Snug Harbor Johnny

Thanks, Clare. I have 5 kits in stock aside from the build (summer suspended) of the Billings old Wasa kit. Rather than accumulate any more, I need to start a 'buy one - build one' policy. Your 'nudge' prompt me to squeeze-in a build of the Khufu boat, as I've been thinking about ways to do it justice as I roam the hospital halls in my per-diem job as a pharmacy Tech ... lots of picking and delivery and endless running around with meds. It's what I call a 'working retirement' ... well, with inflation and meager savings wee still need the income. Johnny

Ahoy from Sung Harbor Johnny ! After seeing a summarized build of the funerary yacht of Pharo Kufu (also known as Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid of Egypt) offered by the Woody Joe company of Japan, I was intrigued enough to order one to examine for myself. The subject is the oldest complete ship in existence (about 145' overall length), and was discovered in 1954 in a sealed chamber next to the Great Pyramid. It was apparently entombed intact, but in 4,500 years the internal reed fastenings deteriorated enough that the tenoned planked hull 'disassembled' itself. The experts took their time to take everything out of the chamber and eventually reconstructed the craft for display in its own museum. You can find out all the details on line, as I'm focusing on the kit. Per info found in the forum, one can order from a dealer in Japan (Zootoys ?) and pay through PayPal. I didn't want to setup an account for a single purchase, so ordered through an Ebay vendor - with Ebay securely handling my credit card info. as a 'guest' (no need to join Ebay). The price in yen listed by Woody Joe works out to around $176 - not including tax (Japan has a 10% value added tax) or shipping, so my guess if ordered through the dealer in Japan might come to $220 altogether. I paid $248 (plus $11 to 'expedite') through Ebay, but wasn't pinching pennies (the middleman has to make something) and preferred the security offered by Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised that the well-packed box arrived in 12 days via FedEx - and the carrier water for someone to answer the door and receive the package (the Admiral, who knew that I place the order). The first photo shows most of the contents, all well organized and in plastic sleeve sub-units (not in the photo is the instruction pamphlet - more on that later) and the two-piece drawings of the model (needed to produce parts of the kit) have been left folded, since I did not want to depict an image of it. Note: what looks like a singe sheet of laser cut wood in some of the packages is really a stack of SEVERAL sheets contains multiple parts. You are just seeing the top sheet in those stacks. The design of this kit is rather sophisticated as the model to be constructed has many curves - including the deck. So the cabin on the deck has curved bottoms, vertical end pieces (so they are not 90 degrees at the base) and a horizontal roof. It would be difficult to work out all the odd angles, or even the method of assembly in a scratch-build. This may be a great project for someone new to wooden ship modeling to begin with, since the focus is on learning to handle, bend, do some trimming/shaping and gluing of wood (and some fairing) - and later tint as desired. There is no mast or sail, since the original was towed and the oars were mainly for steering and positioning, although in a pinch rowing was possible. Thus there is no rigging (other than to secure the oars) ... no guns, gun ports complicated carving either. The vessel has interesting lines, and there is a clever way the planking is done upside-down on an internal framework that is ultimately removed. The only 'catch' (which I knew about in advance) is that all the instructions are in Japanese. This might be a real disadvantage for a beginner, were it not for the Google translate app. I happen to have the most basic Trafone Blu phone (Android) that I use for emergencies only, or to keep the Admiral posted as to my whereabouts should I have to be away. If an old, non-tech guy can figure out how to download an app I suppose just about anyone can do it. I used the phone's camera (after selecting Japanese to English) held above the Japanese text (just a bunch of characters to my eyes). What appeared in the picture was then an 'overlay' of English text ... but the verbiage kept changing into alternate 'translations' ... ways of saying things, I guess. Part of the challenge was the small size of some of the text in Japanese - so I took pictures of those areas with my digital camera (not the low-res cell phone), pulled the images onto the desktop of my computer, then printed the photos to hold the translator over. That solved many problems, but the smallest text required me to crop the photos of that text in photoshop in order to print an further enlarged version that the translator app could reliable make sense of. In short, translating the instructions into English is an absolute MUST for this to be a beginner's kit. The process of doing this familiarized me with the well-illustrated instruction pamphlet, and queued me into some of the finesse needed in a few places of the future build - as well as a few places for improvements. The wood is all of Japanese Cedar (the original ship was made of Middle Eastern Cedar) and there is no plywood. In an ideal situation, all the wood stock should be heartwood, yet there is a transition form heartwood to sapwood in some of the kit stocks. (Note: the 'keels' used temporarily during construction are composite material - but are not part of the model as these parts are removed.) The wood looks great, with no warpage - and the quality of the laser cutting is the finest I've see ... they must have a micro-fine beam that is perfectly tuned so not to have excessive burning seen on some other kits. The pre-cut display stand is some other wood comparable to heartwood poplar. Some really fine brass brads are packaged for use in some places - but I'd rather find an alternative construction technique and use the brads for something else. There are two laser cut scale Egyptians (flat), which is a neat idea (so why not supply a few of them to put on disc bases for placement on the model?) Just to contrast to a couple other beginner (or slightly above) kits at a comparable price... Billing's Roar Edge (a re-design of the challenging Vikingsskibbe) might be considered a beginners kit, but all the laser cut parts are a type of plywood, and many note that the instructions could be better - it does make an attractive coastal trader at 1:25, the same as their Oseberg. Occre's Endurance (perhaps an intermediate kit) has a lot packed into the box - and good instructions as well (augmented by an excellent on-line video), yet some note that simplifications of the original ship were made to ease the build - so adding aftermarket upgrades (e.g. 3-D brass railings) will raise the cost. Back to Khufu's Ship: Below is a closer shot of the laser cutting. Cabin pieces have roughly parallel lines, as planks were used to make the original cabin. What looks like 'gaps' in these lines is by design, as surface battens (also on the original) go in these places - so once assembled one does not see any gaps from the outside - as if the cabin were laboriously planked from the inside. The left board is seen from the bottom of the laser cut - showing a minimum of 'burn'. The right board is seen from the top of the laser cut - and it is clean and precise. What looks like (and is) a rib on the left is still attached to a 'bulkhead' - the slots of which key into aforementioned 'keels' used to make a building form that is later taken away in a specific way. As I said, a lot of engineering went into this deceptively simple kit - it is surprisingly sophisticated once one envisions the actual build process and the competed results. The components of the hull planking sections have a lot of irregular lines, which is because the original boat was made of irregularly shaped planks that were expertly joined together, stabilized by internal tenons and fastened on the inside with reed twine and papyrus caulk ... no need for nails, rivets or tree nails. The photo below is interesting. I've hand written my translations (gleaned from the app, but not always clear or identical) for what seems to be optional items to 'pimp' the model somewhat. 'Don't know why someone would paint the hull green - or apply gold to the bow and stern. It likely had a shade cover, but the museum ship doesn't have the extended framework going past the cabin astern. The next pic is the parts list, that took a little figuring out. The translation of the cautionary text is below the picture: 1. Assembled model is shown. Please read all instructions before assembly. 2. The plastic bags in the kit must not be handled by children, place over head or swallowed. There is a danger of suffocation. Please safely discard plastic bags. 3. Smooth all parts and discard waster or scraps in the trash. The material is easily broken especially by children. Take car around other people. 4. Parts are still sharp - use only for intended purpose. Be careful if small children are present. 5. There are small parts. Do not let children ingest or swallow, especially small children. Swallowing presents a suffocation risk. 6. A need for nippers, knives or files when assembling. Those under 12 need parent or guardian supervision. 7. When using adhesives please note the following: - Don't use in a closed room. Don't overuse. Danger of addiction. - Don't use near fire - danger of ignition. - Don't get paint or glue in eyes. In case of accident, rinse with plenty of water and see a doctor. 8. Parts subject to change without notice. The last 3 images are enlargements of areas of the parts list above. 'Turns out that a part number often refers to a laser cut board containing a number of parts - some numbered and some lettered (e.g. 15 -A, 15 -B versus 5 -9, 5 -10). Again, the cross referencing of parts and the steps they are used in gave me a much better understanding of how the boat will go together when I get to building it (future build log). 'Looks like a fun build. 'Guess whenever a build gets underway, I'll have to include the images of steps with translation (plus other tips). Fair sailing! Snug Harbor Johnny

Very nice work. I'm still absorbing everything from the several fine builds on MSW - as well as figuring out a few 'sleight of hand' tricks to try before tackling a clipper project ... and there is a lot to digest from Hackney's book that is applicable to the 1:150 Academy Cutty. The difficulties involved at the reduced scale may be compensated by details tiny enough to be omitted on smaller versions. My 'guess' for the smallest size to fiddle with on a model (for my fingers at least) is around .010. At 1:96 (about 1:100 for easier math) that would represent about 1" on the actual ship - so the 'dots' on deck planking are shown in 1:96 (at my skill level). At 1:150 the dots may be omitted, as .010 represents 1.5" at that scale. On a model at about 1:50, one needs to think about showing stuff that measure 1/2" on the ship - and at 1:25 one might show things as small as 1/4" ... per my arbitrary limit of working with .010 sized materials. Yet a 6"block at 1:150 is .040 (1mm) ... I can't imagine me trying to strop something so tiny, so I'd have to just tie a thread to a seed bead instead. 'Guess everyone has to work within their own limits ... and some of the tiny work seen on some MSW posting astounds me.

I wouldn't bother untwisting the cords, but just make rope of the opposite twist (running the drill in reverse on the Syren's Rope Rocket). It will still look OK on a model.

The Surprise (guess that name will be permanent, with the popularity of the film ... too bad they did not make the sequel) was originally the HMS Rose - famous in Colonial Rhode Island history. It was independently build (by contract) by a good friend of mine, John Fitzhugh Millar (now of Williamsburg, Virginia) back in the early 70's. This was around the time the repro. of the sloop Providence was built in preparation for the Bicentennial. John explained how expensive maintaining and sailing a ship the size of the Rose (now Surprise) can be, and although leased for a couple films (one of which was Man Without a Country), sold and repossessed twice - he was lucky to about break even when a sale finally went through. John did come away with a real treasure - for he met his future wife Cathy while conducting sea shanty sessions aboard the Rose, and the couple run a B&B in Williamsburg to this day, where the inestimable JF Millar has written a number of books on colonial history, architecture and art (13 Colonies Press).

'Looks sharp with Syren rope ... true 'miniature' rope spun much like full-size rope (although full-sized ropewalks produce rope from the far end to the spinning head, the result from the Syren 'Rope Rocket' where the rope comes together from the middle outwards is essentially the same thing). I've seen numerous builds on MSW, and perhaps the single best upgrade one can do on a ship with rigging is to use properly made miniature rope. It look better, feels better, behaves better and has very little (if any) of the 'fuzz' you see on close-ups of builds using average commercial rigging (I wouldn't call it rope) ... cord. Whether bought or self-made (with a little practice - and it's not that difficult) miniature rope won't detract from all the hours spent on the hull and other fittings - proper rope will ADD to the effect. BTW - I love your Drakkar model. Do you plan to add sea chests that the rowers would have sat on?

'There is a build log on the Woody Joe 'Khufu's Solar Boat' - a model described by the builder as 'easy, but not too easy'. It is a copy of the actual funeral boat recovered from the base of the Great Pyramid, and the original was re-built and now on display in a museum. A few simple tools , sandpaper and glue are all that appear to be needed. There is no mast (or sail), thus no rigging. But the laser cut parts appear to make a remarkable model of the oldest compete ship in existence. The planking is done in an innovative fashion, where the ribs are part of the forms and the hull is planked from laser cut sections upside down. Then the ribs are detached from the forms and the hull comes away. You have to see the build to appreciate this. I plan on getting this kit for my stash ... NOTE: the instructions are in Japanese, so a translator app for your phone will be very helpful. The kit comes from Japan, and the selling company accepts PayPal and is legit.

