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

[BobG]

Lots of very nice progress, Glenn! 👍

[Glenn-UK]

1 minute ago, BobG said:

Lots of very nice progress, Glenn! 👍

Thank you Bob

[Glenn-UK]

Hull Plates and Rails

The horseshoe and fishplates have been fitted to the hull. I used super phatic glue to secure the parts and brass pins to ensure they were properly aligned. Once the glue had cured I added shortened brass pins to all the holes.

 

Horseshoe Plate

 

Fish Plate. I will touch up the copper painting.

 

All the rails have now been fitted. The left and right bow rails were soaked in hot water for 20 mins and then clamped to hull and left overnight to dry. I opted to remove the excess rail material that sat across the gun ports before fitting. I brushed super phatic glue to the rail parts and then carefully fitted them to the hull. The glue gripped really well as each rail part was added. I did make a slight error with the fitting sequence on the right-hand side, but it does not look too bad. It would have been better to fit the stern and bow rails first before adding the midship rails. I need touch up the odd bit of blue paint with a very fine tipped paint brush.

 

I do need to paint the tips of the two vertical strips black to match the wales.

 

 

 

The end of the curve rail sits a bit low but once the hawse holes have been opened up to 2mm and the other items added it will look Ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Working on Quarter Galleries and Stern Fascia

The completed rudder assembly  was fixed in place without any problem. I also added the Rudder Brace Straps to the hull. I have not added all the cut off brass pins to the Rudder Brace Straps but I will be doing so in the fullness of time.

 

As can be seen in the photo below I have added the pin heads to the lower Rudder Brace Straps.

 

The window panes were fitted to the frames, using super phatic glue. The window frames were primed and painted white (two coats applied). The frames were then added to the quarter galleries and stern fascia, using super phatic glue. Next the Stern Column Panel and the Quarter Gallery Vertical Columns were removed from the PE sheets, cleaned and painted gold. Once the paint had dried the parts were glued in position, again using super phatic.

 

The right-hand side quarter gallery

 

The stern fascia

 

The next task was to fit decorative rails to the stern fascia and quarter galleries. I started by removing the laser char from the edges of the rails and once that was done the parts were ready to be fitted. I carefully laid the parts out in insure I was fitting the right parts.

 

I opted to use ca gel to secure the rails. For the most part it was a fairly straightforward task to complete. I did end up having to remove the stern fascia upper rail and quarter gallery middle rail as I incorrectly positioned the stern fascia rail. I has set it to low but thankfully I noticed the problem and thankfully the rails were removed without any damage. I am reasonably happy that the stern fascia rails are nicely aligned with the quarter gallery rails. I am a bit unhappy with the position of some of the Quarter Gallery Vertical Columns but I have decided to leave them as shown in the photo's below.

 

This is a photo of the left-hand side quarter gallery, the paint will require a little bit of touching up. The two end Quarter Gallery Vertical Columns parts look bad in the close up photo, but for me it was much more important to get the rails to align with the stern fascia rails.

 

This is a view of the right-hand quarter gallery, and if you look carefully you will notice that I had to add a small filler piece to the top stern fascia rail

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Quarter Galleries

Today I have added the final parts on the quarter galleries and the task is now complete. The PE decorations were painted gold last night and secured in place on the quarter galleries using super phatic glue. The upper finishing tile roof PE decorations have also been fitted, but they were painted black. Finally the quarter gallery upper fretwork patterns were glued in place using super phatic.

 

 

 

Stern Fascia

I have also nearly completed all the work on the outer face of the stern fascia. The PE parts have been painted gold and secured using super phatic glue. I will need to touch up some of the black and red paint, as can been seen in the photo below.

 

The resin moulding has been painted, but still requires a bit more work to tidy up the painting up before I will go ahead and fix it to the stern fascia pattern.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Stern Fascia

I have now completed work on the stern fascia. It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but compared with my V1 build it is a marked improvement and I am very happy with how it has turned out this time around.

 

 

 

I am aware I still need to fit the following items:

a)       gun port hinges to the upper stern counter panel

b)      two eyebolts on lower stern rail

c)       rudder chain between the spectacle plate and lower stern rail eyebolts

 

These will be fitted later on in the build process

 

Bow Area

I have now started work on the bow detail. I thought I would detail the process I go through in this respect. I began by using the build manual to identify the parts required and I remove the required parts from the various sheets. The parts, when removed are, placed on a sheet of card. I placed a centre line on a piece of card, so the various left and right-handed parts are kept apart. I have also removed the various spare parts that have been supplied.

 

I took the gammoning knee and checked the fit, and as can be seen in the photo below it looks to be a good fit.

 

The laser char was removed from the visible edges of the gammoning knee.

 

Next I took the largest bow v-pattern and checked the fit with the gammoning knee. The bow v-pattern did require a little bit of sanding so it fully locate in the slot on the gammoning knee.

 

The dry fitted assembly was once again dry fitted to the hull to ensure the two parts were properly aligned.

 

The above process was then repeated for the middle bow v-pattern.

 

It was not a perfect fit in the photo below but I have sorted this out.

 

Finally I repeated the process for the smallest bow v-pattern.

 

The bow v-pattern slots for the for the bow lower rails were then tapered to approx. 45 degrees. The laser char was also removed.

 

Tomorrow I will start the assembly process in earnest.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Bow Work Continues

Following on from my last post I have now glued the v-patterns to the gammoning knee. I then added a chamfer to the top edges of the v-patterns and then glued the bow grating patterns (inner and outer)  in position. I then painted the v-patterns black. Finally I sanded the edges of the v-pattern edges so they were level with the bow grating patterns edges.

 

 

 

The following photos show the completed assembly in position, but it has only been dry fitted at this stage as I plan to open up the hawse holes, as directed in the manual, before the area gets to crowded with parts. The edge of the inner bow grating pattern did require a little bit of sanding so it was a reasonably good fit with the curve of the hull.

##

Edited March 4, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Bow Work Continues

Continuing with the process I use for working on the Sphinx bow area the next task I undertook was to enlarge the hawse holes ready for the anchor rope. I opened these holes out using a 3.5mm drill which I think will be sufficient but I can soon enlarge to 4mm if required. To help thread the anchor rope (later in the build process) I used a small piece of brass rod inserted into the end of the anchor rope with my V1 build which worked a treat. Therefore I have prepared and bent a small length of brass rod and checked it will pass through the hawse holes to the gun deck access hole in the forward bulkhead panel, as shown in the two photo’s below.

 

 

 

I removed the laser char from the edges of the 4 x bow cheeks, 2 x hawse bolsters and 2 x wash cant’s parts. This is not strictly necessary as these parts will be painted black which will cover the laser char but I think the parts will look better when painted black without the laser char.

 

Using a round file the upper edges of the hawse bolsters were rounded to match the hawse holes. The bolsters were then soaked in hot water for 30 minutes before being clamped to a large jug so a slight bend is applied to enable the bolsters to sit flush with the hull.

 

The bow cheeks and wash cant’s parts were test fitted to the hull and they did require a little bit of sanding to get a nice fit.

 

The lower leading edge of the wash cant’s need to be shaped to create a rounded streamlined effect. I decided it would easier to do this with the wash cant glued to the bow cheek.

 

I used my rotary tool for the initial shaping process, taking my time with frequent checks to check the look.

 

I then used sanding sticks and sandpaper to complete the process.

 

Once I happy with how the various parts looked and fitted they were painted black.

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Bow Area Complete

The various parts which for the bow area which I have been working on and detailing in my previous posts have now been glued in place to the Sphinx hull. I think the preparation work paid off as the installation went reasonably smoothly. I used super phatic glue to secure the parts to the hull. There will be a little bit more work required later on in the build process to ensure the edges of the bow grating align with the the bow main rail. 

 

 

 

I am now weighing up the next phase of the build. My currently thinking is I will complete the work around the stern area and then to work my way forward towards the bow in stages.

 

 

[Thukydides]

Looks good Glenn lots of fiddle work there at the bow, but you have done a neat job.

[Glenn-UK]

4 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

Looks good Glenn lots of fiddle work there at the bow, but you have done a neat job.

Thanks, it was a little bit fiddly but I am happy with how it has turned out.

[Theodosius]

your galleon (?) looks great! 🙂

[Glenn-UK]

18 minutes ago, Theodosius said:

your galleon (?) looks great! 🙂

Thanks

[Glenn-UK]

Stern Gun Ports, Steps, Depth Numerals and Hull Decorations (PE parts)

I added the hinges, eyebolts and rigging for the two stern gun ports. This was a straightforward task and was completed without any problems.

