prototype build HMS Sphinx 1775 by James H - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Glenn-UK]

I'm not I understand what you meant when you said "It is also pinned through the pear."

 

Nice looking work bench. Mine gets a clean and tidy every couple of weeks, though I do try to be tidy but fail repeatedly 🤣

Edited April 3, 2021 by glennard2523

[James H]

15 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

I'm not I understand what you meant when you said "It is also pinned through the pear."

 

 

Pins are pushed through the pear and into the MDF below.

[Pete D]

28 minutes ago, James H said:

Today, I finished fairing the hull. 

 

At least it's one time I wear a mask where I don't actually mind doing it! Again, a good indicator or when this is done is when the char is gone. Fairing the bow and stern assemblies first saves a whole lot of time too.

 

 

 

Next up are the external pearwood bulwarks (first layer). Before these can be fitted, they need to be pre-bent. Each one is soaked in hot water for about 45 mins, by time the water has then gone cold! The bulwarks are then taken straight from the water and laid onto the MDF frame, and clamped. It's also pinned through the pear and into the MDF in some places that are awkward to clamp. When dry, these will be taken off and then properly aligned and glued. You can see from these pics just how the bulwark clings pretty much to the whole area of faired bulkheads, so there's no ripple/gaps you need to negotiate.

 

 

 

And just to prove I'm also an untidy worker and these photos are a facade, here's the desktop.

Until next time...

Great work , good to see that  my workbench looks the same.....

[Glenn-UK]

Thanks, I should have at looked at pictures closer. I can now see the pins.

[glbarlow]

Not sure I buy that comment. The boxes on the shelves are all labeled. I don’t even have any sanding stick sponges🤣😂

[James H]

A couple of solid weeks work for this update.

 

I've actually built quite a lot more deck stuff as well as what you see here, but I'll keep this update to the hull alone.

 

With the first layer pear bulwarks fitted, the hull was planked in 1mm lime, tapering as I went. The shape of this hull is actually very friendly when it comes to planking, and I'd say it's ideal for anyone who's built a couple of easier models beforehand. The hull is then sanded smooth.

 

 

The stern counter can be fitted direct, but I opted to soak and curve it first, marking on the positions of the MDF frames underneath so that I can pin it properly. Note this is the 'inner' 1mm part. The finishing outer part is 0.6mm and can be glued straight over this later.

 

 

All inner 3mm pear keel parts (keel, prow and stern rudder post) are now glued in position. 

 

 

As with Chris' other designs, the keel is then covered with engraved external faces. These are located with pegs and then they are fitted, they create a natural rabbet for the second layer pear planking.

 

 

The second layer doesn't start with planks, but with eight pre-cut sections that are shaped and engraved (4 per side). The fore ones are again soaked and left to dry out overnight so they come back to their original size (pear expands quite a lot when wet).

 

 

 

The outer stern counter is now glued into place.

 

 

 

Again, before planking, there are two pre-shaped plank layers to add, directly below the previous parts.

 

 

 

NOW we can do the second layer planking! These are full length strips of 0.8mm x 4mm pear. These are fitted with CA gel (Gorilla Glue) spots, and tapered as I go along.

 

 

As all the second layer is now on, and there's little chance of the bulwarks spreading outwards, the temporary jigs are all removed and their positions cut down.

 

 

Before sanding down the second layer, the engraved areas are first masked off to prevent any possible damage. Sanding this one down was also quite easy too due to the 4mm wide planks.

 

 

A temporary waterline is now added. This is so I can add any filler I need below this area without it being seen in an unpainted area. That's pretty much where I'm up to now. In fact....I'm off to add the filler right now.

 

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Great to see the progress you've made and there is plenty of very useful build information.

[Theodosius]

WOW! This will become a very beautiful model!

 

Recently, I read some of the USF Confederacy blogs, and, while bigger, they're some uqualitys in both are frigate style. But, it's fascinating to see, how much the kit design of the Sphinx has improved! All the measuring to line up the smal parts for the gun ports in the Confy-builds, are so much advanced here in the Sphinx design. 

 

I'm realy impressed! 🙂

[drjeckl]

Beautiful execution, James, of a beautiful kit, Chris.  Will be added to my list of kits to get.

 

John

[chris watton]

Just to add, I will be providing enough pear strip second planking to go up to the upper laser cut planking pattern. The upper half of the patterns are to be painted and has markings for all channels, quarter hammock crane stanchions etc. The lower half of the laser cut pattern is not so essential, so that area can be planked in the normal manner if desired. The lower side rail/planksheer parts that intersect the gun ports will cover the join between the upper and lower pattern. So a standard planking option below that level is an option.

 

I am doing the CAD drawing for plan sheets whilst Jim makes the prototype model from the production parts. For me, that's about another 6 weeks work...

[James H]

I did a couple of photos last night just showing the various completed deck fittings sat in position on the deck. There are a couple of assemblies I've incorrectly positioned, but everything will be ok when she's done.

 

About one month since work began.

[Glenn-UK]

The build is coming along very nicely. Very impressed with both your speed and workmanship with this build.

[AlanDavison]

Magnificent

[DelF]

1 hour ago, James H said:

About one month since work began.

A month?!! I reckon you must be like Santa, with an army of little elves on hand to help🤣😂

 

Seriously though, thanks for a great log and superb photos. Another stunning model that will need to go on this year's Christmas list (if I ever get round to finishing Speedy and starting the Duchess!).

[Oboship]

12 hours ago, DelF said:

A month?!! I reckon you must be like Santa, with an army of little elves on hand to help🤣😂

 

 

A new definition of (light-)speed, maybe?

Great log of a great model!

Uwe

[Mike_H]

Stunning model. I like to believe the speed and quality of James’ work stems from the quality of Chris’ design - so I too could be this quick. Not (entirely) true, of course.  And it’s about the journey anyway. But IWOOT as the kids used to say.

[Captain T]

Just now jumping in on this build log, looks amazing so far. Chris's designs are fantastic as is James's work. I just finished Pegasus and I'm really hoping this one becomes available in time for Christmas.

 

Question regarding the kit. Is the lettering for the ship's name on the stern counter photo etched parts? Curious about the font and size, etc, in case someone wanted to use the name of one of the other nine ships in the class like HMS Daphne or Narcissus for example.

 

Though now that I think about it, I suppose that also brings up the issue of modifying the figurehead as well...

 

Tony 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Captain T

[James H]

12 minutes ago, Captain T said:

Just now jumping in on this build log, looks amazing so far. Chris's designs are fantastic as is James's work. I just finished Pegasus and I'm really hoping this one becomes available in time for Christmas.

 

Question regarding the kit. Is the lettering for the ship's name on the stern counter photo etched parts? Curious about the font and size, etc, in case someone wanted to use the name of one of the other nine ships in the class like HMS Daphne or Narcissus for example.

 

Though now that I think about it, I suppose that also brings up the issue of modifying the figurehead as well...

 

Tony 

 

If it's not ready for Christmas, Chris will kill me and probably never use my services again! 😆

 

The stern lettering is PE, and sits above the letters which are engraved on the stern counter. 

[chris watton]

Yeah, you would need to make a new figurehead, as Sphinx is the only one of this class I will be developing. Am hoping this will be ready for around July.

[Clark]

19 hours ago, chris watton said:

Yeah, you would need to make a new figurehead, as Sphinx is the only one of this class I will be developing. Am hoping this will be ready for around July.

So July will be Chrismas time.

Clark

[Rustyj]

I always liked Christmas in July!

[James H]

Prob going to be another week before I update. The engraved wales are now fitted and those needed to be altered slightly from the first cut parts, so little things like this need a couple of days lead time. I've just painted them black, and I'll be concentrating on the stern and underside this week, so there should be something worthwhile to show you in a week's time.

