NMBROOK

Ian,you can also increase the depth of colour produced by the poly by applying a few well thinned coats rather than using the varnish neat Only the last one needs to be straight out of the tin
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Mike
I would leave it,just wipe over with a clean cloth daily until the excess oil has gone.Do not apply any poly until the oil has finished 'gassing out'.
Normally I leave tung oil 24hrs between coats.The only finish you can apply relatively quickly in successive coats is shellac.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Ian,you can also increase the depth of colour produced by the poly by applying a few well thinned coats rather than using the varnish neat Only the last one needs to be straight out of the tin
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Mike
I would leave it,just wipe over with a clean cloth daily until the excess oil has gone.Do not apply any poly until the oil has finished 'gassing out'.
Normally I leave tung oil 24hrs between coats.The only finish you can apply relatively quickly in successive coats is shellac.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Nigel you are right, it looks like the poly will bring out the diferences just enough to contrast the planks - although I wish I had planned this a little better. I think that my tastes and appreciation for this kind of thing has matured since I started this hobby. Up until now I have treated this as just one more thing that my skill level needed to catch up to.
Best, Ian

Ian,edited my post after googling Yes it is what you call mineral spirits
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work on the wales Ian If you plan on using polyurethane for finishing them,I would say this will bring the differing shades of the timber out and make you planking pattern more visible.Give them a light wipe with white spirit,whilst still wet it gives a fair impression what they will look like when varnished
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Truly astonishing work Alejandro      
 
I am a fan of Spanish ships but have been disappointed by the lack of information on the net.I don't speak Spanish,but as they say a picture is worth a thousand words
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

What many of the scratch builders do also is leave a gap in the external planking.  This gives a slot that the channel can fit right into to help support it.

Ian,edited my post after googling Yes it is what you call mineral spirits
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Thanks Nigel! Is white spirit the same as what we call mineral spirits?

Hi MarcM,
 
I recommend you to fit the channels to the hull by using thin dowel or brass wire,I have done this (using 1mm brass wire) and used 30 minute epoxy throughout instead of glue. They will then not easily come off with a knock. In reality,the channels (made from several planks fayed,bolted or dowelled together) were bolted from the outer edge right through the hull. I would recommend fitting the knees after the channels are on,this allows you to sand them to get a nice fit between the hull and channel.
 
Regards,
 
Dave

Hello to everybody
My name is Alejandro Yañez, from Spain; I registered in your forum several years ago, into  “reading only category”, as I´m a frustrated modeler (when children came, wife decided there was no room at home for all, and so my unfinished Artesania Latina´s “San Juan Nepomuceno” lies stored in a closet waiting for a better time,...)
 
While making the model I decided to improve my model, and began to investigate Spanish XVIII century shipbuilding. As model building had to stop, I continued with my studies about the real “San Juan Nepomuceno” and Spanish shipbuilding of her age.
The result of all this is a “booklet” about 300 págs. I decided to share my investigations with modelers community in Spain (Foro de Modelismo Naval), and now with you, as I think Spanish shipbuilding is little known outside Spain. You can download it from this link:
 
 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47335803/Nepomuceno_foro.pdf
 
The work is divided in two parts, first one is “San Juan Nepomuceno” history, and the second covers the study of the ship. This one is supported with drawings and photos of models exposed in “Museo Naval de Madrid” (Spanish Navy Museum)  Most photos in my work are from an incredible detailed model there exposed, this is not the real “San Juan Nepomuceno”  but a contemporary model from the french shipbuilder François Gautier (designer and  builder of Nepomuceno), and  so, very useful to study Gautier building system in Spain (1765-1784), also known as “French fashion” in opposition to the previous one developed by Jorge Juan, known as “British fashion”.
 
There is one “big problem” ....is it´s written in Spanish!
 
Hope you like it
 
Alejandro,
 

Daniel,
Your Trinidad is looking great!. I have a few questions:
Are you going to copper plate her?
What software did you use to get the planking, AutoCad, Rhino5?
Are you using Mr. Crespo´s plans or the ones from Museo Naval Madrid?
On the link below you can check a Santisima Trinidad model. The modeler is using the same plan I´m working on. The stern is slightly diferent than yours,
as the plan is dated in 1796, and there is no lion but the archangel St Michel´s figurehead:
 
http://www.modelismonaval.com/foro/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=14073
 
If you need information regarding her artillery, masting, rigging ,etc. Let me know.

Hello all,

Santa Maria kit is in the sale now. You can buy it with 30% discount. The discount is valid until April 15-2016. Please visit our special offers webpage:

http://www.dusekship.../special-offers

best regards
Daniel Dusek

Hi Ed,
I glue all the resin or metal parts by cyano acrylate glue.
I everytimes try to paint simple parts before I complete the bigger group. Sometimes it may hapen that the painted part glued to the another painted part is not fasten enought so sometimes it is need to glue it one time more but for me it is better then painted it just after the glueing as I am not so skillful in painting
Best regards
Daniel

I have heard Amati rigging line is probably the best off the shelf non rope product
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Good morning All!
 
Firstly, thanks Elijah...always great to have extra eyes checking things are OK.  And of course my thanks to all for the kind comments and the "likes"..always appreciated!
 
This week has been spent getting the deck completed. First up was I decided to plank the bulkheads by the false platforms.  Hardly any of this work will be visible in the end, but I expect a couple of viewing angles could show the plywood frames so I went ahead and did this.  It also gave me a chance to practice staining the basswood strips and matching up their colors. This planking ended up being more work than I expected, but I am glad I did it.
 
Attaching the false deck was the next step...as Chuck warns in his instructions, some filing of the slots was needed to get the decking to line up correctly along the center of the bulkhead former. I also had to make some shims as a couple of bulkheads were lower than all the others. I didn't want to push the deck down and end up with a low spot. Looks like I should have used a batten when setting the bulkheads to make sure their top surfaces were even...learning for the next build!
 
Final item was to compete the mast support holes. I'd already added some extra fillers by the masts for more support and the kit interestingly provides these!  I then drilled out the holes to a 1in depth using progressively larger drills. A bit nerve wracking as I needed a 7/16th drill for the main and foremasts, but all went well!  Final step was to cut the heads off some long 3in nails and drill some deeper holes to add additional support.  I will use these to help set the mast rakes per the Crothers plans of 1/8 per foot for the mizzen and main masts while the foremast is vertical.
 
Thanks as always for reading...images below. Next up is Chapter 4 and gun port framing!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Hi Richard
I have contemplated one of these myself.On one of the videos on you tube featuring Dr Mike(this was not shown in his DVD),it is explained there is a minimum thickness for the feed to work.He gets around this by putting two pieces on top of one another,one is planed and the other is a packer to allow the feed to work with thinner material.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

More progress has taken place on la Couronne and she is showing her shape now. I have finish the first planking which I admit I am not really proud of and shows why I am still part of the group that double planks hulls. I have decided though that this will be the last ship I build in which I only rely on the framing supplied in the kit. There simply are not enough connection points and the spacing between the frames is too great and uneven to get the desired shape of the hull in one planking. There may be some people who are very good at planking that can do this but for my skill level I am thinking that if I add more frames, somewhere a lot closer to what would have been on the actual ship, that having those extra connection point would help in allowing the planking to come out smoother. As for this ship, I will now begin the "cheat" stage in which lots of smoothing, planing, and wood filler followed by lots more sanding will take place. I want my veneer layer to look great and I know what I will have to do to get it that way.
 
I have also been test fitting many pieces such as the upper decks for spacing and preparing others such as the window frames on the stern for installation as they will need to be in place before or ready for placement as the final planking goes on. I will be removing the all the decks down to the main again so I can detail it out. Also many of the planks have run long and will remain so until I can get all the bulkheads installed. It is much easier to leave wood longer than needed and trim it back to fit than it is to try to stretch it longer. I keep my eyes open for the elusive wood stretcher but so far it has not been seen.
 
Well, I'm off to create a lot of wood dust. Till next update, drink up me hearties yo ho!

More work has been taking place in the shipyard and la Couronne is getting her 2nd planking. I am using mahogany for the majority of the planking. The wales and some of the trim is walnut and the white sections at the gun ports are maple. I am trying to have minimal paint and so I want the wood's natural colors to do the job. There is an exception to this as I am using a dyed blue boxwood for parts on the upper hull. I like the look of the blue dye over paint in this case and as it is a small area I think it will look good. Might have some of that on in the next update.
 
I've stated mid ship installing the wales and working upward. I wanted to work on the "easier" part first before tackling the lower hull. I also needed to have good starting points and I've seen from other build logs and planking instructions that starting this way seems to be the most common route for planking. In the past I have tended to just do things my way and hope for the best. Although I am proud of my work, I have discovered a deep desire after viewing many remarkable builds on here to push myself harder to make a better ship. This has involved changing a lot my methods and habits and so far I am very glad I did.
 
I have also discovered that the kit did not come with nearly enough mahogany to plank this ship. Luckily Jason at Crown Timberyard has come through for me and found what I was needing. They say that a bad review will travel faster than a good one and so I am trying to change that. This was the second time I have ordered from Jason and I have been very pleased with the service each time. The wood is excellent quality, and his service, response and shipping is very good as well. This was even more noticeable this time as it was a custom order and not "off the shelf." He wen out of his way to find the lumber to match what I needed. I will use him for all my wood needs for ship building and highly recommend anyone not familiar with Crown Timberyard to check it out if you are needing wood for your build.
 
And now enjoy the pictures!
 

A lot of progress has been made in the past few days. I have been very fortunate to have been able to dedicate so much time to this build at 158 hours as of tonight. Not counting research, studying plans and reading some really wonderful articles and other build logs. I would love to dedicate more time but as much as people at my job love seeing progress pictures they are not yet sold on the idea of paying me to build ships.
 
So here she is. I have topped out the 2nd planking on the starboard side and have started the final shaping of the hull at the stern. Now to duplicate this on the port side.
 
 

Mates,
 
Thanks for the likes. I hope to install the deadeyes and shrouds for the foremast by sometime next week.
 
JanV - so nice that you are back (sort of) with your Vasa as well (got an update). Thanks for your dropping by as well.
 
Michael

The work now begins on fabricating the beak-head supports. I am using contemporary paintings and sketches as well as some beautiful models of the Sovereign that I have seen in my travels as guides to how I will represent the beak-head. One such model is located at the US Naval Academy in Preble Hall, Annapolis MD. Built in 1921 by Henry B Culver. Another was built by Ed Marples and is located in the Ventura County Maritime Museum in Oxnard CA. I have viewed both of these fine models and have many photos to refer to. The following picture shows the blanks cut out in Costello Boxwood. Now begins the process of forming the shapes that best support the sculptures they will be fitted with.
 

 
This photo shows the blanks test mounted on the beak.
 

 
More to follow.............

Alexandru,wow,this has got to be the most spectacular models of Victory I have seen.I am not a big fan of too much paint on my own models,I would rather let the beauty of the timber shine through,so your build appeals to me greatly      .
Stunning work!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel