drjeckl

Thanks for the tips guys. I guess I wasn't very specific when posting this (I'll learn, I promise). My scale is 1/64, 1800 British cutter, and I'm planning on using one full length kit plank per strake and simulate the butts (I've already laid out a 5-butt pattern) with one of the numerous techniques posted on MSW (not sure which one will work for me; this is my first ship model)! So with the sheer of the deck, the issue is how to hold the plank tight to the false deck while the PVA sets. The best I can come up with is push pins and like I said, I need 7 pins to hold it tight. I will try to see if I can find heavy things to hold it down. Thanks...John

I'm planning on using PVA glue to install the deck planks over the false deck; just want the extra time to lay them in tight. With the slight curved bow in the false deck, from stem to stern, with the low point at midships, the question is how to hold the deck planks tight to the false deck while the glue sets? I used push pins to hold the edge of the margin planks down tight when they went in. For the king plank I need 7 x pins to hold it down. If I use push pins for every deck plank, the false deck becomes Swiss cheese, But who really cares; it's covered by the deck planks. Just wondering if there is another technique out there. Don't really what to bend the deck planks either. Thanks...John

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this topic. I know it helped me and I'm sure other first time builders as well. .John

Here's a pix of Vossiewulf's finished deck: If you look at the middle hatch, he suggested moving it closer to the stern to allow the the eyebolts and rings to be moved closer to the center, stretching out the training tackle. So that's what I am going to do. Now go back and read my dilemma from above. VTHokiEE: Thanks for your comments; yeah I will paint one with black wheels. I this it will look better than all red. .John

Wefalck: The LN was never a ship. It is Amati's version of a typical HM Cutter, circa 1803 and based on the Sherbourne class of cutters and yes, very small. Druxey: Yes, exactly. Not can I duplicate how it was built in the real world but how can I, as a modeler, replicate what was built. And based on the drawings in this thread, I think I would tweak my original sketch, by raising the spirketting plank, and moving the waterway (now a trapizoid instead of a triangle) and the margin plank against the bulwark planks, under the spirketting plank. See below: Feedback on this appreciated and thanks for your help...John

Mark, not sure of what you mean. do you mean that the triangle I'm showing as a triangle is actually adjacent to the bulwark planks? Where does the spirketting plank(s) go? Hear is an adjusted drawing: Gary, what you're showing in Figure 1 is basically that what I'm showing as the Margin Plank and the Waterway is one piece. That may have been the case back then but most of the MSW build logs I've reviewed have it as two separate planks. How have you dealt with this? ...John

I'm getting ready to install the deck for my Lady Nelson (1803, 1:64) and I've been looking throughout MSW for a concise layout for what's at the edges of the deck. All I've found are historical drawings and there are no instructions in the kit. From the historical drawings, I drew what I think I should build, shown below. Would appreciate any comments...John

Two questions for my Lady Nelson (1803) build: 1. Are Deck Cutouts Actually Needed? The LN is a single deck build. Other than the hole for the mast, the deck layout has 4 x square cutouts; 3 x for hatches and 1 for a companionway. Taking Vossiewulf's suggestion on moving one of the hatches to make room to relocate a deck cannon training tackle eyebolt, and in fact move all of those eyebolts closer to the center of the deck, I extended that deck cutout without planning ahead on how to support the deck planks (8) that would extend over the portion of the cutout that I was abandoning (8mm). And after thinking about it, my question is why can't I just plank over that entire enlarged cutout and in fact all of the cutouts, obviously except the hole for the mast? What's to see though the hatch? A black hole? What actually is the purpose of cutouts in a single deck build? If it's for a hatch, and there's a concern that one could see the deck through the hatch, I could paint that portion of the deck black. Anybody got a good answer? 2. Cannon Trucks (Wheels) Color The LN plans suggest red for interior bulwark planking and the cannon carriages. The carriages with the wheels are one piece metal. Other builds show the wheels painted the same red as the carriages. I wouldn't mind painting the wheels a different color; black or brown and I will probably paint two units with those colors to see how they look. Just wanted to get some opinions on this. John

Wefalck and Roger, Thanks for your input. My Amati Lady Nelson kit came with metal gun carriages as well as the guns (alloy not specified). Wasn't sure if I needed to apply a primer before the final color acrylic paint. Assuming I prep these parts with some acetone with a water rinse, sounds like I could skip the primer paint to avoid an extra coat. Thanks...John

Haven't seen this topic yet here. So, is it necessary/advisable to prime metal gun carriages, anchors or any other metal pieces, other than any brass or copper parts (I'm planning to Brass Black all those (eyelets, rings, deadeye straps, chain plates, rigging hooks, rudder hinge straps))? John

Thomas, Got it. Your explanation and the sketch nailed it. The light bulb is lit! Thank you so much. .John

Thomas, Thanks for your writeup. I have and been using most of all the tools you mentioned, except the proportional dividers. Based on the topics I've seen here on this tool, I think I get how they are used. The post by mikiek gave me the insight to these. Question: Are the less expensive plastic PDs, which just let you do proportions in whole numbers, good enough for their use in planking? Would hate to spring for the more expensive metal PDs if planking would be their only use. Also, for the edge bending, would a set of french curves be useful? Barkeater: Thanks on which edge you use to go against the previous plank. That's what I thought and where I made my mistake that got me in trouble. I put the non-tapered edge against the the previous plank. David: Thanks for pitching in.

Jan, that's what I did, put the tapered edge next to the previous plank, so the non-tapered edge was at the bottom. Oh well, I thought I had something there. I will probably dry fit a couple of planks both ways and see if there is any difference. Diadeczek, The reason I put the math up there is that from all the planking docs read/videos seen over the past 3 weeks, there was nothing that concisely, put everything together about how to determine how much to taper and where to do it. There was always something like "divide by 1/8 inc.....", not divide by the width of the plank. Or use the planking fan template to line up the tick marks. There has to be some math about that, so what is it? Also, after reading vossie's build log again, I learned that cutting a rabbet, if you don't already have one, is kinda important for each planking so there is a tight place for the planks to land. I never saw that in any of Chuck's tutorials or any of the videos from Amati. And I'm with you, I don't have enough good practice; this is my first build. And I scoured all the documentation I could find on planking (MSW's docs, Modeller Central's docs, YouTube vids) way before I attempted my first first planking. I couldn't find enough of the math. So I went with what was the easiest to follow, the Amati video build logs on Amati's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/search/videos/?q=Amati Modellismo lady nelson . I'm rambling, so I'll stop here. Thanks for helping...John

I think I see what the main problem I had, other than letting the planks go where they wanted to go. When I installed each plank, I put the tapered edge to the top and the non-tapered, straight edge at the bottom. From all the drawings I've looked at in the past three days, it appears that the non-taped edge went to the top. So did I have that wrong? And that's why I got what I got? I never saw anything written about that issue. I specifically checked on the videos from the Amati build logs to confirm that and I could have sworn I saw the non-tapered edge at the bottom. Maybe I missed that. Please tell me that's the main reason for what happened to me. Please...John

Being a math major, I needed to layout the math behind what you all have advised, what I've read in the planking tutorials and the Lady Nelson build log by vossiewulf, which I read for the 3rd time last night, this time in full detail. So here goes: Comments appreciated...John