Gabek

Pandora’s Box
 
What have I gotten myself into?!
I’m really second-guessing my decision to build the well and shot locker.  I’m sure I spent more time building this little thing than I spent on building my garden shed!  And, this decision to add the well has created a ripple of changes to the model from the original MSW plans.  Thank goodness I have Ainars Apalais’ build log for reference - such a beautiful and motivating model!  My final design was an amalgam of four sources: actual photos of period shot lockers from HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, plus drawings from AoTS: HMS Diana and AoTS: HMS Pandora.

 
After cutting some 1.80mm square stock from birch for the stanchions I prepared planks using 1/32” - 0.8mm baltic birch plywood. The planks in the well were beveled so they fit together better, so I filed/sanded bevels top and bottom edges.  I drew arrows on the planks so I wouldn't get the bevels the wrong way, but it didn't always work!  I began with the bulkhead that separated the well and shot locker.  As I progressed I came upon several inconsistencies in my model.  Of course there were minor flaws in the existing framing and planking of this model - but they became so obvious that it drove me nuts.  (Oh yeah, building at 1/96 is another decision I’m regretting!) 
 
In the incredible AoTS books I also found a couple of errors, the biggest one was that the access door to the well was too low for a ship with all its ballast. The ballast cants are almost never showneven though they are integral to the design of the ship.  Because I have included the ballast in this model I was forced to move the door up more than in the drawings. It still looks ok, in my opinion.  
 
Some photos of the process:



After unsuccessfully trying to hand cut some brass hinges for the shot locker scuttles and the access door I decided it was time to play with some of my toys.  First off, I thought I could print these using my resin printer again.  However, these hinges were so thin that the prints failed.  I'm sure that at 1:48 scale I would have succeeded, but not at 1:96.  So I turned to another toy I have: a Jinsoku Genmitsu 1620 laser cutter/engraver. I have been doing mostly engraving hobbies with this small, desktop laser but at 5.5 watts it has enough power to cut through thin wood and some other materials.  I have been dying to try this out for some time now.  I drew hinges using basic shapes in Lightburn, the control software I subscribe to for the laser.  This could have been done in any drawing program and free laser software like LaserGRBL, but Lightburn is much more useful for the engraving I do.  My first attempt was to simply engrave the hinges into the shot locker lid.  (Top left in the above montage).  With a practice piece I got a nice result which would have been fine - it would be inside a tiny model.  But, of course, I decided it wouldn't do.  I needed something three dimensional. 

And again, 1:96 scale came back to haunt me!  I started with the thinnest maple veneer I have. The laser cut very well and could even cut the bolt/nail holes in these tiny hinges.  But even the veneer looked way too thick once I placed them against the door and scuttles.  

 
So, I switched to the only wood product that could be thinner: paper.  Some blue poster board and a manila folder provided very cheap stock for me to play with.  A black felt pen turned them into “iron” and away I went cutting and playing.  

I experimented with folding and gluing the tiny bits of paper to resemble folded strap hinges.   Another hobby came into use as I raided my fly-tying gear for fine black wire to represent pins in the hinges!  By the way, don’t use CA glue if you try this - the paper became so hard that it snapped and cracked when I tried folding them.  Just use PVA. The veneer that I had cut earlier was too thick to represent iron hinges, but it was perfect for the wooden cleats inside the shot lockers to which the hinges are nailed/bolted. So, I glued those onto the underside of the shot locker scuttles. 

After some painting and varnishing of the well and parts I made some ring bolts using the same, fine fly-tying wire.  I found an insect pin that had a diameter close to the diagrams of the ring bolts and wrapped the wire around it.  I drilled small holes and pushed the twisted ends of the wires into place.  A tiny drop of CA on the inside should hold these in.  I placed the paper hinges in place just for these photos. 
 

I won’t install the well and all the associated bits until I do some more work to the hold.  Namely, barrels, shingle ballast, lanterns, block and tackle…
...What have I gotten myself into! 
 
Clear skies!
Gabe
 

Totally an amazing amount of detail for that scale and looks great.  Sounds like you learned a lot which will help in future projects.  

Pandora’s Box
 
What have I gotten myself into?!
I’m really second-guessing my decision to build the well and shot locker.  I’m sure I spent more time building this little thing than I spent on building my garden shed!  And, this decision to add the well has created a ripple of changes to the model from the original MSW plans.  Thank goodness I have Ainars Apalais’ build log for reference - such a beautiful and motivating model!  My final design was an amalgam of four sources: actual photos of period shot lockers from HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, plus drawings from AoTS: HMS Diana and AoTS: HMS Pandora.

 
After cutting some 1.80mm square stock from birch for the stanchions I prepared planks using 1/32” - 0.8mm baltic birch plywood. The planks in the well were beveled so they fit together better, so I filed/sanded bevels top and bottom edges.  I drew arrows on the planks so I wouldn't get the bevels the wrong way, but it didn't always work!  I began with the bulkhead that separated the well and shot locker.  As I progressed I came upon several inconsistencies in my model.  Of course there were minor flaws in the existing framing and planking of this model - but they became so obvious that it drove me nuts.  (Oh yeah, building at 1/96 is another decision I’m regretting!) 
 
In the incredible AoTS books I also found a couple of errors, the biggest one was that the access door to the well was too low for a ship with all its ballast. The ballast cants are almost never showneven though they are integral to the design of the ship.  Because I have included the ballast in this model I was forced to move the door up more than in the drawings. It still looks ok, in my opinion.  
 
Some photos of the process:



After unsuccessfully trying to hand cut some brass hinges for the shot locker scuttles and the access door I decided it was time to play with some of my toys.  First off, I thought I could print these using my resin printer again.  However, these hinges were so thin that the prints failed.  I'm sure that at 1:48 scale I would have succeeded, but not at 1:96.  So I turned to another toy I have: a Jinsoku Genmitsu 1620 laser cutter/engraver. I have been doing mostly engraving hobbies with this small, desktop laser but at 5.5 watts it has enough power to cut through thin wood and some other materials.  I have been dying to try this out for some time now.  I drew hinges using basic shapes in Lightburn, the control software I subscribe to for the laser.  This could have been done in any drawing program and free laser software like LaserGRBL, but Lightburn is much more useful for the engraving I do.  My first attempt was to simply engrave the hinges into the shot locker lid.  (Top left in the above montage).  With a practice piece I got a nice result which would have been fine - it would be inside a tiny model.  But, of course, I decided it wouldn't do.  I needed something three dimensional. 

And again, 1:96 scale came back to haunt me!  I started with the thinnest maple veneer I have. The laser cut very well and could even cut the bolt/nail holes in these tiny hinges.  But even the veneer looked way too thick once I placed them against the door and scuttles.  

 
So, I switched to the only wood product that could be thinner: paper.  Some blue poster board and a manila folder provided very cheap stock for me to play with.  A black felt pen turned them into “iron” and away I went cutting and playing.  

I experimented with folding and gluing the tiny bits of paper to resemble folded strap hinges.   Another hobby came into use as I raided my fly-tying gear for fine black wire to represent pins in the hinges!  By the way, don’t use CA glue if you try this - the paper became so hard that it snapped and cracked when I tried folding them.  Just use PVA. The veneer that I had cut earlier was too thick to represent iron hinges, but it was perfect for the wooden cleats inside the shot lockers to which the hinges are nailed/bolted. So, I glued those onto the underside of the shot locker scuttles. 

After some painting and varnishing of the well and parts I made some ring bolts using the same, fine fly-tying wire.  I found an insect pin that had a diameter close to the diagrams of the ring bolts and wrapped the wire around it.  I drilled small holes and pushed the twisted ends of the wires into place.  A tiny drop of CA on the inside should hold these in.  I placed the paper hinges in place just for these photos. 
 

I won’t install the well and all the associated bits until I do some more work to the hold.  Namely, barrels, shingle ballast, lanterns, block and tackle…
...What have I gotten myself into! 
 
Clear skies!
Gabe
 

Welcome to the forum Scott, from Ontario...

