DLLBlue

3 minutes ago, Jim Lad said:

The only ship known to have been built to the plans of "A Schooner For Port Jackson" is Mary Reibey's 'Mercury' - the ship on our $20 note!

 

John

Thanks John. That was one factor in my choice of model, being some “local” history and an Aussie product.

I was also keen to build a schooner, as that was what my great great grandfather used to sail on, but there seem to be very few kit model schooners.

Darryl

For my second build I have chosen an Australian model, with more detailed instructions than the Corel Flattie. I also bought the instructional video - which seems to have been recorded decades ago but is nonetheless helpful.

There seem to be as many different planking techniques as there are skilled model builders. For the first layer I have soaked the planks for a few minutes or hours or overnight, trimmed before or after soaking, then bent using an old hair curling wand. This runs at a slightly low temperature, but minimises burns to my fingers.

I have experimented with a variety of clamping techniques, settling on a combination of small spots of CA glue and pins for this layer.

I’m currently using timbermate filler and half round file to smooth the surface. It strikes me this stage is really a form of wood sculpture.

In my enthusiasm to complete the next step, and the next, I keep forgetting to take photos.

Completed the vessel, only to realise I was supposed to double plank the hull! This despite carefully reading the (inadequate and very poorly translated) 
instructions, referring to a book on model building and reading lots of posts on this forum.

I used some of the “leftovers” to plank the stand.

Added reef points to the mainsail, taped straight onto waterproofed paper and painted with diluted matt polyurethane

Ready to trim to uniform length

The kit supplied shrouds were not black, so I painted them with acrylic

I mounted the cleats temporarily to make painting easier - a coat of titanium white followed by a wash of grey, then glued to the mast and the deck. I’m unsure which glue is preferable here, and used epoxy resin for the mast and cyanoacrylate for the deck.

Bending brass strip and wire with pliers was a struggle, resulting in a clumsy appearance. Advice on bending would be appreciated.

My first attempt at a kit build

I’ve used PVA glue with a dot of CA for clamping.

Matt clear acrylic to the deck, masking the places where superstructures will be glued

Gesso to the areas to be painted, preparatory to acrylic colours

When I click on create new topic, the build log section is greyed out.

How do I start a build log?

Thanks

Darryl

Hi

I recently came across a Corel Flattie, started and abandoned 17 years ago by my then 13yo son when he found it beyond his abilities. Carefully stored away ever since, I was inspired to take it on. So far so good. At every step, I find I am wondering “but how do I do that?”

So I was delighted to find MSW forum.

I have a little seafaring heritage. My great great grandfather was an English merchant seaman, lost at sea off a schooner in the Bay of Biscay in 1879, leaving his wife and 3 sons destitute. And my grandfather served some years in the Royal Navy.

I have found the images on this forum both inspiring and daunting. Hopefully the Flattie is an appropriate starting point for a person with some amateur boxmaking, woodcarving and woodturning experience. My wife has kindly chipped in with some acrylic painting expertise, and a hair curling wand for plank bending.

sincerely

Darryl