Craigie65

I am looking forward to the Indy being released. Not sure my wife shares that enthusiasm. 😂

You will have this finished in no time.  What is next on you list to build?

I am looking forward to the Indy being released. Not sure my wife shares that enthusiasm. 😂

005 - Adding the bulwark patterns
I am not making too much progress on this build at the moment as I am pressing on with the Erycina build. All I have done to the Saucy jack is to add the two bulwark patterns. I did soak and bend the patterns to shape before gluing in place. I think this was a mistake as I did end up with some unwanted curling of the patterns. Thankfully I was able to correct this. The Saucy Jack is now ready and waiting for the first layer of planking.

I was not intending to do as much work on the Saucy Jack, but the painting phase of the Erycina means I have some free time at the moment.
 
Also having plenty of free time is one of the joys of retirement, although my wife and I are looking after our youngest Grandson (18months old) so there will be little or no shipyard time this weekend.

Wow you are keeping busy!  Nights must be drawing in in Scarborough 

It really does bring it to life.  Have fun with the timber heads - lots of fiddly removal of char 😉

019 - Deck Fitting
After removing the laser char from the edge of the maple veneer deck it was a perfect fit. Using a slightly diluted titebond mixture I applied a coating of glue to the false deck. The maple veneer deck was the added with a series of edge clamps to hold the veneer deck in place. Once the glue had cured, I test fitted the previously built deck furniture. The addition of the furniture does bring the boat to life. Next up will be adding all the timber heads to the inner bulwarks.

When gluing the deck glue in place I also glued the outer decorative patterns to the rudder which, once cured, was then test fitted. It was a perfect fit.

018 - Hull Smoothing Completed
I took my time to sand, fill, paint the hull below the waterline. After a few iterations I am now reasonably happy with the end result. I will be spraying the hull with some red paint, but this will be done later on in the build process keeping in line with the build manual instructions.

The next task was to remove the bulkhead ears, above the deck level, and to then sand flat. This was a simple straightforward task.

The 0.8mm maple veneer deck was then test fitted. It was almost a perfect fit. I will just need to sand a little bit from the edges of the maple veneer deck. Fingers crossed that, like @James H prototype build, I will only have to remove the laser char at the edges for it to fit perfectly. 

Many thanks. I had noted the plans were not 1:1 scale (as you noted) and I took that into account.

Looking good, but be careful, the plans are not 1:1.  They are about 85%.. which reading properly you are aware of! Sorry 

015 - Waterline Thoughts
I thought I would add the waterline to the hull next. With the hull positioned in the stand with the aft stand peg securely located in the slot on the keel I was initially concerned that the keel was not level with the stand, as can be seen on the photo below.

I noted the keel angle was correct when I checked the angle of the waterline with the keel on the plan sheet, as can be seen below.

I then noted there was a mark on the stem post, as can be seen on the photo below.

My first thought was this would indicate the waterline position. I soon discounted that as it lower than where I would expect the waterline to be. I confirmed this by scaling the waterline position off the plan sheet (using an 0.85 scaling factor) to get an idea of where the waterline would be on the stem post. I concluded the mark on the stem post would indicate the start of the waterline load marking decals.

Many thanks, painting the hull is great for showing up the imperfections.

009 - First Planking Completed
The first planking of the Erycina hull is now complete. Despite this being my 10th model boat project, I still seem to struggle with mastering the planking techniques. I certainly made a much better job of the right-hand side planking compared with the left-hand side on the Erycina.
 
I have given the hull its first pass of sanding and, for the most part, the hull is now reasonably smooth. I will revisit the state of the hull when I'm next in the shipyard and will continue to sand where appropriate. It is vitally important to get a smooth hull structure before adding the second layer of planking.
 
In no particular order I have attached a selection of photos showing the completed first planking.

008 - First Planking WIP
I have now completed planking the right-hand side of the Erycina hull. The planks went on without too many issues.
 
The first three planks did not require any tapering around the bow area. Once I had completed the first 5 planks, I moved on to add the garboard plank and I then continued to plank upward.
 
There are a few little bumps and dips, but I don't think it will require a great deal of sanding or filling to get a nice smooth surface ready for the second planking.

The stern area turned out reasonably neat.

The bow area also looks OK.

I have now started to plank the left-hand side. I have added the first top plank and the bottom garboard plank. I would expect to complete planking this side in the next couple of days.

I have also added the small stern filler piece above the top plank.

All kits on the website have the skill level shown now. The fishing boats are Novice and Amateur, with the main middling kits being Experienced, and Sphinx Advanced.
 
Indy will be 'Master', as this is the largest and most complex to date.

