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Admiral Beez
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Everything posted by Admiral Beez
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I wanted some ideas on how to get a more varnished wood colour for the upper masts. So, I asked ChatGPT. Q: What model paint colours can I mix to make paint that looks like vanished wood? A: To create a paint that mimics the look of varnished wood, you can mix various brown tones and incorporate a glossy medium to simulate the shine of varnish. Experiment with mixing brown, sienna, and ochre hues, adding a touch of red or orange for warmth. Additionally, blending in a gloss or varnish medium will enhance the finish. Adjust the ratios until you achieve the desired wood-like color and sheen. I’m happy with how it turned out. The upper masts and outer bowsprit look like varnished wood to me now, rather than the raw wood look I’ve used on the decks. Two coats of custom paint. Now, I had already clear coated the masts, so admittedly I’m painting without a primer, but I will clear coat it again tomorrow morning (after I touch up the black) to seal it all in. You can also see my repaired mizzen mast below.
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Was removing the tape on my newly painted mizzenmast, and snap! I guess hollowing out the mast and then inserting a carbon rod left a cavity at top that severed. I’ll insert another carbon rod to fill the gap and serve as a guide to align the two pieces.
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Making progress. Masts and iron hoops painted. I still need to add the black hoops to the mizzenmast and add patina to the upper masts so they more resemble the deck colour.
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I like how someone created wooden decks for this plastic model. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/223990286973
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I don't think so, the masts would be even weaker than plastic. I'm probably over thinking it, and my ship would have looked fine with the masts as is. But this is my experimental or training project, so I am trying different ideas. Masts now primed. The mizzen topmast and topgallant masts are crooked, but I'll see what I can do with rigging to make it straight.
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@greenskin true points. Several builders swap out the masts and yards for wooden ones. But that's beyond my level of commitment and skill. I've just finished priming the carbon fibre reinforced masts. Always make sure to wear a ventilator and work in a room with an extraction fan, like a small bathroom. Work continues....
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I think this is the last plastic sailing ship I'm going to make. The masts and yards are just too bendy. Heller should have cast these parts in resin or something more rigid. I'll still make plastic ships, but no more sailing craft. Mind you, it's taken me three years to get to this point.... so we'll see.
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There must be sufficient demand in the modeling community for a Napoleonic War 74 gun ship of the line for a company to supply a better plastic kit. But no.... it's Superbe (and its clone https://www.heller.fr/en/80889-le-glorieux-1000808890) or nothing.
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I used my Dremel's cone bit to widen the hole for the mizzenmast. I have also used CA (Cyanoacrylate) super glue to attach 0.5 mm carbon fibre rods to the fore, main and mizzen topmasts and topgallant masts. I think once I fill, sand, prime and paint the masts the rods will not be very visible, and will give a little resistance to the rigging. I will be affixing 1.0 mm rods under each yard, as they are less visible.
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This kit is frustratingly poorly made. The holes in the deck for the fore and mainmasts are too big, and too small for the mizzenmast. I guess I was supposed to install the mizzenmast before I affixed the poopdeck, but that’s no where in the instructions.
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I used my Dremel and a scribe tool to create a channel in the mizzenmast to hold a 1mm carbon fibre rod. It’s much too bendy without it. I can’t safely cut a channel into the topmasts and topgallant masts for adding carbon fibre rods, so I’ll just make sure that the standing rigging pulls evenly. I will hide a carbon fibre rod underneath each yard. These cheap mini clamps are a great help.
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We’re truly bereft of plastic kits at any scale of the Royal Navy’s Napoleonic-era warships. There’s at least four plastic kits of HMS Victory: https://uk.airfix.com/products/hms-victory-a09252v https://www.heller.fr/en/80897-hms-victory-1000808970 https://www.revell.de/en/products/modelmaking/ships/sailings-ships/h-m-s-victory.html https://www.revell.de/en/products/modelmaking/ships/sailings-ships/hms-victory.html And that’s it. No frigates or other ships of the line. I suppose we have HMS Bounty, but that’s no warship. Which of course is why Heller’s Le Superbe of the France’s Téméraire-class stands in for HMS Spartiate. It’s a good thing that the Royal Navy captured so many of her sisters.
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I am flummoxed by the instructions on building the mainmast. See the last photo below, you'll see two holes in the topmast base, presumably for a pully to step the mast. As far as I can tell when you install the upper mast into the lower mast top these two holes are covered. I've consulted with my model club and the consensus is to forget about it and glue it up.
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It's show and tell at the local model boat builders meeting. My model looks like a dispatch cutter next to this larger scale HMS Victory. It's interesting to see the finer lines of the French-built Téméraire-class hull forward compared to the deep, wide bows of HMS Victory. The former is made for speed, the latter for staying at sea in all conditions with plenty of stores.
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It’s time to paint up and beautify the stern. My ikea raising desk is still too short, so some improvisation needed. When I was building the hull I forgot to install the stern chasers. Now I can’t get them through the ports, so we’ll mock something up.
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Carbon fibre rods have arrived. Should be a good fit. I bought a ball-shaped carving tip for my Dremel to carve out the mold pieces inside the mast halves.
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Anchors assembled. They’re fiddly things to ensure their all perpendicular. Today I ordered 1mm short and 1.5mm longer carbon fibre rods for inserting into the masts and spars. For the two piece masts this is easy, just stick in the rod before you seal the two halves together. But on single piece spars I must carve out a channel to affix the rod, hence the smaller 1mm size. https://www.amazon.ca/MECCANIXITY-Carbon-Fiber-1-5mm-Quadcopter/dp/B0B8H877L8 https://www.amazon.ca/MECCANIXITY-Carbon-Fiber-150mm-Quadcopter/dp/B0BDX893CP
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Used my dremel and micro saw to cut open the poop deck and also cut down and reshaped the skylight. I accidentally ground down part of the hand railing on the poop. but had some spare styrene to reshape it.
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I’ve sand flush the bottom of the donor skylight. But it’s too big, and especially too tall. I’m thinking of standing it down to half height. I could try cutting off one end and putting the end panels back on the now shortened length. Thoughts?
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Thanks Tom. That was a great suggestion. I used a micro drill bit to open up the chimney.
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I’ve fabricated the ship’s chimney from a piece of sprue, replacing the forward capstan. Also, all gun port lids now installed, less the stern 32 pounders. I’ve painted black the strings on the underside of the doors to simulate the iron fittings. My next step is to sort out the poop skylight, which this kit omits entirely, keeping in mind I also plan to add two or four smaller cannonades on the poop. As I look at these photos I see lots of places where paint touch up is needed.
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I put my shipyard plans into a poster frame. I have another for the rigging plans. I’ll hang these by my work desk.
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Hey Tom, thanks for checking in. I've taken a bit of a break from the model. During the brief Canadian summer I spend more time on the water with the local remote control sailboat club, https://metromarine.org/sail-division/ This is the same club where the static division is helping with the Le Superbe/HMS Spartiate build above. That said, I am getting back onto the project, with three more gunport lids to install tonight. I'm also going to cut off the jeer capstan and create a square base and use some of the sprue to make a proper chimney in place of the capstan, like on HMS Trincomalee below, see just aft of the foremast, but with a bend like on HMS Victory at bottom. My goal is to have the ship completed and ready for rigging in September.
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I wish I’d caught that before and I could easily have moved the wheel. I’m tempted to try to pull it out and move it. Mind you, the single central stairway to the poop is in the way, as the RN would have two stairways on either side, likely to clear the forward positioned wheel. So, I’ll just leave it, on the assumption that our recently captured French ship needs to get quickly into British service. As I keep reminding myself, this is my learning ship, lol.
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