HMS Fly by Martin W - Amati/Victory Models - 1/64

[Landlubber Mike]

Beautiful work Martin, very nice detail!

[flyer]

Hi Martin

 

Absolutely great work on your belfry.

And a lovely view, but....where are the cows?

 

Take care

peter

[Martin W]

Thanks for the support, Mike and Peter, it does make diving into those tiny details seem actually less daunting.

 

Peter -- on almost any given day, cows can be heard mooing from my back porch (no bells, I'm afraid); and at night, along with the owls, coyotes can be heard howling.  And then yesterday, we got a visitor who decided that our front porch made for pleasant perch:

 

                                       

 

I don't know if you see many of these roadrunners in Switzerland, England, or even DC (unless you're inclined to watch cartoons).

[Blue Ensign]

Love these snippets of information about life on the plains  

 

B.E.

[flyer]

Hi Martin

 

No, our roadrunners are usually less beautiful and wear jogging shoes, but don't get attacked by coyotes (only hawks - happened to a friend of mine).

But that deck! Did you really swab it this morning??

 

Take care

peter

[Martin W]

Har!  I don't know if it would count in the category of "Life as We Know It," BE, but it's my life (at least till I retire to colder climes).

 

Peter, I think this guy was looking for some jogging shoes.  And the good thing about the "Wind sweeping down the plain" is that it sometimes blows the detritus off the deck (and then generally blows it back on again the next day).

[Martin W]

Hello everyone -- The temperature outside is about 8 degrees on the F scale, so it seems like a good time to pick up where I left off on my log some TWO MONTHS ago ( ).

 

I've been attending to details around the upper hull, and mostly the channels. I used 1/16" boxwood stock, cut to width on the Byrnes. I like the look that FFM gives the channels with the tapered section to the rear, so I used that as my model, and marked the notches for the chainplates/deadeyes from the kit-supplied channels.  The kits plans don't show the eye bolts (and FFM actually describes them as swivel ring bolts, which would definitely go beyond my ability), but I determined their placement from FFM's diagrams.

 

 

 

Here's the fore channel and stool in place:

 

 

                                                      

 

                                                           

 

You can see that I followed the "controversial" suggestion in FFM (2:156-160) of adding the standards.  These really do add a nice touch to the overall appearance of the build -- much like a corbel table on a handsome building.  The channels in the above photo struck me as much too small, though, so I pulled them off and made some larger versions.

 

My procedure was simply to glue a stack of about 4 or 5 pieces of 1/16" stock cut into 7/32" squares, and then marking the rough shape I wanted on the outer layer.  I cut the shape out with a jeweller's saw, filed it down close to the line, then unglued the stack.  I thus achieved a kind of consistency, but I still needed to shape the individual standards to fit the angle of the bulwark and channel (and to smooth the edges).

 

Here's the main channel, without any polyurethane:

 

                                                         

 

The length of this channel gave me some problems in placement, as I held it in place with one hand to mark the location of the holes to be drilled in the bulwark for the connecting pins.  This was one of those occasions when I could really have used a third hand -- I ended up drilling too many holes, but I don't think they're terribly noticeable (don't look for them, please!).

 

Next came the fenders and steps.  The fenders have a slight taper on the edges facing away from each other, but remain parallel on their inside, facing edges.  This makes for a curious look, but interesting nonetheless.

 

For the steps, i started with 3/32" stock cut into 6-inch strips.  I passed these over a .30 inch blade on the Byrnes, first setting the blade 1/16" high and the fence at 1/32" to mark the tread.  I then lowered the blade to 1/32" and set the fence to make a 1/16" wide cut.  I then cut the individual steps at 1/2" lengths, and notched the sides following the same procedure that I used on the front.

 

Here's the result:

 

                                                      

 

The oar port creates a problem.  You can see that I notched the step above the port.  And I know that Blue Ensign shortened the step below the port to accommodate the oar.  I decided that the oarsman would have to defer to the officers who would use the steps, and kept my lengths consistent.

 

After this picture was taken, I painted the 2 steps on the wales black, which makes them almost disappear.

 

Next I started on the swivel gun mounts.  The kit's mounts extend only a short way down the bulwark to allow for the photo-etched decoration.  Since I'm neither applying the PE version, nor painting the decoration on, I decided to follow the NMM plans, which show the mounts extending almost all the way to the channels.

