GuntherMT

Wild guess, but I would be surprised if they didn't rig ropes when rough weather was expected.

I found that balsa is easier to shape to fit, but it doesn't give much (or any) grip for pins for actually helping hold the planks.  It's good to shape the planks, but not hold them.

For the areas where I want to do a filler where it will actually give me something I can pin into, I use the same techniques as already suggested, but use basswood instead of balsa, as it's hard enough to accept pins/nails to secure planks.  It's also a good surface to glue to as well.

Aydin,

You mentioned to put fiberglass/epoxy on top of it all.

I think that will cover the beauty of the mahogany.

I would recommend to abort the planking, take of the current strips off and start over again, working with epyxy instead. I am afraid you are to experience problems with the exposure against the water. Specially after all the nice work you have put in.

Another area to work is the one around the prop and rudder shafts, this before any second planking.

 

When I build my T37, the instructions read - epoxy cover all the inside.

Even though I have only used epoxy I have a problem area on the deck where water finds its way in.

Oh, as for clear finish, I used marine varnish on all, none painted area.

 

It is just my two cents for what ever they are worth.

If done properly, the fiberglass & epoxy resin will simply be a clear coat on top of the mahogany and look gorgeous when polished out.

I don't know quite why it works, but it does - See this tutorial on an R/C forum - http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329811

Coming along nicely Aydin.

I was very successful using the paste/fill as Mark described, should work fine for you.

To avoid those gaps in the first place, each plank should be beveled on one edge to account for the hull curvature (if you are already doing this, sorry, I missed it as I just found this build and zoomed through the entire thing in one sitting).  You just need to knock off the corner that lays against the first planking a bit using sandpaper or a sanding stick, and it gives the planks along the curved portion a much tighter fit.

Beautiful ship Timmo.

I was very happy with the results on my AVS using Holly and Minwax satin wipe-on poly.

Have a great trip Frank!  See you in September if not before.

With as useful as these videos are, I vote that they be added to one of the pinned threads, or this thread be pinned in the forum.  The techniques shown in the videos are something that I think everyone should be able to find easily.

Late to this build, but it's looking fantastic.  Look forward to seeing it in San Diego!

Looking pretty good.  Has to be nice to get all that repetitive work done!

The only suggestion I would make is to tighten up the breech line loop around the cascabel on the long guns.  In the real world this is an eye-splice I do believe, so it should be quite tight when using a loop like this to simulate it.  I just soaked the section of line in white glue & water mixture and pulled it tight, and they seem to be holding up fine.

I certainly did mine like the plans show.  

No idea if it's the "right" way to do it, but the spreader yard is attached to the horse so that it can be lowered without needing to lower the gaff or main sail, so if they needed to drop the topmast, there is no reason to keep the spreader yard up there (since the top yard is going to have to come down also if the topmast is down).

My wild guess is that they would use the jeers tackle to drop the spreader yard, and then drop the top yard prior to dropping the topmast, but that's all pure speculation on my part.

Ok, so that very last photo of the plates looks really good from a scale perspective, just tiny impressions.  Nice job!

The plan with the ruler laying on it is definitely off-scale a bit.  Luckily this is a pretty small model, so I doubt it will have much (if any) effect over this small of a subject.

Brian...may what method you used to fare your bulkheads and to keep them contoured to each other?

 

Rob

I just use sanding blocks, nothing special.  I use a combination of 'hard' blocks where there is no give, and padded blocks that allow the sandpaper to form around the piece a bit, just depends on what I'm trying to do.  If you look at the instructions from Chuck (you can download them from his site - http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/revenue-cutter-cheerful-1806.php) he explains it, but there really isn't anything special to it except sanding by hand and taking your time to make sure that the planks will flow smoothly over the ends of the bulkheads no matter where the plank is placed from the bottom to the top.

At the very front where everything has to flow into the rabbet at the stem, I did it mostly with handheld sand paper folded over on itself to make it stiff.  It's really just a matter of eyeballing it, placing a plank on it to see where it needs work, and then sanding some more until it all just flows.

Edit: It's important to use blocks that extend across multiple bulkheads at a time, I think that's probably the most important thing because you are trying to get a smooth flow across all the bulkheads.

I've always loved the lines of those two ships, look forward to seeing you get her together!

No idea what it's called, but it looks like they simply doubled it and looped it through itself on the bulkhead end, then tied it off somehow on the inboard end (although there might even be a small seizing holding the end midway it looks like).

Interesting way of handling it.

If you don't get a response from one of the many folks that have built this lovely little model, don't hesitate to send a private message to 'Chuck' here on the forums.  He is the designer of this kit and is always happy to help folks building it.  

Brian..what do you think of the final pressed plates with the minor nail impressions..using the wire and sanding mesh?

 

It is my habit to use untypical building methods....I'm not so precise with extreme details like found on others magnificent POF builds.

 

I'm more of a hack builder...skip unnecessary steps and processes....cover up blemishes with any thing that does the job...and then as with the original...Paint the heck out of it to seal and protect from the elements....in my case the elements are ME.

 

I appreciate your opinion.

 

Rob

Your methods are interesting, and are perfectly fine with me, I build for that 'end goal' appearance as well.

As far as my opinion on the plates, they just don't look to scale to me at all.  When looking at the Conny photo, you can just barely see tiny 'spots' where the nails are, you can't see any actual indents, and I just don't know how that could be recreated to scale without some really tiny pins along the lines of how Ed did it.  I can't see the nails at all on the Cutty Sark photo's that were posted.

Full disclosure - I have never done a coppered hull, and probably never will as I just don't care for how they look at all, I'm just giving my opinion of how I see them compared to the real photo's you posted.

The .012 line will coil nicely if it's well soaked in a 50/50 glue/water mix, just FYI.  

The gun rigging looks very good.  Nicely done.

Since you did ask for opinions on the coppering (and I just caught up with the build, so mine is a bit delayed), I'll just say that I agree with Mark and your initial KISS method.  I think that in that scale, unless you have a way of making extremely tiny imprints, it looks better (to me) without the nail indents at all.

The photo's you posted of the Cutty Sark and Constitution are the deciders for me - at the small scale I think it will look better without them.  

Very interesting construction method so far btw, enjoying watching how fast it's coming together.

Spile or edge bending are really the only two options.  Since it will eventually be black, use a wood that doesn't splinter like walnut when edge bent (basswood, but it's soft, or boxwood or pear maybe).  Chuck Passaro's build log on the Cheerful has a video in it somewhere showing how to edge bend planks with a 'bending station' (i.e. a 1 x 6 and some clamps) and a blow dryer or heat gun. 

Naw, Brian.  This is an AL kit.  The plans are more "suggestions" than actual plans!  I'll have to guess on the waterline.  What do you think of the color scheme (holly with stem, keel, sternpost and rudder and planking below the wale to the waterline of pear)? 

I like the picture you posted of doing it that way.  It will be a lot of work getting the planks to flow together perfectly where they are actually two different pieces and maintain the waterline like that, but if you nail it, the effect is great!

Seems strange that none of the plan sheets show the waterline at all.  I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever consider an AL kit.

The thin walnut goes over this layer anyway, so symmetry really isn't that big of a deal, other than the practice.  What matters is a good smooth layer without dips and bumps for that 2nd layer to go over.

Looking good!

Looks like a very good start.  You are correct that your wood choice on the fashion piece shouldn't matter at all if you are going to paint it black.