AndyMech

Hey anyone,
 
Since I finished my Revell 1:96 Plastic Constitution in the spring, I've been wanting to get into wood modeling.  As I've only been a plastic modeler to date, I was a bit apprehensive as it feels like a whole new skill set (which I don't have).  I've done nothing with wood, other than trim a few tree branches along the way.
 
So, with that in mind, my first wood ship was the Midwest Peterboro canoe (at 1:12).  It took maybe 6 weeks to do (I never seem to do any of this fast), and here's the result:
 


 
Next up, I needed more experience.  I have a Syren kit "on deck", but don't feel ready to tackle that yet.  I felt a cross section would be a good next step up in complexity, as it involves some planking, some deck furniture, some masting, etc.  A little bit of everything and with a ship I know pretty well from the Revell model.
 
So, taking advantage of a nice sale by ModelExpo, I purchased the Mamoli USS Constitution Cross Section at 1:93, so very close in scale to my full ship plastic build.
 
I'll detail the build step by step and stick to the instructions as best I can.  I'll also be using some fine builds here on MSW to guide my progress.  Suggestions and criticism welcome - I'm a wood novice so I'm especially interested in tips, tricks, best practices, painting suggestions, etc.
 
Thanks for looking.
 
Andy.
 
 

Yesterday, started work on the top deck.  I had previously laid the supports, so I framed the hatchway, then planked the rest.
 
I again made a paper template for where the mast hole should be, and after the deck was laid, cut out the circle and added the mast ring.
 
Finally, today, I added breech ropes for the guns on this level.  I'll leave these black instead of red as they were pre-painted by Mamoli (not the greatest reason, but they look ok to me this color).
 

 

 

 

To finish off the gun deck, I added the pumps.  These were blackened, mostly successfully but I find the black tends to rub off pretty easily, leaving shiny bits.  That happened as I assembled the pumps - putting the rods through the holes.  I used a bit of touch up paint to hide the worst of the scraped off bits.
 

 

I'm a little behind in the updates, so I'll post a couple of replies to get caught up on the progress.
 
I had finished the gun deck planking and added the mast support ring.  Next up were the cannons/carriages.
 
I deviated from the instructions a bit.  First, I painted the carriages red, like on my Revell Constitution.  I also decided to add breech ropes, but not pulleys.  At this smaller scale, I didn't feel I had the skill, nor the model have the space to add both.  I used a large tan thread that the kit intended (I think) for the shrouds.  Shrouds should be black, so I ordered some nice thread from the Syren ship co.  That left this nice tan for the cannon breechings.
 
Also, the kit was short 4 of the wheel assemblies for the cannons, so I fabricated them from some dowels.  Once they were painted black, I doubt anyone can tell.
 
The cannons themselves, I attempted to blacken, but they utterly failed - I'm guessing they are aluminum or steel.  I sanded off the lousy blacken attempt and just painted them.
 




 

Wow, it's really been a long time since I last updated.  Holidays, vacations, illness (a really bad cold) have all prevented my progress.  But, I'm getting back to it.
 
First, I noticed that I had forgotten to put in the deck supports for the 2nd deck, and when I test fitted them, the barrels I had so carefully glued in were in the way.  So, I learned how to de-bond my PVA (Titebond) with a little isopropyl alcohol, I was able to remove enough barrels to get them installed.
 
Next, was the deck planking.  The center is planked with 6 2x4 (mm) walnut planks and another mast hole needs to be created.  I did it half-by-half, carefully laying the first plank to make sure it's centered and orthogonal, then using that as a guide for the other.
 


After the first half circle was carved out and mast test fitted, just repeat on the other side.
 

 
The rest of the planks are then added.  Unlike the lower deck, I wanted to add the "butt joints", but like I said in my earlier post, I was concerned about doing it exactly on the framing pieces as they didn't line up and I didn't want to have a joint over open space.
 
So, I merely used pencil to mark the lines after deciding on the spacing pattern.  I also chose to not do treenails after some debate (with myself anyway).  I don't have a small enough drill bit, so I skipped that for now.
 


 
Next up, I'm planking the bulwarks and I added the mast ring supports.  Those were a soft metal that I blackened.  If you remember (and who would?), I had issues with flaking on my last blackening attempt, so this time I diluted the solution (1 part water, 1 part solution) and took more care cleaning the rings.  It worked out so much better - no flaking in solution, and a nice even black color.
 

So, I was solved the issue of making the mast hole.  Before planking the rest of the deck, I made a paper template of where the mast should go in relation to the hatch.  After the planking, I placed the template back on the deck, and used a pencil to mark the location of the hole.  Using my pin vise, I drilled a bunch of holes, removed the majority of wood and sanded to fit.
 
(It has the word "good" on it because the first one was off a little bit, so I marked the good one)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I painted the fighting top and added it's railing.  I did the inside floor of it gray, which matches my Revell Constitution, and I like the contrast with the white elsewhere.  The gray took only 3 coats to cover, while the white takes about 9-10.  It could be my white paint has been thinned too often, but at least the end results are ok.
 
Tomorrow, I paint the lower mast - you guessed it - white.  It will probably take all day.
 




 
Andy.

The latest work has been all about prepping the mast pieces.  I tapered all the yards and spars last Friday, using the drill and sandpaper method - worked pretty well, but took all day for all 11 pieces.
 

 
I also created the topgallant part of the main mast, the same way:
 

 
I spent most of today making the railing for the fighting top - drilling holes and filing etc.  Nothing is glued yet - I plan to use CA to glue the wood to metal, so I want to paint first.  Which will be tomorrow.
 


 
This is the Fid for the top mast - a piece of piano wire left over from my last project.  I'll paint all this white as the mast is white here.

 
Finally, the top mast is glued into place with the supports.

 
Andy.
 
 

The latest work has been all about prepping the mast pieces.  I tapered all the yards and spars last Friday, using the drill and sandpaper method - worked pretty well, but took all day for all 11 pieces.
 

 
I also created the topgallant part of the main mast, the same way:
 

 
I spent most of today making the railing for the fighting top - drilling holes and filing etc.  Nothing is glued yet - I plan to use CA to glue the wood to metal, so I want to paint first.  Which will be tomorrow.
 


 
This is the Fid for the top mast - a piece of piano wire left over from my last project.  I'll paint all this white as the mast is white here.

 
Finally, the top mast is glued into place with the supports.

 
Andy.
 
 

The latest work has been all about prepping the mast pieces.  I tapered all the yards and spars last Friday, using the drill and sandpaper method - worked pretty well, but took all day for all 11 pieces.
 

 
I also created the topgallant part of the main mast, the same way:
 

 
I spent most of today making the railing for the fighting top - drilling holes and filing etc.  Nothing is glued yet - I plan to use CA to glue the wood to metal, so I want to paint first.  Which will be tomorrow.
 


 
This is the Fid for the top mast - a piece of piano wire left over from my last project.  I'll paint all this white as the mast is white here.

 
Finally, the top mast is glued into place with the supports.

 
Andy.
 
 

I took a few pictures.  Man, but it is hard to get the proper focus with my camera.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Andy.
 




 

USS Brig Syren

Part 4: Bulkheads, Minor Tantrums, Bulkhead Fillers and Repairs

 

Step 1: Bulkheads

Whilst I successfully completed the first chapter of the manual, the work so far didn't quite look like a ship as it was rather two-dimensional, so I was excited to start carving out the bulkheads from their laser-cut homes. This was very easy to do with a sharp hobby knife, although fitting them was a bit more time consuming. Once I had cut them, they didn't fit straight away as the fit was too tight. Nothing that couldn't be solved with a needle-file and after a few bulkheads I got the hang of it. 

 

Rule of thumb: once you've filed away the laser-char, you're very close to the money. Obviously, the main rule of ship building still applies: take little off and measure often. I'm now starting to get in the habbit of cutting/filing/chiseling away tiny amounts and constantly checking if it fits before you go too far. It's easier to take material off than to add on! You're looking for a snug fit, without having to force the bulkhead into place. Be careful, they're incredibly fragile (see my minor tantrums later on... haha!)

 

It's also important that if you're filing to ensure that you're filing under a 90 degree angle. If you maintain this, chances are that the bulkheads will slide in under a more or less 90 degree angle onto the bulkhead former almost naturally. The less you deviate from this, the less you have to re-align the bulkheads with the bulkhead formers later on. Once I dry fitted all my bulkheads and measured them up, only one needed minor re-alignment so I marked this one up for later.

 



 

Once I had dry fitted all the bulkheads suddenly the shape of the Syren materialised. It's a rather amazing moment, as suddenly you grasp what it is you're building. I checked the ship from all angles to ensure that the lines seemed right and that nothing was out of order and then took all the bulkheads out again. I then proceeded to glue them in place with white carpenters glue.

 

I've read on several other blogs that people got their alignments wrong and because they started at the stern or the bow, the alignment exacerbated as they proceeded as they measured from bulkhead to bulkhead. Instead, I opted to start in the middle so that creep would be minimal. I've also got out my trusty square angles and held each bulkhead in place whilst I glued them with carpenters glue. 

 

I made one mistake though, which I still regret. When I fitted one of the first bulkheads the dry fit was fine but with glue it didn't slide as far as it should have and ended up sitting 1mm too high. I tried to pull it out again, but it got locked into place. This will definitely impact the outer shape of the hull, but I'm confident that I can fix this (see repair later on). What I did from there on instead was to dry fit a bulkhead, and then add a few daps of CA where the bulkhead and bulkhead former meet.

 



 

Step 2: Minor Tantrums

All good so far and confidence was building. Until disaster struck! Well, not quite disaster but the first time I experienced this my heart certainly skipped a beat. Whilst putting the final bulkhead in place (at the stern) I pressed it too hard and the back piece snapped off. Certainly not a happy bunny, but after some meditation and some deep breathing I regained my composure, got the CA glue out and stuck it back into place.

 



 

My hate/hate relationship with the basswood continues. It is just too fragile for something as structural as the bulkheads or the bulkhead former. I find this the major drawback of the kit so far, for the amount of money that you spend on this kit you would imagine that they'd provide some better quality wood. And it's not like I'm careless, as nearly everybody seems to experience this. Over the last two days I've also managed to snap 3 bulkheads, again not a major disaster but it wouldn't have happened if the wood would have been better. I do wish I had stuck to my original idea of replicating the bulkhead former and bulkheads in harder wood, but what's done is done and I'll persevere.

 

Other than that, I managed to cut my thumb with the hobby knife. Some crocodile tears and stamping on the floor later and the Admiral showed up, gave some TLC and stuck a nice kiddies monkey plaster on my thumb. I also asked for a magic kiss but she declinded. Bah!

 



 

Step 3: Bulkhead Fillers

With the bulkheads firmly in place and my thumb looked after, I could now measure, cut and fit the bulkhead fillers. In order to ensure that the bulkheads would be square to the former, they had to be the exact same width on the port and starboard sides. I first measured the required distance between the bulkheads, as close as possible to the bulkhead former as if the bulkheads weren't squared to this, you'd still get the right measurement. 

 



 

The rest was rather straight forward. I ensured that I cut the bulkhead fillers a little bit too thick and then sanded them on either side to get rid of the saw markings. Once they were all dry fitted, I took my calipher and measured everything to ensure that it all made sense and checked the angles of the bulkhead former to the bulkheads themselves with a square angle. When I was happy that it was all as it should be, I took each balsa block out one at a time and glued them in place with some carpenters glue. Given that my balsa blocks weren't totally square, I couldn't nicely align them with the top of the bulkheads so I left them sticking out a bit above the bulkheads as shown on the photo. 

 



 

I then took a large and small sanding block and proceeded to sand the top of the bulkhead fillers off until I hit the bulkheads and former themselves. The laser charring is actually quite useful in this instance as the moment you start sanding that away, you know you're at the right spot. This took about an hour, in spite of the balsa being very soft, but it's an awkward spot to sand as you're surrounded by the very fragile bulkheads. For once though, I managed not to snap one off!

 

Once done, I ended up with a perfect smooth plane where I can later on place the deck planking on. What's more, once I took it out of the keel holder it didn't move out of shape and maintained it's perfect straight lines. No banana-shaped Syren clearly! I placed a metal ruler on top of it to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating but nope, perfectly straight it was indeed! I'm a happy bunny.

 



 

Step 4: Repairs

As I mentioned, when I glued one bulkhead in place it didn't slide down far enough as the carpenters glue got sticky. As a result, the shape of the hull wouldn't be right so I steam-bent a strip of wood and glued it on either side of the bulkhead. Plenty of clamps ensured that it stayed in place and once I'll start fairing the hull I should be able to sand it down until I achieve the right profile.

 



 

That's it so far. I've also made some mock-ups for the deck planking and simulated caulking for the lower deck. Eventually I settled on using black paper between the deck planks as it gave a much more uniform look, but I'll post about that next time when I conclude this piece of work and the fairing of the hull.

 

Kind regards,

 

Martijn.

My usual weekend progress - I get a few hours per weekend day to do what I can.
 
On Saturday, it was 2 steps forward, one step back.  The steps forward were to install the portholes.  The step back was I crunched the hammock netting with my headband magnifier.  To fix it, I removed a couple of the supports, applied some wood putty, let it dry, then re-drilled the hole for the support, painted it and re-glued the support.  The end result was nice - very difficult to tell it was damaged in the first place.
 
Today, I put in the channel supports on the side of the ship, and applied 3 coats of wipe on poly.  Next up will be painting the upper hull.
 

 

 

 
Andy.
 

More progress this weekend - lots of snow here, so not any distractions.
 
I made the ladder on both sides of the hull - the kit provides 3x3mm right angle wood, which I cut into 10mm lengths, sanded off the square corners and glued into place with 1mm spacing in between.
 

 

 
Next, I blackened the braces for the hammock netting and the end-pieces.  Those, I also painted a bit of the highlight.  I used black tulle for the hammock netting, like on my last Connie, and I still think it looks pretty good.
 

 

 

 

 
Andy.

I did the pin rails, both the one surrounding the mast and some side cleats.  Overall, I found this to be easy (must be learning something), if I go slow and careful.
 
The more difficult part was drilling the larger holes in the pin rail supports - the wood wanted to splinter.  I ended up sanding down the 2mm dowel so it would fit in the 1.5 mm hole I prepared.  I also found the need to file down every one of the pins so I didn't force them into the 1mm holes I drilled.  If forced, the would crack the wood in two.
 
I used a bit of diluted white glue to "secure" the pins - just enough so they don't fall out - the lines should hold them in just fine.
 
And, finally, I realize the white metal of the pins probably isn't the right color.  I could, I suppose, paint them a wood color, but perhaps the lines, once belayed, will cover them up pretty well.
 

 

 

 
Thanks to everyone who's looked and commented - I really do appreciate it, even if I don't have time to respond individually.
 
Andy.

Wow, it's really been a long time since I last updated.  Holidays, vacations, illness (a really bad cold) have all prevented my progress.  But, I'm getting back to it.
 
First, I noticed that I had forgotten to put in the deck supports for the 2nd deck, and when I test fitted them, the barrels I had so carefully glued in were in the way.  So, I learned how to de-bond my PVA (Titebond) with a little isopropyl alcohol, I was able to remove enough barrels to get them installed.
 
Next, was the deck planking.  The center is planked with 6 2x4 (mm) walnut planks and another mast hole needs to be created.  I did it half-by-half, carefully laying the first plank to make sure it's centered and orthogonal, then using that as a guide for the other.
 


After the first half circle was carved out and mast test fitted, just repeat on the other side.
 

 
The rest of the planks are then added.  Unlike the lower deck, I wanted to add the "butt joints", but like I said in my earlier post, I was concerned about doing it exactly on the framing pieces as they didn't line up and I didn't want to have a joint over open space.
 
So, I merely used pencil to mark the lines after deciding on the spacing pattern.  I also chose to not do treenails after some debate (with myself anyway).  I don't have a small enough drill bit, so I skipped that for now.
 


 
Next up, I'm planking the bulwarks and I added the mast ring supports.  Those were a soft metal that I blackened.  If you remember (and who would?), I had issues with flaking on my last blackening attempt, so this time I diluted the solution (1 part water, 1 part solution) and took more care cleaning the rings.  It worked out so much better - no flaking in solution, and a nice even black color.
 

I got the furniture on deck one glued on - a combination of PVA with poked holes for the wood stuff and CA for the metal buckets.
 

 

 
I also put in the gun deck supports and mortised the mast hole.  Next up will be to plank this deck.
 

 
Andy.

I built Midwest's Peterboro Canoe, and this part of the construction looks similar.  What worked wonders for me was beveling the lower edge of each new plank as you add it.  I did it by hand, by sanding the plank on the thin edge at an angle and it made all the difference.  It will especially important as you move over the curve toward the keel.
 
One thing I had trouble with was conforming well enough to that curve to meet the keel properly - the planks really wanted to go higher than the keel.  If you fight that battle early (keeping each plank on the bulkhead), it might be easier as your reach the keel.  Good luck.
 
Andy.

I must say, I love the format and the detail you are putting into your log - explaining how you did something, in addition to the result, goes a long way toward others learning how to build ship models.
 
My own kit of the Syren is sitting in storage, waiting for me to finish the Constitution Cross Section.  By the time I get it out, you log will be far enough ahead I'll never catch up -- and that's a good thing.
 
Andy.

I built Midwest's Peterboro Canoe, and this part of the construction looks similar.  What worked wonders for me was beveling the lower edge of each new plank as you add it.  I did it by hand, by sanding the plank on the thin edge at an angle and it made all the difference.  It will especially important as you move over the curve toward the keel.
 
One thing I had trouble with was conforming well enough to that curve to meet the keel properly - the planks really wanted to go higher than the keel.  If you fight that battle early (keeping each plank on the bulkhead), it might be easier as your reach the keel.  Good luck.
 
Andy.

The last two weekends have been spent on the outside hull - painting and coppering.
 
First: painting.  I prepped the hull with 3 coats of wipe-on-poly (WOP) sanding in between each coat with 400 grit sandpaper.  The first two coats must have soaked into the wood, as the poly was evident, but not very thick. The last coat provided the base that I expected - it was a very different feel to the wood after that one.
 
I used acrylic paint - ModelMaster Acryl (left over from my Revell Constitution), and I thinned it down quite a bit with plain water.  The plan was to put on as many thin coats as needed to get good coverage while still hoping the wood grain would show through a bit.  I did the black first, then masked it off with Tamiya tape and then painted the white.
 
Here are the results.
 

 

 
Next was the bottom of the hull - copper.  The kit provided a bunch of wood pieces that are a mottled green -  I think they are going for the weathered patina that copper will eventually take.  I wanted to practice coppering with copper tape instead.
 
First, I found some nice 3/16" wide (about 4mm) tape with adhesive backing from a local stained glass hobby shop.
 

 
I cut a whole lot of 15mm long strips from the roll and put them on one-by-one, overlapping from stern to bow, up keel to deck.  This took a lot longer than I thought it would - both the cutting and placing.  I used a pencil erasure to rub them onto the wood (at first I used a hobby knife handle, but that left a lot of creases on the tape - which are still evident on some plates near the keel).
 
After it was all done, I gave it a cleaning using lemon juice and salt - that worked really really well - removed all fingerprints and tarnish that had already started to appear and I didn't have to go out and buy a commercial polish or use acetone (which is nasty smelling).
 
(This first photo is prior to cleaning with lemon juice):

 
(This is interesting - how I secured the hull for the coppering process.  I had already installed the hammock netting, so couldn't rest the hull on the table top.  I inserted the main mast into the hull, and clamped it upside down using my keel clamp.  Worked very well - I could still rotate the hull toward me to get the angles I needed to get the tape on.)

 

 
Next up is finishing the ballast in the lower hull - painting barrels, adding rocks, etc.  Then, I think, starting on the mast and spars.
 
Andy.

The last two weekends have been spent on the outside hull - painting and coppering.
 
First: painting.  I prepped the hull with 3 coats of wipe-on-poly (WOP) sanding in between each coat with 400 grit sandpaper.  The first two coats must have soaked into the wood, as the poly was evident, but not very thick. The last coat provided the base that I expected - it was a very different feel to the wood after that one.
 
I used acrylic paint - ModelMaster Acryl (left over from my Revell Constitution), and I thinned it down quite a bit with plain water.  The plan was to put on as many thin coats as needed to get good coverage while still hoping the wood grain would show through a bit.  I did the black first, then masked it off with Tamiya tape and then painted the white.
 
Here are the results.
 

 

 
Next was the bottom of the hull - copper.  The kit provided a bunch of wood pieces that are a mottled green -  I think they are going for the weathered patina that copper will eventually take.  I wanted to practice coppering with copper tape instead.
 
First, I found some nice 3/16" wide (about 4mm) tape with adhesive backing from a local stained glass hobby shop.
 

 
I cut a whole lot of 15mm long strips from the roll and put them on one-by-one, overlapping from stern to bow, up keel to deck.  This took a lot longer than I thought it would - both the cutting and placing.  I used a pencil erasure to rub them onto the wood (at first I used a hobby knife handle, but that left a lot of creases on the tape - which are still evident on some plates near the keel).
 
After it was all done, I gave it a cleaning using lemon juice and salt - that worked really really well - removed all fingerprints and tarnish that had already started to appear and I didn't have to go out and buy a commercial polish or use acetone (which is nasty smelling).
 
(This first photo is prior to cleaning with lemon juice):

 
(This is interesting - how I secured the hull for the coppering process.  I had already installed the hammock netting, so couldn't rest the hull on the table top.  I inserted the main mast into the hull, and clamped it upside down using my keel clamp.  Worked very well - I could still rotate the hull toward me to get the angles I needed to get the tape on.)

 

 
Next up is finishing the ballast in the lower hull - painting barrels, adding rocks, etc.  Then, I think, starting on the mast and spars.
 
Andy.

The last two weekends have been spent on the outside hull - painting and coppering.
 
First: painting.  I prepped the hull with 3 coats of wipe-on-poly (WOP) sanding in between each coat with 400 grit sandpaper.  The first two coats must have soaked into the wood, as the poly was evident, but not very thick. The last coat provided the base that I expected - it was a very different feel to the wood after that one.
 
I used acrylic paint - ModelMaster Acryl (left over from my Revell Constitution), and I thinned it down quite a bit with plain water.  The plan was to put on as many thin coats as needed to get good coverage while still hoping the wood grain would show through a bit.  I did the black first, then masked it off with Tamiya tape and then painted the white.
 
Here are the results.
 

 

 
Next was the bottom of the hull - copper.  The kit provided a bunch of wood pieces that are a mottled green -  I think they are going for the weathered patina that copper will eventually take.  I wanted to practice coppering with copper tape instead.
 
First, I found some nice 3/16" wide (about 4mm) tape with adhesive backing from a local stained glass hobby shop.
 

 
I cut a whole lot of 15mm long strips from the roll and put them on one-by-one, overlapping from stern to bow, up keel to deck.  This took a lot longer than I thought it would - both the cutting and placing.  I used a pencil erasure to rub them onto the wood (at first I used a hobby knife handle, but that left a lot of creases on the tape - which are still evident on some plates near the keel).
 
After it was all done, I gave it a cleaning using lemon juice and salt - that worked really really well - removed all fingerprints and tarnish that had already started to appear and I didn't have to go out and buy a commercial polish or use acetone (which is nasty smelling).
 
(This first photo is prior to cleaning with lemon juice):

 
(This is interesting - how I secured the hull for the coppering process.  I had already installed the hammock netting, so couldn't rest the hull on the table top.  I inserted the main mast into the hull, and clamped it upside down using my keel clamp.  Worked very well - I could still rotate the hull toward me to get the angles I needed to get the tape on.)

 

 
Next up is finishing the ballast in the lower hull - painting barrels, adding rocks, etc.  Then, I think, starting on the mast and spars.
 
Andy.

I took off the rubber bands and twine yesterday after letting it dry for over 24 hours. Good news: the sides, where the deck meets the waterways is generally nice and tight and I feel pretty good about that.

The bad news: there are some gaps between the deck pieces. The one I need some help/advice on is between the middle deck piece and the bow piece.

The fore to aft gap is actually quite small, the problem lies in a vertical shift -- the middle deck is higher at that seam than the fore part. I can physically push it down into place, but there is enough a small separation between them after I push it into place that gluing them together doesn't seem like it would work.

I set a heavy weight on it overnight, but I highly doubt it will shape the plastic after I remove it to hold it there. I thought about perhaps gluing a bracing piece of plastic on the underside and somehow clamping it in place while the glue dries, but I haven't had time to investigate whether I can fit anything in there and be able to both clamp and press on the deck so they line up at the same time.
 


 

The final gap can be seen in my previous photo - the gap widens between the middle piece and the aft piece. I could possibly fill with a putty I suppose, or maybe a paintable glue of some kind. It's pretty small - less than a millimeter, and I would prefer a solution that doesn't mess with the paint job if possible. 
 
The fix:
I took a piece of sprue, cylindrical, and applied a lot plastic cement to it and placed it underneath the joint that was mismatched. I then used a C-clamp and a ruler to clamp both the glued sprue and the decks into the aligned position. After a few hours, the glue was dried so I removed the clamps and success.
 


 
I also spent time today painting and installing the wheel. It took almost 2 hours to do the rope around the wheel, but it looks pretty good and wheel does turn the rudder. Not that I'm going to turn it for fear of breaking something.
 



 
 

I also glued on the cannon door covers as the instructions indicated and added the ropes to hold them.

Doesn't sound like a lot, but it took time, especially with 32 cannon doors to rig. 
 
Using pencils to achieve a uniform door position. Pencils were almost the right size for the door openings - the cards are there to ensure they are up against the upper frame and won't move during gluing.
 

 
The pencils holding the doors - this is either a dry fit or after gluing.

 
The pencils were removed after about 3 hours drying time. The results were a pretty uniform set of doors at a good angle.

 
All the ropes installed on one side of the ship