HM Bomb Vessel Granado 1756 by mrcc - Caldercraft - Scale 1:64

[mrcc]

I started this model in late December (2012) after much research on this very same forum. I have reconstructed my early build log, as evident with this present mass upload of photos. At the present time, I have just finished the mortar housings and I am about to begin the upper gun deck construction. I am new to this hobby and have enjoyed every aspect of the build to date. There is always wonderful tips and help on this forum and I am excited to get any and all advice that comes my way.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I very quickly started the hull construction without any issues.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I soaked the gun port pattern and created the proper shape for future attachment to the hull.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mrcc

[mrcc]

Came across my first dilemma with regards to the bearding line as the plans were not quite clear with regards to the position of the bulkeads and the line to be profiled (sanded) back to the stern post. I sent a query on the forum but did not get a clear reason or answer why the bearding line was inside to the bulkhead profiles but nonetheless it seems to have turned out fine now that my planking has bee done and all looks and appears well.

Edited October 7, 2013 by mrcc

[42rocker]

Wow. Jumped right in there and off your going. Good Luck. Hope to see a lot more pics of the built.

 

Later 42rocker

[mrcc]

I fussed with the gunport pattern and was quite pleased with the result and progress but on my first (earlier) log, very quickly it was pointed out by other members, that at the bow, the pattern was sitting too low to the top of the extensions by 3-4 mm. I noticed on other logs on the old build forum that that was a common mistake made by most. I have not fixed this early mistake but I think I have an opportunity to fix it when I am working at a later stage on the inner bulwark (I hope).

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I then tackled the planking, blindly in retrospect...

I was pinning and using Titebond for the majority of that first layer of planks. The learning curve was slow for me but I was happy with the end result. I used some fill and with some sanding I was proud of my first "planking" effort.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mrcc

[mrcc]

The wale was a bit of work and effort for me... I laid one side and then did the other side to the specs in the instruction manual but found after comparing the two sides at the bow, they were a bit off as one swooped down greater than the other side. I had to add a fill strip to the bottom at the bow on one side and a fill strip at the top at the bow on the other side.

Asthetically... looks fine. I decided to prime and paint to follow... with second layer of planking yet to come.

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I rushed through the second planking layer and unfortunately my skill level has brought some defects to the fore. This was my first time working with CA glue and at the bow and stern some of the planks were not as tight as I had hoped and a mess could not be avoided. Some stealer planks and a bit of fill has found the hull at a more finihed stage. I knew that I was going to paint the hull so I was not hugely disappointed in my effort.

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

Marking the waterline was an easy effort with a cup and pencil.

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I masked off and primed the hull with 2 coats of Admiralty matt white to finish.

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

At this stage I started to build the mortar housings. I was, according to the plans, supposed to build the upper gun deck but I noticed that I was missing an entire ply sheet from my kit. I emailed Jotika and they are sending me a replacement sheet.

Very straight forward were the housing with respect to the build. I finished them with a satin varnish which to me looks quite good.

Edited March 9, 2013 by mrcc

[Ryland Craze]

You are making good progress on your Granado.  The mortar housing units look like a lot of fun to build.  This kit gives you many options on how to display the mortars.  I have seen the housing closed, opened and some in between.  I hope your plywood false deck comes in soon so that we can see more progress.

[mrcc]

Finally have had some time to post some progress. I had some problems with blackening the mortars - cleaned them up well and then used diluted sulfamic acid to condition the brass and then used Krick brand of blackening solution. I fiddled around on a Saturday morning last week with solutions at 1:1 and 1:2 without success. I decided to just paint them with the matt metal black. I can not figure out what I was doing wrong with the blackening process but decided that I spent enough time on it!

Edited March 25, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

This past weekend I was able to glue the gun deck down. That particular sheet with the part (gun deck) was missing and waited for nearly 4 weeks for the replacement sheet to arrive from Jotika. Since also found out that I am missing the 1X5 mm walnut plank and 2 mm dowel. No reply from Jotika on that enquiry but made do with a quick trip to the hobby store for the dowel. Luckily the gun deck arrived late on Friday afternoon and I was able to complete the planking of the gun deck this weekend. I also fiddled around with the best aesthetic method of simulating the caulking lines between the planks with various colors. I ended up using black enamel paint thinly brushed on so as not to bleed into the body of the plank. Did a bit of sanding and all looks good. Ready for varnish.

[mrcc]

Well... after a trip to Italy in April, some major surgery that my wife had, and a busy summer with work and holidays, only lately have I finally found some time, here and there mind you, to commit to my Granado. I happy with the progress to date and happy with the result so far. I was able to finish the planking above the wale, cutting out for the gun ports and adding the stern post.

Edited August 22, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

I also decided to cut out the small sweep ports at this time. I marked out according to the plans, from the outside of the hull, and drilled out the centres with a 2mm drill and with a 3mm square file, slowly worked out the corners. 

[mrcc]

I added some of the deck and hatch covers and the progress feels good.

[mrcc]

One of the reasons that my work was stalled was that I was missing a strip of 1x7mm walnut from the kit. So in order to complete the spirkeeting, I had to wait for the part to be shipped to me. I thus put in the sheer rail first and worked on the cannon carriages in the mean time. The sheer rail went in fine with just some minor trimming in the superior margins of the first 2 gun port openings. Once the strip was received and once installed, I was able to complete the spirkeeting. And with a priming and painting, the deck is starting to look great.

Edited August 22, 2013 by mrcc

[mrcc]

Here is some of the progress I have made with the cannons and carriages. Of course the cannons are primed and then painted metal black. (I gave up on blackening the metal with solution).

[mrcc]

Some more progress to note and some problems to note.. .a big problem in that after I affixed the stern fascia and when working the stern counter, I sanded down the second layer of planking right through and down into the first planking layer, the goal of course was to blend nicely the counter into the stern planking.

[mrcc]

It seems that my skill level is well below other builds on this forum. It is so impressive to see the workmanship and high skill levels on the similar builds of the Granado that are present on this forum. I think I may have tackled a project above and beyond my current capabilities, especially when I go back and review in my log some of the work done to date ie: for example the planking job - "OMG" - what a disaster and thank goodness for the white paint.

 

Anyways... to correct the present error, I diluted some walnut stain and experimented with coating the exposed first layer of planking (the  maple) to get a close as possible match to the walnut planks. It looks like a hack job to me and if anyone as any other suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thx!

[mrcc]

I achieved some additional progress but again ran into a bit of trouble... the painted finish of the screens were not optimal. The painted finished was thick and the color seemed dark by comparison of some of the other build logs. I used the Admiralty brand - French Blue color and when painting the backside of the decal screens, also found the paint to go on thicker than my liking with some mottling of the decal screen.

[mrcc]

Once the decals were applied to the screen, the color seemed to even out but unfortunately I go some CA glue on some of the margins of the decal screens when applying the 0.5mm by 3mm maple strip to the front of the screen dividers and got some whitening. I will touch up with the blue paint and hope that the blemishes are eliminated. I also noted that the door outlines on the screen with the door decal was noticeable diminished once the decal was applied to the screen. I will try to touch that up as well.

[aliluke]

Hi

You have obviously had some struggles with the hull but your deck work and fittings look good. If I was you I'd look to paint the hull between the waterline and the wale, there are plenty of examples here of that. I'd also re-fill and re-paint the hull below the waterline. I'd focus all my attention on getting those two bits right and the let the rest be as easy as it can be. To me the lower hull is letting the model down and it is very fixable. Everything above the wale looks great.

 

Hope that doesn't sound too harsh, it is just an opinion and with so much more work to go, a hull you feel bad about at the finish will irritate you.

 

I'm not sure how you are gluing your planks. I use CA for the second planking but apply it in small increments. I glue down each plank at its most stressed points - bow/stern - in very small measures - maybe 5 to 10mm glued length. Then I work away from the stressed points in longer glued lengths but always in increments. There is no way to work a plank with CA along its full length by a continuous strip of glue. It also useful to bevel the plank to the one above or below it. This makes for a tighter joint. Another method is to cut the planks into shorter lengths and butt those together - I'm just learning this. Anyway these are thoughts for your next model. In planking techniques Greg has recently posted a good guide on his Vanguard - worth reading.

 

Your Granado looks good and I look forward to your progress - your upper works look great and I think your model will pan out well when all the other detail is added.

 

Cheers

Alistair

[mrcc]

Thanks for your reply... I appreciate your reply and of course critique and input. Your instructions for the planking is absolutely great, I wish I would have learned your technique earlier. I was actually putting CA on the full length of the plank and then rushing the job. Thanks for your words of encouragement!
Cheers, Julian

[Timmo]

Julian

I'd second what Alistair is offering here. . A bit of time with filler and sanding would make a difference but it's up to the individual builder. Consider each kit and step in building a chance to learn new skills and none of it is wasted time. I can't leave something alone if I'm not happy with the result and know I'm capable of more

If every builder didn't try and tackle something they thought was beyond their skill then there wouldn't be a single post on this website.

You've done some fantastic work on items like opening the sweep ports and the deck fittings so don't get disheartened and be down on yourself- remember it's supposed to be a fun hobby!

[jthemanjack]

Hi Julian,

  Ditto everything above......enjoy what you are doing and learn from your mistakes, when i look at some of my early models i see tons of mistakes and things i would now do differently , the main thing is to enjoy what you are doing.

    

   Cheers

    Jack

[Craigie65]

Julian

There is a great post by Dan Vadas on fixing boo boos. If find it comforting that even the best of the best make mistakes like us mere mortals!

 

One thing I have learned is that there is no deadline to meet - take your time and do the best you can.

 

Keep posting!

[mrcc]

Thanks again Alistair, Timmo, Jack, Craig for your great advice and words of encouragment!

 

I know that when I was starting my planking, it was in the midst of the "crash" of Model Ship World 1.0, and there was very little resources for me to look at with respect to planking at that time. 

 

Sometimes the mistakes need to be made in order to learn from them. The input is so much more relevant only on the reflection of what I have done in the past with regards to those mistakes. My problem is I am a detailed and perfectionistic personality and it is surprising how this build process can really "wear" on you when mistakes arise. Nevertheless, I am enjoying my time and efforts immensely.

 

PS Timmo - your build log is my primary reference and inspiration. Thanks again for the support. Much appreciated!

 

Julian