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

[toms10]

52 minutes ago, John Ruy said:

I love the Red Flag on the end of your bow. I should have had that on my CWM. I could have avoided repairs.  😆

I usually have them at the tops of all the masts. It is just colored tissue paper. My main royal mast fell victim once. Snapped it off at the joint with the top gallant reaching around he back. Live and learn. 
Tom

[TomShipModel]

Your sails are excellent both in color and the way in which they are drawing.  You may have mentioned it already, but how did you attach the bolt ropes?  Are they sown on or are they glued with liquitex?

 

Best,

 

Tom 

[toms10]

On 3/15/2021 at 2:19 PM, TomShipModel said:

Your sails are excellent both in color and the way in which they are drawing.  You may have mentioned it already, but how did you attach the bolt ropes?  Are they sown on or are they glued with liquitex?

 

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the encouragement.  Now that the first sail is on, the rest seem a bit less daunting.  The bolt ropes are glued on to the edges using Aleene's fabric glue.  It is pretty strong and dries clear.  Being a fabric glue it is also somewhat flexible.  The only "sewing" I did was at the ends of the cringles I tied square knots with 50 wt thread to help hold them to the sail when the rigging line tugs on them.  Gave them a bit of reinforcement so the bolt rope does not tear off.  The ones at the corners of the sails are just loops created by the continuous bolt rope with a simple overhand knot at the base of the loop to help keep its shape.  The glue should be plenty to hold them in place, especially at the head of the sail.  There should not really be all that much tension on the cringles from the rigging lines as the billowing shape of the sail is created by the wire under the leach and foot tablings.  The rigging lines just need to be taut enough to keep the sail in the correct plane.

 

Tom

Edited March 19, 2021 by toms10
overhand knot was square knot

[TomShipModel]

Thanks for the very clear explanations.

 

Tom

[Bluto 1790]

Hi Tom,

 

That sail is looking great! . . . and what a lot of work just in one sail.

 

How did you get the 'wind in that sail'?

[Kevin]

 need 27 sails please lol for my Amerigo

 

lovely work, they do look good

 

i used silkspan for the Dorade, lots of lesson learnt for the Amerigo

[toms10]

6 hours ago, Bluto 1790 said:

Hi Tom,

 

That sail is looking great! . . . and what a lot of work just in one sail.

 

How did you get the 'wind in that sail'?

Hi Jim

Very thin annealed wire in the leech and foot tablings. See post #308 of this log and I give a description.   Belaying all the rigging in the right spots without crossing too many lines is going to be fun. I laid out a plan for all “one million” lines a while back when making the pin racks. I think I have changed line locations for the bowsprit rigging a half dozen times already!  Once you see the line positions in real life on the model you realize better ways to keep the lines from turning into a rats nest. Lots of reading Lee’s Masting and Rigging of English Ships and Harland’s Seamanship in the Age of Sail. This is going to take awhile!🤔

 

Tom
 

 

[toms10]

My flying jib is now flying!

 

Progress is slow but steady right now.  I still need to trim up the excess rope on the belaying pins and put some 50/50 glue on the knots but I think I will wait until all the bow sprit sails are in place just in case I want to reroute something. That has only happened countless times already. That is part of why it is taking so long. 

Tom

[John Ruy]

She is looking really good, Tom. Slow and steady as she goes. 👍

[Gahm]

You do an excellent job on those sails!

 

Thomas

[Bluto 1790]

You say "slow but steady"  ~  well, the way the wind is filling those sails already that ship will be zipping across them waves!

 

Looking great!

[toms10]

Pretty much finished the bow sprit area. Still need to put on the braces for the yard but I think I am going to wait until I get some of the fore mast sails in so I don’t have to work around the brace lines. 
 

It has not been a a very productive week in terms of forward progress. I ended up not liking how the jib sail came out so I took it down and made another one which came out much better in terms of texture. The first one had lots of small wrinkles that when you looked at it he sail by itself didn’t seem too bad. But when it was hanging next to the other sails I did not like it. 
 

