Mumin

Hi,
Construction of the polar ship Fram model is part of a larger project POLAR.
I am going to build model ships Farm, Maud and Gjøa all in scale 1:100
The construction will be conducted at the same time starting from the hull through the equipment and rigging.
Hulls of ships Fram and Maud will be built as POB  for bulkheads was used birch plywood 4 mm thick
planks was lime strips 2x5 mm ,.
The smallest Gjøa will have a hull constructed as “bread and butter” material used HDF board.
Original construction drawings of all ships I have got from Norwegian Maritime Museum ( contact person Mr Per Gisle Galåen   Per.Gisle.Galaen@marmuseum.no )but not all of them were sufficient information to build models, there was a lack of equipment drawings and plans of the deck.
The best are the drawings of the ship Gjøa because it plans for modeling also instruction is included but in Norwegian only.
With the help of our colleague Igorsky and additional shipment from  NMM was possible to complete the necessary documentation for the ship Fram but for Maud will be necessary partial improvisation
on area of deck arrangement and equipment.
I collect also all available photos of this ships from my archive and the net.
Drawings was scanned and scale was reduced up to required 1:100 in computer .

Bulkheads assembled

Planking beginning
 
Tadeusz





Inserts for exposition stands

 

Mike,
The fewer strands are in your rope, the thinner the rope is. For instance, two stranded rope is slightly thinner then three stranded one, which in turn is slightly thinner than four stranded rope. Of course, some of the bigger (thicker ) ropes on real ships were four stranded ropes like, like anchor ropes, some stays, etc.
 
If you can replace inner core in your model rope from another strand (thread) to a copper wire (some ropewalks let you do it), you can later on manuallly form your rope to look more "authentic" looking, let's say a sagging, loose piece rather than laying stiff and straight on a model, as miniature ropes tend to do.
 
Also, whether right hand twist or left hand twist, depends on what type of rope you intend it to represent. Some types of ropes were right handed and other left handed on real ships. If you care to do it more authentically looking, pay attention! If not, ignore it and make all of them the same. It is your model!  Have fun!  

In building my POF Armed Virginia Sloop, I became concerned about gluing the planking to the frames. Since the frames are visible below the wales, and because the planking is thick at 1/32 scale, push pins weren't the answer. I also didn't want to wait hours for clamped PVA glue to set up. I didn't trust CA glue alone because of the slight surface irregularity of the planking lying on the frames. My solution was to use Weldbond as the primary glue, but also set a small drop of Zap-A-Gap CA at each joint. After a second or two the CA acts as a "liquid clamp" and holds the plank in place until the Weldbond is solid. When dry the joint is strong as steel! It saves tons of time waiting for glue to dry.

If your planking is pre-shaped/spiled to the proper curves...there is no need to clamp or pin.  Thats the way to go.   Planks fit perfectly with no force needed....no springback.  

Hi Sean,
I take your comments as good feed back so do not worry with the comments . I check the printed plans and they are really little smaller (about the 2mm I measured on the A2 plan and about 1,5mm on the A1 plans). I am not sure but I think the difference is because the plans was printed with some margins. I need to find out where the problem was created (if on my side on side of my supplier). I will make during this or next week plan with corrected 1:1 details and then I will send you it.
Daniel

Ok so now for the keel and hull assembly. 
 

 

 
The keel is assembled from a plywood centre spine (4mm) and parts 1a-1g (all laser cut parts 4mm) which form the bottom of the keel. Parts 1a-1g are glued to the bottom of the plywood spine. All parts are all easily cut out and they assemble accurately and tightly together. Happy with that. 
 
 
 

 
There are also a number of what are called 'reinforcements' which are glued outside of the curved keel at the stern of the ship. These will facilitate the curved decking later on.
 
 
 
Now for the Hull frame. 
 
Each part is easily identified from an A4 drawing contained in the kit.
 
 
 
I clamped my finished keel and placed the frames in sequence as denoted in the instructions. Simple. Was a bit paranoid on the squareness of each frame piece as the last model I completed there were a few that were not exactly squared and it caused difficulties on the hull planking and the decking planking. Anyway used a miniature set square and all seems fine. Also clamped the frames vertically to ensure alignment along the length of the hull.
 

 

 

 
Next glued two 2 x 2 mm strips along the inside of the frames as denoted in instructions - these will act as the 2nd level deck seat beams. Also clamped to ensure straight and even fit.
 

 
Next was bending and fitting the veneer decking (with plywood underboard) at the bow and the stern. The one at the stern no problem and used a couple of pieces of timber to clamp both pieces together as suggested by Antony in an earlier post. Worked great and little to no warping of the veneer. I'll use the contact glue option maybe in the future as I have a couple more of these to do later on in the build. The larger of the two however needs to be curved as per the shape of the keel at the stern.
 

