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

[TJM]

That joint looks so nice!

[Ronald-V]

1 hour ago, TJM said:

That joint looks so nice!

Thank TJM! And everyone else thank you for the likes  

[Ronald-V]

Lining off the deck...just pretending to know what I'm doing  . It seems to be about the same process as with the hull. First, mark out the bands with tape. The difficult part here is to get them really symmetrical. This took quite some time, but I think it looks good. The curve it needs is a guess. I have a wide band of 7 planks on both sides and a narrow one with 3 planks that disappear at the ends in a hook scarph joint. (not sure if it's the right spelling lol) The rest now is the same process as with the hull...so looking forward how this proceeds  

 

I did notice a big difference with the hull that on the deck the planks go nicely linear from wide to narrow. And with the hull you had a kind of wave movement in some places.

 

 

 

[Gregory]

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[brunnels]

Looks fantastic so far. 

[BurgundyModels]

Caught myself up on your build @Ronald-V. Looks incredible. I can only hope to produce beautiful ships like this one day!

 

-Ron

[Ronald-V]

Update:

 

First curved band on port side planked. In advance I thought it would be something very difficult, but so far it has not been that difficult. Because I had already planked the hull this was easier. Also because it is 2 dimensional compared to the hull where the plank has to bend in 3 dimensions. Perhaps planking a curved deck is a good primer/exercise to then try the hull. The measuring etc. is similar.

 

The caulking is a bit difficult to see because I had very lightly sanded it to try polish away the pencil lines a bit, but that also makes the lines less visible now (and the lines are still there lol). It will come to the fore later when I varnish it. It still needs a good sanding, but I will do that when the deck is finished. By the way, I liked making the hooked scarf planks on both sides.

 

Now first continue with the wide band on starboard side.

 

 

 

Edited September 25 by Ronald-V

[brunnels]

Looks fantastic so far, one day I will get some boxwood to work with. 

[Ronald-V]

34 minutes ago, brunnels said:

Looks fantastic so far, one day I will get some boxwood to work with. 

Thanks! And it is really nice to work with...it holds nice sharp edges 👍

[Ronald-V]

Update:

 

Just some progress pics.

 

Finished the second wide band also...now working on the outer three planks on both sides. Trying to figure out the hooked scarph planks, Looks good I think   I had already a preview with some moist on the deck planking...that looks quite spectacular, really curious how it will look with the WOP.

 

 

Edited October 4 by Ronald-V

[Loracs]

very nice...  I love the look of it.  It all worth the stress of the redo.  In fact, I like it so much that I want to incorporate the technique is my next build.  

 

Question: In practice, how do you carve the donor and receiving strips, so that it aligns so well at the join.  Just want to learn from the expert ;_)

Edited October 4 by Loracs

[AJohnson]

I agree Ronald, your deck does indeed look very good. 

[Ronald-V]

1 hour ago, Loracs said:

very nice...  I love the look of it.  It all worth the stress of the redo.  In fact, I like it so much that I want to incorporate the technique is my next build.  

 

Question: In practice, how do you carve the donor and receiving strips, so that it aligns so well at the join.  Just want to learn from the expert ;_)

LOL....no expert here, but thanks for the compliment  . I'll take some pictures of the process this weekend. Nothing special about my approach...but it's easier to explain with some pictures.

Edited October 4 by Ronald-V

[Ronald-V]

21 hours ago, Loracs said:

 Question: In practice, how do you carve the donor and receiving strips, so that it aligns so well at the join.  Just want to learn from the expert ;_)

 

Ok...a little photo report on how I approach it:

 

1) The rules for "Hooked scarph" planks are as follows according to "Wolfram Zu Mondfeld" in his book "Historic Ship Models". If it's 100% accurate? I don't know and don't care, I'm not that of a purist and if 1 source says it's this...it's okay for me.

 

 

2) First of all I have already made the first plank according to the above rules.

 

 

3)Then I take a plank that is a bit longer than I ultimately need and mark the 2 intersection points of the plank with respect to the margin plank. The bottom of this plank I naturally let rest in the pre-formed plank that is already on the deck.

 

 

4)Then draw a line between the two points. It doesn't have to be super precise because you are working towards the right shape. As long as you have a rough shape/angle.

 

 

5)Personally I use my disc sander for the first part...but whatever you prefer. The important thing is that you don't sand all the way to the line right away.

 

 

6)And then it's just carefully working towards the right angle. Here you can see that I'm sanding it down and fitting it, where the angle seems right, but needs to be sanded down a bit more to fit it completely. This is just done slowly, taking a little bit off each time. Sometimes you take too much off the angle, which creates to much space, but then you sand a little off the blunt point again, and that's how you play back and forth between the two. Sometimes everything works with the disc sander, but sometimes it also removes material too quickly and I take a sanding stick so that I have a bit more control. That's just finding out for yourself what you like.

 

But that's why you need some extra length...because it will not always be in one take and you need to sand a bit of the point, which makes the length shorter.

 

 

7) Another example where a bit too much has been taken off at the top left of the beveled side and the front needs to be a millimeter deeper. So here I try to sand the beveled side a bit straight until it fits nicely.

 

 

8 ) Like this...

 

 

9) Then you have the most important thing ready and you have to mark the board according to the rules. So the board that goes in here again has a minimum width of 1/3 of the normal width. In my case about 1.4mm (say... I'm not too strict about this myself)

 

 

10) Then you mark the rest of the board and cut away the vast majority first with a knife (or sanding).
What I found out after cutting is that if you try to cut the last piece crosswise it breaks off since you have no meat on the slanted side, so I do that last piece myself with a fine saw

 

 

11) Sanding stick to get to the actual needed size.

 

 

12)And the very last part of the "corner" I do with a sharp knife so you get a really good sharp corner. Personally I can't do that well with a file or sanding stick...so a knife works better...just make sure you cut off very small layers, because too much force and it breaks off.  

 

 

13) Voila...

 

By the way...I don't know if this specific plank above that will go under the frames and doors, that it went like that in real life...but that doesn't really matter to me because it will be practically invisible when the upper deck is going to cover it. It will all be in the dark. But for me it is a good exercise so that I will have it in my fingers for the upper decks later.

 

I hope my explanation is a bit clear...not really a special method, but it works fine for me  

 

 

Edited October 5 by Ronald-V

[Thukydides]

Great job Ronald. Those joints look nice and precise.

[Loracs]

a thousand thanks @Ronald-V,  I greatly appreciate the extra time you took to put together this great tutorial.  It is of great help and illustrate very well the process.  Having seen the results in your blog motivate me to move forward.  A great skill to acquire.  Fantastic how-to outline, very clear.

 

[kljang]

Your handling of the nibbing is perfect.  Well done!

 

kerry

[Ronald-V]

3 hours ago, Loracs said:

a thousand thanks @Ronald-V,  I greatly appreciate the extra time you took to put together this great tutorial.  It is of great help and illustrate very well the process.  Having seen the results in your blog motivate me to move forward.  A great skill to acquire.  Fantastic how-to outline, very clear.

 

 

Your welcome! Glad it can be useful  

 

Thanks everyone for the nice compliments and likes!💫

[TJM]

18 hours ago, Ronald-V said:

 

Ok...a little photo report on how I approach it:

 

1) The rules for "Hooked scarph" planks are as follows according to "Wolfram Zu Mondfeld" in his book "Historic Ship Models". If it's 100% accurate? I don't know and don't care, I'm not that of a purist and if 1 source says it's this...it's okay for me.

 

 

2) First of all I have already made the first plank according to the above rules.

 

 

3)Then I take a plank that is a bit longer than I ultimately need and mark the 2 intersection points of the plank with respect to the margin plank. The bottom of this plank I naturally let rest in the pre-formed plank that is already on the deck.

 

 

4)Then draw a line between the two points. It doesn't have to be super precise because you are working towards the right shape. As long as you have a rough shape/angle.

 

 

5)Personally I use my disc sander for the first part...but whatever you prefer. The important thing is that you don't sand all the way to the line right away.

 

 

6)And then it's just carefully working towards the right angle. Here you can see that I'm sanding it down and fitting it, where the angle seems right, but needs to be sanded down a bit more to fit it completely. This is just done slowly, taking a little bit off each time. Sometimes you take too much off the angle, which creates to much space, but then you sand a little off the blunt point again, and that's how you play back and forth between the two. Sometimes everything works with the disc sander, but sometimes it also removes material too quickly and I take a sanding stick so that I have a bit more control. That's just finding out for yourself what you like.

 

But that's why you need some extra length...because it will not always be in one take and you need to sand a bit of the point, which makes the length shorter.

 

 

7) Another example where a bit too much has been taken off at the top left of the beveled side and the front needs to be a millimeter deeper. So here I try to sand the beveled side a bit straight until it fits nicely.

 

 

8 ) Like this...

 

 

9) Then you have the most important thing ready and you have to mark the board according to the rules. So the board that goes in here again has a minimum width of 1/3 of the normal width. In my case about 1.4mm (say... I'm not too strict about this myself)

 

 

10) Then you mark the rest of the board and cut away the vast majority first with a knife (or sanding).
What I found out after cutting is that if you try to cut the last piece crosswise it breaks off since you have no meat on the slanted side, so I do that last piece myself with a fine saw

 

 

11) Sanding stick to get to the actual needed size.

 

 

12)And the very last part of the "corner" I do with a sharp knife so you get a really good sharp corner. Personally I can't do that well with a file or sanding stick...so a knife works better...just make sure you cut off very small layers, because too much force and it breaks off.  

 

 

13) Voila...

 

By the way...I don't know if this specific plank above that will go under the frames and doors, that it went like that in real life...but that doesn't really matter to me because it will be practically invisible when the upper deck is going to cover it. It will all be in the dark. But for me it is a good exercise so that I will have it in my fingers for the upper decks later.

 

I hope my explanation is a bit clear...not really a special method, but it works fine for me  

 

 

Lovely! I will use this technique when I get that far 😃

[Ronald-V]

Small update:

 

I have the main gun deck finished as far as planking is concerned. I am now busy sanding it...first with grid 180 and then with something finer to finish it off. I will be busy with this for a while. It does feel like a bit of a milestone again, that I have completed the two largest planking jobs of this ship.

 

 

 

With the sanding it seems like you are losing the caulking between the planks a bit. I know that this is temporary and will come back later with the WOP (just like with the hull). But I couldn't resist taking a peek at what is under all that sanding dust by wetting the planks a bit (the same effect as the WOP will have).

I have to say that I am certainly pleased with what I see! It is a pity that it will take a while before I put the deck in the WOP. After I have finished sanding I will place the spirketting (and maybe the waterways) and follow the manual from there. That means continuing with the outside (quarter galleries etc.). 

 

Placing the deck in the WOP is only done after I have placed the coamings etc (at least...this seems to me the correct order? If anyone has a better idea, please let me know)

 

 

 

And I bought some new toys. I'm happy with them! I'm aware of the limitations of the table saw compared to its bigger brother. I've done some research in the past few days to find out what suits me and my budget at the moment. This saw perfectly meets my requirements for now. I've played with the saw this morning and it's more accurate than I thought! I could saw 1x1mm strips from a large board without any problems. And it stayed true to size
These tools will make some things easier for me.

 

 

[Loracs]

The caulking is just perfect like this...  well done. With the length of time it takes to complete a ship, it often almost irresistible to have a peak at the final result.  I time, I even finish a section if I know there is no more work to be done.  Fantastic deck, well worth the time.

 

New tools!!!  come on... I don't have those, please stop teasing!!  Hehe 🤩

[Ronald-V]

6 minutes ago, Loracs said:

The caulking is just perfect like this...  well done. With the length of time it takes to complete a ship, it often almost irresistible to have a peak at the final result.  I time, I even finish a section if I know there is no more work to be done.  Fantastic deck, well worth the time.

 

New tools!!!  come on... I don't have those, please stop teasing!!  Hehe 🤩

Thanks Loracs, yes sometimes patience is the hardest thing 😆

[Nearshore]

Hi Ronald-V,

 

Your deck planking looks fantastic! True craftsmanship. I purchased the DB250 a while back. I have practiced a bit and it truely is a great tool. 

 

Nearshore

[Ronald-V]

59 minutes ago, Nearshore said:

Hi Ronald-V,

 

Your deck planking looks fantastic! True craftsmanship. I purchased the DB250 a while back. I have practiced a bit and it truely is a great tool. 

 

Nearshore

Thanks Nearshore! And great to hear you are happy with the DB250. Not really tested it yet, but that will come. Having a education in working with a lathe and mill (worked with steel and plastic though) it's fun to have these little machines at home

Edited October 12 by Ronald-V

[Ronald-V]

Update:

 

Ok, first I placed the spirketting.

 

 

First painted and then placed on the model. Enough clamps were of course needed to get good adhesion everywhere. The upper parts had to be a bit higher than the adjacent bulwarks according to the manual... I did this, but unfortunately not enough, which is why the spirketting protrudes a little bit at some gun ports. I first thought about sanding those parts away, but I think that will look weird. You can only see it if you sit lower than the water level and then look up. It is actually not noticeable at all unless you know about it. So I will leave it like this (I saw the same in almost every other log, so many people seem to have the same problem)

 

 

 

Secondly I placed a waterway of 1x1mm boxwood with a very small beveled edge (the beveled edge could have been a bit bigger). I think that this connects the spirketting and the deck nicely.

 

And thirdly...I drilled the drainage/scupper holes. First I made a sort of center point with a hand drill so that the Dremel doesn't "search" afterwards. Some things I learned...support yourself with your hand and Dremel on the deck so that you don't vibrate. And first turn off the Dremel after you have drilled deep enough, and then take it out. If you don't do that, you can still touch something with a rotating drill, or the hole won't turn out as nice. By the way, I just kept 1mm holes (same size as Chris used with the lasered deck)

 

 

Now I have to touch up a few spots with the paint.

Next step will be...the outside of the captain's cabin. Another exciting step

Edited October 23 by Ronald-V

[brunnels]

Those beveled boxwood waterways look really nice.  Fantastic work as always. 

[Ronald-V]

11 hours ago, brunnels said:

Those beveled boxwood waterways look really nice.  Fantastic work as always. 

Thanks Brunnels! And thanks everyone for all the likes, I really appreciate it  

Edited October 24 by Ronald-V

[md1400cs]

On 10/12/2024 at 6:28 AM, Ronald-V said:

Small update:

 

I have the main gun deck finished as far as planking is concerned. I am now busy sanding it...first with grid 180 and then with something finer to finish it off. I will be busy with this for a while. It does feel like a bit of a milestone again, that I have completed the two largest planking jobs of this ship.

 

 

 

With the sanding it seems like you are losing the caulking between the planks a bit. I know that this is temporary and will come back later with the WOP (just like with the hull). But I couldn't resist taking a peek at what is under all that sanding dust by wetting the planks a bit (the same effect as the WOP will have).

I have to say that I am certainly pleased with what I see! It is a pity that it will take a while before I put the deck in the WOP. After I have finished sanding I will place the spirketting (and maybe the waterways) and follow the manual from there. That means continuing with the outside (quarter galleries etc.). 

 

Placing the deck in the WOP is only done after I have placed the coamings etc (at least...this seems to me the correct order? If anyone has a better idea, please let me know)

 

 

 

And I bought some new toys. I'm happy with them! I'm aware of the limitations of the table saw compared to its bigger brother. I've done some research in the past few days to find out what suits me and my budget at the moment. This saw perfectly meets my requirements for now. I've played with the saw this morning and it's more accurate than I thought! I could saw 1x1mm strips from a large board without any problems. And it stayed true to size
These tools will make some things easier for me.

 

 

I've had both of these for years - always perfect - I also, more recently, bought the large Proxxon Fet saw - probably "overkill" for my needs. Still mostly use the KS 115. But the larger saw is fabulous for angle cutting as the table swivels as well! 

Your work is so excellent you might also want to consider the Proxxon MF 70?? a very excellent addition.

 

Regards,

[Ronald-V]

1 minute ago, md1400cs said:

I've had both of these for years - always perfect - I also, more recently, bought the large Proxxon Fet saw - probably "overkill" for my needs. Still mostly use the KS 115. But the larger saw is fabulous for angle cutting as the table swivels as well! 

Your work is so excellent you might also want to consider the Proxxon MF 70?? a very excellent addition.

 

Regards,

Thanks! And yes I considered the MF70...but didn't really see an application for this kit at first sight. So for now I kept the money in the wallet. Maybe I can use it for a later project, but this way I can also spread the finances a bit  I don't have a very big budget at the moment.

 

[hamilton]

Nice work Ronald - you can never have too many clamps, eh?

hamilton