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Erik W

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Everything posted by Erik W

  1. Erik W
    Brain, Thanks for the compliment. The hull length is 6.5 inches (16.5 centimeters for you metric types ). Erik
  2. Erik W
    I glued on the friezes. Keeping the friezes from sticking to the wrong things while applying them was a bit tricky, but I manged to pull it off. I'm following Mike's (Stuntflyer) lead and keeping the painting to a minimum. I chose not to apply any white trim paint. As a newby, I want as much wood showing as possible! Erik
  3. Erik W
    I applied the red paint (Polly Scale acrylic Soo Line Red). I applied the first coat at full strength and then 2 to 4 coats with the paint diluted 30% with water. Erik
  4. Erik W
    Danny, Mark, I'm not sure what I expected with the staining. I see all these builds using quality boxwood, Swiss pear, and holly and I guess I forget that I'm just working with soft basswood. While this build was meant to be practice for a more involved build, it's taken on a life of it's own as far as how attached I've become to the work I've done. Also, when all is said and done, once the longboat is completed, the viewer emphasis will be on the details of the interior, mast, rigging, etc. Erik
  5. Erik W
    I stained the longboat. It's a little darker than I expected. Of course, I'm used to looking at the boat with the wood an almost white color, so maybe I'm just not used to seeing it a more realistic color. Also, I applied the stain in an even and uniform manner, but the wood just didn't absorb it uniformly. Does it look alright? That and the real color isn't showing up well in the photos with the light blue background I've been using. I took 3 more photos with a darker blue background. The warmer brown is closer to the true color. It's hard to show accurate color rendition sometimes! Erik
  6. Erik W
    Danny, Yes. The plan is to stain and then use WOP afterwards. Depending on how the stained hull looks, I may add another coat of stain if I think it should be darker . . . then the WOP. Erik
  7. Erik W
    I added the 1/32" molding strips on both sides. I wanted to glue these before I stained the boat, but add the friezes afterwards. What I did then was cut the friezes out with a #11 xacto blade with a piece of blank paper underneath so the piece of paper was exactly the same shape as the frieze. I used removable double sided tape to temporarily attach the piece of paper to the side of the hull. I then used that as a guide on where to glue the molding strips. Once the strips were glued on, I easily removed the piece of paper. The friezes fit in the space perfectly. Adding the 1/32" x 1/32" molding strip turned out to be a pain in the butt. The kit supplied wood ranged in size between .025" and .040" within the same strip, and was so porous and fuzzy that I broke 4 pieces at the bow. Luckily I had some Northeast basswood strip of the right size in my stash. I used that instead. Lastly, after much help off line (thanks Mike and Toni), I've tested and chosen the finish I'm going to use. This photo isn't the best, but you get the general idea. I'm going for a look that is a relatively light shade. The hull came out well enough I plan on leaving the portion below the waterline unpainted. Erik
  8. Erik W
    Mike, Chuck, I'm totally jealous you can get together face to face with your builds. Those of us out here on the frontier request photos to be posted of the meeting of the Cheerfuls. Erik
  9. Erik W
    I'm cutting out the friezes for the hull sides and transom. I had read on here about the issues with the original friezes being too large. I assumed the second sheet included in the kit by Model Shipways included friezes that were reduced in size. But upon measuring them just now, the 3 transom friezes are exactly the same size as those 4 friezes included on the plan sheet. So . . . MS included 7 transom friezes that were too large with this kit. Any idea why they'd throw in an extra sheet with friezes too large to use . . . rather than something that would actually fit on their boat? I'll print Chuck's PDF frieze file at work tomorrow. Erik
  10. Erik W
    Mike, That looks fabulous! You really do have a knack for planking. Erik
  11. Erik W
    Got the cap rail done. One of the challenges with this kit has been working with such a poor wood quality. Sanding the cap rail was like sanding shredded wheat. My next build may be something scratch built. At least I'll be able to pick the quality of the wood. Erik
  12. Erik W
    Thanks Mike. It's interesting to see how MSW can have a bunch of people build the same model, get impressive results, yet have each turn out as a distinctly unique individual model. Since you're a handful of step ahead of me, I'm following your build closely! Erik
  13. Erik W
    Mike, Your build is looking great. It's very crisp and clean. Erik
  14. Erik W
    Thanks for the kind words, encouragement, and "Likes" folks. It helps keep me motivated with you in my corner. David, For the unpainted portion I'm going to finish the wood with a pre-stain, followed by 1 part Minwax Golden Oak + 3 parts Minwax Natural, followed up with Wipe-on-Poly. For the red I'll be using a bottle of Polly Scale Railroad Acrylic - Soo Line Red. I like the deeper shade of red of this paint. Polly Scale paints are great . . . sadly they have been discontinued. I'll be leaving the portion below the waterline unpainted. Erik
  15. Erik W
    I'm pretty much done sanding the interior. Though with these enlarged photos, I see areas that need more work and cleanup. I had to include the dime in the last photo because the sanded outer hull is so smooth and monochromatic that the camera's auto focus won't focus on the right place! Erik
