kruginmi

Well this takes some time, but the end result is pretty nice. This is the stbd forward section. If you look closely you see the change from 1/16" inner thickness top to bottom at the forward end, to double that at the far end at the deck level only. I still need to cut out the external gun port, put on the inner skin, then cut the internal four gun port openings. Going on a family holiday so I will check in from afar for the next bit of time. Mark

Just tried out the 5/32" wide extruded plastic C channel. Fits like a glove. That will upgrade the look by quite a bit. Sometimes it is the simple things. Mark

Thanks so much Anders. The postcard answered the one question of whether it was a knee below or single piece. I will 'assume' the rest of the knee was internal to the bulkhead (none visible on deck). With the outer tumblehome and inner perpendicular, I am getting variable thicknesses for the gun ports. The forward ones will be the thinnest since they are consistently 5/16" top to bottom. The aft ones could add 1/8". I just picked up a plastic U cap to put on top of the bulkhead (picture provided when I get downstairs). As for the decoration, not sure how (of if) I will attempt for this build. Mark

With planks of limited width the process sure takes some time: 1. Grab a length of wood (1 piece spans entire hull) 2. Cut/Sand forward edge to match stem inset 3. Locate on hull adding using all clamps and or other hold downs 4. Mark where to cut after stern. 5. Remove from hull and cut off extra at stern 6. Soak with hot water for a minute 7. Affix to hull using all clamps and leave to dry (3 hours) 8. Remove, sand any edge angles required 9. Glue to frames and plank edges 10. Clamp. Leave to dry 2-3 hours The below picture shows me doing this for the waterways as well as the keel. There is a lot of going down and up to the basement workroom but progress is being made. I do need to think of the mast step before too much longer. I need a solid (flat landing for that which restricts movement. Easy now, not so easy with the hull closed up. Mark

Anders: Give me some good guidance on the catheads. I do not have any really good picture of them. It does not look like they appear on the main deck (through the inner bulwarks). My best guess at this point is into the outer side bulwarks, with half visible as it descends to deck level. I would appreciate the help. At this point I would also have to make my best guess as to the angle and length of projection. Mark

A critical part at this juncture is to make sure the cannon ports are the correct height for the cannons. I needed to compensate for the lack of a deck and attached wheels but everything checked out with the plans. Also the first time I dug a cannon out of the kit and actually looked at them. Once the framework was done on for the inner bulkhead, the ports needed to be cut out of the outer bulwark. This allowed the inner wall to be glued on and then the gunport hole cut out repeated on the inner. I used a drill to identify the corners, sliced through on the opposite side with a sharp knife, then used a riffler file to fine tune. This whole process was then repeated on the opposing side bulwark. I am now half way there! Two more stretches of bulwark each with (again) four gun ports. The interesting wrinkly coming up is that the bulwark flairs to the outside by the fore deck. The middle section of the bulwark will become just a constant 1/16". It takes time but really looks pretty cool. I am happy. Mark

Now that the Regina has 6 planks on each side (now below the deck level) this ship is rock solid. The last issue I had in the hull from so many years ago was the wonkiness of the frame installs. It was not textbook (LOL). Running a test plank up and down the hull it actually wasn't too bad - EXCEPT for one frame. This frame for whatever reason was riding too high, almost a 1/16" too high. There were gaps on both sides over this frame at mid deck level and below. I thought about adding shims and that was certainly possible but then another idea came to mind...... It actually was easier to just remove the frame just above where the issue became apparent, remove a 1/16" at the bottom (with some reshaping) then add spacers to push the frame down. I am not going to say it fits perfect, but there is meat on the bones to allow some minimal shaping and all will be well. I also wanted to show that soaking certain types of planks for just 30 seconds in hot water (I use the tap) and letting them dry in position prior to gluing does work very well. The following plank had dried for 2 hours and was ready to be glued in. Very minimal clamping. Having too much fun. Stay Building My Friends, Mark

On to the inner bulwark and framing. This is a bit hard to capture on camera given that the outer bulwark has a bit of a tumblehome but the inner bulwark is perpendicular to the deck. This tumblehome also changes so no mass producing of stanchions. This can be seen at the mid deck port. My calculations showed a target of 5/32" at the cap. Given the 1/16" outer and 1/32" inner, that left 1/16" of stanchion post exposed at the cap. For the rear, this tumblehome was about 1/8" over the height of the bulwark. Using my Byrnes Saw with sled really helped. I used 3/32" bass as the width of the stanchions. For safety and hold, I used a strip of 3/32" at the proper height. On the edge I cut the proposed angle and tested it in position. Adjusting as necessary until it fit against the outer bulwark well. The 1/16"spacing was then added at the top of the stanchion, a perpendicular to the base line drawn and the stanchion cut out. Lather, rinse and repeat. This takes some time and I have thrown out a few which just didn't turn out. Find your groove, put some nice classical music on and just do it. The presence of the 4 gun ports necessitated some additional care. I did create a port spacing template to insure the openings where exact across the entire deck. I still need to add the upper and lower beams for each - as well as cut the openings out in the outer bulwark prior to installing the inner bulwark. I added 1/16" stringers between the stanchions at both top and bottom for better support of the inner bulwark. The shame is that once I put on the inner bulwark none of this will be seen (and very little people will understand the work required). Our fate in life. I can state this significantly strengthens the bulwarks. Mark

Lots of sins and ugliness of the lower bulkhead joins sure looks nicer when you cover it up with a garboard strake LOL. Also finished the top four planks each side bringing the bulwarks down to the deck level. Made the missing stanchion each side also. Still need to pair down the stanchions to the correct width and add the inner laminate. First is to figure out the caprail size to insure all fits underneath it nice and tidy. Mark

Almost (significant) disaster! I can chuckle now. With my meat hook fingers and 6'3" frame I was working the next plank section in - with the hull supported by only the foam base it sits on. Well......CRACK! The extended bulwark is currently a 1/16" piece of basswood minimally supported across the length of the ship. Well with the force I was applying it separated at the mid-section join (actually thankfully) then cracked going forward for 4-6 inches. Turning the ship upright the bulwark essentially sprang back into shape. I re-glued the join and then also into the crack seen when I flexed the bulwark. No lasting damage done - phew. However, this tells me it is time to add the stanchions and the inner bulwark for support. I will listen and switch gears. Mark

How do you plank a ship? Well, the basic answer (and a philosophical one) is by adding one plank at a time. In this picture the new plank has been soaked in very hot water, put in place and is being allowed to dry in place. Once dry enough I will add glue and affix in much the same way (however with much less stress). Mark

Not too bad for a weekend of work. From the cabinet of doom to now with most defects fixed. My goal is to work in concert with the Jylland. Lay a set of planks on one, then do one on the other. Much less waiting for glue to dry. Mark

So that whole stem post - how to end planking issue is now resolved. Really the only way to do it. Also shows the railing height issue is not more. Mark

One of the biggest visual challenges I had to get right was the bulwark cap rail. The supplied stanchions were all over the place and obviously not a good framework. I started by measuring the stern step up that the caprail should seemlessly join to. I cut 1/32" basswood to this height and laminated each existing stanchion with this This was a start but not a complete solution. After sanding these flush externally I then rain a plank by eye starting with the stern step up and going forward. There was some variation but the plank let me know the best fit and it worked out great. The forward inner stem was slightly lower. I decided to keep that height fearing issues with the bowsprit and related stuff. This pick shows the original intent of just affixing to the forward inner post. Much easier now. Planking should proceed much faster than the Jylland until I hit the bulkhead issues further down. Easy enough to fix. Mark

For affixing the forward planking I cut a new stem post (basswood - not laminate) then added a 1/16" strip to the inside. When affixed, this will allow the planking to fit into the groove and make planking a breeze. To allow the planking to start I went ahead and planked the stern wall and sanded to shape.

After all the hyjinks with the Jylland I remembered I had another Billings Boats model in the cabinet of doom. Started 25-30 years ago on a kitchen table it had been set aside due to issues (mostly created by me) that I didn't know how to proceed with. I pulled the box out and bare bones inner hull assembly. A mixed media kit (as Billings are apt to be) but a smart looking ship. I shouldn't but decided to do a parallel build with the Jylland. The issues that had stopped me where 4 fold: 1. I had clamped the keel so hard I had introduced a rather severe hogging. 2. While the bulkheads where perpendicular to the keel they had 'variations' left to right. 3. The deck (I did add a false deck) was not entirely level (see above). 4. I didn't know how to affix the planking to the forward inner stem. They were supposed to be glued onto the inner stem, then sanded to allow the outer (visible) stem to be affixed. So....first off was the keel. I removed the existing one and introduced a nice straight one. This didn't allow all the bulkheads to seat but that will be handled as I plank. I have high hopes for this one. Largely to be built out of the box. The plastic pieces give me pause but I will use this as test subject to see how well I can get them integrated visually. -Mark

Hey, I really appreciate the note. I am a prime example that there is no time limit on working on ships. Take yours out, clean her up and think about doing one thing a week. It adds up. The rigging targets for me were one line a day, at least 5 days a week. I still have her in front of me on my work at home setup, still uncased. Enjoy the hobby and draw outside the lines! Mark

I picked up a 1/96 propeller and lifting frame from Cottage Industries targeted for the Revell CSS Alabama for not too much money. Not an exact match but better than the kit supplied one: With some filing and shaping I could do something with that. I wish I had the lifting frame when I built out the prop area but I think I could modify to make it fit. Not too far out whack for what I see in pictures of the actual ship. When you put both together I have a good starting point for some filing and tweaking, on both the ship and supplied pieces. I will not have the lifting component actually rigged in to raise, but it will look the part. See how it looks. Always have the option to go to plan B and use the original (let alone scratch something up). Mark

I have had this one tucked back in the stash. Don't even remember where I procured it. A 1/2 hull Constitution by Sterling Models. Biggest thing you notice is the 3/4" by 9" by 24" mahogany board supplied to mount it. Mixed media with cast metal, decals and brass name plate. Anyone ever run across this before? Definitely room for scratch (haha). No idea when I will get to it. A throwback to another time (given I come from the 60's, shall we say my childhood). Mark

Hey Mark, I purposefully posted that aircraft as a backdrop behind the current ship build. No intent for a separate build log. - Probably last you will see of it. (A26 Invader, Comet kit) Mark

Back on to the gun deck cannon backing pieces. Should have these completed this weekend and I am thinking carving of the stern blocks will start. It has been a bit of time since the last update. I had to shift focus onto a second project that jumped in priority. I left a small hint in the attached photo of what that could be. Let me see who can figure it out.... Only the smartest will figure it out. Let's get to that inner planking (did I say too much there?) Mark

Big day today in the life of this model - it gets the holes for masts to allow those dramatic side shots: Now the 'masts' seen are from the original kit and will not be used. They were available and a consistent diameter less than the target masts so why not. I did need them to insure I had everything in alignment when sighting down the center line. First step was to attach the all important blocking for support and strength. Then securing to the ship stand and verifying level I got it on the drill press. I actually drilled twice. The first was with a smaller diameter hole to verify all was right before I enlarged with a second round. The moment of truth was when you sighted down all three 'masts' while looking at the hull. This alignment is beyond me with the camera so you have the closest I can get. Everything looks good. When I get the backings on the gun ports I can start planking again. I do need to have a look at the cathead's. I do not have them on my plans and need to insure they are still possible haha. Mark

Wow, Anders - again you are giving new information. I followed the link but am at a loss given the language difference. I have no idea if they ship internationally, the cost to do so or how to navigate the menu options. I will work on a solution. I know your picks will show my best attempt at placing the cannon ports will be off somewhat. I did what I could with the information I had. Mark

Boy oh Boy Anders - you are making this hard. If I could find that book you pointed me at with all the information to make this more than a hit or miss model I would add the 2nd layer of planking. Even the cabin being added in 1874 draws questions. Am I making a 60's era model, a bit ragged and old (like myself) or a pseudo-replica. Luckily I can ponder that question for awhile until I finish the first layer and smooth it out with wood filler. Mark P.S. I should add - there is no figurehead in the kit. A rough picture to carve from a block. I have my first one under my belt (a Druid for the HMS Druid), but this is a different animal. I have put that issue off for closer to the end of the build haha.

Gun deck cannon ports starboard size complete (sans the last port). No backing plates. As a side note: Looking at the pics (again) of the museum ship the planks are evident on the side of the ship at medium to close range. One part of my brain thinks a doubly planked hull would be awesome, the other says knock it off. I am trending towards stick to the original plan. Mark