Beef Wellington

Ensign...conclusion:
A tiny bit of steam was used to soften the ensign while various "rounded implements" with different radii (dowel, metal file shafts etc.) were used to try and introduce various folds.  I'd love to be able to describe a reproduceable scientific process, but thats not what happened.  It was really just a continual serious of tweaks, leaving to dry and most importantly trying not to introduce creases.  Steam worked fine to initially soften and allow the structural folds to be introduced, but isn't really a good ongoing solution as it tends to undo any previous work.  Real care is also needed to not 'over wet' the painted flag, not sure I was completely successful here.  Final tweaking was done by wetting very gently any tools used and trying to hold in position while it dried and the fold takes.

...and with that milestone, I'm declaring this build FINISHED!  
 
This was my first wooden ship build, and first model I've built for over 30 years.  Its taken probably 8 years to get this far off an on (probably 7 years more than it should), but I have to say I'm glad I was able to finish her.  I've come to realize that I enjoy the journey more than the destination, and I certainly experienced moments when I could easily have put her aside permanently, mainly due to me recognizing unfixable mistakes or compromises that that could so easily been enhanced had I known more at the time.  Given the length of time taken to complete, this progression in knowledge and execution is very apparent to me, but I hope is less apparent to others.  All in all, this was a most enjoyable project that exposed me to the necessary knowledge and techniques that I hope build on and leverage in the future.  I still need to make up a protective case, and will probably continue to see needed fixes and touchups before she (hopefully) is put in a place of rest.  I would like to thank this entire community for the ongoing help, support and encouragement - without which I would not have reached this point.
 
Few pictures to celebrate, apologies that these aren't exactly studio quality.

 

Congratulations!  Nicely done!

Ensign...conclusion:
A tiny bit of steam was used to soften the ensign while various "rounded implements" with different radii (dowel, metal file shafts etc.) were used to try and introduce various folds.  I'd love to be able to describe a reproduceable scientific process, but thats not what happened.  It was really just a continual serious of tweaks, leaving to dry and most importantly trying not to introduce creases.  Steam worked fine to initially soften and allow the structural folds to be introduced, but isn't really a good ongoing solution as it tends to undo any previous work.  Real care is also needed to not 'over wet' the painted flag, not sure I was completely successful here.  Final tweaking was done by wetting very gently any tools used and trying to hold in position while it dried and the fold takes.

...and with that milestone, I'm declaring this build FINISHED!  
 
This was my first wooden ship build, and first model I've built for over 30 years.  Its taken probably 8 years to get this far off an on (probably 7 years more than it should), but I have to say I'm glad I was able to finish her.  I've come to realize that I enjoy the journey more than the destination, and I certainly experienced moments when I could easily have put her aside permanently, mainly due to me recognizing unfixable mistakes or compromises that that could so easily been enhanced had I known more at the time.  Given the length of time taken to complete, this progression in knowledge and execution is very apparent to me, but I hope is less apparent to others.  All in all, this was a most enjoyable project that exposed me to the necessary knowledge and techniques that I hope build on and leverage in the future.  I still need to make up a protective case, and will probably continue to see needed fixes and touchups before she (hopefully) is put in a place of rest.  I would like to thank this entire community for the ongoing help, support and encouragement - without which I would not have reached this point.
 
Few pictures to celebrate, apologies that these aren't exactly studio quality.

 

Post Four
Creating a Ladderway
 
This post involves modifying things to create a Fore hatch ladderway on the Lower deck down to the Fore Platform.
This is not for the faint hearted as it involves cutting Bulkhead 4 in half and trimming the false keel.

3716
The bulkhead is halved, and the centre section is removed.

3718
The short keel piece sticking up in the centre will also be removed.

3719
A test check of the Ladderway with the lower deck in place.

3723
Bulkhead 5 is glued into place along with the Fore Platform.

3722
The lower deck is temporarily refitted to hold the bulkhead in place until the glue sets.

3753
Bulkhead 4 halves are glued into place against the False keel and forward connections of the Platform.

3747
Bracing blocks are glued to the lower part of the bulkhead and the keel.

3725
The Lower deck was again put back to square the bulkheads.

3755
The completed area opened up.

3735

3752
A ladder can now be installed once the hatchway coamings are fitted.
 
Onto the stern Ladderway and Aft Platform, which is a less  dramatic modification.
 
B.E.
26/08/21
 

Deck glued on 

Thats very nice indeed

Lovely to see such refined patient progress.  Keep it up, Jason.
 
Mike
 

Great planking job you’re doing there Jason. 👍
 
B.E.

Jason,
 
What beautiful work you're doing on the quarterdeck. Any captain would be proud to wear those planks thin by pacing them on the weather-side!  
 
Rob

Nice work Peter, I found the rigging and configuration of the martingale to be one of the harder things to figure out, even with Lees as as reference, so glad you have a plan.

Finding a little time to update some (small) progress, thanks everyone for the interest, comments and likes.
 
@Eamonn, @Mike - One comment off the bat, certainly would not want to be claiming this approach as my own.  I think we all stand on the shoulders of others, and it was Rob's Ethalion build that inspired me to try this approach...how's it going?  Read on....
 
Before pressing forward with the deck, I had to decide how the companionway cover would sit.  While not being quite sure how much would be visible through the tiny windows, the decision was made to once again install some false beams and carlings for the companion cover to sit on.  This sits quite nicely in place, and is once again put aside for final detailing.

 
Jumping into planking proper, it quickly became clear that initial steps required a bit of fine tuning.  Once the various coaming are glued into position, quite a bit of  care is needed to ensure alignment to the centerline, and also address any potential symmetry issues.  It was necessary to re-attach the rear hatch coaming as it was clear that this was slightly off-center and the misalignment would have been emphasized by the run of the planks.  The only other slight complication was the need to cut custom planks to flank the hatchway, capstan step and rear grate coamings.  Not difficult, just time consuming to ensure a fit and keep the necessary curvature for the run of the planks.
 
Overall, pretty happy with how this is turning out.  The only other thing to comment on is that the decision was made to plank the top-tackle and pump scuttles which seems more consistent with the original plans, rather than the raised gratings suggested by the kit. 
 
Note - The planking lines drawn onto the subdeck are not 100% accurate, and they're there just to help plan the butt-shift and get a better sense for the how the alignment will eventually run into the waterway.  There's also a little bit of pencil lead smudging from the caulking which always seems unavoidable and hasn't been cleaned up yet...

 

A few progress on the Smoke Cabin (as it is called....). First the birth of the funnel: 
 

 
And its completion: 
 

 
That is a large part. It does require some sanding and care, too look presentable. Next, other parts required for this assembly, are printed: 
 

 
The funnel stack is somewhat crude and will need some additional details. The ladder is from the kit and three brass tubes are added around the funnel, to make it look more realistic.
 

 
Again, using the same Calder Craft stanchions, the delicate building of the railings is started. Some 0.6 mm brass wire is used to fabricate the railing. It is then glued with CA and painted white to simulate the tubing found on the prototype ship.
 

 
Wooden protections are added on the sides, following the 3D rendering seen previously. These parts are extra and not provided in the kit.
 
The funnel is now added and this is a delicate task: all brass tubes have to go in their respective holes and the funnel has to have the correct inclination, which is helped by the printed part.
 

 
On the deck various chest and cowl hoses are installed. The trunk located between the two cowls, is identical to what is provided in the kit, with its height reduced by 50%. The vertical lockers (see below) are identical to the lockers provided in the kit, but reduced to 50% of their width and length.
 

 
The rigging is made with elastic wires found at Michael's or Jo-Ann's.
 

 
This section is complete and I just have to install the painted cowls, on top of their respective tubes.
 
Yves

Hi All
 
Things seem to have gone ok with the making of the solid piece that fits under the transom.
 
I did the usual of cutting out templates making sure that the grain was correct before roughly shaping the parts and gluing them together.  The angle between the transom and the last frame is slightly under 90 degrees; I don't know how everyone else takes the angles from either the ship or plans but I use a sliding bevel.  I transferred this angle to a face sander and cut the top edge first but I forgot to take a photo of this step.
 
I then I had to think about how to cut the taper at the rear keeping it square to the face.  In the end I used double sided tape and fixed it to a metal block.  This did the trick nicely and worked out the shape by taking measurements from the plan and scribing it as I went along.  
 
It's made now but I just need to rough shape it a bit first on the outside and also cut the recess on the inside.  
 
Cheers Mark
 
 

Beautiful work Glenn, those colours really pop against the boxwood.  Appreciate you sharing your chisel philosophy and tools, I really need to invest in some of these rather than chewing through exacto blades.

The spritsail yard was made with some changes to the kits plan. The centre part is only 8- instead of 16-sided. in Lees I found no information which showed  it 16-sided - the crossjack seems to be the only one with this feature.


Also the holes in the yardarm of the spritsail yard - supposed to take the sprit topsail sheet - were replaced by blocks at the yardarms. Lees doesn't mention any sheaves in those yards but leads the sheet through blocks.


 
The boomkins were also made but only provisionally fixed. Putting them in too early would be just another disaster waiting to happen. They are a bit sturdier than the kits sketch. Again I tried to follow Lees.


 
While working on this I thought about how to fix the boats on the beams. As I know Murphy, he would like to have all kind of things falling into to waist, out of reach as soon as the boats were fixed. So the lashing of the boats will have to be easily releasable. The first solution was to splice a line to an eyebolt on one side and the lead the line alternately over a boat and trough an eyebolt on the beam until fixing it to the eyebolt on the other side.

While working on the rigging I may come up with a better solution. I think the boats were lashed individually and I should try to imitate this better.


 
 


Spritsail yard and sprit topsail yard


 



boomkins


 



boats lashed on the beams


 
false splice
Somewhere in those pages I found a 'false splice' which I would like to share here. I use it often, find it helpful and it's easily done. The example is the lashing line for the boats, spliced to the first eye bolt.





1: thread the line through itself


 



2: ...and back again, marking the length of the splice.


 

 



3. pull taught and fix with diluted glue


 



4. cut the free end to length. Voila!

 
 

Rudder improvement

AON showed in his wonderful Bellerophon build, how to improve the look of pintles and gudgeons on the rudder. They are etched brass with a row of holes. Using those holes to nail the parts on would have given a too coarse impression. I just glued all on and left the holes open. Now using a drop of glue, applied twice into the hole and painted black or copper simulates an acceptable bolt head.



 

the rudder before reworking with holes instead of bolts


 



glue drops applied


 



reworked rudder hanged again


 

 
Bowsprit and jib boom

The bowsprit was quite an interesting spar to build. To facilitate the adjustments according to the angle of bowsprit, I set my vice to the same angle for most of the construction.

While handling the jib boom I decided not to fix neither jib boom nor the dolphin striker yet (more to that part later) but wait until the rigging process would need it. This will reduce the risk of damage especially while frequently turning Bellerophon.

Below the bees I fixed some simplified bee blocks and the allocation of the caps eye bolts differs slightly from the instructions to leave room for manropes and jib boom horses. Not all went smoothly: The end of the bowsprit is round instead of square due me to overlooking wrong kit instructions - but that mistake should be covered by the cap. And the making of the stay collars was such a delightful task that I made 5 of them: no serving, wrong rope strength, wrong method of attachment. But for now I'm happy with the result and  working on the yards.



 

bowsprit end with simplified bee blocks

 


 


bee blocks and cap lavishly glued on (to cover the snags)


 



collars in place but main fore stay collar not served and the bobstay deadeyes collars wrongly spliced


 



approximately 4th attempt for stay collar


 



final arrangement of collars with jib boom provisionally in place


 



bees and cap


 



now only the two spritsail yards remain and then finally I may start rigging - yay!


 

 

 
Dolphin striker and martingale stay

The 1786 Belerophon most probably didn't have a dolphin striker. According to Lees they were first introduced in 1794. However I think it possible that one was added later on, to support the jib boom. The piece provided with the kit resembles a dolphin striker of the very first generation, nailed onto the front of the cap, with just a score cut into its end for the martingale stay. This striker was in use up to 1800 - still according to Lees. Up to about 1805 martingale stay and martingale back stay were combined and led from the end of the jib boom to the notch in the end of the striker (this part was the martingale stay) and then further on to an eyebolt in the head (martingale back stay) to be set up with a fall.

Now the kits plans had me pondering. It showed such an early variant however with the backstay part set up with a fall just behind the bees. Nowhere in all my books I could confirm such an arrangement. Finally I found in Zu Mondfeld's book a sketch where the backstay part is led through a block near the collar of the fore preventer stay towards the head. Assuming that the designer of the kits rigging perhaps took a kind of a shortcut, but was close to the correct appearance, I  think that this version would be a valuable solution. Where in the head the eyebolt for the fall should be placed, I wouldn't know. Lees states that it was set up on the bow, port side of the bowsprit. So, I think the lower part of the port knighthead might be a suitable place to put that eye bolt.


 

 

Thanks James, it looked quite a lot in the photos, I was concerned about taking too much off and getting out of shape. On the model you can constantly check progress with a planking strip.
 
B.E.

Post Two
 
Bulkheads
 
Fitting the bulkheads is a painless exercise, the one that gave me some concern is the lower stern pattern. (13-1)

3626
Fairing off the model is indicated but in this area it is all about degrees and I worry about how much to do off the model.
This is where the lower planking will sweep up to the transom and it needs to be a smooth convex curve without any hint of an angle.