 

Moving on to the hull side steps next I removed all the parts, including the spares. I believe there are 7 x hull side steps required per side. The parts were laid out ready for assembly. The laser char was removed from the visible edges.

 

The assembly of each step was a little bit fiddly but made a little easier when I used my head mounted magnifier lenses. I applied a touch of titebond to one edge, held in my pliers. Each part was then carefully positioned on top of its associated part. I used a scrap piece of wood to ensure the two parts were aligned along the back edge. I was also able to nudge the two parts so the two edges were also aligned.

 

It did not take too long to assemble all 14 hull side steps, and they are now ready to be added to the hull, which I will do at the same time as fitting the hull PE decorations.

 

I sprayed three PE sheets with a primer. The hull decorations and depth numerals were then given two paints of gold paint. I also sprayed alot of the other PE parts black, using tape to mask off the parts that will not be painted black such such as the window frames.

 

 

 

The depth numerals were then added. I applied a touch of super phatic to the hull and gently eased a depth numeral into position. This process  was repeated until all the depth numerals had been added. They are not perfectly aligned but they look OK.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Channels and Hull Decorations

I started to fit the hull decorations, starting with stern and moving toward the bow. The top row from the stern to midships, on both sides, went on without any problems. I constant checked with plan sheet 13 that I had the right PE part and that it being positioned correctly.

 

To secure the PE parts to the hull I brushed some super phatic glue back of the part and then gently manoeuvred it into the required position. I used a cotton bud to wipe away the odd bit of excess glue. As can be seen in the photo below I have also started to dry fit the channels to the hull.

 

 

I decided it would be beneficial to dry fit all the channels before progressing further with added the hull decorations, as the lower layer of PE decorations from the stern to midships needs to fit around the channels. I thought it would be better to do this with the channels in place.

 

As you will note I have removed the laser char from the edges of the channel, even though they will be painted black.

 

Fore mast channels dry fitted

 

Main mast channels dry fitted

 

Mizzen mast channels dry fitted

 

With the channels dry fitted I carefully positioned the lower layer of PE parts, prior to adding the super phatic, to check they would positioned as shown on plan sheet 13. I realised it would be better for the channels to be glued in position before these PE hull decorations were added. The photo below shows the lower layer of PE parts dry fitted to the hull around the mizzen and main mast channels.

 

Based on my experience with fitting the channels with the V1 build I will add the channel knees at the same time as the channels to ensure there is good contact for the knees on both the channel and on the side of the hull. As can be seen in the photo below I have dry fitted the mizzen knees. Please note I have also started to remove the laser char from the knees but the task is far from complete.

 

The channels need to be painted black before they can be fitted. I ended up making a simple painting jig to hold the channels before they were sprayed with black paint. Using a scrap piece of wood, as a base, I marked and drilled some holes so channels could be held in place, using the same pins that will be used to help locate and support the channels when fitted to the hull. The channels were then given two coats of black paint. The photo below shows the painting jig with the channels in place, with the Sphinx in the background ready for the next installation task. The paint is still a bit wet so the channels will be given time to dry before I move on to fitting them. In the meantime I need to continue with removing the laser char for the channel knees.

Edited March 9, 2022 by glennard2523

[Rustyj]

Hi Glenn, Your Sphinx is coming along very nicely. It's a joy to watch your progress.

[Blue Ensign]

Looking good along the QD topsides and Galleries Glenn, a vast improvement on V1. 👍

 

B.E.

[Glenn-UK]

1 hour ago, Rustyj said:

Hi Glenn, Your Sphinx is coming along very nicely. It's a joy to watch your progress.

Thanks Rusty. It is very unlike me to be taking my time with a build, but I am definitely seeing the benifits.

[Glenn-UK]

Just now, Blue Ensign said:

Looking good along the QD topsides and Galleries Glenn, a vast improvement on V1. 👍

 

B.E.

Thanks. I am so much happier with take 2.

[Glenn-UK]

Hull Decorations, Channels & Knees, Side Hull Steps

I have now added all the side hull decorations to the hull. For the most part these was a fairly easy trouble free task. I did have one piece, either side which would not fit in the space under one of the small forward channel and above the lower rail. I did end up trimming the PE part a little bit to make it fit.

 

 

I will add the hinges, eyebolt and thread to the gun port in the morning. The bow grating v patterns look a bit messy, but this will be hidden when the Bow Main Rail patterns are added.

 

It is a shame I did not get the alignment perfect over the right hand gun port in the photo below, but when all said and done I do not think it will be noticeable with the naked eye unless one really looks hard to spot it.

 

 

Before I added the hull decorations I did fit the channels and knees.

 

Mizzen Channel with knees fitted

 

Main Mast Channel with knees fitted

 

Fore mast channel with knees fitted

 

I also glued the hull side steps in place. I will paint the upper step blue and the lower two steps black in the morning.

[Glenn-UK]

Screens

When I looked at the completed hull first thing this morning I realised the gun ports needed some attention. I applied some red paint to the sides and bottom of each port. They now look much better but I am thinking about adding some gun port linings. I have ordered some wooden strips from CMB so I have the material available.

 

I then moved on to the rear cabin area and fitted the metal work (floor and gun port eyebolts). As can be seen in the photo below the gun port looks Ok but would look much better if lined.

 

Next I started to assembly the three screens, each screen comprises a back and front 0.6mm sheet which need to be glued together. I remember from my V1 build that these parts warped badly as soon as the glue is applied. To combat this I clamped the parts flat as the glue cured, using the quad hands base. This method worked a treat. The picture shows two completed screen, the third screen is clamped under the yellow quad hands base.

 

When putting the aft screen in place in became apparent that the screen would need a little bit of work to make it fit. This was indicated that it may be necessary in the build manual.

 

To ensure I got a good fit I made a card template of the screen and trimmed it so it was a perfect fit.

 

The modified template was then clamped to the screen so the excess material could be removed using a sharp craft knife.

 

The trimmed part was then test fitted, it required a quick sand before it was a perfect fit.

 

The side screen was then added.

 

The forward screen was also test fitted. It was necessary to make a cardboard template so the screen could be trimmed to fit. It is a tight fit in the photo below so I will give it a light sand. I also need to remove the laser char from the top edges.

 

The various parts will now be added to the screens, such as windows, frames, hinges and door handles before they are glued in place.

Edited March 11, 2022 by glennard2523

[Blue Ensign]

I think you may have the bulkhead screens the wrong way around Glenn.

The hinges should be on the aft side which puts the Mizen mast in the Coach rather than the Bedspace.

 

B.E.

[James H]

35 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

I think you may have the bulkhead screens the wrong way around Glenn.

The hinges should be on the aft side which puts the Mizen mast in the Coach rather than the Bedspace.

 

B.E.

You are 100% correct. 

[Glenn-UK]

Screens

I did note a slight error in the plan sheets with regard to the forward screen assembly which caused me a little bit of confusion, hence why they were shown the other way around in my previous post.  I have now repositioned the screens so the dividing screen is on the right-hand side. I have also test fitted the two deck beams which the screens will be secured to and all looks good to go, as can be seen in the photo below. I will remove the laser char for the top edges of the deck beams before installation.

 

Dry fit of screens and deck beams

 

Cannons

Before moving on to install the screens I have decided the time is right to start work on the cannon assembly. I have started the process by applying a WOP coat to the cannon parts (both sides). These will be left to dry before the various parts can be painted, as required, prior to the assembly phase.

 

WOP coating of cannon parts

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Cannons

Today was spent preparing and assembling 4 of the cannons required for Sphinx. In my last post the wooden parts had been given a WOP preparation in readiness for the painting. With the exception of the wheels, all the wooden parts were painted red, noting I did remove the laser char from all the edges. Two coats of flat red were applied. I had also previously spray painted the PE parts with a primer and then black paint. As a waited for the paint to dry I removed the laser char from the wheel rims.

 

4 sets cannon materials ready for assembly.

 

The cannon side pieces have integral cap squares which has to be painted black. I masked the sides pieces using 2mm tape.

 

Two coats of black paint was then applied.

 

 

Moving on to the assembly phase I started with the left hand side piece and glued the two axles into place with Titebond Original glue

 

I waited a few minutes to allow time for the glue to grip before the cannon was added, ensuring the George III emblem was upward facing followed by gluing the right-hand side piece to the axles.

 

The four cannon assemblies are now waiting for remaining parts to be fitted.

