rcmdrvr

My photo etch bender was too small to bend the side casement armor.  Luckily, one of the tables in my garage shop was formally an ammo reloading bench with a steel top.  I clamped the photo etch armor between the steel work bench and a straight scrap of wood.  It worked well and I was able to put a nice 90 degree bend in the photo etch.  The armor sides fit without any further adjustment.
 

The armored part of the casement consists of photo etched parts.  I have a little experience with small photo etched parts as they are used quite a bit in plastic modelling.  They, however, are usually small parts formed on relatively thin frets.  In comparison, the photo etched armor plates in this mode are quite hefty.  Since I had to alter the forward end of the casement, I had to fit and recut the forward photo etch casement armor.  I did this by using masking tape to mark the cut and used photo etch shears.  I also had to use a small diamond file to smooth edges.  As you will see in close up photos later on my fit was only "so-so".  Here is a picture fitting the forward hull armor.
 
 

I have been able to get some work done since my last post.  After gluing the hull, casement and decking together; the next step was attaching the bulwarks.  They are made from square styrene strips.  The edge of the fore hull and deck was sanded flat (about 1/32 inch wide) and I attached the bulwark with CA.  I found out later that I screwed up and overlooked the aft bulwarks and will have to install later in the process.  Here is a photo of the fore bulwarks (I hope I am saying this properly.  I not proficient in nautical terms).
 

Continuing this hull gluing process I had to glue the upper hull (which is referred to as the casement) to the main deck of the lower (main) hull and then glue the upper decking to the top of the casement.  This actually took a bit more effort than I initially thought.  I measured the plans to determine the placement of the casement on the main deck and used masking tape to mark where the bottome edges of the casement should be placed and then marked the centerline on the tape fore and aft.  Next I checked the placement for the upper deck.  The instructions indicate that the upper deck should overhang the top of the casement.  Side to side this was no problem but fore and aft the top of the casement was substantially longer than the decking.  I had to increase the slope of the fore and aft ends of the casement to shorten the top of the casement without shortening the length of the bottom of the casement.  I used a table top disk sander to accomplish this.  Took my time to insure that I did not introduce any unwanted curves in to the fore and aft casement sides.
 
As with the previous gluing I masked everything before spraying.
 
Below is a photo of the clamped hull, casement and upper deck.  Also a photo of the model as it now sits.  This log is now up-to-date.  I will continue to post as work continues.
 
 

The first major gluing task is to adhere the main deck to the hull.  At this point the edges of the main hull have been sanded to a sharp bevel (except for the aft most section (wich is sanded to a 90 degree angle) and the paddle wheel tunnel.  During this process I test fitted the main deck to insure that there was some overhang all away around the hull.  This is ensure there will be enought material at the edges of the deck to sand to a sharp bevel once the deck has been glued.  I had decided to use a spray contact cement to glue the deck down.  Because it is sprayed, it tends to get everywhere so I masked all areas of the hull and deck that I did not want to get sprayed.  Finally, I clamped the hull and deck and left it to dry overnight.  Following are photos of the deck being fitted to the hull before gluing; the masked hull and finally the hull clamped for drying.  I used some small wooden boards to ensure that all areas of the decked were sufficiently clamped to the hull.
 

The next task was to do some small shaping of the aft end of the hull and build the paddle wheel tunnel.  I then gave the hull a good sanding with 220 grit sand paper.  The following is a photo of the paddle wheel tunnel.
 

As mentioned, I have been working on this model for a few evenings so I will make a few posts to bring you up-to-date on my progress.  The first step was to clear coat the wooden decks.  I used a gloss coating by Createx and brushed it on.  I did have some gloss coating by Tamiya in a rattlecan but I was not sure that they would be compatible with wood.  I coated the decks while still attached to the "fret" so it was quite simple.

I have been away from this forum for a few years.  I put my wooden shipbuilding aside and for a few years I have been working on plastic modelling and building some simple dioramas.  Lots of fun and you definitely improve your airbrushing and painting skills.  I have have had an interest in history for years and have read several books on the Civil War including biographies of Sherman and Grant.  Both mention the "naval" battles along the Mississippi.  I remembered purchasing a couple of model kits for Civil War ships, the Monitor and the USS Cairo; both from BlueJacket.  Sure enough I searched my "stash" and located the USS Cairo kit.  I jumped into building this model about a week ago.  During this first week of building I discovered that what appeared on the surface to be a simple model (low parts count and no planking required) was actually going to be a bit challenging for me.  This brought me back to this site to see if anyone was building the same kit.  I came across the log by Cathead who had just started on the kit.  His comments lead me to start this log.
 
I want to warn any readers of this build log.  I am not an experienced ship builder so as I stumble my way thru the build my solutions to encountered problems may not be the best.  As you read, if you know a better way or got better results; please don't hesitate to comment.  I also hope that when I do encounter problems, the fact that I have started this log will discourage me from just "setting it aside".  Finally, we (my wife and I) own an RV and love to travel; so there may be some breaks in the progress of this log.
 

Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached.  Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.

My photo etch bender was too small to bend the side casement armor.  Luckily, one of the tables in my garage shop was formally an ammo reloading bench with a steel top.  I clamped the photo etch armor between the steel work bench and a straight scrap of wood.  It worked well and I was able to put a nice 90 degree bend in the photo etch.  The armor sides fit without any further adjustment.
 

The armored part of the casement consists of photo etched parts.  I have a little experience with small photo etched parts as they are used quite a bit in plastic modelling.  They, however, are usually small parts formed on relatively thin frets.  In comparison, the photo etched armor plates in this mode are quite hefty.  Since I had to alter the forward end of the casement, I had to fit and recut the forward photo etch casement armor.  I did this by using masking tape to mark the cut and used photo etch shears.  I also had to use a small diamond file to smooth edges.  As you will see in close up photos later on my fit was only "so-so".  Here is a picture fitting the forward hull armor.
 
 

I have been able to get some work done since my last post.  After gluing the hull, casement and decking together; the next step was attaching the bulwarks.  They are made from square styrene strips.  The edge of the fore hull and deck was sanded flat (about 1/32 inch wide) and I attached the bulwark with CA.  I found out later that I screwed up and overlooked the aft bulwarks and will have to install later in the process.  Here is a photo of the fore bulwarks (I hope I am saying this properly.  I not proficient in nautical terms).
 

Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached.  Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.

Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached.  Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.

My photo etch bender was too small to bend the side casement armor.  Luckily, one of the tables in my garage shop was formally an ammo reloading bench with a steel top.  I clamped the photo etch armor between the steel work bench and a straight scrap of wood.  It worked well and I was able to put a nice 90 degree bend in the photo etch.  The armor sides fit without any further adjustment.
 

The armored part of the casement consists of photo etched parts.  I have a little experience with small photo etched parts as they are used quite a bit in plastic modelling.  They, however, are usually small parts formed on relatively thin frets.  In comparison, the photo etched armor plates in this mode are quite hefty.  Since I had to alter the forward end of the casement, I had to fit and recut the forward photo etch casement armor.  I did this by using masking tape to mark the cut and used photo etch shears.  I also had to use a small diamond file to smooth edges.  As you will see in close up photos later on my fit was only "so-so".  Here is a picture fitting the forward hull armor.
 
 

I have been able to get some work done since my last post.  After gluing the hull, casement and decking together; the next step was attaching the bulwarks.  They are made from square styrene strips.  The edge of the fore hull and deck was sanded flat (about 1/32 inch wide) and I attached the bulwark with CA.  I found out later that I screwed up and overlooked the aft bulwarks and will have to install later in the process.  Here is a photo of the fore bulwarks (I hope I am saying this properly.  I not proficient in nautical terms).
 

Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached.  Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.

Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached.  Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.

My photo etch bender was too small to bend the side casement armor.  Luckily, one of the tables in my garage shop was formally an ammo reloading bench with a steel top.  I clamped the photo etch armor between the steel work bench and a straight scrap of wood.  It worked well and I was able to put a nice 90 degree bend in the photo etch.  The armor sides fit without any further adjustment.
 

The armored part of the casement consists of photo etched parts.  I have a little experience with small photo etched parts as they are used quite a bit in plastic modelling.  They, however, are usually small parts formed on relatively thin frets.  In comparison, the photo etched armor plates in this mode are quite hefty.  Since I had to alter the forward end of the casement, I had to fit and recut the forward photo etch casement armor.  I did this by using masking tape to mark the cut and used photo etch shears.  I also had to use a small diamond file to smooth edges.  As you will see in close up photos later on my fit was only "so-so".  Here is a picture fitting the forward hull armor.
 
 

I have been able to get some work done since my last post.  After gluing the hull, casement and decking together; the next step was attaching the bulwarks.  They are made from square styrene strips.  The edge of the fore hull and deck was sanded flat (about 1/32 inch wide) and I attached the bulwark with CA.  I found out later that I screwed up and overlooked the aft bulwarks and will have to install later in the process.  Here is a photo of the fore bulwarks (I hope I am saying this properly.  I not proficient in nautical terms).
 

Continuing this hull gluing process I had to glue the upper hull (which is referred to as the casement) to the main deck of the lower (main) hull and then glue the upper decking to the top of the casement.  This actually took a bit more effort than I initially thought.  I measured the plans to determine the placement of the casement on the main deck and used masking tape to mark where the bottome edges of the casement should be placed and then marked the centerline on the tape fore and aft.  Next I checked the placement for the upper deck.  The instructions indicate that the upper deck should overhang the top of the casement.  Side to side this was no problem but fore and aft the top of the casement was substantially longer than the decking.  I had to increase the slope of the fore and aft ends of the casement to shorten the top of the casement without shortening the length of the bottom of the casement.  I used a table top disk sander to accomplish this.  Took my time to insure that I did not introduce any unwanted curves in to the fore and aft casement sides.
 
As with the previous gluing I masked everything before spraying.
 
Below is a photo of the clamped hull, casement and upper deck.  Also a photo of the model as it now sits.  This log is now up-to-date.  I will continue to post as work continues.
 
 

The first major gluing task is to adhere the main deck to the hull.  At this point the edges of the main hull have been sanded to a sharp bevel (except for the aft most section (wich is sanded to a 90 degree angle) and the paddle wheel tunnel.  During this process I test fitted the main deck to insure that there was some overhang all away around the hull.  This is ensure there will be enought material at the edges of the deck to sand to a sharp bevel once the deck has been glued.  I had decided to use a spray contact cement to glue the deck down.  Because it is sprayed, it tends to get everywhere so I masked all areas of the hull and deck that I did not want to get sprayed.  Finally, I clamped the hull and deck and left it to dry overnight.  Following are photos of the deck being fitted to the hull before gluing; the masked hull and finally the hull clamped for drying.  I used some small wooden boards to ensure that all areas of the decked were sufficiently clamped to the hull.
 

The next task was to do some small shaping of the aft end of the hull and build the paddle wheel tunnel.  I then gave the hull a good sanding with 220 grit sand paper.  The following is a photo of the paddle wheel tunnel.