newbee

It feels like a couple of weeks since my last update, but, I think I have finally figured out the positioning of the gunports. For the last few weeks I knew the maximum distance between gunports 1 and 14 and was trying to position the rest equaly spaced apart from 7 and 8 which, as was pointed out previously, should be further apart. I was also triying to fit everything between frames. I tried everything I could including scaling up photos and measuring sizes and distances of the ports to match. Everything I tried resulted in at least one or more frames being behind where I thought the gunports should sit. Last night I realised that I may have to compromise and lose one of the frames. The distance from port 1 to 7 and 8 to 14 should be equal. The steps up the hull are about the same width as the gunports but about a gunports width from 7. I also guessed that none of the gunports should be level with the masts. I laid another strip of tape, marked out the centre line and worked my way in each direction, with 15mm wide ports and 30mm wide spaces. This also didn't work but was closer than I had managed previously. I changed the measurements to 31mm apart but kept the 15mm wide ports and starting at frame 3 worked my way along the hull. This was my Eureka moment. Everything lined up perfectly apart from frame 9 which was 5mm too far astern. I checked the measurements again and eveything still matched. I triple checked again tonight and I'm certain, this time I have got it right. I now need to cut away the previous planking to where the gunports should be. Where frame 9 was needs to be filed flush. The next task will be to lay 2 X 5mm strips parrallel to the frams and add 2mm thick and 13mm high balsa strips inside the hull to line up with the ports and also mark the line of the tops of the ports. Once this is completed I will lay strips of 2mm balsa along the top of the gunports level with the the line of the top deck. The entire inner bulwarks will have 1mm strips added to fill out the planking flush with the frames. These in turn will have 0.5mm planking to avoid the hull looking too thick, I hope. Coincidently, the linings of the ports will now be 0.5mm thick which seems to be more accurate. I still have lots to do but at least I think I'm winning.

Thanks fore your like Chris. It's appreciated. Just a brief update to say I'm back to square one. I'm not sure if the masking tape shrank a little or if my measurements weren't good. Either way I found the forward gunports are a couple of millimeters out. Looking like I've some more thinking to do. Will update again when I get it sorted out. David.

Progress started slowly after my last update. The gun deck has now been fully planked and just needs a light final sanding. So it was back to the gunport problem. The first thing I needed was the correct height above the deck for the gunport bases to sit. I found that 5mm gave me the best fit so I cut strips of 2 X 5mm and glued them flush to the deck and butting up to the frames. Due to the 1st gunport being between frames 3 and 4 I started on gunport 2. I soon found that it was hard to see where the first layer of outer planking ended and where the added strips met. I used a black marker pen to highlight the top edge of the strips which made filing down the lower edge of the ports much easier. The only problem I found was some of the ports were cut too low on the port side so I will have to build these up before replanking. The time spent reading through various build logs 2 weekends ago has paid off. After studying Jason's ( Beef Welington, a big thank you for this) build log I picked up on the fact that all the ports are 30mm apart with the exception of the 2 central ones (7 & 8). I ran a strip of masking tape along the gunports and marked the forward edge of port 1 and the stern edge of port 14. Thinking I had cracked the problem, I removed the tape and marked the gunport position starting at each end and working towards the middle. I marked the edges of gunport 2 on the hull and cut and filed it to size. I replaced the tape on the hull and was dismayed to find that the ports didn't sit where I expected them as a couple of frames were now in the way and port 2 didn't quite fit right. It was too late at night to try figuring out what was wrong so left it as it was. On Thursday the replacement carriages arrived. I was keen to see how they compared to the originals and how well they would fit within the ports. I lightly glued 1 of the carriages together but dry fitted the trucks as I may need to remove them later. They look absolutely brilliant and really feels like a shame to paint them. Thank you Vanguard for these. (Unfotunately they come without the photo etch sheets but this isn't a problem as I have plenty of eye pins and hopefully enough capsquares. I just thought I'd mention it for information.) They sit perfectly within the ports as well. Now it was back to the positioning of the gunports. I laid a fresh strip of masking tape alomg the hull and again measured the distances between the ports. but this time on the hull. gunport 2 now matched up again ,more or less but none of the frames were in the way. I removed the tape and laid it above the original and you can see the difference between them. The next few evenings will be spent marking and cutting the ports to shape.

