HMS Triton by Gabek - 1:96 - cross-section

[Edwardkenway]

Good to see you back! I'm looking forward to the next installments. 

[mtaylor]

Welcome back.  Retirement is a transition and needs some time to sort out.   Been there, still sorting.....  Looking good on the model.   I hope you'll be able to continue.

[Gabek]

Thanks for all the supporting comments and likes, folks!

 

This was a psychologically tough stage - painting the hold.  Even drawing a pencil line on that clean wood gave me heartburn! For quite some time I guessed and second-guessed this decision but when I sat down to do this there was no hesitation.  I started with a Vallejo acrylic primer, followed later by Vallejo white.  The aft part of the model will remain unpainted.  The three forward-most pillars were painted as well.  Once everything was dry I brushed on a matt varnish to the entire hold and all pillars.
 

 

So, while things were drying I was drafting the iron pigs in Fusion 360 (free version) based on the proportions and layout according to Anatomy of the Ship:  The Frigate Diana. In photos of ballast in HMS Victory and HMS Trincomalee you can see the ubiquitous British government broad arrow so I added them to the design.  By my count, I would need over 200 pieces of this permanent ballast.    Rather than printing 200 single pigs I created side-by-side “gangs" of 10, 6, and 3 along with some singles.  I soon realized that end-to-end gangs could be used so I designed sets of 2, 3, 4, and 6.  [I plan to dedicate a post to this whole process shortly].

 

Looking closely at the Diana plans I discovered I had to add ballast cants that run parallel to the limber strakes and act as a stop for the iron ballast.  The cant can be seen in the photo of HMS Trincomalee's hold.  Yes, I had to add pieces to the FRESHLY PAINTED AND VARNISHED hold!  Well, time to scrape…



I made suitable stock on my table saw, scraped the paint + varnish so I could glue down the ballast cants in place.  I had some ballast fresh off of the printer and couldn’t wait to see how things looked together. 

After trimming and painting the newly installed cants I went to work on the limber boards. To get the bevels on the edges of such thin, flexible strips I ended up clamping the pieces between two popsicles sticks. This let me hold them  at a constant angle, making the bevels on the limber boards quite sharp.

Once shaped, I painted the limber boards (and the keelson) a dark brown based on HMS Trincomalee. I was going to cut the limber boards shorter but couldn’t find the correct lengths.  I was going to ask you folks if you knew the right dimension until I discovered it a few minutes ago! Looking at the photo of the Trincomalee's hold just now I can clearly see the cut lines.  Before I install them on the model I will chop these to an accurate size.

 

Again, I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to paint all the ballast I had printed before dry fitting to my Triton.  So, with limber boards in place, this is what the iron ballast on a frigate would look like: 

 

Iron ballast was arranged in three tiers (see the previous layout photo).  The starboard side of the hold (left in the picture) has an accurate set up with two tiers (the third tier would be just a couple of pigs next to the well).  The port side (right in the picture) is only the first tier. The broad arrows look white but are just filled with resin dust from sanding.  I took pains to print the arrows in a random pattern (using dice!). 

 

I'm amazed at the amount and breadth of the ballast on these ships!  I'm glad that I’m adding them.  Painting and installing them permanently is next (gulp!)

 

Clear skies,

Gabe

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Gabek
Picture in wrong place

[mtaylor]

The ballast will add to the details and it looks great.  

[Gabek]

Backwards step…big step…little step

I was a bit disappointed when I painted all the ballast I had printed.  In pictures of the HMS Victory the broad arrows on the iron pigs appear to be filled with dust from the shingle ballast.  On the HMS Trincomalee the arrows are painted.  Regardless, the arrows are noticeable so, after priming and painting all the pieces black, I experimented using some white weathering powder to fill the broad arrows.  I was totally frustrated with poor results.  I couldn’t keep the white off of the areas that needed to be black: washing, sanding, scraping all led to mottled grey

 

So…I bought black resin and printed all the ballast again.  For those of you unfamiliar with resin 3D printing, there are many manufacturers of UV resin and many different formulations. Because of this variability there is always a bit of a learning phase to get good results with new resins. (This particular resin was eSUN’s plant-based product. If you want the settings I used please let me know).  After several mediocre results I was able to start up the resin foundry into full production again.  

I did find that some pieces were slightly bent after I cured them and I wasn’t sure which stage of the process was causing this.  They appeared fine before I cut them off the supports, so I printed several more than I needed and experimented with post-printing procedures.  (Again, if you’re interested just ask and I’ll fill you in on what I ended up doing.)   Another perplexing issue was that there was an artifact from printing - diagonal lines on the larger ballast pieces that were printed facing in one direction - but the pieces printed in an opposite direction were smooth.  In the resin world there is speculation that this is caused by the software used to prepare a 3d file for printing. 

When time came to add the ballast to the model I realized that the first row, which runs perpendicular to the keel, was too long for my future plans so I had to cut it back.  While this doesn’t seem to be a big deal to many, standard UV resins are remarkably brittle so I anticipated trouble.  Either plant-based resins are more resilient than the standard formulae or I was careful enough to manage shortening them without mishap.  

Something else became bothersome - sanding this resin produces a very fine, white (light grey?) powder that clung to everything.  It almost became like paint and I had to scrub the ballast clean using water.  

If I thought painting the hold was nerve-wracking enough, gluing these ballast pieces into place required a BIG gulp.  I could always sand off paint, but once these are installed there’s no going back.  It all worked fine.  I didn’t bother painting the broad arrows on these starter rows because they will be hidden by a second tier - but parts of the rest of the ballast on this first tier will be visible in places.  Therefore, I painted them using thinned, water-based Vallejo white and, once dry, scraped the paint off the surface of the ballast.  
 

Now that I know the extent of the ballast I won’t install the second tier until later after some more work in the hold is done. Namely…

…the well and shot locker are next. It all starts with a cutaway main mast step.  Poring over diagrams in Anatomy of the Ship: The Frigate Diana and AotS: The 23-Gun Frigate Pandora plus photos of the HMS Victory in Longridge’s The Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships - they seemed to indicate that the mortise for the main mast was cut through the mast step and the heel of the mast would sit on the keelson.  Starting with a block of birch 4.0 mm x 3.0 mm x 15.0 mm, I carefully marked lines with a knife and, with a very sharp chisel and xacto knife, managed to fit it quite nicely around the keelson and limber strakes - complete with a mortise through to the keelson.  In this process I discovered that there was a small warp in the keelson!  A bit of filing messed up the paint, but I can easily touch that up.

I was very happy with the fit.  That is, until…

I happened to spot a drawing in AotS: …Diana  (p. 30) where I finally could see that the mortise was NOT cut through!  Ok…I’m going to stop and collect my composure before deciding if I should repair or replace the nicely fitting step I made.

 

 I think Number One wants this step off the ship…

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by Gabek
I mixed up tenon with mortise.

[mtaylor]

Nice work on the ballast, Gabe.  As for the mortise, I suspect Number One will get his way inspite of protests from the yard workers.

 

BTW, you might consider a post in the 3D printing area on the ballasts you did.

[Gabek]

25 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

BTW, you might consider a post in the 3D printing area on the ballasts you did.

Thanks, Mark!  

Yeah, Number One is likely going to get his way.  But it fits SO nicely...😭.  Not sure if I can pull off another.  I'm glad that I didn't glue it down right away!

AND, I did plan to write in the 3D forum very shortly and offer the .stl file I created.  

Clear skies,

Gabe

[Nirvana]

Gabe, another reason for me to get 3d printer up and running, unfortunate it's not a resin printer.

[Gabek]

14 minutes ago, Nirvana said:

Gabe, another reason for me to get 3d printer up and running, unfortunate it's not a resin printer.

To be honest, Per, I think an FDM printer might produce these simple, geometric shapes much easier than a resin printer.  Printing objects flat on the build plate of a resin printer often results in failures.  So, the objects need to be tilted and supported.  It takes time to create and clean these resin pieces.  
 

You'll be frustrated at times but I'm enjoying this medium! 
 

 

Clear skies!

Gabe

[Gabek]

Third time a charm…

Thanks to everyone for their comments, likes and views!  
 

Well, I decided to remake the mast step.  First attempt did not fit well, there was a gap that bugged me.  The second attempt fit nicely but the mortise looked too shallow…when I realized I had flipped the block and cut the wrong faces!  Third time…FINALLY!

 

[Number One pointing out the one to use.]

 
Clear skies!

- Gabe

 

 

 

[Gabek]

On 4/17/2022 at 3:26 PM, mtaylor said:

BTW, you might consider a post in the 3D printing area on the ballasts you did.

Hello folks,

I posted the .stl files that I created for the ballast in the 3d section of the forums, plus a bit more info.  Thanks!  

 

 

[mtaylor]

Thanks, Gabe.  I hope other builders find them to be beneficial and as well as encouraging them to post their parts STL's.   

[Gabek]

Pandora’s Box

 

What have I gotten myself into?!
I’m really second-guessing my decision to build the well and shot locker.  I’m sure I spent more time building this little thing than I spent on building my garden shed!  And, this decision to add the well has created a ripple of changes to the model from the original MSW plans.  Thank goodness I have Ainars Apalais’ build log for reference - such a beautiful and motivating model!  My final design was an amalgam of four sources: actual photos of period shot lockers from HMS Victory, HMS Trincomalee, plus drawings from AoTS: HMS Diana and AoTS: HMS Pandora.

 

After cutting some 1.80mm square stock from birch for the stanchions I prepared planks using 1/32” - 0.8mm baltic birch plywood. The planks in the well were beveled so they fit together better, so I filed/sanded bevels top and bottom edges.  I drew arrows on the planks so I wouldn't get the bevels the wrong way, but it didn't always work!  I began with the bulkhead that separated the well and shot locker.  As I progressed I came upon several inconsistencies in my model.  Of course there were minor flaws in the existing framing and planking of this model - but they became so obvious that it drove me nuts.  (Oh yeah, building at 1/96 is another decision I’m regretting!) 

 

In the incredible AoTS books I also found a couple of errors, the biggest one was that the access door to the well was too low for a ship with all its ballast. The ballast cants are almost never showneven though they are integral to the design of the ship.  Because I have included the ballast in this model I was forced to move the door up more than in the drawings. It still looks ok, in my opinion.  

 

Some photos of the process:

After unsuccessfully trying to hand cut some brass hinges for the shot locker scuttles and the access door I decided it was time to play with some of my toys.  First off, I thought I could print these using my resin printer again.  However, these hinges were so thin that the prints failed.  I'm sure that at 1:48 scale I would have succeeded, but not at 1:96.  So I turned to another toy I have: a Jinsoku Genmitsu 1620 laser cutter/engraver. I have been doing mostly engraving hobbies with this small, desktop laser but at 5.5 watts it has enough power to cut through thin wood and some other materials.  I have been dying to try this out for some time now.  I drew hinges using basic shapes in Lightburn, the control software I subscribe to for the laser.  This could have been done in any drawing program and free laser software like LaserGRBL, but Lightburn is much more useful for the engraving I do.  My first attempt was to simply engrave the hinges into the shot locker lid.  (Top left in the above montage).  With a practice piece I got a nice result which would have been fine - it would be inside a tiny model.  But, of course, I decided it wouldn't do.  I needed something three dimensional. 

And again, 1:96 scale came back to haunt me!  I started with the thinnest maple veneer I have. The laser cut very well and could even cut the bolt/nail holes in these tiny hinges.  But even the veneer looked way too thick once I placed them against the door and scuttles.  

 

So, I switched to the only wood product that could be thinner: paper.  Some blue poster board and a manila folder provided very cheap stock for me to play with.  A black felt pen turned them into “iron” and away I went cutting and playing.  

I experimented with folding and gluing the tiny bits of paper to resemble folded strap hinges.   Another hobby came into use as I raided my fly-tying gear for fine black wire to represent pins in the hinges!  By the way, don’t use CA glue if you try this - the paper became so hard that it snapped and cracked when I tried folding them.  Just use PVA. The veneer that I had cut earlier was too thick to represent iron hinges, but it was perfect for the wooden cleats inside the shot lockers to which the hinges are nailed/bolted. So, I glued those onto the underside of the shot locker scuttles. 

After some painting and varnishing of the well and parts I made some ring bolts using the same, fine fly-tying wire.  I found an insect pin that had a diameter close to the diagrams of the ring bolts and wrapped the wire around it.  I drilled small holes and pushed the twisted ends of the wires into place.  A tiny drop of CA on the inside should hold these in.  I placed the paper hinges in place just for these photos. 

 

I won’t install the well and all the associated bits until I do some more work to the hold.  Namely, barrels, shingle ballast, lanterns, block and tackle…

...What have I gotten myself into! 

 

Clear skies!
Gabe

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Gabek

[Edwardkenway]

Wow! Great work at that scale Gabe!!

It'll be well worth the effort with the end result.

[mtaylor]

Totally an amazing amount of detail for that scale and looks great.  Sounds like you learned a lot which will help in future projects.