HMS Leopard by toms10 - FINISHED - 1:85 scale POF/POB

[Bill Morrison]

I have to say that that HMS Leopard by Larissa is truly exceptional!  I will probably never reach that level of skill!

 

Bill

[src]

tom, really enjoying watching your progress, well done.

BTW, now there are NO people who dont know where Wlacott is.

Sam

[toms10]

Got just a little bit further.  Finished gluing the rest of the frames and bulkheads.

 

 

Also finished the false keel and keelson.  Here is a close up of the bow area.  I decided make the bow stem from individual pieces instead of one solid piece of walnut.

 

Tom

 

[mtaylor]

Looks great, Tom.   It also looks like you're an old hand at scratchbuilding.  It's that clean, neat, and precise.

[PeteB]

Hi Tom

I'd like to tag along as well - Great looking start nice clean frames and your CAD looks very nice too. Having only used basic autocad lite and no 3D been thinking about solidworks for modelling but didn't know if it would be suitable for this type of drafting - but from your work the curves look pretty nice to me. When you get a bit of "Spare Time" from Soccer and Modelling maybe a Solidworks CAD tutorial ?. Cheers Pete

[toms10]

Looks great, Tom.   It also looks like you're an old hand at scratchbuilding.  It's that clean, neat, and precise.

Thanks for compliment.  It means a lot coming from a master such as yourself.  By the way, you are right, I do have old hands.    

 

PeteB,

Glad to have you on board.  Again thanks for the kind words.  Solidworks is what I use for work (mfg design engineer).  The program or pretty much any drafting program, 2d or 3d should be able to generate the prints for the frames.  I only draw enough of the parts I need to continue.  The rest is made up as I go along.  I have no intention of producing a full 3d model of my model.

Tom

Edited August 1, 2016 by toms10

[Bluto 1790]

Hi Tom,

 

Just back from holiday and catching up with your build . . . and it's looking very impressive.  You seem to be making quite rapid progress with these frames and bulkheads, and they're looking very crisp and precise.

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this 'half and half' model.  (I'm very keen to see what the inside of my model SHOULD look like!)

 

Jim.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Bluto 1790

[Jparsley]

Hey tom she is looking clean great progress

[toms10]

After spending 4 days in our nation's capitol to see the sights, I came back and started planking the inner hull in the areas that will or might be seen through the hull cut away.  I made my own planks out of left over poplar from the display case I made for my Constellation.  Progress is slow and tedious but I will get there.  Faring the inside edges of the frames is much more difficult than faring the outside edges.  That is what is taking some time.

 

Tom

[toms10]

Hi all,

I made some more progress on the inner hull planking.  I am planking the areas that I believe will be visible when looking through the cut-away in the hull.  Actually I probably planked more than I needed to but I will not be able to go back later if I missed an area.  I am making up a lot of this as I go along.  The cut-away is starting to take shape.  I will most likely end up planking the entire opposite side in the middle third of the ship.  I am thinking this is the area where you might be able to see if some of the interior walls do not block it.  Again, I will see as I go.  I am thinking the inner planking will also help support the gun port linings when I get to that point.

 

This will be a slow project as I spend a good deal of time staring at it and visualizing the next steps and what I want the final outcome to look like... but that is where the fun lies.

 

Hold below the Orlop deck planking

 

The outside view of the start of the cut-away of inner planking

 

The inner view of the cut-away

 

When all is said and done, the interior walls will block out the bulkhead faces to keep them from being visible.  I plan on not planking the deck areas in front of the cut-away to one can see through the framework and down into the hold. Naturally, I will also need to remove the interior walls in those areas.  All these ideas but now I need to make them happen!

 

Tom

[mtaylor]

Wow... you are making excellent progress, Tom.   

[toms10]

Hello all,

Thanks for the comments and likes.

 

So I finished planking the inner side of the hull.  I know all of it will not be seen in the cut away view but it seemed much easier just to plank the whole thing than try to figure out what will actually be seen after some of the interior walls are put up.  I still need to stain the planking and keelson.  Next I will find the positions of the decks and start making beams and supports for the orlop deck.  I will also need to make a quick cannon carriage for the 12 & 24 pounders to verify the decks are at the right height with regards to the gun ports.  Need to measure twice... no probably 3 or 4 times before cutting holes and gluing anything.  Messing this part up means I have been making kindling for the fireplace all this time.    

 

Here is the side view of the cutaway.  I am planning on removing the frames in the cutout.  You will see them between the inner and outer hull.  I am going to design the cut out so one can see parts of the framing construction.  The outer plank hole will be slightly larger to allow this.  I will add 2 simulated frames between the existing ones to give the effect of actual full framing.  I have lots of ideas, I just need to figure out how to pull the whole thing off.    But that is part of the fun.

 

And the top view

 

Tom

Edited September 12, 2016 by toms10

[src]

Tom,

Nicely done. I am waiting and wondering how you will show your framing. Guess I will just have to wait patiently.

 

 

 

 

 

Still waiting.....

Sam

[toms10]

Hello all,

I have been a bit lax posting log build pics.  Fall weather here has been beautiful so the ship yard has been relatively quite.  I did make some progress however.  I managed to fare the frames and bulkheads so they are ready for planking.  I cut about half of my planking strips from my Swiss pear sheets I bought from Crown.  Very happy with the quality of the wood.

 

I made some filler blocks for the stern area so I have a solid base to build upon.

 

I also built and installed the orlop deck beams since you will be able to see some of the hold area through the cutout.  It also made for a nice stable base to put the deck on.  I am planning to use a 1/32" thick sheet of basswood and covering it with maple strips.

 

Finally, I tried my hand at making grating that is the correct scale.  After some fiddling and creative jig making I was able to make these.  The holes are about .040" square.

 

Thanks for following,

Tom

[Bluto 1790]

Hi Tom,

 

Some very nice progress there! Congratulations on these gratings. When I was at the gratings stage in my build I attempted to make my own but was having too many failures and in the end I copped out and bought the commercially available ones and assembled these instead.

I know how tricky them pesky little things are, as the scale of my build is only just a smidge bigger than yours ~ so I take my hat off to you!

 

Now . . . you need to show us that jig that you used . . . . . I'll be waiting here to see it!

[mtaylor]

Beautiful progress, Tom.  All neat, clean, and Bristol fashion. 

[toms10]

 

 

Now . . . you need to show us that jig that you used . . . . . I'll be waiting here to see it!

 

Hi Bluto, don't want you sitting around waiting so here is the jig I came up with to make grates.  It is really simple and works pretty well.  It consists of a slightly modified file and a flat piece of steel with a small step cut into it.  Now I have to admit that being a tool designer and having access to a full tool room helps. 

Here is a sketch and pic of the two pieces.  The step width (.040") should be the same width as the thickness of the wood being used for the grate.  The overall width (.080") give me the even spacing (hole size of 040").  The height of the step (.050) is 1/2 the width of the wood.  In my case the grating wood was .040" thick by .100 wide. Actually the depth of the filed slot should be more than 1/2 the wood width so the slats fit all the way down without any fuss.  These can be adjusted to fit the size of grating you are making.

 

Next step is to clamp 3 or 4 pieces together in a small vise making sure the ends are all flush.  It will be easier to hold the guide square if several pieces of wood are clamped together to give the guide more surface to but up against.

 

Finally, place the file guide on top of the wood so the step is sitting on the edge of the wood.  Place the file against the guide and file down a slot 1/2 way. Naturally it is important to hold the guide relative firm and square to the wood.  Move the guide so the step sit in the slot you just filed and file another slot 1/2 the depth of the wood.  Continue on until you have to move the wood in the vise.  After moving the wood, carefully line up the last slot so the guide fits into it and continue.

 

This is what you should end up with.  When working with very small spacings, if a "tooth" breaks out the piece is still good.  It just needs to be used on the top of the grate so the tooth faces downward so nobody sees it.

 

After assembling the filed slats that were cut to size and sanded square, put a frame around them with a little wood glue and voila... scaled grates.

 

Happy grating!

Tom

[Bluto 1790]

Well Tom . . . I think your method is just GRATE!

 

Seriously, that's quite ingenious . . . and time-consuming. The principle is similar to that on my box joint jig where the first cut slots over the guide piece while the second cut is done, and so on.

Only difference is my box joints are done on my table saw with an 8 inch dado blade of 5/8 inch width instead of a cut of only 0.040" wide! (My hat's still off!)

 

Jim. 

[toms10]

Thanks Jim,

Once you get going it takes less than an hour to make one.  I need about a dozen or so... yeah it will take a while but I am in no hurry.  After a few and when it starts to grate on you, (sorry I couldn't help it)   just jump onto something else for a while.

 

Tom

[toms10]

Little more progress.  I added some detail to the hold area. A small shot locker at midship and some level areas both fore and aft so the ladders coming down from the orlop have a place to seat.  I threw a few hatch doors and a couple of divider 1/2 walls in the in the forward area that you will see through the cutout just to busy it up a bit.  I am envisioning this as a supply storage area.  Maybe a barrel or two and a few small sacks of foodstuff just for effect.  Just made something up since I could not really find any info and will be somewhat difficult to see.

