HMS Granado 1/48, POF, CAF models

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I've reached a bit of a milestone with 'Granado', in that I have finished all the frames, and I'm now ready to start fairing up the hull.
'What?' do I hear you say - 'I thought Ted was building 'La Salamandre!'
Well, yes - he was!
I'd better tell you the tale.

Many, many years ago, when I was a youngster, I loved the 'Hornblower' books by C S Forester, and in one of them is a very detailed account of the workings of a Bomb Ketch, which absolutely fascinated me.
Move on to 1976, and I was subscribing to 'Model Shipwright' - a British quarterly publication focussing on all sorts of ship models (MS started in 1973, but ceased publication in 2013) In June 1976 there appeared an article by Bob Lightley on the construction of his HMS Granado, which was a horizontally split model to show the interior. This model ended up in the National Maritime Museum in London, and has since become the model that a lot of people have mentioned in SOS.
Interest re-kindled, but other models requiring construction.
In 1989, Peter Goodwin's book 'The Bomb Vessel Granado' appeared in the 'Anatomy of the ship' series (Cost me a whole £18!) Things were looking good, but you can't hurry these things, and I had just started building 'Natterer' (Link below)
I then found in 1999 a pristine copy of Boudriot's 'The Bomb Ketch Salamandre' in a second-hand maritime bookshop I used to frequent (now closed) Full drawings, sections, tables - the lot. It was also 'put away' for the future.

Then I found SOS, and found there was a kit of 'Salamandre' on the market, so promptly bought it in (I think) 2019. A nice kit from CAF, but it had to go on the shelf until I finished Bob Hunt's 'Kingfisher' I finally made a start in 2020, and had got all the frames thrown up, when suddenly CAF released a kit of 'Granado' - (B****r, D**n, and worse)

Well this was a dilemma! I realised that I actually wanted to build 'Granado', and that I wasn't really getting pleasure building 'Salamandre'.
Serious discussions with SWMBO ensued, with consideration of cost, pleasure and SABLE entering the picture. In the end I decided to shelve 'Salamandre' for the moment and purchase 'Granado'. So there we have it - a gestation period of about 60 years!


Now I expect you might like to see what I have done so far. I started the build about six months ago, and have progressed at a fair rate for me (Usually glacially slow). However, I found I had lost my writing muse, and couldn't start the build log! But, I've now got the frames complete, and my conscience has managed to kick me in to submission.

I don't propose to detail the unpacking of the kit, as several members have already done this in excellent detail. Suffice to say the contents were first class, the laser and CNC routing exceptional, and the instructions head and shoulders above 'Salamandre'.
I also don't propose to go in to a lot of detail on my build, as again it has been very well covered by others. What I will do is to update you at (hopefully) regular intervals, together with my notes covering modifications, errors, mistakes to avoid and so on. Even after nearly 70 years of modelling, I often make mistakes, but the difference is I know how I can generally rectify matters.

I'm going to close this update for tonight, but will come back to you in a day or two to post the start of the kit. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a picture showing progress to date.

Ted


IMG_0608.JPG
All the frames completed, but only the cant frames are fixed at this point. I now have to start second fitting and fairing
 
Hallo Ted,
I am very happy to see, that you are working on the Granado and I am looking forward to see your progress reports.
btw: there are several coincidencies - I have the complete model shipwright series, so I know the mentioned model very well, always fascinated by the way of presentation
and also in my shelf is a 1/3rd build Salamandre waiting....... I can fully understand your experiences (and dilemas)
 
Thanks Guys,
It's always nice to get a bit of encouragement from your fellow modellers, and I apologise again for not starting the build log sooner!
Uwe, I have the complete set of Model Shipwright, which was a lovely source of information and ideas. But I said to Ann when they switched to a yearly book that it was on the downward slope, and sure enough, it folded after four books. Great shame.

Ted
 
Hi to all. I am unsure for my next, but for sure, CAF project. Maybe you can give me a some input for my upcomming decision.

My favorites are the Renommee or Granado. I love large ships so POF ship Renommee would be my 1st choice.
But i hope that the promises will be kept that all following sessions where released 2022 or 2023. What do you think? It would sad buy the renomme and the next sessions will not be released. So it looks that the Granado is now on focus for ongoing development. Do you have more infos for this or maybe i get a feedback from CAF directly?

Best whishes Martin

current building: ZHL Royal Carolina
 
Buongiorno, scusate la mia ignoranza, POF. CAF e ZHL , che simboli sono? Grazie
 
Hi Frank48

POF: plank on frame ( realistic kind of building ships)
CAF: Chinese high quality ship kit developer, provider and seller
ZHL: Chinese ship kit seller

you can google to see more details….

Best wishes tanti auguri Martin
 
Ciao Frank48

POF: tavolato su telaio (tipo realistico di costruzione di navi)
CAF: sviluppatore, fornitore e venditore cinese di kit navali di alta qualità
ZHL: venditore di kit per navi cinesi

puoi google per vedere più dettagli...

Tanti auguri Martin
molte Grazie Pollice suPollice su
 
By the way Ted, your Granado looks awesome!!! I am looking forward for my fist POF project. I hope i can handle it.

BW Martin
 
By the way Ted, your Granado looks awesome!!! I am looking forward for my fist POF project. I hope i can handle it.

BW Martin
Hi Martin,
Thanks for that! - Granado is an awesome kit.

In reference to your earlier question,Tom at CAF is rapidly becoming one of the 'go to' manufacturers of kits.
I agree there is always some concern that a fairly small producer may not be able to deliver on a kit supplied in several parts, some of which may be in the future. All I can say is that I've always found him to be straightforward, helpful and committed.

I take the view that any part kit will naturally start with the basic hull, and will have all the framing parts cut out for you, thus saving months if not years of work. If a kit then goes out of production, it is relatively easy to source everything else you might need on the open modelling market - timber, guns, rigging, and so on.

I chose to build Granado for the reasons I gave in my initial posting - she is a lovely kit, but if this is to be your first POF then I would very carefully consider whether you should go with the split hull option (either option is in the kit) as it will require some experience and perseverance.

Hope this helps!

Ted
 
That is A LOT of frames and work - looks really nice - !!!
 
Right - time for a first stab at the build!

As I mentioned above, the quality of this kit is excellent, so after a very careful run through of the contents and instructions, I made a start. The kit is presented with a choice of options - you can either build it as a split apart model, or as a one-piece. I bought the kit partly because I wanted to split the model, but after very careful consideration I decided that I wanted to build her as a one-piece and then split her in two.
There were three reasons for this - one; I didn't like the way the kit was split with futtocks (the frames) sticking up and hanging down, and two; I wasn't convinced the method proposed would work effectively, and leave me with the high standard model I wanted to achieve. Finally, I only had stage 1 of the kit at this stage, so was rather in the dark about how the later stages would tie in.
Anyway, I really wanted my model to split in the way Bob Lightley had shown on his model in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
I am definitely not telling anyone how they should build their model - that is very much a personal choice, and I shall be very interested to see how other builders get on!

So, I started with the jig, which went together superbly well, with no problems. A really solid, well thought out piece of engineering. Very sturdy and stiff. Well done Tom at CAF!

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Solid!

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Very important to get the various template levels straight, so make sure you use a straight-edge (In this case a long wooden ruler)

Moved on to the keel, stem and sternpost. No particular problems, other than that billet 6B (from which the keel is cut) was slightly warped, so needed flattening using soaking in hot water and then clamping flat for 48 hours. The warping must have happening after machining, but important to get flat or you will end up with a twisted keel.

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Make sure you carve the rabbet smoothly and evenly, and observe how the cant frame support, 8A-2 sits on to the top edge of the rabbet.

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Keel, stem and sternpost assembled.


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The cant frame supports, 8A-1 and 8A-2, are routed out and look horrible when cut from the billet - but fear not! - they clean up nicely, as shown.

IMG_0498.JPG
If anything, pieces 6C-1, 6C-2, 6C-3 and 6A4 look even worse, but will again clean up nicely.
Now, something important - the pieces shown above sit on top of the keel, and the frames slot in to them, so the cleaning up needs to be precise. However, I later found that there is some variation in the thickness of the billets from which the frames were made, and consequently the frames wouldn't fit! This was rectified in-situ with a thin chisel to lengthen the slots, but a little more care in cleaning up the slots in the first place would have saved me some aggro!

Think I'll leave it at that for today - more to come later.
Also let me know if you find this form of writing, pointing out problems, or giving tips, is of help to you.

Ted
 
Anyway, I really wanted my model to split in the way Bob Lightley had shown on his model in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
Hi Ted. I follow the Granado builds with great interest. Also yours. As you know, sinds I am building my BN, I am a fan of splitting hulls. ;) So, I am in to follow your build and sit and wait until you split yours. I'm curious how you will do that.
Regards, Peter
 
Also let me know if you find this form of writing, pointing out problems, or giving tips, is of help to you.
This is the way, which will help others building the same kit or having similar problems and tasks with similiar projects.
Please do not stop or change the form - much appreciated and helpful
-> this is also the advantage of a group build - modelers and friends working for the same aim......
Many Thanks - also because I have the kit of the Granado waiting to start, whenever I finished the section model
 
Just saw this Ted and another bravo for your build log format, so many times you see such excellent work and wonder how they managed to get there!
 
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