 
Hadn't done this before so simply placed the piece in a mug of boiling water and then when I took it out used the outside of the hot mug to shape the curve on the decking. Glued and clamped to deck when I had the basic shape. Probably unconventional but anyway it worked!! Hurray!!   
 

 
Lastly I fitted the two lower decks with seats and glued in place. Voila.   
 

 
Coming along ok and thanks to all for the advice and tips so far. Next step is the hull planking which I will have to bend and shape planks which I haven't attempted before        so Ill have to read up on here about that before I attempt anything so that'll take a few days with probably a couple of pilot runs before I attempt it on the model.  Enjoying this so far but I think the hard yards are ahead for me.....    any way ill just keep plodding away....
 
I've also learned how to post properly. Thank you mtaylor   
 
Enjoy rest of weekend all
Sean 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello all,

San Martin and Golden Hind kits are in the sale now. You can buy it with 30% discount. The discount is valid until March 15-2016. Please visit our special offers webpage:

http://www.dusekship.../special-offers

best regards
Daniel Dusek

Hi Sean.
We have all been there.. It's caused by selecting all the photos and uploading them and not putting the one in the post. Which appears at the bottom of the post.
Or u uploaded it twice.
 
A very nice start..
Veneer is best glue applied then clamped flat between tow pieces of thick timber.
 
Regards Antony.

HOF, take a look at the utube video. It took some practice on my part but using the right thread all looks in scale. He also has several other videos related to rigging.



 

I have to say that I find this approach gives me some troubles.
I rig blocks exactly as the video shows, an S with a whipping in the middle.
Then pull the ends to tighten around spar or block as appropriate.
I then liberally 'paint' with 50/50 PVA as I don't like CA.
They look real good.
But the problem I sometimes get is that 'bitter' end as it were of the loop going around the block is only held by the whipping friction.
When it is rigged on the ship the block has a tensioning force applied.
That force is sometimes enough to pull the end of the loop out from under the whipping.
So what I now do is exactly as detailed, then add an extra ingredient:
Using a very fine line (I use fly tying thread) and a needle I run a couple of stiches straight through the whipping at 90 degrees.
Thereby cross stitching both loops.
 
Nick

Monday, February 1st, 2016
 
The photos here below are obviously not so great, being them shot using my smartphone in low light conditions, but still give an idea of how the hull looks like when the model was detached from its building board.
 
01 20160201_165033.jpg

 
From this moment it's possible to reuse the first building board I made, although theoretically the hull does not deform anymore, but it makes easier working inside. Later today I finally installed the internal deck, after having applied a coat of glue inside the shell. With the deck installed this coating cannot be seen and then I took the opportunity to further strengthen the planking of the hull.
 
02 20160201_164938.jpg

03 20160201_164930.jpg

04 20160201_164923.jpg

Regards, Jack.

Hiya Folks,
       Just read the log guidelines and just opening my log. Hope I've complied with the forum rules. Received my model today via UPS. Only my second build and first on here in front of an audience!!! Hope it goes well. Hoping to have it completed in a couple of months - work permitting. However setting deadlines is probably the worst thing I can possibly do. Deep breaths ...   
 
Next step gonna complete an inventory on the parts/materials and instructions and give first impressions later or tomorrow.
 
Thanks Sean

Since the buck stops on my desk I want to answer the question. 
 
Constitution is a daunting kit to manufacture. It has a myriad of parts. Yes, we make most of it .... meaning we laser cut the wood and cast many of the casting in house. We do all of the final assembly. But the problem lies in making sure that every part is accounted for and is available for assembly when needed. Right now we are waiting on 5 mm (3/16") Walnut deadeyes sourced in Italy. Our last shipment did not contain them. Our supplier ran out. They will be available next week and we'll be making another 25 Constitutions, which are not enough as demand for Constitution continually surprises us. We frequently run into problems such as these even though we try hard to keep enough material on hand for at least a 90 days supply for all 30 kits we produce. It ain't easy.
Thanks for your patience .. but this is unlike making pizza or other simple products. 
 

Its not every day on the internet that you see the CEO of a company step in personally and address the complaint of one of the companies customers! And even on the rare occasion we see this happen, seldom do you hear more than some platitudes and vague generalities.
Its refreshing to see this kind of response, an actual precise explanation from a person that could have very easily pretended not to know about a problem.
Model Expo has been an important part of this hobby and I wonder how many of us would be making models today if the company had not been there over the years offering tools and kits? I wish all hobby companies were as attentive to their customers.

sos
 
You do not need any help I promised myself I would not be overwhelmed by clutter. A place for everything and everything in its place.
 
It created a huge problem I could never find anything. I was missing a mini-screwdriver and was accusing my wife of putting it up when she started laughing. She said and I  quote "fool did you look in your hand!"  true story.
 
I now love my clutter where I can find everything sooner or later Don't despair your good.
 
John

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Armies fight on their stomachs but frequently there must be a beverage. The Royal Navy understood the morale benefits of having decent beer available in quantity in the Pacific theater and took steps to assure it would be available by ordering the construction of ten ships that could each brew 250 barrels of beer a week. These ships were built at the insistence of Winston Churchill himself and were not only to include breweries, but also cinemas, dance halls and other amenities, which is why they then became known as amenity ships. In the event, only two were completed by VJ Day and of those only one, the HMS Menestheus  was able to get into the theater in time to start brewing beer on station. One wonders if they had special signal flags. I hope they did.
Here is the article that inspired this post:  http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/wwii-british-floating-brewery/?utm_campaign=atlas&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

You make use of forums like this, and elsewhere, to research kits and manufacturers. There is a wealth of personal experience and testimony about the subject, here alone much less on the internet at large. You look for build logs for that kit, and read what experience builders had. You then contact those builders and ask their further opinion. You post a general question, if it hasn't already been asked, about a given manufacturer and kit. It's why MSW has this section:
 
   
 
Particularly if you aren't experienced with kits, actually handling the kit may or may not teach you much (for example, misunderstanding the laser burn marks as a defect), whereas crowd-sourcing opinions and reviews from many builders will given you a better understanding of the kit or company overall. 
 
I've purchased three kits, each of which I researched in this way, and each of them as been as I expected when I opened the box because I did my homework online. 
 
In an ideal world, we could all also go to a nice local hobby store with floor-to-ceiling kit boxes to peruse, but almost none of this live in that world. The next best stage is learning from our peers, and I've found that I can trust the folks here to provide useful and accurate information. 

Should have mentioned, the laser cut edge isn't square because the laser takes a few micro seconds to cut all the way through and is 'on' the top surface a bit longer and that side the cut is a bit wider.  I use a small machinists' square to scrape the edge back to square, the metal having very true edges.

Thanks again for the kind comments and all the "likes". And welcome to the log Don - you'll find cold refreshments at the bar with Mark, and Sjors is around somewhere wit the popcorn.
 
Some success and some spectacular failure this week!  I'll spread this over two posts.
 
Channels and Deadeyes
 
First up, I decided that I wasn’t very happy with the cut-out in the Channels for the Swivel Gun pedestals - so I remade them, taking greater care with the cut-outs this time around. I also made up the Retaining Paunches. The drawings show these held in place with pins, so I drilled a series of 0.5mm holes and inserted copper pins into these, blackening in-situ with Liver of Sulphur on completion.
 

 
Next up, a gratifying success story – the deadeyes. Two sizes of deadeyes are required – 6mm and 4.5mm diameter respectively. After turning down some 1/4" square Castello Boxwood to the appropriate outer diameter, I used a 60-degree Carbide-tip threading bit to delineate between individual deadeyes. By cutting only to about 1/4 of the diameter deep, this enabled me to cut a chamfer on both faces of each deadeye.  Once all the individual deadeyes were marked out, I went back and, with the same bit, cut a small stropping groove. This groove was then widened slightly with a hand file while still on the lathe.
 
This picture shows the initial cutting in progress.  All individual deadeyes have been marked out, and the stropping grooves are now being cut.
 

 
The work was supported during this process by a live centre at the tailstock end.  When it came to parting off the individual deadeyes, the live centre was removed and a Steady Rest was placed close to the unsupported end of the stock. A razor saw was then used to complete the parting off process.
 

 
I again decided I wasn’t happy with the first batch of deadeye blanks as neither the chamfer, nor the stropping groove were deep enough.  So I re-did them.  Here is a shot of the second attempt in progress.
 

 
To drill the holes in the deadeyes, they were mounted one at a time in a three-jaw self-centring chuck, which itself was mounted on the Rotary Table on the Mill.  The sensitive drilling attachment was used to drill a 1 mm hole in the larger (6mm) deadeyes, while a 0.7 mm hole was drilled in the smaller (4.5mm) deadeyes. The Rotary Table made short work of this task. After centring the drill bit over the lathe, it was then offset in the X-axis by one-quarter of the diameter (ie half-way between the centre and the outside of the deadeye).  The first hole was drilled and the Rotary Table was turned 120-degrees for the second hole, and again for the third hole.  It sounds long and tedious, but this turned out to be a lot quicker than one might at first imagine.
 
Here is the Mill set-up:
 

 
And here are the resulting deadeyes after a coat of Wipe-on Poly had been applied:
 

 
Continued next post....
 
 

Okay, here she is!
Just a very few minor details left but I can say now my hull is planked and painted.
It looks shinier in the photos than it really is. Maybe an effect of the flash.
Also, the Boiled Linseed Oil finish was applied just a couple hours before, so I think it will diminish with time and handling.
 
As I said before, I am pleased but not fully satisfied with my planking job. It has been a tremendous learning experience, though.
 
Thanks for visiting.
 





 
 
 
 

This is SO true. Since coming back to this site after many years away, it's an invaluable resource to learn, or in many cases, relearn, what it is I do not know or have otherwise forgotten.
Did not know until last night that the DeAgostini kits of the Victory and Surprise were actually the AL kits....which can be bought for half the price! 

I suspect that Vince P started this thread with reference to my build. To answer your question Vince, the reason I am chucking all those metal pieces away is because: when I bought the kit, I was not ready to scratch build. Did not own the tools, was not mentally prepared, lacked confidence. Prior to the Royal William, my most ambitious build was the HMS Bounty, and even that had its fair share of mistakes. I was not sure I could tackle something like the RW, let alone scratch build it.
 
I decided to purchase the RW. I would try my hand at scratch building as many pieces as possible - and if I fail, I could always use the kit supplied parts. As it turns out, my attempts at scratch building most of the pieces seem to be working all right. I like the results more than the kit parts anyway. Trust me, I am completely objective and unsympathetic towards my own efforts - if something I make is inferior to the kit part, it goes into the bin and I use the kit part.

Hello.
My name is Jarek. A few months ago I’ve started building my own HMS Victory, as everybody should have this beautiful ship  . I’ve been making Victory based on the Shipyard’s card model. I hope that the memberships of this forum help me to finish the project, giving me advice, supporting when doubts appear, criticizing when necessary.
Sorry for any mistakes appear in my English
 

 
All the bulkheads are made from 1 mm cardboard, except the bottom of hull (beneath the waterline), where the bulkheads are 3 mm thick. To increase the thickness I glued additional strips of paper on each bulkhead side. I made this because I wanted to have a wider surface to glue the first layer of “plank”.
 

 
All sticking out parts of bulkheads I soaked using CA glue. It helps strengthen them to avoid accidentally damage. Also, I’ve made a jig, which helps me to work with a model upside down and not to be afraid of breaking down those sticking out parts. 
 

 
I glued two pine slats, one on each side, following almost from bow to stern, to keep the straight line of the paper “keel”. 
 

 
Every bulkhead was initially “sanded”, but without using sandpaper. I made this by using the colourless water glue, putting it on each bulkhead edge, to soften this element. Then, with a wooden spatula I smoothed the bulkheads edges. 
 

 
Between the bulkheads I glued cardboard pieces (2 mm thick). It helps to avoid “falling” the paper planks between the bulkheads, because they are not as stiff and hard as wooden. It’s hard to believe, but there are about 500 pieces. 
 

 
Finally, the view of the first "planking".
 

 
 
On the lower decks, which are not visible, there are “not fully equipped” gun carriages.  The small holes in the carriages were drilled. Before drilling I soaked the element using CA glue in order to have a hard surface for the drill. Firstly, all carriages had been varnished (2 layers), then slightly sanded and finally painted yellow ochre (Talens, Van Gogh). I’ve also made a small jig to build them properly.
 

 
 
I’ve also made a “trial version” of the gun, needed temporary for marking the right position of the gun in gunports. In the future the gun will be a little modified, to achieve much better “product”, more resembling the original  . It is of course made from paper, except trunnion and knob which are wooden. 
 

 
 
Before rolling the paper I put on it a thin layer of water glue (on the inside). When the paper is wet it’s easy to roll it and make a pipe, even a small diameter. After drying the glue, paper keeps the proper shape. 
 

 
 
Making the gun, the paper should be cut off with knife holding slightly in angle. Due to it, the edge joint is proper all along the gun, almost invincible. When you cut the paper holding knife perpendicularly, it is hard to join the edges without leaving a slot.  
 

 
 
To make a specific shape of muzzle, I also used water glue to soften the paper. When the paper was still wet, I’d formed the muzzle on rubber, pressing paper with wire rounded ending.
 

 
 
 
The hole for trunnion was bored using 3 drills, firstly 0,3 mm, then 0,7 mm finally 1 mm, in order to avoid fraying the edges. Before drilling I soaked the paper with CA glue.
 
 
 
 
I’m working on gunports now.
Firstly, using a masking tape, I made fast to the skeleton the first layer of planks. This has been done temporarily for marking the position of gunports opening, on the red “battens”. After that, I cut the battens on smaller sections, so that they fit between each of the bulkheads. Every piece was glued from below, because this way is easier to achieve the good looking gunports.
A little defect has brought to light. One of the bulkheads is visible in the gunport opening, which of course shouldn’t be. It will have to be cut down which is now not as easy, as before gluing all together.
 

 
To be continued…
 
 

I've started laying the proper planks. It will be entirely made of pressboard, thickness 1 mm, cut into 3 mm strips, imitating planks. Cutting pressboard with a knife is a real nightmare, because it is as hard as wood. 
 

 
To be continued...