HMS Snake by jim_smits - Caldercraft - First Build

[Beef Wellington]

The majority of the rigging diagram seems clear enough but I admit that I am puzzled by the presence of the two tackle blocks next to the wheel. What function do they perform and how are they rigged? From what I can see they look to be suspended with no attachment and the riggind thread passing straight through. I presume I am being a bit special and missing something here?

 

I can't speak from experience as I'm about to start this as well.  The two block next to the wheel I believe should allow the tiller rope to go from vertically downwards through 90degs so it is travels parallel, and close to deck height as it heads out to the first bulwark tackle blocks.  I'm assuming we'll need to fit some eybolts to secure these.

 

Interesting you bring up the fore platform.  I'm waiting for some more tanganyika wood before I can proceed with that, but I have shaped the ply already.  I was going to plank this once the ply is glued into place to cover any gaps.  I'm debating though whether it may make sense to install the foremost gun first as it looks to be a bit restricted once the plat form is installed.  (I am diverting from instructions and will be using Caldercraft 9lb'ers, which are can duplicate the 6lb'ers in size as provided in the Cruizer kits) in the first gun-ports as it seems these ships carried 16 carronades and 2 6lb'ers - presumably bow chasers.

[jim_smits]

Cheers Jason. That makes sense with the rigging next to the wheel. Have made a start on tapping the eyepins.

As for the platforms, I wasn't concerned with a slight gap to the bulwark as this would be covered by the capping rail anyway.

[mort stoll]

Hi Guys,

 

Jim the build looks great, coming along nicely.

 

Jason I agree with you on both counts that the first gun on both sides should be installed before the platforms and they would not have been carronades regular chase guns.

 

Mort

[jim_smits]

Presumably the smaller front port is still left clear and the first of the nine larger ports is fitted with the chase guns?

[Beef Wellington]

Yes, I believe the bridle port would remain clear

[jim_smits]

Hi all,

 

Slow but steady progress made over the last couple of days.

 

I have now completed the wheel and tiller rigging. Pretty happy with it although i'm not convinced that the ladders to the rear platform will fit easily but I am working on some positioning changes. I have glued the rear platform in place and I have managed to rig up one of the Carronades.

 

Taken me most of today to rig up one carronade. Breaching rope and also a set of tackle have been rigged up. Need to touch up the eyepins and hooks and then thats the first carronade complete. Only 17 more to go......

 

[Beef Wellington]

Looking very nice Jim, you're setting a high standard to follow.  Of course, the obligatory questions  :

 

1) Did you buy extra rigging blocks for the carronades?

2) Any recomendations on making the hooks, seem very fiddly but look very good.

3) I was going to wait until I've got the capping rail on before installing guns as I suspect that this may require some 'rough' handling.  Did you reject that approach?

 

Looking forward to seeing more.

[mort stoll]

Looks very nice. I also am going to mount  all of my guns rigged. I bought blocks from Warner Woods West. He does great work. I have all but the chase guns rigged. Hope to get to them this weekend. Rigging the guns was slow and tedious but like the coppering it is worth it in the long run.

 

Keep up the great work,

Mort

[jim_smits]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the compliment and now the obligitary answers ;-) :

1) I did buy extras - 3mm singles and 3mm doubles. Although I think 2mm may have been a more realistic size

2) The hooks are Caldercraft brass etched - also extras purchased with the extra tackle blocks

3) I am only rigging the rear pair so that I can sort out fitting the ladders to the rear platform as space is such a premium. I will then move onto the capping rails.

If you like I will image each stage of the rigging of the other carronade so that you can get a feel of what I did.

Hope this helps!

[jim_smits]

Quick update.

 

Managed to get the fore and aft platforms placed. Fore platform needed steaming and reshaping slightly as it was a bit bowed and wouldnt sit flush to the top of the bulwarks. Other than that no real issues other than ensuring a good fit.

 

After that I managed to get the capping rails all fitted. Did initial fitting by tapping holes and lightly pinning in place, gradually shaping the rail to fit the shape of the hull properly. Subsequently removed the rail and painted black. Pins were then tapped back through the existing holes and used as a guide to glue the rail in place. The pins were then carefully tapped flush to the rail and the punched slightly below the surface. A little filler was used to cover the holes and repainted in black to leave a nice smooth surface.

Edited March 20, 2013 by jim_smits

[Beef Wellington]

Looking good Jim.  Quick question, what thickness of line did you use for the tiller rope?  The instructions seem to indicate.25mm but that seems rather light (1/2 inch real scale), 0.5mm looks to me better to scale with the block sizes recommended.

 

Will be watching from the sidelines for a bit as my dockyard is short on some key supplies.   I'm waiting for some new drillbits to be delivered to do the ringbolt holes, some chain for the rudder which I want to figure out before attaching permanently and tanganika wood for the decks!

[jim_smits]

Looking good Jim.  Quick question, what thickness of line did you use for the tiller rope?  The instructions seem to indicate.25mm but that seems rather light (1/2 inch real scale), 0.5mm looks to me better to scale with the block sizes recommended.

To be honest I just went with the 0.25mm thread as indicated by the instructions.

[Beef Wellington]

Thanks Jim, thats helpful.  Yours looks great so I'll probably use the .25mm, maybe it just looks a lot thinner in isolation.

[cog]

Jim,

 

She's looking very smart, and sharp. When you're working on her like this, you suddenly realise how little room those sailors had to move about the guns

[drtrap]

Jason,

When tiling the bottom edge of the keel did you trim each tile to the correct width?

Hi Jim,

how didi you cover the bottom edge of the keel with the tiles?

The width of the side tiles & the keel is a bit narrower than the tiles and I 'm thinking what to do...

Thanks!

[jim_smits]

Hi Jim,

how didi you cover the bottom edge of the keel with the tiles?

The width of the side tiles & the keel is a bit narrower than the tiles and I 'm thinking what to do...

Thanks!

Both Beef and myself used a small flat file. Just file down over the edge of the tile. The pressure will roll the edge of the tile over slightly whilst the file removes the excess material. You should end up with a nice finish. Just be sure to use small gentle strokes. Edited March 24, 2013 by jim_smits

[jim_smits]

Also we both only tiled the front edge and the rear of the rudder. The bottom of the keel was left untiled. Beef has fitted a nice false keel which I will also do at some point.

[normanh]

I simply rolled the edge over the keel absolutely no gaps and none to trim, looks revery tidy and authentic using a round knife handle.

[drtrap]

Thanks a lot mates, I'll do my best....

[jim_smits]

Slight issue over the weekend....

 

I went to fit the brackets for the catheads and realised the fit was totally wrong. This would be due to the fact that I have fitted the catheads incorrectly with the beam sitting horizontally, whereas of course it should be seated with the beam rising slightly upwards. I think what I have done is fitted the catheads by using the bottom edge sitting flush with deck as a guide. I should have really had the inboard part of the beam sat flush to the bulwark. This would have required some sanding down to fit the deck properly.

 

Should have been obvious looking at the side plans. A touch annoyed with myself. I have VERY carefully cut away the cat heads and removed the interior portions. I then scratch built a beam, and fitted the brackets and the subsequently fitted into place. It is next to impossible to see that the interior portion is effectly missing and the assembly is now as secure as I can make it. As it wont have to take any actual strain, I am not too worried.

 

Lesson learned. Check, check and triple check all plans and future fitting requirements.......

 

On a positive note.... Have now started fitting the pin heads on the deck and the bow spirit bracket. Starting to come together. Also added one side of steps to the hull. Nice and fiddly that, and contrary to the plans they do not fit nicely between the oar port and the gun port.......

 

Next step the channels and bulwark pin rails and associated parts.

[Beef Wellington]

Hey Jim, I encountered the same issue and had some photos near bottom of page 2 on my build log how mine ended up.  The supplied pieces needed a lot of modification in any event, but I'm sure you made the right call to get the cathead beams at the right angle on the outside despite the effort it seems to have taken.

[jim_smits]

Quick update.

 

Bits and pieces completed this week. Main item being the main channel, deadeyes, strops, chain links and chain plates. To say it was a fiddly job would be an understatement, but I did get better as I went along.

 

Main lesson learned is to link the chain link and deaad eye strop before glueing the channel together, as linking through the tiniest of gaps afterwards was a pain!

 

I have made sure that the channels were pinned into place to provide stabiliaty and will repeat for the other channels and pin rails to be attached to the bulwark.

 

The addition of detail is really starting to bring the model to life now.

[jim_smits]

Wow! Promotion party at mine 8pm!

[Beef Wellington]

_{Everythings looking great Jim, looks like you've cracked some of the tricky steps,  I'm sure I'll be asking for advice when I get there.  Are you planning to pin the bowsprit to the deck as well, or just secure under the bit?  Seems this would want to be pretty secure but maybe the gammoning really helps there rather than just looking pretty...}

 

_{And congratulations, welcome to the gunroom and snotty-dom!}

Edited March 28, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[jim_smits]

Time for an update!

 

Continuing to install the channels and chain assemblies. Not been too bad going, but it is fiddly and definately requires patience and an ordered approach.

 

Painted the channels, tapped holes for pins to attach to the hull, added eyelets to appropriate positions and painted.

 

Added the strops to the deadeyes; the strops needed to be stretched to be able to fit them around the deadeyes. I then used a pair of pliers to pinch the strops closed again and a dab of cyano to seal shut. I threaded the chain links through the strops and laid strop and link onto the gaps in the channels. I then closed the channels with a length of 2mm x 2mm walnut.

 

The assembled channels were glued into the tapped holes in the hulls. I could then add the remained of the chain and the chain plates to the hull. I put a temporary mast in place and used a length of thread to simulate the stays to get an approximation of the direction of the chain plates. They were then tappped and pinned in place.

 

So far completed the starboard side and the main channel on the port side. Still need to do final painting touch up on the chain assemblies.

 

Also attached pin rails to the starboard bulwark. The pins are pretty much touching the bulwark cap, but there is enough give to still be able to belay a line. Accentuates the difficulty in getting the capping rail correct!

 

Also adding the various eyelets and holes for rigging as I go.

 

Finally had a mishap when i nudged the rudder and broke the tiller arm. Given it was already rigged in and the rear platform in place, this created a really difficult issue in fixing it. I decided to glue the top edge of the tiller arm to the platform support beam. I figured this was the best result available and doesn't look too abvious at first glance.... 

 

I have now glued the rudder in place.

 

 

[ibrowne]

hello Jim,

 

I just started logging on to this site a few days back as a newbie and the workmanship in the postings including yours is impressive. I have just purchased the Amati Xebec kit so I am getting sort of nervous hoping that I can get to this standard ..well staight away....!! How many kits does it take to reach the skill levels that I see in your own kit bash? When I see various models I keep thinking gee that looks good..so I understand that the secret is patience perhaps? I can also guess perhaps that assembling the parts in the right order is critical to a good finish are there any rule of thumb guides in that regard? I also notice there are lots of learned tricks  in getting details right which I presume means the model kit instuctions can be vague at times and especially if they are translated from another language? Anyway your Snake looks terrific.

 

Ian

[jim_smits]

hello Jim,

 

I just started logging on to this site a few days back as a newbie and the workmanship in the postings including yours is impressive. I have just purchased the Amati Xebec kit so I am getting sort of nervous hoping that I can get to this standard ..well staight away....!! How many kits does it take to reach the skill levels that I see in your own kit bash? When I see various models I keep thinking gee that looks good..so I understand that the secret is patience perhaps? I can also guess perhaps that assembling the parts in the right order is critical to a good finish are there any rule of thumb guides in that regard? I also notice there are lots of learned tricks  in getting details right which I presume means the model kit instuctions can be vague at times and especially if they are translated from another language? Anyway your Snake looks terrific.

 

Ian

 

Hi Ian,

 

In answer to your question, this is my first ship build. I used to make and paint model armies from Games Workshop when I was a kid and also made model space kits fairly recently so my 'eye is in' so to speak.

 

I think the best thing is to take your time, quadruple check everything before you commit to glueing and read as many build logs as you can to take on board hints and tips.

 

And thanks!

 

Jim

[normanh]

Jim you might enounter a problem with the carronades at those aft gunports as the ladders wont easily fit to the deck.

[jim_smits]

Minor update.

 

Aft platform ladders successfully fitted. Slight squeeze but got them in ok!

[Beef Wellington]

Nice Jim, glad I'm now firmly in your wake :-)  One thing I noticed aftert doing the tiller rope and the aft platform was that I just can't see how you could reasonably work even the smallest stern-chaser from the rear ports, just seems far too constricted.