glbarlow

Thanks for the comment ASATbut no room on the shelf for a 3' high model, barely room for a 3 foot long one :-)

One thing consistent about building models is often the result doesn't necessarily recognize the large about of work it took to get there.

The four cheeks were not event close to being a fit to the bow, it took a lot of sanding and fitting just as I expected it would.  I guess the kit maker decided you can take curve out but you can't put it in.  Seems though it could have been a little closer.  

The top cross piece  for the top grid (not sure what the nautical name is) also took a crazy amount of filing and shaping, almost half its original height, to keep the third and foremost pice of grid to have a reasonable cure and match the eventual headrail trim that will cover it.

The three grid pieces also weren't long enough to fit (I realize this is all due to the variance we all create as we build our models, not a design fault (well maybe the cheeks....) Fortunately for me, a small strip of 1.5 x 2mm made it a perfect fit and sorta looks like it was supposed to be there.

Now for more complexity and trial of patience to get the rest of the headrails to fit properly.  I started the sanding on the bow of the ship as you can see in the photo and I have some more adjustments to make on the lower cheeks, but it was time to quit for the day.  

After another brief layoff I finished the cap rails and the forecastle deck furniture. (the cannons are just sitting for the photo, not installed yet).   

Nothing very complicated to any of it, just a bit tedious building the stacked rails.  The plans were very helpful here with the recommendation of using 2x2mm strips to keep the proper distance between the lower and upper rail.  I used my Byrnes saw to cut a long strip exactly 2x2 (none of the included strips are perfect) then cut that into enough 1 inch strips to fit between every stanchion.  Not the easiest thing to glue together, just requires a bit of patience. 

There are still hammock holders and rails along midship, I have pre-drilled the holes but won't install them until the very end, otherwise I'd be knocking them off as I worked on other areas.  I may install a piece of angled rail from the back of the top rail to the rail below, but the plans don't call for it and I'm not sure its needed - I'll think about that later.

Other than those handrails and of course the ships boats I'm essentially finished with the deck.  Now I move on to the headrails, that will involve a lot of sand, fit, adjust, sand, fit, sand .... to make it all come together.  Yay for more to do...

Hi Chris, it was the curved area on the hull below there rail.  As shown on this image I ended up making them from 5mm walnut strip (cut down to 4mm to match the laser cut pieces in the kit.  A little tricky for such a short piece, but that's what makes it fun.  I was just expecting it ti be a kit piece for some reason

 I had a two year lay-off on this model, not taking it all that seriously as I did the Pegasus - just therapeutic wood work.

Do you have any new kits underway or recently finished?  I followed Caldercraft for years waiting for them to finish the Surprise kit, I guess they just gave it up.

Turns out that unlike Pegasus there were no such parts -  I ended up making the ½ curved pieces myself, it all turned out fine as shown in my build log.

Small victories.  I'm thinking the guy at the Amati kit assembly plant noticed he was out of the right bell for this kit and found one in the next bin over and thought "this one will be ok."

After the very tricky assembly of the bell assembly - keeping it square involved a precisely cut block using my Byrnes saw and a few metal squares that so faithfully serve me for all deck furniture - I realized the bell was different from the one shown on the plans. So I had to first determine a way to connect it to the assembly, which I did by tying it with .01 thread.  I thought I was good until I then realized the bell was longer than the distance from the yoke to the deck (and no I didn't invert the assembly, the distance is exactly the same either way).  My first thoughts were not kind ones, after I was done with those thoughts I did what we modelers always do - improvise.  

Simply adding a 2mm strip to the bottom gave the bell the clearance it needed - barely.  It also had the positive affect of providing a more stable base for when I install it (if I installed it now I'd be sure to break it installing the forecastle cap rails, its a very fragile little thing.)

All part of the fun.

Thanks Bill, good to know its helping someone.  I feel like I'm writing myself a letter most of the time - but its fun and it is in fact a log.  

Truthfully, depending on your interests of course, I much more recommend the Pegasus or even the Granada over the Vanguard.  This thing is sooo big.  I wish I'd made an off-line copy of my Pegasus log, it was much more instructive and detailed.  It got lost in the great crash of this site, not sure why I wasn't keeping it as a soft copy....of course I'm not keeping an off-line copy of this one either :-)

I realized it might be helpful to include a photo of that first trim piece installed since I talked about doing it.  I included the dry-fitted figurehead as well.

I also dry-fitted each of the three cross-trees and did the necessary trimming to fit then painted them off the ship.  I decided not to install them yet to keep from my breaking them.  That's because just as I started to install the large curved head-rail I realized I had to stop work.  I need to do the forecastle cap rails first in order to get the right fit where the head rail joins the hull - so off I go on a new direction. More proof that half of construction (on any level I'm sure) is thinking a few steps ahead.

I have noticed having a nice camera has its drawbacks - I see things in these photos I didn't and don't see when I look with my eyes...

Instructions are like Italians and red lights, merely a suggestion. I decided at some point to work back to front so now my model is essentially finished from the quarterdeck to the stern rail. I haven't looked at the instruction book in a long time. It is a bit of a pain though as Amati provided an instruction book, a second book for the hull (or some of it), and the plans. Some things for the hull are in the plans and some in the hull book - the instruction book isn't much help.

I had panicked a bit when I couldn't find the curved railing that bridges the poop and quarterdeck - that's because unlike the Pegasus kit, there wasn't one. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though curving about ½ inch of 5 mm wood isn't the easiest thing to do. One discovery I made is that the supplied laser cut rails are about 4mm, so thanks to my trusting Byrnes saw I could trim the portions of the rail that that called for 5mm strip.

Those dedicated to accuracy will note I used cannons on the poop deck and not carronades. Due to not having a place this model other than a bookshelf, it won't have masts (I ran enough string on Pegasus and prior models to be content...) I didn't like the look of the carronades - thus cannon. I also thought the cannon balls made the deck look busy, so my ship is on a humanitarian mission and is unarmed. I did leave the stubs loose though in case someday I go crazy at seeing a ship with no masts.

Cutting and fitting the poop deck rails is an exercise in patience - with the curve of the stern not exactly matching the curve of the rails (close, but some bending required) I couldn't build them off the ship, so it was bottom up, lining up the stanchions with the top pieces as I went. What fun.

All in all I'm happy with the results of the back half of the ship - it may not be accurate but its pretty enough to occupy a bookshelf. I'm leaving the hammock holders and stanchions for mid ship until after the ship's boats are installed and I'm not as likely to bend or knock them off while working on the bow.

On previous model build logs I've been asked about the paint. I'm a total fan of Caldercraft Admiralty paints. They claim they are historically accurate, whether that's true of not they are nice shades, cover well, and go on easy.

I've turned my attention to the bow, and again ignoring instructions. As everyone who's build a model knows this is a tricky area. I spent a day dry-fitting and testing how things would go together including the bowsprit and the figurehead. I was amazed and how much carving, modifying, and filing I had to do to simply get the figurehead to fit beneath the bowsprit. I had to lower the "seat" (front notch) and extensively file off the back of the guys fur collar (of course after I'd spent hours painting him). I did this after discovering the best fit was with the head and neck flush with the stem, not above it. I'm very glad of dry-fitting - it would have been so much harder to "fix" the fit if the headrails were installed (as would have happened if I had followed the directions). In this photo he's just dry-fitted, I may have to tilt him a bit later.

It's a fact of modeling that every bow and stern on every model turns out a bit different. I discovered the first trim piece (the curved yellow one with the circle at the top) was going to be a tough fit. Turned out for me it was 2.5mm too long. I found the best way to get a good and accurate fit was to first install the howser hole trim boards - those I had to trim down by 1.5-2mm to get the proper height. They really are the anchor point of every other part of the head rails, I don't know why the instructions would say to put the other stuff on first when its so much easier to start with the howser trim (which to follow the curve of the bow requires some fun bending). That done it was much easier to fit that trim piece the instructions had said to do first.

I'm not happy to see how far off the four cheek pieces that come next, they aren't even close - so its back to sand-fit-sand-fit-sand- oops don't go to far, can't put it back. Back to the sanding I go.

Never mind - I finally found in your log that you created that by bending some 1x5mm board.  It just seems surprising to me they'd create such an obvious curve on the model and not provide a part to fit it.  And as significantly the neither manual included with the model nor the plans ever say or show anything about it.  My Pegasus had a similar height shift on the hull and there was a part for it.

Not cool Chris Watten and Amati, not cool

So now I know I need to make something.  Thanks for the trouble...

No, not part 180. I have the poop rail end. Refererring to the cap rail itself. It steps down just where that rail handle ends, the drop is curved. And about ¾ inch from top to bottom. I thought it easier to attach a photo. I don't know why it's upside down, lol.

Thanks again for the help

Referring to the small, short curved pieces that connect the longer rails where the hull changes heights.  I see them on your model but can't find them.  It seems that like the larger curved piece connecting the poop deck rail to the deck they would have to be on a 5mm sheet but I don't see them, nor are they numbered on the plans.

Thanks for replying, you have a great model.

Where did you find the curved pieces for the cap rails?  I cannot locate them in my kit.

Where did you find the curved pieces for the cap rails?  I cannot locate them in my kit.

Where did you find the curved pieces for the cap rails?  I cannot locate them in my kit.

Surely I'm missing something in my Amati Vanguard kit.  There should be 6 curved pieces that are part of the cap rails 2 curving from the poop deck 2 near midships, and 2 from the forecastle.  I see them installed on other Amati Vanguard build logs but I cannot find them in my kit or on the plans showing the parts.

Can someone point me where to find them in this kit?  I must be looking right past them, its quite frustrating knowing they must be there somewhere

I have both the Byrnes saw and disc sander.  They are more than worth the cost, spending money on any other saw is a waste.  I find many uses for both and frankly don't know what I'd do without them or how I did anything before I got them.  

There are 4 pages of replies as testament to how good they are.  The answer to you question is yes, you absolutely need them.

Continuing to making progress. The Vanguard is now fully decked and the main deck is finished. Next step is the various rails on the forecastle and poop deck plus the cap rails and finishing up the poop deck furniture.

As you can see in the photos for now I'm not planning to add the masts, so I have stubs cut to finish off the mast holes. These aren't glued in so I can come back some day and add them if I want. Its simply a case of not having a place to put a finished 3 ft long, 3 foot high model. Plus I've been there, done that with my 7 prior models. This one is just about building a '74 on a relaxed pace without the extreme attention to detail and accuracy of models like my Pegasus.

I deviated from the plans with the support beam for the poop deck. Like I had to do with the beams where the boats will sit and the finished beam for the forecastle, I cut a notch in the bulwarks the exact right height and width required to match the beam and decking.

I added a rope to the wheel that wasn't mentioned in the plans. Not sure why, now that the poop deck is installed, it will never be seen again - but I feel better about myself :-)

I also decided on simple breech rope rigging for the cannon - I've done the full blocks and tackle on my prior models, but it required ordering custom blocks. The ones supplied with the kit are way out of scale for this purpose in my opinion, with as little as the cannon are seen and this 1/72 scale of this model I am content with the simpler approach.

If I didn't mention it earlier, the decking is 4mm ash supplied by Hobby Mill. I like the its bright natural color, I've used this on my last 4 models and will continue to use it for any future models. The discoloring is more pronounced in the photos than it actually is, this comes from the water based Poly I use to seal and finish all painted surfaces. It also doesn't shine like it appears as a result of the camera's flash.

The bulwarks were done with swiss pear, also from Hobby Mill mostly because the 4mm width seemed more to scale - but then it was painted red so this expensive wood's nice color is lost. Still the right choice - the 5mm walnut just looked to big (its used on the gun deck, but that really can't be seen much now).

The cabin bulwark matches the color scheme I chose (or made up I guess) but again its lost from view with the poop deck installed.

Its a really big model, with all the wood, pain and glue now on it, its also getting pretty heavy. I'm glad I modified the hull way back in the beginning to better anchor the mounting screws. If I'd just followed the plans and put them just through the keel the model would have split off the mounting base a long time ago.

Turns out I needed only about 25 copper plates to finish - so about $50 and 3 weeks later I've finished the coppering and have plenty of copper for some other project. It's weird that I had enough for the starboard but not enough for the port.  If anything I was more efficient on the port.  Oh well, its done.  The ship is very heavy now.

I've finished the upper gun deck - as far as I'm coning to finish it.  I've decided I've built out enough cannon kits in my life so only those gunport that didn't havet lids have cannon mounted, plus a few extra for whatever you might be able to see once the main deck is installed.  The gunports with lids are closed and will remain that way.  I did all the cleaver work of open ports on Pegasus.  Vanguard is enroute with no imminent threat of attack so the ports are closed:-)

If you look close at the photos you'll see some plywood spacers between the outer hull and inner bulkhead.  These insure both hulls have some extra support and were helpful in holding things steady when the gunports were cut.

Looks like I'm back in business.  Cornwall has shipped the copper I need. Once in I can finish the coppering and move on to something more interesting.  I put a keel board (I've been gone so long I've forgotten the proper terms) on the keel to finish off the copper there using a 5mm strip of hull planking and stained it natural.  Looks much neater than just wrapping the copper.

There is no good way I found to finish off the bow and stern except a single width of copper plating. (that's what the book says to do anyway).  I have to say I'm proud of a lot of the work I've done on past ships, the Pegasus especially, but I'm not particularly proud or thrilled with my copper work.  Its on (mostly) and it looks ok, but not something I'll EVER repeat.  It single handedly stopped me from building ship models for 2 years until I finally decided to just do it (maybe inspired by Nike commercials) but I don't recommend it.  Though I'd done it on my much smaller Pickle I think there is enough copper on the Vanguard to (if converted to 14 gauge wire) to wire my work room.  Yay...

I'd post a photo but the port side looks like the starboard side above...

Keith, Thank you for the link.  I had searched Cornwall's site and failed to locate the copper plating.  With your link I was able to place the order, I appreciate it!

This is depressing, just noticed a lot of my photos are gone and I can't find my Pegasus build log - it was the best thing I've done. Admittedly it was a while ago, but still sad to see it gone.

Thanks - I sent them and Cornwall an email along with Amati.  Seems like something you should be able to find.  

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

I have but no response.

I came up about two rows short of port side copper plating for my Amati Victory Models Vanguard.  I had just enough to finish the starboard, I don't know why I came up short on the port side, I had very little waste.

Anyone know where I can get about half a sheet of port side copper plating for this model?

I'm back after a 2 year absence.  My model has been just sitting in the work room with me looking at the copper free port side.

I finally got back to it, got all the way to the last two rows of copper plate....and ran out.  I don't understand this.  I had plenty of extra for starboard but not enough to finish the port side.

Anyone know where I can get about a half sheet of port side copper for Amati's Victory Model Vanguard?

It's been a while since I've had an update, and this isn't much of one except to celebrate a small victory, not the big HMS Victory, but a small HMS Vanguard related victory.  I've finally managed to complete the coppering...of the starboard side...

I was fortunate to have enough plates to finish, earlier in is this log I noted I ripped off 5 rows at the bow to do it over, glad there were enough extra in the kit to allow for mistakes like this.

I'm not excited about turning it over to see the bare port side I now have to do, so I procrastinated by completing the rudder.  Interestingly the brass straps provide in the kit do not appear to be designed to fit over a coppered rudder, the folding points for the two 90 degree turns to wrap around either side are 5 mm wide, the width of the wood, but not with two copper plates attached to the sides.  Doesn't matter for me anyway as I always choose to use thick black paper, easier to do and frankly for me it looks better once I glue it on and finish it with water based poly painted lightly on to harden and season it a bit.

Ok, off to the port side.  Until this is done I can't get back to the wood working part I like to do.  I have to admit though, as big a pain as it is to do it does look pretty nice on the ship.