Kingfisher 1770 1:48 POF

[Jimsky]

Is there a special technique to apply graphite powder to blackened guns ?barrel, or is the barrel treated first with a "sticky" spray ?These are my blackened guns for HMS Alert. I forgot to blacken one. The casting is superb ! I'm going to use the upgrade kits from Dockyard for the carriage.View attachment 492034

Once I treated bare brass barrels with the 'Brass Black' solution and the barrels completely dried, I used a very soft brush (the softest brush) and applied the graphite powder. You can also rub the barrels with graphite between two fingers, as long as you have good Brass Bleck adhesion. Then, you can cover the barrels with an Acrylic mate finish.

 

[AllanKP69]

Alert. I forgot to blacken one. The casting is superb

Sorry to go off topic Doc.
Hi Alex
What gun pattern are the castings in your photo? Castings seem to be a rarity of late and it would be great to see them back. I tried to enlarge the photo but cannot tell which pattern you are showing for the Alert.
Many thanks
Allan

 

[GrantTyler]

Even in loss, there is the gift of new life - a sure sign of God's faithfulness

True story. A proud Grandpa and Grandma.

I really like how the unfinished timberheads stand in contrast to the finished ones.

Ditto. Very clever presentation Paul.

Good morning Paul. No secret- I love your work. By design or not the quoin lying separate from the cannon is effective. Your skill with the blade is well known to all of us however how you manage to cut( by hand ) 19 identical timberheads still makes me go “no way”. It shouldn’t by now……
After opening my Christmas present I have gone back to re read your log, paying more attention to your processes to try glean a little understanding of how to build a POF. So a quick thank you for the manner you post and present this build log. Cheers Grant

 

[dockattner]

After opening my Christmas present I have gone back to re read your log, paying more attention to your processes to try glean a little understanding of how to build a POF. So a quick thank you for the manner you post and present this build log.

Thanks for the nice post, Grant. I have certainly included all the 'what's' that make up POF model-building; though my build report would have been even more helpful if I had included more of the 'how's'. As this was my first attempt, I was reluctant to suggest to others how to approach the many challenges. Hopefully there are some Enterprise build reports that use your particular kit. For generic learning about POF builds you would be wise to check out the various builds by Uwe and Tobias (among others) as they tend to explain their way through the challenges better than I have.

My overall suggestion is to lean into your strengths: paying attention to the details and pursuing precision in your work. Small errors creep along the model to become big errors - building to a high level of precision and noticing the details will be a guardrail for you. I'm confident you will thrive in the POF environment. As a great admirer of your work, I'd be happy to be your wingman any day.

 

[Tobias]

Thanks for the nice post, Grant. I have certainly included all the 'what's' that make up POF model-building; though my build report would have been even more helpful if I had included more of the 'how's'. As this was my first attempt, I was reluctant to suggest to others how to approach the many challenges. Hopefully there are some Enterprise build reports that use your particular kit. For generic learning about POF builds you would be wise to check out the various builds by Uwe and Tobias (among others) as they tend to explain their way through the challenges better than I have.

My overall suggestion is to lean into your strengths: paying attention to the details and the pursuing precision in your work. Small errors creep along the model to become big errors - building to a high level of precision and noticing the details will be a guardrail for you. I'm confident you will thrive in the POF environment. As a great admirer of your work, I'd be happy to be your wingman any day.

Hello Paul, thank you for your words of appreciation, my friend. I would like to echo Grant @GrantTyler words regarding your construction and your skills, they are simply outstanding and the step towards self-construction. Now to you Grant, I really appreciate your work and like many others in this forum you are a gifted builder, so I think you'll rock it again. The most important thing is not to be afraid of it and with the CAF models you also have a good partner at your side in Tom from CAF. I myself started with a POF model kit which opened the door to self-construction for me and that as a newbie and not so long ago in July 2021.

 

[GrantTyler]

Thanks for the nice post, Grant. I have certainly included all the 'what's' that make up POF model-building; though my build report would have been even more helpful if I had included more of the 'how's'. As this was my first attempt, I was reluctant to suggest to others how to approach the many challenges. Hopefully there are some Enterprise build reports that use your particular kit. For generic learning about POF builds you would be wise to check out the various builds by Uwe and Tobias (among others) as they tend to explain their way through the challenges better than I have.

My overall suggestion is to lean into your strengths: paying attention to the details and the pursuing precision in your work. Small errors creep along the model to become big errors - building to a high level of precision and noticing the details will be a guardrail for you. I'm confident you will thrive in the POF environment. As a great admirer of your work, I'd be happy to be your wingman any day.

Hello Paul, thank you for your words of appreciation, my friend. I would like to echo Grant @GrantTyler words regarding your construction and your skills, they are simply outstanding and the step towards self-construction. Now to you Grant, I really appreciate your work and like many others in this forum you are a gifted builder, so I think you'll rock it again. The most important thing is not to be afraid of it and with the CAF models you also have a good partner at your side in Tom from CAF. I myself started with a POF model kit which opened the door to self-construction for me and that as a newbie and not so long ago in July 2021.

Hi Paul and Tobias.I really appreciate your advice and encouragement. Thank you. I view POF as “naked” ship building- every little flaw is revealed and I won’t be able to hide my “fat rolls” under my clothes anymore . Going to be interesting…..Cheers Grant
PS- apologies for hi jacking your log a little.

 

[dockattner]

As I shared earlier, attention now turned to the headworks. When I look at the drawings the whole thing is more complex than I can wrap my head around. To that end I'll simply try to use a 'piece-by-piece' approach and hope that I don't end up building myself into a corner.

Apart from the centerline timbers this entire construction will have to be scratch made. The bow of my ship as built is just different enough from the kit design to make using the kit parts impossible.

The knee of the head is made up from a number of heavy timbers:



Cleaned up and tapered:





The two pieces on the top of this structure are called standards (note the scarf joint). The standards are not to be tapered:



This completed construction was then added to the stem:






The next challenge was to fabricate the upper and lower cheeks. These were made a bit more complicated as they turn subtly 'upward' as they extend forward.

I started with the starboard upper cheek by making a cardstock pattern and then cutting an over-thick blank using that pattern:



Careful use of an oscillating spindle sander led to this:



I considered that a proof of concept and went back and cut out the other three blanks:





The upper cheek is further complicated by the addition of something called a hair bracket. This is a vertical extension that ends in a scroll that needs to match up with a similar bit on the top of the standard. This thing was no joke to make and fit:





Next you can see the starboard upper and lower cheeks in place (now having been profiled):



The random block of wood is the blank for the bolster.

Anyway, the cheeks were then permanently installed on both sides of the ship along with the finished bolster on the starboard side only. You will notice that I chose to not profile the cheeks or the hair bracket on the 'frames' side of the ship.

In the following photos you will also notice the addition of a wash cant on the underside of the starboard side lower cheek. This served as a deflection point for water as the bow of the ship plunged into a head sea...













I use a swan class build report from another forum for reference and the builder mentioned that she spent four hours making the bolster on her model. I sort of chuckled to myself when I read that. Four hours? It's a block of wood with two grooves filed into it. I spent more than three humbling hours on mine . I cannot explain why .

That's it for this week.

 

[AllanKP69]

I absolutely love the entire build, and of significant note, the taper of the knee of the head. KUDOS!!! I would bet the vast majority of the models we see in the builds ignore this very prominent feature both fore and aft as well as vertically. BEAUTIFUL WORK!!!
Allan

 

[dockattner]

I absolutely love the entire build, and of significant note, the taper of the knee of the head. KUDOS!!! I would bet the vast majority of the models we see in the builds ignore this very prominent feature both fore and aft as well as vertically. BEAUTIFUL WORK!!!
Allan

Thanks, Allan. I briefly considered mounting an un-tapered knee just to put you into full-blown apoplexy but wasn't sure about your overall health...

 

[AllanKP69]

Thanks, Allan. I briefly considered mounting an un-tapered knee just to put you into full-blown apoplexy but wasn't sure about your overall health...

I have not laughed as loud as I just did in quite a while. The admiral called out from the other side of the house and asked what was so funny. I told her and she totally got it. She just does not understand my lack of attention to detail in all other things because I am so anal when it comes to ship modeling. A "good" habit I got after having the good fortune to have had many discussions and get togethers with modeler extraordinaire David Antscherl.
Thanks for the bright moment.
Allan

 

[Peter Voogt]

As I shared earlier, attention now turned to the headworks. When I look at the drawings the whole thing is more complex than I can wrap my head around. To that end I'll simply try to use a 'piece-by-piece' approach and hope that I don't end up building myself into a corner.

Apart from the centerline timbers this entire construction will have to be scratch made. The bow of my ship as built is just different enough from the kit design to make using the kit parts impossible.

