Search the Community

Introduction It’s time to attempt something I’ve been wanting to have a go at for a long time. A frigate of the napoleonic era. Having spent a lot of time looking round, I decided that I had neither the tools, the time, nor the expertise currently to complete a fully-framed scratch build. I was drawn by Chuck Passaro’s HMS Winchelsea, not least because I am sure the instructions when they are released will be utterly brilliant and the builds look beautiful so far, however at the time of writing the prototype is not yet completed. Given these factors, added to the expense and difficulty in sourcing good quality wood in the UK, I came back to model kits. I hope to keep on dabbling in scratch building though, and I have a cross-section of Triton underway for that purpose. I wanted to build a model in 1:64, partly because it would give a good contrast to the boats I already have in the house, which are of the same scale. I looked at Victory Models, however, though there Pegasus and Fly models are very handsome in their own rights, I could not reconcile that they were not quite Frigate enough in my mind to fit the bill. Having built two of Caldercraft’s models in the past (HM Schooner Pickle and HM Cutter Sherbourne), I was keen to come back to the same manufacturer, as I have found their models to be rewarding to build, and to have a level of detail that is manageable, but results in great looking models. Sadly, HMS Surprise, though prototyped, has not been released by Caldercraft so that was not an option, though I am a great fan of the Aubrey / Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. However, Caldercraft do have another Frigate already in their line-up. HMS Diana. An Artois-class Heavy Frigate of 38 guns. Having seen other builds of sister-ships on ModelShipWorld.com, and since I am married to a Classicist, my interest was piqued by the other boats in the class, and I settled on Ethalion – built in 1797. In part because I didn’t really want a scantily clad woman glued to the front of the boat when I finished it, and Ethalion brings the possibility of a dolphin. Once that was decided, it was time to break out google and a some books, and try and track down firstly, who Ethalion was, and secondly some of the history of this particular HMS Ethalion.

To get a bit of an order here, and to overcome the 10 image limit, I redid the posts here All the older buildpics can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/112214601525161753861/BauberichtSherbourneWasserzeichen?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOr25uLXuOOWRw&feat=directlink Edit: I could restore a bit via Google Cache, I will edit here the next days: After a three year building break due to some private issues and high workload, I decided to start a small kit out-of-box just to build a bit and have fun ... haha .. not possible, I mean the out-of-box. Because of that and the long break I simply forgot some of my own rules for building: Measuring and Preparation all the time Now as it turned out not to be a "simple" build There are some, visible flaws, I have to live with (unfortunatley I am sure u will get what I mean ;-)). I also forgot lots of the english words for building a wooden build ship, sorry for that, and "help" is always appreciated. Anyway, as the build is allready in progress I will start with a little Photo-Story and some short comments, and will try to update the build regulary: Glueing the main wale made with ebony: Building the Gratings: Building the "don't know the word" Researching the Decklayout based on the original plan: The final Layout: Cheers, Dirk

HMS Snake As requested by a user on this forum I will show all the contents of this kit, The other snake builds do not have this it seems. I ordered the kit with some extras (cannon balls, Snake paint set) and a few other things. I will start work on it in a few weeks, Just need to finish up the running rigging on the Sherbourne and make her a display case. All of the fittings are good quality and even the blocks seem to be of highers quality that what came with the Sherbourne. The Caronades are rough looking but the cast is aligned they just need a some work. The bag of copper plates is surprisingly heavy! The wood strips are so much better than what I had on my Sherbourne, they are all well milled and don't look like a dog chewed them. The dowels are mostly strait. The Tanganyika strips are a bit weird as in one side is darker that the other on most of the strips so I will have to keep that in mind while laying the deck. The plans are just huge and there are 7 sheets! The instruction manual is just a few pages though as it is one of Caldercrafts older kits, it's not to bad because it makes you reference the full size plans. The cutouts are one of the highlights I feel. The CNC cuts are good they just have a bit of fuzz in them but I think it beats laser cut char any day. The keel has just a slight bend which will be easily adjusted. Everything else is solid. And finally the paint set plus some extras I bought. I thought they would have been smaller given the price so I'm pleased. -c

This is only my 5th build, first bluff hull. I was hoping to not create a build log but have run into some minor problems with the kit. I intend to keep this brief with mainly photo updates and limit comments if any. First problem with the kit are the six 4lb deck cannons. I think they should be 26 mm instead of the 45 mm supplied in the kit. I've contacted JoTika Ltd who posted the replacement cannons out 5 weeks ago, which have not yet arrived. So I'm following up with them regarding this. Also I ordered the Brown Admiralty paint set and the White set came instead, which I've decided to go with and use the replica paint scheme, even though Cornwall Model Boats kindly offered to re-send me the correct paint set. The next problem I had was with the bulkheads meeting flush with the ply at the keel. The keel is not deep enough for the rabbet (there is a conflict on the drawings as they seem to have forgotten to allow for the thickness of both layers of hull planks) so I had to cut the rabbet out of the false ply keel. Do do this I first had to trim around 2.5 mm from the underside of each bulkhead while maintaining the curve because the first planking is 1.5 mm plus the second planking is 1 mm. Then I marked and cut the bearding before glueing the stem, stern and keel on. Then I carefully dremeled a rabbet. Photos coming...

Hi all, Well, this is quite something for me.....the first build log on Model Ship World V2.0. My last work was published on the old version about 12yrs ago. My apologies for being so tardy. Over the last years I've been busy working with plastic models and magazine publication stuff, and whilst I still have some commitments left to fulfil, I thought I'd dust off (quite literally) my 1/80 Caldercraft Mary Rose kit. Thirteen winters and summers haven't warped the old frame and she's still rock solid. I started building this one year before I launched Model Ship World in 2006, along with Chuck Passaro. It's about time I did something. The basic frame is built and the decking is in place under the fo'c'sle and sterncastle decks. It's also under half an inch of dust, so I need to clean this thing up. Glad I bought it when I did. The price is about £100 more nowadays! I don't intend to leave it as plain as shown in the finished model photo. Instead, It'll be full of red, gold and green in the same way that the Anthony Rolls depicted her in the 1540s. Over the next months, my time on this will be very limited, but I'm at least hoping to get the hull planked and sounded outdoors during the summer months. Has anyone else here built this kit?

