HMS Prince 1670 by Spiderpig - FINISHED - Constructo - Scale 1:61

[Sjors]

There is a lot of decoration at the bow.

 

But again, great job !

I will wait till you have done the galleries.

If necessary I'll be waiting for hours   

 

[DCIronfist]

Wow that's a lot of little bits to go on but sure does look good :)

[Spiderpig]

Thanks guys for the kind words. Brian it will be nice to see other Prince builds up! It's such a shame that not many people build the Prince. Considering what a beautiful ship she is. I also noticed that there is a model ship club in Melbourne. Do you know of any in Perth?

 

Adam

[Spiderpig]

Thanks guys for the kind words!

 

I decided to put off decorating the stern galleries for now and back track a few steps that I previously missed. Starting with installing the gunport doors.

 

Each door needed to be made by hand with some African Walnut, in 10mm X 1mm. Each door is 10mm X 10mm, The open doors have an internal section of 8mm X 8mm in the same wood. I then added the false hinges, and a small pin to imitate the handles.

 

 

 

Constructo puts in 2 lengths of the African Walnut to make the doors. However the colour's between the two are very different. This didn't phase me, as I thought it would be nice to pattern the doors like so:

 

 

You can see I alternated with the 2 colours to create a pattern all the way along the side of the hull.

 

Next I added the cannons. I added all but the 8 cannons that sit on the upper decks. I will add these later. Originally I was going to blacken them, but after some advice and seeing what they look like in the bare brass colour, I decided to keep them in the brass look.

 

 

 

There is also some more figurines at the stern end. I am yet to complete inbetween these with some steel mesh. I will paint the mesh blue to imitate windows.

 

Thanks for watching.

 

Adam

 

 

[Spiderpig]

A small update for this week. It has been a bit slow on the decorating of the stern gallery, but the end results are pleasing. This is port side so far:

 

 

I'm yet to varnish all the wood strips surrounding the cast metal decorations. To make the plaits of brass at the top of the galleries I simply folded a length of 0.8mm brass wire in half. Then pinched one end with a pair of long nose pliers. Stick one end in a drill, I used a cordless drill as they are less powerful and come in handy for a job like this. Then you simply turn the drill on and off until you reach your desired plait of brass! It's that easy! 

 

I then moved onto adding the steel mesh that imitate doors.

 

 

The fine steel mesh supplied with the kit was supposed to overlay the wood of the ship after you painted the wood. I'm not a highly skilled painter when it comes to model building, so I came up with another plan. I cut out a section of steel mesh that I required. Then spray painted it in a Tamiya Mica Blue paint. Being very careful not to over spray too much paint. Wait for the piece to dry, then simply glue it in place! You can just see the glue marks behind, so a little more care will be needed for the other areas.

I am very pleased with how it came out! And I'm glad I don't need to paint the small areas in between the other figurines. You can see the ones in the photo just above the one I have completed. They will require the same process. There is also a lot of steel mesh parts on the stern gallery to add as well.

 

For now I have flipped her around and continued on with adding the gun port doors. I will complete starboard side over the next few days. Varnish all the wooden areas, then move onto decorating the upper stern area.

 

Thanks for watching

 

Adam

[Sjors]

Just beautiful !!!!!!!!

 

 

[Spiderpig]

Updates for this week have been good. I managed to get most of the stern area decorated, and the outside of the hull is nearly complete!

 

Starting with the stern galleries complete with the steel mesh that imitates the windows:

 

 

Next I installed the rudder, along with the chains.

 

 

I then moved onto the back of the stern:

 

 

And complete with blue steel mesh for windows:

 

 

Lastly I added the brass lanterns at the top of the stern:

 

 

Thanks for watching

 

Adam

[DCIronfist]

Wow that sure ia a lot of flair you have there....looking great :)

[SpencerC]

Looks great, I really want to do this ship. Watching with interest

[Spiderpig]

Thanks guys for the kind comments!

 

I have now moved onto decorating the decks of the ship. Starting from the top deck at the stern:

 

 

I'm still yet to varnish the ladder. But this section of the deck is mostly complete. There is a flag pole holder to be added in the middle, at the back of the deck later.

I did alter the door slightly. The instructions indicate to use 4mm x 1.5mm x 17mm African Walnut, but I decided to trim each section down to about 3mm wide. I then added a small beveled edge to the inner sections of the door to give it some added realism.

 

 

I then moved onto the next level on the deck. I still haven't quite completed it yet, as each level gets more detail as you work towards the bow.

 

 

I have also added a few cannons to the deck. Although the instructions don't indicate to rig them up, I decided it would look a bit nicer with some rigging. This is my first time rigging cannons, so I'm not sure if this is the authentic way of doing it. I found this method from a You Tube video of this model done by a Russian man. He rigged his cannons in the same manner.

 

 

And finally some deck decorations that I have been working on. I have completed the gratings, but rather than installing them yet, I am waiting until I get to the section of deck they are attached to. The other parts are spiral staircases, that will be added to the edges of each deck level. Again they are complete yet, and I do want to give them a coat of varnish prior to installation. And also a couple of cannons that are nearly ready for installment. I still need to build 10 more which I can do a bit later on.

 

Thanks for watching

 

Adam

[Spiderpig]

More updates for this week. I am slowly working towards the bow of the ship adding all the decor as I progress along each deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sections at mid ship still need a few parts added. And a coat of varnish. And there is a row of cannons to add to port side.

 

Thanks

 

Adam

[SpencerC]

I love the stairs but you should sand the outside and inside edges to round it out.

 

Also on the second to last picture, the very outside-most railing; you should bevel the part that is slanted from the lower part of the railing to the upper part so that it is flush.

[DCIronfist]

Wow you have been doing such a great job.....

[Spiderpig]

I haven't done any updates for a while, but seen as I'm now on holidays and have plenty of time to get some done here goes!

 

The hull is now complete with decorations and so forth. I am still yet to add the channels for the masts, but I have decided to install these once the masts are ready to be installed. That way I can line them up properly. Other than that I am now ready to move onto the final step of building the masts and rigging her up!

 

Here are some final photos showing some of the detail on the deck:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the Belaying pins are not glued in place yet. I simply added them for pictures. I will glue these in once I start rigging her up.

 

I made some small changes to some of the detail. Starting with the Capstan. This is the way it is supposed to be built according to the photos in the instruction manual:

 

 

I altered it by adding some 2mm dowel to the pre drilled holes in the top part of the Capstan. This required some experimenting. I started off by using toothpicks, but the wood wasn't to my liking. It was to white, and had no character. I would prefer to use a darker wood, with a bit more grain texture through it. So I went through some of spare parts from previous models and found some nice Mahogany 2mm x 2mm. Perfect! I simply used some 120grit sandpaper to grind it to a curvy shape. Then smoothed it off with some 400 grit sandpaper. Cut the lengths evenly and glued them in place. Once the whole thing was varnished, this is what it turned out like:

 

 

And a long shot of the whole grating section:

 

 

Here is another change I made, which I may have mentioned in an earlier post. I decided to rig my cannons on this model, which I never done in previous projects. I found a You Tube video of this exact model of a Russian modeller who used this method to rig his cannons:

 

 

It's probably not the most authentic way of rigging a cannon, but I am happy with the way it looks over simply gluing each cannon to the deck.

 

And now the final part of this post. I need some expert opinions on this matter. I have been rattling my brain to come up with ideas to replace the mast material that Construto send with the kit. It's a horrible white wood with very little grain texture through it. It almost looks fake, and there was no way I was going to complete the Prince with it!

 

 

And a shot of what it would look like on the ship. This wood is so white it is nearly cammoflaged with the walls of my home!

 

 

So I came up with a number of ideas. Starting with simply staining the original dowel with a Mahogany stain. This didn't work as the wood turned purple, and I wanted to create a similar colour to the main outside of the hull:

 

 

So I then tried finding other types of dowel that I could find. But the unfortunate thing with living in this city is that other types of wooden dowel are hard to come by in the local stores. I could only find Pine and Tasmanian Oak from the local hardware store. Tasmanian Oak was quite nice:

 

 

A slightly darker wood with much nicer grain texture. I tried the Mahogany stain on it as well, but I got the same result with wood turning purple.

 

So as a last idea I purchased some Walnut dowel from Cornwall Model Ships in the UK. Great store with many varieties of parts and so on to choose. It arrived in the post yesterday! Just in time at the beginning of my Christmas/New Years break! So I can get started on the masts sooner than I expected.

 

 

 

A much darker wood, that will look great once I give it a few coats of varnish!

 

I had to change the thicknesses a bit as 3mm Walnut dowel wasn't in stock at the time. So I ordered some extra lengths of 4mm dowel to compensate. However this works out in my favour as the plans say to use 3mm dowel for the top section of each mast. I think 3mm is to thin, so I'm going to change it to 4mm. And if this doesn't work I can always grind down the 4mm down to 3mm.

 

Here is a shot of all three types of dowel I have now. Starting with the dowel supplied in the kit (Anatolia is the name of the wood), on the left. Tasmanian Oak in the middle, and Walnut on the right.

 

 

Thanks for watching, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Stay safe and keep those posts coming!

 

Adam

 

[Sjors]

Hi Adam,

 

That's a real beauty !

I love your way of working.

I'm happy that you are chancing the masts for other wood.

This looks more real.

And your capstan is just outstanding !

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you and your love ones !

 

[WackoWolf]

Beautiful work, excellent detail. I really enjoy watching this build. Keep the pictures coming. Merry Christmas and have a Happy and safe New year.

[demonborger]

Have you considered just painting the masts?

[Spiderpig]

Thanks guys!

