BobG

Hello and welcome to my build log of the HMS Flirt by Vanguard Models. I've decided to start building the Flirt in addition to my current build of the Pen Duick after a significant hiatus from doing any ship modeling as I grappled with the vague and confusing, instructions by Artesania Latina. At this point, I just need to build something that has excellent instructions, great materials and is historically authentic and the Flirt fits that bill for me. My goal to improve my overall modeling skills while taking my time to slow down and carefully execute each step without rushing the process. I want to thoroughly understand what I'm doing before I do it especially when it comes to fairing and planking the hull. I will be using Chuck's method of planking for lining the hull, shaping and bending the planks. Those who use this method well end up with beautifully planked hulls and it's time for me to learn it too. Finally, I plan to simply have fun and enjoy the journey without getting overly perfectionistic. I can get obsessive about the smallest details at times and I have found that there's a point at which I need to say "enough" at continue forward. Of course, I will be relying heavily upon the expertise of other modelers whose work I admire here on the forum such as gbarlow, DelF, Blue Ensign, Hollowneck, desalgu, WalrusGuy, Moonbug, gjdale, James H and many others. So here we go. I will be building the Master Shipwright Edition of the Flirt. I chose this edition particularly because of the extensive use of boxwood rather than pear wood which is used in the standard version . I've heard ship modelers sing the praises of boxwood over the years but I've never used it before and have wanted to see what it like compared to woods like yellow cedar and pear which I like very much. The false keel and the bulkheads are birch plywood which is very smooth and quite hard and the laser cutting is excellent. The cuts are extremely accurate with minimal laser burn. The first step was to add bulkheads 4 -13 to the false keel. Bulkhead 4 had a little wobble in it and bulkheads 10 - 12 were quite loose so I used my machinist blocks to insure they were all accurately perpendicular to the false keel. I primarily use Titebond Thick & Quick glue which sets up faster than regular Titebond but still gives me plenty of time to make adjustments as needed. It also doesn't run down vertical surfaces. I added the scribed lower deck next. These fit very snuggly and I'm glad that I practiced test fitting them first before gluing so I could see how they click into place with a careful amount of pressure. Lastly, I used regular Titebond to brush glue on all the joints which makes for a very solid frame at this point. Many thanks to everyone for stopping by and taking a look. Your comments and advice will always most welcome. Cheers!

Beautiful work, juhu!

Bummer, Mark, I've been enjoying following your build. Will you be able to get your eyes examined and get some new glasses pretty soon?

Great work, Frank! This is certainly going to be a showpiece!

Gorgeous model, Jeff. Nice work!

Nice to see you back in your model shipyard, Vaddoc, and congratulations on putting your health and fitness first and foremost. A lot of people have gained weight during the pandemic from what I have read. I'm looking forward to seeing you continue to make progress on this wonderful model.

I hope my log will be of some assistance to you although, at the rate I'm going, I may be getting assistance from your log especially figuring out the rigging. She is really is a beautiful racing yacht and I look forward to your build. Thanks for looking in.

Fantastic work, Ron, she looks great! I always feel like the rigging really brings the ship to life.

Good advice, Mark. I shouldn't use power tools right after I get up either. I've been known to drop stuff and bump into things before I have some coffee and fully wake up! 😂

Thanks, Don. I've been enjoying your Winnie build. Really fine work!

Spectacular, Hake!

Thanks for stopping by, Erik and Hake. It'll be slow going now that I'm into the "mystery rigging section."

I'd probably be doing a little bit of snooping around the house... 😇

Thanks everyone for the comments and the likes. Encouragement is always appreciated as I plug along blindly as I attempt the deck fittings and the rigging. Thanks Glenn and Grant for your continued interest in my build and for nudging me along. Both of you are inspirational modelers! I'll do my best, Yves, and thank you for the encouragement! I love everything about the whole history of the Pen Duick and Eric Tabarly but the quality of the AL model itself leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only kit available. It needs to be scratch built at a larger scale to really do it justice in my opinion, but I haven't been able find any good plans to help me with this model and I even contacted the Eric Tabarly Association in France for assistance with no luck. Maybe the Pen Duick could be the first racing yacht in the Vanguard or Syren line of models!

Nice work, Mike!

Sorry, just a brain fart! 🤣 Grant is gjdale here on the forum and he does spectacular work on all kinds of modeling subjects. I enjoy following all of his projects and, like you, he does outstanding work and creates wonderful build logs as well. Check him out if you haven't already.

I believe you will be painting the hull so a small piece of wood to fill the gap along with some filler should do the trick. Take you time filling and sanding, at least to 220 grit, until you have a nice, smooth surface following by a good primer before you paint and your hull will look splendid.

Well, they say that wonders never cease so, believe it or not, I actually sat down at my modeling table and made a little progress on the Pen Duick. The Artesania Latina plans and instructions are pretty much useless after you finish the hull and, eventually, I lost my motivation to keep at it. I'm still not sure how I will figure out the rigging but I'll give it a go. My plan is to keep chipping away at the Pen Duick and also start building the Flirt at the same time. I figure that working on the Flirt and the Pen Duick at the same time will balance things out for me when the Pen Duick gets too frustrating. I finished adding the hatches and the cockpit to the deck today. The only problem I had was that the tabs on the coamings around the cockpit did not line up well with the holes I had previously carved in the deck as per the plans. The walnut coaming is old and hard so they wouldn't flex much either. Eventually, after some careful filing, I managed to get them to sit flush on the deck without breaking them but there were some small gaps showing in the deck next to where the tabs slotted into the deck. I use Titebond Quick & Thick as my primary glue. So I made a slurried mixture of the glue with some sawdust from the deck planking strips and used a dental tool to carefully fill in the gaps. It worked great and I'm happy with the way the cockpit and hatches look on the deck.

Perfection, Grant, such a pleasure to follow your work!

I just read over your build log, Sascha. Fantastic work on this unusual model!

I'm sure you could get new ones easily enough from Chris if necessary, Mark.

Very nice little boat, Andrew!

Sorry to hear about this, Mark, but I predict it is just a bump in the road of your journey building this wonderful model. We've all been there more times that we'd like to admit and, more times than not, we found a way to fix it. No doubt that you will as well. Good luck!

Exceptional work, David! I'm learning a lot from your creative techniques.

These legendary cars certainly didn't idle or run quietly...rumbling, choking and and belching fire! I could smell the Mefistofele burning oil just watching the video! I wonder if this is just the way these engines ran even when they were new or if the car in the video was in serious need of a ring job? Thanks for posting these videos, Yves...great fun to watch!