Beef Wellington

Hi Folks ...   I decided to get the Anchors out and re-size the Stock ..  Ages ago now you may remember me mentioning that these were waaay off scale so after more exhaustive research (opening a folder I created called Anchor Dimensions.. knew it would come in handy) I have begun to resize the Stocks..  Original Kit supplied ones are 5.0 cm long and I need then 4.2 cm Long so I'm sanding 0.4 cm off each end (substantial difference when taking Scale into account)..  Each stock comes in two pieces which I glued (with pva) together for convenience of Sanding/Shaping.  I will separate them later and assemble the anchor properly being sure to leave the slight 'gap along middle' between the two sections as per Full Scale versions..
No Photos at the moment  .. I mean who wants to look at bits of wood gluing ...  I know I know.. Just Kiddin' it's kinda what we do 🙃 😉  OK I'll go take some ...  Oh, did I mention I finished the Mast Hoops last thing was giving them a light coat of Wipe On Poly.
 
All The Best and Thanks for Taking The Time To Drop By.
 
Eamonn
 

So, as I try to close this chapter of the build, I got busy tying up a few if the loose ends.
 
In preparation for securing the window plate, I thought it would be helpful to do a few things, in advance.
 
Rather than attempt to paint the inner lip of the window frames with the glass in place, I pre-painted this inner reveal.
 
I have come to realize that the artists’ acrylics I used for the deadworks are exceedingly fragile, and so - going forward, I will use purpose-made model acrylics wherever possible.
 
To that end, I mixed a Tamiya primary yellow with a medium brown Tamiya shade until I was satisfied with my resulting yellow ocher color.  I mixed brown, drop by drop, into the yellow bottle, so that I will have enough ocher to paint everything on the model, without having to re-mix and try and match shades.
 
Following Druxey’s advice, acetate sheet was scribed with a sharp knife and medium-grey acrylic was wiped into the lines.  This was all reasonably straight-forward, and produced excellent results.
 
My initial plan was to glue-in L-angle styrene strip, to the vertical bulkheads, and a ledge strip to the inner bottom edge of the window plate, so that the individual panes would be housed and well supported, but floating.
 
I quickly realized, though, that the positioning of the mullions, relative to the window opening will not always be ideal, if the loose pane shifts from side to side.
 
With that in mind, I took a spare test pane (one of the QG side lights that I botched during the engraving process), and test-tacked it to styrene strip, with medium viscosity CA.  It did not result in the dreaded cyano blush.
 
With the success of that experiment, I decided to apply CA along the inner crease of the bottom ledge and one small tack dot of CA in the top center of each pane (behind what is the ornamental cartouche, on the exterior).  This all worked out neatly enough:



In hindsight, because the vertical bulkheads are relatively deep, it would have been beneficial if I had painted their sides flat black before fitting them to the model.  Unfortunately, I did not do so, and the perfectionist in me refuses to make a gloppy mess of black paint work, after the bulkheads were fixed in place; access, here, is severely limited.
 
In compromise, I decided to blacken the visible surfaces of the L-Angle, since there would not be any glue applied there.  In the following picture, I have blacked-in half of the supports:

On the other hand, I refused to compromise on simulating with paint, the impression of hull depth for the stern chase ports.  Access, here, is limited, but a little better.
 
After brush priming this area, as well as the port linings with ModelMaster flat white - which laid-down beautifully, BTW, and allayed my concerns about brush-priming the stern - I blacked-in the inner bulkhead surfaces, but not completely.  I left most of what I wanted to show as red-ocher, in primer white.  The blacking was merely approximate and done by eye.

Knowing that I would be doing this, I had saved the bulkhead pattern and now used it to cut four sets of opposed masks that created a parallel line with the profile of the transom.
 
This was very fiddly and could only be accomplished with tweezers and a palate knife to finesse  the tape into position.  Once satisfied and the tape edges burnished, I applied some clear dull-coat to the seam, in order to prevent any annoying bleed into the black.
 
In hindsight, I could have made these reveals a little thinner, but the impression is still good, and at least the depth is consistent from one port to the next:


I scraped away any ugly black paint over-brushing, just to quiet the voices in my head.
 
And, finally, I glued in the window plate, the top transom moulding and the side pilasters:



I discovered, after doing so, that I had made a mistake in trimming the pilaster tops flush with the window plate; the mistake is that I had failed to accommodate the raking angle of the stern, so I will eventually have to fill a gap between each of the pilaster tops and the wrapping stern balcony above them.  This, of course, is the beauty of plastic - I can make this edit fairly easily by splicing-in plastic shims.
 
One last shot of the transom interior, showing all of the interior structure:

I gave the model a good dusting, as I will bring it to our club meeting tonight; I was astonished at how much plastic dust had accumulated, so far.  I’ll have to be more mindful of that, now, as these windows will soon be completely inaccessible.
 
As ever, thank you for looking in, your likes and your comments.  It is all very much appreciated.

Last plank of the 2nd planking and the strategy to use walnut under the copper paid of well... got about 20 leftover boxwood stripes to be used in other projects!
 
I skipped the CA on the top planks and went back to PVA and clamps. 
 

Here's the project just laid out to get an idea of the work to follow. I had to do a quick assembly of the cardboard structures (they're just taped, they need to be reinforced from the inside, more framework) to see where they'll be placed.
 
Of course, the cardboard models have already been modified for some and not yet for others. Corrections are necessary. Also missing is the open hall, which will be a wooden frame with a tiled roof. And all kinds of small annex buildings, accessories, etc...
 

 

 

 

The following :





In addition, here is the final support of the village proposed by the kit: I will surely not use it at the end, another idea is already in progress to make the supports, but it will serve me to place the elements and the walls between buildings ... A sort of shipyard in fact!



Finally, I planned to make a little richer in the constructions than the rough stone representation, with nothing for the openings of windows, doors, bell tower, etc ... A little brick will not do any harm (to create very small, small!):

 
 
I only spent 10 or 15 more hours there: each stone takes time to adjust!
Afterwards, you have to sand, scrape, make the main joints, clean, wash, etc ... I have not yet definitively chosen what appearance I will give to the whole: all the full joints or leave a little "day" between the stones.

All this may seem a bit wobbly from time to time, but I am convinced that it will only make once in place, clean joints, aged, vegetated, in its environment on a base!

I have not been showing planking recently, because it is now just one plank after another until I finish the last strake of 4" planking below the channel wales.
 
However, I thought it might be of interest to show some things I have learned while planking.
 
First, I had a challenge scribing the upper edge of a spiled plank, particularly on a curved planks as at the bow. I tried using a manila filing folder template, but it was too irregular. I tried using a flexible curve, but it would not bend in two directions. So then I hit on the idea that works well for me. I plot the points through which the curve must flow, and then I use artist's tape to fit a smooth line to the points. This is the same as I did on the hull itself.

 
Then it is an easy thing to draw a sharp pencil line along the tape.

The uppermost 4" plank at the curve of the bow was the most difficult to fit so far. It curves around the bow, it curves up for the sheer, and it twists from vertical at the bow to sloping inward further aft because of the tumblehome. This piece took me almost four hours to fit.
Here is a dry fit to test the fairness of the mating edges:

Here is the piece clamped up:

And here is the result before final sanding:
 

 
You will see that I have a double band of black artist tape at the lower edge of the channel wales. When I first put it on, I put the upper edge of the tape against the plotted points on the hull. And when I finally got to the upper plank, I realized that the tape was now in the way of the plank! So I put another line of tape above, and I am peeling off the lower one as I fit the planks. Next time I put on tape for lines on the hull, the tape will go above the line!
 
Mark
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hull together, bilge keels and shafts added. I can now do up the hull plates after an overspray of primer 

Post 78
What to do with the T'gallant yard
 
From a modelling perspective this is the most difficult yard to secure.
 
It would be simple enough to pin the yard to the mast, add braces and Bowlines and think nothing further about it.
 
I may well come back to this option if all else fails.
 
All the evidence I have read on Cutter T’gallants is that they were set flying.

 
3302a(2)
The Hawke model clearly has no control lines to the T’gallant sail, beyond the Halyard and sheets; no parrel, no lifts, no braces, no bowlines.

3303a(3)
With a sail bent it is secured by the halyard and the sheets alone, but without a sail there is nothing to stop it swinging around on its halyard.
 
Marquardt writing in The Global Schooner states that:
During the Eighteenth Century t’gallant yards were generally set flying and rigged only with a halyard and occasionally single braces.
 
 
 
Harland refers to T’gallant and Royal sails being bent to the yard at deck level and taken up with the tackle already attached.
 
 
This would indicate that without sails the yard wouldn’t be in position and would be lowered and lashed perhaps to the shrouds.
 
 
Harland has a lot to say about sending light yards up and down.
He describes that on ships in harbour it was almost a sport to regularly run the yard up and down, partly as a training exercise for the more arduous conditions at sea, but grace and speed in carrying out the exercise was an important feature.
 
He describes the procedure for raising and lowering but it relates to a T’gallant with both braces and lifts, which are used in the process, but which are absent in the simplified rig of a cutter.

4720(2)
The more I read the more I am thinking that having the bare stick yard in position does not represent a realistic situation.
 
In modelling terms having it there does perhaps balance the look of the model and indicate the use of a T’gallant, so I am undecided which way to go.
 

4734
When not in use it should be more realistically stowed against the port side shrouds, but the question then arises how the yard was secured, was the Halyard still attached, and what tackle was kept with it.
 

4738
It would be simple enough to seize the yard to the fore shroud, but I don’t think that is enough.
 
As a non-sailor, I struggle to understand the mechanics of how these things were done, particularly on procedures in place 250 years ago.
 
I need to get my head around the detail given by Harland, and how it would relate to a cutter, but purely for aesthetic reasons, if I don’t like the look I’ll probably go back to plan A.
 
(just run it up without canvas for practice Guv’nor)
 

4742(2)
So, Gromit what d’ya think.
 
Sometimes I look back with fondness on those novice days, happy to assemble kits with a mind uncluttered by such detail.
 
Hey Ho
 
 
 
B.E.
08/03/2020
 
 
 
 
 

Post 77
Rigging around the sharp end resumed.
 
 
Changing my mind about the Foresail halyard.
 
The Foresail is bent to the Forestay using hanks. The kit arrangement has the halyard tackle running between the halyard block and a block secured beneath the Forestay collar and down to the winch bitts.

4727li
For the purposes of display I have hooked the tackle to an eyebolt in the stem, run it thro’ the stay block, and down to belay.
This is a lighter line than the halyard used for the jib, (I have used Syren 0.30mm)
 
This is what Steel has to say.
FORESAIL
 
Bends with hanks to the stay.
 
HALIARDS reeve through a block, lashed underneath the collar of the stay at the mast-head, and a block lashed to the head of the sail: the standing-part makes fast round the mast-head, and the leading-part comes down upon deck.
 
 
Unlike the jib arrangement Steel makes no mention of a falls tackle.
On this basis I have decided against fitting a deck tackle.
 

4728(2)li
The kit instructions indicate the belay at the winch cross piece, and the arrangement is also shown by Petersson (Rigging period fore and aft craft) except he has the belay to a pin on the portside rack. (not an option on Alert)
So, the winch cross piece it is, and I imagine in that position the winch could be used to assist the hauling.
 
Bowlines
 
I have followed the Alert book arrangement for the Topsail Bowlines using 3mm blocks separately stropped behind the cranse.
 

4721(2)li
Note: - only a double block for the Topsail Braces. I decided not to fit a T’gallant Stay on the basis that a) Hawke doesn’t have one, and b) the drawings in the Alert Book which show the stay are at variance with the narrative by Peter Goodwin.
 
 
The kit rigging has the Bowlines simply secured to the yards. I’m not sure that they are a required feature on a bare stick model, but they do help stabilise the yard so I will fit them.
 
