Jaager

With proper attention to priming and fine sanding, I am pretty sure that you can get a base for your finish coats that
can look as though you are painting over glass if you wish to go that far.  Before you do that though, given that you
are asking the question, you should do the boring, nerdy, and teachers pet thing of practicing on scrap wood first - a lot.
Even to the point of getting some additional Basswood planking size material and gluing it planking style on a flat piece of scrap plywood.
If your practiced priming and painting result on that is acceptable, then use that on the hull.
 
I would not use exotic or expensive wood species, that are best used natural or dyed, as a base for a painted finish.  If you were in the
Pacific Northwest and could get the Cedar from a local mill, it might be cost effective.  Since you are in Arkansas, the commercial
species from your region that have the tight grain and closed pore traits that you need and come as veneer include Black Cherry and Hard Maple.
It is a crime to cover up Cherry, so that leaves Maple.  While Maple is certainly suitable in a natural state, it is light colored.  But it is also on
the low end of cost.  I looked and you seem to be in a desert as far as walking into a local WoodCraft and pulling a pack of veneer off the shelf.
 
Your kits are POB, planked with Basswood, and with the wide spacing of the molds, you can get a smooth hollow free hull with a single layer?
You might could consider covering the Basswood layer with a second layer of the thinnest Hard Maple veneer to be had.  The planks can be 
spilled using a steel straight edge and a #11 blade or knife with a similar shape.  With the Maple, you can go much lighter on the priming and
have a finish that looks like there is scale wood underneath. You could also experiment with using a black dye or India ink on the Maple and
clear finishing that.  If you copper the bottom, given that copper sheeting is already thicker than scale, over the primary Basswood planking,
you might could do an intermediate layer of bond paper, under the copper, to shim it out to match up to the Maple veneer.

Of your local wood species, only Cherry and Maple would interest me.  Black Walnut is a beautiful wood,
but it is open pore.  If the part is totally hidden, Oak, Hickory, Walnut, and Pecan are hard enough and tight enough.
I got some rough 2" stock from a local guy who sourced an estate sale.  I got a lot of Maple, but I also 
bought a bit of what I thought was Cherry.  It is actually Elm, I think, not sure of the species. Great color,
grain contrast is more than I like and it is moderately open pore.

In the fiber industry, I think yarn has a specific meaning - the first stage in twisting up natural fibers.
At least in the case of linen, the progression is:
plant fiber -> yarn -> line/thread -> rope
-> = twist up to
linen fibers are pretty much larger than cotton thread, but in larger scales, make impressive looking scale rope.
Cotton fibers are so fine that I think that it pretty much starts as thread as far as availability.
There was a time when most of us would have been up close and personal in the process of turning wool fibers/hair into yarn.
 
Silk thread comes in fine diameters.
Cotton thread comes fairly fine.
 
Although my focus is largely on hull fabrication I give thought to scale effect on paint choice and rigging.
I think the eye sees rigging as being larger than it is, so I am considering ignoring the compulsion to match scale
rope diameter to its full size counter point.  I am thinking that a hair finer in diameter would look better.
In the case of busy work like serving line size, I am thinking that more than a hair finer than scale would actually look
more authentic. It has to be neigh on to impossible to get the gaps as tight as full size.
 

Of your local wood species, only Cherry and Maple would interest me.  Black Walnut is a beautiful wood,
but it is open pore.  If the part is totally hidden, Oak, Hickory, Walnut, and Pecan are hard enough and tight enough.
I got some rough 2" stock from a local guy who sourced an estate sale.  I got a lot of Maple, but I also 
bought a bit of what I thought was Cherry.  It is actually Elm, I think, not sure of the species. Great color,
grain contrast is more than I like and it is moderately open pore.

With proper attention to priming and fine sanding, I am pretty sure that you can get a base for your finish coats that
can look as though you are painting over glass if you wish to go that far.  Before you do that though, given that you
are asking the question, you should do the boring, nerdy, and teachers pet thing of practicing on scrap wood first - a lot.
Even to the point of getting some additional Basswood planking size material and gluing it planking style on a flat piece of scrap plywood.
If your practiced priming and painting result on that is acceptable, then use that on the hull.
 
I would not use exotic or expensive wood species, that are best used natural or dyed, as a base for a painted finish.  If you were in the
Pacific Northwest and could get the Cedar from a local mill, it might be cost effective.  Since you are in Arkansas, the commercial
species from your region that have the tight grain and closed pore traits that you need and come as veneer include Black Cherry and Hard Maple.
It is a crime to cover up Cherry, so that leaves Maple.  While Maple is certainly suitable in a natural state, it is light colored.  But it is also on
the low end of cost.  I looked and you seem to be in a desert as far as walking into a local WoodCraft and pulling a pack of veneer off the shelf.
 
Your kits are POB, planked with Basswood, and with the wide spacing of the molds, you can get a smooth hollow free hull with a single layer?
You might could consider covering the Basswood layer with a second layer of the thinnest Hard Maple veneer to be had.  The planks can be 
spilled using a steel straight edge and a #11 blade or knife with a similar shape.  With the Maple, you can go much lighter on the priming and
have a finish that looks like there is scale wood underneath. You could also experiment with using a black dye or India ink on the Maple and
clear finishing that.  If you copper the bottom, given that copper sheeting is already thicker than scale, over the primary Basswood planking,
you might could do an intermediate layer of bond paper, under the copper, to shim it out to match up to the Maple veneer.

In the fiber industry, I think yarn has a specific meaning - the first stage in twisting up natural fibers.
At least in the case of linen, the progression is:
plant fiber -> yarn -> line/thread -> rope
-> = twist up to
linen fibers are pretty much larger than cotton thread, but in larger scales, make impressive looking scale rope.
Cotton fibers are so fine that I think that it pretty much starts as thread as far as availability.
There was a time when most of us would have been up close and personal in the process of turning wool fibers/hair into yarn.
 
Silk thread comes in fine diameters.
Cotton thread comes fairly fine.
 
Although my focus is largely on hull fabrication I give thought to scale effect on paint choice and rigging.
I think the eye sees rigging as being larger than it is, so I am considering ignoring the compulsion to match scale
rope diameter to its full size counter point.  I am thinking that a hair finer in diameter would look better.
In the case of busy work like serving line size, I am thinking that more than a hair finer than scale would actually look
more authentic. It has to be neigh on to impossible to get the gaps as tight as full size.
 

Thanks for the heads up, I also got 2 and the net with shipping was about
$20 each. The quality was much better than would be expected at this
price.  They really are pencil boxes.  I did not get them for this purpose,
but they are too shallow for palm chisels.

Cliff,
 
Good start.
 
You have more bravery than I have. Being compulsive, I would have taken the sanding planer with me.
I am never sure how much thicker my stock must be to get a 220 finish on both
sides and have all of the blade scars removed.
I try to keep it as close to final as possible to get max yield.  The additional passes thru
the thickness sander is tedious, time consuming and poor wood economy.
 
In your place, I would find out the blade length for their bandsaw and if I could use my own on
their machine.  If I could I would purchase 3 or 4  1/2" Wood Slicer blades from Highland.
A 5/8" or 3/4" blade is not better at resawing than a 1/2" blade.  The steel is top quality.
the blade is thin and it only has a minimum set,  so the kerf is as low as can be had.
These blades last longer, but they are expensive and you only want to use  them for resawing.
The trick for efficient tracking when resawing, is not having a wider blade.  The trick is in
the blade position.  The cutting edge of the teeth should ride on the crown of the top wheel.
And, a wider blade will not stop it wandering when the cutting edge gets dull
I know for a fact that even a hard steel blade will snap if you push it when dull.
The blade only needs have just enough tension. A tighter blade does not resist wander,
it just more likely to break.
 
 
I would also make friends with a couple of local tree service companies and pay them for any
Pear, Hawthorn, Plum, and especially Apple butts and large limbs.  18-24" is plenty long.
Cherry is great, and Sweet Cherry is similar in hardness and grain to Black Cherry, but the color is tan.  Unless they
work old fence rows,  a tree service is only likely to cut eatable cherry trees.  Fortunately, Black
Cherry is readily available from  commercial sources.  And half the work is done over self harvest,
billeting, and drying.
 
You are a good haul from the mountains and the deals to be had on rough cut 
Hard Maple and Black Cherry, But it may be worth a trip, especially if you do not have a retail 
yard like Yukon Lumber near by who also sell rough stock.. The mill planers take off significant wood, so a  smooth planed 3/4"
board at a retail yard is 1- 1 1/4" thick at a country saw mill.  And yes, it is a PITA to get
smooth face on the top and bottom edges of slabs resawn from rough boards, But frame  timbers
do not need this anyway and you have up to a 1/2" more width - depending on how much checking there is.

Cliff,
 
Good start.
 
You have more bravery than I have. Being compulsive, I would have taken the sanding planer with me.
I am never sure how much thicker my stock must be to get a 220 finish on both
sides and have all of the blade scars removed.
I try to keep it as close to final as possible to get max yield.  The additional passes thru
the thickness sander is tedious, time consuming and poor wood economy.
 
In your place, I would find out the blade length for their bandsaw and if I could use my own on
their machine.  If I could I would purchase 3 or 4  1/2" Wood Slicer blades from Highland.
A 5/8" or 3/4" blade is not better at resawing than a 1/2" blade.  The steel is top quality.
the blade is thin and it only has a minimum set,  so the kerf is as low as can be had.
These blades last longer, but they are expensive and you only want to use  them for resawing.
The trick for efficient tracking when resawing, is not having a wider blade.  The trick is in
the blade position.  The cutting edge of the teeth should ride on the crown of the top wheel.
And, a wider blade will not stop it wandering when the cutting edge gets dull
I know for a fact that even a hard steel blade will snap if you push it when dull.
The blade only needs have just enough tension. A tighter blade does not resist wander,
it just more likely to break.
 
 
I would also make friends with a couple of local tree service companies and pay them for any
Pear, Hawthorn, Plum, and especially Apple butts and large limbs.  18-24" is plenty long.
Cherry is great, and Sweet Cherry is similar in hardness and grain to Black Cherry, but the color is tan.  Unless they
work old fence rows,  a tree service is only likely to cut eatable cherry trees.  Fortunately, Black
Cherry is readily available from  commercial sources.  And half the work is done over self harvest,
billeting, and drying.
 
You are a good haul from the mountains and the deals to be had on rough cut 
Hard Maple and Black Cherry, But it may be worth a trip, especially if you do not have a retail 
yard like Yukon Lumber near by who also sell rough stock.. The mill planers take off significant wood, so a  smooth planed 3/4"
board at a retail yard is 1- 1 1/4" thick at a country saw mill.  And yes, it is a PITA to get
smooth face on the top and bottom edges of slabs resawn from rough boards, But frame  timbers
do not need this anyway and you have up to a 1/2" more width - depending on how much checking there is.

Thanks for the heads up, I also got 2 and the net with shipping was about
$20 each. The quality was much better than would be expected at this
price.  They really are pencil boxes.  I did not get them for this purpose,
but they are too shallow for palm chisels.

Wood that seems to be too brittle or splinters is probably because an unsuitable species was chosen by the kit company to begin with.
Living in a World of short lived manufactured items and plastics that either oxidize or continue to polymerize to brittleness over a short time span,
it is easy to forget that when harvested, some wood was already several hundred years old on the hoof. The rapid growing species are often too soft, or coarse, 
or contrasty, or easily split to be appropriate.  An exception seems to be various ornamental Pear. But their size and branch habits do not lend them
to commercial interest. They are essentially DIY.
The goal of seasoning is to get wood into a hydrated equilibrium with its ambient atmosphere. It can't get any dryer than that. 
If the kit has been stored in a humid environment, it could have been invaded by fungus and ruined, but the box would have all but disintegrated too.
Some members here have been on builds a lot longer than the 12 years your kit has been around.

For convenience and ease of use, I have been enjoying the
Dremel 8050, but it requires additional collets and its price
on European Amazon is absurd

For convenience and ease of use, I have been enjoying the
Dremel 8050, but it requires additional collets and its price
on European Amazon is absurd

Wood that seems to be too brittle or splinters is probably because an unsuitable species was chosen by the kit company to begin with.
Living in a World of short lived manufactured items and plastics that either oxidize or continue to polymerize to brittleness over a short time span,
it is easy to forget that when harvested, some wood was already several hundred years old on the hoof. The rapid growing species are often too soft, or coarse, 
or contrasty, or easily split to be appropriate.  An exception seems to be various ornamental Pear. But their size and branch habits do not lend them
to commercial interest. They are essentially DIY.
The goal of seasoning is to get wood into a hydrated equilibrium with its ambient atmosphere. It can't get any dryer than that. 
If the kit has been stored in a humid environment, it could have been invaded by fungus and ruined, but the box would have all but disintegrated too.
Some members here have been on builds a lot longer than the 12 years your kit has been around.

Wood that seems to be too brittle or splinters is probably because an unsuitable species was chosen by the kit company to begin with.
Living in a World of short lived manufactured items and plastics that either oxidize or continue to polymerize to brittleness over a short time span,
it is easy to forget that when harvested, some wood was already several hundred years old on the hoof. The rapid growing species are often too soft, or coarse, 
or contrasty, or easily split to be appropriate.  An exception seems to be various ornamental Pear. But their size and branch habits do not lend them
to commercial interest. They are essentially DIY.
The goal of seasoning is to get wood into a hydrated equilibrium with its ambient atmosphere. It can't get any dryer than that. 
If the kit has been stored in a humid environment, it could have been invaded by fungus and ruined, but the box would have all but disintegrated too.
Some members here have been on builds a lot longer than the 12 years your kit has been around.

Since the source is in Europe, my guess is that the wood is
English Walnut - Juglans regia  rather than Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
For full size use Black Walnut is and has been highly prized.  English
Walnut is slightly less dark and rich in color, but still excellent.
The grain is not real high contrast, it is hard, has tight grain,
and holds a sharp edge.  It has one negative factor for model use =
open pores.  To get a smooth finish, they will need to be filled.
For really sweet wood, you should seek out Pear, Plum, or Apple.
 
But back to your question:
Seasoning ( air drying ) 1 year per inch of thickness.
I would remove the bark - a wide straight chisel or draw knife does this job quickly.
Seal the cut ends and any side branch ends.  The open pores
will loose water more quickly and there will be dimensional stress.
This can produce checking and splitting.
You have a lot of options for a sealant.  Hot paraffin, varnish,
shellac, left over house paint, latex or spirit will work.  Add additional
coats over time if any checking starts.  Sticker the pieces so that there is
good air flow at all surfaces.
 
What with your power tools' capacity, try to get the wood into 1 inch billets.  At 1:64 you should only need
pieces wider than 1 inch for floors at the ends of a large frigate or larger warship
or a large merchant vessel if you avoid cant framing and stay perpendicular until
you get to hawse timbers and stern framing.

Since the source is in Europe, my guess is that the wood is
English Walnut - Juglans regia  rather than Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
For full size use Black Walnut is and has been highly prized.  English
Walnut is slightly less dark and rich in color, but still excellent.
The grain is not real high contrast, it is hard, has tight grain,
and holds a sharp edge.  It has one negative factor for model use =
open pores.  To get a smooth finish, they will need to be filled.
For really sweet wood, you should seek out Pear, Plum, or Apple.
 
But back to your question:
Seasoning ( air drying ) 1 year per inch of thickness.
I would remove the bark - a wide straight chisel or draw knife does this job quickly.
Seal the cut ends and any side branch ends.  The open pores
will loose water more quickly and there will be dimensional stress.
This can produce checking and splitting.
You have a lot of options for a sealant.  Hot paraffin, varnish,
shellac, left over house paint, latex or spirit will work.  Add additional
coats over time if any checking starts.  Sticker the pieces so that there is
good air flow at all surfaces.
 
What with your power tools' capacity, try to get the wood into 1 inch billets.  At 1:64 you should only need
pieces wider than 1 inch for floors at the ends of a large frigate or larger warship
or a large merchant vessel if you avoid cant framing and stay perpendicular until
you get to hawse timbers and stern framing.

Since the source is in Europe, my guess is that the wood is
English Walnut - Juglans regia  rather than Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
For full size use Black Walnut is and has been highly prized.  English
Walnut is slightly less dark and rich in color, but still excellent.
The grain is not real high contrast, it is hard, has tight grain,
and holds a sharp edge.  It has one negative factor for model use =
open pores.  To get a smooth finish, they will need to be filled.
For really sweet wood, you should seek out Pear, Plum, or Apple.
 
But back to your question:
Seasoning ( air drying ) 1 year per inch of thickness.
I would remove the bark - a wide straight chisel or draw knife does this job quickly.
Seal the cut ends and any side branch ends.  The open pores
will loose water more quickly and there will be dimensional stress.
This can produce checking and splitting.
You have a lot of options for a sealant.  Hot paraffin, varnish,
shellac, left over house paint, latex or spirit will work.  Add additional
coats over time if any checking starts.  Sticker the pieces so that there is
good air flow at all surfaces.
 
What with your power tools' capacity, try to get the wood into 1 inch billets.  At 1:64 you should only need
pieces wider than 1 inch for floors at the ends of a large frigate or larger warship
or a large merchant vessel if you avoid cant framing and stay perpendicular until
you get to hawse timbers and stern framing.

Since the source is in Europe, my guess is that the wood is
English Walnut - Juglans regia  rather than Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
For full size use Black Walnut is and has been highly prized.  English
Walnut is slightly less dark and rich in color, but still excellent.
The grain is not real high contrast, it is hard, has tight grain,
and holds a sharp edge.  It has one negative factor for model use =
open pores.  To get a smooth finish, they will need to be filled.
For really sweet wood, you should seek out Pear, Plum, or Apple.
 
But back to your question:
Seasoning ( air drying ) 1 year per inch of thickness.
I would remove the bark - a wide straight chisel or draw knife does this job quickly.
Seal the cut ends and any side branch ends.  The open pores
will loose water more quickly and there will be dimensional stress.
This can produce checking and splitting.
You have a lot of options for a sealant.  Hot paraffin, varnish,
shellac, left over house paint, latex or spirit will work.  Add additional
coats over time if any checking starts.  Sticker the pieces so that there is
good air flow at all surfaces.
 
What with your power tools' capacity, try to get the wood into 1 inch billets.  At 1:64 you should only need
pieces wider than 1 inch for floors at the ends of a large frigate or larger warship
or a large merchant vessel if you avoid cant framing and stay perpendicular until
you get to hawse timbers and stern framing.

Wefalck,
 
The tool making was the reason for precluding metal work from my comment.
Way back when, because I could not find the Universal Midget machine from
Longridge, I bought the closest substitute - a Unimat SL 1000. 
I have found that  I have substituted the wood working attachments with
dedicated single purpose machines - table saw, drill press, drum sander, jig/scroll saw,
disk sander.   Each has repaid its cost in function and convenience - except the scroll
saw - I prefer my 9" bandsaw with a Carter scroll attachment and 1/8" blade.
 
I have used the milling and lathe functions for metal working to make my own tool
attachments. For metal work, a quality lathe, and vertical mill can not be replaced. 
For me, the Unimat is quality enough.
If wood work was my only focus and money was a factor, I could not
convince myself that a vertical mill would return its investment. Neither would a lathe -
unless I was producing cannon - a lot of cannon.  The limits on bed length are impediments
to full use of a lathe for masts and yards.

My apology if this comes across as impertinent -
leaving aside any metal working function and focusing on
just wood working,  apart from using it as a drill press,
and milling lands for carlings and knees in deck beams,
what other jobs would a vertical mill be used for?

My apology if this comes across as impertinent -
leaving aside any metal working function and focusing on
just wood working,  apart from using it as a drill press,
and milling lands for carlings and knees in deck beams,
what other jobs would a vertical mill be used for?

My apology if this comes across as impertinent -
leaving aside any metal working function and focusing on
just wood working,  apart from using it as a drill press,
and milling lands for carlings and knees in deck beams,
what other jobs would a vertical mill be used for?

The basic factor here is matching the blade to the job.
A thin fine tooth blade SEEMS like it would save wood -
by having less kerf and a smoother surface. 
The problem is that the gullet of the teeth fill with saw dust
early in the cut and the wood is being removed more by
friction than mechanical slicing.  Even more heat is produced
by forcing the blade.  Being thin, it gets hotter and flexes.
 
The rule/goal for a band saw blade is, I think, 3 teeth in contact thru
the stock thickness.  Our choice of blade is a balance.  More set =
rougher cut surface, faster and less heat.  Fewer larger teeth,
thicker blade - more kerf, rougher surface, less heat,  faster.
Really thin stock is affected by the chopping force, so large
teeth can move or split the wood.
 
Blade #128 / 0.1  is a metal slitting blade.  Try it on really thin veneer
( but a #11 blade and a straight edge may be more efficient ) or
cutting slots for hatch gratings.

The basic factor here is matching the blade to the job.
A thin fine tooth blade SEEMS like it would save wood -
by having less kerf and a smoother surface. 
The problem is that the gullet of the teeth fill with saw dust
early in the cut and the wood is being removed more by
friction than mechanical slicing.  Even more heat is produced
by forcing the blade.  Being thin, it gets hotter and flexes.
 
The rule/goal for a band saw blade is, I think, 3 teeth in contact thru
the stock thickness.  Our choice of blade is a balance.  More set =
rougher cut surface, faster and less heat.  Fewer larger teeth,
thicker blade - more kerf, rougher surface, less heat,  faster.
Really thin stock is affected by the chopping force, so large
teeth can move or split the wood.
 
Blade #128 / 0.1  is a metal slitting blade.  Try it on really thin veneer
( but a #11 blade and a straight edge may be more efficient ) or
cutting slots for hatch gratings.