Jump to content

Revenge by Meriadoc Brandybuck - OcCre - 1:85


Recommended Posts

Hello all,

I deliberated for almost two months about where to start with wooden ship kits and ultimately decided upon this one. 

I felt that starting with a more beginner-intended kit would have been nice, but having built it I’d then have that extra model to find a place to put, and the local Admiralty is not given to rapid naval expansion I’m afraid (I live in Japan where living space is at a hell of a premium). So I decided to start with the Occre Revenge. It’s simple enough; I’ve built large plastic models before so I’m familiar with a bit of complexity, and it’s not such a high quality kit that to make a few mistakes would be terribly lamentable (which is exactly the reason I chose not to start with the Fly incidentally). It also touches on most aspects of shipbuilding and offers plenty of room for kit-bashing and creative improvement, so it’ll be a great learning exercise. We’ll see how long it takes to get the hull together.

With the limited tools at my disposal and the handicap of having to learn specialized Japanese every time I have to shop for some new tool, it will be an adventure I’m sure. I’m grateful for the wealth of Amati Revenge build logs around here, from which I’ve gotten several ideas already of reasonably simple modifications to make in order to really improve this kit and end up with a lovely ship that at 1:85 scale will fit nicely in my house when I’m done.

 

The kit:

This kit offers one the chance to build a magnificent Elizabethan galleon at a considerable bargain. I ordered it direct from Spain since the local markup here is absolutely insulting; though I then had to wait for it to actually arrive (and now it has!).

This is the first build log of this particular kit I’m aware of on this site so hopefully my struggles can be of use to anyone else lured by the scale or the price tag of this lovely kit.

The actual quality of materials seems decent enough considering that people invariably complain about some of the materials in far more expensive kits. A run through the inventory (or what I could make of it with the strikingly counterintuitive “parts” system the instructions use) suggests that everything’s probably here in adequate quantities.

The level of detail and scale accuracy OOB leave something to be desired, though it isn’t awful.  Little things can be improved here and there. It’s all a learning experience for now- this doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. But I think it will be pretty, with any luck.

 

A preliminary list of improvements I intend to make in this build:

-Make the beakhead grating an actual grating of some sort, and add head timbers to support it.

-replace the lovely but way out of scale swivel guns

-probably going to add dummy barrels to the two lower ports on each side that are closed OOB unless there’s a reason to believe they wouldn’t be used. 

-make the deck bulkheads look presentable with door frames and actual doors.

-I feel like the helmsman’s booth ought to be spiffed up a bit. This was a flamboyant time period.

-modify the decoration color scheme a bit. I am not sure where the research stands, but I think this area is a bit subjective and open to interpretation. I will probably scan and photoshop the decorations a bit and aim for some richer yellows; and think about what I want the blue and green and red to be doing overall. Maybably.

 

Question: I was thinking of doing a high gloss or slightly stained finish below the waterline (against satin above) to delineate this part without losing the lovely wood texture; anyone every tried this or know if it’s a horribly bad idea doomed to fail?

 

I really would like to welcome any suggestions or advice from other modelers, as well as friendly criticism. I’m sure to have plenty of questions going forward, and I value the informed input of fellow modelers. Please just don’t be put off if I do not implement your suggestions for whatever reason in this build; I still value your input and time.

 

The kit:

C8EEF6F1-F5AC-433C-8EDD-43470D29F475.thumb.jpeg.34e86ae5cc99f21a73361387c6deb6eb.jpeg

 

F65FAC6A-221F-4852-B554-BC4D5CACDEE5.thumb.jpeg.66459d52c8ee38e81fdacb71c1dca9e7.jpeg

 

Dry fitting:

163FAFDC-B8EB-4ABE-A07F-04A4D54C7E71.thumb.jpeg.41a6ed4d4e6e1342d836ffda688bed13.jpeg

 

Trying to decide how to tackle the head grating (or lack thereof):

26840444-9130-45F5-BBA3-D9D52548D7A0.thumb.jpeg.059b43f7bd8e68383b2233039b136979.jpeg

 

I’m thinking either cut 1mm grooves and file them out, or cut out entire sections and glue in some doubled veneer planks on their sides. If they’re doubled they should be planable.

Any thoughts?

Meriadoc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve made quite a bit of progress, successfully getting the frame together and the decks planked. Today I got most of the plywood gunport frames installed. Soon I can fair the bulkheads and begin planking!

