HMS Medea (28) (1778) 1/48 scratch build

[Masters Mate]

I've been sidetracked a bit lately with other matters but I have completed my display case - 1300mm x 500mm x 800mm acrylic.
"That monstrosity" is the way my admiral describes it because it has to live in our lounge room.


She also commented that I am many months (or years) from completing Medea so how often will the ship be stored in the case?

I decided to do something about it just to make the peace.

This little die cast trawler was given to me recently by a well-meaning elderly friend "for parts for your ship".



Progress on Medea has been slow but I have some updates to come over the next few days.

 

[Masters Mate]

Firstly, to address a few problems. There has been some warping of the stem due to heat from a nearby window. (Lesson learned!) This is Black Wattle timber, probably not seasoned as well as it should have been.

The alignment was approximately 1/4" off centre.

I soaked the stem with a cloth soaked in hot water and applied leverage with a clamp and some weight and left it overnight. It came back to it's correct position but I am concerned it will move again so I have to be careful about temperature from now on.


This led me to go over the build carefully with a bright light to identify any other problems I had missed. There are quite a few!!




There is quite a bit of patching to do but I'm glad I used the light because most of these problems were not visible to my eye in normal light.

 

[Bryian]

Looking great Ian.

 

[Masters Mate]

Looking great Ian.

Thanks Bryian.
It looks okay from a distance but a closer examination (like with a camera) shows my inexperience. But it's still fun most of the time so I plod along. Into my fifth year now.

 

[Masters Mate]

Back tracking a bit to the planking of the foredeck. I made some large water barrels out of wooden beads from the opportunity shop and lashed them to a frame. Also some large boxes representing storage of returning soldiers equipment. Forgot to photograph, except for this one, before I laid the deck.


I tried to get the gratings small enough for scale, using a 1mm down flute bit, but they didn't work out. I intended them to be battened down anyway so I made a trial pair of canvas hatch covers to see how they would look and will go ahead now with the real thing with proper tie down points.



I've also made the collars for the Foremast and Mizzen mast (loose fitted).





The next thing is to complete the posts along the railing (what are they called???)
They are very fiddly and there will be something like 36 of them.


Thanks for watching. You are very patient...

 

[Masters Mate]

Proceeding very slowly, with so many interruptions and side projects....

I decided not to do the railing posts yet as they will get in the way at the moment. Instead I built the fittings for part of the foredeck running rigging. They are pretty straight forward after doing a few others.


The braces are handmade with needle files and sandpaper.










And the face finished off.



I find I have the most difficulty with fine painting but I will go back over the ship as I proceed and touch up when re-using each colour on new work.

Thanks for watching.

 

[dockattner]

Lovely craftsmanship, Ian! I find myself using needle files and sandpaper as well...

 

[Masters Mate]

Lovely craftsmanship, Ian! I find myself using needle files and sandpaper as well...

Thanks Paul. I keep trying to improve, especially now that I am working on the parts which are to be exposed to future gazes. The camera is cruel but most of what I am doing seems okay to the naked eye.

 

[AllanKP69]

Hi Ian,
LOVELY BUILD! Great seeing a scratch build starting with the contemporary drawings and all the research you did. I hope you don't mind me asking as I do not recall seeing belaying pins on the rail at the break of the forecastle, but do you have a source on this that you can share? It makes total sense but I cannot recall ever seeing this. See painting below of Enterprize (28) 1774.

While late to the game if you are interested in the full contract of the 28 gun sister Aurora 1776, even if just for a fun read, PM me with your email address and I will send you the transcription.

Allan

 

[Masters Mate]

Hi Ian,
LOVELY BUILD! Great seeing a scratch build starting with the contemporary drawings and all the research you did. I hope you don't mind me asking as I do not recall seeing belaying pins on the rail at the break of the forecastle, but do you have a source on this that you can share? It makes total sense but I cannot recall ever seeing this. See painting below of Enterprize (28) 1774.

While late to the game if you are interested in the full contract of the 28 gun sister Aurora 1776, even if just for a fun read, PM me with your email address and I will send you the transcription.

Allan
View attachment 454333

Hi Allan

Thanks for your interest. The reason I placed belaying pins there is because, according to the plans, they are tie off points. What they tie off remains to be seen when I come to rigging, but #124, for instance, appears to be a lift for the fore topsail. The numbering isn't clear to me yet as I haven't given it much attention.

Perhaps you are able to enlighten me.

Re the Aurora 1776, yes I am interested. I'll PM my email address.

Thanks

 

[AllanKP69]

Re the Aurora 1776, yes I am interested.

Emailed the transcription to you. Hope you find it interesting.

Looking at contemporary plans and models of 28 gun ships in that time period I cannot yet find any with pins in the belfry rails, but then again, there were so many exceptions when it came to rigging, Medea could very well have been set up differently. Can you share where the drawing you posted is from?
Thanks

Allan

 

[Masters Mate]

Emailed the transcription to you. Hope you find it interesting.

Looking at contemporary plans and models of 28 gun ships in that time period I cannot yet find any with pins in the belfry rails, but then again, there were so many exceptions when it came to rigging, Medea could very well have been set up differently. Can you share where the drawing you posted is from?
Thanks

Allan

@AllanKP69
Hi Allan
I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. There's been a lot of "stuff" going on and my ship building has been on hold for a while.

The original images I put up came from the Enterprise kit plans which several SOS members have built.

However a better example of that layout is in this book.


Examples shown re tie down points to the belfry rails.







I'm hoping to get back to Medea in a month or so.

 

[Masters Mate]

Very little progress as I have had a lot going on and to be honest, I started to doubt I could complete this scratch build, without the experience of several kit builds to fall back on.
I spent a lot of time trying to build a few sets of chains and dead eyes and was less than impressed with the results.





So, we are taking a break, going away with our caravan for a few weeks to do some kayaking and fishing, and I will possibly have a go at one or two of the ship's boat kits I bought a while back. Once the fun comes back I'm sure I will launch back into the Medea build with enthusiasm.

I received the high resolution images from the Bristol Museum today so at least now I can see exactly what the bow and stern of the original Medea looked like.

I guess we all hit the wall at some point when the task ahead seems never-ending and the skill levels are lacking, but I also know that I really have enjoyed the last 4+ years of SOS and the great friendship and support I have felt from so many members.

So, I'll be back posting in October with renewed vigor and a desire to make Medea presentable in my eyes.

 

[Herman]

I know the feeling, I too hit that wall. Enjoy your vacation and we will welcome you back later on.

 

[Jimsky]

Get some rest and enjoy your vacation.

 

[Masters Mate]

We have returned from a very relaxing and enjoyable trip. We completed 2800 km and stayed put at a village called Lemon Tree Passage for 10 days.
My admiral chilling at our camp site by the water.


Lemon Tree Passage runs into Port Stephens, New South Wales, reported to be 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour. Lieutenant James Cook viewed Port Stephens from the masthead and named it after Admiralty Secretary Philip Stevens.

Nelson Bay, within the Port Stephens harbour, is named after the Brig Lady Nelson, which entered the bay in 1811 with Governor Maquarie aboard. More regarding that in the next post.

The tides were erratic but we did get some good Kayaking/fishing time in.



My admiral leading the fishing fleet back to shore (and yes, we caught fish. Flathead and whiting).



A beautiful place to unwind.



Our rig on the way home.... Taking a break during almost a thousand km of head winds and slow traffic at times.


More to come in the next post.

 

[Masters Mate]

We visited the Inner Lighthouse museum at Nelson Bay, run by NSW Marine Rescue. Of particular interest to me was a model of the Lady Nelson as I had sailed in a replica of the brig in Hobart, Tasmania some years ago.

The model was built by a local man, Jim Devonshire, in 1994. I think it is a scratch build rather than a kit.
















A great visit and a very comprehensive collection. The tea and scones were a bonus!!

 

[Masters Mate]

I did manage to almost complete one of the four ship's boat kits I purchased a while ago. I'll do a short build log of that soon. I feel much refreshed and ready to get back to my Medea build.

 

[Masters Mate]

Well, my enthusiasm recovery went well and I decided to take on the task that scared me the most. I've put off working on the bow section for several years because, frankly, I couldn't work out how I was going to approach the job.

Bending timber was required so I fell back on the remaining scraps of persimmon left over from the wales.



This bends well if dipped in near boiling water, bent to shape and then dried with a heat gun.

Bending was all done around two sticks inserted in holes in my bench.



I was quite satisfied with the first result although I had to join two pieces to to make the sharp bend from the bow to the cutwater.



Then came my big mistake. I missed the depth of the bend of the lower rail and it looked ridiculous.



After ripping that one off, I got it right



More soon....

 

[Masters Mate]

Next came the grating for the head.

Support beams fitted.



I had some 'scraps' left over from some earlier gratings made with my CNC machine so worked with them.





I should have made a paper template because I made this triangle way too big and then had to waste time cutting and sanding it to the correct shape. The joys of having no instructions or prior experience...

A torch lit image taken at 2 am after I couldn't get to sleep....



Almost finished. Still a fair bit of gilding and woodwork to do.



So there's a couple of week's work and the worst of it is over. It doesn't seem so intimidating anymore .