UpstateNY

Hi Carl,
 
Yep...easy until it doesn't work out as I just found out..
 
I also just went down to the workshop and gave the beakhead a good dose of looking at...yep...redo time! No point in spending the next 5 years or so building this model and being aggravated about the way the bow looks. I also just went over the planking section in the instructions and found a reference to using a #75 drill for the treenails so clearly I overdid the hole size! Need to find a way to template the design better as well so some tests are definitely in order.
 
Hi Dave,
 
Thanks for the welcome back, for the kind words and for suggesting bamboo...I will add that into the toothpick vs filler tests. I can use this work to set up for all the hull work to come to get the treenail technique sorted now.  I was looking for a reason to get the Byrnes draw plate so every cloud has a silver lining! 
 
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Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi All,
  Slowly getting back on the wagon after a long break for work and family, but with the New Year starting, it seemed like the right time to try and make a fresh start. Amazing how fast time goes by...   So, picking up where I left off on the beakhead, the first step was to paint the interior and the doors crimson. I found it hard to get an even paint finish even using multiple thin coats. I am wondering if I got some glue deep into the planks as the finish was really uneven. Unfortunately, I can’t recall which build now (my apologies!), but I remembered someone using gesso.  By applying a thin gesso coat, followed by a very light sanding, I finally got a more even finish using many thin coats as Chuck recommends.   Exterior deck planking followed and then I tried to treenail the front bulkhead  I used a 0.65 drill per the instructions and Elmers natural filler to fill the holes.  Unfortunately, after sanding them smooth and then re-staining,  the treenails look too obvious and also rather uneven. I am going to think about it for a couple of days and start to run the battens for the gunport sills, but I may have a redo coming!    A few pictures below...doors and frames are just press fitted.   Good to be back modeling again!   Cheers,   Nigel.          

Hi Nick,
 
Good to hear you are starting your Confederacy and thanks for the kind words....I'll certainly watch for your log.
 
Hi Nils,
 
Thank you for stopping by and for your good wishes for my build...I will certainly need them as  this will be a very long build! I also hope you are now feeling a lot better! 
 
Well, things have been a bit slow in the shipyard recently given work and also all the lovely spring weather. I have made a little progress, along with starting to go up the learning curve on how get a smooth finish using basswood.  For this I need to thank Dave Stevens for his interesting article in the Spring MSB Journal. Link below.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/13061-spring-2016-issue-of-the-msb-journal/
 
Once I got the all the door openings opened up, I decided to go ahead and make some door frames as the instructions suggested.  I figured it would be a nice detail to add a profile into the frames so I used one of the brass profile tools included in the kit. Took more than a few tries to find the correct direction to create the profile by repeatedly using the tool at a shallow angle and light pressure. Eventually I managed to get a reasonable profile in a 1/16th in square strip. I then carefully cut some 45 deg miters so the profiles matched to create the top and side frames. I then glued them to the door frame so they overlapped the edges to hide the join between the planking and the door opening.  Last picture shows the test fit in place.
 
Pictures below and thank you to all for the "likes".  Always appreciated.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 
 

 

 

Hi All,
 
Not a real update, but figured I'd post this early in case this helps someone out. I know Udo is currently working on his beakhead planking.
 
In doing a test fit of the beakhead doors, I found they did not fit as they were too high for the openings in the bulkhead.   Checking the plans, I found the doors matched the drawing of the completed beakhead on sheet 4, but were indeed higher than the door openings for the beakhead bulkhead G as detailed on sheet 3. An early test fit of a door should show if your kit has the same issue.
 
I've now increased the height for two of the four doors as you can see in the picture below of a test fit. I've also put a door next to the unchanged openings as a reference using a deck plank to set the height.  Pretty glad I found this now as normally the doors are added after finish out of much of the interior bow decking, furniture and painting.
 
Hope this is useful.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 
 

Thanks for stopping by Udo and for the kind words! Replacing the kit wood w Swiss Pear or Castello boxwood will make for a wonderful looking model. 
 
I am going to try and make the kit wood work given the replacement cost for such a large model would be rather high.  I recently learned that the direction of sanding and cutting makes a huge difference on basswood and how clean it can look. Will require care on my part to make sure I know how the grain is running for each plank so we will see how successful I am!!
 
Link below allows you to find the interesting article by Dave Stevens from the Lumberyard in case you find it useful.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/13061-spring-2016-issue-of-the-msb-journal/
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Thank you very much John and of course..welcome aboard!
 
First step in chapter 4 is to plank the beakhead bulkhead which is taking more time than I expected!
 
To ensure the plank edges lined up across the bulkhead, I glued prestained strips across the full length of the bulkhead. A pencil was used on one edge as usual to simulate the caulking. I used a piece of scrap planking on the deck to act as a spacer so I can slide the deck planking under the bulkhead planking and so get a clean edge.
 
Doors frames were cut out by drilling small holes at each corner before using a keyhole Xacto saw to rough out the door openings in the bulkheads and then filing to finish. The bowsprit hole was also drilled out before filing it to shape. The outer plank edges were faired in to match the bulkhead fairing except I left an extra ~1/8in on each side at the top. I did this to correct a fairing mistake as  I found I'd rounded off the top edges of the beakhead bulkhead. A light sanding was then done w 320 grit paper which showed how variable my initial staining depth was!  
 
Same steps were repeated to plank the inside of the bulkhead, except unstained planks were used given these planks will be painted crimson. Next steps are to add in the door jambs and frames, deck planking, treenails and of course restain the bulkhead planking! 
 
Thanks as always for the likes and a few photos are below!
 
Cheers,
 
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.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words Elijah and Greg!  Thanks as always to all for the likes  .
 
Carl, I can only say after getting inkjet ink all over my hands as I picked up the print out, I rather wish I had a laser jet as well! I am lucky as my local Kinko's is pretty close!
 
So, a little more progress this week as the stern framing is now completed.  Framing the four ports was an exercise in patience. Even with the transparent template to help me, keeping the sills and lintels completely level was hard due to the complex transom curves so I had a couple of redos on this bit!  Adding the vertical frames for the ports once the sills and lintels were in was a matter of just using the template as the stern timbers are not vertical so aren't a good reference.
 
Fairing was done while the framing of the ports was in progress and you can see the fairing edge hitting the pencil line I drew using the template in one shot.  Last job was to add and fair in some balsa wood blocks under the counter and along the stern post to add gluing area for the planking to come. Hopefully things are OK, but as always, I'd appreciate any help if something looks off.
 
Next up will be adding the false deck, but as I will fully rig her, I have to drill holes into the bulkhead former to support the masts first. There are no slots already pre-cut of course as the model is designed with stump masts. So...time to dig out the Crothers plans and the protractor to make sure I get the mast angles correct.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Hi Alde,
 
The transparency film is working well for me so far...we will see how well it works for the many gun and sweep ports still to come! I find the fact it is so much more rigid than paper very helpful.
 
Hi Chuck,
 
I tried my inkjet printer, but the ink didn't adhere to the transparency. You may have more luck depending on the transparency and ink combo in your setup. In the end, I just made a 100% copy of the small section of the plans I needed on my inkjet printer and then took that sheet to Kinko's to print out on their slides with a laser printer. I just had to be careful there was no scaling change as Chuck warns in his instructions. Hope this helps.
 
My thanks of course to everyone for the "likes" as well...really appreciated!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Thanks Alde, John (yep, this build is a lot of fun!) and "the other" Nigel ( ) for all the very kind words and of course to everyone who hit the like button.  Really great to have you all along...really encouraging.  
 
This week I've been working on the stern window framing...not many pieces really but it sure took some time.  
 
First up was to make the sills and lintels by gluing 2 laser cut pieces together.  The lintels were first glued into place making sure they protruded from both sides of the stern timbers per the instructions so they could be faired in from both sides.  I used my sturdy, transparent templates again but this time I cut out the locations for the lintels so the template itself helped to support the lintels as the glue dried. After carefully fairing in the lintels and also the sills for the upper gun ports, the window sills were added and then faired in. The fairing took a lot of time to make sure I didn't change the curves of the stern timbers. After another check using the window template that the frame positions looked OK, the  three stern filler pieces were added on each side to support the planking to come.  These fillers will also need fairing in to allow the planking to run true.
 
A few images are below and again, please shout out if you see anything that doesn't look right! Easy to redo right now if needed!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

Hi All,
 
A small update as I've finished the first part of the stern framing.
 
First step as usual was the clean off the laser char and here I went very light given the stern timbers have complex curves I didn't want to alter by mistake. The stern timbers were then glued in place, making sure they were firmly seated against bulkhead 8 and that their angles matched the template.  I copied the paper templates onto clear transparency film so I could see the timbers completely and so line them up easily. I did double check there was no scale offset when I copied them as Chuck warns in his instructions. The film is also much stronger than paper so I could use clips to hold the template against the frames without risk of tearing.
 
The upper side pieces were then chamfered so they fit snugly against the stern timbers and, together with the hull frames, were glued in place following the laser etched reference lines. I used my steel rule to make sure the upper pieces were not tilted in or outboard, again as warned in the instructions as these pieces form the bottom sills for the aft cannon ports. Once the glue set, my final check was to overlay the window template to double check the spacings.  Seems to be OK, but please sing out if you see anything amiss so I can correct it! 
 
Next up is some careful fairing of the upper pieces and then adding the sills and lintels to complete the window framing.
 
Thanks for reading and again for all the kind comments and "likes".  
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi All.
 
Well, the bulk of the fairing work has been completed.  Safety timbers were added to brace the bulkhead extensions as recommended in the instructions. I also added some lengthwise bracing to add more strength as one bulkhead extension was especially weak due to a knot.  These lengthwise timbers also raised the hull and protected the delicate stem assembly while the hull was inverted.
 
Fairing was mostly done using 220 grit paper and sanding sticks that would always bridge across three bulkheads. The 220 grit made the fairing slow going, but I hoped it would stop me removing too much wood. A shorter, thinner stick was used at the bow given the very sharp curves and to avoid sanding the stem.  Battens were used to check the hull during fairing, especially at the bow and stern. At the bow especially, a lot of wood needed to be removed given the filler pieces and sharp curves so here I also checked the distances to the bulkhead former to makes sure things were staying symmetrical.
 
There is still some  tune up work to be done, but I need to complete the shadow box and cut away section with the false hull frames in place before tackling that. Hopefully the fairing is good as this will make planking go much easier down the line!
 
Images below and as always thanks for all the kind comments and the likes.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi All,
 
A little more progress over the past week. The 16 (!) bulkheads have been scraped clean of the top layer of laser char.  The char was very sticky and thick. I prefer to scrap using the back of a dull Xacto blade rather than sand to minimize the dust.  I left a thin char layer as recommended to help guide the fairing of the hull later in the build. Bulkhead and former slots needed a lot of filing to enable the them to engage evenly using just gentle finger pressure...initially the bulkheads would not slide into the former slots at all.
 
Images are below including the last one which is just for fun showing just how large this build is when compared to my Red Dragon!  The Dragon seemed pretty large when I was building her, but she is completely dwarfed by the Lady Confederacy. So...lots of fun to come....
 
Thanks again for all the kind comments, the likes and for just simply stopping by!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

Hi All,
  Quick update.  Keel, frames  and deck supports are now glued and things seem pretty straight. Photos below.   Now reading up on hull and deck planking  from the articles posted in the Ship Model Framing and Planking section. Great list of articles...just wish I’d seen these 20 years ago!     So after some reading, next step will be to gently sand the frames to shape before starting the planking fun.   Thanks,   Nigel.    

Hi All,
 
The last few details are now done!
 
The kit lanterns were painted and either hung or glued in place. I also replaced the kit flag as the very bright red color on the kit flag didn't look right somehow next to the sails.  The new flag was made from the kit sail material and a red eye painted onto the fabric using the same FolkArt paints I used to paint the dragons. 
 
So all that is left is to clean off the dust, straighten out some of the standing rigging which has twisted slightly and then take some final shots in better light in her final resting place!
 
As always, thanks for reading, for the likes and the kind comments.  Images below as usual!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

I was able to spend a bit more time than usual in the shipyard over the past week or so and so made a bit of progress. 
  The walnut keel, bow and stern pieces have been attached. Plans and photos in the kit didn't seem show a stern piece, but the model looked a bit odd to me without it.   The deck was then attached and I drilled some holes into the plywood keel through the mast holes and made some mast support rods from some small nails. I thought this would be easier now before the decking was done. I am hoping these rods make attaching the masts at the correct angles easier down the road.   Finally, the deck planking was completed. This went faster than I expected. I used an HB pencil to line one side of each plank to simulate the caulking. After the first light sanding, the planking pattern seems to be standing out fairly well.    Thumbnails below.  May be time to dig out the SLR rather than just use my phone camera so the details are clearer.   Cheers,   Nigel.

Another small milestone as the second planking is now done. Hull was sanded down with 320 sandpaper and then finished with some wire wool before cleaning things up with a soft cloth which also put a bit of shine onto the hull. Planking pattern is now a bit more visible.
 
Next time I’ll use 400 sandpaper to do the finish sanding as I found the thin walnut veneer was very prone to light splintering at the edges. Not sure if this is a normal or just because the wood had been in the kit drying out for years. Anyway time for a small celebration with a large single malt as I am rather happy to have completed the planking!
  Next steps are to attach the keel pieces and then treenail once my small drill bits arrive as my smallest 1/32in bit looks too big. Will then put a few light coats of wipe on poly on the hull to protect it during the decking work to come.   Anyway, so far so good and thumbnails are below. As always, thanks for reading.
  Thanks,   Nigel.  

A short update as one side of the Dragon now has the second walnut planking layer completed and lightly sanded down. Taking my time as the walnut strips in the kit are so thin, I am worried I could sand through them if I leave any rough spots during the second planking.
  Overall pretty happy with the results other than the planking shift pattern isn’t very visible in spite of cutting each plank from a different strip to avoid matching the grain patterns. I  am hoping a few thin coats of matt polyurethane with more sanding will give me a nice finish and hopefully show the planking pattern more clearly.    Cheers,   Nigel.  

Thank you Augie and Theo for the kind comments. We actually dodged most of the storm up here, only got about 6 inches. Hope everyone further east in New England is doing OK.   So, a small milestone as the first planking is now complete and the hull sanded. Elbow grease was applied per Augie’s recommendation so things are a bit dusty in the basement right now!  There is still some work to even up the bow and stern so the second planking will flow cleanly into the walnut false keel.
  Next step is to decide the hull and deck planking pattern. I will be using 4in long planks so perhaps a 3 or 4 shift pattern? Model is pretty small so a 5 shift pattern may not show enough repeats to make sense. I am also thinking about getting a draw plate as some treenails would be fun to do.  As usual, thanks for reading.    Nigel.  

So planking continues on the Dragon.  It took me ages to work out how the planks needed to run and then work in the drop planks, but I finally managed to get the port side closed up. I broke a couple of planks along the way as I had to notch one plank from both above and below. As Brian suggested, I start to thin down the final planks to avoid a very thin final plank to close the hull. The final few shots show the hull after sanding. You can see a few places, especially on the bow, where some gaps opened up as I sanded so seems I need to chamfer the planks more carefully next time. Overall I am pretty happy with how the port side turned out as the hull lines seem to run smoothly from bow to stern so I am hoping I am in decent shape for the final planking. Thumbnails below.

Now, it’s back to the basement to close up the starboard side! Just hope I have enough wood left to complete the job after my breakages. Will be close!   Thanks for reading and of course for the replies and likes which are much appreciated.    Cheers,   Nigel.

Hi All,
 
Below are just a few final images to complete my Red Dragon build.
 
My sincere thanks to everyone for their generous advice and support over the past year.
 
I hope to see you all as I begin my USF Confederacy build as well as restart work on my Triton cross-section.
 
Thanks again.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Hi All,
 
Below are just a few final images to complete my Red Dragon build.
 
My sincere thanks to everyone for their generous advice and support over the past year.
 
I hope to see you all as I begin my USF Confederacy build as well as restart work on my Triton cross-section.
 
Thanks again.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Hi All,
 
The last few details are now done!
 
The kit lanterns were painted and either hung or glued in place. I also replaced the kit flag as the very bright red color on the kit flag didn't look right somehow next to the sails.  The new flag was made from the kit sail material and a red eye painted onto the fabric using the same FolkArt paints I used to paint the dragons. 
 
So all that is left is to clean off the dust, straighten out some of the standing rigging which has twisted slightly and then take some final shots in better light in her final resting place!
 
As always, thanks for reading, for the likes and the kind comments.  Images below as usual!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 

 

 

 

Hi All,
 
As a compliment to a low table (reusing my captain's old play table)  I am also reusing my astronomy observing chair as my build chair.  I've copied the photo and some text from my Dragon log from a few weeks ago below to save you clicking through. I just checked the link and it still works.
 
"It is infinitely adjustable for height as the seat grips the back rails using a plastic friction bar. Needs a foot rest at the highest settings  (~36in so at least I do!) but again will work well for rigging w/o bending over or standing up for ever. I’ve not seen anyone mention these chairs before so figured I’d post in case it interests someone. They aren’t cheap, but I find mine sturdy and comfortable. Link below for those not into astronomy. Not done any checks for price so look around before you take the plunge if you like it."
  https://www.astronom...hairs_c457.aspx   Hope this perhaps helps.   Cheers,   Nigel.      

Me too....so I PM'ed him a couple of weeks back...unfortunately no reply so I just hope all is well.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.