Stuntflyer

Still working on deadeyes and straps.  Made a little more progress.  The starboard side is complete.   Now to complete the other side.
 

 

Hello again!
 
Apologies for the lengthy delay in any update on this build. I had a couple months' absence from the model when various aspects of life got in the way and my free time seemed to disappear! Hopefully, I can now return to a bit more of a regular schedule.
 
I restarted work by temporarily attaching the forward cant frame FC1 to the keel as this needs to be in place to ensure that the length of the bases of the bollard timbers and hawse pieces is correct. I then shaped the bevel on the inside face of the bollard timbers using my tilting table on the drill press sander. This worked pretty well on those areas where the bevel was consistent but I also resorted to some freehand sanding with a small drum in a dremel where there was a transition in the bevel angle. A similar procedure was also undertaken with the several hawse pieces which had also been cut from stock on the scroll saw.
 
The bollard timbers were temporarily spot glued to the stem and the hawse pieces then spot glued to the bollard timber. This is the state of progress so far with further hawse pieces still to be added.


I have left the inner and outer faces to the bollard timber and hawse pieces slightly over size at present. They will be removed from the stem in due course and sanded to a smoother curve as a single unit. You may note that the base of one of the hawse pieces doesn't quite match up to the cant frame but that shouldn't be a problem as there also needs to be a bevel faired into the foreside of the cant frame and the base of the hawse pieces in due course once the whole assembly has been completed (you can see the line marked on the can't frame to indicate this). If it does prove to be a problem then I can have another attempt at it again (as I would be surprised if things go exactly to plan first time around!).

I started working on the channels and deadeyes today.   Pretty straight forward stuff here.   The channels are laser cut in 3 layers just like the Winchelsea model.  The char was removed and the layers glued up.  The outside layers are very thin but not thin enough for the final product.  It is slightly smaller so after gluing it up, it creates a nice fancy edge.  But you dont want the top and bottom layers too thick so they were sanded down even thinner.  Almost card stock thickness.  See the photo below.  These do take a little time to complete but its worth it.  I used spray mount glue to glue the thin outside layers in position.  But I have also used a simple glue stick with success.
 

They were glued to the hull as is usually done.  The molding on the hull was carefully removed and the channels pinned into position with 24 gauge wire used as the pins.  
 

Then I did a quick test on the chainplates and deadeyes.  I had already done this on the battle station mini kit so it was just a matter of repeating the process.  
 
There are two sizes of deadeyes. These are all 3d printed for you. The first thing you need to do is insert the deadeyes into their strops. The strops are laser cut for you out of plastic. It is quite easy to slip the deadeyes into the strop. The strop will flex so you can slip it right in. No glue is needed or soldering etc.

Next you must prepare the deadeye straps. These are laser cut for you out of plastic as well. They have a pretty unique shape. But you will need to complete them before you can use them even though they are laser cut in profile.

See the photo...
 


The top of each strap has a “hook” of sorts on the end. This is hooked into the bottom of the deadeye strop after the deadeyes are inserted into the slots on the channel.
But these “hooks” are too wide as laser cut. You will need to file them thinner in width so the hook will actually fit into the little loops of the deadeye strops. They start off as 1/16” wide…you will need to file them to 1/32” wide. File them a little on each side. Give it a test and see if the fit into the strop loop as you see it in the photo above.

In addition, at the bottom of the chainplate strap a small brass nail secures it to the hull. You will need to drill a small hole thru the bottom of each strap for the little brass pins that come with the kit. Then I also rounded the bottom of the strap so it didn’t appear “square” at the very bottom edge.  I used a #70 drill bit for the hole.

This makes a big difference visually.

So how do you add the deadeyes and straps on the model? You have two sizes of deadeyes which should already be stropped. Place the loop of the strop into the slots on the channel. You will see the loop stick out along the bottom of the channel.

Use the plans to determine where the larger and smaller deadeyes go along the channel.

