yvesvidal

You did a great job with the color of the wood planking, on the deck. I sill remember that kit when I was a kid, it was tempting and my brother built it. Yves

That looks very promising. I like the inside framing and tubing.... Yves

Fantastic improvement. Yves

From my experience building a similar boat (Chebec Requin) from a different manufacturer (CAF Model), the only way to plank the deck is to do it one plank at a time. As you indicated, the deck is convex in one direction and concave in the other direction, and as such a flat piece of wood will never fit. It is one of the most difficult vessel to build, because nothing is flat or straight. In your instructions manual (Figure 06), it seems that you have to trace lines on the sub-deck and then cut along these lines and install the various panels, one at a time. Yves

Thank you Nil, for that beautiful picture and model. Excellent way of presenting this unusual ship, with oars and sails. Yves

Great model. I have almost finished the Coasta Passenger car from Occre and can see a few similar parts between the two kits. I will be following your build, for sure. Yves

After building the gun deck (on one side...), I wanted to see how the planking is going to match and fit the gun ports and the overall allure of the hull. As you can see and in my usual way of building a model, I am not exactly following the instructions and the way CAF Models suggests to do it. I am using 1.5 x 5 mm planks as suggested by the kit. First, I tried to paint the planks in Ochre Yellow wood color to hide certain of my mistakes. But after seeing the beauty of the wood and its incredible smoothness when sanded, I have decided to leave the wood natural and will be removing all the paint from the hull. Above, most of the gun ports have been defined and built. I now need to move to the two gun ports located in the stern section, and these are much more difficult to build since they require cutting some of the frames: Planking is done little by little, to get an exact position of the ports. After some delicate surgery, I have come to a point where it is not too bad: I have also added a small strip of wood (not provided in the kit) at the top of the gun ports and planking, to offer a more stable platform to glue the railing. It also makes the bulwarks much more solid and realistic. Some fine sanding remains to be done but the hull is starting to look like a Chebec ship. Honestly, the shape and smoothness of this hull is almost sensual and I do not tire of holding that hull in my hands. What will it be when both sides will be planked....? Now, I have to do it all over again, on the other side.... or should I leave it un-planked...? Probably not. Yves

Thanks Nil. I know you have built that model too (yours was scratchbuilt, I think) so you know about the lack of straight lines and flat surfaces on this vessel. I am making some slow progress, which I hope to present in a few days. As always, I am moving away from the official "Instructions" and going all over the place, as needed. Yves

Rob, are you available to polish my real size car? 🙂 I do have an orbital buffer to help your sore arms.... Your results are just amazing on that model. It looks better than the real car. Yves

Great progress Kevin. The wood decks make such a difference. There is no substitute for that. This stuff is so ominous and massive.... Yves

You may have to put another layer of clear coat..... Yves

Big sanding block is the way to go, in my opinion. Yves

Valeriy, since these models are static models, why do you line the hull with fiberglass and epoxy resin? Is it to make sure the wood does not warp or expand? Is it to increase the solidity and resilience of the hull to shocks? Have you considered just brushing epoxy resin on top of the wood and skipping the fiber glass? I would welcome your opinions and recipes. Yves

I can't wait to see some paint on that fantastic hull. Yves

Lovely !!! That should be a very unusual and interesting model. Yves

Moving along with one gun deck, on the Port side. But first, the "Instructions": The first thing I did was to glue all the grates on their respective supports: The grates must be flush with the planking: no stumbling during the action!! Planking can then begin. I start from the stern and go back to the bow, keeping the front of the planking as a reference. This way, I make sure that the curves are correctly matched between the planks. Numbering them is also a great idea: Planking will butt against the cabin wall, near the stern. Moving forward.... About half way done... Planking around the grates, has been completed: Did you notice? Nothing is flat or straight on that vessel.... Three more planks to install: A little cherry wood strip to finish the edge: A couple of Wipe on Poly coats and it is pretty much finished. The gun deck at the bow of the boat is a little bit high and the gun is not fitting perfectly. I will have to be creative to find a solution. Contrary to British ships with large gun ports, these French vessels have very small gun ports and the adjustment required to match the hull openings with the gun carriages is tricky. I am not installing the 4x4 strip preventing the guns from rolling into the sea yet. I want to make some progress on the hull planking and finish painting the bulwark. Yves

Paul, you are back to the "Normal" and "Standard" world. Yves

You are making terrific progress. I love when it takes shape like that. Yves

Ras, I hope I am not hijacking your thread with this post, but there is a modeler in Spain who has been building the San Pablo in the 1/35th scale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/326240588162?itmmeta=01JMJ20BHNV76DFB5CNMDBBQCS&hash=item4bf5745182:g:ZyUAAOSwZupggtEC It is a very impressive model and I thought that some of his pictures may help you. That Spanish gentleman is definitely the "Rey of the the Styrene sheets". I love his models. Yves

So funny that you would find information in the Modeles Reduits de Bateaux magazine (MRB). My father and I later, have been reading and collecting this magazine since the early 1960's. Fantastic source of information and very exciting model that you are starting to build, Ras. Yves

They definitely ruin the fantastic shape of that timeless hull. I would not install them. Plus they will get broken in the process of building the superstructures and handling the hull. Yves

I like the two semi-hulls assembly system, promoted by Billing Boats. So much easier and faster to plank and get a very nice, straight and sturdy hull. Yves

Kevin, it is good to see you back on the Thorn. Yves

I love that yellow. It is going to be a stunning model, Craig. Yves

Excellent work. Very impressive. Yves