Beef Wellington

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...

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...

OC, Carl, Rob, Thomas, Mike, Dave, Pat and all the likes...definitely helps keeping one moving forward!
 
Finally, have all the guns in position an the breeching ropes in place.  Amazingly time consuming, no more need be said, and glad its behind me.  I did allow myself the small concession of using a ringbolt for the less visible guns, and went with a ringbolt and ring for those visible in the waist area.  Despite the latter being more 'correct', the jury is still out on whether the results totally warrant it at this scale as the eyebolts only version seems acceptable to my eye (comparison photo below).   As usual, dilute PVA was used to help keep the breech ropes in position and to try give them a sense of weight.  Photos seem to call attention to all the little dings and dents that seem unavoidable and thankfully not really noticeable during normal viewing.
 
A very simple jig was used to help keep lengths consistent.  When using rings, I found that opening up a ringbolt using a small metal point and reclosing was easier, faster and predictable than opening up the ring itself.
 

Happy New year to everyone!  First off my apologies for not being on the site as much as usual and checking in on everyone's progress, something I hope to rectify soon. 
 
My progress has been limited, some small steps have been taken, and problems encountered that stopped me in my tracks for a while.
 
Channel Brackets:
The kit supplies PE channel support brackets, unfortunately I found this unworkable as is as the profile impinged on the decorative molding, they're also a little wider than indicated on the plan.  The PE parts are scored pretty heavily at the bending points so trying to tweak these was not really an option.  The problem also identified by others is that there are not enough provided in the kit (per the AOTS there are 3 shown on the mizzen, 6 for main and 4 for the fore channel) and only 11 provided, so the kit is 2 short.  Further analysis suggests its likely 3 short as there are 2 brackets used between ports, and it appears that one is simply hidden behind the stock of the anchor on page 69.  I'm going to reflect 5 brackets on the fore channel.  Another slight complication is that the mizzen brackets need to be smaller to account for the lower position of the channel in the open rail configuration I'm following.  Basically I needed to make my own, and without any really good photos to follow went with my gut.
 

 
Not having any other suitable materials handy, my eye turned to one of the spare sets of PE from other CC kits I had purchased a while back.  Not sure which kit, but a little filing and cutting to length allowed the chains to be workable.  These also appear to be almost exactly the same narrower width as shown in the AOTS profiles.  The center portion of the Diana PE part was re-purposed to attach to the channel.  Exactly the same approach was taken for the mizzen, except that the top of the Diana PE part was used and different dimensions for the bracket supporter.  This was all rather fiddly and took rather longer than I'd care to admit... 🙂
 

 

 
Cannons....finally:
Once the channel supporters were in place I could then proceed with installation of the cannons.  These are now glued in place (using CA), I didn't pin these in place as this would have been a little problematic at this stage, and they seem quite secure as is.  Breeching ropes were attached off the ship prior to installation.  Another self imposed delay was decision to go with 'light brown' Syren line rather than the 'tan' used previously - this seems to have a tone that blends better with the colour palette.  The Syren line is very nice to work with and the usual trick of using dilute PVA was used to fine tune the final profile.  For these more obscured cannons, I used a simple eyebolt to secure the breach rope, for the more visible ones in the waist, I want to explore using ringbolt as per practice, but even using a simple eyebolt gives a satisfactory result to my eye at this scale.
 

 
And finally, the exterior shot...in retrospect I'm happy with the decision to install the channels and brackets first as I'm pretty sure there would have been collateral damage to cannons during installation.  5 down, 23 to go.

Wonderful work. Always a pleasure to follow the progress of the project. Inspiring and motivating ! Thank you

lovely to see an update from you, stunning work

Very crisp details. You have been busy like a background process running on a server.

Very nice BW; extremely well executed workmanship.  I like your idea of leaving the scuttles open as that is some nice detail to view (if not obscured by the rigging etc when you add it?)

For Speedy, it's been boring stuff like painting the inner bulwarks red. Still use a mix of Humbrol for the red, so takes a lot longer to dry between coats.
 
Planking complete, along with main wale, and have just added the prow. I have added a few 'alignment jigs' with the 3mm MDF to help ensure the prow remains straight whilst the glue cures - nothing worse than a wonky prow!
 
Like the Alert, the keel is not completely straight at the bottom, but has a slight curve..
 
I think I shall leave the masking tape over the deck for as long as possible.
 
 
 
 

Lovely stuff Jesse, rigging looks very neat and you did a great job with the line you used.  Glad I didn't miss the end which seems to be approaching soon 🙂

Our fully rigged Swan class  3D model is almost complete. How cool would it have been to have this photo when building your fully framed model? The CD should be ready later this year. Kudos to Denis!
 

Despite the fiddliness those swivel guns came out really well!  I need to start thinking about lids myself.  Quick question on the KristalKlear as your lights turned out really nicely.  I've never used it before but have some waiting, how did you apply it?  The guidance seems to suggest building it up once in position but its hard to mentally get comfortable with that, and I don't want to mess it up and ruin the PE.  Any concerns with it not drying completely clear?

Jason - the KK is quite easy to apply.  Put a fairly substantial drop on a pin or toothpick, and run it around the edges of the windows.  Then draw the pin across the widow and from top to bottom.  You may need another drop to cover the hole.  It shouldn't be necessary to build it up, but if it is necessary I don't think it would be a problem.  I have had no problem with cloudiness, but you must avoid the fumes from CA glue.  Once the CA is fully dried (leave it for a day or two) there should be no fumes.   While doing my Vanguard I wasn't careful enough, and one window was fogged. I simply cut it out with a craft knife (it's easy) and reapplied.  Incidentally PVA has no effect on the KK, so wherever possible it is best to use it.

Progress.  The lower trim for the transom decorations came out well to my pleasant surprise.  In addition to the curvature shown above (the method worked well), there is also a fairly significant curvature of the transom itself.  As I noted previously, the trim is reluctant to bend, so in gluing it below the decoration, it was left clamped in position for four days.  The opaque parts of the windows shown below is simply Kristak Klear that has not yet completely dried.
 

The cabin light lids are finished.  Rather than simply drilling 0.5mm holes for the 'ropes' , I used electrical shrink tubing which I think makes a tidier job.
 

Here is the before and after of the tubing.  Apply heat with a hair drier and stretch.
 

Finally I have started on the swivel guns.  Putting the nobs on the handles is diabolically difficult (drilling a hole in the nob to receive the handle proved impossible) and the result is both fragile and barely acceptable.
 

 
 
 
 

Post 6
Planking continues
I have inserted a balsa filler in the lower hull between bulkheads 4 and 5 which has the greatest space, but I don't think fillers are necessary elsewhere.

739
I planked the hull down to the lower deck level,  using a rule of thumb taper and bend method.
Below this where planking gets tighter I lined off the hull into two bands, the upper of five strakes and the lower of six planks.

737(2)
I used the tick strip method to determine the required tapers.

741
Once tapered water and heat was used to form the necessary edge bend and bow curve.

930
I have given up on trying to leave a space for the second planking in the stem slot, it just doesn't work for me.

931
I will work the remaining strakes up from the Garboard plank which will probably leave me with a spiled plank on the underside of the hull.

932
As with all such builds it is the bow area that is the trickiest, the run of planks to the stern is fairly straightforward.

933
This is the state after a light sanding, one or two lumps and dinks to fettle but I'll leave that until the planking is complete.
 
The quality of the Lime-wood planks is good, and they take a tapering cut very well.
 
I have twelve strakes left to complete and there will be three full lengths of first planking left when I've finished, barring any mishaps.
 I have scrapped a couple of lengths which snapped during the bow bending operation and another couple due to mis-cuts, but I am left with a small pile of shorter lengths which would come in if push came to shove.
 
I rarely enjoy this first stage of a build, but I know from experience that it will come right once the sanding is  completed.
 
On the subject of first planking it is refreshing to see that Chris has chosen to show in the build manual, the hull in all its roughness with ridges and hollows and clinkering, the point at which many new builders look and think Blimey, will this ever look right? - yes it will with careful finishing.
 

797
 
The shipyard is now closing for a week whilst we head up to North Yorkshire, looking forward to those fish and chips at the Cod and Lobster in Staithes.
 
B.E.
11/07/2019
 

A major part of the build is now done. There are 4 radio masts on the side which I can’t do until the planes are put on the flight deck. 
 
Armament and fittings now, then the aircraft. , 
 
 





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Only a little update today as I've been playing around with the upper bow timbers and fairing them into the adjacent ones.
 
In these pictures, most of the subsequent upper timbers are only plugged into position to gauge a few things as I progress, plus I was interested in seeing how things would look! I was a little worried that the bow timbers wouldn't sand evenly into each other, but I needn't have as all is perfectly ok. My thanks to Peta_V for his encouraging words too. 
 
A Dremel was used to profile/finish the interior bow area, and a medium grit sanding stick was employed on the exterior. next up is adding the notches to some of the frames and dry fitting them against the pear inner bulwark lining.
 

