Royal William by pirozzi - FINISHED - Euromodels - 1/70

[Keith_W]

That's good Pete, because I have no idea what it is either! 

[piratepete007]

Keith, Vince, Mark - mystery piece 11155 for the RW is not a mystery. It is the final extension of the top head rail at the bow. The side view and top views show this. Depending how your build goes, it might be included, thinned down or omitted.

Pete

[pirozzi]

Thanks Pete. I see where it would go now. However it looks like it would be awkward in place as it is cast. I might cut it down some to match the curvature of head rails and bow where they meet, or just leave it off.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Placed the gratings inside the head rails. As was already pointed out, they are lower than the drawings show because the curvature of the upper head rails is a little too low. I am however not too disturbed by this. Since my build log seems to be ahead of the others, I am the one who will make some mistakes for others to benefit. That is why build logs are so important, and one of the reasons I stick my neck out and publish my work for others to see.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

I have placed the timbers between the rails on the starboard side. I did not use the metal strips supplied in the kit, although they are fine. I made some decorative strips with wood from my stash and milled out the center by hand. I think they look more like the drawings and of other high quality models I have seen around.

 

I found another blunder after placing some of the timbers at the forward end of the rails. When I bent the outward curves into the rails, I tried to match the drawings, and think I came pretty close, BUT, the stem is too thick and too high as provided in the kit. There is no room for the gammoning ropes to fit in between the inside of the lower rails and the stem. I would have to have known to shave the thickness of the stem piece, or cut it way down from the top beforehand. In looking at some scratch built models, the stem piece is cut way lower from the top to allow the ropes to run between. Nowhere in the plans does this seem obvious, but someone smarter than me would probably catch this. Anyway, if you are following this log, you can avoid this by fixing it before placing the lower head rails. I will have to run the gammoning outside the rails at the lower end and then feed them up inside to the bowsprit. I have seen other ships of the period do this, but not the RW.  

 

Vince P.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Vince P.

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Vince

What ever you are doing keep doing it. With all of your TINY mistakes makes this model, your own. It's very courageous of you to write and publish your errors to help the LUCKY ones who will follow in their build.

As usual your finishing off is absolutely delightful to see.

Brilliant work and havagooday my friend

Greg

[piratepete007]

Vince - I agree with Greg - your ship, your way. There are so many 'twists and turns' to make with the rails (pardon the pun) that small differences will influence the outcome greatly. However, your build is rich in detail and interpretation and that is what it is all about. I am including a photo and a diagram for everybody's interest just to show how variations do creep in. In hindsight we are all very wise. Spot the differences and yes it is the same ship !

Pete

[marktiedens]

Hi Vince - other than ripping everything off & starting over,maybe you could drill some holes down through the rails close to the stem & run the ropes through them. It may give the appearance of running behind them.

 

Mark

[pirozzi]

G'day Vince

What ever you are doing keep doing it. With all of your TINY mistakes makes this model, your own. It's very courageous of you to write and publish your errors to help the LUCKY ones who will follow in their build.

As usual your finishing off is absolutely delightful to see.

Brilliant work and havagooday my friend

Greg

Thanks for the usual kind words and encouragement Greg.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

Vince - I agree with Greg - your ship, your way. There are so many 'twists and turns' to make with the rails (pardon the pun) that small differences will influence the outcome greatly. However, your build is rich in detail and interpretation and that is what it is all about. I am including a photo and a diagram for everybody's interest just to show how variations do creep in. In hindsight we are all very wise. Spot the differences and yes it is the same ship !

Pete

Thanks Pete.

[pirozzi]

Now that the bow is mostly finished I decided to finish placing the trennels all along the unpainted portions of the hull. This will take a while since there are hundreds of them. Like before, I am using round toothpicks.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Finished placing the trennels. There were over 2000.

 

Next up will be to work on the forecastle railings and catheads.

 

Vince P.

[Keith_W]

Great work, Vince. If i'm not mistaken, you would have finished the hull. What's next, masts and rigging?

[pirozzi]

Great work, Vince. If i'm not mistaken, you would have finished the hull. What's next, masts and rigging?

Hi Keith,

I still have much work to do on the decks, like the railings, fixtures, stairways and such. That all will take some time to complete. I am starting now with the forecastle railings and catheads.

 

Vince

[J T Lombard]

great work Vince!

 

J

[DenPink]

Nice work Vince.

 

Denis

[maggsl_01]

Hi Vince,

 

adorable work. I am thinking about if I will do that Toothpicker-Thing with my Friedrich-Wilhelm (someday...)

 

Chapeau

 

Cheerio

Max

[pirozzi]

I have placed the forward forecastle bulwark and railing, as well as the catheads. The metal pieces supplied in the kit worked out fine. Once I join this railing with the forecastle side railings, it will look very nice. I will construct and place the side railings next.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The cap rails on top of the bulwarks that run the length of the entire ship except the poop deck are completed. This was a tedious task since they are made from scratch with many little pieces. All of the parts including the little vertical support posts, the railings, and the bits on the forcastle are made from 4mm x 1mm walnut stock. The only exception are the railings that have the sharp curves at the ends. In order to make the bending easier, I used 2 strips of 4mm x 0.5mm walnut and laminated them on top of each other after bending, to form the 1mm thickness.

 

Now I will start at the bow and work on all of the deck fixtures and structures from stem to stern. This part of the build will take a long time.

 

Vince P.

[Keith_W]

That looks superb, Vince! 

[pirozzi]

Some more little progress.

 

1. I added the little cleat to the stem for the first gammoning rope. I originally overlooked this and cut a hole in the stem for the rope. Once I saw my mistake, I filled in the hole and created the cleat.

 

2. The 2 knights are added to the prow deck. They are pinned in place.

 

3. The forecastle fife rail and knights around the foremast are added. They are also pinned in place. As mentioned before, I decided to add the belay pins to the rail. The original RW probably did not have them, but a later rebuild would have had them added.

 

I am now proceeding to the breast rail for the forecastle deck. The plans do not show the rail or mention any dimensions. I asked Pete of Euromodel for some help here. His notes do show a diagram of the railing but no dimensions. He informed me that help is forthcoming.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The forecastle breast rail constructed and installed.

 

A big thanks to PiratePete of Euromodel for his photos and instructions. The plans are severely lacking in what this structure looks like or how to build it. I used his information and modified it slightly to come up with what I think the rail should look like.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The rest of the breast rail photos.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The bell tower is placed on the forecastle deck. The metal pieces provided were very nice and did not require and modification, only a little cleanup to remove burrs.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The main deck capstan is installed. The one provided in the kit is 15mm in diameter and 20mm tall. The diameter is right, but the height is too tall. Not only does it just barely fit under the forecastle breast beam, by scale it would have been too tall for the crew. The plans call for a height of 15mm, which is just about right. I just cut off 5mm from the center spindle and glued it back together. That preserved the shape of the base and curved top. Since I am rigging her in full sail, this would represent a working deck, so the arms for the capstan would not be in place. I stored them on the deck next to the capstan.

 

Next up is to build and install the main deck guns, so that things like the gangways and ladders can be placed. These will hamper access to the guns for installing the rigging and such.

 

Vince P.

Edited September 30, 2016 by Vince P.

[Kevin]

Lovely work Vince

[chris watton]

Excellent work, very neat! I have always liked this kit, and from a period rarely covered.

[pirozzi]

Excellent work, very neat! I have always liked this kit, and from a period rarely covered.

Thanks, Chris. I know you are working with Amati. When I started this ship, I knew that the Royal William was created from a rebuild of the HMS Prince. I wanted to eventually have a before and after display. I knew Amati had a great kit many years ago, but there were none around the same scale now. Well, I searched the whole country hoping to find an original Amati kit. I lucked out and found one complete in the original wooden case. I will build her after the Royal William. By then you will probably have the new one from Amati finished.

Vince

[pirozzi]

Working on the main deck guns. Many tiny parts have to be made and assembled. I tried to go into the most detail by including parts like the quions and wheel spikes, all of which had to be made from scratch. All of the shiny brass pieces were blackened to give a more realistic look. The last photo shows all of the pieces ready to assemble into the guns.

 

Vince P.

[DenPink]

Hi Vince

 

Wow your work is just outstanding.

 

Denis.