Vtwoods1027 Posted August 29, 2017 Share #1 Posted August 29, 2017 Greetings to all fellow model shipwrights. I am working on Model Shipways Pride of Baltimore II. I have done a few previous kits from Dumas and MidWest, with some rather nice results and have decided to make this a lifetime hobby. I'm throwing this build log up to get some help as I go along and provide some inspiration to others starting out. I am thinking that I am a younger member here (43) and love that this hobby is still going on. A little about me, so that all other readers can get where I am coming from. I am a nuclear physicist. I grew up on the chesapeake bay and my father had a Morgan 28' outisland that I learned to sail on. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and love how this hobby combines the meticulous nature of a technical build with the final result of a beautiful piece of what I would call architectural art. Here is where I am at... early stages. I got the kit and set out to getting started. One thing that struck me was the imperfections of the cuts and plans... A lot is off by ~ 1/16th". I know that this is art, not technical designs, but my machinists would have kittens if I provided parts this far off. That being said, I have been consulting a great book that my wife gave me; "Ship[ Modeling Simplified" by Frank Mastini. So far, it has been crucial in getting the bulkheads symmetric and centered. Here are the current pictures. I have tapered the false keel and used machinist blocks to get dowels (I filed down tooth picks) centered. I glued the keel/stem assembly to the false keel. Also, I have marked (the now centered and symmetric) bulkheads for tapering. One extra note that makes this build a little more difficult and unique. I have a 2 y.o. son who thinks that the most important thing in his life his to get his hands on the parts and 'help.' My wife is a NICU nurse who works nights so I have a lot of parenting time, and building this model is a little harder with a toddler trying to crawl up your leg. Karleop, Elijah, Jack12477 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEDDO Posted August 29, 2017 Share #2 Posted August 29, 2017 Welcome! I think you'll find this is a very helpful and supportive community. There are many excellent builds of this ship out there and there are plenty of people available to ask questions to at all times. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Elijah 1 Quote Michael Shipwrights of Ohio Current Build: ... Completed Builds: Queen Anne Barge - Syren, Pinnace - MS, Halifax 1768 - LSS, Murrelet - Pygmy, Swift 1805 - AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Posted August 29, 2017 Share #3 Posted August 29, 2017 You have some nice tools!. I like the way you are taking time to get everything precise. There is a good lesson there! Tigersteve and Elijah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karleop Posted August 29, 2017 Share #4 Posted August 29, 2017 Hola VTWoods: I wish you good luck and many hours of fun, I'm about to finish my Pride of Baltimore II and almost took me a year in its construction. As always, there are unclear details in the plans and some materials are not very good (such as wood and rigging material, but all this awakens the imagination and makes the construction more fun. If I can help do not hesitate to ask. There are many people who are knowledgeable and eager to collaborate in this forum. Saludos Karl Quote Finished Models (Gallery): Pandora (Constructo), HMS Endeavour (AL), San FranciscoII (AL), Fishing boat (scratch), Vasa (Billing Boats) Construction logs: Vasa (Billing Boats) Pride of Baltimore II (M. Shipways) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigersteve Posted August 29, 2017 Share #5 Posted August 29, 2017 Nice start! Steve Quote Current: Mayflower- Model Shipways Completed: Lowell Grand Banks Dory- Model Shipways English Pinnace- Model Shipways 18th Century Longboat- Model Shipways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 1, 2017 Author Share #6 Posted September 1, 2017 Hi there Everybody. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I appreciate it. My family is lovely and can feign a certain amount of excitement, but its so good to hear from fellow enthusiasts. Here is the latest update. I have completed the tapering of the keel!. It was a little tricky and I am pretty proud of how I got it accomplished. The plans show the tapering of the keel, so I made a rough sketch in my build log. I glued together 1/64" thick engine valve lifter shims, which I could then use to mark both sides of the keel to define the profile of the taper. At several points, I made reference tapers... using a super soft pencil mark (5B) on the top of the keel to indicate if I was sanding on the top of the keel. Repeat, repeat, repeat and then carefully sand the remaining parts of the keel to make a smooth symmetric taper down the center. Lots of saw dust (man glitter) but its done. AntonyUK, Karleop, Ondras71 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted September 1, 2017 Share #7 Posted September 1, 2017 Hello VTwoods Such a beautiful ship. I see this in my "to do" list very soon. If you don't mind, gonna pull up a chair. Happy building, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 5, 2017 Author Share #8 Posted September 5, 2017 Lots of fun on the 3 day weekend! The first job was to place (again) the reference line on the bulkheads. This is tricky because I want them to be symmetric on both sides of the bulkhead. Making a measurement on one side and then flipping the bulkhead over to repeat the measurement is asking for some sort of systematic error. So, I used the machinist parralel blocks and plates on scanned plans to create a frame to make the marks. Also, I got the building board started (and finished). I was super happy to find some machinist parrallels in 3/16" thickness. They were really cheap and make so many tasks easy now. Bulkheads are going on one at a time with a square and the reference line matched up. I will post later on this, but the plans and pieces are really off.... by at least a 1/16". I can shim up the parts later, but its remarkable that they are so far off. Not complaining, just observing. AntonyUK, Karleop, rony and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonyUK Posted September 5, 2017 Share #9 Posted September 5, 2017 Hi VTwoods. Nice start to your build. And being a nuclear physicist is what makes you a person that leaves out no detail. It's built into you.