HMS Granado by HardeeHarHar - Caldercraft - 1:64 - Bomb Vessel

[HardeeHarHar]

 

Onward we go, with the forecastle deck planked semi-askew (ugh), I now need to repair the damage done to the beam while trying to make sure things were aligned well at least in some aspect of the build.  I will also have to consider how to fill the gap between the planking and the beam (that was created due to the camber of the deck).  Nevertheless, I am happy just making forward progress that doesn't have to be completely redone, just touched up a lot!!!  I have also learned some important lessons along the way, and enjoyed it to some degree 😃

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

Proceeding apace again, I was able to line the freshly planked forecastle deck with a nice red bulwark, which wasn't that easy considering how little purchase there was to be had.  Once that was in place, I added the capping rails and the decorative step down rails from the forecastle capping to the main capping rails.  Once that was in place, I started to repair the damage that had been done to the forecastle support beam by sanding of the forecastle planks.  Hopefully that makes sense, but you can see that the beam is still not stained well, and there is lots of touch-up work to be done around the capping rails.  However, I was able to sand the rails back to be relatively flush with the hull, and it looks pretty good.  I'll finish some touch up and move on.

Edited October 4, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

One thing I should note, I did make a mistake that is fairly significant, but not immediately apparent I suspect.  I am wondering if someone will be able to pick it up, and if so, I will ask them if it is worth "fixing" it.  And one other note, I will poly the forecastle deck once I get it in a little better shape.....

And thanks for the thumbsup @GrandpaPhil @Spellapeaka and @Penfold!!!!

Edited October 4, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

I attached the fish davit cleat onto the capping rail and poly'd the forecastle to look wornish (heh heh, see what I did there...).  I did see in @Timmo excellent Granado building log that he had answered my question on reducing the 8mm dowel to fit into the bowsprit step and illustrated it quite nicely.  I think I will soon need a little lathe and marital therapy?  I also did an attempt at painting the sheer rail in black and blue in an attempt at giving the whole boxwood planking a nice bling along the capping rail.  It needs work, or maybe I should just go straight black, that is the question.

[HardeeHarHar]

Those rails are too bright blue, don't you think?!?  I am thinking I should give it a try with a coat of the Admiralty French Blue...sound like a good idea?

[HardeeHarHar]

So, the color of the sheer rail is not as important as it is getting the sheer rail attached to the boxwood hull with no gaps.  That is clear to me now.  Getting the sheer rails to hold in place, that took some patience, elbow grease, and thank goodness for Tamiya's masking tape that prevented me from getting CA everywhere.  Now I know that next time I will use an epoxy, and I will make sure I get the rails painted in a color that is satisfactory before I put them on.  I will do some touchup on the rails and then put a little wipe-on poly to make the whole thing look a little bit better than it does right now.  Photos and details to follow once I get my fingers un-glued.

Edited October 10, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

Not as bad as it looked it was going to be about half way through "gluing" the sheer rails.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[Peanut6]

Hey HHH,  As I said in our DM conversation, I never had the Granado on my build wish list but your build log has made me reconsider that decision.  I took a quick scan of a completed Granado build log.  I must say that you are so much more brave than I as to select the Granado for a second build.  I'm struggling thru our little Jolly Boat and I haven't quite got to the rigging yet.  I don't even want to think about the fits I'd have with this for a second build.  I think you're doing a great job and look forward to tagging along with you to completion.  BTW, it does look pretty nice sitting next to our Jolly Boat, IMHO.  I want to thank you again for your interest in my build and your support provides encouragement and gives me confidence in completing my build.

[HardeeHarHar]

Thanks for the shout out and the continued encouragement Kev!!!  Believe me, I have often wondered "what in the heck am I doing building the Granado as a second build!!!!!!"  Still, it did seem to me that any model ship takes a considerable effort and lots of time to complete, so why not push the limit a little bit and see what happens....  The killer part is that I am also upgrading the wood, and the rigging, so while I am not a perfectionist, I do want to make it look as good as a newbie like me can.  I have recently begun to realize that I have a ton of work left to do, and that there is no time like the present to forge on with the rest of the woodwork in relative haste so I have plenty of time to work on the masts, yards, and rigging etc., which definitely takes considerable time, skill, know-how, and steady hands and calm mind (none of which I have a lot of).  I have a couple of other kits on hand that I have been tempted to start in parallel, but that even I considered C R A Z Y considering that I am such a newbie.  Once/if i show I can complete the Granado, I'll build more than one at a time if I so desire 😃.  Thanks again for the support brothers @Peanut6 and @VTHokiEE and the rest of you kind souls who throw thumbs up my way during the Granado build!!!

Edited October 14, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

So, the timberheads are fiddly, like a lot of things are for me.  In this case, they have to be trimmed and formed so that they fit neatly in the bulwarks, along with the cleats.  I got them in position and glued in place with CA with some cursing involved.  In the photo below, I realize the forecastle deck looks in need of some work, as do a lot of things, but I just put a little wear on the planks  and still need to clean it up and poly it again.  I realize this isn't that remarkable of an accomplishment, but its done and i am moving forward still.  Thanks for the thumb up Grandpa Phil!

Edited October 24, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

Had to travel out of the country for work for a while, and it was fun and covid-free, but it is also good to be back in reach of the Granado.  I have tried to make sure I post any amount of progress made, so I keep up some momentum in the building and the logging, so here is an update, with pictures to follow:

Timberheads and knightheads.  Fiddly.  Little.  Hard to handle pieces of wood that have to be reduced to fit in capping rail slots.  I started with a diamond valorbe file, but it was painfully slow.  After only two or three, I reached for the dremel with the cutting wheel attached and went at them with abandon.  Only one shot out of my fingers during this high speed manuever, and luckily I found it on the floor before my dogs or wife ate it or got ahold of it, respectively.  Once trimmed to fit, I stained them dark, and CA'd them in place.  They look pretty darn ok!

Belfry.  straightforward so far.  Haven't located the bell and painted it yet.  Have to decide what color to paint it.  I am thinking black.

Windlass.  I thought the timberheads were fiddly, holy toledo, building one section (the warping head?) in the octagonal fashion required was fairly challenging, and I still have the rest to build.  Once I finished with the one warping head (the end), it looked pretty good, so I am happy and ready to continue the painful process.

I'll make sure to add some pictures so that you get an idea of what a newbie thinks "looks pretty good" 😃  Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and that your football team won (unless you are a Raiders fan =P).  Talk about some horrible refs, and bad calls, missed calls, and ugly behavior on all sides of the field.

[HardeeHarHar]

So, I have got the windlass and belfry completed to the point where I have stained them with a couple of coats of stain and they are drying.  It felt good to make some progress.  Sometime soon I will have to finish rigging the cannons so I can get them on the deck and installed.  Then I will feel I can start to put in all the deck hardware, and the mortar assemblies, which are on stand-by to give me as much room as possible when putting the gun rigging in place, Flemish coils included....

[HardeeHarHar]

I should also add that I will need to sand them with fine sand paper before I put one more coat on and poly them, as they look pretty rough in their current state.

Edited November 28, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[HardeeHarHar]

So….here is my “improved” finish on the windlass and belfry.  The parts are just temporarily placed on the deck.  Work is making things slow going lately, but I hope to make some significant progress soon!!!

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by HardeeHarHar

[Peanut6]

Looking good.  The windlass and bellfry really "cleaned up" nice and looks pretty sharp.

[HardeeHarHar]

Well, I added the banding around the windlass, put the bell on the belfry, and built all the ladders.  I have them dry fitted, and have posted a photo that shows all the warts that still remain to be touched up with some stain and some WOP.  It still feels like progress is being made, warts and all.  I have also completed the quarterdeck barricade, and have the elm tree pumps almost finished as well.  Will post photos of those soon, as it helps to see what needs to be touched up more =\

 

Please forgive my repetitious pictures, but I did touch up the windlass a little more, and did so semi-successfully from my perspective.  I also touched up the ladders a little, in order to reduce the appearance of the layers of different darkness on the sides of the ladder.  I don't think I did as good of job with the rungs of the ladder, but maybe if you use your imagination we can all "believe" they look "used" and "weathered".  I believe I could do this kind of touch up work forever, with little to no further benefit, so I am going to move on for now....and perhaps spend some time rigging the cannons, instead of staining wood poorly.  Thanks for the thumbs up and build fly-bys.

Edited January 8, 2022 by HardeeHarHar

[AJohnson]

Hi there HHH, thanks for looking in on my Bounty build, I’ve been taking a look back through your log to see what you are up to, sad to say not seen your log until now!  
Your Granado build it very good and you are doing very well at this, wouldn’t know this is your second build; my Bounty was my second build and I gave up on it for ten years 🤣. Your planking is very neat and enjoyed following through your build of the various cannons.

I’ve clicked the ‘follow’ link so I don’t miss any more of your build; guilty of not looking in often on the 1501-1750 build section, as my interests tended to be later, fixed that. 👍
 

Edited January 14, 2022 by AJohnson

[HardeeHarHar]

Thanks for the kind words and for following along for the ride Andrew!  Also thanks to @Ryland Craze @VTHokiEE @GrandpaPhil @Peanut6 @Spellapeaka and the other kind peeps out there who stop by to look and offer encouragement or advice in the form of thumbs up (e.g., @glbarlow 😉 ).  I recently bit the bullet after looking at Andrew's great work on the bounty and his comments about doing the cannon tackle rigging.  I had been delaying doing this, and building the windlass and other deck accoutrements and not installing them to save room for the inevitable installation of the cannons.  But, I was starting to worry about this approach as the completed elements were starting to build up and could get lost or damaged, so I decided to tackle the tackle (ugh).  My cannon builds are not very pretty, and I should have replaced them with Chuck's cannons, but I had already completed them and was hesitant to go and make them all over again.  Nevertheless, I did order and am planning to fully employ Chuck's rope and CNC boxwood blocks to make the cannons look as good as possible.  [Seriously, with my eyesight, everything looks pretty reasonable until I take a picture and blow it up to the point where I can see the details of every wart (and there are many)].  Having done a few components, I thought I would share some pictures and solicit some opinions, and the primary subject is something Andrew (AJohnson) has recently noted in his build log.  That is, that if I seize the block to the cannon ring (even without using a hook), and then seize the line on the other side of the block, it adds considerable length to the tackle so that the other block is going to be awfully close in proximity and decreases the length of the lines running between the blocks to near zero.  I have posted one picture with just one use of seizing, and another with two around the block.  I am now of the mind to just use one to save room, but if anyone has any opinions on the matter feel free to chime in.  I also included one picture of the double blocks that will be used at the bullwark for the gun tackle lines.  You can maybe see that I have stained the boxwood blocks a little to give them a weathered look.  I hope that is a reasonable thing to do.  I also have to decide on the thickness of the breeching line I am going to use, and for simplicity, I think I will stick with looping it around the cascobel, even though I would love to employ the more complicated cut-splice approach.  That is the approach I used for the bow-chaser cannons that I have already installed.  Cheers mates, and thanks again for stopping by (and giving your thoughts if time permits)!!!

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by HardeeHarHar

[AJohnson]

Hi Brian,

 

Rigging cannons is something I have yet to crack, I see some posts here on MSW that look brilliant, but the blocks used must be tiny!  I think on the "heavy" frigate type builds the armament is bigger 18lb's etc. so there is a bit more room to play with, but at the other end on the scale, say 4lb -9lb'ers on smaller ships I am not sure us lesser mortals can fully rig cannons and make it look "scale" - but that is not going to stop us trying - right? 😁  Like you I would be interested to know what more experienced ship builders think. 🤔

Think you are making a great job with what you have got, I think the Caldercraft gun carriages are a bit crude, but can be replaced by Chuck's or Vanguards replacement sets, or for the more skilful replace from scratch.  Interested to see how you get along with Chuck's blocks and rope.  

[HardeeHarHar]

Hey Andrew - I certainly agree with you that the Caldercraft gun carriages are not even close to what Chuck can offer with respect to quality and authenticity, and when I got done with them, they were definitely crude!!! 😃

[HardeeHarHar]

Rigging gun tackle, wooof.  However, it needs to be done before I make the deck less accessible.  Here are some pictures of my initial attempts at doing justice do Chuck's rope and blocks.  Please forgive my dust and amateur attempt, but I am doing my best with the tools I have (my bad eyes, shaky hands, and limited experience and knowledge).  The jig is not great, and the cannons and carriage are not as good as I would like, but I think the rope and the blocks look to be at a relatively good scale in this application.  Any comments or critiques would be appreciated, as I have only finished two of the ten I need to do for installation, and there is time to undo and redo before I get too far ahead....  I have provided one last picture that isn't quite as hard on the eyes 😃

 

 

 

 

 

[AJohnson]

Hi Brian, I like that you have gone to the trouble of doing a mock-up first before committing to the deck of your Granado 👏 that rig and blocks look good to me, it is going to be a challenge at 1/64 to do blocks for smaller than larger cannons (18lbers plus I think imho) but then like you my eyes aren’t that good either! 🤣

Go on tell me that last picture is the view from your workshop as you build your Granado?  Just to make us all envious 😃

[glbarlow]

Is fit the breaching rope before the gun tackle. The return tackle (back side) has to be considerably longer. It was used to pull the gun clear of the port for reloading. The plans should show ringbolts near the center of the deck. Frankly I never include these, it’s cluttered enough already. 
 

If you only do one thing make it the breaching rope. 
 

it’s up to you but your blocks are way out of scale, 2-3mm are the largest for guns. 
 

It’s all fun, just keep saying that. 

[HardeeHarHar]

 

@AJohnson the rig helps make sure I get the lengths set for the tackle, with the exception of the return tackle, that I have left free so that I can adjust it during installation and then fix it in situ.  As @glbarlow has correctly noted, the return tackle should be much longer, as the way I have it configured on the jig would not serve well to pull the gun back far enough.  However, there isn't sufficient room on the deck (see picture below) to accommodate much more length in the return tackle, so I have to admit I am considering omitting it entirely.  With respect to the size of the blocks, they are in fact 3 mm blocks, and while I agree, they seem awfully large....I solicited the opinion of (the honorable) @Chuck before I started to use them, and he gave them an "ok".   So, I have mixed feelings about going forward as is, or finding 2 or 2.5 mm blocks, ordering them, waiting for them, undoing what I have done, and doing them all with smaller blocks that are likely to still look too large anyways.  I don't want to omit all the gun tackle except the breeching ropes, because I actually like the look of the gun tackle as it was rigged in real life (or at least as close as I can get).  So, if anyone wants to add their opinion I am willing to give it full consideration.  Speaking of breeching ropes, for sure, that needs to be added before installation, and I intend to do so, using some slightly larger diameter rope fresh in from Chuck's shop.  His rope is wonderful to work with in my opinion, when handled carefully.

 

Finally, @AJohnson - I have to admit that the last picture is taken from the deck of the Granado Workshop, overlooking Roanoke Sound and the Outer Banks of NC and the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and does provide inspiration for boat building on a daily basis.

 

Thanks for looking in, the kind words, and helpful comments and sage advice!  It's great help and encouragement!

 

BT

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by HardeeHarHar

[glbarlow]

I’d recommend taking a look at Delf’s Speedy build log for an excellent tutorial on rigging cannon, his are much smaller and he did a beautiful job of it. I’ve always used two single blocks by the way. 
 

The Caldercraft Granado was one of my early builds, I remember it well. These bomb vessels are pretty cool. I’m not trying to be critical, only offering suggestions. Hope it doesn’t come across any other way. 

[HardeeHarHar]

Thanks for the input @glbarlow, I appreciate all of your thoughts and suggestions.  I did look at Delf's references as you suggested, and they were very informative and helped a lot.  I also looked at your Granado, and you did a fantastic job on the build!!!!!  I have looked at your other work as well, and it is all amazing quality I can truly admire.  I noted that you fully rigged your cannons on the Granado, and I am still leaning towards doing the same thing with the materials at hand.  I do like the look of it on your build and the other Granado builds I have been able to review.  I do agree that 2 mm blocks would be best for the little six pounders on the Granado, but looking at Delf's references, there seem to be plenty of examples of cannons having pretty big blocks on the outhaul tackle! - I copied some pictures below that seem to be about the same size in scale as the ones I have used.  I think one of the earlier photos I posted my have been zoomed and distorted the size a little to make that look pretty huge.  Also, it appears that doubles are typically employed on the bullwark and then singles on the cannon carriage, and the AOTS Granado also shows them that way.  And I have followed the AOTS and what I have seen in my reference pictures, and have therefore used a double on the cannon side of the return tackle, and a single that will go into the deck (provided I actually do install the return tackle).  When you built your Grandado, did you find a way to make the return tackle long enough to look realistic in the limited space available?!?  I think the blocks in the kit were 2.5 mm, yes?  I clearly need all the help I can get, as Granado is my second build....  Proving that I can finish the entire build with some modicum of quality is my major driver right now, and it is making me want to proceed with the 3mm blocks I am using, rather than going backwards.  And after all, Chuck said they were "ok" - albeit, he also sold them to me 😉  You should have seen the ring bolts I was thinking of using before I consulted Chuck, now *they* were BIG!  

Thanks again Glenn, I really do appreciate your interest in my Granado build, and all the help and kind suggestions!!!

 

 

 

That is one big double block right there!!!  Maybe its a gigantic gun....

[glbarlow]

I think you have to go with what you’re comfortable with and in fact they may have been distorted by the photo as 3 mm blocks are fine and  2.5 mm blocks would be extremely difficult to work with, at least they are for me. 
 

I’d think the doubles would be for the larger guns, but again if you like the doubles go for it, not that big a deal either way. 
 

I don’t think I did the returns, but the plans should show you he location of the ring bolts. 

The thing with advice on this forum is you don’t have to take it and it’s likely someone will offer the exact opposite opinion anyway. 
 

It’s your model and your fun 

[Peanut6]

Hey HHH, just checking in.  Had 70's in the ship yard today and had me itchin' to fixin' my FUBARS so I can move on but . . . . there is a tradition here in central Indiana.  There is always a big cold snap/snow storm during the high school basketball playoffs and we are there right now.  Enjoy seeing your progress and does keep me inspired to finish for the same reasons you have stated.  Regardless of what/how you feel about your cannons I'm impressed with what you have done.

'

[glbarlow]

How’s your build going?

[HardeeHarHar]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:35 PM, Peanut6 said:

Hey HHH, just checking in.  Had 70's in the ship yard today and had me itchin' to fixin' my FUBARS so I can move on but . . . . there is a tradition here in central Indiana.  There is always a big cold snap/snow storm during the high school basketball playoffs and we are there right now.  Enjoy seeing your progress and does keep me inspired to finish for the same reasons you have stated.  Regardless of what/how you feel about your cannons I'm impressed with what you have done.

'

Yo Kev @Peanut6,

Glad to hear you are getting stoked to get back in the shop and do some ship work!  I am all too familiar with the whimsy of mother nature, out here on Roanoke Island it has been windy, really windy, cold and windy, warm and windy, and windier.  It keeps me off the water, and indoors, but I don't have very many excuses for my slow progress in the build.  Work has kept me from doing a lot, but I must admit that rigging guns is slow and tedious work.  Because it is slow going, I very much appreciate your encouragement and kind words, as I do those of @glbarlow and others, it helps keep me going!  I put two guns in the bow chasers, but I had 10 more gun ports and 8 cannons remaining from the kit.  I have finished 5 of the cannons with tackle and breeching ropes, and 3 more still need their breeching ropes added.  As @Timmo noted on his Granado, I wouldn't want to stand behind the cannons when they were fired, but the finished cannons look pretty good.  Since I wanted a cannon in every gun port, and was 2 short, I ordered cannon carriage kits, cannons, and cannon monograms from Syren.  These are awesome products Chuck has to offer, and luckily he had the size that is used on the Granado.  So I am in the process of building the last 2 cannon carriages, so that every gun port on board the Granado has a cannon in it.  That is how I would want my ship outfitted, fully armed!  I have been worrying more and more about what needs to be done and when, like "should I go ahead and finish the stern before installing the cannons, so I can manhandle the hull if needed without cannon barrels sticking out everywhere."  The answer seems like it should be yes, so I have been trying to paint the transom relief using the exemplary work of @Timmo as a role model.  So, I started with a base coat of walnut brown to simulate carved wood, and painted the cannonballs black.  I then added some depth to the carved figurines using light tan highlights and darker shading hues with a touch of red to make the wood have a darker more aged appearance that should match the dark walnut stain I have been using throughout the build.  Then I added the blue background and pin-stripes to the columns, which didn't come out as well as I had hoped.  I might redo the columns, once I figure out what to use to remove the paint so I can start over....  I will also do the remaining cast metal items that adorn the stern area in a similar fashion.  I will post some images as I take the next steps forward.  I will be so glad to install the cannons and start to glue down some of the multitude of finished parts I am amassing, before I start losing them all.  Thanks again for the kind words of interest and encouragement, I am doing my best to keep moving forward.  Two steps forward, one step back.  Two steps forward, one step back....

 

I apologize for the poor photo quality.  The one below is not in plane or in focus, but it does give a pretty good approximation of the color tone and detail, warts and all.

Edited March 9, 2022 by HardeeHarHar