Glenn-UK

19 minutes ago, barkeater said:

Thanks for posting the pictures. I'm a little further from Portsmouth. 😁

Richard

Hello Richard. The Trincomalee is located in Hartlepool and I live in Scarborough which is only 70 miles away. Portsmouth is the other of the country about 300 miles. My wife and I will plan to take a short holiday later this year as there are few places we would like to visit.

Following on from my earlier post I have now attempted to replicate another Trincomalee block. This time the block I am replicating is a very simple one, as shown in the following photo.

The next photo is my replicated effort. I have detailed all the steps I followed to achieve this in this post.

I started with holding a 5mm single block in my quad hands and I then wrapped a length 0.5mm black thread around the block.

For the seizing I used black Semperfli Spyder 18/0 Black Fly Tying Thread. I started with half hitch which is positioned on the underside.

I then placed another half hitch, but this time it was place on the upper side, as can be seen in the next photo.

I then repeated this process until I added 15 half hitches on the bottom and 15 half hitches on the top.

Next seizing is pushed right up to the block and the short free end is trimmed.

I then continued to add more top and bottom half-hitch knots (20 in total on top and 20 on the bottom). A touch of ca gel is applied to the seizing and the excess thread is trimmed. I have ordered some Floo Gloo which is fly tying cement which I am going to try.

To complete the process I added a small length of black thread through the block hole and then held it in position with the quads hands for the final photo which is reasonable copy of the Trincomalee block.

1 hour ago, AJohnson said:

Looks like you had a great day Glenn, very envious, its been years since I last was up there.  

Hello Andrew

It only a 70 mile drive from where I live so I should go more often as it was a few years ago since my last visit. I found it very informative. I would like to go back to Portsmouth to look around HMS Victory.

I visited The National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool to have a look around HMS Trincomalee which is a Royal Navy Leda Class sailing frigate built shortly before the end of the Napoleonic wars. It is well worth a visit.

Part of the reason for the visit was to look at the rigging to see if I could improve my methods in readiness for my next project which will be the HMS Indefatigable. I am fully aware that the Indy is a different class of ship to the Trincomalee. Also the Trincomalee, being a museum exhibit, has undergone a lot of restoration work. .

I took plenty of photo's of various aspects of the rigging (and belaying) and it quickly became apparent that there were plenty of things I could do which would yield better results. With that in mind, and knowing it will be a couple of weeks before the Indy kit is released, I thought I would experiment to see what I could do better. When looking at the following photo I noted that the rope used to seize around the block had been served. I also noted that just have much more the rope was seized compared with what I would normally do.

I decided that using a served rope around a block was not something I was going to replicate. I did however try extend the amount of thread seized  and I also ensured the seizing extended past the cut ends of the thread. In the two pictures below I used 0.25mm natural thread which was seized using unwaxed Semperfli Spyder thread. I used grey spyder thread at one end and black spyder thread at the other. I think the grey looks better with the natural thread. I am going to order and try some differ spyder thread colours as there is a nice looking brown spyder thread which I think will be a mch better option. In the following two photos the seizing consisted of alternate half hitch knots 16 on the bottom and 16 on the top. I probably could have added a few more to extend the seizing even further which is something I will experiment with over the next couple of weeks.

I have also attached some more photos of blocks which I will try to replicate over the next few days.

In the next photo the bottom block required a thimble adding to the bottom of the block.

In this photo the bottom block is secured to the hull via an eyebolt arrangement,

A stunning build, well done

20 minutes ago, Gus Martinez said:

@glennard2523 

We will be there to follow the evolution of HMS Indefatigable, of course.

I'm still starting, catching up with my Croos section  San Francisco, more than anything else to learn, and learn for my mistakes, but I hope in a short time to acquire the Zulu 'Lady Isabella' or the Fifie 'Lady Eleanor', I think they will be ideal to get me started in something more advanced, and this thread teaches many things for it.

The fishing boats from Vanguard Models are a great starting point.

6 minutes ago, Gus Martinez said:

Hi Glenn....

 

I really like this ship, it's beautiful, as you explain its evolution in such a detailed way, I think it's a great thread to see how to make a nice model and learn

thanks for sharing.
I following this thread, of course

Many thanks Gus. I have enjoyed building the 3 small fishing boats, makes a nice break from the more complex builds.

Next up for me will be HMS Indefatigable (Indy) which is due to be released in a couple of weeks. I think this will be a 2 to 3 year labour of love.

18 minutes ago, chris watton said:

I would be careful if using HMS Trincomalee as she looks today as a reference for Indy detail, Trincomalee is shown as she was in a much later period than Indy, being a very late build Leda Class.

Noted, I have been there a couple of times before and it is a great place to visit. I was not planning as using Trincomalee as a reference for Indy but there are certain aspects which will be of great interest.

31 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Manual was completed today (about an hour ago, actually, at the time of writing this), and box art will be complete tomorrow, at which point, all files are sent to printers, so I should have all manual, plans and box labels with me by the end of next week, with orders being shipped week commencing 27th Feb.

 

All pre ordered kits have a personalised optional name plate included, with the purchasers name.

Great news. I have downloaded the on-line manual and will studying the content so I can plan the build.

I have a trip to visit the HMS Trincomalee tomorrow (14th Feb) at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Hartlepool. I will be taking plenty of photos which I hope will help me with the Indy build.

8 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Well done to Jim, a very long project, and he's done a fine job.

 

Tomorrow I shall complete the build manual and box label art, and sent to printers as soon as complete. 

 

This has been a very long haul!

Well done to both @James H and @chris watton for an impressive design and build. It is one amazing looking kit and I am really looking forward to the challenge of building the Indy.

One amazing build. I'm looking forward to the kit release. I have already made 18 pages in build notes complete with hyperlinks to the relevant posts in this build log.

Great looking model

4 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Nice job, Glenn!

Thank you Chris

6 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Well done Glenn! 

Wow one month to build Nisha!  Bet Chris is happier with customers of your build rate than mine, he'd be as poor as the proverbial "Church Mouse" otherwise! 🐭

Many thanks. I now have a very nice collection of completed Vanguard Model kits. I would think the Indy build will  take me 2 to 3 years to complete so my spend rate with be in recession.

025 - Completed Build

I have completed the build, the final task, after belaying the gaff rigging was to build the display stand.

This has been a interesting build and took me 1 month to build. I have been able to improve on some of my model making skills in readiness for my next project which will be the HMS Indefatigable (Indy) which is has been pre-ordered and the kit is due for release later this month or early March.

Another excellent design by @chris watton and I would highly recommended all of the kits available from Vanguard Models.

9 minutes ago, Srenner said:

Have you got your belaying plan clear ? On my jolie brise  the running rigging for the gaff needed to be threaded through the same side as the belaying point and through the shrouds.

The belaying is very simple. They are belayed to cleats fitted on the main mast as can be seen on the attached photo.

024 - Gaff Part 1

It did not take very long to taper a length of 3mm dowel for the gaff, using my proxxon mini lathe. I then added the 10 off cleats and the gaff jaws.

A small hole was drilled in the gaff so the 4mm double block seized to an eyebolt could be inserted for the gaff lift rigging. With the gaff held in my quad hands I then added the two off 3mm single blocks required for the peak halyard rigging.

The blocks were secured to the gaff using clove hitch knots.

The lift 4mm double block.

Using a small length of 0.25mm natural thread through the jaws the gaff was tied to the main mast. The main gaff lift rigging between the two 4mm double blocks was then added.

Finally the rigging for the peak halyards were added.

The various gaff rigging is now installed and the 2 off free ends for the lift and peak halyards are ready to belayed. However I am still undecided how to present the gaff. The normal position for an gaff without the sails would be just above the boom, as shown on the rigging plan sheets. I am more inclined to raise the gaff and rig in the same position as if the sails were fitted as I think this will look better when the completed model is on display. The picture below is sort of a halfway house option, which I am not keen on. I will continue to ponder this overnight before belaying the gaff rigging.

023 - Boom

This is a short post as there is not much to detail with regards to fitting the boom

A length of 3mm dowel was tapered down to 2mm using my proxxon mini lathe. The double block was secured to the end using a clove hitch knot. It was then a simple to add the rigging between the double blocks.

A length of thread was then secured to the end of the boom and fed, via a block on the main mast, to a double block arrangement for belaying.

The next task will be to taper a length of 3mm dowel for the gaff.

022 - Main Topmast Shrouds

With the main mast shroud and ratline work completed I placed the main mast stay thread in position, but it has not been belayed.

Next I fitted the main top mast.

It was a relatively simple task to add the main topmast shrouds. The threads were seized to the PE part fitted to the top of the topmast using my quad hands.

