HMS Sphinx 1775 by Ronald-V - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Ronald-V]

47 minutes ago, Theodosius said:

I think your Sphinx has become the gold standard! Just perfect in my eyes!

Thank you Theodosius! That's a generous compliment! 🙏

[Ronald-V]

Does anyone think the space between the rudder and the hull is too large? It seems okay, right? According to the drawing, it should be a millimeter, and mine is 1.5. So it's pretty close. When I first attached the rudder, I thought...the space seems too large? But now that I've looked at it a few times and taken a picture, it seems okay (perhaps also a bit influenced by Blue Ensign, who thought the space was too large and adjusted it  ) 

 

It's sometimes a bit difficult to see in other logs regarding the angle of the photo, so I thought...let me ask what others think.

By the way, there is practically no space between the edge of the hole where the rudder fits in...but in principle that is not noticeable  

 

Edited July 27 by Ronald-V

[Theodosius]

If you like it the way it is, then it is fine. On the other hand, if you arn't totaly happy with it, change it :-).

 

Only one suggestion: 1/2 a mm is not much, but relative to the 1mm, that it should be, thats 50% more 😉 . 

[Ronald-V]

24 minutes ago, Theodosius said:

If you like it the way it is, then it is fine. On the other hand, if you arn't totaly happy with it, change it :-).

 

Only one suggestion: 1/2 a mm is not much, but relative to the 1mm, that it should be, thats 50% more 😉 . 

You're absolutely right, the problem is... the gudgeon pintle patterns are as far into the holes as they can go. So, in terms of design, this should be the intention. If I wanted the gape narrower than in the drawing, I'd have to modify the pintle patterns (probably file them a bit off). I think this is simply the difference that can occur between a drawing and the actual execution (including all the parts).

 

So yes...your first statement applies here...  

 

Just wondering if others had the same result  

Edited July 27 by Ronald-V

[Blue Ensign]

Hi Ronald, the gap does look a little wide to my eye.

I didn't use the kit set-up on my build of Sphinx, I opted for a working version of gudgeons and pintles and tweaked the set up until my eye was satisfied.

 

On Indefatigable I did use the kit simplified version but they look a little closer than on your photo.

 

Could you perhaps countersink the holes on the stern post to allow the gudgeon to sit further in?

 

B.E.

[Thukydides]

I agree with the others. They are probably just a little too far out. As BE said maybe countersink the holes a bit to allow them to go in further.

 

Also if it looks funny to you now, it will be even more annoying to you in a month (I am speaking from experience).

[Ronald-V]

2 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

I agree with the others. They are probably just a little too far out. As BE said maybe countersink the holes a bit to allow them to go in further.

 

Also if it looks funny to you now, it will be even more annoying to you in a month (I am speaking from experience).

 

22 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Hi Ronald, the gap does look a little wide to my eye.

I didn't use the kit set-up on my build of Sphinx, I opted for a working version of gudgeons and pintles and tweaked the set up until my eye was satisfied.

 

On Indefatigable I did use the kit simplified version but they look a little closer than on your photo.

 

Could you perhaps countersink the holes on the stern post to allow the gudgeon to sit further in?

 

B.E.

 

Thanks for checking in guys...countersink the holes is indeed an option. I will look into that. And your right regarding that if in doubt now...it can be annoying later on. 

[Ronald-V]

Okay, just a quick adjustment before F1 starts... I slightly countersunk the holes in the stern and it looks much better!

 

Thanks for the help guys!

 

Edited July 27 by Ronald-V

[Frecap]

 

 

Very painstaking and high-quality work! A work of art, just like the entire model! It's a pleasure to look at!

Edited July 28 by Frecap

[Ronald-V]

4 hours ago, Frecap said:

Очень кропотливая и качественная работа! Произведение искусства, как и вся модель! Приятно смотреть!

 

Very painstaking and high-quality work! A work of art, just like the entire model! It's a pleasure to look at!

Thank you Frecap! That's very kind of you to say! 👍

 

And everyone else als thank you for looking in and the likes, appreciate it a lot!

Edited July 28 by Ronald-V

[Theodosius]

Wow, IMO, that was very worth it! 

[Nearshore]

A true masterpiece in the making. Very nicely done.

[Ronald-V]

1 hour ago, Nearshore said:

A true masterpiece in the making. Very nicely done.

 

6 hours ago, Theodosius said:

Wow, IMO, that was very worth it! 

Thank you! 🙏

[Ronald-V]

Small update:

 

Not a big update, but it does feel like a big step/relief to have this finished.😆

 

I've had some stressful weeks, and fiddling with small brass pins and such felt almost impossible, haha. I took many breaks from working on the model, but now I've finally finished the rudder with all the straps, horseshoe plates, and fish plates. The pics below are self-explanatory. I also extended the straps on the hull to the back of the sternpost with a piece of black paper. So that it looks like the straps go around the sternpost again.

 

I chose to keep the horseshoe and fish plates black instead of the recommended copper color in the manual. I think the copper looks great on a white hull, but I thought black would look better on a natural hull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16 by Ronald-V

[TJM]

Beautiful! And that hull...!! 🤩

[Ronald-V]

3 minutes ago, TJM said:

Beautiful! And that hull...!! 🤩

Thanks TJM!

[Thukydides]

Fantastic work Ronald. I too prefer the black look for the horseshoe even if the copper look is likely more accurate.

[Ronald-V]

2 hours ago, Thukydides said:

Fantastic work Ronald. I too prefer the black look for the horseshoe even if the copper look is likely more accurate.

Thanks Thukydides! Yes, sometimes a slight deviation in color compared to the original is not so bad, as long as it doesn't get out of hand  

 

Thanks everyone else for the likes! Really appreciate it! 🙏

[SaltyScot]

You made a fine job of that, Ronald. Very clean and precise. I have mine still to do so let's hope it looks half as good as this once I am done!

[Ronald-V]

9 hours ago, SaltyScot said:

You made a fine job of that, Ronald. Very clean and precise. I have mine still to do so let's hope it looks half as good as this once I am done!

Thank you Mark for your kind words 🙏

[Blue Ensign]

Your hull looks magnificent Ron, top class.

 

Regarding the use of  'black' iron for the Horseshoes and Fish plates, that would be correct for an uncoppered hull. The cuprous alloy versions would be used on a coppered hull.

 

B.E.

[Ronald-V]

26 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Your hull looks magnificent Ron, top class.

 

Regarding the use of  'black' iron for the Horseshoes and Fish plates, that would be correct for an uncoppered hull. The cuprous alloy versions would be used on a coppered hull.

 

B.E.

Thanks for the generous compliment B.E., and nice to hear it's the right color 😁. Your Sphinx is an inspiration for me so with some decisions I always look also how you did it, and noticed that you also chose black 👍

[mrcc]

Hey Ronald,

 

Amazing workmanship!

[Ronald-V]

1 hour ago, mrcc said:

Hey Ronald,

 

Amazing workmanship!

Thanks Julian!

Edited August 18 by Ronald-V

[captain_hook]

Amazon work! You're doing a fabulous job with this model.

[Ronald-V]

11 hours ago, captain_hook said:

Amazon work! You're doing a fabulous job with this model.

Thank you! 🙏

[Ronald-V]

Update:

 

All the channels are mounted, including their knees. It wasn't a difficult job, only the knees were a bit fiddly when it came to removing the laser char. They're small and difficult to hold, etc. But I'm happy with the end result. The color of the channels turned out a bit darker than I'd like, but that's just how it is when you're dealing with different sheets of pearwood...they're not all the same. But it's not really a problem.

 

I initially thought the channels should be flush against the decorative moldings, but I discovered in other build logs that several people didn't have this. So I abandoned that idea.  

 

By the way...the manual advised to paint them black, which looks indeed nice with a painted hull. But I have chosen to leave them natural, I think it looks nicer with a unpainted hull.

 

 

Here's a brief description of what I did. First, I used a needle to center the channel, which will soon be drilled with a hole for a reinforcement rod to give the channels some extra strength for attaching to the hull.

 

Drilled a 0.7 hole (with a dremel in a vertical drill stand) so that it is straight.  

 

 

Small cut nail with CA glued in it

 

 

Some channels still needed a bit of sanding to fit (which is understandable, as every hull is slightly different, of course). You could clearly see if they fit properly from below.

 

 

 

Then, I pre-coated the bottom of the channels that are against the painted hull with WOP (so the varnish doesn't touch the painted hull). I didn't put the entire channel in the WOP because so many parts still needed to be glued. I thought that would be better on bare wood.  

 

I made a mistake here... somehow I didn't thin the varnish or even stir it (my mind was elsewhere). This resulted in a very thick layer, which is still visible in the final result. I could have sanded it down and re-varnished it, of course, but since it's on the underside and I almost never look at a ship that way... I just left it as is.  

 

 

The respective knees used as guides to glue the channels at the correct angle (parallel to the waterline).

 

 

End result after putting 2 layers of WOP on the channels

 

 

Here you can still spot the error between the diluted and undiluted lacquer  

 

I'm really looking forward to the next step...all the prow/bow stuff. HMS Pickle didn't have any of this; it was a very simple bow, so this will be really fun to do for the first time (I think ).

 

Edited yesterday at 02:15 PM by Ronald-V

[Loracs]

very well done...  those are trickier than it looks.  The wood can easily split apart in the process.

[Der Alte Rentner]

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! that is some absolutely spectacular planking work.

I'll pop in from time to time to follow your progress.  

 

[Ronald-V]

2 hours ago, Loracs said:

very well done...  those are trickier than it looks.  The wood can easily split apart in the process.

Thanks Loracs! Yeah you need to be careful with those, but with vertical drill stand it's a lot easier to be honest  

 

 

2 hours ago, Der Alte Rentner said:

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! that is some absolutely spectacular planking work.

I'll pop in from time to time to follow your progress.  

 

 

Well thank you! I really enjoy your work with the USS Constitution, really nice build!  

 

And ofcourse everyone else that liked the post, thank you very much!