032
This photo of my Pegasus build shows the run of planking and ultimately the fairing can only be done on the model using test planks.
 
For this reason, I will be very careful how much off model sanding I do in this area, and I don’t think I can trust myself with the Dremel.
I found that part 13 needed a little light sanding in the slot and several dry fits before it would slide smoothly down the keel to be glued to 13-1.

3679
These things are fragile and cannot be forced into position without the risk of damage.

3677(2)
The bow patterns are easier to fit, and will be easier to fair.

3678
With all the bulkheads in place I get my first real impression of the hull size and shape.
She is chunkier than Pegasus and is pleasing to my eye.
 
The Bow and Stern bulkheads will now be removed for preliminary fairing, at this point the remainder of the bulkheads  are only dry fitted but will probably not require removal again.
 
B.E.
25/08/21
 
 
 

Beautiful work on the planking Glenn. Good to hear you're getting on well with the chisels and honing guide.

First and Second Planking
 
I’ve completed the first planking and the stern second planking.
 

 
 
 

 
The first planking turned out ok I think. I once again confirmed how well plank bending works and the importance of taking the time for a proper fairing before the first plank is laid. I wasn’t as precise as I needed to be on the lining work, consequently I had gap issues on the bottom of the hull, no problem since it isn’t seen and will be covered by the second planking. I had some some wider basswood of the same thickness, taking some lessons learned from Cheerful I used it for a better fit, why limit myself to a single width when I have options. (The pencil marks the widest/longest part of the hull, bulkheads 7 & 8).
 

 
I am surprised by how much sanding is required around the stern. The second planking is only 1mm thick so the fit has to be taken into account by the first planking and by reducing the former for the sternpost to match up. The lime wood is plenty thick to allow sufficient sanding to get a smooth finish. I’m a fan of these Soft Sanders. I learned of them here on the forum, they get put to good use with 80,180, and 220 grit to prep the hull for the second planking.
 

 

 

 
As I always do, I prepared the hull for mounting at this early stage, making it easy to mount the final model. While I appreciate the clear stand Chris provides, all my models are mounted the same way using walnut bases with brass pedestals. I make sure to drill the hole is at least a ½ inch past the keel into the former and having the rod run from there to the bottom of the walnut base. Epoxy later makes sure none of it moves once finished.
 

 

 
Here I chose to deviate from the excellent instruction manual by attaching the stem and keel (but not the sternpost, its clamped there in the photo just to ensure it and the keel are aligned properly) before the second planking instead of after. I checked with James and Chris on this, their answer is its up to the modeler, after the second planking is how they do it. In my opinion it is much more of a benefit to have it installed now to ensure a tight fit of the garboard plank, plus now it looks more like a ship than a rowboat 😄  Clamping the long strips of lime wood either side as a splint kept the three pieces making up the stem in alignment with each other and the hull while the rubber bands held it firm to the hull while the glue dried. I used white wood glue here to make sure I had time to adjust all the alignments and did each of the three pieces one at a time starting at the stem.
 

 
Next up is adding the second planking of boxwood, I love boxwood, to the stern and stern counter. More sanding, filing and chisel work to get a tight fit. There are slight curves to the counter, the curve seen from the side and also a slight bow from stern post to transom. The first I addressed by beveling one edge of each plank, the second with a touch of plank bending (using a new 1mm form cut from the kit laser board waste).
 

 
A moment’s deviation. I never used chisels before Cheerful made it necessary for me to learn, I had a few but they were junk. I learned about Veritas mini-chisels from @DelF and purchased this set. I thought I was doing great until I also learned from Derek that even brand new chisels require sharpening. So I now have my own sharpening station made up from honing fluid and different grits of sandpaper after watching a Youtube video (again linked from Derek as I recall). Then one more Derek gift, the lead on the Richard Kell sharpening guide tool, which is amazing in its simplicity and results. As a test used from my Army days for a blade’s sharpness, can it shave off the lightest bit of a fingernail (I said lightest bit, not trying to remove it, the thinner the sharper). With this set up my Veritas chisels are nearly as sharp as my best Benchmade and SpyderCo knives (I’m a bit of a collector of those). I can’t tell you how often and how effectively I now use these chisels. So once again, thanks Derek.
 

 
Back to the program. I completed the transom and as with the stern, using top to bottom (instead of side to side) planking. I hadn’t seen it before, but I trust Chris’ has done the research, and I like the different look it creates. As is my process, I run full planks then cut out port openings with a #11 Excel blade as I go (don’t cover up the opening entirely before notching). For those of you enjoying the which is better debate, a scalpel, no matter how sharp, will not do this job, the thin blade would shatter. I like tapering planks with the scalpel, but the sturdier Excel blade is required here, at least for me, Chris probably does this with his Stanley Knife. Also, notice how thin the stern post area is, much thinner than I’d like but necessary given the thickness of the sternpost and second planking. It will all be fine, I’ll just feel better once the second planking is complete.
 

