jwvolz

Nice, pylon and all. Forgot about the Wolfpack one...

Very nice work so far Ken. 
 
What woods did you use for your planking?

Tamiya surface primer applied and dry, ready for masking for the camo.
 
OC.

THE BIG REVEAL
 
Okay, final thoughts on this project along with some nice photos.
I bought this kit initially because I wanted something fast and relatively easy to build. The "fast" part didn't work out as planned, thanks to life getting in the way. The "easy" part, well ... ... the hull, for the most part was easy to build, and the folks at MK have been innovative in designing hull structures that go together well and lock up tight. I loved the laser-cut planking -- some guys dig spiling, and others just like to put things together. I'm in the latter category. 1/72 scale did prove to be a challenge in a few instances. It's remarkable how big a difference there can be in the ease or difficulty of making a particular assembly in 1/72 scale versus even 1/64. The finished model looks really sharp and looks good either painted or left in the natural. The wood and metal parts are top-shelf. Plans are good, and directions were mostly clear despite the few inevitable mysteries of translation. The rigging line, on the other hand, gave me fits, resulting in rigging tasks that took far longer than they should have. I understand the compromises that must be made in order to make a kit profitable, but the rigging line is definitely the fly in this kit's ointment. I hope that the MK boys will give some thought to looking at alternative sources for rigging line. The guys at MK are very responsive to a builder's needs -- they get an A+ for customer relations. Overall, I give this kit 4 out of five stars, only because of the rigging line, otherwise I can give the kit a hearty recommendation -- just replace the rigging line. 😉 I'm really looking forward to seeing what Evgeniy and his crew bring to market in the near future. And now for pictures!
 




 




Thanks, Master Korabel, for bringing this little gem to market!
 
 

Aaaaaand ... done. Will follow up soon with additional pics and final thoughts. Believe it or not, this is the first wooden kit I have completed in over a decade. 😮

Thanks Dennis, it starts to look better. Finished the nose cone, propellah, and landing gear. Added some decals, still a few to go before I'm done with that. The remaining ones are really small, between 1 and 2 mm sometimes I wonder if I did put some of those on!
 

Couldn't resist putting the finished deck stuff on the hull, to see how this will look later. Nothing here is glued on. It's now all removed and work on painting the lower hull in white is now underway.
 

Instead of just posting my work in regular build order, I thought I'd post an idea of exactly what I've been doing, including working on stuff that's further ahead than the regular sequence. As this is for the manual, it doesn't allow me to sit idle and twiddle my thumbs as parts and paints dry. Instead, I go off on a tangent and work on other things. First up, I'll show you where I currently am with the hull.
 
One task I love doing is removing the bulkhead ears from above the deck. At this point, I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere with a build. These are just snapped off with a pair of pliers and the stubs sanded flush with the false deck. Before I can fit the deck, I spray some red oxide primer around the inside bow and stern areas, as these would be difficult to paint later. The standard laser-engraved limewood deck is then installed using Titebond and then clamped down around the edges to make sure it sits perfectly to the false deck.
 



 
 
Once the deck is down, the inner bulwarks are planked. All planks are first painted. Painting the lowest plank at least helps to stop paint splashing onto the deck. I was unlucky with my planking as the gaps I needed to fill meant that more or less all paint was stripped back down to the woodwork so I could apply some acrylic wood filler. This was then sanded smooth and the various holes in the ply bulwark drilled through to the inside for the various eyebolts etc. The red oxide paint is now reapplied after completing the exterior pear planks and sanding the whole hull exterior smooth.


 
 
The only wales I'll be visiting this year with lockdown are the ones I'll be gluing to the exterior of this hull. The top of the first per plank that was laid is now marked with a pencil to identify where the 3mm x 1mm pear strip will fit. This is two planks below the bottom of the newly cut gun ports. 

 
 
After fitting the 3mm wide plank to each side, a 4mm plank was then butt up directly below it. Masking tape was now applied to either side so I didn't damage the surrounding pear. Sandpaper is now used to smooth the exterior.

 
 
Things start to take further shape as the outer prow is fitted, along with the keel and stern keel post. Some of the supplied clamps are used to keep everything in alignment.

 
 
Whilst that was setting, I made the rudder. Although you'll see copper gudgeons and pintles on this, they are a leftover from the original Speedy kit I have. There Flirt kit will be supplied with these in brass as there's no copper plates on this kit. Cartridge paper is used for the iron bands at either side of the tiller arm location.

 
 
The original masking tape for the wales was removed, simply because I didn't want to risk any sanding dust being lodged in there. The outside edges of the wales were again carefully masked, followed by the rest of the model, and Plastikote black spray applied. There will be no black paint on the bow area as this is being left in bear pear, along with some new laser-engraved per parts. 

 
 
I did say I'd been working on some other stuff, and here it is. We have some grate frames, bitts, windlass, ladders, pumps, capstan and cannon. I still have a lot of work to do on the cutter yet, but as you can see, things are moving at a nice pace.










 
 More when I have it...

Ok Folks .. Both Gaffs are completed.. Next Up the Boom    (No drama This Time.. Honest  )
 
Thanks For Looking In..
 
Eamonn
Oh, there's a quick Deck Shot thrown in too .. 
 
 

OC,
 
If I prime with lacquer I generally wait until I can't smell it anymore. Can be up to a week. 

The Dragon armor kits are very nice. 
 
The color you want is German Panzer Grey. Most paint lines have it including Vallejo in the Air line. It faded as it aged, so it will depend upon how weathered you'd like it to be. 

Given those paint choices, if you are going to hand  brush use Model Masters. I love Vallejo's "Air" line for the airbrush,  but the regular stuff just doesn't brush as nicely as MM. 

The Dragon armor kits are very nice. 
 
The color you want is German Panzer Grey. Most paint lines have it including Vallejo in the Air line. It faded as it aged, so it will depend upon how weathered you'd like it to be. 

Hello Joe
Top quality work on all all skills, ship builder, painter, sign writer, metal worker.
Too many skills needed in this caper!
The Seine boat looks like the real thing I hope my small boats come up as good.
Cheers Chris

I've finished cleaning up and repainting the chainplates. . I also painted the decorative element around the hawse hole. A nice 20/0 brush and a careful hand got it looking good. This wasn't the first attempt, but re-doing acrylics is easy. The really hard part was getting both sides to look the same doing this free hand. 
 
 

I worked on the chainplates last couple of days. I made the strop rings by creating a small jig to bend brass wire around, forming a loop on each, which were then cut and soldered closed. The chainplates were made from sheet brass, with a loop soldered in the top. I used some brass nails cut to simulate to bolts to attach the strop to the chainplate, and once painted it all looks reasonably good. 

Finished the seine boat. I did not take in-progress pictures past that initial one on the build board. Let's just say the process between there and finished was not pretty, but in the end came out reasonably well. The plans themselves are very good, it's the method MS gives you to get there that isn't...
 
There is still a good bit of finished detail to add, but I'll leave that for later on at this point. 

Deck has been planked (including windlass pads and thick pads at the masts) and painted. I masked from templates I made copying the plans and airbrushed the white. The areas that I stained should be gray, based on the instructions, but I didn't like how much of the plank detail disappeared under the white paint, so I elected to just stain it a weathered color. 

Given those paint choices, if you are going to hand  brush use Model Masters. I love Vallejo's "Air" line for the airbrush,  but the regular stuff just doesn't brush as nicely as MM. 

The Dragon armor kits are very nice. 
 
The color you want is German Panzer Grey. Most paint lines have it including Vallejo in the Air line. It faded as it aged, so it will depend upon how weathered you'd like it to be. 

Very nice work so far Ken. 
 
What woods did you use for your planking?

Given those paint choices, if you are going to hand  brush use Model Masters. I love Vallejo's "Air" line for the airbrush,  but the regular stuff just doesn't brush as nicely as MM. 

Given those paint choices, if you are going to hand  brush use Model Masters. I love Vallejo's "Air" line for the airbrush,  but the regular stuff just doesn't brush as nicely as MM. 

The Dragon armor kits are very nice. 
 
The color you want is German Panzer Grey. Most paint lines have it including Vallejo in the Air line. It faded as it aged, so it will depend upon how weathered you'd like it to be. 

Thanks Joe.  I used boxwood for above the wales and holly below.  The wales are basswood sanded and painted.
I have to preserve my boxwood and holly.
Cheers.