Beef Wellington

Its scary to note that my last update was 9 months ago, much has dragged me away from keeping current with other's builds on this wonderful site, and making progress myself.  While not much, this brings me up to date.
 
Head Grating:
This caused much pondering!  Like everything, this had to be scratch built. and wasn't quite sure whether I could pull of the gracefully curved gratings that grace many period models.  In the end, this turned out to be a highly enjoyable little project.  The main framing elements were built following the layout and dimensions of previously assembled components.  The outside angled edge follows the curve of the main headrail, and the inside a foreshortened version.  No real secret other than use of lots of templates and continual trial fitting.  The larger framing elements were joined with a simple box joint for strength, the battens were individually shaped and glued end on.  Once completed, the front of the seats of ease were attached to simplify final installation.

Catheads, fo'c'sl plansheer and breasthook:
With the gratings finalised, it was possible to install the catheads with some confidence.  The breasthook was cut following dimension estimates from contemporary models (as much as possible) Prior to that however, the fo'c'sl plansheer was finalised, which required the underside where the catheads are located to be slightly angled to allow for the upward slope of the cathead given the overlap of the plansheer, and to ensure it sits flat.

Timberheads:
It was necessary t get my head around how I was going shape the timberheads, and figure out what was possible, so that I could both get some practice in shaping these and maximise the chance that these could be kept consistent and of an acceptable appearance.  I did not want to have to redo the head rails as these had taken many hours to make.  After some experimentation, the following approach seemed to provide the most consistent results for me.  2x5mm pear was used.
 
From left to right:
Preventer cuts were carefully made using a jig and #12 Exacto blade The edges were cut back gently to roughly preform the shape.  I found the wood surface had a tendency to break off even with care so there were losses.  Wipe on poly was applied at the cuts at this stage to both prove better visibility for further shaping, and also to harden the edges that had been formed The sloped  faces were further refined, again carefully using a #12 Exacto blade, sanding sticks and microfiles.  The top is deliberately made a little overlong as it makes shaping easier The top is reduced to final dimension... The overall height is reduced to final dimensions (in this case 10mm) Finalisation and installation of the main rail and grating:
The main rail could now be finally dimension and shaped.  As identified in TFFM, it did prove necessary to shape for rear outside profile to ensure it fits nicely to the cathead.  I couldn't find much in the way of detail here, but the AOTS Diana book shows a slight wedge of wood sitting between the hull and the head rail.  I decided to add two small wedges to ensure the headrail is fully secured to the hull.  The plansheer also had to be nicked to allow it to sit properly.

And with everything finally installed...I am greatly relieved and pleased with the way this has turned out as this proved to be a most challenging, but ultimately satisfying, adventure.  The fore seats of ease have been made up and will ultimate slot into the grating, but these will not be installed until the placement of the boomkins is determined as everything is very tight in this small area.

All Done!
 
The last few bits to install were the:
main deck railings anchors (with chain from the laser-cut detail set -- I bought some chain from Hobby Lobby, but even the smallest I could fine was too large) chain stopper (not included in the kit, but shown on a diagram; it's pretty tiny -- if I didn't tell you about it, you'd be unlikely to notice it) jackstaff flags. A tip for draping paper flags: they are much easier to fold if one scrapes most of the paper fibers from the back before gluing them.
 
Speaking of glue, I have come up with what I'm calling Coyle's Law of Gluing: "The amount of time it takes for glue to set between two parts is inversely proportional to the amount of time it takes to align the two parts correctly after applying the glue." I have found this law to apply regardless of the type of glue used. And along with Coyle's Law goes Corollary #1: "If a part must be glued at two ends, one end will bond perfectly on the first try, while the other end will take four to six attempts to get it to stick."
 
Enjoy the pictures!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Looks like the perfect balance to my eye...1 too few, 3 too many 🙂  The different paint tones really catch the eye and enhance the whole, very much to my taste as well.  Wonderful model you have there, very well done indeed!

Been a long time since I've commented, but very much enjoyed catching up on your excellent work on this wonderful build.  Love the colours you've chosen on the pinnace which are a pleasant change and gives a very period feel.  I've just ordered this little kit myself from Chris, so hoping mine turns out half as well as yours.  Great stuff!

Its scary to note that my last update was 9 months ago, much has dragged me away from keeping current with other's builds on this wonderful site, and making progress myself.  While not much, this brings me up to date.
 
