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

[Gahm]

This is really nice work, BE! The cover idea makes a big difference.

 

Thomas

[Blue Ensign]

Cheers Guys,

@Mark - I think you’re probably right Mark, the section plan in the Pandora book shows the bench set up higher on a step but that arrangement didn’t transfer well to the Sphinx model.

 

@ Kirby – I started looking into Greek mythology for suitable depictions when I remodelled the Pegasus stern decoration, there were far more characters to play with in that tale.

 

@ Thomas – You can’t go far wrong following Chuck’s example.🙂

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post Fifty-four

Completing the Great Cabin.

 

The cills are made using 0.8mm x 6mm Pearwood strip.

1832

The unused seat pattern (198) made a good template for cutting the cill to fit between the frames.

1838(2)

The slots were cut out on the scroll saw.

1835

Fitting was a case of slowly adjusting the slots to fit.

1841

The process went far more smoothly than I dared hope.

1846

The bulwarks have been given the w-o-p treatment and I’m still not sure whether to paint the panelling with an ivory tone.

Also wracked with indecision about the kit provided ‘parquet’ flooring or use of the alternative b/w chequer.

1845

This I can defer until I see how things look between the Qtr deck beams.

 

The Gallery doors present something of a problem, I removed these when I modified the Qtr Galleries, and the question is how or whether to refit them.

I don’t think Chuck fitted doors to the Quarter Galleries of Winchelsea.

 

The doors are engraved on one side only, are not square, and if to be displayed open need reversing to show the patterns.

If hinged on the left they open against the bench arrangement, and either way they open onto the spirketting and deck clamps.

Another feature that I can’t get my head around and I’ll leave them off for the present.

 

The port linings and inner bulwarks have been painted; careful masking of the port surrounds is required to avoid getting paint on the ‘bright’ outer planking.

1850(2)

Tedious business this, using a fine brush and not too thin a paint mix to decrease the risk of bleed.

I note that Chuck leaves the inside edges of the planking around the ports clear of paint, an arrangement I followed on my Cheerful build.

I do like this effect, but it is not one reflected on many contemporary models and I think I would struggle to replicate it on the 1:64 scale Sphinx.

1867

1861

1859

1857(2)

Four months into the build and I am now ready to set out the centre line deck fittings.

 

B.E.

21/12/21

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Blue Ensign

[Barbossa]

As all your previous builds, a real delight to follow although your last comment caught my uttermost attention :

"Four months into the build.."  : and the progress on the hull is more than obvious.

It is amazing how much the quality of (some) brands of kits have improved, thus allowing both speed and workmanship.

Most impressive.

 

[James H]

That's looking real nice without a doubt.

 

One way of stopping bleed around masking like that is to first apply a little thinned varnish to the paint area after masking, so the varnish creates a seal the paint can't bleed through.

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Christian and James.

@ Christian - This is a great kit and the  design is such that  rapid progress can be made from the early stages, but it is a two edged sword.

 Great care and forward thinking is required to avoid poor fitting and compounded errors. The danger is that the many pre formed parts can beguile you into thinking it is a simple fit and glue job, in my experience it certainly is not.

 

@ James - I now remember your good advice,  but as it happens I forgot to do it, 🙄 fortunately there was no bleed..

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[hollowneck]

12 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Thank you Christian and James.

@ Christian - This is a great kit and the  design is such that  rapid progress can be made from the early stages, but it is a two edged sword.

 Great care and forward thinking is required to avoid poor fitting and compounded errors. The danger is that the many pre formed parts can beguile you into thinking it is a simple fit and glue job, in my experience it certainly is not.

 

@ James - I now remember your good advice,  but as it happens I forgot to do it, 🙄 fortunately there was no bleed..

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

 

Indeed, it's also my experience that this kit is no "fit and glue job." As my own log of this excellent kit attests, there are several critical points in the build that have required a good forward look at the plans as well as the actual kit elements. Seeing various "bits" on the extensive P/E -  and on some of the pear pattern sheets as well - ahead of when the build manual calls for them - has been a required exercise and a saving grace of sorts. Needless to say, other Build Logs, like this one, are revealing that this is no "slam dunk" of a kit (even for those of us who have long experience of creating models of this era)!

I can also attest that Chris' innovative design has permitted a quicker (as well as more accurate) build for such a complex model.

Cheers,

Ron

[glbarlow]

I personally don’t think “speed” is a word I associate with good workmanship. The care and thoughtful forward thinking is more  testament of what I see viewing BE’s work. This kit has a lot of new challenges based on its innovative design given what I’ve seen on various build logs. 
 

BE, how did you come to have the black & white floor?  I think it looks great but may over power the rest of the model based on what’s around it. I’m sure time will tell. 

[Blue Ensign]

Well worth repeating Ron, this is an expensive kit and deserves careful construction. I like your  comment 'this is no "slam dunk" of a kit' , sort of sums it up.

 

You have a good point Glenn about the flooring, I am far from convinced myself. The b&w pattern is simply scaled and printed off, it's how it will look thro' the deck beams that will be the final decider, and the kit version may well  better suit the understated look I am aiming for.

 

B.E.

[Gahm]

Beautiful built, BE! And your progress is amazing . . . 

 

Thomas

[hollowneck]

13 hours ago, glbarlow said:

BE, how did you come to have the black & white floor?  I think it looks great but may over power the rest of the model based on what’s around it. I’m sure time will tell. 

 

The black & white checkered floor for the captain's cabin is printed, in scale, on a sheet of the Sphinx plans. Although not delineated in the build manual, I'm pretty certain the intention was to provide a printed and scissored "cut out" to simply affix over the laser-etched floor pattern on the one-piece gun deck, or as B.E. indicates, perhaps not use it at all. I haven't had to make this decision since I'm not building this kit as a quasi-Admiralty dockyard "reveal" model. Had I gone this direction, I would have stained the pear flooring slightly darker and chose - as B.E. also says: "…the understated look…"

 

As many are witnessing on other HMS Sphinx logs, this kit includes many nice touches and encourages various levels of "scratching" enhancements.

Really nice work, B.E.

 

Ron

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by hollowneck
grammar fix

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Ron, an interesting idea about darkening the 'parquet' flooring, I'll bear that in mind.👍

 

Post Fifty-five

 

Deck fittings

With the port linings completed I return to the Upper deck and the centre line fittings of hatchways and  gratings.

I have decided to fit these first and plank to them.

All the deck fittings are designed to sit atop the deck so these will need beefing up on the underside by the thickness of the planking.

 

Firstly there are modifications to make.

The kit provided hatch sets lack a round-up to the head ledges; many contemporary models show this feature and a camber to the gratings.

This look appeals to me, and my eye expects to see it.

 

I have also carefully removed the shot garlands which in the kit are an integral part of the coamings.

For the Navy Board style model I envisage they seem an unnecessary and fussy addition, and I can always re-install them.

 

Modifying the kit Coaming/gratings arrangements.

 

Fore and after hatchways

Using 2x2mm Pearwood stock the head ledges are created.

1925

I had bought some Pearwood timber from Hobbymill E.U. in anticipation of this  modification.

I was a little apprehensive about messing with the pre formed Pear gratings, but I thought if things go pear shaped (no pun intended) I could buy some from Chris, Vanguard sell Pearwood gratings with 1mm square holes.

1901(2)

The kit gratings are soaked and heat bent around a tube to create the camber in the top.

This went well for the gratings of the Fore and Aft hatches.

 

Main Hatchway

1875

The main Hatch grating is firstly divided into three sections before soaking and heat bending.

1905

Such meddling does have its risks as can be seen here.

An order is already winging its way to Chris.

1921

The general look I’m aiming for.

Still a lot of work to do and decisions to be made about the finish to the coamings, Natural, Black, or Red ochre.

1919

Looking forward from the aft Ladderway.

1914

I think I will also split the Fore Hatch grating into two sections and have one removed from each of the Fore and Main Hatches to allow a view directly down to the hold and lower deck.

 

So fettlin’ the hatches is what I will be working on over Christmas.

I take the opportunity to thank all my fellow modellers who have shown an interest in my builds, and wish all a very Happy Christmas and a safe New Year.

 

B.E.

23/12/21

ps: no issues in uploading these seven photos.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Blue Ensign

[glbarlow]

Nice modifications to the hatches BE, well done and a step up from the kit for sure. My recommendation for the hatches is black I didn’t think I’d like it until I saw it on other Winchelsea build logs, it looks quite sharp and a nice contrast to the surrounding red. 
 

Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.  I find it fun we say ‘Merry’ and the English say ‘Happy.’ 🧐😊

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Glenn,

I think 'Merry' is the traditional  greeting in England too, certainly the written version on cards. A quick look around all the cards we have received would suggest so.

I'm a Christmas baby so Merry and Happy  get rolled into one.😄

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

 

B.E.

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post Fifty-six

 Upper deck fittings  continued

 

Colouring the Coamings.

There is a lot of Red ochre  on the model so I decided to paint the coamings black. I felt this would give a nicer contrast to the Pearwood gratings which I will lightly varnish using w-o-p.

The  coamings were shaped on the underside to match the deck camber, and plank thick strips added to give the correct height above the deck planking.

These pieces took a lot cleaning up and removal of laser burn, before painting. Below the grating rebate the  coamings were simply varnished.

Admiralty Brand Ironwork Black was used to colour.

1952

With a grating section removed there are  glimpses of the Lower deck thro’ the Main Hatch.

1941

The trickiest part of modifying the main hatch/ladderway combo, is working a round-up  to the head ledge between the hatch and ladderway.

Through this section pass the forward stanchions of the pump handles. (412) which continue through the Upper deck to seat on the lower deck.

The holes need easing to allow passage of the stanchions without stress, and a  ‘round-up’ is cut to fit around the stanchions.

 

The Fore Hatch grating has been cut into two sections, and looks much better to my eye.

1939

0063

I now have the option to leave  the forward section off giving a view down through the Lower deck to the Hold, and the ladderway to the forward platform.

 

The aft ladderway with Capstan step.

1938

1951

Looking thro’ the aft ladderway coaming down to the Lower deck ladderway to the Orlop.

1968

With these modifications the impression is thus given of a model with all decks represented.

1958

1956

The next stage is to glue the centre line fittings to the false deck, but a couple of the gratings are not as good as I would like so I will defer until I receive the replacements from Chris. It is easier to fine tune the gratings with the hatches off the model.

1959(3)

Overall it’s going to plan, so I’m happy with progress to date.

 

Happy New Year to you all.

 

B.E.

26/12/21

 

 

 

[BobG]

Beautiful work as always. Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

[KirbysLunchBox]

Fantastic!

[JpR62]

Great job! These modified hatches are really beautiful and the choice of the black color is perfect. 

Happy New Year!

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you, Bob, Kirby, and Jean-Paul.

I think the black coamings will be enhanced  once the Boxwood deck planking is down, while I wait for the new gratings to arrive I am looking at  panelling for the Great cabin.

 

B.E.

[hollowneck]

11 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Thank you, Bob, Kirby, and Jean-Paul.

I think the black coamings will be enhanced  once the Boxwood deck planking is down, while I wait for the new gratings to arrive I am looking at  panelling for the Great cabin.

 

B.E.

 

Very nice work on the upgrading scratch work for your coamings and hatches, B.E. The "roundup" will be considerably more evident on the weather deck pieces, but adding this "reveal detail" in your build will certainly add to your next level execution of this kit. The black finish will look very nice with the contrasting red painted elements and offers a visual consistency that will be appreciated by many (MSWers)...impressive addition!

