Jump to content
New Publication - Ship Modeler's Handbook - Temp out of stock ×

gjdale

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,858

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by gjdale

  1. gjdale
    Repairs Complete! Fillets were fitted to all of the gunport and sweep ports previously opened up and cleaned up. To make the task a little easier, a standard size of fillet was used, and the opening adjusted accordingly. To ensure that the ports remained centred in the openings, two simple sizing jigs were made (one each for gun ports and sweep ports). These were simply a block of stock sized to the internal dimensions of the ports. The triangular shaped filling lintels above the sweep ports look tricky, but were surprisingly easy to make. I simply placed a piece of sticky label paper behind the opening and traced around the outside of the opening onto the paper. This was transferred to a piece of 3/16” Pear stock, ensuring the grain was running vertically, rough cut and then sanded to the left and right side lines on the Byrnes disc sander. The length was left slightly long and then gradually reduced on the sander until a snug fit was obtained. Once all filling lintels had been installed and given overnight for the glue to fully cure, it was time to start sanding……..and sanding……..and sanding………and yet more sanding. The outside of the hull was faired above the waterline using 80 grit sandpaper. As this whole section above the waterline will be completely planked, I decided not to go any finer with the sandpaper (at least for now) as this will give a good “tooth” for the subsequent glue. I also found that some of the spacers were starting to come loose, so didn’t want to push my luck with these, at least not until there is something more substantial holding the frames together! The inside above the waterline was sanded in similar fashion, while below the waterline was further sanded with 120, and then 180 grit. There will be sections below the waterline that will remain unplanked, so I wanted to get that down to a smoother surface. I’m still contemplating whether to go further with the finish sanding here. I have deliberately not cut the height down to final size at this stage. Any way, here’s a few photos of progress to date:
  2. gjdale
    I think the only thing that got "bored" was the hole for the bowsprit, Augie! Great forward planning, masterfully executed.
  3. gjdale
    Love your weathering effects Frank. That deck looks great.
  4. gjdale
    Great work Bob, and a great tutorial too!
  5. gjdale
    Okay, it's official, I've exhausted my supply of superlatives. Can someone lend me a few please?
  6. gjdale
    Lovely work Maury.
  7. gjdale
    Jay, A slightly simpler way of making the hook parts might be to use large sewing needles with the eye cut in half. I like the idea of using TWO hooks though - I can see that this would make it a lot easier to get the line behind the bottom of the pin. Might save a lot of colourful language I imagine!
  8. gjdale
    Wot Nigel said! Just terrific Augie.
  9. gjdale
    Jack, Sorry if I confused you, but I was referring to using the same method of filing with the vice as you've used for the scarph joints. Hope that clarifies what I meant. Just sent you a PM re gunports as well.
  10. gjdale
    Thanks Ben, That's a great solution and it seems really obvious once I read it! Wish I'd thought of that before. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing! Now that you mention it, I do recall reading of this in your log - pity I didn't remember it at the time.
  11. gjdale
    Thanks David, and welcome aboard. Doing the RC and the running gear will be a first for me, so I'm hoping I can rely on a few more knowledgable folks here to guide me along the way. So far, everything has seemed relatively easy and has gone pretty much according to plan (famous last words). I must say, that the instructions are very good so far, and are enhanced further by cross referencing with Pat Mathews' book. And I'm definitely having fun!
  12. gjdale
    Congratulations on reaching such a significant milestone Ben. You must be feeling very pleased - your work is excellent! Double rum rations all round
  13. gjdale
    Joe, Have you considered replacing the kit blocks with some from Chuck's Syren company? They would really make a big difference and complement your excellent build beautifully. Just a thought..............
  14. gjdale
    Thanks David, The answer is to not pre-cut the port openings, but to do these only after all the frame are assembled into the building jig. I've suggested to Jack P that he try this approach. We'll see how he goes.
  15. gjdale
    Thanks Bob
  16. gjdale
    Great to,see you back with an update Ian. What a shame that your lovely stove is now hidden from view. At least you have the pictures, and we have all seen them.
  17. gjdale
    Augie - welcome aboard my friend. Great to see that you found your way over here. Grab a drink form Mark at the bar and pull up a chair. Bob (Hexnut) - thanks for the tip re plastic polishes. That particular product doesn't ship to Austalia, but I'm sure I'll be able to find something similar in an auto parts shop here. Brian (GuntherMT) - I may have been mistaken over some of the materials used. According to the instructions, the frames are allegedly Mahogany Plywood. I don't think so, but could be birch or basswood (?) - they are very light. Also the Chines and Butterfly keel are listed as being Poplar - maybe, but again they are very light (which is why I may have incorrectly assumed them to be balsa). Comparing these materials to that which IS listed as balsa in the manual, there is a difference, but not much. The exterior planking is definitely Mahogany though
  18. gjdale
    Great work on the "fix" Mobbsie - I'll hope to be done with that myself next weekend. Sounds like you may have solved the Floor Rider problem too. You'll be leaving the rest of sucking up your sawdust at this rate!
  19. gjdale
    Nice to see an update Danny. Your work is as meticulous as always.
  20. gjdale
    Congratulations on reaching another milestone John. She's looking superb.
  21. gjdale
    Construction: Frame, Keel and Chine Installation The frames are then installed, with the aid of a special template jig as they are not perpendicular to the sub-deck. When installed correctly, they have a slight lean aft. Epoxy is the recommended glue for this job. I used the 5-min type and it was quite good to work with, having a reasonable working time to get things aligned correctly, and then setting reasonably quickly after that. Once all the frames are installed, the Fwd keel is inserted. I used Epoxy to glue the forward part to the sub-deck, and then wicked super thin aliphatic resin into the frame joints. The next job is to insert the Butterfly Keel, which is a two piece keel (one either side of the centreline) extending from Frame Four aft to Frame Eight. Once that is installed, the next job is to install the Chine. This is an interesting construction method. The Chine is made of two 1/8” thick strips of balsa on each side To start, the ends of the two strips are glued together for the first inch, with about 1/4" overlap. Once dry, this section is then glued into the notch in frame one, using a liberal amount of Epoxy and left to cure for at least one hour. Once the epoxy has cured, a bead of wood glue (I used the aliphatic resin again) is run between the two strips, and these are progressively bent to shape, clamped and glued to each frame notch in turn with thick CA and the assistance of some CA kicker. Sounds complicated but is remarkably easy and all done in about 5 minutes. Once all the glues had dried, the overhang was trimmed flush with the transom. This completes the lower hull framing. The next job will be to install the “underplanking”. Edit: I may have been mistaken about some of the materials used. See post #19 below for further thoughts.
  22. gjdale
    The gauges have now been set aside for the time being. The final version will be dependent on some lighting I plan to add, so will wait for some of that to arrive before going any further with these. In the meantime, it was time to start construction proper. Construction: Frames and Keel The frames are all die cut balsa ply. The die cutting requires a little more effort to release from the layout boards than does laser cutting, and the edges are nowhere near as neat. However, after a couple of hours of cutting out and cleaning up, we were ready to begin. Four of the frames have reinforcing strips around the edges, so the first job was to glue these up: Frame Four is also drilled to accept the steering column, and has a support installed on front (bow) side of the frame: The Forward keel extends from the bow to Frame Four, and is comprised of two identical parts epoxied together: The sub-Deck provides a flat surface on which to assemble the frames. It comes in two parts which are joined together over a sheet of grease proof paper on top of the building board. (The grease-proof paper is to ensure that the sub-deck doesn’t accidentally get glued to the building board!) Continued next post.........
  23. gjdale
    As I mentioned a couple of posts back, when fitting the lower sills, it became apparent that there was a problem with the pre-cut gun ports and sweep ports. On one side the lower sill had to be lowered a couple of mm, while on the other side it had to be raised. Here is a close up of the lowered sills, illustrating the resultant problem (ie gap in the inside face of the port). Having thought about this for a couple of days, decided that the solution was to file out the ports to the edge of the lower sill, and then install fillers/shims on each side. Tools used for this job included the Proxxon Pen Sander, a file, and the good old sanding stick. The latter proved to be the most useful for the larger gunport, while the file was the "weapon of choice" for the sweep ports. Here is how it looked after the first two frames were adjusted: Frame Four was problematic in that the fix was going to leave a particularly narrow piece of the original frame - just asking to be snapped off. So before filing this frame out, I added a separate filler piece between the frames to give more “meat” to support the vulnerable area. The filler is on the right hand side of the frame in the centre of this picture. All frames have now been opened up. Next task will be to add the fillets to the sides of the ports, and then install the top sills / filling lintels. It looks like this fix will work.
  24. gjdale
    Seriously good looking frames there Jack! Did you use Mobbsie's filing method for the keel notch as well? I found doing this gave me a much neater joint here as well.
  25. gjdale
    Thanks Ken - rest assured I'm off the pain meds now! I make it a rule not to try anything at all on modelling while "under the influence" - aside from the obvious safety issues, it invariably ends up in re-work...... Rusty - it's reassuring to know that you also had to make adjustments to the sills!

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...