 

The mounts along the fo'c'sle seem odd in that they aren't high enough for a 1:64 sailor to fire the gun while standing.  But that does seem to be the correct height, at least on the fo'c'sle.

 

Following the diagram on FFM 2: 161, I cut 3/4" lengths from 1/8" stock.  I measured 1/32" in from each side to mark the bevels:

 

 

                                                     

 

 

After I cut the edges down and sanded them, I filed off the bottom:

 

                                                    

 

For the reinforcing loop along the top, I simply used a strip of blackened card.  To attach the mounts, I cut the heads off some pins, then hammered the point over to simulate a crimped nail:

 

                                                    

 

As I moved around the fo'c'sle, I found that I needed to file the inside of each mount to fit the bulwark properly.  They are supposed to lean inward, but mine are pretty much on the vertical.

 

                                                    

 

The temperature is set to rise up into the 40s today, but I think I'll mostly stay in the boatyard (the ground is probably too slippery to be going out and cutting cedar).  Who knows, maybe I'll get a posting up sooner than March. 

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[rafine]

Really nice work Martin. I'm truly sorry that I don't get to see that lovely cold weather down here (just kidding!).

 

Bob

[Landlubber Mike]

He's back!  Good to hear from you Martin - really nice update on your Fly.  It's coming along beautifully.  I love the little touches you're adding.

[Blue Ensign]

Nice touch shaping the Fore Channels Martin, and neat profiling on the Swivel mounts.

 

I'm not convinced that my individual approach to the Entry steps will stand the test of time, but I always thought that it was a simple adjustment to make to revert to the plan configuration.

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

Thanks for checking in, guys, and thanks to those who clicked the like button.

 

Bob -- There's a good chance you'll be getting some kind of winter, since what hit here is moving east.

 

Mike -- Thanks for the compliment.  Your Charles W. Morgan is looking really good, and is off to an impressive start.

 

BE -- Whether your steps stand the temporal test or not, they do respond to the problem of having the steps in the same place as the oar port.  Part of the entertainment in modelling is worrying over these little issues and wondering if they belong just to the model or were evident in the 18th-century ship.

 

Today I'm off to feed my horse a pile of carrots, which she doesn't need.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

And now for that Drift Rail.

 

I cut a variety of scraping patterns in hopes of having each rail different.  But at this scale, the patterns either failed or looked the same.  (The failure has to do with the fact that I'm using a very tiny cutting disk mounted on my milling machine, and it can only cut straight lines.)

 

One problem I had was in figuring out the placement.  I thought logic might dictate that it would line up at the same distance above the channels (which will have their own molding) that the channels lie above the lower rail.  But that led to a problem like this:

 

                                       

 

That notch is just too ugly.  So I lowered it to this level:

 

                                       

 

That had the advantage of giving me the line of the plank to follow.  One little challenge was to cut a piece small enough to fit between the standard and the swivel gun mount.  The boxwood showed once again why it's a pleasure to work with (if the chisel is sharp ), and it didn't crumble at all.

 

                                       

 

The bigger challenge comes with the actual drift.  For this I cut to length the angled piece on some 1/16" thick stock, used my chisels to cut the angle itself and to trim the length down to 1/16" width to match the rest of the molding.  Then I simply scraped the pattern in. 

 

                                       

 

The angled joint at the bottom doesn't please me very much.  The piece I originally cut before gluing on the drift broke, so I had to make a guess at the angle for the second piece.  As a consequence the pattern of the molding doesn't line up, nor does the joint itself.  In about 5 minutes, though, I'm going to apply a gentle stroke of the sanding stick to see if I can smooth it out a bit.

 

There's plenty more to be done on the drift rail, as it moves forward, and along the fo'c'sle.  Since my chain saw has gone on strike, I'm not going to be cutting cedar tomorrow, so I might as well cut molding, eh?

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

I've been asked to post a full-on shot, so here are two, just to show everything as it now is.  I want to point out as well that I tidied up the place before bringing in the camera. 

 

                                                  

 

 

 

 

                                                   

 

Cheers to all, and thanks for the likes, Bob & Spy!!

 

Martin

Edited February 5, 2017 by Martin W

[Dfell]

Martin - a big thank you for the the pictures   It's all looking good        and the boat.

[Blue Ensign]

Kudos Martin for  providing your Fly with a decorative Drift rail, a tricky job on such a narrow rail.

The Board would simply not sanction such fripperies on my Pegasus so a plain rail it was, although they did grudgingly sanction a simple ogee pattern for the Waist Rail.

 

I think yours looks good, but take heart much of it will disappear behind the shroud rigging and Anchors so don't over fret about .  

 

onwards Sir, onwards.

 

B.E.

[Landlubber Mike]

Martin, looks fantastic.  Very nice job!  It's funny, when we work at such scales and post pictures, the rails look pretty wide.  You have to step back and remember that these rails are only 2mm in width or less, and that people won't be looking at these details with a magnifying glass six inches away

 

Love the mounts by the way - she's looking very imposing now  

[donrobinson]

Fine work Martin, the swivel supports and drift rail are very nice additions to an already superb ship. I really must try and get some boxwood sometime as it sure takes to shaping and holding an edge.

[Martin W]

Thanks for the encouraging words, guys, they really matter.

 

BE -- I have to laugh: the rails will be hidden, just as the Captain's cabin, with the bulkheads and the cherry window seat, and the manger will all be hidden (I didn't carve a tiny sheep and cow, but I thought of it).  And the galley stove is mostly hidden.  But all that is part of the Sport of Modelling, isn't it?   

 

Mike -- it's always good to have you drop by.  Yes, the swivel mounts will surely command viewers' focus more than that itty bitty rail.  But whenever I look at my Rattlesnake, I find myself zeroing in on some detail and thinking, hmm, that's interesting -- and then I remember, Hey, I put that there!  The factors guiding the little things are a kind of uneven desire for completeness (I've left lots off), but even more a curiosity about whether you can get it to work at 1/64.

 

Don -- Boxwood (ie, castello) is very, very nice to work with.  I wish I had a huge chunk of it to carve full scale out in my workshop (where I'm currently carving an 8 inch block of cherry).  I don't know of any other wood that holds lines so well.

 

Glad you like the pictures, Doug.  You've inspired me to take some more at mid-range to show both the details and the context.  I'll post them soon, when I make enough progress to post another update.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[flyer]

Hi Martin

 

Nice progress and nice working place. I wouldn't have the patience to add all those details - I am probably too eager to see a build finished.

On the other hand, 'building under the influence' - I noticed that bottle of IPA on your workbench - , might help and increase your patience. Would you recommend it?

 

Cheers

peter

[Martin W]

There's a clear lesson, Brian:  NEVER give your wood away.  I gave a vise away once, and like you with your wood, have asked myself ever since, why?  I didn't even know that guy.

 

Peter -- The US doesn't have a great many delicious beers, but there are a few worth drinking.  Last summer in Maine I had several (and have been thinking of retiring there ever since).  The bottle you spotted with your aviator eyes is a lovely IPA from the great state of Oregon.  I can't say that it instills patience for details, but since my modelling space is within easy reach of the beer fridge, it certainly gets me into the room.

 

Thanks for checking in, and thanks to the likes!

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Hello Everybody -- I've been silent for over a month.  Work has subsumed me, for the most part, though I have managed some regular time everyday in the boatyard.  And it's been one little detail that has snagged me.   The Drift Rail concludes at the forward end of the Quarterdeck in a Scrolled Hance.  FFM gives a good technique for shaping the scroll, but at 1:64 that technique doesn't really work -- or even matter.  Still I wanted to have something of a scroll.  At last count, I went through 12 different tries, working with and exacto, with a micro gouge (1 mm, which isn't so micro at this scale), with lots of shameful language ("Really now," my delicate flower of a wife would say, "what's going on in there?), and finally with the Dremel and a small round bit.

 

Here are some of my efforts.

 

First, you can see that I cut the outer shape as drawn, then tried to clear out the inside.

 

 

This attempt crumbled so badly I couldn't even get a picture.  Next I glued the boxwood blanks (1/16" thickness) to some scrap, aiming to prevent the crumbling.  This is the first result there:

 

 

The next evolutionary step was to take care of the inside curve first, and then worry about the outside, hoping that I could uphold some structural strength that way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more casualties as I toyed with grain direction, thinking (maybe a bit too much) that if the grain moved diagonally across the scroll rather than horizontally, there would be more strength.  Nice idea, but with no practical effect.

 

 

Finally I came up with some fairly decent curves -- I can't quite call them "scrolls" since the scroll is incomplete:  the reason is that the scraper could not make the curve, and for 2 reasons.  First, as it cut across the grain, the outer edge of the hance crumbled.  Second, the complementary tail section interfered with the cutter itself.  As a rough simulation, I drilled a shallow hole, just enough to create a shadow.

