chris watton
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Everything posted by chris watton
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I have been listening to the Hornblower audio books when at work, they are certainly more fast paced than the Aubrey books (some of the latter can get a little exasperating, for example, a very long winded chapter dedicated to land enclosures). But I do like the fact that the Aubrey novels use real ships names and the historical side is spot on. One thing that grated slightly when listening to 'Lord Hornblower' last night, is when Hornblower is chatting to this old sailor and they're reminiscing about the days on the old Indefatigable with Pellew in 1792 or 1793, when it wasn't commissioned as a razee frigate until December 1794. But that's nit picking, the stories are great, and on the whole, pretty fast paced. -
Me too, more times than I dare say...
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There was a 'stray' slot on parts 16, the inner longitudinal patterns (Bulkhead 10 area) that was 3mm instead of 3.1mm. I have since corrected this, but for all the ones that have been cut already, the one slot is 3mm. The slot in Bulkhead 10 is 3.1mm, so it is only the one slot on parts 16 that is affected. Under normal circumstances, the 3mm would be fine, but as there are a lot of parts to slot into each other, it really should be 3.1 to make a hassle free fit.
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Ships at Trafalgar - what kits are available?
chris watton replied to bruce d's topic in Wood ship model kits
I think Spartiate would be a cool one to do, great name, too. Am sure Bellerophon is available, via the Vanguard kit. -
Only boats that are made for the kits, as they need to have specific distances, especially if stowed on beams. If they came with cradles, there would be a good chance they would be in the wrong positions, depending on where and how they are stowed.
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That's looking good, Glenn, sanding looks spot on.
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Forgot to add, I had the production sets of carronade barrels arrive today, so they will be going on the website sometime next week. I have: 32 Pounder carronade barrel, slide carriage and PE (Standard armament of most British brigs/brig-sloops of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic era - an 18 gun brig like Cruiser would have had 16x32 pounder carronades and 2x6 pounder chase guns) 24 Pounder carronade barrel, slide carriage and PE 18 Pounder carronade barrel, slide carriage and PE 12 Pounder carronade barrel (early type with trunnions), with option of slide carriage or side carriage (like standard cannon) and PE Also available now is an 18 pounder short (42.75mm overall length), which were issued to most (but not all) 38 gun frigates
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Just received pictures of the Sphinx 3-d printed master carvings for stern and figurehead which will be cast in resin as per the Duchess..
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It is selling quite well. In fact, I haven't got a lot of stock left, and need to re-order some parts. Sales ensure future kit investment, and good sales please me as I know I can continue what I want to develop and release. Looks like Royal George is likely at some point..
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Just thought I would mention that it looks like I will have an Australian distributor soon, Modelers Central. I think they will be placing an order in the new year.
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The only parts that have tight tolerances are the the bulkheads and keel that slot into each other. These are 3mm exactly. All other slots have slightly looser tolerances at 3.1mm, to take into account any slight (and I mean slight) misalignment when fitting parts like 16 and 17. It is best to bevel some of the extreme frames before fitting, and once fitted, and if the extreme bulkheads and longitudinal patterns have been roughly bevelled, brush on PVA glue when all is in place. Do not rush any of this, as it is essential all parts are fitted as designed and bevelled correctly for the planking.
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The longitudinal patterns (16&17) will fit fine, the slots in those are 3.1mm, plus 3.1mm wide on the bulkheads for the patterns to slot into.
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No, I tried poplar ply though, and was weak as hell. It is quite light, and can have streaks of grey or green, which is no good for kit parts. I also thought this was quite a low density wood, being soft?
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Pear wood was initially meant to be for the 'Master Shipwright' kits, but I realised very quickly that limewood was way too fragile for the type of designs I had in mind, plus I winced when seeing close up shots of the limewood parts, being quite open grained. This is OK if the parts are to be painted and the parts are prepped correctly, otherwise, I just didn't like it and realised that if the kits were to be a little different from the more 'commercial' kits I have designed in the past, I must invest in better quality (closer grained and less fragile) woods. Once I got to know the properties of pear better, this opened a lot more options for me, like pre-cut drift rails, which would have been a disaster in more open grained woods, with parts breaking when just trying to remove the parts from their retention tabs (One of the main reasons I always endeavour to place the tabs along the grain, rather than against it).
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I did mention earlier in this thread that if some asked, I would be open to the odd boxwood version. However, the Duchess kit has been tried and tested with pearwood, and two fully built up hulls have been made up and tested with the pearwood, and I know the designs work well with this material. This means that officially, the pearwood version is the only version, with the only option being the machined pear wood blocks. I do not know how well some of the major boxwood patterns would bend, so I decided that no official 'Master Shipwright' version will never be offered. That plus the cost is very high, as there are a lot more laser cut sheets in this than the previous kits. I have seen Delf's amazing work on his Speedy, and he is clearly comfortable with the boxwood, but it is most certainly something I would not recommend for the less experienced. Anyway, I think the pear suits the model perfectly. There is no way I could have got away with some of the more intricate cuts with the laser with 'kit standard' woods that are more open grained, like lime or walnut.
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This is so important. When James was building the second prototype, he called me to tell me that the inner bulwarks did not fit, being a lot larger than they should be. The next morning, he discovered they fitted exactly as they should, once all moisture had gone. This is a relatively easy kit to build, as long as you take your time on certain parts, and leave all parts to be curved dry fitted (clamped and/or pinned) in place until completely dry before gluing in place.
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First batch of orders were picked up today, wait, no, yesterday, Monday, so most should receive today (Tuesday), with other countries not too far behind. Am very much hoping that with this kit, no one will have any issue whatsoever with hull assembly and fragility - I designed it so it's as strong as a Tonka Toy. So if you break it, then there's no helping you, really....lol
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I am sure I create a rod for my own back when it comes to the rigging plans, as I prefer to try and do the lines to scale thicknesses, but this means every line is double, so whenever they intersect another line, trimming is required. A long job when drawing the lines. When they are printed, however, you can hardly see the double lines, so always wonder if it's worth just drawing single lines and saving myself countless hours. Always think this with every new kit, but when it comes to it, I always choose the more time consuming method, but I think they do look better, especially when picking out some areas to zoom in. For this reason, it is the rigging plans that take the longest to draw by far.
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UPS are picking up Monday, as it took an age to sort out plans and manuals for each kit, so the real delivery day will be Tuesday. I have no idea why UPS do this when I arranged pick up for Monday!
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Just thought I'd add a pic of the Duchess plan and manual set. 81 page full colour manual and 13 50x70cm plan sheets
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I hate them too, and would one day like to find a way of having the hulls pre made/cast, complete with rib detail, in resin.
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Not yet, although at times I am tempted, like now, just back from work and am dead... Already had the Sphinx figurehead and stern decoration sculpted and paid for, and now with the resin casters. Slow work now, though, being back at work. This week I have been designing the boats (28 foot pinnace, 24 foot launch and 22 foot yawl), which will be included with the kit, but also make them available as mini kits, like the 18' cutter. Have done a 26 foot launch (for larger frigates) at the same time.
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OK, I finally had 17 boxes arrive just now, for the Duchess of Kingston plans, manual (81 pages) and box art. We can now (well, my wife...) sort out the plans and manuals to put into the kits and I shall organise the UPS pick ups. All UK customers should receive by Tuesday, and outside UK a day or so later. I had to re order more Speedy plans and manuals, which will be here next next, as I ran out of those...
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Personally, I make up all masts and then add what blocks I can before stepping in place. I then usually sort out as much bowsprit rigging as I can (shrouds, spritsail yards etc.), and then on to shrouds and ratlines for the masts.
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