NMBROOK

Continually amazed by your attention to detail Michael You do know the museum model is 1/10 and you are working at 1/75
 
Have you tried annealing the brass eyelets first?they will be work hardened from the stamping process.This should stop the tearing
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Your attention to detail knows no bounds Michael,splendid work my friend  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Keith  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you very much John and of course..welcome aboard!
 
First step in chapter 4 is to plank the beakhead bulkhead which is taking more time than I expected!
 
To ensure the plank edges lined up across the bulkhead, I glued prestained strips across the full length of the bulkhead. A pencil was used on one edge as usual to simulate the caulking. I used a piece of scrap planking on the deck to act as a spacer so I can slide the deck planking under the bulkhead planking and so get a clean edge.
 
Doors frames were cut out by drilling small holes at each corner before using a keyhole Xacto saw to rough out the door openings in the bulkheads and then filing to finish. The bowsprit hole was also drilled out before filing it to shape. The outer plank edges were faired in to match the bulkhead fairing except I left an extra ~1/8in on each side at the top. I did this to correct a fairing mistake as  I found I'd rounded off the top edges of the beakhead bulkhead. A light sanding was then done w 320 grit paper which showed how variable my initial staining depth was!  
 
Same steps were repeated to plank the inside of the bulkhead, except unstained planks were used given these planks will be painted crimson. Next steps are to add in the door jambs and frames, deck planking, treenails and of course restain the bulkhead planking! 
 
Thanks as always for the likes and a few photos are below!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

MIGHTY fine planking work Jason!!!!!!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

After looking at pics of your kit,i would say possibly 3 sheets for the second planking plus the kit strips.There is a possible pitfall to this,I personally think you will struggle to match the supplied walnut.The Amati walnut is a European variety and I can't find sheet stock to match it and I live in Europe.
My advice would be to use the supplied kit first planking and maybe buy some sheet stock for the bow if you are determined to spill the first layer.I would then give serious thought to replacing the second planking completely.The timber will then match,but also you have the opportunity to change to pear or box.They are both more resilient to breaking than walnut,a problem that can occur when cutting curved shapes(i.e. your planks)out and then bending.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Very much depends on the shape of the bow Dave,for the central section of the hull,the kit planking is adequate,this will follow the slight bend caused by the sheer.You only need to spil the bow area and possibly some of the stern(especially if it has a round tuck).What vessel are you building,that would give a better idea of the shapes involved?
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dave
 
I ordered the widest sheets of Pear available (75mm) for Nuestra.You can then 'nest'the shaped planks side by side with a small gap to save material.My second planking is only 4mm max wide on Nuestra,but the last one I cut for the bow is probably 40mm wide across the corners!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thank you Alejandro.   I too have downloaded it and am taking a look.   
 
By the way, if you open it in Chrome, highlight the text (I do a couple of paragraphs at a time) right click and "Google Translate".  It will do a passable but not 100% accurate translation. 

Excellent work Keith  
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

With that done, it is time to turn my attention to the construction of the next level deck.
 

 
This is where I am up to at the moment:
 
1. The lower deck windows have been completed (see above post).
2. The middle deck verandah (is that what you call it?) has been cut out.
3. Perspex blanks of the middle deck gallery have been shaped. Here you see them being tested for fit. There is a plywood spacer of exactly the correct height helping maintain the upper part in position while I check for alignment. Also note the three pilot holes drilled through both parts - passing a dowel through the blanks brings them into perfect alignment.
4. A cardboard blank of the upper deck verandah has been made (see below).
 

 
Before I proceed, I thought it would be prudent to check that I have all the angles correct with reference to the plans. I used the keel to take the horizontal reading, then rotated the image in Photoshop.
 
One thing which has troubled me for a long time is the angle of the poop deck (see below). All the decks are inclined with respect to the wales, but not the poop deck. The poop deck is inclined with respect to the other decks. This is quite unnerving when you install the poop deck, and see that the angle of all the lower decks seem to be off. Not so! this is correct!. The plans say so!
 

 
Once again, image rotated with Photoshop using the keel as horizontal reference. You can see that the angles are way off with respect to the plans, but to be fair I didn't really take the trouble to center the image correctly (my fault!). By eye they look correct.
 
Note that the angle of the transom is different to the angle of the rudder. There is a substantial difference in angle - 18 degrees! I did not realize this and have been building the transom to accept the same inclination as the rudder. Not too late, all of the decks only exist as prototypes!

Why, here we are again. What's kept me so busy?
 

 
VERSION SIX OF THOSE BLOODY REAR WINDOWS, THAT'S WHAT!!!
 
You can see that I have actually completed one set of rear windows but decided it's not good enough and attempt another one. Why? Because I didn't read the plans properly.
 

 
These are the previously completed set of rear windows. I had a feeling that something was not right with the look of the windows, that they looked kind of lopsided from some angles, but OK from other angles. It took me a while to figure it out ... that's when I realized that I had aligned them vertically when I built them.
 

 
The plans actually call for them to be aligned according to the shape of the hull, tapering towards the apex in perspective. I went through and made another set, paying attention to this detail which I overlooked the first time around.
 


 
I didn't show construction pictures because you know full well how these are made from my previous failed attempts.
 
You can see from the above several features of the new part (in the first picture, the new part is sitting on top, in the second picture, it's on the bottom):
 
1. The angles of the windows which I have already talked about.
2. The new part now has an interior. You can vaguely see it in the second picture.
3. The column decoration on the new part looks neater. I tried a different approach this time.
4. The windows are now outlined in black paint. It makes them look more prominent.

Whoops,sorry Bob
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She looks looking terrific Bob ! great work  .Personally,my artistic nature told my historically accurate side where to get off a while back   I know which route I would take
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Frank,Mark beat me to it This is the only source I know of the period,all my own material for both English and French vessels is much earlier in time
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Frank  
 
I beg to differ with Druxey,Vertical scarphs for English ships,but the French scarphed keels horizontally,as this ship was built in Quebec,the latter style may have had some influence in design.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

MIGHTY fine planking work Jason!!!!!!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Construction of the sides of the beak head are underway. Swiss Pear planking is now being applied to the birch plywood forms.
 

 

 
More to follow............

After looking at pics of your kit,i would say possibly 3 sheets for the second planking plus the kit strips.There is a possible pitfall to this,I personally think you will struggle to match the supplied walnut.The Amati walnut is a European variety and I can't find sheet stock to match it and I live in Europe.
My advice would be to use the supplied kit first planking and maybe buy some sheet stock for the bow if you are determined to spill the first layer.I would then give serious thought to replacing the second planking completely.The timber will then match,but also you have the opportunity to change to pear or box.They are both more resilient to breaking than walnut,a problem that can occur when cutting curved shapes(i.e. your planks)out and then bending.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Dave
 
I ordered the widest sheets of Pear available (75mm) for Nuestra.You can then 'nest'the shaped planks side by side with a small gap to save material.My second planking is only 4mm max wide on Nuestra,but the last one I cut for the bow is probably 40mm wide across the corners!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

A shot from the front showing the trim piece loosely fitted against the hull.
 

 
More to follow............

The small deck extension is planked and the next photo shows it loosely fitted to the model with a dowel in place to represent the bowsprit. The straight piece across this deck is the trim to finish off the deck agains the hull. The ends will be bent to conform to the shape.
 

 
More to follow..........

Whoops,sorry Bob
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel