Beef Wellington

Bow elements complete.  Agamemnon dry fitted for now as I won't attach until bowsprit in place to avoid any damage to it.  Also his helmet plume needs a lick of black paint!
 
Painting of hull started in earnest (and yes that paint run to be removed:-( ).
 
 

Holly strips are glued up and ready to go, meanwhile I made the two steam gratings for the forecastle

Coamings are ebony and boxwood grating, cambered to match the deck planking, knees on starboard also finished and bolted, work on the waterway has also started with its lovely curved scarph
Regards
Paul

hey folks! it's been a while since we posted last progress update. in the meantime I have managed to finish the hull thus completing the first two volumes of TFFM series. yay! 
 
currently doing the standing rigging, and having a blast with it.... sort of... ropes are not fun in 3D. but the ship is looking more and more beautiful with each day. can't wait to set sails... anyway, Greg gave me green light to post a few renders. hope you like!
 




 

Well....
 
This post is over three years overdue! Two new jobs, one house purchase and move, wedding and an early first baby. Quiet really....
 
I am taking the late shift on feeds whilst my wife gets to bed early. So while baby Edward is napping I have two hours to kill each night.  
 
Really struggling with space to build Hood until my workshop gets done so time to unpack the Snake build and get it finished off finally. 
 
Tonight is is going to be spent re-sorting all my bits and pieces and trying to find all the wood, dowels, styrene strips and tools that have been packed up. Small shopping list needed also!
 
Kitchen table is dual role!
 

Things are delayed until the missing parts show up. Until then I will do some of the fittings.  Before that however I will try to complete the forecastle capping - though only dry fit it.  This is how  it's turned out so far.  I have stuck my molding onto it and have now repainted the top, including the top of the molding (not shown).  I am now waiting for the paint to dry.  Photos of this later.
 

 

 

 

British sailing ships, 17th/18th century. 1/64 scale. Frigates (or smaller). Here! Here! Once you begin to zero-in on a few final choices, list them here (in the order you'd potentially release them). I am certain you'll get lots of positive feedback among those who are your target market (high-quality kits and not price sensitive).
 
Cheers,
Ron

Really happy to hear this news Chris.  I know that EVERYONE has their own thoughts and opinions on subject matters...there seem to be some subjects that already have a large number of kits, cutters and schooners being some of them.  I wonder if a custom pole of your top 3 ideas may help you prioritize, similar to what Chuck did.

Started working on ship's boats. Some progress, not a lot.

With a few exceptions, this completes the rigging for my Mikasa masts. I still must add the flag staffs on the fore and aft ends of the ship, then run the rigging to the staffs.
Next, the ship's boats are in line for construction, painting, and attaching to the ship. 

Well I'm back on track at least after the destruction, painful, but glad its behind me....
 
The bigger channels are completed now and ready to be glued into position, I'll be leaving the attachment of the smaller channels for the topmast backstays until after the quarterdeck is glued into position.  A final finish has been put on the hull, which means that I can now start to put some of the detailing in place in conjunction with fitting the chains.  There seem to be a number of position where space will be tight, so fingers crossed previous planning works out.
 
For reference, I've marked out the expected position of the quarterdeck ports (and the previous template position with a dotted line) but will not be cutting these out until the quarterdeck is in place.  This shows them in relation to the actual position of the deadeyes, with a bit of imagination (I used string and a mock up of the masts) its clear that the previous port locations would be obscured (the second and third from the stern are the tricky ones).  Even though not obscured, the 4th port from the rear was moved so the port separation is equalized as much as possible.  My advice to anyone modifying the kit (or even building from the box) is to leave the positioning and cutting out of any these quarterdeck ports until after the final position of the deadeyes is known.
 
Unfortunately, the PE hinges supplied in the kit are too small and dimension, and too bulky, for the sizes of the sweep/airing ports estimated from the AOTS plans.  Luckily I had purchased a PE set for (I think!) the HMS Grenado way back and it contains some useable hinges.  These smaller PE sets are pretty reasonably priced, and I've found can be handy to have as they contain a multitude of potentially useful fittings (hooks etc.) which can be used to supplement the older 'bare bones' CC kit PE sets.
 
These were given a few coats of paint to bulk them up a bit as although they are theoretically the same scale, the ports on Grenado are of smaller dimension.  Placement on the airing ports proved a little challenging due to the elevated profile of the black-strake that runs through these. 
 

You may be right, it is about the same length as Victory isn't it, and that model in 64th is an absolute behemoth!
 
Anyway, I intend to focus on British subjects for the first lot..

Not sure we need another U.S.S. Constitution. There is already a 1/76 version by Model Shipways (www.modelexpo-online.com) that is regarded as a good kit and sells for $419. It's also 48" long. A 1/64 would be approximately 54" long. Gulp.
Leda, Royal George, Shannon, Chesapeake all sound better to me...
Ron

Managed to get a couple of hours to build the rudder and tiller.
 
Ben

Really happy to hear this news Chris.  I know that EVERYONE has their own thoughts and opinions on subject matters...there seem to be some subjects that already have a large number of kits, cutters and schooners being some of them.  I wonder if a custom pole of your top 3 ideas may help you prioritize, similar to what Chuck did.

Really happy to hear this news Chris.  I know that EVERYONE has their own thoughts and opinions on subject matters...there seem to be some subjects that already have a large number of kits, cutters and schooners being some of them.  I wonder if a custom pole of your top 3 ideas may help you prioritize, similar to what Chuck did.

Really happy to hear this news Chris.  I know that EVERYONE has their own thoughts and opinions on subject matters...there seem to be some subjects that already have a large number of kits, cutters and schooners being some of them.  I wonder if a custom pole of your top 3 ideas may help you prioritize, similar to what Chuck did.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the positive comments - at one point I did wonder if I wanted to design anything again! I now know it is period ships I enjoy designing and building the most, so I guess I'll stick with that.
 
I have my copies of several ship lines plans being digitised right now, should be ready in a couple of days for me to pick up. I will probably start with something more simple, and then something larger and more involved.
 
I will keep you updated - I have been away for a while because I was simply burnt out with designing, more significantly, designing stuff I have zero interest in. Needed a little time to re-evaluate what I was going to do. The conclusion is that, I know how to design these things with my eyes closed, so why not design subjects I enjoy the most, and then hopefully sell them to like-minded modellers.
 
Cheers,
 
Chris

Hi,
 
It has been a long time, but thought I would update you all.
 
I no longer work for Amati, I finished in May this year (No animosity involved).  I currently work part time for a prototype model company and also do some work for Sergio Marletti, the man I connected with so well when he was design manager at Amati.
 
After some thought and a five month break, I am thinking about designing my own model range of period ships under a new kit range name. I will only design what I think people will like (and me, of course), and will make them as detailed as possible. I have received plans from the NMM for several subjects that piqued my interest, so very early days.

Always intrigued by these card models, they look very interesting and a nice subject matter.  Definitely looking forward to following your progress.

Well I'm back on track at least after the destruction, painful, but glad its behind me....
 
The bigger channels are completed now and ready to be glued into position, I'll be leaving the attachment of the smaller channels for the topmast backstays until after the quarterdeck is glued into position.  A final finish has been put on the hull, which means that I can now start to put some of the detailing in place in conjunction with fitting the chains.  There seem to be a number of position where space will be tight, so fingers crossed previous planning works out.
 
For reference, I've marked out the expected position of the quarterdeck ports (and the previous template position with a dotted line) but will not be cutting these out until the quarterdeck is in place.  This shows them in relation to the actual position of the deadeyes, with a bit of imagination (I used string and a mock up of the masts) its clear that the previous port locations would be obscured (the second and third from the stern are the tricky ones).  Even though not obscured, the 4th port from the rear was moved so the port separation is equalized as much as possible.  My advice to anyone modifying the kit (or even building from the box) is to leave the positioning and cutting out of any these quarterdeck ports until after the final position of the deadeyes is known.
 
Unfortunately, the PE hinges supplied in the kit are too small and dimension, and too bulky, for the sizes of the sweep/airing ports estimated from the AOTS plans.  Luckily I had purchased a PE set for (I think!) the HMS Grenado way back and it contains some useable hinges.  These smaller PE sets are pretty reasonably priced, and I've found can be handy to have as they contain a multitude of potentially useful fittings (hooks etc.) which can be used to supplement the older 'bare bones' CC kit PE sets.
 
These were given a few coats of paint to bulk them up a bit as although they are theoretically the same scale, the ports on Grenado are of smaller dimension.  Placement on the airing ports proved a little challenging due to the elevated profile of the black-strake that runs through these. 
 

Chuck - where do you get your brass strip from, or do you cut it yourself from sheets? If so, how do you do that?  Many thanks.

Always intrigued by these card models, they look very interesting and a nice subject matter.  Definitely looking forward to following your progress.

Chuck - where do you get your brass strip from, or do you cut it yourself from sheets? If so, how do you do that?  Many thanks.

Always intrigued by these card models, they look very interesting and a nice subject matter.  Definitely looking forward to following your progress.

Always intrigued by these card models, they look very interesting and a nice subject matter.  Definitely looking forward to following your progress.