usedtosail
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Everything posted by usedtosail
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That's the approach I used to rig the dead eyes. It was not a problem. -
Happy Easter. I glued the seat bottoms into the cockpits and started adding the seat backs. The forward cockpit was fine, but in the middle and rear cockpits the balsa bulkhead was showing above the seat backs. I could have just painted them black to hide them but instead I used some left over mahogany from the deck sheet and the openings from the balsa sheet for those bulkheads to make two mahogany filler pieces to fit behind the seat backs. I cut these out and sanded them until they fit, then finished them the same as the rest of the cockpit mahogany pieces. Here the middle cockpit piece is in place and you can see the rear piece on the deck and the bulkhead piece that it will cover. I then glued in the seat backs and it here is how it looks. The next steps are to add the cut water and the rub rails. I started treating the plastic trim for the rub rails with the black and chrome spray I used on the other plastic pieces.
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I decided to get the bottom ready for the prop shaft and rudder so that I could keep the model upright going forward. I was concerned about having these delicate pieces hanging down so instead of just gluing them into the hull, I added brass tubing in the hull so that I can remove them until I am about to put the boat on the display board. I first located the location of the strut and drilled a hole for the wire pin. I then used the angle of the prop shaft in the strut to locate the hole into the bottom for the shaft. I hand drilled a series of holes at that angle until I could fit the piece of brass tubing. I glued the strut and the tubing into place using the prop shaft to align them. The brass tube in the hull simulates the shaft bearing that would be in the real hull. I decided to add a prop nut to the end of the prop shaft. I had a very small brass nut, so I turned down a piece of brass rod so that one end fit into the nut and the other end fit into the end if the prop shaft. I glued these together with the prop in place. I then drilled a hole for another piece of brass tubing for the rudder shaft. Here are the prop and rudder assembles dry fit on the bottom. The prop nut looks a bit out of scale but it was the smallest one I could find. I will take these back out and put them aside for now.
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You did a great job. A very beautiful model.
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The instructions call for painting the styrene trim pieces around the cockpits black. I decided to start with the first cockpit so I masked off the area around it. I used many small pieces of masking tape around the corners. I brush painted the trim with black enamel paint, then removed the tape after it dried. There was a section where the tape pulled off the paint and another with a white spot, so I remasked those areas and the areas around the other two cockpits. I am in the process of painting them now. I was happy with the look of the painted trim. ' Here is how it came out.
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I worked on adding the white water line stripe today. To mask off the hull for the line, I left the masking tape on that marked the top of the line, then cut some strips of masking tape that were the width of the water line strip which is 1/16". I placed this tape along the masking tape, then placed wider masking tape along the other edge. When I removed the 1/16" masking tape, I had the area exposed to paint the stripe. I then sprayed many coats of white paint along that area, then removed all the masking tape after the paint dried. Overall it looked good but I did have a one area along the line where the edge was a bit ragged and another spot that the white paint pulled away from the hull. I put strips of masking tape in these areas and hand painted the areas to touch them up. Here is how it came out after I removed that masking tape. You can see the copper bottom with the lacquered mahogany sides. I like these color combination because the bottom paint is more subtle than using a red or green bottom paint, which are the other traditional colors. I am going to let things dry until tomorrow then I can continue working on the deck and cockpits.
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The Jacob's ladder looks great. That first shot looking down from the crows nest is an awesome picture.
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Thanks for the suggestion Tom. I was able to make them from balsa for this model but I will try that on a future one. I marked the water line with 1/4" masking tape, then masked off above that on the sides and the deck. I started on the transom so that I could make sure both sides matched. I then sprayed the bottom and sides with metallic copper paint. I will let this dry for a couple of days then mask off the water line strip which I will paint white.
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Here are the new exhaust ports. One of the supplied plastic ports can be seen in the strip of chromed parts above these. I tried making a cleat from brass wire but that was a failure so I'll use the supplied cleat after chroming it.
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The finish on the deck and hull sides is complete. I test fit the hull onto the display board with the supplied pedestals, which I stained with oak stain to match the display board. I had this board left over from a previous build but the ends were not beveled, so I cut bevels in the ends to match the sides. I have since stained the display board with oak stain to even up the color a bit and I will finish it and the pedestals with wipe on poly. I found two plastic pieces that didn't get chromed - one of the exhaust ports and the cleat for the stern. I decided to try making new ones out of brass instead of using the plastic pieces. I have been watching this excellent class on soldering for jewelry making so I was eager to try out some of the techniques. https://shop.mybluprint.com/jewelry/classes/solder-smarter-strategies-for-better-results/40550 I made two new exhaust ports by soldering some brass tubing to circles of sheet. I am in the process of cleaning them up and will provide some pictures when they are done. I am also going to try making the cleat from some brass wire.
