HMS Unicorn by ianmajor - Corel - Scale 1:75, 1748 to 1771

[JohnB40]

Hi Ian,

Once again amazing construction,with great plans and tutorial for the elm tree pumps. I am now not sure whether the chain pump or the elm tree pump (or both) is correct for a 5th rate of the Unicorn's time frame. The NMM's model #SLR0496;Warship (1757);5th Rate shows elm tree pumps in the waist.

 

I hope you and yours have an enjoyable bank holiday.

 

John

[ianmajor]

Grant, ZyXuz, Piet and John many thanks for your kind words.

 

John,

 

Thanks for the holiday wishes. I will probably spend much of it fiddling with the Unicorn! 

 

You make a good point about the types of pumps on English 5th and 6th Rate ships in the mid 18th century. I had look at the photos of the models in the NMM. The best photo of the one that you referred to (SLR0497) can be seen <here> . I have taken an extract of it:

 

 

There is another 1757 Warship model (SLR0496) which can be seen <here>  on which the pumps can be seen more clearly. As you say only elm tree pumps are visible. An extract of that one:

 

 

The Chapman diagrams do not help.

 

However I looked again at the NMM held plans for the Lyme (the Unicorn's sister ship). I have annotated an extract of the upper deck plan:

 

 

Behind the main mast marked by a red arrow is what I interpret as the two pairs of pipes and cisterns for chain type pumps - but no sign of elm tree pumps. 

 

There are other differences such as the capstans on the Lyme class are behind the main mast whereas the capstans on the Richmond class (in the above photos) are in the waist area.

 

Confused?   I certainly am.

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Ian, incredible work as always.  Really fantastic work with those elm pumps.

 

For what it's worth, if I remember correctly, the Pegasus plans represented the elm pumps using the symbols marked by your blue arrow.  Maybe that's why the pumps are not visible in SLR0497 (i.e., the pumps would be far back under the quarterdeck near the capstan).  

 

I just took a look at the AOTS Pandora plans, and it looks like the pumps were a touch forward of the main mast.  So, it seems like the pumps can be in a number of places.

[dafi]

Why-why-why?!?

 

... did I loose this gem out of sight ...

 

Just three words: Fun, Tas and Tique

 

Love the outcome of the stove, the pumps and all the other things.

 

Thanks too for sharing the techniques, very interesting things, the rivet punchers, depth ranger for the kebap skewers and much mores.

 

Cheers, Daniel

[ianmajor]

Hello Dafi,  

 

Actually many of the ideas I show here are borrowed (stolen?) from your Victory log then modified.  The world of model making at its best is like a reverse version of the children's party game pass the parcel. In that game the parcel is passed around and each child takes a layer of wrapping off. In modelling someone comes up with an idea passes it on, the next person adds to it passes it on and so on. When it gets back to the guy at the beginning he sees a version that is sooo much better than his original.  

 

Mike,

 

Thanks for your input. I wondered about the two items ahead of the capstan. I thought they may well be elm tree pumps but was concerned that that position would interfere with the operation of the capstan. Looking at the Lyme elevation plans I can see the tubes for the chain pumps descending to the bowels of the ship just behind the main mast. There also appear to be tubes just ahead of the capstan suggesting this is the correct position for the elm tree pumps.

 

Extract from Lyme plans with my interpretation annotated :

 

 

I had already committed to fitting the pumps slightly ahead of the main mast - 2mm holes drilled in the deck in readiness - based on Chuck's Winchelsea layout. A trial fitting does produce a rather crowded grouping. Winchelsea is a slighter larger ship than Unicorn/Lyme. Perhaps I should have looked more closely at the diagrams and dispensed with the elm tree pumps. Still they look quite pretty.  

 

Whilst I was researching the Elm tree pumps I found information about Gosport and Portsmouth (UK) fresh water supplies. Around the year 1700 the water companies started laying underground water pipes made from bored out elm tree boughs. The Portsmouth Water Company had a photo on its Web site showing one of these pipes being lifted in the 1930s as part of an upgrade to the water supply. The elm pipe was in remarkably good condition. I was going to put a link to this photo but sadly the Water Company has "improved" its Web site and the photo has gone. No doubt it will pop up again somewhere.

Edited May 3, 2015 by ianmajor

[NenadM]

Just brilliant work!

