Jaager

Looking at the Minwax website, I count seven different lines of different base formulations.  My guess is that within any one type of the seven, mixing is possible.  Mixing between base formulations would probably lead to a crash.  Given what you are doing, and the fact that you are not worrying about a match with something pre-existing, why would you want to mix?  The spectrum of shades is adequate to your needs.  Doing it would double you cost and produce something that you would not be able to reproduce - should you ever need to.
 
This all comes from whole cloth.  The color of the original is unknown.  From a definitive historical perspective, pretty much everything is unknown.  I advise looking at the product pallet and selecting one that appeals to you. 
Given the wood species provided by most kits,  the oil base semitransparent line looks like a good way to go.
The oil will not raise the grain, so a prep step needed with a water base can be avoided.  You will not be muddying up an expensive and elegant hardwood species grain.

For jobs where the surface being worked is 90 degrees - like the easy way to do deck beams or a stem - a table is good to have.   For sanding a group of 6-8 frames between any two stations - a table just gets in the way.
 
Where wanting to go slower than 1700 RPM may be an impulse, I find using a finer grit works better.

I emailed him with the suggestion several years ago.  There was no response.  His stock 1/3 HP CW/CCW motor was my inspiration for my contraption. 
 
A steady 1700 RPM is probably all that we need.
The portable has a few downsides from my perspective.
The motor looks to be a bit under powered.  I would bet on a burn up if worked hard and frequent stalling if the job is significant.
The media is sleeves - which is more monopoly as far as source and a limited choice of grit.
The mount is proprietary.
A significant length of the media surface is sequestered.  You can flip the sleeve, but in any case, the length available is less than the whole.
A 3" diameter drum is my favorite.  The 6" length surface unit works best for larger scale and big vessels.
 
As far as the dust collection setup,  I would expect more dust will be thrown than will drop.
 

OK,  if you have not started, go back to this initial step it replace these components with something that is waterproof.  I would skip any plywood replacement and go straight to hardwood.
For the price and ease of cutting Yellow Poplar is difficult to better.  You can even use thicker material for the molds and center spine.  The outside keel can be a separate timber if the spine is thicker than the actual keel.
 
Valente Lumber in Averill Park looks to have what you would need, and probably can or knows who can do the necessary resawing.  It looks like there is a possible valuable resource there.  There is probably a local woodworkers club in your region and those guys are good at being helpful - especially to a weird duck like a ship model builder.
 
I suspect that Roger's suggestions bear very close attention.

I emailed him with the suggestion several years ago.  There was no response.  His stock 1/3 HP CW/CCW motor was my inspiration for my contraption. 
 
A steady 1700 RPM is probably all that we need.
The portable has a few downsides from my perspective.
The motor looks to be a bit under powered.  I would bet on a burn up if worked hard and frequent stalling if the job is significant.
The media is sleeves - which is more monopoly as far as source and a limited choice of grit.
The mount is proprietary.
A significant length of the media surface is sequestered.  You can flip the sleeve, but in any case, the length available is less than the whole.
A 3" diameter drum is my favorite.  The 6" length surface unit works best for larger scale and big vessels.
 
As far as the dust collection setup,  I would expect more dust will be thrown than will drop.
 

A good quality hand fret or coping saw with one of those gangplank "V" opening base would not take up much room.  For the first time, the slow and up close and personal aspect is fun.  
I prefer using my 9" bench top bandsaw for scroll cutting.  With the Carter products blade guide, it will twist and turn as much as I need.  Eats thru 1/4" Hard Maple quickly - just as long as I keep small scrap from jamming the blade.  The blades have too much set to get more than sorta close to the line.  My purpose built scroll saw is junk and the up-down chatter was too irritating. 
 
Backing up and redoing - it allows you the opportunity to see just how close full on scratch building is.  Doing the step into scratch opens up a magnitude larger world of possibilities.  The intimidating virtuoso projects in our scratch forum are the exceptions.  They are way more complex than it needs to be.  I wonder if Jean Boudriot had any idea what he was unleashing with the publication of his 74 gun series?

OK,  if you have not started, go back to this initial step it replace these components with something that is waterproof.  I would skip any plywood replacement and go straight to hardwood.
For the price and ease of cutting Yellow Poplar is difficult to better.  You can even use thicker material for the molds and center spine.  The outside keel can be a separate timber if the spine is thicker than the actual keel.
 
Valente Lumber in Averill Park looks to have what you would need, and probably can or knows who can do the necessary resawing.  It looks like there is a possible valuable resource there.  There is probably a local woodworkers club in your region and those guys are good at being helpful - especially to a weird duck like a ship model builder.
 
I suspect that Roger's suggestions bear very close attention.

Looking at the Minwax website, I count seven different lines of different base formulations.  My guess is that within any one type of the seven, mixing is possible.  Mixing between base formulations would probably lead to a crash.  Given what you are doing, and the fact that you are not worrying about a match with something pre-existing, why would you want to mix?  The spectrum of shades is adequate to your needs.  Doing it would double you cost and produce something that you would not be able to reproduce - should you ever need to.
 
This all comes from whole cloth.  The color of the original is unknown.  From a definitive historical perspective, pretty much everything is unknown.  I advise looking at the product pallet and selecting one that appeals to you. 
Given the wood species provided by most kits,  the oil base semitransparent line looks like a good way to go.
The oil will not raise the grain, so a prep step needed with a water base can be avoided.  You will not be muddying up an expensive and elegant hardwood species grain.

For jobs where the surface being worked is 90 degrees - like the easy way to do deck beams or a stem - a table is good to have.   For sanding a group of 6-8 frames between any two stations - a table just gets in the way.
 
Where wanting to go slower than 1700 RPM may be an impulse, I find using a finer grit works better.

I emailed him with the suggestion several years ago.  There was no response.  His stock 1/3 HP CW/CCW motor was my inspiration for my contraption. 
 
A steady 1700 RPM is probably all that we need.
The portable has a few downsides from my perspective.
The motor looks to be a bit under powered.  I would bet on a burn up if worked hard and frequent stalling if the job is significant.
The media is sleeves - which is more monopoly as far as source and a limited choice of grit.
The mount is proprietary.
A significant length of the media surface is sequestered.  You can flip the sleeve, but in any case, the length available is less than the whole.
A 3" diameter drum is my favorite.  The 6" length surface unit works best for larger scale and big vessels.
 
As far as the dust collection setup,  I would expect more dust will be thrown than will drop.
 

A good quality hand fret or coping saw with one of those gangplank "V" opening base would not take up much room.  For the first time, the slow and up close and personal aspect is fun.  
I prefer using my 9" bench top bandsaw for scroll cutting.  With the Carter products blade guide, it will twist and turn as much as I need.  Eats thru 1/4" Hard Maple quickly - just as long as I keep small scrap from jamming the blade.  The blades have too much set to get more than sorta close to the line.  My purpose built scroll saw is junk and the up-down chatter was too irritating. 
 
Backing up and redoing - it allows you the opportunity to see just how close full on scratch building is.  Doing the step into scratch opens up a magnitude larger world of possibilities.  The intimidating virtuoso projects in our scratch forum are the exceptions.  They are way more complex than it needs to be.  I wonder if Jean Boudriot had any idea what he was unleashing with the publication of his 74 gun series?

OK,  if you have not started, go back to this initial step it replace these components with something that is waterproof.  I would skip any plywood replacement and go straight to hardwood.
For the price and ease of cutting Yellow Poplar is difficult to better.  You can even use thicker material for the molds and center spine.  The outside keel can be a separate timber if the spine is thicker than the actual keel.
 
Valente Lumber in Averill Park looks to have what you would need, and probably can or knows who can do the necessary resawing.  It looks like there is a possible valuable resource there.  There is probably a local woodworkers club in your region and those guys are good at being helpful - especially to a weird duck like a ship model builder.
 
I suspect that Roger's suggestions bear very close attention.

I know virtually nothing about RC models but I do have experience working with Epoxy.  Epoxy can be tricky to use.  It must be mixed in accordance with the specific resin/hardness ratios specified by the manufacturer.  Different manufacturers use vastly different mixing ratios.  If you add hardener beyond the specified ratio to “speed things up,” the mix will not cure, and you’ll wind up with a sticky mess.  Since chemical formulations between brands vary,  under no circumstances would I suggest trying to thin the resin.  Use it as it comes from the can!
 
Epoxy cures with an Exothermic reaction- it gives off heat.  A large batch can get quite hot.  A thinner can effect this too in an unpredictable way.
 
Like most other things, you get what you pay for.  The marine brands; West, System Three, etc IMHO are worth spending money on compared to the hardware store bands.  West System requires a 5:1 resin to hardener ratio that can be hard to measure correctly.  West System sells calibrated pumps that are foolproof or you can weigh out the materials with a scale.  Other brands, such as I believe System Three feature an easier 1:1 ratio.
 
Epoxies now are available in a bewildering array, all with different specialized features.  You can surely find a low viscosity one.  OR. At least one high quality brand- West System is “modular.”  The basic Resin/hardener mix results in a thin mix; about like maple syrup.  West then sells different additives that allow the mix to be thickened to the consistency of peanut butter.
 
