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

[BobG]

That hull looks quite good now that it's sanded, Mark. I'm sorry to hear that you'll be needing heart surgery and I sure hope you'll be as good as new when it's over and you've recovered. I will be thinking of you, Mark, and sending healing thoughts your way. 

[Old Collingwood]

She is looking  really nice Mark  - I have an idea  to catch all the dust  - its called a Tak Rag   Its a tacky  glove you wear all the dust is attracted to it  leaving a dust free surface  - I used  to use then in the cycle industry  removing dust on the frames  before they where  primed and  painted.

 

Take good care mate.

 

OC.

[Edwardkenway]

Coming along nicely Mark!

Prayers for plain sailing with your heart surgery and a speedy recovery .

Edited November 19, 2021 by Edwardkenway

[bruce d]

It looks great, I always get something from your posts so keep it up please. 

Best wishes for the procedure.

Bruce 

 

[mtaylor]

Thanks, for comments, likes and well-wishes.   No pics yet, but the wales are on.  Had a bit of a problem with one that decided to warp and curve along the grain.  Not sure why but I think I've got it fixed.   Right now, I'm doing the black strakes and will follow up with pics then.

[mtaylor]

]Thanks again for the comments and likes.  

 

Update time... wales are installed as well as the black strake.  I'm not what I did wrong but the black strake was "short" about 3mm after installing starting at the front for that part and then the stern half so I added a bit of fill between them.  Not a problem, just a puzzlement.   Looks like work on the stern is next.  Here's pics.

[yvesvidal]

I love the excellent rendering of the wales cuts, through the laser parts provided in the kit. It is very realistic.

 

Yves

[Old Collingwood]

That is looking So nice Mark.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the likes and comments.

 

Making more progress, slowly but still moving forward.   I've installed the gallery framing and also the first stern fascia.  Had some issues but my fault for not noting that the stern needs to be higher than the pics at this point show.  The note is later in the build,,,,, doooooh .  Broke a few bits off moving it but I'll add them back on before the covering piece.  There is some misfit with the counter blank as I think I set it too low but I think a bit of fill, sanding, and then the paint at the appropriate time will fix that.

 

I'll holding off painting the wales for a bit until I get the rest of the galleries set up.  I'm not fond of gluing things to paint which includes the gallery lower finishing pieces.

[Blue Ensign]

It seems to me that the area you are now approaching is all about mouldings and mitres.

To look anywhere near good they need to line up so a lot of  trial pinning and fitting and jumping ahead to check out stage 310 is  probably necessary to avoid any nasty surprises.

 

B.E.

[mtaylor]

Thanks B.E.   I'm fixing it now.  Once dry, I'll post a pic. The issue was actually the counter.

[mtaylor]

I think I have the stern fixed.  Still needs a bit of shaping which is in work.   I couldn't remove the underlayment for both pieces as I'd CA'd them.   Bad on me.   But the upper parts are where they should be. The lower one is now where it should be.  Here's pics of the stern as fixed.  I'll have to do some fettling for the windows but I accept that.   I've also learned that wood this thin is delicate and need to remember to have a lighter touch.

 

[DaveBaxt]

Looking really good Mark I like the look of those planks marked and how they inter lock. Good luck with your op and I am sure you are in good hands if its the James Cook hospital which I believe is one of the best in the country. Hope its not too long before you are up and running again. Best regards Dave

[mtaylor]

Thanks, Dave.  I'm not in England for Oregon in the US.  My doc and hospital have a good reputation so I feel I'm in good hands.

[DaveBaxt]

8 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Thanks, Dave.  I'm not in England for Oregon in the US.  My doc and hospital have a good reputation so I feel I'm in good hands.

Sorry I got that wrong but good to here you are in good hands . Best regards Dave

[Glen McGuire]

I think your stern look very good, Mark.  And thanks for teaching me a new word - fettling!  Although when I google it, there are like a dozen different definitions of the word, so I'm still not sure what it means!  

[mtaylor]

Glen, I picked up fettling from some of the builders here on MSW.  Kind of fits in my mind. To me it's a mix of "fixing", "grumbling" and "multiple redo's.  LOL

 

 

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

it's a mix of "fixing", "grumbling" and "multiple redo's.

 

If that's the definition of fettling, I've got a ton of experience as well!!  😃

[mtaylor]

This isn't really an update but a suggestion.....

 

I'm working on the quarter galleries and I hit instructions 218 to 220.  I was trying to figure out how to install that piece and running into problems... tweezers didn't work... too thick.   Finally, I took a bit of scrap wood to use as a spacer and glued it to the piece then glued it into place.   As a side note, I think it was about 0.8 mm thick for the spacer but was trying different thicknesses until I found one that worked.

[mtaylor]

I'm still working on the galleries...  specifically at this time the finials.  Tiny little things they are and I suspect that for me, the photo etch on them will be a big stretch.   One is done and the other is getting there.  I do see it needs a bit more shaping to match the curve of the stern. I hope these actually look like what drawings and photos show.... Feel free to critique in the comments.   

 

Gap filling and paint will come as soon as these are done and glued into position.

 

[Blue Ensign]

I wish I could offer some incisive comments and useful thoughts on the Quarter gallery construction, but I have little idea at this point, and the  thought of building them is giving me the yips.😕

 

Your experience will no doubt prove invaluable to me.

 

B.E.

[Moonbug]

  That definitely looks fiddly to me Mark - but it does look like you're getting close.  It feels as though it would be just as difficult to get both sides to match once you get one dialed in.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Moonbug

[AlanDavison]

Mark,

Looking at the picture in your post 170 it looks like the quarter gallery is set at the wrong angle, ie to high at the stern where it meets the stern facia - if you look at the plans and building manual photos you will see that the roof of the gallery should be more of less parallel to the top of the rear side pattern. It may be that your only option for correction is to de-construct the gallery, clean up and reattach.

I have also noticed that some of the tags which held the laser parts to the main sheets have not been completely removed, thus producing a gap between parts which should butt up as close as possible to each other. It may be only a millimetre or less but it can throw the whole build out of alignment and create all sort of problem later on in the build, this is particularly true of  a "Sphinx" build which has very fine construction tolerances.

Hope you don't ming the criticism, it is meant to be constructive.

AD

[mtaylor]

Well, for now, I'm going with them I think.   I do have a lot of filling, sanding, and painting coming up but that's a project I'll start tomorrow after the meds wear off from today's medical procedure.   

 

AD,

Thanks for the observations.  I think it's the angle of the photo. I'll flip the hull over tomorrow and put in it's proper position.  The cobbled together upside down mount isn't the best setup.  I do note that my "roof" on the quarter panels is a bit thicker at the stern than at the forward but everything else is pretty much determined by the slots in the hull lining and the pre-cut/pre-marked wood and matches the photos.  I'll take a another look for those "tags".   I thought I removed them all.

[allanyed]

Hi Mark,

It is hard to tell from the photos, but what is the in and out dimension at the top of the top timbers (not including the planking)?    Just curious as Vanguard has a great reputation for accuracy and this is one item where other kit manufacturers are sometimes off.

Thanks

Allan

[mtaylor]

I'm not sure, Allan by what dimension you're looking for.   

[mtaylor]

Question for the group and maybe I should have asked this in the painting area.....   

 

I did make a decision that I'm not going to paint the keel, stem, or stern so as not to hide the nice details Chris etched into the bow and rudder units.    And yes, I'll be doing black from the black strake to the waterline and white from the waterline down.  The hull is well sanded, filled some cracks that showed up (lack of humidity?).

 

So, my question is, should I put some varnish or clear coat first to the wood before painting?   At the local hobby shop, I got mixed messages.... some say over the final color only, others say do both.  I'm using acrylic paints, both spray (for the white) and brush for everything else.   I have the brush on varnish from Vellejo and Tamaya flat clear spray.  Opinions and thoughts are welcome as I haven't painted my wooden ships in the past... this is a first.

[Blue Ensign]

I have found that painting directly over Pear wood with Vallejo paints worked very well. I think James on his prototype build sprayed directly onto the bare wood, but applied wipe-on poly before brush painting the interior bulwarks.

 

With a hardwood like Pear I don’t think it necessary to seal before painting, maybe varnish post painting to protect the surface.

 

B.E.

 

[Moonbug]

  Hey Mark, I've done both and really didn't see a noticeable difference to my eye. Like BE - I also use mostly Vallejo paints.  However, When I have painted over a varnish  - I've used a thin layer of wipe on poly, then gave it a really nice but gentle and consistent sanding with a 400 grit paper until anomalies are smoothed out. It gave the subsequent acrylics a nice surface to adhere to and I think mitigated inconsistencies. In the end, it's probably a lot of extra work for not much of a noticeable difference.

   Either way, I still think the real key to success is multiple light coats (with good drying time in between) vs. trying to lay it on a little thicker from the start.

[mtaylor]

Thanks Bug, and BE. Looks like tomorrow is masking and start painting day.