harlequin

Deck cannons fitted.

constructo did a Pandora kit.

12 hours ago, Beef Wellington said:

You have a lovely ship going together here Harlequin, as others have said the wood tones are very pleasing and you've done well to make some of the lesser quality fitting really blend in.  Will be following from here on if I may...

cheers Beef Wellington.....been an arduous journey with her tbh….I am one of these that what is in the kit I work with....i'm a bit weird that way.....apart from the gun ports but that was a build or scrap moment.

decision made....this is the only rope work I am going to fit to the deck cannons.....the scale at 98:1 is a bit small for cramming the deck full of unrealistic looking ropes and pulleys. I am happy with this and it is enough of a suggestion to show how the cannon were fitted. First of only ten cannon and six carronade and the hull is virtually complete......anchors and lamps still to be fitted and cleats and hooks and eyes but Bellona is taking shape. 

Dead eyes fitted....need tweaking to get them in the right position. Corels fittings are sometimes so poor you would think they would do something about it. The dead eyes are so fragile I will have to be extremely careful later on. There may be trouble ahead .

starboard channels and supports fitted....the hull is getting closer and closer to completion now. I am not going to overdo the rope work on the deck cannons because there is just not enough space at this scale to include everything. The whole hull needs a varnish to bring out the natural wood colours. It is not long ago that Bellona nearly headed to the scrap yard such was my frustration at how the build had gone. It has languished with the odd part getting displaced and damaged. Now the frustration has been replaced with an optimism that she will be completed this year.   

I have been on the Victory several times and it really is an eyeopener to just how cramped it was on those ships. She used to fire a broadside every now and again but time is taking its toll on the old girl and I don't think they do that anymore.....the footage is available on youtube…..I read that Nelsons wound he received from the French sniper would not have been a fatal wound today, if they had known how to treat the wound he would have survived. Incidentally during the Falklands conflict with Argentina every soldier that was brought to the hospital ship survived their wounds. Surgeon Major Jolly saved every Argentinian and every Brit that made it to his ship. Sadly he died last year, a real hero of that short lived conflict. 

cheers Wallace....it has not been without its problems as with every corel kit.....it came so close to being scrapped as I just fell out with it. I have replanked it twice and swapped the gun ports for metal ones which was a necessary evil. Five years plus in the making to this stage and I quite like the old girl now.

How is your Victory getting on?

port side dead eyes and channels added, now starboard....very fragile metal parts so have to be careful with them.

16 hours ago, flyer said:

Hi Martin

 

Thanks. Those flushing toilets are an interesting subject. I didn't know they go back a few thousand years and were quite common in better houses in England 200 years ago. And on a man of war I expected chamber pots or buckets for the officers - but no, they went to war in style!

 

 

 

 

Hi Harlequin

 

Your Bellona is an extremely fine build and with your connection to the original myth Bellerophon would be a logical successor (you seem to react very well to challenges...)😉.

 

 

Cheers

Peter

thank you flyer.....it has been a very frustrating build has dear old Bellona......my next build funnily enough is...…..Pegasus...….bought it for pennies of ebay , it is a very old kit but apart from the plans which I can source it all seems to be there. 

I served with the Parachute Regiment for several years and our Peggy(Pegasus) badge has Bellerophon riding on Pegasus with a spear as he slays his enemies.... 

Hi vossy.....further to my previous post......the railings in this pic started out initially as you described, but using my method they ended up pretty straight. Cut the length of wire about a cm longer than you need and press firmly down on it against the flat surface leaving the other end of the wire free to flap about as you roll the dowel back and forth quite briskly at right angles to the wire, moving over the entire length of the wire until you achieve the desired straightness. 

my method is similar to others mentioned......length of wire on a flat surface and  10mm dowel of masting rolled back and forwards till the brass wire is straight.....always works fine for me.

A return to work on the hull with the addition of the remaining mast channels. The supports still need to be added and positioned, similar to the ones on the mizzen channel. Corels metal dead eyes are very fragile and I will have to be careful I don't snap them.

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 6:04 PM, kier said:

She's looking great. A lovely Corel kit, 

 built by a great Corel kit builder.🙂

cheers kier......I wouldn't say great .... more of a how did I manage that ? corel kit builder..

looking good for a first build......my first build got launched from a bedroom window because of the mess I made of it, so at least you are of to a better start than my first attempt......don't be afraid of pulling it apart if it starts to go pear shaped and walk away from the model if you start to get frustrated with it....there is always a time to have a brew and go back to it. 

new to this brass black product but just tried it and it is very good and works instantly. Not cheap (£14) but worth it in the long run

just tried this brass black …..very good and works instantly.  

I know I said I was going to work on the hull but thought I would do a little more on the main mast with the addition of the brass rings.

one of my favourite glues is an aliphatic wood glue as it can be sanded easily if any residue has seeped. 

Will probably return to the hull today and start to finish off the final fixings......not decided yet how much ropework to put on the deck cannons......at this scale there is not a great deal of deck space to fix everything on so will probably opt for a minimum of blocks and rope.

Main mast arrangement......not yet fitted and still a lot of work required but just getting a feel for what they look like on the hull.

to be honest I would snap his hand off even if the parts were missing.....you can easily source the missing planks and masts and for 60 eu it is a no brainer. 

  know what you mean....got to take them with a pinch of salt.

Main mast.