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GrantGoodale

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  1. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    Time to start planking the bulworks. And this brought me face to face with paint issues. Consistent with my decision to prepaint strakes with different colors that abutted each other before installation, I had to decide what colors to use. In my previous post, you will note that I prepainted the waterway and planksheer with the Model Export Gun Red Paint that I ordered with the kit.  As others have noted, the red paint is nearly orange-too bright for my eye. In order to darken it, I mixed in a few drops of black. That did not work.  Just a few drops of black turned it a muddy gray. scratch 1/3 of my red paint. In the second batch, I only put in 1 drop and got something that I liked. I then repainted the waterway and planksheer.
     
    The green provide by Model Expo for the inner bulwarks was fine.  No need to do any mixing.
     
    The yellow was a whole different issue. I have pictures of the original ship and the outer bulwarks are a dark yellow.  The paint kit does not provide anything even close. I searched my local hobby shop and purchased at least 6 different yellow paints before deciding on a Model Master acrylic "Yellow Zink Chromate"
     
    The other decision I made was to glue all of the strakes onto the bulwarks from port to stern and then go back and cut out the gun ports and sweeps. I used a diamond tipped cutting bit for the dremel for the rough work and a flat file for finishing.  I had a small mini file that fit perfectly inside the small sweeps that helped clean them up.
     
    Before I did all of this, I soaked all of the strakes and pinned them to the bulkheads over night to dry to fix the bends. Then I painted the whale strake flat black for the bottom, the first strake above that with the yellow for the outside. Then painted the first strake with green for the inside.
     
    Overall, I was very satisfied with the result.








  2. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    On to the gun ports and sweeps.  I noticed that every gun port and some of the sweeps had at least one side affixed to a bulkhead top. So, I created wooden blocks in the shape of the square gun port, a trapazoid shaped one for the front port, and a small block for the sweep. I laid the block against the designated bulkhead and built the port around it. This method assured that the ports would be square and consistently sized. I did the same with the sweeps block. This tedious job, which as I look back on it took days to complete, was made easier with the block jigs.   



  3. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    As I am "recreating" a build log that was started nearly 4 years ago, with only pictures and no narrative, I have to rely on my less than true memory.  As I moved on to the waterway and planksheer, it was at about this time that I made some critical decisions that affected the build then and now.
     
    1. I decided I did not like the bass wood for anything other than planking the hull and bulwarks. It is too soft and does not keep an edge. I marveled at the work by the experts with some of the exotic woods they came across.  I have an abundance of seasoned cherry from trees I cut down on the farm and decided to use it for everything I could.
     
    2. I decided to use cherry veneer strips for the deck.  I had a tube of 1/8 inch wide cherry veneer strips in the shop. I had viewed many bass wood planked decks that looked beautiful when laid, but less so when finished with stain and sealer. Bass wood is simply too soft, and like any such wood, trying to get a true stained finish to look good was too much of a challenge for me.  Even using pre stain sealers does not necessarily prevent a blotchy finish. My veneer strips however were extremely thin, so I decided to glue them to a thin sheet of birch plywood. While I decided to do this simply because of the aesthetics, I found laying the deck on a sheet of plywood "off the ship" was easy. I did add some height to the deck that I had to adjust for, but overall, a good decision.
     
    3. I decided that every place where a two pieces with different paint colors met, I would paint them in advance, so that I would avoid masking and painting.  I thought that would save me time and allow a better look. This would end up being just a so-so decision. When I first laid the pieces down, they looked great and I did not have to do any masking.  However, what I did not take into consideration was how many nicks and dents would occur as the build continued.  Also, I cannot understand how the dust on my desk can be so darned destructive.  I must have corrosive dust here in Ohio, since it can mar the driest painted surface. In the end, the re-sanding and repainting to repair this damage probably did not save me any time. And adding more layers of paint on a surface than I wanted to also affected the look.
     
    Here are some photos of the waterway and planksheer.  By the way, future Niagara builders beware.  The planksheer does not fit well.  It does not extend out far enough to lay flush with the outer bulkheads. Nearly every Niagara builder has noted this.  I did as well.  Since I had painted it in advance, it took additional time to sand off the edge and glue on extension pieces.
     
    Here are some photos of the waterway and planksheer installation.
     





  4. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    Time to fair the hull.  I would have never even thought of doing this at this time.  However, repeated suggestions on this forum emphasized how important this is when it comes time to plank the hull.  They were right.
     
