HMS Fly by Sooty - Amati/Victory Models - 1:64

[Sooty]

Hello, and welcome to my second topic! This one will be a proper log, as I am still pretty early in the build.

 

Another HMS Fly by Amati/Euromodels, which I must say is a brilliant kit and a pleasure to build!

 

So far, I've painted the hull and made a start with the decorations and stern. I went for a fully-painted hull, so I kind of blasted through the planking without spending too much time on the second planking. I think there is very little chance any parts of the hull were left in natural wood, and I prefer realism, so I went for a full pain-job.

 

Pleased with the strakes and main whale, they came out pretty symmetric. Still to add a waterline and paint the bottoms white, but the paint kit came with a 'whitewash' that is very watery (actually more like a wash than a paint), so I don't have white to use and the nearest source of any paint is a 140 mile roundtrip for me 😂, so it will have to wait.

 

The box and some materials and tools I was missing. Pretty exciting moment, when you open a box, isn't it?

 

Frames on the keel, looking good.

 

Started with fairing the frames to match the hull curvature. I did not add any fillers; I prefer taking more time to bend the planks to the right curve before I put them on, so they don't need too much support underneath.

 

So that the final thickness on the skeg is not much more than the keel, I had to file off a lot of MDF in that area.

 

My workshop. I am lucky enough to have the man-cave I always wanted as a kid 😂

[Sooty]

Started the planking. Marked what I think would have been deck beam locations, for my planking joints.

 

Just using a black felt tip marker for the 'caulking'.

 

Planking progressing well on the main deck.

 

Sharpened the plane blade and planed the rough stuff off the deck, then a light sanding with a medium grain sandpaper.

 

On to the plywood sides. I have a lot of time for working on the model, and I wanted to get on with it, so no long soaks etc. Just got the sides wet, then rolled them on top of the woodburner, wet again, a little careful mini-blowtorch work and they turned out spot-on.

 

I used to bend planks with water and a candle, using my fingers. This time I decided to give the amati plank-bender (the one that looks like pliers) a go. Absolutely brilliant tool! (If you are not bothered about the looks of the inside surface.

 

On with the first planking.

[Sooty]

First planking well-progressed.

 

First planking now all closed and sanded.

 

Bow view, with the first planking finished and sanded, and the top plank of the main whale installed.

 

Stern view.

[Sooty]

So, final post for today, taking us to how the model is standing as of yesterday. Will likely pick her back up tomorrow evening; I gave myself the weekend off 😁

 

Second planking progressing well, looking pretty symmetrical and followoing the lines it would roughly follow on the real thing. I need to improve my tapering a bit, though the intention was to paint it, so I did not pay much attention. The darker lines are the sheer strake marked (or do we call it the 'whale'?)

 

Second planking finished, sheer strake / whale not on yet. Good sanding for a smooth surface to work on further. It will be painted, so I wanted a little grain and joints to show, or you won't be able to tell there is actual wood underneath.

 

Looking good.

 

Whale added, sanded, then a couple of layers of cellulose dope applied. I also treated the model with a light coat of antifungal/rot treatment first, as I am in a forest and wood gets attacked pretty badly around here.

 

Bottoms and sheer strake painted, now adding a few more strakes for the decoration strips.

 

 

Pretty satisfied with the curves.

 

 

Stern gallery started!

 

 

The stern casting was a) too small and b) too flat, so it would not fit over the windows properly, or follow the curve. So I just snapped it in a couple of places.

 

Bit of milliput and some scalpel work.

 

Painted, and a perfect match. I'll repaint the stern of course, this was just to see what it looks like and decide on how to paint it. I've seen a brilliantly done stern in here, with the casting's background done in blacl, then the highlights in gold and with and detail in red/blue. I will try and go for that look!

 

 

And this pic takes us to how HMS Lockdown / HMS Fly stands just now! The next posts will be actual progress, as all the previous pics were from my work over the last couple of weeks. Looking forward to advice and comments!

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by Sooty
Wrong pic

[Sooty]

23 minutes ago, SpyGlass said:

Ah the old break the stern moulding in bits trick !!

Indeed, although mine was initially an accident; I was trying to work out how pliable the casting was, to see if I could make it conform to the stern gallery's curve. Turned out that it was pretty hard and brittle 😂

[Sooty]

 

Stern gallery looking a little better now. I decided against a solid gold colour, and instead painted it black, then dry-brushed the gold to get more relief/shadows. Still scope for improvement, but looking good.

 

 

 

However, I am not too happy with the bay window castings. They look too flat/crude. I will try a bit more with the paint, and will look around for ideas on how to make them stand out a bit more, but any comments/ideas very welcome!

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, Sooty said:

I am not too happy with the bay window castings. They look too flat/crude.

 

That's not by accident. Quarter badges are not real windows, but rather an attempt to fool the eyes of lookouts on potential adversaries or prizes into thinking that the sloop is a larger man-of-war, e.g. a frigate, which would have real quarter galleries.

[Sooty]

Thanks guys, your advice/comments are really helpful! I will stick to just painting the 'windows' black then!

I just spent a few hours sorting out the bow rail structure, major pain 😂 But it looks OK now. Waiting on some putty to dry, then a little knife/file work and then painting it!

[Sooty]

I can't find any particular part number on the drawings, so I take it the bulwark capping rail on the section between the fore- and quarter decks is to be made from a spare plank from the 1st planking?

 

[Sooty]

I've made a bit of progress with the deck and fittings. I can see this is going to take me a while, which was the whole point of starting HMS Fly (aka HMS Lockdown)!

 

Thinking about the guns. I will be going for a few of them shown in the 'ready' position, some stowed for sailing and a couple in the fired/reloading position.

 

This is a 'fired' one (haul in/out tackle still to be added). Does this look about right in terms of recoil? Would it be possible to reload there, or would the gun need to be pulled further back? I am starting to think the haul-in rigging's deck rings should be further inboard!

[Sooty]

Ok, I had a look for a few videos and a bit of reading up on wikipedia.

 

This is a good one; 

 

 

It turns out the ring positions are spot on by Amati. The muzzle would not come inside the hull, but recoil just about flush with the bulwark. The gun crew would sit on the gun port and swab, ram etc from the outside.

[Sooty]

A bit more progress. I worked out how to rig the guns 😊 It's not perfect and I cheated on a couple of points (I glued one of the haul-in blocks to the carriage, and the run-out rigging connects to the same rings as the recoil rope, but I wasn't going to put 5 rings on something the size of my pinky's nail 😂) but it will look convincing enough!

 

 

The first mistake! I installed the main mast bits facing the wrong way. I tried to pull them out and it won't happen, but I'll work something out.

(Those two columns are facing the wrong way)

 

 

Quarter deck is now glued in place. The masts & bowsprit are the correct lengths, but not profiled; just installed to see what she looks like!

 

Further to that, I have also removed the tops of the 'frames' that stick above deck level and made a start with planking it. The foredeck and quarterdeck will have margin planks, although I might come to regret that decision once I hit the highly curved section on the foredeck!

 

More in a few days, have a great weekend everyone!

[Sooty]

The margin plank on the quarterdeck. Doing the same around the curves of the forecastle will be... interesting 😂

[Sooty]

Has anybody done a Pegasus or Fly with a full set of sails rigged? I would love to build it with at least some of the sails up, trimmed for reaching and filled with wind, but not sure of a) their size and b) how to make them 'full of wind'. If you know of a log showing how to do that, please fire away! I've done sails before, in my 20s, but they looked limp and the stitching grossly out of scale.

[Sooty]

Quarter deck done, maybe a light sanding needed.

 

 

Made a start with the foredeck. The guns are not glued, but the carriages are, and rigged ready for firing (thus the run-out and haul-in tackle is disconnected). A few superglue marks 🙄 At least they do not show without the flash.

 

I am not the best at following build manuals and made a couple of mistakes, but she is looking good.

 

Once I get my compressor sorted, I will spray the bottom white and likely paint the hull between the whale and waterline in yellow ochre. The hull curves are just too beautiful to bury them in that black, so the variation in colours will help bring them out more.

[Sooty]

And that is all the decks finished (apart from the aft end of the forecastle, which needs the margin plank and the supportint beam and brackets below it).

 

I must admit to something that may make the purists barrel-roll in their beds tonight 😂 I did not have any suitable wide and thin planks to use as a margin plank on the rounded section, so I cut the planks as if they were butted against a margin plank, then used filler and sanded it to look level. Looks decent enough to fool most inspections, but best to own up 😂

 

What do you do with grating the rails above the bowsprit? Would they have been grated-over, or just left as they are?

[Sooty]

16 minutes ago, SpyGlass said:

Leave them open -  you know the nautical expression " the heads " - thats them !!

Should I weather the bows then, just below the bowsprit rails, with a dark brown shade? 😂

 

Thanks for that tip though; I had never thought of it! I knew they had sitting arrangements on the bows of larger vessels, but I guess one just squatted on the rails on a vessel the size of the Fly. I will just put some kind of handrail then!

[Sooty]

I have another question;

The capstan bars would likely be stowed away under the quarterdeck, probably along deck beams, just like the gun ramrods etc. But how about the oars? They would be massive. The only place I can think of them going would be along the top of the bulwark, by the hammock cranes. What would they have looked like?

Another question, not so much for including in the model, but more for information; how were the ship's boats launched, from the spot on the centreline to over the side? Using the yards as crane booms?

[Sooty]

Ok, I think I found the answer to my own question. Googling it was a tough one, as I had to scroll through hundreds of photos of boat launches at shipyards.

 

They used the yards as crane booms:

 

(I don't know the original source, so I cannot credit it. I found this on 'pinterest'.)

[Sailor1234567890]

That's the best visual description of it I've seen. Exactly correct in how it was done. 

 

[Sooty]

14 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

That's the best visual description of it I've seen. Exactly correct in how it was done. 

 

Yip, it looks legit! I would love to show the boat being deployed that way on my build. Though that causes a slight problem: the boat's length is much shorter than the spacing of the rubbing strakes that run up the sides of the hull. Judging from the spacing of those strakes, I would need a ca. 50% longer ship's boat. Or maybe one more strake in between what is already there.

[Sooty]

I had to go down to the Big Smoke for work, and I became separated from my model for a few days, so no updates for a while. However, I got my hands on white paint, and I am taking my airbrush and compressor up with me on my return, so the waterline will be marked and the wetted parts will be sprayed a few nice thick coats of white!

I am wondering whether it would be more appropriate for the era to copper-sheath, or leave it white. I think the white stuff will look lovely though.

[Meriadoc Brandybuck]

Sooty,

nice model you've got going here!  Thanks for sharing.  I'm thinking about picking one up and starting on it myself (haven't built one out of wood yet and can't wait to start).

You asked about copper sheathing; the British had been experimenting with the idea throughout the eighteenth century, finally working out all the kinks by the mid 1780s.  They first coppered smaller ships during the American Revolution starting in 1779, so Fly was probably coppered in 1783, when she was paid off, though possibly earlier.  It's unlikely that she would have been coppered mid-cruise since the process would require a drydock and allowing the crew ashore would be asking for desertion.  Someone else may know better but in any case its likely that she spent the vast majority of her career coppered, though probably not most of her Revolutionary War activities.

I'd say do what you think looks best, unless you're shooting for strict historical accuracy (in which case one must decide exactly what point in time one wants to represent...)

Looking forward to seeing more and learning a thing or two!

[Sooty]

6 hours ago, Meriadoc Brandybuck said:

Sooty,

nice model you've got going here!  Thanks for sharing.  I'm thinking about picking one up and starting on it myself (haven't built one out of wood yet and can't wait to start).