 

And here is the starboard Quarterdeck scroll in place:

 

 

Now, the kit plans don't show anything like this where the rail terminates at the aft edge of the fo'c'sle, though the NMM plans show something like a scroll.  It seems to my eye that the rail needs some sort of flourish as a terminus, and so I set in the same scrolls as on the Quarterdeck.  Things get a bit tight, though:

 

 

 

That one eye bolt is tight up against the scroll, but I still think a line can run through it somewhat freely.

 

And of course, when I invited Mrs W in to see what had induced such unseemly language, she squinted hard and said, "Do you honestly believe anyone will ever notice that?" 

 

 

Next up, revised Cat Heads.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Our respective Mrs W's seem to have the same outlook towards our modelling efforts, but that's not the point is it, although on a practical level Mrs Prairie W is correct in the sense that the Foc'sle scroll will be mostly hidden by the shrouds.

Nice detail tho' Martin😊

Good luck luck with the Catheads, an interesting little project in their own right.

 

B.E.

 

 

[donrobinson]

Not sure what I like more, your skills at modelling or your interventions with Mrs W. It all looks good

[Martin W]

Thanks, guys.  BE -- I know they'll be hidden, but I just couldn't come up with another way to bring the rail to its end.  Mrs Prairie W did once ask me if I would like a new kit for my birthday, and with my jaw hanging down I asked why she would since she usually made fun of my modelling efforts.  Her reply was that it kept me out of the way.  Hmmm.    

 

Don -- That's a very nice compliment, though I'm not sure the phrase "skills at modelling" belongs next to my name.  Probably something more like bumbling and blind flailing!  Still, I do enjoy it.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

I'm with the programme Martin, just because it's hidden is no reason not to do it. Mrs Shires W is generally supportive of my modelling activity, but having read the frank disclosure by Mrs Prairie W, I now begin to wonder why.

She did once express an interest in making an Airfix Spitfire (had to be an Airfix) and indeed started it, when I asked which Mk she would like I was promptly told not to get nerdy! just get her a Spitfire.

Still on with the show - don't forget to get the Catheads the right way up, and you will need to temporarily fit the main head Rails to assist getting the position right.

Cheers,

B.E.

[flyer]

My dear Martin and B.E.

Please be aware that you may leave yourselves open to an accusation of "murmuring" and you could be requested to bear the consequences according articles 20, 21 and 22 while Martin also most probably committed an offence against article 2 of the Royal Navy Articles of War.

Martin, very nice detail and it will always be visible - at least to the thousands, or so, of followers here in MSW.

Cheers

Peter

[Tallshiptragic]

Martin congratulations on such a beautiful take on an already lovely kit! Superb work and those decks are superb!

[Martin W]

Cheers Guys, thanks for checking in.  And thanks to all who clicked on the Like Button!

 

Anton, thanks for the kind words.  The kit is lovely indeed, and one I'd even considering doing again, though mostly in hopes that my skills would magically improve!

 

BE -- I fear Peter may have a sound point.  Here's the event that convinces me of the justness of his legal argument:  Last week Mrs Prairie W "asked" me to go "look at" sofas.  I'm very fond of the current piece of furniture that has afforded me countless pleasant naps, but, unbeknownst to me, it has become old and tawdry looking.  At the store, when I tried to expedite the process by pointing to a fine example of a sofa, I was told that the fabric would never go with the walls.  Walls?!  I had no idea fabric and walls held any relation to one another.  But the Articles of Marriage, Sec. 3.B.iv.c states very clearly:  "The Husband shall affirm the judgment of the Guyd Wyfe at every turn, lest he seeks to find comfort in the kennel."

 

Mrs Prairie W has never visited MSW (so far as I'm aware  )

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

So here's a question:  BE, you say I need to affix the Main Head Rails in order to determine the position of the catheads.  I suppose that means I need first to make the Main Head Rails, right?  From FFM I get the sense the order was Catheads, then structures of the head, including the cathead support.  Looks like I'll be taking a trip to the Other Place to do some studying, eh?

 

Any suggestions on this matter would help.

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

No need to go to the other place Martin, the detail is here on page 3, post 72 of my log.

The Cathead should butt up against the Main rail of the head works and during the process of fixing the cathead it is worth checking they sit right.

On Pegasus the Main rail is a pre-shaped piece of walnut so it is an easy matter to blu-tack it temporarily in place before the cathead position is fixed.

Cheers,

 

B.E.