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Posted

Post 49

Roof boarding

The painted roof boards look attractive, but I suspect in reality they would have been tarred or sheathed in lead to prevent water ingress particularly for the starboard side Pantry.

I have decided to Lead the boarding as a contrast to the paintwork.

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The lead foil is patinated using Pewter Patination fluid following a dip in white vinegar.

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I trimmed the  boards a little to reduce the overhang at the front and longside.

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It proved quite tricky to secure the roof  and I had to get inventive with a clamping arrangement.

I did pre-bend the boards before gluing using pva. I didn’t want to use Cyano in case any got on the paintwork or lead.

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It is useful at this point to check the fit of the stern davits that sit atop the capping rail.

 

While I was waiting for glue to dry I had a play around with naming Harpy.

The kit doesn’t include lettering for the stern, and it’s debateable whether these Brigs even had name plates.

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However, that’s no reason not to have a look; I used 5mm  stick on vinyl lettering  in the only practical place on the transom.

I do rather like a name on the stern even if it stretches credulity.

I’ll ponder it a while, but application of the name is best done before the outer transom piece is glued into place.

 

B.E.

05/03/2025

 

Posted

Post 50

Fitting out continues

Looking at the stern area.

Overall I found this section difficult to get how I wanted it, and several dry fits, re-fits and decontructions were involved.

Stern board

This a tricky part to attach as it is awkward to clamp whilst ensuring the part is properly aligned.

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Again, I had to get inventive to secure the board in place.

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Having most of it glued, I separately re-clamped the lower quarter corners which were the most difficult to conform to the stern.

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Finally, the Capping rail to the Tafferal is glued into place. The Aft davits were used to ensure alignment.

 

Quarter pieces

These are represented by a two layer arrangement so that the finished look is of the Lower Quarter piece extending down to the Square tuck.

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I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with the set-up for these, and once fitted I thought they could use some beefing up on the aft side where they meet the lower counter and  the wale.

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An afternoon of tweaking to arrive at a look I was happy with.

 

The kit differs slightly from the Adm plans.

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The kit has stern davits  with a crutch for the Boom placed centrally on the tafferal.

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The kit usefully includes laser cut patterns for the sheaves both top and bottom. They need to be carefully drilled thro’ (0.6mm drill) from both sides.

The Adm plan  does not show davits, instead the counter timbers are extended above the rails to provide port and starboard boom crutches.

It is more than likely that during her long career Harpy would have been fitted with stern davits, and for a model they do provide a feature of interest, particularly when fitted with one of the sweet little cutters supplied with the kit.

 

Waist rails

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Chris has designed a ‘string’ of rails that fit seamlessly between the ports. Finely cut with a  central groove to represent a moulding they are easy to attach using spots of cyano.

I had thought of making my own, scribing a profile, but I didn’t think I could get down to scale size, and the kit ones look fine to me, given the size and class of the vessel.

 

B.E.

08/03/2025

Posted

I have little doubt vessels of this size were fitted with stern davits, and even later, quarter davits, especially one such as Harpy, which had such a long career spanning both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars - wartime modifications would have come thick and fast, I think.

 

I got the inspiration for stern davits from a painting depicting Harpy and the ship sloop Fairy (Swan Class?) engaging the French Frigate Le Pallas off St Malo in 1800.

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Posted

Builds like this inspire me. I am a lot slower keeping up with the maritime vernacular, me being a newbie and all, but some of it is beginning to become familiar :) 

Mark

 

On the table:   Lynx, Baltimore Clipper Schooner - MANTUA - 1:62

 

Awaiting shipyard clearance: HMS Endurance - OcCre - 1:70

 

Wishlist: 1939 Chris Craft Runabout - Garrett Wade - 1:8

 

FinishedEndeavour 1934 - J Class Racing Yacht - 1:80

 

 

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen

Posted

Post 51

The Rudder

This is a nicely made Pearwood item with outer veneers, also of Pear, marked with the appropriate engravings for those who don’t intend to copper the hull.

 

With the Copper plate set comes a rudder specific section of plates. These can be added as a unit rather than individual plates and are designed to fit the rudder profile. A separate strip fits to the aft rudder face.

For this kit Chris has supplied laser board versions of the straps and pintles, a far better option than pe for this purpose.

 

The pintles on the rudder are an integral part of the rudder formed in Pearwood. The Gudgeons are also part of the rudder structure represented by pegs that fit into slots on the Sternpost.

If the rudder is to be attached in ‘working’ mode attaching the Gudgeons to the sternpost would be necessary.

Altho’ I’ve  had working rudders on many of my builds, using Chuck’s Syren parts, I’m going with the kit arrangement on Harpy, with a few tweaks.

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A small modification I made to the rudder was to file a bearding line down the inner edges of the rudder which for practical purposes allow better movement and gives a more authentic look.

Strictly the copper plates should be folded inwards  on the inners side, and folded over by about a scale mm on the outboard side.

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The provided set is too short to fully do this, but sufficient to follow and cover the bearding.

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For the rudder head straps rather than fiddle around with thin pieces of Laser board card I used heat shrink tubing.

Hanging the Rudder.

The rudder fits perfectly into the designated slots, nice and close to the stern post.

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The fit is so good I didn’t find it necessary to glue it into place

The straps to the Gudgeons can now be fitted to the hull.

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Where fitted over the copper plates I have painted the straps a Copper/Bronze colour to represent the cuprous alloy from which they were cast.

The bolt heads, barely noticed, are represented by spots of thick paint mix applied with the point of a  wooden cocktail stick.

The kit set-up for rudder hanging no doubt makes what can be a tricky exercise a simple operation, but there is a cost in authenticity.

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Photo from  Build manual.

It caught my eye that there is an obvious disconnect between the gudgeon straps on the sternpost which end short of the gudgeon and the pintles that fit into them.

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Adm plan detail.

The difference can be seen here, the Gudgeons  stand proud of the sternpost and the Pintle cut-outs in the rudder allow the pintle to engage with the hole in the Gudgeon.

 

Once you see it the eye is drawn to it.

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The look can be enhanced to an extent by turning the Gudgeon straps around the sternpost, and using a spot of paint just below the Pintle straps in-line with the Pintles.

 

Still a couple of things to  finish, the Spectacle plate in particular, which should fit just below the Hance.

 

 

B.E.

09/03/2025

 

Posted

That looks fantastic!! Your attention to detail is certainly inspiring, sir.

Mark

 

On the table:   Lynx, Baltimore Clipper Schooner - MANTUA - 1:62

 

Awaiting shipyard clearance: HMS Endurance - OcCre - 1:70

 

Wishlist: 1939 Chris Craft Runabout - Garrett Wade - 1:8

 

FinishedEndeavour 1934 - J Class Racing Yacht - 1:80

 

 

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen

Posted

Very nice. Only issue is given the wood nature of the pintles. I banged it and broke the rudder off resulting in my gluing the rudder back on and taping it until the end to prevent another bump and brake

Posted

Post 52

Little gem fittings (Part 1)

As a change of scene I have turned my attention to assembling the deck fittings, which are more time consuming than you may think, at least for me they are.

I start with the Winch.

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Tiny brass photo-etched parts that need blackening and which try to escape at every opportunity.

Pearwood  parts that require careful cleaning up before assembly and painting.

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The deck slots need checking for fit.

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The winch is conveniently assembled on the model following painting.

 

Capstan

Need to refer to the plan for assembly to ensure that the various sections are added in the right order.

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The Capstan is assembled on 6mm ø dowel which represents the spindle, and everything fits perfectly.

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The spindle extends down to the lower deck where the heel slots into a step. In reality the spindle tapered below deck but that’s a detail I haven’t followed on this build.

I  decided to bring out some of the detail on the drum head, by painting in the iron reinforcing ring.

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When adding the final topping piece to the Drumhead, the holes for the Capstan bar retaining pins should align with the bar mortises.

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Having assembled it, I wasn’t too keen on the engraved Drumhead  patterns, so I reversed the cap to show the plain side.

 

B.E.

13/03/2025

 

Posted

Post 53

Fittings (Part 2)

Companion Light

Immediately aft of the Companionway is the light which sits over what would be part of the Captains cabin area.

The kit item is of standard design at this period but I felt the glazed areas were little less than convincing with two small Georgian squares. These are provided without glazing so if that is desired, sections of thin acetate or perhaps one of the glazing stuff products will need to be obtained.

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I chose to modify the glazing by reference to the Adm. plan which shows a run of four rectangular panes much in the style of the Cutter Cheerful.

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I removed the broad central pillar from the frames, added thin  acetate at the rear, and inserted  bars cut from 0.6mm pear fret.

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Companionway

This cover over the aft ladderway is a common feature on smaller vessels, but is not shown on the Adm plan for Harpy, which doesn’t mean the absence of one during Harpy’s career.

It is a nicely detailed piece with hinged roof section and double doors. The sides are nicely panelled  but fitting those tiny pe hinges tested my eyesight  and dexterity to the limit.

