Grecian 1812 by James H - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - protype build of US Baltimore Clipper Privateer Schooner

[James H]

Ok folks,

 

This kit will be hitting the doormat tomorrow so I'll be starting work tomorrow afternoon. Again, this is a prototype for the kit, and I'll be doing the kit manual pics and text as I go.

 

Some history, abridged from Wiki
Grecian was an American schooner launched in 1812. During the War of 1812 she received a letter of marque. The Royal Navy captured her on 5 February 1814 and took her into service as HMS Grecian. She was sold in 1822. In 1823 she became a merchantman. In 1824 the Chilean Navy captured her, but she escaped, and thereafter may have served for a time as a Spanish privateer. After the end of the Peruvian War of Independence she apparently returned to more conventional pursuits and was probably lost in 1829 though she was still listed in 1830 as sailing between London and Lima.

 

She had a long, curving stem, and a shallow, less convex bow. Grecian's first captain was James Phillips, and under him she had made one voyage to France. She received letter of marque No. 944 in December 1813, under Captain Knapp. She had not captured anything before the boats of HMS Jaseur cut her out under the guns of a battery field pieces on East River, in Chesapeake Bay on 2 May 1814. The British cutting out party under Lieutenant West, first lieutenant of Jaseur, rowed up silently in the night, drove Knapp and the seven members of the crew on watch below deck, fastened the hatches, cut her cables, and sailed off. The British commissioned her as HMS Grecian under the command of Lieutenant Henry Jewry. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Grecian was deployed on anti-smuggling duties in the Channel, and captured a good number of vessels, including Betsey, Nancy, and Market Maid. On 18 August 1818 Lieutenant Nathaniel Martin was appointed captain of Grecian. Between 30 August 1819 and 20 January 1820, Grecian made several small captures. Grecian made further sundry small captures on 16 May 1820, 27 March 1821, 20 April, 6 May, and 2 August.

 

She was paid off in 1821. The Admiralty put Grecian up for sale in April 1822 at Portsmouth. She was sold to Joshua Crystall for £510 on 18 April 1822.

 

Initial prototype photos
These are the builds Chris did to test the initial fit of parts prior. Here is where initial changes take place before sending out the materials to me. There may still be changes made as I build, and I will then pass those onto Chris, but the hull of this is quite different to other gunned vessels, so the usual trials and tribulations will be much less.

 

More stuff when the parts land here...

 

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, James H said:

This kit will be hitting the doormat tomorrow so I'll be starting work tomorrow afternoon.

 

No rest for the weary, eh?

[James H]

17 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

 

No rest for the weary, eh?

 

I've had 10 days on Hogwarts Legacy though 🤣

[chris watton]

What I have sent Jim is essentially a complete kit for Grecian, with the USB stick with my assembly pics instead of the manual. He will have all laser cut parts, photo etched sheets (which arrived this morning)! fittings, wood strip and dowel and a set of full size plans - all in a box custom sized for this kit.

 

Almost forgot, also a Grecian paint set!

Edited February 23, 2023 by chris watton

[ccoyle]

27 minutes ago, chris watton said:

Almost forgot, also a Grecian paint set!

 

Don't forget to include a bottle of Grecian Formula!

[James H]

On 2/23/2023 at 7:04 PM, ccoyle said:

 

Don't forget to include a bottle of Grecian Formula!

You've got to have hair to worry about that!

 

Ok, an update. If you've followed other build logs or downloaded previous instructions, you'll see much that's familiar at this stage. There has been a developmental curve that can be traced through the various kits as they've been released, and you'll always find those advances in subsequent releases. I see a lot in this that have come from the Duchess kit, through Sphnx, Indy, and even the more humble fishers. Here, we start with the obligatory build cradle. The stern of Grecian sits far deeper in the water than the bow, so the cradle deals with that, and you'll see a little pip in one keel slot. The sits in an opening in the hull, angling the hull properly so the waterline can accurately be marked and the model displayed at the correct attitude.

 

Here is the keel, designed to accommodate SEVENTEEN bulkheads! This will be a sturdy model. The first slot is ID'd with '1' to correspond with the first numbered bulkhead. From there, just work backwards. At this stage, NO glue is to be used.

 

 

Bulkhead #9 is made from two identical parts, glued back to back. When made, the bulkhead is fitted to the keel, again with no glue.

 

The last bulkheads are fitted, except for the rearmost one. No glue!

 

 

All those bulkheads, for the moment, can move about a little. A lot of that is now removed by sliding full length doublers down each side of the keel, directly up against it. These are in two parts per side. 

[James H]

...continued

 

Those doublers are now pinned into place with a series of plugs. These are glued into position.

 

 

Before the sub decks can be fitted, the need bolstering a little from below towards the stern. These two parts are now fitted which create a firm base for the sub decks. Those sub decks are now DRY FITTED into place.

 

 

Now, we have a lot of unglued joints that could come apart, so this is stopped by gluing a series of plugs through the holes in the bulkheads, holding the sub decks firmly in position, and all the other parts in a perfect position.

 

 

And the last in this update shows the final bulkhead, with the various forms glued into place prior to being shaped and secured to hull.

