Beef Wellington

Yves, fascinating project....I've got nothing to add here but would like to watch and learn.  Great results so far.

Yves, fascinating project....I've got nothing to add here but would like to watch and learn.  Great results so far.

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

Yves, fascinating project....I've got nothing to add here but would like to watch and learn.  Great results so far.

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

It’s been a while since I updated my log but I’ve been away on ‘staycation’ for a few days. I’m not sure when this portmanteau word was brought into the language: it always used to be called a holiday...
 
The hatch gratings and frames for the lower deck are complete but I need to add the shot lockers and to order some 2mm cannonballs. The kit supplied parts are slightly oversized.
 

 
I have continued to work on the stern and quarter galleries.
 
I decided to follow Rob’s lead on Jason in the end and make my own lights rather then use the PE versions in the kit. I cut the mullions first and then finished off with the transoms. Then I cut them all out and started again because all the joints looked dirty and some were misaligned.

 
The finished version. Still not great but I have lost the will to do it yet again!
 
I have added some embellishments to the taffarel but the brass framing provided looked too bulky and in any case was too wide for my revised version. I cut the lines from 1x1mm boxwood strip and thinned it down to look more balanced. The scroll-work was also too large. First, I tried to paint it in but my hand is not steady enough, so I carefully filed the brass etch thinner and bent it into a better shape to fit my version. I did successfully paint the two smaller arches by cutting a stencil from Tamiya tape after the freehand version was a failure.
 

Some touching up still required. You might also be able to see the repair to the port leg which broke off.
 
For the quarter galleries, I made up mock versions using balsa block to check alignment with the stern.
 

The general fit looks OK and they line up with the stern quite well. I think I can work with that so continued making them for real.
 
 I used 1.5mm boxwood for the frame and modified the kit ply for the top and bottom patterns and end and back panels. All these were cut and sanded to Rob Durant’s template. For the quarter gallery lights to line up, I have to make the lights from scratch using the same method as for the stern and like the stern lights, they provided endless hours of ‘fun’ and frustration.
 

Here are the stern gallery and quarter galleries in place on the model
 
If on my next ship, I say that I’m going to make the gallery lights from scratch, tell me not to be so daft! I’m not sure that I have the perseverance or the patience to repeat the exercise.
.
 
I’ve been dithering a bit for the last few days about how to continue. I think that I need to fit some of the rails to make finally sure that the galleries line up.
I’ve been playing with cutting scrapers to make boxwood rails rather than use the walnut kit versions. This is a work in progress and I also need to order some more square section boxwood.
Part of the same exercise is making the entry steps and again I’ve being doing trials on bits of scrap to get a satisfactory profile.

Not quite there yet
 
As a further distraction, I’m also working on the oar port doors. The hinges have been blackened and the doors made from strip to match the hull.

 These are tinny and easy to lose in the various de-greasing and blackening treatments. I use Birchwood Casey brass black diluted with about 3 parts water which I find works well after a couple of treatments.
I'll finish off the oar ports and then continue with trying rail and step profiles..
 
David

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

My suggestion would be to find a subject that you are passionate about.  Mistakes?  You'll make them, and I think we all have and continue to do.  The most important thing to remember is that there are very few mistakes that can't be solved.  Don't underestimate the time required, and think about you feel about doing repeated items.  Zulu looks like a great kit, and there are some great buildlogs here to help you along.

Yves, fascinating project....I've got nothing to add here but would like to watch and learn.  Great results so far.

Yves, fascinating project....I've got nothing to add here but would like to watch and learn.  Great results so far.

So that’s the latticework done up for dryfit. Little bit warped but will glue down ok. 
 
no comparison to the plastic is there! 

This is the third time to rework, the positioning is finally right. It's not a good idea to trust your feelings with the naked eye, wasting a lot of time and energy. . .
 

 
 

 
 
 

Hi Stergios, not sure I can impart much advice given this seems to come down a lot to personal preference.  I can't tell exactly where you are, but I think I put the lifts on the yards first, mainly to get these secured squarely.  The sheets and cluelines came next and then the braces and tacks.  Check my log to see if you can tell from photos there, but in general I seem to recall working top downwards, and then mizzen to foremast.  The primary concern was just leaving the deck open enough to have access to secure lines (the upper yards tend to follow the line of the masts for belaying.  For example, the forsheet clue, sheet and tack lines pretty much limits any access to the deck once in place, so this was done last.  I think I took a different approach to you on the bowsprit as I didn't even install the jib-boom until most, if not all the other rigging was in place...,mainly to try and avoid a disastrous break.  I did find using a little swiveling turntableto be very helpful at times (think its call a 'lazy susan')...but all personal preference I suspect.  Good luck!

Hi again folks.  I have continued to make some slow progress, and even a start on some of the spars as shown in the following.
 
First up was the inclusion of a flag locker.  This is not shown on the sheer drawing or in any photo/lithograph but will have been essential.  The 'pidgeon holes' were made up from interlocking brass PE (from Scale Warships).  I then framed it with thin (.8mm ) wood.  While the top looks high, please note the bulwarks were only 2' 9" high.  I formed the top as a sort of chart table.  I am also considering making up a similar locker on the other side to stow the patent log (Massey style towed harpoon log), navigation equipment, signal lamps etc.  Not sure about that yet.  I also noted (not visible to naked eye but stands out in photo) I need to clean up the bottom edge of the locker.
 

 
I then added the stern davits I had previously made up.
 

 
I have also now put the bowsprit, with its cap and rigging in place.  there are two small cheek blocks used rather than 'bees' in this era.  The chain gammoning is in place and I have used a copper 'scotsman' to protect the boom from the chain.  Although the Specification called for the bowsprit shrouds (guys) to be fitted to 'iron knees in the knee of the head' I have run these as they appear in the photograph.  I have used iron knees hardly discernible against the black hull, and their location above and abaft the hawsehole conforms with the general practice of the time and provides the necessary spread either side to properly 'guy' the bowsprit.  The Martingale is also in place, along with cap horns for the manropes which will be added later.  The rigging screws are scratch built from 1.2mm brass tubes with a small brass eye soldered into each end.
 

 
cheers
 
Pat
 

Okay, so went a bit dark there. I finally have a couple of weeks to give the boat some undivided attention. I was really struggling a bit to motivate myself to the deadeyes again, but I got through it. They are now wooden and appropriately sized.

 
I also finished the new belaying pins with the new pin rails. They are 9 mm brass pins painted a beige colour and I think they look right now. It seems like it is pretty difficult to get correctly scaled wooden belaying pins that won't be extremely fragile, so the painted brass ones will have to do.
 



 
And then onto new and exciting things. So first up is the poop side rails, which are extremely delicate and a bit tricky as the eyebolts provided are a little short and had to be reinforced with a lot of epoxy to make somewhat stable.

 
I also finished the azimuthal compass and the other poop details. I did print out a little compass rose to glue on the compass, but it was too small to print properly. I touched it up with a pen, but it looks okay, I think. I’m not going to add the stowage blocks yet as I’m not really sure how the whaleboats will be placed yet. I think once I’ve made those and get a better sense of the size, I can add them.

 
Anyway, working on the carronade and windlass now, good to be back.

Okay, so here is where the varnish started to go a bit wrong. The thing that really got me to make the change was the appearance of blue-green spots in the varnish seen here.
 

 
The varnish had been gradually turning darker and greener over time and I think it is because to wood varnish did not properly seal the copper. As a result, the copper was able to oxidise and cause colour spots in the varnish. I suppose anyone could have told me that sealing copper with wood varnish was a bad idea, but some mistakes we just end up making anyway.
 
The second major thing was the flaking and bubbling of the varnish. I used a pretty thick coat and because the varnish did not stick to the copper very well, it was easy to form bubbles. These bubbles could break off and leave dips in the finish.

 

From attempt 1 at the rudder, note the damaged spot just above the middle gudgeon and below the top gudgeon. I tried to cover these in more varnish, but that often made things worse and led to more bubbles.
 

 
These factors led me to conclude that the only solution was to strip the varnish from the copper and seal it with a proper copper sealant. I don't know if this exact product is available overseas, but I'm sure there'd be something similar. I really wish I had found this earlier.

 
The stripping process was quite traumatic, and I was very reluctant to take photos. First, some of the patina was lost in the removal of the varnish, which meant some plates had to be replaced. Second, the varnish stripper was quite runny and caused some serious damage to the paint (it’s a paint and varnish stripper). The border between the white paint and the black wale had to be almost totally re-done.

The copper sealant was very glossy, but quick drying, meaning that many coats could be added quickly. I could tell that this was a much better adherent to the copper, and it was very difficult to cause the same flaking seen in the wood varnish. To remove the glossiness, I wiped a very light coat of the matte varnish over the copper. To do this, I just dipped a tissue in the varnish and gently wiped it over, avoiding thick build-ups or streaks. Here is the end result



While there are a few bumps, this is more a result of the copper laying not being perfect and sanding it smooth would involve losing patina. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this and have learnt a lot for coppering hulls in the future. One technique that I think might be easier that I haven't tried, would be to press the plate lines into a long strip of copper tape without cutting through. These strips could then be used to cover the whole hull without using individual plates. This would be much quicker and might give a better effect. I haven't tried it, but might give it a go if and when I ever get to the Victory (got a few boats I'd like to do before that though).

