Beef Wellington

That is just beautiful planking!

Awesome progress!  Question on the galleries, do you think you will be using the resin/plastic galleries in the final version?  It feels a little our of keeping with the other wonderful wood of the model.

Your planking looks spot on, very nicely done.  I'm pleased to see that you appear to have filled in the stern a little to allow the planking to sit nicely against the sternpost, think you will be much happier with that result.  The shaping of the plank ends in this area can be challenging further up the hull, definitely not something to rush.  Looking at what you have done so far, sure you will encounter no major problems.  You have a wonderful model coming together here.

Looks like the perfect balance to my eye...1 too few, 3 too many 🙂  The different paint tones really catch the eye and enhance the whole, very much to my taste as well.  Wonderful model you have there, very well done indeed!

This is definitely going to give the Caldercraft Snake/Cruiser model line a run for its money!  Maybe this will show whether CC have completely lost interest in new static kit development when some of their established legacy models comes under direct competition.

Love the picture of the stern Christian, the more muted monochromatic approach is definitely to my tastes as well...the Norman knights don't look quite so...Norman!  Good luck moving forward, but you already seem to have the major challenging elements completed successfully.

Its scary to note that my last update was 9 months ago, much has dragged me away from keeping current with other's builds on this wonderful site, and making progress myself.  While not much, this brings me up to date.

Head Grating:

This caused much pondering!  Like everything, this had to be scratch built. and wasn't quite sure whether I could pull of the gracefully curved gratings that grace many period models.  In the end, this turned out to be a highly enjoyable little project.  The main framing elements were built following the layout and dimensions of previously assembled components.  The outside angled edge follows the curve of the main headrail, and the inside a foreshortened version.  No real secret other than use of lots of templates and continual trial fitting.  The larger framing elements were joined with a simple box joint for strength, the battens were individually shaped and glued end on.  Once completed, the front of the seats of ease were attached to simplify final installation.

Catheads, fo'c'sl plansheer and breasthook:

With the gratings finalised, it was possible to install the catheads with some confidence.  The breasthook was cut following dimension estimates from contemporary models (as much as possible) Prior to that however, the fo'c'sl plansheer was finalised, which required the underside where the catheads are located to be slightly angled to allow for the upward slope of the cathead given the overlap of the plansheer, and to ensure it sits flat.

Timberheads:

It was necessary t get my head around how I was going shape the timberheads, and figure out what was possible, so that I could both get some practice in shaping these and maximise the chance that these could be kept consistent and of an acceptable appearance.  I did not want to have to redo the head rails as these had taken many hours to make.  After some experimentation, the following approach seemed to provide the most consistent results for me.  2x5mm pear was used.

From left to right:

1. Preventer cuts were carefully made using a jig and #12 Exacto blade
2. The edges were cut back gently to roughly preform the shape.  I found the wood surface had a tendency to break off even with care so there were losses.  Wipe on poly was applied at the cuts at this stage to both prove better visibility for further shaping, and also to harden the edges that had been formed
3. The sloped  faces were further refined, again carefully using a #12 Exacto blade, sanding sticks and microfiles.  The top is deliberately made a little overlong as it makes shaping easier
4. The top is reduced to final dimension...
5. The overall height is reduced to final dimensions (in this case 10mm)

Finalisation and installation of the main rail and grating:

The main rail could now be finally dimension and shaped.  As identified in TFFM, it did prove necessary to shape for rear outside profile to ensure it fits nicely to the cathead.  I couldn't find much in the way of detail here, but the AOTS Diana book shows a slight wedge of wood sitting between the hull and the head rail.  I decided to add two small wedges to ensure the headrail is fully secured to the hull.  The plansheer also had to be nicked to allow it to sit properly.

And with everything finally installed...I am greatly relieved and pleased with the way this has turned out as this proved to be a most challenging, but ultimately satisfying, adventure.  The fore seats of ease have been made up and will ultimate slot into the grating, but these will not be installed until the placement of the boomkins is determined as everything is very tight in this small area.

Just in awe of what you have accomplished here with the 3D printing capabilities and out of the box thinking - your execution wonderful as well and the printed small parts so enhance the finished result.  Very nicely done indeed!

Looking very good moonbug, coming together very nicely.  Where did you find info on the 'swifter'?

Glad I've found your log sizzolo, you have made an outstanding start with some great details.  Quick comment on the coppering, believe that the method was somewhat nation specific.  US practice as you show was to have a parallel band at the waterline, RN practice was to copper from the keel upward.  None of that takes away from the wonderful work you've done and would not be noticeable at this scale.

Hi David, when I first saw your log I was a little unclear on what you were looking to do, but I stand in awe of your efforts to fix this ugly duckling as she was.  I have enough challenges putting up with my own mistakes and shortcomings to be able to deal with someone elses!  Its commendable what you are looking to accomplish and I sincerely hope that you are able to enjoy the process and the ultimate results, will definitely be following along for future installments.

Been a long time since I've commented, but very much enjoyed catching up on your excellent work on this wonderful build.  Love the colours you've chosen on the pinnace which are a pleasant change and gives a very period feel.  I've just ordered this little kit myself from Chris, so hoping mine turns out half as well as yours.  Great stuff!

Looking very nice Dave, all the deck details coming together very nicely.  Upper deck armament is definitely an ultra-marathon and not a sprint.

Hi David, so pleased to see you have completed her, unfortunately I've not been 'around' for a bit so missed the last steps in real time.  Congratulations!  You have created a truly spectacular model, and I have greatly enjoyed following your build from the start and learning with you, one of the great fellowship of Diana builders 🙂 I look forward to catching up with your future builds!  All the best, Jason

Your bowsprit came out very well indeed!  Love the headshots and the bow detailing, really shows off the quality of your work and the period look you've achieved.  I continue to eye your timber heads enviously, hoping I can get something close carving out of wood!

The boxwood is looking very nice Dave.  Other than the visual benefit of the much nicer Amati plates, the other advantage is that you can lay rows of them as a single piece if you break them carefully from the sheet.  Once glued in position, you would never know, and it can help keep the rows in line more easily....think its also quicker!

Well done Alistair, I also have these beauties in waiting and you've set a very high bar.  Love the wick, just out of interest what did you use?  Your thought on the wire support seems a good one.

Ah-ha, been hunting high and low for you....and finally found you!  This looks like a very nice kit, and a pleasant change to the usual.  Looking forward to seeing more progress, looks like you're off to a great start.

I think you'll find that gallery former is very oversized.  Suggest determining the right size and then playing around with the various items to get the best compromize.  I never used this part.  There are going to be compromises needed between the plans, AOTS and even the original plans because none of them reconcile exactly.  Playing with the PE quarter gallery lights may also help you get a better sense of the final visual proportions.  Good luck!

Looking very nice David, think all these small details, although somewhat obscured, make for a much more satisfying result.

Thats fantastic work Mark, beautiful joinery!  I love seeing the detail of your approach to these complex pieces.

Looking very nice Dave!  I think your decision to hold off on cutting the upper cannon/carronade ports is a sound one, these are no harder to do at a later date and as you indicate, you will have more data points to make a good decision.  As I'm sure you've read, the placement of the stern fascia is difficult and can result in frustration down the road.  The advice I would give would be to determine the position of the quarter galleries first (the bottom of the quarter gallery lights are at exactly the same height above the main deck as the lower edge of the gunports).  This then will allow you to position the stern fascia with confidence as the sweep of the lower edge of the stern lights meets up with the lower edge of the quarter gallery lights. (You will need to account for the additional distance to the outside of the quarter gallery here).  Adjustments to the lines of the upper and lower counter to match are more easily done at this point.

It seems very odd that the jib-boom would be secured without a rope lashing, and I suspect it is an omission in the AOTS.

