BLACK VIKING

Just had the test sheets arrive for the five sheets of photo etched brass for Sphinx, which I shall get shipped to Jim. these are quite big...

And the sixth is done : the fore frame beginning to appear out of close nothing :
 

 

Here are two contemporary representations of artists who knew the ships.
Left: Grand Monarque by Puget
Right: Reine by van de Velde

A test of a simulated trailboard shock (not glued) :
 

 

Cannon barrels today. Fifty of them little guys about 3/8” long. Painted with a 50/50 mixture of silver and sea gray. Then rubbed with a black wash. Drilled a tiny hole in the front end of each to add a sense of depth. Painted the ends red a put a tiny touch of black in the previously drilled hole. Then mounted them in the two lower decks. Still need to paint the hatch covers which have lion heads on the inside and mount them. My understanding is that the lion heads were intended to frighten the enemy when all cannon ports were open. 

The interior as good as done. Few more details on the rest.😊

Sometimes I am stupid ...
 
I had already described the initial situation a long time ago. The bits of the kit were "a bit" strange in their shape. Thereupon I had fiddled new ones ...
 

 
... and because I need some of them for different tasks, I casted them. A complicated mold with two-component silicone putty inlets - top tec
 
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The other day, I noticed that the bits are still pretty low, even though I had my scale mate with me when I took the photos ...
 
... grrrrr...
 
Here again the summary:
 
Kit
 

 

 
Version 1 anno 2016:
 

 

 
So consulted the McKay and printed the parts in these dimensions.
 

 

 
And since I want to be a model builder, i tinkered around with the printed parts, and got this 🙂
 

 

 
For the belaying pins I made a template to cut to length, with wire feed from the left, and catch basket underneath, goes smooth and
quickly and well cut to 6 mm.
 

 

 
Then a montage holder with through holes - needed print wise - taped with mirror tape to a wooden stick and filled with the cut offs.
 

 
The mirror tape actually secures the wire pieces against falling out. After that I leveled the lengths a bit ...
 

 
... it looks like this:
 

 
Then prepared the pin head. White glue in cup 1, water in cup 2 and the mixture in cup 3. And for that the brush does not dry out when the pin is left to dry, it is brought to the right height with a clothes peg so that its tip is in the water.
 

 
Then the glue is applied in several layers on both sides of the head. The thinner the glue, and the more layers there are, the more uniform the result. So do not make the first layers with a too thick glue-water mixture! And always let it dry befor the next touch up. That's why I use the white glue "express" version, so that work can proceed quickly.
 

 
In my case it was 6 to 8 layers. When the head has the right size and form, let it dry well and paint it 🙂
 

 
Then paint the bit itself with the base color ...
 

 
... and keep the holes open.
 
After that I like to put thinned ink in all the inside edges, it adds depth. Next a light wood color on all scuffed edges and finally some white brushing on all outside edges, it just always gives a good look.
Then inserted the pins, secured with white glue - which dries transparent - level the top side, bring it to a leveled length on the underneath side where necessary to adjusted the lengths and added the color.
And what used to look like this ...
 

 
... then becomes like this. So even printed parts need a lot of love and affection from a tender modeler's hand 😉
 

 
XXXDAn

Well, my bench has been idle for long enough...
 
HMS Sphinx is the next major release from Vanguard Models, and as per the previous 4 main kit releases and the 8 ship's boats, I'll be building up the production prototype and creating the instruction manual. Just a little 'ye potted historie' of Sphinx: She was a 20-gun sixth rate launched in 1775. Captured by the French in September 1779, she was recaptured by HMS Prosperpine on 29 November 1779. Sphinx was finally broken up in 1811.
 
Onwards...

 
One thing you'll note if you buy the completed kit is that there's quite a weight. Chris shipped me two complete sets of wooden parts (and some fittings), and that pack, minus any plans, heavy manual or the numerous sets of photo-etch, came in at a whopping 7kg. Factor in around half that weight, plus those missing items, and you'll see it's a bumper pack.
 
There are over thirty sheets of laser cut material, also incorporating the three ship's boats (a good number of different thicknesses). Apart from the MDF sheets which comprise the Sphinx's skeleton, a ply sheet with the lower deck etc, laser-engraved maple decks, the rest of the material is pearwood. Two bundles of strip wood are included; the obligatory lime for first planking, and some 0.8mm thick pear for second planking. The colour is this really is very nice. There are numerous changes between the first test hull Chris built and featured on MSW, and this version, with deleted parts, new parts, and things which have been improved further to make building even more enjoyable. 
 
