HMS Grecian 1812 by Glenn-UK - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[Knocklouder]

My thoughts and prayers my friend, 

Bob M.

[ECK]

Keeping you and your wife in our prayers

[Craigie65]

Glenn

My thoughts and prayers are with you, your wife and family.

Good luck with your fundraising.

[chris watton]

Sorry to read this, Glenn, you have our thoughts and prayers.

[KBo]

Having been through this with my wife, fortunately successfully, my thoughts are with you and your family. 

[glbarlow]

Best wishes to you and your wife Glenn

[Glenn-UK]

Thank you for all the messages of support, they are all greatly appreciated.

[Craigie65]

Glenn,

For those of us who don’t use Facebook, do you have a link to a Justgiving page?

[Glenn-UK]

Just a quick update before we travel to yet another hospital appointment.

 

I have completed the second planking on the right hand side. For the most part I am happy with the end result. I did have some acetone on hand as the planks were glued in place to wipe away any excess.

As can be seen in the next photo I did not follow the correct method for planking around the bow but as the hull will be painted and copper plated it does not really matter for this build. I did find it necessary to laterally bend the tapered planks to get a good fit.

I did add some steelers when planking the stern. 

The left hand side is nearly complete and hopefully I will be able to complete this the next time I am in the shipyard. I did manage to release and reset the plank mentioned previously.

 

Edited October 7 by Glenn-UK

[Glenn-UK]

5 hours ago, Craigie65 said:

Glenn,

For those of us who don’t use Facebook, do you have a link to a Justgiving page?

Hello Craig

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/glenns-giving-page-185

 

Thanks

Glenn

[Glenn-UK]

As I work towards completing the left hand side second planking I thought I would share how I go about adding a steeler.

 

With the plank in place I make a mark where it starts to drift away from the next plank. This is shown in the photo below. I also aim to have a full plank width space at the stern post and you will note I have also made a pencil mark on the hull near the stern post.

I then cut away the excess material from the plank. The objective is to have about a taper that goes from about half a planks width to a full planks with. I think the next photo will help to clarify that description.

Next I make the steeler and check its fit before progressing further.

Once I am happy with the fit I will then glue the steeler in place. Doing this ensures I have the right space set at the stern post for the plank when fitted.

The plank is then glued in place and all looks good. You will note I did not do such a good job this time around as I found it necessary to add a small filler piece.

I use a very simple method when laterally bending the bow planks. I dip the plank in some water and then clamp it to my workbench. A hairdryer is then used to blow hot air on the plank to remove the water and to retain the curve.

Once the water has been removed by the hairdryer I am left with a nicely curved plank. The curve, if necessary. can be adjusted but with experience I have found I am now usually able to judge the required bend first time around.

 

The left hand side second planking is now complete.

The completed hull is now ready to be sanded (and filled) prior to painting and adding the copper plating.

[Glenn-UK]

I have been working steadily on the Grecian build over the last few days but unfortunately I have not been taking many photo's.

 

I have now completed the following tasks:

a) The hull has been sanded smooth and painted.

b) The wales have been added.

c) The two rear cabins have been added.

d) The outer stern counter pattern has been added

e) The lower counter rails  have been added

f) The stern board (main and top) patterns have been added.

 

I have gone against the build  manual / prototype and opted to paint the inner bulwarks blue rather than green. I have also added a copper paint base below the water line. I will be fitting copper plates rather than using the kit supplied copper tape. The copper plates have been ordered and should arrive later this week.

 

The following photo shows the current build statis

Next is a picture of the rear cabins. I now wish I had not painted the outer surround of the cabin doors black but it is not a show stopper. I do like the red infill I added to the tiller housing front panel however.

I have also test fitted the tiller housing canopy. The cleats have also been added to the inner bulwarks.

Next is a picture of the stern. I am not totally happy with the joins between the various parts, but in the great scheme of the build this aspect will not really be visible when the model is completed. Also there is an outer pattern to add to the stern main board which will make thing look better, once fitted.

Next is a photo showing the internal colour scheme.

Finally I have tested fitted the channels and pin racks.

[Glenn-UK]

The hawse pattern, complete with bolster has now been painted and fitted.

I am trying out some different belaying pins which are the same size of the PE belaying pins supplied with the kit, see photo below. They also fit in the locating holes provided on the kit supplied belay pin racks without any modification. The real test will come when rigging lines are belayed to these pins to see if they are strong enough. If not I can revert back to the kit supplied pins.

The belaying racks, 3 per side, have now been glued in place and I do really like the look of the belaying pins.

The shot garland racks have also been glued in place, four per side,  along with the cleats. 

Next the channels were painted and test fitted. I plan to glue these parts in place after the hull has been copper plated.

Next it was time to start adding the various eyebolts required for the cannons and carronades.

 

Finally, in preparation for starting the copper plating I have used a template to get the best fit for the stern post plates.

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Whilst I wait for the copper plates to arrive I have moved on to the masts and bowsprit.

 

The first task was to assemble the two cross trees, as shown below.

Next I started work on the bowsprit. After cutting the dowel to length it was a case of making sure it fits.

 After the end cap and bees were added I then used my mini lathe to taper jibboom and flying jibboom. I also made a notch on the top of the jibboom ready for the lashing. All looks goods when they were test fitted.

Two pairs of cleats were then added to the bowsprit. In the photo below the locating pin for the jibboom can also be seen.

Finally the end sections of the bowsprit and jibboom were painted black.

I will cover the detail with regards to adding the various rigging items (deadeye and thimbles) in a future post. The dolphin striker also will be added.

[Glenn-UK]

I will not be doing much more on this build for the foreseeable future as I will undertaking a commission build (for my daughter-in law) of Duchess of Kingston, when the kit I have ordered arrives from Vanguard Models. I will start a build log for the new build once the kit has arrived.

 

The following is an update on my Grecian progress.

 

Copper plating has been completed. I have not made a great job of it, especially around the bow.

With the copper plating completed I then added the previously built deck items.

 

I really like the look of the Syren belaying pins but I am concerned they may break when securing rigging to them as I have already broken a few.

 

The companionway, binnacle and ships wheel rigging have been added.

 

The cannons and carronades have only be placed on the deck in the following photos as I still deciding on the armament arrangement for my build. At the moment will probably go with the arrangement shown in the ensuring photos.

My next task will be to add the cannon balls to the racks and to add the deadeyes / strops & chainplates to the channels. I will also add the hawse rope and anchors before moving on to the DOK build. I also plan to make the main and fore masts (if time permits), as I have already made the crosstrees for them. Plus I have also built the bowsprit, jibboom and flying jibboom.

[palmerit]

Did you - will you - put something along the top raw cut end of the copper plates? I've seen various approaches - leaving it raw, add a rope along the edge, cut a thin strip of copper alone the edge.

Edited Wednesday at 06:32 PM by palmerit

[Glenn-UK]

52 minutes ago, palmerit said:

Did you - will you - put something along the top raw cut end of the copper plates? I've seen various approaches - leaving it raw, add a rope along the edge, cut a thin strip of copper alone the edge.

That would be my intention however this build is now on the back burner as I have a new commission build which I am eager to start. I am happy that the Grecian sad it stands will be ready for mast/yard/rigging if or when I have time to return to the build.

[ECK]

The Duchess is a sweet build, if you had built it before.

 

[Glenn-UK]

Just now, ECK said:

The Duchess is a sweet build, if you had built it before.

 

It is a beautiful model. My daughter-in-law has always admired the one I built a while ago so I am now going to build one for her.

[jfsmith1222]

Hi Glenn,

 

i haven’t been active on the forum for many years, but I started the Grecian in August as my second build; the first was the Model Shipways Armed Virginia Sloop.  I have admired the Baltimore Clippers looks and the Grecian, for me, is a representation of the evolution of the design between the middle to late 1700s and the War of 1812.

 

I’m really enjoying the build and especially the new techniques for the framework of the model; Chris Watton is a genius.  The Duchess of Kingston is calling my name, too.

 

So sorry to hear about your wife’s cancer.  My wife and I have been struggling with similar health issues for a couple of years now; it ain’t easy, is it?  You and your wife will be in our prayers.

 

Best Regards, 

John

[Glenn-UK]

20 minutes ago, jfsmith1222 said:

So sorry to hear about your wife’s cancer.  My wife and I have been struggling with similar health issues for a couple of years now; it ain’t easy, is it?  You and your wife will be in our prayers.

 

Best Regards, 

John

Thanks John

[Glenn-UK]

This will be my last post for the foreseeable future as the Duchess of Kingston kit is currently out for delivery. My daughter-in-law as always admired the first Duchess of Kingston model I built and was very pleased when I offered to build a new one for her. I have started a build log for the new build, just click on the hyperlink above to view (and follow).

 

The first photo shows the current build status. It is a good place to stop this project as the next phase will be rigging.

The next photo show the deck items, the armaments have now been fixed in place.

The next photo shows the small cutter in situ.

In the end I opted to fit 6 carronades, 3 per side, 2 at stern and 1 at the bow. The photo show the stern carronades in place, with the external base fitted beneath the gun port.

The final two photos show the fore and main mast. I ran out of the Syren belaying pins.