Glenn-UK

I decided to build the two hand pumps today. The process described below applies to both hand pump assemblies. I cut a 89mm length of 4mm dowel and checked it would pass through the locating holes on the two decks. Two small holes were then drilled in the dowel for the hand pump handle, one in the top of the dowel and one on the side. I found it necessary to run a micro drill through the locating holes on the hand pump handle and side brackets so the brass pins would pass through. A touch of ca gel was applied to one side of the hand pump handle and the first side bracket was positioned and press in place, using the brass pins to ensure it was correctly aligned. A touch of ca gel was then applied to the other side of the hand pump handle and the other side bracket could be added. A small amount of ca gel was added to the shaft of the two brass pins and they were then fully inserted. The excess brass pin material was removed using my straight edge (cuticle) side cutters. The hand pump assembly was then painted black along with the hand pump end cap. A small amount of ca gel was added to the top of the dowel and the hand pump end cap was then attached. A small amount of ga gel was applied to the edge of the hand pump assembly (the edge which makes contact with the dowel) and it was then fitted in place. Photo of the two completed hand pumps dry fitted to the hull assembly I removed the various eyebolts and rings for the gun ports and deck. The parts were thoroughly cleaned in acetone and soapy water before being blackened. This photo shows the iron work ready to be cleaned. The two Forward Gun Deck Cabin Bulkhead parts were glued together using titebond and clamped. The process was repeated for the two Forward Gun Deck Screen Bulkhead and the two Aft Gun Deck Cabin bulkheads. The side edges of the Forward and Aft Gun Deck Cabin Bulkheads both required a little bit of trimming before they would fit. The photo below shows the bulkheads loosely dry fitted. They need to be removed so the hinges, door knobs, window panes and frames can be added. I also need to add the check the fit with the deck beams. The window frames have been been cleaned and had primer added. I have not yet decided on the final colour but may opt for white as per the other window frames. I also started to fit the eyebolts and rings Hopefully I can complete the work on the cabin bulkheads and ironwork over the next day or two. Given I have already prebuilt the majority of the deck items I think I can make some good progress over the next few days which is good news as I have just received notification that the V2 Sphinx kit is expected to be delivered on Tuesday by UPS.

@Jasseji I really like rigging the ratlines😁as I find tying hundreds of glove hitch knots quite therapeutic. Thankfully I have already pre built quite a lot of the deck furniture so hopefully it will not be too time consuming. Also the V2 sphinx kit is due to be shipped in the next few days.

Please remember this is a prototype build and I will be building another Sphinx kit to a much higher standard🤞 Moving on from the "laserchargate" debacle I have now completed adding the deadeye & chainplate assembly to the left-hand side (port). Yes the knees still have laser char and yes I have not painted the brass pins black. IT DOES NOT MATTER to me as this model is a prototype build. Before fitting the deadeyes to the strops I did run a micro drill through the deadeyes to slightly enlarge the holes to aid the rigging process. Next the strops were opened using my round nose pliers and once the deadeye was aligned in the strop (with two holes at the top) they were tighten around the deadeye. As each strop and deadeye assembly was completed I inserted into a channel slot, in accordance with the plan sheet. Once all the strops/ deadeye were in the channels the upper and middle chainplate links were added. Using a suitably sized micro drill bit holes were drilled for the brass pins for the middle chainplate links. !!!!!Laser Char Alert!!!!!! The chainplate preventer links for 5mm deadeyes /strop assembly were added at this stage as the brass pins were inserted into the hull to secure the links in place. I chose not to use any glue but I will use CA gel on the brass pins when I repeat this process on the next build to keep the brass pins in place. Please note I did shorten the brass pins by cutting the ends off before they were inserted. Yes I know the right hand middle link in the photo below is the wrong way round (Or it is the right way round and the other three are the wrong way round). All done I can now start work on adding the various parts to the inner hull, which is something I am looking forward to, although the first task of adding the various eyebolts and rings to the cabin floor and bulwarks will be a tad tedious.

They look great, maybe I'll get one after I complete the Sphinx😀

I used Liquid gold mixed with isopropyl which was the same as recommended and used by James

@DelF I am a ukA qualified coach. I have run marathons, half marathons, 10 miles, 10k and 5k races. I did track and field for the first time this summer. These days I'm more focused on parkruns and 10k's. I picked up too many injuries for the longer distances which is why I've stopped doing them for now.