😊 Will follow along with this build with you at the helm steering a smooth course. Would be nice to have a Name.. Regards Antony. Quote Best advice ever given to me."If you don't know ..Just ask. Completed Mayflower Completed Fun build Tail boat Tailboat Completed Build Chinese Junk Chinese Pirate Junk Completed scratch built Korean Turtle ship 1/32 Turtle ship Completed Santa Lucia Sicilian Cargo Boat 1/30 scale Santa Lucia On hold. Bounty Occre 1/45 Completed HMS Victory by DeAgostini modelspace. DeAgostini Victory Cross Section Completed H.M.S. Victory X section by Coral. HMS Victory cross section Completed The Black Pearl fun build Black Queen Completed A large scale Victory cross section 1/36 Victory Cross Section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share #10 Posted September 7, 2017 Hi everyone, Quick question. Is there a POB-II build log that covers the ships' boat? I want to get a head-start. Thanks -vincent. AntonyUK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share #11 Posted September 13, 2017 Hello all - Just a quick update. I spent the weekend re-enforcing the false keel and bulkheads with some scrap that I had from the last model. Probably overkill, but I was concerned that the bulkheads seemed to move quite a bit when I was sanding the edges to get the taper edges more symmetric. I will generate a lot of saw dust in the next week, but the center keel/bulkheads are 'iron-tight' now. Oh yeah, please note that I have to do all this in the kitchen so my little klein tool bags are my life line to being organized (I love tools). Karleop and Tigersteve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karleop Posted September 15, 2017 Share #12 Posted September 15, 2017 On 6/9/2017 at 6:01 PM, Vtwoods1027 said: Hi everyone, Quick question. Is there a POB-II build log that covers the ships' boat? I want to get a head-start. Thanks -vincent. Hola Vincent: I am just finishing my POB II you can see my log clicking in my signature. Hope it can be useful. Saludos, Karl Quote Finished Models (Gallery): Pandora (Constructo), HMS Endeavour (AL), San FranciscoII (AL), Fishing boat (scratch), Vasa (Billing Boats) Construction logs: Vasa (Billing Boats) Pride of Baltimore II (M. Shipways) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 16, 2017 Author Share #13 Posted September 16, 2017 A more light hearted post... first of all thanks to Karl for the links. I am working on the boat a bit now... I'll post more a bit later. But in the meantime. Its Saturday morning, wife asleep (she is a night NICU nurse), toddler occupied with siblings and I have a few hours of boat building. I am working on frames to shape the hull of the ships boat, watching a documentary on early jet development and generally really enjoying model shipwrighting. Such a great hobby that lets you be creative, work with your hands and still be pretty technical. Enjoy your day all... oh yeah... I am also cooking up french onion soup for dinner! Tigersteve and Karleop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share #14 Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) Hi there everybody, Kind of a shotgun approach to the update today... I have been working on two different aspects in parallel, this ships boat and fairing the hull. I used the plans to make hull aspect guides... Applied to the sides of the ships boat, I did a lot of sanding and got the outside of the hull in pretty good shape. The inside needs more work but some wood filler and lots of sanding/patience should get it in decent shape. That's next weeks work. Traced out the transom filler blocks and installed them. Please note that I am receiving help from the next generation of model shipwright. One nice thing that I kind of learned.... I placed extra braces in just about everything (see help from 2 y.o.) to make things much more robust. Sanding them down proved to be challenging, but I learned that by alternating between a 1 bulkhead, 2 bulkhead and 3 bulkhead sander, the taper angle just kind of 'averages out'... so some repetitive work, but the shape is basically forming itself. Edited September 28, 2017 by Vtwoods1027 Pictures missing Tigersteve, Tom E and Karleop 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vtwoods1027 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted October 4, 2017 I think I made some progress!!! The hull structure is in a pretty good shape and I think I can actually move on. I faired the deck surface and then moved on to the bulkhead. There was a LOT OF GAP between the bottom of the bulkhead and the rabbit line. I added some filler wood and sanded them down using little dowels with sandpaper glued to them. They look pretty good now. Also, I carved (actually sanded) the filler block into position on the stern of the ship. As I stated before, the plans and parts don't quite match up, but a little extra work makes everything smooth. Hope you all are having fun! Tom E, Tigersteve and Karleop 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbondy Posted October 31, 2017 Share #16 Posted October 31, 2017 Welcome Vincent! I am curious for more detail about what you were doing with the machinist blocks and parallels to square up the bulkheads back on Sept 4. Regarding the ships boat, feel free to look at my log also for details on my ships boat. Not a complete description, since I am doing my log retrospectively and only have pictures from certain steps along the way, but you may still find some helpful details. Quote JD Current build: Schooner Mary Day (scratch) Previous builds: Model Shipways Pride of Baltimore 2, Amati HMS Endeavour, Midwest Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, Bluejacket America, Midwest Sharpie Schooner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townpiper Posted March 9, 2018 Share #17 Posted March 9, 2018 Just started this kit-- Question: in cutting the rabbet, did you cut from the bearding line to the edge of the false keel on the stern half as per MS plans? I cut it per plans,but the hull shape has me baffled as to how to plank. I'd like to be able to make sense of it before proceeding. Any sugggestions will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phebe Posted April 15, 2018 Share #18 Posted April 15, 2018 This is a great help to me. I discovered this kit was seriously inaccurate way too late. Your methods are just what I need to plan a new build. Quote Pride of Baltimore 2 modified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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