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TJM

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  1. TJM
    Yes, I know 😬! Actually, the whole rigging business is what I dread the most! All those blocks and deadeyes! Not so much due to the time effort needed, but more because I am completely clueless! And the fact that my full size drawings are in German will not help either 🙄. I have somewhat compensated by buying Lennarth Petersson's book on rigging of model ships as well as Kerry Jang's book on model ship building, where Flirt's sister ship Speedy is heavily featured, especially in the rigging sections. I hope this will help me along (I know there are rigging differences between Flirt and Speedy, but I am thinking more about the techniques used than where the lines actually run), but nothing but practice will fix my fumbling fingers - I am not normally good friends with thread, and there is a lot of it on a model line this... 🤭
  2. TJM
    Log entry 13 Phew, this feels like a bit of a milestone: second planking below the master plank is done! While not perfect I am satisfied with it as a first attempt. I will see how it looks when I sand it and decide if I want to keep it unpainted. I think I will. I also removed the upper bulkheads with a small modelling saw and painted a bit, as per the manual. Now I am ready for gluing on the laser etched deck and do the planking on the inside bulwarks. This marks the 38 h mark of the build. Time really flies when you are having fun, but 25 of those hours were spent planking and I am now looking forward to a more varied part af the build! TJM
  3. TJM
    Log entry 12 I have not had much time to work on my Flirt lately, both due to various Christmas obligations, and recently due to illness - it is estimated that 20-30 % of the Danish population is currently down with either flu, covid or other such, and I think I got a mild case of covid (third time now), so I have not been up to much! Anyways, I did manage to remeasure and mark the hull and add a few planks. I am reasonably happy with how it has turned out so far, though there is definitely room for improvement for future projects. I am now missing 7 planks on either side to complete the second planking below the master plank. It should be another 5 hours of work or so, with my current speed. TJM
  4. TJM
    Log entry 11 I have managed to get another 4 planks on either side and I am now close to halfway in the second planking. I think I will now have to re-measure the remaining gap to ensure that I cut the planks to the right size to avoid weird shapes at the end. This is what my Flirt looks like now: TJM
  5. TJM
    Log entry 10 I am continuing with the second planking, and managed another 2 planks on either side. I had a small bump where the plank did not run all evenly (slightly too much taper in one location over a few planks), but I think I have rectified it now, with a slightly unorthodox plank shape. Not very visible, so I am ok with it. TJM
  6. TJM
    Great, thanks!
  7. TJM
    Thank you for all the likes and encouraging comments, it is very motivating! @mugje, thank you for your kind words! I don't fret about the prospect of many hours of work, but I have an analytical nature and can't help looking at the 'data' and extrapolating! 😁. Lack of perseverance has never been a problem for me - I may need a break at some point, but I will get through it in the end. And I am enjoying it! I did not start up this hobby to be fast! @Thukydides, ahh that is interesting! I first thought that it would look weird at the bow until I realised that my lack of knowledge on ship construction and terminology may make me misunderstand: is the bow not considered part of the keel? What I think you say is that the butts should always be vertical (perpendicular to the horizontal keel, as you say), but since the planks dont run horizontal except at midships, the angle is not generally square, especially at stern and bow where the plank deviates most from horizontal. Is that correctly understood? @bigcreekdad, much appreciated! TJM
  8. TJM
    Log entry 9 I was able to do two full planks (in smaller sections) on both sides in one evening. With around 20 to go on each side, that is another 10 sessions to complete the second planking, assuming everything goes well. So I guess the aim is to have the second planking done by Christmas, but we will see if I get enough opportunities to work in the evenings. I am quite happy with how it is going! No gaps between the planks, and they run smoothly for now. I use Chuck's method to bend the planks when needed, particularly at the bow and make sure I have a good fit, so that I don't have to bend the plank into place on the hull. I also bevel the edges of all planks so they sit tight against the previous plank. I use normal CA glue, but have the gel available if I think I need more time. TJM
  9. TJM
    Log entry 8 I have had a small break from building while attending to other matters, but I have now begun the second planking. I decided to go for shorter strips, and so far it works well enough. I have added two planks on either side and mapped the hull sides in quarters in preparation for the following planking. I am hoping that this will help me achieve an even taper at the bow. TJM
  10. TJM
    Log entry 7 I sanded the hull, and most of it looks good. A few issues at the bow, as previously mentioned, but I think I can mange that. I used a bit of wood filler and sanded it down again: There is still a low spot on the picture above, that has since been fixed with another small dab of filler. I then worked on the stern: The pear wood is really much harder, but it looks very good. It will be interesting to see how it goes with the second planking with this wood. I added the paster planks using super glue gel, as suggested in the manuel. I really dislike the stuff, I get it all over the place. I also have an sensitivity to cyanoacrylate which developed after a particular cyano heavy modelling session once. So I wear a carbon filter half mask when working with cyanoacrylate, and that is annoying. Anyways, i think the plank runs look good, and it was easy to lay it out with the laser engraved guide marks beneath the gunports. I am still considering if I should do the second planking in shorter strips or not.... TJM
  11. TJM
    @allanyed, yes, I am pre-bending the planks 'laterally', much like Chuck does, with water and heat, but shaping the planks in the 'normal' way, I have been doing by simply using the hull/bulkheads as the template. But it may be better to use a cardboard tube or similar for that. For me, the difficult part is to taper the planks evenly, both on the individual planks and across the hull (so that they all have a similar thickness at a given part of the hull). Both are necessary to end up with a good result. I have seen Chuck's meticulous measuring of the hull, dividing it into parts and transfering the measurements to the planks, but I did not quite succeed in doing that well for the first planking. I had small gaps between the planks as my tapering was not consistent enough and I did not bevel the edges enough ro get a tight fit. And my planks got thinner and thinner as I moved on (so I started with too little taper). Right now, I am wondering if it will be easiest for me to do full length planks or cut them into 'realistic' lengths of around 14 cm (can someone confirm that 14 cm is suitable for plank lengths at this scale?). I am thinking I may have an easier time shaping and fitting the shorter planks? And I do really like that look, from the examples I have seen. The master planks will at least be full length, to get a nice, even run to work out from. TJM
  12. TJM
    Thank you @Diver, that is encouraging!
  13. TJM
    Log entry 6 The first planking is now completed. Not as pretty as I had initially hoped, but with sanding and a bit of filler, I am satisfied that it will be a good enough base for the second planking (which I am dreading a bit, with my experience with the first layer in mind - I like the work, but it is much harder to do well than I thought it would be!). Making for the final plank It has taken me 17.5 hours to get to this point, with the work being spread over 9 evenings. 11.5 hours was the first planking. I don't know if this is slow or fast, but I wil not be able to keep up this pace for the whole build. But for now, I will try to use at least 3-4 evenings a week on the projet. TJM
  14. TJM
    Log entry 5 So, the planking is comming along. Even though I do my best to pre-bend in all directions, I do end up with some unevenness and tiny gaps. Here is a pre-bent plank: And in the process of glueing it on: It looks quite ok here, and this side is the best one. But looking at the bow section of the other side (starboard, I guess...), there is definitely some wobbliness going on: It is not due my fairing of the bulkheads, the plank runs look ok. I think it is due to my method of ironing the plank on the bulkheads. If I press down between the bulkheads, by accident, I force the plank into a shape that causes a slightly ( 0.3-0.5 mm ) sunken plank in that spot. I must just be more careful when I iron! Here is a few photos of of the bow and stern: I am happy with how the stern looks! I am missing 11 planks on the first layer, probably another two evenings worth of work. After that, I will need som wood filler and a good sanding, but I still think I will be able to get a good enough base for the second planking layer. TJM
  15. TJM
    Log entry 4 Taking Thykudides' advise, I trimmed a bit off the garboard plank where it meets the stem. It definitely looks better and I am sure this will save me some pain later, when 'closing the gap' in the first planking layer. So thanks a lot @Thukydides, for pointing that out! Otherwise, I continued with the planking, adding 3 more on either side. It seems to be progressing smoothly and both sides are quite symmetrical. The gap that is left is 45 mm for most of the length until close to the bow, where it smoothly tapers down to 30 mm. I have been trimming the planks, bending the stern end a bit down (the 'Chuck' way) and then with a bit of moisture, I dry fit it to the hull and iron it to make it conform to the contour of the hull. I do the same at the stern, though it seems it is not strictly needed. I then glue the plank in place and pin it down until the glue sets (at least a few hours) - I like to get the pins out, as they stick out and make ironing the next plank difficult. With 45 mm left, I am missing 9 planks on either side and I have exactly 18 planks left, having discarded none - not much room for error here!! But so far, I have not had any issues, so fingers crossed that it continues like this! TJM
  16. TJM
    Right, that is also what i understood, and I think you are right that it is a bit too long! I will have a look and modify as needed. Your drawing is very helpful, thank you! With regard to plank lengths, I should have been clearer: I was referring to the second planking, and was just interested to see that you had done this on your Alert, as I had considered doing it as well. For the first planking, I definitely think it makes sense to have full length planks, as the bulkhead frame would cause some difficulty in fitting shorter lengths for this layer! TJM
  17. TJM
    Thank you @Thukydides! I think you may be right. I will have a close look at it later. I did not intensionally bend i up but it does look like it is doing that a bit on my photos. I actually made a shape rather close to the one you show in your linked post 12, except that I had a notch in it to fit it into the slot in the stem - this may also contribute to it looking a little wrong. But again, thank you! This is very much the kind of feedback I was hoping for. And by the way, if I can even remotely approach the quality of your Alert planking result, I will be quite happy indeed! It is very impressive. I also was considering if I should use ~14 cm strips for that more realistic planking look like you do on Alert, but I am wondering if I should leave the deviations from the manual for a future build to avoid overcomplicating things here on the first. But I am not decided yet. TJM
  18. TJM
    Log entry 3 I started the planking by adding a plank on top and bottom on both sides, to get a clear view of how many planks are needed on both sides. For a large part of the hull length, the distance between these first planks on the bulkheads are very close to 7 cm. It becomes slightly more at the stern and goes down to around 4.8 cm at the bow. So for the next few planks, I tapered the bow end down to 3.5 mm, used a bit of moisture and heat to pre-bend the plank to the hull and glued them in place, using pins to hold them in place. There are a few ridges between the planks and between the planks and the bulwark, especially at the bow end. It looks worse in these photos than in real life. Perhaps I should have faired ethe edges of the planks to get a better fit? I think it will sand down fine with enough material left to not cause issues. All the planks lay flat against the bulkheads. I will re-measure now and re-calculate my tapering of the next planks before I continue. TJM
  19. TJM
    @Nearshore, thanks, much appreciated!
  20. TJM
    Thank you Thukydides, if you mean laying strips of planking material along the hull in various places, to make sure they lie flat on the bulkheads, then I did do that. It looked good to me, but I am sure small issues will appear later 😉. TJM
  21. TJM

