts / deck cutouts / etc... Now, it's helping me think through how the stern will be constructed. I'm pleased to say that none of the frames look particularly out, except for one (frame 5) where I suspect I probably cut over the line a little... But now I can go back and take a look at this before I move onto the 1:64 scale version!
 





 

Fore deadwood
In order to find the exact location, I aligned the central spine with the plan and carefully marked the aft location of the fore deadwood.

Having just purchased a Sherline mill, I thought it would be a good time to try it out. With that in mind I made the fore deadwood from 3/8" boxwood. I'm pleased with the result. I added the deadwood to the keel using the registration mark I made on the keel.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm going to maintain the build concept. With that in mind I went with the laser cut angle wedges for the cant frames. A mix of scratch and kit. When adding the wedges I left a little wiggle room because shifting of these pieces was necessary in order to align them fore and aft. The tops of the wedges were reduced to match the shape of the keelson before gluing them to the deadwood.

Mike

Stemson, rising wood
Moving along, I added the stemson and rising wood. Shaping and adding the stemson was straight forward. After that, I started work on the rising wood. Using a piece of 3/8" boxwood, I carefully copied the dimensions of the rising wood using the new milling machine. So much fun! All of the slots are 5/16" which made the process much easier. Basically a two day process that went along quite smoothly. I just needed to stay focused and not rush through it.



Mike

Aft deadwood, stern post, wedges
With the addition of these parts, the central spine is finished. The stern post and the steps in the deadwood were cut on the mill. The straight taper in the deadwood, from the bearding line down to the foot, was done as described in Chuck's build log. There is a lot more wood to remove here than you might think. I often checked the work with a straight edge to insure that the final taper was straight and not rounded. More sanding will be needed later when it comes time to fair the cant frames.


Mike