HMS Diana by DavidEN - Caldercraft - 1:64

[DavidEN]

10 hours ago, Beef Wellington said:

Very much enjoyed catching up on your progress David.  If only progress could be as speedy as reading a build log.  Great to see some of the techniques you're using, and I totally agree the carronades need some serious TLC, yours came out very nice. 

Thanks for the encouraging words Jason. I am very pleased to see that you have restarted your Jason build log. I look forward to the upcoming posts.

 

Regards,

David

[DavidEN]

I assembled one of kit supplied 9lb guns to see what I was dealing with. They are probably better than the carronades but they have some issues. The side brackets are too thin 1.5mm vs 2mm shown in the AOTSD drawings. The wood has a very pronounced grain and it is ply so has an unfortunate edge look. The axletrees are a bit thin, lack detail and the transom is missing. Time some scratch building I guess.

 

Earlier on in this build log I produced 3D printed gun carriages for the 18lb guns. I was not that pleased with the finish so for the 9lb guns, which are more visible on the upper decks, I thought I might try a hybrid approach where I would 3D print the axles, wheels and other bits and pieces that are not that visible but then use timber for the side brackets. It is a lot more time consuming but I am happier with the result. To begin with I cut out timber blanks from some 2mm thick maple. I found out later that this maple was not the best quality and I had a hard time maintaining the edges which tended to splinter. I had already cut out the 40 blanks so I persevered in the hope that it would just look like the canons had seen a lot of action. I printed out a template so I could locate all of the holes and cut outs. I built one as a prototype to see how everything went together which brought about a couple of modifications.

 

The prototype was a bit wonky so I printed out a jig to help me align the parts more accurately. I had made the bracket bolts from some small brass nails but they were a bit to prominent so I went forward using 0.8mm diameter black annealed wire filed down almost flush. For all of the gun tackle loops I experimented with the various PE ringbolts from HiS Models and others however it was a case of them being slightly too small or slightly too large so I had to resort to 0.3mm diameter black annealed wire wrapped around a 0.8mm rod. The two ends of the wire are fed through a hole drilled into a scrap piece of wood and twisted together. A bit of a fudge but the best I could come up with. The stool bed and quoin were 3d printed. After what seemed like an endless number of experiments and an afternoon wandering around the dollar store to see if there was something I could repurpose I ended up making the quoin handles by shaping the pointy end of a toothpick using the lathe and some small files. No two are the same but it is a part barely visible to the naked eye. I used the kit supplied canon barrels as they are good quality however they use a 1.5mm diameter trunnion. The drawings in the AOTSD indicate that this should scale to a diameter of 1.7mm. I could only find 1.5mm diameter and 1.8mm diameter brass rod. I went for the larger size as the smaller diameter looked a bit tentative. I had to drill out all of the barrels but I think the larger size sits in the carriages more confidently. I guess I could have lathed the 1.8mm diameter rod down to a 1.7mm diameter but that seemed like a step too far. The capsquare was the kit supplied version with an HiS PE eyebolt and a piece of 0.4mm diameter wire for the capsquare eyebolt and joint bolt. I had a go at turning the wheels from birch dowel but soon tired of that and resorted to the 3d printed versions to maintain consistency. The bed bolt and transom bolt were formed using 0.95mm diameter black annealed wire straightened by holding either end in a pair of pliers and pulling until you can feel it beginning to stretch.

 

 

 

 

It was quite a tedious production line to get all 10 finished but with some good tunes in the background the time flew by. A spot of paint and the carriages were mostly finished. Just have to paint the barrels which are sitting in the queue behind the carronades. They look a bit gruesome in macro mode but luckily my eyesight is poor so I do not see them that way in real life. I need to get on finishing up all of the bulwark fittings and rails though. Not looking forward to that as I can foresee some problematic geometry arising from earlier missteps.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dave_E]

Nice guns, good job! 👍😀

[DavidEN]

14 hours ago, Dave_E said:

Nice guns, good job! 👍😀

Thanks Dave. I will reserve judgement until the perilous rigging component is completed.
Regards,

David

[DaveBaxt]

Nice to see you continuing with excellent workmanship and the cannons are no exception.  I particularly like how you made the Quoins. Great job.

[harlequin]

a very nice build so far...

[DavidEN]

3 hours ago, DaveBaxt said:

Nice to see you continuing with excellent workmanship and the cannons are no exception.  I particularly like how you made the Quoins. Great job.

Thanks Dave. They are tricky little blighters.

 

Regards

David

[DavidEN]

The latest build session did not go to plan. I was focused on completing the bulwarks for the quarterdeck and all of my previous setting out missteps converged to give me no end of headaches. I started off with the installation of the pin rails. Due to my cavalier attitude regarding location of the gunports I had to remake all of these to suit the new dimensions I was faced with. For the forward pin rail I found that I did not have enough room for the required 14 belaying pins. To overcome this I extended the bulwark by gluing on a lump of maple and shaping with the dremel. This led to there being not enough room to accommodate all of the required scrollwork. I still haven't resolved this yet and have made a real pig's ear of the scrolls that I have already installed. I will need to meditate on this to see if I can think of a solution.

 

 

The top of the bulwark had some pronounced inaccuracies so I had to fashion my rough tree rail as best I could by taking a theoretical centre line through the meandering bulwark and then try to resolve the geometry using a generous offset. I initially went with a 1.6mm thick rail to match the plansheer but after checking the AOTSD and NMM drawings I realised that it scaled to a rail that is 128mm thick which is a handy 2mm at 1:64. I installed it in three pieces as a single 21m length of curved plank did not seem to be feasible. The three pieces added another layer of complexity trying to get the joints and curves to align and it didn't work out great but I am hoping the rigging and hammock cranes will disguise the worst of it.

 

The roughtree rail just peeps out over the top of the taffrail which is a bit sad but the best I could do given the location of the quarterdeck galleries without exaggerating the height of the bulwarks too much. It is at this point that I realised I should probably start again from the beginning armed with the knowledge that I have gained thus far but I have already spent so much time and effort that it would be foolish to walk away. I am just going to have to accept the fact that my ship is quite challenged in the looks department or at best quirky and hope that it develops some personality to compensate.

 

The belaying pins were another item that were are lot more time consuming than I first imagined. The kit supplied items are good quality but way too fat. I tried putting them on a diet by spinning them in the dremel and taking off some excess using sandpaper. It was an improvement but they were still too wide for their height and prone to flying out of the end out the dremel at high speed never to be seen again. I then attempted to make new ones using a toothpick and the lathe. An improvement but still a little top heavy and the toothpicks were quite fragile and fond of breaking at the last minute. I remembered that I had some cast metal pins from my Charles Morgan kit. These have good definition but were a bit too long and the head too bulbous. Getting an acceptable woodlike finish would have also proved problematic. I decided to have another go using a different brand of toothpicks. The new toothpicks are bamboo nominally 1.6mm in diameter and not perfectly round or straight for that matter. I ran them through a drawplate until they were 1.3mm in diameter which improved their roundness. I then used a lathe to form the handle end using a convex needle file. For the final finishing I spun it in the dremel and used sandpaper to reduce the shaft down to a 1mm diameter. They are not the best as no two are the same but they are closer to the proportion I was aiming for.

 

 

 

The bamboo does not take a stain so I have to dirty them up using pastels, charcoal and china marker. I must admit that hand carving 62 belaying pins was not in the original budget but I found that if I tackle 10 at a time in a production line manner then it is almost achievable so long as I knuckle down and complete 10 every day for a week.

 

I still need to work on their finish.

[Dave_E]

My hat is off to you Sir. I might be generalizing, but I’d wager most here would just purchase them. Looks great! 👍😀

[DavidEN]

11 hours ago, Dave_E said:

My hat is off to you Sir. I might be generalizing, but I’d wager most here would just purchase them. Looks great! 👍😀

Thanks for the kind sentiments Dave but I do not envisage a career hewing belaying pins. 62 is my limit. Anymore and I would consider doing myself in with a toothpick through the heart.

Regards,

David

[Beef Wellington]

Nice results there David, looking great.  Just curious whether you looked at and compared the 'aftermarket' pins provided by Caldercraft, they are much slimmer and proportional that those provided in the earlier kits.  I doff my cap to you as well for making 60 of those things!

[DavidEN]

16 hours ago, Beef Wellington said:

Nice results there David, looking great.  Just curious whether you looked at and compared the 'aftermarket' pins provided by Caldercraft, they are much slimmer and proportional that those provided in the earlier kits.  I doff my cap to you as well for making 60 of those things!

 

Thanks Jason. I did look to see if I could get aftermarket pins but quite annoyingly all of the vendors I visited did not provide detailed dimensions. The delivery times from the UK have also become very spotty which made me wary of buying a whole lot and waiting two months to find out they were oversized or too chunky so I decided to just press ahead and make my own.

I should add that I have now made 65 but only have 64 left as I was gently placing one in the pin rail and squeezed a little too hard with the tweezers causing it to ping down the ladderway and end up in the lower deck where it now exists as an annoying rattle every time I tilt the ship.

Regards
David

[DavidEN]

The work on the quarterdeck continues. I have come to realise that there are no easy wins when it comes to the quarterdeck. Everything I attempt is taking a lot longer than envisaged.

I decided that I should have a binnacle. There is not one included in the kit but I noticed that most of the other builders include this item and I think it will be a good addition to the quarterdeck. The Vanguard mini kit seems to be the default position but I do not have the patience to wait for the postal service. It is a fairly simple box so I should be able to knock one of those out in an afternoon (this did not happen).

 

I started out with a rough drawing to get the overall dimensions. I based the design on the Victory binnacle but made it slightly larger to give me a fighting chance. I formed the basic carcass out of two pieces of 5mm thick walnut that I glued together. I milled out a 0.38mm deep reveal to accept the glazing. I then added 1x1mm styrene frames and painted the inside of the cabinet white.

 

 

I decided that I would have to include a ship's compass and lantern as there is a possibility that these would be visible through the glazing if I managed to keep the acetate clear of glue, which would be a first. For the compass I ran some 4mm diameter brass rod through the lathe and cut some notional detail to try and make it compass like. I added a splash of white paint to the top to imitate the face. I made several of these gradually reducing their height. I should have gone down another 0.6mm but I was fed up at this stage.

 

The lamp was a lot fiddlier. I milled a slot on four sides of a 4mm diameter brass tube with the remaining material forming the lamp structure. I could have done this a lot more accurately if I could have roused myself to set up the dividing attachment but I was too lazy and just tried to eyeball it once again proving how wonky my eyes are. I was not too fussed as it will be barely discernible on the final model. This is also the reason I couldn't be bothered tidying up the edges. For the lamp glass I somewhat wastefully lathed a 10mm diameter acrylic rod down to a 3mm diameter and then inserted it into the cage. The capping piece was just freehand lathe work on the 4mm diameter brass rod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once my ropey looking equipment was installed in the case it was time to start adding some detail to make it look more cabinet like. I used 1.0 x 0.38mm styrene strips to form the mouldings and mullion caps. I added some panels to the 3 divisions of the lower casework and some dummy drawers on the backside using thin styrene with pin nail heads for handles. Just two drawers as a centre drawer would clash with the vent pipe. The glazing was acetate with the centre panel behind the lamp facing the wheel blanked out. I read somewhere, I think in Lavery, that this was the preferred detail to avoid dazzling the helmsman and prevent him steering the ship onto the rocks.

 

The top was cut out of 1mm thick maple with a weak attempt at an edge moulding using a scraper. I have yet to master the correct technique for using the scraper and tend to end up with quite a rough edge. The chimney was constructed out of 1.5mm diameter brass tube with the top cap and bottom collar lathed out of 3.5mm diameter brass rod. These are slippery little suckers and I lost a couple of them to excessive tweezer force never to be seen again. Ringbolts were added to the sides for the tie-down ropes. 1x1mm walnut formed the legs followed by a coat of admiralty red and it was more or less done. I will install it properly later on in the build as it will just get knocked over at this point.

 

Quite a longwinded post for such an insignificant item but it involved a lot more steps than I was anticipating. I am glad to report that you can glimpse the navigational equipment through the acetate so I do not feel like such an idiot for attempting to include it in the first place but rather remorseful that I did not do at bit more research and base them on historical examples but I was just after something shiny in a case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ab Hoving]

My compliments for your binacle with all the stuff inside. But in my sources it is described that the whole front and aft of the cabinet were covered with sliding panels in order not to blind the helmsman at night. The glass was between the compartments to let the light reach the compasses. Here is one from the 4.5 metres long model of William Rex in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The sliding panels are supposed to move upwards. But maybe you have better sources?

[robdurant]

David's looks remarkably similar to the one onboard HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Perhaps this was the source?

 

Very nice work, David.

 

Rob

 

 

[dunnock]

Love the binnacle David and the detail of lamp and two compasses just excellent

[AJohnson]

Excellent scratch-built Binnacle! 👏

[Waldemar]

 

Superb workmanship indeed. For those interested I just want to show the definition of binnacle taken from the Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine, 1815 edition. As far as the construction of binnacle is concerned, the definition in the French Encyclopédie Méthodique. Marine, 1783, is virtually the same, so just the drawing from that work (below).

 

Maybe others will add something else, such as relevant photos of period models.

 

 

 

[Beef Wellington]

Great result on the binnacle, and love those close in deck shots which really show the scale and detail authenticity.  BTW, love your statement "Everything I attempt is taking a lot longer than envisaged."...can certainly relate!

[DavidEN]

4 hours ago, Ab Hoving said:

My compliments for your binacle with all the stuff inside. But in my sources it is described that the whole front and aft of the cabinet were covered with sliding panels in order not to blind the helmsman at night. The glass was between the compartments to let the light reach the compasses. Here is one from the 4.5 metres long model of William Rex in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The sliding panels are supposed to move upwards. But maybe you have better sources?

Thanks for the kind words Ab The William Rex is quite an impressive model. It has been a while since I was in the Rijksmuseum and I can't recall seeing it. Perhaps it was out for cleaning. I believe it is a 17th century Dutch ship so I think that binnacle may not be identical to an 18th century English example. As Rob pointed out above I did base it on the HMS Victory binnacle which is plusher but not dissimilar to the one aboard the Trincomalee a slightly later frigate of 1816.  I found the amount of information about binnacle design through the years is quite sparse. A real opportunity for someone to step up and produce a scholarly book about the subject. Apologies if somebody already has and I have missed it.

Regards,
David

[DavidEN]

3 hours ago, robdurant said:

David's looks remarkably similar to the one onboard HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Perhaps this was the source?

 

Very nice work, David.

 

Rob

 

 

Thanks Rob, It was the picture of your binnacle in place on your Ethalion model that convinced me that it was an addition worth pursuing. I did model it on the Victory binnacle and I think it was the photo on your log that I used for reference. I was recently pondering that it could be a modern interpretation with much larger glazed elements to facilitate the function of being a museum ship to give everyone a good look inside but I try not to think about it too much

Regards,
David

[DavidEN]

2 hours ago, dunnock said:

Love the binnacle David and the detail of lamp and two compasses just excellent

Thanks David although when I was on my hands and knees crawling under the desk looking for a tiny chimney cap I was beginning to question my life choices.

Regards,
David

[DavidEN]

1 hour ago, Beef Wellington said:

Great result on the binnacle, and love those close in deck shots which really show the scale and detail authenticity.  BTW, love your statement "Everything I attempt is taking a lot longer than envisaged."...can certainly relate!

Thanks Jason. I still cannot believe how beautiful the macro shots of your Jason build look compared to my dusty glue filled versions. Testament to your woodworking skills. I am hoping to improve as I progress but I think I may have to move up to 1:48 scale so that I can see what I am doing.

Regards,
David

[Dave_E]

My hat is off to you Sir… unbelievable miniature scratch building! The pot metal binnacle that came with my Rattlesnake is horrible, seeing your work just might persuade me to give it a try. 👍😀

[DavidEN]

13 hours ago, Dave_E said:

My hat is off to you Sir… unbelievable miniature scratch building! The pot metal binnacle that came with my Rattlesnake is horrible, seeing your work just might persuade me to give it a try. 👍😀

Thanks Dave. You should give it a go. It will not cost much as you can make it from odds and ends you can find around the workshop.

Regards,
David

[DavidEN]

Still ploughing ahead with the quarterdeck. I am beginning to see that there is an end to it but still a way to go yet. To finish up the bulwarks so I started looking at the various belaying plans to check to see what I am still missing. I almost wished I hadn't as it gave me a foretaste of the perilous rigging stage that awaits. The kit belaying plan shows 63 belaying points while the AOTSD drawings indicate 176. While I will not be using all of these I decided to err on the safe side and try to include as many as possible. On the quarterdeck bulwarks, in addition to the 25 belaying pins per side, there are two cavel cleats and two cavel blocks. These are all included in the kit and are supplied laser cut out of 5mm thick solid walnut rather than the ply so there is an opportunity to use these pieces. The cavel cleats however are quite oversized so I had a go cutting new ones out of 2x2mm walnut to achieve something more to scale. I also had to add a 1x1mm spacer to the back so that they sit proud of the inner face of the bulwark and retain some functionality. The cavel blocks are somewhat confusing. Neither the kit plans nor the AOTSD give enough detail as to how these are supposed to be installed. I searched through various books and build logs and the best solution that I could see was the one adopted by Ray in his Diana log where he chamfers the one side so that it sits at an angle and allows some clearance between the bulwark and rough tree rail. I noticed that there is one if these on HMS Victory that is angled inboard so I took that as a precedent. It took some shaping but I eventually got them to fit with enough of a gap to allow a rope to pass.

For the knight head bitts I also resorted to the kit pieces. There are 8 of these mostly located forward of the gangway but I made them all now as it is easier to construct them all in one batch rather than piecemeal. They needed some additional shaping to give them the required 3D articulation. I used 1mm diameter black annealed wire for the belaying bars. I added a pin to the base to make it easier to fix to the deck. Once I had had installed the first of these I was not happy with the junction between the base and the deck. It looked uncomfortable and realised they really needed to sit in a recess in the deck but I was not keen to go hacking holes in the deck as I would be sure to cause a lot of collateral damage. I decided to fit a shoe around the base made out of 0.25 x 0.56mm thick styrene strip painted black. The first go around it looked too thick so I milled a tiny recess around the base so it sits a tad flusher. I have seen a similar detail on the bitts on HMS Trincomalee so there is something of a precedent. That did mean that I then had to go back over all of the bitts I had previously made and add the same detail.

 

Carrying on with the belaying points I added various cleats. The cast cleats included in the kit are not bad but need some cleaning up with a file and sandpaper. I do not really like the look of the cleats though but included them anyway. For the 4 cleats located on the taffarel I felt that the kit supplied pieces were too chunky. I had some cast cleats that I had purchased from Bluejacket when working on my Charles W. Morgan build. I took the dremel and ground off the base and what remained was slightly more delicate than the kit piece. The AOTSD drawings indicate an additional cleat that sits between the 6 located abaft for the boom sheet and also show another 3 per side positioned on the gangway adjacent to the fenders and chesstree so these were duly added.

 

 

I realised that I had missed putting in the 3 fixed blocks per side located in the bulwark for the main brace and main sheet. I had fashioned these pieces quite a while ago but I should have installed them much earlier. It would be fraught with danger to start chiselling out the bulwark at this stage so I am going to try and simulate them with drilled holes and a bit of carving. They sit in the black painted area so they shouldn't be too visible.

I took time off to revisit the ship's wheel assembly. I never really liked the wood I had used for the step as it had an unusual texture and the wheel assembly was flush with the forward edge. I replaced the step and took the opportunity to move the wheel back a whole 1mm so that it didn't look so awkward. Once it was finished it didn't look all that different to the first effort but if you have an itch you have to scratch it.

My list of things still to complete on the quarterdeck deck is still long but I thought that I could do with a change of scenery and I will have a bash at the forecastle next.

 

[allanyed]

Your version is a huge improvement with the brackets not being plywood.   Are you going to add the breeching loops which were used on Blomefield pattern guns which came into use about 1787, including on the Artois class ships such as Diana?

 

Small note for the future....  your gratings look good as they have no openings next to the head ledges and coamings, but the battens on the gratings ran fore and aft rather than athwartships.    

 

Allan

[DaveBaxt]

Some really nice looking fittings and as such a big improvement on the what is supplied with the kit. I watch your progress with great interest and look forward to when you start on the rigging. Dave

[Dave_E]

Dave, Those cleats are incredible! You've given me hope that perhaps I may be able to use the Brittania cleats that came with the Rattlesnake. I love all your scratch built deck furniture! 👍😀

[DavidEN]

15 hours ago, DaveBaxt said:

Some really nice looking fittings and as such a big improvement on the what is supplied with the kit. I watch your progress with great interest and look forward to when you start on the rigging. Dave

Thanks Dave, I hope it will not be too long before you liberate your Diana from her box.

 

Regards,

David