With the top mast threads in place a thimble was seized to the shroud free ends and the lanyards were rigged between the thimbles.

The completed shrouds.

021 - Ratlines

I have now completed the task of adding the ratlines to the main mast shrouds. There was a ratline template provided on the shroud rigging plan sheet which I copied on to a piece of card. With the template in place the ratlines were added. I started by adding every 5th ratline as indicated by the "0" on the following photo. Next I added the central "1" ratlines and then completed the process by adding the "2" ratlines.

The ratlines are aligned with the template guide lines, although they do not appear to be do so in the photo below.

The completed ratlines are not my best work but I am happy to move on to adding the main mast stay, bowsprit and main top mast.

020 - Start of Shroud Rigging

With the deadeyes added to the chain plates I then started to add the shrouds. To set the distance between the shroud and chain plate deadeyes I used my jig as can be seen in the following photo's.

With the right-hand side completed the lanyards were then added. The right-hand side deadeyes look reasonably level. I have also checked the various shroud seizing positions so they look level when the lower ratlines are added. I will not trim the excess shroud material or belay the lanyards until I have added the deadeyes to the left-hand side shrouds and they have all be properly tensioned.

019 - Seizing the  Blocks

In preparation for the rigging phase I have now seized all the blocks. This was a bit of tedious task but I have found that it makes the rigging process much easier and quicker to complete.

With reference to the plan sheets I started by making a detailed list of the different blocks, noting the thread that will pass through the block holes. I did check that the required thread would pass through the block holes, as it is easier to run a micro drill through at this stage if required. Although I do have a good supply of pear blocks I have opted to use the kit supplied blocks for this build.

All the blocks were wrapped with 0.25mm black thread and the seizing applied was black fly tying thread. I used the same method(s) that I have detailed in my previous build logs, which is to use a series of top and bottom half hitch knots when adding the seizing, with 6 knots of the bottom and 6 knots on the top.

With reference to the photo below I have also added the 0.25mm natural thread to the top 3mm single block and a thimble. The natural thread, when rigged, will pass through a block on the main mast before being belayed to the end of the boom. When seizing the bottom 3mm single block I did add the hook during the seizing process.

The next photo shows a 4mm double block seized with an eyebolt ready for installation on the gaff.

The top mast shrouds will be linked between 2 x 2.5mm thimbles. I have seized the thimbles to the chain plates in the photo below.

The next photo shows two 3mm single block which are ready to be added to the gaff. I normally use a clove hitch to secure these blocks to the gaff.

The next photo shows the various blocks required to be added to the main mast. With the exception of the 4mm double block they have all be seized to their respective PE parts. I have seized a length of 0.1mm natural thread to the thimble on the end of the 4mm double block.

In the final photo I have shown the two 4mm double blocks that will be required for the boom. The top 4mm double block will be secured to the boom using a clove hitch knot.

9 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Rapid progress Glenn, I think I will feel the "whoosh" 💨 of another "Nisha" build lapping me again soon! 😆

 

Wish I hand blackened and not painted my P.E. parts, don't know why I did really as I have blackened P.E. before.

Many thanks. I have painted and blackened before. Generally I prefer to blacken. Tomorrow I will start seizing the various blocks which is a tedious task.

018 - Masts and Bowsprit Manufacture - Part 1

Today I have shaped the main mast, top mainmast and bowsprit. To do this I used my Proxxon mini lathe.

The main mast manufacture was fairly straight forward, comprising a length of 5mm dowel with the top end slimmed down to 4mm. The main topmast was a length of 3mm dowel which is tapered  to 1.5mm at the top end. The main mast and main topmast PE parts were regularly test fitted as the excess dowel material was removed.

The main and main topmast were dry fitted for some photo's. The PE parts will need to be cleaned and blackened before they are fitted.

The bowsprit was manufactured from a length of 4mm dowel which required a taper and 0.8mm hole. The un-blackened PE part was dry fitted in the attached photo's

017 - Deck Items Fitting Completed

I have been back in the shipyard today after two days away from home looking after one our grandkids.

All the deck items have now been fitted and I am now ready to start manufacturing the masts, boom, gaff and bowsprit. I really like the build when I reach this stage as it is the completion of a major milestone. Unlike the Saucy Jack and Erycina builds I have decided not to add the sails to Nisha. I have attached a selection of photo's showing the current build status.