JPett

Ahoy harbm I really don't see much of a problem at all. Your bulkheads will need to be "faired" or sanded so that the planks make full contact on them as they wrap around the hull. Looking at your image 0005 the "back projection" or stern side of this bulkhead barely protrudes. The side facing the bow will be removed as you fair this bulkhead Here is a link to the instructions for the Model Shipways Rattlesnake. http://www.modelexpo-online.com/images/docs/MS2028/MS2028_Rattlesnake-Instructions-Complete.pdf Page 9 Figure 4 shows the fairing The pic shows a knife, sandpaper is safer. When you do fair your bulkheads there is usually only one side that needs to be sanded. Use the side of a pencil and highlight the corner of the bulkhead that doesn't need to be touched so you don't remove any by accident and change the shape of your hull. Easy to do PS: Your kit is a Corel. You should have pre-cut bow fillers. Use them to check that bulkhead.

Ahoy Mates I am struggling to see the difference between what Leroy is doing and what most kit manufacturers do

Ahoy Leroy I would suggest you consider something that is "not" waterproof; such as Titebond "original". Mistakes are so much easier to fix when all you need to do is add water.

Ahoy Mates FYI Pat Mathews will be doing a Technical Session on 3D Printing at the 2014 Nautical Research Guild Conference in St. Louis http://www.thenrg.org/2014-nrg-ship-model-convention.php

Ahoy Scott http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/45-rattlesnake-by-jpett-model-shipways-ms2028-scale-164th/?p=439 I would not recommend doing this. I am confident that I will finish this but bending the fashion piece has led to a lot of work. When my skills are up to it I will attempt it and post.

Ahoy E I'm with Martin. Your color choices really looks good. Your billboard has me rethinking my sanding down my wales.

Ahoy Scott The bend is almost unperceivable and comes from the slight angle carved into the transom filler. Because the tiller goes through a cut out ahead of the curve I do not see it causing a problem from my house. Just a warning. I made a small change to my transom and am still paying for it. Make sure you understand all the consequences of any changes to your model. As a newbie I have learned our mistakes alone usually leave us with enough extra work and avoid adding to that list.

Ahoy Scott I would recommend running the side of a soft pencil along the edge/corner of the bulkhead that is not shaped/sanded to further highlight it, This way you will have something to use as a guide to prevent you from changing the shape of the bulkhead by over sanding . With that said you should still mark all the bulkheads as instructed even if you don't shape/sand them so you have another reference when you fair the hull.

Ahoy Scott From you picture it looks like all you need to do is lower "K" and maybe "L" or raise "J". Look at the deck height at center of the bulkhead where it meets the keel deck height. "K" even looks high on the rabbet. As I said before "get the decks right". They are the hardest to sand or change so avoid work there if possible. Easier to shim or sand the bulkheads on the hull side. You can use the basswood left over from the keel as a template for the sweep of the decks too Adjusting/sanding the slots for the bulkheads to change their height on the keel is easily undone: so go there first. Always try to make adjustments over a few bulkheads if possible too, not one drastic adjustment to one, unless of course it is obviously off. Fear not as MS will replace anything free of charge. PS: There does seem to be a small issue with this kit but as far as I can tell this "is model shipbuilding". Everything is an adjustment to get the wood to fit the plans. It is not like plastic and this adventure is only a precursor to what follows. For anyone who really wants to learn how to build wooden ships, I feel this kit is hard to beat. You are doing a great job so far and have shown you have the right attitude. Take your time and check before committing to glue. It is definably a hobby for those who like to solve problems.

Ahoy Scott It looks good. Any problems I see can be easily fixed with some shims or sand paper As for "C"; I would just make the deck work and then shim and sand the rest to get her in line using the battens. You can use the battens to confirm the deck too. To be sure there are no problems with the keel slots I would suggest you flip some of the bulkheads as a test/double check before proceeding

Ahoy Scott I marked my waterline just as you did and used it to align the bulkheads. Small discrepancies in my work along with the issue in the kit caused all of my bulkheads to be off somewhere. Had I made sure at least one area was correct it would have been much easier. I am not saying "not" to mark the water line but to use in conjunction with the deck. It is best to shoot for having one area that is right to measure from so you can easily correct problems elsewhere. I see in your picture that "C" is a little high and "F" a little low. This is fine and easily fixed provided "C" isn't also high on the deck side with "F" being low there too. Don't worry about the angle. I took measurements. transferred them to the bulkheads, connected the dots and sanded. The correct angle is created when you sand to the mark and is also not constant but changes throughout the bulkhead. Other then "A" and "M" I would suggest sanding the others just a tad less. You resand them to fair the hull later anyways. "A" and "M" are helpful for fitting the fillers. The bulkheads either not reaching the rabbet or running it over is a different issue but a very minor one and easily fixed. Yes the battens are pieces of wood that run down the length of the hull. They are very useful, I highly recommend you spend some time with them. They saved my hull from extinction. Use the 1/32nd wood as it will bend like the soaked 1/16". There is a section in the manual regarding them. It is for planking but I also found them useful for framing too. or should that be bulkheading PS: Leaving the cutouts in is a good idea but I would still consider reinforcing them. Having one snap when your half way through the deck planking would really not be a good thing. Another reason why I hacked mine out

Ahoy Martin Excellent post, thx Just a suggestion: Let your loved ones know which books you want. What I do and found IV under my tree. Your documentation is superb BTW. It will be very helpful to me and I am sure many others. Thx Ship looks great too

Ahoy Scott Nice update. Just so proper credit is received; Zev and Eric confirmed that the bulkheads were not cut correctly. I only brought the fact that there was a problem to their attention. I will try to link your post in my log so anyone who reads mine can see your fix As for the water line I did mark it and it caused me a lot of confusion due to the issue with the bulkheads which were unknown to me at the time. I would recommend that you use the decks as home base and then make any corrections to the bulkheads by either adding or subtracting wood. The decks are much harder to correct and a good reference for the rest of the build. I see that you have not yet faired the bulkheads. Some have said not to: but because your fillers will be using the faired side I would consider doing at least A and M. I would also pin temporary battens to the bulkheads before gluing using the 1/32nd wood to check the hull before committing. I also removed the upper deck supports on all my bulkheads. I lost track of the breakage but it was in the twenties. I would not recommend this but I would say adding another piece of wood that runs cross grained to strengthen them would not be a bad idea. The 1/16 supplied planking would be a good choice. If you do be sure to put it on the "hidden" side. Chuck brought this to my attention. Mount your bulkheads starting from the center. This way any error is not amplified throughout the hull. :pirate41: Last but not least. Will you be using a building board.

Ahoy Kevin There are a ton of "how to" air brush videos on YouTube. How I learned Here are some tips I learned the hard way. Always tackle the hardest sections first. Common newbie mistake is to spray the larger area then try to hit the tough spots. Future floor polish is great stuff. Use it to seal tape and prevent bleed or add a gloss coat for decals or washes. I do not like it for a final coat and I thin it. Dries in less then ten minutes. Use acrylic thinner for airbrushing acrylics, "not" water. Make sure you have something to cover your work when your done. Nothing worst then a perfect paint job ruined by some airborne particle Weather affects airbrushing so your mix today might not spray the same tomorrow. Always test and adjust if necessary. Develop a routine to clean your airbrush. Time spent on this comes back in spades Airbrushing is a lot of fun but can be a love hate relationship

Ahoy Popeye I have noticed most kit supplied lumber is out of scale when it come to the decking. The Vic is 51'10" at her beam and 3mm would be my best guess, I did 48 planks at a foot width. Do you know how wide the planks were on a ship of the line.

Ahoy Scott Glad to see Santa was true to her word Looking forward to following along Welcome aboard

Ahoy Tony The CA works great on resin models for PE just not so well on styrene and why I use epoxy, but I have also used the Gorilla wood glue with excellent results on both. PVA is an especially good second stage application when gluing with either CA or epoxy. Tacking PE parts with CA or epoxy and then following up with thinned PVA is the best way I have found fill any voids between PE and the model and reinforce the bond. It is also the way I do rails. I thin it so it runs and apply it with a small paint brush followed by a cotton bud or micro brush to wick up the excess. I have a fiberglass brush that I will use to scuff or remove any dried excess. Seams or voids between the PE and the model can really detract from the overall look of the kit. If you airbrush the paint won't fill them (it actually highlights them); filling these little gaps with PVA is a really easy step that can make a big difference in the model.

Ahoy Eric The plans show three kevels and two cleats in that area; most likely for the two sheaves. I could not find any pin rails on the plans but it looks like you will have some rope coils that could be used to cover up anything that stands to proud

Ahoy Dragzz Looks good. If and when you glue that deck I would have her in the wood stand and not the Amati. I use the Amati and it will not prevent the deck from adding a twist to your work. I had some issues with the deck forming to the curve of the deck and the sweep of the hull. I ended up having to wet the deck after gluing to get it to relax. Please let me know if you find the same. I am considering redoing mine

Ahoy Eric I am not sure you have solved the problem It looks to my untrained eye that this will just resurface on the next strake and you will have to repeat this again and possibly again and again Me thinks you might be better served by pulling off some inner planks and work to even this out right here and now. Sorry if that sounds like bad news

Ahoy Modeler It worked great for me I guess it depends on when you do your deck

Ahoy Brett I started with a Panavise. I owned it, but they sell for les then 30 dollars at Frys. It worked great. I have since purchased an Amati Keel Clamp which while more then twice the price is very nice. I don't know how some of these guys planked without the keel securely mounted but I guess they proved it is possible

Ahoy Dragzz I had a slight warp in my keel. I wetted one side "lightly" and then put it on a piece of wax paper on a glass surface, covered it with another piece of wax paper and then my building board and a 15 pound dumbbell. The next day it was fixed. I did not soak it because its ply and I wasn't sure if the glue used was waterproof.

Ahoy Eric Your a brave man I would just shave the fatty side plank , make the other side plank slightly wider, do the same with the nibs and that should balance it out. Don't forget that a lot of this will get covered or hidden and you can always throw a rope coil or miscellaneous deck item over anything that doesn't I was experimenting with card stock for the anchor rub until I sanded my wales to match the gunwales. I could not get anything in wood to look good. Manila folder paper looked the best. For now I have nixed it. I also considering a thin piece of brass. haven't tried that yet. I can always wait and see what you do. I like that idea best

Ahoy Andy See looks really nice. I love the extras Have you ever painted a resin kit before. It is not an easy task.