gieb8688

So here's my plan for painting.  I don't want to paint the lower part of the hull, because I've read that paint can be a poor surface for coppering.  So as shown in the pics below, I have put pins in the hull just about 1mm below the waterline.  I'll leave them in and paint down to them only.  
 
Then when I copper the hull, I'll come up to them and use the holes as a guide for the last copper row, which will cover the holes.
 
Anyhow, that's the idea and we'll see how it works. 
 
Regards,
David

Henrik:
 
You're right -- the deck pattern is printed on the deck plywood (see picture below).
 
And it's not a stupid question.  When I first saw the decks, I thought "oh, maybe I don't have to plank them."  But then I looked ahead and yes, you do have to plank them.  So I'm not sure why Mantua did this, but I suppose it's a good guide to get an even deck pattern.
 
Regards,
David

Hi all, its been a funny week at work and this has disrupted my progress a little. I have decided to work from the rear to the front and make each component until I am happy with them all and then install them to there permenant position. The signal gun is a first attempt, the barrel is not too bad but the mount is not acceptable so will be starting again. I think there is supposed to be two meat barrels and I am aware that there should be three bands, but that is beyond my current skill level and facilities. The bands are made from 15mm plumbing pipe, I have cut strips and then filed them as thin as I can, but they still look clumsy. The barrel is too stumpy as well, I hadn't tried to use my mini drill as a lathe at that point, might try again but that is fine tuning that I can do when I have the main structure and components sorted out.
 

 
I tidied up the Liverpool house and am content with this, I have the brass stantions for the railings but having read that they get in the way when installing the rigging, I will set out the holes for them, but will leave installing them. I am contemplating changing the front railings as they appear out of proportion, they are too tall and the support posts too heavy. I could do with a mini lathe but all I have is a drill and my imitation dremel. I have been making wooden Belaying pins on the dremel from bamboo tooth picks as the 5mm brass ones I bought would not be able to catch the thread when installing the running lines. These ones are 8mm, I know they are over scale as that puts them over 2' long but I do not have much choice.
 
Planning ahead, I have started making the fittings for the lower deadeyes and it is going to be almost impossible to thread these in situe.

 
You can see that there just isn't room to get even a curved needle between the deadeyes and the gunwhale, so I will have to set up a rig where I can construct the lower and upper deayes in place, thread them up with the lanyards, then install them into the predrilled holes in one go.
 
I think that the standing rigging for the mizzen mast looks a little like this.
 

 
So my rig that I will set up will consist of two uprights that will be removed after installation. The base can be 1mm x 3mm walnut strip with drill holes for the lower deadeyes. The top piece can be 1mm x 1mm walnut strip that can be strapped to the upper deadeyes, and the down cables attached when the main rigging elements are installed. In the mean time, I will set up the deadeyes locations so I can position the fife rails correctly. 
 
I have been practicing my metal work skills this week and have been working on the bilge pump but no pictures today, this is still experimental at this stage.
 
Simon

Thats for the help Keith, I finally got round to finishing of the Wheel and Gearbox yesterday.
 
The wheel is retained by an Earring backstay mounted between the outer board and an inner piece so it turns. The name plate is sheet brass and used a Dymo printer on clear tape. My hands are far too shaky to get that to look nice otherwise. I have some clear auto lacquer and will coat this so it retains its shine.
 
I added a little detailing to the Liverpool house prior and getting ready to install the hand rail but I read from someone that this is likely to get bent out of shape when rigging so may hold of from this. 
 
Half way through the meat barrel last night I slipped with a craft knife so gave up for the evening, but is true now that this is a labour of blood and sweat, if not tears, bringing the model back to life. The two fife rails are constructed but not installed as I can't determine the correct position until I have a better idea where the deadeyes are going for the mizen mast, I dont want to crowd the area until I have this set out, much to the dismay of she who shall be adored, who thinks I need to be more methodical. She is right of coarse as I have drifted from task to task a bit.

Hi all,
 
Had my covid jab yesterday so feeling a bit off today, but woke early and after making a coffee, set out my workshop. 

I finshed the Steering gear box yesterday and am waiting on the postman for the wheel. Looking at the deck it seems I have lots of things with the main construction done but nothing is actually finished, so I have tried to sort a few of them out.
 
I started with constructing the roof mounts for the Captains Gig, glued it up then painted the roof white. Another coat and I can install the brass rings to secure the ropes that will hold the Gig in place.

