Well,

No rest for the weary.... Thought is was as good a time as any to start the next project. Even though I have already spent a couple hundred hours on research and plan development.

The first test pieces for the stem assembly were put together. Just like the Syren this model will be made out of only basswood. Just in case this becomes a kit for ME that is what they will use. IfI chose a more exotic wood it wouldnt be fairly represented in photos when offered.

Some folks say that it is impossible to get a hard edge with basswood because its to soft. I think if you are careful and go slow it is very possible. I think these stem pieces fit pretty good for a first pass. These are actually TEST laser cut pieces from 1/4" thick basswood. I havent applied any finish yet but I will after I taper down the stem in thickness where the figurehead will go. This is just a test assembly and I have made small adjustments to every template and sent them for the final laser cutting. I think I can get the tolerences even tighter. I also moved a few things around and made the pieces just a hair bigger. Their was a lot of burn residue from the laser that needed to be sanded off and since the tolerances need to be so tight it was difficult to sand it off while still being able to assemble it tightly. It changed the shape a little making each piece slightly smaller. Its an easy fix.

All in all its not bad though. I should have the new pieces in a couple of weeks and will officially start building her. But I couldnt resist.....I think this will make for an interesting kit or semi scratch project. Fun, fun , fun. I thought it might be interesting for folks to see a possible kit prototype come to life from start to finish. The Syren project didnt really start out that way so this one will have the "kit" in mind from start to finish.

Comments and questions are always welcomed

Chuck

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Very nice Chuck.They look very crisp and clean.Walt

Chuck:
Did you produce the transom carvings?
Any guess (rough est.) as to the kind of hours you will eventually put into such a project?
Respectfully......

Thanks Walt,

Dave,

I havent yet made the carvings yet. The plans are as far as I have gotten. I estimate it will take me about 18 to 20 months from now to complete the hull without rigging. As far as hours are concearned, probably 3000-3500 hours including what has already been done.

Chuck

As for the carvings..... Sorry - I am speaking of the graphics of the carvings. Did you create the graphics I see in your drawings?

As for the hours.... I would have figured twice that. Impressed as usual.

Yupp, I drafted them using corel draw. Its my own interpretation of what they would like using the "as captured draft" as a guide.

Chuck

Wwwow!

Chuck,
"No rest for the weary.... " Surely you jest or put another way, who are you kiddin'. Based on the work you do I'd guess that after you finish a model if you weren't working on another right away you'd go into withdrawal. From where I see things, you seem to enjoy your avocation more than words can express.
Fred

Fantastic work, the lines and art are great, your off to a great start, best regards John.

Looks great!! Any idea when you will know if it will become a kit or when it would be available.

Rob

Thank you guys.

John, Yes I do enjoy it like nothing else. What ever happened to the Royal William??Still working on her?

As of right now MS says it will surely become a kit. I hesitate to assume by the time it is completed that nothing will come up to change that. So I usually refrain from commiting. I am always afraid that I may design it in a way that may make it too difficult to manufacture or too expensive to manufacturer. Those would be the only reasons I can think of. But as of now, Model Shipways has agreed to the project as I have laid it out. They are actually cutting every part on their laser cutter so the instructions will be 100% true to the kit. This is unlike the Syren project which I started before they approved the project. The hull was actually completed before they approved it so the photos in the instructions dont show the actual laser cut pieces.

But this one is a go from start unless they see something they dont like. But if that happens I will most likely make the plans and practicum available to modelers anyway.

Chuck

Great work as always Chuck. I think the stem edges are nice and clean. Did you have plans of the Confederacy that you built upon to make your drawings or do you have like a generic frigate plan that you use and build out your drawings from them?
Don

My plans were based on the actual "as captured" draft of the Confederacy made by the royal navy. They are very complete with deck layouts. There are a few subjective decisions to make based on what scant primary source info about certain fittings and gunport lid type etc. But in the end they were made following Lavery and Godwin and Petrejus. I also have copies of Hahns and Crother's plans for reference. The research is ha;f the fun. I am lucky to have a copy of the actual survey of the Confederacy made after her capture. It contains a wealth of info about specific dimensions and construction.

There is actually less reconstruction on this model than there was on Syren.

Chuck

Chuck,
Did I miss something/ Who asked about "Royal William" and I didn't know that you were working on that one.
Fred

I think Johns working on that one. I will stick with one model at a time. At least until I retire.

Chuck

G'day Fred, Chuck asked me if I was still working on the Royal William, yes I am Chuck but only now and then as I have another couple of models to finish for other people, one is the Investigator and the other is a Constructo kit of the Halifax, I think it is fantastic the way you can design and build a model for them to make kits from must take a lot of homework (research ), best regards John.

Looks Great !

I'm kind of new to this hobby so I've been using Basswood as well. Looks like you got some very sharp edges and smooth finish. I look forward to following your build.

DavePete

Thank you very much guys. Its shaping up. The deck plans are almost done. It will give you an idea on how I plan to frame the quarter deck and forecastle. Even though all of the beams and knees will be laser cut, they will all need some shaping to fit the profile of the hull. This will of course be optional. Click the link to see the full PDF version. I still have to add the overhead view of the headrails and a few other details but this plan sheet is close to being completed. I can only imagine the number of tweaks I will do to it once construction begins.

Note my departure from Romero and Hahn and Crothers. I have decided to make the skid beams in the waste on crutches. I think its more interesting and MORE plausible for the 1778 time period.

FUN!FUN!FUN!

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Your drawing detail is exemplary Chuck. It reminds me of my engineering days as a die designer. You must have hours of time in this drawing alone.

I imagine components like your cannons and knees you just duplicate once you have one done and place them into position. This is a 2D object correct Corel Draw doesn't do 3D does it?

Don

Thanks Don. Yes it is 2D only. Corel is not capable of 3D. But you must still think in 3D to make the plans work.. At least I think so. I have several hundred hours logged on the plans and research up to this point.

Chuck

I am currently waiting for some supplies and havent started working on the hull yet. While I wait I figured I would get a head start on the figurehead. The torso is pretty much done. It will be cast as you see it. The arms will be cast seperately and the builder will need to assemble the figure ahead of time. I still have to sculpt and carve the arms. One with a shield and the other with a sword. Hopefully it will be done by next week. This figurehead was sculpted using Sculpey and carved afterwards. You can see with the dime attached to the stem just how small it is.

Chuck

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A great looking figurehead Chuck. The detail is incredible even with out arms. Have you considered doing a practicum on sculpting?

That's truly a beautiful job Chuck!

Richard

Thanks Guys

I an going to try and finish it up this weekend. I will post more photos then. I really have no plans for a tutuorial. After about an hour I found countless numbers of free tutorials online that show how to use polymer clay or Sculpey. Just do a Google search. Working with the material is easy. The hard part is sculpting something that looks like a person. It just takes practice. I picked up some traditional books on sculpting the figure from my library. Its the same thing only much much smaller.

I am looking forward to my hull materials coming soon so I can actually start the hull.

Chuck

Well its just about done. The arms are only temporarily held in position with uncured clay. I wanted to show the shield a bit lower than you normally see it. I think it covers too much up the way you see the usual Confederacy figurehead. I think I achieved what I was looking to do. My biggest goal was to create a figure less stiff and squat than on the typical Confederacy models I have seen.

I still have some tweaking to do. The hands were really tough. They are so tiny. I think it looks OK but I am not entirely happy with it. I think I can do better. The problem is I am rarely satisfied with my results and it borders on destructive behavior. i just cant stop once the obsession takes hold. So i think I will live with this one after some minor smoothing and adjustments. This figurehead took more than two weeks and a lot of frustration. I really dont want to do another right away or if at all.

Time to set it aside for a while so I can come back and look at it with fresh eyes later.

I heard that my parts are on the way for the hull and hopefully they will come on Monday. I am sure the holiday weekend will slow down delivery. Its a good time to switch to the hull. I will make a mold of all three parts of the figurehead now and then permanently add the arms to the master clay torso afterwards. This way i will at least preserve it in case its the one that i will use with the kit (if there is one). My wife tells me to stop obsessing over the details and it looks fine. I tell her it "IS" all about the details and I could do better. Got to love the hobby!!!

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