HMS Bellona by hamilton - Corel - 1:100 - 1780 refit

[hamilton]

Hello there:

 

A bit more work on the stern area - I installed planking on the upper counter - spiled from 1.5mm x 10mm stock - and started on the quartergallery framing. In working on the latter, I decided to scrap the 1.5mm plywood support piece - it really did not seem necessary to me - and took a different approach.

 

The first step was to make a tracing of the general quartergallery outline from the plans and transfer this to the model - I was happy to discover that the tracing needed no adjustment and that it fit very nicely in place on both port and starboard sides. Once this was done, I used the outline to trim the framing pieces in their length and width so they fit nicely in place - the aft edges of all pieces and the inside edges of the lower two piece also had to be chamfered slightly to fit. I used the trimmed pieces to mark out their locations on the hull. Filler pieces could then be added using 1/16" scrapwood. It was then a very simple matter of installing the frame pieces. 

 

That's all for now - enjoy!

hamilton

[hamilton]

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 

 

The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling

hamilton

 

[Thunder]

Hi Hamilton, just catching up with your build and wondered what you had decided regarding the stern. Was thinking would be difficult to modify now that the transom lower horizontal moulding is in place.

 

I know this will sound drastic but i would consider cutting the first planking back to the next bulkhead. Then instead of repeating the removed first planking install two solid blocks to the correct shape. This will make an even better base for the second planking.

 

Looks very difficult to shape that last bulkhead now with your transom in place unless do carefully with a rotary tool.

 

Enjoying the build so far, looking good. 

[hamilton]

Thanks for the suggestion, Thunder. The fairing down option does seem ruled out at this point.....But I'm not sure I'm daring enough to go for any major surgery.......the problem is that once I start on any solution I won't be able to stop and the chances of really messing things up after that is pretty high.....On my Bluenose log I spent a bit of time explaining that, as someone who models for pleasure only, I'm not too worried often about historical accuracy and am perfectly happy if things look more or less tidy. I did want to hold myselkf to a higher standard on this one, so I'm feeling torn - my "natural attitude" is to just press on with an anachronistic transom, but then there's part of me that wants to intervene.....I've been working on other parts of the model to avoid making this decision, but it's gotta happen at some point!! But first.....coffee!

hamilton

Edited December 19, 2023 by hamilton

[hamilton]

I see it's been quite a while since I've updated here.....not that I'm on a schedule or anything!

 

In any case, I didn't get as much done on Bellona over the holidays as I hoped. But since the new year, I've managed to get a start on the second planking - starting with the outboard bulwarks. The first element laid here was a strip of molding that runs flush with the top of bulwarks mid-ships and follows the sheer to the beakhead forward and quartergalleries aft. This was a more or less straightforward operation, though it was eased by adding this strip in 3 sections and then blending these with acrylic modelling paste. The first section ran in line with the ship's waist, the second ran forward to the beakhead and the third aft to the quartergalleries. I finished this in Golden acrylic yellow ochre.

 

I've now also completed the first strakes of outboard bulwark planking in 1mm x 3mm walnut - 2 strakes laid below the first molding strip and cut around the main deck gun ports. This posed few difficulties. All of these elements will be finished in yellow ochre eventually, so the contrast between the limewood gunport lids and the walnut planking will be masked.

 

One thing I noticed on installation of these first planking strakes is that the gunport lids already installed on the model will in some cases stand a little proud of the hull planking. Once these strakes were installed, I had to commit quite a bit of elbow grease to sanding the lids down to be more or less flush with the surface of the planking. Here are a couple of photos - not great or very interesting ones, but....you get the impression.

 

Bye for now and happy modelling

hamilton

 

[hamilton]

So it's been quite some time since my last contribution here. There has been very little time for modelling in the last few months, but since the last update, I've completed the bulwark planking except for the upper bulwarks in line with the f'csl, quarterdeck & poop deck; installed the false wales and main wales, and finished the outboard bulwarks (yellow ochre & black for the wales). I also did some work to correct the square tuck transom, which now that I've started the lower hull planking seems to have worked out ok - though this was a lot of nerve-wracking work with a rotary tool and a variety of sanding blocks.

 

In any case, the photos below document my start on the lower hull planking. At the deadflat, I measured 102cm. The material supplied in the kit is 4mm wide, which translated into 23 planks of 4mm width and 2 of 5mm (which I'll use for the garboard and the strake above it, which will be coppered over in any case).

 

There will be 5 bands - 3 of 5 strakes, 1 of 6 strakes at the bilges and a garboard band of 4 strakes. I have not lined off the hull completely, but am doing so band-by-band, starting with band "A" of 5 strakes immediately below the wales.

 

So far things have gone quite well. Anyone who has seen my previous builds will know that hull planking is not my forte! But so far I'm pleased with the results aesthetically, though in terms of period practice they do not entirely follow convention (or architectural sense). Since I'm under no pressure to keep anyone on the vessel safe or to protect the Admiralty's investment, I'm cool with that! Here are the photos - enjoy!

hamilton

 

[Old Collingwood]

Looking good mate.

 

OC.

[Nearshore]

Hi Hamilton,

 

Your planking is looking great. I like the way you are going to present your ship, it will be much more colorful than mine. LOL You are doing a great job!!!

 

Nearshore

[hamilton]

Thanks Nearshore! I feel like it's going better than it usually does, which isn't saying much, but still - I'm happy with these results so far. As we know, in ship modelling there's always more time for mistakes! Wish I had more time to work on the model, but such is life. I'm going to be heading into another really busy push at work starting mid-week, but in a couple of weeks I'll get a breather and hopefully find an hour here and there at the bench to make some progress.

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well I see it's been a month and a half since I've updated here - blame my distractedness in picking up the Echo cross-section....Now that I've completed the first two frame sets on that build, more or less, and since my work is tapering off for the next several weeks, I will have a lot more time for modelling - between house projects of course (putting in a new fence, doing some tree maintenance and following the Admiral around her constantly growing garden trying to keep up with all the tasks she throws at me)....

 

Today I took a couple of hours and started band "A" of the lower hull planking on the port side - starboard is nearly complete except for a couple of finishing planks at the bow. I don't have photos, unfortunately, but they look pretty much exactly like the ones from the last post, so I'll refer you back there - I'm going to push through the lower hull planking on Bellona over the next week or so before turning back again to Echo. 

 

Hope everyone's doing ok out there 

hamilton