gieb8688

I think that you have done a fine job there, Kortes!

While the hull is drying, I decided to coat the deck with tung-oil. What can I say  - the tung-oil is thicker than the oilseed oil. I richly coated the deck, the absorptivity is nice. My expectations that the deck would have lighter color weren’t fulfilled, but the aging effect was quite nice. I coated it in one layer, i think i’ll leave it at that, but it would be seen after polishing.

After oil coating. I just finished

I had to take my time, the profile is rather difficult to make. After molding the profile I left a small width margin and made the final refinements after gluing it, already in place.

Not to think that I stopped here, nope just goes a bit slower then I thought as needs to alter the building.
I'm the first one that is building this tug with Azimuth's without stern truster and also NO rudders. 
The Azimuth's can turn 360 degrees so no need for them, also the stern truster is closed and will not be used.
Now here comes the tricky part as I have to do that a bit different then the "NORMAL" propulsion and need some more supports to have the strength into the building. Also due to the Azimuth's I altered the keel and raised her 12 mm to have more space underneath her and there where the Azimuth's are coming.
I made side (bottom) supports on both sides, also in the middle from the last frame until the midships frame a support.
Personally, Billund Ships are ok but if you alter the propulsion I think that this building is to weak for that and made those supports.
You can see on the pictures below that I struggle a bit with the stern top side small plates to have this in 3 corners bent and also the aft outside corner. 
Managed it with help of hot water and steam to pre-bent them and stick it to the building, leave them for a day before finally glue them in place.
Presently the aft part is 90 % finished but still in a fashion that I can take of the top deck aft to enable me afterwards bringing in on the bottom the epoxy making her watertight, secondly in the event that I have to alter the stern in way of the Azimuth on top I can more easy alter the deck.
So far so good and now will start further with front part, doing a little more to the frames to guide the shell plates more and then the bow itself to be bent and glue to the frames with the anchor pockets. 
Planning is to have the bow trust in before finalise the bow but could be that I change that plan depends on the status of the shell plates who have to be in place and glued. 
I made some plates under the building there where the Azimuth's are coming to have a good strong support.
Also I still use the slip-way as due to the raising of the keel I managed to have her on the "BLOCKS"
As I don't need anymore the original propulsion + rudders, I did give it away to a friend in Holland that is presently making the same building but 10 years old and rebuilt her and was in need of those parts.
Wish me luck to start with the bow and shell plates!
 
Been some time now but slowly we are coming there.
Had some other work to do at home so the building was second in line so to speak..
Anyway today we have the 12 April and done with the helideck and her supports for that, thought that material I ordered did arrive but apparently they are still on their way to me.
Yes I did make a helideck, this days it is a MUST to have one if your vessel want to keep up with competitors so looked around to find some ideas and the result is not to bad if I may say so.
Also on the forward part bow all fittings done and the winches behind the accommodation as well the 2 x boilers ER put in place , the MOB fit and also the second fast rescue boat. 
I ordered 2 x cranes to be mounted on the aft part as where the pillars are presently as well an Atlas crane on the aft deck below. 
The 2 x tucker winches as all supports aft deck done and in place.
As you may have noticed the supports ps and stb side are done below bottom are glue inside so we have more strength into the vessel itself.
As still in discussion with Cornwall for the Azimuth delivery we came to an option to have an el. motor for the 360 degrees continue running and no stop and go back, did that as with real Schottel you can do that so why not in a model? You only have to use an el motor that runs with a slow movement (or gearbox, reduction) in order to have the steering movements by means of belt and the el motor (vertical mounted) to be done. Means having inside 4 x belts, 2 for the propulsion and 2 x for the independent steering. 
So in the end there will be not so much el motors or other parts like an original and have due to that more space underneath the deck.
Having said that the height under decks iwo the Azimuth was only 24 mm so not much space left for the 2 wheels mounted on top of the Azimuth where as the belts are running from to the el motors for the previous named movements.
 
