HMS Snake by BenD - Caldercraft - 1:64

[BenD]

The Great Guns 

 

I'm working out the configuration for my Carronades.  I've deviated from the kit a fair bit by adding eyelets for inhaul, outhaul, and taverse tackle.  There is also the addition of the deck block and rings for the breach rope. The rope is .75mm and looks a bit small so I will make some 1mm and see where that goes.  I may put the eyelets with the beach rope on the side instead of on top of the carriage.  The 1.5mm wire given with the kit is to small for the Trunnion bracket which is 2mm in diameter.  Add 2mm brass wire to basket... My Cornwallmodelboats order grows... 

 

Over all the guns are going to be an amalgamation of all the pictures and info I've been gathering.  I will probably only rig the breach rope and the out haul tackle but it's nice to have the rest of the hardware add detail.  

[BenD]

I upgraded my workstation once again.  This time I got a new desk and some cheap Ikea lamps that can use 800 lumens bulbs.  I now have more desk space than I know what to do with. 

So many hours have gone into prepping parts and painting for the Carronades. I can't even begin to imagine doing all the guns for a frigate or a ship of the line.  Anyway I tried using a black deckblock to see If I liked the contrast or not, backed out of that pretty fast.  

[Wahka_est]

Really nice!

 

Did you airbrush or do it with brushes?

[BenD]

Used a brush. I added 5 ml of water to the Caldercraft paint pot to thin it out and did 3 light coats.  They came out almost like airbrush, If you get really close you can see a bit of brush marks.

[BenD]

Carronades continued. 

 

I made some .95mm rope for the guns and think I may move up to 1.10mm and see if that looks closer to scale.  The length needs to be increased also as you can see it can't haul in very far.  Fiddling with all these tiny parts makes me nervous about adding outhaul tackle.  

Made the Ships wheel and capstan as a break from the guns.  The wheel may be changed out in the future if I can find a reasonable replacement.  The parts came off the sheet all hairy and chipped but they turned out okay regardless    

 

[Ronald-V]

Those pictures of the carronades are really beautiful! It looks much bigger then it really is! Nice!

[BenD]

Thanks mugje!  

 

 

[BenD]

I just received some of Chris Wattons binnacles.  They are really detailed for their size.  I guess that's what you get when you buy a state of the art laser cuter.

 

Both sizes could work but I think I'll have room for the 1.64th one.  Honestly an 18 gun sloop of war probably wouldn't have one of these but it's going on anyway!

[Shellback]

I’ve been absent for some time. Cancer, but I think I’m in good enough shape to take on a wooden ship. I’m an experienced plastic scale modeler, ships, planes, armor and have always wanted to build a plank on frame model. The Snake really appeals to me and seems to be within my capabilities. Your build log is inspirational in that regard. Thanks!

[BenD]

Sorry to hear about the Cancer Shellback. I hope you are well.

 

This is a decent kit but everything on it needs a lot of work.  I would still recommend the kit but be prepared to put in 500-800 hours of work.

[Shellback]

Cancer. Well, there are many of us out here who deal with deal with worse. I am glad I feel like modeling. And, since discovering Vanguard I’ve shifted my sights to one of those kits. 

[BenD]

I've been working on all the deck features.  Nothing is glued in yet as there is a lot more work to be done.  Next up is the fore and aft platforms.

[Mike_H]

Hi, wonder how your Snake build is coming on?  Your build log is my goto for foreseeing challenges.  And I will post later today about my internal debates on how to lay-out the virtual deck beams which you will find very familiar.  And I think I'm about to carve a rabbet on the bearding line, so thought I would get your opinion on something.

 

It looks to me that you 2nd-planked right down to the keel, stern post and prow, but I can see your rabbet at the stern sits at the bearding line.  My concern is that the copper plating clearly has to sit directly on the stern post to give a good match to the rudder, and I think it makes sense that the plates should fit direct on the keel and the prow.  So, I think your approach was to carve a rabbet deep enough for the first, lime-wood planks, and at the stern that followed the bearding line.  How did you then finish the second, walnut, planks to leave them flush with the stern post etc?

 

Thanks in advance!

[BenD]

Hey Mike, Take a closer look at the planking pictures and you will see I left the stern post off until the end of 2nd planking.  The stern area should be sanded to about 3mm so that when you add both sides of 2nd planking you should get 5mm total thickness. Sand down the second planking and dry fit the stern post until you see that it fits.  My stern area still has a bit of drop in it even with all that effort. Hope this helps.

[Mike_H]

12 minutes ago, BenD said:

Hey Mike, Take a closer look at the planking pictures and you will see I left the stern post off until the end of 2nd planking.  The stern area should be sanded to about 3mm so that when you add both sides of 2nd planking you should get 5mm total thickness. Sand down the second planking and dry fit the stern post until you see that it fits.  My stern area still has a bit of drop in it even with all that effort. Hope this helps.

Excellent, thanks - more work for the Dremel.

[phil5092]

Hi, could i ask what you used as the waterline belt ?

Thanks for your help

[BenD]

Hey Phil! I used a 1x1 strip of walnut then after glued on I sanded it to .5mm. 

[Sjors]

Hello Ben,

 

I have read your log and you have done a great job with your planking.

I have lay on both sides one plank.......

And now for the rest😃

I will watch you closely!

So i have 3 logs i can follow now 😄

 

cheers

Sjors

[BenD]

I'm back working on the Snake after a few months off from it, feels good to be back with fresh eye's.  I hope to finish this ship by summer so I have room for Chris Watton's HMS Sphinx, but that's just wishful thinking... 

 

I've added the shelves for the fore and aft platforms and am shaping them for installation. Of course there are a few things to be done before gluing them in. 

I've found some good colors for the rigging. This tan and brown thread I bought will work perfectly. I'm working on some cable-laid lines for the anchor and for the larger stays. They tend to take a while as you need to make 3-4 separate ropes first. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by BenD

[Mike_H]

Great to see you back, Ben.  Your Snake looks crisp and clean as ever.

 

Mike

[AJohnson]

9 hours ago, Mike_H said:

Great to see you back, Ben.  Your Snake looks crisp and clean as ever.

 

Mike

It certainly does!  Very nice build 👏  I'm doing the Snake next so glad I have this log and Jason's to follow!  👍 

Edited April 30, 2021 by AJohnson

[BenD]

The rudder straps are on! I was dreading doing this but It really wasn't that bad. I glued the straps on then carefully drilled for hours before putting some round head nails in place. No drill bits were harmed 👍

The rails on the other hand were not going on without a fight. I soaked and heat bent them several times but I still needed to nail it in place on the ship. I also cut them into two parts for ease of installation. 

Here is some of my home made 2mm anchor cable.  This is 6 meters long and took about a half hour.  You know it turned out right when the ends don't unravel.    

Edited May 14, 2021 by BenD

[Mike_H]

Looks very neat and clean, as ever, Ben. (Though I think you mean rudder, not anchor, straps).  I've chosen not to install the gunwale rails until all of the deck fittings are in place. In theory this is to enable maximum access, though really it's because I think it will be a pain.  It's coming up, though.

[AJohnson]

Looking good!  👏 and very neat. 😁

 

Do the fore/aft platforms slide under the bulwark capping rails? Or is there no "overhang" to the capping rail to worry about?

[BenD]

Mike thanks, Yes rudder straps not anchor straps lol 😆 late night posting.

 

AJohnson, The platforms just slide right in and are held by the 1mm overhang. I wanted the crooked buggar rails on before adding anything else so I didn't damage anything.

[BenD]

I've been working on rope more than the Snake lately.  After completing my fourth ropewalk and much experimenting I'm just about ready to release my line of rope.  The site is being worked on and should be up soon.  There will be more details upon release when I become a model ship world partner and can post in the trader forum. 

 

I'm looking to buy a better camera because the camera on my phone just doesn't do close-ups well.  Here are a few pictures. 

 

[Beef Wellington]

That rope looks fantastic Ben, looking forward to you opening your store?  Hard to tell in the photos, are the colours similar to Chuck's rope?

[BenD]

36 minutes ago, Beef Wellington said:

That rope looks fantastic Ben, looking forward to you opening your store?  Hard to tell in the photos, are the colours similar to Chuck's rope?

I am quite excited really. I'm making about 20-30 ropes a day now to build up an inventory. I plan on adding cable-laid ropes after opening and should have sizes from .8mm to 3mm. I think having a large variety of colors and sizes is key.

 

I think the running rigging colors I have are a bit lighter than what Chuck had.  I will be adding a light brown running rigging to the inventory eventually, That one will probably be close to what he had. 

 

The dark brown standing rigging is probably darker than his was but I like it. For standing rigging, I will be adding dark grey and possibly a medium brown later on.

 

These ropes are made with 100% Mako Cotton.  I plan on adding synthetics to my inventory eventually. 

[Mike_H]

The ropes certainly look very fine.  Best of luck as a trader. 

[Chuck]

Nice looking rope.  Well done!   I am sure you will Have many customers.