HMS Speedy by David Lester - FINISHED - Vanguard Models

[David Lester]

Good Morning,

Time for an update. I have pretty much finished the standing rigging. I don't really have too much comment to make as it all went very routinely.

 

Topmast shrouds in place -

Ratlines - I have always used black thread in the past for the ratlines, but the instructions here called for natural thread to be stained afterwards. Does anyone know why that would be? Is natural thread inherently better for ratlines than black thread? In any case, I decided to give it a go. I used India ink to colour them.

I decided to try to make my own mouses (mice?) for the forestays. I started with a 1/8" dowel and drilled about a 1mm hole into the end of it. Then I started paring the wood away with an xacto knife, sanded it smooth and then cut it off.

 

Once I was happy enough with the tension, I glued and trimmed all the lines -

 

So next up is the lower yards.

 

David

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by David Lester

[Oldsalt1950]

Looking real sharp, David.

[Dave_E]

OUTSTANDING work Dave, really nice! 👍😀

[glbarlow]

3 hours ago, David Lester said:

the instructions here called for natural thread to be stained afterwards. Does anyone know why that would be?

I have never understood that and consequently have never done it. Why risk black ink stains on the ship, hands, work bench, etc. when you can just use black rope.

[David Lester]

Hi Glenn,

I think I'm with you on the ratline thing. That India ink wanted to go everywhere as I applied it. I will return to black line next time.

 

Thanks for the comments and likes everyone.

David

[David Lester]

OK, the thing I like the least about any build is the (bleeped) little boats. I never have good luck with them. The Charles W. Morgan had seven of them and it was almost the end of me.

 

Thank goodness there's only one for the Speedy, and at long last I have it finished. Initially, I messed it up so badly, that I had to order a new one. And by the way, for those of you in Canada, I discovered that Vanguard has a distributor here -The Crafty Sailor, which provides very good service. So I bought my replacement one there.

 

Here are a few representative pictures:

 

 

I've had the interior together, taken apart and back together again so many times, I've lost count and I've stripped and repainted the white paint at least three times. In any event, I think the result is now acceptable, and it will have to be, because that's as good as it's going to get.

 

I enjoy every other aspect of a build, but for some reason these boats always have me strung out. I'm not sure why. I have four of these coming up for Agamemnon, so I think I might get them out of the way sooner rather than later, then I can relax for the rest of the build.

 

I've also been making progress of the Speedy rigging, which will be in my next update.

 

Again, thanks for checking in!

 

David

 

[BobG]

That little boat looks great, David!

[Dave_E]

I think you got er Dave. I've said before, the little boats in a 1/64 (even 1/48) scale are a work/hobby all of their own. Good job. 👍😀

[David Lester]

Thanks Dave and Bob; you're too kind!

 

[TBlack]

David,

Did you notice that Vanguard (Chris) now sells a hull, completely formed, with ribs, so all you have to do is add the interior? In my Sophie build, which is based on Speedy, I'm

tempted to just buy the hull. Yours turned out exceptionally well, but it's a bugger to get just right.

BTW, That mouse turned out really well. Gotta try it!

Tom

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by TBlack
addition

[DelF]

Coming along very nicely David. I agree with your comments about ships' boats - not my favourite part of the build either.

 

On 5/7/2022 at 1:49 AM, TBlack said:

Vanguard (Chris) now sells a hull, completely formed, with ribs

I'm tempted to go with Tom's suggestion when I get around to unboxing Sphinx.

 

On ratlines, I think the idea is that white thread is easier to see. Having tried it once, I'm going back to black.

 

Nice mice, btw. I make mine on the lathe, but your results look just as good and probably involve much less messing around trying to get angles and such right.

 

Derek

[Oldsalt1950]

Ships boat looks great David. A lot of hours went into that little beauty.

[David Lester]

Hi guys, thanks for all your comments. Just getting to them now, as I have been away for the week at the Habitat for Humanity Canada national conference. (I'm the local affiliate chairperson.) It felt both good and unsettling at the same time to be meeting again in a large group.

