AJohnson

I've certainly noticed the price of kits like Diana going up a lot in the last couple of years, sign of the times generally costs are going up across the board, and hobby costs are no exception. I also would love to build a 'Heavy' frigate, though at £600 I am beginning to think that might buy a few more power tools (saws etc.) and plans to scratch build what I aspire to. My dream build would be a 1/64 version of the grand old lady from 1817 that is gently bobbing around in Hartlepool.... I'm not sure a Leda class frigate would come out in kit form these days, so scratch building seems the only way to go. The only flaw in my cunning plan are my woodworking skills! 🤣 I have two more CC kits in my stash (Snake & Endeavour) and I will see how I feel about scratch building a frigate when I get the other side of those. The first one is going to get "kit-bashed" into a different Cruizer class sloop, so that might be a good stepping stone, or put me off entirely! 😳 Then again Chris keeps tempting me with his lovely trawler kits! 😁

Very nice Dave, how did you make those wooden bands that border the woldings?

Fantastic Will! What a little beauty she has turned out to be! Well done, the shaping of the sails has really worked out well 👏

Update showing the correct size sail templates I made for positioning and finally fixing the bowsprit. From reference to March I added a heel rope for the Bowsprit; a knotted end in the starboard bitt round the heel of the bowsprit, fastened to the bitt near the Gypsy winch, then back around the heel to a cleat on the starboard bitt again and a coil of rope added to finish off. Also fixed and lashed down the boat, again with refence to the Marsh drawings/plans. Other little details added was a pump handle for the top of the Tow Post/Dummy and some card to represent iron straps on the tiller.

Yes, this was my source, MSW is a mine of useful info, lots of people out there who are generous of their time and knowledge.

Hi Trond, I wondered about these very same little details and was advised they were probably the additional "Air scuttles" Bligh had added for the plants in the great cabin. (See post #49 in my build log)

Hi Andy, sorry to hear of the passing of your Father. Happy to see you back building your "Nisha", very nice planking. 👍

Ah! Here is a thing, are the plans supposed to be printed on A3 (420x297mm)? as my sheets are 360x255mm which is approx. 15% smaller (maybe no coincidence?), I seem to recall Will building the Erycina mentioned the same size reduction.

Hi @chris watton, sorry to labour this point, I have made some temporary sails, tracing over Plant Sheet #7 and they look small on the model? I have re-measured my completed mast compared to the dimensions on Plan Sheet #4 and they match (that was my first reaction - that I had made the mast too long). Holding the Plan sheets up to the light the sails on plan sheet #7 are the same size as plan sheets #8 & #9 and the dimensions of the mast as measured on those plans (#8 & #9) are smaller than your stated dimension on plan #4... Done a rough cross check with the admittedly small plans in March and these come out bigger, I think by approx.15%. I'm sincerely hoping my plan #7 is the culprit, it is on the same size sheet as the other plans 360x260mm. Thanks

Thanks Chris, some may indeed may "prefer" to make their own - but it remains to be seen if I can! 😉 I shall copy the sail plan and do paper templates using your plans to see how they hang temporarily; I still need to resolve in my head the bowsprit position, so your sail plan will hopefully resolve that for me. Soon to be stepping masts and adding standing rigging etc. - Exciting stuff, seeing it come together, my frustration at seizing blocks aside (nothing to do with the kit, just me!) I have really enjoyed this build so far. 😁

Hi Chris, Hope you are well. Quick question if I may, the Nisha sail plans are they same size as the rest of the plans? (Approx reduced by 14% or so?) Going to have bash at making tissue/paper ones I have seen some really beautiful examples here on MSW, if all fails expect a Nisha sail set order sometime! 🤣

Lovely looking model, quiet an impressive Trawler fleet VM building. 👍

An update that has taken some doing AND re-doing! 😣 I have really struggled to re-learn tying blocks to things, having not done it for ages, my first attempts either 'slipped their moorings' of their own account (too shame faced to call themselves seizing's!) or looked so naff that I cut them off myself in frustration. So an evening trawling MSW for inspiration, tip and tricks and I came a cross a few that I have tried out this last few evenings. One I found by @Thanasis is especially promising, so I have given it a go and after making my own "Tie-fast seizing tyer" out of an old paint brush. I won't go into the method, as it is very well explained in the link below. Suffice to say I will be trying it out more to see if I can become more proficient at it. My results below, six whole blocks tied on in two evening! 😆

Lovely job Yves, one advantage to how you have done it is there are no blobs of C-A that can smear onto the copper preventing it from ageing or being treated to darken and/or add Verde green like effects using vinegar. (I have a Bounty using the kit tiles and I tried ageing it and have stubborn 'bright' tiles protected by my messy C-A application. - the last time I shall be doing that! - Thanks Yves for showing me way! 😁) @DaveBaxt I have had a quick look at this is readily available in the UK, just look under electrical wholesalers (like CPC / Farnell etc.) there is even a 6.35mm wide tape almost ideal for 1/64 scale models. 👍

Fantastic coppering 👏 - definitely better than tiles/C-A. Are you going to 'weather' the tiles at all, or are you going to let them naturally darken over the years?

Ha 😆, think all here on MSW is fair game and open to emulation/'stealing' (sort of one of the reasons for build logs I think 😉) You could start a trend for adding fish to trawler builds.... 🐟🐠🐡

Really enjoying seeing you make you own masts Dave, your ‘have a go’ attitude shows the way and I think I will try to follow in your footsteps on my next build, I have not been happy with the dowels on my Bounty, so my next build will be more of a kit bash (an old HMS Snake I have in stock) so don’t want to go down that route of using the provided dowels again. where did you get your nice planes from?

This update mostly on the progress with making the mast, gaff and bowsprit; work just starting on the boom, but nothing worth reporting on that yet. Bowsprit:- Added some little details with reference once again to Edgar Marsh and his fabulously detailed book, added a collar and ring for the Topmast stay, drilled a couple of holes to simulate the sheave for the Jib and finally added a strip of card to simulate an iron rubbing strake for when the Bowsprit is run in. Gaff:- Main addition I made was to add a rocking tumbler between the jaws of the Horns, pleased in the end it does 'rock' but yes I did break the jaws making it! 😆 glue once again my friend, finally card strips glued on to represent iron bands. Main Mast:- A few little details added over and above those provided in the kit, a topmast fid (not really visible in these pictures) an arm for Lantern halyards and mainmast cheeks; these are just visible in the Marsh plans of "Nisha" (see extract of those plans). Finally an addition that took the most time but is actually hardly visible so not really worth the effort perhaps, is that I added rubbing battens, top and tailed by a collar and chaffing plate respectively. I thinned the kit's walnut dowel where the rubbing battens were to be fixed and then cut thin strips from 0.5mm planks for the battens and glued in place. These needed sanding so the mast hoops still moved freely. Wish I had used a slightly different colour/type of wood for this, so it stood out better, but at least I know I made the effort, even if you can't see it from more than six inches away! 🤨 Finished the session off with preparing some blocks for stropping to the mast etc. I have been prevaricating around the bush regarding starting some rigging of blocks, so I have been taking my time and trawling MSW for tips. I read on other threads how pre-gluing the thread to the blocks with PVA first helps with managing the whipping process. The blocks with pins at one end are for simple beckets, which I have hopefully sealed in shape with fly tying varnish; hoping to try and not use CA for my rigging on this build.

Looking very good James as usual! 👏 How big is ‘Saucy Jack’ in comparison to ‘Nisha’, looks similar from the pictures, but maybe wider? The ‘Admiral’ has given permission for me to build a pair of small fishing boats, also keen to see the ‘Ranger’ sometime later.

Hi Grey we’ve all done that, breaking a part we have spent ages on, part of the process, thing is I keep having to relearn that one! 🤣 Learning to slow down is something that doesn’t come naturally to me, so you are not alone in having to keep that in mind. you are making good progress, keep at it! 👏

Hi, really happy to see an update of your 'Bounty' you have been busy and made great progress, very neat cannons and masts, you have leap-frogged my progress there, as I have got side tracked on another little project. The ships boats are a challenge alright! 😆 Also like your dust protector - good idea! 👍

That looks fantastic Will! 👏 the sails really bring the model to life. I’m also considering how to make the sails ‘look’ wind filled, I am watching with interest how you get along.

Thanks Bob, The crew, boxes and barrels are all from Vanguard; all hi-res printed, I performed surgery on a couple of them to adapt for my build (the arms of the skipper so he was holding the tiller and the dog so he looked more like my daughter’s dog ‘Mylo’)

Hi, Regarding the copper plating, I thought that issue was resolved long ago, as they have been pulling copper plates out the resting place of Bounty in Pitcairn for years? (A quick search on the web got me these links in a few minutes.) https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/v8RrCz_SRtCcGn6qcOQXsA https://yesterdaysisland.com/artifact-wreck-bounty/

Well that would be good, but my Admiral sees my model boats as a distraction from far more ‘important’ things like decorating the house or gardening and other such ‘defaulters’ punishments, at least she doesn’t have a ‘Cat-o-nine tails’! 🤣