    The balsa filler blocks made it easy to pin some strakes to the hull at the kit supplied band marks.  From there, I marked the high and low spots on the bulkheads and added splints or filed them down. There was some work to be done, but overall, the kit supplied bulkheads weren't too bad.  I also added the required bevels on the fore and aft bulkheads.  Overall, a pretty easy process.  Here are some photos of the finished product.






  5. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    I then built the stern frames and added filler blocks.  The stern frames went up pretty easily.  The kit supplied blocks however were a challenge, especially the "corner fill blocks." They are small with complex shapes, and since they are prominently positioned on the outside corner of the stern, must be done right.  The plans provide two dimensional -to scale- pictures, so I cut them out, and traced them to a small block of bass wood.  I carefully cut those on a jig saw, and when mounted, was able to file them to size.  As I found in nearly all of this build, I screwed up the first set, but did better on the second set. Practice makes perfect, or nearly so.
     
    I also added additional blocks as I did at the bow.
     
    Some photos.







  6. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to 6ohiocav in US Brig Niagara by 6ohiocav - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64   
    Well Here goes.
     
    After I put the frame together, I worked on the kit supplied filler blocks at the bow and stern.  I picked up a tip on this forum that I should add additional blocks.  That was good advice.  When it came time to plank, it provided a firm base to secure the curved planks.  I used balsa wood. It was easy to cut on the band saw, and easy to file down to size.  I used my dremel drum sander for rough work, and a flat file for finish.  Getting them to the right shape was a concern, but I found that once they were mounted to the ship, the frames acted as good guides for filing. It was not as daunting as I thought it would be.
     
    Here are a few shots of the bow.








  7. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to harlequin in HMS Bellona by harlequin - FINISHED - Corel   
    Bow bulwark timbers being added.....such small bits have tested my patience today.

  8. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to lambsbk in USS Constitution by lambsbk – Revell – 1/96 - PLASTIC – With Fiber Optics   
    Plan "A" for the manger did not work. I was planning to reshape the putty to the desired hull shape but it cracked and split when filing. So on to plan "B". I shaped and glued styrene to the molded out hawse area and then applied filler. It has not dried yet (a great time for a tropical depression over my house) but when cured I will shape ,sand, and paint it. The hawse holes will be extended somewhat which I like (especially since I can not thicken my bulwarks) and the manger will be back on track for completion next week.
     

  9. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to mattsayers148 in Benjamin W Latham by mattsayers148 - Model Shipways 2109 - 1:48   
    Thank you Frank and Buck. I always enjoy hearing from a couple of master-craftsmen.
     
    So I decided on these two woods(cherry and yellow poplar I think) and will split these on the waterline.
     

     
    Got the keel/stem and stern post covered as well as a portion of the planking below the waterline.
     

     
    More to come soon.
     

  10. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Gerhardvienna in USS CAIRO by Gerhardvienna - RADIO - live steam   
    Hi Denis
     
    Thank you!
     
    All frames are set now, the next days will be a break in building models for my home renovation. Made just two more pics from the state today, next steps will be the outside planking, before I can start with all the internal boxes for engine and tank room.
     


     
    Thank you all for your interest and nice likes again.....
    Best regards
    Gerhard
  11. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to md1400cs in Wasa by md1400cs - FINISHED - Corel - 1:75   
    Joe, thanks very nice of you - as always : cheers to you
     
    Frank, Yes the Vasa is always coming up with changes as they "discover" more errors at the museum. Including the 1/10th photos below.
     
    The knigntshead rails (just behind the mainmast has two versions); one with pins, and one without. I built mine without, so the railing is too thick to NOW drill holes for pins. It appears in one of those photos that the ropes are just wrapped around the railing. Its hard to really see details however.
     
    Though the Corel sheets do indicate pin holes for both fore and main mast railings. Hmmm ??
     
    JanV, So nice- thanks so much you are way too nice. So appreciated indeed.
     
    Also thanks mates for dropping and taking a look - always appreciated.
     

  12. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Piet in Surabaya by Piet - 1/80 - Mid 17th-Century VOC ship   
    In the meantime I made the outer parts for the gun port lids and am about ready to glue them together.  Then the pull cord eye bolts, and hinges.
    The inner planking is 10 mm square, the outer planking is 12 mm square.  Both give or take a fraction.
     
    The last photo I tried something.  I wanted to see how it would have looked like to just have round port holes for the smaller guns instead of the larger square holes with lids.
    In retrospect that’s what I should have done, I think.  But it’s too late now to make a change and I’ll have to leave it this way.  It does kinda  fit my original idea of making this a hybrid ship, a heavily armed merchant vessel.
     
    I’m also still pondering whether I should paint the railing in the waist green to have a continuation of the green color between the forecastle and the aft end.  I think it would look better.
     
    Any ideas, suggestions??
     

    Gun port lid parts
     

    Gun port lids in gun ports for a look see
     
    Cheers,
  13. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Piet in Surabaya by Piet - 1/80 - Mid 17th-Century VOC ship   
    Hello all,
     
    Well, as mentioned just a few minutes ago here is a picture of the gunport lid action.
    I made a jig from a plastic putty spreader I had in my toolbox from de days I was actively engaged in aircraft repair.
    I cut a small 90 degree opening in it to hold the small pieces of maple square.  The inner planks are 1 mm thick by 10 mm long and I need three for each lid.  I glued then edgewise with CA.  I was smart enough to make them a little larger so I can shape them nice a square and they also need to be made a little thinner.
     
    The fixture also accommodates the outer planking of cherry but I'll use regular carpenters glue for that.
    I'll try to make the hinges from brass sheet and brass pins for hinge pins.  Hmmm, then the tiny eyebolts 
     

     
    closeup of inner planking for gunport lids.
     
    Cheers,
  14. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Piet in Surabaya by Piet - 1/80 - Mid 17th-Century VOC ship   
    Thanks Mark and Daniel for your words of encouragement regarding my jaw.  Truth is that I had very little discomfort with it all, and that's a good thing.
     
    The VOC ship is taking a backseat right now because of all the prep work for the O 19 sub log.  However, I am picking a little here and there at the VOC ship.  I installed the outside steps to the hull and the rudder securing cables.  Next will be making the gunport lids.  I need to fabricate a jig for it so I can make them assembly line fashion.  I cut the wood already for them but the strips need to be planed thinner before I can cut them to the desired lengths.
     
    I have a lot of "shipyard rash" to fix up and clean I see before I can put the Danish oil on the hull.
     
    Okay, here are a few pics of what I have done in the last week.
     

    Close-up of rudder securing cables installed
     

    Close-up of boarding steps.
     

    Port side view of hull 
     
    Cheers,
  15. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to igorsr in Santa Maria by igorsr - FINISHED - Tehnodiktata - Scale 1:66   
    Finally,
    I finished!







  16. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to giampieroricci in L'Amarante 1749 by giampieroricci - FINISHED - 1:30 - French Corvette   
    burnishing

     
     
    the little door

     
     
    I fixed the hinges with these beautiful rivets round head  0,3x2 mm

     
     
    and this is the end result: the photos are all in super-macro!

     
     
    The door is fully functional, although it is terribly delicate!

     

     

     

     

  17. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to giampieroricci in L'Amarante 1749 by giampieroricci - FINISHED - 1:30 - French Corvette   
    I finished all the hooks with ring and set them on:

     

     

     

     

  18. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to giampieroricci in L'Amarante 1749 by giampieroricci - FINISHED - 1:30 - French Corvette   
    I completed the formwork railing

     

     

     

     

     
     
    I started the construction of the gun deck with the construction of the hook pins for the artillery:

     

     

     

     

  19. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Mahuna in Dunbrody by Mahuna - FINISHED - 1:48 - Cross-Section - Irish Famine Ship   
    Part 14 – Installing the Frames – cont’d
     
    Construction and installation of the frames has been continuing.  I also decided to start making the adjustments that will be needed while it’s still easy to get to the mid-most frames.
     
    The first adjustment is leveling the Cutting Down Line so that the keelson and sister keelsons will properly sit on top of the frame floors.  This was already done in the early part of the construction of each frame, but I’ve found that the amount of wetting that has to be done to remove the glued-on plans causes the wood to swell somewhat, so that this area is no longer level.
     
    In order to accurately mark the boundaries of the Cutting Down Line, I made a template by printing the bottom of a frame on a piece of card stock.  After marking the centerline on the forward-most frame I used this template to mark the boundaries of the Cutting Down Line.  This was repeated on the aftmost frame, then lines were drawn to mark the boundary along all of the frames. 
     
                            
     
    Then it was a simple matter of sanding between these lines.
     
                            
     
    Another adjustment is to start fairing the inside of the frames that have already been installed.  At the moment I’m only fairing the frames up to about the end of the second futtock, which is in the area of the turn of the bilge.  Because the frame-holding fixture shown in the following photo is used to secure the frames, this lower area is stable enough to sand.
     
