hof00

Hi Chap,
Those extensions, (Bulwark), are you supposed to Plank/Form the Bulkheads before trimming the Extensions off?
(The Cutty was the same, I had to plank the Bulkheads before trimming off the extensions and plank the Deck after this.)
 
Just another thought, just maybe the manufacturer doesn't see the requirement to fair the Midships Bulkheads?
 
Just Dumb questions....
 
Cheers....HOF.

Hi Chap,
I tried with the Plane method, had all sorts of problems....
 
So, I got a large diameter dowel, (Larger than the Mast diameter), and put this in the Head Stock Chuck of my Lathe.
I put a Chuck in the Tail Stock and put a Drill in the Tail Stock Chuck. Started the Lathe and wound the Tali Stock into the Dowel.
I was left with a Dowel with a nicely centred hole or, more correctly a "Tube."
 
I then Stained the tube and used a Razor Saw and Mitre Box to cut the Tube into thin rings.
 
Here is the result on Bluenose II

Thanks Harry Ireland is terrible for ship parts the only model hobbies shops I know of don't stock wooden ships only plastic planes and tanks etc guess there is not enough demand to justify having shelfs full of wooden ships.
Everything I need has to come from England Cornwall modelships and such places however there is a minimum postage so I'm better making a list of multiple items to get at once .
As for timber However I'm quite lucky as my day job is ripping out timber windows and doors and replacing them so I have and endless supply of timber .also some of the old mahogany I rip out is the real stuff and not the seppily you will get sold as mahog these days

I'm back on the shipyard!
 
Things slowed down early december and I've done nothing at all the last 2 weeks, but now it's January and I have the time, peace of mind and energy needed to work on my build again.
 
Where was I? Ah! yep....the mast!
 
Here I go again!....more soon!
 
Robin

welcome Professor,  Philo426,  and to you as well Nigel     it's still very early in the build as you can see.......as a mater of fact,  I have the fitting on the desk at the moment........I was going to separate them.   there are so many tiny metal parts,  that I'm thinking it best to do it according to their assembly.   you are right Nigel.......this model is very small.........I wish it was larger,  like the 1:96 Revell kit.   she's a beauty Philo426........and you added the studding sails, which really fills her out.   I have the Cutty......my second build of her.
    I began to fare the frame,  but I haven't gotten much further that that.   I was looking through my planking strips,  and I do have a good supply of 1 x 4 mm strip stock.   the kit supplies 0.5 x 2 mm strip stock......not sure how contorting the 4 mm planking is gonna go.   a second planking,  I feel,  might not be needed,  since I will be painting the outer hull.   still up in the air about coppering the bottom....if this was a larger kit,  it might not be as big a problem.   I see things that changes will benefit:
 
eye bolts:    I see an abundance of the larger brass colored eye {I forget the size}.    I can substitute copper colored smaller eye bolts wherever I can, to make them more scale-like.
blocks:    there is a package of what looks like 2 mm single blocks supplied in the kit.   from what I can see,  these are the only ones in the kit......how in the heck can you make decent vangs,  back stays,   and pulley assemblies,  with just single blocks.   I have some 3 mm doubles kicking around some where.......we can fix this  
railings:   I'm looking into getting some decent railings for this kit........bent wire just doesn't cut it.   Nils has been a great help with the places he gets his from,  but 1:124 scale is hard to find.......I may have to settle for the next size up.....like 1:200,  or 1:350.   I saw the photo etch for the Academy Titanic.... that might even do the trick.
Shrouds:   I know this is a small scale.......but the fore and main mast should have a wider shroud spread than shown.  I'll see what I can do with this.
Life boats:   where?   there are none in the kit.   something to look into........
studding sail booms:   don't recall seeing anything like them in the kit either..........again,  something to look into.........
 
a lot of this,  I have time to research.   I appreciate your look'in in and coming aboard.   just got the badger.........got to take Gibbs out {he's scratch'in the heck out of my leg}.   enjoy and hope you folks had a great holiday season!

Well the planking is done. I'm not completely happy with it and found it to be a very painful process. I still have a lot of sanding to do. I found some coloured wood filler at my local hardware store.  I bought teak colour thinking it would be a close match.  However, after looking at a sample it seemed to light in colour for me. It dried lighter that when first applied. So I went back and bought a mahogany. It of course was too dark.  However I tried a couple of mixtures, 1/2 teak and 1/2 mahogany then 3/4 teak and 1/4 mahogany.  I think the 75/25 ratio gave the closest result. I plan to use the fill sparingly, just for small gaps, etc.
 

Hi Chap,
Hope the following is of some use....
 
The way A/L seem to do things is the all Keel components are fitted after the 1st Planking,
Sand the first cover to match the width of the False Keel, make sense?
 
No thinner as the Keel components are a the same.
 
Fix the Keel components and maybe "Pin" with stuff like I did.
 
(Hang on, I saw a DVD Instruction Manual?? No Good? Portuguese/Spanish? )
 
Anyway, once the Stem is firmly affixed "Offer up" the Bulwarks, you will need to bevel the junction of Bulwarks to fit nicely with the Stem. If you have the correct gap between Deck and planking, (2.5mm from memory), things should flow from there.... (Wot could possibly go wrong? )
 
Plank the Insides of the Bulwarks, fit the Waterways and you're almost there!!
 
The Stern Bulwark stuff is, a real "Pain." (Think I discarded and made my own out of very thin ply, 1/32" using the original as a template.) Thin Basswood is a good alternative.
 
2nd, 0.5mm Walnut planking after Keel components affixed.
 
See what you think of the following,
 
Cheers....HOF.

Sorry Chap,
Just had a look at your Kit Contents, seems like A/L have "Skimped" on Walnut Keel Components. (I believe they have moved manufacturing to China.... Could be wrong.)
 
Anyway, same doctrine applies, as above. (Just please Stain the stuff!! )
 
Don't know about you, but this model looks fantastic in "Naked" Wood.
(Your Choice.)
 
Cheers....HOF.

Well after some procrastination, waiting for the grey felt rubbed on the edge of every plank to dry so it does not smudge and dealing with little fiddly pieces i have almost finished planking the poop deck. If i do say so myself it has come up quite well. Now while planking the step with Sapele i came up with a smart idea to use the ply that the fame came from to cut the veneer to the curve of the waist deck. anyway here is some pics of the progress. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Cheers Rexy.

Yup Sir,
Looks good. Can visualise where your sub assemblies go.
The work is absolutely fantastic.
 
Awesome detail!!
 
Thank you!!
 
Cheers....HOF.

An "Upgrade!!"
Never had this on mine..... Well I Guess if you want to "Super detail."
The Engine Cover/Funnel hides this. (I built my Cover so that I could remove it but since the model is in a Glass Cabinet, it's a bit difficult to remove and view....
 
Cheers....HOF.

It turns out it was not too difficult to fix.  The stem and under-stem and keel now fit well.  I get to go topside to start planking the deck.  A welcome change.


Doug
 

Hi all.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. I have managed to complete the decking on my ship and have dtarted on one of the 11 lifeboats on this model.

Yup Sir,
Looks good. Can visualise where your sub assemblies go.
The work is absolutely fantastic.
 
Awesome detail!!
 
Thank you!!
 
Cheers....HOF.

Happy new year everyone...a short update, the pilot house is trimmed out and in primer...it will require a lot of touch up, hoping some sanding will take care on most issues I see.   Also put some thought into the windows...trying to trim down stock to create the scale muntin bars proved to be a fairly impossible task, for me...ending in a pile of irregular  width splinters and at least 4 xacto cuts     after rooting around looking for something to simulate the bars I spotted some vinyl screen, I cut off a small piece and shot it with white spray paint,,,thats where it sits right now, I'll post the results and pics of the window development as it goes,
thx for looking in, Pics follow:
 

Trim complete
 

needs serious cleanup
 

window muntins??

Doug,
 
I can't wait until the planking is done.  It has been a tedious task and one that I haven't enjoyed since I started.  I should be done very shortly.
 
 
Well here is another problem I noticed.  I was setting up for the following pictures and realized that the forward covering board will not line up properly with the bulwarks.  I think that I can rectify the problem by adding a filler piece on top of the bow.  I'm hoping that should be the last of my misalignment problems.
 
I wanted to take the following shots to summarize my progress to date.
 

Yup,
Agree Rexy.
 
There is a lot of skill and wherewithal even with this.
Really interesting to get the Brass/Dowell cut to the right angle/length when it comes to the Stern Stuff, don't know what its called, but the infrastructure/Block/Tackle, required for the Nets/Trawl equipment?
 
For me, the hardest part for the build....
 
Steve, thanks for the compliment. (We all aspire to the perfect build I guess.)
(Just a question, Wots the Red Thread?)
 
 
Cheers....HOF.

your build is off to a great start, from my experience with wooden model kits is, even if it is targeted at beginners it still requires a lot of woodworking knowledge to achieve a great finish. anyway good luck.
 
 
Cheers Rexy.

HI Harry thanks for looking in I hope I can do this small ship justice you sure did a nice job of yours and it was one of the examples that help me choose this build.

Hi Chap,
Nice start, brings back memories.
 
I have a fair few photos of my Mare Nostrum build if you feel that these would be helpful at any particular stage.
 
Cheers....HOF.

Hi Torbogdan,
What is the quality of the "Castings?"
I read a review some time ago that stated that the Casting quality was poor.
 
Cheers....HOF.

I have been getting some good fre time and moving along.
There has been a lot of work on the wheel house and I have framed all the windows with plastic sheeting behind.
The biggest mistake was that I glued the 3rd level on back to front and had a big job removing it and putting it right.
Some damage was done but I hopefully rectified it.

booms, anchors, boats
The booms were constructed as instructed by the kit. The only little addition were the iron (cartridge paper) hoops to hold the tongues of the gaff.
 

boom and gaffs
 

detail of the gaff
 
The anchors were installed as instructed by the kit. The anchor chain hanging over the bulwark and chafing on the lanyards of the bowsprit rigging seems a bit strange but I couldn't think of a better arrangement except just letting the anchor hang outboard below the hawse pipe. However there it would cause some drag which should be avoided in this racing machine. Another question was how the anchors were handled as no permanent gear is installed. Being comparatively small I guess they were manhandled with the help of some temporary tackles.
 

anchors stowed
 

the chain will probably chafe on the bowsprit rigging
 
I will install two boats as depicted for example in John Rousmaniere's book. I ordered 2 quaicraft model boats with a length of 83mm in scale 1/64. The raw boats show acceptable details and seem about right in size and style for America. However the first painted example looked too much like plastic. After dismantling again the small decks and the thwarts were made from wood and some details were added, such as a rudder, a water barrel, boathook and oars which are leftovers from other kits and a mast.
Now I have to find out how to attach the boats to my cast metal Amati davits and how to install all on America.
 

raw and finished boat - in the background a mock up for the installation of davits and boats