 

I didn't consider painting. Although matt black with a coat if varnish could look nice. Thanks for the advice. I may try it to see what it comes out like.

 

Adam

[CaptainSteve]

Mr Pig !!

My apologies for not discovering your build earlier.

Anything further that I could possibly add to what has already been said about your work would probably be censored.

That is abso-f%#$-lutely beautiful !!!

Edited January 28, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[Spiderpig]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

 

Rigging has begun! The ratlines are complete on starboard side.

 

 

 

And now a question on attaching the shrouds to the lookout nests.

 

Do I need to attach them closer to the outer edge of the lookout nests? Or are they OK as they are in the below photos?

 

 

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Adam

[Sjors]

Hi Adam,

 

Nice ratlines 

 

For your question ,I think you have to put them a little bit more to the edge.

Now they can not walk behind it and the shrouds are more in an angle and not straight as you have them now.

Take a look at the mizzen mast at the San Ildefonso and you see what I mean.

 

[CaptainSteve]

I would second what Sjors has said. Moving them closer to the edges will give more of an angle.

[Spiderpig]

Thanks guys. I might look into re doing the shrouds on the birds nest.

 

Sjors. The only issue I have with my birdsnests is they are circle shaped. It makes it hard to drill holes on the edge that will line up together. Your birds nests are squared on the edges. I did the same on my Corsair.

 

I'll see what I can come up with.

 

Adam

[Sjors]

There is always a possibility Adam,

 

Maybe you can cut out a little bit of the edge where the deadeyes are coming ?

So the deadeyes are free of space.

Just a thought.....

 

[Spiderpig]

Well after about 2000 Clove Hitch Knots, the ratlines are finally finished! Its been a long process! I have also completed the fixed rigging on the Prince.

 

Next is too install the anchors, prior to starting on the yards and running rigging.

 

Photos to follow this weekend.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Adam

[Spiderpig]

Its 1:61 Brian. Mamoli do a 1:144 version as well.

[Spiderpig]

Ok so as promised here are the ratlines. I'm am so happy with results of changing my masts to Walnut. Looks much more realistic.

 

 

 

 

 

And I found a solution to the angle of the upper sections of ratlines at the foremast, and main mast. Seen as my birds nests were circular I could only fix these two masts. Mizzen, and bowspirit masts had to remain as they were, due to the nests being too small.

I simply drilled new holes as far to the outer edge of the nest as I could to create more of an angle on the shroud rigging.

 

 

Sorry about the darkness of the photos. It was late in the evening and my lighting wasn't that great for photography. Perhaps I should do a study course on photography to create better photos. I have seen some great shots on another post of a Victory scaled 1:600. It was so cute! Fits in the palm of your hand! The builder superimposed his model on an ocean backdrop. Looked great!

Photoshop or something similar will be able to create that right?

 

Anyway I'm getting off topic. 

 

Cheers for watching

 

Adam

[Spiderpig]

Rigging is well and truly on the way to being complete now. I have altered the rigging on the Prince, compared to the plans.

 

 

 

You can see the fore mast sails have been curved with the addition of some blocks and line. The main mast sails are left flat. The plans indicate to leave them with a flat profile. I haven't actually completed rigging up the main mast sails as yet, but just wanted to show the difference between a curved profile, and the flat one.

 

 

I also went ahead and built up my display base. I altered the original one with my own design.

 

 

The kit comes with these 2 pedestal blocks to mount the completed model onto. I felt that given the sheer size and weight of the model these 2 blocks wouldn't be a good enough support to display her. So I crafted my own.

 

 

Using the frames that the plywood bulkheads came in, I simply cut out the outer shell of 2 of the frames. One about mid way from stern and one about mid way from the bow.

 

 

Once they were cut out, shaped to size, glued onto the base I then covered up the horrible plywood with left over Mahogany strips that were spare from the hull. I added some red felt to protect the hull of the ship. The base itself was made out of MDF board with a veneer on the top. I added some strips to the edges, along with a length of Ramin and Walnut to give it a nicer finish. Finished it off with 2 coats of Satin varnish.

 

I also have a name plate on the way. It came from Cornwall Models, through the Amati parts section. although you can't actually buy the kit anymore, parts are still available from some suppliers.

 

Thanks for watching 

 

Adam

 

[Sjors]

You are in a big rush Adam ?

 

Looks just great !!!!!!!!

I think you soon will be finished ?

And then ?

 

[Spiderpig]

Hi Sjors

 

No rush, I just get into a groove and can't get enough of this hobby! It's so rewarding and fun!

 

I think another few weeks before she is done. Holidays coming up, so that will give me more free time.

 

As for the next project, I'm still unsure. I've narrowed it down to about 3 kits. I want to try another manufacturer to compare.

 

How is Corel or Caldercrafts kits?

 

I'm deciding between Euromodels Cocca Anseatica, Model Shipways Syren and Corels Galleon Vanetta.

 

Cheers

 

Adan