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

[VTHokiEE]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Glenn; that sounds quite disheartening but I'm glad that to see that you're using it as a learning experience (quite inspirational actually - I don't want to think of how I would deal with it 🙂).

[Malcolm Greig]

2 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Sorry to hear about your troubles Glenn; that sounds quite disheartening but I'm glad that to see that you're using it as a learning experience (quite inspirational actually - I don't want to think of how I would deal with it 🙂).

I totally agree. 

 

regards

 

Malcolm 

[Glenn-UK]

7 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

That sounds quite disheartening but I'm glad that to see that you're using it as a learning experience (quite inspirational actually - I don't want to think of how I would deal with it 🙂).

I am not disheartened, veey happy to continue the first kit to iron out my building bugs, and then to build better one.

[mtaylor]

A hard but good decision, Glenn.   Been there myself more than once and not just models.

[Glenn-UK]

DECK ITEMS

CANNON ASSEMBLY

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 479 - 491

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Titebond original

Red Paint

Varnish

Tape

 

Gathering the materials required

366-372, PE-107, F-5 (Cannon), PE-81 (x7)

 

Assembly Process

There are 20 cannons to make. I have built one to make sure I can follow the build instructions correctly.

 

The wooden parts were removed from the sheet. I sanded a very slight chamfer to the wheel axles to make the fitting of the wheels a tad easier.

 

The wooden parts were then placed on tape to ensure they did not move when I applied a thin coat of varnish to seal the wood prior to painting.

 

 

 

Once all the parts had been varnished the following items were paint red, with three very light coats:

 

a)    Carriage sides left and right

b)    Carriage front and rear axles

c)     Carriage quoin

 

The PE parts were cleaned in acetone and soapy water and then chemically blackened.

 

The carriage sides incorporate the cap squares, which is an innovative design idea and much very appreciated by me. The cap square section of the carriage sides have to be painted black. I taped the carriage sides prior to brushing on the black paint to get a clean finish.

 

 

 

The front and rear axle was then glued to the left-hand carriage side and the cannon was inserted in the into the locating hole. Once I was happy with the alignment the right-hand carriage side was added.

 

 

Next up was fitting the PE parts, starting with the cross bar and then the 7 x eyebolts. And this was followed by adding the quoin.

 

The final assembly task was to add the 4 wheels. The wheels were rotated as they were pushed on the axles, so that the connecting tabs were at the bottom. I then applied a thin coat of varnish to the completed assembly, one down nineteen to go

 

The varnish has just been applied in the photo below, hence the wet shiny look

Edited October 10, 2021 by glennard2523

[mtaylor]

I like how the gun came out.   Is there a reason not to remove the char from wheels?  To my eye, it gives the appearance of a cast iron band which wasn't used on ships.  

[Glenn-UK]

10 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Is there a reason not to remove the char from wheels?  To my eye, it gives the appearance of a cast iron band which wasn't used on ships.  

No reason at all and is more realistic, especially when looking at HMS Victory's cannons. I removed the char on my previous DOK build but thought some wheels become a bit less round after sanding. I noted James had left the char on his prototype build and thought it looked Ok. 

[James H]

6 minutes ago, glennard2523 said:

I noted James had left the char on his prototype build and thought it looked Ok. 

 

Blame me! 🤣

[Patrick Haw]

Hello Glenn,

 

I just found your Sphinx build log and really enjoyed looking through it. I'm so sorry that it went a bit pear-shaped on you, but I'm sure you'll recover and end up with a beautiful model.

 

Patrick

[Glenn-UK]

3 minutes ago, Patrick Haw said:

Hello Glenn,

 

I just found your Sphinx build log and really enjoyed looking through it. I'm so sorry that it went a bit pear-shaped on you, but I'm sure you'll recover and end up with a beautiful model.

 

Patrick

I will continue with this build log as my prototype build. I am currently waiting for some blue paint as my current supply had dried out. 

[Malcolm Greig]

Thanks Glenn for doing the heavy lifting with this early build. I am sure many members will benefit and successfully negotiate the tricky stern area because of your build log.  I'll sure be careful when I get the Sphinx off the shelf.

 

regards

 

Malcolm    

[Glenn-UK]

HULL WORK

PAINTING HULL

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 229 - 232

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Waterline marker

Wood filler

Sandpaper (110 and 400 grit)

Titebond original

Varnish

Tape

 

Gathering the materials required

No parts required

 

Assembly Process

After I had added the waterline I applied plenty of tape to the hull, replicating the picture shown on step 230 of the build manual.

 

Using the same Matt Super white paint as shown in the picture for step 231 in the build manual I sprayed a thin coat on the exposed hull. I then spent a lot of time sanding, then applying filler (diluted with water and titebond) to fill any dips and then sanding the filled area smooth. This process was repeated several times.

