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cdrusn89

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Everything posted by cdrusn89

  1. cdrusn89
    So I painted the entire hull the flat red (spray can of Red Primer from Walmart) then when that was dry I sprayed a coat on clear flat on the lower hull, marked and masked the waterline and sprayed the flat dark blue on the upper hull area. Speaking of the waterline since there is no drawing of the hull I guess you are supposed to use the marker provided with the hull on the display strand to get the waterline. I tried this without much success so I put the hull back in the Amati holder, measured and replicated as best I could the angle produced by the display stand and used my own waterline marker. Looking at the pictures below I am not really sure I got it right but "it is where it is". No particular problems, the Tamiya masking tape kept the blue out of the red. There is one area near the stern on the port side where it looks like it got neither color (still grey). I may add a white tape strip to the waterline to cover this. Not really interested in trying to "fix" this by hand. When I am sure this is completely dry another coat of clear flat and the mask off the entire hull to keep it "clean" as we move forward.
  2. cdrusn89
    24' launch hull after a coat of grey primer (no filler, just primer). There are a few areas near the keel that could just some additional attention but since they will be "invisible" when on the model I will not worry about them now and press on with the interior details. The plan is to paint the entire hull flat white, the interior MS 4820 H. Cream (I cannot seem to get the interior of the planking "clean" enough to leave it "natural") with the seats and other topside features varnished pear wood, and add a black band of hull planking above the bulwarks per the instructions.
  3. cdrusn89
    With the launch and yawl hulls more or less (yawl more than launch) it is time to take another try at the pinnance. So here is the hull structure ready for another attempt at a reasonable planking job. I did use thin CA on each of the bulkhead/keel joints. The transom was attached to the P12 with PVA.
  4. cdrusn89
    Old Rentner - Thanks but there are other examples of Winchelsea on MSW much better than mine. As to your questions - there is not an intentional gap between the lodging knee (the one running parallel to the beams) and the bulwark - there is a piece of bulwark planking between the outboard end of the knee and the exterior framing. Part of what looks like a gap is the shadow of the bulwark. Here is a picture showing the bulwark sheathing with only one beam and set (one lodging knee - aft of the beam and one hanging knee-forward of the beam) of knees added. You can see the edge of the sheathing extends inboard of the exterior framing. The lodging knee in this case is up against the bulwark sheathing and that was my intent for all of them, although I probably did a better job on some than others. The mark on the hull is the forward edge of an additional layer of planking that is placed there (and shaped the way it is) to add extra protection to the hull while the anchors are being raised (fished is the nautical term). The anchor cables passed into the hull through the one of the two holes (ships typically carried two anchors on each side so that is why two holes) at the left edge of the picture and were raised (or lowered) from the "cat head" which is the wood colored item (with three slots in the upper surface) just above and a little forward of the closed gun port. As the anchor was raised if it moves aft of the cat head (like if the ship is moving forward, even slowly )then it is possible (maybe likely) that while trying to raise the anchor it would impact the ship's side possibly doing damage. Here is a picture showing the anchor stowage position on the USF Confederacy - it is easy (for me at least) to see how getting the anchor up to this position could put some parts of the ship's sides "at risk" of being gouged by the anchor flukes. Hope these answers help and I would be happy to answer any others you may have.
  5. cdrusn89
    I finished planking the yawl. Here it is after a preliminary sanding before the first fill and sand session. I actually had a drop plank planned out at the bow but the plank broke right where the "notch" was cut so I took that as a bad omen and just made it two planks; well actually three as you can see below about midway between the sheer and garboard strakes. IMHO this was a better job than on the Launch but it will still need a session or two of fill and sand. We will soon see if my gluing the front and back bulkheads to the board will cause problems beyond my having to saw off the "tabs" on each one.
  6. cdrusn89
    Thanks - easy fix, I glued the brass rod with the long part on the wrong side. Should probably have noticed myself or made up some rational like getting all the rudder edges painted- it is REALLY obvious.
  7. cdrusn89
    I made one more pass with the filler and primer and then cut the MDF bulkheads out. As you can see in two case the entire bulkhead came out. Probably reinforces my tactic on the yawl of putting a drop of thin CA at each bulkhead/keel intersection. I salvaged the missing pieces and glued them back in. Here you can see that the stern is not completely symmetrical but there is little that can be done about it now. It is very easy (IMHO) to get in this comdition as the transom piece is quite thin and displaces with little effort. And it is harder to see this with the hull upside down. I also noticed here that there is a section of the keel at the very stern that has to be removed now. Maybe I should have done this before (no mention in the instructions) but it came out without drama and I think helped support the keel where the transom attaches. So now on to the ribs. I put the hull in my "keel holder" and can install two at a time. I considered doing a pair at each end but given my obvious lack of planning skills decided this way it will be harder to mess up the spacing.
  8. cdrusn89
    Thanks Reg and Jeff - I have tried most of the commercial brass blackening products over the years and have not found them as effective as paint. I will try the vinegar wash and some flat black spray paint for those items that need to be black - which is most of them.
  9. cdrusn89
    First (and final) coat of hull red. I added the rudder since it will be the same color as below the waterline. Although it is not called out in the instructions I reduced the rudder thickness in a taper towards the stern. I doubt the real rudder was the same thickness along its entire length. I am going to let this "cure" overnight then give it a coat of clear flat before proceeding to mark the waterline in preparation for painting the upper hull.
  10. cdrusn89
    This is 24' launch after a dose of filler and primer paint. Not looking too bad especially considering the photos above. Filler can cover..... The 22' yawl is progressing smoothly (relatively speaking) and should have to planking completed in a day or two (maybe three; girl friend's birthday is tomorrow so shipyard time may be very limited).
  11. cdrusn89
    Alan - At this scale there is no physical rabbet. Since the meeting point of the planks at the stem is accomplished by thinning/beveling the planks I find it easier (for me) to accomplish this at least partially after the planks are in place. The lack of taper to keep the planks from ending in points is mostly a lack of planning on my part. As I have said, filler can cover a multitude of planking sins and these boats are all painted rather than "natural" so I think it will work out okay in the end. Thankfully the Sphinx hull is double planked so I will get to practice before planking "for score".
  12. cdrusn89
    I think I finally got the transom smoothed out. And the rest of the hull looks pretty good as well. I intend to go over the entire hull (lightly) with some 800 grit paper and then put the flat red on (bottom paint) the entire hull. Put a coat of clear flat on the bottom part, mark the waterline, mask and paint the upper hull a flat dark blue. And then several coats of clear flat followed (when dry of course) with the purple delicate surface masking tape to protect the hull moving forward. Which brings up the question of the toe rail. I am going to leave the toe rail off until I get the hull painted. I plan on mimicking the instructions (painted toe rail to look like mahogany) except I am going to use varnished boxwood for the toe rail. It will provide a nice contrast with the dark blue hull. It is also my intent to use varnished boxwood for the rub rail.
  13. cdrusn89
    I think I got the transom this time and both sides look pretty good in the photos. Filler is still wet so I need to review again in a few hours after I am sure it is dry.
  14. cdrusn89
    Transom is proving to be more difficult than I had hoped. I think the tapered ends of the hull planking are making getting a smooth finish a challenge. Nothing more filling and sanding can't solve but it may take a few more "rounds".
  15. cdrusn89
    I got one side of the Launch finished - the planking part anyway. After about 7 strakes were complete I gave up any pretense on finishing using stealers and dropped planks. Just too hard (for me) to do that with such small planks. And the pictures in the manual whuch are suoppposed to illustrate where the plank taper was done are next to useless. So I finished off with three rows of planks pointed on both ends. I will finish the other side in a similar manner. Filler/putty can cover a variety of sins.
  16. cdrusn89
    Thanks Eric - my bending jig worked just fine although they were none to generous in length for the toe rail. I think there is less than an .5 inches to spare. What I hope will be the final round of fill and sand. The starboard side looks "okay" while there are a few spots on the port side and at the stern that hopefully some thin filler and 600 grit sandpaper will take care of.
  17. cdrusn89
    The toe rail will be next whether or not I finish paint the hull now or wait. Instructions say use steam to bend the 3/32" square stock for the toe rail. but I think water alone will work so I laid the hull on a piece of 1 X 4 and traced the deck edge (could have used the deck carrier sheet as well) and then put some nails along the line and clamped the wet stock to the nails. I used the masking tape to make sure the nails do not rust overnight although even if they did the toe rail is painted so maybe the masking tape is overkill.
