This is my first model ship build, my first scratch build, and my first wooden model build. I have done plastic model aircraft in the past, but have been looking to move into something different. I have been reading a lot about sailing ships lately, Patrick O'Brien's Master and Commander, Forrester's Hornblower series, as well as some non-fiction books on the subject. I initially wanted to get into rigged model shipbuilding, but I realized that required skills I hadn't even come close to being acquainted. Then the idea of scratch building a model submarine presented itself, especially after having read about how to bread-and-butter build a hull. It seemed doable, with my modest woodworking skills. Plus, my interest in submarines runs deep. My dad served in the US Navy in the early to mid 70's as a sonar man aboard the USS Francis Scott Key - SSBN 657 and USS Tinosa. I was able to find some designs for the Thresher/Permit class in general so the Tinosa is what I've gone with. Now, for the ship rundown, I'll keep it brief.
USS Tinosa - wikipedia
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08606.htm
Commissioned October 1964
Decommissioned January 1992
278 ft. long and 31' 8" wide, at a 1:200 scale brings it to 16 3/4 in. long and just under 2 in. wide.
For the model, I chose poplar boards. From my research, poplar seemed a decent wood to use, plus it is relatively inexpensive and easy to find here in the US. I picked up a 1/2" x 6" x 4' board and positioned my templates. I realize with a 2" wide hull and 1/2" boards, the bread-and-butter method is giving me only four 'lifts' on the model. I think this will still be doable though its making it more like building from a solid block than I originally thought. I am positioning the lifts according to buttock lines, versus doing them off the waterline. This way, I can attempt to cut the sail and rudders out with the hull, keeping them together. I'll have to individually manufacture the sail and stern planes, however.
In this picture below, I've already begun laminating the two center boards, which straddle the submarines vertical centerline.
Here, I've removed the clamps from the centerboards, with the hull template on top. Above I've got the two outer lifts with the template for those on one. The next step will be cutting them out.
Finally, here is a picture of my hull templates at the various stations, cut to the diameter of the hull, from stern to bow.
Hopefully that was explained clearly. I'm always open to helpful comments/critiques.
Tom