HMS Winchelsea 1764 by Stuntflyer (Mike) - FINISHED - 1/4" scale

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks for the comments and "Likes"!

 

Chris, I would be interested in knowing what alternative finishes you are referring to.

 

Mike

[ChrisLBren]

I personally dont like wipe on poly for ship models - this is a product designed for wear and tear use - which certainly is not our models.  I am a big fan of tung oil/danish oil, sanding sealer, wax or shellac.  All of these finishes allow wood to age naturally and patina.  My old Fair American Build looks the same as the day I applied Wipe On Poly back in 2007 - which makes sense - you're applying a plastic finish.  If thats the look you're going for it makes sense.  I prefer the look the look of old museum models.  This finish is perfect - and a model built within the past decade or so - but looks two hundred years old

 

https://goo.gl/images/GNCFtZ

[Jack H]

Hi Mike

Nice work and neatly done.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2018 by hjx

[Stuntflyer]

In preparation for fairing the hull I added some supports to the bulkhead extensions. Some of these are less than an 1/8" wide and are a too flexible, I think. Eventually they will be reduced to a 1/16", but not until some planking support is in place.

Fairing the hull was straight forward using various sandpaper sticks along with a lot of batten checking. It will be faired again after the gun port sills and lintels are in.

The bow filler pieces needed a lot of attention. The curve changes constantly as it moves up the stem and many checks with a batten were necessary to get the fit right. I also started work on the gun port sills. A batten was used to establish a smooth flow of sills along the hull while using the reference lines that are etched onto each bulkhead as a guide. Slight variances were visible once the batten was pinned to the hull. After making final adjustments, a sharp pencil was used along the top of the batten to draw the final sill locations on the edge of each bulkhead. The batten was then removed.

When adding a gun port sill, a temporary batten was clamped to the opposite side of the hull. The top of the batten is flush with the sill locations drawn on each bulkhead. Though not shown here, I used a 3/8" wide cross-spall across the batten to the other side of the hull where the new sill was located. Pressing the sill to the cross-spall, while holding the cross-spall against the batten, flattens the upper edge of the sill parallel to the other side.

Mike

[KenW]

In addition to your skills as a wood worker, you have come up with some great 'tricks'.  Supporting the bulkhead extensions would have saved me a lot of grief on my last model.  And, clamping a temporary batten for the gun port alignment is another great idea. 

Keep the ideas coming; and keep showing your results.   And - keep bringing the model to our club meetings.

Cheers.

[Stuntflyer]

Thank you for the kind words, Ken!

 

I have been hard at work finishing up the gun port framing. Lots of different angles along with the usual throwaways. In some areas, like the last few stern ports, compound angles had to be used in order to get a good fit. Having a disc sander with angle adjustments made the work much easier.

The few of the forward ports are set at different angles from the others. These angles where taken from an overhead view on one of the plan sheets. A balsa block was made on the disc sander to match the angle and width needed. It was glued in prior to adding the upright.

On the same port the bulkhead extension was cut away to allow for the proper placement of the aft upright.

Mike

Edited March 31, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[Hubac's Historian]

Well, another great build of yours to follow, Mike!  Your change of wood only underscores your dedication to what you think is best for a project.  That's why your builds stand-out.  I'll be following along with great interest.

[Stuntflyer]

Thank you very much, Hubac'sHistorian and for all the "Likes".

 

Moving ahead, I added the fixed block supports to the hull. Hard to believe that these would take several hours to make. Holes were drilled with a #70 drill. Once the blocks were in place I was ready to do a second fairing of the hull. One gun port upright loosened early on, so I decided to add basswood filler pieces between the gun ports and bulkhead extensions in order to strengthen the uprights. This will all be hidden later on.

So far I have one side of the hull pretty much done.

 

Mike

Edited July 6, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[Rustyj]

Hi Mike,

 

I remember how much "fun" doing those ports, especially at the bow were. Great job. 

[Mirabell61]

very nice work Mike,

the lines show up very well on the second last photo, beautiful hull !  

 

Nils

[Stuntflyer]

Thank you, Nils!

 

All of the gun ports are now faired. I've started work on the stern framing. Again, I won't be using the laser cut kit parts. These six frames were cut from boxwood sheet. The slotted bulkheads allow for accurate placement of each frame, though it was necessary to make very slight adjustments to insure that the aft edges remained parallel to each other. Looking ahead, I can see that it would be easy to shift the frames out of position while adding the lower sills, lintels and Quarter Gallery Framing. I will keep a close eye on this. So far, things look good.

Mike

Edited April 6, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[dvm27]

Looking very good Mike. That slotted bulkhead (#29) shows this to be a very well thought out and designed kit! It address all the usual problems associated with raising the counter timbers.

[druxey]

I hate to mention this and hope it's an artifact of photography, but the hull appears to be developing a slight twist (check the last stern-on photo). If so and I'm right, it should be correctable at this point. Nice, clean work though.

[KenW]

Mike:  You're doing a great job.  I think the problem Dave sees is that in the photo the vertical is not straight up-and-down.  

And the bow, because it is farther away, seems less vertical than the stern.

I hope I'm right.

 

[Stuntflyer]

Well, druxey, you are absolutely correct! I spotted it too while working on the stern frames. Steps are being taken now to fix this. I should have it done in a few days. Hopefully!

 

Mike

 

 

[Stuntflyer]

Once I got started, it wasn't long before I realized that I couldn't untwist the hull without removing all the filler blocks and gun port framing. In hindsight I should have supported the stem and sternpost while doing the initial work. This is something I had done before, but for some reason didn't remember or see the need to do it here. Go figure! Anyway, after talking with Chuck, we decided to go up in scale. In the end I think it will show more detail and will look better at 1/4" scale. 

 

Mike

[Stuntflyer]

Work continues with the start of larger 1/4" scale Winchelsea. The stem has been scratch assembled using 1/4" boxwood sheet. It has been given a very light sanding (no tapering) to clean it up a bit for the photo.

Mike

Edited April 11, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[Chuck]

Looks very good Mike.  Dont forget to bring it on Saturday to my shop.  I will have  bulkhead formers laser cut by then. 

[SJSoane]

Hi Mike, I look forward to hearing how things change for you at the larger scale. More opportunity for details, etc.

 

Mark

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks, Chuck! Looks like I will have to order more wood to manage the larger scale. 

 

Mark, I too look forward to seeing what advantages the larger scale brings. Right now everything looks huge.

 

I wasn't going to, but I finally decided do the box joint at the lower stem. Guess I was nervous about messing up what was already done. I spent most of the day on it and I'm really glad that it's done.

Mike

Edited February 27, 2023 by Stuntflyer

[dvm27]

You certainly nailed that joint Mike. Now go nail that joint.

[Stuntflyer]

The three section bulkhead former is joined and the bearding line completed. The rabbet strip, knee assembly, keel sections and false keel sections have been added.

24 gauge copper wire was used for nailing the joints. Holes were drilled with a #76 drill bit (.020). This allows the wire to be inserted with a slight press fit into the holes. No gluing necessary. 

All of the keel joints were filed flush where the garboard plank will be. To do this I used an equaling file that is only 1/32" thick. http://www.ottofrei.com/Glardon-Vallorbe-Equalling-Special-Thickness-Precision-Files-LP1185?custcol19=14

 

I placed a plank along the upper edge of the keel to show the result.

Mike

Edited April 19, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

We had a great time at the Northeast Joint Clubs Conference last weekend. Lots of beautiful models on display. My girlfriend, Ofelia, did most of the picture taking. I Finally got to meet a number of MSW members while I was there which was really nice.

 

Now that I'm back in build mode, I managed to taper the knee of the head and complete the gammoning knee and extension piece that sit above it. Templates were made from the plan drawings and transferred to 3/16" boxwood sheet.

Mike

[Maury S]

 

Such very clean joints!

Maury

[Stuntflyer]

The bulkhead former will be held vertical while adding the bulkheads. Chuck designed these laser cut supports and longitudinal pieces from 1/4" stock. Laser char was removed from any area that will come in contact with the keel or lower stem. The slotted holes allow for some in and out movement. The bolts are M1.6 x 22 and the nuts are recessed into the bottom of the build board. They are secured with thin CA. Blue painters tape was used to make up any thickness variation between the keel and bulkhead former. Although the BF is held securely, it can be removed without loosening the supports.

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

 Hi Mike,

love that model, a well thought through assembly system Mike,

BTW, did you manage to correct that twist in the hull, I had the same problem with my chebec build when planking the hull...

 

Nils

[Stuntflyer]

Nope, the effort to correct the twist only led to more frustration. The new BF is a lot stiffer and stronger than the original. My plan is to keep it vertical during the gun port framing and planking above the wales. I will keep a watchful eye on it as I move ahead.

 

Mike

[Chuck]

That looks great....I should be catching up to you soon enough.  I think the supports will keep your hull ...or any hull for that matter from twisting.  Nicely done.

[Stuntflyer]

All of the work since my last post was done on the build board where the bulkhead former was held securely by the longitudinal channel and the three vertical supports.

After adding the bulkheads, the hull was faired down to the half breadth in preparation for the gun port framing. I used a 36" x 1/16" x 1/4" x balsa strip as a batten to establish a smooth run for the framing. After completing one side, vertical measurements where taken at each bulkhead and transferred to the other side.

The gun port framing and fixed block supports were added. This time, I drilled smaller 1/32" holes through the supports.

Bulkheads had to be cut for proper gun port location at the bow.

One of the two lower deck platforms installed.

 

Mike

 

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by Stuntflyer

[Rustyj]

A larger Deja vu! Looks really nice Mike.