flyer

Hi Bob Your rope works look excellent - the Syren thread is a tremendous improvement. However as an engineer something chafes me: That stay on the starboard side of the bowsprit (main top stay?) has to take a certain load. The whole load has to be transmitted via the tackle to the belaying points. Each of the 3 legs of the tackle takes 1/3 of the load which means the thread of the tackle should in this case be at least 1/3 of the strength of the stay. Yours seems to be quite thinner and will either break when the stay takes the full load or the stay is oversized. It just doesn't look balanced. May I suggest to use the next stronger thread as tackle? Take care Peter

Hi Helli Thank you for sharing that amazing build with us. That's a very clever trick for attaching the breaching rope rings to the guns. And your work looks great, clean and precise. Cheers Peter

Hi B.E. Another great build where you improved an already excellent kit by adding your personal touch. Congratulations on a masterpiece. The unavoidable question: And now? Cheers Peter

All the channels are in place as well as those gun port lids which are between the chains. To improve the stability of the chains I tried to close the middle link with some tin-solder. It doesn't look perfect but seems more stable. While constantly turning the hull for and back I came across our hero's sculpture every time and was more and more irritated by his brown breast armour. As higher Greek ratings anyway were entitled to a metal protection I replaced his leather by metal and even offered a heroic gold plating - means I painted his breast golden. It looks now more in line with the other colours, simpler and better. mizzen channel fore channel our hero looks good in his new, shining armour scuppers Perhaps it's just another one of my obsessions but I try to install scuppers on all my models. They should show that ship's hulls are just fragile and leaking eggshells and the water which comes in has to go out again. Learning where to install scuppers was difficult. Finally I found a note in 'Bellona' from the AOTS series saying that there are 6 per side on the gun deck and 7 per side on the upper deck. However no plans where to install them were included. I think that those on the gun deck could be installed similar to those on frigates where I found some information and for the upper deck I will try to find logical positions. It seems that scuppers: - are about evenly spaced in the central part of the deck - are not below a gun port and therefore covered by a gun - may be in the form of a slightly bigger pump dale near the mainmast Scuppers on the upper deck should additionally not be above a gun port or a scupper of the gun deck. The locations were chosen accordingly and the one near the mainmast on the gun deck is a pump dale and therefore slightly bigger. I used again ferrules from the electric compartment with a diameter of 1,5mm respective 2mm for the pump dales . As they are all placed within the black wales I painted them black as well. all scuppers except the foremost on each deck main channel with scuppers the second scupper from the left on the (lower) gun deck is a slightly larger pump dale stand Originally I planed to step Bellerophon onto 3 pilars mounted on an oak base, similar to Pegasus, Pickle and America. I like those stands because the model almost seems to float on them. But while handling that rather heavy hull and thinking of the rather sof MDF which should hold the 3 screws which in turn would take all the strain I started to have doubts. Some destruction tests with leftover MDF slid into the pilars' slot did nothing to dispel those doubts. Reluctanly I accepted the kit's craddle as final support for the model. Painted with palisander stain it achieved a colour slightly darker than the aged copper but lighter and more elegant than the dull black shown on the kit's box. Most of the still missing, fragile details on the hull will have to wait until the rigging is completed. I think the fuselage could be delared completed and it's time to start on the wings. Also this is the time for a celebration beer - I'll check if there's still some Corona brew in the cellar. ready to launch...

Hi Mark Great work again. Good start on the copper plates although they aren't yet fully on the quality standard of the rest of the build. Just an idea: Didn't somebody in MSW use a stamp to make all rivets on one plate together? This would mean you would have to fabricate a stamp made of a piece of plastic (wood would be too splintery) with about 30 to 50 tiny nails or perhaps better pin-tips in it, protruding all the same length. This would be tricky work but if it is possible I think the making of the 2000 or so plates would go faster and you would have a regular pattern. For info: My Amati plates are 17 by 5 mm and have 2 rows of 9 rivets after 1 and 2 thirds of the width and a row of 18 rivets at the edge. This makes a distance of about 1,7 mm between the rivets, but only 0,9 mm distance along the edge. Good luck! Peter

Some 40 years ago I started with Corel and Mamoli kits. Among the shortcomings of those kits were the manuals. However, if I remember correctly, they also had the original Italian text included. Sometimes I was able to find some sense there, using sketchy French, translating some key words and by eliminating the impossible. Your model BTW seems to be pure Corel fantasy. The original Valiant of 1759 was a 74 gun ship of the line - quite different. Therefore you can't do wrong and are free to build it as you please. You're the skipper, look for the most simple and logical solution. I also wondered what kind of sloop could have been the pattern for this Valiant. Perhaps the sloop Speedwell 1752 was a close cousin. You'll find some pictures of her in the web (there is a model in the NMM) which could help to answer questions and ultimately perhaps even to modify your kit a bit to resemble a real ship. Your build looks fine so far. Go on! Peter

Finishing the hull Next was the starboard fore channel. Instead of wooden knees on top, the kit contains iron supports below to stabilize it. I'm not sure if this is historically correct but the Victory in the AOTS series book shows similar features. And they are in the same positions as the knees would be. So I followed the easy way and did as the manual told me. Fortunately I found RMC's note about attaching the associated gun port lids together with the channel and could avoid later difficulties. A feature I wanted to add was the anchor lining or bolster. In the AOTS books Bellona and Pandora I found drawings to show some information about the form but there was still some guesswork needed to build them as historically correct as possible. Finally I tried to keep it simple while offering maximal protection for the chains without blocking the foremost gun too much. It looks OK. The skipper came to enquire about the argument between the carpenter and his mate. anchor lining

Thanks Michael Had a discussion with a bank clerk about passwords. Even she uses the same for all her accounts and credit cards - it isn't "1234". So I feel justified to use the same few passwords for the accounts without safety risk. Don't ask me however, which one I use for MSW. Never been on one of those plastic aircraft. But it seems an interesting concept, also when you consider all those fume events (extremely harmful oil residues from the engine lubrication system entering the cabin via traditional aircraft air conditioning systems) which happen again and again on other aircraft. But I don't thrust those composite hulls regarding ageing and especially small ground collisions (e.g. ramp vehicles overnight) because you probably won't see a trace of them in the morning although the damage will be there, within the layers of the material. But as long as they are new and the batteries don't have a thermal runaway - they are certainly great birds. Cheers Peter

First of all, I think the two messengers should be spliced end on and thus forming endless slings with a few turns around the windlass (to create enough friction), leading aft trough those blocks at the aft mortar bed and back onto itself. In operation the windlass moved the messengers continuously round and round while the anchor cable(s) were temporary bound to the messengers to be pulled by them. The aftmost attachment was always taken off, brought forward to fix the newly inboard brought part of the cable to the messenger again. The cable aft of the messenger was lead below to be stowed there. Taking photos of the finished model wasn't easy but I hope you find some useful information there. Cheers Peter

The next problem was how to place the ornamental Pegasus between the bow cheeks - it was more than 1mm too high. After cutting away the laurels and bending the horses legs a bit it fit but looked very meagre. As an alternative I reworked the Vanguards respective element to fit, thinking with its serpent head it could represent the chimeras carcass with its snake tail. Then I took the snake Elephant's elephant was trampling and combined it, with the same idea in mind, with the slimmed Pegasus - this looked to be the best version. The carpenter in the meantime had repaired the grating, installed the latrines or seats of ease and fixed the two knight heads on both sides of the provisional bowsprit. Finally the skipper - always with the welfare of his crew in mind - wanted a rope rail installed above the head rail to prevent them falling overboard while being at ease. a reworked element from Vanguard the final version with a part of Elephant and Bellerophons Pegasus the skipper examines the finished bow and criticizes the inadequate protection rope rails added with some leftover stanchions

Just checked my old plans sheet4: The mizzen yard is the crossjack yard, has a length of 190mm and is made from 4mm dowel. The centre part is 46mm in length and is 4mm round (should probably be octagonal). The two, 72mm long, outer parts taper from 4mm to 2mm. Cheers Peter

While working on the port side I tried to give the upper rail a more elegant run up to the cathead. Unfortunately I succeeded and knew I had to redo the starboard upper rail. Before I put the port head rail in place I glued the head gratings in. I used walnut stain on them and added a 1x1 mm strip across the foremost part to cover the foremost bow rail frame entirely. Then the starboard rail came off again and - because Mr Murphy had time to pay a short visit - 3 bars of the grating with it. The new rail however looks much better now. The figurehead got another layer of paint and a short search in the web revealed that Greek soldiers had metal greaves as a shin protection. They were available in metal for the elite and anatomically formed and reached around to cover also the calves. In case of our hero they are not only metal but I offered also gilding which means I painted the entire lower legs golden. the port side upper rail looks more elegant with the head rail added, the bow is almost complete the gratings in place the new starboard rail looks definitely better the skipper ponders about how to repair that grating

Hi Snowy A very clever idea and an equally successful sword transplantation - and the patient even is alive! He probably used a sword to cut off the head, while he used a spear (with a lump of lead on the tip) to kill the beast. I'll think about a spear in his hand while trying to find out what he actually holds. Stay cool! Peter

Hi Martin Despite any shortcomings you may see, the new figure head is a great improvement. If you really are looking for a cooler region to live, could I perhaps propose this?: Hope this is cool enough. Ok, the lake isn't even fully frozen but it's still a few weeks to go until you reach the lowest temperatures. Every February there are horse races on the lake - no Pegasuses or seahorses allowed, so the lake must be frozen. (Over the holydays I was going to hike a bit in the snowy mountains but got a severe cold the first day and was reduced to stroll among the tourists at St Moritz.) A very happy new year to you (and everybody here)! Peter

The hawse holes got additional bolsters to give more protection to the lower bow cheeks. Then I tried to attach the cathead. Some corrections were necessary to achieve the required angles forward and upward. Short pieces of leftover deck planks were glued onto the sides to help to create a yellow- black pattern. After painting the starboard cathead, it was glued on. However after installation it seemed much too long, protruding too far. I can only assume that the length is calculated to install it through the bulkhead. So I took it off again and shortened it by about 10 mm and redecorated and painted it. Now it looked more to scale and I could attach the support which had to be reworked first as well, to match the angles of the hull side and the cathead. Then pieces of the white metal profile were bent and put in place to finish the upper railing. Contrary to the instructions I continued the profile over the support and to the underside of the cathead. Several sources show a continuous decoration in this manner. The head rail was shortened a bit to fit behind the upper check rail, painted and glued on. The starboard side was now finished but awaits some rework to smoothen the various bumps. I painted the figurehead, puzzling over the instructions. Finally I decided to provide the hero with a golden helm instead of the bronze as instructed - he deserves it. Also the shin protection is golden, however I'm still unsure about their form and what parts to paint golden. The cast seems to indicate that also the calves were covered and that's strange. The breast was painted brown as instructed. Perhaps he had a light leather armour. The goat's head of the chimera is red, as seen on some illustrations. The still removable hero completes the impression of the starboard bow. a rather strong seaman holds the first variant of the unpainted cathead this looks disproportionate cathead 2.0 with support upper railing finished head rail added the successful hero holds the chimera's goat head - I still don't know, why he didn't take the lion head and what kind of strange weapon he holds in his right hand...

Admiralty, water based yellow ochre with 15% white. I use the same paint trying to cover my built in flaws - not always successfully, alas. 😳 😊

Hi Martin Nice to hear from you and thanks for the compliments. Those rails are a white metal profiles, very soft, like tin-solder. And the same is used on the lower transom and side galleries. Cheers Peter

Bow Others mentioned this to be the hardest part of the whole hull (in a way it has to be - it must withstand the whole force of the sea). Building it, even with that wonderful kit's parts, is certainly no easy thing. It is a 3-dimensional puzzle and depending on how accurate you built so far, all the parts need more or less adjustment to each other and the hull. I followed mainly the instruction manual but changed some details and sometimes the order of putting on part by part if I wanted to wait with delicate details. I started with the bow rail frames but setting the outermost a bit deeper to match the curvature of the upper head rails. After a dry run with the gratings I decided to put them aside, only using them as guidance. A groove was scratched lengthwise into the upper check rails to give a more realistic appearance. After painting them they were glued just below the frames. Now the cast railings were manipulated into the required forms, matching the plans, and glued into their slots. The walnut strips which cover the lower sides of the bow rail frames also got a groove, carved with the Dremel, and filled with blue paint. I had to scratch away a bit of the cast rails where they protruded out of the frames. The upper bow cheeks were added after carving grooves into the front edges. The hawse hole patterns were painted yellow instead of black as per kit instructions, adjusted and put in place. Then the lower bow cheeks - also grooved - were glued on. The cheeks are running in parallel with the wales and not the yellow / black colour dividing lines. In between those works I had to lower the seat for the figurehead on the bow in order to fit the hero's helmet below the bowsprit. After about half of the parts are in place the bow starts to look right. I wish I could offer better carved grooves but the general idea to overwork those flat surfaces seems right. dry run with gratings 'in the raw' bow rail frames and upper check rail cast railings added upper bow cheeks and hawse hole patterns in place lower bow cheeks added a trial run with the partly painted Bellerophon

You could find out the actual scale of your full size plan by comparing it (e.g. overall length) with your actual build in 1/72. kit x 72 = y plan 1 should be your plan scale. y Now you can take any measurement out of your plan, multiply it by y and divide it trough 72 and find the actual value for your kit. Enjoy! Peter

Right after posting the last pictures I started to clean up the taffrail a bit, took out the most offending support - and before I knew know - the whole taffrail was taken apart. Time for version 2.0: New, shorter supports with 3,5 instead of 5mm height were cut and adjusted to the curvature of the transom edge. Then I glued them with epoxy adhesive because there is quite some stress on them while fixing the rail. The rail itself was sanded thinner, smaller and smoother. Then I carefully drilled small holes through rail and supports into the taffrail for the nails. Even with pre-drilling the nails might split the supports. Now the rail was epoxy glued and nailed onto the supports, all cleaned and painted and voilà - rail mk2.0 looks much more shipshape than the first try. new rail the skipper is quite happy with the new rail, however that deck is a disgrace to the ship and must be cleaned the skipper definitely likes the new look

Hi Christian No, it wasn't in the box, it was a leftover piece from my Pickle transom. There I bought it from Cornwall Model Boats. However, browsing through their page, I found that I must have told a lie because they don't have boxwood strips. Most probably it is beech which bends easily as well. Hi Martin It is probably beech, 1x5mm, and I soaked it for 1hour in warm water. The picture shows only the first bending operation. I soaked it then a second time and clamped it again - this time with proper clamps - onto the transom. That was the step where I did some damage to the decoration in the lower counter. But it could be repaired and I think it was worth it. Of course it would be much easier to prepare the rail before attaching the transom but this would need some thinking in advance... Hi Mark The plans may be a bit misleading because the side rail is flush only with the highest point of the transom but not with its edges. That seems to be correct and in accordance with my plans and also the Bellona model. However this creates that gap which irritated me. I would really recommend my solution - but better pre-bend the taffrail before attaching the transom. Perhaps a well soaked lime strip would work but I think it would be better to get some beech. As I increased the convexity on my transom it actually is a 3dimensional bend which would need some arranging of the transom in its final form while using it as a mould. Thanks to all for the positive feedback and the likes - and by the way the rail is off again and I'm presently reworking it into version 2.0 with shorter supports (3,5 instead of 5 mm) which hopefully should stay vertical this time. Cheers Peter

That illogical gap in the rail over the transom looks as strange as a missing front tooth. The well known Bellona model and even the Mamoli model do have a taffrail in this position. On various other models, contemporary and new, you find one as well. Therefore I tried to include such a taffrail. First I soaked a 5x1 mm strip of boxwood in warm water and clamped it onto the upper edge of the transom (not without damaging a few details in the process) and let it dry. Boxwood takes such a form quite well and holds it. Then I put some supports in place and glued and nailed the taffrail onto them. The rail ends are deliberately set onto the same height as the side bulwark tops, not the side rails. After some reworking, sanding and painting and doing the necessary repairs I had a rough rail. Basically the whole idea worked , but judging by the pictures (which again seem more impartial than the naked eye) the supports aren't vertical, the rail seems a bit too fat, needs some smoothening and maybe still sits to high above the transom. I'll think about reworking it. In the meantime the rest of the carronades were rigged and the foredeck completed with belfry and rail. forming the boxwood rough rail... ...placed on the supports reworked and painted taffrail in place and quarter deck armed fore deck finished

Hi Mark Nice progress. Had the same problem with the different thickness of gun port patterns and planks. However it disappeared rather quickly while sanding and filling (and sanding and filling and sanding) after the first planking. Initially I got a rather rough and uneven shape of the hull and while working on it to get smooth lines by visual judgement the difference just disappeared. In any case you will not have to sand the whole lower hull - only the transition area from planks to pattern. Cheers Peter

If you mean by inadequacies slightly different deadeye heights, then I would take this as better authenticity. The function of the shroud is to support the mast. To do this efficiently all shrouds must have the same tension. The ropes are working and therefore tensions must be frequently adjusted. This could result in different heights of the deadeyes. You could reset them at the same height for an Admiralty inspection but in everyday operation I think you would see slightly different heights. That's the educated guess of a landlubber or perhaps my personal excuse for imprecise work. Keep up your great work. Peter

Hi Mark Very fine and precise work with those additional details. I might be an old nag but something irritates me when I look at your build: As far as I know those gratings were removable parts to permit access to the lower decks for bulky items. Thus for stability the gratings themselves should better have continuous bars on their edges and not gaps as on yours. Sorry for being a grinch. Cheers Peter