The Ekeing and Cathead supporter:

The Ekeing is a detail as presented in the kit that consists of a simplified approach consisting of cat head supporter and ubiquitous white metal moldings.  I was determined to make this as prototypical as I could as shown on the plans.  Studying numerous contemporary models, this is a detail that seems to vary quite a lot, and I'm unsure whether this varied significantly from ship to ship, or whether the model builders took their own simplified approaches.   The following photos of Minerva helped a lot in visualizing this complex shape consistent with the original plans (photos are my own taken at the Rogers Collection).

This was a very humbling experience and definitely one of the more challenging pieces to make, requiring many hours of fiddling and sanding.  In short (!) , the Eking and cathead supporter needs to meet the following criteria:

• Narrow from 3mm to approx 2mm at the middle rail to butt into it cleanly
• Follow the curve of the hull
• Extend the graceful curve of the middle rail up to the cathead when viewed from the side
• Be positioned such that the cathead sits snuggly against the top of the main rail, and is perpendicular to the hull
• Follow a smooth curve outboard from the cathead to the lower rail, the ekeing curving forward almost immediately below the cathead
• Pass just upward of the outboard hawse hole, but cross the inner....(differing from Minerva above)

I had a couple of abortive attempts which while failures, were very helpful in helping me understand the approach described in TFFM Vol 2.   The best piece of advice here is focus on one curved face at a time.  A cardboard template was made to approximate the profile (this was initially estimated using the spare metal molding strips which work well for this).   (Note:  In the photos below, the various rails have been cut out to allow placement of the final rail.  (When the template was made this had not been done which made this a little more challenging and subject to approximation)

The profile of the hull at the bow was taken using a profile gauge and transferred to block of balsa.  The ekeing template was transferred to some 5mm pear sheet and cut out leaving quite a bit of excess.   The hull profile was then introduced onto the inward face.  The shaped balsa block helped a lot in this exercise to allow frequent validation.

Once the inner profile had been finalised, the card template could be used to fine tune the shape.  This has to be transferred onto the curved surface that will sit against the hull, and it important to remember that the profile on the outboard face will be different because the shape will follow perpendicular to the interior face (i.e. the hull).  Some excess was still left here to allow additional fine tuning.

The top of the profile was then thickened using some more 5mm pear, and the cathead supporters roughly shaped and glued into place.  The cathead supporters were attached perpendicular to interior face, not the exterior face.  This rough structure can then be further fine tuned, again using the template on the inner surface and ensuring that the top and bottom face are perpendicular to this along its length.  Following the advice in TFFM, The sternmost face was worked first, and once finalized, the inside curve was worked using the outside as a guide.  Once these had been completed, the outboard curve following the underside of the cathead supporter was introduced.

The lower version shown below still required a lot of fine tuning on the model.

Once happy with the shape, the position on the model could be determined, and the decorative rails cut to allow the ekeing to sit flush against the hull.  This was definitely a little nerve wracking and will require a little touch up when all is said and done.  (The outer surface profiling was not introduced until after this work had all been done and position finalised - these still require some finishing as these photos embarrassingly highlight...)  The end of the ekeing also needed to have the shape of the hawse hole introduced onto its lower edge to open that up.To allow the position to be determined, the catheads also needed to be madeup.  The "cathead" decorations on the end was made from polymeric clay and followed the very nice original example originally on Trincomalee and other contemporary models - they look a little more acceptable at a distance!  Not much else to comment on other than the dimensions and decoration were estimated from the original plans and inspired by contemporary models.  These will get further attention in due course.  The upper rail is still just pinned in place and will require the top to be shaped prior to final installation.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this came together, the various lines seem to flow quite nicely when viewed from the side which was a goal entering into this. The plansheer, ekeing, catheads and upper rail are all still dry-fit at this stage....but think I can move forward with more confidence.

Looking very nice Alistair,  Colour scheme is a nice change.