Nearshore

Hi Frecap, I really like what you have done with the bulkheads. They look much better than the PE parts that are supplied with the kit. You are doing a very nice job and you are inhancing the look of this kit with the parts you are making from scatch. Looking forward to seeing more of your inovated ideas and technics. Your Bellona is looking great!! Nearshore

Hello All, This is a short video of how I made the cannons for the Bellona. It doesn't show every step, such as making all the eyelets, split rings, preparing the cannons and such, but it does give an idea of just how labor intensive it is to construct the cannons. On an average it takes me about 2 hours to make each cannon. Hope you enjoy. Cheers Nearshore

A true masterpiece in the making. Very nicely done.

Hi Frecap, Thank you for the compliment. You are correct in that I have not installed the Quarter deck. I have also not installed the poop deck. I will not install the poop deck until I have installed and completed the quarter deck. You are correct in that Corel does not give very good direction on sequence of assembly. My approach is to complete the outer hull and move onto the main deck and build up from there installing the Quarter deck after I have completed the main deck. The poop deck will be the last deck that I will install. You are doing an amazing job on your Bellona and I quite enjoy following your build. Your technics are very well thought out. Nearshore

Hi Frecap, They look fantastic. Great job!! Nearshore

Hello All, Well, it has been a few months since I updated my build log. When I last left off I was having a dilemma on the sequence of assembly. I have been working on some of the other items such as the mast and mast tops as well as the deadeyes that will be needed later on in the build. I have not included any pictures of these items as I will save them for another time and include them when I get to that stage. What I have been spending a lot of time on are the cannons that will be on the upper gun deck. I have been working on these for some time now as I did not know how I wanted to present them on my model. I started with using the pieces that were supplied with the kit. The carriages seemed to be fine as well as the trucks that were supplied. The plans called for cutting the 1mm brass wire and using them as the axels for the trucks. I did not like the look, and it seemed to be very plain. I thought that making marks on the trucks to simulate the pins that would have been used to hold them together would add a bit of character. I started with simulating 4 pins but did not like the way they turned out. I then tried with 6 pins and that seemed to look a little better. I thought that maybe 8 pins would look even better, but I was wrong and liked the look of the 6 pins. I substituted the brass axel using a toothpick which had a better fit on the trucks. I painted them black to see how they looked. I still was not very satisfied with how they were turning out, so I changed gears and started to work on the cannons. I painted all the cannons an antique brass and then used some black rub & buff to blacken them. They came out pretty good in my opinion and gave them the look of being old and imperfect that I was looking for. Before I started mass producing the components that will make up the cannons, I decided that I would complete a prototype first. I drilled the 6 holes in the trucks using a .5mm drill bit and then inserted .5mm brass wire in them. I made a jig that I could insert the trucks into to hold them steady while I filed the cut ends flat. I knew that I was going to do this with all the trucks, so I spent a few days drilling and filing until I had completed 80 pieces. After I completed that awesome task…just kidding, I made the quoin blocks that for supporting the cannons to the proper level. I used a 6mm belaying pin as the handle for the quoin block but was not satisfied with the look as it seemed to be out of scale. While I thought about what I was going to do about the scaling issue I went ahead and drilled the holes in the axels and inserted brass pins to secure the trucks to the axels. I placed the cannon on the deck to see how things were looking. To tackle the issue I had with the quoin block handle, I decided that I would use a 1mm dowel. That took care of the scaling issue, and I feel it looks much better than the belaying pin I had used. After I completed the quoin blocks I moved on to installing the axels. I mentioned that I used a toothpick for the axels on my mockup. Well, I could not see myself using toothpicks for anything on this ship as I have come so far that I am not going to compromise using something like that. So, I purchased some 2mm walnut dowels and turned them down to the 1.7mm that I needed to fit the hole in the trucks. I installed the trucks and drilled the holes in the axels for the pins. I drilled the holes for the breeching eyebolts and inserted the .8mm rope that I had made some time ago. I made the eyebolts and rings using .5mm brass wire, the kit supplied eyebolts were out of scale. Once that was completed, I made the brass straps that will secure the cannon to the carriage. I also drilled and inserted pins on the steps of the carriage to give it a bit more character. After the pins were installed, I applied a small amount of brass blacken to tone them down a bit. After I completed the prototype, I made the second cannon fine tuning my technics that I learned building the first cannon. I apologize for the long-winded update, but it took many months of trying different things before I came up with something I was satisfied with. My prototype will be installed far under the quarter deck to hide the imperfections. Well, that’s all I have for now, and as always, your comments and guidance are always welcome. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Andy, i am looking forward to seeing more post of your progress. I agree with you on that building this ship is very challanging and rewarding. I have over 2500 pictures of my progress, so if you need a picture of a particular area, I more than likely have one. The pictures I take have helped me identify the flaws so that I can correct my mistakes if possable. They aslo help me with identifying the approaches I need to take for the next steps of assembling. The instuctions Corel provides do not give much detail on the assembly. I am glad that my pictures have helped you and i do not mind at all that you have downloaded them. If I can offer any advise on an area you may have difficulties with, i will be more then happy to help if I can. Nearshore

Hi Frecap, I think the grattings look great. I like what you did with the capstans. I will have to rethink mine, i like the detail you are presenting. Nearshore

Hi Andy, I see that you are considering or perhaps already installed the poop deck. If i may offer a suggestion, I would not do that and instead take an approach of building up from the main. i have not perminitlly installed the poop deck for this reason or the quarter deck. I just think that fitting all the components on the main deck without the other decks will give better access to those components and make an easier installation..... Just a thought. You are doing a great job so far!! Nearshore

Hi Ronald, Your Sphinx is looking absolutely gorgeous. I like the attention to detail you are doing on this ship. Nearshore

Hi Kevin, Thank you for the informative video. I am on cannon duty now on my build and found some of your techniques very useful. Nearshore

Hi Fecap, Very nice job on the first layer of planking. You are making good progress. Nearshore

Hi Frecap, Your Bellona is coming along nicely. Those bends around the stern are tricky and looks like you did them well.

I went with the collet chuck model. The runout was better and I found that using the 3.175mm shank on the micro bits run straighter than the standard drill bits of the same size. If I need to drill anything bigger than the capacities of the drill I have another tool for that. I did purchase a longer stem to give me more space between the drill bit and the top of the vise. I am very pleased with the performance and the quality of construction is second to none. Nearshore

Hi Mark, Thank you for the complement. i purchased the mini-drill press from https://innocraftsman.com/products/mini-drilling-machine I also purchased the mini vise and it works well holding the small parts that we are required to deal with in our sport. 😉 The Ultimation sanding disk and chop box are also very handy. Sometimes your only as good as your tools, and I firmly believe in having the right tool for the job. Of course a good set of magnifying glasses don't hurt either. Cheers Nearshore