dkuehn

The building frame completed - a little project on its own. Altogether everything fits very well, a bit of filing here and there and everything slots together.

 
The kit provides a template for marking out the bearding line and placement of the rising wood at a later stage

 
and the deadwood after bearding being done

 
I then used an old utility knife blade to scrape the rabbet

 
The keel in the template lying between two pieces of thick glass to keep it nice and straight
 
and the finished product, all going fairly smoothly so far.

I have managed to get my hands on the HMS Alert by Trident model.
Cost for the kit was $350, shipping with Fedex to SA was $105 and the tax man took another $50.
I see that James H also got this kit and is planning to do a kit review, so I will leave that to the experts.
A basic idea of what to expect:
The kit comes in sturdy nondescript box, everything was packed nice and tight, so it can't move during shipping

 
Plenty of wood to keep one busy for a while - mostly cherry, all cut out with a CNC router, so no laser char to worry about

 
The metal bits
 

 
Parts for the building frame, made of MDF

 
I have already started with the building frame - have to say that so far it has been done very accurately - some of the parts fits so well that it doesn't really need glue to keep it together 


 
A dry fit of the keel assembly, seems to be very accurate

 
Overall very impressed with this kit so far.

Not to sound corny but using your skills to build something beautiful is music of a different kind.
 
I think you're right Glenn about the taper at the stern.  I tapered to 2.5mm from the full width plank of 5mm and I think, as I begin to see how large is the space at the stern that I have to fill, it would have been better to take those planks to 3.5mm or 4mm.  But that's information I can take into the second planking so I've learned something from doing it.
 
I thought about the planks at the bottom and decided to leave as is.  I just know I'd have made a mess and been unhappy with the outcome.  Right now I'm turning my mind inside out trying to come up with a way to plank the stern area.  I've remade my tick strips and plank templates and I'll plank down the sides a bit more then re-assess.  No matter what the space will have to be filled - elegantly or not doesn't matter.  I do though want to maximise what I learn from the first planking so that I can make as good a job as poss of the second layer.
 
I'll need to go off and read your Cheerful build for some more info I think. 
 
Thanks again to all
 
Gerry

Not at all, I'm envious of having the skills it must take to build a musical instrument.  We build boats, but don't rely on the quality of our builds to create music...
 
Chris' designs are such you should not need a drop plank, provided you begin tapering early at the bow. I've not started my Flirt yet, a long way to go with Cheerful, I'd be surprised if stealers are needed, but they are relatively common and not a big deal - especially as the hull will be painted to the waterline so they won't be visible anyway. I do think perhaps your taper at the stern may be a bit too much. The tick marks there should go all the way to the keel, not just around the bulkhead. You end up sanding that down for the sternpost to fit, but the measurement should include the length of the stern. The number of planks at the stern should equal the length from the gunport pattern to the keel including curves - which makes paper tick strips essential to do the measuring.
 
I do all my plank bending with a board, clamps, and a travel iron. You'll see in my Cheerful log I bend any direction including some severe twists at the stern.  Cheerful is single planked so I had to be precise with the measuring, cutting, tapering, and bending.  It had no tapers at the stern, so there's that. Just to be contrarian, I don't think either bottom plank is too high, especially for the first planking and especially if you already think you need stealers.
 
A KEY point is this is your first planking - all you really need is for it to look like a ship when its done.  Fill it however it takes as long as you can sand it smooth to the shape it needs to be, including the abundant use of wood filler as needed.  The tick marks and the use of a planking fan might better guide the second planking to reduce the number of stealers, but as the hull will be painted using stealers on the second planking is fine.
 
I hope this helps and doesn't just confuse you more - I do explain a bit how I do it in my Cheerful build, linked in my signature line below.

Thanks for the likes 🙂
Inner bulwarks are planked and painted.
Let's move on with drilling the holes for the eyebolts and planking further on the outside.
 
Sjors
 
 

of the 50 odd full frames about 3 are cleaned up and the keel is ready to accept them,  all the forward 1/2 frames are cleaned up, but still to be angled to fit in the jig/keel,
I hope to have most of the cleaning up done in the next week,
i am at present working out if best to work forward or go aft 
reasons are
1 apparently the the stern timbers are awkward to fit whilst in the jig, 
2 if  working from fwd it will have to be from frame 2, as I am unsure of the space the Hawse timbers require, (all a learning curve)

from the CAF site of the frames in the Jig

Trying to learn something today.  Not necessary for first planking but a good chance to try it out..... 
 

 
Cheers, Gerry

Progress has been sloooowww...never mind.  I'm learning something new and for me that's not a quick process.  There's also a fair few steps in my version of this method so there's that as well. Anyway here's a few pics from what I've been doing.  The big metal beastie is my bending iron! 
 





 
Cheers, Gerry

good evening everyone
 
been away from the build couple of days, i found myself and the wife baby sitting her daughters chickens, we survived that but i had an accident, i fell asleep in one of their recliners (the daugters, not the chickens), woke up raised the seat back up and heard that sickening sound of breaking glass, yep my ipad had fallen down the side, and yes it is well and truly broken
 
day 14 Hawse Timbers
 
i was going to write how poorly i am doing this build, yes it is no where as good as others, but i am realy enjoying it
the keel is made up, but i certainly made a mess of it taking it to pieces to do the rabbit line, 
the Hawse timbers  are made up, but i may have taken to much wood off, and i see no possible way that they are going to fit, by the time frame one goes in 
the cleaning up continues, and the house smells of sanded cherry wood, 
 
Hawse timbers assembly

 
 

Just to make sure I know what you're saying. Where it gets thin at the stern post area, make it more gradual rather than a harsh curve? Sort of like this picture where the shape of the red lines would be better? It's currently shaped sort of like the orange lines off to the side. 
 
 

 
So flatten out this area here?
 
 

I tried to even out the stern area but this material sands very easily and I don't want to get too carried away. It's not perfect, but a little better. When I have the first planking on I'll pay it some serious attention.
 
Also, I have soaked the bulwark patterns and have them drying in place to help form them before gluing. 
 
 

 

Does this look reasonable for the fairing of the hull? There is still a little char, but I'm worried about over sanding. 
 
 

Tomorrow I start fairing the hull.
 
 

Half of the lower deck in, this thing goes together very nicely. 
 
 

I wasn't planning on doing a build log for this because I'm sort of a quick and sloppy builder and I don't see that it would be much of a benefit for the forum. There are some great builders here that create masterpieces, I am not one of them. But I need a way to procrastinate when I don't feel like working on the kit (or glue is drying) and I know this is an excellent place for information if I have any questions. So my posting of this log is for purely selfish reasons. 😀
 
Guess I'll get right into it. 
 
Pic of box, seems like a good starting place.
 

 
Bulkheads dry fit. (They fit excellently)
 

 
Bulkheads glued with the lower deck set inplace to make sure the bulkheads are aligned correctly. 
 

 
Now I wait for the glue to dry before I continue...
 
 
 
 
 

I like it, the instructions are clear, easy to follow, and on one page, so I won't lose any, and I can see them all at once, although I doubt that is true for models that aren't first step. It seems like a solid kit to me, although I have limited knowledge.
 
I also added some more, and there is now a layer of paint I will probably touch up in the future, I'm still letting it dry a bit.
 

This is my build log for the Amati First Step Pirate Ship. This is technically my first model boat, and I'm putting this here just to see how it goes. I started on this awhile back, and am starting to work on this again. 
 
I have 4 pictures right now, all of them show my sloppyness.
 

 

And another Flirt😁
Welcome and take your time.
But most important.....enjoy!
And another thing what is very useful.....Measure twice, cut once ... And i know what l’m talking about.
 
Sjors

When I start planking I'll check the thickness at the sternpost and decide if I can get the correct thickness with the second planking or if I need to get some of the first in there. If I can I'll certainly stop the first planking like you did. 

Just to make sure I know what you're saying. Where it gets thin at the stern post area, make it more gradual rather than a harsh curve? Sort of like this picture where the shape of the red lines would be better? It's currently shaped sort of like the orange lines off to the side. 
 
 

 
So flatten out this area here?
 
 

I tried to even out the stern area but this material sands very easily and I don't want to get too carried away. It's not perfect, but a little better. When I have the first planking on I'll pay it some serious attention.
 
Also, I have soaked the bulwark patterns and have them drying in place to help form them before gluing. 
 
 

 

It got pretty thin back there. My plan is to fatten it back up with the first layer of planking. But it would be smart to keep it as even as possible during the whole process. Thanks for the advice. 
 
As far as terminology goes, I keep looking at the instructions to find the proper terms. 😀

Thank you.  I believe it's the side bulwark patterns and then the planking. No time like the present...

Does this look reasonable for the fairing of the hull? There is still a little char, but I'm worried about over sanding.