I was lucky to get my delivery from Cornwall Model Boats today, pleasantly surprised at the speed of the delivery.
 
The Ships wheel I ordered was included but as you can see, some assembly is required. The spokes dont actually click in place and keep falling back out. Will CA glue hold this or do I have to solder them? 

 
I carried on with painting, but it all needs to be rubbed back down and another coat applied.

 
I can then apply the final trim aound the houses in Mahogany strip. I still need to work on the hull as I need to round of the curve on the rear, its quite obvious in such close up images.
 
 
 

The doors are 16mm. I lowered the roof and took out the sill above the doors. At a scale of 1:100 that would be about 5'6". The average sailor in the 19th century could walk through with only a small duck of the head. I have stained the side walls and planked the roof with beech sticks. The sky light was interesting, the window frames took a bit of fiddling gluing 1mm square beech stips, these still need to be glazed before I stick them in. I am quite pleased with this, not too fancy to be so far from what dad started but true to the spirit of the ship.
 
Next will be the steering gearbox.  
 
Must start that shopping list before long.

Have spent the majority of the weekend planning on what I am doing, trial and error and "Having a go at what I fancy" is not working for me. That said, I still spent sunday afternoon working on the ships Jolly Boat.
 
A Lack of plans is a problem and so I am looking at what I can do to draw a few of my own. This should let me set things out as the size of the hull is a done deal. The only trouble with that is the proprortions are wrong. The hull is 71cm from stem to stern and Cutty is 212.5 ft so this suggests a scale of 1:90 or there abouts. However, she has a Beam of 36ft and my hull is 11.4cm and this comes out at about 1:110 or a little less. Overall, this should not be a problem if I work to 1:100 as a general scale so that the overall effect wont be too far out. 
 
I had made a Liverpool house and the size is not far out but its a bit too angled and the whole thing is in Walnut. I will be making a new one, a little longer that the current one with a smoother curve to the sides to match the shape of the deck. You can see the difference in sizes based on the ratio alone as the images attached have the two stencils I drew up. I will have to temporarily stick a paper to the deck and then run a compass around the deck with an arbitary size for the gangway. As she is now, there is only one door at the front of the Liverpool house and that is how dad had her, so I will omit the rear door. This will be made from Lite ply with beech planking on th roof to match the deckhouses, thank you Starbucks.  
 
Being in Lockdown is getting very frustrating as I would much rather go and buy what I need as I need it, there are, or at least were, modeling shops in South London, although only a few that stocked the materials I will need but thats out, so I am stuck with mail order and the Cornwall shop is the only reasonably priced place. The only real problem with that is I like to see what I am buying and you have to plan ahead, which I have not been doing so far. Other wise, I am sourcing materials from where ever I can get it and coffee stirrer sticks make good roofing materials, but you have to forgive me the scale issue.
 
Time for work, more to come.
 

I did a couple of photos last night just showing the various completed deck fittings sat in position on the deck. There are a couple of assemblies I've incorrectly positioned, but everything will be ok when she's done.
 
About one month since work began.

A couple of solid weeks work for this update.
 
I've actually built quite a lot more deck stuff as well as what you see here, but I'll keep this update to the hull alone.
 
With the first layer pear bulwarks fitted, the hull was planked in 1mm lime, tapering as I went. The shape of this hull is actually very friendly when it comes to planking, and I'd say it's ideal for anyone who's built a couple of easier models beforehand. The hull is then sanded smooth.




 
 
The stern counter can be fitted direct, but I opted to soak and curve it first, marking on the positions of the MDF frames underneath so that I can pin it properly. Note this is the 'inner' 1mm part. The finishing outer part is 0.6mm and can be glued straight over this later.


 
 
All inner 3mm pear keel parts (keel, prow and stern rudder post) are now glued in position. 

 
 
As with Chris' other designs, the keel is then covered with engraved external faces. These are located with pegs and then they are fitted, they create a natural rabbet for the second layer pear planking.

 
 
The second layer doesn't start with planks, but with eight pre-cut sections that are shaped and engraved (4 per side). The fore ones are again soaked and left to dry out overnight so they come back to their original size (pear expands quite a lot when wet).





 
 
 
The outer stern counter is now glued into place.

 
 
 
Again, before planking, there are two pre-shaped plank layers to add, directly below the previous parts.


 
 
 
NOW we can do the second layer planking! These are full length strips of 0.8mm x 4mm pear. These are fitted with CA gel (Gorilla Glue) spots, and tapered as I go along.

