HMS Dragon 1760 by Siggi52 - FINISHED - Scale 1:48 - English 74-Gun ship

[SJSoane]

 

Hi Siggi and druxey,

 

Thanks, I never noticed the lady's hole scuttle did not have a coaming. My Bellona section shows no coamings for any hatches or scuttles, and so I assumed all of them would have coamings, including the lady's hole. But once you pointed this out, I looked again at the Bellona gundeck plan, and it does indeed show no coaming (see below). I have ceremoniously thrown my coaming into the scrap bin. One less piece to glue on!

 

Best wishes,

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hello,

 

just to show you that I'm hard working, here some pictures of the actual progress. It's harder then I thought, because you have to plan 3 steps in advance. After the ledges are installed you could't change nothing on deck.

 

Regards,

Siggi 

[SJSoane]

 

Siggi,

 

Phenomenal photos. It feels like we are on the actual ship.

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hello,

 

so I have the gun deck ready and it should't be longer for me. I have a lot respect for those who build the whole ship this way.  With this I did't mean all the small things I build in, but the plain ship. These bent hanging knees where the hell. But for the next deck I will go an other way and set first the deck beam and then the cannons in. They where much in the way, but I'm learning 

 

 

 

 

The following pictures I made again with my iPhone. Here is the red color a little to red. In reality it's more brown as in the first picture. I think it's the light.

 

 

 

 

 

The next thing to build would be the capstan. 

 

Regards,

Siggi

 

 

[garyshipwright]

Good job Siggi and a fine job bringing her deck to life. Now I have a question about the lanthorns and other fine items, and was wondering did you take any pictures of them as you was making them?. Once again sir good job. Gary

[Jaekon Lee]

Hi, Siegfreid the Dragon fighter, I've just catch up your build log. Thank you for sharing your really great job and beautiful coloring. Lee

[SJSoane]

 

Hi Siggi,

 

I echo Gary's question. Do you have any photos of making the small details? They look very good.

 

Great photos!

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hello,

 

thank you all for your kind words.

Mark and Gary, unfortunately did't I have pictures making all these small things, but I post some extra pictures of these things.

 

 

That was the see chest manufactory, I think I made them for the whole navy!

 

 

 

Cups, dishes and buckets for food

 

 

The drums. In this part of the ship live the soldiers.

 

 

and all the other stuff, mostly for the cannons. Now I see that I have two water cisterns in the picture, a smaller bucket like these where for grenades.

 

Today the sun is shining here, it's mostly a wonder after 14 days of rain and that was the opportunity to take pictures of the gun deck without neon light.

 

 

So looks the red paint naturally. It did't look soo red. 

 

Best regards,

Siggi

Edited January 16, 2015 by Siggi52

[druxey]

Until I saw the pencil, I didn't realize how small some of those details are. Very impressive, Siggi!

[Flamborough]

Hi Siggi, did you the small stuff under the microscope ?? I'm waiting eagerly for more pictures !!

 

Monty

[garyshipwright]

Thanks Siggi. I really really like the detail and gives me ideals about adding some of this to Alfred's gun deck. Gary

[Siggi52]

Hello, the capstan is growing. But now I have to pause, I hope for only a short time. The man in the saw pit are on strike. That means my circular saw needs repair. But here the newest pictures. The paint is't already dry, so new they are

 

Regards,

Siggi

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Wunderbar Siggi,

 

the Fitting out of those decks Looks very realistic to me

 

Nils

[SJSoane]

 

Very nice, Siggi! I found it very challenging to cut the octagonal hole within the capstan head, to slide down on the barrel. You did it flawlessly.

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Thank you Nils and Mark,

 

precise workmanship is your domain Mark, I'm more for shortcuts. The barrel is't octagonal, it's 10 sided and the upper part 12 sided. For 5 and 6 whelps. I made the hole in the lower drumhead a little larger, so I could get it just over the barrel. Later with the help of glue and color you would't see it.

Damn, now know it all 

 

Regards,

Siggi

[SJSoane]

 

Hi Siggi,

 

Yes, you are right, my mistake. The barrel is indeed 10 and 12 sided. Your method worked well!

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Hello, the capstan is ready! I think I must not explain the pictures, they say all.

 

Regards,

Siggi

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Siggi52]

Hello again,

 

I have a question about the pawls. I could't find any description or picture, at which place they where installed.

 

Version 1, the one I prefer 

 

 

 and Version 2

 

 

I would prefer the version 1, because here the pawls are closer to the drum and in rest they are supported by the partner. I think that is also the reason that say are so long. Not to hold the pawls like in version 2. But I'm not sure.

 

The second question is, did the upper drum has also pawls? In one book I read no, but I could't find any passage that say yes. Only this picture of the for jeer capstan from the Bellona. I'm looking for the main/rear capstan.

 

 

Many thanks in advance,

Siggi

Edited January 28, 2015 by Siggi52

[druxey]

I agree with your short pawl version, Siggi. I've seen many contemporary models with pawls similar or identical to the ones in the photo you've posted. They are on the upper deck partners.

[Siggi52]

Druxey, did you mean with that, that they are on both drums. They did't run in sync, I will say one drum has 5 and the other 6 whelps. So only one pawl will work.

At most models you will see only the fore jeer capstan, on deck and with pawls. In my case it's the rear capstan and I read that there only the lover drum has pawel. That is what Doods & Moore wrote. Lavery ignores them and Goodwin goes strait from the ancient capstan over to the 1790 version with pawl rings.

[SJSoane]

 

Hi Siggi,

 

I don't have any more information than the photo of the Bellona. You make a good point that the pawls cannot work at the same time on two decks, because they cannot hit the whelp at the same time, with 5 on one deck and 6 on the other. If they were fitted on both decks, it could only be for the convenience of working the capstan on one deck or the other at a given time. Can you imagine one team yelling up the other deck, "don't worry, we will kick in the pawls if necessary"....

 

Mark

[Siggi52]

Mark, I think that was not the problem. There are enough gratings around. But if one accidentally kicked it in! In my case, if they use only the upper drum, one man could stay at the lover capstan for that purpose. I don't know. 

 

Siggi

[druxey]

I believe that the pawls were only on the upper capstan, Siggi. This is the case on the contemporary model of Princess Royal, 1773. (Legacy of a Ship Model by Rob Napier, page 75.)

[Siggi52]

druxey, if the pawls would be only at the upper capstan, that long extension at the partner would't be necessary.

 

I found a picture of the gun deck of the Ajax 1767, here you can see the pawls, the long version (!), at the aft capstan. The fore capstan seems to have non, or they are lost here.

 

 

Then I looked again through the pictures Mark send me from the Bellona and I found one where you could see also at the upper capstan pawls. So I think I could build pawls at every capstan.

 

 

Regards,

Siggi

 

 

 

 

[SJSoane]

Siggi

 

Well spotted, I never noticed the pawls in that photo before!

 

Mark

[druxey]

In the Bellona model photo, the pawls are on the upper capstan head. In the Science Museum Ajax lower deck photo, does this imply that the fore capstan had pawls only on the upper capstan, while the lower fore capstan was fitted with long pawls? (In a photo of the NMM model of Ajax, one can see the pawls on the fore upper capstan.)

 

This is becoming an intriguing thread! 

[Siggi52]

Mark, I found it between the forecastle pictures. I had overseen it too.

Druxsey, I have build now for both capstans long pawls, because at the Bellona picture the pawls look also longer then I have seen them normally. 

I have an other picture, ok without any pawls. My friend took this picture 2 years ago and all I know is, that it should be a 70 gun ship in the NMM.

 

 

Here we see that the fore capstan has a round plinth (I don't know if this is also a partner?) If it is a ship of the 1790th there could be a pawl ring, if not there will be no pawls at the lover capstan. 

 

I think it could be so, that the fore capstan is mainly worked from the upper drum. Here they could see what actually happens and could also work the pawls when needed. Only when there is a heavier load to manage, they would manner the lover drum. 

At the aft capstan it would be the same, only when the get in the anchor, the lover capstan would be the commando centrum and then they would use also the lover pawls. 

 

Ronin, I'm sorry, but that I did't know.

 

Regards,

Siggi

[Siggi52]

Robin, sitting at the sofa, having a beer after work, a cat at my knees, then I have time to think. I think yes they used both capstans. They had not only to remove the pillars at the gun deck, but also at the upper gun deck. So these capstans would be useless if they could't do that. For that short time, even when that are hours, it would't harm the ship, or they made something totally wrong.

 

That is Mini, she was the model for the rudder chewing cat at the stern 

 

 

Regards,

Siggi

[Siggi52]

I have found it, what ship it is above. No. SLR0440 of the NMM http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66401.html

 

a 70-gun, two-decker ship of the line (circa 1730). Then they had't a pawl ring and I think no pawls at the lower capstan.

 

Siggi

[Siggi52]

Hello,

just to show you the now ready capstans. 

 

 

The workers meanwhile are busy and started planking the deck. The waterways and spirketting are ready. The spirketting for the starboard side is frech painted, so it has to wait until tomorrow.

 

Regards,

Siggi