Charter33

With the worst of the winter weather behind us, and a bit of financial jugging, work on the workshop is underway again. Just taken delivery of the tongue and groove softwood flooring. Six bundles, fortunately well wrapped against damage and the rain, manhandled through the house and into the garden.

The workshop can just be seen through the arch.
This is a slightly clearer view, the best that it can be seen from the house, and benefitting from the jasmine over the wooden arch having had it's annual trim. Another soggy day!

The final addition to the exterior, the white gable end, is just visible.
The boards are now unwrapped and stacked inside to adjust to the humidity etc. for a few days before laying starts.

Another opportunity to add to the nautical aesthetic of the build perhaps.....we'll see! 😄
Cheers,
Graham.

With the worst of the winter weather behind us, and a bit of financial jugging, work on the workshop is underway again. Just taken delivery of the tongue and groove softwood flooring. Six bundles, fortunately well wrapped against damage and the rain, manhandled through the house and into the garden.

The workshop can just be seen through the arch.
This is a slightly clearer view, the best that it can be seen from the house, and benefitting from the jasmine over the wooden arch having had it's annual trim. Another soggy day!

The final addition to the exterior, the white gable end, is just visible.
The boards are now unwrapped and stacked inside to adjust to the humidity etc. for a few days before laying starts.

Another opportunity to add to the nautical aesthetic of the build perhaps.....we'll see! 😄
Cheers,
Graham.

With the worst of the winter weather behind us, and a bit of financial jugging, work on the workshop is underway again. Just taken delivery of the tongue and groove softwood flooring. Six bundles, fortunately well wrapped against damage and the rain, manhandled through the house and into the garden.

The workshop can just be seen through the arch.
This is a slightly clearer view, the best that it can be seen from the house, and benefitting from the jasmine over the wooden arch having had it's annual trim. Another soggy day!

The final addition to the exterior, the white gable end, is just visible.
The boards are now unwrapped and stacked inside to adjust to the humidity etc. for a few days before laying starts.

Another opportunity to add to the nautical aesthetic of the build perhaps.....we'll see! 😄
Cheers,
Graham.

Your comment is much appreciated Ron. With reference to decoration on the figurehead, I based it on photographs found on the internet of the current design, a research source I also used for the stern decoration and the entry ports. Unfortunately there is often confusion and disparity when comparing contemporary images to earlier historic pictures. So much has changed over the years, and this includes styles of carving etc. as much as application of colour! The point I'm trying to make here is that it may not be an accurate rendition of what was there in the past, but hopefully it's close enough 😉

Your comment is much appreciated Ron. With reference to decoration on the figurehead, I based it on photographs found on the internet of the current design, a research source I also used for the stern decoration and the entry ports. Unfortunately there is often confusion and disparity when comparing contemporary images to earlier historic pictures. So much has changed over the years, and this includes styles of carving etc. as much as application of colour! The point I'm trying to make here is that it may not be an accurate rendition of what was there in the past, but hopefully it's close enough 😉

Well done, Ron, it's all coming together nicely!

Well done, Ron, it's all coming together nicely!

A couple of touch ups to go then the cat heads.

Mock up of the Boomkins  knightheads and hand rail. Putting away in a safe place, hopefully to be found again. Figurehead next hope I don't get cross eyed. 

Oh yes, it's definitely a big project Ron, challenging but so satisfying once completed. Passing on a great piece of advice I was given by a much respected member of this site, Shipyard Sid, take your time and enjoy it. I shall be watching your progress with much interest.
Cheers,
Graham.

Thanks Allan, The gratings fit together as a square block then cut down to size. A little bit more progress. 

Shaping the knights was very straight forward, as was adding the brass dowels that strengthen them when fitted to the deck.
For the boomkins it was time to get on the old Hobbymat lathe. Two over length pieces of 4 mm dowel were first turned down to 3 mm dia. for a short distance at one end to fit snuggly into a short length of 4 mm brass tube. This was to prevent the wood being crushed in the chuck. A 2.5 mm brass ring, clipped off some eyebolts, was glued to the 'narrow' end to help stop the wood splitting when supported by a revolving centre in the tailstock and to give a reference to how much the dowel needed to be reduced.

Mounted in the lathe, with the cross slide removed.......

the taper was achieved using abrasive paper over a piece of scrap acrylic.........

...carefully using a thumb as a travelling steady.
With the Knightheads temporarily located it was a straight forward job to line up the boomkins to mark the angle that they needed to be trimmed to. Once cut. re-enforced with a brass dowel and sanded they were glued to the outer knighthead surfaces. When the glue had set the assemblies were removed and painted.
One final fitting, together with the blacked handrails, and then all these components will be put into safe storage until later.


Catsheads next - but looking at that last picture I think it's time for a bit of 'housekeeping' on the work bench first ......
 
Cheers,
Graham.
 

Part_002
 
Construction starts with four window assemblies. Four wooden frames are glued to printed cardboard backs. There are two sets, one with the bottom tab on the left, the other with the tabs on the right. The four panels are identical, so I picked the best side of each frame to be the front. The cardstock is printed on both sides, also, so I selected the best side of those four.
 

 
The next part is a signpost with a roof over the sign. The construction is self-evident, the only thing to be careful of is that the textured side of the roof pieces is up. I did have to trim off the locating tab between one roof panel and the post, as the peak of the roof would not close with both tabs in place. This may be a problem in the future, as I had to trim off a tab on the next assembly also. The sign post only goes in one way, as the tabs are different sizes.


 
 
The next item is the exterior compressor part of an air conditioner, that will eventually be mounted to a wall. The box is assembled with the front (outside face) panel and the four edge panels. Some care must be taken, as the parts are printed on both sides, so referencing the graphics in the instructions must be done. The bottom panel does not have different sized tabs to locate it, so I had to carefully look at the graphic. The panel that is the fan blades is glued inside the box, and two gray blocks behind that. The blocks represent the mechanical compressor parts.
 
Here is where I had to trim off another tab on the rear most block. The block has an arrow etched on it to indicate the proper direction to mount it, but the tab that locks into the side panel does not line up! I cut off the tab, installed the piece, and then glued the tab into the side panel to fill the hole. Two supports are attached before the inside blocks are glued in place. Once again, I let my mind wonder, and broke the angled bracket off one of the supports. A little glue fixed the mistake.


 
The next part is a multi-layer cherry tree. It starts with a wooden trunk, printed on one side, A printed cardstock backer is glued on the other side, to finish that side of the trunk.
 
One thing to note about the instructions, if a part is printed on only one side the instructions indicate which is the printed or unprinted side facing you, by showing a square with either a blossom (printed side) or blank face. I’ve circled two examples in the picture below.
 


 
For these parts where any excess glue would be seen, I used Canopy Glue instead of the yellow wood glue I normally use. The Canopy Glue is a high-quality white glue, specifically made to attach clear parts to other pieces, originally clear plane canopies to plastic models. It dries completely clear. I have also used it to glue parts to the bottom of clear cases. Several companies offer this type of glue, I’m using the one shown in the picture, because it was the one the local craft store carried. This is the original manufacturer of this type, but the other brands are just as good. This glue takes longer to set, though, so I leave the parts several hours to dry between layers. The glue also lasts a long time in the bottle. You may have to shake the bottle when you first start, like you would a bottle of paint.

 
Several printed cardstock blossom layers are then glued to both sides the give depth to the tree. I had to take great care in orientating the blossom pieces, as there are location marks only for one of the several pieces.
 
These pictures show both sides of the trunk. I spread the glue evenly over the entire surface of the cardstock side to ensure that there will not be any delamination in the future. I carefully scraped any excess glue off the edges, before it dried.


 
I glued a cardstock blossom piece to one side of the trunk, then left it, blossom side up, to dry for a few hours. Once again, I spread the glue over the whole surface of the trunk where the blossoms attached, and used a toothpick to get rid of as much of the excess glue, as I could.


 
Next, I glued the blossom piece to the other side. The first picture shows the glue spread on the contact surface of that side. The second shows the freshly attached part, with as much glue removed as I could. The difficulty of just getting the glue where needed, and not on other areas, is why I wanted the canopy glue for this.
 

 

 
The last piece needed for the tree is a small blossom group to go over the section in the picture below where the circled branch area is shown.
 

 
Here is the four-blossom group installed
 

Evening all and thanks for the comments and the likes. This small update, now the stern trauma has been put behind me, is the completion of the small skylight above the Commander's cabin, based on drawing ZAZ6418 dimension.  Scratch built as the companionway further forward, from left over 0.7mm wood from the kit, with additions of acetate windows and a lead roof.  Finally a whimsical detail of a water butt and ladle was added for the exercising gun crews; when finished the model will show some of the larboard guns being "exercised" I have got a set of crew figures from Chris, including officers, Marines, seaman and a couple of gun crews, so around 20 figures, just under halt the Trial's actual compliment.
 
Thanks for looking in and your continued interest. 

Hi David
Not sure if you have seen the below in other posts.   It is hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like the axles are square rather than round.   Not too late to easily round them with a little home made cutter. Just drill out the cutter stock piece to the diameter you want then cross cut a couple slots to give a cutting edge.  Chuck the cutter in a small drill (press or hand drill) and it works easily, quickly and yields a much cleaner rod like protrusion than hand carving to round them.
Allan

Main and Mizzen Mast Ratlines
Work is progressing slow and steady with adding the ratlines to both the right-hand side main and mizzen lower mast. It seems to break the monotony of task by switching between each mast. I am using a stiff card for the templates and have found it stays in place best when clamped to the deadeyes. The photo below shows both the templates in place.

I have completed adding the full length ratlines on the main main mast (F). I have also add every 5th ratlines to both masts.
 
Main Mast

The next photo shows some of the completed F and 5th ratlines

I have added the ratline between the 35th and final F ratline, as can be seen in the photo below. This will help with keeping the spacing between the shrouds.
Mizzen Mast

Some of the completed 5th ratlines

Adding a few more near the top, as this helps with retaining the spacing between the shrouds.

Oh yes, it's definitely a big project Ron, challenging but so satisfying once completed. Passing on a great piece of advice I was given by a much respected member of this site, Shipyard Sid, take your time and enjoy it. I shall be watching your progress with much interest.
Cheers,
Graham.

Thanks for the likes and comments. Bit of a hick-up with the 1:1 workshop build at the moment. The main cause of my absence from the shipyard last year was the Admiral's garden project. It went a bit over budget so funds for the shed were diverted. Soon be back on track though, and I'll update both related threads in Shore Leave for anyone interested later.....

I've been focusing on the stern facia and quarter gallery decoration details. With the facia windows I have followed advice to mount the frames from the back of the outer stern facia to give the windows more depth. To achieve a similar effect on the Quarter Galleries I used Robert's innovation of adding an additional 0.5 mm layer to the three window skins.
The two false baluster patterns were fixed with C.A. adhesive. With very limited time to align them I opted to temporarily pin a scrap strip across the facia to help. The simple  'tacky stick' gripped the pattern as it was placed in position.

The gap between the facia's surface and the transom seemed a bit excessive, putting it mildly....

.... so I made an additional piece to improve things. I never throw away any off-cuts and found a piece of the 2 mm walnut ply big enough for the job. The hole in the remnant of the original transom ply made a perfect template. Edges bevelled as required ....... 

...... and the new piece glued in place. The lower edge was then blended in with carving knife, file and sandpaper.

To create the black panels between the Quarter gallery windows it was back to careful masking 

I wanted to add additional detail to the vertical edges of the facia so, after cutting strips of tape down to about 0.7 mm wide, these were put in place together with masking on the front and back surfaces, and the unmasked areas over painted yellow.


To get the Quarter gallery false baluster patterns in place I used rapid epoxy to provide more adjustment time. Brass pins were pushed into the skins as an alignment aid.


At this point I began work on the Trophy of Arms, carving the groove where it intersects the top stern facia moulding

This was then primed together with the other white metal components - and all the associated tales of woe explained earlier in the 'What have you done in the garden today' thread 😖. Once painted yellow these castings were glued in place, once again using epoxy adhesive.

...the errant scroll was the one bottom left!
 
The Trophy of Arms was painted up using images found on line. The left hand draped flag was re-worked a couple of times, and I'm still not completely happy with it. I'll probably go back to it in the future
 
 

Ship's name added, 

A couple of daylight pictures with the drop decorations in place.
 


and finally I made a start on the lanterns.....

Cheers,
Graham.
 

Thanks Robert - much appreciated....
It's been quite a journey but the main bow structure is now complete.
Rather than paint the ply sides of the timber heads yellow and then glue a 2 mm strip painted blue on top, I elected to make these decorative strips 3 mm wide, paint them blue and then use 2 mm masking tape up the centre. The unmasked edge areas were then painted yellow. Once a bit of stock strip had been prepared it was cut to size, the ends were painted, and the frame effect was complete. This flatter decoration method seems to match the real thing a little better.






Temporarily fitting the two gratings was a great help in working out how the timber heads needed bevelling. The instructions say to line the aft edge of the gratings with 2 mm sq. flexible beech. There was no mention of the need to taper these to match the curve of the deck so I made the decision to go ahead  and do this....

Next stage is to produce the stanchions and hand rails from 0.7 mm brass wire. No drawings provided in the plans so it was necessary to glean the shape from on-line photographs.

Once dry fitted and then 'blacked' these will be stored safely until later to prevent damage while other tasks are carried out.
 
Knightheads and Boomkins await......
 
Cheers,
Graham.
 

Started the initial stages of the bow - I've been looking forward to this iconic aspect of the ship, and as Robert points out, a truly beautiful area to be working on.
There's a lot going on and after reading and re-reading the instructions a couple of times I think I just about understand what's going on 🤔.
Researching images of the bows one omission in the kit appears to be the decorative moulding detail on the bow curved rails, the hair brackets and lower bow cheek rails and the rails. I am trying to add the impression of these together with the distinctive scroll at the top of the rear bow curved rails.
Scrolls first.........
 After sharpening up the lower corner where the stem meets the rounded head with a scalpel a 0.75 mm hole was drilled through the scroll's centre. This was the bevelled by hand with a countersink bit.

 
To replicate the scroll's centre I mounted small brass lace making pins in a Dremel and worked the pin head with a combination of needle files and a scalpel blade while rotating it at a slow speed.

 

 

 
Cut back to about 3 mm long these were CA glued into place.

 
The next challenge was to work out how to produce the appearance of the mouldings. Producing a micro 'scratch stock' tool was asking a bit too much so I made a tool from scrap walnut and those brass pins that basically rubbed a groove parallel to an edge.....

 
The 2 mm flexible beech needed a simple jig to support it .......

 
Finished components....

 
First fitting in conjunction with the timber heads trying to work out the right lines etc.

 
and temporarily again, but now painted. 

A long way to go, lots of shaping, and many questions still to resolve. I'm guessing that the bow main rails have been made over long and will need trimming to fit behind the bow curved rails, and that the curved rail with the scroll head is mounted very slightly in from the back edge of the stem? Mmm.. think I need to read that 'note' paragraph just above the two pictures on page 30 of the instruction manual again....and again! 🤪
Cheers,
Graham.
 

Hi Mike, and thank you.
I just anneal profiles that need a significant degree of bending. A lot of the brass strips required are straight so are fine as supplied, just needing to be cut and finished to length. I put off doing the bow pieces that run from the Catsheads to the top bow rail until I'd had a bit of practise on the stern. These two need to curve through 90 degrees and also flow around the hull's curve. Should be fun!
Cheers,
Graham

Well.... the brass profile decorations turned out to be more of a challenge than expected. It took a several evenings to achieve pieces that were of an acceptable standard and a couple of attempts that had to discarded, not just the compound curves but the bevelling of the ends to match the hull etc. Thankfully the manufacturer is generous in the amount of profile provided. Got there in the end and this stage of the stern is now just about completed. I'll attempt the two pieces to finish the the bow next. These look a little more tricky, but the brass profile is annealed and ready to go.



Off to the West country for a break today so away from the shipyard for a little while - so 'anchors aweigh' ..... literally - the components for the bower and sheet anchors, plus basic range of tools, paints and brushes, oh, and the side entry port casting as well it seems, appear to have fallen into the bottom of the suitcase......... well, sometimes you need a mini project to keep you going ...... 😉

Well ....... turns out it's one of those instances where half a dozen lines of instructions in the manual proves to be deceptively vague and a bit more thought is needed ........
I managed to bend the brass profile to the correct shape to match the curve on the top part of the Quarter gallery but then found out that it was a compound bend and needed to also curve slightly upwards.
Got a bit creative with some bits and pieces that were to hand and came up with this solution 

.... successful, but not very elegant.....

There had to be a simpler way ...... time to go back to the drawing board. Rummaging through the 'odds and s*ds' box I came up with a random block of 'bound to be useful one day' brass and four 5 mm dia. brass connector pins.
Four drilled holes and the light application of a hammer later I now have a double sided jig to to form the brass in both axis'. 2 mm gap between pins on one side, and 3mm on t'other.





A long way still to go, but I'm a bit more confident that it's do-able......
 
Cheers,
Graham
 

Thanks Graham.