BANYAN

That 'acorn' is probably a ring bolt for the chain stays; certainly that is what they are in the 'Victoria' - the davits look very, very similar. I have been trying to adapt some soft metal ones with no luck. Are these resin prints? cheers Pat

Those davits look great Jerry; nice work. cheers Pat

Wow Glen, another finely presented SIB. Great final photos BTW mate. Looking forward to your next build. cheers Pat

An interesting range of historical content there Richard, particular WRT your build. cheers Pat

Wow that is some production line you have going Richard. A very consistent and high quality output; those jigs certainly worked out. cheers Pat

Great to see the planking going on Dave, she will be afloat before you know it. Hopefully you may see some progress in my shipyard soon. cheers Pat

An interesting question Richard; I too would be interested in knowing. Perhaps a question to jewelry supplier? cheers Pat

Great progress Rob, she is coming along very nicely cheers Pat

The second one (rock) for me also Glen. You can always say the rock is from Japan Seriously, I think the rock is more in keeping with a nautical theme. cheers Pat

Wow Rob, you really motoring (or should I say rollicking) along. Looking great. cheers Pat

Sorry to hear of the kidney stones - been there and know how much they can knock you about. Nice progress on the model. Cheers Pat

Mate, you've done a great job with her completion, especially the rigging. cheers Pat

Great little model Keith, an excellent result for your efforts. cheers pat

Now that is one unusual and interesting display base Glen. Kudos mate, it looks great. I am sure those pesky penguins would also agree (that is if you have managed to keep them away from the Bundy supply ;)) cheers Pat

My, what a little beauty you have created Keith, looking great. cheers Pat

Looks great Rob! Some great collaboration on this build being seen here again. cheers Pat

Can't avoid life getting in the way Keith, hope the temporary 'gigs' have been acceptable? Looking forward to seeing you back at the bench soon. cheers Pat

Couldn't agree more than with Mark, she looks like a newly built model BUT retains all of her character. Nice work John. cheers Pat

Coming along very nicely Rob, that hull form is a thing of beauty. cheers Pat

That build looks great Glen and I am happy to hear Dimples approves (two horns up) - you may have to splash a little on her molasses block ). Seriously, some very nice detail in such a small model. cheers Pat

Great idea; another keeper. Thanks for sharing Pat

She's looking great Glen, some lovely detail there. You never know when you need such materials, nor where you might scavenge them. I have stocks of all sorts of stuff squirreled away, to the point I have to start 'culling' the stockpile - But what to keep and what to throw away, that is the question. I think I need another bundy while I try to prioritise (well maybe 2) cheers Pat

Coming on nicely Rob, the hull shape is starting to emerge. From the last camera angle, she has a lot of 'fish body' shape to her, with her after ends tapering away to a narrow end. cheers Pat

She's really coming to life now John. Some really nicely executed rigging there. cheers Pat

Hi all, I have been following this discussion with great interest and learning a lot in the process. While not an American design, I offer (in the interest of further discussion) a design by one of the pre-eminent RN naval architects (for steam vessels - Master Shipwright HM Dockyard Pembroke) at the time, Oliver W Lang, in 1854. Lang designed the hull for HMCSS Victoria (1855) straight off the drawing board - No half hull model. Now the builder (Young, son and Magnay of Limehouse, London) may have built one later, but in the copious correspondence around the build of this vessel, a half hull is not mentioned at all, not even inferred. I am very confident about this as Lang, and the ship build superintendent, Commander Lockyer, RN, were in constant communication, and there is definitely no mention of a half model. In support of this, the design changed a couple of times (the vessel grew bigger) to accommodate all of the roles, and latest equipment, she was intended to perform for the Colony of Victoria. Unfortunately, I cannot post a copy of the plan here due to restrictions placed on me by the owner of the only surviving plan (Sheer Drawing) of the vessel. The design was based on, and is very similar to, the Gun Dispatch Vessel (Arrow and Vigilant Classes) of the time, but had completely different proportions, and encompassed a clipper like (Aberdeen) bow, much different to the other RN designs. She was also significantly different to RN vessels in being built on the diagonal planking system (Not the Sepping's diagonal bracing) which was generally not used in the RN (due to cost). The very few vessels that were built on this principle, were renowned for their quality and hull strength. A quick scan of my (stalled) build log will provide and idea of her design. She was built as an armed vessel using combined merchant and RN standards, but outfitted to Vice-Regal standards internally, and was minimum manned. The real point being, she was a 'paper' only deign. She proved to be a very sound and fast vessel, her hull being reported as sound as the day she was built when she was dismantled in the 1880s. Her top speed is reported as 13+ knots , and she is also reported to have been a very good sea keeper, and a relatively dry vessel (her bulwarks were only 2' 9" high). She held the trans-Tasman (Sydney to NZ) record for some time, and that crossing can be treacherous. Let the cannon balls fly cheers Pat