kruginmi

I should mention I do plastic vacuform planes on the side. I have an airbrush and primarily use acrylics for this. Just scratching my head for what is best for wood as well as handling after the paint is complete. Thinking a non-acrylic primer with the patina added with acrylics. This would be followed by a non-acrylic varnish. One concern is that the veneer needs to be glued over the primer. I would prefer not using super glue. Mark

Question: New area for me - looking to paint below the waterline and veneer plank above. What are the recommendations for sealer and/or primer? Lots of choices out there. Anyone give me lessons learned or solid guidance? Enough with the full length hull shots already! Well, how about one more. Filled and sanded the port side (for clarity, the pic shows it not sanded LOL). While I had the filler out I looked at the bottom of the keel as well as stem. I had laminated basswood over the original and that was exactly how it looked, so masked off and wood filled that area also. Prime goal was to clean up the head on shot. Now need to get the rudder hole drilled out and define the catheads. Mark

Wax on - Wax off..... Got the Starboard side slathered up with wood filler (not Elmers Glue-All) and then after a day or two, sanded most of it off. Hull feels silky smooth. Maybe a couple of touch up points but will probably seal and prime first for better visibility. That filler sure is a fine talcum powderish dust when sanding. Good ventilation is a must. I stood in the middle of my front yard with a good breeze going. Stern side up next then position the catheads / brace finally the fore and aft deck house bulkheads. Mark

Well, got those stern blocks (2 each side) affixed and shaped. A large file for the bulk, then down to sandpaper for tuning. Probably still some more subtle shaping left to do. With that all the stealers / shaped fillers / blocks are all attached. Now for sanding and more sanding prior to applying a sealer than primer. Above the waterline will be veneer planked. Funny story: looking at the pic of the port side, rear gun port. Yah, never finished that. Cutting it out won't be that bad, it is just adding the backing plate would have been so much easier reaching in the hull. I have to laugh. Mark

Anders: In my book search I have found (and am able to procure) this book: Not the cheapest but I will do it if it is worthwhile. Are you familiar with it? It is not by the author you had given but still not finding a copy that I have the ability to get. Mark

I hit a bit of a milestone today. Still have a couple of gaps to fill and the stern blocks to shape and affix, but the hull has been largely closed up. Below the waterline will be a smooth surface, above will be a 2nd planking with veneer. Lots of sanding but it is good to have a rock solid hull in your grasp.

Alright, back in operation. Finished up all the bulwarks. This took some time but happy with the result. Again, curved exterior to match the tumblehome but interior perpendicular to deck. 5/32" exposure at top, variable (5/32" to 9/32") at base. Access port towards midships not cut out at this time for strength of total bulwark as I plank the bottom and have the ship inverted occasionally. The caprail is a plastic u-channel piece that will be glued on later. Finally getting back to the business at hand - closing up the hull. Temperatures are sure warming up out there but still pressing on to start sanding / filling / sanding the hull. Mark

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