Also had to redirect some of my lines to adjacent belaying points several times as more lines were added to keel them looking organized. Put some on take some off. 
 

I am hoping the bow area rigging is the most involved and the rest goes easier. I spent quite a bit of time reviewing how it all worked so it made some sense when building. 
 

Time to start at the top with the fore royal and work my way down. I decided to leave off the fore staysail...at least for now.   It was going to be set flying so I guess it could be left off. We will see after the furled fore course sail is up. Don’t want to “over sail” it either. 
 

 

 

 

Tom

[toms10]

Little more progress the past few days. Fore royal and top gallant sails are rigged except the braces. 

 

Also got the fore top sail bent to the yard and put in 170 reef points but who’s counting? 😜😁

 

hopefully this will be mounted in a couple of days. Then I plan to work on the main stay sails then the main royal and top gallant and top sails. I am going to furl the fore and main courses so I am thinking those can be made and installed afterward. At least that is the plan now. 
 

Tom

[toms10]

Have not spent a lot of time actually working on the model the last couple of weeks. Did manage to rig most of the fore topsail and get the fore course sail bent and furled to the yard. Took a couple of shots to get the furl looking somewhat correct but I think it is passable. My original thought and attempt was to “drape” the sail about a third of the way down but I could not get it to look like it was loosely draped. It just looked too stiff. 
 

Now I can mount the fore course yard and continue on to the main mast yards.... after I finish laying the 100 feet of pavers for my front side walk, cut the grass, plant the shrubs and the beat goes on. 😜

 

 

Just looking at the top sail pic, the color or the upper sails look white. They are actually unbleached titanium which is more a hemp color. Next time I will try for a more realistic picture with my phone. 

Tom

Edited April 30, 2021 by toms10

[John Ruy]

Tom,

 

Nice job on the furled sail. Is it the same three layers of materials as the full sails. All of the sails are looking great 👍 

[toms10]

Hi John,

The furled sail is actually only one layer of painted silk span folded and rolled. I am going to add the lower corners of the sail where the clew cringles are separately. I will cut out triangles of the full 3 ply thickness so I have an edge to glue the bolt rope to. I can then tie the clew block to the cringle then take the whole “assembly” and tuck the upper end into the furled  sail with some glue. At least that is plan A. 😜😁

 

Tom

Edited May 29, 2021 by toms10
Typo

[toms10]

Making some progress. All the yards and sails on the fore mast are in and rigged except for the braces and the course sheet and tack lines. As I mentioned earlier, those would seem to get in the way as I continue on.  On the fore mast I started with the royal yard and worked my way down. I think this time with the main yards I will put the furled course in before the main top staysail. It was a bit tight rigging up the truss lines on the fore course yard assembly with the jib sail installed.  I am getting better at working with a pair of tweezers in each hand to tie off lines on belaying pins. 
 

I am currently putting up the main top gallant and middle staysails. Then I will furl a sail onto the main course and mount that assembly…. I think. 😜

 

I also need to clean up all the excess lines on the belaying pins on the forecastle and then make rope coils to hang on the pins. 
 

Somebody mentioned a while ago when I finished the hull, decking and fittings that I was 50% the way to the finish line. Boy they weren’t kidding.  With sails and all I am starting to think 50% was generous. 😀. 
 

Here is a pic of where I am now. It’s not the best pic as there is a lot of background clutter and it’s a bit difficult to see the model details but hey, it was 10PM. 😀

 

Hopefully my spring chores have quieted down to a dull roar so I can make some serious progress. 
 

Tom

[the learner]

Looking fantastic! well done.

