SkerryAmp

today.......I started with the incline rails,  cutting and trimming them to fit.
 

 

 

 
I began with the striped strips.......I must warn you......it does get a bit graphic here.  if you have that  'dizzy issue'.....then look in controlled glimpses.  if your susceptible to the 'WTBH syndrome',  refer to the picture a page or two back,  and it should dissipate rather quickly.   my only regret,  is that I probably should have made the sand area a bit wider.    and so I began........
 

 

 

 
when I did the inclines,  I wasn't sure how I was going to the curved parts.........I quickly figured it out though
 

 

 

 

 
then it was time for the bow to get it as well
 

 
until I arrived with this........really staggers the imagination,  doesn't it? 
 

I said that I was going to do a little yesterday.....well,  I did.   I began with the rudder,  finishing it off and staining it.  instead of the bland looking plywood,  it looks like this.
 

 

 
all of the rail parts got the reddish mahogany stain.
 

 
working on the port side first,  the rails were cemented in place....starting at the fore deck 's outer hull
 

 
I added in the end caps.......and then the bottom rail was added.
 

 

I began to do a little work with the decal maker.  in my search to find the perfect diamond image,  I found it odd that I was more successful looking through images of mineral diamonds,  than playing card images.
    I did see some really cool tats though........if I was doing a car model,  I could see an avenue for some cool decals!  I settled on two of them......one of them has a black border around it,  so I'll save it for another time.   I have another one that is a pair.   it was imported into the decal program and sized down..
....I need to go a bit more,  but I'll wait until I have the string created and do it in one shot.   I'll need to change the color as well......I went ahead of myself and created the string before I did it......I had to do it to each pair, instead of it as a whole.  
 

 
this is done by copy and paste
 

 
what I need to do now,  is print this out once it's finished,  and then scan it back into the computer  it will then be reintroduced into the decal maker again,  where I can copy the image as many times as I want,  as well as resize it down a bit more.  I have already checked it with the test copy I printed.   the other thing I'm concerned about is the transparency issue.   I've done a search.......seems I'm not the only one who has noticed it.  there is a transparency tab on the program page,  but it has been deactivated.  I contacted the company today......and got a pretty prompt reply.  there is an updated program for it,  but it will cost me another $15.00 to get it.....only being offered as a download.  I need to get inkjets for my printer as well,  mine are almost dead.   I'll have to see what develops here
 
on the rail front.......I have all three pairs done and stained.......all I need to do now,  is give them the reddish tone.  I have also done some bending to another pair of strips.  these will be used to do the bottom line,  the base line for the incline rails.
 

 

 
I'll see if I can get some of it done now........the bow area is easy.

I went into the camera........yea,  there were still a few in there.  here is a close up of the nests.
 
horror show...........or no?
 

 
more work on the rails......progress on the top rails.
 

 
here is the center rails
 

 
the other side of the rudder is planked over.......now to wrap the outer edges to hide all the plys
 

 
the top rails are shaped and ready for stain.   the center rails are next,  and then I can make the final pair of curved rails.
 

 

 
I'll even need to bend a couple to run along the edge of the mid ship...from the bow to the stern.  more to come.

the curve along the outside of the rails isn't a problem......what of the inside curve?   a tiny triangle of material is cemented in place there,  and will be sanded to a curved contour.
 

 

 
the paint work is done.  I found that the paint stuck quite well.......I was able to mask it off with the scotch tape,  pulling none of it off when removing it after wards.
 

 

 

 
more work done to the rudder,  thickening it up
 

 
now I'll have to see what's still in the camera 

yes.......this was inevitable......tried to stall it till I did a test on this,  but I guess there's no better time to see if paint will stick to stain.   the stain has been dried for quite some time on the hull.  I began with the transom,  setting the back drop for the decorations.
 

 

 
I have no flats in blue.........I'm working with what I have.   I will be using a flat clear coat,  I'm pretty sure that it will even everything out.  the sides of the stern was next.  I was having some trouble getting the Frog tape to stick,  so I took to using scotch tape,  which did a good job of it.  any bleeding that occurred, will be covered by the rails,  laid over the seams.
 

 
this color green closely matches the picture.......it's an old bottle of Testor's paint.   the old label.....it doesn't even tell you what the color is.   since it is hard to bend a plank strip sideways,  I'm having to do a bit of assembly to the rails.  the inclines have a rounded appearance,  so I'll have to create curves rails to fit them.  these are the top rails.
 

 
I haven't forgotten about the rudder........I began to plank one side,  but I found that it will be too thin for the keel stem.  I'll need to beef it up a bit.
 

 
the yellow is a model master color...British armor sand {something like that}...closely matches the color of the middle strip.
 

 
and then the blue again,  which is a Billing's color...Mediterranean blue.  I used the same color on the transom......don't be fooled by the light refraction.
 

 

 
for the fore deck's outer hull,  the colors are reversed,  and only the sand and blue.
 

 
 

the starboard side was cemented in place......then I got busy with the port side
 

 
the stand was stained and felt was put on for the time being.  when I clear coat it,  I put some better stuff on.
 

 
both sides are on now 
 

 

 

 
 

this session,  the bow got some work done on it.   the plug had been removed from under the grating frames,  and the decoration was pressed into place.  it fit tight enough,  that I did add any glue.....I figure the clear coat will do the job for me.
 

 
the thin strip for the grating was stained and cut to shape
 

 

 

 
the trail boards are a bit different in the pictures.  weighing it out,  I chose to go with the kit supplied boards,  encasing them in a frame of their own.
 

 
they need to be alter a little to fit well on the bow.  working with the starboard side first,  the inner side was stained.  then the holes were covered with scotch tape,  trimmed to fit and pressed in place.  on the outer side,  scotch tape was laid over it and the center was trimmed out.
 

 
it was then painted with Mediterranean blue........unfortunately,  it's a gloss.........the clear coat is a flat, so I'm hoping it dulls it out
 

 

Holy cow!   I just realized that I hadn't posted last Friday's pictures!  basically,   it was aimed at setting the mast collars so I could stain the masts.   the mizzen has already been done.....once it's set in place,  it won't move.  to set the main and fore mast though,  I had to come up with a pair of jigs for the proper rake.
 
it took a while to do......a lot of checking,  at different angles. 
 

 

 
from the bow,  all of the masts are in line with each other.......I tried to take this as dead on as possible.
 

 
the main mast has almost the same rake as the mizzen mast........the fore mast has what I would call a negative rake.....leaning toward the bow.  the jigs are quite simple,  and once the masts were set,  the collars were tacked with a touch of CA.
 

 
it only took a couple of minutes for the glue to set....I was able to pull the masts.   the jigs were then broken apart to remove them from the masts.  the collars were then glued from the bottoms,  so that there weren't too many blotches.   the masts were then stained with the dark walnut....and then done with the mahogany,  for the reddish tone.  I still need to do the other parts I've stained earlier.
 

 
the mizzen and bow spirit
 

 
I was hoping you could see better,  how the nests came out......they are a bit blotchy.  I figure that I'll touch them up before I give them the clear coat......I'll need to experiment a little.

today.......I did a little here.......and I did a little there.   I got this real crazy idea.......what a time for laser cutting,  not to be on my side,  with this kit.   I'm sure a lot of you folks experienced this from time to time......open your kit,  and pop out a few of the parts,  only to find that the plywood lamination had separated.   some would complain......some would simply glue it back together.  I usually choose the latter route......but I lament......I now wished it had happened to the rudder.  my idea depended on this to happen.....and it didn't!  I must make it so!  water.........water separates everything!  it separates pebbles from silt.......it separated my son and his girlfriend, when they were kissing {that was fun}.......it even separates with the wave of a hand {I didn't see this......it was in a book I was reading}.  so, I soaked it in hot water.
 

 
after an hour or so,  I laid it on my table,  and waited for the outer laminates to curl.  it didn't.....wasn't wasted time though.....I got my computer stuff done.  OK then......the next logical option is heat.  I got the admiral's Iron,  I set off on plan B.  the admiral saw me with it,  and the quiz show started.  I promised her that I would buy her a new one.  I told her "don't try this at home!"........she came back with  "I don't have to.....I have you!" {she's been with me too long.......she's a heck of a straight man}.  after pressing it with the Iron for a few minutes,  I was able to remove both sides with a razor blade.
 

 

 
taking it over to the table,  I sanded the residue off of both sides.
 

 
now.......I've taken what would probably equate to about 1.5 to 1.8 mm from the thickness of the rudder, which is 4 mm to begin with.  I think that by planking it over with thin strip stock,  it will have a much better finish,  than the bland surface of plywood.  I'll continue with it tomorrow
 
I also made a trip over to the local Hobby Lobby.  my focus was on two items......stars and diamonds. 
    my search was slow.......until I got into the paper craft dept.   here I found these brads....probably used to clip multiple papers together....not sure,  I don't do the craft.
 

 
with the supplied decorative parts for the ship......there is the moon,  but no stars.  it's clear to see that there are at least five or six stars,  along side the moon.  these come in many colors and finishes.........
gold,  silver,  copper,  antique,  as well as red,  white,  and blue.
 

 

 
I need the white ones......no need to paint!   I did find some even smaller ones in the dept that deals with embossing hats,   belts,  and other articles of clothing.  they are even smaller than these that I have here.   they go by the product name  "Bedazzles.....Bedazzleit"....something like that.....card package with a bubble box with the product inside.....really colorful package.   they cost $5.99.  I would have bought both items,  but the other part of my search,  was proving to be a bust,  so I had to turn to a more expensive alternative.   the diamonds were proving to be harder to find.........I was looking for the playing card shaped diamond...not the glittering bobble that melts a young girl's heart.  these diamonds adorn the sides of the stern's artwork.  the thing that stuck in my head though was that while the stars would have been an addition to the transom {and probably carved},  the diamonds would have been painted on,  and would then produce no rise in the artwork itself.  I bought a package of decal paper.  all I need to do is go on line and find an image of a diamond.  then copy it and import it into the decal maker.   there I can replicate a string of them and size it down to fit in the space.  it will have a light color background,  so this should work out quite nicely.
 
one other item I got,  was the wood for the stern rail details.  I have painted up the .5 x 3 mm thin strips red and white,  and I got some 1/16 x 1/8 x 24 strip stock to do the job.  these will be stained,  cemented in place,  and the striped strips will be laid over the face of the rails.
 

 

 
this is what is to come........when this is done,  the bow will be next,  and then the entire ship can get a flat clear coat,  to liven up the finish.   I'm going back in my rabbit hole now.....call me for tea,  won't you

with the exception of the bow spirit......the masts were dry fitted on the ship.   they stood up proud,  without too much prodding.......so I was able to get these pictures.   why waste the moment!
 

 

 

with the fore and main masts somewhat completed,  I looked at getting the mizzen mast squared away.
 
once the correct dowel was chosen for it,  the adjustment of the rake,  was the next step.   using the bottom hole as the pivot,  sanding at the front of the upper deck hole took place.   there is a mast collar for the main and upper deck holes.....they were stained at this time.
 

 

 
I noticed that the main deck collar was a little lighter than the upper one.......I just ran a Q-tip with some mahogany stain over it,  to darken it up.   after the collars were cemented in place,  a little more sanding needed to take place,  for the mast to fit through.
 

 

 
a little more sanding was done......still needed a bit more.   I got it to about 1mm,  and will leave it as is.....as mentioned,  if I go any more,  it will be out of alignment with the main mast.
 

 

 

 
to sand out the mast hole,  sand paper was cemented to smaller diameter dowels
 

 
the rest of the mast was assembled......the cross tree and upper section of the masting.
 

 

oh......it was so nice to work only in my smock again {actually it's a button - down shirt,  but I have a habit of wiping my hands,  and the mouth of the paint bottles on it}.   I'm not a sloppy person.......I just look 'lived in' :D !
 
