74-gun ship by Gaetan Bordeleau - 1:24

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

The limit is probably the width of the printer.

There is also another limit, the size of the door. A 74 guns pass through the door but if we add masting, height become s a problem. The only way to overcome this problem being to have removable masts

Does distortion for model-making purposes may become a factor in extremely large sizes. I faced that problem with my last build. Framing could have been a bit bigger, plus adding with other considerations such as humidity, the size of the ship move. In this way, I could not fit all the parts made exactly as ''plans'' are drawn, often parts must be adjusted. In this instance the construction of the model are the real lengths even if the guide are the plans. The bigger the scale the bigger the a compensation must be applied the length. The easiest to observe is the width which at 1/24 can easily change from 1/2 inch.

In fact I guess that it is possible to plot drawings more precise than the real thing in wood.

Metal would not be better, the length of a  wire cable  transporting electricity has a sag variation of many feet on a long distance

PRECISION is important for many assembly, by example if  we drill a hole smaller than the bar, problems will follow.

In wood assembly,  greater tolerances are acceptable.

Different scales, different uses, different tolerances.

 

I  had the plan of HMS pegasus enlarged at 1/12 but the difference of the width of the frames was not that big.

Frame size Pegasus 1/12 approximately the same size as a 74 guns at 1/24.  Like this

[AnobiumPunctatum]

1/12 for a Swan Class Sloop would be a dream. 1/32 is the biggest scale which is possible for me. Fully rigged the model would be 5 feet long and around 3 feet height.

I own Alexanders drawings for HMS Anson and think if it is possible to build a hull model with all frames in 1/32. But this is a project if I am retired because a lot of time and much more experience than I have is necessary.

Edited February 23, 2017 by AnobiumPunctatum

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Christian, the best advice I could give you go 1/32 (or 1/36).

As we all know: bigger is better and we should not forget to add bigger is easier.

Probably also 1 one of the brakes which can stop you is to say: I do not have room to store it.

I did not have room to store  one 1/24, and now I store two  1/24.

[noel_colledge]

I am of the opinion as someone new coming into this field, that bigger might well be easier, but surely been able to do it bigger and therefore not only see what you are doing but see how you are doing it enables you to understand better what is going on. This means in my logic that when you go to a smaller scale you can understand better what parts are important and therefore which parts may or could be omitted with out spoiling the finished item. I may be wrong of course

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

I will try to clarify what I mean:

 

Bigger is easier in the way that it is easier to handle a part  with your hand instead of only 2 fingers.

Easier in the way that you have more control of your movement.

The more control you will have, the greater the possibilities to produce  a more accurate part.

You can create smaller parts with great accuracy but you will need a greater concentration.

 

At smaller scale you have to omit parts because many parts would be too small to handle properly.

 

To understand more easily how a part is made it is easier to do it at a bigger scale and also you will understand better because you will see the components more easily.

 

Probably I will understand better the intricacy of the construction if I do it at a bigger scale  which will allow to see more parts.

 

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[druxey]

Nice constructional drawings, Peter! Implacable/Duguay Trouin's stern and tafferel are preserved at the National Maritime Museum, now Royal Museums Greenwich.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

 

 

 

Hi Peter,

 

What a nice offer and a nice project you have. I have no abilities with Autocad. Even If I bought  plans from Lemineur I draw some frames parts.

 

I saw pictures from 1949 of this ship.

I am now using Lemineur drawings enlarged  at 300%.

 

There are many reasons if  I still want to build a forth 74 according to Boudriot drawings. I like his artistic vision. 1775-1780 is a period, where the shape of the 74  was very nice.

 

To use your plans the measures should be identical to Boudriot' 74. I do not know enough about this ship.

I also saw other models  photos by Lemineur. For me, to be able to build a model, it is in part a love story between me and the model. If there is no attraction, there is no interest to build it.  I will go with Minerve, a nice figurehead and stern decorations  came to be simplified in comparison  of  the other extremity like Le Soleil royal.

 

I could suggest some additions to the plans you are drawing. When you draw, you think like an architect and you do not want to repeat identical parts. For this reason, and to save few paper sheets, Lemineur  has draw only 1 frame side.

 

From the perspective of a model ship builder, it is not very helpfull.

What I would like from a set of plans, is a complete set of frames.

 

How many copies do you think I have to do if I want to be able to build a complete frame : left and right side, double thickness, each thickness having his own parts. I did 2 copies and I draw half side of the 62 frames. I am actually cutting the drawings in parts.

 

 

Edited February 25, 2017 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[Yambo]

On 2/23/2017 at 3:56 PM, Gaetan Bordeleau said:

 

Probably the maximum I could go would be restricted by paper size for frames, in this case 3 feet, 

printer larger than 3 feet probably exists?

 

 

I've got full size plans for a boat, kayak and stand up paddle board here at up to 18 feet x 5 feet Gaetan. If I can get that size printed in Turkey then I'm sure you could get them in Canada.  

[vossiewulf]

 

Good luck Gaetan we have faith in you

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Preparation of the frames for the KIT.

 

I have to draw the other half of the plans.

Drawing is made by hand, it is easier to draw a circle than a straight line and all the frames are only curves

 

About 2/3 of the blanks are cut, a lot of wood is use and a lot of wood is thrown in the garbage, up to now 1 ½  trash can.

 

[rwiederrich]

Absolutely amazing.....I struggle for words......

 

Rob

[druxey]

Oh, my....

[michael mott]

Where do you leave the trash can?.... just kidding.

 

Michael

[vossiewulf]

Now we just need 150 guys who are 3" tall and equipped with tiny adzes.

 

[albert]

Great beautiful start Gaetan, very big work, fantastic model.

[James H]

Mindblowing!

[mtaylor]

Holy cow....  mind-boggling to say the least.   One never thinks of bigger models need a lot bigger wood... 

[daHeld]

 Oh boy, if you go any bigger you will need a mould loft 😁

 

This is so cool.
 

[BANYAN]

Late to the party Gaetan, but I hope I can find some standing room somewhere?  I will enjoy this build; I have followed all your others so this will be a masterpiece with all that practice

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Pierretessier]

Very interesting to see just how much time and wood goes in this. Wondering if you are keeping a time log on this project and also what the weight of the final build will be. Agree with other post regarding needing a bigger door, I was wondering about the muscles needed to move such a piece. 

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Hi Pierre,

 

I was keeping a log  but it was more for construction details, now it is just the build log on MSW.

On MSW 1.0 we saw another 74 at 1/24 and weight was 130 pounds. It was difficult to move it upstair. The guys were strong men.

Bigger door, bigger home, bigger workshop, bigger ship; it took years to be installed as now. There are a lot of wires and some heavy machinery. The most difficult to bring in was the Hardinge lathe, quite heavy. With that lathe, over 1 ton, I understood what turning without vibrations means. I am satisfied with the installation and it' s versatility. Having the medium tools on wheels is a big plus. Having the tool at the right place at the right time can save a lot of time and a lot of walking.

 

There could be another possibility  a 74 at 1/12 but made in 3,4, ,5,  or 6 parts slices, may be I should ask Karl to come to help me.

[Sailor1234567890]

1:12? That's gargantuan. No longer a model but a true small yacht. A very VERY detailed small yacht. Would be very cool to see. I love the 74s and can't see enough of them. Keep up the beautiful work Gaetan.

Daniel

[Deperdussin1910]

If you are building in 1/24, you might as well RC it

[Redshirt]

On 3.3.2017 at 3:09 PM, Gaetan Bordeleau said:

Hi Pierre,

 

I was keeping a log  but it was more for construction details, now it is just the build log on MSW.

On MSW 1.0 we saw another 74 at 1/24 and weight was 130 pounds. It was difficult to move it upstair. The guys were strong men.

Bigger door, bigger home, bigger workshop, bigger ship; it took years to be installed as now. There are a lot of wires and some heavy machinery. The most difficult to bring in was the Hardinge lathe, quite heavy. With that lathe, over 1 ton, I understood what turning without vibrations means. I am satisfied with the installation and it' s versatility. Having the medium tools on wheels is a big plus. Having the tool at the right place at the right time can save a lot of time and a lot of walking.

