Mary Rose "Your Noblest Shippe" 1545 scale 1/50

[Backer64]

Further planking.
Planking with just the plywood frames isn't really easy. That's why I'm going to add the gunport frames first.
First measure on the drawing and then transfer to the model. From scale 1/100 to 1/50, so multiply everything by 2.

And the dimensions on the drawings match the information in the book quite well.

Constructing and installing frames

Some sawing and breaking work now and then...

the gunports were given an M number in the book. M3, M4, M5
The planking is going much better now (there is more support and clamping points).

 

[Backer64]

The bow still requires some thought.
I think I'm going to fill in the section between frame one and the bow at this height; you won't see it internally anymore, and it provides good support.

The form remains sharp.

And at the front there is also a gunport, in accordance with findings from the wreck and paintings from that time.
Appropriately named Mx.

We continue with the port side. There is nothing left of it, so this will be a good exercise before starting on the starboard side.
The port gunports have largely survived, and it turns out that they are always the same width as the starboard side (why then do they make them the same width on their 1/100th scale drawings....)

The front cannon must be able to shoot forward reasonably well (see drawing of the Great Harry).

While chopping wood, I accidentally made the ideal support for the bow...

The planking and the making of the gunports are underway.
There is still a lot of touching up and sanding to do, but it is heading in the right direction.

 

[Backer64]

The planking between the second and third wale is finished on the port side. And the gunports have been worked out.
Time to give this a first sanding.

Before sanding

After sanding.

The irregular placement and varying dimensions of the canon ports are clearly visible.

Close up

control

 

[Backer64]

The planking on the starboard side is progressing smoothly. The plywood frames were adjusted in advance, and the cherry wood frames for the gunports were already partially made beforehand.
It is simply a matter of transferring the dimensions from the port side to starboard and get started—plank away.

And the laser comes in handy again as well.

The planking between wale 2 and 3 is finished and has received its first sanding.
The intention is to add 3 more planks above the wale and then first sand the hull further and finish it with treenails

 

[Backer64]

Because the hull is still easy to handle, I am making the base plate first.
The material is oak, recycled

Sawn and planed parts

The glued and sanded base plate

Determine the shape of the supports

work in progress

The stand is as good as finished and has been given a provisional name.

The letters will be cut out of plastic.

First the easy one.

Then the difficult part

There is already a Mary, and "Rose" is on the way

The name is now complete.

 

[Backer64]

The planking above wale 3 went quite smoothly.

But...
The frame of the section is curved sharply inwards at the top, and the bow is straight at the top.

As a result, the line between this frame and the bow was not really smooth.

So again, the advantage of PVA glue is that it softens again when treated with isopropyl alcohol.
So removing the planks went quite smoothly.

The transition between section 1 and the bow is now much smoother.

And the planking is finished on both sides. Further planking on the stern is for later, once I know exactly where the hole for the tiller needs to go. Now this part of the hull will first be further detailed, wooden pegs (treenails), etc.

Two plywood frames will remain in place for the time being, so the model can easily stand upside down for further finishing.
The strange piece of wood on the bow is just a temporary reinforcement to prevent the top of the bow from breaking off.

 

[archjofo]

A very nice piece of work.

 

[Backer64]

Securing the planks with wooden treenails, It is a lot of work, but for me, it adds value.
I purchased 1 mm diameter walnut strips; these provide sufficient contrast with the cherry wood to allow for painting over it later and to remain sufficiently visible.

For the Mary Rose, there is not much information, only the diameter of the tree nails. The frames also do not have a truly ordered structure to draw up a diagram.

The Mary Rose info, apart from the diameter, contains little new information.
The Mary Rose diagram

That is why I am going back to the method used on my previous model. This way, I get a diagram with some structure. This will not correspond to the real ship at all, but it looks good (I think).

My plan B

The strips shortened

In the bottom part there will be approximately 5,500 to 6,000 holes...
So, time for new tools.

The diagram on the model

The first pens

drill, drill drill

Gluing and hammering, with my very first hammer (almost as old as me...)

Work in progress

So, continue drilling holes and filling.

 

[Backer64]

Once the entire side is finished, it is scraped and sanded.
For scraping, I use old Stanley knives that are broken into pieces.

A photo of the original and the model; as you can see, then and now, no one cared about a wooden peg more or less

After sanding, everything was tidied up with a damp cloth.

Starboard is finished.
Only the wales still need pins and/or bolts.

 

[Backer64]

All treenails are done.
All connections in the keel are fitted with wooden treenails.
And the seams between the planks that turned out too wide at the time have been fitted with a "batten" . Not really pretty, but effective at keeping the caulking in place.

And on the model

It has been sanded up to 120 grit sandpaper.
Back on the construction board for further finishing

 

[Backer64]

Planking of the lower part of the stern.

First, a "gun deck" is provided. This makes it easier to determine the position of the 2 gunports in the stern.
Because this deck will become virtually invisible later, I put little time and effort into it.

Just an "oops" moment... The charms of building from scratch without any plan...
The stern wasn't really symmetrical. The white wood glue can be loosened with some isopropyl alcohol. And the mistake is fixed.

Much better

The planked stern.

The roughly finished interior

 

[Backer64]

Construction of the rearcastle
Not much of the original remains. So from here on, most of it is guesswork.
The frames of sections 6, 8, 10 and the transom are used as the basis.

The first test

The transom in the drawing has an unnatural bent(personal opinion). Therefore, I am going to make it deviate slightly outwards.

The first 4 frames have been placed. They are still too tall and probably too thick as well. But these 4 must be long and sturdy enough to serve as a foundation for the rest.
The intention now is to first install more frames on this side.

continue with the reconstruction of the rear castle.
"Beams"

The preparation

The first frames

Taking into account the future gunports of the upper deck.

All frames have been installed. The drawings of the Mary Rose were followed for the approximately correct position.

The chaotic interior has also been cleaned up a bit. (not exactly the same as the original, you won't see much of it later anyway)
The plywood pieces are the basis for the cabins.

Result

Now the port side

 

[Backer64]

Further construction of the rear castle

section 6, 8, and 10 are aligned using the laser.
First, align neatly from bow to stern

And then you can easily measure if everything is aligned properly. And then glue it.

All frames have been installed

Installing and finishing cannon ports


And, as in the previous post about discovering mistakes... Where there should be a hole, there are frames.

The advantage of using ordinary white wood glue is that it softens again due to isopropyl alcohol.
Soak, pry loose, and then reassemble, in the right place this time.

 

[Backer64]

Further construction of the stern.

Fill first

Saw off excess material

Install a beam/gunwale just below the hole where the tiller will pass through.
The groove at the bottom hides my sloppy sawing...


The shape of the drawing is followed as much as possible.

Current status

 

[Backer64]

I started with the section that was planked using the overlapping (clinker) method. These planks were not sawn but made from tree trunks that were split. The length of the planks is no longer than 2.70 meters.

The first row of these planks was first beveled.

Above each plank it is marked up to how high the plank above may extend

And so we continue.

.

 

[Backer64]

To get the ratio between the outer planking/shields and the decks right, I must first install the 2 dales, which determine the correct position of the (upper) deck in the rearcastle.

Dale..
The intention is to discharge pumped water from the hold to the outside.
And if you need to pee.... Please do it in the dale.
Hence the second unofficial name "pisdale"...
From "dales"
Each dale is made of 3 pieces as a base (bad photo, apologies)

Finished

Making the holes on both sides in the same place was a challenge.

Work continues on the inside while the glue on the dales is drying.
The support under each trough is fictitious, and later virtually invisible. This gives the trough (as support of the deck) a slight curve.

And let's look 5 steps further into the future.
Perform a preventive check on the ratio of the castle side, mast, and standing rigging.

I'll get into trouble if I don't intervene now regarding the width of the top of the rear castle.
The rope touches the side of the castle.
Noticed just in time

This problem is fixed at this moment

 

[Backer64]

Work has continued on determining the position of the decks.
And the "gun wale" on this beam was where the swivel cannons were placed on the first version of the Mary Rose; on the current version, only 3 would have remained.

Memory aid, Where is what...


Modification to the stern.

Holes provided for the 3 swivels

Further surgery on the stern.
The intention is to achieve approximately the same shape as on the cover of the book.

Two decks have been defined (upper and castle deck), and there will be a third deck above.

 

[Backer64]

frames 6, 8, and 10, which served as the base for the aftcastle, were too thick and have therefore been made thinner.
The simple way: grab the saw and start sawing.

the transom is fitted with the necessary holes. tiller, etc.

There is also a cabin at the front. So the crew of the (optional) cannon has plenty of space again...
The sloping side of the cabin will later serve as the base for stairs.

I was running a bit low on wood. So I put the guys from the sawmill to work (that is, myself...).
Material of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mm thickness is back in stock.

Time to tidy up the middle deck a bit.
Not much of it will be visible later, but it could have been finished a bit more neatly on the inside.

And then it is time to determine the position and shape of the forecastle.

The forecastle.
How do you start building something for which there is no clear example?
First, I enlarge the drawing from the books from 1/100th to 1/50th. This drawing is placed on the model at approximately the "correct" position.
Approximately at the correct height with the deck of the aftcastle
And the base starts at approximately the correct distance from gun port M3.

And then we continue building in cardboard.

There is a cardboard forecastle, with a happy assistant on the top deck.
Of course, I don't know if this shape is correct. But the intention is to roughly rebuild the ship on the cover of the book.

Continued with the base of the forecastle.
This time I checked in time to ensure no problems would arise with the standing rigging.
Yes, so my cardboard superstructure was way too wide at the top.

The base starts at a 45° angle, following the (few) remains of the outer castle. And then curves upwards. As always, I make it too high or too long; shortening it later is easier than lengthening it.

Applying the second one was a bit more challenging.

After that, additional temporary supports were installed. And then continue with finishing the bulwark of the middle deck.
Gluing on the starboard side is finished, now next the port side.

 

[Backer64]

Well, that is where we are at the moment.

I think the books have a few mistakes.
Standard 81T0833

This is therefore completely incorrect.

And is shamelessly copied in the next book.

And this is actually what it looks like in the drawing.
Standing and/or running rigging will be attached to this setup later.

next matter to review
horizontal planking or curved straight "crack style"
Most drawings of ships from this period seem to opt for the horizontal. The curved straight lines are starting to look a bit old-fashioned, it seems to me.

 

[Backer64]

Continuing with the upper part of the planking on the mid-deck. We switch from frames on the inside of the planking to stands on the outside. The flanking is fairly thin here, but about 4 cm scale 1/1.
First the standards; fortunately, some of them are left. And these were made based on them.
One by one, a time-consuming task

The wall of the back castle is being tidied up.

The stands are glued in place.

The first plank

The second plank, with all hands (clamps) on deck.

The extra supports for around the gunports.

The middle rail is glued in place

And the top rail.

So the starboard side is finished; the tops of the rails still need to be shortened slightly later.

With the port side now also ready, the stands are being made to height. A simple way to measure: a wooden plank as a template.

And a mold to check the semicircular gunports

This one is slightly conical, so it goes into the hole up to the arrow and no further. Otherwise, the hole becomes too big.


Ready.

We've come this far; now to plank the last section of the bow.
This is going to involve fitting and measuring. No plan, no real example, and for now, just nothing to clamp anything onto