ken3335

Hi,  Thanks for your likes and comments.
 
As a slight change to doing the hull I thought that I would try and do one of the many small parts that make up this boat, a skylight. I learned what could well be a valuable lesson. The plans are entirely in Italian with no translation but they seemed simple enough. I made the skylight over the plan, I thought that I had made a good job until I placed it on the deck, it looked too big. On checking I found that not all parts of the plans are to scale!! I had to make it again but this time using the measurements given. The picture shows on the left the skylight that I made over the plan and the one on the right shows it made using the given measurements, quite a size difference but a warning to be more aware during the rest of the build.
 
I've now finished the first of the many deck fittings, a couple of skylights, ( the correct size ) The hull has been prepared for painting and I'll do that soon. I feel that the model is starting to become interesting.
 
I have also been preparing the base for displaying the model for a few days, mainly waiting for the sealer and varnish to dry. I got a piece of sapele from my local wood yard, and routed the edge. After sanding I tried some dyes on the underside to get the shade that I wanted, light teak was my preferred, I sealed it then a couple of coats of poly finished it off. The columns are Amati which I got from Cornwall Model Boats, they were quite cheap, they are pre drilled, the rod is from one of my wife’s knitting needles, she doesn’t know yet!
 
Ken

Hi,   I’m making good progress on the hull at the moment and all is going along quite well. I’ve not been keeping the log exactly up to date but here is a catch up.
 
I’ve put the capping on the edge of the decks, the instructions suggested the fore and aft curves should be done in small sections from the strip provided, I didn’t think that this would look too good. I had a small piece of walnut in my stash, not enough to do all of capping but if careful, enough for the curves. I made up a cardboard template first as I only had enough for one shot at it. I put the curved sections on then added strips along the straight part.
 
The brass platings along the upper part of the hull were then cut to shape, drilled where the portholes were needed and glued into place. I drilled holes for the riveting and used brass nails for them, I then put the wooden 2x2 strip bellow.
Lastly I put the brass ports and scuttles in.  I gave the brass a good polish to finish it off.
 
 The two raised strips like wales were added next, these were made up of 4 x  .5x 3mm walnut strips. It was quite time consuming getting the curves at the stern to sit flat, the picture of the plan shows this. The newer kits supply these wales  as pre cut ply with the ports cut out, I believe that this version just does not work as they won’t curve and stay flat against the stern, most builders just leave them off and just paint the stripes on.
 
Ken   
 
Sorry about the order of the pictures, I'm not too good at doing it
 
 

`Hi,     Thanks again for the likes, it's good to know someone out there is watching.
 
 
More progress on the hull. I finished the second planking without encountering any difficulties except for the state of the wood which I have already mentioned. My first thoughts were that I would never get rid of the grain and achieve a smooth enough surface for a painted finish but I set about it and the end result was so good that it surprised me, although it took longer than the actual planking.
 
I first gave it a thorough sanding, taking away about half the planks depth.
I then spread a thinned water based filler over the entire hull and when dry sanded that right back.
I gave it a very light coat of spray primer, this highlight any imperfections and shows where the seams will show fine cracks. I worked in filler again to the imperfect areas, sanded and again sprayed, I did this twice.
I was then left with an acceptable surface but after spraying again I had to use a fine acrylic filler intended for hiding the seams on plastic models before getting a perfect surface. A fine sanding and another light spray completed the job.
A lot of work but in the end well worth the extra effort.
 
I’ve attached some pictures of each stage so that you can see the progress.
 
Ken 
 
 

 

Hi,  Continuing, I’ve made a start on the second planking. This planking is done using 1x6mm lime wood strips, in my opinion far from the best wood for a good finish. I unpacked the bundle of strips and found that unlike the first planks they were of quite poor quality, they were very course grain and the edges were roughly cut and looked prone to splintering. To tidy them up a bit I sanded the edges, I held about six at a time in a sort of simple jig and sanded them as a block. Photo.    It’s a big hull and there are rather a lot of planks to do so being able to do many at a time helped.
 
I started the planks from the top of the waist deck and continued down. My fears about the edges splintering happened, a lot of very fine ones occurred spoiling what I had hoped would be well butted seams. The very rough grain was even more noticeable seen with many of the planks fitted, I’ve shown a photo of this, it really is bad and as this will be a smooth painted hull I can see a lot of work will need to be done to make it acceptable. At the moment I think that it would have been better left as single planked, just another challenge.
 
Ken
 

 

Hi,
As you know I was unhappy with the decking and was in the process of having another go at it. I had made the same mistake on my Royal William build so why I didn’t learn from my mistake I don’t know, anyway it’s now completed and I’m delighted with the result, it was well worth the extra effort.
 
I used a mouse type sander and sanded off all the walnut planking, the waist deck proved quite difficult and I only managed a slight reduction here, I also removed the skirting from around the cabins in preparation for the re planking.
 
Like most of you I have a small stash of wood left over from other builds but I didn’t have enough of the same type to complete the decks, I didn’t want to have to buy any so I used what I had. I had enough light coloured wood but it was of different types in different widths and thickness, four in all. I used my small Proxxon table saw and cut them to the same width 3mm. I was quite surprised at how clean it cut lengths of planks, the edges didn’t even need sanding. I didn’t mind the different thickness as once laid I could sand them down to a uniform height. I cut them into 8cm lengths for a four butt pattern. I tried some dyes on test pieces to see if I could get their colour and texture similar, I ended up choosing a light oak.
 
I had no problem laying the planks although it was now awkward working around the cabins with the upper decks in place, I used white PVA to fix them. I sanded them back, rubbed some walnut filler into the seams then rubbed in the oak dye. I find that the filler soaks up the dye like end grain, slightly darker and gives a very slight appearance of corking, enough to take the plainness off. I re fitted the skirting then finished off with a coat of sanding sealer.
 
I am now much happier with the look of the deck, I think it was well worth the effort.
 
Ken

Hi, The Next task was to plank the waist deck. The planks supplied were 3x.5mm dark walnut, the wood was ok but I really don’t like the colour. I don’t understand any kit manufacturer thinking that this colour would be ok for decking as it looks so obviously wrong. I was stuck with it as the shops can’t supply an alternative at the moment.. I laid these planks, I didn’t darken the edge as pencil wouldn’t show up against that dark colour, I sealed, sanded and varnished with a satin poly.
 
I then started on the cabins. The instructions would have you put in place the upper decks first but this would make would make the placing and finishing off the deck planking quite difficult.
 
The cabins are made up from ply and were supposed to be covered with the 3x.5 strips. Rather than do this and then try and get a smooth finish for painting I decided to face them with very thin styrene sheet and then trim them to shape, it worked well. The doors and vent covers were also made from styrene, they painted up well, the windows, vents axes and rails were the added.
 
Ken
 
 

Ken

Hi, I managed to get a good sanding session done and I'm very pleased with the result. No filler was needed at all to get this to what I think is a very good first layer.
 
Ken
 

Hi,   I have recently started the Amerigo Vespucci, 1:84 scale from a Panart kit. I quite enjoyed the interaction I got from members on my Royal William log so I’ll again share my build with you.
 
 
 I bought the kit off Ebay for a good price, it is an early version about 20 – 25 years old and differs quite a bit from their current version, I think for the better. Lime for first planking, not balsa, etched sheet brass for the plating not ply, planked deck instead of printed ply and 12 sheets of plans many 1:1, but poor badly translated instructions instead of the step by step guide.
 
 
Although old everything was in very good condition, straight keel and bulwarks, which were very well laser cut, matching the plans perfectly, the strip wood is very nice, straight cleanly cut and still flexible enough although has hardened quite a bit. There are hundreds of castings and machined brass fittings all nicely bagged, these will need a serious cleaning as they have become badly tarnished. A very comprehensive and well presented kit.
 
 
I admire many of the builders on this site for their skill, painstaking dedication to detail and accuracy but I’m afraid that’s not me. My build will be as simple as I can make it, mostly straight from the box with just enough detail to make it a nice looking well made model that will not take me years, with the chance of getting fed up and quitting.  
 
 
I wanted to start the build by first preparing the mounting. I want to mount it on brass pedestals on a large mahogany plinth so needed to do the preparation for this prior to planking rather than risk damaging the model at a later stage by turning it upside down. My first problem is that due to the lack of availability of stuff due to the Covid restrictions I can’t get anything, the wood yards are closed and even popular online modelling suppliers have run out of anything I want, glues, sealers wood strip and my columns.
 
 
I started by joining together the three sections of keel, I reinforced the joins then beefed up the area where the pedestals will be fixed with rods, I drilled them out and hope that they line up later.
 
 
I dry fitted the bulkheads, they only needed the lightest of sanding before becoming a perfect fit. I made up a keel support out of scrap, not very neat looking but works well enough.. I glued all the bulkheads into place, I added extra support on the outer edge of the front three and stern bulkheads. I usually infill these areas with balsa but the lines of the hull are so friendly that I didn’t think that it would be needed. I spent quite a bit of time fairing the frames making sure that they were as perfect as I could make them. I have now started the first layer with the 6 x 1.5 lime planks provided, so far so good.
 
 
That’s me starting my journey please feel free to join me.
 
 
Ken
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi,    The build continues at a good pace. Today’s post shows some of the smaller projects that I’ve made up whilst waiting for paint/glue to dry, they include some hatches, waist lockers, deck storage units, skylights etc.
 
I’ve shown my start on the wheelhouse, I’ll continue showing this soon, I’ve done more of it but I haven’t sorted the photos out yet, it’s coming out better than expected
 
Ken
 

Hi,    The build continues at a good pace. Today’s post shows some of the smaller projects that I’ve made up whilst waiting for paint/glue to dry, they include some hatches, waist lockers, deck storage units, skylights etc.
 
I’ve shown my start on the wheelhouse, I’ll continue showing this soon, I’ve done more of it but I haven’t sorted the photos out yet, it’s coming out better than expected
 
Ken
 

Hi Kevin, She's coming along just fine. I applaud you on the extra detail you are putting in but don't envy you in choosing to do the eyebrows, a lot of extra work there. I don't intend to do them myself as I don't want to get too involved in scale accuracy, I think that there is already a great amount of fine detail on this model and I would be afraid of the build taking forever with me losing interest.  Thanks for the mention by the way.
 
Ken
 
Here's a picture of some detail coming up soon
 

Hi Kevin, She's coming along just fine. I applaud you on the extra detail you are putting in but don't envy you in choosing to do the eyebrows, a lot of extra work there. I don't intend to do them myself as I don't want to get too involved in scale accuracy, I think that there is already a great amount of fine detail on this model and I would be afraid of the build taking forever with me losing interest.  Thanks for the mention by the way.
 
Ken
 
Here's a picture of some detail coming up soon
 

Hi Kevin, She's coming along just fine. I applaud you on the extra detail you are putting in but don't envy you in choosing to do the eyebrows, a lot of extra work there. I don't intend to do them myself as I don't want to get too involved in scale accuracy, I think that there is already a great amount of fine detail on this model and I would be afraid of the build taking forever with me losing interest.  Thanks for the mention by the way.
 
Ken
 
Here's a picture of some detail coming up soon
 

Hi Kevin, She's coming along just fine. I applaud you on the extra detail you are putting in but don't envy you in choosing to do the eyebrows, a lot of extra work there. I don't intend to do them myself as I don't want to get too involved in scale accuracy, I think that there is already a great amount of fine detail on this model and I would be afraid of the build taking forever with me losing interest.  Thanks for the mention by the way.
 
