Cathead

Like Keith and Matt, I also stained and sanded back large areas of my hull multiple times. Using fine and very fine grit sandpaper, you will find that even though you are removing a lot of the staining ('colouration' be what I called it in me log), as you add other layers and then cut them back, that it tends to add depth to the wood graining. 

Keith,
 
In that case I quite certainly am being lazy. I will get over it once I am done grumbling.
 
Rat Fink,
 
Thank you as well. Gap filling and re-sanding is now quite definitely on the agenda for Saturday. Now the question is, do I go back and try to knock out what remains of the old, faulty filler first? I think yes.
 
 
To all of you, this is why I joined the forum, for the support network and advance. Much appreciated. 

CaptainSteve made this suggestion, too, earlier on, and I stubbornly continued on my set way. This was a filler I have used before, but never with a stain (I weathered previous models with pastels). "Hark! A lamentation is aroused, for I should have put ear to that which CaptainSteve hath recommendeth" likely is, or should be, a mantra of newer modelers.
 
Here is my concern at this point. It seems to me that any filler I attempt now, either of the two methods suggested above, will result in needing to re-sand, re-stain, and re-sand again the entire hull, because it will inevitably produce changes to the areas near the gaps. I think I am being lazy, but this thought does not appeal to me.
 
Finally, how does one keep the filler from squirting through the other side and being visible within the hull where it is quite hard to get at? My previous builds have been solid hulls where this did not matter, but the few cases where it happened in this open boat were most annoying to get rid of.
 
Vielen dank, Christian. Ich hoffe, Sie genießen dieses Modell.

CaptainSteve made this suggestion, too, earlier on, and I stubbornly continued on my set way. This was a filler I have used before, but never with a stain (I weathered previous models with pastels). "Hark! A lamentation is aroused, for I should have put ear to that which CaptainSteve hath recommendeth" likely is, or should be, a mantra of newer modelers.
 
Here is my concern at this point. It seems to me that any filler I attempt now, either of the two methods suggested above, will result in needing to re-sand, re-stain, and re-sand again the entire hull, because it will inevitably produce changes to the areas near the gaps. I think I am being lazy, but this thought does not appeal to me.
 
Finally, how does one keep the filler from squirting through the other side and being visible within the hull where it is quite hard to get at? My previous builds have been solid hulls where this did not matter, but the few cases where it happened in this open boat were most annoying to get rid of.
 
Vielen dank, Christian. Ich hoffe, Sie genießen dieses Modell.

Hey Cathead,
 
I work with wood products on a regular basis and these are common issues that arise: temperature and humidity. If you use more liquid than solid, it will shrink while drying, then add stain, and it all washes away.
 
Like Keith, I've stained mine multiple times, each with a light coat, scrapping in between. One coat staining rarely turns out very well, especially with thin pieces like in these models. My suggestion at this point would be to make a small mock-up, replicating the issues and concerns you have. This way you'll be able to find the right mixture for your conditions. It may need a little more or a little less than others have used. Once you get it just right, then attack your boat like an army of squirrels!
 
Everything looks good at this point, so don't pull out the wood chipper. If a suggestion doesn't work for you, try, try again until you find your sweet spot.
 
Matt

CaptainSteve made this suggestion, too, earlier on, and I stubbornly continued on my set way. This was a filler I have used before, but never with a stain (I weathered previous models with pastels). "Hark! A lamentation is aroused, for I should have put ear to that which CaptainSteve hath recommendeth" likely is, or should be, a mantra of newer modelers.
 
Here is my concern at this point. It seems to me that any filler I attempt now, either of the two methods suggested above, will result in needing to re-sand, re-stain, and re-sand again the entire hull, because it will inevitably produce changes to the areas near the gaps. I think I am being lazy, but this thought does not appeal to me.
 
Finally, how does one keep the filler from squirting through the other side and being visible within the hull where it is quite hard to get at? My previous builds have been solid hulls where this did not matter, but the few cases where it happened in this open boat were most annoying to get rid of.
 
Vielen dank, Christian. Ich hoffe, Sie genießen dieses Modell.

Cathead,
   My process was totally opposite of your process. I decided to stain after the hull was plank. The reason for this is because glue does not adhere very well to stain. I did have a few small gaps. I do not dilute my white glue. I just squirt a little where  the gap is and let stand a bit till tacky. Then I sand a bit which in turn seals the small gap. With the glue thick it tends not to seep thru into the inside of the hull. If it does and it has at times. it was very little. But this rarely happens because I leave the thickness of the glue alone. I do not thin it. This is what works for me.
    The stain was not effected by the glue in anyway. I used a combo of Golden Oak and Dark Walnut to get the look I wanted.
 
Here is a couple of pictures for you. I pulled them from my build log.
 
YOUR DOING A GREAT JOB ON YOUR LAUNCH!!!
 
 

I'll follow your log with great interest. I am waiting for the delivery of this small kit. But the post will take a little bit longer from the US to Germany

I successfully used the water/PVA/sawdust filler method on the Carmen and it worked great.  I highly recommend you try Keith's suggestion - I think you'll be happy with the results.
 
An alternate way is to make a filler/putty out of sawdust and pva/water and apply it like filler, then sand it when it's dry.  I used a dremel tool with a sanding drum and some pieces of scrap planking to make a bunch of sawdust to make matching filler this way.

Sorry to hear, Cathead. Why don't you try this: brush a diluted 80:20 PVA to water solution over the gaps. Wipe off the excess with a damp cloth. Wait until the glue goes tacky, then sand. The sawdust will clog up the PVA and create a filler the same colour as your wood. 

I plan on doing the whole thing stained. I like the look of natural wood on a ship model more than an authentic paint scheme. Also, our house's interior is mostly wood, as are the cedar bookcases on which this will be displayed (built from wood cut & milled on our property), so the natural finish will fit in well. I do intend to finish it with some form of varnish, as I saw another Bounty launch build do (cannot remember which now), which both I and Mrs. Cathead found very attractive.
 
In other news, I am rather put out with a problematic discovery. I had finished sanding the hull and applied my final coat of stain. When I checked the hull the next morning, I found that the wood filler I had used had either dissolved or fallen out overnight, as there were suddenly many gaps visible between the planks again. It was as if I had done almost none of the filling work that consumed many hours. It looks rather shoddy to my eyes, and this second coat of stain seems to have brought out more of the flaws in my planking than I expected. I think it looks wretched at the moment and have not yet brought myself to take a photo to share with the support network here. 
 
I do not think I have the patience to start over with a different gap filler, and I am fairly certain only a real ship modeler will notice the small gaps and uneven finish once the rest of the model is completed. Virtually all lay visitors are likely to coo over it. This is what I am telling myself. I will think it over until the weekend, and in the meantime will start bending the 'tween frames into place as that does not affect the exterior one way or another.
 
But the discovery led to a Bligh-worthy rant, at least in my head. 

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hey Cathead,
 
I think this may be leap of faith point. If you do each plank individually you might be done by summertime. If you do the multiple steps when staining, you will begin to see each and every plank with distinctive grains. If you do a one time heavy stain, then you'll most likely blend everything together. Any seams that have filler in them will define each plank as well. No matter how you chose, doing a quick on/off with the stain will give you more control of the look. It will also help you see any areas that need further sanding.
 
Matt

Very nice looking project so far Cathead.  I've had very good experience with MS as well, and have actually got 3 more MS kits on the shelf already waiting for my attention.  There are so many interesting looking kits out there though, I'd really love to get some of the Midwest small kits, and maybe a Dusek run-about, but I keep forcing myself to not become one of those people with 20 years worth of kits in a stack in the closet!
 
Love the job you've done on this style of planking, and look forward to watching your progress!

Hey Cathead,
 
Looking great so far. As to your question regarding staining over partial stains. If you put a light coat on, you will most likely see light and dark areas. Personally that's how I like it because it gives depth to the wood. In a project like this one I've scraped and stained several times through the stages. Heavy grit, darker look, fine grit, much lighter appearance. Scraping will achieve lighter still. Many different colors can be achieved by useing different grits and/or scraping. Good luck.
 
Matt

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

Hull planking has been finished in good time. Both sides came out quite similar, requiring only a thin stealer between planks 6 & 7. This is shown above being test-fitted; I subsequently pre-stained it before gluing. One mistake: I stained only the outside of the stealers, not the inside, which meant an annoyingly fiddly job of staining the narrow inside band without too much spillover onto other planks. There are some gaps between planks that need filling, but overall this came together more cleanly than I expected. 
 

 
I did a first round of shaping & sanding before filling gaps, in order to better approximate the final hull shape. The image above shows:
 
1) Bow before (left) and after (right) first sanding. The pre-staining is especially useful here, as the dark/light contrast really helps guide where sanding is needed and how the shaping is coming along. As in previous steps, I find it a very useful guide for the work.
2) Bow after both sides are sanded.
3) Bow after wood filler has been liberally applied to gaps.
 

 
Here are the tools I find useful for hull shaping. The colored blocks are foam-cored sanding blocks of specific grit (150 & 320 in this case) that I found at a hardware store. They are delightful for sanding curves and other odd shapes as the block wraps beautifully around the material. Otherwise I have multiple grades of sandpaper wrapped around scrap cedar, and several files. The pointed file in particular is helpful for working in tight quarters along the stem & rabbet.
 
Not shown is a chisel, because I had no intention of using one. However, it seems I was too liberal with the wood putty and it would have taken a week to sand it all off. Misfortune turned to opportunity, though, when I hit upon using a sharp, broad chisel to plane off much of the hardened putty. This worked beautifully for smoothing edges where planks had not sat quite properly against each other; again the pre-staining guided this marvelously. If I could run a broad chisel along a seam and not produce white wood on both sides, it needed more work. 
 
I am very happy with the extra shaping allowed by the chisel, though I was a mite aggressive in a few places and left a few gouges. The instructions remind us that the launch was a working boat, and I will leave these to appear as various scars of a working life.
 

 
Now we see the launch with gaps filled, seams chiseled, and the entire hull sanded down to 150 grit. I am trying to decide whether, upon further staining, the "streakiness" of the remaining first stain will come out as an odd appearance or whether it will all blend in. In other words, do I need to sand the whole hull to a uniform finish or let the current variation show through gently for more texture? I am using the Model Shipways brand of stain, which is quite thick in the bottle and requires thinning. So I must decide how much to thin for the final coat and how to apply it most evenly.
 

 
And here she is off the forms and proper side up, having popped out just as advertised with no bother. I had actually tested the removal earlier, but placed the hull back on the forms for sanding as it provides a very solid base for the handling and pressure of sanding. I may put it back on the forms for a final fine sanding and staining before proceeding with further additions.
 
I was taken aback by how light and fragile she feels once off the forms; I had gotten used to this solid, heavy shape under my hands and I am reminded of what delicate things are boats. I find myself holding and handling her for no particular reason, other than that the results so far fascinate me. I have built other wooden maritime models so far, but nothing like this ethereal space defined by the thinnest of shaped planks. To this point it looks better than I expected I could achieve, and I am most inspired to finish her off. 
 
This really is a well-thought-out kit, and I will have a hard time wanting to buy anyone else's after the positive experience I have had with Model Shipways so far.

I think what Tom is saying (and what I did with my Launch) is that you would bevel the edges of the planks to make them fit together as best you can. This will still leave a bit of an edge around areas such as the turn of the bilge. However, this edge can then easily be scraped/sanded back to produce a smooth external hull.

I have read about using CA, but it scares me. It takes me long enough to fiddle around with the plank getting it just so, and if it starts to set too soon, seems like a real bother to fix. The CA I have is also a bit runny, not good news.
 
I started beveling edges on the bow curves, but suspect you are right to do so along the entire frame and accept the inevitability of a stealer.
 
One other thing I have noticed, around the tightest curve of the bilge, there is just no way for a flat plank to sit against that curve. Is it possible to bend a curve into the plank, longitudinally, or does one just accept that the edges will not quite match up to the frame? None of my clamps will hold a plank so tight as to put that curve into it.

Hey Cathead,
 
Great start for a fun build!
 
I was able to overcome the shrinking, moving nightmare by using thin CA. I'm no pro and I love my gorilla glue, but the CA solved the problem for me, you just have to be really careful. When I looked at a lot of other build before I started this one, there seemed to be issues with gaps at the last plank. Knowing this I beveled every plank for a tighter fit. Then I put in a 3/16 piece(straight then bent) and scribed in the last plank to it. I stained without sanding, and like Pops said, it leaves a bleached, aged look, but that's what I was after.
 
For the tween frames I reused the jig like I was makeing another boat. That way I avoided the bending frames inside, and they fit real well, as long as you don't mix them up.
 
You're doing great and I'll enjoy watching your build. Good luck!
 
Matt

Planking progresses; here I share a few struggles and a solution to one of them.
 

 
Here is the current status. I have had difficulty getting the hood ends to hold in the stem rabbet after soaking and during drying, and then again during gluing. Clamping as shown in the instructions does not hold. Finally I hit upon cutting out the remnant wood from around the stem, which holds the same curve as the rabbett, and clamping it exactly on the rabbet line such that the planks fit in under that extra wood and hold their place & shape. This has worked very well, but I will have to  use wood filler on the first few planks which pulled away from the stem slightly during drying.
 

 
I have also had trouble with several planks pulling away from their neighbors during gluing. My small clamps just do not hold well enough, despite the instructions saying to use the smallest clamp size. The planks just push them up. So I will have to use some wood filler here as well. Right now I assume it will end up looking like a caulked seam and be acceptable for my intended level of perfection on this first kit.
 
While I like the pre-stained planks overall, it does make it more difficult to see pencil marks, especially on the dark cherry frames. Bright light and care takes care of this.
 
Also, I finally added galleries of three previous scratchbuild attempts, my first shots at building wooden ships. These may be of interest as they are unusual prototypes of inland American river vessels.