Landlubber Mike

Hi Glenn, thanks for looking in on my build. Sorry to respond so late - I was out of town on a family vacation, and the family brought home a nasty cold so I've had my hands full with a sick household. For the hatch coamings, I am following TFFM (The Fully Framed Model). The author says that the coamings frame consisted of the two pieces that ran fore and aft (the "coamings") and the two cross-pieces that ran athwartships (the "head ledges"). Essentially, the head ledges look like a "T" and the coamings look like an upside down "T". Looking at your Revised Gratings PDF, the side views in the second set of diagrams looks correct to me (assuming those are meant to show the "coamings." Note, however, that the plan view of the second set of diagrams is not correct - the head ledges, as a "T", should extend across the entire width and cover the coamings (hopefully that makes sense). If you really want to be 100% authentic, TFFM says that the ends of the coamings that join the head ledges have "half-lap joints that are tailed." TFFM goes on to say that "a tailed joint is angled somewhat like half of a modern dovetail, but is sloped in two planes." At 1:64 scale, I wasn't about to worry about that kind of detail. You can see my coamings in the second picture in the post of my log linked below (sorry, for some reason I can't seem to upload the picture directly to this post) - this is the head-on view of the head ledges: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7267-hms-pegasus-by-landlubber-mike-amativictory-models-scale-164/?p=248121 Hope that helps. Good luck with your Pegasus - it's a fun build, especially with all the fellow Swan class builders on here and the wealth of materials out there to help you improve on an already impressive kit (the TFFM series, the NMM plans, etc.).

Looking great Carl. I'm at the rigging and attaching sails stage myself. I'm not a big fan of the included sails, as I would have preferred material that was pure white rather than material with lines. I might try substituting silkspan or modelspan, but I'm wondering if they will look really wrinkled when folded for insertion into the bottle.

Nice update Ian - your Unicorn is coming together very nicely. Your decision to open up the waist worked out very nicely. Too bad the stove will be a little more hidden, but you and your fans know it is there.

Really great build Peter, wow! Congratulations on your very fine work. You definitely set the bar high for the rest of us Swan class builders.

Looking great Frank. You're a master at weathering techniques.

Looks fantastic, great build and case! The pine moulding was a very good idea.

Wow, that's very nice work Mark. Coming along beautifully. How are you finding working with ebony? Will you use it again in the future?

Martin, that's some really nice work. I love the anchor stock planking effect, I'll have to try that out. Also, the carving of the last wale planks came out very nicely, wow. Glad you like the GF stain - it works very nicely in my experience. Have you thought about your overall color scheme for the upper hull? When I started this build I thought I would go natural for most of the hull except for black near the friezes, but now I'm considering going with dark blue (GF blue on pear) for the friezes area, redheart for the upper strip area, and black for the wales down to the copper line - framed by boxwood rails. Still debating whether to go with black from the wales down to the copper line, but I like Realworkingsailor pulled that off on his build.

Thanks very much guys. Well, I was able to get outside to do most of the sanding on the starboard side. Thankfully temps hit 50 this afternoon, so I didn't need to wear mittens or glue sandpaper to my hands The starboard side came out pretty well, almost identically to the port side. Still need some filler in a couple of areas and need to fix the gunport patterns at the jigsaw connection and bow, but I'm really happy with how the first planking went. I have to figure out the stern area with the stern counter, as well as the rabbets. But like Martin said, it's nice to see the actual shape of the hull take form.

Mark, sanding while wearing mittens must have been an adventure The temps are supposed to hit mid-40s this afternoon and the sun is out, so it should be a little warmer. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until next weekend as I prefer to do it in the daylight and it's dark by the time I get home from work. I just want to get the majority of the sanding out of the way so that I can do the spot areas at home - when the Admiral is asleep Ian, gluing sandpaper to my hands is almost as crazy an idea as wearing mittens, but I'll keep that in the back pocket as a last resort measure SpyGlass, I think you're right that I don't need to fill every gap. There is one slightly low plank at the bow that I have to fill, and I'll have to fill that area near the gripe and likely up near the stern counter and stern post. Otherwise, the planking is very smooth without bumps and dips. At 1.5mm planks, there is plenty to work with to sand back to which is very nice. On my Badger, the lime was 1mm, and in some areas I came very close to sanding through the first planking because I didn't do as good a job laying the planks naturally. I have the Bob Hunt practicum, and he covers the entire first planking with filler, whether needed or not. To me that really seems like overkill, with the potential that the approach possibly could disrupt the some of the curves that the bulkheads give you. Based on the practicum, it looked like he didn't spend much time fairing the bulkheads, as he used a drum sander for most of them so maybe his approach is necessary. I spent probably close to 6-8 hours fairing the bulkheads, constantly laying test strips to make sure a smooth run - based on my results at least on the port side, I don't think I need to cover the entire hull with filler.

Well, the first planking is complete! Here are the pictures before sanding: Looks pretty rough, but things got much better after some sanding. I spent about an hour sanding the port side this afternoon sitting on my porch steps, but at 40 degrees (F) outside, it started getting hard to feel my fingers at the end (the Admiral just shook her head at me, but I reminded her that it was better than having the dust inside the house). Hopefully the weather will be nice enough tomorrow so I can get some work in on the starboard side. Spending the time I did in fairing the bulkheads seemed to pay off, as I don't think I'll need much filler. I mostly need some to close the gaps between the gunport patterns and the first plank, and a bit at the bow and stern. I cheated a bit on the garboard plank by simplifying it, so I'll also need some filler in the area that feeds into the gripe. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it's coming out. The Swan class hulls are very shapely, which are borne out in the Amati models.

That's a nice really space Joe. A beer fridge, speakers and a flat screen TV and you'll have the perfect man cave.

Hey Carl, just stumbled across your log too. Last year I started on the same kit and am at about the same stage you are. I'm planning to put "sea" into the bottle, which has been a little challenging to say the least. It's a fun kit, though I had issues trying to get the wrap-around photo etch around the hull.

Hi Jason, looks great. I like how you stopped the first planking at the bearding line near the stern. I ran the planking to the stern post, but I have a feeling that I'll be sanding a lot of that off I also ran into similar issues planking my Pegasus. It was a little easier on my Badger where there were fewer curves, but I think spiling is the way to go where there are more complex curves in the hull (unless one is comfortable with pointed or up curved planks at the bow). I'll probably try it out on my Pegasus - Frank and others have assured me that it is not as difficult as it seems, so I'm going to take their word for it - and if it is too difficult, I'll send them my hull to plank If I mess it up, most will be covered with the coppering, so I might as well practice (I'm not coppering my Lyme, so it would be good to get some free practice in now).

Looking great John. Did you color the chains at all? I love the bronze look on some of them. How do you like the serving machine? I was thinking about getting one, as doing the serving with tweezers and clips on my Badger was not very fun at all.

Thanks Nick! I'll definitely check it out. I love your Le Mirage by the way

Coming along beautifully Flyer, love the sails. The spanker came out very nice. I remember making the jib traveler on my Badger. A very small detail that most wouldn't notice, but was a lot of fun to make.

Beautiful work Nils, those sails are gorgeous. Seeing the Pegasus in full sails has made me decide to put mine in full sails as well

Martin, good question about the bleeding and using polyurethane. That might actually work quite nicely. I'll have to check ChrisLBren's Confederacy log, as I think he did something to mitigate the effects. I think taping helps, but isn't perfect. I was originally thinking of pre-staining planks, and then touching them up very carefully if necessary, but that might be not be foolproof. For seams between planks that will be covered by the rails, I was thinking of leaving a very small gap between the planks using very thin brass sheet. The gap might help the bleeding, particularly if I leave the brass sheet in while applying the stain. Then, I can just cover the seam with the rails and call it a day. Thanks for looking in Mobbsie. I plan on using the push pin method for the second planking for sure. I thought it was going to be a little tough on the first planking as the bulkheads are in MDF and pretty strong, so my push pins won't work unless I drill holes (which I didn't want it to do). To get it to work with the kit pins, you need to push the pins all the way down so the head sits on the plank - I wasn't sure how easy it would be to pull the pins once the glued dried. Thanks for the tip on Chuck's tutorial. I'll have to take a look, thanks!

I needed a good camera for indoor kid shots, but wanted a point and shoot. The problem is the small cameras have a very small light sensor. Some of the newer cameras (more expensive) put a much bigger light sensor in, which improves picture quality considerably. I bought the Sony RX-100 a year or two ago, and it's been great.

Thanks Joe and Martin, I'll have to check that book out. I'm always amazed at people that can perfectly plank with one layer, and not use an under layer. I didn't mark out battens on the first planking, but certainly plan to on the second. The second planking is going to be interesting for other reasons. I am planning on four colors for the upper hull planking - redheart for the red strip at the top, pear dyed with General Finishes "Blue" for the blue area, pear dyed brown for the natural area, and black for the wales and possibly the section between the wales and the coppering. I have to think about bleeding effects, so I might pre-dye some of the edge planks. I think I also have a little safety with the rails which will cover up the seams between colors and any possible bleeding. Fun times

I've managed to get some planking time in, and have 12 rows in per side. The ship probably needs about 16 per side when all is said and done. The kit lime strips are very good to work with. They are straight, and take bends well. The only tricky thing is that it can split if you try and pin it towards the ends, as you can see in the bow and stern shots. Man, the close-ups make things look really rough and messy, so it's a good thing that this will get covered up It's been a while since I planked my Badger, but a few things from that build are coming back to me. This time around, I decided not to use CA, as it just made a mess and sometimes it seemed to adhere, and most times, not. For this build I am only using PVA with pins, the planking screws I showed earlier, and clamps. That has gone much better. It also reminded me to lay the planks as naturally as possible - but, with the upturn into the stern counter, I forced the planks a bit leading to a bit of a sharper edge and clinker effect. The lime is 1.5mm thick, so plenty of material to sand back to a nice curve. The planks at the bow need to be tapered starting with the second plank, and probably the first. I probably didn't taper them enough in the beginning rows, so the planks started to turn upwards at the second or third bulkhead without forcing and clinking them. Since I'm trying to get the planks to lay as naturally as possible, I am going to have to add a drop plank/joggle plank as you can see in the picture below. I'm a little confused as to whether stealers and drop planks are "permissible" in models. I might try to spile the second planking, but I need to sit down and try to understand exactly how that technique works. Since the the bottom of the hull will be coppered, I might try it out since it will be covered up

Jim, your Ballyhoo came out great, congratulations! I really love that case, wow! Very creative and well done. I was thinking of doing a diorama type case for a later build with a fake sea, but your approach is very simple and elegant.

Thanks, that's very helpful information! Looking forward to your update!

Good to know Martin. I'm hoping the pear I plan to use bends ok. It's a pretty tight curve those first few planks. What did you do in the corner between the first plank and the second? Is it supposed to be a rounded curve, or is it more of a sharper corner?