palmerit

I read those articles when I started, and they are very well written, and I read a number of others, and bought some books, and now they make complete sense to me. But when getting started, I was confused and lost. I learned by trying different things, seeing how they didn't work, and learning from the few times they did work, then going back and rereading some of those articles, and not being afraid to make a mistake. Rinse and repeat. If it looks like garbage - and my first try certainly did - you can use filler and sand and paint. Oh, and the NRG Half Hull helped me understand the geometry. I'm really impressed when I see new builders who are able to get a nice looking planking on the first try. For me, it was a challenge translating the written descriptions and static photos into what needed to be done manually and how the planks needed to be shaped in three dimensions, and figuring out how to do that. Then also trying to figure out how to hold everything in place, especially on the second planking where I couldn't just pin the planks in place. Not being some who has done much with my hands - my day job is as a university professor - it took some more effort for me to figure out how to solve the visual-manual problem. That challenge is one thing I like about this hobby. There's always a new challenge. So @Pitts2112, you're not alone if you read the articles and build logs and still feel like planking is a mystery and it hasn't turned out. Maybe try to cut out some strips from something like a manilla folder so that you just need to bend it around the hull into place. That's essentially what the NRG Half Hull has you do. If you cut out the piece right, it'll lay flat against the frame and not leave a gap. And if the piece is the thickness of a plank, including a taper as needed, you'll essentially have a template for what you're trying to shape with bending and beveling. Some people do that template approach for lots of their planks to get it just right. If the geometry is clear, then it's probably a matter of trying various ways of doing edge bending - water, heat, clamps, forms - maybe a bit of beveling, and lots of patience. Treat each individual plank as a separate project. Good luck.

Planking is probably the hardest part of model ship building. Take a look at my Sherbourne build log - my first kit started, my first planking - and you'll see how terrible a planking can be. But with a lot of filler and sanding - and filler and sanding - and a second planking doing the same - and painting - you can end up with something that looks descent. Each model I build, the planking gets a little better. Maybe some day it'll be good enough to leave the wood bare. I'm sure it'll take me a dozen more models to get there. From what I understand, it's the heat, not the water, that makes the planks bend. Having them wet allows more efficient heat transfer. I haven't tried an iron - I know some some use that - I've used one of these plank benders: https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Plank-Bender-Model-Shipways/dp/B01F0IEUTI/ref=sr_1_1 I just get the outside of the planks a bit wet before using the bender. Note that this plank bender is just a cheap soldering iron with a round head - and it's not really well engineered - but it works. Though nearly every time I use it, I get burned someplace out of carelessness. As you probably say, there are two directions of bending. One is to bend to the natural curve of the hull, such as bending in from the side to the bow. The Amati plank bender comes with a form to help shape those bends. The other - more challenging - are the edge bends. Those are counter intuitive - at least they were to me - but once you get a few shaped right you begin to get a sense of what the planks should look like. The NRG Half Hull planking project also helped get the 3D shape in my mind - even though that kit doesn't use planks. I've pasted how I first tried edge bending with clamps (from my Sherbourne build). I've seen folks who have made jigs and forms to help make it happen. In this example, I'm just clamping. There really should be a piece of wood between the clamp and the plank, and there could be pieces of wood to help with the shaping. Note that I don't just hold the plank like this in shape. I use the plank bender between the clamps, and move the planks around, as I heat the wood. These clamps aren't the best since they have plastic covers and if you touch them with the plank bender they'll melt. If you don't do the edge bending (and taper) you'll likely end up with having the planks lifted off the bulkheads. After doing the edge bending, you can bend (with the plank bender) in the other direction (the bend say from the side of the hull to the bow. A few times I've gotten a plank just right and it fits to the hull like you were adding a shaped piece to a plastic model. Folks that are really good at planking will say that you don't even need clamps if you're doing it right because the pieces just fit into place. And if you do some beveling on the side of the plank, you can get an even tighter fit. I've seen some streams of model kit builds and even experts spend a long time on each plank. I thought I was doing something wrong because I could just take a plank and add it. I could easily spend a half an hour on each plank and still not get it perfect. Hope this helps a little bit.

I use PVA for most things, but sometimes reach for CA (thin and thick). Buy blades by the 100 and replace them often - very often. It makes a big difference. I eventually “graduated” to using non-medical grade scalpel blades. Get a range of sandpaper. I cut some into small square. Sometimes glue pieces to blocks with rubber cement. I use 80-120 when I need to remove a bunch quickly, but carefully. 180-220 as a medium to turn to next. Then 320-400 for fine sanding. You don’t need anything finer unless you’re sanding coats of paint. I like using the thick emery boards used by manicurists. They have come with a different grit on each side. I have probably five different sizes and shapes of clamps. You can also turn binder clips into clamps to hold planks (google it). Rubber bands of various sizes are useful. Keep all the old wood from kits. I often cut them into pieces to use when clamping pieces down. You can never have too many clamps. I find it interesting seeing the creative ways people clamps things into place. A power drill - which most people already have - is useful as a makeshift lathe to shape and sand masts. I wrap paper around the end secure in the chuck to keep the end safe. Small paint brushes are useful not just to paint but to apply PVA glue. Sometime I use tooth picks to apply PVA. I use toothpicks or metal pins to apply CA glue. I never glue anything from a bottle. Just start a build log. It helps people who build a model later and folks might follow if it’s a model they’ve built and could pop in to comment or answer a question. I do build logs for me, trying to talk about challenges I had, giving caution if a model has an issue or a hiccup. Some build logs are very tutorial. Others like mine are verbose here and there but sometimes just a few photos since with some steps there is not much to talk about.

Squaring up the display stand and I shaped and added holes and cleats to the mast.

Been painting this one (while also painting my Scow Schooner). I’m doing the deck and upper sides a simple Off-White (Vallejo Air 71.270). Probably doing the bottom and bottom half of the sides a red shade, which I have not yet chosen. I might do a custom blend for that. The inside is largely done - with a few coats of Zinsser Amber Shellac - but it’s masked off.

I’ve been making a bit of slow progress on this model, even if I haven’t added any posts. I added the cabin - which you can’t see because I have it and the desk masked off - and doing some painting of the hull. A couple more airbrushed coats to go. For the hull I chose a Vallejo Model Air Pale Green 71.095. It looked nice with the Vallejo Model Air Yellow Ochre 71.033 that will be used in various other places. Other colors will be some Off-White 71.270 and Black 71.057, maybe a couple others.

The half hull is probably (?) a quicker build, if that's a factor in the decision. Doing the half hull really did help me understand the proper shapes of planks you're trying to achieve when you need to do edge bending. The half hull is a bit "weird" in the sense that you don't use planks, like 95% of kits use, but cut planks out from flat sheets of basswood from templates you draw out using tape or tag board applied to the model. I guess in that sense doing this makes it even more obvious what kind of share you're trying to achieve when you have planks and need to do edge bending.

Note for other builders: 1-2-3 block make for great weights like this. Just note that when new they often are well-oiled to prevent rusting and even if you clean off the outside, oil can still seep out from the holes in the blocks and stain wood. Thankfully for me I learned that when building a Syren serving machine, not a model.

Right. That's why I have several models I'm working on at once - I now have five, which is probably too many. I can do something on one model - and let it sit, say waiting for planks to dry while shaping, paint to dry, glue to dry - and move on to something else on another model. I know there are ways to speed up all these things and maybe rush and not negatively impact the build, but having multiple models at once for me has let me be impatient because I can just set one model aside and move on to another one.

Didn't think of that and I can't remember the building steps. My bet is that the subfloor planking is in the way and will not permit gluing from the front, but I could be wrong.

Did you try using a super thin CA (super) glue? It can wick into narrow seams and you can push down with something other than your fingers. Not regular CA glue. Bob Smith is a recommended brand and they make super thin varieties, some of which are specifically designed to wick like that. ZAP also makes a thin CA glue. I never knew there was such thing as a super thin CA glue until I started building wooden ship models. I tend to avoid CA glue and prefer wood glue, but the super thin certainly has its uses (and CA glue or epoxy is needed to glue things other than wood). Depending on how wide the gap is, you can also dab a very thin piece of wire or a very thin pin into the thin CA glue - it'll wick to the metal - and use that to "inject" the CA glue into the gap. You'll certainly need to do some additional coats of paint after you make the repair.

On that last photo you posted, I assume the planks need to curve up and around to the bottom edge of transom? If so, I imagine it's a challenge to get that tight curve right and to then have the planks transition down to the stern post. Are you planning to do shorter lengths of planks? While I have this kit in my stash, I'm waiting to start it until I get through the simpler models I've accumulated (and feel more comfortable to take on the added challenge).

@robert952 Thanks for the comments. I did bevel both ends on the stem posts and beveled the bottom of each plank to get the angle to follow the shape of the building frame - far more of a bevel as I've worked up (technically down) the hull. I currently have several different models I'm working on in semi-parallel fashion - though the Gunboat Philadelphia is on the back burner for now because it is fairly large. So for me it's fine to just do a plank every day or two. I'll probably go add my plank for the evening in a little bit. By contrast, I can spend hours working on one or two of the other kits. With the peabod, it seems I can't really do more than one plank at a time given all the rubber bands and clamps I need to put into place. That's perfectly fine for a fifth model on my table - well not physically on my table, it's near my table when I'm not working on it. I can't imagine in one evening adding more than one plank to the peapod. I could add a dozen planks to the Vanguard Lady Isabel I am also now building in one sitting on a Saturday - at least if I did not have a bathroom remodeling project I promised my wife I'd have finished over a year ago that has been taking up my weekends and some evenings. My impressions about the difficulty were really more for a true novice looking for a model kit to get started with. There's a bit of a calibration to wooden model ships that is different from other kinds of models. Any adult could - with some patience perhaps - build the most difficult Lego Technic model out there. Most adults could build with a bit of effort - maybe not exquisitely painted - all but the most difficult and fiddly plastic model with tons of PE parts (and perhaps not ones with particular poor instructions and perhaps not the Heller plastic ship models). The same is not true for a wooden model ship. When I first discovered this hobby a little over a year ago, if I had not discovered modelshipworld I probably would have used my knowledge of Lego and plastic models to pick something in the middle of the range, assuming that a Level 1 or Level 2, or Novice or Beginner kit, were for 8-12 year olds. It would be easy for a novice to see this little wooden boat and think it was an easy build. And yes, a Lego ship in a Bottle does count. I'm counting the Lego Endurance I built last winter.

I had reviewed your build log but had missed the bobby pin and rubber band trick. I'm going to borrow that one.

Did you also check out Vanguard Models? Beautiful and great as a first model (the Novice kits). Great materials, detailed instructions, lots of build logs here. My first was their Sherbourne.

I end up doing a lot of slight repositioning of planks while adding various clamps - and can only glue to the plank edges - so I think superglue would be a real mess in my hands (literally and figuratively). I’m struggling a bit to make that turn. I shaped the bottom of the planks a bit at an angle, which helps. I clamp to keep the hull following the shape of the build structure and clamp to try to avoid too much clinker effect. I’m hoping it won’t be too much that a sanding can’t smooth out. We’ll see. I have no idea how I’ll clamp when I get closer to the bottom board. The kind of just says “add planks” with no pointers. I’m astounded people could build these before the age of the internet. Maybe that’s why there were probably more model clubs back then. Our “clubs” now are virtual.

I wonder how many beginners have bought this little boat for their first model and given up. It is a “Skill Level 2” but I could imagine an adult thinking surely a Skill Level 1 is for a child. This little model is quite the challenge - in an interesting way - with the dozens of thin planks that need to be shaped carefully. I do about a plank every day or two. It’s a good second or third or fifth model to have in the mix at the same time. I have no clue how someone could just plunge ahead on it for hours at a stretch.

I use Renaissance (conservator's) Wax because a bunch of people recommended it over beeswax. I'm no expert, but the posts say that beeswax is acidic and attracts dust, whereas the conservator's wax dries clear, is neutral pH, and does not attract dust. It's expensive but you use only a tiny bit of it. I have no expertise on this. Just passing along what I've read.

If you use glue - I do - check what color it dries to when it’s going to be exposed, like on rigging. I put a drop of different glues I had on a card and left them to dry - including both “white” glues and “yellow” glues. Only a white bookbinders glue dried completely clear: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RV5VW2T Even some of the other white glues I have dried kind of opaque. I use this (more expensive) book binders glue when the dried glue might show (like on rigging).

Right. Amazon has some for $15-20.

Did you - will you - put something along the top raw cut end of the copper plates? I've seen various approaches - leaving it raw, add a rope along the edge, cut a thin strip of copper alone the edge.

Maybe try putting "1/350 Trumpeter Graf Spee" in the title? You might also try to direct message anyone who has built this particular model (google "trumpeter Graf Spee site:modelshipworld.com" and you'll find some) - click the messages icon in the upper right corner to get to where you can direct message members.

In my earlier posts asking about this I think wefalck said that it can take some time for acrylic paint to cure, so sanding too soon can kind of defeat the purpose of using it as a sealer coat. It can take weeks for it to fully cure.

A lot of people use bondo (when painted over). It dries hard but is easy to sand. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007ZG9TO?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title For things I’m painting over I use Elmer’s wood filler. Also hard and fairly easy to sand. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000BQTXQK?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title I use the sawdust and glue when it’s something that will not be painted over. I think wall joint compound would be too brittle.

I also found the stern area to be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, the final result in my built was painted, which could cover over many of the rough spots after some filler.