Beautiful work Greg and very interesting subject.  I go away for a few months an you start, and nearly complete, this beast...

When I got home from work this morning, before going to bed, I glued the deck in place, so it had plenty of time to cure. This morning, I planked the inner bulwarks, painting the planks first (although they will need painting again), so I have a nice clean line between deck edge and lowest plank on the bulwark.
 
I will now mask off the deck, as it will be so easy to damage it, and then sand the inner bulwarks smooth and re-paint after filing out the sweep and gun port openings.

Okay: the upside of the british summer is that you can play cricket, go biking, fishing, sailing, on holiday and hold BBQs; the downside is that time spent on the model gets eroded.  The result is that progress has slowed...but not stopped.  I have been slogging on with the second planking of the ship.  My ambition was to be precise and use the process as a learning experience - improve my planking skills.  in reality I accepted that all this will be hidden under copper plates therefore whilst absolutely important to ensure the shape and flow of the hull is correct, the actual planking is of secondary consideration.   I have finished the portside and am halfway down the stbd side.  I have lined some of the lidded gun-ports and finished planking around the upper bulwarks.  I have noted one error which will irritate me for many weeks to come.  The upper gunports, those around the quarterdeck, have, I believe, been fitted correctly, they are level with each other and in the correct position but the edges of the ports are not vertically parallel with those cut into the ships side for the lower gundeck.   I'm not sure how it came about but suspect the cutting of my lower gunports is to blame especially on the port side where I should have been more disciplined in setting the vertical references.  I'm not sure there is much I can do about this.  A model always has a 'best side' and I think I've just discovered that mine will be a starboard girl!
 
I have to tiddly up some of the woodwork around the lower ports and just file/square the upper ones - the photo is slightly worse than the actual model is!  My plan is to complete the planking, finish the gunport linings, sand and then take stock on how she looks.  First stumble - hey ho. All learning process.

Hi all,
 
Well finally been able to get some things done that tangibly move things forward.  The area around the mainmast is one of the more interesting and complex areas to get situated.  All of these items were scratchbuilt, which of course resulted in the usual re-does as the geometry is critical to get right as the pump axel and cranks need to align with minimal tolerances.
 
Capstan and aft coamings now glued into position, the deck beam needs to be modified to allow the capstan to be positioned appropriately.

 
Little bit of rework on the pumps, the simulated leather washer I had previously painted kept jumping out at me and was a little too 'in your face'.  Stripped this off and went with what seems to be a more traditional modeling approach to use layer of wood to simulate the gasket and plug. Here they are in final position.

 
The main jeer bitts were then positioned first once the pumps were in place to finalise the dimensions of the middle pump brakes.  The kit supplies some PE for these, but knew that these would never be satisfactory and have been planning to make my own.  The supplied wire is around 0.8mm, so 1mm square styrene sections were drilled and cut to give a little more of an authentic look to the winches.  To say this process is delicate and frustrating is an understatement - once drilled, the there is barely any structural strength to the styrene around the hole.  The aft winches were made in one piece which allowed them to be aligned relatively easily and secured using thin CA which worked quite well.  Once glued, the styrene was then gently filed to give a hint of the actual shape.

 
Rhodings were made out of boxwood and painted, to my eye this gave a little better scale look.  The stanchions had been made previously, and notches cut into the deck beam to allow these to be secured.

 
The stanchions were finalized and installed...making the second curved bracing element to be the same as the first took a lot longer than expected.

 
The layout of the main topsail sheet bitts dictates that the winches need to made separately reflecting actual practice.  These longer winches proved much more challenging than the shorter ones, and many were attempted before 2 acceptable ones were completed.

 
Elm tree pumps were shaped from boxwood stock, and the PE fittings came from an extra set I found left over from my Snake build.  These were fun items to make up, but will not be finally fixed just yet as they are very delicate.

 
Overall shots with everything in place shows just how crowed this area really is.  Overall, very happy with how this ultimately turned out.  The main topsheet bitts align underneath the deck beam at the forward end of the quarterdeck.

 
Overlaying scaled copy from AOTS, one can get a good sense for the reason for the scuttles in the quarterdeck which would have been necessary to be able to remove the various pump shafts.  I'm considering modding the quarterdeck to allow these scuttles to be left open to allow the pump mechanisms to be better seen.

 

Rigging 8mm Double Block

Beautiful work Greg and very interesting subject.  I go away for a few months an you start, and nearly complete, this beast...

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