I'd recommend thinned model airplane 'dope' ... a familiar name was Aerogloss, which sold thinner separately as straight dope is too thick for this application. Old-fashioned hobby shops used to sell this, but there are far fewer such shops around - so one may have to go on-line. Otherwise, clear nail polish (preferably thinned) can work. BTW use with plenty of ventilation in small amounts because of the odor/outgassing. Another product one used to find was Duco cement, which also sold a thinner. Once again, kids got into the habit of 'sniffing' any of these so they are far less available to prevent abuse. Try buying more than one can of spray paint at most hardware stores ... there is some kind of program to prevent 'youths' from getting spray paint for graffiti. Best to experiment on test pieces first to assure suitability for the effect you want with rigging elements.

There's scale, and then there is practicality. From what I've seen thus far, very many models have at least a 'tad' of leeway when it comes to the deadeye sizes. One must pick which things to 'battle' and how much to fret over any detail. I seen postings of models large enough not to be able to get out of the space in which they were built. Larger size may mean deadeyes and belaying pins will be easier to be 'in scale', but then smaller stuff has to be represented that does not have to be included in smaller scale versions. There is a 'rule' or 'formula' I somewhere in this forum to calculate the minimum real-life size of anything one the original ship that should be represented at any particular scale. If anyone recalls that, they might just post in this thread.

I note the long boiler cylinders in the images, and this brings to mind that the CSS Hunley (submarine) hull was converted from a long boiler body - and can be seen in a couple period photos. Fascinating stuff, now that the Hunley was found and raised ... a subject for a scratch build?

Ahoy, Shipman ! I bought a copy of the book dealing with the CS Airfix 1:168 kit ... and it has a trove of information on rigging two different ways (as well as many modifications that can be made to the subject kit). The 1:168 kit doesn't seem to be in production, but I have the 1:150 Academy Cutty kit (one that has extended studding sail booms) - which is 'close enough' to 1:168 to use the book's dimensions (plus a smidge). OMG this is a challenging scale to try and do everything in the book 'to scale'. BTW, the book is masterfully "compressed" ( a little like a compressed computer file?) so that depending on what presentation one wishes to depict in a model, one must jump around from place to place and keep one's head on straight. Yet the information is there nevertheless, and applicable to larger scales. 'Saw another 1:150 build where the builder cut the extended stud sail booms and re-glued them under the yards. Another build was the (currently available) 1:130 Airfix - a nice size compromise between 1:150 and 1:96. Assembly order is important, yet there may be couple ways to assist in the later stages - like pre-attaching blocks to the optional deck eyes and eyes placed on the pin rail ... and pre-rigging lines between those blocks and the blocks they are paired with. The author mentions pre-mounting deadeyes to the pin rails, and pre-lacing them to their mating deadeye (already with shroud attached) might work out as well. Rob's way of furling sails on top of the yards presents a third method of presentation. A fourth might be with sails in a 'becalmed' state ... or merely 'ghosting' along with a very faint breeze. Ships were periodically becalmed at sea, and the sails would hang limp with the yards braced evenly while waiting for any sort of wind to break the monotony. Johnny

'Thought about it some, and here's my 'take' on the instructions, which appear to be done by computer translation. Rad admits that he does not know English, so uses a translator. Step 1, Degrease carefully (on both sides) with a 'Q-Tip' (cotton swab) on a PAPER shaft using one of several known liquid degreasers. Don't use the swabs where the cotton ends are on a thin plastic tube, since the tube could be attacked (and/or dissolved) by a solvent. Possible solvents: CRC circuit board cleaner, Automotive 'Gunk' (trade name), acetone, toluene ... one can't get tricholoethylene anymore ... or MEK. Lay the entire sheet on a felt backing and use a light touch. Do with plenty of ventilation, and allow to air dry. Step 2, Paint the outer surface as appropriate with enamel - do not use water base paint. You can use 'micro' brushes. Allow to dry. Step 3, Cut the part with a NEW (sharp) X-Acto blade - or surgical scalpel. The decorative sheet needs to be on something with more substance than an 'ordinary' cutting mat - they make polyethylene mats that have the 'right' firmness, but a piece of vinyl floor tile will do as well. Use a deft touch. Step 4, You can peel the backing off the transfer tape, but then what do you do with the tape in the interim? Rather, just lay the decoration painted side down on a trimmed piece of waxed paper somewhat larger than the piece of decoration. THEN, carefully apply gel CA with a micro brush to the back (unpainted) side of the decoration ... sparingly. If any should get through the decoration to the waxed paper, it won't stick to the wax ... but try to be neat without wasting time in the process. Step 5, Un-peel the transfer taper (if you have not done so already) and lay it on a smooth working surface 'tacky side up' ... that's the side that was protected by what was peeled off. Pick up the piece of waxed paper (slightly 'curling' opposing edges) so the decoration will only slide off the far end. Position the waxed paper where you want over the transfer tape, and let the decoration 'slide' off the waxed paper and onto the transfer tape. It will tend to stick where it lands. The painted side will be against the transfer tape, with the CA gelled side facing up. Step 6, Pick up the transfer tape and move it so the decoration is where it needs to be on the model. In the case of the 'wrap around' stern art, press the center first. If right handed, you will position the artwork centered on the stern (with the right hand) and press the center down with the left thumb - and the left forefinger will reach around to the inside of the bulwark so to help 'pinch' the center point of the decoration in place. Then smooth the right side (as you're looking at it) around with gentler but firm pressure with the right thumb. The sticky side of the transfer tape that overlaps the decoration will stick somewhat to the hull as you go. Once the right side is wrapped around, use the right forefinger to get hold inside the bulwark to help 'pinch' to hold that side of the decoration in place. Then (while holding the right side of the decoration in place), relax the 'pinch' of the left thumb and forefinger so the left thumb can smooth the left side of the decoration around before re-pinching. (This is what is known as using 'finger clamps'.) Then I'd hold on to everything for a while to allow the CA to set. Step 7, When you dare, try letting go and see if the decoration stays in place. IF not, then you let go too soon - and can hold everything down a while longer ... that is, until it stays. 'Don't know how long a good CA cure is, but I'd give it a rest for at least a couple hours. Then the transfer tape can be carefully removed. Don't just pull up on either end, but rather lift one end slowly while tugging out as much as up - and the tape should 'lift off' leaving the decoration in place. For smaller flat (or relatively flat) decorations, they go on much easier that something that has to 'wrap around'. 'Hope this helps someone ... Johnny

Rob, I read an account of a builder who had some of the 'as molded' belaying pins on the 1:96 Cutty break off ... 'don't know if age can make them more prone to this - but UV exposure can do it to plastic parts. His advice was to cut them off, then drill holes in the pin rail to accept scale brass belaying pins that are turned long enough to belay lines well. I'm absorbing everything I can from ALL the fine builds of this kit before doing anything on the Thermie (which needs additional work to make it closer to the original than Revell managed). I'm at the beginning off retirement - so am not worried too much at taking plenty of time to mull everything over before starting. 'Course the reaper could come for me at any time (as with those of any age) - but if the object is to satisfy myself with whatever is done, there's no point in fretting over what 'might happen'.

'Thinking about scale, and 1:96 is 'close enough' to 1:100 to make math easier. The builder's specs fro the Cutty note (I believe) 9 1/4" deadeyes (the larger ones), so if one uses 10" (again to make the math easier), that would be about 254mm at full size ... so at 1:100 scale one would use 2 1/2mm deadeyes - and presumably 2mm for the backstays? Did I figure right? So many suppliers use mm, so I'll work many accessories in metric. 'Guess using 3 1/2 mm (large deadeyes) and 2 1/2mm for the back stays is not going too far off strict scale - and easier to work with. Scale gets to be more of a problem going to 1:120 (Woody Joe Susquehanna) or 1:125 (Sergal Thermopylae), as scale deadeyes would be a mere 2mm. A 6" (150mm) block would be only 1.25mm ... kinda hard to strop. So the Sergal kit provides larger stuff to make it manageable to rig - their photo is kind-of cute with the larger blocks and deadeyes, but any other aspects of building in the smaller scale are challenging as Popeye attests.