[toms10]

Hi everyone.   I managed to get some time to add a few more sails this past week. I read somewhere, I believe it was in Winfield’s book about 50 gun ships that this boat has over 7 miles of rope. At first I thought “wow”. Now I am beginning to appreciate what 7+ miles of rope really means. I hope the establishment over estimated! 😂😜

 

it is getting pretty tight in some areas getting the lines tied to their respective belaying pins. In hind sight I should have waited to put on the mast backstays. 

 

 

Tom

[allanyed]

Rom,

Seven miles of rope, oh my.  At 1:85 scale that's over 400 feet of combined sizes.  Having a rope walk is starting to make more sense!!

Allan

 

[Bluto 1790]

Hi Tom,

 

Your progress is looking amazing on your Leopard!

 

I hate to dis-illusion you ~ but I think you've been undersold on the info you read about the length of all the rigging ropes on one of these sailing ships!

I have read (and yes - for the moment I can't find the source!) that the length of rigging on the 1988 replica of HMB Endeavour was around 14 miles.   I've just been searching Google for the info and saw 30Km (approx 18.75 miles) quoted in one place, and on another site - this one >  HM Bark Endeavour. Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney - Travel To Eat   it stated the length of rigging as 40 Km (approx 25 miles).

Here's a screenshot from part of that webpage >

 

 

Since Endeavour was considerably smaller than one of these 50 gun ships it would seem logical that the latter would carry even more (longer total length) rigging ropes.

[toms10]

24 minutes ago, Bluto 1790 said:

Hi Tom,

 

Your progress is looking amazing on your Leopard!

 

I hate to dis-illusion you ~ but I think you've been undersold on the info you read about the length of all the rigging ropes on one of these sailing ships!

I have read (and yes - for the moment I can't find the source!) that the length of rigging on the 1988 replica of HMB Endeavour was around 14 miles.   I've just been searching Google for the info and saw 30Km (approx 18.75 miles) quoted in one place, and on another site - this one >  HM Bark Endeavour. Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney - Travel To Eat   it stated the length of rigging as 40 Km (approx 25 miles).

 

Since Endeavour was considerably smaller than one of these 50 gun ships it would seem logical that the latter would carry even more (longer total length) rigging ropes.

 

Hi Jim,

Your killing me.!!!  🤣  I need to go back and see if I can find out where I got my info.  I tend to believe your info more than mine.  I just went through16 feet just for the main royal and top gallant!   Maybe the 7 miles was just for the standing rigging?

 

Allan,

My ropewalk definitely is getting put through its paces. 😄

 

Tom

Edited May 24, 2021 by toms10

[TomShipModel]

Tom,

 

Very well done!  The sails are very realistic and the coloring is very good.

 

Tom R

[toms10]

Hi all,

It has been a while since I posted but I am still picking away it when I can. Still have lines hanging all over the place but making progress. All the main staysails and mast sails are up with most of the lines rigged. Getting ready to move on to the mizzenmast area next. 

 

i need to pick up the pace if I am to get it finished for the Northeast conference at the beginning of October!  Funny thing though, the more things I knock off my “chores around the house” list the longer it gets!😜 That “work for a living” thing seems to be getting in the way a lot too!🤣😜

 

Tom

[allanyed]

For those who ever have doubts about silk span for sails, your model is a great testament to how well sails can be done, to scale, with that material,

especially compared to the out-of-scale  sails we usually see because they are made of cloth.   It is a shame to see so many otherwise beautifully done models ruined when rigged with cloth sails.  

Allan

[toms10]

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 

 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 

Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 

 

Tom

Edited July 27, 2021 by toms10

[Eurus]

What a fantastic work. It looks museum-worthy!

[toms10]

Thanks Eurus. I am not to sure about museum worthy but being my second model and first scratch build I am pleased. It has taken quite a long time but half of it was spent learning and reading. The MSW family has been invaluable in my education. 
Tom

[Moab]

Overwhelmingly beautiful...Moab

[Hubac's Historian]

This looks really terrific, Tom.  I look forward to seeing this in person, in New London!