Ships, part 9

With just a bit of effort, I was able to take the plastic masts off the iron dought, and replace them with brass:

These are much taller than the previous masts, so there will be enough room at the top for spandarions.  I still need to add the bracing but it is close, finally, for paint.

It's a bit dusty here!

Apologies for the long delay - it is high time to sort things out here!

I have to admit that I hit a mental wall of sorts with this project, mostly because my budget for hobby materials collapsed somewhat.  I have been concentrating on the Tékumel minis more, but it is time to get going here as well.  However, the quartos and baskets will need to wait a while longer; I have yet to get any suitable minis for the skirmish games.  So, I am going to try and get the slipways going again for the ship project with a critical eye turned out towards making the ships faster and of course nicer.

The first ship still does not look quite right to me - the masts are too short and off-kilter especially.  I have yet to decide if I should tear it apart for another go or just leave it for now and replace it later when my skill level increases.  She is a nifty little vessel, if you squint a bit!

Ships, part 8

More bits and pieces have been added to the first iron dought in my shipyard:


The ship is pretty close to being at the end of the build phase now. I have yet to decide on whether to add the gunports or to decorate the stern. For the sake of simplicity the rigging will not be added. The masts need some adjusting - when the supports were glued in they appear to have pulled the masts a bit when the glue dried. A gentle application to a knife should fix that as the crooked masts just do not look right. Then it is off to be painted!

One more pic:


I think a different background is needed for these pics!

Ships, part 7

Another brief update:


I have added the rostrum and some more superstructure bits. The metal pieces are some 1/2400 scale ship's boats that I have hoarded for a long time. They are produced by CinC ( website ). 1/2400 might seem too small for this 1/1200 ship, but they match the original drawing almost perfectly; I suspect they are a bit too large for 1/2400 in the first place. But they look the part!

Ships, part 6

More and more small steps on the way toward launch:


On my other blog, I wrote about purchasing some Xyston 1/600 ancient ships. Along with the ships, I bought some extra ship-board artillery, and after they arrived, I thought that some of them might make good lambasts for Half Continent ships.


Here is the basic hull and a sprue of ballista. They are a little large, but should work just fine. Also in this photo, one can just make out the deck planking - it will be much more apparent when painted.




And this is the hull with some extra parts for the deck fittings alongside. After looking again at the original artwork for this ship, I have made my mini with a greatly exaggerated vertical measurement - the hull is much taller than the scale. It is OK though, it does not look too bad and I like it! Even the piece with the hole drilled off-center...

Ships, part 5

Another small step towards completion:


The deck planking sheet is being glued down to the hull pieces. Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of the planking pieces before this, but once it is painted it will be easy to see.

Also, I miscalculated the scale on this mini - it is 1/1200, not 1/600 as previously stated. I am now wondering if I am using balsa that is too thick. It is certainly not to scale but I like that fact that the mini will be more robust and more easily recognized on the tabletop.

Ships, part 2

The first ram begins to take shape:


Step One: two pieces of 0.080" plastic sheet, cut into the rough dimensions of the two decks of VN Coryphaeus. The deck plans are just cleaned-up copies of the original artwork, as shown here.




Step Two: the hull takes shape, after a fair amount of cutting and sanding. I was doubting my choice of plastic sheet for the main components, just a little, as it is more difficult to work with than I previously thought. Once I get the technique down it should not be a problem though. I also trimmed off the rostrum from the bow; I will add this to the model later on.


I am not certain when I will be able to return to working on this ship as we are preparing to move and the workbench will be packed up soon.

Ships, part 1

Finally made it down to the hobby shop today and grabbed some materials for making some ships:



The thicker material - 0.060" and 0.080" - will be used as the base for the decks. The v-groove material will be the planking of the decks, and the assorted pieces are there Just-In-Case. I have plastic rod for the masts from other projects.

For the first build, I am going to try 1/1200 scale - an iron dought such as Coryphaeus would be approximately 8 cm in length, which is large enough for details and small enough to get several ships on the table for a game...