David Lester

Here is some progress on 'pre-coppering'.  As with my HMS Vanguard, I have put a boundary (there is probably a nautical term for it) for the copper and the waterline.  First, a waterline marker was used to pencil the line.  Flexible tape was then applied  along the penciled line.  Soaked 1mm x 1mm timber was butted up against the tape with the following result.  The copper sheeting will (I hope) butt up smoothly to the boundary timber.
 
Here is the tape applied, and a close look will show the penciled water line.
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
Tape removed -

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

That's looking great, Andy. What a beautiful ship.
David

That's looking great, Andy. What a beautiful ship.
David

Yesterday I glued the bow portion of the port upper hull piece to the hull after sanding the front edge so the openings lined up. I have to say having those holes in the pieces so you can align them with the brass pins is just brilliant. Thanks @chris watton! It just makes aligning those pieces so much easier. Today I glued the rest of that piece to the hull. I needed lots of clamps, including longer reach clamps to make sure the bottom edge was held tight to the hull until the glue set. I had a couple and I modified some others with pieces of basswood which worked great.
 

 
When this dries I'll do the same thing to the starboard side piece.

I have been able to resist my normal "bish bash bosh" building method so far and I am trying to take much more time and care with my V2 build.
 
For the last couple of days I have been fairing the hull. I started this process by using my rotary tool to remove the excess material from vertical gun port strips. It was then a case of using 120 grit sandpaper in conjunction with my Amati Special Cleaner B7140 and florey sanding sticks to  fair the hull. It took quite a bit of effort to sand the areas where the gun port strips crossed the bulkheads smooth, i.e. so there was no laser char.

 
I only broke one of the jig holding ears during the fairing process, as can be seen below (J10)

 
I have tried a few planks around the bow area and as far as I can I have good contact between the planks and bulkheads

 
The stern area

 
I have also fitted the stern cabin bulkhead and stern cabin seat patterns. Although this is not going to be visible once the quarterdeck has been fitted I debated adding some panelling to enhance the stern cabin bulkhead and stern cabin seat but in the end I opted for a WOP coat followed with a walnut paint finish.

 
I then clamped the upper hull side patterns to the hull from midships to stern. I then took the stern fascia panel and added some tape 2mm below the top edge and clamped the fascia panel to  the hull.
 
This needs a slight adjustment as the fascia needs to be raised up a bit on this side.

 
This side also needs a slight adjustment as it is a fraction too high at the moment.

 
I also clamped the upper stern counter to the fascia panel. This will enable me to workout the position of the lower counter pattern. I need to remove some laser char before I can add some pencil marks to indicate the where the lower counter will be positioned.

With my V1 build complete, I am not adding the masts, yards and rigging I have been making slow and steady progress on my V2 build which will be rigged. So far on the V2 build I have avoided many of the silly errors I made on my V1 build. 
 
I have reached the stage of soaking and clamping the upper hull side patterns to the hull, which will be left overnight to dry.

 
I have done some checks and marked the correct position of the lower stern counter. To do this I clamped the stern fascia to the hull, ensuring it sat 2mm above the bulwark pattern as per steps 149, 202 and 313 of the build manual.

 
I then added the upper counter pattern followed by the lower counter pattern.

 
By taking much more time and care I believe I will not repeat my V1 build errors on the V2 build. Click on the following link for my V2 build log
 
V2 Build Log

Good Morning,
I have been working away at the upper planking. This is a slow process, as the planks have to be fitted between the gun ports, allowing for a small rabbet.
 
I made two plugs that fit into the ports and have an outer frame that accommodates the rabbet.
 

 
This system seems to be working pretty well. I fit the plank against the first plug. With it cut to a rough oversized length, I then take tiny amounts off until it fits snugly against the second plug.
 

 

 

 
Everything is moving along well; it's just slow going. I will need to make two more plugs for the next row of gun ports as they are a bit smaller than the lower ones. The ones at the top do not have the rabbet, so that will seem very easy.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David

Yeah, the copper looks bright, but I don't think I'm going to worry about it. It will dull down a bit over time. Here's a current picture of my Prince de Neufchatel, which I did a couple of years ago and its copper is dulling down as time goes on.

 
On the other hand, I do have some matte varnish. I could do a test patch (somewhere other than on the model) and see what that looks like, and then I'll have to think about it before applying it, because I have a bad habit of "fixing" things, only to wake up in the middle of night with regret and having to resist not getting up and "re-fixing" it immediately.
 
Thanks guys,
David

Hello Yves,
This product is called Venture Tape MasterFoil Plus Copper Foil by 3M. It comes in several widths. This one is 1/4". I'm not sure how thick it is, but it's pretty thin. It's self-adhesive and comes with a paper backing that you peel off. I use one of those cutting tools, like Chop-It from MicroMark, to cut it into lengths of about 3/4".
 
This tape is sometimes hard to find. I have only ever found it at stained glass suppliers but they don't all seem to carry it. There is a similar one called Edco which some suppliers carry. I have some of it as well. It's virtually identical to the Venture Tape, but is perhaps just a bit thinner.
 
It isn't too difficult to work with, because it's quite forgiving. You can vary the overlap just slightly to account for the curves in the hull. Also if  you ruin one, you can easily scrap it without worrying about running out. You can get about 1700 of them from one roll.
 
I don't think you have to do anything special to the hull, but you want it to be as smooth as possible because imperfections will show through the tape. I just put a coat of matte varnish on the hull before applying the tape. It sticks really well. The tape is a bit shiny, so I'm going to experiment with coating it with a matte finish to quiet it down.
 
The individual plates that many kits provide give great looking results if they're skillfully applied, but I found it really hard to do. I think it's a little easier to get an acceptable result with the tape approach.
Thanks,
David

Hello Yves,
This product is called Venture Tape MasterFoil Plus Copper Foil by 3M. It comes in several widths. This one is 1/4". I'm not sure how thick it is, but it's pretty thin. It's self-adhesive and comes with a paper backing that you peel off. I use one of those cutting tools, like Chop-It from MicroMark, to cut it into lengths of about 3/4".
 
This tape is sometimes hard to find. I have only ever found it at stained glass suppliers but they don't all seem to carry it. There is a similar one called Edco which some suppliers carry. I have some of it as well. It's virtually identical to the Venture Tape, but is perhaps just a bit thinner.
 
It isn't too difficult to work with, because it's quite forgiving. You can vary the overlap just slightly to account for the curves in the hull. Also if  you ruin one, you can easily scrap it without worrying about running out. You can get about 1700 of them from one roll.
 
I don't think you have to do anything special to the hull, but you want it to be as smooth as possible because imperfections will show through the tape. I just put a coat of matte varnish on the hull before applying the tape. It sticks really well. The tape is a bit shiny, so I'm going to experiment with coating it with a matte finish to quiet it down.
 
The individual plates that many kits provide give great looking results if they're skillfully applied, but I found it really hard to do. I think it's a little easier to get an acceptable result with the tape approach.
Thanks,
David

Hello Yves,
This product is called Venture Tape MasterFoil Plus Copper Foil by 3M. It comes in several widths. This one is 1/4". I'm not sure how thick it is, but it's pretty thin. It's self-adhesive and comes with a paper backing that you peel off. I use one of those cutting tools, like Chop-It from MicroMark, to cut it into lengths of about 3/4".
 
This tape is sometimes hard to find. I have only ever found it at stained glass suppliers but they don't all seem to carry it. There is a similar one called Edco which some suppliers carry. I have some of it as well. It's virtually identical to the Venture Tape, but is perhaps just a bit thinner.
 
It isn't too difficult to work with, because it's quite forgiving. You can vary the overlap just slightly to account for the curves in the hull. Also if  you ruin one, you can easily scrap it without worrying about running out. You can get about 1700 of them from one roll.
 
I don't think you have to do anything special to the hull, but you want it to be as smooth as possible because imperfections will show through the tape. I just put a coat of matte varnish on the hull before applying the tape. It sticks really well. The tape is a bit shiny, so I'm going to experiment with coating it with a matte finish to quiet it down.
 
