HMS Paul an Oronegrean River ship/ transport

HMS Paul is the final work of 2012... Named after my fathers foster brother, a man who on his monthly stays at our house very kind to me and always made me laugh when I was little. Although he is not family by blood he is certainly family and so as there are followers of this blog who share his name he to shall be achnolaged with a ship. Of Coarse he is not the only one who is being represented; so too is Paul aka Pauls bods, his works were what drew me into making this blog and I must say his kindness and help have always warmed my heart, his work is increadible and must be seen. and paul from the south island who has recently done some tanks for his last works of 2012, he is on the same side of NZ as me but the wrong island so I have not met him, nor anyother kiwi model bloggers.

Onto the ship then. HMS Paul is not only a third rate boat of the line like her counterparts, HMS Peter and HMS Anne, Paul is a transport ship able to carry up to 20 soldiers or marines and their cargo or a good amount of goods, which makes her incredibly useful. yet for all her cargo carrying capabilities HMS Paul has to concede in others, she is normally unarmed but can carry up to 4 guns like the others at the expense of hold space for ammunition. also as a transport he is designed and built differently, for the extra weight she carries she has 2 large square sails instead of one and a triangular one which reduces manoeuvrability, also she has a much larger rudder but this makes the tillers job a bit harder as even with all the cogs and pulleys he still needs to put his back into it.

HMS Paul has 3 main functions;

1. to carry and/or troops cargo up rivers and along the coasts of Oronegro, 
2. to conduct beach landings/ assaults i.e. getting troops from ships onto the shore 
3. and finally to aid in establishing either military and or civilian positions along river banks and coast lines. to this end she must sometimes become a fishing vessel.

and now onto the pics

3 third rate boats of the line sail on new seas, now a desk instead of the table behind the desk... because the table is covered in hobby equipment.

the strange looking but strong bow covered in the name of vessel of which it is but a part

a view over the bow at the front sail the anchors at the side the other ships moving around HMS Paul

a look at the deck and the great big hatch that sets her apart and the tiller so similar to those on HMS Anne and HMS Peter but much harder to use.

the stern with the normal captains shed and flag. the rudder is as you can see larger and the main sail makes it hard for the captain to run into his shed

from above Paul shows off her shape

sail and bow comparison time. Paul has much more straight line speed when empty but full is similar in speed

a fanciful shot of the flotilla... these 3 will soon take on the mighty Abigail and her pirate crew

a sailor comes up from below decks, he is one of the converted Robin hood figures I have mentioned and although he is done many of his friends have still some way to go... one appears in need of a line thrown to him

CAPTAIN WE APPEAR TO BE UNDER ATTACK FROM SOME GIANT SEE MONSTER

 anyway that is the HMS Paul, I hope you have enjoyed my work this year and I hope to continue to my work for many years to come. so early next year expect to see those sailors and pirates and then some true blue Oronegrean infantry... plenty to see, plenty to do I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Hobby Filled new year :-D!!!!!!!!! 
 

street advertising columns (very good scenary bits)

Well this Tutorial came about after a chat conversation with Mickey_Mouse (Michael) on Benno's forums chat feature, more of you should use it ;-). He gave me all the pictures and information I could ever need to make one of these and every step of the way we were in communication keeping track of how well it was going and what I was doing.

Anyway here is the tutorial on How to make some Street advertising columns... I seem to be the tutorial man right now eh?

YOU WILL NEED

• the cardboard tube from some toilet paper 
• cereal box cardboard
• normal paper
• PVA glue
• Foam craft balls (optional)
• filler (optional)
• thread (optional)
• twine (optional)
• thick card
• coins or a compass
• printer or some other way to get the advertisement
• tape
• scissors and/or a craft knife

Step one; basic column

getting the tubes

The first step is really simple get your tube and cut vertically down the side. next cut horizontally across to create some strips, these can be between 2 and 3 cm wide depending on how tall you want your columns, now put your finger inside the tube and use it to keep one end in place. Then Twist the tube up until it becomes a very thin column. tape the other end to the column to keep it in place. secure with some PVA. then get some paper and wrap it around the columns, with glue on the inner side, wrap it as tight as possible. there the basic bit is done.

basic columns

the strip of paper I recommend you use around half the length shown

 







Step two; the ends

coin size test

now there are 2 ways to get the ends one get some coins and find out how big you want your ends to be that way and then draw around them onto some thick card and cut that out or get a measurement and then use a compass to transfer that onto the card. remember one should be wider than the other as that one is the base. cut out the thick card and glue the ends on, simple enough.

just a size test (yes I was making these at the same time as the Abigail

Step three; top, detail, paint and decorate

basic colour applied

the tops are put on top of the card, there are many types of top here I shall explain just 2, a conical shape and a dome,  I shall also explain how to do some minor details before you paint and decorate.
The dome top is made from half a foam craft ball, these are commonly found in cheap "dollar stores" or in craft places, essentially just Styrofoam balls they might be easy to get or not depending on where you are. the ball is cut in half and glued on top and then PVA is "painted" on top to harden it. the conical shape is made by staking smaller and smaller circles of thin card and then putting filler on top, then just sand and add some PVA.

the other half of the foam ball

The details are easy also, some thread wrapped  repeatedly around the top and bottom of the tube or just some thicker twine or string wrapped around once... glue in place. Then undercoat black and then begin to paint. I did just plain black one one and a more pretty colour scheme on the other but still pretty basic. Then print off some advertising or use some decals, these are then put on the columns. and there you have it!!!!!

one down one to go

the finished product

can you read the advertisement?

The Abigail an altered Cruzier Brig Sloop

well as I am sure you all know the Abigail is now complete and now I intend to make a small post in her honor. of coarse the Oronegro blog will be updated (eventually, I must get on with that) with the tales of the ships... of coarse I intend to make their tales so perhaps I need to thing it through.

The Abigail is a true example of the Pirates ongoing existence in the 18th century although many believe that pirates were slowly disappearing from the sea's by the 1730's in truth they were growing in strength from their hidden ports in many an imagi-nation they built up fleets to establish a permanent hold on the seven sea's and to end the dominance of the great European navies! so was the Abigail built a true pirate vessel, designed to have up to 16 guns (at a stretch) and plenty of space for treasure in her hold the Abigail was sent to terrorise that enemy of all piracy Oronegro. Oronegro was a place pirates had deep hatred of, there any ship, french, English, Spanish, dutch and any other, could go to hide from the dreaded jolly roger, even during times of war. Pirates also knew that if a ship got to Oronegro that the vessel would come under the protection of the Oronegrean Navy which was by then not a force to be messed with.

The Abigail though was fast and ready to raid this land of loving people. and the jolly roger was flown with pride on top of her mast. Terror was now to descend upon the coasts of the land of Oronegro.

the Abigail sails off towards, guess who, Abigail :-D

who put those feet there? whoops my bad

once again a lop sided picture, from the stern

you've seen this one before, the sail details

name plate and anchor

a view of the forecastle and a boarding ramp, stolen from the HMS Anne, BLOODY PIRATES

a view over the mid ship. can't wait to get a motley crew sorted out and see the guns opening up upon some poor merchant, or the Oronegrean navy, or the Brits or the French as I have their flags also

another pre used picture

and another.... Microsoft word has a huge selection of font... it took me a while just to select a font not to mention getting the colours and sorting out the design

I call this the view from a pursued ship.

GRRH that bloody yellow didn't turn out right oh well its a pirate ship and I am sure they can't afford to go around getting the painters to paint the prow perfectly

the jolly roger... why is he jolly the poor bloke is dead

the rigging

the view a seagull would have as the ship sailed past

this is the better view from the front. it gives you a real sense of how tall this ship is

 Now for some comparison pics.... with HMS Peter

here is another shot from above this time Peter comes along side

hang on wasn't Peter on the other side?

action picture, now imagine the guns aimed at each other and marines, sailors and pirates all shooting and jeering at one another

and a final picture as you can see the Abigail is not to be messed with unless you are sailing a decent ship of the line

 Well there you have her. the Abigail my favourite project so far, my family will be the first to tell you that I put lots of heart and soul into making this ship. I hope that you like her just as much as I do and I will be happy to tell you that I am working on some crew for my ships they are pretty generic so far so they could be pirates or sailors. they are all conversions some more than others. anyway that will come later. until then I should have a post about how to make some street advertising columns up and perhaps even a small post about a special character... not sure yet who he is (well name anyway) but he is the Captain of the HMS Anne, going to name him and get his story. HMS Paul is not forgotten but Paul may become a transport, armed and still a 3rd rate boat of the line but more suited to transporting people or cargo up rivers.

Hello to Don from old soldiers never die they just trade away such a true statement.... especially plastic figs, some of those plastics won't bio degrade for thousands of years.... and some people think our hobby can't last :-P

How to Build a Wargaming Warship Part3 final part!

Now we have covered the most important bits its time to get the ship done! as you can see this is a long process, but IMHO well worth it. and if you game in 1/72 scale or any other scale this tutorial may encourage and help you to make your own ships. I am now just thinking what the hell to do with this one... I need to make up some game for the ships, also I am in the process of converting my old Airfix Robin hood figs (not primed, poorly painted, paint falling off, head swaps falling off) and some Zvezda medieval cannon crew (also not primed) into some pirates and sailors. Also Paul will now be completed, Abigail has taken up so much of my time, A SPECIAL POST WILL COME TOMORROW OR SOON FOR THE SHIP :-D

anyway on with the tutorial!

You will need:

• string
• thread
• normal paper
• nylon fabric or suitable material
• wooden dowel
• thin card
• cereal box card
• thick wire mesh
• balsa
• small nails or the tops of them
• HO scale rail pins... for track (Hornby is what I used)
• thick card, same material as before
• thin wire mesh
• tin foil
• super glue
• PVA/ wood glue
• paint
• necessary painting materials 
• craft knife
• wire cutters
• pliers, different types might help
• any program that allows you to print pictures and words (Microsoft word)

so now onto step one for the final part of the ship building project

Step one, complete the deck:

planks on the rudder

now the ships deck needs to be completed before we go on. last time we put the planking on the fore castle and poop deck, however now the midship needs to be decked.

However there is another issue to take care of the planking on the inside of the sides, this is done by gluing on strips of cardboard also from a cereal box, however instead of overlapping the strips place them side by side, do this on the inside of the sides on all decks and also on the rudder. It is easier to do this now on the forecastle and the poop deck with the planking on, but easier with it off on the midship, maybe not but that's how I did it.

planking on the sides of the poop deck

stairs to poop deck

now with the sides done time to make some stairs, this is done by cutting 3 strips of thick card about 2 cm wide and each 1 cm shorter than the other... cover the steps with balsa wood as shown in the images and then glue 2 at the edges of the ship at stern end and one in the middle at the bow...




now make the entrance to the captains quarters, this is pretty simple using whatever you have to hand like some cut foam from making the sides, glue this to some thick card, create a right angled triangle with the card butting up against the poop deck (something funny about that). now put 2 rectangles of balsa or perhaps some thinner wood as I did again something cheap I had to hand, these 2 rectangles are the doors. get some cereal box card and cut some small strips for the hinges, then 2 small thin strips of balsa glued on for handles.

entrance to the captains/ officers quarters

The final detail to put on the poop deck is the ships wheel! this is really quite easy.  get some thin wire mesh (rectangular) cut out a cross of the wire, glue onto a strip of balsa which is not longer than the spikes,  then get 4 more bits of wire and glue them on so you get what looks like 8 spokes on the wheel, super glue them in place and once that's done some PVA, that will dry and look like a hub on the wheel. then fine somewhere at the front and centre of the poop deck and glue in place as shown then put another strip of balsa which will raise the wheel up to the right height you can cut it into a decorative shape like I did or just a plane rectangle. on the back of this strip glue a third strip onto that as shown on the image you may also want a strip on the deck, it provides a little more support and looks nice. there fore castle and poop decks done.

ships wheel

covering the ends, should have the stairs on and sides by now

Great now onto the ends of the poop deck and forecastle where they join the midship. before we deck the midship we need to cover up the gaps, glue some short strips of balsa as shown, remember do this after you have placed the captains quarters entrance and the stairs or else you may find that they can't fit against the poop deck or forecastle in a desirable way. once done we can start putting the outer planks on the main deck as shown, remember to put a strip in the little gates at the sides

the first planks go in and a plank for the little gate at the side

putting on the outer planks on the mid ship

capstan and hatch

Now we come to the final deck details, this is the hath to the hold and the capstan. the hatch is easy to do; get a square or rectangle of card, around the edges put some balsa to make the square/ rectangle then on the inside of the edge put parallel strips of balsa to make the hatch itself, then add 2 small handles with thin balsa glue them at the sides and a bigger strip of balsa on one end for the main handle, then as for the captains quarters make some hinges with card. glue in the middle of the deck
For the capstan get a pin (the type used for boards) and then get a cross of wire mesh, heat up the middle with a lighter (hold it with pliers) melt the wire into the top of the pin, super glue in place. then make a hole in the deck and put the pin in that, no need for gluing it in.

hatch and captains quarters entrance

now just add the rest of the planks, remember not to cover the hole for the captain pin. but put strips on either side close enough to allow the capstan to rest securely on the planks







step 2 rigging part 1

the location for the blocks

 even though putting up rigging makes painting and detailing more difficult you may find it helpful to secure the masts before you add sails onto them. first put up a pole right at the stern over the rudder, once that's in place get a very long bit of string. tie it around the jib boom then cut a grove into the top of the fore mast then put the thread through that, then wrap it around the main mast on the bottom of the cocktail stick that sticks up. then pull it down and wrap it around the pole at the stern. use super glue or PVA to secure the string in place... make sure that its tight.

now make a couple of blocks with the end of some small nails in a block of balsa. make 2. glue these across from each other, then wrap string around the blocks then tie it up on the top of the main mast. also make sure they are tight. once again add PVA or super glue to secure them.

close up of a block

shot from side of rigging

shot from stern of rigging

step 3 working with paper and thread;

paper on the sides

now its time to finish up with the hull so far as practical things go. cover the edges of the sides with paper as shown, this makes them look better and also helps to prevent the planks on the side getting rubbed off.

Now its time to make the sails, to do this make a large Isosceles trapezium base around 20cm at the base 20cm tall and 10 cm wide at the top. then cut 2 smaller ones from this, leaving sufficient edges for later. now get some nylon material stuff... I used the edging from some carpet.... yes I recycle lots. glue this to the paper, make 2 more paper sails and glue them to the first 2 sails sandwiching the nylon stuff. its best to compress it under something heavy or a rolling pin

paper on stern

do a similar process for the sail or sails on the fore mast. for the triangular mast make 2 right angled triangles glue paper to one and then glue the second triangle to that... again like a sandwich. now attack these to the yards... the cross beams that hold up the sails. to make a yard get some dowel, cut a wedge in the centre... to attach it to the mast and then glue the sail onto the other side with PVA.

 now glue the yards to the masts. this is a difficult process and I advise you use pegs or a clamp to hole the yards and sails in place, wait until the glue is dry then get a needle and thread. push 2 holes either side of the mast in the sail and start to wrap thread around the mast and yard with a few loops of thread going through the holes in the sail. this is both aesthetic and practical as it helps to hold the sail in place. then cover in glue. be careful not to loosen the bond between mast and yard.

putting up the sails

time for some details. get a needle and thread, and start looping the thread through the sail and around the yard. making small holes in the sail. remember to be cautious not loosen the yard from the mast. do this to all the "square" sails.

Rigging comes next. put a hole in the corner of each square sail, then get some track nails for a model rain way (HO/OO scale) push these into the side with pliers, behind the sails. refer to the photo's for placement. put thread around the nails, glue in place then with a needle pull the thread through the hole in the sail make a few simple knots and then add glue... once more make sure its tight

attaching the sail to the yard

for the triangular sail tie thread from the top of the sail on the foremast to the jib boom, from the jib boom to the where fore mast below the sail and from there to the top of where the sail goes. then get your triangle glue paper strips to it. on each side then place it inside the thread triangle. wrap the paper around the thread and glue them to the other side of the sail covering the thread. and there you have it. construction of all major things done :-D

you may end up with something like this for the main mast

sail on foremast

Step 4 final details;

prow and decoration

What now you ask... the bow, the prow needs decorating. often you see figures on the front of ships but instead I thought I would put some decorative. if you wanted a figurehead a fig would be fine but for my method get some twine, the stuff you may find at the supermarket. just coil it up and wrap it around and get some pretty patters. glue in place and done.

Now its time to make the anchors, easy peasy, cocktail stick make a grove in one end, glue a bit of thick wire mesh there as in the pictures then get some balsa cut a square out in the middle so that the cocktail stick fits inside. glue all together, then get some twine or some decorative chain you get with some jewelry. glue on top

anchors

glue the anchors to the front on either side, with the balsa cross bar over the sides and the chain draped inside the ship. cover up the end with a little balsa box to represent where the chains go. glue in place... perhaps look at final pics to get better sign of anchor placement. CONSTRUCTION DONE :-D

the triangular sail

I painted a patch on the sail

step 5 PAINT;

pirate flag arhh

rigging shown in all its glory

now only one thing remains to paint the ship. the bottom of the hull may be white as this area is usually painted. if you paint it white I recommend that if you can scavenge your house paint supplies to save your model paints

the rest of the deck and masts, yards and other wooden areas are painted brown, with lighter brown on some areas like door handles and the ships wheel to add contrast.

birds eye view

ships name on stern

sails and ropes are also white this is a little tricky because the paint may decide to end up on the wooden areas and not on the ropes. perhaps add some patches to the sails.

sailing away

side view

now go to the printer, make a sign with the ships name and download a flag. put the name onto some card and glue onto ship, you can make 3 one big one on the stern and 2 small ones on the bow.... perhaps use a felt before gluing the names in place to hide the card backing of the name.

make a flag, there are many tutorials on this so I am sure that you know what to do if not take a look or use your own methods ;-)


AND YOU ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and so am I a full post on the completed Abigail will come in the next few days, I hope, my father has been marking and needs the desk all day so I get only small chances to post anything... also I will get back to making Paul but that can wait as I am still working on another tutorial for some little advertising columns, for a friend who wanted a tutorial. Also there are some pirates to make, from the converted Airfix Robin hood figs which may have appeared in earlier posts, also I used the Zvezda medieval field artillery figs as the guns were killed by kitties long ago... more to come as we head to Christmas :-)