HMS Sovereign of the Seas - Bashing DeAgostini Beyond Believable Boundaries

You did not catch the patent number - 15952? Is that not your address on the letter in the photo?
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Shhh! Don't dox me bro! ROTF ROTF ROTF
 
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I couldn't fish them out. They are totally buried, the risk you take making complete guns on the lower decks. They were kept in place by the breeching lines and gun tackles, just like on a real ship. I had to apply PVA glue to the lower area of the front of the carriages with a wooden craft pick, wipe excess glue off the bottom of the gun port with a cotton swab, then clamp them in place with the levers made from wood strips and rubber bands and let them dry overnight. You have to be clever in devising a method of holding the guns in place, hence the long wood strips, pressing the guns to the deck. None of the gun carriages had broken breeching ropes that I could tell. The upper section of the hull was protected from damage by "Kitty Shield V1.0", the plywood cover i made to keep the cats from crunching the ladder railing and other deck gear. Damage recovery took a few hours. I really need to make Kitty Shield v2.0.

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I’ve had to do something similar.
 
Time to get more hull construction done, starting with the aft forecastle bulkhead and halfdeck bulkhead. To make the complex convex curves of these bulkheads, the lower plank supports which the kit provides to provide the pattern for making a jig. Instead of attaching vertical planks to the a support glued to the deck and the desk edge above it, a jig will be made using some of the parts to act as a form for the planks. The planks are not glued to the jig except where excess glue does make contact with it. The planks are instead glued to each other, edge to edge. Placing the jig on the model allows each plank to follow the curve of the camber in the upper gun deck. The bulkhead will be double planked on the outside surface using veneer strips before being removed from the jig. That way, it will be stiff enough to hold its own shape and have some strength. Once separated from the jig, the bulkhead will be veneer planked on the inside, then details will be added on both sides.

Making a jig
1417 Make Jig for Forcastle Aft Bulkhead.jpg

Insert jigs for both bulkheads in hull, not glued in place.
1418 Test Fit Forcastle & Halfdeck Bulkhead Jigs.jpg

Jigs were formed using the outlines of the deck parts above and the lower bulkhead support, both of which will not be used as parts of the model. The deck parts will be replaced by a scratch built, historically accurate structure.
1419 Forcastle & Halfdeck Bulkhead Jigs.jpg

When forming the bulkhead, only the planks at the places where the convex portions of the bulkhead join are lightly glued to the jig. The planks are glued edge to edge only. Some glue will stick them to the jig, but that can be separated later.
1420 Use Jig to Make Forecastle Bulkhead.jpg

The basic basswood bulkhead is finished. Next it will be veneered with black stained cherry wood on the outside, then separated from the jig.
1421 Bulkhead Planks Glued Edge-to-Edge Only.jpg

The bulkheads and jigs are carefully removed from the ship and sanded to shape.
1423 Forcastle & Halfdeck Bulkhead Jigs.jpg

Progress so far
1424 Progress So Far.jpg

1422 Other Side of Forecastle Aft Bulkhead.jpg
 
Update on the bulkhead production from scratch. While still on the jig, the halfdeck forward bulkhead was layered with second planking made from cherry veneer that will later be stained black. This layer was added while the planking was still on the jig, since it will provide more strength and help hold the shape of the part. After hours of adding each plank, and waiting for each one to dry until doing the next one, the front surface was completed. A razor knife was carefully used to cut the glue that was holding the bulkhead to the jig. It was attached in spots firmly, but came apart pretty easily after a few minutes of work. Both sides of the bulkhead were sanded and the part was test fit on the hull. Small gaps between the bulkhead and the bulwarks will be close with shims and those joints will be veneered over later. The part is holding its shape rather well and cleanup of the part yielded a good result.

1425 Plank Halfdeck Bulkhead with Cherry Veneer.jpg

1426 View of Halfdeck Bulkhead on Jig.jpg

After separation from the jig
1427 Bulkhead Separated from Jig.jpg

After cleanup and sanding
1428 Sanded Bulkhead.jpg

Decorations will cover any errors in the length of the cherry planks.
1429 Sanded Bulkhead.jpg

Test fit
1430 Test Fit Bulkhead.jpg


1431 Test Fit Bulkhead.jpg
 
Nicely made bulwarks, Kurt. I'm sure it was an anxious moment prying them away from the jig.
No, they separated easily enough. Most of the glue was joining the edges of the vertical slats. The spots of glue holding the parts together were easy to find and cut with a razor knife. The thing is, decorating the bulkheads will be much easier while they are not attached to the model. The problem is, I've only just started training myself on Blender to make the 3-D decorations, and I haven't even opened the box the 3-D printer came it. I need to start learning 3-D resin printing and modelling on Blender. That will delay much of the progress on the model. Once the decorations start getting made, then this model will give Nigel some hard to match competition for detail. :D
 
No, they separated easily enough. Most of the glue was joining the edges of the vertical slats. The spots of glue holding the parts together were easy to find and cut with a razor knife. The thing is, decorating the bulkheads will be much easier while they are not attached to the model. The problem is, I've only just started training myself on Blender to make the 3-D decorations, and I haven't even opened the box the 3-D printer came it. I need to start learning 3-D resin printing and modelling on Blender. That will delay much of the progress on the model. Once the decorations start getting made, then this model will give Nigel some hard to match competition for detail. :D
Ooh. Competitive model building! Maybe a cage match on the orlop deck? Semi-culverin drakes at 30 paces? Underwater ratline tying? My money is on Nigel if there are rules that have to be followed - Kurt if it's no holds-barred...
 
No, they separated easily enough. Most of the glue was joining the edges of the vertical slats. The spots of glue holding the parts together were easy to find and cut with a razor knife. The thing is, decorating the bulkheads will be much easier while they are not attached to the model. The problem is, I've only just started training myself on Blender to make the 3-D decorations, and I haven't even opened the box the 3-D printer came it. I need to start learning 3-D resin printing and modelling on Blender. That will delay much of the progress on the model. Once the decorations start getting made, then this model will give Nigel some hard to match competition for detail. :D
Oh, this is exciting! I didn't realize you were going to design and print your own decor.
 
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