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Today, I spent some time on my build of The Endeavour, the ship commanded by Cook on the first of his 3 major voyages. The first voyage was when he charted large parts of the Australian east coast.

 

I commenced this build a couple of years ago, before I joined BM, hence we start this thread with the model part built. Today is the first time that I’ve touched the model for more than twelve months, there’s various reasons for that, not least of which was when some of the 1st layer of planking sprung off the frames, probably due to the Queensland heat and humidity, and I lost a bit of interest. So, having just finished a couple of Tamiya motorbike kits I thought that it was time to get back to the ship.

 

My wooden ship building speed isn’t prolific (not that you can rush these things!!), my first ship (The Mercury, which is on the forum in the “Ready for Inspection” section) took me twelve years. So this thread will be quite intermittent but hopefully entertaining.

 

I decided to build the model “out of the box” although from what I’ve managed to uncover the Endeavour never had any guns below deck, which the kit will have. The kit comes from the Italian company, Corel, and so far I’m happy with the contents and build. I was warned that the  “bluff” bow would be a challenge and it has turned out to be a lot harder than that on The Mercury.

 

So on with a few pictures, the first being the obligatory box and then a close-up of (hopefully) what the finished model will look like. Then we have two similar pictures showing a plank in the process of glueing into position.

 

Any comments, questions and constructive criticisms are very welcome.

 

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1 hour ago, Courageous said:

Not my field but it's always interesting watching artisans on these older subjects. Carry on good sir.

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart, that’s the first time that I’ve ever been called an artisan and I’m 63!! I hope that you’ll keep across the build and that I live up to the compliment.

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6 hours ago, GrantGoodale said:

I love those clamps that you are using for the planking. Where did you get them?

 

TIA

 

Hi Grant, they come from “Modellers Central” in New South Wales Australia, I’m not sure if they ship to your part of the World but here is a link to their website https://www.modelerscentral.com/tools-paints-glue/hand-tools/holding/planking-screws-p12/

 

As you get further around the curve of the frame you need to put a scrap piece of planking under the “heel” of the planking screw to keep the flat “foot” of the clamp flat on the plank that is being glued. You can see one in the last picture above on the frame that is directly behind the forward most gun port.

 

They are very good, they come in a pack of 12 and I would recommend that you get two packs if you want to do one plank on each side at the same time.

 

Let me know if you need anymore information.

 

Regards Ian

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1 hour ago, robgizlu said:

Watching with interest - I have a huge respect for all of you working in wood - makes plastic seem very basic!

Rob

Hi Rob, as somebody that has worked in both wood and plastic, I actually think that wood is more forgiving. If I stuff up a wooden piece, it is relatively easy to make another one, but I, for one, don’t have the skills to replicate a plastic part if I break one. I’m pleased that you’re watching, I hope I don’t waste your time.

Regards Ian

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  • 1 month later...

It’ll be good if you follow along Gregory, and please feel free to comment, I like to get any comments, even criticism is OK as long as it’s constructive. Thanks and regards Ian

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Hi Ian,

 

Looks like you're doing this the real way; I salute you!

 

I must ask though, what is "HMB" supposed to stand for in the subject title? I see "Brigantino" on the box but it's not a brigantine...& Endeavour wasn't a brig or a bark either; the 3 masts with square sails on all of them makes her a full-rigged ship, even if the mizzen carries only the one square topsail. I've seen the phrase "His Majesty's Armed Transport" used in conjunction with both Endeavour & Bounty, but never in the acronym "HMAT" that I can recall, & "HMAB" for "His Majesty's Armed Brig" or "...Armed Bark (or Barque)" in cases like Fitzroy & Darwin's Beagle (which was both at one time or another)...& internet searches for correct usage will only get whatever others have posted on the internet, not necessarily the right answer....

 

There's a question for the better informed among us! How many different "HM..." acronyms were used in the Royal Navy, & for what? I hope this isn't considered "thread hijacking"!

 

Cheers, -Lars

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Hi Lars, now you’ve opened a can of worms here and I don’t consider it “thread hijacking” and hope that others don’t either.

Yes, I meant it to mean Bark or Barque as it has always been my understanding that because the Mizzenmast can be rigged for/aft (even with a square rigged top sail) that it was a Bark.

All of my main sources of information also refer to her as a Bark, those are primarily “HM Bark Endeavour” by Ray Parkin, ISBN 052285093-6, “Anatomy of the Ship” by Karl Heinz Marquardt, ISBN 0-85177-641-8, in which Karl goes into a lot of detail on page 18 under the paragraph titled “Rig” about what (and what doesn’t) constitutes a Bark and “Captain Cook’s World” by John Robson, ISBN 174051413-0.

Now, of course all of these can be labouring under the same misunderstanding as me. Even though I was born within sight of Devonport Dockyard in the UK, I am not a naval expert, even though I love wooden ships/boats/vessels etc. etc. If anybody could provide a definitive answer we’d all be wiser I’m sure.

Thanks for the question Lars, I love this interaction and knowledge sharing. The internet is a wonderful and disruptive influence at the same time. It can answer all of your questions and provide an answer to read whatever you want all at the same time.

Regards Ian

(PS did you see the information about the Mercury Schooner that I posted for you?)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Ian,

 

I'm very sure that by the time Endeavour was commissioned in the Royal Navy, "ship" was the correct term for her rig & "bark" would only have applied as a generic term for any vessel upon which one may "embark", as in all of them. Some sailors were known to refer to their ships as "the barky" in somewhat the same way as a modern biker might refer to his Harley-Davidson as a "scooter", as a sort of diminutive endearment.

 

Just revisited your thread about the Mercury; thanks!

 

Cheers, -Lars

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Hi Lars, I’m certainly familiar with the term “barky” from the excellent Patrick O’Brien books. It was used there about several different vessels to the best of my memory, bearing out your comments. Thanks very much for your input, it’s an interesting topic for sure. You’ve got me interested enough to look into this further for my own benefit. I’ve never really understood what the differences were (apart from at a quite high generic level), irrespective of what category Cook’s Endeavour falls into. If I come across anything of note I’ll let you know.

Regards Ian

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