[ianmajor]

Nenad, thanks for looking in and for your comments. And guys thanks for the likes.

 

I made some final adjustments to the pump parts then installed the pump sub-assembly permanently in to the waist area. A few photos.

 

The first shows the sub-assembly in place with the elm tree pumps fitted. To the right of the photo is the superseded pump that was supplied with the kit - it is, in my opinion, a 19th century design so is a 100 years too late for this Unicorn.

 

 

An opposite view with the stub mast in place. I cheated with the rhodings - these are simply rectangular blobs of thick black paint.

 

 

A couple of before and after shots.

 

The first is looking across the waist area towards the stern. The left half is as it was being built as per the Coral plan. The kit supplied pump can be seen towards the rear of the quarter deck. An unlikely position since its tubes would have gone straight down in to the captain's cabin - hum. And would you really position your pumps on the highest point on the decks simply to shoot the water in to the sea? This would be rather a waste of effort methinks.

 

If I remember correctly Peter Visser on his Unicorn re-positioned this pump on to the upper deck just behind the main mast. A simple and effective modification.

 

 

 

The second is the view straight down on the waist area. The upper view is the original. I think the modified version looks better.

 

 

One problem. The original woodwork was varnished more than 30 years ago and has darkened with time. I have used the same varnish on the new woodwork and am hoping that in time it will darken to match.

 

Well, at long last, that is the waist area finished (I think). Time for me to climb out and revisit the fore and quarter decks. Now where to start....? The oversized belfry comes to mind, possibly improve the capstan, or perhaps a binnacle . This will all be playing with wood which is right outside of my comfort zone - so I will be struggling (again)  .   

 

 

 

[gjdale]

Wow - great job Ian! Those before and after shots really tell a story.

[dafi]

"A couple of before and after shots."

 

"I think the modified version looks better."

 

As I said - worth the pain! Improvements look wonderful :-)

 

XXXDAn

[dgbot]

What can I say but a great model within a great model with in a great model etc.

David B

[jwvolz]

Looking great Ian. Your metal work continues to amaze me. 

[ianmajor]

Grant, Dafi, David and Joe thanks for your kind words and thanks everyone for the likes.

 

I have decided to tackle the belfry first. I am using the plans produced by Rex Boocock which can be found in the MSW resource area <here>.  

 

Rex's plans are 1:12 which I printed out full size then any measurements taken from it were multiplied by 0.17 to get them down to 1:75.

 

The first thing that this revealed was that the belfry made with the Corel parts is, in deed, much too large. It stands a scale 6ft+ tall and the bell scales out as (aprox) 2ft in diameter and 2ft high which I think would be more at home in a church bell tower. The ships bells that I have seen details of are nearer 7 to 8 inches in diameter.

 

So I machined one from some brass rod. I end drilled it 1.5mm to a depth of 2.5mm followed by drilling 0.5mm for a further 5mm. The mouth of the bell was then formed and tapered by drilling shallow holes with large bits then tidying it with Swiss files.

 

The outside was turned to shape leaving a 1mm diameter spiggot at the top for fixing the bell to the belfy. When cut off this spiggot had the 0.5mm hole through its centre.

 

The clapper was made from the core of instrument wire. I tied a knot in it and then touched knot with the hot iron with the tiniest ammount of solder on it. One end of the clapper wire was fed through the 0.5mm hole then fixed with solder applied to the end.

 

The photos show the new bell next to the Corel offering and a close up.

 

 

 

I am trying some experiments in constructing the belfry cap which is quite decorative. My first attempt is using layers of styrene sheet. This is made up of 16 parts. The down side to using styrene sheet is that I will have to paint it.

 

 

So I will be having a crack at milling a cap from walnut for comparison. Boxwood would be better but I don't have any.

 

I think (hope) the parts so far are coming out the right size!

 

 

[gjdale]

Very neat work producing that bell Ian. I really do admire your machining skills and especially your ability to think through the "how" of manufacturing new parts like this. It may seem simple to you, but I learn something from every new description you post. If you lived in my neighbourhood, I'd be banging on your door begging for lessons!!!

 

I think you might have some difficulty using walnut for milling the belfry - my experience (albeit very limited) is that it doesn't machine very well. I've got a ton of swiss pear scraps, and possibly even a bit of boxwood scrap you'd be welcome to if you lived a little closer. Come to think of it, Mobbsie also has a ton of scrap pear and he does live a little closer. Maybe you could work out a deal...........

Edited May 9, 2015 by gjdale

[Piet]

Very nice work on the bell Ian.

 

Cheers,

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice work Ian.  Your brave decision to take the deck apart and reconstruct it has really paid off.  You should send the photos to Corel

[ianmajor]

Piet,

 

Thank you for your kind words. Your 0 19 looks wonderful. I am one of those who, for selfish reasons, is sad to see it finished. I was enjoying the construction so much.

 

Mike,

 

I would be surprised if Corel were the slightest bit interested in photos from me. I believe they started making ships' kits circa 1971 and the Unicorn kit was designed 1974 so was one of their first.They would 

have little interest in latter day work! 

 

Grant,

 

I have to admit that milling walnut gives me the ebie jeebies. I am constantly expecting the detail to disintegrate in front of my eyes. I varnish the piece before milling to try to prevent this. That does introduce its own problems with the effectiveness of glues of course.

 

So I milled a couple of supports in the walnut. A straightforward if small milling job using the dividing head. Each support is rectangular in cross section. The wider sides are taper which makes it a little more challenging. The tops were turned 1mm and the bottoms 1.5mm.

 

 

The head of the belfry was also milled in walnut. Two rectangular pads of thin walnut were glued to its underside then two 1mm holes drilled to take the uprights. I had decided against using the styrene version even though that one had more detail.

 

I did consider adding a layer of thin card on top of the walnut head to give a little more overlapping detail. This would have to have been painted which I thought would not look too good.

 

The headstock also was milled from walnut. A strip of blackened brass shim was folded over the top. It should taper towards the bottom but at this scale the taper is only about 0.1mm on each edge - difficult to get an even result - so I used strip 1.2mm wide rather than tapering from 1.4mm. The top was drilled 0.4mm in the centre to take a blackened piece of 0.4mm brass wire bent to represent the crank. The ends of the headstock were drilled 0.4mm to take short pieces of wire to act as pegs to locate it in holes in the 

uprights.   

 

The next photo shows the components awaiting final assembly.The piece at the bottom is a temporary base drilled to match the spacing of the holes in the head. 

 

 

The components were finally assembled using the temporary base.

 

 

It is certainly smaller than the Corel offering. It scales out at just over 3ft tall by 3ft across the head. I think I have scaled it correctly from Rex's plan. Unfortunately there are no leading dimensions or scale bar on the plans to cross check against.

 

Does anyone have any views on the size of actual belfrys on frigates as opposed to the size supplied in kits?

 

Here is a copy of Rex's plan on which I added scale sizes in millimeters.

 

 

I tried the belfry in position on the Unicorn and took a couple of photos to see how it looked. Any thoughts on its size when it is in place?

 

 

[Piet]

That looks rather nice Ian and fine machining work!

Thanks for the kudos on the O19.  

 

Cheers

[mtaylor]

Nice work, Ian.  The belfries I've seen and admittedly not enough to be an expert, show them above the rail.  At 3 feet, this will be as tall as the rail. Maybe it's supposed to sit on top of it?

[dgbot]

Great way to enhance and improve on a subject.  Kudos on a job well done

David B

[ianmajor]

David, thanks for looking in and for your comments.

 

Mark, The height of my belfry was giving me pause for thought when compared to the rails. I was beginning to think that I would have to make a bigger one and donate this one to someone who is making a 1:96 scale ship! But I had a good look at the Lyme plans and found that the belfry shown there was in deed only just over 3ft tall.

 

I have attached an extract from the Lyme plan with the scale (in feet) shifted alongside the belfry. The black arrow indicates the top of the belfry, the red arrow the deck line.

 

 

The belfry does look tiny, so whilst contemplating the rails on either side of it I turned my jaundiced eye to another item that needed improvement. This would be a quick job.

 

 

Some of the most distinctive things on a capstan are the holes for the capstan bars. The Corel offering has none - which can be seen from the photo. It also has rather a domed top.

 

I decided to slice horizontally through the top add a layer of wood, cut some radial slots, then reattach the thinned down top.

 

First I skimmed down the domed top in the lathe. Sadly, despite my taking the smallest and slowest cuts, the tool dug in, there was a snick sound and the result.........

 

 

Did I say this would be a quick job?

 

OK....Plan B.

 

I reached for some more of Rex Boocock's plans in the reource section. 

 

Capstan plans to 1:24 scale are <here>

 

I have started to scale the plans for 1:75. The resultant capstan will be about 20mm diameter and about 18mm tall. This is larger than the Corel offering which is 12mm diameter and 12mm tall.

 

Rex shows each part of the capstan with 5 whelps. Other capstan models I have seen with this number and some with more. He dates his plans as post 1780 which is late for Unicorn. He also states that the sizes were taken from HMS Pandora which should be OK for Unicorn.

 

There are articles on capstan construction in the resource section.

 

A very good one by Allan Yedlinsky is <here>

 

There is also a digest of capstan articles pulled from MSW <here>  including a warning from Decoyman about wrecking one's capstan in a lathe! 

 

Onward and upward....... 

[ianmajor]

Based on my scaling of Rex's diagram I roughed out a capstan on the lathe from some scrap pine. I tried it for size on the quarter deck. The following shows it sat on the Unicorn with the remains of the Coral version just behind and to the left of it.

 

 

It looked rather large therefore I went back to the Lyme plans and measured up. The scale sizes in ft and inches for comparison.

 

Corel - Height 3' 0" Diameter 3' 0"

 

Rex's plan - Height 4' 2" Diameter 3' 7"

 

Lyme plans - Height 4' 3" Diameter 3' 9"

 

Which, amazingly, makes the rough capstan approximately the right size. The Corel offering is only 75% of the proper size.

 

Time to start on the detailed version.

 

 

 

[gjdale]

Your research is paying off Ian. Perhaps the "oops" with the lathe was a sign that you were meant to scratch build a better, more accurate version. I can't wait to see your construction - I just know it will be educational!

[JohnB40]

Hello Ian,

 

Once again,outstanding research and lovely work on the bell and belfry. I am glad I have not yet assembled mine,as I would have to scrap it and start again,blatantly copying yours (which I will).

Your mock-up of the capstan looks in proper perspective judging from the NMM models. I was surprised at how large they were (and how undersized Corel's supplied one is). I look forward to your tutorial on your capstan construction as mine is not yet glued down and can be binned easily.

 

Cheers,

Edited May 20, 2015 by JohnB40

[dgbot]

Ian, I have always been a fan of research whe I can find the info.  Your research and what you did with it is what I try to do when I can.  Good job on the capstan

David B.

[mtaylor]

Ian,

 

When in doubt.. go for the research.   You might consider making or buying a man in scale.  I'm finding that it really helps to figure things like size, etc. 

[Mike French]

Hi Ian I have just spent all night going through your log. Where do I start  . I get very envious of people like yourself with so much skill. dedication to detail

and perseverance. You have done a wonderful job. I will just have to lift my bar higher. By opening up the waist makes the model so much more of a ship.I am now contemplating doing the same on mine as I will not have to destroy as much as you did. I am  just in awe and lost for words.. The printer has been running hot in printing out various pages for notes.

 

Mike  

[ianmajor]

Various non modelling activities have created a 2 month hiatus in my work on the ship but I have had a chance to get back in to the workshop. 

 

A belated thanks to Grant, John, David, Mark and Mike for your kind words and encouragement.

 

I got stuck in to the capstan. I used a similar approach to that described by Allan Yedlinsky with a few changes. I marked up a copy of the Rex Boocock plans with dimensions.....

 

 

..and produced my own dimensioned cross section plan with whelp shape.

 

 

First part of construction was to chuck a length of 10mm diameter walnut doweling in the lathe and turned a length of it down to 6.7mm diameter.

 

For the whelps I used boxwood recovered from an old damaged 18" rule. The rule had belonged to my grandfather and was about 70 years old! I don't have a decent small circular saw so I cut the pieces with my powered fretsaw. Rex's plans show 5 whelps which have widths the same as the gap between them. Therefor each whelp would have a 36 degree included angle. So I set the saw's table over to 18 degrees and clamped a piece of wood as a fence and cut the blanks.

 

The good guys shape the outer faces of the whelps at this stage but I left that for now.