[mort stoll]

How much of the stern cabins are going to be exposed on the completed model?

 

Thanks,

Mort

[James H]

9 minutes ago, mort stoll said:

How much of the stern cabins are going to be exposed on the completed model?

 

Thanks,

Mort

You'll be able to see into the cabins via the cutaways in the quarterdeck:

 

 

 

[chris watton]

You can even leave off the pre cut decks and plank as much or as little of the deck you like - although no extra deck planking will be included, there will be an alternative 0.8mm ply deck pattern for the forecastle and quarterdeck.

[James H]

Morning!

 

I was hoping to have more to show you, but finishing off the hull underside to get a nice even and homogenous surface really is a labour of love. Nonetheless, here's my work so far. The main wales are now fitted to the model, after a 30 minute soak in hot water for the forward half. Positioning this is very easy as it simply follows the line of the lower outside pattern parts that were fitted earlier, and covering the first two laters of later cut planks. The wales are pinned in position whilst they dry. This is left overnight as pear can expand quite a lot when soaked.

Once dry, the wales are glued with PVA and pinned in place. 

 

 

After fitting the main wales, a narrower and thinner wale is added to their upper edges. This is supplied in halves.

 

 

The inner stern upper counter and stern fascia are now fitted. Both these have inner and outer panels. I bevel the edges of these slightly as they butt up against each other. Some minor measurement is done to make sure the parts are central.

 

 

Now it's the turn off the quarter galleries to be fitted. The core of these are some MDF frame parts.

 

 

These are now fitted. Before gluing, they are trimmed at the rear end to the size of my particular build, and bevelled to match the angle of the stern fascia. The edges are bevelled to accept the exterior parts. This will be explained in the manual, and it's dead easy. All of these parts are supplied with extra material so there's no need to worry about things not fitting. Note also the small ply part (51) between the frames. This is there to get the angles of the frames to the hull, correct.

 

 

 

Now the gallery frames are fitted, the model is masked up so I can spray the wales and the inside of the upper quarter gallery areas. I used Plastikote aerosol to do this as the coverage is excellent and is ok straight onto timber.

 

 

The stern upper counter and fascia outer panels are now glued onto the hull. Note how the outer fascia now creates rebates for the window glazing parts.

 

 

The quarter gallery window areas are constructed in the same way as the stern, with an inner part fitted first. Again, these parts have a little extra on the front and rear to cater to individual builds, and there will be little to nothing needed to be trimmed along the upper/lower edges. A thick pear 'roof' is then bevelled to the engraved line and these are fitted to the top of the quarter galleries.

 

 

 

The gallery berthing panels are now added below this.

 

 

 

 

MDF parts are now used to construct the lowest areas of the quarter galleries. These are assembled to each other on the model (but not glued to the model just yet), then set aside to dry. They are then shaped to match the gallery, checking progress by test fitting to the hull. Once shaped, some pint is scraped from the wales and the sections are glued into place.

 

 

 

 

Out comes the waterline tool again. Checking this against the hull profile so both the prow and stern are at the same height, the line is added and the model masked again. More sanding, filling is then done. This took me about 4 days to get into a position where I was happy enough to paint.

 

 

 

Plastikote White paint is now added. This is done in thin layers and more rubbing back and filling will need to be done to get a smooth, even surface. It is tedious, but the results pay off.

 

 

 

The last task I did was to take the bow rail patterns and soak these before clamping into position on the hull so they can dry in shape. 

 

 

 

With these taken off, the hull can now be selectively varnished in places before applying the red, blue and black exterior panels. You'll see that in my next update.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Looking very good.  It is another master class of your building skills.

[James H]

37 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

It is another master class of your building skills.

lol!

[Theodosius]

This is allmost like an Tamiya-kit! 🙂

[yvesvidal]

44 minutes ago, Theodosius said:

This is allmost like an Tamiya-kit! 🙂

 

Yeah...Almost 🙂

 

Yves