HMS Bellona Corel 1:100

[FriCap]

Hi, Nearshore!
It's great to see you!
After the MSW website crashed, I was most disappointed by losing the contacts of the people I interacted with on the forum. I had a few contacts, and you're the only one building a ship like mine. I think we have a lot to discuss, and it will continue in the future! As for the loss of data on the website, it's certainly frustrating, but it's not a death sentence. Yes, we have lost advice, ratings, comments, but the most important thing is still with us – our ships. Well, and numerous photos that can be posted again, along with explanations of the stages of construction. I've been on this website for a little over a month. I stumbled upon it on the internet and decided to post the process of building the model here as well. I've summarized everything in a few posts. As it turns out, it was worth it... I believe that if you have the desire, you can spend a couple of evenings and restore the build log here or on another website. It will be interesting and useful for me and many enthusiasts of our hobby to see your posts and observe your wonderful work! I believe that we will succeed! Good luck and good health!



Sincerely, FriCap

 

[Ronald-V]

Nice to see your amazing work on the Bellona again Fricap!

 

[FriCap]

Hi, Ronald! I'm very glad that you're here, and I'll be able to continue watching the construction of your Sphinx and possibly other projects in the future! Good luck and creative success!)

 

[FriCap]

Hello everyone!

Some time ago, I made the capstans for Bellona.


I wasn't very satisfied with the result, and I thought about redoing them. Recently, I purchased two sets for making capstans using laser cutting.
The problem is that are much taller than necessary and have a larger diameter Drum-head . I decided to reduce them to fit Bellona at 1/100 scale. After several hours of work, I achieved my goal. I needed to reduce the height of the whelps while preserving their upper and lower parts. I cut them, removed the middle, and glued them back together.



The first capstan didn't turn out very well, because I cut and glued the whelps separately. It was challenging to achieve parallel edges and uniform size. The second one was easier. I also cut the whelps, but I assembled the upper and lower parts of the structures separately. Then, once they were assembled, I polished the edges before clye it. After assembly, I clamped the workpiece in a drill machine and used sandpaper to finish the shape. According to the pictures, I inserted pins made of brass wire into the first capstan.





I didn't like the look of the pins, so I didn't install them on the second capstan. I made the height of the capstans and the diameter of the Drum-head according to the drawings from Brian Lavery's Anatomy of a Ship.



They turned out to be larger than in Corel's drawings, but I believe this is more accurate. They also look more substantial than the original design. The first capstan, which turned out to be worse, will be located under the quarterdeck. It will hardly be visible. The second one will be on the open part of the main deck.




Yours sincerely, FriCap

 

[FriCap]

I decided to redesign the kabestans again. Fellow modelers pointed out the discrepancy to the prototype.
Cheeks should be much thinner than whelps. I redid the first capstan without disassembling it. The upper cheeks were carefully trimmed with a knife, and the lower part was ground on sandpaper, and then the lower parts of the whelps were glued. I've completely disassembled the second capstan. I'll remake the whelps and cheeks. Then I'll think about which one to install where... Although the capstan, which will be under the quarterdeck, did not make much sense to redo. It won't be visible anyway). But when I attached the quarterdeck, I found out that 14 mm of height, as per Lavery's drawing, was too much. The quarterdeck was almost touching it. So I made it 1 mm lower.

 

[FriCap]

Hello everyone!
I have redesigned the second capstan. In fact, I had to practically make it from scratch. Even the barrel had to be made new, as the old one had holes from nails. Only the drumhead remained unchanged. This is the second redesign of the capstans. The photos show the difference between the new ones and the original version. During the construction process, I am studying various information about ship design and modeling techniques. Some of the details that I made some time ago no longer appeal to me, so I am changing the design. Unfortunately, some things can't be changed, as it would essentially be building a different ship. Well, hopefully the next model will be better!)
Sincerely, FriCap

 

[GrantTyler]

Good morning. Kudos on the redo's, both the doors and capstan. I love the macro pics - a beautiful Bellona is being made. Cheers Grant

 

[FriCap]

I want to paint the sides of the model, just like it was on the prototype. Many modelers do this, and it definitely makes the model look different. However, although the pattern is not too complex, I am not a skilled artist, and the work is delicate and requires precision. Therefore, I have approached an artist I know, and she is willing to try. However, in order to paint the model, the sides must be prepared and the gun ports must be the correct size and in the correct positions. To do this, I need to install the quarterdeck and all the equipment underneath it, including the cannons. When I was making the decking, I neglected to make the boards grooved, and now I'm trying to fix it by making cross-cuts. I also tried to simulate nails by simply drawing dots with a simple pencil. It didn't turn out well, and I gave up on the idea. Fortunately, I did it in a place that wouldn't be visible. Just to see how it would look, I placed the equipment and cannons on the maindeck. To simplify the design, I don't think it's necessary to tie the cannons that will be under the quarterdeck. At least three on each side.

 

[FriCap]

Good morning. Kudos on the redo's, both the doors and capstan. I love the macro pics - a beautiful Bellona is being made. Cheers Grant

Hi, Grant! Thank you for your feedback!)

 

[FriCap]

Hello everyone

Before installing the quarterdeck, it was necessary to install the deck equipment and the cannons that are located under it, as access to this space would not be possible later. Since the area under the quarterdeck would not be visible, I simplified the details. For example, I did not complete the full binding of the cannons. I did not install the rings and hooks, but simply simulated them. Additionally, I used a thread from the kit, which had poor quality. These were done for practice purposes. I want to equip the cannons that will be open for viewing in a better way. To simulate the nagels that hold the deck boards, I bought a brown marker with a line thickness of 0.2 mm. The result is still not perfect. The size of the dot depends on how hard you press. I decided not to clutter the deck with this pattern and only simulated it at the joints.

Sincerely, FriCap

 

[FriCap]

The next step after installing the quarterdeck is to lay the decking boards. When I did this on the main deck, the poop deck, and the foredeck, I didn't join the boards together like I did on the prototype. However, after observing the work of other modelers, I decided to include this feature. On the main deck, I made transverse cuts in the already installed decking boards, but here, I decided to separate the decking boards immediately. To keep the layout even, I decided to first assemble all the slats into one package, cut them and then immediately glue them to the base. I used masking tape for this. It turned out much faster, but I didn't really like the result. Perhaps the imitation of nagels and the installation of deck equipment will improve the appearance of the deck…

 

[FriCap]

After installing the quarterdeck and lining the inside of the bulwarks, it became possible to align the row of gun ports. It turned out that the three aft ports on each side were lower than necessary. I had to install planks from below and cut off part of the bulwark from above to make the guns fit properly. That's how it turned out.

 

[Peter Schaap]

After installing the quarterdeck and lining the inside of the bulwarks, it became possible to align the row of gun ports. It turned out that the three aft ports on each side were lower than necessary. I had to install planks from below and cut off part of the bulwark from above to make the guns fit properly. That's how it turned out.

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It is going to look beautiful, FriCap!

A general question, especially for our experts; I notice on several ships that the cannons are also secured with a thick cable. Are those proportions correct, or could that thick cable be a bit thinner?

 

[GrantTyler]

After installing the quarterdeck and lining the inside of the bulwarks, it became possible to align the row of gun ports. It turned out that the three aft ports on each side were lower than necessary. I had to install planks from below and cut off part of the bulwark from above to make the guns fit properly. That's how it turned out.

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Good afternoon. She is beautiful- you are owning this build. Cheers Grant

 

[FriCap]

It is going to look beautiful, FriCap!

A general question, especially for our experts; I notice on several ships that the cannons are also secured with a thick cable. Are those proportions correct, or could that thick cable be a bit thinner?

You obviously mean breeching tackle? This is a tackle to hold the gun during recoil. It also presses it to the side during rolling. It was made of a shrouded cable, the thickness of which for guns on the main deck could be 7-11 inches. In a scale of 1:100, the thickness of the thread should be less than 1 mm. But in such a small scale, for better visualization, you can slightly increase small details. To be honest, I didn't bother and took the thread that was at hand. This is about 1 mm. It's not visible under the quarterdeck anyway) As I mentioned earlier, I will carefully select the details for the elements that will be visible. If I have made a mistake in estimating the thickness of the breeching tackle cable, I would appreciate hearing from experts.

 

[Peter Schaap]

You obviously mean breeching tackle? This is a tackle to hold the gun during recoil. It also presses it to the side during rolling. It was made of a shrouded cable, the thickness of which for guns on the main deck could be 7-11 inches. In a scale of 1:100, the thickness of the thread should be less than 1 mm. But in such a small scale, for better visualization, you can slightly increase small details. To be honest, I didn't bother and took the thread that was at hand. This is about 1 mm. It's not visible under the quarterdeck anyway) As I mentioned earlier, I will carefully select the details for the elements that will be visible. If I have made a mistake in estimating the thickness of the breeching tackle cable, I would appreciate hearing from experts.

It was certainly not meant as criticism of your ship (which I actually think is very beautiful), but it was just a general question, also because I will have to deal with the same thing on my own ship soon. I didn't really know where to ask this question so quickly. If you did happen to take it that way, please accept my sincere apologies.

 

[FriCap]

It was certainly not meant as criticism of your ship (which I actually think is very beautiful), but it was just a general question, also because I will have to deal with the same thing on my own ship soon. I didn't really know where to ask this question so quickly. If you did happen to take it that way, please accept my sincere apologies.

Peter, I didn't take your question as criticism, although I'm always open to objective criticism.) It's just that you asked, and I became curious. I found the information I wrote about on the internet in just five minutes. I'm not a big expert in modeling, and I'm still learning many aspects as I build my model. Therefore, any questions or discussions can only benefit us in our hobby. That's what the forum is for! Regards, FriCap

 

[Peter Schaap]

Peter, I didn't take your question as criticism, although I'm always open to objective criticism.) It's just that you asked, and I became curious. I found the information I wrote about on the internet in just five minutes. I'm not a big expert in modeling, and I'm still learning many aspects as I build my model. Therefore, any questions or discussions can only benefit us in our hobby. That's what the forum is for! Regards, FriCap

Thanks for your reaction FreCap, indeed like you I am looking for all info I can get and adopt it.