Let's see ... at 1:100 scale (close enough to 1:96 - a scale I've done in the past and also at present), a .100" square hole (my example) represents 10 inches, where a beam would fit in. Your stated scale is 1:50, so that would represent a hole for a 5" square - still perhaps a bit large, but a .050" square hole (1.3mm) represents about a 2 1/2" square socket. That may be about right for wooden levers (going from square to round - tapering slightly towards the far end) - or wrought iron bars (square to round) used to work the drum. If I needed that size, the .070 (1.8mm) right angle veiner would be carefully reduced (ground) along the back edge (unsharp side) of each leg to .050 - or a little less using a rotary tool (like a Dremel, but I prefer the foot controlled variable speed unit I bought at a Harbor Freight ... don't knock it, as working vintage dental drills are priced out of sight). The mini carving set I found at a one-off (independent) wood working store years ago, but they might have something like that at Woodcraft (a chain) or on line somewhere. After all, there are decoy and bird art carvers who need fine tools, and some of them might go that small. Plan B would be to work a piece of harden-able steel to shape, and torch harden it ... hardly as difficult as forging an Aussie knife on Forged in Fire. Tiny files can also be found as clock makers need them, horological speaking. Snug

Hi Trond, I'm no photographer but I've attempted to show a test-of-concept. First, don't worry about the mortising tool mentioned - the smallest i think they come is 1/2" square and they are used in furniture making. It was the idea of slicing out a chip from the 'corners' that can make a round hole square. I took a pencil so one can get the idea of relative scale, and drilled three holes with whatever small drill I chanced to come upon (later measured as .085). I did not drill very deep since I soon hit pencil 'lead' (graphite). Obviously, once would not have this problem drilling into a solid wood dowel. The right-hand hole in the pencil was drilled with the drill (shown next to the round hole). The middle hole has just one corner 'nicked' with the mini 'duck carving' tool to square it. The tool does not show the right angle tool as well as I'd like - but the hand-me-down camera is limited in close-ups (as is my skill -or lack of it - in photography). The hole on the left had a chip taken out of all four corners with the 'veiner' (right angle cutter), then I picked at the chips in the hole a little and was able to blow then out with my breath (a blast of 'dust-off' compressed air through the provided extension tube would work just fine for chip removal). There is a tapered square file that I used to 'dress' the corners a little. Now there was a slight enlargement so that verniers showed the square hole to be .100 on each side. Now I've shown proof of concept. If I wanted a smaller square hole, I could always grind down the sides of the veining tool to make it smaller, and there are really TINY files available in sets having a variety of profiles (round, square, triangular) - but one only need used a square file to dress the hole. 'Hope this helps, and as they say 'Once picture is worth a thousand words. Johnny

Rob has me sold on furled sails for a couple of reasons, apart from portraying a ship moored for a relatively short while so the crew would not take the sails down. The compactness of furled sails atop the yards requires only a little material folded just-so and dangling 'mouse ears' (aka dog ears). A.) One does not have to worry about all those dangling reefing lines, sail seams and the rope around the perimeter (except for the ears). B.) The furled sails conceal the jackstays, so I won't go to the trouble of making jackstays in scale at 1:96. C.) I can also have them cover-up the buntline blocks (and so omit them, as well as reduce their number .. a sleight of hand to have fewer buntlines to deal with). Any buntlines I use can be glued to the top of the yard before laying the furled sail over with a gammoning line, and rout the buntlines through blocks at the mast then down through fairleads to belaying pins. One can get great ideas from the many fine builds seen on MSW.

What a treasure to start with! ... and so much tedious work already done for you. With care the repairs can be done and there are several ways to go; stub masts as an 'Admiralty model', first sections of masts with tops and shrouds/ratlines only, fully masted with standing rigging or completely outfitted with sails. A lucky break would be to find an incomplete kit somewhere to use as a trove of masting parts and fittings (and perhaps plans?). You'll find plenty of builds and helpful information on MSW to guide you.

