vossy

hey dave, this looks like a really nice, interesting kit. I will definitely follow along. also, I finally got around to doing a build log for my Mississippi riverboat!
 
chris
 

The basic frame of the superstructure is done.  It fits into the fiberglass hull, but isn't glued in.  It remains removable for R/C access.  Since I'm not going to do R/C, when the boat is done I'll probably glue it down.  But until completion, it will stay removable.
 
The fit of these parts is really marvelous.  So far, a really nice kit from Amati.
 
Regards,
David

Before getting to the model itself, I revamped my model building space.  The rolling chair was gouging a hole in the concrete floor, and all of my supplies were in boxes and bags scattered on the floor around my work table.
 
So I found some industrial plastic tiles on the internet (they just interlock and lay down -- no adhesion so easy to remove).  The nice thing about them is that I can replace individual tiles if the chair eventually chews some of these up, or they get too groady.
 
Then steel shelving to hold all the "stuff".  See attached picture.  Now I'm ready for this model.
 
This is the Amati Grand Banks, and I'm not sure if there has been a build log done on this one before.  See picture of the box cover.
 
I picked this one to create some variety from the historical ships, some relief from rigging after the Revenge, and finally because it's Amati.  I'm getting the sense that their kits stand a head above others, at least the manufacturers I have tried (AL, Bluejacket, Constructo, Dumas).
 
There's a "what's in the box" picture, and the usual laser cut sheets, wood, and boxed parts are there.  But this one has a pre-formed fiberglass hull, because it can be built for R/C operation.  I'm not going to do that.  The hull is REALLY thick and solid (compared to the Dumas Mt. Washington, which was a thinner plastic and also R/C adaptable).
 
Finally, there is a very well-illustrated manual.  See pic.  Plus a number of charts to go up on the wall.
 
So I'm looking forward to this one, and because it's not the usual double-plank construction, I'm expecting some new twists.
 
Regards,
David
 
 

Some more views of how the underside of the second deck will look once it is glued into place.
 
 

Some more views of how the underside of the second deck will look once it is glued into place.
 
 

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

Good progress so far. You're certainly right that this kit is pretty fanciful, but it can produce a very attractive display piece nonetheless. The figures add good life.

coming along nicely Vossy   

Some more views of how the underside of the second deck will look once it is glued into place.
 
 

Hi all, some more pics of the progress. Nothing has been sanded, glued etc. Mainly pics to show where my passengers will end up etc. My trusty night porter will make sure the ladies get up the stairs in dim light as they enter the main dining hall.
 
Take no notice of the out of whack second tier cabin structure. Its only there to show what I intend to happen later. Plus with all this planking taking an eternity I feel I need to show something!
 
 
 

Hi all, some more pics of the progress. Nothing has been sanded, glued etc. Mainly pics to show where my passengers will end up etc. My trusty night porter will make sure the ladies get up the stairs in dim light as they enter the main dining hall.
 
Take no notice of the out of whack second tier cabin structure. Its only there to show what I intend to happen later. Plus with all this planking taking an eternity I feel I need to show something!
 
 
 

Some more views of how the underside of the second deck will look once it is glued into place.
 
 

Some more views of how the underside of the second deck will look once it is glued into place.
 
 

Hi all, the deck planking is supposed to run length ways like I am doing it. I cut scale 10ft and 20ft lengths and just place them randomly. I also mix the lengths of different lengths they are cut from up so as to get different shades in a random manner. It really shows up well once it has a few clear coats applied.
 
As for the figures, they came from Walthers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Just visit walthers.com. These particular guys are O gauge steam era people. They are actually meant for model railway but I figure you can use them just as well on this vessel. They are just the right scale for this vessel. It is nigh on impossible to find the right scale figures of the period for 1;50 scale. These are the only 6 I have been able to find. I intend to buy at least 1 more packet and paint the ladies, especially, a different color so to have more people on the boat.
 