[This is a rebuild of my original posts] Here is the start of my build log. Have not done anything like this before so please bear with me. Sometimes I have too much verbiage – what do I mean sometimes! A short deviation: Back in ’83, no not 1883, I flew over the pond to visit the Victory as I had just finished a model of her. I brought a piece of the Victory back here to Canada (given to me) and decided that someday I would build another and put that real piece of the Victory into the next model. That time came last October/November 2009, (can it really be twenty-seven years). I started to look at my photos from ’83. Don’t know what possessed me to start but start I did. After looking at my photos and digging out the slides and prints, I ended up scanning about 45 images that I had taken that wet soggy rainy day in October. I know most of you remember we didn't have digital cameras back then. (Do you think the young ones these days could survive without their instant digital images and have to wait a week or two for the pictures to get back after we mailed them to Kodak for processing?) Those pictures I took just weren't enough. And I don’t feel like booking a flight to London these days. So, how could I build a much better Victory with more real reference pictures of her in Portsmouth? The first challenge was more images and books. The internet is here now, I remember when it wasn't! It took a while to figure out what kit to purchase but time and time again from MSW members and other forum sites this Caldercraft kit appears to be one of the best manufactured. I must admit the 1:64 model of Victory with complete details would have been my purchase if it was on the market from Chris Watton and Amati. I really wanted to do all the decks and will be fiddling the Jotika interior with some smoke and mirrors that I hope will work. My quest for new knowledge of course started with the internet. I am amazed at how much info is buried in those bits and bytes throughout the world. Why wasn't this around when I built my first Victory? My internet surfing shows me there is lots of data on the Jotika / Caldercraft Victory and there are many builds of the Jotika kit with extensive photos etc. What is packed in the box and the contents is well documented. I see no advantage to repeating those excellent reviews. As I haven’t built any models for almost thirty years it was like starting over. And where did I start this time-- I started with Google and typed in “HMS Victory”. After visiting many sites, the first one being the official site and clicking countless numbers of those crazy links I decided to buy some books . Ordered these books: 1. HMS Victory Her Construction, Career and Restoration by Alan McGowan 2. The Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships by C Nepean Longridge 3. The Ship Model Builder’s Assistant by Charles G. Davis 4. Anatomy of the Ship The 100- Gun Ship Victory by John McKay I dug out some books I had from way back: 1. Ship Models from Kits by Colin Riches 2. Trafalgar The Nelson Touch by David Howarth 3. Sailing Ships, A Rand McNally Color Illustrated Guide by Attilio Cucari 4. HMS Victory Souvenir Guide Book – bought in Portsmouth ‘83 And went to the library and found these books: (it would have been great to find more but I’m in a land locked city close to mountains. No oceans here so not much maritime information available at the library. Oh well, they got $12 out of me and I got my lifetime library card for these two books: 1. Ship Modelling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth 2. Wooden Ship-Building by Charles Desmond I can’t believe how much I've read about the Victory, Nelson and the Royal Navy in these past few months. I’m tempted to suggest that building the model is only part of the process. I am stoked to have discovered so much more about the Victory this time around. The internet is a wealth of knowledge and it would have been cool to have it around on the first go-around. Figure I haven’t done so much reading etc. since university! My career path has taken me along the computer highway so I am no stranger to these machines and software. I decided early that I would use the computer to retain the data. I’m sure most of you do too. One very useful internet tool for me has been Yahoo babel fish. This translates an internet page. It proved very useful because one can choose “all languages” in the search engines. When I found a page in a language I could not understand I used this link on a new tab: http://ca.babelfish.yahoo.com and copied the web address onto the babel fish page. Try it, the translation is not perfect but one can get a better gist of the page if you don’t understand the language. This is turning into a book! Back to the pictures! I started to find pictures just with the Google search. By typing “HMS Victory” in the search box, letting it find the sites and then clicking up at the top on images… voila... Image after image. It is truly amazing how many photos are on the net. And what fun it is to go to every photo. There are videos as well. Clicking on the video option lists many videos. Strangely enough, not many individuals have posted a walking tour HD video of the Victory. I’ve only found one good one. Here are the search engines that I use for general items and photos: Google, Bing, Yahoo, and sometimes Alta Vista. I found Truveo.com is great for videos as is YouTube. Just going to their home page and typing HMS Victory brought many videos to view. One of the best places to find photos is Flickr from Yahoo.

As I'm slowly approaching the end (or at least the beginning of the end) on HMS Snake, I gratefully received what will be my next installment for my birthday. Don't expect much progress as I want to keep working on HMS Snake as time permits, but I wanted to have the kit in my hands so I can start to do some planning ahead, and most importantly, get my order in for some upgraded wood. I also want to take advantage of the warm weather to get the larger sanding jobs done outside if I can. I plan to take the first planking slowly to avoid repeating errors and to hopefully ensure I can get the lines as close as possible to the plans. I had a great experience with my Caldercraft Snake, and after trying to evaluate other kits out there, decided to stay in the family due to the expected kit quality, interest in the subject matter and availability of aftermarket items. I've been vacillating between HMS Agamemnon and HMS Diana for some time, but what finally swayed me was getting a copy of the AOTS Diana book which I'd like to follow as closely as possible as skills permit. Initial thoughts on the kit and approach: I'm going to build her as HMS Jason, the 5th of the 9 built Artois-class frigates. Don't think this will mean any significant deviations, but I have downloaded the plans from NMM, and there is of course the narcissistic additional interest for me . This will require me to change the figurehead, I have thought through options. While not quite a beautiful as the Diana admiralty models with open quarterdeck rails, I do plan to build her as she was when completed with the build up quarterdeck bulwarks. My reading indicates that most, if not all, would have had this feature when actually launched as it was back in fashion. Wood - The supplied walnut does not look great, not a surprise and this seems to be a (sadly) common factor in CC kits. I have decided to upgrade/change the wood, and will probably go with boxwood for the external hull, and maple for the deck as I'll try to replicate the decking in the AOTS book which Ray so successfully handled on his build. I'll keep the walnut below the waterline where possible to save on cost as this will be coppered . Instructions - Poor, but as expected. I hope this won't present too many challenges, and hope my initial experience on Snake will get me through OK. Copper plates - The CC plates get a bad rap, and I don't think they are as bad as commonly perceived when looking at a completed hull. That being said, I would like to try to replace them with Amati ones which look very authentic if finances allow (on a "cost per year" basis, this is easier to justify given my slow pace) Armament - The HMS Jason plans show her with 6 identical ports on her quarterdeck, suggesting the original 9lb'er configuration. The kit provides a mix between carronades and cannons with differences in the gun port configuration and size. I may change this but we'll see. Quality - Overall, I do like the quality of the kit, CC do provide some high quality parts that are correct scale. Where I know the kit provided items will not be up to it, I'll replace/upgrade those (pumps, blocks, rigging line etc). The keel and bulkheads are very solid. I have plenty more thoughts, but will keep those to myself for now. Onwards and upwards! The box, manuals and part identification Frames and pre-cut parts The wood strips Photo-etch All of the really small bits still in box until inventoried

Hello all Now is the time to start my second build log since I have finished the Americas Cup Endeavour. I am more interested in warships of the age of sails so it feels natural to build Sherbourne as a second kit. The ship is not so big but still has all features of a period ship. The main purpose of this build is to learn as many skills as possible so I can not tell how the finished model will look like. I will scratch and replace many parts in the kit just to learn how to do it. The model will be of darker but better walnut than supplied in the kit. I bought it in a local hobby shop here in Helsingborg and I think it is Amati's replacement wood. As sources for the build I will use AOTS Alert, Rigging period for and after craft and other books that I find fits. I will also pick ideas from Chucks cutter Cheerful and of course from the very nice Sherbournes by Gregor, Dirk, Tony and Kester. I hope you don't mind I follow some of your ideas . Ps, Some of the pictures are to small. You will see the full photos if you click (open) on them.

The Granado is my second wooden ship build. This follows the cutter Sherbourne which you can follow the link to in the MSW gallery. The Granado was chosen for a vessel offering more than a single mast but still able to be displayed in a reasonable space. Firstly a tribute to all the prior Granados on MSW's former incarnation - they proved immensely helpful and I owe a huge tribute to you all in helping to spot impending difficulties and work around them thanks to your efforts. After wantonly pillaging MSW for help with my first build it's time to add to the basket of knowledge that MSW members have so graciously given to me. This build is by no means complete but hopefully of use to others as I found previous members' posts. So on to the build... The build was started in April 2012 and at this stage I've just completed the second planking above the wales and filed out the gunports. The Caldercraft kit is all the usual business like efficiency with little in the way of complaints. The fittings are top quality with turned brass cannon, limewood for the first planking and walnut for the second. No, it's not a botch. The lens curve making the stem appear out of alignment here. One thing to watch for on this kit is setting the gunport patterns correctly. I thought I was being very clever in measuring the placement from the base of the keel. It resulted in patterns not quite meeting the tips of the bulkhead patterns. As a result at least half of the gunports had to be raised slightly. Better to just fit them to the tops of the bulkheads. Oh well. Another thing to watch for is the sweep ports. The instructions don't mention them until after the gunport patterns have been installed despite the plans showing them as illustrated. From there it's the somewhat more difficult matter of cutting them through from the outside and matching them up with the inner spirketting - no easy task. If your want the sweep ports showing on the inside then tak e gauge of where they should be before installing the gunport patterns and adjust once the lot is installed. It's not difficult but comes down to reading the instructions all the way through before taking any steps. I found it made more sense to skip ahead in the build and install the lower stern counter before the upper hull sides were planked. It allowed the upper stern counter to be shaped to fit and also allowed the wales to be shaped to fit around it. The black used here is probably a bit too dark to see the chase ports to best effect. That might be looked at later. The mortars went together nicely after some cleaning up. The mortars themselves are nicely cast brass that just needs some time with a file to bring out the best. Some brass wire handles were added as per Peter Goodwin's excellent Anatomy of the Sip Grandado book. The example here is the stern mortar - the smaller of the two on board. Following shots show the mortar surrounds in place which are identical for each of the two mortars aboard.

Hi fellow builders, After 2 years of trying to build the HMS Victory, using the Caldercraft kit I think it's time to show some of my efforts on this forum. I live in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and I regard this as a 10-year project. Building is the fun part, time is of no essence as the fun is much less when the model is finished (speaking for myself). I chose the HMS Victory for several reasons: - The Caldergraft kit is essentially historically correct, although some research is still necessary. - The kit is technically very good, most parts fit without much adjustment - The "original" 1805 Travalgar version of the ship can still be visited in Portmouth and plenty of photo's circulate on the internet, therefore building a historically "correct" model is easier than of many other ships. - Many books can be found on the subject like Longridge, McKay and others. over time I collected a (very) small library on the subject. - There are some build logs of the Victory on the internet of excellent builders, notably Gil Middleton. In some instances my choices differ from theirs, but I will explain my choices as much as possible. In the weeks to follow I wil show the progress so far, which is as far as the 30 cannons on the Upper Gun Deck. Some basic facts about the HMS Victory: The HMS Victory was (and is) the flagship of the English Navy which defeated the combined French-Spanish fleet during the Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral Lord Nelson was mortally wounded during battle by a French sniper, but England won the battle. The HMS Victory is the 5th ship with this name and the largest by far. The ship was ordered in 1758. It is a First Rate Ship with more than 100 cannons. The design of the ship was completely devoted to firepower In 1805 (Trafalgar) ther were: - on the Lower Gun Deck: 30 cannons for 32-pound balls - on the Middle Gun Deck: 28 cannons for 24-pound balls - on the Upper Gun Deck: 30 cannons for 12-pound balls - on the Quarterdeck: 12 cannons for 12-pound balls - on the Forecastle: 2 cannons voor 12-pound balls and 2 carronades for 68-ponds balls(!!) The total length of the ship is about 70 meter, water displacement more than 2000 tons and almost 5500 square meter of sail can be carried. Some other numbers: 40km rope in the rigging, 1400 blocks, 300 tons of "potable" water, 50 tons of coals, 20 tons of wood, 50 tons of beer, etc. Index First and second planking Wales Gunports Coppering Upper gun deck, cannons and fittings Quarter Deck Forecastle Bow Poop Deck Stern Fascia Quarter Galleries Hull details First an impression of the progress so far. I will try not to bore you with every individual bulkhead and plank. Details will be provided on request (of course).

hi all, this will be my first ship log, so be gentle with me! The reason for the build is a fascination with the ship, which I saw raised from a long distance many years ago and was better to see on tv that evening! Opening the kit, I found an error in packing, two of one sheet and a missing one, (easily done I guess) a quick call to Jotika and Stockton Modeller got me the sheet on the way, excellent customer service gentlemen, despite the kit being five years old apparently! I am building to the volumes published by the trust, and using the Anthony roll etc as further references. Off to Portsmouth for a visit to double check on some of the gun carriages and take a look at the recently raised 'tudor rose' figurehead. Hopefully the kit will not need too much modifying to match the archaeology. One thing I noted during a dry run on the bulkheads and lower deck guns is that the stern ones are angled and appear to go through the rear bulkhead... need to take a look at this before the glue goes on! Forty gun barrels in the kit, the Anthony roll lists seventy guns, so will need to work out if the 'missing' ones are just handguns of some description...or were on the top deck and helped sink the ship! This weekend I will start on the frame and get some photos up... will need some fine wire to add the lifting rings to the barrel, photo shows original parts and (nearly finished) smaller iron gun. The carriage parts have a rounded end, so squared them off and added a profile to the bottom of the carriage as per the book..

Greetings all, For my first wooden ship build I chose Caldercraft’s 1:64 Ballahoo due to the good reviews of the company and guidance on MSW to choose something not to complex as a first foray into the hobby. Although I am no beginner when it comes to plastic models (usually 1:72 and 1:48 aircraft), as I explained here in my introductory post, I would like to learn these skills so i can one day help my Dad finish his HMS Diana which has been languishing for some 4 decades or more. Secondly and more recently, my wife asked for something nice to put in the windowsill aside from the usual Spitfires! Since its my first model I’ve tried to manage my own expectations in order not to fall in the trap of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good and becoming disillusioned too early on. If I can get a result which looks halfway decent to the untrained eye then I’ll be happy! I plan to double plank the hull and then paint her later, probably with a Nelsonian checkerboard but we will see. I received the kit from my brother as a Christmas gift in December 2017. Tools I also acquired included a razor saw; 2 x forceps; square and measuring gauge. other tools were from my plastic modelling workshop. --- Although there is a set of instructions and parts list the planking instructions are not really suitable for a beginner (being just a couple of paragraphs). in any respect, as one of the objectives was to learn about planking from the ground up, I researched as much as I could on this here and via other sources such as Mastini and other books. --- Optimistically, I saw that there were fewer instruction steps than in an Eduard 1:72 scale plastic Spitfire… --- On a more philosophical note, this was indicative of interesting initial observation between the two hobbies. Constructing plastic scale models is more of an engineering type of activity, with art thrown in (usually at the beginning, painting the cockpit interior and at the end, painting the exterior). there is less ‘craft’ in the actual construction phase apart from cleaning up the parts and sanding to fit. With making model wooden ships, on the other hand implies less instructions but more application of craft during the construction. or something...perhaps I’m just babbling. In addition to browsing the forum I have got much inspiration from reading the Ballahoo build logs of @ekgb and @jim_smits of this kit. Over the last twelve months I’ve made rather fitful progress, as illustrated by my post here with questions on the bearding line etc from Feb 2017. After cutting out the main pieces (false keel, rudder post; stem keelson) i discovered very little distortion in the ply & mahogany pieces. I tried to test the symmetry of each bulkhead using paper cut outs (after Mastini’s advice) but in the end it seemed that the differences were largely v marginal (less than 1mm) so decided that rather than get into a situation of losing what the reference should be by filing one side, I left them as they were. I also imagined this would be sorted sooner or later during the hull fairing. ---- The bulkheads were quite easy to fit and seemed to square up without too much trouble. --- I constructed a quick baseboard off a disused bookcase and used metal right angle shelf brackets clamped to the false keel and b/h to ensure they were at right angles, checking with a square. --- Bulkhead 11 (below) caused me some trouble to get flat and square since the slot is a bit loose. here you can see the top is faired to lie flat with the false deck. ---- As I reported here in my previous post, I initially was too quick to glue on the keelson, sternpost and stem, so I removed these using IPA, cut the bearding line (thanks Joe) and then re-assembled them. Since the bottom of the false keel, when sanded for the rabbet, was quite thin (1mm wide) I pre-drilled some holes for pins and inserted them in to keep the mahogany parts in place. After I have completed the planking I’ll remove the pins. After installing the B/Hs I then created some bow fillers out of balsa. I used these instead of the supplied ply that the kit asks to be installed between BH1 and BH2. This is because there was a discrepancy between the height of these parts and the plans, in that they were too short and gave rise to confusion as to where I should have cut the bearding line. Making these blocks took me a while and was quite frustrating as it was difficult to get the right shape. After I prepared the bow blocks, these were reinforced with spare bits of ply as they were found to be too narrow in beam when faired (and even now, later on, I think the port side is not quite right). --- I then spent a few happy hours fairing the hull. I think I did an OK job with this, apart from having trouble rounding off the fwd and after edges. At the bow the BH fairing worked out ok but I think I went overboard on the fairing on the last two BHs. We will see how it goes. I then installed the false deck. Next came the gunport patterns made out of 3mm plywood. These were very difficult to fit and get right, despite being soaked and bent around a mug. I split one above one of the gunports and had to reglue & clamp it. In the end, as shown by @ekgb they did not meet all the tops of the bulkhead horns. --- The placement of where they should go at the bow was also a bit ambiguous so I ended up, after pinning them, ensuring that they were level with the top of B/H 11 and the 6mm hole for the bowsprit. --- Upon final inspection i see that they are not quite level. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable and I can adjust with the planking... --- After a hiatus of some months and after reading a lot on MSW and the various books and guides on the online library here (especially useful was the planking primer and the videos and tutorial by David Antscherl) I recovered some momentum, bought a plank crimper and bit the bullet to begin planking. After measuring the parametric length of each BH and using a planking fan to identify the width of each plank, I marked the width of each plank on each BH. Later, after having read some more and pontificated for a few days, I redid this and rubbed out (mostly successfully) each pencil mark and instead established four planking bands using black cotton thread, checked they were fair and then marked each band with a felt-tip pen. I bought several boxes of bulldog clips to cannibalise for planking clamps, after trying drawing pins and various other techniques to hold the planks flat against the BHs. I tried a few methods to measure and install the planks before settling on an approach that works (at least for me, presently). As has been pointed out previously by @ekgb, the bow on Ballahoo requires quite a bit of spiling in addition to tapering. I estimated that at the bow, the curve would need a plank three times as wide as that supplied by the kit to accommodate the correct curve. As I didn’t want to buy a whole new set of wood wide enough to allow me to spile each plank, I resorted to lateral bending. To establish the right curve for the plank to follow the wale, my first approach was using airbrush masking film, taped over the wale (making sure to get it to lay flat) and then, by running the side of a pencil along, marking the run of the bottom edge of the gunport pattern. I found that the curve was generally between the stem and BH 4. As per the planking primer available on the library here, once I had the curve, and the width of each plank at each BH, i was able to create, on the masking film, the outline of the spiled and tapered plank. This could be used as a template to be placed over the kit supplied limewood planks (1mm x 4mm). --- It was of course necessary to figure out a way to bend the plank laterally (i.e. across its width) and for the first three planks I employed a simple jig I built after some inspiration from others who had constructed jigs using MDF and bits of scrap to act as formers for the end of the plank. --- However, I found that this was rather too brutal and I ended up snapping a few planks so in the end I resorted to a quicker and simpler method. Instead of scribing the curve for the lateral bend on a piece of masking film and then cutting the taper out from underneath it (requiring 1 piece of masking film per plank), I found a quicker approach was to use a card template (port and stbd side) and draw the curve on the wood baseboard. The width of each plank at each BH position was calculated by dividing the width of each planking band by the width of each kit plank. I used four small plastic clamps to get the right curve aligned to the template and this was quicker and easier and so far has resulted in less breakages of the planks (or it could be my skill level is improving, who knows?). --- First plank - this was tapered and spiled using the masking film and jig method thus resulting in a bit of a ragged appearance imho (luckily this is only the first layer). However, I was pleased with how it bit into the rabbet and it didnt need too much coaxing to lay flat against the BH and filler blocks. --- First band of planking done on the port side. To get to this required about four or five attempts of planks with the wrong curve (usually not enough), which, because I’d already tapered them, had to be discarded. Lots of spare bits of planks in the model shipyard. Other issues were me cutting through the plank with the crimping tool, or the plank splitting when I tried to hammer a pin in (I resulted in pre-drilling holes). It looks quite rough and ready, I’ll admit that. These were tapered and spiled using the masking film / pencil and jig method, which probably accounts for their rather rough appearance. In the flesh is not so bad and although it seems on the photo to have a discernible clinker effect in reality is that much. There are gaps between some of the planks, especially around BH2 but nothing that filler won’t be able to fix. You can also see the pen marks of the planking bands. --- On the starboard side its much cleaner (so far). This was spiled and tapered using the card template and pencil line bending method. The cotton thread to mark the planking bands is still attached. --- I also tested many different approaches to steaming / heating the planks. After the lightbulb went on that its the heat, not the water that has the effect, I adopted a successful approach of dunking the plank in a just boiled kettle for 30 mins, taking it out, forming it to the pencil line template on the base board and clamping, then heating it with a hairdryer. within an hour or so its cooled and dry and retains the shape. I can do a couple of planks per night this way … accounting for the important use of the kettle to brew tea, of course! I’ve not done anything to the planks to bend and taper them at the stern yet, I think that for the first strake at least 1 stealer will be required. That brings things up to date (Jan 2019). My plan is to do both bands below the wale (not forgetting the stern of course), install the garboard plank (I bought a specially wide piece of stock of 8mm for that) and then do the first band above the garbord.

Hello everyone Are we re-posting everything from start of the project, or from where we are at present contents http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/403-hms-victory-by-kevin-caldercraftjotika-172/ workshop makeover http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/403-hms-victory-by-kevin-caldercraftjotika-172/page-2#entry7118 beakhead chase cannons http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/403-hms-victory-by-kevin-caldercraftjotika-172/page-5

In many respects I am a relative newcomer to the world of model shipbuilding. I recently completed, as my very first build, the HMAV Bounty (Caldercraft) and I am reasonably pleased with the end result. That said, it took me about eight years to complete the project; however in fairness to myself, the actual time spent actively working on the ship was closer to two years. Following retirement, most of my time has been devoted to building furniture, however, I recently sold my house and shop so woodworking had to be temporally suspended. Given the fact that I wanted to keep my hands busy, I dug the Bounty out of mothballs and began building. It took me awhile to get back into the rhythm of working in a smaller scale, but I soon rediscovered how much I enjoyed tinkering with these wonderful old ships. Given my limited experience as a modeler, the wisest course of action would have been to choose a much less ambitious project than the Agamemnon. I totally agree; but having found this website and after reading the building logs of such Master Builders as Sjors, Mobbsie and others, I knew that my next build would have to be the Aggie! ("Aggie" or "Aggy", I am not sure which is correct...but, since one of my degrees is from Texas A&M University, I'll go with Aggie). So, it is with this background in mind that I start this log. No doubt it will take me a very long time to complete this project and I am very confident that I will be calling upon the collective wisdom of this folks associated with this site to help me along the way. As you can see, I have the box with all of the necessary inventory, and I have started the build! Since I have never posted pictures before, I will close for now to be sure I understand the mechanics of the uploading process before I get too far ahead of myself. Thanks, Donn

Hi I acquired my Agamemnon kit from Jotika a few years ago. They are actually only 10 minutes away from where I live in Droitwich, really useful when looking for replacement bits and pieces. John is really good and has helped me out. Quite often taking the time to show me around the factory and the new products and improvements they are bringing in. And taking a look at the completed models in the showroom gives one a feeling of awe. Well initially me not not being totally prepared to be honest the build struggled or should I say I struggled. Now a few years later having a major declutter in my hobby shed I have reinvigorated my initial passion to build a scale model ship. I know it’s not the easiest kit to start with but with perseverance and help I am sure I will finally get there, even if takes a few more years. What has helped is the fantastic members and their build logs, without these the kit would still be in the box. I can only thank the members for their time and commitment it must of taken to compile the posts. I only hope that my meagre attempt might help another builder. Well the sunshine has spurred me on and I have now second planked one side and about a quarter of the way through the other. The hardest part has been the gun ports as you can see I still have a little making good on these. I would like to suggest to Caldercraft that they look at pre formed ply section like the Victory kit. It would make the build a lot easier for us newbies ! Sorry if I have blurbed on a bit but but I hope my log will help someone who has been going through the same issues as me, well here’s a few pics to start. My only hope for the next few weeks is to find the stand as this has disappeared from my shed or no doubt as the norm been thrown out by mistake. Thanks all Chris

Please consider this to be my application to join the Endeavour Builders' Club, although I'm not sure that I'd want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member. (Groucho Marx) I realize now that there are many members of this club with works in progress or completed, so I will start by linking to so of their beautiful work, mainly so I can find it easily when I update my own build log. HM Bark Endeavour by Dashi - Caldercraft - scale 1:64 - 1768-71 - bashed kit HMB Endeavour by Captain Slog - Caldercraft - 1:64 H M Bark Endeavour by Mindi - stopped build resumed (Caldercraft / Jotika) HMB Endeavour by shipaholic - Eaglemoss - 1/51 - Bashed partwork HMB Endeavour by DaveRow - Corel Amati - Scale 1:60 - First Build Kit HMB Endeavour 1768 by Cabbie - Artesania Latina - 1:60 - Kit Fiddle HMB Endeavour by BANYAN - Artesania Latina - 1:60 - circa 1768 - FINISHED Please let me know who I've missed so I can steal borrow ideas from those builders as well.

Hi all I started making the Sherbourne about 4 years ago and wasn't particularly impressed by the swivel guns that came with the kit so ordered some Caldercraft brass ones which appeared to be about the right dimensions as those in the kit. In the last few months I've restarted the model (I'm sure like a lot of other modellers, real life sometimes takes over!) Anyway when I came to construct the swivel guns, I realised that I had only ordered 6 instead of 8. Fortunately I'd kept the original packaging and ordered an extra 2 from my normal supplier. Unfortunately when they arrived they were considerably smaller. When I queried this I was told that Caldercraft had changed the guns following further research to make them more accurate. Whilst striving for accuracy is always welcome, the brackets and handles which come with the kit I bought 4 years ago, whilst not entirely accurate anyway, are now way out of proportion to new sized guns. This leaves me with a dilemma but before I set about the task of making the kit swivel guns look consistent with the brass ones I'm wondering whether anyone has, or knows where I can source two of the original sized swivel guns. The original guns are 17mm long: Caldercraft Part no: 85005A 0.5lb Swivel Guns 1:64 C1790 I've attached an image to illustrate my point. Extremely grateful if anyone can help me.

hello everybody, I've just joined this forum and have two newbie questions in regard to building the keel of the Caldercraft 1:64 HM Schooner Ballahoo. I've read one or two build logs on here where people have left these parts off the false keel until after the bearding line and rabbet has been made. Being a beginner, I haven't done this on mine and gamely followed Caldercraft's instructions and glued the 5mm walnut keel, stem, sternpost together then onto the false ply keel (I plan to paint the keel white so avert your eyes from the glue stains) without a bearding line or rabbet. So, what follows is probably fairly naïve / basic question, should I try to: a. establish the bearding line and attempt to carve the rabbet with these pieces in place; b. remove the walnut pieces and start again ( likely difficult as they seem quite solid with the glue and potentially causing other problems); c. carry on regardless (the instructions suggest to plank from the bulwarks down and dont mention the garboard plank) given it will be planked again and have a coat of white paint in the end. Presently the keel is quite straight without any warping so I'm loathe to undo everything (the bulwarks are not glued in yet). Would welcome your thoughts given this is my first wooden kit, it is double planked and I plan to paint it. The picture below shows the slight rabbet caused by the walnut keel being 1mm thicker than the ply keel - If I understand correctly the bearding line will follow the line of the bottom of each bulwark? My second question is in regard to the bow, where the plank templates (part 13 and 14 p and s) are misaligned with no. 1 and 2 b/hs. The photo below illustrates(again the bulkheads are not yet glued in and have been roughly faired). I am guessing the best thing is to glue this aligned along the bulkhead bottom (where the bearding line would be...if I had it...haha...) and sand the top flat with the deck level, but would welcome thoughts from others if I am setting myself up for trouble later on with something. thanks for reading and any tips in advance! neillydone

Hello All and welcome to my build log! To make things clear - I'm a genuine beginner that only recently became interested in this wonderful hobby. I've never attempted anything similar or even worked with wood before. If you're just like me then this thread might serve as a great example of what can you expect from your first build. I'll do my best to cover not only my successes but also the failures. To kick things off I should probably show you the contents of the box, but then again there are already 12 other Pickle build logs on this forum and numerous other reviews available online. I'm also (obviously) not an expert and won't pretend that I'm capable of judging the quality or historic accuracy of the kit, so I've allowed myself to skip this bit. I will however tell you in a nutshell what made me go with this particular kit for my first build. This was mainly due to: - Caldercraft being a highly respected manufacturer, often acclaimed for high quality of materials. - The fact that the instructions are available online, so I could have a look of what's to come and reassure myself that I can do it. - Many other build logs available on the forum. - I'll be honest with you - the copper plating stole my heart. You can see where I'm currently at with the actual build below - I've glued bulkheads 1-8 in place (made sure that the angles are right with Lego parts). The keel was a bit bendy, so I've added some reinforcements between bulkheads 2/3, 3/4, 4/5 and 5/6. Good idea (I think) but poor execution means that there is still a slight bend, but it's not nearly as big as before. I've glued the plank termination patterns in place (11 and upside down 12 on the photo below) and am currently wondering: Should I add filler blocks here? I've seen some people do it and others not really and am a bit confused. I also had a go at the bearding line and trimming bulkheads 7 and 8, so that they fit it. Not sure if this was done correctly - I did this according to the instructions, but I've seen that quite a lot of people left the bulkheads alone and adjusted the bearding line instead. That's it for now. All comments welcome.

