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

[Martin W]

Hi Jason -- Thanks for checking in, and for the nice words.  Some of the notches are precise -- I cut those with a 1/16 inch chisel, and finished off with an exact.  The others I filled in with small strips of wood.  And a few I filled in with wood filler. 

 

You're absolutely right about Neah Bay.  Fabulous spot.  The mountains are the Olympics seen from Hurricane Ridge.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Just a quick update.  The catheads are in place.  In effect I copied the kit strategy of cutting the stock at an angle, then setting it on top of the decking.  I can't say that that strategy thrills me, since they look pretty much like they're sitting on top of the planking.  -- On the Rattlesnake, the catheads extended under the planking, as they would have on the actual ship, and as they are in FFM.  That required some major bashing, and since this Fly has a stove, I don't think I could have fit the necessary beam in to hold the catheads in place.

 

I have also installed the planksheer on the fo'c'sle.  For this process I shaped the individual pieces (six in all) around a template I'd cut out a year or two back.

 

 

Marking something of an advance in my ability to think ahead, I cut the notches for the timberheads.  Since I didn't think to do that for the quarterdeck I haven't figured out how I'll go back and do it with the planksheers in place.

 

There's a fair bit of litter on the quarterdeck -- that's mostly the molding I've had to pull off to fit the main rails of the head.

 

This evening I'm working on the supports for the catheads & the eking rails.  FFM describes those as two of the most challenging pieces to make.    We'll see!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

[Martin W]

With the catheads in place, it's time to give them their due support.  FFM says of these supporters that "frankly these will be challenging."   The reason for the challenge is that they move vertically and horizontally following the curve of the bow.  The line of that curve is then extended by the eking rail that goes to the hawse hole bolster.  I'm no engineer, but I can't imagine the eking rails serve any real structural purpose.  They  just seem to be one of those delightful details of Baroque architectural details that draw a lovely curve out as far as it will go.  You gotta love it!

 

I pondered the process of shaping a vertical piece into a horizontal curve for a few nights, then fixed on something of a simplified version, at least for the port -- my first effort.  On this side, my cathead supporter proper remains a mere vertical piece only, and the eking rail makes the curved line.

 

For the eking rail, then, I started with 3/16 inch stock that I cut down.  Using the same template that I'd followed for the planksheer, I shaped a card template that I hoped would be identical to the lower section of the bow.  It seemed to fit pretty snugly.  So I then used the main rail to draw a curve on the 3/16 stock, and cut that out with the jeweller's saw (I started out on the scroll saw in my shop, but that place isn't air conditioned, so when the blade broke due to me pushing the stock too fast, I wiped the sweat off my face and came back indoors). 

 

 

 

Then I used the template of the curve to mark the shape of the inside, and using files cut it down, still not at all sure the rough technique would work:

 

 

You can see that the piece is still quite thick, even though I took off a good bit of material.  I'll thin it down further from the outer side (the top in this picture).

 

Here's a trial fit:

 

 

Well, just maybe it will work.  I was surprised at how well the piece lay against the bow.

 

And now there's the question of how to join the eking rail to the vertical supporter.  Since the eking rail has that curve in the back, it wouldn't lie flat in any way that would let me align it simply with the supporter.  Forgive the gap in the photographic record, but I made liberal use of blue tape to hold the supporter in a general approximation of its place, then held the eking rail up and made some quick pencil marks.  The haste was necessitated by the repeated failure of the usually trusty blue tape.  But I did find the angle of the joint, so that I could cut the "scarph" (I'm putting that in inverted commas, because it's how FFM refers to this joint, though it looks like a basic lap joint to me).  Scarph, lap, whatever, I cut it out with my beloved Veritas chisels, and then trimmed the pieces to fit.

 

 

The NMM plans of Fly show the intricate painted decoration on these pieces, but I'm pretty much avoiding that.  So I tried to approximate the simple deep-groove molding of the cheeks by cutting a medial line with a v-tool, then using an old exacto blade (I don't know the number, but it's spear shaped) to scrape a groove.  In this picture the result looks rough, rough, and rough, but on the ship itself it doesn't look too bad.

