Beef Wellington

Jim,
Looking fantastic. I am looking to your build as an inspiration to what I hope someday mine will become.  Keep up the good work.
Tom

More knots have been tied and more bits of wood added.
 
The wooden bits are the foremast which is now properly fixed as is the bowsprit which I needed in order to get the main stay and preventer rigged.  

Here the main stay is looped around the masthead and the lower end is just looped inside the heart block at the bowsprit end and held by a clip.

Main stay and preventer now rigged.  At this point I was quite happy with the gap between both of these stays >>> 
I wanted these stays in position as I wanted to do the snaking before even thinking about rigging the foremast shrouds ~  I didn't want to be messing with trying to do the snaking behind all those shrouds.
 
Here, in the pic below, the snaking is done but the stays are a little closer together that I would have liked.  There is no tension in the snaking -- I made efforts to ensure that I wasn't pulling the stays together but somehow they are a bit closer that I had hoped for >>>
I have to say that I'm pleased that I did the snaking as I found it quite tricky even in the "open space" I had to work in. I think it would have been much more of a nightmare if I had waited until the foremast shrouds were in place.
 
The crows foot of the main top has also been rigged. (The main top platform is now eventually a permanent part of the mast!)>>>

here's the second part

Hi, another pictures

Cheers Bob and Jason, and for all the 'likes' 
Finishing the exterior.
The decoration along the sheer is applied using pva and a 0.8mm square Boxwood strip applied below it as the moulding.

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Matt varnish is then applied to the decorative strip to seal it.

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The hull down to the waterline is then coated with Ochre enhanced satin varnish of the water based kind.
Fairly happy with the treenailing effect along the hull, visible but not intrusive.
 
The stern decoration was a little more involved.
The kit provided patterns were far too large and would involve cutting away part of the design to fit.
I downloaded the patterns provided by Chuck and the smallest version fitted just fine.
I cropped and printed off several copies of this example on an A4 sheet to provide me with a few goes to get it right.

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As it happened the first  attempt went on just fine using pva.
The macro photo's reveal a little touching in is still required. A mixed blessing the macro lens, but at least it does act as an aid to failing eyes.

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The white border around the design was varnished over to match the hull.

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Not entirely sure I like the transom decoration, I think it has something to do with the greater depth and width of the transom on the kit model as compared to the NMM version.

The NMM model has finer lines, a narrower transom profile, and greater depth of stern post which all reduces the impact of the stern decoration, more proportional I suppose.
Fitting the rudder should help reduce the effect, something to ponder on awhile.
 
B.E.
 
 

Nice neat waterline and great choice, can only agree with the colour of the Admiralty "light ivory" being a much better scale look.  Luckily I have some to be able to put some perspective on the photos as screens never quite seem to do colours justice.

Very nice lights Tom, do you have any photos you could share of the work in progress, would love to learn your technique.

Nice neat waterline and great choice, can only agree with the colour of the Admiralty "light ivory" being a much better scale look.  Luckily I have some to be able to put some perspective on the photos as screens never quite seem to do colours justice.

Nice neat waterline and great choice, can only agree with the colour of the Admiralty "light ivory" being a much better scale look.  Luckily I have some to be able to put some perspective on the photos as screens never quite seem to do colours justice.

Started working on the stern area.  Built the window frames piece by piece for the back area.  Talk about tedious but I am pleased with how they came out.  I will be painting them white.   Now I need to put in the mouldings around them and start thinking about the spindles.


Tom

Thanks so much Patrick. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the process I use, so I'll try to explain. First, I will admit that what I do is not "correct", but merely an attempt to create the impression of proper pintles and gudgeons. Age has caused me to resort to some tricks. For the pintles, I begin by gluing an "L" shaped piece of wire into a hole drilled in the rudder. Next, I glue a piece of black painted thin card to the rudder so that it hides the horizontal portion of the wire. For the gudgeons, I glue the black painted card to the stern post and then add an eyebolt in a hole drilled through the card. At small scales, this seems sufficient to fool the eye into seeing a seemingly proper rudder mounting. 
 
Bob

This week's work finished up the aft portion of the outer hull. This included doing the quarter deck rail, the swivel gun pedestals and the remaining hull molding in that area.
 
The largest part of the work was done on the rail, which was a complex task. I'm sorry that I didn't do any construction sequence photos, but the process was as follows: A piece of boxwood strip for the rail was bent to shape to match the cap rail and its edges sanded round; pieces of square boxwood strip were cut to length for the rail stanchions and holes were drilled in both ends of each for brass pins; holes were drilled in the cap rail for the mounting pins;  beginning with the forward most stanchion, each stanchion was fitted into it's hole in the caprail and then the railing was fitted above it and a hole drilled through the railing for the upper pin; the stanchions were then glued and pinned to the railing in turn, making sure that the full assembly fit as each stanchion was added: when the assembly was complete on each side of the hull, they were painted black and then glued into the caprails as units; the stern end rail was made up and fitted after the side rails were in place. I chose to use pins at both top and bottom of each stanchion because I expect some rigging to be tied off to the rails, creating stress that glue alone wouldn't take care of.
 
The next work was to make up and mount the six swivel gun pedestals. This was straightforward, involving cutting boxwood strip to length, filing them to hexagonal shape, drilling mounting holes for the guns in the pedestal tops, finishing them with wipe-on poly and black paint and gluing them in place.
 
The last work was to fill in the moldings, which required cutting and fitting the prepainted molding pieces.
 
Bob

Where di you get those carvings?

Thanks Derek and Steve, you're not kidding Steve, one to torture yourself with.  but as I found with the Pinnace once past the planking part and into the detail,  I became happier with the build.
 
Thinking about the waterline.
I had decided to paint below the waterline as per the contemporary NMM models, but the process caused me trouble.
The waterline should run from the top of the stern post along to the stem, but I found getting this to look good ain't that easy.

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I fiddled around trying to get an even curve around the hull; I initially tried Tamiya tape for curves but it didn't seem to have much bite and kept falling off. I reverted to the usual yellow stuff which worked much better.

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So having achieved what I thought was a reasonable line matched each side it was time to bite the bullet.
For this model rather than use white paint I decided to try a new 'Light Ivory' offering from Admiralty paints.

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It has a less stark appearance than white and is perhaps more scale friendly.

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This paint does seem to have a slight sheen on it so I will flat it out with Matt Varnish.

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At this point I have also laid some paint down on the capping rails. As with the Pinnace this is a mix of paints to achieve a tone that is pleasing to my eye.
I am undecided as yet whether to paint the thwarts and cockpit seats red but this can wait.
My inclination is to dispense with painting the Caprail edges and moulding strips white, a little too fussy for my taste, but it will also relieve me of a tedious painting job.
Similarly a plain varnished edging to the Transom decoration will suit my eye better.
 
In the next post I will complete the exterior of the boat.
 
B.E.
 

Adam
 
I suggest you include Master Korabel.
I recently purchased their Phoenix Brigantine kit (I bought the plus version that includes the ships boat, higher quality wood and blocks) for a bit under $200 US.
Its quality is truly excellent, and value for money extraordinary.
 
There are also thirteen very clear online tutorials on youtube for each stage of its build. See an example here: https://youtu.be/c3MmCMmNK2s.
 
For a someone time poor and without lots of experience, its the best kit on the market.
 
Good review of its contents here https://youtu.be/1ITBzejbDbA
Below are some photos...not mine. 
 
Tim
 

 

Next the liners for the hole in the deck the anchor chain passes through. I started with a hard wood dowel and drilled a 1/4" hole through it. Then it was cut into four pieces and each piece finished with an exacto and files.
 

She who must be obeyed was not at home so I had to use my phone for these two pictures. These are about as good as it will do close up.

A little flat black paint and two boards and the first two they are installed.

It's been awhile since my last update, life keeps getting in the way.
 
Thanks for watching
 
Mark
 

Beautiful work Christian, I agree that these small details make a huge difference!

Hi everyone. A milestone of sorts - the standing rigging is now complete.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Mark

The cleats supplied in the kit are cheap metal stuff and I just can't see trying to use them at all. Decided to make my own. Had some scrap pieces of some kin of hard wood cut off the end of something. Cut out into small strips then shaped with mini files. Made all the ones needed on the lower masts and the ones that will be needed in the rigging later. Close ups of both ends of the completed lower masts.
 
Jesse
 

Hi Bob
 
You are making great progress on your wonderful build. To successfully correct a little mistake now and then is part of the fun - or so, I've been told...
Watching your Vanguard coming to live is always a motivation boost for my Bellerophon build.
 
A question, if I may:
I'm actually pondering about those triangular side gallery patterns. I had the idea to work those two, on each side, directly below the windows into frames instead of the closed triangle. That way I hoped to create an impression of an real side gallery with some depth. The whole construction would however lose some stability and it would be fidgety work. Do you think the difference between your way of building, according the manual, and a side gallery with some depth below the windows would be noticeable at all from the outside?
 
Happy modelling
Peter

Beautiful work Christian, I agree that these small details make a huge difference!

Thanks again Piet 
 
Next update.
 
I have placed the: Stem batten, rubbing strake stem batten, bow waterway, bow side limber board, midships side limber board, side limber board ,midships limber board, quarter deck limber board, quarter deck forward finial, quarter deck side finial, quartet deck finial, crossways waist coaming, lengthways waist coaming, bow limber board........
That's it.
Always easy when the Manuel is in English 
Next thing is making the Samson posts
 
Sjors
 
 

Raising the Risings
This is a crucial part of fitting out the boat. The Risings support the thwarts, and if they are not level each side of the hull the thwarts will clearly not be horizontal, something that will be instantly be apparent and this will spoil the whole effect.
I have used the kit provided Limewood strip, but I have faced it with Boxwood which provides a smooth clean surface.
Note:
The kit instructions indicate use of 5/32" strip (3.97mm) but the plan shows a narrower width of 2.5mm.
I have gone with the wider stuff not least because of the Windlass fitting.

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A simple jig is used to mark the upper line of the Risings along the frames, and one side is glued into place. Once set the other side can be temporarily pegged into place along the adjacent line and temporary thwarts used to check the alignment.

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Satisfied with the second Rising position, it too is glued into place.

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The knee at the bow is pre-cut in the kit, but I replaced it with a Boxwood version. At this point I also added the locker front in the stern sheets.

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I forwent the pleasure of scribing decorative lines along the Risings, but they will be added to the Thwarts.
I will next be looking at the waterline.
B.E.
 

Anchors & Buoys
 
Mr. B.E's Pegasus buildlog is a very recommendable source of inspiration so I decided -in addition to the anchors- to try out my own version of the buoys.
Although they look a bit like beehives, I like this extra detail, hope you do also

hi all!
 
now that cat's out of the bag I can make an appearance here . David and Greg have contacted me after seeing my work on Pandora and have given me the opportunity to create 3D build log of their swan class ship. it's been an awesome experience and I've learned a lot in these few months. also big thanks to both of them for having patience with my inexperience and oh-my-god-can't-believe-he-just-asked-that questions... 
 
Danny, a big thank you is in order for you too. I'm using your build log as one of the references when I get stuck.  so it's the other way around, haha!
 
 
Wayne, as with Pandora I'm using Blender, free modeling tool. unfortunately no drawing and BIM export option, as it's not a CAD program but a general purpose one.
my computer is (now ageing) Core i7 4770k paired with Nvidia GTX770. would really like to nail new GTX1080 though. rendering on GPU literally flies but I could use more powerful one now that the model is becoming more complex...
 
also big thx to all of you for nice comments. glad you like the pics ;-)