HMS Speedy 1782 by RMC - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Scale

RMC · January 29, 2021

Having just finished Granado I am now starting HMS Speedy, Lord Cochrane's brig. He assumed command in 1800 and is the model for the fictional Jack Aubrey in Patrick O'Brian's wonderful series of books.

RMC · January 29, 2021

Before Granado I built HMS Vanguard designed by Chris Watton. His design, his plans and instructions proved to be outstanding. The result after only five years was a truly wonderful model (I may be biassed). There is a build log if anyone is interested. Chris has now set up his own firm and that was the attraction in my choosing Speedy. I hope this log may help those who are just starting the hobby.

In putting the frame together it is crucial that the bulkheads are square with the keel. The laser cut parts in the kit are superbly accurate, but even so the there is slight 'give'. I use a small set square to check the angle and clamp a bit of square timber behind the bulkhead to hold it while the glue dries

The bulk heads at the bow and stern are bevelled to accommodate later planking. This is one way to get the right angle. (In the kit the first 3 bulkheads are to be bevelled. I suggest the 4th bulkhead should also be slightly bevelled.

This is how the bow bulkheads turned out. There will probably need to be some minor adjustment during the planking.

Making sure the deck supports are square.

A hypodermic needle is a really good means of putting PVA glue into difficult places.

Here are the bulkheads and supports almost complete.

The 'fit' of the parts is perfect.

Here is the main deck fitted. This is quite an awkward job. The precision of the cut parts means there is no margin for even the slightest error in assembling the frame. The instructions suggest temporarily nailing the deck down to make sure the deck is securely glued to the supports. As you can see I have used a couple of clamps and a couple of weights to do the job .... and it looks like pasta for dinner tonight.

RMC · February 2, 2021

I have begun the installation of the gunport patterns. It has turned out to be quite difficult. The bow pattern was very reluctant to bend to shape - at least the shape I wanted it to be.

I first gave the pattern a preliminary bending over night. This made the horizontal bend a little easier. The difficulty of course is withe the vertical beding to follow the line of the bulkheads.

The instructions suggest pinning the patterns to the bulkheads. I made a halfhearted attempt, but the pins were very reluctant to go into the very hard ply bulkheads and I didn't persist. Fortunately I have some little clamps (?) which are able to do the job relatively painlessly. One problem is that when the patterns are attached to the part of the bulkhead below the deck where the curvature is greatest (near the bow), the part of the pattern between the bulkheads tended to bulge out. The problem was solved by clamping a piece of wood strip towards the bottom of the bulkhead to keep the bulge contained.

All of this took most of the day with the usual exclamations - Oh golly! why did that happen? (or words to that effect). I hope the rest of it goes a little more smoothly. Below is shown the first pattern glued (PVA above the deck, CA below) and clamped.

jwvolz · February 2, 2021

Good start Bob, looking forward to your build.

Beef Wellington · February 2, 2021

Looking great. Your bending contraption looks very intriguing, can you share more?

RMC · February 3, 2021

Thanks Joe.

Hi Jason. I bought the thing some years ago and can't now remember where on earth I bought it - that's age for you. it's been quite useful, especially for planking. I'm on my way down to the south coast in a few minutes, but when I return next week I'll see if I have some record of purchase.

RMC · February 3, 2021

My aim was to have the top of pattern flush with the 8th bulkhead. This meant the top edge of the slot in the strip is about 1/2mm from the stem. No big deal. If you look at the instructions there is a note to the effect that it doesn't matter if the top of the pattern is not flush with each of the bulkhead tops. The way I have done it, the pattern falls naturally to the 8th bulkhead without stress and is a perfect fit.

RMC · March 13, 2021

Long time etc. Other things have intruded.

I am only now getting to the finish of the first planking. it's fairly straightforward but time-consuming. On the odd occasion when an entire plank is to be soaked I use a length of plastic pipe filled with warm water - works well.

Here is progress.

I have a suggestion for the side front bulwark pattern. It's too late for me, but it may help someone just starting. I commented earlier that when installing the pattern, it tended to bulge out because of the (vertical) curvature of the hull. I suggest two cuts, each about 1mm wide may solve the problem. See the blue markings below.

One final comment - as far as I can tell, there is no direct photo of the finished stern of the mode in the instructionsl. It would be helpful in showing the painting/decoration.

Theodosius · March 13, 2021

Hello RMC,

very informative build, thank's a lot for shairing! I'm still at the process to get the gunport-patters to a good fit. I'm realy struggling here.

Funny, I also was thinking about to cut some lines into it, where there are waves. But then I don't have those phantastic clips to hold the underside down.

Perhaps that is my biggest problem at the moment: just the lack of good enough tools to hold the upper- and downside equalliy to the bulwarks while bending.

But then your log is also very good example of the fact, that it can be done. Give again some more motivation to my own build! 🙂

RMC · March 27, 2021

Slow progress. The first layer of planks is finally complete. Fortunately not much filling was needed. The second layer is now in progress.

The final cladding around the stern has been tidied up since these pictures were taken.

Theodosius · March 27, 2021

I'm also at the same place! So thank's a lot for the lot of pictures, a great help for me 🙂

RMC · March 27, 2021

There is no need to thin the stern. Later the stern post (part 110) will be attached. It is the same thickness as the rudder. Moreover there will be a gap between the stern post and the rudder to allow for the hinges which enable the rudder to turn.

RMC · May 2, 2021

The second planking below the wale is complete and sanded. It has come out reasonably well, though not without difficulties. The timber strip is very reluctant to bend and without my planking screws, the planking would have been very difficult indeed. The most vital planks are those above the waterline. Those below will be covered with the copper. I have decided not to use the laser-printer deck. It's just too perfect.

here is progress.

RMC · May 29, 2021

Progress has been very slow. lots of things have intruded.

Painting the interior of the stern counter proved a real pain. I strongly recommend painting the components BEFORE assembly. Moreover the paint was very reluctant to stick to the surface of the parts, particularly the laser cut surfaces of the vertical supports. It took four coats to provide a reasonable result.

Not a very good picture I'm afraid.

As I mentioned earlier, I have decided not to use the laser printed deck. Here is the beginning of the substitute decking. The timber I chose - tanganyika (sp?) - imay not have been the best choice. I'll see how it works out. It's only 0.5mm thick, so if it doesn't work I will install the laser printed deck over it.

RMC · July 10, 2021

The decking is finally complete. Other things have intruded over the last month or so. The result of the planking has been acceptable, and I think looks less artificial than the laser-cut deck supplied in the kit, but I guess that is for others to judge. In any event a lot of it will eventually be obscured by guns, fittings and rigging.

PRS · July 10, 2021

The deck planking looks spot on!

whitejamest · July 10, 2021

Beautiful work, extremely neat and tight.

HardeeHarHar · August 25, 2021

Great progress and beautiful work too!

BenD · August 26, 2021

I'm with everyone else here, That deck is well done.

RMC · August 29, 2021

Thanks for the kind comments Hardee and Ben.

With the covid lockdown in areas of Sydney I have been unable to travel to our house down the coast south of the city. There I have a special sander I need to finish the planking above the wale. I don't feel like buying another one for about 10 minutes use. In the meantime I have been working on all the deck fittings and the ship's boat. Photos when I have the opportunity.

RMC · September 16, 2021

Here finally are some photos of the ship's boat construction. It turned out to be quite difficult and time-consuming.

The jig for the frame very clever. It enables it to be put together very accurately indeed.

Here is the hull painted and the gunwale added. I did not find the pear wood easy to work with.

The interior frame for the seats and the ribs are ... er... challenging. The 1mm pear is, I think, unsuitable for the ribs. it needs to be bent considerably and doing it in situ risks damaging the hull. I used some 0.5mm, far more bendable timber strip.

Again the gunwale proved difficult. Getting the pear to the right shape was done a piece at a time, entailed time and a very full vocabulary.

I had put a little extra 0.5mm thick wood trim on top of the stern. It finished it off nicely. Of course it came back to bite me. The handle of the rudder would not go over it. Fortunately the solution to the problem gave, I think, a better result. You can see it in the last few photos

RMC · September 18, 2021

I had forgotten the seat brackets. They do finish off the ship's boat quite well.

Here is some of the deck furniture. The windows for the skylight combing are done in Kristal Klear. It gives a far better result than the clear plastic.

RMC · September 20, 2021

Thanks for your comment Spyglass. I can understand your reaction. I found the boat one of the most difficult little projects.

RMC · September 26, 2021

Still waiting for access to my miniature sander down the coast south of Sydney. In the meantime I'm trying to do all the fittings and am almost starting on the masts and yards. Here are the ships guns. They were quite time-consuming, but have turned out well. I now have to get some 2mm blocks to rig them. The swivel guns are now finished - photos later.

RMC · December 10, 2021

A long time since my last post. I have played around with the masts while waiting to copper the hull. For those who have not got to the masts, there is an error in the plans. The topmasts are supposed to be the same. However the drawing shown on the right of the photo below is shorter. It turns out the mast cap to the fore top is wrong and should be the same as that for the main mast.

I have informed Chris who will amend the plans in future. The fore topmast will be moved 6.5mm up, so the fid should remain where it is. The foremast assembly will therefore be 6.5mm higher than the original plan shows.

The following photo shows the mast dry-fitted to illustrate the problem.

RMC · December 12, 2021

Here is some progress on 'pre-coppering'. As with my HMS Vanguard, I have put a boundary (there is probably a nautical term for it) for the copper and the waterline. First, a waterline marker was used to pencil the line. Flexible tape was then applied along the penciled line. Soaked 1mm x 1mm timber was butted up against the tape with the following result. The copper sheeting will (I hope) butt up smoothly to the boundary timber.

Here is the tape applied, and a close look will show the penciled water line.

Tape removed -

RMC · December 15, 2021

The coppering is proceeding slowly. Here are a couple of photos of early progress. Unfortunately a couple of more comprehensive photos refused to upload for some reason. Since the photos shown have been taken, the job now is about half finished and so far, doesn't look too bad.

RMC · February 2, 2022

The coppering is finally complete. It has come out acceptably to me at least, and I'm certainly glad it's finished.

Once the plates are attached any visible CA needs to be removed (acetone gets rid of most of it; CA debonder gets rid of really stubborn stuff). The plates showed an amazing propensity to almost instantly tarnish. Lemon juice works a treat in removing it. Once the surface was clean I applied three coats of polyurethane matt spray.

Here are the results.

Theodosius · February 2, 2022

you have a good pace in your build 🙂

RMC · May 12, 2022

While I haven't posted for some time some progress has actually been made. First, here are a few comments which may be helpful.

The hair brackets are 45, not 78 which are the bow cheeks. The hair brackets are very fragile (I broke one, now repaired) and I wonder whether 1mm box wood is suitable (same for bow rails).

There is a small error in the plans shown below. The initial drawing of the fore and main top gallant masts shown on the left side of the photo shows the hole for the fid directly below the hole for the yard tye. Unfortunately I followed the first drawing without checking further. Not the end of the world, but a little annoying.

Here are some photos of progress on the hull. Masts shown in a couple of the photos are dry-fitted. After a rather complicated beginning of the year for us, things are beginning to be to be a little more civilized. More time for boat building!