In practice the bowlines were attached to the sails by bridles which should be reflected on the model if fitted with sails.
 

The Hawke model only shows bowlines attached to the Topsail.
 
 
Harland, (Seamanship in the Age of sail) in discussing the Bending, loosing, and furling a sail refers to Bowline bridles being permanently fitted to each topsail and kept with the sail.
 
However, there are examples of contemporary 18th c models with the bridles attached to the yards. The Atalanta model is one example, the Ipswich another.
Lees, (Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War) comments:
When models are not fitted with sails the bridles are timber hitched to the yard a little inboard from the yard arm cleats.
 
 
So, the choice is to simply hitch the lines around the yard or make up the bridles and attach those instead.
 
The pedant in me draws me towards fitting the bridles despite the additional work involved.
 

04713
A little fiddly to set up and match each side, one of the main problems is getting the bridles to hang naturally, and for this I weight them and paint with diluted pva.
 

04719
Port side Topsail bowline and bridle in place.
 
It helps to rig temporary aft running braces to the topsail yard to assist with the tension of the bowlines. (I don’t have a tye or parrel to haul against)
 

4718(2)
The diluted pva has done its work, the bridles remain untwisted.
 

4724(2)
Topsail Bowlines and braces in place.
 
I quite like to have a little natural sag in the bowlines and I will be working towards this effect.
 
The Alert Book indicates brace pendants to the Topsail yard, but these are not reflected on the Hawke model, or for that matter on the Roger Cole model of Alert, whereas he does show brace pendants on the aft running braces.
 
Brace pendants were a feature of yards of this era, but I wonder if given the fairly small size of Alert, and the deeply gored Topsail, this was deemed unnecessary.
 
I decided to simply splice the Topsail braces to the yardarms.
 
Square sail Bowlines
 
The Hawke model does not show these fitted, but Steel mentions them.
SQUARE-SAIL OR CROSS-JACK
 
Bends similar to a ship’s main or fore course.
 
BOWLINES reeve through a sheave in the double-block on the bowsprit-end, and on the bridle at the sail, the same as a ship’s. The leading-part comes in upon deck, and belays round the bitts.
 
 
I think that Steel writing in 1794 may be referring to a later arrangement and set-up for the Square sail than operated with the old cutter rig.
 
The kit also shows bowlines fitted to the square-sail, leading thro’ a double block in the stem and to the bitt rail on the windlass.
 
Marquardt mentions *Bowlines set up to the Square-sail, thro’ a double block at the end of the Bowsprit and belayed on the bitts or cleats on the inner bowsprit.
 
T’gallant sail Bowlines
 
Included in the kit instructions, but not mentioned by Steel, or evident on the Hawke model.
 
Goodwin also says that: -* Bowlines and bridles were omitted from the T’gallant and Square-sails as both were generally set flying.
 
With Goodwin this is another case of the words and drawings being at odds with each other. Drawings H6 and H7 indeed show bowline bridles.
 
I am going to stick with the Hawke model example and omit bowlines from both Square-sail and T’gallant sail, but it is evident there is wriggle room on the approach to take.
 
 
The Topsail yard rigging will now be tweaked to hold the yard steady, not such an easy task given that the yard is not secured to the mast.
 
 
B.E.
07/03/2020
 
 

I was expecting an Italian joke to pop up here, but it didn't directly, so no more need be said...

I was expecting an Italian joke to pop up here, but it didn't directly, so no more need be said...

Cheers gents,
 
Small update reflecting this weekend's work.  Have been unsure what to do with the fore companion ladder and whether to include the safety lines and whether these would look right, but approaching point where decision is needed.  I seem to recall reading in TFFM that the hand ropes would have been secured to small ringbolts in the deck below (there really should be a word for the situation where you remember reading something but then are subsequently unable to find the reference when actually needed!).  Small PE ring bolts were used in the lower deck and 0.3mm line secured to them with a false splice.  RB Models stanchions were used as they seemed a little more to scale, rather than the kit supplied items which appeared too tall - these may not be completely period accurate, but are close enough to my eye. 
 
I feel there should also be something around the main hatch companion ladder, but cant quite see what this would look like, as the iron supports for the pumps are obstructions.
 
The only way I could figure out to install these was to estimate the length of line needed and then attach the ringbolts off the model to - I was anticipating many redoes here but luckily seemed to get it how I was hoping on the first attempt.  The location of the ringbolts was determined by dry fitting the companion ladder, the ladder only being finally installed once the hand ropes were all in position.
 

Many thanks all for the comments and likes, definitely good to have people along for the journey..
 
Feels like a chapter is coming to a close, finally seem to be closing in on completing the upper deck.  Definitely a multitude of time consuming small tasks.  First off I needed to address the fixed part of the gangway.  This is shown quite clearly in plan view on page 46 of AOTS Diana, however it is not shown in profile.  Given that it appears to contain its own lodging knee, I decided to extend the profile of the deck beam.  This seems to make sense when recognizing that a ladder will eventually be located here.  This highlights one of the inconsistencies in the AOTS book, many diagrams show the non-flush gangboards which I understand were going out of fashion at this point to be replaced by flush gangboards.  Hoping I'm not too far off the mark here.  A strip with a slight profile was added also to the deck beam to sit flush with the false quarterdeck.
 
The base plate to the stove was ripped off and replaced despite my intentions to leave as, hopefully this sits a little more harmoniously.
 

 
Cables have been added and "secured" to the various ring bolts beside the midship gratings.  AOTS describes these as being used for stoppers, but decided to secure with simpler ring ropes as described in Lever.  Stoppers have been modelled as per Lever on the 2 foremost ring bolts, but not yet tied on or attached permanently to allow me to finally decide (or others to refute) the approach taken.
 

 
Even though this area will only ever be glimpsed, time was spent fully building out the area around the foremast with the For jeer and for topsail sheet bitts as they would appear.  The actual bitts on the fo'c'sl will be mounted to the deck, seemed unnecessarily complicated to build these fully.  Couldn't quite figure out what was represented on diagrams for the fore jeer bitts until I saw interior photos of contemporary models in the Roger's Dockyard Model collection - but still no clue what the "swan neck" arrangement is called.  What is very interesting is how crowded this forward area really is, fighting these guns must have been a real challenge.
 

 
Warning:  Here follows some highly indulgent closeups taken on Captain's rounds!  This is the closest I guess I'll get to seeing what this looked like in practice
 

 
And finally...some overall shots with where things stand..
 

Quick update.  Increasingly realizing I'm reaching a point that I need to attach the upper false foc's'l and quarter deck template before more progress can be made, but  a couple of items I need to finalize and figure out first.
 
Main and mizzen backstay stools:
Unfortunately when I made the channels I neglected to make the stools at the same time, In a moment of focus decided to just get these done.  These smaller items were definitely trickier than the channels when scraping the edge profile, other than that, these can be put aside for when I'm ready to install the quarterdeck drift rail.
 

 
Upper deck coamings:
As mentioned previously, I'd like to keep the option to have a few of the gratings be removeable.  First off, appropriately sized gratings were made up, and the coamings then sized accordingly.  I cheated here and used a simple butt joint as I didn't think the more authentic lap joint would really be visible.  These were made of 3x3mm strip and 2x3mm strip with the inside ledge added after with some slightly thinned 1mm strip.  The grating thickness had to be thinned quite a bit to make it them sit flush.  These will also be simulating actual practice and so the edges were rounded off to 1mm above the bottom to butt up against planking.  TFFM was used as a guide here.
 

 
Once the coamings were finished, the fake beams and cross pieces could be made up to the appropriate size.  The ends were sloped to ensure that the end of the face beam would not be visible for viewing angles.
 

