AnobiumPunctatum

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

Lots of progress lately. By the end of this post, Bertrand will be ready for the final bits of rigging and details. The end is in sight! Here we go:
 
Pilot house
 

 
Here I'm laying out pieces for the pilot house. Like the cabins, this uses pre-scribed wood, though I'm cutting & staining the window & door frames individually. I didn't have anything that small on hand, so split each piece manually from wider strips, using a hobby knife.
 

 
Here you see the pilot house partially assembled. You'll notice that I made the windows with two layers of wood, technically not accurate since a real window would have the panes and frames all in one plane. I decided that I didn't have the skill to make perfect square small-paned windows like these in 1:87, so went with the two-layer approach as a reasonable approximation. One reason I stained the windows dark, is to help hide their 2-D nature. The resulting shadow keeps the eye from seeing that, compared to if they were all white. And I think it looks nice. When you step back more than 6", it's hard to see the difference.
 

 
Here's the pilot house installed, with a beginning to the clerestory roof. I carved a series of roof braces with a gentle curve to support this area, instead of bothering with full rafters, as this can't be seen from any angle. Much easier. Then I just planked in both roof areas as I'd done the hurricane deck, using the same pre-coloring technique with pastels. If you look real close, you can see the wheel, which I made by cutting a hoop from the styrene tube soon to be used for the chimneys, and gluing thin styrene rods radially. I thought I took pictures of this process, but can't find them now. Oops.
 
Chimneys
 

 
Though the model railroader in me wants to call these smokestacks, apparently the steamboat world generally called them chimneys. In any case, these were built from two diameters of styrene tubing, one of which slides neatly into the other. I cut a series of hoops from the thicker diameter, and drilled holes in styrene sheet to create a kind of cover plate for where the chimneys cross the hurricane deck.
 
Middle photo shows the assembled chimneys. The thicker, lower section simulates the heat shields such chimneys used to protect passengers on the boiler deck from the hot chimney pipes. The various hoops simulate thicker iron bands on the chimneys, placed approximately where various plans and period illustrations suggest they should be. As styrene is too smooth and shiny to really simulate rough iron to my eye, I used a past trick of mine and wrapped the chimneys in layers of strong masking tape, making each seem a quarter turn from the layer below. These seams simulate the chimneys' construction from tubes of iron, and produce a nice rough texture. 
 
On the right, you see the painted and installed chimneys, weathered with rust-colored pastels. I think they look convincingly like frontier iron work.
 
Stairs
 

 
Three sets of stairs are needed to reach the pilot house from the boiler deck; one from boiler deck to hurricane deck (right), one from hurricane deck to clerestory roof (not shown), and one from clerestory to pilot house (left). I built these in the same manner as the main staircase from main deck to boiler deck, described before in this build. In the background, you see some hog chains, which I'll discuss soon.
 
Boiler deck railing
 

 
Probably the most fiddly part of this build. I'm not entirely happy with how these came out, but they look fine from more than a foot away. I started by building the internal railing that keep passengers from falling down the main stairwell (left). Then I glued a long, painted strip wrapped around all the stanchions on the boiler deck, as the upper rail (center). Then I hand-cut a whole whoppin'  mess of little railing posts to line the railing with, and carefully levered each one into place with tweezers and a dab of glue. Once again, step back a foot and it looks great. Up close, it looks like the work of someone still developing his fine-woodworking skills.
 
(Almost) completed steamboat
 


 
And here she is, very close to done. This is the best view of the hog chain system, the longitudinal iron trusses that keep the bow and stern from sagging in a ong, thin boat with no keel and lots of stern-weight. These I simulated with fine rigging thread painted black, run through holes drilled in the decks and stretched tight. They should have turnbuckles on them for tensioning, which I haven't decided how to simulate yet.
 
All that remains is the "rigging", which in this case means a few support cables for the chimneys, and the various cables and tackles for the grasshopper spars, which I'll discuss when they're done. There are a few other details, such as hoists and tackles for two launches, and splitting some 1:87 firewood for the main deck. But she's close.
 
One question for you all: how would you go about lettering the name, which should go in large black letters on the engine-room wall just forward of the wheel? I've never done lettering before.
 
Hopefully within two weeks I'll post the absolutely completed Bertrand. In the meantime, just two days late, here's Dave Hum playing the Eighth of January, an old tune named for the British defeat at New Orleans that closed the War of 1812, just over 201 years ago:
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

Thanks a lot for the Likes and Your interest.

Sunday January 10th, 20216  
Yesterday I completed the setup of the building slip specifically designed for the initial hull assembly . .  
01 10012016 P1100399.jpg

 
. . and later I put together the keel, made with two shorter elements and two small reinforcements to apply over the junction.
 
02 10012016 P1100402.jpg

 
A tough of class (!) . . a nameplate (very artisanly made) with the name of the model.
 
03 10012016 P1100405.jpg

 
Cost of these materials: € 1.00 for the base in 18mm plywood, € 0.65 for the 5 x 10 strip and € 0.30 for a small plywood table of 4mm, the same width of the pre-cut keel provided with the kit.
 
to be continued . .
 
Cheers, Jack.
 

I agree that properly proportioned belaying pins on models are the exception rather than the rule! My own workaround was to make the pin in two parts: the straight shank and the contoured handle. The handles have short pins for insertion into the rack. Of course Remco's and your own solution to turning small diameter parts is far more elegant!

Thanks for everybody looking in and commenting.  Each of your comments is welcome - as I said before, this is my first project, and is focussed on the learning curve - working with predominently wood (instead of solely with metals) and understanding both the meaning of the lines in the plans, as well as the thinking of the shipbuilders of the time.
 
I think it is time for some pictures.
First I copied the plans (multiple times) and cut out what I understood were the different parts of the keel, hog, bow, deadwood and rising wood.  These were glued onto a piece of beech board.
 
I tried to pay attention to the grain of the wood, and align each piece as best as I could with this grain.  This because as I understand it is done to obtain the best resistance to deformation while building a vessel - in other words, the tree trunks were specially selected to accomodate the shap into their grain patterns.

 
Each piece was cut out with some extra wood, then sanded to shape.  The first thing I learned was the importance of angles: it is very important that right angles are exatly 90 degrees, not 91 or 89, as this will greatly affect how well the pieces align when glued together.
Here are all the pieces laid out on the plan - nothing has been sanded to its final shape

 
I refer regularly to Peter Goodwin's  The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of War 1650-1850 and Brian Lavery's The Ship of the Line, Volume II: Design, construction and fittings.
As I understand the construction of the stern deadwood, it gradually thickens from thinner than the width of the keel just above the rabbit line, to the thickness required to seat the stern half-frames.
 
As I was unsure exactly where this started and ended, I lofted the various station lines of the entire stern deadwood onto a single piece of paper.  This enabled me to better understand the shape of the wood, and help me in assessing how to tackle that particular challenge.
I decided to cut the appropriate pieces of stern deadwood from beech stock that was nearly twice as thick as my keel section (13mm versus 7mm).

The first picture shows the relative thickness of the different pieces making up the deadwood, the last shows all the pieces that I thought neede to be thicker than the keel.  I am aware at this point that most of them are far too thick, but better to have to cut away than to glue back on, I think.
 
Slainte
Peter

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

Thanks a lot for the Likes and Your interest.

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

Good first steps.  I think I'll stay to watch this one.  Pssst [beer can opening] Hmmmmmmm [motor adjusting the power assisted reclining chair]  Now, where's the popcorn?
 
Tom

Hi Christian, fantastic work.

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

The keel is laid down.

The picture shows the current version compared with the old keel in 1/48.



Due to the larger scale it is much easier to display small details such as the treenails to scale correctly.



The next steps in the construction of the complete keel arrangement are the same as described in my old build log. I will only change some smaller details.
 

Thank you all for your very generous comments and likes. It's you folks that keep me building, without MSW I probably would have quit years ago to start an other model only to leave it unfinished later. 
 
I moved on to the capstan step. The first version had no rebated parts, I didn't like it and made a second and a third version. The second was scrapped as I chipped a bit of that was very visible the third one is below.
 

 

 
I'm also considering redoing the cross blocks for the main mast step. I was not paying attention an accidentally added bolts that are way to big. Most bolts in the build are 1" but in this case I need 0,75" bolts like the ones on the capstan step. The difference is quite obvious.......
 

 
Remco

Tuesday, January 5, 2016
 
Everything is now ready for the inauguration !! The worktable is ready, the shelves as well. . the chair is temporary, too low, but soon another most suitable will come from Milan. However improvements can always be done provided they will be needed.
 
So I can finally say that I could start doing something serious from now.
 
I'm starting to study the drawings and the assembly instructions of this Viking ship. For the moment I have some concerns about the rigidity of the hull framing, I fear some kind of deformation. This will probably happen if I'll strictly follow the provided instructions. I think there is a strong need to think about a building slip useful for a capsized assembly that will allow me to work keeping held the hull until the installation of almost all the planks. But it is not so intuitive about how to do it !
 
I'll sleep on it ! Let's hope in a viable solution . .
 
The worktable finished . .
01 20160105_172550.jpg

 
The two shelves side by side . .
02 20160105_172543.jpg

 
An overview of the workshop: worktable, shelves, radiator, water, lighting enpowered and desktop backup, only the chair is unsatisfactory.
03 20160105_172533.jpg

HI ALL
TIME FOR AN UPDATE TO PROVE I HAVNT BEEN TOO LAZY OVER THE FESTIVE PERIOD.
FRAMES ARE CONTINUING TO BE BUILT........STERN TO DEAD FLAT ARE NOW READY TO BE INSTALLED........DEAD FLAT TO FORWARD HALF FRAME ARE YET TO BE BUILT.
 
FIRST OF ALL THOUGH A CONFESSION HAS TO BE MADE
I HAD BEEN CUTTING RECESSES FOR SWEEP PORTS AND GUNPORTS AS I BUILT THE FRAMES. THE SWEEP PORTS PROVED TO BE QUITE STRAIGHTFORWARD.......HOWEVER THE SECOND GUNPORT FROM THE STERN ENDED UP AS A TRAPEZOID......HMMMN.......NOT CORRECT METHINKS!
 
SO THE RELAVANT PAIR OF FRAMES HAD TO COME OUT.....ISO TO THE RESCUE!!!!.......AND BE REMADE.
 
I SHALL NOW BE FOLLOWING GREGS EARLIER SUGGESTION AND CUT THE APPERTURES FOR SILLS AND LINTELS AFTER THE FRAMES ARE IN SITU.
 
WE LIVE AND LEARN AND I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO BOW TO WISER AND MORE EXPERIENCED HEADS!!!!!
 
PHOTOS OF CURRENT PROGRESS INCLUDED......THE LAST ONE SHOWS THE FRAMES JUST PLACED ON THE KEEL FOR EFFECT NOTHINGS BEEN GLUED YET.
 
CHEERS.......MICK