Beef Wellington

Preparation for second planking. 
               It would appear now is a good time to paint the inner bulwarks and gun port linings prior to fitting the second planking. However before doing so it was evident that the skidbeam clamps were too big for the 4 x4 mm riders to be fitted over the top of these so I ended up removing them and making smaller ones out of 2 x 1mm. I think this was an improvement. I made the riders on my Proxxon milling machine but was not entirely happy with these.
         I gave the inside of the bulwarks a coat of shellac before painting with Caldercraft red orchre which looks very authentic for this period but could be wrong as I am no expert. I also tried my hand at air brushing for the first time as I did not want to lose any detail and build up of paint anywhere. I am quite pleased with the result ( apart from a few areas of masking which I missed even though it took me almost half a day to do)
      I have also found some brass square section for the oar sweeps. I intend to blacken these and will fit them after the boxwood second planking is fitted.) The preparation for the second planking is almost complete apart from removing some material from the dead wood area. and remember to taper this towards the bottom to take the tapered boxwood rudder post which I have already made.
        I am unsure of the following but I am thinking of protecting the inner bulwark and gun ports with a matt varnish due to the gun port liners being soft tanganyka. I am aware that there may be items which require gluing at a later stage to the bulwark and will require sanding back in these areas. 
 

good evening everyone
day 118-3
thank you for the comments and likes
the copper application is going ok, i wasnt impressed at the start, but then again, i wasnt going to copper at all, until i made the sanding error, oh hum
any way the jig im using to cut the tiles is version 3 and for me works ok, having the old metal blade at the base, stops the tape being pushed into the cut, so each one is fairly clean
i think i will have about 15 full rows to place, and the any infills at the water line

 

Its a real shame that display is only temporary, everything just fits together so well, just amazing the life you've built in.

Prebent  planks for the stern
Inch by inch, row by row, so does my Indy grow...
 
did a bit of sanding to even things out
Managed to weather the stern turn pretty well

 
 

I'm closing this section with these pics, I'm pretty happy so far
Thanks

The anchors dpt was so busy all these days...

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.
 

I started the construction of the quarterdeck beams:





 

good evening everyone 
thank you for comments and likes
 
day 113-2
 
upper deck work is nearly complete, so its time to move to coppering, i used two strips of 6mm on the keel, with allowed me to turn it over, so hopefully avoid any gaps

mrs kevin is allowed to help

no cheeks on the port side, no its not a mod, they fell off

 

My strops arrived from Amati. The delivery was quite swift. I opened them up to accept the deadeyes before giving them a coat of rattle can matt black. I figured that I would do less damage to the paintwork if I just had to close them rather than open and close them once painted. I added a splash of weathering powder and then give them a spray of poly to give the coating a fighting chance of staying on but it is a slim chance.
 


I employed the same jig as before and attempted a version of the complicated twisted lashing around the deadeye as detailed in Lees. It is a real exercise in frustration to do and the result is quite clumsy. Still once all the ratlines and lanyards are in place, they should not be that visible. I gave the lanyards an experimental yank and this time everything stayed in place. Happy days although tempered by the knowledge that there are many more still to go.
 



In an attempt to get the served lengths of the shrouds to line up I clamped a length of wood to the mast although this was only marginally successful as the served length ended up getting longer as I worked through the shrouds and have a distinct downward slant rather than the neat horizontal I was aiming for. Not the end of the world as it is barely visible.
 

After plodding away for a while, and taking many sanity breaks, I completed the lower foremast shrouds. The spacing between the shrouds is not the best. They are too widely spaced in some areas and are too narrow in others such that they interfere with the cannons. In an ideal world these should be relocated but it would be too catastrophic to try that now so I am just going to live with it. As I progressed the stack of shrouds at the tops continued to grow to an alarming height. This seems to be higher than others I have seen. Perhaps I did not tamp them down firmly enough when installing them.
 





To break up the shroud installation I had a go at completing the strops for the futtock shrouds. For these I resorted to plain 0.5mm diameter brass rod. It is slightly thicker than the annealed black wire I was using previously. The result is not as good looking but I can get a much stronger solder joint using the plain brass variety. I hope they will be passable once they have a coat of paint.


I tightened up all the lanyards and attempted the convoluted lashing pattern as shown in Lees but with an additional hitch at the top to prevent them unravelling. They are a bit of a mess but that is what comes with learning in the job.
 










I installed the futtock stave at the top using a 1.0 mm diameter black annealed wire pulled straight I normally use the two-plier method but for the larger diameter I had to resort to wrapping it in the vise and then pulling upwards while standing on it. These were lashed in place using some dark brown Gutterman thread. I mocked up the futtock shrouds and these distort the lower shrouds quite dramatically. I will have to install the catharpins first before I rig these.
 


 



I guess I should have a go at some ratlines now rather than wait until all the lower masts are finished. That way I will break up the tedium of doing them all in one go.
 
 
 

Well, it's finished unless I move into a bigger apartment.   Been an interesting journey as I've re-learned much that I lost and also also learned many new things like PE, painting, It is a great kit though I think I could do better since I won't have to relearn some things from scratch.  
 
For now, I'm headed back to Belle Poule after I take a few days to clean up the shop, pack up all the parts I didn't use and put them away.  Oh.. clear my head and raise a brandy in self toast.
 
Here's the pics.  Kindly ignore the dust as like I said...need to clean up the dust, etc.


 

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.

Hello,
today the carpenters build in the waterways, the planking and the final edge of the deck. The painter is just ready with his job.

Hello,
slowly, but steady the carpenters get the deck ready. First I thought to leave it so, but I think I should build the bows also in front of the open deck. 

Hello and thank you for all the likes,
after my last post, my cat and I decided to enjoy the now warm sunshine after a more cold spring and being lazy. But yesterday we had here a little, long awaited, rain and I started with the arch of the belfry. The first attempt did't work, so today part two of it


I think it worked this time
.
 

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

Thanks druxey another hurdle sorted in my build
 
Thanks BW - I found the hardest part of making this piece was keeping it flat on the beams and breast hook.  It would have been easy to force it into place with clamps and I guess it would look the same once glued in.  But the challenge for me was to make it fit like it dropped into place and was snug on its adjoining joints.
 
I was really hoping to make the next piece along out of a straight piece of timber and bend into shape.  Unfortunately at 9mm x 9mm square its not going to happen so I'll fashion the next pieces too..........well after my decorating is done 😆
 
Thanks all for the nice comments too 👍

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

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

Hi All
 
Another update from me - before the nailing I decided to have a go at the waterway first.  So here's the first part of my journey trying to make the waterway around the bow.
 
My first effort went in the bin!  I made two pieces that fitted very nicely around the hawse timbers but I made them too narrow.  Here's a picture of the plans and how I made my error.  I used the measurement "A" which completely failed to take into account the thickness of the planking that sits above it.
 
Below - The binned parts and the incorrect measurement that I used.
 



So after a quick message to Gerard Delacroix I got back onto the right track and realised that due to the camber of the pieces I needed to take my measurements from the underside to get the correct thickness.  So I made the same pieces again but left them much wider.  I first fitted the outside to the hull and then placed my templates on the underside to get the correct thickness (I hope this makes sense)
 



It was only then that I sanded the inside of the parts to shape and this worked quite well.  Next I needed to cut the matching dovetails so that they fitted to the beams.  I couldn't get a pencil in to mark them so I used the plans instead.  I placed the parts onto photocopy so that I could see how the beams lined up.  I then cut out the dovetail templates and glued them onto the waterway parts.  All of the templates are upside down as if you are looking through the part.

Now this may seem a bit extreme but I couldn't see the point of going to loads of trouble to make the dovetails on the beams of the waterway parts did not fit tightly. Next I milled out the dovetails.
 


It was all worth it as I got a very nice fit.
 


Next I marked out and sanded the bevel into the face of the parts and this is the result
 




They should be ok once clamped and glued permanently but I have to say these are not easy parts to make and get a good fit.
 
I've got to do some decorating at home now for the next couple of weeks so I'll get some more up on the build when I can
 
Cheers Mark
 
 

Hi Toni - thanks very much 👍
 
Not too much of an update but I've been installing the deck permanently  - It really did just click together with very little in the way of clamps.

After all of the beams were installed I finished off the mast partner with the corners that I had not made originally.  I also set the angle aft within it for the mast.


Next were the pump partners - I admire all of you builders who work in a smaller scale.  I wanted to keep it true to the original ship and made the joints accordingly.  This was tricky at 1/24th scale so how you lot do it on a smaller scale I have no idea.


Lastly I faired the deck - this is as satisfying as fairing the hull.  You know that when you have done it - it's another mile stone in the build.  A few pictures 



Its so annoying when you see that you cut a beam a little too short - 🤣


So now I need to get nailing - I've discovered that this is not my favourite job.  I'll have a go at that next weekend.   There are some things that I could have improved upon - Firstly the very rear stern hatch is not quite straight and square.  I've obviously messed up a bit there but it's easily fixed.  Secondly I can see that some of my beams are just slightly too short and this will cause some corrections when I make the waterway and spirketting.  Again it's all solvable so I'll tackle those issues at a later date.
 
I can't thank you all enough for your kind comments - Cheers Mark

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.

Thanks to all for the likes and encouragement.
 
I made up the four bower anchors a while ago but now seems the right time to add them to the model.
 
I thought that I would have a go at making the anchor bouys for the to add a bit more detail to Diana.
I used 8mm limewood dowel as the basis for the bouys and roughly carved them with a scalpel and then finished with sandpaper.
 

Lavery shows four rope slings coming from top and bottom of the bouy with an eyelet seized to take the lanyard and anchor rope. I decided on a simplified route and fitted eyebolts in each end. The form is served with Gutterman polyester thread which is about 0.3mm. I found it easier to wrap the thread from each end towards the middle.
Another simplification I made is to add only two slings from each end, both for the sake of sanity and because four slings looked overcrowded to my eyes on this small bouy. The slings are threaded around the hoop and fixed with a false splice.

The lanyard 0.25mm, is tied to one end and the anchor rope 0.45mm is spliced to the other. The anchor rope tied around the anchor flukes and then held to the shaft with three seizings. The excess rope is coiled and held with four ties around its circumference.

The anchor is tied to the model with the cathead stopper. A 6mm rope with a stopper knot in one end and threaded through the anchor ring. I wasn’t entirely sure of the arrangement of the stopper but I have placed the knot in the cleat on the aft side of the cathead and passed the other end through the ring and tied it off around the cathead.

The shaft is held close to the fluke by a length of chain fixed to an eyebolt in the end of the forward channel. A length of 0.6mm rope is spliced to the other end. The chain wraps around the shaft and the rope is tied off to the timberhead.

The coil of anchor rope and bouy are tied to the shrouds.

The port (best bower?) is completed with the anchor cable threaded and fixed through the hawse hole.

 
Moving on to the starboard…

 
Thanks all for looking in
David

 

After marking out the quarter deck gun port position I have double checked that they will not interfere with the shrouds in anyway but then decided ti try the stern counter and unsure of it position and also the quarter galleries look to be too close to the upper aft gun port . I have decided to leave the upper gun ports until I have put together a 32Lb canonade and check the height of the gun barrel above the upper deck and perhaps I can  judge the position better of the quarter galleries and check they are clear of the aft gun ports. There is also the position of the wales ro consider. Any tips or guidance in the matter would be gratefully received.  In the mean time I now need to once again fit the sperketting and also the riders and paint the inside of the bulwarks and gun port liners with red orche. 

Extra lime strips 1.5mm x 6 mm were added to the hull in the area where the first two gunports are cut at the curve of the bow.  After sadding down these planks , I then cut the remaining two forward gunports on both sides and added some 4 x4 mm walnut pieces to simulate the frames on the inside of the hull. Some reduction of the upper bulkhead frames was required so that the gunports were perpendicular to the hull. Further preperation to the gun ports to ensure that the correct sizes after the gun port liners are fitted .These sizes were taken from AOTS Diana and not the kit instructions.

Roughly sanded the  hull ready for filling and final sanding to take place but first fitted the gun ports liners using various jigs to ensure the sides ( fitted first) are parrallel with the frames and the top and bottom are parrallel with each other and follow the line of the deck. When checking my stock I found I only had lime in 1.5mm thick lime and not 1 mm so rather than making the gun port holes bigger I decided to use some Tanganyka , perhaps I should have sanded it first before using it as I am reluctant to sand them inside once fitted as the corners are very neat.


 
There is still a fair bit of work going on before I can move onto the second planking such as gluing in place the 1x 3mm walnut planks in the area below the stern counter and cutting the gun ports for the upper quarter deck.I also need to remove the material from the deadwood area, remembering to taper this towards the bottom as with the stern post and rudder at a later date. 
                I now have a fair amount of boxwood for the second planking above the water line. ( very expensive and quite yellow, unlike my other boxwood stock for some reason) Also there is something I need to figure out is the difference in the thickness between the 0.7mm boxwood planking and the 1 mm thick walnut at the water line. I am sure the previous logs of the Diana will hopefully be of aid with this. Unfortunately I was unable to source 1 mm thick boxwood so I went with 0.7mm thick. I still think I will use the boxwood as if not that would mean I have spent a small fortune on both maple for the decks and now boxwood for the hull both of which would probably never be used.