jct

Now the real fun begins, are you gonna focus on one or jump back and forth?

Story of ALL my builds!

Yep... story of most of my builds

Don't you hate it when you get something all done and then set it in place and can't stand it?😝

Thanks to all for the likes and comments...I finished the initial companionway
and promptly scrapped it when I set it on the deck, it just looked stupid
So I set about making a new flush type hatch...stripped off the house and doors to use the original coaming and made hatch side to fit within it
then made the hatch cover...it has a slight curve sanded into it, and glued it to the sides
and separated the pieces for paint

and mounted it on the foredeck

made a template for the railings and transferred them to some strip stock, still a bit under the weather so the ride to the bandsaw will wait till I'm up to speed 

Well that's all for today, thanks again

Todays update...first here are the mast and spar numbers I promised, the original numbers came from a plate in The Search for Speed Under Sail  of a ship named FLY, she was captured by the British in 1812 for blockade running and renamed HM Schooner Sea Lark, I chose it because the overall deck layout looked very similar to Jumbo, and she was a schooner rig.
 
First thing I did was blow up the page so I could read it, then converted yards and inches to feet

once I had those numbers it was a matter of converting them to scale lengths and actual lengths 

The above chart shows the results...seems she's still gonna have tall rigging, not as high as box stock but still up there...main mast total will be close to 18 inches
 
piddled around with some more small stuff...completed the rudder and oars for the ships boat, just some carving and sanding from plank stock
and started work on the forward companionway...sorry I didn't get pics from the very start, you'll see her below in putty and primer,  I built it up from card stock with a wood base for coaming, once the general shape was achieved a coat of glazing putty was applied to smooth it all out.  It will eventually be painted and trimmed out to match the deck house
Well thats all for today, thanks for the likes and comments

Hey, Denis thanks much, I assembled them to the kit dimensions, way out of scale.  I have worked out what I plan to use as finished mast height and yard and boom length.   I’ll post the numbers later, as I’m on my phone right now.
 
you've got a little more hull length then me, probably due to the additional rib you added
 
ill not lose more then an inch into the hull as my blocks are mounted flush under the deck,  gonna have to trim my sail sticks big time🤪 

Now the real fun begins, are you gonna focus on one or jump back and forth?

thanks for the kind comments and to those who are following along.   the hull is officially planked!........hull wise,  that is    the other side gave me just about as much trouble.........the sanding was fairly tough....not sure how much I took off.  I had done some of the sanding on the starboard side,  but I went over it again to see if I couldn't get out more of the imperfections.  still a bit more I need to do.  I am happy to report that I've used little filler so far........I may need to use it on the harder areas though.
 
thanks J.....your still further along than I am ......but that's OK!  it'll give me a build log to follow  
 
welcome to the log Robert....I hope you enjoy following along.
 
I believe the word is sweet OC.........I did enough of that sanding the hull       .........changed my shirt once or twice  
 
thanks Ed....most of the log will be devoted to the first hull.  I'd start a log on the second hull,  but I don't have a definite name for her.  so,  for the time being,  I'll post a few pictures of the second hull just to give you an idea if where I am with it.  I've done some faring of the frame so far.......not very prolific.......but I did add the bow bulkhead on her today.  I will need to trim the posts some for being too tall.  it's almost ready for planking,  and for her,  I will use some of the supplied planking.....when I get to the tighter contours,  I'll resort to the narrower planking.  it worked out quite well.  here is one picture of the bow bulkhead.
it's still in the planning stage.
 
as mentioned,  the sanding was extensive........it was good to have used 1.8 mm planking......gives me more to sand.  the shot of the starboard side.....with a little more sanding.   
not too much here......minimal
the port side.......there's one area of the bow that still looks too thick.  I didn't bevel the planks enough I guess.

when looking at the stern,  a few areas become visible.......the curvature of the stern and under both sides of the counter.
 
I did add a stern strip,  to tidy it up some and enable me to cut a better looking hole for the rudder.  I shoulda got a picture of the outer surface of the transom......it's shaped and sanded as well.  the deck area looks pretty good.....still got the gaps,  but with planking they will be covered over.
  
...and of course,  a view of the bow
  
the next step will be to do more refinement of the hull,  and to do a tracing of the bulwarks for the cap rails.
 

lookin good

Thx much

So a brig then, the pair will make an interesting display 

love your weathering techniques

love your weathering techniques

lookin good

love your weathering techniques

hey there all!...........planking has continued     the port side is almost closed up.  there will be a break in the action though,  as we need to go to our oldest son's house for babysitting duties.  *
 
started to write this...this morning.......the babysitting job is done.    had a great time with the two younger rug rats.....Ford has turned into a total chatterbox,  and Ari......well he don't talk,  but he's a pretty active monkey  
   couple of things...I really shoulda tapered more......the bow could have benefited with a few....and I think I was too late with the stern.......but I do have a second stab at it     I will guarantee that the second will not come out like the first...they never do,  given the fact that I've done the two hull thing before.  I have a project in the wings that would prove my theory,  but another obscure project has caught my eye, and seeing that I have the perfect hull to do it to......it got bumped back.  {now that I mention it.......it gave me an idea to try}.  anyway......the planking was stubborn and wanted to lift off the bulkheads.....kept having to reset them.  it makes me thing that the bulkheads might have been a bit off too.  knowing that I'm going to close the hull by trimming planks,  I added the garbard plank.......leaving the keel unplanked.....I don't want to add any more thickness to it.

I need to trim the bow heel a little to get the proper curvature there........even the line a little too.   I did a little tapering at the bow at this point.....filling in from bow to stern.  it can be seen that I've been doing some sanding as I've gone along.......can't stand to see how ugly it looks.   it's true..........to all those who are just starting out....these hull look butt ugly.........they don't start looking good,  until they are sanded and get some form of paint on them.  don't let it deter you......    the mid ship has been filled in and all that's left is the stern area.
 
as it closes,  the hourglass look appears at the stern stem.  tapering and a stealer will fix that.  while this was going on,  the transom was being planked over.
 
this will all be trimmed after and sanded.  the port side got more sanding to get rid of most of the plank edges.   it looks like clinkering........some folks need a tutorial for this method of planking..........I'm a natural at it   
 
I think with some paint on it,  the hull will look alright.  I did the trimming at the bow.  the transom has been trimmed and sanded.......that's taken care of.   the starboard side is the next step.........I've already turned it around and applied the first plank to end all planking  

Here, I've highly reduced intermediate blue paint to apply to the navy blue to give the effect of sun bleached/salt stained panels and add some depth to the model. Intermediate blue mixed 1 part paint to 10 parts reducer, then misted lightly over various panels.
 

Thanks, Bob!
My first experiences as a kid were with model railroading. You know how the model RR guys love to depict everything weathered and beat up. I guess it stuck... 
   Well I finally completed the hull... yay! I did a few more passes with the pigments, pencils and erasers and then applied about five thin coats of Krylon matte clear. I made some 12 pound cannonballs from a string of 4mm beads from Goodwill (great place to find cool stuff) by unstringing them then filling one hole with Testors putty. A coat of primer, some touchup and then a coat of Metalizer burnt iron. I also have some 3mm beads to use for the 9 pounders. I'm waiting on some Syren blocks and then I'll rig and permanently mount the gun carriages.

 
   I'm really undecided about the mortar. I finally made a carriage I'm satisfied with and would really like to include it. The stern seems so empty... I'd have to make some mods to the awning battens and other stuff but it's doable. I'm getting close to having to make a final decision before I go much further... any yeas or nays?
BTW, Slim"s not DOA (although technically he IS dead...) and he'll be back!
   Here's some progress shots outside in sunny St. Pete FL:






 

Hi all,
   This will be a build log for my second wooden ship kit. I have a lot of experience in styrene and railroad modelling, and this log will be a running commentary of my trials and tribulations during the construction process. I've read through the other Philly build logs here on the forum, and I'm really impressed with the skills and techniques the builders used to complete their amazing results.
   I've been interested in building the Philadelphia kit for a while, liking the large scale, interesting construction and unique history of this ill-fated gunboat. Over the holidays I finally pulled the trigger and got the kit. After unboxing and examining the components, I'm mostly impressed with the quality and precision of the plans and materials. The only complaint I have (and it's a big one) is the quality of the 12 and 9 pound cannons (more on that later).
   So, here's the start and first few construction pics and comments.
 
Here's the hull frame partially assembled just so I can get an idea of what I'm getting into... This thing is huge!

Only problem I found was frames 12 and 13 on the port side were laser cut a little wonky. Luckily, fixable. I used Superglue at this stage, but will use wood glue for most of the rest of assembly. 
 
Here's the assembled and shaped bow and stern posts.
 


Here is the framing completed and shaped, along with "the construction guy", who hasn't been named yet.... any suggestions?

Here's my first attempt at a weathered deck piece. I sealed the wood with Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner, added nails and tar edges with a hard pencil and then stained with Minwax classic grey.

I'm not sure what to use as a final finish coat, on this piece I used Krylon matte clear. Any suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated!
 
 

hey J........the other one is gonna look like on the box......I kinda like how the model looks.

Sure thing, are you going to both yours as schooners?

look'in good J....thanks for the numbers

Todays update...first here are the mast and spar numbers I promised, the original numbers came from a plate in The Search for Speed Under Sail  of a ship named FLY, she was captured by the British in 1812 for blockade running and renamed HM Schooner Sea Lark, I chose it because the overall deck layout looked very similar to Jumbo, and she was a schooner rig.
 
First thing I did was blow up the page so I could read it, then converted yards and inches to feet

once I had those numbers it was a matter of converting them to scale lengths and actual lengths 

The above chart shows the results...seems she's still gonna have tall rigging, not as high as box stock but still up there...main mast total will be close to 18 inches
 
piddled around with some more small stuff...completed the rudder and oars for the ships boat, just some carving and sanding from plank stock
and started work on the forward companionway...sorry I didn't get pics from the very start, you'll see her below in putty and primer,  I built it up from card stock with a wood base for coaming, once the general shape was achieved a coat of glazing putty was applied to smooth it all out.  It will eventually be painted and trimmed out to match the deck house
Well thats all for today, thanks for the likes and comments

Hey, Denis thanks much, I assembled them to the kit dimensions, way out of scale.  I have worked out what I plan to use as finished mast height and yard and boom length.   I’ll post the numbers later, as I’m on my phone right now.
 
you've got a little more hull length then me, probably due to the additional rib you added
 
ill not lose more then an inch into the hull as my blocks are mounted flush under the deck,  gonna have to trim my sail sticks big time🤪