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mikiek

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  1. mikiek
    You will need to do some scarphing to get wood that thick to curve that much. I hate to see you waste all that good wood. I ended up cutting various rhombus like shapes. It's kind of like figuring out a puzzle except you make the pieces as you go. You can then sand the inner and outer edge to round it off.
  2. mikiek
    If there is a problem with hull layers - don't consider Lancia Armata - 3 layers of sticks. Quite frankly, none of the layers matched up with the previous layers.
  3. mikiek
    I use this holder 98% of the time. Niagara has not been discontinued. Check around, you don't have to buy it at Model Expo. That said, unless you have all day every day to work on it - it would likely be a multi-year effort (voice of experience). It's a beautiful build and definitely something to shoot for. But like I said earlier, focus on the task in front of you for now. As you near completion you will have some questions to ask yourself, most importantly "Do I even want to build another boat?".
  4. mikiek
    Hey Cisco - I use a combination of CA (medium) and white glue (Titebond Mold & Trim). Let's say you want to glue a 6" section of your plank - start with a 1/8" dot of CA then run a 2 7/8" line of white glue, another dot of CA, another line of white glue and finish with a last dot of CA. Then lay your stick and apply pressure to the areas where the CA is for 10-15 secs. The CA should dry quickly and act like a nail in your plank, holding it to the subsurface. Once the CA takes hold you still have time to adjust & clamp the white glue areas.
  5. mikiek
    If you find you like the Model Shipways kit there are several options for the "next build". Pride of Baltimore, Rattlesnake, Niagra (my first build), Confederacy for starters. All of these have many build logs for reference and many of those authors are still online at MSW so you can PM directly. Another option to get a taste of a complete build without having to dedicate months to planking or rigging is the cutaway builds. They just take a slice out of a boat that includes the under decks, main deck and usually 1 mast with all the rigging. These are some of my favs. They take up very little space for display. There are a lot of others out there, but as I mentioned earlier, be ready for 3rd world instructions. Lastly, I get a little worried when I see builders worrying about the next build when they haven't started the kit on the bench. I say this from personal experience. During my first build which lasted about 2 years, I ended up buying multiple "next" kits and tools. If I lived to be 150 I would not finish all the kits I bought. So just be careful!
  6. mikiek
    Good call Andrew. A good thing with Model Shipways is the instructions are usually good and easily understandable. As you move to other kits (especially those from the EU) you will find that a lot of instructions are in another language, usually with a secondary booklet with a translation to English. These can be very frustrating to work with. Something you don't need on your first build.
  7. mikiek
    I hear ya - with the heat wave in TX (and elsewhere) my workshop runs about 82-84 degrees even with the portable A/C unit running so I have not been in a hurry to get out there right now. I gave up the planking instructions early on. They just seemed to contradict most of what I have learned. Instead, I went with what I know will work - which included a rabbit big enough to accept 3 layers of planking. Stay with it......
  8. mikiek
    The foam is absolutely worth it. No stress or strain on the keel as some other options incur. It allows for easy angling, even to radical degrees when you need to plank either the wales or garboard. If your build has a painted hull the foam reduces scratching. I have also found it in a league of it's own if you ever have to transport your build. Worth every penny.
  9. mikiek
    Stand looks good Cisco. Have fun.
  10. mikiek
    A few thoughts - IMO the garboard should be one of the first sticks to be laid. If you you get that one correct it should eliminate a lot of shaping on the strakes above it. Maybe I should rephrase - there will still be the usual tapering of sticks at the stem and possibly at the stern, but not the wonky kind of thin, thick, thin, thick of a single stick. You can hide some of those "last strake" weird shapings by where you finish the planking. Obviously, if you finished on the top 1/3 of the hull (never recommended), any odd shaping is going to be in plain view. It is better to try to finish where the hull is curving inwards - usually about 60-70% down from the wales. Even if you end up with a really funky "last stick", it will not be totally visible due to the angle that it is laid. Of course this will vary per build but there is almost always a section of the hull that is barely visible when viewing from the side. Regarding your staining concerns, consider a natural stain. Minwax makes one that is decent. There is no actual coloring, it just gives your wood kind of a wet look. Particularly since you upgraded to some decent wood, I would suggest that you play around with it some. If I don't paint, I use the Natural stain. On a related note, your wood upgrade looks great. Makes me wish I had done the same.
  11. mikiek
    OK Kurt - good to hear there will be a replacement.
  12. mikiek
    Any progress on this matter? Once again, I am not trying to be a butthole on this situation. The article used to be published in the NRG "How to " forum. I have found its value more than once. Others as well. Yes, I have the article downloaded from this thread, so I am covered. But I suspect others will not find it. I feel like the article should be public in the NRG 'how to" forum.
  13. mikiek
    I hope you have figured out your question by now but for the record - the waterway at the bow is several smaller pieces each edge bent a little. A joint is made for each piece so it can be fit to the next end to end. Each piece is slightly off angle so it bows a little from the previous stick. After its all dried just sand down the edges.
  14. mikiek
    Thanks Richard. I have been cheating a little bit - already working on some of the interior. That has been one of the things I like about this kit. There's a lot of other tasks that I can do while planking.
  15. mikiek
    same boat but not sure if it is the same kit - take a look at post #40 https://modelshipworld.com/topic/14957-armed-virginia-sloop-by-captain_hook-finished-model-shipways-scale-148/page/2/ theres a few pics that show what I am trying to describe - the side planks do not bend around that last stern frame. They stop at it.
  16. mikiek
    Working on this same build - just slightly ahead of you. I concur on the walnut. Worst wood I have ever seen in a kit, however I am using it. I've had misgivings about this kit since I started it and didn't want to waste a lot of good wood if I decided to toss the whole thing (which I have thought about more than once). I think the 3 layers is an attempt to get the dimensions of the strakes to scale. Can you imagine trying to use 1 stick that was the thickness of 3? Virtually impossible to work with.
  17. mikiek
    You and I had a conversation about these in my log. These will help hold pieces down when nothing else will. Is that wood you are having to bend over a frame piece or a filler block that you had to shape? Whichever, are you sure you are supposed to bend a stick around it? If it was a shaped filler block maybe you didn't sand enough of that edge off? Smoothing it out a little. That appears to be almost a 90 degree bend which doesn't sound right and would have been virtually impossible in the period. Every boat design is different but many have horizontal planks running from the top of the transom down to stem. You trim the ends to get that half circle shape of the transom. Then your side planking just butts up against those edges and don't need to wrap at all. Just some things to consider. I've never seen this build so I could be way off base.
  18. mikiek
    Kurt - obviously your call, but I have to ask how will the rest of the world find this article? Ok, I got it from a PM but that doesn't help the masses. You say the same info is available elsewhere - then where? It seems like this is an easy move to the NRG How To forum. Please Understand - I am not trying to create a stir, but the article used to be in the NRG forum. Why can't it be added? And frankly why was it removed? In the end, our site is trying to help modelers understand situations and how to deal with them. Ulises write-up is quite valuable in a number of situations.
  19. mikiek
    As stated, be sure to recalculate the next layer. Don't try to follow the lay of the previous layer. The garboards should go in straight - no bending. Yes there will be a lot of twisting and turning but no bending. If you find that it is wanting to bend up at the bow most likely it is pushed too far forward. You should be able to lay the next strake on the top edge of the garboard and it should sit flush. I usually try to pin the garboard in place then lay the next strake on top just to see how the two will mesh. Then adjust and glue the GB. If the GB is bending all subsequent sticks will want to bend as well. Another thing you can do is take the stick that will be your GB and put the bow end into your rabbet about midship. Lay as much of the edge in the rabbet towards the stern. Then start sliding the stick forwards in the rabbet toward the bow keeping a close eye on that leading end. You will either see the stick start to move upwards when it gets to the stem or it may just stop and not slide anymore. That's where it should lay. You can then do whatever shaping you need to do to the front end of the stick.
  20. mikiek
    Checking the date from the last post - I have been lazy. I walk by the build almost every day and just keep walking. I want to begin some of the fun stuff - starting with the deck. But I know if I don't finish planking, it may never get done. Honestly the last layer (the 3rd) looks pretty decent. I did a few sticks from top down, then the garboard and a few sticks bottom up. The one thing I have stuck to on this layer is to shape a stick for one side then make a matching stick for the opposing side. Then glue them both. This has helped to keep both sides fairly even, particularly at the bow & stern. I know that is always the recommended approach, but I rarely do it. Interestingly, I have done this whole layer by eye. No bands, no plank markings, no dividers. Frankly I think it has come out the best of the 3 layers. I have added a few stealers, again just when my gut told me to do so. The area that is left to plank is pretty even from bow to stern. Sticks at the bow will need some tapering, but that is normal. Here's a few pix: Thanks for reading!
  21. mikiek
    Another consideration, that applies to any build - where was it built? - What were the circumstances? - When was it built? The answer to these questions should have a major impact on your painting decisions. Many colors that we might consider totally available today were not available in some time periods. Reds & blues in particular. The 'blood red' that are called for in many builds was probably closer to a 'barn door red' as true red was extremely expensive.
  22. mikiek
    Mark - maybe I misunderstood. I thought that article was going to be posted in the NRG How To Library.
  23. mikiek
    Am I missing something? I don't see the article in the NRG resources.
  24. mikiek
    I'm not sure how far you plan to go on this restoration. A couple of your pics show the deck which looks pretty dirty. I can't really see what shape the deck furniture is in. Sadly I can't help you with the rigging. But I would suggest getting any deck cleaning and repairs done before you start rigging. The more string you have running around the boat the harder it becomes to do that sort of work.
  25. mikiek
    Are the washes applied by brush? I seem to remember using a paper towel or a rag. All of the above?

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