EJ_L

My guess is that mahogany is what you want to use for a darker hull color. That is what I used on my current build and was very happy with it. I have not used oak on a model nor do i think many have. The grain pattern in oak would not look very good on a scale model. You want to try to stick with woods with little grain pattern as the grain looks very out of place on a model. You can really use any wood you want. There are no rules only suggestions. My current build has I think 6 or 7 different wood species on it. When you are using the woods natural character instead of paint it is common to have many different types to get all the various color details. As for thickness, both layers of my hull are 1mm thick planks. I do have some .5mm but that is mostly on trim. If you get to thin, you have nothing to sand without going completely through the wood. If you are planing on making furniture as well then I would get a variety in a few different thicknesses.

That nail set should work just fine for setting those nails. It's what I would recommend using. Dashboard looks incredible! All those switches, knobs and levers look like you could drop right down inside her, fire her up and go for a ride! Windshield came out great and nice touch with the black rubber wiper blades. A very successful build day!

Nice quick lesson in oars. Thanks for that information and once again I have learned something new on this site. Now to repeat that process many, many times.....

On planking layout there can be variances between the different countries and eras of the ship. If you are wanting to get historically accurate then you will need to do research on your ship to see what the building practices were during that time of construction by that country. As for a quick and simple answer that will work for most builds, you are on the right track. The following layout will work on a P.O.B. build like the one you are doing. Butt joint, three strakes then another butt joint. Just keep moving your butt joints down one frame on each strake and the fourth strake bring the butt joints back into alignment. A simple way to achieve this is to measure the planks for 4 frame spaces. Split the first frame so two planks can butt together on it, span the next two frames and split the 4th for another butt joint. Then on the next strake up shift the first plank one frame forward and by the time you are on the 4th strake your butt joints will be back in alignment. No, this is not 100% to scale nor fully accurate construction but, it will allow you to get the fundamental planking practices down and will create a very good planking layout that will be in the correct ball park for planking practices.

It may be a small update but full of detail and informative as always.

As David says, yes, that is the best thing to do. The smoother, straighter and more level you can make the first layer the better the 2nd planking will be. The goal is to not have to use any filler on the 2nd planking. As to wood selections, check out Crown Timberyard. They are listed in the sponsors section on the front page. I have ordered from them a couple times now and have had great service. I highly recommend them and the will do custom orders of both size and wood species.

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you they sell them. If not, here is the link for them on their website. They are Excel brand. You will want to get the 1-1/4" saw blade to fit the box.

I always order extra wood when I buy any. Never know what may come up that you will need it be it a mistake or deliberate decision. I will get a variety of sizes and usually even some sheets if they are available. As for the tool I have not used that one myself. I do have a cheap-o one that came in a kit from several years back. It works ok on very soft woods but not the most acurate as Robin said, the blade can move. I would buy a hand miter saw. It is what I use to cut the majority of my wood when making straight cuts. I do have other saws but that little miter box gets a lot of use. They are cheap and easy to find at any hobby store.

I think all the best craftsmen do that. If you ever stop critisizing your own work then you stop growing and learning. The work you are doing is fantastic and something to be very proud of!

You should be able to double plank it. You can order some wood 1mm or even 1/2mm thick that would not add too much to the hull. You will still have to do all the sanding but it would make the hull look much nicer that way. Double planked hulls are great for learning as they give you twice the practice while allowing for more mistakes on the first as they can be covered. Plus the second layer now has a much better surface to lay the planks on which allows for a much nicer finish. I would highly recommend going that route if you don't mind spending the extra money. It will be worth the effort.

Wow! Rigging is already hard enough and now you have to belay lines down below decks. I'm looking forward to seeing this reverse rigging method you have planned. I understand the concept but I have never seen it and am very curious. Someone out there will make a killing in the ship building hobby if they can ever create scale robotic people that could get under there to tie off those lines!

Nicely done. Those roof domes came out great and all those details are making her look sharp. I think that blue paint was a good choice. It is allowing the gold on the detail pieces to really pop. Smart thinking making the quarter galleys removable. On a ship that big, anything that can be easily removed and replaced will make transporting it much easier. Your doing great work!

I would try to make all my cuts now before the final planking. Mostly cause like you said, if you mess up on something it will be easier to cover up and fix with that final planking layer. They probably just recommend waiting so you only have to cut one time through two layers instead on multiple cuts. That deck does look great!

I would go ahead and finish the hull before inboard. My first question is have you ever used wood filler or spackle before? If so then disregard the next little bit. If not then it is easy to apply. First though go ahead and and down your hull. Get it as smooth as you can so that there are no rough edges and the shape of the hull can be seen. Blow off the saw dust or better yet use a vacuum to remove the dust especially between the planks. Now you should be able to see the gaps in the planking as well as any low spots in the hull or and funny shapes to the curvature of the hull. To fill in the gaps simply apply the filler with anything from a small putty knife to a stick of scrap wood, tongue depressor style craft sticks or even you finger will work. Use thin layers and do not glob it on thick. It is always easier to add another thin layer than it is to sand off a lot of excess filler. For the low spots in the hull you want to use something that will be wide enough to stretch from high spot to high spot across the depression so that the filler lays down under the stick in the space created by the span. Let it dry, (read instructions on container as brands vary) and look to see if more is needed. If obvious gaps appear then go ahead and apply more filler otherwise begin sanding. Be careful when sanding that you don't dig into the wood and create dips. If you can use a sanding block to keep the hull lines straight that is best. Around curves though you just need to exercise caution and sand lightly. This is also where I stress again, when applying the filler, go easy and use thin layers. You do not want to have to sand large amounts back off. Waste of time and materials plus it is tiring. You should be able to feel the curvature of the hull under your hand as you sand. Pay attention to the overall shape and curves and feel for spots that do not follow the natural and expected shape. Also pay attention to where you are sanding. The wood and filler will change color somewhat and will obviously become smoother as you sand. Again this is why you go slow and look at where you are sanding. Low spots on your hull will remain rough and the same color as before you started to sand. If you see this happening that is an indication of where more filler may be needed. Apply another thin layer in that area and when dry repeat the sanding. Do this as many times as needed to achieve a nice evenly smooth hull. This next step is up to you. As this is a first build this detail may not be that important to you. On a wooden ship, the planking is a major feature. Seeing each strake clearly is one of the things that people enjoy seeing. Depending upon the amount of filler that had to be used many of the individual strakes may be covered up. Hope is not lost as they can be faked into the hull. The way to do this is to scribe them in using a hobby knife or anything similar with a sharp tip. Hopefully the majority of the strakes can be seen so that all you have to do is scribe the line through the filler from where it disappears to where it reappears. Again, go slow as this can be tricky to keep straight on a curved surface. You do not want to cut all the way through the filler just deep enough to leave a groove that will represent the edge of the plank. Now you are ready for paint. Color is up to you though typically the lower hull would be white. How you paint it is again up to you but I would recommend an airbrush if you have one and if not then a rattle ball can (spray paint) will work. Krylon, Rustoleum or whatever your local hobby/craft/walmart sells will work fine. Look for flat or satin finishes. What you want is a smooth, even finish without brush strokes and not to heavy. Too heavy and the paint will fill in the spaces between planks. Like with the filler, paint in light layers. Lay down a light cover and let dry. Then apply a second, third or fourth as needed till you can no longer see the wood through the paint. Simplified that is it. The stuff I have been using is Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler. I got the color change stuff that goes on purple and dries white so you can easily tell when it's ready for sanding. I bought a small 8 oz container and have been using it for years. Probably picked it up at either Home Depot or another hardware store for just a few dollars. It is stainable, paintable, sandable and cleans up with water. Hope this helps and good luck!

Excellent pictures of outstanding details. I'm always impressed at how nice and clean all of the lines are in your woodwork. Looks like it won't be long and we will be seeing the rigging going up.

Breaks are a must. Whether it is to work on a different build or to do something else entirely it is good to take a break. When I force myself to do something I tend to make mistakes or not put the effort I could into it. Unless I'm getting paid to do something, I work on my own schedule and when I want. I actually try to take breaks even when I don;t want to sometimes. It is refreshing and clears my head as well as builds up the desire to work. Shelve the project for a little while. Work on something else and see if she starts begging you to come back.

And here I thought I was daring just putting my bowsprit and spritsail topmast on early! I guess no one can question if your build are structurally sound. Well done!

Thanks Mike and yes it is scary having it jutting out there just waiting for something to hit it. I suppose I could have held off till after the foremast was built and I was ready to connect the rigging to the bowsprit but it is just the order I have always built the masts. I am looking forward to having my big model table back since it allows me to keep the ship and those more delicate pieces further away from accidents than this card table does. Hopefully only a few more weeks!

All of those accessories have really made an impact on her appearance. She is looking fantastic and I'm getting excited to see her in the water!

On the first build the most important thing is that you are learning. Even if what you are learning is how not to do things. When you go to trim up the bow and stern do it very slowly. Trace out the edges of the stern and stem posts but do not cut on those lines. Instead, cut inside them so that the opening is smaller than what you will need. From there you can test fit the pieces and just gradually widen the slot until they fit nice and snug. That is really the method to fitting any pieces on these models especially with the often complex shapes that we make. Sand paper and files will become your best friends in making sure all your parts fit correctly. On wood filler, I just use Elmer's wood filler on anything that will be painted or second planked. As it sounds like you will be painting and not staining then it is not as important on what you use as it will be covered up. Just make sure that when you are done sanding and smoothing that you can still see individual planks. If you end up having to put a thicker layer in placed and the edges of the planks become covered up then you may want to take a knife or awl or something with a point and scratch out the plank lines.

For the tree nails I'm cheating by just drilling a hole and then darkening it in with pencil lead. I've seen this method used on a few builds now and it seems to work fairly well especially at these smaller scales.

Your planking is moving along nicely. It is one of the slower stages of ship building so I understand the desire to have something to break it up and that moves a little quicker. That card build looks interesting. Let us know when you start that as I would enjoy seeing her come together also!

Hard at work building the foremast and I thought I would post a quick update. Trestle trees, and platform have been successfully mounted. Working on the parts for the railings now. I'm trying to remind myself to take a lot of progress pictures and post them with the hope that I will start to make it more of a habit.

Looking sharp! Those seats are fantastic.

Excellent job on those shrouds and stays. Very neat and clean rigging. It is good to see her climbing skyward and as usual the results are worth the wait in updates.