rcmdrvr

With the paddlewheels and housing complete it was time to move to the cabin and pilot house.  This deck structure was a relatively straight forward build until I got to the pilot house.  This rounded section of the structure consists of a "sandwich" of three separate parts.  There is a photoetch piece that is on the inside which are the frames that would have held the glass in the forward windows.  Next there is a 1/32 sheet piece of basswood that contains the window frames and finally there is a paper piece that is the decorative surface on the exterior.  All of these three pieces must be "bent" around the forward end of the housing which is a pretty sharp bend.  In addition the window portions of these pieces must be properly aligned such that the window supports of the bass and paper line up and the glass photo etch frames are centered in each window.  I struggled for days with this task.  Soaking the basswood sheet and bending around the base of the structure was not too difficult.  I did have to add a roof piece to get the basswood to maintain its shape.  Next came the photo etch on the inside.  I could not get the piece to line up with the windows in the bent basswood so I had to cut the larger piece into individual window pieces and after alot of trial fitting I achieved a result I deemed acceptable.  The last struggle was with the paper piece that was to be glued to the exterior.  Again, I could not achieve proper alignment of the windows.  I end up cutting out the window frames in the basswood, applying the paper piece and then replacing the supports I had removed.  I hope all of this makes some sense.  In summary, the pilot house part of the assembly was not fun.
 
After completing the pilot house, I discovered that I had some how mis-aligned something and the drive shaft holes in the cabin did not line up with the drive shaft hoses in the paddle wheel structure.  A bit of cutting, fitting and drilling cured this issue.  I painted the structure white before epoxing to the deck.  This exposed another issue.  The deck has been "etched" to show where all the structures are positioned.  In the case of the cabin and pilothouse; no matter how I positioned the structure; some of the etching peeked out from under the structure. 
 
The final step to completing this structure was to add some windows, vents and the funnel.  The windows and vents are no problem but the funnel took a bit more time.  The funnel is essentially paper rolled around a dowel.  This actually went pretty smooth.  Before painting you add a steam escape pipe and a whistle.  These parts are made from "britiannia" metal.  They are very poorly cast.  I was able to scrape and file and get the whistle to look like a whistle but the steam escape pipe was a diaster and ended up in the trash.  I constructed another steam escape pipe using brass wire, a small piece of wood dowel and some brass rings.
 
Well it is the structure is complete, I think it is OK....you be the judge.
 
 

With the paddlewheels and housing complete it was time to move to the cabin and pilot house.  This deck structure was a relatively straight forward build until I got to the pilot house.  This rounded section of the structure consists of a "sandwich" of three separate parts.  There is a photoetch piece that is on the inside which are the frames that would have held the glass in the forward windows.  Next there is a 1/32 sheet piece of basswood that contains the window frames and finally there is a paper piece that is the decorative surface on the exterior.  All of these three pieces must be "bent" around the forward end of the housing which is a pretty sharp bend.  In addition the window portions of these pieces must be properly aligned such that the window supports of the bass and paper line up and the glass photo etch frames are centered in each window.  I struggled for days with this task.  Soaking the basswood sheet and bending around the base of the structure was not too difficult.  I did have to add a roof piece to get the basswood to maintain its shape.  Next came the photo etch on the inside.  I could not get the piece to line up with the windows in the bent basswood so I had to cut the larger piece into individual window pieces and after alot of trial fitting I achieved a result I deemed acceptable.  The last struggle was with the paper piece that was to be glued to the exterior.  Again, I could not achieve proper alignment of the windows.  I end up cutting out the window frames in the basswood, applying the paper piece and then replacing the supports I had removed.  I hope all of this makes some sense.  In summary, the pilot house part of the assembly was not fun.
 
After completing the pilot house, I discovered that I had some how mis-aligned something and the drive shaft holes in the cabin did not line up with the drive shaft hoses in the paddle wheel structure.  A bit of cutting, fitting and drilling cured this issue.  I painted the structure white before epoxing to the deck.  This exposed another issue.  The deck has been "etched" to show where all the structures are positioned.  In the case of the cabin and pilothouse; no matter how I positioned the structure; some of the etching peeked out from under the structure. 
 
The final step to completing this structure was to add some windows, vents and the funnel.  The windows and vents are no problem but the funnel took a bit more time.  The funnel is essentially paper rolled around a dowel.  This actually went pretty smooth.  Before painting you add a steam escape pipe and a whistle.  These parts are made from "britiannia" metal.  They are very poorly cast.  I was able to scrape and file and get the whistle to look like a whistle but the steam escape pipe was a diaster and ended up in the trash.  I constructed another steam escape pipe using brass wire, a small piece of wood dowel and some brass rings.
 
Well it is the structure is complete, I think it is OK....you be the judge.
 
 

With the paddlewheels and housing complete it was time to move to the cabin and pilot house.  This deck structure was a relatively straight forward build until I got to the pilot house.  This rounded section of the structure consists of a "sandwich" of three separate parts.  There is a photoetch piece that is on the inside which are the frames that would have held the glass in the forward windows.  Next there is a 1/32 sheet piece of basswood that contains the window frames and finally there is a paper piece that is the decorative surface on the exterior.  All of these three pieces must be "bent" around the forward end of the housing which is a pretty sharp bend.  In addition the window portions of these pieces must be properly aligned such that the window supports of the bass and paper line up and the glass photo etch frames are centered in each window.  I struggled for days with this task.  Soaking the basswood sheet and bending around the base of the structure was not too difficult.  I did have to add a roof piece to get the basswood to maintain its shape.  Next came the photo etch on the inside.  I could not get the piece to line up with the windows in the bent basswood so I had to cut the larger piece into individual window pieces and after alot of trial fitting I achieved a result I deemed acceptable.  The last struggle was with the paper piece that was to be glued to the exterior.  Again, I could not achieve proper alignment of the windows.  I end up cutting out the window frames in the basswood, applying the paper piece and then replacing the supports I had removed.  I hope all of this makes some sense.  In summary, the pilot house part of the assembly was not fun.
 
After completing the pilot house, I discovered that I had some how mis-aligned something and the drive shaft holes in the cabin did not line up with the drive shaft hoses in the paddle wheel structure.  A bit of cutting, fitting and drilling cured this issue.  I painted the structure white before epoxing to the deck.  This exposed another issue.  The deck has been "etched" to show where all the structures are positioned.  In the case of the cabin and pilothouse; no matter how I positioned the structure; some of the etching peeked out from under the structure. 
 
The final step to completing this structure was to add some windows, vents and the funnel.  The windows and vents are no problem but the funnel took a bit more time.  The funnel is essentially paper rolled around a dowel.  This actually went pretty smooth.  Before painting you add a steam escape pipe and a whistle.  These parts are made from "britiannia" metal.  They are very poorly cast.  I was able to scrape and file and get the whistle to look like a whistle but the steam escape pipe was a diaster and ended up in the trash.  I constructed another steam escape pipe using brass wire, a small piece of wood dowel and some brass rings.
 
Well it is the structure is complete, I think it is OK....you be the judge.
 
 

With the paddlewheels and housing complete it was time to move to the cabin and pilot house.  This deck structure was a relatively straight forward build until I got to the pilot house.  This rounded section of the structure consists of a "sandwich" of three separate parts.  There is a photoetch piece that is on the inside which are the frames that would have held the glass in the forward windows.  Next there is a 1/32 sheet piece of basswood that contains the window frames and finally there is a paper piece that is the decorative surface on the exterior.  All of these three pieces must be "bent" around the forward end of the housing which is a pretty sharp bend.  In addition the window portions of these pieces must be properly aligned such that the window supports of the bass and paper line up and the glass photo etch frames are centered in each window.  I struggled for days with this task.  Soaking the basswood sheet and bending around the base of the structure was not too difficult.  I did have to add a roof piece to get the basswood to maintain its shape.  Next came the photo etch on the inside.  I could not get the piece to line up with the windows in the bent basswood so I had to cut the larger piece into individual window pieces and after alot of trial fitting I achieved a result I deemed acceptable.  The last struggle was with the paper piece that was to be glued to the exterior.  Again, I could not achieve proper alignment of the windows.  I end up cutting out the window frames in the basswood, applying the paper piece and then replacing the supports I had removed.  I hope all of this makes some sense.  In summary, the pilot house part of the assembly was not fun.
 