Still the weather here in the UK is not so good to work outside, still have zero degrees at night so have to wait for the shell/hull plates and bow until this goes better.
Anyway, did work enough in the mean time and still can manage to take off all parts such as complete aft part and bridge / accommodation as well to make it more easy for painting and putting epoxy afterwards.
Also it is more practical when I'm building in the lights and other parts as under deck (midships)  I want to have a working towing winch so made already a platform where as this is mounted later on.
Enjoy the pics and if having questions willing to answer them, until then have a great one.

  As told before, the aft part was glued together as a section but still could be removed from the tug until such time I was finished     works below deck

I only had 24 mm under the deck plate but as found out after info I got from the maker this would be enough.

  Made all what was needed on the fore castle like anchor winch and bollards

  Looking good after have them done

  Also behing the superstructure where the spare drums are mounted done

  Was not an easy job but managed it. Still they all can turn too.

  Both spare drums mounted / glued to the superstructure deck aft

  Also the heavy big drum for the spare towing wire done and glued, can also turn too.

  All 3 drums together, now still need to turn around the plate 60 as not done until now.

  the 2 small tucker winches for the aft deck, turning too.

   Made a mast but not content with it so this will be changed afterwards

   Getting there but need much more. I also changed the no 60 plate from the superstructure.

   Boxes placed on ps deck

   Here I start to make a helideck for the tug
not looking bad and need some more works 
now how to go there on the helideck!

   made the stair way to the helideck but is to complicated so will change afterwards

   Not to bad the direct uptake from monkey island to helideck

   Safety net to be made and also start with railings
 

   complete supports for the helideck 

  other view supports helideck
 
 

Just finished up the works to the helideck, now have to make the "catch net" around it.
Also need to make it nice, smooth etc so it looks for the eye more realistic!
Have a great weekend you all.

Right, being a bit slow this time as last my HD from laptop included most of the data so been busy to get this sorted out and after having a new HD mounted, now have to download all what I had before. 
Some of the data also from the Boka Alpine is last but did manage to retrieve some of it.
Now then, did some work on the building but is still on the slip making little progress to the hull, bow and deck.
The most difficult part was the mast, what shape, where to place it, as did not like the original one. Found a solution and that is what it will be, need some work to it like lights, radars etc, but that will be done later.
Already did use filler on the bow and other parts as still waiting for Cornwall to come with an solution for the 2 x Schottel's in the back side as previous ones where to high above it as only have less then 25 mm but it will be sorted out with 2 x belt on each one, 1 for steering 360 degrees and another for the propulsion.
Anyway, even the working space on deck is done with planking, my God what a work is that each plank cutting and glue.
Cranes will be ordered and also the buckle crane on aft deck will be done.
Railing works will be done by fixed ones and just bend / cut them where ever thy need to be.
Helideck will be illuminated but all lights will be done afterwards when all rest is finalised.
Still can take off most of it for later painting / lighting / epoxy etc.
Still have some up to date pictures here and hope you enjoy them.
Till next time with this building.
 

  going further with making the re-enforcement in the tug as started before. I was still able to take of the complete superstructure     incl the deck what now can see is an advantage as have works to do underneath.

   make the life rafts also both sides and you see the re-enforcement all the way around

   Also the top having this re-enforcement built in

   Slowly but getting there, waiting for the bow trust

   stb side re-enforcement also nearly done
Just a view how it looks like and still on the slip

   first filler used without sanding until that time
aft deck done with all the planking!

   Just a nice view of the tug

   Hahaha, night on board but still working on it
made a mast but not content with it
Nope, don't like the mast!

Right, being a bit slow this time as last my HD from laptop included most of the data so been busy to get this sorted out and after having a new HD mounted, now have to download all what I had before. 
Some of the data also from the Boka Alpine is last but did manage to retrieve some of it.
Now then, did some work on the building but is still on the slip making little progress to the hull, bow and deck.
The most difficult part was the mast, what shape, where to place it, as did not like the original one. Found a solution and that is what it will be, need some work to it like lights, radars etc, but that will be done later.
Already did use filler on the bow and other parts as still waiting for Cornwall to come with an solution for the 2 x Schottel's in the back side as previous ones where to high above it as only have less then 25 mm but it will be sorted out with 2 x belt on each one, 1 for steering 360 degrees and another for the propulsion.
Anyway, even the working space on deck is done with planking, my God what a work is that each plank cutting and glue.
Cranes will be ordered and also the buckle crane on aft deck will be done.
Railing works will be done by fixed ones and just bend / cut them where ever thy need to be.
Helideck will be illuminated but all lights will be done afterwards when all rest is finalised.
Still can take off most of it for later painting / lighting / epoxy etc.
Still have some up to date pictures here and hope you enjoy them.
Till next time with this building.
nb. some pics of the layout mast and what will be the Azimut Schottels, only mine will have long belts both sides as only have limited space above ca 22 mm.  Cornwall UK is making them and waiting for arriving here. Also the helideck will be illuminated as pic show and after with epoxy made smooth.
 
need to get my image together to change mast
Nope still don't like it

   Principe of the Schottels working and those should turn 360 degrees so propulsion goes only 1 way, to go astern you have to turn the Schottel 180 degrees so to speak (as in reality it works)

   I will make later similar lighting on the helideck
 
 

Update
The assembly of the first frames on the keel.
 
I make the assembly of the double frames on a glass plate
above the plan drawing.
Advantage, after drying the adhesive, the frame can be easily
detached from the glass plate.
Straken and grind I'll do later.
 
Karl
 
Part 2
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Johann very very wonderful work.

The most challenge Bill had was in the development of the paddle wheels themselves. Each unit is made up of three spoked discs separated at the center by a split hub. The hub area of the outer "discs" were not tied down but were left free to be bent inward and secured to the hub. Try making this free hand with these results. Note as well, the laser created re-enforcing plates for the radial elements. Technology and good ole Yankee Ingenuity at work here!

We all have our methods and materials we favor in model building. In the attached photo you see that Bill has begun planking the complete hull for Agawam. Do you notice the yard sticks in the foreground of the photo? Do you think they are for measurement? Well think again. They are his planking in the raw! Sometime back Bill came upon a supply of yard sticks from some manufacturer. He bought an abundant supply of them (at the right price) which he has milled to fit his needs. They are of basswood (or similar material), are quite straight and void of imperfection so they make fine 3 foot length stock for planking. Bill is always looking for solutions from all sectors. 

Once all the frames were built, a first sanding job was carried out.
According to one knows of the English system of construction of that time, according to the book of another spy, this time French (blaise ollivier 1737) between two "account" frames (I do not know the term in English). there are three filler frames in which the bow part of the frame is not attached to the stern part.
also the space between frames in these ships is minimal in the area attached to the keel
no frame has its bolted pieces, according to the Spanish writings of that time,
in my plans we chose to have only one filler frame.
the assembly started in the bow, which is classic of the Spanish system and also of the English, and different from the French system type "orange segments"
then they go hemi-frames inclined.
as the years passed, the number of crooked frames increased.
in the stern the corresponding parts are placed, in Spanish it is the "peto de popa" with the "gambotas"
You can see Jose_toledo proud of our work.

Not a whole lot of progress, but a little.  I'm scheduled for rotator cuff surgery in a couple of weeks so thrying to get as much outdoor stuff done as I can...before I can't!
 
I finished the last two quarterdeck canons and started playing around with gun port lids.  I didn't mount the forward-most canon in the cabin, so that one is closed.  So we have a closed one, a half door one, and an open one!
 
So much to do, but finally my supplies arrived from CMBSo I'm ready to get a move on with the finishing the quarterdeck.  First up is the main companionway which anyone who's gone through my build log will know has been my nemesis!.  Lost ladders, broken pillars, etc.  Hope to have it done in a couple of days!
 
Patrick

I take my hat off to you, sir. That is some seriously beautiful work.
 
Steven

Ok, I thought you might like an update and some photos. On Friday last week I had a project meeting with the customer. We did a review of where we are at and we discussed the issue on the starboard side. He decided that he did not want me to do major surgery (Yahoo!!), and we came to an agreement on how to make it look better and that would be good enough. This past weekend we had a meeting of our local model building club and the photos you see below are the result. 
 
