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EJ_L

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Everything posted by EJ_L

  1. EJ_L
    I hope nothing was too badly damaged. I once caught the bowsprit with the sleeve of a very baggy sweatshirt I was wearing one winter since my basement is very cold. Snapped the jib boom right off just as I had finished rigging the stays for it. Last time I wore that sweatshirt while modeling.
  2. EJ_L
    So great news! I've managed to spend the past four hours finishing up the starboard planking. I am very pleased in that I have finally planked a ship with no stealers nor any drop planks. I have 22 strakes plus the garboard from bow to stern. Granted I have to replicate this on the port side but I am confident I can do this now. I think all that reading I have been doing over the past several months on planking has finally sank into my head. One day I may even be able to do it in one planking but lets not rush things. Haha. I've done some initial sanding on the hull but will of course do more before I apply a finish. I must say that the Mahogany wood from Crown Timberyard has been great to work with. Much better than what came with the kit. I honestly do not think I could have gotten the same results using the kit supplied wood as the strips edges left a lot to be desired in terms of straight and square. They do work fine in small areas and for deck furniture so I do not feel they were a complete waste. Now it's onward to the port side. I will start layout tomorrow and planking also perhaps. As always enjoy the pictures and thanks for stopping by.
  3. EJ_L
    Thank you Bob and Ken and thanks to all the likes as well. It has been a busy weekend but I am still hopeful to have the starboard half completed soon. Pictures to follow soon!
  4. EJ_L
    Very nice Ken. I had the same issue with my Rattlesnake of only being able to fit 5 buckets instead of 6. I'm wondering if somewhere along the line the plans for this ship got changed to add a 6th when there should have only been 5 in the rack? In either case, yours looks great! I also debated about adding the temporary gangways and ultimately decided to leave them off so the detail work that I put into the canons could be seen. After all the work it took to put in the rigging for them I wanted people to be able to see them clearly.
  5. EJ_L
    Elijah, my wife tells me the same thing all the time but it's funny how no matter how much stuff she thinks I have I always see something I don't! Haha! Needless to say my wishlist is a mile long and never seems to get any shorter. MSW has not helped as almost everyday I read another post about a book I should read or a new tool or jig that looks great. I just write it down on my list and when I can save up some money I treat myself to something new. I also drop several big hints around Christmas and my birthday..... Keep your eyes open though when you are out at different stores. Sometimes the best tools can be found in unlikely places. For example, many of my small, very sharp scissors have come from hair cutting supply stores. Also, jewelry making supplies are real good places to buy stuff. They are considered common use tools in those places and so the costs can be lower but quality better compared to some hobby stores where they are specialty items. It's funny how that works but it does and it also opens up more selection so you can find just what you are looking for.
  6. EJ_L
    Your planking looks great and it looks like she weathered the storage box well over the years. I look forward to see your progress.
  7. EJ_L
    Almost have the starboard side planked. Hopefully this weekend will allow me to finish it. I'm still very pleased with the results I'm seeing. Even around the bow which was my biggest fear has so far been coming along as planned. I'm getting real excited to see it complete. Yes, I still have a whole other side to plank but I will hopefully be able to do it with less fear and worry if I know that what I'm doing actually works.
  8. EJ_L
    Excellent work! Thank you also for posting all these highly detailed pictures and steps. I am learning a great deal from watching your ship come together.
  9. EJ_L
    Your ship is looking great Elijah. Excellent work and good to see you taking your time and making sure that everything is coming along just right. You will be very happy with the results from doing that. A solid hull ship is a great learning kit. I just completed one myself a few months ago of the Bounty. I've pulled up a chair to watch you build your Phantom. I look forward to watching the progress and sharing this journey with you.
  10. EJ_L
    Thank you Elijah.
  11. EJ_L
    Mike, I have seen and done a couple of different solutions to bulkheads crossing hatches depending on whether or not the lower deck is detailed out or if it is just a "dummy" deck. The easiest is if it is just a "dummy" deck with no details. Simply remove anything that would be visible to create an opening for the ladder and then blacken everything in so that you gain the appearance of descending into a dark hold. This is very useful for the lowest decks that are often covered up with more decks or in solid hull construction. The harder way happens when the deck you wish to descend to is to be detailed. Now you have to modify the framing to accommodate the hatch. The details on how to do this vary from ship to ship as the building process varies. Also this can depend upon how visible that deck is. If you cannot see the framing below the deck then just build the opening and frame it in to appear as though the correct framing is in place. If you intend on the lower deck to be visible than researching framing plans for that ship or similar construction is a must. I would start looking at cross section models as they often times have a ladder going down and should provide a good start as to how they were framed.
  12. EJ_L
    A full day of planking has ended on a high note in that so far my layout seems to be working. So far I am very happy with the way it is looking and it is quickly on it's way to being the best planking job I've done to date. I still have a long way to go so the ultimate verdict is still a long way out but, if things continue to go like thy have, I believe I will have a nice looking hull. One tool that has been a huge help is a triangular needle file. To get the planks that go over the widest curves on the hull to lay flush along their edges I have been going in and angle filing the underside of the previously laid plank so the new one can slip under it and close out the joint. See the pictures below. This is keeping the joints nice and tight so hopefully I will not need any filler on this 2nd planking. I still have not done much at the bow yet. The couple of strakes that have reached there have turned out good though. I will be focusing on the bow area in the next few days as I gradually make my way forward. Also, I know some of these pictures are not the best. I am using my phone to take these progress shots as that is easier than clearing off the table and setting up the good camera and background boards for nicer photos. I will take some of those when I hit a bigger milestone, say when half the hull is planked. I will definitely need to clean up all the sawdust then anyway!
  13. EJ_L
    Well I have started the lower hull planking. I'm using Mahogany for this area. I have sectioned off portions of the hull and after determining the number of strakes that will be needed, (22 in this case) I have divided out each section to determine the widths of each plank. My widest is 5mm tapering to 3.5mm at the extremities. After doing some reading I have learned that a plank should not taper to less than half the width which would be 2.5mm. At 3.5mm I am good with 1mm left to play with if I did something wrong with my layout, (which is quite possible). I started by laying the garboard strake first. I decided to start from just forward of mid ship and work aft and upward. I will come back to plank the forward portion later. Next I measured out 80mm lengths for the individual planking. This would come out to be about 8 meters or 26 feet on the real ship. I'm sure this is probably too long of length for an actual plank but I think it looks good on the model. If anyone knows what an average plank length should be I would be interested to know. I've also had to curve and taper the planks as needed though nothing too extreme yet. I've tried to show this in a couple of pictures but as the shape is minor it may be hard to see.. As I've laid each strake I have set the starting plank back 20mm from the preceding strake's edge. So far I think it is coming out right. At least I'm still on track with my plan.....
  14. EJ_L
    Dave, I am just now starting to plank the lower portion of the hull on my Couronne build. This is a double plank hull and the first layer I used for practicing as I am still learning myself. I ran into the problems mentioned above of the bulkheads being to far apart which did create problems where the planks met and with flat spots in the shape. Fortunately as this will all get covered up I was able to use wood filler to smooth the shape out in preparation for the 2nd planking. For this I have swapped out the kit supplied wood for better quality as much of what came in my kit was not cut as straight as I wanted. Doing this I was able to buy strips of varying sizes plus some sheet material to allow me to attempt spiling for the first time. This will be a great learning experience. Whether I learn how to successfully do this or how not to do it remains to be seen. I like to try to cut each individual plank too. This may make things harder and I constantly consider using full runs and simply scoring the joints later but I'm like you in that I take a lot of pride when I tell people that I cut each plank one at a time. What I am doing now is laying out the spacing on the hull. Measuring, drawing lines and making notes and often erasing and starting over. Going slow and taking your time is vitally important here. Best advise I can give is to take your time with the initial framing. Make sure your bulkheads get positioned correctly and fair them up so all your planks lay flush and true with them. This is another step that I know I have been guilty of rushing and can make huge differences in the quality of the planking later. Good luck to you! I look forward to seeing your build as it progresses.
  15. EJ_L
    Here are some more progress shots. Finished the upper planking on the port side over the past week. I still need to trim up some of the over hanging planks and sand everything smooth but she is together. Now it's time to attempt the lower hull. I've been putting this off as I still struggle with planking this area with all the curves and size changes. I've been reading up and watching videos for tips and practicing so I am as ready as I will be. Just have to keep telling myself to go slow, draw it out first, measure twice cut once, and if it starts to look wrong stop and see what is going on. I find I will stay focused on a small section and lose the over all perspective. That always leads to planking that may look great in a section but is doing something crazy elsewhere. Wish me luck fellow ship builders! I will keep the log updated with how it is going.
  16. EJ_L
    Beyond amazing! I'm just in open awe at the work you are doing on this build. Keep up the incredible work!
  17. EJ_L
    I would agree with all the suggestions on here but keep in mind that most of these model ships take a long time to build and there are many things that do not need to bepurchased at once. Spread it out as the stages of construction demand so its a bit easier on the wallet. Also I would suggest to pick out a couple different measuring devices. Both a rigid ruler and a flexible measuring tape such as one a taylor would use is advisable. Make sure they have both standard and metric units as depending on where you kit was made you may have to do a lot of converting back and forth. As to the light, for years I only had the bench light with magnifer but lately I have been looking into the head band magnifyer for working with tiny details. I do not think I will give up my bench light as I need the extra light but I admit that I do not use the magnifyer much as it is akward and does get in the way more often than not.
  18. EJ_L
    A lot of progress has been made in the past few days. I have been very fortunate to have been able to dedicate so much time to this build at 158 hours as of tonight. Not counting research, studying plans and reading some really wonderful articles and other build logs. I would love to dedicate more time but as much as people at my job love seeing progress pictures they are not yet sold on the idea of paying me to build ships. So here she is. I have topped out the 2nd planking on the starboard side and have started the final shaping of the hull at the stern. Now to duplicate this on the port side.
  19. EJ_L
    She is looking good! Very nice job with the weathering on the deck and hull. Gorgeous paint detail with all the intricate designs as well. This is one of the ships I'm considering for my next build after la Couronne. I want to build her in wood so there will be differences but this is a great preview for me. I look forward to watching the progress continue. Keep up the great work!
  20. EJ_L
    The planking looks great! That sucks about the hatches being off just that tiny bit. I know how frustrating that can be especially when it forces you to remake and entire piece! Rest of the decking looks real nice from what I can see. Looking forward to seeing more!
  21. EJ_L
    Off to a great start.
  22. EJ_L
    PeteGee, I have actually used my Bluejackets Manual when I first started building ships. I also have pulled out my old Boy Scouts Handbook to remind myself how to tie a few knots. It is interesting to see what books that were not meant for model ship building can contain useful and relevant information.
  23. EJ_L
    Simply beautiful! This will be a ship to display proudly for generations to come. Thank you for the all the nice detailed pictures and steps along the way. Your log is full of great information on the construction and especially the rigging that can be used for many other builds of this period. Excellent work!
  24. EJ_L
    This is a prime example of why I love MSW. A great community with a wealth of knowledge that the members are willing to share with each other regardless of experience. My wish list on Amazon seems to grow longer with every visit. I have purchased a couple of books already to help better understand ship rigging, "The Art of Rigging" by George Biddlecombe and "The Rigging of Ships: in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast, 1600-1720" by R.C. Anderson which deal specifically with the time period of my build, la Couronne. I have found both books to be useful so far though I will also check out some of the other suggestions that have been posted. I have rarely found one book with everything in it I need and often times information has changed as the years have gone by.
  25. EJ_L
    I have been interested in building either this kit or one similar. I have seen lots of finished ones but I have not seen one being built. I look forward to seeing yours come together. I like the idea of working on this to take a break from your bigger build. Sometimes a break from lots of small tedious pieces is a good thing.

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