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

[ErnieL]

Looking stunning, man!

 

I’m slogging through the first plank layer on my Speedy. No updates yet, but soon enough, I hope

[JpR62]

The initial etched deck was already beautiful but your deck planking is much more beautiful.

The time and work invested is well worth it !

 

 

[DelF]

Thanks JpR62, Ernie and Maurice (spotted your name on the marvellous book you produced from your Alert log!), your comments are much appreciated. And thanks for all the likes.

 

I've just finished planking the deck:

All done bar scraping and applying a finish. I prefer scraping over sanding as I find it easier to get a more even result. As for finishing, I'll probably go for shellac as it brings out the warmth of the boxwood.

 

In the photo I've included the main tools I used for the joggling. From the right, miniature Veritas chisels, a 1/16" chisel blade from scalpel makers Swann Morton, and a razor blade holder for the longer cuts. The hardest planks to fit were the wider ones next to the margin planks either side. I followed the etched deck in dividing these into three sections with scarph joints:

On reflection, I probably should have planned the layout better to avoid the left scarph running into the joint in the next run of planks, but overall I'm pleased with the result.

 

I've said elsewhere, and I'll stress again that my decision to do my own planking is in no way a criticism of the kit. There is nothing 'wrong' with the supplied etched deck; in fact it will be a boon to many, especially relatively inexperienced builders. This won't be the only time I depart from the out-of-the-box model, but in doing so I'll be trying to further enhance the kit, not make up for deficiencies or inaccuracies. I'm convinced that the kit as supplied will produce a superb model.

Here's another example of how well the kit is designed and produced. I've taken the deck fittings off the model to finish the planking, and you can see the full extent of the bitts. In other kits I've built the bitts just sit on the upper deck and you usually have to pin them as well as glue them to ensure they are robust enough to withstand rigging under tension. Speedy's bitts on the other hand extend through the upper deck to where lugs on the bottom of each beam locate in holes in the lower deck. When I tried them for fit  each set of bitts slotted straight into its location holes in the lower deck - not through any skill on my part but because the kit is made so well everything just fits perfectly.

My next debate is whether or not to fit a waterway for historical accuracy and to neaten up the angle between the margin  plank and the bulwarks. I'm a glutton for punishment so I probably will.

 

Derek

[DelF]

7 hours ago, ErnieL said:

I’m slogging through the first plank layer on my Speedy.

I find planking is always the scariest part of the model. For me, the game changer has been edge bending as taught by Chuck Passaro.  Look under Modelling Techniques on the menu bar. Good luck, and I look forward to your update.

 

Derek

[glbarlow]

Fine work on the deck. Very impressive skills on the consistency of your joggling cuts!

 

Did you make all the scarp and joggling cuts with chisels?  

[DelF]

Thanks Glenn

On 5/27/2020 at 4:03 PM, glbarlow said:

Did you make all the scarp and joggling cuts with chisels?

 

I used the miniature chisels for most of the cuts. For longer ones off the model I used the razor blade in the holder. It's marked Made in USA, but I can't remember where I got it. For longer ones on the model (ie on the margin planks, which are glued to the etched deck) I still used the miniature chisels. I cut the deck plank first, laid it on top of the margin plank, scribed round the outside with a fine point, and just carefully worked along the scribed line with the widest chisel. I did the shortest lines with the 1/16" chisel blade.  The planks are so thin it was easy to cut though them with light finger pressure on the chisel. Once I'd chiselled round the scribed line I just gently lifted the waste part from the sub-deck with the finest chisel.

 

Hope that makes sense.

 

Derek

[DelF]

Today scraped the deck and applied one coat of shellac. Then I went for an easy task. Constructing the two ladders was light relief after decking for several days. Although I enjoyed doing it, joggling every strake of planks required a lot of concentration. I couldn't resist dry testing the deck furniture again just for the sheer pleasure of seeing Speedy looking more and more like a ship. I'll probably add some more coats of shellac before finally securing all the deck fittings.

 

 

A few hull details tomorrow - boarding steps etc.

 

Derek

 

[VTHokiEE]

24 minutes ago, DelF said:

Today scraped the deck and applied one coat of shellac

Does adding the shellac cause any issues with attaching components to the deck later? I've been tempted to coat my deck, but the satin wipe-on poly didn't really catch my eye when I tried it on a test piece but if it doesn't interfere then I'll probably start looking for a matte option.

[chris watton]

Absolutely superb!

[Sailor1234567890]

Are those elm tree pump handles shipped and unshipped every time they are used? If not, do they snag on lines or anything? They seem quite protrusionary if I could invent a word. 

[glbarlow]

I'm not doing a build log now, I'm just going to create one post ... See Derek's.... 🙂

 

[DelF]

40 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Does adding the shellac cause any issues with attaching components to the deck later?

I don't find shellac interferes with glue as much as poly, but I'll still lightly scrape or sand the areas where the deck fittings go. I probably should have glued the deck fittings first, but I was too impatient!

 

36 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Absolutely superb!

Thanks Chris. I still feel slightly guilty that I planked over your superb etched deck, but I hope I've made it clear that's just me adding my own twist to the model and not a reflection on your design.

29 minutes ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

Are those elm tree pump handles shipped and unshipped every time they are used? If not, do they snag on lines or anything? They seem quite protrusionary if I could invent a word.

I love that word! I don't know about full-size practice, but I'm going to leave the pumps off the model until near the end. Precisely because they protrusionate so much. 😁

 

17 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

I'm not doing a build log now, I'm just going to create one post ... See Derek's.... 🙂

Come off it Glenn!  I've seen your finished work and you can still teach me a thing or two.

 

Derek

[Sailor1234567890]

My favourite invented word that I came up with years ago was angrifying. We had been broken into while we were away and it was the best word I could come up with to describe how we felt. I still use it. Pumps would have been used all the time, shipping and unshipping the handle would have taken a significant amount of time if they were shipped several times per day. I suspect they were left on but thought maybe someone might know for sure. 

[DelF]

I can relate to angrifying, Sailor. I often feel angrified. Like all good made up words (including protrusionary) it sounds like it ought to be a proper word. Of course, English lends itself to the making up of words because it is so inconsistent. If you can have an artist, why not a paintist or a sculptist? Or an arter? Or a ship modellist? Perhaps we should start a separate thread on made up words? 

 

Derek

[Sailor1234567890]

Naah, I'd rather return to our regularly scheduled programming. Speedy is too cool to miss.

[DelF]

Another little diversion this morning.

 

I was looking to fit the boarding steps that go both sides of the hull. These come as laser-etched components on a 1mm sheet of pearwood.

Nothing wrong with them, but as some will be unpainted I'd prefer them to match the boxwood hull. I decided to use the supplied steps in the six positions that will be painted (on the wales and cap rail), but make eight of my own for the bare ones. I used the salami slicing method, which has worked for me in the past for things like gun carriages, and thought others might be interested in the technique.

 

The steps are 12.5mm wide by 2.3 mm deep, so I started by trimming a boxwood offcut to 12.5mm, then reducing part of it to 2.3mm on the bigger of my two mills (technically it's a mini-mill, but it's big enough for me).

Next I milled two 3.0 X 0.6mm grooves on my Proxxon micro mill. 

Incidentally, I sometimes see adverse comments about Proxxon tools on the forum. These usually take the form of "they're too expensive" or more commonly "they're not Bridgeport/Sherline/etc therefore they must be rubbish". All I can say is, look at the superlative quality of the work of people like Marsalv and Blue Ensign who use these tools extensively. Rant over.

 

After rounding off the corners with a file I had the profile I wanted:

Well, not quite. I realised after the event that I hadn't mounted the wood in the vice quite square so the grooves are at a slight angle. To be honest it won't show, but it illustrates that all tools are only as good as the numpty using them.

 

Next it was back to the Byrnes saw to do the salami slicing. I set up a stop on the fence so that I could do repeat cuts, and it took less than a minute to do all eight steps.

 

Here they are fitted and painted/shellaced (apologies for the blurry picture):

Another method that would have worked equally well (and wasted less wood) is to start with 1mm strips of boxwood, cut eight pieces each 12.5mm X 2.3mm and glue them together into a solid block (like a loaf of bread with PVA between each pair of slices). Make the grooves and round the corners using whatever method suits - for example using a table saw to make the grooves. Then soak the block in denatured alcohol to loosen the glue. I think I first found this method in The Fully Framed Model and used it to make parrels. As I say, this method works fine but I find it messier.

 

Hope you enjoyed the step-by-step guide (groan!).

 

Derek

 

[egkb]

Brilliant Step's Derek (  ) 

 

Eamonn

[ErnieL]

Numpty unite!

Good to see that I have company.

Last weekend, the War Department called me ‘numpty of the year’ for reducing a hamburger roll to charcoal powder.  

 

She’s looking first rate, and lime always, it’s the little details like this that take a model from ‘nice’ to brilliant. 

[chris watton]

19 hours ago, DelF said:

 

 

Thanks Chris. I still feel slightly guilty that I planked over your superb etched deck, but I hope I've made it clear that's just me adding my own twist to the model and not a reflection on your design.

 

 

 

 

Derek

No need for guilt, as long as you enjoy the build, that's all that matters to me.

[glbarlow]

20 hours ago, DelF said:

you can still teach me a thing or two.

I've resisted getting a mill of any sort, you're convincing me I 'need' one - although I have cut such things with my Byrnes saw and the sliding table the mill, and your technique, makes it look so much easier.  So you like the Proxxon version? Too bad Jim Byrnes doesn't produce a mill, I'd buy that in a heart beat.

[DelF]

Glenn

 

The Proxxon is great, especially for fine, detailed work. The limitation is size, with the widest end mill being 3 mm. Doesn't stop you doing wider cuts, it just takes longer. Have a look at Marsalv's work on this forum - he shows great ingenuity in getting the most from his Proxxon mill. 

 

Here's a couple of examples from my Royal Caroline. The first is the launch, where the mill made the rowlocks and the grooves on the oars handles:

The second picture shows my first attempt at using the rotary table you can get as an optional extra. If you look at the fluting on the uprights, they were made using the table to turn the upright a precise number of degrees to make the flutes evenly spaced. Most of the other details on this fitting were also made with the mill, including the slots for the sheaves in the base and the shapes in the cross beam. You'll be pleased to know I replaced the belaying pins in the final model with more realistic ones (referring back to an earlier Speedy discussion!).

 

Similarly, a lot of the detail here in the bitts and the belfry was wrought by the micro-mill.

 

As another example, I made all my own deadeyes for the model and used the rotary table to make sure the three holes were correctly spaced and positioned. The possibilities are endless, and I get a lot of enjoyment figuring out jigs and methods for getting the most from my tools.

 

Of course, people can and do make great models without mills and lathes and Byrnes saws, but for me power tools just get things done faster and more accurately.

 

Derek

[DelF]

3 hours ago, ErnieL said:

Last weekend, the War Department called me ‘numpty of the year’ for reducing a hamburger roll to charcoal powder.

Love it! I'm glad to see I'm not (quite) the world's worst cook. My approach has always been that if I do things badly enough in the kitchen I won't be asked to do them again. Doesn't always work, but in the main I'm only trusted to do veg prep and washing up (and even that requires a great deal of Senior Management supervision).

 

Derek

[VTHokiEE]

1 hour ago, DelF said:

The Proxxon is great, especially for fine, detailed work.

Posts such as that need a warning! I barely have any power tools and I'm really tempted by a mill (do you have the MF 70? or the larger one, FF 230 I believe?) even more than a table saw. This did not help my resistance... (but beautiful examples).

[ErnieL]

You fine blokes are working very hard to make me spend my money....

[DelF]

26 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

do you have the MF 70? or the larger one, FF 230 I believe?

I've got the MF 70. Ideal for our scale of work.

 

14 minutes ago, ErnieL said:

You fine blokes are working very hard to make me spend my money

To misquote George Best, I spend most of my money on wine, whiskey, and ship modelling; the rest I just waste.

 

Derek

[DelF]

22 hours ago, ErnieL said:

Numpty unite!

Have you got Scottish ancestry in your family Ernie? I always thought numpty was Scottish slang. My wife calls me a numpty noodle-head (often).

 

Derek

[ErnieL]

6 hours ago, DelF said:

Have you got Scottish ancestry in your family Ernie? I always thought numpty was Scottish slang. My wife calls me a numpty noodle-head (often).

 

Derek

There’s McInnes, MacLellan, Stuckey just off the top of my head.   But mostly German and a Russian streak going way back.

[glbarlow]

On 5/29/2020 at 12:33 PM, DelF said:

I spend most of my money on wine, whiskey, and ship modelling; the rest I just waste.

That’s hilarious. I just have to add camera equipment to that and I’m right there with you. 

[glbarlow]

Your work with the mill is amazing.  I like doing the bits, belfry and uprights and I assume cat heads. That justifies it for me. I try to carve something decent on those with files and blades, if you can rack those out with a mill I think I’m in.  
 

Having the mill how did you learn how to use it?  Should I hop across the pond and come to your house for lessons:-)

[DelF]

1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

Having the mill how did you learn how to use it?  Should I hop across the pond and come to your house for lessons:-)

Entirely self-taught Glenn - plus as many youtube videos as I could get my hands on and a lot of practice. I could point you at a few if you decide to take the plunge. I should have mentioned that the x-y-z movements on the Proxxon are accurate to 0.01mm/0.0004". It really is a quality, precision tool. And when the blasted virus is history you are more than welcome to visit - provided you bring your camera and I'll trade milling lessons for photography tips. You'll have seen I'm sadly lacking in the latter!

 

Derek