BobG

I do have some photos, Don, but I've never posted any on the site before. I like the size of the photos you are posting. What size setting are you using? I've been encouraged to start a build log but I've hesitated just because of the additional time commitment and also because I have the uncanny ability to make computer related work go sideways in any given instant! 

Actually, my son played alto and soprano, not tenor as I stated before and, unfortunately, his playing fell to the wayside once he went to college and now he's busy in his career. He may return to it someday. I came back to playing my guitar after a 30 year absence. I wish I had never set it aside for all those years but that's water over dam now.

Didgeridoos are fun to play. Learning to circular breathe is a challenge but, once you get it, it's like learning to ride a bike, there's a moment when it just happens and then it's there ever after. Check out some YouTube videos to see some state-of-the-art didge playing. It's unbelievable what some people can do. There have even been orchestral pieces written that feature the didge.

Anyway, I managed to make rods for the windlass using my Dremel but not before snapping two of them. I'm glad Chuck included an long piece of the 1/16 x 1/16 boxwood in the kit.

Bob 

She's looking great!

More progress. Keep it going...following your log is pulling me along!

Beautiful saxes! Seeing them brings back memories of my son when he attended a performing arts school during his middle and high school years and played tenor and soprano sax. I play guitar and have dabbled with a variety of musical instruments over the years including the Boehm and Irish flutes, piano, harmonica and the didgeridoo but my guitars get all my attention nowadays. I even got into making didgeridoos from raw logs until my wife said, "Enough, there's no place to put another didge in our house?" I still have a few logs that are anxiously awaiting their new life though...

I was glad to see your mast tapering set up. I will be using a power drill for that set as well. I hoping that I can use my Dremel to shape the belaying pins. The brass straps will be the first time I've done anything with metal also so, like you, this build has been a great learning experience for me too. I'm retired also but I have a lot of interests that compete for my time. Spending time at my little modeling table is growing on me very fast though. 

Bob  

You've made a lot of progress recently and she's a beauty! I'm right behind you. I'm working on the windlass and the knees right now. I'll be following your rigging. I have the rigging kit but I've never rigged anything so I imagine it will present me with quite a few challenges.

Have you already purchased the Winchelsea kit? I've been admiring it and reading some of the beautiful build logs. I would love to build it but I'm not sure I have the skills to do her justice yet. The longboat has been the most challenging build I've done yet although it's is going pretty well for me. I would love to step into some scratch building though. So who knows...I might just take the plunge. I'd be swimming in everyone's wake though!

Bob

Wow...your ship modeling is state of the art...perfection! Thank you for continuing to share your beautiful artistry with us.

Bob 

Simply amazing!

Wonderful!

Many thanks, vaddoc.

On 1/14/2020 at 11:39 PM, vaddoc said:

In the past I ve used a lot of humbrol or automotive primer (not good) but for wooden models is really not needed most of the time. There is no problem with adhesion and to smooth imperfections, a filler is needed. It might be useful if the colour of the underlying surface needs to change dramatically, for a large red surface applying a red or grey primer will reduce the number of coats needed. But since you can add 4 coats in an hour with acrylics, maybe not worth the cost and trouble. I usually sand away the primer leaving a thin smooth film. Never tried the Valejo primers, I ve been using the Humbrol white and grey spry can primers which I think are good but will not fill in imperfections. 

 

I like using sanding sealer as it seals the wood leaving a very smooth surface so the paint later does not soak into the wood and does not raise the grain. Painting on sealed wood is a better experience than painting raw sanded wood. I very much like the decoart/Americana water based sealer, the large bottle should last a very long time and has a very long self life. Dries in 15 min, sands very nicely. This sealer sits on top of the wood, filling the valleys and essentially levelling the surface. I usually sand the wood to 400 grit, apply a coat, sand smooth with 400 grit and repeat with a second coat. The surface should reflect light afterwards and be smooth  and slippery. No worries, the paint will adhere very nicely.

 

Never tried weathering, on my to do list!

 

Do not dismiss enamels completely, they are wonderful. Low odour mineral spirit will allow you to paint in the house but cleaning the brushes is a pain, it takes a long time to dry so attracts dust and if you leave everything on the table waiting to add another coat in 6 hours, you will inevitably spill the mineral spirit on the table/floor and the admiral will not be impressed and will ban indoor modelling activities. Much easier to use acrylics...

I searched online for the Decoart Americana Sealer and found several. Are you using the Decoart Multipurpose Sealer that you brush on? If you have a photo of what you are using that would be great. Thanks!

Bob

Great job on your dory! It will be a wonderful model when you're finished. My first boat was the Artesania Latina Saint Malo. It's a dory but I think the Bluejacket model is much better and more authentic. I love the small, working boats of the USA, Canada and the Mediterranean. I wish there were more good quality models of these types of boats. Good luck on the rest of your build.

Bob

Vaddoc and wefalck, thank you both so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with us on this topic. I have learned a lot from your well written contributions on this subject and your advice will help me become more skilled at painting.

Bob

6 hours ago, wefalck said:

Beware that there is a difference between 'priming' and 'sealing wood'.

 

Primers are meant to increase the adhesion of paint to particular surfaces as a sort of physico-chemical go-in-between between the surface and the paint. Filled primers (as the Valejo Grey one is) also levels the surface, i.e. it covers up some of the surface roughness.

 

Wood sealers penetrate into the wood, filling (partially) the pores in the wood. They are essentially a kind of lacquer filled with say pumice dust. Thes normally dry quite hard in order to facilitate sanding. Aqueous sealers work best on dry and low-resin wood. For more resinous woods you better use an organic solvent-based sanding sealer.

 

Hence, I would prepare wooden surfaces with sanding sealers, rather than 'primers'.

Thanks for explaining the differences between sealing and priming.

I understand that a sanding sealer would be used prior to sanding seal the pores and they typically dry hard which helps when sanding. Does this then leave a good surface to directly apply paint to? Since primers increase the adhesion of paint and can fill and level surfaces, it seems to me that this would be very helpful in providing a  good, smooth surface to paint on. Are there situations when a sealer is preferred and situations where a primer is preferred?

Bob 

I've done all the painting in our house and, although model painting is certainly different, I have found that good quality brushes are easier to work with and do a better job. I'm not particularly brand conscious either as long as the brush is good quality. My wife was a watercolor artist before changing to pastels and she felt that good brushes made a big difference. Looking at how well your painting looks, I would imagine that the brushes you use are well made.

Bob

Great information, Ryland, thank you. Do you have a favorite brand of brushes?

Bob

This is a wonderful build log of a very interesting model. I'll be following your progress. 

 I just read your member introduction post. We have things in common. I live in Sacramento and am an avid road cyclist and my wife and I have spent 17 weeks traveling in South America (Peru, Argentina and Brazil) including 3 weeks in Patagonia and Ushuaia. The hiking was incredible when the wind wasn't blowing 70 mph! Good luck on your build.

Bob

Absolutely gorgeous! You've done a fantastic job on this boat and your build log is wonderful and very informative as well. Congratulations!

Bob

I am so glad to hear you say that you've had good results painting over Wipe-on-Poly since I'm just about to do that on the Medway Longboat. Also, the top photo of the stern of the Winnie is jaw-dropping. I believe I will eventually have to build this ship...sooner than later I hope. It's just soooo beautiful!

Bob 

Wow...stunningly beautiful, Chuck!

I like your adventurous spirit, Fred! When I get interested in something I tend to jump in with both feet also. I'm currently working on the Medway Longboat and loving it. Reading some of the Winnie build logs has certainly captured my attention and, although I'm holding off right now, I can feel the pull. You seem to have a bit more in depth experience than I do at this point since you have completed the Lady Nelson and the Bounty. I started off with a small AL dory, then I built the Maris Stella Batelina and the Midwest Indian Canoe before beginning the Longboat. I'm sure I'd be in way over my head but I do enjoy being challenged and learning...

I'll be following your progress closely on this beautiful ship. Congratulations and good luck!

Bob 

Thanks to everyone contributing to this topic. I'm about to start painting some areas on my Medway Longboat with Vallejo Red Acrylic Paint and this information is very helpful.

Vaddoc:  I would be happy to paint as well as your photos show! You mentioned that you use a water based wood sealer to prep for painting. Have you ever used any of the Vallejo Grey or Black Primers?                

On 1/30/2019 at 11:47 PM, vaddoc said:

Hand brushing is a good alternative, quite satisfying as well!

I have only basic painting skills and do not want to use an airbrush. I have had excellent results with hand brushing using Valejo colours following these rules:

1. Use very good brushes, with appropriate width for the job

2. Thin the paint (should be runny but not like water), avoid heavy coats.

3. For Valejo, use the hand brushing thinner, different and better than the air brush thinner. It congeals if left so must have resin in it (this is what valejo claims so not easily reproduced at home). Get the 60 ml bottle, it is not expensive.

4. Use a bit of retarder.

5. Start from dry and end on wet. Take your time, you can go over the area 2-3 times. Avoid puddles at the edges.

6. Trust the paint! Do not go over again to "correct" or smooth out brush marks. They will disappear. You ll probably need a dozen or more coats either way.

7. Best to seal the wood, I use a water based wood sealer sanded to 400 grit

8. I use plastic pots with caps that seal pretty well and are cheap. The paint stays wet for months.

9. Use only frog tape or Tamiya tape or equivalent. The paint will bleed under ordinary masking tape or electricians tape.

10. Acrylic paint is not tough so needs to be protected with varnish or some topcoat

 

Hopefully these will be of help to some. May not work for all but I was able to paint my 80 cm hull with almost no brush marks.

 

Vaddoc

Thanks, Vaddoc, for this great information! On #5 you say to "start dry and finish wet." I'm not sure what that means. Could you explain that part?

Bob

She's coming along nicely and looking great!

I'm interested to know how to determine whether a frame is undersized and should be built up or the adjacent frames are a bit oversized and should be sanded down a bit more? I've just eyeballed it when using a batten to check the fairing and made my best guess.

Bob

Thanks very much for your reply, Ryland. I think I will very lightly sand the areas with WOP that I will be painting just to be safe and doing a test piece is good advice too. What brand of paint do you prefer?

I also like the little tabs you placed on the bottom of the cockpit thwart and seats to help get everything aligned and level. It's been fiddly for me trying to steadily align these parts when marking for notches and cuts and it should make the seam stronger than just edge gluing too. Great idea.

Bob