Mike Dowling

Especially for mcrwilk !
 
Louise is now flying the red ensign !!!

Happy New Year to all.
 
A big thank you to Cap'n'Bob and GuntherMT for your generous comments. All I had to do next was put the bits together, add the awning a some deck furniture and Louise is now finished.
 
She turned out quite well I think. I did go to the extra expense of buying some brass rod because it gives a much better result. Why do these kit manufacturers include brass wire wound up ? It is impossible to straighten properly and gives a very poor finish although I have to say I used their stuff for the boiler fittings.
 
Anyway, I hope you like her.
 

Sorry, I have rushed ahead somewhat without many updates but here we are. I managed to bend those cockpit surrounds and the trim to go with them and the splits I got have fortunately come out better than I expected so they are now on and varnished.
 
The boiler I worked on whilst waiting for the surrounds to dry. A lot of wire bending as you can see - not my favourite part as I have always preferred woodwork to metalwork but I am quite pleased with the final result.
 
Then the cabin had to be made from individual strips of wood, no laser cut ply backing for this ! A good lesson in marquetry I guess, not something I had tried before but I can include pictures of the making and the finished item.
 
 
 

I thought you might like to see my progress.
 
Louise has had her frames removed and now has her keel, her transom piece, her wales and the floor and deck have been planked.
 
Next stage is to put some frames back in - weird eh ?
 
I have also been bending the wood for the cockpit frames. Those are quite some bends to expect from 1.5 x 7mm sapele and the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that both bends split at the tightest part. I can't say I am surprised but I hope my repair will have worked  when I remove them.
 
 
 

Here we are again !!
 
Louise now has a layer of planking on her hull. The wood used was 2 x 5mm sapele which in my humble opinion was too thick for a boat of this size. It was difficult to bend and much prefers to return to being straight. What I thought would be a problem was in as much as I couldn't glue the planks to most of the frames because they have to be removed and even trying to glue the plank edges meant missing out the areas of the frames.
Anyway she has been sanded and sealed but, if I leave her as she is she will still be sanded again and have at least two coats of clear gloss varnish eventually. I am hopeful that that would make the lines between some of the planks less noticeable.
 
My question is does she need planking again with veneer or is she OK as is ?
 
 
 
 

So, I have made a start. The hull frames are cut in half which means that each side has to be attached to the false keel separately. A rather strange and unnecessary complication to my mind and very difficult to line up squarely. Three of the frames had to be planked and varnished prior to attachment as they will show from the top of the boat and there is no access once the deck is on.
 
The added complication of this build is that five of the frames have to removed after planking so they are only there as guides and cannot be glued to. This has proved to bit a bit of a nightmare. Once the frames were attached a 'ribband' had to be run along the length of the hull but only attached to the non-removable frames making it hard to glue bendy pieces of wood. Anyway, once on the deck had to be cut out and glued onto the ribbands and fixed frames. The sheet containing the deck was poorly cut with the laser which had failed to cut right through the sheer so some delicate knife work was required to remove the parts.
 
Finally achieved the deck has now been fixed on and I have faired the hull ready for planking with 2 x 5mm sapele planks.
 
One rather good thing about the kit is that a set of veneer is included for those who want to double plank the hull. I think in view of the construction this may well be required but it is nice to know it's there in case.
 
 
 
  

Hello folks.
 
Well, Lady Smith is finished !! Once I has completed the hull it was a matter of putting on all the bits and pieces I hade made whilst waiting for the various stages of the hull to dry etc. The rigging turned out to be more complex than it looked and I did cheat in one or two places. The deadeyes could have been better but the thread I used was too strong for the fixings really and therefore on this scale they look a bit loose.
Anyway, for my first ever scratch build I am not too displeased and I think she looks OK although varying somewhat from the real ship methinks ! Such are the joys of model making.
 
Anyway some pics for you all to enjoy or not but I hope you will like them.
 
 
 
 

So, what was left to do.
Oh yes, put the lovely little boats on and rig them !! I had already made the smokestacks so they had to go on and get rigged and the planky, boarding rampy sort of thing (which I am sure has a proper term, also made up and needing to go and rig! and of course make up 9 coils of rope.
 
So, I did it and she is now finished !!!! Whether I put some fire buckets and holder on I will think about.
 
I did add an American flag of the right date just to finish her off!
 
Anyway, a resume. Model shipways kit. Most of the wood was good except for their basswood which I think is far too soft and warps as soon as you look at it and soaks up paint like a sponge. Their laser cutting was pretty good except for some of the very small thin pieces which surprised me. I would have thought they were the easier to make. Instructions were no better or worse than many. The plans were excellent but with one big gripe. The plan showing side, fore and aft views were not to scale which meant there was no way of taking measurements from them. They could easily have been produced to scale by using one more sheet - please take note model shipways. The brass work was first class. Not enough brass eyelets were included so it was lucky I had some spare.
 
Overall though an excellent kit which I have thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.
 
Huge thanks to Kurt whose generosity in providing photos, better instructions and general help in answering queries without which I really don't think my end result would be as good as it is.
 
Also many, many thanks to those of you who have watched and posted comments. I hope you have enjoyed the build as much as I have.
 
 

Good thoughts so far, thank you all. It is not a problem I have immediately and have not had before but, on the model (Revenge) that I am building at the moment I am concerned that when fitting the sails they are going to put quite a weight on the standing rigging etc and make them sag.
I have been using cotton thread so far.
 

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas as to how you can tighten rigging lines when they have stretched ?

Sorry folks, looks like I got there in the end. I hate computers and I hate change but I guess I will get used to both !

The paint had dried so it was time to put on all the bits and pieces and now she is finished. I am quite pleased with the end result and I am glad that although I painted the hull I left the superstructure wooden.
I made a couple of concessions. Firstly the name on the boat is 'Our Sea' which is the translation of 'Mare Nostrum' from the Latin and the second was to commandeer the vessel and let her fly the Red Ensign.
I hope you like her.
 
 

Thank you to everyone, Strangely enough after all this time I decided to put another row of railings on the wheelhouse deck because somehow the boat just didn't look finished. I reckon it was well worth the effort.
I really am very grateful for all the comments and especially glad that the unpainted approach is appreciated.
 
 
 

I am cheating a bit as this isn't so much a build log as a final result. After finishing my Dennis Bus I went back to a boat to see if I remembered how to do it!! I have to say I really was quite pleased with my hull and the planking this time. The kit came with horrid stick on decorations which I deliberately left off but I did line the bulwarks which the kit did not allow for. It would have looked dreadful if I hadn't.
My next build is going to be a non boat plane. Yes, another Sopwith Camel 1/16 but this time I will do a log because I think I am going to need a lot of help with it !
Watch this space folks.
 
 

Especially for mcrwilk !
 
Louise is now flying the red ensign !!!

Happy New Year to all.
 
A big thank you to Cap'n'Bob and GuntherMT for your generous comments. All I had to do next was put the bits together, add the awning a some deck furniture and Louise is now finished.
 
She turned out quite well I think. I did go to the extra expense of buying some brass rod because it gives a much better result. Why do these kit manufacturers include brass wire wound up ? It is impossible to straighten properly and gives a very poor finish although I have to say I used their stuff for the boiler fittings.
 
Anyway, I hope you like her.
 

OK folks I will start a build log under Fokker Dr 1 by Mike Dowling in shore leave. Sorry I have no idea how to do links or anything flashy. I can't even manage links with my previous builds.
 
Anyway, whilst waiting for my brain to make a decision about which build to do I wacked off a 'plastic' car 1/16 scale to go with the planes. A few pictures for you ( please excuse them moderators!)
 
I hope to see you all on the log.
 
 

Well folks, Mary is finished. I was surprised at the complexity of the rigging for a vessel with so few sails and it took me longer than expected. I added the remaining 'bling' and all the flags.
I have to say that I am rather pleased with th end result and I hope you like her too.

Good thoughts so far, thank you all. It is not a problem I have immediately and have not had before but, on the model (Revenge) that I am building at the moment I am concerned that when fitting the sails they are going to put quite a weight on the standing rigging etc and make them sag.
I have been using cotton thread so far.
 

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas as to how you can tighten rigging lines when they have stretched ?

I’m getting ready to attach sails to yards, after I finish sewing them and I billow them.  I’ll be attaching them with the yards off the model.
 
I’ll let you all know how it works out for me. 

I wouldn't say you were wrong.  Different techniques require different  situations...scale and modelers ability to name a few. Not to mention trying to furl a sail on a yard is tough OFF the mast...let alone being brave enough to attempt it on a mounted yard.
I agree that adding furled sails and their associated blocks and rigging to the yard prior to the yard being installed makes the greatest sence...as in ease and less damage induced.  On the other hand, my latest clipper it was far easier to install the billowed sails to the fixed yards, while the mast was off the model.
A perfect example of how techniques and ability contribute to what we conclude is the *easiest*.
 
Sometimes we are not even talking about the same thing.  A mounted furled sail in NOT the same animal as a mounted billowed sail.
 
Rob

Maybe I am wrong but it seems to me that there is a mixture of opinions expressed here which is interesting. My failing memory seems to think that I may have tried both methods. I seem to remember that attaching the sails on the fixed yards on the model was quite a headache and broke off a few bits whilst trying. So I am very tempted to sew the sails to the yards and then put them on. Thank you all for your contributions.

Late to the show, but just wondering Mike; did you ever think about putting Snoopy in the Sopwith?  😁