 
 
As all the second layer is now on, and there's little chance of the bulwarks spreading outwards, the temporary jigs are all removed and their positions cut down.

 
 
Before sanding down the second layer, the engraved areas are first masked off to prevent any possible damage. Sanding this one down was also quite easy too due to the 4mm wide planks.

 
 
A temporary waterline is now added. This is so I can add any filler I need below this area without it being seen in an unpainted area. That's pretty much where I'm up to now. In fact....I'm off to add the filler right now.

 
 
 

Hello friends.
 
The fore channel’s deadeyes have been set. Not so satisfied with the port side, but after some practice the starboard side turned out much better.
 
Here are the picks.
 
Best regards.
 
 

Hi everybody!
 
All channels are in place now. 


 


 
The only structures I see on the plans are still missing before starting with the masts and rigging are the boats davits; but I think I will do them at the end of the build.
 
Best regards!
 
 
 
 
 

An update. I have continued doing painting on the interior and  progressing with the deck framing. I find framing the deck a very enjoyable task! I was concerned that the rather tenuous connections between the beams and clamps were very weak but as I installed the lodging knees it became a very strong and stable hull.
 
As to the lodging knees: I measured between the beams, cut the raw wood a bit oversize and sanded them down to a snug friction fit. I then took measurements from the plans for the concave areas, marked that area, cut it out with a fret saw and did a final sanding to smooth the cut area. I then placed them in position to determine the proper shape where they land on the clamp, cut that and once all was well I applied wood glue to them where they met the clamps and any frames. As they were a snug fit to the deck beams I applied thin CA to that joint, worked well.
 
I then moved on to other deck work, using directions  from the kit I planed the supplied wood for the fore and aft longitudinal beams to the correct size and installed them. I deviated from the the kit material for the intermediate athwart ship  beams and as suggested in another log and used the waste material from between the main beams in their matrix to construct them. As a previous poster mentioned the supplied intermediate beams do not match the camber of the main beams. The waste material is a bit wider than the supplied smaller beams but since it will all be covered by the decking I could see no issue.
 
All the beam to beam, carlin to beam, and lodging knee connections were done using a blind lap joint, the mortise filled with PVA glue and are very strong. The directions suggested a plain butt joint could be used but that seemed rather weak to me. It may seem a waste to spend so much time to be careful with the deck structure as it will be covered but I found it very enjoyable and the practice will probably help with any future builds. I may also leave an interesting section of the deck unplanked to reveal the structure.      

A long delayed update on this thread, I have been sidelined by some other issues. Unfortunately, in my working time I was more interested in building than taking photos and documenting the build but here are a few things I learned and a couple of tips (use them at your own peril from this relative neophyte)!
 
1. Take great pains to set all the frames at the correct height! I thought I had done so but a mm low or high crept in and sure made a difference. I spent some frustrating time sanding or shimming frames to achieve a relatively fair landing for planks and ceilings. In the photos you can see the deck beams laid are going to require some frame additions or subtractions on their upper ends. In setting the beams I took pains to be sure that they were level on both sides so the boat doesn't appear to be listing.
 
2. Setting the clamps: When setting the clamps I took a strip of sandpaper and placed it grit side to the frame between the clamp and frame in the approximate location and pulled it up and down to create a full contact surface before gluing the clamp, seemed to work well.
 
3. The wet well: I placed the lower logs using the supports going to the beam to ascertain the correct angle for the port and starboard logs before gluing them in place. I then attached the supports inside the logs when they should have been on the outside of the logs. Created a bit of an issue according to the plans but not major in my mind although the naval architects will probable be after my hide.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed building the cabin and bunks as well as as installing the soles and ceilings. I have only done the port side so far as I may leave some planks off the starboard hull to show the interior as show in the box photo. 
 
This has been a challenging project, as is said "don't sacrifice good for perfection". I am of an age I don't suspect I will ever remotely attempt or try to achieve perfection or even good, I'll accept decent at least in my eye and those of unsuspecting viewers. I am enjoying the build and I guess that is what we all want to do? 

Time for an update on my snail's pace progress. I complete installing all the frames up to the point that the keelson attaches going up to the stern and thought it a good time to install the keelson. I checked all the frames prior to installing the keelson and found one seriously out of alignment, it was the one frame I experimented driving a brass pin through the frame and into the keel as I was rather concerned with the tenuous connection between the frame halves and the keel. The pin wandered off path and pulled the frame seriously out of alignment. I managed to remove and reset the frame without serious damage. I still suspect some shimming may be in my future for other areas.  
 
