Beef Wellington

Thank you, guys!
 
I had the final part of my new laser purchase finally arrive this week, a monolith of an extractor for my new machine. I can now use both machines, as they both have their own extractor and air assist. (I think I was engraving two lots of Sphinx decks on the new laser, in the pics)
 
A little more news:
 
1 - I can get hold of pearwood dowel. Is this something you would like in kits, or have an option for, as it is more expensive?
 
2 - Alert - I have started a 'Version 3' of this, and will be the final version, after bringing it up to my latest standards. This will be available once all V2 stock is gone - BUT, it will be £20 more expensive (All kit prices need to increase, in fact, as materials are getting more expensive, but will hold all prices for as long as I can). Alert 3 will need to cost more because the laser cut gratings are included, and the cannon carriages have been re-worked to have the cap squares integrated with the part, as per the Sphinx carriages. Laser engraved decks will be standard with this kit and the white metal anchor set replaced with a black resin 3-d printed version, eliminating the last trace of white metal from my kits. I will have to have the Alert manual updated when next printed.
 
Staying with Alert - I am having a full sail set made for this kit, so a pre made set will be available early next year. The company that is doing these is the same that do the sets for Amati, Occre etc, and are not the same very high quality I get from the (much more) expensive current sail sets, and this will be reflected in the lower price, compared to my existing sets. I love the sail sets I have now, but they do take an age just to do 20 sets, and I am forever running out of stock. An alternative was sorely needed. I have ordered 100 sets each for Alert and other kits (Not Speedy, Flirt, Duchess or Sphinx)
 
And finally, as I am writing this, something just arrived that I gave up all hope of seeing this side of Christmas - a 50kg pallet chock full of fresh photo etched brass and copper from Italy, that I was running short of! All I am waiting for now is my damned Nisha and Erycina sail sets.....
 
Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!
 
Chris

As I am staining the leaves for the Library display I cannot afford to stir up any sawdust from my shop so I decided to go back to my computer and work on my made fore and mizzen masts.... but before I start that I modelled my 1/2 pound (1-1/2" bore) swivel gun for my fore and main tops (platform).  Originally I saw these as 16 inches long but that was from one reference, a Battlefield 18th century swivel gun manual printed in 2016.  Lewis and Clark had a 1-3/4" bore 22" long barrel swivel gun in 1804.  It's just that everyone I talk to suggests naval guns we scaled down in size so my 1/2 pdr would be 27 to 30 inches long following that train of thought.
 
 At 1:64 scale that makes it just under a 1/2" long!
Now to see if they can be resin printed as my other cannons were done.

I spent the last 3 days working on and refining the parts that make up the qdeck rail.  It was quite a journey.   The parts were tweaked to allow a bit of wiggle room when assembling.   This is a very intricate rail but is another major element of the model.  So I took my time and completed the port side without taking many pictures.  I wanted to power through it to establish a good method for building it.  When I repeat the process on the starboard side I will take many more pictures and describe how I did it.   I found the best approach for me was to build the rail in sections or groups which I will explain.  Hopefully I will start the other side by the end f the week.  
 
But here are some final pictures of the completed rail on the port side.  It really does give the ship its elegant shape so typical of these 5th rates in the Royal Navy.   I cant wait to finish the other side to see how it will look.  The rail starts to lean in toward the deck more and more as you approach the stern to match the angle of that last stern frame.  The uprights which become the sides of the ports and the timberheads are extensions of the frames.   You will need to lean these inboard as you work from mid-ship towards the stern....finally adding the top rail which is in two sections.  BUT at the same time these uprights are straight and vertical when viewing the ship from the side profile.   A tricky but rewarding experience.
 
Note the fixed block at the stern against the transom.  The middle rail sits on this.
 




 
 


Thanks for all of the likes 👍
 
"Dogs legs" - Wow these are tricky things to make.  I've been following Adrian Sorolla's excellent guide and have tried his suggestion on how to form them. He uses a slightly wider piece of wood than the actual counter timbers and basically shapes it slightly diagonally to obtain the dogs legs.
 
Now I've tried this approach and discovered that although it seems quite simple it has two issues that I think can change the shape of the stern slightly.  It makes it very difficult to come off of the wing transom vertically as two angles in different planes are required even if coming off straight.  More worrying is the way it changes the shape underneath the counter timbers which I believe is called the stern vault.
 
I've made two pieces this way and have found them to be completely unacceptable so I have decided to try a different approach.  I have looked at this part square on which requires three timbers being glued together to make a very wide piece to work with.
 
I then transposed the drawings as best I could to get the correct shape which I then cut.  The result is actually quite close to what I want.  I am now coming off of the transom vertically and the stern vault is keeping its square shape.
 
I have attached a few pictures of my experiment below but I would like to know what others think?  Is this a good way of making this part or am I way off base here?  The part that is in the pictures is very rough just to try and help me see a way forward with these parts and it is not going on the ship.
 
Any comments or advice would be very welcome and I hope you all have a great Xmas.

Thanks druxey and thats a great idea about the T piece.  I'll get one on tomorrow as those little extensions are so vulnerable. I only wear T shirts now when I'm working on it too!!!
 
Another photo from the other side too.  For some reason this wouldn't upload earlier.

Hi All
 
I've now made the taffrail filler pieces and also the window surround timbers which has made the counter timbers strong enough to remove them from the jig 👍
 
The counter timbers are now fixed onto the wing transom and are supported to keep the correct angle and hopefully protect them a bit too.  I pinned them using some 0.5mm brass as I didn't want them to move whilst the glue dried.  I set the angle by taking a measurement from the stem all the way back to the furthest point on the taffrail filler.  The only thing that went wrong was the screw head on the support decided to shear off - so I'll have to cut the support away at some point and try and remove the screw from behind.
 
Its on and square so I'm a very happy builder 😃  Now for my next challenge - the dogs legs!  Happy Xmas everyone 🎄

I've had a little more time in the shop today and I've now made the counter timber extensions that run up to the taffrail.  
 
They have nice little tenons on the top and were quite easy to make.  It was just a case of making sure that I followed all of the existing angles to the counter timbers and beam so that they sat correctly.
 
I give them a 50/50 chance of surviving until the end of the build as they will be pretty vulnerable as the build progresses.  So if I have to make them again it's not a problem.  I now need to make the parts in-between and the window frames which hopefully I will find some time this week.  Thanks for all of the comments and likes too 🙂
 
Mark
 
 
 
 
 

Hi All
 
I've now made the quarter deck beam which I think has gone ok.  The drawings do not give a separate drawing for this piece so the template's must be made from 3 different views of the same piece number 13.
 
A few pictures below of the result
 
Cheers Mark
 
 

Hi All
 
I've made a start on the counter timbers and I'm back to following Adrian Sorolla's excellent book.  He suggests making a jig which involves making another although less intricate wing transom and an angle plate to set the timbers.  Once the assembly is complete it is then transferred to the ship. 
 
So I set out to make this jig which is actually a bit more tricky than he lets on.  Not only do you have to obviously set the exact angle there is a curvature in the stern too.  I think the pictures explain this far better than my words but the jig took many hours to make compared to the hour it took to make the counter timbers.
 
So having made the jig I next made the four counter timbers which were by now quite easy for me to make.  The results are below and I just hope that they are right.  Next up is to make the quarterdeck beam to begin to tie the counter timbers together.
 
Cheers and thanks for the continued encouragement - Mark
 
 
 
 

Thanks for all of the comments, likes and advice 👍
 
I cut the hole out for the bowsprit this morning which like most things required a solution.  The hole required needs to be 14.70mm in diameter or there about's 🤣.  I'm sure that many of you have looked at this hole like me and thought I really need to keep the correct angle or it will just look bad.
 
So what I did was made a hole saw out of a piece of 13mm brass and used the bowsprit saddle as a guide. I popped the hole saw into a power drill and ran it through nice and slowly so as not to split the wood.   To get to the final size I just kept on gluing sand paper to the brass until the correct diameter was achieved.
 
So that's the bow now closed in so its onto the counter timbers at the stern for me next.  This will have to wait to next weekend now and I'm looking forward to the next challenge.
 
Mark
 

Hi All
 
Well at last I've now completed the other side of the hawse timbers 😃
 
I must be honest and admit that I have found these few timbers to be the hardest on the build so far.  The drawings are complicated and yet very precise and complete but the translation to the wood was difficult for me.  I think that this was partly due to the way each piece is stacked onto the next piece.  Assembly without glue is hard and yet the dry assembly is critical.
 
I can now see the shape of the bow and its another milestone for me.  I have not yet cut the top timbers to their finished height as this will wait until the outside of the hull is faired.
 
I have made the hawse holes and also made the small triangular filler piece that fits between hawse timber 1 and the top of frame 1.  I need to finish the hole for the bowsprit and I'll try and get that finished tomorrow; if I do I'll get some more pictures up for you.
 
Phew I'm so glad that this is done even if they are not the best joints I've ever made.
 
Thanks to you all for the encouragement - Mark 🙂
 
 

I wanted to use slow setting epoxy for fixing the guns to give me time to adjust them. While I was waiting for it to arrive, I decided to have a bash at the wash cants. They are formed from a number of complex curves and I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I decided to take it a step at a time by building them up from layers of 6x2mm pear strip. I built up the first a strip at a time measuring it against the curve of the hull and of the lower cheek. In the end they were three strips deep by two thick. The section along the stem was made up separately to a rough finish and then fixed to the hull section with epoxy to provide enough strength for filling and finishing.
 
Having completed the first, I was able to go a little quicker with the other side and glued and roughly shaped the back three strips as one piece. The front three strips were also roughly shaped before glueing to the other half for final shaping.
 

It took three afternoons of cutting filing, and sanding to complete both pieces.
 

 

 
Not easy to photograph an all black subject but here the wash cants are fitted to the hull.
 
While waiting for epoxy and filler to set at various stages, I was able to start fixing the guns.
I had already mentioned that I had fixed 1mm brass posts into the carriages and drilled corresponding holes in the upper deck. I also slightly flattened the trucks to give better contact with the deck. The guns were then fitted by applying the slow setting epoxy to the holes in the deck and aliphatic glue to the trucks.
The port side fixed and the starboard side in place ready to be glued down
 
The
 

 
The port side breeching is  fixed but the ropes need tidying and setting in position.
 
And that’s all I’ll have time for as my work room has to be dismantled – my table is needed for Christmas lunch.
 
A Merry Christmas to all
 
David

Thank you for your attention and support over the past year! And a merry Christmas to you all in advance!  
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

Spectacular Thomas, only wish the pictures you have posted could be enlarged more!

The black & white checkered floor for the captain's cabin is printed, in scale, on a sheet of the Sphinx plans. Although not delineated in the build manual, I'm pretty certain the intention was to provide a printed and scissored "cut out" to simply affix over the laser-etched floor pattern on the one-piece gun deck, or as B.E. indicates, perhaps not use it at all. I haven't had to make this decision since I'm not building this kit as a quasi-Admiralty dockyard "reveal" model. Had I gone this direction, I would have stained the pear flooring slightly darker and chose - as B.E. also says: "…the understated look…"
 
As many are witnessing on other HMS Sphinx logs, this kit includes many nice touches and encourages various levels of "scratching" enhancements.
Really nice work, B.E.
 
Ron
 

As all your previous builds, a real delight to follow although your last comment caught my uttermost attention :
"Four months into the build.."  : and the progress on the hull is more than obvious.
It is amazing how much the quality of (some) brands of kits have improved, thus allowing both speed and workmanship.
Most impressive.
 

Post Fifty-four
Completing the Great Cabin.
 
The cills are made using 0.8mm x 6mm Pearwood strip.

1832
The unused seat pattern (198) made a good template for cutting the cill to fit between the frames.

1838(2)
The slots were cut out on the scroll saw.

1835
Fitting was a case of slowly adjusting the slots to fit.

1841
The process went far more smoothly than I dared hope.

1846
The bulwarks have been given the w-o-p treatment and I’m still not sure whether to paint the panelling with an ivory tone.
Also wracked with indecision about the kit provided ‘parquet’ flooring or use of the alternative b/w chequer.

1845
This I can defer until I see how things look between the Qtr deck beams.
 
The Gallery doors present something of a problem, I removed these when I modified the Qtr Galleries, and the question is how or whether to refit them.
I don’t think Chuck fitted doors to the Quarter Galleries of Winchelsea.
 
The doors are engraved on one side only, are not square, and if to be displayed open need reversing to show the patterns.
If hinged on the left they open against the bench arrangement, and either way they open onto the spirketting and deck clamps.
Another feature that I can’t get my head around and I’ll leave them off for the present.
 
The port linings and inner bulwarks have been painted; careful masking of the port surrounds is required to avoid getting paint on the ‘bright’ outer planking.

1850(2)
Tedious business this, using a fine brush and not too thin a paint mix to decrease the risk of bleed.
I note that Chuck leaves the inside edges of the planking around the ports clear of paint, an arrangement I followed on my Cheerful build.
I do like this effect, but it is not one reflected on many contemporary models and I think I would struggle to replicate it on the 1:64 scale Sphinx.

1867

1861

1859

1857(2)
Four months into the build and I am now ready to set out the centre line deck fittings.
 
B.E.
21/12/21
 

Spectacular Thomas, only wish the pictures you have posted could be enlarged more!

A little update . . . I made the travelers (imgs 1 to 3). The leather lining was simulated with a layer of silkspan painted with leather paint. The jibboom was lashed to the bowsprit (img 4), the flying jibboom was mounted and the various blocks added. Imgs 5 to 8 show the blocks and the simulated round seizing. Img 9 presents the current state of the bowsprit assembly.
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 

Image 2
 

Image 3
 

Image 4
 

Image 5
 

Image 6
 

Image 7
 

Image 8
 

Image 9
 
 

Thank you Harshil for your kind comment, and thanks for all the likes! Feedback and encouragement are always highly appreciated 🙂.
 
Thomas

I made some progress on the bowsprit assembly. I turned bowsprit, jibboom and flying jibboom out of bass wood, which was especially selected for very little grain. As all pieces are pretty fragile the shaping on the lathe was done with sand paper held between two fingers to apply equal pressure from both sides (image 1). The result is shown in image 2. The details like sheaves, bee blocks, cleats were done following the Syren instruction book. The lead plate for the sling saddle (image 3) was simulated with a piece of photo paper painted lead gray and ‘metalized’ by buffing it with ‘Grimy Black’ from ‘Doc O’Brian’s’ weathering powders (Micro-Mark). Image 4 shows most of the details in place as well as the dolphin striker. The latter was made out of box wood for stability. Image 5 shows the dolphin striker and the Jack staff mounted and painted. I used the staples for both parts to fix them in their place. I also made the bowsprit cap out of box wood. The holes in the bass wood version included in the kit were too large for my jibboom, and they did not take the angle of about 20° into account. Image 6 presents how I simulated the leather lining for the jibboom. A piece of paper was painted with several coats of enamel leather color and fixed around a wooden dowel turned to the diameter of the jibboom at the location where it crossed the bowsprit cap. This arrangement was sanded to an angle of 20° on both sides, slotted on both ends with an Exacto knife, and mounted on the jibboom at the appropriate location.  This of course was a bit tricky 😉. Once the jibboom was glued in place, the little pieces resulting from the slotting were bent upwards and glued to the bowsprit cap with white glue, which could be cleaned up with water (hence the enamel leather color in order to prevent the paper from dissolving). The result is shown in images 7 and 8.
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 

Image 2
 

Image 3
 

Image 4
 

Image 5
 

Image 6
 

Image 7
 

Image 8
 
 

Looking very well done, B.E.   I'm not sure the windows were really for looking out at the sea but more for light,   Then again, maybe putting a stool on top the "bench" wasn't all that uncommon.

Post Fifty-three
 
The Great Cabin flat pack assembly continues.
 
I faffed around with the octagonal style cover but couldn’t get it to sit right with my eye.
With the kit set-up the Rudder head position throws the cover too far backwards when the forward edge at least should meet the deck edge. To achieve this the cover would have to be too broad and not fit between the stern frames as required.
This also has implications for subsequently fitting the rudder and seating the rudder head within the cover.
 
Back to basics I considered the purpose of the fittings; to give a reasonably realistic impression as viewed obliquely and from above thro’ the Quarterdeck beams.
With that in mind I have opted to follow Chuck’s lead.
 
A rectangular cover masks the actual line of the rudder head and provides a clean line to set the benches against.
 
The cover is fashioned from some Pear sheet, and decorated with some ebony strip, and a depiction of a Greek sphinx.

Very keen on Greek mythology were the Georgians, altho’ the Sphinx is a far less attractive subject than the rather elegant Pegasus.
 
Both winged creatures, but I wouldn’t fancy meeting this Woman/lion/Raptor combo, who delighted in tearing humans limb from limb if they couldn’t answer her bloody questions.
 
Still one young likely lad who went by the name of Oedipus did indeed answer her riddle correctly, and in a fit of pique, Sphinx threw herself from a cliff and smashed on the rocks below
.
Fortunately, a fate not shared by the ship named for her.
 
Still I digress.

1816
Trial fit of the cover, I basically followed Chuck’s method, without the luxury of laser cut parts.

1826
The benches are fitted each side of the cover. Fairly straightforward using Pear strips of 6mm and 10mm widths.

1829
I use scale figures to set the fittings at the right height. I find that such figures do aid the setting up of these things.

1830
The distance between the bench tops and stern Window cills is around a scale 4½ feet, which seems a little high to me, the Captain would have to stand on the bench top to see out of the stern windows.
 
The cills and the Gallery doors are yet to be fitted, then the area can be cleaned up.
 
B.E.
19/12/21