realworkingsailor

Although not model ship related, I think this video explains things pretty well: Andy

So it has been a two-steps-forward-one-step-back (and a jump to the left) kind of weekend. One thing I will say about this kit, while it is not necessarily the hardest kit to assemble, there are many many (many) opportunities to mess things up (with unforeseeable consequences!). My latest adventure with the paint thinner/PVA de-bonder involved the transom. My earlier apprehensions have proven well founded. I did end up gluing it on as everything seemed ok. I then started to thicken the forward side, as described in the instructions. I stopped after one layer and decided that I should switch my attention to the upper counter and get that planked before I was too far committed to the transom to be able to fix any problems. And boy were there problems. The first problem was the curve of the planks on the lower counter was just slightly off to match the curve at the bottom of the transom. This was easily overcome by sneaking in a sliver of planking at the top of the lower counter to correct the curve. After staining, it has all but disappeared, and will disappear further when the trim is added later. Issue solved. Whew. Or so I thought. The second problem required more intensive reconstruction. There was an ever so slight gap between the port side of the transom and the outer end of the upper counter planking. Not large, about 0.5mm. Just enough to be noticeable, and problematic. I slept on the problem and this morning decided the only course of action was to remove and reposition the transom. The upper part of the transom came away fairly easily. The bottom proved much more fragile. The grain in the wood runs vertically, and so it was a particularly fragile section. I expected a split or two to happen, but it shouldn't have been too much of an issue. I managed to get the transom off in two pieces, then trouble occurred. As I left the pieces to dry, the lower piece took on a big warp. It no longer followed the arc of the windows, but curled downwards. Being cross grained, correcting the warp would be impossible without turning it into a series of splinters. But was not lost. I hauled out the fret from whence the transom came. The stern window curves are essentially parallel to each other and the bottom edge, so I cut a section out of the fret to replace the curly piece. Aside from a couple of faint lines (not visible due to the clamps), the repair was successful, the transom reinstalled, and after a little bit of clean up, work can continue moving forward again. Until the next speed bump. I should add, that despite the warping issue, the acrylic paint thinner does a great job at de-bonding PVA. It contains glycol ethers, but it doesn't evaporate quickly like isopropyl alcohol, so it can really soak into the joint and soften the glue. Andy

Thanks Kev! It’s not so much of a restart as it is a stop-messing-around-and-show-your-work kind of thing. So you really haven’t missed too much as far as this log goes 🙂 Andy

Finally something other than planking! To start off, as mentioned back in my first post, the stern frames had suffered as a result of unintentional contact with the nose of a curious canine shipyard helper. While I did affect repairs at the time, some tweaking was still necessary. First up was the stern light cills and lintels: With the help of the original paper template, and the laser cut windows themselves, and the use of the liquid in the jar with the black label in the above photo (acrylic paint thinner), I managed to get the pieces positioned in their correct locations. For the second part, I cut off the stern end of the false deck fret and used it as a template to check the curve of the stern frames and ensure that they made as nice an arc as possible. I had noticed when first I dry fit the transom, the curve was far from smooth... it was rather wavy. I checked with some scrap pieces of wood against the current frame thickness vs the final frame thickness after internal fairing (a few steps ahead in the instructions). It was clear that the easiest way was to simply sand down any high spots, rather than try to shove things around. This soon had things looking much better. A final (?) dry fit of the transom, and things look pretty good. I'm not sure why, but I'm still apprehensive about getting the glue on yet. I'll get there, eventually. Andy

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and likes! Yesterday was a bit of a milestone day. The hull planking is finally finished! Hooray! As you can see, I decided to fully plank over the reveal section. It partly came down to personal preference, and partly because over the course of the several years that I have been building (storing, transporting, shuffling aside) the model, some of the frames segments had accrued some small dings and dents (a small drawback of basswood). I've just completed prepping and staining the stern post, so while that dries, time to grease up the old elbow and get making some dust! I really enjoy the sense of satisfaction one gets when a hull has been completed, and I am particularly enjoying the relief that comes knowing I don't have to go all over it again with a second layer (big "YAY"!). Andy

Sackville is only a year newer😜 I was more trying to help with the smoke cans on the stern, which are visible on her. Was there some drastic change in equipment? Andy

Would this help: (HMCS Sackville for those who are curious) There's a closeup photo in this article Andy

Thanks! I got those clamps years ago from Lee Valley tools. I don’t know if they still sell them. Try searching for “miniature machinist clamps”, or “tool maker’s clamps” see if that works. Andy

A few weeks since my last update, so just a quick one to show that I'm still working away at it. Construction has slowed slightly since winter finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. Lots of fun outdoor activities, like skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, all the fun stuff that can only be done with a decent amount of the white stuff. And then for those who follow my non-maritime adventures, there's also the odd time when my main mode of transportation decides to no longer function as designed. Anyway, on the days not filled with other activities, work has progressed on the starboard side, and I've now managed to complete the first two planking belts. It's nice to begin to see the (hull) planking finish line. Andy

Oh no! I hope you’re ok, though. Andy

The interior of ballast tanks (of that era), if they were coated, probably would have been a coal tar type paint: black. Andy

A bit of an update to share on an otherwise grey Sunday morning (at least where I am). I have managed to finish the planking on the port side yesterday. I think I've managed fairly well with it. By no means is it perfect, but I'm happy with the overall result. I've given it a cursory sanding, there are a few spots that still require a little more work (nothing major), but I will get them after I've finished the starboard side. Andy

Even diesel boats today still have a small steam boiler. Either a small oil fired unit or an exhaust gas economizer (waste heat recovery), and very often both. Although not used for propulsion, the steam would be used to heat fuel oil (IFO is thick as molasses at room temperature, HFO even thicker), for warming the engine (via heat exchangers) prior to starting, and other auxiliary uses (hot water for the crew). The boiler(s) would require it’s own feed water tank as there are various caustic chemicals needed to prevent corrosion and sediment build up, that you don’t want in general circulation. Andy

You can rule off the blank decal sheet and the transfer sheet with a pencil and by lining up your pencil lines (which should be easier to see) you should be able to get nice straight words. The pencil on the decal sheet can be erased carefully afterwards. Although I’ve never built one before, I’ve seen a few examples on builders models. They always seem to use brass code 100 track (about twice the size of code 55) on models that are about 3/4 the size of yours and it looks hideously clunky. Looking at prototype photos, the structure of the crane looks reasonably straight forward, a frame of rectangular steel tubing and three legs on each side. You probably wouldn’t go too wrong using dimensional styrene stock to make the frame. You could probably pick up some cheap N-scale plastic wheel sets that you can use (if you want a real challenge, make it so it can roll up and down the deck!) Andy

Do you have any blank decal paper? I find it easier to apply the letters on a flat surface, then seal them with Testors glosscote or dullcote. All that remains is to apply them as you would any decal. Incidentally, if you’re looking for hatch crane track, try Micro Engineering’s code 55 flex track. Andy

Something to ponder: https://www.walthers.com/ore-dock-kit-48-1-2-x-5-quot-121-2-x-12-5cm Andy

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and “likes”! BE and BW, I’m glad you guys also like the blue. I was a bit worried at first that it may prove to be a somewhat controversial colour choice, but I’m pleased with all the positive responses. Andy

You’d think that, but the photos that failed were slightly smaller in file size than the ones that did. Andy

Still having some issues uploading photos, (same error message keeps popping up... frustrating), but I've managed to get two pics uploaded today. Before Christmas, I wanted to post an update as I had completed the first belt of planking on the port side. After a little debate with myself whether or not to start the first belt on the starboard side (and a pause for Christmas), I'm still not sure what I want to do with the reveal on the starboard side, so in the spirit of giving myself more time to think about it (aka procrastination), I have now completed the second belt on the port side. As it is now, I'm going to finish off the port side planking before returning to the starboard side. I'm managing between two and three strakes a day (provided I've made enough pre-spiled ones for the bow). Slow but steady work. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and a safe and prosperous 2022. Andy

Thanks Peter! It’s great to hear from you too! The only thing I can attribute the large hole for the quarter galleries, is simply the way Chuck designed the kit. Looking at finished photos of other builds and the prototype, it doesn’t seem to cause too many visual issues as far as I can tell. I’m sure if someone felt like it, they could frame in a smaller doorway if they so chose. When I finally get there, if I feel it looks a bit odd, then I’ll go with my usual trick of fogging the inside of the window “glass” with a bit of dullcote. (Lets light through, but no peaking!) It does make me wonder, though, if the outermost lights on the stern should be blacked out, as opposed to clear glass…. All things to think about. Andy

Thanks everyone for the likes and comments! Definitely that was the idea. I've looked through many logs, and everyone seemed to be doing largely the same thing. I want mine to stand out a little bit. At least until some future Confederacy builder decides to copy me, (which I don't mind at all), at least I will be able say I was the first, but for now I'm the "only". Thanks David, I'm doing my best. The Confederacy is a particularly graceful subject. The more I'm planking, the more her lines really start to show through. Thanks Ben, it's been a while. I needed to get myself back in the right headspace, not just for ship building, but logging it too. I think my passenger car blog (down in the shore leave section) helped quite a bit in that regard. Well, I wanted to post a bit of an update, but when I went to upload an image, it came back with an error and "upload failed". I guess I shall have to wait until things get sorted out... hopefully soon. Andy

Thanks everyone for the likes and comments! I've had a browse through your log. Your build is looking pretty good too. Best of luck with the planking! That's about all anyone can do, really. I guess I got lucky, she didn't try to eat any of the pieces (unlike poor BE with his Sphynx...) A small update to share. I've decided to deviate a little with the colour scheme. This goes against what I've read about the prototype's possible colour scheme (hopefully I don't get sent to boat-jail for blasphemy🤞). I've gone with a dark blue for the area of the hull between the mouldings: The official name of the colour is Polyscale "C&O Enchantment Blue". I think it compliments well with both the Golden Oak stain as well as the red from the gun ports; Polyscale "NYC Pacemaker Red" (I know, I'm using "railway" colours, but they're what I have on hand). I had thought to return to black for the QD bulwarks, but I've since decided against that, and I think I will leave them as is. I think the black would have muted the dark blue too much. On to paint the port side. Andy

I can't quite remember when exactly I bought this Confederacy kit, probably sometime around 2012 or 2013. It sat for a long time in the closet, virtually untouched, except for the manual. I think I may have the most well read manual out there, (With tongue firmly planted in cheek; I think MS could do a little better job on the binding, it wasn't really designed to stand up to the rigours of repeated readings 🤪). I finally started started picking away at this build some four or five years ago, between other projects. Progress has been largely sporadic, with more than a few backwards steps being taken. On many occasions the self-critic took over and the kit was shelved for months (or most recently for almost two years). For many reasons (of which, the above is just one), I've avoided a build log until now. I'm at a point where I'm satisfied with my progress so far, and I hope that the worst of the back stepping is now over. I have completed the planking from the wales upwards and I'm now in the process of adding the first beaded moulding strips. The starboard side mouldings have been added, and the port side is in progress. If things look a little wonky with the stern light window frames (cills and lintels), it was due to an unfortunate incident involving the large nose of a curious young german shepherd, that decided to investigate the stern, while work was being done on the other end of the ship. The interloping nose went undetected until the work required a shift in position... I'll leave the rest up to your imaginations.. but suffice it to say, it wasn't pretty. Pieces where quickly gathered up, and splintered wood glued back together. Before the time comes to attach the transom, everything will be revisited and correctly re-aligned. I've used Minwax Golden Oak stain for the planking above the wale, with some Polyscale acrylics that I had kicking around, for the black wale and the red gun ports. Andy

If I may suggest, when building with styrene, consider building in layers. Start with a 0.010” or 0.015” outer layer, and work inwards. The thinner stock will make cutting easier and more accurate, the subsequent heavier layers only require more general window openings. Have a look to see how I built my CPR coach: Andy

Most of the ore I’ve seen heading up the lakes out of Port Cartier, Pointe Noire and Sept Iles was pellets. Those mines also ship concentrate ore, but mostly for overseas markets. The concentrate ore can be finicky for SULs, depending on moisture content, but I did get out to the CSL Spirit, when it was involved in the transshipment operation out of Pt Noire, and it seemed to run alright through the gear, no hang ups and not much mess in the tunnel. Algoma holds pretty tight to their contract with Dofasco, who still have cranes at Hamilton, so for them SUL equipment isn’t entirely critical. I wonder if the yard they signed with initially in China hadn’t run into financial difficulties if we’d be seeing more Equinox 740’ SULs by now. Andy