Grimber

I've looked at all the swift build logs and I can tell you that the end results of the stern blocks are different on all of them. some people would make a smooth transition from the blocks to the false keel and others would make a definitive line I ended up leaving the stern blocks until the very last thing needing to be done before starting on the first planking. gave me as much time as I could take to finaly decide. some tappered them to the end of the poop-deck and others followed the back edge of the false keel. I think with this particular part of this kit, AL did a poor job of it. if you look at figure 3 and the side cutaway view there is a small tapered edge of the stern blocks that follow the back false keel line, that is what I went with. tried to take measurements off those drawings to get what I thought they ment.

Nice impact explosion. I wouldn't use too much smoke effect added on since it would mask the explosion, most smoke comes after the initial impact anyways.

actually that brings up an interesting point.. I've been looking at allot of pictures of the ship building process ( real ship building), I don't recall seeing them using any clamps to hold the planks against the hull frames while they treenail them in place. Have you? but you se 2 guys putting in the tree nails but no one holding the planks and no clamps.

looks very nice, and your first strake made it to the end of the bow too, mine didn't. If your starboard side lines up with the port, you should get some very nice lines to that planking, Only point I'd like to mention, Keith does a good job explaining planking so I don't need to repeat what he says, is on beveling your planks so they fit tighter. This is from this web site: http://www.knightdreamers.com/HomePage/Ships/00.htm while I didn't use the fan or stop my planks after they got smaller than 1/2 width on the first planking, I think making sure to bevel will at least get you that nice tight fit.

if you want to do it fancy/professional you can get one of the slider tracks for the ceiling and the wire shower curtain loops . hook them into the track sliders and then hang your heavy mil plastic. would be like one of them privacy divider curtains they use in the hospital you can push back when not sanding.

you can also reduce the dust spreading by just hanging some plastic sheeting around the sanding/dust generating station(s). even some shower curtains and shower curtain rods hung from the ceiling then have your shop vac running inside that plastic off area. don't like looking for the opening in the plastic, heavier mil plastic and cut in strips, making something like they use in walk in freezers. Doesn't cut out all the spread of dust but can really reduce it, and its cheap to set up. **edited** oh if the plastic 'floats' around, tape some heavy washers ( or anything with weight) to the bottom edges

Little good news. Won two ebay auctions for ship models last night, both came in under my budget. One was a ship in a bottle kit ( and I made sure it wasn't one of those with cut open plastic bottles). So need to do some searching on some of that type of modeling. I think it would be nice on the side as something to build as I wait on paint/glue to dry on my swift. The second an old balsa solid hull kithttp://www.ebay.com/itm/IDEAL-MODELS-HISTORIC-SHIP-MODELS-SOVEREIGN-OF-THE-SEA-BALSA-/261633172710?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=taHgOEXsi6vQPz74dCToxLprrcY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc give me the chance to try a solid hull ship. Both were cheap (less than what I payed at BK for lunch today ) so if I muck them up I'm really not out much of anything. would like to try a couple of them midwest kits but they seem to be popular to scarf up. .................. Section A.9 outside bulwork planking. My planks are dry now so I remove them off my bending rig and test how well they bend to the bulwork curvature. ( the one on the ship isn't actualy bent that way, its just drooping from it's own weight) I notice that the planks aren't long enough to run all the way from the end transom to the end of the bow. Since there is a piece that goes on the bow over the planking (#34 Cut water reinforcement) I'll just overhang the transom and then fill in the bow with pieces later. Have the issue of trying to straighten out the buckling on the bulwork so I went to lowes and got some 1/16"x1/2" aluminum strip, I also made sure to get some of that angle aluminum like Keith used for getting his bulkheads in straight, to use on my next ship. Cut it down to 14 1/2" and using my table vise and my cut out deck curvature form I bent the aluminum to shape. Before I start the planking I take a 1" wide paint brush and wet down only the outside of the bulwork. give it 3 hits of brushed on water to soften the wood up enough so I can try and reform it. Starting at the transom I glue down 4 rows of planks with thinned wood glue, line up my bent aluminum form along the inside of the bulwork, place a hobby stick/popsicle stick) vertical across the planking and clamp it down. Working my way to the bow I make sure the planks stay aligned and against each other, adjust the aluminum bar as needed, craft stick and clamp. Where the buckling is the worst I use those 'trigger' ratcheting clamps to get more pressure on the buckeled areas. Be mindful where the clamp pads are on the inside of the bulwork too, you can easily snag the stringer and mash it or miss the aluminum bar and hit a painted part and crush the bulwork wood. This took some juggling and a little cursing and re applying glue in spots as planks shifted around but it went in better than I expected. Now to just let it sit and dry, then I can repeat it on the starboard side. Time to go read on rigging I think.

