Cathead

Thanks for all the well-wishes. It was definitely quite the saga. It's still stiff and (at times) sore, but I've been able to return to normal work, including 1:1 scale construction. Workspace Starting this log when I did was a bit of a bait-and-switch, as I'm not sure how much actual work I'll get done on this model in the next few weeks. I've been working hard to catch up on lots of other projects, and my stepfather (a nearly retired professional woodworker) is about to arrive for a two-week visit during which we're going to build a timber-framed outdoor kitchen together. But I was so excited to start my first model since last winter that I just had to dive in. The first step was creating a setting in which I could work on the model. As noted above, my normal workbench/shop is all packed up. So I threw together this portable work tray from scrap wood, on which the essentials can stack: The storage unit can then be unpacked, leaving a nice work mat free: This will let me move around the house and work wherever desired/practical. This idea/plan also factored into buying a small-scale model like the Cairo, which is less than a foot long. Unpacking With that ready, I can unpack the kit. BlueJacket has a nice unboxing/content video, so I won't go into details, but here's how the kit contents appear right out of the box. Solid wood hull, sheet of brass details, cast metal details, some strips of thin material, big sheet of plans, instruction booklet: And if you were wondering, and at risk of derailing this thread again, here are some examples of the other 1:1 projects I've been catching up on now that I'm functional again. We added a screened porch to our house this summer, and the plan was always for me to build furniture for it. So here are two sets of newly completed Adirondack chairs and footrests, a small dividing table, and a full-size dining table, all built from Eastern Red Cedar we cut and milled on-farm. The outdoor kitchen will also be framed in on-farm cedar. And to swing back to the model again, I may even get to work on the initial steps with my stepfather. He's a lifelong woodworker who has incredible skills, and he recently built himself a full-scale rowboat, but he's never built a model and has been very interested in following my work. So it could be fun for us to dabble in this together while he's here. I'll keep you posted. At worst, I'll dive into it in October. Thanks for the support and interest!

Having not built this, I can't quite envision the geometry here. Would it help to post photos from a couple different angles?

Nice to see you back! Good progress on the hull.

I think I used rubber bands with normal wood glue, but then again I didn't mount mine to a building board, making that more practical. So one question is, do you still need it mounted to the board? At this point the hull should be pretty stiff and you probably have all the measurements you need. If you were to remove it at this point, you'd have a lot more freedom to work with the rest of the planking and the cap rail. Just a thought. Also, you could try to use binder clamps mounted over the rail, as these have a flat surface that would hold the rail surface down but the two faces should (?) grab onto the planking below on either side.

Glorious! Such inspiration.

I love how crisp and clean everything is on this model. Thanks for sharing your work.

I enjoyed visiting this ship a few years ago, even though the guide wasn't well-informed. Looks you have the makings of an attractive model, the carronade looks nice.

I recognize that wood from my crappy Corel build; it does split easily. I don't have any experience following manufacturer's video logs so can't really advise you there, though I'd think they'd be more helpful than written instructions simply given the 3D nature of most tasks. But I still wouldn't trust these kit makers to really think through how to teach people to do things, rather than just show them. I'd suggest taking some planking scrap and making a few mockups of the task, then practicing on those until you work out a tool/method that you can do. This is good advice for any task you're not sure of. Most kits have enough scrap that you can make small mockups of things. All you need is an inch of solid wastewood and a few 1/2" pieces of planking, just enough to make a joint like that on the transom and practice trimming it. Also, not sure what exact technique you're using, but think about what you're seeing when the wood splits and adapt to that. For example, how is the grain running, and can you change your knife angle to avoid catching in the grain? Or to avoid finishing the cut on an exposed edge where it's most likely to split?

If you're talking about trimming the ends of planking sticking out past the hull/transom, you might consider getting a fine-toothed blade or just using a razor saw. Those can be more effective at cross cuts than a smooth blade, no matter how sharp. I've also used a pair of nippers (flat on one side) to cut off such a plank just outside the hull, then sanded down the rest. You don't want to nip right against the hull because of the slight crushing action nippers produce. If your planks are curling, you may be using too much glue. It takes only a very thin veneer of any glue (CA or PVA) to join wood face-face, and as glue is made of liquid, if you use too much that liquid has to go somewhere (either squirting out and requiring messy cleanup or being absorbed by the wood and causing deformation). Try applying a very thin bead of glue on a plank, then spreading it to a very thin layer with something like a brush or a piece of scrap wood. Test on scrap material first if you want, to generate a technique. You'll be surprised to work out just how little you need for a strong join.

I know what you mean about it being daunting to read through lots of build logs trying to glean tips and info, it can be overwhelming and even just difficult to keep track of what happened in each log. And so many of us repeat that process individually. But I'm struggling to see how a broad guide to a given model would work from a practical sense. For one, there will be lots of different opinions on the "right" way to do things, and who decides which approach is recommended? Yes, there could be a list of options, but that gets even more complicated. Second, it would have to be regularly updated and maintained, and that takes unusual dedication from a volunteer of some kind. Third, it would be huge for anything but small or simple kits. And fourth, it would be absolutely daunting to tackle for more than a few kits. I once thought it would be a good idea to create a post/thread that tracked all the Viking ship builds out there, so people didn't have to keep searching for them. But even that never came to fruition as I just didn't have the energy or time to tackle it. I'm not saying you're wrong, or trying to be a downer. Just sharing my own thoughts as I've had similar contemplations.

