Charter33

Thank you for the comments and likes everyone, second planking continues.
Some of the bends were getting on the limit I could do without splitting the planks and some took a few goes under the iron to get them to curve enough.
Some progress pictures, four planks left to do on each side now, but think I'm passed the worst of the bending.  I have done some initial sanding of each band I have done so I don't have it all to do at the end.
With a following wind I should have the second planking finished at the weekend. 

Decals on...  I used Microset and then Microsol to apply the decals. This allowed me to get them to really soften round the wood grain. Thankfully, the wood seemed to take this really well, and although you can see the wet look on the wood in the last photo (from applying the depth marks to the other side of the keel, this has now dried to the same colour as it was before. 
 
A quick point of note- when you're marking out where the depth markings go, don't forget that at least some of the sheet plans aren't 1:1 scale with the model... In fact, they're about 1.3x smaller - so do factor up your measurements before you mark out where the decals are going. This becomes important again when measuring up and making the spars (which, it's worth noting, have the correct measurements written next to them.)  




Thanks for looking in
 
Rob

Base coat down, clear coat and decals next 

One can paint over polyurethane using acrylics. It's easy to get outside the line when working at small scales, when painting on top of polyurethane it's very easy to remove that area of paint where a mistake occurred. 

My initial thoughts would be that the tung oil might cause adhesion problems with the acrylic paint if the oil went on first. The paint will penetrate the bare wood better, but might bleed from the strakes and fittings into the surrounding material. From a practical perspective, I'd say this is a perfect example where a few test pieces trying the alternatives would be time well spent before getting anywhere near a model. 
Another thought though - any mileage in applying the oil to those areas to be unpainted first to seal them and then add the paint, then apply the oil over the paint once dried?
Sounds like a very interesting project and I look forward to seeing how it goes.
Good luck!
Graham

You mean, something like those?
I made them from large size needles (from "Joans" or similar places...) and made appropriate cuts with a Dremel tool and cut off wheel. For handles I used turned dowels, but you might also use handles from old artist's brushes.
Or you might be able to purchase them factory made from places like Micro Mark...
These are very helpful when you work on rigging and cannot reach the spots with your fingers through a thick spiderweb of other ropes that you might damage in the process. They help you with reaching those spots, bringing ropes (lines) towards you or taking them away from you, or even for such tasks like attaching ropes to belaying pins, kevels, bitts, or similar. Without them I wouldn't have been able to do all those tasks for my French double decker of 1780 from Boudriot, I finished last winter.

My initial thoughts would be that the tung oil might cause adhesion problems with the acrylic paint if the oil went on first. The paint will penetrate the bare wood better, but might bleed from the strakes and fittings into the surrounding material. From a practical perspective, I'd say this is a perfect example where a few test pieces trying the alternatives would be time well spent before getting anywhere near a model. 
Another thought though - any mileage in applying the oil to those areas to be unpainted first to seal them and then add the paint, then apply the oil over the paint once dried?
Sounds like a very interesting project and I look forward to seeing how it goes.
Good luck!
Graham

Here’s the little stable engine that I’ll use to run it 

My initial thoughts would be that the tung oil might cause adhesion problems with the acrylic paint if the oil went on first. The paint will penetrate the bare wood better, but might bleed from the strakes and fittings into the surrounding material. From a practical perspective, I'd say this is a perfect example where a few test pieces trying the alternatives would be time well spent before getting anywhere near a model. 
Another thought though - any mileage in applying the oil to those areas to be unpainted first to seal them and then add the paint, then apply the oil over the paint once dried?
Sounds like a very interesting project and I look forward to seeing how it goes.
Good luck!
Graham

Thanks for your advice, Graham and Davec.
 
I feel you are both correct; experimental testing is the sensible approach here.
Will be happy to share results, along with a build log.
 
Itching to get started, yet waiting for the kits to arrive from 'Falconet'.

OK, here are the only two pictures of the thresher I took, plus a graphic that shows its functioning:



I thought, I took more pictures, but perhaps not, because the little kit I have is one for a thresher of German make. Lanz, btw. made their own threshers to go with their portable steam-engines and later their Buldog.
 
The pictures appear overexposed, because I lightened up the shadows so that one can better the mechanisms.
 
The thresher is located in the Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum (= Hungarian Agricultural Museum) in Budapest - https://www.mezogazdasagimuzeum.hu/exhibitions/the-history-of-hungarian-agriculture-from-the-beginning-to-1945.
 
And now to the Lanz Ackerbulldog HL12 of 1924 in the Deutsche Museum in Munich. I forgot that this was the first model Lanz made and until 1938 the Bulldog considerably evolved. So the pictures would not be of much use to you. Here is just one to show you what they got:

Here is a Web-page dedicated to the Bulldogs: http://www.lanz-bulldog-homepage.de/src/bida/hr8.html
 

Genuinely impressive planking skills, Andrew! Thanks for sharing the detailed photos and the process you use. Definitely making a note of these for future builds....👏

Genuinely impressive planking skills, Andrew! Thanks for sharing the detailed photos and the process you use. Definitely making a note of these for future builds....👏

Second planking is underway and about a third now complete.
 
I ended up using a hybrid system of tick strips and proportional dividers to set out the three bands of planking that seemed to fit the best; six planks in each band. By using the dividers to mark out the third points at each bulkhead position then using thin masking tape to lay the best line along these ticks.  They needed some tweaking by eye until I was happy.
 
Now a case of steady as she goes, doing one plank per. side in a session and then moving on to something else while the Super Phatic glue dries, slower but less smelly than C-A!  Plenty of edge bending as with the first planking, but holding the planks down by pinning through the first planking to one side of the second planking.
 
Thanks for the likes and looking in.

These are the 3 books I use. I was lucky enough to find them used on various sites and The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships has many pull out blueprint/plans that were all intact....very lucky!
 
A couple of things, the first are the rigging openings around the main mast. There should be access to the lower deck and I planked over it! I was so engrossed in getting that bitt/brace in place that I just plowed up while laying planks and didn't stop to think. Now I had read ahead so many times and had planned what I was going to do to install the little cross member. Oh well.
 
I did see one building pic where this opening was covered by gratings. Luckily, I have more grating coming from JoTika and I might take a look at whether it's worth it or not. 
 
Next I worked on the main companionway staircase. I was able to take the 1.5x1.5 square stock and twirl in my fingers between sandpaper and get it down to amount 1mm with a little roundness too! I also soaked it to get it to bend, but when I finished it, it was more like an escalator bend than the angle bend the instruction wanted. Also, my installation of the columns were just atrocious after I assembled it and took some pics. P. U. !!!!
 
The next day after a fitful night of nightmares, I broke it all apart and reset the columns. I was very happy with that....until I started fretting about the bad bend in the railing. So I was able to get them both off and decided to break them, give them a coat of white glue and reinstall them. Now I am happy. Perhaps I will add a coat of matt finish to it to hide all the CA glue marks!
 
Finally, I started cutting out all of the side bulwark kevels, cannon ball holders, belay pin holders, etc.
I tried to lay them on the deck to get an idea where they go...then moved the picture off my phone! 

Just finished the task of fitting the internal cladding.

I'm very pleased with the result and have made the decision to ignore the Admiral's suggestion to paint the walls and to stick with sealing it all with clear matt varnish to enhance the appearance of the timber. Although a time consuming task the savings made were considerable. Using recycled wood the total cost for covering all the walls and ceiling was a little over £25 for 2 kg of galvanized nails, spotted at a reduced price in a local builders merchant, and two packs of sanding discs for my rotary sander. Next job is fitting the pine skirting boards before varnishing can begin.
As can be seen in the photos the I've also completed the the 'first fix" for the electrics. Once the sockets and switches are in place the electrician will complete the power supply connections and test it all.
Not much longer before the pleasurable task of actually fitting out the workshop and finally moving in can happen 😆
Good to see the neighbours taking a keen interest the to project too......

Cheers,
Graham

I finished the belfry and I love how it looks. I used Tamiya copper paint on the roof and it's perfect for me.
 
One thing I have mentioned elsewhere. The plans call call for the rope that would ring the bell to face towards the bow. However, I have a picture that shows the belfry handle facing the stern. Now that doesn't really make sense, as you'd have to lean over the opening created by the skid beam to ring the bell....every 4 hours. But i'm sticking with the pic!!!! 
 

 
I was able to add the ropes that keep the bell secure to the cleats and I think they look pretty good!
 
Laying the belfry to the deck took some wrestling. I had to add some weight to the supports to get them to stick. Probably not the smartest move, but they stick!
 
After, I added the 1.5x1.5mm strips to the skid beam sides and touched it all up with black paint.
 
The directions also call for two 'ships waist balusters'. These are cast pieces and they fit in the aft corners of the skid beam and will act as a railing from the aft stairs to the barricade. I will provide pics when I set them up. They are obscure in the photos provided in the directions and can get lost in the full size plans.
 
Added coaming around the main mast bitt/bracing. I made a mistake here. When I added the quarterdeck and fitted these braces, there was a significant hole in that part of the deck. In my exuberance, I covered those holes! Except the mast one of course.
 
Now I see that these are rigging openings. On the real ship, main halyards and clew lines would be run down to the lower decks.... I coamed out the 'openings' and I I have extra grating material coming, so I may use that to cover these.
 
Finally, I added a 2nd coat of matt finish to deck and I also added a coat to external hull sides to help protect them.
 
Can't wait to get back down there!  

Thanks for those comments....
The sockets are a little over 1 M from the deck, Javlin, with the intention of having them all comfortably above the top of the various work benches and the wood turning lathe. These days bending down isn't the issue, it's getting back up that's the problem! 😄
Bit of a break today to tackle more mundane household repairs plus the annual flu jab..... bit of a surprise to find it was being administered by a retired nurse who I taught about 40 plus years ago  - small world....
Will pass your greetings on, Ron, when that cat next takes advantage of the top of the fence behind the porthole.
Planning to start celebrating the beauty of all that wood grain tomorrow with the first of three coats of varnish.
Cheers,
Graham
 
 

Getting close to current (as of 10/30/24)
 
I taped off the interior deck and painted all of the raw decking. I thin the paint a bit and put on 2-3 coats where needed. I did this to keep any brush strokes to a minimum.
 
I installed the coaming and the stove chimney. I will take a close up pic of that detail....
 
I plan on adding a small piece of black trim to base of interior bulkhead, just thinking about what I'll use. It would be nice if I could make it into a 'quarter round' piece of shoe molding. I suppose I could cut something about 1mm in width and then scrape it into that shape....hmmm.
 
Once I do that, I will had a few coats of matt finish to this deck and then blow out all of the dust once it dries.
 
I started gathering the pieces of the belfry and barricade. A lot of very small pieces that require patience to cut out. Like the mast base rings, a lot of them are VERY delicate and will break if pushed too far. 

Lining the gun ports also went easier than the lower decks. Perhaps a development of a skill set or they're just higher up and closer to my eye level?
 
I have a little re-chargeable dremel like tool and that allowed me to sand them flush pretty quickly. 

I Like what you've done with lots of outlets and above the bench. 
You can never have too many places to plug things in.
 
All i n all, a marvelous workspace!

Thanks for those comments....
The sockets are a little over 1 M from the deck, Javlin, with the intention of having them all comfortably above the top of the various work benches and the wood turning lathe. These days bending down isn't the issue, it's getting back up that's the problem! 😄
Bit of a break today to tackle more mundane household repairs plus the annual flu jab..... bit of a surprise to find it was being administered by a retired nurse who I taught about 40 plus years ago  - small world....
Will pass your greetings on, Ron, when that cat next takes advantage of the top of the fence behind the porthole.
Planning to start celebrating the beauty of all that wood grain tomorrow with the first of three coats of varnish.
Cheers,
Graham
 
 

Just finished the task of fitting the internal cladding.

I'm very pleased with the result and have made the decision to ignore the Admiral's suggestion to paint the walls and to stick with sealing it all with clear matt varnish to enhance the appearance of the timber. Although a time consuming task the savings made were considerable. Using recycled wood the total cost for covering all the walls and ceiling was a little over £25 for 2 kg of galvanized nails, spotted at a reduced price in a local builders merchant, and two packs of sanding discs for my rotary sander. Next job is fitting the pine skirting boards before varnishing can begin.
As can be seen in the photos the I've also completed the the 'first fix" for the electrics. Once the sockets and switches are in place the electrician will complete the power supply connections and test it all.
Not much longer before the pleasurable task of actually fitting out the workshop and finally moving in can happen 😆
Good to see the neighbours taking a keen interest the to project too......

Cheers,
Graham

Thanks for those comments....
The sockets are a little over 1 M from the deck, Javlin, with the intention of having them all comfortably above the top of the various work benches and the wood turning lathe. These days bending down isn't the issue, it's getting back up that's the problem! 😄
Bit of a break today to tackle more mundane household repairs plus the annual flu jab..... bit of a surprise to find it was being administered by a retired nurse who I taught about 40 plus years ago  - small world....
Will pass your greetings on, Ron, when that cat next takes advantage of the top of the fence behind the porthole.
Planning to start celebrating the beauty of all that wood grain tomorrow with the first of three coats of varnish.
Cheers,
Graham
 
 

Thanks for those comments....
The sockets are a little over 1 M from the deck, Javlin, with the intention of having them all comfortably above the top of the various work benches and the wood turning lathe. These days bending down isn't the issue, it's getting back up that's the problem! 😄
Bit of a break today to tackle more mundane household repairs plus the annual flu jab..... bit of a surprise to find it was being administered by a retired nurse who I taught about 40 plus years ago  - small world....
Will pass your greetings on, Ron, when that cat next takes advantage of the top of the fence behind the porthole.
Planning to start celebrating the beauty of all that wood grain tomorrow with the first of three coats of varnish.
Cheers,
Graham