BANYAN

Great work Dafi - very realistic weathering, especially on the anchor. cheers Pat

Thanks John, Warrior has a lot of common fittings and equipment to the Victoria and what is shown makes complete sense - I will do something similar using Mark's suggestion of clearing the bulwarks and cap rail etc also (thanks Mark) cheers Pat

Hi folks an update and a further question re HMCSS Victoria. First the updates - there is still some tidy-up work required on the copper plates. Yep - the screw does turn but does not feather . We have yet to add the holding mechanism (from the top) for the screw when it was feathered. As you can deduce, the next work is to complete the major fittings to the hull to allow painting and the deck to be fitted. Therein the question. I have not been able to find any contemporary information about the width (extension out from the hull) of the channels in this era in 1855 (the ship was built on the cusp of the sail to steam transition). I have been able to determine the positioning and lengths of the channels form photographs and lithographs (adjusted for perspective etc) but not the width. According to Lees, the width of the channels was 3 feet for smaller vessels (in the Age of Sail) but this is when there was a large tumblehome. Using 3 feet in the drawings makes the channel look completely inappropriate for size etc. Can anyone provide a pointer or any relevant information for the width of the channels in this era? PLEASE???? cheers Pat

Glad to hear no serious damage to the model mate - but what an 'adventurous' pair of shipmates / yard workers you have there You'll have to install a reversing beeper on that chair for Ziggy (you will just have to have one of those laying around cheers Pat

All I can say Mark is "Sweeeeeet"! cheers Pat

Very nice detail and finish mate. Swivel guns o a modern sail ship - are they used as signal/ceremonial guns? cheers Pat

Your Endeavour is looking really good Dave; she'll look a real treat completed. cheers Pat

Great job indeed Anton! With too many years in as an OOW and Ops Room Watch keeper among other duties myself, I can empathise with (and feel envious about) the no watch keeping - That would be an unforgettable and life changing experience on a true sail ship and as you say, what a great asset to your modelling. Winter? in WA??? (HA!) but a great chance to recuperate and many more hours to apply to your model Enjoy the cruise to those wonderful sites. cheers Pat

Finally had some time to take a good look through your build log; and a what a pleasure to see your progress through this model - a very nice build indeed. cheers Pat

Great rigging Danny (and very timely for me ) cheers Pat

Hi, I have given up with trying to preserve those horrid belts which I think are the main cause of many of the issues experienced. I am currently in the process of trying to find better belts or even converting to timing or V belts but that will entail new pulleys to suit. cheers Pat

Thanks all, the encouragement is greatly appreciated. I am trying to divide my time between the Endeavour, Victoria and the preparatory work for my resin model (HMAS Vampire). The latter has taken a lot of research time (very much assisted by John - Jim Lad) in getting the details for 3D replacement parts of the entire superstructure sorted. I have decided to put a little more emphasis on Endeavour for the next few weeks in the hope of getting the majority of the standing rigging (minus yards and ratlines) completed by the end of this month - but don't hold me to that cheers Pat

Well folks, a long overdue update I am back to the point (plus a little more) of where I wast at before discovering the issues with the scaling of my upper spars. The following photos show the comparative scale (size) difference of the error and a couple of "not good enough" efforts, and a shot of where I am at. The dowel is a temporary fit until the yards are manufactured and there only to put a little structure into the jeer blocks and associated rigging. I have also been busy drawing up the plans and doing some of the work on the Club's build of HMCSS Victoria shown below. there is still some tidy-up work needed on the copper plates (in places). cheers Pat

This is a really nice build John - a very unique and nice looking model. cheers Pat

The start of the ship's brig/stockade Coming along nicely Dave; welcome back. cheers pat

Nice clean work Danny. One of the advantages to come out of my recent 'error' of incorrect scaling and having to replace my top masts and rigging was the realisation that it was easier to fit the jeer/tye blocks early as you have pointed out. Still would have preferred not having to remake the masts though cheers Pat

That's not just a capstan Alex; that sir is a masterpiece of craftsmanship! Always a pleasure to see your updates. cheers Pat

Coming along very nicely Sharpie; impressed with the Ballista! If the power you generated in the scaled version is translated up at the same ratio/proportionally, that would have been one powerful weapon for those times. cheers Pat

Hi guys, WRT the draw plate - simply soak the skewers and split them - all you need is a sharp blade/razor and roughly split them with the blade as if splitting a log (no chopping required ) This will give you quartered skewers (or even lesser sized) rough stock to start with. Has worked for me with the very occasional split that goes wrong - I found soaking them first really helped. cheers Pat

Hi all, As you can see from Bogey's update to the parts he is producing for me (replacement parts to the OzMod resin model), there is a considerable amount of change. This has been brought about by three main reasons: 1. I wanted to reconfigure her to the fit as she was in 1973/76. 2. The superstructure blocks produced by OzMod had a number of errors and had omitted a fair bit of the detail. 3. I wished to produce as detailed a model as I could at that scale (noting this is my first resin build. I will point out some of the omissions and changes that required the new versions as I get to those parts. Basically, only the hull, PE (radar etc) and the decals from the kit will be utilised. My next task is to clean these parts and prep them for gluing together. I am contemplating drilling a couple of small dowel holes after aligning and masking taping the above and below waterline model parts together to make alignment with the glue in place a little easier. if I can align these holes with where the pedestals will fit - even better However, I think that may prove elusive as there is a big cut out in the upper resin hull block where I think I need to place the after pedestal. I have read online that wheel cleaner is good for ensuring the removal of the mould release. I have invested in some non-acidic cleaner designed for cleaning white-wall tyres so I will test it on one of the superstructure blocks this weekend to ensure I do not have any unfortunate reaction/outcomes. I must say though that the detail Bogey is providing is outstanding and should allow a nicely detailed model. I must also thank Jim Lad again - John without your data and trips over to her for photographs and measurements we could not have achieved this level of detail. cheers Pat

Thanks for looking in Schooner; I am hoping to have a little fun with tis build once we get the issues sorted. Bogey, thanks for posting the updates mate - appreciated . At this point, rather than have the log jump ahead of itself I might add the updates to the 3D print as they are used? cheers Pat

Nice job on the deck planking Dave; she is coming along quite handsomely. cheers Pat

Jack, I read a tip (on FineScale I think) that one person recommended - dip the items into blackening solution (quick dunk) - you do not need to need to blacken it, only to dull the patina of the etched brass. They claimed this works very well - I have yet to try it? cheers Pat p.s. I think this needs to be moved to the Painting forum

Thanks mate; appreciate you looking in. The shop took a while and I am almost completely set-up now ready to enjoy the retirement years. Thanks Mike; great to have you visit again cheers Pat

Great effort with the lathe Keith. What cutting tools did you use, the standard bits for metal or did you remove the tool post and use hand held wood cutting tools? cheers Pat