NMBROOK

Starting to make the basis for the ship railing...
 
Dražen
 
 

... few details.
 
Dražen

The deck planking is now ready, covered with shellac.
 
Dražen
 

I swear, my next ship is going to be Gaetan sized..... if I can figure out where to put it. 
 
Anyway, keel number 5 is just stuck in position and not glued up yet.  Once glued, I'll do the final 3 half-frames but I do have to work on the transom first.  That would be that small pile of planks in L-square.  I've cut the rest of my planking and it's in the pic.
 

 
Just another quickie side-topic.... here's a shot of the setup on my saw for cutting the planks.  I set the wood to the fingerboards, move the fence, and cut a plank.  Move the wood to the left and then the fence and rip another strip.  I do it backwards since I'm left handed.  The featherboard is locked down (in this case) to produce a 1/32" thick plank.  The wood I'm cutting it from is 1/8" thick boxwood.
 

Thanks so much Nigel and Rusty. The work you guys do is an inspiration to me.
 
Bob

Hey all!
 
I'm finished with the second Hercules. There is a theory that he is older than the other Hercules. He decided to put som clothes on this time.
 
I enjoy carving, in some ways it is like painting. I may do some more sculptures for this model.
 
 

 

 
/Matti
 

Great tutorial Alistair
 
I use a very similar process but with acrylics exclusively.The biggest thing I have found with acrylics is to use Tamiya thinners.Yes they are expensive,but they include a retarder and flow enhancer,normal water doesn't.The difference with the thinners added really is 'night and day'.It is important to keep adding thinners to the paint on the palette as it starts to thicken whilst you are working.
The biggest difference is I spray the clear which is a polyurethane varnish.I use a professional automotive touch up gun with a large compressor.This enables perfect atomisation and because of the volume of material delivered eliminates the drying of the clear as it immediately touches the surface.This gives it a chance to 'flow out' and stops the grainy appearance you can get from spraying.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Great tutorial Alistair
 
I use a very similar process but with acrylics exclusively.The biggest thing I have found with acrylics is to use Tamiya thinners.Yes they are expensive,but they include a retarder and flow enhancer,normal water doesn't.The difference with the thinners added really is 'night and day'.It is important to keep adding thinners to the paint on the palette as it starts to thicken whilst you are working.
The biggest difference is I spray the clear which is a polyurethane varnish.I use a professional automotive touch up gun with a large compressor.This enables perfect atomisation and because of the volume of material delivered eliminates the drying of the clear as it immediately touches the surface.This gives it a chance to 'flow out' and stops the grainy appearance you can get from spraying.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Quick 'Heads-Up' Folks...
 
I have the Wales in place (many Pins used, !!) and have put a little Re-enforcing at the Hawse Holes, hopefully some photos tomorrow !
 
Cheers
 
Eamonn

Great tutorial Alistair
 
I use a very similar process but with acrylics exclusively.The biggest thing I have found with acrylics is to use Tamiya thinners.Yes they are expensive,but they include a retarder and flow enhancer,normal water doesn't.The difference with the thinners added really is 'night and day'.It is important to keep adding thinners to the paint on the palette as it starts to thicken whilst you are working.
The biggest difference is I spray the clear which is a polyurethane varnish.I use a professional automotive touch up gun with a large compressor.This enables perfect atomisation and because of the volume of material delivered eliminates the drying of the clear as it immediately touches the surface.This gives it a chance to 'flow out' and stops the grainy appearance you can get from spraying.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

I have been working at it, but haven't really had an pictures opportunities until now. For those familiar with the MS Connie kit, you'll notice that the bulkheads have been modified. I cut the spar deck support from these bulkheads. Since I shaved off a 1/16" from the center keel piece I had to match that to the bulkheads, so using the belt sander I smoothed the remaining stub from the center spar deck support and shaved the bulkheads by 1/16". Again, the 1/16" is to make up for the gundeck planking. I shot a picture of the pieces put together, but there is no glue yet. I have to mark the bulkheads with where the gundeck is going to be and sand off the remaining stubs from the inner bulwark sides. You may have also noticed that I haven't gotten to the last bulkhead, R. I will be working on that as well so I can show off a complete room back there. 

Popeye and John, a dual build was not actually the plan, however, this is an interesting possibility  as I am already remaking many of the kit parts for Connie.  I do have two center keel pieces and cutting and finishing new bulkheads would not be too terribly hard with some new toys. If I officially decide to do so, I would start the other build in the scratch build forum. I don't think the hull sizes are that far off. From what I can tell without any heavy research, the ships have the same length and beam but the United States has a poop deck.
 
On with my progress so far today. I managed to cut out the slots for the bulkheads. The slots need some fine tuning still. I also got the 1/16" sanded from the top of the center keel piece to make up for the planking to go on. Two new toys I have are a belt sander and a spindle sander. I live by the saying "Ask forgiveness rather than permission" so I purchase these today to facilitate efficient sawdust production.         
 
Next up will be the widening of the bulkhead slots and and construction of my building slip. If I get the time, I may post some more progress later.

Al, I will have to look for it on Amazon and order it. Thanks for the heads up on it. 
 
Just so you all don't think that I haven't been thinking about ship building, I have a small update. I went to my local Woodcraft store today and found a 1/4" sheet of birch plywood. I have to say that it doesn't have the grain I'd desire to plank with but the quality and rigidity make it perfect for a false keel. I also managed to pick up several blocks of decent boxwood to carve various fittings from. I haven't even cut into this wood yet and already I like it better than basswood. At any rate, I drew a straight line on the plywood and cut out some plan copies of the false keel and adhered them to the ply using rubber cement. Tomorrow I will have to break out the scroll saw and cut this big sucker out. As always, thanks for looking in and I appreciate any and all comments (including the critical ones).

Thanks so much Hamilton.
 
I've now completed the framing of the forecastle deck. This is a total departure from the kit construction which calls for only the beams to be installed. I went with beams, carlings, ledges and knees. All of the parts were made from boxwood, except the lodging knees which were cut from a sheet of cherry of the appropriate thickness, which I happened to have on hand (I had no boxwood sheet of that size). 
 
Owing to the small size of the parts and the cuts needed to be made, I decided to build up the deck framing in sections off the model and then install the completed sections and connect them in place on the model. This was a method that I had tried successfully on my Triton cross-section and I am pleased with the results here, as well. I'm hoping that similar results can be obtained on the larger sections of deck framing for the quarter deck and midship areas. Wipe-on Poly was used to finish the framing.
 
Prior to installing the deck framing, I mounted the stove on its previously mounted base.
 
I still haven't decided how much deck planking will be used, although i'm sure that it will not totally cover the framing. Right now , I'm thinking of using very little planking, at least in this area. I can defer that choice until the rest of the gun deck fittings are done and the remaining upper deck framing is in place. The remainder of the gun carriages have arrived from the Lumberyard and I'm now working on the next batch of guns to be installed.
 
The last photo is a current full profile shot , since Nigel has pointed out that I haven't posted one in quite a while.
 
Bob

Hi
I'm a bit surprised by the very positive comments on my painting work on my Fly model. It is a quite easy process from my point of view so I thought I'd share my technique. Forgive me to all of you who know this already or do it better. My painting technique dates back to house painting in my student years, the principles are the same.
 
Brushes:
- Do not scrimp by buying cheap brushes. Get the best quality, sable hair, that you can afford.
- For painting a large area of your model use a square headed brush about 3 mm - 4mm wide with a tapered head and medium stiffness. Same as house painting but at a much smaller scale.
- Look after your brushes. Clean them in lacquer thinners, turpentine or water according to the paint you use. Do not let them soak in any of these solutions. After the first clean wash them in hot water and concentrated dish wishing liquid. The idea is to get rid of any paint residue in the brush and especially in its barrel. Always clean straight after you finished the area painted. Good brushes treated well will last for years.
- For clear finishes I use a larger, soft, round or oval head brush - these give a softer application and allow quicker application than a square head. I find clear finishes work best if they go on quickly. I use Testors Dullcote but that is just my choice.
 
Application
- Several or many thin coats are better than a few thick coats. If the wood behind is showing behind your first coat you are on the right track.
- Do not overload the brush with paint. I take the paint from the pot or bottle and lay it with the brush on to a piece of fresh paper. I then brush out the loaded brush on the paper until it is only lightly loaded with paint.
- Work in one direction from one end to the other of the ship - aft to stern or the other way round. Never start in the middle and then head aft followed by forward.
- Never go back to a perceived mistake behind you in a single application. The paint will have tacked and, especially with enamels, you will get pulling which will turn a minor mistake into a major mess. You can fix that perceived mistake on the next coat.
- Always allow the paint to fully dry. Enamels need at least six hours. Partly dried paint if processed will make a major mess. When you sand the paint should turn to dust. If it rolls into little slivers it isn't dry.
- After each coat lightly sand with 1200 grit paper. If this takes the paint back to wood it doesn't matter there is another coat to come.
 
Finish
- After your last coat of paint, leave it to fully dry and the rub it down with tissue paper. This will even out any brush strokes and colour differences.
- Apply a lacquer (or your favourite clear finish). I use Testors Dullcote. When dry, Testors can again be rubbed back with tissue paper to a dull sheen. I also do a second coat of clear and rub it back again. If you have any shiny spots 1200 grit plus a further tissue rub will get rid of them.
 
The above only applies to easily accessed surfaces. Strakes, fenders and other things in the way will make the rub off impossible. My theory is to get the base painting about right before those bits are added. I could be proved wrong...
 
Here is a picture of the upper works paint plus the wales paint. the upper works are a Humbrol enamel, the wale a Polly Scale acrylic. A little bit of grain shows through which suits me. This is more paint grain than wood grain. A too perfect finish would make the model too plastic looking (I'm not meaning to deride plastic models).
 
If any of you have better ideas I'd be keen to hear them - this works for me.
 
Cheers
Alistair

Looking good Mark   Speaking from my own experience,the ship's boats are almost worthy of their own build log
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Quick update:  Most of the frames have been cut and shaped.  Once the keel is in place, the half frames at the bow will be shaped and installed.  I'm working on the keel, transom, and stem now.
 

Teeny Weeny Update..
 
2nd Sanding done, Small amount of Filling done & sanded, Stern Post in place and Gluing as we speak, Hawse Pipes drilled out.  Next up 'possibly' the Wale (I say Possibly as I'm not 100% sure what to do next as I'm waiting on my angled files to clean-up the insides of the bulwarks & deck where I removed the Bulkhead 'horns')
 
Take Care Folks
 
Eamonn

Hi Nigel,
 
I have started backing all my images up in the 'cloud' just in case I have an IT catastrophie.  good idea to have them in more than one place, I use photobucket but there are plenty of similer sites.
 
Still love this build.
 
Jase

Thank you very much indeed B.E. and Nils for your very kind words.Unfortunately I had a clear out of pictures on my laptop as things were getting a little congested.Unfortunately I am certain I no longer have copies of the missing images.
 
Kind Regards
Nigel

Hi Nigel,
 
great work on this model, very nice Details, the treenailed hull planking and the carved items look superb
Some of the pics in the early log-pages probably went lost, trust you would have replaced them if you have had back ups, but that is no handicap for this fine build...
 
Nils

Just enjoyed reading thro' your log Nigel, what a fine model you are producing. Love your attention to detail and innovative approach.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

Thank you very much indeed everybody for your very kind words  
In answer to your question Kevin.I am looking back and thinking how I could of progressed differently.The problem with this being a partwork is there are no drawings and the model being supplied is vastly different from the model advertised.This did start out with the intention of being a near stock build but as the part work progressed and looking at the Italian forum(which is about 6 months infront)the difference with what we are building to what was advertised was becoming obvious.At this point I had a fully planked hull which due to sourcing my own more expensive timber stood me at quite a lot of money.
So then the 'modification ball' started rolling and I found that all the supplied ornamentation was going to be inaccurate.Inspired by Bill Short's log which I used to follow before the 'crash' and becoming a member,I decided to take the step of 'having a go'at producing my own carvings.
What started out as a stock build had now turned in to probably 3-4000 hours work.Thinking on this made me think that 'dummy'canons didn't quite come up to par with the rest of the build.Helped in no small part by Chris Watton's amazing victory prototype.I think though the biggest discovery was Arthur Molle's amazing model of the Sovereign.I looked at that and thought 'I have to do that'.I include a picture of Molle's model that I am going to try and replicate to some extent for the deck structures,I am not planing on sawing the model in half though    
Back to the question of would I have done things different?Yes I would have bought Sergal's plans and worked from there,full scratchbuild.
Kind Regards Nigel

After a marathon carving session over the last few days I have managed to complete the basic ornamentation on the starboard side of the prow.There are still vertical carvings to fit on the stem underneath and of course the myriad of decorative panels.
Kind Regards Nigel

I have had quite a productive evening.I first fitted the remaining carvings.I then made the caprail  out of 1mm pear then fitted it.Finally I applied a coat of varnish.The varnish still has a slight sheen because it is not fully dry.
Kind Regards Nigel