Keith_W

Just a little update to remind you that i'm still beavering away at this little boat. Not much to say except that first planking is almost finished up to the level of the second deck!
 

 

 

Thanks for all the likes, everyone! It's a nice feeling to have more likes than posts Anyway, work continues.
 

 
As per other build logs, I installed some nails into the keel to keep it stable because a great heavy mass of metal decorations will be cantilevered off the beakhead.
 

 
The keel is also attached to the false keel by means of wooden dowels. Even with no glue, the whole shebang is rock solid!
 

 
Planking has now proceeded to below the level of the wales, and up to the second deck. Not shown are the blocks to support the dummy guns. These things are virtually impossible to photograph, because they are painted black against the entire lower deck, which has also been painted black. This is a good thing, because I don't want to see the dummy blocks. It IS a bit difficult trying to locate the holes for installation of the dummy guns when everything is black though.
 
BTW, the second deck fit perfectly a few weeks ago when I was fettling it. Now, with all the planks in place, somehow the deck won't fit! After quite a bit of cursing and a lot of anxiety (did I somehow distort the shape of the ship when I planked it?) ... it all measures correctly. Phew.
 
As you can see, the second deck is also painted black. The rear section has been covered with foil for lighting.
 

 
I was not sure how to route power into the ship. You can see a little excavation which I dug out on the false keel because I was planning to put a connector there. Then I hit upon a simple idea - why not simply electrify the support rods that I was planning to install anyway? I soldered the wire unto a nut and installed it.
 

 
We have no lights ...
 

 
AND NOW WE HAVE LIGHTS! EUREKA!! The idea worked!!!
 
As you can see, the LED's are SMD's (surface mount diodes) which are absolutely tiny. I glued them to a block of wood and then angled them outwards slightly. Yes, I know that Euromodel supply metal plates in place of windows, so you will never see the LED's if you build the ship as per the kit. However, I plan to fabricate my own replacement windows. I'm not sure how i'm going to do that, given that I have never made windows as small as this before, but time will tell ... I'll think of something! I hope!
 
That's it for now. I will install the garboard planks and then work the planking upwards to close the gap.

Planking continues. The lower deck gunports have been cut out and the dummy gun supports have been installed. The lower deck has been painted black.

Just a little update to remind you that i'm still beavering away at this little boat. Not much to say except that first planking is almost finished up to the level of the second deck!
 

 

 

Planking continues. The lower deck gunports have been cut out and the dummy gun supports have been installed. The lower deck has been painted black.

INDEX OF PLANS
 

 
Sheet 1: Overview of ship
 

 
Sheet 2: Masts and Yards
 

 
Sheet 3: Decorations
 
   
 
Sheets 4, 5, 6, 7: General construction details
 

 
Sheet 8: Longitudinal and Cross section (for scratch builders) 
 
 
 
Sheets 9, 10: Deck furniture
 
 
 
Sheets 11, 12: Standing rigging
 
  
 
Sheets 13, 14, 15: Running rigging
 

 
Sheet 16: Mast and yard details
 

 
Sheet 17: Ships plan

Just a little update to remind you that i'm still beavering away at this little boat. Not much to say except that first planking is almost finished up to the level of the second deck!
 

 

 

The main and forecastle deck waterways have been added. They are just raised strips of wood running along the bulwarks where they join the deck. Walnut 2x2mm strips were used. The plans don't really show these because they are covered by the railings when looking down on the decks, but in plan sheet #8 there are what looks to be waterways in the hull cross section views.
 
Also, if you are going to full rig the deck guns as I am, the last gun aft in the open on the main deck on each side will pretty much be coveed by the quarterdeck, so the eyebolts on the bulwarks for the rigging need to be placed now. There ar 4 eyebolts per gun. The upper ones can be added later, but the holes should be drilled now. The lower ones should be placed now.
 
Next up is placing the false quarterdeck.
 
Vince P.

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.

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