 

Laying down the keel and frames:

A0F031B9-B54C-47A0-BD22-91522B8137E1.thumb.jpeg.7f7859125d275b519a38a8b7d32f8fe0.jpeg

 

Nothing too crazy to look out for in this phase; bulkheads fit well and are easy to figure out. I used a piece of the plywood parts tree as a little square. You will want to taper the keel at the stern before gluing anything is all. Glad I remembered. 

05312495-9B48-48CC-B3B7-84A3417A74E3.thumb.jpeg.6d619fa4de4abb02632647daa2da3fbb.jpeg

 

I glued the decks on before the frame was dry to make sure they would go on. If it fits the deck it should be square enough, I figured. No problems.

You want to make sure the grooves of the deck suck tight and flush with the bulkhead tops so you get the proper camber, at least I think it’s called camber. 

 

I had dry fitted the frame, decks, and plywood gunport frames beforehand to make sure I understood every aspect of the construction logic, so so far so good. 

4CD5CA78-55D0-44E3-8E19-F00FF050BFED.thumb.jpeg.1ac90985f055873ca568bafa9748ab2c.jpeg

 

Planked the dummy deck below the quarterdeck as there is a companionway ladder here. It’s not in the instructions but the kit included way too much deck planking, so of course we plank this part. 

C4021090-9326-4B95-86D1-DC5D00FDF06E.thumb.jpeg.f07b9ea2dd9c99c192525606d5a4aa57.jpeg

 

Planking the decks. I believe this is correctly approached by first establishing one plank dead over the middle and going from there. 

DF7F4628-0A2C-47B7-9972-9D9D61679CE0.thumb.jpeg.228f488375caf85336b44145f726cde4.jpeg

 

When you plank the beakhead bulkhead, leave a space for the foremast (about 4mm but I dryfit tested it and marked it to be sure). 

F2DD717D-8A20-42B7-AAC4-1B26F048AFD4.thumb.jpeg.5b9bb1d83d9b7f8339a994bf8693dd1a.jpeg

 

Almost done planking the deck. The hardest part is finding a way to distribute glue appropriately. I ended up dabbing tiny dots on individual planks, maneuvering them with tweezers, and pushing them in carefully by hand. Too much glue will ruin your day. 

97DA1EF5-81C3-4673-BB95-23E8F5820EF5.thumb.jpeg.d580332ae9d77dee9833e394f9e32bfc.jpeg

 

Alas, here we sit. These plywood strips weren’t hard to put on but it did take some planning and sanding/paring here and there. Particularly at the very bow, it needs to be bent and pinned in about four specific places to get it tight against the forecastle. Soaking for twenty minutes in water will do. I used an iron as well but I can’t tell if it made a difference. 

The lower strake and aftercastle piece were relatively straightforward. Just take your time and understand the physics of your situation.

 

0A7447E8-728B-49CD-877A-F26C515E6357.thumb.jpeg.61d75d0009332b06870800ed21ff3ca3.jpeg

I did have to jam a tool against the aft plywood piece to keep it flush with the outer edge of the bulkhead (it wanted to make an indent); you can see a dismembered Amati clamp taped to the opposite bulkhead putting outward pressure on the problem. 

 

She’s starting to look like a ship!

 

Meriadoc

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

There are some brass etch gratings here:

 

http://www.dafinismus.de/plates_en#anker7

 

Scroll down to Plate 8 which contains three grid sizes; perhaps the largest would suit your scale? If not I would ask Dr. Google for any others.

I hadn't thought of Dafi's gratings, thanks for the suggestion! 

I think what I want though is longer slots instead of a square pattern (if you can find a picture of the head grating of the Amati Revenge you'll see what I mean).  I suppose I could order spare grating and just leave out most of the cross battens, but I'm tempted to scratch build the whole works from in-box scraps and see if it comes out half decent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good day,

Welcome to the galleons building cosiety!

I think this Amati Revenge kit which You mentioned ,presently is most accurate representation of elizabethian galleon on the wooden model market...:)))

Agree with You about grating modifications if You planned to do it...

AND!

may be there is sence to check / to look at  locations of forward gun's ports and how that broken lines of wales passes in forward part as well ,...looks like it has some  excessive break in this kit compare to famous M. Baker galleon profile?

by the way ,

there is very interesting and informative resource of galleon  here

https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/f528-Revenge-England.html including alternative reconstruction of GH after Raimond Acker https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t6619f952-Alternative-Rekonstruktion-der-GOLDEN-HIND.html

and here

https://www.shipmodeling.ru/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73412

and building Revenge from scratch

https://www.shipmodeling.ru/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=74848

last two in russian could be fixed with google translation

if text need to be read

there are a few interesting books about english galleon shipbuilding history

 

All the best!!!

Kirill

 

20210127_204739.jpg

 

01.JPG

02.JPG

стр001.jpg

Edited by kirill4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

interesting fact, how real deck planking looks like on 17 th century vessel - Vasa deck as example

far from "ideal" lines of present day model's deck :)))

31983772_DeckVasa.jpg.5b3c40d825f061f5b64a4047c9430869.jpg

Edited by kirill4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kirill4, thanks for all the resources!  I'll have to dig into them a bit.  I'm not going for hyper historical accuracy but I would like to make it look appropriate where possible.  The garlands around the lower topmasts sound like an interesting detail..

Under the waterline, for example, I want to leave the wood grain but I do want to delineate it somehow.  Perhaps I could airbrush a thin off-white stripe?

 

6 hours ago, kirill4 said:

interesting fact, how real deck planking looks like on 17 th century vessel - Vasa deck as example

far from "ideal" lines of present day model's deck :)))

31983772_DeckVasa.jpg.5b3c40d825f061f5b64a4047c9430869.jpg

I think they must have used whatever cheap scrap wood they had on hand to plank the deck, perhaps planks that they found unsuitable for the hull planking.  Unlike the sides it doesn't have to be symmetrical or pretty, just flat.  Interesting fact!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to see your build progressing well, Meriadoc (love the name!).

 

I'd recommend you look also at this - 

 

there's some serious research information in it that would apply very much to your own build.

 

Of course there are no genuine contemporary pictures of the Revenge herself, and as far as I know, no descriptions of her colour scheme. So any model is an "impression" of what she might have looked like, based on the evidence available - effectively a "typical" English galleon of the right general size and armament. Regarding colours, probably your best bet is to look at contemporary pictures - not modern interpretations - of galleons (particularly English ones such as Matthew Baker's Fragments of English Shipwrightry)

image.png.f489bd2a1606b78fc923616da84de8e2.png

 

image.png.8a013e168e7c3254e0887ef00d5e746e.png

 

image.png.5f607e9a54b849163925e6d357f68ed8.png

 

and take your lead from them.

 

Oh, and say hullo to Peregrine Took for me . . .:P

 

Steven

Edited by Louie da fly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, kirill4 said:

may be there is sence to check / to look at  locations of forward gun's ports and how that broken lines of wales passes in forward part as well ,...looks like it has some  excessive break in this kit compare to famous M. Baker galleon profile?

I also wondered why the wale has this shape.


The only reason i can think of
Is the position between the capstan (normally stands on the deck behind the main mast)
Only if the deck follows the shape of the wale. Then the capstan can be used for lifting the anchor and the yards of the main and fore mast.

 

In a very simple drawing explained

image.png.52d1cbf4d12989af1ae4418a3e504757.png

Edited by Backer
+ drawing

Regards, Patrick

 

Finished :  Soleil Royal Heller 1/100   Wasa Billing Boats   Bounty Revell 1/110 plastic (semi scratch)   Pelican / Golden Hind  1/45 scratch

Current build :  Mary Rose 1/50 scratch

Gallery Revell Bounty  Pelican/Golden hind 1/45 scratch

To do Prins Willem Corel, Le Tonnant Corel, Yacht d'Oro Corel, Thermopylae Sergal 

 

Shore leave,  non ship models build logs :  

ADGZ M35 funkwagen 1/72    Einhets Pkw. Kfz.2 and 4 1/72   Autoblinda AB40 1/72   122mm A-19 & 152mm ML-20 & 12.8cm Pak.44 {K8 1/2} 1/72   10.5cm Howitzer 16 on Mark. VI(e)  Centurion Mk.1 conversion   M29 Weasel 1/72     SAM6 1/72    T26 Finland  T26 TN 1/72  Autoprotetto S37 1/72     Opel Blitz buses 1/72  Boxer and MAN trucks 1/72   Hetzer38(t) Starr 1/72    

 

Si vis pacem, para bellum

 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Meriadoc Brandybuck said:

Kirill4, thanks for all the resources!  I'll have to dig into them a bit.  I'm not going for hyper historical accuracy but I would like to make it look appropriate where possible.  The garlands around the lower topmasts sound like an interesting detail..

Under the waterline, for example, I want to leave the wood grain but I do want to delineate it somehow.  Perhaps I could airbrush a thin off-white stripe?

 

I think they must have used whatever cheap scrap wood they had on hand to plank the deck, perhaps planks that they found unsuitable for the hull planking.  Unlike the sides it doesn't have to be symmetrical or pretty, just flat.  Interesting fact!

Good day,

Thanks ,Wellcome ...I didn' t mean hyper of couse :)))

*garlands - yes , interesting detail , I think it should work well in case of Revenge rigging details !!!

as I understood , in that period , there was not used castoms  to lowering  topmast in case of weather getting worst or some other reasons ///and top mast was secured to the mast in some way of permanent securing - such as "garland" ?

such type of connecting mast and top mast we could see almost on all contemporary galleon's  pictures ... 

*I think water line in the form of modern meaning was not exist in that time /// doubt You shoud to show it on the model, just one of the variant You should paint under water part of the hull entire  in @dirty yelowish white color@ or dark brown color , whatever You like ... my private opinion, for elizabethian galleon most suitable will be " white" colors than dark brown

Actually , to be history accurate , ther was special procedure and materials used for protecting underwater part of the vessel in that period , and after completion it doesn't look the same as the above water part of the hull at all !

May be there is  sence don't worry too mach about wood grains?

 

Hendrik_Cornelisz._Vroom_-_The_Arrival_of_Elector_Frederick_V_of_the_Palatinate_and_Elizabeth_Stuart.jpg

garland _Hendrik_Cornelisz._Vroom_-_The_Arrival_of_Elector_Frederick_V_of_the_Palatinate_and_Elizabeth_Stuart.jpg

01 garlands Dutch_and_English_Warships_in_Battle against Portugues-Spanish_-_Aart_van_Antum.jpg

garlands Dutch_and_English_Warships_in_Battle against Portugues-Spanish_-_Aart_van_Antum.jpg

стр061.jpg

Edited by kirill4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've started a Pinterest page with contemporary pictures of galleons - it's at https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/galleons/

 

I've still got quite a few pictures to add, but it might be of use to you - quite a few of the pictures are in colour (though most of those are not English).

 

Steven

Edited by Louie da fly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/28/2021 at 10:05 AM, Louie da fly said:

Of course there are no genuine contemporary pictures of the Revenge herself, and as far as I know, no descriptions of her colour scheme.

 

In fact there is a depiction of the Revenge, albeit a very rough one on the so called "smerwick map". You can find this map in Bryce Walkers book on the Armada ("The Seafarers" series) I think on page 18. Here is a section:

 

1890132630_SmerwickMapBryceWalker2Ausschnitt.thumb.jpg.861c2620ab434718dbc1c808f5530940.jpg

 

 

1248908594_SmerwickRevengeP.EarleCover2.jpg.d909397572440f158b94017a22895819.jpg

 

 

Of course the proportions are distorted as the ribbon of ornaments at the height of the rail was exaggrated very much. And the colour scheme of the ornaments is simplified: it is hard to believe that the only colours were red and white. The sketches can be seen as rough portraits of the real ships as they were inserted as part of an actual operation report (the Bombardement of Fort Smerwick in Ireland in 1580). The Revenge is depicted with only three masts (with the mizzen at a position very much near the stern). 

 

A hint relating the colours of the ornaments is given in Oppenheims "A history of the administration of the Royal Navy" on p 130: for the Revenge the main colours were green and white. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fascinating, Círdan (love the name, BTW - as in Círdan the Shipwright?). I've never seen these before.

 

4 hours ago, Cirdan said:

it is hard to believe that the only colours were red and white.

 

You're probably right. In Henry VIII's time it would have been more likely (as shown in the Anthony Roll), but by the reign of Elizabeth the palette was apparently a lot wider, if Matthew Baker is to be believed.

 

I note that all the ships are depicted with only three masts. Is there any documentary evidence for the Revenge having four, or is that just imagination on the part of the kit manufacturers?

 

Steven

Edited by Louie da fly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

I note that all the ships are depicted with only three masts. Is there any documentary evidence for the Revenge having four, or is that just imagination on the part of the kit manufacturers?

 

In an article Ian Friel states, that the Revenge had three masts. He did some research in the former State Paper Office (now the National Archives), but he unfortunately doesn't name the documents that validate the Revenge being a 3-master. There is a little chance, that after the renovation of 1588 the ship got 4 masts. There is a tapestry called "The last fight of the Revenge" which shows the ship in 1591 in combat with 3 spanish ships. This tapestry shows her with 4 Masts. The tapestry is also depicted in Bryce Walkers book. The designer of the tapestry was Hendrik C. Vroom. But the ships in such representative masterworks are often depicted not too accurate. 

 

I think the main reason, why all models of the Revenge show 4 masts can be seen in the fact, that they are all based on the drawing Folio 115 by Baker (see above, the galleon with the 4 masted sail plan). For the hull I think this drawing is the best choice. 

 

8 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

as in Círdan the Shipwright?

 

Yes, you are right. I love Tolkien and I love historic ships, so I have tried to concentrate my passions in one name 🙂

Edited by Cirdan
mistake
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Cirdan said:

 

In fact there is a depiction of the Revenge, albeit a very rough one on the so called "smerwick map". You can find this map in Bryce Walkers book on the Armada ("The Seafarers" series) I think on page 18. Here is a section:

 

1890132630_SmerwickMapBryceWalker2Ausschnitt.thumb.jpg.861c2620ab434718dbc1c808f5530940.jpg

 

 

1248908594_SmerwickRevengeP.EarleCover2.jpg.d909397572440f158b94017a22895819.jpg

 

 

Of course the proportions are distorted as the ribbon of ornaments at the height of the rail was exaggrated very much. And the colour scheme of the ornaments is simplified: it is hard to believe that the only colours were red and white. The sketches can be seen as rough portraits of the real ships as they were inserted as part of an actual operation report (the Bombardement of Fort Smerwick in Ireland in 1580). The Revenge is depicted with only three masts (with the mizzen at a position very much near the stern). 

 

A hint relating the colours of the ornaments is given in Oppenheims "A history of the administration of the Royal Navy" on p 130: for the Revenge the main colours were green and white. 

 

 

Cirdan, thank you for this information.  Very interesting to see what contemporary sources we do have for this ship.  I've got some thinking to do about the decorations, but I'll have some time before I have to make any decisions as I learn how to plank.

You have a most appropriate username, I must say.  I like to put on Tolkien audiobooks while I work.  That or Bob Ross.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried to find the Tapestry on-line; no luck. But Vroom would have been 29 when the battle took place, so there's a good chance he was at least familiar with the type of ship the Revenge was. He may have actually talked to people who knew what she looked like - he may even have seen her before she departed on her last voyage. On the other hand, he may have just made it up . . .:P

 

8 hours ago, Cirdan said:

I love Tolkien and I love historic ships

 

Me too. I got hooked on Tolkien in my teens, way back in the 60's - bought the three-volume hardback LOTR out of my pocket money. I just recently re-read the Silmarillion. Only took about a week to recover . . .

 

Steven

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Meriadoc Brandybuck said:

I like to put on Tolkien audiobooks while I work.

 

Good idea! During the rigging work, however, one should not exactly hear the passages in which hobbits or dwarfs get caught and wrapped in webs of large, evil spiders. 😉

 

11 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

I tried to find the Tapestry on-line; no luck.

 

There is no chance. It is privately owned, one of the few pics can be found in Bryce Walker's book. I's relatively small, so details are not really visible.

 

170288899_RevengeTapestryB.Walker2.thumb.jpg.098fd3c0e9fa56deaf482ca6d0a72f7f.jpg

 

1135250910_RevengeTapestryB.Walker2400dpi2.thumb.jpg.11a4f48415b74fb861ff225a0412f650.jpg

 

 

Here is a picture in higher resolution, but in b/w:

 

https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/record?query=de+Maecht&start=11

 

The differences to the Smerwick sketch are clearly visible (ornaments, stern gallery...), but the basic type is the same. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An update on progress~

 

Got the last piece in. 

