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

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Derek, Bob, and Ron, and for those who follow and ‘like’ my build.

 

@ Derek -  You’re very kind, but I’m not sure where I would put such a beast as ‘Indy’

I do have Chuck’s Medway Long boat beneath my bench, ½” scale for my tired old eyes, and beautiful Boxwood timber.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

You’ve done an amazing job with the details and customizations you’ve done. A fine looking model. 

[Blue Ensign]

Post One hundred and twenty-six

 

A final push on the Gun wharf

Before I started, an annoying set back.

In a moment of carelessness faffing around with the model for my last photo shoot I dislodged the  rudder breaking off three  gudgeons from the stern post.

 

On reflection perhaps I shouldn’t have questioned those boom rings in my last post, some sea devil has  created a need for them.😕

 

Even manoeuvring a model the size of Sphinx has its dangers, God knows how I would get on with a beast like Indy on my 24” deep work bench.

I have form for concentrating  so hard on the job in hand that I swing the model around without checking the proximity of obstacles, usually the wall.🙄

 Re-hanging a rudder is a pleasure I could have done without.

 

I knuckle down to  assembly of the remaining guns. There seems an awful lot of char removal in eight guns but it has to be done.

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The barrels are washed and sprayed with fixative after which  weathering powders are applied and  brushed off.

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For the last time with Sphinx I set up my production line.

 

I find I have run out of Amati fine copper eyelets that I use for the loops, and in combination with Amati 2mm brass rings for the breeching ring bolts.

 

I only have sufficient makings to complete two guns but at least these can be used to fit beneath the Gangway which will allow me to complete the  Ladders down to the Upper deck.

 

The remaining six guns will have to wait until fresh supplies arrive from CMB.

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I amuse myself  assembling the ladders – nicely shaped but a pain in the Orlop to put together.

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I may well include  cut off masts. But they won’t look like these place holders.

 

Time to look at the Channels I think.

 

B.E.

01/6/022

 

[Dave_E]

Cannons look outstanding! 👍😀

[Blue Ensign]

Post One hundred and twenty-seven

 

Quarter Gallery Decorative roof rail.

Before I move onto the channels I have decided to attend to the Quarter gallery roof rail, described in the kit blurb as the Upper Fretwork.

 Before any fitting work or even removal from the fret the piece is painted to match the colour scheme.

I was slightly puzzled by the fit of these decorative pieces; one end has a wider section than the other, which I took to be the forward end.

 

I note on the prototype build photos that the forward end has been trimmed to sit below the decorative upper rail.

 

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Beautifully fitted but I didn’t think the cut-away arrangement looked quite right, and it didn’t match the arrangement on the plan.

 

To address this, a small section of the decorative upper rail on the hull was removed.

 

The roof rail needs to be curved to match the contour of the Gallery roof.

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To this end I used the spare mdf gallery blanks  as formers to heat bend the pieces.

 

A piece of fret was used to provide a support against the tafferal, and a  metal support pin was used centrally to keep the rail  in line with the roof contour. 

The forward end of the roof rail fayed into the space in the decorative rail.

The bottom of the finishing piece was bevelled on the underside to give a slight inward inclination.

With all the trial fitting and handling the pieces required repainting before fitting.

 

As with many things during a build one side  fits easily, the other a struggle.

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Fitting the Starboard roof rail went without issue, but a problem was quickly revealed on the Port side.

 

 The problem being that my shaping of the roof top was too severe at the forward end resulting in the rail not sitting correctly atop the shingle roof line.

Incidentally I was pleased to see that Chris has replaced the brass etch tiles on his new Indy kit with laser cut card, I wish I had had them on Sphinx.

The tiles were removed and the roof line adjusted using filler to build it up. Annoying to have had to back-track but the repair will be hidden by the shingles.

 

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This photo shows the filler build -up, the support pin, and Tafferal support.

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Port side restored.

I'm not entirely sure that I like the solid look of the roof rail, nor particularly the results of my efforts. I think an open fret rail would have been a better fit for this decorative item.

I'll leave it a while but I may have to re-visit the whole roof set -up.

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There is still some work to do on the stern, a capping rail to be fashioned, and one or two bits and pieces to tidy up.

 

B.E.

02/05/2022

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Twenty-eight

 

Taffarel Capping rail.

The kit Taffarel is a three piece lamination which is difficult to mask, and should properly have a capping.

 

On Pegasus I made a capping rail using Evergreen styrene strip which is easy to mould to the shaped top, and the medium is  not an issue as  the rail was to be painted.

 

With Sphinx I used 0.8mm x 3mm Pear strip, well soaked, and clamped into place on a spare Taffarel piece to form the shape.

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Ca was used to glue the capping progressively along the Taffarel top.

 

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It took a while to get the ca to hold, and there was the inevitable  need for micro filling and re-touching of the  facia.

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I originally painted the rail Ochre brown, which looks brighter here than it actually is.

 

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 … but against the red of the inboard Taffarel it didn’t look good, a bit like raspberries and custard.

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I changed the colour to black to match the other cappings.

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A lot of re-touching the paintwork followed, followed by more re-touching, followed by more… you get the idea.

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There are many opportunities to go off-line when  painting the  fine detail, the cold eye of the macro lens reveals all.

I work towards the point that when wearing my specs from a viewing distance of around 10” nothing untoward  catches my eye.

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Of course I am a founder member of the Blind man on a galloping horse school of model painting, so others may see things hidden to me.

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Moving onto the Channels.

 

 

B.E.

04/06/2022

 

[hollowneck]

On 6/2/2022 at 9:31 AM, Blue Ensign said:

I'm not entirely sure that I like the solid look of the roof rail,

This was a difficult decision for me too, deciding what to do with the fit of this decorative piece. I decided to "trim-off" a piece of the fretwork and mortise it against the top rail - as shown in the manual. I've noted that your approach aligned it nicely but the compromise was an awkward slope to the roof tiling. Here is a pic of how I approached this area.

 

6 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

On Pegasus I made a capping rail using Evergreen styrene strip which is easy to mould to the shaped top, and the medium is  not an issue as  the rail was to be painted.

I also used a section of flat Evergreen styrene for my HMS Camilla capping rail and it worked a treat; I'm glad you also decided to paint it black. The ochre didn't look good to my eye either as this contrasting color interrupted the clean, continuous line of the black capping alongside the quarterdeck.

 

I have a new aphorism for us detailed-obsessed ship modelers: Macro Never Lies...or, if you're feeling very satisfied, take a macro photo and see if you still feel the same way about your work.

Your model is looking superb, B.E. Captain Barnacle must be pleased! Your hand painted transoms was such a good decision.

Edited June 4, 2022 by hollowneck

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Ron,

 The macro  is a useful tool to address issues of finish, but I don't let it enslave me, therein lies madness.

 

B.E.

[DelF]

19 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

I work towards the point that when wearing my specs from a viewing distance of around 10” nothing untoward  catches my eye

10' without specs works better on my models...😬

[Blue Ensign]

Ha, Ha, Derek, you jest of course, remember I've seen your stuff.

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and twenty-nine

 

The Channels

These are  nicely formed out of Pearwood but are simplified to the extent that what would normally be a covering board along the edge of the channels to enclose the deadeye slots, is  incorporated.

 

This is relevant for me firstly because I was thinking of applying a fancy moulding along the edge.

Secondly there is the question whether to paint the channels black, leave them bright, or leave just the moulding bright.

 

In the Marshall painting the channels have bright edge mouldings, the upper sides are not clearly defined.

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However, when I try the channels against the model I think aesthetically they look best left bright.

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Only trial fitted here,  I will apply w-o-p  before fitting.

 

I considered sanding down the forward edge of the channels to make room for a  covering board but I was wary of  spoiling the shape of the channels, particularly the shaped fore and aft edges.

I trialled scribing a relief into the edge of some 1.5mm scrap, but with only that width to play with, creating something that represented a moulded shape was a non starter.

I thought about adding a scribed  covering board but that makes the width between slots and edge too great and still has the problem of producing a clean moulding.

 

When I look at the channels in place on the model, given the scale I decided to leave them as is.

 

I detect that Chris seems to have addressed this point on his  new Indy model.🤔

 

There are (26) supporting brackets for the channels which are marked on the hull against which these tiny little fittings abut.

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These are channel and position specific, so were sorted into six separate containers for the tiresome task of char removal.

I had a good run at these only two breakages (repaired) and several escapees (all recovered)

 

Fitting the channels is easy stuff with retaining pins added as per the blurb.

Adding the knee support brackets a little more tricky keeping the glue spread to a minimum.

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The tops of the  knee supports required painting to match the Topsides frieze.

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The next task is to decide which Deadeyes I will use and prepare the chain and preventer plates.

 

B.E.

06/06/2022

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

A slight diversion

Work is temporarily stopped on Sphinx while I await fresh supplies.

Not a job I look forwards to, but an opportunity to attend to a long overdue cleaning session of my uncased collection.

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The models are assembled from around the house.

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These particular models cover a span of some thirty  years.

English Cutter (Mamoli) 1990

HMS Pickle ( Caldercraft) 2010

 Fifie (Vanguard) 2020

Muirneag (Zulu) ( Vanguard)2020

 

At least Mrs W who’s currently out golfing, will be pleased when she returns, she likes my models but is always on my case to clean them.

 

B.E.

07/06/2022

[BobG]

Those are some wonderful models, BE! I do not look forward to cleaning my uncased models either. They're dust magnets but I prefer to display them without being in a case.

[AJohnson]

Lovely collection of models BE! 👏

 

What do you use to dust them?  I have pinched one of the Admirals blusher brushes (unused so no make-up on it!) which is nice and soft and dusts quiet large areas at once with minimal force.

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Bob and Andrew,

 I also have a selection of  make-up brushes donated by Mrs W, and I use a large soft paint brush to run  along the rigging lines, yards, and the deck.

A lot of deck fittings are not fixed on my models, and are removed for cleaning. I also use cotton buds for difficult areas.

My two largest  uncased models - Norske love and  a Flower Class Corvette are yet to do, but I'm  still working up the enthusiasm to start.🙄

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[AJohnson]

4 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

Thank you Bob and Andrew,

 I also have a selection of  make-up brushes donated by Mrs W, and I use a large soft paint brush to run  along the rigging lines, yards, and the deck.

A lot of deck fittings are not fixed on my models, and are removed for cleaning. I also use cotton buds for difficult areas.

My two largest  uncased models - Norske love and  a Flower Class Corvette are yet to do, but I'm  still working up the enthusiasm to start.🙄

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

I know what you mean, I have a garage full of old Airfix models and I'm lucky if I can muster the enthusiasm to clean them more than once/twice a year, as each time I do I end up with a collection of guns/aerials/bombs and rockets etc. to glue back on!  😆 (think plastic does get v brittle with age.)

 

Anyway, your Sphinx is beautiful! 🤩

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty

Ordnance complement completed.

With fresh supplies received I can complete the remaining six waist guns.

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Amati fine copper pins and 2mm ø brass rings are used for the carriage iron works.

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A sort of milestone when all the guns are completed.

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No gun rigging on this model, I’m following the Navy Board style.

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These are awkward guns to secure to the deck as their   construction doesn’t lend itself to pinning.

I use  small dabs of  pva on the wheels.

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Getting there!

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I will be returning to the channels in my next post.

 

B.E.

09/06/2022

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty-one

 

A question of Deadeyes.

For my particular build only the Deadeyes for the lower shrouds and Backstays are required on the Channels.

 

For ships of 20 - 22 guns  Steel indicates Deadeye sizes 11”ø (Fore & Main shrouds) = 4.36mm at scale. 7”ø (Mizen shrouds) = 2.8mm at scale. 7”ø were  also used for the Fore & Main Topmast Backstays.

 

The stools abaft the Channels take the deadeyes for the Topmast (7”) and T’gallant mast (5”) standing backstays.

The Mizen backstays are secured to the hull aft of the Channel.

 

The kit provided items are of a pale Walnut colour, they look very similar to standard Amati deadeyes.

They are nominally of 5mm and 3mm ø but are closer to 5.3mm and 3.8mm = 13.4” / 9.8” equivalent full sized deadeyes.

 

Of the 5mm deadeyes; out of 67 provided, (9) were 5.17; (40) were 5.26; and (17) were 5.38mm.

 

A touch of deva ju here, I had to  tweak the deadeye sizes on my Pegasus build for a better scale look.

 

I took a punt at ordering 2.5mm and 4mm deadeyes from Vanguard which I  thought with the usual variances would come close to actual scale sizes.

As I had hoped the 4mm deadeyes came out at 4.36mm and the 2.5mm deadeyes at 2.8mm, spot on for scale. The question then remains what to do about the T’gallant stay deadeyes of 5” = 2mm ø  fitted to the stools.

 

The following photos are for size comparison only, some of the deadeyes  don’t meet muster as to hole positions and will have to be replaced.

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This photo shows a kit 5mm shroud deadeye compared to the 4mm size.

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The oversized kit 3mm deadeyes were reduced in circumference as shown here on the Mizen stool.

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As on the Fore  and Main channels above, the modified 3mm deadeyes give a good visual difference to the shroud deadeyes.

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 The 2.5mm deadeyes are used for the T’gallant standing backstays on the stool, and again show a clear difference to the Topmast deadeye.

At 1:64 scale these 2.5mm deadeyes are  still a little oversized but are about the smallest  size for practical use.

 Changing the Deadeye sizes does create an issue with the provided strops.

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I did have some Amati aftermarket strops which I used for the 4mm deadeyes, shown here being blackened having been opened up  for fitting.

It was necessary to make replacement strops out of 0.5mm ø brass wire for the smaller deadeyes.

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The Deadeyes and strops will now need fettlin’ before I move onto the chains and preventer plates.

 

B.E.

11/06/2022

 

[DelF]

Those deadeyes certainly don't seem up to the quality we've come to expect from Vanguard - those I've used on Speedy and Duchess have all been perfectly symmetrical and consistently sized. Sourcing quality components must be a nightmare for Chris. 

[Blue Ensign]

There was nothing wrong with the original kit supplied deadeyes, it was just the scale I was concerned about. 

 

The replacement 4mm and 2.5mm deadeyes were ok but I should have ordered a few more to take the rejects into account.

 

They will look ok before I fix them into place.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

 

 

[DelF]

That's reassuring. I just thought the ones with wonky holes didn't look like the usual Vanguard deadeyes.

[allanyed]

Your model looks terrific!   Hope you don't mind one question, regarding the wheel.  Looking at other Sphinx builds I am guessing the wheel is from the kit, but wonder why it has twelve spokes instead of the normal 10 spokes.   I looked at a number of photos of contemporary models, including sixth rates and referenced Lavery's Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War and I could not find a ship for which the wheel had twelve spokes.  From Lavery, page 23, Most wheels had ten spokes, so they were fitted at an angle of 36 degrees to one another.  A few smaller wheels had eight spokes.   There is no mention of any wheel with twelve spokes, so I was wondering, is Lavery wrong?

Thanks again for sharing your build.

Allan

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Allan,

An excellent spot, you know I hadn't noticed, probably too wrapped up in thinking how nice it looked.🤔

My immediate thought was that Chris had taken the design from the AotS Pandora book, but no, that has only ten spokes.

 

My second thought was to check the Joseph Marshall painting of Sphynx on which I am basing my version, and indeed there are twelve spokes to the wheel, not that I had previously counted them.

 

He has also shown twelve spokes on his paintings of Kingfisher and Enterprize. On the 4th rate Portland he shows eight spokes on each of the double wheels.

 

So that's my get out of jail card, I was only following the man who was there!

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

 

 

[glbarlow]

Wheel spoke count? Wow, I never knew 12 verses 10 was a thing, my lack of maritime knowledge continues to show.

[allanyed]

As Marshall was there, perhaps these ships were exceptions to the norm.   Then again, drawing ZAZ3919 shows what looks like 10.

No matter, it is not important to most observers and your model looks great.

Allan

[Blue Ensign]

1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

Wheel spoke count? Wow, I never knew 12 verses 10 was a thing, my lack of maritime knowledge continues to show.

Nor me Glenn, obviously.

29 minutes ago, allanyed said:

As Marshall was there, perhaps these ships were exceptions to the norm.   Then again, drawing ZAZ3919 shows what looks like 10.

No matter, it is not important to most observers and your model looks great.

Allan

Thank you Allan, I have that drawing; a stupid question no doubt, but how do you infer that there are ten spokes from that side on  view of the wheel that only shows the vertical spokes top and bottom.

 

You realise what you've done, I will forever be spoke counting now on every model I see,😉

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

9 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

forever be spoke counting

I won’t 🤣

[mtaylor]

4 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

You realise what you've done, I will forever be spoke counting now on every model I see,😉

 

B.E.

Well, why not?  There's rivet counters, treenail counters, etc.  Why not  a new category... spoke counters?  LOL.

[allanyed]

5 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

I will forever be spoke counting now on every model I see

The devil is in the details BE.   I sometimes envy those that are not into the details as it alleviates a lot of frustration, but there is something positive to be said for the fun of the research into the little things.  

 

 I just did a double check and you are right, I mistook a line that I thought was an additional spoke, my apologies. The sixth rate models that I found all have 8 or 10 spokes.   https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-66436 is one example.

 

Allan

 

[Hubac's Historian]

B.E., here's another gem that I've been missing out on!  Beautiful work, as always.  I am particularly drawn to your shade-painting of the frieze elements; the effect is really outstanding.