robdurant

Well, it's a bit of fun, but I'm definitely making progress learning blender now... Here's a few seconds of the hull so far at dusk...  I haven't closed off the bow or stern at the moment... it's more of an experiment... Once I'm happy with it, I can up the rendering settings, and it'll look much sharper, but I thought some might be interested.
 
 

Well, it's a bit of fun, but I'm definitely making progress learning blender now... Here's a few seconds of the hull so far at dusk...  I haven't closed off the bow or stern at the moment... it's more of an experiment... Once I'm happy with it, I can up the rendering settings, and it'll look much sharper, but I thought some might be interested.
 
 

Thanks everyone for the likes.
 
Starboard bower anchor is completed.
 
There is no stream or kedge anchor supplied in the kit so I bought the nearest I could find to the patterns in the AotS from CMB.
The stock supplied with the stream anchor was too short and heavy looking so I fashioned a replacement from a piece of 5mm square spruce.

I stained the finished stock with ‘Jacobean Oak’ and used heat shrink tubing for the ‘iron’ rings. The finished anchor is lashed to a bower anchor before fixing it to the forward channel.
 


The kedge anchor is lashed to the sheet anchor in the folded position according to the illustration on page 235 of ‘Seamanship in the Age of Sail by John Harland. Harland states that the sheet anchor is tied against the starboard forward channel with the anchor cable fixed and running to the outer hawse hole.

I’m waiting for some 7mm triple blocks for the cathead falls to complete the anchor set up.
 
The boomkin stays have never looked right to my eye with only one stay fixed with 0.5mm rope. Checking with Steele, 0.8m would seem more appropriate and I believe that there should be two stays on each side for this size of ship. I have changed them accordingly and am now much happier with the result.

Thanks for looking in
David

 

Hi all,
 
Thanks for the likes. I've completed the main shrouds, and added the mainmast stay. This one had to go on first, as it attached to a pin inserted into the jib boom. (That was my kludge fix for gluing the foredeck down too early!). Having said that it all went together okay, and looks fine. I've finally added the deadeye strops (Caldercraft) and fixed the tops to the masts, now as well.




 
 
 
I've also done some tidying up, gluing down the anchors, fixing the anchor chains, and removing the excess, which was just sat on the deck up till now. I've also added the eyelets underneath the pin rails round the fore and main masts. Not a lot to show, but it is progress  These parts are very fragile, and I can see trouble ahead when it comes to tying things off... time will tell how much of a headache this proves to be.
 


 
Happy building to you all
 
Rob

Hi all,
 
Thanks for the likes. I've completed the main shrouds, and added the mainmast stay. This one had to go on first, as it attached to a pin inserted into the jib boom. (That was my kludge fix for gluing the foredeck down too early!). Having said that it all went together okay, and looks fine. I've finally added the deadeye strops (Caldercraft) and fixed the tops to the masts, now as well.




 
 
 
I've also done some tidying up, gluing down the anchors, fixing the anchor chains, and removing the excess, which was just sat on the deck up till now. I've also added the eyelets underneath the pin rails round the fore and main masts. Not a lot to show, but it is progress  These parts are very fragile, and I can see trouble ahead when it comes to tying things off... time will tell how much of a headache this proves to be.
 


 
Happy building to you all
 
Rob

Hi all,
 
Thanks for the likes. I've completed the main shrouds, and added the mainmast stay. This one had to go on first, as it attached to a pin inserted into the jib boom. (That was my kludge fix for gluing the foredeck down too early!). Having said that it all went together okay, and looks fine. I've finally added the deadeye strops (Caldercraft) and fixed the tops to the masts, now as well.




 
 
 
I've also done some tidying up, gluing down the anchors, fixing the anchor chains, and removing the excess, which was just sat on the deck up till now. I've also added the eyelets underneath the pin rails round the fore and main masts. Not a lot to show, but it is progress  These parts are very fragile, and I can see trouble ahead when it comes to tying things off... time will tell how much of a headache this proves to be.
 


 
Happy building to you all
 
Rob

Hi all,
 
Thanks for the likes. I've completed the main shrouds, and added the mainmast stay. This one had to go on first, as it attached to a pin inserted into the jib boom. (That was my kludge fix for gluing the foredeck down too early!). Having said that it all went together okay, and looks fine. I've finally added the deadeye strops (Caldercraft) and fixed the tops to the masts, now as well.




 
 
 
I've also done some tidying up, gluing down the anchors, fixing the anchor chains, and removing the excess, which was just sat on the deck up till now. I've also added the eyelets underneath the pin rails round the fore and main masts. Not a lot to show, but it is progress  These parts are very fragile, and I can see trouble ahead when it comes to tying things off... time will tell how much of a headache this proves to be.
 


