HMS Spartiate by Admiral Beez - FINISHED - Heller - 1/150 - PLASTIC - kit-bashing the Heller Le Superbe

[Bill Morrison]

It looks great!!!!  I apologize for my last entry. I have been wrestling with severe health problems dealing with a broken hip and shattered knee, and I had neglected to read your entire build log.  Your approach is showing that the effort to build a real model out of a plastic kit is phenomenal!  I am most impressed!

 

Bill

Edited September 24, 2022 by Bill Morrison

[Admiral Beez]

6 hours ago, Bill Morrison said:

It looks great!!!!  I apologize for my last entry. I have been wrestling with severe health problems dealing with a broken hip and shattered knee, and I had neglected to read your entire build log.  Your approach is showing that the effort to build a real model out of a plastic kit is phenomenal!  I am most impressed!

 

Bill

What’s really helped me is joining the local model boat club.   Wherever you are there’s likely likeminded folks that can provide guidance or at worst motivation and encouragement. 

[Admiral Beez]

Stern gallery now in place.  Of course these Heller instructions are rubbish, and made no mention to first install the two stern chaser 32 pounders, so now I’ll have to shave the carriages so I can fit the guns through the ports.  Lesson once again is to read four or five steps ahead and to always ask what Heller omitted.  
 

The stern gallery needs more work, including filling joints and sharpening up painted lines and decorations.  My painting skills still need improvement.  The upper deck and poop deck are just temporarily placed for planning purposes.  I’ve also reinstalled the rudder.
 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Beef Wellington]

Hi Beez, think your toned down stern is much more in keeping.  You're making great progress.

[Admiral Beez]

Goodness but did I struggle to get my mind around the bowsprit.  The Heller instructions are terrible.  Thankfully I could use others’ builds of the same kit, plus the box art as a guide.   Upon close examination under my magnifier light I saw that there were very slight score marks on the bowsprit to show where the small pieces are affixed.  I also filled the bowsprit with toothpicks to give it resistance from bending.

Edited Monday at 01:10 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

I wanted to ask the forum’s advice on the bowsprit of my model.  The forward part that goes through the block or plate is beside rather than on top of the bowsprit. This matches the model’s instructions and the original builder’s plans from France.  But on HMS Victory this forward part sits directly on top of the bowsprit.  What do you think?

Edited Monday at 01:10 PM by Admiral Beez

[ccoyle]

I'd follow the plans. It looks a little odd, but marine engineers often come up with different solutions for the same problem. It will make a nice conversation starter when viewers ask why that piece appears to be crooked -- kind of like the canted engines that some aeronautical engineers opted to use to offset yaw in their designs.

[Admiral Beez]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:08 AM, ccoyle said:

I'd follow the plans. It looks a little odd, but marine engineers often come up with different solutions for the same problem. It will make a nice conversation starter when viewers ask why that piece appears to be crooked -- kind of like the canted engines that some aeronautical engineers opted to use to offset yaw in their designs.

I agree, and will leave it as.  I do wonder if the British upon capturing these ships converted the bowsprit to look like the below on HMS Victory.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/13/43/1a/13431a9e7b866ef849e3661154c55bcf.jpg

 

 

Edited Monday at 01:11 PM by Admiral Beez

[ccoyle]

6 minutes ago, Admiral Beez said:

I do wonder if the British upon capturing these ships converted the bowsprit to look like the below on HMS Victory.

 

I'd be inclined to believe that they would modify captured vessels to configurations they were familiar with.

[Admiral Beez]

Looks okay.  I free handed the metal hoops around the bowsprit.  Perhaps I should have taped them, so I may return to it, though I’m happy enough I think.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Beef Wellington]

I would suggest using think back card or tape as you suggest.  Think you will get a much better result that you ae happy with.

[Admiral Beez]

On 12/13/2022 at 5:34 PM, Beef Wellington said:

I would suggest using think back card or tape as you suggest.  Think you will get a much better result that you ae happy with.

I agree. I painted the bowsprit over and will use my tape.

Edited Monday at 01:11 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Taping and painting the boats.  The kit instructs that they be stacked, but I’m thinking of mounting them on spars across the waist.  If so, I’ll need to make up some seats.   I’m using this model as a guide, https://www.modelships.de/Vanguard/dEL4A0625.jpg

Edited Monday at 01:12 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

I had some taping overflow, but I’m happy with the boats now.  I’ve just finished clear coating them.  The Heller kit has all three boats stacked, but I want to put them two across on spars on the waist.  To make that look right I may need to create some seats or cross bars on the otherwise empty boats.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Upper deck install.

Edited Monday at 01:12 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

I’m not entirely happy with the fit on this kit, or at least my build attempt.  There’s a gap where the forecastle deck meets the starboard hull side, despite my clamping.  And another gap above the side stern gallery windows and the side gallery ceiling.  I’ll hide the first with some filler and the railings that come next, and the latter I’ll mock up some cuttings from the sprue.   I have a lot of touch up painting to do, as you can see - I rough paint prior to assembly, but with these acrylic paints I find they smudge and come off until you do the final clear coat sealing.   I have to remind myself that this is my training boat, having not built any model kits in over twenty years.  I’m learning a lot.

Edited Monday at 01:13 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

I’ve custom made thwarts for the larger boat.  I used 2.5 mm styrene c-channel strips for the thwarts (seats) and fabricated the bow piece from a number plate off the sprew.  I used the spacing on the small boats seats to space my custom ones.  Then I prime coated, wood-tone painted, clear coated and then distressed each piece with a diluted black wash. 
 

Next step is the create the spars across the waist that the boats sit upon.   Unlike the French who spent their days in port prettying ship, the British were at sea in all weathers on blockade, so the boats had to be easily on hand.  I’ve got 3mm square profile styrene strips primed and ready for painting to create the cross beams and columns.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Fabricating and installing breech rope from thread pulled through beeswax and affixed to the pommel on each quarterdeck 12 pounder cannon with instant glue.  Rope will be cut to meet inner hull side when cannon is permanently installed.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[TomRigg]

Irrelevant Trivia:

I have a copy of the AotS USS Constitution book.

There's a 1/150 scale plan on the inside of the fly cover. Place one hull half of Le Superbe on the drawing and guess what? 

USS Constitution is bigger!

Tom

[Admiral Beez]

Deck repainted the correct tan colour.  Custom skid beams installed to hold the boats.  I’m now touching up the paint before applying clear coat so I can add the diluted black wash to the deck.  

Some good advice I received on using kid’s white glue as filler, add some talcum powder to thicken it, and add a couple of drops of the colour you’re going to paint over the glue.  Lastly, make sure you clear coat to seal the glue, as it will dry and crack over the years otherwise.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Side railings and hammock stowage railings now attached.  You wouldn't know I had to use white glue to fill the gap in the deck to hull mating.  Deck is now painted the correct tan, ready for clear coating and black wash.  I'm especially pleased with my custom skid beams for the boats.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Boats and custom-made 3D printed oars installed, deck repainted and “weathered”, exterior sail platforms attached.  Last step is to rope up and install the quarterdeck cannons and forecastle cannonades.  And then we’re off to the masts.  Gun port lids will be last, due to risk of knocking them off in handling the ship.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

My fine line painting still needs improvement, but I’m finally happy with my blue trim.  Advice I would give myself?  Don’t worry what the lower decks look like, you can’t see them. So when you’re attaching those cannons, generously cement them onto the deck before you paint the guns and the deck.  I’ve had the ship fall on its side and a cannon break loose due to a failure of CA glue between the pre-painted gun and painted deck, and had shake it out and then shave down the trunnions so I could insert the gun and carriage through the gun port.  I call this my “learning ship” for a reason.

Edited Monday at 01:16 PM by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

Gunport lids drilled and painted.   I broke three micro bits on my Dremel, but they’re very cheap on Amazon.  Check out the custom resin cast carronades my friend made for me.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Beef Wellington]

Those carronades are a nice touch, looking good.

[Admiral Beez]

On 4/24/2023 at 3:30 PM, Beef Wellington said:

Those carronades are a nice touch, looking good.

Thanks.  I realized after I posted that pic that I had one of the carriages or slides for the carronades backwards.  The furthest one is run out but I’ve got the gun pointing the wrong way.    My friend who resin cast the guns made two sets of slides, one run out and the other run in.  I’ll be putting all four run out, to match the long guns.

HMS Victory only had one carronade per side on the forecastle, and none on the poopdeck, but I’m going for four total up front, and none on the poop.  I’d need to find something smaller than a 64 pounder for the poopdeck.    Presumably part of efficiency in sprue tooling and/or production, the kit does come with an few extra 12 pounder barrels and carriage bases, but not sides, I could mock up something for the poop deck.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Admiral Beez

[Admiral Beez]

One item on the original shipyard plans that’s missing on the Heller kit is the skylight on the poop deck.  I’m going to try to mock something up there.   It’s a strange omission on the kit.

 

The kit comes with some extra 12 pounder barrels, and some carriages, but not the carriage side panels.  I suppose that’s just from efficiencies on the sprues.   I was thinking about making a pair of 12 pounder carronades for the poop deck, cutting the barrels short and removing the wheels from the carriages.  

[Blue Ensign]

Not necessarily a strange omission, remember it’s a French ship you’re basing your model on. What would be strange is the inclusion of a Fore Jeer Capstan on a British ship, they were common on French ships of the period. That strange erection on the Fore deck abaft the fore mast is the jeer capstan.

 

B. E.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Blue Ensign

[Admiral Beez]

On 4/26/2023 at 1:55 PM, Blue Ensign said:

What would be strange is the inclusion of a Fore Jeer Capstan on a British ship, they were common on French ships of the period.

Hmmm… if I were to cut off the jeer capstan what would go in that space?   I see what looks like the stove chimney here.

This model at my local museum has a jeer capstan.  Most of the ship here are British.  Perhaps a captured French ship would keep it upon transfer to British service?

 

Edited Monday at 01:17 PM by Admiral Beez

[Blue Ensign]

Your third photo looks to be of a French Seventy-four.

You can see the double stove chimneys in the square on the Foc’sle.

The photo also shows arms chests either side of the galley hatch. I never could make my mind up what those two elliptical protuberances were supposed to be on the kit.

There is also a bench seat for the watch officers afore the berthing to the Main Ladderway, a very French thing, and the typical chicken coops on the Poop.

 

This model at my local museum has a jeer capstan.  Most of the ship here are British.  Perhaps a captured French ship would keep it upon transfer to British service?

Following capture in 1798, Spartiate was re-fitted between 1801-1803 to British standards of armaments and fittings, which was the usual practice.

It is impossible to know whether any French prizes retained any fittings, but removing moulded in fittings on a plastic kit is difficult, and maybe best left alone, unless they are to be covered by something else.

 

Hmmm… if I were to cut off the jeer capstan what would go in that space?   I see what looks like the stove chimney here.

I suppose you could change the jeer capstan into a chimney – it’s almost there already, remove the little stove pipes, and board over the area.

Regards,

 

B.E.