AnobiumPunctatum

I'll follow your log with great interest. I am waiting for the delivery of this small kit. But the post will take a little bit longer from the US to Germany

I plan on doing the whole thing stained. I like the look of natural wood on a ship model more than an authentic paint scheme. Also, our house's interior is mostly wood, as are the cedar bookcases on which this will be displayed (built from wood cut & milled on our property), so the natural finish will fit in well. I do intend to finish it with some form of varnish, as I saw another Bounty launch build do (cannot remember which now), which both I and Mrs. Cathead found very attractive.
 
In other news, I am rather put out with a problematic discovery. I had finished sanding the hull and applied my final coat of stain. When I checked the hull the next morning, I found that the wood filler I had used had either dissolved or fallen out overnight, as there were suddenly many gaps visible between the planks again. It was as if I had done almost none of the filling work that consumed many hours. It looks rather shoddy to my eyes, and this second coat of stain seems to have brought out more of the flaws in my planking than I expected. I think it looks wretched at the moment and have not yet brought myself to take a photo to share with the support network here. 
 
I do not think I have the patience to start over with a different gap filler, and I am fairly certain only a real ship modeler will notice the small gaps and uneven finish once the rest of the model is completed. Virtually all lay visitors are likely to coo over it. This is what I am telling myself. I will think it over until the weekend, and in the meantime will start bending the 'tween frames into place as that does not affect the exterior one way or another.
 
But the discovery led to a Bligh-worthy rant, at least in my head. 

Wonderful rigging, Dan.

I second Jürgen's wishes.

You have my word that model someday 'll be finished
As Awas wrote above I'm "seaman" and when I'm coming back home after 6 months contract for 2 months off not every time I have time to sit and "push" work ahead.
I'll try to do something this time, becouse I have 2,5 months off...

At least I'll try...

Best regards and thank you for intrest!!
Matt

Greg,here is a picture of the display case.  These wrap around two corners of the room.  Hannah in the center of the picture with her NRG medal.  To the left is an incomplete model of Amati's Prince which I started back in 1984-ish and never completed because of the inadequacy of the plans.  The reflected ship is Dapper Tom.  I forget which kit manufacturer.
 

 
I have finished the rest of the hull friezes.  Extra material was left around the quarter badge, as I am not sure how this will exactly fit. 

 

Es, which kind of timber do you use for the planking?
 
I can only second the comments the other users give, absolut mervelous build.

Well weeks have gone past since my last update and nothing since for a good reason..  Many problems were found when i noticed the frames weren't align which would obviously cause many problems, i expected little inconsistencies when builing my first scratch but nothing as bad as that, so ofcourse i've had to start again which isn't as bad a problem as i thought.

Tempted to restart the whole post but i think i'll just add these few pictures and next time post a big update.

Starting again was the best idea because now the ship is more accurate and reliable for future building, simple changes have helped me ensure its correct this time and i've had loads of spare timber left over to make the parts so far, as i had only got as far as making 5 frames.

The progress so far:







Im very slow at this and am still waiting for stock of lime so im taking my time as to save money aswell.

more work to show but not had much time to alot due to work, hopefully during the christmas time and after i'll be making progress.
So far i've build a simple jig to hold while i add the frames and keep the keel straight when i fill in the gaps of the frames which will be done at a later stage. after that ive added on two pieces at the front to make it easier when adding planks, forgive me i've not yet delved into the ship jargon to know all the exact words for things! shaped using a chisel which was fun, never used one before but i also had help using a very sharp carving knife....   Same was done when shaping the first 2 frames along with the favourite sanding drum, thought best done while not glued on the keel. A little rough at the moment waiting for fine sanding.

I'll carry on shaping the frames for now when i have the time then we can get onto the more fun stuff!






 

más

Thank you everyone for your kind comments.  I agree, Remco, the frieze changes the whole attitude of the hull.  Druxey, I was surprised that the animate characters look cartoonish on the draught rather than realistic.  However, since my drawing skills are "zip", I went with the frieze as drawn on the draught.  I only hope this was not some cruel joke on the Admiralty by the draftsman.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 104 – Planking and Wales continued
 
In the first picture the model has be uprighted and plumbed so the load waterline could be marked.
 

 
I needed to do this to set the extent of planking on each side.  The wood block is my gauge. 
 
This was also a good opportunity to mark out and bore the holes for the cabin lights as shown in the next photo.
 

 
The inboard finish planking was also installed and bored out.  I will show this later.  Brass tubes through to the interior will be added later.  The next picture shows the five openings on the starboard side.
 

 
Planking has progressed downward in this picture – below the bottom of the wale – but there is still more to be added. In the next picture the hull has again been inverted to complete the planking.
 

 
In this picture the aft planking is being stepped back with two strakes at each step on the starboard side.   This will permit several strakes of brass sheathing – each two planks wide to be wide to be installed later.  The sheathing band will extend to the edge of the lowest planks.  The top strake of sheathing will be on the waterline, with the strakes below parallel to the run of the planks and gored into the top strake.
 
On the port side there will be no sheathing and the planking will end higher to leave the framing exposed. 
 

 
This planking is stepped back higher up as shown again roughly parallel to the LWL – in single strake steps on this side.  Some planking is needed on this side so the deadeye chains can be fixed and also to provide a nicer view of the finished stern – at least from the starboard quarter.
 
In the next picture the hull has been uprighted again.
 

 
The planking of the starboard side shown is complete. The strakes below the 20 wale strakes diminish down from the wale thickness of 6” to the 4” thickness of the common bottom plank.  This transition is barely perceptible.  The top of the sheathing line can just be made out in this picture. 
 
I can’t explain why, but seeing this expanse of planking makes one realize just how large this ship was.  This was not as pronounced when the hull was in frame.
  
Ed

Hello and thanks marsalv for warm words!
 
not much to show, only a little update: have worked on chain pump handles, so there the result. The images show main steps from alignment to installing. The axle is from 1mm brass rod, the crank handles from 0,8mm rod, all soldered together.
 

 

 

 

 
Alex

This next project of mine is going to be a gift to my son who has been pestering me for a display of my modelling talents. I had 2 considerations in my approach: That the model fit in his house somewhere and that it be interesting to look at. While perusing the various logs on this site, I discovered Alex M's HMS Sphynx, a small frigate (the hull is a little over 100 feet long) and that he sells, through Chuck P., a set of building plans that he had drawn up from the NMM original draughts. At 1:64 the model should come in at around two feet long which took care of the first consideration, and being a frigate with several decks and full rig, my second consideration was met.
 
I've titled this log the Sphynx, but in reality what I really want to model is her sistership, HMS Ariel. We'll see if the NMM can come up with any information on her, but she was quickly captured by the French in the Carribean, so she didn't fly a British flag for long. The French took her back to France and just left her in the harbor. Meanwhile, Ben Franklin was in Paris begging for support for the American Revolution. The French were willing to provide supplies, but told Ben he'd have to provide his own transport. Franklin pointed out that Ariel was just sitting in the harbor and could he borrow it to transport the supplies. That was fine with the French, so Franklin asked John Paul Jones to captain the vessel. To cut to the punch line, Jones got the Ariel to Philadelphia, but not before fighting his last naval battle in Ariel. And, once the supplies were off-loaded, he sailed the ship back to France to return it to her owners. Consequently, we have a British ship owned by the French, but flying an American flag!
 
I've started construction, but just barely. This is going to be a long, slow project.
 

 
 

Hello,
thank you very much for your kind words and the comments.
Here I show the continuation of rigging the carronades.

 

Jürgen,
 
why do you install ribbands and plank the side?

Now that my Triton cross-section has been completed, I finally  opened the Essex box, which I have had for a few weeks, for a serious look, after a couple of quick peeks. Since it is my intention to alter the kit in various ways, as I did with Fair American and Syren, I won't get involved with a detailed review or critique of the various kit parts. I understand that MS is changing some of the kit items already. I don't know whether those changes will be given to those, like me, who already have the kit.
 
My overall impression is that the kit contains good plans, detailed instructions and a lot of laser cut wood and photo etched parts, as well as metal castings whose utility is unknown to me at this point. I've made some preliminary decisions as to how I will proceed, but a lot remains to be decided as I spend more time with the project. I have the AOTS book on Essex by Portia Takakjian, which I expect to use in conjunction with the kit plans, but I have no idea yet as to how or how much. 
 
The one thing that I know for certain is that I will replace the kit basswood with boxwood for the hull planking not covered by copper and with holly for the deck planking. I also expect to carry out the quarterdeck and forecastle deck framing to a more detailed level and to do that with boxwood. It is likely that I will also replace much, if not all, of the kit deck furniture with scratch built boxwood parts. Finally, it is my intention to fully mast and rig the model, whether or not MS issues a second kit for that purpose.
 
I've been looking forward to this build for over a year now and I'm really eager to get started. I hope my old friends on MSW, and new ones as well, will want to look in as I go forward.
 
Bob

Hello,
 
Thank you so much for your nice comments and also for the likes. I'm very pleased about this great interest.
 
Here's a little update. Some strakes below the wale and the garboard strake are fitted. The progress is very slowly because It's partial a bit tricky.
Also I needed time to find a way to add the planks without leaving any trace at the frames. Therefor the build from Ed of the Extreme Clipper is a great help.
 

 
In the TFFM-book this strakes are reffered to as thickstuff under the wales. There is a little step from the second to the third strake to see on the following photo. That's why the thickness of the strakes decreases. I will sanding down them when the fourth strake is installed.

 
That's the current progress.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 103 – Planking and Wales continued
 
The work proceeds apace.  Post-holiday lull and the winter weather helps.  Work on the lower hull requires either some gymnastics or some other support for the model.  The first picture shows the simple setup that allows the model to be tilted as needed – a very un-shipyard-like look.
 

 
The wale on this side is about one-half planked in this picture.  The next picture shows the wale planks converging at the lowest perimeter strake at the stern.
 

 
The brass rod is the diameter of the gudgeon eyes and is being used to mark the center of the helm port by laying it on the sternpost.  In the next picture a hole for the port has been roughed out.
 

 
The rudder head was round and was encased at the port in a sleeve – wood or iron – to prevent ingress of water.  The diameter of the rudder shaft was 16” – matching the sternpost.  With the sleeve the opening will take up much of the area as yet unplanked.  I decided to fill the area with a single chock as shown in the next picture.
 

 
A circular opening for the sleeve and rudder head will be cut through this later.  In the next picture the hole has been centered.
 

 
Additional wale strakes are being added in this picture.  In the next picture the final piece on the port side has been boiled and is being fitted to dry.
 

 
The planks on this side are being stepped back at each frame to allow the stern area to be completed without adding more strakes on this unplanked side.  Hence these last two pieces are very short – the lowest will be half the length shown.
 
The next picture shows the final wale strake in place at the stern on the starboard side.
 

 
This side will be planked down below the waterline so there are more strakes to be fitted at the stern.  These will diminish down to the thickness of the common lower planking.
 
I don’t want to use this forum to pitch the forthcoming book, but I feel that a few words are in order, since several people have asked about it. 
 
Bob Friedman of Seawatchbooks and I were both quite enthused about a book on American clipper ship modeling.  We both felt this was a neglected area.  However, I had some concerns about another “full framing” methodology book that would be a rehash of previous material.  I was also concerned about writing a book about a large, fairly advanced structural model that would probably appeal mainly to a small slice of experienced modelers.
 
 It took some time for me to resolve these issues and decide to write the book – two books hopefully – the first on modeling the hull and the second on masting and rigging. 
 
Like the Naiad books – and unlike this build log – the books will be very heavy on methods – I like the word processes.  As work on YA progressed, the processes used were both different enough and in some ways unique and this allayed some of my concerns about redundancy. 
 
However, I still wanted to reach a broader range of modelers – specifically potential or less-experienced scratchbuilders looking for a foothold and some help on methods.  To this end the book will also include methods, drawings, text and pictures for construction of a smaller, simpler POB version of the model.  The processes developed for this model are designed to provide a basis for advancement to fully-framed modeling using the upright, shipyard-like, methods that many of us favor.  The planned volume on rigging – if we get that far – will apply to both versions. Simpler tools, fewer fancy devices and readily available materials will also be used for the POB model.
 
To support this important content, a second, 1:96 POB model is being constructed.  Until making the book decision, I have been careful to exclude this from posted pictures but that precaution is now no longer necessary so I will show one picture of the current work area with both models in progress.
 

 
Although having two models in the shop has exponentially increased the clutter, the biggest problems are keeping the two scales straight and using the right drawings – and getting all  the work done on schedule.
  
Ed

Druxey, after reading your post I took my trial frieze and glued it to some scrap wood, expecting the worst.  I used a very thin coat of full strength glue on the paper and the wood and let it almost dry before applying the frieze.  No wrinkles!  I think the enamel provides just enough strength to the paper to decrease the risk of puckering.  The downside in using this technique is that there is no ability to finesse the location of the frieze.  
 
Remco, with your talent the friezes would be a snap.  It comes down to the aesthetics, or in my case, the challenge of something new.
 
Christian, thanks for looking in.  Does Alert have any stern lettering?  The same technique would be applicable.

Lower deck planking
 
Half of lower deck (port side) has covered with plank boards and oil finished. During planking, blackened glue was used between the plank boards to simulate the calking. Treenailing was disguised by pointing with awl before oil finishing.

beautiful work Lee,
 
I`d love to see some Close ups of the floor you just did, it Looks great....
 
Nils

Little progress of lower deck planking.
 
Cheers
 
 
.

@Mike
thanks for looking in. I use Autocad for the  drawings.
 
@Nils
the frames are perpendicular to the keel and have an angle to the waterline.
Have a look at the NMM drawings of Cheerful 1806, Racer 1809 or one of the 1818 cutters. All drawings show this frame arrangement.

Keelson in place.
After previous shaping I used CA to glue it down.
At the end I didn't have any air gap between the keel and keelson, so all the tedious sanding had its great final result.