BobG

Nice job on this interesting model, Sparky!

14 hours ago, Duanelaker said:

Made some progress about a month ago.   it seems i made the rail to thin and the straps that hold the deadeyes are to far inboard to work...this has frustrated me and i have put this ship away for now.

I know about getting frustrated with a build, David, and I think that stepping away from a build at times is not such a bad thing.

I stepped away from my Pen Duick build for a long time because I got to frustrated with the poor instructions and didn't do any building for something like a year. I just followed others' builds here on the forum until I started to feel the urge to start building again. The Pen Duick is still going very slowly but I am determined to finish it. However, I found that I needed to build a ship that had good instructions and materials. So now I building the Flirt by Vanguard and I'm enjoying it very much while I continue to work slowly on the Pen Duick as well.  

I hope we'll see you back building something soon that you enjoy also.  

7 hours ago, juhu said:

But now I would like to dedicate all the likes and thoughts to the brave people and brave country. Just a symbol, I know, but thanks to all who join.

Thanks for expressing what so many of us in the world are feeling as we continue to watch the heroism and the terrible suffering of people of Ukraine.  

On 8/14/2021 at 4:55 AM, DelF said:

Where necessary I used clamps as well as pins, with occasional edge bending:

I really like the mini c-clamps you used when you did the planking as shown in your post #20. Do you have a link for them? 

Those are some cool looking cocktail fish!

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Just playing catch up on this, Bob.  For some reason I've missed this one.   Looking good.   

Thanks for stopping by, Mark. I'm trying not to make a mess of it! I'm really enjoying your Sphinx build too.

I spent quite a bit of time redoing the planking belts taking into consideration the advice from the posts by Chuck and Glenn in responses to my original attempt at lining the hull. Chuck had noted that my original layout was incorrect and so I paid particular attention to the red lines he superimposed onto the photo of my original layout of the belts. I tried 2 belts also as Glenn had suggested to see what that would be like and I preferred 3 belts. Three belts helped me visualize the flow of the belts better but I think that's simply a personal preference and some would prefer 2 belts.

I erased my previous tick marks and started over by marking the widest bulkheads, #7 and #8. The planks are 5 mm wide and the those 2 bulkheads are 78 mm wide so, starting at the bottom of the gunport patterns, there will be 15 planks total (14 planks at 5 mm wide plus a garboard plank that is 8 mm wide) and I marked those 2 bulkheads accordingly.

I used 1/16" black chart tape to divide the hull into 3 belts. The chart tape is frustrating to use because it doesn't stick well to the bulkheads and it kept popping loose requiring me to readjust often. I ended up putting Scotch tape on the ends of the tape at the bow and stern to help hold the lines in place. I need to find some narrow tape that sticks better...maybe there is some very narrow making tape...?

I started placing the tape at 5 tics down from the bottom of the gunport patterns on bulkheads 7 and 8 with the upper edge of the tape at the 5th tick mark and laid out that belt. Once the first belt was in place, I dropped down another 5 tics and did the same. Now I had 3 belts. I tried to approximate the lines Chuck had recommended to make the 3 belts and then I viewed them from different angles and made more adjustments. I also used the sheer as a reference as Glenn had suggested. Finally, I marked the top edges of the tape on all of the other bulkheads.

Next up, I'll need to use tic strips to measure the width of each section on each bulkhead. Then I'll lay each tic strip on a planking fan to determine the width of each plank in that section and transfer those marks to the appropriate bulkhead. I'll do this for all the bulkheads in each of the 3 belts. Once done, the tic marks will define the width of each plank at every bulkhead.

Here's several views of what the belts look like from different angles. I think they are better but... 🤞

I do have a question about the planking process itself. Is it preferable to plank the first belt on one side and then plank the first belt on the other or is it okay to plank and entire side and then plank the other side?

I'm trying to go slow and understand what I'm doing so I hope my snail's pace isn't boring everyone out of their minds!

Cheers!

Looks good to me, Darren!

Lots of very nice progress, Glenn! 👍

Maybe it will be like this for us someday, Mike!

11 hours ago, Dfell said:

used 3 butt shift

I've tried searching MSW for a diagram of butt shift patterns but can't seem to find an explanation or a diagram. Do you have a reference link that would show these but shifts?

This is going to be a magnificent model when you are finished...such fine details! Great job!

I'm sure he's smiling at the wonderful job you done to finish this model in fine fashion, Mike, and there will be a place at the ship modeling table for you along with the rest of us when the time comes. Until then, keep up the good work!

Very nice work, Mike!

The planking looks very good, Doug. 

I'll be doing the first planking soon and I am currently studying up on lining off the hull and then using Chuck's method of planking.

I can't quite tell from your photo but it looks like you used a planking butt shift pattern on the second planking...? Assuming you did, what pattern of shift did you use? Also, did you need to use any drop planks or stealers on the final planking?

Stunning work, Peter! It's amazing how good the carvings are and they make the model look so much more realistic.

20 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Just noticed, this thing needs a good dusting.

I swear, these models are dust magnets!

She'll look great if you decided to go admiralty style, Mark. Glad you're back in your shipyard plugging away.

I like the black thread between the deck planks, Hake. It's very realistic looking.

Looks gorgeous, Glenn!

Taking your time getting the frames aligned properly and fairing the hull well is time well spent, Hake, as I'm sure you already know. Errors in these two steps inevitably create big problems down the road. Nice work!

Well done, Ras! You've made your model look like a true working vessel with all the interesting, additional details. The crew member is looking very pale though. The seas must have been really rough! 🤢 

19 hours ago, Jeff5115 said:

As a relative newcomer to this hobby I learn so much from reading other members build logs.

Welcome, Jeff, and thanks for following along.

Most of what I know about ship modeling I learned from others on this forum and, like so many things, the more you learn about something, the more you realize just how much you have yet to learn! 

20 hours ago, smotyka said:

I'll get a log going in hopefully 6 weeks due to your encouragement - have an upcoming medical situation to tend too in the meantime.

Sorry to hear that you have some medical issues that need attention, Steve, and I hope that all goes well for you. I look forward to following your build once you are back working on your model. Take good care. 

4 hours ago, smotyka said:

Bob, appreciate the detail that your digging into on this model. 

Thanks, Steve. It's my hope that providing a good amount of detail as I go along  will be helpful to others.

I want to highlight the steps that were particularly challenging for me as well as my mistakes since my guess is that others may have difficulty in a lot of the same areas that I did. I think it will be most helpful also to actually see how I finally managed to get through these problem areas and to see what I did to try and fix my mistakes. Unfortunately, I think we learn a lot through our mistakes so my build will not be pretty at times but I'm okay with that as long learn something and perhaps do it better the next time.

Do you have a build log for your Flirt? If not, it's never too late to start one. I was hesitant to start a log when I was building the Medway Longboat but I finally started one when other builders encouraged me to do so. I got lots of great advice along the way and it helped me stay motivated to finish the build.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your Flirt build.

Of the color combinations you have tried, I prefer the blue and black in the bottom photo the best. You might try the darkest blue with the black also.