BANYAN

What a great result Eberhard; thanks for stepping us through the process.  It looks very effective/realistic, especially at that scale.
 
cheers
 
Pat

What a great result Eberhard; thanks for stepping us through the process.  It looks very effective/realistic, especially at that scale.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Once again, Thank You for your kind comments !
 

Again, real life including (business) travels got in the way of progress on this project. In addition, while I was having dinner in a restaurant together with colleagues, suddenly some ‘floaters’ appeared in one eye. I went immediately to the eye-doctor, who checked my eyes thoroughly. Luckily the floaters are harmless, but annoying signs of age. No retina-detachment or something else serious. Apparently, they can spontaneously disappear or the brain sort of ignores them after a while – keep fingers crossed. For the moment they are quite bothering, when working on really small things … so on to the ensign.
 
************************************
 
The Imperial German Navy Ensign

This ensign was first conceived for the navy of the North-German Alliance (Norddeutscher Bund) in 1867, bringing together the colours of the dominant powers, namely Prussia (black-white) and the Hanseatic City States, Hamburg, Bremen und Lübeck (red-white). The design obviously was inspired by the British White Ensign and makes reference to various medieval symbols, such as the cross of the Teutonic Order, and the more recent Iron Cross from the Napoleonic War. After the proclamation of the 2nd Empire on 18 January 1871, this ensign became also the ensign of the Imperial German Navy and remained it until the end of the Empire in 1919. There have been, however, some smaller modifications over the years, thus the eagle was somewhat modified and in 1902 the arms of the cross were made heavier in order to avoid confusion at distance with the White Ensign of the Royal Navy.
Overall, it is rather complex design to reproduce purely manually. First, I had to find a correct image for the ensign, as it looked in about 1878 and was lucky, as the Internet furnished a digital image of sufficient size and resolution. The idea was to print it on both sides of very thin paper (the kind that was used in the old days for carbon copies on type-writer, of which I kept a small supply). Such paper, however, does not feed well through the laser-printer and aligning for double-sided printing is practically impossible. Therefore, I resorted to so-called transfer-sheets. These are a kind of waxed paper that is used to transfer laser-printouts to T-shirts, mugs and such things. Laser-printer toner is basically carbon-black mixed with some plastics powder. It can be remelted with a heat-source, such as an ironing-iron and thus transferred to another substrate. I also experimented with overhead-sheets, but the results were not as good. 

Printing layout for the ensign (as it would appear on the transfer sheet)
 
In a first step, the red stripe in the flag was eliminated from the image in Photoshop, as it would print grey otherwise. The ensign was then scaled to the right size on the basis of some trial-and-error, as the laser-printer prints a few percent undersize. I then added reference marks some distance from the image and duplicated this for mirroring. Several of these left-right-pairs were arranged on an A4-sheet and then printed onto the transfer-sheet using the highest quality print setting.

Preparing the pouch for double-sided toner-transfer to the ensign-blank
 
Using the best matching pair, I made a small pouch (as you would do for the masks, when producing photo-etched parts), aligning the images against each other for a perfect match on an illuminated board (they can be bought for a few €/£/US$ on ebay et al. and are powered through a USB-charger). An oversized strip of the thin paper was slipped in between and everything taped down onto a piece of thick cardboard.
I pressed down an ironing-iron set to the lowest temperature onto the package, which made the toner firmly stick to the paper and no residues left on the transfer-paper. And voilà, a double-sided printed flag with a very detailed eagle etc.

The toner is (almost) completely transferred to the ensign-blank
 
In the next step the missing red stripe was added using red acrylic paint. I also added colour to the legs and beak of the Imperial Eagle, to the Imperial Insignia and the crown using yellow-ochre acrylic paint. If one has a colour laser-printer this step would not be necessary.
The flag was cut out exactly to size, except for the rear, where it was left a tad longer to provide for a hollow ‘seam’ into which a thread with two loops at the end was laid The seam was glued down with some diluted white glue. This area also needed a bit of touch-up afterwards with black acrylic paint.
 
