HMS Sphinx 1775 by Blue Ensign - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 scale

[Moonbug]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Wow.... that is a great looking stern.

   Are we allowed to say that these days…?   😮

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, Moonbug said:

   Are we allowed to say that these days…?   😮

Maybe not since ships are referred to in female gender.   Do I need to stand in the naughty corner?

[TBlack]

Everybody seems focused on your placing of the mouldings and name (I agree, totally), but you skipped over the paint job on the transom decorations, some of which are quite small. Yet another display of your talents!

Tom

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you everyone so much for your supportive comments, I am pleased with the way it has turned out, in no small way thanks to Chuck allowing me to use the ‘Winnie’ artwork and providing me with the bespoke lettering for the name.

 

@ Tom -  Painting the Tafferel decorations  was a challenge I has to use high magnification specs with the optivisor on top. There was a lot of re-touching involved, and probably more to come.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post Seventy-two

 

The Quarter Galleries.

The first job is to glaze the lights.

More careful gloved handling to reduce as far as possible any smearing of the acetate.

I recall reading somewhere, the reference escapes me, that some of the lights, particularly the aftermost one, were false or only half lights, presumably to give an element of privacy.

I have decided to fully glaze them not least for uniformity and aesthetic effect.

2543

With the frames in place  the sense of depth and light as a result of opening up the Galleries achieves the natural look I was after.

 

A word on the window frames

These are handed left and right and fore to aft, there are I think subtle differences between the angles particularly the aftermost frame and the forward two.

Follow the details on Plan 13.

It then becomes an easy fit over the ‘glazing’.

I again used Vallejo varnish to fix, applying dots on the outer framework using a toothpick. I allowed the varnish to slightly 

thicken before application, to improve grab and avoid any spread onto the glazing.

 

Fitting the decorative columns between the windows gave me some pause for thought. Not as simple as for the stern gallery where there were clearly marked reference points.

2550

I removed the model from the Amati keel clamp where it had  been for the fitting of the stern decoration,  and set it back in its working stand.

2557

This gave me a better approach level for the task. At the correct height I can steady my elbows on the work bench while I apply these little parts.

2556

The trick is getting them all aligned at the right height and without getting any glue spread. The blurb indicates that the columns are placed evenly between the top and bottom of the window frames.

Then there is the question of how to apply them without fat fingers getting the way and without marring the carefully painted surface.

I used a toothpick shaped to fit in the centre recess of the column.

Ideally a one shot attempt is best, I don’t really want to be sliding the part around spreading glue on the blue paintwork.

 

2560

Things will look better once the moulding strips are applied.

 

Mouldings.

These too I found tricky to fit, using ca gel. On the Starboard side the  columns had to be removed as I couldn’t get the moulding to run cleanly to the stern; I think I had applied the aftermost column a fraction low.

2563

The trouble with removing etch is that there is a high risk of it pinging off into the ether, as one did, followed by a fraught ten minutes  wrestling it from the carpet monster.

2566

On reflection I wonder if it is better to fit the mouldings before the columns.

The joints with the stern rails were chamfered to represent mitre joints which give the neatest result at this scale.

2578

I used the discarded stern rails to make the two main gallery rails.

For the decoration between the rails I went with the photo etch.

Take note that the designated parts are  PE 23AL AND 23AR, not as shown in the manual.

 

Next came the shingle for the roof, cleverly designed in photo etch, these are applied one overlapping the other in four rows. They are primed and painted in Vallejo Black/Grey.

2586

The final and possibly the trickiest element is the decoration for the finishing piece.

2571

Two small separate pieces that need to fit in the space below the Berthing rail, and it is at this point whether you shaped the Finishing piece correctly all those weeks ago is revealed.

As I had significantly messed about with the Qtr galleries I had my doubts.

2583(2)

2581(2)

Still some fettlin’ to do on the stern but that’s it for the present, moving on in my opinion, to the most critical part of a build, the Headworks.

 

What joy awaits.

 

B.E.

31/01/22

Edited January 31, 2022 by Blue Ensign

[Rustyj]

Very nice! Ah the headworks, so much fun but I'm sure you will master it very well.

 

[hollowneck]

Very nice work, B.E.

The capping rail at the stern looms. I'll be interested to see how you approach finishing this tricky area - mainly, where to terminate the ends of the continuous capping piece - The roofline? The berthing rail?

 

You did a much better job with your galleries than I did with mine. I'm tempted to rip-off both silly rail mouldings below the windows and scratch my own. Of course, this means ripping off the stern rails all the way across the counters in order to match the sections that will need to be mitered where they meet at the corners.

Gulp. All this klugeing on my part is owing to the early misalignment of the stern pieces that shifted structural bits by a few silly millimeters. 😖 Instead of four rows of roof tiles (a very clever and nice use of the thin P/E), I could only fit three to make the top decoration align.

 

BTW: I love the "light" that results from opening up the galleries with interior doorways. What a great hack for your open reveal.

 

Ron

[Beef Wellington]

A stern very much after my own tastes in the colour palette BE, very nice indeed.

[Blue Ensign]

Cheers Guys, there comes a point in a build where the enjoyment level takes a sharp upward curve, I have now reached that point, with detailing taking over from the  basic construction.

Post Seventy three

 

 Painting the Topsides

Just as I was thinking about moving onto the Headworks it struck me that I had better attend to  painting the Topsides.

2592

Using 2mm Tamiya tape I covered the  areas I didn’t want varnished or painted.

Between the wale and the topsides  w-o-p was applied by brush as rubbing it on with a rag risked getting the  varnish where it wasn’t wanted.

 I used two brushes one in each hand, the first to apply the varnish, the second a dry brush, to immediately  wipe off any excess.

Three coats were applied.

2598(2)

2602(2)

The Blue and Red grounds to the Topsides were done next, again three coats were applied, with a light sanding using old paper before the last coat.

 

With a little reluctance I now need to look at those fragile rail patterns that run along the hull from bow to Qtr Gallery.

The Forward Sheer and waist rail patterns include the hull section of the Eking Rail that runs up to the Cathead support and therefore has a  link to the Headworks.

2595(2)

Things didn’t start well, I swear Guvnor I barely touched it and bits fell off. I really don’t see how  the char can be effectively removed whilst keeping the rail sets intact.

This subject was raised in Jacek’s build, and I have decided to follow Chuck’s excellent advice on the subject.

It is worth repeating Chuck’s advice here both as an aide memoire for me and for the benefit of those who may read this log.

 

Chuck’s comments.

But looking at the shape of those parts and the way they are cut, they lend themselves to breaking along the cross-grain.  So, if it were me cleaning those, I would pre-emptively break those moldings in the most delicate spots such as the areas that broke for you.

  I would have carefully cut those cross-grain vertical pieces away so I could more easily hold the molding and sand them a little at a time individually down their length with some 420-grit sandpaper.

 

 I would cut the vertical pieces free right up against the fancy molding.  Indicated by the red lines.  But that’s just me. 

If you are really worried about placing the vertical elements back where they should be, you could also cut them free leaving a small nub against the fancy molding.  But leave the break point as a clean break so the pieces will glue back without even ever seeing the seams.

 

So this is the approach I will take, following Jacek’s lead who in my opinion has done a fine job in cleaning the rails, based on Chuck’s advice.

This will be the next Job, getting the  Sheer and Waist patterns fettled and applied so I can move onto the Headworks.

 

B.E.

02/02/22

 

 

[Theodosius]

nice choice of colour!

[hollowneck]

4 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Cheers Guys, there comes a point in a build where the enjoyment level takes a sharp upward curve, I have now reached that point, with detailing taking over from the  basic construction.

Post Seventy three

 

 Painting the Topsides

Just as I was thinking about moving onto the Headworks it struck me that I had better attend to  painting the Topsides.

2592

Using 2mm Tamiya tape I covered the  areas I didn’t want varnished or painted.

Between the wale and the topsides  w-o-p was applied by brush as rubbing it on with a rag risked getting the  varnish where it wasn’t wanted.

 I used two brushes one in each hand, the first to apply the varnish, the second a dry brush, to immediately  wipe off any excess.

Three coats were applied.

2598(2)

2602(2)

The Blue and Red grounds to the Topsides were done next, again three coats were applied, with a light sanding using old paper before the last coat.

 

With a little reluctance I now need to look at those fragile rail patterns that run along the hull from bow to Qtr Gallery.

The Forward Sheer and waist rail patterns include the hull section of the Eking Rail that runs up to the Cathead support and therefore has a  link to the Headworks.

2595(2)

Things didn’t start well, I swear Guvnor I barely touched it and bits fell off. I really don’t see how  the char can be effectively removed whilst keeping the rail sets intact.

This subject was raised in Jacek’s build, and I have decided to follow Chuck’s excellent advice on the subject.

It is worth repeating Chuck’s advice here both as an aide memoire for me and for the benefit of those who may read this log.

 

Chuck’s comments.

But looking at the shape of those parts and the way they are cut, they lend themselves to breaking along the cross-grain.  So, if it were me cleaning those, I would pre-emptively break those moldings in the most delicate spots such as the areas that broke for you.

  I would have carefully cut those cross-grain vertical pieces away so I could more easily hold the molding and sand them a little at a time individually down their length with some 420-grit sandpaper.

 

 I would cut the vertical pieces free right up against the fancy molding.  Indicated by the red lines.  But that’s just me. 

If you are really worried about placing the vertical elements back where they should be, you could also cut them free leaving a small nub against the fancy molding.  But leave the break point as a clean break so the pieces will glue back without even ever seeing the seams.

 

So this is the approach I will take, following Jacek’s lead who in my opinion has done a fine job in cleaning the rails, based on Chuck’s advice.

This will be the next Job, getting the  Sheer and Waist patterns fettled and applied so I can move onto the Headworks.

 

B.E.

02/02/22

 

 

 

That's precisely what I did when I tackled this bit of the build, B.E. The char must be removed and it was a Royal PITA (pain in the ****) to get all these pattern pieces de-charred and subsequently mounted. One clever lasered rail turned into several fiddly pieces. Chop, chop.

 

After doing this - per your illustration of a modification - I concluded (too late) that the best solution, which I didn't employ, was to scratch all of these bits. Nice 3mm pear stock. Nice new profiled scrapers. Voila'!

Next time.

 

Wait til' you get to the channel knees...🤨

Cheers,

Ron

Edited February 2, 2022 by hollowneck

[Blue Ensign]

I've been playing around all afternoon  with these pieces with varying degrees of success.

If they come out ok I'll probably use them, if not I  do have the makings to create the rails, altho' some of those delicate volutes would be more problematical to reproduce.

 

Hopefully I'll get there  the end.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[hollowneck]

1 hour ago, Blue Ensign said:

I've been playing around all afternoon  with these pieces with varying degrees of success.

If they come out ok I'll probably use them, if not I  do have the makings to create the rails, altho' some of those delicate volutes would be more problematical to reproduce.

 

Hopefully I'll get there  the end.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

 

If you need to scratch pieces that are curved - like the small volutes, or the über-delicate half-section of plain rail that falls over a hawse opening - I'd suggest the obvious: use some of the pear laser sheets (1mm or 1.5mm) for this.

I did this in one area for my rails. I'll try to remember to get a closeup photo.

 

 This part of the kit's design seems to me to be an experiment. I believe the better solution would have been to supply a few sticks of pear strip stock and a brass scraper (in one of the thicker P/E frets); this solution would have handled the straight sections just fine. For the curvy rail bits, some 3D printed resin parts would do the trick, not lasered.

 

I'd be surprised if Chris isn't taking notes for a V2.0 kit. Despite some of these admittedly small issues (the Devil's in the details), the kit still comfortably sits at the pinnacle of high-end kits. However - the Master Korabel ones (from Russia) aren't very far behind.

Cheers!

Ron

Edited February 2, 2022 by hollowneck
grammar

[Blue Ensign]

I like that idea of the Pearwood strips with the the brass etch profile cutter included, but that would up the cost of a kit and the line has to be drawn somewhere. The Sphinx laser cut rail sets  are I think designed to be put into place without messing with them, that way if  soaked and pre-bent they are not likely to become a problem.

I've always made profile cutters from an old  single edged safety razor blade, altho' cutting the profiles for a 2mm x 1mm strip would prove testy.

I do have a  set of micro scrapers made by Artesania  Latina, but they are designed  for  larger profiles, the smallest is 1x3mm.

 

Back to soft hands and gentle strokes.

 

B.E.

 

 

[paul carruthers]

47 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

I like that idea of the Pearwood strips with the the brass etch profile cutter included, but that would up the cost of a kit and the line has to be drawn somewhere. The Sphinx laser cut rail sets  are I think designed to be put into place without messing with them, that way if  soaked and pre-bent they are not likely to become a problem.

I've always made profile cutters from an old  single edged safety razor blade, altho' cutting the profiles for a 2mm x 1mm strip would prove testy.

I do have a  set of micro scrapers made by Artesania  Latina, but they are designed  for  larger profiles, the smallest is 1x3mm.

 

Back to soft hands and gentle strokes.

 

B.E.

 

 

I just took my time and was pragmatic about how clean I could get them, I also took less off the bottom and it creates a good shadow line, it doesn’t look too bad.

[chris watton]

Not sure I shall ever do a V2 of Sphinx, it is a very complex design with a lot of laser cut and PE parts. Plus, no matter what I do, it may be perfect for some, but others would still moan. Designing a FULL kit will always be a compromise. I know that some less experienced modellers have trouble aligning upper rails, and sometimes, the overall effect of the finished model is marred because of this. Linking the rails is my solution. But there is nothing stopping someone else separating them or changing them altogether. This is the great thing about wooden kits.

 

However, I also know very well that the more experienced, the BE's, Hollownecks and DELF's of the world will always have their own solutions. It is funny reading that quote from Chuck, when I was pondering the implications of designing the front rails as one, I knew some would find it an issue, but also knew some would intentionally cut that curve away and add it as a separate part. This is how I was going to do it - but at the last minute, factored in the less experienced. Taking all into account, it was the lesser of two evils for me. This area is always a nightmare, design wise, but didn't want to simplify too much.

 

So, it will always be this, for some, it is too much, but for others, it's not enough, it's trying to find balance between these two that is the real trick.

Edited February 3, 2022 by chris watton

[glbarlow]

5 hours ago, chris watton said:

So, it will always be this, for some, it is too much, but for others, it's not enough,

Well said. No reason for a V2, you’ve designed an innovative model that allow those of every experience level to build in the way their expertise provides. They can all enjoy the process and have a result to be justly proud.

[mtaylor]

I quite agree with Glenn.   Every kit will have compromises and as the saying goes... you can't please all the people all the time.  

[Blue Ensign]

Post Seventy-four

 

Fettlin’ the rails

I will start with the forward section, and get that fixed into place first so I can proceed to the Headworks.

2609(2)

I removed the Ekeing rail sections from below and above the lower rail.

I left the middle and  upper rails attached as I thought I could handle those without breakage, and I didn’t want to remove the tiny verticals between the two that form the connection for the channels support brackets.

2607(2)

With the rails secured in the vice (with its rubber inserts in place) the char is very gently removed using sanding sticks with used paper on them.

A slight round is also given to the top and lower edges of the rails.

 

2622

Very soft hands are required for this  and I make  bespoke sanding sticks for the purpose.

2613

The rails were soaked as per the blurb, and clamped  in place to dry overnight.

2617(2)

These are the bits left over, mostly unintended breakages, but they should fit into place once the main parts are secured on the hull.

2624(2)

So far, so good, the necessary curve is retained.

05493(2)

The rails were glued into place using PVA,  I take the precaution of keeping a jar of clean water, and a small brush to hand, to remove any glue spread onto the ground.

05486

The bits that broke away went back without issue.

05498

05490(2)

It is a slow and precise business fitting the rails, I’ve spent two days on the forward sections, but I think cleaning them up is worth the effort, for me at least.

 

I will now move onto the Headworks.

 

B.E.

04/02/22

 

 

[Moonbug]

    Geez, that is some touchy stuff.  Well done.

 

     What I like most about the last shot, is the opportunity to once again admire your forward hull planking.  😍

 

    

[Rustyj]

3 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

It is a slow and precise business fitting the rails, I’ve spent two days on the forward sections, but I think cleaning them up is worth the effort, for me at least.

 

Definitely well worth it! That looks so nice.  

[glbarlow]

3 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Fettlin’ the rails

I think this is a country western song, or should be.

 

Your patience and time spent is well worth the result you've obtained and a blueprint for those that follow.

[Blue Ensign]

Post Seventy-five

The Headworks – Part One

This area of a build is one of the most critical and complex.

 

There should be an elegance about how the rails   sweep up to the head. The three head timbers are concave in shape  flaring upwards from the  cheeks/Hairbracket to meet the Main rail.

1649

Look at the elegance of the Headworks on Victory, this is what I will have in mind and hope to replicate as I approach the job.

 

The kit provides laser cut parts to make up the head timbers with a separate Gammoning knee and laser cut grating.

The assembly then fits atop the knee of the head.

The laser cutting and fit of these parts is good but the Gammoning knee needs a little fettling to get it to sit right down on the  knee of the head.

5507

This comprises sanding by degrees the locating nubs on the bottom of the knee.

5508

The grating set needs a little fettling to get a good fit to the hull.

2640

Checking the level of the grating set.

 

Before I fit this stuff into place I need to paint the head.

5521

I am following the Marshall painting scheme rather than the kit.

5519

Above the Lower Rail the knee is painted Blue. The Timber heads are also painted blue on their faces.

5524(2)

The black paint of the wale is carried across to the stem and abuts the Blue of the head.

5510

The Hair Brackets  are very delicate serpentine shaped fittings and the softest of handling is required if the char is to be removed. They fit into place with the minimal of tweaking.

2643

When it came to the Ekeing patterns ((79/80) 0.6mm sheet 1) there is a mismatch between the manual (Sect.288) and the actual parts.

2645

These appear to be much longer that the actual parts.

According to the manual (section 288) these are supposed to run from  the Cathead  mortise down to around the outer hawse hole and fit over the forward rail pattern.

 

In practice, I think the unmoulded upper part may be for the Cathead bracket, which makes sense, but the mismatch does 

cause some confusion, and I spent some time trying to find those elusive long rails, thinking perhaps that the part numbers were incorrect.

 

The Bow Cheeks are nicely shaped but I thought they can be enhanced by scribing a profile on their outer edges.

5525

Unfortunately the way the kit Cheeks are cut means the scribing along the edge is across the grain, which doesn’t make for a nice clean line.

5528

Not happy with this result, I’ll try facing the cheeks with a moulding, or cut new ones with the grain going the right way.

 

 

B.E.

06/02/22

 

[Theodosius]

 The more I see, the more I like your colours 🙂 I know, I posted this already, but now, at the bow, it all comes together very nicley 🙂

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Theodosius

[Blue Ensign]

Post Seventy-Six

 

The Headworks – Part Two

I re-visited the Bow Cheeks and faced them with some fine 0.8 x 2mm Pear strip, scribed with a profile.

Once the strip was scribed it was scraped down from the back side to a thickness of 0.4mm.

 

The lower rail which slots into the  notches on the timber heads is next fixed.

This is a delicate finely made piece with an elegant sweep up to the head.

The timber heads are covered by decorative boards, but even so the notches seem way over large for the rail which is only around 2mm deep, tapering to around 0.5mm.

5543

I imagine Chris has cut them this way to allow plenty of leeway to get the rails in place, but for me this is ugly and will niggle me forever if I let it stand.

I won’t have any Bowsprit rigging to detract from the deficiencies in this area.

 

Fitting the Lower rail is a tricky business, and I struggled a long time with it. The inner end is shown to fit against the hull on the inner side of the inner hawse hole.

Coupled with the Ekeing rail ending abruptly at the outer side of the inner hawse hole this looks a little awkward and unfinished to me.

I extended the Ekeing Rail to cover the inner hawse hole.

 

 Back to the Head rails, those large gaps will be apparent from head-on or Three-Quarter viewing points.

The simplest approach will be to fit the rails and infill the excess mortise with small Pear blocks. Sanded and painted with the covering boards attached, the issue should hopefully disappear.

5546(2)

I say simple but fitting those tiny infills took an afternoon, and repeat visits to my office floor to recover  the pieces.

5585

5594(2)

The Wash cants below the lower cheeks are yet to be fitted; I’m undecided whether to fit them at all.

5570

5568

At this point in the manual, work is suspended on the head pending completion of the Foc’sle deck and rails and I am happy to follow suit.

I will leave the covering boards and completion of the Ekeing rail until I am ready to fit the Cathead and more importantly the Cathead supporter. The tail of this should have an angle that seamlessly  fays into the curve of the Ekeing rail.

5606

To conclude I couldn’t resist trying the figure of Sphinx on the head, always useful to pre-check how it relates to the other stuff, decoration, rails, or even the stive of the Bowsprit.

I will  be using artists oils to paint the figure, and as they take an age to dry  I’ll  play around with ‘Sphinx’  off model as a change from the main build.

 

B.E.

08/02/22

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Great work, you are building an amazing model.

[glbarlow]

I don’t know, that shocking orange color of the Sphinx could be the way to go 🤣😂

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Glenn (UK) glad you like it.

@ Glenn (Texas) - hmmn, translucent Orange Ochre, I'll let that percolate for a while 🤔 😄

 

Post Seventy-seven

 

Back to the Rail sets.

The Sheer Rail patterns comprise three levels of attached delicate rail and volutes.

5615(2)

As I look at them they seem to be saying ‘go on, have a go, see if you can clean us up as a set’.

You must be joking thinks I, first to go will be the small top moulding attached only by its scroll, followed in short order by the long upper rail just begging to snap in two, and probably in the least convenient place to disguise an unofficial break.

 

So, where to separate these devilish  little beggars to achieve success.

5619(2)

This was my judgement, divide the rail set into three parts as above.

Not out of the woods yet, they still need delicate handling to clean off the Char, and impart a slight round to the forward edges.

5621

The cleaning was done with the sections secured in the rubber grips of the vice. Using bespoke sanding sticks with P320 paper. Nothing was left in a position where it could flex, and in the more delicate areas the minimum of area was exposed while sanding.

5622

The rails in place, I won this skirmish at least.

 

The Sheer and Waist rail sections I think can be cleaned up without separation. The waist rail section has cut outs where it passes across the gun-ports. I think these are best removed before fitting, as the rail ends can be better cleaned up without risk of marking the gun-port linings.

Just remember to mark on the back the correct way up taking the sheer into account.

5625

The one other small modification I made in this area was to rebate the back edge of the fenders to fit over the black strake rather than cut the strake.

 

The final part of the mouldings are the six sections of the Waist rail that fit between the fenders and the Quarter Gallery.

5626(2)

I again separated these into the individual sections to fit between the ports.

It has taken two days of fairly constant work to clean and fit these sections, but I’m pleased with the result, and consider it well worth the effort.

 

B.E.

09/02/22

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

An interesting little snippet

Around this time some 243 years ago, at the behest of his Britannic Majesty King George 111,  the subject of our model was cruising around Chesapeake Bay looking to interfere with the French or anyone else who may be seeking to disrupt British control of the American colony.

While browsing the interweb for all things Sphinx, I came across this, an extract of the Log of Sphinx written by Captain John Kendall.

What is interesting is his spelling of the name Sphynx which is at variance to the spelling on the Admiralty plan, (Sphinx) altho’ the same as the spelling on the Joseph Marshall painting of 1775.

One would imagine that a Captain would know how to spell his own ships name, so why the variance? Should that beautifully crafted name on the stern be spelt ‘yn’ not ‘in’

 

John Kendall was in command of Sphinx for only five months, which in one sense is lucky for him as under her next commander Robert Manners Sutton she was out gunned and taken by the French 32 gun Frigate L’Amphitrite.

 

Fortunately she was retaken three months later by the HMS Proserpine a 24 gun frigate of the revised  Enterprize Class.

 

Details of the log book can be found here;

Logbooks from three British warships in North America, 1778-1780 - Bound Manuscripts - The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati Digital Library Collections (oclc.org)

 

 

B.E.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Blue Ensign

[Nipper]

BE - this is a brilliant find!  I mean the log of the Sphi(y)nx.  One of my reasons for building Sphinx is not only because it is a beautiful model, but because I have a slight family connection.  In 1776, an ancestor of my family named Christopher Gadsden was in command of a South Carolina regiment charged with the defence of Charleston, when Sphinx was part of the besieging and blockading force outside the harbour.  I like to think of my ancestor gazing out at Sphinx from the safety of the town's defences!  Now I can use your link to read through the log to see what notes may be there about the action at Charleston.

 

And when I fit out the great cabin of Sphinx, I shall make a suitable Georgian table on which will be a miniature copy of an 18th century chart of  Charleston harbour.  What a shame that there are so few scale figures from which to choose a crew.  I have only my version of your Captain Grim to place beside the table.

 

Many thanks for your inspiring guidance and helpful ideas.