mrshanks

I've been working a little every day on the Scharnhorst, but it's slow sledding with all the little bitty details that go on the ship. I must say that this Dragon Scharnhorst is by far the most detailed and finely made parts I have ever seen on any plastic model. It is extraordinary what the company has done with this kit. I'll have some pictures of a lot of small parts up, soon. Not quite ready yet.
In the meantime, I have studied the net to learn what paint scheme was used on the ship in 1943, and to try and get some close up views of some of these small sub assemblies. The instructions are not really adequate. Through this study, I began to worry I might not find too much that would help. Then, came across a site that said to look on the bottom of the kit box, as there are color drawings of the paint scheme and CAD drawings of the sub assemblies that greatly help in properly assembling some of these features. 
If I had not read that, would have NEVER thought to look on the bottom of the box. But lo and behold, there it was!
 

 

Hi Dave,
I like you're idea of pinning the gun carriage. Looks like it works well.
David

That's precisely what I wanted to see, Doc - many thanks .  .  .

I just watched Chuck's two planking videos again.  Did he make a third showing how he laid out the planking plan on the hull before starting?

John
I have been there done that. I have spent weeks trying this, doing that. Then my admiral will say I don't knnow why you build those things.
Any other time she is very helpful.
For a long time I thought is was just me that had the results that you have gone through. I thought I was doing something wrong.
Thanks for posting, and all the info
Joe

Thanks Doc. Thank you for the LIKES dear friends .  .  .  .
 
This post will set a record for the least work accomplished and reported proudly. 
 
I have at least two weeks of studying your collective posts and personal experimentation trying to successfully edge bend the type of wood supplied with this kit. Chuck's video set me on the right path but the dry edge bending he uses destroys my wood specie - whatever it is. I have tried wet, dry, alcohol, water, hot, cold, boiling, microwave, wrap around coins, free shape, clamps, etc, etc .  .  .  .
 
Over the last two days I have learned that  if I wet my wood in warm water - alcohol is no good because it evaporates to fast -  it can be coerced to the extent necessary. The wood I have shatters if I edge bend it dry. In order to be successful my specific kind of wood has to be wet. I need to begin with the moveable part of my jig on top of the strake to keep it from wrinkling as I initially push it into the concave side. Working on a tile is best because it is slippery and I can slide the strake. Whatever wrinkling that might want to occur is held in check because it is beneath the moveable part of my jig and as the wood is soft, wet and mushy the wrinkling gets absorbed, if that would be a good description. As I get it mostly into the concave piece I can then move the moveable part into position behind the strake and push it the rest of the way for the tight fit you see in the picture. As I am doing that final push I need to continuously tamp the top of the strake with the square brass piece seen in the photo to keep it from wrinkling. Having the wood wet gives me the ability to do that without breaking or wrinkling the wood.
 
Once I have the strake fully shaped, I use Chuck's heat method for several minutes. Five to ten. When the strake is left in the jig overnight it is dimensionally stable in the morning with zero spring back.
 

 
The next picture is the first section of the wale plank on the stbd side. As stated yesterday, I plan to plank in shorter, less than full hull lengths to allow glueing control that is more positive than my previous attempt. The repeatable plank butt pattern might also add a little visual interest. This wale plank on each side and the one above it are the most difficult on the ship to shape. I carefully used dividers to ensure this strake is in the same relative hull position as the other side. The bands and virtual frame positions are seen but I have not begun to tic this side because that will be relative to this strake.
 

 
So, one small step but a major problem - for me - finally solved with a solution that is readily repeatable.
 
And then the stern. The demarcation between the diagonals and the horizontal strakes is not as perfect as I'd wish but it is covered  when the rear wrap around of the wale goes on.
 

 
Another day in the Cougar Mtn Shipyard .  .  .
 
Respectfully submitted,
John Maguire
Seattle
 
 
 
 
 

Minor sidestep to add the foot ropes and netting to the bowsprit.
The foot ropes (at least the stirrups) should have been added prior to all the other rigging that gets in the way.
I had to use steel wire for the stirrups for ease of mounting thru all the existing rigging. Looks ok except for the size of the "eye".
Now work on the davits.

Beautiful brass work Greg.
Funny - I've worked with brass for years and when I've screwed up something with CA I've never thought of reaching for the lighter - I've learned my good tip for the day
Tim

Thank you G, but nothing in comparison to what what some others do here. Most of our ships will never leave the house, so it's up to our own OCD. I'd love to see a group build in plastic. Starting from kit selection, research, technique, aftermarket, step by step build with votes for direction to take.

The detailing you put into your ships, and the research that allows you to know *what* detailing to add is fantastic.  I continue to be impressed by how well you manage such tiny parts and add things that are historically correct, but that nobody other than you would probably realize was missing if you didn't add it and tell them.
Great work.

The fore mast is quite intricate, and the Pontos masts are just magnificent and fit like a glove.
 
I should be able to get a fair bit of rigging done before I plonk it on. There are lots of little bits I have prepared  for painting that will go on the support struts that are only a couple of mm each.

Moving along, I am trying to get as much prep done as possible before painting as it is more economical.
 
The main mast, well, meet my nemesis!. If you've ever had that bit that you can't get right this is it, The beauty of brass and CA is when you get it wrong, you burn the CA off with a lighter and re start. The engine room vents at the rear of the structure are not referenced anywhere and have a single reference to covers in the AOTS only so I drilled them out and fabricated hatches. 
 
There are ladders that run up the support struts but the boat boom's do not allow this in the kit.
 
At least with this piece I can complete nearly all the rigging off kit after painting.

The time taken in prep work will pay big dividends, John.  You're on your way to a beautiful hull!

Thank you Brian, Mark, Doc & Joe.
 
I am more verbose than most Joe because I am both slower and since I lack experience I am trying to show all the nitty gritty in hopes that one of you will catch me before I get way beyond my ability to reasonably recover.
 
The pictures in the manual show walnut but the supplied wood is far from that quality. I do not know what it is other than soft.
 
Edge bending to achieve a result similar to spiles took me a week of reading and finally Chuck's video to understand. Reading and doing are two different things .  .  .  .
 
The uppermost strake seen forward in the following photos is the wale plank.  I extended it one more piece aft, leaving one section to go. Learning from your build Mark, when I joined the piece to the wale plank I laid another alongside temporarily to assure the transition would be straight and unnoticed. Slight bending downward will take place beyond.
 
I also like the layout seen in the second group of pictures from the previous post. It seemed to embody the lessons so many have written, but I wanted to present it for opinions in case I was blind siding myself.
 
Today, for future reference, I carefully traced both sides of all four banding planks onto the hull, then tic'd off the uppermost band from my arbitrary 0 frame to the stem. I will end up with approximately 3/4 plank width there.
 

 
Here is another view further forward.
 

 
Before extending the wale strake I needed to finish planking the transom because the finish planking should overlay the transom edge.
 

 
I also had seam blackening for unknown reasons that I have seen others remark about. I am experimenting with an idea that I hope will prevent it. Chuck Passaro, in his CHEERFUL build makes a point of mentioning not using edge glue. He has as you know pencil blackened the edges to simulate tar. If he can get along without edge glue I plan to try it also. My two forward hull strakes and the entire transom are carefully fit with beveled edges and forced tight fits and so far they are clean. Fingers crossed.
 
Respectfully,
John

A small addition, the base of the foremast. Does not seem like much, but I have read on other builds people say this is fiddley, and it certainly is. The Pontos upgrade provides three brass rods which just do not like each other. My plan was to do the entire mast assembly off kit, but it is impossible as the angles of a tripod do not allow the think to go in past the boat deck. As such it has to be done on the ship itself, which means to get the correct measurements for all the other bits that will be attached have to be done on the model, increasing the risk.
 
There are support struts, 2 engine room telegraphs, numerous belaying points, ladders, two boat booms and 2 semaphore brackets to be added yet.
 
Strangely the Zvezda hit includes the support struts but not pontos, the boat booms are also missing and the 2 semaphores are also not mentioned which were all in place in 1907, no great task to build them, but Pontos has some amazing details and just forgets really obvious ones.

Thanks for the input, guys!
 
Another problem is that this ship has a windlass, but the plans show the anchor lines coiled on the deck.  Hahn's Hallifax plans also show no scuttle or hatch through which the lines could be led below deck.  Given the very small size of this vessel, it would seem that reducing the clutter on deck would make sense and the anchor lines would be best below, out of the way.  I'm proposing adding a hatch/grate just aft of the windlass for that purpose.  I think it makes sense.

Wise words

One more suggestion, where rubber gloves or your fingers will match your hull!

Elijah, you shouldn't have a problem with the planks falling off unless you left the whole hull sitting in the can of stain for a long time. The raw wood will absorb the stain very fast and it will take a lot to saturate it to the point that it will debond the glue. Still, light coats are best when applying stain. You will see that is does not take much to make the wood look great. With light coats you can control how dark you want the color to go. Also keep in mind that it will look darker when wet so allow the 1st coat to dry so you can see it's true color before deciding to add another.
 
She is looking great. Look forward to seeing her shine! 

I have built the rudder, and the next step is staining the hull. I got a dark stain which I will test on some spare wood, and I got a min wax stain pencil to help blend the lighter wood with the planking. The pencil can do a little darker than the stain, so that should help even out the lighter wood to match the planking. I have a small sponge brush for more control. The thing I am most worried about is the planks falling off if I get them soaked with stain accidentally . I will probably just need to do light coats so that they don't fall off when a ton of stain gets on them. Anyway, wish me luck!

Hi Elijah
 
What a wonderful job you're doing!  I'm definitely looking forward to your next update!
 
Keep up the great work.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks guys! I'm going to see if I can buy some stains today and test them on some of the leftover wood. I will be shooting for a dark stain so that the hull still resembles having black paint on it, as that was what it was painted. As you can see from the pictures, the keel, stem, sternpost, and bulwarks are a different wood. Should they have a stain of their own to make them blend in with the stained planks better?

Nice Job @ Elijah
 
With some sanding this will look a lot better than the now still raw planks. I remember making my dad`s Boat some years ago, this looked just the same, after sanding and painting with coluorless varnish the true beauty came out.
Before sanding

 
after sanding and colourless painting, rigging in progress

 
Regards
Gerhard

Very nice now you can give a good broadside to any tax collector who comes along side.
David B

I've neglected the AVS long enough!  It's time to finish this model.
 
I really don't like metal work all that much, so what's left is basically all metalwork!  I need to finish the yokes for the swivel guns and mount them, install the channels and make all the chain plates and mount them with the deadeyes.  I finally attached the cap squares to the gun carriages,  They are made of blackened brass.