dvm27

@druxey
@Bruma
@jdbondy
@shipman
@giampieroricci
Hello friends,
thank you very much for your interest in my build report and for the kind words.
Also many thanks to all of you for the many LIKES.
 
Continuation: Equipping the main topgallant yard - Vergue de grand perroquet
Once I had clarified the details for the footropes with the stirrups, it was time for the implementation. Thanks to the corresponding preliminary work on a test piece, the stirrups were attached to the yard quickly and without any problems.
Before the eye splices of the footropes could be pulled over the yardarms, the prepared grommets were first put on as chafe protection.


When attaching the footropes in the center of the yard, I used the following example as a guide.

Source: Freiherr v. Sterneck, "Takelung und Ankerkunde", 1873
 
This is what the realization for the model looks like:


I have now also made the mousing to secure the hook for the tye:


The simple buntlines were guided in thimbles at the topgallant yards of the French corvette. These buntlines branched out in the lower area onto two ropes, which were attached to the leeches of the sail. I therefore attached a thimble directly to the tye, as seen on the original Parisian model.


The clewlines for the topgallant sails were normally connected to the clews by means of toggles. Without sails, the clewlines are connected directly to the topgallant sheets.

 
The single-guided lifts, the braces attached directly with eye splices and the aforementioned sheets complete the equipment of the main topgallant yard. These ropes have a diameter of ø 0.25 mm and served eye splices for laying on the yardarms.


The last two pictures give an overview of the main topgallant yard with all equipment elements and ropes.


I will continue with the fore topgallant yard.
 
More about that soon ...

Very happy to have found this log! I love the built up stump mast in post #2. Congratulations on a beautiful sectional model.

Wheel and tiller, minus riggings 

Hi
I have spent a few days making the decorations of the stern of the frigate La Mahonesa. I leave here some photos of the work I am doing
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Cordially
Adrián Sorolla
 

Rope coils around the fore mast

There is little available on carronades mounted on the 'outboard principle'. Some years ago I researched these mounts from the early 1780's. Contemporary illustrations are reproduced in Caruana's The History of English  Sea Ordnance 1523-1875, Volume II, pages 195 et seq. (The actual model's carronades were cast in pewter.)

More done this time it's the forecastle deck waterways.  As with the main deck these are tricky to make and get a good fit.
 
Here I'm just pretty much roughing out the shape to get a good fit on the hull and beams.  I learn't from last time to leave loads of extra material on until the final shaping.
 


This is what the final piece looks like - It varies in thickness, angle and profile.  I haven't put any of the making pictures up as its a replica of the process that I followed before.



Just dry clamped in place to check that all is ok.



It's all still a bit scruffy and needs cleaning up and pencil marks removed but on the whole they fit nicely and now I know that everything lines up.
 
So I can now put these parts away until later as I want to make the windlass, stove and office that sit between these decks.  Once they are made and installed I'll finally fit all of these pieces too.
 
Mark

More done on the beams to get them just about completed.
 
Firstly I made the deck shelves (this ship doesn't have knees under the ends of the beams) and also cut the dovetails in the clamps and beams.  I actually got a nice fit this time on these parts.
 


There were also a few more notches that needed to be cut into the beams and also a slanted hatch for above the kitchen stove.  I couldn't quite see the details for the carlings in the drawings so I made them like the other hatches on the ship.  This is pretty much a 50/50 notch into the beam and a similar one into the carling.  The hatch sits at an angle of 74 degrees as best that I could measure it.

The beams in place and also at the correct overall height.  They sit flush with the highest breast hook for the planking to run over.



So next I'm going to make the waterway for this deck.  Its thickness and angles vary quite a lot so should be quite a challenge.  I also want to make some detailed parts rather than just structural ones.  So to shake my build up a bit I've decided to pretty much finish this end of the ship.  I'll be making the stove, office and windlass along with several hatches.  I just think it will be nice to add some details before getting on with the planking on the starboard side.
 
Mark

The figure is off scale for the model but looks really good just with the fire hearth.   So I made a mini diorama of sorts to display on my desk.  I used the old second hand aged stove, LOL.  Its one of Chris' figures as you would recognize.
 

As I said in another post earlier today the workshop heated up to a sweat inducing 10c this week, so I made the most of it and did some shipyard work. To be honest if the workshop drops below 10c the PVA glue takes an absolute age to set and even then the bond strength seems weak. At least that is my excuse for slow progress.
 
Anyway it was time to start glueing the frames into the building board. In the following sequence of shots you can see how I am using various blocks to get the frames vertical.

I am also using the rods to ensure the alignment of the frames both top and bottom.


As I am progressing along the hull I am installing horizontal bracing frames.  Where I want to retain the option for doing some below deck detail the bracing is put in at the below deck floor level. Where the below deck won't be visible I am putting the bracing in where it maximises rigidity. As I progress I slide the alignment rods progressively rearward.





After a while I got this far.

 
 

Maybe the carpenters were using the hearth to keep warm while fitting out the ship in those cold winter months?

When installing beams on a platform I usually install the fore and aft beams in their positions first. By placing a couple of planks across the span it is easy to determine the crown of those remaining intermediate beams. Their ends are trimmed until the crown touches the plank. I have also seen an adjustable beam length jig which measures the distance between the frames where the beams sit. But this is only as accurate as the marking out. Chuck's jig for doing this looks very simple.
 
Mark - there is no easy way to do this. I'm sure most of us have a scrap box full of failed beams, frames etc. Starting with the longest one is a great strategy as you can always use it for another shorter beam if you screw it up. The platforms are the hardest ones to frame, in my opinion. The upper decks all have clamps which make placement of the beams very easy.

I suspect many members of this group would have difficulty fielding four human hairs, Alan!
 
As for me I had no doubt that Druxey would be able to recover. When he said "this will take a little time to repair" I'll bet many were thinking days. Of course it turned out to be only a few hours in Druxey time.

I continue with the decorations:

Hello, sorry for not posting the photos of building stages, as I started this model on 2021, but most work was done in past 2 months...I think a real version of this boat would have allready been launched 🙂

Chapter 9, Forecastle deck, is Complete
 
A big event for me, 9 of the 12 chapters are now complete with over two years gone by since I began. Chapter 9 is devoted to the forecastle deck and all the details that set it apart. My last post, a single photo, showed a lot of the deck complete, I’ll back up a bit to show how I got there. It’s a long post so hopefully it’s worth the read.


Like the outboard planks the center line follows the “every plank a project” with each plank unique widths and cuts. The center three planks are the interior width of the bitts divided by three (as the template shows). The planks meeting the bitt posts on either side are also a custom width. The forecastle bitts line up with the base installed below on the main deck making them seem one. This is a cool, but unfortunately barely visible detail. Someone suggested mini wireless camera under there, that might be fun.
 
I’d done complex cut-outs to fit around the main deck hatches, nonetheless these take time and patience to get a precise fit. Since the main deck I’ve acquired this very thin, small razor saw with micro-teeth that made the cross cut cleaner than with the #11 blade still used for length wise cuts.


While the mast ring provided is certainly fine I just can’t seem to remove enough char to make it work for me. So like I did for Cheerful I made my own.  They’re kinda fun to make, using a square of boxwood heavily glued to a wooden dowel and turned on the mill. The outside and inside diameter is measured and cut to form a ring, then I use some router cutters and totally wing it to create the design. I freed it from the post carefully with acetone, painted the inside Matte Black, added two coats of WOP and it’s done. Fun.

I’ve since made another for the mizzen. I had to force myself to keep this one simpler.

The catheads were made up and added. The challenge is to get the right angles, which hopefully I did. The bigger challenge is having installed one then installing the second the exact same - lots of test fitting on both separate and together before either was glued in. I’m glad I cut the rail before doing the planking. I like the extra detail of the cat beam running under the deck planking. (They are the same, the photo is slightly angled and tilted).


I posted earlier I’d gone a different direction with the belfry using a flat rope pull to the front shaped from a small bit of blackened brass and heavily weathering the roof to simulate lead. It and the forecastle rails were added, these are laser cut to fit either port or starboard, so being careful with that and a little sanding to match up to my version of the beam and they’re on. Glue and clamp in two stages, inside then outside, easier to maintain alignment. (again a little warp on the photo not the model, I need to learn to hold my iPhone straighter).
 

I noticed, and not sure how I’d missed, in the single photo I posted earlier the hatches weren’t done properly. I had two choices, leave them as they were or replace them. Who am I kidding, once I noticed it I had one choice. I was able to remove and replace them without damaging the coaming, a few coats of WOP later…
 
The spanshackle cleats are not glued in. I’m not sure I like what I made with flattened 22 gauge wire so I may come back to those later.

Up next the forecastle rails and timber heads. First I tested the fit of the rails to my bow. It’s quite remarkable (as in how did I happen to manage that…) how well they fit. As with the cap rail the key was pulling out the Chapter 9 templates long long ago when the bow was being constructed around chapter 2-3. The tape is there because the little timber heads kept flipping out of my fingers into an area it’s’ now difficult to access.

Then I got to spend lots of time with sanding sticks and a #11 blade shaping 24 little timber heads. Time consuming but well worth the time for the final look. Can’t wait for the Q-deck timber heads, lots more of them. A fun, and lengthy, process was slowly sanding and shaping the cat block to follow the curve and width of the rail plus adding the additional two cleats and support posts. A good time was had by all. They have detail that is lost in the photo due to the black paint.

First starboard then port to complete the fitting, painting, and installing the rails. These rails are extremely delicate. I broke both of them at one point or another. Fortunately they were clean breaks and I was able to repair them, after light sanding and painting the breaks aren’t visible. Once again where’s the fun if I don’t have to fix something I broke.
 
With that, some photos of the completed forecastle: 





I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out. The AYC planking, boxwood fittings, black painted railing, and RED bulwarks and breasthook really look distinctive and pretty cool I think. This is really the first element that is totally finished. A nice sense of accomplishment, and an early concern about what will I do when the whole model is finished, oh no.

The chapter 10 parts are laid out and the planking ripped and ready for work on the Q-deck. Thanks as always for stopping by with your comments and likes, hope you made it to the end of this long post.
 

Back in July I lost momentum on working on the hull of the model. Happily, one of the distracting projects was deciding to work on a carved version of the transom carving, shown above. This decoration was added to the schooner after its refit in the year 2000 time frame. I don’t know who created the carving for them.
 
In the off season, the carving hangs on the wall at the skipper’s house. I took a picture of the carving hanging on the wall in the winter of 2022. Its actual dimensions are 5 ft 9 inches across and about 2 feet in height. Its approximate thickness is 3 inches total. At 3/16” scale, this will translate to a total width of just over 1 inch.
 
I was able to take an image and reduce it to the appropriate scale, then I used tracing paper to copy the outline of the shield, pennant, and eagle. This was then transferred to a piece of boxwood about 1/8” thick. To be safe, I transferred the pattern to two pieces of wood in case I screwed something up along the way. So far, though, the backup piece has not been necessary.

This and other pics that look like it were taken through the viewpiece of my microscope. The traced pattern is evident, and I have already started working out the right side of the eagle, shield, and pennant.

Now both sides are getting worked out.

This photo shows some relief involving the body and legs of the eagle.

Now jump forward substantially, and lots of details have been worked in. Dots on the pennant indicate where the stars will be. The talons haven’t been worked out yet.

As predicted, the carving has a maximal dimension of just over 1 inch.

This is my microscope setup. Thanks to Margie Buckingham, widow of Doug Tolbert, who offered for sale this articulating microscope!

A jeweler’s ball vise is essential for this kind of work.

And now I am carving out the stars from the surface of the blue area of the pennant. The talons have also been defined.

Painting is now under way. The blue is much too electric, so I added a small amount of black paint to it. White paint has been dropped into the recessed stars. I was warned that the paint may obscure the surface details of the eagle, but I was pleased with how it turned out.

I have darkened the blue paint. Much better.

And now I have carved away some of the splotches of paint that were on the backing wood.
 
So after about 45 hours of work, it is pretty much finished! When the time comes to mount it, I plan to very carefully carve off the wood from the backside of the piece. The piece and its backing is glued to a separate piece of wood that is clamped in the vise. Rather than soaking the piece to free it from the other piece of wood, I plan to gradually carve it free. I will wait to do this step until it’s time to mount it because the freed piece will be exceedingly fragile on its own and I don’t want to risk damaging it. The workpiece started out as a 1/8” thickness piece of wood, and when I am done carving off the backside it will be around 1/16” in thickness. Wow.
 
I am happy to report that I have regained momentum on the rest of the model project, so I should soon have a new post that is about the covering boards.
 

Step by Step...
 

1. Laser cut cedar brickwork.   Lightly sand the char.  But not so much that you remove the etched mortar lines.   Just a little.  Especially on the edges of the pieces.   Many have bricks etched on both sides.
apply wipe on poly when finished...this is important to seal the wood a bit.
 

2. Yes its bright!!   But this is just the initial steps.  I used a red promarker, you can see which color to add the base coat of red to all faces of the brickwork.  Also note the two pieces that make up the sides have been glued together.  Make sure you have the holes and pieces facing the correct direction.
 

3.  Glue the sides to the back wall.  Keep nice right angles.   Also add the front piece.   This is left a bit long and you will have to trim it to fit.  DO NOT glue to the base.  This will be done much later in the project.   Much, much later.
 

4.  Using weathering powder add some red/brown colors and dark browns to suit.   It depends on how weathered you want to go with the fire hearth.  You will see this at the end.   Spray all the pieces lightly with some matte spray fixative when you are done.
 

5.  This is where the magic happens.   You could use white weathering powder but that would also pigment the bricks.  You dont really want that.   So instead use regular white flour.   Brush it on and push it into the mortar lines which are made pretty deep for you.   Dont go for a perfect even coverage here.  Experiment a little.  Push it in the cracks with your finger....pack it in there.  Then brush it off the brick faces with a light touch.  Experiment for the look you really want...use some additional weathering powders if you want to add soot and ash.   Make it a used hearth or a relatively new one!!!  Also note the frame on the base was painted black.  Dont spray with fixative.  The normal humidity in the air will fix the flour in position on its own.  It may take a day or so depending on the weather.  
 



6.  1/32" brass wire/rod (not included) were blackened and added as shown above.
 

 
7.  The hood...laser cut from 1/64" thick boxwood.   Glue the shorter back piece on the base first.  It should be a at a perfect right angle vertically and centered.

8.  Add the two sides.  You will need to bevel the bottom to sit flush on the base.
 

9.  Add the front piece...which is taller than the back piece.  Note how the front hangs over the the front of the base just a bit.  That is done on purpose.  It is correct.

10.  Finally add the top and front pieces.   apply filler to all the cracks and sand smooth for painting.   Also build the stack the same way and prepare for painting.
 

11. Hinges are laser board.   Construct them in the sequence shown above...left to right.   First add the bottom half of all the hinges.  Then the hinge pins are glued along the top edge.  Use 24 gauge black wire for that.  To finish that up,  set the top half of the hinges above the wire.  An eyebolt is also added in the center.  You can see that in the photos below of the finished fire hearth.  There are two of them shown...
 
A beat up used and weathered fire hearth....and a shiny almost new hearth.   Have fun with it and weather to your preferred tastes.  LOL
 



NOTE....the hearth is NOT glued to the base yet.  And the stack is NOT glued to the hood yet.  It is best to keep them separate for now. 
 
 
 

Lovely start Matthias. While the framing is difficult the real challenge on this model will be the carvings. Will you do this by hand, CNC milling or other technique?

Hull planking (prep)
One of the things I've been wanting to do was to see whether or not I could get away without having to spile the hull planks from 3/64" sheet. I was hoping that I could just edge bend boxwood planks to match a spiled shape. With that in mind I ran a test to see if indeed it could be done.
 
The sequence is a little off since I thought of taking the photos after some of the steps were completed. I retraced the steps as best I could. For better viewing I have focused in on a smaller area of the hull.
 
The first thing I did was to attach the hull template to my hull. I ran some 1/4" striping tape along the lower edge of the template and then back masked the upper edge of the tape. After that the original layer of tape was removed. You can see a bit of the back masking at the stem. I could have just drawn a line along the bottom of the template instead of using tape. Being a test of only one plank, I didn't want to do that. Hey, that's just me complicating things.

Here is the back masking (original taping removed) where the lower edge will line up with the upper edge of the plank.

 
I traced the lower edge of the tape (the shape for the upper edge of the plank). This gives me the shape needed for spiling or hopefully just some edge bending. You should be able to see the pencil marks across each frame.

The resulting shape resembles a gentle "S" curve. Something like this.

I was able to edge bend the boxwood to match the spiled shape without any difficulty. Clamping the test plank to the hull was done without having to do any twisting or bending. Mission accomplished!

Mike

Hello Greg,
I know, that the carvings will be the real challenge in this. The rest of the model is just the stage for them. If the carvings don't come out compelling, the whole model won't be.
Ther are two types of carvings, the flat ornament and the figures. I plan to work from bottom to top. So the first carvings will be the flat ornaments of the quartergallery and the transom. I will draw them digitally and get them laser cut in 3 mm boxwood. Then I carve them in detail by hand. Luckily, the plans and photos are detailled and in scale, so that will help a lot.
 

 

 
After that, I  plan to approach the 6 Watermen who carry the balcony. My CAD skills are more in 2D-construction. I don't have the software and the time to make digital 3D-figures. I will propably try different ways. The original model has them carved in wax. One could consider that. Carving wax is still in use for industrial design purpose. 
But these figures would be very fragile. Sculptors use 2K-modelling-clay, this is intersting, because you can form them easily, and carve this afterwards and add missing or broken areas. The third method is of couse carving them in wood. I made more simple wood carvings in the past. I carved animals and other figures for the toy farm of the kids, but this is much more challenging. I will propably try all methods and see, what happens.
 

 

 
Matthias
 
 

Post One Hundred and Thirty-four 
 
Inboard fittings (Part three)
Moving back to the Qtr deck. 
I start the procedure by fitting the after-most carronades.

3376

3377
As with the Foc’sle they are pinned thro’ deck.
Slightly more difficult to drill the location holes because of the bulwark tumblehome.
 
I then moved onto the gangboards for the Poop deck access.
These are completed parts, but I had to over-plank them to match the boxwood decking.
Tricky little beggars to fit; the two supporting brackets must be positioned carefully to meet the bulwark whilst avoiding the iron work for the carronades.

3384
The Gangway camber is also critical, I had them on and off several times before I was happy.
I opted to fit the support brackets with the Gangway in place.

3385
It dawned on me during fiddling with these that I had forgotten to consider the position of the Poop deck ladders when cutting away the Qtr deck earlier in the build.🙄
Fortunately for me my fear was short lived as can be seen in the photos.

3387
Shot garlands are not usually seen on Navy Board style models, but they are present on the contemporary Amazon model which has the guns in place.
Incidentally Amazon was part of Pellew’s squadron for some notable engagements.

3379
The Qtr deck bitts are fitted along with the Top-rope scuttles.
I have replaced the kit provided gratings with solid boards.
 

3396

3398

3394

3395
Moving onto the remaining fittings.
 
 
B.E.
25/01/2024
 

Maybe the carpenters were using the hearth to keep warm while fitting out the ship in those cold winter months?

Maybe the carpenters were using the hearth to keep warm while fitting out the ship in those cold winter months?

Maybe the carpenters were using the hearth to keep warm while fitting out the ship in those cold winter months?