Papa

I bought this kit a few months back to maybe do in a GB but have kind of tired of the time constraints of GB's.So,I have this lag time on the Chikuma awaiting for the railings to come in(forgot to order) hey theirs this P-51 next to the desk and I love the colors.The kit seems good   but a little soft on some moldings  and some flash though not bad but this is a new kit/new molds?We have plenty of stencils to outfit the copit and he hardware to not require any PE for me atleast.A little History of the "Flying Dutchman"
 
11 Victory Ace
It took less than three months of World War II action for Robert J. "Bob" Goebel to become a Double Ace flying the North American P-51 Mustang. Goebel, the youngest of seven children, was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. At age 19, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet, earning his wings and his commission in May 1943. After graduation, Goebel was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone flying the Bell P-39 Airacobra and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. In early 1944, he was reassigned to the 31st Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Theater flying the Supermarine Mark V Spitfire.
Soon after joining the Group in Italy as a member of the 308th Fighter Squadron, Goebel transitioned to the North American P-51 Mustang with the mission of fighter escort for 15th Air Force heavy bombers. While in the 308th, he flew 61 long-range missions from San Severo, Italy, supporting the bomber offensive in Southern Europe. During his combat tour, he destroyed 11 enemy fighters in the air over a 91-day period from 29 May 1944 to 28 August 1944. By the time he completed his first tour in September of 1944, he was 21 years old, had been promoted to captain, had led his squadron of 16 Mustangs into combat 7 times, and twice led an entire group of 48 aircraft into combat.
 
Some pics of this afternoons work.

Planking is now underway.  I had a bad time with the bow as the plank shear broke into many pieces during earlier stages of the build. I patched it up as best I could and continued.  However, once i started planking I could see that my repairs we not good.  The port and starboard sides were quite asymmetrical. I had to rip out all of the planking around the bow, repair the asymmetry and start planking again again.  Looks much better at the bows now.  A bit of filling and sanding to do still. Ready to start the planks below the wale.

I recently started my Fujimi A 6A intruder Knight Riders kit that has been on my shelf for at least 25 years. This is the seat module. The kit included pilot and navigator figures but I lost the head of one 😯. I decide just to omit them.

Model is 1/72, a Fujimi kit. Thanks for the offer, but I am quite happy with the empty cockpit.

Model is 1/72, a Fujimi kit. Thanks for the offer, but I am quite happy with the empty cockpit.

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Model is 1/72, a Fujimi kit. Thanks for the offer, but I am quite happy with the empty cockpit.

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Fantastic detail!

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Hmmm. A bit out of focus. I will have to try again.

I recently started my Fujimi A 6A intruder Knight Riders kit that has been on my shelf for at least 25 years. This is the seat module. The kit included pilot and navigator figures but I lost the head of one 😯. I decide just to omit them.

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Your work always amazes me Dan. And you make it look so easy.

Finished captain’s cabin/galley waiting to be glued into place.

The 12 main springs. These consist of 7 leaves each, all are back-to-back laminated :


 
A doubled binding strap encircles each one :



 
Last things are the support arms and "nuts". I made a jig for ease of assembly of the nuts which saved a lot of time, holding the things was a bit difficult without it :



 
Danny

Thanks Keith
 
Lining OFF
Beginning the sawdust phase, I cut the bulkheads out with my scroll saw leaving the piece large (cutting to the outside of the template line.)  I do this because I have no skill with the saw and cannot keep to a line.  I then use a bench top disc sander and work back to the template outline.  This works great with the convex edge and I use a Dremel sanding drum for the inside curves.
 
I glue these forms to the platform base and attach the keel/stem.  Before the keel went on, I cut a rabbet on the stem.
 

 
Using a batten to see how the bulkheads faired, I found a problem.  Station #8 was too small and #7 was ridiculously too large.  Looking back at the body plan it’s hard to see how I missed it.  But, that’s the point of going through the fairing up process.  So, I built up #8 and went after #7 with a file.
 

 
Based on photos and drawings, the planking widths for this vessel seem to vary in the 5” to 7” range.  I have a stash of stripwood that scales to approximately 6.5” wide x 1.75” thick so decided to use those.  Because station #7 has the longest edge length of any bulkhead, it will be the location where the planks are at there full width.  From here they taper to the stem and taper back to the stern.  It will require 23 courses of planks per side.
 
There will be 4 belts per side of 6 planks each.  Belt #1 beginning at the keel will have only 5.  From station #7 back to the stern, 4 planks are lost in belt #1.
 
I measure the length of each station edge and check it against what my CAD drawing says it should be.  Knowing how many planks will be required, I generate the following plank width tick mark strips for each bulkhead edge.
 
  
 
The width of the planks at the bow is just under 5.25” which satisfies the “not less than half” plank width guideline.  No steelers or drops are needed.
 
The strip marks are temporarily taped on the bulkheads and a batten strip is used to get a general sense of the curve following the tick marks.
 

 
Happy with the way it looked, I transferred the tick marks to the stations with pencil and temporarily attached thread at each belt as a final check to see how the plank courses run.  After a few minor modifications, I was ready to start planking. 
 

 
Planking
The coloring and weathering the model will receive will not only reveal but also accentuate the planking on the hull, so I won’t be using any filler or putty.  On a previous model, I planked the hull somewhat haphazardly, knowing that I was going to slather Bondo on it and sand it smooth.  I’m happy with the way the model came out, but it would have been more realistic with the planks showing through the paint.
 

 
I set up a little jig to hold the stripwood firmly in place as I slice the taper into it - then sand to fit

I begin planking at the keel with the garboard and lay on two belts of planks on one side.  Each course is tapered on the upper edge of the planks so that each successive course starts with a straight edge.
 
Each course of planks is made from a single strip of wood.  After it is tapered and test fit, it is then cut to simulate the butt ends of two individual boards.  The joints are reinforced on the reverse side. 
 
Two more belts are added to the other side.

 

 
Then the last 4 belts are added minus the top three courses.
 


 
At this point, I cut the hull from the platform.
 

 

 
The next course of planking requires the scuppers.
 

 
Finally, I sand the hull and finish it off with a soft brass wire brush.  The wire brush removes the sanding shine and any cross grain scratches and in general sort of unifies the look.  It will also help with the weathering later on.
 
These final photos were taken in full direct sunlight in hopes that the effect of the wire brush can be seen.  A few final licks with 800 grit paper will take the remaining wood fuzz off. 
 

 

 
This post brings me up to date in real time on this model.  
 
Thanks for taking a look.
 
Gary
 
 

Greeting, dear colleagues,
i have made a parrel truck, installed a mainsail, and arranged mast balls on the deck.
 

My next steps were to plank the main and 01 level weather decks.  After completing the weather decks, I then tackled the hull.  For all this I used 1/32 thick basswood where I cut the planks to 1/16 wide.  That made them, by scale, 6" wide which is a little wider than reality.  In reality, the decking is only about 2" wide with about a 1/4" space between them for oakum and rubber sealant.  The hull planks were about 6" in reality, so 1/16 wide was to scale.  Another lesson learned here.  These can be purchased, the planks.  Cutting from a 1/32 sheet of basswood did cause me difficulties later on.  The thickness (1/32) was not always consistent throughout the sheet.  Some planks were thicker, others thinner.  So, to over come this, once they were all installed, I spent numerous hours carefully sanding the hull and weather decks to smooth out the differences.  My intention at the time was to smooth the hull as much as possible then apply wood filler along the hull and then sand that down given me a nice clean, smooth hull.  As I looked at the hull with the planking I realized that is not how those ships were, they were not smooth hulled like a frigate, destroyer, or practically any other ship in the Navy fleet.  They were old, beaten and showed many scars from Junior Officers novice shiphandling skills (I put a few on ENGAGE myself).  I left the hull with the planks and a few imperfections.
At this juncture in the construction, I also installed the shafts, shaft struts, and thru-hull.  At the time (2008), I was not planning on a log, so I am using those pictures that I took at the time to document the process and progress.

Some promotions lol and here’s a picture of a visitor from my backyard today!

I’d say not wrong, but I’m not in charge. Do as many as you can! Like you I need multiple models going to fill in the time when glue and paint is drying or I get bored with something. Currently I am building the C W Morgan, City of Pekin, A6 A Intruder, Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra (incidentally a horrible poorly fitting kit I have been messing with for ages) and a Guillows de Havilland Beaver  stick and tissue kit. I am only doing logs for the two ships as this is after all a ship model site. I will post the occasional non ship kit progress in the Shore Leave section 

Very clever clamping idea for the stem. I’ll have to remember this!

I’d say not wrong, but I’m not in charge. Do as many as you can! Like you I need multiple models going to fill in the time when glue and paint is drying or I get bored with something. Currently I am building the C W Morgan, City of Pekin, A6 A Intruder, Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra (incidentally a horrible poorly fitting kit I have been messing with for ages) and a Guillows de Havilland Beaver  stick and tissue kit. I am only doing logs for the two ships as this is after all a ship model site. I will post the occasional non ship kit progress in the Shore Leave section 

Very clever clamping idea for the stem. I’ll have to remember this!