Craigie65

It is strange, in that they all seem to sell well, but do so in phases. For example, one week it will be all Trial Cutters, another week Speedy's, then Sphinx, then a run on Indy's etc.

Thanks for the kind words, @BobG.
 
Finished up the first layer of planking. Very glad I spent the time practicing proper techniques here before the second layer where it really counts. Funny how some planks only took a couple bends to get perfect, and others I’d adjust a half dozen times and still feel like I’m forcing them into place.
 


 
Was installing the very last plank, trying to pressure fit it into the gap, and heard an unpleasant sound...
 

 
Uh oh. I wasn’t properly supporting it while applying too much pressure and managed to crack the stern board and separate it from the frames behind. Luckily it glued back together easily.
 

 
Happy with how the planking is going. Seeing some slight issues with the bow, which could end up needing filling, but will sand it smooth before heading in that direction.
 



 
The manual isn’t very specific about how much to thin the first layer of planking around the deadwood or stern where it meets the stern post, so my plan is to test fit with the keel and stern post throughout sanding to make sure the next layer of planks will transition smoothly into them. Also debating attaching the keel and stem before the second planking to make sure the garboard plank is positioned correctly. Perhaps temporarily attaching the keel while placing that one course would be a good way to go. Curious if others have wisdom to share?
 
Might wait for some nice weather so I can sand the hull outside. I’ve been working on this in my home office, and would like to avoid too much dust getting everywhere. Unfortunately it is looking like highs in the 20s (around 0° to negative 6° for you non Americans) all next week, so perhaps I will go back to working on fittings for a few days.

I'm definitely going to get one. But although I have the Trial Cutter, an HMS Alert and a Lady Nelson lined up as options for my next project, I'm thinking of getting the Version 2023 Speedy as that would fit quite nicely for the next step up on the ladder. Hmmmm, tough decisions to make...

No, that would have been a much later namesake, with all of the 1797 Acute Class being decommissioned well before 1812.
Adder was part of a class that was second generation for this specialised type of vessel (The first being Conquest Class in 1794). Later classes like Archer and Confounder are less interesting, as they are nothing more than smaller standard brig hulls and armed with only carronades. Almost a pre curser to the Cherokee Class of brigs, as they were, at that time, expected to operate a lot further from home waters, as the threat of an invasion of Britain receded.

I think she looks excellent. If I didn’t already have a new version of Speedy waiting to be built, I’d choose Adder for my next build after Ranger. 
 
I hope she sells well for you Chris, I find the more unusual boats really interesting and appealing. 

No idea how well this will sell....
 
I guess that there will be a good market for Adder and that the kit will sell quite well, just because the ship is different and special compared to other kits on the market, as @Ajohnson already stated. At first glance she looks "similar" to Alert or Trial. But at a closer look I noted a few other different things: e.g. the deck looks rather straight, tidy and more clearly arranged, and the two big guns on the bow give her a certain individual appearance. I don't find her ugly, but rather interesting and attractive in her own right. Is Victory a beautiful ship? She's impressive and iconic to us but not a real "beauty" like the schooner America or the Blue Nose and her sisters (just my humble opinion...).
Chris' statement "This was meant to be a nice cheap and simple kit..." should not be underestimated. His love or inclination to extensive detail doesn't necessarily mean that a simple VM kit is easily and quickly built 😉 (I'm thinking of the brass parts like cleats etc. ) ...  This was ment as a purely postive side note😊😊
She will sell alright!.👍
Best
Uwe
 

...forgot to mention the rudder arrangement. This adds of course significantly to the individual appearance of the ship! Very interesting (have I said that yet ?😉)!
Uwe

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Again, congratulations for putting the more unusual in front of your public, Chris. It's amazing the variety of smaller vessels that plans are available for from that period.

Very cool model!

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

Yip, I will be watching out for this one being put on sale.  Plus should be small enough to hide from the admiral 🤞

OK, just a little update.
 
I have been very busy, if not producing stuff, then trying to carry on with my next two smaller developments.
 
Today I finally completed the hull detail for kit number 15, the gun brig Adder of 14 guns (1797 - Acute Class). 12 x 18 Pounder carronades and 2x24 Pounder carriage guns. I think this has taken three weeks in total to get this far, perhaps two weeks for masts and rig.
 
Size wise this fits neatly in between Alert and Speedy. The designs were a lot more involved than I initially anticipated, with the bluff bow and foredeck drooping down as it goes forward, presumably to help negate the recoil of the large 24 Pounders.
 
As with Trial Cutter, it has drop keels, and all hull detail above main wale is pre cut and engraved, meaning very little planking required, which is also painted (or coppered) anyway.
 
This was meant to be a nice cheap and simple kit, but as usual, I went too far, and ended up with a very detailed little kit with many laser cut and engraved sheets.
 
Scale - 1:64th (of course..)
Hull Length - 406mm
Overall Length (Rigged) - 606mm
Height Overall - 464mm
 
This class was a Henslow design, and if you don't like the name, there is quite a choice:
Acute
Adder
Asp
Assault
Biter
Blazer
Bouncer
Boxer
Bruiser
Clinker
Contest
Cracker
Crash (!!)
Sparkler
Spiteful
 
All ordered and built in 1797
 
Adder was actually lengthened in 1798 to 97' along the main deck, so I doubt she was ever coppered in the as built guise. Most seem to have been coppered at a much later date after their launch, hence the white bottom.
 
No idea how well this will sell....

Post One Hundred and Twenty-nine
Gudgeons
With the rudder in place the line of the straps can be marked.

1782A
The straps are easily lined up on the hull to butt against the  Gudgeon centres.
Trickier to fit than the rudder straps and care must be taken to avoid ca spread. The tape helps a little with this.

3216

3217
The Laser Board straps adhere well to the hull.

1787A
A touch-in of black paint on the stern post edges finishes the effect which should be the look of complete iron brackets attached to the hull.
Has the design achieved this; in my view it has.

3221
This is also a convenient time to apply the Horseshoe and Fish plates to the lower hull.

3227
These are brass etch versions, but they are another item suitable for Laser Board production.

3219

3222
A carronade assembly session looms, what joy.🙄
 
 
B.E.
10/01/2024
 

Spent yesterday and today continuing to apply the first layer of planking. Not getting too obsessive over it since it will be sanded down and covered, but still trying to make it a somewhat realistic practice for what is to come with the second layer. It is very satisfying when you get the bends just right and the plank pushes straight into place without needing to be forced against the previous plank. Definitely getting more intuitive about how I need to bend each plank to make that happen.
 

 
Found the most efficient way of transferring the markings from the bulkheads to the plank is using calipers. Not worrying about what the measurement actually is, but just using it to mark the plank. Then I just connect the marks with a ruler and knife.
 



 
The garboard strake was tough to figure out exactly how far to continue into the bow and what the profile should be, but am pretty happy with where it ended up.
 



 
Continued on from there. Getting close!
 



 
Hopefully I can get those final 8 planks sorted in an evening of work.
 
On the anchor front, I used some black masking tape to simulate the metal bands on the stocks.
 


 
Also planning to add ‘bolts’ going through them, but am still figuring out what to use. Tried some options on a bit of scrap. First thought was just a mark with a pencil would do, but that didn't work at all. Next idea was to blacken the pins that came with the kit (1mm heads), but I decided they felt a little too big for the relatively thin stocks. Last test was using .8mm wire, which when blackened, seems like the way to go.
 

 
I like the amount the non blackened wire is protruding to give some dimensionality. I pushed the blackened one in just a little too far, and is essentially flush with the wood.

Time flies, I see that it has been nearly a month since I last wrote anything in this log. My wife bought me the set of pearwood blocks from Vanguard for Christmas so work can now continue.
Backstays
First off is to make the long block. The ends of a 3 and 4mm block are filed square and glued together with pva. A 0.45mm rope is seized on and threaded through the pendant block down to a 2.5mm hook that fixes to an eyebolt in front of the 5th gun port.
The block of the falls are hooked into an eyebolt forward of the 4th gun port and the falls lead twice through the long block and are belayed to the cavel cleat.


I can now tighten up the main stay lanyard but I will leave finally tying it off for the moment.
 
Driver Boom
Parrel beads from the kit are used on both driver and main booms. I was hoping to leave it later in the build but I had to fit the topmast because the mast cap has to be in place to run the rigging for the gaff and I couldn’t fit this without the topmast.

The blocks at the mast head were originally tied to eybolts but I removed them and tied them on with strops made from 0.45mm served line. I also added cleats to the forward side of the mast head to prevent the strops from slipping.

I will have to remove the main yard lift blocks from the eyebolts and tie them to a strop clove-hitched around the mast cap which I think is as they should be. I have made this awkward now. It should have been done before fitting the driver boom.
 
The lower block of the peak halliard is hooked into the eyebolt on the boom and is fed through the block on the mast and run down to the bar of the main bitts The gaff halliard is seized to the eyebolt on the cap through the blocks on the boom and the double block on the mast head and belayed at the rack on the starboard side.

The flag halliard is then set up and the tied off to the bar on the tafferel. The gaff and flag halliards are finally set up together to achieve a balanced tension in the two ropes.
 
This where I got a little puzzled. The plans show the lower block of the flag halliard to be on the starboard side of the bar and then tied off at the port side. The photos in the manual show that the block and the belay point are both on the starboard side of the bar. When it comes to fitting the main boom the latter arrangement makes more sense so this is what I have gone with.

Thanks for looking in
David
 

Post One Hundred and Twenty-eight
 
Shipping the rudder
I thought I would add the rudder now as fitting involves positioning the hull for access.
The rudder has a central Pear core with facings engraved to represent the tablings and other sections that properly make up the rudder of a large ship.

1754a
As I won’t be coppering, all this detail will remain visible.

3198
Before assembly of the rudder it is a good idea to check the fit thro’ the rudder port and against the stern post.
I found I needed to fettle the port a little to get the head of the rudder into position.
 

5434
With regard to rudders I have mostly used the Syren system which produces a moving rudder on individual pintles and gudgeons.

2271(2)
On Sphinx the kit provided ‘faux’ pintles/ gudgeons (above) were a thin brass etch affair which didn’t do it for me, and I used the Syren system.
 
The arrangement on ‘Indy’ is a much-improved resin version of a pintle/gudgeon combo and with laser board straps replacing the brass etch.

1750a
Chris has done a fine job in replicating these items and I am sufficiently impressed to use them on my build.
 
These little widgets slot into the Rudder beautifully, and the corresponding gudgeons match to the slots in the stern post.

1759a
The strap positions are marked on the rudder for the pintles, for accurate fitting.
I think it is also a good move to make the straps out of laser board, saves all that brass blackening and then messing it up during fitting.

1778a
The manual indicates use of brass pins inserted into drilled holes on the straps. I prefer to represent the bolts on the straps using blobs of pva applied with a toothpick.
 
The final addition to the rudder is the Spectacle plate.

1763a
This is chemically blackened brass etch.

1767b

1786a

1765a
The fit of the rudder is excellent, with a good push fit.
With this system there are no worries about getting a close fit to the stern post.
 
Well done Chris.👍
 
 
B.E.
09/01/2024
 
 

Spritsail Yard
For the last few days I have been working on building the spritsail yard. It was an interesting element to construct and I am happy with the end result. The process I followed was as follows.
 
Starting with a suitable length of dowel the tapers were applied. The  central section is a hexadecagon, i.e. a 16 sided polygon. Using a simple jig to hold the dowel in place I was able to file and create the 16 flat edges required for the hexadecagon. Next I marked and drilled the holes required for the eyebolts and footrope stirrups. A hole was also drilled for the pin that would help secure the spritsail yard to the bowsprit.
 
After the eyebolts and footrope stirrups had been blacked they were added to the spritsail yard along with the various cleats. The spritsail yard was then painted black.
 
Next the various blocks and thimbles were seized and secured to the spritsail yard. You may note in the attached pictures that I did forget to add two blocks, which are located at either end of the spritsail yard.
 
The final task was to add the footropes. The two outer footrope loops could have been more even with each other for a better symmetrical look. However once all the rigging has been added I do not think it will be that noticeable.

I now have to decide what task to tackle next. My intention was to add the bowsprit to the Indy and the foremast stays and then continue with the adding the fore topmast and fore topgallant mast. On  the other hand I might move on to constructing and installing the both main and mizzen channels and then adding the masts and their associated shrouds and ratlines.
 
I also need to paint and fit the figurehead.

Progress continues....whilst it's summer here in Australia, more rain than sunshine combined with a broken foot allowed me to spend the day on the next steps.
 
So, for now I've left the hold/lower deck with just a coil of rope.  The only other items included were a few barrels. I'll modify them by sanding off the wooden turned bands, and replacing with black tape for a more scale-like appearance.  I'll also add more barrels, plus some timbers and perhaps crates or sacks of supplies for the new colony.
 
One item I'll add when I get home is an upright piano - according to records I found, the Sirius carried the new Governor's piano. So I should add this!
 
Work then moved to the mess deck.  I replaced the laser-etched kit gratings with new ones built up, whilst still a bit oversized, the photo shows the comparison and improvement. 
The hold ladder was built, and posts and knees added to the hold. These will be painted later after a bit of putty has been applied to gaps.
 
Next step is the furniture and fittings for the mess deck - tables  hammocks, lockers, etc.
 
More updates soon hopefully! 

Thanks for watching, next updates should be more frequent. 
 
Darren
 

Excellent build and a credit to your fleet.
You powered through the rigging in short time.
 
The name plate is a nice touch.

Excellent build and a credit to your fleet.
You powered through the rigging in short time.
 
The name plate is a nice touch.