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

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Marc, perhaps something has rubbed off on me after looking at your  wonderful Soleil build.

I am pleased with the frieze work outcome,  the fine etch design created by Chris, facilitates  the 'painted on' look even from  fairly close viewing.

 

Regards.

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

18 hours ago, allanyed said:

not into the details

There are details that matter and those that don't - the number of spokes in a ship's wheel simply don't.

 

[hollowneck]

On 6/7/2022 at 7:42 AM, Blue Ensign said:

she likes my models but is always on my case to clean them.

Clever B.E., this may be the worst (reverse) pun I've heard this year! How can Ms. B.E. possibly be "on your case?"

Nice choices on the channel knees and deadeyes. Both hues/wood choices suit perfectly with your build.

[hollowneck]

On 6/12/2022 at 12:17 PM, Blue Ensign said:

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

I don't think the count will matter unless it is a BESPOKE model...🤣

[glbarlow]

Hi Allan, not to hijack BE's log, I'd be really interested in seeing some of your logs or gallery images of your models, I'm sure they'd be inspiration for us all to see the level of detail you bring to our shared hobby.   Can you add links to your signature we could follow?

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty two

 

Looking at lanterns

I have found very little written about the subject of fitting and use of lanterns except that on larger ships and Flagships three seems to have been the norm during the 18^th century.

1804 seems to have been a significant date regarding number of lanterns; when only 1^st rates were to have three, except when lesser ships were used as Flagships.

This of course begs the question of whether a fair range of ships already had three but only lit two unless serving as a Flagship.

Contemporary models across  the same rates show a mix in the number of lanterns displayed, and many Navy board style models don’t include them.

Personally I think a nice central lantern looks good on models.

01812

01819

I’m obviously biased but I love the look of this Syren lantern on Pegasus.

This set of three on the contemporary Amazon model have a nicely balanced look.

 

The two lantern arrangement  as shown in the AotS book Pandora and used on Sphinx is not the most pleasing to my eye,  I think it looks as if something is missing. Aesthetically I prefer the look of either one or three.

 

However, if the use of lanterns was to help following ships of a squadron or convoy to keep on station at night then at least two lanterns would better allow ships to gauge the line based on the gap between the two lights, and the arrangement makes sense.

 

I could legitimately leave off the lanterns on my build, but it would be a shame not to use Chris’s  splendid little examples.

The kit lanterns are beautifully made 3d printed items that do require painting before assembly, don’t forget to clean before painting.

 

I decided to paint the lanterns Vallejo Ochre Brown overall.

A temporary wire was inserted into the base to handle during painting and assembly.

7277

I found the clear acetate inserts needed a shave off the top to allow the roof to sit down  properly on the body.

 

It is quite a feat that the tiny vents have been designed into the roof of the lanterns, and are visible to  even my less than good eyes.

7280

7289

In addition to the (supplied) central ‘iron’ support bracket, lanterns would also have supporting wires to help with stability.

7290

With the lanterns in place I can see  that additional straps from beneath the lantern body to the Tafferal capping rail would be appropriate.

7282

7285

7287

Now that I’ve fitted them I’m warming to the look, which surprised me somewhat.

I’ll now have a think about fitting supporting wires attached to tiny eyelets  in the Taffarel capping. My only reservation being that it may look too fussy on a Navy Board Style model.

 

B.E.

14/06/2022

 

[Oldsalt1950]

Looking good B.E., those lanterns look right at home. I'd put on the additional brackets myself.

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Oldsalt, I'm not in the right mind-set to tackle those brackets yet, but it's a job that can be deferred.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post One hundred and thirty three

 

Channel deadeyes re-visited

With extra supplies received I have  re-checked the deadeyes for misplaced holes, replaced some, and  re-made others.

With these standard deadeyes there is an outboard face usually better finished than the inboard face, and even if the holes are ok from outboard quite often they are out of line on the inboard side.

For the Topmast backstays and Mizen shrouds I have re-made the deadeyes using the kit 3mm + stock deadeyes which have been reduced in circumference.

07273

To this end my serving machine was brought into use in an attempt to reduce the size uniformly.

 

Threaded on a taut wire thro the holes, a sanding stick was held against the deadeye whilst turning, it seemed to do the trick.

I reduced the circ to the level of the groove and then re-grooved.

Some of the strops also needed reducing in size.

Finally w-o-p was applied to the surface of the Deadeyes.

07303

Despite all this extra work  I prefer the more scale appearance  of the now three deadeye sizes along the channels.

07304(2)

07306(2)

07308

The shipyard is closing now for a week whilst we enjoy  the pleasures of the Gower Peninsula.

Sphinx is secured beneath her  protective cover for the duration.

 

B.E.

18/06/2022

 

[Blue Ensign]

Didn't quite get away from ships during my absence.

