HMB Endeavour by Pat Lynch - FINISHED - Artesania Latina

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks Pat. At last - some structure on the deck. Not quite finished yet but the windlass needed a bit of work and will be OK when I've tidied it up a bit. The original kit parts were used except for the forward braces which should have been the same thickness as the windlass bearing bits. The drum was drilled through in the lathe and then reassembled after shaping and painting. I'll rough up the winding drum a bit to show some wear as shown on the replica. I'm going to use a mixture of the replica style pawls but only two of them! Just to be different! The square holes were easy with a 1/16" drill and a tiny square file. Time for a break!

 

Pat

 

PS - I seem to have got the pictures back to front. Apologies!

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Pat Lynch
Spelling

[Pat Lynch]

I'm reasonably happy with the windlass (lots of errors to remember for next time ) and so I charged on to the ships bell and its mounting.

I wasn't keen on the supplied lintel so made a slightly more 'wooden' looking item from kit scraps using the replica as a guide. Some simplification was made but it gives a rough idea of 'a' real thing. Due to lack of observations skills and how my model was built, I made the belaying pin racks straight - not curved! Smack on the wrist for me........but at least they are there, unlike the kit plans. I was amazed that at this late stage I realised the Endeavour seems to use only a few belaying pins for the running rigging. Most 'ropes' are apparently tied off around the heavy railings - and I'd bought a bunch of tiny A.L. pins as I didn't see any in the kit! Another slap on the wrist.

I haven't made the windlass pawls yet but will model them on the replica - just short bits of 1mm square stuff with dummy hinges. Well, that's the current thinking.

The metal cleats provided seemed far too large at this scale so I filed about 5mm off the length and thinned them down somewhat. Still a bit big but more acceptable - only a couple of dozen more to do!

Pat

 

ps. I just realised the cleats should be brown, not black........

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

A few odds and ends done - as usual it is a mix between the kit, a few drawings (ex AOTS?) that I have found on the net, plus other's builds and of course, the replica! Add to that my own interpretation and it will be different from everybody else's

The rectangular plates at the base of each mast don't show on the kit but are present on many models - are they flat iron? I made mine from 1/64" birch ply. Gratings are only being used in a couple of places - mainly the main hatch. I'll make up wooden structures and covers for the rest.

This is the part of a build I really enjoy - doing small sections at a time. Heaps f fun on cold winter nights!

 

Pat

 

 

[Pat Lynch]

Every day or two - some more bits  This basic fitting out is my favourite part of the deal. The frames that hold the spare spars, ship's boats etc were built up to look vaguely like the replica with curved and capped ends. Plus the capstan and the wheel were tidied up and fitted. The wheel was a bit chunky compared with the replica but it cleaned up OK. A bit of re-touching can be done later. I'll tackle the rudder linkage as my first use of rigging materials on this model which raises a question - does anyone use the rigging thread that comes with these kits? It seems a bit hairy and of rather poor quality. I have some beading thread that looks superb but not in the larger sizes. Banyan, ny good suppliers in Oz? Otherwise I guess a USA supplier can be found......

I cleaned up the wheel in the lathe - I was going to paint some brass décor but the replica seems to be all varnished wood so I left it at that

 

Pat

Edited May 10, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[pontiachedmark]

Gidday Pat.

A good rate of progress.

I also like the attention to detail.

Wishing you all the best.

Mark. 

[BANYAN]

That is a good stage of the build Pat as you rapidly see progress with the addition with each bit of detal.

 

Looking good!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks for the comments folks - yes I love the seemingly rapid day-to-day progress. I guess that will slow down when the rigging starts

I decided to rig the rudder tiller and prepped a few of the smallest blocks - a light sanding, a coat of grain filler and a coat of walnut stain - they could be better but wasn't sure how much time to spend on them. I'm getting myself psyched up for rigging one of these days so hopefully things will be sorted by then!

While rummaging around in a box of 'stuff', I found a treasure trove of wire! esp. the black-coated 24 swg steel. Perfect for strops on the little blocks. Apart from using them back-to-front (I think) they will work OK. The black beading thread is only to checkout the run of the rope. The horrible L.A. supplied 'rope' is probably OK when waxed - I'll try it tomorrow.

The blocks all seem a bit over-scale but with my 75 year old eyesight, I'm glad they're not smaller

btw, the design of the goose-neck is based on the replica.

 

Pat

Edited May 12, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks for the 'likes' folks  The four pumps amidships puzzled me for a short while - I could find some parts in the bits boxes but bore no resemblance to the instructions - obviously the cast metal versions have replaced a rather clumsy wooden one that would need a lot of work. I could find no references to these type of main pumps online or in my model books so I just made them in a way I assumed were expected. But, I tried a few new techniques to make things easier down the track. Firstly getting the cast metal to accept paint readily. After a thorough filing to remove mould lines, a wire brushing and a scrub with isopropyl alcohol, they were given several VERY light coats of Rustoleum etch-primer. Then the final colour coat adhered well. The handle, because I wasn't sure if it was wood or iron, I gave it a quick dunk in Brass Black metal finish. Perfect

A 1mm copper rivet secured the handle and a blackened eye-bolt made a rudimentary plunger to the stuff lower down. I don't have the Endeavour AOTS so it will have to do. Interestingly, the replica ship doesn't seem to have even dummy pumps. That space is taken by what looks like air vents (to the engines?)

Which pump parts are wood or iron! If anyone can advise, thanks

The pumps are not glued in place yet as I read that they could make the rigging harder later on........we'll see!

I am procrastinating as to how the various companion-ways and skylight will be made - certainly different than the kit.

Thanks goodness for all the kind folk who logged their own builds of this ship.

 

Pat

 

A rudimentary pump from the kit

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

It's been quite a while since I posted - spent a few weeks lazing in the Fiji sun on a large cruising catamaran, swimming, snorkeling and generally being lazy - wonderful!

Back to the Endeavour. While away, I have been reading a new book - the AOTS of the Beagle - a ship, along with Shackleton's Endurance, that appeal to me as models. It made me realise that the Endeavour I'm building is quite a long way from 'reality'- whatever that is. So, I have decided not to try and make the A.L. kit too difficult but continue to gather the experience and skills needed to do better next time! Make the odd change where it seems appropriate but follow the construction notes (difficult at best) for anything I don't understand. The arc of eye-bolts in the bow is a case in point - maybe it was how the collier was setup but is certainly not a feature of many other models I've seen. So be it!

The anchor davits and anchors were almost next on my list and were only slightly modified. The brass wheels provided for the cannon were given the task of being pulleys in the davit ends. The blocks and tackle for raising the anchor to be secured will be added next. 

The anchor cable's permanent position will be decided later - it probably depends on what stage of a voyage a static ship is representing - cable laid out on the fore-deck if ready to drop anchor or all stowed away when at sea. So much to learn, so little time 😊

Pat

 

 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[pontiachedmark]

Gidday Pat.

Firstly, I envy you your recent trip. The build looks like it is progressing well and you appear to have not encountered too many problems.

She sure is looking good.

All the best,

Mark.

[Pat Lynch]

Back again - just a few small but time-consuming details done - the anchors were fitted and lashed to various posts up front. I studied all sorts of pictures but opted for something vaguely logical to secure the anchors. The A.L. instructions are of course, not helpful. But it looks OK (imho)

I also made the various skylights and companion way covers - lots of variations and options so I did a mix and match. I found the .3 and .6mm birch ply very nice in this job - very fine grain and easy to work with.

Next task are the four cannons. They must have been a very lightweight piece of gear - only a few pounds per shot? They seem small. Brass wheels were supplied but I'm using painted wood dowel - the real thing was wood so..........

After the cannons, there are many boats - up to four it seems. At least it's not as cluttered as the HMS Beagle that I'm studying the AOTS for. I might get enthused one day - smaller ship, bigger scale possible........who knows where it may lead 😊

 

Pat

 

 

[Cabbie]

Good afternoon Pat

That is a lot of work in those deck fittings and yours are looking very sharp.

I think Cap'n cook himself would be happy to walk on your deck.

I always thought they would be too hard and fiddly for myself to tackle.

But now I have no excuses.

Cheers Chris

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks Cabbie - this whole project is bordering on 'too fiddly' for my ageing fingers and eyesight 

I had a go at the cannons and am seeing a way to achieve what I need. The kit barrels and basic carriage work out OK but I'll replace the wheels with ones cut from 4mm walnut dowel. I'm still experimenting and think I'll just fit the heavy ropes that restrain the gun. It looks very small but is only a 4 lb gun and the replica shows them as quite tiny too. Watch this space ........ (not sure why !)

 

Pat

[johnothanswift]

We've got an original cannon here from the Endeavour that may help you too.

 

(Back Story)

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/977

 

[dashi]

Hi Pat, just found your build and she's coming along nicely, looking very neat and clean.

