Beef Wellington

When all blocks were cut out they were aligned upside down on a flat surface covered with wax paper and glued together. Shaping was done with sanding blocks to match the frame lines. I traced the outline that would be the top of the boat on a scrap piece of maple, cut that with the band saw and glued the boat hull plug to that. I then discovered that by saving the cut off sections I could use those as clamps during the framing process.
 
Next, the keel clamps. The whole hull construction is 1/8" wide thin strips of Basswood. The keel was laminated to the proper thickness, When dry both sides were carefully block sanded. On the upper side where the keel meets the hull wood 1/8" spacer blocks attached.
 
The plug was sprayed with a couple of coats of clear lacquer then waxed so nothing would stick.
 
Assembly was pretty straight forward. I centered the keel and taped it down fore and aft. Starting from the center thin strips, extra long were soaked in water for about 30 seconds. I did some pre-forming around a 1" wood dowel. I inserted the piece between the keel spacers with a small drop of glue and with smaller dowels rolled pressed to the hull and keel then attached the ends on both sides with a couple dabs of glue. Taped it in place with some blue tape, fit up the outer clamps, added another 1/8" spacer on each side of the frame. Repeated same until complete. Planking was done in the usual manner. Cutting hull loose along the sheer line established by the upper strake was pretty easy with a sharp No.11 Xacto blade.
 
More sanding, primer, painting was next. I mixed a warm white with a touch of yellow and deck tan for the hull. Pure white is too bright for a scale model. As in a painting white should be reserved for that super white sparkle reflected by the Sun.

Thank you No Idea for you input and welcome aboard.  I could be wrong and this is my first effort at contructing a rabbet but I thought that the rabbet would follow the line of the two pieces of wood supplied in the kit which gives additional support for the first planking. This I believe is also the bearded line I used these pieces to mark where the rabbet would go. I still need to work out how much material I need to remove (deadwood area ) and I might have to adjust this somewhat depending upon how the first layer of planks lie..Hopfully it will turn out like this.
There  was no seperate stern post on this kit so I removed a section of the plywood and need to make one  as per AOTS Diana.At the top edge of the rabbet is about 1 mm from where the stern post will be and works out is the thickness of the second planking. Hope I am making sense. Best regards Dave 

We’ve caused problems, and solved those and others.   I found out why my deck colours didn’t match - obviously I used the wrong paint!  When I bought the kit I also bought buff colour paint intending to mix with yellow to paint the hull sides.  But then I bought Yellow Ocre for the sides, putting the Buff paint away for future projects.  But then it came time to paint the upper decks and I grabbed the Buff instead of the Deck Tan I’d used on the lower deck.
 
But it all ends well, since my cannon ropes frayed (see cannon below), requiring me to rip out the cannons.  Thankfully the kit has an extra sprue of cannons, and besides I’m replacing the forecastle 12 pounders with vacuum formed 32 pdr cannonades a friend in my model club made for me - so the destruction of a few cannons in the removal process isn’t so bad.  And, since the deck is now scratched up from canon removal I can repaint with the proper Deck Tan paint, clear coat and add my diluted black wash to match the lower deck.
 
My friend above from the Toronto model boat club (I highly recommend joining such clubs) also made me oars for the boats, and gave me better string for the cannons.  See below, note the oar in the boat.  I’ve also made the skid beams from 2.5 mm square styrene strips, to hold the boats. 
 
And a reason for joining clubs is advice when all seems lost.  The starboard (larboard) forecastle deck edge would not meet up with the hull side, no matter my clamps.  The club recommended I used children’s white craft glue to fill the gap.  And it worked perfectly, see below.  I took the opportunity to glue over gaps in the stern gallery and quarterdeck to hull sides.  Once the glue dries I’ll paint all with the Deck Tan and then restring the cannons and get back to it.

Started working on my Snake after focusing on the Granado for a while.

An amazing model, thanks for sharing your progress.  I can understand why this has taken so long!

Thank you Kevin, and Ron.
@ Ron - I don't think Wallace has sufficient gravitas to grace the head of such a fine frigate, besides he's  a very inventive fellow, where do you think I get my ideas from. He's gone off now for a nice bit of Wensleydale.
 
Post Eight
 
Stern and upperworks Framing
The stern area of the model is way ahead even of Sphinx in terms of authenticity.
With this design Chris has saved me a lot of time and effort modifying the stern interior area to create a realistic great cabin and Quarter galleries.

0508

0510

0507
The framed doorway to the Qtr Galleries, if you want this on Sphinx you have to do it yourself.
This stage is mostly click and fit, and the framework rises with almost minimal effort altho’ some of the parts are delicate and require gentle handling.

0501
In this phase parts #48, fillers for the cabin decking, require some shaping in the form of a slight bevel to match the deck camber, a section of frame 18 is removed, using a micro saw, as with the Qtr gallery door openings. – that’s it!

0506

0513

0515
It is almost incredible that building the hull to this stage has taken me only eight days, but progress will slow now as the  less interesting but all important aspect of sanding and fairing beckons.

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0514
I think this stage marks the end of the ‘honeymoon’ period of this build. Going forward things will get more complex requiring greater skill levels and attention to finishing.
 
B.E.
18/03/2023
 

good evening everyone
Day 18 1st planking
 
as soon as i left the make up of the hull, i have had to start thinking about things, and this has resulted in some redo's, lol no matter how much fairing you do, there is always more
 
anyway the hull is is about 50% done and although bit messy in places, i have a sound basis  to work on
and yes i am still missing one part number 29 stern post filler, and the one fitted need working on
 
 
 





 

Hi Dave, have fun with the experimentation.  Hope you don't mind me jumping in with a comment on your wood selection dilemma.  The Tanganika supplied with my kit also had terrible grain which prompted me to go down the maple route.  I had sourced maple from Cornwall Model Boats, and the initial supply provided was generally OK, but the edges were rough and did require tidying up - there were also quite a few unacceptable strips.  In retrospect, I did not order enough at that time and underestimated wastage/QA failures, and had to purchase more to finish the decking on the quarterdeck and foc's'l.  Despite purchasing again from CMBs, I had to make multiple purchases as I got some really poor quality wood.  In retrospect I wish I had ordered enough at the start to ensure consistency and quality between the decks.  I also found that the wood provided often wasn't even maple - and can be further confused with the various species (hard maple being desireable, the soft maple having a much more pronounced grain).  That may well have been a covid era problem that is now resolved.

Work continues.   Started on the aft cant frames.
 
The first thing that needed to be done was to add the aft cant frame jig.  This is added the exact same way as the fore cant frame jig.  Glue the small laser cut square under the last cross beam.   Then add the jig.  The jig like all the cross bars are not glued.  They are just taped together.  That works very well.
 
Make sure to line up the jig with your center line thread.  You have the etched reference lines on the cross jigs to do so.   But you will notice I also added the small cant frame strip for our first cant frame.   That is aft cant frame 24. It is the last slot in the jig.  You will need to line up the forward edge with the same mark on your base board plan.  Lining up this jig so your cant frames are even on both sides is very important.  As is making sure all your square frames were perpendicular to the keel and the same height etc, and all follow the center line.  
 
If for any reason you need to tweak this jig or any of the others, I have left some wiggle room.  Do that before taping.  In fact,  if I didnt mention this little tip before,  you can just add a toothpick as a shim on one side to adjust the aft jig until l you are back on the center line and your cant frames all line up with the base board plan.  This is a neat trick you can use with any of the cross bar spacers for the square frames as well.  It works really well to keep you on that center line.  I exaggerated in this photo so you can see how to adjust any of them.
 

Lining up the strip with the baseboard plan below...
 

Then just like the fore cant frames are started working my forward after assembling each cant frame.  They are made in two pieces.  I have added six working my way forward.  But now I will switch directions and start working from the other end of the jig for the next six. More pictures will follow when I get that done.
 
Note how two laser etched lines on that last cant frame 24 face aft.   Shown in red. That is important because we will need those to line up our some pieces later.
 
Also not how the first aft cant frame on the jig I added,  that same number 24...you have to make sure you place it in the correct deadwood slot. 

This is what the hull looks like at the moment.  I will work on the remaining aft cant frames this weekend.  Im getting close to completing all the hull framing.  It wont be long now.
 

 

To finish up the bow timbers I had two more to go.  The first of those was done exactly like the previous three.  But the last one is a bit different.  The filler that closes the gap is just a little bit different.
 
Step one is the same.   Shape the angle that will fit against the cant frame.  No biggie there.  There is a laser reference line for that just like the others.  But that is the only reference line laser etched.
 
Once shaped to fit against the cant frame,  test it on the model.  It should fir pretty good.   Then you need to take a sharp pencil and draw the next reference line yourself.  Just trace the shape of the cant frame edge onto to the filler as shown.  This will be your outboard hull reference.  Use that line and bevel just as you did in step two for the previous bow timbers.
 

 
It will look like this when you bevel and clean it up with a sanding stick.
 

You dont have to bevel the inboard edge.  We will need to trace that in pencil against the cant frame too.  But that is kind of tricky at this stage.  Once you take a look inside there you will understand.  There really isnt much to bevel inboard actually.   It is best to just leave the inboard side as is until after we remove all of the jigs and fair the inboard side later.  That will be done after planking.
 
But now you can go ahead and fair the outside bow timbers.  Fair them into the cant frames nicely.  Use a long batten to check how true and smooth the run of planks will be.  You dont want any dips.   Dont be afraid to really sand it good with coarse sandpaper first and then switch to a finer grit on your last pass.
 
You will notice that the bow timbers are too high and the tops should be trimmed down to match the sheer.   That can be done after fairing outboard.  Almost done fairing outboard below.  The tops of the bow timbers have been trimmed down as well.
 

How do you know where to trim down the head timbers?  Well you could measure up from your build board using the plans.  But I decided to take some considerable time to create a template.  Its quite an extensive template actually.   Basically its an expansion drawing to scale that shows every last detail of the outboard hull fittings.   
 
This includes the run of the planks at the bow and all ports....swivel stocks...scuppers and fixed blocks and channels with deadeyes....etc.
 
The bottom of this helpful template represents the top edge of the upper wales.  This is in fact how we will transfer the correct lines for the wales later.   But you can also use it to check the positions of all ports and also trim down the bow timbers to the sheer.  Just make sure you put it on both sides of the hull and have them even.
 
This template lines up at the bow based on the cheeks.  You can see on the plans how the upper cheek sits right on top of the upper wales and then transitions onto the stem.  You want to line up the cheek on the template where it will transition onto the stem.  This is important because you want to have everything line up when we work on the hawse holes and bolsters and headrails.
 
It will make locating everything quite easy I think.  I dont believe any other kit or even monograph has such a template and expansion drawing like this.  I thought I would try something new.
 
Time to start the aft cant frames...yippie!!!
 

Here is a quick look at the template.  When flat the expansion clearly shows the gentle "S" curve at the bow for planking run. I folks have a hard time getting this right so this should be a life-saver.  In fact, with all the planks at the bow now shown with their shape and taper this leaves no guesswork at all.  When the time comes we will transfer those planking lines to the frames.  No tick strips needed.   Lining off will be much easier.
 

 
 

Thanks to all for the likes and for continuing to look in.
 
A little more sanding was require to achieve a fair run before I started planking. Two planks each side fitted and I noticed that bulkhead 11 wasn’t seated correctly in the keel so they had to come off again. Unfortunately as I was trying to correct one mistake I made another and the transom broke away. I was able to CA the transom back, temporarily reinforced with strips of boxwood either side until there were sufficient planks in place to hold it firmly.
After these trials, planking has gone quite well. I have used a dab of CA at the prow and then sparingly applied PVA on the edges of each plank. I also brushed dilute PVA into the joints.. I applied PVA to BH11 and the transom and only to the other bulkheads where necessary to maintain the line.
Three more strips each side should complete.
 
David




 

Cheers Rusty 👍
 
Chapter Seven
 
 Deck fitting.
My initial attempt at dry fitting indicated a mismatch between the two deck halves just shy of 1mm.

0465

0464
This was quite disconcerting as I note that Kevin reported in his log -  the main deck went down without any issues -  where have I gone wrong, thinks I.😬
The retaining slots were cleaned using an emery board, close attention paid to the seating– but the mismatch remained.

0433
The port side half aligned with the deck beams but the starboard side alignment remained stubbornly a fraction out.

0468
After a lot of faffing around I decided to tweak the slots of the starboard side, taking a sliver off the aft edge of the slots which allowed to section to move forward to align the cut-outs. The depth of the slots  around the bow area was also deepened by a sliver which allowed the centre lines to meet without overlap.

0472
The deck halves now sit down nicely, with the masts and the all-important riding bitts slotting into place.

0479

0480

0484
Happy with the deck fit I can now remove the deck section to reveal the lower deck and Orlop ladderway.
 
In fitting the deck I perceived that there is a potential weak area around the Mainmast where there is a lack of deck support. I added a beam just aft of the Mainmast to span the gap to provide this.
 
Satisfied with the result I can now move onto fitting the deck.
 
Gluing decks can be a fraught exercise, particularly on a deck of this size, where the glue can start to go off before the deck is in place. This is exacerbated if there is any last-minute fumbling in locating the deck.
 
Certainly in this case, I didn’t think it necessary to glue both deck halves at the same time. Separate halves will reduce the time before glue contact is made.

0488
I glued the Port side first using slightly diluted pva brushed onto the deck beams, the starboard side slipped into place and the deck weighted.

0489

0490

0494
Job done, and moving on…
 
B.E.
17/03/2023
 
 
 
 

Chapter Six
 
Modifying the Gundeck
The Gundeck will remain largely intact, but Chris has been kind enough to provide the interesting little feature of the ladderway down to the Orlop.
This will be hidden under the standard arrangement but I want to reveal it. It adds to the illusion of a fully fitted out model.
My idea is to remove that section of the deck between the Fore hatch and the Riding Bitts, but I will need to add carlings.

0444
A template is used to check exactly where and what may be seen.

0449
The Riding Bitt standards are test fitted as these will have a direct bearing on where the carlings are placed.
 
The other thing to consider is avoiding opened up spaces looking like a standard feature.
In the case of the ladderway to the Orlop if I leave a minimal square opening in the Gundeck above, to allow it to be seen, that could look like another hatchway opening.

0450
To counter this the unplanked area across the deck is extended and will allow a greater view of the lower deck in this area.

0478
The effect is completed by representations of the carlings and ledges.

0477
3mm x 2.5mm pearwood square stock was used for the carlings, and 2 x2mm for the Ledges.
 
 
B.E.
16/03/2023
 
 
 

Thank you Ron, Kevin, Marc, and Capt. Birdseye.
 
Chapter five
Framing the Gunports.
This is an ingenious method devised by Chris that gives a nod to the Plank on Frame method and removes all that testy business of cutting ports into a hull.
The longitudinal stringers that form the top and bottom of the gunports are now fitted.

0454
I fitted the rear gunport strips from the stern forward, I found it easier to locate the two aftermost slots fully into the  bulkheads.

0452
These are followed by vertical risers that complete the port framing. They are position specific so care has to be taken in their fitting.

0453
The parts fit together beautifully, and at this stage of the build it is rather like doing a 3-d jigsaw puzzle, but without the puzzle element.

0457
I’m loving the look of her even at this stage, I think you will all agree she is an impressive sight.
Chris must be well pleased with the fruits of his labour.
 
The next stage is fitting the gundeck, but at this point I am going ‘off piste’, as I have some modifications to work out given the ‘Navy Board’ style of my build.
 
B.E.
15/03/2023
 

Chapter Four
What lies beneath.
Before the Upper (gundeck) is fitted I need to establish what may be seen below on the Lower deck.
This is relevant on my build as the deck will be open to maximum view.
Planking and detail provision is made for the Lower deck between the Fore hatchway and the Mainmast, but aft of the Mainmast there are also ladderways and hatches down to the lower deck which just may be visible should I choose to leave the gratings off the hatchways.

0427
Template taken from the plans for the section aft of the Mainmast.

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0431

0428

0429
These additional areas of the lower deck are planked using cannibalised maple deck sections left over from my Sphinx build, and I knocked up grating sets that are pretty much the same as the Gundeck arrangement.

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0434

0435
Temporary rough fitting of the gundeck gives a sense of what may be glimpsed on the lower deck.
This will I hope give the illusion of a fitted out Lower deck limited as the view will probably be.
 
