Keith Simmons

Hi everyone,
I've just finished planking the deck of my AVS in holly and I'd like to add tree nails next. I've researched the MSW forums for a deck planking / tree nailing primer and can't seem to find one beyond Ulises Victoria's excellent Simple Butt-Shift Deck Planking Guide.
 
What I'd like to know is, should I treat the finished deck with polyurethane (I've been using Danish Oil on the hull?)  and then drill and fill the tree nails? Or do I drill and fill the tree nails, then scrape/sand everything flat and smooth before applying oil? 
 
I haven't decided whether the tree nails will be drawplate-made wood, or wood glue / filler yet. I don't know if that makes a difference. I am curious if there is an accepted 'right way' to install tree nails on a deck. Any input, links, advice and pictures are welcome!
 
Thank you in advance!
Matthew

I can't tell you if it's the "right" way or not, but I drilled the holes, filled them, scraped/sanded and then applied the finish (I used wipe on Poly).
 
I also made a couple of test deck planking sections and experimented with different fillers and hole sizes and then applied the finish in order to determine what specific size and filler to use to get it to look like I wanted.
 
I have an index on my first post of my AVS build log (link in signature) so you should be able to find the decking sections fairly easily if you haven't seen it.
 
If you apply the finish first, you'll just end up having to apply another coat after doing the treenails, and then you have to deal with scraping/sanding a deck covered with whatever finish you are using, which will probably gum up your sandpaper pretty good and be removing the finish anyway.

Hi Mates,
 
A lateral update – my usual posts - ha ha..
 
So, I decided to add some detailing to the galleries. The Vasa (based the on super detailed 1/10th) is certainly hard to grasp from a Corel kit.
 
PS: just a thought – Who really knows if the Vasa was as colorful and as highly detailed (art work) as is represented on the museum’s beautiful model.
The actual resurrection galleries, as an example, are very plain by comparison to the model (they appear to be rebuilt as well). So it appears that the goal of many kit/scratch builders is to try to emulate the model’s look. I, then added some detail bits as well.
 
My completed galleries before added details
 

 
Used some extra painted wood bits from the just completed railings. Purchased a necklace, and used the bits for the bobbinets (glue added so that beads would not fall off string when cut)

 
Received from Corel two new weather deck cannon opening trim rings

 
Here are some finished up shots. 

 
Now on to some added detail work for the bowsprit framing.
 
 
This 1/10th pic makes me very insecure Hmmm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Beautiful work Mark, 
 
                                  I want to be able to do that when I grow up....
 
            Thumbs up,   Keith

Told you so, Piet. Love the mill and the shop ... maybe with a lighter colour, we could have seen the details on the door, but this is more realistic for the type of building. Again some great results on a tiny scale!
 
Cheers

Hi Piet
 
Ok. I'm gobsmacked after seeing the buildings. You Sir, are one talented master builder!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks Carl for the faith you have in my abilities, sometimes it requires us to take a step back and let things settle.  A little head scratching, pondering and thinking  in how to tackle a problem.  Something as insanely simple as ship's frames can become a giant obstacle.  Yes, I'm happy with the end result.
 
In the last post I talked about getting to the "landscaping" part and now is the time to show the start of that process.  As I have shown all yuns an idea at one of my very first posts, this diorama has progressed to include two slipways instead of one.  I also changed the waterfront a little.  
 
The sawmill and shop's building was a definite.  I first thought to make them from copy paper and all in one piece, lik,e a cut, fold and glue model.  I don't know what I was thinking, it sounded like a great idea at first but after i drew up the plans I realized that it was not going to work.  Gwen also thought that I was nuts just thinking about it.  So, I made them from solid wood   
 
I took some scrap pieces, one for the base buildings and another for the roof.  I also attached the steam boiler room behind the sawmill with a smoke stack from a toothpick.  To at least show some interior of the sawmill I carved about half it away from the inside and left the sidewalls whole.  The details will be painted.  
The walls are simulated clapboards with slate roof tiles.  The chimney is simulated red brick.  I was not very successful painting all the bricks, kinda difficult in a scale of 1:2000      Actually what I did was, after the red paint had dried, I penciled some horizontal and vertical lines in them to at least give the idea.
For the clapboard and roof tiles I just scratched a few lines in the wood trusting that the brain will complete the picture.
I also put smoke coming out of the chimney by using some of the fur from our cat Ivanna.
 
For the grass I found some model railroad grass but I had to modify that too by mincing it with a sharp kitchen knife.  For the trees I was going to use kitchen scrub-buds, cut into shape and paint them.   However, when finding the fake grass I also found fake tree stuff already in green.  
To put the grass on the base I first painted these areas with the same green I mixed for the VOC ship Surabaya and while whet sprinkled the grass on it and kinda tamped it into the wet paint. Not to bad an effect.
After I "modeled" the trees they were glued on with nail polish.  
After the buildings were completed and cemented to the base I could also add a few trees behind them but that'll be shown in a future post.
 
Here are the pics with the usual explanations, hope yuns like them.
 

This was the original plan and as yuns can see I have made several changes.
 

Here you see the beginning stages of adding grass and trees.
 

This shows my overambitious plan for a cut, fold and glue set of buildings.
 

Here  you see the beginning phase of the sawmill and the shops building.  The lower part will be the lower partvof the buildings with the roof part cemented to the lower parts.
 

This shows the roughed out buildings.  I should have added the matchstick for scale reference.
 

Both buildings completed.  As mentioned above I hollowed the sawmill out and cemented paper doors to the side frames.  it's a shame you can't see the details I penciled into the doors, just accept my word for it. Honest.  I also  put a cupola with a copper roof on top of the sawmill.
 

This is Ivanna the cat, I call her the Dutch way as poes, who so graciously donated some of her fur for the smoke
She .likes to keep me company when I chat with all yuns on MSW.
 
Cheers,
   

Thanks Don...
 
I nailed the planks today.  The clinker planks had a row of nails along the bottom edge that actually went through the beveled plank beneath it.  You can see that in this image of the queen Mary barge.  Black mono-filament was used and this will be added to every kit so you guys can use it and try it out.  Its a great way to simulate bolts on other projects and in this case nails.  It went quickly.  You can see that they used many more nails than I showed but ike the contemporary models I am just showing a stylized version of it with far few.
 

 
I used 20 pound black line which required drilling with a #74 bit.  Then dip in CA and stick it in the hole.  Use a straight razor to cut the line flush.  Its nice stuff to work with.  I may switch to 15 pound line for the kits though.   Slightly smaller.   But each kit will come with more than enough to complete this model and some extra so you can use it on other things.
 

 
The molding was added and I even got a chance to paint some red on the hull.
 
Its summer so sales are slow and I have more time work on the models.  I almost forgot how much fun it is. 
 

 
Chuck

Beautiful work Mark, 
 
                                  I want to be able to do that when I grow up....
 
            Thumbs up,   Keith

Thanks Maury
 
Here are some photos with her all cleaned up and the inboard frames faired and thinned down.  I had to clean it up because I couldnt stand looking at it so messy.
 

 

you have been busy........the beams look great!   are you thinking that the planking will level it out,  by the time you reach the transom?  I wish I had more savvy with these types of ships......    but you've really done some nice work there  

No stupidity or errors on your behalf, at all, Mark!
 
She looks simply wonderful.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks for the "likes" and commentary...  
 
Making progress.   The beams are in for the lower deck.  There's probably another couple that I'll need to put in once I figure out the shape at the bow and stern.  The bow, not so much, but the stern looks different on the drawing than it does looking into the hull.  i think it's not at deck level... just has me scratching my head as I know the beams are all at the right height.
 
Anyway, I'm checking fore and main mast locations and then I'll be dropping a bit of string down the centerline to double check and pin down where I'll need the mizzen mast step, the three hatches, and the bowsprit step. I'm also plotting out the walls and cabins but won't get to far into that until the deck is planked.   Which... I'm hoping to get started on this week as soon as I can get the planks cut.  The actual next step with the waterways.  The wood has been selected (cherry) and the appropriate sized pieces selected.  
 
Here's pictures.   Feel free to point out any stupidity or errors on my part.  
 


 

Hi Mike, 
              I will be watching your build with a lot of interest. I am getting ready to start my version of a  scratch built stern wheeler soon. Your hull looks great....         I don't do much painting, but for the ones I have done, I use drywall compound as a filler. It seems to not affect the wood as other fillers do and sands beautifully. As for paint, I like to use gloss ( since gloss has a harder finish when dry) and then sand it till I get the satin or matte finish I'm looking
for. Then I top the paint with a lacquer finish of satin or matte depending on look I am going for. Not that this is the best way to finish paint, but it works for me.
             Looking forward to the rest of your build,    Keith

Hi Patrick,
                Amazing detail !!!!   Looking forward to more. With your ability at detail I fully expect when you get the bathrooms done I will be able to hear the flush from here...
 
                 Keep up the good work Mate,  Keith

I finally caught up to this one Patrick. Thanks for the link. Simply amazing as usual. This will inspire me to see what kind of detail I can put on my Preussen SIB at the scale I am working on. Good to see your getting lots of modelling time in 
Bravo ... Jeff

Just found a bit of wi fi on my vacation to check things out and my god Patrick! You should be very proud, this is such an unusual and beautiful model! Lovely work and a great journey.

Hi Patrick,
                Amazing detail !!!!   Looking forward to more. With your ability at detail I fully expect when you get the bathrooms done I will be able to hear the flush from here...
 
                 Keep up the good work Mate,  Keith

Hi Mike, 
              I will be watching your build with a lot of interest. I am getting ready to start my version of a  scratch built stern wheeler soon. Your hull looks great....         I don't do much painting, but for the ones I have done, I use drywall compound as a filler. It seems to not affect the wood as other fillers do and sands beautifully. As for paint, I like to use gloss ( since gloss has a harder finish when dry) and then sand it till I get the satin or matte finish I'm looking
for. Then I top the paint with a lacquer finish of satin or matte depending on look I am going for. Not that this is the best way to finish paint, but it works for me.
             Looking forward to the rest of your build,    Keith

Hi Mike, 
              I will be watching your build with a lot of interest. I am getting ready to start my version of a  scratch built stern wheeler soon. Your hull looks great....         I don't do much painting, but for the ones I have done, I use drywall compound as a filler. It seems to not affect the wood as other fillers do and sands beautifully. As for paint, I like to use gloss ( since gloss has a harder finish when dry) and then sand it till I get the satin or matte finish I'm looking
for. Then I top the paint with a lacquer finish of satin or matte depending on look I am going for. Not that this is the best way to finish paint, but it works for me.
             Looking forward to the rest of your build,    Keith

I coppered Constellation with copper tape from a place that sells it for electrical applications.  They sell a coated version (non-conductive), you don't want, and an uncoated version (conductive) you do want if you want a "patina."  It was cheaper than the model suppliers, and the large size is harder to find at model suppliers anyway since they cater to 1/48 scale and smaller kits.  You can see my coppering job, including the nail patterning on my thread
 
 
Very soon after getting coppered, while is was still bright and shiny.  Very pretty, but not what I wanted.
 

 
A couple of dips in the water later, the copper is much more dulled and browner, but still looks good.  This is when I clear coated it and hopefully it'll stay this way.  Notice, it's not green!
 

 
Copper tape is expensive.  It took slightly over two rolls to cover Constellation and cost over $50 US.  The copper paint I pre-painted her bottom with looked good though, and I could get 4 inch wide aluminum peel and stick duct-tape for $20 a 100 foot roll!  I tested the idea on Constellation's launch and plan to use it on Macedonian instead of actual copper.

The main paint work has been applied.
Yellow went on first, followed by a day's worth of masking and then the black.
 
I'm using a brand called ironlaq which looks to be aimed at the crowd painting on the side of railway boxcars in the dead of night but it's quite good. I ran out of the black and had to use a rust-oleum black which takes much longer to dry and harden.
 
A downside of a yellow boat was that it was easy to miss masking bits with yellow tamiya tape. Lots of spot touch ups to be done yet, especially on the head rails. I'm not showing the finished version until I'm happy with those.
 
But in the meantime. Here's the stern, just in need of some touch ups on the lettering as it looks like a deco font without the TImes Roman serifs
...... Yes her name is Harrier.

 
She was an active little vessel, although fir built, and served a spell in home waters before being involved in operations in the East Indies. She foundered in the Indian Ocean in about 1809, I think, with the loss of all hands. May my Harrier not share her fate.

The deck is now finished.
Treenails were done with holes drilled and filled with putty with the excess scraped off. I didn't want them to be overpowering so went with fairly small holes and a light coloured filler. They disappear from sight at a distance and certain angle and reappear when you change your view. It adds nice interest.
 

 
The varnish has turned the grey card caulking blacker than I would have liked but waterproofed it all nicely. I'm happy with it.

 
The join in the margin plank was a little too close to one of the plank nibs for aesthetic purposes but it'll be covered by a carronade so problem solved. Next task is adding the spirketting and scuppers and then the gratings.

Bathrooms only forr'ard ... !?!?!?
 
Soon you won't be able to move you bum around. Should be fun in high seas all those accoutrements ... a few additional lockers/closets should be in order ... If I think off anything else to add, I'll let you know mate
 
Cheers

Hi Denis
 
Thanks for your comments. I must admit that I'm really surprised at just how well the murals came out - better than I ever thought they would.
 
Also, the 'missing man' analogy is a nice one, but sadly, it wasn't the case here. The reason for it was to create the impression of the guests just getting up from the table without pushing their chairs back. I reckon it gives a more realistic look to the deck.
 
Have a good'un!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick