Craigie65

good morning everyone
 
thank you for comments and likes
 
days 207-7 fore mast yard
 
i am aware i am doing this all the wrong way around, and that certain things need to be done first, however i wanted to know to myself that i was still able to do certain tasks, having now proved those tasks i can go to the conventional way of rigging my build,
i will still continue to work forward to aft, but concentrate on getting the Ratlines done before the yards
 
fore yard made made
slings being fitted

Jeers 
 

 
 

Hawse Bolster, Gunwales and Stern Counter Rails
Some more progress today. The hawse bolster patterns were fitted. As advised in the build manual the patterns did require trimming to match my build. Once I was happy with the general fit the patterns were wetted and then clamped to suitable bowl to get a nice bend for ease installation around the curved bow area. Using ca glue the hawse bolsters were glued in position. The more eagled eyed will note the error of my ways with the installation of the hull rails around the bow area. The top rail is set low and should be across the gun port rather than below. I know I can remove and try to align the rails correctly but after much consideration I decided that, once built, the model will not be on pubic display so I can live with the how it looks. It will also be less noticeable when painted

Next I added the gunwales to the forecastle, quarterdeck and poop deck. The forecastle gun ports will need a retouch paint job.


I was happy that the poop deck gunwales aligned perfectly with the top of the upper stern counter pattern.

I did mention in a previous post that the rudder housing needed to be reglued at some point and it was a simple job to add the wood glue and clamp in place. All looked good when the clamps were removed.

Final task of the day was to add the stern counter 1mm rail patterns. There are some 0.6mm patterns to that will sit on top of these rails to create the 3D effect. When adding these rails I was checking the position of the quarter gallery rails and as far as I can tell then line up perfectly with the stern counter rails.

 

And now the running rigging.  This was a little frustrating as there were blocks that I had to remove and re tie but I got there in the end.

Post Eight-one
 
Quarterdeck knees
Prepping the knees didn’t take that long, but it helps to have a system.

2088

2098
Fitting these parts does mess up the painted bulwarks, fortunately there is plenty of room for cleaning up. Were I doing this job again I would have left the area of the beams covered by the knees unpainted before fitting, also the sides of the hanging knees where they attach to beam and Lodging knees.
Easier to touch in the paintwork rather than scrape away, and then have to clean up and re-touch anyway.
 
This time I fitted the full hanging knees first, followed by the short versions, and then the Lodging knees.

2092
This photo shows the trimming necessary to allow the knee to sit flush with the beam camber. The rebate on the back edge was lengthened a little to allow the knee to meet the beam camber at the deck clamps.

2099
I had imagined that fitting the Qtr deck Hanging knees would be trickier than those of the Foc’sle due to the tumblehome of the topsides.
Surprisingly I found the opposite, but perhaps my experience with the Foc’sle improved my dexterity.

2114
As with the Foc’sle the Lodging knees presented little issues.

2107

2118
I also added the hanging knees fitted below the Waist beams. Three should be fitted but the aftermost location is fouled by the large cleat to take the Fore sheets.🤔

2106
The Foc’sle beams were given a clean up.

2109

2115

2119
 
Onto the deck layout.
 
 
B.E.
22/09/2023
 
 
 

Steering gear and binnacle fitted and glued. Went for the binnacle opening facing forward as per the instructions. Added the cord between the stanchions around the companionway and painted the tops of the bitts white.



The masts and bowsprit on this boat were pretty straightforward on this boat without a lot of taper. All made much easier with the small Proxxon lathe. 

The sticks on this boat are long and make her quite tricky to photograph. 


This last photo has the masts and bowsprit fully fitted out with blocks, eye pins and painted. The masts are now glued in place. Everything goes together perfectly as is usual in a Vanguard model. The bowsprit isn’t glued to make her easier to work on whilst shrouds and ratlines are added. 

A very small thing that builders of Grecian need to look out for is part PE-14 which is the iron strap for the bob stay which attaches to the stem post. This part isn’t mentioned in the instructions although there is a photo and it’s in the plans. PE-14 has some marks on it which I presumed to be where to bend it 90 degrees each side of the stem post - as can be seen in the photo from the instructions below this is the wrong place and makes the bracket too wide. Having bent it there and then tried to rebend it the part disintegrated on me. I’ve improvised by adding a near square eye pin from Erycina to the middle of the stem post and the two side straps either side. I’ll add a photo later. Looks OK and will do the job. 
 

 

good morning everyone
thank you for comments and likes
day 204-7
apologies for not interacting with the forum much recently, lots going on in the background, nothing at all bad, just busy
before you all laugh at me about my way of rigging this build, i vowed i would start at the front and work aft, most lines are still just temp and still to be fixed into position, today the foemast mast yard will be mad up, then hopefully get the ratlines done
it might all just bite me on the bum
 
the line between the fore and main is a temp backstay as non are fitted

 

Gangway Gunwales
The next task, according to the build manual, was to add the gunwales to the gangway section of the deck.  The sides of the hull had already been sanded flush to the deck level. The gunwales were glued in place and to ensure they were held in place as the glue cured I found a simple way to clamp them using some short plank lengths. This can be seen in the photo's below.

3D Hull Patterns
The next task was to add the various 3D hull patterns. These consist of a set of 1mm pear wood patterns and a set of 0.6mm pear wood patterns which will sit on top of the 1mm patterns.
 
There are guide lines on the bulwarks to ensure these patterns are correctly positioned. I have added a section of photo's of these patterns in situ.

Post Seventy-six
 
Carlings
These slot beautifully into the beam mortises.

2002
I use clamps to ensure they sit right down once glue is applied.

2005
Only the outer carlings, adjoining the breast beam, were a tad slack in the fit, and needed a little fettlin’.

2022

2021
The more I look at this framework, the less I want to cover it up.

2023
 
It will be an interesting exercise to work out how I can use the minimum planking to the best effect.
 
As I move on forward of the Qtr deck I had a change of heart about using the kit provided pillars atop the head ledges.

2006
They somehow look out of place, maybe because I raised and cambered the head ledges.

2016

2017
From this point on I decided to use ‘iron’ stanchions, they suited my eye better for this position.
I will continue to use the provided pillars for the  deck located beam supports.
 
Moving onto the Foc'sle framing.
 
B.E.
06/09/2023

 

Well I got side tracked again,  lol, this time the life boat. I was getting ready to tackle the planking  and saw this  metal life boat,  so I looked at a lot of Pegasus logs, and 9 out of ten scraped the boat. 
   Well  every time you turn around on this ship you got to up grade, cannons, swivel  guns, stove, life boat, and I have to buy more blocks if it is rigged a certain  way, they don't  come with the kit. Sheees.
 Oh well, I can't keep buying  accessories,   So this is what I come up with for my life boat.

I open the plastic bag,  and ll this was inside. The little peice of instructions  didn't make sense.  There is no bell on the life boat, and these bars are for what.lol.
 Getting  some ideas  from the logs this is what I came up with.


 I got some oars that when sanded down will look pretty good  I think .
  Marvin tells me to put this all away and come back to it later, I agree lol. I really want to get at my planking but there  are way to many distraction.  And outside work is calling again 🙄,  but I am hard of hearing  lol. I do plan on putting the life boat away till later in the build, this was just fun to do and I like it.

On to the planking , lol, thanks for all the help and likes.
   Bob M.
 
 

Quarter Galleries
The basic assembly is now complete. As can be seen in the attached photo's I have not covered myself in glory with this build stage. Thankfully the imperfections can be filled and sanded smooth before the painting phase.
 
The first photo shows the inner patterns glued in place.

Before the outer patterns were fitted I did soak them in water and then clamped them around a large saucepan to get the required shape.

The right-hand side with the outer patterns fitted does not look too bad. I will need to add a bit of filler between these patterns and the stern counters before painting.

I seemed to have a few more problems with the left-hand side. I ended up adding a couple of filler bits which we carefully shaped. It may look a bit odd at the moment but once area has been filled, sanded and painted it will look better and I am confident it will pass muster.

Stern area almost done, "glass" panes drove me nuts, kept flying off in all sorts of directions but fortunately did not lose any. Also put in depth markers.

Made some minor but worthwhile process.  
 
All frames done and aligned, so I've started the first layer of planking - in limewood as is typical in kits.  Cut them a bit oversize and will then trim.
 
Still undecided on the amount of effort/detailing I'll do - depends if I'm at home or not during the build, and how long it takes.  It's intended to be a practice/ease me back into it, so don't want to get bogged down in too much extra work vs focus on a neat finish.  Will wait and see....
 
Anyway, here's the planking.  You can never have too many clamps, of course.
 
 
 

Upper and Middle Stern Counter Inner Patterns
This is key aspect of the build and it is important to position upper stern counter correctly. I did do several trial fits before I was ready to glue the pattern.
 
There are plenty of places to pin the upper stern counter pattern in place as the glue is curing. The only area I was concerned about was where the pattern is glued to the bulwarks. I had noted the pinning method used by Jim on his prototype and initially I was going to replicate. However I decided to see if I could find a way to hold the pattern in place with clamps. I made a small notch in the bulwarks and found it was possible to use clamps. The upper pattern was then carefully glued in place.

Next I added a camphor to both the top and bottom edges of the middle pattern. After a little bit of sanding to get a good fit the pattern was glued in place.

Prior to fitting the middle counter pattern I did find it necessary to add a small packing piece as I had removed too much material when sanding  the quarter gallery assembly, as shown by the blue arrow in the next photo.

I was happy with the upper stern counter pattern fit with the edge of the poop deck.

I am also happy with the position of the upper pattern with respect to the top of the bulwarks, which needed to be approx 2mm higher than bulwark.
The quarter gallery inner patterns also seem to be aligned with the counter patterns, so they can be fitted next.

Sturdy little thing isn’t she. 
Enjoy your holiday and try not to think of your shipyard too much!

I’m going to remember that you said that. 😉😆

Yes, built like the proverbial "Brick Sh$*-house" as the crude old saying goes! 😆
 
Once all glued this is a very solid little model, it has been great fun so far and the hull form means I don't think planking will be too troublesome when we get to it.

Sturdy little thing isn’t she. 
Enjoy your holiday and try not to think of your shipyard too much!

🤣 - we since got married and now have two "kids" at University, so every penny, included the ones down the back of the sofa, have been raided since 1999! 
 
This is just a penny we found recently, I have a little stash of pennies of various significant vintages for this purpose.

Cabin Screen Filler - WIP
As can be seen in the photo below there is a slight gap between the front cabin screen and bulwarks.

The old me would have probably lived with the small gap but I decided it would look much better with a filler piece. In the next photo I have started to fashion a suitable filler. It needs a bit more work but generally I think it will look Ok. The filler pieces (left and right) will be added at a later stage once the quarterdeck has been installed and should be a nice match with the screen after the varnish has been added.

Quarter Galleries - WIP
Moving on to the quarter galleries. I spent a bit of time shaping them ready for the front patterns. Once I was happy with that it was time for a test fit. With the upper stern counter pattern temporarily held in place the quarter galleries were checked. Everything seems to be aligned as it should be. A little bit of excess material was removed from the aft edge of the quarter galleries so the upper and middle stern counter patterns would sit flush.

In the next photo there is a quick test with one of the front patterns held in place, which is looking good. I have checked the fit of the lower quarter gallery front pattern. The black mark from my camera lens is still visible in these photos. The new lens should arrive in a few days time.

As everything looked good, and after a quick paint job, the quarter galleries were glued in place. I am going to give the glue plenty of time to cure before moving on to the next task which will be to add the upper and middle inner stern counter patterns. Ensuring these counter patterns are correctly position will be a critical task. I will be taking my time to make sure these parts are correctly fitted.
Famous last words!

Right, finally on to the build!
 
A delayed start, since I'm away from home caring for my parents, but got my wife to bring me a care package including the kit.  And fitting as my father was a great wooden model ship builder, and this will be the last one built in his house and using some of his tools.  But, I digress...
 
The first few steps see you building up the keel from 3 pieces, then attaching the 3 frames and longitudinal beams.  Finally, bulwarks with gunport cut-outs are attached to each side.  All pretty simple so far, but without an alignment jig or proper baseboard, it was all a bit fiddly and required a couple of squares, a drill-press vise, a couple of levels, lots of measurements, and even more clamps.  
 
Here's the photos of the first few steps - apologies for the messy work area (he was recently doing plastic models so it's been a hunt for ship/wood tools but I'm making do!); and the large pics, I couldn't edit on his PC.
 
Next up, the first layer of planking and on to the lower decks.
 
Thanks for looking - early days but it'll get more interesting soon, I promise!
 
 

I love these kits. 
It is amazing how far you can get in an afternoon. 
Looking forward to see this one planked.
 

A lovely package arrived from Vanguard Models arrived the other day.
 

 
I have built ships boats and some of the deck furniture from Vanguard but this will be the first of Chris’s ship models that I have built and I was excited to get started.
 
The box contains a comprehensive (70 page) photo-illustrated building manual, 11 sheets of plans and part diagrams as well as numerous sheets of mdf, pear-wood, PE brass, strip wood, dowels and stand on which to display the finished model. Andrew (AJohnson) has already posted photos of the contents of the box so I won't repeat it here.
 
The build starts by making a cradle for the initial stages of building up the hull structure. It looks delicate but is more robust than it appeared when removed from the mdf sheet.

The bulkheads drop nicely into the keel without any need for sanding. I found it easiest to begin the preliminary sanding of the bow section bulkheads with parts 15 and 16 fitted (but not glued) in place.

 
Once bevelled parts 15 and 16 are put aside until later. Chris’s manual shows the bulkheads being bevelled using a Dremel. I’m not so brave but it doesn’t take long to sand them back by hand.
 
The stern assembly is next up and once glued and sanded back, it required a little bit of easing to slot into the keel.


 
The centre-line patterns are given as 14 in the book but are numbered as 23 on the parts themselves.

 
I fitted and glued the lower deck (part 25). Belatedly, I then decided to put some strips of planking down the centre line. They probably won’t be visible when the final deck is in place but I may want to have some of the hatches open.

Once the longitudinal bracing parts are slotted and glued in place the whole structure firms up nicely.
 
I sanded and applied a couple of coats of matt varnish to the deck beams and ledges before gluing them in place.

The stern frames are next to be added but first I sanded off the char from the parts that are later to be painted.
 
Part 85 is the inner layer of the stern transom and the book advises that the design was changed to make it less delicate, however I still managed to crack it when I removed it from the sheet. Luckily it didn’t break in two so I was able to glue it and no harm done.

The inner stern counter pattern is fitted next. I gave it a quick dip in water and clamped it in place and left it to take up the slight curve of the hull.

Other builders of Vanguard kits have said how well they go together and HM Trial is no exception. The kit is very well thought out and goes together without any need to fiddle around sanding back bulkhead slots or worrying that everything is square and correctly fitted. The last couple of days have been a joy.
 
David

The Return - The Captain's Cabin
I have now returned from a truly memorably Blue Danube river cruise. Saltsburg was very impressive and my wife and I climbed the 144 step steps to visit Nonnberg Abbey (home of Maria Von Trapp when she was a nun). After walking getting back to Salzburg's cathedral my wife could not find her phone. In the searing 35 degree heat I ran back to the abbey bounding up the 144 stairs two at a time. Thankfully the phone was still on a pew. I then ran back to the cathedral bounding back down the 144 steps. My wife rewarded me with a nice cool banana milkshake.
 
As can be seen in the picture below, which was taken before my epic run, I seem to have a horse on my head. The steps behind the fountain is where they sang the doe re me song in the Sound Of Music (Mirabell Gardens, Saltsburg).

 
So this morning it is time to resume work on the Indy and the first task was to finish off the Captain's cabin. I added a green baize effect to the table top. After searching for some suitable material I ended up using a piece of sandpaper which was just the right shade of green. The various charts and maps were then cut of of the manual and carefully arranged on the furniture. Sadly my camera lens got damaged during the holiday so each picture has a black mark, as indicated by the arrow on the first photo. Despite several attempts to clean the lens the mark is still there so I have ended up ordering a new lens which should arrive int he next few days.

I tried a few different arrangements before deciding on the following arrangement for the table and chairs.

I opted to add the plan sheet of the Indy to the top of the cabinet. The workmanship on the cabin screen is not my best work.

I love these kits. 
It is amazing how far you can get in an afternoon. 
Looking forward to see this one planked.
 

I love these kits. 
It is amazing how far you can get in an afternoon. 
Looking forward to see this one planked.