Beef Wellington

Although it was indeed not common due to less things eating the hulls, it did occur. Mostly though, wooden sheathing was employed, essentially an underwater sacrifical layer of thin planking. Even Swedish East Indiamen were sheathed in that manner. However, the major units of the Swedish navy were copper sheathed in the major overhaul around 1790, but none of those sank outside Riga as far as I know even though they did patrol the Baltic together with the British in 1809.
 
If it’s indeed a large ship and indeed 200 years old (how did they conclude that, I saw no dendro?) the answer should be available in the archives.  Probably in the Russian - they built their larger vessels with oak and copper sheathing too, at least a bit further into the 19th century. Wonder why they disregarded the most obvious answer? Otherwise, if ”oak” and ”copper” is all they’ve got, I can mention that plenty of later and lesser vessels were built of oak with copper sheathing - here’s one example:
 
 
https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tre_Kronor_af_Stockholm
 
edit: looking at the pictures with people in it, the size if the hull and planking makes me think this is a smaller vessel.

Good morning.

Yards now done and have started the shrouds
 

A few weeks since I posted but I will update progress on making some of the gun deck fittings. I’ve also been in Iceland for a week on a holiday that was postponed three times due to Covid restrictions. What an amazing country. We plan to go back in the spring when there should be good numbers of breeding waders and other birds around.
 
I started with the ship’s stove which I made from 1mm and 0.5mm styrene card using patterns from AotS Diana. I used the condenser provided in the kit because when painted with Tamiya copper, I thought it looked the part but I made the chimney using 8 and 6mm dowel shaped and drilled out. The body of the stove is painted in Tamiya iron. I was quite pleased with the result…
 

 
… until I realised that the chimney was over the boiler instead of the fire! Luckily I was able to remove the chimney and top plate and glue it back the correct way around
 

 
The hearth is made from 1mm maple sheet and the tiles from boxwood strip and all edged in some 2mm walnut strip.
 
The forward riding bits in the kit didn’t look right so I made these from pieces of 6x2mm boxwood stringing in the manner of RobDurant. There are no riding bits at the foremast provided in the kit but I wanted to make them for the sake of completeness. Again they were made from 6x2 boxwood and sized according to AotS. Neither are glued, just pinned together.
 

 
I wasn’t very keen on the parts provided for the ladders and there is no provision for the double ladderway or at the rear hatch. Since these ladders will not easily be seen, I decided to use the kit parts but I will work out something that will hopefully look better for the q’deck and f’csle.
 
 
I have started making the partitions that form the captain’s quarters. Once again I am indebted to RobDurant for providing a downloadable pattern making the task much simpler. I glued the paper pattern onto 1mm maple sheet and cut out the doors. With hindsight I should have left them until I had completed framing of the lights because they were prone to breaking up but I have managed to make them presentable. The panels are carved out using a #6 blade then finished of with a file and 600 wet & dry. And the edging strips are in boxwood strip.
 
 
 

 
I also wanted to make the partition for the Great Cabin. Again I used Rob’s pattern. Cutting out the centre section made it the correct width. I again used 1mm maple sheet and will carve out the panels. This time though, I will leave the doors in place until the lights are completed. Since it will be difficult to see, I may not cut the doors out but just score the outline.
 

 
I will also make the partition dividing the coach and the bed place but plan to leave it fairly plain. I’m surprised that there is no door between the two shown in the plans. I also wonder whether to paint the internal walls of the partitions white.
 
Finally two shots of the deck. Nothing glued in place yet
 

 

 
The mast partners are cut from 1mm maple sheet and simply scored to imitate the planking.
 
 

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Amazing work Mike, those PE modifications are a great idea and perfectly executed.  Those small enhancements add yet more depth to the model.

Not much to report as have had "other" things going on.   I am working still on the skins.  The top ones are in and the lower ones are works in progress.  But then I took a pic today while glue was drying....   title it "you can't have too many clamps".  I don't have enough and the hardware store I visited was out.   

Starboard side is done.   Did the finger test* on both sides and I'm pretty happy.  I also trimmed up the stern area, fitted the counter to test and it's now soaking to be bent and secured into place.   I'll pull the blue tape off tomorrow.
 
*Finger test:  close eyes, run finger tips over hull.
 
 

I managed to finish what I think should be all the sub-assemblies i wanted to build off the model.  Lots of details with the Infini upgrade set.  The Hasegawa kit is actually really well done, but Infini really kicks it up a couple of levels with their detail set.  I primed them all in black using Mr. Finisher 1500 from the airbrush (thanks @CDW for the recommendation!), and should be able to paint and start assembling later this week.  Should come together fairly quickly after these are painted.  
 
Here are some pics:
 
Masts (using blue-tack).  I find blue-tack on a small item like a plastic shot glass help keep the part stable while adding PE to it):
 

 
Single AA guns and some kind of tower:
 

 
Davits and random plastic pieces that will be added to the model.  Infini did a really nice job on the davits, giving turned brass pedestals that the PE tops pop right into for the smaller davits:
 

 
Double and triple AA guns, along with 29 ammo boxes (using painters tape because these items had flat bottoms and the painter's tape has just enough adhesion to keep these parts secure while airbrushing):
 

 
The big guns - here you can see how I use toothpicks to serve as little stands for the guns for ease of painting.  For the guns, I drilled a small hole in the bottom and stuck a toothpick into it.  This helps to reach the entire gun in one painting session, and the hole the bottom won't be seen.  For the other piece in the pictures, which is the back part of the main funnel, I just used CA to glue a toothpick into the bottom (again, that won't be seen).  
 

 
 
Just thought I'd pass along some techniques that I've found to be helpful.  Thanks for looking in!

Slow and steady progress on this.  I finally have all the guns completed.  Here is the sole twin AA gun, along with the four triple AA guns.  These AA guns probably had close to a dozen PE pieces each.  These pictures are under extreme magnification, but the detail is pretty amazing.  The barrels especially have little ridges and and inset where the barrel opening is.
 

 

 
 
Also finished the 14 single AA guns.  Only 8 pieces on these, but they took quite some time:
 

 

 
I'm trying to replicate oil canning effects on the hull sides, which so far isn't looking too bad, just need to clean up a few areas.  Once that's in good shape, I will add the linoleum decks and structures to the hull, and then these various details.  Famous last words, but it should come together fairly quickly now that a lot of these details are finished.  One could probably finish this kit in a week or two if building straight from the box.  With the Infini detail set, the time is multiplied probably by at least a factor of ten I would conservatively estimate.
 

I ended up finishing the three quintuple torpedo launchers this weekend.  Only 36 pieces of PE per launcher 😳  All in all I think they came out ok.  
 

 
Since I'm planning on doing a diorama setting, I decided to make a few modifications.  First, I opened the hatch on one of the turrets: 
 

 
Second, I had found an aftermarket set of torpedo launcher covers, and decided to add them to the launchers as they had a little more definition than the kit plastic, and I was able to model one of the covers open:
 

 
 
Next I worked on the twin 25mm AA gun.  There is only one of these, and Infini has you build it completely from PE.  This time only 18 pieces.  I couldn't get a decent macro photo on my phone, but hopefully this gives an idea.  I'm really impressed by what companies like Infini can do with brass.  There's so much detail it's pretty amazing.
 

 

 
Thanks for looking in!

Quick update on the log.  I finished the three main gun turrets, and started work on the Type 0 quintuple torpedo launchers.  A lot of the detail on the kit parts is scraped off and replaced with PE, which adds a little more definition to the parts.  I would say that the railings and ladders are the biggest improvements, but otherwise, the kit parts are fairly nice:
 

 
There are three of these to build, then a whole bunch of AA guns, ammo boxes, etc.  These destroyers really packed a lot on their decks.  
 
Thanks for looking in!

For us working stiffs in the US, hope everyone is having a nice Labor Day!
 
Thought I was at the point where I could update the log.  Slow and steady progress here.  Got the hull and deck items primed and painted.  I used Mr. Surfacer 1500 (black) from a rattle can as primer, and then sprayed a coat of Tamiya XF-87 IJN Grey - Maizuru arsenal.  I have to say, while when first starting out I enjoyed the simplicity of using Vallejo paints, I'm now just about converted over to Tamiya and Mr. Color.  The finish just seems to be nicer, and the spray is more uniform.  Plus, Vallejo tends to gum up my airbrush which is annoying, so small price to pay in using thinners to clean out Tamiya from the airbrush which leaves it fresh.
 

 

 

 
Not a great picture, but here you can see where I replaced the kit molded-in vent on the starboard side with a better looking one from Black Cat:
 

 

 
I'm still trying to decide whether to attempt oil canning effects. It looks really cool, but I'm wondering how much of that effect will be noticeable if in a diorama setting.  I may just try it to get experience with it.  Looks like a lot of tape to paint the vertical and horizontal lines, but I'm not exactly clear on the technique.
 
The linoleum deck pieces come in molded brown plastic.  The Infini upgrade set has you scrape off the molded brass bars, and replace them with actual brass bars.  For this kit, Hasegawa sells a linoleum deck sticker that you attach onto the kit parts after scraping off the molded bars.  Since I had the sticker upgrade, I went ahead and used it.  It's very crisp looking, and fit like a charm.  My guess is that I can add a clear coat to it, and then weather it.
 

 
I've also done some work on the funnels.  Infini gives you quite a a lot to dress them up, from the rings around the funnels to the ladders leading up them. I'm planning to paint them with the white stripes, which is requiring a lot of planning and steps to get it right.  They are halfway done so hopefully I'll have a decent result to show soon.  In the meantime, here is a picture of the funnel tops dressed up in the Infini PE.  I've said it before, but Infini did a really nice job with this set.
 

 
Finally, here are two of the 12.7cm main gun turrets dressed up with the Infini upgrades, shown against the kit part.  Quite a lot of extra detail for sure!  Next to stairways, which I think I've figured out. railings like this are my nemesis as you have super tiny glue anchor points.  The trickiest part for me was to figure out how to glue the top rail, which comes in one piece and extends around the full top, coming down to the front and curving around.  Lots of movement had to be worked in, and it's hard dealing with a long PE strip like that.  For me, it was easiest to start by gluing the middle of the strip to the back side of the turret, then slowly working each side around.  Once the PE is anchored, it was easier to glue the sides down.  Even then, gluing the top rail probably involved close to an hour of work on each.  In total, there were 13 PE parts per turret, and took me the better part of the weekend to complete.  I also made the mistake on the first of sanding off two ridges on the sides, which I thought were the kit's attempts at railings, but turned out they weren't.  🤬  All wasn't lost as I ended up gluing some 0.2mm wire to replace what I sanded off, and they looks like the original thing.  All in all, a lot of work and I'm pretty happy how these came out.
 

 
I still have to do the actual guns part.  Infini has you remove the guns from the kit part and replace them with nice brass guns.  Haven't decided whether to completely assemble the guns, paint gray, and later come through and paint the blast bags white, or paint the turrets and the guns separately, then assemble.  I find it can be tricky painting white over very dark surfaces, which makes me lean towards painting them separately then assemble them.
 
Thanks for looking in!

It's been a while, but thought I should update the build log.  I've made slow and steady progress, and am just about at the point where I will paint the hull.  I'm mostly using the Infini upgrade set, but in some cases, the Hasegawa PE set offers details not in the Infini set or that seem a little better.  Took a while to sort out things out as to what I'm going to use, and the timing of when to use it (Hasegawa's instructions have you build things a bit differently, but maybe they aren't expecting one to paint, weather, etc.).  
 
I made a few modifications to the hull, adding aftermarket brass bollards, capstans, etc.  The kit ones weren't too bad, but I thought the brass items offered a little more definition and crispness.  I also noticed in the two build books that there was a small vent on the starboard side of the bow.  I managed to find an aftermarket set of extra vents from Black Cat that I added as well.
 

 

 

 
Also added some other PE details here and there that I aded to the hull.  I messed up the first set of Infini ladders, but found another Infini ladder set that gave me the replacements I needed.
 

 
I also added PE to a number of the deck structures.  I have a few other details to add to the bridge it looks like from the Hasegawa set.  I'll probably also replace the side vent on the bridge, which seem awfully squished, with the Black Cat vents.  
 

 

 

 

 

 
I have a few ladders and other add-ons to put on the hull, and then will paint.  I want to get as much done on the hull as possible to avoid having to glue on things later and address excess glue.  Of course that means I need to be a little more careful handling the hull, but I picked up a hull cradle that might give a little extra protection.
 
Thanks for looking in!
 

Steamship Heinrich Kayser
 
Introduction to this build log, by Nils Langemann
 
The steamship Heinrich Kayser was launched in 1898 baptized to its birthname „Elbing“ and was one of the typical new fast merchant vessels built for the D.A.D.G. (Deutsch Australische Dampfschiffahrts Gesellschaft) shipping company at the FSG shipyard in Flensburg, northern Germany. It served the trade route Europe via Cape of Good Hope or via Suez Canal and the red sea and across the Indian Ocean to several Australian Ports together with her sister ships on regulary basis for many years.
After WW1 and in compliance with the Treaty of Versailles demands the Elbing went under command and management of a british shipping controller, from which the “Elbing” was bought back again by the Hamburg based Kayser & Sohn shipping Company in 1921, which renamed the vessel to “Heinrich Kayser”. In 1922 my grandfather was appointed as the master in command on its last fatal voyage from England to the US eastcoast, down to Florida and back touching Norfolk Virginia as last port and thereafter went down with all aboard her in a heavy full gale and with broken rudderchain and broken hatchcovers. The last SOS radio signals came from position of the New England Seamount Chain, some 500 miles off the US eastcoast where the Atlantic is 5000m deep. No survivers, not a trace was ever found. This type of ship was a mere cargo steamer of 5600 tons, which may have been able to accommodate 2-3 passengers, midships. The Heinrich Kayser was capable of cruising at max. of 12 knots with her twin-boiler arrangement in tandem setup, and having appr. 20 firemen (stokers and heaters), working in shifts to keep the boilers at pressure accordingly.
I built this model, which is already completed to date, after a shipyard overview plan in honor to my grandfather and all its 43 souls crew and three passengers.
It is only a couple of weeks ago that per incidence, and 91 years after that foundering, on a raised web forum thread I was able to take up contact with an american lady, who`s great grandmother as well as her great aunt have been on board the Heinrich Kayser at that time and lost their lives as passengers way back in 1922
The build log shall comprise probably 21 individual parts due to limit of pics per post, and shall document all building sequences in pictures. Comments, questions, etc. shall be welcome and answered along with the build log as it grows.
The model took me appr. 1800 manhours to build over 2 years including the search for a plan, new modeling techniques like metal- plating /”riveting”, soldering, glass-case making, all trials, etc.
The fully completed model can be viewed in my album (steamship Heinrich Kayser) under topic : Gallery of completed scratch built models
Have fun and enjoy whilst studying this oldtimer steamer of 1898 in its buildup
 
Nils
 
Here it Begins.....
 
Build log part1
 

this is one of the ship under its birthname "Elbing"
 

this is one of the very last Pictures of the Heinrich Kayser
 

overview plan frontsection
 

overview plan aftsection
 

stringers and single-layer planking in pine
 

 

 

planking under way, propshaft built in
 

Frame plan, self drawn, not included in overview plan
 

planking nearly completed
 
 
 
Part 2 to follow....

The residual copper nails used to attach copper plating to the hull are probably the significant clue to the wreck being a Royal Navy vessel as this was universally adopted in late 18th Century.  I believe there were also a small percentage of British merchant ships copper plated in this period, but given the expense it would probably be more likely on those travelling in warmer waters.  Not familiar with Baltic Navy's coppering practices, but I suspect this would be far more limited due to coppering benefit primarily being protection in warmer waters, and the fact that these Navies would not have the same global cruising grounds.

Hi Jan!
   You are right in both cases: these are spare propeller blades and small ventilation cowls , there were a lot of them on the ship.

The residual copper nails used to attach copper plating to the hull are probably the significant clue to the wreck being a Royal Navy vessel as this was universally adopted in late 18th Century.  I believe there were also a small percentage of British merchant ships copper plated in this period, but given the expense it would probably be more likely on those travelling in warmer waters.  Not familiar with Baltic Navy's coppering practices, but I suspect this would be far more limited due to coppering benefit primarily being protection in warmer waters, and the fact that these Navies would not have the same global cruising grounds.

I think there are a number of somewhat misleading statements made in the article especially regarding the potential size and nature of the wreck, but intriguing none-the-less.  Will be fascinating to see how much is preserved and whether this is truly a 'warship'. 
 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10087485/Mysterious-40ft-long-shipwreck-Royal-Navy-warship-discovered.html

The two supervisors are doing a good job, because the one working seaman has tied those ratlines nice and neatly.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin