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

[drjeckl]

Thank you for the tutorial.  One question:  Do you use the same seizing technique as you showed for the deadeye as for seizing the shroud lines as they loop around the mast at the top?

 

.John

[DelF]

Hi John. Ideally, yes, I’d use the same seizing. On previous builds I made up each pair of shrouds off the model. I fitted the lower masts first, so I could fit the shroud loop over the masthead before caps were fitted.  This time I’ve made up the whole masts first, which means I’ll have to seize the loops on the model. I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to do the proper seizing on the model - I’ll try, but I may have to do a simpler version!

 

Hope this helps. What model are you working on?

 

Derek

Edited November 18, 2020 by DelF
Typo

[VTHokiEE]

11 minutes ago, DelF said:

This time I’ve made up the whole masts first, which means I’ll have to seize the loops on the model

I meant to seize the loops off my model but foolishly installed the cheeks on the mast and the loop would be too big if build off model. Since I didn't pay enough attention I have to seize the loops on the mast. Hopefully I'm not overlooking anything (and I'm not certain if this makes it easier), but I haven't put the mast on the model yet so that I can seize the loops to the mast without the model in the way.

 

I am not using a real seizing for the loops though 😄

[DelF]

17 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

I haven't put the mast on the model yet so that I can seize the loops to the mast without the model in the way

That's a good idea Tim - I think I'll try that. Thanks. I'll still have to seize the deadeyes with the masts fitted on the model to get the heights right, but that should be easier as I'll be able to swing the shroud up out of the way of the ship. I expect the quadhands will be extra useful.

 

Derek

[VTHokiEE]

Just now, DelF said:

I'll still have to seize the deadeyes with the masts fitted on the model to get the heights right, but that should be easier as I'll be able to swing the shroud up out of the way of the ship. I expect the quadhands will be extra useful.

I did not really use my quadhands until now and it is quickly becoming invaluable. I'll have to do the deadeyes on ship as well, but a plan is slowly formulating in my mind which should be complete after I've done 4-6 deadeyes inefficiently and in one of the most difficult ways possible 😂

[Glenn-UK]

I have used my quad hands today and successfully practiced rigging some deadeyes. Thanks to Derek's excellent tutorials in this build log I have achieved some much better results. 

[DelF]

Glad to hear you guys are getting on well with your quadhands. I wouldn’t have known about them if it wasn’t for this forum. Yet another example of what a great site this is for sharing information and ideas. 

[drjeckl]

9 hours ago, DelF said:

Hope this helps. What model are you working on?

Derek,  Yes, this helps.  My first model is the Lady Nelson but I'm following you here because I already have in my possession as my second, the Speedy.

 

John

[DelF]

Bowsprit Rigging

 

I've finished all the initial rigging to the bowsprit, bar tying off and belaying lanyards etc. I haven't kept up the log as well as I would have liked, although I believe I've already described all the techniques used. I'll just show the results, then mention one or two items that might be of interest to other Speedy builders.

 

 

I didn't fit flemish horses to the spritsail yard. Although Chris shows them on the plans, they weren't fitted on ships of this period (at least according to Lees). Stirrups weren't fitted either but I didn't read that until after I'd fitted them, and I'm not sufficiently wedded to historical accuracy to remove them!

 

One other point where I departed from the plans was at the end of the flying jibboom, where Chris suggests cutting a groove to accommodate the fore royal stay. I can't imagine that would ever have featured in a real ship, so I decided to drill a hole to simulate a sheave. Unfortunately I hadn't spotted this requirement when I was making the spar so it was with a fair degree of trepidation that I approached the 2mm timber with an 0.8mm drill bit. Fortunately I managed not to ruin it:

 

Another point on that photo is the clove hitch to attach the guy pendants. This allowed me to use a single length of line to make both pendants, and to minimise the clutter on the end of the jibboom.

 

I previously described using CA to create rings in the lines used to strop blocks - rings that wouldn't lose their shape under tension. I've been trying to cut down my use of CA - for health reasons - and found that fly tying cement works just as well:

Given the small size of the blocks - mostly 3mm - I've used fly tying silk for most of the seizings. One exception was on the bowsprit stays where I used DMC thread. I covered this in post #471, where I also described darkening the seizing slightly. However once the stays were rigged on the model and the seizings had dried, it was clear they were still too bright. I toned them down further with some more dye made from van dyck crystals, applied with a small brush. Hopefully the difference is clear in these two shots:

 

 

A final point to mention is the group of five ringbolts visible in the hull on the left hand edge of the second photo. These are unblackened, and are there purely as place markers so I don't forget how the holes are arranged. I find it much easier to seize lines to ringbolts off the model, then glue them in place. 

 

Derek

[Glenn-UK]

Looks nice, great work

[glbarlow]

Looking great, nice work on the details. Rigging is one of my favorite parts of the build. 

[BobG]

Wonderful work!

[DelF]

Thanks as always for the kind comments and likes - much appreciated 🙂.

 

Starting the shrouds

 

Moving on from the bowsprit I decided to make a start on the fore shrouds. As I've said before, I'm regretting my earlier decision to glue the complete masts together, which prevents me making up the shrouds off the model and just slipping them over the masthead. I'm following @VTHokiEE(Tim)'s advice and rigging the shrouds on the masts before fitting the masts to the ship. 

 

I've decided to serve the shrouds where appropriate and so dug out my trusty Serve-o-matic from Syren. The centre of each shroud pair would have been served for about eight feet either side of the centre point, ensuring that the bight round the masthead was well protected. In addition, the foremost shroud on each side of each mast would have been served along its whole length, to protect it from wear by the courses. At scale, I worked out that I would need 400mm of line for each shroud pair, with the centre 76mm served. For the first pair on each side, the serving would cover the whole of one half of the pair, as well as the centre section.

 

Chris suggests using 1mm line for the lower mast shrouds. I felt that was too heavy, especially when served, and that 0.75mm would be more  in scale. I started by using a chinagraph pencil to mark where the  serving would end:

 

In this case 238mm from the end - 200mm for the fully served first shroud of the pair and 38mm for the served top part of the second shroud. 

 

On to the serving machine, clamped firmly to the workbench and a couple of points to note. First, the end of the line has to feed through the left hand side and wind round the pins. I don't like wasting rope (OK, I'm tight 🤑!) so I tie a length of spare line to the stuff I'm serving to avoid losing the first six inches or so. Also, I'm using the finest Gutermann cotton thread which works well for serving. It comes on big bobbins with 800m of thread, which lasts forever.

 

To start the thread off I sew it through the rope once, then back again at right angles. Before serving I rub PVA along the first few millimetres of rope.  Probably overkill as I'm sure the sewing will prevent any chance of the thread unravelling, but it doesn't do any harm and it makes me feel better:

 

The actual serving is a doddle once you get used to it, and with practice it doesn't take more than a few minutes to get from one end of the machine to the other. Keeping the hand guiding the thread angled slightly to the left ensures that the serving will be nice and tight. If you angle too much the thread will start winding back over the served portion, but it's easy to rectify by rewinding a few turns and starting again.

 

 On this shroud the serving can't be done all in one go, so it's necessary to shift the rope to the left until the chinagraph mark is visible. To stop the serving unravelling while I do this, I clamp a large clip on the thread and the weight keeps it in place. When not in use the clip clamps on the top brass bar to keep it handy.

 

Once I've served close to the chinagraph mark it's a repeat of the starting procedure - glue the final few mils and sew through the rope:

 

Next it's on to the mast, held in the trusty quadhands. Before threading the shroud around the masthead I tied a piece of white cotton round the midpoint so I knew exactly where to form the bight:

To seize the bight I used the same method for creating round turns that I described in a previous post. Here, I've used light coloured thread so I could see what I was doing and then stained it when it was done:

I've left off the handrail and stanchions on the foretop to avoid breakage. One slight hiccup - I was so engrossed in the seizing work that I neglected to check the order I was doing the shrouds in. The foremost starboard pair is supposed to go on first, but I fitted the port. Fortunately I realised before I did the starboard side, so I was able to lift the port pair out of the way and seize the first starboard shrouds underneath in their proper position. Not the first time I've not thought through the proper order of work on this build!

 

I won't rig the deadeyes until all the lower shrouds are fitted. The serving and fitting will take some time so I'll avoid pointless repetition until I've finished all the lower shrouds. In the meantime I might do some more work on the ship's boat, which the eagle eyed might have spotted on the quadhands base.

 

Derek

[Glenn-UK]

Great information and advice

[captain_hook]

What a great and fast build! 

[DelF]

Lower shrouds rigged

 

I've finally got all the lower shrouds set up with their deadeyes and lanyards, although not yet fully adjusted:

I've not yet decided whether to darken the seizings (they don't look nearly as white as they do in this photo). I'm sure on real ships the seizings would have been tarred like the shrouds, but they took quite a lot of work so it seems a shame to hide them. I experimented with dark seizings and you lose the detail:

I'd be interested in others' views.

 

Btw, I didn't glue the masts in place as I prefer to set them up by getting the tension on shrouds and stays right.

 

I'll follow on with a quick note on how I rigged the deadeyes.

 

Derek

[Glenn-UK]

9 minutes ago, DelF said:

I'll follow on with a quick note on how I rigged the deadeyes.

 

Derek

Great work. I'm eagerly waiting for the follow up note

[Barbossa]

Wonderful work. About the seizings : the eternal debate between historical accuracy and aesthetics, I'm afraid.

I'd settle for the white approach : superb contrast.

Probably, you are aware or perhaps other members already drew your attention whenever it comes to the ratlines : it's recommendable to progress with an interval of 5 positions and later on fill up the gaps to avoid any deformation.

 

[DelF]

Rigging deadeyes

 

As promised, a quick note on deadeyes. 

 

I used the tried and tested pins-in-a-plank method to try to make sure the deadeyes were all at the same level:

I tied a piece of white thread on the shroud to mark the bottom of the deadeye. This helped me to ensure that I formed the loop that will hold the deadeye in the right place.

 

I formed the loop round a 4.7mm drill bit. As the deadeye is just over 5mm this means I had to squeeze quite hard to get it into the loop, but then the shroud sat snuggly in the deadeye groove.

 

In the second photo I've pushed a threaded needle through both parts of the shroud where they cross to form the loop. It was then a simple job to take the thread round the crossing point a couple of times to form the cross seizing, tie it off, glue and trim.

 

I repeated this with white thread just to show how this forms the loop, with the crossing point opposite the original marker thread:

That's one of the fully served shrouds btw, and here it is with the proper thread and the deadeye fitted:

Next job was to seize the free end of the shroud. For this I used fine Gutermann sewing thread to do modified round seizings. I decided proper round seizings would be too bulky so I left off the riding turns and also slightly modified the starting moves to make it easier to handle at this scale. The first step was to tie a short 6"/150mm length to the shroud with a simple overhand knot. I made the knot on the inboard side of the shroud and held the left hand end in a quadhands clip to keep it out of the way (out of shot):

 

Then I took the right hand end of the line round the shroud...

...and after the fifth turn I brought the end up between the two parts of the shroud:

 

I then took the left hand end and passed it up through the two parts of the shroud, at the opposite side of the loops to the RH end:

Next, I crossed the two ends over and down between the two parts of the shroud:

I finished the seizings by tying them off with a reef knot, then gluing and trimming in the usual way.  This will be on the inboard side of the shroud and so virtually invisible. I repeated for the second seizing, but here I had to use a needle to thread the seizing as there was less room:

That served shroud has snuck in again!  I'm just not very good at organising my camera work .

 

When I put a dab of glue on the seizing knots, I also put a drop of thin CA on shroud where it would be trimmed. This is especially important on the served shrouds to prevent the serving unravelling. Once trimmed, the final job before reeving the lanyards was put a dab of raw sienna acrylic paint on the trimmed end of the shroud to represent the leather cap:

 

 

My wife and I have decided we're not stressed enough, so we've got the builders coming on Monday to remove an old conservatory and construct a new extension. Deep joy. Supervising that lot will probably further limit modelling time. Having said that I'm still really enjoying Speedy and any time I get to spend on her is a bonus.

 

Derek

 

[DelF]

49 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

I'm eagerly waiting for the follow up note

Thanks Glenn - your wish is my command!

[DelF]

30 minutes ago, Barbossa said:

Wonderful work.

Thanks Barbossa, I appreciate your kind words and feedback. If you have seen my first log (here) and earlier entries in this log you will know that I am often torn between historical accuracy and aesthetics - aesthetics usually wins!  Thank you also for your advice on ratlines. I tried that method on my last fully rigged ship and it worked very well, so I shall certainly use it again. However I am sure many members are not aware of the method (I only found it relatively recently, in The Fully Framed Model) so you are quite right to draw attention to it.

 

Derek

 

 

[VTHokiEE]

1 hour ago, DelF said:

but they took quite a lot of work so it seems a shame to hide them. I experimented with dark seizings and you lose the detail

Awesome shroud work!

 

I was torn with that decision as well but decided to go with dark seizings. Historical accuracy aside I started feeling like the seizings would create too much contrast and become a focal point (also I’m not certain mine are quite good enough for that). 
 

Either way yours will look great so it sounds like you should show them off!

[Glenn-UK]

1 hour ago, Barbossa said:

 it's recommendable to progress with an interval of 5 positions and later on fill up the gaps to avoid any deformation.

 

Never heard of that before. Thanks for the info

[glbarlow]

Great detail and tutorials as always, once again posts for the reference file. Those are the nicest seizing I’ve ever seen.  
 

I always rig everything I can to the masts before stepping them, so much easier than later.i use a paper grid behind the shrouds with both properly spaced horizontal lines and vertical ones to stay on track with rat lines. The paper background has the advantage of my not going cross eyed by removing everything behind the shrouds. 

[DelF]

Thanks for the kind comments and 'likes' - they're much appreciated.

 

16 hours ago, VTHokiEE said:

Awesome shroud work!

I was torn with that decision as well but decided to go with dark seizings. 

Either way yours will look great so it sounds like you should show them off!

Thanks Tim. I'm still in two minds. I'll wait till later in the build to judge the overall effect. I may end up just slightly darkening them to make them stand out a bit less but not hide the detail.

 

13 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Those are the nicest seizing I’ve ever seen.  

Thanks Glenn - considering the number of fine modellers on this forum I take that as a great compliment. The truth is I had to work out the seizing method again from scratch, having forgotten how I did it on my last fully rigged ship. Proves the value of keeping a log! I like the method because at 1:64 scale it looks reasonably authentic without being too bulky. Yet again the Quadhands proved its value, allowing me to hold several lines simultaneously just where I wanted them.

 

I'll certainly use a  paper grid when I rattle down the shrouds, combined with the every-5th-shroud-first technique discussed earlier. Building work permitting 🔨😬 ⛏️

 

Derek

[Glenn-UK]

21 hours ago, DelF said:

I used the tried and tested pins-in-a-plank method to try to make sure the deadeyes were all at the same level:

Hello Derek

As always I have found your post(s) very informative and full of plenty of great advice and detailed methods. I have always used a jig to set the distance between the deadeyes but never seem to have a level set of deadeyes once rigged. The problem I have is setting the same amount of tension to each lanyard line. Do you have any tips? I have an idea on my current build to use a small weighted item (e.g. my normally closed tweezers) to the lanyards so each line so I know each line will have the same tension applied. I can then to use your method of using a white thread to mark the position at the bottom of the deadeye.

[DelF]

Hi Glenn

 

Thanks. Glad you find the log helpful. However there's not a great deal of further advice I can offer on levelling deadeyes. I just try to hold the shroud tight on the jig while I move the marker thread to the bottom of the loop. No matter how careful I am I usually find one or two deadeyes are slightly out of line when I first rig the lanyards. Most times, I can level things up by extra tightening the lanyards on deadeyes that are sitting too high. Occasionally (and it happened once on Speedy's main shrouds) a deadeye will end up too low and there's no alternative but to unpick the seizing and redo it. To that end, I only do the cross seizing during the levelling process, not the round seizings. That way, if I do have to redo a shroud, I've only got one seizing to unpick. The downside is that once I've got everything level I have to unreeve all the lanyards so I can put the round seizings on.

 

I found a picture illustrating this stage:

 

Hope that helps.

 

Derek

[DelF]

Lower mast stays

 

I thought I'd fit these before tackling with the ratlines:

 

I used 1.3mm line for the main and fore stays, and 1.0mm for their preventers. Each was served from the eye down to a point about 6' (30mm) below the mouse. To serve the eye I used a method I'd read in TFFM but not tried before. Unfortunately I didn't film it all, but basically I left about 12mm/0.5" unserved at the eye end of the line, and when I threaded the serving line through the stay to start the serving I left a good long length spare. When finished serving, I used a scalpel blade to cut the unserved rope at an angle. With PVA applied, I brought the cut end round to form the eye and clamped it whilst it dried. Hopefully this shot will make the description clearer:

When the glue had dried I wound the spare thread  round the join to cover it:

I put a half hitch in the final loop, applied a drop of dilute PVA and trimmed.

 

Next I had a bit of fun with the mice (mouses?). The kit supplies two sizes of black beads for these which look fine from a distance but I thought I'd make my own. I didn't want to go as far as full size practice and start weaving mice, so I again followed TFFM and made them from wood on the lathe. I started with a hole large enough to accommodate the served stays:

 

Then set the top slide at a 20 degree angle to cut a taper:

 

I parted the mouse with the cutter at an angle to bevel the other end. The mouse should be three times the diameter of the stay, so this told me where to part the mouse. The resulting mice I think are a slightly more realistic shape than a round bead, especially when painted to match the stay:

    

Finally, I seized 5mm deadeyes into the other end of each stay, using slightly darker thread than I did on the shrouds to preserve the detail better. And the lanyards are not bright white in real life, honest!

 

Next job will be preparing for ratlines. I'll probably do the futtock staves first, and practice my clove hitches. Having said that I'm tempted to try half hitches which might be less bulky at this scale. I'll experiment.

 

Derek

[Glenn-UK]

Your attention to detail and workmanship is amazing.

[glbarlow]

So many nautical terms, I don’t know what you’re saying in most of this post 🤣😂
 

Nonetheless very expert and detailed on the rigging work, things I’d never think of doing. 

Edited January 17, 2021 by glbarlow