AnobiumPunctatum

Hello,
 
now the bulwark revised edition 2.0 and I hope the last one. The only bad thing about this is, that I could't use the windows again. Some are broken and the rest did't fit. That was a lot of work for nothing. But **** happens! The next windows would be a lot better, because of experience. 
 

 

 

 
Regards,
Siggi

Antony,
 
I found your log today. Your section looks really wonderful. I love these big scales

Hello,
 
the first bulwark is mow ready and the next is in progress.
 
Regards,
Siggi
 

 

 

Hi,
as previously announced here are the pictures from the removal of the boat shell.
Before removing the shell I've sanded the hull.
Sanding I was doing outdoors.

 
With great excitement and nervousness I loosened the screws.
 
I am satisfied with the result.

 

 

Nils,
 
do you like to add the plating with copper or brass foil? Do you have a plating plan of the ship? I've seen a part of this type of drawing from one of the Flying P Liners and foud it very difficult to read.

Mark, your old planking was looking ok but your new planking is looking much better. The transoms and espacially the tansition to the counter timber is really tricky. I had there also a lot of problems during the build of my half model.

Nils,
 
do you like to add the plating with copper or brass foil? Do you have a plating plan of the ship? I've seen a part of this type of drawing from one of the Flying P Liners and foud it very difficult to read.

Mark, your old planking was looking ok but your new planking is looking much better. The transoms and espacially the tansition to the counter timber is really tricky. I had there also a lot of problems during the build of my half model.

Very nice work. Your planking is looking really crisp.

Very nice work. Your planking is looking really crisp.

Mark, your old planking was looking ok but your new planking is looking much better. The transoms and espacially the tansition to the counter timber is really tricky. I had there also a lot of problems during the build of my half model.

Mark, your old planking was looking ok but your new planking is looking much better. The transoms and espacially the tansition to the counter timber is really tricky. I had there also a lot of problems during the build of my half model.

Mark, your old planking was looking ok but your new planking is looking much better. The transoms and espacially the tansition to the counter timber is really tricky. I had there also a lot of problems during the build of my half model.

Very nice work. Your planking is looking really crisp.

Nils,
 
do you like to add the plating with copper or brass foil? Do you have a plating plan of the ship? I've seen a part of this type of drawing from one of the Flying P Liners and foud it very difficult to read.

..... continued
 
The "bolts" were the last things to add. I started with two long pieces of wire and soldered them into the holes :
 

 
I cut the inner bolt flush as drilling both holes will be nearly impossible. One pin will suffice to hold the stanchion in position until the epoxy dries :
 

 

 
Finally the cranes were blackened :
 

 

 
 Danny

Christian,
 
The criteria for the plating material (Aluminium, copper, brass, etc. ) is the availability in such required foils, (like 0,125 mm), and with suitable adhesive gluefilm Quality, and the suitability for poncing the "rivets". Because I had good results with Alum. for four  "riveted ships" already, I`ll use it again.
I know there are here and there shipbuilders plating plans indicating the pattern, but I also find those too complicated and too strict to follow.
 
I look at the number of plating "chines" on the actual ship, the size of the steelplates, and how they run on the aftship section (if there are dry dock photos available thats a great help)
In general I start with the first plating line, leave a gap with 90% platewidth and do the third, before the second plating line is put on, covering horizontal riveting lines of the first and the third row.
The vertical rivet Joints are 2 or 3 or 4 rivet-rows, (Higher stresses) whereby the horizontal line are a rivet-row less. With the plating of These heritage Liners there were also reinforcing double and tripple plates, patches and Support plates, in some cases even as additional "belts" like it can be seen on many riveted and well built models of the Titanic, Lusitania, etc. (from there Comes the term "Rivet Counter....."
 
The KWdG plating is basicly planed like my done plating on my other models. I will have to pay special attention to the aft area and around the propshaft housings, to get a good and acceptable result, that will cause some trials first and hopefully not too much headaches
 
Nils

Been a bit since that last update... I stripped off 5 strakes of planking at the stern and reworked it with some help in the form of advice and mentoring from Dan and Druxey.  They set me straight and on the right path.   I'll do a bit more sanding (still rough only for now) and then turn the hull around and to the other side.  I did some templates and the shapes look pretty close so I think that side will go a bit quicker.  I shouldn't have to plank, rip off the planks, sand and then replank several times... 
 
I have a dummy fashion piece held in with the blue pin to get the plank ends correct and I'll be fitting the real thing later. I'm not too worried about the plank ends being 100% squared up as there's a reasonably wide covering trim plank that will go over them.  Besides, isn't it supposed to be deal with one headache at a time.
 
I just noticed....my work area is beyond messy... sorry.
 
Thanks for the comments, the help, and the support.  Back to motoring on and making sawdust.
 

Planking is now underway. I have completed the port side topside planking ( to the point of rough sanding). The caulking is simulated by pencil on one side and end of each plank. Since I've never been able to accurately plank between ports by adding individual planks, I use a method of building up units of planking , which allows me to get perfectly straight edges and correct sizing to obtain the 1/64" rebates around the ports. Where required, the planks are pre-bent to shape before gluing up the unit.
 
Now it's on to the starboard side to repeat the process.
 
Bob

Some progress to report. I completed the prep for planking by adding the square tuck stern piece and fillers and then painting the ports. I opened my last ever bottle of Pollyscale ATSF red for the ports.
 
I then did the first layer of the wales, which was pretty straightforward. Now, it's on to the topside planking.
 
Bob

After a week of cogitation, I decided to move forward on the hull planking using my best judgement and artistic license. Without absolute proof in any direction, I determined that THIS Bertrand's builders would do best to follow the natural line of the hull, making planking as simple as possible for the basic carpentry skills and simple raw materials available (both in real life and in this budget-constrained model).
 

 
I clamped a series of planking strips to the horizontal portion of the hull, to get spacing right, and then extended the fourth one up toward the bow in the most natural curve it would follow (above left). Marking this on the frames with a pencil, I then started cutting planks to length and installing them with wood glue and clamps. Above right, you see five strakes of planking installed. Sorry for the photo quality, this was indoors in evening. 
 

 
Here's the current bow, next to the best drawing I have from the archaeological documents (the latter flipped to match the photo's orientation). The lie of the planks clearly isn't the same, but I just couldn't figure out how to get the deck-parallel planking shown in the drawing with the geometry of the framing shown in other drawings. Not sure who's wrong; logically my bet's on me rather than the professionals, but who knows. Methods like stealers or aggressive spiling just didn't seem to match the likely approach and skill set of the folks actually building Bertrand, so I went with authentic approach if not result.
 
I actually like the sweeping curve on the model, at least from an aesthetic point of view. Also, as you'll notice, most of the bow is in fact covered by iron plating to help protect against river debris and snags, so relatively little of this will show anyway. I really appreciate all the folks who chimed in to discuss this question, and I hope my decision turns out acceptably to most viewers. Mrs. Cathead likes it, so there's that.
 
Finally, notice that on Bertrand, the planks have a scarf joint, not a butt joint. This I'm certain of, because there are photographs of it. So I did my planks the same way, although a bit simplified: Bertrand's planks have a fancy scarf with squared-off tips (look closely at the drawing), which I was not up for recreating at 1:87. So I just cut the angle all the way across and decided it was close enough. This is not, after all, an exquisite world-class museum model, just a farmer's hobby.
 
Clamping planks on this bow has been an interesting challenge. The guards, which I intentionally installed first in order to help guide planking, are also rather in the way of getting clamps down along the hull. The framing, being so close together, also makes it difficult to get clamps in. From a practical standpoint, I've been very happy with my decision to follow the easiest lie of planking, because the planks fit themselves, don't even need soaking, and require minimal clamping to stay put. This result certainly fits with the theme of building these boats the simplest way.
 

 
And here is the hull as of Saturday morning. I filled in the upper bow first, and am slowly working my way down and aft. I haven't done any filling or sanding, so any close-up look appears pretty rough. These planks are quite thin (1/32"), so I intend to do one sanding only when the whole thing is ready, and no more. But to my eyes at least, the pattern is pleasing and approximates authenticity.
 
Gonna be a busy weekend ahead, here's a fitting tune for this work: "Old Plank Road"
 

 
 
That depends on how the planking goes, but so far so good.

In all fairness, many of us are able to build our models because the reverse is also true, even if husband doesn't rhyme with anything catchy. Happy spouse, happy house?

Thank you John.
 
Waist Rails
 
I have a fair bit more "Iron" work in front of me. The first are the stanchions for the Waist Rails.
 
The rail itself is timber. It sits inside U shaped brackets atop the stanchions. I cut the brackets from sheet brass using the table saw and soldered them to the wire posts. The uneven thicknesses on the sides of the brackets were filed to size after soldering :
 

 

 
There are also two stanchions that take the entry ropes. I soldered a piece of small tubing to the tops of them to form the eyes that take the ropes :
 

 

 
 Danny

The planking is looking really nice, Johann

The planking is looking really nice, Johann