Ron

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Ron, a very generous comment, I think we both enjoy 'tweaking ' kits to hopefully add interest to our builds.

 

B.E.

 

Post Fifty-seven

 

Great Cabin

The parquet flooring is glued into place, it is reduced in size due to the cabin modifications, and w-o-p was applied before fitting.

I did experiment with various wood dyes on the offcuts  to see  if the pattern could be enhanced, but none were successful.

1986

Still not convinced whether I like it or not, but there’s always the fallback use of the b/w chequer.

I rather thought that a degree of panelling was appropriate to the Great Cabin but at this scale and with the available views, I considered a printed version would suffice.

1990

I used the simple expediency of printing off the kit panelling and scaling it to fit with a little bit of tweaking here and there.

 

Thinking about deck planking.

The Upper deck will be planked  using 0.6mm x various widths of Boxwood strip, mostly 3.4mm and 4.5mm. Wider strips will be used  to work around the hatches.

The first task will be to plank between the centre line fittings.

1995

I have the idea of using a photo copy of the kit deck plan to mark the butt joints on the false deck as a guide to work to.

This will save me the job of working out a schematic and an appropriate butt shift.

The kit arrangement is a four butt shift which looks fine to my eye.

1982

The overlay will also be used to mark and cut those awkward  fittings cut-outs, particularly  around the Mainmast.

 

Here’s a mock up of how things will look.

1974(2)

1975(2)

Before all this happens I need to invert the hull for the last time to  apply one more coat of w-o-p and complete the fettlin’ of the finishing pieces of the Quarter Galleries.

 

B.E

29/12/21

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post Fifty-eight

 

Back to gratings.

The replacement gratings (separate sets of 1.1mm square holes) have arrived (thanks Chris) so I return to creating gratings with a  ‘round’.

Somewhat disappointed as these sets have a subtly different look to the kit provided ones, not quite as fine, and they are less  accepting of messing with than the originals.

Chris did tell me that the gratings are made using the same timber and process but that The Sphinx ones were specifically made for the kit, as with much of his stuff.

1997(2)

The ones in the frame are originals the others the after market grating squares.

So far I am happy with the originals for the Fore Hatch, and the two sections for the Main Hatch.

1995(2)

My meddling with the Aft Hatch resulted in an acceptable result as above, being destroyed when I decided to split it into two sections.

The replacement had to be made using the newly arrived gratings.

Even there I  destroyed one square cutting the grating the wrong way; those who know will know that the longitudinal strips run fore/ aft on a grating.

With careful cutting I eventually managed to  create the size and round, but I’m back to square one as far as having two sections.

2004

The difference in look is clearly apparent here between the Fore Hatch (original) and the Aft Hatch (aftermarket)

2014

I am unable to split the aft hatch into two sections due to the hole spacing.

2013(2)

The one saving grace is that if I have to use the Aft hatch as is, it is below the Qtr deck, but then there will be very little planking on the Qtr deck.

Not sure my eye will  accept the difference.

 

I may have to approach Chris cap in hand, to sell me replacement kit specific gratings for the Sphinx, or live with the consequences.

5095

A last resort may be to plead with Chris that the Dog ate my gratings. (he does have form)

 

Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone from me and my shipyard liability  assistant.

 

B.E.

01/01/22

 

[glbarlow]

I imagine it really grates on you, hopefully you’ll be able to hatch a solution. 

Edited January 1, 2022 by glbarlow

[DelF]

William doesn't look impressed at the idea of using him as a scapegoat (or maybe he's groaning in anticipation of Glenn's post!).

 

Fortunately my shipyard assistant, Hector, is too small and lazy to eat important stuff, unless it falls off the workbench and straight into his mouth:

 

Happy New Year to you from me and Hector

[Blue Ensign]

Nice one Glenn, rest assured I will be coaming thro’ all my options to resolve the issue.

 

@ Derek – there’s a great British tradition of blaming it on the dog, and I’m sure Hector is simply lulling you into a false sense of security, dogs are great at playing the long game.

 

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Theodosius]

Amazing, what you add to this allready phantastic kits 🙂

[hollowneck]

An Observation: Never attempt to "out pun" an Englishman. They invented the language.

I never blame my dog since I don't have one now. But I do have a black hole in my shop floor.🤯

 

Ron

 

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Theo and Ron. 👍

 

Post Fifty-nine

 

Planking begins.

The centre line coamings are at last glued into place and the gratings are temporarily replaced by the fret cut-outs to prevent stuff falling down the hatches.

2028

2029

Always worth keeping these pieces which also make good templates.

 

One final check, the Quarter deck sub deck is  tried in place to  confirm that the Capstan link between the two decks aligns, along with the Mizzen Mast, I don’t want any nasty surprises down the line.

2019

2023

The hatched areas are part of the reduction in planking area, but until the deck beams are in place this can’t be progressed.

 

As we all know there is no need for butt shifts between the hatches etc; the shorter plank lengths preclude such requirements.

My primary planking strips will be of 3.4mm and 4.5mm.

I trialled different approaches to the initial planking layout; a plank along the middle line of the deck, or planks each side of the middle line.

I  settled on planks either side of the middle line.

2066

2064

The kit plan butt joints and shifts are marked on the false deck, but in practice there will almost certainly be variations as planking progresses.

2067

These are a combination of 3.4mm and 4.5mm wide planks to give the best result between the hatches.

The binding strakes will have tabs to meet the coamings and avoid the otherwise narrow planking strips.

2053

2048

2052(2)

Work will now continue on the planking.

 

B.E.

04/01/22

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post Sixty

Planking continues.

The tricky business of  laying down the binding strakes is next.

These incorporate the tabs that fit around the coamings and are cut from wider 6mm strip.

2086

I had a few goes at getting the cutting right particularly along the section  that encompassed the Main and aft hatchways, but got there at the end of a long day.

 

The next tedious stage was re-cutting all the holes for the deck fittings and masts.

Drilling, cutting with a scalpel blade, and finishing with files.

2079

The deck will look much better once it has been cleaned up. This will involve scraping using an old small plane blade, I never sand decks.

The cut-out holes for the fittings will be fully cleaned up once the decking is complete.

This work needs to be done with soft hands using needle files, as the merest hint of harsh filing has a tendency to rip the thin Boxwood planking.

 

As he who needs no introduction would say: 

You are not carving a bear with a chain saw here folks.

I love that saying which has stuck in my mind from my Royal Barge build instructions.

 

2088(2)

From this point I moved to using the 3.4mm planks and I start to apply tapering towards the bow and stern having marked  the decreasing widths on the false deck.

After a days work I decided it wasn’t good enough, and I didn’t like the look, so at close of play most of the planking beyond the binding strakes was ripped up.

2094ps

Fortunately, the planks came away mostly intact simply by slipping a thin blade beneath one end and sliding it along.

 

Frustrating, but it had to be done, and it’s back into the fray  today.

 

B.E.

08/01/22

 

 

[allanyed]

BE,

Your model looks terrific and Vanguard seems to have gone out of their way to provide both quality material and accuracy. The gratings you have from Vanguard look far and away better than any other kit gratings I have seen.  What is the width of the ledge and/or batten?   

 

You mentioned adding wood the thickness of the deck planks to the underside of the coamings and head ledges.  I thought the head ledges and coamings sat on the beams and carlings, but in looking at a couple contemporary inboard profile drawings I am not so sure which, if any,  was standard practice, sitting on the beams or sitting on the planking.  I have no access to any of my books while traveling so hope someone here has a definitive answer.

 

Thanks for sharing your build BE, this has been a really nice log to follow.

 

Allan

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by allanyed