    Hello!

    TJM replied to TJM's topic in New member Introductions

    Thanks a lot everyone - happy to enter this community! 😊
  22. TJM
    Log entry 2 Inspecting the bulwarks, I noticed that the lower edge was a bit wobbly. It was glued to all the bulkheads, but between them, it was pushing out a bit - too much for me to be sure I could sand it away without issues later. So I decided to try to straighten them with a bit of moisture and heat from an iron set on wool settings (I guess around 140C). This worked like a charm! On this image you can see a straightened bulwark on the right and an untreated one on the left. And both after treatment. Still a bit of residual wobbliness, but it is a fraction of a mm, and I think it should sand flush without issues later. I proceeded with the first plank on both sides of the hull, tapering about 1 mm at the bow. I lightly moistened some areas and pre-into shape on the hull with the hot iron. Worked fine, and it was easy to glue in place with a few pins. So far, so good! By the way, if anyone sees anything in the above pictures that should be changed or corrected, please let me know 😊. It is my first real build, so I don't expect perfection, but I am likely to miss some low hanging fruits that will make future steps easier! TJM
  23. TJM
    Thank you! I will! So far I am really enjoying leaning something new. This is what gets me engaged in a project.
  24. TJM
    Log entry 1 Building the initial frame went smoothly, no issues whatsoever! I am vey happy with the ease of the fit of all the parts and the very clear instructions. Sanding went much quicker than anticipated (only around half an hour) having pre-beveled the edges of some of the bulkheads with a Dremel,as per the instructions. Soaking the side bulwark patterns, it was easy enough to form them on the model, though I found I had to pin the lower edge as I could not clamp it well. At this point, I have used around 6 hours over 3 evenings (after the kids sleep). I am happy with the progress so far. Now for the first challenge: planking. I will take my time with this (I can become impatient, but will try to go slow!). I have a naive hope that the second planking will be good enough to leave unpainted, but that is probably to much to hope for. If not, I may copper it instead of painting it. We'll see! TJM
  25. TJM
    Hi all, This will be my first build log on MSW! I have been lurking and reading through quite a number of build logs here and it is truly inspiring and humbling to see the amazing work by all the members. This is to a very large degree responsible for my own desire to try out this hobby! I have no knowledge about sailing ships (or any kind of ships really), but I have a keen interest in anything 'history', and this fits that bill! I have plenty of experience with other creative hobbies, so I hope I am not biting off too much with a kit like Flirt for my first real build (I have tried out the hobby small scale on a small 1:25 Whaler - very fun to build, but the boat itself hold little interest for me). What inspired me to do the plunge was the amazing quality of the Vanguard kits which is clearly apparent from the many build logs on this site, and then the very high quality of the manual. I read it through a few times before ordering and it seems manageable with my (self-perceived) skill level. Let see... I am mostly worried about the rigging, but I guess I don't have to worry about that for a while yet! One small setback was that I ordered the kit from Krick in Germany (being based in Denmark, it has become prohibitively expensive to buy from the UK), but I have not realised that on of the services that Krick provides is a full translation of the manual and the drawings into German! Which is a bit problematic as I don't speak German! The manual I will just print myself from the pdf provided on Chris' site and I guess I will have to make do with the German drawings for the rigging. I will just translate what is needed back to English! 🤭 Anyways, if this small project goes as I hope, I will have find another EU based vendor for sny future kits (drooling over Sphinx already - all in due time...) Well, enough intro, on with the actual log!

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