HMS Diana 1794 by newbee - Caldercraft - 1/64

[newbee]

I am afraid, after getting a decent amount done the weekend before last, things have slowed down a lot. I have done a little more sanding of the hull and also the cascabel's. these are going to take a lot of time maybe an evening for each so will be doing them a couple at a time. I am also on ho;iday for a couple of weeks and need to clear my workshop ready for my relief to take over and have a clear space. I am hoping to do some more research while I'm away although I have been doing this on and off for the last week. I am still worried about getting the shape of the stern correct so, have been hesitating to sand this down too much yet. I have been thinking ahead aswell about changing the stern facia to look more like the RMGC version ( thanks again to Allan for the pics) with rectangular windows and the pillers in between. I have really only thought of doing this as a couple of the photo etch parts are missing, and, on this kit the taff rail was not installed and is still in the box giving me another blank canvas. I also need to read more of the previous build logs as in the stern photos, there are 15 planks either side of the stern post. I have a length of 6cm either side so 4mm planks would fit better than 5mm unless I need to reduce from 5 to 4mm closer to the stern. Once I am happy with the shape I wull experiment with this.

 

I have tried making my own gun trucks in the past but have always given up as I have never been happy with the look of them. This time I am not going to try and will buy the Vanguard ones. At least they will be identical as well as looking very good. The next update will probably be around 3 weeks from now and I am planning on concentrating on the gunports and cannons before building up the hull where it is uneven (especially between the gunports.) I have also given more thought to your question Theodosius and I think, workwise it is probably slightly harder due to not knowing for sure how well she has been constructed but she is certainly strongly built. Removing all the gratings and what fittings there were was pretty easy and apart from sanding and shaping most will be ok to glue back on. The cannons and trucks I would probably have done what I am planning along with replacing a lot of the timber anyway. Time wise it will take longer to complete the hull than if I had started from the beginning but time, I hope, is something I still have a decent amount of combined with what I am learning. If nothing else I will have learned a lot of correct terms of the fittings and ropes. Until now I'd never heard of a chain pump, never mind what it did so the time spent will be very worthwhile to me.

 

Anyway I will return to this in a few weeks.

Take care all.

David.

[allanyed]

14 hours ago, newbee said:

cannons and trucks

I realize this is a terminology thing, but the trucks are the wheels.  It sounds like you are referring to the carriages, not just the trucks themselves.

Vanguard makes nice products so you are making a good decision.  Looking forward to your return.   

Allan

[newbee]

Thanks very much for the info Allan. I was wondering if that was the case. I did mean the carraiges. The Vanguard ones definately look very good and 1000 per cent better than I could achieve and at an affordable price. I must admit the cannons themselves also look great but are way over my budget combined with the carraiges. I am sticking, for now with filing down the cascabel's on the visible 18lb guns and leaving the rest as they are. I think I have found a quicker way of sanding these down, combining a sanding disc fitted to my table saw/sander and mounting the cannon barrel in a cordless drill. It's not only quicker but also gives me a better shape ie not lop sided. This should mean I am able to have all the barrels finished in a few evenings rather than weeks. 

[newbee]

Well, I'm back from the holiday and back to sanding down the hull again. Having started back on the stern I realised that the gaps between the filler blocks (below the frames) were preventing me to shape the hull properly, I decided to use filler and, once dry, I could continue sanding. In the meantime it was back to reducing the size of the cascabeles, which are now half done for the 18lb'ers. Since then I have sanded the hull further and,I think, I have achieved the shape beneath the stern counter required. However, I have also sanded a little too much off the sides where the wale will meet the stern counter, and, also lost a little of the shapes of parts 27, the stern counter sides,  Some advice is requested at this point as I don't want to risk making it any worse. I have looked at so many photos and I'm not sure whether to leave it as it is for now and concentrate on sanding the rest of the hull, and then see what to do afterwards, or, sand this section a little more to round it off a little more. The hull needs to be sanded off by about 1mm all over so the shape at thr stern may not be quite as noticable. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

David.

[ERS Rich]

Good Morning,

 

For the wale, a possibility is making a vertical cut and removing a section say aft of the gunport to the stern, and adding new wale.

 

The issue with loss of shape of the counter sides may not be an issue after the counter is planked.  Maybe build up the inboard sides of these pieces with planks for more contact area when fitting the counter planks.

 

Regarding technique, a half round file gives exact control of wood removal vs sandpaper.  Personally I rarely use sandpaper.

Have a good one.

[newbee]

Msny thanks for your input. I have said sanding but I have also been using the half round file at the stern. The wale on this ship is going to be sanded /filed and then completely redone. I am not happy with the width or positioning of it. So I have been more concerned about the shape below the counter. I have run a couple of planks on either side and the flow looks almost right. Once this is completed I will plank the counter and then see how it goes. 

Thanks again. 

David. 

[newbee]

 

Thank you for the likes. I really appreciate you looking in. This is becoming a greater challenge than I expected but this ship deserves to look better than when I got her. I'm in for the long haul and am learning as I go which really helps. For me, as a novice, the instructions aren't the easiest to undersatand but one thing I have noticed is parts are named especially the rigging side of things. Other kits just show a rigging line going from A to B but no indication of what they actually are. Anyway, back to the build.

 

I have now managed, I think, to achieve the shape of the stern that I am really happy with. This was, unfortunately, after I found I had removed too much balsa on one side which had left a concave depression beside the deadwater. I cut a 1cm strip of cardboard and marked the curve above the keel, which I replicated on the other side. I then worked my way up the stern marking the curve on the other side. Once this was completed I added filler to fix the problem so I now have pretty much a symetrical shape either side. It now just needs a fine sanding down.

 I then I moved my attention to shaping the rest of the hull. I am aiming to sand this down to pretty much the first planking so, effectively, I can redo the second planking from scratch. However, due the construction, I have almost lost the top plank above the 1st gunport on one side. The inner plank came off when removing the gunport, which, I hadn't realised at the time. So, I moved my attention again to the gunports (and the inner lining). These need to be fitted and shaped before I can sand down the hull any further. I had also been wondering if I would have to remove the sides completely from the gun deck up. If this was done it would be almost impossible to achieve the curve of the hull from the gundeck upwards, especially for the quarter deck and fo'csle. This will be enough of a challenge as it is.

Getting the gunport lining good from the outside, I didn't think would be a problem, getting them looking good from the inside will be near impossible. After a bit of thinking and having thought weeks ago the inner lining might have to be removed, especially as it looked so bad and had already come away from the frames. I removed both sides. Whoever had started construction had run strips of balsa up almost beside the sides of the gunports but not quite in the correct position. The reason the lining came away so easily was the planks were glued to these balsa strips rather than the frames. The upshot of this is I can sand down the sides from the inside and build them back up. I am also hoping I can build up the gunports at the same time and line them afterwards. 

[newbee]

While sanding down the hull I felt something give and found the deck planking between the gratings had given way. Not sure why there was nothing supporting them underneath. I then also noticed 2 beams below the gun deck dont seem to match up. both go under the gratings but are offset compared to the frames. Any ideas?

[Keith_W]

Without knowing the model and being able to see where the frames should be, it is difficult to know if this was a builder's error (e.g. cut the grating holes in the wrong position), or whether the manufacturer positioned the frames wrongly. Either way, you need to glue a beam under the broken deck to support it. This is what I would do: 

 

- cut the widest beam you think will fit through the hole

- drill a hole through one end of the beam and tie some string to it IN CASE you drop it and need to fish it out. 

- push the beam through the grating hole and try to rotate it to fit. If it does not fit, trim it and try again. 

- when you get it to fit, apply glue and attach it to position, then cut off the string. Don't worry about the excess string that you can't reach, it will be inside the hull and it won't be seen. 

[DavidEN]

7 hours ago, newbee said:

While sanding down the hull I felt something give and found the deck planking between the gratings had given way. Not sure why there was nothing supporting them underneath. I then also noticed 2 beams below the gun deck dont seem to match up. both go under the gratings but are offset compared to the frames. Any ideas?

The beams are offset from the frames as they are glued to the sides of the bulkhead rather than on top as shown in the photo below. It is how they are meant to be installed as per the instructions so it should not be a problem. I did modify my beams though so that they did not run through the hatch openings but that would be hard to achieve in your case with the deck already installed.

 

Regards,

David

 

[newbee]

Keith, Many thanks for the advice. I will try that. If it doesn't work I will just cut a block of balsa wood and glue it to the lower deck underneath. The hatches appear to be in the correct places though. You are right that without knowing the ship aswell as not being able to see the work that has already been done at times I am almost working blind.

 

Thanks David for your input too. I should have thought of that being the case as the upper beams are also fitted that way. The beams running below the gratings are not too big a problem as they and the lower deck will be painted black and should be invisible. 

 

Luckily I took quite a few photos of the decks before and during removing everything so I can see where to put things back later. 

I have also been able to remove the main deck support beams fore and aft without damaging the frames too much. This means I should be able to modify them avoiding the run of most of the gratings. There were only 2 deck supports fitted which were under the beam in front of the main mast/ I will be modyfiying these and insalling all that should be in place. 

I have given myself a lot more work to do but it means I should really be able to achieve a much better finnish. The gunports need to be 6mm above the gun deck so I intend building these up from the inside with strips glued to the outer planking to a thickness of 4mm along the entire length after adding vertical strips beside the gunports to give them the correct width. these can then be relined on the inside and painted. I can then fit the inner hull fittings for rigging the guns etc.

I read somewhere that the hull planking below the wale should be no wider than 12 inches but above the wale can be wider. Assuming 30cm is more or less 12 inches then the lower planking should be no wider than 4.6mm at this scale. This ties in nicely with the lower stern frame (frame 17) having 15 planks attached either side of the stern post. This makes the width of the planks 4mm So I plan to plank the hull ,when the time comes the opposite to the instuctions with 4mm below the wale and 5mm above it.

[newbee]

Since my last post I spent most of last weekend studying how to start on the gunports. Midway through Sunday I gave up reading any further as I found I was getting bogged down with all the information. I also wanted to get back to the actual building. I realised that before I could start on the inner lining I would need to re-lay the gun deck. I started laying 3mm strips from the centre line outwards. I had planed to run these 3 deep on each side of the mid point but the grating openings were wider and would mean that the first 4mm srip would need 3,5 mm cut off along the openings so I added an extra 3mm strip each side When I tested the original grating and coamings I found they were actually a lot wider than the openings. As this will be mostly hidden I have left them as they are but will maybe plank the upper deck differently. 

5 evenings later and I have almost finnished the gun deck with only the outer edges to plank, between the frames. I have cleaned off and lightly sanded the deck and I dont think it looks too bad, especially, compared to how it looked before. One thing I had not fully appreciated was how large the surface area is. I have used around 30 4mm strips for this deck alone. It is huge. I am desperate to get started on the  gunports because I need these done to be able to determine the correct position of the wale. To start with I think I will just build up to the sills with a strip of 4 mm thick balsa which will be shaped to run square between the frames. The outer planking has come unstuck from a few of the frames so I also need to glue these back. Once this is done I will need to re cut the gunports with the required spacings inbetween them. I have measured the distances and marked them with masking tape for now. So I've still got plenty to do. I have also just ordered the replacement gun carriages and also a replacement double capstan from Vanguard. I pretty much destroyed the original when trying to seperate the upper deck from the hull. It was one of the few things that was really well glued together.  

[newbee]

I should have mentioned that the lime strips I have used had varying colours, most were light but others looked more like beech wood. As most of the deck will be hidden I tried limiting the darker strips to where they won't be seen. They will also be stained or varnished or both so it will be interesting to see how they come out. Thanks again for the likes and comments so far. 

David. 

Edited November 11, 2023 by newbee
Typo

[newbee]

Progress started slowly after my last update. The gun deck has now been fully planked and just needs a light final sanding. So it was back to the gunport problem. The first thing I needed was the correct height above the deck for the gunport bases to sit. I found that 5mm gave me the best fit so I cut strips of 2 X 5mm and glued them flush to the deck and butting up to the frames. Due to the 1st gunport being between frames 3 and 4 I started on gunport 2. I soon found that it was hard to see where the first layer of outer planking ended and where the added strips met. I used a black marker pen to highlight the top edge of the strips which made filing down the lower edge of the ports much easier. The only problem I found was some of the ports were cut too low on the port side so I will have to build these up before replanking.

 

The time spent reading through various build logs 2 weekends ago has paid off. After studying Jason's ( Beef Welington, a big thank you for this) build log I picked up on the fact that all the ports are 30mm apart with the exception of the 2 central ones (7 & 8). I ran a strip of masking tape along the gunports and marked the forward edge of port 1 and the stern edge of port 14. Thinking I had cracked the problem, I removed the tape and marked the gunport position starting at each end and working towards the middle. I marked the edges of gunport 2 on the hull and cut and filed it to size. I replaced the tape on the hull and was dismayed to find that the ports didn't sit where I expected them as a couple of frames were now in the way and port 2 didn't quite fit right. It was too late at night to try figuring out what was wrong so left it  as it was.

