HMS Snake by Beef Wellington - FINISHED - Caldercraft - Scale 1: 64 - First wooden ship build

[mort stoll]

Happy Birthday. May you have many many more.

 

Mort

[trippwj]

Best wishes on yiur birthday, Jason!

[ModelBoatMaker]

You can see in the picture below how even after fitting these, the bow grating does not lie correctly and would interfere with the bowsprit, simple adjustment to make but required a lot of dry fitting with the appropriate parts to get it to look right...

Hi Jason , please could you explain the adjustment you talk about above. Is it simply a matter of enlarging the slots or do you have the trim the vertical supporting parts to allow the bowsprit to fit?

[Beef Wellington]

Hi Jason , please could you explain the adjustment you talk about above. Is it simply a matter of enlarging the slots or do you have the trim the vertical supporting parts to allow the bowsprit to fit?

 

I think this picture at link below best illustrates it and attempts to explain.  I found the slots needed to be enlarged to the rear only , don't think any adjustment is needed to the other parts.  Hope this helps.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/509-hms-snake-by-beef-wellington-caldercraft-scale-1-64-first-wooden-ship-build/page-8#entry35607

[ModelBoatMaker]

I think this picture at link below best illustrates it and attempts to explain.  I found the slots needed to be enlarged to the rear only , don't think any adjustment is needed to the other parts.  Hope this helps.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/509-hms-snake-by-beef-wellington-caldercraft-scale-1-64-first-wooden-ship-build/page-8#entry35607

Did you not trim the aft of the bow grating (60) , as you can see in my photos below the gammoning slots in the grating do not match with the stem in the slightest ( unlike yours which is only 1-2mm out), and the forward head rail frame blocks the front of the gammoning slot in the bow grating. Although you might not have adjusted any other parts on you snake, do you think I need to adjust mine so that the bow grating sits further back??

 

Thanks for you help!!

 

Pete

[j21896]

Hi Jason,

 

Just checking in after a bit of an absence.  Everything is looking absolutely top notch!  She's coming along beautifully.

 

Cheers,

Robert

[Beef Wellington]

do you think I need to adjust mine so that the bow grating sits further back??

 

Pete - I'd suggest dryfitting with the "Bow Upper Railing" (Part 58) to determine the fitting, these need a little shaping/sizing.  Given these need to meet at the bow, fit the sides of the grating and join the hull correctly I used these to determine the placement of the grating first as this seemed most important, and once that was done then figured out the gammoning slot placement.  From memory, what you are showing looks similar to what mine did, I may have taken a sliver off of the rear of the grating for fine tuning but no major shaping.

 

I did adjust the height of the Bow Head Rails as described in my log to get all the various alignments where I felt they should go and to allow the bowsprit to fit.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Beef Wellington]

Its only a small update, but its the only one I have.  I seem to have got bogged down in the chains, not sure whether I'm obsessing too much or just not getting enough time in one sitting to get in the right frame of reference and get it done because these are proving really fiddly.  To try to get the right line of the chains I used the plans to estimate the heights of the various stays/shrouds and marked on tape on the hull.  One item I may have miscalculated, I realized a little late that perhaps the deadeyes should slope inwards a little more rather than sitting almost vertical on the channels.  I'm hoping this won't  be too obvious as I'm not sure I have the appetite to change, its hard to see on photos of other builds.  Starboard side done, larboard about 50%.

 

Photos are pretty self explanatory.

 

Edited July 2, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Ferit]

Great work Jason, harmony in all as usual...

May I ask a question?

Under the forecastle deck there is the frontmost cannon. But is there enough height for the crew to fire it easily? Proportionally to the height of the forecastle deck on your model, which height has the original ship's? I asked this because I would like to learn the accuracy of the Caldercraft's plans. Thanks...

[realworkingsailor]

Don't know why you're obsessing... looks fine. I wouldn't worry too much about the inward angle of the deadeyes. Once you add the shrouds and lanyards, they'll tend to pull themselves a little into line anyway. You won't (shouldn't) notice it.

 

Andy

[Beef Wellington]

Ferit - the front port under the deck is a bridleport and would not have had a cannon mounted there.  The front and aft "decks" are really just platforms as they are probably about half height of a typical deck.  The original design did not have them, and I suspect they were added to provide some additional protection and functionality.  I can't really comment on the plans with 100% confidence, but comparing them to the drafts on the NMM site (HMS Cruizer and HMS Bellette/Gannet are available) they seem pretty much in line.  Where the plans are a little deficient is in the detailing (ladder size, chain placement) but I none of these present any huge problem, just a bit of thinking.  Once I realized that the plans were not 100% accurate I felt much better just working the pieces in a way that felt like it made sense.

 

Andy - I'm sure you're right, my main struggle has been with the closure of the deadeyes metal strops on the chain as these tend to pop out if forced (the gap is right at the bottom of the strop, soldering just didn't work for me).  It took a lot of time to make the chains so they were the correct length, the result is that there is a variable amount of play in them.  My main challenge is I never seem to get more than 15mins at a time to work on her so getting 'into the zone' is a challenge.  Your Pegasus continues to look better and better by the way

[Ferit]

Thank you for the info Jason...

I learned a lot of things at MSW but I am still at the beginning, a drop in the ocean...

[hamilton]

Looks amazing Jason!

hamilton

[Beef Wellington]

Hamilton - appreciate the support and kind comment, your Blandford is looking great as well!

 

Finally managed to get a good few hours in today and managed to get the channels and chains close to completion, only some final sanding and another coat of paint needed.

 

As I've mentioned, I was a little wary of the deadeye strops coming off the chains when I get to rig the shrouds.  To hopefully make this a bit more secure I used some epoxy in the channel slots.

 

Once all done, the instructions say to use 1.5x1.5mm strip to close the channels, only problem is that the channels are 2mm thick, so I decided to cut my own to be 2x1.5mm.  Think it looks more in keeping.

 

Onto something else...

 

Edited July 5, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Sjors]

Jason,

 

That looks very neat !

Great job on the channels.

Nice in line...

 

[ZyXuz]

She looks great, Jason

I too added some epoxy on the channel slot, and they are well secured

[Beef Wellington]

Sjors, ZyXuz - appreciate your interest and support

 

The carronade assembly line is in high gear, and have made some tweaks to my guinea pig carronade (v3) which I hope to replicate, apologize for yet more carronade pics...

 

1 - breaching rope hole made using 20 gauge wire - not called for in instructions but seems pretty ubiquitous

2 - added training tackle eyebolts which are also not identified in the instructions - although I will not rig training tackles as I think it could be too 'busy'

3 - added some wheels to the trunnion which seems more authentic, and it also help align the angle of the base with the camber of the deck.  I thought about trying to use the white metal parts supplied but they proved to be too high.  In the end, I used some small slices of the supplied 2mm dowel and cut in half for the wheels

4 - handles added to the elevation screw base - I used a some of the small brass etch eyebolts and cut the head off, seams a nice match, the Caldercraft supplied wire is steel colour.  Decided to leave the elevation screw brass coloured, should mellow a little with age

 

 

If anyone has any other suggested improvements would love to hear them.

 

Edited July 8, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Blue Ensign]

Very nice job on the carronade Jason

 

B.E.

[Sjors]

That looks really great!

Great job Jason !

 

[Ferit]

Hi Jason,

Nice, precise, clean as usual...

"If anyone has any other suggested improvements would love to hear them." My suggestion after this sentence (my apologizes):

If you decided to leave the elevation screw brass coloured, should mellow a little with age; may the area which is out of the working section of the screw through the carronade be more darker because these bottom and top areas remain unrubbed?

Edited July 8, 2013 by ashiponthehorizon

[hamilton]

I'll simply echo the other comments here - great work. I'm with Ferit on the elevation screw...of course there may be historical reasons for leaving it with the brass finish - I'm certainly no expert! Anyway - keep up the great work! And thanks for sharing

hamilton

[Beef Wellington]

BE, Sjors, cheers!

 

Ferit/Hamilton - thanks for kind words and taking time to help me think it through.  Some commentary from DFellingham who has been doing a lot of reading on Cruiser class history helped my thinking - it seems that the elevation screws were one of those things that certain captains would have kept 'bright', requiring constant polishing, which is apparently noted in some of the ships logs - I wonder if there is an argument that it was considered 'maintenance of the mechanism'.  There is some contemporary evidence in the modern photo below as well.  Its all personal taste really, but something on the deck that's not black or red might be a refreshing touch.

 

http://modelshipworld.com/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-891-0-48935400-1368816392_thumb.jpg

[realworkingsailor]

I think in that context, it may refer to the metal being unpainted and kept free from rust, rather than being brass. Mixed metals in a salt water environment results in one corroding at a rapid rate.

 

Andy

[drtrap]

Well jason

I thought that the below mentioned kit was your choise of the weaponry.

I was wrong?

 

C85090AK Cannon Kit 9lb 1:64 c1790 39.5mm 

 

Cheers

Edited July 9, 2013 by Stergios

[Beef Wellington]

Andy - this is a something I plan to keep an eye out for when I head back to the UK in a few weeks with my son to do (amongst other things) the Portsmouth historic dockyard.  I don't think any of the screws would be ferrous for because there is no way that these would be useable with rusting, brass (or some similar alloy) would more likely be used because its self lubricating - I would hazard a guess that the threads in the carronade cascable would also be similar metal by way of some sort of bushing.  The Trincomalee carronade clearly shows a 'brass colour'.  I also found the following photo from my last visit to Constitution, most of them use the wedge elevation, but there is one example where there is a screw, and is brass (or similar), just not polished.  Of course, clearly I'm not an authoritative source and just basing my opinion on examples I can find 

 

Stergios - you're correct, the plan is still to use two 9lb'ers at the two foremost gunports, the rest will be the carronades.

 

Edited July 9, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[normanh]

Nice looking carronades much improved over the standard white metal ones.

 

Norman

[Beef Wellington]

Thanks for checking in Norman, appreciate the support.

[Beef Wellington]

Worked on some final tuning of the cannon, unfortunately it took me pretty much an entire evening to do a couple of 'small' things, adding the chains for the cotter pin, and the hinge for the cap square.  I cut each chain to length after having blackened it and attached some Caldercraft 2mm photo etch eyebolts at each end, drilled in the appropriate place and attached.  The hinge was made from wire bent to shape into two pre-drilled holes.  Think this looks much better than the suggested flat head pins to secure the cap square per the instructions.  Thanks once again to B.E. for the pointers.  Must confess I was very happy with the result and some useful skills learned, even though there were many frustrating moments. 

 

I still have the flintlock to install but I'll do that once everything is in place and rigged.

 

Edited July 10, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[realworkingsailor]

Sorry to say (and this is only my opinion, not necessarily fact), but to me that jack screw looks more like raw steel, than brass or bronze. In any case, regular oiling and working would have kept the metal from corroding.

 

I'm still interested in what you find out, though.

 

There's also a chance that in the name of preservation, some things may have been replaced.

 

Andy

[Ferit]

If in addition, it is possible that they fire mini cannon balls with powder, your work can be acceptable...

Great and detailed clean work as usual Jason...