 
Happy building to you all
 
Rob

Time well spent:




There is some sense of foreground and background.  The proportion of the carving, relative to the area of the back board, closely copies the Berain drawing.  I am happy.

It is fascinating to me how different this is from the stock kit.
 
Thanks for looking-in!  More to follow..

The next step of the stand was realizing the ramps and structures that will support (safely and reliably) this massive model. The crucial part was handling the hull and positioning it in such a way that I could measure and build the six vertical supports that are preventing the model from tilting and rolling on its sides.
 

 
The ramps are slightly inclined but not enough for the model to slide back. I also wanted to create something that would allow the full display of the copper clad hull, in all its beauty. Below, you can see how the model is stabilized using 1/4 inch poplar dowels with some felt to protect the copper.
 

 
Moving, installing, removing ...... the massive hull was a challenge and a good workout at the same time. Most of the weight of the model rests on the central ramp which is very solid and stable.
 

 
The rear part of the ramp is equipped with a small piece of wood to prevent any desire of sliding the model may have, and is cut so that the rudder can be manipulated fully by curious hands: 
 

 
Once inserted, the standing structure fits perfectly into the box. Here are the steps: 
 

 

 

 

 

 
I am sure you may be impatient to see how the model fits on this display stand. I know I was....
 

 

 

 

 
Et voila. Lots remains to be done and now that I have some confidence in the display, I can go back to the hull and finish all the missing details.
 
Thank you for your interest.
Yves

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

The back problem is solvable with Diclofenac and sitting down. I've gotten this far and am finishing up the rigging on the guns.

I'm sorry that I painted the capstan, according to the instructions in red; I think the bulwarks in red is sufficient

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Continued from previous post...
 

A few extra dock yard maties were selected from the Carpenter’s crew and placed in the overall scene. This chap is carrying a load of freshly cut timber over to the ship.
 

 
Two more are at work on the ship itself.
 

 
And here’s a close-up of one of these two.
 

 
Here then are a few “spin” shots showing the overall diorama from all angles. The design of this kit is so clever, that there is no “front” side – take our pick!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
One thing I didn’t mention earlier, but can be seen in the above photos, is that I wasn’t happy with the light poles or telegraph pole, so I re-made these all from 1/8” dowel (the manual actually specified this for the telegraph pole, so I figured the light poles must be similar).
 
The last task remaining (other than a little touch up here and there) is to pour the “water”. While I’m a little apprehensive about this as there is no going back, the instructions have very little to say about it, other than following the resin manufacturer’s instructions and doing a little test first. I’ve learned along the way that when the instruction manual does not go into great detail, then the process is generally straight forward. (Famous last words).
 
 
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Hi all,
 
A tiny update... I'm still working on getting this into Blender to check out the stations before I commit too heavily to real components (and working on Barque Stefano, too)... I've managed to work out how to get things neatly out of QCAD (the 2D CAD programme I use) into Blender, so progress is becoming more simple...
 
Here's a teaser with deadcentre and '7' frames in place....

 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Progress is being made, and confidence is growing  I'm pleased to see that the flow seems to be good between each frame... Next is some work on the transom...
 

Aah - thank you, my better half has ordered this for my birthday, so I'm looking forward to having a good look through and getting some inspiration. To return to your earlier comments, I've pondered them, and I think I'm looking to get past plank on bulkhead, but with simplified frames... so probably using the stations rather than re-lofting each frame, and with a simplified structure without cant frames at the bow and stern. 
 
I've had another crack at the transom using an angled frame (16 degrees from perpendicular) aft of station 25 - this goes out to the wale. I've re-drafted the transoms and hopefully now it is something more workable... Some pictures... It's not quite perfect yet (and I haven't drafted the inside flow of the transom pieces), but I feel like I'm making progress. It's certainly helpful to be able to make multiple designs and try them all out.

 

 

Thanks again for all your help
 
Rob

Hi all,
 
A tiny update... I'm still working on getting this into Blender to check out the stations before I commit too heavily to real components (and working on Barque Stefano, too)... I've managed to work out how to get things neatly out of QCAD (the 2D CAD programme I use) into Blender, so progress is becoming more simple...
 
Here's a teaser with deadcentre and '7' frames in place....

 

Hi all,
 
A tiny update... I'm still working on getting this into Blender to check out the stations before I commit too heavily to real components (and working on Barque Stefano, too)... I've managed to work out how to get things neatly out of QCAD (the 2D CAD programme I use) into Blender, so progress is becoming more simple...
 
Here's a teaser with deadcentre and '7' frames in place....

 

Hi all,
 
A tiny update... I'm still working on getting this into Blender to check out the stations before I commit too heavily to real components (and working on Barque Stefano, too)... I've managed to work out how to get things neatly out of QCAD (the 2D CAD programme I use) into Blender, so progress is becoming more simple...
 
Here's a teaser with deadcentre and '7' frames in place....