 

Tom - I have noticed the boat you're referring too. Maybe next time.

Derek - I am definitely using black ratlines next time too.

Thanks again,

David

[David Lester]

Good Morning,

Just a brief update this morning. I've attached all the yards -

 

Lower yards - jeers and trusses

For the trusses, I used these small cast bullseyes from Bluejacket. I'm a big fan of them and I like to keep a supply of them on hand. They come in several different sizes, but I really like the smallest ones - 1/16" inch - because they're easy to use and never look over scale.

They blacken easily and just need a small amount of cleanup. (Of course when all is said and done, you can't even see them on the trusses, but at least I know they're there.)

 

Parrels and ties on the topsail yards -

 

 

Ties on the topgallant yards -

There isn't really too much to explain about my methods. I just added each according to the plans. It was all pretty straightforward and free of problems.

 

I've started working on the boom and gaff. The completion of this build is actually within sight; then I will turn my attention to Agamemnon in earnest.

 

Thanks again for likes, comments etc. Very much appreciated. 

 

David

 

 

 

 

[David Lester]

Good Morning,

I'm now getting very close to the finish line for the running rigging. I've been working my way through it, step by step without any real problems (except for a couple of my own making.) The plans are excellent and it really couldn't be more straightforward.

 

Boom and gaff -

 

The lifts -

Many times when I return to the model, I look at what I did previously and think "Were you on drugs? What were you thinking?"  In this case, for reasons I don't understand I had placed the lower yard lift blocks near the aft side of the mast cap and not the fore side. So I had to fix that in situ, but otherwise smooth sailing.

Clews, tacks, sheets and bow lines all added next - 

I'm now working on the braces. The spritsail yard braces are in place and here are the blocks attached to the main stay for the lower fore braces -

I did run into a complication with the spritsail yard braces that a bit of foresight on my part would have avoided. One of the nice things about well drawn plans is that they show each component of the rigging in isolation so it's quite clear where each line originates, its path and where it terminates. However, this also makes it easy to forget that in actuality you end up with a tight concentration of lines and blocks in a very small area, such as under the mast top.

 

In the picture below, you can see that the spritsail brace (#49) runs through two blocks underneath the mast top. They are actually double blocks which the brace shares with the clew line #29 in the second picture.

 

I had previously attached the clew line and belayed it and as a result those two blocks no longer had much range of movement. When I went to add the brace, it was almost impossible to thread it through the second block. The area was dense with shrouds, futtock shrouds and many other lines running down. It was difficult to even find the block, let alone identify the clear path through it. I tried approaching it from the front and from the rear, but the same problem arose either way. In the end I cut the clew line, freeing the blocks and then I could manipulate them sufficiently to get both the brace line through as well as the new clew line. 

 

All I needed to have done was either not belay the clew line until after I had the brace line in place or possibly have added the brace line much earlier in the process and just let it rest there until I was ready to fully install it later.

 

Just a minor frustration that I will take note of for the future.

 

Other than that, the running rigging is progressing very easily (largely due to the excellent drawings) and when the braces are complete, it will be done. Then all that remains is to add rope coils, the anchors and the boat and to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office!

 

Thanks again for comments, likes etc.

David

[Dave_E]

Dave, your work is simply beautiful! Your sense of humor is a delight to read along the way as well. 😁 Is speedy a 3/16 scale?

Edited June 2, 2022 by Dave_E

[David Lester]

Dave - yes it's 3/16".

[David Lester]

I have been working on rope coils. I have always hated doing rope coils. Not because they're fiddly and monotonous; I don't mind fiddly and I thrive on monotony. But because I am seldom happy with the result.  There are many different methods shown either on the forum or on youtube which are essentially variations on the same approach and I can never make any of them work really well for me. My problem is always with the "small dab of glue" to hold the whole thing together. I can never get the loop at the top to hold unless I apply considerably more than a small dab, which always discolours the line, shows through to the front and ends up looking like a mess. Then when I use glue to attach the coil to the belaying pin it just looks like a solid row of glue running along the tops of the belaying pins. (I'm exaggerating slightly, but still I'm always disappointed with my efforts.)