Welcome aboard, Scott!
You are definitely in the right place.  
I, too, am playing with 3D printing - A great new vista for modellers.
Looking forward to following your build logs.
 
From the heart of Canada - Winnipeg 🇨🇦.
Clear skies,
Gabe

 

Welcome aboard, Scott!
You are definitely in the right place.  
I, too, am playing with 3D printing - A great new vista for modellers.
Looking forward to following your build logs.
 
From the heart of Canada - Winnipeg 🇨🇦.
Clear skies,
Gabe

 

Welcome aboard, Scott!
You are definitely in the right place.  
I, too, am playing with 3D printing - A great new vista for modellers.
Looking forward to following your build logs.
 
From the heart of Canada - Winnipeg 🇨🇦.
Clear skies,
Gabe

 

Wow! Great work at that scale Gabe!!
It'll be well worth the effort with the end result.

Pandora’s Box
 
What have I gotten myself into?!
I’m really second-guessing my decision to build the well and shot locker.  I’m sure I spent more time building this little thing than I spent on building my garden shed!  And, this decision to add the well has created a ripple of changes to the model from the original MSW plans.  Thank goodness I have Ainars Apalais’ build log for reference - such a beautiful and motivating model!  My final design was an amalgam of four sources: actual photos of period shot lockers from HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, plus drawings from AoTS: HMS Diana and AoTS: HMS Pandora.

 
After cutting some 1.80mm square stock from birch for the stanchions I prepared planks using 1/32” - 0.8mm baltic birch plywood. The planks in the well were beveled so they fit together better, so I filed/sanded bevels top and bottom edges.  I drew arrows on the planks so I wouldn't get the bevels the wrong way, but it didn't always work!  I began with the bulkhead that separated the well and shot locker.  As I progressed I came upon several inconsistencies in my model.  Of course there were minor flaws in the existing framing and planking of this model - but they became so obvious that it drove me nuts.  (Oh yeah, building at 1/96 is another decision I’m regretting!) 
 
In the incredible AoTS books I also found a couple of errors, the biggest one was that the access door to the well was too low for a ship with all its ballast. The ballast cants are almost never showneven though they are integral to the design of the ship.  Because I have included the ballast in this model I was forced to move the door up more than in the drawings. It still looks ok, in my opinion.  
 
Some photos of the process:



After unsuccessfully trying to hand cut some brass hinges for the shot locker scuttles and the access door I decided it was time to play with some of my toys.  First off, I thought I could print these using my resin printer again.  However, these hinges were so thin that the prints failed.  I'm sure that at 1:48 scale I would have succeeded, but not at 1:96.  So I turned to another toy I have: a Jinsoku Genmitsu 1620 laser cutter/engraver. I have been doing mostly engraving hobbies with this small, desktop laser but at 5.5 watts it has enough power to cut through thin wood and some other materials.  I have been dying to try this out for some time now.  I drew hinges using basic shapes in Lightburn, the control software I subscribe to for the laser.  This could have been done in any drawing program and free laser software like LaserGRBL, but Lightburn is much more useful for the engraving I do.  My first attempt was to simply engrave the hinges into the shot locker lid.  (Top left in the above montage).  With a practice piece I got a nice result which would have been fine - it would be inside a tiny model.  But, of course, I decided it wouldn't do.  I needed something three dimensional. 

And again, 1:96 scale came back to haunt me!  I started with the thinnest maple veneer I have. The laser cut very well and could even cut the bolt/nail holes in these tiny hinges.  But even the veneer looked way too thick once I placed them against the door and scuttles.  

 
So, I switched to the only wood product that could be thinner: paper.  Some blue poster board and a manila folder provided very cheap stock for me to play with.  A black felt pen turned them into “iron” and away I went cutting and playing.  

I experimented with folding and gluing the tiny bits of paper to resemble folded strap hinges.   Another hobby came into use as I raided my fly-tying gear for fine black wire to represent pins in the hinges!  By the way, don’t use CA glue if you try this - the paper became so hard that it snapped and cracked when I tried folding them.  Just use PVA. The veneer that I had cut earlier was too thick to represent iron hinges, but it was perfect for the wooden cleats inside the shot lockers to which the hinges are nailed/bolted. So, I glued those onto the underside of the shot locker scuttles. 

After some painting and varnishing of the well and parts I made some ring bolts using the same, fine fly-tying wire.  I found an insect pin that had a diameter close to the diagrams of the ring bolts and wrapped the wire around it.  I drilled small holes and pushed the twisted ends of the wires into place.  A tiny drop of CA on the inside should hold these in.  I placed the paper hinges in place just for these photos. 
 

I won’t install the well and all the associated bits until I do some more work to the hold.  Namely, barrels, shingle ballast, lanterns, block and tackle…
...What have I gotten myself into! 
 
Clear skies!
Gabe
 

Bravo, Justin! 
Great model - a masterpiece!  Such a shame that the photos of your final stretch vapourized on you, but the end result is stunning nonetheless.
What do you have planned next?
Clear skies!
- Gabe
 

Bravo, Justin! 
Great model - a masterpiece!  Such a shame that the photos of your final stretch vapourized on you, but the end result is stunning nonetheless.
What do you have planned next?
Clear skies!
- Gabe
 

Bravo, Justin! 
Great model - a masterpiece!  Such a shame that the photos of your final stretch vapourized on you, but the end result is stunning nonetheless.
What do you have planned next?
Clear skies!
- Gabe
 

Engraving is different than cutting. With cutting, the beam will go through the wood to whatever is below the wood.   It should be non-reflective and the wood piece should be above the base.   Typically, engraving doesn't take much power but fumes and smoke can be a problem especially inside a structure where there's smoke alarms.   Both cutting and engraving need a good exhaust method.   Lasers typically use a hose about 4 inches or bigger and there's a fan on the laser to pull the smoke out of the cutting chamber and force down the hose to the outside.   Many use an insert to fit into a window for the hose to connect to.
 
The other issue is you need is something to enclose the laser cutting area to prevent the beam from bouncing out of the "box" along with interlocks to shut the beam down if any access lid/door is opened.   Even clear plastic sheeting will work.   I'd shudder to think firing off a 20 W or bigger laser without having at least that much material.   Laser beams are nothing to trifle with. At a minimum, wear eye protection.
 
Do check out Makerspace if you have one locally.   They have experienced folks to help you set up your cutting/engraving and answer questions.  

Keith has done it again! He motivated me to do something and I'm now posting my final reflection on the Swift. Inspired by one of my favourite movies, I'm going to use some headings in this post.
 

I thought I would just post the final result of everyone's advice here.
Thinner line for the flag halyard.
Small cleat installed on the mainmast.
Toggle above the flag, eye splice below.
Eye splice in the halyard for the toggle, sheet bend to attach the halyard to the eyesplice below the flag.
A little extra length in the halyard to join the two ends when a flag is not being flown.
 
And I added a few small drops of cyano to keep the flag in the direction I wanted.
 
And my first wood model is done! Thanks a bunch, mates.
 

Very excited to rig my first sails! 

Thoughts on Build Space
 
Having begun in mid December, I’m 3/4 of the way through with this build. Before opening the box, I gave a lot of thought to my build space. I bought a Husky hobby desk (height adjustable via simple hand crank and 2 deep drawers) that fit by a window in a nook of the room my daughter likes to play in. I also purchased a comfortable video game chair and glass mat (the mat came after a major failure of a traditional plastic mat). I also set up a Klipsch wireless speaker for ambience (usually classical or country). 
 
I believe that at least 50% of my progress and enjoyment of this hobby is due to the convenience and accessibility of my build location. Being able to add a quick plank before dinner, or finishing a dead-eye with my daughter and dog playing next to me is fabulous. If I had to retreat to some dark, dank basement closet, I probably wouldn’t have made it past the Keel. 

Shrouds - I’m not upset with them for a first ever effort, but there’s room for improvement for sure. Like last call at the local pub, they look incrementally better from a distance 🙂

August 2013
Assembled the display base.
 
For over 25 years this ship bounced around in a box. I moved 4 times, it was taken back and forth to the cottage and, throughout it all, it was sitting on an assembly stand that I had made out of a scrap piece of oak and the wooden 'sprue' left over from the sheet the bulkheads were cut from. Only a few months ago I switched to Micromark's foam stand and the oak was sitting with my stored wood.
 

(The "chunk" in action as an assembly stand)
 
Now, the unbelievable was happening...I was ready to install the hull on a display base! And, for the first time in over 25 years, it dawned on me that this kit didn't come with a base!
 
At this point I realized that I just had to use that chunk of oak that had been the companion of this model for all this time. I had taken up relief carving as a hobby and, inspired by a book in which a ship modeller carved the base to look like waves, I envisioned a rippling water surface under the ship. I didn't want rolling waves because the Swift didn't have sails, just little ripples as if it was at anchor. (So, now I'm thinking of having an anchor cable over the gunwales and strung through the base to simulate this.) I also toyed with the idea of embedding the keel into the wooden waves but decided against it. While still trying to decide how to attach the model to the base, I took out my gouges and carved waves and ripples into the oak. The waves don't look exactly how I wanted, but they will do. (Note: basswood is much easier to carve than red oak!) I cut the board to size on the table saw with a slight bevel. Sanded and varnished, the base looked ok.
 

 
After mulling for several weeks and checking out brass and wooden options I eventually settled on wooden craft barrels for the standoffs. After determining the placement of the stand offs I drilled holes through the oak and, using forstner bits, drilled counter sinks into the base so the barrels would sit just a fraction into the waves. How to actually fasten it all together was a problem. A dado in the top of the barrel would hopefully keep the keel in place. I was having a hard time finding screws that were slender and long enough to attach through the base and barrels into the keel so I decided to use a two-tiered connection. First, drill through the barrels and fasten them to the keel with 1" screws that were deeply set into a larger countersink. Second, large diameter t-nuts in the bottom of the barrels would let me use machine screws through the oak. The t-nuts would have to be inserted first, so I chose a size that would allow me to insert a screwdriver through it to fasten the screws.
 

Top, bottom and the bottom of a barrel with the t-nut installed
 

Bandsaw cuts and a utility knife helped make the dado for the keel.
 

 
Before the actual assembly of the base I installed the rudder. I predrilled holes in the hull using the gudgeons as templates and then affixed them with brass pins that I cut to about 3/16" in length. A drop of cyano was applied to each pin before pushing them in.
 
The idea of drilling in to the keel was making me sweat bullets. I needed to make sure the pilot holes I drilled were centred, straight and plumb, so I used the occasion to buy a drill press for my Dremel. I used reusable electrical tie wraps to level and secure the model to the foam base and set it under the Dremel, where I had marked the depth of the pilot hole on the bit. Thinking of that fast moving bit and how rapidly it can remove material, I got nervous about going off centre and drilling through the side of the keel. So, I actually turned the chuck by hand to drill these holes. Thank goodness this worked. I probably should have searched MSW a little more for advice on how to do this next time. I'd be happy to hear what you folks do.
 
 
The final assembly of the base actually went very smoothly. Screwed the barrels into the keel, then screwed the base to the barrels.
 

Antony,
 
Sorry for the late reply, but here's a photo of the shot locker on the preserved frigate Trincomalee.
 

 
John

Welcome to MSW, Ken! It's fitting you're building the Bluenose 2, a beautiful Canadian ship. Will follow along with your build log.
 
I've just finished the Artesania Latina Bluenose 2 and have some good resources (books, practicum, plans) of her if you're interested? DM me if so and I'll share photos and links.

Welcome to MSW, Ken.  You've come to a good harbor with members willing to help.  I suggest you open a build log for her as it'll help you meet others and also let folks follow along.  

Hello ken, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'.
 
John

Welcome aboard, Ken!   You've come to the right place for advice…and the Bluenose is a popular model (of course!🇨🇦) so there will be lots of ideas and help available.
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe

Welcome aboard, Ken!   You've come to the right place for advice…and the Bluenose is a popular model (of course!🇨🇦) so there will be lots of ideas and help available.
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe