Craigie65

😱

Enjoy your well deserved break!

Enjoy your well deserved break!

Enjoy your well deserved break!

OK, plans, manual and box label all now fully complete for Sherbourne. Was up all night completing manual, and then the box label this morning.
 
Gonna have a couple of weeks off now..

Thank you Ron, and Allan for your input.

3787
Chris has done a great job on designing and producing the  strops/chain link combinations to allow the fitting of these with the minimum of fuss, and with an excellent result.

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The trade-off is that the middle link chains of necessity have a tiny gap that is necessary for linking the strops to the lower chains and is a simplification much appreciated.
 
The middle links should retain that elongated oval shape and personally I don’t think they are improved by either turning them into effectively an iron strap with eyes either end, or  trying to squeeze  the gap together that risks deforming that perfect oval shape.
 
David Antcherl does indeed cover the making of chains from scratch very well, but in this case, and at this scale, even my inner pedant recognises that rejigging the chains is simply not worth the effort of messing with Chris’s excellent set-up.
 
 
B.E.
 

It is always a balancing act with prices. For these, I decided to subsidise them even more than I usually do, Sherbourne especially, in the hope they will attract newcomers and other modellers who haven't yet tried one of these VM kits and have no clue about the materials that make up the kits - hoping the dividend will be more people taking up the hobby, rather than being permanently put off.
 
Prices will have to be higher in the future, though, as pear and PE brass have just risen very sharply, but I had the materials and PE before the price hikes for both Adder and Sherbourne. The cost of PE brass especially has just gone through the roof.
 
Adder was almost abandoned last year, as I wasn’t sure how popular it would be (and the costs of producing these is great), so started to do Sherbourne instead. But as I kept looking at Adder, it grew on me, and ended up looking so much better than I had hoped.

Agreed, Adder especially seems good value, not much more than Trial. 

I have just completed the final job for Adder, the box label. Now onto Sherbourne.
 
Also now have final prices:
Adder - VM/15 - £246
Sherbourne - VM/16 - £149 (For first run of kits)
 

Futtock Shrouds - Completed
It was a intense day in the shipyard yesterday as I wanted to complete the futtock shrouds as I will have very limited shipyard time over the next few days.
 
Working in to the early evening the shrouds were finally completed. This is another milestone reached with this project but there is still a few more months work ahead to complete the build.
 
The completed fore mast futtock shrouds is shown in the next two photos.

The completed main mast futtock shrouds are shown in the next two photos. I might need to redo one of the catharpins which looks a bit odd in the photo below

The completed mizzen mast futtock shrouds are shown in the next two photos. I might redo the aft catharpin which is a bit oversized, as it is a bit long as can be seen in the second photo below.

Finally a few pictures of the Indy. My white backdrop is not big enough for taking pictures of the Indy.

Things have slowed up in the last week or so, the Admiral has got us doing another project in the house (decorating the kitchen) so modelling time at a premium! 
 
A few little bits have been completed:-  I made some slightly larger stern knees and added belay pins for the aft braces I'm going to fit and the flag halliard.  Assembled and fitted the catheads, I painted them to hide the parts construction but masked off the fine detailed etched into the sides; also added stopper cleats and cathead supporters as little extras.  The tiller arm although assembled is not permanently fixed yet.
 
Next up as and when I get time is to rig and fit the ordnance.  To that end I have made a little dummy gun port for rigging up the cannon before fitting to the model.  I now also need to get some supplies to continue the build, so that and DIY might slow me up for a while.
 
Thanks for looking in 

Post One Hundred and forty-eight
 
Fitting the Main ordnance 
The design of the 24 pounder carriages is such that it allows the guns to be fitted much later in the build, to reduce the risk of knocking them out of position.
 
The carriages were pinned to the deck earlier, and the guns are slid thro’ the ports to locate the trunnions in the open cap squares.
Quite a snug fit and it helps to have the port line at eye level to do the job.

3731
For fixing I used ca on the trunnions and bent nosed tweezers to press them into position.
 
For the eight waist guns, with each fitting the model is rotated to check that the barrels are squarely located on the carriages.  
For closed decks this aspect won’t be seen.
 
The simplification of the ‘open’ capsquares has no relevance because any view of them is severely limited, and the tops of the trunnions will masquerade as the capsquare tops.
 
Port Lids
These are pre-cut in Pearwood and supplied with etch hinges.
For the Qtr deck and Bow port lids a sheet of corrected lid patterns is supplied to replace those elements included on the main laser sheet of lids. All these lids are port specific.
 
As with the channel chains, the hinges are chemically blackened.
 

3737
I re-made the lids for the Main deck ports as I wanted a match to the existing hull planking in Boxwood.
 
I had a fancy to show at least one port closed.

3736
I decided to torment myself with trying to get the aftermost port lid sitting flush and lined up with the wale.

3739
It did take a bit of fettlin’ to get a decent fit.
 
In the end I decided to close three ports and have one open.

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The bow port is shown closed and the gun run in.

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My mainly open Foc’sle deck  gives a clearer view of one of the Twenty-four pounders.

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Three after port lids in position.

3748
The port lanyards have been fixed into position from the inside.
 
The suggested tackle line of 0.1mm (1½” circ) is a little thin.
I used 0.3mm ø Syren line which equates to 2½” circ.
(Lavery comments that in the 1780’s port ropes were usually of 3” rope.)

3749
I was a little surprised by the inclusion of a single lanyard for the port lid tackle, particularly as the hull is that of a sixty-four.
The general arrangement for this period, except perhaps for smaller vessels, was for two lanyards per port, with lifting rings attached to the iron hinge straps.
On the kit this would entail drilling thro’ the straps, so the kit arrangement is probably a simplification to aid construction.
 
An alternative to aid ease of fitting would be laser board straps.
I have gone with the kit arrangement but if it annoys me enough I will re-visit.
 

3752
I’ve yet to fit the Qtr deck port lids, but as these are painted I will use the Pearwood laser parts.
 
 
B.E.
22/02/2024

 

good morning everyone
 
day 359-48
 
i have never ever classed myself as a good modeler, messy/untidy, and lack of attention to detail spring to mind,  but i love the hobby, and the satisfaction of (i did that)
i also share my attempts with others that are interested, therefore  most of my posts are shared with two other forums Flory, and Locate and cement, formally All Scale Modeller) , and Facebook, in the forums which are mainly plastic i have been asked to detail some of the rigging lines, so here goes, 
main yard/spar 
with all blocks and lines ready to fit, the mast and spar have been drilled and pinned 

 
the pinning allows the spar to be placed intro position, and ease handing
 
 
the spar is support by large blocks called Jeers and  slings


 
to keep the main spar against the mast, a series of ropes called truss are used,  and the lines that keep them in place are called the truss pendant

 
the line above it stops the slack in the line and is called the nave

 
 
the jeers and now laced up

 

Work done for the day.
 

IMG_7923.heic

Bowsprit Shrouds
I have managed to reattached the broken sword to the figurehead. I also reattached the rails.
 
It was then a case of adding the 4 shrouds for the bowsprit. The rigging of the shrouds was relatively easy to do.
 
Next up will be to add the foremast stay and preventer.

 

Update to show the progress so far on the hull.  I wanted to show someone looking at the model where the nominal waterline would be ( as the white goes up to the underside of the wale) and so wanted to add some indication of waterline fouling.
 
This has been a bit of Trial and error! Weathering is always subjective in model kits and striking the right balance between realism and something that just isn't "nice" to look at is difficult.  So having built up some washes and grunge/fouling, I have decided to knock it back and maybe with a bit of judicial sanding away of the top coat reveal a little more waterline fouling, but I'll take it steady.  Once fully hardened it will need a flatting with very fine abrasive and old towelling to make the surface clean again, macro photography shows all that up nicely! 😣
 
Also added a few rudder details, like the rudder coat and ring as shown in the plans and rudder chain.

I did rush the rig, cut a lot of corners, meaning it took around 5 days from shrouds to braces - but I only need the model to look presentable for box art...

One down, one to go...






 

Progress has been a bit slower than I’d hoped, but at least it is heading in the right direction.
 
First step for the second layer of planking was to mark off the hull. Since I’ll be using realistic plank lengths, I marked the frames where I want the planks to butt using a laser level.
 

 
The frames would be vertically perpendicular to the keel, so I propped up the stand to where the keel is level. The bow and stern took a couple tries to get correct. My first attempt matched the frames on the kit, but realized pretty quickly that the frames at the bow and stern would actually angle inward, as you can see in the plans for the Speedy (dark lines are mine to figure out where the ‘radius’ of the bow frames is).
 

 
I also used the laser level to mark the waterline. This is to give me a sense of what portions of the planking will be visible after painting, assuming I go that direction.
 

 
I then marked up hull with 3 bands and labeled the frames.
 


 
Before getting into the planking, I’d noticed that the pear strips vary in color significantly, so I organized the strips to avoid too much of a patchwork appearance.
 



 
My plan is to use the light strips for planking where it will be visible/unpainted.
 
On top of the color variation, I’m also finding that the ‘4mm’ planks vary in width from around 3.8mm to 4.25mm. Quite a few of them also have some unfortunate grain where small portions of them transition to what is essentially end grain on the face. These areas are extremely fragile and will need to be careful to only use them in places that don’t require bending and will be hidden.
 
Here is the first course in place, and you can see I’ve circled where the butt joints in my planks should land.
 

 
I’m using pencil on the edges of the planks to simulate caulking. Was very torn about doing it, so hopefully I don’t regret that decision.
 


 
Here is the first band done (this side only).
 
As @TJM recommended, I am planning to attach the keel and stem before adding the garboard plank, but figured I’d get the first band done to minimize the chance of accidentally knocking them off while handling.
 
I've found that planking with realistic lengths is actually easier than the first layer when it comes to bending, since I can focus on that one section instead of needing all the different bends  down the entire length. Probably still taking a bit longer than full length planks would have though.
 
I needed something else to keep me engaged while planking, so I decided to scratch build a binnacle. The updated Speedy kit includes one, but not the Flirt. Don't know if it is historically plausible, but decided to go with a two compass version with a lantern between (what would have been found on larger ships). Chris's version for the speedy is a much narrower cabinet, presumably with a single compass. My design was based on various references I ran across, but owes quite a bit to what @DavidEN created for his Diana, which is similar to what is currently on the Victory.
 
Created primarily using styrene sheets and strip.
 






 
Realized after taking these photos that the compasses aren’t facing the same direction. Good thing they have two!
 
The chimney for the lantern was made from a toothpick, styrene turned on my dremel as a lathe, and shrink tubing.
 


 
The drawer pulls are pins from the kit and used 28ga wire for the other details.
 
Apparently I didn’t glue the lantern down well enough before gluing the cabinet shut, as it is now loose in there. Probably not worth trying to break it open to fix it given that you can barely see it anyway.
 
Might be a while before my next update as I’ll probably wait until I’ve finishing the planking. Then again, who knows what other deck fittings I’ll get distracted by in the meantime.
 

Hello,
 
Fitted the anchor lining and fenders.
Fitted the side steps (doing it myself).
Fitted the tiller and tiller housing.
Starting the rigging of the main deck gun.
Fitted the hawse hole bolster (added a piece of tin to the hole).
 
 

good evening everyone, 
day 344-48
sorry about the pants photos, but now the freezer has moved out of the mancave, and its waining, so no wheelie bin, plus the mancave has had a bit of a sort out so i have to find somewhere to take the shots for tonight
spent some time tidying up the front end, but even tonight i see the spirit yard is not sitting right
i will label up a lot of the lines in the next day or so but today was sorting out the fore mast truss, i have to cut the lines to the jeers to do that, serves me right for not doing it in order (again)
horses still to be sorted, but in the right place
and lots of loose ends still
 
 

 
 

I have shrank the file for a 16 footer (3-d print and laser cut parts), which I shall produce in the next few weeks (64th)
 
I say a few weeks because right now, I am laser cutting production parts for Adder and Sherbourne.

Cheers  Håkan,  I certainly didn't have you in mind for this rare offer of rigging blocks😉
 
Post One Hundred and Forty-0ne
From this point in the build I will be jumping around attending to bits and pieces as takes my fancy.
 
One of the areas I thought could do with some enhancement is the gangway from the Poop to the Qtr deck.

Prototype build photo.
Beautifully crafted by James, but the kit arrangement seems to be a simplification having a couple of stanchions on the gangway with a rope guard leading down to the Qtr deck.
 
This doesn’t reflect the more substantial arrangements in the 18th century as demonstrated on several contemporary models.
To my eye there is an awkward gap between the Poop waist rail and the aftermost stanchion.

3569

3579
I made up newel posts from some Pear section and rails from 3mm pear strip.

3587
I have decided to varnish the newels and Poop rail posts rather than paint them.
3590

3592

3594
I think the arrangement looks more appropriate for a ship of this stature.
 
B.E.
06/02/2024
 
 
 

Started second planking. Doing a bit os sanding as I go along as the sanding dust tends to fill any tiny gaps that have a bit of glue and conceals them.

you are right Craig, a bit too blue, I shall sort that and make more brown/rum looking 🤣