gieb8688

After I add the 2 lower main stay sails, the waist/boat stowage area will also be cramped and mostly inaccessible, so I'll add the boats now. The 4 boats have been made since summer 2011, when I had to be away from home for several months.  The main Caldercraft kit was too big to take with me, so I concentrated on making the ship's boats that summer.  I have resisted adding them permanently up until now, mainly because they are dust-catchers.  My workshop area is located in my garage, and the dust level up til now was very high.  I've had the garage floor epoxied recently, and now don't kick up as much dust, but still cover the model every night with some very light plastic to keep most of the dust off. Here's the last look at the unencumbered waist area, prior to adding the boats and their tie-down lines and tackles.  Most of this will no longer be visible after the boats are mounted
 
 

 
 
Here is the 34' launch being added to the boat tier.
 

 
 
Now the 28"  pinnace and the forward main stay boat tackle.
 

 
 
Finally, the 32' barge and the 18' cutter, along with the after boat tackle.
 

 

 

I am trying to get the belays at the fore mast foot completed, as an upcoming step, adding the main stay sail and the main topmast staysail, will almost make this area inaccessible.  It is very congested here now that I have added the belays to the focs'l breast beam assembly (fore course bunts, leeches, etc).  The stays for these two staysails are belayed in this area (note the bullseyes behind the pinrail).  The main staysail, which by name would seem to hang from the main stay, actually is rigged to what was known as a "spring stay", which runs sort of parallel to the main stay, but terminates at the fore mast foot. This was necessary due to the fact that the staysail hanks would not be able to slide along the actual main stay because of the snaking between the main stay and the main preventer stay.  I have extensively used Hubert Sicard's method of using what he called "zip seizings" on most of my rigging, which enormously makes tightening the rigging lines easier, and also lets one pre-rig lines while the zips hold them in place without glue.  The main topmast stay belay is located on the bullseye behind the pinrail.  Also, I have not yet shipped the topgallant masts/sails, and their belay points here and on the fore shroud cleats will be inaccessible after the staysails are shipped, so I must add them now and let the upper ends of these lines flop in the breeze until I get around to adding the topgallant mast. Attaching these line later at what should be their standing ends, will be much easier because of the zip siezings. This is the case for many of the running rigging lines, hence the jungle of slack lines that appear in the pix. 
 
 

 
 
 
 

This is a shot of some of the belays at the foot of the main mast. Here the port truss pendant tackle fall is being attached.
 
 

 
Belay of main course sheet at starboard staghorn.
 

   

Jeers bowsed up. Note that the running ends were pre-attached to the bitts on the upper gun deck, abaft of the main mast.  This was done ages ago, before the quarter deck was installed, which would have made access impossible. Same goes for several other lines, such as the fore yard shhets, main yard tacks, main top yard sheets, etc.

Reeving jeers.\; sling routed but not snugged up yet,  Trusses attached to yard, but not yet routed correctly.

I haven't posted here for the last 5 weeks or so, but here are some updates.  Again, I apologize for the cockamamie way that I am posting; a mix of historical pix from the early stages of the build, and some current ones.
 
 I finally got to shipping the main yard/course a few weeks ago.  
 
The yard/sail assembly with most lines pre-attached:

Somewhere along the line one has to tackle the assembly and installation of the gunport lids. After they are painted, the hinges have to be added.  For those ports shown in the open position, the hinges have to be bent to about 90 degrees. This can be tricky on these tiny photoetched parts.  In my bag of tricks I had a Mission Models Etchmate 3C, a tool designed expressly for bending small photoetched brass parts. It is a little pricey at $60, but if you do a lot of this work it is worthwhile.  I bought mine a decade or more ago, and a quick look online indicates that they are no longer available; perhaps Mission Models no longer makes this item, but it seems that one can find them on eBay for about $30. Here are some photos of the 3C bending hinges, and some simple jigs to locate them.

This update takes me up to hull completion (apart from fitting the lanterns and quarterdeck hammock cranes which will be fitted later).
 
Work starts on fitting out the forecastle deck, fitting out with the hatch assembly, belfry, fore bitts cross beams and the breast beam rails.





 
 
Of course, there's those catheads which need fitting. These are designed with engravings that mean each cathead is an easy, multipart assembly, and they look rather nice when built up. Opening up the bulwark holes for the catheads was the longest task here, taking about 90 mins in total, but they fit superbly.




 
 
Ok, back onto the quarterdeck, fitting the stairs I made much earlier in this build. The same goes for my capstan and hatch assembly. The ship's wheel unit is something I made up in the last week, and that goes nicely into position.



 
 
 
Now, the quarterdeck breast beam rails are installed. These did look fiddly, but they fit together as easy as Lego! That's right down to installing the PE hammock cranes through all slots in each layer. When complete, these are painted black.




 
Time for timberheads! (and quarterdeck rail stanchions).


 
 
Followed by the rails:

 
 
Off to the other end of Sphinx now as I build up the head rails. These are made from laminated pear and the top of these are shaped as I did with the timberheads on the gunwales. Those 'seats of ease' are also installed.


 
 
 
Remember those cannon port lids? Here they are, finally installed.

 
 
 
The boat beams are now slightly different to the ones I used as they are engraved with the positions of the specific boat cradles, making things a little easier for the builder. The mounts for the beams are cast in a tough resin, attached with CA once I'd measured the 'between centres' to the holes in the gangways.

 
 
 
Hammock cranes are now installed and rigged.



 
 
The boomkins and figurehead parts are fitted, completing this update...


 
 
Here's a few pics of the build so far. Tomorrow I'll be sending Chris a pen drive with over 830+ photos and 24,000 words of text. Your instruction manual will be epic, in every sense of the word 😆






 
 
 

Thanks to all for the comments and the likes – it is always greatly appreciated.
 
 
Hello Ron.  I'm glad you found my log and thank you for the kind words.  Thanks also for the comments regarding the dory, but I'm going to respectfully disagree on the dory's purpose for the following reasons.  First, as I researched these small western-rig boats, I found references to the roof mounted dories as indeed being lifeboats.  I agree with you that present day F/Vs mostly do not carry lifeboats, only inflatables.  But even as late as the 1970s they did. In Peter Prybot's book, White-Tipped Orange Masts: (Gloucester's fishing draggers in the 1970s), the author states that the eastern-rig boats carried two life boats atop the pilothouse and smaller boats carried one.  Here is an image of eastern-rig boats in Boston in the 1960s/70s all carrying dories painted in the same high visibility color.
 

 
The image above doesn't prove anything by itself, but it shows that the boats were common in an earlier time.  As the decades passed and the dories became increasingly rare, it must have been due to the movement toward CO2 canister inflatables.  If the dories were part of the fishing gear, they would not have vanished because the basic method of trawl fishing during this period didn't change.
 
A second reason I believe the dories on these small draggers were not part of the fishing gear is that I have never read where auxiliary boats have ever been used in conjunction with otter trawl gear.  I don't see how the dory would assist in that process or what it could do that the winch or boom hoists could not, especially considering the weight of the gear (wire rope, otter boards, roller gear, etc).  And my final thought is that without a davit, getting the dory down off the roof and back up routinely seems impractical.
 
Of course I could be totally wrong about all of this, but certainly without some way out of the frigid New England water, a person would quickly suffer from cold incapacitation followed by hypothermia in short order.
 
Thanks again Ron.
 
 
Finished
 
This simple diorama base has been a painfully slow slog.  I re-did it several times with each version being tossed into the trash.  But I have surrendered and it is done.
 
I began with a framed platform that measures 7.5” x 13.5”. Like the model, it shows signs of wear.
 

 
 
I then made a landscape foundation of Hyrocal.  This is great stuff – mix with water and it cures hard as a rock, doesn't shrink, crack or flake apart.  I poured this mix onto a piece of waxed paper so I could work the stuff away from the base in anticipation of do-overs.  The rock out-crop is also Hydrocal that I formed in a flexible mold manufactured by Woodland Scenics.  Trailer tire tracks are laid in.
 

 
 
I glued the slab onto the base with crazy amounts of PVA and filled in around the perimeter with a fresh batch of the Hydrocal. There is an interval of time before it has cured (hours) where the stuff is “green” - hard, but very workable with carving tools. I then cut and glued down the wood blocks that will support the boat.
 

 
 
Slide switches and a battery holder for the LED lighting are mounted to the underside.
 

 
 
The Hydrocal was painted with a brown gouache and then landscaping materials are added on top.  The rock out-crops are also colored with gouache.  The “dirt” is pulverized cat box absorbent (unused mind you).  It's placed into a plastic zip bag, smashed with a hammer and then sifted into piles - powder, fine and course.  The scant vegetation is dry bits of things from the flower garden that were then painted with acrylics.  And the scattered rocks are, well - small stones.
 
Once things were arranged to my liking, I sprayed wet water (more like a heavy mist) over everything until good and wet.  This helps the adhesive to flow.  Before it had a chance to dry, I used a craft style syringe/eye dropper and applied a 50/50 PVA/wet water mix over the entire diorama.  A lot of this mixture was applied- everything soaked but no puddles.  Below is how it looks when dry.  I can shake it vigorously upside down and nothing falls off, but that's not a recommended practice.
 

 
 
I make up a few details. An extension ladder colored with acrylics and pigment powder.
 

 

 
 
And a step ladder.
 

 
 
A 55 gallon drum filled with scraps.  The drum is injection molded plastic from Tichy Train Group.  It is based painted rust enamel then over-painted with acrylic, chipped and pigments applied.
 

 
So I grab the boat and bring it over to the base for final mounting.  Before I make it to the base, I sneeze violently and the boat jumps from my hands like it was possessed.  I watched in slow motion horror as the model pitchpoled end over end and landed on the floor like a cat, right side up and flat on its keel.  I could barely believe my careless stupidity or my undeserved good fortune.  The model remained in completely undamaged condition with only the engine stack having been slightly loosened.  Sometimes the gods smile upon you.
 
The LED wiring is run down through holes in the wood blocks and the boat is attached to the base.  Details are glued on and boat stands are added.
 

 

 

 
 
A worker in a pensive moment contemplates the world and his place in it.  The figure is by Arttista.  And at the last minute I decided the scene needed saw horses and a couple of planks.
 

 
And some other direct lighting shots.
 

 

 

 

 
Some indirect lighting photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Well, this model is finished and it has been a pleasure sharing it with you.  I thank everyone who looked in on the build and all the folks that clicked the “like” button.  And to all of you who have generously given comments of support, suggestions, information and expertise – I thank you so very much.
 

 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary
 

Hi to all following this build. 
 
I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been working steadily on “The Pauline”.   
 
I’ve been busy getting my full scale boat ready for the season! We splashed last Thursday. The weather for Memorial Day weekend set us back a bit, but we’re in the water and looking forward to the season. 


 
As far as “The Pauline” goes I am getting close. I have all the deck features built and mounted, now I have to rig her and I’m going to be adding some additions based on some photos I have of her. 


 
Thanks if you guys are still following. 
 
 

Well it got to me, I could not stare at it any more to the point that I was ever going to be satisfied with the look of this without dealing with this mast. Also, fiddling with bits of the mast, trying to adjust the length of the lower mast was not going to work so I am remaking this section of the mast, sorry dad, but yours had to be replaced, I am keeping the the mid and upper sections.
 
This gives me the chance to learn from my first attemps on the iron work which while ok, but were not the best I can achieve.


Having read NenadM's comments on the scale of the bands on this section, I have bought a supply of 8mm brass belaying pins. I know they are way to big for scale but for practicality, they will at least hold the ropes and give me the chance to apply the rope 2-3 turns and still have a bit of room to hang the ends loops of rope for the lines.  
 
When making the lowest band, I will install 6 hoops aligned vertically for the blocks to hook onto and horizontal in the next hoop for belaying pins. I will also change the universal joint on the lower gaff to match the design of the one on the upper gaff but hope to refine the finish a bit.
 
If at first you dont succeed, try, try again.
 
Simon

CHAPTER 6- Conclusion
 
From the plating expansion drawing, the plates are mostly 24ft or a scale 3in long.  I estimated that 200 plates will be required.  I selected a common width of 7/8in.  A number of sheets of quality bond correspondence paper were sprayed with a coat of shellac and then standard 3in x 7/8 plates were cut with  guillotine type paper cutter.  As one end of each plate laps it’s neighbor I used a simple jig to mark a 1/8in overlap on one end.
 
With plates mass produced, I began plating.  The In and Out system requires plating two In strakes first, and then an Out strake in between.  The process for each strake begins at the stern and proceeds forward as the aft edge of the forward plate laps over the forward edge of the after plate.  90% of the time the plates proved to be a “developed shape”  in other words curved in only one dimension if at all.  In fact there were only 2 or 3 plates per side that had a complex shape.  These were shaped by draping a wet, untreated piece of paper over the hull and letting it dry.  It was then trimmed to shape.
 
I used a palette knife to spread a layer of ordinary titebond PVA Glue to the back of each plate. When in place the plate was pressed down.  After trying various clamping techniques, I eventually learned that the most effective was simply rubbing with my finger until the glue grabbed.
 
When finished, the hull was a mess, with glue smears, and blobs everywhere. I used alcohol to clean up the worst and then sprayed on a coat of flat model paint.  The hull looked better and I found that the paint stiffened the paper to the point where it could be lightly sanded with 220 grit paper.  Another light coat of paint and it looked even better.  The digital photos reveal several areas that still need work but a this point, “It’s a keeper.”
 
Lessons Learned:
 
The shellac made the system possible.  Several plates  which for various reasons I applied without shellac were easily damaged requiring messy repair.
 
Keeping fingers clean to avoid spreading glue where it doesn’t belong is a problem.  A bowl of warm water and a towel next to the workbench is necessary.
 
I made the In plates just wide enough to provide a narrow land for the out strakes to rest on.  A better choice would be to make the In strakes wide enough so the out strake is completely supported.
 
So far,  I have plated one side.  In plating the second side I’ll incorporate these improvements.
 
Roger

CHAPTER 6. Hull plating
 
By the early 1900’s, following the lead of the great British Civil Engineers of the Mid 1800’s American Naval Architects had come to realize that the primary structural element of the hull of an iron or steel ship was its shell plating.  Steel plates together with hot driven rivets provided a monocoque structure to withstand stresses from hogging and sagging of the ever longer hulls.
 
The wrought iron plating of the first metal hulls was layed up clinker style with the bottom edge of the plate fayed tight against the frame and the top edge overlapping its neighbor.  Experience with these early iron hulls showed that the entire plate needed to be riveted to the frame so tapered liner plates were added to close the tapered gap between the plate and the frame.  These tapered plates were expensive to make and nearly impossible to taper accurately leading to the In and Out system of hull plating which remained in effect as long as riveted ships were built.  The In and Out Bsystem is shown along with the clinker system in a 1916 drawing from Practical Shipbuilding by A. Campbell Holms.
 

this was a weird day........1st off.......I found an innuendo in the Rice Krispy jingle.........it occurs when they get to the Crackle verse.  I looked it up on You Tube,  because the admiral couldn't remember it........I found the original one from the 50's.  Crackle sings his verse,  till he gets to the last line:
🎶 butt Crack {le}, makes the world go 'round 🎶     the things I think of while planking.........  
 
secondly,   if anyone tells you that an x actor isn't balanced........  there are very few times,  that it has fallen off the table,  and hasn't stuck blade first into the floor or carpet.  I tossed it on the table one time,  and it bounced....and stuck into a box I had on the table.   yep.......it rolled off the table today.........and stuck me in the first joint of my big toe!  I had to pull the darn thing out!!!  fresh blade too........
 
.......and it's really annoying when someone asks to do something,  you know they are NOT supposed to do.  I have a simple solution.  during the day today,  the admiral asked me to go out and start the lawn mower for her   I had a simple one word answer.........no!  
 
enough tomfoolery........Mark Twain must have though of that word / phrase........I shouldn't be mess'in 'round...this last bit is big!  so the mid ship section is done.  I used the day cabin to guide me through most of it......now the engine cover is involved.

the second turret is cased in as well.......the start of the second torpedo brackets has begun.  the center joint of the deck panels was flattened so the engine cover sat in place without wobbling.  I marked off it's placement and ran a plank,  casing it on both sides.

 

then,  it was just cut and fill.  filling in along the margins wasn't too bad......

cutting around the aft torpedo brackets was interesting......they had to stay full plank.  there are no more obstacles,  except 'round the backside of the brackets.  it got me thinking......was there a platform for the 20 mm gun?  there is one shown in the full layout diagram,  but there are no parts associated with it.  the platform should be as thick as the torpedo bracket bases,  so I went into the PT box and got out the cast off fillers for the bulkheads.  the turret and a {somewhat} square piece of wood was used to trace out the part.

the dimensions should be a bit bigger,  but this will do the trick.  it was cut out on the scroll saw and sanded to shape.  the planking on both side meet the stern margin now.

the day cabin and the engine cover,  along with the aft turret,  sit in place quite well.

 

I will need to make adjustments to the shields,  because of a gap with the helm flooring......I just moved it up 1/16........minor stuff.  my back was killing me,  but I made the push to get the planking done.  happy time!

 

 

it's a shame I can't get the shields to sit flush,  or this would look better than it does.

next will be sanding and painting.......    
 
 

the port side shield worked out well.......it sits in the deck "well" pretty good.  with the deck planked on both sides of the helm,  I thought it was time to lay the floor in the helm area.  I have some of that corrugated siding used in model railroading....painted flat black,  it should look rather good.

the lines go straight........they don't look like that   I had forgotten about the second turret......so I drew the lines for that one. 
 
 

 
 the starboard side shield however......got a little messed up.  in one of the dry fits,  I saw that it fanned out further than what I marked off,  so I drew the new lines to follow......not a good thing to do   as a double whammy,  I seem to have lost track of the butt stagger....that was bad..........what was worse.  was I somehow was off on the planking,  resulting in a 3/16 gap......

I left the gap repair visible so you can see.  later I'll fill it in with filler and render it invisible.  I already filled in the small piece that I fitted in the shield well,  to correct that mistake.  the torpedo tube will hide some of it......and as we all know......paint hides sin 🚫 {so does filler}.

it gets better.........no more surprises.........thankfully!  I'll cue up the big finish   
 
 

OK........I'm back ........still a bit out of joint,  but a few more Advil and moving around,  I should be fine.   my thumb is throbbing too......a result of giving up on the chopper,  cutting and trimming by hand.  primitive I know.......but it works     anyway......once I got both sides of the bow covered,  I could then move back towards the stern.  there was a lot of obstacles to work around....a product of my own doing.  I made it back to the first torpedo brackets.

now to fill in on both sides of the mid ship,  and work around the first .50 cal turret and the shields.

haven't decided if I'm going to fill in around the brackets and stuff.   some of the butt joints show and some don't......I don't want them to be totally obvious,  but after the paint,  have them just noticeable.  when I sand,  I'll have to wipe the hull......and not blow on it {it will clean out the gaps if I do}.
   I mentioned that I would show the structure in place.  you'll see plenty of dry fits....I promise   

 

 

And a little bit of Sphinx progress...(All deck fittings dry fitted, nothing glued yet)

OK, as it is now two years since the first kit release, I decided to have a sale to celebrate! (Feels like it's been much longer)!
 
VANGUARD MODEL KITS – VANGUARD MODELS

Another little update - Not much done of Sphinx (working on plans in CAD) over the past week, as work (day job) has had me very busy and no chance of furlough days - but still on target for July release, just..
 
I did decide to make a minor change to one of her fittings though, and am quite pleased with the new fitting, just a small thing, but they do add up.
 
I now have a decent waterline marker on my site, plus a Minitool mini sander (which needs the transformer), which caught my eye and thought would be very useful for ship modelling (I use a larger version in my day job for certain jobs)
 
Tools – VANGUARD MODELS
 
I should have a full range of spring loaded sanding blocks by mid next week, too, together with spare sanding belts for them.
 
 

Time for another small update. 
 
I'm currently working on the stern and galleries of Sphinx, so I can show you what I've done up to that point.
 
The rudder is built from a 3mm pear core, with 1mm engraved pear facings on either side. This is first glued up and then the rudder pintle straps are fitted. I use cut off pins to insert here so I have the domed head on either side. Laser slots in the timber give the locations for the 'hinges' that hang the rudder to the stern post. The spectacle plate is then added and the upper straps etc. painted in black. 






 
 
The rudder brace straps are then glued to the hull after hanging the rudder. The pins are also then painted white and the upper straps painted black (not shown here).

 
 
Onto the channels. All of these are also engraved with a position which needs to be drilled to locate the support pins. Those pins match up with holes that are laser cut into the hull, in an engraved area which matches the channel. 





 
 
A small break now to work on the bow area. The v-brackets and bow gratings are assembled on the hull without gluing to the hull. The assembly is then removed and finished off before finally gluing onto the hull.




 
 
The various bow rails are now added, including the hawse, bolster etc. All of this will be unified later under a coat of matt poly varnish. Some shaping of these parts will need two be done, but they're designed to have extra timber to allow for any hull variations the modeller may have introduced inadvertently. 

 
 
Back to the stern again now. The acrylic windows are now removed, gently filed and fitted to the stern and galleries using acrylic varnish as a glue to hold them. I didn't want to use CA due to potential fogging. I know there are odourless CA types, but I just didn't have any to hand 🙃


 
 
Once dry, the white window frames were fitted using more acrylic varnish as glue.

 
 
The golden pillars between the windows were now fitted. For these, I prefer CA gel as it gives a moment or so to manipulate stuff.


 
 
The various rails are now fitted...

 
 
Whilst waiting for things to set and cure, I painted the stern decoration. This was first primed in Tamiya fine white primer, and then airbrushed with Humbrol Matt 25 Blue. Vallejo Liquid Gold was then diluted with a few drops of isopropyl alcohol and brushed onto the stern with a size 0000 brush. The whole lot was then varnished to protect it.

 
 
Lastly for this update, I completed the stove. After a coat of primer, Tamiya Flat Black was airbrushed over it, and then steel pigments applied to it before being sealed in matt varnish. The bricks were painted in MRP RAF Roundel Red, sealed, and then a light grey panel line wash applied.

 
until next time...

A quick end of week update before I delve into the bow area and then onto the stern/decor.
 
This last couple of days been finishing the rudder and fitting it, adding the pintle/gudgeon straps, the horse shoe/fishplates to the keel....and the channels.
 
All channel parts are first drilled with a 0.5mm drill bit in pre-cut laser slots and then painted black (after masking joint edge). Cut-off brass pins are then CA'd into the holes. Corresponding laser holes in the sides of the hull are then used to locate these when glued into position. Once fitted, the channel knees are added. I decided to leave the char on the upper edges of these with bare pear sides instead of just hiding the shapes under black paint. Here's the work so far.
 

While waiting for glue to dry...
The transom has a half-round oval(ish) molding that surrounds the name and home port.  I cut out the pattern, cut and sanded the outside to the line. This photo is after the center piece was cut out.

Since it's less than 1/16" thin, I then glued it to a sacrificial carrier piece and drilled out the center (a bunch of holes near the inner line.  A bunch of sanding and scraping
later it looks as it should.  Rather than glue it in place on the transom, I'm going to paint it (gold) while it's still on the carrier and remove it and glue it on the transom later.

Maury

While we're waiting for some nice laser-cut goodies coming from Italy for this build, perhaps you'd like to take a look at this link and give them your wholehearted support:
 
This promises to be an amazing project and about as close to the actual Trafalgar that any of us could ever hope to get!
 
Go forth! 'England Model Ship World expects that everyone will do their duty'!
 

I added ships boats and anchors and did a little touch up. I'm calling her complete!
DANMARK.MOV

good afternoon everyone
 
well the bowsprit became a bit of a fiasco, i spent ages lining it all up, pinning etc but the end result always looked squiffy
 
my final attempt looks better to me, and actually i quite pleased with it
 
soldering is getting better, as i attempt to do more scratch work, lol im going to need the practice