 

 Ok, so maybe it is just a bit rough.  That's how I left it last night.  I'll do some more scraping this evening to smooth out the joint, and along the edges of the eking rail.

 

For the starboard version, I'm thinking (foolishly?) of taking on that challenge of starting the curve with the supporter itself.  Hey, it's hot outside, so why not? 

 

 

[Martin W]

Doing my best to put the Headworks behind me, I've moved on to the Timberheads -- a small task by comparison. 

 

I first marked out the location on the planksheer for both the Fo'c'sle and the Quarterdeck by using the kit's planksheers (which have pre-cut mortises) as a template.  Then I cut some 3 dozen little Timberheads out of 1/16 inch stock, 1/8 inch wide and 1/4 in long.  These I shaped by cutting a notch 5/32 inch from the bottom, and then cutting toward that notch from 1/32 inch down from the top:

 

 

 

After cutting that wedge on all four sides, I just filed a chamfer along the top edge, and there it was.

 

The next task was to cut all the mortises for the timberheads.  Since these needed to be 1/16 inch wide, I was able to use my handy 1/16 inch chisel from Veritas. 

 

 

Of all the chisels in the set, this one is shaped as a mortise chisel -- whether to create rigidity at that tiny size or what, I don't know.  But it works brilliantly at cutting 1/16 inch mortises.  I have to say that after cutting the mortises for the Fo'c'sle on the wood mill, I worried I wouldn't be able to cut them on the quarterdeck, since I'd already installed the planksheer there.  But when it came down to it, that fabulous chisel knocked the 24 mortises out in no time -- possibly even faster and more accurately than the mill did.  Hooray for hand tools! 

 

Here are the results.  First the Fo'c'sle:

 

While I was at it, I went ahead and put in the Timberhead Bollards.  And I should mention that since this picture I have smoothed out that huge and ugly joint between the cathead supporter and the eking rail.

 

And here's the Quarterdeck:

 

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a small departure from the plans.  FFM says there is one timberhead forward of the break in the quarterdeck.  That number is supported by the kit plans.  But the NMM plans clearly show 2 at that location, so that's the number I put in.

 

These little details induce far less stress than big complex matters.  It took me only a few nights to get all the timberheads done, I'm happy, and excited to move on to a few other small details.  Another way of saying that is that I'm putting off even thinking about the stern for a while.

 

And on another front, here's the latest new borns to pass through my yard:

 

Cheers from turkey land,

 

Martin

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice job!  Seems like a very challenging part of the build that you are handling quite well!

 

Looks like you have Thanksgiving dinner being delivered to your front door?  How convenient!

[Martin W]

Hi Mike -- thanks for stopping by, and for the nice words.  The head is seriously challenging, and proved too many times that my skills are wanting.  I used to say that being baffled by straight lines showed that I was romantically anti-palladian, but now I know all too well that even the curvaceous line of beauty lies beyond my grasp.

 

And I confess, I do have a fondness for real turkey rather than those domestic ones we're reduced to carving up.  But my fondness for backyard wildlife exceeds my appetite.

 

And thanks to everyone who clicked the Like button!

 

Last night I cut out the two Catfall Blocks.  These have an angled notch, and a decorative tail that is also mortised around the timberhead.  FFM says this mortise should go all the way round the timberhead, but the NMM plans show the tail going only about a third around.  I was surprised I was able to cut these so quickly (there was plenty of time left to take Mrs W to dinner).  I just used the jeweller's saw to cut the notch, then opened the kerf with 180 grit sandpaper.  The decorative tail I sawed then refined a bit with some files.  And Ditto with the rear notch I was able to get away with instead of a mortise.  Here's the starboard version, dry fitted in place:

 

 

I made a fleeting effort at using some wider stock to follow the curve of the planksheer, as FFM says would be the case, but the curve on mine is so slight that I decided the effort wasn't worth it.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Martin W
unwanted photo

[Martin W]

From the pointy end to the square end:

 

For the past few weeks, I've turned my attention to the stern.  First up are the windows.  The kit's stern piece is thin ply, and it would work fine, but it's not boxwood.  So I decided to continue with my bashing and try to scratch out everything.  For the frames, I glued in some fairly thick stock (1/8 inch):

 

                                           

They required a little bit of trimming, just to ensure that the actual windows would follow the curvature of the counter (which seems to be a bit less pronounced on NMM's plan).  To get the windows into the proper angle, I used the kit's stern piece as a framing jig:

 

                                           

 

That worked pretty well.  You can see that I marked out the alignment of each of the center frames, and that helped a lot.  I used 3/64" stock for the frames, and cut lap joints for the corners and to set in the horizontal cross piece.  For the vertical cross piece, I cut only one lap in the horizontal piece, and then set the vertical piece up as close to the top and bottom as I could.  That helped with the alignment.

 

                                          

Here they are all in place, with the munions.  In this photo the munions look out of alignment, but I just went back and checked, and in real life they don't look as bad.  Plus they'll be covered with pilasters. 

 

My one gripe is that the 3/64 inch stock makes for some pretty thick looking windows.  I don't think I could have gotten anything thinner to work, since these are pretty delicate as is.  (I might also mention that as I was dry fitting one window in place, it shot out of my tweezers, and flew into the Captain's Cabin.  It took my strongest flashlight, a long bent wire, and 90 minutes of patience to fish it out of there.  That's also when I saw LOTS of shavings and dust lying in there that I also extracted.)

 

Next is the taffarel.  FFM details a lamination process that took me a while to understand, but I think I have worked it out.  It consists of 3 layers.  The bottom, with the grain running horizontally, is the main outline of the taffarel.  I simply traced the kit's piece onto some 1/16" stock, and cut it out.  The middle layer constitutes the three coves along the bottom of the taffarel, and its grain runs vertically.  Then the top layer forms the "arch of the cove" or the border, and it is very thin and fragile, even with the grain running horizontally.  I cut a mold on my bandsaw out of some pine scrap:

 

                                    

 

In this I first glued up the top two layers, covering them with plastic wrap so they wouldn't stick to the mold:

 

                                    

And then I clamped the mold together overnight. 

 

                                     

 

Out of the mold, I hollowed the coves a little bit, and here we are:

 

                                     

 

For the carvings, I'm pretty much planning to follow the layout on the NMM plans, of the King & Queen of the Seas, with various sea monsters around them.  I thought of trying to make the King & Queen a merman & mermaid, but I couldn't get the fishy lower part to look right, since it needs to curve over the cove.  But I do think that instead of the putti flying in the middle section I'll try to carve a Kraken.

 

A few years back I started carving the figures into the taffarel itself.  I gave that up when I saw other builders glue figures onto the taffarel.  And so that's the procedure that I'm following.  And this time as well, instead of using a power carver, I'm using a high number of #11 exacto blades (it's the sharp point that has proven most useful, and it breaks easily).

 

So far I've mostly finished Her Highness:

 

                                        

I was pretty disappointed when I saw this photo, because she looks like nothing more than a blob.  I did cut the folds of her skirt, some curls in her flowing locks, and something of a "face."  But obviously I'm going to have to do some more refining, to get the details to stand out more -- and of course with poly wiped on, they will show up a bit more, but so will all the flaws.

 

And that's where I am.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Nice work on the Tafferal Martin, I admire your approach to scratch as much as you can, particularly the carving which I mostly dodged on my Pegasus build.

How do you intend to glaze the stern lights - acetate or perhaps  clearfill ?

Very much looking forward to seeing the stern decoration develop.

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

Hi BE -- Thanks for the nice words, they mean a lot.  I've never had much success getting any kind of glazing to work.  I've never tried clearfill, so maybe I should give it a go.  What have you used, and what's been your experience?  Any blotching or smears?

 

As for the decoration, last night I sat and stared at both the Queen & not-yet-formed King, and tried to work out a better strategy for their faces.  At this scale, an actual face is impossible -- or at least very difficult -- so the aim is to create some shadows that give the impression of eyes, nose, and mouth.  The problem is that all my tools, even that 1mm gouge I have, are too big.  So we'll see how it goes.

 

Thanks to everyone who clicked the like or react button.  It's great to have folks checking in!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Hi Martin,

I used the brass etched window frames supplied with my Pegasus, and used clear acetate for the glass.

To fix the glass I used epoxy resin - very, very, carefully and sparsely applied. Ca is a no, no, for this purpose as it tends to fog the acetate.

I have used Clearfix  at times and it can work very well. It gives a sort of old fashioned glass look that can look good on period models.

I would suggest you trial some on a spare  frame to gauge the effect.

Those decorative figures are incredibly small at 1:64 scale, have you tried a No 11 scalpel blade point to assist with detailing facial features. Have to handle them carefully to avoid snapping them, but that probably isn't a bad thing when doing fine work.

 

B.E.

 

 

[Martin W]

Thanks for the hints, BE.  I'll try to get a hold of some Clearfix and see how it works.  I'd like something that isn't terribly shiny or transparent.  On my Rattlesnake, I just used some clear plastic cut from egg cartons, and found it less attractive than having nothing there, so I'm hoping for the old fashioned look you refer to.

 

As for the carvings:  last night I pulled out a hypodermic needle (I have a pile from horse vaccinations), and was able to scratch out some details.  But every time I got close to what I wanted, the flex of the needles would lead to a cut too deep or broad, and I'd have to start over.

 

It's the challenges and the learning that keep this hobby compelling.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[flyer]

Hi Martin

 

You obviously don't believe in taking the easy way. Your Fly will be a unique gem.

Would there be a story behind that pile of hypothermic needles which you could tell over that beer?

 

Take care

Peter

[Martin W]

Thanks for that, Peter.  The needles don't come with much of a story, beyond that of my horse getting regular vaccinations.  But usually after the second beer I can make up huge tales.  😉

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Work on the stern continues.  I carved the King, and a pair of Dogfish to go in between the royal couple:

 

The King's face came out a bit better, while the Queen's royal visage is still a bit of a blur.  I tried numerous versions of a Kraken to go between, but they all failed disastrously.  From reading the section on the carvings in FFM more closely, I learned that what I had been calling Putti are actually The Four Winds -- so their puffy cheeks are not cherubic but inflated.  At any rate, they would have been just as difficult as the Kraken.

 

After these three figures, I decided to take a break and work on the pilasters around the windows.  I have a small amount of holly, and wanted to get some more, but the one supplier (not Syren) charges a flat shipping rate of $10, so that even a modest order becomes more expensive that this modeller would like.  So I made do.

 

I fashioned a scraper to cut the grooves.  I then tried several techniques for fashioning capitols & pediments, but they all ended up looking too thick.  Out of necessity, then, I've decided to forego those details.

 

One problem here is that the 2 outermost pilasters on either side can't cover up the edge of the planking.  I'm considering two options for this:  either use a thin piece of boxwood, or hope that the quarter piece offers enough covering.  My guess is that I'll do both (cover with boxwood and hope).

 

In order to begin figuring out how the quarter piece will fit, I've had to attach the tafferal.  I put it back into its curved mold for a few days, and then before it had a chance to spring back, I pinned and glued it into place:

 

 

And then I added the Royal Couple:

 

 

 

The port cove needs to be extended under the King's foot, and the part under the Queen's foot needs a bit of trim.  But this essentially it.  -- I could never find anything to simulate glass for the windows.

 

The quarter pieces pose a new challenge, as they're round carvings rather than relief.  The NMM plans show a lad with a dogfish going between his legs and another sitting atop his curly head:

 

The upper dogfish extends up to the Queen's knee (or the King's over on the port side).  The lower quarter piece appears to have a stylized Kraken (much better than anything I designed or carved) eating some polyps:

 

 

And there's another really good Kraken on the side decoration:

 

 

For now, my plan of action is to set up the trumpeting lad & dogfish as a relief carving that I'll round off in the back after completing all the frontal detail.

 

On a side note, I'll mention that after talking with Mrs W at great length, I've decided this will be my last year in pre-retirement.  None of my colleagues knows yet, but they still seem to have conspired to give me more work than ever.  Between now and May, my shoulders will be bowed and  the bags under my eyes like pineapples.  

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

•  
   

[Blue Ensign]

I like what you're doing Martin, and it will all come good in the end.

I am a bit surprised that you couldn't find anything to simulate the window glass, Railway and Aircraft modellers tend to use these products regularly, but  success  in their application is another story.🙄

To my eye unglazed windows can look a bit dead, and even opaque ones look better than nothing.

 

Wishing you joy in your post pre-retirement year.☺️

 

B.E.

 

[Martin W]

I agree with you, BE, the unglazed windows have as much life as unglazed windows in a house.  I looked online and in Model Expo for any kind of product, and ran into a dead end.  Probably I was using the wrong search term.

 

Simply recognizing that this will be the final year has already made it go slower, my colleagues less charming, and my stomach acid more plentiful.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[rafine]

Looking really good Martin. I have used Micro Kristal Klear for the glazing .It dries clear and translucent. 

 

Bob

[Martin W]

Thanks for the lead, Bob.  Where did you get that Micro Kristal Klear?

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Martin, your stern is really coming along nicely.  Great job!  I'm planning to carve the items as well.  The PE pieces are fantastic, but I think carvings not only provide more of an accurate 3D representation, but also add a lot more charm and character to the build (at least they are for your Fly - we'll see what happens when I get to carvings on my Pegasus).

 

The quarter pieces are what scare me.  Do you know if those face outwards at a 45 degree angle?  I haven't exactly figured out how to set them along the stern.  All I know is that the hanging quarter pieces is the one glaring error of the Amati kits.  That being said, I like the quarter pieces and other stern details for the Fly a lot better than those of the Pegasus - going to be hard to carve a beheaded Medusa.  The NMM plans are a little incomplete too when it comes to the pilaster ornamentation.  I might have to borrow from the Fly plans to fill out the rest of the ornamentation. 

 

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Oh, and congratulations on your upcoming retirement.  That's fantastic, I'm jealous  

 

[rafine]

Martin, I get it on Amazon.

 

Bob

 

[Martin W]

Thanks Bob.  Now that I have an actual brand name to search for, I should be able to find it.

 

Mike -- thanks for the nice words, though I 'm not convinced yet that jealousy is appropriate.  As for the carvings, those Medusas on Pegasus do look intimidating (ahem!), though their size might make carving the facial features more of a possibility than the smaller figures.  FFM's advice of starting out with a model in clay would really help to determine what's feasible.

 

And I'm not sure yet about the angle of the quarter pieces.  On NMM's Fly plans, they look to be facing fully aft.  I had sort of envisioned notching them onto the planking to give them stability.  Though that would violate the need to have a space between them and the bulwark.  I actually haven't started on anything yet (beyond tracing the figures from the plans and gluing them onto some stock), because I'm fiddling with the mullions of the windows.  But once I get a pair of clay models (very rough) done, I hope to be able to figure out the placement.  And, natch, I'll follow the usual best practice of going back to several Swan build logs.  I recall that BE resolved the issue with some Knight figures.  

 

Thanks for checking in.  And thanks to everyone who clicked the like button!

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

I so admire those who can create carvings, but my attempts on Pegasus  ended in abject failure. The figures are so small and I simply couldn’t get down to size using either wood or fimo.  By any stretch of imagination what resulted  hardly represented classical figures of Greek mythology.

I was saved by a Preiser set of 1:87 scale ‘Adam and Eve’ figures which I was able to convert into passable representations of Perseus(complete with Medusa’s head,) the Princess Andromeda, and  Athena and Poseidon, all associated with the Gorgon legend.

The decoration is of course all conjecture and even the decoration shown on the Admiralty plans is probably just artistic licence,  I doubt the Navy Board would sanction such expense for a humble sixth rate.

