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Pitan

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    Thames Valley, UK

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  1. There are lots of paintings with boats being towed, even in peacetime. Reasons include those given, but it also gave more space on deck, and helped keep the hull timbers wet, thus avoiding shrinkage and reduced the risk of leaks. Didn't Aubrey once put a mix of (potential) mutineers and good men in a towed boat? An uncomfortable experience.
  2. Glad to learn this, I hear nothing but good about Byrnes machines and would like to get my hands on some (a table saw heads my list).
  3. Question. When not in action, would the gun carriages in the captain's cabin be stored facing fore or aft, rather than out to the side? At the moment, they seem to be blocking access through the cabin doors while Aubrey and Maturin are relaxing with their music.
  4. As others have said, a Vanguard kit would make a nice next kit. I went for Sherbourne (still to be rigged), and am enjoying the Duchess of Kingston's yatch. Off topic, do you enjoy research? If you do, and since you are in Scotland, have a dig around, see what you can learn about HMS Wickham. There's no kit unfortunately, but I found her history interesting.
  5. Deck details Some progress on the DoK's deck furniture. Bow sprit and main and mizzen mast bitts are glued in place. Also seen here are the windlass, wheel, ship's belfry, binacle and bowsprit. I also started making the bowsprit. The oval opening in the kit's bowsprit bitt looked odd to me. Taking a look around, I stumbled on a thread that suggests using a mortise and tenon joint. I haven't tried to make a mortise and tenon joint since school, decades ago, but I had a go here. Not perfect, but it works. The DoK windlass is (I think) 3d printed. It paints up well.
  6. I made some home printed decals to add the Duke of Kingston's arms to significant parts of the yacht: To the stern decoration, the figurehead and above the cabin doors. Reflections haven't helped with the photo, rest assured, the lion on the stern decoration has not been decapitated. The duke's shield was a black lion on a white (silver) field scattered with red cinquefoils. Conveniently, the supporters were also black lions. Since the yacht was made for the duchess, I've presumed she would use the duchy arms, rather than anything inherited through her father. The lion is loosely based on Fig 284 in Fox-Davies A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY (link: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41617/41617-h/41617-h.htm#page179). The cinquefoils are distorted stars.
  7. Gilding the Lily ... Or, no lilies. I removed the fleur-de-lis on the DoK's figurehead and on the stern decoration, and much gilding was applied (at least applied on the sprue/fret). Blurred, but detail shots will (may) follow. This is mostly gold leaf on an acrylic gold size. These I found surprisingly easy to use. My previous experience has been with silver leaf on oil size, and, while it worked well, that was noticeably more difficult in practice. Why gold leaf? I find most gold paints become disappointing over time; gold is very resistant to tarnish. Detail showing stern decoration. The central shield will be re-worked, but the rest may be passable. Above the stern decoration, you can see some of the ship's side decor. The red brown here is size (note, traditional water gilding often uses a red/brown bole). The figurehead This came with a knight's helm, which was removed; my intent is to replace it with a ducal coronet. (My interpretation of the DoK plans is that a coronet was to be used). The shield is, again, work in progress. Along with the gold leaf, I've applied some copper leaf to the quarter deck dome, (and to the horse shoe plates and fish plates). The deck dome, standing on some tape to aid painting/handling, is seen here with the ship's binnacle. Copper will tarnish in time, and I should give it some protection.
  8. I was wondering when 18C child labour would come up. What age was Aubrey when he went to sea? I have him, in my head, at about 12 years old, but that may be a minimum age?
  9. Those figures look great Chris. I'm wondering about the front legs of Aubrey's chair, could the tops be a tad shorter? Maybe just proud of the seat? They look uncomfortable, digging into his right thigh (I doubt the change would affect Maturin's stance).
  10. @chris watton had one at the Society of Model Shipwrights show in Portsmouth earlier this summer, and I spent a lot of time looking at his original. I succumbed to temptation ...
  11. Thanks. I went over the top decorating the back (forward facing) side of the stairs, then realised that the bulkhead door was blind, and I needn't have made the effort.
  12. A little catch-up on her grace, the Duchess. We have a fair amount of re-painting, and a little assembly to report. The pink was remixed, and is subtly darker in tone. This, I think, shows to better effect on the model. The rail patterns and rails have been added. One issue I had on the quarterdeck was the dome base (by the central cabin door). This single piece broke along the grain, and, after a struggle, has been replaced with three pieces. I planned for two attempt, but my first effort works well enough. You can see the spiral stair into the reception cabin here too (How easy would that have been to negotiate in an 18c pannier skirt?). The wales have been painted, but are not attached yet. Here you may see a wooden gauge, made to help guide the upper wale. A start has been made on the Stern fascia, and mid-deck bulkhead (reception cabin wall). I've been reading about the French use of false windows earlier in the 18C, and have decided to make the middle window of the stern fascia blind. In practice, a glazed window would have been very close to the rudder, and probably wouldn't allow much light.
  13. The decks and inner bulwarks have been added: In order to break up the sameness of the deck planking, some planks were given a thin wash of colour (burnt sienna, or transparent yellow iron oxide*), which was rubbed back before spraying a light harmonising coat of oxide yellow. The inner bulwarks are unpainted, and will, likely, retain their natural colour. The next stage will be to clean up excess material, especially the quarter deck / poop deck bulwarks. * Looks like very translucent yellow ochre.
  14. That looks beautiful Chris. Noob question, is that 3d print (by the first hatch) the stove's chimney? It seems to point/vent aft.
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