Head Grating:
This caused much pondering!  Like everything, this had to be scratch built. and wasn't quite sure whether I could pull of the gracefully curved gratings that grace many period models.  In the end, this turned out to be a highly enjoyable little project.  The main framing elements were built following the layout and dimensions of previously assembled components.  The outside angled edge follows the curve of the main headrail, and the inside a foreshortened version.  No real secret other than use of lots of templates and continual trial fitting.  The larger framing elements were joined with a simple box joint for strength, the battens were individually shaped and glued end on.  Once completed, the front of the seats of ease were attached to simplify final installation.

Catheads, fo'c'sl plansheer and breasthook:
With the gratings finalised, it was possible to install the catheads with some confidence.  The breasthook was cut following dimension estimates from contemporary models (as much as possible) Prior to that however, the fo'c'sl plansheer was finalised, which required the underside where the catheads are located to be slightly angled to allow for the upward slope of the cathead given the overlap of the plansheer, and to ensure it sits flat.

Timberheads:
It was necessary t get my head around how I was going shape the timberheads, and figure out what was possible, so that I could both get some practice in shaping these and maximise the chance that these could be kept consistent and of an acceptable appearance.  I did not want to have to redo the head rails as these had taken many hours to make.  After some experimentation, the following approach seemed to provide the most consistent results for me.  2x5mm pear was used.
 
From left to right:
Preventer cuts were carefully made using a jig and #12 Exacto blade The edges were cut back gently to roughly preform the shape.  I found the wood surface had a tendency to break off even with care so there were losses.  Wipe on poly was applied at the cuts at this stage to both prove better visibility for further shaping, and also to harden the edges that had been formed The sloped  faces were further refined, again carefully using a #12 Exacto blade, sanding sticks and microfiles.  The top is deliberately made a little overlong as it makes shaping easier The top is reduced to final dimension... The overall height is reduced to final dimensions (in this case 10mm) Finalisation and installation of the main rail and grating:
The main rail could now be finally dimension and shaped.  As identified in TFFM, it did prove necessary to shape for rear outside profile to ensure it fits nicely to the cathead.  I couldn't find much in the way of detail here, but the AOTS Diana book shows a slight wedge of wood sitting between the hull and the head rail.  I decided to add two small wedges to ensure the headrail is fully secured to the hull.  The plansheer also had to be nicked to allow it to sit properly.

And with everything finally installed...I am greatly relieved and pleased with the way this has turned out as this proved to be a most challenging, but ultimately satisfying, adventure.  The fore seats of ease have been made up and will ultimate slot into the grating, but these will not be installed until the placement of the boomkins is determined as everything is very tight in this small area.

The Ekeing and Cathead supporter:
 
The Ekeing is a detail as presented in the kit that consists of a simplified approach consisting of cat head supporter and ubiquitous white metal moldings.  I was determined to make this as prototypical as I could as shown on the plans.  Studying numerous contemporary models, this is a detail that seems to vary quite a lot, and I'm unsure whether this varied significantly from ship to ship, or whether the model builders took their own simplified approaches.   The following photos of Minerva helped a lot in visualizing this complex shape consistent with the original plans (photos are my own taken at the Rogers Collection).
This was a very humbling experience and definitely one of the more challenging pieces to make, requiring many hours of fiddling and sanding.  In short (!) , the Eking and cathead supporter needs to meet the following criteria:
 
Narrow from 3mm to approx 2mm at the middle rail to butt into it cleanly Follow the curve of the hull Extend the graceful curve of the middle rail up to the cathead when viewed from the side Be positioned such that the cathead sits snuggly against the top of the main rail, and is perpendicular to the hull Follow a smooth curve outboard from the cathead to the lower rail, the ekeing curving forward almost immediately below the cathead Pass just upward of the outboard hawse hole, but cross the inner....(differing from Minerva above)  
I had a couple of abortive attempts which while failures, were very helpful in helping me understand the approach described in TFFM Vol 2.   The best piece of advice here is focus on one curved face at a time.  A cardboard template was made to approximate the profile (this was initially estimated using the spare metal molding strips which work well for this).   (Note:  In the photos below, the various rails have been cut out to allow placement of the final rail.  (When the template was made this had not been done which made this a little more challenging and subject to approximation)

The profile of the hull at the bow was taken using a profile gauge and transferred to block of balsa.  The ekeing template was transferred to some 5mm pear sheet and cut out leaving quite a bit of excess.   The hull profile was then introduced onto the inward face.  The shaped balsa block helped a lot in this exercise to allow frequent validation.

