Mercury by tom kinglake - Amati/Victory Models - scale 1:64 - Russian brig

[tom kinglake]

Not much to see yet - this is the first planking of the hull just about finished.

[Jim Lad]

That looks a very neat start to your build, Tom.

 

John

[tom kinglake]

Thanks! I hope to be able to put some more posts on tomorrow.

Tom.

[mugje]

Much succes with the build! It's a very nice model!

[tom kinglake]

Thanks Mugje! I should have some more things to post about Mercury later on today.  Right now, I'm about to start another build log for my other current project, HMS Pegasus.

Cheers,

Tom.

[mugje]

Oh that's great, because the Pegasus is my next project. It would be nice to see more build logs of this ship.

[tom kinglake]

Back to the brig Mercury after all this time!  A bit of progress over the past couple of weeks, with the second planking nearly half way done...

[ccoyle]

Hello, Tom, nice to see you back at your model.

 

Forgive me for asking, but have you done any spiling on your second layer of planks? Typically what one will see when planks aren't spiled is the tendency of the plank ends to run up at the bow and stern; spiling ensures that the bands of planking will have the same number of strakes from bow to stern. This is covered in our on-site planking tutorials, which you can read here.

 

Cheers!

[tom kinglake]

Thanks Chris. I will have a look at the tutorials now.  I haven't done any spiling as I have been following the method shown on the youtube videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuV6a7e02WQ&list=PLmHmsyRMIKz-4UiduqbFylg8Jc5_-KdDi&index=10 which show this method.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone with this!

[6ohiocav]

Tom,

 

I will be following along if you don't mind and look forward to seeing how you decide to finish you plank project. Good luck.

 

[ccoyle]

Hey, Tom. I checked out the link and now see what the issue is. The method shown in the video will certainly get the job done, even though it does not follow historical practice. On a well-prepped and painted hull, such as is seen on the Amati prototype model, the particular planking method used may not even be noticeable on the finished product. Either method will suffice -- have a look at the tutorials and decide which method best suits your aims.

 

Cheers!

[tom kinglake]

Thanks, Chris.  Having now looked at the tutorials, I wish I'd done so before starting this!  In my next project, whatever that may  be, I'll certainly try to follow those guidelines.  In the meantime, I'm grateful for your assistance, and relieved that this method should be ok.

Best wishes,

Tom.

[tom kinglake]

Many thanks to all for your likes and comments on this. Darrell, delighted to have you following along!

Tom.

[tom kinglake]

Getting there....only another four or five planks each side to go!!

[tom kinglake]

[tom kinglake]

Second planking finished! (well, except for the little bit at the stern). 

Now for some fun.

[tom kinglake]

f

Quite a time since I posted anything on this log, so here goes...

First of all, the above pic shows what happens if you don't read the instructions properly! I should have planked the stern counter before starting the second planking of the main hull - why I didn't remains a mystery - but now as a result I have two unsightly gaps to deal with, not to mention the rather crummy looking join of the hull planking with the stern.  Oh well. Getting the deck installed. The clamps worked nicely, the map pins not so well as some of them have left scratches on the deck where the lower edge of the plastic part bore down on the wood. Anyway, it's gone on well enough.

Getting the transom on.  This was easier than I thought it was going to be.

So this is about where I am with this build at the moment. As things are, I've decided to go for a minimal use of paint throughout, with the exception of black for the wale, stem, keel, rudder post & transom.  No waterline,  no coppering. Unless I change my mind again!

[Robster]

Hi.  I just bought this kit.  Just finishing up my Endeavour before I start.   I have watched the Amati tutorials and he stained the decks.  Did you and if so what stain did you use ?

[tom kinglake]

Hi Robster

I didn't use a stain on the deck - it's just a clear acrylic (satin matt) varnish. I did  use a stain on the bulwarks - an acrylic oak colour, varnished afterwards - but I'm not too happy with the slightly patchy finish.  Still, stuck with it now, unless I decide on a fairly drastic re-painting job after all. Also used a dark walnut stain on the capping rail, and on the lower masts. None of them came out quite as well as I had hoped.

Strangely enough, I was thinking just before you posted your question of taking a few more photos of this brig this afternoon - I wanted some advice on rigging - so I'll get on with that right now.

Best wishes, 

Tom.

[tom kinglake]

I haven't done any work on this brig for months now, for all sorts of reasons, but now it's time to get back to it and sort out a few obstacles so that I can get back into the swing of things.  First of all, can anyone offer some advice on this one please?

 

The Mercury kit provides 2mm and 1.6mm thread for the main and fore stays and their respective preventer stays.

At 1:64 scale, this represents 128mm and 102.4mm diameters of rope in real size, or about 5 inch and 4 inch - i.e. nearly 16 inch circumference stays and 12.5 inch preventers on both fore and main masts.

 

This seems huge to me - the stays are twice the thickness of the fore and main lower shrouds, for example.

 

Granado's specifications for mainmast stay and preventer (as given in Peter  Goodwin's Anatomy of the Ship volume) are 12 inch circumference (stay) and 8.25 inch circumference (preventer). The mizen stay and preventer are 7.5 and 7 inches respectively.

I know Granado is an earlier generation vessel, and a ketch not a brig, but she's a similar size to Mercury, and I can't find any closer comparison data.

 

The resolution of these photos is truly crummy, I'm afraid, but may give some indication of what these sizes look like on the model.  I'd be grateful for any opinions from others on this before I re-do the stays with a smaller diameter thread - I'd hate to spoil the effect if heavy guage rigging really was a feature of early 19th century brigs!!

 

Thanks, 

Tom.

 

 

 

[Robster]

On 12/26/2019 at 5:52 PM, tom kinglake said:

Hi Tom   I have just started this kit and I’m struggling to fit the gun port patterns  Did you have any trouble?  Not much to see yet - this is the first planking of the hull just about finished. 594.83 kB · 0 downloads

 

[Paulracso]

Hi there I’m just starting the build on Mercury brig but struggling with the gunports. A very poor fit. They do not sit against the bulwarks correctly. Did you have this issue and if so how did you rectify it. I do notice on your pics of the gunports that some “work” has been done on the bottom of the gunports before meeting the first plank.