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JMartti

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    Helsinki, Finland

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  1. Steady progress. I've been super careful with the capping rail patterns, I even applied some tape over them on the sheets to protect them until they were needed, and still managed to break off a piece while detaching them! But I used the undamaged (they're mirror images of each other) one to mark out the gun ports. I also noticed that the one taped in place, in the picture, had the last pair of laser markings in wrong position. I just penciled them in the right place. First I was pretty nervous to cut into the hull, but everything worked out great. I drilled out the corners, sawed in to them and cut out with a hobby knife. I also planked the front face of the stern platform, even though it's not mentioned in the isntructions. I think it looks much better than just painted plywood surface. Last I applied two coats of Admiralty Paints red ochre on the bulwarks and insides of the gunports. I guess I have a few options on what to do next, I'll propably start on the deck planking or maybe start assembling the carriages for the cannons. I'm still trying to figure out how to blacken the cannon barrels and other brass fittings and whether to brush or spray paint the waterline.
  2. My kit is the original version that is being sold at discount price on Vanguard Models. It comes with the cast white metal cannons as seen in B.E.'s build log. They have a really rough surface texture that's not pretty at all. I'm not sure if I'll replace the swivel guns with the brass ones, but I ordered them just in case.
  3. Funny how right after my last post, I find these in the mailbox along with Admiralty Paints yellow and red ochre. Inspired by Blue Ensign's build log, of course. Now I just need to figure out how to blacken the brass fittings. I'm thinking of using some cold blueing agent, like the ones used by gunsmiths to patch worn finishes.
  4. I spent some time wondering why it is in that order in the instructions. To me it seems quite logical to paint first and don't worry about messing the false deck and just plank over it. Also the insides of the gunports will be painted red eventually, would there be a reason to not cut them out as well, before painting the bulwarks?
  5. Beautiful, crisp lines on the paint and gorgeous details, B.E.! I guess I could have gone with fewer coats as well, as I don't think they added much in terms of deeper colour or sheen. Is the paint over the poly? Under? Or did you mask off?
  6. I finally got the outer hull finished with poly. I used clear satin varnish mixed about 50/50 with white spirit and a light rubbing with 0000 steel wool between coats. After three coats I noticed the varnish had not penetrated in a few spots I had smudged with glue, while planking the bulwarks. I gave the spots a thorough sanding to remove the glue and reapplied varnish on and around the spots to blend them in. After that I think I gave one more coat of thinned varnish and a final, undiluted coat. So all in all 4-5+1 coat of varnish. I know there's still a couple of spots where the varnish didn't penetrate, but I'm very happy how it turned out. The photos might be a little out of focus due to not getting enough natural light. The lamps I've got are quite yellow and would distort the colour of the finish. Next I'll probably mark and cut out the gunports. I'd like to paint the bulwark planking red before installing the deck planking, to avoid having to mask it. I'm still waiting on suitable red color from Cornwall model boats, I fear the package has been lost in transit.
  7. Thanks for the tip, this is what I'll be going with. Just finished planking the bulwarks and gave all around sanding with 320 grit sand paper. Also applied some polyurethane varnish on some scraps, undiluted and 50/50 diluted with white spirit. How will multiple coats affect the outcome? Will it darken or change the finish from satin to matt? I'll be using natural polyurethane varnish.
  8. I'll have to do some digging, I'm sure there's something comparable to the wipe on poly available. It's just that I can get this stain in almost every possible colour for free. I just don't know how it would behave on model ships.
  9. Even though the log has been quiet for a while, the work at the shipyard continues. I've finally finished the second planking and sanded it with 240 grit sand paper. I also fixed the overly thinned stern post. I did have to fit in one plank, that was tapered to a point, at both ends, on either side. Also the two stealers were just regular triangle shaped. I guess the drop planks could have been a bit longer (and the same length!) to fit the scale better. The whole planking process was quite exhausting and that is the reason it started to drag after a quick start. Overall I'm extremely happy how it turned out. Next I'll be planking the bulwarks. I used up all the full length second planking strips, but luckily I've got a lot of cut offs from the planking. I've also been thinking about the outside finish a lot lately and I still haven't made up my mind if I should paint her white below the waterline or not. I guess I could use it to hide some mistakes. Also I'm not sure how to treat the unpainted parts, would a water based stain be ok to use here? I've read some discussion saying that the planks should be stained before glueing, but it's a bit too late for that now.
  10. Yes, I think I see now where the problem is. I won't be coppering the hull (not provided with the kit), but I will paint her below the waterline, it will hide some of my mistakes. It's been quite difficult to envision how the planking should look, and what are considered beatiful lines and how to achieve them. All in all, I'm still quite happy how it's coming together as I'm not after 100% historical accuracy with this build.
  11. Progress has been slow and steady, about half way down with the second planking. But, I've got a slight dilemma here. The planking tapers nicely from the fourth bulkhead towards the bow up until the first bulkhead, but then it widens again from the first bulkhead to the bow. The difference is small, about 1-2 mm in total. I guess this is caused garboard plank not shaped/positioned correctly or is it an issue with the tapering on the planks? How should I try to correct this? Using a drop plank? Removing or re-shaping the garboard? Planking the rest from the garboard up and using a filler to cover the possible gap? Surely you meant that the top layer is lying better than the one beneath it? Thanks for all the likes, views and comments!
  12. I don't have one on hand at the moment, and I'm trying to limit the amount of new tools I buy for this build. I guess I could apply the heat on the under side of the plank so that the possible charring wouldn't be visible. Is that the reason? I thought it was just from the way the plank has to bend in several directions, going around the bow.
  13. Steady progress over the weekend. I made a paper template and then cut the pieces out of 1mm sheet to thicken the over sanded stern post. Final shaping will be done once fixed in place. I then fixed the two top most strakes of the second planking and the garboard. I'm still not quite sure about the garboard, but I guess time will tell. I then sketched the location of the bulkheads on the first planking. There will be 21 planks plus the ones already in place. I drew the measurements at each bulkhead on to a planking fan so that I have a quick reference to work from. I didn't divide the hull in to bands as I just couldn't get it to work out on the first planking, I'll soon find out if it was a mistake. As I'm going to have pretty much equal tapering on each plank, I made a template of every plank width at each bulkhead on to a scrap piece of planking. I'll be measuring the unplanked space periodically and adjusting the tapering accordingly. I drew on the line for the taper and used my sanding block as a sort of a hand vice to plane the taper. I've got about a quarter of the planking done so far. These first planks went on pretty easily with just CA glue, no soaking or heat needed. The last ones are starting to lift slightly from the bottom edge, so I soaked the next planks in hot water and pinned in place to dry. I'm bit hesitant to use the Chuck's edge bending method even though I got it working pretty nicely on the first planking, I caused quite a bit of charring with my electric plank bending tool. Even though everything is going better than I initially expected, I can't wait for this nerve racking phase of the build be over. I noticed it looks a lot rougher on the photos than in real life, I'm confident it'll clean up real nice with final sanding. Thanks for all the likes, views and comments!
  14. I've been able to make some progress on the Alert. After sanding the first planking smooth, I attached the spacers for the final, topmost strake, of the first planking. The instructions tell you to pin them in place, but I found it some what difficult. I ended up using masking tape as seen on other Alert builds. I contemplated on attaching them with a drop of CA as an alternative as well. The top port strake seen on the picture sits a millimeter or two below where it's supposed to (you can see the faint pencil line), at 4 mm below the top of the bulkhead. I re-glued it a couple of times when I started the planking but just could not get it to sit right. The strake runs low only on the first bulkhead and at the correct height at the others. I doubt it's noticeable on the finished model. After that I soaked the planks for around 20 minutes in boiled water, clamped into place and let dry overnight. I fixed the top strakes in place using CA. I tried apply the glue mostly on the plank edge, as the bulkhead tops will be trimmed down to deck level after the second planking is done. Finally I sanded the top strakes flush with rest of the planking. Only a little bit of tweaking left and I'm ready to start the second layer of planking. It's been relatively smooth sailing so far and I hope it stays that way. Thank you all for the likes, views and comments!
  15. I had the exact same idea for fixing the stern post, except that I was going to use scraps from the 1 mm laser cut sheet, that way I'll have matching colour with the keel! Thanks for the advice, though I'll try to deviate as little as possible from the kit instructions until I accumulate enough experience to not make any critical mistakes doing so. Also the stern post on this kit is fitted with a kind of a jigsaw puzzle joint that is planked over.
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