I made some good progress......the mast steps have been assembled.   they still need to be sanded and cleaned up.......stained and {or} painted.   I also took care of the Mizzen mast......it's not perfect,  but if I went any further,  the darn thing would be perpendicular to the deck.......and that just would NOT do 
 
I started to assemble the fore mast......I have already whittled down the top part of the second section for the cross tree and cap for the final section.
 

 

 

 

 
how I whittled the top part down,  was to score around the dowel with miter box and saw,  and then shave it using an x-actor knife.
 

 

 
I took those photos,  while I was assembling the main mast.
 

 

thank you Lawrence.   yes,  there are some thing I need to change......the railings were one of them.  then I have missing parts,  so I'm sure this will lead into more.   thanks for the good word
 
yes Mobbsie........I can see,  your waiting patiently.........that's It!!   no more crossing the pond for you and Sjors :D   he's teaching you bad things! :D
 
 
as promised,  here are the pictures of the masting,  and the problem that I need to deal with.
 

 
I feel there is too much rake  with the Mizzen mast.   with it having this much rake,  it upsets the canopy.
 

 
I haven't measured it,  but it looks to me,  to be about 1/8 of an inch.   I think that these two  'holes'  are too close together.   the mast does have a collar......so it may help me when I make the adjustment.  I can even divide the amount of adjustment between the lower aft deck and the main deck holes,  cutting down the amount change,  and still achieve what I need to do.   I'll see when I get to this point.

now that I have the port side rails,  I can get those on.
 

 

 

 
the posts were stained and cemented in place.......it still needs to be pulled in on the port side and the beam on the underside of the deck.   I'll cover the deck edge with a piece of thin stock,  and clean it up.
      I need to do the others,  anyway
 

 
the stern cap rails are cemented on at this point,  making sure that the pin rack is level.
 

 

 
the third hull rail is added..........
 

 

 
the cap rails are really going to be a neat thing to do........the double step down to the main cap rail,  and then the curve up to the fore cap rail.......I just hope I allowed enough material.   in my scrap bag,  I found some 3/16 flat stock and cut them to the width of the plywood sections.   then,  they were wet down and set up on a jig to create the bend.   another jig will ne needed to cut the excess wood from the bulwarks.
 

 

 

 
I think the fore cap rails will need to be done first,  so I can get a better idea of how much material to remove from the lower step-down.  along the bulwarks,  I will add the extra strips,  for better anchor points.  the stronger,  the better.
 

I did a bit more before I gave in to gibb's request last evening.   I cemented in some extra wood for when I cement the stern cap rails in place.........gives more surface area for a better bond.   the pin racks are part of these parts,  so they need to be as strong as possible.
 

 
this morning,  after my reply.....I thought to bring her into the living room and snap a couple pictures of her in actual light.   pardon the upheaval........but I had to give in to gibbs last night.  lately,  he's taken to goading me into the living room to watch TV....for some reason,  he likes the room,  but doesn't want to be in there alone.   this has been going on for a while now.........the admiral thinks it's real funny.  so,  I go in there and watch TV,  while he lays on the floor {and sometimes on the couch with me},  and chews his whatever they are.  he can be very affectionate........but can get downright ornery,  when he don't get his way.   he knows I'm his  'Alpha',  so I don't get too much crap,  but he can get bossy with the admiral.  he is an American Eskimo,  but I think there is a bit of Pomerainian in him.
 

 

 
Gibbs though he was getting his way without even trying....... :D (I got news for him} :evil:   I got thing to do today.
 

 
there is some blotchiness,  but before I give her the seal coat,  I'll even it out.   the Billing's mahogany comes in the small bottles.....the same as their paints.   I'm working on my third bottle.........but,  I have back-ups.
 

with the ship stained,  now is the task of figuring out what I'm going to do about the cap rails,  wales and rub rails.   I first looked at stain.  I went with a dark stain.......to add some contrast
 

 
nice........but I think it needs something......kind of a reddish look.   I went over this with the Billing's mahogany.
 

 
still looked kinda dark,  so I switched it
 

 
then I did a traditional flat black strip
 

 
lets compare.........left side : mahogany over dark    right side:  dark over mahogany
 

 
now the black
 

 
mahogany over dark won........it carried the best redish hue
 

 

 
I needed two of the 7mm and 4 of the 5mm strips.   this seems to be easier said than done.   while staining them,  I broke three of the 5mm strips.   wet down and bent more strips..........after they were dry,  I stained them and broke two more in the process........set'em up again charlie

the doors as I mentioned,  are missing in the kit........an entire sheet of parts is missing.   the rigging sheet is 1:1 with the model,  so I was able to trace the doors from the over view diagrams,  on the other side of the sheet.
 

 
I cut them out from a left over piece of 1/16 flat stock.
 

 
I made a couple of extra,  so I can select the better of them.   there are two large doors and one small one......they were sanded and shaped.   I intend to cover them with .5 X 2mm strip Annegre.   the edges will be penned in.
 

 
once they were done,  they will be trimmed and sanded.   the outer edges will be done with the archive pen,  and given the dark mahogany bars.
 

 

 
I took a couple of miniutes and used the scroll saw to cut the posts for the lower aft deck.   there needs to be a beam along the underside of the deck......there is a noticeable curvature of the deck lip.  it will also need to be pulled together......the walls sort of splay outward.
 

 
the doors were cemented in place...when the interior is stained,  they will be stained as well.  then I can put some hardware on them then.
 

 

 
in preparation for the cap rails,  the stern edge needs to be shaped with a curve.   the ends were wet down and wedged between two glasses and allowed to dry.
 

I was thinking about this the other evening,  after I had finshed what I was doing on the trawler.   I have the wales for her already to go,  but I couldn't decide whether to stain the hull first,  or just throw caution to the wind.           sooooo...........
 
I finished sanding the hull.......I didn't have much to do.
 

 
then I used the Billing's Mahogany stain.........
 

 

 

 

 
when I get the other cabin bulkheads done,  I will stain the interior of the ship

the deed is done.........the hull is planked.   not as  'well done'  as I would have liked.....but I have the shape,  and that's what counts.   I did have to use a little filler on the bottom,  but as mentioned,  I'll be painting the bottom,  so it will be unseen.  there is still a bit of sanding to do yet.  then the rub rails,  wales and cap railings can go on.......in between staining the bulwarks and outer section above the waterline.
 

 

 

 
then she was perched on her stand.......she sits well in her cradle of wood
 

 

 
the decking and bulwarks survived........they didn't get cracked or broken....well......only one time,  but it was an easy fix.   now to smooth out the contours and get that roundness squared away.....I did it as I went along,  so half the battle is already won
 

 

 
I was to do this as sort of a diversion from rigging the Goth...........darn thing turned into a tangent.  I still wonder if anyone who has done this ship kit,  experienced this same problem.  I have not heard....but it's of little importance now..........the deed is done
 

just a small update with this build......but first,  I want to show you sort of a review.
 

 
see anything odd here?  back when I did the bow rabbits,  I should have seen this.......like how far the first rib was to the rabbits themselves.    it might be hard to see,  but it equates to about 1/4 of an inch.
 

 
a more recent picture........what do you see?    you can clearly see the shortcoming with the first rib,  but what about the second rib.....it's off too.   since I have pre bent my planking,  the first rib is not that big a deal......leading off from the bow rabbit,  the contour is ocurring,  none the less.   but,  the further down I planked,  I found that the planks kept wanting to pull away from the second rib,  no matter how much I tapered. 
 

 
 
 
to remedy this,  I made up a pair of fillers to bring the line consistant with the keel.
 

 

 

 
this picture really shows how far off the first rib is.....it will get buried with no trouble at all.   these fillers {at least the starboard side at this time}  seem to do the trick.    the starboard side is done now.  once the port side is done,  I can do the final tweaking.
 

 

 
I did have to use a little filler,  it's ok though,  since the bottom below the waterline is to be painted a darker color.......although I have seen a red bottom.   I will do a bit more surfing to make sure of the color,  but none of this will be seen.
 
 

thank you Anja and Andy     yea,  those diagonal cuts are gradual.......just as a head start,  since more has to be removed to create the curve for the top rails {at both ends}.  then there is the other curves for the upper poop deck.   I hope to keep a lot of the plank lines....really don't have a need to hide them 
 
 
the repair of that bulwark post turned out to be easier than I thought.  the planks were broken free of the post,  120 grit was threaded in between facing the post,  and pulled in both directions using the planks as a pressure point.  it wasn't going fast enough though,  so I used the x-actor to cut the curve out faster.
 

 
then the planks were glued back into place.
 

 

 
the bow is now back in order....so here is a shot.   the slope will mate at the stem when it's completely sanded.
 

 
as I was sizing up these pictures,  I got a nudge at the knees........seems Gibbs wants to go outside 
 

 
a nice sunny day........after the majority of the week being unsettled.

in the last picture of the deck,  you get a glimpse of the problem......the post before the broken one is out too far and creates a gap between the bulwark wall and the deck.   at first,  I thought that the top rail would cover it.   but,  the more I looked at it,  the more it irritated me.   time to think of a remedy.
 
the bow is going to take some love to whip it into shape.  the first planks to be laid in place on the fore walls,  has a beveled leading edge that needs to wrap around the bow walls towards the bow stem.  it will stop short,  since the plank under it needs to be sanded to continue the bevel,  mating to the stem.
 

 

 
the starboard side is done here.......so you can see what I mean.......now the bevel will continue the rest of the way to the stem.
 

 
after a little sanding......the stern has a nice feel.   here is a good shot of the problem I need to deal with.
 

 
.....and then there are these.
 

 

 

 

 
I thought I had the fore deck walls finished,  but the port side had other ideas........the wrap around part of it decided to break away and stick out.   I had to add more glue to cement it back into place.
 

 

the angle of the bulwark cuts and the way they are shaped,  I will need to curve these planks to accept the top rail / pin rail {these two aspects are combined}.  these parts are going to be a tough go......they are made of plywood and very stiff.   note where the slots are.....rope stanchions are to be located in these slots.....too close to the ends to do an adequate bend.  I have an idea for this,  but I need these parts for refference.
 

 

 
note also,  that on the parts sheet,  that is all I have for the crow's nests.   rather than make the missing parts and have it look odd,  I'm going to scratch make all of the parts.......in this way,  they will all be the same.  this also will come in play later on.  the starboard side stern wall is built up.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I had made the same parts for the port side wall.
 

 

 

 

 

I know I have been quiet these last couple of days,  but I think I have enough now to let you folks in on the state of the build.  since going through the misfortune of breaking one of the aft bulwark posts,  I have been hard at work getting the planking on the bulwarks,  to protect the post in question.  I wish I had a picture of the wood strips I'm using......it has a cool wood grain.......if memory serves me right,  it's the same grain that I used for the Gothenborg.  even with my primative bending jig,  I still ended up having to wet the wood again and bend it more by hand,  before cementing it in place.   in preparation for the day when it will no longer need the slip,  I assembled the stand.
 

 

 
I thought earlier that I might be able to doi the bow planking at a later time,  but I had found that there is a bulwark wall around this small portion of deck,  so,  I planked it .
 

 

 

 
the wrap around at the bow is pretty tight,  you can see a spur there.....hopefully I can rub that out,  or something will cover it {it looks like a good contact point for the trail boards and head stock}.  the third clamp aft is the broken post.
 

 

 
to trim the excess planking at the transom,  I used a flat headed pair of snips.......cuts it really close with just enough to sand flush.
 

 
to insure that there will be no glue boo boo's when it comes time to stain,  I'm trying to be extra lean with the glue between the planks.  the bow though,  is going to be a tough go.......it's a real pain in the transom.
 

 
I'm just putting some in the most critical of places.
 

 

 
for the upper section of the stern,  I precut these boards.  this will give the shape of the upper decks
 

 

 
I have been doing a little sanding here and there.   it will make it easier when I go to do the major sanding......I can just smooth out the rest of the contour.  there is one minor imperfection.....don't know how I could have missed it.  I thought to leave it.......but you'll get to see it get worse as I go along