Craigie65

Chris
I'm so pleased that you've gone ahead to commission some new figures in appropriate poses to go in the cabin.  The responses above about uniform accuracy etc show how highly we are interested in this.
I've said before that your figures are the best available, certainly at 1/64, so the more you are able to extend your range, the more popular they will be!
 
Nipper

Good luck with the second layer

Log #9: Starting the Second layer planking
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James she looks fantastic

An excellent rendition of an oob build, very well done James.
She surely looks impressive  as a fully rigged model.
 
B.E.

Well folks, this is it.
 
After 2yrs and 2 months, a period of ill health due to long covid, and also a break to build Grecian, here is my completed HMS Indefatigable. The rigging on this is intense but The last rig sheet went quickly. Hope you like her.
 

would make a nice diorama setting on its own

What I've been waiting for, thank you Chris.
Presumably there is more work to do on the figures before they go into production?
 
B.E.

Yards secured. Instructions suggesting rigging the spanker first before the shrouds as no shrouds in the way. There is an error on rigging sheet 10 where the thimbles for the t'gallant lifts are placed where the blocks for the topsail lifts should be and no mention as to  what I suspect 3mm blocks should be placed for the topsail lifts. The pictures in the instruction manual show the correct configuration.

The stern frames are now birch ply and more robust than the previous MDF that I believe was used in previous versions of Speedy. Even so, getting the counter and transom pieces on is a relief and makes the stern section quite robust. The counter pattern was soaked and curved around a jar before fitting and then the transom pattern glued to the stern frames.

Hull fairing of the 3mm MDF was relatively quick. I worked it a bit at a time by hand over a couple of days for fear of overdoing it. For some reason BH 14 was low on one side and I had to add a 1mm strip to bulk it out. I think this is my best attempt at fairing a hull so far but the planking will soon let me know if that it true.

The gunport patterns were soaked in warm water fitted to the bulwarks and left to dry. The two problems I had at this stage were getting the forward tab of the pattern to fit in the slot on the stem and getting the pins to hold the lower edge of the pattern against the bulkheads. I used a travel iron to improve the contact between bulkhead and pattern.
I glued the port pattern without difficulty a few bulkheads at a time again pinning and using heat to improve contact at the lower edge and left it to partially set for half an hour before glueing up the starboard side. When it had all set I noticed the starboard quarter was about 0.5mm too low at the stern so it was partially removed and re-glued. There is still a small difference which I think is due to the transom being slightly off so I may have to rework it.

After reworking the starboard gunports



The manual says 12 strakes per side are required to plank the hull. I think that this is a typo: the pictures show 15 strakes but I measured the mid frame to be 80mm suggesting 16 strakes of 5mm planks will be needed
The first strake of the limewood planking is glued and pinned to each side. The forward end is tapered to half width from bulkhead 5 and the stern left untapered.

And so planking continues...
 
David

Morning @Patrick Haw nice to hear from you, in 2021 i moved out of the garage into the conservatory, and made a display area in the empty space, there are now far more models in there, but thats where they are nowadays
 

 

Evening all,   I have  placed  my Jager  after  cutting him away from his  base,  I  have stood  him in on of the  wheel ruts  and  added some water  around and over  his  shoes, so  he is assisting the  95th  firing on the  French  from about  30 yards.
I have  also  thrown in another arty shot  from the  front.
 
OC.
 

Just received some first renders of one of the series of boats I have commissioned to be done for me. This is the progress of the 24 foot cutter, and I am quite happy with that.
 
Am looking forward to seeing the rest when they're done.



 
Oh, and no bomb vessels planned! lol

Many thanks

Such an impressive display when it's rigged...wonderful!

Yard Manufacture
Over the last few days I have been shaping and then adding the various PE parts, cleats and footropes to all the remaining yards. The only task now remaining, before installation to the masts will be to paint the yards black. Please see the following set of photos.
 
Driver Gaff
This was an interesting dowel to shape. There are two flying lead blocks and a couple of blocks secured to the driver gaff via eyebolts,


Driver Boom
There was not a great deal of shaping required for the driver boom. The most time consuming task was to make the knotted footrope.

Mizzen Topgallant Yard
This was a nice simple yard to make with a central section which tapers down to each end. 

Mizzen Topsail Yard
I had a bit of a brain fart when adding the footrope stirrups and initially drilled the holes in the wrong place, as you will see in the attached photos where these holes have been filled. I will adjust the position of a couple of the footrope stirrups so they are vertically aligned.

Crossyard Jack
I had the same brain fart with regards to drilling to stirrup holes. I will also need adjust the position of a couple of the footrope stirrups so they are vertically aligned.

Main Topsail Yard

I did add thin planking trips to the central octagonal section.

Main Yard

 
I did add thin planking trips to the central octagonal section.

Cheers, I never know until they go on sale.
 
The last time I did an 18-gun brig was 25 years ago, so I wanted to make sure this one's a little more special and not a rehash of what I have done before. I do try to implement stuff I have thus far learned from previous designs, and also take on board constructive criticism of certain aspects. Harpy will be the latest iteration of that learning curve - plus I wanted to do this little fighter justice, being the longest served of her class and the most widely travelled, in action from the French Revolutionary to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Plus she has great lines, being not nearly as 'Flat' as the Cruiser Class, but more like an much larger Speedy Class, lines wise.
 
When I started this, my first stipulation to myself was that I wanted to include a stove. This meant that I would need to show the lower deck, so the model also has scale upper deck beams (4mm thick pear) and adding more lower detail, which does increase the material count by quite a margin.
 
The deck planking pattern is actually copied from an original copy of a Cruiser Class deck plan, which includes the deck planking lines. As per usual now, anything directly glued to the inner and outer bulwarks have slots for their respective positions, eliminating the need to measure where they go, and because they are slotted as well as glued, the channels and pin racks are very strong and secure. I did make one change from the original plans, and that was to add stern davits, as I have a painting of her showing these, and I have no doubt these would have been added at some point in her long career. I will include at least one 3-d printed cutter, perhaps two, one for the deck and one for the stern davits. (Modeller can always leave the stern davits off, if they so wish)

As I said at the start, I have no idea how this will sell, but I certainly didn’t want to simply produce yet another run of the mill kit with just bulkheads, keel and upper deck, like the ones I did 25 years ago - no fun in that. This will be my 17th and final kit for this year. Jim will be doing a build log for this later this year - I still have much to do before then, though.
 

I was hoping to complete the first planking before I had to put this project aside in order to do my yearly video projects, but it looks like I am just to slow to make that happen.  So here is the current state of play:

 

Stealers to be added aft after the planking is complete.   I expect to resume in mid July.  Meanwhile I will follow all the great Sphinx builds which abound on this site.
 

Yard Production
Time for a quick update. Over the last few days I have been making the various yards required for the Indy. This is still very much work in progress. As I am also watching the live broadcast of the Post Office Inquiry hearing my time in the shipyard is much reduced.
 
My progress to date is as follows:
a) All the various rigging blocks required for all the yards have been prepared and are ready to be added
b) All the various PE parts have been gathered and chemically blackened.
c) All the fore yards have been completed. The main foreyard has been installed and the fore topsail and topgallant yards are ready to be installed
d) All the main mast yards have been shaped and are ready to be painted and fitted out with the rigging blocks, PE parts and cleats.
e) Dowels for the mizzen mast yards, boom and gaff have been cut to size and are ready to be shaped.
 
The following is a picture of my Indy with the Fore and Main yards attached.

The next two pictures show the fore topsail yard pinned on the mast but not secured.

The next picture shows the fore topgallant yard pinned in place but not secured.

The following two photos show the mainyard pinned in place

Next two photos show the main topsail mast pinned in place.

The final photo is the main topgallant yard pinned in place.

Post 4
The launch is completed.
 
The only modification to the provided kit is a replacement for the rudder.
I have also added the following:-
Lifting rings to the keelson.
A cap square for the mast
A brass etch grapnel from the Indy kit.
A turning bar to the windlass.
I have also utilised the boat chocks from the Indy kit to support the hull.
This has been an enjoyable little project and I am pleased with the result.

2284a

2287a

2290a

2292a

2296a

4828
Below is a comparison with the wooden 24’ Launch I made for Sphinx.

2283a

2273a

2279a
Both versions in my opinion look good and I think they represent the best available options at this scale.
 
The Resin/wood combo is a good match and almost fools the eye into thinking the whole is a wooden construction.
For those who may prefer to avoid the time and frustrations that can arise building the wooden versions, they are an excellent choice.
 
The wood versions have a slight edge for build match with the Main ship medium, and perhaps give a greater satisfaction in successfully completing these tricky little kits.
 
I don’t think I would mix resin and wood boats on the same build, but I am happy to consider either to enhance the ship kits.
 
You pays your money and takes your choice.
 
 
B.E.
26/05/2024
 

sorry about the lack of photos, and words and the general lack of discussions i have with followers, in hindsight i should have thought more about the log, as it was a free review kit, apologies 
i was going to use a Vanguard Models ships boat, but then removed it to keep in the build as a OOB theme, But i did replace the Metal Tyres with those for a 1/35 tank transporter set, i also used my own rigging thread, the kits was to fluffy for my liking
 
here are a few more photos to take her to the end of the build
 

Sunny weather in the UK (until the last few days) has not been so conducive to boat building. 
 
I’ve made the masts and bowsprit, they’re not glued in position yet, so may not be properly aligned. Still to add any blocks or deadeyes to them, that’s the next job I find squaring off the dowel at the tops for the masts and topmasts quite difficult, I just use a vice, file and sandpaper, I’m not sure if there’s a better method?
 
I’m also clumsy and keep snapping off the top of the topgallant masts - both now reaffixed with CA glue. 

There’s two types of PE eyebolts in the kit, larger PE-15 for the outside of the hull and smaller ones PE-14. I don’t think there’s quite enough of the larger eyebolts for the outside of the hull so I checked with Chris and he said fine to use the smaller PE-14 eyebolts there too. I ran out of eyebolts after completing the hull and before adding those needed to the masts and bowsprit. I’m not quite sure why, I’ve gone back and counted all the PE eyebolts required on the plans including the shortage of the larger eyebolts and by my reckoning I should have had enough between the two types. I must have lost more to the carpet monster than I thought!
 
I contacted Chris and he very kindly sent me some more eyebolts. Such incredible customer service and hugely appreciated. Thanks again. 

Log #86: The Cat Falls & Topgallant Backstays
I continue to pick away at a bunch of outstanding lines and small projects on the model. I tend to work on whatever inspires me in the moment from my list of potential tasks.
 
First up on this list were the topgallant backstays. Now it is not clear to me if these actually would have been fitted on alert and in some logs people have decided to omit them. Steel does include them in the list of ropes, but that is a bit later, but they don’t appear on the hawk and this is another case of Goodwin’s commentary not matching his drawings.
 
In the end I decided to include them as this is the arrangement both the kit plans and Goodwin depict and I have already somewhat committed to following them up to this point. Also I feel the top of the model looks somewhat “naked” if the topgallant stays are not included.

Steel calls for 2 in rope which equates to 0.32mm diameter at our scale. I used 0.35mm rope seized with fly tying thread. The kit depicts these stays simply tied on to the channels. Goodwin is not clear on how they are attached. I decided that I would treat them in a similar manner to the running backstays, just hook them onto the channels.

I also decided that I would start work on the cat falls. Steel calls for 12in double block which equats to 4.8mm at our scale. I decided to use a 5mm block. To make the blocks I scratch built the hooks using the brass pins from the kit and the iron strapping was done with the black paper in the kit.

I then painted all the iron in a similar manner to how I painted the ironwork on the anchor.

The rope is stated to be 3in cir, 0.38mm at our scale. However, I decided to round up to 0.45mm for the rope. I felt the 0.35mm rope looked a bit small compared to the 5mm block and I wanted to differentiate these slightly larger ropes from the other smaller ones near them.

I have not decided quite yet where to tie off the cat falls so for the moment I have it wrapped around one of the posts for the swivel guns.
 
And here is the current state of affairs (taken before I attached the cat falls).