 

I wanted 5 off 2.1mm wide slots along the barrel in which the whelps can sit firmly. I haven't got a cutter or milling bit of that size so I made one. Since it is only to be used on wood it didn't have to be anything fancy.

 

I chucked a length of mild steel in the lathe (I have a second chuck so the first still had the wooden barrel). I turned a 42mm length down to 10 mm diameter, then the end 36mm was turned down to 3mm diameter - which is the shaft diameter used for Dremel tools.

 

The chuck was transferred to the dividing head on the milling machine and using a 5mm mill bit I took light cuts at 45 degrees around the mild steel. Before cutting I set the side of the mill bit over the centre line of the work then moved it forward about 0.5mm so that it was slightly off centre. This ensured a reasonable cutting face angle on the new tool.

 

 

I gradually increased the depth of cut around the tool until the adjacent cuts met. This produced a set of 8 sharp teeth. The work was returned to the lathe where the piece was parted off at 42mm long. The new tool was then held in the chuck by its shaft and faced down until the cutting blades were 2.1mm wide.

 

It is going to be infrequently used on wood so I didn't bother hardening it.

 

The next photo shows the finished tool alongside the whelp blanks.

      

[ianmajor]

The chuck with the wooden barrel then had its turn on the mill being attacked by the new cutter.

 

 

This produced some nice clean slots.

 

 

The whelp blanks were cut slightly over lenth and were the glued in to the slots. Triangular pieces of 1.5mm thick walnet sheet were glued in between. The resulting structure being very strong.

 

 

Back to the lathe to turn the whelps down to 13.5mm (their maximum diameter). The ends of the whelps were faced down to make them square and the correct length. 

 

 

The top slide was set over to 7 degrees to turn the taper on the lower part of the whelps. It was then set over to 10 degrees to turn the taper on the upper part of the whelps. The part of the central barrel that extends above the whelps was turned down to 3mm diameter.

 

I piece of boxwood was cut for the head with a 3mm hole drilled in the centre. This was glued on to the top of the whelps.

 

When the glue was set the head was turned down so that its diameter was slighter more than the final size. The idea being that if there was any minor splintering when cutting the slots then turning the head down to its final size would (hopefully) get rid of any damage. The head was faced down to a thickness of 2.6mm.

 

The whole lot was transferred back to the mill where 10 radial slots were cut. I made another cutter 1.6mm thick. I could have machined the first one down to size - however if I had made a mess and had to start again........

 

The slots were cut to the full depth of 1.6mm. If I had been doing a proper job I would have cut them half depth, then cut corresponding half depth slots in the cap. I was not sure I would be able to get the two halves to match well enough.

 

 

Back to the lathe......

 

Another piece of boxwood was cut and glued on to the top of the capstan. I have a "pusher" that I made some time ago which is square faced and normally used to push rail wheels squarely on to their axles. In this case I put it in the tailstock to push squarely against the capstan cap whilst the glue dried overnight.

 

 

Finally I turned the cap to size then turned the barrel below the whelps to 3mm diameter to fit a hole in the quarter deck.

 

The next photo shows the almost completed capstan. The barrel has remained undisturbed in the chuck from the start to ensure concentricity.

 

 

At long last it was fitted to the quarter deck.

 

 

A final picture to compare it with the capstan on the Guadalope at the NMM. Perhaps the whelps should have been thinner. The taper of the whelps is correct but the thickness of the whelps makes the taper look shallow.

 

The least satisfactory parts are the bits made of wallnut between the whelps. Despite using varnish and gentle filling they still look a bit frilly. 

 

 

I am contemplating fitting capston bars. I noted Dan Vadas only fitted five of the ten bars on his Vulture. His original intention was to fit them on the planked side of the ship. In the event he fitted them in alternate holes - which I think looks good. A project for another day.

[JohnB40]

Hi Ian,

I'm glad you are back,I hope you have had a enjoyable summer.

 

Once again you have outdone yourself....The capstan is an object of beauty and amazing construction.

[ianmajor]

Thanks John. I had much enjoyable time with the grandchildren. This included a ride on a boat through the Anderton lift in Cheshire which raises narrow boats from the river Weaver up to the Trent and Mersey canal.

 

I am pleased that I used boxwood for the capstan. It is a lovely wood to work with and produces nice attractive results. It is a pity I don't have much more - and probably won't get more.