So let me explain a little bit of what you see. First of all I have used spackle to fill cracks etc. This is in preparation for sanding. The main cabin is just sitting on the deck. It is sanded and painted. you can also see the smoke stacks coming up thru the deck. the furniture for the pilot house is glued in place. and the life boat canisters are sitting on the roof of the main cabin. the Pilot house is not here because it is in the shop being wired for navigation lighting. It too has been sanded and painted.
 
On the fore deck you will see the emergency hatch just sitting in place, it needs painting. The hole in the bow is for the forward winch. It was decided that since this will get a lot of hands on attention from the students it may need to be replaced & repaired. So we designed it so it could be removed.
 
On the stern is the main winch. Similar to the forward winch it too can be removed. It is not complete yet but you can see the hole in the deck where it will be installed.
 
It was requested that the thrusters rotate so the deck is not in place until they are painted and glued to the shaft.
 

That's some nice work on the furled sails, UV !!

Good afternoon everyone
 
still tidying things up at present, the set back was that i had put on all the top spars but forgot the lifts on them (sorted)
The pendants obviously went on when the masting started, and nothing was ever done to them, so they are being trimmed back but space is very tight to get them right, 
upper deck cannons have now been removed, never did like them
spars/yards have been reworked to get them all looking fairly level (sorted)
i am still hoping she will be finished next weekend, but i now have a caveat to go with that 
 
i am presently planning on a representation of number 2 dock to display her in, that is going to take some time so in case any damage is done i dont want to put on any rope coils otherwise they might be in the way if a line gets snagged and needs replacing 
 
things i know that have to be done
4/18 pendants to be finished off
replace 20 copper tiles and then apply a salt wash to tone it all down
rope coils 
lanterns
2 tucks on mizzen mast
kedge anchors
check/ and secure any loose ends
bowspit netting
obtain  at lease one ships boat
rig port stun boon
general tidy and touch up
mast tops
 
change the title to COMPLETED lol
 
 

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.
 
Carl, perhaps the Vance is more interested in knowing where it has been than where it is going😄
 
Thanks again for your support.
 
Steve
 

Much hull priming and painting this week with infill work such as pattern placement for the base on a piece of oak, and drilling main deck cabin portholes.
 


The new rudder arm arrived from England and was immediately test fit - what a difference in clamping power.  The rudder and rudder support were temporarily placed.
 
Once the upper hull was painted (except for the promenade exterior) the masking had to be reversed for painting the lower hull.  A great tip to ensure a sharp waterline came from Mr. Bluejacket (Nic) in the company newsletter.  The recommendation is to place and burnish the waterline tape and masking, then hit the waterline tape with Dullcote prior to spraying the finish color. The Dullcote blocks the color coat from bleeding under the tape.  It worked perfectly all around the ship - about nine feet worth of very sharp waterline.  Thanks Mr. Bluejacket!  See below for the finish, prior to painting the promenade exterior, paint flattening with paper towels, and flat clear coating.

The hull is just about ready for the main deck.
 

Cumberland finished long ago and during this time another model was born. All this time of my silence I have been finishing another imperial yacht Queen Victoria. Here is a photo of my finished work on this yacht.

1/72 HMS Vanguard 1787
Victory Models/Amati
Catalogue # 1300/04
 

 
HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun, third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 March 1787 at Deptford. She was the sixth vessel to bear the name. Vanguard was built as an Arrogant Class vessel. Arrogant-class ships of the line were a class of twelve 74-gun third rate ships designed by Sir Thomas Slade for the Royal Navy and were designed as a development of Slade's previous Bellona class, sharing the same basic dimensions. During this period, the original armament was the same across all the ships of the common class, of which the Arrogant-class ships were members. The first of the twelve ships of this class were HMS Arrogant and HMS Cornwall, both completed in April and September of 1761, respectively. 
 
The kit

I apologise if we seem a little late to the show with this release, with the kit originally being release around 2007, give or take a year or three.. However, unlike the world of plastic modelling that I usually frequent, these sorts of kits are pretty timeless and stand the test of time far, far better. It’s also a pretty premium product and it really does make sense to be able to see a full review of it before you shell out not an insignificant amount of money on it. There are numerous builds of this online, with a good number here on Model Ship World, but there are no actual reviews that I can see anywhere, so I thought I’d try to redress that here. If you order this kit, you really need to make sure that you have bench space for it. Sounds obvious, but this is a very large box and weighs in the region of 14-15kg (30lbs+).



Thankfully, the box is also of a pretty rigid construction to hold all the weight contained therein. Amati/Victory Models’ presentation is flawless with a port side profile of the completed ship on the lid, adjacent to a bow and stern image of the same model. Text says that the model can be finished as either Vanguard, Bellerophon, or Elephant. More colour images adorn the sides, plus some small captures of some of the plans. Lifting the lid off shows that this is merely a decorative lid and the actual corrugated box has a built-in lid that’s locked into place with three large tabs. At least if you sit another kit or two on this one whilst in stash, it shouldn’t crumple under the weight. 
 



Inside the box we have all of the strip and dowel timber that is bundled together and bound with small lengths of elastic string, three large boxes of components, one smaller box of components, several packs of various flat timbers with laser-cut parts, king-size instruction manual, and a whopping 20-plan pack with a heavy gauge photo-etch fret of embellishments for the stern quarters etc. 




The first and smallest of the boxes I come to contains some thick rope for the anchors, a bag of grating pieces, a sheet of what appears to be thick tin foil, and a large bag of cast metal gun carriages that have an antique finish to them. I find the inclusion of the latter quite a puzzle as kits of this standard would normally have these parts given in timer, which would be my preference. Detail on the carriages is actually quite nice, but they also have staggered sides, and I’m not 100% sure how accurate these would be. I think I’ll replace these when my build begins. 
 



Onto the next box. I know it’s not the done thing, as we say, to add sails to this sort of model, although many do and make a superb job. If you do wish to go down that avenue, then a large piece of sail cloth is included for you, as are two sheets of plans which pertain to adding these. We have two laser-cut pieces of timber in this box, notably with parts for the masts and bitts. I’m sure all will become clearer when it comes time to build this. Of course, there are no parts numbers on any wooden components, and you will need to refer to the five sheets of plans that identify what these elements are numbered as so you may locate them to the construction sequence. ELEVEN sheets of brass photo-etch parts are included too, with everything apart from the stern decoration and quarter details. Notice that the launch oars are provided as photo-etch too, but you may want to replace the oar bodies with something less flat in appearance, such as dowel. 
 






Two sheets have the ships name included, as well as other décor, and the ships stove that will be mostly hidden below deck. These sheets also include the stern and quarter windows, lanterns etc. Many hundreds of parts are included here, such as the cannon port hinges, hammock frames, channel brackets, chain plates, boom irons et al. 
 



If that’s not enough metal for you in this box, then add to that the two packets of copper hull plates that are presented as sheets. These can easily be gently scored and snapped off before fitting. These contain the nail fastening details too. I believe there are around 2500 plates which are needed, and you should, in theory, have some to spare too. Two patterns are included, for port and starboard sides. You’ll need to consult with the plans to determine which is which. A sheet of black paper is also included. At the moment, I’m unsure as to what this is, but I’m thinking it could be something to do with the interior of the rear officer’s quarters. A sheet of acetate is included for the stern windows too.





Our second large box of fittings contains two trays of components. One tray contains some wooden components, deadeyes and rigging blocks, plus some small anchors and carronades. I believe the latter may be for use if you choose to build HMS Elephant as some weaponry was slightly different to Vanguard and Bellerophon. 

The next tray is given over exclusively to the many rigging cord spools you’ll need, in various sizes and in two colours. Some rope is also supplied. 
 







Onto the last box of components. The first tray of parts are all cast white metal, including the figureheads for all three versions of this model, plus some trim, main anchors and the stern decoration for Vanguard, cast in three pieces. Now, whilst Bellerophon is in white metal, Vanguard and Elephant are cast in grey resin and they look spectacular! I believe that initial kits had all of these in white metal but coaxing the parts to fit the curvature of the stern proved tricky, so resin was substituted. Strange that this wasn’t included for all three options though. My original intent was to build Bellerophon, but I think this will now be Elephant because firstly, I haven’t seen one yet done, and secondly, because I can use a resin stern décor and add some amazing colouration to it. Two stern fascias are supplied in this kit, with Vanguard being shallower than that of Elephant and Bellerophon, so as to accommodate the carvings.
 


The last tray contains PE parts, more rigging cord, brass nails, brass wire, cannon and gun carriages, cannon shot, and a number of other metal castings. All metal castings here are antique in finish. 
 



Being a large kit means you need plenty of strip wood stock, especially as this is a double-planked model. First planking timber is lest numerous that second because of the upper bulwarks being supplied as plywood parts. Timber quality is excellent with no stringy or split wood. Bundles are kept together with elastic string. I used a little extra tape on some of the thinner stock, to stop them bulging out in the middle. Various diameters of down are included and of different hues. As these will generally be painted, I think the colour is inconsequential. Again, quality is superb, with no splitting or roughness.


All of the various packages of flat sheet components are stored in thick plastic sleeves, and the first here contains three sheets. One of these is for the various keel parts, plus the rudder. Another of the same material is included with various rigging bitts and anchor stock parts etc. A ply sheet is also included with the strips to mount the false cannon on the lower deck and parts for the stern quarters. 

Moving onto the next packet, we are presented with a laser-cut sheet of MDF for the ship’s launches. Here we have the keels and bulkheads for these vessels, all cleanly cut and with minimal effort needed to remove. I’m a little surprised to see this material for this purpose, but the homogenous nature of it is perhaps better suited than plywood and should provide an excellent basis for these miniature builds. More sheets of thin ply provide the main deck components, stern fascias (two options), bow gratings, upper bulwarks with cannon openings, and formers for the quarter galleries. 







Moving onto heavy material, several sheets of MDF provide all of the ship’s bulkheads, false keel (broken down into two parts) etc. Another sheet of timber contains laser-cut channels, carved mouldings etc. Some of these would benefit from a little carving in themselves to profile them a little better. 






Flags? You definitely need them for a ship like this. A set of silk-screen printed flags is included and these appear to have a self-adhesive backing. 

Lastly, for parts, we have a relatively thick-gauge photo-etch sheet what holds all the parts for the stern and quarter decorations, including railings, arches and other ornamentation. Under a coat of primer and paint, these look  very good in place, as seen on numerous building logs on Model Ship World.
 


When it comes to paperwork, this kit won’t leave you wanting. Inside the box, as well as a large assembly manual, is that pack of 20 plans. Most of these are A1 in size with one plan being a whopping A0, so make sure you have some wall space to mount it to for reference. Out of these plans, 5 provide parts maps and identification for the materials supplied, 2 plans deal with the optional sails, at least three deal with rigging Vanguard, 3 concern masting, and the rest for the hull and details etc. 
 






Two building instruction books are supplied. The first one deals with the main areas of construction using line drawings and text. This is quite a large book and has 32 pages. Accompanying this is a smaller A4 book of 20 pages which is generally text-driven and deals with construction in more detail, plus finishing etc. Some very nice history of Vanguard, Bellerophon and Elephant is included.
 





 
Conclusion
It must be 10 to 12 years since this kit first hit the shelves, and here we are a decade or more on, and I finally get to take a glimpse at Chris Watton’s masterpiece. I remember him designing this at the time and saw a few online photos, and I have to say that the contents of this kit are pretty much what I expected, save for the inclusion of the cast gun carriages. I really like the inclusion of MDF for the main structure (bulkheads, horizontal former and false keel) as this has almost zero tendency to warp. Indeed, mine are die-straight and will form the basis of an accurate and trouble-free build. All timber stock is first rate (for this third-rate ship!), and fixtures and fittings are high quality. Having the upper bulwarks as pre-cut parts with their jigsaw fit and pre-cut cannon port is also a time saver and a big help in ensuring that all guns will mount in their correct place and the correct height/elevation.
 
