HMS Snake by BenD - Caldercraft - 1:64

[BenD]

Thank's Jason.  So I wasn't far off it seems. I'm going to end up using a pattern close to yours, it looks the best in my opinion.

[BenD]

The planking continues...  This planking method is taking a lot of time.  It gives great results though.  I'm probably not going to continue much past the water line because it will be coppered, I'll just just plank dirty style after that    

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by BenD

[BenD]

Second Planking complete!  I stopped spiling the planks a little past the water line, then it all sped up a lot.  The last picture is with some sanding. Turned out ok.  Going to work on trimming the gunports next before planking the inside. 

 

[Seventynet]

Ben this is lovely work you're doing on the snake!

 

Ian

[BenD]

Trimming the gun ports is really hard, the walnut just wants to crack at every opportunity.  Now I just have to plank the inside and trim that too!

[BenD]

I made a ropewalk!  It works pretty well so far.  Making the gears was the hardest part of the build, everything else was strait forward. 

Below is Caldercrafts 0.25mm "Rope" and I made a pretty decent rope from just three strands. 

The black ropes look just as good as the tan one but my camera won't pick up the details .  As you can see I wrote down how many strands are in each rope. Figuring out how thick they are is kinda tricky but I think -X12 1mm -X9 .8mm -X6 .6mm -X3 .3mm.  Getting it just right so the ends don't explode is trial and error.  I'm going to be obsessed with rope making until I perfect it.  

[BenD]

I've been working on rope making quite a lot and think Gutermann thread is the way to go.  Most people seem to be using DMC Cabella cotton thread.  It's mostly being discontinued in the right sizes so that's not really a long term option.  Anyway I've narrowed it down to four colors, two for standing rigging and two for running rigging.  I've been looking at a lot of pictures and just don't know what combination would be most accurate.  Would standing rigging covered in pine Tar really not be black as some suggest?  What color would running rigging actually be in that period? 

 

 

[Beef Wellington]

Nice looking rope!  I think there has been much debate on the subject of colour depending on a factors such as age.  Pristine new rope with a single application would be lighter, older rope that has got dirty, weathered and recoated would be darker.  Think you can go with your artistic gut and how much of a contrast you would like, if you are using black paint on the hull then my sense would be to use the darker brown for standing rigging, the second darkest shade could look good with an all wood finish.  All personal opinion.

[BenD]

The inner planking is done. Cutting the sweeps and ports out... It was quite the job to say the least.  The 4x1mm planks were good quality but walnut is just not easy to work with.

The Red Ochre paint from Caldercraft is really nice to work with even with cheap pain brushes.  My plan to have the planking show through the paint has worked out better than expected!  I also put on the main wale. The 3x1mm planks were just awful wood and were slightly different sizes and colors, thank god they will be painted.

[BenD]

I didn't quite like the CalderCraft Yelow Ochre so much so I decided to edit the paint a little. I added a little matt white and a bit to much cadmium Yellow. I may have gone to far but I think it's growing on me. In the sunlight it's quite bright, probably not so historically accurate. It's not to late to re-paint so I'm going to sit back and ponder a while. 

In the sunlight with the right angle it almost looks white!

She's quite large beside the Sherbourne.   

[BenD]

Hey SpyGlass, I sanded the edges of the planks round so it would be noticeable.  It's a little more exaggerated than I would have hoped but its something I noticed on the Victory when you stand even 15-20 meters away.  

[BenD]

I was going for this effect with the planking. Though mine turned out more noticeable...  

[mispeltyoof]

I agree re working with walnut.Definately not the easiest to cut ! My timber for the whales were difficult to find in the box as,like yours,they were different thicknesses and identifying them involved some degree of guesswork.Your planking looking good and definately superior to mine.

[BenD]

I've been working on the bow decorations for what feels like ages... The plans are kinda not helpful because they aren't consistent from picture to picture. So I'm kinda just sanding and fiddling around until everything seems to fit.

I've got the cheeks on and it turned out way better than I could ever hope. The rest of the head and decorations are going to be a hard few hours. The slots for the Gammoning didn't line up at all so I widened them on part #60 just like the folks from other builds.  I'm still looking at everyone else's builds to see how they fared.  I'll do my best, If it turns out bad I can always scrape it all off and scratch build some new decorations.  

Edited June 10, 2019 by Duncbe

[yacht1255]

 

How much does a set cost?

[Beef Wellington]

Catching up, really nice progress Ben, planking, painting and headworks turned out very nicely.

[BenD]

Jason- Thank's for the words, Your Snake is probably my #1 go to when I'm confused. You did really nice work on her.