 

Once I was happy with how the hull was looking I removed the tape from the stem, keel and stern posts below the waterline. A thin coat of varnish was applied to the bare wood areas and the hull was then sprayed a couple more times with the matt super white paint. Due to the dust cloud in the shipyard during the process I did not risk taking pictures. OK I simply forgot to take some pictures😇.

 

As can be seen in the photo below I have actually done a bit more work which will be covered in my next post.

 

[James H]

2 hours ago, Malcolm Greig said:

Thanks Glenn for doing the heavy lifting with this early build. I am sure many members will benefit and successfully negotiate the tricky stern area because of your build log.  I'll sure be careful when I get the Sphinx off the shelf.

 

 

I'm sure someone already did the heavy lifting before the kit was released 😉😝

I did try to make you a manual that showed everything in the smallest detail. 

[Glenn-UK]

3 minutes ago, James H said:

 

I'm sure someone already did the heavy lifting before the kit was released 😉😝

I did try to make you a manual that showed everything in the smallest detail. 

James indeed did the heavy lifting and producing a stunning model and brilliant manual

[Glenn-UK]

HULL WORK

ADDING RAILS

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 233 - 249

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Waterline marker

Wood filler

Titebond original

Red, blue, and black paints

Varnish

Tape

 

Gathering the materials required

140, 141,142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148 (x4), 383 (x2)

 

Assembly Process

The two sheer and waist patterns had been soaked in hot water and then clamped to the hull and left to dry overnight.

 

I then moved on to painting the upper patterns red, blue and black as required. The various rail patterns were clamped in place to check the painting for the red and blue sections. In hindsight, and certainly when I get around to this stage on the next build, I will use some tape to get better lines as it looks a tad messy now. It can be tidied.

 

I brushed some glue on the back of the various rail patterns and fixed them to the hull, using clamps. Take great care with these patterns as they are very fragile.

 

The final task was to add the 4 side fender patterns and 2 chess tree patterns to the rails.

 

This picture show the rails dry fitted after the painting phase

 

A close up of the messy stern area

 

This dry fit of the rails photo shows my bad line painting, without tape.

 

The rails have  been glued and clamped in the photo below

 

The completed rails, noting I have not cut away the rails from the gun ports

 

Bow area

 

The stern area

 

Midships with fenders and cross tree patterns fitted to the rails. Gun ports still need to be cleared of rail

 

Another stern picture

Edited October 14, 2021 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

HULL WORK

HULL PLATES

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 262 - 264

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Super phatic glue

Acetone & soapy water

Brass pins

Clamps

Varnish

 

Gathering the materials required

PE-27 (x2), PE-28 (x2)

 

Assembly Process

I am currently working on the rudder assembly, which is currently in the painting phase and should be ready to be installed tomorrow. I will post details of my rudder assembly once complete.

 

The two prow horseshoe plates and two stern fishplates were cleaned, first in a solution of acetone and then in some soapy water. For this prototype build I opted not to paint the plates copper, but I might paint them later on if I feel so inclined to do so.

 

Each plate was fitted in the same way, which was to apply a thin coat of super phatic glue to the hull area and to then position the plate, using brass pins to ensure then were correctly aligned. With the plate in place two clamps were used to hold the plate in the place and the brass pins were then removed to avoid them being glued in place.

 

Once the glue had cured the clamps were removed. 30 x brass pins were then trimmed to approx. 2 to 3mm in length. Using my round nose pliers the brass pin were carefully inserted into the holes in the plates. I did not use any glue when pushing the pins in as they were all a nice tight fit and would be held in place once a coat of varnish had been added to finish task.

 

The stern fishplate. You can see the hull is not totally smooth, but it is ok for this prototype build.

 

The bow horseshow plate. Not a great joint between stem post and keel.

[Glenn-UK]

HULL WORK

RUDDER ASSEMBLY

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 250 – 261

PLAN SHEET 14

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Super phatic glue

Acetone & soapy water

Brass pins

White and black paint

Chemical blackener

Clamps

Varnish

Micro drill

 

Gathering the materials required

448, 194, 195, PE-31-40 (x2), PE153, PE-156 (x5)

 

Assembly Process

The two patterns were glued to the rudder, clamps were used to hold the patterns in place as the glue cured. Pins were used to ensure the patterns were correctly aligned.

 

 

Using super phatic glue the various pintle strips were added to the rudder assembly, brass pins were used to ensure they were correctly aligned.

 

Once the glue had cured the laser char was removed from the rudder edges. The various photo etch parts were cleaned, starting with a soak in acetone followed by hot soapy water. The top two pintle strips, the 5 x rudder gudgeon & pintles and the rudder spectacle plate were then chemically blackened.

 

The PE parts are ready for cleaning

 

The brass pins were trimmed to approx. 2 to 3mm long, and then using my round nose pliers they were added to the rudder assembly. As the brass pins were a tight fit I did not use any adhesive. The rudder assembly was then coated with thin coat of varnish.

 

Once the varnish had dried the rudder was taped so the part below the water line could be painted white.  I have managed to lose all the etched lines, too much paint added!

 

After painting the lower section of the rudder white the upper part of the rudder was taped so the black bands could be painted.

 

Using a micro drill the holes were drilled in the rudder and the stern post, using the guides provided. The rudder spectacle plate and rudder gudgeon & pintles were then added to the rudder assembly.

 

The rudder assembly was then added to the hull and I was please to see how well the rudder lined up.

 

 

All that is left to do is to add the rudder brace strips to the hull.

 

[yvesvidal]

The so called "prototype build" is turning into  a very nice model !!

 

Yves

[Glenn-UK]

12 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

The so called "prototype build" is turning into  a very nice model !!

 

Yves

The better I can get this one the better the 2nd one will turn out

[mtaylor]

Just marvelous.   Pity about the scored lines.  I'm not sure what we as builders can do to bring them out.  

[Glenn-UK]

12 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Just marvelous.   Pity about the scored lines.  I'm not sure what we as builders can do to bring them out.  

Better to paint with a brush and build up the coats gradually as I tend to use too much when spraying from a tin

[mtaylor]

Good advice.  I'm currently the other way around.. minimal spray and mostly brushes.  I even used brushes on the CH-53 and it came out well.   I think if I were to go full steam into heavy painting, I'd opt for an air brush, but mentally, I just can't justify it.

[glbarlow]

I’m a brush guy too, but the airbrush did a nice job on the gun carriages and allowed the scored line on the side to stand out, not sure that would happen with a brush

 

i painted the hull with a brush, I line some character to stand out from the brush strokes. 

[James H]

I just used a spray can, thin, light coats and about half a dozen of them. 

 

Spray from a short distance and not too close. Let completely dry before next coat. Et voila!

[Blue Ensign]

It wouldn't take much to fill that gap between the keel and stem piece, Glenn, or to smooth  and fill  around those locating pegs between the two layers along the keel.

I imagine she's looking ok from normal viewing distance, those macro photos can be brutal.

 

B.E.

[Glenn-UK]

4 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

It wouldn't take much to fill that gap between the keel and stem piece, Glenn, or to smooth  and fill  around those locating pegs between the two layers along the keel.

I imagine she's looking ok from normal viewing distance, those macro photos can be brutal.

 

B.E.

Thanks, as this is now a prototype build I will probably leave as is. When I start the next one I aim to fill all the gaps

[Glenn-UK]

HULL WORK

FITTING THE CHANNELS

BUILD MANUAL STEPS 262 – 275

 

 

LINK TO MY BUILD LOG INDEX

 

Tools Used

Craft knife

Titebond and CA gel glue

Brass pins

Varnish

Black paint

Micro drill

 

Gathering the materials required

373 – 376 (x2), 377 - 381

 

Assembly Process

The channels and channel knees were coated with a thin coat of varnish and then the channels had two coats of black paint. I did sand the sheet with a 1000 grit sandpaper before I applied the varnish.

 

Photo of the channel sheet in the process of being painted

 

The channel parts were then removed from the sheet. Using a 0.6mm micro drill a series of holes were drilled using the guidelines provided and cut off brass puns were inserted with a touch a ca gel.

 

Photo of the mizzen channel ready to be installed. I did test fit the eyebolt slots on each channel also

 

Each channel was then test fitted to the hull and where necessary the micro drill was run through the locating holes on the hull to provide a bit more depth. I found it better to fit each channel and their associated knees at the same time. The edges of the channels were touched up with black paint to complete the task. Next I will start work on the bow grating assembly.

 

Photo of the main mast channels and knees installed

 

Photo of the fore mast channels and knees installed

 

My Sphinx looking like the photo shown in step 275 of the build manual

 

And a side on view for good measure

Edited October 19, 2021 by glennard2523

[glbarlow]

So the braces for those channels are fixed to the molding, that doesn’t seem very secure, or am I seeing it wrong?

[Glenn-UK]

The knees are glued to the top of the channels and the vertical rails on the hull. I suppose it was done that way to support the channels when the shroud lines are tensioned.

[mtaylor]

5 hours ago, glennard2523 said:

The knees are glued to the top of the channels and the vertical rails on the hull. I suppose it was done that way to support the channels when the shroud lines are tensioned.

I believe you are right.   I've seen those knees installed on top or on the bottom of the channels.  I can understand them being on the bottom for "ease of build" but given the stresses, on top would probably be better.