 

Dashi

[Pat Lynch]

Johnathon and Dashi - thanks for your interest and input- it all helps

Pat

[Pat Lynch]

A bit of a break while other matters needed attending to! The four cannon are almost finished and fixed in place and two of the four ship's boats have been made. The kit-supplied boat was 'tarted up' a bit with 'duck boards'? and some rudimentary internal frames - just to see if it was worth it. Came out OK (I think). A second boat (dinghy?) was created from a cheap Billings plastic item - only a few dollars a pair. A transom and some internal modifications made it remotely dinghy-ish and will be OK when fitted out with stowed rudder and oars and buried under all the spare spars and a couple of bigger boats. What those boats will be is debatable! I have a pair of Billings 'life boats' that are a bit like whalers and can be bashed into something respectable. Reading the AOTS book of the Beagle, it seemed that ship's boats needed frequent replacement while on long journeys - replacements being sourced from friendly ports en-route. Mine will be only remotely like the real ship - whatever it carried 

 

It's all good fun and this Endeavour will certainly be 'mine' . Now back to fitting and securing the lower boats in place and making a few more oars!

 

Pat

[Pat Lynch]

I searched on the 'net for some pictures on ships boats of this era being lashed to the deck - but my skills (or patience) didn't find what I wanted so I used some models on this forum for guidance and then did 'my own thing'. Some ability to tighten the fixings seemed desirable and I'd seen both dead-eyes and pulley blocks used - I liked the blocks and opted for the smallest ones supplied with the kit - about 4mm. They seem a bit out of scale but I'm happy with the look and have now got a supply of 3mm ones - for other bits later. My arrangement looks like it is accommodating boats of a different intended size (or were stowed in a hurry!) - most will be hidden under the spare spars and timbers. It all adds to the wonderful clutter on the decks of these early ships 

Now on to those spare spars on the gallows.....

Pat

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

A bit of a lull while I got on with some sundry stuff- I had raise the forward gallows a few mm, add some sundry spars and spare planks and finally build another couple of boats. The basis of these two top imaginary boats were as before, a Billings kit of two plastic 20th century lifeboats but some not-so-subtle modification and lots of added woodwork they look just a little bit like various examples I've seen on this and other forums. Apologies for the lack of fidelity but my imagination is happy 😉

I'm slowly gaining confidence at 'how to do it' and one day may even get it to be accurate! But not yet.....this is still very much the A.S. ship - warts and all. Just with my 'improvements'.

Still having fun.

Pat

[Pat Lynch]

Having made the decision to go (more-or-less) with the A.S. rigging, I fitted out the decks with all the fittings indicated on the plans. For once, the A.S. rigging and spars seem well documented with many detailed drawings in a step by step manner. Still that annoying thing of having to refer back  and forth to get the dimensions but at least I know what is needed. I am aware the model is quite wrong in many ares but as I am mainly concerned with learning the terminology and techniques, I'll stick to the plans and make small changes when/if they are needed.

So rigging - here I come - at last 😊

The cleats provided seem a bit on the large size (12mm X 60 = 720mm long!) but I may be mistaken.....

A handy extension for a 1.5mm drill - the bit is CAed into some tube - got some holes done in difficult places.

...for better or worse...Pat

Edited August 25, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[JimArr]

Pat,

Just ran across your thread.  I too just recently joined this site.  You may remember me from rcgroups.  It's nice to run across someone you know.  Your model looks fantastic as usual.  I wonder how many folks here know just how much modeling skill and knowledge you have.  Are you still doing any flying?  I just have not been able to stay interested enough in airplanes since Pete passed.  Anyways, it's good to hear from you.

 

Jim

[Pat Lynch]

After a week or so of stop-start building/cursing/rebuilding etc, etc.....I finally have my first spars fitted - the bowsprit. Lots of learning here- how to taper spars, fixing tiny blocks to spars, etc. Good place to start here on the 'sprit. A lot of details not provided in the plans but reference to the many builds here usually gives one a choice about how it should look! Again, my Endeavour will certainly be MY Endeavour 😉 A real learning experience. But I've proved my aging fingers can fix tiny blocks and research how to do stuff - Youtube is a great resource! Some of the rigging will be at odds with other builds so - I'm sorry if I get it wrong. It's a process of learning the skills, nautical language, resources and the materials to suit my temperament. So, I have a fitted bowsprit. Now I can ponder the mainmast!

Not sure if the yards should be fitted after the standing rigging.......I guess they can still be installed later.

Pat

 

[Pat Lynch]

I'm still going.....

After blundering my way through the bowsprit, the masts needed looking at - not particularly tricky - just the usual nautical gobbledy-gook to learn and a look through the relevant pages of my Charles Davis books and others, helping to understand the various parts of the mast sections and the complications of joining the spars together.....so I started with the mizzen. No real problems as it is quite a bit simpler than the others - and being smaller (and maybe less obvious) I could make mistakes and get away with it. A.S. have reasonably good plans and diagrams of the mast assemblies and there were few problems. The area where the upper and lower sections join is perhaps not-quite-scale with the spars being left round in section but I may do better on the fore and main.

Assembling parts over a plan on grease-proof paper is how I built large model aircraft for many years and brought back a few memories...........enough waffle and back to the building.......

Pat

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

A little more progress....the limitations of the A.S. kit become more obvious as I becomes more familiar with real-life ship building practice! I'm sort of glad I don't have access to the AOTS book of this ship or I'd be 1 step forward and two back all day!!! The appalling instructions (combined with my gross ignorance)  make for a bit of frustration. For instance, nowhere is it mentioned to modify the 'hounds' brackets to give a top angle that will make the tops platforms level. I should have looked more closely at the plans and noticed. I'll sort the mizzen later....😒

After completing the main and fore top assemblies, I found the hounds brackets provided were a little undersized (same as mizzen) so I made some more from scrap 2mm stuff in the kit. 

Now I'm trying to figure out how those timbers running up each side of the masts are fitted - wrapped around the mast? recessed to fit over it neatly???? Must look at the replica.  I'm not sure of their function - to protect the mast from ropes rubbing against it? Using the dowel provided, there was not enough meat to make and squared-off sections so I'll fudge something 😉

But progress is being made and new stuff learned.

Pat (going inside as it's freezing out in my shed)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Jag]

Wow, Pat!  That is looking good.  Well done and i'm keeping a close eye on your build. 

 

and yes, this spring weather is terribly cold, much colder than winter....

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks Jag - I hope you pick up some info from reading my stuff - mostly about what not to do! A very steep learning curve but the way ahead is gradually becoming clearer!

 

The current stage is something I've dreamed about - the real rigging is fast approaching😊 I have about a hundred or so blocks and other stuff to attach to the three masts before the proper rigging so that can await another day. Many of the blocks must be fitted in-situ so it will be a bit tricky until I get the hang of it. The mast are still in 2 or three sections to allow the various shrouds to loop around the top of each section.

I discovered a handy technique to finish of the mast woolding - the thread used was given a good rubbing with black wax and then after everything was ship-shape, I carefully played the heat gun over the wound thread and the wax neatly melted itself into the binding and looked a lot nicer - imho 😉

So six months work so far - faster than I'd expected!

 

Pat

 

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Pat Lynch

[Pat Lynch]

At last, a small milestone reached - the masts completed and fitted with a myriad of blocks as per the A.S. plans (albeit probably not accurate). The blocks were secured with rope and eyebolts using .5mm thread and .25mm seizing. Tested my 75 yo eyes and fingers just a little but using the Youtube video by J Brent, it all became clear and eventually - easy!

Some of the blocks may have used iron strops through the eyebolts but I just stuck with the A.S. plans and the rope fixings. I'm happy with the final effect and was a learning experience (as is it all!)

now I can look forward to the standing rigging - I guess starting with the shrouds.......to seize the shrouds around the masts or not - will it be even noticed. I'll have to do some reading. I have Syren's little wooden seizing device so........

The lower mast sections have been aligned and glued in place - she almost looks like a ship 

The little blocks I found easy to work with when slid over a piece of steel wire - it made sanding and staining much easier...

 

Pat

 

[BANYAN]

Have an extra tot/beer to celebrate - nice work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Pat Lynch]

Thanks folks - always nice to reach a milestone - only the rigging to go. Only the rigging? what am I saying - maybe two tots of rum (not sure if Cook carried it............)

[Pat Lynch]

Good thing old ships had a little mast down the back for apprentice model ship builder to gain their skill on 😉

Having sorted my martingales from my futtocks, I have some early attempts to gain skills and techniques at shrouds, ratlines, futtock hooks, dead eyes etc etc......it is getting better as I go but I'll not replace the earlier bits despite their faults. Little things like remembering my way around clove hitches and how to get a simple single knot in the right place before tightening - easy now!

The details may not be AOTS perfect -  the plans are often quite wrong but I'm continuing to use them as a guide unless I can see the alternatives! Most of my details are gleaned by the great builds on this forum. Dave Rowe, Banyan and many others.......thanks folks 😎

 

Pat

 

Pat   

Edited September 24, 2019 by Pat Lynch
spelling!