egkb

It took me 3 bending sessions for the Coaming and Cabin Sides so as not to break the wood.  I started with a wide bend, then a smaller one, then actually using the model as a bending mold.  The Cabin Sides worked out really nice.  However, the Coaming kept wanting to bend at a 90 deg angle rather than a curve but I finally was able to get the curve.
 
It took me a minute to figure out that the top of the fwd end of the coaming sat level with the deck since there weren’t good pictures in the instruction of this area and since a schematic drawing was not included in the kit.

The real problem was the coaming would not fit level to the deck and the fwd starboard tab kept wanting to go below the deck level.  The problem was the Coaming stopped when it hit the ‘seat back’, since the seat back stuck out fwd of the deck opening.  I had to reduce the height of the seat back to the Coaming could sit lower.  Also, I had to cut down the two starboard frames in the seating area to get the coaming to sit level.

I also had to widen the space between the deck and the frames in the cabin area.  I cut the frame to widen the gap for the cabin side to sit down in rather than the deck to ensure a smooth curve of the cabin side.

This is Pure Class.. Simple as that !
 
Eamonn

Lower yard lifts
 
I knew I was going to have problems with the lifts as soon as I crossed the yards. As things stood, with the lifts running from the yard arm to a pair of blocks clove hitched round the mast cap, the lines would have fouled against the shrouds. The set up in the kit plans is correct according to Lees in Masting & Rigging, but TFFM points out that it only works without fouling the shrouds if the yard stands away from the mast on slings. If not, the blocks should be brought forward to hook on eyebolts set under the front face of the cap. Speedy's yards are held against the masts by trusses so I decided to go with the latter option.
 
Drilling holes for eyebolts to sit under the mast caps wasn't practical at this stage so I compromised by setting them in the side faces near the front of the mast. Even then drilling the holes without destroying shrouds and other gear was tricky, and I was reluctant to apply the pressure required to hold a hand drill against the cap. In the end I decided to use a flexible shaft connected to my Proxxon drill. This tool is small enough to get to the job without  damaging rigging, and fast enough to go through wood with minimum pressure. Here's the set up:
 

I've fitted it with a chuck which makes changing drill bits and other tools a doddle. The Proxxon chuck as supplied doesn't fit which is weird - a known fault apparently - so I had to adapt it. I'll explain separately if anyone's interested.
 
Here it is in action - still a bit nerve wracking!
...and the block hooked in place:
 
Rigging the lifts after that was straightforward, the only point of note being that I remembered to fit the stuns'l booms first:
 
I held the lifts taut by threading them through their designated belaying holes in the pin racks and then jamming the pins back in. A temporary measure until I get round to making some rope coils. At that stage I'll double-check the yards are level before making the belays permanent.

Note to self - dust the model before taking close-ups! That top step looks broken too, and I hadn't noticed that before. No more macro photography for me 😬
 
I might start making some rope coils next.
 
Derek

Boat & Top Rails
 
I decided to get these fitted before any more rigging got in the way. I'd left the top rails off to avoid damaging them whilst tackling the standing rigging and left the boat off until I'd finished the oars.
 
I was on a roll after the first trial oar and it didn't take long to finish the other three. The boat has turned out to be an enjoyable little project in its own right. I'm glad I went beyond the kit with embellishments like the cap rail, rowlocks and oars and I'm pleased with the result:
 

Here's the boat lashed to the chocks:

The top rails were fairly easy to add, as I'd previously blackened the brass stanchions and cleaned the laser char off the rails. All I had to do was glue them in place:

I love it when you start to see a real forest of rigging lines when you look along the ship! Plenty more to go, starting with the lower yard lifts.
 
Many thanks for all the likes and comments.
 
Derek

I see your expanding this train log Andy........I've been hoping someone would do it    I only have the one car so far.......the B&M snowplow.......still haven't finished it yet    I've seen quite a few kits on the website I frequent ....curious to see a break down to what a kit consists of.  when I got the snowplow,  it was partially built,  so it led me to wonder.  how old is this one your working on?  as any railroader knows,  the Ambroid kits are old...it was a lot of fun finding out about what trucks and couplers to use.  I still feel like I'm in the dark about things,  since I haven't totally thrown myself into the medium,  but getting to the point where I am so far has been fun.  I still plan on doing some sort of diorama with the snowplow.......I have the board and tracks laid down.  great log......keep throwing in all the technical terms........I love your work!  

While we're waiting for some nice laser-cut goodies coming from Italy for this build, perhaps you'd like to take a look at this link and give them your wholehearted support:
 
This promises to be an amazing project and about as close to the actual Trafalgar that any of us could ever hope to get!
 
Go forth! 'England Model Ship World expects that everyone will do their duty'!
 

Eamon, in reference with your thought about the hinges, I didn't make them. Wish I had. They came with the Amati kit. As a matter of fact , they sell them as separate fittings. They are great for the 1/32 or 1/24 scale. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate your input.

Take two........😆
 
I'm very glad to say that I'm now back on track   I've remade all of the keel parts and they are very nice and straight!  The only extra piece added is the stem head knee and I've also pre-shaped the saddle for the bowsprit.  I'm now going to get on with the rising wood.
 
