HM Bark Endeavour +++FINISHED+++

[IGKOR]

Nice work you are doing Ray.

Coloring looks very nice and careful and the work with the shrouds looks very good.

👍

Be Well!

Igkor

[Ray S]

@Bertie McBoatface, @Courageous and @IGKOR, Thank you all for those comments! I think I am getting better at dealing with the shrouds now. I was quite reasonable when I last used the 'rigging machine' a long time ago, but it took me a while to get back in the swing of things this time around. Poorer eyesight and a hint of the shakes have contributed! Remembering to cut the excess ratlines off from the back of the shrouds helped with the edges. Using the rigging machine, the horizontals are on top of the shrouds, and with me being right-handed, cutting from the other side allows the scissor blade to get very close to the shroud and trims the ratline very close. I aim to get some better scissors (along with other tools/aids) ready for when I restart my two stalled (drifting?) wooden boats.

 

I was able to get the upper mizzen shrouds on today. I think I need to change the CA as it was getting a bit non-sticky, even with the cotton. 

 

 

And here is Endeavour with all of her shrouds in place:

 

 

It is just such a shame about the lower mizzen shrouds fouling the rails. Oh, and must add the broken deadeye to that third port mizzen lower shroud, it is in the box somewhere.

 

Thanks for looking, I now have to decide whether to add the anchors first or start on the yards. Probably anchors.

 

Ray

[Bertie McBoatface]

I haven't rigged a three master yet but I read that the usual thing is to work from front to back and bottom to top and centreline to outside, treating the bowsprit as another mast and working up it. I think the idea is not to get in your own way. I don't know if that's useful of even if it makes any sense. 🤔

 

 

[IGKOR]

2 hours ago, Ray S said:

@Bertie McBoatface, @Courageous and @IGKOR, Thank you all for those comments! I think I am getting better at dealing with the shrouds now. I was quite reasonable when I last used the 'rigging machine' a long time ago, but it took me a while to get back in the swing of things this time around. Poorer eyesight and a hint of the shakes have contributed! Remembering to cut the excess ratlines off from the back of the shrouds helped with the edges. Using the rigging machine, the horizontals are on top of the shrouds, and with me being right-handed, cutting from the other side allows the scissor blade to get very close to the shroud and trims the ratline very close. I aim to get some better scissors (along with other tools/aids) ready for when I restart my two stalled (drifting?) wooden boats.

 

I was able to get the upper mizzen shrouds on today. I think I need to change the CA as it was getting a bit non-sticky, even with the cotton. 

 

 

And here is Endeavour with all of her shrouds in place:

 

 

It is just such a shame about the lower mizzen shrouds fouling the rails. Oh, and must add the broken deadeye to that third port mizzen lower shroud, it is in the box somewhere.

 

Thanks for looking, I now have to decide whether to add the anchors first or start on the yards. Probably anchors.

 

Ray

Nice work you sre doing!

Go on with whatever suits you best!

Dont worry..Be happy!

 

Be Well

Igkor

[Bertie McBoatface]

After watching your build I fancy having a go at an Endeavour for myself one day and that's more than enough justification for me to buy a second hand book.

 

 

This one in fact. There's enough information in this to sctatchbuild from if a person, not I, were brave enough to do so.

 

I doubt that I'll even read the thing for months, maybe years but it's nice to have it on the shelf and very nice to buy it before the price goes utterly daft. The one for the Beagle was in the region of £200 which is just a tad too rich for me.

 

Anyway, I have the reference, you have the model so if there's anything you need pictures of, let me know and I'll PM them to you. Here's a few samples.

 

 

 

There's a couple of overviews of the standing and running rigging.

 

 

And that's a sample of the kind of detail that the book zooms into should you need to go that far. Obviously no-one in their right mind would incorporate everything unless they were working at 1/50 or larger. But being Britmodellers we probably aren't exactly in our right minds anyway. 😜

 

 

[mick b]

Just caught up with this Ray, great work so far, very neat, for such an old kit it will look stunning on completion.

 

I’ve often thought about building the Discovery but hard to find at a fair price and surprised Airfix haven’t re-released it.

 

Mike

[Ray S]

@Bertie McBoatface, that looks a great book! The first thing I noticed was that Airfix seem to have got muddled with the shrouds as the plans you have shown show the last two deadeyes and chains on the fore- and main masts having rigging going up to the mast, whereas Airfix had only the aft one doing so. And the aft ratlines do not connect to the final shroud in every instance (just like I discovered the other day when reading the Victory book by Noel Hackney). I will rig it as per Airfix I think as I have got this far, but I will keep your kind offer in mind. I have found quite a few wooden model ships of the Endeavour, so if your new-found passion for wood ships hangs around, it may be an option after your next few projects!

