Beef Wellington

Well, it has been a while since my last update . . .
 
Currently progress is very slow. I built a nicer stand for my model (images 1 – 3) following Chuck’s initial example on his Syren. I also experimented with hanging my jolly boat from the rear davits and noticed a few things:
-        If I hang the jolly boat ready to be lowered it does not cover up the stern carvings and its details are displayed best (images 4 – 8).
-        Although I have some pear wood accents on my Syren model, building the whole jolly boat out of pear wood does not match the color scheme of my Syren and looks far too dark (images 4 and 5).  So I had to rebuild the jolly boat a second time using bass wood with box wood accents. Image 9 shows the work in progress.
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 

Image 2
 

Image 3
 

Image 4
 

Image 5
 

Image 6
 

Image 7
 

Image 8
 

Image 9
 
 

Beautiful result BE, I do love the colour tones of your builds and cleanness of your rigging...and very educational to boot .  Looking forward to seeing your Queen Anne Barge take shape, more QAB can't be a bad thing!

Interesting subject Andy, definitely want to see how this plays out.

Westwood... yeah that’s going back a few years! 
 
From photos, CPR kept the transom windows until the cars were scrapped, it’s likely, though, that the fancy etched glass was replaced. At Delson there’s also a restored official car that has its etched glass in place:

 
Andy

Hi Gremreeper - Unfortunately I don't think there is a magic, secret solution to your problem.  Wood strip, even as thin as 0.5mm just wont really bend in multiple directions readily, you don't mention whether you have tried soaking the planks or not, if not, then worth a try.  Other than that, I think CaptPoison's suggestion to use a drop plank terminating in the area of the bulge is something worth pursuing.  Another option would be to try and first heat bend a strip using a hairdryer to give a strip a slight curve across the width of the plank, and then try to fit on the curve of the hull, this may be sufficient to prevent breakage.
 
And, if you haven't already, strongly recommend reading the planking tutorials as they are pretty comprehensive and provide great information on approaching this tricky step.

Hi Steven.
Yes I intend to, I just haven't been working on it lately, but soon.
And yes, the detail is Way more than the 1/700 just with the photo etch alone.
(Here are the pics from the 1/700 model)
 
Sergio
 

Post 84

 
Completion shots continued.

 
Upper rigging detail

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Thoughts about the Alert kit.

 
As I am the first builder on MSW of this new kit offering from the talented Mr Watton it has fallen to me to be the first to record my experience of the kit and build.

 
There is a lot to like about this kit, cutters make fine models of relatively modest size, altho’ at 1:64 scale Alert is large enough for extra detailing and has space when it comes to the rigging stage.

 
It is clear that Chris cares about his customer base and has put a lot of thought into the make-up of the kit providing pre-made parts for many of those areas that new builders may find tricky, but which more experienced builders may wish to replace.

 
That I made extensive modifications is no reflection on the validity of the kit. I accept the limitations of kits and personally I am prepared to take the hit on the additional cost of material and fittings upgrades.

 
Although I have had reservations about some of the supplied fittings, builders of the second edition revised kits will benefit from the improvements made by Chris in relation to the guns and other fittings, and latterly a laser printed deck, and Pearwood grating sets.

 
This is a visually attractive kit, which offers the kit basher a lot of scope whilst providing builders new to the hobby a good oob experience.

 
It has been very tricky deciding how to rig this model given the many variations prevalent at the time, and the often-conflicting information given in the reference sources.

 
The two existing Alert models by Roger Cole, and Irving Kingman differ in their appearance and rigging, and Roger Cole made many changes to both the deck layout and rigging of his model from the Peter Goodwin book which as I have discovered has many conflictions and omissions to confuse the model maker.

 
Irving Kingman also made changes to the deck layout and rigging but did acknowledge that some of the reconstruction of Alert is based on conjecture and therefore possibly not accurate.

 
There is one other Alert model kit on offer, a 1/72 scale card version by Shipyard. A nice-looking model but has the Topmast before the masthead and is rigged in the later standardised form.

 
Part of the appeal of the Alert kit is that it represents a cutter with the earlier style of rigging with the aft placed T’gallant mast and a Square sail set up.

 
I have concluded that there is no definitive example of how Alert was rigged, and I have used many sources to arrive where I am.

 
I certainly don’t advocate my Alert build as the way to go, and I still have many conflictions in my own mind, but the information I have gleaned may be of some use to those that follow and may serve to inform their own decisions.

 
Sources.

The Naval Cutter Alert -Peter Goodwin

The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War – James Lees.

Eighteenth-Century Rigs and Rigging – K.H. Marquardt.

The Global Schooner - K.H. Marquardt.

Elements of Masting, Sail-making and Rigging, – David Steel.

Seamanship in the Age of Sail – John Harland

Rigging period Fore-and-Aft Craft – Lennarth Petersson

Alert Provenance and Construction – Roger Cole

Modeling H.B.M. Cutter Alert-1777 - Irving H. Kingman

NMM plan of Alert.

Contemporary Hawke model (NMM)

Model of a cutter circa 1785. (Science Museum)

 
I have also scoured the internet for examples of cutter rig, and referenced cutter build logs on MSW.


 
I have enjoyed building Alert despite the frustrations at times and I commend the kit to the members.


 
B.E.
25/03/2020

Post 83

 
All but done

Still a base to make but for all practical purposes the model is complete.

So here are the final shots of the completed model, I will add my thoughts on the kit and build experience in a separate post.


First the close-ups


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The next post will show the upper rigging shots and full model shots.


 
B.E.

25/03/2020

 
 

Thanks Jason, Roger Cole did say that he wasn't entirely sure about the Jack being the size of the canton of the largest ensign, but I think there was  a fair bit of leeway in flag sizes and on models the eye is probably as  good as anything.
On square riggers there was the facility to have staffs for harbour display, even when the driver boom came into use, and a staff for the jack was usually attached to the Bowsprit cap.
Not too sure about cutters and the like; on Alert I suppose a staff heel could be  fitted on the aft deck with a bracket on the transom,  but I will fit it to the gaff.
 
Post 82

Making the Ensign

Making your own Ensign frees you from commercial restrictions.

 
This is the pattern I have decided upon.


For sizing I have settled on 86mm x 54mm which equates to a size of 18’ x 11’4”

My primary objective is to have an Ensign that suits my eye on the model.

 
The Ensign is made from Modelspan tissue, overpainted to reduce the transparency.

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The Modelspan is stretched over a frame and painted with diluted pva.


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The modelspan is then taped over a word doc image of the flag.


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Run thro’ the printer the image is transferred to the Modelspan.

 

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The image is insufficiently strong at this point so it is taped over polythene for overpainting.


The White Ensign is perhaps the most difficult choice because the white ground is not sufficiently white. Red and Blue Ensigns reproduce better.


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The Ensign has been overpainted on both sides.


 
 
The next stage is to attach the halyard connection, I am using 0.1mm line. The excess on the hoist is simply folded over the line and glued.


This is a schematic of one I made a while ago.

 

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The Ensign is pulled and rolled into shape before raising to the Gaff peak.

4858(2)
 
This post marks the nine month point of the build.


 
B.E.

21/03/2020



 

Alan, that bowsprit is a thing of beauty in of itself!

Although TFFM suggests making the Woolding Hoops with paper or card I decided to try making them from wood.
 
I determined the greatest circumference of my mast at the hoop locations and found a piece of scrap about three times this length.

I sanded one side to get about 3" (0.05" to scale) thickness, clamped it in my vise, adjusted the blade on my hand plane to get about 0.03" thickness and went to it.

The pieces were placed (floating) in a cup of boiling hot water.  Once they sank to the bottom they were removed, wrapped around the mast at the hoop locations, clamped and left to dry overnight.  The woolding rope is 1" diameter and there are 13 to 15 turns.  Each set are spaced adequately to accommodate these.
 
The next day the clamps were removed and the curls of wood were carefully cut with a scalpel to provide a butt joint.
They were removed, coated on the inside with yellow wood glue, put back in position on the mast with the butt joint on the bottom (6 o'clock) and re-clamped.
The next day the clamps were removed and the hoops were slightly sanded.  (There will be more sanding to be done)

 

After finishing the cleats I made the nine hole fairlead.    Full disclosure: I did this twice.  It took a few days of chewing on it before I decided the first was just too tall to step over, and the rope holes were just too small.
 
The process for both was the same.
I scribed the Inside and Outside Diameter and then the Hole Circle with my compass, then laid out the radial lines for the holes.
I found a finishing nail to use as a pin, and drill a centre hole to pin the piece to a base board.  The piece could now be spun about on the centre pin.

I first drilled the rope holes, then machined the aft face profile with a bull nosed cutter, and finally sanded the Outside radius into the piece before removing the pin.
 

The last act was to drill a hole for the Inside Diameter and sand the flat face to the final thickness of 7-1/2" (0.12" to scale). 
The piece was cut off and the work was sanded to fit the mast.

Above you can see the original one glued on and the new one placed beside it.

I sanded the old one down to near the mast, soaked some cotton in rubbing alcohol, wrapped it around the remnant of the old saddle and wrapped that in plastic wrap.
This was left overnight.  This morning I removed the old bits quite easily, let things dry, sanded again, and glued the new fairlead in place.
 

The cleat profile was sanded (yes that ugly word) into a long strip of wood.

Each cleat was cut off the strip with a fine tooth saw
The faces were cleaned up with more sanding

Each cleat was (yellow wood) glued to the mast and clamped in place with elastic (rubber?) bands... and there is my second jib boom saddle but there was something about it that bothered me so a few days later I made a third and final one.
 

I did guns No3 to No8... that was enough!
 
I then finished the rest, stuck the wheels to the deck so they wont move during the rest of the build.  I then aligned the muzzles on each side by inserting a few quoins - not all needed them. A coule of cannons (at the rear, needed a small sliver of wood inserted under the wheels to get the muzzles at the right level - they were too low.
 
I then used a little dab of super glue to fix them all in situ - I know I will knock them at some stage and once the main deck is fitted, they can't be accessed.  
 
I built the rest of the deck fittings - all covered in other blogs especially Rob's and Ray's: plagiarise with impunity!
 
The end result is not too bad.  

A  few more piccies.  keep smiling in the bizarre CV19 era.   

Just to expand on BEs comprehensive answer above, ships under Admiralty orders not under command of a squadron would use the red ensign.  Seems most likely scenario here.
 
Rounding this out with another interesting fact, in addition to certain Royal yacht clubs, Retired Royal Navy officers today also get to fly an undefaced blue ensign (upon application and approval) for a civil ship they are in charge of.

Welcome aboard Bob, and thanks for the interest from all:
 
The upside of social distancing and resting in place is that there seem to be a few more hours in the evening with no commitments.  The remaining keel sections have been installed which is a little bit of a relief as it should provide a little more strength, especially at the sternpost.  The instructions indicate the thin center keel section is a little oversized and can be trimmed at the aft end.  I'm a little concerned that for some reason I needed to shorten this to the extent that the slot for the frame is noticeably narrower than others, which will surely require some attention before frames can be attached (center of 3rd picture below).  Open to suggestions on how this slot should be widened (centered, widen forward or aft).
 

 
Its very difficult to get a sense of size from isolated photos, and it must be said that this barge at 1:24 is far from small.  In fact, from stem to stern its nearly exactly the same length as His Majesties sloop of war Snake, but significantlymore susceptible to damage..
 

Welcome aboard Bob, and thanks for the interest from all:
 
The upside of social distancing and resting in place is that there seem to be a few more hours in the evening with no commitments.  The remaining keel sections have been installed which is a little bit of a relief as it should provide a little more strength, especially at the sternpost.  The instructions indicate the thin center keel section is a little oversized and can be trimmed at the aft end.  I'm a little concerned that for some reason I needed to shorten this to the extent that the slot for the frame is noticeably narrower than others, which will surely require some attention before frames can be attached (center of 3rd picture below).  Open to suggestions on how this slot should be widened (centered, widen forward or aft).
 

 
Its very difficult to get a sense of size from isolated photos, and it must be said that this barge at 1:24 is far from small.  In fact, from stem to stern its nearly exactly the same length as His Majesties sloop of war Snake, but significantlymore susceptible to damage..
 

Hello,
after a longer brake in building, I started now again. The new crew is complete. We have a new painter and two carpenters. 



But first they have to make them self familiar with there new working place.

I started turning the cannons. Because I have opened a can of heat resisted silicon rubber for these little guy's, I think it's better to use it before it's getting hard. 

Siggi,
Wow, absolutely phantastic figures, I love them  
 
Nils

Hello, and to all a happy new year 2020
 
best wishes from the yard crew and me. The old crew say goodbye and retired with the new year. But I hope that I could get some new crew members and then we start again with work. 

Hello and many, many thanks for all the likes and comments,
 
today I finished the molds for the cannons. Only the vent channels have to be cut. I leave them for the rest of the week seasoning and then I will start casting.

But there is something I did't really know. For the 60 gunner Rif Winfield state: GD 24x24pdrs, UD 26x12pdrs, QD 8x6pdrs and FC 2x6pdrs.
For the 70 gunners: GD 26x32pdrs, UD 28x18pdrs, QD 12x9pdrs and FC 2x9pdrs.
 
But when I count the cannons at the models, I get other numbers.

I counted mostly only the ports, because not all models have cannons installed. What is most unusual, there are no cannons at the fore castle and mostly no ports! At the gun deck (60 Gunner) there are 26 gun ports and I think that the first at each side are chasing ports. But also there have some models cannons. At least most models have more cannons, or the space fore more cannons then Rif Winfield says. The 70 gunners have at least less then 70 cannons! What is now true? 
 
The Tiger has ports for 64 cannons without the fore castle. When I say that the first ports at the gun deck are chasing ports, then 62. The space there is very limited, because of the manger.

 
Here the Centurion, the only one, with chasing ports at the fore castle but no ports to the sides, and no cannons there. And at the gun deck 26 cannons.

and here the other 60 gunner, Warship 2. Also with 26 cannons at the gun deck, but no ports or cannons at the fore castle.

Hello, and many thanks for all the likes and comments.
 
The models of the cannons are now ready and the man from the shipyard gave the ok to cast them. From left to right a 24, a 12 and a 6 pounder.
Here they look really great, the 6 pounder is at least 7 ft long, but in reality that cannon is just 45 mm long and made me much trouble. I think I started 3 times to get it 🤨
 
The next thing would be building the moulds and then casting them. 

Hi Siggi,
 
The GR insignia cast very well. You don't see it right away, but this would have been true for the full size cannon as well. It is there for the viewer to discover!
The image below is my 32 pound cannon, at 3/16" = 1'-0".
Mark 

Welcome aboard Bob, and thanks for the interest from all:
 
The upside of social distancing and resting in place is that there seem to be a few more hours in the evening with no commitments.  The remaining keel sections have been installed which is a little bit of a relief as it should provide a little more strength, especially at the sternpost.  The instructions indicate the thin center keel section is a little oversized and can be trimmed at the aft end.  I'm a little concerned that for some reason I needed to shorten this to the extent that the slot for the frame is noticeably narrower than others, which will surely require some attention before frames can be attached (center of 3rd picture below).  Open to suggestions on how this slot should be widened (centered, widen forward or aft).
 

 
Its very difficult to get a sense of size from isolated photos, and it must be said that this barge at 1:24 is far from small.  In fact, from stem to stern its nearly exactly the same length as His Majesties sloop of war Snake, but significantlymore susceptible to damage..