Charter33

Just found it! - on the museum's website, last page (7) of the 'Nautical' section. Similar stern view, but this time slightly to starboard.

The Sotheby's catalogue notes say it was the Royal Yacht of William ll which was completed in 1647, athough originally intended for his father. The notes also mention another painting of the same vessel, by the same artist, that is now in the collection of the Boston Fine Art museum.

This might help - there was an oil painting by Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstaten that has a vessel of that name as the central image, viewed from the stern, slighly to port. Sold by Sotheby's, N.Y. on the 29th January 2020. I can't attach an image, but it can be viewed in the auction catalogue, Lot 24.

Hi, I have to give you some information about laser cutting machines - I could be wrong, and in many ways I hope I am and other members will correct any errors in my understanding of this subject. 'Laser cutters' are basically a speciaised form of printer. Instead of producing printed lines with ink on paper a laser beam is focused onto the material and 'vapourises' it. I have not come across one that isn't connected to a computer, or that doesn't need the components to be drawn up using some type of CAD software. There are some relatively inexpensive packages out there I'm sure. My experience is based on many years teaching this type of technology to secondary age students. It is amazing just what can be produced, and I developed my own understanding by making the components for balsa R/C model aircraft - drawing and cutting the ribs for a bi-plane was very rewarding. I have also used it to make various jigs and fixtures to assist with my 'Victory' build. Graham.

Hi Dougal, You could try either Cornwall Model Boats or Mantua Models who are based in Windsor. Good luck! Graham.

Thanks for that Popeye. The quality of the laser cutting on this kit is exceptional - in fact it really does push things to the limit with the fretwork pieces! I guess that the high quality ply the manufacturer uses has a significant impact too. The only de-lamination I had was with a couple edges on the seat backs after they had been soaked to make them more pliable but, as you say, easily fixed. Yes - those side edges were radiused. Basically if it's gold on that piece of roof base, it's been curved. With a painted model the charring is not an issue but I can see where if would definitely be beneficial with an unpainted version, especially the roof tiles. I gave the six tiled roof assemblies an initial coat of the dark grey paint before gluing them in place. The paint is being applied onto mostly end grain which absorbs the acrylic at an alarming rate so they were given an initial coat of sanding sealer to achieve a more even finish. The final construction task is the distinctive curved ridge pieces. As with some other elements the first stage is to glue together pairs of components. Once dried, and with the cut surfaces lightly sanded to match, the overhanging ends have to be tapered - quite a delicate challenge it turned out to be too! (lower) The top of these pieces then had to be radiused which was done by first lightly paring with a scalpel (centre) and then VERY gently sanded with 240 grit glass paper (top) A little adjustment had to be made where these butt up against the central spire, sorted with a few light strokes on a sanding board. Once glued in place these pieces and the fluted laminations underneath them were painted. A second coat over the whole roof finished the project. In summary this is an excellent kit. Well thought out and engineered from good quality materials it has given me a welcome diversion over the Christmas and New Year period. There is a satisfying level of diverse challenges and can be completed with just the basic range of tools and equipment. And to top it all - the Admiral loves it and now has it prominently displayed! Cheers, Graham.

The next stage is to tackle the decorative panels that adorn the the two columns either side and above the front entrance. The two vertical pieces are the thinnest ply I've ever come across. Once the base coat of blue paint had dried I resorted to a fine tipped gold paint fine liner pen for most of the Chinese symbols etc. using a sharpened cocktail stick to apply the most delicate details. These vertical panels wrap around the columns so I decided that they would be easier to fit if pre-curved a bit. To achieve this they were clamped in a grove cut in a scrap of foam block, using a pencil to apply the forming pressure........... ..... and left overnight...... These, and the central panel, were then attached to the main structure. At this point I decided not follow the graphic instructions to fit the top curving ridge pieces in order to avoid damaging them while working on the tiled roof panels. Construction of the tiled sections of the roof begins with the assembly of a sub-structure. I suggest that each one is glued together and placed in it's space on the roof to dry. Number it, and the space, so that they don't get mixed up later. They should all be identical of course, but there can be very slight variations between them (I found out the hard way!) Areas that could be visible were painted gold. Adding the strip profiles begins with the gluing of three pieces across the lower end ...... Once these had dried it is a case of working up the curve to the apex, (and a bit further as will be explained later) .... Using a combination of a fine junior hacksaw blade, scalpel and glass paper the excess ends were trimmed and smoothed to the level of the side pieces. The extra spur at the top ensures minimal gaps at the top when fitted. Before these panels can be glued into place the bottom edge needs to be given a concave arc. Even our largest diameter dinner plate was too small to mark this out so, once again using off-cuts from the kit, a curved template was made ... This was used to mark a line to guide careful paring with a scalpel almost to it's final shape. The finished curve was achieved using an old drum sander, rotated by hand I hasten to add! The last step is to add the laser engraved decorative strip and trim it to size ...almost there..... Cheers, Graham.