The only puzzlement I have is what kept the lid open, it surely needed a support method which is absent from the kit.

I wanted the hatch open to give a view of the ladderway but felt that a lid at an angle without support looked odd.

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This arrangement taken from The Global Schooner by Marquardt is what I’m thinking of.

This book is also a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in ship modelling.

 

I firstly added ledges to support the lid when closed using 1mm square section.

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Wire was used to represent the supports when the lid was open.

Finally the doors were fitted another  testy little exercise featuring tiny hinges. I did try Syren handles on the doors, but felt that ring latches suited better in this case.

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When dry fitting it on deck it did strike me that this cover appears to present  a significant obstacle to working the Capstan. Perhaps that’s why the Adm. plan only shows  a ladderway that could be covered by boards or a grating.

 

 Always more questions than answers….

 

B.E.

14/03/2025

Posted (edited)

When the lid is closed, there is space for the capstan bars to go over, I checked when designing the companion - what is in your Harpy is the third iteration of that (Initially, I designed as per the plan, with not housing, just the coamings). There are numerous records of officers moaning about the fact that some deck fittings were too close to the capstan, or the ladderways being too restrictive, and suggesting they be moved...

 

ETA - I did purchase 4 plans for Harpy, with two for Diligence. My first plan was Harpy profiles, which showed stocks for swivel guns, so I assume this was one of the first drafts, just before 6-Pounder main battery with 12 x swivels were changed in favour of the much heavier broadside of 16 x 32-Pounder carronades and 2 x long gun chasers - as a later plan shows the swivel stocks removed, along with changes to the fore channel positions. (from what I remember when researching/designing this, at least...)

Edited by chris watton

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Posted

Thanks Chris, can't help these things cropping up in my mind. There is around 9ft 6 inches of space available between the capstan and the wheel and that would mean stepping over the companion light on the aft side, unless of course the light was removed  and the ladderway boarded over during use of the Capstan. There is just about enough room on the forward side before the winch becomes an issue.

 

B.E.

Posted

The drawing depicts a coaming with an inside lip as thought the companionway fits over it and might be removable, in which case a planked cover might have been put over the opening so men on the capstan didn't need to climb over the companion way or run around it.

 

What do you think?

Alan O'Neill
"only dead fish go with the flow"   :dancetl6:

Ongoing Build (31 Dec 2013) - HMS BELLEROPHON (1786), POF scratch build, scale 1:64, 74 gun 3rd rate Man of War, Arrogant Class

Member of the Model Shipwrights of Niagara, Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada (2016), and the Nautical Research Guild (since 2014)

Associate member of the Nautical Research and Model Ship Society (2021)

Offshore member of The Society of Model Shipwrights (2021)

Posted
6 minutes ago, AON said:

The drawing depicts a coaming with an inside lip as thought the companionway fits over it and might be removable, in which case a planked cover might have been put over the opening so men on the capstan didn't need to climb over the companion way or run around it.

 

What do you think?

Could well be!

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Posted

Post 54

Fittings (Part 3)

Wheel

As with other recent kits the wheel is a photo-etched assembly. Having cleaned the wheel parts it was assembled using cyano.

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It was then chemically blackened to give it some tooth, following which primer was applied.

I have been quite happy with Vanguard wheels and have not felt the desire to replace them with something more traditional.

If they have one weakness it is that the handles are invariably very fine, and susceptible to damage.

 

The stanchions for the wheel are a matched pair but given the rise in the deck towards the stern the aft stanchion should sit a tad lower to keep the barrel and wheel level.

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This distinction is clearly shown on the Adm plan.

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I took 1mm from the bottom of the aft stanchion to bring the wheel level.

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The wheel needs a lot of cleaning up but I wanted to get the set on the deck correct first.

 

Closely associated with the Wheel is the Binnacle.

In this case a single compass cabinet, pretty little thing, but a couple of questions do come to mind.🤔

 

There is a centrally located chimney, presumably relating to the internal lamp used to light compass cabinets at night, but where would the lantern be? Such lamps were usually in a separate compartment with a glazed  screen separating it from the compass.(s)

 

The placement of this Binnacle between wheel stanchion and skylight would effectively block any view of the compass by the Helmsman.

The kit arrangement shows the open section facing forward, a position that would also not afford the Helmsman a view.

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With a single compass cabinet it would make sense for the Binnacle to be offset to port or starboard. With smaller cabinets is it likely there would be two, one each side of the wheel.

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In assembling the cabinet I glazed the compass section using acetate, and re-made the top sans the chimney hole.

I do like this Bijou Binnacle but I would set it slightly outside of the wheel, glazed side facing the wheel.

With this set-up it would be nice if the kit had two binnacles.

 

Purely out of curiosity I ordered a Pearwood double Binnacle at the princely sum of £2.80 just to see if I preferred it.

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A bit of basic fettlin’ – blocking off the central section where the lamp would be, glazing the compass compartments with acetate, and filling in the viewing panels on the forward side.

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Even with this arrangement the cabinet is so close to the wheel that there is barely a view of the compasses.

 

On balance I think I like the single cabinet look better, but would have preferred to have two.

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This particular figure from the Vanguard collection does pass muster as a helmsman, and I may well use him as a scale indicator.

 

 

B.E.

15/03/2025

Posted

Just caught up with your log BE, really well done as per your usual fine quality of work.  Looks like a fantastic kit!

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  CLC Annapolis Wherry

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

Posted
20 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Looks like a fantastic kit!

 

It most certainly does and BE, you are doing it justice sir.

Mark

 

On the table:   Lynx, Baltimore Clipper Schooner - MANTUA - 1:62

 

Awaiting shipyard clearance: HMS Endurance - OcCre - 1:70

 

Wishlist: 1939 Chris Craft Runabout - Garrett Wade - 1:8

 

FinishedEndeavour 1934 - J Class Racing Yacht - 1:80

 

 

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen

Posted (edited)

The contract of the Arrogant class 74's of the late 1700's reads:  "square at the head 1 feet 11 inches" ... "and from thence to begin its tapering to 0 feet 12-1/2 inches as before observed, that the main keel is to be wrought at that place".

 

They we very lax back then, posting the name and location of the whole fleet in the newspapers. They did stop putting the names on the sterns of the ships but I'm not certain when this was implemented.... 19th century?

 

 

Edited by AON

Alan O'Neill
"only dead fish go with the flow"   :dancetl6:

Ongoing Build (31 Dec 2013) - HMS BELLEROPHON (1786), POF scratch build, scale 1:64, 74 gun 3rd rate Man of War, Arrogant Class

Member of the Model Shipwrights of Niagara, Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada (2016), and the Nautical Research Guild (since 2014)

Associate member of the Nautical Research and Model Ship Society (2021)

Offshore member of The Society of Model Shipwrights (2021)

Posted

Post 55

The hull is inverted  to re-check the plates, a couple were replaced where they had been marked. Once the deck fittings are in place inverting the hull becomes more difficult.

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The plates remain as supplied, apart from cleaning with acetone they have not further been cleaned up. On balance I prefer the look as is, rather than either scrubbed bright, or patinated.

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I don’t know what surface coating was originally given to the plates to give that sea scoured pinkish look, or whether it will eventually patinate over time.

Protective coats

I had it in mind to fit a Rudder coat  and an inverted hull gives the best position to attend to the job.

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I last fitted a Rudder coat on my Cutter Alert build and I think Harpy really needs one too. That gaping hole leading directly thro’ the deck would obviously need sealing.

Rudder coats are a tricky item to make and I detailed my approach on the Alert build.

There is a fair bit of trial and error involved here.

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Once the coat has been fitted there is still the opportunity to tweak it. Here I’ve added strips of modelling paste to increase the impression of looseness and small folds in the ‘canvas’ material.

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Maybe a little more tweaking, but that can be done with the hull upright.

 

With the hull the right way up there is still work to do.

There is a sort of helm housing included as part of the kit, but it leaves the area around the rudder head open thro’ to the rudder head opening in the lower counter.

There is something of sorts shown on the  Adm. plans but the detail is quite vague.

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Chris has had a punt of what it may look like and I’ve had a punt further by adding a Helmcoat. These are common fittings around the rudder head on open decks, where the rudder is cut thro' the counter.

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I did find that I had to sand down the bottom of the helm box a little to allow free movement of the tiller.

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For the coat I simply used microporous tape which gives a good  impression of tarred canvas.

 

B.E.

17/03/2025

Posted

Post 56

A general clean-up session

A time consuming exercise of sanding, masking, varnishing, painting, and re-painting of the exterior hull.

The wale is re-painted and further coats of  W-O-P  applied to the Topsides.

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Once dry, the tedious  task of cleaning up and painting the insides of the Gunports and  sweep ports beckons.

 

To line or not to line, at least the Gunport cills,  my main concern here is to avoid seeing the layered effect of the three sections that make up the bulwark.

On my build there were in places a slight difference in height between the outer cill level and the inner spirketting level at the gunport.

