Jolley Roger

She's still around: http://www.hokulea.com/
 
They visited Cape Town in December last year.

Well, the painting is finally finished! 
Definitely not my favorite part of the build, but I wanted it to look as good as possible, so I spent a lot of time on it. 
 

 
I also decided to change the bulkhead from mahogany to cherry wood. I made the little window with lead wire and Microscale Kristal Klear
 


 
...and last, but not least, I am attempting my hand at treenailing the deck. I still need some fine tuning on the technique, but it looks alright for a first attempt. (i still need to finish the set on the right, just need to pull more bamboo through the drawplate!)
 

As promised.

There is also Polish manufacturer Bojer (family owned, the main person is Jerzy Borwiński, the name of the company is a bit misleading, meaning "sand/ice yachting"). They have four models up to date, all lasercut in 1:40 scale. The quality (what I have read on forums) is above average comparing to European biggies (AL, Occre, Amati).

Hi Mike,
 
A quick screen grab of their site
 
There is some other sites that sells their products as well, although a bit more expensive:  http://hobbyterra.com/search.php?subcategories_id=89&manufacturers_id=112
 
Hobbyterra offers free shipping if you buy over a certain amount and you can pay with Paypal, so you will be covered by the Paypal guarantee.
 
I've seen a couple of their kits on Ebay as well.
 
 

Hi Mike,
 
A quick screen grab of their site
 
There is some other sites that sells their products as well, although a bit more expensive:  http://hobbyterra.com/search.php?subcategories_id=89&manufacturers_id=112
 
Hobbyterra offers free shipping if you buy over a certain amount and you can pay with Paypal, so you will be covered by the Paypal guarantee.
 
I've seen a couple of their kits on Ebay as well.
 
 

There is also a Russian manufacturer, Master Korabel, http://master-korabel.com/categories/korabli, with some interesting kits.
 
...and of course, Mr Chuck Passaro's Syren Ship Model Company, http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/, 

There is also a Russian manufacturer, Master Korabel, http://master-korabel.com/categories/korabli, with some interesting kits.
 
...and of course, Mr Chuck Passaro's Syren Ship Model Company, http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/, 

Hi All,
 
Welcome Kevin and I really think you'll be very happy with this kit...she's a beauty! My thanks to all as well for the kind comments and the likes!
 
One of the really nice design features of this kit is that it can be built showing some exposed hull framing. First step is to build a shadow box from the laser cut pieces. Two of these have very fine spacers to set the framing separation.  A heads up to anyone with this kit is many of the spacers were not cut all the way through especially at the corners in my kit. It took quite some time to safely release them using my finest Xacto knife as the spacers are quite fragile. After sanding and gluing in place, the shadow box was  painted matt black.
 
The double frames were glued up making sure the tops matched up and then all the frames were glued into place. I used wood glue as this gave me time to try make sure the spaces were even and the frames vertical using my small square to guide my eye. Fairing to the bulkheads was done using my sanding sticks and 220 grit paper. I thought about staining the frames to match the keel, but there was quite a lot of grain visible so I decided against it. I am really glad I left well alone as the frames still took on a really nice, deeper color after a protective coat of poly. Seems when I select planks for hull and deck planking, I will need to really watch how the grain is running and perhaps pre-stain or add a light coat of poly to help match the finish.
 
One last thing is I decided to copy Ed Tosti's board design (link below to his fabulous Young America log)  and added T track's to my board. I can now hold the hull firmly using the simple clamps you can see in some pictures and they also let me square the hull to the board which should be helpful given next up is Chapter 3 and the stern framing!
 
Thanks for reading!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.
 
Link to Ed Tosti's Young America log.
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/3453-young-america-by-edt-extreme-clipper-1853/page-1
 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Sirs,
  now back to the front, doing some catting :-)   First mistreated some wood ...     ... rounding things up ...     ... and prepared for blackening.     And there it already hangs ...     ... depper darling, deeper ...     ... ohohoh hihihigher ...                 ... and all on top ...         I hope the next updates will get more exciting again :-)   XXXDAn

Lots of sanding and cutting but I think it looks much better now and should have let's say more easier and pleasant planking I guess
 

For that type of bender the wood can be dry.
 
Use it only on the first layer of planking, as the bender can leave blade marks on the wood(even on the opposite side of the cut!)
 
Remember, for this type of build, the first layer of planking is to create a nice platform for the second layer.

For that type of bender the wood can be dry.
 
Use it only on the first layer of planking, as the bender can leave blade marks on the wood(even on the opposite side of the cut!)
 
Remember, for this type of build, the first layer of planking is to create a nice platform for the second layer.

Turns out I had some of those stern pieces askew, so today I broke it all apart and set them again, this time with temporary filler blocks at 3 points per piece to ensure everything is properly square. This is a learning experience. I also faired the hull some more.

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.
 

 

 

 

 

 

I learn something new everyday....

I learn something new everyday....

I learn something new everyday....

Welcome Elijah, Bigmac and Roger and thank you all for the kind comments and the likes. You won't be disappointed with the Confederacy kit, it's a real beauty and hopefully I will do her justice. 
 
Fairing the hull right now...taking it slow and checking things as I go, but I hope to have an update worth posting soon. Please ignore any reports of unseasonable dust storms in the Saratoga Springs area....
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Permission to come on board for this build sir?
 
The Confederacy (along with the Syren) is on my bucket list of models to build one day.
 
She's gonna be a beauty! 

Permission to come on board for this build sir?
 
The Confederacy (along with the Syren) is on my bucket list of models to build one day.
 
She's gonna be a beauty! 

Permission to come on board for this build sir?
 
The Confederacy (along with the Syren) is on my bucket list of models to build one day.
 
She's gonna be a beauty! 

Looking good so far Rainbow. 
 
For bending planks, I use a normal household iron(the one you iron your clothes with). Just soak your planks for a couple of minutes, then use the iron to heat them until the plank start steaming and then slowly bend the plank to the required shape. I would suggest you test this method on some scrap wood first.
 
With regards to using nails: some people do, some people don't. Just keep in mind that not all nails are equal, I use brass nails, as they won't rust. Some of the kit supplied nails contains iron, which will rust over time and might stain the wood.
 
Good luck with the planking, I used to be scared of planking, but now I love it, there is so much to learn!

Hull planking done! ......finally. She is starting to look the part, hopefully I can turn this ugly duckling into a swan...
 
I tried spiling for the first time, using Mahogany veneer, which is a slightly different and a lighter color from the kit supplied Mahogany.
 
I will give the lighter parts an extra covering of sealer, to see if i can get it to match the rest of the planking.

Looking good so far Rainbow. 
 
For bending planks, I use a normal household iron(the one you iron your clothes with). Just soak your planks for a couple of minutes, then use the iron to heat them until the plank start steaming and then slowly bend the plank to the required shape. I would suggest you test this method on some scrap wood first.
 
With regards to using nails: some people do, some people don't. Just keep in mind that not all nails are equal, I use brass nails, as they won't rust. Some of the kit supplied nails contains iron, which will rust over time and might stain the wood.
 
Good luck with the planking, I used to be scared of planking, but now I love it, there is so much to learn!