hamilton

Well it's been a while since I posted here - been in and out of town a lot, but mostly the issue is that I am completely stymied by the main deck framing.....I've got the beams cut and I made what I thought would be a useful framing jig, but now I really have no idea how to proceed....notching out the beams for the beam arms and carlings seems relatively straightforward, but fabricating the lodging knees and beam arms to account for the deck camber has my head spinning and every time I've sat at the bench, I find myself just looking at things, trying to decipher from the practicum exactly how to go forward....so at the moment I'm stuck and with work starting up again next week (!!!) I'm not sure when I will be able to just knuckle down and start in....
 
If anyone has any tips or pointers for this part of a fully framed model, I would deeply appreciate it....but this log may be silent for a bit until I can get my head around things and get back to work once again......
hamilton

A bit more work on the upper deck framing. I've made all three of the deck beams and started to refine them (they're not quite finished but I'm not aiming for perfection, so....). My main task now is to make a framing jig so I can assemble at least the major components (beams, beam arms & carlings) off the model as I did with the lower deck. As of now I've gotten as far as making a template of the deck with the beams marked on. My model deviates slightly from the layout given in the practicum (modeller error is the blame here) so I'll use the drawings as reference for finishing the template.
 
I had thought of making a simple jig - fitting a couple of 1" (scale) thick battens along the port and starboard side to simulate the deck clamps (into which beams are let down 1") and then a 5-1/2" batten down the centre line (the deck rounds up by 5-1/2"). We'll see how this goes and whether I need to expand on this basic concept.....
 
I am a little concerned about the beam arms - these seem to be a little finicky to get right considering the round up needs to be sanded into them as well....I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks as of Friday and this week's a busy one getting ready to go, so it's hit or miss whether there'll be any time in the shop...but...in the meantime enjoy the photos and happy modelling.
hamilton
 
 

A few progress on the rear quarter deck. Rather delicate assembly due to the dry and thin wood:
 

 
The first step is to glue the decorative railing in the front of the planking. 2 x 3 mm soaked in alcohol and left bending on a jig: 
 

 
Installation of the stiffeners under the deck: 
 

 
Following the instructions.... all parts are pre-painted, of course: 
 

 

 
A little bell to attract the attention of the crew: 
 

 
The kit does not provide the end pieces of the freeze. I will have to think about something.....
 

 
Overall view: 
 

 
Yves

Finally, planking of the rear quarter deck is completed: 38 + 1 planks, total.
 

 

 

 

 
After a fine sanding and a good vacuuming, the deck can be protected with a few coats of Wipe On Poly: You can see how the color changes....
 

 

 

 

 
Now is the time to finish some details on the rear deck.
 
Yves

What an incredible place...Reminds me of a more extreme version of Montserrat in Catalonia....been to Turkey but not to that spot - wish I'd known about it when I was there!
hamilton

Hi all:
 
I had decided to purchase the 1:48 Phantom pilot boat from Model Shipways but discovered that Model Expo is no longer shipping to Canada because of tariffs.....this decision makes no sense since there is, as I understand, a de minimis exemption for shipments of under 800$....happy not to give ME my money if they're not willing to recognise these exemptions or make exceptions for those of us who may be willing to pay more regardless of the tariffs.....ship modelling is hard enough without politics getting in the way.....
hamilton

Thanks Druxey - I will make a couple of sanding jigs (concave and convex, using the deck beams as blanks to get the correct round-up. I have some 1/2" maple ply that I think I'll use for this purpose as it's mostly scrap anyway and will be firm enough to withstand some sustained kinetic action. Was thinking I'd sandwich a few pieces of this together to make a nice broad surface for the sanding of the beam arms. With the upper deck beams more or less completed and dry-fitting snugly, I think I can also proceed to a part of the build I'm looking forward to - making the bitt pins for the sheet and jeer bitts - the first bit of superstructural detail since I made the well...
 
In any event, at this point I probably won't be able to get back to Echo until mid-July, and then we're out of town again at the beginning of August....sheeesh - this summer is vanishing rapidly.....and it's not even summer!
hamilton

A bit more work on the upper deck framing. I've made all three of the deck beams and started to refine them (they're not quite finished but I'm not aiming for perfection, so....). My main task now is to make a framing jig so I can assemble at least the major components (beams, beam arms & carlings) off the model as I did with the lower deck. As of now I've gotten as far as making a template of the deck with the beams marked on. My model deviates slightly from the layout given in the practicum (modeller error is the blame here) so I'll use the drawings as reference for finishing the template.
 
I had thought of making a simple jig - fitting a couple of 1" (scale) thick battens along the port and starboard side to simulate the deck clamps (into which beams are let down 1") and then a 5-1/2" batten down the centre line (the deck rounds up by 5-1/2"). We'll see how this goes and whether I need to expand on this basic concept.....
 
I am a little concerned about the beam arms - these seem to be a little finicky to get right considering the round up needs to be sanded into them as well....I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks as of Friday and this week's a busy one getting ready to go, so it's hit or miss whether there'll be any time in the shop...but...in the meantime enjoy the photos and happy modelling.
hamilton
 
 

After another relatively long break, I've managed to find a bit of time to work on Echo this afternoon. No great strides forward, though I did manage to make a test of one of the upper deck beams. I made a template out of card paper using the drawing in the practicum against some carbon paper, and then rubber cemented this to some 9" boxwood that came with the original framing package. I think that next time I will simply use copies of the drawing itself, printed onto card. I think this will likely lead to a more accurate template and a better result. Fortunately I have enough of the 9" box to do a bit of testing before committing to anything.
 
I had imagined that the test beam would be fit forward, but it ended up being a fraction to short for that purpose. But it fits perfectly athwartships in the aft beam position at frame 5. So even though right now the piece still looks very rough (as seen in the photos below) I hope I can tidy it up and perhaps use it since it does fit so nicely....I also made a strake of deck planking to fit in line with the port side lower deck waterway - not too difficult or exciting. 
 
The upper deck framing is going to be quite tricky I think - I'm not looking forward to making and fitting the beam arms and am a bit concerned about the beams being at the correct height.....but we'll see in the next little while how it comes together.
 
Enjoy the photos and bye for now
hamilton

Hello Srenner
 
This can be a frustrating kit - especially for a beginner, since the instructions are very sketchy and the plans inaccurate. This was my 12th model build and I was happy to go into it with some experience under my belt. Now for some practical advice.
 
The keel can be straightened in construction. Make a building board and run two long strips of wood as keel fasteners - if these strips are straight you can just wedge the keel part in there to keep it straight during construction. When you fit the bulkheads you can add some small support braces between them to make sure they are aligned perpendicular to the keel - once the bulkheads are squared, braced and glued to the keel, the keel will maintain its straightness through the interaction of all these parts.
 
You will undoubtedly encounter a lot of frustrations with this kit - I don't think any modeller on this forum who has built this has not encountered frustrations and challenges, regardless of their level of modelling experience. I would strap yourself in for some serious head scratching in the future - but between Collingwood, Harlequin, myself and others who have built this kit, hopefully we can provide some remote assistance!! She does build into quite a nice looking ship if you can get through the framework portion of the build! Once that's done, it's more or less "smooth sailing" (insert eye roll here....)
hamilton

Today I hung the rudder using the phot-etched parts provided. The result is quite acceptable (to me):

I chemically blackened the photo-etch parts with Brass Black by Birchwood. Before attaching they were buffed as clean as possible with a Dremel attachment. I'm debating whether or not I should blacken / paint the heads of the brass nails that I used here. 
 
Since there was no explicit instructions provided for installing the rudder hardware I thought I would outline the way I did the work:
There are specific orientations for the gudgeon and pintle pieces. You can pick up on the orientation of the larger gudgeon piece if you look carefully at the one rudder installation picture in the manual. However, the picture below may make it easier to see what needs to be done; i.e., the holes in the back plate need to be above the associated gudgeons so the pintles mount higher up as needed. The gudgeons should be bent to the side of the scores in the photo-etch part so the exterior of the bend is smooth.  Pilot holes should be drilled to accept cutoff pin heads used to simulate bolts; similar for the three locations used to pin the rudder to the stern post. I inserted pins in the three attachment locations, cut them off leaving ~ 1/16" and pressed the rudder up to the pins to mark locations to place the pintles on the rudder. The pins were then removed. Holes were drilled into the rudder at these three locations and the mounting / alignment pins were CA'ed into the holes in the rudder. Pintles were then threaded over the alignment pins and attached to the rudder. Again the PE scores go to the inside of the pieces when attached. Care needs to be taken that the pintles are attached with the correct orientation on the rudder - there is an up and a down; if not respected the pintles will not fall just above their associated gudgeons. Pin heads were then used to finish the pintle installation. Finally, the rudder was glued to the hull making use of the three alignment pins that went exactly were they should!  

 

I've finally made of my mind on the way this model will be displayed - I kept going back and forth between launching ways and a minimal cradle. Launching ways won, so there will be the opportunity to compare ship and mounting method with the old 1:96 Phantom. 
 
I cut the launching ways I had made down in size by quite a bit and stained it Golden Oak. Several support beams will be fashioned to keep the 1:48 Phantom sitting nice and level on the slipway.

Maybe time to bring the deck back out in the open? 

Hi all:
 
I had decided to purchase the 1:48 Phantom pilot boat from Model Shipways but discovered that Model Expo is no longer shipping to Canada because of tariffs.....this decision makes no sense since there is, as I understand, a de minimis exemption for shipments of under 800$....happy not to give ME my money if they're not willing to recognise these exemptions or make exceptions for those of us who may be willing to pay more regardless of the tariffs.....ship modelling is hard enough without politics getting in the way.....
hamilton

Finished the fore mast shrouds, with serving. parcelling and leather as per the main mast .  Took 2 attempts to get the fore stay right.  First attempt, I didn’t account for the line stretching, which caused the 2 legs to be misaligned in regards to the serving and leathering.  
Second attempt came out really well until I noticed that the legs were crossed. This necessitated  cutting all 6 seizings which of course damaged the serving , which then had to be repaired. Self inflicted wounds are much too common!
Next, placed all the shroud fairleads as per EdT. using 3/32 deadeyes with a groove filed to fit onto the shroud.
Finally, placed and rigged both Spencer booms. I included the inhaul/outhauls as I have never seen a model with them on.  I tied these together with bowlines as they would have been tied to the head of the sail.

Do it!
 
Here's my 1:96 Phantom (2007) - safe, but not cased, on a shelf for now:

The copper was not treated in any way; it is a bit darker now but still surprisingly shiny.
 
Waterline is a little more wavy then my current iteration! I see that I used the copper tape right off the spool so the plates are 1/4" high and I did not have a separate belt for the aft portion of the hull - apparently I did not follow the Chuck Passaro Phantom Practicum very well.
 
I still remember struggling with adding hooks to the very small blocks amongst other challenges. That kit was really was on the small side for a first build and I am glad that the larger 1:48 scale model is now available. 
 

The plating looks really fantastic - once it weathers up it'll be even better! Am now seriously considering this model to replace the 1:96 one that got destroyed...
hamilton

Finished plating the port side of Phantom today. I had placed a strip of tape to mark the water line / position of the last line of plates:

Looks great!
hamilton

I marked off the first belt with Tamiya tape and plated the first belt so that it overlapped the tape. After making sure the copper foil was burnished quite well to the hull in a way that I could easily see the tape edge, I used a new scalpel blade to cut through the foil and pealed off the tape. Ready now to start the second belt.
 

I can see how the coppering might have slowed you down a bit....not the most exciting, but still an exacting part of the build...before my 1:98 phantom got destroyed, the copper plates had begun to age quite nicely. I like the way this part of a model interacts with the climate over time - reminds you that the work is a living thing!
hamilton

At this scale the rigging gets very crowded indeed - I followed Lees for the entire rig of my version of this kit - it was a challenge to get everything just so, but Lees facilitates things through his period-based breakdown of rigging practice by period and rate. From what I've read here, Lees is a very good standard to work to. 
 
I also have no idea what the logic was behind the reversal of the preventer and stay in this case - but as we see all the time, questioning people who've spent their lifetimes learning about specific things is a good way to get things wrong, while following them is a good way of learning how to do things right.
hamilton

It's been a while since I worked on this model, but today I got back at it! Cutting copper plates - several hundred so far. The Dspiae cutter does a great job, I'm just wondering how long the blade will hold up. unfortunately, The blade appears to be proprietary (and expensive).

Soon I will start attaching to the hull.
 

I have not lost interest in this model, but I have a few other projects going on and like to go back and forth at times! One of the projects, the Santos-Dumont No 18 Hydroplane has elevated to the top as I would like to take it to a modeling contest in mid-May. I will be spending most of my time on that; however, every model has its downtime for one reason or another and that will be the time that Phantom and my OcCre BR 18 Locomotive projects get for the time being. After that who knows - there must be 30+ models in the que! 
 
Finally 'fixed' the paint issue, and today I applied the first coat of varnish to the hull. It will get another tomorrow and then it will be set for marking the waterline and some copper. 

 

Just a tip: DO NOT throw anything away. For instance, When I removed the horizontal braces (beams) from the bulkheads, because I was anticipating the fabrication of the gun deck and more realistic positioning of the beams based on the US Navy plans, I marked which bulkhead they came from and kept them. They were subsequently used when I put in the new spar deck beams because they had the proper deck camber, which I  also traced onto the additional newly fabricated beams. Sometimes you need to reproduce the shape of something, you might be able to use the precut shell to reproduce a replacement part or a matching curve/shape of something.
 
Jon

It's good to hear that the kits will (in the future) still be available - I hope Chris will continue to make them available in chapters as yours so far have been....this makes them much more accessible to modellers on a more limited budget! 
hamilton