You asked about copper sheathing; the British had been experimenting with the idea throughout the eighteenth century, finally working out all the kinks by the mid 1780s.  They first coppered smaller ships during the American Revolution starting in 1779, so Fly was probably coppered in 1783, when she was paid off, though possibly earlier.  It's unlikely that she would have been coppered mid-cruise since the process would require a drydock and allowing the crew ashore would be asking for desertion.  Someone else may know better but in any case its likely that she spent the vast majority of her career coppered, though probably not most of her Revolutionary War activities.

I'd say do what you think looks best, unless you're shooting for strict historical accuracy (in which case one must decide exactly what point in time one wants to represent...)

Looking forward to seeing more and learning a thing or two!

Thanks for the background info on coppering! I remember a couple of drydocks in Norway, and totally get what you mean about asking for desertion 😂

White stuff it is then! I think it definitely looks better than the copper anyway, which is one of the reasons I got the Fly & upgrade set rather than the Pegasus.

On the historical accuracy note; I was reading on the instruction sheets the bit about the decorations, and how the ship would have been very unlikely to have fought with the painted friezes. As I like the 'rough and ready' look she would have had in ops, I am now regretting applying the photo-etch 😂. I will use some spare PE on some spare wood and see how much mess is left behind if peeled off, and I might go for it and pull it.

[Martin W]

Hi Sooty -- I just came across your build.  It's always good to see a Fly/Pegasus build getting started.  It's a lovely ship to watch taking shape, and these kits provide lots of learning opportunities. 

 

I recall that Nils (aka Mirabell61) put the full panoply of sails on his build, and you can see how it looks here:

 

 

 

You're making fine progress, and I'll be eager to watch how you go from here. 

 

That's a very nice Man Cave!  Right now, I'm trying to decide between my basement and the garage.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[TimC]

Looking very good!  Well done 

[Sooty]

Thank you, and happy holidays! A combination of lockdowns, losing some of my modeling mojo as well as really not liking the job I did with the photo-etch stopped me for a few weeks. However, I am back with my model and tools and I decided to strip the side decorations. That left some ghastly marks from the CA, so I had to spend some time with my dremel tool and a grinding bit.

Finally managed to strip the areas the PE run over down to bare wood, then paint it black. I will highlight some of the strakes with yellow ochre, but it now looks gorgeous and we will finally starting to move again 😊

 

[Sooty]

On 12/4/2020 at 2:59 PM, Martin W said:

Hi Sooty -- I just came across your build.  It's always good to see a Fly/Pegasus build getting started.  It's a lovely ship to watch taking shape, and these kits provide lots of learning opportunities. 

 

I recall that Nils (aka Mirabell61) put the full panoply of sails on his build, and you can see how it looks here:

 

 

 

You're making fine progress, and I'll be eager to watch how you go from here. 

 

That's a very nice Man Cave!  Right now, I'm trying to decide between my basement and the garage.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Thanks for the pointer to that post! 

 

I will likely have just a couple of sails up, after deciding how she would be while launching one of the boats (which I will try to recreate). Likely the mizzen and a foresail or two, or whichever setup a ship like that would have in a 'hove-to' situation. The rest would be shown furled. Anyone has any ideas? A looong way from that though 😂

 

Garage may be better for ventilation and keeping tools? Mine is basically a shed in the woods on my land. Off-grid, so I am working with LED worklamps, solar panels and a 12v system for charging, a small inverter for running tools, and a woodburner for keeping warm! All squeezed among forestry kit and the work is usually done after I am finished with the actual jobs I'm here for. Pity I only have pine and spruce here, as I would absolutely love to build an actual small boat from these trees one day! Maybe... till then, models it is 😊

 

 

[Sooty]

I got a little bored of hull work and needed something a bit more 'linear', so I made a start on the masts!

Lower main wooden parts all done, I will prepare the fore and mizzen too, put them on and see how she looks!

[Sooty]

Masts started, trying to get the bowsprit and the lower masts sorted first. I placed them on the model, looks brilliant.

I just realised how big this is going to be, and I am starting to worry about moving it 😂😂