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This was a great find Bob. I have already started using some of the techniques to create brass parts for my current build.
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Here is the deck and hull sides with four coats of spray lacquer. I will probably add a few more before I am finished with the finish. With all the issues I had with the mahogany, I must say it finishes up really nicely, so I guess it was worth fighting with it.
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Another option, which I have started using for Stay Brite soldering, is a small pencil butane torch, which is refillable.
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I finished the trim strips around the cockpit openings. I used an X-Acto knife to scrap away the excess glue around the trim. I am now going to attend to the finish on the hull since I am going to use a spray lacquer on the deck and sides, then a spray copper paint for the bottom with a white waterline stripe. This is said to be a classic look for these boats. I have ordered all the sprays so now I am waiting for them to arrive later this week. In the mean time I am masking off the trim and cockpit openings. I also cleaned up the struct more and painted it with some copper enamel.
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Nice job creating those missing port lids. I used the same technique for copper plating my Constitution model, although I scored the plates into the tape before applying it to the hull. Your cross section is coming out great.
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First, here is the new strut I made. I needs more work on the finish as you can see. I continue bending the trim strips around the cockpit openings. There is a slight overlap of the deck which allows a clamp to just bite so I don't have to hold these with my hands. I also modified a working stand I had to hold this hull so I can add the propeller and rudder with less chance of breaking them off.
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I have the seats ready to install now but first the instructions want me to add the trim around the cockpit openings, which are 1/16" half round styrene strips. I first had to figure out the best way to bend these around the corners while keeping them flat. If I heat them with a hair dryer they are pretty flexible so that is what I am doing. I also experimented with using medium CA or Hypo cement to secure them and found the hypo cement works better. It takes a little longer to dry but seems to hold better. I started by gluing one edge up to the bend, then after that dries, heating the strip at the bend and working it around, then putting glue on the underside of the trim and clamping it to the next edge then flat around the bend. Here is the start of this process. It will take a while to get all three done but I can do a little every couple of hours after the hypo cement dries. I did make a new strut for the propeller shaft yesterday. The kit supplied a thin piece of mahogany to use as the strut which had no strength at all. I made a new one out of a piece of brass with a pin on the face that goes against the hull and a piece of tubing soldered to the other face that the shaft slides in. I am also going to glue a piece of tubing into the hull bottom where the shaft goes into the hull instead just a hole. I will be installing all this after the trim is done.
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Thanks again Yves. I bought it from Micro Mark many years ago and I find it handy for assembling deck furniture. Here are the seat backs and cushions after many coats of diluted green paint over gesso. Next will be to glue them to the supports and add them to the cockpits.
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What a beautiful model you have made and your research is top notch, This was a pleasure to follow.
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Thanks Yves. I'll hold off on the poly coat until later. I started building the cockpit seats using the supplied balsa seat backs and seats, with mahogany kick boards. I started by scoring the seat backs and seats every 5mm using an X-Acto knife, then rounding the edges. I tried using the back of the knife for scoring but the balsa was tearing too much. I then gave them a coat of diluted gesso. This covered up the score lines more than I liked. While those dried I glued the kick boards to the seat support pieces, using a magnetic jig and Legos to hold them square. Last night I went over the score lines with a triangular needle file which opened them up nicely. I gave the seat backs and seats a first coat of thinned green paint this morning. It's the same paint I mixed up for the Constitution bulwarks and used on the Sicilian cargo boat, since I really like the color. I'll have pictures of those when they are fully painted. I also gave the kick boards a coat of mahogany stain.
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Thanks Mike. I think I got the idea to use the Spaz products from your build log. I was very happy with the results. I hit a bit of a milestone today - the hull is finally filled and sanded after many weeks. I made a thinned solution of wood filler and added some mahogany stain to it, then used it to fill all the thin cracks and tiny holes in the hull. After a final sanding this is what the hull looked like. I then gave the hull a coat of mahogany stain, which evened out the colors really well. I am contemplating giving the hull a few coats of glossy polyurethane but I still have to glue a bunch of stuff to it, so I may wait. Seats are next to do. I am going to practice with some extra balsa to see if I can carve a realistic looking seat cushion. Stay healthy and happy.
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I am building the Dumas Chris Craft 1938 27' Triple Barrel Back, which is a scale of 1/24.
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