HMS Speedy by NewbyMark - Vanguard Models - Scale 1:64

[NewbyMark]

Hi all. Really enjoying this site and have returned to ship modelling after a long break. There are already several HMS Speedy logs, and I've hesitated to add my own because I'm not particularly talented at modelling ships. My background is mainly multi-media car kits, but I really enjoy working with wood and this particular kit is really so well thought out and with such great materials that I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. I've started the log in the interest of learning from those of you who are clearly more experienced and talented than me. So feel free to comment or suggest improvements.

 

I'm up to the second layer of planking and have just started planking the inner bulwarks. I've made plenty of mistakes, but so far it's looking ok aside from using filler which is not a good colour match in the outer planking. In general I've found the pearwood a bit pale anyway so I'm looking at staining it before airbrushing a varnish - hopefully it will work out ok in the end. Chris has been patient and helpful where I've had issues, for which I've been grateful. 

 

A few pictures of my progress so far below. 

 

[glbarlow]

Welcome to the Speedy club. Mine is still in the box waiting until my current project completes. 
 

We all learn and share on this forum, some might be better than others but that doesn’t matter. I’ve built 8, almost 9, pretty nice models. I’m not too bad at it, but then I look at work by Blue Ensign, Chuck, and lots of others. I learn new things seeing their work and strive to get better at mine. Be proud to share and willing to ask for help. I’m sure I’ll learn something following your log. 

I think we’ve divided ourselves into CA and non-CA people, I’m sorry to see the non-CA people have a new member 🤣😂

 

Great start!

 

A small suggestion. I glue strips of felt to the building cradle after the second planking to protect it from scratching. I work from it more than the vise once I’m done planking.  Just a thought. 

Edited April 11, 2020 by glbarlow

[NewbyMark]

Thanks Glenn. The second planking was all CA. I just didn't want to use CA close to the deck as it's a bit unforgiving! To my mind, both glues have their place. 

 

Thanks for that tip. I was thinking that when I start the coppering I was going to place the bubble wrap from the box in the cradle first for that reason, but I like your idea better 🙂 I might give that a go. Thank you.

[glbarlow]

On 4/11/2020 at 10:52 AM, NewbyMark said:

both glues have their place.

I do use both glues as well and agree both are needed. The discussion mostly hovers around planking I think, all in fun. 

[NewbyMark]

A brief update. Although still early on in the build, I've been giving some thought to how I might display the model. I have been in contact with the helpful people at the Greenwich Museum, who have original line plans for Speedy and Flirt here : https://prints.rmg.co.uk/products/lines-and-profile-plan-of-vessels-flirt-1782-and-speedy-1782-j5045?_pos=11&_sid=ae2f71793&_ss=r They can supply this as a JPG file to me, for personal use, so that I can print at any size I wish, and I'm considering if I could display the model with the line plans fixed inside the case somehow. Does anyone in the UK have any recommendations for manufacturers of cases? I'm wondering if I could get something with a double wall of glass at the rear so the plan could be captured inside it. Hopefully an interesting way to display her and an inspiration to keep going!

[chris watton]

I know this place does bespoke acrylic cases:

 

https://www.strikingdisplays.co.uk/display-cases/custom-display-cases/custom-sized-display-case.html#DETAILS

[glbarlow]

Though it’s not in a glass case, I got the plans for Pegasus when I built her, they are now framed and hanging in my workshop.  It’s. A nice idea and I can tell you first hand does provide inspiration, making a connection to the past and the real thing.  I have my little painted Cochran’s watching over me on a shelf, and read the kindle version of the book on him Chris recommended. He was quite the guy. 

[NewbyMark]

2 hours ago, chris watton said:

I know this place does bespoke acrylic cases:

 

https://www.strikingdisplays.co.uk/display-cases/custom-display-cases/custom-sized-display-case.html#DETAILS

Thanks Chris, I was looking for glass but I might drop them a line and see if they can offer what I'd like. I figure once I get to the details the model will get increasingly fragile so wanted to get something by the time I complete the hull. Thanks for the steer.

[NewbyMark]

2 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Though it’s not in a glass case, I got the plans for Pegasus when I built her, they are now framed and hanging in my workshop.  It’s. A nice idea and I can tell you first hand does provide inspiration, making a connection to the past and the real thing.  I have my little painted Cochran’s watching over me on a shelf, and read the kindle version of the book on him Chris recommended. He was quite the guy. 

Yes I agree and I've found the history of Speedy fascinating to read about. Certainly a colourful history and it definitely adds a dimension to the build. I am just about done with the planking now and starting to experiment with finishes. I'm quite a slow builder but will post some progress pictures in a couple of weeks, from carefully selected angles to show only the best bits 🙂 

[Vane]

If you can build a shipmodel, how difficult can it be to build a glasbox? :-P

 

[NewbyMark]

Well, I'm now done with outer planking aside from filing out the ports and sanding the top edge flush. I made a mistake here, which it's probably worth mentioning for those following behind as I had to remove some planking, which left me with a bit of a mess and some filling I really didn't need on visible planking. I cut my strips between the ports and glued them, realising only when I came to the final plank that it was not lying precisely flush with the port, and I would have had to either file them out oversize, or remove the planking and do it again. I chose to partially remove the planking. So when you are doing this watch very carefully where you need to cut the planks short and where you should let them run over the port and file back to the correct size.

 

I have some more sanding to do but I'm reasonably happy with the finish. I think I have settled on airbrushing a coat of Ronseal pearwood and then a couple of matt coats to finish, but I won't do this until I've progressed a bit further.

 

All in all, enjoying the experience if a little irritated by my mistakes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by NewbyMark

[DelF]

Hi Mark

 

Welcome to the Speedy club. I've just caught up with your log and will follow along. Your second planking looks really good, and I'll be interested to see how the Ronseal finish looks. I've not yet decided what to use on mine.

 

Derek

[NewbyMark]

5 minutes ago, DelF said:

Hi Mark

 

Welcome to the Speedy club. I've just caught up with your log and will follow along. Your second planking looks really good, and I'll be interested to see how the Ronseal finish looks. I've not yet decided what to use on mine.

 

Derek

Thanks for your kind words, Derek. I was reasonably happy with how it turned out. It was my first time using CA for planking. I noticed that in some cases small gaps between planks were actually filled with CA and so you can't fill them. This was a downside, although the lack of pin holes was a positive. I am not the most experienced but it came out ok. I will post some more pictures once I've got the keel on and applied some finish. 

 

Good luck with your build. 

 

Cheers, Mark.

[NewbyMark]

Well I couldn’t resist applying a finish. I applied the pearwood satin finish and I liked it so much I didn’t bother with the Matt. It’s darkened the wood nicely, covering some of my errors without losing the beauty of the wood. I also attached and painted the Wale. Just have to sand down and touch up, then it’s keel and the dreaded copper! 
 

 

[clearway]

coppering is funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn😬🤪

[NewbyMark]

Just now, clearway said:

coppering is funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn😬🤪

I am very used to working with PE but I am not looking forward to it! It will really ruin the model if it’s badly done so I suspect it’s going to take some time and become quite tedious....

[clearway]

just slow and steady does it- i start on the bottom at the stern and work forward and upwards- the coppering doesn't always follow the planking- is there a diagram on the destructions showing the run of the tiles?

 

Keith

[NewbyMark]

21 minutes ago, clearway said:

just slow and steady does it- i start on the bottom at the stern and work forward and upwards- the coppering doesn't always follow the planking- is there a diagram on the destructions showing the run of the tiles?

 

Keith

Yes the instructions in this kit are outstanding. I will just take it slow as you say. It will at least keep me sane during this lockdown!!!

[GrandpaPhil]

Using copper tape is a really easy way to copper a hull and it looks fantastic.

[glbarlow]

I’ve used water based poly on most of my models and have never had a “milk” problem. I suppose it’s in the brand. 
 

I’d think using an oil based varnish would definitely need thinning to prevent it from gumming up. 
 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by glbarlow

[NewbyMark]

To be honest the photo doesn’t really show the finish well. I’m not great at photography. But there’s no milky finish at all. However I think I’d probably prefer an oil based finish. You can sand this finish off. Water based products only sit on top. Oil penetrates the wood. However, I’m pleased with how it turned out and will try to take some better pictures over the next few days. Thanks for the comments - keep them coming please - I’m here to learn...

[clearway]

I am using the acrylic varnish on my victory (exactly same stuff as you) and also use it on my military/ railway wagon kits with no problems- some models 10+ years with no adverse effects. To thin it you can add it to a lil ole tapwater and stir well! it is a lot quicker drying and a lot less unpleasant to use indoors.

 

Keith

[clearway]

maybe depends on the humidity levels where it is used- u.k. climate different to african/ aussie climate as an example.

[NewbyMark]

The apparently simple act of glueing on the keel resulted in a broken part, two parts glued upside down, and a bleed on the model. I decided at that point to put it down and go have a beer in the garden instead. However I’m back on it today and have started the copper. Really found round the bow quite difficult and not overly happy with some of the tiles. I also have acetone on order to clean up the faces a bit from inevitable seepage. Will progress slowly over the next couple of weekends and see how I get on.

 

[chris watton]

Always dry fit the copper plates first, to get the general shape. Also, when you get near the ends,  leave the plates connected. For example, the gaps at the bow would be better if the copper plate just short of the edge had another attached , which could be shaped to the bow profile (once dry-fitted and marked). There are very few individual plates that I glue in place, always at east two together, even if some overlap the ones below.

[NewbyMark]

3 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Always dry fit the copper plates first, to get the general shape. Also, when you get near the ends,  leave the plates connected. For example, the gaps at the bow would be better if the copper plate just short of the edge had another attached , which could be shaped to the bow profile (once dry-fitted and marked). There are very few individual plates that I glue in place, always at east two together, even if some overlap the ones below.

Thanks Chris, I think I will remove some of those and do it again as you've said. I was wondering how I was going to deal with the very small gaps. Hopefully there are sufficient tiles I can get away with wasting a few. Is it also ok to slightly overlap the tiles where needed? I have some small gaps at the bow where the angle of the tiles was starting to change and it looks poor.

[chris watton]

You will have more than enough tiles, don't worry about that (and if you don't, you know where I am). Because there are no 'dimples' like machine pressed variants, the tiles are flat, so it is no problem for some to overlap. I did the same for the Amati Cutty Sark and the 64th scale Victory.

[NewbyMark]

2 minutes ago, chris watton said:

You will have more than enough tiles, don't worry about that (and if you don't, you know where I am). Because there are no 'dimples' like machine pressed variants, the tiles are flat, so it is no problem for some to overlap. I did the same for the Amati Cutty Sark and the 64th scale Victory.

OK thanks. In that case I will definitely remove some of the bow section and have another go. Thanks for the tip.

[chris watton]

7 minutes ago, NewbyMark said:

OK thanks. In that case I will definitely remove some of the bow section and have another go. Thanks for the tip.

I often make mistakes (still)! when copper plating and always, and I do mean always, end up removing some I am not happy with. This is the reason there are more than enough spare plates for mistakes.

[glbarlow]

It takes only a small dab of CA in the center of each tile, and it’s definitely a CA job.  Like Chris I keep as many together I can 3-5 wasn’t unusual.  The overlap stands out to you as your doing it, but you won’t notice it all once it’s on the shelf.  
 

I’m on record, I do not like to copper. It’s way too much like work:-/