Bill Hime
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
This will be the last update for a few days: the frames have now all been bent in. I'll be back in a week or so. Thank you all for following and liking this log.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
The footwaling is now complete, after making a false start. I initially tried cutting and bevelling each board to length in situ. The result, as you can see, was not pretty. Having thought things through, I then made a card template which was used to actually attach the boards to. When complete, I channelled out the card so that the boards would sit at the correct height on the keelson, then glued the assembly in. This gave a much improved result.
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Bill Hime reacted to michael mott in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
5/8th at 1:48 scale =.013" Fine work indeed sir!
michael
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Time for a progress photo. It shows a 'stand-in' footwaling piece positioned so that the first pre-painted board is correctly placed. The pre-painted strips, 10" wide and ⅝" thick are also shown in this photo.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
So, back to work. I cut strips of footwaling to scale size, then cut a trial piece. This is exactly 4' 0" long, whether by design or coincidence I'm not sure. The actual footwaling will be painted a subdued maroon color, rather than the bright red of ships' bulwarks. There is evidence of this in paintings as well as on the state barge of Charles II, although this boat is obviously earlier and has been heavily restored.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Again, thank you for the kind compliments. 'Precision' is merely taking sufficient time and care, plus accurate marking out. These come from experience; you know, the 10,000 hour thing.
The aft platform has been made, painted and installed. The next challenge is covering the compound curved surface above this platform up to the height of the topside.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thanks for everyone's continued interest.
More pattern making is required to define the shape of the aft deck. I've modified the design of Prince Frederick's barge to suit this vessel. On this deck, furthest aft, will be a raised area for the steersman, but that cannot be defined yet. The aft deck with its scuttle needs to be made and installed first, as well as a thin panelled lining on the inner sides of the bulwarks.
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Bill Hime reacted to Siggi52 in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
There is another barge at the NMM where you could see this board that supported the footwaling.
Regards,
Siggi
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Time for a small update. The cabin floor was made in the same way as that for the forward section of the footwaling. In this case the wood was left 'bright' and the joints slightly enhanced using pencil lead. The finish was dilute sanding sealer. The footwaling aft of the cabin will be installed at a higher level, with a small scuttle for access. Some pattern-making will first be required, though.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Again, my appreciation for the complimentary remarks you have posted on this model.
The footboards for the rowers are more complicated than one might think. They are moveable - for long and short-legged crew - and have battens that hold them in place. For six thwarts there are a total of 48 battens to be cut and fitted. There are no two pairs alike. No wonder this detail is omitted from nearly every model!
If you look carefully, you will see a rejected batten showing the joints that need to be cut at each end. It will be a while until all six sets are completed....
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Further news from the shipyard. First the side strakes of footwaling were installed (there is probably a proper term for them, but I don't know what it is). They required a twist through almost 90 degrees along their length, achieved by steaming.
Next were the risings. I misspelled the name as 'risers' earlier - sorry. The risings were cut after a card pattern established their shape and the pair were made while rubber cemented together, ensuring symmetry. The height of each below the gunwale was marked out at various points along the hull and the risings glued in. Note that paint was scraped off where the thwarts will attach.
Next will be the footboards for the rowing crew.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
The inner bulwark sheathing proved interesting. It took several pattern pieces to figure out the developed shapes of the planks. The first photo shows one plank being wet-bent into position. The card pattern for this is in the foreground, as well as patterns for the steersman's bench.
The second photo shows both inner sides complete and the vertical portion of the steersman's bench in position. The top of this has been made and painted. The same strategy as for the other horizontal surfaces was used to build it. The paint is in the process of drying and I'll install the top tomorrow.
There are several possible items I could now tackle, but I think that the risers (horizontal planks that support the ends of the thwarts) should be next.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Well, a start has been made on the inner sheathing of the bulwark. The compound curves involved make this an interesting exercise!
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thanks again for your encouragement, folks.
All the thwarts are now in, along with their longitudinal pieces. Once I figured out my strategy, this was easier to accomplish than I thought. After marking out and cutting recesses in the thwart, a small tongue was glued underneath. This prevents the longitudinal strip from falling through and allows it to sit flush to the thwart. The recesses are carefully marked and cut using a scalpel. The longitudinal is cut to length and the corners bevelled to 45 degrees using a fine sanding stick. I found that using a chisel here was difficult, as I could not cut the corners consistently.
Next are the two small platforms or decks forward of the first thwart. That will complete internal work at the fore end of the model.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Turned some pillars for under the thwarts freehand with files. As there are only five to make, it was not worth the effort to make a contour pattern. The pillars will be almost invisible in the finished model anyway! The stock was 2" square.
