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HMS Enterprise 1:160 scale Boxwood - Unicorn Models

Almost finished.

Only one scratch-built cannon at present. The rest to be completed when I have my material thicknesser up and running. Still a little general tidying up to do. Various other elements to add and a couple gratings to be installed, in the propped up position. Thanks Gunther for that suggestion :) .

Overall I'm very impressed and extremely satisfied with the kit. I hope to see more builds so it will encourage Unicorn to release a bow section? I'll definitely make the stern section at some point, and the bow if it is released.

The concept, design, templates, jigs, materials and instructions are all really good. The order of construction for the major structure is very logical. A few minor niggles. I'm not wild about the laser-cut gratings or the default cannon carriages. The guns themselves are excellent, as are all the etched brass components as well, but the carriages are good enough at this scale as it is a complete kit.

Considering the extremely thin material supplied and the very small parts, which really helps with the sense of scale, the precision possible is really good. It's a cutting edge kit and real achievement from Unicorn.......................





SCRATCH-BUILT CANNON CARRIAGE.......................................................

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Tanks for all the posts about your build of this nice mid-section, Richard. Four sure I will use it as one of the references when I will start my build.
It’s looking very nice!
Regards, Peter
 
Almost finished.

Only one scratch-built cannon at present. The rest to be completed when I have my material thicknesser up and running. Still a little general tidying up to do. Various other elements to add and a couple gratings to be installed, in the propped up position. Thanks Gunther for that suggestion :) .

Overall I'm very impressed and extremely satisfied with the kit. I hope to see more builds so it will encourage Unicorn to release a bow section? I'll definitely make the stern section at some point, and the bow if it is released.

The concept, design, templates, jigs, materials and instructions are all really good. The order of construction for the major structure is very logical. A few minor niggles. I'm not wild about the laser-cut gratings or the default cannon carriages. The guns themselves are excellent, as are all the etched brass components as well, but the carriages are good enough at this scale as it is a complete kit.

Considering the extremely thin material supplied and the very small parts, which really helps with the sense of scale, the precision possible is really good. It's a cutting edge kit and real achievement from Unicorn.......................





SCRATCH-BUILT CANNON CARRIAGE.......................................................

View attachment 557780View attachment 557781View attachment 557782View attachment 557783View attachment 557784
Wow
 
Hey Richard, my friend, :D

I thought you were busy and didn't have time to build! But no, Richard has cheerfully continued building. Really great.Thumbsup

I really have to agree with you. The model is truly a showcase model from Unicorn. It is very beautifully crafted and also very precise in terms of fit. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you on one thing, and that is the instructions. I don't find them very logical. I think some steps could have been done beforehand, e.g. laying the keel completely or building the dinghies differently. But that's just my opinion! ;)Otherwise, I would order this kit again and again. I inquired whether there is a bow section, and yes, I can confirm that there is. According to Unicorn, there will be a bow section. I already have the stern at home. But in boxwood. The colour is beautiful.

Now to your work. First of all, thank you very much for the great exchange and for getting to know you. I really enjoyed talking to you. Your tips are and were wonderful. First Place MetalThumbsupThank you very much for that, and I very much hope we can continue our exchange. Your construction is fabulous, because I know how exhausting it is and how tiny and fragile the parts are. That's why I think you've achieved a wonderful and excellent result.ThumbsupFirst Place Metal I will take your model as an example.:D
 
Beautifully done Richard, How did you get all the char off those thin pieces?
I also agree the kit is very well made and the instructions are pretty good.
My canon carriages don't seem to be that bad on mine and will probably use them.

Neil
 
Hey Richard, my friend, :D

I thought you were busy and didn't have time to build! But no, Richard has cheerfully continued building. Really great.Thumbsup

I really have to agree with you. The model is truly a showcase model from Unicorn. It is very beautifully crafted and also very precise in terms of fit. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you on one thing, and that is the instructions. I don't find them very logical. I think some steps could have been done beforehand, e.g. laying the keel completely or building the dinghies differently. But that's just my opinion! ;)Otherwise, I would order this kit again and again. I inquired whether there is a bow section, and yes, I can confirm that there is. According to Unicorn, there will be a bow section. I already have the stern at home. But in boxwood. The colour is beautiful.

Now to your work. First of all, thank you very much for the great exchange and for getting to know you. I really enjoyed talking to you. Your tips are and were wonderful. First Place MetalThumbsupThank you very much for that, and I very much hope we can continue our exchange. Your construction is fabulous, because I know how exhausting it is and how tiny and fragile the parts are. That's why I think you've achieved a wonderful and excellent result.ThumbsupFirst Place Metal I will take your model as an example.:D

Thank you Gunther,

I've been in and out of it the last few weeks. I lost a head of steam once the main model was made, and turned to designing my first scratchbuild and working on my latest Beethoven piano sonata.

I look forward to seeing your's progress and am very happy to continue with our exchange.

Really glad to hear the bow is in the works.
 
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Beautifully done Richard, How did you get all the char off those thin pieces?
I also agree the kit is very well made and the instructions are pretty good.
My canon carriages don't seem to be that bad on mine and will probably use them.

Neil
Thanks Neil,

I use files and blades to remove the char. The carriages are completely serviceable, but I need to start making my own stuff as I'm really aiming at scratch building, so along with scratch building the steps, it seemed a good place to start .
 
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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).
I can vouch for the integrity of CA glue when mixed. My aircraft maintenance business at Van Nuys airport back in the day used CA mixed with baking soda to fill in chips at the edge of steel propeller.
It got so hard when had to use a file for finishing.
 
I can vouch for the integrity of CA glue when mixed. My aircraft maintenance business at Van Nuys airport back in the day used CA mixed with baking soda to fill in chips at the edge of steel propeller.
It got so hard when had to use a file for finishing.
Hi Ted,

I took flying lesson in Van Nuys in the early eighties when I worked in the valley. Great memories.

Regarding CA glue, I sometimes use it on the road to repair piano hammers, (but not on expensive pianos). The hammers take a surprising amount of punishment but only have thin shanks. When they break, CA and accelerant results in a rock hard repair. The only problem is the tone of that note changes because the hammer shank is less flexible. It attacks the string harder and doesn't bounce away from it quickly enough, and that suppresses the upper partials making the note a little muted.

I found that when used on boxwood, the wood became TOO hard for my liking. Furthermore it could no longer take PVA or hide glue well.
 
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