 

 

....until next time.

 

 

 

[ccoyle]

Love seeing the innovation -- a stable hull substructure heads off a lot of potential pitfalls down the road!

[Nipper]

Clever!  Like the sort of Chinese wood puzzle that intrigued me as  a child at Christmas!

 

Nipper

[Cathead]

This looks awesome. I love Baltimore clippers, and wish this had come out before I struggled so much building a terrible Corel kit. Will be fun to see this coming together.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Cathead

[James H]

Update No.2. This will be in 3 parts as it's almost 40 photos. 

 

The hull is currently in a state of being faired, so I'll show the hull up to just before then, plus all the other things I've built up.

 

Pre-bevelling was done on the stern section that I built in the last update, and this was then dry slotted into the bulkhead slot on keel. This can be finalised when the hull is being faired. 

 

 

 

 

Longitudinal bracing parts are now slotted across all of the bulkheads, except for #1. Again, this is dry fitted. No glue needed yet. These parts will further solidify the bulkhead positions.

 

 

 

The previous parts incorporated a section of the poop superstructures, and the next two parts will add further elements of this. All will become clearer.

 

 

 

At the bow, we have more parts that slot into bulkheads, creating the sides of the bowsprit entry point, and also to add fairing and planking.

 

 

Beams are now fitted across the open bulkheads. There are three different types of beam, relating to the position and camber. 

 

 

 

A 0.8mm ply deck is now fitted. This is thin enough to be slightly bent and pushed into position into the slots at the bottom of each bulkhead ear. This usually gives a nice, satisfying click when finally located.

 

[James H]

....continued.

 

Like Indy, the hull can now be safely turned over as all parts are locked in place with the pegs, and also with the deck, in this case. Dilute glue is now painted into all the various joints and seams.

 

 

 

 

Filler parts are added to both bow and stern so the planking as something to adhere to.

 

 

 

Here you see the stern superstructures now being built up. One of these will be the WC and the other is presumably sone sort of locker.

 

 

On with the coamings. These are nice and easy to build up. Once glued, the lasered edges are removed and the sides evened up. The grates are left out until the coamings are fitted to the deck. This simply aids correct positioning on the deck.

 

 

 

Capstan. This is identical in construction to those on just about every other VM kit. They are so easy to build up and the fittings precise.

Skylight. Although different in size to the one Iast added to Indy, the appearance is very similar, and the construction also nice and simple. PE parts are included for the hinges and window frames. The modeller can use a bit of acetate, if they wish, to glaze the panes from the underside.

 

[James H]

....more. As I've done quite a lot, I've very much abridged the number of photos for each stage.

 

Binnacle. This is smaller than those I've built for British vessels but identical in construction. The chimney is turned brass as per Indy, Sphinx etc. 

 

 

A single ladder is now built for the deck hatch opening. 

 

 

Grecian will come with more armament than you'll actually need. This means that you will be able to choose the gun combination that you prefer, and we will supply options for you. These photos show the carronades and two sizes of cannon. All this before I actually plank the hull!

 

 

Until next time.

[Diver]

Good evening James.  What skill level will be given to this kit once it becomes available?  When my Syren Medway long boat is finished in the near future I have decided I will do a Vanguard build next.  I was leaning towards Lady Eleanor or Zulu, how will this kit compare in difficulty?  Thanks.  Bob

[chris watton]

8 hours ago, Diver said:

Good evening James.  What skill level will be given to this kit once it becomes available?  When my Syren Medway long boat is finished in the near future I have decided I will do a Vanguard build next.  I was leaning towards Lady Eleanor or Zulu, how will this kit compare in difficulty?  Thanks.  Bob

I think I will put this one just one above the fishing boat kits. It builds up almost like the Erycina/Ranger, except the bulwarks are triple layered instead of double, it has plenty of guns and, of course, it is a lot larger. But design principles are more or less identical to my beginner kits.

[Gus M]

on board, I can't miss this!!

[James H]

Weekend update time.

 

I've done a bit of jumping around on Grecian over the last week as the engraved deck was modified and I've been waiting on some areas of the hull to dry. The bowsprit is now built, but I'll leave that to the next update. Some mast work has also been done. For the moment though, I'll show you where I am with the hull.

 

On my last update, the hull was at this stage. I now had to add the bulwarks. These will form the inner 1mm core of the final bulwark. As with the other kits, these are engraved on the inner face so that you can align the lower engraved line to the deck level. No soaking is needed with these whatsoever. I did score and pin towards the rear where the bulkheads have a tighter curve, but the stuff is all very easy and I'll show what I did in detail for kit.

 

 

 

 

These parts are pinned and clamped until dry, but with no glue between the bulwark and the bulkhead ear above deck level.

 

 

Here is that same bulwark from the rear, with the scored and pinned area evident on the lower bulwark.

 

 

Unusually for a kit like this, we don't yet do the planking. This is because we need to bolster those gunport arches. The outer bulwark is first dry fitted to the core bulwark and a pencil used to draw along the underside and the position where the channels will eventually slot in. This is simply so I know where to glue, and importantly, NOT to glue. I want to keep those channel slots free from glue clogging them up.

 

 

 

Each outer bulwark is now glued in place. It's important to make sure they are adhered from top to bottom, but also vital that the tops of the gunport arches are properly glued. You can never have too many clamps! To ensure no error creeps in with the port positions between layers, the midship ports were first aligned and I words towards the stern and clamped, and then towards the bow and also clamped. If you get the midship ports properly aligned, you should find no error along the positioning of the others. My tip is simply a precaution for those who may tend to misplace a part slightly.

 

 

Again, we are so used to removing the bulkhead ears after planking, but we are doing this early, to further strength those gunport arches. First of all, the ears are twisted off with some pliers...

 

 

 

...and then sanded flush with the deck.

 

 

 

The laser-engraved lime deck is now ready to be fitted. The easiest way to do this is to mostly NOT glue it! On the prototype, the deck was simply glued down the centre and then the engraved inner bulwarks clamped into place on either side to hold it all down until the glue line set. Once dry, the inner bulwarks can be removed, allowing the deck to spring back up along the edges...but that's just fine.

 

 

 

Those same inner bulwarks are now carefully glued into place, one at a time, making sure the port all line up properly and the tops of the bulwarks are at the same height. The deck edges will now be held firmly down.

 

 

 

You'll note that the outer bulwark doesn't extend anywhere as deep as the mid core. This is to allow you to add first planking without damaging the outer engraved bulwark.

 

 

 

That's all for now. Next update will show this all planked.

 

[Kevin]

great update James

[mgatrost]

Beautiful work as always, I’m always excited when I see you’ve updated us. 

[markjay]

Really nice work. Can't wait for the release. 

Edited March 12, 2023 by markjay

[hollowneck]

I'm loving this model's development.

The unique design of the schooner itself, the history. It incorporates many of Chris' most recent engineering innovations in a smaller "package" that'll comfortably fit into a unique presentation. I'm thinking the Grecian can possibly be set into my next diorama depicting a cutting-out action in the Chesapeake (now within a stone's throw to my new home near the same).

I'm also thinking a completed model and diorama might be appropriately called: "Asleep At The Helm."

[James H]

By popular demand...an update!

 

Before the planks could be added, the inner lower counter was glued into place with both pins and clamps holding it until dry. The hole on the left side denotes the ablutionary facilities escape hole.

 

 

 

 

The job of adding first planks could now start. A reasonable amount of taper at the bow, but none at the stern for this one.

 

 

 

With the lime planking complete, the keel is then faced on both sides with engraved, 1mm pear. Location pegs are there to assist with getting the parts in absolutely the right place. This is all then thoroughly clamped until set. Adding these parts has created a rebate which will help with the second layer of planks.

 

 

 

The rudder post is now built up in the same manner, then glued into position on the hull.

 

 

 

Gluing the post in place allows us to correctly glue the outer lower counter. This doesn't need to be soaked, but just make sure it's thoroughly clamped while the glue sets!

 

 

 

Everybody loves planking, and I'm no exception. I couldn't wait to get all this done and sanded. Now she's looking the part...

[James H]

...Continued.

 

All gun ports are now cleaned up and the tops of the bulwarks sanded. The hole for the bowsprit entry is also cleaned up with the bulkheads being cut back to the same position. Also note the single-piece Wales have been installed.

 

 

 

Before the stern can be fitted, the tail end is tickled with a rough stick.

 

 

 

And the MDF structures at the stern can now be sheathed in pear, making them look far prettier.

 

 

The rudder tiller exit fascia is now built and fitted.

 

 

 

...and Grecian now looks like this. Gorgeous lines.

[ccoyle]

22 minutes ago, James H said:

ablutionary facilities escape hole

 

🤣🤣🤣

[markjay]

Thanks for the update. Looks great!

[DB789]

Grecian is looking super, such an unusual but great looking boat. I think very likely my next build after completing Alert. Maybe Ranger beforehand in the highly unlikely event I complete Alert before the Grecian kit is launched. Grecian looks an easier step up than diving straight into Speedy/Flirt. 

 

Thanks for another excellent prototype build log James. I’m missing not having one of yours on Alert! 

[Kevin]

great update thank you

[Ghost029]

Absolutely gorgeous!

 

[James H]

Just a quick update before I soon hit the copper.

 

Te hull is now more or less painted. A few touch-ups here and there, and there will be a flat coat afterwards. I added the sheen simply because it's less likely to mark when handling the hull. All paints here are from the forthcoming Grecian paint set.

 

 

 

The first task is to paint the outside band in off-white. This was left a while to cure before then masking it to add the black.

 

 

 

Once the hull was painted black, more judicious masking was done so the inner bulwarks could be painted. For this, I mixed about 95% green and 5% black.

 

 

 

The upper edge of the green was then masked and black paint carefully added to the upper section of the bulwark.

 

 

 

The finished paint job looks like this. Notice that I had masked off the slots for the channels, and also the inner bulwark positions for the various rails.

 

 

Off to cut a few more copper tiles!

 

 

[hollowneck]

Very dapper, fashion-forward! Can't wait to see her with her copper bottom and chrome fenders.