                            
     
    I use a fairly long (about 8 inches) sanding stick that allows me to cross 6 or 8 frames at once.  I made some light pencil marks on all of the frames, and will sand until all of the pencil marks are gone.  This is a process that will take some time, so I’m only doing it intermittently.
     
                            
     
    Because of the flexing of the keel and shoe combination, I’ve decided that I need to leave some cross-spalls in place to ensure that I can level the hull during construction.  The installation of some of the early cross-spalls was inconsistent – although the centerline was properly marked, some of the spalls were lower than they should be.  So I decided to make some changes to the way I install spalls.
     
    The first change is to include a horizontal line across the frame plan to indicate the bottom of the spall.  The following photo of a pinning template shows this line.
     
                            
     
    I then made a jig with a horizontal bar that will be used to position the bottom of the spall, and a vertical bar that will be used to set the centerline position on the spall.
     
                            
     
    The left edge of the vertical bar is aligned with the centerline on the pinning template, and the top of the horizontal bar is aligned with the line for the bottom of the spall.
     
                            
     
    A drop of glue is then placed where each end of the spall will mate with the frame. 
     
                            
     
    The spall is then put in place and the spall’s centerline is aligned with the left edge of the vertical bar (I’m re-using spalls, so they are already marked for a centerline).  Large nuts are used as weights to secure the spall while the glue is setting (now I just need to add something to make it a Smiley-Face).
     
                            
     
    And now the reason for my Smiley-Face: I reached one of my milestones today – I completed the installation of frame 44 – the forward-most frame of the model. 
     
                            
     
                            
      
    18 frames are now installed – 8 more to go.          
     
    Thanks everyone!
     
  20. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to RGL in SMS Emden by RGL - FINISHED - Revell - 1/350 - PLASTIC   
    OK, flags added, guns glued down, port and starboard side panels added.
     
    I have pulled it off the base and will get around to getting a proper one then I will park the photos on the completed logs.
     
    Overall it was a frustrating build that really took a lot longer than I thought but it kept me occupied. As you can see it's smaller than the Varyag and no where near the quality put up by the Artwox kit.
     
     











  21. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to RGL in SMS Emden by RGL - FINISHED - Revell - 1/350 - PLASTIC   
    The last guns are 2 Maxims which sit amidships. I used some north Star Models ones which are a little bit small.


  22. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to RGL in SMS Emden by RGL - FINISHED - Revell - 1/350 - PLASTIC   
    you know when you're almost finished and have to tell yourself to stop rushing?
     
    The 10.5cm guns and 5.2cm guns are complete. You can see from the photos what Revel provided and how a bit of bashing works out. I did not put sights on the big guns as you could not see them anyway and the soft plastic is very hard to thin sufficiently.
     
    They look OK on the dry fit.






  23. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to RGL in SMS Emden by RGL - FINISHED - Revell - 1/350 - PLASTIC   
    Finally the props have been added and the scratch built prop guards, using chains from the eduard supposedly 1/350 chains for railings. Only some touch up to go on the ship, and I have removed the stern flagstaff as I will attach a flag to it. I still have navigation things to the masts.
     
    Finally I have shown a photo of the ship in my paw to show some scale. Essentially this is a 20 year old kit that needs so much bashing it's tragic. Modern kits are a lot nicer but limited to what the big companies think will sell. I think I've really hit my limit of competence given there is so little of the original kit and the Eduardo stuff is fairly basic and unimaginative. It's a fairly obscure ship to the northern hemisphere where most kits are made.
     
    I will use the gun shields from the kit and scratch build the rest. Wooden ships just have a nicer feel to them and the larger scale is so much easier to access but certainly not easier as it takes a lot more craftsmanship.
     
    I have everything ready to go for my next build, but even with aftermarket it should be a hell of a lot easier.





  24. Like
    GrantGoodale got a reaction from markjay in one way to determine the shape of 2nd planking hull.   
    Neat approach - I like it.
     
    Thanks
  25. Like
    GrantGoodale reacted to Gaetan Bordeleau in Le Fleuron by Gaetan Bordeleau - FINISHED - 1:24   
    Middle part of the second deck
     
    Making gratings is just like working metal, it is almost faster to do than the set-up. The idea is to have a guide located at the same distance of 1 space  (the  thicknes of the wood). To get the correct thickness, 2 blades  are stacked and 1 pair of wise grip  is needed to unscrew the nut  by blocking the shaft.  A small curve is sanded in the gratings.
     
    Most of the works recently done is still unglued. The drawings for the middle of the second deck are very inconsistent and incomplete so a lot of modifications are done  trying to think how the builders would have done it. Playing this ropleplay is very formative.







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