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HM Bark Endeavor


DaveBaxt

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I am currently building the HMS Bounty and almost completed . What I hope is a reasonable effort for what is only my second model ship and first period ship. The model was made by Amati and although the instruction were vague and toatally wrong in some areas the parts and wood were generally good and only one or two parts were missing. I have been looking at several different models for my next ship to build but  I have been mainly looking at Caldercraft and specifically The Endeavour but this time thinking of adding the furled sails. I understand that Caldercraft supply  good quality plans and also believe they are very accurate and true to their period. 

Although the Endeavor is similar to the Bounty I though I really need to hone my skills in the hope of eventually building one of the larger Caldercraft models such as the Diana or the Argamemnon . I also like the scale of the Bounty 1:60 and beleive that 1:64 is about as small as I would like to go, mainly down to an age thing. 

                       Therefore I would like to know what peoples thoughts are on The Endeavor and any other makers who manufacture this ship. Also what are peoples thoughts on Caldercraft in General. Thank you and Best regards Dave

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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Hi Dave,

 

I have the Caldercraft Endeavour.  Attached are a few pictures of what is in the box.

 

As you know I am building the Caldercraft Bounty at the moment and looking at what the Bounty kit is like and seeing what you get in the Endeavour kit, I would estimate that the effort involved is going to be up a level, perhaps another 50 - 75% more effort to build due to more detail and complexity.

 

My comment would be that the quality of the materials are good, the wood seems good to me, but the second planking is in Walnut, which is hard to bend around a bluff bow like Endeavour/Bounty, so maybe look at swapping that?  But otherwise all the fitting are good, a big PE brass sheet, brass cannons, think largely you will have everything you need.  The ships boats look very similar to the Bounty's and will be a challenge to make look nice.

 

Big caveat are the instructions, "sparse" does not do them justice! 🤣 - however there are the excellent large scale plans (eight of them!)  But as you will have plenty of willing helpers on MSW if you do a build log, then I think any ambiguities could be overcome.

 

I would be interested to see what others on MSW think, I have no experience of other offerings of the Endeavour.

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Thanks for that in depth reply and for the photographs. So there is a big jump in the the amount of work involve. I am surprised that you say it was difficult bending the second planking as it is in walnut .What size is it ? The Bounty I have just build was Walnut for both first and second planking ,although time consuming I found it not too difficult ,the second layer being much thinner though and only 0.5 mm thick. The first coat layer was  was 1.5mm x 6 mm and I ended up using brass nails to get the right shape and soaking them overnight prior to using them. I was told that walnut does not expand too much when wet and then leave gaps when dried.I believe the Endeavour has lime strips for the first plankng which I believe is easier to work with. Good here that the wood is good and hopefully the kit comes with everything in it. I agree ir will be interesting to hear what the other peoples views are and hope we have got the ball rolling. Best regards Dave

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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The Walnut is 4mm x 1mm, this seems to be Caldercraft's "standard" second planking stock.  The issue on some planks was that I found the grain to be quite short and sometimes at an angle across the plank, so as Walnut is a little less pliable than some woods, it could splinter along these shorter grains, when trying to bend.  It could be a combination of a few poor strips of wood and my less than "craftsman like" attempts at planking!

 

To be honest I am torn as to which of my Caldercraft kits to do after the Bounty - Endeavour, or HMS Snake 🤔  there are a few Snake build logs out there, but not as many CC Endeavours.

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4 hours ago, AJohnson said:

The Walnut is 4mm x 1mm, this seems to be Caldercraft's "standard" second planking stock.  The issue on some planks was that I found the grain to be quite short and sometimes at an angle across the plank, so as Walnut is a little less pliable than some woods, it could splinter along these shorter grains, when trying to bend.  It could be a combination of a few poor strips of wood and my less than "craftsman like" attempts at planking!

 

To be honest I am torn as to which of my Caldercraft kits to do after the Bounty - Endeavour, or HMS Snake 🤔  there are a few Snake build logs out there, but not as many CC Endeavours.

Not wishing to put you off in anywau as I am sure you would do a fantastic job.However I have heard that the HMS Snake can also be a challenge. I do like the look of Walnut and as I have a few pieces of the 0.4mm thick planks so perhaps I could get some more as it is not too expensive and fairly easy to work with  and use this in stead of the 1 mm think planks supplied by Caldercraft. However I don,t know how this ties in with the copper plates as this will be the first attempt at copper tiles on the bottom.

Edited by DaveBaxt

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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I think both kits will present their own challenges, doing copper plates was quite therapeutic once I got into it on the Bounty, so that would be okay for the Snake, but no such worries with the Endeavour, the choice there is go with a white hull (as many do) or the more realistic brown/off-white (when fresh) look that the protective coating had.  Decisions decisions! 😁

 

Hopefully you will get some input from those who have built the AL Endeavour amongst other manufacturers, before you make a decision.  

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Hi AJohnson, Looking at your builds and on the shelf i think you may be the go to person for these questions. My experience of Caldercraft is that the wood quality can vary but usually provide a lot of spare and have replaced mine before with no argument. Regarding their Endeavour, i have theirs on my shelf and would not pick another current version. Worth checking though as a new version coming out by another manufacturer. I wouldn't choose Endeavour myself for a first to third build as the lines are horrible for planking. Would probably go for Cruiser, Orestes or Snake first.

 

However, main thing is that you choose a subject that you are most interested in.

Current Build(s):

  • H.M.S Diana 1794 - Caldercraft 1:64 Scale

 

Completed Builds:

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Thunder said:

Hi AJohnson, Looking at your builds and on the shelf i think you may be the go to person for these questions. My experience of Caldercraft is that the wood quality can vary but usually provide a lot of spare and have replaced mine before with no argument. Regarding their Endeavour, i have theirs on my shelf and would not pick another current version. Worth checking though as a new version coming out by another manufacturer. I wouldn't choose Endeavour myself for a first to third build as the lines are horrible for planking. Would probably go for Cruiser, Orestes or Snake first.

 

However, main thing is that you choose a subject that you are most interested in.

Thank you Thunder and you are might be correct in saying the difficulty in planking the hull compared to the Bounty  would be more difficult and your advice as to choosing another one would be more appropriate, However I have been interested in Captain Cook for a while as I don,t live too far from where he was born and brought up. Also being a recently retired marine engineer I totally admired the man. However this does not really give me any advantage, more of a disadvantage if anything  as taking things for granted comes into play rather than working with a clean slate.I have also been looking at the Snake as somewhere it has been listed as beginner/intermediate kit. Decisions decisions!

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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Morning All,

@Thunder Looks like you have few Caldercraft under your belt 😃, generally I think they are a good kits (some variable quality wood stock) but I have always been happy with them.  Although I have no experience of them, comments on MSW seem to indicate they are not keeping up development wise with the likes of Victory/Amati & Vanguard, but Chris Watton's evolving design's behind all three of these companies! 😉.

@DaveBaxt I completely understand the "pull" of the local connection with Cook, think we have discussed before our proximity to Cook's old haunts.  My feeling about the Endeavour is that I want to do it "justice" as it's our local hero's ship, so almost a disadvantage in some ways in that we don't want to muck it up.  Still if we do, we can always build another - think i have seen somewhere on MSW that a 1:48 scale Endeavour is coming out soon, not sure who by though?

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3 hours ago, AJohnson said:

Morning All,

@Thunder Looks like you have few Caldercraft under your belt 😃, generally I think they are a good kits (some variable quality wood stock) but I have always been happy with them.  Although I have no experience of them, comments on MSW seem to indicate they are not keeping up development wise with the likes of Victory/Amati & Vanguard, but Chris Watton's evolving design's behind all three of these companies! 😉.

