HMS Vulture 1776 by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - 16-gun Swan-class sloop from TFFM plans

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Popeye and Dave.

 

Are you going to keep this one or pass it on to the family / museum ?

 

 

Probably a museum.

 

did you get around to doing anything on the stage coach ?

 

 

Not yet - I'm going to finish Vulture first, and then I have a model of Norske Lowe to finish off for another guy.

 

Making Blocks

 

There are 24 blocks attached beneath the Fore and Main Tops. Each has 4 Buntlines, 4 Leechlines and 4 Tricing Line blocks. The buntlines are 8" double sheaved (4.23mm long), the leechlines are 7" doubles (3.7mm) and the tricing line blocks are 6" single sheaved (3.18mm).

 

I started by cutting the stock to the appropriate sizes for the three sizes of block. Next I cut a shallow groove (or two) for the representations of the sheaves the full length of each piece of stock. Then I made up a Spreadsheet for the co-ordinates of each hole. The spreadsheet has co-ordinates for all sizes of block from 4" to 12" :

 

 

I set the stock up in my mill and proceeded to drill (a Digital Readout is a MUST for this operation). I made about twice as many blocks as I needed. The co-ordinates allowed for twice the thickness of my smallest saw blade (0.20" or 0.54mm) so that I could make all the blocks with a minimum of setting up :

 

 

Next came the most labour intensive part of the exercise, shaping the blocks using a sharp Xacto :

 

 

The grooves for the strop were cut last before cutting each block from the stock and finishing the cut end :

 

 

EDIT - After making a few sets of blocks I found it easier to saw the grooves for both the "sheave" and the strop in the stock before drilling the holes etc.

 

  Danny

[GLakie]

Amazing work Danny! Thanks for the tutorial.

 

Cheers 

[Jim Lad]

Top tops, Danny!

 

John

[dvm27]

Great job on those mast tops, Danny. Did you have any problems with warping after gluing them up?

[AON]

one more thing I needed to know how to do smarter!

Thank you

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you George, John, Greg and Alan - much appreciated .

 

Did you have any problems with warping after gluing them up?

 

 

Not with this method Greg, I placed a sheet of glass and a heavy weight on top of them until they dried thoroughly.

 

However I DID have major warping problems when I tried to use David's method with the very thin sheets laminated together. I used PVA glue instead of Aliphatic which I didn't have any of - not a good idea, the one I tried was a throwaway .

 

  Danny

[gjdale]

Lovely work on the tops Danny. Had you considered using Chuck's method for mass producing blocks?

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Grant.

 

I used David's method in TFFM, I think it's similar to Chuck's??? I haven't really seen his. Do you have a Link?

 

   Danny

[gjdale]

Hi Danny,

 

I had a quick search but can't find Chuck's original post on his method. There is a description of my trials and mods on my Victory log on page 25, starting at post #374. Here's a link http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/163-hms-victory-by-grant-dale-mamoli-scale-190/page-25

 

I may have "filed" Chuck's original post on the other computer. If I can find it, I'll send it to you via PM. In a nutshell, it involves the Byrnes saw, the Mill with some round-over bits, a drill press, and a jig. The process itself is quite simple and I'm sure that you would come up with your own clever mods as well.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for that Grant. I might just try that method next time .

 

Berthing Rail

 

A slight departure from the masts/rigging while I remember it. Before I get too much more rigging around the Head it was time to make and fit the Berthing Rail. This is an iron rail supported by a stanchion in the middle. It fits into a small eyebolt at each end (I'd fitted these earlier) :

 

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Well done, Danny - very realistic.

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks John. It was harder to make than it looks .

 

Blocks under the Top

 

Returning to the tops. The blocks are held under the tops by a strop which has a wooden peg through it's top end on the top floor.

 

Here are a couple of pics of my method of stropping a block. The "splice" is a simple overhand knot held in place with PVA and neatly trimmed. It's very difficult to tell with the naked eye that it is a fake seizing :

 

 

 

 

I pulled the end of the strop through the top using a piece of thread :

 

 

The top view of a pegged block strop :

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Top Stanchions and Railings

 

The final things to add before attaching the Tops are the Stanchions and Railings. TFFM advise against doing it at this stage as they may get damaged whilst rigging, but I found them difficult enough to fit on the bench let alone when they are on the ship. I'm confident that they will stand up to any punishment later on .

 

I made the stanchions from 1.0mm brass rod and 1.6mm brass tube. The tube's ID was only 0,8mm so every piece had to be drilled. I did this on the lathe, and also cut the pieces of tubing from the stock using the parting tool held about 1mm from the chuck. They are a rather tight fit, and didn't really need soldering so I didn't bother :

 

 

The stanchions were also a tight fit in the previously drilled holes in the tops so I glued them in with CA. I drilled the rails 3/4 of the way through, and once again they were a good fit. I glued them on to the stanchions with PVA :

 

 

 

  Danny

[egkb]

Wonderful Stuff Danny, a pleasure to follow along !

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

[GLakie]

Amazing detail Danny! A great build to pick up inspiration from.

 

Cheers 

[Maury S]

Nice tops Danny.

Maury

[amateur]

Wonderfull tops.

Aren't you affraid of the fake splices coming loose when rigging?

 

Jan

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Eamonn, George, Maury and Jan.

 

Catharpins

 

A rather tricky step in the rigging, I've fitted these before starting the ratlines as it gave me better access.

 

Some careful measuring was needed (along with a bit of trial and error) to ensure that the catharpins would just slightly pull the shrouds together when fitted. They also had to all be EXACTLY the same length. The eye splices also had to be taken into account.

 

First job was to serve the 8 pieces needed, leaving some extra length in the serving line that would act as a "splice". Then the eyes were "spliced" in a similar fashion to others I'd done before. The seizing lines were tied to each eye :

 

 

One end was loosely seized near the bottom of the shroud where it was a bit easier to do :

 

 

Then the unit was raised into position. I used a self-closing tweezer to hold the opposite side in position while I finished off the seizing. The foremast catharpins fitted :

 

 

  Danny

[GLakie]

A sensitive maneuver, to say the least Danny. Nice!

 

Cheers 

Edited December 3, 2014 by GLakie

[mtaylor]

Those were spliced on Vulture?  I was thinking they would have had the hooks, though that was probably later.  Well done on that bit of tricky rigging, Danny.

[Maury S]

VERY nicely done!

Maury

[Jim Lad]

A tricky job to get them tensioned at the correct length and at the same time not put too much pressure on the shrouds.  Very nicely executed, Danny.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

beautiful Fitting of catharpins Danny,

 

that is a real tricky assembly to get the correct Tension on These in relation to the shrouds....

 

Nils

[dgbot]

Danny, If you do not mind I might start calling you OBI WAN.  Every time I look on your build I am learning something new.  You have shown me a new way to make those nasty blocks.  As for laminating I have used aliphatic, pva, epoxy, and contact cement.  It depends on what I think will happen.  Most of the wood laminating was done with wood glue or epoxy.  That way I do not have to worry about parts developing a warp.  I have using epoxy because of the smell and the mess.  And if you try to work the blank before the epoxy cures you might have to get a new blade for your saw.

David B

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks very much George, Mark, Maury, John, Nils and David. Your comments are appreciated.

 

Those were spliced on Vulture?  I was thinking they would have had the hooks

 

 

Yes they are Mark. You may be confusing them with the Futtock Shrouds, which do have hooks.

 

Euphroes

 

The Euphroes are used to attach the lower parts of the Crowsfeet to the stays. They are only 12mm long for the fore and main masts, and 10mm for the mizzen mast. This is slightly longer than the ones described in TFFM (by 20%) but with the slightly larger thread I'm using for the Crowsfeet I had to make the holes a bit bigger (0.45mm) to get the thread through. There are 11 holes in the fore and main and 9 holes in the mizzen.

 

I started by cutting the stock for all three to width and thickness from English Box. I ran the stock through the table saw to cut the grooves for the strops. Then I drilled all three pieces in my mill :

 

 

 

Then I cut the three pieces to length, tapering each one first. Final rounding was done with a sanding stick :

 

 

Final job was to attach the strops and a 4" block for the tackle. This is a rarely seen detail on models :

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Crowsfeet

 

The Crowsfeet prevent the topsails from chafing the lower stays, and also stop them from getting snagged in the tops.

 

I used Gutermann Quilting Cotton for these. It's not quite the same color as Chuck's running rigging line, but it is the closest match they make. This stuff is made from cotton and has a polyester coating which makes it a little more rigid than normal cotton - this makes threading it through tiny holes a lot easier. It also has NO fuzzies at all .

 

The line starts on the strop at the top of the euphroe and passes over the forward edge of the top and through the middle hole. Then it comes back up through the adjacent hole on the port side, down to the uppermost hole in the euphroe and through the top on the starboard side. These steps are repeated for the remainder. The last line is tied off to it's adjacent partner underneath the top.

 

It was a difficult job to get even tension on all the loops of line. I had to go back over all the loops a few times to get an acceptable result :

 

 

 

The euphroe tackle :

 

 

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

is there a time period for this type of tackle?   I've not seen it on older ships.  looks super Danny 

Edited December 7, 2014 by popeye the sailor

[GLakie]

is there a time period for this type of tackle?   I've not seen it on older ships.  looks super Danny 

Amazing detail Danny!

I was kind of wondering the same thing. I'll be building the MS Constitution and I guess back in 1812, or there-about, she had the crows-feet on the fore and main masts, then at some point they were omitted. Don't know when or why. 

 

Cheers   

[SkerryAmp]

Spectacular work Danny - the rigging is absolutely exquisite!

[michael mott]

Great work on the rigging Danny, I had not seen this detail before.

 

Michael