  18. cdrusn89
    Here is the hull after the second coat of the primer/filler but no sanding (yet). I am considering leaving the transom "as is" because I do not want to "run out of plank" trying to remove all of the "border around the transom. I know there was plenty of plank overhanging the transom but given the very acute angles involved I do not to get to the end of the transom and then have the planking lose its grip and all the filling and sanding would start over again. I will not try and remove the several "edges" that you can see on the sides. Again I do not want to sand through the planking (again) especially where any repairs will be highly visible. I am considering painting the hull now rather than follow the instructions and wait until all of the "other" work on the deck, cabin, etc. is done. My plan is to paint the entire hull a flat red then mark the waterline and paint the upper hull flat dark blue. Then add a couple of coats of clear flat and cover the hull with delicate surface masking tape (the purple stuff). Hopefully this will keep the hull from damage and save a bunch of masking in the future. It also allows the rub rail to be a different color from the hull without having to mask off a 1/16" wide strip along the side. Here are the other sides of the hull as it stands now - one more round of at least sanding then a coat of gray primer (no filler) then the finish coats.
  19. cdrusn89
    Sanding the problem spots with 400 grit paper. Don't ask me how I know but it really is possible to sand all the way through the planking even with 400 grit paper
  20. cdrusn89
    Round 3 of the filler/sand repeat as necessary. This round is 400 grit paper. The next and hopefully last round is 600 grit or maybe 800 depending on how much filler is requiured after this round. The beauty of the filler/primer is it dries in less than an hour so you can get half a dozen runs in a Saturday and still have time for a few odd jobs in between. Hopefully one more pass will do the job here.
  21. cdrusn89
    Hull in the paint booth with the paint.
  22. cdrusn89
    When I realized that I had skipped the "fair the hull" step and was half a dozen rows into planking on the pinnance I quit that effort and ordered a new kit from Vanguard - in fact I ordered a kit for all three boats such is my confidence it getting them all built successfully. I built the Model Shipways 18th Century Long boat to go on my Winchelsea model and it took two kits before I got a usable version. So... Here is the launch with five rows of planking on the sheer and the garboard strake drying in position. I started tapering the planks at both ends after the first three and that may have been a plank late but filler can cover many planking sins. I also started putting a drop of medium CA on all the keel/bulkhead joints as I had the keel come off the bulkheads once on the pinnance. It was quite an effort getting everything back together so I want to prevent a repeat. Even if the CA does show on the inside that area should be covered by the floorboards. Also since this kit has a great deal of PE Brass does anyone have a recommendation for how to prep the brass before painting and the type/brand of paint to use?
  23. cdrusn89
    Sanddown of first pass with filler complete. Not bad (if I do say so myself). I marked the areas where further attention is required with a pencil and will apply more filler in those areas than do a sandown with 320 grit. After that comes the primer with filler and more sanding. And yes Bryan I also find the sanding quite relaxing. That is why I use the finer grit sandpaper - anything harsher and I would sand through the planking - it is after all less than .030" thick. One thing I noticed is that adding water to the filler seems to retard the drying time. I let the first pass sit overnight and plan on the same for pass 2.
  24. cdrusn89
    I completed the planking and have applied (liberally) thinned "Goodfilla" wood grain filler thinned with a little water (like 10 drops of water in .5 cu in of filler - enough so you can spread it thinly with a finger or piece of planking). I essentially covered the entire hull with filler. The plan is to remove the filler with 220 grit sandpaper and then rinse and repeat until I get it smooth (more or less). I bought a can of spray primer with filler at an auto parts store which I used successfully (more or less) on the hull of the 1/35th scale Endeavour Americans Cup challenger. This hull is about 1/8 the area of that one where I think I ran through 5 cans. I know where the store is if I need more 😃 I added some scrap wood to get the stem up to the level of the deck. It will be trimmed back as part of the filler "sanddown". So here is what the hull looks like now:
  25. cdrusn89
    Eric, I considered that approach but decided to use the tools at hand. There will be of putty shortly.

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