HMS Speedy by Delf - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - Scale 1:64 - Master Shipwright edition

[whitejamest]

Such fantastic looking work. I'm glad you're posting in such detail, it's a big help to the rest of us. 

[DelF]

Thanks guys, for the supportive comments and likes - much appreciated.

 

Spars

 

I promised to post some more on constructing the various spars. I won't go into exhaustive detail as much of it will be familiar territory for many people, and I've already logged quite a lot of information on how I shape masts and yards - for example here and here. However I'd be very happy to answer any specific questions about points I've missed or not covered in enough detail. For now, I'll just fill in a couple of gaps as I see them.

 

First a couple of mistakes, which I hope will serve as a warning to others not to rush ahead without studying the plans properly . I was so keen to get all the spars shaped I did just that regarding the main boom and the driver boom. In both cases I tapered each end of the boom identically, failing to notice that one end had to fit into the jaws that hold the boom against the mast. I'd tapered that end too much, and although I could have squeezed the jaws to hold the boom it just wouldn't have looked right (even if the glue had held). Also, I failed to note that the main boom is not symmetrical - in fact the widest part is not in the centre of the boom, but considerably offset towards one end. Again, it just didn't look right. I was particularly annoyed because I knew booms are often shaped like this, and I'd got it right on my previous 3-master. So, no alternative but to redo. Fortunately I was able to use dowel from the kit as the booms will be painted and there are no octagonal sections.

 

Once I'd redone the booms and fitted the jaws, I filed the end of the booms so they merged into the jaws more smoothly and also rounded off the edges of the jaws:

 

 

 

 

The next picture shows a couple of points worth mentioning:

 

 

First, you'll notice I've taken the advice in the kit instructions and fitted a pin to the main yard (in fact to all the yards). Pinning the yards to the masts makes rigging much easier, and it is much better to fit the pins and make the required holes in the masts and bowsprit at this stage when everything is fully accessible.

 

Also, I want to point out another use of my favourite substitute for iron straps - shrink-wrap tube, which you can see on the boom jaws and the yard arm. I'm still using the huge stock I got from Amazon years ago for about £5 and it'll last another couple of lifetimes. I've made up a little jig to cut bands on equal width:

 

 

By inserting shims I can cut the different sizes of band I need. 

 

The last point I'll cover in this post is about drilling holes...and there's a lot of holes needed in these spars! For example I count 17 in this one little spritsail yard:

 

 

Although that's partly because I've got the original photo-etched cleats - I understand Chris now produces laser cut wood cleats. Still a lot of holes though. Two tips I've got that I've found helpful. First, if you need to ensure that two components are exactly opposite each other - for example the yardarm cleats - it's easier to drill one hole straight through than trying to get two holes to line up from opposite sides of the spar. Similarly, with very thin spars such as the one above (3mm tapering to 2mm, I think)  its a good idea to drill right through for components such as the footrope stirrups and the ringbolts. This ensures sufficient contact for the glue to hold, and as the spar will be painted the extra holes can easily be sorted.  

 

I'll save the second point on drilling for another post as this one is already getting a bit long (and my lunch is ready!).

 

Derek

[DelF]

Spars contd. (after lunch!)

 

I used to find drilling tiny holes into small diameter dowels quite tricky. There are various ways of making the job more manageable, some more labour intensive than others. This way works for me.

 

Having marked the position of the hole with a sharp point to give the drill bit something to bite into and stop it slipping sideways, the dowel is held in a V-block:

 

 

The V-block comes with a clamp. but for small spars like this I just hold the work down with one finger whilst I'm drilling. With sharp bits and boxwood I find I don't need to worry about breakout on the second surface of the wood. With other timbers I'd arrange some sacrificial wood under the workpiece to avoid breakout.

 

If you have to drill another hole at an angle to the first, a useful trick is to put a spare bit though the first hole so you can judge the required angle. For example in this topmast I need to drill the fid hole at right angles to the sheave hole in the head. The drill bit through the sheave hole makes the judgement easy:

 

 

It may not be clear from these pictures but I'm using a drill attachment that I find incredibly useful, variously called a micro drill adaptor or a sensitive drill attachment. If you haven't come across these little beauties it's worth describing what they do. Here it is taken out of the drill chuck:

 

 

The straight shaft fits into the regular chuck of your drill (or mill or lathe). The micro chuck (mine takes bits size 0.3 - 4.0 mm) spins when you switch your machine on, but the knurled wheel doesn't. That means you can safely and comfortably hold the adaptor and push the micro chuck down towards the workpiece on the spring loaded rod it slides on:

 

 

Because you are holding the adaptor with your fingertips and gently pushing the chuck you get a FAR better 'feel' for how far and how fast it is safe to advance the bit into the work. Unless and until you try it you won't appreciate just how much more control you have over the drilling process, leading to much better results and far fewer broken bits. And this applies to all drilling with small bits, not just into dowels.

 

For some inexplicable reason prices for this little gadget vary hugely. I've seen prices well over $100/£100 on both sides of the Atlantic. The good news is you don't have to pay silly money for what is after all a fairly simple tool. Mine cost £14.75 including the chuck and is well engineered and works perfectly. It's gone up in price slightly but here's the link.  I hope its not an oriental (or occidental) knock-off but unfortunately I can't tell. Like I say though, it's very well made and I've used it for several years. I'm sure colleagues in other countries could find similar deals.

 

Next post, I'll add a few more details about work on Speedy's  masts. In the meantime I hope folk will forgive me for touting another 'must-have' tool 🤑. It's often said you don't need lots of fancy gear to make model ships, but I think learning about new tools is part of the fun!

 

Derek

[Edwardkenway]

3 hours ago, DelF said:

For some inexplicable reason prices for this little gadget vary hugely. I've seen prices well over $100/£100 on both sides of the Atlantic. The good news is you don't have to pay silly money for what is after all a fairly simple tool. Mine cost £14.75 including the chuck and is well engineered and works perfectly. It's gone up in price slightly but here's the link.  I hope its not an oriental (or occidental) knock-off but unfortunately I can't tell. Like I say though, it's very well made and I've used it for several years. I'm sure colleagues in other countries could find similar deals.

 

Great but of kit Derek and it's only gone up £1 to £15.75 including VAT, I'll order one before they disappear.

[glbarlow]

27 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

prices for this little gadget vary hugely.

I've quit bookmarking your log, I'll just have to read the whole thing when I start Flirt - so many innovative ideas.

 

You're right about widely varying prices. Amazon has one for $54 and one that looks just like it for $132, I found one tool company selling it for $665. I've sent a note to your linked company. It cost the least there but the shipping could make the Amazon one a better deal.  They wouldn't even quote shipping, they had a pop-up screen sayingI had to send them an email to enquire about shipping.

 

At any rate, this is an ingenious device to solve a problem I've had since my first model, drilling holes in round objects - I'll get it one way or another. Thanks once again for the detail in your log and sharing your clever approach to these.

 

Now IF I could just find a source for the small sized boxwood for making these masts....  I tried your supplier, they didn't even respond to my email asking about shipping to the US.  I've lost the link, could you provide it again please. Maybe I'll call them during UK business hours and beg.

 

[DelF]

Glenn, I’ll PM the details. 

[Edwardkenway]

41 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Now IF I could just find a source for the small sized boxwood for making these masts....  I tried your supplier, they didn't even respond to my email asking about shipping to the US.  I've lost the link, could you provide it again please. Maybe I'll call them during UK business hours and beg.

I fear you may be disappointed Glenn, as when looking at their boxwood pieces, it does have a note in the info:

Castello boxwood is CITES listed and requires special licences for export. We regret that for practical reasons we are not able to supply this item to countries outside the EU 

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
 😬

[DelF]

6 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

Castello boxwood is CITES listed and requires special licences for export

Well spotted Edward - I hadn't seen that. What's weird though is that castello boxwood comes from South America (Paraguay, I think) which makes it doubly strange that colleagues like Glenn can't get it in the States! 

[Edwardkenway]

8 minutes ago, DelF said:

What's weird though is that castello boxwood comes from South America (Paraguay, I think) which makes it doubly strange that colleagues like Glenn can't get it in the States! 

Yes, it is  strange! I wonder if someone were to mail some to the USA privately, as a gift, wether customs would confiscate it as illegal or contraband, just a hypothetical "what if"

[glbarlow]

15 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

not able to supply this item to countries outside the EU 

 

Well, I guess that saves me an international call.  That's too bad, whatever CITES is, its not good for me.  Thanks for sharing this, I missed that entirely.

[RichardG]

You can buy it in the states. It is difficult to find and you'd have to mill it to the right size (hence my recent purchase of a Byrnes saw). You also have to get it when you see it. 

 

I bought some recently from here https://www.exoticlumber.com/product/castello-boxwood-thins-36x-4x-5/. I ended up buying 4 pieces and that was almost their entire stock 😧. I'm still looking for swiss pear.

[DelF]

45 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

whatever CITES is

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

[DelF]

QUESTION ON MASTS

 

Before I start painting the masts I need to decide how I'm going to step them.

 

The question is, do I step and rig the masts one level at a time - main/fore then topmasts then topgallants, or do I make up each mast first then step them as complete units?

 

On other builds I like to do as much rigging as possible off the model. So for each pair of shrouds, I can seize a bight to form a loop in the middle of a long length of rope then slip the loop over the head of the mast. However if the mast is already made up with caps in place, I would have to make those seizings on the model. On my last fully rigged model I didn't even glue the various sections of the masts together - instead, I found having the masts loose was a useful discipline in that it made me pay particular attention to balancing the tension in the standing rigging. 

 

On the other hand, the advantage of making up the masts beforehand, which is what the manual shows, is that it is easier to paint the required sections black.  Part of me wants to try spray painting the yards and masts all in one go just to try out the technique. So I'm in two minds.

 

I'd appreciate advice and views.

 

Derek

[Vane]

I dont think this is a "Speedy-kit" question. Its more of a generic issue when it comes to rigging and in what order you do it. However, since Speedy is a small kit and only have two masts and less thread to put everywhere i think you can mount them off the ship instead of building them up on the ship. If it was the 1/64 Victory you would probably want to slowly build it up because its so huge.    

[DelF]

Thanks Vane. I decided to have a go at rigging a pair of shrouds on the model to see how practical it was:

 

 

Turned out to be easier than I thought it would be, especially with the Quadhands which can be positioned vitually anywhere you need it. 

 

So I've decided I'm going to make up, paint and step the complete masts then rig them on the ship. 

 

Derek

[DelF]

Main & Fore Masts

 

A couple more details on making the masts. Although I used the same method for every spar, planing square stock to an octagon then sanding/filing to round, I had to adapt the method in some cases. Speedy's topmasts are a good example, with their square heels and heads. Here's a topmast blank roughly marked out. The hatched areas at each end are waste that I don't mind clamping in a lathe chuck. The next section at the left of the picture will be left square, so I'll only plane the corners off beyond this part. 

 

 

Once planed it's over to the lathe (drill/rotary tool of your choice) for the usual sanding and filing to shape. The trick here is to sand as carefully as you can at the junction with the square section, to get it to blend smoothly into the round profile (and yes, I do wear a dust mask!)..

 

 

The next part - creating the square topmast head - can easily be done with files, but I chose to use the Proxxon micromill. The rotating table mounted vertically makes it easy to ensure all four faces are at right angles. As a little experiment I used the mill as a crude lathe to create the round peg at the top of the mast. This is the same diameter as the square section, so I just left the cutter in position and running, and rotated the table by hand. The result wasn't perfect straight away (not what milling cutters are designed for!) but 10 seconds with a file on the lathe and it was a perfect fit for the mast cap.

 

 

Here's the final result, waiting for the waste to be trimmed:

 

 

Next post I'll finish with a couple more details on the masts before I get on with painting them. Also, I've been putting off work on the ship's boat (I've already had enough planking for one year!) - but I must get on with it.

 

Let me know if I'm putting too much/not enough detail in these posts.

 

Derek

[glbarlow]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:52 AM, DelF said:

I'd appreciate advice and views.

I always do as much of the rigging as I can off the ship.  My masts end up looking like a string filled mess before they go on the ship, but to me it’s so worth it.  Many of the connections, knots, blocks, etc. and especially seizing would be sooo much harder to do reaching on the ship.  Your new quad hands with the long extensions would make It somewhat easier, but personally I don’t see an upside doing all that with the masts mounted.

 

I don’t glue the lines until everything is properly tension then they get a light touch of watered down PVA with a paint brush.  
 

That’s me anyway. 

[DelF]

Thanks Glenn - makes sense to me. 

[glbarlow]

Instructive as always.  I don’t see a scenario where there is too much detail. 
 

I’m going to add the Proxxon lathe to my bench as I get closer to Cheerful’s mast and spars. 
 

I did the ships boat for Speedy, they are far harder for me to plank than a ship. It was not fun.

[DelF]

Masts

 

Tried out my new airbrush on the spars, and was pleased with the results:

 

 

I used Admiralty matt black, with just 2 drops of flow improver per 10 drops of paint and it went on like a dream. Spraying with this sort of kit is much more precise and much less messy than I'd imagined. I needed very little masking to protect the unpainted areas, and because the paint mists on so fine, there was no build up of liquid paint on the masking tape and so no chance of leakage under the tape. 

 

At times the Quadhands (Quinhands?) looked like some kind of wierd sculpture:

 

 

I couldn't resist dry-stepping the masts and yards just to see what she looks like:

 

 

Although I was a bit wary about some of the photoetch components they look absolutely fine when fitted and painted. Here's the yard arm of the fore yard, for example:

 

 

Now I'll have to de-mast her and start rigging everything. I've not counted, but I suspect there must be at least 75 blocks and deadeyes required on the masts, yards and bowsprit. I enjoy rigging and find the repetitive nature quite therapeutic (well, perhaps not ratlines!), and am looking forward to it. Still putting off the ship's boat!

 

Derek

 

 

 

[VTHokiEE]

Boy she looks beautiful! You’re not helping me resist my goal of owning an airbrush though 😂. I’ve had concerns about some of the PE as well (mainly thinking at first that I should be using wood for certain cleats) but when it’s painted and installed it looks great.

[DelF]

Thanks Tim! I’d advise you not to resist the temptation to get an airbrush. It’s a whole new technique to master but it’s worth it, and you don’t have to spend a fortune on top of the range kit. I went closer to the cheap end of the range and am very happy with it. I’m especially pleased that I can use my existing acrylic paints - mostly Admiralty. 
 

Derek

[DelF]

21 hours ago, DelF said:

suspect there must be at least 75 blocks and deadeyes required on the masts, yards and bowsprit

Serious underestimate! I've just had a quick look through the plans and lost count at 130. And that’s just blocks and deadeyes that I need to attach to the spars and tops off the model. 

[BobG]

She looks outstanding, Derek!

 

Good to here that you are pleased with the small PE parts. I've never worked with any PE before and, like you, I have had reservations about how authentic they would look. For example, the hooks have flat edges instead of being rounded but it seems like, once they are painted, you are happy with them. The jury is still out for me until I actually work with some PE but it's encouraging to hear that you are satisfied so far. 

 

 

[DelF]

Thanks Bob! On PE, I think there are some components where it wins hands down against alternatives. One example on Speedy is the fine detail on the pumps. Another, perhaps unexpectedly, is belaying pins. Wooden ones never look right (not when first bought, anyway) whereas the PE ones on Speedy are perfectly to scale. They’re so small you can’t see that they’re flat, not round, especially when painted. 
 

On other components opinion is divided. For example I chose to make my own ring bolts for Speedy’s cannon as I felt the PE rings were slightly too large. But I was arguably being picky and I’m sure many people would be happy with the PE versions. 
 

Interestingly, I am happy with the PE cleats supplied with my kit, but I hear that Chris is now providing laser cut pear versions. 

A final point worth making is that all the PE in the kit is very good quality.

 

Derek

 

 

[DelF]

Fore & Main Tops

 

Thanks as always for the kind comments and the 'likes' 🙂

 

A bit more information on the masts. I had to play about with the contrast on this picture to reveal any detail, so the black looks grey!

 

Chris's research showed that crowsfeet had been removed by the time Cockrane took command of Speedy. However I think crowsfeet and their euphroe blocks add interest to a model, and are visually attractive, so I've decided to fit them. The underside of the tops come with holes in place, which act as a template to help you drill holes right through if you want to rig crowsfeet but where they won't show if you decide not to. Incidentally I read somewhere that euphroe is an anglicization of the Dutch jung frau, but I'm not sure how short-sighted and/or desperate sailors would have to have been to think a euphroe block resembled a young woman!

 

 

Chris was not sure whether Speedy's mast heads would have been fitted with iron bands and battens so he did not include them. They're a detail I like to fit if I can, although they can be hard to see (and photograph!) in the finished model. The bands were easy - just shrink-wrap tubing cut to size and shrunk on. The battens are trickier, as they have to be notched so they fit snuggly over the bands. On my last fully rigged model - Royal Caroline - I tried several types of wood but ended up using styrene strips. I tried styrene again for Speedy but with less success - even using the smallest strips I have - 1.0mm X 0.5mm - the results looked too clunky to my eye. However I'll briefly mention the method I used as it may be helpful for others** to use on larger scale models or on fittings such as window glazing bars.

 

I milled notches in the stryrene strips with the Proxxon micro-mill:

 

 

 

The jig is just a piece of good-quality MDF bolted to the table, with double-sided tape to hold the strips in place. Here, I'm using a 1mm cutter to mill a 0.25mm groove in 8 strips at once. 

 

The results looked OK...

 

 

...but I felt they looked too clunky when fitted to the masthead.

 

 

In the end I decided to keep the bands and leave the battens off. Probably unrealistic as I believe the battens were fitted to stop the rigging rubbing against the metal bands, but I can live with that. 

 

Another little detail is the quarter-round bolsters either side of the masthead:

 

 

The manual suggests filing these components from square stock. I found it quicker and easier to cut a round dowel in half lengthways, twice, on the table saw. That method made enough quarter round section for both masts in seconds.

 

The final detail in the tops are the fids. These are supposed to be square or rectangular, but at this scale I can only do round holes. So I cheated by making each fid in two parts, each part a piece of 1mm square boxwood with one end rounded. With the boxwood held in the lathe (just as easy in a drill) I pressed the end against the 1mm hole in a metal drill gauge to round off the first couple of mils.   

 

 

A tiny detail, but worth it I think.

 

Back to rigging the spars.

 

Derek

 

** Glenn, this is aimed at you, so I hope you were only joking 😄

On 8/23/2020 at 7:30 PM, glbarlow said:

I've quit bookmarking your log

 

[glbarlow]

4 hours ago, DelF said:

Glenn, this is aimed at you, so I hope you were only joking

The second half of that post was because I was going to have to read the entire log page by page since otherwise every other post would be bookmarked.  I fully intend to steal every ideal and technique of yours.  Between you and James I see no reason for a Flirt build log when I get to it. I'd just be embarrassingly repeating the phrase, "as I learned from Derek..." and showing photos that didn't match James'.

 

You've probably mentioned it already, but what airbrush did you get? I have a really cheap version, but all I've ever been comfortable in painting is sheets of PE (which I've used a lot of, numerous sheets on Vanguard alone. I have no problem or issue with it in general, I don't know how we'd build large parts of a model without it) and cannon barrels.

[DelF]

Now you'll make me blush😬! Seriously though, I'm trying to show different uses for the micro mill as I know you and other members are interested in exploring its potential.  Glad you find it useful.

 

11 hours ago, glbarlow said:

what airbrush did you get

Hopefully this link will still work...

 

I'm very happy with the airbrush I got so far, especially as it seems to work fine with my existing acrylic paints. I thought I'd have to buy airbrush-specific products, but flow improver works well with Admiralty paints (and others, for all I know). I've also tried airbrush thinners with ordinary acrylics and that works too. 

 

Derek

[DelF]

42 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

I'd just be embarrassingly repeating the phrase, "as I learned from Derek..." and showing photos that didn't match James'

You're too modest. Besides, half the fun of this forum is seeing the different ways people approach the same models and the different techniques they use. Truism alert ⚠️ - there is no one right way, or even one best way. Or if there is, I've certainly not found it !

[Sjors]

Hi Derek,

 

I love what you are doing!

Airbrush is something that i have not try yet.

Bottle of paint and a brush works fine for me🙂

Then something else.

Maybe i understand it wrong but “jung frau” is German and not Dutch.

In Dutch we call it “jonge vrouw” young woman.

 

Sjors