AJohnson

I haven’t personally stained decks, usually I just put a few coats of Danish oil on mine. If you have some off-cuts of the contrasting planks you could try out your dilute greys before committing to model, but think it could be a solution. If you don’t go for it I still think it will be great once the “clutter” of guns and other fittings are added.

The deck looks very neat Dan, I see what you mean about the planking colours, but the majority of the paler stuff will be hidden by the cannons, which will distract greatly compared to the empty deck now. 👍

Hi Dan, Planking can be frustrating, but if you are not happy then I really respect your decision to call a halt and try something else. You could still “learn” on Sherbourne, redoing the 1st planking on it can be as good tutorial if you treat it as “dress rehearsal” for the 2nd layer. I’m just starting the 1st planking on my latest project “Sparkler” a very bluff bowed beast, managed four planks in as many hours! 🤣. Hopefully adding to the building log this weekend.

Just catching up Dan with your latest VM instalment, great progress. 👏

Sanding is not the best, but as Craig said feel or touch is the best way to gauge how smooth it is. From the pictures above I think more sanding. Also holding the hull up to a light or window will show up any imperfections visually better.

We won’t tell a soul Rob! 🤣 Your planking looks very nice, you are brave putting it on the hob, my Admiral is very precious about not scratching our hob! 🫣 Hope your health doing okay Rob.

Shut the front door! 🚪 🤣 Agreed you are are going to be swamped by comments, time for Volume III I think! 😂

Good to see you back at the model workbench Andy! 👋

While starting the initial stages of the build and needing to get some pictures taken and start the build log, a little history of Sparkler, summarised from the detail available from the History of Kent forum and Wiki. HM Gunboat No.7 was built at Deptford in 1797. Immediately after her launch, she was taken to the Royal Dockyard at Deptford, where she was fitted out and her hull was coppered. Once completed she commissioned into the Channel Fleet under Lieutenant Austin Ternan. The vessel was formally named HMS Sparkler on 7th August 1797. Lieutenant Ternan was replaced by Lieutenant William Walker in June 1798. Walker's command was not a shining example, as On 2nd July 1800, Lieutenant Walker was Court Martialled. He was charged with False Muster, False Accounting and entering his infant son on the books and claiming for provisions for absent hands. He also reduced the fresh provisions for the vessel's crew and took the remainder ashore for his own use. Lieutenant Walker was found guilty of all charges by the Court Martial Board and was dishonourably dismissed from the Service. He also liked his creature comforts and applied for permission to alter the cabins to provide himself more space! This was refused, a plan from the RMG (ZAZ5028) shows the cabin arrangements as existing and Walker’s proposed alterations. Of note is a little detail I spotted, in that his cabin already had a stove, so that is one little detail I will need to add, a small chimney for that stove. (Something like the one Chris has added to Harpy) Lieutenant John Stevens was appointed to command HMS Sparkler in August 1800. In company with other Royal Navy sloops and gun-vessels drove two French sloops ashore at Grandcamp Bay in Northern France on 19 Aug 1800, and destroyed them. A dispatch dated 11 September 1800 credits the ship, along with the cutters HMS Dolphin, HMS Champion & sister ship HMS Bouncer in destroying two more French sloops on 9 September 1800. On 15 September 1800, Lieutenant Charles Papps Price, of HMS Badger, sighted a French long cutter some four miles off the West Island of the Îles Saint-Marcouf. He sent Lieutenant M'Cullen of the Royal Marines with 24 picked men in Badger's ten-oared galley and six-oared cutter to catch the French vessel. He also signaled Sparkler to draw the fire of two shore batteries, one of two 24-pounder guns and one of two 12-pounder guns, while Badger's boats cut out the French vessel. The French crew ran their cutter on shore and cut her masts and rigging. Nevertheless, the British towed her off despite heavy small-arms fire from the shore. The prize was the privateer rowboat Victoire, mounting four swivel guns, 26 oars, and having a crew of at least 40 men, under the command of Captain Barier. Price described her as "quite new... the completest Boat for the Service of the Islands that possibly could be constructed." The only British casualty was Badger's gunners mate, who took a musket ball to the shoulder. Lieutenant William Dick replaced Stevens in 1801 before Sparkler departed for the Baltic. Sparkler joined Admiral Hyde Parker's North Sea Fleet at Yarmouth to take part in the expedition to the Baltic, which had as its objective to compel the Danes to abandon their neutrality. In March Sparkler sailed with Parker's fleet from Yarmouth for Copenhagen. Sparkler was present at the Battle of Copenhagen on the 2nd April 1801, part of the supporting Gunboats to the south of the Middle ground sand banks. Sparkler's crew received head money for the engagement, but she did not actually participate in the battle and so her crew was not listed among those qualifying for the clasp "Copenhagen" Service medal. Following the Treaty of Amiens, the "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered the "Sparkler Gun-Vessel, 160 Tons, Copper-bottomed", lying at Sheerness, for sale on 9 September 1802. Sparkler then became a merchantman. She was raised in 1803 and given a new top and sides of fir plank. She first appeared in the online copies of the registers in the 1804 volume of the Register of Shipping (RS). She first appeared in Lloyd's register in the volume for 1805. On 3 December 1812 the French privateer Augusta, of 14 guns and 120 men, from Saint Malo, captured several British merchantmen near Scilly. One of the captured vessels was Sparkler, Brown, master, which had been sailing from Cadiz to London. Auguste put Sparkler's crew, as well as that of two other merchantmen, aboard Mary, which Auguste then released.Mary arrived at Plymouth on 30 December On 23 December HMS Armide and the hired cutter Nimrod were in company when they recaptured the English brig Sparkler, A. Brown, master. Nimrod sent Sparkler into Portland Roads. Having been captured and recaptured, Sparkler apparently changed masters, and perhaps owner, a change that was not reflected in Lloyd's Register. The next mention of Sparkler was that on 11 July 1813 she had arrived at Gravesend from Memel, with Keith, master. In February 1814 the transport Sparkler, Keith, master, was driven ashore and wrecked at Bayonne. The French took the crew prisoner.

Wonderful build, congratulations!

I’m getting claustrophobic just looking at those pictures! 😱 😆

Another fine cutter joining the MSW fleet. I will be following along. 🍿

Hot on the heels of my Trial build, I'm starting a log for my next build, @chris watton's latest kit the Gun-Brig Adder. Though I will be building it as one of the others in the Acute class - Sparkler! The Admiral and my daughter looked through the list of fifteen names available in the class and said "Make it as Sparkler!" so this is what was decided and I mentioned this on Chris's Vanguard news and updates thread a while back, little did I know someone was was taking note and I received a lovely surprise inside the box when I opened it and it contained a custom nameplate emblazoned with the name "Sparkler" 😁 . Thanks again Chris! I won't do an unboxing as such as there are already three other Adder logs on the go by @DB789, @ECK & @Glenn-UK so I will try to avoid repetition. I will however try to build on what I learned on building Trial and will be adding sails again. The scene I want to have a go at recreating is of the Brig hove-to and handling a boat. There are some wonderful drawings and sketches available as references; a few below to give you a flavour of my ambitions for this kit (whether I get there time will tell! 😉) The last two are taken from E. W. Petrejus's book "Modelling the Brig of War "IRENE" " (one of my favourite refrences.) Enhancements planned and bought so far include pear blocks from Vanguard and an 18ft. cutter, I also think @BenD at Ropes of Scale will be getting an order for more of his fine products.... Updates in due course for those interested. 👋

Okay Ron, I’ll watch out for your results in the Gallery hopefully and your Harpy log after. Chris is really spoiling us for choices of our next projects. I wonder what his “big” one will be for 2025… 🤔

I agree Ronald, your deck does indeed look very good.

You made a really smart one, that looks very good, interesting subject.

I do, they will be fiddly to add later. Just make sure they are fully seated so enough pokes out of the underside for you to wrap your rigging around. Something I didn’t do with a few on my Trial build on a couple of them. Your build is looking very good, like how neat it looks on post #59.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with those markers, they seem an attractive method in principle.

Thank you Ron, my next project is going to be Adder, but as "Sparkler" - are you doing a log I can copy from?! 😁

Well here we are folks, I'm calling this one finished. I made the Ensign and Pennant using tissue with a wire edge to shape them over the last few days, hand painted with acrylic, though I think @dunnock daughter is better at them! 😁 Again a few dicey moments getting the crewman to hold the ensign halyard without breaking him! It has been great fun doing this and I have learned a lot more to take forward to the next build. It has also been a great distraction whilst continuing to recover from my heart attack and other health issue over this summer. Thank you all for following along and for the comments and help as always and to @chris watton for another superb kit. In a while I will be starting a log for HMS Sparkler 🎇 (a sister ship of Vanguard's HMS Adder) Here are some final pictures. Until next time shipmates!

Hi Dan, that planking does look good! and a nice smooth curve at the bow, that is hard with the inner bulwark pattern wanting to bend sharply where the gun port is, had that issue on my Trial build. What planking have you got coming for the deck?

- won't you get withdrawal symptoms? 🤒 I hope you continue to lurk around MSW anyway...

Hi Doug, congratulations - she looks really good! So whats next?

That rudder coat looks good and a great tip on using old lens cloths, I have loads of those hanging around.

Good evening, we are getting close to the finish line! Rope hanks and the crew added! The figures from Vanguard @chris watton are just great, I only wish my shaky hands could do them justice, a miniature figure painter I'm not! But I'm happy with the overall look from normal viewing distance, macro is so cruel! 😬 This was a delicate process (and painful for some of the crew), as I performed surgery on a few of them to re-pose them for my take on "gunnery practice" and drilled out a few hands for the Carronade training tackles. Think they add to the impression of a busy deck, but the real Trial must have been very crowded as this motley bunch are only about a quarter of her complement. Only the port main yard counter brace to add (I dare not add it before I had got the crew on board for fear of snagging it as I reached in to place them.) Then the flag & pennant to make and add with their halyards. Then a final clean up and touch up with matt varnish where recent glue added. Thanks you all for the like and comments.