Keith_W

Matti do you ever get tired of reading all this praise for your build? I hope not, because i'm only going to add to the chorus of praise for the work you have done. She looks superb. In fact I think your ship looks nicer than the one in the museum, it just seems more human.

I'll be watching this one too. Can I ask - what are the daggerboards for?

I recently struggled with how to represent the copper sheathing on my own build - the classic 1/96 Revell kit of the Constitution.
 
Many of us of a certain age (say something north of 50) can remember when American pennies had a much higher copper content.  Every family had a jar full of pennies that showed a wide variation in color and tone.  Most were shades of brown, some were black, some had green... a few were shiny.  I thought it would be worth the effort to add this same kind of variation to the underside of my Connie and make many of the detailed plates "pop" for a better visual effect. 
 
In addition to the variation found in the old jar of pennies, I was influenced by some cursory research into the production of copper sheets by Paul Revere.  Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia...
 
Most of you already know that Revere provided the first copper sheets made in America and used on the Constitution.  He recognized an opportunity to launch a new industry and invested in an old ironworks in Canton that could utilize the adjacent river for the necessary power to turn the gears of the rollers and power the industrial hammers needed to crush ore.  Revere had sent his son to England to glean what information he could on methods for rolling copper.  This info combined with his own experience in working with forging of copper and Iron (and of course silversmithing) gave him enough confidence to proceed.  Benjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, was encouraging domestic sources for vital military materials such as copper sheathing and offered to help fund Revere's initial effort.  The US Government provided a $10k loan and the first batch of raw copper for processing into sheets - an early example of federal subsidy of the military industrial complex.  There were no reliable domestic sources for large quantities of copper, so England and other overseas sources were needed.  Additionally, Revere was smelting and refining domestic copper in small amounts from Pennsylvania mines in the hopes of establishing some independence from these foreign sources. Metallurgy in that day was clearly a far cry from what we have today and the consistency and quality would vary widely which would naturally introduce color variation.
 
Secretary Stoddert preferred that Revere use a "cold rolling" method for flattening the copper through a series of heavy iron rollers into thinner sheets.  He felt that this would harden the material for greater strength.  Paul Revere, however, successfully argued for a "Hot Rolling" method which would anneal the copper as it was flattened through the iron rollers with a final cold rolling pass to add some strength.  This approach, however, introduces "mill scale", which is heavy oxidation on the surface caused by the recrystallization of the metal under heat.  The final cold rolling would help to  reduce the scale problem and give the sheets a better finish.  The heating of the metal would further introduce color variation in each batch - especially when a consistent temperature is not applied.  Revere used plentiful New England hardwoods to heat his "furnace" instead of coal as used in England.  This likely introduced more color variation than the copper sheathing imported from England.
 
Finally, it appears to have been common practice for the shipyards to store the copper sheets in open sheds to allow some natural oxidation that would help flake off any remaining mill scale.  This period of "weathering" would also introduce wide color variation as different batches were stored for different periods before use - like the old pennies in the jar.
 
I think it highly unlikely that any ship of the early 19th century was ever sheathed in shiny copper of consistent color.  Even when first applied to a new ship on the ways, you'd have seen a patchwork of color and tone in the underside copper plates.  That is essentially what I've tried to depict.
 
All of this brain dump aside, I readily acknowledge that all of the choices made by modeler's for representing the copper plating is good by me... A nice even coat of copper paint on the hull produces a beautiful effect.  The use of copper tape seen in some of the newer builds is also a great approach - absolutely gorgeous stuff.  I just prefer the patchwork effect - purely artistic license.
      BTW - Here is a link to a nice overview of the Minerva model in the USNA Rogers collection:   http://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-04.php?iframe=true&width=770&height=580   Good discussion.   Evan

I suggest you view this thread and watch the video. It is VERY helpful.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/5471-new-video-on-basic-soldering-for-scale-models/

Keith & Tom thanks for the advice it came in handy. I sanded down the transom to 1/8" then I took some 1/32" x 1/4" basswood and made planks for the transom and glued them on. I managed to get the transom flush with the sternpost so i shouldn't have troubles with the rudder installation.
 
I like most others have decided to stray from the grey and white suggested by the kit. I'm going with oak but I'm going to keep the gunwales & breasthook cherry. I'll keep the white below the waterline and add blue to the sheer plank.
 
I found some 3/32" X 3/32 basswood to use for the frames and I've stained them, the transom and keel oak. Should be starting the frame bending tonight.
 
Richard

I suggest you view this thread and watch the video. It is VERY helpful.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/5471-new-video-on-basic-soldering-for-scale-models/

The first layer of planking all the way up to the upper deck bulwarks is completed. I have added some length to the upper deck bulwarks planking just to make sure the metal siding pieces will fit, and then I can cut off the excess later. All of the main deck gun ports are also cut and the doubled layer of planking on the inside of the main and forecastle bulwarks has been added. I am not sure exactly what is the next step until I do some research, but I am thinking of applying the finish layer of walnut planking to the inside of the main and forecastle bulwarks and then installing the quarterdeck.
 
Vince P.

The usual recommendation is either epoxy or super glue. Personally I prefer epoxy.

The usual recommendation is either epoxy or super glue. Personally I prefer epoxy.

She's gorgeous, Pete! I love the colour!!
 
I don't want to sound like a critic, but there is a bit of orange peeling in that finish. May I respectfully suggest that you sand it back with some fine grit sandpaper and spray again? I used to do gloss finishes all the time when I was making car models, I would frequently apply 3-4 coats, sanding back each layer with #1200 grit paper.

Matti do you ever get tired of reading all this praise for your build? I hope not, because i'm only going to add to the chorus of praise for the work you have done. She looks superb. In fact I think your ship looks nicer than the one in the museum, it just seems more human.

Pete she's certainly an interesting looking boat. Far more angular than Australia II - looks more aggressive, whereas KA-6 more graceful. I never realized the difference until your build log. Just goes to show how nicely you have captured the lines!
 
I'm also excited to see what you are going to do to the cockpit. Keep it up and please keep us updated!

Yesterday , After completing KA-6 , I did the 2 part West System epoxy to the Deck.( I show that process on the A3 build log , the link is in my signature )  This morning I sanded the Deck spayed 2 light coats of primer and 2 coats of semi gloss white,(Sanding with 400 grit in between)  I masked the boat so that the White Sheer stripe ( on the Hull ) would all be shot at the same time as the Deck. Next will be to paint the Hull Blue , Then do the Deck Details. Here are the results

Today, was the day to finish up KA-6  "The Boxing Kangaroo" , unfortunatly, I was unable to find any waterslide decal paper, ( I will have to order it online for future projects ) so I went thru my old drafting supplies and found some letraset rub-on letters , I had just enough to put the name on the transom in the small letters and had larger for the cradle , I started by painting the Green stripe on the Hull and then adding the letters that I did have . This will conclude this build log , I will still answer questions and reply to comment's . I want to Thank you all for following along , the comments and the Likes , I thouroghly enjoyed building her , It was alot of fun . Here are the final results 

Progress has been made on the upper deck, though not without a careless mistake. I decided the best way to fit the boatdeck beams was to glue them in position  before putting on the plywood deck. Doing so enables a firm attachment of the beams to the side of the hull. In each case, both ends of the beams needed to be trimmed off by about 0.5mm for a snug fit. I meticulously measured the gaps between each beam, and then for the second beam towards the stern, put the front of the beam on the mark instead of the back. The result is that the beam is 5mm out - which then threw the next one out too.  Fortunately I was working from both ends, so the front two beams are fine. I discovered once I realised my mistake, that my gluing was all too effective.  I then laid the boats on the beams to see how obvious the blunder looks,   Fortunately, once the boats are on, the beams can hardly be seen.  I guess the boat cradles will need some work to accommodate the problem, but correcting the position of the two beams would cause significant damage, for not much gain.
 
These are the first of the beams - accurately installed.
 

 
These are the whole lot - with blunder.  The result is the gap over the capstan is 5mm too big.
 

 
The second beam on the left is the culprit (I am now absolving myself from blame) , throwing it, and the next beam out by 5mm.
 

 

 
Here are the ships' boats laid on the support beams obscuring (I hope) the mistake..

 

 

 

 

To be honest ,  I could not live with with the Paint job on the Keel any longer, and first thing this morning, I went to work to fix it . After I got that squared away and was happy with it , I built a more fitting Cradle. from frames 4 & 9 on the plans I made a bow and stern section .Then I made a base with the correct spacing from frames 4 & 9 . when I put the boat in the cradle for the first time she fit like a glove . Here are the results. I will sleep better tonight

Time for another update.
 
The kit makes no mention of the iron nails that hold the overlapping planks together.  I felt that the ship would really be incomplete without them so I decided to spend a few weeks and do it.
 

 
The nails are about 200 mm apart on the Oseberg but do show some randomness.  That scales out to 8 mm.  I did a couple of test planks 1 at 8 mm and 1 at 16 mm.  I was hoping that the 16 mm spacing would look great and save me about 700 nails.  Oh well, no luck.  I did widen the spacing to 10 mm.
 
 
 
I bought the smallest brass nails that I could find and blackened them using the method sited in various places on MSW but I specifically read it in Augie"s Confederacy log (great log by the way!).  I marked the holes with dividers and patiently drilled the 720, ½ mm holes.  It took over a week to mark and drill and insert all those nails.  I broke several bits in the process.  I forgot to mention that this is only the port side.  
 

 
I will place a drop of CA at the base of the nail forest and cut them off before I glue the deck in place.
 

 
I decided to go ahead and stain after the holes were drilled and before the nails were inserted.  I spent some time cleaning up the glue that was left where the planks overlapped so the stain would go on evenly.  I had cleaned up carefully when the planks were glued but the best laid plans...
 

 
I still have some touch up to do on the stain and I will add the wipe on poly at the very end.  I have taken a couple of days off to decompress after the first half and it is back to work tomorrow.
 

Pete I somehow missed the start of this one, but no matter ... i'm here now and glued to the screen!
 
I was in Fremantle in 1987, only a few years before I migrated to Australia. So no prizes for guessing who I was rooting for. Unfortunately, Australia IV didn't get very far and Kookaburra III was soundly trounced by S&S. Fremantle was transformed by the Americas Cup - before 1987, the town was pretty grungy and more or less a hangout for hippies and druggies. After 1987 she had been given a lick of paint and really took off. Fremantle is beautiful now, and it was all thanks to the Cup.

Hi Pete, you can do the lettering by doing them up on a computer then printing it on a wet transfer decal.

Hi Pete, you can do the lettering by doing them up on a computer then printing it on a wet transfer decal.

This Summer Like every summer since I was a Kid , I get bit by the America's Cup Bug , This year is no exception , I have just about completed my first 12 meter Yacht ( Australia  II ) and I am not quite ready to start my next project ( I will need some more R & D ) I Decided to build the 1987 America's Cup Winner Stars & Stripes, The Last 12 Meter Yacht to Win the America's Cup. She will be built in a 3/16" = 1' - 0" Scale. ( same scale as the Boxing Kangaroo )  This build will be a hull only build, I may detail the deck by cutting out the cockpit section of the boat. ( we will see ) I remember this America's cup very well , and was glued to the T.V. the entire time it would come on. I grew up in a Sailing Family, so this is our Super Bowl / World Series. Any way I got the Keel Layed out along with the frames and cut them out . Next I will cut the notches in the Keel for the Frames, true them up and install ( at that point I will decide if I am going to do the Cockpit Details. Here are the results

Pete, she looks really nice. But speaking personally, I think she would look nicer if you had modelled the cockpit as well.

Hi all I have been trying this method on my current build of Vassa (yes a log will follow soon) and I have found that tissue paper has a sort of bias if you glue ascoss it the tissue paper will wrinkle along the bias or grain it stays nice and flat
Is it just my paper or has anyone else found this ?
 
Andy

Looks good Denis! Now you'll be snapping at my heels and the other RW builders when you start!
 
BTW I love the way you lowered the yards with the furled sails. A little detail that many people omit.

Looks good Denis! Now you'll be snapping at my heels and the other RW builders when you start!
 
BTW I love the way you lowered the yards with the furled sails. A little detail that many people omit.