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of me slowly losing my sanity, today we will be talking about the rudder. 
 

I ground down the pintles and gudgeons provided to make the scale a little better and also drilled a few extra holes.
 
Then after a very long night I was able to assemble the rudder hinges and attach them to the boat. This is where things go wrong…

First and most obviously, this should not have been after the copper had been varnished. Drilling into the hull caused some of the varnish to flake as it did not cling to the copper properly. Second, while the hinges here do run parallel pretty well, they are not perpendicular to the sternpost as they should be. After some more painful back and forth, I decided that this was unacceptable and re-did it…another long night

While this did correct the angling issue (mostly), the varnish flaking got worse (foreshadowing).
Anyway, then I decided to ignore this little area of the boat and work on the bow.

Okay, so now attempt 2 at the coppering. I bought liver of sulfur in the gel form from a jewellery store online. The gel form is better as it doesn’t lose potency quickly like the solid form does. https://koodak.com.au/products/liver-of-sulphur-for-silver-copper-brass?variant=30180608397. There are some very useful tutorials online on how to use the stuff and what to be careful about, I’ll outline the main points.
I added about 3 mL of the gel to a cup of boiling water from a kettle (not rolling or bubbling just steaming). It's good to let the water cool a bit before adding the gel. If you boil the liver of sulfur, you get toxic sulfur dioxide, so be careful. The hotter the water is, the quicker and deeper the patina will develop. I tried colder water, but it ended up more purple than brown. You have to be quick to get the copper done quickly as the water will cool and the strips dipped later will be a different colour to the ones dipped earlier. 
 
Then I stuck the copper in for a couple of seconds, as soon as there was a colour change (again, you need to be quick, a second too long will make it too dark), I took it out and stuck it in a bicarbonate bath. The bicarb bath is meant to halt the reaction, but it might change colour after it dries a bit. I went through a few trials at different temperatures and leaving the copper in for different times to get the colour I wanted.

I set up a bit of an assembly line, with the copper strips and then a rectangular container with the liver of sulfur solution. Then I stuck in maybe 3 or 4 strips, by the time the last one was in, the first one was ready to take out. Then I had the bicarb bath and stuck them in straight away. It doesn't matter how long they stay in the bicarb bath; they will still change colour when they are taken out. 
 
After the plates were on the ship, I lightly buffed it with some fine steel wool to make it a bit more orange again (careful to not turn up the corners of the plates). One side was a little too dark and the steel wool made it similar to the other side. 

This was my first batch of plates and it did come out a bit too dark and purple, I think I left it in for a little longer than the other side. Anyway, it looked different after some varnish.
 

 
Please note, this is a mistake, do not repeat what I have done. The varnish is not a good sealer for the copper (this photo the varnish is still wet). I'll show in a couple of posts, but there were many problems with using wood varnish to seal the copper. The liver of sulfur does not dull the plates and the patina is still shiny, so it does need some kind of dull coating to look accurate at scale.
 
In terms of actually cutting the plates and placing them, all I can say is; have a sharp blade, be patient and don't be unwilling to take plates off if they are wrong. Anyway, time for photos now...

 

Its the constructo USS Enterprise (1799).  It took 2 months (500+ hours of work)  At least over 100 errors making it! LOL.. it was really hard.. Instructions weren't too helpful  (e.g. like 1 page says plank the entire hull and shows only 2 pictures...  It was really rough to build (for me anyway).. I felt it was like a torture at some(most) times.. but in the end.. very glad I had done it! (yay!)  It was beginner try to build up experience to build the USS Constitution.. but for now going to take a break! Thanks all for all of your help!
v.r
Bill

Hi druxey, for some reason, maybe having to do with the grain or the stiffness of the wood, or poor hand coordination, I could not keep the cutter at a consistent angle to the table top. So the top edge wavered too much. Mounting the cutter in a handle at least keeps the angle constant for me. Still much to learn!
 
At last, I was able to start putting the waist moulding in place. I tried drilling holes for pins to keep things in place, but it was too sloppy to force the gradual curve and keep it there while the glue dried. So I made some battens that ride on the top of the planking edge underneath the moulding, clamping them to the ship side. Then it was a simple matter of clamping the moulding vertically to the batten. It is making a perfect, sweet, curve.
 

 

 

So this is why we use PE, compare the sets! 2/3rds of this lattice piece done. 

Congratulations on completing another amazing build, once again a gold standard in build logs and execution.  I love how you the figures came together, they really add to the aura of the model.  The technique of using fixative on the flags is definitely something to store away in the memory banks.

Thanks Eurus. I am not to sure about museum worthy but being my second model and first scratch build I am pleased. It has taken quite a long time but half of it was spent learning and reading. The MSW family has been invaluable in my education. 
Tom