I now have a few days of acquainting myself with the original reference build pics before I can start this, probably this coming weekend. 









 
 
Cannon are in black resin and nigh on ready to use. They look really nice, and the cannon balls are in black plastic, so no painting. Boat beam brackets are in very strong resin, and there is a sheet of laser-cut acetate for the stern/quarter windows. The stern fascia is cast in resin and also looks seriously nice. The figurehead is beautifully detailed and 3D printed. Stern lanterns will be from PE and resin. 

 
The colours on this will be very similar to the Duchess of Kingston, but with red inner bulwarks. Whilst my build will be strictly 'out of box', the scope for extra detailing the cabin at the stern, will be more than a temptation for some, with that engraved, chequered floor and engraved doors to the quarter galleries.
 
As there will undoubtedly be questions I can't answer, feel free to use this log to also ask Chris questions that are specific to this release. I'm sure he'll chime in with any extra contents details I missed here. 
 
Wish me luck ☘️
 

I haven't neglected the hulc, folks. Here are the steps in the making of the Skuldelev-like mast-step/keelson using a piece of local hardwood from the park. The pattern in the wood is easy on the eyes.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers
Dick

Plugging along on the rigging:
 
Lots of rigging going in, it's hard to describe what's happening. Almost everything seems to be going by the book and plans with a few exceptions. I'm almost through page 17 of the plans which I believe is the next to last rigging plan when you're not adding sails. I had to add something to counteract the pull of the mainmast stays on the mizzen and bonadventure yards. There was just no way to get any tension to pull all the threads somewhat straight so I added backstays on those yards. I believe I've seen at least one other log where that was done.
 
I've been using a jig which is just a flat piece of scrap with some different size dowels glued to it to make rope coils and falls and that's working out pretty well. I just coil the thread around the dowel and then use some 50% white glue/50% water solution to wet it down and then when dry just slowly work the coil up and off the dowel. Then I'll use some CA glue on the bottom if it needs a little holding together and trim and glue in place on the ship.
 
Rigging is both easier and harder than I expected. Understanding what I need to do and getting thread and blocks in place is easier than I expected, helped immensely by the quality of the instructions. Tying ropes off is where it's extremely challenging. Getting the thread over and around pins and getting the correct twists in is something I'm having to learn. I'm trying different techniques but I suspect that no one technique will work in every situation and sometimes it's just a matter of getting lucky and pulling it in place as quickly as possible. 
 
Looking forward to getting the last bits of rigging done and then putting on the finishing touches.
 
 

A bit of an update and later a question…
 
I completed lining the gun ports without lids as per the instructions. The 10mm strips left plenty of overhang to allow for trimming and sanding back and they are now painted to the same red as the internal walls. I have used a mix of Humbrol red 60 and brown 70 which was recommended in the Victory kit of HMS Fly and was left over from my build.
 

After sanding and repainting the inner walls, I realised that I had not considered the sweep ports. These are not mentioned in the instructions until much later and then are only addressed by sticking on bits of 4x4 to the outside of the hull. I wanted a better representation since they might just be visible from the inside. There are 5 of these along each side. From the photo below you can see how many attempts I made at measuring. AotS shows 3mm ports but I went with the kit sizing at 4mm which were difficult enough to make.
 

 
I lined the first couple of ports with 1mm thick walnut strip but this was tricky to get right and looked too thick, so I stripped them out and used 0.5mm which looks in better proportion. These too were sanded back and the inner walls touched up again.

Now the question. Why leave lining the lidded ports until after the second planking is completed?
I can see that the lids should fit flush with the hull on the outside, which means leaving the second planking short around the ports by 1mm each side. However, the lids provided in the kit fit inside the 16x14 ports, so after covering with the second planking, they will have a 1mm lip of thin planking all round.
Last October I went down to Chichester for a few days of bird watching and to look around Victory and Warrior. As can be seen in the photo, the whole of gun port lid on Victory fits inside the gun port and there is no lip.

I'm planning to line the lidded gunports now allowing for the thickness of the lid. They could then be finished and painted without risk of paint bleeding onto the second planking. The second planking should then run up to the edge of the gunports.
Maybe this is all a statement of the obvious and I am overthinking it but I would be interested in any comments.
 
David

Thanks for all the likes and comments.  
 
Last couple of days have been in the 70's F (20°C) (rare watm weather) so spend time cleaning up the flower beds and edible garden. 
 
Finished the tiller and whipstaff. I will install this when I am ready to put the back deck in. I built it in a way that once installed it actually works. 

 
 
The nosy cat, Boomer at 18 years. 

 
 
Gratings have been glued together and need a good sanding. Also made the mast holders (don't know the name) and the railings with the reiling pillars. 

 
 
Cut out all the different types of bits and started shaping them. 

 
 
Did some more Sculpey work. These two faces/heads need to be identical, but they are not. Will need to adjust this or leave it as is. 

 
Marcus 

While I was investigating malfuntioning, I found that I missed key factor to run ropewalk. Tension must be tight to get a firm result. I planned to add tension control system to the right direction only, but it had to be bidirectional strong tensions...
 

 
At first, I tried to reinforce the wood bolt R-clip with washer, but it didn't help because the bobbins need delicate tension control. They should have not tight and not loose tension.
 

 
Probably the best tension control device is this. However, I can't add it to Domanoffs' because it needs extra space. Domanoff's bolts save spaces and relatively simple.
 
I decided to use another bolts to get tension for now and postponed additional (huge) modification till next months.
 

 
Looks like I finally read Domanoff's manual correctly. I'm running it at 0.5 Drive speed which is very slow and quiet. (The threads are Amann Serafil 300(200/2), 10 Tex, poly 100%.)

rigging rat lines

 

Added some uprights to support  a crossbeam for belaying points.
 
     
 
Capstan complete
 

 
and dry fitted, along with the three-sheave knight (funny, why does that phrase make me think . . . Momma told me not to come?)
 

 
Steven

Some more work on the hatches, coamings and grates. I have not glued or applied finish to any of them yet as I’m still adjusting but things are coming together. I did not get a chance to do much with gratings, the weather finally cleared up and heading out to ride my trike as well as doing some repotting of my bonsai trees took precedence. The ones in place now will all be replaced at some point in the near future though as I’m not happy with either set. 


 
I am also starting to look at how I will create the ladders. For spacing purpose, I built one of the kit supplied ones, but they have the same badly pre-cut parts as the gratings and do not make good looking ladders. So those will be custom built as well. Need to make a new template though. I seem to have lost my old one... 
 
My other distraction arrived last week as well; the Syren Rope Rocket. I got it assembled and have begun learning to use it. Will post results once I have something to show. I have never made rope before, for any reason, and am looking forward to learning a new skill. 

 

I've stained the hull below the waterline, using a mix of black and dark tan boot polish. Worked quite well.
 

 
This is how it was before - just too light in colour:
 

 
and finished the breechings on the cannons - a bit of a problem with glue spread everywhere - I'll have to remove the surplus.
 

 
And working on the knight and the capstan for the main halyard. The capstan needs the rest of the cleats put on it before it's complete. It's based on the one from the Lomellina wreck of 1516 - nearest we have to the right time and place. I have an e-book which purports to show the Mary Rose capstan, but as far as I'm aware it was never recovered, so the e-book one must be based on speculation, so it's no more reliable than my own.
 

 
And here's the knight dry fitted. I won't glue it in place until after I've threaded the lanyards through it. Otherwise I'm just making my life difficult.
 
      
 
 
Steven

Theodosius,
 
Yes, the transom needs to be bent around something with a smaller radius to get the required curve, as you did on the 2nd go.
 
PROBLEM: I realy managed to put it slightly out of its needed place. Perhapw 1/10 of an mm
I wouldn't think 0.1mm is an issue at all.
 

The rudder hole is a little off centre but I don't think that is too much of a worry. You can slightly sand it out to make it more central. Main thing is to make sure that the other items in that area (rudder etc) can pass through the hole OK. Once the ship is finished no one will notice a slight imperfection.
 
Just to be clear, I'm no expert myself...still a noobie 😉 ....and I make loads of mistakes as I work my way through a build. Part of ship building 'fun' is solving the puzzles of how to correct my mistakes so that no one can tell they happened.
 
One way of judging the effect of a mistake is to read further through the manual to see what happens in the area of the mistake ...it may be that another part is fitted over the mistake so no worries, or the other part can be sanded to compensate.
 
Richard
 

Hi all sorry I haven't posted for a while but life and stuff has got in the way.  I have been slowly working away on the FD . I have finished the hull and have now put some details on the stern galleries and the sides.  As I'm no good at carving I have used modelling clay to make the scary faces and strange fishy things and to make her look old and battered I have put some barnacles and clamy things on the sides. I need to find away of putting some smaller barnacles on the lower hull. 
Thanks for looking. 
Martyn 

Dear colleagues and friends,
 
Thank you all very much for your comments, kind words and support. It means a lot to me and I am pleased that you like the Royal Katherine model in my rendition.
It was a really great challenge when I decided four years ago whether to go for it or not, but despite many difficulties during the building, I do not regret this decision. At the same time, I fulfilled another modeling dream, which I was able to share with you and almost to the end with my husband George. The realisation of this project brought me not only the joy of the hobby itself, but also learning and possibility of expanding the knowledge horizons about real ships, their construction and history.
My main intention was to strive for the most realistic model reconstruction of the real appearance of the Royal Katherine and to point out the various shortcomings and inaccuracies that we often encounter in documents and plans of sailboat models. In addition, I tried to create my model without the use of special tools and from the most available materials as an example of the fact that even a very modest background is not an obstacle to creating a nice and quality model, which makes this hobby available to almost everyone.
 
None of us can know what the future will bring, but I definitely do not want to give up my hobbies and when I find enthusiasm for a new and interesting project again, I will share it with you. 
 

 
Kind regards and all the best, 

Doris

Not much new progress to report. I did get the stringers installed inside the bulwark. I soaked them in hot water then formed them around the edge of a small saucepan to get the bend near the bow in place. I still had a bit of difficulty getting them to stay tight into the corner between the deck and the bulwark and I really didn't have a good clamping solution, so I used some temporary pins to hold everything in place (filling the holes with glue and sawdust after they were removed).
 
Unfortunately, I am dealing with a bit of health issue right now, so I will not be posting for a bit (I have high confidence that I will be back later this spring though!).
 

 

 

Hi Mates,
Finishing up some needed details to main deck before installing. Also got my order from Cornwall so finished up the upper side railings as well.
Thanks for the likes - much appreciated indeed.
 

Dear all,
I am back at the workbench with my Hawker Seafury. In the last post, I finished applying the primer to the model. In preparation of the Navy livery, I wanted to give some pre-shadow texture to the surfaces that will be painted with Sky color. At the same time, having selected a display airplane, the effect should be rather subtile. I decided to go with a red brown which has a value lower than black and, being kind of complementary to the greenish Sky color, should result in a shadowy effect, in theory. Let's see what it will be in practice. After the pre-shadowing, I added also some white random mottling. After that, I wet sadanded everything getting an extremely smooth surface and some additional variation of the colors.
 

 
I ended with applying the Tamiya panel line along the panel junctions. The engine cowling and the spinner got instead a layer of yellow and they were also wet sanded in preparation for the orange.
 
This is how the sides of the fuselage look now;
 

 

 
The portions on the side that are covered by tape are the areas of the steel shrouds in the vicinity of the exhausts. The model is now ready to receive the Sky paint on its undersurfaces and on the sides. Mind that, being the subject airplane supposedly well maintained, most of the texture should almost disappear. I am curious to see the final result.
 
That is all for now,
Best regards,
Dan.
 
 
 
 

Evening all,   starting to get some wet stuff layed down now  - used my normal Tamiya surface primer  in rattle can,  normal procedure  - weather has settled down so I was able to go into the back patio and with door closed  - I sprayed the hull and turret, I then left them outside most of the day while I did some aicraft spotting/photography.
I brought them in this eve  - gave them a look over  - not too bad just needed a slight wet and dry in small areas  just to take a few dust specks off.
 
The main sections are now ready for thier first layer of Nato Green, again by rattle can.
 
OC.

Finally an update. Have been working on this project slowly, interspersed with with bits of boat building. I now have White Tail's fuselage completed to the same stage as Spanish Nationalist. Remind me not to build any more airplanes with W engines -- three cylinder head covers per plane got kind of tedious. 😬