It’s your model to finish as you see fit, but working with Epoxy you have one and only one chance to get things right.  Once you have coated your model, the outcome is in the hands of the Epoxy Gods.  If the mix does not cure, you will wind up with a difficult if not impossible to remove sticky mess.
 
Roger

Maybe try to leave the top edge of the garboard strake straight?
The bottom edge straight where the keel rabbet is parallel with the baseline?
Only trim the bottom edge where the stem rabbet is rising and to fit the sternpost rabbet?
Save the width adjustment for the rest of the planks between the garboard and the wale?
 
I have seen a few ships where the garboard was twice the thickness of the rest of the bottom planking.
There may have been enough differential movement stress between what the keel wanted to do and the garboard wanted to do that making the garboard less than robust was a bad idea.

I think that Mother Nature limits the width possible - except for CA Redwood size timber, so I have not made much note of the width - believing 10"-12" to be the outside limit.  No reference to footnote.
 
It was the thickness.  It was from the 1840-1860 large commercial carrier - speed = money period that my memory wants to assign this.  I was thinking when I saw it - they really could have used a laminar flow test tank to see the effect of sharp irregular edges of the step down planking.

https://americanhistory.si.edu/about/departments/work-and-industry/ship-plans
 
The two catalogs will list some of what is available.
 
The transition period from 1860 to WWI  is not really a popular period and not a lot of books cover it.
My library:

OCEANOGRAPHIC SHIPS FORE AND AFT                                 
NELSON,STEWART B                                                 
U S GPO                                      
WASHINGTON               
1971

BALTIMORE CLIPPER, THE  1930                                     
CHAPELLE,H I                                                     
EDWARD W SWEETMAN                            
NEW YORK                 
1968

COAST GUARD UNDER SAIL ,THE                                      
KING,IRVING H                                                    
US NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS                     
ANNAPOLIS, MD            
1989
 
OLD STEAM NAVY ,THE   VOL.1                                      
CANNEY,DONALD L                                                  
US NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS                     
ANNAPOLIS, MD            
1990

OLD STEAM NAVY ,THE   VOL.2                                      
CANNEY,DONALD L                                                  
CONWAY MARITIME PRESS                        
LONDON                   
1993

HISTORY OF THE SHIP - STEAM, STEEL AND SHELLFIRE                 
GARDINER,ROBERT ED                                               
CONWAY MARITIME PRESS                        
LONDON                   
1992
 
The Mariners' Museum  used to have plans for sale on their website, but there seems to have been a redesign.
They have/had many models from the transition period - most are strange ducks - I think they have materials from Newport News Shipbuilding and they are from 1891 on.
 
Try Mystic - who knows?
 

You probably ought to understand that I am more from a minority party segment in all of this;  in no way set any rules, and have an academic ( with lose rules ) bent.  I am not always good at phrasing suggestions as suggestions.  I meant it as a "you might not want to walk in that mine field, but go ahead if you wish" sort of comment.   If you are exploring the possibilities you might wish for suggestions for survey books for each of the many eras and technologies.  Our build log forum has a breakdown into several broad areas.  Spending time there may offer a sample of what is available from kits and in the scratch half, what is available using monographs.  Builds that start with just a sheet of plans are not as common as the shear number of possibilities possible from doing that.
 
Specializing is not at all a requirement.   Covering an area that goes from rafts and hollowed out logs in prehistory to nuclear powered vessels tends to be a bit overwhelming for one lifetime.  Becoming focused on at least a general segment of that range is one way to cope.  
You found two books that are significant and fundamental to me.   They are mostly about the end portion of the Age of Sail and are America centric.    Getting a volume with foldout plans is an excellent find.  My Bonanza reprints do not have that feature.
 
A problem with scaling up photo copies is that the line thickness also increases and things can get imprecise.
 
It would probably be more efficient for me if I could follow my own advise and stay focused.  I am prone to distraction which makes finishing a project a rare thing.   But, I have managed to keep a wall at 1860.
 
 
 
 

"The History of the American Sailing Navy"  H.I.C.
As tempting as it is to use the plans directly from the books, better results can be had by using copies of the originals.  They are available from The S.I. ships' plans department.  The cost is reasonable.  Use the books as a catalog.
There are too many degrees of freedom with a bait that is that general.  Isolate a specialty segment and ask about that.  The more tightly focused is the subject area, the more useful will be any replies. 
A popularity contest will give direction if your object is to build a huge library.  That ambition is better achieved if you are your sole financial manager.

