HMS Atalanta 1775 by tlevine - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - from TFFM plans

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really nice progress, Toni

[archjofo]

Fantastic work!

[tlevine]

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments and thanks for the likes.  Chuck, repetition like this is the reason I hate rigging.  Remco, considering your avatar, that is a true compliment.  I brought my first completed carriage with cannon to my local club meeting last Saturday so Kurt is referring to the pictures which will follow.

[tlevine]

The cannon were addressed next.  My original intention was to cast my own cannon.  But after looking at the dimensions of the cannon available through Syren, I decided to cheat and use his instead.  Maybe someday...  I also purchased Chuck's monograms to apply to the cannon barrels. I bored the barrels to the correct diameter and then blackened them in Birchwood Casey. Specifically, they were cleaned in isopropanol and blackened for approximately thirty seconds. They were then rinsed in water and wiped dry.  The process was repeated five times.  Finally, they were rubbed down with a paper towel.  The monogram was applied with CA; Titebond did not hold.  The monogram was "painted" with archival marker.  Now it is time to mount the cannon barrel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Nice! Those will look good on your model.

[Mark P]

Hi Toni;

 

Thank you for sharing the pictures of the cannon,  and all the rest of your log.

 

I made the cannon for my current project at a scale of 1:64.  I then decided that I just had to build it at 1:48. So my cannon were consigned to the 'might use one day on something' box.  But having seen the cannons you have made,  and some of the others' work on here making them,  I think that I would have re-made them anyway,  as they just are not up to the standard that can be achieved.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Mark P

[Siegfried]

just perfect, very nice!

 

Cheers, Daniel

[tlevine]

Thank you Druxey, Mark and David.  

 

The gun rigging is next.  I chose to show only the breeching and the gun tackles.  With the open deck, the train tackle just did not look right.  The first step was to make the correct rope.  The breeching is 4" in circumference and the tackle line is 1.5"  In TFFM, the tackle is shown as a left hand laid line.  So I made a bunch of it using three strands of 100 weight crochet thread.  Something did not seem right so looked in all my sources and they all stated right hand laid (or stated that all rope was right hand laid unless stated otherwise).  There are not exactly a lot of 18th century ships still afloat so I decided to use the Victory as my model.  Her cannon are rigged with right-hand laid tackles and left hand breeching.  So I remade all the tackle rope...correctly this time.  The breeching is made with three strands of 50 weight thread.  Did I mention that the ropewalk handle broke off in my hand in the middle of all this? I like to secure knots with Titebond.  In order to do that I use a water based stain by Minwax, Woodsheen, in manor oak.  

 

The blocks are made by laminating the pieces together and then carving in notch for the strop.  One block has a strop with one loop and the other has two loops.  The strop is served with some ancient thread I found in my sewing machine.  The pictures show the sequence of "splicing" and serving the strop.  I tried but was unable to actually splice the rope this size.  First, the line was served, leaving extra unserved material on either end.  The two ends were mated and glued together.  When dry, they were thinned down to decrease the bulk and stiffness.  The rest of the strop was served by hand.  Finally it was given to the block.  Not perfect, but it was the best I could do.

 

 

 

 

The ring bolts for the breeching and tackle were temporarily attached to the hull.  On Victory, the breeching is secured to the bolt with a loose knot which looks like a pretzel. It is then secured to itself.  I duplicated that here.  The second picture gives a good view of the knot.

 

 

 

There is a hook on each of the tackle blocks.  The ring is at a 90^o angle to the hook.  The tackle is frapped.  I wondered how neat and tight this frapping would be in reality.  Back to the Victory pictures.  They are relatively neat but not very tight, so that is how I depicted them.  I have not decided what to do with the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Those are very acceptable looking strops, Toni. Is there enough length to hook both ends of the frapped side tackle, though? If the gun is run out, those tackle would be cast off ready for action.

[tlevine]

Thanks for your concern, Druxey.  There is enough length on the tackle to hook both ends without it looking taut.  The hooks are possibly a little too long.  

[Elijah]

Hey Toni! This is a very nice build you have! Those cannons look very good! I did notice that the cannon in this picture has one of the metal fasteners loose.

It's on the left. I wish I could have met you at the meeting. I hope I can another time! Also, thanks for the journals !

[archjofo]

This ship cannon looks very realistic.
Very good performance.

[tlevine]

Sharp eyes, Elijah.  Thank you Johann.

 

I was able to finish up one of the cannon today.  Only seven more to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jose_b]

A very good work!

Congratulations.

[wyz]

Nice job on the cannon Toni.  Sweet looking!  It's an eye-catcher.

 

Tom

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

It's a credit to you mate! Simply fantastic.

Havagooday Greg

[Elijah]

Nice gun rigging Toni!

[tlevine]

The rest of the cannon have been rigged and mounted!

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Congratulations, Toni. Aren't you glad she's not a 74 gun ship?

[Mark P]

Nice work and a great model,  Toni.  I like the idea of the lids on the stove being in brass;  think I'll do this myself,  even if they will hardly be visible.

 

All the best,

 

Mark P

[tlevine]

Jose, Tom, Elijah, Greg and Mark thank you for your comments.  Druxey, if I had to rig one more cannon I think I would have gone postal.  Truthfully, if this were a larger ship I would probably have done only one or two cannon with all the trimmings.  

[dvm27]

Looks terrific, Toni. I also notice in the last photo that you have hung some hammocks between the battens. Must have missed them before but they look really good.

[wyz]

Toni,

 

     Yes, that kind of repetition is tedious and painfully boring but you really have to love the finished cannons.  I certainly do.

 

Tom

[tlevine]

Thanks Tom.  This kind of repetition is why I hate rigging.  Greg, at one point there was even a lazy seaman in one of the hammocks.  But robin opened my eyes to how cheesy it looked and I sent him packing.

[albert]

Hi Toni fantastic work.

[mtaylor]

Nothing is cheesy about your ship, Toni.   The cannons, though tedious, look great.

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Toni

Brilliant work on the "big guns" mate. They look superb on the deck!

Just curious thought, what was the thickness of the ribs? They look so authentic!

Haveagreatone

Greg

[dgbot]

Fantastic work Toni, too bad I cannot see it up close.  I think you did a wonderful job in getting everything rigged and placed properly I commend your patience.

David B

[tlevine]

Thanks Albert, Mark and David.  And thanks for the likes.  Greg, what do you mean by the ribs?

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Toni

maybe my technical term might not be correct. I mean eachhull section as per this photo.

Havagooday

Greg