HMS Sphinx 1775 by Glenn-UK - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - V2 Kit by Glenn Shelton

[Glenn-UK]

1 hour ago, allanyed said:

Glenn, serving the shrouds at the bight or for the entire length of the foremost shroud is very easy.  A simple serving machine helps but it is not so difficult to do by hand.  Syren makes a nice unit and alternatively it is not so difficult to make one with a few simple gears and scrap wood.  I would think that if no kit maker currently explains or shows these servings, one of them will see it as an opportunity to improve the product and beat the competition.  

Allan

Allan. I am aware of serving machines and did build one last year as an experiment. I also considered buying one. Serving lines is something for the future, maybe trialing on a smaller build.

[allanyed]

Totally understood.   There are great videos out there and lots of discussion here at MSW by those that have tried and succeeded so you are in good hands when you decide to give it a try.

Allan

[Glenn-UK]

Foremast Shrouds - Work In Progress

Now that I seem to have resolved a number of problems with my technique adding the foremast shrouds is coming together quite nicely. There is still plenty of room for improvement, but overall I am very pleased with how they are looking. It is slow progress. It seems to take between 20 to 30 minutes per shroud line to add the deadeye, set the position and to then add the seizing's and lanyards. I do not tend to spend as much time in the shipyard over the weekends so I expect I will complete the main mast shrouds either Sunday or more likely Monday next week. Towards the end of next week, once the mizzen mast shrouds have been added, I will start work on adding the catharpins. I have never managed to do a decent job adding catharpins on any of my previous builds but I will take my time and hopefully I will manage to get them added and looking OK.

 

The first picture shows the first shroud pair on the port side. The lanyards have been added but have not been tided off as yet.

The second picture shows the first shroud pair on the starboard side, the left-hand shroud deadeye will be rotated clockwise in the shroud loop a tad before the lanyards are tied off

 

The third picture shows the first two shroud pairs on the starboard side. As can been seen the shroud deadeyes are almost at the level with each other. 

The forth picture shows the first two shroud pairs on the port side. I will try to adjust (or I will redo if necessary) the seizing's on the second pair as they do not look to good. Fingers crossed I can get away with just adjusting them.

The fifth picture shows the first three shroud pairs on the port side and the 6 x shroud deadeyes are almost at the same level. I still have not adjusted the middle pair seizing's. The deadeye, second from the left does require a slight clockwise rotation in the shroud loop.

The final picture is the current state of play of the Sphinx , sitting on the workbench waiting for the next shroud pair to be added to the starboard side.

Edited May 20, 2022 by glennard2523

[James H]

That's coming on real well 🤗

[Glenn-UK]

Just now, James H said:

That's coming on real well 🤗

Thanks very much. I am going slow and steady which is against my nature!

[Dave_E]

Nice! Really nice! 👍😀

[Glenn-UK]

Just now, Dave_E said:

Nice! Really nice! 👍😀

Many thanks Dave

[Oldsalt1950]

Very sharp!

 

Jim

[Glenn-UK]

18 minutes ago, Oldsalt1950 said:

Very sharp!

 

Jim

Thanks Jim

[Glenn-UK]

Mainmast Shrouds - Almost Complete

Work is progressing very well on the mainmast shrouds. All the port side shrouds have been installed, the lanyards just need tying off and the shroud ends trimmed back. As can be seen in the photo below the shroud deadeyes are almost level with each other, the seizing's could have been a bit more consistent however, but once I have tweaked them a bit and dyed them black with Indian ink I think they will be acceptable.

All the starboard side shrouds have also been installed and like the port side the lanyards just need tying off and the shroud ends trimmed back. As can be seen in the photo below they are a bit more uneven compared with the port side. Hopefully I can even them up a bit more by adjusting the lanyards when I tie them off.

Shroud Rigging Video's

Although I am not equipped to make decent video's of my work I have recorded the process I am now using for the main mast shrouds. I split the process into 4 different video's and they was recorded as I was adding the third shroud pair to the starboard side. These videos have been upload to my YouTube channel. There is no audio commentary on the video therefore I have provided a description of each video's content (along with the hyperlink to the videos) in the following text. Please be aware that I am not very good at making video's but it was fun to have a go.

 

Creating The Loop Video

This video shows me creating the loop in the shroud and then adding the deadeye to it. I have noted the video the loop is slightly out of focus, sorry about that.

 

The start of the video shows the shroud line positioned and held in place with the quad hands, one quad hand is for the loop with another quad hand to hold the shroud tail in place.

 

A 20cm length of 0.1mm natural thread is used to secure the loop in place with three half hitch knots placed on the top side of the loop.

 

Once the loop has been formed the shroud line is removed from the quad hands and the loop is closed up as the deadeye is inserted. With the deadeye securely held in the loop the excess seizing thread is trimmed, but not flush with the knots at this stage. I have not added any ca gel to the knots as yet.

 

In the final part of this video the approximate position of the inserted deadeye is checked with the other shroud deadeyes. The shroud deadeye position can still be adjusted as the shroud thread can still slide through the seizing.

 

Checking Deadeye Position with the Jig Video

This video does not show a great of information.

 

The video starts with the jig being placed on the channel deadeye using the bottom two locating pins. With the jig in place the shroud deadeye is then checked. When the shroud deadeye is in the correct position it can be placed over the upper two locating pins on the jig. This can be seen in the video.

 

The next step, which was not recorded, some ca gel is applied to the loop knots and the excess thread trimmed.

 

Seizing the Shroud Line Video

The next stage in the process is to add the two seizing's to the shroud line, which is shown in this video.

 

With the deadeye held in one of the quad hands a 20cm length of 0.1mm natural thread is used for the seizing. Starting with the lower seizing a half hitch knot is tied to the rear of the shroud line and it's position is checked using a piece of 2mm tape. As can be seen in the video the position of the knot is adjusted. Another half hitch is then tied to the front of the shroud. As the seizing moved slightly when adding the front half hitch knot it was rechecked with the tape and moved the seizing back to the correct position.

 

It was then a case of adding 8 more half hitches, 4 to the rear and 4 to the front. A touch a ca gel was used to secure the last half hitch and the excess thread trimmed.

 

The second seizing was a simply a repeat of the first. A 20cm length of natural thread was used for the seizing and once its initial position was checked using a piece of 2mm tape it was then a case of adding the sequence of front and rear half hitches, 10 in total.

 

Adding the Lanyards Video

This is the final video in this sequence. A 30cm length of 0.25mm natural thread is used for the lanyard.

 

The lanyard thread is run through the different deadeye holes in sequence. Once the initial lanyard rigging is complete some tension applied to the shroud and the slack in the middle lanyard is taken up, this also takes the slack in the right-hand side lanyard. This is followed by taking the slack up in the left-hand side lanyard. After a couple of goes the new deadeye is sitting at approximately the same level of the other ones and the shroud and lanyard are nicely tensioned.

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Lower Mast Shrouds

All the lower mast shrouds have been fitted and the lanyards rigged. The seizing's have also been dyed black with Indian ink. My skills in this aspect of rigging are much improved but there is still plenty of room for improvement. The area which still seems to cause me some problems is getting the shroud deadeyes positioned at the same level. On the other hand a degree of unevenness is more representative of the shroud deadeyes on the real ships.

Catharpins

The next task will be to add the catharpins, which are the short ropes tied between the port and starboard shrouds for stabilisation and to prevent the shrouds interfering with the yards. On all my previous builds this is one area I have always struggled with.

 

In Lennarth Petersson book "Rigging Period Ships" each catharpin is shown as a length of rope with loops on each end. The two loops are used to secure the catharpins to the shrouds. I might experiment to see if this is a viable option. I think the problem will be determining the correct length for each catharpin rope.

 

 In the past I have looped the catharpin thread around the brass road and then formed the loop by added a seizing to the catharpin thread to hold it in place. This has always proved to be difficult to implement due to the limited space available. Also I have always ended up with a slightly twisted shroud which is a problem with over tensioning the catharpins.

In Jim's prototype build the catharpin thread appears to be taken over the top of the brass rod and is then seized to the front of the shroud line. The catharpins are positioned to meet the brass rod next to where the futtock staves pass. After passing behind the brass rod, the futtock staves are seized to the back of the shroud along with the catharpins at the front.  This is another method which I have not tried before but it looks much easier to implement so is a method I will experiment with.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Catharpins Foremast - A False Start

The first task with regards to the catharpins is to fit the brass rods to the shrouds. The 1mm brass rod supplied with the kit was cleaned in acetone and hot soapy water and then chemically blackened. The brass rod was then held in position on the port side shroud using a quad hand, as can be seen in the photo below. So far so good!

With the brass rod held in position I used some fly tying thread to secure it to the shrouds. It is not my best work but the thread will be dyed black with Indian ink so will look OK. The brass rod is now ready for trimming to the correct length.

With the brass rod trimmed, as shown in the photo below, I am ready to move on to the starboard side to repeat the above process. Unbeknown to me however I had made a fundamental error! This seems to be a core theme with my build log journey for the Sphinx. The more eagled eyed of you might have spotted the error. Fear not if you haven't as all will be revealed after the next next photo.