Hello Tarheel,
I grew up in the city that is the third "R" of your three r's.😉
Where you be?  The I 40 corridor?
 
I remember the Beaufort museum from when it was one floor of an old house, few if any ship models, and a flat sandbox  under a table containing a very large stuffed Eastern Diamondback placed so as to scare to 'ell out you when walked around its corner.
 
Reading your intention, you reaaaaly ought to read this post at the top of this forum:
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/13703-for-beginners-a-cautionary-tale/
 
If plastic kits are your prior experience, be prepared to have your expectations disappointed by the instructions that come with most wooden kits.  With plastic, the molds have already formed the WHAT your are assembling.  The plans show HOW they go together.  With wood, the plans show WHAT to fabricate.  Except for purpose designed beginners kits, you are already supposed to know HOW to fabricate what is shown.

Hello Tarheel,
I grew up in the city that is the third "R" of your three r's.😉
Where you be?  The I 40 corridor?
 
I remember the Beaufort museum from when it was one floor of an old house, few if any ship models, and a flat sandbox  under a table containing a very large stuffed Eastern Diamondback placed so as to scare to 'ell out you when walked around its corner.
 
Reading your intention, you reaaaaly ought to read this post at the top of this forum:
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/13703-for-beginners-a-cautionary-tale/
 
If plastic kits are your prior experience, be prepared to have your expectations disappointed by the instructions that come with most wooden kits.  With plastic, the molds have already formed the WHAT your are assembling.  The plans show HOW they go together.  With wood, the plans show WHAT to fabricate.  Except for purpose designed beginners kits, you are already supposed to know HOW to fabricate what is shown.

I think that Mother Nature limits the width possible - except for CA Redwood size timber, so I have not made much note of the width - believing 10"-12" to be the outside limit.  No reference to footnote.
 
It was the thickness.  It was from the 1840-1860 large commercial carrier - speed = money period that my memory wants to assign this.  I was thinking when I saw it - they really could have used a laminar flow test tank to see the effect of sharp irregular edges of the step down planking.

Hello Tarheel,
I grew up in the city that is the third "R" of your three r's.😉
Where you be?  The I 40 corridor?
 
I remember the Beaufort museum from when it was one floor of an old house, few if any ship models, and a flat sandbox  under a table containing a very large stuffed Eastern Diamondback placed so as to scare to 'ell out you when walked around its corner.
 
Reading your intention, you reaaaaly ought to read this post at the top of this forum:
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/13703-for-beginners-a-cautionary-tale/
 
If plastic kits are your prior experience, be prepared to have your expectations disappointed by the instructions that come with most wooden kits.  With plastic, the molds have already formed the WHAT your are assembling.  The plans show HOW they go together.  With wood, the plans show WHAT to fabricate.  Except for purpose designed beginners kits, you are already supposed to know HOW to fabricate what is shown.

Hello Tarheel,
I grew up in the city that is the third "R" of your three r's.😉
Where you be?  The I 40 corridor?
 
I remember the Beaufort museum from when it was one floor of an old house, few if any ship models, and a flat sandbox  under a table containing a very large stuffed Eastern Diamondback placed so as to scare to 'ell out you when walked around its corner.
 
Reading your intention, you reaaaaly ought to read this post at the top of this forum:
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/13703-for-beginners-a-cautionary-tale/
 
If plastic kits are your prior experience, be prepared to have your expectations disappointed by the instructions that come with most wooden kits.  With plastic, the molds have already formed the WHAT your are assembling.  The plans show HOW they go together.  With wood, the plans show WHAT to fabricate.  Except for purpose designed beginners kits, you are already supposed to know HOW to fabricate what is shown.

I think that Mother Nature limits the width possible - except for CA Redwood size timber, so I have not made much note of the width - believing 10"-12" to be the outside limit.  No reference to footnote.
 
It was the thickness.  It was from the 1840-1860 large commercial carrier - speed = money period that my memory wants to assign this.  I was thinking when I saw it - they really could have used a laminar flow test tank to see the effect of sharp irregular edges of the step down planking.

Maybe try to leave the top edge of the garboard strake straight?
The bottom edge straight where the keel rabbet is parallel with the baseline?
Only trim the bottom edge where the stem rabbet is rising and to fit the sternpost rabbet?
Save the width adjustment for the rest of the planks between the garboard and the wale?
 
I have seen a few ships where the garboard was twice the thickness of the rest of the bottom planking.
There may have been enough differential movement stress between what the keel wanted to do and the garboard wanted to do that making the garboard less than robust was a bad idea.