mobbsie

Hi Grant,
 
Nicely done mate, the ladders have come out well and look great.
 
If you continued to make the Mortar Pit Covers you could add them to the base of the display case as an extra item, sometimes the display base needs that little extra to fill a void, just a suggestion mate.
 
Monograms really do add that finishing touch to the Mortar and Guns, pity their not straight, but you most likely have seen that already.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
 
Can't help the dust mate, good thing is it doesn't take much to remove.
 
Be proud of her, she's lovely.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Grant,
 
Nicely done mate, the ladders have come out well and look great.
 
If you continued to make the Mortar Pit Covers you could add them to the base of the display case as an extra item, sometimes the display base needs that little extra to fill a void, just a suggestion mate.
 
Monograms really do add that finishing touch to the Mortar and Guns, pity their not straight, but you most likely have seen that already.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
 
Can't help the dust mate, good thing is it doesn't take much to remove.
 
Be proud of her, she's lovely.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Grant,
 
Nicely done mate, the ladders have come out well and look great.
 
If you continued to make the Mortar Pit Covers you could add them to the base of the display case as an extra item, sometimes the display base needs that little extra to fill a void, just a suggestion mate.
 
Monograms really do add that finishing touch to the Mortar and Guns, pity their not straight, but you most likely have seen that already.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
 
Can't help the dust mate, good thing is it doesn't take much to remove.
 
Be proud of her, she's lovely.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Thanks again folks for all the kind comments and the "likes" - they really do encourage me to keep striving to do better.
 
The home straight is in sight!
 
Entry Port Ladders
 
The entry port ladders were fairly simple to make – once I used the right timber, and the right method. My first attempt was using 3/16” square stock Yellowheart, and using the Mill to cut the stepped profile. I quickly discovered that while Yellowheart is fine for planking, it is very difficult to use in other applications. It is very coarse grained, and very brittle, meaning that it will splinter as soon as look at you. I also decided that this task would be better accomplished using the Byrnes table saw rather than the mill – quicker, easier, and cleaner.
 
I decided to use Castello Boxwood for the task as it still retained a pale colour to blend in with the external hull planking, and at the same time was consistent with the timber used for the Channels.  These two decisions made the task very simple. The profile along the long edge of the ladder steps was cut very quickly onto longer lengths of stock. I decided to add a degree of difficulty by continuing the stepped profile onto the short edge of the steps.  The pieces are too small to safely attempt this with the table saw, so they were individually cut using a chisel and finally cleaned up with a file. This last task was also much easier than I had first thought – perhaps I’m starting to develop my skills with the hand tools too!
 
Here is what the steps looked like after profiling:
 

 
I decided that they would be easier to mount on the hull if they had a locating pin, so I made up a very simple length jig for the drill press to ensure that all steps had a hole exactly in the middle of their lengths, then inserted a long brass pin “handle”.
 

 
This handle was a useful holding aid while applying a coat of Wipe-on Poly to the non-glued surfaces, after which it was cut off to a more appropriate length.
 
To aid in placing the steps accurately on the hull, a template was printed from the drawings and attached to a piece of card stock.  This was taped in place on the hull while the centres of the steps were marked through with a brad point.
 

 
The locating holes were then completed by very carefully hand drilling, and the steps glued in place. PVA was used for gluing, which gave ample time to ensure that each step was aligned parallel to its neighbour.
 

 
Also during the week, my shipment of monograms from Chuck’s Syren company arrived – I think mine may have been the very first order placed, or if not, it was very close. I have to say that I am delighted with the product. The larger size is just right for this scale – a side-by-side comparison with the Russian-made (? or perhaps Ukrainian?) guns that Danny had given me previously showed that Chuck’s monograms were pretty much identical in size, and they also match really well against Jeff’s drawings.  Well done Chuck!  I gave them a coat of Floquil Engine Black prior to cutting from the sprue, and then put a tiny dab of CA glue on the barrels before placing the monograms ever so carefully with a pair of very fine pointed tweezers. This job would of course have been much easier to do prior to mounting the guns.  Anyway, here’s a couple of shots showing the monograms in place on both the Mortar and Gun barrels. Unfortunately, the photos also show just how badly the model needs cleaning up prior to completion.
 

 

 
I have been working on the "optional" Mortar Pit Housing over the last couple of days. Not sure if I will complete this yet or not for two reasons.  Firstly, as I have been doing this, I have discovered that the recesses I cut into the top of the Mortar Pit are not actually the right size - I didn't appreciate at the time how everything worked together, so I went with something that looked "about right" at the time.  If I had studied the plans more thoroughly, I might have realised this and been in good shape at this point.  The other reason is that as far as display goes, it really needs for the Housing to be completely on or completely off - there doesn't seem to be a 50/50 option.  So, I may just continue to make the parts for the heck of it, or I may get to the point where I simply call "done".  I ordered the display case this week, so I've got until that arrives to finish this task, make the final display cradle/stand, and apply some Wipe-on Poly finish to the external lower hull.  Oh yes, and clean the pesky dust off !!!!!
 
 

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Hi Mark,
 
Well worth the effort mate, the difference is noticeable and a great improvement.
 
You've still got the guts to take apart and renew what you don't like, well done mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Bagged it!!!   Still needs a bit of work to strengthen, probably some knees as this is pretty flimsy.  I suspect the planking will help but I'd rather keep Murphy away....
 
First.. the deconstruction... cleaned out the debris and shaped it a bit better.
 

 
Then attached the framing.   This is where the problems hit... not that flexible and didn't get the shape of the existing frames just right.  Also, the mortises on the existing frames crumbled.. could be the wood, could be me.  And broke several frames filing and cutting them in.  Gave it up, cleared off the damaged areas and glued it in place.
 

 
Clamps removed and tarffrail set into position.  It'll need a bit of fitting shaping and all the char removed but I'll hold off until this is completely planked.
 

 
Looking a lot farther ahead in this area, will be the carvings.  Still sorting out what the NMM plans really show and also what was common in the French frigates of the time.  I suspect there will be some trade-offs because what Hahn shows would be really tiny.   Not sure if they eyeball are up to it even with magnification.   We'll see.
 
I'm going to let this sit overnight and cure out completely while looking at other things needed and maybe making the knees.  I think where the stern is now looks 100% better than where I started.   Every step is a learning step or so it seems and this way is a darn sight easier than the way Hahn did it.

De-Construction Time....  
 
The first pic shows some of the problem.. very rough, not symmetrical.  IF I had known then what I know now, it would have been done differently.  I tried to follow Hahn's method of small shaped pieces between the framing.  FAIL.
 

 
The second photo shows my solution.  This piece is the prototype out of basswood.  I'm cutting the real deal out of cherry for strength.  My plan is to remove the small bits of wood and mortise this piece onto the frames.  It's symmetrical and more importantly matches the seating for the taffrail.  The planking will cover the framing and this piece.
 

 
Here's another prototype shot.. the new frame piece and the taffrail.  The taffrail will be boxwood. I'm changing my wood choices for boxwood for the trim and decorations.  
 

 
Once the framing is in and the stern planked and sanded, I'll add the taffrail.  
 
To be continued........

Nice fix mate with excellent results, :im Not Worthy:  it all looks rather spiffing.  
 
Last leg mate, Entry Ladders that's all and of course the dusting and any last minute adjustments and of course the final display base and case.
 
Seriously, a very good job and one to be proud of, very well done.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Thanks again for all the kind comments, thoughtful suggestions, and of course all of the "likes".
 
Chainplates – again!
 
After pondering the problem of the chainplate failure for a few days, and after receiving a few suggestions from my MSW friends, I concluded two things:
 
Firstly, I had been a little too zealous with the clean up of my silver-soldering when I attached the tube to the flat-bar. The result was that the joint had too small an area of bond, and hence a weak joint. After considering alternative approaches, I resolved to give this another crack.  So I used exactly the same method as previously described, only this time taking care to leave a fillet of solder on the “shoulders” of the joint.  Here is a picture after drilling, bending and blackening. If you look closely you can see the slight thickening at the joint line.
 

 
The second conclusion I came to was that I was using wire of too great a thickness for the chain strops.  I had been attempting to use 0.75mm diameter brass wire for this.  After checking with both Mobbsie and Rusty, I decided that 0.5mm diameter would be better suited (Mobbsie successfully used 0.5mm diameter on his build at this scale, and Rusty used 0.78mm diameter for his build in 1:24 scale). The only problem I ran into here was that I was unable to silver solder the joints of the thinner wire. If it’s possible, it’s beyond my current skill set!  Instead, I copied the method used by both Mobbise and Rusty on their builds, and that was to twist the wire one complete turn under the deadeyes, and then tuck the ends into the tube section of the chainplate. This at last produced an acceptable result.  I secured the bottom ends of the chainplates with small brass nails left over from previous kits various (though I had to shorten them), and then blackened the heads in-situ by painting on Jax Pewter Black, and washing with distilled water afterwards to halt the reaction. This worked very well and did not have any impact on the surrounding timber (which I was careful to avoid).  Finally, I used a dab of C/A glue to encourage the deadeyes to “stand up”.  Here is the result:
 

 
All in all, I’m quite happy with the results.  All that remains now is to make the external entry ladder, and perhaps the Mortar Pit Housing, as well as the final stand.

Hey Grant, you aint bad at this boat building thingy are ya.  
 
With so many firsts in this build you must be so pleased with the outcome so-far. She's looking absolutely great, crisp and clean, a real super job.
 
Looking forward to your next up-date mate.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Only Me,
 
What can I say, the Chain Plates were looking really good and the concept of construction clever, it's just that one area of failure that's a bummer.
 
All I can suggest is that the Chain Plate loops are formed cold, then when you solder the Deadeye Slings in place there will be a certain amount of creep by the solder which will secure the loop.
 
By the time you read this you would most likely have thought of a solution mate, good luck with it my friend. Enjoy the challenge !!!!!!!!
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Only Me,
 
What can I say, the Chain Plates were looking really good and the concept of construction clever, it's just that one area of failure that's a bummer.
 
All I can suggest is that the Chain Plate loops are formed cold, then when you solder the Deadeye Slings in place there will be a certain amount of creep by the solder which will secure the loop.
 
By the time you read this you would most likely have thought of a solution mate, good luck with it my friend. Enjoy the challenge !!!!!!!!
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Only Me,
 
What can I say, the Chain Plates were looking really good and the concept of construction clever, it's just that one area of failure that's a bummer.
 
All I can suggest is that the Chain Plate loops are formed cold, then when you solder the Deadeye Slings in place there will be a certain amount of creep by the solder which will secure the loop.
 
By the time you read this you would most likely have thought of a solution mate, good luck with it my friend. Enjoy the challenge !!!!!!!!
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Wow, that's a nice set of Deadeyes mate.
 
Cut-outs on the Channels are much neater now, looking forward to part 2 of the update.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie