HMS Sphinx 1775 by mtaylor - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Old Collingwood]

So good to see  you back on this brother,   its a Fantastic  build    and your  commitment to it  speaks volumes,   and yes  our eye sight is a pain in the harris,  same with me two eyes  that cant make up there mind   one  long vision and hazy  and the other short vision and  rubbish  - so it means even with glasses  at least one eye is always out of focus...

 

OC.

[Dave_E]

Are you going to paint the carriages and wheels?

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the likes and comments.  Still making progress.

 

15 hours ago, starlight said:

Do you have any tips for rounding off the axles and sanding off the laser char on the wheels?

 

I'm using a method similar to Moonbug's (quote below).   However I've modified it a bit.  I put the wheel on the round toothpick with a touch of Elmer's Glue-All (the white one).  For sanding, I used a sanding stick (the foam filled fingernail files). I then chucked it into a WeCheer mini power tool and spun it up at the absolute lowest speed to light sand. When I"m happy with the char removal, I just drop the toothpick and wheel into some alcohol to dissolve the glue.  This lets me reuse the toothpicks also.

 

As for the rounding of the axles, I'm just using a mini file as with the larger files  I feel they would overwhelm, hide the work area, and generally be a nuisance.  These fiddly bits really just need a light touch and a couple strokes to round off.

 

14 hours ago, Moonbug said:

Rounding off axles is always a pain - but for char on wheels, I’ve found that sliding them onto a toothpick until they “lock” in place, then rolling them very gently along a flat piece is sandpaper let’s you sand a minuscule amount at a time without altering their shape. 

I got the idea for the toothpicks from you.  Thanks.  But, I did modify it a bit... see my response above.   Lots of ways to skin that cat.

 

4 hours ago, Dave_E said:

Are you going to paint the carriages and wheels?

.   Nope. The original plan was to not do much painting of the hull.  So I probably won't do much more painting at all.   I don't have an airbrush and the paint hides the details. The only reason I painted as much on the hull as did was necessity brought on by some outside issues...  mostly battle damage from a young visitor. 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Update time.   Been assembling cannon inspite of outside distractions.  All 20 are ready to be installed and have quions inserted if needed (probably) for making all the barrels agree externally.  I douibt I'll be rigging them as given the space and size of things (eyebolts and rope) and the fact they're all under "cover" it'll be more than I want or can do at this point.  Working with the guns was in "spurts" of about 10-15 minutes with long breaks between sessions..  On the bright side, I found I can do it even though some eyebolts disappeared with a "ping" of the tweeers.

 

Here's the photo of her teeth ready for installation.

[Keith Black]

Those look great, Mark. Excellent progress on a field of cannon ready to roll into position. 

[Glen McGuire]

Awesome dental work, Mark!

[mtaylor]

Finally got some shop time and got all the cannons mounted.  She has her teeth.  Part of the delay was one cannon disappeared.  I found it but the carriage was heavily damaged.  Repaired and replaced some wooden bits and all is well. 

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Mark, she looks great. What's the next step? 

[mtaylor]

Thanks for following along and the likes. 

 

3 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Mark, she looks great. What's the next step? 

 

Quarterdeck and forecastle beams are next Keith.  I've run a thread from the bow to the stern to mark the centerline and have started remove char off the quarterdeck beams.   Looks like the beams will need just a bit of filing on the ends to fit properly so thus, the centerline rope and a light, easily erased pencil mark or two to ensure lineup.  

[Kevin]

lovely work Mark

[Old Collingwood]

I agree with Kevin,   lovely lovely  work Mark.

 

OC.

[Nirvana]

Mark, I wish I had the same time to spend with my build.

However, yours is coming along beautifully.

[Blue Ensign]

Coming along nicely Mark,

Be careful with the deck beams when trial fitting and cleaning, the slots for the  carlings are a weak point, as are the slots on the ends to fit along the bulwarks. Slow and steady is the way to go.

 

B.E.

[Old Collingwood]

3 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Coming along nicely Mark,

Be careful with the deck beams when trial fitting and cleaning, the slots for the  carlings are a weak point, as are the slots on the ends to fit along the bulwarks. Slow and steady is the way to go.

 

B.E.

Check re fit  then check agian that chap is saying  - always  a  three way ratio -  check / measure Twice then  attach / glue.

 

OC.

[Blue Ensign]

10 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Check re fit  then check agian that chap is saying  - always  a  three way ratio -  check / measure Twice then  attach / glue.

 

OC.

What you say is a standard approach OC what I'm saying is gentle handling is required with these parts, any breakages can create problems with the built in camber.

 

B.E.

[mtaylor]

Yes, I'm being very careful and gentle along with checking and re-checking several times before glue is applied.

[mtaylor]

A short update in "size" but a time consumer for me.  Quarterdeck beams are all in place.  I'll give it light sanding just to make sure everything is smooth after doing the forecastle beams.  I did sand the char off the top of the beams (missed 2 but oh-well).

 

 

[Kevin]

Very nice Mark

[mtaylor]

The build continues but the log is on hold.  The camera died and it at the shop for repairs.  Cheaper to repair than buy a new one.

[Glen McGuire]

Here's Mark...

[mtaylor]

Good one, Glen.  

 

Camera should be back by Saturday.  Needed a part and a good cleaning internally.  

[mtaylor]

Got the camera back yesterday but too busy with other things.   

 

I'm sorting out the gangways.  Seems to "alternative" ways of assembling them and I think i'm going with the "do the knees first" and then the other items.  A bit of painting and some fettling of parts are in order.

 

Here's a couple of photos showing where I'm at.  Ignore the mess as it's very much a work in progress.

 

[Oldsalt1950]

Looking good, Mark!

[mtaylor]

Time for an update and a question or two.   The gangways have been assembled and installed.  I'm pretty happy with the way they came together.   

 

Now for the questions....  the quarterdeck giving me fits.  It's warping and popping loose in many places and started about a week ago as near as I can tell.  And it's also developed black spots but darned if I know why.  I haven't dripped water, coffee or anything else on it.  Any thoughts or ideas on how to fix this or even if it can be fixed at all?  I did try some light sanding on the spots but no joy... they go deep into the wood.

 

BTW, here's the photo of the gangways installed.

 

And here's a photo of the quarterdeck and what's going on...  I just noticed that it's warping my framing on the port side also.

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

There’s something seriously out of sync there Mark.

Are you sure the deck beams were properly set before  laying the deck pattern?

Is it possible to remove the deck pattern, I can’t see from the photos what else to do. 

 

b.E.

[James H]

The collapsed frame is evident on the earlier photo, perhaps as a result of applying pressure in laying the deck?

 

The dark marks look like some form of mouldering? Could that be from the glue, looking at the places where it's soaked through the very think maple deck? 

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the input.   I'll think this through a bit since i use PVA for glue, I think wetting the deck is out as it will disassemble much of the deck framing.   I'll see what I can do to salvage this.

[James H]

3 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Thanks for the input.   I'll think this through a bit since i use PVA for glue, I think wetting the deck is out as it will disassemble much of the deck framing.   I'll see what I can do to salvage this.

 

Maybe try to slip a blade under where it's stuck down and slowly remove from the model. Those marks look like they've soaked through though. Could be needing a new part.

[mtaylor]

8 minutes ago, James H said:

 

Maybe try to slip a blade under where it's stuck down and slowly remove from the model. Those marks look like they've soaked through though. Could be needing a new part.

I'm thinking that's the way to go on removing the deck and seeing "what's next".   If I can do it without too much damage to the beams, I can always lay planks.

 

1 minute ago, E Z Breeze said:

Hi Mark, did you mark either the deck beams or planks with a sharpie or a ballpoint pen? Sharpies and other so called 'permanent' markers will bleed through water-based paint long after they are dry and PVA isn't too far chemically from paint. Ballpoint and other inks  can also bleed; ever seen an antique school desk? In either case, you may have to replank over some sort of barrier to stop it.

 

I can't see that this would be related to the warping.

Short answer... no marker, no pen, no markings.  I know we're bad here for mold growth but just seems weird.   

[mtaylor]

1 minute ago, E Z Breeze said:

 

Mould growth implies dampness and that is associated with warping. I'd investigate along those lines next. Good luck.

True.  It's weird here though....we're in a valley at 2,000 feet with normally low humidity.   Yet, black mold runs amok or seems to.