B.E.
13/03/2023

The supplied Maple strips for the Deck turns out to be Tanganyka and not maple as listed which I have not used before so thought I would give it a try on the lower deck which will mostly not be seen. This turned out to not be a great success. Firstly  I  used permanent marker for staining the edges of the tanganyka strips which worked great on Walnut for simulating calking between the planks . I then used 2 parts shelac 1 part alcohol to seal the wood . Unfortunately not only has the ink leached into the grain but I am not sure I like the fleck in the grain of the tanganyka  to start with which is totally out of scale too.
Here are a couple of photos of the mess.


Conclusion. First off get rid of the Tanganyka . Second try and source some 1mm x 4 mm Maple strips. Not so easy when ready made here in the uk. I have never used maple before but looking at samples  of local suppliers  the grain looks to be too large  for 1:64 however a few modellers have used this in the past . Alternatively I could easily source some 1mm thick x 100mm wide sheets and cut them myself on a Proxxon FET saw but  I think there could be a lot of waste 
               Then there is the other problem of using either the permenant marker and shellac together or perhaps its the mixing with alcohol. Perhaps I should return to using sand and sealer instead of shellac or try something else to simulate the calking. I am inclined to go back to what has for me been tried and tested and use walnut for the decking which is readily available and always looks good when sand and sealer is used in combination with the permenant marker. I have also used charcoal or pencil lead but do not think it makes as good a job as the marker pen. 
          No doubt I will need to carry out more tests before on the decking before I finally decide which is the best coarse of action. 
 
 
 

I have made a start on the rabbet, at least on the keel but not on the stem as I am still waiting for my Boxwood to arrive. I found the rabbet quite difficult and ended up with the rabbet wider than what was required, due to the chisel following the grain and lifting the edges of the plywood keel. Hopefully it won't matter too much when finished. I marked the rabbet using a Veritas marking wheel which I use for marking my masts from square stock. \i found working on walnut easier to cut the rabbet and keep within the markings. I am not sure how far to take the rabbet to the stern post  as I will be taking off some off the material for the deadwood area. I will probably leave the stern post off until I have finished both 1st and 2nd planking and cut a straight edge I think.. 


 

I have also made a start on rounding of the edges a bit so as to give the first planking more area to glue. Before doing so I blacked the edge with permanent marker so that I wouldn,t  remove too much material. I can finalize this better once the bulheads are glued into position
 

good evening everyonr
 
thank you for comments and likes
day 16 1st planking
 
 
 
port and stbd side templates fitted
 



stern tuck, caused me some aggro fot a couple of hours, so the fixed planks were cut back and the stern was re faired allowing the 3rd plank to twist and turn

Good evening everyone
thank you for comments and likes
 
Day 14 port side Gun port templates fitted
 
well i never expected to be at this stage after 2 weeks, but here i am, and loving it, and i have not had any issues to criticize the build, or instructions, 
after the hull fairing i test fitted the gun port templets, no other sanding was required

the bottom of fwd template forms where the first run of planking under it goes, so a pencil line is drawn, the rest of the plank aligns along the top of the port sill , at this point the template can be removed

first plank

 

2nd plank

the after template fits on the top of the 1st plank and lined up with the top right corner of the last gunport, instructions need to be read to be aware of where the glue is applied, as a section of the framework has to be removed at a later date

a templete fits between and the area over the ports is covered, using limewood

rough opening of the gun ports when the glue has dried
 

 
 

good evening every one
thank you for comments and likes
 
day 13 hull faired
 
the weather here has been pants recently, with snow and rain, so i have been doing some smaller projects on the build, but i will post photos later on in the build as I would  like to keep this log in some sort of order, (never achieved that before)
the deck has been sanded and varnished with a water based varnish @50/50
to day a few days delay the hull went outside to be sanded, brilliant, oh thats getting hot fizzle bang me mouse blew up
anyway an trip to Wickes (other palm sanding tool outlets are available0
this is what i have now
 
 

Will be following this one closely, you are a lucky man!

Thanks for your interests and "Likes" everyone.
 
Some more shots from 5-22.

The ship's wheel.
 
About 20 years ago, after the lower deck was completed, it was time to fabricate the rudder. The steering gear assembly, consisting of the tiller, tiller sweep, and tackle, resides just below the middle deck framing. It was built to be fully operational. Over the years, deck by deck, I made sure the tiller ropes were passed up through the structure. With so many mini-projects which are the sum of the whole involving ship building, the wheel was on the back burner of my mind. How and the heck was I going to build it?
 
As an artist, if I don't have a solution, I bypass it and work on other parts of the task at hand. The elephant in the room will tell me when it's ready. Finally I was approaching the point where I had to come up with the solution.
 
My long time friend, Simon, suggested 3-D printing. I gave him the scaled drawings (McKay) and photos of Victory's helm. In "Solid Works" he reproduced the wheel with all the numbers crunched for printing. This was sent off and when it came I knew it would not withstand the sands of time. Too fragile. It broke just trying handle an installation. The spokes were the problem.

 The time and energy to try a method which failed was not wasted. It was the catalyst that lit the light bulb of a successful solution.
 
In my studio is a large cabinet full of 1:32 models of WWI airplanes. I use Albion Alloys Ltd. Nickle tubing for turnbuckles for tensioning the rigging.  0.7mm o.d. x 0.5mm i.d tubing telescoped over .05mm tubing would look perfect.
 
I turned the wheels, hubs, and barrel on my lathe. I built a fixture, that I can't seem to find, to center everything. The tubing is cut to proper lengths by rolling sharp #11 Xacto blade over it. I twist the tip of the blade inside the tubing to remove burrs and file the outside edges to round them off. After a couple layers of paint they appear to be lathe turned. The whole assembly is very strong.
 
After installation I gathered the tiller ropes, clamped the rudder to one side, did seven wraps around the barrel, and spliced the ropes. Once the rudder was centered, the splice disappeared below decks. I had a working ship's wheel that turned the rudder. After showing my wife and a few friends how it worked, I came down from cloud nine and decided to stop doing that. I came to the realization that I don't have a miniature boatswain to fix it if something wears out.
 

Thanks everyone for all the likes and comments
 
The Lower Yards.
 
I began with the crossjack yard and worked forward. I used Steele’s tables to calculate the appropriate size of rope and referred to AotS, Lees and Petersson for the run of the ropes.
 
The crossjack is pinned and glued to the mast with CA for ease of working. The truss pendant is 0.35 rope spliced around the yard on the starboard side of the mast. It leads through a thimble spliced to the yard on the port side and ends in a long tackle block. The fall is 0.25mm and a single 3mm block is hooked to an eyebolt on the deck and the business end tied of to a cleat on the mast. The slings are lashed together with 0.25mm rope wound through each thimble as many times as would comfortably fit and then frapped around the front of the wraps. It is too fiddly to tie off each end with a seizing so they are tied off with a half hitch and fixed with dilute pva. The lifts are next. A single 3mm block is tied to an eyebolt on the cap. The running part is tied to the block at the cap runs through the block on the yard, back up to to the block at the cap and is tied off at the foremost pin on the after belay rack.


 
Main and fore courses have a truss pendants (0.6mm) each side of the yard which are spliced on to the yard. The jeers (0.7mm rope) are also threaded up before the yard is lifted into place, pinned and fixed with CA. The lifts (0.6mm) are spliced to the yard arm and lead up through long tackle blocks on the mast cap, the small block on the yard arm and back to the long block. They are tied off to the timberheads on quarterdeck and forecastle.



 
I had missed the timberheads on the forecastle because they didn’t appear on Caldercraft’s deck plans. Unfotunately I couldn’t position them as shown in the AotS belay plan because a 9 pounder is in the way. They were fixed slightly aft of where they are indicated but I think the run of the lifts is still fine.


I am moving on to rigging the topmast yards at this stage leaving the further rigging of the lower yards till later.

 

Bought some Tools, mainly chisels for an attempt at cutting a rabbet with variable angles/ shapes. Alaso some practice on walnut sheet and hopefully I got the hang of using these very sharp chisels. I am a little concerned regarding the thickness of the walnut as it is 0.25mm undersize of the 5mm thickness of the false keel plywood and I am wondering if this will cause a problem down the line . Unfortunately I do not have any 5 mm boxwood in stock so thought I would see if Timberline https://shop.exotichardwoods.co.uk/ can supply me with some together with 11mm for the masts as I haven't got any of this either.