HM Brig-Sloop Flirt 1782 by Rik Thistle - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Master Shipwright Edition

[VTHokiEE]

On 12/27/2020 at 1:28 PM, Rik Thistle said:

there has been work going on...it's just that it is small stuff, time consuming and not that noticable

You're doing a great job! I feel like this all the time now that I'm working on rigging - each line and corresponding set of blocks seems to take a lot of time compared to the "noticeable" work. I'm constantly reminding myself that I'm not in a race and I hope you're enjoying all the small details as well!

[Rik Thistle]

glbarlow, VTHokiEE,

 

Thanks for the encouragement and sharing your thoughts on the 'small stuff'.

 

My (current) view on the 'small stuff' is that it is not as much fun as the big stuff, but when finished the Dopamine release is greater 😉

 

Finishing the 'big stuff' hull is a very visible milestone and you can actually hold the hull in your hand and view it from all angles. But the finer details, well they almost disappear in the noise. But, when finished, it's the finer details that draw the eye in and give just as much, if not more, satisfaction.

 

2" of snow here today, so feed the birds and then stay indoors working on...the small stuff.

 

Richard

Edited December 29, 2020 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Just a minor update on lots of Flirt small parts.

 

Firstly, stretching the strops to fit the deadeyes. Find something with a suitable taper, then subtly ram the strop on 😉 Then close the strop over the deadeye with a pair of fine long nosed pliers. A bit crude but it mostly worked.

 

Deadeyes and strops being fitted to the channels etc. Lots of touch-up paint still to be done in various places.

 

And opening up the eyebolts to accept the rings.

 

I needed my magnifying glasses to get the rings onto the eyebolt hooks. And then closed the hooks with long nosed pliers.

 

Some of the eyebolts+rings installed. Many more on the deck also.

 

The canon caps were bent over a 1mm drill before gluing onto the assembled canons.

All 14 canons have been completed and are eagerly awaiting some action. I don't have the heart to tell them that will likely be quite a few weeks away.

 

And the finished capstan. It went together fairly well once I had worked out the best gluing sequence, and used the dowel as a pro-forma to try to keep the capstan parts concentric...the dowel was removed when the glue got tacky, rather than letting the parts stick permanently to the dowel.

 

Hatches etc done. Nothing to see here...let's move along...

 

And then there were the ladders 😉  I found the steps way too fat to fit into the laser etched cut-outs with the resulting mishaps shown below. However, after sanding down the thickness of the steps, and with some careful gluing of the broken ladder parts plus using the Outer Side as a support, the issue was quickly resolved.

 

Finished ladders.

 

Posts etc.

 

And finally, the windlass and pumps.

 

Not a super interesting post I'm afraid....more of a record of where I've got to so far.

 

And it's been about 3 weeks since I last posted, which is almost long enough for me to forget any useful comments/observations I would have thought about at the time. So best get something posted now before it's too late.

 

Hope you are all surviving the new year and keeping safe.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Edited January 16, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Most of the deck fittings have been completed. So here is a brief summary of what happened...

 

Below.... capstan, winch, gratings etc put in to place. The deck has been 'Danish Oiled' to give it as darker more used appearance - as was the bare wood on the outside of the hull.

 

To help the posts find their locating squares on the lower deck the ends of the legs were tapered. That seemed to work quite well.

 

A brood of cannons waiting to flee the nest. After a quick Google I see they are not a brood but a 'stand'.

 

Cannons glued in position awaiting roping. The swivel guns are not glued... they will probably be fitted after all the rigging ect is complete since I feel they are a bit vulnerable to big fingers.

 

Keeping a quiet eye on the stand.

 

Close-up of the winch and pumps (not glued yet - too fragile).

 

Dead eyes and strops all fitted.

 

Looking down the deck.

 

And finally a side view of the mostly complete deck.

 

Still to add the cannon balls, and re-glue a dislodged step.

 

And for the coming week or so the anchors and Cutter.

 

Catch you all soon,

 

Richard

Edited January 21, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[VTHokiEE]

13 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

Cannons glued in position awaiting roping

Looking really nice so far; how much rigging do you plan to add to the cannons?

[Rik Thistle]

VTHokiEE,

I believe there are at least two thicknesses of ropes involved...one to take the recoil and the others to pull the cannon back into the firing position. There may be others....I haven't fully checked yet. The rope restraining hooks are tiny so there will be a lot of fiddly threading of ropes, knots etc...not my strong suit but I need the practice.

 

I had thought about glueing the cannons in place after being roped but I don't know if that would be easier or not. So I'm just following the manual's procedures.

 

My plan is to complete everything shown in the manual. I'm telling myself I've reached the halfway point in the build but really, with all the rigging, seizing etc still to do I suspect I'm being a bit optimistic.

 

Richard

[VTHokiEE]

1 minute ago, Rik Thistle said:

I had thought about glueing the cannons in place after being roped but I don't know if that would be easier or not.

I suppose this was really my question; I glued the cannons in place after they were rigged (it seemed easier to me) so I'll be very curious to see if this would be an easier path. Can't wait to see the results!

 

PS - I didn't but some add the the rigging behind the cannon (the out haul, I've also possibly seen tackle behind referred to traverse tackle but I don't have my books by me - I assume this would help aim)

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

This week has been focused on the anchors and the 18' Cutter.

 

The anchor parts were removed from their sheets, glued and then painted black or Danish Oil'ed as applicable. Only issues were that the square hole formed in the glued anchor stock was a very tight fit on the anchor shank (fixed by using a scalpel to open the hole, and sanding down the shank).

Below - anchor parts on the 'drying' rig after painting.

Yup, there are too many 'that looks useful - I'll have to buy that' tools shown in the builds! Maybe an image filter that removes 'must buys' from images can be added to the website.... on 2nd thoughts.... better just leave it as it is 😉

 

Below - anchor sub-assemblies ready.

 

Now creating the iron bands and the assembling the anchors. One of the ring holes snapped off, so it was reglued with the ring still in position (not a lot of meat for regluing but it worked), The ring, sitting in the freshly glued hole was gently moved every 5 mins or so for about 30 mins so that it was not stuck to the glue.

 

 

Now on to the 18' Cutter. 

 

The framework went together easily, although some re-work of the squint stern board was required...darn - don't know how I didn't spot that on initial assembly. Note - the cutter has been glued using only CA...I could not see a way of effectively clamping the parts using PVA.  Only 3 (maybe 4) bulkheads had the tiniest dab of CA where the cutter parts met the base. Later on the base detached very easily, but held the cutter parts firmly during assembly.

 

Bevelling: I used a plank to dry lay across the bulkheads to help judge where material needed removing. Most of it was at the bow end.

 

At least half the planks were heat-bent (and twisted) to help them follow the bulkhead line. This was a useful thing to do.

 

I planked in pairs on both sides. The first plank follows the notch on the bulkheads - the notch is a good idea. The bow ends of the planks were all feathered, partly to make them bend easier and also to try to catch into the laser cut gap.

 

Some more planks added. After 4 planks on either side, plank tapering was started. And some form of clamping usually became necessary, even if only fingers for a minute or two.

 

Trying non-finger clamping ideas...I wouldn't say any were 100% successful....so I usually went back to the trusty old fingers...and then rubbed my finger tips on sandpaper to get rid of the dried CA. I can't imagine I have much skin left on my finger tips but the skin seems to grow back overnight 😉 ...magic stuff is skin!

 

Keel planking started. Straighforward.

 

All planking now done. Stealers/infil were added as required. Then some filler and sanding follwed.

 

Cutter frame easily detached from base.  The base added great stiffness, even though only a few bulheads were glued to it.

 

Yup, the following is ugly. But it kinda worked.

A mini-Dremel with circular saw was used to weaken the frames before twisting them off with small pliers. Where I couldn't 'get in' with the Dremel I weakened the frame by using a scalpel to sculp out weak points.

 

Cutter finish sanded and Danish Oil'ed. And floor gratings painted.

 

As above, but showing inside the cutter. Hmm...the bow looks a little lop sided but as long as it gets the Captain ashore to go where no man has gone before he won't grumble.

 

White painting - Pic 139 mentions 'Mark hull waterline using drawing reference...' ... but I could find no drawing reference?

 

Nearest I could find to a painting 'drawing reference' is the outline shown bottom right of page 46, but no waterline shown. I can make an educated guess as to where the waterline is, but any advice gladly received.

 

 

I've been following Blue Ensign's Cutter builds  ....   https://modelshipworld.com/topic/27170-18th-c-ships-boats-by-blue-ensign-–-vanguard-models-164/page/2/    and others' builds, and picked up a lot of useful tips - thanks.

 

These little boats are good mini-projects in their own right, and even as a starter Beginner project.   

 

Well, that's it for this week.  Still on Lockdown here in Scotland but vaccine letters and vaccines have started to work their way down the age groups. Hopefully those vaccinated don't forget they can still carry the virus on their hands etc....OK, that's my health warning for this week.

 

Stay safe, and enjoy the hobby 😉

 

Richard

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Blind leading the blind eh Richard.😉

I didn’t paint my cutter, but I guess that Chris/James thought the hull small enough to do it simply by eye.

I suppose the waterline could have been included on the line drawing of the boat on it’s chocks, but the example on James’s model is probably close enough.

 Ps; I have my covid vacc tomorrow afternoon 🙂

 

B.E.

[Rik Thistle]

I'll have another look at James' waterline pic, thanks. I've brush painted the waterline already but can easily modify it if it's wildly out, but it looks good enough particularly as the boat is mounted with the hull facing downwards on the ship.

 

My sister and niece both work for the NHS and had their first jags a few weeks ago...side effects nothing worse than the flu jab eg mildly sore arm. In Scotland there are plenty enough vaccines to go around, but deploying the vaccines seems to be causing a bit of a backlog.  My jag will probably be March time.

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Flirt's 18' Cutter /contd.

 

Below - Floor gratings painted muddy brown and fitted.

Then the Rear Seat - this snapped in a couple of places and was reinforced by using some brass sheet from the kit.  Also a 1.5mm thick piece of wood was glued under the front of the seat to help support it.

The internal ribs were fitted and trimmed down using a mini-Dremel circular saw.

 

Black planks bent and painted. Also brass parts removed from sheet.

Rudders parts glued together.

 

Holding the Inside Rails in position whilst the glue dried. The clamps have sharp teeth but they were all I could find that fitted into the small spaces available. However, after removal there was no teeth marking on the wood from the clamps.

 

Preparing the Cradles. I didn't paint the brass Cleats brass just to add a bit of colour variation.

Note: The closed Eyebolt is, I believe, part PE 15.

 

Hull painted white. Rudder painted white and black and CA'd in place. Oars etc also prepared.

 

Cradles fitted to the deck. I slightly curved the underside to follow the deck curvature.

 

And the boat in place. I wonder how they get down the stairs without bumping their heads?...but I suppose you bump your head only once and you quickly learn to lean out of the way next time.

 

Side view. I think I'll revisit the painting on the oars...the paint job is a bit scrappy and I've just bought some very fine paint brushes which should allow me to make the paint lines a bit neater, he says.

 

I won't tie down the boat for the moment since I am unsure if I will need that space free when it comes to the rigging. So the boat goes in to cold storage for now.

 

Rear view of the boat, From a distance she looks fine....quite a long distance actually. Building the boat was fun but challenging. And really is a mini-project in it's own right.

 

 

Next on the agenda is starting work on the Masts, Yards and Rigging.

 

The first two are in my happy zone but the rigging is a bit like Kryptonite to me. Ah well, it's what I signed up for so can't complain too loudly 😉

 

I might also have a look at what rigging is required for the cannons and get that out of the way first...decisions., decisions.

 

OK, time for a coffee, decision made!

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

A question on Flirt's cannon ropes....

 

The manual shows two methods of rigging the cannons. Both methods rely on the Closed Eyebolts (part PE-15...145 off supplied in the kit) being fitted, circled in red below. However this red eyebolt is not shown in the general cannon instructions in the manual. In that location there is the Traverse Bolt (PE-22).

 

I can ignore the red eyebolt if I go with the Left Option below, but I'd like to try my hand at the Right Option.

 

Question - If I do go with the Right Option are there enough spare Closed Eyebolts already supplied in the kit to fit out 14 cannons ie 28 spare eyebolts?

If 'yes', it would mean drilling 28x holes for the eyebolts close to the Traverse Bolts...perfectly doable, I imagine.

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

 

[glbarlow]

The diagram is correct, you need one eyebolt for the breeching rope and another for the training tackle per side as the diagram show and where they show them. At a minimum you want the breeching rope rigged - the rest is your decision on what level of look and tackle you want.

[Rik Thistle]

Hi Glenn,

 

Yes, the diagrams are those of 'general views of typical ...rope...tackle'. And it's down to me to adapt those views to suit the Flirt cannons.

 

I was wondering if anyone had actually done the Right Option and had any insights, and could advise if were there sufficient eyebolts (PE-15) included in the kit to do that Right Option. The kit comes with 145x so I wondered if that included 28x for the Right Option?

 

I suppose I can go through the instructions looking for all the places where PE-15 is used on Flirt and see if there remains a spare 28 off eyebolts for the cannons (Right Option).

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Yes, they are a bit flat but at viewing distance they'll do. Thanks for the 'Make eyebolts' link.

 

Richard

[glbarlow]

20 hours ago, Rik Thistle said:

actually done the Right Option

Never seen any other version but that - or what else you'd other wise do.  Best of luck in your search.

 

I'm a bit surprised Chris doesn't include this in the instructions.

[VTHokiEE]

Have you looked at Delf's Speedy build? It is my understanding that Speedy and Flirt are sister ships and he fully rigged the cannons on that build so I would expect the details to be similar. I'm not certain if he used the PE supplied eyebolts or not though.

[Thunder]

I am a bit confused with you saying 'options'. The left looks like stage one of rigging and the right includes stage two, both would be needed to show a cannon as rigged for use. If there is an option it is how much detail you want to include. Also i would not be too worried about eyebolts as easy to make but how many rigging blocks are included.

[Rik Thistle]

Have you looked at Delf's Speedy build?

 

Yes, Delf has done the full cannon rigging...thanks... #296  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/22783-hms-speedy-by-delf-vanguard-models-scale-164-master-shipwright-edition/page/10/      I'll study that tomorrow.

 

Edited February 3, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

Thunder,

 

Chris suggests two options...the simpler one on the left, or the one on the right.

 

If the one on the Right is chosen then two eyelets each side must be used.

 

However the cannon build instructions only show one eyelet each side which is how I have build my cannons.

 

The diagram at post #47 shows two eyelets each side. So I would now have to add an extra eyelet for the Right option.

 

Delf's Speedy (sister ship to Flirt) build has gone with the Right option so I will study tomorrow how he did this - I'm away from the shipyard at the moment

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the blocks...I hadn't thought about that.

 

Richard

 

[Pete D]

1 hour ago, Rik Thistle said:

Thunder,

 

Chris suggests two options...the simpler one on the left, or the one on the right.

 

If the one on the Right is chosen then two eyelets each side must be used.

 

However the cannon build instructions only show one eyelet each side which is how I have build my cannons.

 

The diagram at post #47 shows two eyelets each side. So I would now have to add an extra eyelet for the Right option.

 

Delf's Speedy (sister ship to Flirt) build has gone with the Right option so I will study tomorrow how he did this - I'm away from the shipyard at the moment

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the blocks...I hadn't thought about that.

 

Richard

 

Hi Flirt was my first build , so I'm not sure if I can help. I opted for the easier option . Not sure its correct but I am happy with the appearance .

[Rik Thistle]

Pete,

 

Thanks for the pics. Your cannons looks fine.

 

I'm now building the masts and will ponder what to to with my cannons before the deck gets too busy when the masts + their rigging are fitted.

 

Richard

 

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Chris has advised me the Master Shipwright Flirt comes with sufficient eyebolts and blocks to do the full rigging on the cannons (Right Option).

 

Edit: So... I guess rigging the cannons is next on the To Do list 😉

 

I had previously glued the cannons in place with PVA but I really need them loose to do the rope work.  Fortunately they are coming free with some light persuasion.

 

Richard

Edited February 4, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

My posts are getting farther and farther apart probably due to 'rigging' incoming, nicer weather outside, some other odds and ends, and taking a bit of a breather.

 

Anyway, for now a little post on my first attempt at cannon (singular 😉 ) rigging.

 

Below, attempting to rig a 2.5mm block and add a hook. The hook wire is silver in colour and 0.35mm dia...the wire is quite flexible but just about stiff enough to form the hook.  I have since taken delivery of black coloured wire, 0.3mm in dia, but it was too late for most of the first cannon's 'metalwork'.

 

Below, a tray of parts. Some quite dodgy looking hooks that had been painted black ...yup, the paint doesn't stay on after a bit of handling.

 

Threading up a couple of the 2.5mm blocks, with a dab of PVA glue to help keep things under control.

 

Below, three sets of training tackle completed. I've also fitted the breech rope and threaded it through a glued metal hoop at the rear of the cannon.

 

A finished first cannon. All four sets of ropes fitted. It kinda looks OK but it was a fair faff getting all the hooks to engage with the bulwark rings. I need to rethink the manufacturing process eg is it better to attach the bulwark rings direct to the ropes and then glue those rings into the bulwark.

 

A close-up reveals how fuzzy the ropes actually are...from where I'm sitting they looked pretty sharp! But I've received a beeswax block which, I believe, helps keeps the fuzziness downs, so I'll use it on future ropes .

 

I can't say I totally enjoyed fully rigging the cannon, probably because I was in uncharted waters. However I have learned a bit about the process and have to decide do I really want to fully rig the remaining 13 cannons or just fit the thick breech rope to them. Hmm...

 

In parallel I had started doing a little work on the masts but ended up concentrating on the cannon.

 

I've had my first Covid jag (Oxford AstraZenica one) with little side effect like most folks, although some report extreme tireness for 24 hrs.

 

Catch you all soon...or, failing that, 13x rigged cannons later 😉

 

Richard

 

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

I've decided to fully rig all the cannons. And have managed three so far....so general progress has really slowed down.

 

The slowness is partly explained by me trying to figure out the optimum production method to complete the cannon rigging to a 'good enough' level but in a timely manner.  I've also been doing other things, but have a bit more free time now to try to get the cannons finished.

 

Here's what I've learned so far (and there's a lot more to learn) when rigging cannons...

a) Don't glue the cannon onto the deck and then try to rig it. Way to difficult, as others had earlier hinted at. Rig the cannon first and then finally glue the cannon onto the deck.

b) Don't glue the breech rope eyebolts into the bulwark first; rather attach the eyebolts to the ends of the breech rope and then glue those eyebolts in to the bulwark

c) I used 0.3mm (black plastic coated) wire to form the hooks on the blocks.

4) The breech rope ends need a touch of PVA glue to made them stiff enough to feed through the cannon eyebolts.

5) I cleaned out/opened up the cannon eyebolts with a 1mm drill, otherwise it was very difficult to feed the breech rope through the eyebolts.

6) The thinner rope also had it's ends PVA'd to get it to poke through the blocks.

 

Below, a breech rope being fed through the 1mm dia ring (that I added) at the end of the cannon).

 

Below, all the rigging necessary for a Flirt cannon.

 

(I wish I'd paid a bit more attention earlier on when assembling the cannons themselves...close-ups reveal some ugly mismatches.)

 

Below, three fully rigged cannons...only eleven to go...sigh.

 

Whilst trying to train myself to do cannon rigging I found this useful video talking about blocks and serving cables ......  Blocks Not From Scratch, Part 2

There's also a Part 1, which I'm currently watching 😉

 

Hope to post again within the next month, he says...when the cannons are all rigged.

 

Richard

Edited March 11, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Theodosius]

Hello Richard,

 

the guns fully loadet and ready for battle with al the blocks and ropes are gorgious! Can't wait to see the whole battery 🙂

 

Kind regards!

[Rik Thistle]

Theodosius,

 

Thanks for dropping in. Once I have all the cannons rigged I'll probably go back round them all and try to make their ropes drop straighter to the deck (as if gravity is pulling them down under their own weight).

 

At the moment, some of the ropes tend to curve unnaturally up to the sky, so I may damp them with some watered down PVA to direct them downwards. Well, that's the theory 😉

 

Richard

Edited March 13, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[Theodosius]

Hello Richard,

 

yeah, the watered down PVA might do the trick. The ropes in this scale are just to light to fall naturaly in the right direction. I'm sure you will solve that. Nevertheless, in my opinion it is worth all the work this is! Buuut lets wait to what conclusion I come to myself, when I'm at this point... lol 

 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

After a break of quite a few weeks I have now completed the rope work on the 14x cannons.

 

What I've learned is that -

a) no eyelets should be glued in to the hull before work starts on the cannons

b) paint cannon parts

c) the woodwork + metalwork on the cannons should be completely assembled before any ropework is started

d) add all rope work to the cannons whilst they are free to pick up ie not attached in any way to the deck or bulwarks

e) add all eyelets and rings to the cannon rope work

f) glue into the deck and bulwark holes the five eyelets associated with each cannon rope.

g) glue the cannons to the deck

 

I had initially made the mistake of firstly gluing the eyelets into the deck and bulwarks, and aslo glued the unroped cannons on to the deck. That all made it very difficult and fiddly for attaching the rope work to the cannons and eyelets.

 

Others may have different methods for doing all this.  As usual, any advice/thoughts are very welcome.

 

Below - Firstly I made up all the 2mm blocks and ropes (x21 off for the 7 unfinished cannons). And then coiled the ropes over a 1/8" screwdriver blade, added a touch of PVA to the coil and then carefully slid the coil off the screwdriver and squeezed the coil flat.

 

I then added the breech ropes to the cannons. I added a ring to the cannon rear for that rope to pass through.

 

Below - a collection of pics of the 14x finished cannons.

 

 

 

Aerial view of the deck with completed cannons and launch.

 

Summary - I think I hit a bit of a brick wall with the cannons since I didn't have previous experience of cannon rigging, the thought of doing it 14x times over was a bit daunting and Spring arrived 🙂

 

Yup, Spring, gardening, cycling, visiting friends (now that Lockdown has been lifted, for the moment), some good health news and goodness knows what else are incoming distractions to model building. I've a hunch my build may slow down for a while but will strive to keep at least some momentum up.

 

I think the masts are next on the agenda and I do like turning (...I've got the mini Proxxon wood lathe) so that might egg me on.

 

Take care,

 

Richard

Edited April 27, 2021 by Rik Thistle

[CW_Tom]

Richard!  

 

The model looks fantastic.  As someone who has absolutely no experience and no idea how cannon rigging is meant to be done, both in theory and in practice, I have to say your rigging passes my fine tooth white glove inspection!

 

In all honesty, the model looks great and I've been excited to see it come together bit by bit.  I'm looking forward to watching your progress with masting and rigging her.  

 

I know what you mean about spring and cycling.  I've been excited to be able to get out on my bike a few times already this season.  Hopefully I get more opportunities as North Dakota slowly sheds itself of winteresque weather patterns.

 

Regards,

 

Tom