 

On Thursday the replacement carriages arrived. I was keen to see how they compared to the originals and how well they would fit within the ports. I lightly glued 1 of the carriages together but dry fitted the trucks as I may need to remove them later. They look absolutely brilliant and really feels like a shame to paint them. Thank you Vanguard for these. (Unfotunately they come without the photo etch sheets but this isn't a problem as I have plenty of eye pins and hopefully enough capsquares. I just thought I'd mention it for information.) They sit perfectly within the ports as well.

Now it was back to the positioning of the gunports. I laid a fresh strip of masking tape alomg the hull and again measured the distances between the ports. but this time on the hull. gunport 2 now matched up again ,more or less but none of the frames were in the way. I removed the tape and laid it above the original and you can see the difference between them. The next few evenings will be spent marking and cutting the ports to shape.

 

[newbee]

Thanks fore your like Chris. It's appreciated. Just a brief update to say I'm back to square one. I'm not sure if the masking tape shrank a little or if my measurements weren't good. Either way I found the forward gunports are a couple of millimeters out. Looking like I've some more thinking to do. Will update again when I get it sorted out. 

David. 

[newbee]

It feels like a couple of weeks since my last update, but, I think I have finally figured out the positioning of the gunports. For the last few weeks I knew the maximum distance between gunports 1 and 14 and was trying to position the rest equaly spaced apart from 7 and 8 which, as was pointed out previously, should be further apart. I was also triying to fit everything between frames.  I tried everything I could including scaling up photos and measuring sizes and distances of the ports to match. Everything I tried resulted in at least one or more frames being behind where I thought the gunports should sit. Last night I realised that I may have to compromise and lose one of the frames. The distance from port 1 to 7 and 8 to 14 should be equal. The steps up the hull are about the same width as the gunports but about a gunports width from 7. I also guessed that none of the gunports should be level with the masts. I laid another strip of tape, marked out the centre line and worked my way in each direction, with 15mm wide ports and 30mm wide spaces. This also didn't work but was closer than I had managed previously. I changed the measurements to 31mm apart but kept the 15mm wide ports and starting at frame 3 worked my way along the hull. This was my Eureka moment. Everything lined up perfectly apart from frame 9 which was 5mm too far astern. I checked the measurements again and eveything still matched. I triple checked again tonight and I'm certain, this time I have got it right. I now need to cut away the previous planking to where the gunports should be. Where frame 9 was needs to be filed flush. The next task will be to lay 2 X 5mm strips parrallel to the frams and add 2mm thick and 13mm high balsa strips inside the hull to line up with the ports and also mark the line of the tops of the ports. Once this is completed I will lay strips of 2mm balsa along the top of the gunports level with the the line of the top deck. The entire inner bulwarks will have 1mm strips added to fill out the planking flush with the frames. These in turn will have 0.5mm planking to avoid the hull looking too thick, I hope. Coincidently, the linings of the ports will now be 0.5mm thick which seems to be more accurate. I still have lots to do but at least I think I'm winning.       

[newbee]

Just an afterthought, but, this may be a good time to check how the channels and chain plates will line up just to be safe.

David.

[allanyed]

11 hours ago, newbee said:

Everything I tried resulted in at least one or more frames being behind where I thought the gunports should sit.

On the actual ships there were usually one and more often two frames that were in line with a gun port so there is nothing wrong with a frame crossing a port.   The frames were cut and ledges put in place then the linings/stops on the bottom ledge and sides of the frames forming the fore and aft sides of the port.

Allan

 

 

[newbee]

Thank you Allan. I have a copy of the picture but I really meant I was trying to avoid weakening the sides by having to cut too many of the frames and, also, to keep the gunports as close to their correct positions to avoid problems later. Thanks again for your interest and advice. It's really appreciated. 

David. 

[allanyed]

HI David

On 11/25/2023 at 9:51 AM, newbee said:

I was trying to avoid weakening the sides by having to cut too many of the frames

The frames were routinely cut for the gun ports so there is little danger from cutting too many.  For example the Portland (50) 1770 is typical in that it had 50 frames cut short on each side to accommodate the gun ports on the various decks.  The Impregnable (98) 1810 had frames cut short in 106 places on each side for the entry port and gun ports.

Allan

[newbee]

Thank you again Allan. I have a feeling that I should have said bulkheads rather than frames. I'm sorry if I confused you with my terminology. My worry with this ship is I have weakened the hull by sanding and also removing the inner hull lining. If she had 50 or more frames then cutting out 5 or 6 wouldn't be such a problem. As this build has only 17 bulkheads altogether, and already planked (fairly badly in places) I really didn't want to cut any away. Every post I've seen has some modifications of the gunport positions and even the anatomy of the ship book seems to contain anomalies compared to the maritime museum model and especially the plans for this kit. (which is why I haven't bought it yet). I just knew there had to be a way of fitting in the gunports evenly spaced apart from 7 and 8 within the space between bulkheads. Added to this is the person that started this build had some gunports higher than others and also not square nor with vertical sides. I was tempted to remove everything from the gun deck up and build it all from scratch but decided that would be even more problematic. I also thought about removing the planking but also decided against it as this would mean sanding down the bulkheads. If the previous builder is anything like me, the bulkheads would look like a pin cushion and be too fragile to sand smooth. 

Thanks again for your advice and interest. 

David. 

[allanyed]

1 hour ago, newbee said:

even the anatomy of the ship book seems to contain anomalies compared to the maritime museum model and especially the plans for this kit.

It is a good idea to check any modern sources to see the contemporary sources on which their information is based, be it plans, contracts, or models.  In the case of questions regarding kit instructions it is not difficult to do a bit of your own research of contemporary plans, models, and in some cases for ships built in private yards, original contracts.  There are a number of high res plans of the Artois class, which includes Diana, available on Wikicommons site and some additional low res plans on the RMG Collections site that should give you the designed gun port positions.

 

Regarding cutting the bulkheads,  nothing wrong with installing the gun port lids in a closed location as appropriate. 😀   

 

Allan

[newbee]

This time it has been two weeks but it feels much longer. The time has been spent building up the inner sides of the gun deck. At this point I

rea;ised that the gun carraiges, being 14mm high, would mean the centre of the cannons would also need to be the same height. This, in turn, meant that the sills of the gun ports would need to 7mm high rather than the 5mm I had previously thought looked ok. This being rectified by adding 2X2mm strip on top of the existing 5X2mm strip, I started on the hull walls.

 

After cosidering the options I opted to fill between the frames with 2mm thick balsa strips with the grain running horizontally and then with  other 2mm strips with the grain running vertically, hopefully to give extra strength and support for the final sanding and planking of the complete hull. This has now been done with the exception of the area around gunport 1 on each side. I have also sanded down the inner hull using sanding strips with a foam interior  to avoid damaging the deck planling.

 

The next task was to fill in around the gunports on the outside of the hull. This was rather tedious as it meant cutting different widths of 2mm balsa ranging from 1mm to 6mm wide. I have also allowed the gunports to become a little smaller so I can file down the openings to the correct size. (mainly as a safety precaution in case I've made any mistakes in my earlier measurements. I have also started adding 0.5mm thick filler planks to the depressions in the hull to hopefully achieve the correct shape and also marked out the the bearding line I think that's the term) on the deadwood. This should allow me to obtain the correct shape of the stern.  

[newbee]

Merry Christmas to everyone at/on MSW, and, Happy new year when it comes. Wherever you are.

Thanks for the continuing likes so far. It is very encouraging and I'm very grateful.

It's been nearly another 2 weeks on the build and progress has continued slowly but surely. The inner wall of the gun deck has been filled between the bulkheads and has almost been sanded enough to be planked. There's just a couple of bits to finnish. The gunports have been filled and then filed to pretty much the correct shape but more importantly are in the positions I wanted them. With the help of a contour gauge I am now working on getting the lower hull symetrical on each side. There is a very slight depression left on the port side just below gunports 7 and 8 which I will fill with 1mm strips of balsa and then sand smooth. It's only about 0.5mm deep at the most but is still fairly prominent. I have also started working on the stern beside the deadwood to achieve the correct shape. I'm going to fill in the gap between the gun deck and the stern counter with balsa blocks, and then sand them to shape, followed by rebuilding  the lower sections of the stern counter sides (which were over sanded) once I have achieved the correct shape. I have now also built up the 9lb gun carraiges and filed a little more off the cascabels of the 18lb'ers. This weekend I am hoping to start lining the gun deck sides followed by lining the gunports and replacing a few bits of balsa that have broken off during sanding. All in all I'm pretty happy with progress so far and feel quietly optomistic on getting a pretty good looking hull in the end. I have also been looking at what I am going to do about the upper deck both the deck itself aswell as how I am going to attatch it to the hull. I am thinking I may need to replace it completely as the underneath is in quite a bad way. I will have a go at sanding it down before I decide. It looks like  I will also need to get it to fit before I can really get started on the gun deck gratings, stairs and fittings etc. 

Happy new again to you all. 

Cheers.

David.

[newbee]

Thanks guys for the likes. I'm happy you are looking in.

 

Another week has passed and I really feel I'm progressing, all be it slower than I would like. I have filled in the lower stern counter and added some balsa strip to the lower the stern counter sides. I wasn't happy with the shape it had but, after starting to sand it down, I realised it needs to be shaped into a shallow concave curve rather than being flat. Due to me losing the shape of the counter sides I hadn't picked up on this earlier. I only thought it didn't look right. At least now I am on the right trck with this and will get it finnished over the next few weeks. In the meantime I carried on with the gun deck. I have almost completed lining the sides with 1mm beech strips and only need to complete between frames 2 and 3, the most difficult part. This didn't prove too challenging but waqs time consuming. I cut the 5mm beech strips into 10cm long planks and laid the first along the deck. The second strakes were also cut into 10cm lengths and staggered by 2.5 cm. these were then laid on top of the first strake and cut to fit 1mm or so inside the gunport to allow for any adjustments being needed.

 

While building up the sides I have also continued trying to sand the lower hull but I have now found that I am unable to sand any further on the port side between where the wale will be and the gunports as a plank or two are now paper thin. I have used filler to fix the depression I had mentioned before just forward of this spot and delicately sanded it down so it is virtually un-noticeable. 

 

I have also smooth sanded down the gundeck itself and to prevent any damage to the planking have given it it's first coat of stain. I have two different antique pine woodstain one from Occre and one from Furniture clinic. Neither of them was I happy with for a pine effect. the other stain I have is English oak from Littlefares. This is much too dark for the deck so I mixed a few drops of the pine and added a much smaller amount of the oak and , after testing, got the colour I was happy with. Once it had dried I again lightly sanded it down ready for a final coat before varnishing.

 

In between these jobs I also realised that before I can start adding what will effectivly be the 2nd planking, I will need to have the hull built up at least level with the upper deck, if not a little higher. I removed the 3 skid beams which were still attached to the upper deck (on one side only)  and as it is so thin along with the starboard walkway snapping off at the junction with the foc'stle, I decided to reinforce it with 5mm wide 0,5mm strips running along the length of it. Unfortuneately, once it had dried, I found that instead of curving upwards it instead sags to the centre. Pretty baddly. However I can use this to my favour as it can be reversed, and hopefully, will be able to be glued in place on top of the beams easier. Unfortuately I will now need to repair what was the underside as there are 3 sections which seem to have been cut out and replaced ( again baddly) Having planked the upper. or rather now the lower side, I realised I should have properly marked the centre line. Again though, once the deck is flipped over, this can still be marked. I have now cut out the notches front and stern for the location points but these still need to be completed. 

over the last week I also looked again at the cannons supplied and, although nearly happy with the shape of the cascabels I am unable to reduce the width of the cannons to fit the new carraiges from Vanguard. I decided to bite the bullet and asked on Friday night via the website if I could purchase the cannons seperately. I was amazed that Chris replied on Saturday morning If I wanted long or short cannons. When I ordered the carraiges in November there were no choices of gun length. It appears the range has expanded considerably since then. Chris also mentioned the lengths I would need. To cut to the chase, I have now ordered the 18 and 9lb'ers I will need as well as, in the future will be getting the 32lb carronades along with all of the ships boats,( The 24ft cutter is missing) and the other 3 boats are pretty much beyond any use. I was very impressed with the quality of the carraiges and, having looked at the carronades and ships boats building intructions Chris produces, together with the double capstan already bought, I haven't  finnished shopping there yet. I don't know the rules regarding mentioning suppliers, but a huge thumbs up to Chris anyway.

