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

[Robert Taylor]

Hi Hamilton 

 

Pulling a chair up to watch your build on this with a lot of interests I have been  eyeing this kit for over a year and have just recently managed to acquire this kit at a very low price, but one which wont be built for a while as I am working on one kit just now with a possible 2 others after that.

 

All the best 

Robert 👍🤺⚓

[hamilton]

On 7/4/2022 at 8:50 AM, Bill Morrison said:

I have just found your HMS Bellona here.  You are doing a marvelous job! I also suffered flooding in my basement several years ago and had to undergo a hiatus from building. It looks like you have recovered nicely. Your Bellona looks great so far!

 

Bill

Thanks for coming by Bill - not sure how I missed this comment before!! Water is the worst!! But yes - things are more or less back to normal, thankfully!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Thanks for stopping by Robert! This kit has been pretty fun so far, though admittedly I'm taking it very slowly (partly out of care, partly out of distraction, partly out of the impossibility of avoiding other people's demands!). I got my kit on a deal from Model Expo I think back in 2012 - I knew I wasn't ready for it back then, but the deal was too good to pass up!! In truth, that's how I've got most of my kits! But now I'm being embargoed (by myself) and after buying the CAF Grenado as a Christmas present for myself (sheesh!!! Any excuse will do!!) I am not allowed to buy any more kits until I have finished the 4 that I'm "currently working" on.......and 2 of the unopened kits in the pile.....As the signature suggests, I feel like I have enough models to keep me going for a while.......now if only I can finish one.....

hamilton

[hamilton]

A very quick update - I've been away with the family for the last two weeks, and I'm taking my sons to visit with my dad back East tomorrow for the next week, so not much time at the bench at all - when I'm back I'm also heading back to work, though it'll be a relatively slow start (I hope!) and I'm really hoping to finish the first layer of hull planking before things kick back in come September.

 

In any case it's nothing spectacular - finished the first band of hull planking - looks pretty pocked and gappy, but it's coming together ok - some filling sanding and so on will result in a good enough base layer, so I'm trying to do things carefully while not beating myself too much about the results.

 

Here's a photo to show the progress. Back later!

hamilton

 

 

[allanyed]

Keep up the good work!!   I realize this is the first layer of planking so far.   On your second layer of planking, will you be following the same sweep of the strakes where they follow the line of the gunports or more like how the planking actually laid as in the contemporary model of the Bellona below?  I marked the run of the planking with a black lines so it is easier to see.  For those that have not seen them, there are 8 great photos of the contemporary model of Bellona at RMG which are pretty clear even at the lower resolution and show the planking very clearly as well as the photos in Yve's Bellona build log here at MSW.

 

Thanks for sharing your build!

Allan

Edited August 6, 2022 by allanyed

[hamilton]

Hello Alan

 

Yes - I hope to be able to emulate period practice here as much as I'm able. Though the photo shows a pretty rough planking job the first go around, this is actually quite an improvement on some of my previous attempts - most of which I had to treat cosmetically (i.e., lots of filler, sanding and knife-work to soften some clinkering edges) to produce a decent result. I've been following Chuck's procedure as laid out in the planking vids posted elsewhere on MSW and trying to be more methodical about it and patient with the process. At this stage - and I imagine this isn't an entirely uncommon thing among modellers - I usually become pretty impatient and start just slapping planks on the hull just to get it done! 

 

Anyway - back to packing!! Bye for now

hamilton

[allanyed]

3 hours ago, hamilton said:

I've been following Chuck's procedure as laid out in the planking vids

Either this or the Primer on Planking by David Antscherl in the Articles section here at MSW will serve you well.  I have used both methods and find them to be equally effective in yielding tight fits and proper tapering, especially at the bow to avoid, or at least minimize, the use of drop strakes.

 

Allan

Edited August 6, 2022 by allanyed

[hamilton]

I'm finding Chuck's method very effective so far - it seems like a slight modification on the approach laid out in David's primer - if I were working with wider sheet wood instead of strip stock I would probably try to spile the planks in the strakes above the waterline at least, but since this is the first layer, I'm more interested in building up a solid foundation - I have some 1mm walnut sheet stock that I might use to spile planks above the waterline in the second layer, since it is a decent colour match with the strip wood supplied by Corel, but I'll have to consider this.

 

So far, using Chuck's method I'm nowhere near needing any drop planks at the bows, so it seems to be working. I also think that a much more attentive fairing job has contributed to this....in the past I've tended to rush through that part of things, so I hope that I've finally learned my lesson! Maybe in a few builds from now I'll actually be able to not stress out too much about hull planking!

hamilton

[allanyed]

6 minutes ago, hamilton said:

I have some 1mm walnut sheet stock that I might use to spile planks above the waterline in the second layer, since it is a decent colour match with the strip wood supplied by Corel, but I'll have to consider this.

Hamilton,
GOOD FOR YOU.  If you do replace the wood provided by the kit, which is a GREAT idea, you have the luxury to choose from a number more appropriate species that will lend themselves well to spiling or edge bending ala Passaro and replace all the walnut which is usually brittle and almost always porous rather than tight grained.

 

Allan

[hamilton]

Good tip, Alan! We're pretty starved for exotic wood supply at my local hobby stores, but I'll see what I can source - another option would be to use a stock of boxwood that I have to mill some sheets for planking material, but I want to keep this precious stuff in reserve for a future project I have in mind...

hamilton

[allanyed]

10 minutes ago, hamilton said:

I want to keep this precious stuff in reserve for a future project I have in mind...

I do not blame you at all.   Chuck Passaro has had incredible success with Alaskan cedar.   Hopefully there are suppliers for this species in strip and sheet.

Allan

[allanyed]

Sorry Hamilton, but it does not open for me.  Can you just attach using the drag or choose file attachment function? 

 

If you don't already have the following, thought you might see how it compares to the kit.  Up until her refit her compliment of guns on the lower decks were presumably the same as what Caruana calls "normal" 74s which had twenty-eight 32 pounders of 9 1/2 feet on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18 pounders of 9 feet on the upper deck, and four 9 pounders of 8 1/2 feet and fourteen of 7 1/2 feet in the upper works.  He goes on to mention that Bellona and Fortitude then received six 12 pounder carronades in 1781 but does not mention which of the long guns, were replaced.  All the long guns were likely Armstrong pattern of 1760 as the Blomefield pattern did not come into use until about 1787.  There are drawings and dimensional information the Armstrong pattern guns that should help you, but if you come up short PM me.  You can get 3D printed barrels (with the trunnions) of each size in black resin for a good price.  I paid $8 for 20 barrels about a year ago after sending a drawing in STL format and giving the printer the lengths that I needed for the model.   He just reduced the full size dimensions to what I needed and had it done in a few days.  I am going to be challenging him soon with 32 barrels at 1:200 scale which should be interesting.

Allan

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by allanyed

[hamilton]

Ahh - sorry Alan....I thought I had deleted that post (will do so now) - it was a bit pre-emptive, as the "snag" I identified was not the result of kit deficiencies, but my own stupidity - I had spent some time studying the Victory Models HMS Fly kit that I have on the shelf, and mistakenly returned the Fly cannons (with cast metal carriages.....ugh) into my Bellona box - then tried fitting the 1:64 Fly canons to the 1:100 Bellona.....this is the kind of thing that happens when I try to squeeze in some future planning alongside a current build.....

 

Anyways, progress continues on the hull planking - I've completed band "A" (first 6 strakes below the level of the main deck) and commenced on band "B" - 6 strakes below that. Then I'll turn to the garboard and band "D" - 4 strakes up from garboard and finish from there. I won't be posting progress on this until I'm done the first planking - might be a while given limited modelling time....but until then....

hamilton

[Chief Williams]

Hello again Hamilton, I'm so sorry I've been quiet for a long time, but I went into hospital for a routine procedure, and finished up 6 (?) months later just returning home, and nearly missing a leg.  I could have done my Long John Silver impression really well, but I still have both, although the left one's not working too well.  I'm so impressed with your progress and your craftsmanship I'm afraid to dust off my Bellona in case I make a mess of it.   I'll keep watching your progress with awe.

[hamilton]

Chief!! It's been over a year since you left this message, but I've not been working on Bellona so I haven't seen it until this minute! I'm sorry not have responded earlier - I hope you're in good health and doing well down there! All the best to you

 

I'll be picking up Bellona again soon, since I'm very near completion on Bluenose, which took priority for a while since it will be a gift for a colleague who is retiring in the Spring. 

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well - with the Bluenose being in a very nearly-completed state (and with me still fretting over how to approach the dorys...) I've decided to turn back to HMS Bellona, which has been languishing for the last year and more. 

 

Almost immediately on picking the model up again, I realised that I needed to re-acquaint myself with it - given that at the stage where I left it there were several threads I could pick up to move it forward - planking the f'csl and quarterdeck; working on the main cabin bulkhead beneath the poop deck; completing the lower hull planking....as I considered this I noticed two issues that I'm hoping I can get some advice on - I may post these as questions elsewhere, too - but if anyone's looking in and has advice on these I would appreciate it.

 

1. Lower hull planking at sternpost - I marked out the bearding and rabbet lined on the centre keel and had thought of cutting in a rabbet before installing the bulkhead frames, but the material is so soft and my hands so ungentle that I was worried about destroying this piece so I left it - now I'm face with a conundrum where I don't know how I can complete the hull planking aft while maintaining correct width of the sterpost...I could try cutting a rabbet along the aft part of the centre keel, even a shallow one, and then thinning the planks; or I could try feathering the planks along the bearding line (though this could be quite tricky especially at the transition points between the centre keel and the aft bulkhead frames.....I'll have to consider how to proceed, but any advice on these approaches would be helpful.

 

2. cabin bulkhead - these consist of 3 photo-etched brass parts, similar to the bulkhead under the f'csl that I installed earlier. The two p-e parts that fit on the port and starboard sides with nicely, though the starboard one might need to be trimmed at the bottom to allow the subdeck of the quarterdeck to slot in beneath them. The issue is the centre piece which does not fit at all - it is too wide to fit in the space on the model as-built....I followed the build order as laid out on the plans and installed the poop deck before adding these parts, which was probably dumb, as the space where they need to go, while not totally inaccessible, is tricky to get at. I will likely have to scratch-build this central part to fit and then use the p-e parts for the port and starboard side...fortunately, this area will be minimally visible on the completed model, so it is less of a concern than the other issue above....though installing the quarterdeck is a part of the build that I am not looking forward to.....

 

Anyway, here are some photos to illustrate the issues.....any suggestions, tips or advice will be most welcome! Hopefully I've explained the issues clearly....

hamilton

[hamilton]

Given the need to consider an approach to the elements noted above, I decided to spend a bit of time today planking the f'csl. I installed two waterway planks to port and starboard these were from 1mm x 2mm strips of Tanganyika. The central king plank is .6mm x 4mm while the deck planking is .6mm x 3mm. A very straightforward process.

 

I also installed central sections of the garboard planking while considering how to proceed on the lower hull. I'll probably complete the lower hull planking forward as this is less mysterious than the planking aft, and then complete planking on the poop deck. Hopefully by that time I'll have a strategy for addressing the issues noted in my last post....until then - enjoy the photos and bye for now

hamilton

[hamilton]

Managed to resolve one of the issues noted above - fitting the main cabin bulkhead back under the poop deck. My results are not as clean as I'd like, but since this area will be pretty hard to see when all's said and done the clumsiness of it will likely fade a bit. 

 

There are three components to this bulkhead - a central section with the two doors, and two side panels. These are provided as photo-etched brass fittings, but as noted a couple of posts ago, the central part was too wide for the model as-built. I used the p-e parts for the side panels, and these worked fine. The pillars are also p-e brass, fitted atop .6mm x 3mm tanganyika strips so they stand a little proud of the panels. I decided to finish the pillars white to contrast with the yellow cabin bulkhead.

 

The centre part I scratch-built using 1/64 birch plywood sheeting. I traced the shape of the central p-e part on some card paper and adjusted this until it fit in the appropriate space on the model, then used this as a template to cut a backing from the birch ply. To frame out the panels and cabin doors, I used a combination of 1mm x 2mm and 1mm x 1mm strips, finished yellow. As I say the results are far from perfect, but this area of the model will be barely visible on completion, so I won't mind it too much and have learned a thing or two in the process. 

 

I test fitted these with the sub-decks for the quarterdeck in place, and I will have to make some small adjustments to those subdecks when the time comes to install them so they slot in properly - the back edge will need to be slightly thinned to fit - not a problem I don't think. 

 

Enjoy the photos and bye for now

hamilton

 

[Nearshore]

Hi Hamilton,

Glad to see you are back working on the Bellona. Looks good so far and you will probably catch up to me soon. LOL As far as the first planking and whether to carve the rabbet and bearding lines, that’s what I did on mine. I then had to carve them out again to accept the second layer of planks. If I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I will be watching you progress and look forward to having a partner building the same ship.

 

Cheers

Nearshore

[hamilton]

Thanks Nearshore - and for the planking tips. I will try to carve a "light" rabbet of about 1mm and then just thin down the planks aft for the first layer and then, as you say, carve a similar rabbet aft into the first layer of planking for the second layer....I find this kind of work very nervewracking, but I'll see if I can give this a go. This is definitely the most challenging model I've attempted so far! But it's also pretty fun...once I get past planking it will be a lot more enjoyable!!

hamilton

[hamilton]

OK - it's been very busy at work the last couple of weeks, but we're in a lull now until end of next week, so I'll have a bit of time at the bench til then to make some progress on Bellona. I'm still soldiering on with the first layer of hull planking and in a milestone have now completed the port side, filled and sanded. The starboard side is still in progress with roughly 8 strakes remaining. 

 

The planking is pretty rough I haver to say, but it should provide a decent foundation for the second layer, which I'll pursue with more care and sensitivity to the results! My goal is to finish the first planking tomorrow and then move on to the beakhead, stern area and quartergallery framing, which I'm both very excited about and pretty intimidated by....but we'll see how it goes! Not much in the way of interest in the photos, really, but here they are

hamilton

 

PS - to the right in the background in the first photo, you'll see the filler product I use - Liquitex acrylic modelling paste. It is really a wonderful product (I have no association with the company at all) - it is a medium thickness almost like light cake icing, but it dries incredibly hard and sands down to a very fine eggshell finish. It also takes both paint and adhesive really well, which is a nice bonus.

 

h.

Edited November 24, 2023 by hamilton

[harlequin]

good progress Hamilton....i have not done any building for a while....sold a couple of kits that i will never get round too......keep going with Bellona.....looking good

[Tony28]

Similar stage to me, albeit a very different build obviously. Looking forward to watching your progress and I’ll hopefully learn many things along the way. ⛵🤓

[hamilton]

Thanks Tony! This one's pretty different from Bluenose that's for sure! But just as fun so far....

 

Harlequin! It's good to hear from you! I get it - I probably have more kits than I need, but I still have hope that I can complete all of them in my lifetime!! I took a long break from modelling - putting in sporadic and minor work from Summer 2017 until Summer 2021 when I built a small (undocumented here) rowing skiff at 1:12 scale. This was meant to get me back into modelling again and it worked! But like with everything, it's often good and refreshing to take a rest - I hope you return to it at some point - but either way, you're always welcome here!!

hamilton

Edited November 26, 2023 by hamilton

[hamilton]

OK - now that the lower hull planking (lumpy as it looks) is complete I can take a bit of a breather. I've now turned to the beakhead and the stern balcony area before commencing on the second planking. I spent this morning prepping the photoetched parts for the balcony and finishing/adding moldings and doors to the beakhead. I'm still puzzling over how to the bend the 1mm x 1mm moldings around the roundhouses....I'm now wishing that I had added the molding to these half-dowels before installing them in the model....another error in the way I'm staging the build that I'll have to think through.....

 

In any case, here are some photos of the beakhead. Enjoy and happy modelling

hamilton

 

[hamilton]

Hello there:

 

Work has now started on the transom. I finished the photo-etched bulkhead part in yellow ochre - it comes in two parts with a central pilaster on its tanganyika mount serving to cover the gap between them. Unlike the p-e part for bulkhead 13 on the q-deck, this one fit quite well, with only a roughly 3/64" gap between the two parts when they were fixed to bulkhead 19. There are also two photo-etched doors that are fitten to port and starboard - this leaves a noticeable gap where the framing (painted black) is visible. I'm not sure if there is some subsequent element that covers this gap, or if it is a weird design feature - I'll have to study the plans a bit more to see what's up there....

 

Attaching the CNC transom was pretty straightforward - just had to mark the centre line for correct positioning and then "clamp" it in place with elastics. Pretty happy with the results so far but I think this work is about to get very complicated and finicky with the quartergalleries, counter planking, etc. Not sure when I'll be able to get back to this in the lead-up to Christmas, but hopefully I can scratch some time out at the bench here and there....in the meantime - enjoy and happy modelling

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well - in doing some research into the transom I discovered that I've actually done the stern all wrong!!! Bellona had a tuck stern, as can be seen in Lavery's Anatomy of the Ship, and in several of the build logs here - I took a look at both Yves Vidal's CAF build and Nearshore's Corel build to confirm....But if you look at the photos of the stern above on my build, you'll note that I terminated the lower planking on the edge of bulkhead 19, rather than shaping it as a filler block to define the tuck of the planks at the transom! This is a "square" transom, which can be seen in earlier ship designs....Corel's plans do not make this obvious - though if I was paying attention I probably could have caught this......

 

I'm not sure what to do about this now - I feel like I have two choices:

 

1. Continue as is, plank across the square transom and thus deviate in a serious way from Bellona's actual structure;

2. Try to re-do the stern area somehow to correct for my mistake

 

Option one is obviously easier, but I would prefer option 2 - except I have no idea how to alter the stern area now to bring it back into line with the proper planking arrangement.....I could try just sanding the hell out of the stern , but not sure how effective that will be. Adding filler material doesn't seem possible without really throwing the sternpost/rudder arrangement off......arrghhhh!!! Any suggestions will be most welcome.....

hamilton

[Nearshore]

Hi Hamilton,

 

I don't think you have a big problem here. I am assuming that you are referring to the planking that terminates on bulhead 16 and that you did not continue the planking around the stern. If you fair down the planking to give it a smooth transition the second layer  lanking will butt up against the planks on the transome and shouldn't cause you a problem. I attached a pic as referance although I did plank around bulkhead 16. If memory serves me, i think the instructions suggest doing it the way you are doing it. You may have a bit of fairing to do, but i think your in good shape here.  Your build is looking great! Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers

Nearshore

[hamilton]

Thanks Nearshore - I had pretty much decided to go the historically-inaccurate-but-structurally-convenient route, but maybe I'll spend a bit of time studying the model and seeing if I can't manage to correct things as you suggest above....it seems that the planks would need to bend at a really sharp angle without removing quite a bit of material from the bottom edge of that bulkhead....in any case - thanks for the suggestions, illustration and support!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Some progress on the transom while I continue to ruminate about the second planking at the stern.....looking at the small number of other Bellona logs on MSW, I'm struck by how different the transoms are on each - all look good, but all are slightly different - for example, on Harlequin's excellent Bellona log, the balcony, moldings and bottom edge of the transom seem not to have the same athwartships curve (not sure if I can use "camber" in this context) as mine does - certainly not as pronounced. This led me to angle the molding pieces on the transom face so as to follow this line, which required also some fine fitting of the transom planking. The planking between the moldings will be covered by photo-etched parts, so I just laid these strakes in line with the molding. The transom was finished blue to show through once the stern figures are added at a much later stage, while the area beneath the balcony was finished black - some other p-e parts will be fitted there eventually. I also added moldings at the joint of the lower counter and the transom - these mark out the sills of the stern chaser ports.

 

This has been an interesting experience - I haven't made this complex a stern area since my Blandford build over a decade ago, and that was quite tricky to work out. This one is a bit more complicated than that, so I'm trying to go slowly and to be as methodical as I can - but I'm bound to make some mistakes - I wonder if I've already made some and am just waiting to find out about it!!

 

In any case it's still fun, so all is well. Enjoy and happy modelling

hamilton