Ryland Craze

Looking forward to seeing your build of the Medway Longboat.  It is a fun build.

Nice work.  It brings back many memories of how good this kit is.

Nice work.  It brings back many memories of how good this kit is.

Sometimes it appears that nothing is straightforward in modelling. It’s often not hard to find conflicting advice.
When I built the Flower Class Corvette using all the David Parkins “Great Little Ships” sets the two most important aspects  for me, were to be able to solder and to be able to keep the paint on the brass. After all, most of the build is brass.
 

 
After much research I used the 2 pack etch from this company.
 
https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/paint-products/primers-and-solvents/primersandvarnish/etch/60pq31
 
You can see that not all the instructions match other advice. I made my decision based on the company generally supplying into the model engineering sector and large scale train builders.
 
I realise I am referencing a UK based supplier but I’m sure similar suppliers are abundant in the US and other countries.
 
I hope this adds to the discussion.
 
Thank you
Paul

A quick update on my progress over the last several days. I’ve been busy cutting and shaping the bulkheads and also the bulkhead former. Following Chuck’s and others advice I did use lite ply for the bulkheads and birch ply for the bulkhead former. So glad I followed the advice! The lite ply sands easy while the birch feels like sanding steel. This will definitely make faring easier. 
 
Below is a shot of the first section of the bulkhead former dry fitted with the bulkheads. They’re still rough but it’s a start. Also a shot of the knee. Still requires final sanding and shaping. I do love the cherry!
 
Thanks for looking and especially for sharing your expertise!
 
Best,
Jim

Jerry, this is how I tapered the planks on my Fair American.  Measure the width of the deck at the fore end of the quarter deck and at the transom.  Decide the width of planks at the break of the deck, for example ten inches.  Divide the deck width by the plank width.  It obviously will not be whole number.  So if your deck width is twelve feet, you will have fourteen whole planks and an extra four inches.  Add a quarter inch to the width of each plank and you have the width of the planks at the break.  Now divide the width at the transom by fourteen and you have the plank width there as well.  Now that you know those two numbers, make one deck plank out of card and use it as a template to make the planks.  For installing, start at the midline.  It is a lot easier to hide an odd plank at the waterway than in the middle of the deck.  And don't forget the slight taper along the plank edges to compensate for the camber of the deck.

Doesn't look like much, but I worked a lot on these subassemblies, put in the brass columns for the rangefinders, rectified the angle of the top deck (sweat) and am about to determine the location points of the brass columns for the flying bridge, which I pre-assembled and left it on the turret base. There are no location marks on the plastic deck,  nor the wooden deck, but some measurements in the manual.
I re-cut the places of the wooden deck, where the superstructure and the funnel will be placed, because I will not remove the un cut carrier film before the final assembly stage.
The upper and the underside of this deck and the deck below, where cleaned of all casted structures, to accept their PE substitutes later. I used every tool able to cut plastic to do this, Dremel tool with different saws and grinders, cutter, chisel, scalpels, micro saws, you name it. My bench is powdered now with plastic scrap and needs to be cleaned before I continue.
 

 
Cheers Rob

Gentleman - clearing the decks for the next project along with my LGV and I will never get to these.  They are looking for a home.  You pay for the shipping from Illinois and make a donation to the NRG and they are yours.  Wappen hull is complete as are the kits contents and Chucks Winnie is ready for the gunport framing with the cherry included in stage 2 along with the boxwood carvings.  Contact me with any questions.

Now that you are at this point, let's talk a bit about the bottom color.  After the original display model was built, I discovered a doctoral dissertation from Florida State University that focused on a news reporter named Sylvester.  He was present at the raising of the wreck in 1912 and commented that the bottom was as green as the day she was lost.  A follow-up conversation with Dana Wegner (Curator of Ship Models at the David Taylor Basin) indicated that during her last yard period, an experimental bottom paint identified only as McInnis Green was applied.  We couldn't come up with a color chip so I used FLOQUIL Dark Green to repaint the bottom on the original display model just before she went to the Naval War College.  I also have my doubts about her having a black boot top over the red anti-fouling, although there is a photo of her in drydock that shows what certainly appears to be one.  If I were to build the kit again today, I would paint her green or leave off the boot top over the red.  
 

Priming the Hull
 
Before priming the anchor bills, ram stiffeners, and torpedo tube covers were installed, along with the half round trim along the deck edge.
 
First the deck was masked with tape and construction paper.
The hull was positioned upside down on a lazy Susan, on the Artograph table.

Vallejo grey primer, thinned with Vallejo thinner was applied with an Iwata RG-3 mini gun, @20 psi.  Smoooooth….   Let dry overnight.  Vallejo is an acrylic primer  that adheres well to shellac, metal, and brass.

 

 
 

Sealing the Hull

Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac was used to seal the hull.  It’s an evaporative finish, and the alcohol base dries very quickly.  And additional coats easily blend into the finish.  Here the hull is upside down to avoid masking the deck.  

Wood dowels were used to keep Minwax wood filler out of the port holes.  Shellac also does a good job filling minor imperfections.

 
Swauber Applicators help when applying shellac around the portals and along the lower edge.

 
Looking good after a rundown with steel wool.  A few drips and runs, shellac dries into a hard finish, were removed with fine flat and round files.

 
 

That was yesterday  today I took it out of the box went to work.
Not sure if I got the scale is  right, can't find it on the box. 
 After the deck go's on  it was the sails.10 minutes and the first two mast had sails on. Then I added all the sails. Moving along to the side balconies  then the rear of the ship. Then all the lanterns and I found these little  Birch  Bark cut off I had laying around A couple coats of shellac  done. 
 It was quick , easy and fun. Not going to put it in the gallery  though  lol.
 But I am going to give this one to my daughter in-law for her birthday.  And the Viking Iron star to my oldest son , which will have a different base.
  Ok this one is Finish  lol on to the next  🤣 😂 
 
 

Hello, I got this model for Christmas, stocking stuffer.  Actually I  got two this one and a Viking  Iron star 1:100 scale but I think it's smaller lol.
 No glue, just needle nose pliers and side cutter. Which I thought would be different  no glue , deadeyes , sails or BOTTLE LOL.
 You get two sheets of metal to take the peices off. After studying the plan a bit , it looked like  I just had to follow along number by number..It shows   you were to twist it on and were to fold the little tabs at a 90  degree angle.
 So away I go. First  this is not a metal model it's tin foil lol. And did I mention tiny. Lol.
After five pieces the deck and rigging were done . I used a paper towel tube to form the hull and snaped it on and called it a night. So I will finish  tomorrow  .
  This is a fun one lol 

Post Six
 
I always have a niggle of doubt completing this element of a build; is this the right point to stop, is it as good as I can get it?
 After several more hours, I think (hope) the fairing is complete.
Running my test plank across all frames from Garboard to sheer indicates a fair lie as far as I can see.

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I did not experience any traumas with the frames; with the tips from Chuck they held good, and the balsa blocks between the frames helped, along with repeating the mantra – soft hands, keep it easy, to myself.
 
To get the most benefit from this project, even tho’ it’s not strictly necessary, I will follow Chuck’s  plan of lining off the hull for planking.
 
Time to move to the next stage.
 
B.E.
 
01/02/2023
 

Everyone: Not the best pics but I have done the framing.. have marked the location of the wales but want to double check it. Figured I need to double check everything before the planking begins! Not a lot of room for error what I can gather and its a pleasure to work on a project where that is built into the kit. Enjoying every minute of it.
 
Mike Draper

Test fitting of the risers. The shaping and fitting of boards is becoming easier. Still have to lower the forward platform a bit. I put a couple of coats of paint on before I glue the pieces in.

I noticed as I was looking at the next few steps that my cleats at positions 1 and 6 had disappeared at some point in the build. I replaced them.   I was about to return to step 12a, but if you read ahead a few pages, you'll notice step 15 mentions the marks on the frames where the seat risers align, and some build logs have mentioned that they can't find the marks when they get to that step. That's probably because they sanded them in step 12a.   The original frame marks are circled below, and you can see them before sanding. I took a pencil and extended them before sanding in 12a so I wouldn't remove them completely. Thank you to the people who mentioned this in their build logs - otherwise, I probably would have sanded them off too.       As far as step 12a and what it means - I was confused at first. I was able to find the answer in another build log. It was what I had suspected: the "bevel" mentioned means to shape the frames inside to receive the riser, in a similar way to how the outsides of the frames were sanded to receive the planks.   Here's a shot of a few frames that were sanded for step 12a. The leftmost one in the shot is frame 3, which wasn't sanded at all. 5 and 1 got the most treatment.    I did step 13 (false stem) already, so on to step 14.   I had a problem right off when cutting the side cleats out of the parts board: the grain is running across the width of the cleats, and that makes them very fragile. As I was cutting to free one side, I ended up "exploding" part of it, breaking off the end of one of the pieces in the process. I broke ANOTHER cleat on the other side of the parts board, even though I was being very careful. Fortunately, each side cleat had enough material left to glue it in one piece.     I put a little glue on these side cleats and held them in position for a few minutes while the glue dried - I was afraid to use clamps for fear I would just break them in half. They are very pliable, there is no need to wet the inner part.        Risers are next.         

Step 08 and Step 09 mounting the ship's boats and smoke stack support/braces. 
 
Real life, as usual, has a way of interrupting a build.  In this case, I found it too hard to bend over the low table I had been using as a temporary solution.  So, I stopped work on the model. There were also a couple of 'road trips' to visit parents and brother.  
 
Then after renovations work was done, we had to put final touches on living area (rugs, blinds, unpacked kitchen ware, etc.).  That took longer than I thought it would.  We are still looking for some items we know we packed back in September, 2022.  My favorite tea mug among them.  
 
Also, I reworked an older computer desk to make a workbench to assemble models.  I had to promise the Admiral I'd keep it neat since it sits just off the living room.  So, far so good.   (I even bought some odorless thinner for later work.)  
 
It's not an official part of the build. However, I am pleased with my efforts on the workbench.  So, here's a couple of pics of my finished workspace.   
 
I put VYCO (vinyl material used on drafting tables) on the top, and had to repair one end of the desk that had holes I drilled for computer cables.  The keyboard tray makes a great lower work area and photography stage.  The pull out printer tray is a convenient storage area using boxes to organize stuff. 

Picking up at Step 08, this step assembles the ship's boats and supports for the stacks on the port side.  
 
The davit pieces attached to the ship.  The "Exacto" knife gives a sense of scale for these pieces. 

The boats are folded and the support pieces mounted to the boats.
Again, at this scale, objects and assemblies are quite small.  Here's the boat as cut from the sprue.

After mounting the boats, support pieces for the smoke stack are installed.  This completes the port side portion of the assembly steps.  Since this photo was taken I tightened the bend on the bow of the boat. 

Step 09 repeats the process for the starboard side.  As before, I used some PCV to secure the parts in place on the underside.  Also, as I was handling the model, the support pieces got bent.  Once I am finished handling the model, I will see what I can to to straighten and flatten them.  
 
Here's a shot with both boats and all stack supports in place. 

For the next part of the build log, I'll put Steps 10, 11 and 12 together as they are small sub-assemblies for the fore and aft decks.  I should be able to do those in next day or two. 
 

My next update will be the last, as far as the hull is concerned.
 
I think about another week and I'll show the completed, pre-mast Indy.

Thanks druxey - As above I really need to do some proper research and make a decision.  I guess when you think about it - no metal = no sparks.  I had not even considered this until tonight given the information you guys have supplied.  I don't think I'll be getting a job as an armorer any time soon and the crews happy about that!

Keith  / Bruce
 
Thanks both for the really good information  - I did not know that gunpowder barrels had wooden hoops.  Everyday is a school day!
 
I was hoping to be lazy and just buy some off the shelf wooden barrels but you have made me see that as per usual there's a lot more to it than that.
 
I need to try and find out more as I would rather have an empty hold than something that is completely incorrect.
 
Can't thank you both enough for your input here - cheers lads 😀

Further to Keith; no metal on gunpowder barrels! They were bound using withy, a kind of flexible willow cane.

Something to note......gunpowder cask/barrels were made without metal hoops. I found the below whilst looking about in Google Land.
 
 "The ends of the cask are then leveled off and a groove cut into the inside edge to receive the barrel heads-the round ends that close up the casks. Almost all 18th and 19th century barrels were finished off by binding them together with wooden hoops, usually made from split hickory, oak, or ash saplings."
 
 To be accurate gunpowder cask/barrels should be painted all wood colors, the hoops should not be painted black, IMHO. 

No Sophie, just Surprise.

All three of them are beautiful.