CapnJack43

Had to cut the Britannia fitting because it was too small, cut out the snake and mounted it on a piece of wood

added the gold by dipping a q tip in gold and rolling most of it off on

a paper towel before rolling it across the surface

Window frames in white seem to make it stand out better

Window frames are painted and ready to install

Made a base out of 5/8 inch stock contoured it to the hull and fastened it with wood glue and screws

Tinted clear water based acrylic with some brown acrylic paint to darken the deck a bit

First coat of primer is on the hull next step is to fill and sand the many imperfections

Two decks are all closed in - making collars out of thin plywood to go around masts to cover up where I screwed up the openings

Cabin doors and window built on work table and attached to bulkhead made from 1/8x1/32nd stock attached to a thin piece of mahogany plywood door knobs are pin heads

Deck is closing in nicely

Ladder was left over from my Danmark Kit

Deck planking is going well

 

Wood filler and sanding on hull is shaping up

 

Hull planking if done, next comes wood filler and sanding.

Made a jig out of two pieces of 1x2 to hold planks while planing  to taper them

Made this pin pusher out of a dowel, brass tubing and a washer magnet.  Magnet keeps the pins from falling out of the brass tube.

Flexible metric ruler really helped in measuring plank widths

Plank bending iron really helped a lot

Things are moving along, this winter has been unusually cold here in Florida, ran the portable heater in the garage on the days that were in the 40s.

Hey Guys thanks for checking in, referring to your build logs has helped a lot to add more details to what is show in the plans.

Adding a few more pics today, the jig that I made has helped a lot to hold it in place, it was modeled after one that was offered by a European Company

and I tried to purchase it but they had gone out of business.  

Jack

  

Finally cooling off in Florida - time to start another build, the rigging plan on this one is a nightmare, the set that I got the plan is all black and white.

The instruction booklet says that the running rigging should be in red. 

Contacted Model Expo a couple of weeks ago to try to get the plan with running rigging marked in red and so far no response.

Used dremel drill press to drill pilot holes in the keel to pin it in place.  Slots in bulkheads were all too tight and had to be sanded to widen.

Current Build Rattlesnake - Model Shipways

Completed Builds:

New Bedford Whaleboat – Model Shipways – 1:16

Model Ship Building Slip

U.S.S. Lexington – Mamoli – 1:100

Danmark – Billing Boats – 1:75

Yacht America 1851 Scientific Models

This was given to me be a friend who had the kit in his basement for over 20 years.

Build took a little over two months to complete and now that it is completed I will be returning it to him.

Instructions were ok but the rigging plans left a bit to be desired.

 

Danmark took a little over a year to complete.  Hull construction and deck fittings went well. I made a slip to help hold and align the keel and bulkhedas.  Rigging was another story, I found that the best way to follow the rigging on the plans was to mark them with color pencils and number the lines with tape.  Purchased a mini sewing machine for about 25 dollars to complete the sails.  Made an overhead jig to hold the sails while rigging & made the showcase out of 1x2 pine and 1/8 plexiglass.

Tried to purchase a similar one and found it was no longer being manufactured.  Built this one out of 3/4 inch plywood, 1x2 pine and 1/4x2 poplar.

Holds things in place nicely when planking and can be rotated and adjusted easily with wing nuts.

 

Building the Lexington took a little over six months.

Directions were easy to follow, although my painting skills leave a lot to be desired (need steadier hands).  All things considered it was very enjoyable 

to build and learn about it's history in the process.  Making various jigs to hold the planks in place while the glue dried helped a lot.