HMS Sphinx 1775 by Glenn-UK - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Glenn-UK]

My work on the Sphinx has been a bit haphazard as I have not been following the build manual in sequence.

 

I decided to concentrate my efforts on the Quarterdeck. To that end I have almost completed the work in this respect. The following picture shows the current progress in this respect. I am currently partway through work on the breast rail assembly. The beams and stanchions have been fitted. I did sand the stanchions pillars to try to get a rounded effect. I have only dry fitted the hammock cranes and the top beam but as can be seen every fits together perfectly.

 

 

I have added the items to the inside of the stern fascia panel and painted in red, there is a slight bit of paints spillage but I am not overly concerned about that for this build. I have not painted the inner bulwarks red but I will on the V2 build.

 

The next two pictures shows quarterdeck deck furniture. The tape on the mizzen mast indicates that the dowel has been fully engaged through the holes in the lower decks.

 

The eyebolts, deck cleats and gunwales are  still to be added.

 

The gangway deck patterns have been dry fitted in the next photo. I do need to trim the gangway patterns to allow for the fitting of the gunwales, as per build instructions 551 - 553. I also have to paint ands fit the gangway support knees to the inner bulwarks.

 

The forecastle bow inner bulwarks have been soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and bent. They have been clamped for 48 hours so far, The clamps will be removed once I ready to start work in this area which should be in the next few days.

 

The bell tower has been built and is only dry fitted for the time being, noting I have not added the bell or bell handle as this assembly need to be painted black. There is also a bit more work removing some laser char before painting.

 

The bitts are glued in place and ready for the crossbeams to be fitted.

 

The coaming has been dry fitted, noting I do have to sand the laser char from all the visible edges.

[Jasseji]

your "screwed up prototype" looks better than my model...

[Glenn-UK]

5 minutes ago, Jasseji said:

your "screwed up prototype" looks better than my model...

Yours look great and I think will be much better than my first attempt.

[CaptnBirdseye]

Glenn i think you are too hard on yourself! Most people (myself included) would be so chuffed to have got this far and ended up with a build half as good. 

 

[Glenn-UK]

38 minutes ago, RockinBudgie said:

Glenn i think you are too hard on yourself! Most people (myself included) would be so chuffed to have got this far and ended up with a build half as good. 

 

Many thanks, it is only the stern fascia and quarter galleries I am unhappy with which was all down to an alignment mistake on my part

[Glenn-UK]

Work is progressing nicely on the V1 HMS Sphinx build, as can be seen in the photo below

 

 

I believe I have now completed all the work on the quarterdeck.

 

 

This is a close up of the quarter gallery and rail.

 

This shows the hammock cranes. I have also added the rope round the ladder hatch

 

This shows the capstan, binnacle and ships wheel

 

I have added the gangway knees, the gangway deck is only dry fitted at the moment.

 

I have done quite a bit of work on the forecastle. I just need to fit the catheads, gunwales, timberheads and hammock cranes.

[CaptnBirdseye]

Really coming along now Glenn 

[Glenn-UK]

When I glued the gangway deck patterns  to the waist gangway patterns I have the same problem as with the gallery cabin bulkheads. The photo below shows the problem, in that the glued parts have curled. The parts were well clamped after the glue was applied so I need to think about the best method to do this on the V2 build to avoid the curling issue. 

 

 

The parts have been soaked in water and clamped flat. I will leave the parts clamped like this overnight and hopefully this will resolved the curling issue as the parts cannot be fitted with a curl as they do not sit on the supporting knees.

 

 

In the meantime I have done a bit more work on the forecastle. The gunwales and catheads have now been fitted. I have also fitted the Forecastle Rail assemblies and ships bell. Looking at the photo below there is a gap between the deck and righthand side inner bulwark by the bowsprit. I did not notice this when the part was fitted, must do better on the V2 build. The fitting of the catheads took quite a bit of work and I need to think how I will do this better on the V2 kit. I just need to fit the deck hammock cranes, eyebolts, belaying pins and timber heads.

 

[mtaylor]

Glenn, other than gluing and then putting the part between two heavy pieces of glass the only other way I can see through this is to use CA.  

[Glenn-UK]

7 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Glenn, other than gluing and then putting the part between two heavy pieces of glass the only other way I can see through this is to use CA.  

The parts started to curl as soon as the wood glue was applied. I think they need to be clamped flat before the glue cures. Fingers crossed they will be be flat in the morning 

[James H]

You could always use dabs of CA gel, but I always want a maximum contact for this stuff, so opted for wood glue. This was applied liberally and quickly before then being weighted under my 'Third Reich, Then and Now' book.

[Jasseji]

7 hours ago, James H said:

You could always use dabs of CA gel, but I always want a maximum contact for this stuff, so opted for wood glue. This was applied liberally and quickly before then being weighted under my 'Third Reich, Then and Now' book.

Proper place for the Third Reich? 

