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

[Martin W]

Just a quick update:  most of the upper planking is now in effect complete.  It goes much faster than the lower planking, since the hitherto hated plywood gunport strip provides a solid base to plank onto, and it's not as geometriclly complicated as a curved hull.

 

After making a few rough calculations, and working out just a rudimentary chart, I figured that the usual 5/32" wide planks used on the hull wouldn't work out up here, creating issues with the vertical spacing of the ports, and the overall space of the bulwarks.  So I cut a bunch of my 5/32 strips down to 1/4" and they seemed to work well, with a few exceptions.  For the tapers going up to the ports, I had to rely on wider stock, of course, and then shape it with chisels.

 

First a general broadside view of port:

 

                                         

 

(All views are of the portside, because the starboard isn't quite done.)

 

And here's a shot of the bow:

 

                                          

 

Midships:

 

                                          

 

FFM has a fancy hooked scarph joint on the top row here.  The butting pattern shown in FFM seems to have continuous planks in places that didn't seem to work out; the window for the Captain's Cabin created an issue as well.  So what I'm leading to is that I needed a butt in the second row (actually FFM doesn't have this row), so I put in a hooked scarph there as well.  Maybe it's a bit too much -- more in the roccoco mode than the baroque which would have governed the architecture of these beautiful ships, but I bowed to exigency.

 

Finally here's the Quarterdeck:

 

                                           

 

Blue Ensign notes that the two aft-most ports are smaller than the others, and I heeded his comment here, though I do think that last one does need just a wee bit more opening.

 

There's quite a bit of trimming to do, but I'm leaving that till I plank the inside so I can trim both in & outer planks simultaneously.

 

Here's a question:  should I line the ports with their sills before I lay the inside planking?  I'm thinking that since they need to be stained red, I could save myself some heartache, and since everyone who's done that step has hinted that it tends to lead to a degree of tooth-grinding I'm thinking that I could set them in and plank up to them.

 

Oh, and if anyone has suggestions on how I can get my pictures clearer, I'd appreciate. Criminey, I don't think my hands rattle so much that every shot has to be blurry, but I just can't get them as clear as I see on other logs.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Martin, really nice work, things are coming along nicely.

 

Not sure what to tell you on the sills.  They are inset a bit from the outside from what I understand.  I forget if the bulwark planking covers them up from the inside though.

 

On the pictures, light plays a huge effect.  I bought a point and shoot camera with a much bigger light sensor, and my pictures are a lot clearer.  There are some basic ways you can touch up the photos as well.  I usually increase the exposure level a bit for a brighter picture, and sometimes tweak the sharpness as well to bring out the fine details.

[Mirabell61]

Good work Martin,

 

the hull is looking better with every posted progress of yours....

 

Nils

[Martin W]

Thanks for the comments, guys.  Nils, I appreciate your kind words, and am humbled by the overwhelming evidence of your own craftsmanship.

 

Mike -- You're no doubt correct about the light:  my workbench is set up in the safe room (next to the beer fridge), and there's only one bare bulb in the ceiling, and then my work light.  I should either put in a new ceiling light or move the model before I photograph it.  My point & shoot is a Coolpix, and I honestly don't know if it has a big light sensor or a small one, but I can say that I wouldn't recommend this particular camera to anyone -- outdoors the viewing frame tends to go black, so pictures are a guess.  And indoors it always wants to flash.

 

In volume 2 of FFM, page 69,  the sills, or linings, or stops (surely there's at least one other term?!) are said to act as a rabbet for the lids.  This makes me think that they sit back from the outer planking.  The same paragraph also says, "the upper edge of the spirketting should be at the same level as the tops of the lower sill stops.  The quickwork will be flush to the inner surfaces of the stops at the sides of the port."    So that would mean that I should install these sills/linings/stop/whatever before even starting on the inner planking.

 

It makes sense, Spy, that there would be linings only on the ports with lids.  But FFM says that all the ports, plus the sweep ports, get them.  Hmm, those sweep ports are pretty tiny, so I'll have to see how things go.

 

The heat has begun here on the prairie, so I'm staying indoors, and will get in some extended planking time.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[pnevrin]

That means I shouldn't have done my inner bulwark lining before I lined the gunports... oh well. Vol 2 of TFFM is in the mail so may halt building for now until I can read up.

 

Your Fly is looking mighty good Martin. THe second planking on your build looks so much lighter in colour than mine. Did I miss something earlier in your log, ie you're using a different timber for the planking?

 

EDIT: just saw you're using boxwood. order restored!

 

- Per

Edited July 4, 2015 by pnevrin

[Martin W]

Just the quickest of updates.  Planking on the outside is coming to a close (happily).  I've pretty much wrapped up the starboard bulwark, and cleaned up the gunports.  Here are a few shots.

 

First a full-on view broadside:

 

                               

 

Next the starboard bow:

 

                               

 

The Quarterdeck:

 

                               

 

And here's the one hooked scarph joint for this side:

 

                               

 

My basic plan held true for this side, more than for the port.  A few slight adjustments here and there, but it mostly went smoothly.  Perhaps one reason was that the holiday weekend meant that I could spend full afternoons at the task rather than having to come back over several days.

 

Per -- Yes, I'm trying to stay with boxwood pretty much throughout the build.  Parts of the wales are holly, since I knew I'd be staining them, and I had more holly at the wider dimension than boxwood.  As I think more about those linings for the gunports, I'm again considering holly.  I have some remnants from my previous build that are thin strips, and I am testing them with stain to see how red they can get.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

Edited July 7, 2015 by Martin W

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks really great Martin.  I love the specialty planks around the gun ports - great look!

 

Can I ask, for the wales did you use GF's black stain or ebony dye?  I liked the color of the black stain a little more, but I'm thinking of trying out the Fieblings Leather Dye to see how well it covers.  Also, are you thinking of tree nailing the wales and/or hull planking?

 

I have 10 planks to go for the wales.  I've been doing the top and butt planks per TFFM.  I decided to cut and sand them by hand, given that they are not all uniform.  Takes quite a bit of time!  I'll be glad when it's all said and done.

[Martin W]

Thanks for that, Mike.  I did indeed use GF black stain.  It goes on well, as you should know, being a GF fan yourself.  I've noticed that plenty of other folks speak highly of the Fiebings, but haven't ever tried it.  As for the treenailing, well, I'm of two minds, or maybe one and a half:  I think they're good looking, and even add one of those miniscule touches of authenticity & completeness.  For my Rattlesnake, I went for the Cadillac look and use contrasting walnut for the treenails on a holly hull; and I did the same for the holly planking here.  I had planned on using bamboo on the hull, and with the aim of getting the treenails down smaller than I ever managed with the splintery walnut.  But my planking on the lower hull has enough issues that I fear any treenailing would just call attention to this Fly's questionable sea-worthiness.  I might still put them on the bulwarks.  But I would also really like a break from planking.

 

You might try cutting the top & butt planks with a sharp chisel.  Then you can use one plank to trace the pattern for its mate.  Once I realized a chisel can cut like a plane -- it's not just a chopping tool after all -- I fell in love with it.  It's more manageable than an excacto, and far more accurate than sanding or filing.  I mostly use a 1/8 inch dovetail chisel from Lee Valley Veritas.

 

Have a look:  http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=46035&cat=1,41504

 

Cheers, and I hope you enjoy your T&B planking -- it can be satisfying.

 

Martin

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks very much for the recommendation Martin.  I'm using a thicker Xacto blade which I think is a chisel blade (fits the bigger handle) to cut the 2mm planks.  It's a bit slow, but running the blade against a straight edge seems to be giving me good results.   I've heard a lot about these Lee Valley tools though, and maybe it's time I upgrade.  Seem to be very good quality and you can sharpen them I think.

 

Stupid question, but since this is a chisel, are you using a hammer to get your cuts?  I'm assuming not, but when I hear "chisel," I think of someone with the chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other chipping away at stone.

[Martin W]

Hi Mike -- These chisels are absolutely only to be used with hand pressure.  They really should be considered high quality precision knives for doing the small, detailed work we do.  I just bought a sharpening system from Lee Valley; I haven't used it on these small chisels yet, but I did try it out on my full sized bench chisels, and had amazing results.  These cheapo tools now have edges sharper than a razor!  I fooled around a few minutes on Sunday with a piece of scrap, acting as though I were cutting a tenon in a 2X4 and got very precise cuts.  It was one of those moments when the scales you hadn't even known were there suddenly fell off my eyes.

 

I have that exacto chisel, and use it quite a bit, though mostly for the chopping action.

 

Spy -- Thanks for checking in, and for the nice words.  They do matter.  I'd love to see more progress on your Peg, but your careful and attentive work on the Pickle continues to provide real guidance.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

The gunport linings/sills:  I found some thin stock left over from my Rattlesnake, and decided that with staining it would work fine.  It's 1/16" holly, which means that at a crucial step its softness comes in handy.

 

First I measured and cut the bottom pieces, since the measurements for the 2 side pieces will come from these.  After staining them with General Finishes Cranberry, I glued them in.  Once the glue dried, I trimmed them flush with the inside of the plywood.

 

                                                              

This is where it's nice to have a softer wood to trim, since the lining is attached to nothing more than the width of the plywood.  I worried that I'd pull at least one lining off, but with a new exacto blade and some luck, I got through them.

 

                                                            

 

These shots require the acrobatic vision of a modelling deity looking down from above, since no 1:64 scale shipwright would be able to reach in and down.

 

Here's the more quotidian view from outside:

 

                                                            

 

Next I measured and cut each side lining, stained them, and glued them in.  Here is a midship port waiting for the two sides to be trimmed:

 

                                                          

 

My decision to line all the gunports had more to do with aesthetics than anything -- I simply think they look good lined, and the red makes for a striking splash.

 

But according to FFM, even the sweep ports get lined.  We'll see how that works out.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[pnevrin]

Looks good Martin. How far in are they recessed? I'm thinking they need to be recessed the equivalent of the thickness of the middle part of the gun port hatch so when shut, it's flush against the lining? (does that make sense?)

 

- Per

[Landlubber Mike]

Looks great Martin, very nice job!

[Martin W]

Thanks for checking in, everyone, and thanks for the likes.

 

Per -- I am setting the linings in as you say, just the thickness of the plywood.  The point, according to FFM, is to allow the outer planking to serve as a rabbet for the gunport lids -- as Spy suggests.

 

And Spy, my understanding is that the inner planking goes over the linings, and that's the point of doing the linings first.  And now that you mention that about the sweeps, I begin to recall that that's how I did the Rattlesnake.  It would definitely be easier.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Looking good Martin, as you say the Quickworks, (fancy name for the inner planking) runs over the linings, and the Spirketting runs up and covers the stops on the inner side.

 

I drew the line at lining the sweep ports, at only 3.3mm square, it was beyond my tolerance level.

 

Have or are you going to do anything about the foremost Bridle port which should be a little narrower than the gunports? As an oversight I didn't and with the outer planking completed it was too late.

 

B.E.

 

 

[Jimz66]

Looking good Martin... Keep it up. 

[Martin W]

Hey, thanks for coming by, BE & Jimz66.

 

BE -- That's good to hear about the sweep ports, since I cut some thin scrap I had on hand last night, but have been dreading trying to set those little tiny bits in. Maybe I'll follow your inestimable lead and skip 'em.  As for the bridle port, I didn't know it was narrower.  I just planked up to the opening in the gunport strip.  I''ll have to check that out.  I do recall from your log that the two aft-most ports are narrower, however, and so they are on mine.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Yeah, right, Spy -- I've followed your progress on both the Pickle and Pegasus long enough to know you seldom take the "easy" way -- you're a consumate perfectionist!! 

 

Meanwhile, I used some scrap boxwood to line the bottoms of the sweeps.  And what I've realized is that to line all 4 sides, or even 3 would essentially close up the sweep port.  I'll post a picture later, but I think I'm going to take a chance of making them look weird by just setting the bottom linings in.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

There's been a little bit of progress on the inner planking.  In re-reading BE's log, I saw that he whitewashed the captain's cabin to bring in as much light as possible.  I have quite a bit of holly strips, so I thought I'd achieve the whitewashing by using those.

 

Here you can see that I've run the holly up to the level of the quarterdeck, above which there will be boxwood.

 

                           

 

The yellowing on the deck there is -- ahem -- glue.  I didn't notice it until looking at this picture, and will scrape it up prontissimo.

 

Every other part of the inner bulwarks will be boxwood.  The first concern was how to afix the spirketting, which should be significantly thicker, by almost double, than the quickwork that goes between the ports.  FFM shows the spirketting in top & butt planking, but at 1:64 I would have some very narrow planks.  I decided to cut a single strip of 1/16" boxwood that would fit up to the gun port linings.  Here you can see the contrast between the spirketting and the quickwork:

 

                               

 

Although you can't tell from this photo, this side's sweep ports have linings on both the bottom and sides.

 

Above the quick work the thicker stock resumes.  Now, FFM shows a scarph joint on the plank just above the ports, but in a plank on bulkhead kit model, the planking only extends between the bulkheads and so would not necessarily need jointing.  Again, I just ran full-length planks.

 

                                 

 

This shot gives a clear view of the different thicknesses.  That thin little strip lying on the deck is what I'm going to attach to the bottom of the spirketting to simulate a waterway.

 

Now that the Oklahoma temperatures are hovering in the upper 90s, I'll be fighting off cabin fever by working in the boatyard, so progress could be enhanced.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

 

[Landlubber Mike]

That's looking really great Martin.  The spirketting versus the quickwork is a really nice touch.

 

For the gunport linings, did you run the cranberry strips up to the edge of the plywood of the gunport patterns?  A little further past it?  I was wondering how thin and narrow these strips actually have to be.

 

Speaking of which, how thin did you cut the sweep port linings?  I bet that was a lot of fun 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Landlubber Mike

[Martin W]

Hi Mike, thanks for looking in.  And thanks to everyone else for the likes -- it's always good to get support.

 

Mike, the linings lie inside the external planking, and are therefore just about the thickness of the plywood gunport strip.  At first, I just installed the strips, and cut them down to the thickness of the plywood.  But then I happened to see some very thin strips in my scrap pile, so I stained those and cut them to length.  That ended up being just as easy, and saved the frustration of knocking them out of place while cutting them back.  The stock I used for the linings is 1/32" thick.  I found some thinner stock that I used for the sides of the sweeps, but ended up thinking that even with that the sweeps look too small lined on 3 sides.

 

Right now the biggest challenge I face is keeping the planks all even at the edge of the gunport so I don't have to file -- filing inevitably knocks off some of the stain.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

The Fixed Blocks:  In the discussion on fixed blocks in FFM, David Antscherl comments that they are a detail many modellers overlook.  Well, a reason for that might be because they're kind of a pain.

 

The first step is easy enough: I just marked out the location on the bulwarks in accord with the plan in FFM.

 

                                                  

 

(Ignore the gap in the planking!)

 

Next I drilled out the space with a dremel:

 

                                                  

 

Using a variety of needle files and ye olde exacto, I cleaned out the area to make a tidy rectangular hole.  Applying the exacto to the inside required some maneuvering:

 

                                                  

 

Once I got the hole clean, I began fitting the block, which I cut from some 1/6" boxwood and filed down to the dimensions of the hole:

 

                                                  

 

Next, I drilled the sheave holes in the block.  This step required using my micro mill as a drill press, since I didn't think I'd be able to get the hole straight through doing it by hand.  The mill works well, but the set-up took an easy 45 minutes (I'm still figuring it out).  I took a wild guess and used a #79 bit, then decided that was too small, so I went with a #75.

 

                                                   

 

Then, using a small gouge, I cut a groove into the surface:

 

                                                   

 

And then I set it in place:

 

                                                   

 

Oops!  the aft block is only single sheaved!  Feeling like a "block" head, I made the correction, moving the double-sheaved forward,

 

                                                   

 

And then making a single-sheaved block for the aft position:

 

                                                   

 

In hindsight, I have to think it would have been easier to cut the holes in the plywood gunport strips, and then plank up to them.  Almost certainly I'll remember to try that out on my next build to see how it goes.

 

Next up, the Chain Pumps!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin                                 

[Blue Ensign]

Neat work Martin, but I'm getting a bit confused (not difficult these days) with your forwards and afts and block configurations   

 

 The double block was forward of gp4 (to take the Fore sheet) and the single block was aft of gp2  (to take the Main Tack) ie the single block is forward on the ship but aft of the port, and the double block is aft on the ship but forward of the port.

 

What you seem to have configured is a single sheaved block for the  Fore sheets, and a single hole for the Main Tack.

 

Have a look in Vol 11 page 125, and you will see the configurations, the double block has the two sheaves set one above the other.

 

This was my own attempt at the blocks in progress, but having made the separate block for the double, I came the conclusion that faking it with scribed outlines looked no different, so I went with that for the singles. The other consideration I found was that once the topsides were painted and the decoration added I could hardly see the bally things anyway.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

You're  confused???!!!  Criminey, BE, I really mixed that one up!    Somehow when I read "single sheave," I translated that into single hole.  And now I can't even find the passage in FFM anymore.  I see exactly what you're referring to on page 125, but have lost the description.  Well, looks like I'll be getting out the IPA, and I don't mean the potable variety.

[mog]

The build is looking really good,  don’t you just love the sweep gun ports,  kind of makes the rattler look tame, will be following the progress.

[Martin W]

Thanks mog, I appreciate that.

 

The quickest of updates, or maybe I should say correction:

 

To move the aft fixed blocks, I had to pull off a plank -- and on the port side 2 planks.  I won't show that ugly scene, but it went better than it might have done.  Once I got the new planks in (which covered over the old hole for the mistake fixed blocks), I could go through the process of drilling, filing, and shaping necessary to fit the block.  BE, I was very tempted to follow your idea of scoring in the outline of the block, and then drilling in the sheaves, but my planking lines up in such a way that these blocks overlap a seam in the planks.

 

Here's the port side corrected:

 

                                               

 

You can see the clamps over on the other side holding in the new planking.  I'll get the fixed block done there tomorrow.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Martin W]

Well, onward to the chain pumps.  These I fabricated quite simply (and simply by following BE's lead) through using the kit-supplied forms as the base for a wee upgrade.  The upgrade is based on FFM's description of the chain pumps, though mine lacks some of the detail that I'll leave to more experienced masters.

 

First off, here's the kit-supplied form for the cistern, with the tab at the bottom that should fit into one of the square holes in the deck.

 

                                                     

 

Since the whole idea of the pumps is to bring water up through a pipe, I'm leaving that tabe to simulate the pipe (let's say, a squarish version of the pipe).  The smaller tabs on each side would serve as the feet of the cistern, so I cut those off, and replaces them with tiny versions of those shown in FFM:

 

                                                     

 

The pieces of boxwood extend a bit on the outboard side to allow for the pump dale slide (I don't think I'll include the dales).

 

And here's a rough version with the hood added (nothing sanded yet):

 

                                                    

 

And here they both are with the drain stoppers added:

 

                                                    

 

I haven't worked out the handles yet, largely because my wire supply is low, and it would seem best to fit them out after I put the hatch in permenantly, which won't happen till I get a few coats of poly down (rhymes with holy, as in the scrubbing stones!).

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Blue Ensign]

Nice job on the pump casings Martin, they look really good in boxwood, wish I hadn't painted mine black now.   I did make the dales out of a bit of rectangular stuff but they're not permanently fitted and in truth not much of them can be seen.

 

Good 'fix' on the fixed blocks.

 

B.E.

[Beef Wellington]

Martin - somehow I missed your build here, anyway, I'm all caught up and will be following you from here.  She looks a real beauty, great work.

[Martin W]

Hi Guys -- Thanks for checking in.  BE, to tell the truth, after looking at your chain pumps, I came close to painting mine black;  but my overall plan is to keep as much plain wood visible as possible, and as much boxwood as I can.  And thanks (twice!) about the fixed block. 

 

Jason, thanks for coming by.  I've checked out your log on the Snake and have to admire your ability for fine detail -- it's a beaut!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin