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drobinson02199

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Everything posted by drobinson02199

  1. drobinson02199
    Hans -- That's what being in lockdown will do!
  2. drobinson02199
    The rest of the side planking is up. This is overlapped, clapboard-style. Goes up pretty quickly. Next step will be to remove the frame ribs and start working on the cabin bulkheads and spars on the side. I want to do those before painting the exterior as I'll need to sand the spars down to be level with the top of the sides. Regards, David
  3. drobinson02199
    Three hatches done. The two red ones are simulated canvas using T-Shirt material and paint. The wooden one on the quarterdeck was difficult. I had trouble with glue adhesion on the hatch material, and also with sanding. Did the best I could and then varnished it, and what I got was a "weathered" hatch, which looks fine on the boat -- better than in the pic. Regards, David
  4. drobinson02199
    Spars installed on the side bulkhead. One picture pre-painting to show the pattern, and one after painting. There will be a cap rail on top. Regards, David
  5. drobinson02199
    I referred in my post above to the "box" across the side bulkhead. Here's how I built it: I created a simple jig to get the top of the box level. Prepainted the ends so I wouldn't have to paint near the green cabin bulkheads Glued the top to the side bulkhead, covering the rib stubs Prepainted a soffet (for a clean line at the deck) and glued it on. Now I can install the spars on top of the box and then paint it all black. I'll use this same approach on the other decks as I move up. Regards, David
  6. drobinson02199
    Finished the cabin bulkhead at Frame 9. First, I had to build up the side planking a bit so that I could paint the inside corner black. Then I painted and installed the two side bulkheads and the span between them. What's left is the unfinished side bulkhead. Next step is to build a "box" to cover the area where the ribs were removed, then install spars and paint it all black. Regards, David
  7. drobinson02199
    Bluebeard -- Glad to hear it. This means that my many mistakes will have some lasting value. 😄 Regards, David
  8. drobinson02199
    Hans: Is that because your "bad" side wasn't actually bad, or because your eyesight is going with age (like mine) 😜 Regards, David
  9. drobinson02199
    Now the starboard gallery is done. I did some surgery on the framework where it meets the stern that allowed me to get the short connecting planks straight on this side -- which is my "good" side. Regards, David
  10. drobinson02199
    For something different to try before working on the starboard gallery, I decided to do one of the cabin bulkheads, and it really illustrated for me the importance of getting the sequence right on this model. I built the cabin bulkhead off the model. But in order to mount it, I needed to paint the corner black (the rest of that side bulkhead will be black) so I didn't mess up the green planking on the cabin bulkhead, and in order to do THAT, I needed to start the green overlapped planking toward the bow. You can see the sequence requirement in the pictures. The rough areas where the frame ribs were removed will be covered over with a long "box", but I didn't want to install that first as it would require cutting into the cabin bulkhead. I have seen pictures of other models that painted this cabin bulkhead black (and the other ones to come), but I really like the green color on this boat, and the side bulkheads will be black, so it's a nice offset (even if not authentic to the real Batavia). Regards, David
  11. drobinson02199
    [NOTE: Pictures loaded in reverse order relative to the text, which this site sometimes does] Continuing with the galleries, I have finished the port side gallery. The port side is slated to be facing the wall, so it's my "try it first" side for complex parts of the build or things I'm not quite sure how to work through -- and this was one of those. The galleries are a fun detailed challenge, and something of an engineering challenge to be sure they fit on the boat properly. I posted the frameworks in my previous post -- I then planked and decorated them off the ship -- you can see that in the attached picture. Note the end of the top rail that you can see at the top right. This rides along the top wale and if you have followed the "tic marks" on the frames during planking (see my earlier posts), then the galleries line up with the stern parts (at least at the bottom). There's also a pic of the port gallery mounted on the ship. The top side planking that joins to the ship at the stern is the only part done on the ship, and you can see why -- I had to plank down a bit to get the alignment right. This gallery begins to show the color scheme of the ship -- and it will pick up some additional fancy decoration later on when I glue on the resin figurines provided in the kit. They will be yellow and that will look terrific against these colors. Regards, David
  12. drobinson02199
    A few odds and ends getting ready for the galleries and their intersection with the stern: "Leaded glass" on the rear windows, made by scoring acetate and then washing it with diluted black paint. A decoration for the stern. This doesn't come with the kit: I took it from a stern-on shot of the real Batavia, and then photoshopped it into the right size. This one you see is a test -- I wanted to see how the printer inks reacted when varnished. They do fine, so when ready I can print another copy and mount it on the stern. The gallery frames -- ready for planking. Regards, David
  13. drobinson02199
    Now we begin to get to the reason I was interested in this model. The colors are beginning to go on. Side planking turns green from here up with red and yellow accents. Regards, David
  14. drobinson02199
    Thanks, Chris. I appreciate the positive feedback. Regards, David
  15. drobinson02199
    I decided to go with the natural look for the wales. I built a jig on my worktable to bend the wales. I free-bent the main planks using my steamer, but I wanted to make sure that the wales laid down well and in the right position, so I used the jig for those. I used steam to allow me to bend the wood into the jig and soften it, and then a hair dryer to set the bend. The other pictures show the wales from several different angles, and also show the framing I did on the gun ports. As mentioned earlier, I really butchered the cutting of the gun ports, so I took some walnut strips I had left over from a previous build and framed them. Looks much nicer now, although it's not the look that Kolderstok specifies in the manual and plans. Regards, David
  16. drobinson02199
    Here's a picture of the walnut part of the hull after the first coat of varnish. A couple of comments on this kit. ' When I bought the kit, Hans of Kolderstok asked me if I'd like an all-walnut hull (compared to the stock hull with painted bottom made of basswood). I opted for all-walnut because I love that look on my hulls. Hans provided it at no extra charge. I had some concern about how this would look because it's a single-planked hull, and most of my first planking layers have some visible flaws. But the walnut Hans provides is the best quality I've worked with to date -- 1.5mm thick and doesn't have the "chips and flakes" I've encountered with other walnut. So my first and only layer (taking my time) came out well. My next step (after sanding and varnishing this again) is to add the wales. I'm currently debating whether to paint them black (as on the stock model), or keep them natural. Leaning toward natural. I pre-selected some darker strips for the wales so there should be some coloration difference if I stay natural. Regards, David
  17. drobinson02199
    I have almost finished planking the walnut part of the hull, and I'm eager to sand and varnish this to see how it looks. Another alignment exercise: at the top, there are two painted planks that go on above the walnut, and they need to be aligned with tic marks on the frames. So as you can see in the close-up, I have jumped to the highest walnut plank and have aligned it just below the tic mark for the first painted plank. Then I will fill in the gap that will have an odd-width plank. If I had just "planked up", I'd have ended up too high on the frames. Once I get these done, I'm going to sand and varnish the whole hull, which at the moment is a single level of planks. Then I'll add the wales on top. It would be more difficult to sand in between the wales if I put them on before varnishing. Regards, David
  18. drobinson02199
    OK, so here's round 2 on the planking issues raised in my not-so-clear post above. On this ship, it's important that the planks follow a line defined by small marks etched into the frames. That makes it easier to find the right line -- but those marks also define where certain special planks should be vertically on the frames: the wales (double planks), and two painted planks at the top. You can't just plank up to the top and then sand down. It has to end with the right colored planks in the right place vertically. If you just plank up from the middle to the top, you can't hold that vertical alignment because, as Hans says above, there are variations in wood width. So it's important to "re-set" by installing the next key wale up and then fill in. You can see that in the picture that has a gap in the planking. I started with the bottom 3 planks, which are 6mm wide. The lowest and third up of those will become wales by adding a second plank on top. Then the planking diagram calls for four 4mm planks followed by a fifth 4mm plank that will also become a wale. That fifth plank (the top one in the picture) needs to be in a certain vertical position indicated by tic marks on the frames. So after planking the bottom three 6mm planks, I moved up and installed that top plank. What that left was insufficient room to install four 4mm planks, and you can see that I've done 3, and the remaining gap is about 2mm wide. So then I used my planking vise to cut down planking to fit into that gap, and you can see the result of that in the finished picture with no gaps. The process was easier because I could use short lengths between the gunports. I'll have to do the same thing moving up again, because there is another key plank further up that has to be properly aligned. I mention all this in case it's valuable to others who get to this point. Once you figure it out, it's actually pretty straightforward. Finally, it should be obvious that I can't neatly cut gunports. Never have been able to, never will. I will eventually dress these with external walnut frames. Regards, David
  19. drobinson02199
    Addressing two planking issues: I have installed the two 6mm wales (with a 6mm spacer in between). Hans wonderfully provides tic marks on the frames to guide the placement of these so that you get the right line. I haven't installed the second planking layer over the wales yet. The next wale above is 4mm, with four 4mm spacers between it and the ones I had installed. I wanted to be sure that wale was back on the tic marks for it, as it creates a nice line for the planking above. But I also figured that if I kept it on the tic marks, there wouldn't be space for exactly four 4mm planks between. Or alternately, if I went ahead and installed the four 4mm planks first, the wale above them would be slightly above the tic marks (because nothing on my models fits perfectly 😁). Turns out all that was right. I decided to install the 4mm wale anyway, as shown in the large hull picture, to be sure it was on the right marks. You can see in the close-up that there is in fact space now for only 3 1/2 4mm planks between. That is easily solvable, because these planks run right through the gunports, and so I can cut down shorter lengths to 2mm wide and install them between the ports. The second issue is running those four 4mm planks up at the bow. The 6mm wales take an upward line at the bow. I've seen a log where they level off there, but that log used basswood, which is much easier to twist and bend. So I let the 6mm planks run naturally at the bow. Looking at the resulting bow picture after installing the 4mm wale, I can now taper the 4mm planks up to that 4mm wale at the bow and get them flush, and it will all work out. I know the text above is convoluted, but hopefully the pictures will help sort it out. Regards, David
  20. drobinson02199
    All of the decks are now on, and I've installed the first wale on the starboard side (see picture). Then I hit a sequence issue. I began to install the wale because of the manual sequence, but looking ahead, I saw that the hull planks need to flank the edges of the stern planking. So I stopped gluing the wale toward the stern, completed that and sanded the stern edges (see picture), and then completed the wale to the stern. I'll sand out the glue marks later on. Now I'll focus on hull planking. Regards, David
  21. drobinson02199
    I've made and installed the knighthead referred to in my previous post. Pictures show it installed before the upper deck was installed, and then after. You can see that it would be difficult to install after -- although there is a small hatch directly above it that would provide some access. Regards, David
  22. drobinson02199
    Hans: Another "fix" I might suggest is to not replace the beams on frames 4, 5 and 9 until after the Deck A planking is done and sanded. Would make the sanding just a bit easier, but not a big issue. I am loving this kit so far. 😁
  23. drobinson02199
    I've planked the lower deck, and fashioned and installed a hatch that will be visible from decks above. The sharp-eyed among you will notice that I forgot to plank one small section between the right upper frames -- but I've checked the drawings and it will be completely enclosed, so I'm not going to fix it. Speaking of drawings, I also noticed that I need to add a second layer of planking in the center area moving forward from the main hatch. I'll do that and varnish it on the next varnish round. What this made me realize is that I have to study the plans and drawings much more carefully, as there is info on them that isn't referenced in the manual. There are also some sequence issues to catch -- for example, reading ahead I've noticed that there is a knighthead attached to this deck aft of the main mast. It would be very difficult to install once the deck above is installed, but the deck installation comes much earlier in the manual then the place where the knighthead is mentioned. So i'll fashion and install it now before that deck goes on. So more reading forward, and more studying the plans. Regards, David
  24. drobinson02199
    I have mounted the lower deck (see below), and I have a building note. The sternmost deck won't fit unless you cut it. I cut it in the wrong place on the starboard side, so had to make a second cut, and then replicated that cut on the port side. It's all planked over, so no problem, but it took me a while to figure out why I couldn't get that deck to fit in one piece. Regards, David
  25. drobinson02199
    The starboard gunports are now done and mounted. I'm going to run an extra bead of glue around them to be sure they are really fixed on so that they won't pop off when they are sanded down to flush with the frames. Now on to the port side. Regards, David

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