abelson

Continuing the build, with the planking complete, next came the beak head. I made the cheek knees in two pieces. I traced the profile from Sheet 1 onto wax paper and transferred the image to a piece of stock by using a pointer to mark the outline in the wood. I marked the outline with a pencil and then cut the shape with a coping saw – this worked out well. For me, the head rail knees were the most difficult part. I decided to partially paint the wales, black strake, and outboard bulwark plank at the bow before placing the cheek knees. I made the fore tack boomkins, timber heads, and knight heads. The timber heads, and knight heads are intricate. The cat heads were from laser cut stock. I was experimenting with gold gilt and decided to try it on the beak head - looks good so far. The fashion piece at the transom was a bit of a challenge because of the angles but, once I figured it out, with some filing and shaping it looks natural. Next up, the quarter deck fancy rail, stanchions and cap. The stanchions are intricate. I didn't dowel them. I carved the hance from stock. So that I wouldn't have to carve two, I carved one block to shape and cut it in half to make the two hances. This worked out well and saved some time.

Continuing the build, installed the black strake and main whale, then the inboard and outboard bulwark plank. The inboard plank was more difficult than the outboard plank. I wasn't totally happy with the way that the inboard plank came out, but with some wood filler and sanding it looks pretty good. With trepidation, I turned my attention to the lower hull plank. I read Planking the Built-up Ship Model and was a bit overwhelmed. I tried the batten approach but abandoned it as I thought it was purely subjective as to what is "fair & easy lines." I did not follow the conventional/correct planking procedures, rather, I let my eyes and judgement guide me - trial and error. I used the tapered ends of toothpicks as trunnels. I pre-drilled the plank before tapping in the trunnel. This forms a nice wedge to hold the plank in place. I applied glue at each bulkhead. After the glue dried, the trunnels were trimmed and sanded/filed. I purchased the ModelExpo hull planking clamps, but found them not be useful. I started planking at the main whale down and later switched to the keel where I installed the wide garboard and first board strake. I did not cut any quarter checked stealers, and used a few half-checked stealers. Though unconventional, I found tapered planks effective to fill-in gaps between planks. Wood filler covers irregularities and imperfections. All-in-all, after a lot of filing and sanding, I'm pleased with how the planking turned out, considering it is my first P-O-B and that I intend to paint it rather than show it off. The most difficult part, for me, was the planking at the transcom filler. I used heat and horsing (bending), but I couldn't bend the plank sufficiently to avoid breaking. I just left the break in-place and sanded/filed it later. I some instances at the aft filler block, I used a thicker, short piece of wood and sanded/filed it down. At this stage, I'm 8 weeks into the build.

Not at all.

Continuing with the build, just a note on the keel. I should have pinned the keel because it became detached at some point in the built. I basically followed the instructional manual but improvised it. I beveled the bulkheads before installing and cut the rabbit. After placing the bulkheads, I proceeded with the bow and stern filler blocks. These were tricky and very time consuming. Being able to see 3-dimesionally is a must for these. I didn’t find the Buttlock L&M templates to be helpful. I made the transom frame in one complete piece, glued it in place, and then glued on the counter planking. One mistake I made here was setting the widow frames too low -no big deal, part of improvising. I filled the minor spaces between planks with natural wood filler which I have found to be invaluable. After making the hatch coamings, I turned my attention to the gun port framing. With that complete, I painted the hatch coamings, installed the grating, and glued coamings in-place. Next, installed and painted the waterway, and house front, the fancy rail and cap, main deck thick plank, and main deck outer plank, quarter deck, transom forward side plank, and the transom cap. At this point, I'm about 4 weeks into the build. Ready for inboard and outboard bulwark planks.

After a 45-year hiatus from my first build (Model Shipways Rattlesnake solid hull) I decide to build another. I'm retired and living in a condo, so I needed a hobby. I chose the Fair American because it was similar to the Rattlesnake, and I wanted to try a plank-on-bulkhead model. I started the build April 12, 2019. So far, I'm pleased with the progress. I wish that had taken more progress photos. Going forward, I will try to take more photos to document the progress. When I received the kit, I went through the parts list to make sure everything was in the box. I labeled some wood parts but not all. In hindsight, I wish I had labeled all the wood parts. Like some other modelers, I found the keel was too short. I made one of the proper length from scrape material and continued on.

Dave, I experienced the same keel problem with my Fair American kit. I made one of proper length from scrape material. I contacted