Beef Wellington

Having nearly finished Snake (been on hiatus for a while) and determined to finish, in retrospect I think I should have gone with 'Cruizer' for among the following reasons:
 Copper plating is not an easy out, its time consuming in of itself.  You could always add it to a Cruizer model by buying separately if you desire.  The masting and rigging is slightly less involved, 2 masts vs 3 - Snake is my first build and Cruizer might have been slightly simpler to get head around trigging and also less repetition

I built Cruiser with some modifications to better represent the class. Materials are generally good, as are the plans. As an early CC kit the instructions are lacking badly. I barely used them anyway, but depending on your experience level it's something to keep in mind. 
 
The link to my build is in the "completed section of my signature. 
 
 

Here's the main sling installed
 

Mark - where does one buy mica for this purpose?  

Thanks, Siggi, this is very helpful. druxey has also explained to me how I might use mica for the glass, and this would certainly work better in the sense of much thinner windows.
Here is what that the detail would look like:
 

I will pick up some mica and see how this might work.
 
Mark

Thanks @Mirabell61 @yvesvidal
 
Coils around the main mast. 
 

Post 73.

 
Rattlin’ down

 For this I am using Syren 0.20mm ø line equivalent to 1½” circumference.

 I have opted for a 13” spacing (5mm) which should result in around 35 lines across the shrouds.


4559(2)
I simply can’t be doing the little eye fastenings to the outer shrouds at this scale but clove hitches are used on shrouds 2 and 3.

Altho’ the Alert book shows wooden shroud battens (Sheer poles) above the deadeyes I’m not convinced they were generally in use at this time so I have omitted them.


4564

4570
My very experienced Topman old Bob having previously served with distinction on both Pickle and Pegasus, has come out of retirement to check out the ratlins.

 

4573
You can tell from the soles of old Bob’s feet that the ratlins have been freshly tarred, altho’ you’re only likely to find him in this position when he’s overdone it with the grog ration.

 
On the subject of tarring the ratlines the kit instructions suggest colouring the lines post fitting using stain or India ink.

This is a very bad idea, stain the line before you use it.

 
The knots are painted with diluted pva and close-trimmed using a scalpel blade.


4565(2)
Looking at the photo’s I may have to fiddle with one or two of the ratlines but the main objective to avoid any distortion to the shrouds has been achieved.

I can now feed the yard and sail lines thro’ the shrouds to belay, and continue with the rigging.
 
B.E.

23/02/2020

 
 

Thank you Michael 🙂
 
Post 72
 
Time for a general tidy-up
 
Over the past few days I have been attending to sorting out some of the rigging jobs and tidying up lines.

4507
The running backstay tackles have been completed with hooks to attach to the iron hull plates.

4513
The Stay and Preventer stay lanyards are now in place.
 
 
Topsail Yard
 
In addition to the centre tye block, standing clew line blocks are required.
 

4514
The given 3mm blocks indicated in the kit instructions are about right for size at scale.
 
The kit shows a truss to secure the yard to the mast. Apart from the historical evidence indicating to the contrary, such a fitting would need to be quite slack to allow movement of the yard.
 
On a model however, it would help stabilise the yard and make rigging easier.
I fitted the halyard tackle with a 0.20mm line running down to the deck to belay on a port side mast cleat.
 

4517
At the yard arms are the two T’gallant sheet blocks also 3mm.
Secured around the Topmast head above the Topsail yard are blocks in a span for the T’gallant sheet falls.
 
The Alert Book once again has contrary information; drawing H6 shows blocks in a span, whereas Drawings H9 and H22/1 (close detail) indicates thimbles in a span.

4519
It looks to me that the Hawke model has thimbles so I will go with those.
It is easier to do this before the mast cap is put into place, that way the span can be formed off model and then slipped over the masthead.
 
Completing the T’gallant mast and Yard
 
 

04531
A sheave has been added to the mast for the yard halyard and a truck made for the top.
The mast can now be set in place. It shouldn’t be necessary to glue either mast or cap if the fit is correct.
 
T’Gallant Yard
This is a simple affair which apart from the central eye spliced tye has no other fittings before the yard is raised.
The only controlling lines are the Bowlines running forward to the Bowsprit end which will hold it square but there are no aft running lines to counter the forward pull.
 
Without the benefit of trusses and pins, stabilising the yards becomes a delicate balancing act.
 

04516
The first thing to fix are the topsail sheets and clews. Attaching the sheets holds the spread-sail yard down whilst the clews pull the topsail yard down and counter the pull of the sheets on the spread-sail yard.
 
Even at this stage the yards are held square to the mast, but the later addition of braces and bowlines will secure any lateral movement.
 
The T’gallant yard is the most difficult yard to stabilise.
I may have to resort to a small pin to hold it against the mast to get the required tension on the Bowlines.
 
Boom sheet
So, I can finally set the Boom topping lift I now need to attend to the boom sheet tackle, to counter the pull of the lift.
 

04504
For this I am using 4mm double and single blocks coupled with 0.45mm line for the tackle falls.
 
The shroud cleats have now been attached.
 

04510
Tricky little beggars to get in place inside the shrouds, I hold them in place with pva and then add the lashing.
 

04535
Before I make any permanent attachments to the cleats I need to attend to the rattlin’ down otherwise I will be working around lines running inside the shrouds which is not ideal.
 

04524(2)

04526(2)
Starting to look a little more ship shape now, but there’s still a way to go.
 
B.E.
21/02/2020
 

Hey Mike, can definitely relate!  The CC Diana kit predates the precut strip approach and is exactly what you are dealing with.  What I found especially tricky was keeping the sides of the gunport vertical (parallel with hypothetical frames), but the top/sill parallel to the sheer of the deck.  Can't tell from your photos whether the rearmost ports are completely square or not from your photos.  Anyway, congrats on reaching this stage, looks more like a man o' war now than a bathtub, very satisfying I'm sure.

Finally done laying my "scratchbuilt" maple deck! 
 
Once it has been cleaned up i will post some comparison photos with the engraved. I think i took the right decision but the engraved would had saved me alot of time. But i want it to go better with my other builds so maple it is.
 
A couple of tips if you want to do it yourself is that you try to get hold of better quality wood that you dont have to sand on the sides. Also having a disksander for the tips is extremily helpful. 

So I have finally decided to go with my own maple....

Yes, of course, soon its time to start coppering again and it will be interesting to see how the Vanguards copper comes out compared to my HMS Snake (Caldercraft).
 
Here is the result after sanding. 

I am no masterplanker but it looks much better than my previous builds.


Boxwood is amazing to work with and i am really happy i went with the master shipwright version. However, there are some colour variations in the wood. I tried to use similar planks and picked out the most "yellowish ". Some are almost gray in comparison.

Mark, this is a good question.  I know its a different period but Trincomalee clearly shows dummy lights, in her case painted green.  It would seem odd to me to put glass in front of the wood as I can't see any purpose to it, and it was very common during this period to paint windows on houses with black background and simulated white frames to represent windows to maintain the symmetry in Georgian architecture - often windows were filled in to respond to the 1696 'window' tax - I jest not!  Interestingly, the fore and rear light in the side gallery are similarly false.  I suspect it is model makers whimsy to panel these with simulated glass for aesthetic purposes.
 

Hello,
Druxey, there are always exceptions from the rule. With other words, there are no rules.
 
Here some pictures from my collection. At the Dragon I painted the wood behind the window frames just black, but if you look from the side it glazed a little

The Bellona, it did't look like glas. There is no glazing!

and the other Bellona, Mark you did the picture

and the Superb, without any window to the back

and the last window to the side is blind without glazing

 
 

Mark, this is a good question.  I know its a different period but Trincomalee clearly shows dummy lights, in her case painted green.  It would seem odd to me to put glass in front of the wood as I can't see any purpose to it, and it was very common during this period to paint windows on houses with black background and simulated white frames to represent windows to maintain the symmetry in Georgian architecture - often windows were filled in to respond to the 1696 'window' tax - I jest not!  Interestingly, the fore and rear light in the side gallery are similarly false.  I suspect it is model makers whimsy to panel these with simulated glass for aesthetic purposes.
 

Mark, this is a good question.  I know its a different period but Trincomalee clearly shows dummy lights, in her case painted green.  It would seem odd to me to put glass in front of the wood as I can't see any purpose to it, and it was very common during this period to paint windows on houses with black background and simulated white frames to represent windows to maintain the symmetry in Georgian architecture - often windows were filled in to respond to the 1696 'window' tax - I jest not!  Interestingly, the fore and rear light in the side gallery are similarly false.  I suspect it is model makers whimsy to panel these with simulated glass for aesthetic purposes.
 

Hi Gaetan and Jason,
 
Thanks, this is additional confirmation for what I now see would have been a clearly common practice.
I remember reading about false windows on buildings in England, so there would have been a cultural precedent.
Interesting in the photo Jason provided above that the fore and aft windows were also false, except for what appears to be one upper sash of one window. The captain must have desired exceptional privacy when docked!
Good point about whether there was glass on the outside of the false window paneling. Maybe that was just a modeler's conceit, because it would have been expensive and vulnerable to provide glass for no functional purpose in the real ship. But then there were a lot of expensive, vulnerable and functionally useless things on these ships like the carvings and friezes. Maybe aesthetics counted far more than we assume today.
 
Mark

I had to take off time from the ship for some overdue dermatology treatments. Living for so many years in Denver at 5280 feet altitude (1609 meters) put my skin way too close to the sun. Now I live at a measly 2930 feet (892 meters) I can hardly see the sun.😎
 
So back in the shop, I have finished up one more strake of 4" planking above the main wales. In this photo you can see just how much the planking forms an S curve at the stern, as the bulging tumblehome flows into the straight edge at the stern structure.
 
You can see from the pencil marks on the planking that this is yet to be sanded on the surface, and yet to have sawdust cleared out of the corners of the ports. It also looks a little raw white. The nice golden patina seen on the rest of the hull will come after 5-6 months of exposure to the air once it is finish sanded.  And once the finish is applied, it should eventually look the color of the frames below the wales. The wale will of course be painted black.
 
Just one more strake before the channel Wales between the black lines!
 
Mark

Deck has been planked (including windlass pads and thick pads at the masts) and painted. I masked from templates I made copying the plans and airbrushed the white. The areas that I stained should be gray, based on the instructions, but I didn't like how much of the plank detail disappeared under the white paint, so I elected to just stain it a weathered color. 

Update!
The sides of the other hatches have been lined with thinned pear wood strips to conceal the ply deck which was nearly white. The main mast partner was made from one piece of 3mm pear wood. I use a technique from the plastic model guys here, panel line scribing, to make it look like several parts. This will probably work here as it will be hardly visible tucked away in the catacombs of the lower deck. One or two more coats of oil are still needed here.

This is when disaster struck. The wood oil had settled down to an even but matt finish after a week so I decided to give the deck one more coat. Without really looking I grabbed the can of grain filler and only noticed it when I had finished. Duh! The whole deck was sanded down again but the filler had still penetrated the wood to some degree, so after another coat of oil the finish was not as smooth and even as it used to be. I‘ll leave it for another week to see how it looks then.
Going through Beef Wellington‘s thread I saw the deck beams, parts 7a, 8a and 9a. These are shown on the drawings but not mentioned in the text so I nearly missed them. They are, however, not all the the correct locations. They should line up with the ends of the hatches and two need to be added at the centres. For this new attachments needed to be made. I‘ve ordered 5mm pear wood to replace the plywood beams.

Some tweaking is still needed here

Thanks for looking,
chris

Just had my 19th eye injection on Tuesday so I've not been in my shop since mid last week in a effort to keep fine dust out of my eye so it might not aggravate the recovery... and it seems to have worked.
So I spent the time at my computer researching where all the little things go on the bowsprit and jib boom I made earlier.
I have been frustrated to no end by all the contradictory information out there.
 
My go to books (in order of precedent) are Ree's, Steels, The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860, The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships, and Rigging Period Ship Models.
I have saved a number of reference RMG model images ... having spent the morning going through about 170 of those on site as was recommended to me.
I also searched some paintings and sketches but they didn't seem to tell me much.   Possibly it is the recent needle trauma, or the cataracts... did I mention I have those too!
Geeze retirement is fun.
 
As I will be building her as I imagined she looked when launched there will be no dolphin striker, and I will have both the spritsail yard and the spritsail topsail yard as all is clear for the latter sail.
 
I've checked my drawing gammoning alignment with my gammoning holes and they align very well but my holes are too short to receive the nine to eleven turns of 2-1/2" diameter rope, so these need to be elongated in the correct direction at some point in the future.
 
Tomorrow I will start to mark all the lines on my drawing with references to the particular source and images so I do not have to re-learn it all again down the road... and all is in a binder to keep it together.
 
Monday I will start sanding frames again... and in the next month or so make some cleats, saddles, hoops, yards, and a fairlead for the bowsprit and jib boom that are stored away.
 
Here is the drawing I've made.

Pottering away on lower mast rigging....going slower than expected due to number of trips away to meet family etc.  
 

good evening everyone
 
spent this weekend on the funnel area, was meant to be a easy task, but it wasnt, took a lot longer than it needed to but at this time im happy with the results
 
i have decided on her final colours, they are colour coat enamels supplied by soverign Hobbies and will represent her 1945 image
the ladder, 3 piece PE set with a shaped ring

Ladder need to go forward at the base in line with the steam pipes
 
the new steam pipe does not look rifht, infact it looks like it being forced into position, i will have to sort that out during the week



 
 
 

good evening everyone
 
i moved from aft again to the bridge area, and progressed onto the the twin guns (20mm) i think,
one went together ok but the other one became a disaster, not helped by dropping it and not finding it because it caught in the dogs hair as later found in the garden
the platforms have to be adapted, to allow for the guard rails, the etch has a scribe line where it is to be cut if required ( as this gun was used in many builds) and it may not need to be adapted
then i cleaned the platforms with the etch cleaner, and for the first time i mixed a tiny amount of the etch primer let it sit for 3 hours and applied it, i impressed with the results, but also learnt not to put the etch cleaner in plastic yogurt pots


 
 
 

HI ☺️