thibaultron

Whatever it is, it sure is beautiful with the poly on it.

Im a bit curious about this other kit I recently found out of China/Hong Kong/Taiwan on Ebay and wonder if it is a pirated version.  I only found this today and as I had been pretty aggressively trying to get my hands on the Master Korabel kit in the last few months am surprised I haven't come across it yet.  Its design has many additional details, but as this vessel is relatively light on primary sources I wonder where they came up with their vision for it.   
 
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Thanks all for the kind words...   I've been pleased with how its turning out thus far too. 
 
Today I was able to get the top hatch framed in and more or less finished.  All the while participating in quarantine conference calls at the dinner table with my audio mostly on mute :).    This section was much more finicky than the rest of the steps combined and at first I wasn't sure it was going to work out.   It requires many bevels, with compound curves all needing to come together with nice seems around an unusual hexagonal shape.  I basically mucked this up pretty good by over sanding.   But after just sitting with it awhile, I decided to commit and deal with the gaps the usual way - filler.   Overall it turned out much better than I was expecting.  

In the above photos the unfinished top hatch sits waiting for recovery inspiration to strike, as well as the little window assemblies that we equally finicky.  Made up of 7 pieces of veneer thin material and acrylic glazing they were a challenge to work out.   Once the glue dried however, they sanded up nicely and fit perfectly.  The frames are finished with an exterior layer of the same material.   I then finished up the top hatch assembly with some sanding and a coat of wipe-on poly.   It actually looks far better than I had anticipated so Im glad to see how the filler really can help recover some otherwise tragic situations.   Sawdust and Elmers is the best recipe.  

I completed all this over the course of a day, with probably a good 4 hours of work.   This evening I began blackening the brass components which Ill be working with tomorrow.

I wish I knew.   Im not good with my wood identification beyond the obvious species and Ive not been able to find the info in my kit.    They are described either as wood, plywood or veneer.   My guess is Cherry based on a little round-about googling, but I can't say for sure.   If I had to make a second guess it might be Pear?

The planking looks perfect! Will follow your progress with interest 

You are too kind. I love your Bluenose build!! Your work with metal is the standard I hope to achieve!!  To anyone reading this build, stop right now and check out Richard’s build log:
 

Many, many thanks. I found a number of your suggestions on Amazon and now await there arrival!
 
Jim, welcome to MSW! I assumed you were a old timer around here; I do hope you try your hand at build log. I’ve found the folks here downright supportive and knowledgeable - a great combo!

Great flattie Eric 👍
 
Regards
Richard

Nice Flattie, Eric! You asked in an early post about books or references to Chesapeake working craft. Besides Chapelle (who also published a small booklet on Chesapeake Bay Crabbing Skiffs), one of the nicest work boat references is Larry Chowning's "Deadrise and Cross Planked". There are quite a few others on Log Canoes, Bugeyes and Skipjacks, etc, etc. Reuel Parker included the Hampton Flattie in his "The Sharpie Book". That's worth getting if you'd like to try your hand at a few scratch built models. There are small drawings with offset tables for 15 of his adapted sharpie designs. Parker, by the way, is a powerhouse boatbuilder, now on his 7th large liveaboard vessel. He is a champion of rugged engineering and practical adaptations of traditional working sail.
Cheers,
Cricket

I love these small boats and yours is wonderful. Well done!
 
Bob

Edward, thanks for the kind words!! I’m still in my early days of modeling and it is delightful hear such encouragement!

Richard, how did you get into the metal working side off things? Your work on your Bluenose is a joy to behold. For the rest of you kind souls who are reading, check out his build log! Right now! I’ll wait...go! 
 

I started with pin vise with a 1/16” bit (1.6 mm) and then a larger and a larger. Then next to last I used a hand-cranked drill. And the last pass, with a cordless drill since the hand-cranked drill was pulling off target at slow speeds. The holes were undersized compared to the masts. And, yes, spent more time on this then should have, especially given the results.

When drilling a hole like that you could drill one size smaller and then file to size it would save wood splitting.
 
Regards
Richard

It takes some searching but you can find 1/48 food. There are a few tin cans and a precious few bags and baskets of fruits and veggies. You could always whip something up with some epoxy putty too.
 
Of course you could always say you are near the end of your patrol 😁. It cost a lot of money to feed a U-Boat crew. Even little plastic ones $$$!

Gorgeous! What kind of wood is the planking, Justin?

Great job, it looks beautiful! This looks like such a neat model.

This model looks like a lot of fun. What an unusual vessel.
 

Fantastic job on the planking. The color is great.

That looks great! I love that rich, warm tone its got.

Planking has come out brilliant Justin 👍
 
Regards
Richard

Planking is complete.  Probably the one the most pleasurable experiences Ive had planking, of course there was not much one could screw up with this.   No complicated curves or spiling.  Beveling was required and after I gave it a go on a couple planks with a file and sanding stick, I gave that up completely and just used a small luthiers plane (or thumb plane).   
 
Here is the shot of the final plank going in:
 

After a solid hour of sanding, checking, sanding some more and then sanding a whole lot more it got nice and smooth.   Unfortunately the gaps became much more pronounced.  So I swept up all the new dust I created, whipped up a nice paste with some Elmers glue (my favorite for this task), and used a small putty knife to fill.   That was another hour of fill and wipe, fill and wipe.   Let dry, fill and wipe some more.   All in all, it turned out pretty well Im happy with the result.   As always, Im tempted to give it another go and build this kit again sometime just to see if I can do better, but Ill finish it before I go there.  
 
A quick layer of wipe-on poly just to reward myself and below is the semi-complete product.   I think I may take a day away from it, and come back with fresh eyes to see if it needs any more sanding/filling before moving on. 
 

For what's it worth, the total planking period probably has about 8+ hours time into it. 

This just keeps getting better and better I don't know how you can keep topping yourself. But I am sure you will find a way. Keep up the great work.

Impressive!! I can't wait to see the sequel.

Given the level of detail you are adding, including the actual food is almost a must.....
 
Jan