The individual plates that many kits provide give great looking results if they're skillfully applied, but I found it really hard to do. I think it's a little easier to get an acceptable result with the tape approach.
Thanks,
David

I made and installed the additional stern filler blocks.  I decided to fill out two additional spaces between bulkheads.  I made these fillers from balsa blocks and started by trimming the block down to the width of the space and cutting the rough shape with my coping saw.  I then used the sanding drum on my dremel to shape it to the curvature of the hull.  I noticed a high spot on the last one on the port side after I glued it in but was able to sand it down a little more with the dremel to correct it.  The balsa wodo was much easier to work with than the bass wood that came with the kit.  I plan to use the same technique to do two spaces at the bow next.  

So far I've assembled the keel, cut the rabbet, and installed the bulkheads.  I've also installed the bow and stern blocks, worked on the transom framing as well as the knightheads and forward timberheads.  I've seen several people recommend adding additional filler blocks between the last couple of bow and stern bulkheads so I'm planning to work on that next.

Good morning - I decided to get into model ship building during the pandemic when everything was shut down.  I completed the 18th Century Armed Longboat by Model Shipways, and now I've decided to try my hand at the Niagara.  I wish I had discovered the site earlier as I've seen a ton of great info and build logs here that would have helped me avoid some issues on the Armed Longboat.  I'm a few steps into the Niagara already so I apologize for starting the build log a bit late.  

Yeah, the copper looks bright, but I don't think I'm going to worry about it. It will dull down a bit over time. Here's a current picture of my Prince de Neufchatel, which I did a couple of years ago and its copper is dulling down as time goes on.

 
On the other hand, I do have some matte varnish. I could do a test patch (somewhere other than on the model) and see what that looks like, and then I'll have to think about it before applying it, because I have a bad habit of "fixing" things, only to wake up in the middle of night with regret and having to resist not getting up and "re-fixing" it immediately.
 
Thanks guys,
David

Good Morning,
I have had a bit of a coppering adventure. This is the first time I've used copper plates. In the past I've only used the self-adhesive copper tape, so this turned out to be a not very successful learning experience.
 
I did the port side first. Things started out ok, but it was looking really bad at the bow. Where the plates lay in straight rows it went smoothly but I found the transition from the hull to the stem to be very difficult to do. I finished the port side, but was not very happy with how it was looking at the bow. I decided to leave it alone and consider it to be my learning side, ie. the "bad" side that would face the wall. I have no pictures of the port side.
 
I moved on to the starboard side and like the port side, it started out ok. But even at the outset I wasn't very pleased. The plates are easy when it's straight and even, but as soon as there's a bit of a curve, I couldn't figure out how best to handle it smoothly.
 

 
At the bow things really fell apart. I redid the bow area four separate times and each time my results seemed to get worse. My terrible port side was beginning to look like the good side. I couldn't bring myself to photograph any of this, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
 
I also seemed to have a lot of trouble getting the corners of the plates to lay flat, and of course, when I dealt with that by placing glue right at the corners, I also got it on the surface as well. I knew that wasn't too big a problem, as it will clean off, but it wasn't helping my frustration level.
 
I was a bit surprised by my problems, as I haven't read very much, if anything, on the forum of others having such an unhappy experience.
 
In the end, I abandoned the plates altogether. In frustration, I ripped them all off, smoothed down the hull and started over with the self-adhesive tape. Perhaps it doesn't look as good as well applied individual plates, but believe me, it looks 10 times better than my previous best efforts, so this is what it's going to be.
 

 
In the past, when I've used this method, I've simulated the nail heads with a ponce wheel, but always thought the effect was a bit over scale, so this time I eliminated that step and I think the result is at least as good, if not better.
 

 

 

 
I think I'm still going to have a decent looking Speedy, so I'm not disappointed in that, but I am a little disappointed with myself that I was so easily defeated.
 
I still have the hull of the Agamemnon ahead of me. I want to use the supplied plates for that if I can. They are the same size as the ones for Speedy, however the hull is about four times as big. I'm hoping that that will give me a slightly bigger margin of error. We shall see.
 
Thanks again for comments and likes.
David
 

Hello All,
I've finished the upper planking and wales and everything has gone without  problems.
 
I was worried about cutting around the gun ports, and was all but certain that I'd need more than one attempt to get it right, but I was actually able to get an acceptable result on my first try.
 
Here is the port planking done, before cutting out the gun ports and sweeps -
 

 
And here is the end result with a finish applied. I debated what to do with the finish. The instructions refer to matte varnish, which I assume is intended for this planking. However, I thought I might like a little bit of sheen so I used shellac. I find that even satin polyurethane tends to be too shiny, but shellac, when rubbed down with steel wool and then burnished with a paper towel gives a very gentle sheen -
 

 
I used some masking tape to mark the location of the wales. I used thick CA glue to attach it and it went on (and stayed on!) quite easily -
 

 

 
And now, I think I'm ready to begin applying the copper plates -
 

 

 
Speedy is proving to be a very satisfying project and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
 
Thanks again for checking in.
David

Good Morning,
I've made good progress with the planking.

 

 

 
This is not too difficult a hull to plank. I didn't soak any of the planks. I just used my new steam iron to bend the planks laterally at the bow and I also gave them a slight bend at the stern as well. With this "game changing" method they all fell into place very nicely.
 
I had no serious problems or issues, but if I'm being totally honest, I did have to correct two small missteps. I discovered a glaring gap between two planks that I had failed to notice as I was working on them. It was just too big to fix with filler, so I had to remove a couple of planks below the gap. I brushed on acetone and was able to salvage them. I replaced them with new planks and saved these salvaged ones for a location below the water line.
 
Also, initially I had the garboard planks located quite far down so that a portion of the keel would have been covered by them. I wasn't sure if that was right or not, but it occurred to me that the width of the the copper piece provided for the keel would indicate how much of the keel should be exposed. From that it was clear that the full depth of the keel needed to be exposed and the garboard planks were in fact too far down,  so I planed and sanded them back and everything appears to line up correctly now.
 
So now it looks like it's on to the the inner bulwarks and deck.
 
Thanks for checking in and the likes.
David 
 

I've just started the second planking. I have the stern area done. So far, so good.
 
This wood is very nice to work with.

 

 
That's all for now. I'm afraid it's back to raking leaves. We are knee deep in maple leaves. However, there are still plenty more to come down which always presents a challenge. There's always a very small window between the last leaf falling and the first snow. At this point it's just a matter of volume reduction.
 
Thanks for checking in.
David
 
 

Here's the little jig I made to hold the 1mm planking. The two strips in the foreground are 1/8" high and the two behind are 1/16" high.
David

A little more progress on Speedy -
 
I have finished the first layer of planking. This is not a difficult hull to plank and the whole process went smoothly. I chose not to line off the hull, creating belts. The instructions didn't indicate that this was necessary and I decided since it is a small hull, I shouldn't have any problems if I didn't do it. So I just eyeballed the amount of tapering for each plank at the bow, taking off just about half or slightly less and planning to address any issues once I got to the bottom. I worked straight down, but installed the garboard before added the final two planks above it. There really were no problems to speak of, just a matter of fitting the last plank against the garboard.
 
I used my new little Lee Valley plane to taper the planks and I found it to be very effective and pleasant to use. (which I'm relieved to discover, since it was about the same price as a used Hyundai!)  I can never seem to hold a ruler firmly in place when using a knife. This way, you just hold the plank on its edge and run the plane along it. It works really well and you have quite a bit of control. I didn't ruined a single plank this time, which is not typically the case for me with a knife and ruler.
 

 
 
 
Having really only built Model Shipways kits before, I am used to drawing the bearding line and reducing the centre keel before adding the planking. This kit doesn't include that step, but rather asks you to simply apply the planking first and then sand the stern area to a very thin width afterwards. I wasn't sure how easy a task this would be to do, but it proved to be easier than I anticipated and I think I have an acceptable result. I know it looks rough in the picture, but that's only because of the the contrast in colours. It's actually very smooth where the planks feather out.
 

 
I think this is the first hull I've planked where I don't need a gallon of filler (and I'm talking imperial gallons!) I will use some though, just to even out a couple of spots, but I think it will need only a minimal amount. And that's it for now.
 
Thanks again for comments, likes etc.
David

Thanks Derek,
I've coloured the upper deck already and I'm quite a bit happier with it than the lower deck (which was the sacrificial trial case.) The upper is more gray, less yellow. A very light sanding lets some of the wood show through and I think it's a good natural look. It will make its appearance in due course.
Thanks again,
David

I've made a little more progress on the Speedy. It is impossible to overstate how perfectly the pieces fit together and what a pleasure they are to work with.
I added the upper sub-deck which popped into place beautifully. Fairing the hull seemed a relatively easy chore. The mdf is a lot nicer to work with than plywood and with the lower deck and upper sub-deck in place, which essentially serve as guides, it was hard to go too far wrong. I did get a little over zealous on the the second to last bullkhead when I pre-sanded it before its installation. I had to fix it with a thin strip.

 

 
The gunport strips were causing me a lot of anxiety, because I knew that they can be a bit tricky and I've never built a model that uses them before. However, the job wasn't too bad and again, I think it is because they are so perfectly designed and cut to fit.
 
Like almost everyone else, I had a small bit of wrinkling with the bow sections,  but nothing that can't be easily fixed with some sanding.

 

 
The two sides meet up really well with the the two stern pieces. I needed a very small amount of sanding on the port side and just a tad more sanding on the starboard, side.

 
Gunport strips installed -

 
First strip of planking added -
You can see the two spots where there was a little wrinkling and I've done some "experimental" sanding. It isn't fully sanded at this point, of course, but I just wanted to discover if it could be easily sanded out and I believe it can be.

 
I have a new tool - a miniature block plane from Lee Valley.

 
It's hard to tell from the picture, but this thing is small; just 2 1/2" long and 3/4" wide. I intend to use it to taper planks and to bevel their inner edges. I used it on the one plank I've installed so far and it worked very nicely; especially for beveling the edge.
 
That's my update for now. Thanks for looking in, comments, and "likes."
David
 
 
 
 
 

Good Morning,
It's been a while since I have been active in the forum, but that doesn't mean I haven't been active in my workshop. I have just finished my second Bluenose model, this one for my daughter. I didn't do a build log for it as it would be virtually identical to my first one.

 

 
I ordered and receive the Speedy for my next project, but it no sooner arrived that I got a call from my near-by fellow ship modeller, Peter, who asked me if I would like to take on an Agamemnon. It had been his late father's who had started it, but been unable to finish it. Peter already had other things on his model-building plate, and since this particular type and era of vessel is not his chief area of interest, he thought it might appeal to me. He was right, however it is a pretty daunting project.
 
The first planking is finished, the gunports are framed, the framework for the stern installed and the lower deck is planked. Everything to this  point is beautifully done; I hope it isn't downhill from here. I will soon start a separate build log for this project.

 
 
For the first time ever, I have two projects at once. I think I may work on them simultaneously. The idea of being able to move back and forth as the spirit moves me has some appeal.
 
So with all that preamble over, here is my work on the Speedy so far. I have to admit that I am approaching this build log with a great deal of trepidation. There is some pretty impressive work out there and the bar has been set very high.
 
I almost can't believe how precisely the parts have been cut - they fit together perfectly.
 
I did a little pre-beveling on the first and last bulkheads.

 
Notwithstanding the shiny bright finish on the deck of my Bluenose, for these naval vessels, I always prefer a grey finish. I've noticed that not too many others finish their decks that way, but I tend to like them. I wasn't sure how it would work on the etched deck of this model, but fortunately I was able to experiment on the lower deck which is almost completely unseen.
 
I use artists' acrylic paint and make a very thin wash of gray, tempered with some yellow and/or brown. It worked quite well with this etched deck. The lines between the planks show up just the right amount. In a few spots the wash had overfilled the lines, so I ran a razor blade along them very lightly and it worked beautifully.
 
I think I have just a bit too much yellow in my gray mix on this lower deck. For the upper deck, I'll make the colour just a bit grayer. It was great having this "practice" deck to work on.

 

 
That's it for now.
Thanks,
David
 
 
 
 

My only technique was to lay each plate individually, trying to overlap each plate with the preceding one at an angle sufficient to follow the curve. As the plates are small the angle should only need to be tiny. It's better to overlap the plates rather than leave gaps.  As for the transition to the stem and stern, I used paper templates to get the necessary shapes as described in my Speedy log.  If it's any consolation, I found it a very challenging job as well.