chris watton

I gave my carver more pictures of the uniforms, and asked to change some aspects. As for me, I am doing the Harpy plans in CAD, which will take perhaps another 6 weeks (I find this aspect a slog, probably because I am now so used to the drill and know the very long hours involved...). All cut files are now done (21 separate laser cut sheets), with part numbers added to each part, and will send a set to Jim soon, so he can start his build log. Amati are in the process of doing the sample PE for Harpy for me (3 frets in 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6mm), so I shall have that in the next 2-3 weeks, I hope. I think this one will be a breeze after Indy...

Thoese slots were just for my benefit when designing the kit. I usually remove them for the final production files, but decided to keep them, in case any modeller found them useful for any reason.

OK, thank you, I have sent better details to the carver.

Needs to be shorter?

Yes, these are the very first renders, to see if I am happy with them. I am, but there will need to be small changes based on the best way to produce them.

He was a bit, wasn't he!

Just received some first renders of one of the series of boats I have commissioned to be done for me. This is the progress of the 24 foot cutter, and I am quite happy with that. Am looking forward to seeing the rest when they're done. Oh, and no bomb vessels planned! lol

It really is of no consequence if the upper or lower tabs are broken on the vertical gunport frames - their only job is to provide the gunport with its sides, anything else is superfluous to their job.

They counted as guns on brigs. At this period (1790's-1815), the overwhelming majority of 18-gun brigs had the 16x24 or 32-Pounders and 2 x 6-Pounder long guns. This made them very powerful for their size at closer ranges. If they were armed with 18 x 6-Pounder long guns, not only would they have been slower due to the heavier weight of the guns, their broadside weight and effect would have been pitiful when compared to the carronades They were never counted as such on larger vessels, though, presumably because the armament was chopped and changed quite often (secondary armament, that is, not the main gun deck ordnance – unless it was a 24-pounder frigate fitted with 18’s…)

That would be up to the modeller. It can face fore, aft, port or starboard. Most contemporary models I have seen have it facing as I have positioned it - but really, it is no big deal as it can be changed to whatever postion anyway.

By the end of this year hopefully

Very neat work!

Cheers Not sure about adding a bomb or mortar vessel, never gave that type a single thought. And, to be honest, I have very little passion for that type of vessel. I don't think people will be too disappointed with kit number 18, though.

Cheers, I never know until they go on sale. The last time I did an 18-gun brig was 25 years ago, so I wanted to make sure this one's a little more special and not a rehash of what I have done before. I do try to implement stuff I have thus far learned from previous designs, and also take on board constructive criticism of certain aspects. Harpy will be the latest iteration of that learning curve - plus I wanted to do this little fighter justice, being the longest served of her class and the most widely travelled, in action from the French Revolutionary to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Plus she has great lines, being not nearly as 'Flat' as the Cruiser Class, but more like an much larger Speedy Class, lines wise. When I started this, my first stipulation to myself was that I wanted to include a stove. This meant that I would need to show the lower deck, so the model also has scale upper deck beams (4mm thick pear) and adding more lower detail, which does increase the material count by quite a margin. The deck planking pattern is actually copied from an original copy of a Cruiser Class deck plan, which includes the deck planking lines. As per usual now, anything directly glued to the inner and outer bulwarks have slots for their respective positions, eliminating the need to measure where they go, and because they are slotted as well as glued, the channels and pin racks are very strong and secure. I did make one change from the original plans, and that was to add stern davits, as I have a painting of her showing these, and I have no doubt these would have been added at some point in her long career. I will include at least one 3-d printed cutter, perhaps two, one for the deck and one for the stern davits. (Modeller can always leave the stern davits off, if they so wish) As I said at the start, I have no idea how this will sell, but I certainly didn’t want to simply produce yet another run of the mill kit with just bulkheads, keel and upper deck, like the ones I did 25 years ago - no fun in that. This will be my 17th and final kit for this year. Jim will be doing a build log for this later this year - I still have much to do before then, though.

OK, I have just competed the hull designs for Harpy (1796), now onto masts. Here are a few pics of the (sacrificial) 'pre-prototype', again, used only to check fit of designed parts, so this has really been taken apart and put together a lot. (And is in fact the third of my builds for this) Again, the only planking required will be at the level below the main wale down, with everything above this all pre cut/engraved, including the main wale (this is why they take so long to design) Armament is absolutely typical of this vessel, 16 x 32-Pounder carronades and 2 x 6-Pounder long guns. 64th Scale, as I am sure someone will ask, and a hull length of around 545mm, with a lot of detail.. ETA - The hatch coamings sit on the deck beams and carlings, and not directly onto the deck, and the deck sits directly onto the deck beams, instead of ply sub deck and lime deck, for better scale appearance.

For 3-d printed resin, there is no release agent to clean off, like resin from moulds, as the parts are thoroughly cleaned with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any resin once printed – so the only contaminants on these would be from handling only.

Funny you mention copy and paste renders in films. If you pause on a certain shot in the film Midway (the newer one), you will see they pasted half a dozen or so Yamato class battleships in an overhead shot.

I have always wondered if they put the ladder there specifically for that occasion, for the ladies benefit.

If you click on the magnifier in the picture, it brings it up almost full screen - that's how I did it and then just took a screenshot

There is indeed a pic with general instructions on the product page:

You have done a very neat job there, Kevin.

In all honesty, you do not need edge bending tools - the first planking is only 1mm thick, you can wet it and induce the curves you want using your finger and thumb

Page for the launches are now live: 24′ and 26′ Launches (3D printed hulls) – VANGUARD MODELS 26 foot – 123 long x 37 mm wide - £29.00 24 foot – 112mm long x 34.5 wide - £27.00 Each mini kit has three 3-d printed parts and one sheet of 0.8mm pear laser cut parts. I am very happy to have started to produce these, and the forthcoming boat types. I remember the choices always being pretty slim (to put it mildly) for pre made hulls, usually having to settle for some generic type that was always too much of a compromise - and I also know that many have trouble, or do not like the plank on bulkhead mini kits. I am hoping these will help fill a gap...

The table of contents links work for me, I click on them, and they take me the link description.