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Showing results for tags 'speedy'.
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Hello all. This is my first attempt at a ship model of this complexity, and coincidentally my first build log. I recently completed Model Shipways' 18th Century Longboat in 1:48 (I still need to take some proper photos and get those posted), had a really great time with it, and started looking around for my next project. I had read lots of reviews and some other build logs about Vanguard Models' HMS Speedy kit in 1:64, and everyone seemed to agree that it was a very well designed kit. That sounded ideal for a relative beginner like me, and then there was the matter of the actual size of the model. I live in an apartment in Union City, NJ with under 1000 square feet (and a wife and a cat), and doing something even the size of a little brig or ship sloop in 1:48 seemed impractical. It was a question of Speedy or HMS Pegasus, and in the end Speedy won because she seemed a little bit simpler. Well, Vanguard shipped the model extremely quickly, and it was with me in only about 4 days I think. Speedy indeed. I've been very impressed with the look of the fittings, and it seems that the kit has undergone a few waves of improvement, which is nice to see. For example, I had seen pictures of an older version of the photo engraved deck sheet that had some inconsistent burn marks. This version is dated only to May I think, and looks like a significant improvement. Some delicate parts that were originally supplied in MDF are now supplied in stronger plywood. That sort of thing. The instruction book looks very detailed, and has a great many pictures to illustrate the process. The mdf frames fit together so well that the first steps of the model have gone much faster than I had anticipated, so I am starting this build log slightly ahead of where I had intended to. I've gotten as far as attaching the stern pieces, and am going to start fairing the bulkheads tomorrow. As I say, this is the first time I've done a kit of this complexity, so if you see me doing something wrong, or are just spontaneously moved to offer advice, please don't keep it to yourself! -James
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HMS Speedy – 5th build I got too many kits in the shipyard, but I have been really curious on Chris Watton's new line of model kits. I also very much wants to support the establishment of Vanguard Models so when I got the opportunity to order one of the first boxes of the HMS Speedy I didnt hesitate. It will come in 3 different version and I picked the "no compromise" edition called Master Shipwright which is limited to 20 kits. https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/ . The HMS Speedy will make a very nice addition to my other ships from the "Nelson era". History According to Chris Watton, HMS Speedy was a 14-gun small brig and one of the first generations of new naval brigs, and her lines were more of a hybrid between a sleek cutter and brig. She was a small vessel for her class, but what she lacked in size and raw gunpower, she more than made up for in character. Speedy had a very active history, being captured in 1794 by French frigates and then recaptured in March the following year. After Cochrane lost her (in an unwinnable battle), Speedy was renamed Saint Pierre and presented to the pope by Napoleon himself. It is while commanding Speedy that Cochrane made his name. This was his first command, and the combination of this aggressive commander and Speedy ensured that they would be a thorn in the side of the French and Spanish navies, culminating in the remarkable exploit of taking the Spanish 32-gun frigate Gamo (with xebec hull and rig form). Cochrane led 48 of his crew (almost all of them) up the sides of the frigate, which had over 300 men and eventually took the ship. The kit The first impression of this kit is simply "wow"! Everything packed very nicely and protected. Other kits I have bought has been quickly packed with sawdust and manuals with folded paper etc. Here you can really see that someone has made an effort in protection and layout. I have just briefly looked at all the wood and the parts and its simply way beyond what I have worked with previously. Only problem is that if I get used to this level of quality I wont be able to go back to my other kits. This particular version includes Laser cut MDF, 0.8mm ply and pearwood parts and high-quality boxwood strip for second planking. Machined pearwood block and deadeyes The book Cochrane the Dauntless: The Life and Adventures of Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 1775-1860 More details on the kit will come soon. -
After receiving the new HMS Speedy kit from Vanguard Models as a Christmas present I was determined to leave it in its box until I’d finished off at least one of the other two model projects currently on the stocks. However as soon as I opened the box I knew I was going to have a hard time resisting the temptation. Chris Watton has done a great job in producing this, the second ship in his new range. I went for the limited edition Model Shipwright version, with boxwood second planking and a host of other goodies. There’s a wealth of information on the kit and its development elsewhere on the forum (Vanguard Models news), and in the first Speedy build log Vane has summarised information about Thomas Cochrane and his famous ship (Vane's Speedy log) so I won’t repeat all that here. Suffice to say, everything about the kit oozes quality. Everything was well packaged and labelled, and supported by ten sheets of plans and a full colour build manual. The sheer number of parts was