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

[Beef Wellington]

After completing the hull coppering, moved onto the rudder.  This felt a bit like the last 385 yards at the end of the 26 mile marathon!  Had to file down the rudder openings and the pintles so they were fully square, square needle file a flat needle file did this easily enough with a bit of patience.  Care is needed to make sure the gudgeons are installed in the right spot, I decide to first get the rudder positioned correctly and install the top gudgeon first and use this as a basis for the others to ensure all are supporting the rudder.  Simple matter with thick CA glue.

 

Small holes are needed to be drilled in the sternpost to accomodate the cast 'nail' on the gudgeons, care is definitely needed with these, the last one broke off while dryfitting.   Hopefully I won't regret this, but I simply glued this to the sternpost as the others should bear a lot of the strain.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Beef Wellington]

Once work on the mounting hardware was done, moved onto the coppering (of course) and other finishings aspects.  I did not bother to copper the sternpost or the front side of the rudder as these cannot really be seen, and simply painted these copper.  Coppering the rudder was definitely a challenge due to the rudder mounting recesses. 

 

Overall pretty happy, and just the mounting straps to go before being able to move back to the deck with conviction.

[jim_smits]

Looking really good Jason.

I've been thinking about the coppering for my rudder, so these images will be really useful.

Keep up the good work!

Edited February 25, 2013 by jim_smits

[drtrap]

Absolutely good and clear work Jason!

[Blue Ensign]

A very nice build developing there Jason, excellent work on the coppering.

 

I don't know if Jotika have altered their instructions but when you come to do the pintles gudgeons and straps, they should be a cuprous alloy colour, not black as they indicated on the Pickle instructions.

 

iron and copper don't mix.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Beef Wellington]

Blue Ensign - appreciate you stopping by, please feel free to make any comments or suggestions anytime.  The Snake instructions are totally silent on the matter, its one of their older offerings and the instructions are very rudimentary compared to the newer kits, but you're right, copper paint is the way to go.

 

Jim, Stergios - hope its useful, I did for get to add the comment that I wasn't 100% sure that the waterline at the stern was in the right place.  Despite many repeated measurements earlier in the process it looks like copper upper edge at the rudder is maybe 5mm too low.  Nothing I can do about it now, it looks fine to me, but your results may vary slightly.

 

I also decided to wipe over the copper plates with a metal cleaner - because it took me so long to do the coppering I had a lot of fingerprints from handling the hull and the oxidation was accelerated in these areas.  It worked nicely, bringing the copper back to a slightly duller hue (it wasn't a polish) and slightly more 'pink'.  Results were not dramatic, and you can see (or not!) the result in the middle picture in the post above.  I will leave the copper to gradually tarnish and hopefully this will be a little bit more even now.

[cog]

You did a nice job on the rudder. The only problem you've got now, is to keep your greasy fingers off the coppered hull. That'll mean you'll have to work with gloves

[mort stoll]

That coppering looks great.

 

Mort

[drtrap]

Hi Jason.

I want to ask you, how many rows of plates have you mounted horizontally (parallel each to the other (and to the false keel)) before start to use stealers or overlapping? I can guess six rows, but I'm not sure from the pictures.

Thanks 

[Sjors]

Hi Jason,

 

That rudder looks great.

Very nice copper work!

 

Sjors

[Beef Wellington]

Mort, Sjors - thanks for kind words

 

Carl - maybe an excuse to put tools down for a bit!

 

Stergios - At the stern I have 7 uninterupted plates before needing a stealer, at the bow I could only go with 5 because of the difference in the hull shape.  I would definitely do some  dryfitting to ensure this works for you as I suspect small changes in hull shape could make you want to adjust.

[cog]

Jason,

 

Put your feet up for a while, else you might get weary of it.

Edited February 26, 2013 by cog

[Beef Wellington]

Jason,

 

Put your feet up for a while, else you might get weary of it.

 

Don't worry, I'm still enjoying this enormously and moving onto fresh challenges.   If it hasn't already been named, there has to be a fundamental law of model ship building that states that the amount of work completed in a given period of time follows an inverse square relationship to the fraction of a day worked.

 

For example, it takes 4 times the amount of time to acheive the same result if you can only work of the ship in 1/2 day (4 hrs) sessions, and 16 times the amount of time if you can only devote 1/4 day (2hr) blocks of time.

 

I need to give this some more thought  ... but the statement by Caldercraft about the Snake that it can be built in 3 months with evening work has to be questionable!

[mort stoll]

Hi Jason,

 

You are correct. There is no way one can build this kit in 3 months and this is not a knock on the kit. I am very happy with it.  Does any one have any idea if these ships had gunports? I am thinking of adding them as the deck seems very exposed to the sea and would like some feedback on this.

 

Mort

[Beef Wellington]

Hi Jason,

 

You are correct. There is no way one can build this kit in 3 months and this is not a knock on the kit. I am very happy with it.  Does any one have any idea if these ships had gunports? I am thinking of adding them as the deck seems very exposed to the sea and would like some feedback on this.

 

Mort

 

Agree Mort, gald I made the choice to go with Caldercraft as a first build, and even though the instructions are a little light (this being an older kit), the support and help from this site is invaluable.  Its taken me about a year to get to this point, but it really doesn't feel it and I've never felt the urge to rush.

 

As for the query on the gunports, interesting question!  I would agree that these would certainly be wet ships, but whatever resources I've seen (paintings, NMM plans etc) there does not seem to be any indication that they had them.  I wonder if there was some sort of temporary cover that captains would have installed?

Edited February 27, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Beef Wellington]

Stergios, here is the product I used on the copper.  I've been proved a liar as it clearly states that it is a 'metal polish' on the bottle, but despite the promise to 'shine' it really didn't, which was good in my view.  I just made sure to wipe down afterwards to ensure that no residue remained.  I think the simplist thing for you to do is just to try what you have on a plate and see how it turns out before committing to the whole hull.

 

[drtrap]

Copy that, Jason!

Thanks again.

[jim_smits]

Hi Jason,

 

You are correct. There is no way one can build this kit in 3 months and this is not a knock on the kit. I am very happy with it.  Does any one have any idea if these ships had gunports? I am thinking of adding them as the deck seems very exposed to the sea and would like some feedback on this.

 

Mort

 

Got to agree with this sentiment as well. I am rapidly approaching my three month mark in build time and, barring a week away, I have worked weeknights and one day a weekend on my build. Only just about finished the coppering. I think three months would be possible if you were lucky enough to be retired and could dedicate several days a week to the build.

[Kevin]

what a lovely job you have made - well done

[mort stoll]

Noxon has been around forever. We  used it when I was in the Army to polish our uniform brass. It was great stuff.

 

Mort

[Beef Wellington]

what a lovely job you have made - well done

 

Thanks for stopping by and the kind words Kevin, your Victory build is looking very nice indeed.

[Beef Wellington]

Started to tackle what is really the last task to be done before I can safely keep the old girl permanently on her keel and start getting the deck fitted out...installing the straps.

 

The instructions are very light in this area and it took me quite a while to figure out a system.  I only have one side of the rudder complete at this point, but started on the rudder as I thought it would be easier to handle and build skills before tackling the hull straps.  I was concerned with the pins protruding too far as I assume that these would probably have been flush, but I'm not sure its possible to achieve that with the supplied materials.  I was pretty pleased with the result, the pins don't seem to be any more noticeable than the nail heads on the plates.

 

Heres how I tackled it...hopefully I haven't made any newbie gaffs:

 

1. Prepainted the straps with metal primer and copper paint
2. Marked the center point of the rear of the strap and pre-bent on a piece of 3mm dowel
3. Spot glued the strap to the pintle only
4. Once I'd ensured the strap was perpendicular to the forward edge of the rudder, drilled a small (0.6mm) hole in both of the end holes (found the smaller bits drilled through the copper more easily).  This seemed to secure the strap sufficiently to be able to work on the rest
5. Enlarged the hole to 0.8mm (If positioned correctly, the hole from opposite sides will meet)
6. Enlarged the strap hole further to 1.0mm to allow the pin head to be countersunk to some degree
7. Using the brass pins supplied (couldn't find any others I should use), I cut these down approximately half the thickness of the rudder, put thick CA glue on the bottom of the pin and inserted into the hole

 

Repeated this step for all the other holes and painted.  Of course, my small diameter bit broke so will need to find a replacement. 

 

Edited February 28, 2013 by Beef Wellington

[Blue Ensign]

Looking good Jason,  a nice colour contrast with the straps against the copper plates, and a nice tight line between the  rudder and sternpost, so easy to get the gap too wide.

 

B.E.

[cog]

Rudder looks good. I like the metal straps, although coppered, they still are in nice contrast to the coppering of the hull

[Beef Wellington]

Rudder looks good. I like the metal straps, although coppered, they still are in nice contrast to the coppering of the hull

 

Hi Carl, I agree it is a nice contrast.  The copper paint is supposed to have actual copper in the paint, and according to Caldercraft the paint is supposed to tarnish just as copper would.  Interesting to see how this plays out...

[Beef Wellington]

Well, the straps took a bit longer than I had hoped, but I'm having bit of a whisky and cigar moment...

 

Broke 2 small drill bits in the process but pretty happy with the way they turned out.  I found getting the placement right to be a bit of a challenge on the hull as the the shine on the copper, the curve of the hull and the lines of the copper plates all seem to conspire to make you a little cross eyed - and even when they are perpendicular to the sternpost, they don't look to be.  I found the painting to be a chore yet again.  The Admiralty metal primer acrylic I'm using gives good coverage, but the copper paint like all metals required many many thin coats to get a solid look. 

 

QUESTION - any advice on whether the rudder should be secured to the hull in some way, or is it OK just to leave it gravity like real life?

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

Very nice. I found with my rudder, the rigging lines for the tiller do a pretty good job of holding it in place, while providing enough spring so that should it get knocked about, no damage will be done.

 

Andy

[j21896]

Beautifully done Jason!

 

Cheers,

Robert

[Blue Ensign]

Hi Jason that looks excellent, I used a small bulldog clip along the bottom of the keel/rudder to hold the rudder firm whilst I worked on it, fitting the tiller etc; Do the Jotika instructions include any reference to the fitting of rudder chains/pendants? they would usually  connect to what is called a spectacle plate fixed just below the hancing on the rudder.

 

B.E.

[Sjors]

Hi Jason,

 

That's a really nice rudder.

The view is perfect!

 

Sjors