HMS Diana by Caldercraft

Today I had to notice something strange again: a contradiction in the instructions versus plans.

According to the instruction booklet you first need to glue the Black strike (0.5 x 1mm) and then another 6 strips (1 x 3mm) which gives a total width of 21mm. But if you do this the last strip will be under the waterline!!!! On the plan the total width is only 18mm so you stay just above the waterline!
So instead 7 strips (21 mm) I only gleu 6 in order to stay above the waterline!!! Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick

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Hi Fly
The contract for the Diana gives slightly different dimensions for the wales than the kit. The contract dimensions are below. The breadth of the four strakes of the wales is 3' 9" (17.8 mm at 1:64). The single strake above the wales (the black strake) would be an additional 11 inches (4.36mm) broad and not as thick. Looking at the contemporary Diana plans, the bottom of the wales is 218 inches to the bottom of the keel at midships. (86.5mm at 1:64 scale). Does this compare with the kit drawings? The bottom of the wales is close to the loaded water line. Hopefully the following part of her original contract and the plans midships will be of some help.
Allan
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Gentlemen,
Before explaining the next steps I wanted to say something. I see that I regularly make comments about contradictions or ambiguities in the plans versus instructions. I hope that this does NOT come across negatively. After all, I only have good intentions to allow participants who would later build the Diana themselves to take into account the problems that I encountered. Is it okay for me to continue like this?

If so, I have the following riddle: on the right drawing you see that the quarter deck bulwarks protrude above the stern fascia? On the left drawing (plan) this is not the case.
What is it now, i.e. in which position should you glue the stern fascia?
In the end I chose to deviate from the plan and follow the example of the photo that was depicted on the door of the kit....


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HMSFly said:
On the left drawing (plan) this is not the case.
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The original plans for the Artois class, which includes Diana does not show an upper rail on top of the taffarel, but the 1794 model of Diana below does show it. You get to choose and have evidence for either choice.

Just as a point of interest, the Admiralty regulations forbade RN ships to display their name before about 1771 after 1780 as can be seen on the stern of the contemporary model from 1794 of Diana below. When they were allowed they were to be painted on and were to be no more than 12 inches high. I would bet that most model makers still prefer to have the name on the ship rather than on just a display stand. The well-known model of Bellona 1760 at RMG is a good example of someone not being overly concerned with the Admiralty regulation :)

Allan



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Dear Allan,

Thx again for your feedback. There are many uncertainties, but it remains a nice kit.

I have an (important) question. I will soon start applying the copper plates to the Hull.
I can't find a layout in the plans.... Do you have an idea for the layout?
Some say to start from the Keel, but with the Constitution I started at the top and this went fine....there was a "layout plan",

Marc
 
Hi Marc
Assuming the drawing in The Construction and Fitting of English Ships of War by Peter Goodwin on page 225 is correct, based on how they overlapped 1.5" they would have had to start at the waterline and work down to the keel. They would go on from aft to forward based on the overlap on 1.5" overlap on the sides that he shows.
Allan
 
HMSFly said:
..... Is it okay for me to continue like this?
Click to expand...
definitely - such information is helping others
and definitely based on my experience - there are everywhere sometimes mistakes or errors in manual(s) and / or plans
Often I like this to think about how it should be correctly, or to make some additional reserach in other documents or books - it is learning
and btw: the manual and especially the plans from Jotika / Caldercraft is one of the better or best quality on the market - but nobody is 100% perfect
 
I agree with Allan, but I would go slightly higher than the waterline - the hull was protected by the sheathing
Important was, that the ship was everytime, also fully loaded, protected, also with small waves

Take a look here

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some interesting photos you can find also here

ussconstitutionmuseum.org

New Copper Sheathing - USS Constitution Museum

England’s Royal Navy began experimenting with copper-cladding its warships in the early 1760s and found it extended the life of the ships by preventing boring. . .
ussconstitutionmuseum.org ussconstitutionmuseum.org
 
In the meantime busy with the assembly of the Stern. First the side gallery assembly. First I folded the window frame supplied with the kit: then place it on the Hull to determine the exact distance of the lower and upper finishing pieces.
To be sure of the distance between the top and bottom patterns I used a block with exactly the same height as the spacer (painted white).
Then it is a matter of gluing and sanding until everything fits very precisely. my experience of the USS Constitution has helped me a lot here...
It all has to be done very precisely to avoid problems later on.
Please note that I paint before gluing!
Then I painted all the window frames in white. Once dried neatly with very little CA Glue on the glazing sheet...and once dry glue on the already painted blue window frame...ready.
In the meantime first layer of blue on the stern...later paint some more with blue and black...
I'll do the details regarding the paint at the last...
;)

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HMSFly said:
Gentlemen,
HMSFly said:
In the meantime busy with the assembly of the Stern. First the side gallery assembly. First I folded the window frame supplied with the kit: then place it on the Hull to determine the exact distance of the lower and upper finishing pieces.
To be sure of the distance between the top and bottom patterns I used a block with exactly the same height as the spacer (painted white).
Then it is a matter of gluing and sanding until everything fits very precisely. my experience of the USS Constitution has helped me a lot here...
It all has to be done very precisely to avoid problems later on.
Please note that I paint before gluing!
Then I painted all the window frames in white. Once dried neatly with very little CA Glue on the glazing sheet...and once dry glue on the already painted blue window frame...ready.
In the meantime first layer of blue on the stern...later paint some more with blue and black...
I'll do the details regarding the paint at the last...
;)

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Hi Marc
I'm following your log with great interest making notes for when I start mine. As usual your progress is very impressive I wish my build was as quick.
Tony
 
Hi Tony,

How is live in Australia.....
Yes, I know I'm going fast but as already set because I only use CA Loctite, once a piece is glued I can immediately continue with the next step. No waiting times... ;)
And by the way, the Constitution was far more complex (so far) to build.

And again a remark for your notes: I had to remake the pieces numbered 118-119... because they were to short (those delivered in the kit)
because as you can see in the drawing I still had to make an angle to be able to fit accurately against the stern...therefore I remade these blocks 3 mm longer than the kit supply.

When do you think to start with the Diana?

Cheers

Marc

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HMSFly said:
Hi Tony,

How is live in Australia.....
Yes, I know I'm going fast but as already set because I only use CA Loctite, once a piece is glued I can immediately continue with the next step. No waiting times... ;)
And by the way, the Constitution was far more complex (so far) to build.

And again a remark for your notes: I had to remake the pieces numbered 118-119... because they were to short (those delivered in the kit)
because as you can see in the drawing I still had to make an angle to be able to fit accurately against the stern...therefore I remade these blocks 3 mm longer than the kit supply.

When do you think to start with the Diana?

Cheers

Marc

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Australia is very nice right now spring is here lots of blossoms on the trees and it's warming up. We are already getting reports of snakes being spotted in the area so we need to be careful walking the dog.
As much as I would like to start my Daina now I need finish the Constitution first, I must admit it's taking longer than I thought it would.

Tony.
 
Yes Marc, you didn't have to add a second layer of planking, but some modelers do not prefer to copper-plate the hull, which is why the kit manufacturer may have added walnut planks to the content.
 
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