I test fitted the keelson and it was like a rocking horse, no doubt to my my improper sanding rather than a design defect. All frames were set to the proper height per the plans but the error was due to my improper finishing of the landing area for the keelson. At that point modifying the landing area on the frames was near impossible so I modified the keelson as seen in the photos by removing material as needed. I established the correct attachment level fore and aft for the the keelson and removed material as needed on the keelson to ensure a tight fit on the frames, seemed to work well. 
 
I used one hour setting epoxy to attach the keelson as I had no doubt I could not work fast enough using the 5 minute variety. I applied the adhesive to each frame/keelson juncture and also to the forward end of the keelson and used a brass pin at the aft end to secure it in addition to the epoxy. I used rubber bands in the middle to apply pressure. This was my first time using 1 hour epoxy and I was sure I had mixed it improperly while waiting for it to cure, I put it out in the hot sun and it cured rock hard! I am amazed how it made the structure so much more rigid and stable!
 
A couple of observations: this is my first POF build and I find it a quantum leap more challenging than my 2 previous builds! It teaches the importance of attention to detail!  It is completely enjoyable and sure gives me the greatest admiration for the members who scratch build POF models!!!!         

I seemed to have messed up the previous post, my computer skills are apparently about equal to my modeling skills! The first four frames attach directly to the keel assembly but the next several join in the middle and are glued to the top of the keel. This seemed a very weak area to me so for those that didn't have a laser cut "floor" included I reinforced the joint with strips of wood and added temporary to maintain the width. Hopefully they will not interfere with future bits to be installed, I couldn't see any issues on the plans but time will tell. An interesting issue, the building frame was too tall to support the top of the frames as I approached midship so I added another piece to accommodate the superior tops of the frames. I measured the width of the frames on the plans and made tic marks on the jig and also for the height, work quite well. One hint, the keelson rests upon t he frames above the keel so be sure to level and smooth that area, much easier before the frame installation than after as I learned!

Hello, new update.
@BranPie
I didn’t know what sternpost was 😅
I thing it’s good now. I removed all the nails next to the sternpost, it was the best thing i did. Now i understand why some people just use the nails to secure the strips in place.
 


 
I need to glue the bulwarks at the back. Not finished sanding yet. Step by step 🤞🏻

Well, my Zulu, BF 1479 Fidelity is finished.  
 
This has been a really fun and informative journey, which began when I received this kit at the end of last August.  Despite a very busy professional and family life, I’ve managed to prioritize enough time to keep construction moving forward, slowly and steadily, and it paid off.
 
Since my last update, I snugged up all of the rigging, fixed it in place using the clear nail polish, completed the sheet and line tails, and trimmed all lines to proper length.  
 
I am really feeling good about how she turned out.  Although there are scores of things I would improve, and all sorts of things I’d do differently next time, I think that Fidelity came out really well, and is a pretty authentic representative of the Zulu type.  The way the sails are set,  she appears to be charging home on a close reach, in the early morning breeze, her hold full of fish ready for market.
 
I hope that this build log and these photos are helpful to those who may be building this kit in the future.  I can’t speak highly enough about the quality and thoughtful detailing and engineering in this kit from Chris Watton at Vanguard.  I think this is a perfect first project for someone wanting to get into this hobby, and it’s designed to help set that person up for success.  I’ve learned so much from building it, and absorbing the wisdom embodied in the design of this model.
 
Many thanks to all of those who have helped me along the way, notably Chris Watton, James Hatch, Bob Garcia, Rik Thistle and Blue Ensign. Here’s some photos of Fidelity, including one showing her in her new home on the console table in the entry of our house.  
 
 

Hopefully this is a better picture of the anchor release, the detail is small enough to see when you lean in but from a few feet away you probably wont notice this detail at all. Which to me, looks best. 
 
Bradley 
 

Another small update, 
 
I finally got around to ordering some more needles for my air brush! So i got the cat heads, and the bell painted. The cat heads are painted the same color black as the rest of the hull and the inside is painted with a 90:10 mix of deck house cream and detail white, the deck house cream is from model expo and I do not recommend these paints, I had nothing but trouble trying to thin the paint, the detail white is a much better paint from createx colors. The bell was also painted black, this deck house cream color is going to end up being the color of most of the deck furniture. I then glued everything down and started working on the anchor, hopefully I can get those done tomorrow! Thanks again. 
 
Bradley 
 

Hello everyone, 
 
I got some more stuff done on the forecastle today, I think it looks pretty good!
 
I got the hawse holes drilled, and put a blackened steel ring on the inside so hopefully once its painted it will look like the real thing. Here is a picture: 

 
The next thing I got done was the top part of the windlass, I couldn’t figure out the name so thats what I’m calling it. I made it out of 1 mm brass tubing, .4mm brass wire and the bell is the cast bell that came with the kit, it didn’t look too bad so I decided to use it. Getting the bell in the right spot was really hard, but I got it done with the help of several small clamps. Sorry about the poor photo quality, I had to lean this part against the bits to get it stand upright, this is not the final placement of the piece. 

 
Thanks again everyone. 
 
Bradley 

Hello once again everyone, 
 
These last few days of doing not much other than working on the flying fish have been pretty nice! I have finished the first cathead, one more and I can get them painted. 
 
I had a bunch of really small brass eyelids sitting around and that is mainly what I used to create the anchor release, I haven’t checked in awhile but I think the diameter of the eyelid is .5mm and the shaft of the eyelid is .3mm. 
 

 
Two eyelids were used on the release it hook with a .3mm brass nail in the center, I cut the shackle of sorts from a 3mm brass sheet by taking two flat pieces and clamping them in a pair of needle nose pliers and filed away all the excess, what was left was two half circle pieces of brass. I have another eyelid in the middle of those to act as the pin fall. Then I added the chain that will hold the anchor to this mechanism, and I will cut this to length later when the anchor is complete. 
 

 
The idea is a small line is tied to the eyelid on the left, when pulled, the right side slides towards the end of the cat head, releasing the pin fall. Because the pin fall would be holding the anchor it would drop pretty quickly releasing the attached chain, and while the anchor is tied off by the main cable, this release mechanism acts as a way to lock the anchor the cat head, allowing it to be locked in placed on the forecastle deck if desired. Basically you pull the release cord and the anchor drops. Here is a photo that hopefully better demonstrates this point:

 
And finally here is what it looks like now when put in place, I haven’t glued any thing just making sure it all fits. Thanks again. 
 

 
Bradley

Just started the coppering ! Well what a disaster it’s been so far. It have removed circa 60 tiles and started again. Below is the result of nearly 8 hours. They seem uneven but the hull is as flat as I can make it. Any ideas or do you think I am going in the right direction ?
I was going to finish with a satin clear laquer ?

I finished my first planking yesterday. I had to end by inserting a plank to fill a gap midships (it this called a stealer too?) that I ended up with after using full width planks up to that point. For that I used a neat little technique I learned from a buildlog by a builder called Pietsan on modelbouwforum.nl (he isn't active here, I think) which I wanted to share here since mostly beginners will be following this topic.

Picture 1: the gap I needed to fill.
 

Picture 2: tape over the gap with masking tape. Note: I didn't tape al too well here, pressed the tape down too much so I ended up with a slightly too large piece (better too get the tape tighter to start with).
 

Picture 3: draw along the edges of the gap with a pencil.
 

Picture 4: remove tape from model and stick it to a plank (this is the hardest step, according to me).
 

Picture 5: cut carefully around pencilmark, peel away tape from outside and continue your cut until you have your plank to insert. Then remove all tape (I went too fast here and forgot to take pictures during work).
 

Picture 6: after some careful sanding (mostly because of me not starting with my masking tape insufficiently taut) you have a perfectly fitting plank to insert into your model.
 
So, on to the next step. Sanding and filling (or is it the other way round?).

Coming along nicely. Only downside is the ships boats. they don't ruin the model but they are not the best bit of the kit. 

One or two of the plans will be the normal large sheet (the general arrangement plan is 28" x 40"), but most will be in a spiral-bound booklet of 11" x 17" pages.  The drawings on the smaller sheets will be full size, so measurements can be taken directly from them.  The smaller size is just handier to use and doesn't take up a lot of workbench space.  It also isolates each component, making it less confusing than an overall drawing.
 
The large sheet (not quite complete) showing the overall model.  I still have to add rigging and a few other details.

 
A few of the 11" x 17" sheets will have a couple drawings due to the small size of the item being assembled/built.

 
Most of the 11" x 17" sheets will have a single topic to be addressed.  Both the main and superstructure decks have the positions of the various components laser-etched on them, making placement a bit easier than trying to measure everything.