Here's the latest photos of progress to date. I may need to take a couple again tomorrow without the flash.

Thanks for now.

David

[newbee]

I forgot to mention before that I am planning on adding the skid beam clamps along with the spirketting. The only problem I have is the sizes and correct positioning. I am guessing the clamps run the entire length of the hull and look to be 2 strips of 2X2mm. The spirketting looks like only 1mm thick but I can't tell if it runs level with the gunport sills or runs below them. Any help with this would be really appreciated.

Thanks again.

David. 

[dunnock]

Hi David, The spirketing runs under the lower sills of the gun ports. I used 1 piece of 4x2mm.

David

[newbee]

Many thanks for your input David. I take it that means that the gunport sill sits on top of the spirketing, I have a bad feeling I've messed up my calculations. Very dissapointing but, if so, I'm glad it's not too late to fix. My original thought was the gunports should sit 5mm above deck level. But, when I measured the height of  the carraiges, I had a height of 14mm and, assuming the cannons should be dead centre of the ports, would make them 7mm above the sill level and 14mm above deck level. I also thought, after much trial and error, that I should make the openings 15mm long instead of 16mm, and 13mm high instead of 14mm, and line them with 0.5mm strips instead of 1mm thus making them still 14 X 12mm when completed. I will need to re think this now, as I am working out how to get the upper deck to fit and I don't have enough space above the gun ports for the skid beam clamps to be fitted. An extra couple of mm's could help me with this. The previous builder had all the skid beams over the open deck sitting several mm away from the hull which, on the real ship, would mean them hanging from the deck planking alone. Figuring out where they should lie was going to be my final task tonight. I have started re drawing the upper deck with the aim, once it's symetrical from the centre line, of making it 2 or 3mm narrower but still fit on top of the sides of the hull to be able to create a lip that it can fit into. When the time comes to fit it properly I will be able to plank over this lip along with the deck itself. I also want to attach the skid beams running accross the open deck area from the hull instead of free standing. 

Thanks again David. I've named myself newbee for a reason. If I can get a result with this build, in a couple of years I may promote myself to newbee(ish) with your and others help of course.

Cheers for now.

David. (yet another one)   

[newbee]

It's been a long 3 weeks since my last post. Thanks again for the likes so far. Having checked my measurements, I have decided that I'm happy with the gun ports sitting 7mm above deck level and the guns will sit correctly. I have built up the spaces between frames with balsa and also remade the skid beams. These now fit into slots on the hull with the exception of the forward most one which lies level with frame 6. I need to decide whether to create a notch or fit a knee to accomodate it. I am also struggling a little with shaping the bow section to accomodate the fore section of the upper deck. 

[newbee]

While I decide how to progress with the hull, I have started construction of the 18lb guns. I started painting the cannons first with vallejo matt black as a base and then dry brushed tyre black followed by a mix of enamel dark grey and matt black to highlight the details. I am pretty happy with the final look of these.The carraiges, as previously mentioned look great, and easy to put together. To begin with I only started assembling one of the carraiges as a prototype. I found I needed to drill the 3 holes on each side for the pins to fit into a little larger.  I then built up the carraige as per instructions. I used very little pva glue at first to avoid any excess oozing out when clamping the pieces together but, however, the bond wasn't strong enough so I resorted to a litte super glue applied with a tooth pick to the joints. This worked much better. With the sides and axles glued the assembly was painted red. Next I stuck the eyepins into a block of balsa wood and painted them black. These were then glued into place. I also added the qoine bed support with a section of a long eye pin that just happenned to fit into the hole, and coincidentaly, I have enough for all 38 carraiges. With the barrels and carraiges painted I started on the capheads which, after scraping off the glue, straightening and removing the burr from the ends, wasn't as hard as it looked. I then pinned 2 of these down onto the balsa block and painted the black. With this done I test fitted the barrel onto the carraige and realised the qoines supplied were too low and the wrong shape for my needs. After several failed attempts at making the qoines and particularly the beds for them to sit on I compromised and did without the lip on either side of the bed and just used a 1 by 6mm strip of beech cut 11mm long. I then added the qoine on top with a 1mm belaying pin from a previous kit (that was from a wasn't used but may come in handy one day box). God I've got so many of those!!!

Anyway here's photos of the cannon. Hopefully it looks pretty decent although a little touching up and highlighting is still required especially the trucks.     

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31 by newbee
too many incorrect photos