vossy

Work has been progressing painfully slowly, but I'm in no rush.
 
Since my last update, the work has involved fitting the last three plank runs (10, 11, 12), adding patina and stain, and doing a lot of test fitting. 

The first job is the patina on the bulkhead deck beams/ears. 1/900 is first sprayed over these and then sanded back about 80%+. Next, stain 7121 is applied and then sanded. You can't really tell much contrast here, but it will be evident when the deck sections are down. One note, don't be stupid like me....do all this BEFORE adding plank run #10. I didn't, and needed to mask all spaces between ears, and then again when I masked the ears so I could paint those spaces. Two days of mind-numbing masking 😆
 

 
The temporary bow and prow curved parts are now removed and the laser carved sections fitted. This also included the other carved parts. All a bit of a jigsaw, but it fitted superbly. The inboard curved section on the inner bow and prow, needed to be soaked and bent slightly so match the concave area it had to be fitted to. Plank runs #11 and #12 are now treated with 1/900 patina, sanded, and then stained with #7013. The multipart plank runs are now carefully glued into position.


 
 
You'll see here that I still need to shape the prow and stern into the scrolls that sit atop each. Here you will also see the rudder position that is a part of plank run #12, with a few extra parts fitted.

 
 
Lastly, those deck sections are NOT glued down. They need patina and stain to be applied first. They are also slightly bowed as they're individual parts. They will sit nice and flat when glued though. 

Thank you very much.
 
Chris
 

Is this on the Vanguard Models site yet? I couldn't find it?
 
Chris
 
 

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last updates, and this might not seem like a lot, but I've certainly put a lot of hours in.
 
The more visible things are the construction of the mast base, and also a full set of deck sections. Less obvious are the small changes and tweaks I've made to the hull, here and there, just so I'm happier with it.
 
The mast foot is made out of several laminations of beech. All of these are glued up so there's a slot in the middle. What I did do was fill that slot with scrap timber and then drilled and reamed out the 9mm hole on a milling machine.
 


 
 
Here you can see the mast base, sanded smooth to remove all the char. you can see it still needs shaping. Also here are the stack of deck sections, all finished wit 320 grit sand paper and then tweaked so they fit the hull. There are, in certain areas, very minor differences, so the deck sections are specific to their position. The edge margin timbers are bevelled on the underside so they don't foul the hull inner sides. The deck sections are provided as just that....sections, but you need to snap them apart like blocks of chocolate, then remove the edge char and bevel the top long edge. These are then glued back together to create infill sections for between the bulkheads. A little bevelling here and there, and they fit very well. The finished sections are bowed across their width, as you'll see, but they sit nice and flat with a gentle push.

 
 
There are two paper templates. The first one dictates the upper profile. This is sat on and then traced. The assembly is then cut on a Dremel Moto-Saw.

 
 
The second template is then traced. This creates the outer zone that needs to be shaped/rounded to finalise the shape.


 
 
Here you see the mast foot sat in place, complete with the beech mast release part which has been soaked and clamped to the foot, to create that curve in the part. Also notice my bowed deck sections. They'll be just fine when glued down.

 
The next job are some final woodwork tweaks and then onto some airbrushing.

Thank you very much.
 
Chris
 

Thank you very much.
 
Chris
 

Is this on the Vanguard Models site yet? I couldn't find it?
 
Chris
 
 

I am waiting for the shipment to arrive. Trust me, when I have them in stock, I have no intention of keeping it a secret

I do have to also add that the planks above deck level are properly cleaned up both inside and out, to remove any char and scorching that would impair the finish. All the others, as you can see deeper in the hull, are left as they are.

Planking is done!.....almost. 
 
You need to be real careful when planking. It's not a hard model to plank, and it's inevitable that you'll likely need to adjust the bevels a little. The planks are also supplied in a number of pieces each. What matters is first of all accurately fitting the temporary prow side facings. These will be key to making sure that each plank sits accurately on top of the other at the prow, and stack up to the correct height when it comes to the 10th row. That is, the last plank will sit neatly into the remaining gaps at the top of the temporary prow facings. Does that make sense? Ok, here we go.
 
You can see here that the variation in the colour of those alder keel parts now doesn't matter. They are all covered up.

 
You get an idea of how the sections are fitted, here. When it comes to working my way around the prow, I do multiple test fits and trims before I commit to glue. At that point, I only glue the prow too, then clamp. When set, I work my way around the bulkhead and use lots of clamps until fully set. This process isn't at all difficult, but it takes time to do methodically so that you get the best outcome. I'm not saying I did things perfect, but despite me being supercritical of my own work I'd give a generous 9/10. That is generally due to Pavel's excellent design being closely followed, especially on the tutorial videos on YouTube.

 

 
 
Here is the hull, planked up to the 10th plank. At this point, I ran all the way around the exposed deck beams/ears and softened the edges. I should've done that before building the hull frame, but it wasn't difficult to do. You will notice one mistake I made.....the furthest bulkhead with ears....the infill part has the part number facing inwards, meaning it'd be seen when the model is complete. I'll come up with something to hide that. I put them in that way to neutralise the kerf between the bulkhead and infill, so my mistake!

 
Here's the obligatory underside shot. You can clearly see where planks have been kerf-jointed so the grain runs true to the plank flow. I did have one joint 'pop' when planking, but that was only because I snagged it and strained the joint.

 

 
There are just two more planking runs to fit, but these won't be fitted until I start to add stain to the interior. The reason is that it won't be easy to add the various stages to the stain if those planks are running between the bulkhead ears. In the meantime, I might make up the floor sections and do some test fitting before planking is finalised. 
 
Until next time...
 
 

150 years since tragic SS Gothenburg sinking - ABC News
 
Chris
 

James, Pavel did say that the kit is a bit of a constant evolution and may even be upgraded further down the track. Now this is all well and fine but given the postage alone to Australia is almost $200 AUD and the wait time is for delivery is 2 months (both figures quoted by Denis to myself via email), I am sort of loathe to purchase a kit only to find it has been improved whilst awaiting delivery. I understand the current situation in Ukraine and the time and money constraints. Yours is looking awesome btw.
 
Chris.
 

I am seriously considering buying this, but now Pavel has posted on FB that the V3 comes with new "improved" oars after April. Sort of makes me wonder when to buy as maybe other stuff will be "improved" in the future?
 

150 years since tragic SS Gothenburg sinking - ABC News
 
Chris
 

150 years since tragic SS Gothenburg sinking - ABC News
 
Chris
 

150 years since tragic SS Gothenburg sinking - ABC News
 
Chris
 

James, Pavel did say that the kit is a bit of a constant evolution and may even be upgraded further down the track. Now this is all well and fine but given the postage alone to Australia is almost $200 AUD and the wait time is for delivery is 2 months (both figures quoted by Denis to myself via email), I am sort of loathe to purchase a kit only to find it has been improved whilst awaiting delivery. I understand the current situation in Ukraine and the time and money constraints. Yours is looking awesome btw.
 
Chris.
 

I am seriously considering buying this, but now Pavel has posted on FB that the V3 comes with new "improved" oars after April. Sort of makes me wonder when to buy as maybe other stuff will be "improved" in the future?
 

James, Pavel did say that the kit is a bit of a constant evolution and may even be upgraded further down the track. Now this is all well and fine but given the postage alone to Australia is almost $200 AUD and the wait time is for delivery is 2 months (both figures quoted by Denis to myself via email), I am sort of loathe to purchase a kit only to find it has been improved whilst awaiting delivery. I understand the current situation in Ukraine and the time and money constraints. Yours is looking awesome btw.
 
Chris.
 

In that case, you'll always be waiting to see what improvements are made, while never allowing yourself to actually buy it, in case more improvements are made  
 
Thanks for the comments. It's a lovely model to build. I'm currently assembling plank runs in between learning guitar.Two full strakes are on each side now and I've just made planks 3 and 4 for both sides, and waiting for glue to dry.

As far as I'm aware, it's only the oars which will change as these were originally being designed for the Nef kit. 

I did say there was another jig to build, and this one takes up 8 sheets of MDF. There's more in work involved with this one too, and just make sure everything is absolutely flat when assembling it. To help, I used a 1kg weight to hold things down when installing the various assembled plates. An engineers square also comes in very handy.
 




 
 
This shows the hull turned upside down as a test. What I did need to do at this point was to fit those temporary prow/stem doublers as they not just protect those thinned and vulnerable places, but they also help align the hull properly. To aid this, I added a couple of pieces of spare MDF to hold the prow/stems at that point. You can see these in the third photo down from here.

 
 
The first plank is applied after sheathing the keel sides in beech. This creates a nice uniform colour to the mix'n match colour of the alder keel. The first plank is supplied in 3 sections. The middle section is fitted first.

 
Now the outboard sections are fitted, to the ends first and then trimmed to the middle plank.

 
Then it's onto the second plank, supplied in four sections. 

 
I'll do another update when the hull is planked. 
 
 

They are very different. Entirely. This is my review of the V2:
 
 
Look at the parts shapes etc. Compare that with the V3:
 
 
The V2 isn't available now, so any purchase will be the V3.
 
 

I have had to use my cutting mat photos here as it's difficult to get that huge jig into my photo area at the moment, but I have done some detail shots in my usual; style. 
 
Work resumed by thinning the top of each keel end. In the manual, this is supposed to be only 20mm down from the top edge, but the videos for this show it to be 60mm, meaning that the top of the prow and stern will taper in nicely to incorporate the carved head design. I wasn't supposed to do this at this stage, but it would be harder to taper these areas when the bulkheads were fitted. I tool the risk and it was fine. Here you see the mast foot assembly and also a temporary double for the thinned areas. I didn't fit these just yet.

 
 
The keel is first slotted into the jog and before the two-part longerons are inserted to the bulkhead slots, an MDF 'clamp' is slotted onto each side of the bulkhead. All the bulkheads are now glued into place, and the longerons are inserted. I didn't glue the longerons themselves as I felt some lateral flexibility would be useful when the model is placed in the next jog for planking. Two photos here show the mast foot in place, but it's only a temporary fit.



 
 
Here you can now see the clamps being used in conjunction with the small series of wedges. These hold those top sections of each bulkhead, which are now being reinstated. 

 
 
One of those top sections, for central bulkhead #0, has another block attached to it which is a part of the visible mast foot on the deck. A supplied paper template is attached to the top of this using Spraymount adhesive. A Dremel is then used to shape the part and cut the partial mast hole. This is then fitted to the model as per the others. I left a photo here showing what this looks like on that bulkhead before I fitted it.


 
 
With all the bulkhead tops glued and set, the hull is removed from the jig and the clamps removed. The hull is then returned to the jig for the next stage. This is fitted the shelves onto which the floor sections will fit. These are now installed except for one side of bulkhead #0, as that needs to be laminated and shaped.

 
You can never have enough clamps...


 
 
That last floor beam is now laminated with three parts and then popped into place to mark a ledge and also the mast position. These are then shaped with a Dremel and the part fitted to the model. The mast foot is now glued into position. 


 
I mocked up a 9mm diameter down section which is representative of the final shaped part, to make sure that everything aligned vertically. All was good to go.

 
Oseberg was now removed from that jig for the very last time and readied for the next stage of building, which requires another large jig.


 
 

To me the number 1 golden rule is: build a subject you are interested in.
 
Doesn't matter the kit level difficulty. If you are inspired, and invested in your particular vessel you will turn out a fine model.
 
You will study her more, learn more techniques to complete unknown processes, and most importantly, she wont be an abandoned project.
 
My first model was Amati Santa Maria. I was, and still remain, a Columbus freak. I had zero idea of building a wooden ship, but I was in never any doubt that once I got that kit I was never going to let my hero down by ditching her mid build.
 
Sure, my version isn't the best build of her going around, however, I did finish her, and along the way picked up many, ok 1000's, of tips that have since helped me produce other more complex models.
 
Had I not chosen a vessel I was so emotionally invested in I doubt I would have completed her, and hence any builds since.
 
So, for me, its 100% about a subject you are passionate about. Who cares if you buy Caldercraft Victory and it takes you 20 years to finish her? If you love her you will. And that should be the aim of anyone who begins this journey.
 
Cheers
 
Chris