very nice scribe work

Hi, just found your build log and read over it. I have quite a bit of experience with plastic kit modeling so thought I would share some tips, if you don't mind. Last time I built a plastic model was 1987 (and it happens to be the last model I did until I started on my first wood ship) so is been a while but I can remember allot of how I use to do things. As mentioned by src. before you start anything on a plastic kit, clean all the parts with a degreaser first. If you have allot of small parts and fragile parts on the trees like the constitution kit does ( I built it in the early 80's ) remove the parts place in a mason jar with water and degreaser soap and shake well then drain with a wire mesh strainer and rinse. The reason you clean it is this. They use a form release spray on the mold before injecting the plastic so the parts don't stick to the mold when they goto take the trees out. This stuff is a petroleum based material and the factory doesn't remove it later, they just pack it in the box as is. This stuff will cause no end of grief with paints and glues. Glues, use thin coating. If doing a US or european made kit use model GLUE. if making a kit out of asian use model CEMENT. The plastics and glue/cements are formulated differently. US and most euro companies use the same plastic formula that when you use model glue the glue chemicaly reacts to the plastics causing them to 'weld' at the surfaces ( unless you don't get the form oil off the parts first). Asian kits the plastic wont weld so you have to use cement. Paint also does not stick well to the form oil, especially acrylics (water and oil ). When painting don't over load your brush ( no bulbous glob of paint on it ). Paint with brushs same rule with house painting always in the same direction. never one way then another. Don't try to get a full covering in one coat. Do it in layers vs a heavy coat. Takes longer for the paint under the surface of a heavy coat to dry and paint can then run and sag. Don't over brush your paint. Running your brush over the same spot over and over you will see the paint start to set up and then you will shred the paint surface and shredded paint can't be fixed by just painting over it, you have to remove it and do it again before it drys. Learn some artist paintbrush techniques like fan brushing, dry brushing, washs, fades, and so on and on... Don't mix your bushes. a brush you use for acrylic, always then acrylic. Oil based always oil based. They leave residues behind in the brush and especially on the adhesive used to hold the hairs together. will make the brush deteriorate faster and effect paint you use. Get some cheap throw away brushes for dirty jobs and good brushes for the good jobs. http://www.mcgillswarehouse.com/ great place to get some of your supplies like brushes. Don't rely on just brushs for paint application. Use your imagination here. sponges, sticks, fingers q tips cotton balls, paper towel... I knew a painter that only did his paintings with a crowbar. Need to be imaginative to solve these problems. Don't remove paint mistakes with a hobby knife, or sand paper or emory board ect. You dig into the plastic and cause it to 'whiten' plus you disrupt the paint surface. Keep clean paint brushs, q tips, cotton balls, paper towels, rags, toothpicks, and clean thinner handy and dry brush the excess off. For detail removal wrap a bit of paper towel around a thin stick of wood or metal or even a toothpick. Light bit of thinner on the towel and work the paint off. To paint straight lines mask, as mentioned. Don't use masking tape or cellophane tape, masking is porus and cellophane will 'rip/tear at the paint as you peal the tape off. Use a normal painters tape from any place that carries paint. You can also use other stuff to mask with besides tape, just be sure its easy to remove later. Like latex or silicone calking, rubber cement, elmers white school glue, greese/vasoline, modeling clay ( this one is super easy to make straight lines with), electric glue gun glue, ... use your imagination something that can it a form can be trimmed to the desired line/edge and easy to remove. Just remember that many of these leave a residue so you need to remove that as well. When using a mask to paint and edge. keep the paint as THIN as possible along that masking else you will rip and tear the paint job when removing the mask ( like the cellophane tape will). Keep as much paint OFF the mask as possible also. If you get paint on the masking, wipe off the excess right away, don't let it set up or dry. the more you keep off the masking when time to remove the less damage you will do to the paint job. Also brush work will help you paint straight lines. light load your brush, start out brush AWAY from the line edge and paint INTO the line. If you have a rippling bulge of paint on the leading edge of your brush when you brush to your line you have too much paint. Back off and spread the paint a bit then go again. Learn how to mix and thin your paints. Many model paints are too thick when trying to do detail work. Need to thin them out a bit. Thin with linseed oil, not thinner ( for enamels ) unless your doing washes ( then use both ) Don't rely on just model paint to paint your model. You don't have to restrict yourself to get the results you desire. I've used inks, markers, crayons, dyes, oil paints pastels... what ever gets the results you want. For detail work like the prow and name plate you can dry brush the color over the surfaces or you can goto a shop that sells ceramic supplies and get antiquing rubs. They are a colored ( usually metallic shades) wax comes in a small jar like carmex. Rub your finger on it then rub your finger over the raised surfaces you want to color, blow off any dust, then coat it with a clear coat like mogpodge, varnish or modeling clear coat. Speaking of wax. Get some bees wax for your rigging lines.

hehe makes you almost want to NOT use them. "They look so good, maybe I should think of using them on this instead...?" Same thought hit me today. I just straight varnished the mahogany deck step ( just a tiny piece) but I like the look so much I'm really having second thoughts on putting the mahogany 2nd planking on my ship since I intend to use paint on the hull. I'm seriously thinking to look if I can find more of that ramin planking to use instead if I can get some (or anything else )cheap. Any suggestions where to look?

Todays work was mostly get some finishing going, prep some parts for the next step and a little maintenance to get things looking better. For the next section have to put some ramin planking on the outside of the bulworks so I soak some and put it on my bending rig I made so that will be ready to go once it dries. I didn't care for the different look of the mahogany planks on the transom curved surface so I cut some deck planking ramin and covered it. Then did the same with the deck: treenails, black wash sand scrap, stain sand scrap, varnish 2x. ( no need of picture for all these steps ) After that was completely dried I started painting the inside of the bulworks a cream color ( just used household latex paint on this ) and I cut out the stringers, sanded and painted them a sea blue green ( also household latex ). Ended up with four coats on the bulworks and three on the strings. I then went back and cut out from a strip of mahogany the piece for the stern deck step that I also skipped, like the stringers, in section A.6. Cut it to shape, filed sanded and glued it in. Once the glue dried I just applied 2 coats of satin varnish. Time to install the stringers. I test fit the port side in and mark where it has to be cut off. Instructions and illustrations show it cuts off just before the stern deck step. I touch up the paint where I cut it off and speeded up the drying with a hair dryer ( this is fine with water based paints, don't do this with oils, enamels or varnish UNLESS you want to create a 'crackel' effect intentionally). I glue with the clear gel glue and clamp to hold in place. The small spring clamps worked nice here as the angling pads help keep it on the deck and against the bulwork but they did dig into my bulwork paint job a tiny bit. After I got both main deck stringers in I cut, beveled sanded and trimmed the remaining stringer pieces to fill in the poop-deck stringers. You don't get much left over of the stringers to do this unless you want to manufacture your own from the left over sheet. I found after the stringers were in I didn't like the tiny gap in the stringers over the stern deck step so I cut little filler pieces to put in there and I like the results more than what it looked like before. After it was all dried I did some touch ups of the cream and sea blue green paints. All that handling, cutting, clamping it will eventually leave marks in that latex paint. ( further down the road I will coat it all in a varnish, but not until I get some other parts put in and painted first ). (I really like how the mahogany of the deck step looked after just putting on varnish without any other finish, and it's got me thinking....) (yes there is still a little buckling in the bulworks .. right picture port bow section .. as well as some unevenness down the bulworks in general. I have a plan where I think I can fix these when I do the outside bulwork planking) I also like the look of the stringers, in fact I am considering taking the stringers all the way around instead of stopping there. What do you think? ......... Well this part was sort of catch up for the next step but did get section A.6 work done. Also had a nice day in that I finally got a couple of the books I had ordered. Thanks to Keith I got a very quickly growing wants list of books ( started reading one while waiting on paint to dry and was out like a light in seconds) Also went to the Dollar Tree store ( everything is a dollar, not rounded to the nearest dollar like other dollar stores ) and got some organizers (they were 3-5 in a pack for a dollar) for my work area. Now I just need to organize my organizers.

First I'd have to say this next part has been the most frustrating part of this build. I mean holy jumin' jack rabbits who ever AL hired to design the bulworks and aft end of this ship model I hope he got his 'aft' end fired. I can see why they did a newer version of this ship. If you are reading this with the plan to make the 1982 or 1985 Swift but have not started yet. Make yourself a bulkhead for the aft end before inserting the support structure blocks. Will save you allot of problems. Onwards ................ Took my bulworks off the bending rig and I thought they turned out fairly well. Now we have to line up the end of the bulkwork to the stern end of the ship to start glueing these 2 pieces it. Now I would like to make a quote from this sections instructions. "The reason for starting at the stern is that the edge of the bulwork has been cut exactly for its adjoining piece later on, and when both bulworks have been mounted, it is easy to shape the bow." Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong..... Without a pre defined part or clear illustration to that stern end there is almost no way to get an exact match which will throw everything concerning the stern off. Fighting with that this morning I was tempted to cut the bulworks back off and start from the bow, but in the 'aft' of things I decided I'd just wing it and make it all fit together. (btw the bow went together fine even with the aft end problems) So I line up the starboard bulwork starting at the stern end and I had to use superglue to tack it on as I went. This got difficult as you have to angle the bulwork to follow the curvature of the hull and there is really no way to use clamps here to hold it in place. Note the bulwork does NOT stand straight up and down but you have to follow its natural curve. I then miter cut the bow section along the center line leaving just a little extra to file and sand to fit the bow together after I get the 2nd half in. I followed the same struggling steps for the port bulwork, after miter cutting at the bow and then fileing and sanding then glued the bulworks together at the bow. (don't mind that the prow line doesn't seem right. it was right on spot after a little sanding) I really think they should have extended 'arms' off the bulkheads to help in laying down these bulworks better, nothing wanted to go in straight or keep an even curvature . Also had some other problems. Tops of the bulworks were wavering and even beginning to buckle. Also noticed the plywood starting to come apart. Must be due to its age and soaking the glue just can't hold very well anymore. I'll just have to glue and clamp where it is splitting apart and when everything is dry try to straighten out the wavering and buckling. Once it is set up I then give the outside seam and where the bow joins together a some brushed on wood glue and let it sit to set up. end of Section A.7 A.8 Transom Had a time with even finding the right parts. The transom was only labeled with a 1 and for the mahogany strips I had to get the size of the pieces off the inventory list and measure strips till I found something that matched. Hope I didn't use the wrong strip ment for something else. Well the 'exact fitting' bulworks were anything but. I had to do measurements out from bulkhead 8 until I got the transom even across the stern end. Eventually I had to cut off 3mm from the port side bulwork then had to reshape the curvature so the 2 sides would match ( or about as close as I could get them anyways) I also had to place a center line on the back of the transom so as I was putting the planking on I could get it in line with the centerline of the keel as it was off center towards the port side. After I cut down the mahogany plank piece to 6 x 55mm lengths I laid a straight edge down along the keel center line and held in line the transom as I glued each plank piece. Did reinforcement glueing with wood glue around the transom joints and along the planks. There have been suggestions in other builds to add a 2nd planking to strengthen this area for when you have to drill for the rudder hole. I will do a second planking after all the glue dries and I trim off this planking work, but not out of concern for the strength but I'll use the deck planking inside to fix the flaws of the transom end and make the decking match the rest of the deck planking. End of section A.8 Think I'll spend the rest of the day working on something less frustrating, like 60 year old plaster over lath boards.

Hi bob, time should not be a concern with your build. GabeK took 27 years to finish his Swift. GabeK build log I'm still trying to get through the build logs and I'm only 25% of the way into Keith's log There are allot of swift build logs here and not all of them have a title with Swift or virginia in them. Some are the newer 1990s+ versions and others are the 1982 and 1985 older versions.

this was done really quick so its not cut very well, but something like this? or squared off corners vs rounding it? it's aluminum from a soda can btw not painted yet.

tin may work, or some alluminum from a soda can (easier to cut maye?). Paint would work, just a little primer so it stick to the metal first.

actualy many sea battles with planes involved the skies would be so full of planes that it was not uncommon that they sometimes crash into each other. A major organized attack on a navel ship would be in waves of squadrons. Timed so as one squadron had made its pass of dropping ordinance the next was just arriving and setting up to start it's attack run.

Thats good enough of an example to know the idea. It will have be like a rivet a bit of 'farring' I guess you could call it around the outside edges of the openings. a raised edge. We just need to then fashion some sort of build up around the openings. thin but just enough to suggest a caste lead piece inserted. thin bits of wood built up and sanded/filed for roundness, bead of glue, split in half round toothpick. piece of scrap deck planking ( only .5mm thick) cut to the oblong shape and round the outside edges, then 'router' out the opening.

on the 1st planking it shouldn't make much differance on the widths but on that 2nd hull planking it may effect the outcome overall of the fan method since you're assuming a plank width of 5mm for every plank when marking/measuring.

Yes, one of the lessons I learned pretty early on with model building was the directions are for building the kit as-is. Since the manufacturers can't plan how each and ever person is going to do finishing work its up to you as the builder to decide changes in the game plan. Look at the swift for example, if you followed the directions step by step in order without finishing. When you finished the wood construction part then hit the entire model with a varnish or spray clear coat then did the hardware and riggings you would get what is on the cover of the box. I looked at Matti's Vasa. All I can say is WOW! If i could ever get to that point ( and that much patience ) I wouldn't be doing this for a hobby but as a living. (Same with janos's carving skill ) you could just sit back and make detail parts at particular scale and sell them through a modeling online hobby store or your own web site linked to as many modeling sites/forums as possible. Washes are good for bringing out details or muti layering colors ( wash, dry off sand/scrape and second color wash and repeat on and on for each color you want to add. Like for my deck I could have scraped it a bit more then added a bright yellow or white wash ( with sanding and scraping also) and it would have brought out more light colored wood tones Thus making the dark calk and treenails and wood grains stand out even that much more. ( more light next to dark, more dark next to light... the more you want your darks to 'pop' the more light that needs to be next to it) ................. Not allot done today on the ship. Been procrastinating projects around the house that need doing so I need to get back to some of those. Trying to finish painting a bedroom that I started on like 3 months ago and stopped because I got lazy. BTW, I 'intend/plan' to use the same red on the walls for below the waterline on my ships hull and the cream on the ceiling and trim for my bulworks. (hey, I already got the paint, so why not ) I'll just use a different clear coat on them to adjust the sheen. Oh if I get that far I want to build one of the korean dragon turtle ships for display in this room maybe a korean fishing ship too. also looking at the little village huts you build as well anyways, the ship work for today. I need to start on the bulworks so after cutting them out of the sheet of wood and trimming/sanding I will need to prime and bend them so they can be painted and attached to the hull. I didn't have any primer and even if I did I wouldn't use it yet as the primer would make it hard to soak the pieces. Instead I had some OLD tempera paints that had gone bad and I'll use that for an initial prime. The paint must have froze at one time as now its more like grits than paint which was too bad as they were still in the shrink wrap. But added some water and mixed good and brushed on the bulwork pieces. Most of this will wash off when soaked but it's enough to soak into the wood. Next i take some stock cardboard ( this time a 12 pack soda can box) and I cut it to the basic curve of the hull. Does not need to be exact just the right amount of curvature. I also mark on this template the ends of the bow and stern. I need these points to help on my bender rig to align the board so the curves are in the right place. I then transfer this curve to a scrap 2x4 along with my bow and stern marks. I run the curvature of both ends out past what was on the model as my bulwork pieces are longer and need some extra room on the rig. I then cut this out, rasp then sand it good and I drive some screws in along the 'bottem' of the rig. Then I submerge my pieces in some hot water and let them soak 15-20 minutes ( or more if needed) until they get bendable/flexible. ( I set the pieces on top of something that won't leave marks so they aren't on the bottom of the sink which could keep from an even soaking of the boards. Besides my utility sink isn't exactly clean so don;t want something staining the wood. I use some water filled soda bottles to keep them submerged) Time for a cigar......... "... wait for it! " ~british nco in Monty Python sketch The mark for the end of the stern on our pattern and board is where the start of the curvature that curves to the end of the bulwork piece will meet the stern of our hull. NOT the very end of the bulwork piece. So when we put the bulkwork piece on the rig, it lines up on that corner start point of the curvature first. So I lay out my 2 boards and determine which way they NEED to bend/curve and then set them on my rig, line up the stern end line with the start of the curvature corner and rubber band that down. Yes, I'm just going to bend them both at the same time. Then i just walk myself along the rig holding down the boards as I add rubber bands. Once I get to the end I add some extras and double wrapped bands where needed. Now I just let this sit someplace out of the way until they dry. 1 day 2 days how ever long it takes. Don't try to put them on wet as they will shrink.

It's looking sharp. I was thinking still about the scuppers ( something I want to do to is the lead lining as well) and this may work. Testors steel or gun metal enamel paint to paint them in ( drys to dull metal finish ) then hit with a little clear finish to get the sheen you desire ( matte, satin, gloss...) http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Testors-Enamel-Plastic-Model/dp/B00ASCN10Q http://www.amazon.com/Gun-Metal-Enamel-Paint-Testors/dp/B00NQCJHEY/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1414177462&sr=1-2&keywords=testors+gun+metal+enamel

The curvatures look good and looks like its lined up well, from the pics. YOu may want to check your keel for straightness before moving on as the false deck dries it can pull the keel out of being straight On the planking, while I didn't use the fan sheet I can give you a tip I did on my planking. Get a caliper and messure the widths of all your planks. Seperate into piles based on size. Mine ranged from 4.7 to 5.2 in width. then as you plank ( alternating port-starboard-port...) you can make sure you are using same size planks on each strake ( the row of a plank). this will let you have an even pattern to the planking on both sides and the bow and stern ends 'should' then match up all the way through your planking.

I've been lucky so far on some tools. Swivel pin vise and 20 micro bits off ebay for 1.00 model expo deluxe hobby craft knife set for 15. I got french curves and french ship curves (these will really help doing 2nd planking) coming from ebay for 5.00, some engineering/drafting triangles squares tri-scale ruler protractor for 4.00, couple books on ship rigging and model building for .01 each ( so just paying shipping really). biggest obstacle I know I will be facing is in research for riggings for the swift. I know there is allot more to it then in the model kit just from watching some videos on similar classes of ships and I want most of the details of the ship in the riggings. may look into some rigging tools ( or see how they are made/shaped and make my own versions) and maybe one of those rigs/clamps used in doing fishing lures. Seen someone elses log ( can't remember whos now) that was using one and looked like it really was a good set up for that small work. besides that its just wishlist of tools and books I'd like to read.

hehe for me it keeps me out of the way of the wife. I have my basement corner and she has her computer room and we meet in the kitchen when we are hungry. I did the same thing. drew up a shape that I guesstamated onto some stock cardboard ( piece of a dog food box ) and drew it on the blocks after I got the basic shaping down off bulkhead 8. Just kept my sander dowel parallel to the keel line and followed the bulkhead for the basic curvature. drew in the cardboard pattern shape then tapered from bulkhead to the drawn in guideline.

Looks great. Allot of attention to detail in it. question the sail rings on the masts. are they the typical brass ones in AL kits then painted or did you craft them?

what did you use to figure the curvature between marks along the plank. It shouldn't be just a straight cut from bulkhead mark to bulkhead mark. did you use an engineer curve to put in the curvature? edited Sorry I should have used 'french curve' its more known by that term