HMS Blandford by DocBlake - FINISHED - 1/32 Scale - cross-section

[Matt D]

Absolutely gorgeous, Dave!  

[FriedClams]

Very nice work Dave.  Beautiful model - beautiful display stand.

 

Gary

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!!

 

I started working on the the waist rails. I opted to make them out of swiss pear and dye them black. I used TransFast water soluble wood dye, available at Rockler woodworking supply store. I made the concentration twice as strong as the standard. One ounce of dye will give 2 quarts when dissolved in water, or 1 quart when doubled like I did. One ounce runs about $13, so the final cost is comparable to other preprepared dyes and stains. The great thing about the water based stain is that you can glue the stained wood! I did tests with PVA, epoxy, WeldBond and CA and they all performed as well as they would on undyed wood. I did pre-raise the grain on the swiss pear parts with water before dying, but with hardwoods at this scale, very little grain raising occurs with the water based dye. Be careful with bass wood, though!!

The waist rail leans inboard (tumblehome) at 15 degrees, so I ripped the waist rails and planksheer rails at 15 degrees. I then dyed a 1/4" piece of stock black and cut it off at identical lengths (also at 15 degrees) to make the planksheer rail supports. The fenders were cut out, shaped and dyed.

To fit the waistrail, I used double sided tape on the top bulwark surface and placed the rail in position. I drilled small holes to pin the rail to the bulwarks at places where the planksheer rail supports go so the holes wouldn't be visible on the finished model. I then marked the overall length of the rail on the underside and cut it to length, also cutting out the parts that spanned the gunports. The photo shows the fitted waist rail pinned temporarily in place. The cut ends need some dye before final placement. Next is to glue the waistrail in place and fit the supports for the planksheer rail.  The last photo showas the rail in place with the ends dyed.

[MEDDO]

Looks great. I have used TransTint dye I got from Woodcraft with good results on other projects it’s nice to see another brand in action. 

[Rpolson]

Great pics!

Are the plans available on MSW?

 

Richard

[Elijah]

Whoah! This looks really cool, Doc!

[captain_hook]

Looking very good. Beautiful work. Although I find cross sections a little scary to look at I will try one myself as a first POF scratch project in the future.

[DocBlake]

Thanks guys!

 

I'm back from vacation. 

I spent the last couple of days prepping and installing the sheer rail with it's supports. Again, made of pear, stained black. I don't have a mill, so to make assembly easier and more sturdy, I beefed up the sheer rail supports a bit compared to Mike's plans. This is OK, because the supports aren't even shown on the NMM plans or some contemporary models, but are on others. In any case, I think the rails turned out OK. The gun ports are a little taller than they would be a little further forward on the ship. This is due to the rising rails moving aft, and is shown on the plans.

　

There is a little decorative groove plowed into the waist rail as a decorative trim (see arrow)

[MEDDO]

Wonderful work as always Dave

[DocBlake]

I'm beginning to work on the final details on the exterior of the model. There are 6 sweep port covers and one ballast port cover per side. When the model was designed, the idea was to keep the framing simple, so understandably the sweep ports and ballast ports were not framed in. In the original ship, the port covers would have sat flush with the outboard planking. In the model, they will be glued onto the planking. The plans call for 1/16" stock for these parts. I'm using boxwood so I thought I could go thinner - I used 1/32" thick boxwood. A soft wood like basswood wouldn't hold up at 1/32". I also need a way to add those horseshoe shaped hinges to the sweep port lids. I talked to my good friend Mike , and he offered to cut the parts out of 1/32' boxwood and etch the hinges for me! Then it was a simple matter to paint the hinges. Mike left masking tape on the good surface of the boxwood so there is no laser scorch on the good face, and it masks the wood where the hinges are, so all I had to do was slop on the paint and let it dry. Once dry, peel off the masking tape, and nice clean hinges result. Here are some pictures. Thanks, Mike!

[DocBlake]

Finding 6-pounder cannon barrels in 1:32 scale proved to be very difficult. Since I had been involved in conversations with my cyber friend Mike (one of my 17th Century Battle Station partnerss), we speculated as to whether we could cut the guns with his CNC setup. After a lot of hard work on his part, Mike sent me four 6-pounders CNC cut out of swiss pear. All I had to do was clean them up, dye them and give them a coat of poly. Look closely at the barrels. You can see the touch hole and the cypher of King George I, the monarch in 1720. Mike also laser cut the carrieages for me.  I laso installed the entry steps and the fenders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by DocBlake

[MEDDO]

They look great!  Always awesome to have friends with cool tools:)

 

[Rpolson]

Fantastic!  I've noted that most group builders are building at 1:32 scale vs 1:48.