The knee of the head is made up from a number of heavy timbers:

View attachment 492311

Cleaned up and tapered:

View attachment 492312

View attachment 492313

The two pieces on the top of this structure are called standards (note the scarf joint). The standards are not to be tapered:

View attachment 492314

This completed construction was then added to the stem:

View attachment 492315


View attachment 492316

The next challenge was to fabricate the upper and lower cheeks. These were made a bit more complicated as they turn subtly 'upward' as they extend forward.

I started with the starboard upper cheek by making a cardstock pattern and then cutting an over-thick blank using that pattern:

View attachment 492318

Careful use of an oscillating spindle sander led to this:

View attachment 492319

I considered that a proof of concept and went back and cut out the other three blanks:

View attachment 492317

View attachment 492320

The upper cheek is further complicated by the addition of something called a hair bracket. This is a vertical extension that ends in a scroll that needs to match up with a similar bit on the top of the standard. This thing was no joke to make and fit:

View attachment 492321

View attachment 492322

Next you can see the starboard upper and lower cheeks in place (now having been profiled):

View attachment 492323

The random block of wood is the blank for the bolster.

Anyway, the cheeks were then permanently installed on both sides of the ship along with the finished bolster on the starboard side only. You will notice that I chose to not profile the cheeks or the hair bracket on the 'frames' side of the ship.

In the following photos you will also notice the addition of a wash cant on the underside of the starboard side lower cheek. This served as a deflection point for water as the bow of the ship plunged into a head sea...

View attachment 492324

View attachment 492325

View attachment 492326

View attachment 492327

View attachment 492328

View attachment 492329

I use a swan class build report from another forum for reference and the builder mentioned that she spent four hours making the bolster on her model. I sort of chuckled to myself when I read that. Four hours? It's a block of wood with two grooves filed into it. I spent more than three humbling hours on mine . I cannot explain why .

That's it for this week.

View attachment 492330

That changes the front of your model in a huge way, Paul. A combination of beautifully shaped parts with fine details such as the little scrolls on top of the multi curved upper cheek. My compliments!
Regards, Peter

 

[BradNSW]

Superb curves in all three dimensions and they FIT seamlessly...a job wonderfully executed!! Like all have said, your attention to detail (tapers, scrollwork, etc) are highly informative and inspiring. Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[dockattner]

That changes the front of your model in a huge way, Paul. A combination of beautifully shaped parts with fine details such as the little scrolls on top of the multi curved upper cheek. My compliments!
Regards, Peter

Thanks, Peter. I'm happy with the start...

 

[dockattner]

Superb curves in all three dimensions and they FIT seamlessly...a job wonderfully executed!! Like all have said, your attention to detail (tapers, scrollwork, etc) are highly informative and inspiring. Thanks for sharing!!!

Thanks, Brad. That upper cheeks took a lot of patience but eventually it all fell into place.

 

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Absolut perfect. I love the appearance of your model. It's not reachable for me, but I will give it a try.

 

[Mirek]

Witaj
Kolejna piękna praca Pawle model cały wygląda ślicznie, tylko podziwiać . Pozdrawiam Mirek

Hello
Another beautiful work Paweł, the whole model looks beautiful, just admire. Greetings Mirek

 

[Masters Mate]

As I shared earlier, attention now turned to the headworks. When I look at the drawings the whole thing is more complex than I can wrap my head around. To that end I'll simply try to use a 'piece-by-piece' approach and hope that I don't end up building myself into a corner.

Apart from the centerline timbers this entire construction will have to be scratch made. The bow of my ship as built is just different enough from the kit design to make using the kit parts impossible.

The knee of the head is made up from a number of heavy timbers:

View attachment 492311

Cleaned up and tapered:

View attachment 492312

View attachment 492313

The two pieces on the top of this structure are called standards (note the scarf joint). The standards are not to be tapered:

View attachment 492314

This completed construction was then added to the stem:

View attachment 492315


View attachment 492316

The next challenge was to fabricate the upper and lower cheeks. These were made a bit more complicated as they turn subtly 'upward' as they extend forward.

I started with the starboard upper cheek by making a cardstock pattern and then cutting an over-thick blank using that pattern:

View attachment 492318

Careful use of an oscillating spindle sander led to this:

View attachment 492319

I considered that a proof of concept and went back and cut out the other three blanks:

View attachment 492317

View attachment 492320

The upper cheek is further complicated by the addition of something called a hair bracket. This is a vertical extension that ends in a scroll that needs to match up with a similar bit on the top of the standard. This thing was no joke to make and fit:

View attachment 492321

View attachment 492322

Next you can see the starboard upper and lower cheeks in place (now having been profiled):

View attachment 492323

The random block of wood is the blank for the bolster.

Anyway, the cheeks were then permanently installed on both sides of the ship along with the finished bolster on the starboard side only. You will notice that I chose to not profile the cheeks or the hair bracket on the 'frames' side of the ship.

In the following photos you will also notice the addition of a wash cant on the underside of the starboard side lower cheek. This served as a deflection point for water as the bow of the ship plunged into a head sea...

View attachment 492324

View attachment 492325

View attachment 492326

View attachment 492327

View attachment 492328

View attachment 492329

I use a swan class build report from another forum for reference and the builder mentioned that she spent four hours making the bolster on her model. I sort of chuckled to myself when I read that. Four hours? It's a block of wood with two grooves filed into it. I spent more than three humbling hours on mine . I cannot explain why .

That's it for this week.

View attachment 492330

Inspirational, Paul, but way above my pay grade.
While I continue to photograph all my efforts and put them up on my log, I rely ultimately on the fact that my Medea is housed in her acrylic case except when I'm working on her and viewers can't get too close to see the flaws. I know that might sound defeatist but this is my very first build and will almost certainly be my last so I am anxious to get it finished, despite having to accept some shortcomings.

 

[Chestcutter]

As expected the nice details of the bow are beautifully crafted.
Paul can I ask about the oscillating drum sander, which one do you have and use? The diameter of the drums is often too large. What grit is on the sander? And what grit do you finish with to get such a smooth rounded curve on the bolster?
Apologies for asking so many questions, but I am keen to learn how to be half as good as yourself.
Michael

 

[GrantTyler]

As I shared earlier, attention now turned to the headworks. When I look at the drawings the whole thing is more complex than I can wrap my head around. To that end I'll simply try to use a 'piece-by-piece' approach and hope that I don't end up building myself into a corner.

Apart from the centerline timbers this entire construction will have to be scratch made. The bow of my ship as built is just different enough from the kit design to make using the kit parts impossible.

The knee of the head is made up from a number of heavy timbers:

View attachment 492311

Cleaned up and tapered:

View attachment 492312

View attachment 492313

The two pieces on the top of this structure are called standards (note the scarf joint). The standards are not to be tapered:

View attachment 492314

This completed construction was then added to the stem:

View attachment 492315


View attachment 492316

The next challenge was to fabricate the upper and lower cheeks. These were made a bit more complicated as they turn subtly 'upward' as they extend forward.

I started with the starboard upper cheek by making a cardstock pattern and then cutting an over-thick blank using that pattern:

View attachment 492318

Careful use of an oscillating spindle sander led to this:

View attachment 492319

I considered that a proof of concept and went back and cut out the other three blanks:

View attachment 492317

View attachment 492320

The upper cheek is further complicated by the addition of something called a hair bracket. This is a vertical extension that ends in a scroll that needs to match up with a similar bit on the top of the standard. This thing was no joke to make and fit:

View attachment 492321

View attachment 492322

Next you can see the starboard upper and lower cheeks in place (now having been profiled):

View attachment 492323

The random block of wood is the blank for the bolster.

Anyway, the cheeks were then permanently installed on both sides of the ship along with the finished bolster on the starboard side only. You will notice that I chose to not profile the cheeks or the hair bracket on the 'frames' side of the ship.

In the following photos you will also notice the addition of a wash cant on the underside of the starboard side lower cheek. This served as a deflection point for water as the bow of the ship plunged into a head sea...

View attachment 492324

View attachment 492325

View attachment 492326

View attachment 492327

View attachment 492328

View attachment 492329

I use a swan class build report from another forum for reference and the builder mentioned that she spent four hours making the bolster on her model. I sort of chuckled to myself when I read that. Four hours? It's a block of wood with two grooves filed into it. I spent more than three humbling hours on mine . I cannot explain why .

That's it for this week.

View attachment 492330

"Ja whatever...".. Common SA slang for moments, achievements etc. unattainable other than by the exceptional or extraordinary.

 

[dockattner]

Absolut perfect. I love the appearance of your model. It's not reachable for me, but I will give it a try.

I believe you will exceed me on every level, Christian. Remember, I make stuff by hand, and you have skills with a computer and CNC that will produce parts at another level entirely. And you probably have hand skills as well that you have been hiding from us!

Do you know whatever happened to Remco's build? He was ten years in and now it seems he has stopped??? I have passed by him at this stage of construction but would love to see that model finished.