• SUBSCRIBE TO SHIPS IN SCALE TODAY!

    The beloved Ships in Scale Magazine is back and charting a new course for 2026!
    Discover new skills, new techniques, and new inspirations in every issue.

    NOTE THAT OUR NEXT ISSUE WILL BE MARCH/APRIL 2026
  • Win a Free Custom Engraved Brass Coin!!!
    As a way to introduce our brass coins to the community, we will raffle off a free coin during the month of August. Follow link ABOVE for instructions for entering.

HMS Enterprise 1775 1/96 - First build log

RichardG said:
Which would be the gunrail,
Click to expand...
Great question. I have not seen any drawings that identify a gunwale except on boats. After doing more searching, by definition, the upper most part could be called a gunwale on a ship, but originally the gunwale, or gun wale, referred a reinforced horizontal strake added at or above the level of the gun deck to support the weight and stress of the guns. The more questions I see posted here at SoS, the more I learn and that is a great thing!
Allan
Boat parts
1778434553056.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Your attention to detail continues to be an inspiration. One thing that you might find interesting for the future, regarding the margin plank.... It was stipulated that no plank was to be joggled into the margin plank unless the length of the tapered edge was more than twice the width of the plank. Ref: The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War 1650-1850 page 60, by Peter Goodwin.

It saves a lot of work. :)

Allan
 
Yes, I see what you mean Allan. Thanks for pointing this out. Your posts invariably push me to research new concepts, language and techniques. I really enjoy that.

This model came with the margin planks laser cut, but I'll strive to create more authentic ones for my first scratchbuild (which will follow on from this project, I hope).
 
RichardG said:
Forecastle close to completion. Lots of tidying up, gap filling and general mistake undoing left to do. Forecastle rail not connected as per previous comment, and carving of timberheads in progress. Gonna take a week off for other duties........................

View attachment 602645
Click to expand...
Wow! What a speed, you're so close to completion and you could be possibly the first to suceed in. Moreover, the outcome is pretty amazing. My sincere congrats! The cap rail is not perfect, but matching the cant frames profile would have been almost impossible after tens of incostintencies fixed in assembly, fairing, adding and sanding that intricate structure. You could even cosider the chance to scratch it in only one piece each side, using a cartboard template on a solid billet. Regards!
 
Albert Mary said:
Wow! What a speed, you're so close to completion and you could be possibly the first to suceed in. Moreover, the outcome is pretty amazing. My sincere congrats! The cap rail is not perfect, but matching the cant frames profile would have been almost impossible after tens of incostintencies fixed in assembly, fairing, adding and sanding that intricate structure. You could even cosider the chance to scratch it in only one piece each side, using a cartboard template on a solid billet. Regards!
Click to expand...
You have hit the nail on the head!

The errors are building up at this point so each step requires some considerable extra thought and planning. Good idea about the cap rail. There are a number of pieces I would like to have scratchbuilt at this point but I have yet to build my thicknesser, so I don't have sufficient material.

I am a neophyte ship modeller, so for me the purpose of this project was to build a complete framed hull, decks, furniture etc and to learn the wooden elements of ship construction. After this I'll complete my thicknesser and start on my first scratchbuild which is planned to be a Granado cross-section of yet to be determined scale.
 
Forecastle complete and quarterdeck beams and knees completed. An issue with the frame on the larboard side of the quarterdeck which I was unable, (or lacked the skill), to correct. I'm hoping that the quarterdeck rails can be visually tweaked to disguise that error.

Interior view fore-shortening really exaggerates errors in geometry. Looks fine to the eye. The apparent height difference side-to-side seems to be an optical aberration. The measured difference in height is a fraction of a millimetre

1974.jpg1973.jpg1972.jpg
 
Last edited:
RichardG said:
Forecastle complete and quarterdeck beams and knees completed. An issue with the frame on the larboard side of the quarterdeck which I was unable, (or lacked the skill), to correct. I'm hoping that the quarterdeck rails can be visually tweaked to disguise that error.

Interior view fore-shortening really exaggerates errors in geometry. Looks fine to the eye. The apparent height difference side-to-side seems to be an optical aberration. The measured difference in height is a fraction of a millimetre

View attachment 607429View attachment 607428View attachment 607430
Click to expand...
Not only a fine piece of craftsmanship, but also a true photographic work of art Richard!
 
I plan to add a low step for the capstan as there is no provision in the kit. It wouldn't be highly visible, but the sight of the spindle disappearing into the ships bowels would be add some vertical interest to an section of the ship which is mostly horizontal. I also believe that the hint of a step would give an increased sense of weight to the mechanism.

Goodwin mentions and illustrates this so I hope it is not too out of place?............

IMG_20260530_081540375.jpg
 
Your build looks super! I had no idea Enterprise had standards on her gun deck. Do you know if these were present when built or added when she was hulked as a receiving ship?
Allan
 
AllanKP69 said:
Your build looks super! I had no idea Enterprise had standards on her gun deck. Do you know if these were present when built or added when she was hulked as a receiving ship?
Allan
Click to expand...
Thank you. Building is a mixture of joy and frustration.

The standards, (I had to Google that :)), are present as pieces in the model for lower and gun deck and appear on the plans. I really don't know whether they are authentic, but I like their appearance.
 
RichardG said:
Playing around with a borescope. It creates horribly lossy jpgs so have kept the pics small.................................

View attachment 608012View attachment 608013View attachment 608014View attachment 608015View attachment 608016View attachment 608017View attachment 608018View attachment 608019View attachment 608020View attachment 608021View attachment 608022View attachment 608023
Click to expand...
Nice inside views, Richard. It gives a new dimension on presentation of a model.
Regards, Peter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top