I know I am not the best builder but I'm always striving to improve and I'm always trying to build better models. I generally remove laser char from visible edges as I have detailed in plenty of my build log posts. With the next Sphinx build I will be removing the char from the channel knees despite them being partly hidden by the rigging. I would dread to think what would have happened for example if I tried to remove the char from the top edges of the very fragile Sphinx rails with my ham-fisted hands, but it something I can reconsidered. I know I need to take more time and care, but for some reason this is something I find hard to do. I can refer back to several work appraisals over my 36 year working life which all said "needs to take more care to eliminate silly mistakes". I can only conclude that despite my best efforts and intentions making silly mistake is simply part of who I am. I also have a very competitive nature, as a runner these days and as a squash player in my younger days playing in the biggest league in Europe. This may explain my need to race on at times with the build when I know I need to slow down and take more time. I have the basic modelling skills and I am slowly getting better and learning more skills with each new build. As an avid supporter of Vanguard Models (I have bought 5 kits so far) I fully accept that this build log should also be used as a showcase for Vanguard Models as these are the best kits on the market in my opinion so it is not a good idea to show or highlight or show build errors. Rant Over

We all build for different reasons, yes I can build better models if I was so inclined to do so, but it is not in my DNA. My skills are improving with each build which does please me. It is a hobby I enjoy and is just that for me a hobby that helps fill in the day and keeps my mind active. I am not building models for display purposes and they not normally seen by visitors to our home as they are not displayed in prominent positions around the house. I did not find @Chuck comment supportive as it appeared to me to belittle the efforts of the different Sphinx builds and not something I would expect from the Admin team. Yes point out if something is not fitted correctly by all means, but please not imply that I'm a bad model builder.

Well said, I could not agree more. I build for my own enjoyment and keeps my mind active in my twilight years😃

Better to take your time to get it right. My new Sphinx kit is due to arrive sometime next week and I have also ordered some Sphinx spares so I can try out a few different ideas with the build process without worrying about damaging the main kit. I will continue on with the first build as I want to get to the stage where all the decks and associated fittings have been added. I plan to go ultra slow and cautious with the new build.

Work progressing slowing on adding the deadeye and chain assemblies to the hull as my time is limited in the shipyard due to grandparent duties. The actual fitting task is not too bad and has been very well designed. Right-hand mizzen channel assembly Additional deadeye assembly aft of right-hand mizzen channel has now been added Right-hand side main mast - the 2 x 3mm channel assembly 2 x 3mm deadeye assemblies for right-hand foremast channel. There is also second channel comprising 5mm and 3mm deadeye assemblies. Work started on right-hand main mast channel adding the first 4 x 5mm deadeye assemblies. This channel also has 2 x 3mm deadeye assemblies which have been fitted and are ready to be pinned in place.

A brilliant review and an amazing build. I agree it is an excellent kit, and set the bar very high. I have enjoyed all my Vanguard builds and look forward to more great kits.

HULL WORK CHAIN PLATES BUILD MANUAL STEPS 325 - 330 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Craft knife Blackening solution Acetone CA Gel Round nose pliers Brass pins Assembly Process I added the hinges to the bow gun and stern fascia ports. The PE parts were cleaned in acetone and soapy water before they were blackened. I applied a small amount of GA gel to stern fascia and moved each hinge into the required position. I then repeated this process for the bow gun ports. The gun port lid eyebolts were then glued in position with a touch of ca gel. The final task was to add a small length of 0.1 natural thread. One end was passed through the upper hole and held in position with a touch of ca gel. The other end was then threaded through the eyebolt and tied off. A small amount of ca gel was added to the knot before the excess thread was cut away. The stern fascia, the next build will be much better. The bow gun ports, the left hand hinge is not quite straight as the ga gel took hold before I had finished aligning it. Next up was to add the various deadeye and chain plate assemblies. I removed the various PE parts and gave them a good clean in acetone and soapy water. I prefer to keep them as groups for the clean and blackening process. This picture shows some of the PE parts in a acetone solution. The cleaned parts were then blackened. I counted 30 x 5mm deadeye assemblies and 24 x 3mm deadeye assemblies will be required in total so it will some time to complete the assembly task. The PE parts are ready to be installed. Starting with the mizzen right-hand side channel the first deadeye was added. The PE was opened up so the deadeye could be added and then closed back down to hold the deadeye in place The two chain plate parts were then attached and secured to the hull using a shortened brass pin. I might readjust the pin position as I think the chain plate assembly needs to be a tad tighter. The brass pin will need a touch of black paint.

You are doing a great job. I made such a mess of this aspect of the build that recovery was not an option for me.

Nice neat work. Difficult to be certain from your last photo, but it would be an idea to check the gallery and stern fascia rail alignments. It looks to me that there could be an issue with the bottom rails with the quarter gallery rail sitting higher than the stern fascia bottom rail. I think it would have been better to fit the upper counter pattern to the stern fascia and fill the gap below it.

Or do what I did and buy a new kit and start over again. 🤣

This is how to set them

Ron It looks like your stern fascia is set low to me.

The key is to get the stern fascia correctly positioned and then the two counter patterns can be positioned.

Yes it is far too low. Please take a look at BE's build log also which shows perfectly how the fascia and two counter patterns should be positioned.

No you would only copper from waterline toward keel

HULL WORK HULL DECORATIONS BUILD MANUAL STEPS 319 - 322 LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX Tools Used Craft knife Klear polish CA Gel Titebond Assembly Process I have completed the assembly of all 20 cannons. It has been a nice little side project with no problems completing this task I have also assembled and fitted the side steps, 8 steps per side required. It was a bit fiddly assembling the side steps, but once I found the right method it was a not too bad. Some steps will require painting, top one blue and lower three black. I have also added all the hull decorations. I started this task but brushing a acetone solution over the PE sheet followed by a soapy water clean. Next I sprayed the sheet with a white primer. The hull decorations were then painted gold. Using the plan sheet as a guide the various friezes were added. I started with the Klear polish method but found it better to also apply a touch of ca gel to the ends of each frieze. When fitting the friezes I noted how important it is to ensure the rails have been correctly positioned. I ended up having to remove and repositioned some of the lower rails. This picture shows the quarter gallery, I'm so glad I have another kit on order so I can make a much better job of it next time around. This picture shows just how bad a job I made of the quarter galleries and stern fascia I had completed many of the deck fitting as side projects so I thought now would be a good time to dry fit them to the deck The binnacle and upper deck capstan are included in this picture My Sphinx build does not look quite so bad when view from distance.🤣

Hopefully it can be repaired.

Looks like you've done a great job, well done.

With apologies to @chris watton for how I have managed to turn his beautiful design of the quarter galleries and stern fascia section of the Sphinx in to a right dogs dinner. I would also like to apologise to @James H for not been being able to execute his very informative build manual instructions with the top quality pictures. Also sorry to @glbarlow for not correcting the mistakes in my prototype build. I think the pictures attached to this post make a nice horror show precursor to Halloween. 🤣. When I have received the new Sphinx kit I promise to make a much better job😀 Any news on the expected release date Chris for the next batch? With regards to the stern fascia area I have fitted all the rails, the resin moulding and all the PE parts. With all the parts fitted it really does highlight just how badly misaligned my build is in this area. I cannot stress enough just how important it is to ensure the two counter patterns and stern fascia patterns are correctly positioned as instructed. Take a look at Blue Ensign's build log in this respect which is a great method to follow. When painting the resin casting I used the same gold paint as James, diluted with a couple of drops of isotropic alcohol and a very fine paint brush. As soon as I put the paint on the resin it flowed beautifully over the raised resin sections and was looking very good until I noticed the paint had continued to flow and spread on to the flat blue surface. In future I will let the paint start to set before painting so it not quite so runny when it being applied. Here is a couple of pictures of how the stern fascia looks on my build. The misaligned parts are very clear to see. It is not a pretty sight and I am deeply embarrassed with how it looks. As can been seen on the next photo the quarter gallery is also a bit of a mess, noting I have not fitted the PE parts yet. As you will no doubt note the quarter gallery rails do not align with the stern fascial rails as they should. Another example of my shoddy workmanship.