 

Moving on to the starboard side I used a length of brass rod to check the position to ensure it was set to the same height as the port side. This is when I noted that the thread links between the two brass rods, when installed, would foul with the rigging block affixed to the rear of the foremast. I found it difficult to find a picture that clearly shows the problem, the one below is the best of a bad bunch. The middle and inner cross threads would be at the same level as the rigging block based on the level set on the port side brass rod. It did not occur to be to check this sooner.

 

In the photo below I have reset the position of the starboard side brass rod so the cross threads will now avoid fouling with the rigging block. The brass rod is ready to be fixed to the shrouds. Once this is complete I will remove the brass rod from the port side and reposition so it is lower and level with the starboard side. Hopefully this will be easy to do.

[DelF]

21 hours ago, glennard2523 said:

The area which still seems to cause me some problems is getting the shroud deadeyes positioned at the same level

When you find the solution Glenn please let me know - I struggle with this too. 

 

However...

 

21 hours ago, glennard2523 said:

a degree of unevenness is more representative of the shroud deadeyes on the real ships.

That's my reasoning too!

 

Derek

[James H]

I hate catharpins.

[Glenn-UK]

13 minutes ago, James H said:

I hate catharpins.

I could not agree more😀

[Glenn-UK]

Thanks @DelF. It seems to be a mystery. I thought I had found fool proof with aligning the shroud deadeyes, it would appear I am the fool 🤣

[mugje]

The ship looks really beautiful so far! Really enjoying your build log!

[Glenn-UK]

25 minutes ago, mugje said:

The ship looks really beautiful so far! Really enjoying your build log!

Many thanks, I think spending time correcting my countless errors is paying dividends. 😀

[Glenn-UK]

Foremast Catharpins - Completed

After the false start detailed in my last post I was able to remove the port side brass rod without any problem. It was then a simple case setting the brass rod to the same level as the starboard side. With the port side brass rod held in the required position it is ready to be secured to the shrouds. This can be seen in the photo below where I have already secured it to the furthermost shroud line, using fly tying thread.

It did not take long to complete securing the brass rod to the shrouds and double checking it is at the same level of the starboard side.

I was unsure which method to use for the links between the shrouds. I opted to try the method outlined in Lennarth Petersson's book entitled Rigging Period Ships, as shown in the picture below.

I used a length of dowel to workout the distance between the shrouds at each point and made up the cross threads. I tried to make them a tad shorter than required.

The first cross thread was a tad too long to be rigged as shown Lennarth's book but it slid over the ends of the brass rod and was a perfect fit.

The remaining two cross threads were fitted as per the method shown in Lennarth's book. The middle one took two attempts to get fixed but it ended up being a good fit. I had to remake the final cross thread as the first one was a bit too long. There is quite a curve for the furthermost cross thread around the foremast, which is evident in the photo below. I have never done catharpins this well before so I am very pleased with how they look. All that is left to done is apply some Indian ink to the thread and touch up the brass rod, as necessary.

Edited May 26, 2022 by glennard2523

[James H]

This is coming along very nicely indeed!

[Glenn-UK]

20 minutes ago, James H said:

This is coming along very nicely indeed!

Thank you Jim. I am very pleased with how the lower foremast catharpins have turned out.

[Glenn-UK]

This post covers the completion of the catharpins and the start adding the futtock staves.

 

Catharpins - Completed

I have now completed the installation of the catharpins for the fore, main and mizzen masts. I am really happy with how these have turned out and the end result far exceeded my expectations which were based on my efforts on previous builds. As stated in a previous post I tried to replicated the method illustrated in Lennarth's Petersson's book "Rigging Period Ship Models". I was not looking forward to this task but now I seemed to have found a method which is relatively easy to implement it turned out to be not so bad.

 

Main Mast Catharpins

Mizzen Mast Catharpins

Fore Mast Catharpins

Futtock Staves

There are 22 futtock staves to add, 8 for the foremast, 8 for the main mast and 6 for the mizzen mast. I have collected 22 x futtock strop hooks and I have also cut 22 x 100mm lengths of 0.75mm black thread. I have started to add the futtock stave thread to their respective strop hooks. The picture below show the first four futtock staves for the foremast which are now ready to be seized to the strop hooks.

Using the quad hands the first futtock stave is held in place ready for the seizing to be added.

It did not take long to add the seizing using 0.1mm natural thread. I used 12 half hitches for the seizing with 6 half hitches on the bottom and 6 half hitches on the top. The completed part is shown below.

The final picture of this post shows the first futtock stave in place and it is ready to be seized to the shroud. The futtock stave has been passed over and behind the catharpin and then held in place using my reverse action tweezers. It should be a relatively easy task to secure the futtock stave to the shroud. I plan to make all 22 of the futtock staves before I start adding them to the shrouds. After that it will be time to add the ratlines.

[Blue Ensign]

 

Hi Glenn, re the Mizen Catharpins:

Lees mentions use of these on the Mizen, but they are not included on the rigging plan for Pandora (AotS) nor do they appear in Steel's rigging tables for vessels rated 20 -24 guns. If you decide to keep them  consideration needs to be given how they may impact when it comes to fitting and rigging the Gaff.

 

B.E.

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

2 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

 

Hi Glenn, re the Mizen Catharpins:

Lees mentions use of these on the Mizen, but they are not included on the rigging plan for Pandora (AotS) nor do they appear in Steel's rigging tables for vessels rated 20 -24 guns. If you decide to keep them  consideration needs to be given how they may impact when it comes to fitting and rigging the Gaff.

 

B.E.

 

 

Hello BE

Many thanks for your observations. I have no knowledge of what was actually fitted to the real ships. I just follow the plans provided with the kits I buy. I also look at all the different build logs on MSW as well.

 

I have noted that on the prototype Sphinx built by @James H the catharpins were added to the mizzen mast. They are also shown on the rigging plans provided by @chris watton which is why I added them. I am sure adding the Gaff will present me with plenty of problems and headaches with or without the catharpins and futtock staves.

 

You build work is truly amazing and I wish I had the skill set and patience to emulate your very high standards of workmanship.

 

Thanks

Glenn 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Port Side  - Futtock Staves

First job this morning was to add all the futtock strop hooks to the futtock staves (100mm x 0.75mm black thread). In total I seized 22 futtock strop hooks to 22 threads. It took me a couple of hours to complete. It was then a case adding each futtock stave to their respective shrouds, passing them over and behind the catharpins. It was another 2 hours work to complete the port side today and I plan to start work on the starboard side tomorrow, but my time will be limited due to grandparent duties.

 

The photo below shows the current build status.

 

Foremast Futtock Staves

Mainmast Futtock Staves

Mizzenmast Futtock Staves

There is some debate if the mizzen mast was fitted with catharpins on the actual ships of this period. As they included on the prototype build and shown on the rigging plans I went ahead and added them. I may regret this later on as it might hinder the fitting and rigging of the Gaff.

 

With the futtock stave passed behind the catharpin it is held in place with a pair of reverse action tweezers, as shown in the photo below. I then added two seizing's to secure the futtock stave to the shroud. Once complete the excess thread was trimmed.

Once all the futtock staves were installed I applied some Indian ink to the natural thread.

[Glenn-UK]

Futtock Staves - Completed

I was able to spend more time than I thought in the shipyard today so I was able to complete adding the futtock staves to the starboard side. Overall I am extremely pleased with how they have turned out.😀

 

Ratlines to be added next. From a little bit of research I have done the ratlines on HMS Victory were set 13" apart. Adjusting this dimension for 64th scale and converting to metric yields a spacing of approx. 5mm (13" * 25.4 / 64=5.15mm) between ratlines.

 

A preliminary estimate is there will be around 24 ratlines on the foremast per shroud and plenty of clove hitch knots. In the past I have found adding ratlines relaxing so fingers crossed 🤞it will be the same again for the Sphinx.

 

I have added a couple of very similar pictures of the completed futtock staves.

[Oldsalt1950]

Nicely done Glenn

[Glenn-UK]

25 minutes ago, Oldsalt1950 said:

Nicely done Glenn

Thank you

[Glenn-UK]

Ratlines - The beginning

Over the next couple of weeks I will mostly be tying clove hitch knots😆

 

As per my last post I have opted for a 5mm spacing between the ratlines to replicate  a 13" spacing.

(13" * 25.4 / 64 = 5.15mm)

 

The lowest ratline is tied to all the shroud lines. The next 5 ratlines are not required for the outer stern side shroud. The pattern of full width ratlines spaced between 5 shorter length ratlines repeats over the full length. I have indicated this on my spacing template where X indicates the full length ratlines.

 

It took me a few minutes before I found my clove hitch knots mojo again but once I got back into the swing of tying them it does not take me too long to add each ratline. In the two pictures below I have added all the full width ratlines for the foremast starboard side shrouds. My next update in a few days time will hopefully show the completed ratlines for the foremast, post and starboard.

 

With reference the photo below I did struggle to get the lowest ratline positioned correctly due to the presence of the shroud seizing's. After two attempts I have decided to accept for the time being. I might change my mind and redo once I have completed adding the rest of the ratlines.

All clove hitches are being lined up with the template, and a final check will be done before I apply some diluted pvc to the completed ratlines / shrouds.

 

[Blue Ensign]

Looking good Glenn,  and by fitting the first few Ratlines at intervals certainly helps to counter pulling the shrouds out of line, it's the method I use for  'Rattlin' down.

 

B.E.