Once the inner profile had been finalised, the card template could be used to fine tune the shape.  This has to be transferred onto the curved surface that will sit against the hull, and it important to remember that the profile on the outboard face will be different because the shape will follow perpendicular to the interior face (i.e. the hull).  Some excess was still left here to allow additional fine tuning.

The top of the profile was then thickened using some more 5mm pear, and the cathead supporters roughly shaped and glued into place.  The cathead supporters were attached perpendicular to interior face, not the exterior face.  This rough structure can then be further fine tuned, again using the template on the inner surface and ensuring that the top and bottom face are perpendicular to this along its length.  Following the advice in TFFM, The sternmost face was worked first, and once finalized, the inside curve was worked using the outside as a guide.  Once these had been completed, the outboard curve following the underside of the cathead supporter was introduced.
 
The lower version shown below still required a lot of fine tuning on the model.

Once happy with the shape, the position on the model could be determined, and the decorative rails cut to allow the ekeing to sit flush against the hull.  This was definitely a little nerve wracking and will require a little touch up when all is said and done.  (The outer surface profiling was not introduced until after this work had all been done and position finalised - these still require some finishing as these photos embarrassingly highlight...)  The end of the ekeing also needed to have the shape of the hawse hole introduced onto its lower edge to open that up.To allow the position to be determined, the catheads also needed to be madeup.  The "cathead" decorations on the end was made from polymeric clay and followed the very nice original example originally on Trincomalee and other contemporary models - they look a little more acceptable at a distance!  Not much else to comment on other than the dimensions and decoration were estimated from the original plans and inspired by contemporary models.  These will get further attention in due course.  The upper rail is still just pinned in place and will require the top to be shaped prior to final installation.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this came together, the various lines seem to flow quite nicely when viewed from the side which was a goal entering into this. The plansheer, ekeing, catheads and upper rail are all still dry-fit at this stage....but think I can move forward with more confidence.
 

Many innocent sheets of material died to bring you these pictures...
 
This is the fifth hull I have made up, with incremental changes with each new version. I usually just remove and replace the parts I change, but there are many interlocking parts with this one, that I felt more comfortable restarting the whole hull assembly with all updated designs, so that I know all fits as they should. This will not be the final form, however, but am comfortable continuing using the hull form (which is final) to get more information for parts that fit onto it.
 
Hull has been sanded, ready to take gunport bulwark template (which are next to design)
 
(This will be thrown away once all info has been garnered from it...)
 

Once again, thanks for the likes. It's always nice to know folks are dropping in. 
I forgot to mention before that I pinned some 1X 4mm strips to see how the planking will look. I was quite happy with this trial run and it seems I am going in the right direction.
I have made some good, all be it slow, progress since my last post. I have made the lower stern counter from balsa and roughly shaped it on both sides. However, this has highlighted just how much of the stern shape I have lost. To try rectifying this I used a 1 X 10mm strip pinned to the side of the hull and a strip of balsa held to the stern. I then built up the space in between with filler and allowed it to set, after 3 goes at this I had the shape I required. It's cosiderably different to the shape I had and a huge improvement. This area still needs to be sanded a little more. But, before shaping it any further, I decided I need to work out the waterline position followed by the lower edge of the wale. I thought the "helping hands" device would work but one or other croc clips would move. I resorted to the"paper cup method" only with a platic bottle. The hull was propped up with long balsa strips and the bow raised by 6mm , when the hull was level I used a couple of heavy monkey wrenches to hold everything in place, and then drew the waterline. I next measured the lower edge if the wale from below various gunports and marked the edge. On my laptop screen I zoomed in to 365% which practicaly takes the hull profile to 1/64 scale and took measurements from this which pretty much agrred with my measurements. I have pinned  strips of 1X3mm wood to mark the upper and lower edges of the wale. when I took a few photos these were hard to see so I highlighted them with a black marker pen so I can check the look of their postitioning. The lower edge of the wale sits pretty much exactly where I need (and hoped) it should be, which, should allow me to slightly round off the hull without having to bend the 2nd planking into severe bends and, instead, curve smoothly. That's the idea anyway. 
My next task will be to finnish smoothing off the hull below the wale and hopefully achieve a perfectly symetrical finnish. The waterline has shown up a slight discrepency between port and starboard. My one concern at present is attaching the planking to so much filler. I am thinking of adding a 2mm wide strip under the lower stern counter to glue the planks onto and just use the filler as a shaping support.
Here are a few photos to help explain things better.
I will add more soon I hope.
David.   

Thanks, Jason.
 
