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DelF

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Everything posted by DelF

  1. Gundeck Support Beams I'm on tenterhooks this morning as I wait for UPS to deliver Indefatigable. Nevertheless I found time to finish fitting the gundeck support beams, some parts of which needed to be shaped to represent the rounded columns under the beams. I had considered cutting these parts off and replacing them with wooden columns turned on the lathe. However I re-read Blue Ensign's log and noted that he advised against this as it might weaken the structure. In the end I compromised, threw caution to the wind and mounted the whole component in the lathe: To my relief it worked, at least for the single columns. For the doubles I fell back on more conventional and safer methods - initial cuts with a scalpel followed by sanding. I found the best method was to cut a strip of sandpaper to the width of the rounded part of the column and use it on the component mounted in a bench vice: The next choice was colour. To decide between Vallejo Flat Red and Admiralty Red Ochre I painted a couple of test pieces: The Vallejo on the left won hands down, despite having looked far too bright fresh out of the bottle. NB The hatch coamings are not glued to the deck at this stage. When dry fitting the various components on this deck I found that the coamings were a very tight fit between the support columns, so I glued the columns and beams in first, then sanded the edges of the coamings until they fitted. I was glad I hadn't glued them earlier. Here's the current state of play, with the support beams in place together with the four longitudinal beams. I lightly sanded the coamings to soften their sharp edges. A subtle change but giving a more realistic impression, I think. In the last shot I'm considering leaving grating off the foremost hatch in order to display the deck below. If I do I'll have to neaten the side of the ladder I made earlier. On to the stern frames next. Thanks for looking in , and the likes and comments. Derek
  2. I emailed Chris to ask when the furniture I wanted might be available. He replied in less than an hour to say it was back in stock, he just hadn't had time to update the website. He also offered to post in the Indefatigable delivery due next week to avoid extra shipping charges. What service! I don't know how he manages to keep all the plates spinning, what with running the business, producing current kits, designing new ones and answering customer queries. I'm just grateful he does.
  3. Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. I'll order some furniture as soon as the selection I want is back in stock. Derek
  4. Thanks Sam. The trouble with Chris Watton is that he designs and produces kits far faster than I can build them. I've got Indefatigable on order so no doubt she'll sit on the shelf tapping her foot impatiently for a year or so while I build Sphinx. Still, having too many kits to choose from is better than having too few. Your Endeavour is coming along nicely so hopefully Sphinx won't have too long to wait. Best wishes Derek
  5. Lower deck decisions Blue Ensign's Sphinx underwent extensive surgery to some of her bulkheads and her keel to allow access from the lower deck to the fore and aft platforms. The fore platform is provided in the model. but B.E had to make the rear platform and the ladder leading to it. I initially decided that neither mod justified chopping bulkheads in half and other such hair raising alterations. I reasoned that neither would be very visible once the upper decks were in place, with the rear platform in particular requiring an endoscope to get anywhere near it. So I glued the lower deck in place, sans mods. Of course as soon as I looked at the result the lack of access looked right back at me. In particular, the top of bulkhead 4 and the keel visible through the foremost ladderway stuck out like a sore thumb. Consequently I tried to come up with a practical and hopefully non-destructive way of recovering the situation, at least for the fore platform. I eventually concluded it would be too difficult to cut a chunk out of bulkhead 4. Instead I decided to chop the short length of false keel (the one at right angles to the bulkhead in the photo above) short enough to allow a ladder to fit over it. My crew will be slimmer than B.E.'s and therefore their ladder will comfortably fit in the space next to the bulkhead . I used a razor saw to cut the keel: The kit ladders are laser cut from 0.6mm pearwood. I used a spare piece from the kit sheet to cut the ladder sides and treads, then it was over to the Proxxon mill to use an 0.6mm end mill to cut the necessary slots: I used double sided tape to fasten the ladder sides to each other and to a wooden table made with a couple of pieces of scrap glued together and held in the vice. The mill is fairly low powered, and with such a small end mill the tape was sufficient to hold the workpiece rock steady. Here's the slots cut: I used a sanding stick to round the treads before gluing them in their slots: And here's the final result - probably the last clear view anyone'll have of the ladderway! I'll plan more carefully in future. Derek PS just noticed that hatch is upside down and you can't see the realistic ledges and battens (visible in the preceding photo)- fortunately it's not glued yet
  6. Having completed HMS Speedy and The Duchess of Kingston I'm moving on to my third kit from Vanguard Models. I received HMS Sphinx in late 2021 and apart from opening the box to drool over the contents she has stayed on the shelf whilst I built the Duchess. Shortly after ordering her I bought a copy of her original draft from Greenwich and had it framed, which at least kept the interest alive: I have always intended to build Sphinx as a Navy Board style model, with no masts and with at least some of the decks missing to expose internal detail. I was very nearly tempted away from that plan by Ron (@hollowneck)'s magnificent rendering of the kit as HMS Camilla, complete with sails in a most realistic seascape. However I reluctantly put temptation aside and decided to follow in the footsteps of another fine builder, Blue Ensign (@Blue Ensign) who led the way down the Navy Board route. Others have described how well packaged and presented the kit is, so I won't repeat that here. Neither do I intend this log to be a blow-by-blow account of the build. I see little point in simply recording steps that are perfectly well described in the excellent manual. Rather, I will limit the log to points of particular interest - problems encountered, solutions found, novel tools and techniques and any kit bashing/enhancements. I got to this stage fairly quickly and with no problems or deviation from the manual: I built the supplied building cradle (right, in the photo) but at this early stage chose to use my homemade keel clamp. As with all the Vanguard kits I've had, I was impressed by how accurately the components had been cut, and how well they fitted together. The only issue I had was around how much fairing to do off the model. The manual seems to suggest a fair bit to the bow and stern assemblies but I bottles it, and have probably left myself with a lot to do later in the build. Here's my half-hearted attempt at the stern: Thanks for looking in. Next, I'll describe the first departure from the kit. Derek
  7. Thanks Dave. I've just started HMS Sphinx and will open a log shortly. There are some great builds already out there and I shall be shamelessly copying from the likes of Maurice and Ron ( @Blue Ensign & @hollowneck ). Good luck with your own build. Derek
  8. Thanks David, I appreciate your kind comments, but there's no need for embarrassment on your part. I've just looked at your log and seen the extra details you've added to your shrouds, such as the leather caps on the ends and the crossing turns on the seizings, and you should be pleased with the result. We all want to improve, but don't beat yourself up when you're already achieving a good standard. And I'm still jealous that you've gone one better than me and included a ship's boat! Best wishes Derek
  9. To round the log off, here's a couple of shots from the Antarctic trip I've just returned from - a land of stark beauty. Amongst many other things we had fun spotting weird shapes in icebergs, including the lion in the second photo: We sailed from Ushuaia which is billed as the southernmost city in the world, so I was surprised to find out that there are cities in England that are closer to the North Pole than Ushuaia is to the South Pole. Thank goodness for the Gulf Stream! Derek
  10. The Last Lap After 18 months of enjoyable modelling and with everything on the Duchess complete, barring the permanent stand, I'm marking her as finished. As with my first Vanguard model, I must give huge thanks to @chris watton for designing and producing such a great kit, and to @James H for his inspirational prototype build log and manual. Thanks also to those early starters whose logs informed and encouraged me - Glenn @glennard2523, Rusty @Rustyj and David @desalgu. Apart from producing my own rope and a very few minor enhancements such as the anchor buoys and glazed windows, I built the Duchess more or less out of the box which I regard as a testament to the quality of the kit and the materials. Here's some final photos: On to HMS Sphinx! Thanks to everyone for following along, and for all the likes and kind comments. Derek 16 February 2023
  11. Stunning. That must be the most realistic stern I’ve seen on a kit. I’m going to have a hard time leaving Indefatigable in the box while I get on with Sphinx!
  12. Thanks for checking Glenn. I got your PM and by coincidence my mailbox is also just 19% full. I tried to PM you again without success, then on the third go it worked. No idea why. Probably operator error (on my part).
  13. Glenn - you might want to check if your mailbox is full - I just tried to PM you but got an error saying you can't receive messages. Nothing important, just a nerdy camera question that can wait. Derek
  14. Oh well, another item to add to the shelf in my workshop labelled "Things Glenn made me buy" 😁 Great work - a pleasure follow along. Derek
  15. Hi Mark Your kind comments on my log prompted me to visit yours. Wow! Your craftsmanship is producing a work of true beauty. I'm currently working through a set of excellent kits by Vanguard Models, which I enjoy enhancing, but your example might inspire me to go the whole hog and try scratch building. On shellac, I use a Liberon product. It's labelled Special Pale French Polish but it's basically shellac. I've used it extensively on castello boxwood and it gives a beautiful warm finish. Not totally matt but not shiny either. And a lot cheaper than the product you mentioned! Best wishes Derek
  16. Thanks Bob, much appreciated. We're setting sail from Ushuaia, which is sometimes described as the world's southernmost city so I'll look out for your penguins. I've just finished a book about Shackleton my mother-in-law bought me for Christmas. I was familiar with the story but this one had all the original photographs from the expedition. What an incredible tale. I might give the Endurance a miss though - too modern for me, with that newfangled steam engine! Derek
  17. Thanks! To be honest most of the detail on this model is provided out of the box, with me just adding a few of my own enhancements such as the anchor buoys. I've had your log bookmarked since I started the Duchess and have referred to it frequently, so thank you Rusty! For me, anchor buoys are one of those little details, like crowsfeet, that add interest to a model. Cheers Glenn! At least you've got a nautical dictionary now. I remember when you used to refer to "strings and things" 😁 Enjoy Patagonia - I'll look forward to your photos. I'm off to pack the sled and check the huskies. Derek
  18. Like you I use Brass Black, with equal success. The only slight modification I'd make is if you need to blacken a large number of small components such as hooks or eyebolts. If these clump together in the solution the treatment can be patchy. I've found that putting the components and solution in a small container with a tightly fitting lid and shaking vigorously obviates any problem. I used to use the canisters that old film rolls came in, but now I've got some even smaller bottles that my wife used to have for washing contact lenses. I've blackened upwards of 100 small components at a time using this method. Derek
  19. Completing the rigging Kind of you to say Glenn, although I would defer to some of the real experts on the forum (and I don't normally suffer from modesty!). Anyway, I'm hurrying this along a bit as I'm keen to clear the decks before setting off for the Antarctic next week. The rest of the running rigging went smoothly for the most part and the process was almost identical to the description in my Speedy log. The only really tricky task I found was rigging the main topsail yard braces. These are set up with brace pendants on the yard and a pair of 3mm blocks on a long strop fitted round the mizzen mast, just above the crossjack. The space between the latter and the mizzen top is very tight so I'd fitted the blocks before I'd even stepped the mast. However I realised too late that the standing ends of the main topsail yard braces had to be seized to the strops between the blocks and the mizzen yard. Hopefully this is clear from this shot and the following close-up: The only way I could find to do this was to twist the strop round so the blocks faced aft, i.e. away from the crowsfeet and other obstructions on the fore side of the mizzen mast. It was still tight, but I did eventually manage to a seize a brace just behind each of the two blocks then twist the whole affair back round to the other side of the mast after which it was comparatively simple to take the braces up through the brace pendants on the topsail yard, back through the blocks stropped to the mizzen, then through the top to belay on the mizzen bits. One point where I departed slightly from the plans was in belaying the mizzen topsail braces. Unless I misinterpreted them, the plans show these reeving through blocks at the aft end of the lateen yard then running forward at quite a sharp angle to belay on the mizzen bitts. I chose to belay the braces on the quarterdeck rail near the transom, where the near-vertical line from the lateen yard seemed more natural. I've just got a bit of tidying and touching up to do, and a few more rope coils, but I'm not sure I'll get all that done before disappearing to the frozen wastes so here's a few shots of the almost complete model. I'll do some proper shots and a fuller write up when I get back, and also give some proper thought to her display. HMS Sphinx is calling! Derek
  20. Anchors #2 Thanks again for the kind comments and likes. Starting on the port anchor I realised I'd made a slight mistake on the starboard side. Where the buoy rope attaches to the shank I'd spaced the three seizings equally, whereas in full size practice they looked like this illustration from D'Arcy Lever's The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor: (I got this from Google Books so presumably there's no copyright issue). The two closely spaced seizings straddle the buoy rope knot, essentially a raised lump designed to help prevent the rope from slipping off the anchor. I couldn't resist looking up this knot in the Ashley Book of Knots to see if it would be practical to reproduce it at 1:64 scale. As always this fantastic volume never ceases to amaze - I have yet to come across a knot he doesn't cover, and usually with beautiful and often witty hand drawn illustrations. Here's how the knot is described: "First put on a heavy seizing, and open the cable into its three component ropes as far as the seizing. Next lay one strand from each rope end. Stop all ends, and lay up the cable again with the two three-strand ropes that are left, having first beaten them well with a mallet. To do this, take two of the rope ends, twist them as hard as possible, and lay them up together. Then lay up the two with the remaining single rope end. Stop them, and beat them again to make them lay fair. Next, proceed to wall and double wall the three single strands where they were originally laid out. Draw the knot taut, and work the three strands to the end of the cable. Finally, put on a strong whipping, which in width should equal the diameter of the cable." I lost the plot somewhere around beating the rope with a mallet, although I remain in awe of the knowledge and skills the old time sailors and riggers must have had. My go-to reference for rigging small ships (after James Lees) is The Fully Framed Model by David Antscherl and Greg Herbert. In Volume 4 David describes using a blob of acrylic to simulate the knot. Lacking a suitable colour I experimented with a blob of PVA. After clearing up the mess I decided to abandon further experimentation and skip this particular enhancement. Here's the anchor and buoy, sans knot, awaiting fitting: Finally, just before fitting the anchor I took this shot of the starboard cathead to show the extra eye I had to fit for the standing end of the catblock rope: I'm assuming the block would have been snugged up tight to the cathead like this when not in use. With the anchor fitted, a few more rope coils and the stand made it'll be on to the finishing line. Derek
  21. Thanks Tony - kind of you to say. Briefly following on from my last post on the anchors, I've just spent another hour or so on the second buoy. I do like a challenge, and working out how best to make them was initially enjoyable, but having made them on my last three models the novelty is beginning to wear decidedly thin. I'd therefore like to make a heartfelt plea to @chris watton to add anchor buoys to his brilliant range of 3D printed accessories before I have to make any more of the little blighters Derek
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