robdurant

Time for an update... I've been working on the bow area, and in particular the cheeks and head rails... I wanted to replace the kit parts as they are pretty meagre... kit part top, my part bottom. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out... This is the progress so far... With the different figurehead a bit of playing around was done before I settled on a layout - the dolphin's tail going between the scrolls... Finally I drilled the hawse holes through the hull (pretty scary!) ready to have the reinforcement added to the lower half. Next up are the head rails and timber heads! Looks like it just might come together. Rob

Well, I've had the opportunity for another trip to Germany, so I have an update to share Here's where I left off last time - gunport linings on the starboard side, and starting to put the inner bulkheads in. I managed to complete the bulkhead linings, and gunports on port and starboard. Once done, the rear of the captain's cabin is lined, and then it's onto furniture for the deck. I decided to have the gratings closed, which meant putting furniture in the captain's cabin was a bit over the top. Nice to have the option, though, and the fore and quarter decks aren't stuck down yet so I can change my mind later. The bitts were made up, and stuck down. And the ship's stove was made up - again this won't be seen once it's all together, so I haven't put all the possible detail on it... (builder's prerogative) You can see how shocking my card building ability is here... but from a little way back it looks a bit more acceptable. The main thing is, I'm enjoying it, and I'm learning a lot!! I may end up building another one of these once I've gained more skills The capstan was made up... An overview of the deck so far... My biggest friend so far has been a bunch of sharpie markers which have covered a multitude of sins (or at least, made them less obvious!) You can just about make out a blurry cross beam at the bottom of the photo above - the beams were put in place at this stage ready to take the quarter and fore decks. These decks have been cut out and dry-fitted in position ... I haven't fixed them yet as I haven't put the gun carriages together... more on that below. I didn't fancy the task of trying to put together the gun barrels for this ship - it was a step too far for me... so I had a look round and worked out what size they should be. As 9lb they end up around 28mm at 1:96, so I ordered a set of brass cannon from Cornwall Model Boats, and they arrived at home while I was in Germany (hence not being able to fit them straight away...) - I've brought the gun carriages home to assemble, so I can take them back out ready to fit... YOu can see how many parts they have in the circle on the plan above. Finally, I started to put the out layer of the hull on. This has to be done very carefully to get the best finish possible. I chose the 1795 colour scheme to contrast my build of Ethalion. Given that it isn't wood, I wasn't quite bothered about getting a nice wood coloured finish on the hull. It also saves all the painting of the white areas... At least, I don't have any of the decorative blue strips in my kit and assume that they are to be done by hand... they all have an RZ prefix on the part? Care is needed to distinguish the parts for the earlier and later colour schemes - it seems that the later scheme has extra parts on two extra sheets, so I checked those sheets first for each part. Here's the progress as I left her in dry-dock. Happy building. Rob

Hi Gary. I've sent you a PM. Sounds uncomfortably hot.... UK's been having snow... my children were very excited... not sure everyone agreed Rob

Hi Gary Hmm... not sure why my PM isn't working... anyway.. welcome to the Diana club and here are the dimensions. The planks taper to half their width at both ends... 96mm long. 80mm for the longer taper and 16 for the shorter. From my memory the planks were 5.5mm at their widest extent. Happy to put the jig in the post if you want?

Thanks OC. Yes, that's a timely reminder. I do need to do that. Thanks Jason. I completely agree and had planned on following suit. The cleats look really neat on your build. Thanks to all for the likes and encouragement as always

Sadly boxwood is so expensive - at least it seems to be here in the UK - that I would imagine the cost of using it (or indeed many other finer hardwoods) would put many off buying the kits, but the colour of the ply for the channels is so different to that of the rest of the walnut that I wouldn't have wanted to use it for anything that wasn't painted even if I was using walnut. Thankfully, being a hobby, we're free to swap and change as we see fit When I built Sherborne and Pickle the ply was a much closer match to the outer planking material and seemed to have a much finer grain albeit a bit fragile - perhaps this ply isn't walnut at all? When all's said and done, I could have built Diana out of the box, and I'm sure it would have made a handsome enough model, but this is more fun!!, takes longer (a financially agreeable knock-on effect), and I'm learning lots more as I go. Here's a picture of the variation in wood colour (taken under a daylight bulb). The channels are on a sheet of the reddish ply shown at the bottom identified as 2mm walnut in the parts. The parts above are the 5mm walnut (the skid beams which I have already replaced with box on my model).

Hi all, Since my last post, I've dry-fitted the skid beams and begun working on the channels. These were drawn out in cad to work out the basic shape based on AOTS and the NMM plan of Ethalion. Interestingly the foremast channel (in AOTS and the Ethalion plans) only has five slots at the rear end compared to the six on the caldercraft kit... I've followed AOTS, and at some point I'll hopefully work out the difference in rigging between kit and AOTS. Anyway - here's a PDF of my channels plan... ChannelsV2.pdf As I don't have access to 2mm sheet, I laminated 2x6mm guitar stringers to make up the channels. I needed three wide for all but the fore channels which were four wide. The plans were pritt-sticked onto the sheet and then cut out using a small plane, files, and the slots cut undersize with a saw and a file used to make them uniform. A grooved edge was scraped into the channels. Once the chains are in place, I'll use strip to fill the gaps and sand it gentle back to match the profile. Pins were added and the positions marked on the hull. So far, I've dry-fitted the starboard channels. I'm pleased with progress so far. It took a few attempts to get the smaller channel aft of the main channel to the right height so that it matched the mizzen channel, but I think we're there now. It wasn't too bad doing this step with the guns installed, but care does have to be taken not to drill too far into the hull when making the holes for the pins. A strip of masking tape round the drill bit did the job wonderfully. Happy building! Rob

Oh dear... I may well become the test case for that theory... my guns are installed and I haven't begun the channels yet. Those brackets look perfect! Happy new year Jason!

Happy new year! Hope everyone's having a great start to 2019. Gun rigging is continuing apace... Not much difference to show in photos, as I've mainly been rigging blocks and making up training tackles. To add a little variety, I started working on the beams that will cross the gap between the walkways. These are provided in the kit as six beams in walnut. (part 44)... having done so much of the build with Walnut, I wanted to keep with that option. I considered trying to bend the box, but I was concerned that it would quickly spring back. Instead, I decided to shape them from 6mmx2mm stock. The box strip was laminated to make up the 4mm width, and then the walnut part used as a template. Parts sat roughly in place...

As an aside, it turns out that Flickr are limiting uploads to 1000 pictures on their free accounts (I get why these sites are all doing this - no hard feelings), so I've moved all my photos onto my own hosting. It turned out considerably cheaper than paying flickr for the privilege, and comes with the added benefit that I'm in complete control of it all now. So... the in-between photos of the build that I don't post on this site are all here... https://www.durant.biz/

Happy Christmas to you all I've had a wonderful Christmas so far, and it's included some time to work on Ethalion. I've completed the rigging of guns 3-9 on the starboard side, and started guns 3-9 on the port. Eventually I remembered that double-sided tape was far better than masking tape wrapped round for making the coils of rope. The extra stickiness made life much easier. I've also finished making up the shot racks that surround the gratings on the upper deck. A simple jig was made to align the drilled holes. Anyway - back to making training tackles... (12 pairs of blocks still to rig!) Happy building Rob

Happy christmas the boats are looking great!

This looks exciting - hope you don't mind if I pull up a chair Will you make her radio controlled? I guess she'll have quite a big displacement. Rob

A brief update - not too much more to show (I'm a pastor, so it's a busy time of year ) - but I have been working away at the guns when energy and time allow...

Before I go too much further I want to get the guns mounted on the upper deck and rigged. That means getting all the aiming and running in / out ropes ready. I ordered 110 boxwood 3mm blocks from cornwall model boats and some extra 0.1mm natural thread. The plan is as follows (excuse my drawing) Rig three of the following with two single blocks. One will go on each side, with the falls nearest to the bulkhead. One will go at the rear of the gun for pulling away from the bulkhead to reload... the fall will be nearest the gun on this one. The ropes in use are 0.5mm for the main rope, and 0.1mm for stropping(?) the block. I'm using 2mm hooks at either end (available separately from caldercraft through CMB)... These have been blackened with brass blackener, making the whole thing much easier, as the holes don't have to be opened up again as they would with painted hooks. Superglue is used on the end of the rope to help get it through the hooks / blocks as necessary. The 21cm at the bottom is the scale length of the rope, however in practice I'm making these shorter, as the plan is to put cheese at the end of each rope. I've put a photo of these in construction at the bottom too... I can't remember who suggested making these by putting them onto the stick side of masking tape, but it's genius! Thanks to you! I realise I haven't mentioned the breach rope... I'm using some rope I had left over from Royal Yacht Caroline, which looks really nice... I think it's about .75mm, and a nice light grey colour. It's untwisted in the centre and the loop placed over the cascabel. So... 11 side tackles done... I'll be fully rigging all the visible guns but not the rest... They'll have breaching ropes, but not side tackles. (That is, unless I change my mind, which may well happen... we'll see. Once the guns are in place, I'll finally install the gratings, pillars, chain pumps, hand pumps, bitts, manger, elm-tree pumps, and gun shot racks... I also need to remember to put the cleats in... Once that's done, we'll really be making some good progress, and it'll be onto the head rails. At least, that's the plan. Should keep me going for a while! Still loving this build. It's by far the most complicated I've ever attempted, but it rewards patience, and nothing's so hard it can't be done with forethought and planning. (oh yes, and you lovely ladies and gents on modelshipworld to give inspiration and encouragement!) Anyway - happy building Rob

I spotted this kit some time ago, and couldn't find a build log at the time so I'll be very interested to see it come together. It certainly looks like it has the potential to be a very handsome model indeed! Hope you don't mind if I follow along. All the best Rob

A quick update. I finally plucked up the courage to stain the beakhead black in preparation for the head rails. I've assigned the guns individually to their ports, and gone along setting the elevations. I'm pleased with how this went, although the final gun towards the stern needed the carriages modifying so they fitted. I've also boxed in the stern lights, fixed the transom onto the stern and filled the gap between the stern galleries and the stern transom, and repainted that area. It's ready for the final decorations. I've started making the ladders that will lead down from the gun deck through the companionways. The next task will be to rig the guns, and for that I've ordered some light single blocks to take the place of the walnut ones for the guns. I didn't have the facility to scratch the ladder sides - at least, I didn't think I'd be able to do a neat job, so I've painted the walnut parts, and used box veneer for the steps. This is before the steps are trimmed to be the right height. Happy building! Rob

Aggie's looking great, Ian. Hope you don't mind if I follow along. Neat solution with the guns. Rob

Thanks Jason. Looking forward to it. It's a bit of a jigsaw and a very tight fit where the chain pumps fit round the mast.

As always - thanks for the likes and encouragement Hi Jason - I couldn't agree more... if you could look through the stern lights down the gun deck that would be awesome! A lot of work to make that happen,though, and it would need to start way earlier on in the build. I don't think I would have been comfortable I could cut away that much structure and keep the stern the right shape. Progress? Well, I've been kind of feeling my way forward. I wasn't sure quite which details I wanted to focus on... Ray completed the gun deck, putting all the guns in position, and then got the second deck on before channels and head rails etc... Jason is completing the outer hull before mounting the guns... decisions, decisions! Anyway, I thought I'd at least get the deck furniture in place. I think I'll follow Ray's lead on this one, and try and get the deck complete, that way I can be confident about the deck level before i start to install final rails and channels etc... That meant sorting out the chain pumps and posts to hold the pump handles. It also meant getting the holes for the gun tackle / breeching into the bulkheads. I made a few plasticard templates to help me get this uniform around the hull. I also made up the capstan. So... here's the question. I noticed that one of the ladders is in the middle of the space where the capstan bars would go... presumably the steps (and anything else i nthe way) could be removed as necessary - that'd be a shock if you tried to get down from the quarterdeck to the upper deck in a hurry! You might get there quicker than you expected. I had a first attempt at making up the chain pump housings a while ago, but I wasn't happy with them. So I remade them. The housing was made from a wood left over from another build... not sure what it was, perhaps lime? It didn't matter too much as I painted it. The tops were solid box. I made feet mimicking the boxes where the pump went down into the hull. These were different heights outer and inner to accomodate the boarding around the mast. Once complete, I took a look at the brass-etch handles. I wasn't very happy with these, as it strikes me they should be round section, not flat. So I made my own out of .5mm brass rod, with the ends hammered to flatten them. I made a diagram of where the posts should be, and then used that to drill the mounting points for the posts into the deck. The posts were filed to make the insets on all four sides, rather than just the two as they come in the kit. These parts are walnut, and were painted so they fit with the rest of the deck furniture. Posts before: Posts after: Diagram for deck layout... Holes drilled in upper deck And the parts dry-fitted in place... Once everything's in, it's pretty tight. In fact, it would be very easy for the chain pump housings to end up in the space the main-mast occupies. Finally, as I mentioned, I started work on the capstan. I have to say, they'll do, but the walnut ply is so much harder to tidy up and make look neat than box. I think a few more going overs with some wet and dry may help a lot. At least, I hope so. The Bottom capstan is complete (if in need of tidying up), the top capstan all dry fitted, as it will need to fit onto the central column once the deck is on... Something like this... (This is the point where I heaved a huge sigh of relief - it fits!) The next task is to rig the guns on the upper deck (the gun deck, that is... the one that isn't the quarter deck, or the focsle... which also have guns on them... don't blame me, I didn't decide on the terminology!) Once the guns are rigged the deck furniture and the beams overhead can go into place, and we'll really be motoring. I neglected to get a picture of all of the bits in place at the same time on the upper deck... I'll try and get one tomorrow and post it. I love this bit of the build! Happy building Rob

You're making me wonder whether my qd ports are in the right places now.... but I think I used the NMM plans so hopefully we're good. I'll have to check. That's a neat solution with the isopropyl. I'm sure you'll do a great job of the rework and it will be impossible to tell you needed to once it's done.

Hi David Looks good to me You may want to consider getting a coat of paint on the gunpoint linings before you put the second planking round them... they're tricky enough to paint without having to avoid the final outer hull finish at the same time. My boat ended up looking like a toddler who'd got hold of some lipstick around this point... I'm sure you'll do a great job and it will look really smart as you get the next skin on. All the best Rob

Hi Peter, Thanks for looking in, and for your kind words and advice. Yes, you're quite right. I measured the shot and they come out slightly over scale (2.38mm on the few I measured, rather than the 2.04 mm they ought to be to give a scale 5.04". I've had a little look round, and found that #9 shot for shotgun cartridges will be the perfect size, so I've ordered some of them - I say some... if anyone wants some, I'll most likely have 0.999 kg left over when I'm done! Even I can't catapult that many off onto the floor. I'll have a go at remaking the shot lockers as you suggest, and we'll see where we get to I'm definitely keen not to have the shot rolling around the deck - I'm sure the Captain George Countess would agree... (interestingly I just read that section in O'Brian's "Post Captain" a couple of days ago ) Take care. Rob

Hi all, Thanks so much for the likes. They're such an encouragement. A little update as Storm Bronagh blows. We live on top of a hill, so we're pretty much the first thing the wind reaches in about 30 miles... It sounds pretty impressive out there (for England any-how ) I've been working to finish off the 18 pounders. They're mainly there structurally on port and starboard now, with only the wedges, and the rigging to be done. (He says "only"!?!) For a little diversion, I spent some time working out how to make the shot racks around the gratings. I'd been a little concerned that the colour of the boxwood I'd used was too close to the colour of the maple on the deck. The solution? Make the shot racks red ochre, like the gun carriages. None of this is fixed to the deck at the moment, but I'm pleased with the overall look of it. I don't have a mill, so I created a plasti-card template to drill through to make the little dimples for the shot to sit in, then I used that template to drill .5mm holes where the dimples needed to be, and opened them up with a spherical engraving bit in my proxxon hand drill. It isn't perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with it. The shot comes with the kit, and was fixed in place with a dab of superglue (using tweezers and patience...!) Here's a pic of Ethalion with her teeth in! Happy building Rob

And a shot of the finished bulkhead temporarily placed in situ. The last step will be to glaze the windows. I've added the spirketting since my last post, too. Pleased with how it came out.