Personally I think the color variations in planking look more realistic and visually engaging, but that doesn't mean it's the effect you want!

How many treenailing dowels did you have to order for all that flooring?

Great job, a fitting reward for the difficult decision to try anew.

Let us know when you start your build!

Looks great, happy to follow along. Being also of Norwegian descent, I quite enjoyed building (and improving) my Dusek longship.

@gak1965, it most certainly is a hammered dulcimer (or more precisely, a stand and case; the dulcimer is set up behind the camera view)! That's hilarious, how similar our two settings are. If you're interested, I've started posting music videos on my YouTube channel, which mostly focuses on interpreting Missouri's geologic and natural history. But we should probably keep any further dulcimer discussion to private messages so as not to steer this thread into the shoals! I'd love to hear more about your playing. Brian, thanks, I knew you'd be in the gallery. I'm going to have to force myself to make compromises from your level of attention to detail or I'll never complete this thing! And I do want to get back to scratchbuilding. But it's going to be really interesting to see what I can adapt from your work into this tiny scale. Welcome to all others, too.

Like you said, this is a tough build to learn on but you're spot on by sticking with it and doing your best. My bet is you'll be surprised by how well it comes together. Not only are we often our own worst critics, but a completed model has a way of hiding faults that seem apparent during the build process. And most people who see the completed model are more likely to say "wow, you actually built that?" rather than "hey, your planking's suboptimal".

Nice planking so far!

Cool project!

Build goals Although I have a couple scratchbuilds planned in my head, I chose this kit as my next project for a couple reasons. The outstanding large-scale detailed scratchbuilds of USS Cairo by @mbp521 and her sister ironclad USS St. Louis by @thorn21g and the Gateway Model Shipcrafter's Guild have been really fascinating and inspiring. MSW doesn't have any completed build logs for this kit; the only log of any kind didn't get beyond an opening post before being abandoned. BlueJacket is a good company but seems under-represented on MSW build logs, so I wanted to raise awareness of their kits (and this one in particular). There are so few realistic riverboat kits that this one should get more attention. I hope @MrBlueJacket will be able to pop in from time to time. I don't have a full workshop right now and am not ready to dive into a full scratchbuild. Just before my injury last winter, I packed up my entire workshop in preparation for remodeling a spare room into a permanent improved workshop, but that's been on hold ever since. I'll be building some kind of small portable workstation to bridge the gap until I can complete the home renovations necessary to start on a real scratchbuild again. It'll let me learn/practice some new skills. I've never built anything at this small a scale. I've never built a solid-hull model. I've never worked with this much metal, and especially not fine-scale brass details. I'm still really backed up on other real-world projects and don't have the mental bandwidth to dive into a complex scratchbuild right now, so hopefully a simpler kit lets me ease back into model-building. So overall my goal is for this project to be a fun and relatively straightforward return to building, though I'm quite certain I'll find various ways to enhance the kit with alterations or details based on the above-mentioned builds. I also hope it'll serve as a review of this kit for other MSW members who might consider it. Thanks in advance for looking in and following along.

My next project will be the USS Cairo kit from BlueJacket. This vessel was an ironclad gunboat designed and built during the American Civil War for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as part of the Union's push to control the West's inland waterways and cut off Confederate supply lines, communications, and commerce. Her actual service was unremarkable, and she sank less than a year after her commissioning upon hitting several mines near Vicksburg, Mississippi. However, she became immortal when her wreck was discovered mostly intact in the mid-1960s and eventually salvaged, restored, and placed on display at Vicksburg National Military Park. I've visited the display and associated museum, where it's absolutely fascinating to be able to actually walk around the vessel and peer into her depths. When completed, this will join my scratchbuilt Western River steamboats Arabia and Bertrand, two other examples of mid-19th century Western River steamboats salvaged from old river channels in the American interior. This kit is a much smaller scale than those two models (1:64 and 1:87, respectively), so will nestle comfortably alongside the Bertrand. For inspiration, I'll have on hand this simple paperweight acquired at the Cairo museum! Announcing the start of this build feels unusually good, as I've had a forced ~7 month hiatus from modeling building due to a complicated situation involving a serious hatched-derived wrist injury (with subsequent surgery and long recovery) that, for a while, had me unsure if I'd regain the dexterity and strength necessary to keep building scale models (much less the larger-scale timber management and building work I do in real life). The Cairo kit is a 43rd birthday present but also a celebration of a return to reasonable normality. Thanks for looking in! Next post, I'll cover why I chose this model and what I hope to achieve with it.

I love the lines of that hull.

Yeah, that looks fine for a first build. Keep at it!

If you do try to sell cases, my advice would be not to under-price them. Not only does this not reward you for your skill and time, but it undercuts professionals who need to get a certain price for their work. Cheap work undercutting skilled work is already the bane of the model-selling world, no need to add to it with respect to cases.

Cool! Can't wait to see how the new planking flows back there. The bow looks so much better with a nice smooth run. Well done.