So, for the audience as comparison how do you rate come of your current models and where will Indy come in?

Just a little update.
 
We have listened to some customers, not being sure of skill levels for my kits, so we now have skill labels for each kit:
 
 
 

 
I am hoping this helps some modellers.
 
On the Indy side, this is still progressing. Yesterday I received the photo etched sheets (25kg worth), dowels, first planking and red alder deck planking.

Step 233 of 240 in the manual!! - so closing in. The masts aren't glued in place yet - they need trued up etc. I will do that -  let it dry - then it's the standing rigging with dead eyes rat lines etc. So could be a wait for the next post
 
 

Mainsail attached to the mast and gaff

002 - Hull Construction Part 2
I have made a bit more progress. I had just coated a diluted titebond solution to the bulkhead joints so as I was waiting for the glue to cure, I decided to check some of the deck items. I started with the main sheet housing which slots into the deck. Once I had removed the laser char from the visible edges, I did a test fit with the deck. As can be seen it was a perfect fit.

As I started to assemble the parts I used a straight edge to check and set the correct alignment.

The basic main sheet housing assembly is now complete. I will add the cleat, block and eyebolt later on as the assembly still requires a bit of tidy up work

Once the bulkhead joints glue had fully cured, I went ahead and fitted the deck. I took my time as the deck was carefully positioned and I ensured it was fully engaged with the all the bulkhead securing slots. Once I was happy the underside joints were coated with a diluted titebond solution.
With the deck glued in place it was time to fair the bulkheads. I used a length of planking material to check the fairing. As can be seen in the photo below the test plank is a nice fit except in a couple of places so a bit more work is required.

I am now happy with how the plank lays.

When considering how the inner stern counter should be fitted, I have noted the bottom edges of the various stern frames will need fairing for a smooth curved fit.

I have also checked the fit of the stern, keel and stem patterns, dry fit only so far.

I have also dry fitted the front and rear bulwarks, taking care to use the line on the bulwarks to align with the deck.

003 - Deck Items
With the inner stern counter immersed in hot water for 30 mins I faired the stern frames. Once I was happy with the stern frame fairing the inner stern counter was clamped in place. This will be left clamped to allow the inner stern counter to fully dry out.

I noted in the build manual that the lower from end tabs of the front bulwarks required a bevel so the part will sit flush with the side of the hull bulkheads.

As I waited for the inner stern counter to dry, I decided to build some of the deck items. I started with the fish hatches. It is important to remove the laser char from the visible edges when releasing parts from the sheets.

When assembling the ladder, once the laser char had been removed, I have found it best to start by gluing two rungs to one side. This will be left for a few minutes to allow the glue to grip.

After a few minutes the other side of the ladder was glued in place. This assembly will be left for a few minutes to allow the glue to grip

It is then a simple task to insert the remaining rungs to complete the ladder assembly

The next item to build was the companionway. This was a simple item to build. I am pleased that the roof door slides smoothly in the slots.  I just need to add the front doors to complete the assembly. I have not added these doors as they required two PE hinges. I have started to prepare the PE parts. The PE sheet has been through a through cleansing process using a mixture soaking the sheet in hot soapy water and acetone.

004 - Bulwarks and Priming
The keel, stem and stern posts have now been glued in place. As you would expect with a Vanguard Models kit everything fitted together without any problems.

As I was checking the bulkheads during the final fairing process I added some pencil marks, as can be seen on the photo below, to indicate where the planks will lay.

The 4 bulwark parts were soaked in hot water for 30 mins before they were clamped in place. These will be left clamped for at least 12 hours to ensure the strips have fully dried out.

Whilst waiting for the bulwarks to dry I have taken the PE sheet, which had been cleaned with acetone and soapy water, and I applied a coat of primer. Once the primer is dry, I can apply the required colour to each part.

There were a few a more parts to clean and prime. In the photo below they are in a bath of acetone and the soapy water bath can also be seen in the photo. I tend to soak the parts in the soapy water first for around 10 mins before using a toothbrush to gently on the parts. I then transfer the parts to the acetone and repeat the toothbrush cleaning process after about 10 mins. The parts will go through another soapy water and acetone bath treatment before being washed in clean water and dried.

I made a simple jig to hold the parts and then applied a coat of primer. I haven't primed the chain pipe as the resin part supplied is black and I am undecided if I will leave as is or if I will paint green, as shown in the manual.

There is not a lot more I can do at the moment. I could start making the masts, bowsprit, etc. but I think I will leave that for another time.

Don't worry - it would take something pretty drastic to stop at this stage - I mean get the "Finished" badge from the moderators - I owe it to Vanguard Models really

I have just started my Erycina build today. I will refer to your build log as I progress.