robdurant

A full complement of molds... These will need to be shaped on top as well, as the first planks laid are the rubbing strip. It's a fascinating exercise going through these four different craft one by one and seeing the subtly different shapes of the hulls.

Hi all, Another little update on the boats. I've used CAD to create templates for the profiles of the ship's boats at each cross-section. These are then printed, laminated, and cut out. They can then be used to check the shape of the plug at each frame. So far I've done the moulds for 71.1 and 71.2. I'm pleased with how these are going so far. I've also taken delivery of the 0.5x2mm walnut strip for planking them. First the positions are marked on the plug Then the biggest template (#8) is used to reduce the length of the plug to that dimension... The other templates are numbered from bow to stern, and can now be used to reduce the plug smoothly down to those stations... Et voila! For a first and second attempt, I'm really pleased. 71.3 and 71.4 to shape, and then we'll be thinking about how to stop the boat sticking onto the plug as I plank it. I also want to replace the keel parts in the kit as they're plywood, and completely the wrong colour. If I can, I'd like these boats to end up as natural walnut. Time will tell whether I do a nice enough job of it. More soon Rob

Hi Stugio... You could try looking here: I've put a video on there that describes (and shows) why these things often happen. If you use Windows, then you can get round the issue using the free application I've programmed. If you're using Mac or a phone, then you'll need to find something that does the same thing: it hard-codes the orientation of the photo instead of using a "meta-tag" hidden inside the image file, which your gallery app on your phone will read, but the web browser on your phone won't. It's frustrating, but it can be worked around. Simply turning the photos on your phone updates the meta-data, but doesn't rewrite the photo (for good reason! it takes a lot less processing power), but that doesn't fix it for your internet browser, as you've discovered. If any of what I've said doesn't make sense, do ask. I'll do my best to explain more clearly.

Hi all, I've made up the lifebelts for the stern-end of the fore deckhouse. These are laser cut "donuts" of 3mm walnut that I shaped by temporarily gluing them on to styrene tube which I could then use in a drill to turn them and file them into shape. Once shaped on the outside, they were taken off the tube and shaped on the inside. They were then sprayed with white primer, then masked with thin strips of tamiya masking tape. The mounting frame was made of black card, and glued straight onto the lifebelt... The whole assembly was then superglued onto the deckhouse. Here it is compared to the original mockup... Next I moved on to start the ship's boats... It seems to me that you need to make these at this point because the boats stands should be fitted to the deckhouse roof and need to be shaped to the boats before fitting. The boats are made over balsa moulds... Here are all the components provided... The first task is to cut the mould balsa out of the sheet provided. The outline is lasercut, so that's nice and simple. I've made scans of the plans to stick on the top of the mould so I have a good idea of where the bulkheads ought to sit, and have cut the moulds to overall height. All in all a productive few days. Reading the instructions it suggests that 0.5x2mm and 0.5x3mm walnut strip should be cut from 0.5x4mm walnut in order to plank the boats... I was fairly convinced that that way lay madness, so I've ordered a quantity of both 10x0.5mm and 2x0.5mm walnut from Cornwall Model Boats to give me both planking strips that are nice and flexible (and hopefully compliant!), and some wider strip for curved planks or the frames that go in the boats, which are also to be cut out specifically (and sadly not provided as laser cut components). I'll update you as I go. Rob

I don't think a minimum of 180C should be a problem... When I'm bending ribs for a violin, I can use the same heat setting (~250C) without water, and the wood won't bend, it'll just burn the wood within a few second, and if forced it will snap. BUT if I use the same temperature, but first run a wet finger along the wood I want to bend before I apply the heat on the side where it will be contacting the bending iron, the steam does the work, and as long as I only keep it in contact for perhaps ten seconds, then hold the wood in shape as I remove it and it cools, the bend takes, and there are no marks left on the wood (and the wood is pretty much dry because of the heat, so no waiting to use it... It's a skill that you get a feel for, for sure, but higher temperatures and some moisture yield quite amazing results... Obviously you need to use your common sense and be careful with water around electrical equipment, but I wouldn't recommend trying to bend wood without at least a little moisture present. The advice I try to follow is that you'll know it's hot enough (at least for maple) when dropping a small drop of water onto the heating surface causes it to bounce straight back off rather than sit there and sizzle.