@DaveBaxt I completely understand the "pull" of the local connection with Cook, think we have discussed before our proximity to Cook's old haunts.  My feeling about the Endeavour is that I want to do it "justice" as it's our local hero's ship, so almost a disadvantage in some ways in that we don't want to muck it up.  Still if we do, we can always build another - think i have seen somewhere on MSW that a 1:48 scale Endeavour is coming out soon, not sure who by though?

Still can,t make my mind up and as you say, if  I /we make any mistakes I can always do it again. I will definately do the Bounty again sometime in the future and perhaps attempt the one with the open hull. The amount of mistakes I have made on my current Bounty is numerous to say the least and was a steep learning curve as they say. However to the untrained eye she still looks inpressive. My wife likes it and it has warranted a display case so thats good enough for me. Ha ha. My main problem is I sometimes try to do too much all n one go and I need to understand when to say 'I have done enough for today and need a break' Perhaps I will take more time with my second period ship and understand what exactly needs doing before I proceed. Thanks guys for your input and trying to help me decide the best way forward. Best regards Dave

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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Your on a winner straight away if your wife likes it. I think my wife liked the first one. Now at 20+ she is not so keen.

Current Build(s):

  • H.M.S Diana 1794 - Caldercraft 1:64 Scale

 

Completed Builds:

 

 

 

 

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24 minutes ago, Thunder said:

Your on a winner straight away if your wife likes it. I think my wife liked the first one. Now at 20+ she is not so keen.

Wow 20. Do you have a favourite? The one you got the most joy from,  or are they all equal?

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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 The 20 includes plastic ships.  Royal Caroline nearly beat me, I modified her so much as so many errors. Enjoyed Corel's Resolution most even though not a great kit for accuracy, if did again would convert to HMS Ferret. Chatham was a delight to build. Cruiser you have to watch the stern assembly but still a good kit.

 

Don't go to Racehorse, a terrible kit keep well away.

Current Build(s):

  • H.M.S Diana 1794 - Caldercraft 1:64 Scale

 

Completed Builds:

 

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Thunder said:

 The 20 includes plastic ships.  Royal Caroline nearly beat me, I modified her so much as so many errors. Enjoyed Corel's Resolution most even though not a great kit for accuracy, if did again would convert to HMS Ferret. Chatham was a delight to build. Cruiser you have to watch the stern assembly but still a good kit.

 

Don't go to Racehorse, a terrible kit keep well away.

Thank you Thunder for the heads up on the different kits. It is all information which I need to digest. Best regards Dave

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/18/2021 at 7:40 PM, Thunder said:

 The 20 includes plastic ships.  Royal Caroline nearly beat me, I modified her so much as so many errors. Enjoyed Corel's Resolution most even though not a great kit for accuracy, if did again would convert to HMS Ferret. Chatham was a delight to build. Cruiser you have to watch the stern assembly but still a good kit.

 

Don't go to Racehorse, a terrible kit keep well away.

I see from your reply  your current build is the Diana. One of the reasons I want to try a Caldercraft model is eventually I want to build one of the rally big models such as the Diana. I thought about the  Agamemnon and also the Victory but didn't want to compromise on the scale. I really like around the 1:60 and think I will be ok with 1:64 but wonder if the difference between these sizes compared to 1:78 and if there is any difference when getting down to the really small stuff such as 2mm blocks  and are they too big for a scale of 1:78.Hope this makes sense.

                                        Any way as I am leaning towards the Diana (eventually) I have had the opportunity to putchase AOTS Diana for £30 and I couldn't resist the temptation. I have tried in the past to lay my hands on similar for vessels Bounty and Endeavour and the prices were3 times what I paid for the AOTS Diana so decided against buying this but also mmanaged to get by hands on Lees Masting and Rigging for a very reasonable price.Best Regards Dave

Edited by DaveBaxt

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, DaveBaxt said:

I see from your reply  your current build is the Diana. One of the reasons I want to try a Caldercraft model is eventually I want to build one of the rally big models such as the Diana. I thought about the  Agamemnon and also the Victory but didn't want to compromise on the scale. I really like around the 1:60 and think I will be ok with 1:64 but wonder if the difference between these sizes compared to 1:78 and if there is any difference when getting down to the really small stuff such as 2mm blocks  and are they too big for a scale of 1:78.Hope this makes sense.

