The twelve ships of the Royal Navy sans their main decks and any kind of sailing rig. For reference the hexes you see are 4” between the flat sides. The top two ships are a pair from the Minotaur class and will both feature five masts!
All twelve of the Royal Navy lower hulls have been completed - and quite splendid they look! The next step will be to tackle the main decks - hatches and similar odds and ends - and then to finish off will be the masts and spars. Of the twelve ships under construction eight of them are quite straightforward in that they have a main deck that will need a few hatches and a funnel or two. Four of them however, will need rather more care and attention. These are H.M.S. Monarch, H.M.S. Devastation and the two Belleisle class ironclad rams. For all that though, I should be able to get their main decks completed en masse so that is the next task.
A side view of the hull of (either) H.M.S. Belleisle or H.M.S. Orion.
A rather lovely model of H.M.S. Devastation. My version will be considerably simpler looking!
Really pleased with how these are shaping up and I am looking forward to getting the Turks completed next, along with a few Germans.
There is a cunning plan afoot….
They look fabulous David,the 1mm MDF has worked really well
ReplyDeleteHi Martin,
DeleteIt took longer than I thought it would to shape the layers - lots of careful sanding - but I am really pleased with the end result. I must admit that I had rather dragged my feet a little with this stage as I really did not fancy using masking tape on this scale. Ordinary cardboard appears is a little too fibrous when you are using the edges so I needed something more robust.
1mm MDF appeared to be the ideal solution for what I wanted and this has definitely proven to be the case. I ordered ten sheets and all twelve of the RN ironclads came from 3/4 of a single sheet!
My standard hull layer is 3mm thick so in order to be consistent going forwards I will need to make sure that I order 2mm versions so that with the 1mm boot topping layer it will be 3mm.
I am really pleased with the result and thank you for saying so!
All the best,
DC
Cracking stuff David…
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to seeing the finished fleet.
All the best. Aly
Hello there Aly,
DeleteThank you kindly old chap! I am looking forward to not only finishing these but also tackling the Turks. I will also sneak in a few Germans for good measure…..
All the best,
DC
I didn't know one can buy MDF that thin. We in the US can't get it in that thickness, at least I can't where I live.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to seeing the results of your ship builds, particularly the HMS Devastation.
Hi Chris,
DeleteI only wish I had found a supplier much sooner but better late than never! HMS Devastation and HMS Monarch have some fine tuning from my original designs - nothing major but it does mean a special order into Warbases.
I am looking forward to building them both but they will probably appear later in the build mainly because they need a little more work than most of the twelve ships being built.
All the best,
DC
They are coming along really well. Your clever layering approach produces perfect lines.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, James
Hi James,
DeleteIt is about ease of construction. Having a 1mm layer saves a lot of time painting and is the best way of getting a consistent finish.
I only wish I had thought of it sooner!
All the best,
DC