8C5B2734-472C-4ED1-9B53-1BBA1F564D93.thumb.jpeg.3bb24a764a47d9ebd2be3a5a120c09c5.jpeg

 

Planking all the gunwales in sapelli. Easy enough. 

2015B635-A541-4FBD-A240-CFB40C7F788C.thumb.jpeg.2f41f45a9e77eb4c1e34d37b75550813.jpeg

 

Faired bulkheads, and added a few filler blocks. These photos show the work in progress. 

FCE6E5D2-4927-465B-942E-87BE15A47EF0.thumb.jpeg.879b634a0d9e4205a74fa793d89d830c.jpeg

 

CC9E163E-0568-4F50-B640-99B403A80B2E.thumb.jpeg.45a006f96e37df1fb021b96f7627a364.jpeg

 

Can’t tell if I did a good job or not but the little spruce plank I used as a guinea pig seemed to fit well enough. 

 

And fitted the first plank, bending with a mantua crimper  

99BE6791-2C7A-476B-B109-00EC6C7164D5.thumb.jpeg.7b1f1e5ec5cf8b727e9127f66ba7208c.jpeg

 

Started dissecting the head “grating” for modification. 

72462327-1D61-4950-9014-8B6D0A2249D6.thumb.jpeg.475fb6a679c863a5533c3ea4ae779876.jpeg

 

Thought of a good use for those oversized swivel guns:

5562E027-C1DA-470E-B95E-5DD00404E229.thumb.jpeg.3f3e2d94b8f7fd8582ce83c1c26eaa97.jpeg

 

Too much glue, but that part won’t be visible and I didn’t want it ever coming loose. 

93A5BA31-F923-4DAB-8DC5-1E4C069B11E7.thumb.jpeg.942e510f702af2be9a8d0973ab0654ba.jpeg

 

Just used scraps. Walnut stain on interior to keep it dark. 

61EB70CF-E34A-4DD9-8512-F8C64904C744.thumb.jpeg.2ef3c2906a7ae000ad7d3a4332839148.jpeg

 

Gonna have to plank around it but should be fudgable. 

Now she has stern chasers!

520882CE-A0C1-4B0F-AA2F-F52615E4F83B.thumb.jpeg.296d8bee0c5080fc3aca6a33e6b8ebb1.jpeg

 

Next up: planking fun. 

 

Meriadoc

Edited by Meriadoc Brandybuck
typo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Meriadoc Brandybuck said:

What’s everyone’s favorite Silmarillion character?

I guess I’m a Felagund fan. 

 

Mine is probably Cirdan. But I like the sound of the name "Glorfindel". 

 

Your work is nice and accurate 👍. But I wonder, if a ship like the Revenge had wrought bronze guns. At this time (at about 30 - 40 years after the loss of the Mary Rose) I beg that only minor ships may have used them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Cirdan said:

had wrought bronze guns. At this time (at about 30 - 40 years after the loss of the Mary Rose) I beg that only minor ships may have used them.

I was under the impression that ships of this period carried quite a variety of guns with very little in the way of standardization. Do you suggest that her guns were likely iron, or are wrought and cast bronze exclusive terms? 

Seems you know a lot more than me about this period!

Meriadoc 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Meriadoc Brandybuck said:

I was under the impression that ships of this period carried quite a variety of guns with very little in the way of standardization

 

I think this applies to the time before the Armada period. Indeed this variety of guns was found on the wreck of the Mary Rose. But the "Queens Ships" (the Royal Navy of the time) from about 1570 onwards tended to standardization. As far as I know the Revenge had cast bronze guns although guns could already be cast from iron in England at this time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Cirdan said:

 

I think this applies to the time before the Armada period. Indeed this variety of guns was found on the wreck of the Mary Rose. But the "Queens Ships" (the Royal Navy of the time) from about 1570 onwards tended to standardization. As far as I know the Revenge had cast bronze guns although guns could already be cast from iron in England at this time. 

As I was putting these together I did have a thought in the back of my mind, that all the hooped "wrought" guns I could recall seeing were in fact iron ones..  Well they're rather planked in now; I'll contemplate the prospects of repainting them.  Going to have to mix up some iron color anyhow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, hooped guns seem always to have been made of iron - basically, a bunch of iron "planks" put together edge to edge to make a cylinder and reinforced with hoops. Presumably the joints were forge-welded, though how you'd do that I have no idea. Bronze ones were cast. And there was another variety (which I still find hard to believe, but the evidence is incontrovertible) made of iron sheet rolled into a cylinder and welded at the join (!) Don't think I'd feel very confident using one of these - or even standing anywhere near it while it was being fired.

 

Steven

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Yes, hooped guns seem always to have been made of iron - basically, a bunch of iron "planks" put together edge to edge to make a cylinder and reinforced with hoops. Presumably the joints were forge-welded, though how you'd do that I have no idea. Bronze ones were cast. And there was another variety (which I still find hard to believe, but the evidence is incontrovertible) made of iron sheet rolled into a cylinder and welded at the join (!) Don't think I'd feel very confident using one of these - or even standing anywhere near it while it was being fired.

 

Steven

I'm sure they reinforced it around the area where the powder charge goes.  Maybe they were for ships that didn't plan on using their guns much. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Planking adventures!

 

I did investigate a variety of opinions about this process, and amassed a collection of inexpensive equipment. 

The Occre “instructions” tell one to start immediately below the plywood guides, and gives little other guidance. Their example seems to be planked wrong anyways, but I started at this point as I will need to fit some sort of backing for the dummy barrels I intend to add to the lower deck. First I plank the area, then when I still have acces from below I will glue in the backing. 

I ended up planking myself into a bit of a pickle as the two sides were ever so slightly asymmetrical after two planks each, and I had to try to fit my planks evenly under the beakhead deck- one side wanting 3 planks (5mm each) and the other wanting four tapered planks. 

I’ll let the photos do some of the explaining. 

 

I started with this plank on each side, and added one above at full width.  I used a crimper to bend, which was easy enough. At this point I thought it should all fit evenly under the deck that must go in at the bow. 

EC7A293D-D135-4B07-9818-69D5ED6F7546.thumb.jpeg.a37ae9b489f4efd3726e3a2d39a170df.jpeg

 

Then I remeasured and decided that four tapered planks would be needed. I tried soaking and bending over an iron for these, as the taper was awkward, narrower at bulkhead #1 than the very bow. In retrospect a crimper would have been easier but I did get to practice a different technique. Not happy with how they came out but I learned something and it should be good enough for the bottom layer with some sanding and filling. 

D43FC854-BC6A-4D70-9FE7-02A3FE1535B0.thumb.jpeg.4ebcadde512e3b957f2423fa28b132e7.jpeg

 

The curve around bulkhead #1 is quite severe, I broke one pre-tapered plank at this narrowest point trying to bend it over my iron. It was also difficult to get consistent curves. Better filler blocks would have been helpful, as well as tapering on the top instead of the bottom of the planks. 

F61124E8-1A52-4F17-9612-F37E980931DC.thumb.jpeg.2e7fbd4f67bfeae893d285ac43be4fb4.jpeg

 

On the starboard side, the gap was smaller and i

deemed three planks would work far better than four and save all the fuss of tapering and breaking narrowed planks over an extreme curve. These were bent with a crimper with very little sweat and toil. 

I was using CA though in an effort to get more than one or two planks installed in a day, and it froze some of my mistakes in place as you can see behind the first bulkhead on this third plank. Ought to sand out though. 

810F6AC3-2CC0-4D9B-9BD9-0A4B1C10759B.thumb.jpeg.a056d132c26274c835ac277e5c5c840b.jpeg

 

Back to PVA. You can see how many planks I was able to get done despite my best efforts to achieve economy of time with CA. Really the elephant in the room here is the baby in our house that I must help take care of, so a best case scenario is a few planks per day plus maybe some peripheral progress on other loose ends. 

Here there was a major gap between the plywood and the lay of the lower planks. Perhaps I missed something in my fairing process. I fixed the problem by inserting this little filler block to get the next plank to play ball with the plank below, above, and the front of the forecastle. 

0E7FF010-FFEA-4E97-805E-7A6A4F07E3B9.thumb.jpeg.3ad86910dab8d174d36c3897c332dce4.jpeg

 

Got the plank in, so it’s even with the port side except for the bow. You can see how much learning I have to do before I take on single planked kits. 

