chris watton
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Everything posted by chris watton
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Cannot say yet, as the 'other' revisit is a way off. I am back at work now, so time is limited again, dammit, but I have just started designs for my 7th kit, which will have gun ports integrated with the hull frames/bulkheads. Also, today I received my samples (3-d prints at this time, will have the nice resin castings sometime next month) of another 32 pounder and 18 pounder (latter a frigate 18 pounder, but not my 7th kit, that's for later..), plus 18, 24 and 32 pounder carronade barrels and finally a late entry, an early (1780) 12 pounder carronade barrel with trunnions. Will laser cut the carriages for them when I have time and take pics. I have sent PE files to be done, so these will be offered as a complete unit, carriage, barrel and PE parts. -
Nice model - but I apologise, it was one of my very first... For the rigging, I follow the main sources. It is important to note that by the end the 18th Century and most definitely 1800 and after, the crossjack was replaced with a main yard and sail. It is highly likely this practise was used well before 1800, with commanders experimenting with the best set up for their vessels. I am sure all Cruiser Class would have had a main yard instead of crossjack. Flirt would be a grey area, but Speedy would have had the main yard, as this is depicted as it probably looked in around 1800.
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The rear bulkheads do need severe bevelling for the planks to run smooth. I cannot reduce the bulkhead lines as this would make them too small when bevelled. Bulkhead size and shape is an area I spend a lot of time getting right when first starting any new design - but usually the rear most bulkheads, especially with hull lines as fine as Speedy Class, require a lot of sanding.
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It looks like the rear most bulkhead needs further trimming
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Funny you say that, I much prefer the lines of the Zulu. If they were cars, I'd liken the Fifie to a full fat SUV and the Zulu a more sleek sports car.
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Flying Jib Boom (why, when, where?)
chris watton replied to AON's topic in Masting, rigging and sails
According to James Lees, the first issue of a flying jibboom was in 1794. -
All part numbers have since been corrected on the MDF parts, as I found out the problem (to my horror) early early on, but not until the first batch had been sold..
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If it helps, I think that all Cruiser Class brigs had a standard armament of 16 carronades (usually 32-Pounders) and 2 x 6-Pounder 'Chase guns'. If you went with this set up, your model would be more accurately depict her real life armament anyway.
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I design kits and only ever use the dining room table, even for a 1.6 metre Victory model!
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I sometimes number the first bulkhead 1, but I feel this should go to the keel as this is the first item you usually hold. Doesn't matter though, as long as part numbers match up to drawings/pics.
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I did design that one, and it is one of only two models that I would like to 'revisit' one day, as I love the lines and the rake. It was actually called HMS Orestes when in British hands, Mars being the Dutch name for this privateer before capture.
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Thanks guys, for the input, much appreciated. I have settled on my next kit, as it is a no brainer. In the meantime, I still have a lot to do for Duchess of Kingston, and Jim is building the second prototype model for me, to make sure it goes together as well as it should, and taking pictures of the building stages. These will be used in the building manual. One thing, though, I am not sure I ever want to revisit stuff I have done before (with just two exceptions), so no Bounty's, Endeavour's, especially/absolutely/definitely no more Victory's. There are still plenty of subjects out there that are perhaps not as well known, but look beautiful when built (Fly being a perfect example). The period between 1770 and early 1780's are rife with such examples, and my initial/intended line up is full of such vessels, new stuff rather than rehashes.. I think I will do a couple more kits like the fishing boats in the future, though, as these have proved quite popular.
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Coronet looks nice. But then, most sea going sailing vessels look nice - but not all graceful like that one.. Here are the sample cannon barrels I received last week. The ones on carriages are a 9-pounder and 18 pounder. The rest are 12 pounder (lone standard and one for an early 32 gun frigate), 24 and 32 pounders. The retail versions will be in black resin, these are grey so I can more easily see the detail.
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Maybe one day, but I need to go through my list of subjects that I will definitely do first, all between 1750 and 1806. I thought yachts were well catered for, as most have a kit of one or more?
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I do intend to do a Leda Class at some point, but this is a large frigate (although smaller than the Lively Class), and will take 10-14 months to fully develop, plus the use of a more powerful laser machine, as bulkhead and keel thicknesses will be twice that of what I currently have. So if I did both Shannon and Chesapeake, this would be 2-3 years of development, and having nothing new to bring out in the meantime. This type of subject needs to be done once I have a healthy range already out. However, the first frigate I have in mind to do will be quite popular, I am sure. Plus I think I can develop this with my current set up. If I were simply designing 'Block Models' like most other manufacturers, then no problem, I could pop out a few new big kits each year. But I don't want to do that, I want develop new stuff with more detail (expanding on my Victory designs) and whenever possible, better materials, and these take a lot longer - but ultimately worth the extra effort, I think.
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Thanks for the comments, Chris, always appreciated. I do know that if I am to design such kits, they will need a 'USP', as I have no intention of treading (very) old ground, and any new 100 foot-ish brig would need to be special. Still not made my mind up about what to do after Duchess...
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My experience with model carronades isn't good. They are either simple turned brass parts, always in the wrong size, or very shoddy mismatched white metal, bordering on scrap
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I know what you mean. I have designed three sizes of carronade barrel, which hopefully will make them painless to make. The problem is that it seems that most brigs and brig-sloops/ship rigged-sloops had carronade main armament from the mid 1790's onwards. There is no getting around this. Plus they would all have been coppered below the waterline.
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Thank you Ernie, and sorry to read about your father in law. There will be quite a lull after the Duchess of Kingston, as I will need to work out what to do next. There are still a couple of larger (95-108 foot) brigs I would like to do, but am wary about developing too much of the same type. There are two I have in mind that have main armaments of 16x32 and 16x24 pounder carronades and 2x6 pounder chase guns respectively, and another that has a main battery of 18 x 9 pounder carriage guns (and hull lines to die for) . What do you guys think? I would like to develop a frigate next - although this will take a lot longer to develop and new machinery may be required: I am considering getting another laser machine next year, a more powerful laser for the thicker ply and MDF keel and bulkhead sheets that the much larger kits will have. This would be a big investment, but feel I need a second, more powerful laser machine, especially for the size of future kits I intend to do.
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Thank you! I will email WorldPay and ask them why you had a problem, they are usually very good. Nothing much to update right now. I have commissioned three sizes of carronade to me done for me, for future kits and separate fittings. I am currently working on PE sets for each size of cannon and carronade, as I have the cannon barrels being cast for me not and will be delivered next month. So I will be able to offer the carriage, PE detail (eyebolts etc.) and cast black resin barrels from 4-32-pounder sizes (64th only) The royal yacht is still on target for an October/early November release. There will be no hold ups for any materials as I already have everything for the kit with me (apart from print work, which cannot be done until manual and prototype model is complete). I start cutting the production parts for this next week. I think I will do a few more sizes of ships boats after the yacht, plus ships stoves, as I shall need them for future designs anyway.
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The cannon are so small that it won't matter too much if the deck is a little higher than it should be, they should still protrude thorough the gun ports just fine.
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Thanks, Rob. The chimney was a late addition. I realised that for future kits that have the binnacle, I needed to include the chimney, so I gave a CNC company my drawings and had them turned. I will see what we can do to make it more clear where the instructions are on the website. Diana will always have a special place for me, it was the very first period ship kit I designed, almost half a lifetime ago...
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Hi Rob, fantastic work on the Ethalion, love it! There are instructions for the binnacle, there is a PDF file on the binnacle product page. I think!
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You honestly do not need any of those clamps at the deck edges, as once they're in place, they can't move because they are slotted in place beyond the bulkhead tab edges. I designed it this way precisely because you wouldn't need any pins or clamps at the deck edges. All you need is a couple of pins perhaps holding the centreline of the deck flush with the top edges of the deck beams.
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Sorry to read this. If you had contacted me, I am sure I could have helped with any parts you wanted to replace, including different materials. As you didn't, I couldn't...
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