HMS Bellona 1760 by SJSoane - Scale 1:64 - English 74-gun - as designed

[SJSoane]

Thanks, John, your comment means a great deal to me. 

 

Work proceeds on the port wales, using the old clamps at midships to grab from below where the deck is too high relative to the wale for a clamp from above. The second photo shows hanging the clamps on the starboard side to keep them level when tightening.

 

And a view of both wales from the bow, although the lower two strakes are not yet installed and the battens are not yet removed.

 

Mark

[druxey]

Coming along nicely, Mark.

[SJSoane]

Thanks, druxey.

 

When I started working this morning, I noticed that where I left off last night shows just how much the hooked scarphs interlock. I was initially skeptical that those relatively small hooks would make a difference, but modeling the joint has shown me the exceptional strength this joint has created.

 

Mark

[aviaamator]

Simply charm!

[Mark P]

Hi Mark;

 

More lovely work.  She's coming along beautifully.  So interesting to watch.

 

Regarding the relatively small size of the hooks,  in full-size work an 8" thick oak post let into a horizontal timber by only 1" is remarkably resistant to lateral forces.  The same effect would apply here.

 

Keep up the impressive work.  It looks a bit chilly outside!  Stay indoors!

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Mark. One learns a lot about full size construction from little models. I still marvel at the idea of the shipwrights steam bending a 32 foot long, 8 inch thick by 12 inch wide plank, hoisting it into position several stories off the ground, and then clamping it before it begins to cool. Just about impossible for me to comprehend.

 

Yes, we are living through what old-timers here call one of the worst winters in memory, true across much of North America and Europe, I understand. (It still doesn't feel as cold as when I lived in London many years ago in a student room with a single bar electrical heater. I gained a strong appreciation of British toughness in the face of weather, certainly tougher than I was...🙂)

 

But between the dumps of snow and low wind chill factors, we occasionally get out to ski here. And of course, a big snow storm is a terrific opportunity to brew a big pot of coffee and work in the shop!

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

 

 

[SJSoane]

I cut and cut, and it was still too short...

 

There went a morning's work, with a piece pre-trimmed too short to meet the gunport edges. I tried the board stretcher, but it just could not quite manage the task.🙂

All of the pieces from this point to the stern are just a smidgeon too short, so I have to remake them all. My CAD drawing slightly underestimated the length of the wale when it was turned into a true projection, and so I cut the blanks at the stern with too little to spare. I had cut them long enough oversize on the starboard side to adjust when put to their true location, but for some reason I failed to do so on the port side. Just when you think you have got a process down, the demons jump up and grab you.

 

Time to go do something else!

 

Mark

[druxey]

Aaargh! I hate when that happens. And it happens to me frequently. Right now struggling with complex compound angled cuts to assemble some quarter badge munions and lights. I feel your pain, Mark.

[Wintergreen]

well, there is always time for coffee, or tea... we're with you on this one, Mark.

[SJSoane]

Thanks, druxey and Håkan. Mistakes like this help keep one humble!

 

Mark

 

[druxey]

Then does that make us the most humble folk in the world?

[Hubac's Historian]

I think it must!

 

This reminds me of a very special car that is often parked just outside an auto-repair shop in my neighborhood.  It’s a Dodge Challenger, of recent vintage, with custom wide racing stripes running across the hood, roof and trunk.  The tinted back window has the following emblazoned in big white letters:  STAY HUMBLE.

 

Sage advice, for sure.  Sometimes, in life, I find it useful to remember the humble hemi, as I make my way through the day.

[garyshipwright]

Hay Mark. Your doing good sir and druxy I do believe that model ship builders are some of the most humble, just look at their scrap box. Gary

[SJSoane]

I always knew we are especially wonderful, our scrap boxes confirm it!

Mark

[SJSoane]

calling all clamps, calling all clamps, report to the port side...

 

After going off in a huff and recovering my composure, I got going again. Just four more planks to install on the port side, upper two strakes (blanks are next to the screwdriver in the photo below). This is a big step, because it locks in the two sides longitudinally at about the same level of humidity.

 

Good days for working in the shop here in Montana. We hit minus 11 degrees fahrenheit last night, the town of Butte about 180 miles away hit minus 24 degrees, the lowest in the lower 48 states, and the wind chill factor on the eastern plains hit minus 36 degrees. Not much point in going outside.

 

I can only begin to appreciate how cold it got on a winter North Atlantic station, or rounding the horn, taking in sail.

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[russ]

Mark:

You are doing very good work. I hope one day to approach this level of skill.

 

Like the others, I have my scrap box, full of fond wishes that did not quite come true. It is indeed a special occasion when I get something right the first time. Most of my models are full of second, third, and fourth tries.

 

Russ

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

I second what Russ just said.  Your joinery is impeccable, Mark!

[SJSoane]

 

thanks, Russ and Hubac'sHistorian, a great deal of the fun for me in this hobby is the miniature joinery. Very soothing when one is not in a rush; file and test fit, file and test fit, file and test fit....

 

Mark

[SJSoane]

Two pieces to go. I discovered, when recutting the upper, sternmost plank of the wale, that leaving it much longer than necessary helped with steaming to the correct shape. Having a little extra length reduced the springback and gave a better purchase when gluing. Sometimes, as in the case of my first failed blank here, cutting rough blanks too close to final size is "penny wise and pound foolish". New lessons learned all the time.

 

Mark

[druxey]

Silly point perhaps, but I've always found it easier to plank the counters first before completing the wale, as the latter overlaps the former.

[EdT]

I agree with Druxey on this.  If you plank the wales first, you will need to later butt the counter planking neatly against it - and also, of course, leave excess wale planking that will later be cut off flush with the counter.  Fitting the curved counter planks to fit nicely with the curved inside of the wale is work - much easier to install the counter, file off the ends flush with the outside of the outer counter timbers, overlap that with the wale planks, then file those off flush with the counter.

 

Looking great, Mark.

 

Ed

[SJSoane]

Thanks, druxey and Ed, you have both caught me from mistakes in the past, and please keep checking up on me!

 

In this case, I followed the advice in the Naiad book and in David Antscherl's Fully Framed Model books, and planked the counter some time ago. Although it hasn't shown in my recent photos, I see. Here are photos from a few years ago when I planked the counter.

 

The photo from the port showing the wales underway does raise an interesting question on this, though. I had started to shape the wale to the counter on the starboard side, as you can see, but I quickly realized that I was likely to damage the counter because I could not see very well upside down. I assume I will have to turn the hull upside down again, and then shape the wales to the counter. And as long as I am at it, I wonder if it would be a good idea to color the wales upside down, where I can really see the critical painting edges between the lower edge of the wale and the hull (which remains unplanked in this model style), and between the wales and the counter.

 

I also need to try a few samples of coloring, which at this point will include Fiebing Leather Dye, Speedball ink, or possibly airbrushing with diluted acrylic paint. I am looking for something revealing the wood grain slightly, but I don't want to mess with a top coat of tung oil which I see has caused some problems for others in the past. As Ed well advises, I will test extensively off the model first!

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hello Mark,

 

it is always good to see your model. I had the same thoughts about the counter then Druxey and Edt. But at the other hand, I have to plank the hull under the wales too and there I think it is easier to clamp the planks to the wing transom without having the counter planked. What is really better? I don't know. In your case this version seems to be the better way.

[druxey]

Glad that you did plank the counter first, Mark! It was invisible in your previous post. This sequence saves a lot of aggravation. And yes, it is much easier to deal with things when the model is inverted.

[SJSoane]

Finished the last port plank in the upper two strakes. Now I need to trim up the lower edge before beginning the final two strakes.

 

I got this done just in time, because you can see in the third photo a lightning bolt is about to attack the ship from my wife's side of the shop...

 

Mark

[Hubac's Historian]

This is just going to be a great one to watch develop.  Crispy clean work!

[druxey]

Lovely, work Mark. But why the lightning bolt, pray tell?

[Wintergreen]

That's quite a view you've got from your shop windows there, Mark.

 

Lovely model also ;-)

[SJSoane]

Thanks, Håkan, we moved to a rural area in Montana with limited resources like shops, but beautiful views.

druxey, my wife is not only a retired architect, but also furniture designer (two of her designs are in the Kirkland Museum of decorative arts in Denver). The lightning bolt is a prototype for a candlestick holder she is working on.  We share the shop, split right down the middle. We share most tools, but not my carefully honed chisels....🙂

 

Mark

[druxey]

A truly talented couple, then!