Once the deadeyes are in the channel slots, the straps can be hooked into the loop under the channel. The straps are somewhat flexible. If one breaks there are plenty of extras. Use the plans to determine the angle of each strap along the hull. NOTE: there are two different lengths of straps as they are angled along the hull. The longer straps are used on the deadeyes on the aft side of the channels to keep the bottom of the chainplate straps lined up.  It helps them line up better when pinned into the planking. 

Mark the locations for the brass pins on the hull using the plans as a guide. Pre-drill the holes for the brass pins. With the straps hanging from the deadeye strops, pin the bottom ends into the planking. I found it easier to cut the pins shorter because you don’t need them that long.  
 
Now to finish this off for all of the channels!!!  I will post more pics when I finish it all up.

That's right, Greg. I finished off the steps with a chisel while double checking that each step was in the correct position. After locking in the keel position with a small strip I found that a few steps were slightly off by a 1/2" more or less. I figured better to correct it now when I could do it off the building board.
 

 

 
Mike

No Christian. I have shelved the project in order to pursue, once again, a hobby which I was actively involved in from 1973 to 2006. Control line precision aerobatics. All the ships are being well preserved should I decide to start building again.
 
Mike

No Christian. I have shelved the project in order to pursue, once again, a hobby which I was actively involved in from 1973 to 2006. Control line precision aerobatics. All the ships are being well preserved should I decide to start building again.
 
Mike

No Christian. I have shelved the project in order to pursue, once again, a hobby which I was actively involved in from 1973 to 2006. Control line precision aerobatics. All the ships are being well preserved should I decide to start building again.
 
Mike

No Christian. I have shelved the project in order to pursue, once again, a hobby which I was actively involved in from 1973 to 2006. Control line precision aerobatics. All the ships are being well preserved should I decide to start building again.
 
Mike

No Christian. I have shelved the project in order to pursue, once again, a hobby which I was actively involved in from 1973 to 2006. Control line precision aerobatics. All the ships are being well preserved should I decide to start building again.
 
Mike

Completing the forecastle stanchions and pre-planking was tedious and required planning and concentration. I’ll outline what I did to assist those few building this kit. I started by sanding and applying Wipe On Poly to the 1/16” x 3/32” strips. I measured 1” sections and cut them using the mini chop saw that I used earlier in this project.
 
The corner stanchions were installed first so I could plan the spacing of the rest of the stanchions. I created tick-strips out of scrap basswood to mark even spacing for the appropriate number of stanchions as shown on the plans. Make sure you check the plans carefully here. Pin rails will be mounted later to specific stanchions. 
 
I taped the tick-strips to the deck so I had visible reference points while installing. This was absolutely necessary to line up the stanchions. Using spacers did not work for me here so I adjusted them by eye. I remounted several along the way. It took several days to figure out this method. 
 
The pre-planking was prepared and sanded before cutting to length. These were not treated with WOP as they will be painted later on. I installed the fore and aft pieces first. This helped when mounting the side pieces. See photos for this and the method I used to bend these pieces. Hot water then bending as shown. 
 
Excess lengths were cut using a sprue cutter. I tried a rotary tool first, but this was a mistake. Sanding sticks were used to polish the rest. I will round the stanchions after the rest are installed on the poop and upper deck. I hope these methods provide useful to others. 
Steve 

The stem, keel, and stern post have been installed. Some wood filler was added after these were installed to seal any gaps. Before working on the bulwark stanchions, I added the waterways along the sides of the forecastle, poop deck, and upper deck. I will photograph the waterways after I compete the stanchions. 
Steve

Greg, just a small reminder to fair the outer stern frames as shown here by the dotted lies.
 

Mike

You could use machinist squares placed on each side of the frame and set the frame equidistant from the half breath lines on the plan.

Repetitive, yes. Having made all of the frames scratch on Hayling, I never found it boring. I’d rather do that than carriages any day. But, that’s just me.
 
looking really nice!
 
Mike

Thank You!!
 
She is slowly filling out with details as I work my way aft with deck fittings.
 