Hello to you all fellow builders, As you know , Mobbsie has ordered the HMS Agamemnon for me and finally she is in dry dock in Schiedam. I will not start on her . I have first finish the Le Mirage. But when you have a new kit in the house , you want to show it. That's the reason why I open a build log…... First of course a little history lesson and later on the pictures of all the stuff that is in the box. When I start on her I know I need a lot of help and advise from all of you. I have a few great examples of other Aggy's and I know that Mobbsie will be there for me if needed. So let the lesson begins and hopefully it will not take to long when I can start building her. Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon 1781 1:64 HMS Agamemnon 1781 64 Gun 3rd Rate Ship of the Line 1:64 Scale. The Agamemnon was one of seven ships built to the same design, drawn by the same naval architect that designed the famous Victory, Sir Thomas Slade. Agamemnon was the third to be built in the class, the first two being Ardent in 1762 and Raisonnable, laid down in 1763. Third was Agamemnon, followed by Belliqueux in 1778, Stately in 1779, Indefatigable in 1781 and finally the Nassau in 1783. A Third Rate ship of the line like Agamemnon was an expensive warship to build. The construction of the ship’s hull with yards and masts fitted cost the Admiralty £20,579 (in today’s terms, approximately £12 million), a figure that did not include ordnance, sails, hemp, copper plating and other hardware. For three of the most crucial decades in British naval history, Agamemnon always seemed to be at the centre of the action, having no less than eleven battle honours. Agamemnon’s maiden voyage was on 9th July 1781 under the command of Captain Caldwell. Her first engagement was at the battle of Ushant on 12th December 1781 where the British fleet under Rear Admiral Kempenfelt defeated the French fleet and captured a significant number of ships, including the convoy the French were escorting. Agamemnon’s next major engagement was at the Battle of The Saints on 12th April 1782 where Rodney and Lord Hood’s fleet defeated Comte de Grasse’s French fleet. On 7th January 1793, Nelson learned from Lord Hood that he had been chosen to command his first ship of the line, the Agamemnon. Although initially disappointed that he had not been given command of a 74, Nelson soon grew fond of Agamemnon. Nelson wrote to his wife, Fanny. She was, he said, "Without exception one of the finest ships in the fleet, with the character of sailing most remarkably well". He also wrote after twelve days in a storm in the Mediterranean in "Gales and lumping seas but in Agamemnon we mind them not; she is the finest ship I ever sailed in, and were she a 74, nothing should induce me to leave her while the war lasts". Even a French Commander Admiral Alemand expressed the view that Agamemnon was one of the fastest ships in the British Navy. That, coupled with Nelson’s inspirational command made her a very potent fighting unit. Nelson commanded Agamemnon, or "eggs and bacon" as her crew affectionately called her, until 10th June 1796. In that time Nelson had proved to be a great Commander, tactically and physically. It was during his command of Agamemnon that Nelson lost the sight of his right eye. When at the Siege of Calvi in 1794 during the morning of 10th July, Nelson was hit in the face and chest by splinters, stones and sand that were thrown up by an enemy shell that hit a battlement during a shore action. On 13th June 1796, Nelson’s broad pennant was transferred to the 74 gun Captain at anchor in San-Fiorenza bay. He watched the worn out Agamemnon sail to England for a much-needed refit. She was refitted from the bottom up at Chatham. When re-commissioned in 1797 she was ordered to join Admiral Duncan’s squadron off Yarmouth, which was keeping watch on the coast of Holland. She was immediately caught up in the naval mutinies of that year. Agamemnon was however considered untrustworthy by Richard Parker the leader of the Nore mutineers and had the guns of the mutinous ships trained on her to ensure she did not ‘blackleg’. Subsequently in the proceedings that followed all thirteen of Agamemnon’s crew who were tried were pardoned. Agamemnon’s next major fleet engagement was the battle of Copenhagen on the 21st April 1801. Unfortunately she was grounded on a shoal for most of the action, but Nelson won the battle and a truce with Denmark was negotiated. On the 21st October 1805 Agamemnon took part in the battle of Trafalgar. When Nelsons favorite ship hove in sight a week before, with Nelsons old friend Sir Edward Berry in command of the Agamemnon, Nelson was delighted "Here comes that damned fool Berry! Now we shall have a battle." At Trafalgar the 27 British ships of the line defeated the Franco Spanish fleet of 33 line of battle ships in a victory that ensured British supremacy of the sea for the next 100 years. Later in Agamemnon’s career, she served in the West Indies, taking part in the battle of Santo Domingo, and then in South American waters. Agamemnon was wrecked in Maldonado Bay off the coast of Uruguay on the 16th June 1809. Divers have recently discovered the remains of HMS Agamemnon on the bottom of Maldonado Bay, after a six-year search by marine archaeologists. Strewn around the site are hundreds of copper plate, as well as a 24 pounder cannon, parts of the pumping devices as well as a significant amount of shot, bolts and copper nails. Also discovered was a silver pocket seal, complete with fob chain. On its face of translucent stone it bore a star shaped emblem with the name ‘Nelson’ in mirror image incised in a curve above. Agamemnon was laid down at Bucklers Hard in May 1777 and launched on the 10th April 1781. Her dimensions were as follows; Gun deck - 160 feet 2 inches Keel- 131 feet 10 1/4 inches Beam - 44 feet 5 inches Tonnage - 1384 tons Guns; Twenty-six, twenty-four pounder - Gun deck. Twenty-six, eighteen pounder - Upper deck. Twelve, nine pounder - Quarterdeck. Complement - 491 officers and ratings. The Caldercraft Agamemnon kit features: Double plank on bulkhead construction, Keel and bulkheads are CNC cut in Birch ply as are all the major constructional parts. Extensive use of CNC cut Walnut has been employed for the majority of visible structures and fittings. The wood strip pack contains Lime wood for the first planking, Walnut for the second planking and Tanganyka for the decks. Ramin dowel is supplied for the masts and yards. Walnut and etched brass stern gallery windows, with the remaining tafrail decoration in finely cast white metal. Scale brass cannon barrels with walnut carriages. Rigging thread is supplied in natural and black to rig the model as depicted in the photographs. Beechwood deck gratings and Walnut Blocks and deadeyes. Shroud cleats, trucks, stunsail yard brackets as well as CNC cut Walnut tops, crosstrees, trestle trees, mast caps and a wealth of unique detail parts. Copper plates are provided to sheath the hull bottom. Fully detailed full size plans and a comprehensive construction manual. Specifications: Scale: 1:64 Length: 1300mm Width: 490mm Height 945mm Planking: Double

Hi All, I'm currently building my first ship (Caldercraft HM Schooner Pickle) and have a question about copper plating. The instructions suggest that the 18x5.5(x0.15) [mm] plates should be aligned like this (with edges sitting against each other): I find this peculiar and was considering doing this (sides lying on top of neighbouring plate): But this makes the plates look a bit narrow. Could I ask for your opinions on this? I was also wondering about the rivet pattern - is it a technically accurate representation? Should I have a look at different plates? I can see that Cornwall Moedl Boats has a bunch of other ones: - Option I (these are the ones that I have) - Option II - Option III - Option IV However the photos aren't all that helpfull. Can anyone post a picture of these and/or provide me with some advice?

Hi, I'm currently working on my first kit (Pickle by Caldercraft) and have a question relating to the false deck which in this case will be partially visible on the finished model. I'm at a stage where it should be glued into position (according to the instructions), but without any planking (which should be done at a later stage). This seemed weird, so I had a look at other people logs (of the same kit) and realized that basically no one followed the instructions on this matter. I've decided to do the planking before I glue the deck into position, but am a bit overwhelmed by different techniques that people use to make it look more realistic and basically don't know what to do. This relates to: Caulking. I've seen people simply use a permanent marker along the edges of the planks, but am a bit worried about messing things up. Can I use a pencil instead? How will it react with the varnish? Won't I end up with graphite smeared all over the thing? Plank meeting points pattern. I'm sure there's a term for this that I simply don't know. The plans suggest using the 'three butt shift system' for the deck, with max. plank length at 29' (140 [mm] in scale). Should I apply the same principle for the false deck? Nails imitation. I like the look of the wooden nails and thought about using the toothpick technique, but I'm not sure if this is in any way accurate in relation to this particular ship. If it is: What should be the diameter (I was thinking about 0.4 [mm]). If it's not: Should I use actual metal nails instead? Also - is there something that I didn't think about / missed? Thanks in advance for any help.

Well, I'm a little late starting this building log, but it's been an interesting model to build, so I thought I'd share my experiences. Hope it's helpful, anyway. I'm hoping this will be an opportunity to try out some new skills and improve my planking skills before attempting something a bit larger! First off, a quick look at the kit itself. It comes in a small, but really nice and sturdy box, with everything packed in very neatly. The instructions are much more simple than the instructions for Pickle (a more recent kit, I believe), and reading them through I was glad I'd built Pickle first. Nevertheless, having build Pickle, these are perfectly adequate. The plans are excellent, and give lots of detail, including step by step illustrations for the construction of the hull. Looking closely you'll see the the walnut ply used for the cannon carriages and capping rails has been cut out right to the edge... on the other side this has led to a slight split going through the capping rail itself, but nothing too major, and it should be simple enough to put right (I'll mount it good side up!) So far I've found that all the materials are provided with plenty to spare, just as with Pickle. [edited to restore photos, 11, 13 July 2017]

Super detailing the cutter Sherbourne, a guide to building the Caldercraft kit, by George Bandurek. I published this book in 2011 and at the time there were several threads that showed photos of my build. These are not now easily accessible so I have resurrected some of the information. The attached pdf files are extracts from the book that show how I tackled some of the topics. I would welcome any comments on these extracts, or if you have bought a copy of the book (thank you!) then please post a review. More information on the book is available on my website www.grbsolutions.co.uk. Buy direct and you will get a signed copy! George Bandurek Shrouds.pdf Sails MB.pdf Cannon.pdf Anchors.pdf

The following is the reconstruction of my build logs for the Sherbourne following temporary loss of the Model Ship World Site in February 2013. First posted May 6th 2012. === It started with a birthday present in January of £200 from my daughter. What could I possibly want that would have some meaning over the year? I suddenly remembered that as a younger chap I had really enjoyed rigging plastic model ships, and had had a long-time yearning to work with wood. So on to the web, find out about ship models. Amazon for books, found 'The New Period Ship Handbook' by Keith Julier. It didn't give much (any) detail, but I thought maybe the Lady Nelson would be good. So researched that. Found this forum. Many days reading the variety of experience. Asked questions, thought about the Chatham as well, tried to get it but it was out of stock, so bought the Sherbourne Kit. My plan was not to go for the perfection of the other builds, but to get a basic understanding of the whole process, as I knew I would be making some frightful mistakes, and likely to be a bit messy as well. How right I was! Read all the planking advice on the Database, how to make filler blocks etc, then plunged in. Bought the kit, checked all the parts, stuck the tiddly little ones into the bags in the photo, put the frame together. Thought I'd be a clever little so-and-so and follow Danny's suggestion of inserting nuts in the hull to take pedestals at some future date. Even lined the bolts up with the bulkheads and epoxied the nuts in -- ensuring no glue was caught in the threads. All well and good ... so far.