Hi, Thank you for the 'likes', a genuinely appreciated encouragement to keep going ...... The next task is to fit the roof base. Looking at the photographs of the real example the additional extensions on the corners represent distinctive gold painted round section beams. I tried to adapt the hexagon's side square edges by rounding them off and shaping the beam ends to full rounds. This was then painted with the same darker grey paint that will be used on the roof tiles later, and the rounded edges painted gold, before the piece was glued into place. The four separate components, two plain and two pierced, that fit in the top each of the six sides are so well laser cut to size that no trimming or sanding is needed. The lowest fretwork piece, however, is very fragile to the extent that I managed to damage some just picking them up! Repairs were made by grafting on small pieces of card .... All bare wood on the main structure was now painted gold. From now on I have to 'wing it' and rely solely on the kit's illustrated instructions ...........🤔 There are six curved 'ridge' bases that locate onto the top of the roof base. The front protrusion that sticks out on underside is ornately carved on the full size pavilion to form a dragon's (or lion's?) head so ....... There are three separate lengths of ply that are glued to the top curve. Edges of this ply were rounded with glass paper to produce a fluted effect. Off-cuts left over from the kit made ideal clamping aids. Once fully dried a fine toothed junior hacksaw trimmed these laminations to final length. At this point they were finally re-clamped in place with glue. Gold paint was applied where required and they were glued in place together with the central spire assembly. As the top three of the eleven hexagonal core parts at the bottom of this spire also need gilding I decided add the various wooden spheres and paint these too rather than leaving them to the end of the build. Slowly getting there! Cheers, Graham.

Hi, Having successfully uploaded my images to a downloading site (thanks again OC.) another problem arose - the laptop I'm now granted occasional access to is set up to block this method of accessing and downloading them! The Admiral, bless her, has now shown me an alternative bit of I.T. manipulation to get around this so this build log can now, hopefully, continue. The next stage is dealing with the six columns. Each has a laser engraved ring at the base. After opening the internal holes a bit to make them slide over the dowels they had the top edge radiused and the decoration extended down the side of the ring with a sharp scalpel. In this picture the assembled columns have been inserted into the base to set rings at the right height while the glue dries. They are not glued into the base, however. The top piece is dry fitted to ensure the dowels are vertical. (This was done prior to applying the tape and final coat of darker grey paint.) Next task was assembling the five decorative panels ..... These panels, together with the underside of the seat base and the columns up to the seat level were painted with gold acrylic. These parts were then glued in place together with the supports for the seat backs. Curving the seat backs proved 'interesting'! After a false start I came up with this solution. Fortunately the kit comes with a spare. After soaking in hot water they were bound to a piece of 36 mm OD plastic waste pipe with garden twine and left overnight to dry. To achieve a neat joint at the ends of the seat back pieces I used another off-cut of the waste pipe, cut at a suitable angle and roughly bevelled on the inside, to support the ply while it was bevelled with a scalpel. The finished seat backs were then glued in place. Cheers, Graham.

Thanks O.C - I'll have a go tomorrow when I get another chance to play on the Admiral's pc..... Graham.

I have had an interest in Chinese architecture for many years, so when I came across James H's review of this kit I was keen to explore it further. The kit itself looked excellent value, but the cost of shipping was a bit of a surprise! When my two sons asked for suggestions for a suitable gift for Christmas this the one item at the top of the list. I came across a similar pavilion in Hong Kong several years ago .... and often see an even more similar structure at RHS Wisley in the UK, although not as ornate as the kit, with a different style top decoration and one of the seats missing to enable visitors to pass through ..... (not my own picture) Well, Christmas arrived, all be it very low key and unusually quiet, and I was the proud recipient of a plain brown package with an intriguing colour photograph of a pavilion on it. The decision was made to attempt a fully painted model. It took the best part of an evening armed with a sharp scalpel and cutting mat to carefully cut out all the separate components and bag them up. The quality of the laser cutting is exceptional, with many of the decorative pieces finely detailed but, be warned, some are very fragile. First bit of advice - hang on to all the off-cuts of ply, they will prove to be very useful! Thanks to James's detailed review the construction of the base, and the construction up to the roof should be straight forward. The instructions are graphically nicely clear, but my knowledge of Chinese is limited to introducing myself and saying thank you - reading the written instructions is beyond me. The CAF website, fortunately, has a very helpful gallery of pictures showing both the finished model and the real thing. These were a regularly visited resource during the build. First step is to construct the hexagonal base. This went well, following the advice to cut the bevels on the ends of the side pieces with a scalpel. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph this stage! I decided that this base needed painting before progressing further. I started by hand brushing a light grey across it all surfaces. I then used 2 mm Tamiya masking tape to mask the grout lines that are evident in the gallery pictures. I then darkened some of this shade of paint and went over the inner panels: Photo attachment problem seems to be sorted! Graham

Outstanding, and truly inspirational work as ever, Robert. Thank you for sharing the link about the bucket decals - that's definitely a route I shall be persuing! My own build continues well, but a little more slowly than yours. I have had to retire from a lifetime of teaching and one consequence has been the loss of access to a computer and subsequently my ability to add posts to my own build log. I can only visit this website using my phone which is hampering my contributions, especially with a fault that appeared after the most recent up-grade that causes the phone's operating system to crash after every 'up-swipe' - it gets very frustrating when the screen only advances a couple of lines before locking up, to put it politely ....(it's taken over half an hour to add this post!!!!🤨) Keep up the excellent work! Graham.

Guy, You might like to have a look at the adjustable height benches made by Emir. They call their range 'Varihi'. They come in a variety of styles including traditional square beech frames or steel tubing, and are adjusted with a mechanism they descibe as a hydraulic crank. When the school I taught at refurbished our five workshops we had some of these installed in every room to support students with a wide range of disabilities and needs. They are of good quality and proved to be a very successful solution. Graham.

Hi Bill, I was advised to use Birchwood Casey Brass Black by other members of this web-site and have found it an ideal product, although the initial preparation of the brass is a crucial factor in achieving the optimum result. Cheers, Graham.

Hi Nicholas, It's a while since I have been able to get near by own build of the Triton, but from memory I think you will find that these rectangles show the position of the scarf joints that join the various pieces. If you look at the central one on the plan view labelled 4 (keel) the view shows the type of joint from the side. The rectangles on 1 and 5 (keelson and false keel) are the same joint but viewed from above. The aim is to have the orientation of the joints on each separate assembly alternating for additional strength. The same joints appear on the side view but the other way round. Hope this makes sense! Good luck with your build - I look forward to watching your progress. Cheers, Graham

Hi David, I posted a reply to your enquiry last night - I had missed your question due to work, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It's at the end of my build log. Graham

Hi David, This is only my second attempt to build a model ship so I wouldn't regard myself as being anywhere close to being an expert! I tend to 'wing it' and rely heavily on the build logs of the more highly accomplished members of this site and my copy of 'The New Period ship Handbook' by Keith Julier. I'm happy to try to answer your questions as best I can: 1. Follow the instructions to fit the dummy barrel strips. They get painted black before the gun ports are glued in place. Eventually, once the hull is planked and the ports have been lined, holes are drilled into the dummy barrel strip to take the pins on the back of the dummy cannons. If you go back though my build log you'll see how I used a rectangular block of wood that fitted snugly into each port and rests against the strip as a guide for a Dremel drill. There is plenty of room as you are only gluing in shortened cannon muzzle ie. there is no carriage etc. to worry about. 2. The lining of these ports was a concern I had too but it turned out to be very straight forward. Each piece of lining is carefully cut to fit firmly in the gap and is glued in place butting onto the edge of the gun port pattern. I think I glued the bottom and top horizontal pieces in first, and once these had fully dried added the side pieces. They proved to be fine in terms of strength once the glue had set. There is a very clear description of how to do this in the book I mentioned (P.31) 3. I'm a little confused with this one - I've just checked my hull and there is no need for any deck as, once again the dummy cannons glue into holes in the dummy barrel strip here, although these holes do appear to be much closer to the top of the strip that further forward along the hull. Hope this goes some way towards resolving your concerns. I look forward to seeing how you get on and hope you will be starting a diary of your build too - it's a great and valuable way to get feedback and support from the community here. Good luck, Graham.

Stunning work and attention to detail, an inspiration as always! Graham.

Yes - that's the one, Bruce. It was 'donated' to me by the father of one of my former students when he up-graded to a larger machine. The electricity company did their work at the beginning of the summer break. It only took a few days. They then left the trench work open for the next month. I got away with some light surface rust that was easily dealt with. A couple of bearings had to be replaced anyway and I also took the opportunity to replace the 3 jaw chuck. Bought a nice but inexpensive 4 jaw independent at the same time. It was left to dry out for a very long time before connecting it to the mains supply! Cheers, Graham

Hi, Thank you for the kind comments and 'likes'. I am genuinely appreciative and humbled. I decided to diverge from the instruction manual and turn my attention to the issue of the fire buckets. I'm not the first to feel that the tapered brass items supplied with the kit, although adequate, are a little bit lacking in detail. To be honest my initial attempts to re-machine the supplied components was not a success! Deprived of access to the workshop machines at school I would usually use because of the current global health situation I have been restricted to using a very old and well used Hobbymat lathe that has definitely seen better days. It has really 'been through the mill' including being submerged in water for a while. We were very fortunate to have the Design and Technology Department modernised and re-furbished several years ago and this meant the total clearance of all the rooms. A lot of equipment, including some that were my own personal bits and pieces, were moved to a boiler house on site. This would have been fine if the electricity company had not had to up-grade the power supply to that area. They negated to fill the trench that they had dug to install the new cable and a couple of days of storms and torrential rain left the building's floor under at least a foot under water. The fact the lathe would even work once it had dried out was a surprise. The difficulty I had with the buckets was finding a safe and effective way to mount them to allow the re-modelling being carried out. In the end I had to admit defeat and think of a different approach. I was fortunate to have a short length of 6 mm brass rod at home and made the replacement buckets from scratch. If I found one of my students making this type of cut with a parting tool like this I would not be happy! - but under the circumstances.... My intention was to achieve a result that mimicked the metal band around the lip of the buckets and the slight flair at the base where the bottom was riveted in place. The latter was achieved with a careful touch with a needle file. After blacking with Birchwood Casey Brass Black solution, the top band was taken back to bare metal with 'wet and dry' abrasive paper. Eyelets were added for the handle. The instructions say to use 0.1 mm thread for this, but I decided to use copper wire strands from a scrap of 13 amp multi-strand electrical cable of similar thickness to replicate the leather straps, also blackened in the same way. Adding these proved a bit of a challenge. One down, twenty, plus a few spares to go... Whether it's possible to add the distinctive GR and crown cipher may prove a step too far - but, to quote Baldrick from the 'Black Adder' TV series - I have a cunning plan....... I'll share this in the event of it actually working....! Teaching a 'practical' subject via a computer at home for eight hours plus a day is hell!!!! MSW and my model help maintain my sanity. Take care and stay safe, Graham.

With the completion of the Quarterdeck Barricade assembly a minor psychological milestone has been reached - I'm exactly half way through the first instruction manual! Before finally fixing it place, together with other deck fittings, I wanted to add more detail to the inner bulwarks, notably the black mouldings that feature so significantly on the scale 1:1 version in Portsmouth, something the original kit omits. With building materials unavailable from local model shops which are now closed for the foreseeable future it was time for a bit of improvisation. I do have some 1 x 1 mm mahogany strip stashed away but there was no way it was going to bend to the curves without breaking. Another one of those moments when a reluctance to bin anything that just 'might be useful one day' bore fruit - a short length of twin and earth cable left over from a bit of DIY many years ago was pressed into service. The central copper earth wire is 1.3 mm diameter. I needed it to be 1 mm. Using an old steel rule of the required thickness as a guide, lengths of wire were filed .......... and then finished with abrasive paper. The 90 degree bend at the end, once rotated 180 degrees, allowed for opposite sides to be flattened to the right thickness. This bend was then twisted 90 degrees so the third side could be finished. The remaining side was left with the radius that would eventually face inboard. Card templates were cut to aid drawing the correct profiles ........ and with other features like the kevels and staghorns in place the copper strips were cut, bent, filed and soldered. And finally, after a couple of coats of dull black paint these were fixed into position. Shot garlands to follow..... Take care and stay safe in these challenging times, Graham.

Welcome back!! I look forward to following your progress again - I often look to your Build log for inspiration, and those photographs you took on board are a significant research source when I try to add detail ...... thank you. Graham.

Hi Helli, I've had this problem once as well. I think I solved it by clicking on edit, then deleting the pictures from the bank of imported photos at the bottom. I believe it was necessary to hover over the thumb nail picture for the X to appear. I'm no 'IT techy', but it might be worth a try. Good luck - and a very nice build you have there! Graham

Copy all the ideas you like, a lot if them I picked up from here too! My absence was not through choice, I assure you, but it really is good to be back at it. Some interesting R/C aircraft in the background there..... Cheers.

A great start Helli. I look forward to watching your progress. Welcome to the Caldercraft Victory club! Cheers, Graham