HMS Bellona by yvesvidal - FINISHED - CAF Model - 1:48

[yvesvidal]

While planks are drying, I started working on the pleasant stuff of Session #2: Some parts of the gun deck and the rear capstan.

 

 

The assembly above will be glued to the deck and will provide a sturdy pivot/bearing for the main axle.

 

 

The capstan will be rotating. The lower part of it is fixed and is used as pivot for the axle. The upper part and the 10 feet long sticks are rotating and will be coupled with the capstan on the upper deck. It probably won't be easy to see the lower part rotate, but I will know that it is there.

 

 

The bars are made of bamboo sticks, for Smores (Publix stores). Each bar is cut at the right length (real bars were 10 feet long) and inserted into the upper part of the drumhead (see pictures below).

 

 

 

The upper part of the capstan rotates smoothly and is a pleasure to operate.

 

The deck is planked with maple planks of 0.4 mm thick, 8 mm wide (easy to cut with a pair of scissors) and stained with old oak Minwax varnish (very smelly).

 

Yves

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by yvesvidal

[mtaylor]

That is one huge and impressive hull.  I hope the rest of the planking goes as well.   What method are you using on bending the cherry planks?  

[Kusawa2000]

5 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

I completed the wales on the port side. I still have to fix and paint the gun ports on that side, as well as install the upper wale. That one is easy (1.5 mm basswood) compared with the main wales (3 mm x 8 mm cherry wood).

 

For a change of pace and more self inflicted torture, I decided to start planking that monstrous hull. Each plank is made of 3 mm thick by 8 mm wide poplar/lime wood and is very stiff. I split the hull in three belts, following the recommendations of experts (such as Chuck) and started planking the garboards and the first planks to the keel.

 

 

 

 

So far, I have installed 4 planks on each side. About 24 planks should go under the wales, on each side.

 

 

This is still Session #2 and it is by far the biggest session, with the hull planking, wales, upper hull planking, channels, gun deck and 28 big caliber guns to assemble, not counting two capstans, bitts and numerous grates.

 

Session #2 also includes the copper tiling of the hull. I have not decided if I will tile the ship and it will depend of the appearance of the hull. Honestly, I have never planked such a big and curvy hull and each plank presents its amount of challenges.

 

I may be stuck for months on Session #2 and the sanding of that behemoth will require an electric sander, preceeded by a wood scraper.

 

I have secured all five sessions of the kit (you never know what may happen between the USA and China) and I will be presenting the remaining three sessions at a later time. Crazy stuff for sure and tons of parts to assemble for a life time.

 

Yves

Yves:  Is Session 5 now available? CAF models website still has it not available. If its available how do you purchase it?

 

Mike Draper

[Blue Ensign]

Impressive work Yves, that model is certainly going to have 'presence'

 

B.E.

[Kevin]

6 hours ago, Kusawa2000 said:

Yves:  Is Session 5 now available? CAF models website still has it not available. If its available how do you purchase it?

 

Mike Draper

ask Tom @cafmodel

[yvesvidal]

10 hours ago, mtaylor said:

That is one huge and impressive hull.  I hope the rest of the planking goes as well.   What method are you using on bending the cherry planks?  

 

Mike, the cherry wood planks were bent after dipping them in alcohol. Also, for the bow, I sliced them in two parts (a little bit like a two pointed fork) as it helps tremendously the curvature of the wood. Once glued, filled and painted, it is not really visible. All the wales planking is glued with epoxy slow curing two components glue. A must in this case.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

7 hours ago, Kusawa2000 said:

Yves:  Is Session 5 now available? CAF models website still has it not available. If its available how do you purchase it?

Mike Draper

 

Mike, yes Session #5 is available and I ordered it directly from CAF Model. With the shipping and handling charge, I think it was close or slightly above $300 for it. Session #5 has tons of interesting things, all 74 brass guns, decals for the hull, and lots of plastic and 3D printed parts. At first, I was disappointed by the presence of plastic parts, but they are very detailed and having them made of wood or cast metal would have been cost prohibitive.

