Beef Wellington

Rigging the bowsprit
 
I just had a couple of items on the hull to finish before I could start rigging. First, the rails on the quarterdeck:

 
These were straightforward to construct, with each railing made from three patterns laser cut from 1mm wood sheet. To hide the laminations I applied water-based filler to the top of the handrail and rubbed it down before painting. However the pieces are quite fragile, and despite my best efforts one of the supports broke as I was installing the starboard rail. Fortunately the kit provides 14 spares, two for each of the seven supports, each of which is slightly different:

 
The last little job was blackening and fitting the stove flue:
 

That last photo reminds me of a small detail I forgot to mention before. I like to simulate bolt heads where appropriate - two are visible on the timber just aft of the flue. For bolts like this I use an old hairbrush with black nylon bristle which are just the right diameter when inserted in a hole and trimmed off.
 
Here she is ready for rigging to commence:
 

I started with the gammoning, using about 1 metre of 0.5mm line (dark brown spun from 3 strands of Gutermann Mara):

Here's a link to my Speedy log describing the method I used. It took ten turns to fill the gammoning slot, and a lot of patience to weave the line through the head rails! In particular, the Speedy log describes how I differed slightly from the kit instructions which show the loops running parallel between the bowsprit and the slot. I followed full size practice in which each loop starts at the front of the bowsprit and goes to the aft of the slot, resulting in a twisted effect.
 
Btw, I'm no longer stressing about losing the knight's helmet's plume on the figurehead. It appears I've left no room for it, which is puzzling as I don't see how I could have fitted the figurehead and the bowsprit any differently. 
 
Next set of tasks will be finishing the rigging to the bowsprit.
 
Derek
 

Cannon
 
I haven't been able to spend much time in the workshop for the last week or so, just enough to potter around on a couple of odd jobs including making up one of the cannon:
 

Looking at the close-up the handle I've fitted in the quoin looks over-scale and I'll replace it with a smaller piece of wire.  That apart, I'm reasonably happy with the result and will follow the same process with the remaining five guns. I'll just mention the main points of interest. 
 
First, the char cleaned off well, the only tricky part being the wheel rims which I tackled by jamming them on a cocktail stick held in the lath:
 
 
I sanded the axles by hand to round them off then painted them black. 
 
I felt the kit ringbolts were too big so I made my own with 0.3mm brass wire bent round a 0.5mm drill bit:
 
 
I used a slightly different technique for the breech rings. I described this in detail in my Speedy log, from which I've copied these photos which hopefully explain the technique:

I drilled 0.4 mm holes in the carriage as there was no provision for breech rings in the kit.
 
The barrel was painted with Admiralty Ironwork Black then lightly treated with rust coloured weathering powder.
 
Here's the obligatory finger shot to show how small these little blighters really are:
 

 
Derek
 
 

Gunwales, Rail Patterns & Wales
 
Thanks as always for the likes and kind comments. 
 
Before starting on painting the upper works, I wanted to do something about the laminations visible in the gunports. Their oval shape made lining them in the normal way with thin strips of timber a challenge, so I decided to disguise them with woodfiller. I used masking tape on the inner bulwarks to prevent filler and paint getting on to them, as unlike warships they will not be painted. Here's the filler I used, and the result:
 

For paint I used Humbrol Blue #25 and Vallejo Red 70.957. In the manual James used Humbrol enamel but I prefer acrylic for wood. I wanted to try to up my game on this job, using multiple coats of thinned paints rather than slapping on a couple of thicker coats and hoping for the best. Not easy to tell in the first picture, but hopefully the close-up of the starboard bow shows the result was smooth with no visible brushmarks:

I used Tesa tape for the straight and gently curved bits, and this Modelcraft flexible tape from Vanguard Models elsewhere. @James H recommends Tesa tape and after trying it so do I - a fraction of the price of other brands and it works just as well.
 
The next job was fixing the gunwales to the hull, three lengths each side. Although each piece is precut to shape, they take a bit of preparation before they can be fitted. There has been some discussion on other logs about the importance of removing laser char, even on parts that will be painted. However I've found that it is equally important to sand laser cut parts everywhere that will show because, although the wood is good quality, the finish isn't smooth enough for painting. Here's two gunwales to illustrate the point, one sanded with 240 grit, the other not. I also like to lightly sand edges and corners to make them less sharp:
 

As a further test, I cut two pieces from the sheet the gunwales came from, sanded one and painted both:

Hopefully the difference is obvious. 
The next job was applying the rail patterns, two each side. The technique as set out in the manual was fairly straightforward - soak the bow ends in hot water, clamp to the hull and leave to dry (I did this part before painting the hull) then paint and glue in place. The manual recommends allowing the patterns to dry overnight, but I got impatient and used a hot air gun to speed the process. Seemed to work OK. Here's the port patterns clamped up:
 

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that I'd already managed to break off all but one of the little dangly bits (nautical term 😁) under the windows. These patterns are incredibly well cut and detailed, but also incredibly fragile. Fortunately I was able to find all the missing parts, but I won't re-attach them until I come to fit the PE over them otherwise I'd be sure to snap them off again.
 
Before fitting the wales I wanted to finish sorting the gunwales. There are two places on each side where the for and aft gunwales dip down to the midships area, and in these places the laminations are exposed. Although I'd got them sanded fairly smooth I was still concerned that they would show through the paint, so I applied applied woodfiller, sanded it and painted to match the rest of the gunwales:
 
Lastly, it was onto the wales. These come precut to the shape of the hull, so after sanding, soaking in hot water, shaping on the hull and painting, I was left pondering how best to fit them. I knew from the plans and manual where the upper wales needed to go, but I was worried about getting glue on my nice WOP-ed hull. In the end I decided to use pins to fix the wale in position initially, tweaking the pin positions as necessary before committing to PVA. I used the 0.5mm pins supplied in the kit, and drilled 0.45mm holes. I drilled a series of holes in each wale first and inserted pins so they just poked through, then held one end in position against the stem. When it looked right I pressed on the first pin with a spare finger to mark the hull for  drilling. With the first pin in position, but not driven fully in, it became easier to repeat the process along the length of the wale. If necessary I took pins out, re-drilled their holes and repositioned them. Once happy with the upper wales I took them off the hull and applied PVA before pinning them back in place, this time driving the pins fully in. 
 
Next, I followed the manual's suggestion and cut a 3mm wide piece of spare limewood from the kit to act as a spacer for lower wales. This made positioning the latter easy.  Once all four wales were in place I filed the pin heads flush and painted them. Here's the current state of play:

I'm enjoying this part of the build, and looking forward to all the fancy decoration.
 
Derek
 
PS  I'm increasingly tempted not to paint the hull below the waterline. Anyone disagree?

Starboard planking
 
Thanks as always for the supportive comments and likes.
 
Here's the starboard planking finished:
 





I've applied no finish yet, just wiped her over with white spirit to remove the dust.
 
I covered the methods I used when I described planking the port side. However there are a few points of detail I ought to mention.
 
In each strake I fitted the planks at the stem and stern first then finished with one or two planks in the middle. Getting the planks shaped properly at either end of the ship is much trickier so it makes sense to get these right first. I believe the last plank fitted in a strake was known as the "shutter" plank. Here's the gap waiting for the very last shutter plank on the starboard side:

The Duchess's hull calls for some very tight curves, and I previously mentioned using my electric plank bender to achieve some of these. On a whim, I thought I'd also try a tool I bought when I first started ship modelling - the Amati plank nipper. I very quickly stopped using it when I found it left obvious marks on the good side of planks, and produced a series of straight line segments rather than a smooth curve in the wood. It's been languishing in the bottom of a drawer ever since. To my surprise I found it worked well with the thicker, better quality 1mm boxwood in this kit. Using the nipper first to start a bend, it was subsequently much easier to impart a tight bend with the electric tool:

On one particularly awkward plank I found I'd left a narrow gap against part of the preceding strake, a gap that couldn't be closed by further edge bending. Rather than PVA and sawdust, I tried using a thin shaving produced with a little Veritas block plane. I glued it to the edge of the plank, trimmed it and fitted the plank as normal.
 
A prize to the first person that spots it!

I should point out that I staged this photo with a spare piece of plank after the event as I didn't shoot it at the time. In reality I had to use a double thickness of shavings to fill the gap.
 
The last point I wanted to mention was the rabbet. This is one of many clever design elements in this kit, producing a neat finish at the stem by hiding the ends of the planks. However it's important to be aware that the planks are likely to be slightly thinner than the rabbet, which means that if you glue the ends down tight against the first planking, you're liable to see a gap between the planks and the stem. It's better to leave a slight 'spring' in the ends of the planks at the bows and, assuming you're using CA like me, to avoid pressing your fingers against the first few millimetres. This will allow the plank to press up against the top edge of the rabbet, eliminating any potential gap.
 
And I still don't know whether or not I'm going to paint the darn thing! 
 
Derek
 

Hancing pieces and volutes....
 
I'm a little embarrassed that it has been so long that I've been away, somewhat from the shipyard but also this wonderful site.  With the weather starting to turn and a bit more available time it seemed a good time to get back into things and try to pick up from a point that I left a little disheartened so many months ago.  To be able to move forward, I had to come up with a solution for the hancing pieces which should then really allow much of the final hull form to be finalised.  The problem I faced stemmed from the fact that I had to come up with a hancing piece volute 6mm high (per NMM plans) to transition the upper rails into the waist, and following a profile already established for the other rails.  Although these are not large details, they are features that to my eye need to be sufficiently elegant and accurate to avoid detracting from the lines of the hull.  I tried many different approaches, but here is the one that worked best for me and provided a method of construction that allowed consistent results.  I'll apologize in advance for quality of the photographs, I was so focused on the work and forgot to check the photo quality as I progressed.
 
2.2 mm holes were drilled using a pin vise into some 2mm pear wood (actually 1.5mm + 0.5mm pear laminated together cross grain because I didn't have any 2mm sheet stock), this matches the starting thickness used for the upper rails which started as 2x2mm square strip.  (A 2.2mm hole was found through visual trial and error to introduce the gradual narrowing of the rail into the end of the volute).  A 1.5mm diameter recess was then carefully made at the edge using a round needle file at 45deg to the bottom of the hole.  Each 'blank' was then cut from the sheet, given a slight reduced profile using an exacto blade, and a thin cut made above the filed lobe (explanation below). 

Small sections of 1.5mm diameter pear dowel were then glued into the 1.5mm recess, so they very slightly protruded above the top of the block.  Sufficient PVA glue was used to ensure that these were well bonded.  Once dry, a the top of the blanks were gently cut back and carefully finished against a circular sander so that the top edge of the blank was tangential to the top of the 2.2mm drilled hole (the cut previously made above the recess allows this section to release easily as it will no longer be needed.

A length of 2x2mm pear wood strip was scraped with the same molding profile as used previously in the build, but care taken to leave an untouched section toward the end.  The volute blanks were then attached to the unfinished end of the scraped molding.  PVA glue was used generously, and left to dry overnight to ensure a full strength bond.  Once dry, the excess was then carefully cut away to give proportions pleasing to the eye (mine at least) and ensure that the final volute form would be 6mm high.  The rough cut was then very carefully reduced to its final shape using various grades of sanding sticks.

 
Once the final shape was achieved, a profile needed to be introduced to match, and transition as smoothly as possible from the molding strip into the curve of the volute.  To do this I needed to create a second scraper profile at the very edge of a razor blade to work on the volute curve effectively (the scraper profile used previously for strip had been centered to give best control on straight strip).  This was performed very slowly as catastrophic failure would be very easy!  While it is true that it took multiple experiments to get this method down, it did work well and the four needed volutes were all first time efforts with no rework, and despite the many imperfections highlighted by the macro lens, the results to the naked eye exceeded my expectations.

In position, the volutes will now allow final shaping of the hull profile.  Onto the next challenges!

Foc's'l Planking Wrap-up:
 
Foc's'l and gangway planking is now complete.  Hopefully photo's tell the story.
 
The position of the cathead has been estimated, and a rather bizare planking arrangement was used to hopefully ensure that this will look OK once the cathead is finally installed, basically wanted the planking to be as prototypical as possible, although this will mean staring at a rather jarring joint until this is installed.  The second photo in the series below shows how I'm anticipating this will look once the cathead is in place, and which will essentially hide the joint of the waterway and the artificial planking arrangement.  Once the angle of the plank-waterway termination was less than 45 deg, a switch was made to hooking the ends of the planks, and each of these had to be cut and shaped from 6mm strip (these were tapered the same as before)

The process was continued until the area was complete.  The only deviation being that the last 2 planks on each side were tweaked a little more to try to get these as even looking as possible, and of course the last plank being the most laborious to get an acceptable fit. It is hard to see in the photos, but the curve of the plank can be challenge to ensure that the simulated caulking looks as consistent as possible.  I eperience this challenge on the quaterdeck as well, but a solution that helped here was the use of thin plates of clear mica to help position these as consistently as possible until glue sets (I use PVA glue almost exclusively for planking).

The gangway planking in the waste was pretty straightforward, (in fact the only non-shaped planks on the entire top deck) and comprised almost my last acceptable pieces 4mm maple strip.  It was very close, but I did not run out thankfully.  Photo below shows how the gangway planking 'sits' on the lip of the entryway platforms that form part of the quarterdeck.  The gangway does not have a waterway.

Finally, some overall shots of the top deck, the foc's'l has not been scraped or cleaned up at all yet, which will be the next task.  The question I ask myself is whether the time and effort to taper the foc's'l planking was worth it.  I suspect that anyone looking at this would never notice as the final effect is very subtle, but I can't help but feel that the reason this is hard to see is simply because it complements the shape of the foc's'l without drawing attention to itself.  Overall, I am very pleased with the result, and with this almost complete, it will be nice to be able to turn to other tasks.

I reworked the bollard timbers to more or less reflect the shape of those shown in the contemporary models. I then glued in all of the other head timbers and added the ringbolts for the canon rigging.





I decided to have a go at the belfry. I dashed together the kit version to see how it looked. To be sure it is not the most handsome belfry. After looking at the NMM and AOTSD drawings I can see the problem they faced in designing a piece that could be construed out of laser cut timber. The actual belfry is quite a delicate construction at 1:64 and it would be very difficult to replicate. I guess a 3D printed or cast version would be more feasible. Nonetheless I thought that I would have a stab at it.
 


First off, I made a new roof piece out of a 15 x 15 x 4mm piece of walnut. It more or less corresponds to the AOTSD dimensions albeit slightly thicker to give my clumsy hands more of a chance. I then ran it through the milling machine to get the edge mouldings and cruciform step in the middle. The internal vaults were drilled out and the roof profile was shaped using files and sandpaper.
 



I now turned my attention to the columns which had me tossing and turning at night trying to think of a way to achieve the required detailing at such a small scale. I eventually decided that the 3D printed jig was the way to go so I drew up a simplified column which then formed the basis of a jig that would sit in the vise and hopefully allow me to get a consistent product. Once it was printed out, I realised that the steps were so miniscule that there was little chance of success. Still, I persevered and loaded it up with some 2.4 x 2.4mm walnut. I then made passes with a mill bit using the jig as a guide for depth and position. After each pass the walnut blanks were given a quarter turn like kebabs on a BBQ and the process was repeated until done. The first set got all the way to the last pass before one of them popped out of the jig and received a large gouge which meant that I had to start the whole process again. The final product is a bit rough but it is really so small as to be beyond my skill level so I do not think I could produce anything significantly better. I suppose I could try using some aluminium to see if I could sharpen things up but I think that it needs to be timber to match the softness of the adjacent barricade.
 






The belfry on HMS Victory has copper sheathing on the roof so I did quite a clumsy approximation of this using some 0.3mm thick copper sheet that I had lying around.
 

To assemble the pieces together I used some 0.5mm diameter brass rod as dowels with some 1.0 mm thick walnut to form the bell beams. I am not well pleased with the bell and will have to order an aftermarket brass part for a replacement but will wait until I need enough things to get a reasonably sized order together as flying a 5x5mm brass bell 10,000km solo in business class seems excessive although I do not want to revisit the trauma experienced during the installation of the kit bell. The bell beam was secured using 0.5mm brass rod as pins and the whole assembly does swing back and forth but I think that it only has a dozen swings in it before catastrophic failure. The crank was formed out of a very delicate brass eyebolt that I found in my box of spare bits.
 





The last bit of the assembly was to include two cleats on the forward columns to satisfy the myriad of belaying points shown in the AOTSD drawings. The cast Britannia metal cleats supplied were way too large for the delicate columns but luckily, I had some PE cleats that I had procured for my Charles W. Morgan whaleboats. These were closer to the scale of those seen on the HMS Victory belfry. As small as they were they I thought they could still go on a diet so I had an attempt at removing some material using a file but mainly ended up filing my fingertips. A spot of paint and they blend right in.
 



I have been trying to give the roof a patina using Miracle-Gro and red wine vinegar but the results are a bit spotty and quite garish. I have found it is not an exact science and it may develop over time so I will let it sit for a while and see how it goes. The copper should darken and the patina should lighten.
 


 
 
 
 

i would like to wish everyone Merry Christmas, and hope everyone has a safe new year

Long time ...  The knot tying is almost over and the yards are (almost) fully rigged.  To do something a little different, I finally fitted the bowsprit and its gammoning. (sp?).  This required the use of 0.5mm black thread - F24 in the  instructions.  In the photo F24 is on the right and is the thickest of the three - about 1+mm.  The thinnest is F26 which is supposed to be 1mm, but is less than that.  It's something to look out for.  Fortunately I had some suitable leftover thread and the gammoning turned out acceptablly.
 

 

I see I haven't yet trimmed the excess thread.


 

A belated thanks for the kind comments.  There is some progress to report.  The yards are finished and their rigging is about to begin.  Here are the yards.
 

The bowsprit is complete and in the photos is dry-fitted.  The flying jib boom is dry fitted and will be fixed as late as possible.  Sticking out as it does while doing other bits and pieces is asking for trouble.
 


Finally, the anchors are done.
 


 Now comes my least-favorite part of the whole exercise: tying knots.
 

Finally here is some progress.  The various yards are on the way to being finished.  Here they are before adding the octagonal sections, painting and putting on the various bits of hardware.
 


The deck furniture is now complete.  The ship's boat is dry-fitted in the photos.
 



 

 
 
 

I decided to rig the guns which is probably a big mistake,  I am using the 2mm rigging blocks recommended (not supplied in the kit).  Handling them is quite awkward and the task is far more difficult and time-consuming than I anticipated.  The instructions recommend .75 rigging thread to wrap around the end of the gun barrel.  That is far too large to go through the rings for the eye bolts and even the eye bolts themselves.  Aside from that, the whole thing looked out of scale. I ended up using some leftover Syren .45 thread which has come out fairly well.  Quite aside from that, the rings for the eye bolts were difficult to get on but had a propensity to come off quite easily.  Belatedly I figured the I should close the eye bolts after the rings were mounted.  Genius. 
 
Here is the first gun mounted. (It has not yet been properly stuck down.) Only 13 to go.
 

 

 

 
 

While I haven't posted for some time some progress has actually been made.  First, here are a few comments which may be helpful.
 
The hair brackets are 45, not 78 which are the bow cheeks.  The hair brackets are very fragile (I broke one, now repaired) and I wonder whether 1mm box wood is suitable (same for bow rails).
 
There is a small error in the plans shown below.  The initial drawing of the fore and main top gallant masts shown on the left side of the photo shows the hole for the fid  directly below the hole for the yard tye.  Unfortunately I followed the first drawing without checking further.  Not the end of the world, but a little annoying.
 

Here are some photos of progress on the hull.  Masts shown in a couple of the photos are dry-fitted.  After a rather complicated beginning of the year for us, things are beginning to be to be a little more civilized.  More time for boat building!
 

 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Still waiting for access to my miniature sander down the coast south of Sydney.  In the meantime I'm trying to do all the fittings and am almost starting on the masts and yards.  Here are the ships guns.  They were quite time-consuming, but have turned out well.  I now have to get some 2mm blocks to rig them. The swivel guns are now finished - photos later.
 

 

 

I had forgotten the seat brackets.  They do finish off the ship's boat quite well.
 

 
Here is some of the deck furniture.  The windows for the skylight combing are done in Kristal Klear.  It gives a far better result than the clear plastic.
 

 
 
 

Post Twenty-three
The base over which the cover is placed is made of 3-ply plywood, it just happened to be lying about.
Although given the w-o-p treatment the finish looked, well, unfinished.

0287
I thought about painting the base but one of the contemporary barge models (above) had a hessian covering which gave me the idea of using baize, a posher alternative, and something I had used to line the case of my Cutter Cheerful build.
Speaking of Cheerful I love that model in all its Boxwood beauty and silently thank Chuck for providing the makings every time I walk past.
 
So Blue baize it is.

9819(2)
I think the dark blue goes well with the ochre red, the Boxwood stand will remain as is.

9818(2)
Stuck down with diluted pva, ironed, and trimmed with a scalpel, job done.

9826(2)

9820(2)
The cover will need cleaning up for final fitting, constant handling has taken the clarity from it.
 
B.E.
23/12/2022

Beautiful pictures Peter, you've done an amazing job on the hull and the sails and running rigging look fantastic.  The detail in the deck shots really show your workmanship.

Beautiful pictures Peter, you've done an amazing job on the hull and the sails and running rigging look fantastic.  The detail in the deck shots really show your workmanship.

Beautiful pictures Peter, you've done an amazing job on the hull and the sails and running rigging look fantastic.  The detail in the deck shots really show your workmanship.

main yard and course
 
The main course's area was also reduced by about 30% and the simplified sail then bent to the yard. (Easily said - but I had to knot about 90 robands.) Buntlines, bowlines and clue lines were added and the sail then furled. It sits perhaps not high enough on the forward side of the yard, but I didn't want to cover the studding sail booms.
 
Setting up the yard was started with the sling. Then again followed a process of balancing lifts, braces, jeers and trusses to get a horizontal yard, braced by about 20° and with no slack in the sling. How to set up lifts caused a bit of head scratching: With yards squared it is obvious how to lead them in order not to conflict the standing rigging. But with the yard braced you will have to set them up the same way and they will not run free anymore but bend around the standing rigging. And of course the yard itself presses onto the foremost shroud on lee side. Letting loose the truss falls a bit helps here.
 
Then I had to lead all the lines through the correct blocks to the appropriate belaying points. Some I had to improvise, such as those for the yard tackles and its gear.
 
For the buntlines I changed the run under the main top. I had installed additional blocks and each runs now through two blocks in succession, similar to the plans for the fore course buntlines, and so clear the yard.
 
Now I only had to fix and coil a zillion rope ends and voila - another tiny step towards completion was done.
 
Sometime during that step, when I had enough of lace making, I finished the stern lanterns.
 
 

main yard from above - the reduced sail area is marked in the plan below it
 

yard seen from below
 

sling, jeers and lifts as well as buntlines visible below the maintop
 

detail with truss
 

main yard from above - kink in lift due to the foremost shroud visible
 

Do you see the sailor in the maintop?  Those ships were huge!
 

foot of the main mast with bitts quite full
 


view along the deck
 

stern lanterns in place
 
 


she's taking shape
 

According to The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of War 1650-1850 by Peter Goodwin
Page 179 figure 6/10
The backing piece was called the LINING.
The front piece that bottomed against the lower cheek and rose to half the hawse hole and had a radius in it that the holes for the bend of the cable passing over it was called the ELM BOLSTER.
The hawse hole had an oak lining in barrel stave fashion, between 8 and 12 segments.
This was covered with lead or heavy gauge copper, the latter being used in the 2nd half of the 18th century (1750+), in some cases lead only.

Thank You guys.
 
I am going to try and get more frames done this weekend.  But it will be slow going from this point forward.  This is as boring and repetitive as making cannon carriages.  But it has to be done.
 
Chuck

Some work on the figurehead...
 

Post Twenty-two

9806(2)
A new Boxwood stand has been made that raises the boat a little higher than the kit provided cradles.

9798(2)
The oars can’t be properly fixed until I decide about the crew.

9794(4)

9793(2)

9796(3)
A baseboard has been prepared to suit the acrylic cover, designed to fit over the whole display to protect the outboard oars.

9800(2)
A cover is necessary with this type of display.
 
Until the crew arrive, I can’t progress the build.
 I last heard that they were somewhere in Cornwall and I’m beginning to suspect they may have been seduced by smuggling gangs, where the rewards are greater and life  easier than service in his Britannic Majesty’s Navy.
 
A few more days and I'll have them listed as 'Run'
 
B.E.
21/12/2022
 

As has been said, a 1:64 seventy-four is huge market gap....and so many great subjects.  And of course the historic Leda class with 2 living examples...