 

The cannon carriage cross bars were added next, and the excess material was trimmed away. Each cannon has 7 eyebolts, each eyebolt was trimmed and fitted, using a touch of super phatic glue to secure in place. Once the iron work was completed the 4 wheels were added, again using super phatic glue to secure in place. Finally the carriage quoin was glued in place, with a touch of super phatic on both the cross bar and rear axle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by glennard2523

[Glenn-UK]

Quarterdeck Beams and optional Hanging Knees

My plan for moving forward with the adding the deck items is to work steadily from stern to bow. With that in mind I have therefore started with adding the quarterdeck support beams. Before each beam is fitted the laser char is removed from the top edge. I used a medium grade Florey sanding stick initially to remove the bulk of the laser char and then I finished off the process with 320 grit sandpaper. The hanging knees will also be added at the same time, as I think there are much easier to fit along with each beam.

 

When dry fitting the first hanging knee I noted a couple of things which needed some minor attention. As can be seen in the photo below the bottom edge of the handing knee is too long.

 

Also the top edge of the hanging knee will require a bit of trimming to match the curve of the quarterdeck beam, as shown in the photo below.

 

After a few minutes work the I was happy with the fit. I then removed the laser char. The hanging knee was then glued in place as can be seen in the photo below.

 

The first four quarterdeck beams have now been installed without any problems. The 2 cannons have not been glued in place in the picture below

 

It is important to ensure the cannons are secured in place as the quarterdeck beams are added because  the cannons will not fit between the gap between the deck beams, as shown in the photo below. The leading "n" quarterdeck beam in the picture below is only dry fitted and will only be added once the cannons have been glued to the deck.

[Theodosius]

Sry, if you have already talked about this, but I could not find it now, but what will you do with your V1, when the (realy much better) V2 has overtaken the old one? 🙂

[Glenn-UK]

1 hour ago, Theodosius said:

Sry, if you have already talked about this, but I could not find it now, but what will you do with your V1, when the (realy much better) V2 has overtaken the old one? 🙂

The V1 is currently on display in the conservatory along with all my other models. The conservatory is also my shipyard. I am not sure what I will do with her when the v2 build is completed 

[Glenn-UK]

Screens

Today I added the windows, frames, hinges and door handles to the forward and aft screens. I also continued to move from stern to bow with adding the quarterdeck support beams and hanging knees. I have now reached the point where I will have to move on to assembling and fitting some deck items before I can continue with adding more deck beams, starting with the gun deck aft hatch coaming, the gun deck aft ladder coaming and the gun deck aft ladder. I will also need to assembly 6 more cannons and fit all the iron work (eyebolts and rings) to the gun ports and deck.

 

The following is a photo of the Sphinx in all her glory. Please note I have also inserted a dowel for the mizzen mast. This was to ensure the mizzen mast base was correctly positioned with the elongated hole running from stern to bow when it was glued to the deck. The yellow tape on the dowel is an indication where the mast should be aligned with the quarterdeck, when the mizzen mast is fitted and fully engaged with the bottom locating slot.

 

The window frames are not great looking, will be OK when the quarterdeck is fitted as not easy to see. The ships captain also needs to get a rating to clean the windows

 

The next photo show the dividing screen

 

A cheeky picture of the cannon, the hanging knees may be painted red to match the bulwarks.

[Glenn-UK]

Gun Deck Coamings

I thought I would start this post with a couple of photos of the current state of play with the V2 build. With the first photo I have added some dowels to check the mizzen, main and foremast are properly inserted fully in their respective locating slots

 

The next photo shows the current progress with fitting the quarterdeck support beams.

 

Before I can go ahead and fit the remaining quarterdeck support beams I need to assemble and fit the various deck items which sit beneath the quarter deck. The first items to consider are the coamings and aft ladder.

 

The coaming parts, removed from their sheets, waiting for the laser char to be removed before the parts are glued together

 

The aft ladder parts ready to be assembled, noting the laser char will be removed from the leading edge of the rungs before the assembly.

 

The various assembled coamings are dry fitted to the hull, the aft ladder is also ready to be fitted.

 

Close up of the aft coaming with a dowel fitted ready for the capstan.

 

The mid ship coamings

 

The coaming closest to the bow

 

The next job was to add the deck eyebolts and rings, the coamings are still only dry fitted. I have also dry fitted the aft ladder

 

 

 

I am currently building 8 more cannons, so as I was waiting for some paint to dry I decided to dry fit of the remaining quarterdeck support beams. The first photo you will note I have not added the longitudinal support beams

 

With the longitudinal support beams added, noting I have not, as yet, removed the laser char from the top edges of 4 support beams.