Cruizer-class brig by Timmo - FINISHED - 1:36 scale - RADIO

[Beef Wellington]

Wayne, that deck looks fantastic,a s does the rest of the hull now with a little colour to it.  It must be great working at this larger scale and very satisfying, its almost like you're building the real thing with those planks.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Beef Wellington

[Timmo]

Yes, I'm enjoying the larger scale. It's a bit easier to add the detail but given the working nature of the model I'm not labouring total realism on everything. I hope I can go back to something smaller one day.

[Timmo]

The deck is now finished.

Treenails were done with holes drilled and filled with putty with the excess scraped off. I didn't want them to be overpowering so went with fairly small holes and a light coloured filler. They disappear from sight at a distance and certain angle and reappear when you change your view. It adds nice interest.

 

 

The varnish has turned the grey card caulking blacker than I would have liked but waterproofed it all nicely. I'm happy with it.

 

The join in the margin plank was a little too close to one of the plank nibs for aesthetic purposes but it'll be covered by a carronade so problem solved. Next task is adding the spirketting and scuppers and then the gratings.

[jwvolz]

Looking great Wayne, nice job. 

[Timmo]

The main paint work has been applied.

Yellow went on first, followed by a day's worth of masking and then the black.

 

I'm using a brand called ironlaq which looks to be aimed at the crowd painting on the side of railway boxcars in the dead of night but it's quite good. I ran out of the black and had to use a rust-oleum black which takes much longer to dry and harden.

 

A downside of a yellow boat was that it was easy to miss masking bits with yellow tamiya tape. Lots of spot touch ups to be done yet, especially on the head rails. I'm not showing the finished version until I'm happy with those.

 

But in the meantime. Here's the stern, just in need of some touch ups on the lettering as it looks like a deco font without the TImes Roman serifs

...... Yes her name is Harrier.

 

She was an active little vessel, although fir built, and served a spell in home waters before being involved in operations in the East Indies. She foundered in the Indian Ocean in about 1809, I think, with the loss of all hands. May my Harrier not share her fate.

[Timmo]

Another day of masking, spraying and finally touch ups by brush and the exterior paintwork is largely finished. It's just some overstay on the red ochre and gunports to finish. I'm faily happy with the result.

[Blue Ensign]

I seem to have missed this one Timmo, but glad I've found it!

 

Nice work, and a great looking subject.

 

B.E.

[Keith Simmons]

Another day of masking, spraying and finally touch ups by brush and the exterior paintwork is largely finished. It's just some overstay on the red ochre and gunports to finish. I'm faily happy with the result.

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Hi Timmo,    

 

   Beautiful work, looking forward to seeing her rigged.

 

Keith

[Beef Wellington]

Beautiful Wayne, I love the detail work and paint lines on the head work, really very very nice.

[GuntherMT]

Beautiful ship Timmo.

[Timmo]

Thanks for the kind words.

Next step is remaking the bow port doors. I made some a couple of months back and have managed to put them somewhere safe and not be able to find them again.

[jwvolz]

Fantastic Wayne. 

 

Are you doing anything below the waterline to simulate copper?

[Timmo]

Part of me wants to spray it for the easy way out but I have some copper tape that I'll have a go at simulating a nail pattern on for plating.

I'll experiment with that as I'd love the look of an aged patina on the hull but if it doesn't look right it'll be spray.

[JerryTodd]

I coppered Constellation with copper tape from a place that sells it for electrical applications.  They sell a coated version (non-conductive), you don't want, and an uncoated version (conductive) you do want if you want a "patina."  It was cheaper than the model suppliers, and the large size is harder to find at model suppliers anyway since they cater to 1/48 scale and smaller kits.  You can see my coppering job, including the nail patterning on my thread

 

 

Very soon after getting coppered, while is was still bright and shiny.  Very pretty, but not what I wanted.

 

 

A couple of dips in the water later, the copper is much more dulled and browner, but still looks good.  This is when I clear coated it and hopefully it'll stay this way.  Notice, it's not green!

 

 

Copper tape is expensive.  It took slightly over two rolls to cover Constellation and cost over $50 US.  The copper paint I pre-painted her bottom with looked good though, and I could get 4 inch wide aluminum peel and stick duct-tape for $20 a 100 foot roll!  I tested the idea on Constellation's launch and plan to use it on Macedonian instead of actual copper.

Edited July 26, 2016 by JerryTodd

[Timmo]

Thanks Jerry, your instructions were very helpful around coppering.

I'm keen on copper over paint to get a nice aged patina and this project is a bit of a test of materials and technique so given its still way cheaper than a kit another $40 for the real thing looks like small beer.

Did you use any CA glue or anything else to stick it down or just rely on the adhesive backing and if so how has it lasted? I've tried a test run as below and the adhesive bond feels very solid considering the tape is very thin. I'd like to just do this and maybe a dash of CA here and there but worst case scenario is applying a thin coat of resin to it after the patina is how I want it. I'd rather avoid the resin though.

 

Anyway, as per the inventive Jerry Todd and a few other builders like Fam http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8675-brick-de-24-by-fam-scale-148-1809-pob/page-7, a stamp was made from timber with holes drilled for the small brass pins that come with ship kits. The plate size 1:1 is about 13-14inch x 4 ft. The vertical plate join is scribed onto the copper tape with the back of a blade. A small overlap on the horizontal edges was tried on the uppermost join but not on the bottom. It's so imperceptible I don't think I'll bother with overlap as I'm going for the 3ft rule - if it looks ok from that distance it's worked.

 

The tape is Masterfoil plus copper tape from venture tapes. It's aimed at the stained glass industry and is 3/8inch or 9.53mm wide.

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by Timmo

[JerryTodd]

Constellation's been coppered since 2010.  She's been in fresh water and brackish water.  The tape sticking hasn't been an issue, but sliding the model on something like auto-carpeting the wrong way will catch and lift corners, like scaling a fish; and edges, protrusions, etc, rubbing along the bottom should be avoided - all of these are transport issues.  If you have to transport her off the cradle, put a pad of some sort under her so she can be slid without rubbing her scales the wrong way.

 

As for the patina... Being a working model, I could let her take on her own patina naturally, then clear-coat it when it was where I wanted it.  I clear-coated her bottom in September 2014 using a matt finish spray.

 

When I paint Macedonian I'll give it some brown washes a little at a time till I get her bottom to look like Constellation's copper.  The paint I used has copper in it, or so says the can, but being in a paint suspension it won't brown or dull on it's own.

[Timmo]

Mass production of copper plates begins with a stamping and scoring jig made from offcuts. Line the end of the plate up with the end of the rails, stamp it and then score through the slot with the back of a blade.

 

Another small task was making a rudder extension. This is acrylic sheet that came free as an offcut from a local supplier. It will be epoxied into a slot cut into the rudder one that is painted and coppered.

Brass rods have been added for strength but will be hidden inside the slot. The extension should be all but invisible once in the water and also not too noticeable when the Harrier is out of the water.

I know this because this is the second extension I've made. I took the protective cover off the first to see what it looked like and now can't find it because it's all but invisible.

 

[Timmo]

And so begins the coppering...

[Timmo]

A question on coppering for those with more knowledge than me-

The first three rows are on following the line of the keel.

 

 

I can see the tape already fighting this line in an effort to maintain its natural line and it's only going to to become more pronounced. The options are to continue following the line and do short lengths of tape to allow for lateral adjustment. Note the cruiser's stern is quite a bit deeper below the waterline than the bow so more plates in a vertical stack on one end than the other.

 

Or...

 

 

Add a gore line as per pic above demonstrated with a plank in order to allow the copper to maintain the natural run of a plank line. This will enable tape to be all applied in largely single strips and less fighting against it. But it will also mean a bit more noticeable spilling of copper plates at bow and stern I want to avoid the appearance of stark belts heading off at different angles and get something that looks natural like this...

 

(The work of one of those Russian or Ukrainian masters).

Advice welcome.

[Timmo]

Thanks Dirk.

In the meantime I'd had a re-read of your coppering section and followed your lead.

The rows from harrier follow each other from the keel up. It means more individual placement at the bow but it's no drama.

I had done a few rows with spilling but it didn't look right so was removed.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Timmo

[Timmo]

The coppering is finished. I'll likely age it with some sort of patina, as per the other fine builds on this site, then a protective clear coat.

[JerryTodd]

She is a beauty.  You are going to love sailing her.

 

You'll need a band of copper that comes up above the LWL, OR, a batten at the top of the copper.  Both are meant to cover the points created where each strake of copper sheets end at the waterline.  Just the water running by can begin to peel the sheets off unless something fairs over them.  Initially the batten was used, but by the late 1700's the waterline band of sheets seems to be the standard in the RN.

[Timmo]

Thanks Jerry

I had wondered about that so I'll err on the side of caution. There should be enough tape left. It only took one roll so not much more than the price of a can of aged copper metallic spray to get the real thing.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Timmo

[Beef Wellington]

That is some gorgeous coppering Wayne, very nicely done.  I think the tape turns out nicer than the kit supplied plates, but your skill has a lot to do with that I'm sure.

[Mirabell61]

Timmo,

 

a very nice looking and built brig Timmo, 

 

Nils

[jwvolz]

Looking fantastic Wayne. 

[Timmo]

Thanks chaps

[Timmo]

Ever had a one of those moments where you think - before embarking on a major step in a project - this is the moment that I wish I could go back to if it all goes wrong?

 

A shade of that today with getting an aged finish on the copper plating.

 

Here's what I was after:

The test plates on the left were done yesterday with a tarnishing solution found in Aliluke's fine Fly build log. The curious can look it up. I'll say no more.

The result is a little lighter in the pic than in reality but is just what I was after with a dulled copper finish and slight hint of verdigris in the plate lines and nail holes.

 

When applying to the hull it beaded in droplets as per the test piece but little tarnishing occurred. In order to get a consistent spread I overlaid with some paper towels soaked in the solution to create an even contact with the hull.

 

The opposite happened.

 

Cue tiger stripes..

 

This was from the wrinkles in the covering.

 

Vinegar and salt with some steel wool took it back to almost original.

 

The steel wool leaves the plates looking a little lightly scratched and beaten rather than the pristine article they once were. Some corners have also pulled up a little.

But it's better than a total loss and it looks like Harrier has been a long time between refits in the East Indies.

Lesson learned. I'll leave the copper from here to naturally dull. You could see it already starting with the difference between the first laid rows and the last so it should have plenty of time given I'm likely many months off sailing at this rate. If it didn't work I was considering stripping it off and starting again but glad not to have to do that. If it was a display model in smaller scale I might have.

 

On a brighter note the jib boom has been made from fibreglass rod with a timber base for octagonal section. That gives an idea of the overall length of the Harrier. This is the last major piece of the masts/ sprit assembly.

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by Timmo

[Omega1234]

Hi Wayne

 

Ouch!!!  I agree with you.  If only we could turn back time....Nice save though.  

 

She looks none the worse for wear, though (luckily).

 

Cheers and all the best

 

Patrick

[jwvolz]

Oh wow, that could have been a disaster. Glad it worked out OK...