I've shore at Burrabogie and I've shore at Toganmain I've shore at Big Willandra and out on the Coleraine But before the shearing was over I longed to get back again Shearing for old Tom Patterson on the One Tree Plain Chorus All among the wool boys all among the wool Keep your wide blades full boys keep your wide blades full I can do a respectable tally myself whenever I like to try And they know me round the backblocks as Flash Jack from Gundagai I've shore at Big Willandra and I've shore at Tilberoo And once I drew my blades boys upon the famed Barcoo At Cowan Downs and Trida as far as Moulamein But I was always glad to get back again to the One Tree Plain I've pinked them with the Wolseleys and I've rushed with B-bows too And shaved them in the grease boys with the grass seeds showing through But I never slummed a pen my lads whatever it might contain When shearing for Old Tom Patterson on the One Tree Plain I've been whaling up the Lachlan and I've dossed on Cooper's Creek And once I rung Cudjingie shed and blued it in a week But when Gabriel blows his trumpet lads I'll catch the morning train And push for Old Tom Patterson's on the One Tree Plain

Trond, I think I have an approach to squaring your holes that may work. Mulling over the problem today, I chanced to recall using a mortising drill for furniture making. Yes, it is a way to 'drill' a square hole - in that there is a long square housing with side openings that has a wood auger inside. When used with a drill press on a piece of wood to get a mortice (for a tenon, of course) the auger cuts a round hole and the sharp, square corners of the holder follow and cut square corners. The chips from the round hole come up the flutes of the auger to come out the open sides of the square holder, and the chips sliced out of the corners just come up with everything else. Now there is no such tool small enough for model applications, BUT there are miniature carvers made for bird and duck wood carving. I have such a set I used for old time gun smithing (got them from Woodcraft). One of the is a tiny square 'v' carver. The tools come both straight and with bent ends. The 'v' tool will cut a square corner into the round hole already drilled. One can judge 'by eye' where to make the other three chip cuts to square the other corners, but I suppose they could be marked with a pencil dot for a guide. The tiny chips that come out of the corners can either be blown out or 'winkled' out with a pin (or other implement) - I might try a dental tool.

'Love that low-angle plane. Its one of my favorite tools.

Some years ago I did see a demo of aluminum-to-aluminim 'solder' at a wood working expo ... a thin rod of aluminum alloy with a melting point a little less than common aluminum for cans or shapes found in hardware stores. It was a no-flux heating of parts to be joined until the solder rod flowed and, to my surprise, the items joined. I bought a small bundle of rods, and they sat around for years. But eventually I had to use one and it worked. I had to heat carefully, because of the danger of MELTING the metal parts. I figure it is actually closer to a 'weld' than a 'solder'.

"I'll do it first." meaning the first chance I get.

A.) Looking at the images of the work done so far, you only need to modify the planking near the bow. Starting several inches out, draw a pencil line that show the top three planks tapering down to nothing as the line ends up where the top of the third plank from the bottom 'should' be (more or less). Cut carefully along this line with a couple of light cuts using an X-Acto (a flexible steel ruler can be a guide - temporarily taped in place with blue painter's tape as you go). You're only going partway down into the planks, so you can go back and pare the face of the planks with the knife held even with the surface of the planks. This will be a controlled 'whittling' , and you don't have to go down all the way to the first planking either. The lower planks can then be sanded down gradually (surface tapered, actually) until they are thin at the bow. Glue planks with the shape you want over what's left after sanding. Then once the glue is cured, the added material can be sanded until the added wood is 'fair' with what they were glued to. Then you can continue planking with tapered planks up from there. B.) If that seems involved, you can glue strongly tapered planks at the very forward end to produce a triangular 'adjustment' ... a sort of 'fill-in' so you can plank normally up from there. When the model is mounted, the area in question will be very hard to see ... in other words, few people (if any) will notice what is way 'down under'. C.) Ships of this type were likely coppered, so if you take any one of the coppering options (a lot is on the forum about that) the planking underneath can be far from exact due to being subsequently covered.

Rubber cement and other 'contact' cements have failed for me over the course of years, so are not recommended for applications meant to last for decades. This is why I take exception to some kits showing the use of contact cements for model building. 'Just saying.