 
Adjustments were made to the false deck to accommodate the larger openings and positions tweaked a little.  For the foc's'l, the coaming size does not match the deck cut-out or AOTS exactly due to the limited incremental options for the grating size.  The stove flue needs to sit equidistant between the steam grate and the forward grating which moved forward slightly.  The steam grating needs to be positioned appropriately to allow the belfy to sit on the aft end of the steam grate coaming.
 
The top tackle scuttles have been filled in to ease future planking - the instructions indicate that there should be coamings and gratings here, however, these will be modeled as flush scuppers without a coaming as described in AOTS and shown on contemporary models. Although the surface of the center deck is very slightly curved, it is a close enough approximation to a flat surface that the flat top of the fake frame seem to sit without issue.  Lighting is clearly an issue here, and the interior is a little more visible than the photo's suggest, and probably more so in a well lit room.
 
Of note is the fact that the stove, and especially the condenser, sits a little higher than ideally would be the case, although looking at the AOTS diagrams its still a tight fit there as well.  In retrospect, I would probably not have put wooden battens underneath the bottom plate to lower this by 1mm or so, but not going to risk damage at this point to redo.
 

 
Putting some scrap planking in place give a better sense for the final proportion and the above deck rounded edge.  Think these will be a nice contrast to the much higher coamings of the exposed upper deck below needed to withstand water ingress.
 

Thanks everyone, need to record a few things before moving on too much further:
 
Tackles:
Boy, these blighters take time.  I will definitely not be fully rigging each gun, but will look to rig those fall into possibly the 'noticeable in the background' category.  Here's the method I found works best for me.  Apologies for the photos, an iPhone is really not the best at trying to photograph tiny objects suspended in the air.
 
A hook was threaded with 0.3mm Syren line and some overhand knots tied to seize this securely.  Drop of GS Hypo cement to keep secure before trimming excess.  The long ends are then placed around the block and loose overhand knot tied.
 

 
A length of line for the tackle fall is then inserted into the loop and then threaded back through itself as for a false splice.

 
Pulling the overhand know tight around the block, and simultaneously tightening the false splice secures the knot around the block.  Another small drop of GS Hypo cement on the false splice helps keep this secure, and placing the end of the stropping line into 'helping hands' helps keep the knot tight while the cement dries.

 
Slightly weighting the tackle fall line (in this case with tweezers) allows the alignment if the block to be tweaked before the cement sets fully.  Thin thread can then be seized around the splice to secure it, I find alternating overhand knots gives a pretty secure and easy result.  Once more, another drop of GS Hypo on the seizing helps ensure this doesn't unravel once trimmed.

 

 
Once completed, I use some dilute PVA glue on the stropping prior to trimming off any excess as some additional insurance as it is a frustrating experience for these to break when frapping.  The tackle falls were then fed through the previously stropped double blocks, and then frapped on the service machine as per a previous post.  The last turn was secured simply by feeding back through the prior turn and pulling taught.  The completed tackle can then be placed where needed and some dilute PVA applied again to the whole tackle - special attention was paid to ensuring the tackle fed through the frapping was secured with glue.  The entire tackle can then be removed once dry and the excess line trimmed.  Its a simple matter to hook these back into position.  Et voila!
 

 
Stove:
The stove has also been given a little more TLC and is now glued into position.  Handles for the boilers were added, as well as rails which were made from brass rod.  The rails were the treated with some JAX 'Brown' to darken it a little a keep it in keeping with the colour of the copper still.  As described in a previous post, I've followed TFFM simulating wooden battens under the custom base plate rather than simulating tiles, they would not been seen in any event once the main riding bitts are in place.  Temporarily putting the fo'c'sl deck in place shows that much of this will be obscured even if the various gratings are made removeable which I plan to do.
 

 
In closing, a quick summary of the 3D printed stove.  With a little work I'm happy with the way this turned out.  Comparison to the kit supplied version shows the dimensions to be a little more authentic, and the detailing is much more pleasing than the approximations on the supplied white metal parts.  To be fair, no work was done to pretty this up, but I'd certainly recommend this as a simple 'upgrade'.
 

 
 
 

Thanks Pat, Carl, Kevin, Jean-Paul and 'the likes' for not forgetting me! 
 
Update on a modification made right back at the start of the build.  I had initially planned to add a bowsprit step to achieve 2 things: a little more 'interest' on for the upper deck for those peeking through gun ports and a more robust engineering solution to the attachment of the bowsprit.  Both of these are still valid, but a third reason has also just become apparent to make me very glad I decided to mod this.  Bottom line, I can't quite see myself moving forward and rigging 'Jason' at this point, which would still be a long way off if past progress is any indication.  However, I would like to leave that option open for the future, and this allows me keep moving forward without making any sort of final decision.
 
Some angled 'wedges' were added to the first deck frame to match the angle of the bowsprit step which was then glued into place.  A pin was then inserted at the center position of the bowsprit position.  Maybe went overboard on securing this, but don' think you can be too careful, it was pinned at the bottom, PVA glue secured to the beam, and then pinned into the beam.  While positioning all this it was important to keep checking the clearance over the figurehead, I'd worked through this already when making the original modification and luckily no further complications arose.
 

 
A hole can then simply be drilled into the end of the bowsprit, and once the aft end is appropriately angled, this sits very snuggly and securely even without glue.  The benefit is that this is removable and replaceable even with the fo'c'sl deck in place.  I've made up a 'stub' that will probably be used for now, and also a dowel that can be made into a bowsprit should I also go in that direction.  The fore bits are also now glued in position with a few other details which will likely be lost when the fo'c'sl goes on, but its fun to experiment.
 
In other news, there was some months ago an addition to the Wellington family, her name is Mazie, and shes a loveable 14 week old 'Whoodle' (Wheaton terrier/poodle mix).  While she has many particular skills, dockyard assistance is not currently one of them...

I was expecting an Italian joke to pop up here, but it didn't directly, so no more need be said...

Michael, that looks great, looking forward to moving my QAB forward as well soon so I can follow in your footsteps 🙂

I was expecting an Italian joke to pop up here, but it didn't directly, so no more need be said...

Had the Speedy boxes arrive yesterday. Today, no work on Speedy, but a trip to the Bristol Museum, which was a long arranged meeting with the curator of ship models. He very kindly took the contemporary model out of its case in storage, placed it on a sturdy table/stand on castors, and left me to it for however long I wished. I was in heaven!  The scale is 64th, so the same as the kit it will be, although I may not include the berthed up forecastle bulwarks, I am sure these were a slightly later addition..
Arethusa, 1781, 18-pounder 38 gun frigate, one of the very first built for the Royal navy
 
I thought I's share a few of the many pics I took (all straight off the camera with file size reduced, but no colour/contrast correcting)
 
I didn't want to leave it, could have looked at it all afternoon...
 

I was expecting an Italian joke to pop up here, but it didn't directly, so no more need be said...

Welp, this year has been slow in the shop.  The flu this year has been particularly rough on our workforce.  Many call offs and sick days means the rest of us are working and covering more than usual.  I was able to get a bit of progress.  No longer looking like a bulk cargo container carrier when upright.  The redone rear planking came out pretty well.  A small spacer jig was used to set up the flying transom worked well.  The hardest part so far was trimming the bottom planks evenly in a graceful curve up from the transom to the flying transom. I did leave just a bit of extra plank sticking out on the rear of the flying transom and will sand them flush once the cap rail is installed.  Still need to add the little rectangle planks.  Next stop is to sand the top of the frames down flush so the caprail sits nicely.  Then will add the rectangles.
 

Just press fit for now.  Everything lines up really well.  Very nice design
 

 

So there are two large panels that cover the hangar that slide (or are lifted) to the side and the crane lifts the aircraft out or in. This diagram shows an older version of aircraft with wings that were removed, ands with a hoist, but it appears the Trumpeter Zara kept this width were the WW2 version obviously widened the hatches. .
 
This is a screen capture from a gentleman who made a 1/100 radio controlled model of Zara. Notice how he has a wider and longer deck hatch as well.

So, made up a little hangar bay to park up the second floatplane