Still I look forward to admiring the work of those with more resolve than me.😊

 

B. E.

 

 

 

[Martin W]

A brief update.  Starting on the lower quarter pieces, I've mostly been making adjustments to my approach.  As always, I started with a clay model that served to answer just a few questions, like how the angle of the legs should align with the angle of the shoulders. 

 

It's pretty much in the range of the Pillsbury Doughboy, but it served its purpose.  At least up to a point.  As I began to think about actually putting knife to wood, other questions arose, like how to fix the different heights of the various lines formed by arms & legs, not to mention the dogfish curving through the legs.  Since I'm one of those guys who ruin lots of wood, I have plenty of scraps lying around.  I grabbed the one closest to hand and tried working out some of the issues by way of prototype.  This is unfinished, so lots of the details are mere blurs, but this gives you a blurry idea of where I'm headed:

 

 

 

There's a dogfish that will extend from Her Royal Knee down to Triton's curly head.  And of course, the real teaser remains that dogfish weaving its way through Triton's legs.  Oh, and as far as I can make out from the NMM plans, he's holding a small polyp in his hand.  And I can say up front that I can't imagine even dreaming of hoping to carve something that intricate that would be about 1/16 of an inch.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Martin W

[Martin W]

I've effectively completed the two quarter piece carvings.  I feel that I've been working on them continually, but looking at the date of my last posting, I have to wonder.  Ok, I threw out three versions for three different reasons, so maybe starting over and over took some time.

 

Here are some views:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses.  I tried to follow the advice in FFM of doing the two together, but each one took its own route.

 

Looking at the pictures, I wonder where all the detail that I spent so long has disappeared to.  Hmm, I was sure it was there.  Uh oh, and now I've begun to notice other issues that I don't recall having ever seen before.  Time to look away!

 

As I've mentioned before, I have no idea how to attach them.  The lower pieces (yet to exist) will provide a kind of basis, and the dogfish coming down from above might also, but they still seem to be pretty much just in the air.  A basic gluing seems insufficient, but do I really want to drive a pin through Triton's head?

 

Cheers,

 

Martino lento

 

 

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

Well done Martin, I like them, and would be really pleased to have produced such detail on tiny figures.

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

Thanks BE, those are encouraging words.  I'm not sure these little carvings will ever match the meticulous skill you bring to the craft, but I did enjoy making them.

 

Thanks to everyone who checked in -- it's always nice to know you folks are still interested in my desultory work.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Landlubber Mike]

I like them also Martin - very nice!!  

 

I'm a little curious where you come out on how to install them.  I think we had discussed this on your log a while back, but it's hard to tell from the plans how they sit.  They almost seem (at least on the Pegasus) to angle at like a 45 degree angle outward, so not fully square with the stern or fully square with the side of the ship, but sorta in between.  Pinning would probably be the safest thing, but maybe you can run a pin from the figures' backs?  Or pin them into the lower decorations which themselves are pinned in securely?

[flyer]

Hi Martin

This is a very special Fly you are building and will be an unique piece of art. Desultory work? Many of us hobby model builders seem to be a bit overcritical when judging our own work. But I say that you should not judge a finished model by every single little detail (which may sometimes leave a little room for improvement) but by the overall impression - which will be great in the case of your Fly.

(Of course I repeatedly say the piece with the overall impression to myself to overcome the frustration with my own botched details.)

Cheers

Peter

[Martin W]

Thanks for checking you guys.

 

Peter -- Those are very nice comments that I'll carry with me to the boatyard for many nights.  I recently heard a famous woodworker say that the difference between an amateur and professional is that when someone compliments the amateur he begins to list all the faults of the piece, and when someone compliments the professional he just says, thanks.

 

Mike -- I like your idea of pinning these figures from the back.  That would prevent having to drill a hole all the way through.  Last night I spent my whole modelling time sketching possibilities for the lower pieces, and working out the connection between them and the upper quarter pieces.  My plan is to make a sort of L joint (technically, a lap joint I suppose) that the dogfish head would fit into and that would give gluing surfaces at the bottom and the back.  So the two points of support would be the pinned head of the Triton, and the pinned & glued head of the dogfish.  We'll see how it goes.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin