GLakie

Thanks gents for the input. Yep I was trying to find a way to make it work without taking a few planks off but I just don't see it happening that way. Oh well just when you think you're done with a step it seems like there's always one more thing.
 
Stopped at the local art supply store this evening and picked up some acrylic varnish to test out. Will also compare with tung oil which I will pick up later this week. I don't have any finishing experience other than the deck, so this is all trial/err for me.

Hey  - a great subject and in my fave old medium plastic     A man walks into a Bar  and goes "Ouch"  it was a metal bar.......
 
I too am trying to make plastic look like metal its a bit different from making wood look like "ermmmm" ...wood
 
Anyway can i join in the watching please, i am rubbish in a group to shy, but if its ok i will sit i n the wings and watch.
 
Oh yes nearly foregot - i used to build Accurate Armour resin 35scale tanks from Tiger to Warrior IFV.
 
OC.

Not a great modeler George, but I've got a pretty good eye for great modeling. Nothing wrong with setting high standards.... Right?
I know I'll never become a "great" modeler, but I'm damned sure I can be a "better" modeler.
Stay tuned mate.

Well, like they keep saying Dave, "We are our own worst critics", but from our perspective, I honestly think it looks like you're doing a bang-up job, and you shouldn't be so hard on yourself.

I have the movie Greg.........haven't sat through it in a while though  {I'm mostly a horror nut}
 
 
no I can't Ben.......guess I know how to pick 'em 
 
thanks Frank...I browsed through their kits..........besides cornering the market on the Titanic,  they have some armor kits that involve P.E. and special effects.
     I know you haven't been feeling yourself of late........do whatever you need to to get comfy.  I'm glad your here 

Thanks Patrick, George, Pete, and everyone else for all the "like" posts.
Please don't take my comments wrong.... It's just that I have such high regard for the incredible beauty of the SOS, I am probably expecting way too much from myself.

just a bit too futuristic for me....if it was a plastic kit,  that would be one thing.   I did 'Keaton's'  batmobile........pretty bland being a black car with fins 
 
how about depth charges Bob..........would that be worth it 

Looking good Dave, Nice work , Beautifully done 
 
Best Regards,
Pete

deck is looking really nice John 

Great job Ken.  Brass stack is real nice - your comfort zone for sure.
Kurt

You've definitely done your research Jay. I'll be following along with great interest. I agree with Tom, as having a cross-section with the full-size model will show viewers what's below decks and make for an amazing display.

Update:
I have been busy cutting strips of wood for the various locations. The picture below shows some and the kind of wood I am using where.

Earlier I showed a couple of beams and how they influence the size and location of the hatches. But there is more to this and I will go into that later.
 
I started with the frame-work of the orlop deck, the lowest deck. Again I am taking some liberties since the 'plans' in the book don't go into a lot of details. For example, I decided that since this deck is well below the waterline and should not get 'wet', there is no reason for the beams and deck to have sideways curvature. I am making mine flat except for some curvature towards the bow.
You may notice the one opening for the 'scuttle'  or opening from the orlop deck down to the powder room.
I will have more about that lower portion of the ship when I show what I want to do with the powder room. 
 
I also decided to add not only the carlings but the ledges as well. They are all fitted into slots cut on my mill. By way of perspective: the ledges are 0.060 x 0.080 inch (4.5 x 6.0 inch full scale). You might say 'why not square?' It turns out that the slabs of holly I used was 1/16 inch thick. And anyway, in my opinion, ledges should be narrow and deep if they are going to carry any weight.
 
 
The whole idea here is to do as much 'bench-work' as possible. Later when I am ready to install this there will be a template and the sides will be cut to match. Hence, the beams and ledges along the side will be trimmed and fitted.

 
Not to belabour (belabor) the points about gratings and hatches, but you might notice the hatch frames to the left. The actual hatch is wider in the aft direction (left) because this is also the area where the anchor ropes come down and are stored further aft. This will not be included, but I think a piece of rope will show the idea much further downstream in this project. 

I moved on to the quarter boat davits and slides which required some fussy work forming the brass straps that hold them in place as well as making the slots in the ends of the davits to make them work. The slides were soaked in water and formed wet then held in a fixture to dry curved. The brass brackets were hand formed to each location since the top and bottom were two different depths.
I then realized that the channels had to be made first and glued in place before adding the slides. Also I made the channel keepers out of 1/16" square strips and painted them black. The slides have a stand-off below the channel to enable the keeper to be added once the chain-plates are in position in the little notches.

 
Here is an overview of both sides. The chain-plate keeper can be seen on the deck on the port side.
 

 
Next I will make the forward channels.
 
Ken 

Excellent planking job, Vince!
Give the toothpick/treenailing a try. I have used that technique in the past and it has worked for me.
 
Good luck!!!

Hi Vince
 
looking forward to see your success with the tree-nails. I am not so far to tree-nail the planks yet.But I want to do this someday too...
I hope the toothpick-thing will work
 
Cheerio
 
Max

Hi Dave
 
She's looking absolutely superb! To be honest, you call it 'practice'. But, I call it anything but practice! I just struggle to think how I could've even done half of what you've achieved so far.
 
I look forward to your next update.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Undecided George. As you can see, I used an awful lot of the drawings from the old plan sheets.... and can't say I'm real pleased with the overall image presented. Like I said, the starboard side just might be completely different. Plenty of time to think about it since I'm now going to return to the decks for a while.

Looks great for a "practice" run Dave. I can't see anything that needs to really be hidden from view. 
 
Cheers

Something I've had spinning around my head lately is using the contemporary look with her, and fore-going the copper all together. Boxwood lower planking, stained a reddish orange, Ebony, or painted black, whales, and Holly the rest of the way up, painting black above the gun-stripe. I don't know, just a thought. I really like this configuration though. As she supposedly looked when launched.



  Cheers

I have finished framing the gunports. It was a tedious jub, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I got spoiled from other kits I have built where the gunports are located by templates and the frames come already made.
 
Next up is another tedious task. Trenailing the hull planks. I am going to try something I got from another experienced builder. Using round toothpicks. They are already round and tapered at each end, so you can make 2 trenails per toothpick. Just drill a small hole in the plank, put a dab of PVA on the end of the toothpick and push it into the hole. Trim it off and sand it. I will give it a try on some spare wood and if it looks good, I will do it this way. It beats having to taper down small dowls. Wish me luck!
 
Vince P.

It's about time to get on with something else for a while. 
I decided the entire port side is pretty much  "practice" for the starboard side.  Just saying, since I plan to display this ship in a glass case built several years ago,  the port side may never be seen again after she goes into that case. 
For what it's worth, here is the port side ornamentation.

I've not decided what I will create for the top right panel seen here. 

 
One note about the galleries.... I find some SOS builds with the outer windows left open.  I decided I prefer the open outer windows which allows a view into the inner windows. 

 
 
 

Thanks, Janos - pity the visitors can't see any of your work in the cupboard!
 
Russ - I'll scrape off all the excess glue and then fine sand before a few coats of Poly over the entire hull.
 
Tanks for looking in, Frank.
 
John

Hi John
 
I'm a little late to the party, but I really like this build and will follow along the rest of the way.
 
Frank

Thanks Peter, I'll shure keep it in mind when time comes
 
Couple steps back in my log, there was discusion about Star of India, meaning, origin and conection with India
 
Maybe here is answer I found today
 
http://blogs.rmg.co.uk/cuttysark/2015/05/15/the-star-of-india/

The boys have done a fantastic job on her Matt! 
 
Cheers