Chris
 

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

So here is where I am at currently. have done the underside of the second deck. This is a bit tricky as you have to mark it out from underneath when you place the deck on top of the boiler and engine room structures. As you can see over the horse bay, one went a bit wonky, but you cant see this when the deck is fitted. Made a novice mistake here of actually gluing the battens into place before painting the underside white! A lot of careful painting the result! After all had dried a test fitting revealed a really good fit of battens against all upper wall structures. Only real problem I encountered was that my deck in this particular kit was pretty warped. Really had to make sure the outline was correct before cutting and placing the battens. At this stage I could glue the second deck on I guess, but I have chosen to plank it first. Plus I want to add more to the horse bays, and it will be easier to access that area without the deck attached.

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

So here is where I am at currently. have done the underside of the second deck. This is a bit tricky as you have to mark it out from underneath when you place the deck on top of the boiler and engine room structures. As you can see over the horse bay, one went a bit wonky, but you cant see this when the deck is fitted. Made a novice mistake here of actually gluing the battens into place before painting the underside white! A lot of careful painting the result! After all had dried a test fitting revealed a really good fit of battens against all upper wall structures. Only real problem I encountered was that my deck in this particular kit was pretty warped. Really had to make sure the outline was correct before cutting and placing the battens. At this stage I could glue the second deck on I guess, but I have chosen to plank it first. Plus I want to add more to the horse bays, and it will be easier to access that area without the deck attached.

So here is where I am at currently. have done the underside of the second deck. This is a bit tricky as you have to mark it out from underneath when you place the deck on top of the boiler and engine room structures. As you can see over the horse bay, one went a bit wonky, but you cant see this when the deck is fitted. Made a novice mistake here of actually gluing the battens into place before painting the underside white! A lot of careful painting the result! After all had dried a test fitting revealed a really good fit of battens against all upper wall structures. Only real problem I encountered was that my deck in this particular kit was pretty warped. Really had to make sure the outline was correct before cutting and placing the battens. At this stage I could glue the second deck on I guess, but I have chosen to plank it first. Plus I want to add more to the horse bays, and it will be easier to access that area without the deck attached.

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. 
 
Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn!
 
The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie).
 
There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent.
 
Anyway here is where I am at the moment.
 
 

Hello, all tips are so right. I would try to use tutorial, it can show bulk head shaping, sanding to the hull shape, bending planks , before soak in water, tapering planks and laying on the shaped bulkheads. I remember in the beginning i was counting number of planks on each bulk head to be the same and it helped. Later bend, taper and sand edge of the plank to fit its place! Each plank edge must be cut to fit the keel shape in the ship front and every plank must have its place. I was placing 3 planks per day at the beginning. Try to read more about planking, on this page are nice tutorials!
I will show you few photos, while i builld HMS Lexington.

Very important to shape bulkheads to the hull shape.
 

One more, all planks will go on them and fit whole bulkhead surface.
 

Every plank was tapered.
 

Hey Oliver, amid ships simply means the middle of the ship. If you look through numerous build logs here you will probably notice that more people than not tend to plank either side as they go. I certainly do, but you can do one side at a time if you wish. I also tend to start at the top and at the keel at the same time and just fill in the gap so to speak. This way also gives you a good guide as to how much you will need to taper each plank.
 
Tapering simply means that you remove a small amount of wood from the plank at either end (sometimes this is not required), so that the plank is wider in the middle than it is on the ends. Never taper more than 50% of the plank width though. This is where steelers come in if needed.
 
cheers
 
Chris
 

Hi Oliver,
I would seriously suggest ripping off those planks and doing some further reading on planking concepts. It looks like the step of "fairing" the hull has been skipped. You need to fair the hull so the planks lay against all bulkheads. I'm no expert by any means, but it's important to take your time and do some research before you get too far into the model. You will have a very difficult time otherwise. Here's one link from the forum:
http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/plankingprojectbeginners.pdf
Steve