 

Talking of next few projects, I am beginning to compile a list of tools and aids I would need (or like) to help me out with the wooden ships kits I have, with an aim to do a new build once I have got some experience. I am up to about £150 in expdentiture planned if I go ahead, and all can be got from one online maritime model store

9 hours ago, mick b said:

Just caught up with this Ray, great work so far, very neat, for such an old kit it will look stunning on completion.

 

I’ve often thought about building the Discovery but hard to find at a fair price and surprised Airfix haven’t re-released it.

 

Mike

 

Thanks  @mick b for those kind comments. I too would like them to reissue the Discovery, along with the Great Western, HMS Prince, St Loius and the Royal Sovereign. I am just falling in love with their sailing ships again, as I did many, many years ago. This one does show its age, but in better hands than mine would certainly produce a stunner!

 

All the best everyone,

 

Ray

[Bertie McBoatface]

7 minutes ago, Ray S said:

Airfix seem to have got muddled

 

Well that's a surprise! 😄 

 

Maybe it was a simplification due to the very small scale. I keep forgetting how tiny it is.

[Ray S]

Today I have been through the 'to pudding or not to pudding?' debate. I have decided not to pudding, on this ship anyway. That meant putting a protective binding around the ring on the anchor. I tried, but I could not get it looking reasonable, I expect the 1/120 scale was too small for me to realistically try it.

 

What I did do mind was to drill a small hole into the anchors and into the railing up front, and then pop some 0.8mm brass rod into the anchor. The rod was just long enough to go through the railing, and it now looks like another belaying pin close to the ship's bulwark. It was scary drilling the holes as they were rather close to the shrouds. Forward planning would have been a good idea here...

 

 

The idea behind doing that was to make for a much more stable platform to hold the anchors while I was trying to tie knots in two ropes each for them. I found it tricky to get the cotton thread to follow a reasonable pathway from the windlass(?), through the bow and then down and up to the anchor ring. I CA'd the rope to the deck, then coated the thread outside of the bow with thinned PVA and after it had dried, I tried to shape it between thumb and fore-finger. Then CA'd it to the bow to help.

 

 

One thing I have discovered during this build is that knot-tying is not a strong point of mine. I have found that the thread decides to go whichever way it wants, not the way I want it to go. I am sure that with more practice I will get better. I next needed to thread a thread through the two holes in each cathead (the black sticky-out bits at the bow). I was hesitant about this, as the slots had been slightly flashed over when I assembled them to the deck and bow, but, being a good ex-Boy Scout (and Blue Peter watcher), I had prepared them earlier and opened them up. I was expecting some swarf or something which would snag the thread - but they all went through no problem at all. They were tried onto the pudding-less anchor ring, the anchors were twisted slightly to tauten the cables and CA'd into place. I could not have done that rigging without the brass pins.

 

 

The box top illustration shows the anchors in that position, but with them angled slightly more downwards. Some online builds show them the way I have them. The other option shown was for them to be hanging down straight from the catheads but I would have struggled to get the on that way, so I think they will stay like this. I am sure that there should be more cables from the cathead towards the windlass, but I cannot work out where they go, unless they were the endless loop which were tied to the anchor hawse ropes and untied and retied by the ship's boys when the anchors were raised.

 

This was only a small bit of progress today, but one I am glad to have completed. This is how Endeavour looks now:

 

 

Thanks for looking, for the 'likes' and comments, and, above all, for the encouragement!

 

Ray

[Bertie McBoatface]

A well trained team of sailors getting those anchors stowed must have been something to see. 

 

I believe your brass pin is making up for the understandable absence (due to the small scale), of several components with the most wonderful names such as the bumpkin and the fish-davit. That was a good piece of improvisation. Nice one!

[Ray S]

5 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

A well trained team of sailors getting those anchors stowed must have been something to see. 

 

Hello Bertie, I was reading in one of my books the other day that the process was rather long-winded and it could take up to three or four hours to get the anchors in! I am still trying to get used to the nomenclature of sailing ships, some words are counter-intuitive* and others just downright odd to a land-lubber like me.

 

Ray

 

* for example, 'ceiling' does not mean the bit of the cabin over your head, it means the lining of the inside of the hull.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Ray S
Tidy the post

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 minutes ago, Ray S said:

I am still trying to get used to the nomenclature of sailing ships

 

Same here. I'm as keen a collector of words as I am of tools. There are so many terms that are doubly strange due to the marine usage AND the passage of a couple of hundred years, that sometimes I remember how I used to feel in First Year French lessons - tongue tied and stupid!

[Ray S]

Today's 'crumbs, I did not know it was called that' is - FIDS. I found that out the other day when I was reading through one of my books. The reason I mention it is because they are easy to file off when cleaning seams on plastic model sailing ships. I found out. It turns out that the square area at the bottom of the top- and topgallant masts have a couple of small pips athwartships and they can easily be mistaken for mould errors, except for the regularity they have on the mouldings, but it still did not stop me from sanding a couple off by mistake. A fid is like a wedge that is driven into the lower end of the masts and helps to fit them to the tops or cross-trees. The moral of the (meandering) story is: look after your fids, and your mast will stand tall and true!

 

I made the most of yesterday, even if I did not do an update. I spend a thoroughly interesting time cleaning up seam lines and ejection pin blemishes on a number of the foremast yards and got them and the already cleaned up bowsprit yards  painted up, this time I used Revell acrylics. I had quite a collection clamped in pegs, along with the part numbers written on said pegs to remind me which was which:

 

 

This morning brought the time to make them fit the masts. The foremast ones went on with a bit of persuasion - I needed to fettle the main yard quite a bit, the middle yard (still have not figured out the name for that one yet) was fouled by the shrouds and needed some CA gel followed by liquid poly to get it to fit, then the topgallant mast and its pre-glued yard went on top. I managed to MkI eyeball the alignment reasonably well and get them level side to side from the bow, and also athwartships which pleased me no end. The ship was suddenly a lot taller now!

 

 

Then I sorted out the yards for the main mast, cleaned them up and got them painted (you can't beat acrylics for getting the job done quickly), and got the two lower yards fitted. These skewed slightly from side to side, and it looks like the main mast may have been inserted with a slightly un-noticable twist - no matter what I did, I could not align them with the foremast yards. Hey Ho. The aft flagstaff went on, then the mizzen gaff (the Endeavour does not seem to have a boom off the mizzen mast), and I hereby show you my patented 'Keep the gaff up' device which I invented after serious thought while trying to work out how to keep the gaff from falling off. I said forward planning was not a strong point of mine!

 

 

If anyone wishes to use this miracle of engineering, feel free to do so...

 

This is where Endeavour is at the moment:

 

 

 

I have had quite a bit of thought about what to do with the sails on this. I was going to use the vac-formed ones, but I never think they look right, especially the furled ones. I might give them a go and get them painted up and highlighted a bit (the set sails, not the furled ones) and see what they look like when I hold them to the yards. My other option is to have an even more inaccurate model by leaving the yards sail-less. I know the yards would have been in a different place as they tend to get lowered when the sails are off. I will have a bit more of a think.

 

Anyway, that is all for today, thanks for looking and for the likes and comments.

 

Ray

[Faraway]

51 minutes ago, Ray S said:

I have had quite a bit of thought about what to do with the sails on this

Sails are a bit of a conundrum, aren’t they.

I found these, bit expensive though.

https://www.hismodel.com/articles-detail-140

Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

36 minutes ago, Ray S said:

A fid is like a wedge that is driven into the lower end of the masts and helps to fit them to the tops or cross-trees.

 

Interesting. I didn't know that one but I know a fid is also a tool for splicing ropes with, like an early version of a marlin spike. I suppose that's wedge shaped too. I just looked up the origin and fidere in Latin is to split. Makes sense for wedges then.

 

36 minutes ago, Ray S said:

part numbers written on said pegs to remind me which was which

 

That's a darned good idea. Thanks.

 

39 minutes ago, Ray S said:

I needed to fettle the main yard quite a bit, the middle yard (still have not figured out the name for that one yet)

 

The main yard is on the main mast.

 

The ones on the foremast from the bottom up are the foreyard, the fore topsail yard and the fore topgallant yard.

 

On the mainmast is the main yard, main topsail yard, main topgallant yard.

 

On the mizzen mast is the crossjack (!), the mizzen topsail yard and the mizzen topgallant yard.

 

 

40 minutes ago, Ray S said:

leaving the yards sail-less. I know the yards would have been in a different place as they tend to get lowered when the sails are off.

 

Rigging model ships with 'bare poles' is a tradition going back hundreds of years. As is fitting sails, or leaving the masts off. The debate rumbles on forever. 😄

[Ray S]

22 hours ago, Faraway said:

Sails are a bit of a conundrum, aren’t they.

I found these, bit expensive though.

https://www.hismodel.com/articles-detail-140

Jon

 

Hello Jon, they look very good indeed but as you say, a bit expensive. If I had done a better job and was more skilled with these types of kits I would go for them.

 

@Bertie McBoatface, thanks for your comments and the hard 'yards'! The wording will eventually sink in, honest...

 

Today I got the two yards onto the bowsprit and used a similar jig to get them level, this time though I used Revell Acrylic paint pots and a pen, along with liquid poly and CA. Then it was time to start something which makes or breaks a sailing ship. Literally. It is when you find out a) if you can tie knots and b) if you have glued the yards on properly.

 

Having gone through three books on modelling sailing ships, I thought I would try and put some of my new-found learning into action, and see if I could form a loop and seize it. I have seen someone else do this recently but I cannot remember where - I use a pair of Helping Hands to hold the loop at one end and the rest of the line at the other, then wrapped some thin cotton around the 'shank' to seize it and tie it all together. I used a half-knot for the first attachment (followed by a dab of CA), and then another dab of CA at the end. Fly-tying scissors then trimmed the ends:

 

 

I then had to manoeuvre one end of the thread one side of the lower foremast, the looped end around the other side and then lead the first through the loop and tighten. All fraught with danger of any part of the thread catching on existing yards, deck fittings or shrouds. Thankfully it all went okay, and then I was able to wind the loose end around the bowsprit and get it all tightened and tidied up, all without knocking off the foreyard.

 

Full of my own success, I then went up to the next layer, did the same thing, and promptly found that the shrouds fouled the thread going between them and the mast itself, so some rather wobbly tweezer work was called for (I had nothing to stabilise my hands against), and eventually that was done too, but not before I had knocked the fore topsail yard off and had to CA it back again.. The fore topgallant/bowsprit standing rigging was a breeze after that, but I was mindful not to tighten any of these too much, as I did not want the bowsprit to look like a banana!

 

 

I did have to cheat a little when I added the middle line, as I could not get it in the right place behind the white cap, so I took the liberty of fitting it forward. This one slackened off the first line, but the third line evened things up again. I decided to quit for the day while I was ahead.

 

My learning for the day was that a) I have trouble tying knots and b) I did not glue at least one of the yards well enough.

 

That is it for today, thanks for looking and for the comments,

 

Ray

[Faraway]

Ray.

Did the jig for the shrouds and ratlines come with the kit ?

Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

That looks pretty good to me. You're right - rigging is THE THING on these models. Get it right and everyone is astonished.

 

I know what you mean about catching the various sticking out bits while trying to tie on the rigging. I think wooden spars are a bit stronger but there's still the chance of hurling the whole ship off the desk! Maybe I'll strip to the waist when I get to that stage. 😄

 

6 minutes ago, Ray S said:

I have seen someone else do this recently but I cannot remember where

 

I have done this recently, but I'm dismayed to realise that I can't remember how. 🤔

 

6 minutes ago, Ray S said:

The wording will eventually sink in, honest...

 

I'm saying the same thing. I checked my post against a textbook before I dared send it.

[Ray S]

16 hours ago, Faraway said:

Ray.

Did the jig for the shrouds and ratlines come with the kit ?

Jon

 

Hi Jon, yes it did. I have made a minor modification to it by adding a strip of U-channelled plastic strip along the bottom edges of both sides, which then raises the vertical shrouds a touch and that helps the contact with the horizontal ratlines.

 

I hope that helps,

 

Ray

[Ray S]

Having had the weekend off from the bench due to being rather bushed after work, I was refreshed and ready to roll today. The first thing I did was make up another 'noose' for the main mast, threaded it around the mast and popped the loose end through the noose and pulled it taut. Only to find I had not made the noose big enough due to having underestimated the circumference of the lower main mast. Whoops! It was not wasted though, the upper sections were small enough, but it just goes to show that forward planning is still required!

 

Anyway, I got the two lower lines (there must be a name for them) that go from the main mast to the fore mast done and fitted with a little tension, which did not pull the masts out of vertical. Talking of which, the main topgallant mast was leaning backwards slightly when I fitted it last week, so I got a razor and cut it out from the topmast cap and reset it. I then was getting close to going out for the afternoon, so I popped the two mizzen mast yards on, using a combo of CA and Revell Contacta cement:

 

 

 

After I did that, I realised I still had time to get the third main/foremast stay(?) on, and it too fitted with a little tension but no bending of the masts.

 

Now, an appeal for help! Can someone give me a little guidance please on what sort of knots to use when tying these threads off? These ropes from one mast to the other seem especially difficult for me. If I tie them off, the rope naturally slips over to one side of the mast and is not central. I ended up by using CA to fit the rope to the mast, then wrapped the trailing line around the mast and pulled it around the stay and then took it around the mast the other way, which pulled the stay back central, but it does not look that good to me. I have always had difficulty with this section, but now want to learn how to try and do it properly, especially with some other subjects I have planned. Although I have four books devoted to sailing ships, none actually show how to do this part (Kieth Julier shows some knots but for different things). Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks for looking and for the likes and comments.

 

Ray

[Bertie McBoatface]

27 minutes ago, Ray S said:

Now, an appeal for help! Can someone give me a little guidance please on what sort of knots to use when tying these threads off? These ropes from one mast to the other seem especially difficult for me. If I tie them off, the rope naturally slips over to one side of the mast and is not central. I ended up by using CA to fit the rope to the mast, then wrapped the trailing line around the mast and pulled it around the stay and then took it around the mast the other way, which pulled the stay back central, but it does not look that good to me. I have always had difficulty with this section, but now want to learn how to try and do it properly, especially with some other subjects I have planned. Although I have four books devoted to sailing ships, none actually show how to do this part (Kieth Julier shows some knots but for different things). Any help would be really appreciated.

 

In your tiny scale I would use a clove hitch around the mast pulled up taught but not entirely tight, then a half hitch on top to make the bight leave the mast in a radial direction. Then slide it around to where you want to point it and secure it with a drop of CA. This guy will show you the knots.

 

 

When you do it in a bigger scale on those wooden kits of yours, you'll be trying for this:

 

[Seahawk]

On 7/22/2022 at 7:31 PM, Ray S said:

... and with me being right-handed, cutting from the other side allows the scissor blade to get very close to the shroud and trims the ratline very close. I aim to get some better scissors (along with other tools/aids) ready for when I restart my two stalled (drifting?) wooden boats.

 

Ray, 

 

Have you considered using a fingernail clippers for your close trimming?  I reckon it would enable you to get closer than any scissors I have seen.

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

I recommend these little beauties. razor sharp to the tip and you can operate them with two fingers in the most awkward of places. They are much easier than scissors with the conventional finger holes.

 

https://www.hobbies.co.uk/minisnip-versatile-precision-scissors

 

I tried nail clipper type tools and found that their head to head blades quickly became too blunt to cut fine thread, also very bulky for tight spaces between a cobweb of rigging.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

9 hours ago, Ray S said:

Anyway, I got the two lower lines (there must be a name for them) that go from the main mast to the fore mast done and fitted

Gidday Ray, they could be the main stay and main top mast stay. The next one up could be the main topgallant stay. They're named from the masts they support. But I'd recommend a second opinion on this. HTH.

With all the rigging you've added she's looking very good. Regards, Jeff.

[Ray S]

12 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

In your tiny scale I would use a clove hitch around the mast pulled up taught but not entirely tight, then a half hitch on top to make the bight leave the mast in a radial direction. Then slide it around to where you want to point it and secure it with a drop of CA. This guy will show you the knots.

 

Bertie, that is just the sort of response which makes Britmodeller (and YOU!) so brilliant, thanks for that very much indeed.

 

10 hours ago, Seahawk said:

 

Ray, 

 

Have you considered using a fingernail clippers for your close trimming?  I reckon it would enable you to get closer than any scissors I have seen.

 

I have, I read about them in Kieth Julier's book that I showed earlier in the build. I think they would be okay for the shrouds where access is good. My fly-tying scissors are pretty good at getting in close but -

 

10 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

I recommend these little beauties. razor sharp to the tip and you can operate them with two fingers in the most awkward of places. They are much easier than scissors with the conventional finger holes.

 

https://www.hobbies.co.uk/minisnip-versatile-precision-scissors

 

I tried nail clipper type tools and found that their head to head blades quickly became too blunt to cut fine thread, also very bulky for tight spaces between a cobweb of rigging.

 

I have my eye on a pair of this type of scissors from Cornwall Model Boats, which is where I am going to see about getting all my gear, along with some thinner lime planking for the Titanic lifeboat I started many years ago. A build review elsewhere suggested the supplied planks were too thick (1.5mm), and using thinner stuff (1.0mm) was better as that allowed bending and shaping to be easier, and that would be good for me.

 

3 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Ray, they could be the main stay and main top mast stay. The next one up could be the main topgallant stay. They're named from the masts they support. But I'd recommend a second opinion on this. HTH.

With all the rigging you've added she's looking very good. Regards, Jeff.

 

Hello Jeff, I think that sounds about right, and with that 'like' from Jamie that confirms it for me (Thanks too, Jamie!)

 

I will get a chance to look at the link Bertie gave a little later, and I can then practice them.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, they are all very much appreciated.

 

Ray