 

Yacht1255- how much does a set cost? Do you mean the kit? 

[Vane]

I order most of my stuff from here:

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/caldercraft_nelsons_navy.html

 

275 euros + shipping 

Then u of course need some glue, paint etc

 

Considering Brexit, there might become more expensive/complicated to order from UK in the future.

[BenD]

The Bow decorations are finally done. The long parts #58 and #59 I ended up scratch building because the ply material was just not good and I had broken one.  It was only four pieces but I think making my own parts is kind of fun.  I think I should extend the red ochre out to the Hawse hole Bolster, what would be normal for painting that?

 On to deck planking! This must be the 5th time I've gone over the deck pattern!?!. The beam positions are not really correct but it lines up with the hatches at least.  My Beam positions range from 23mm-26mm which is not so far off from real ships I think.  I'm doing a four butt shift pattern with 11-12 cm planks.  With a scale converter that adds up to 25ft which is about correct for a ship of this period.  I ended up buying more Tanganyika wood for deck planking because the stuff in the kit was jagged and awful. Turns out the extra I bought is in the same lousy shape.  They are the same color at least.   

[Beef Wellington]

Hi Ben, I also went with red in the hawse holes, mainly because it seemed consistent and brings a nice contrast which can be seen on many contemporary models. In reality, the holes would probably have been lined with lead sheet.  Nice work on the headworks by the way!

[BenD]

Deck planking is in the works.  I'm currently unemployed so I'll have some time to work on her over the holidays

 

I'm reasonably happy with how it's turning out, Little bit regretful of not adding margin planks.  Next build perhaps I will delve deeper.     

  

[Ronald-V]

Very nice build!

[BenD]

I decided to organize and upgrade the shipyard.  I built a shelf with some cheap pine and organized my drawer.  It really helps a workspace when there is some organization and everything has a place. 

 

The coppering is turning out ok for the most part.  Having some CA debonder is a must for this job, it doesn't mater how good you get with glue application some will leak out of the seams and cause a mess. 

 

[BenD]

The Coppering is DONE! It was hard and I'm not completely happy with it but it just going to have to do.  The humid summer weather has arrived and the finger smudges now stick out so it needs an application of polish.  Brasso works well, but the question is do I varnish afterwards or not? I have a test strip of tiles I varnished 2 years ago and it holds up well and stays shiny.  Or I could let it patina naturally.

[Beef Wellington]

Ben, I think your coppering looks really good, and you've got a nice curve at the waterline batten as well which really helps enhance in my view.  Obviously personal preference on pristine vs patina.  I had cleaned the copper plates on my Snake with metal cleaner once finished similar to you, mainly to get rid of any skin oils from fingerprints as these seem to accelerate the oxidation process and become pretty noticeable pretty quickly.  I've been surprised at how slowly the surface has oxidized, but that may be a fact of it sitting out of sunlight.

[BenD]

I've done something experimental and not sure how I feel about it.  As you see in the picture below the tiles to the right are bright pink, that's what I was left with after cleaning. I couldn't bear to look at the ship in that state... I didn't even get a photo of it unfortunately.  The tiles to the left are with a few coats of matt varnish with brown pigment to simulate slightly aged copper.  It ended up looking like 5-10 year old penny without using chemicals plus it is sealed and will stay like this.  Also it is protected from my profusely sweaty hands.  what do you guys think? 

[ccoyle]

It works. I've never coppered a hull myself, but I have read about several methods of aging and sealing the plates. Some builders prefer to let the copper age naturally. Each method can produce a pleasing result.

[BenD]

Thank's for a validation Chris! 

 

I'm still may change it yet, but it is growing on me.  I'm thinking maybe some black and green to the mix.

[BenD]

I was looking at the ship one morning and had a "OH God what have I done to her!" moment.  The varnish on the copper was ugly and needed to be removed.  600 cotton swabs and a whole 500mL bottle of 99% Isopropyl alcohol did the job.  Alcohol really does just melts acrylic varnish away.

After removal I used some more polish and shes bright and new.  The batens need some paint touch up's but aside from that I think I have redeemed her. 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by BenD

[Jonny 007]

On 8/9/2018 at 9:42 AM, BenD said:

This setup right here is paying dividends!  I set them up like this then use a blow dryer... 4 minutes later you have a laterally bent plank.  this needs to be known by all.  This is Chuck's method... Thank you man!

I am going to try this technique for my build!

Thanks for posting such a great and detailed build log. Your work looks super neat and tidy and something to aspire to. I look forward to following along for the rest of your build.

(I’ll also be checking out your Sherbourne build too)