Started cutting and fitting thwarts. The ensign staff step was also added under the wider thwart before the area became inaccessible. The thwart itself has now been drilled for the staff and installed (third photo).
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thank you for your positive comments and encouragement, everyone.
Test made the joint required for the thwarts. A little tricky, but not impossible. The critical thing will be to have all the longitudinal pieces line up nicely!
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Well, the 48 batten pieces have been cut, shaped and installed, along with the six footboards.
Next will be the thwarts. They should be a simple job, but are complicated by the fact that the edges are moulded and need to be mitred to the longitudinal strip running down the mid-line of the boat. Also, six turned supporting pillars are needed to support the thwarts. Stay tuned.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thanks again, folks.
Now for a change of pace. To complete the outside of the hull, the rudder needs to be made and hung. To avoid damage, the base had to be made now. I decided on a nice burl veneer for this purpose - except that I had none on hand. Drawing on my experience of faux finishing, I painted the burl on ply using the three colors shown. The outer edges will be trimmed using brown stained and polished wood (at top). All these elements can be seen in the photo.
Assembly will be done tomorrow.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Bensid: Yes, that is a Boley watchmaker's/jeweler's lathe that I use. This particular model has a collet-bearing tailstock, which is a big advantage.
The standard scale that I build models at is the classic 1:48. Open boats look quite small at this scale!
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Another minor update:
The underwater hull has been refined and the gudgeons added. The lower gudgeon is conventional, but the upper one on the transom is a small eyebolt. This was often the case with open boats. I looked at photographs of extant ceremonial barges and noticed that the transoms were invariably painted. It was an awkward job to do at this stage of the build, but I was successful using a 00 sable brush.
The mounting of the model now needed to be considered. I decided to make a simple pair of pedestals in clear acrylic. These were turned, then polished. I was filing the keel slot in the second of these when one side cracked off. I had to repeat the set-up to produce a duplicate piece. Grrr!
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Well, you'll all have to wait a bit yet.
The forward deck/platforms are made and fitted. The same card template strategy was used as for the footwaling and aft platforms. There are a few more details on the thwarts to take care of: iron strap standards that attach them to the side. Then there are small corner benches to make and fit just forward of the coach (cabin).
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thank you, Hakån. I now intend to use a toned rather than pure black. The latter would look too intense at this scale.
This morning I performed surgery successfully on the planking and frames in the coach section. The end patterns for the coach have also been cut and fitted. Elastic bands hold the model to the pedestals temporarily.
There was some hesitation on my part as to the completeness of the draught. The side windows showed no indication of panes. Were they open spaces? In the 1830's modern sheet glass techniques had not yet been invented. Only spun glass was available for glazing, limiting pane size. The height of these openings was 19". Most panes during this time period were only about 15" high at most. I finally found a reference to spun glass panes that said the maximum dimension of these was about 23". Therefore I have the confidence to install single, large panes along the sides of the coach. Of course, these would have been expensive, showing off the Commissioners' importance and rank.
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Once again, thank you for checking in and for your positive comments.
Progress today was slow. The tholes took more time than expected due to chipping as I parted them off the stock. I suppose about 40 were made, to finally end up with 24 useable ones. So it goes sometimes!
It is finally time to consider the coach. I realized that the panelled sides need to be inset, or they would overlap the sheer strake and gunwale considerably. This means cutting down the uppermost strake aft. The is a job for tomorrow when I'm fresh! I gave the aftermost part of this strake a preparatory coat of blue paint, but I'm having second thoughts and may change this to black. The draught indicates a dark color here, but no more.
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Bill Hime reacted to michael mott in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
I'm just lost for words.......Where are those knitting needles..... I must find them.
Lovely Druxey.
Michael
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Bill Hime reacted to druxey in Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale
Thanks again, folks. No further finish on the surface of the base is necessary, Tom.
The latest progress has been slow. Making and installing the gunwale was tricky. It is a scale 2½" wide by ¾" deep. That translates to about 3/64" by 1/64" full size. I cut this to shape from sheet Castello and carefully rounded the outer edge with fine sandpaper. The gunwale was carefully glued to the upper edge of the sheer strake and frame tops.
At the bow, where the fore deck is flush to the upper side of the gunwale, revision was needed. I sanded off the paint and applied a very narrow strip of Castello over the sheer strake to match the rest of the gunwale. As masking off the top accurately would be almost impossible, I scribed the line dividing the painted area and re-painted the deck.
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