A little more progress. I've been working on the companionway... I had mentioned I think, previously, that I thought this was going underneath the foredeck... it doesn't. That's a completely different companionway, shaped like the quarter of a circle. This companionway goes just in front of the aft deckhouse, and having realised that (thankfully before I got too far along) the plans were redrawn in cad with the angles updated to achieve vertical front and back, and construction began in earnest using the same materials as the deckhouses (styrene for the main box, and wood for the roof). Here's the plan... (Download it as a PDF here: CompanionWay.20220329.pdf) The line running through the middle is the bottom extent of the former, so that it won't strike the king plank. If you want to have the doors to the companionway open, as I did, you will need to trim out the centre of the former as required. And the structure itself... (notice that the first photo is of the structure before I realised my mistake, so the sides are at far too steep an angle (because the deck at the bow is much steeper than at the correct point aft). The following photos are of the correct version as above. As always the plans are fixed to the styrene using pritt-stick... this gives just enough sticking power to keep the paper in place as it's cut out, but simply pulls off and any excess can easily be removed with a damp cloth. The styrene structure complete and in place over the deck, where the cutout was prepared. The aim is to give the impression of the drop-away that someone would climb down into through the companionway. I may make a dummy ladder top to sit in here, too. Progress on the roof - which was made the same way as the others... Then it was on to the hatch. In the kit this is supplied as a 4mm solid block. It looked a little heavy and monolithic to me, so I made a replacement out of walnut 1.5x4mm planks, and used 1x1.5mm strip round the bottom to make space for the runners (which were also 1x1.5mm strip). Here are the two parts for comparison... With the runners... And in place... I've begun to line the inside of the companionway... The doors are already cut out, and will be open eventually. And a final really bad photo of the part in situ on deck... (dry-fitted) I'll try and get a better photo later today There's no paint on the structure yet, and it'll need some tidying up, but I'm happy with how it's come out. You can see where I'm going to have to remove some markings from the deck, where I accidentally marked out the extent of the roof, not the structure itself. Thankfully it's only pencil. Rob

Thank you Rob. Yes, I think leaving the deck houses loose until as later as possible sounds very sensible. I'm trying not to glue down anything I don't really need to at this stage, as I feel my way through the build.

Hi all, More progress on the deck furniture. I made up the second ladder for the aft deckhouse, and the ladders that lead to the raised deck at the bow. And I've made up the stove chimney for the galley using styrene tube (the kit calls for 5mm dowel, but I couldn't see how I would get a nice even bore through the dowel that looked to scale) - I also used 4mm dowel as it's a little more dainty and looked better to my eye. The hole was made in the deckhouse roof as per the plans, and here's the chimney dry-fitted. Thing is - now I'm tempted to put the stove in the deckhouse! Not least because there's a door opposite! Hmm... door open? door shut? And what would the stove have looked like? All thoughts welcome! Finally, I've started making up the companionway that sits beneath the raised deck at the bow. In the kit it has a flat roof, but I wanted to add in a curved roof from side to side, and also make sure the fore and aft walls were perpendicular to the waterline. It will have curved corners like the deck houses. The line running through the parts is the level that the bottom of the internal former will sit at to be horizontal to the waterline and to clear the king plank running along the deck. The lines running vertically on 3.5mm either side of the corners are the lines I need to cut to so that there's room for the corner mouldings, which are 3.5mm quarter round styrene. You can see on the left, I've already put a support underneath that line on the port wall of the companionway - this will make gluing the whole thing together much easier, and although the styrene is only 0.5mm, it should be a good strong structure. As I look at the model now, I'm beginning to realise how much more restricted a lot of the rigging points will be compared to a Napoleonic frigate, for example... They're all tucked away below bulkheads and between deckhouse and hull side, etc... In addition, once the companionway is in place I'll lose pretty much all access to the space in front of it beneath the fore deck. Plenty of thought will be needed to ensure I don't paint myself into a corner. (Not least because I neglected to follow the instructions and have already glued the fore deck down!) Anyway - it's going okay so far. Happy building, all! Rob

Oh yes, and I forgot to show the CAD drawing I did, so here it is as a jpeg... ... and attached as a PDF, which is the right scale in case anyone wants to follow along. Do note, though, that the rungs should be 11mm long for the aft deckhouse of Stefano. Ladders.pdf