  16. Erik W
    Question. I drilled the two holes in the bottom of the keel to mount the longboat to brass rods on the base when complete. I used a #68 (.031") drill bit. I drilled the hole to the depth of the keel. I was wondering, should I drill it further into the false keel? It seems like a deeper hole would hold the boat better and be less flimsy. Also, I cut out the bulkheads, This went pretty quickly using a #11 fine tooth saw blade in a small Xacto handle. I was very careful . . . and I don't think I breathed the whole time!! My nerves are a bit frayed, but the boat is undamaged. All I can say is, damn this thing is light! Erik
  17. Erik W
    The hull is now sanded. I had to do this with great care since the planks on this latest batch of kits are .020" thick rather than 1/32" (.031"). There's not much margin for error. I still have some touch up and cleanup to do, which I'll do after I remove the bulkheads. Now about the planks . . . Mine is the first build log of the Longboat using the .020" thick planks. I was waiting to see what my results were before I addressed this. For those reading this before they embark on a build of these latest kits with these thinner planks, DO NOT USE THE .020" THICK KIT SUPPLIED PLANKS. I have used them more or less successfully, but the kit was not designed for these, and Model Shipways did not modify the instructions to accommodate for the thinner planks. Replacement 1/32" x 1/8" basswood planks, as Chuck designed the model to use, can be purchased on various sites on the web for around $5. Well worth the cost to safeguard against potential headaches down the road. Erik
  18. Erik W
    Thanks for the kind words guys. The craftsmanship on your builds sets the bar pretty high! Danny, I guess by rough I'm referring to the photos I didn't post that show the bumps and low spots on the some of the planks. You need not know that those exist! Haha. Erik
  19. Erik W
    A couple of quick shots. The planking is finished. I have yet to start any sanding, so pardon the rough look! Erik
  20. Erik W
    Thanks Chuck and Danny. My average plank width has been around .011". When I got down to the gap for the last 3 on each side, the gap measures .030" at it's widest. So, starting with the most recent plank I attached, I reducing the plank width to .010", and then tapered the bow and stern. This should make it look like all the planks are the same width, rather than have the last plank be obviously narrow. Erik
  21. Erik W
    I'm on the home stretch with the planking. This being my first planking experience, I'm fairly pleased with my results. Most of the imperfections seen in the photos should be taken care of with the final sanding of the hull. I'm learning a lot in the process. Erik
  22. Erik W
    Hmm. She's staring to actually look like a boat! I added more planks. Seems like I've been planking forever. I've got my system down though as far as bending, shaping, and gluing on the planks. Once I think I have the bending figured out, I move further up/down the boat and then need to figure out the shape of the new bends I'll be working with! Son-of-a . . . I'm at the point on the hull I'll need to use the Magic Tape method, that I saw in another build log, as a way of figuring out my plank bends. It's getting hard to wing it! I'm already thinking ahead to hull sanding. Hoping it all turns out OK! Erik
  23. Erik W
    I'm plugging away with the planking . . . slooooowly. Since these newest kits come with .020" thick planks, rather than the 1/32 (.031") planks that came in the older kits, I'm trying to keep my planking as flawless as possible to avoid excessive sanding of the hull when the planking is complete. I don't want to take too much thickness off of these planks! I'm fairly pleased with my planking results so far. It's not perfect, but is acceptable for a first ship build. I'm looking forward to finishing the planking, so I can get things sanded and looking less rough. Erik
  24. Erik W
    Hi Tony, I recently bought the Longboat and also noticed the planks in the newer kits are .020". They are poor quality, so are a bit rough on the edges. After sanding the roughness off I've found that I'll need 13 planks per side of the boat, rather than 12 like others have been using. Also, Model Shipways didn't update the instructions to account for the thinner wood, so when thinning the false keel at the stern, less material should be taken off. I'm curious if anyone knows why Model Shipways changed the plank thickness? It seems odd to arbitrarily change the plank thickness if that's not what Chuck designed the kit to use. .020" thick planks are nearly paper thin as it is, so don't leave much margin for error when doing the final sanding of the hull. As the first person posting a build log on MSW of the Longboat using the new .020" planks, I would NOT recommend using them. Substitute 1/32" basswood planks can be purchased on various sites on the web for around $5 (I personally would not buy them from Model Shipways, since the purchasing of additional planking material is to correct their poor decision in the first place). Erik
  25. Erik W
    Toni, Thanks for the kind words. I actually patterned the garboard strake shape specifically after yours. From the side views you posted, I like how the run of your planks looked in the bow area. Mike, Thanks! I'm hoping to copy the look of your longboat build. I like the non-painted hull and the minimal use of paint on your interior as well. With the non-painted hull idea in mind, I'm trying to be extra careful with the planking. Erik

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