HMS Indefatigable 1794 (prototype) by James H - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Surgeonstone]

It would  be cool if one could purchase a copy of the Geoff Hunt painting. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by Surgeonstone

[Martin E]

37 minutes ago, Surgeonstone said:

It would  be cool if one could purchase a copy of the Geoff Hunt painting. 

You're in luck! No affiliation, but Artmarine.co.uk sell limited edition prints as part of their Fighting Sail series for about £60, as well as prints of some alternative paintings by Robert Taylor and John Chancellor.  A search on eBay is currently coming up trumps too.

[chris watton]

I note Jim has compared the hulls of Indy and Victory in previous posts - Here is another comparison, both at waterline level.

[James H]

A very brief update before the weekend one. 

 

The office furniture has been painted by a friend of mine, and here it is. The round table will not be included with Indy, but the other table will, along with a couple of chairs. Here you can see a couple of incarnations of the furniture, 3D-printed and painted with oils. My friend also added the navigation charts for some extra effect!

 

 

These items, including the round table are available already though. https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/product/cabin-furniture/

[glbarlow]

Wow, I need a friend like that. It went from blue plastic to impeccably real. Where does one get 1/64th maps...

[VTHokiEE]

9 hours ago, James H said:

office furniture has been painted by a friend of mine, and here it is

Those are truly amazing. Do you have any tutorials on how to even approach doing painting like that? And the maps...wow, very impressive. Is your friend accepting applications for new friends 😉?

 

15 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

It went from blue plastic to impeccably real. Where does one get 1/64th maps...

Agreed on the maps, or maybe suggestions on paper and how to print them even.

[James H]

1 minute ago, VTHokiEE said:

Those are truly amazing. Do you have any tutorials on how to even approach doing painting like that? 

 

Nope! This is why I farm this stuff out as he knows what he's doing, plus I'm still busy with woodwork 😆

[James H]

Ok, just an interim update. 

 

I was going to leave this until weekend when the office was installed, but I may as well show the upper deck being fitted and prepped for further work. Indy will be supplied with deck planking material as standard. At the moment, this looks like it will be red alder, which is gorgeous. I have some here that I'll do a couple of stages showing how to present it, assuming the modeller will have a good idea already. Indefatigable isn't marketed at modellers who are novices or intermediate. This is an 'Advanced' level kit in VM's new 5-point kit categorisation. More on that when it's released. What you see here are the standard ply sections which are laser-engraved so you have something as a planking guide. 

 

 

 

 

This is where checking the lay of the deck beams really does pay off. This deck is fitted in halves, unlike the main deck, simply as it's a more complex item. With everything test fitted and dry run several times, the deck beams have glue added to them and the deck is slotted into the outer bulkhead ears. Weights and clamps are then used to hold things down until dry. The 2 inch clamps are perfect for this, especially the cutouts where the front end clamps the joint and the clamp tail holds down the opposite side. 

 

 

 

And then the other deck half is fitted in the same way. 

 

 

 

There is a little more internal fairing to do, but this is easy enough. This is where the cabin walls will be installed and I need to make sure there's no bumps anywhere. 

 

 

 

And while this seems drastic, these frames DO need to now be removed as the next build stages will incorporate engraved inner bulwarks which glue onto the the sides.

 

 

 

The forecastle bulkhead ears are now history too.

 

 

More at weekend when I have the painted furniture in hand.

[Kevin]

it just gets better

[Nipper]

12 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Wow, I need a friend like that. It went from blue plastic to impeccably real. Where does one get 1/64th maps...

To make a chart for the table in my Sphinx,  I found an appropriate 18th century one on the Internet and then just reduced its size by photocopying several times until it was about 10mm wide.   It looks OK but I hope when I've finished it will be as good as the one produced by Jim's friend!

 

Nipper 

[James H]

This is my weekend update time as I'll be working flat out from this stage to get the upper deck work done. Getting the cabin built and fitted out seemed like a good time to post.

 

The first thing that's to be done is to fit the vertical face for the benching in rear of captain's office. 

 

 

 

With that fitted, the parquet floor is added. This is supplied in card and it looks nicer than the maple version, and a cool contrast. Titebond is used to fit this. The remainder of the rudder housing boxing is then completed.

 

 

 

The bulkhead screens are supplied in two 0.6mm engraved laminates. Instead of using wood-curling white glue, 3M Spray Mount is used. The parts are lovely and glass flat.

 

 

 

The outer bulkhead screen is fitted with laser-engraved columns.

 

 

 

The inner bulkhead screen and the partition wall are temporarily fitted so that the engraved maple floor sections in that area can be trimmed to size. Once they are done, the floor sections are glued into place and the screen and partition removed until later.

 

 

 

This picture will give a good idea about the post design process that I am engaged in when building the production prototype. I will invariably find a small number of things which needed amending. This is either because it was missed during the initial cut build, or because something in the design was changed and a small number of affected areas may have missed an update. Here you see the cabin side wall and the changes made from the initial part. That includes shifting details by 2mm to align gun ports and also packing out the rear to cater to the lowered cabin shelf. Hey, at least we can show you how we do this as a tag-team!

 

 

 

I temporarily fit the cabin walls and the screens so that I can draw a demarcation line to guide me for painting the cabin interior. 

 

[James H]

The cabin walls and internal cabin screen are now painted, and the screens fitted out.

 

 

 

 

I can finally glue into place the cabin walls, screens and partition. Note the eyelets are added to the ports and floor. 

 

 

 

Did I say this came with a cabinet? No? Well, it does, and this is now fitted into place.

 

 

 

The carronades in this area differ from the others as they will retract into hull during the hull painting process. They can be rolled out into position when that job is complete. These are now fitted to the cabins area.

 

 

 

Time for some furniture and maps too. 

 

 

 

Hope you like the work so far. Onwards!!

[jpalmer1970]

It looks fantastic!

[yvesvidal]

1 hour ago, James H said:

 

That is gorgeous !!! I wish my Bellona had such details...... :-(

 

Yves

[scrubbyj427]

Outstanding!

[James H]

42 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

 

That is gorgeous !!! I wish my Bellona had such details...... 😞

 

Yves

 

We look forward to your purchase 😘

[mugje]

Fantastic! Great coloring too! 🙂

[James H]

I re-took the photo of the cabin area as there was too much glare on the deck and the background was dirty. 

 

So, here it is. 

[Nipper]

This shows just how right Chris was to make the furniture (as well as his figures) - the additional detail and accuracy brings to life what is a stunning model.

 

Nipper

[harlequin]

yep....looking good..

[Kevin]

brilliant

 

[yvesvidal]

6 hours ago, James H said:

 

Nobody will want to build the quarter deck and hide this beautiful cabin from the view. Maybe Chris will design a removable deck to show the interior....

 

Yves

[James H]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

 

Nobody will want to build the quarter deck and hide this beautiful cabin from the view. Maybe Chris will design a removable deck to show the interior....

 

Yves

It'll be a little difficult on a fully rigged ship. 

 

You can open things up more if you wanted though. 

[Malcolm Greig]

What a fantastic build.  That internal detail would benefit from some cabin lights. Lots of options these days with the LED's now available. But very early planning required.

 

regards

 

Malcolm    

[aydingocer]

23 hours ago, James H said:

I re-took the photo of the cabin area as there was too much glare on the deck and the background was dirty. 

 

So, here it is. 

I would never imagine there would be cannons right inside the command and control room with all the furniture and neat floor and stuff. Did they really fire them? Amazing.

[Blue Ensign]

With expected action all those panels and furniture would be removed to the hold, or even put in ships boats that would be towed behind.

In the age of sail you would normally have hours before action was engaged, giving plenty of time to ready the ship.

 

B.E.

[Dave_E]

I have never seen cannon in the captains cabin in any TV show or movie. If they were really in there, space and smell must have been terrible. The movies left them out for affect more than likely.

[James H]

1 minute ago, Dave_E said:

I have never seen cannon in the captains cabin in any TV show or movie. If they were really in there, space and smell must have been terrible. The movies left them out for affect more than likely.

Here's HMS Victory's cabin:

 

[Aidedecamp]

30 minutes ago, Dave_E said:

I have never seen cannon in the captains cabin in any TV show or movie. If they were really in there, space and smell must have been terrible. The movies left them out for affect more than likely.

Probably most of them ... but "Master and Commander: The Fas Side of the World" kept the cannons in the captain's cabin. The cannons can be seen in several scenes in the captain's cabin. I think even during the dinner's scene in the cabin, with so many people in the room, I think the cannons are still inside.

[hollowneck]

The epic film, “Master & Commander” is still a touchstone for a realistic depiction of fighting sail at the end of the 17th-early 18th-century. Personally, I return to watch it every so often for an immersion in history related to our hobby (and the era) I love. The current Vic’s captain’s quarters in Portsmouth looks very “sanitary” by comparison. This First Rate’s spacious quarters looks like a high school cafeteria space compared with the stingy and head-banging spaces of most other fighting ships in the Age of Sail.