The main bitts are just forward of the main mast.  This is shaped and assembled from more laser cut parts the same way as I have designed the others throughout the project.   See below.
 
With the main bitts the sides were glued together first as they come in two parts.  This was before the char was removed.  The char was removed and the top "timberheads"   were carved and shaped as before. Then the cross beam was glued to them after it was cleaned and shaped.  The ends need to be filed on the top and bottom to match the profile while being cleaned of char.  I also beveled the extreme edges on each side.  To finish it up I added simulated bolts with 30lb black fishing line according to the plans.
 
I have placed the bitts on the model but not yet permanently.  I will do that later.  The bitts were painted bulwark red as on the contemporary model.   As more fittings get completed I am still thinking about painting the belfry bowsprit step red as well.  Time will tell...what do you guys think?
 
Mast coats and elm tree pumps are next up.
 


 
 
 
 
 

Making the hood for the fcastle companionway it is pretty straight forward but you have to be careful to align the sides properly before adding the top planks.
 

 
It is all laser cut.  Here are the pieces.
 

The two thick squares are crucial to its fit when completed. They are laser cut slightly wider than the coaming.  You need to sand the sides until the square is a nice press fit inside the coaming as shown below.
 

Then you can glue the two squares together to form an "L".  This "L" is the proper width if your squares were a nice fit in that coaming.   Then clamp the two side panels to them so you can start gluing the thin cover boards to it that form the roof.  The one thing you must be sure of when clamping the sides onto this fixture....dont glue it to the fixture!!!  Its just used to properly align the two sides the correct distance apart.  In addition, the two sides are no the same height. One side is longer than the other....the starboard side is longer.  This is because of the deck round-up.  So when clamping them to the fixture you must make sure the top edges are lined up and even.  See it below in relation to the squares on the mat.  The bottom edge shows each side being a different length.  But the top must be squared up and even.
 

Then start gluing the cover boards onto the sides.   One at a time.  But as you proceed, you must bevel the side as you are placing them on a rounded shape.  But dont over-do the bevel.  You dont need too much.
 

When you are almost done with the boards, the last final board is laser cut wider and at an angle to compensate for the bottom of the hood being at an angle.
 
When its all done you can sand the sides flush which were slightly longer than needed to clean it all up.   Then its time to test its alignment on the model.  It sits on top of the coaming...not within the coaming.   Look at it from dead on and from the side.  Make sure its straight and vertical and leaning to one side when viewed from the bow.   Make sure it is not leaning when viewed from the side.  You can sand the angle of the bottom of the hood to adjust any leaning.  Once satisfied, move onto the next step.
 

Now its time to cut small lengths from a 1/8 x 1/64" strip.  This is glued half onto the inside of the hood with the other half forming a nice lip.  This will be inserted into the coaming when done.  It should fit perfectly if your two squares and fixture was the correct width.
 

I am guessing that this hood was portable and removable.  So you dont even have to glue it in position if you have a good fit.  You can leave it natural or paint it bulwark red.  Its your choice.   I have painted it red to continue following the look and color scheme of the contemporary model.  The seams and joints and nails do show through after painting it but its very subtle which I prefer.  Mine is not glued in and it will prove useful as I may be removing it from time to time as it may get in the way of doing other work up there.  Now onto the bowsprit step....and belfry.
 

A quick update. I finally installed all of the upper deck lights, with the red cover plates holding them in place with the help of a little LockTite Extreme glue. This was necessary for bonding the plastic window frames to the wood, giving a few minutes repositioning time to settle everything in the right location. I had considered using superglue, but it has no leeway with repositioning time.
 
I placed mica behind the frames for the glass. It was easy to cut, and as thin as the windows ought to be in scale, greatly facilitating the construction details.
 
Chuck's laser cut window frames look fantastic! Thanks so much, Chuck.
 
I still have to construct the architectural columns in the centers of the red cover plates, and I am showing here some paper placeholders for later carvings.
 
But I have decided to move onto the balcony for now, which will probably be the most challenging part of this build. It has open fretwork between stantions, and the whole thing is a serpentine curve, as seen in the original 1760 model (here the fretwork is carved out of a solid blank; they are open in the second model which I assume is the intention of the model shown here).
 
Mark
 

 
Chuck already laser cut the fretwork for the side panels, as seen best in the last photo below the curved top window. This again shows the beauty and delicacy of Chuck's work. this same pattern will hopefully run across the balcony, and then around the quarter galleries at the same level.
 
 

Stern Details
 
It has been a while since I reported on my progress. For the stern details I followed the instructions. For the bottom molding, I used a fairly similar pattern as the one starboard and port. The frieze was then glued with little tweaking to adjust the width and size. The upper molding in two layers was scraped and glued on. Here is a general view:
 

The columns and carved transom were done next. The laser parts fit quite nicely and only little tweaking is needed here.  Here is another view:
 

I painted the top of the transom with a mix of black, burnt sienna and blue, trying to match the frieze's background. Once everything was glued in place, I noted the some of the background black was showing between the carved transom and the windows. I may have to scrape that paint or move the carving down slightly. I will address that later. I then proceeded to complete the molding to wrap around the stern and provide a base for the two standing figures. This is a rather tricky operation and there are a lot of angles to adjust.  The next photo shows details of this construction:
 

The last step is to carve the figure bases and glue the standing figures. I dry fitted these and realized that there is very little area available to glue the figures on. Therefore, I decided to postpone this step for now. I doubt that I could complete the project without knocking those off a few times...
 
 
Limber Strakes
 
As chapter 4 was not out yet, when I reached this point, I decided to make the limber strakes from scratch. I created the rabbet by gluing two 3/64" planks shaped according to the plan.  A bit time consuming, but no char to deal with! I received Chapter 4 just in time to carry on with the project. The mast steps were added next. 
 

Next I will report on the platform construction. 
 

After the jigsaw first comes the pencil drawing.
Cost me a whole Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to get it right.
But ready to start planking the last four belts of the deck now.
Frank.

HI everyone,
A long time since my last post. I realized that I was getting to far ahead of myself, building up the stern with everything just pinned. I needed first to paint the lower and upper counters before I could actually start assembling things.
 
And learning how to paint the friezes was a major learning curve!
 
I greatly followed David Antscherl's advice on painting in the Fully Frame Model, vol. II section 7.26. It was exceptionally helpful for everything from paint and brushes to technique.
 
Alas, I discovered after a great deal of experimentation that hand painting alone did not work well for me. Particularly for the background Prussian blue and the letters "Bellona" on the stern, I needed a way to get things sharper and more even in tone. So, I turned to my airbrush. I masked everything but the counter and sprayed away.
 
 

I glued artist's frisk onto a print of the upper counter letters and frieze elements (a woman riding a sea monster, a man riding a galloping horse). I could then turn the frisk/print every which way on my light table, and very carefully cut the frisk with a scalpel. I then attached the frisk and sprayed everything that would be the yellow ochre base for all of the frieze work:
 

I then used white graphite transfer paper to trace the rest of the pattern onto the surfaces:
 

Then following David's advice of painting highlights and shadows on the basic forms, I eventually got to an imperfect copy of the original Bellona model:
 

I learned to admire those original model builders for their painting skill. Try as I might, I just could not get to the same level of skill. But as good as I can do! So, moving on to actually gluing together the stern!
 
I did learn a few good things that I will pass on for anyone else attempting these kinds of friezes.
 
First, after trying a number of airbrush and hand paint brands, I settled on Golden. They have the same colors in different densities, for airbrushing and hand painting; the colors match the historic colors I was looking for; they come in plastic bottles with ball bearing inside, for mixing. They spray without problems through my airbrush. And they are highly regarded in the artist community.
 
Second, I struggled with the acrylic paint drying too quickly on the palette when I was trying to mix colors. My son introduced me to the model gamers' favorite tool, the Army Painter Wet Palette. This tray holds a water saturated pad, upon which is placed a parchment sheet. Paint mixed on top of the parchment can stay wet and mixable for as long as 48 hours. A huge help!
 
A glass of wine tonight in celebration, and on to assembling the stern!
 
Mark
 
 

 
 
 

I haven't posted an update in a while.  With warm weather and long days, I've been enjoying springtime outdoor activities, so work on my Cheerful has been on a seasonal back burner.  I have found some time to get the shelf built where Cheerful will eventually live.  I'm using a shelf that is made from edge glued pieces of wood,  I've sanded it down, rounded the edges, and stained it using an oil based stain.  It's an odd size of 33 1/2 inches long by 14 3/4 inches wide.  It looks big compared to the hull of the ship, but as you can see from the spars I've temporarily laid out, when fully rigged, the ship will be much larger.  The shelf is a couple of inches longer at both the bow and stern than the length of the ship with the boom and bowsprit installed, and an inch and a half wider than the main spar.  I located the studs in the wall and attached the shelf with two 10" x 10" L shaped steel brackets screwed into the studs with 2" screws.  As a fan of overkill, I think the shelf would easily hold 100 pounds.  The goal was to have it be as solid as possible so that when the ship is finished, if I ever bump the shelf, it won't move at all and damage the ship.  I'll just have to live with a bigger bruise if I bump it.  Haha!  Also, I put a lot of thought into what height I wanted to display the ship.  After much measuring, and taping the fully rigged plans to the wall, I settled on a shelf height of 46 1/4 inches, which when the Cheerful is on it's base, puts its cap rail height at 52". The photo is taken from my eye height.
 
This photo is a quick grab shot with my phone.   When the ship is finished and ready for display, those pictures on the wall will be moved.  Also, it's hard to see in the photo, but there is a 2 inch gap between the stern end of the shelf and the wall.  I didn't want to center the shelf between the wall on the left and the edge of the closet door on the right, because with it sticking out almost 15 inches I'm concerned it would be too easy to bump into.  That, and it will be easy enough to view the ship from straight in front of it as is.
 
Erik

Fancy Molding and the Frieze - Starboard Side
 
Work on the starboard side is completed.  I tried to keep a good symmetry between port and starboard. Here are some pictures:
 

 
 

Anchor Lining
 

 
I found that using individual planks worked better for me.  It allows more accurate positioning with respect to the hull planking and it is easier to conform with the hull curvature. Here use of CA glue helped a lot to maintain individual planks in position while being slightly bent to follow the hull curvature. 
 
This completes chapter 3.  While waiting for future chapters, I plan to do a bit more work that requires no laser cut parts (transom and some framing) to keep the project going.  
 
 

One gorgeous ship, Mark! Can you tell me what name of the poly is?
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

Square tuck
I wanted to give this a try at least once before making use of the laser cut versions. #1. I copied the angle from the laser cut piece onto the joined strips. #2. The frame was made and set parallel with the angled line. #3. The curves were done with the spindle sander and disc sander along with a bit of hand work. #4. Almost ready to place on the ship. I Still needed to taper the frame.
The most difficult part was trying to get symmetry between the two sides. It's not perfect, but certainly close enough. I was kicking myself when I noticed that the top of the port side square tuck is 1/64" lower at the stern post compared to the other one. Of course this won't be seen once the moulding is on. I left the outer area of the frames without any tapering. There is a tiny filler plank that goes between the tuck and the first strake. I will wait until that's on the ship, so I can sand that area all at the same time.
 
Anyway only one shot at it for this result.
Mike

In spite of a mild case of vertigo, I managed to fair most of the port side frames. I purposely left the last 2 or 3 aft most frames partially faired. I recommend doing that in order to avoid any chance of over fairing when there are no additional frames to guide you. So, I will wait until I have some aft cant frames installed before I do any more fairing.
 
I shot these photos to give you an idea of just how much wood needs to be removed. Judging from this, I am sure that the cants will require even more work.


Mike