Craigie65

I will follow with interest, Andrew.  We are both doing VM cutters and both intending to add sails!  Enjoy your holiday.
 
Mike

Well another typical UK Bank-holiday weekend ☔!  So it means I make a start on Trial! 😁
 
And in one sitting, on a rainy afternoon I have, without rushing, made my way through steps 1 - 24 of the instructions.  First up, I think I am addicted to the smell of laser cut wood! 🤓
 
I don't want to go over the instruction line by line as Chris's Prototype build-log says it all, but there were a few things I found building it for myself I will comment on. 
 
I do a lot of modelling with a Swann-Morton Scalpel, but as mentioned in the instructions, you just sometimes can't beat a heavier knife with a new blade and this stage with the cutting out of the MDF frames is one of those times.  It was amazing how much the box emptied in the first hour of so of this, good fun.  The first job was making the keel base/supports, almost like having a keel clamp included in the kit!   The only messy bit for this first session was the pre-sanding of some of the bulkheads, so I did that in the garage with the Dremel and mask on.  One point to note if you are familiar with Vanguard's beginners kits like Nisha I built recently, there are no etched guild lines on the bulkheads to sand down to.  No problem, no other kits have that, so I was cautious and did what I thought matched the instructions, I can always do more later.
 
Stage #6 warns builders to make sure they don't get glue in the slot of bulkhead #13 (stern patterns)  I got around that by using a metal file to keep the PVA glue out of the slot that goes onto the  keel.
 
One slight warning note for other builders is that parts#14 that go on either side of the central keel (they form the three slots for the Trial's sliding keels) are a bit delicate once cut out of the former and through my own  roughness/clumsiness one of them started to break; it didn't actually come apart, but it was a close thing.  Once held in place by parts "K1" all was solid and no fear of it breaking.  The lower deck part #25 makes everything much more rigid.
 
Parts 26 and then parts 15/16 at the bow followed by the pear parts B-1 to B-6 form the false deck supports and these really brings things together; they are helpfully etched with which direction you need to face them.  The Stern platform supports #35 & #36 bring to a close this opening session.
 
This part of the build really did go together very easily, the tolerance on the slots was just right, snug, but not so tight you were worrying about braking anything pushing the parts together.  There will be a slight pause now for a short holiday and then a final session with the contractors to restore the house following the loft leak, so the garage will temporarily be full of "stuff"  hope to back on this soon! 
 
Thanks for looking in! 👓

good evening everyone
thank you for comments and like
Foremast day 181 - 6
 
not a lot to say but oh so enjoyable, even the upper mast battens are included in the kit, 

Hi I added a Lazy Susan to the bottom of my build board for my 1/72 Victory worked a treat. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G4FY6VG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Cisco, Hal,
 
I think that you’re both right - I am overgunning Grecian for aesthetic purposes, the kit plans do this too but to a lesser degree (16 guns - 12x carronades and 4x cannon). Chris in the instructions is very clear that Grecian only had 4x cannons and no carronades as an American privateer. That’s a choice I could have gone with, but in my opinion the build would have looked incomplete despite being historically accurate.
 
What I couldn’t get my head around was why the privateer captain / owner built a ship with 18 gunports and only mounted 4 guns. I think your explanations of how privateers were used and that looking like having more guns but remaining light to catch prizes makes a great deal of sense. 
 
With regard to mixing carronades and cannons I defer again to Chris’s research and knowledge that as a RN 10-gun schooner she would have been fitted with 8x carronades and 2x long six pounder cannons.
 
I suspect that I probably have too many cannons forward which being much heavier than carronades might upset the weight and balance of the schooner. 
 
Thank you very much for the advice and info. 
 
Dan 

Post Sixty- five
Bulwark and Centre line fittings.
The bulwark fittings are attended to next; repetitive, and not the most exciting aspect of a build.

1798
Fifty-two ring bolts to make-up and blacken.

1804
Boring as the process is, I think ring bolts look so much better than simple eyebolts and are the proper connection for the breeching ropes.
Cleaning out the bulwark receiving holes is an awkward exercise using a 0.8mm drill and pin vise. Because of the close proximity to the deck I am careful not to transfer any blackening from the iron work to the deck during fitting.

1806
A set of cleats are fitted along the bulwark to take various lines, the larger ones for the tack/ sheets.
 A set of additional holes are required to be drilled thro’ from inboard to outboard. This represents what would be the fixed blocks, to take the sheet and tack lines.

1811
The Riding Bitts went together beautifully, the Main bitts less so.

1816
As can be seen here my modification allows for a view down thro’ three deck levels, to the Orlop, giving the impression that all deck are fitted out.
 
The slots of the cross pieces to the Main Bitts were a loose fit over the uprights leaving a gap of around 0.7mm. Not too much of a problem if the item is to be painted, but I intend to leave the cross pieces unpainted.

1807
I used small pieces of Pearwood strip to resolve the issue.

1808
The posts will be painted red, and the cross pieces left natural.
 
Bowsprit step.
The kit Bowsprit stop is attached to the underside of the first upper deck beam (UD1)
This is intended to fit in a deck slot forward of the Topsail sheet Bitts, a simplification which for practical purposes has no relevance if the kit is assembled as an oob build.

1827
In practice the Bowsprit stop should fit between the Fore topsail sheet bitt posts and take a mortise to accept the  Bowsprit heel.
 
I made a new Stop cut from 4mm Boxwood sheet. This is glued between the Topsail sheet Bitts which are fitted now rather than much later in the build.

1819
An angled tenon is cut into the Bowsprit end to fit the stop.
This is relevant to my build because my Foc’sle deck will mostly be missing, and I intend to add manger boards which run from the bitt posts.
I did a similar modification on my Sphinx build.
1825

1826

1828
I now have the Stove, Capstan, and pumps to make up.
 
B.E.
20/08/2023
 
 

And done. The 3D printed wheels are very nice. 

It really is no big deal. I have many books that show the extra detail on the carriages, and many books that do not.
 
If you prefer plain wheels for the carriages, it is simply a case of a very light sanding to remove the light etched detail, or even simpler, just fix the wheels so the detail is on the inside.
 
Either way, the choice is there.

Always been fascinated by a cross section model.
If you don’t mind I will pull up a chair.

As I wait to leave home for our next holiday I decided I would take a few pictures of the Indy, showing how she will be left in my absence.
 
I have dry fitted the poop deck beams and placed the poop deck base pattern in position. It was a great fit. The quarterdeck, walkways and forecastle pear patterns have also been placed in position (dry fit), noting the bulkhead ears still need to be removed from the forecastle area which is why it is sitting proud. With the various decks in place a check was made that the bowsprit, foremast, main mast and miizzen mast would all locate properly, which they did.
 

The view to the cabin area looks good. I will add some pear fillers where the screen meets the bulwarks to hide the gap. 
The captain has been inspecting the work and seems reasonably happy with the progress to date. I am using clamps to hold the dry fitted decks in position. I hope that, when I return from my holiday, they will have retained the required shape which will make the gluing process a bit easier.
The quarter galleries have also been dry fitted, and although not shown in the final photo, the top and middle stern patterns have also been checked and everything seems to line up.

 
On my return from holiday the first task will be to complete all work related to the poop deck area.
 

Hi all,
 
I decided to finally venture back into wooden ship models, after a long break where I focused on plastic kits (ships and other subjects).  But I have been getting into woodturning also, and love working with wood.  Having built my fair share of full-hull (mostly POB) models both kit and scratch, this time I have decided to focus on cross-sections.  This lets me focus on fittings, masting/rigging, and detailing a smaller model which is easier to display, won't (hopefully) take years, and less workspace to build.
 
So I thought - where to start?  I managed to pick up the cross-section kits from DeAgnosti of Victory (1/72) and Endeavour (1/48) off a builder who only did the main ship builds.  And I have a HMS Vanguard (1/72) with a damaged hull which I'll use as a basis for a cross-section of that, and there's some other nice kits and pracitums out there now.  But to start, I thought I'd go for something potentially simpler.  Enter, the Modeller's Shipyard HMS Sirius.
 
I won't go on too much about the ship itself, many are familiar with the flagship of the First Fleet which settled Australia.  But in short it started life as Berwick, built in 1780 then bought by the Royal Navy in 1781, she had a few adventures before being renamed Sirius in 1796 as a 6th-rate and prepared for the journey to New South Wales. Wrecked in 1790 off Norfolk Island.
 
As for the kit - some contents pics below before I get started.  All timber and fittings appear nicely done, with the deck planking laser-engraved sheets rather than initial planks.  I'm thinking of using these for simplicity this time around.  Mine weren't engraved very well, so I'm waiting on replacements.  Not as many parts as a proper kit, but all nicely packaged. I can't comment on accuracy at this point - I read some questioning of the full HMS Sirius kit by MS, but as I get the frames made I'll do a measure against drawings I have.  Instructions appear very good, but no actual scale plans are included.
 
In terms of improvements I plan, beyond individual planks TBC, I will aim to:
- add copper plates, since multiple sources describe the ship as being coppered
- add more items in the hold.  It comes with a few barrels and an (anchor?) cable, but records state she was heavily laden for the voyage so I'll add more barrels, sacks, etc - maybe even the ship's surgeon's piano it reportedly carried!
- replace engraved gratings with built-up wooden ones
- improve mess deck details like the hammocks, tables, etc and add lanterns (lanthorns?), maybe some gear, etc
- include additional cannon details and tools
- try to make nicer barrels
- and maybe other improvements like pumps, any identified missing rigging details, etc.
 
So, thanks if you've read this far!  I hope to make a start on it this weekend, along with setting up a space for "indoor" tools (any major surgery will be done in the shed).  Really this intro is just to motivate me to start, and complete, a build log 🙂
 
 
 

Blimey Ron,
Do you mean the Pony Express no longer runs?
 
B.E.
 
 

Carronades
The 4 off carronades have been fully built and I am really pleased with how they look.

They also look nice when added to the cabin. As can be seen in the next photo there is a slight error with how I aligned the inner bulwark pattern (yellow arrow). As it will not be seen once the poop deck has been added I am not going to worry about it.

The captain is a little bit happier with his cabin. The table and chairs have been oil painted. I have no idea how long it takes for oil paint to fully dry. They were painted over 24 hours ago and they are still not dry. I will probably add a green baize to the table top before I add the maps and charts.

I am now going to be AWOL from the shipyard until a week on Saturday as my wife and I are travelling to Budapest tomorrow for another river trip as we enjoyed the one last month so much. This time down we cruise down the Blue Danube, visiting places such as Bratislava, Esztergom, Durnstein, Vienna and Salzburg. My wife loves the Sound of Music so she is really looking forward to visiting Salzburg. I am looking forward to visiting Durnstein whose castle imprisoned Richard the Lionheart in 1192 after he was shipwrecked on his return from the crusades.
 
 

Strange I have “Signature” below Content view Behavior
 
maybe one of the moderators can chime in here?

Hello Pierre,
Click on your avatar to go to your account.  At the top of the background banner you should see account settings. 
Click on that.
On the left hand side you should see a list - at the bottom is signature.
You can add the info there

Strange I have “Signature” below Content view Behavior
 
maybe one of the moderators can chime in here?

Hello Pierre,
Click on your avatar to go to your account.  At the top of the background banner you should see account settings. 
Click on that.
On the left hand side you should see a list - at the bottom is signature.
You can add the info there

Work on the Quarter Gallery Area
As much as I would have liked to replicate the quarter gallery area to the same standard as produced by Jim on his prototype build my efforts have sadly fallen someway short as the following set of photo's will demonstrate.  Once the poop deck has been installed much of this area is only visible through some cut-outs thankfully.
 
Before fitting the screens the gun ports were coated with a diluted wood filler solution and then painted red.

The cabin screens require some door handles. My first check was to make sure that I could feed the handles through the holes from both sides.

Once that was done the eyebolts were trimmed to sized and glued in place. I did like the natural finish of the eyebolts so decided not to paint them black. The next photo shows just how badly I finished of the screen. Although the spray mount did prevent the curling when the two screen parts were clued together I had some problems with curly during the painting phase.

The screens were then added to the deck. I used the relevant poop deck beams to make sure the screens were correctly aligned. The poop deck beams are only dry fitted at this stage of the build.

The captain, after a brief inspection, was not very impressed with his cabin. I fear I may be flogged as a result.

There are 4 off 42-pounder carronades to build for the two cabin areas. There is a t-piece which allows the the carronade carriage to slide over the top of the carronade skead. In the build manual the top of the t-piece , when fitted, is shown to be proud of the carriage. This is only possible if the bottom of the t-piece (yellow arrow) is rotated through 90 degrees so it fits in the slot but would be an incorrect assembly. The top of the t-piece, when correctly fitted, actually sits flush with the top of the carriage (blue arrow).

The basic assembly of the carronades is complete, noting the carriage is only dry fitted as the parts need to be painted flat red before the assembly phase.

Fitting out Grecian’s hull is nearing completion. A few remaining bits and pieces such as rudder chains and companionway stanchions. Also anything that requires rigging such as the wheel and binnacle (not glued yet) and the cannons / carronades. This is one of my favourite stages in building a model and true to form Vanguard’s fittings are high quality and go together perfectly. 


I hate applying decals but these went on very cleanly. I sanded the stern with 1000 grade sandpaper and applied gloss varnish first to reduce the risk of silvering. Then Matt varnish over the top to seal them once dry. 

I need to decide what armament this Grecian will have. I prefer the look of full gunports but as an American privateer she had 4 guns and in RN service was a ‘ten gun schooner’. Both leave a lot of empty gunports. The kit plan of 16 guns looks good, but I’m tempted to fill all 18 gunports, using the little four pounders in the two forward ports. I don’t for a moment doubt Chris’s research and suggestion that these ports weren’t used and don’t leave room to work the guns - but aesthetically I prefer it and as any more than ten guns is departing from historical accuracy (or really four guns as I have her registered in Baltimore and she’ll fly the Stars and Stripes) - so why not? 

My current plan for each side is as follows:
 
4 pounder
carronade
6 pounder
6 pounder
6 pounder
carronade
carronade
carronade
carronade

As a pilot thinking in terms of weight and balance - is that just too heavy forward especially given the shape of her hull with most buoyancy aft.

I have painted the AK Matt varnish on the forward starboard 4 pounder but not the other guns (photo below). It does make that cannon a little shiny in bright light. On Alert I didn’t varnish the guns and they stayed properly matt. Not sure which is better? Looking at photos of HMS Victory’s cannon suggests that they should have a bit of a shine on them? 
The only warning I have for other builders of Grecian is that Vanguard supply ~200 PE-8 pieces which are the ubiquitous pin-loops (not sure what the right term is for these). Examining the plans and instructions I counted ~195 of these needed if 16 guns are included. They are used everywhere including the masts, decks, gunports, channels, rudder chains, binnacle, etc. The instructions do warn you not to make all the cannons and carronades as there won’t be enough PE-8. But by my reckoning even making 18 guns (4 loops per cannon or carronades carriage) makes you short and that’s before the carpet monster takes its share. I’m so used to Vanguard kits oversupplying small PE parts in particular that I’ve not searched the floor for every loop that escaped me - I will be crawling around the floor later this evening to see if I can recover any… I’ve plenty of spare quite similar pin-loops from the Vanguard fishing boats and Alert that I can use on Grecian. They’re not identical in size and shape but no one except I will ever know or notice. Vanguard do supply enough PE-8 to complete the kit - but on this build if one escapes, it’s certainly worth tracking it down. 
 
I won’t have any time to work on Grecian for the next fortnight. My next job will be attempting to add a breach rope to each of the guns and rigging the wheel. 

Post Sixty-two
Looking at the Guns -part two
The barrels
The Main armament consists of 24 pounder long guns, 9½ ft Armstrong pattern versions, reproduced in resin which is the way to go in my opinion. Saves all that brass blackening and includes details such as the touch vent and monogram.

1654
24 pounder Indy gun in the raw.
The barrels contain the monogram which can be seen to be there, but difficult to see in detail, except for the cartouche which surrounds it.
This surprised me a little as the monogram on the much smaller 9 pounder guns (Sphinx) seemed much better defined, and to my eye look better without a cartouche. Was there ever a cartouche?

5849
Nine pounder Sphinx guns.
 
A small issue maybe for the 24 pounder guns on Indy where this detail will be mostly hidden from close view, but the two 12 pounder Foc’sle guns will be fully on show.
 
There is an alternative should I be motivated to use it.
Syren produce delightful little George 111 fibre board monograms in two sizes.
 

1719
Here is one attached to a damaged 24 pounder, I do prefer the look, but I’ve spent enough time on the guns, and I’ll live with the 24 pounders as is. I will use the alternative Syren monogram detail for the two fully visible 12 pounders.
 
Finishing the barrels

5934(2)
With the Sphinx guns (above) I simply washed, dried, and sprayed with fixative before treatment with weathering powders, I used Revell rust, dark brown, and deep black.
 
Buffed up and the gun was good to go.
 

1659
Not sure that will work with the Indy guns, using this treatment the finish is not satisfactory, and I am concerned about the visible  striations  running along the barrel.
 
Plan B

1675
The gun is gently cleaned up using 600 grade paper between the reinforcing rings, and painted with Vallejo Black, much improved I think.

1677

1680

1683

1684
So paint and weathering powder it is.
 
B.E.
14/08/2023
 

Pulling up a chair.
looking forward to the build Andrew

Wiki was in your face - big section saying they needed donations.
 
TBH I didn’t see the green strap line, too easy to overlook.

Wiki was in your face - big section saying they needed donations.
 
TBH I didn’t see the green strap line, too easy to overlook.

Getting there, last post for the week as I am going to enjoy the beach and lovely city of Charleston SC.

Rudder Housing Jig
The assembly of the rudder housing comprises 6 parts. Each of the 5 side parts requires bevelling of the edges to get the required shaping of the rudder housing. As I think this could be a tricky little assembly to get right I decided I should make a simple jig to assist with the bevelling. I thought this small side project might be of interest to some of the Indy builders.
 
Step 1 - Mark out the required pattern
Using a scrap bit of MDF I used the top rudder housing pattern to draw the required outer edge shape. Once that was done I was able to add the inner edges.

 
Step 2 - Making the Jig
Using some spare planking material I glued support pieces to either side of the guide lines. I started with adding the support pieces to the outer edges and used the top pattern to double check the were correctly positioned. Once I was happy with the outer supports I cut and glued the inner support pieces. This time I used the side patters to ensure the correct gap was set.

Step 3 - Bevelling the edges
The bevelling of the edges was a relatively simple task. As each part was bevelled it was tested in the jig. I used to the top part to double check the alignment. Fingers crossed this means when it time to fit the parts to the quarter gallery deck there should not be any problems.