gin007

Ok, I tried cutting the strips into 1/4" strips, and while one went ok, the next several were pretty awful, so I bought some 1/8' copper tape off amazon, which is beautifully perfect and will make cutting off the 1/2" pieces super easy. In the meantime, I put on the keel and sternpost, added wood filler to the gaps, sanded and painted the hull, and carved out the bulwarks. Not heeding Chuck's practicum ended up in me breaking the bulwarks near the bow while gripping a little too hard during sanding, so I repaired that and painted the hull black. I found one nick in the hull that's a little too deep, so I'm adding some wood filler and re-doing that part, but I'll be coppering the hull soon. I was using photobucket but the site is so slow for photos, it just isn't worth it. Any better free hosting for photos that someone can suggest/ I've read about planking the deck. Would there be a drawback to cutting the supplied 1/32" sheet of deck planking and using the individual pieces for deck planking? I haven't seen that done before (usually people get a separate sheet of different wood. I just thought I could cut the deck out as if I wasn't cutting the sheet, and then cut out individual pieces as that would make the gaps larger, but perhaps there is a drawback to this method. Off to sand my hull nick down!

Thanks for the advice. There's not much I can do at this point as my dad has already completed the hull shaping (though I notice he was a bit off on the starboard and larboard being mirror images. In this respect I would have been better off to try a POB but read all the advice and it sounded like the Phantom was highly suggested for newbies because of the practicum. In any event, I suppose this is a warning to other phantom builders: there is some difference between the template (note: without the false keel and the stern post) and the "to scale plans." Also, Elijah, I note your comment about the size of the copper. However I noticed most of the logs use 1/4 inch instead of 1/2 inch. This is likely because the practicum says to cut it in 1/4 inch lengths and it is easier to cut in 1/4 inch lengths rather than the 1/2 inch lengths on the plan because to cut the 1/2 inch lengths you have to cut the tape on the long side. I haven't decided which one I will use yet but it seems like the jig to make the 1/4 inch links is easier to make and use. I had a bit of a delay this weekend when my package containing my water line marker, a planking book, tweezers, and gesso was stolen. Fortunately the police department found my stolen items in a stolen car and returned some of them to me yesterday. My little ship is already having adventures without me. Today I worked on the launching ways and completed everything but inserting the pins. They look pretty good for a beginner but if I had realized from the beginning that I should use a board to make sure everything was properly aligned it would look even better. Instead of using a guiding board to push all of the timbers against, I used a 1/8 inch board to align everything individually but it turned out not to be exact. In any event I look at this as a learning experience so what I learned this time I can apply to my next model even if this model won't look exactly perfect. If anyone used 1/2 inch copper plates (looking at you Elijah!) please let me know what kind of jig you used to cut them - thank you ! That's probably it for this week because I am working 12 hour days but next weekend hopefully I can start work on the copperplates. I'll update this post with a picture of my launching ways soon.

Ok, here is what I am confused about. I am assuming the plans are drawn to the same scale as the template e.g. the actual model. Model Shipways states that it provides "Full scale plans". If this is not true and the plans are not on the same scale as the template, then I guess I'll need an abacus or something to figure out how to scale things. In any event, here is the hull my dad has kindly carved for me to the scale of the template: So that looks like it pretty much fits. Great. But then, when you put the hull or the template up to the plans, you can see the hull is actual longer than the template (and this does exclude the keel which has not been added on yet): As here where I offset the hull to show how much of a difference there is with the plans: And here on the plans (the template is marked in pink: So I am unsure what to do about this difference between the template and the plans because there is an extra 1/4" even without adding the false keel, which will add another 1/8".

Thanks, Elijah! I have really enjoyed your log! I will take some photos of my ship versus the plans as I am concerned about the length in the template versus the plans. Also rereading the other logs and some books on shipbuilding is building my confidence. I may not attempt more sophisticated techniques like deck planking on this model, but if I make it through, I'll be thoroughly proud! I have also gleaned some really helpful tips from Hopefuls old log and several others!

Hello all, Last year, after much debate, I bought the Phantom to start me on my way in Model Shipbuilding. I don't have any experience at all in modeling, and it is my first venture. I was very pensive about taking on a solid hull, as I am really quite terrible at wood carving, but my dad, who does do Norwegian wood carving agreed to shape the hull for me. He did the Amati Drakkar, which I did the sails on for him as his one and only model ship, and it turned out great. I sent it off with him for the hull molding and now its back, so I've been reading Chuck's practicum and the logs of others. I should start out by saying that the size of this model is extremely small, so I'm nervous about how tiny its pieces are, and I have pretty low expectations for the final result but I would at least like to give it a try, and maybe learn some things along the way. My goal as a complete beginner with no background knowledge in modeling is merely to finish. Eventually, I'd like to do the Pride of Baltimore II as I both got to see her in the Philadelphia harbor and she looks much like a schooner I sailed on in college (the S/V Westward) and/or the Bluenose, both of which have a letter better scale for me. So, anyway, I've ordered a cutting mat, and I'm waiting on it. I only have the tools from the deluxe kit from Model Shipways, and its going to take a little bit to get organized. In the meantime, it looks like my Dad may have taken a bit too much off the depth of the forward area, as it is 1/8" below the -R mark but the aft deck matches perfectly. So, I guess that might impact the waterline a little, but I don't think there is much to be done at this point. The length of the hull is 9 1/2" but the plans show 9 1/4" so I'm also unsure if the plans are meant to be drawn exactly to scale, but the length does match the size of the hull template. It looks like the first thing I need to do is install the keel, stem & sternpost, and I've looked through all the other logs and Chuck's practicum. I know I'm meant to glue some pieces together before cutting out the keel, but I haven't found much else about how to do it. It seems like once it is glued on, it would be very easy to break off, and I understand people use pins and such but I don't know a resource to help a total newbie to figure this stuff out. I sort of feel like I wish I had a video of someone putting together a solid hull to help me out, but I guess I'll just do my best, right! It'll be awhile until I post any substantive work until I receive my cutting mat (which apparently won't ship until next month), but thought I would at least get my log set up! - Ginger

Thanks very much for the advice. I ended up getting the Phantom just to give it a try. I would choose the Bluenose if I could get any kit, but I think that may be a little much just yet. Fortunately, my Dad is stopping by tonight to pick up his dog, so I'm going to see if I can woo him into helping me with the shaping. In the meantime, I'm searching for practicums (I've seen the official one) and logs of others since this is all so new. Thanks very much - Ginger

I know this has been asked a thousand times in a thousand ways, but I am an utter beginner looking for my first build, and I see that a lot of people recommend the Sultana or the Phantom from MS, especially with the practicums. I am utterly rubbish with whittling, so after looking at the practicums for the solid hulls, I'm not entirely certain whether they are the best place to start. My Dad, not a model hobbyist, built the Amati Oseburg some years ago as his one and only build to use to understand how to build a full scale parade boat, and he asked me to do the Oseburg's sail and ropes. But I haven't worked on any model wood pieces. Nevertheless, it seems that a plank on bulkhead build would be easier build to try than a solid hull ship, considering that I am totally unskilled in whittling large chunks of wood. Yet, MS lists all of them as "intermediate" and the solid hulls as "beginner". Am I missing something? Carving a 3D object seems much more difficult than placing planks, but I didn't actually do it on the Oseberg, just saw it as it was in progress, so perhaps I'm mistaken. I now live 4 hours from my Dad, so he won't be much of a help if I do start a PoB build, but I looked at the PoB MS kits and they do seem a step up in complexity because there is a great deal more rigging, etc. with most of them. With Model Expo's current sale (expiring tonight), I was thinking of just getting the Phantom, but I don't want to get frustrated because of the whittling aspect with the hull. I'm not really enticed by plastic at all, so I think those kits are pretty well out. Any advice? Thanks, Ginger