HM Brig-Sloop Speedy by Stuka - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Stuka]

Back on the horse

This is the 2023 special version of Vanguards Speedy which comes with some extras as copper plates and machined walnut blocks which look very nice so I hope my rigging can do them justice. 

Here are some photos from the content in the box, Now my workspace is limited so I couldnt fit all the material but here is most of it.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we have the fittings 

 

 

 

 

The machined walnut blocks is another world apart from the normal blocks like that I got on the Sherbourne so im very happy about them. Entering this kit I now know how much time goes into just a little rigging and two ratlines. Therefore im sort of dreading it when I will eventually have to attach all the rigging on this one I suspect it will be quite a challange one which I hopefully can tackle. 

Now onto the building

[Stuka]

Assembling bulkheads is the first order of the day 

[Stuka]

Well one thing led to the next and suddenly I have assembled alot of bulkheads along with supporting bulk/ deck beams.  I also glued on the lower deck.   

 

So far the Speedy is much bulkier than my Sherbourne and it keeps getting bigger. Not even all the bulkheads are attached yet so it will be exciting to see how big it becomes in comparasion.

[Stuka]

So Today I glued on the false upper deck. This was fairly straightforward although with alot of caution taken.  I dryfitted the falsedeck around 3 times and I sanded the bulkhead ears where I saw resistance when I tried to dryfit the deck. Then I glued on and went for it pressing slowly on the points of tension with my thumbs carefully as to not break anything.  It went pretty good I would say even though I did get some tiny "woodskin" that started to peel off in one spot close to the aft by one bulkhead.

 


The damage in question very minor and no cracks or anything in the deck

 

 

Before all this when I was brushing diluted PVA on the lower deck. I noticed this area that is discoloured and I might be overthinking this but since im not that experienced in wood. This isnt any rot or something that can spread right? You cant see a trace of it on the upper side of the lower deck so it seems small. 



 

Other than that smooth building so far 👍

[Ronald-V]

Good luck on your new journey, and have fun!  

[Stuka]

5 minutes ago, Ronald-V said:

Good luck on your new journey, and have fun!  

Thank you Ronald and good luck with your Sphinx!

[Stuka]

Hello, Im currently trying to mend my inner bulwark that I glued on arpund a 1 week ago. In certain areas its not completely flush with the hull so im thinking of solutions like extra PVA or even filler. The few gaps there are are very small but I hope they wont pose a serious problem. 

 

Getting the pattern seated with the indicator line for the deck proved a little challenging as everytime it was correct with the deck the bulwark was off by the stern for example. But eventually I got it on.  

 

Think from here I will use wood filler and then advance to planking as im not really sure pulling off the bulwark pattern and redoing it would be of any real change besides maybe just offering an oppurtinity for me to maybe break the part by mistake haha. But if anybody with more experience think I should redo it I will consider it.

 

Other than this smooth progress but slow due to my work schedule. 

Edited May 16 by Stuka

[Stuka]

Hello 

Been quite busy lately im afraid, But hopefully things will settle down now for some time so I can get some progress going which have been lacking im afraid.  

I just sanded the remaining bulkheads and got my tick strip ready so im starting to measure the bulkhead lengths which im writing up as I go. Even though I have done one planked model now before I still get confused with where I should stop measuring the length for the stem (Bulkhead 1) area aswell as the stern one (Bulkhead 16). 

 

Marked in yellow I have the bulkheads themselves marked. The red area represents my confusion as if I should account for this area when tapering the plank widths or if I should just focus on the bulkheads themselves.? 

I was afterall hoping to read up some more before starting to plank this one as I would want it to become somewhat better than my Sherbourne. Most importantly I also want to better understand all the variables one should consider with the measurements for plank width on each bulkhead. 

Anyways plan is otherwise to now measure all the bulkheads and find out where the plank width decreases drastically compared to the full length one at 80mm (16 planks). From there I will taper the planks accordingly. I might also put up tickmarks on each bulkhead but since im unsure of how to measure the stern/stem as I previously stated I feel I dont yet understand it completely.

 

[Craigie65]

Hi Robin,

I have the same difficulty with these bulkheads.  

For the stern the planking runs all the way to the keel, so for bulkheads 13 and 14 the measured length includes the area to the keel.  For bulkheads 15 and 16 these only have a few planks running from bulkhead 14. Therefore I just use the plank width measured at bulkhead 14.  You may need a stealer in this area.

 

For the bow, the 1st bulkhead is usually similar to number 2.  I think of it as part of a sphere with bulkhead 1 at 90 degrees to bulkhead 2.  

 

Hope that helps!

 

good luck 

[Stuka]

28 minutes ago, Craigie65 said:

Hi Robin,

I have the same difficulty with these bulkheads.  

For the stern the planking runs all the way to the keel, so for bulkheads 13 and 14 the measured length includes the area to the keel.  For bulkheads 15 and 16 these only have a few planks running from bulkhead 14. Therefore I just use the plank width measured at bulkhead 14.  You may need a stealer in this area.

 

For the bow, the 1st bulkhead is usually similar to number 2.  I think of it as part of a sphere with bulkhead 1 at 90 degrees to bulkhead 2.  

 

Hope that helps!

 

good luck 

 

 

Thanks alot Craig for the advice, It clears up alot of my thoughts. I think I will just go at it even though I might have to compensate with some stealers.  Makes me wonder how people plan out their planking with the use of no stealers.

[Craigie65]

As for stealer, the trick is to have additional planks that are wider than those provided in the kit.  You can then have a wider plank at the stern. I have a stock of pear strips from Hobbymill.EU.  The owner, Vahur is a sponsor of this site.  Worth a look if you are going to build more?

[Stuka]

I will look into it. Thanks for the advice again Craig.

 

I will probably keep building as I see it now. But I dont have as much time on my hands. And I got other interests in modeltrains too. 

Edited 23 hours ago by Stuka

[Stuka]

First pair of planks on,  I used the plank taper suggested by Craig. And then I will probably use stealers to balance eventual gaps on the stern/stem.

 

This gap has me worried and its caused to my knowledge by my lack of sanding on the bulwark ears causing the pattern to stick out somewhat.  Had some ideas to counter it as getting some wood filler on the bulkheads most affected by this gap. But it didnt turn out to well for me so instead i will just sand and use woodfiller and hopefully cover some of it in the second planking layer.