Nearshore

Welcome to MSW.

Hi Ronald, You are truely a master!!! You are doing an amazing job. I quite enjoy watching your progress and your explanations on your techniques are second to none. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Captain Amateur, Yes when i faired the bulkheads I sanded the deck to be flush. I did have to add some material to a couple of bulkheads to allow for a smooth transition of the planking. Are you doing a build log? If i haven't clearly answered your question, maybe you can share a picture of what you are questioning. Thank you for the compliment. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Matt, Welcome to to hobby. looks like you picked a good project for your first build log. I look forward to watching your progress. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Frecap, I like the molding tool you made. It looks like it produces great results. i am curious about one thing. Your roundhouses seem to overhang past the bow deck. I am thinking that this may cause you some issues when the time comes to install the headrails. You may have a plan already for this, but if you don't you may want to look at their positions and move them inboard a bit. Nearshore

Great job!! I know the feeling when you reach a mile stone. Congratulations !!

Wow!! she is really taking shape. I like the colors you selected. You are doing a very good job. I am looking forward to your progress.

Hi Ronald, I like the color scheme that you decided on. You are doing an amazing job!!! I like the explanations and how you describe your technique. Look forward to more updates. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Captain Amateur, I stopped using the instructions a couple years ago as I found that they did not give the proper sequence of assembly and they are very vague. If you follow the instructions as they suggest, it will get you into a bind in the long run. The 2 lines that you are referring to are for the 2 babbets and bearding lines that need to be carved. The first one is for the first layer of planking. If you look at my post #53 I show where I carved out the second babbet and bearding line to recieve the second layer of planking. I ran my first layer all the way to the stern post and went back and carved the babbet and bearding line out removing some of the first layer of planking. This is optional as you can stop your first layer planks at the line shown on the drawings. I decided to run the planking all the way to the stern post as I figured this would add strength plus I needed the practice. There are a few build logs on MSW and only one that I am aware of that completed the Bellona at this scale. Halaquen completed this kit and did a very good job describing his build. I use it as a reference quite often. I hope I answered you question and that it helps you on your journey building this amazing ship. Cheers Nearshore

Hi Andy, I think it is optional to plank all the way to the stern. if you do, you will just have to remove some of the material so the second layer will sit flush with the stern post. That is how i did mine when i was at the stage you are at. It was a little more extra work but i think it added strength to the hull at that location.

Hi Frecap, What a great idea on the roof tiles. They look fantastic!!

Looks great. Nice job!!

Hello All, Well, I updated the shipyard again. This post isn’t necessarily related to my build log, but I find that it is appropriate because I find that looking back when I started building the Bellona 3 years ago and how the ship, the shipyard and I have grown, I wanted to share. When I got back into the hobby over 3 years ago, I set up a small workspace in our spare downstairs apartment bedroom. I had a 2’ x 4’ foldable table and a plastic chair that I worked from and a small lighted magnifying glass. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this hobby and didn’t want to invest too much into my workspace especially since I had chosen a model as complicated to build as the Bellona. Over the course of time, I added a few shelves to clear up some space on my worktable and purchased a small floor lamp to help with the poor lighting. As time progressed my lovely wife purchased me an office chair to replace the lawn chair I had been using for the first year or so of the Bellona build. I must say that the office chair was a big improvement especially since I have a bad back to begin with. I also purchased another lamp that I was able to attach to the table to improve the lighting. I eventually added a larger tabletop to my foldable 2 x 4 table adding an additional 10” of workspace. I used a piece of starboard for this, and it was great until the edge started to sag over time and the game of keeping the round tools from rolling off the table began. Well after 3 years of working on the Bellona and loving every minute of the challenges that it has provided and the satisfaction of learning new skills, I must say that my love for this hobby has given me a sense of reward that I did not anticipate when I first set up my small little workspace. In addition to the shipyard, I have also turned my tool shed into a small makeshift wood shop that I go to for the messy stuff. I think that I have reached the maximum growth as I purchased an electric adjustable height table 60" x 30" to replace the 2 x 4 foldable one. I also added another light, and I must say, my new setup is awesome, and I hope to use it for many years to come. I appreciate you taking the time out to read this post as I think it brings an interesting point of how we grow in our pursuit in this hobby. Cheers Nearshore

Hello All, I have a small update on Bellona. I completed the 20 cannons that will eventually be placed on the upper gun deck. It was quite satisfying to see them all placed on the deck and I am very satisfied with the way they turned out. I will keep them in storage for now until the time comes to permanently install them, which will probably be some time from now. After I completed the cannons, I moved on to the installation of the channels. The plywood channels that came with the kit were replaced using solid walnut that I fabricated sometime ago. The knee braces that came with the kit needed a notch carved in them to fit between the raised molding on the hull. I used a third hand to help with getting the rough positions of the channels and applied two-sided tape to the channels to help with holding the knee braces in place. I made a couple of templates of the knee braces to get their final shape as the kit only came with the exact quantity needed and I didn’t want to mess up any of them and have to make new ones from scratch. I drilled holes in each of the channels and installed pins to attach them to the hull. Pretty straight forward technic. I shaped a groove in the center of a piece of 2mm x 2mm beechwood that will be installed as the channel rail securing the chainplates in place. I highlighted the rail channel molding using a black pigment pen which will match the molding on the head rails. I think having this detail on all the channels is going to add a nice flow to the natural colors I am using. After I completed the channels and knee braces, which I have not permanently installed yet, I started working on the chain plates and deadeyes. Well, I must say that the deadeyes and chain plates that came with the kit are awful. There are two sizes of deadeyes that are called out for in the plans. 5mm and 3mm. The 5mm deadeyes are more like 5.4mm and the 3mm ones are 3.9mm. I replaced them with ones that I purchased from Syren, and I must say not only are they much more authentic looking in comparison, but they are much more accurate in their sizes. There isn’t much room on the channels to begin with, so using the kit supplied parts would probably cause me some spacing problems. Well, I have begun the daunting process of making the chainplates from scratch and will provide and update on them once I have made some progress. That’s all I have for now and as always, your comments and guidance are always welcome. Cheers Nearshore

Welcome to MSW!! Nearshore

Welcome to MSW!! Nearshore

Yves, Absolutely stunning. I love the colors!!! Nearshore

Welcome to MSW. Your models are superb and your craftsmanship is amazing. Hope you start a build log here to show us some of your techniques. Cheers 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