eye-opening, especially for such a comparatively small vessel. The parts list itemises nearly 1,000 individual photo-etch components - 1,433 if you include the copper plates. Plus of course hundreds of other metal, wood and resin items. The first sign that my determination to be patient was crumbling was when I decided to knock up a building board just to be ready when I needed it. Needless to say, the sight of the building board sitting there on my workbench asking to be used quickly eroded further resistance, and I started construction yesterday. I quickly realised that the building board was more or less redundant. The frames were all a good fit on the false keel with zero sanding, and once the lower deck and the various longitudinal beams were added, the whole structure was perfectly straight, square and rigid. Once the lower deck is fitted, the next task is to attach the last few frames at the bow and stern. At first I was a bit dubious about Chris's advice on these, which is to do the initial bevelling off the model. However in practice this seems to work well, particularly on the half dozen filler pieces which would have been difficult to fair in situ. Today I’m going to crack on with the upper deck and various tricky timbers in the stern. Derek -
Well even though I am still not in my new house yet, I could no longer resist the urge to have a tinker with the kit. All looks lovely . My first step is always to do work on the keel and bulkhead ply sections. A major part of the work for me is to arrange the fitting for the pedestal stand fastenings that I prefer. See Pickle example HERE Immediately first problem - I am not used to mdf and the keel is only 3mm thick so drilling holes to take mounting bolts or threaded rod is going to be a bit of a challenge. So a bit of practice on scrap seems in order. And selecting the position for those mounting points is also troubling me . So a pause till tomorrow - i want to dry fit the basic hull to see how it comes together and suitable places where I can strengthen the keel against the drill points/ I just wonder that in this case i may have to give up on pedestals
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I have order the Vanguard Model HM Brig Sloop Speedy. I am looking forward to receiving the kit and starting work on this Chris Watton design.
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Dear modeller colleages, first of all, I'd like to say a HUUUUUGE T H A N K Y O U ! to Chris Watton, for creating this wonderful kit! I've seen quite a lot other kits over the years and most of them are quite bad. Chris' kit is of exceptionally good quality! I have seldom seen such a complete kit, together with such high quality materials. - Even though the ship itself is only small in size (and so will the finished model be), the kit consists of many, many parts and thus is quite worth the money! Also the building manual is very nice and complete. Many coloured pictures make life easier, as well as the many printed plan pages. They have a reasonable size and are printed only on one side, which is very good, because you don't have to turn them over and over again - which is expected to happen quite often during building phase and surely stresses the plans. Many very nicely details are included, like the etched copper plates or the lasered parts. So, from my point of view, if I would build a model straight OOB, then this should be almost a 'walk in the park', thanks to Chris' good work! But, those few, who know me well enough, know that I'm unable to build something OOB. I always find details, which I want to have a bit different. Mostly I want to show even more detail. So I already have a list of things, that I hope, I can improve for my kit. I'm already convinced, that in the end, it will look quite different from an OOB version. I don't want to spoil the fun and tell you all that I plan to do different. If you are going to accompany me on my trip with this kit, you are welcome and will get to know, soon enough. One example I'll give: I'm planning to replace the plastic gun barrels with brass ones, which I plan to turn on my lathe. Some other things I would like to tell you, are: First of all another huuuuuge THANK YOU!!! goes to my wife! - She just ordered the kit for me, after I told her, I would like to have it. OK, that is as a birthday and Xmas present in one go, but since my birthday is in December, it is very generous of her, to allow me, to start with it already now! Another thing is: Why do I wanted this kit? First of all, I'm a big fan of "Lucky Jack Aubrey" from Patrick O'Brians books. After I got to know, that Sir Thomas Cochrane was the blueprint for this character and what he achieved in real life, I started to admire him. And since the day I understood, that in this case fact and fiction is very close and that the facts came first, I wanted to build HMS Speedy. At that time, there was no kit available. - So I ordered myself a copy of the original plans from the NMM. For a long, long time I thought about building it POF in 1/48. - Which is nice in size, but not really fully compatible with the space I can afford in my living room. Or building it POF, without rigging and spars in the scale of the NMM plans. In the end I understood, it would be better to build it POB in 1/64, for now. - And then there was Chris with this great kit, so I couldn't stand it. Most of my modifications will be based on the plans from the NMM. There is even some more information behind all this, but I think I'll tell everything, once I'm at that point in the building log. Otherwise this intro would become even more lengthy. My first steps will be: - Clean up the workshop and make room for the new project - (still) have to check if all parts of the kit are complete and arrived in good condition (I'm sure they are, but I only want to be sure not to miss a part at a Saturday Afternoon, when I want to start to build the next step of the kit) - Remove all required parts for the first step from the wood and then my first modification will start to happen! My idea is, to highly detail the lower deck of Speedy. I know, it's almost nonsensical, because nobody will be able to have a look at those details later, but ... we will see that later. In order to show more detail in the lower deck, I have to replace the bulkheads partially with some other wood. Deck spars also have to be replaced. And even more. Fortunately, I'm in the position to throw in some (I can choose, which...) Pear, Boxwood or Service Tree and I can "deliver" my own stuff to me. No need to buy something, somewhere. I already own the required machinery and bought the wood years ago. So, my first steps will be, to mark and cut off the parts of the bulkheads, which I will modify. Pictures will follow, as soon as I have started. Hope you all will enjoy this building log! Best regards, Herbert
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Afternoon! Ok, this one is going to take me a little longer than the prototypes of VM's Fifie and Zulu! I'll try to keep this updated as often as I can if there's some real interest. Flirt is based on the previous Speedy kit, but with some notable differences. The model itself won't have a launch as standard, and there are differences to the rig too, plus the deadeyes are replaced with pear wood heart blocks. She also won't be coppered below the waterline, instead being painted white. Before I kick off with the hull, I built the temporary cradle. This is only temporary as there's a clear acrylic one for the finished model, and I don't want to use that until I really need to. Onwards with the prototype! Again, these are photos that will eventually be in the instruction manual, and not regular bench build images. The regular kit will have 3mm MDF for the main hull components. I quite like this material. It's easy to sand and takes the nails and glue real well. There will be a Master Shipwright version where the MDF will be replaced with birch ply, but that will be very limited edition! There is actually a little birch ply in the standard kit, replacing the MDF stern frames. As you'd expect, everything just drops together, and those that are building the Speedy I'm sure would testify to. The bulkheads, minus the bevelled ones, are now glued in place. There are also two parts which support the lower deck ends. These are also now glued into place. One difference to Speedy is the replacement of the lower MDF deck with an engraved ply deck. This, as before, fits in four sections. With the deck in place, glue is brushed un the undersides. That'll give more strength, and some rigidity to the outer portions of the deck edges. That's it for the moment. I've been so busy that I've barely noticed I've been in isolation for over a month. It's one way to make the time fly! More soon. -
Aaaand we’re off. My first sailing ship model in 40 years, and my first wood ship/boat model in 30 years. This is will be an experience, no doubt. I slaved away for a grueling 45 minutes and achieved his: -
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Hi all. Really enjoying this site and have returned to ship modelling after a long break. There are already several HMS Speedy logs, and I've hesitated to add my own because I'm not particularly talented at modelling ships. My background is mainly multi-media car kits, but I really enjoy working with wood and this particular kit is really so well thought out and with such great materials that I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. I've started the log in the interest of learning from those of you who are clearly more experienced and talented than me. So feel free to comment or suggest improvements. I'm up to the second layer of planking and have just started planking the inner bulwarks. I've made plenty of mistakes, but so far it's looking ok aside from using filler which is not a good colour match in the outer planking. In general I've found the pearwood a bit pale anyway so I'm looking at staining it before airbrushing a varnish - hopefully it will work out ok in the end. Chris has been patient and helpful where I've had issues, for which I've been grateful. A few pictures of my progress so far below.
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It is some time since I did a model log as I do not generally have the time or remember to take the required photographs as I complete the build - or should I say - do not have the self discipline. This build is no different but as it is an unusual kit I have decide to share it so far. This is not the usual kit you will find on the shelves in a store, although I have found reference to it on this site. I purchased this, as I have done many other, by impulse through a well known auction site. Little did I know what I was taking on. The kit comes with very good drawings and detailed instructions by Bill Shoulder and the main reason for buying it, apart from my love of Cutters, is the description that implies that the kit was produced to provide something of a higher standard than a normal kit and for a 'museum' standard. This coupled with the model shipwright name made me believe this to be a quality kit. Also, I have had it 'in stock' for some time and Chuck's kit was not produced at the time. I believed it to offer more than the Lady Nelson or Sherbourne kits.
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