Gregory

Just out of curiosity, what do you see as the problem with cutting the bulkheads?

Time to bite the bullet and share what we all know:  It's not always pretty.

My first planking is just about ready for the 2nd finishing layer. 

I don't like to use paint except in certain circumstances, which I will bring up later when I paint something. With that in mind, I am using a dark mahogany stain to accent the gun ports. 

Still have some details to work out with the bow gunwales. Fabricating some knight heads, not part of the kit plans, but  based on the Chapelle drawings.

Meanwhile, I am working on other details while the glue dries..

The kit includes a so-so cast transom, but it will not fit my vision for this model.

Again, I go to the Chapelle drawings for Ferret/Sharke.

These are my laser cut frames that I will incorporate into a cherry transom.

I don't think I will be attempting any detailed carving on this model, but will accent the shape of the transom and window frames with some moldings.

With a lot of time on my hands, I will hopefully have more updates soon.

I know the bar is set pretty high here, but if I were building that kit, my goal would be more of a piece of folk art.  I would use a lot of stain and varnish to get a wood look.  No paint, except for black in the masting and spars.

I think the metal details you showed would go good as is, except for something to knock the shine off.

Some nice scale rope would look nice rather than the " thread " usually included in kits.

Adding the yards to the masts in the proper manner gets my vote also..

Just my vision, and I respect that you might have other ideas.

It might make a nice gift for your mother-in-law.  In which case, I would build it as is.. 

While certainly not up to the standards of MSW, it would make a nice mantle piece that would get a lot of ooohs and aaahs from the average observer..

Looking through several build logs, it looks like they are using 3/16 planks.   They would certainly offer more flexibility when it comes to tapering.

1 hour ago, Tony Dee said:

Honestly two things worry me. 1. Planking and 2. Rigging lol

That's kind of like saying the only thing worrying you about building a house is sawing and nailing..😄

2 hours ago, Ponto said:

I would think that a person would have to have experience with each brand.

The poll is only asking for individual experience with brands you have had experience with.   If you are not familiar with a brand, you do not respond to questions regarding that brand.

The poll results are a reflection of those responses.  A failure to respond to a question, affects the results accordingly.

While it may be a little more work, getting info on a particular kit means looking at the build log data base, and in the build logs themselves.

While there are not very many, you can get a better idea of a particular kit in the review forum.

Hopefully, more members will submit reviews; even more so when they have a bad experience.

18 hours ago, robert Lamba said:

The poll would be of more help if people would state their building experience and explain why they up voted or down voted a particular kit.

There is no option to up vote, or down vote a particular kit. 

Anyone can start their own poll if they are looking for other opinions.

Did you complete the poll?

7 minutes ago, robert Lamba said:

The poll would be of more help if people would state their building experience and explain why they up voted or down voted a particular kit.

The poll is intended to rate the the experience we have with the various manufacturers. 

 It would balloon out of control if it were a poll about our experience with every kit.

You can get a pretty good idea of how someone feels about a particular kit by looking at build logs, or checking for a review.

You can also glue on pieces of soft wood like basswood, then sand back to shape.

What is your source?  What is the context?

It sounds like some type of laminating technique to reduce warping.

However, I've never heard it mentioned here before.

I've used these blades from Amazon with very good results. The kerf is a bit more than I would like, but they are a fraction of the cost of Proxxon or Micromark blades.

They have 10mm arbor.

Avenger AV-34024-5 Combination cut saw Blade

I found this on Amazon UK.  Looks like it could be the same thing unlabled.

ZhuJinSheng Cutting Disk 1pcs Out Diameter 85mm 24T/36T Mini Circular Saw Blade Wood Cutting Blade

14 minutes ago, popeye2sea said:

However in the second photo the lines leading from the spritsail yardarms to the fore and fore topmast yard arms do not make any sense. 

The rigging of the  model in the picture is a disaster in more ways than one..  I believe the rigging with the Model Expo plans is pretty reliable.

On 4/11/2020 at 5:26 PM, captainscott said:

Ripping planks is all I would probably use it for.

Unless you are going to be ripping balsa planks, none of those cheap saws are going to be much good.

I have had one of these:  MicroLux Mini Tilt Arbor Table Saw for about 20 years, and it can cut planks with a decent blade and finely adjustable rip fence.

At that price one would do to well spend an extra hundred or so for the Byrnes.  I keep thinking about getting one myself, but I haven't got into scratch building yet

and my little saw does everything I need to do right now.

On 4/5/2020 at 2:13 PM, DocBlake said:

Given the size and shape I'm sure in real life it was made up of component parts. Any thoughts on a design?

Here is a an image from Mondfeld:

He says it is an 18th century warship.  The Hanna might not be as robust, but you could extrapolate down to fewer parts.

2 hours ago, CPDDET said:

...the Japanese saw has zero kerf. 

Is it invisible?  😄

8 hours ago, mfrazier said:

I  planned to  plank it with thin strips. To fill this figure head,  I  would have to at least use 2 mm thick planks on each side. Isn't that awfully thick?

You mentioned not wanting to sand the plywood, but if you sanded it, then covered with veneer, you might have something that would work..

Just a suggestion:

When you want to complement the builder, can you do it without re-posting all the images again.  It makes it harder to follow the updates when there are so many duplicate pictures.

26 minutes ago, Paul_S said:

Should i sand a rabbet? on the bottom of the keel to help them fit, 

You should sand out a ' bearding line, so the keel and stern post stand proud of the ' back bone ', that some call the false keel.

This illustration shows a chisel being used, but with the MDF in this kit, you should be able to do most of it with sanding tools.

On a double planked hull, a true rabbet is more of a challenge.  The kit design assumes you will fit the final planking flush with the keel and stem to give the appearance of a Rabbet.

Another option is to fit some very small ( 1 x 1 mm ) stock along the bottom and front of the backbone as seen here, in Chuck's Cheerful. This creates a slot that serves as a rabbet.

However you have to consider the thickness of both layers of planking.

I'm pretty sure Mamoli didn't offer pre-made sails with this kit.  Looking at the sails available at Dusek, I do not see any for the Mamoli line.

Looking at the deadeye face on. how should the grain run?

Very nice work.

If I may ask, what is the actual length of the little ship's boat?

I like this example by dvm27:

Your method I have seen before..  You might consider drilling the holes before shaping the deadeyes..