HMB Endeavour by Captain Slog - Caldercraft - 1:64

[Captain Slog]

Hi All,

 

Thanks Ron for dropping by and the comment.  I used to have 3years of photos from box opening until now but unfortunately lost the first year and a half’s worth in a hdd failure.  Only have from sanding second layer planking to now.

 

I am going to work from the stern forwards now, doing both hull and deck details.  1^st on the list is the stern window lids/covers/deadlights?

The deadlights are from the 0.8mm ply sheet, parts 22 & 23.  The 2 outer lids are different from the 2 inners due to the shape so needed to make sure I didn’t mix them up.  Marked them with the numbers before cutting them free and then used a plastic storage box to keep them in the right order.

 

The brass hinges have small tangs which go into drilled holes.  The plans say to use 0.1mm rigging thread for the lanyards but I choose 0.25mm instead.  I faked the splices by using a needle to pierce the thread and then pulled it through.  I got that tip from Gil’s Victory log but mine don’t look half as good as his.

 

I haven’t attached the ropes yet as I might make small cleats to replace the eyebolts as per the plans.

 

The plans don’t mention attaching rudder pendants but the AOTS shows them with the lower section as chain and attached to eyebolts in the rudder and the upper section as rope which runs up past the deadlights and I will tie them off on the big stern cleats previously fitted.  The chain I bought probably 1 ½  years ago from Modellers Shipyard but can’t remember the size (1mm?)

 

I had no idea what size of rigging thread to use so settled on 0.5 which seemed chunky enough to hold on to an unshipped rudder in real life.  I was quite chuffed with the effort, using the same cheating splice, until I saw the photos  .  One of the splices is average and the other is terrible   so I will do them again.  I think I will try and get some bees wax also as the 0.5 line isn’t hanging as I would like.

 

Cheers

Slog

[rowand]

Hi Capt'n Slog,

Thought I'd drop by and say g'day. Your Endeavour is looking great, nice work!!

 

Cheers,

rowand

[RGL]

Well done mate, looking good

[cpt. Tom]

Hello Cpt. Slog, you are doing a fantastic job, built very clean, l like it.

[Timmo]

Splices look fine to me Slog. But then I've got limited experience. No one is a harsher critic than the builder himself.

It's a handsome endeavour and a very crisp build

Wayne

[Ferit]

very detailed and clean work looks beautiful...

[Jeff-E]

Hi Slog,

 

She's comming along well . I like your attention to detail by adding the extra bits that the kit does not supply

[newmanrj]

My compliments captain, she is really looking good.  I'm new at this and for some reason picked AL Endevour as my first wooden ship. I am following with interest  your log and I'm just starting to work on the deck planking 

[NickM]

Very nice build Slog. I was wondering if you could give some more detail on the deck boats. I see the caldercraft kits come with all 4 but unfortunately the constructo kit I am building only comes with one so I will have to scratch build the other three.

[shipcarpenter]

Hi,

 

very nice, everything harmonized together. My next build will be Endeavour so I´m now learning from you. Thanks

 

shipcarpenter

[Captain Slog]

Hi All,

 

Thank you all for your nice comments.

 

Wayne, that was my 1^st attempt at using the rigging thread and again the dreaded macro emphasises any discrepancies.  I had a good look and the chains also had uneven amount of links so redid the chains and the rope splices again as it was really bugging me  .

 

Newmanrj, always good to see another Endeavour.  I think it was Wayne who said earlier that aussie builders are drawn to do the Endeavour, how true.  I suggest you start a build log of yours as there will be plenty of people looking over your shoulder to help out if needed.

 

Shipcarpenter, your Santa Maria is looking very smart indeed and enjoyed seeing your metalwork. Look forward to seeing your Endeavour when you get round to it.

 

Hi Nick, Caldercraft supply all 4 boats on a CNC machined sheet of 1.5mm plywood.  I lost all my photos of that stage but found 1 with the skeletons glued together.  I added scrap cross pieces across the ribs as I kept squeezing them together by mistake

 

The photo below shows all 4 at various stages. From left to right: Yawl (70mm), Pinnace (99mm), Skiff(109mm) and the finished Long boat (98mm).  I had a look on the Cornwall Model Boat site and they sell individual ships boats from Caldercraft and Amati but I couldn’t see the ply sheet ones like in the Endeavour kit but they may have something to suit.  Alternatively maybe contact Jotika direct and see if they will sell the ply sheet by itself?

 

A bit of progress.  After redoing the rudder pendants I went on to the tiller.  The supplied tiller is 2 parts from one of the ply sheets which is glued together and then fitted to the top of the rudder.

 

It looks a bit chunky where it slips over the rudder and after gluing it up and almost fitting it on I decided to see if I could make a simpler, slimmer version.  I got the walnut sheet where the rudder came from so the tiller was the same thickness and looked to see where I could steal it from.  I choose the top section as it meant apart from cutting to length I didn’t need to shape it any

 

I laid some scrap ply on the deck to get the height right and then shaped the end against the rudder and drilled a 1mm hole and glued in a piece of brass rod and then drilled a receiving hole in the rudder.

 

Finished tiller.  I glued and wrapped a 2mm wide strip of cartridge paper round the tiller to simulate an iron band and then painted and fitted the photo etch  tiller handle. 

 

Cheers

Slog

[Timmo]

Good move. I don't know why caldercraft persist with mishapen tillers from 2d ply. They always seem to benefit from remaking and it's usually not too difficult.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Timmo

[Captain Slog]

Hi All,

 

A small bit of progress over the past week.  As mentioned earlier the fake splices on the rudder pendants were annoying me so redid them.  I also made up new chains and counted the links in each side to match, they were a couple of links different previously.

 

Also the 0.25mm and 0.5mm rigging thread for the deadlights and pendants respectively weren’t sitting correctly, so I suspended clothes pegs off the ends of them and then brushed on a 50/50 mix of PVA and water and them pulled the excess off with my fingers.  When they dried they were stiffer and straighter and could be manipulated easier.

 

They now look more like they are pulled tight under tension due to the weight of lids and chains.  I also removed the eyebolts from the taffrail(?) for the deadlight ropes and replaced them with some cleats made from 0.5mm brass wire bent to shape.  They aren’t the best but get lost under the rigging thread anyway.

 

 

I decided to fit what deck furniture I had made previously.  I needed to find the angle of the rear deck as it slopes upwards to the stern so I can sand the correct angle on to the bottoms of the bitts and binnacle so they sit vertical when fitted. 

 

With the hull sitting level I used a sliding bevel placed on the deck and then a small level attached to get the blade vertical.  Now I have the correct angle I will adjust the square on the disc sander and sand them to fit.  I didn’t manage to get this done.

 

 

With the hull level, the middle and fore decks are also level so can just use a small engineers when I get round to fitting the bitts and gallows in these areas.

 

 

Started fitting the furniture with the 2 middle deck hatches.  As these were made with straight bits of wood and the deck has a camber on it I placed some sand paper directly onto the deck and sanded the hatches back and forth to get the cambers correct.  Second shot shows a decent fit of the hatch to the deck.

 

 

Next up was the belfry.  I marked the position on the deck and then drilled holes in the base of the belfry and the deck to take 1mm brass rod to secure the various bits and pieces to the deck.  Will do the same with the bitts and gallows.

 

 

Once the belfry and the windlass were glued in place I could fit the CNC cut belay rails which joins the belfry and windlass frames together.  I don’t think I messed up as the windlass was constructed as per the plans and parts supplied but the belay rails were short.  I don’t know if anyone but a Caldercraft Endeavour builder would know or care but I made new ones from the same ply sheet the originals came from and used the supplied ones as templates.

 

 

Will post some pictures showing my furniture fitting to date shortly.

 

Cheers

Slog

Edited April 5, 2014 by Captain Slog

[Captain Slog]

Hi,

 

Deck furniture fitted.

 

 

 

Next up will be the bitts and gallows.

 

Cheers

Slog

Edited April 5, 2014 by Captain Slog

[Jeff-E]

Hi Slog,

 

Just catching up on your log, you have made a lot of progress since I last looked in. The dead lights came up great and your decision to use the cleats instead of the eyebolts I think was a good one as was making making the tiller it looks much better than the supplied one which does look a bit bulky at the head of the rudder. You have done an excellent job with the deck furniture and it looks good in place  

[st george]

Slog,

 

Great work rigging thread for the deadlights and pendants, they really look like their under weight now.

[Timmo]

Clean job on the deck furniture fitting there Slog. Nice camber on the underside on the pieces. I've always struggled with that myself but hopefully the new birthday bench sander will make things easier as they have for you. Those lines to the stern light shutters look great.

[RGL]

Nice work mate, looks very sharp

[RGL]

Nice work mate, looks very sharp

[Captain Slog]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for all the comments.  Not much to report.  Fixed the bitts and gallows in place. 

 

After determining their location from the plans I used short lengths of Tamiya tape to mark the positions on the deck.

 

The bottom of each post was drilled and a length of 1mm brass rod glued in place.  A corresponding hole was marked and drilled in to the deck and the rod and bottom of the post given a dab of CA glue and pushed into place.

 

 

Next up is to finish the channels once and for all.  From the plans I collected all the parts from the PE sheet needed for each channel and stored them in small containers until I could work on them.  After fitting and gluing the chains together I got everything ready for spraying with Chaos Black.  The chains were threaded on to a length of brass rod and the chain plates stuck down on to decorators tape, sticky side up.

 

I have also started to fit the channel supports, which are 2mm walnut ply but found this tedious and so progress has been slow.  Hopefully I will have made some progress on these to show next time.

 

Cheers

 Slog 

[Ferit]

Very fine progression... clean and finical work...

I love the colors also...

And I would like to learn the meaning of HMB, thanks...

[kenr]

Hi Ferit

The Endeavour is a bark

So that means His ( or Her ) Majesties Bark

 

Regards

Ken

[Captain Slog]

Hi All,

 

A small amount of progress. 

 

As mentioned in my last post I decided to work on the channel supports which I didn't enjoy as found the little bits of walnut ply fiddley to cut around the shear strake.  The channels, depending on their position also slope up or down and to get the supports to sit vertical a bevel had to be sanded on the bottom of each one.

 

Initially I tried marking and cutting the support directly against the hull but couldn't get satisfactory results.  The picture below shows how small the mizzen mast channel supports are and at one stage I only had approximately 0.5mm thickness left and it still wasn't fitted.

 

I tried to make a notch in the shear strake so the support could still further back without removing more material off the already thin section.  This didn't work either as I couldn't safely make the notches without fear of damaging the blue paintwork above so I needed to come up with another idea.

 

I ended up filling in the notch in the shear strake and repainting and made another support using the originals as a template.  I then glued some 0.5mm strip stock to the back edge of the mizzen mast channel supports to give them more depth for notching.

 

I also used some business cards as templates to get the fit against the hull as this was easier to use then trying up the actual support each time.  The shape of the template was then transferred to the piece once I was happy with the card fit.  The supports were painted prior to fitting and then after marking thier position on the channels with Tamiya tape were glued on using CA.

 

 

Next up was the capstan.  After cutting out the parts from the walnut ply sheet and tidying up, I needed to make the barrel.  This is made from 8mm dowel which I stained using the Admiralty Paints walnut stain.  As the deck where the capstan sits slopes down from the stern to the mid deck I also measured and sanded the bottom on an angle so once placed on the deck the capstan sits vertically.

 

I used PVA to assemble and then gave it a couple of coats of satin wipe-on poly

 

 

The ships wheel followed.  I cut out, cleaned up and varnished the 2 supports before fitting together.  The ships wheel is a photo etch part which I sprayed with Skull white and then painted with Admiralty Paints brown paint.  The barrel is from 6mm dowel, 6mm long which again I stained with walnut.  It is all joined together with a piece of 1mm brass rod.  I CA glued all the parts together but still need to sand the support bases so again it sits vertical to the sloping deck.

 

 

Cheers

Slog

Edited April 5, 2014 by Captain Slog

[Micklen32]

Really nice work Slog

You are well advanced compared to me and my OcCre version

The kit does look slightly different but no doubt I will be able to pick up hints from the other builds

I have yet to decide how to finish the hull off

I think the white hull may be later versions, I am not sure

I know the replica is white but I am leaning more toward leaving it natural or using a stain

It just seems a bit of a waste to me to spend hours on the planking to them cover it up again

I would maybe like a copper finish like on the Victory as that is art in itself but the Endeavour did not have copper I am sure

So I will keep popping in and out to yours and the other Endeavour builds to see what tips I can find

Really nice work here

 

Keep it up   

Mick

[BANYAN]

Some good progress there Capn.  The capstan in particular came up well and has given me some ideas how to scratch my next one

 

cheers

 

Pat

[RGL]

Looking good

[ZyXuz]

wow, great craftsmanship! 

nice capstan and helm!

[newmanrj]

Thanks Slog,

I'm learning some much from your excellent and detailed work

Luv it!!

Rob

[Captain Slog]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for the nice words and encouragement.  Mick the Caldercraft instructions or plans (can’t remember which) actually say the correct colour for the anti-fouling is brown but their prototype on their web site and the box picture show white.  In this case I went with the Captains prerogative as I think the white looks good especially with the other colours.

 

I have only seen one Endeavour with the brown hull (Lilees) which looks good also.  I agree about coppering, I hope to do a ship with a coppered hull at some stage.

 

Continuing on for the tiller steering gear. 

Anyone familiar with the Endeavour knows that the steering rope runs from the steering wheel assembly across the deck through blocks to the tiller handle.  The plans say to use 3mm blocks (smallest they supply) and 0.25mm beige thread. The blocks aren’t too bad for kit supplied ones so used them straight with no further work.

 

Other than the plans there is no description and I couldn't tell how the blocks are secured to the deck eye bolts.  They appeared to be tied down with rope.  There is no way I could do that so needed some other idea.

 

I had a look at the AOTS and the blocks have iron straps round them with hooks on the end so that would be the easiest way to do them.  I tried bending my own hooks from 0.5mm brass rod and although they looked good I couldn’t get them smaller than the supplied copper eye bolts so just used them with the eyes pulled open.

 

 

I drilled a hole in the end of the block to accept the tail of the hook.  I stuck a bit through the sheave hole so I could trim the tail to length.  To simulate the strap I used 0.5mm black thread glued round the block with CA glue.  It was a bit fiddly and after trying a few different methods got a system going.

 

 

Once the thread was glued all the way round I used the drill again to drill through the thread into the previously drilled hole and glued the hook in with CA glue.  The finished blocks look a bit rough with the macro but at normal viewing don’t look too bad.  

 

Just a note about orientation of the sheave hole in the blocks.

I only noticed whilst looking at the photos to write this I have 6 of the 8 blocks wrong.  I know that the rope runs through the block depending on what side it is pulling against and for some reason I worked out that the 6 deck blocks should run through the hole furthest from the hook and the 2 tiller blocks should be closest to the hook.(2 hooks on the right of the picture)  In actual fact all the holes should be closest to the hook for correct operation.  Only the 2 blocks set aside for the tiller are correct. 

 

I thought I was being smart and making sure the orientation was right and messed up  .  I will redo the 4 deck blocks so the hole is the right way round but will leave the 2 at the steering wheel assembly as they are because I already fixed them in place and are too hard to get to now.

 

 

I cut and sanded the steering wheel assembly supports so the assembly sits vertical on the sloping deck.  I cut a 500mm length of the 0.25 rigging thread and brushed on a 50/50 mix of PVA and water and wiped off the excess and then suspended a clamp on the end to pull it straight.

 

When it was dry I wrapped it round the barrel of the steering wheel assembly.  The plans show it wrapped around the full length of the barrel but the AOTS specifically says it is wrapped 5 times so I did that.  I then used a needle to coat the unseen underside with CA glue to hold the wrapped thread in place against each other.

 

I then glued the assembly to the deck with CA glue and hung the excess threads over the side with clothes pegs so I could fit the blocks to the deck.

 

 

Hopefully tomorrow I will get time to redo the 4 blocks and finish the steering set up.

 

Cheers

Slog

Edited April 5, 2014 by Captain Slog

[RGL]

I'm just about to replace all my blocks I affixed to the deck as I'm just not happy with them with JBmodels blocks, it's certainly one of the most fiddly procedures. Stropping 3mm blocks is a nightmare!