 

Richard  

[yvesvidal]

It is just incredible what you can do with modern tooling. A CNC machine on three axles is a little marvel in itself. It is even better than a 3D printer, as it lets you pick up the material you want (wood, metal, resin....etc).

 

Yves

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!

 

Closer to done. Sweep port and ballast port covers installed. The ballast ports need ring bolts and line to open them. No poly yet. All that’s left on the outside of the hull are channels, dead eyes, chain pump dale discharge ports and chain plates. Just finishing those up.

[Gregory]

What is the length of your barrels, if I may ask?

[md1400cs]

Dave,

 

Always a pleasure and a learning exp. to drop by your log.

PS: Yes those guns are indeed awesome (carriages are no that bad either haha)

 

Cheers,

[DocBlake]

Thanks Michael, and everyone for the "likes".

 

Gregory:  The cannon barrels are 3-1/8" or 79 mm from cascabel to the end of the barrel.

[SigEp Ziggy]

Great job Doc, you do professional modeling work!

[DocBlake]

I need to get this model finished!

　

I made my own blocks from swiss pear. They are 8 scale inches long, or 1/4" on the model. The single blocks are cut from 1/8" X 3/16" stock, and the double blocks are from 3/16" square stock. The sequence is:

　

-Mark the location of the sheave holes and drill them through with a #60 drill

-Connect the sheave holes with a groove, using a curved X-Acto blade.

-Round one end of each block, then cut them off at 1/4" and round off the other.

-File stropping grooves into the block faces.

-Treat with boiled linseed oil to darken.

 

 

 

[DocBlake]

I also rigged the ballast ports.

 

 

[DocBlake]

Finishing up the exterior.  Fitting deadeyes on the channels.

[DocBlake]

This is the sequence for making the deadeye stropping and chain plates. This simple strap style of chain plate was in use by the British Royal navy before 1760. Blandford was launched in 1720.

 

I started with a length of 18 gauge copper wire (adjust based on scale and deadeye size). I wrapped it around the deadeye (a sacrificial deadeye, not the final one) and then clamped the two wires about 3/16" from the deadeye with a pair of pliers. With another pliers I squeezed the two wires between the first pair of pliers and the deadeye to create a tight strop with two parallel copper wires.

 

I then soldered the two copper wires together. Be careful not to solder too close to the deadeye or you won't be able to remove it. Once soldered, remove the sacrificial deadeye (you can use it again!).

 

File the soldered "strap" flat and remove any excess solder.

 

Blacken the chainplate and install the finish deadeye. Mine were dyed black.

 

Bend the chainplate to fit the channel and butt up against the hull. Drill a hole in the end of the chainplate, and with an awl mark the location on the hull where you'll pin the chainplate. Use the hole in the chainplate to mark the location. Drill that hole.

 

Install the chainplate/deadeye assembly.

[DocBlake]

The exterior of the model is complete. I mounted all the deadeyes and chainplates and glued the retaining strips to hold them in place. The chainplates were nailed to the hull through pre-drilled holes and secured with a drop of CA. The chainplates were fixed to the channels in their notches with a little gel CA. The finished channels have a decorative groove cut in the outside edge, and knees to counter the upward stress the shrouds would put on the channels.

All that's left is to rig the cannons, and add some kegs, match tubs and tools to the two battles stations on the gun deck.

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent work dave  and what a great idea  putting the  covers for the oar  cut outs  ontop  instead of  having to cut them into the hull, I should have a thought of that when I built  my Frigate.

 

OC.

[md1400cs]

Dave,

Always great catching up. Beyond excellent work!

PS: your sequence for making the deadeye stropping  - now my go to...

I used metal wires in my last build, copper would have been SO MUCH easier to work with. Great advice - thanks for sharing your technique.

Edited November 8, 2019 by md1400cs

[DocBlake]

Thanks, guys!!

 

FINALLY FINISHED!!! I rigged the guns and placed some equipment at each battle station to complete the model. I'll post a few more shots, including the model in it's case, tomorrow.

[Worldway]

Wow, nice work as usual Dave.  Great job, looks amazing.

[G.L.]

Magnificent model, Dave.

Congratulations.

[SigEp Ziggy]

Congratulations on a job well done!