Beef Wellington

Some of the deck furniture and sticks placed on the hull to get a sense of what it will look like. I still have to fit the houses to the deck camber.

 

Still following (more or less) the CAF Model instructions, it is now time to dress and stiffen the upper section of the hull. I am approaching one side of the hull at a time. Because of the large size and weight of the hull, it is not practical to jump back and forth between the two sides.
 

 
So, after Step #8 (Coppering), we are now focusing onto Step #9. The main wales (B) have already been taken care of before the planking of the hull, as indicated before. I am now planking the space between (B - Wales) and (C - Channels). This is done in the following way, after careful measurements: 
 

 
(A) is coppering, (B) are the wales and (C) the channels. The distance between the wales and the Channels is of about 28-29 mm. As some of you may recall, I installed a lime wood strip of 6 mm wide x 2 mm thick (not provided in the kit) on top of the main wales. That strip plus three strips of 8 mm x 0.4 mm Maple (provided in the kit) will end up at around 29 mm, once sanded and glued. So it will fit perfectly and is easy to install and cut with scissors. 
 

 
You can see the progressive transition from the bulky 3 mm thick wales to the top wale (2 mm) and then the hull planking at 0.4 mm.
 
A view of the bow: 
 

 
You can see that I started building the Channels, using the 2 mm x 8 mm planks provided in the kit (Package "C").
 
The question came for the stern. Should I extend all the planking to the very end of the ship or should I stop it at a certain distance? Will the planking (and specifically the channels), affect the construction of the Galleries (coming in Session #5 .... and thus far away).
 
After a quick discussion with Tom, it was decided to extend all planking all the way to the end, and then sand very thin the channels at the exact size of the side galleries, so that no extra thickness exists to jeopardizes the alignment of the windows.
 

 
I hope you are enjoying the discovery of that complex and large kit.
 
Yves
 
 

Good afternoon, dear friends. Let’s continue to update the progress.
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Its amazing how you have created the various 3D printed parts David.  You're really showing how this kit can really be taken to the next level with these details, you have a really beautiful model coming together.  I'd love to know how to do what you do 🙂

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.

Its amazing how you have created the various 3D printed parts David.  You're really showing how this kit can really be taken to the next level with these details, you have a really beautiful model coming together.  I'd love to know how to do what you do 🙂

I am new here, and i guess this is a rite of passage. I am seventeen years old, from California, USA. I have been making model ships since the eighth grade, but still have a world to learn. My introductory model will be the 1/96 scale USS United States, by Revell. Wish me luck!
 
 

Greetings All,
 
Previous photos of my Endurance light bulb model build showed the basic hull construction. The hull parts were made from basswood, with maple veneer bulwarks and forecastle extensions. The newest photos show further construction, including adding sheet styrene plastic inner bulwarks with frame extensions. The fore deck was made from thin paper with lines drawn on it. Additional sheet styrene detaling was added to the midships and stern, as well as forecastle bulwarks and keel, stem and stern posts. The prop was made from sheet brass, as well as the pin rails around the masts. The last photo shows the pin rail, and looking closely you can see the hidden hinge in the mast, which allows it to fold backward during insertion into the light bulb opening.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III

Thanks! BTW, my smallest scale pocket watch case model was Constitution at 1:2400.
 

Its amazing how you have created the various 3D printed parts David.  You're really showing how this kit can really be taken to the next level with these details, you have a really beautiful model coming together.  I'd love to know how to do what you do 🙂

great mix of the ancient and rocket sience 🙂

Back to the build. I started on the quarter galleries. I was not looking forward to this as I knew the result would be somewhat compromised. I started from the bottom up using the upper counter as my springing off point and utilising the kit supplied parts which I shaped using the dremel. I added some of the photo etch and cast decorative elements. When it came to the window section I found the kit supplied template gave an awkward geometry and the line of the window sills was off quite dramatically. I had to resort to the CAD again and drew up a replacement piece which I 3d printed. This was then clad with walnut to form the pilasters ready to receive the windows. Having already established the geometry in the CAD program it was relatively easy to model the window frames. Two false windows and one vision panel. These were 3d printed, glazed then glued in place.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
I 3d printed the various mouldings for the galleries. I have now got my hands on a scraper tool that has some good profiles. Once I obtain some boxwood I will theoretically be able to fashion those out of timber which I think would look better.
 

 

 

 
I was dutifully trimming the excess material from the kit supplied decorative swags until I realised that I had been given two starboard pieces. I had to resort to the CAD and 3D printed route again which was disappointing as the results are lacking the definition of the cast parts. I added the other decorative elements and constructed the top rail.
 

 

 
Time to attach the rear fascia. Because I had laminated on so many layers to build this up it was a lot less flexible than I had anticipated. I needed to construct some temporary works to try and hold the curve while the glue set. I also added another couple of inboard upstands to allow for more contact area for the glue. I still imagine that one day it will eventually let go with a loud twang sound.
 

 

 

 
I added a veneer of planks to the inboard side and that is the major portion of the stern with quarterdeck galleries complete. The whole assembly sits too high. I wish I could just grab it and slide it down 4 or 5mm.
 

 

 

I knew I should not have replied to the subject as this will no doubt turn into an endless discussion on the naming of ships however I just did a bit of digging around and found numerous examples of names on ships after 1780. I assume that it was either not strictly enforced or was repealed at some point. Here is an extract from a contemporary painting depicting HMS Woolwich launched in 1784. The painting is dated 1795 with the name clearly visible on the stern.
 

I'm just catching up with your log again. Superb work on the planking Jason. I will soon be at the stage of planking the forecastle and I think that I will take your approach rather than joggling the planks into the waterway as depicted in the AotS. I makes a much neater finish to my eye.
 
David

I have now completed planking on the port side of the quarterdeck. I laid planks on each side to maintain some symmetry until the last four strakes.
 

 
At this point I needed to consider the waterway which I had laid out to be made from 6mm maple strip to allow for any accommodation of variation in planks. The waterway plank was soaked and edge-bent to take up the curve of bulwark and marked up to butt up against the last plank. A bit more fettling than I would have liked was required at the stern  but now that the port side is completed I am reasonably happy with the way it looks so I will repeat the exercise on the starboard side.

 

 
If I were to start again, I would take more measurements along the length than the every 50mms I chose to do. Every 20mms would give better accuracy and result in a better graduation of the curve of the planking.
 
The thickness of the planks are very variable so the deck is going to take a lot of scraping and sanding once laid.
 
 

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.

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.

Looking fantastic!
 
BTW - you could honestly sell that ladder making jig, I would buy one!

Hi David,
 
Just jumping in before you commit re: the top tackle scuttle and pump scuttles. I'm of the opinion that the AOTS is simply wrong, and suspect that Chris's kit plans/instructions follow that.  The plan below of the upper deck (of 'Jason' in this case, but likely consistent across the class) clearly shows the scuttles without any coaming, and I don't think there is any reason to suspect that the approach to these would change over time.  Practically, these would be used infrequently, offer little in the way of light or other benefit of having permanent coamings and gratings...and likely be hazardous if anything other than flush, especially around the main mast and railing.  They also do not appear built up on any of the Artois or other contemporaneous NMM models.
 
All that being said, they do offer some nice visual interest so will look great whichever way you go.  Good luck with the tapered planking, definitely time consuming but well worth the effort in retrospect.  Looks like you've made a good start.
 
Cheers
 
Jason

Looking very good David!

I started the rear elevation by comparing the AOTSD rendered drawing with the photo on kit box. You can tell that the kit version has used the AOTSD drawings to base their design on but there seems to have been some value engineering on the go. The kit version has lost some of the depth. The windows appear to be a different proportion and are a bit too square. The springing point of the side arches over the spandrel windows look like they have been shifted over and the decorative elements has been simplified and watered down.
 

 
I had a look at the ply template supplied and decided that it needed too much surgery and wasn't worth saving. I drew up an alternative on the computer and then 3D printed a new template. I then started to form the various steps and pilasters using walnut planks. I 3D printed some of the mouldings and decorative pieces as they were too delicate to be made out of any of the woods that I had to hand. The 3D printed parts are a bit ropey but they are the best that I can produce using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technology printer that I have. I should really invest in a Digital Light Processing (DLP) printer to improve the resolution.
 

 

 

 

 
I painted everything with the garish blue and the decorative elements in gold. The gold was a big mistake. I should have rather used real gold leaf or yellow ochre instead. I repainted some of the mouldings in yellow ochre but the I don't want to risk repainting all of the decorations. I built up the upper counter using walnut planks. I really should have curved these but for some reason I didn’t. I did not like the look of the photoetch brass letters supplied so I thought that I would try my hand at painting the name which seems to be what happened in practice. It came out a bit shaky but if you look at it from a distance and squint your eyes it is acceptable. I took the dremel to the corners to provide a recess to accept the figures.
 

 

 

 
For the windows I also went down the 3d printed route. I notice a lot of the windows offered in kits consist of a set of photoetch mullions where they encourage you to stick some acetate on the back of and then glue on the model. In order to simulate a real window they should supply two sets of frames, one thicker than the other, which you can then use to sandwich the acetate. My initial grand idea was to provide a sub-frame where I could place each individual pane of glass cut from acetate or glass from a slide cover. The plan was that the slight variations in placement would have caused a realistic window effect as the light reflected off them. I managed to cut out one pane and then had to lie down for a while to recover so I gave up on that idea. It probably would have been feasible at a scale of 1:48. I reworked the sub-frame so that I could install the acetate in one piece.
 

 

 

 

 
This is the fascia mounted on the model compared to the two references. It looks like a marginal gain on the kit version but I am still not happy with the decorative elements. I would like to replace the figures but sourcing them is problematic. I may go and rummage through some Toy/Hobby shops to see if any of them have a range of small plastic maidens striking heroic poses.
 

 
 

Hi Dave,
I'm just catching up with your log having been away for the weekend. Your Diana is looking really good and it's nice to see that you are putting your own stamp on the kit. I can't believe this is only your second wooden ship build, I think that you must have picked up a lot of expertise from other fields of model making.
I too really liked that ladder jig and although I didn't use Jotika's, wish I could have used something other than kit supplied ladders.
 
For boxwood, I have used two suppliers, the first for stripwood and sheets is Original Marquetry  https://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/product-category/inlays-lines/lines-stringing/
The second is Timberline who supply 6x2mm boxwood that I used for coamings
https://shop.exotichardwoods.co.uk/castello-boxwood-guitar-banding-800-x-6-x-2mm.html
 
I will be following your log with great interest.
David 

I added the shot lockers around the hatchways. These were constructed using 1.7 x 4mm walnut strip. The corners were fashioned using a jeweller’s mitre jig and the dimples were excavated using a 2.1mm diameter spherical mill bit. I made a slight blunder by using the kit supplied 2.5mm cannon balls. In a fit of pedantry, I had ordered 2mm diameter balls to more accurately represent the 5inch diameter ball used for an 18 pounder but when it came time to install them, I must have picked up the wrong packet.

 

 

 

 
It was now decision time. Do I go open or closed bulwarks on the quarterdeck. The open ones look a lot prettier but after much dithering I decided on the closed bulwark option as I figured I could hide a multitude of sins behind them. The decision being made I marked up the positions of the gunports. I had to adjust these to reflect my somewhat arbitrary gunport positioning of the deck below. I then added additional framing and cut back some of the existing bulkhead framing where it coincided with my new gunport location. I then added a first layer of planking to the outside of this to match the rest of the hull.
 

 
 

 
I temporarily relocated to the kitchen to mark out the position of the wales and the waterline to set me up for the second planking. I used a laser level to mark out the waterline. I guess I could have used the traditional pencil shoved through an upturned paper cup but this way I can legitimately claim that the model was built using lasers. This line will eventually be covered up with the second planking but it is useful to mark it is as above the line the planking will be visible and I have to proceed with caution while below it will be covered with copper tiles so I can run wild.
 

 
I proceeded to plank the wales with top and butt planking. I noticed in the AOTSD drawings that the top and butt planking continues below the wales. This seems quite fanciful to me. If you look at the detailed section in the AOTSD book, the planking below the wales consists of thickstuff and them five diminishing strakes. To achieve this profile using top and butt planking would be very challenging from a practical standpoint although not impossible. I can't be bothered to do any further research on the matter and I just proceeded with normal planking as I would not like to attempt that pattern in the complicated stern section. I then painted the wale black. I also painted the thickstuff above the wale black. This could be construed as quite a controversial move but the 1794-3 model has this colour scheme so I can claim precedent.
 

 

 

 
Planking below the waterline transitions from maple to walnut as I had a lot more walnut to hand. It was touch and go as to whether or not I had enough maple to finish the upper planking. Turns out I did but only just and I finished with half a plank to spare.
 

 

 
I added the scupper pipes at this stage. These will have a cover ring placed over them. I will probably use the PE part included with the kit. I only fitted the scupper pipes to carry through the internal bulwark at one location as it proved to be quite difficult and not that visible. I gave the hull a splash of the French Blue from the Jotika Admiralty paint collection. I confess that I am not that keen on this colour which also has an unusual gloss to it. I prefer the blues used by the various other Diana builders on this site. It is unfortunate that the timing of this coincided with one of those Covid lockdown periods which meant that the hobby shop was closed down for a while so I decided to just plough ahead rather than waiting. I still have not grown to love it though. I am hoping that once all of the masts and rigging are installed it will appear less jarring.
 

 

 
I didn't like the cast moulding rails supplied with the kit so have been experimenting with the various hull profiles that I milled out of some lime strips. I wish I could get my hands on some boxwood as it would give a better edge but I have not managed to source a local supplier yet.
 

 
I am not planning on painting the planking above the wales so the supplied walnut rudder does not match. I had to fashion a new one out of a 10mn thick lime plank. I used the AOTSD drawings for reference and this did allow me the opportunity to add the taper.
 

 
I started planking the lower counter in anticipation of tackling the rear elevation which will be the subject of the next post. You may notice that the holes drilled for the ropes attached to the hatch covers do not line up. I eventually noticed it 6 months later. They now line up.
 

 

 
 
 
 

Looking fantastic!
 
BTW - you could honestly sell that ladder making jig, I would buy one!

Adam, very much enjoyed catching up on your log, I very much appreciate you showing how you approached the basic wood working of each piece for those of us not too familiar with basic techniques, you make it look simple!  A beautiful model you have coming together here, very much want to follow along.