I've been looking at the ladders that go on deck today... I've found a couple of pictures of ladders on Cutty Sark, which are providing some input alongside the kit plans. This photo is © Copyright Christine Matthews and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. In fact, I found a very similar photo taken in the same place that had a person standing in it, which helped with the scale. I drew up a plan for the ladders based on this, and taking into account the perspective effect. It worked out to have a rung height of about 25 centimetres. Then I went back to the Barque Stefano plans, and cross-checked the dimensions... there would be less rungs necessary for he ladders at the back of the aft deckhouse, but the angle was good, and the dimensions close to those on the plans. The difference was in the thickness of the materials suggested. I decided to create two jigs. The first would allow me to cut rhomboid shapes which would go above and below the rungs and hold the rungs at the correct angle (6 degrees from horizontal) and spacing. These would be stuck to solid outer sections to create each side of the ladder. The second jig allowed me to cut the rungs to size consistently. These jigs were quickly made out of styrene. The whole structure has been made out of 4x0.4mm walnut strip. The jig for cutting rhomboids... The rhomboids cut... Constructing the sides of the ladder... A strip of the rung material was placed between the rhomboids until they were fixed in position to ensure the gap was right. And the sides completed... (but left overlength at the top and bottom... Rungs glued onto one side... And the finished structure... Finally, a shot of the ladder (still untrimmed at the top) dry-fitted in place. The aft edge of the deck house roof will be trimmed back to allow the ladder to attach firmly. I like that the rungs look so light. Often on kits, I feel they look a bit oversize. Right - that's it for this update. Happy building to you all, and thanks as always for the likes! Rob

Hi, Your Constitution is looking really great! Styrene does discolour if it's left on sunlight without some sort of protection, such as paint... I have some sheets that were left out near a window that gets plenty of sun (I live in England, so nothing too ferocious) over the period of a summer, and it ends up looking like this... The fade is because one side end was nearer the window, so got more sun. To the right is another part of the same styrene sheet that didn't get any sun, and it's on top of normal white paper to give a colour comparison. I believe it's to do with chemicals leaching out, so some styrene is more susceptible than others, but others would doubtless be able to give a more detailed explanation. Definitely worth painting it, though.

Aah - yes, that windows app won't help you much on an Apple - On my mac, I use an automator file... It's a batch script that allows me to select the files I want to resize, and then copies them, resizes the copies, and changes the file name as it does it to reflect the new image size. Automator comes with Apple OS X, so no cost involved... The screenshot below shows the batch file open in Automator... Once you save it, all you have to do is click the .app file, and select the pictures you want to resize. If you'd like a copy of this application, let me know, and I'll send you a copy. Rob

Hi everyone, Not so much an update today as a few photos that might be of interest. I was re-making the dust cover for Ethalion, and thought I'd grab the opportunity to take some pictures of HMS Ethalion (the Caldercraft HMS Diana kit, bashed a bit), and the Barque Stefano to date... I find it fascinating to see the differences and similarities between the two... I've got a busy few weeks coming up, so there may be a bit of a pause before I'm able to give any more updates. Fear not, though. I'm keen to continue with Stefano asap Rob

Thanks for your kind words. Glad you're finding the picture resizer application helpful You're very welcome.

I've made the binnacle. I used the RB models binnacle for inspiration - It's really good, but made for 1:50 - too big for Stefano. Instead, I used it to work out the dimensions of a binnacle at 1:63 - it works out 23mm high - 1.4 metres at scale. I turned the main structure from 10mm lime dowel, then added a paper trim round the centre of the compass housing, a styrene viewing window and painted it. A 1.5mm rod was left on the bottom to provide a stronger joint with the model. I also glazed the skylight with transparent plastic, and used a couple of plastic battens to ensure it wouldn't fall into the model. A walnut trim was added to the inside of the skylight, and another walnut strip to the partition in the deck house where it was visible through the skylight. No pictures of that right now, but I'll try and add some later. Happy building! Rob

Hi Phil, She's coming along great. At that scale, those curves in the hull create a real challenge, but you're making good work of it! You're not the first person to find this a challenge. Take a look at this thread on... It's a free windows application I programmed to help get rid of those problems (which are caused by information inside the image file that your camera or phone sets when you take the picture, but web browsers don't pay attention to). All the best with your build. Rob

Thanks Rob.

Hi all, I've had a lovely day today cracking on with Barque Stefano, and it's time for an update (in amongst being dad's taxi ). I've been continuing to work on the deck furniture, and among that are the skylight and companionway. The kit suggests these are built on balsa blocks, but I've never much liked that mode of construction, and the aft superstructure had gone so well, I was contemplating making the skylight the same way, with the 3.5mm radius corners, but when I started to draw it up in QCAD, I realised the corners were going to be well oversize for the skylight and could look a bit silly - especially when the angled top was put on with its squared off corners. Instead, I used styrene to construct the main housing of the skylight. Measurements were taken off the plans, and I made the sides to maintain the angled front and back, as per the main superstructure (which sits on the fore-and-aft angled deck. This angle turns out at approximately 3 degrees. Once constructed the skylight was placed on sandpaper that was placed on the cabin deck to sand in the curve in the deck so it could sit flush. Unlike the structures that sit on the centreline of the main deck, there is no raised king plank here, so it's an easier task. Once the size was finalised, I could mark the cut-out on the superstructure deck and drill a hole for access, then and cut it out with a coping saw (I tried chain-drilling it, but it was very heavy going, as the plywood false deck makes for a very substantial structure. I scored through the planking where I was planning to cut to avoid the planking lifting as I went. And a picture of the structure in place with the skylight hole cut. Now attention turned to the panels that form the lights on the top of the skylight. I wanted to end up with something like the effect seen on Cutty Sark as posted by Nenad here (thank you for the inspiration!): The kit shows a few upright bars, but I wanted lots of horizontal bars that were much lighter in diameter. So I made a walnut frame, and then a styrene frame to sit on top of it to simulate the metal guard. I still feel it's a little heavier than I would have liked, but it's heading in the right direction. Here they are being primed... And once the skylight itself was painted, they're put together. There are still some details to be added yet to add glazing from the inside, and to tidy up the inner edge of the superstructure deck. And here it is sat in place (but not glued on yet), showing a hint of the patterned deck below... Next up is the companionway. Thanks as always for the likes. Rob

Hi all, Thanks for the likes! I've been blessed with a few evenings to work on Stefano over the past few days, so I have a little to report. With the foredeck filling up, I decided to paint the bitts matt black instead of leaving them walnut. They'll complement the anchors nicely that way. I've also put together the anchor stands with their metal parts that clamp over the anchor to stop it moving round in heavy weather. The suggestion in the kit is that the metal strap over the anchor is made from copper strip. I reverted to a tried and tested technique and used 2mm wide strips of black card. These were detailed with eyelets glued onto brass pins and cut short to represent the hinges. It's not perfect for detail, but at 1:63 it gives that suggestion of detail that approximates what's going on. I used masking tape to stop the anchor bar (proper name?) from flopping around while this was being done. The bar gets tied down with rope, and I've done this on one of the anchors - a very fiddly procedure!, but I don't have a picture yet. I'll put up a picture once they're all done. It was then that I got distracted again. I started thinking about the figurehead. The kit provides a block of wood and encourages the modeller to carve the figurehead. Thankfully, I had a figurehead left over from my HMS Ethalion based on the HMS Diana kit by Caldercraft. In that build, I scratch built a figurehead from a greek figure and a dolphin's tail... The Diana figurehead was the perfect size for Stefano with a couple of modifications: 1. The decoration where she sits on the bulkhead was cut off. 2. The tails of her dress needed to be bent outwards along with her legs to accommodate the stem and bow of the vessel. These figureheads can be purchased separately from Cornwall Model Boats, I believe. I was worried she'd get a bit cold in the Atlantic breeze, so I added a little modesty and gave her a dress that covered both shoulders, and filled in the gap where she would have sat on the Frigate's beakhead all using Fine white Milliput. Once done, the suggestion is that the whole figurehead be painted in gold, but I used a mix of Vallejo brass (which is a little toned down compared to their gold) and "Ivory" for her skin, again to tone it down a little. A pen was used for the eyes, as it's easier to control than a paintbrush! Here are some pictures of progress... As she was at the beginning of the process... Starting to add the dress... Adding dress details... And beginning to paint her... And once she was painted she was added to the bow... Overall, I feel she's a great improvement over anything I could have carved from scratch, and since she was sat in a parts box doing nothing it's a win-win situation! I'm really pleased with the way the ivory and brass colours work together, and from a distance she really makes Stefano look smart! I'm also pleased that, much like the figurehead on the plans, she has one arm outstretched. Thanks for looking in! Rob

Right. Time to behave and get back to the build in order. The next step was the "remaining elements of the foredeck". Firstly, item 30 - the bitts. There are six of these, each comprising two vertical posts which are shaped from 4mm walnut dowel (I struggled to get a nice round section, so ended up using some 5mm dowel instead), and a plate made from a 15mm length of 1.5x5mm walnut strip. Using the Proxxon DB250 lathe, I was able to turn these uprights reasonable consistently. Unlike the columns on the aft cabin these will not be in a line next to each other so if they vary a little it's not such a big deal. Here's a picture of the foredeck so far, with the bitts placed roughly in position. Nothing on the foredeck is glued down yet. I've also put together the belaying pin rack (49) which can be seen at the bow. Again, I replaced the belaying pins with thinner ones. And a picture of the stern area with the bitts roughly placed in position... And finally an overview of the whole vessel so far... (I'm waiting for some 8mm dowel to make the mizzen mast). Next up in the instructions is detailing the anchor davits and working on the vertical windlass. Happy building! Rob

Hi Don, It's looking great! That's a lovely neat line you've got where the starboard and port planking joins up at the stern. It's probably already occurred to you, but when you get to putting the stealers in, it's worth trying to make them terminate on one of the bulkheads rather than in the gaps between. That way you shouldn't have any problems with them dipping into the hull or sinking away from the sandpaper or scraper when you're trying to get the hull smooth. Ask me how I know Looking forward to seeing your next update! Rob

Hi, Thanks for the likes and encouragement. There's more to be done on the deck houses, but I fancied a bit of a change, so I've been working on the main mast. This is made from 12mm dowel. It narrows to just over 11mm as it gets towards the top, then there's a flat section on both sides for the top cheeks which becomes 8mm square, then becomes 5.5mm square for the last 5mm where the mast cap fits. The plans are excellent. Very clear, and with all the information you need clearly laid out in 1:1 scale. I was really impressed. Sadly the dowel was both too long, and too large a diameter for my lathe and my drill, so gently hand sanded the dowel to create the taper. In retrospect I should have created the square section at the end first, as having this taper made it harder to then create the square section. nb: You will need to leave enough diameter to ensure the square section will not have rounded corners. Pythagoras tells us that for an 8mm square, the minimum diameter will need to be the square root of 64 + 64, which comes to 11.32mm (to 2d.p!), so don't reduce the dowel beyond that. I used the lathe three jaw chuck as a means of seeing whether I'd lined the mast up at the right angle for filing the edges. It's not perfect, but it's getting fairly close to how I'd like it to be. The mast cap is a laser cut part, an I opened up the cap slot to allow it to sit horizontally rather than follow the mast's rake. I'll take a picture of it in the daytime tomorrow as the light will result in a terrible photo this evening. Rob

Hi Don, Looks like a solid start. Hope you won't mind if I follow along. Rob

I've placed the columns on the other side of the aft cabin deck. Once the glue was well set the whole unit was turned upside down and very gently rubbed over sand paper to add the slope to the top of the columns ready for the railings. The railings were made of 15cm lengths of 1x4mm walnut, with a 0.5x2mm walnut strip glued down the centreline stopping a millimetre from each end. I've also started detailing the insides of the aft cabin with a tiled floor made from 0.13mm styrene. The styrene had 6mm masking tape placed in stripes spaced 6mm apart. It was then painted black and cut across into 6mm strips. These strips can then be used to create a checkerboard tiling pattern. The pattern was glued diagonally onto the floor of the cabin, and the partition wall glued in place over them, such that when looking through the doors, the floor continues into the main space of the cabin. And the finished result, looks like this. Only a hint of detail, but I think it's quite a nice addition to add interest (and we'll just ignore how brutal the close-ups are!). Since this photo I've glazed the portholes with Humbrol ClearFix as I did with the other cabin. The finished result so far... More soon

She's looking stunning. Really lovely work, and good to hear that your energy levels are recovering!