HMS Speedy by whitejamest - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[whitejamest]

Well, this is probably starting to look like an abandoned build, but it is in fact alive and well. Really. Life has intervened in a variety of ways to slow me down, and when you're as slow a builder as I am that makes for a remarkably slow pace indeed. I'm also pretty bad about documenting progress, and I have only just gotten around to taking more photos. 

So where was I? At this point I have (mostly) completed the second planking below the wales, though I have some more sanding and cleaning and filling to do lower down. You'll see in the photos that I opted to conserve my supply of yellow cedar planking (Gregory, I want to make the best use of your lovely cutting work!) by using the kit-supplied pear wood planks below the water line, where they will be invisible beneath the copper plating. I've rubbed the planks with tung oil to treat them. 

 

...Now that I set about writing this post, I am realizing how long it has been, and how much I left out. I didn't even post a picture of the little jig I made to help me bend planks. That looked like this: 

 

 

Not exactly a very refined tool, but it helped. I thought adding the lines to the base would help me judge how far I was bending. Those proved unhelpful and unnecessary. A lesson for next time. 

 

Anyway, here are some shots of the planking. I staggered the plank joints where they will be visible, but didn't continue doing it as I worked lower down on the hull, since I think those joints would be invisible. 

 

NOTE: For anyone intending to do as I have done and mix pear wood and a lighter wood, take care with your sanding. I didn't think about it ahead of time, and as I sanded the hull I worked darker pear wood dust into the seams between the cedar planks, which emphasizes the seams more than would otherwise be apparent. Not an absolutely enormous problem, but if I'd turned on a few more brain cells beforehand I would have been more careful. 

 

Also: You'll see here I did the uppermost plank in pear rather than cedar. I had the long pear planks from the kit, and I figured it would be easier to get a smooth curve by doing that plank in one single length, rather than a few shorter cedar pieces. It should be hidden by a painted second layer of wale planking, and hopefully invisible. 

 

 

 

 

 

That was by far the most planking I have ever done, and I needed to catch my breath for a while after that. Unfortunately then I had an ill-timed bout of hubris and ambition, and having seen Derek's lovely work on his Speedy deck, I thought I too would skip the photo etched piece provided with the kit and do my own deck planking. Not sure I would repeat that choice now that I am neck deep in that process, but it's too late to turn back now! 

 

I'd never created margin planks for a deck before, so I set about it exactly as the instructions in the 18th Century Longboat described the creation of the cap rail for that model. I traced the outside of the photo etched deck piece on a sheet of basswood, and then made lots of marks a consistent distance inward from that perimeter. Then I cut out the rails, sanded them into more graceful curves and glued them in place. Here is one of the margin planks being glued in place. 

 

 

I had to wait for a little to get some basswood planks in the mail, so after gluing the margin planks in I installed a couple inner bulwark planking pieces on either side to get a feel for how that will go. The lower planks will be done in two pieces, and my thought there is to hide the joints beneath one of the guns. 

 

And then I set about the deck planking. Which hopefully will clean up a lot better when I sand it all smooth. Otherwise I'll do a lot of filling work. You can see I have only roughly cut out the various holes for the deck fittings at this point. 

 

 

Here is a close up shot of the joggling. I've tried to follow the photo-etched piece in where the joggling starts. 

 

 

And that's where I am now. I hope I'll have some updates on a completed deck sooner rather than later. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by whitejamest

[Gregory]

Really looking good..  

[DelF]

Good to see you back James - your planking really is superb, and I'm impressed with your joggling. Well done!

 

Derek

[whitejamest]

Thanks very much Gregory, Spyglass and Derek. I appreciate the encouragement. 

[whitejamest]

Well, if I had the decision to make all over again, I'm not sure I wouldn't just go with the laser etched deck that came with the kit, and save myself some trouble. But at least it's done now and I can move on to another step. (And then come back to the deck to do a little more touch up after I've got some emotional distance from it...) 

 

Deck planking in basswood, varnished in Minwax water based Polycrylic - which is actually rather glossier than you can see in these photos. 

 

Next up: planking the inside bulwarks. 

 

 

 

[Gregory]

Glad to see you back at work..  That Deck looks great..  Basswood can be surprising if worked correctly..

 

Also, I have seen a great deal in variance in the quality of basswood I have seen over the years.

In my experience it doesn't stain well, but can look really good when varnished..  Your deck is testament to that.

[DelF]

That deck was definitely worth the effort - well done!

[whitejamest]

Thanks very much Gregory and Derek, I appreciate the comments. And thanks for the likes guys. 

[whitejamest]

Well, it's been a little while - just over a year since I updated this log. It was not my favorite year. There was a lot of difficulty and loss, as for so many people. My model making mojo was at a low ebb, and I just couldn't manage to work on projects. But I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. 

 

Eventually, far down the line when the Speedy is finished, I would like to display it with a boat right up alongside, because that does so much to give a sense of scale. To that end I purchased the 22 foot yawl kit from Vanguard Models, and I decided that working on that boat now would be a good way to get moving again. 

 

A lot of people have included these little kits in their larger build logs, so I imagine these are already pretty familiar to many. They are small and fiddly, but they look well designed for what they are, and I've seen great results from others' efforts. So I'll give it a try. 

 

The entirety of the kit: 1 laser cut mdf sheet, 3 pear and 1 brass. I decided to replace the pear wood planking with basswood, just because I like the lighter color and it will go with the choices I've made for Speedy better. 

 

 

Here the mdf bulkheads are laid out on the base, but not yet fixed with glue. The two pear wood bulkheads are not pictured. 

 

 

Next, the pear wood keel is slotted into place, and glue is brushed into the joints. Note the reinforcements pieces by the bow. There are a couple smaller ones at the stern that can't be made out in this photo. 

 

 

Then the bulkheads are fared to allow the planking to lie flush against them. I joined the club of broken stems at this step, as many have before me. The wood is very thin here around the slot, and I was clumsy. But it was easy enough to just superglue the piece back in place and saturate the area with a little glue. Since I will be painting the entire outside I am not too worried about blemishes. 

 

 

Here I have laid on most of the basswood planking. I followed the practice in the Speedy manual, tapering the planks toward the bow. I did a somewhat rough job, but again I think it won't be too apparent once the hull is painted. 

 

 

And with a good amount of sanding and the application of some filler, we're looking a lot smoother. I used "GoodFilla" brand filler. It was harder than expected, but I think that was actually an asset. You can get a nice strong, smooth finish. 

 

 

Once the planking is all installed and sanded and filled, the model is removed from the base. 

 

 

Then the frames are broken away. They came off more easily than I had feared. I had been worried because basswood is on the softer side, and I wasn't sure how tightly the super glue would grip it. You can see the bottoms of the frames are meant to remain in place. One of them came out entirely, but that shouldn't be a problem. The small amount of filler pushed up through the gaps in the planks will be hidden under the brass deck pieces. 

 

 

The top of the 2nd to last frame, in pear wood, has subsequently been removed. (The two pear wood bulkheads will be painted red on the inside). Now I am sanding the interior a bit, and then I will rub it down with some wipe on poly and start attaching the simulated frames. 

 

Thanks for looking. 

- James

 

[whitejamest]

Thanks for the likes guys. Here's a mini update on this mini kit. I've added in the ribs and painted the inside of the first planks, as well as the bulkheads. The next step will be to add the seat support strips, and then I will paint up the brass deck sections to hopefully match the basswood in color. At least as close as I can get it. 

 

[whitejamest]

Moving things along, I have now painted and added the brass photo etched deck pieces, as well as the seat support strips and the bow and stern platforms. Those I remade from basswood to match the rest of the planking. I just glued planks together, traced the shape of the laser cut pear pieces, and then glued braces to the underside before cutting and shaping. I also "painted" super glue around the perimeter of the mast hole, on the under side of the bow piece, to help discourage splitting. It will still be a fragile point though. 

 

Next up I will be working on the thwarts. 

 

 

 

 

[glbarlow]

Just found your log.  Very nice work. I enjoyed building Flirt, Speedy’s sister ship. Paused at completing hull to build Winchelsea, but will get back to the rigging at some point. Too late now but as I’ve done with Winchelsea, I think the one side pencil caulking is a great look, the separation really makes the planking pop. However I didn’t do it on Cheerful and it looks great too. 
 

Derek is a great mentor and valuable resource, follow his work and you can’t go wrong. 

[whitejamest]

Thanks for the kind words Glen, I have admired your work on Flirt, Cheerful and Winchelsea. And if you go back to rig Flirt I will certainly be mining your log for tips. I agree that Derek's build log is a gold mine for anyone working on Speedy. 

 

On the subject of standing on the shoulders of the more capable, I have found @Blue Ensign's rigged version of this little yawl very inspiring, and am eager to make an attempt in the same vein. Between his photos and descriptions and the images in the back of the Anatomy of the Ship volume for HMS Pandora, I have some good guidelines for how to rig this boat. What I do not know is what exactly sprit sails such as this boat would carry would look like when furled. 

 

Does anyone happen to have any good images of furled sprit sails? 

Edited November 2, 2022 by whitejamest

[whitejamest]

Work on the little yawl continues, with the addition of the thwarts. These again are remade from basswood. To check their placement, I scanned the images of the yawl in the back of the Anatomy of the Ship: HMS Pandora book, scaling them up to the size of the model (I think I simply had to double them, if memory serves) and printing the image out as a template. I also then found that I needed to reduce the size of the bow platform, which fortunately I had not glued in yet. So I took one plank width off the front of it and reshaped it to fit the bow curve. None of that would have been a surprise to me had I read Blue Ensign's excellent build log a little more closely, as he describes the exact same issue in detail...

 

Next up I will be adding the knees to the thwarts, and the continuation of the frames above the bow platform and the benches in the stern. 

 

[Bowline]

Wow - thats pretty inspirational 

[BobG]

That's a beautiful little boat! Nice job!

[HardeeHarHar]

I’m stunned!  Such a beautiful boat!!!!!

[Blue Ensign]

That is a beautiful clean construction of the Yawl, very well done.

I like that you have replicated a matching wood finish to the gratings and footwalings, excellent effect.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[whitejamest]

 

Thanks very much to everyone who commented and liked. I appreciate the encouragement. 

 

With the addition of some more details, I am getting pretty close to finishing the kit, as supplied - though there will be a lot more to do if I do indeed follow through on plans to rig it. These really are neat little kits. For such small subjects, there is a lot of work that goes into them, and plenty of scope for obsessing over little details. 

 

I added the tops of the frames above the bow platform and the stern benches, to make it look (hopefully) like they are continuations from below. 

 

I've added the cap rails and the knees, painting each after installation. It's certainly a mercy to have these laser cut. If I were doing this all over again, I would have been better about sanding down the thickness of the frames where they meet the rails, so they don't stick out. Advice for fellow travelers. 

 

Splash guards have been added to the bow and stern, with yellow detail lines on the outside. For the bow guards, the instructions show them stepped back from the stem, but following the diagrams in the back of "Anatomy of the Ship: HMS Pandora", I've moved mine to butt up right against the stem. It seems to me like they would be more useful in keeping waves out in that position anyway. 

 

I painted the top of the white portion of the outside before adding the wales, so that I didn't have to mask anything. The wales themselves were soaked in boiling water and bent to shape, and the top and bottom edges painted black before installation. I actually then ended up painting the outside surface with matte varnish first, so I could sand it smooth to reduce fuzz, and then painted that surface black too. The uppermost strake of the hull was left as exposed wood. 

 

For the rudder, the kit comes with a one piece rudder/ tiller in pear wood, which then gets sandwiched between photo etched brass facings with the hinges on them. Pretty convenient as far as I was concerned. You just need to take care to make sure you fill in any gaps between wood and brass so it doesn't look like separate pieces. The tiller I painted to blend in with all the basswood I've used. 

 

I still need to install the oarlocks and several ring bolts, provided in photo etched brass. Then I can technically say I've finished the kit and take a breather before pushing on. 

 

 

 

 

[jpalmer1970]

I have a couple of these little boats to make soon so this part of your log will be very helpful to me 👍

[whitejamest]

With the boat itself pretty much complete, I've now started in on the rigging. This will be my first attempt to model sails, and I think it's a good opportunity to learn. The sails for this little yawl are as small and as simple a I am likely to encounter, so I may as well get some practice now. Eventually I would like to equip the Speedy with sails - or so I say at the moment, before I have a sense of what that really entails... 

 

First up, creation of the masts. I didn't have any appropriate dowels for these, thin as they are, so I took a couple of the spare oars from the 1:48 Model Shipways longboat kit (I am a packrat and retain odd scraps of materials for weird amounts of time) and sanded them way down to the right thickness. I drilled just one hole in each for the lifts, not attempting to really simulate a sheave, since I was worried about breaking the wood. The second hole would be pretty well hidden anyway. I cut small feet at the base, and added caps at the top, following the appearance and measurements in the AOTS: Pandora book. 

 

 

For the sails themselves, I've seen many logs recommending silkspan, so I ordered some online. I figured that these sails are so small and thin, I should get the thinnest possible option, since the silkspan is sold in different weights. It turned out that was probably a bit too thin. After some experiments adding diluted paint and glue to it, it was still way too translucent. So for the next round I laminated two layers together, and I think the result is better. 

 

My cat was kind enough to donate a used box of Fancy Feast (very important to use the Chicken Pate here folks, not the chunks in gravy) and as I have seen in other logs, I cut a hole in it and taped two layers of silkspan over it. 

 

 

 

Then I painted onto the layers of silkspan a diluted mixture of a light beige paint and Elmer's white glue. It was very runny and looked blotchy, and I was worried the silkspan would tear. It seems so much like tissue paper, but it is much tougher, and all was well. 

 

 

 

I borrowed my wife's hairdryer to hit it with hot air, which dries the silkspan out pretty quickly, and causes it to contract and tighten, smoothing out the surface nicely. 

 

 

 

 

In just a couple minutes the silkspan was nice and taut and dry, and I was able to cut it out of the box. 

 

 

 

 

I used the plans for the yawl in the back of the AOTS: HSM Pandora book for templates, and cut out the sails. I haven't quite decided how rigorous I will be in trying to simulate seams. I intend to display the sails furled, so those details might not be very visible, whereas doing it badly would genuinely detract. I will do some more experiments on scrap. The masts in this photo are not glued in place yet, just sitting loosely in their holes. 

 

[whitejamest]

Over the last couple weeks I have been slowly working on the sails and rigging of this little yawl. I've never worked with silkspan before, so I am taking my time and doing some experiments. 

 

For the sprits, I decided there is no way I am going to be able to sand down a wooden dowel to scale thickness without breaking it, so I am using brass rods, with chocks added in white plastic. I'll paint them to match the basswood in color as closely as I can. 

 

I made a test sail cut from the same sheet as what I hope will be the final ones, and sewed it onto a bamboo skewer in place of a mast. I attached the sprits and brails, wetted it and brailed it up to see how it would behave. I was pleased to find that there was no sign at all of the silkspan layers threatening to delaminate. I held the assembly in front of a space heater for a minute or two, and after it quickly dried it held its shape well.

(Note: that is not the rigging threat I will be using on the final version.)

 

 

 

 

I think this could work. Now, back on the 'real' sails, I have added seam lines, blocks and bolt ropes. 

 

 

I'll be traveling over the next couple weeks, so I won't make more progress very soon, but look forward to working more on the masts when I get back. 

 

 

[whitejamest]

Progress: I have attached blocks to the masts for the brails, added cleats to tie off the halyards, and sewn the sails onto the masts. I've set the masts in their steps just to get a sense of how everything is fitting together at this point, but not glued them in place. Before I do that, I will need to attach the sprits, brail up the sails, and attach the shrouds and forestays.

 

So I've got a ways to go. But it's exciting to see things coming together. 

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by whitejamest

[whitejamest]

Another quick update to this little side project. I have now: 

- attached the rings to the wales to secure the shrouds

- painted the sprits and attached them to the masts and sails

- brailed up the sails

- rigged the masts off the boat 

- fashioned hooks for the lower shroud blocks from black wire, and attached the blocks to them

- glued the aft mast in place

- rigged its forestay and shrouds

 

I still need to belay the brail lines to their respective pins, and then I'll move on to the foremast. The sheet lines will be the last ones I rig. I'm still trying to decide exactly how I'll do that. I've been looking at some of the modern replicas of Bounty's launch, and thinking I might add belaying pins to the stern cap rail to belay the sheets. 

 

My intention is that the sails should look as if they have just been briefly taken in while the boat pulls up alongside the speedy, perhaps for a figure to be climbing up the side ladder. So I don't want the sails to be fully furled, which I think for a spritsail rig involves removing the sprit from the snotter that secures it to the mast, and then tying the sail tightly around the mast. I've never attached sails to a model before, so this has been educational. 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by whitejamest

[aliluke]

Hi Whitejamest

Just found your Speedy log after you replied to my copper treatment post.

 

I also intend to try out a couple of VM boats for my Fly. Your work  is exceptionally good on the yawl and on Speedy itself! I will follow along from now on.

 

Cheers

A

[whitejamest]

Thanks very much Aliluke, I appreciate it. I think you will enjoy the Vanguard boats a lot. You get a lot of fun in a small package. Your HMS Fly is looking fantastic, and I've pulled up a chair. 

[whitejamest]

I think with the second mast attached and rigged, and the brail lines and sheets squared away, I'm ready to call the little yawl "Done For Now." I haven't added any of the extra details, like the oars or anchor or boat hook, but I am going to hold off on those until I decide on how to populate this little model with figures. 

 

As a temporary measure, I took some of the negative space from the laser cut mdf sheet from which the bulkheads were cut, and made a little cradle for it to sit in. In the interest of creating more work for myself, I sealed it with Dullcote and painted it. 

 

Question for those more knowledgeable: I am assuming that even while rigged for sailing, a boat like this would carry oars as well. Is that true? Having just had the pleasures of rigging a small model with some very small spaces, I shudder to think about the crew trying to manipulate oars in there. But then they got to do it at 1:1. 

 

In summary, this kit was a lot of fun in a small package, for a small price. I'm very glad Vanguard offers such a variety of these kits. And I'm very glad to have had Blue Ensign's log to learn from. 

 

Now I think I need to get back to the Speedy. 

 

I'll just post one photo of the Done For Now model here, and if anyone is interested they can see a few more in its mini album here: 

https://modelshipworld.com/gallery/album/2707-22-foot-yawl-vanguard-models-164/

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by whitejamest

[allanyed]

Love that you used silk span for the sails and your wood joinery is great.

 

For the future, and I may be completely wrong, but from what I have researched in contemporary based information, a 22 foot yawl would  be about 5' 9"  in breadth so would have to be single banked with a thole alternating port and starboard on every other thwart rather than both a port and starboard on a single thwart then missing a thole on the alternate thwart.   Leaving a thwart without a thole for an oar does not seem to make any sense, but that may just be me.   Below is a sketch with what I am referring to showing single banked versus partial double banked.   

 

Allan 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by allanyed

[whitejamest]

That's an interesting point Allan, and not one I had thought about while working on the kit. I just followed the kit design, which looks to me to be based on the diagrams in the "Anatomy of the Ship: HMS Pandora" book, or something similar anyway. There the breadth of the yawl is listed as 6'9". Measuring this model at its widest I find it is a little under 35mm, so around 7'3" in this scale. (We'll have to make some allowances for everyone's build coming out a little different, and the delicacy of sanding thin laser cut parts.)

 

Is that wide enough for double banked oars? I have no idea. The point that having a single oarlock per thwart, rather than two on every other thwart, would give the oarsmen much more space makes sense to me. Definitely something I'll consider on the next boat, thanks, 

[allanyed]

1 hour ago, whitejamest said:

Anatomy of the Ship: HMS Pandora"

Hi James

I am only adding what I can find based on contemporary information rather than modern sources.   I have the Pandora book and again I may be wrong but I am pretty sure the set up of the tholes in the book is wrong.  Looking at the files in the Boats of Men of War book by W. E. Mays, the narrowest boat that is double banked that he shows that I could find is 7' 8".  There have been good discussions on this and other items on boats from the ears to the oar lengths here at MSW that may help.  I am sure there are some members that are far more learned on contemporary details for ships' boats that can add more information for you.   There are contracts for boats that may also be of some help.   One small part of a contemporary contract from September 9, 1790 gives the following for a yawl.   

I see no way there can be two rowers on a thwart that is only 5' 7 " and not be in each others' way.  

Yawle of        Long                            Broad                     Deep

                                                                                       

                    23 ft                               5   7 ins                  2    5 ins