[mtaylor]

22 hours ago, James H said:

You could always use dabs of CA gel, but I always want a maximum contact for this stuff, so opted for wood glue. This was applied liberally and quickly before then being weighted under my 'Third Reich, Then and Now' book.

Even weighty tomes are useful for something besides adorning our bookshelves.

[Glenn-UK]

I have finally reached the stage where I will stop work on the V1 build and move on to starting work on the V2 build. I have really enjoyed the V1 build. I am currently undecided if I will progress the build further at a later date. My current thinking is probably not and keep it as a hull only build.

 

The first picture is the current state of play with the V1 HMS Sphinx. The right-hand gangway hammock cranes are a bit wonky as the gunwale has a slight inboard lean . The plan sheets show hammock cranes for the stern area, but I noted there where not fitted in the prototype build so I opted to omit them from this build. I also decided not to fit the gun port lids. Given the mistakes I have made during this build process the end result (so far) does not look anywhere near as bad as I first feared it would. This proves, without doubt, what a great design this kit is when a ham-fisted error prone builder like me can produce a reasonably nice looking model. A big thanks to @chris watton and to @James H for the all the work they have done. vanguard Models continue to design and release amazing kits and to my mind are the best kits on the market.

 

 

This is a picture of the figurehead. The resin part was primed and then painted gold before the installation. The bow main rail assembly has also been fitted. I did like the description of the heads in the  build manual as  "seats of comfort", the tops of which are just visible.

 

This shows the forecastle with everything fitted. I think I overdid the weathering of the stove chimney.

 

The gangway walkways caused me more problems than I was expecting. Initially with the curling issue and then I totally misunderstood where the gangways were to be fitted in relation to the gunwales, but once the penny dropped it all made perfect sense. I have also added the step and rail up to the quarterdeck

 

A close up of the step and rail

 

To finish off this post I have added a couple of pictures of the quarterdeck

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by glennard2523

[glbarlow]

Hopefully you can take the second one slower and enjoy it more.  Your first entry was July 31st, it will take me a least a year to carefully build this model. You track runners are just too fast🤣. 

[Glenn-UK]

27 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Hopefully you can take the second one slower and enjoy it more.  Your first entry was July 31st, it will take me a least a year to carefully build this model. You track runners are just too fast🤣. 

That is the plan, slow and steady.

[BobG]

Gosh, Glenn, she looks pretty darn good after all. Your next version of the Sphinx should be spectacular. Good luck. I'll be following along on that build as well.

[Glenn-UK]

Just now, BobG said:

Gosh, Glenn, she looks pretty darn good after all. Your next version of the Sphinx should be spectacular. Good luck. I'll be following along on that build as well.

Many thanks Bob

[Thukydides]

It looks pretty good for a build you "messed up" 😃. I know it is frustrating to not achieve the standards you wanted, but I think it turned out pretty good in the end.

[mtaylor]

As for "messed up".... I know of no builder is ever completely happy with their work.  There's always something they felt could have been done better.

[Glenn-UK]

5 hours ago, Thukydides said:

It looks pretty good for a build you "messed up" 😃. I know it is frustrating to not achieve the standards you wanted, but I think it turned out pretty good in the end.

Many thanks

[Glenn-UK]

4 hours ago, mtaylor said:

As for "messed up".... I know of no builder is ever completely happy with their work.  There's always something they felt could have been done better.

That is true, I'm hoping to have learnt from some of my mistakes and not to repeat them on the V2 build

[Glenn-UK]

With my V1 build complete, I am not adding the masts, yards and rigging I have been making slow and steady progress on my V2 build which will be rigged. So far on the V2 build I have avoided many of the silly errors I made on my V1 build. 

 

I have reached the stage of soaking and clamping the upper hull side patterns to the hull, which will be left overnight to dry.

 

I have done some checks and marked the correct position of the lower stern counter. To do this I clamped the stern fascia to the hull, ensuring it sat 2mm above the bulwark pattern as per steps 149, 202 and 313 of the build manual.

 

I then added the upper counter pattern followed by the lower counter pattern.

 

By taking much more time and care I believe I will not repeat my V1 build errors on the V2 build. Click on the following link for my V2 build log

 

V2 Build Log

[Glenn-UK]

6 minutes ago, E Z Breeze said:

Blimey Glen, this build log has been like the Odyssey. You've faced most of the sea monsters and angry gods along the way - and mostly beaten them too. I'm astonished and inspired by your continuing persistence in the project. You are certainly the kind of person I'd like standing next to me in any kind of a battle. Well done!

 

As to the ship, though you probably don't realise it, most of it looks alright.

Many thanks. Like most builders I've made mistakes but thankfully they are mostly hidden to the naked eye. I have previously built Speedy, Alert and Duchess of Kingston. I did cut my teeth on building Caldercraft's Victory a few years ago which sadly I never got rigged. I have finally learnt to take my time on this build which has been beneficial.