The ensign before adding the colours
 
Draping the flag is best done or least pre-arranged on the flag-staff. The paper was slightly wetted and the flag laid into diagonal folds in alternate directions. Toothpicks ensured that they became folds and not creases, which would be unnatural. Such a large ensign (2.9 m x 4.96 m) would fully unfold only in a moderate breeze and not in the light wind assumed in the scenic setting. So it flaps lazily in the wind, which I tried to reproduce.

The completed ensign
 
To the thus prepared ensign the halliard was attached as a loop. This loop was taken over the top of the flag-staff and a tiny laser-cut paper disc glued on as truck. There was no way to cross-drill the staff for the halliard. The halliard was belayed on the clamp. With this the assembly is ready for installation on the boat. But I will not hoist the ensign before the crew is on board. The recruitment process is still on-going …

Ensign wetted and shaped
 
Sorry, this was a rather lengthy essay on just and ensign, but the idea was to describe in detail, how to arrive on a reasonably realistic looking flag at such as small scale.
 
The ensign attached to the flagstaff
 
To be continued ....

Eberhard - thank you - my current thought is to paint the hull above the waterline to match the original but to varnish below the waterline to show off the mahogany and brass. it is still early days and plans might change depending on how neat the planking is.
 
Druxey - Thank you ----- and the angle can be changed by moving it in or out from the edge.
 
And thank you to the Black twins for their unrelenting support.🙂

BTW, talking about toolmaker's buttons: I learned about them about 25 years ago, when I purchased from Lindsay Publications (now sadly defunct) a bunch of reprints of early 20th century machinist textbooks and the likes. Among these was
 
JONES, F.D. (1915): Modern Toolmaking Methods.- 309 p., (Industrial Press, reprint 1998 by Lindsay Publications Inc., Bradley IL).
 
Just checked on archive.org and one can now download a copy from there: https://archive.org/details/moderntoolmakingmethodsbyfranklind.jones.

Since I'm starting the fore castle earlier than planned, I haven't looked at this properly yet.
According to what I have read briefly, it should look like it is drawn on the cover of the MR book.
2 light cannons and all the are rest swivels, or hail shot pieces 

I've seen these images before. 

This isn’t a carrack.

Carracks from mr. Breugel with high castles.

 
And a wel know image of a typical Carrack 

In the MR book there is an inventory (from the year 1514) of the cannons and their position on the decks in several ships. 
All the large ships (4 of them) have at least 2 decks in the fore castle 

You continue to show us just what is possible with your metal smithing Keith; impressive results.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you Andy and John.
 
I spent a few hours today completing the rudder (excluding finishes).
 
The shaft is 0.16" diameter while the plate is .04" thick. I therefore needed to machine slots in the the cladding 0.08" radius by  0.06" deep. See blue arrows on next photo. I also cut the plate along the line of the shaft removing a .016" wide strip.
 

The brass pieces were then assembled on the cladding and glued in place using CA glue.


The other side of the gladding was then glued in place forming a brass sandwich.


The rudder is fitted with anodes. All the anodes on Cangarda are of the same flat plate type.  I drilled the holes for later anode attachment.

To get the taper sanding of the cladding symmetrical I employed a flat sheet of aluminium oxide paper and a bulldog clip.

The bulldog clip is holding the front of the rudder clear of the sandpaper and at a constant angle while the taper is sanded. The bulldog clip spring is hard enough to resist the abrasion of the oxide paper. The taper on the front edge of the rudder was formed in a similar manner.



My plan is to get on to the planking next. I expect it to be a long job so if you want to skip it I suggest you rejoin in about 2 months.
 

Thank you for saying...
 
I am trying to set aside time regularly to make a little progress.
 
Continuing with the center line fittings below deck, the WELL was next up.   This is a relatively simple structure.  The four sides are laser cut and etched.  You need to do just a few things before you glue up the four sides.  
 
First...make sure the fore and aft sides sit nicely on the keel.  Once you adjust them as needed,  you can cut the four upright columns to length.   How do you determine the length of these.  The two aft columns are shorter.  These are simply cut to fit under the next deck beam.  No  big deal.   The two columns on the fore side of the well are different and taller.   These two columns are cut so the tops are flush with the TOP of the gun deck beams or carlings.
You will have an opportunity to sand these shorter so dont over sand them initially.

Assembling the well is straight forward after you glue the columns to the port starboard sides of the well ahead of time as shown above.   You can also use some scrap tiny strips of wood to make the toggle handles for the access door.  Then just glue them on.   They are clearly shown on the plans.
 

With the four sides glued up and square...test it on your model.   After any minor tweaks you can glue it position permanently.
 

 
Then the next few gun deck beams, carlings and ledges were taken care of.   Eventually you will get to the beams where the capstan step needs to be built along the center line.  So you will need to stop and assemble the capstan step.   I glued those appropriate deck beams in position so I had a reference point to test fit the step periodically.  The step is also laser cut for you and has a recessed circle in the center.   This will accept the heel of the capstan drum...eventually.
 
The step is bolted to two columns that are set on top of  keel.   These two columns are 1/8" x 1/8" strips just like the other support columns under the beams.   Hopefully you havent forgotten to add any up until now.   They are all shown on the plans.  
 
You must cut the two columns to fit under their respective gun deck beams.   Now you have to determine where along those beams the capstan step will be placed.   You can use the plans of course but it is doubtful it will match your model perfectly.  Mine didnt.   So just understand that the capstan step is slightly higher the lower aft platform and it is level.   Because you know this you can mark the columns for the height of the capstan step with the columns "snug" fit temporarily in position.
 
When I was comfortable that I had the proper height worked out, I was ready to glue it in position.  But first I had to add the simulated bolts on the capstan step.   I used 25 lb black fishing line to simulate these.  And yes the photo shows the step upside down so you can see the hole for the drum.   But rest assured it will be glued in position right-side up!!
 

The capstan step in position...and the carlings added afterwards.
 

And some other views...of the gun deck up to this point with the ledges completed.
 

 


Almost to the other side of the gun deck.  But next up are all of the cabins on the aft lower platform.   Onward and upward as they say!!
 
 
 

Thats what I'd think of as an English Wheel. As you say often as an automotive tool for panel shaping. A friend did his apprenticeship at Aston Martin and was a wizard with one of these. I tried. I was not.
 
If you are thinking of one to shape sheets for a model I'd imagine a former of the hull in question and an assortment of hammers would work better with less practice.

Great to see this update Jason; your build continues to impress.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you Richard and Pat.
 
Gary - She says it is her greatest pleasure to be my forever financial burden. She also says my efforts are earning points which will influence her when choosing the quality of retirement home she will be putting me into when I can no longer look after myself. 
 
And so on to the rudder.
 
I started with a brass sheet .040" thick.
 

I drilled a number of holes at the centre of the various edge curves. I also turned up some filing buttons - blue arrows.

I cut away the waste brass and using the buttons I filed the edge curves. 


The rudder is profiled / streamlined although the front and rear edges are blunt.

The outer rudder shaft was made from brass tube with bearing ferrules at the upper and lower ends. The ferrules are drilled .040" diameter to take the fixed inner bearing shaft.

The small upper section shaft was made in a similar way. Below all 3 parts are assembled.


I will form the outer shape of the rudder by attaching mahogany to each side and then sanding to shape. Below the mahogany "cladding" has been cut and glued prior to attaching to the rudder shaft.

That's all for now.

A stunning build Richard; an exemplar of how to build such a model.  I have very much enjoyed this build log so far.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

A stunning build Richard; an exemplar of how to build such a model.  I have very much enjoyed this build log so far.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

A stunning build Richard; an exemplar of how to build such a model.  I have very much enjoyed this build log so far.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

A stunning build Richard; an exemplar of how to build such a model.  I have very much enjoyed this build log so far.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

A stunning build Richard; an exemplar of how to build such a model.  I have very much enjoyed this build log so far.
 
cheers
 
Pat
 

Great to see this update Jason; your build continues to impress.
 
cheers
 
Pat

You continue to show us just what is possible with your metal smithing Keith; impressive results.
 
cheers
 
Pat

You continue to show us just what is possible with your metal smithing Keith; impressive results.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Just a quick update.  It might not look like a lot of work was done since my last post but you would be surprised how involved the deck beams can be.
 
