HMS Portland 1770 by scrubbyj427 - 1:48 - 4th rate 50-gun ship

[scrubbyj427]

12 minutes ago, Ronald-V said:

Dutch yes!  

I think I’m going to, 17th century Dutch ships always grab my eye. Perhaps I can collaborate with Ab and produce any one of the wonderful models/plans he’s made.

[scrubbyj427]

Quick update:

 

Planking above the wales is complete on the port side and all the gun ports are cleaned up and painted. Need to finish a few details on the stbd side channel wale planking and that’s it for now. My Winnie awaits me back home!
 

Crating model and shipping to mainland and its eventual trip across the country. 
 

 

[glbarlow]

This looks great. Looking forward to seeing you back on Winnie. 

[scrubbyj427]

22 hours ago, glbarlow said:

This looks great. Looking forward to seeing you back on Winnie. 

Thank you Glenn. Hope to be working on Winnie in a couple weeks!

[Trussben]

Portland is coming along really nicely JJ, but also cant wait to see you back on the Winnie too!

Will the lower deck be getting a full set of cannons/carriages or just dummy cannon barrels sticking out?

[scrubbyj427]

6 hours ago, Trussben said:

Portland is coming along really nicely JJ, but also cant wait to see you back on the Winnie too!

Will the lower deck be getting a full set of cannons/carriages or just dummy cannon barrels sticking out?

Hi Ben, 

the gun deck will be complete with all the 24 pdrs as well as cabins, chain pumps and fittings. It will be fully viewable through the framed upper deck with minimal planks.

As soon as the hull is planked I will begin working on the gun deck. 

Im looking forward to making some progress on my Winnie as well, it’s been way too long and I’m so close to the end! 

Edited October 1, 2024 by scrubbyj427

[scrubbyj427]

Hi All, I haven’t posted any updates in awhile, I’ve moved, had a job change and the whole ball of wax. In that time I’ve made some major modifications to the original design of Portland which includes frames as seen in the painting. I’ve decided to move forward with building that prototype alongside the current POB version of Portland as I plan to offer both versions of the model, one for those who don’t like sanding tons of char and the other for those who don’t like planking.

The two models are very similar above the main wales but that’s where it ends. Below the main wale the structure is completely different made up of many more parts. I’m currently testing the framing and the support structure that holds it, results are good so far, I plan to move to the forward frames tomorrow where things get a little more tricky with multiple angles involved.
 

Below you can see the support structure going together along with the test frames. 
I’ve blacked out the MDF support structure so it will not be seen once the lower frames are all in place, or at least harder to see. I’m currently building the frames out of Swiss pear with the keel, knee and any planking AYC. The deck structure will be the same where the beams are pear and all planking a lighter AYC. 

more updates to come soon. 
JJ

 

[jfhealey]

Fascinaing - and a great deal of thoughtful engineering. I'm following with keen interest.

Fred 

[Thukydides]

Hi JJ, great to see you still at it.

 

This is a really cool design and is looking like it will turn out to be a stunning model.

[Trussben]

Looks Fantastic JJ.

[scrubbyj427]

Thanks guys. Hopefully have some updates this weekend. Aiming to get the cant frames installed today and start working towards the stern frames. 

[scrubbyj427]

Just  a small update.

 Today I redesigned the cant frames and installed them, I’m pretty happy with the results, although more sanding is required, the initial sanding just revealed it’s not a complete disaster and I can move on lol.
 

now I’ll continue aft towards the stern where the real fun begins. 
 

[AnobiumPunctatum]

That is a really interesting solution for the ships framing.

[3DShipWright]

This is absolutely awesome The lines are soooo clean and precise. Keep it up, can't wait to see more!

[glbarlow]

Very interesting approach to a frame model!  Nice!

[scrubbyj427]

Thanks guys. The aim is to build a “framed” model without all the massive jigs and tons of expensive wood while utilizing the simplicity of bulkheads for everything above the wales.
Keep in mind that with Portland we are building a model of a painting of a model so the frames are all single pieces and simple to install.

The contemporary examples below are exactly what I’m looking to achieve with this kit.

 

[scrubbyj427]

I finished all the frames on the stbd side yesterday, next is the port side and then a couple days of sanding. 
Only a few incidents that have been  corrected in the design but overall everything went together well and I’m happy with the results.

 

off to work for 6 weeks so I’ll be writing instructions and modifying cut files until I return to frame the other side and then install the inner post and all the wing transoms

 

Thanks for looking in.

JJ

 

[scrubbyj427]

Back to work on Portland prototype 2.0. The framing continues on  the port side. Sand char, glue and repeat. Should have all the perpendicular frames done this evening. More updates to come soon!

 

JJ

[druxey]

Interesting hybrid construction technique.

[Trussben]

Great progress.

[scrubbyj427]

I’ve completed the aft frames 44-52, these frames are not perpendicular to the bulkhead former and require tapering at the bottom and a slight angle that progressively increases as the frames get closer to the stern.

First the laser cut deadwood needs to be tapered. this can be achieved by attaching a 1/4” scrap piece to the stern of the bulkhead former 

this will establish where the inner stern post will sit on the deadwood so you know where to sand to.

The same is done where the deadwood meets the keel and frame 43B. Except you will need to sand it slightly below the line at the keel so you have a rabbet for a plank to land on

I sanded it down to shape but left material for final fairing of the hull once completely framed 

once attached you can begin the frames. Two frames will fit on each step and require tapering at the bottom, the taper will be provided in the instructions, try to get the as close as possible 

Begin framing aft at frame 44A, all the full frames are A’s and the short ones B. I installed all the A frames first and then completed the B frames afterward, it’s much easier to correctly fit them in this order.

you can see above, frame 46B going in, once the bottom is correctly tapered it’s just a matter of sanding and test fitting until the B frame fits snug.

Once all the aft frames are complete it’s time to move to the wing transoms. Frames 52 A and B have landings for the wings etched into them

The wing transoms range from 3/16 to 9/32 in thickness and they are all numbered from 7 at the top down to 1 At the lowest .

A quick test fit  of the #6 wing transoms appears to fit well. Keep in mind there will be a ton of sanding in this area once these are all installed, especially around 52B.

Next up is the completing all the wing transoms and the vertical timbers above the deadwood.

Thanks for looking in

JJ

[scrubbyj427]

On 4/6/2025 at 7:22 PM, druxey said:

Interesting hybrid construction technique.

Thank you Druxey. A complicated design but will make work on the rest of the model quite simple as well as affordable with a minimal use of expensive pear.

[Thukydides]

This is a very cool construction method. It is looking like it will turn into quite the model.