HMS Fly Build (Amati) 1:64 by Nomad

Nomad

Nomad

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With my first build Bluenose II under the belt I thought I'd go for broke and have a crack at Amati's HMS Fly, a 1:64 scale model of the sixth-rate Swan Class ship rigged sloop that was originally built in 1776. It is a magnificent looking ship and it was a picture of the HMS Fly that drew me into the world of ship modelling in the first place.

We'll see how it goes. But I'll start off this build the easy way, by unloading the contents of the box in a series of photos below. There is a YouTube video called First Impressions, Victory models HMS Fly that presents Amati's HMS Fly in a far more professional manner than I could muster, and well worth watching if you are interested in this model.

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This is indeed a beautiful model and together with the HMS Speedy, the HMS Fly is the one British ship I wouldn't mind building. I will most certainly tag along as you build - the best of luck!
 
Heinrich said:
This is indeed a beautiful model and together with the HMS Speedy, the HMS Fly is the one British ship I wouldn't mind building. I will most certainly tag along as you build - the best of luck!
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Thanks Heinrich, I look forward to having you on board again and please don't hold back on your thoughts and opinions, they are invariably constructive and much appreciated Thumbsup
 
Good luck with the build, it will be a really nice one to follow. I'm following the Shipphotographers build of Amati's HMS Pegasus which is very similar to Fly. You will have a superb model at the end. I may be tempted for a future build!
 
Very nice looking model.I am sure it will be very attractive when finished.Do you also want to apply copper plating.
Wish you all the best
 
DomCee said:
Good luck with the build, it will be a really nice one to follow. I'm following the Shipphotographers build of Amati's HMS Pegasus which is very similar to Fly. You will have a superb model at the end. I may be tempted for a future build!
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Thanks DomCee. Yes I too am following Shipphotographer's build of HMS Pegasus. Apparently the Amati Fly and Pegasus kits are nearly identical. I think Fly was behind on a few points, such as the gun carriages, which is why they introduced the upgrade kit. It feels strange going all the way back to the beginning again, hull construction and plank bending, but I suppose that is the nature of model building .... wash, rinse and repeat :)
 
Korsan said:
Very nice looking model.I am sure it will be very attractive when finished.Do you also want to apply copper plating.
Wish you all the best
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Thanks Korsan. The HMS Fly kit did not come with copper plating like it's sister ship the HMS Pegasus, but I'm not sure I would have applied it anyway. Not with this build at any rate. I quite like the look of natural finished wood and might forego the white paint prescribed for the lower half of the Fly's hull as well :)
 
Nomad said:
Thanks DomCee. Yes I too am following Shipphotographer's build of HMS Pegasus. Apparently the Amati Fly and Pegasus kits are nearly identical. I think Fly was behind on a few points, such as the gun carriages, which is why they introduced the upgrade kit. It feels strange going all the way back to the beginning again, hull construction and plank bending, but I suppose that is the nature of model building .... wash, rinse and repeat :)
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Good afternoon Mark. I’m excited to see you build HMS Fly. Good choice. Excellent idea getting the upgrade and I like the look of the Amati kit. I have my couch and remote in the front row;). Cheers Grant
 
Many Thanks for starting this building log - I will follow your progress and take a seat
 
GrantTyler said:
Good afternoon Mark. I’m excited to see you build HMS Fly. Good choice. Excellent idea getting the upgrade and I like the look of the Amati kit. I have my couch and remote in the front row;). Cheers Grant
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Thanks Grant! I must admit that the Amati material does look like good quality, although I only have Artesania Latina to compare with at this stage, whose rigging thread in particular left a bit to be desired.

This is going to be a long movie, but thanks for climbing aboard. Feel free to use your remote to stop, rewind or change channels at any time. The pause is most welcome, but please, never press the fast-forward button ROTF
 
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hms_fly.jpgJust wow! Thanks for sharing that picture Heinrich, now there is a thing of beauty. It is very motivating indeed. And daunting. My hands start to shake every time I look at all that rigging Redface

I will keep that picture on hand for those moments of doubt in the months (years?) ahead. I have also bookmarked Daniel's build of the HMS Fly which he completed with flying colours very recently :)
 
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Right, here we go again. Workbench swabbed, tools cleaned, blades replaced, cleared for action. There was a definite sense of déjà vu returning to the same starting point as my Bluenose II nearly a year ago, extracting sheet parts with infinite care and filing away all those nasty little tabs :)

The most noticeable difference with this Amati kit so far are the plans and instructions. Where Artesania Latina provided many colourful pictures as a guide and no ship plans at all, Amati supplies mainly written instructions only and 1:1 scale plans of all the parts of the ship. It assumes some prior knowledge of ship building for sure, and it feels like I've left the playground and entered a classroom where I have to start thinking for myself :oops:

Just a modest start so far, keel and ribs removed in preparation for a dry fit.

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Nomad said:
Right, so here we go again, workbench swabbed, tools cleaned, blades replaced, cleared for action. There was a definite sense of déjà vu returning to the same starting point as my Bluenose II nearly a year ago, extracting sheet parts with infinite care and filing away all those nasty little tabs :)

The most noticable difference with this Amati kit so far are the plans and instructions. Where Artesania Latina provided many colourful pictures as a guide and no ship plans at all, Amati supplies mainly written instructions only and 1:1 scale plans of all the parts of the ship. It assumes some prior knowledge of ship building for sure, and it feels like I've left the playground and started high school where I actually have to start thinking for myself ROTF

So just a modest start so far, keel and ribs removed in preparation for a dry fit.

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.....and so it begins...:D
 
Hi Nomad
The laser cut pieces on your photo look qualitativ very impressive.I have also taken my seat to follow your build.
I wish you all the best by finishing your model
 
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