grsjax

Finished putting the frame together

The process of building the frame was pretty straight forward.  Clamping was a challenge for some of the stringers as there is very little room to get a clamp in.  Ended up using mini bulldog clamps and pieces of scrap to get everything set.

Only ran into one issue and that was with the sponson rail (part 12)  it is a two piece part that meets in the middle at the bow.  It wanted to flex slightly into a shallow peak instead of making a smooth curve.  This is a problem that can be solved by placing a short piece of stringer on top of the battens at the bow and gluing the top batten to it.  The below picture shows the fix.

Next up is sanding all of the mating surfaces smooth and some initial paint work on the side rails and cockpit.

Time to get down to building this model.  First step is to build up the basic ladder frame that is the foundation for everything else.

These are the parts of the frame.  The transom and frames attach to the side rails.  The assembly is almost self aligning but care has to be taken that everything is straight before gluing things up.

First step is to glue the transom (6) to the transom frame (5) and frames 2 and 3 together.  Next the frames are attached to the rails.  The notches in the frames are cut so that a minimum of sanding is needed to get things to go together smoothly.

The addition of the 3 bottom battens and a couple of stringers and the basic frame is complete.  I did make a mistake here.  Although the notches all fit perfectly it is necessary to make sure that each frame is fully seated in the rails when you glue them.  I failed to check this so had to go back and unglue a couple of frames and reset them.  This is one reason I prefer PVA glue to CA.  Much easier to correct these mistakes.

One thing I think would have been a small improvement is beveling the aft end of the rails.  They fit fine as is but they actually join the transom frame at a slight angle and a bit of beveling would have made a better joint.

The kit consists of 5 sheets of laser cut wood, 2 of mahogany veneer, 2 of 1.5mm plywood and 1 of 3mm basswood (I think it is basswood).  There is a 19 page booklet of instructions with numerous photographs.  This is one area where I think there could be an improvement by adding some detail drawings.  Not a big problem but it would make a few things a bit clearer.  There is also a display stand of laser cut 3mm ply and a small bag of additional small parts and decals.

The seaflea is a 10 foot class A hydroplane.  Osborn Models, mostly known for model trains, used to produce a line of static and RC model boat kitss of which this is one.  I also have their 1:24 scale Miss Canada III and Mirror Dingy models which I hope to do build logs on in the future.  Derek at Osborn Models has been a real help and tells me they have a few of their kits still in stock so if you are interested contact him at dosborn1210@rogers.com.  I think he should start up production again but that is just my selfish desire to build more of these interesting boats.

The kit is overall is excellent.  There are few things that could be improved but in general I think this is one the best small kits I have seen.  The laser cutting is very good and the innovative use of laser cut parts including some profile carving using a laser cutter to produce the outboard motor is excellent.

Ok, did some digging and found the reference.  It was actually under Albatross/Swallow with Dapper Tom mentioned as an additional kit based on the same lines.  Reference is NRJ vol 29 pages 90 and 91 and pages 133 through 135.  Hope this helps.

3 hours ago, EricWilliamMarshall said:

@grsjax, you would happen to know (at least, roughly) which issue(s). Dredging through the multiple indices of the NRJ yielded nothing for 'baltimore',  'tom', or 'dapper' except for 'Mast and Spar Dimensions for an 1835 Baltimore Clipper, 2/107' and hits on someone's first name or parts of other words (like 'Anatomy'). If you don't, no worries.

Not sure but it was quite awhile back.  I remember there were a couple of letters to the editor about it.

Depends on what finish you are going to use.  If tung oil is going to be the finish than it should work to fill the pores as well.  If you plan on painting the wood than you need to find a compatible filler to use.

Getting back to mouldable plastics.  The chemical name is Polycaprolactone.  Put that in the search area on Amazon and it brings up a lot of products.  8oz (224 grams) for US$10 is about the best deal I see there.

6 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Eric,

 

How did you anneal the rod?  To anneal steel  you need to cool it slowly.  When I have tried to do this it air cools so rapidly that it remains hard.

Cool the steel in sand.

Blacken and then paint.  I find that blackened brass holds paint better. 

I don't use a lot of CA glue so I wasn't to surprised when I found that my bottle of CA had gone bad.  Off to wally world to get some new glue.  Looking through their rather meager offering in the glue section I found a bottle of "DAP Rapid Fuse all purpose adhesive"  On the bottle it says Bonds virtually everything and sets in 30 seconds.  It was cheaper than some of the other glues so I decided to give it a try.  Took a couple of basswood scraps and spread a small amount of the glue on them and put them together.  Had about 10 or 15 seconds to move the parts around then it grabbed hard.  Let it set for a few minutes and tried to separate the wood.  It was as solid as a rock and dried clear and hard.  It is a super glue but has a very low odor and is easy to work with.  Better than other CA glues I have used.

I use two old wooden desks for work benches.  They provide a work surface at a convenient height when sitting and the drawers on either side are great for storing tools and materials.  I have a home made shelf that attaches to one of the desks to provide additional space.

Here is an interesting video on making your own micro chisels.

One advantage to having double planking is that it gives a beginner a chance to learn proper planking techniques without to much worry about botching the final result.  Planking the first layer allows for mistakes that can then be covered by a second layer with less chance of mistakes.  The key is to try to plank both layers the right way.  Not just slap on the first layer and cover it with wood filler.

hypodermic needles of various sizes are available.  Cut teeth on the edge and use it to drill through a piece of wood of the correct thickness.  as you drill one the previous one is pushed up the tube.  BTW drill into the end grain to get stronger treenails.  This method is easy but slow as you have to stop every few times to clear the needle.

49 minutes ago, JerryC said:

Royal Products treenail maker

Could you post some pictures of the treenail maker and and explanation of how it works?

No.1 Brigentine

No.2 Ketch

The last two I am not sure of. 

Getting back to chisels.  Are Ramelson chisels good?

4 hours ago, rtropp said:

GRSX, wondered how often you use the tilt table?

It varies depending on how much cutting is needed for a particular project.  Can't be beat for cutting out frames and other curved parts.

I purchased this saw https://www.amazon.com/BUCKTOOL-16-inch-Variable-Scroll-Pinless/dp/B07T4N9L93/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=BUCKTOOL+16-inch+Variable+Speed+Scroll&qid=1607487074&s=hi&sr=1-2 

and am very happy with it.  Best bang for the buck.

Hulls may or may not have been black but the masts were probably painted white.  A white mast is the least likely to be spotted against the sky and sea.  Not sure why but I have seen this mentioned a couple of times.

You don't say what time frame you are interested in.  Mid 18th century I would think a sloop would be appropriate.  Late 18th or early 19th century a fast schooner would be about right.  The Model Shipways "Dapper Tom" kit might be a good choice.  The Nautical Research Journal had a couple of articles about making this kit more realistic.  The original lines are shown in Chappell's book "The Baltimore Clipper".

2 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Have you tried contacting AL?   Here's a link to their website:  https://artesanialatina.net/en/104-ship-models

Thanks

Went to the site and they had the instruction in a downloadable format.

I bought the AL Zuiderzee Botter 1912 kit on eBay but it came without the instructions.  Does anyone have a set they are willing to part with or copy for me?

On 11/18/2020 at 4:23 PM, cafmodel said:

We used plexiglass for the first time in kit. It has many advantages,It doesn't deform easily. More accurate in size than wood.
At the same time, it is transparent and can clearly observe the condition of keel and rib during installation.

This section alone would be a great kit.