To file them completely flush would result in the spirketting dipping down across the gunports, not a good look, but the effect would be largely be covered by the Carronades.

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I used a very fine filler to smooth across the cill line, before painting.

A case of fill and sand until the desired effect is achieved.

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I’m pleased that this aspect of the build has been completed, but as always touch-ins will be required and ongoing right up to completion.

 

Looking better now to my eye, but I’m thinking about lightening the Topsides colour to reflect a more traditional ochre look.

I will have a play around with various finishes on  spare Pearwood.

 

B.E.

19/03/2025

 

Posted
5 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

I will have a play around with various finishes on  spare Pearwood.

 

That is a good call. It would be a disaster to ruin this beautiful piece with a slight slip of the brush so to speak 😉

Mark

 

On the table:   Lynx, Baltimore Clipper Schooner - MANTUA - 1:62

 

Awaiting shipyard clearance: HMS Endurance - OcCre - 1:70

 

Wishlist: 1939 Chris Craft Runabout - Garrett Wade - 1:8

 

FinishedEndeavour 1934 - J Class Racing Yacht - 1:80

 

 

Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen

Posted

Post 57

Fittings (Part 4)

There is a neat Fore platform at the bow of Harpy complete with gratings and access steps.

Cut from 0.8mm pear the base frame is a delicate piece, mine had broken into three pieces before I even cut it from the fret.

I took the pre-caution of  tracing all the pieces onto card to create a template to check the fit before messing with the actual pieces.

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I seemed to have a lot of trouble with this seemingly simple addition. Apart from needing some tweaking to get a good close fit to the bow timbers, several of the grating sections fell out which presents  a tricky repair job as the grating is integral to the piece.

I did manage it after some time having cannibalised a scrap grating piece.

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The four replaced sections are just to the right of the stem.

 

Waterway

These are not represented  by kit parts but would fit beneath the spirketting if worked up from scratch.

I do usually represent these on models using a small quadrant piece glued against the spirketting, and pierced with the scuppers.

I use 1.5mm Boxwood square stock for the purpose, shaved down using a scalpel blade to form the quadrant.

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As I suspected, even a waterway of 1.5mm impacted on the limited deck space to support the carronades, making it necessary to add additional deck sections to avoid the rear trucks looking as if they were  about to drop off the edge.

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Five scuppers are placed along the hull and because of the scale the lead flanges are represented by paint.

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Don’t quite know why my old Pentax Bridge camera is showing a lurid pink/purple shade to the ochre paintwork on some photos, but suffice to say it is not representative of the true effect.

Onwards,

 

B.E.

22/03/2025

 

Posted
1 hour ago, Blue Ensign said:

Don’t quite know why my old Pentax Bridge camera is showing a lurid pink/purple shade to the ochre paintwork on some photos, but suffice to say it is not representative of the true effect.

The waterway looks great and should be represented with this detailed model: I also add them and pierce for the scuppers.

 

I have a suggestion on the color problem: try doing a "white balance" with your camera. Your camera's software should allow this adjustment. You'll basically have your camera's sensor look at a "white" (or Gray) card and you'll make subsequent adjustments to correct for the tone it shows you. You can also Google this term. A number of options will explain what can be done to correct your camera's output. Pentax also should have directions available.

 

 

 

Ron

Director, Nautical Research Guild

Secretary/Newsletter Editor, Philadelphia Ship Model Society

Former Member/Secretary for the Connecticut Marine Model Society

 

Current Build: HM Gunbrig Cracker #13 (HM Adder Gunbrig)

Completed Builds: Grace & Peace (Wyoming, 6-masted Schooner), HMS GrecianHMS Sphinx (as HMS CamillaOngakuka Maru, (Higaki Kaisen, It Takes A Village), Le Tigre Privateer, HMS Swan, HMS Godspeed, HMS Ardent, HMS Diana, Russian brig Mercury, Elizabethan Warship Revenge, Xebec Syf'Allah, USF Confederacy, HMS Granado, USS Brig Syren

 

Posted

I just got caught up after being away for a bit. Your build is really a joy to follow! :) 

Rusty

"So Long For Now" B) 

 

Current Builds: Speedwell

 

 

Completed Build Logs:  HMS Winchelsea 1/48   Duchess of Kingston USF Confederacy , US Brig Syren , Triton Cross Section , Bomb Vessel Cross SectionCutter CheerfulQueen Anne Barge, Medway Longboat

 

Completed Build Gallery: Brig Syren , 1870 Mississippi Riverboat , 1949 Chris-Craft 19' Runabout

 

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