robdurant
-
Posts
827 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by robdurant
-
Brilliant. Some wonderful people gave me a jeweller's saw for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to trying that out... I think this build is going to go slowly, and hopefully plod along beside the new incoming project - HMS Diana from Caldercraft, but built as Ethalion (1797). That's due to arrive in the new year and will be much easier to get on with in the evenings without annoying the neighbours Happy Christmas to you all -
Aah, I'm glad you mentioned that, Tony, as I hadn't spotted it... I've been focusing just on the hull, but I am hoping to try out some sails (and even add them if they turn out well enough), so I'll have another look at the logs on this site, and perhaps add some more belaying points on. Thanks so much for the heads up! Rob
- 25 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Thanks again to all for the likes and encouragement Yes, it really does spur you on when the pile of wood starts to look more ship-like... Lots of progress today... The rudder's on. Made up the anchors. Also put the channels on along with the peg boards inboard. I made replacements of these parts from beech to contrast the hull, rather than use the walnut ply, as I wanted them to look a little bit less flaky... Also made all the frame heads and swivel gun mounts out of beech to continue the theme... Long story short, here's the progress so far... Really pleased with how it's coming along. Take care Rob [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Hi again, A little more progress. The deck's down. I marked out the shift pattern and then I put the deck down using a pencil to simulate the caulking: I've also planked the inside of the bulkheads, and opened up the gunports and oar ports again. Then I put the capping rails on. (The second picture below has some of the deck furniture roughly in place, but not fixed, just to see how it looks... I couldn't resist ) Once the capping rails were in place, I trimmed them back, and added the stern. The stern fascia was first put in boiling water, then clamped round the cutlery holder from the kitchen sink to give it a curve. Once dry, it was fitted in place. This left a small gap at the bottom (so that the top was level with the tops of the capping rail, which I remedied by adding a small strip of walnut) I added the lettering on to the stern - you'll notice I dropped the "U" from the name to match my wife's old school (brownie points for free!), and then it was on to the wales... Think that's it for now. Managing to stick to the plan of not painting anything... the only things with any paint on so far are the remaining photo-etch, anchor, cannon. Quite pleased with the effect at the moment. Next job is to tidy up the ends of the wales, and put the rudder on. Happy building. Rob [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 3
-
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Time for an update... I didn't really see the benefit of posting every time another plank went on, but here's the result... And another comparison with Pickle... Also - while waiting for glue to dry... (and trying to build my patience!), I began the cannon... these were a little rough as they came out of the cnc cut walnut ply, but by pinning them all together, I was able to tidy them up enough that I'm happy with them (at least without a milling machine, I think I'd struggle to make better from scratch)... And one with them on the deck to see how the ports line up... (although they're not on their wheels yet, and the deck is yet to be planked...) Finally, the bulkhead stubs were removed and the deck marked up for three-shift planking (I think?!?). I used some veneer I had left from Royal Yacht Caroline for the waterways. The gaps at the edge should get covered up by the planking that will go on the inside of the gunport pattern (he said, hopefully!). Starting to take shape Happy building Rob [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 4
-
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Thanks for all the advice. I've paused to reflect on the best way forward as I finish off the second planking on my Sherbourne (bring on the scrapers!). Almost there now. Just two planks left on the port side. I'll have to invest in a jeweller's saw. I managed to find some replacement coping saw blades with a higher tpi, so I'll give them a try. A scroll saw does sound like a good idea though (might have to wait for that kind of investment!). I'll have a look round and see if i can get a bigger drum sander, too. Thanks again Rob
-
Well, not much progress, but a little. This project is going to be a slow one, as I'm working on it while I work on Sherbourne to get a feel for whether I have the scratchbuilding skills (and patience) to try something harder. That said, I had a good headscratch, and I think I'm beginning to work out how I can turn boards of walnut into something resembling parts of frames (given the distinct lack of power tools). So here's the progress so far. I've printed off the plan for frame 0 (at a factor of 0.75 to make it 1:64) and stuck the component patterns onto the walnut with pritt stick to allow me to remove the patterns later. Then very gently with a coping saw (I've ordered some finer blades!), I cut roughly round them. The next challenge was the bigger hurdle. I don't have a scroll saw, band saw or any powered sander... but I do have a basic stand for to turn a hand drill (750W) into a pillar drill... so I mounted a proxxon drum sander part into the drill chuck and lowered the stand as shown in the photo, so it was permanently level with the work surface... It sounds horrendously loud - so loud in fact, I had pity on the neighbours after a short while... and I had to keep one hand on the drill power button... but it kind of did the trick... My issue was that although it was sanding the excess away, it left a pretty wavy line, so a larger drum would be handy. It looks like the following would help: * A better way to cut the frames out, so I can cut closer to the lines (i.e. a scroll saw / band saw?) * A quieter way to sand the frames, so I don't annoy the neighbours and provide a variety or sanding disk sizes to allow me to attain smoother sanding (perhaps an oscillating spindle sander?) Anyway - progress... and I'm encouraged that this isn't impossible, just time consuming and requiring patience on my part. Pictures below:
-
Thanks Pete, and thanks everyone for the likes. I'm planning on using walnut. But this is very much a try-it-out project, so that may well change. I've got some wood on order for the frames at the moment. Rob
-
Hi, Hoping to make a fully framed frigate in the future in 1:64, so this seems the perfect place to try out some of those skills. I've only done plank on bulkhead before from kits, so it's a bit of a journey into the unknown, but how helpful to have so many others who've travelled the path before me! I scaled the plans down by a factor of 0.75 to take them from 1:48 to 1:64 (where 3/16" is equivalent to 1ft). Here are the picture so far. Parts are walnut. I've left the keelson, keel and false keel longer than the plans and intend to trim them down later on in the build.
-
Hi Frank, There are no characters included in the kit, but I bought them separately from here: http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/amati_crew.html They're amati figures (I think the 25mm figures, which works out at around 5' 3" in 1:64 scale - the next size up i 35mm which comes out as around 7' 4" - so giant!). They come in white metal, and I painted them using Vallejo Acrylics. They do look quite good. Thanks for the compliments Rob
-
Thanks for the likes and the helpful comments. It's the first time I've soaked planks so I'm on the learning curve. It is encouraging to have other builds going on at the same time. Bit more time today so I'll try letting the planks dry before I fit them finally. Might make a start on some other bits while I'm waiting for that to happen.
- 25 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Now we're up to date... I've been using the same strategy with the second planking to try and get really neat runs of planking without lots of drop planks and stealers... time will tell whether I end up getting bitten, but so far I'm pleased with it. I have a thermos flask with freshly boiled water in it, and then here's what I do for each plank: Use paper to take a map of the curve of the plank (as though spiling) Mark out the width of the plank to fit and trim with a craft knife and sandpaper. Bevel the edge of the plank (I have good intentions, but I'm not very good at this yet!) Soak the plank in the _hot_ water for 30 seconds Edge bend the plank according to the paper prepared above. (with 1x4mm walnut, it'll hold it's shape fairly easily) Use plank nippers to bend the plank in for the bow and stern. Test, re-test, and glue in place with pins (or near the top, clamps to avoid pin marks) And here are the results so far... There are gaps in between several of the planks, which I suspect may be shrinkage... I'm hoping next time I can spile, to avoid the soaking process, and that way avoid those gaps... Of course, it may not be shrinkage at all, but simply that my skills aren't quite up there yet Anyway - I'm pretty pleased with how it's going, and the rest of the planks will be under the waterline and painting dull white, so it's not looking too bad now! In amidst the planking I decided to start on something completely different to freshen up a little... I've begun the gratings. And I found a sailor left over from Pickle to keep eyes on proceedings too Once the edging is on, I'll sand these to have curved tops... But that's for next time. Happy building Rob [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Next up was planking... I wanted to try spiling, but I didn't want to splash out on lots of extra wood at the time, so I thought I'd try edge bending the wood to see how well I could get it to fit. I was fairly pleased with the results, but even using the tick strips, it became evident just how much edge bending was required to get a nice run of wood without lots of stealers and drop planks... Next time I hope I'll be able to get the wider planks and spile instead. Nevertheless, not too bad for a first planking. Again, you can see bulkhead 9 waiting to jump out and get me! Next it was time to put the transom on - and this was where I had to deal with bulkhead 9. I tried just gluing the transom on and leaving a gap, but it looked really messy. I would have had to double-plank the bulkhead so that I could fill the gap between it and the transom, so I took the transom off again, and sanded down the bulkhead so it was even. Now it plays nicer! That meant I was ready for the second planking. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
The next task was the gunport patterns. These were placed for 30 seconds in water straight out of the kettle, and then clamped round a coffee mug that was roughly the same radius as the bow of Sherbourne. A couple of hours later, they'd dried, and held their shape beautifully... In fact, I'd bent them slightly too far round, and putting them back into the hot water for a few seconds loosened them up and allowed them to be glued and clamped in place while the glue set... This job's a little bit fiddly, but well worth taking time over, because it affects whether the guns will look right in their places later on, and has a big impact on the symmetry of the boat. After drying overnight I took off all the clamps, and I was really pleased with how they'd turned out... perhaps .5mm down on one side, but not so much it'll be noticeable. For those of you wondering how she sizes up against Pickle... here you go (apologies for the reflections / quality of the pic - I was in a hurry): [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 3
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
The next task was to fill the gaps between bulkheads 1-3 and 7-9 with balsa to help me find a smooth flow as I finished fairing the bulkheads. You may notice in these photos that I clean forgot to add the bow formers that sit up against the keel former at this point, and had to cut into the balsa to add these retrospectively. Again - too much haste, and so less speed! You can see in this photo how bulkhead 9 is at a slight angle - with the starboard side (on the left of this photo because it's keel up) slightly further forward... across its width, this adds up to ~6mm! Eventually, it started to look like I was hoping it would... I added a strip of lime to the bottom of the keel former to help the rabbet. [edited to restore photos, 11 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
So - to the build. I started about a month ago, and unpacked the kit eagerly... having checked the parts I got the ply keel out and checked to see if it was flat... sadly it wasn't. It was about 5mm out lengthwise, and two or three from top to bottom, giving a shape rather like a bowl. Attempted remedies of making one side damp and weighting it down for 48 hours seemed to work at first, but minutes after the weights were taken off, the ply sprung back. Rather than give up, I decided to be brave, and use the keel as a template to make a new one from a sheet of walnut I had. Several hours later, I'd made this (and included an extra frame to help with the planking). It was only later on in the build that I'd realise that bulkhead 9, which forms the base of the transom was wonky because the back of the deck was not square... That's my fault for being in too much of a hurry! We'll get to that later, though. I roughly faired the bulkheads to take off the worst of the excess material at the bow and stern, sanded a rabbet into the keel former, and then I used the deck to square up the bulkheads and glued the bulkheads into position, using lego blocks to square them up. Here you can see the results with the walnut stem and keel added. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 4
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway. I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger! First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly. The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull. Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!) So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]
- 25 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- sherbourne
- (and 1 more)
-
Thanks John, I really am thrilled with her. Can't quite believe I played a part in making her, now. Glad she's home, though. Rob
-
Well, this evening Caroline reached her home berth: Thanks for all your kinds words and support. Rob
- 39 replies
-
- 15
-
-
- royal caroline
- panart
- (and 1 more)
-
Thank you for your kind words Rob
-
And now for something completely different... F138, HMS Rapid - a type 15 Fast Anti-Submarine Frigate ... a rebuild of an old Deans-Marine destroyer I built when I was a teenager... Progress so far is here... http://modelwarshipsuk.informe.com/forum/destroyers-frigates-and-corvettes-f21/1-96-type-15-fast-a-s-frigate-hms-rapid-semi-scratch-t2906.html#p41613 But I'll be back - the sawdust's far too ingrained in my fingers, now...
-
So... as others have said before it's harder to get decent photos of the rigging underway... but I've worked my way through it, and here are the results... Really pleased with how it's turned out. Just need to get it back to my mum's house, now... Plenty of bubble wrap, blankets, made-to-measure boxes and some smooth driving are called for :S Thanks so much for the advice, encouragement, suggestions and likes! It makes a big difference! Rob
- 39 replies
-
- 11
-
-
- royal caroline
- panart
- (and 1 more)
-
Hi Terry, Just checked in to see the progress, and its looking fantastic so far! Slow and steady's definitely the way. I was impressed with how nice the walnut looked once it was sanded down... seemed a shame to put paint on it, really. Glad to hear you're going to leave it on display. Your progress so far suggests that's going to be a great choice! I've noticed a number of posts on this forum have recommended mixing wood dust in with carpenter's glue to fill gaps? Might work well, although I've not tried it myself. Sounds like it might have the same effect as the water and filler but end up even closer in colour to the existing planking? It might also take the varnish better when you come to finish the hull? A sample test might be in order. Just my tuppence. Feel free to ignore. Rob
-
Hi John, That's really helpful, thank you. I'll try tightening the lanyards up and see if that does the trick, and if not, then yes, I think I'll be re-doing the stays. Watch this space. Rob
-
Thanks Nils, Yes, Pickle has been an excellent introduction for this significantly larger task. I don't think I would have had the confidence to make it this far otherwise. Rob
- 39 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- royal caroline
- panart
- (and 1 more)
Our Emblem ®