I should have mentioned that the lime strips I have used had varying colours, most were light but others looked more like beech wood. As most of the deck will be hidden I tried limiting the darker strips to where they won't be seen. They will also be stained or varnished or both so it will be interesting to see how they come out. Thanks again for the likes and comments so far. David.

Since my last post I spent most of last weekend studying how to start on the gunports. Midway through Sunday I gave up reading any further as I found I was getting bogged down with all the information. I also wanted to get back to the actual building. I realised that before I could start on the inner lining I would need to re-lay the gun deck. I started laying 3mm strips from the centre line outwards. I had planed to run these 3 deep on each side of the mid point but the grating openings were wider and would mean that the first 4mm srip would need 3,5 mm cut off along the openings so I added an extra 3mm strip each side When I tested the original grating and coamings I found they were actually a lot wider than the openings. As this will be mostly hidden I have left them as they are but will maybe plank the upper deck differently. 5 evenings later and I have almost finnished the gun deck with only the outer edges to plank, between the frames. I have cleaned off and lightly sanded the deck and I dont think it looks too bad, especially, compared to how it looked before. One thing I had not fully appreciated was how large the surface area is. I have used around 30 4mm strips for this deck alone. It is huge. I am desperate to get started on the gunports because I need these done to be able to determine the correct position of the wale. To start with I think I will just build up to the sills with a strip of 4 mm thick balsa which will be shaped to run square between the frames. The outer planking has come unstuck from a few of the frames so I also need to glue these back. Once this is done I will need to re cut the gunports with the required spacings inbetween them. I have measured the distances and marked them with masking tape for now. So I've still got plenty to do. I have also just ordered the replacement gun carriages and also a replacement double capstan from Vanguard. I pretty much destroyed the original when trying to seperate the upper deck from the hull. It was one of the few things that was really well glued together.

Keith, Many thanks for the advice. I will try that. If it doesn't work I will just cut a block of balsa wood and glue it to the lower deck underneath. The hatches appear to be in the correct places though. You are right that without knowing the ship aswell as not being able to see the work that has already been done at times I am almost working blind. Thanks David for your input too. I should have thought of that being the case as the upper beams are also fitted that way. The beams running below the gratings are not too big a problem as they and the lower deck will be painted black and should be invisible. Luckily I took quite a few photos of the decks before and during removing everything so I can see where to put things back later. I have also been able to remove the main deck support beams fore and aft without damaging the frames too much. This means I should be able to modify them avoiding the run of most of the gratings. There were only 2 deck supports fitted which were under the beam in front of the main mast/ I will be modyfiying these and insalling all that should be in place. I have given myself a lot more work to do but it means I should really be able to achieve a much better finnish. The gunports need to be 6mm above the gun deck so I intend building these up from the inside with strips glued to the outer planking to a thickness of 4mm along the entire length after adding vertical strips beside the gunports to give them the correct width. these can then be relined on the inside and painted. I can then fit the inner hull fittings for rigging the guns etc. I read somewhere that the hull planking below the wale should be no wider than 12 inches but above the wale can be wider. Assuming 30cm is more or less 12 inches then the lower planking should be no wider than 4.6mm at this scale. This ties in nicely with the lower stern frame (frame 17) having 15 planks attached either side of the stern post. This makes the width of the planks 4mm So I plan to plank the hull ,when the time comes the opposite to the instuctions with 4mm below the wale and 5mm above it.

While sanding down the hull I felt something give and found the deck planking between the gratings had given way. Not sure why there was nothing supporting them underneath. I then also noticed 2 beams below the gun deck dont seem to match up. both go under the gratings but are offset compared to the frames. Any ideas?