 

Yves

[Kusawa2000]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

ask Tom @cafmodel

Figured as much.. thanks!

 

Mike Draper

[Kusawa2000]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

 

Mike, yes Session #5 is available and I ordered it directly from CAF Model. With the shipping and handling charge, I think it was close or slightly above $300 for it. Session #5 has tons of interesting things, all 74 brass guns, decals for the hull, and lots of plastic and 3D printed parts. At first, I was disappointed by the presence of plastic parts, but they are very detailed and having them made of wood or cast metal would have been cost prohibitive.

 

Yves

Yves; Thanks for the reply and detailing what is in Session 5. When I received session 2 I was surprised by the size of the gun carriages. The gun must be massive! I didnt appreciate how big this kit is. Having the spar deck 12 inches wide at the widest spot was mind boggling. Judging from your post the stern ornamentation and figurehead on the bow is also plastic? Keep up the great build log! 

 

Mike Draper

[PierreM]

Bonjour Yves

 

De ce qui précède j’ai cru comprendre que le kit était subdivisé en 5 parties achetées séparément. Est bien cela?

Bravo pour ce qui est déjà achevé.

 

Bonne continuation 

[yvesvidal]

1 hour ago, Kusawa2000 said:

 Judging from your post the stern ornamentation and figurehead on the bow is also plastic? 

 

That is correct Mike.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

50 minutes ago, PierreM said:

Bonjour Yves

 

De ce qui précède j’ai cru comprendre que le kit était subdivisé en 5 parties achetées séparément. Est bien cela?

Bravo pour ce qui est déjà achevé.

 

Pierre, yes the kit is made up of 5 sessions. In my humble opinion, it is not possible to assemble Session #1 without Session #2 and ideally Session #3. 

I have provided the dimensions between the top of the futtocks for each bulkhead and that is paramount for the success of this kit.

Session #4 is, for the first time, offering a gorgeous scale 1:1 blueprint (top and side) of the model, with all its details.

 

Yves

[Kusawa2000]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

 

Pierre, yes the kit is made up of 5 sessions. In my humble opinion, it is not possible to assemble Session #1 without Session #2 and ideally Session #3. 

I have provided the dimensions between the top of the futtocks for each bulkhead and that is paramount for the success of this kit.

Session #4 is, for the first time, offering a gorgeous scale 1:1 blueprint (top and side) of the model, with all its details.

 

Yves

Yves: That is good news about the 1:1 blueprint of the model being in session #4. That will be a useful to have especially with the size and complexity of the hull construction. I noticed that was missing in session #1 and 2 when I opened up and inspected what I have received. 

 

MIKE

[yvesvidal]

Since there seems to be a lot of interest and questions about the various Sessions, here is a quick rundown on what they offer: 

 

Session #3: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SESSION #4: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

SESSION #5

 

This is the richest session and heaviest box: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am planning to follow the sessions independently. Every time I start a new session, I will describe the contents of the box, in greater details.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

Also, there was a question about the size of the large guns. I just started putting one together for fun: 

 

 

Multiple PE parts are also provided to finish the gun.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

Some progress on the planking. I almost finished one quadrant of the ship: 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the planks were placed in this crude jig: A little dipping in pure alcohol and then placed between the nails - 

 

 

Four planks can fit nicely, while drying in shape. When released, they rebound a little bit, but are more willing to comply to the difficult shape of that hull.

 

Now, I just have to do the other side, with more than 24 planks....

 

 

A first pass of "scraper" and some rough sanding took place. I am still debating if I will paint the hull (anti-worms white) or copper plate it. I would love to do the copper plating but need to learn about that process. Non-covered section of the hull may require a second planking made with 0.4 mm thick maple planks, provided in the kit. 

 

I still have plenty of time to think about it....

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

Second quadrant completed. Of course, lots of sanding remains to be done.... but the overall shapes are there: 

 

 

 

 

I am leaning very strongly in favor of a coppered hull. Copper tiling has always been a fascination for me (the glittering of the metal...) and since Bellona was tiled later in its existence, it makes sense to try to do it. Besides my planking is far from being presentable as such and will require a second planking in the non-tiled sections (above the water line). I also suspect that the bow is going to be even more difficult to plank than the stern...

 

Therefore, I am learning about the tiling process by reading what the members of this forum have done on their models. 

 

 

 

 

The deep blue is the one that matches the best, the English paint used on these period ships.

 

Inside the hull, I am brushing some acrylic resin on the wood, to seal it and increase the bonding strength of the planks to the bulkheads. There is an enormous amount of pressure and tensions taking place and I do not wish the planks to start coming out, in a few months or years. Planking has been done with Thick and Quick Titebond glue (or is it Quick and Thick?) and I trust them to a certain point. The only glue I trust fully is the two components epoxy, slow curing glue.

 

 

Before brushing the resin....

 

 

And after ! I noticed that the lime/poplar wood  provided by CAF Model was occasionally splitting. Soaking that wood into resin is probably a good insurance for the long term. Interestingly, no resin seeped through the hull....indicating that it is waterproof.

 

Just for fun, I could not resist trying the various gun deck pieces: 

 

 

And the Upper deck and misen mast: 

 

 

 

It is getting exciting....

 

Yves

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by yvesvidal

[yvesvidal]

Oh, I forgot to present the stand.... available in Session #4 only..... Shame on CAF for that one, since you really need it during Session #2. On top of that they cannot even spell Bellona correctly....

 

 

Yves

Edited December 1, 2021 by yvesvidal

[robdurant]

17 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

they cannot even spell Bellona correctly

 

This is a shame given that this kit seems to be the flagship model for CAF, and the stand part of how the model is displayed when finished ... Hopefully @cafmodel will pick up on this and fix it for future releases  It looks good and sturdy, though.

 

It's fascinating watching you work out all the steps required to construct this complex and large model. Thanks for sharing your progress with us all.

 

[CDW]

Yves

Just found your build log of this magnificent ship. Will eagerly follow along with your progress. 

[John Ruy]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

It is getting exciting....

 

Yves

Wow! Nice work. She is coming along quite nicely. 👍

[yvesvidal]

I just glued the rear gun deck section. The hull has been coated with resin and so the deck can be installed permanently: 

 

 

 

The figures (AMATI 35 mm) may be a tad too small, although 35 mm is about right for 1/48th scale: 

 

 

A goofy picture: 

 

 

Yves

[Tim Moore]

Wow substantial build Yves, excellent work as usual! I love the way you go big. Nothing wrong with that planking. 
How is the house addition coming to house your models.

[Kevin]

 very nice

i have never seen a successful planking done like that

 

lovely work

[Hubac's Historian]

Very nicely done!  I appreciate your fail-safe approach to glueing.  I am similarly inclined.

[yvesvidal]

Well, there is not much I can do at the stern at this stage of the hull building:

 

 

It is time to move the construction crew to the bow: 

 

 

Yves

Edited December 2, 2021 by yvesvidal

[mtaylor]

Looks great, Yves.   Is the whole hull double planked in the kit or "parts of it"?   

[yvesvidal]

5 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Looks great, Yves.   Is the whole hull double planked in the kit or "parts of it"?   

 Mike,

 

Nothing is double planked. The hull is supposed to be copper tiled and that is probably where I am going. Above the water line, I am planning to use the maple planks of 0.4 mm thick (same width as the main limewood planks, 8 mm) and pretend to have a nicer planking arrangement.

 

We will see how it goes.

 

Yves

[mtaylor]

Ah... thanks for the info.  That sounds like a good plan on your part.