 

There could be another possibility  a 74 at 1/12 but made in 3,4, ,5,  or 6 parts slices, may be I should ask Karl to come to help me.

 

 

It's of course entirely up to you to which scale you wish to build but i think one can build too large. At 1:12 the ship might start to lose it's unique charm of being a model and might be in danger of being perceived as overly large. Your Fleuron, while certainly on the large side, was a piece of the finest ship modelling i have ever seen, partly because of your fine craftmanship but also because she was still recognisable as a model and not a threat to the royal navy

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Redshirt, 

It is probably a nice interrogation to ask ourselves what it is the limit in the scale we can reach.

I did explore  few scales  and I am probably at the limit I can reach.

 

I remember vaguely to have seen about 30 years ago, in Montreal, a model  made to learn the rigging to the officers. The model was about 20 feet long.

At what scale I do not remember.

[vossiewulf]

You have to understand Gaetan, a 1:24 74 built to your level and fully RC would probably be enough for people to make a physical pilgrimage to see it under sail in the local lake  Me included.

 

At 1:12, no need for RC you can ride inside with head through the quarterdeck, sailing her with a zillion little lines run down below deck

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

What are the scales used to build models? Let's try some speculation.

 

For the french I saw 2 scales: 1/24 used to teach the construction of the ship or to teach rigging.

Also  Augustin PIC built one 74  at 1/24.

Many models are built at 1/48.

 

English ship models I know are built at 1/48 scale.

 

We know that 1/48 was use, I would say, for 2 reasons:

Build a model to present to the king for his acceptance for the construction of the real one at 1/1 scale.

1/48 scale represents the largest scale which ca be easily handle by one person.

 

There are surely other models built at different scales in Museums.

 

A standard scale would have a derivation from the english foot and would be a multiple of 12. It is also preferable to use one of these multiples because it will be easier to work with especially in ratio used like for reproduction: 150%, 200%, 300%, and other variations. I would not want to use strange combination because this makes it more difficult to calculate  bringing even fractions. Also, if I use a weird scale, it will be impossible to use the proportional divider: my common use being to work on 1/48 plans for ease to use ( a 4 feet long sheet) and double the lenghts at 1/24 with the proportional divider.

 

Let's try to guess what happened when they came with kit. (I do not know when, is this something new like 1970? I have no idea). Purely for money reasons, they created smaller scales. 

 

Is there a standard size to build? My answer is no and this is a kind of false affirmation.

 

In fact, the standard scale is the size that everyone is using for his own reason.

 

So there is no good or bad answer.

 

[druxey]

I suspect non-standard kit scales are to fit a certain size of box, or for most economic use of wood sheet.

[Deperdussin1910]

I enjoy your speculation and agree that there is no bad answer. 

 

I have a dream/plan of building in 1/24 the USS Franklin of the United States Navy.  It's the scale I build in and am comfortable with.   And, my built models are in proportion to each other.  This scale is big enough for my fingers and helps with building a RC model that will handle the wind and waves in a realistic manner.  However, even a static model at 1/24 scale gets big pretty fast if you build beyond sixth rate vessels.

 

The USS Franklin was a 74-gun ship of the line.  Built in 1815 under the supervision of Samuel Humphreys and Charles Penrose, she was the first vessel to be laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  In 1/24, she'd be almost 8 feet on deck and fully sparred maybe 15 feet.  Even as a static model that's a massive model to move and store...let alone ballast and RC sail. 

 

It certainly would be easier to live with a 1/24 74 model without her rig.  One option for me is to build her as she appeared "in ordinary" ...just lower masts ...maybe housed over.  The house could be made detachable.

 

Just musing.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

The box for the frames kit is ready to be shipped.

 

I needed 5 copies of the frames. Frames are drawn ½, Frames 28 to 31 and 37 are not drawn, they are identical to other frames. I need both sides, each frame is doubled front and rear, plus 1 copy for later assembly. I drawn 3 copies and I had 2 photocopies.

 

Next step to sand flush the parts and after prepare the keel and begin the assembly.

 

The picture with 2 planks is the additional wood quantity I had to add, I failed in my guessing for the preparation of the wood quantity. In fact I guessed it by eye, because it is too much difficult to calculate, and to try to guess it is much  faster.