Craigie65

Post 44
Completing the deck planking.
I firstly fit Hooded planks for the penultimate strakes at the Bow and Stern.

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This provides better spacing for the final strake against the Margin plank.

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The final plank requires spiling for which Tamiya tape is used to provide the shape.

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A full day to fit the final planks, and around six days  in total.
Not quite finished as the deck requires scraping and sealing with a flat varnish.
 
B.E.
27/02/2025

Much to ponder on the way forward after a morning of test fitting various parts.
 
I did a check that some of the upper deck items will align with the lower deck openings. I am pleased to report that no issues were found.

I then turned my attention to the inner stern board and counter pattern. After a little bit of trimming of the lower pattern I was happy with how the join between the two patterns looks. However there is an issue with where the lower pattern joins with the deck, as can be seen in the photo below.

I am undecided what to do but my current thinking is either:
a) to see if I can add some material to the bottom of the stern board pattern so there is no gapping with the deck edge. I will also need to add some packing to bring the stern board up to the same level as the back end of the deck. This will be time consuming and I may end up creating some more problems.
b) Leave as is and then fit a filler piece to cover the gap, as per the photo below, noting the filler piece will need be full length rather than the short experimental test piece shown below.
c) Add some packing to bring the stern board up to the same level as the back end of the deck and then add a filler piece.
 
I am currently drawn toward option c).

However there is bigger problem to resolve before I can fit stern board and counter patterns. In the photo below I am test fitting one of the rear cabins side patterns. It can be seen that the pattern does not sit flush of the deck. This can be rectified by removing some of the patterns curved section so it follows the shape of the lower stern board pattern.

Also the pattern is not square where the cabin door pattern will be located.

The cabin door assemblies are a good fit.

The outer cabin frames were then glued to the cabin side and door panels.

Another aspect to consider is the fitting of the cabin roofs. As can be seen below the cabin side panels need to be level with the cabin frames,

When looking at both the cabin side panels and the stern board and counter patterns I am happy that there are no issues with regard to how cabin side panels will fit against the stern counter pattern, as can be seen by the red arrow. The problem area is indicated by the yellow arrow.

 
However as this is not the case with the stern board pattern. My options are:
 
a) Fit both the stern counter and board patterns and then, when fitting the cabin side panels, trim the bottom edges as necessary to get a good fit.
b) Resolve the alignment issue of the cabin side panel before fitting the stern counter and board patterns. The curved edge of the cabin side panel can be trimmed so it sits flush on top of the stern board pattern.
c) Sort out the basic alignment issues as per option a) above. Once the stern board and stern counter patterns have been fitted trim the curved edge of the cabin side panel so it sits flush on top of the stern board pattern.
 
Unless anyone has any bright ideas my current thinking is to go with option c).
 

Post 42
Deck Planking Part 2
With the counters in place I concentrate on the aft deck section.
Once the centre planks are in place I begin to taper the planks.

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This is done by eye, the objective to get a curve that runs parallel to the outer deck line.
 
At this point I  move to the Bow section.

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Apart from the four planks either side of the centre, the other are all tapered and nibbed into the Margin planks.

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The area of the sub-deck remains to be planked but the indication is that a fair run of planking will follow.🤞🤞

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Looking a bit rough at this stage and very much w-i-p. 
Hopefully this belies the end result once the deck is scrubbed,  or rather scraped up, to a reasonable finish.
 
B.E.
24/02/2025
 

I have experimented with some different wood dyes and ended up adding a cherry wood finish to the square tuck. There is still a little bit of tiding up work required in this area.

I then moved on to adding the wales. I marked and taped the position of the waterline. I also added tape to the area above the wale. Once that was done I sanded the area smooth between the upper and lower tapes. The previously bent wales were then checked and I did end up adjusting the bend for a better fit around the bow area.
 
I have also been experimenting with both oak and cherry wood dyes on some spare planking material and will add a cherry wood finish to the planked area below the wales and above the waterline.
 
The wales were then coated with a sanding sealer and two coats of dull black painted were brushed on.
 
Next I brushed some wood glue to both the underside of the right-hand side wale and the hull. The wale was  then carefully aligned and clamped in place and were left to dry. Once the glue had had time to cure the process was repeated for the left-hand side wale.
 
You may note in the photos below I did add one pin to the lower wale section at the stern so it follows the curve of the hull. I will remove the pins first thing in the morning.
 
The upper tape layer has also been removed now the wales have been fitted.

 
 

Spent the last few days adding various deck fittings.
 

Hi Everyone,
I've just completed my first ever model. AL La Provencale. I didn't post a build log because I stuffed it up. The build, not the log. After reading a lot of posts from members I found that they may as well have been talking Swahili, due respect to any Swahilian members or is that Swazilanders. I hardly understood a word they said. I don't know my jibs from my jabs. I think this will take some time before I can speak the correct lingo. 
Back to the model. I made a major error right from the word go. I measured the planks incorrectly and as a consequence, I was short one end. This of course led to many future problems further on in the build. I was actually quite pleased because I had to solve these problems as I came to them. This changed a few things on the model but I finally finished it. Not quite according to Hoyle but finished nevertheless. I'm having the time of my life. After reading the suggested models for beginners I thought I might have a crack at AL Santa Maria. The reasons for this is that it looks like a number of members here have built this model, I hope they're still around, and there are videos of the build. Also a brief instruction list. It looks like being a bit of a challenge. Being an old fart, I hope I don't pop the clogs before I get it finished. I've attached a photo, to be viewed for a distance.
Looking forward to many happy hours here.
John

That's a cracking shot of your 64, Ron, and the copper colour is spot on for what I'm after.
Love the small details - lead sheathing on the stem and Tompions in the Hawse holes. 👍
 
Post 39
Thinking about the deck
As with Indy and Sphinx I want to leave as much of the lower deck open to view as is practical.
The ply sub-deck gives the basic shape to be over-planked but the area will be increased sufficiently to house the carronades.

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At the bow around the Fore-Mast I have cut away an area to show more detail of the forward cabins.
This necessitates adding carlings to the deck beam behind the mast to support the mast partners.
Retro fitting carlings  is a little tricky.
 
The centre line of the boat will be planked where necessary between the various fittings.
Hatchways and Companionways will be fitted before planking.
 
Chris has designed these to fit within the etched deck cut-outs, directly on the beams, so I don’t need to  make adjustments to the height of the coamings etc.
 
The first job is to make up and fit the grating sets. 
Quite time consuming the assembly and fettlin’ of these items, there is a lot of heavy char to be removed. It pays to take time, they will be prominent features of the Upper deck.

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For the first time on a build, I have not had to add a round-up to the head ledges of the coamings, Chris has included this feature in the parts.👍

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Veneers wettened and clamped around a suitable former, in my case a plan tube, are used to cover the  coamings/ head ledges.
The instruction suggest leaving them for 36 hours before use, but I blast them with the hair dryer and leave overnight.
I perceive on the gratings a sort of ribbed effect I have not noticed on previous builds. They benefit from a light sanding to reduce this.

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The Instructions suggest that rounding the gratings isn’t necessary; I found it of benefit, and I applied the hairdryer treatment but without dampening the grates.

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Main Hatch

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The only issue I had with assembly was with the Fore grating and stove chimney cover.
I had to add side pieces to get a good fit.
All these fittings are in their raw state at present.
 
When going off-piste with the decking it is advisable to check out all the fittings to ensure sufficient deck planking is in place.

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Here the riding bitts and standards are dry fitted.
I will need to support the standards with decking.

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Additional carlings were required to support the small steam grating above the stove grate, which otherwise just sits on the etched deck.

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Not sure what the small cut-outs on this grating are for? They almost look like a fault.

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All the char will now be removed and the centre line fittings glued into place.
 
B.E.
19/02/2025

I have now completed the right-hand side second planking. There is a wet nature in the photos below as I did brush the hull with a dampened brush. This was done to remove any unwanted dust from the hull and to also highlight any areas which may require a little bit of attention.
 
Overall I am very satisfied with how this has turned out, it is not perfect but generally it looks good to the naked eye. I will now spend a few more days repeating the process for the left-hand side. Fingers crossed I can repeat what I have done already.
 
The wale (when fitted) will positioned between the lower laser etched line on the bulwark pattern and the third strake.
 
I am planning to add a square tuck to the stern.

good evening everyone
 
day 7 chassis
well  I cut the carriages in half, to equal 8 and never thought anymore about it for a day or so, and last night thought well it dont make any difference, i have not actually gained anything as the two chaasis beds are still tight against one another.
spent hours on the web and came across the answer, i had two options
1 - take 2.5mm off each end that has been cut
or
2 - move the pivots on the link bridge further apart, and when placed down onto the chassis they will force the new gap
I chose option 2
link bridge

having moved the pivots towards the ends i now have this gap

at the same time i am continuing to complete the brake fittings

 

QD Hammocks:
I finished sanding the sides of all the hammocks, after I removed a good majority of the gray wash that was blotchy.  I think I am happy with the result and will probably move on.  In the pictures they look much more grime ridden than they do in person, I think its the shadows from the masts and ropes making  them look like that in the pics. 



 
As she now stands. 

There is quite a lot colour variation with the kit supplied second planking material. Also there are a few planks that have manufacturing defects, such as ripped edges and tapering. I have sorted through and will use the best planks for the area beneath the wales and above the water line.
 
The quality and colour variation of the kit supplied second planking material is not a issue when the hull is either painted or coppered. The Harpy will be coppered below the water line.
 
If going for a natural wood, varnished finish to show of the planking then it is probably better to replace the second planking material with high quality milled timber from a supplier such as Hobbymill EU. My planking is not up to that standard as yet.
 
I ended up following the same method as @Blue Ensign with regards adding the two strakes that sit beneath the wales and then trimming the excess material so the next strake will follow the same line as the bottom edge of the wale.
 
Once that was done I took some measurements and created a schedule for the planking between the bottom edge of the wale and the garboard. I am not going to taper the stern planks and will simply add stealers as and when necessary.

In the next photo I have added the first four strakes that sit beneath the wale. The blue arrow indicates where the strakes added that sit beneath the wale. I have use the planks that were the worst with regards to colour matching for this area.
 

When adding the second planking I am fitting planks of approx 140mmL and making joints on the bulkhead lines. In the next photo you will see where the various joints have been made.

The next photo shows how the stern looks, noting the blue arrow shows the planks that will be hidden by the wale.

The following set of photos shows the process I am using to add planks in a bit more detail. Once the plank has been tapered as per my planking schedule it is wetted and then clamped to my workbench so a lateral bend can be applied. I use a hairdryer to apply heat to the dampened plank for approx. 1 minute.

The laterally bent plank is then test fitted. The plank looks a good fit in the photo below.

The plank is then cut to length, using a guillotine.

In the next photo the second plank has been added. I slightly dampen the plank before gluing as the adhesion with the CA is much quicker.

When adding the stern plank I like to add a slight twist to get a good fit.

In the final photo of this photo the stern plank has been fitted. The blue arrow shows the approximate position of the water line.

Very nice paint work. Awesome.  And your copper is amazing  as well.

Bob  M.

I scribed the waterline using the tool from Vanguard which works very well.  You may also noticed I also added the upper strake. Although not called for I painted it black so it would be more noticeable. 
 
 
 
 
Following that, I taped the . After a few adjustments it looked even and the distance from the ports to the line the same on both sides.
 

 
 
The a the fun began . I also painted the area in copper paint to minimize any small openings from standing out. 
 

 
 
The rudder also had a nice single piece to cover it . Otherwise it is a pain to copper it.

Cheers Guys,
@ Glenn, UK – I suspect a few of those plates will be coming off again for re-setting once I’ve completed the whole thing.
 
@ Glenn (USA) – I’m glad I went down the route of coppering side and side about, it removes that sinking feeling of going thro’ the whole thing again. Even so, I’m glad I didn’t copper ‘Indy’.😉
It was Cheerful that gave me the info and example to follow on the Square Tuck, there’s so much in Chuck’s builds that are useful on any other projects.
 
@ Ron –  Ha , Ha; I’ve already got the largest room in the house, as my Office/studio/workroom, completed in 2016.  As I lurch towards decrepitude  I think that phase of my life is done with.🫤
Thanks for the heads up on the Pic n stic , Amazon UK don’t have them, maybe just as well given the price, but I think I will get by with my poor man’s tooth-pick.
 
Thanks Bug, and Mark for your supportive comments.👍
 
B.E

After 6 planks per side had been attached, the width of (this time) 5 planks was measured at frame 9 and the distances at the other frames measured with the help of the marking tape and Chuck's planking fan,
 

An additional plank was fitted above the garboard strake, as I find it more comfortable to fit the last plank at this height.

 
 
Further progress on planking
 

 
There are only a few planks left now. I have already applied some filler in some places to close gaps.
 
 

 

 

 
At frame 9 it becomes clear that a little more than 6 planks have to be fitted. Nevertheless, I have calculated with 6 planks. Towards the stern, the narrow point is at frames 13 and 14. I decided not to use stealers, but to taper the planks accordingly.
 

 

 
Plank section starting at the stern (starting point (stern) left), fully tapered
 

 
Plank section starting at the bow (right), fully tapered.
 
 

 
In this way, 5 planks were laid until only one plank layer was missing.
 

 

 

 
 
Here you can see the strong tapering of the planks in the area of frames 13/14.
 
 

 
 
The last plank was divided into 3 sections. The plank starting at the bow reached to frame 8. It was fitted by eye, i.e. holding it, roughly marking and cutting it, and then filing it. 
 


 
Fitting the stern strip and centre strip
 

 

 
Centre and stern strips attached. As you can see, I did the planking differently from the James instructions up to the area of the rudder post. I think it's easier to get a smooth transition this way when sanding.
 
 

 

 
Now, sanding is next. As can be seen in the pictures, I have already partially started with it. But it is far from being finished. Given the size of the hull, it will probably take some time.
 
 
  

Hey Palmerit,

Good progress Im on the same step as you so im struggling aswell 😆. As for the PE-2sLook in the Plans 7,8 and 9. I have found Pe-2s to be used on the outer pattern close to the stern, aswell as 3 on the bow.  Unlike you I have almost ran out of PE-2s so i wouldnt be surprised if I accidently used some while building the cannons.

For the eyelets on the main masts above, I put them around the middle maybe slightly a little bit towards the extension mast I used manual side 49 as the picture for reference. Though in the reference picture It looks like the are slightly more on the end of the extension part.

As for the 5mm triple block I did not find it either so likely it was overlooked in production, I did reach out to the only one I think so far thats finished the Sherbourne  "ECK" and he said the following to me  "I sanded down one side of a 5mm double then flattened slightly another double and glued them together" . Im thinking of doing something similiar or maybe putting together some blocks from another old kit I inherited. 

Good luck on the build!

 

Thanks JC, I'm trying to be meticulous, especially at this point of the build, since as a new modeler I don't yet know what sort little errors will cause major issues later on. Still need to learn patience and how to handle the model more carefully, I too managed to break part of the stern. The starboard counter cracked in half when fitting the bulwarks. Luckily it was along the laser etched line, so it can't really be seen from the side that matters. I'm glad that it is now sandwiched in between the bulwarks for some protection.
 

 
I did pretty much this, and concluded that it's probably fine as long as the gun ports and other features are identically located on both sides. There was also only about 1 mm of extra bulwark on both sides of the stern, so I can't be too far off. Doing any extra sanding wouldn't have fixed anything, only moved the point where the bulwarks didn't match the etched lines, and made the hull shorter. 
 
Those tutorials by ModelKitStuff have been useful, I've also binged Tagliamare's videos on the Sherbourne. 
 




 
After many dry fits I glued the bulwarks on, let them cure for 24 hours, and then brushed some watered down PVA from below. 
 
Looks pretty good to me. Now, onto planking.

Excellent Kevin! Have a beer or three!

Excellent Kevin! Have a beer or three!

Excellent Kevin! Have a beer or three!

A short post to explain what I did for the wales. Following B.E.’s example, I decide to fix the wales in place before doing the second planking. However, I did not do what B.E. did, which was to install two strakes below the bulwark pattern, then glue the wales ontop, finally trimming the lower strake so that it did not protrude below the wale. Then on to the second planking proper. Instead, I taped the wales in position, then ran a pencil below the wales to mark their lower edge, then I glued a single strake along this line as shown in this photo. The wales were then glued in place, the top along the etched line on the bulwark pattern, the bottom sitting neatly along the installed strake. The dark line above the wales is a shadow, not paint. Cheers

OK, I finally have the 33 (and a bit) foot Royal/Admirals barge/shallop in stock. This main file went through a lot of changes before I was happy with the final print, so now, compared to the first file, this should be a lot easier to add the pear parts.
 
64th scale – length 158.5mm 48th scale – length 211.3mm  
33′ Royal/Admiral’s Barge – VANGUARD MODELS
 
All 3-d printed boats:
https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=17419&preview=true
 
Here are some pics of the 48th scale version that Jim (Hatch) has just completed, he has done a great job! For this one, it will be all about the painting..
 
The base and cradles are included with this one (2mm Pear), as I thought some may want it as a standalone model, and those that would like if for their model ship can use the cradles only if they wish.
 
 

Your approach to the tuck worked well.  Looks good with a coat of varnish.👍

The first planking task is now complete. For the most part I am really pleased with how the hull looks. There are a few strakes I could have done better but overall my planking is improving with each build.

Using a mixture of my mouse sander, sanding sticks and sand paper the hull has now been sanded smooth. I have used both the sight and feel test and all looks good and feels smooth. I will still need to do some more checks with regard to how the second planking will look after the outer patterns have been test fitted to the stem post, keel and stem post as the second planking is to sit flush with the outer edges of the keel and stern post patterns. I also need to check the second planks will fit in the rabbet that is created when these outer patterns have been added.
 
Once I am happy with everything I will apply a coating of sanding sealer to the hull.

Thanks, definitely enough room. I like to add the poly since if I accidentally get paint on the unpainted areas I can scrape/ light sand off without major damage.       
 
Of note, I have tried various method of tapering the bow sections of the planks. Always hard with blade /ruler method to get each side symmetrical. Settled on marking the are to be removed, clamping the 2 planks together and then planning done to get 2 almost identical curved planks.