After completing the pilot house, I discovered that I had some how mis-aligned something and the drive shaft holes in the cabin did not line up with the drive shaft hoses in the paddle wheel structure.  A bit of cutting, fitting and drilling cured this issue.  I painted the structure white before epoxing to the deck.  This exposed another issue.  The deck has been "etched" to show where all the structures are positioned.  In the case of the cabin and pilothouse; no matter how I positioned the structure; some of the etching peeked out from under the structure. 
 
The final step to completing this structure was to add some windows, vents and the funnel.  The windows and vents are no problem but the funnel took a bit more time.  The funnel is essentially paper rolled around a dowel.  This actually went pretty smooth.  Before painting you add a steam escape pipe and a whistle.  These parts are made from "britiannia" metal.  They are very poorly cast.  I was able to scrape and file and get the whistle to look like a whistle but the steam escape pipe was a diaster and ended up in the trash.  I constructed another steam escape pipe using brass wire, a small piece of wood dowel and some brass rings.
 
Well it is the structure is complete, I think it is OK....you be the judge.
 
 

Those look really great!

It was now time to complete building of the upper paddlewheel housing and affix these structures to the hull.  Again, I was pleased with the fitting of the pieces.  A bit of sanding of the joints between the housing and the water closets was required.  There are a few photoetch pieces that decorate the upper housing but they fit well.  Just follow the directions, take your time and all should go well.  Once attached there is a "paper" facade that is glued to the inside of the wheelhouse and down to the decking.  It will take a few moments to trim the wood you placed around the base of the bulwarks but this is not a difficult task.  Once everything is mounted; paint is the next step.  I painted white first.  I masked the deck and bulwarks and brush painted.  Next I masked the white area of the wheel housing and brush painted black.  Overall, I am pleased with the effort.
 

It was now time to complete building of the upper paddlewheel housing and affix these structures to the hull.  Again, I was pleased with the fitting of the pieces.  A bit of sanding of the joints between the housing and the water closets was required.  There are a few photoetch pieces that decorate the upper housing but they fit well.  Just follow the directions, take your time and all should go well.  Once attached there is a "paper" facade that is glued to the inside of the wheelhouse and down to the decking.  It will take a few moments to trim the wood you placed around the base of the bulwarks but this is not a difficult task.  Once everything is mounted; paint is the next step.  I painted white first.  I masked the deck and bulwarks and brush painted.  Next I masked the white area of the wheel housing and brush painted black.  Overall, I am pleased with the effort.
 

It was now time to complete building of the upper paddlewheel housing and affix these structures to the hull.  Again, I was pleased with the fitting of the pieces.  A bit of sanding of the joints between the housing and the water closets was required.  There are a few photoetch pieces that decorate the upper housing but they fit well.  Just follow the directions, take your time and all should go well.  Once attached there is a "paper" facade that is glued to the inside of the wheelhouse and down to the decking.  It will take a few moments to trim the wood you placed around the base of the bulwarks but this is not a difficult task.  Once everything is mounted; paint is the next step.  I painted white first.  I masked the deck and bulwarks and brush painted.  Next I masked the white area of the wheel housing and brush painted black.  Overall, I am pleased with the effort.
 

It was now time to complete building of the upper paddlewheel housing and affix these structures to the hull.  Again, I was pleased with the fitting of the pieces.  A bit of sanding of the joints between the housing and the water closets was required.  There are a few photoetch pieces that decorate the upper housing but they fit well.  Just follow the directions, take your time and all should go well.  Once attached there is a "paper" facade that is glued to the inside of the wheelhouse and down to the decking.  It will take a few moments to trim the wood you placed around the base of the bulwarks but this is not a difficult task.  Once everything is mounted; paint is the next step.  I painted white first.  I masked the deck and bulwarks and brush painted.  Next I masked the white area of the wheel housing and brush painted black.  Overall, I am pleased with the effort.
 

Impressive.

Nice model.  Your paint work is very good.

Get used to re-do's.  Mistakes and other overlooked issues are very common.  Fixing or re-doing is part of the fun.......I guess.

Impressive.

Get used to re-do's.  Mistakes and other overlooked issues are very common.  Fixing or re-doing is part of the fun.......I guess.

Have a safe drive back to Connecticut.  In a week or so my wife and I will be leaving on our Spring RV trip.  Just waiting for temperatures up north to moderate a bit.  Will be on the road 7 or 8 weeks.  

Really nice build log.  Lots of instructional photos.  Keep up the good work!

I have not posted for a few days but work has continued.  I spent quite several nights filling holes and cracks and sanding the hull.  After the first round of filling and sanding; I applied a clear, acrylic sealer and let it dry.  This seemed to "stiffen" the hull planks and make it easier to fill the smaller cracks and holes.  Next I primed the hull, gave it a final sanding with 320 grit and marked the waterline.  While I admire the copper bottom that SalD applied; I decided to go with a hull red paint that was included with the kit combo package from Model Expo.  I carefully masked off the water line using Tamiya flexible masking tape and brushed on the Model Expo paint.  It is quite "creamy" but I decided not to thin.  It went on smoothly and flowed well.  I was happy with the finish.  I also primed and gave a single coat of white to the inner bulwarks and then stopped.   I decided that I would wait until the decking was installed before completing painting the bulwarks.
     Next came construction of the exterior hull pieces that will make up the lower and upper paddlewheels.  For the first time I ran into some difficulty with understanding the instruction booklet.  I came up with a few questions regarding positioning of various parts that the photos just did not do justice.  I looked at the build logs of a couple of Harriet Lanes in this forum and they were quite helpful.  Being able to look at other builds of your current build is a HUGE help.   I also deviated from the recommended paint scheme of the lower paddlewheels.  The booklet and kit photos call for the entire structure to be painted black.  I decided to paint the wheels red and the paddles brown to simulate a natural wood finish.  Not scale; but I like the way the paddlewheels stand out from the hull.
     With the lower paddlewheels installed; I began work on the deck.  This task was both easier and more difficult that I expected.  A lot of very careful fitting and shaving is required.  This was the first time I ran into a kit piece that did not fit well.  I wish Model Shipways had made the decking pieces a bit oversized and let me do the fitting.  Once the decking was installed I ran a strip at the bottom of the bulwarks to "hide" the gaps that had appeared.  Not perfect; but I am satisfied.  The last step was to give the bulwarks a final sanding and then several coats of white paint.  Quite a bit of masking is required.
     I have kind of hit a milestone.  The hull and main decking is complete.  From here forward most everything else I build will be built above the deck.
 

Work continues.  Thought I would post a few photos of the planking process.  The planking in this kit is laser cut on 1/32" sheet.  This really cuts down on the cutting, fitting and shaping.  Each strake (there are 10) consists of 3 pieces (fore, aft and center).  Generally the fore and aft pieces require soaking in water before fitting on the hull.  I used a 1" diameter PVC pipe, plugged at one end, tipped on end (vertical) and filled with water.   Just drop each planking piece into the tube to soak.  Worked well.  I soaked the fore and aft pieces for about 10 minutes before fitting and gluing to the hull.  I used CA for the adhesive.  I did have a bit of trouble with the some of the planking bowing between the frames.  I tried steaming or adding a reinforcing piece behind the bows.  This worked most of the time but there are still areas that are slightly bowed.  Hopefully this will not be too conspicuous.
 
The next step was to cover the planked hull with spackling paste and sand, sand, sand.  I used spackling paste because it is inexpensive and sands easily.  Next step, plank the inner bulwark.  This went very easily until I reached the stern where the curve is quite severe.  The provided pieces (again, 1/32" sheet) were soaked about 20 minutes and then carefully bent around the curve.  I did not use heat, just slow bending by pressing the pieces against the bulwark.  Some triming at each end was required.  I cemented these pieces by brushing alphic resin (wood glue) on the piece.
 
  The following photos are of the hull during the planking process, the first round of spacking and sanding and fitting of the inner bulwark planking:
 
 

Having completed the hull bulkhead and spine assembly, the bulwark and bulwark fill was the next step.  Again, the instructions were pretty clear and most of the provided wood was adequate.  You first wrap the bow and sides of the hull with 1/32 inch strips that are about 1/2 inch in width.  I soaked the port and starboard bow strips for about 5 minutes in water and then used CA to attach to the hull.  No problems.
 
The port and starboard aft pieces did not require any soaking.  Again, CA glue was used.
 
The bass sheeting that wraps around the stern presented a bit more of a problem.  I soaked the wood pieces provided and then used a curling iron to set a basic bend in the pieces.  It looked pretty good until it dried.  The pieces shrunk and twisted and looked horrible.  I was tempted to remove them and start over until I realized that a second piece was wrapped around the curve on the inside.   Again I soaked the inner pieces in water and then carefully bent them (by hand, no curling iron).  I left the original two outer pieces glued to the hull but split them with a knife so that they could be lengthened as I carefully glued the new inner pieces in place.  I did not use CA during this process.  I relied on good ole white glue.  Well, the stern is not perfect but I deemed it acceptable.
 
The final steps in this process was to glue 1/32 bulwark inner strips around the entire hull and "plane" the bulkheads flush with these inner strips.  Except for breaking a few bulkheads during the planing process, this went pretty well.  Now I am ready to begin plank the rest of the hull.  Wish me luck.

I have completed my Moncongus Bay Lobster Smack and my Harriet Lane kit has arrived.  I guess it is time to get started on a new build.  The Harriet Lane has been a model I have eyed for quite awhile.  Model Shipways had a small solid hull model of the Harriet years ago but it somehow disappeared before I could acquire it.  The period when ships were evolving from wood and sail to metal and steam power has always intrigued me; so this should be an interesting build.  I do not plan to provide tons of photos and detailed descriptions of my build.  I will leave that for the more expert modellers and photographers.  I will try to provide photos of my progress and comments regarding the build as it relates to a modeller of my skill level.  This is advertised as an "advanced" kit and I am not an "advanced" builder; so I expect I will make a few (if not a lot) of screw-ups along the way.  Hopefully, I will learn a few things and maybe alert other modellers of pitfalls.
 
The kit came in a the familiar blue box and contained what looks to be a comprehensive instruction booklet and several plan sheets.  All the wood was in good condition and there were no obvious warps, cracks or other defects.  The laser cutting looks excellent.  Of course the model begins with building the hull skeleton by gluing bulkheads to a center spine.  The instructions do an excellent job of guiding the builder through this process.  I dry fitted everything as I progressed.  Only a little sanding was required to get tight fits.  When positioning a bulkhead for gluing; I used lego blocks.  They work great to help you align your parts.  I tacked parts in place with CA and then went back over the structure with wood glue.  All-in-all a couple of very enjoyable evenings with this model.
 
A few more parts and I will begin the process of fairing the bulkheads.....a task I find intimidating.
 
 

A beautiful model.

A beautiful model.

I have not posted for a few days but work has continued.  I spent quite several nights filling holes and cracks and sanding the hull.  After the first round of filling and sanding; I applied a clear, acrylic sealer and let it dry.  This seemed to "stiffen" the hull planks and make it easier to fill the smaller cracks and holes.  Next I primed the hull, gave it a final sanding with 320 grit and marked the waterline.  While I admire the copper bottom that SalD applied; I decided to go with a hull red paint that was included with the kit combo package from Model Expo.  I carefully masked off the water line using Tamiya flexible masking tape and brushed on the Model Expo paint.  It is quite "creamy" but I decided not to thin.  It went on smoothly and flowed well.  I was happy with the finish.  I also primed and gave a single coat of white to the inner bulwarks and then stopped.   I decided that I would wait until the decking was installed before completing painting the bulwarks.
     Next came construction of the exterior hull pieces that will make up the lower and upper paddlewheels.  For the first time I ran into some difficulty with understanding the instruction booklet.  I came up with a few questions regarding positioning of various parts that the photos just did not do justice.  I looked at the build logs of a couple of Harriet Lanes in this forum and they were quite helpful.  Being able to look at other builds of your current build is a HUGE help.   I also deviated from the recommended paint scheme of the lower paddlewheels.  The booklet and kit photos call for the entire structure to be painted black.  I decided to paint the wheels red and the paddles brown to simulate a natural wood finish.  Not scale; but I like the way the paddlewheels stand out from the hull.
     With the lower paddlewheels installed; I began work on the deck.  This task was both easier and more difficult that I expected.  A lot of very careful fitting and shaving is required.  This was the first time I ran into a kit piece that did not fit well.  I wish Model Shipways had made the decking pieces a bit oversized and let me do the fitting.  Once the decking was installed I ran a strip at the bottom of the bulwarks to "hide" the gaps that had appeared.  Not perfect; but I am satisfied.  The last step was to give the bulwarks a final sanding and then several coats of white paint.  Quite a bit of masking is required.
     I have kind of hit a milestone.  The hull and main decking is complete.  From here forward most everything else I build will be built above the deck.
 

Have a safe drive back to Connecticut.  In a week or so my wife and I will be leaving on our Spring RV trip.  Just waiting for temperatures up north to moderate a bit.  Will be on the road 7 or 8 weeks.  

I have not posted for a few days but work has continued.  I spent quite several nights filling holes and cracks and sanding the hull.  After the first round of filling and sanding; I applied a clear, acrylic sealer and let it dry.  This seemed to "stiffen" the hull planks and make it easier to fill the smaller cracks and holes.  Next I primed the hull, gave it a final sanding with 320 grit and marked the waterline.  While I admire the copper bottom that SalD applied; I decided to go with a hull red paint that was included with the kit combo package from Model Expo.  I carefully masked off the water line using Tamiya flexible masking tape and brushed on the Model Expo paint.  It is quite "creamy" but I decided not to thin.  It went on smoothly and flowed well.  I was happy with the finish.  I also primed and gave a single coat of white to the inner bulwarks and then stopped.   I decided that I would wait until the decking was installed before completing painting the bulwarks.
     Next came construction of the exterior hull pieces that will make up the lower and upper paddlewheels.  For the first time I ran into some difficulty with understanding the instruction booklet.  I came up with a few questions regarding positioning of various parts that the photos just did not do justice.  I looked at the build logs of a couple of Harriet Lanes in this forum and they were quite helpful.  Being able to look at other builds of your current build is a HUGE help.   I also deviated from the recommended paint scheme of the lower paddlewheels.  The booklet and kit photos call for the entire structure to be painted black.  I decided to paint the wheels red and the paddles brown to simulate a natural wood finish.  Not scale; but I like the way the paddlewheels stand out from the hull.
     With the lower paddlewheels installed; I began work on the deck.  This task was both easier and more difficult that I expected.  A lot of very careful fitting and shaving is required.  This was the first time I ran into a kit piece that did not fit well.  I wish Model Shipways had made the decking pieces a bit oversized and let me do the fitting.  Once the decking was installed I ran a strip at the bottom of the bulwarks to "hide" the gaps that had appeared.  Not perfect; but I am satisfied.  The last step was to give the bulwarks a final sanding and then several coats of white paint.  Quite a bit of masking is required.
     I have kind of hit a milestone.  The hull and main decking is complete.  From here forward most everything else I build will be built above the deck.