Progress is slow but encouraging. Hopefully I'll get back to a place where I can continue this model, but it's well beyond me at the moment until then, I walk past it every day and marvel that not so long ago, I did that! 😆
 
Great to see you making headway on your stunning Artois class.
 
Rob

Of course all these photos are not the finals but I'm very close to the end
Some final touch up and trimming is needed 
 

And a couple od additional pics,,,
 




 

....  and now, please let me to present you some steps of my previous stages, "talking" more with those pics and less with words, as I usually do

This is definitely going to give the Caldercraft Snake/Cruiser model line a run for its money!  Maybe this will show whether CC have completely lost interest in new static kit development when some of their established legacy models comes under direct competition.

This is definitely going to give the Caldercraft Snake/Cruiser model line a run for its money!  Maybe this will show whether CC have completely lost interest in new static kit development when some of their established legacy models comes under direct competition.

That is just beautiful planking!

Looks like the perfect balance to my eye...1 too few, 3 too many 🙂  The different paint tones really catch the eye and enhance the whole, very much to my taste as well.  Wonderful model you have there, very well done indeed!

Your planking looks spot on, very nicely done.  I'm pleased to see that you appear to have filled in the stern a little to allow the planking to sit nicely against the sternpost, think you will be much happier with that result.  The shaping of the plank ends in this area can be challenging further up the hull, definitely not something to rush.  Looking at what you have done so far, sure you will encounter no major problems.  You have a wonderful model coming together here.

Awesome progress!  Question on the galleries, do you think you will be using the resin/plastic galleries in the final version?  It feels a little our of keeping with the other wonderful wood of the model.

That is just beautiful planking!

Thanks, @BobG, @gak1965, @AJohnson, you're very kind. I feel surrounded by masters, here... but I'm pleased with how my bodging is coming along!
 
I managed to add the reef points to the fore upper-topsail, which is the last sail to need reefing points, so that was a nice milestone to reach.  Next is to add the eyelets and blocks to the fore upper-topsail yard ... am I the only one who finds drilling holes all over the yards a fiddly and frustrating job?
 
I think I've probably described the process of the reefing points before, but just in case, it's #100 DMC Cordonnet crochet thread, with a knot in it (one knot is plenty), then threaded through the sail with a needle. Once through, it's cut off with a couple of inches to spare. When all done, I place a metal ruler beneath it, and use watered down aliphatic glue (Carpenter's glue / yellow glue) to stiffen the thread, and line it up vertically. Once fairly dry, it's cut to length (the width of my wider 15cm steel rule) and another dab of watered down PVA fixes the end in the right position on the sail. The sail is then turned over, and the process repeated.
 

The finished article...

I am glad to have these done.
 
Thanks for all the support and encouragement
 
Rob

Hi everyone,
 
Three weeks later, and I've had another good day to work on Stefano. I finally made and died some more .5mm rope for the standing rigging, which allowed me to complete the backstays. I've also got some more work done on the yards, adding eyelets, blocks, and bending the forecourse to the main yard on the foremast. Again, this has caused the model to take up significantly more space on my desk, but it feels like we're on the home straight now as we move towards running rigging. I counted, and I think I have 8 sails left to bend to yards / stunsail yards. There's a lot of tidying up to do with rope ends fixed with watered down PVA (a big advantage of making your own rope with DMC cordonnet thread, as it's natural, not synthetic), and trimmed to make them neat.
 
Thank you so much to all of you who've hung in there through what has proved to be a lengthy build
 
Here are a few shots of how she stands right now.  




Happy building
 
Rob

Update:
 
Divided the first band in the appropriate amount of planks (5 planks) and started planking away!   feels like a jigsaw puzzle where you make your own pieces. Kinda fun!
 
 

I have, when time allows, been tinkering away at the VM 26' Launch. It is a relentlessly tricky little kit and I'll be glad to get back to the main subject - HMS Fly - next.
 
My launch is pretty well a straight out of the box kit. The main floor didn't fit so I removed the outer planks. I added an anchor rope. I shaped the oar handles and blades but inserted them into a micro brass tube for the shafts and added a leather? thickening where they base through the oarlock slots. I painted the upper works red as that suited my ship's Captain. Even though I didn't need to, I painted below the waterline in a creamy white. My hull planking allowed it to be left natural but I thought that would look odd on a ship with a copper bottom.
 
Some photos (which show touch-ups required). I have yet to stow the oars which promises to be as fiddly as everything else was.

 
 

Hi ☺️
 
 last photos before putting the glass on the model

That is just beautiful planking!