glbarlow

Next up were the wales, pretty straightforward, so much so I forgot to take a photo. I lined up a 3mm plank with the top of the king plank followed by a 4mm plank below it as per the instructions. As I did with the planking, and maybe a little more important here, I beveled the inside top edge of the lower 4mm plank, testing and sanding as needed to get a tight fit with the 3 mm plank above. Except I didn’t entirely follow the instructions. The fashion piece per the instructions is added later in the build by removing enough of the wale for it to fit. I chose instead to use some blue putty to temporarily hold the fashion piece in place long enough to draw a line along the bow facing curve after lining up the stern facing to match the counter. I then cut the wale planks to that line and installed the three pieces as a unit, to me this is easier than cutting away the wales later. I filled any gaps, easy to do since it will be painted black, and sanded it all down. There are boom crutches added later to meet the top of the fashion pieces completing the stern, those I’ll fit and add later. There is nothing better than Tamiya tape for masking. Done right there is little concern about paint running where you don’t want it to go. I chose Admiralty Paints Dull Black for the wales. I did invest in an air compressor and air brush which I’ll use for some things, but I still really prefer brush painting for most of the work, I like the look. Plus I know how to handle a brush, the air brush might end up painting a lot more than the ship in my untrained hands, plus so much masking... In between paint coats on the wales I finished up the rudder and tiller. The provided two piece tiller seemed a bit thick and straight to me so I rounded and thinned it on the lathe then gave it a light curve using my bending station. In this case I didn’t touch it with the iron, just held it close and let the steam do the heating - it is pretty fragile and I didn’t want to over-do it. Admiral Cochrane, visiting Flirt from his sister ship Speedy seemed to approve of the test-fitted modification. Following another coat of WOP the wales are complete. I like adding WOP as I go, the boxwood drinks it in almost as fast as I put it on. One of the many benefits is it makes painting easier. After the WOP dries (overnight generally) I buff it out with a soft cotton cloth and lightly sand any surface being painted with 400 grit paper. The WOP gives the paint a nicely primed surface, much like a painter uses Gesso on canvas before the first stroke. The paint isn’t absorbed by the wood and the paint has a nice finish once dry. Another benefit is it makes removing any mis-applied paint easier. I use my smallest mini-chisel or dental scrapers to gently scrape it off. It’s important not to attempt this until the paint has dried an hour or more, don’t wipe or scrape it while it’s wet. I’m scraping it off the coats of WOP, not the wood itself so I don’t damage the wood in the process - a little touch up with the WOP and I’m back to even. While I’m really tempted to not paint the lower hull white I’m kinda compelled to because of the damage I did and the resulting repairs to the stem, so it’s likely good bye to the pretty boxwood and the decent job I did planking. As always, thanks for the likes and comments - they are always appreciated.

Have you done a test to make sure the glue will hold the plank to the bulkheads with the white gesso painted on?

I like your thinking on making this model more than just assembling the pieces. Chapter 8 of Chuck’s Winchelsea details this same forecastle area, it may provide some helpful insight.

Common Gutterman 50wt sewing thread is fine and all that’s needed for serving rope on the Servo-matic. One of those things that doesn’t require overthinking.

You can’t learn until you start. This is a beginner kit and a good one to start with. Jump in.

A motto to live by😂half the fun was sorting out how to hold it tight with all that stuff.

sometimes fixing it is half the fun, I’ve exceeded my quota with this stem though. I hope too. And while I think I’ve fixed it, the stem will now be painted black above the waterline (and white below it)….

Thank you, I appreciate the comment.

Unfortunately I built it over ten years ago, I don’t recall. I’m sure I did it the same as the quarterdeck.

I planked the quarterdeck bulwarks, same as the main deck, and painted red ochre. Your model looks great, you’re doing fine. There is no reason to overthink thinks or feel apologetic about your work. This is a hobby with vast differences between skill levels and experience, all supporting each other. Have fun, enjoy, make a mess, break things then fix them. Cannons are a bit of a pain, no reason to expect identical coils, they wouldn’t have been on a real ship. I intentionally made mine a little messy on Cheerful.

So, per the instructions the stem isn’t installed until after the planking is completed. I, as it turns out unfortunately, installed it much earlier than that. I actually had to in order to correct a slight warp in the frame, I needed the keel installed straight for planking, that part worked. The stem however has broken off 4 times now. This last time I got serious about it, once again gluing it back on with Titebond and a tight clamping process, hopefully for the last time now that all planking is complete. Following the build order for this model probably a good idea. Modeling is as much overcoming problems as it is building.

All I do is an acetone bath followed by a distilled water rinse then into the blackening solution back in a final distilled water rinse. I set up the them all up in a row and move the brass (with tweezers or tongs) from one to the next.

Good idea on the companionway beam supports. I also broke the tab on the false deck.

It doesn’t take long using my travel iron, 10-15 seconds is all it takes me.

BE will show us all the way.

You can’t pre-sand bulkheads other than a rudimentary start. Fairing the hull requires being able to run a plank smoothly from bow to stern, the bulkheads have to be installed to fair the hull properly. As I recall the MDF in this kit is very soft, so go slow. Leave the back edge of the char on bulkheads forward of midships and the front edge of those aft of midships. I think the aft most bulkhead requires a lot of up angle so plan it out. If you could get a new keel I would, but I doubt Amati would be all that responsive. Between the keel and stern post hopefully you can sort it all out. We all make mistakes, half the fun of modeling is overcoming them

I’m satisfied with the etched deck for Flirt, it’s natural enough for a simple and small deck. However for Sphinx I will definitely plank it, even if I don’t do so expansive a challenge as you’re taking on. Enjoying your talents as always.

Looking great, nothing beats Chuck’s method for planking. Glad it’s working for you.

That’s great Bob. I’m sure you’ll enjoy building her.

Thanks Rusty, much appreciated. I’ll be a latecomer to the Winnie party after this one, back to yellow cedar.

Thanks for the comments Derek, always appreciated. Absolutely! The assorted shapes and adhesive sandpaper in multiple grits are a game changer for me probably especially for the second planking. I just have to watch I don’t take too much. Very easy to use and there is a shape for every curve. Highly recommend. The laser etched deck is fine for this model as I’d guess it is for the duchess. The maple has a nice color.

Thank you for the comment. I'm sure you'll do great - hopefully you'll try the same Chuck plank bending method I employ - that and a good deal of patience are the keys to good planking (there are of course other worthy methods, this one works well for me).

Always a good practice many of us follow to move up a couple from the bottom then meet those coming down. As my UK Glenn friend notes, it allows for any corrections on the area of the hull that won't be seen once mounted. and as he also notes It also allows the garboard to more easily set the distance between wales and keel for planking widths.

It is barely visible and via a hatch opening not a companionway. I painted this bulwarks and all the lower deck "pillars" red in the hopes of catching just a glimpse from above. Looking forward to your progress as we both move along with this build!

Planking Continues Work on the hull continues, not super exciting stuff but progress nonetheless. With the adjoining planking completed and after lots, and lots, of test fitting, adjustments, and sanding it was time to mount the stern post. This is something that seems so simple but getting a good fit takes time and patience along with a light touch with the sanding tools. Time to break off those bulkhead tabs on the deck. I mentioned at the beginning I lightly score these with razor saw on two sides before planking begins. It isn’t completely necessary but helps for a cleaner break which I completed with small pliers. Then back to my ever handy and now always sharp Veritas mini-chisels for cleanup. I committed to using @chris watton laser etched deck on this model and so I did. I’ve planked plenty of decks, this time I chose the nice maple deck Chris provides with the kit. I know all the debate about “real planking” and normally I agree, in this case though after 3 coats of WOP with light 400 grit sanding between I’m quite satisfied with the look. I think Chris heard us on earlier versions and made this one simpler without a lot of extra stuff, just planks in a proper shift pattern. I had to do some minor edge sanding for a fit, which is good, I’d rather it be slightly large than even a little bit too small. Some white PVA glue, some clamps, some weights, deck complete. Note I’m a new advocate for @Delf Fineline applicators though I prefer the standard 18 gauge tip. I now have one for PVA and one for Super ‘Phatic glue. There is a rule of modeling, whenever you think you have enough clamps, buy more clamps. One more advertisement for the Byrnes Sander. Shaping tight fits for the bulwarks planking is so much easier with the tilting table for various beveling (actual bevels, or maybe they’re chamfered who knows) and the miter gauge for angles. Side note: The tilt table pin on my sander has always been a bit of a rough fit, I was changing it so often during the bulwark planking I said to myself, self you have a lathe, use it. So I put the pin in the lathe, grabbed a file and some sanding sticks and a few spins later I had a nice smooth easy to insert pin. Why did I wait so long to do this. I pre-painted the bulwark planking. Turns out that was a silly thing to do other than for the bottom most plank. Once I finished it I ended up sanding most of it off and painting it again. There are no short cuts. I did want a “rougher” fit for these planks to show a little definition between them. Unlike my obsessive need for a smooth hull, I wanted the bulwark to stand proud here and there for affect. Most know I’m a CA advocate, but as I noted in my Cheerful log I use the glue I think best for the job. I like all of them, Titebond, White PVA, CA and here I chose Super ‘Phatic for the bulwark planking along with lots and lots of clamps. It is quicker setting the PVA, but not so quick that I can’t make and adjustment or two before clamping it down. I was concerned at one point about the holding power of 'Phatic when used ona cleat on Cheerful came loose with a rope attached, so I glued two pieces of wood together with each glue to see which was stronger or weaker. After letting them dry overnight I tried pulling each apart...and failed to do so on all of them short of splitting the wood itself. They all work fine. For whatever reason on my model four of the included planks were not enough to cover the bulwarks, five would result in a narrow strip at the top once cut to meet the top edge. So out came the 6mm stock, it was a near perfect fit at the top as the fourth row and it happens to be a nice look. Though not included with the kit or in the instructions I chose to add spirketting by rounding off a strip of 3mm strip and adding it to the base of the bulwark planking. I think it makes for a cleaner look mating the deck to the bulwarks. I could have also used a 4mm strip, but the 3mm fit cleanly beneath all the gun ports so I went with it. I did pass on also adding a strip for waterway, I thought that might push the small Flirt cannon back too far. Chris' design includes drilled holes on the gunport pattern, so before put-on on the top rows on the outside and after the bulwarks are done I drilled all the gun tackle pin holes from the outside in...now that was handy... With that the deck and bulwarks are complete. I really like my Crimson Red, don’t care how “accurate” it may be, it looks bright and sharp and will adorn the decks of the Winchelsea in the future. There are some light spots on the deck where I had to scrape off some careless paint brush strokes. The nice thing about having three coats of WOP is that’s what I’m scraping off, not the wood. It’s been since touched up again. You might note the pillars, beams, and openings below the main deck have all been painted red as well. I’m hoping I can leave a hatch or two open enough to get just a glimpse below, nothing elaborate, just a sense of dimension. It is my opinion…this stern shot shows that the laser etched maple deck, while not true planking, is an excellent choice and looks quite nice installed. I recall how hard (and how proud) I worked on Cheerful’s intricate curved planking and finely cut margin planks. With all that’s now on that deck between furniture, guns, ropes I can barely see all that work. Of course “I know it’s there” is important and I wouldn’t do anything different on Cheerful but for this model and for those of us that may need a break from planking the etched maple deck @chris watton provides is an excellent choice, realistic enough to pass my muster. With the deck and bulwarks finished I completed the hull planking above the wales. My next task is to touch up the gun ports, I wanted to have a dry coat of WOP on the hull first. Note the stern post and the strip for the false keel (I think that’s what its called) are in place. I did my best to match up the best strips of boxwood, the WOP though seems to find a whole other color in some of the strips. Though it seems no two planks are the same shade It’s still a nice warm look of and definitely has grown on me. I plan to follow the paint scheme and hull ornamentation provided with the kit so this might be the last clean look at the hull I’ll have. As always thank you for following the build and for your likes and comments. They are always appreciated.