6E892DE7-0E69-4257-A734-629C5DE8B578.thumb.jpeg.351de541942ea65530c9b450e76ba527.jpeg

 

I needed to do something about the asymmetry of the top of the planks here under the forecastle on the port side as the planks were tapered unlike the starboard. I marked out a spot for a stealer. 

953A706B-660A-413B-8581-6249130937AD.thumb.jpeg.434bbd45e1159ce55355052ea7e8e29e.jpeg

 

And installed it with CA. Ought to be roughly symmetrical now. 

5C40CB1D-D1BA-41F4-9A01-ECB218963B02.thumb.jpeg.add44ae8d3252e1abd37b6c07de55ef0.jpeg

 

There is a gap under the deck on the starboard side that should be addressed but I don’t think it would have been worth tapering four planks and hoping they don’t break around that bend at their narrowest point. If I had to do it over I think I’d properly filler block the whole bow and then one could work tapered planks with an iron easily enough. 

9176D8E8-7F8E-4D34-A3D9-4971BFBD4F77.thumb.jpeg.63da9b7bdb613c38bd9acf848a973ec1.jpeg

 

Just now, I installed the garboard planks but couldnt decide the cut at the bow. I think this is determined by the run of the next strake, for which I must calculate tapering first, so I left them hanging for now. 

AB399717-C2C0-4760-8285-6117A5C05EA2.thumb.jpeg.b6a51ad3a91d91edb8cb93163635b5ba.jpeg

 

Now I have to remember to install my dummy gun backings before I plank the rest in. 

 

Slowly but surely (or reasonably confidently)!

Meriadoc

34E7D1BC-AEE7-46BA-80D2-A6EF7B349D12.jpeg

Edited by Meriadoc Brandybuck
typo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Lots of planking has happened. 

I finished everything but the upper gunwales on the first layer.  Learned a few things as I went.

I’m not sure if I should be happy with it or not, but I think it’s workable. 

In particular, does anyone have any good information on how/where the garboard plank should terminate at the bow on the Revenge? 

 

Photos below; I’d love to hear any ideas on what to do better next time. 

 

Trying to establish planking bands; a process I think was counterproductive in this case. 

916B8B9E-F1E2-4F07-A068-1960CE493937.thumb.jpeg.a705768dbbc637b0b714cf0f38df7d7d.jpeg

 

The first strakes at the bow. Should have tapered to minimum width ASAP. Did I let the garboard curve up too much?

6E06D3DA-5214-4C78-BABF-CBA0464359D6.thumb.jpeg.da32f4cde3c4821b917017ffcd8370ad.jpeg

 

First and only stealers needed here. 

CE9C1F64-DC7F-4284-B2D5-C10D67A134B9.thumb.jpeg.11fcc2e919ea7f8d4c8a532108c40c1b.jpeg

Getting closer. 

4C0EA275-C121-4230-B827-96D9B0DFF032.thumb.jpeg.346b35e1d2cca39eb24962849999b62e.jpeg

Almost. 

246B7CA1-D6F6-4E17-B95D-30F9A8D9B592.thumb.jpeg.3e10037f1d48d920b733a6dbd0536cf7.jpeg

 

Criticism welcome:

CAEBC9ED-6E48-40F3-9C5D-909A84835326.thumb.jpeg.647c839f7616cfcd8c7edc9a41c5e5cf.jpeg

 

Thoughts?

57BE97B6-0DC0-4C73-BD24-E3B1DE045265.thumb.jpeg.05eb28f0013757af112242353b5ceaf0.jpeg

 

47A2538F-6216-4B4B-BFB0-50B689CA76F8.thumb.jpeg.baeac18059b8dc389913138fc416c839.jpeg

 

I attached several more photos to show the process but the above photos are the most relevant. 

 

Hoping to wrap up loose ends and get it ready for the sapelli soon. 

 

Meriadoc

CD7290A5-B674-4E93-9C64-E55E795DD411.jpeg

F7C93582-6660-47C5-BBB8-7CA8C5FCBCC0.jpeg

6E63B3C0-F0C2-4D30-8A8E-17E3C7136E31.jpeg

67AD570E-DF69-4F84-8334-30CDB92253EF.jpeg

28BD7B12-7B0B-4542-A0AB-1F28FC852F2B.jpeg

2A7705CB-D337-4E8B-80EA-AB415981C6AA.jpeg

1E06AEA1-8140-4435-BF53-DE4EF3FB2FCF.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...