AJohnson
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Flags supplied by Amati look to be too big
AJohnson replied to DaveBaxt's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
Hi Dave, CC don't supply flags, so I got this BECC 75mm one for my Bounty from Cornwall MB.
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Morning All, @Thunder Looks like you have few Caldercraft under your belt 😃, generally I think they are a good kits (some variable quality wood stock) but I have always been happy with them. Although I have no experience of them, comments on MSW seem to indicate they are not keeping up development wise with the likes of Victory/Amati & Vanguard, but Chris Watton's evolving design's behind all three of these companies! 😉. @DaveBaxt I completely understand the "pull" of the local connection with Cook, think we have discussed before our proximity to Cook's old haunts. My feeling about the Endeavour is that I want to do it "justice" as it's our local hero's ship, so almost a disadvantage in some ways in that we don't want to muck it up. Still if we do, we can always build another - think i have seen somewhere on MSW that a 1:48 scale Endeavour is coming out soon, not sure who by though?
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Over the years I have built many of the Airfix range, those springing to mind of the sailing ships were their HMS Victory, Royal Sovereign & Cutty Sark. Then from the WW2 1:600 range, I have made a whole fleet! USS Forrestal, HMS Ark Royal, King George V, Ajax, Cambeltown, the Bismark, Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst etc. Sadly over the years there were many fleet actions (both deliberate destruction as a child; by fireworks and air rifle and accidents) so sadly the "Grand Fleet" consists of two survivors 😌 though ironically of two ships that didn't fair too well in the real world! - Graf Spee & HMS Hood! A few pictures attached, complete with their 1980's boxes (check the price on HMS Hood!), sadly these two are relegated to the garage as "they don't look as nice as the sailing ships" according to the Admiral...🤭
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I think both kits will present their own challenges, doing copper plates was quite therapeutic once I got into it on the Bounty, so that would be okay for the Snake, but no such worries with the Endeavour, the choice there is go with a white hull (as many do) or the more realistic brown/off-white (when fresh) look that the protective coating had. Decisions decisions! 😁 Hopefully you will get some input from those who have built the AL Endeavour amongst other manufacturers, before you make a decision.
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The Walnut is 4mm x 1mm, this seems to be Caldercraft's "standard" second planking stock. The issue on some planks was that I found the grain to be quite short and sometimes at an angle across the plank, so as Walnut is a little less pliable than some woods, it could splinter along these shorter grains, when trying to bend. It could be a combination of a few poor strips of wood and my less than "craftsman like" attempts at planking! To be honest I am torn as to which of my Caldercraft kits to do after the Bounty - Endeavour, or HMS Snake 🤔 there are a few Snake build logs out there, but not as many CC Endeavours.
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Hi Dave, I have the Caldercraft Endeavour. Attached are a few pictures of what is in the box. As you know I am building the Caldercraft Bounty at the moment and looking at what the Bounty kit is like and seeing what you get in the Endeavour kit, I would estimate that the effort involved is going to be up a level, perhaps another 50 - 75% more effort to build due to more detail and complexity. My comment would be that the quality of the materials are good, the wood seems good to me, but the second planking is in Walnut, which is hard to bend around a bluff bow like Endeavour/Bounty, so maybe look at swapping that? But otherwise all the fitting are good, a big PE brass sheet, brass cannons, think largely you will have everything you need. The ships boats look very similar to the Bounty's and will be a challenge to make look nice. Big caveat are the instructions, "sparse" does not do them justice! 🤣 - however there are the excellent large scale plans (eight of them!) But as you will have plenty of willing helpers on MSW if you do a build log, then I think any ambiguities could be overcome. I would be interested to see what others on MSW think, I have no experience of other offerings of the Endeavour.
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Looking good! 👏 and very neat. 😁 Do the fore/aft platforms slide under the bulwark capping rails? Or is there no "overhang" to the capping rail to worry about?
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Looking good! 👍 Based on what you have done so far would you say HMS Fly (or Pegasus) were a good learning curve before the "Diana"? Love the look of all three and would like to build them at some stage. 😁
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Following on from yesterday's update, I've finished the air scuttles and quarter galleries, adding details to the kit not provided by Caldercraft, by reference to McKay's "Anatomy of the Ship" book and comments provided elsewhere on MSW about the appearance of the Bounty. The air scuttles (added by Bligh to help ventilate the great cabin for the Breadfruit plant cargo) were made with spare planking with black card simulating the hinges. The domed roof of the quarter galleries were made with scrap MDF, which was easier to profile than a hard wood and as it was to be painted, no one would see, detailing again in card strip. Finishing off the anchors next and then on to the swivel guns!
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Great looking deck Trond! 👍
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Hi all, a quick update. Regarding the anchor cables, I decided to follow the Artesania Latina 1/48 kit builds and I made two openings in the deck between the main hatch and fore companion way with deck reinforcing collars. Not sure if that is right given the multitude of ways I have seen the anchor cables dealt with on the Bounty builds on MSW, but at least if it is wrong, then it is partially "hidden" by the two boats that I have now completed and added. Thanks to @Tim Moore & @hornet for advice on tying them to the deck. Next on the list, I am working on the air scuttles and quarter galleries adding details to the kit not provided by CC, with reference to McKay's "Anatomy of the Ship" book, will add updates shortly. Thats all for now, thanks for looking in! 👋
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Not much progress this last few days; work getting in the way 🤨 However this has given me some time to pause and think about the next steps before I charge on like the proverbial "Bull in a China Shop". Anchor cable, just where does that go!?! 🤔 The instructions from CC (see picture) suggest coiling it up just aft of the winch barrels, but that can't be right, AOTS by McKay states Bounty's cables were 100 fathoms long / 600ft /180ish metres, no way that is going on deck easily! Why would CC suggest something not possible? I have seen on other builds a few variations on where the cable enters the hull for stowage:- in the main hatch, with variation of at the leading or trailing ends, or down some holes in between the main hatch and forward hatch, or the forward hatch even.... I'm guessing this is one of those "unknowns" that was not recorded, just wondered if the good and knowledgeable folk on MSW had any suggestion on the most likely? Think I need to resolve this before tying on the ships boats though. Thanks,
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Hi Trond, it depends on how prominent you want the dark line between the planks to simulate caulking. If you edge both planks butting up to each other you will get a more noticeable line. Maybe experiment on a few short sections with combinations of no edges marked / one edge / two edges. Also worth doing on scrap bits in case you use a marker that "bleeds" into the wood a little and causes a "fuzzy" look to the plank edges. I know I came across that effect on some of my planking even though the wood strip all came from the same batch in the kit! Good luck, let us know what you decide on... 👍
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The historic quayside development around Trincomalee really sets the scene/context and adds more “interest” for visitors who are not nautical fanatics like us (long suffering Admirals spring to mind 🤣 - or unwilling kids dragged along, ask me how I know this...). I think the key to successfully historic attractions of any kind is “broad” appeal, from the enthusiast/history buffs through to tourists, families etc. A historic ship, no matter how glorious in our eyes will struggle in isolation without it being part of a larger “attraction” or within easy reach of something else attractive. I hope there is some kind of vision like this for HMS Unicorn can be realised, perhaps a Scottish “branch” of the same museum network Trincomalee is part of? Let’s hope so. A trip to Hartlepool is on my list for this year once everything up and running after COVID restrictions ease 😄
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- HMS Unicorn
- preservation
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Conventions mentioned above notwithstanding, but does anyone think any preference might be influenced at all by if you are left or right handed? It may sound daft, I only say that as I like to display my models showing their port side, but it occurs to me that may be because I’m left handed and do the same for model aircraft. Just a random thought....
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I have sympathy with that idea, but not sure local interests would allow her to be moved (the income from tourism would be hard to let go) and that move would be a very expensive operation. But preserving historic vessels is ruinously expensive, just look at the near constant efforts even the “icons” like HMS Victory require and budgets that go with that. Not sure what the answer is long term for less famous ships like Unicorn (well apart from loads on money!) hope Unicorn gets her new home and reinstated cover from the elements. 🤞
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- HMS Unicorn
- preservation
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I have the two Keith Julier "Period Ship" books and have found them useful, a little duplication between them, but not too much. Not got the "Rigging Period ship models" title, is it good?
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It certainly does! Very nice build 👏 I'm doing the Snake next so glad I have this log and Jason's to follow! 👍
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Bit more progress to report, finished rigging the Cannons, well I say "finished" more like left alone before make things worse! Clearly the blocks are over scale, I used kit supplied ones, but think they should have been smaller. I tried to do it right with hooks and stropping/seizing etc. but for such small cannons at 1/64th scale, it left very little room for the tackle ropes with all the over scale blocks/eyes/hooks. Lesson for the future, maybe just the breeching ropes on small guns? - sometimes less might be more perhaps, or learn to be more dexterous and use 2 - 1.5mm blocks! 🤣 I was however happy with my first rope coils! Snooped about on MSW and copied other peoples ideas to produce a jig using 1 inch plastic counters and push pins. Next up the ships boats! ⛵
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Trond, good progress there, admire that you doing your own lettering and stern decorations, all provided for me on my Caldercraft version! 👏 - you are going to be scratch building before you know it!
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Great Progress Dave, i'm not too far from starting the masts and yards on my Bounty now, so will be checking in on your rigging progress! 👍 One thing that intrigues me, your lower masts are painted white, is that in the instructions? Caldercraft make no mention of the mast colouration for my kit, I know the larger Bounty replica (the one that unfortunately sank in a storm a few years back) had white masts, just thinking about the historical likelihood before i get to that decision! Keep up the good work! 😁
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Tool holder that makes it easy to see the tool?
AJohnson replied to kearnold's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
I use one of these little workstations, it has a cutting matt and tool/paints/brushes holder at the back. Can be a little restrictive if working on the complete hull, but doing assemblies and small parts it is just fine. Matt is 18 inches by 12 inches.
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Very good 👏, like others have said I would still be crawling around on the floor looking for the first bit that pinged into orbit! 😆
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Yes a 1/24 Corsair would be great - naturally a "clipped-wing" FAA version (for fitting in smaller RN carriers) for me, but I'm biased! I hoped Airfix might do something as they had already got the engine tooled, but if Trumpy do one, just hope they get the basic shape right, not something they always do...
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Selection of pictures of the finished model. Some showing the Hellcat with a 1/72 scale Wildcat for comparison! If you have room for only one 1/24 aircraft kit, I would seriously recommend Airfix's Hellcat; or perhaps the equally brutish Hawker Typhoon (I have two of those - one built and one in stock... 😁)
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