chris watton

Today, well, this afternoon, I started and finished the first planking, no drama. Will leave until tomorrow to sand it so it looks a lot more presentable...

Right, Just reinstated the little lines denoting the upper edge of the main wale, and also added the location holes for the inner bulwark cleats on the gun port patterns. Also, added more tabs to the rabbet line on the prow. These are now the kit versions. Also attached is one of the 6 50x70cm sheets for masts (already done), yards and rig, before being imported into Adobe InDesign for text and other stuff..

Thanks! regarding a laser machine, I could get out a large loan and get one, along with the workshop space I would need to rent, as I am not sure I would be allowed to have one in my garage with the noise 24/7 in a residential area. Nothing to do with being brave, more to do with economics. I would rather invest my (little) money in stuff like decent materials, resin castings and nice printing. It may surprise you to learn that even some of the largest manufacturers sub contract their laser cut work, and as far as I know, due the chemical process, all photo etched parts are sub contracted. Thank you, although I hesitate to be called expert, I see a lot of stunning work on these forums. OK, this morning (got up very late..), I took off the clamps and pins holding the gun port patterns in place, the basic structure is now more than strong enough to take the planking, with the stern especially being a lot more protected than my first prototype. I think the only way to break any part now would be to drop it from a height onto a hard floor. It has taken a day's work to get to this stage, but perhaps 3 hours work, as most of the time was taken was waiting for the PVA glue to cure. On the last photo, I added a series of small marks under each gun port. I have since deleted these, but I am wondering if I should reinstate them, as they are markers for the curve and height on the main wale, and where the second planking should start. The last pics are from the first prototype, where I just slapped everything together to check that everything aligned as it should and the various openings for bitts and masts were fine. If you look at the stern frames, they come further down the deck than the second prototype, I thought they were too obtrusive, so shortened them as much as I dared without compromised structural integrity. Also, I have the cast resin cannon ready for the prototype model, the 4 pounder and half pounder. The first 50 kits will be this colour, but after this they will be cast in black resin (why didn't I ask for black resin to begin with, dammit)!

Cheers! Looking at the nice clear stand, I think it will get scratched/marked too much whilst in the building process. To remedy this, I have just added a slightly simpler cradle to one of the 3mm MDF sheets, so the modeller can use this when building, and then change the stand for the clear acetate version when all done. ETA - Ply gun port patterns have been clamped, pinned and glued in place, so will have to leave it until tomorrow now..

I designed the majority before I handed in my notice in late 2001. I had nothing to do with the stern carvings or PE. I left before completing it. I cannot comment on the differences, as there are quite a few years to separate the two, and it would not be cricket to talk about accuracy/detail between the two.

You must be close, then, I am in Cinderford!

As this is quite a small model, the topmast cross trees would very fragile in wood, even ply once the hole has been laser cut. If it was to be cut in wood, the cross trees would have had to be drawn too over sized. To remedy this, they are now in photo etched brass form, and much stronger to take the topgallant shrouds. There is a problem with the jibboom rest though (left of the picture), which needs to be sorted..

I kept the cannon tackle eyebolt holes in the patterns as drilling them out before fully planking the outer hull works fine. Wonder if I should add the location holes for the inner bulwark cleats?

Right, just gave the 0.8mm ply gunport patterns a good soak and just clamped one side into position without glue to check fit. Looks fine, less than a mm to tale off at the stern. Once both sides are securely glued in place, the structure should be a pretty solid base on which to start the planking, and due to the amount of bulkheads, the sleek hull form should also be perfectly kept.

Thanks. I did actually do something similar with the Amati Fifie model I did a decade ago, but this could be done as the keel was all one part. I did think about making the stem from 3x1mm wood parts, but the variations in thicknesses may be too much over time, plus expecting all modellers to align three almost identical parts up perfectly (full pattern in middle with outer patterns 1.5mm shorter at hull edge) is maybe a big ask. The chances of the part being glued in a position that is slightly off angle are higher, which would be accentuated by the prow pattern when this is glued after planking is complete. I wanted the outer prow to be separate as I know how vulnerable this 3mm thick part can be when planking and sanding - but at the same time, a stable basis for the front planking, which is always a slight issue.

Thanks! Just a continuation of where I was heading when designing for Amati. Although I am still unsure about the slot in the stem pattern, I am wondering if it will cause more headache for modellers down the line with complaints about them splitting. The upside of it is the fact the planking at the bow follows the same line as that on the original plans. But I shall see how I get on when adding the ply gun port patterns. I want people to enjoy the building experience, not be frustrated with it. The only things I changed from the first prototype parts are the stern frames and order of fixing the upper stern board/transom, and the addition of a door opening on the 9th bulkhead, in case anyone wants to detail the lower decks.

OK, I have put together the basic hull structure, and changed a couple of things since my first build. All of the MDF parts are glued together (superglue gel mostly for a 'speed build'). Everything has gone together fine, no problems. I have changed the stern lower counter and upper stern board. before, the upper pattern was to be added once planked, but I realised just how fragile those stern frames are, more so since I changed them since my first build, to be less unobtrusive. With this in mind, I now show both the stern counter and stern board glued in place as soon as possible, to give the very light and fragile stern area some rigidity. I have also moved these two parts over from the 1mm wood sheet to the 0.8mm plywood sheet, so they have extra strength. The lower decks are the correct height and also have the correct sheers. I will add another two tabs to the stem post to minimise it splitting. I have also attached a pic of my first build, which is in pear, in the process of being sanded after second planking was complete.

OK, have took half a night from work, to continue with Speedy. From tomorrow, I shall start adding pictures of the development, and you guys can tell me if you like the way it's going, or if there's anything I should change (within reason, don't ask for all exotic wood parts..) I have already build up one Speedy hull up to the second planking stage, and all was fine. I will now work on this second prototype, which will (hopefully) iron out any little things I may have missed from the first build. I will build this second prototype up to adding the pre-cut gun port patterns, as once that is done, all major structural work is finished, and I shall continue with the first prototype until complete. I may add another two spacer tabs to the stem post, where the planking slots into, based on what I have seen on the Alert build, to ensure there are no problems with this area.

I find the most attractive style is to paint the lower wale black, varnish the hull above, and paint the area above the upper rails black or blue. Before 'Nelson's Chequers', the fashion was actually to paint most of the hulls a red ochre. But looks so much better just varnished..

Maybe I should have added extra tabs along the slot length like Speedy's (have attached a pic to show that part). What I did do with Alert was to put the front of the planks into the 3mm MDF pattern (parts 11), leaving enough of a slot for the 1mm outer planking. By the time I got to the second planking, the slot was very secure, due to the glue from the first planking.

Sorry to read that, I guess I cannot send another stem post as it is glued in place? If you want another piece, I will happily send another. I did actually build the hull twice, as I do with all new developments, and I was happy with the slot. I had no problems with it on both hulls I tested, and I am intentionally heavy handed when it comes to parts like this. My impression of the limewood, despite my initial reservations, was that the grain was just as good as other decent woods. I did toy with using MDF for the stem and keel parts, but I know that more people than not would have hated that, I do not like using MDF for any parts that are shown when the model is complete.

Just had some of the Speedy prototype parts arrive. A lot more parts than Alert, and 15 bulkheads.. I had one PE sheet missing, so will take a pic of the brass sheets when I receive, but the copper sheets look fine. For the nail heads, I copied exactly a picture I have of an original Victory copper plate. I have tried to make no compromises with this kit, and bought my own supply of 0.8mm ply for the more critical parts. below is not all of the laser sheets, I have the laser engraved deck too. I think I will separate the 1mm wood gunwale into two parts per side, to minimise the chance of it breaking. I have since removed the holes around the rims of the lower tops, as for the period I am basing the model (1800-1802), crowsfeet would not have been rigged. I have even included a few hatchets in the 0.4mm PE, as I know they used these to remove tangled rigging when in battle, and Speedy was in battle a lot!

I have just had an email back for the laser cut people. The 2mm was specified by me as MDF (non grain) parts, but they arrived to me in 2mm limewood. I am having these parts (17, 18 and 19) re-cut in the material I originally specified. When I receive them, please let me know if you would like these as replacements, and I will send them out. Thank you, Chris

I had 100 kits worth made. When I need to have another load done, I shall change the parts so that the end slots on the stern frames are 'L' shaped, rather than 'U' shape slots. You could cut off the ends so you have parts that look like the drawing - but they should fit if you slot them into the rear most bulkhead and then slot that bulkhead in place.

I have added a small amendment in my covering letter I put in each ALERT kit, concerning the stern counter/board frames: "Please note that parts 17, 18 and 19 should be slotted into the rear most bulkhead (the one that is angled) before the rear most bulkhead is slotted in place in the keel." The 2mm sheet was meant to be 2mm MDF (this is what I had when building my model), but for some reason, the production sheets are all in limewood. This is great, but the 2mm MDF is always 2mm, which is why I chose the material for these parts.

Mighty Mo!

OK, just sorted out a few more pics, mostly from the manual (There are 917 construction pics and well over the same amount for line drawings) The first is the orlop, when I started the build, I was still waiting for the many sheets of PE to be delivered, so couldn't add the gratings (all PE so I could design to exact size). Some pics show the model a little rough around the edges, this is because it is before any final model touch ups..

Here are the three deck levels, but the assembly starts at the orlop level. I know some baulk at the thought of using MDF (I did to begin with, if I am honest), but it is the perfect non-varying thickness of quality MDF that allowed me to think of such designs. Plywood thickness is never constant, if I used that, this assembly would have been a disaster, some hulls may end up being a few mm higher than they should, and some a lot lower, as ply thickness can vary from 5.6-6.4 for 6mm thickness. The structural integrity of this hull is very strong, plus all gun ports already worked into the hull structure, so no guessing or marking out needed. The way this is designed is that you can build up to one deck level and detail it very easily without obstruction, and when complete, build up the next level and do the same, like a layer cake. ETA - Even all of the gun port sills and gun port lids were pre-cut to fit each individual gun port.

Here is a drawing of the stern, with all the PE parts in place. In the kit, there is an option for how you want to show the windows. You can have them open, part open or closed. If some are open, you can peer through them and just make out the deck detail along the hull. The balustrades in between the window tiers have the exact same number as the real thing. I taken a lot of pictures of the stern when at Portsmouth, and imported the best into my CAD program, and then traced the outlines of the decoration so it should be all a near exact match for the real thing. I know that one version of Victory has these parts all out of proportion, I didn't want anything to stand out that may be wrong.. Also, on my visit, I noted that the poop screen bulkheads have hinges at the top, presumably to fold the bulkheads up and stowed under the poop deck when cleared for action. I threw out the old version of the bulkheads I had already made up and replaced them with the new ones with better detail.

Those stern transom frames were originally the height of the stern transom top edge, but they are sacrificial above deck level, I shortened them so they'd be less inclined to break before time.