HMS Vanguard by gbarlow - FINISHED - Amati/Victory Models - 1:72

[glbarlow]

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by bevel?  Are you referring to splining the planks, I described that in the post.  I'm happy to help, but not clear on what you mean.

[kier]

   Sorry Glen,

       I may of obviously may of used the wrong word or barking up the wrong tree.

       Put maybe another way, imagine looking directly from the very front of the Bow so that you see both sides of the hull, right,. then looking at the planks on one side and seeing the outermost edge of the plank on your model there seems to be no hairline gaps between any of your planks. I would of thought that there would be particurly at the waist.   So what I am asking as the planks fit so tight to each other do you so called maybe sand one edge of each plank? If you maybe do is there a particular way of doing that and would this be on each plank?

        Sorry to be a pain Glen

 

                             Kier

[glbarlow]

No problem.  That's the process called splining the planks.  There are lots of tutorials and logs on this phase of ship building, some more complex and precise than others.  I get a pretty good result from my approach to it as evidenced by the photos.  I had a really detailed log on the Pegasus where I described planking in detail, unfortunately that was all lost when this site crashed several years ago.  So, I've described it in some detail in this log starting on page 1 with the first planking and further on for the second planking.  That process is how I get everything to fit.  Its important to get the first planking on the ship, no matter how it fits, and sand it until its the shape you ultimately want (described in the log). This includes adding "cheats," balsa wood fillers between certain frames (also in the log) because its unnatural for wood to bend in 2-3 directions at once. (so soaking comes to play). The second planking is thin so while you can and should sand it smooth, you have less wood to work with.  Cutting (not sanding) the shape of the planks to fit uniformly from bow to stern is a practiced skill.  The Vanguard is my 7th, and final, ship.  Nonetheless I had to relearn it each time.  My log and others will give you the technique (as I noted I go with a simple process I learned from someone else - some people want to get much more technical with it). It takes practice (and a lot of sharp blades) to make it work so that all you have at the end is some finishing sanding. 

 

Hopefully the beginning of the log answers your questions. You definitely want to end up with no hairline gaps.  The level of accuracy varies if you're leaving it natural or painting - if your painting (and if its your first one I'd advise you to, paint covers a lot of mistakes) then wood filler (from any hardware store) also fills gaps from mistakes.

 

I hope that helps.

[kier]

Wow.. Now I have it Glenn,...that's how you do it.

 

I will most definitely be looking into your Pegasus build for the tips. I think I  have read your pegy build before if my memory serves me right, but I will most definitely be taking a look again.

 

   your Vanguard by the way looks fantastic, well detailed.

 

   many thanks   

                     Kier

[glbarlow]

After 4 years (with a two year break between) my journey and this log for the HMS Vanguard is complete.  I'm not taking it any further, as I originally stated there are no masts and rigging to be added.  I've included some final photos and hope they might offer some help for others building this model, at least what some options look like or perhaps what not to do.

 

As I said at the outset, this is a really big ship even at 1/ 72th scale its over 3 feet long and easily 3 times larger than my other models.  I had wanted to build a 72 gun ship, I won't want to again.  The Amati model is very complete all the fittings (generally at least 2 extra of any given one), plenty of the various wood, and well etched metal and wood parts.  The plans are very complete, even if at times you have to look between the instructions, the extra and very helpful extra booklet on the hull and the many large plan sheets, most full scale.  Everything needed in the level of detail needed is included in the kit.  It's just big.

 

I made little attempt at historical accuracy.  I put so much effort into that, including getting copies of original plans and multiple books, on my HMS Pegasus I just didn't care this time around.  It's relatively accurate, I've tried in this log to call out where I went off-book.  For finishing touches I attached the anchors in the same way I did on the Pegasus, so that required some minor modifications not in the plans.  The hammock netting also isn't included in the plans or the kit, I picked up a yard or so of "material" from the local JoAnn's store (fabric and sewing store in the US).  I had tan, white, and black and like with the Pegasus decided on the black.  

The photos show I need to re-align some of it on the stern which was added months ago, and straighten a few gun tackles. Other things, such as howser rope and minor touches came from experience building past models.

 

So, here are a few photos to show the completed model.  Its no where near as shiny as the photos make it seem, just a result of my camera flash bouncing off the paint.  

It will be a long while, if ever, before I start another model.  If I do it will be something completely different and smaller (like the Echo cross section). So after seven completed models I think I'm done.  Building these models has certainly provide me with many hours of enjoyment, I hope it will for you as well. My log is complete.

Edited July 16, 2022 by glbarlow

[donrobinson]

She looks great Glenn, real nice work!!

[Rustyj]

Hi Glenn,

 

I'm glad to see you've finished her. I'm pleased to say I've enjoyed many of your builds

over the years and this one was no exception. Hopefully you'll find something in the future

that interests you and we can enjoy your workmanship some more.

 

My best to you. 

 

[glbarlow]

Thanks Rusty, I got a lot of myinspiration from your builds. I’ve got all these tools, I’ll have to find some use for them eventually 🙂 

Edited June 27, 2022 by glbarlow

[glbarlow]

27 minutes ago, E Z Breeze said:

The model looks brilliant to my eye and please accept my congratulations for finishing her.

Thank you for the kind words.  Yes the copper plating drove a long hiatus, but as you noticed I’ve been back at it for a while now. However, I will never ever copper plate anything ever again😎 

[Techtonic]

On 6/27/2022 at 11:39 AM, E Z Breeze said:

Wow, that was quite a read. My eyes are sore! Thank you for persisting with the log despite the shortage at times of feedback. I started reading because I have a Victory models Vanguard in 1/72 to build someday and it wasn't until you mentioned the 1/67 scale of yours that I realised it was a different model. 😅 No matter, I still enjoyed the log. I'm sorry that I forgot to click the likes on the first two pages - they are there in spirit.

 

You began by pondering whether it was worth posting a log for a craft that others had already built on line. I say most definitely yes. The kit is not the build, and nor is the builder. The build is the 'relationship' between kit and builder at that particular point in the builder's career and as such all logs are fascinatingly different. You had some really hard times during this one, as evidenced by the two year hiatus, and I found it quite a dramatic story. "Will he finish or won't he?" I'm glad that you did and that in 2022 you are building again.

 

The model looks brilliant to my eye and please accept my congratulations for finishing her.

EZ - I'm pretty sure this is the exact same model you are building. I'm guessing Glenn just put 1/67 after doing some math comparing the model length and the real ship length. It's not unusual for models to not be exactly at the scale they claim to be.

 

Glenn - thanks for your build log - I just finished reading through all of it. It will no doubt be of help and inspiration as I continue my build of HMS Vanguard. I hope I don't get as put off by the coppering as you were. I coppered my Pegasus in about a weeks worth of evenings - so I'm thinking the Vanguard will take maybe three to four weeks so long as the tedium doesn't kill me midway like it did with you!

 

I share the same surname as the great Sir Thomas Slade, so I like to think I share some family connection to the ships designer. Hopefully this will provide me with the inspiration needed to complete the build.

[glbarlow]

On 6/27/2022 at 1:39 PM, E Z Breeze said:

1/67 scale of yours

That must have been a typo, my model is 1/72

[glbarlow]

On 6/27/2022 at 1:39 PM, E Z Breeze said:

I'm glad that you did and that in 2022 you are building again.

Thank you. I just finished 4 months single planking HMS Winchelsea, a 1/48 frigate considerably larger than Vanguard. Though it took a long time it was and is much more enjoyable than those copper plates. Everyone should do it once 🤣Best of luck with yours, my anti-copper position shouldn’t deter anyone. It’s builders choice.