HMS GREYHOUND by Jackson7 - Corel - Collaboration With My Past Self

[Jackson7]

This next step took forever because it involved my nemesis: oil paint. And even worse, yellow oil paint. 

 

To get the next two planks to approximately the right shade, I had to blast them with several layers of thinned oil paint. Of course, each layer took a day to dry.

 

Of course, after the painting, they went on fairly easily.

 

 

And in the meantime, I realized that my glass for the transom window wasn't quite blue enough, so I've put on another layer of staining goo.

Hopefully, the next step won't involve loads of drying for stuff under my control.

 

 

[Jackson7]

Here is as good a place as any to say a few words about the art of shipbuilding.

 

In an idea world, building a model ship goes perfectly. Pieces glue in at the right angle, parts line up and everything looks great by the end. But that is not the world we live in.

 

Instead, we live somewhere where after six tries, something looks like a solid seven out of ten, and you're sure the seventh try will bungle it worse. Sometimes that's the best you can do. 

 

That's where you should learn to cheat. In these situations, the best way forward is to find ways to build little optical illusions into your ship. By the time you're done, you and others who look at it won't notice, and it makes the model look far better.

 

Here's an example or two from my Greyhound.

 

The side gallery windows have tiny wooden window bars. In an ideal world, they would connect percectly with the pillars that frame the windows. But the back pillar is too low to connect perfectly against its bars.

 

Rather than leave the bars bumping up, I sublty cut the bars into a wedge shape so it looks like they are flush with the pillar.

 

On the stern, one piece of yellow-dyed wood is too short. To make it fit, I cut and glued two other pieces so they looked like a single solid piece. The result is hardly noticeable. 

 

There's another similar piece of woodworking on the bow where I did the same thing.

 

These are far from the only things I've used to make the Greyhound look good despite setbacks. Little moves like these greatly improve the look of a model, even when you're not able to get things perfect. Sometimes attempting to make something perfect after a mistake only makes it worse.

 

 

[Jackson7]

Tonight I put everything onto the transom planking except the last two planks. The only difficult part was the plank directly above the transom window. I had to cut a divot in the middle so the window could fit smoothly. It all has gone very well though, apart from some remedial sanding where surfaces haven't been perfectly flat or straight.

 

The last two planks will have to wait until I finish the transom window supports, as the pieces underneath them show where everything fits together.

 

To my disappointment, I learned the lions I had my friend print are actually too big to fit on the transom. Not only was the metal badly cast, it was also somewhat too large.

 

That said, I still like my planks more than Corel's metal transom piece.

 

Also, I accidentally dropped the metal transom at the beginning of this step, and it broke. So I'm fully committed.

 

 

[Srenner]

Shame... im happy to help print another version for you if your not happy with the planking your going to do.

 

How are you going to bend the small window timber around... the back curves slightly in two directions?

[Jackson7]

7 hours ago, Srenner said:

Shame... im happy to help print another version for you if your not happy with the planking your going to do.

 

How are you going to bend the small window timber around... the back curves slightly in two directions?

Thanks @Srenner! That's a very kind offer, and I will definitely consider it if things don't go well. 

 

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean about the small window timber. On mine, the back is fairly flat, so I plan to just glue it on the same way I did with the side windows.

[Jackson7]

The last few days have been productive.

 

Before I put on the last two planks, I put the window pillars in place, aligned with the wood above the hull. Everything I've glued to the window was done using superglue. After the 2mm by 2mm pillars, I put on the 1mm by 1mm vertical window bars. I'm going to work on putting on the 20 horizonal bars over the next few days.

After these steps, I put on the last two pieces of transom wood. Gluing them on was simple. I sanded them until they looked like a relatively smooth arch. 

 

I'll bend a cap piece over them after I finish the last few details.

[Jackson7]

One tiny piece at a time, I advance. Four left. 

 

Cutting 20 miniscule window bars to shape has been stressful and somewhat tedious. But I think the results justify themselves.

[Jackson7]

The transom windows are now complete. 

 

Given that the 3d printing is just too big, I've settled for a simple framing design reminescent of the HMS Surprise.

 

I'm not sure if I want to paint the window pillars or the wood pieces above or below the windows.

[Jackson7]

Done with the transom's structural parts at least. I'll have to contemplate what to do with any potential decorations.

 

 

I used the trusty boil and bend technique to put the cap piece in place. 2 hours in a thermos of boiling water, 24 hours being bent to shape between nails, and then 15 minutes or so of pressure to glue to the hull.

 

Unfortunately, the 1x3mm cap piece was too short by a tiny bit, so I had to patch it over on the side. It's hardly noticeable though.

 

My final verdict is that it looks far better than the original metal kit part. Far more natural, and definitely a better fit.

[Jackson7]

I just finished putting on the chain-wales. I supported them underneath with two small pieces of 2x2mm wood each.

 

It was difficult to sand them to fit the curve of the hull, but the end product works well enough.

 

I drilled holes in them where the pictures of the Greyhound show they need them. The instruction booklet should mention this part and advise builders to do it before putting them on the hull.

 

[Jackson7]

I attached the rudder at long last. Supergluing metal to wood isn't something I recommend, but it's something that sometimes proves necessary. With enough sanding, cutting and gentle persuasion, I think it ended up working.

 

I'm playing with the idea of using thread to hold the deadeyes in place. The metal loops need so much painting, and I'm not sure it's even plausible to paint something so small without loads of trouble with chipping, even if I plan to paint hardcoat over them.

[Nirvana]

You have done a tremendous job.  One this we all have might have problem with is lining the hull planking up to match each side.
Looking very good.

[Jackson7]

2 minutes ago, Nirvana said:

You have done a tremendous job.  One this we all have might have problem with is lining the hull planking up to match each side.
Looking very good.

Thanks! Much appreciated.

[Jackson7]

The next few steps have required much thought, and advice from @harlequin. I'm grateful for his help, and plan to start them later, when I'm less tired.

 

For now, I've amused myself with painting the figuredhead. A 3D print from my friend has far exceeded the original in quality. And some paint has put it to a whole different level.

I thought that for a ship that sailed the coast of Africa, an African lady would prove lovely. For contrast, the original is below.

[Jackson7]

Thanks to @harlequin, I got advice that the ship instruction manual wouldn't give. I drilled the holes for the little copper pieces to go through. 

 

Frustratingly, one of them was just above my stern windows, so I had to make some adjustments and sand them down until there was room to put in the metal. The end result is hardly noticeable.

In the end, it all worked out.

 

Now I just have to do the chain plates. I'm out of 1x2 mm wood, so I had to cut and sand my 2x2mm wood down to size. Thankfully, that particular job is now done. It's boring enough that it doesn't merit a photo. Just cutting it to shape with an x-acto knife, then putting sandpaper over a metal ruler and sliding the wood along this flat surface to file down the bumps.

 

Of course, the chain plates present their own trouble. I think the metal plates that come with the kit are bad enough that I don't want to use them. It doesn't make sense to work for so long on something, then put on a bunch of parts that threaten to snap, and look like badly-cast metal. 

 

I'm not sure if I'll buy them online, or make them out of rope instead. @Srenner and @Gregory have pointed out to me that metal is likely more historical, which pushes me toward reaching for the Internet. Also, I need to buy more wood for a different project. A dear friend is getting married soon, and I need to build him a wooden chessboard. 

 

Given these difficulties and the impracticality of solving them with a knife, sandpaper and Hobby Lobby alone, It might take a while until I can execute the next few steps.

 

 

 

[Jackson7]

I bit the bullet. I bought 40 chain plates from Agesofsail.com.

 

Now, all I have to do is wait until they arrive. 

[Jackson7]

I couldn't resist; I started another step. I've put on the figurehead and a bit of the bow ornamentation. 

 

Unfortunately, one of the two big pieces broke. It wasn't the right shape, and trying to bend it and file it into submission went wrong.

I'm now thinking of replacing it with carved wood. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

[Jackson7]

I'm working on the task of cutting out two new bow pieces. With a great degree of effort, I've succeeded in carving a piece of wood from my cutting board to the right shape. With two more cuts, I'll have the shape correct.

[Jackson7]

I finished cutting out new bow pieces.

They only have one hole, but that's because they broke while I was drilling the hole out. They were so much work and so risky to createthat it wasn't worth it to take another attempt.

 

 

[Jackson7]

Hey y'all, I've returned at last. I didn't like the brightness of the brass on many of the ship's pieces, so I blackened them all with Birchwood Casey Brass Black. It generated a cleaner result than painting them.

 

The process was arduous. I cleaned them off with steel wool and denatured alcohol, soaked them briefly in brass black, let them dry, then coated them all with Birchwood Casey gun stock wax.

 

The resulting color is impressively solid, and it's not worth going back to fix the few small problems.

 

 

If someone else chooses to use this method, they should blacken the brass in small batches. I think that gives a better result.

[Jackson7]

I've successfully attached the chainwales and deadeyes to the ship. After coating them in some protective metal wax, they look almost exactly as I hoped.

To avoid splitting the gunwale wood, I drilled tiny holes for the nails to enter. 

 

Right now, I still need to put on the wood that holds them in place. I think they're going to be the last wood I need to glue onto the outside hull. 

[Srenner]

You made the same mistake i made.. the chain plates should angle to the angle of the shrouds not go straight up and down- but its done now so i guess go with it.

[Jackson7]

On 10/21/2025 at 4:49 PM, Srenner said:

You made the same mistake i made.. the chain plates should angle to the angle of the shrouds not go straight up and down- but its done now so i guess go with it.

Good to know. You're right, there's really nothing for it now. There's so much to learn on this ship.

[Jackson7]

I've passed a milestone. Every piece of wood that remains to be glued onto the ship is either a deck furnishing or part of the masts.

 

I have realized that for the deck furnishings, I'm better off carving my own knight heads from 2mm by 2mm than using the kit's metal ones. It will be just as much trouble to cut metal to shape as to cut wood to shape.

 

Before I begin that arduous task, I'm gluing the gun carriages together. So far, they're looking great. Blackened brass was the way to go.

[Jackson7]

I settled on carving the knightheads myself. Now, 22 tiny carved knightheads later, I'm done with all the ones that attach to the rail. Of course, the metal front railing doesn't fit, so I'm carving that too. And I'm probably going to carve the 8 additional knightheads that go near the masts. 

They're simple to do. All you need is a sharp X-Acto knife and a lot of persistence. I also put a thin veneer over the false deck at the bow and the stern. It looks much better.

 

Hopefully this phase will go much more quickly after I'm done with the ridiculous amounts of tiny carvings. At least I've preemptively assembled the gun carriages.

Also, if anyone can provide photos of where all the cleat hitches attach, I would be very grateful. I don't trust the kit drawings at this point.

[Jackson7]

When the metal bannister provided by the kit didn't fit, I built my own. It may be the best bit of carving I've done yet on this insane project.

 

It looks far more natural than the original. 

 

Now, I just have the other railing and all the wood knighthead things in the center. We'll see just how they go.

[Jackson7]

Why work from a kit when you can take four times as long doing it yourself?

Slowly, carefully, I have carved wooden deck pieces for every parrt I've felt capable of carving. It's worked great. They look way better.

 

Putting into the deck was frightening. I drilled hoes in the deck where they attached, then carved the ends of the square pegs into circular shapes. They went into the holes fairly easily. It was much better than trying to carve square holes to put them into.

 

Now, I have just the back rail and the little railings for the stairs. 

[Jackson7]

Sometimes it's the little things that make a ship come together. 

 

I bought some 3 mm high letters from Walmart to put the name on the stern. After some cleaning, sanding and painting, they were ready to place on.

 

They give the stern that last little spark of color it needs to work.

I've discovered that the bow might be too crowded to fit the front two guns.

 

I might be able to work around it, but it's likely I'm making an 18-gun ship. No big deal though. 

 

 

[Jackson7]

I ran into a bit of trouble.

 

The good news is I was able to put the wheel on and add in all the belaying pins. I accidentally broke off the mast base near the wheel, and it's such a bother than I plan to put it onwhile it's around the mast.

 

I'd recommend doing this step (or at least drilling the holes for it) before putting the quarter deck on. I had to use a thumb tack to press holes in the hull where a drill couldn't reach.

The bad news is that I kinda damaged my work on the top deck trying to put in railings. And then I discovered that there's no way they are comfortably at 1/100 scale. I've calculated that they would be nearly 5 feet high. Rope railings at neck level are uncomfortable at best. At worst, they're a way to combine strangulation with falling down the stairs.

 

Given that I doubt my ability to drill holes to contain them and that they are too big, I'm just going to eschew railings. Safety regulations were probably not high on the priority list in 1720 anyway.

[Jackson7]

Also, I found a picture of a model of the Greyhound made at the time of its actual existence.

 

While it looks somewhat like the Corel kit, there are several big differences.

 

For a start, the foremost aperture in the hull doesn't have a cannon in it, and it has an additional stern gunport with a cannon extremely near the cabin window. You can clearly see the oar ports above the gunwale. There aren't any roped-off walkways on deck. 

 

I'm sure you guys can spot more. 

 

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