A comprehensive plan pack ensures that every constructional angle is covered, and with 20 plans, Amati haven’t cut any corners. This isn’t a beginner’s model, and I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase many times before, but in this case, you really must have a number of builds under your belt and be able to exercise a degree of project management and prerequisite modelling skills to cater to and overcome the challenges that a complex model like this will demand. In all, a super kit of a formidable class of ship and with all the bells and whistles to build any of three vessels. You can’t do better than that!
 
My sincere thanks to Amati for sending this kit for reviewing on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, check out your local Amati model stockist or online Amati retailer. 
 
 
 

 

Post 52
 Decking continues.
With a little help from my friends 👍 issues with getting the curve right for the bandings are resolved and I can move on.
The way my centre line planks worked out there is a requirement for  a wider plank with tabs and cut outs immediately adjacent either side.

4724
These were tricky to form as there are double tabs and cut outs on each of the two planks that form the run. A two plank run falls within the overall acceptable scale lengths and avoids a butt joint at an inconvenient point.

4759
These planks were formed first without any consideration of tapering or bending.

4771
The inner band of planking now defined by an adjusted and less acute tape line, and the individual plank lines re-marked.

4776
The two plank lines adjacent to the centre section are now glued into place and braced during the gluing process.
The next thing to work out is the shift pattern.
On British ships  a three or four plank spacing is usual between any butts across a single beam
On the Cheerful plan a four butt shift is shown.
I couldn't follow the deck plan layout exactly as I opted to use just two planks for the run immediately outside the centre planks, with the first butt just aft of the main hatch.

4781LI
 I tweaked the plan arrangement to take into account the butt joint of these first planks.
Using a photo of the model I take the precaution of marking these out on the plan before I start.
Planking of the inner belt then becomes simply a matter of length and taper matched to the tick marks laid out on the false deck.
For caulking I use a Pilot broad chisel point waterproof marker which dries instantly and doesn't run. This is applied to one plank edge only.

4786

4789

4791
The inner belt completed, minimal cleaning up at this stage as I prefer to wait until the deck is completed.
Moving onto the outer belt with its four strakes and interesting hooded planks.
 
B.E.
05/12/2018

Post 51
 Getting down to decking.
I have glued into place the side tackle eyebolts for the guns, and ensured the ring bolts will slide easily into their holes later on.
The deck beam positions have been marked on the false deck and the centre line fittings glued into place.
I spent a fair amount of time staring at the deck plan and noting  the  reference details. It has been over seven years since I last planked a deck, one year into my previous Pegasus build, and I'm feeling somewhat ring rusty.
The long planks outside of those between the centre line fittings range between 32 - 35' scale feet, and there is a four shift butt pattern.( 3 plank widths between butts across a beam.)
The provided plan shows a joggled layout but Chuck has opted for a  curved plank arrangement with hooded planks. I last used this arrangement on the Fo'csle deck of Pegasus, but they were much shorter lengths and far fewer in number.
The process starts with the centre line planks and the narrative indicates that the first is placed right down the centre of the deck. The plan shows the centre two planks joining along the centre line.

4730
I played around with both arrangements to see which provided the better outcome when I came to fitting the adjacent full length planks either side.

4734
 I eventually settled on the 'Chuck' arrangement but either way I would need to cut wider planks for the outside run to avoid  slivers of planking alongside the centre line fittings.
 
The section around the Bread room scuttle at the stern required cutting from some 3/64" x 9/32" strip.

4725
Tricky little patterns to cut but they do make for an interesting layout.

4727
With the planks in place the scuttle was sanded flush with the deck.

4731

4728
So another milestone reached which is also twelve months from the start of the build.
I now need to do some working out of the remaining deck layout before I move on to complete the planking.
 
B.E.
29/11/2018

Post 44
 A milestone of sorts.
The basic hull is now complete, which is not to say that I won't be fussing and fiddling with the paintwork for some time yet.

3149(2)
I'm a lot happier now with how she's looking than a few weeks ago.

3161(2)
On the other hand my assistant seems far more sniffy about progress.

3108

3109

3110

3113

3115

3121
Can't quite make my mind up whether to paint the fashion pieces black or leave them natural.

3122

3124
So after some ten months I can set the hull aside and start looking at the deck fittings.
 
B.E.
07/10/2018