                                        Any way as I am leaning towards the Diana (eventually) I have had the opportunity to putchase AOTS Diana for £30 and I couldn't resist the temptation. I have tried in the past to lay my hands on similar for vessels Bounty and Endeavour and the prices were3 times what I paid for the AOTS Diana so decided against buying this but also mmanaged to get by hands on Lees Masting and Rigging for a very reasonable price.Best Regards Dave

Hi Dave,

 

I have been very lucky as grew my book collection many years ago before the internet spoiled everything. A yearly visit to Falmouth in Cornwall meant i brought all of the AOTS books as there was three second hand book shops and one dedicated to nautical. Most i got for around the £10 mark. Buying James Lees and many others back when you could only buy direct from Conway Maritime Press was also much better. 

 

I only had Alert to get and saw it at one of the book shops in Hay on Wye. It was second hand and  not price marked. When i asked he wanted £60 which i quickly told him it was ridiculous. He wouldn't sell for less as that's what were for sale on internet. At the time it was still in print for £20. Don't think i have ever brought a second hand book for a decent price since.

Current Build(s):

  • H.M.S Diana 1794 - Caldercraft 1:64 Scale

 

Completed Builds:

 

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, Thunder said:

Hi Dave,

 

I have been very lucky as grew my book collection many years ago before the internet spoiled everything. A yearly visit to Falmouth in Cornwall meant i brought all of the AOTS books as there was three second hand book shops and one dedicated to nautical. Most i got for around the £10 mark. Buying James Lees and many others back when you could only buy direct from Conway Maritime Press was also much better. 

 

I only had Alert to get and saw it at one of the book shops in Hay on Wye. It was second hand and  not price marked. When i asked he wanted £60 which i quickly told him it was ridiculous. He wouldn't sell for less as that's what were for sale on internet. At the time it was still in print for £20. Don't think i have ever brought a second hand book for a decent price since.

You are very lucky indeed. Have you thought about starting another blog for the Diana? I know there are a few already but not many that have been finished. Just wondering why this is the case. Is it a particularly difficult model to complete or is it people loosing interest in the hobby for what ever reason? Best regards Dave

Edited by DaveBaxt

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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Hi Dave,

 

Did contemplate starting a build log but thought that were some great ones on here and I am not  very disciplined at remembering to take the photographs etc. I am just at the point of finishing the main deck. The worse thing so far is that i have broken most of the raised parts off the bulkheads. They just keep getting in the way, or i am getting very clumsy.

 

Adrian

Current Build(s):

  • H.M.S Diana 1794 - Caldercraft 1:64 Scale

 

Completed Builds:

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Thunder said:

Hi Dave,

 

Did contemplate starting a build log but thought that were some great ones on here and I am not  very disciplined at remembering to take the photographs etc. I am just at the point of finishing the main deck. The worse thing so far is that i have broken most of the raised parts off the bulkheads. They just keep getting in the way, or i am getting very clumsy.

 

Adrian

I had exactactly the same problem with my first build the Canute made by Billingd. I had the same issues with the Bounty too until I put brass dowels in just about everything which was glued to the deck hahha. Good luck going forward with your Diana Build. I be she looks terrific!

             I will almost definately do a blog for the Endeavour  because I havnt got the AOTS book for her and I need al the help I can get. I already have loads of questions after reading some of the blogs and I haven't even got the kit yet. So any help would be appreciated. Best regards Dave

Completed     St Canute Billings            Dec 2020

Completed    HMS Bounty Amati          May 2021 Finished

Currently building HM Bark Endeavour  

 

 

 

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