Aussie048

Thanks Thomas. The cannon barrels are painted with what little I have left of my Pollyscale engine black (no longer available).
 
I've now completed another section of the quarterdeck framing. Before doing that, however, I had to do a chart of rigging sizes so that I could attach the main lower yard sheets to the bulwark cleats that would be inaccessible under the deck framing. The rope sizes were determined by using the tables and formulas set forth in Lees. Rather than using a spreadsheet, I chose to mark the sizes directly on copies of the sequential rigging drawings from the Essex AOTS. I then made a table to convert these sizes to correspond to the rigging line sizes available from Chuck. 
 
I then used the appropriate line size to do the sheets and ran them through the bulwark sheaves and attached them to the cleats. When this was done, I glued down the aft portion of the deck framing, which previously  had been left sitting loose. After that, I built two further deck sections off the model, installed them, added hanging knees to them and then filled in the open portions with lodging knees, ledges and carlings. The whole assembly was given an application of Wipe-on Poly.
 
The final portion of the quarterdeck framing will be done in conjunction with work on the pumps and mainmast bitts, which will be the next items of work.
 
Bob

Just a nice picture made during our modellers meeting last april.
 

Hello everybody,
 
after the last time the vertical ropes and chains on the bowsprit were my turn, now I concern on
the horizontal parts. 
To better cope with the delicate parts I, as can be seen on the first image, clamped the boom in my 
Universal holder and all ropes fastened there for now. All horizontal leashes run in any case of this boom.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Regards, Joachim

Well, after a bit of a pause here is an update.
 
The first layer of planking except for the transom is done!!!!
 
I have lots of tidying up to do, plank under the transom, cut and add the bow blocks. Then loads of sanding to smooth everything down before trying to plank it properly next time!!!
 

 

 

 

 
 

A new version of the Amati Prince will be released one day...
 

 
 
Just need Amati to cut my new designs.....

Here's my AL Cutaway Bounty..  about a year in the making.... 
 
It's not small...and building the interior was lots of fun....I used the kits supplied parts plus some scale furniture from a doll house store for the Blyhe's dining room
 
 

As I am very busy with work there is little time for modeling but I did finish the flags and will work on it some more later on today. The flags fall nicely but I think the colors are too bright. I checked numerous paintings and pictures of replicas and on the replicas they are pretty bright as well.
 
So what do other members think?
 
Marc

All the guns in place,(well,on one side at least!),and a few more bits and pieces done.Starting to look like the Victory now!
Also test fitting for the first section of the bowsprit. Everything still seems to be a good fit,just a pity that the quality of some of the wood used in this kit isn't very good. Still,you get what you pay for!!
Anybody got any ideas on colouring rigging thread? I've heard that soaking it in strong tea gives a good colour,or should I buy some proper dye?

Finished the counter and started the filler blocks.

I finished the small sculptures for the rudder. I used the BB lion as except his head looking straight up is pretty good. I reshaped the legs and removed the long tail to get that rather cute teddybear shape as can be seen on the 1:10 model. BB didn't include the mascaron with his tounge out and I really wanted that character on the ship so I carved him out of pear wood.
 
FIrst the one on the 1:10 at the museum:
 

 
And here are mine:
 

 

 

 

 
 
It was first after finishing them it occured to me that I just made the last planned sculptures for this model. It's a mixed feeling as I really enjoy the sculptures. The stern is also finished now.
 
 
/Matti

Hello everyone and thanks for visiting and your like votes, it's much appreciated. It looks like everybody got caught up    
 
Continued with the gantry today and making progress.  Looks like I'm concentrating on the aft gantry, I just like to see how it looks on the boat all finished.  The torpedo will have to wait till the forward one is finished.
All these little parts are rather time consuming and challenging.  So far, things seem to be working out okay and I'm happy with the results.  I hope that the forward one goes as easy.
 
Here are a few pics to show the progress I made today, even having to take a few hours away from the shipyard to pick up my wife after se dropping off her car at the dealer in Ormond for its six month check.  She is a stickler when it comes to "her" car's upkeep, which is a good thing    And - - - she's driving back up to Pittsburgh, PA next month to help the grandson move his stuff out of the dorm for summer recess. 
 