 

I also started cutting some carlings for the orlop deck that you will see in the area that I don't plan on planking.  This will allow better sight into the hold as well as show some of the internal construction.  Next is back to the orlop deck walls and such.

 

Here is the platform in the aft section.

 

The midship area.  The item on the right is a shot locker/ballast.  The item on the left is where I will be attaching the main mast.  The little platform around where the mast will be was not necessary but I did not just want to stick the mast on top of the keelson by itself.  The small dowel pin is actually glued into the keel and will act as a locating and support pin for the lower mast.

 

Finally the bow end of the hold.  I just made a large flat area that can be used to store goods as well as hatches to store ballast or non-perishable goods.  I also put a wall with 2 doors at the end so you won't see the bulkhead frame.  Again, I just made it up because I wanted a flat area for the ladder down from the orlop.

 

And the overview.

 

Thanks for having a look.

Tom

[mtaylor]

You have been busy.  She looks good, Tom.

[toms10]

I've been working on the Orlop deck framework.  Here are a couple of picks of the carlings and ledges that will be exposed after the deck is planked.  I am hoping they will serve a dual purpose, first to show some of the construction and second to allow more light down into the hold to see some of the details. The decks above will also have some planking removed but to what degree I don't know yet.  I am making this up as I go along.   Couldn't seem to get the pics orientated vertically this time so you will have to turn your monitor on its side. 

Tom

[Jparsley]

Dang Tom those timbers look great She's turning out wonderfully

[Bluto 1790]

Looking great, Tom!

 

 . . . and I didn't turn my laptop sideways - - - I just tilted my head!

[mtaylor]

Sweet work on the timbers, Tom.

[Louie da fly]

Beautiful work, Tom.

 

Steven

[toms10]

I haven't posted in a bit but I have been picking away at her as well as playing around with a homemade ropewalk with some success but that is a story for another time.  I put in the Orlop decking.  The rooms are just placed (dry fit) for now.  I need to start working on the columns and maybe a bit of furniture for the rooms that you can see directly into near the cut out.  I also need to locate at least the lower gun ports to make sure the lower deck goes in at the right height so the cannon will stick out of the gun port.. I will probably also build a test cannon carriage and use that for a location gage.  With this being my first scratch build I can really see how important it is to think several steps ahead of what you are actually working on.  That is the part that really slows visual progress... but what's the hurry!?

 

Thanks to all for the likes and support!

Tom

Edited December 2, 2016 by toms10

[Bluto 1790]

Hi Tom,

 

That progress of your looks great!

 

I very well know what you mean when you say "With this being my first scratch build I can really see how important it is to think several steps ahead."

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW !

 

For the first 3 years or so of my build I had virtually no contact with this encyclopaedia of model ship building (M.S.W. forum) and pretty much blundered on in my own ideas of how things should be done.  Of course you'll have guessed that many "procedures" were performed in the most unconventional ways!

 

When I made my first gun carriage I found that with its gun mounted it was going to be a very tight fit in the port, so I had to make the carriages all a little lower in order that the barrels would come properly out thru the ports.  If I had positioned the upper and lower gun deck planking about 2mm lower I wouldn't have had that problem . . . but there was no way that I was going to destroy the ship to get the guns to fit, so I adjusted the carriages instead!

 

It's about 4 weeks since your previous post but it has been more than 6 weeks since my last 'progress' report . . . but I HAVE been beavering away at a few tasks -- and have been "Re-beavering away" at some of the same tasks!  (Read "Re-beavering" as 'having to do the same task again . . . and sometimes again!')

So, despite my efforts over these weeks I don't have anything to post.

 

I'm just glad that someone's Leopard is going somewhere!

 

 

[mtaylor]

It's great to see an update, Tom.  You have been busy and the work shows it.  Very nice.    I'm going to offer a correction... not think a few steps but dozens.  Like a chessmatch.  I've re-written my building plan at least 5 times as I discover something else I didn't consider.

[toms10]

Jim,

I think we have all felt the pain.    Hopefully it is overshadowed by the joy we get after we have figured out a solution.  That is what keeps one going in a hobby.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I think the journey is most of the fun so "re-beavering" is not a bad thing.

 

 

It's great to see an update, Tom.  You have been busy and the work shows it.  Very nice.    I'm going to offer a correction... not think a few steps but dozens.  Like a chessmatch.  I've re-written my building plan at least 5 times as I discover something else I didn't consider

Mark,  your are right.  the proverbial wheels don't stop turning until it is in its case!

 

Thanks to all for the likes,

Tom