 

Rising from the sand, like a sea dragon, the remains of the barque Helvetia wrecked on Rhossili beach in 1887.

After 135 years I wonder how much longer before the bow timbers are fully  lost to view.

 

B.E.

24/06/2022

 

[Hubac's Historian]

That’s an excellent scale upgrade with the deadeyes.  I will have to remember this for later.

[hollowneck]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:41 PM, Blue Ensign said:

After 135 years I wonder how much longer before the bow timbers are fully  lost to view.

Nice photos, B.E! This beach is gorgeous and one of the only ones in Wales where you can get into the water to swim or surf.

Perhaps these are actually neolithic standing stones covered in moss. I know - The Time Lord from Doctor Who will have the answer!

 

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Ron, I can think of quite a few more superb beaches in Wales it’s my near local playground.

Talking of standing stones, on my return I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to download the Starz play app to my TV so I can watch Outlander series 5 & 6, I could have  advanced Sphinx a fair bit in the same time, but got there in the end.

 

Post One Hundred and Thirty four

 Chains and Plates

 These are all chemically blackened before fitting, a tiresome business with the various stages of cleaning these multiple small parts, but infinitely better than having to make your own.

7325

Once blackened each piece is buffed using a cotton bud to remove the excess blackening.

 

To aid getting the angles right for the Preventer plates along the hull, dowels equivalent to the lower mast lengths at the bolsters are used.

7327

Temporary lines to represent the shrouds were rigged to give the angle for the Preventer plates.

7328

It is a tricky business fitting the preventer plates so that they all line up along the hull and at the correct angles.

 I expect that adjustment to some of the uppermost links may be required to achieve this.

 

So, my work for the week ahead is set out, what joy!

 

 

B.E.

26/06/2022

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Blue Ensign

[hollowneck]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:40 AM, Blue Ensign said:

It is a tricky business fitting the preventer plates so that they all line up along the hull and at the correct angles.

I like your simple solution for this task. I've always "eyeballed" them myself. These are always fun to affix... I mark visualised spots with a fine-tipped pencil for the mounting holes.

When my wife and I were last in Scotland we had to visit the village where Clair (of STARZ Outlander series) had her foreshadowing vision. We weren't the only American fan/tourists standing next to the fountain in the square...we became huge fans of Outlander Seasons 1-4.  I hope you can get the Starz app to download and catch-up!

Edited June 28, 2022 by hollowneck

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty five

 

Fitting the chains

There is  a fold line on the Lower chain link which allows it to sit flush with the hull. Against this the top of the preventer plate is bolted, and you will note that this too has a slight rebate in the top end where it joins the lower link chain.

 

I needed to check them carefully before fitting as the blackening reduces the clarity of these features.

 

Fitting the preventer plates raised  a question in my mind.

The kit arrangement appears to have them with a gap between the hull and where they bolt to the Black strake at their lower end.

 

My understanding is that these should be flush with the hull at all points and were cranked slightly to fit over the Black strake.

 Careful pressing of a hard edge just above the strake produces this effect.

 

On Sphinx the bottom fixing of the preventer plates (PE51/PE52) run along the top-line of the wale, which provides a useful fitting guide and the lower link (PE50) joins this at the top end.

 

In reality the middle links (PE49) varied in length as appropriate to each deadeye fitting, the preventer plates and lower chain links remaining constant.

 

I am prepared to make replacement middle links if required using 0.5 mm ø brass wire which is scale to the 1¼”ø iron applicable.

 

My approach;

The lower  chain and  middle link are brought together thro’ the deadeye loop and trial fitted for line -up against the  preventer plate top hole with the plate in the desired position.

 

The preventer plates are then fixed with a bolt thro’ the bottom fixing. The shroud line is used to mark the position.

Once satisfied, the pin is driven thro’ to secure both preventer plate and lower chain at the upper end.

 

Fitting these things is a tiresome business made more so by my Amati keel clamp having developed the alarming habit of lurching violently in one direction or other without warning.

 

I suspect that the ball and cup which allow it to rotate have  worn like an old hip joint after many years of use.

 

Time was taken out for a bit of remedial surgery.

7351

It took most of a day to fit one side of the Fore channel, and fortunately fiddling with the middle link proved unnecessary.

7340

7342

The backstay and Mizen chains are much simpler to fit having no preventer plates to consider.

 

Every thing was going so well until I came to the Main Channels.

 Here a combination of preventer plate PE52, lower chain PE 50, and Middle link PE49  just simply would not fit.

7345

7344

I tried various combinations of middle and lower links combined with the preventer plates all to no avail.

 

No one else has mentioned issues with this and I am at a loss to understand where things have gone awry.

 

My options appear to be;

 

Fix the preventer plate lower fixing on the wale, which does not accord with the plan - I don't fancy this option.

 

Scratch make smaller middle chains, which I have a feeling may look too small.

 

Ask Chris if he will supply me with a set of the smaller PE51  preventer plates as used on the fore channels. These do seem to match the fit.

 

I will play around further but I think option 3 may prevail.

 

 

B.E.

 

29/06/2022

 

 

 

[hollowneck]

53 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Amati keel clamp having developed the alarming habit of lurching violently in one direction or other without warning.

Same problem here, B.E. It's a little long in the tooth having seen me through no less than thirteen models over the past 12 years. It hasn't completely failed so I just apply a little more force to tighten it's grip -  however, I'll probably replace it with the Indy build coming up next year...with inflation, I wonder if I shouldn't get one now and have it on my shop shelf???

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by hollowneck

[hollowneck]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:21 PM, Blue Ensign said:

No one else has mentioned issues with this and I am at a loss to understand where things have gone awry.

This was a minor puzzlement for me also. I did work out a combo of supplied P/E pieces that got the job done eventually. I chose to close-up the deadeye loops (the top ones below the channels) on my build; in practice, I can't imagine these critical fastenings were left "open" (below the channel boards) after the ironwork was completed.

BTW: clever to string a keeper thread through the deadeye loops to keep them from doing walkabouts. After I found a couple random deadeyes MIA (the 3mm ones)...I decided to set all of them aside until I was ready to permanently mount all their respective preventer plates and linkages.

Edited July 3, 2022 by hollowneck

[Blue Ensign]

It remains a great puzzlement to me Ron,

 

The gap between the underside of the Fore and Main channels and the Wale is the same on both plan and model. The Middle and lower chain parts (PE49/50) are the same for both Channels, only those for the Mizen and backstays are smaller (PE54/55)

 

The preventer plates for the Fore Channel fit just fine but for a reason that escapes me those for the Main Channel are 1mm+ longer than those for the Fore.

This is enough to throw the  bolt holes  of the preventer plate and lower chains out of sync as in the photos above.

 

Maybe I’m missing the point but I simply can’t see why have two different sizes of preventer plate? Any minor adjustments would normally be done tweaking the middle link.

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

16 hours ago, hollowneck said:

Same problem here, B.E. It's a little long in the tooth having seen me through no less than thirteen models over the past 12 years. It hasn't completely failed so I just apply a little more force to tighten it's grip -  however, I'll probably replace it with the Indy build coming up next year...with inflation, I wonder if I shouldn't get one now and have it on my shop shelf???

 

 

I did a bit of d-i-y shimming on my  clamp.

7352

I dismantled  the clamp and lined both cup and ball  with fine cotton material from an old handkerchief .

I then applied a little lump hammer technology and bashed the  spines on the retaining ring until it tightened to the point that movement was stiff.

 

Hand tightening of the ring wouldn't hack it.

 

With Indy I think you're going to need a bigger clamp, but if you buy another you can always use the spare bar clamps to give additional support.

 

B.E

 

 

[Theodosius]

Such a great work! I mean, even in the macros, everything is clear and sharp! 

[Blue Ensign]

Preventer plate saga continues…

 

Chris has advised me that on the Admn plan the Main preventer plates are slightly longer than those of the Fore channels.

I checked the plan and indeed they are, but the lower chains are shorter on the Mains  (apart from the aftermost two) than on the Fore.

The kit provides a standard  length of lower chains for both Fore and Main (PE50)  which fit the Fore channels, but create the issue (for me) on the Main channels.

 

The problem sent me rooting thro’ my brass etch spares box;

 the solution came in the form of brass etched chains from the Amati Fly/Pegasus chains set that I bought years ago during my Pegasus build.

7362

It is serendipitous that the middle and lower chains of the Fly/Pegasus set are a perfect match to the Sphinx Main  Preventer plates.

7355

So what you see is a sort of Sixth rate hybrid arrangement, Preventer plates courtesy of Sphinx, Middle and Lower chains courtesy of Pegasus/Fly.

7358

Problem solved for me but I believe the one sized middle and lower chains of the Sphinx kit may create issues for other builders, in relation to the Main Channels.

 

That remains to be seen.

 

 

B.E.

 

30/06/2022

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty-six

 

Billboards, bolsters, and Linings.

 These do not feature on the Sphinx kit, but she presumably had them, and they are shown on the Marshall Painting.

The Billboard is clearly shown,  but the bolster can’t be identified, and there is no indication of the linings.

 

I added this feature to Pegasus and will do so for Sphinx

The dimensions of these fittings are given in the FFM Vol 11 for the Swan sloops which will be my guide for Sphinx.

 

I firstly made the Bolsters in two parts using Pearwood strip. They are rebated on the back side to fit over the Preventer plates.

 

With the bolsters  in place the Billboards can be made. For this I use some 1mm pearwood scrap inscribed with 3mm wide boards which reflect the topsides planking.

 

The topside decoration is carried across the Billboard.

7397

I haven’t yet decided whether to paint the bolsters to match the  strakes.

7386

The decoration comes courtesy of some old Pegasus etch.

7390

The bolsters are only pinned in place in case I wish to remove them, but so were the originals.

7392

I did initially have some reservations about  adding this feature in case it distracted in some way from lovely lines of Sphinx.

 

It does appear on the contemporary model of Amazon, and I note that Chuck has added it to his Winnie build.

7396

I have still the Linings to do yet, a pity to cover up part of that nice top and butt wale planking, but they are part of the set.

 

 

B.E.

02/07/2022

 

 

 

[Theodosius]

That's a cool addition! Grat! 🙂

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty Seven

 

 Command candidates.

 When I first saw Chris’s latest figures of Pellew and Hornblower I was pretty impressed, enough so to buy the 1:64 scale versions to  satisfy my curiosity.

 

They are indeed finely sculpted and detailed and altho’ not period dressed for Sphinx at least in her early years, they do look very fine on her deck as scale comparison figures.

 

Both figures stand over six feet in scale height (sole of foot to Bi-corn hats) which is tall for the era, but Pellew was known to have been a tall man.

 

 I  am not a fan of the bases which as a trial I have removed.

7410

I used side snippers to  firstly reduce the base size by degrees, cut thro’ the centre between the legs using an etch razor saw, and snip away the remaining base.

7413(2)

Beneath the soles of the feet, I supported the legs and then  snipped away  but not down to the feet, and then carefully sanded to the sole.

 

Sir Edward did lose his foot during the surgery due to heavy handiness on my part, but it was quickly re-attached using ca.

 

7414(3)

From aft the macro reveals a crack running down Hornblower's shoulder, this was not visible to the naked eye – well mine anyway.

With the Hornblower figure, be careful in handling as the sword extension beyond his frock coat is very vulnerable to breaking. (Don’t ask me how I know)

7415(2)

A fine pair of Quarterdeck officers.

7416(2)

Hornblower would certainly have to duck beneath the beams. He is standing next to Capt. Grimm who stands at a scale 5’ 8”

7421

They do look good, particularly standing on their own  feet and not on a pedestal.

One or other could be re-identified as Captain Richard Lucas who commanded Sphinx in 1794.

7424

Back to the main event…

 

B.E.

04/07/2022

 

[Mirabell61]

Very nice Figures B.E.

 

Nils

[Blue Ensign]

They are very nice Nils,  but all down to Chris who is providing an excellent service to ship modellers. It is also good that he is supplying them at different scales. This 3d printing malarkey is having a major impact on the quality of fittings available for which I am truly thankful.

 

B.E.

[Oldsalt1950]

But I have yet to see a figurine with a holystone or a Swab(mop).

[yvesvidal]

B.E. your model is an endless source of marvels for me. You are pushing the perfection towards new boundaries.

 

Yves

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Yves,  not sure about pushing perfection,  but your kind words are very much appreciated.

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post One Hundred and Thirty Eight

 

The Skid beams

At this point in history these beams were temporary, held in position by brackets along the Gangway between Qtr deck and Fo’csle.

On the Marshall painting they are not shown, and I have doubts about fitting them.

 

I can see that the number of four beams in the kit has probably been taken from the Pandora AotS book.

Minerva 1780

Four is the number indicated on several contemporary models, but these tend to be larger  Frigates, the Minerva (38) of 1780 being one example.

 

On this beautiful model, as with several others, only the crutches are shown, and I’m of two minds whether adding the  skid beams will enhance or detract from the overall look of this style of model.

 

I certainly don’t want to obscure the Upper deck details.

7438

The beams have been replaced by some pristine 2.5mm x 3.00mm Pearwood stock (Hobbymill EU)

7434(2)

As I’m not big on permanent fixing, if  an alternative is available, I drilled and pinned the skid beams to the brackets.

If you look closely the bracket parts do have bolt holes in the side.

7435(2)

I also considered whether to  fit any or perhaps only one of the boats on the model, or have them set as separate displays within the main model case.

If I am to display a boat on the skids it will be the Pinnace as the most elegant of the three.

 

The artist in me is drawn to the clean uncluttered look of the Navy board style model, the detail demon in me says if its there and applicable – fit it.

7442

7443

7444

7446

I’m not convinced that I like the look of the bare cradles on the beams.

 

Were I building a fully rigged version I would not have these concerns but Navy Board style models are of a different order, and often less is more in relation to this type.

 

I will  ponder the matter further while I attend to the Port lids.

 

 

B.E.

 

06/07/2022