HMS Enterprise 1:160 scale Boxwood - Unicorn Models

AllanKP69 · Sunday at 5:41 AM

Assuming she carried 9 pounders the below should be close. Sorry for the imperial numbers. The height of the gun port would be about 5mm to the center from the deck. IF the gun barrels that you have are correct the distance from the deck planking to the top of the carriage should be about 4.5mm I believe Enterprize had 7 foot barrels which were actually closer to 7' 11" long based on what I could find.

dockattner · Sunday at 5:49 AM

RichardG said:
I have little choice.
The supplied carriages are not to my liking.

I sincerely look forward to celebrating your success, Richard. If it helps...you might experiment with stabilizing the wood with CA. I can't do it because of an allergy - but you will be operating at/beyond the limits of the wood so the CA might give it a bit more integrity.

RichardG · Sunday at 7:22 AM

dockattner said:
I sincerely look forward to celebrating your success, Richard. If it helps...you might experiment with stabilizing the wood with CA. I can't do it because of an allergy - but you will be operating at/beyond the limits of the wood so the CA might give it a bit more integrity.

Thanks Paul,

Fingers crossed. I'm interested in the CA stabilising idea. How does it work?

Made the small cutter this a.m. The wood is extremely thin. Still some planking (0.3mm thick!!), and finishing to do.
My advise to anybody trying this cutter model is take extreme care aligning the template and tack it with CA. I didn't glue it initially which resulted in the jig coming apart mid construction. I had to then disassemble multiple frames to get it all back together again.

RichardG · Sunday at 7:24 AM

AllanKP69 said:
Assuming she carried 9 pounders the below should be close. Sorry for the imperial numbers. The height of the gun port would be about 5mm to the center from the deck. IF the gun barrels that you have are correct the distance from the deck planking to the top of the carriage should be about 4.5mm I believe Enterprize had 7 foot barrels which were actually closer to 7' 11" long based on what I could find.
View attachment 551245

Unfortunately, the supplied cannons seem very oversized. I could be wrong, but I'll check them against details in your post.

RichardG · Sunday at 7:26 AM

dockattner said:
Without disparaging your skills in any way (see your 1:96 version for evidence of same) - if you can scratch 1:160 scale gun carriages out of wood that are better than what the kit has provided you will have my eternal respect. I truly hope you do it and shame me for having doubts!

I've never made them before but seen carriages made with a mill, so I might try that.

RichardG · Sunday at 7:45 AM

AllanKP69 said:
Assuming she carried 9 pounders the below should be close. Sorry for the imperial numbers. The height of the gun port would be about 5mm to the center from the deck. IF the gun barrels that you have are correct the distance from the deck planking to the top of the carriage should be about 4.5mm I believe Enterprize had 7 foot barrels which were actually closer to 7' 11" long based on what I could find.
View attachment 551245

At 7'11', I make the 1:160 cannon length 15mm. The supplied cannons are 16mm.

dockattner · Sunday at 8:06 AM

RichardG said:
I'm interested in the CA stabilising idea. How does it work?

Just take thin (non-gap-filling) CA, soak it into the wood, and allow it to set (might have to mist it with water). This gives the wood a bit more internal integrity making it is less likely to flake or crumble - at least in theory. I have seen it used by those doing marquetry and wood turning (and model ship building).

GIG1810 · Sunday at 9:21 AM

Hello Richard,

I have also ordered the rear part, but in the pear colour. I am very pleased that there is someone else who builds the Unicorn Model kit. I think the quality is very nice and really great. Unfortunately, I really overlooked how thin the ribs and other parts really are. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get it right. We would be happy to exchange ideas ...

Best regards

Günther

RichardG · Sunday at 1:20 PM

dockattner said:
Just take thin (non-gap-filling) CA, soak it into the wood, and allow it to set (might have to mist it with water). This gives the wood a bit more internal integrity making it is less likely to flake or crumble - at least in theory. I have seen it used by those doing marquetry and wood turning (and model ship building).

Thanks, I'll try on some scrap and see what changes with the propertie.s

RichardG · Sunday at 1:25 PM

GIG1810 said:
Hallo Richard,

Ich habe mir auch das Heckteil bestellt, allerdings in der Farbe Birne. Ich freue mich sehr, dass es noch jemanden gibt, der den Bausatz von Unicorn Model baut. Die Qualität finde ich sehr schön und wirklich super. Leider habe ich wirklich übersehen, wie dünn die Spanten und die anderen Teile wirklich sind. Ich drücke dir die Daumen, dass du es hinbekommst. Wir würden uns gerne über einen Austausch freuen …

Beste grüße

Günter

Hi Gunter,
I do not have the stern, section but think the quality must be similar. It is a challenge in hard boxwood, I am not sure how fragile the pearwood version would be.
I broke a few frames making the main ship, but they are eaasy to repair.

Cheers

Strand · Sunday at 6:27 PM

AllanKP69 · Sunday at 7:32 PM

RichardG said:
At 7'11', I make the 1:160 cannon length 15mm. The supplied cannons are 16mm.

That would still make them 7.5 footers and I would go with them as that may be what was actually on board. I cannot find anything specific to HMS Enterprise regarding gun barrel length, only general numbers for 28 gun ships of that era which was slightly shorter.
Allan

AllanKP69 · Sunday at 7:39 PM

RichardG said:
I've never made them before but seen carriages made with a mill, so I might try that.

Great idea. These are large scale, but give the general idea.

You can make a simple brass cutter to use to round the ends of the axles, although at your scale, it my be easier to just file the ends round.

RichardG · Monday at 1:26 AM

AllanKP69 said:
Great idea. These are large scale, but give the general idea.

View attachment 551466
View attachment 551468

You can make a simple brass cutter to use to round the ends of the axles, although at your scale, it my be easier to just file the ends round.
View attachment 551475

Thanks. It has to be worth a try. Milling is a new thing to me, but I get a sense that a 0.8 endmill at high speed is a good starting point. I figure it'll take some R&D and lots of failures.

I might try to make small dowels for the axles and insert them. At this scale it should look fine Cautious

GIG1810 · Monday at 4:07 AM

Hey Richard,

That sounds exciting. Thanks for your comment on my humble build log. I have now broken 12 frames because I simply had problems attaching the keel. But I was able to glue the frames well with special superglue gel. I'm still not sure whether I'll redo the mounts and guns. I really like the guns. I'll have to have a look at the gun mounts. They're really tiny and really unstable. I don't know yet whether I'll build new ones. I'm curious to see how you solve this ...

Best regards

Günther

AllanKP69 · Monday at 5:32 AM

RichardG said:
Made the small cutter this a.m. The wood is extremely thin. Still some planking (0.3mm thick!!), and finishing to do.

First and foremost, at your scale, that is a fantastic looking boat. For the planking 0.3mm planking MUCH too thick if you want it to be to scale, With the rest of the boat looking so good, why do they give material that is nearly 3 times too thick for the planking? The planking on cutters according to David Steel were typically a 5/8" to 3/4" thick (0.11mm) so a bit of a nightmare at 1:160. Even card stock is far too thick but bond paper is about right and might be easier to work with.

Allan

AllanKP69 · Monday at 5:44 AM

RichardG said:
I might try to make small dowels for the axles and insert them.

I agree. Maybe an axle with the dowel and a flat piece to fit into the bottom of the carriage brackets. something like the below. Maybe more than necessary though for this scale.
Allan

RichardG · Monday at 7:27 AM

GIG1810 said:
Hey Richard,

That sounds exciting. Thanks for your comment on my humble build log. I have now broken 12 frames because I simply had problems attaching the keel. But I was able to glue the frames well with special superglue gel. I'm still not sure whether I'll redo the mounts and guns. I really like the guns. I'll have to have a look at the gun mounts. They're really tiny and really unstable. I don't know yet whether I'll build new ones. I'm curious to see how you solve this ...

Best regards

Günther

With pearwood you are likely to have more breaks, but CA solves them. I agree the cannon barrels look good, if a little thin. I like them too.

I'll wait to complete the gundeck before returning to the gun carriage as the gunport height will be critical.

RichardG · Monday at 7:29 AM

AllanKP69 said:
I agree. Maybe an axle with the dowel and a flat piece to fit into the bottom of the carriage brackets. something like the below. Mybe more than necessary thought for this scale.
Allan

View attachment 551507

Yes that could work.

RussF · Monday at 2:29 PM

dockattner said:
Just take thin (non-gap-filling) CA, soak it into the wood, and allow it to set (might have to mist it with water). This gives the wood a bit more internal integrity making it is less likely to flake or crumble - at least in theory. I have seen it used by those doing marquetry and wood turning (and model ship building).

Place them on waxed paper first, though.