 
I’m already running color board tests from my upcoming build of HMS Winchelsea, which I hope to complete before the end of the decade. I’m pretty much settled on Winsor & Newton Crimson, because why not be RED. It will also have Cerulean Blue to match the hull decorations. I was surprised how different the shades (three of the five, the other two are different blues) are between different paint manufactures. Deciding on it will depend on which matches the printed decoration best. These color boards are always helpful and entertaining to make. I mention all this because….
 

 
Flirt is a trial run of those colors, I’ve painted the interior of the transom Crimson already and I’ve elected to paint the counter one of the Cerulean Blues to match the blue that will later be added to upper strakes. Adding to the counter now is a touch tricky, I don’t want to paint the back edges of the second hull planking, which will be sanded flush to the counter, so it’s touch up now or touch up later. We’ll see how it goes. I already have a little more touch up on the red around the stern ports, often I don’t see these things until I do a close up photo. I also did a like coat of WOP more to seal the wood than anything else at this point.
 
On with the second planking. I said I was going to make these posts shorter, I seem to be failing at that. 
 
Thank you for all the likes and especially the comments.

The gallery's are on it.
They are more difficult then I thought but they are on now.
And I like it how it looks.
I also get started the double planking.
Just a small part because of the sils.
Some are flush and other are a little inside the second planking.
The manuel is telling me that I have to go downwards with the second planking but I go upwards.
First I will make all the gunport sills and the inner bull wark.
When that is finished I will go down.
Don't ask me why I do it his way but for me it feels a little better.
And I follow Heinz his way of building......
Enough talking.
Pictures!
 
Sjors
 
 

It has been about two and a half weeks of very focused and intensive paint work.  The starboard, forward bulwark is fully painted, and I have the base colors down for the port side.  Here is an illustration of the effect that the walnut ink has in muting the intensity of the base colors:


 
These pictures give a sense of the difference, but the effect is more clearly apparent, in person.  The brown of the walnut ink lends just enough of a green cast to the lighter, cerulean blue to better approximate a period French blue.  It also has the effect of transforming the darker cobalt to more of an ultra-marine shade.
 
The following closeup gives a good sense for the interplay between the darker old gold and the brighter gold used to highlight all of the larger ornaments:

 
It is also more apparent in that picture, the way the ink gets into the moulded depressions of the yellow ocher trim; they dinge-down just enough to have credible depth.
 
While it may or may not have been a feature of actual practice, in the 1680s, I have made an artistic decision to incorporate silver leaf into areas of the ornamental program where it adds emphasis and clarity to the carved works.  Here, I’ve decided to highlight the under reliefs of the acanthus branches:

 
I am pleased with the dolphins, and even used silver to pick-out the eye relief.  One thing to note, this is the one dolphin hancing piece where the hancing moulding is located properly beneath it; on the aft bulwarks, owing to the layout of the sheer steps and the timberhead railings, that is not the case.  I included the mouldings there, anyway, because they added more than they detracted from the overall design.
 
Well, after very much retouching, this is the highest quality brushwork I can produce.  I will methodically continue along this path, right up to the show in October.  At the least, I am hoping to have one full broadside installed.  We’ll see.  It is a very busy summer, and the days and weeks are just ripping by!
 
Today, I am giving myself a little break from painting, and am making the hanging knees that are just visible beneath the break of the quarter deck.
 
Thank you all for looking in!

Building the Sphinx - Post One
This is where the build starts in earnest, I always start a build with a keel support, partly to hold the hull in the early stages and partly to keep the false keel straight.
It also provides a level surface to check square.

3625

3624

3623
This will be modified several times during the course of the build.
 
I don’t intend to do a step-by-step assembly log, there is the excellent manual for that.
I do have to mention what a wonderful job Chris and James have done in producing the manual, probably the best I’ve ever seen.
 
My initial view of what I have seen in the box is very positive, I have not concerned myself with checking every part against the parts list as I know Chris will respond to any issues that may crop up.
 
I will restrict this log to commenting on areas where I have had difficulty or found problems (hopefully very few), areas where I have made modifications, and the approach I have taken in tackling different stages of the build where it diverts from the indicated path.
 
Time to introduce bulkheads to false keel.
 
B.E.
 
24/08/21
 

Night shots and interior of the great cabin: