ERS Rich

Amidships Superstructure Buildup Spacer blocks are important construction aids. Building up the amidships superstructure is a good application. Here we need to find the height of the deck forward of the conning tower and between the amidships 01 level, the deck where the conning sits, and the 02 level, the Navigating bridge, where the pilot house sits. And to correctly position the Pilot House fore and aft. First Spacer Block From the plan the conning tower deck is 1/16” below the viewing ports, added this to the thickness of the deck, and subtracted this sub-total from the total height from the man deck to get a block height of 1 1/32”. Cut the block on the Byrnes table saw. This block will be used as a table for attaching the deck to the conning tower. Apply adhesive to the deck edge then slide it on the block to the tower, for a level fit. Second Block This block establishes the height between the 01 and 02 levels and will be used as a reference for cutting the 02 deck support stanchions. First dry fit a 1/16” bar on top of the conning tower. Through measuring, and trial and error cutting blocks, found a block height of 47/64” made my 02 deck level and the deck support stanchions will be cut to this length. Last Block Next is a block to help with fore/aft positioning the Pilot House on the 02 level. On the plan measured the distance from the aft edge of the pilot house, to the edge of the waterway on the aft end of the 02 deck, and found it to be 9/16”, and cut a block to that size. Here are several pictures of the ship, with the blocks in position. First Block Second and Third Blocks

Coal Scuttles and Deck Lights Note: the Deck Lights were later rebuilt with a different method shown in another post below. The PE scuttles need the frames painted and the center discs left brass. So the center discs need masks. Tried to find adhesive 1/8” diameter labels. Thought about a liquid mask. Settled on cutting Tamiya tape with an x-acto. Did a few and realized a burnishing tool could be used along the rim of the disc to cut the tape. Then lift off the waste. Then prime, Rustoleum White this time. Taped the deck lights down on a piece of wax paper, then filled the rings with Testors Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker. Coal scuttles painted and ready for use. In the background, dry fitting the forward catwalk.

Sub Assembly Finishing At this point all of the sub assemblies are built. Here the paint booth is shown, and prior to a color coat, assemblies have received a primer coat of Tamiya White Primer. At this point we are on page 48 of the instructions and beginning Final Assembly.

Stacks Here most of the work is done and built on a wood block.. I made a mistake with the hand holds, should have been a smaller diameter wire - of course noticed at the end. An aluminum rod is used for support between the stack and its base. Here a Foredom press is used to drill a 1/16” hole through the wood base and its top brass plate. The corresponding hole in the stack as drilled by hand. Another view.

Pilot House Sorry photos of this step are rather incomplete, since I was doing several things simultaneously. Started by clamping the house around the former, and let it sit for a few days. Here the house is in a clamp from Micromark. The house needs to fit exactly the width of its roof, the flying bridge - 3/4”. Also the aft end of the sides need to be trimmed and bent in such away that the joint is located in the middle. I trimmed 1/64” off each side of the former so the width of the former, plus the thickness of the sides totaled 3/4”. Therefore when clamped the pilot house sides were flush with the flying bridge. Now I could mark the location for the bends on the aft ends pilot house sides. Front view showing the roof fit. Not shown are the final steps of bending and trimming the sides. CA was used for the joint.

Navigation Bridge Decking Woodworking is about measuring, marking, and cutting away the waste. Several of the brass decks need glued up decking cut to shape and fitted in a recess formed by a border along the outside edge. So far, this was trivial for the rectangular searchlight platforms. The navigation bridge, a polygon, is a different situation. Start by making a template. A piece of vellum is taped to the plate. A toothpick is run along the edge of the recess. Next cutout the template with a razor knife, this one is easy to get into the corners. Cutout the template and tape it to the stock and mark the template outline, a straight edge helps. Use a flat chisel to cut along the lines, right on the pencil line, to remove the waste.. Drill relief holes as necessary - see the previous post on making the splinter shields. It’s important to stay on the line or keep the line visible - so the whole piece is slightly over sized. The next part, fitting, is an example of the art of craftsmanship. Start by fitting the aft edge, then work in one direction, say counterclockwise and fit each edge with fine chisel cuts, the razor knife for the corners, and the file for the curved forward edge - I left that for last.

Railings Began working with railings. Found, after several tools, this one from Small Shop worked best for me. Railing shown on top of forward search light platform. Dividers help with spacing, take a measurement off the platform, and use them to establish the length of the railing section on the tool. Forward mast platform railing. Set the railing back from the forward edge, and used right angles, trying to curve the railing around the platform a little to ambitious for me.

Reels, Masts, Ships Wheel, Skylights and Searchlight Platforms A productive week building sub assemblies. Let’s see if all can be completed by the end of next week, then on to Final Assembly. Driving to finish by the end of May. Reels Used a block of wood to help with the assembly, built the reel first, then added the legs. Masts Filed the metal parts, tapered the top masts and spars. It was important to spare the top of the masts to get a nice fighting top fit. Bands fixed with liquid CA and good old capillary action. Ships Wheel Again a block helps with assembly. Skylights Byrnes saw with the tilt table was essential. Used the skylight frame PE to get the tilt table angle. Skylights ready for finishing. Forward Searchlight Base Mini vise with flat jaws used to get the bends. Evening up the legs. Forward base.

Welcome aboard!

It’s interesting to me that building a wooden ship involves the same operations used in cabinet and furniture making - in miniature. So you have the skill - you just need small tools. Fortunately small tools can be much cheaper. If you’re serious invest in a Burns table saw. Like furniture making, it’s about precision but on a small scale. For me it was difficult and time consuming to cut multiple identical pieces with say a chisel. Get the full setup, with the sliding table. The difference between plastic and wooden ship building (both kit and scratch) is the later requires fabrication of practically every wooden piece. Given the large number of planks, masts, spars, gaffs, etc., etc. the work required is formidable, even on a small project. It will take weeks or months for a small ship and probably years for a ship with multiple masts. Most give up…. Usually after several months it gets tiresome, so I’ll take a break and build a plastic kit - they seem like a breeze. There is a cache here about scratch building. When it comes to fabrication, kit and scratch building, to a certain extent, is the same. A plank is a plank. It’s cut to length, tapered, spiled and fitted. The kit saves time, you get all the materials but the wood strip stock and doweling is in the rough. The new kits have laser cut stock for keel and bulkheads, however these pieces are also rough and require some me shaping. I like kits because I want to build many and all types of ships. Give yourself a break and learn how to do it in steps. Start with an open boat kit, like a dory to learn planking. The first time you try planking, it will not look as the second and third time. So why try to build a man o war the first time? Next is masting and rigging. Start with a single mast project. If you want to learn masting and rigging first, go with a solid hull kit. As for scale? As large as you can, it’s easier on the eyes. Almost forgot, nautical terminology, gotta know it, tough to follow instructions if you don’t. No right or wrong here, it’s your journey, always ready to help if you need a hand.

Aft Boat Skids and Cat Walks This work was a challenge and had to think of some ways to do the work and get the desired results. First cut the parts off the frets and cleaned up the nubs with a diamond file. For the skids taped a square edge to the bench and used the metal clips at the rail ends to hold the rails down against the bench. The horizontal girders have slots to accommodate the rails. Had to scrape the slots slightly with an Xacto spade blade to get an easy fit. The rails were butted against the straight edge for alignment, and dividers help to establish the girder location. The catwalk railings are a challenge. Squareness and positioning are essential. First glued the deck to the rails. Then masked the top side of the deck with Tamiya tape. Used wax paper, a wood block, and a ruler to help with assembly. Swiped the bottom of the railing with liquid CA, laid the rail on wax paper, then used the wooden block to slide the rail deck assembly to the railing already up against the ruler to apply pressure. Followed the same process for the second railing. But added a brass rod to hold the railing flat - it was slightly curled. Ready for paint.

This sounds unusual to me. Is the glue dry before contact? Should be wet on contact. Have you tried Locktite “Gel”? Thicker. Available at Walmart in the Craft department.

Boat Cranes Cut the main parts from the fret and assembled. Had to file down the tabs, as mentioned in the instructions, so they fit in the slots. Clamped the parts together dry. 1/32” wire through the tabs holds the top part in place. Next the bottom piece needs to be glued. Removed one clamp and applied thin CA in the gap along the side pieces, then replaced the clamp. Next assembled the winch and glued to the crane. Used a tool from Small Shop to form the winch handle. A piece of aluminum rod inserted into the crane bottom is a pin for attaching the crane to the base. Made the rod oversized, then cut to exact length with a saw, with the crane in a wooden block. Made the U shaped traveler, then drilled the holes with the piece in a wooden block. Cranes ready for panting.

Thank you Al, much appreciated. The kit is fun to build and the instructions are easy to follow. Have a great day, -Rich

Hello and welcome to MSW always available to answer questions. That bridge sounds like an amazing project. Cheers!

Progress Photos At this point the superstructures are mostly finished and the guns finished, up to page 24 in the instruction manual. Ahead is the interesting cat walk and other photo etch work. Bow view looking aft. Amidships looking aft. Amidships looking forward. Stern View Stern view looking forward. Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

Working with Metal Parts Start by filing the mold parting lines with fine file, they leave a smooth polished surface. A board is used to help build the gun bases, and a holder for painting. Holes were drilled into the bottom of the four 1 pounders to accommodate the mount pin. Mr Primer is used to prime the parts. A wood board is used to hold the vents and davits for priming and painting.

Sorry what I thought was lifting was my eye misinterpreting the overlap. Now I see.

Is the flame/heat eliminating the glue under the plate edge? Interesting, in the photo, the same aft plate edges are lifted. Thanks

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Hi Avi, Burnish is a fancy word for pressing down. Place the plate without glue, then press down with your fingers and shape it. Hold it down with one finger then use the side or point of the toothpick to press in the overlap with the previous plate. Try applying glue with toothpicks - the universal applicator. Cut a square of wax paper, and put a little pile of glue on it. Use the toothpick point to apply dots, and the side as a trowel. I use alot of toothpicks. If a plate is curled after drying, use the toothpick point and push in glue under the curl, then push down the curl and hold until the glue dries. If glue squeezes out while holding, with your other hand roll the side of a dry toothpick along the line to clean it up - while still holding down with the first pick. Try to establish an order of steps to install a plate, say dry fit and shape, apply glue to plate, install plate and hold down, clean excess glue while holding down, wait for glue to dry. Then repeat the same steps. After a while you’ll get into a rhythm. Like anything else new, start slow, figure out what works, after a awhile it get’s easier. Defects are less visible on the bottom. You’ll get better as you work towards the waterline. And take breaks, sometimes I’ll jump ahead to something else, then back to the longer job. This is a big job but worth it. Have a good one, -Rich

PS: make sure the Gesso is sandable….

Never done this…..looks tough…. Perhaps dry fit the plate first. Use the side of a tooth pick to burnish the overlap area. Once you like the fit, glue it….. I’d consider filling in the imperfections between the planks with plastic wood applied with an Xacto spade blade. Give a bit more surface area. Next time, for a smooth surface, Gesso is a possibility. Artists use it to prep canvas for painting, it’s acrylic with a binder, water soluble, and easy to work with. Wonder about applying another coat of anything at this point - over paint. Make sure the choice is compatible with the paint. Persevere, you’re on the learning curve…. -Rich

Files are years and years old, work on wood….clean after use with a file card….

Thanks Rick, hope to show simple ways to do the work. And for the next project, have a reference to refer to, when I forget how I did it…. Have a good weekend.