Beef Wellington

Great catching up on your progress, really beautiful planking, and really nice rework - as you say, there is very little that can't be fixed, and fixed very well in this case!

Thanks Dafi, that is great research on something that is easily missed or misinterpreted, once you see it, you can't unsee it! The cross (St George's) in the center in the center is something I've always struggled with conceptually when describing a 'compass rose'. Even though the star itself would only only be worn by the very few members of the order, it is one of those things that is more widely used and seems entirely consistent with your analysis. Below for example is a picture of a uniform rank star (commonly referred to as a "pip") used by officers of the 'Blues and Royals' in the British Army....not exactly naval I know, but supports the point...and interestingly regiments use their own, different, style of star.

Glad you shared this 'ancient' build BE, you really managed an excellent result and the modifications seem spot on. The approach and the detail shown on the modified headworks is very helpful and insightful, I can only imaging how long this took to achieve but the results are fantastic.

Hi Dafi - definitely interested if you could share more detail on the Garter Star research/hypothosis, images etc. Catheads looks stunning! Cheers

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed. Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

The residual copper nails used to attach copper plating to the hull are probably the significant clue to the wreck being a Royal Navy vessel as this was universally adopted in late 18th Century. I believe there were also a small percentage of British merchant ships copper plated in this period, but given the expense it would probably be more likely on those travelling in warmer waters. Not familiar with Baltic Navy's coppering practices, but I suspect this would be far more limited due to coppering benefit primarily being protection in warmer waters, and the fact that these Navies would not have the same global cruising grounds.

I think there are a number of somewhat misleading statements made in the article especially regarding the potential size and nature of the wreck, but intriguing none-the-less. Will be fascinating to see how much is preserved and whether this is truly a 'warship'. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10087485/Mysterious-40ft-long-shipwreck-Royal-Navy-warship-discovered.html

Very nice looking stern Dunnock! Its amazing how much work needs to go into this area but the results speak for themselves. BTW, I think you are referring to the "rudder coat".

I suspect Chris is referring to the fact that the deck droops in between the bulkheads so there is no clean deck sheer line...looks like the prominent ribs on a starving cow's body.

Glad to see more CAF models appearing in logs...count me in for this one. Looks like a great kit.

Nothing wrong with that, spend your time on the things that WILL be seen!

I think it is important to enter this hobby with a bit of humility, and dare I say it this modern technological age, an expectation that accumulating knowledge takes time and effort to accumulate. This site is a wonderful resource built up by people passionate about the hobby, sharing their experiences and knowledge, and contains many resources and answers (including to the question on "how to strap a block to a mast" outside of your question). Reference books are also important depending on level of interest, Lever's "Young Sea Officers Sheet Anchor", and Petersson's "Rigging period ship models to name but two. Understanding how things were done is necessary to then have an idea on how to model it. This is not a hobby for instant gratification, although I think Chris Watton's Vanguard model ship line come close to providing most, if not all, the knowledge needed to build out of the box.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! This is definitely my current dream kit, but not even close to making it a reality. Will need to live vicariously through you when you get going.

Congratulations Jorge, she is a beautiful model with just the right level of detail. Glad you finished her.

Beautiful work, and you work so quickly!

Chris, from what I can read there definitely is a general coincidence of the introduction of the carronade and the built up bulwarks in the 1790s, but I haven't seen anything that suggest that one 'requires' the other. There seem to quite a few examples of carronades with open bulwarks, definitely interested in learning more if there is anything you have found to point to.

Looking forward to this Mark, I've always had you down as a scratch only builder but am sure this will be a fun project.

Hi Wayne, embarrassed to say I've just stumbled across your log, curse this site for just having too much great content. Hoping you've kept up the progress, the masts look fantastic, and Harrier is in a class of her own. Cute dogs as well!

Is there anything that suggests this shows anything other than a simple dual coaming structure, the steam scuttle above stove, and the adjoining forward one for the chimney structure. The dotted line just seem to represent the beam separating these (?). There seem to be many slightly different representations on models of the chimney surround being a wooden or iron structure sitting in the coaming.

Nice work Peter, I found the rigging and configuration of the martingale to be one of the harder things to figure out, even with Lees as as reference, so glad you have a plan.

Beautiful work Glenn, those colours really pop against the boxwood. Appreciate you sharing your chisel philosophy and tools, I really need to invest in some of these rather than chewing through exacto blades.

Interesting development...Divers are making a digital map of 17th century warship 'The London'

Hi No Idea, very much enjoyed reviewing your progress to date. I can't believe that this is your first scratch build, as everyone has said your work is so clean and precise. I especially appreciate you sharing how you do some of the basic wood working, that often seems to be 'assumed knowledge' and seeing what you've done here definitely has shown that it might just be possible at some point in the future to attempt something like this. Will be watching closely from here on in as this will surely be a beauty.

Finding a little time to update some (small) progress, thanks everyone for the interest, comments and likes. @Eamonn, @Mike - One comment off the bat, certainly would not want to be claiming this approach as my own. I think we all stand on the shoulders of others, and it was Rob's Ethalion build that inspired me to try this approach...how's it going? Read on.... Before pressing forward with the deck, I had to decide how the companionway cover would sit. While not being quite sure how much would be visible through the tiny windows, the decision was made to once again install some false beams and carlings for the companion cover to sit on. This sits quite nicely in place, and is once again put aside for final detailing. Jumping into planking proper, it quickly became clear that initial steps required a bit of fine tuning. Once the various coaming are glued into position, quite a bit of care is needed to ensure alignment to the centerline, and also address any potential symmetry issues. It was necessary to re-attach the rear hatch coaming as it was clear that this was slightly off-center and the misalignment would have been emphasized by the run of the planks. The only other slight complication was the need to cut custom planks to flank the hatchway, capstan step and rear grate coamings. Not difficult, just time consuming to ensure a fit and keep the necessary curvature for the run of the planks. Overall, pretty happy with how this is turning out. The only other thing to comment on is that the decision was made to plank the top-tackle and pump scuttles which seems more consistent with the original plans, rather than the raised gratings suggested by the kit. Note - The planking lines drawn onto the subdeck are not 100% accurate, and they're there just to help plan the butt-shift and get a better sense for the how the alignment will eventually run into the waterway. There's also a little bit of pencil lead smudging from the caulking which always seems unavoidable and hasn't been cleaned up yet...

Here you are! Great start Sjors, as to be expected. And you also have Snake still in progress?...I just don't know how you do so much so quickly 🙂