 

This was posted in the Nautical/Naval History forum but is not being seen by many so I hope it is not wrong to post it here as well.  The gentleman doing the podcasts and gaining some traction on having a TV series produced about Nelson would love to see our membership sign on.   I received the following email from Adam Preston and as you can see, this could turn into a wonderful series that most of us would probably want to watch.  Also note his interest in our hobby.  Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abby fame is promoting the Trafalgar series as well.  Hope he plays Nelson!!
 
Dear Allan 
  Thank you for getting in touch - and for your offer to help with the project ‘Trafalgar’. My current target is to get 10,000 sign ups at www.trafalgar.tv because that is the kind of number that will get broadcast executives sitting upright. I am now at 1050 so I have a way to go.    To help spread the word I have created a podcast which I launched on the weekend. You can subscribe here https://shows.acast.com/trafalgar-squared please share this with anyone you know who is interested in this subject area. The podcast has already had 500 downloads from all over the world (as many in North America as the UK)   I am interested in the documents you mention Allan - I am a great devourer of this kind of stuff - do you have them as a PDF or something that can be mailed?    I am hoping to one day do a podcast episode about the world of model ship making and am slowly gathering info on that. Am I right in thinking this is an area of expertise for you?    With best wishes   Adam   
 
 
 

thanks fore the likes....
 
making buoy.... i used clay then filed it to shape then painted them,
then rigg.... they are smal .... lol 
 
svein.e

More progress but, I have to say, very slow. Started to work on the rudder and found that the hinges were not designed for the double planking. When I tried to re-shape one of them, it broke. 
 

 
I figured that Amati did not count on the double planking. As a result I had carve out the upper layers.
 

 
This is the rudder with the hinges installed:
 

 
Then I found that the propeller supplied in the kit did not rotate when the rudder was presented to it. I had to file down the circular opening in the rudder to make it fit. Following is the result of almost four hours of work.
 

 
Still need to add the female portion of the hinges. This is going to require some more trim since the free space at the stern post is smaller than the hinges legs. I will probably cut the leg to fit. Details, details, details.
I should have paid more attention of what was coming while I fidgeted with the planking. Live and learn. 
 
 
 
 
 

good evening everyone
 
ladders continued
 
i made up a second set of platform supports, but had to reposition the lower platform slightly to allow the upper ladder to rest on it

the lower ladder is lowered and raised by a block and tackle derrick so a couple of brackets made up to support it

made up a chain spreader

the chains are to long
and blocks oversized
and the spreader could do with being not quite so wide
or i may make the platforms a little wider, which might be the best option

a messy desk tonight

 

Been a while since I checked in.  Again, thanks for the kind words!
 
I have completed the deck as far as the center line of the boat.  It's a lot easier than hull planking but still requires all the precision I can muster.  A couple of in-progress photos:
 

 

 
and the current state of affairs:
 

 
The deck has not yet been sanded.  I'll do that and think about how much more - if any - decking I want to install.  This is how the boat looks from the open side:
 

 
I like this look, to the extent that I might even cut away part of the cabin, but I also need to consider putting a few planks out from the center to frame the hatches.
 
I assembled a test strip of decking (off the boat) to test finishes and edge treatments.  There isn't much to choose in appearance between shellac and wipe-on poly, once they have been sanded with fine sandpaper.  I bought a small can of Minwax "PolyShades" Classic Oak Satin, and will experiment with that on some additional test areas.

stunning build, and made even better with decent clear photo,s
 
well done

More work on the interior to report, this time on the entrance lobby. 
 
I added a 'skirting board' along the aft face of the entrance lobby and continued it across the door to the captain's cabin which opens away from the lobby. My thinking here is that when water comes down the ladderway it will not get into the cabin. The side cabins have doors that open into the lobby and I would assume they have a similar board inside the cabin. 
 
Rear face of the entrance lobby with a 'skirting board'. The tops of the pump pipes are visible at the fore end

 
The pumps are just aft of the main mast and the pump pipes are in the fore end of the entrance lobby. (The kit places the pumps midships which is quite wrong but fills a space on deck.) I made the  pipes from bamboo barbeque skewers which are 4mm diameter. 
 
Entrance lobby looking forward. The pump pipes stand on the step

 
The ladder width and the gap between treads is shown on the Admiralty drawing for Haddock, but it does not show the slope or whether it is to port or starboard. I think that the lower end is to port and the upper end to starboard; the photo above shows that the entrance lobby extends further to port which would make it easier to scend the ladder. (Scend is a word I have found in contemporary books and it combines both ascending and descending.)  Access to three doors also has a simpler route, and a scuttle in the deck is not directly at the foot of the ladder. All in all, it looks like the companionway cover should open to starboard, opposite to what Caldercraft suggest. Marquardt in 'The Global Schooner' says that starboard opening was the more normal choice. 
I made the ladder in a conventional way which I am sure lots of people have invented independently. I drew a template, pinned down the sides and glued on tread supports. When the glue had set the sides were cut free and trimmed and then the treads were glued in. 
 
Construction of the sides of the ladder

 
I placed the treads perpendicular to the sides which will not be parallel to the frames. After all the agonizing about what should be right, in practice it is pretty much invisible on the model. I left gluing the ladder in place until after I have laid the deck. 
 
Now I am working on the cooking range. 
 
George
 

Progress continues...
 
I decided to build the lower deck in-situ as I could anticipate trouble in trying to be certain all my notches and fittings aligned well.   Of course I encountered  a wholly different set of complicated steps that Ive noted for the future build out of the gun-deck.   There are definitely parts of the layout that I feel would have been much easier and more accurate had I made the notches off-model, as well there are some that almost certainly are more accurate having been on done in place.  As a result, many are done to the plans, while other notches were imitated in favor of less accurate flush joints.  Im committed to thinking this through a bit more next time...  a commitment I seem to make a a lot in ship modeling ;).    
 
I also rather stupidly overlooked the need to notch out for the gallows prior to fitting the aft ledge and carlings, despite reminding myself many times!  So I still need to work out a way to get that done without wrecking everything.
 

For the carlings, I used a razor saw which became a favorite tool and a small chisel.   This process worked well until I got into areas where even my razor saw was too large (hence areas that should have been notched ahead of time).   Otherwise, the process was basically as pictured below.

Once I got the deck built out I had to add the hanging knees, which I more or less improvised on.   The plans provide a template for the gun deck knee's which aren't anywhere near the right shape to be used in the hold area.   So I sort of winged it...   They may be changed...    for now Im happy with them. 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes, that's basically how I do it. I wrap the wire around the shank of a drill bit and then use a very fine blade on a fret saw to separate the rings.
 
Mike

What you need to know about this is that Chris Watton, who started at Caldercraft, designed the Victory Models line for Amati before starting his own company, Vanguard. Chris is an innovator who doesn't rest on his laurels -- he is constantly seeking ways to improve his kits, including design features, materials, plans, and instructions. There's a learning curve for this trade, as for any profession, so Chris's early work, though very good on its own merits, is not quite as splendid as his later efforts. So, Mercury, being one of his last designs for Amati/Victory, is roughly 2/3 of the way along Chris's career arc. It's a very good design with great instructions, incrementally better than his Caldercraft efforts, but it won't have all the latest bells & whistles seen in his most recent Vanguard offerings.*
 
Basically, you can't really go wrong with any of Chris's designs.
 
* I think that's a fair assessment of Chris's designing career -- he may feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong.

Morning everyone
l have just about finished building my first ever project. A oasthouse for the garden.
I enjoyed the challenge, and it worked out half tidy.
My good neighbour was impressed, so much so, that we did a deal on a part build model of billings Cutty Sark he gave up on forty days years ago, the rigging 
got him!!
Anyway hello to each and all, I will be seeking some assistance on the Cutty
some time in the future.
in the the meantime I thought to get my hand in with a junk.
kind regards
john
 
 

ladders
 
good evening everyone
 
i am trying very hard to make things better than the kit and my next mission is the ladders
 
the instructions will have you build it all as one set x 4, glued to the side with a couple of metal strips to suggest supports well this is how i am going about it
 
not my photo

 
 
it is infact a pair of ladders and when not in use are folded against the ships side (Not my photo)

i removed the brass fittings as they are all wrong, just so very wrong
matched the top platform in position and pinned it so i can remove it at any time, the pin also serves the purpose of being a runner to allow the supports below movement when the platform is folded flat

i made a couple of support bars and located them against the hull

a piece of brass rod made up to take the ladder, which is not fixed as per instructions but stands on top of the middle platform 
 
the middle platform is being fitted the same as the higher one

another ladder to go in and lot of support fittings to design and make
 
 

Have just placed an order from them a moment ago  (Black Brown & Grey).. Cheers For That Site Derek, Nice One!
 
Eamonn

The eyebolts and split rings for the bulwarks and gun deck are done. Boy! I just love making those🤥 I made them as small as I could. The ID the bolts are around .025" which conforms to the smallest round nose pliar that I have. Just enough to get the 24ga rings through. Be careful not to drill too deep into the bulwarks against the plywood bulkheads. It wouldn't be hard to snap a bit if you did.

 

 
Mike

At one stage I considered stowing my cannon below deck because that's apparently what Cochrane did on occasion. You were one of those instrumental in persuading me to rig them properly. I'll have you making proper oars yet!
 
I just make some of them up as I go along; others I drop at random into the log, hoping there are no real experts around to pick me up (when is a jeer a tye?) 😬.  I still have fond memories of the euphroe discussion.
 
 
Amazing you can both produce such fine, accurate models when you don't know what you're doing 
 
Steady there Glenn, you're starting to sound like you do know what you're doing!

Much appreciated Eamonn. I've not had any luck finding really fine fly tying thread on Amazon. I use 18/0, sometimes called 30D(enier) which I get from a specialist angling shop (the Essential Fly in Yorkshire - they have a website). This post earlier in the log shows the brand I use, which is available in black and brown. 

I finished all the running rigging including rigging the spritsail yard. Here are some pics to mark the end of the chapter 😄:














Now just the anchors and flags are left!