HMS Speedy by usedtosail - Vanguard Models - Scale 1:64

[TBlack]

Must be an old kit. I have one of those and the newer one with separate planks.

[usedtosail]

Yes I bought this kit about a year and half ago so it is the vintage kit.

 

So for the cutter I decided to order a 3D printed version from Vanguard which arrived last week while we were away on vacation. It has a lot of detail. I am putting the cutter kit aside for now but will probably assemble it sometime in the future when I don't have so many other things to work on. The 3D printed hull needs to be painted so I started with the interior which is a brown wood color. The exterior will be off white with black trim. The paint was still wet when I took this picture so it looks shinier and darker than it is now.

 

 

I have the two masts and the bow sprit pieces shaped and dry fit, so I painted the black sections before adding the details to them.

 

 

I started with the bow sprit, adding the metal parts for the jib boom saddle, sieves, and fair lead.

I have also activated the sail making again, now that I have the exact dimensions for the courses. I have the silk span ready to go and I think I can make both sails at the same time from this one piece.

 

 

[usedtosail]

I have been making progress on many fronts but nothing completed yet. I wanted to provide a status of the build up to this point though.

 

First the sails. I am in the process of adding the bolt rope to the fore and main courses, after adding the reinforcement pieces. I have been progressing from loop to loop on each sail so I can do about three loops a day because of the time for the matte medium to dry. Once the bolt rope is done I will be making the holes along the top of the sails and in the thin reinforcement strip for the reefing points.

 

 

I have finished painting the 3D printed cutter. I used a bright white paint for the outside of the hull but gave it a wash of diluted unbleached white paint as a final coat. I painted the rub rail and the hull up to the gunwales black. I have started adding the interior wood pieces so I should have that finished up soon and lash it to the deck.

 

 

The rest of the activity has been focused the bowsprit, masts, and booms, I have the sections made and finished, so I am adding the details and stropping and adding the blocks and deadeyes.

 

Bowsprit:

 

Booms:

 

Main mast:

 

Fore mast:

 

Hopefully I'll have some completed items to report on soon.

[Thukydides]

This stage of the build is hard as you do a lot but there is not a lot to show as finished. The more of the rigging you can do off the model the easier it will be and better it will look. It is just hard to resist putting it on the model so you can see progress.

 

Good work.

Edited April 12 by Thukydides

[usedtosail]

I don't find this stage hard, in fact this is what I really like - adding the small details, making the masts and yards, and all the rigging. I also like being able to work on many parts at the same time. As you will see I don't put the whole mast together before adding them to the model. I like to add them in sections (lower masts, topmasts, topG...), rig those sections, then add the next one. Then I add the yards starting with the lower yards and working my way up. I do add the whole bowsprit at one time though, as it is harder to add it in sections.

 

Anyway things are progressing nicely. Let's start with the cutter. I added the wooden interior pieces and gave them a coat of wipe on poly. I also rounded off the oars and painted the rudder, blackened the grapple and boat hooks that came with the kit, and glued and tied the cutter to the chokes. I did all this off the model so I still need to drill the holes in the deck and place this assembly to the deck, but I will wait a bit to permanently install it.

 

 

All of the mast sections are completed but only the lower masts are installed. The bowsprit is also completed and is ready to start rigging.

 

 

 

 

I have started working on the yards at this time too. I started with the lower yards. These have an octagon section in the center but they are made from wooden dowels. I know how I would do this if I started with a square section of wood, but this is the solution I came up with for the dowels. I marked off 45 degree angles on the 3 jaw chuck for my lathe, then used them to index the dowel as I filed the top of the dowel in each position. This worked out really well. 

 

 

When I had the octagons done I then rotated the dowels in the lathe to shape them.

 

 

The sails are almost done. I am in the process of adding the reef points, which is the last step before cutting them out. I'll have photos of the competed sails when I cut them out.

[TBlack]

Tom, we’re about at the same stage in our models (mine is HMS Sophie). I’ve left off the fences on the tops until,later as I know I’d knock them off during the rigging. Fortunately, I have a milling machine to do the flats on the yards. Let’s see if I can duplicate your excellent results.

Tom

[usedtosail]

Thanks Tom. I have a mill attachment for the lathe but I don't have a good way to hold and rotate the dowels when using the mill. I have a rotary table but it does not have a hole through the center so can only hold the dowel on the very end, which is nowhere near secure enough. I am a little worried about the fences on the tops but I wasn't sure how hard it would be to add them later. Hopefully I won't break them off too many times.

 

Just a quick update on the cutter. I drilled the holes in the deck and slid the pins under the supports in place. I added the oars, rudder, boat hooks, and grapple to the inside of the cutter too.

 

 

I am not sure how well that ladder works with the cutter in the way. Onto the anchors and upper yards.

[TBlack]

Tom,

The cutter looks great, well done. You’ve positioned it perfectly; let the crew worry about getting below.

Tom

[mugje]

Looks super on the ship!  

[usedtosail]

Thanks Tom and Mugje and the likes. More progress to show.

 

 I finished making the fore and main courses, then carefully cut them off the frame. The topsails will be next to be made.

 

 

 

I painted the Captain Cochraine figure, although I have never painted anything like this before. I think it came out respectable. I used a disc sander to remove most of the base, then an X-Acto knife to cut the rest away from around the boots. Here he is just placed on the deck temporarily, wondering when the rigging will get done. He has been put away until much later. I gave him yellow hair as a nod to Captain Aubrey.

 

 

 

Finally I have competed the anchors. I made all four but have decided to only put two on the ship. I picked the two best then wrapped line around the rings (puddened?). These have also been put away until later.

 

 

Work continues on the yards. I have the PE parts installed on all of them and am in the process of painted them black. I will then add the blocks and man ropes to them. I have also been making rope in preparation for rigging the shrouds and backstays. It is all starting to come together now.