HMS Pegasus 1776 by Trussben - 1:48 - Swan-class sloop based on TFFM

[dvm27]

Those are tricky little timbers! A bracing piece inside the hull between the cants and outer counter timber (at the toptimber line) is indeed the way to go. I left the fillers quite full and faired them in place.

[druxey]

Good advice, Greg.

[Trussben]

So here is the counter timbers, fillers and QB light port completed and rough faired inside and out.

I also added some thick batterns internally to help support this framing.

 

ben

[albert]

Hi Ben, great beautiful work, bravo.

[druxey]

Looks terrific, Ben!

[dvm27]

Brilliant, Ben! So, are you going to carve those beautiful toptimber profiles in place or fake them by adding them later (as most of us have done). If you are doing the latter I'd recommend removing them now as its much easier to get a fair toptimber line without them.

[gjdale]

Lovely work Ben.

[Trussben]

Thanks for the likes and comments.

 

Greg, I will proberbly be following the rest of you and cut them off as I'm going to plank both sides from the wales up.

 

ben

[BANYAN]

Really nice work there Ben, even roughly faired the finish looks great.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Trussben]

In preparation for marking out and installing the main wales, I made my own external planking layout in CAD using information from TFFM, Pegasus side draft and the planking expansion of Hornet 1776 from NMM that I managed to get a copy of ( ZAZ5119 ).

A word of caution to others using the Hornet plan - it is badly out of scale and distorted - but it's fine for general layout concept.

 

ben

 

Edited October 22, 2017 by Trussben

[Rustyj]

Very nicely done Ben. Great idea on the planking layout too!

[druxey]

Very nicely done, Ben. I'd suggest moving that one plank butt a little aft away from the supper almost above it.

[Trussben]

Hmm, I see what you mean Druxey, the water coming out of the scupper could cause rot at the butt joint below it, maybe move it back one frame would be enough you think? That would then make it about 18 inches aft of the scupper.

[druxey]

Exactly, Ben. That would take care of the problem nicely.

[Trussben]

Work on the main Wales is underway, I’ve decided to put one strake of Holly below the Wales,  and Boxwood planking above. I’m hoping it ‘pops’ the way I want.

 

ben

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Trussben

[MEDDO]

Contrasting colors look very nice Ben. 

[BANYAN]

The contrast really makes the wales pop Ben; nice work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[gjdale]

I think your hopes have been answered Ben!

[Landlocked123]

Hi Ben,

 

I’ve been lurking throughout your build and think that the Pegasus is turning out to a beautiful and fantastic model ship, especially given the trials and tribulations you’ve gone through. The Wales look great and your idea of the holly and boxwood really does make them “pop”.  Are the wales ebony or did you dye or paint them in some way.  Would you please share your process, in the picture they look a deep, dark, and even black.

 

Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

Best,

John

[Trussben]

Hi, and thanks for all the likes and comments.

 

John, the Wales are in Top and Butt style and made out of Swiss pear just like the hull framing and then dyed black using Fiebigs black leather dye with several coats. Between coats I used a scraper to smooth them and a fine sandpaper to create a fine black dust which gets forced into any tiny gaps between the planking - this was finally buffed with a soft cloth, then 4 coats of Watcos oil was applied and then also buffed to give a deep luster.

This makes the planking seams almost disappear until you get up real close.

The problem using dye is that it can bleed into other areas ( framing ) and you have to be careful with its application. I didn’t use ebony as it’s very hard and brittle and doesn’t bend well at all, I have a load of ebony on my wood rack but will just use it for small or straight pieces for highlights or small pieces.

 

Hope that helps

 

ben

 

[Landlocked123]

Thanks Ben,

 

I’ve about the use of Fiebigs in the past.  How do you keep from bleeding during application.  I would imagine that the 4 coats Watco will prevent any future bleeding

 

Thanks,

John

 

[Trussben]

John,

 

i used a few different ways to avoid the bleeding of the dye into unwanted areas. First I use a sharp blade to score the surface of the limit of where the dye can get to which creates stop line.

Also I use some good quality masking tape ( tamiya ) at the edge and then again some normal blue painters tape in the surrounding areas.

 

ben

[Landlocked123]

Thanks again. J.

 

[druxey]

Don't rely 100% on masking tape to prevent bleeding of dye! For wales, I dye them before applying other planking. To dye to a line (for instance on a mast), I cut a stop-line in the wood with a new scalpel blade. This prevents wicking of dye through the end grain to where I don't want it. Practice on scrap to see this simple but effective technique.

[dvm27]

Like David, I do my dye work off the model whenever possible. However, my wales have been a bit beaten up and need refinishing on the model. I will use both scores and tape when reapplying and mask off everything else. I treat Fiebigs dye like it was toxic. One errant drop could destroy months of work.

[AON]

These are the tips I snip and paste into my reference library.

When I ever get to this stage I'd never remember them!

Thank you.

[tlevine]

Beautiful work.  When I was deciding how to color my wales I tried using the dye and did the cost:benefit analysis.  It looks great but one mistake and the damage is irreparable.  I used Chuck's suggestion and painted the wale with several (4 or 5 as I recall) thin coats of acrylic paint, sanding or scraping between each coat.  This is a lot easier to touch up from the inevitable bumps and bruises.  

[MEDDO]

Nerves of steel.  I can't imagine messing up so much work with just a single shake of the hand.  I guess you can cover some of it with another row of planking.  

[Trussben]

Hi,

 

The pictures show installation of the limber strakes next to the Keelson has begun. These strakes have a rebate set into them that was cut using the Byrnes saw, they are 12 inches wide and 4.5 thick and are made out of boxwood.

 

The Kelson has also had its copper bolts installed as per TFFM and they are awaiting blackening with LOS.

 

ben

Edited November 18, 2017 by Trussben

[albert]

Hi Ben is a real pleasure to follow your job clean and accurate, good continuation