Thank you for the likes. I really appreciate you looking in. This is becoming a greater challenge than I expected but this ship deserves to look better than when I got her. I'm in for the long haul and am learning as I go which really helps. For me, as a novice, the instructions aren't the easiest to undersatand but one thing I have noticed is parts are named especially the rigging side of things. Other kits just show a rigging line going from A to B but no indication of what they actually are. Anyway, back to the build. I have now managed, I think, to achieve the shape of the stern that I am really happy with. This was, unfortunately, after I found I had removed too much balsa on one side which had left a concave depression beside the deadwater. I cut a 1cm strip of cardboard and marked the curve above the keel, which I replicated on the other side. I then worked my way up the stern marking the curve on the other side. Once this was completed I added filler to fix the problem so I now have pretty much a symetrical shape either side. It now just needs a fine sanding down. I then I moved my attention to shaping the rest of the hull. I am aiming to sand this down to pretty much the first planking so, effectively, I can redo the second planking from scratch. However, due the construction, I have almost lost the top plank above the 1st gunport on one side. The inner plank came off when removing the gunport, which, I hadn't realised at the time. So, I moved my attention again to the gunports (and the inner lining). These need to be fitted and shaped before I can sand down the hull any further. I had also been wondering if I would have to remove the sides completely from the gun deck up. If this was done it would be almost impossible to achieve the curve of the hull from the gundeck upwards, especially for the quarter deck and fo'csle. This will be enough of a challenge as it is. Getting the gunport lining good from the outside, I didn't think would be a problem, getting them looking good from the inside will be near impossible. After a bit of thinking and having thought weeks ago the inner lining might have to be removed, especially as it looked so bad and had already come away from the frames. I removed both sides. Whoever had started construction had run strips of balsa up almost beside the sides of the gunports but not quite in the correct position. The reason the lining came away so easily was the planks were glued to these balsa strips rather than the frames. The upshot of this is I can sand down the sides from the inside and build them back up. I am also hoping I can build up the gunports at the same time and line them afterwards.

Msny thanks for your input. I have said sanding but I have also been using the half round file at the stern. The wale on this ship is going to be sanded /filed and then completely redone. I am not happy with the width or positioning of it. So I have been more concerned about the shape below the counter. I have run a couple of planks on either side and the flow looks almost right. Once this is completed I will plank the counter and then see how it goes. Thanks again. David.

Well, I'm back from the holiday and back to sanding down the hull again. Having started back on the stern I realised that the gaps between the filler blocks (below the frames) were preventing me to shape the hull properly, I decided to use filler and, once dry, I could continue sanding. In the meantime it was back to reducing the size of the cascabeles, which are now half done for the 18lb'ers. Since then I have sanded the hull further and,I think, I have achieved the shape beneath the stern counter required. However, I have also sanded a little too much off the sides where the wale will meet the stern counter, and, also lost a little of the shapes of parts 27, the stern counter sides, Some advice is requested at this point as I don't want to risk making it any worse. I have looked at so many photos and I'm not sure whether to leave it as it is for now and concentrate on sanding the rest of the hull, and then see what to do afterwards, or, sand this section a little more to round it off a little more. The hull needs to be sanded off by about 1mm all over so the shape at thr stern may not be quite as noticable. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. David.

Thanks very much for the info Allan. I was wondering if that was the case. I did mean the carraiges. The Vanguard ones definately look very good and 1000 per cent better than I could achieve and at an affordable price. I must admit the cannons themselves also look great but are way over my budget combined with the carraiges. I am sticking, for now with filing down the cascabel's on the visible 18lb guns and leaving the rest as they are. I think I have found a quicker way of sanding these down, combining a sanding disc fitted to my table saw/sander and mounting the cannon barrel in a cordless drill. It's not only quicker but also gives me a better shape ie not lop sided. This should mean I am able to have all the barrels finished in a few evenings rather than weeks.

I am afraid, after getting a decent amount done the weekend before last, things have slowed down a lot. I have done a little more sanding of the hull and also the cascabel's. these are going to take a lot of time maybe an evening for each so will be doing them a couple at a time. I am also on ho;iday for a couple of weeks and need to clear my workshop ready for my relief to take over and have a clear space. I am hoping to do some more research while I'm away although I have been doing this on and off for the last week. I am still worried about getting the shape of the stern correct so, have been hesitating to sand this down too much yet. I have been thinking ahead aswell about changing the stern facia to look more like the RMGC version ( thanks again to Allan for the pics) with rectangular windows and the pillers in between. I have really only thought of doing this as a couple of the photo etch parts are missing, and, on this kit the taff rail was not installed and is still in the box giving me another blank canvas. I also need to read more of the previous build logs as in the stern photos, there are 15 planks either side of the stern post. I have a length of 6cm either side so 4mm planks would fit better than 5mm unless I need to reduce from 5 to 4mm closer to the stern. Once I am happy with the shape I wull experiment with this. I have tried making my own gun trucks in the past but have always given up as I have never been happy with the look of them. This time I am not going to try and will buy the Vanguard ones. At least they will be identical as well as looking very good. The next update will probably be around 3 weeks from now and I am planning on concentrating on the gunports and cannons before building up the hull where it is uneven (especially between the gunports.) I have also given more thought to your question Theodosius and I think, workwise it is probably slightly harder due to not knowing for sure how well she has been constructed but she is certainly strongly built. Removing all the gratings and what fittings there were was pretty easy and apart from sanding and shaping most will be ok to glue back on. The cannons and trucks I would probably have done what I am planning along with replacing a lot of the timber anyway. Time wise it will take longer to complete the hull than if I had started from the beginning but time, I hope, is something I still have a decent amount of combined with what I am learning. If nothing else I will have learned a lot of correct terms of the fittings and ropes. Until now I'd never heard of a chain pump, never mind what it did so the time spent will be very worthwhile to me. Anyway I will return to this in a few weeks. Take care all. David.

Thanks for dropping by Theodosius, the answer at the moment is. I'm not sure. There's maybe more work involved with rectifying mistakes but the basic shape is there. The proof will be if I can sand down each side of the hull without thinning it too much. If I can complete this build at 1/2 the price of the kit I will be well happy. I have a lot of blocks from 1/80 scale that looked way too large but at this scale should be ok. The same with the many reels of rigging thread. I have never tried de fluffing them before but am happy giving this a go this time around. We will see.

Just a quick update. I've removed the inner planking around gunports 1 & 2 and have managed to build them back up on the port side. Whilst starting on the starboard I was thinking about the rest of the work I will need to do and decided to start planning things out better. I want to sand the hull completely but the gunports need to be finished first. I want to paint the inner hull but ditto. I can't plank the gun deck until the bulwarks are painted etc. I now have a list of 8 steps that need to be done before the main hull is shaped. 1 shape and line gunports. 2 build up gap between the main deck section and the hull. Approx 2x2mm. 3 sand and paint inner hull. 4 plank the gun deck. 5 add all fittings to the gun deck sides. 6 sand down the hull ready for final planking. I need to ensure that both sides are identical.!!! 7 remake or buy 18lb gun carriages and rig the visible cannons but leave loose. 8 add all the deck furniture Where I cut away below the main deck section, there is now a 2mm gap to be filled. The planking is less than 2.5 mm wide so I am thinking to run a 2x3mm balsa strip along the top of the hull, pin the main deck in place and then add another strip of balsa on top. The sides can be sanded down with the hull and the top sanded when the main deck is fitted in place. I am afraid, given my starting point, I am going to improvise (cheat) and build up the upper hull above the foc'stle and quarter deck with strips rather than planking. I am hoping to still use the cannons supplied as, having experimented with 1, I think I can reduce the size of the cascabel to a more accurate one. All in all I'm guessing it's about 2 months of spare time altogether though possibly more. I have made a crude looking 16mmx14mm guide for the gunports so they can be shaped properly. The sides of gunports 1 will also need bevelled to accommodate the guns.

Tonight I took break from sanding the stern and looked at the gunports. These I knew weren't all level nor the correct size. Before I can fill out the ships sides the gun ports will need to be completed. Now I've opened up another can of worms. Most of the ports came out quite easily and some not so. The inner stern planking came away but out of sight luckily. The thickness of the gun ports varies from 6 or 7 mm up to 10mm at the bow. The inner planking runs up to frame 2 but the frames weren't bevelled for them to bend to the correct shape. This means there's too large a gap between the inner and outer planking. Also the starboard side doesn't run straight as there is a definate sag towards the centre line, which I had already realised. This will also need to be built up. Again not a real problem but definately a hiccup. As the inner planking at the bow will not be visible I am thinking of cutting it away from the fore side of the 2nd gun port and building up the inner planking to the correct width. The gunports themselves should be easy enough to get to the right sizes with the addition of of extra strips of timber, but more fiddly work on top of everything else. I have also changed my mind to replanking the hull from 0.5mm to 1mm, which I hope will give a little more wriggle room for shaping the rest of the hull. I also have a lot of red painted match wood, LOL.

I have just seen your unicorn log Tim. I see what you mean now. I think it will take me longer to complete my hull as I have so much sanding and correcting before I can replank it. I already have a softish patch on the starboard bow so will have concentrate on matching the port side. At least your hull is un planked whereas mine has benn but I've no idea how well or badly. I'm erring on the side of caution at the moment.

Thanks for your comments guys. I knew the filler blocks would be essential to be able to contine shaping the hull Allan. I have looked at the photos both from the RMG but also other build logs here. The photos you've added are better than the ones I have found so thank you for those. As you said Dave some excellent workmanship. Unfortunately I think I've left it too late to get to museum standard but am happy to have a decent looking ship at the end. Thanks for your best wishes Tim. I will need to look at your log of the Unicorn. Until I was 50 I never had the space to attempt a wooden ship kit. I also had never thought any existed until a few years earlier. I had made lots of plastic ones over the years and a few balsa planes. I really wish I had started on wooden ships when I was a lot younger. I still need to finnish the President kit. (Rigging still to complete), the second Golden Hind and also this one. Once they are all completed I will see if I am able to build another one. I'm not going to worry too much as I have at least 4 years work ahead of me to complete them all. I am really happy that I over built the filler blocks ad it's giving me a margin now to work with to achieve the right dhape but, even then, it's not an easy shape to create. There are so many photos to look at but I'm still looking for one from exactly the right angle I need. I must admit I didn't appreciate how much I eould have to do to this hull and the list is still growing!!!

I've had a productive time this weekend, all be it with no work managed on the Golden Hind. I decided to build up the stern with the balsa blocks. I added more than I needed to but I'm pretty much working blind regarding what had been already been built. It looks like I was wrong about the frames being sanded down too far. I had assumed that they would have been bevelled. Having sanded the filler blocks I now believe they just hadn't been bevelled at all. With hindsight, I should haven't used so much as it has meant a lot more hard work sanding, not to mention the waste. However, I did expect this to an extent as, I figured it would be better to add too much and sand to shape, rather than finding out I hadn't used enough and try to add. The bulk of the sanding is now done and I just need to tidy it up and get to the final shape particularly the straight edge of frame 17 for the planks to lay onto. I have also applied more filler to the main deck section and sanded it smooth again. I have also added 0.5mm lime strips to the stern facia and counter. These just need a little sanding before I paint them, particularly, the windows. I have left both pieces slightly oversized for now as I don't know how well they will fit once the sides of the ship are sanded down and re planked. It certainly feels like I am making progress so far. Getting the stern looking right was what would have decided if this build continues or not so I am really happy to be making good progress despite making more work for myself. I am hoping to finish sanding the stern this week and also see if I can remove lining from the off square gun ports. I have 2 meters of 1mm x 7mm lime strip which, should be enough to redo them all, if required. Once these are done I want to sand the hull again to ensure the sides are symetrical, which they aren't at present.

Thank you all for the likes so far. Since the last update I have been busy sanding while still being stuck getting the bulkheads of the golden hind looking the way I want. The shape of the bows still need some work but the sanding here is nearly done. The blocks of balsa have arrived and I have started cutting them into shape. The frames 14 to 17 will have the filler blocks as, from the drawings it looks like the rabbet line extends from frame 14 and curves up to the top of the stern post, The stern section will be difficult to plank as it has a complex shape. I decided to pin a strip of 1mm from frame 14 to 17 to see how it will need to be shaped. The first strip I pinned directly to the frames as they are, which looks like a straight line. The second one I pinned but allowed it to curve which I think looks ok. The problem I have is that frame 15 looks like it needs to be built up more. around 7mm sloping to 3 mm to allow for the curve of the planking to frame 17. I will attach photos of what I mean and need to ask for advice at this point to try to achieve the correct shape starting in the correct position. I have a feeling frame 15 was sanded down way to much and was also not bevelled but I don't know for sure. I added a block of balsa infront of the frame to create the curve. Any advice on this would be really appreciated. I've a nasty feeling this won't be the last time I'll need advice. I've just realised these photos are over exposed. I will retake them tomorrow. I will also need to reline some of the gunports if I can. The keel is also slightly warped but I am not too worried about this at this point, Thanks in advance. David.

I apologise for the delay in adding to this post. The main reason for needing the break from the build was being stuck planking the forward bulkhead and the bulkhead aft of the main deck. Several attempts later and I still haven't achieved what I want. I had decided that I need to build them up off the build and then glue them in the right position afterwards. I will keep trying and once I am happy with these I will finnish off the stern and begin the 2nd planking. I am disappointed with my progress as, on the 1st attempt I was fairly happy with the results but not so concerned about having the correct numbet or positioning of the planks. Aiming to have this figured out ovet the weekend and will post photos of the progress then.

I have ordered more balsa wood to use as filler blocks for the stern section. Unfortunately I have no decent sized blocks left. In the meantime I will get back to the Golden Hind and a little more sandinng in between. Just a photo to compare the difference between the two. Thanks for all the comments and likes so far.

Many thanks David. There seems to be a lot of us. Mind you it's a good name. Really happy for your comment especially after the job you've made of yours. I was really happy with my builds of the golden hind and san fran II. But they look nothing like your HMS Diana. I'm almost sorry I won't achieve that standard but I intend this one to look good all the same. You're right it is a project and a half.

Thanjs again. As long as I am able to do a decent job on the stern the entire hull will be sanded down to pretty much the 1st planking. This will give me almost a blank canvas to work on. I may even have a go at removing the beams above the gun deck so allow space to redo the deck. Sanding down will be really difficult with beams in place never mind filling the gaps and redoing the deck with 0.5mm strips. I will see how much /little damage occurs when the time comes.

Thanks for your faith in me Jack. It may just be paying off but I daren't count my eggs too soon. There is still a fair bit of shaping to do. I will need to go a couple of planks at a time and sand down the frames as I go. The spaces below the decks and between the frames will look awful but at least they are hidden by the planking. The frames from 14 to 17 on both sides are now pretty much ready to start re planking. I have formed a lip roughly along the middle of frame 14 for the 2 X 5 mm strips to fit into. I am really hoping this works. Normally I find that if things are going too smoothly a major problem comes up unexpectedly.

I am afraid you're right Jack. Nothing is impossible though. After trying more sanding down I realised that it wasn't working. The only thing I could do now was strip away the planking. I was worried about not doing the right thing so decided only to do the starboard side just in case it was a major mistake. It turns out, I think, it is possible to rectify the issue. If I am correct, the only problem will be the run of the planks will not match what's already been done. This will be covered over by the 0.5mm I was planning to cover the hull with after it was sanded down. If my plan works it means I won't need to spend 60 pounds or more on extra strips of timber. The main problem with the original build was the last few frames were not bevelled enough. I intend to bevel these further and add some extra timber to the stern bulkhead and taper this to a point where the planking will go across the stern.