Ken
 
Here's a picture of some detail coming up soon
 

Good morning everyone
 
thank you for comments and likes very much appreciated
 
well the deck planking is done, just a couple of edges that need sorting, as it got quite thin on the edges for over sanding
 
so far, every thing that was messed up last time has sorted its self out, although the boat seams to have got 10mm longer in 12 years, still growing maybe
 
the main porthole strips on the port side went on with out any fuss, but i put an extra infill in to cover the 10mm gap
 
i want to be brave and do a different colour scheme on her, any suggestions, as the decking is quite light, i was thinking about renaming her now and taking her a very different vessel
 
I like her in this scheme will be interesting to find out how others feel, maybe now is the time to take to just a composite 3 master

 
 
 

good evening everyone
 
took a break from the Dorade for a couple weeks, as i wanted to progress the AV
the hull has been sanded and primed 3 times now and as a result, it is much better, deck planking in 3mm lime, means she will look totally different to the real thing, thats by choice and intentional

 

Hi,
First thanks again to those of you who are following my build and for your likes and comments.
 
My build is progressing nicely and I have just completed the stern gallery, it went well with no issues. I kept the construction as simple as I could and have not kept to its proper colour scheme again choosing just black and varnished wood, some staining was applied.
 
The pre cut ply was too large to fit the hull properly so I added three planking strips to the inner edge, with the extra meat I was the able to sand it back to get an exact fit to the hull. I made up the several gratings then using the plans as a guide only, assembled it, painted and varnished then added the name. The only disappointment was that one of the cast supports was missing, I left the gap at the centre to keep it symmetrical and hope that the ships boat which will eventually  hang over the stern will hide the omission, apart from that it came out well.
 
Ken

Hi,
First thanks again to those of you who are following my build and for your likes and comments.
 
My build is progressing nicely and I have just completed the stern gallery, it went well with no issues. I kept the construction as simple as I could and have not kept to its proper colour scheme again choosing just black and varnished wood, some staining was applied.
 
The pre cut ply was too large to fit the hull properly so I added three planking strips to the inner edge, with the extra meat I was the able to sand it back to get an exact fit to the hull. I made up the several gratings then using the plans as a guide only, assembled it, painted and varnished then added the name. The only disappointment was that one of the cast supports was missing, I left the gap at the centre to keep it symmetrical and hope that the ships boat which will eventually  hang over the stern will hide the omission, apart from that it came out well.
 
Ken

that looks very very nice

Hi,
First thanks again to those of you who are following my build and for your likes and comments.
 
My build is progressing nicely and I have just completed the stern gallery, it went well with no issues. I kept the construction as simple as I could and have not kept to its proper colour scheme again choosing just black and varnished wood, some staining was applied.
 
The pre cut ply was too large to fit the hull properly so I added three planking strips to the inner edge, with the extra meat I was the able to sand it back to get an exact fit to the hull. I made up the several gratings then using the plans as a guide only, assembled it, painted and varnished then added the name. The only disappointment was that one of the cast supports was missing, I left the gap at the centre to keep it symmetrical and hope that the ships boat which will eventually  hang over the stern will hide the omission, apart from that it came out well.
 
Ken

.Hello All.
 
Just a small update, moving on with the build I have just completed the rudder assembly, no need for an explanation as the pictures tell all.
 
Ken


 

Really nice work.

.Hello All.
 
Just a small update, moving on with the build I have just completed the rudder assembly, no need for an explanation as the pictures tell all.
 
Ken


 

.Hello All.
 
Just a small update, moving on with the build I have just completed the rudder assembly, no need for an explanation as the pictures tell all.
 
Ken


 

.Hello All.
 
Just a small update, moving on with the build I have just completed the rudder assembly, no need for an explanation as the pictures tell all.
 
Ken