 

So here is my new variation and I think the results are better than what I have been able to do in the past. It isn't substantially different from what others do, but I solved the problem of holding the whole thing together -

 

I started out the same as most of the other methods. I wrap the line around two nails four or five times, however I don't worry about making the loop at this point.

 

 

Then I tied a knot at the top of the coil with a piece of fine thread.

I slathered the whole thing with glue. I used matte finish podge, which I understand is similar to watered down white glue.

When it was dry, I ended up with this -

I pulled one of the long ends from the back to the front and made a loop and pulled the long end up to the top at the back, adjusting the loop to the approximate correct size.

Then with the good side down, I held in the the clamp and tied another knot around the base of the loop with fine thread.

 

This way, it's possible to add a small dab of ca clue to the knot at the back and have it hold well, without showing through to the front

Then it was just a matter of trimming the threads and attaching it to the pin.

I guess one could argue that there shouldn't be a knot tied around the base of the loop and the loop should not be cinched. Nevertheless I think it looks better than the heavily glued look which, despite my best efforts, I was usually ending up with previously. So for what it's worth, there's one more variation on rope coils.

David

 

[David Lester]

Good Morning All,

Speedy is finished. The last of the braces wrapped up the rigging, then it was just a matter of adding the anchors, rope coils, boat and swivel guns. A bit of touch up with paint was the last thing to do. Now I just have to transport it safely to my son-in-law's office.

 

This model was a pleasure from beginning to end. The only swearing was directed at myself and not at the kit, which is how I know it's a great kit.

 

Thanks again for checking in, "likes" etc. Very much appreciated.

 

David

 

[ccoyle]

Let me be the first to congratulate you on a fine model!

[Chuck]

Indeed..a terrific model.  Well done.

 

Chuck

[BenD]

Another beautifully done HMS speedy. It's a perfect office decoration!

 

Cheers

[DelF]

Very well done David - a beautiful model.

 

Derek

[Dave_E]

Hi Dave,

 

WOW! Simply outstanding! What have you done with all the ships you’ve built? Going to start the Agamemnon?

[glbarlow]

Excellent work, it’s a great looking model and a Speedy well done. Great work!

[David Lester]

Thanks guys. A friend of mine called one of my models "a great achievement." I told him that finding places for them is the great achievement! Displaying them is no small problem. We have the Bluenose, and only the Bluenose out for public enjoyment in our living room. The rest are confined to shelves in my hibernaculum.

 

I have been working away at farming them out. My grandson has my Rattlesnake, my daughter and son-in-law have a Bluenose, my son and daughter-in-law have my Charles Morgan and Speedy is going to my son-in-law's office. Also I donated my Armed Virginia Sloop to a silent auction fundraiser, but I still have a number of them to contend with.

 

The Agamemnon has been weighing heavily on my mind. However I think I have a solution. Just this week, my daughter moved her law practice into a new office space and she has announced that she would like to have the Constitution there. It has always been her favourite of my collection and she says she now has a perfect place for it. It's similar in size to the Agamemnon, so it looks like a spot is about to open up for it.

 

It's a never ending battle, but one I'm prepared to accept because I get so much enjoyment from building them.

Thanks again,

David

 

 

[Thukydides]

Fantastic work congrats on completing another fine model.

[DocRob]

A wonderful and clean build of this very attractive ship, congratulations. 

 

Cheers Rob

[BobG]

Truly exceptional work, David. All of your models look fantastic! Can't wait to follow your next build.

[David Lester]

Thank you, thank you - you are all too kind. I feel like a real amateur compared to most of you, so it's really nice to read your remarks.

Thanks again,

 

David