JohnB40

Hi Ian,, The picture you asked about is actually one of a few post cards I bought at Bucklers Hard,Hants,which I visited on one of my trips home to Poole in the early 90's. I framed them when I returned to the States. It is well worth a visit if you have never been there,it has a really nice small museum. HMS Agamemnon was built there. Titled "British Frigate In Pursuit Of French Cutter In The Napoleonic Wars" by Thomas Buttersworth 1868 - 1842 This is one Bucklers Hard Itself,the Shipwrights and families lived in the row houses which were in two rows facing each other across the open area where timber and materials were stored The ways were on the river bank by the 3 small trees. Adams the Master Shipwright lived in the last house by the river. As for the other models built,I have two left out of the five I have built. Two I gave to good friends (Golden Hind & Swift) and another (Le Hussard) to my neighbor,a doctor as thanks for saving my life a couple of years ago. The ones I have left are.. Halifax. 1:35 Scale by Robbe.. Armed Launch 1803 1:17 Scale by Panart My wife is very understanding regarding my decor......The .hanging picture is a framed tea towel (also from B.H. gift store) I don't know how to add these models to my profile. Regards John

Greetings to all, I decided to start a build log for my current work on Corel's HMS Unicorn. I started this kit a long time ago,nearly completing the hull planking before taking a hiatus. After retiring and moving to a house with a small work area I started on the project again. This was also spurred on by finding this forum and reading the posts of others like Ian and Mike,who worked their way through the problems found with this kit,which was one of the reasons work ceased. I have now finished the hull and gun deck planking. The rudder. . I am working on the transom and galleries. Next the gallery roofs and bottoms need to be finished. I will post the progress of the build in more detail from this point forward. John

Greetings Mike, I admire your fortitude in putting the flaws of Corel's kit to rights.......Soon you are going to have to move your build log to the scratch build forum. John

Thank you Ian for the info. Another vote for the boxwood effect.....Well worth trying.. Regards, John

Hi Mike, The new keel is a fine piece of work........I don't think there is going to be much of the original Corel kit remaining when you are finished. The new sander is a mighty fine machine also. Regards, John

Hi Ian, I think the transom and gallery work turned out great. Turning the top arches of glass panes into decorative ones looks more like Chapman's stern elevation,I think Mike also interpreted it this way. It also puts the cabin ceiling in a more realistic place height wise than boarding up the bottom row of panes. As to painting,it is your personal choice mate,I had to paint mine because of the pot metal material of the part. I think guilding on the natural wood looks nice,but again Mike is right,it depends on how much other painting you are going to use. You could try painting the just flags to get an idea of how you feel about it,you can always strip it with some lacquer thinners. I have a couple of questions for you......... Do you think it is a good or bad idea to finish off the transom and galleries before placing the guns on the lower deck and fitting the upper deck,or wait until most of the hull and upper works are finished? Could you please explain to me where you think the holes in the stem for the anchor hawsers should be? I know you wrote about this in one of your posts but I can't seem to find it. Regards, John

Hi Ian, I found the colour scheme for the transom decoration whilst googling about one evening. I entered 18th century Royal Navy,George ll heraldry,coat of arms,amongst many other searches and eventually up popped one with the royal coat of arms with just 2 flags behind. I think it was from William lll reign.It had St George's cross and the Scottish Saltire..... This made sense to me. For the flags behind,I just thought of the yellow royal scots flag and red ensign would be appropriate. I should have bookmarked it as I sure can't find it again. John

Mike, I used Dry Transfer Decals made by Woodland Scenics..... www.woodlandscenic.com They have different fonts,I chose EXTENDED ROMAN R.R.-GOLD. There are 5 sizes of letters per sheet. I then used DullCote spray for protection and to take the shine off. Ian, I am thinking ahead to when I follow your waist modification,which I think looks brilliant. Are bulkheads 4 through 10 where they come through the gun deck really obvious due to the narrower width of the waist walkways? If you had done the mod before the top deck was in place,would you have removed them? Take care, John

Hi Ian, It looks like we have been working on the same part of the Unicorn lately. I have decided to use the Corel's pot metal transom,I just couldn't see my way to making a scratch built one. I would rather spend the time opening up the ships waist as you have done. Your work is a real pleasure to view. As I discussed on Mike's build log,I went ahead and shortened the window length by boarding over the lower set of panes. The transom is now curved with a backing of 2mm basswood sheet cut to contour. I will use veneer strips on the forward face showing above the stern rail to finish that side. I now have to sand bulkhead 17 to get the right 16 degree rake and curve for the transom to mount against. I plan to use the same approach on the gallery windows. Take care, John

Hi Mike, I have not really given a lot of thought about the actual transom part construction yet. I had sidetracked into spending a bit of time cleaning up and painting the pot metal one as a diversion whilst planking the hull. If I use it I know I will later regret using it at a later date,so I will explore what is involved in building a scratch built one. What wood sheeting are you going to use to construct your transom? I guess you could steam it and bend it round a form like a big sauce pan with the right radius. I went ahead and added the .25" filler blocks on the front side of #17 last night using lashings of CA glue. I now have a solid area nearly forward to #16 to begin shaping. I intend to start with the angle off vertical first,then the curved contour,carefully using a block hand sander. As a rough guess using a template with the center of #17 as the highest point of the curve,the outer part of curve by the galleries will cut back into the hull planking on the sides about 5/32"/4mm forward of it present position. This is the best compromise I think I can make in making the stern/transom area shape acceptable without major demolition. John

Greetings gentlemen, Thank you for the 'welcome aboard the Unicorn club' Mike,I think Ian is right about the stern post. Now that it has been pointed out it seems obvious that this part was ommited by Corel,and by adding it the rudder would move aft along the counter and look like it is in its proper place. All my other ships had a stern post,I thought it odd Unicorn did not,but trusted Corel's plan (foolish me). I did put some what of a post in by channeling in a groove in the end of the hull planks and inlaying a 3mm walnut strip in place,I wish I had made it wider. Still thinking out the transom problem. If I decide to keep the stern demolition to a minimum this is my idea ....Leave bulkhead 17 in place and glue 2 x 0.25" thick basswood panels cut to the profile of #17 on the forward face of said bulkhead. Two are needed because the bulkhead on the front edge is divided by the keel board. There is room to slide these in the gap between #16 and #17,CA glue them to the bulkhead and inner planks and clamp them. They will be strongly secured by the keel plywood board,the inner hull planks and bulkhead #17. I think there will be enough thickness of material that with careful sanding the curve of the transom can be produced. I will have to change the rake of the transom to 16 degrees somehow,probably by shimming. I am intending to start a build log but it will take some time as I am a mid twentieth century luddite and not really computer savvy. Regards,John

Greetings to all, I'm glad to have found this forum and the wealth of knowledge contained within it. I have enjoyed looking at others work for a while and decided to return to the hobby. I am back on Corel's Unicorn after a hiatus of 4-5 years and have just finished the last bit of outer hull planking where I left off. I really stopped working on it (apart from a bit of bad health) when I started to look at the stern-transom area. The scale of the windows seemed off and well...it just was odd to look at. I have built 5 ships in the last 30 years and you kind of get an eye for something not flowing right. I thank Ian and Mike for spending the time and effort to put Corel's flawed kit to rights. Your Ideas seem to be the solution to the problem I am about to start work on transom now,the hull is complete to bulkhead 17, including the rudder. This is my plan based on what Mike and Ian have written, I would appreciate any feedback . I want the transom to have the correct radius,which I have now formed. My way around the ballroom sized windows is to cover the lower level of panes to the bottom transom decoration with a thin piece of basswood,painted black,topped with an L shaped sill running the full width of the transom . With a bit of file work and careful grinding you can get the panel flush with the windows and the sill will give it a finished look. I will epoxy this in place. I intend to place the ships name on the panel and the windows will keep their arch. If there is a slight difference between where the deck/cabin ceiling should be I can live with that Your thoughts on using bulkhead 16 for the Transom backing seems the way to go.....Is that bulkhead at 16 degrees Mike? I plan to carefully saw down the hulls stern parallel to bulkhead 16,removing 17. Then take a panel of 1/4" basswood shaped in the profile of bulkhead 16. Radius its rear face to match transom. Glue in place to #16 and mount the cast part in place. I will have to see what will need to be done to blend in the curved lower transom area by the rudder. I will sort out the galleries and their windows later. The only problem I can see the hull is a little bit wider at # 16 making the galleries a little narrower which I don't know if I'm that bothered about. Does this seem a feasible plan of action or will it make things worse in your opinions? Regards John