This shows how I rigged a "Rube Goldberg" clamping arrangement to solder one of the swivel brackets for the come-along to the gantry post.  A 0.8 mm brass rod is used to keep it in line with the boom attaching bracket.
 

This pic shows both brackets soldered to the post.  I placed the swivel unit next to it to show where it'll be pinned to. 
 

This shows the gantry post with the come-along swivel unit installed.  The top cable attaching bracket is next.  It was a little tricky having to solder it so close to the top bracket but it worked out okay, see next pic 
 

While I was soldering the top bracket I thought, why not also solder the crossbeam to the post.  Then I figured, why not complete the gantry.   So, I soldered everything together on the boat.  Checking, double checking for square to the deck and holding it steady with a wooden clothe pin.  Wonders above wonders it actually came out rather well.  I'm happy    
 

Here is one shot with the gantry stuck to the deck.  The boom is laying on the deck ready to be attached as soon as I have it's bracket made and installed.
 

This is another shot of the gentry and we can see all the hardware on the post.
 

This is a shot toward to front.  Looks square to me.  The foreshortening of the lens makes the gentry look large but when seeing it on de boat it looks okay scale wise.
 
Cheers, 

Additions of Stantions, Pillars, Riding Bits and Guard Rails. Fitting of stern Stem and Stem Gallant Rails. Lovely challenge

Progress to September 2013. Many interruptions.... like relocating to a new workroom and having to set out all the workspace and build benches! On the road again, thankfully!
 

Slow progress over the months - This post covers aperiod of six months. July to Dec 2012

Commenced build in July 2012
 

HMS TERROR’S SCREW PROPELLER
 
Having completed the Royal Navy’s last great journey of exploration under sail power, HMS Terror’s next commission was destined to be the first major voyage of discovery to use auxiliary screw propulsion.  
 
The 1845 stern plans show that Oliver Lang chose a two-bladed Smith type propeller for the voyage (Battersby and Carney 2011:204). This choice makes perfect sense; in January of 1845 the Admiralty had just concluded extensive tests of screw propellers on HMS Rattler, finally settling on a two-bladed design by Smith (Carlton 2012:6; see also Bourne 1855:136).The propeller was likely made of gunmetal, similar to those used in subsequent Franklin search vessels (Dickens 1850:8) and other Royal Navy ships of the era. According to Lang’s plans, the screw was ca. 6 feet 11 inches in diameter (from tip to tip). HMS Erebus and Terror also carried a spare four-bladed propeller of the Woodcroft type (Battersby and Carney 2011:204). Roughly the same diameter as the Smith propeller, its shape and size would have necessitated that it be unshipped over the side of the vessel rather than through the propeller well.
 

Plans for HMS Terror's Propeller. The filling chocks used when the propeller
was unshipped are on the right. 
 
Following others (Battersby and Carney 2011:204), I originally believed that the propeller was set in a frame that would sit flush inside the fore and aft rails/grooves in the propeller well (the rail system will be described in my next post). This was a prudent assumption, as a frame-mounted propeller was standard in screw-assisted vessels of the Royal Navy in the latter half of the 19th century. The frame was an important feature because it was used to raise and lower the propeller along the rails in the well, while providing stability while it was in use.
 
However, despite their common use in the era, I was puzzled by the fact that no frame is visible in the 1845 stern plan. I recently purchased high resolution scans of the plan, which permitted me to read Lang’s thorough annotations.  Needless to say, the last annotation in the list, labeled “P”, describes the reason that Lang didn’t include a frame in the plan:
 
“P: Propeller in place with a hole in the end of the fan to take it up by and to lower it down in place when required.“
 
The annotation exposes the highly expedient and experimental nature of the design, which represented a great simplification of the complex propeller lifting system used for the Rattler (view it here). While very rare, the hole-in-blade lifting system was subsequently employed on the RRS Discovery by Robert Falcon Scott during his 1901 Antarctic Expedition (pictures of the hole in the blade can be found here and here). In fact, the RRS Discovery appears to have borrowed many design elements from the Erebus and Terror, a testament to the advanced and efficient nature of their systems.  
 
Because Lang’s plans don’t show precisely how the propeller articulated with the rails in the well (the rails on the plan obscure those details), I was forced to speculate that the propeller included two retaining ferrules which would both seat the propeller and guide it as it was raised and lowered into position along the rails. In modeling this, I took inspiration from the ferrules used in contemporary Admiralty models and the RSS Discovery, though I admit they are highly generalized and speculative.
 
References:
Battersby, William, and Carney, Peter
2011       Equipping HM Ships Erebus and Terror, 1845. International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology 81(2):192-211.
 
Bourne, John
1855       A Treatise on the Screw Propeller with Various Suggestions for Improvement. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London.
 
Carlton, John
2012       Marine Propellers and Propulsion. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
 
Dickens, Charles
1850       A Visit to the Arctic Discovery Ships. Household Words: A Weekly Journal 1:8.
 
 

Propeller blades cut from brass strip stock.
 

A guide for bending the blades to the proper angle.
 

Bending the blade by hand. 
 

Checking the angle. 
 

Blades after bending.
 

Rough filed to shape, with posts for attachment to the hub.
 

The hub is made from brass tube stock. 
 

Parts prior to assembly. 
 

The finished propeller, including the hole in the blade. The blades were silver -soldered to the hub,
then the entire piece was sanded with 400 grit sandpaper and buffed with superfine steel wool. 
 

Compared to the plans. 
 

Assessing the profile shape. 
 

Comparing the prop to the model of HMS Rattler in the NMM. 
 

Checking fit in the well. 
 

Marking brass stock to fabricate the ferrules. 
 

Ferrules roughed out. 
 

Prior to final assembly. The ferrules are glued in place with metal epoxy,
rather than soldered.
 

The finished part - yes, it spins!

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 58 – Limber channels
 
 
Historical note: Young America, like most of her contemporaries, employed piston-type suction pumps to remove bilge water.  The reciprocating pump pistons were driven by muscle power applied to large circular crank wheels on the main deck.  Unlike the earlier chain-type pump that could only reach into a shallow sump cut into the floor timbers in the well, the suction pump could suck out water through a relatively small diameter pipe.  This pipe could extend all the way down between the floor frames to the inner face of the outboard bottom planking – in this case the garboard strake - right next to the keel.  The ability of the suction pipe to reach to the very bottom of the floor frames eliminated the need to pack the spaces between these frames – as was traditionally done to prevent stagnant water between frames and to inhibit rot in the lower timbers.  Without this packing, air could circulate between the lower timbers.  Lowering the suction point could also help keep the hold less wet.
 
Provision still had to be made to permit water to flow to the pump suction.  This was done by creating limber channels through the outboard faces of the floors.  Each frame was notched to allow water to flow to midship.  These channels were about 4” x 6” in cross section – located a few inches outside of the keel on both sides.  These channels were often – perhaps normally – fitted with chains that could be used to break blockages.  Debris could be cleared from above between frames by removing the limber boards next to the keelson.  At the ends of the ship, triangular openings under the feet of the half-frames provided passages for water into the ends of the limber channels.
 
I debated whether to include these limber channels on the model.  They will be difficult to see.  Cutting them also runs a risk of damaging the lower frames.  To be consistent with the other levels of included detail, I decide to do it.
 
In the first picture, the sides of the channels are being marked out using a compass with an extended lead, guided by the side of the point against the keel.
 

 
I imagine that in practice these notches were sawed out before the frames were assembled.  I elected to do it at this stage to help assure that the notches would run in straight lines.  The next picture shows the sides of the channels being sawed out using a veneer saw.
 

 
The veneer saw has straight (unset) teeth in a curved blade.  This turned out to be an ideal tool for this.  It is relatively easy to cut a straight line.  A small (1/32”) chisel was then used to clear the material between saw cuts.  Some different files were then used to clean up the channel.  A straight,  knife-edged file is being used in the next picture to shape the inside corners.
 

 
The next picture shows the aft end of the channel on the port side.
 

 
The channels end at the last full frames.  In this picture the half-frames aft of the channel have squared off ends that form the triangular channel mentioned above.  The next picture shows most of the channel on the port side.
 

 
The channels were formed on both sides of the keel.  I had intended to next finish the lower hull up to the lower futtock heads, but because more bolts will be needed later for the lower deck hanging knees I decided to finish only the full frames up to the floor heads at this stage.
 
This area was given a final sanding and some polishing with Scotchbrite. The bolts in this area were then blackened with liver of sulfur as shown in the next pictures.
 

 
I included this picture to give some idea of the LOS batch size and concentration.  The next picture shows some bolt heads being blackened with a brush that is only damp with solution.
 

 
Less is better.  The bolt heads turn black almost instantly from the damp brush. 
 
In the last picture wax-turpentine solution has been applied up the floor heads on one side. 
 

 
Virtually all of this first coat was absorbed into the wood. There will be more coats later.  Now back to installing bolts above the floor heads - and making deck beams.
 
Ed

Hello,
 
with this update, the bowsprit part is finished. All the nets were missing up to now. 
Due to the fact, that every net has to be fixed or removed without touching the rigg, all the nets are devided into 
different parts and bind together. So, all nets are going to the stays, ropes or chaines.
All nets are comprised by ropes and these ropes are bind to the standing rigging.
 
The outermost nets are split in the middle, so the stays can be lead through.
The net close to the ship is somewhat more complex, between the different parts of the net then comes the holder of the bowsprit, ropes and chains. 
Above the large net is another one, slightly narrower, two-part net is attached.
 
 
Now some pictures...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Bye Joachim
 

Hello,
 
late in the evening an update of the Amerigo Vespucci. Now the first part of the chains and ropes of the bowsprit are ready. I used 6 different sizes of ropes, which all are made by myself, it is not possible to bye these different sizes. Each rope is fixed with thimbles and at one side of each rope and chain is always a clamping screw (within a casing). I build 4 different sizes of clamping screws, the biggest ones are wraped round with white textile.
 
All stays are only fixed on a temporary mast until the final one is ready. Now some pictures....
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Now, there are missing the two horizontal booms with all their ropes.
 
 
So far, Joachim
 

Hello everybody,
now some small parts in-between. Actually I am producing lots of small parts for the bowsprit, some blocks, some hundreds of rings and thimbles, lots of tensioner (each rope is fixed with a tensioner at one side), some chains, and other things. Of course lot of parts had to be soldered and painted, ...
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Now the rest of the parts have to be mounted, some parts have to be copied, they have been too few, ropes have to be produced, .... and afterwards all the chains and ropes have to be mounted.
 
So long, Joachim

Working on the transom. Found an eagle on E-Bay..better than Constructo's. Still some work to be done to clean it up. False cannons are all glued in. Some deck trim glued in.

While I'm pondering my next steps, I'm mounting the cannons so I can construct and mount the gunport covers. If I put the covers on before the cannon, my fat fingers won't let me insert the cannons into the holes I'd drilled way back in November. I've also glued on the starboard bow ornament. The wooden wedges will be removed when the glue dries.
 
A comment about Constructo: They give you a nice kit, but the drawings and instructions are extremely lacking in many areas. I have to figure out an awful lot on my own. When I built my first kit, the instructions were much better.

Port gallery windows went in fairly well. I need to work some more on the starboard windows and the aft windows have to be done over. The adornments for the entry are in.

Thanks very much Brian, Frank, Janos, Patrick, Grant, Nils, Mark, Pat, Steve, John (welcome back), Spyglass, Dale and Albert .
 
Good to see you have your Acetone problem sorted Spyglass - thanks for giving him the info Grant, I've been away on one of my extended holidays again .
 
Roughtree Rail
 
The final Rail to be fitted is the Roughtree Rail, also called the Quarter Rail. This rail is bolted to the Swivel Gun Mounts on the Quarterdeck, and also has an iron brace near it's fore end.
 
I made the fore end from a piece of wide stock, cut on the scroll saw. A much easier way than trying to bend it into shape :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

Behold... The outdoor modelling studio!