HM Brig-Sloop Flirt 1782 by glbarlow - Vanguard Models

[glbarlow]

3 hours ago, jpalmer1970 said:

and a great log describing it

Thank you, I put a lot of work in the log hoping to help others as I’ve been helped. 

[glbarlow]

2 hours ago, DelF said:

won't let her gather dust too long -

Thank you for the kind words. 
 

I imagine Winchelsea is going to take a while, but I’ll come back to the little Flirt eventually. 

[Seahawk1313]

Hello Glenn, very nice work on the Flirt.  I too know the draw of making saw dust.  I'm rigging the frigates United States and President , and starting to lay the keel for the frigate New York.  I bounce back and forth between rigging and saw dusting.  When I need a break from one I do the other.  Your work is very neat and clean, very well done.😄

[Blue Ensign]

An excellent result Glenn, beautifully finished.

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

6 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

excellent result

Thanks BE, I appreciate your saying so.

[glbarlow]

12 hours ago, Seahawk1313 said:

nice work on the Flirt.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

[VTHokiEE]

Really fine workmanship Glenn - whether you rig her or not it's a beautiful model. I fully understand the siren's call and look forward to seeing your progress on the Winchelsea.

[Moonbug]

Really nicely done - and, the combination of workmanship and photography skills make it a good source of reference for others.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Moonbug

[WalrusGuy]

Awesome work and great workmanship! Your work inspires me to do better.

 

I'm sure I'll be using your build logs as a primary reference if I ever decide to build the same kits in the future.

[glbarlow]

I took a look back at my log and saw, much to @DelF delight, every time I wrote ‘winch’ autocorrect changed it to ‘wench.’ I need to do better editing. 
 

I see Flirt sitting on my shelf waiting for her rigging, I haven’t forgotten. 

[Dave_E]

OUTSTANDING Sir!

 

This is so close to the Lady Nelson, I can study this build log and learn so much. 👍 Thank you (again).

[DelF]

5 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I took a look back at my log and saw, much to @DelF delight, every time I wrote ‘winch’ autocorrect changed it to ‘wench.’ I need to do better editing. 

Glenn, I had promised to stop pointing out your autocorrect typos, but now that you've mentioned it yourself I'll take that as the green light to continue. My favorite is still "sanding a rabbit on the bottom" from your Lady Nelson log (I hear the animal cruelty people dropped the case for lack of evidence), although I see the offending typo has now been edited. Spoilsport.

 

Derek

[BobG]

On 8/9/2021 at 6:16 PM, glbarlow said:

I added filler parts 19 and 20 to the bow area, and thinking I knew what I was doing without consulting the instructions I added part 21 next to those. However part 21 is for the stern area, not the bow. It won’t hurt anything to be there and in fact probably helps, so I just fabricated part “21b” from the bulkhead sheet scrap and added it to the stern, problem solved.

 

OMG, I just did the very same thing! So I'll be a scratch making a part "21b" tomorrow too. This is too funny! 🤣

[glbarlow]

22 minutes ago, BobG said:

scratch making a part "21b" tomorrow too. This is too funny! 🤣

Where’s your build log, I want to follow 

[BobG]

5 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Where’s your build log, I want to follow 

 

It's in the the Build Logs for Kits from 1751-1800 or just click on the HMS Flirt under my signature - current builds. It could well be a comedy of errors! 

[BobG]

On 8/9/2021 at 6:16 PM, glbarlow said:

Though I didn't take a photo beforehand I thinned the deadwood and along the sternpost before adding any of the bulkheads using my finger plane and chisels (easier to do with the former laying flat). I elected to thin the area to 2mm, I still want enough for the sternpost to attach to the former. There is plenty of meat in the first planking, I can thin as needed to eventually match the sternpost to the thickness of second planing.

 

Glenn, I'm not sure I'm understanding this step completely looking at your photo.

 

Are you essentially tapering the deadwood area that is formed from the bearding line as it curves up from the bottom edge of bulkhead 12 to the the bottom edge of bulkhead 16 so that the final thickness of the keel former is 2 mm thick at the stern all the way to the bottom of the keel? 

 

 

 

 

 

[glbarlow]

4 hours ago, BobG said:

is 2 mm thick at the stern all the way to the bottom of the keel? 

More or less yes, it’s tapering thinning the deadwood area so it’s 2mm at the end where the stern post attaches, not the whole deadwood. Just a variation what James describes in a he instructions. I think he went thinner and I wasn’t comfortable with that. 

[BobG]

4 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I think he went thinner and I wasn’t comfortable with that. 

 

Like you, I'll be more conservative doing that too.

[glbarlow]

Turns out my Flirt did gather dust for a long while. Following the 3 years to build Winchelsea, then a few months with the Royal Barge and with just a few extra rope coils for my Medway Long Boat it’s time to revisit Flirt for some masting and rigging fun. 
 

Interesting to see the difference between 1:26 and 1:64 scale. 

Edited September 10 by glbarlow

[glbarlow]

A slow re-start, beginning with the anchors.

Amazing how 5 pieces of wood can be turned into realistic anchors with Admiral Ironwood Black paint and Rusting Red weathering powder.  I made the rings with 22 gauge wire, going for a larger ring than the PE one supplied with the kit. I did the puddling on one, but not sure I like it so held off on the other two for now.  Flat black masking tape was used instead of the traditional black card, I find it a better look. It’s not going anywhere after applying WOP to the stocks. Not very exciting I realize, but it’s a start.

The box has been on my shelf four years now waiting for this re-start.  I decided an inventory to get reacquainted was a good idea. I was once again amazed at the quality of Vanguard instructions, and especially amazed at the detail of the rigging plan sheets.

 

I’ve already starting shaping the masts, I also need to get back in the habit of taking photos. Since completing my Winchelsea log I’ve built both the Syren Royal Barge and Medway Long Boat, but didn’t do a log for either. As those of us who create build logs know, it’s a chore to keep up with both building and posting, hoping others find the latter useful.

 

Back to the masts.

Edited September 20 by glbarlow

[glbarlow]

Masts

 

I decided to make all the sticks first, if it doesn’t work out I can always start a small fire. And because I can use the fun tools I haven’t used in a while.

I have a friend who has a mill, lathe, planer, sander, and table saw. His take up most of his garage, mine all fit in the corner of my much smaller workshop. His of course are a bit larger. 

First up the mill. With Cheerful and the Long Boat I started with square stock and rounded them. I’m back to doing the opposite. I have the Limited Shipwright edition of Flirt, everything is cut from boxwood. Everything except the same old walnut dowels.  

 

The mill makes the squaring off a fairly easy task, just have to get the measurements right. I was going for the 5x5mm required by the plans and despite my careful measurements my cuts were off. I was thinking I needed to start again until I realized I was off by 0.24mm, seems like an acceptable tolerance. These precision tools….

Because it has been 4 years and I stopped before doing this, it seemed like a good time to check the now shaped main and fore mast will mount up ok.  Good that I did, I had to pop off the mast bases, easy as I’d used PVA, and correct minor straightening issues, much easier than after the full mast is completed.  All good.

Next the lathe, an easier way to spin the dowels to create the semi-hour glass look of the tops. A log of spin-stop-measure following the plans. Even more so since the main and fore tops are identical. This photo was after the fact for the photo. I wrap whatever is in the chuck with blue masking tape to prevent marking. The Proton lathe is nice for many reasons, one is the ability to insert the dowel deep through the housing so the part being worked is closer to the chuck.

 

I’m enjoying my return to Flirt - thought there are still a lot more sticks to make, and the opportunity for future kindling if that doesn’t work out.

 

Trying to get back in the swing of writing logs. Hopefully I can make them more interesting as I proceed. Thanks for stopping by.

 

[glbarlow]

Mast Assembly
 

The plans for Flirt are well designed, mast assembly is simply a matter of following them. No real instructions aside from the plans are needed, nonetheless Chris and James provide nice photos and a few hints in the manual for referral and maybe a little positive affirmation. I couldn’t add anything so I didn’t repeat them here.  

The real challenge is getting three masts with their accompanying platforms stacked up in a straight and level line. That takes some patience, time, and a great deal of care in the fitting. The laser level is invaluable for this process. I glued and leveled each mast one level at a time from bottom up, waiting for the glue to set before the next was added. While I used CA in some of the subassembly, I used Titebond for quick setting with enough time to twist and turn for stacking the masts.  

Next up tying all the various blocks, including the bowsprit, and adding dead eyes before installing on the ship. There are a lot of blocks…

 

[Rustyj]

Very nice and precise work there Glenn!