With the cabins on the fore lower platform completed,  you can start adding deck beams above them.  No reason to wait until everything is built below deck to do so.  In fact, waiting to do it all at one time wont be very enjoyable.  Doing it this way breaks up the task a bit.
 
This kit will be very simplified compared to the books.  Because we will be planking the gun deck in the "classic" contemporary model style,  there is absolutely no need to make and add the hanging and lodging knees.   In fact, this would up the difficulty factor by about ten.   So we will just be adding the deck beams with all of the carlings and ledges.  You can however follow the Seawatch books and scratch build the knees should you really want the total experience.
 
 
The photo below has a lot going on that was completed.
 

First, The first four deck beams were glued into position...
 
Then the carlings were added between them as shown on the plans.  The carling are cut to length using 3/16 x 5/32 strips.   
 
Lastly you may notice that the after most beams have a column under them at the center.   These are just 1/8" x 1/8" strips cut to length.  The corners are chamfered as shown on the plans.
 
With the first four beams added you can now add the ledges.   These are the thinner "partial beams" that extend from the carlings to the deck clamp.  They are laser cut for you with a special "leg" on the outboard ends.   This raises each ledge to the perfect height so it will be flush with the top of the gun deck beams.  So when you are cleaning the char off these...DONT sand the bottom or even the end with this "leg" on it.  Otherwise you wont have level ledges with your beams.    Hope that makes sense.
 
Now in that same photo above you can see the first few ledges (cleaned of laser char...no need to clean the bottom at all actually) resting in position.  All you have to do is cut the end that sits against the carling and glue it on position.
 
NOTE:  Now yes indeed...all of the carlings should be notched in the deck beams.   All of the ledges should be notched into the carlings.  But you know what...I am not going to do that.  And you dont have to either.  It simplifies things so much this way and those many mortices and notches are not so easy to make.  They will also mostly be completely covered up.   So you can decide.
 
 
Now this may all seem simple enough.  But finding the exact locations for these beams, carlings and ledges is super important.  Time and care must be taken to get their location correct....otherwise you will end up with hatches in the wrong  position and mast holes too!!  It could get ugly.
 
So use the plans.   If you have a second set printed.  Go ahead and cut them up.  You can see strategically placed cut outs on the template that allowed me to mark the locations of the carlings on the beams....and the ledges on the carlings.   This template also helped me position the deck beams properly which is the very first thing you need to do.  Finding you center line on those deck beams after they installed is also a huge help.  Gluing the parts in is easy enough...but the marking, measuring and planning takes time and patience.

 
Then its just a matter of cutting all of those ledges to length and gluing them in position.   There are a lot of them.  I believe 86 in total.   Note that these would also be down the center between the carlings and hatches also.  But once again they will be entirely covered up and its just a repetitive exercise that nobody will ever see.
 

To show you how the knees and other details like the ledges wont be seen...here is a look at this area with the deck planking cut and placed on the model as a test.  This shows what will be very close to the final appearance using the "classic contemporary model appearance".   But everyone can always deviate from that should they want to.
 

 
 

Back to Mary.
 
The fore castle.
How do you start building something that doesn't have a clear example of it?
First I enlarge the drawing from the books from 1/100th to 1/50th. This drawing is placed on the model at approximately the "correct" position.

About the right height compared with the deck of the rear castle
And the base starts at about the right distance from cannon port M3

And then we continue building in cardboard

There's a cardboard front castle, with a happy assistant on the top deck.
Of course I don't know if this form is correct. But the idea is to roughly recreate the ship on the cover of the book.

 

Current stage of varnishing complete. Please to say, none of my fears materialised:
1. The older work didnt look any different from the fresh stuff.
2. I managed to avoid blocking up the threads of all the captive nuts
3. The lightweight structure didnt distort.
Composite image of all the main components after sealing:

As an aside Ive got myself a new umbrella reflector kit to use for flash photography. It came with 2 umbrellas. These photos were its first outing, so still getting used to it... Im alreadyquite pleased with the "soft" white one which seems to give quite an even illumination (when I point it in the right direction!) with nice soft shadows...

You continue to show us just what is possible with your metal smithing Keith; impressive results.
 
cheers
 
Pat