Charter33

More progress

We ended the year 2016 and January 2017 are entering...

Hi Graham
 
I have recently done just that (see confed log)
I used Admiralty Dull Black, I thinned it with water, probably about 50/50 but thinned it to a water-like consistency whilst retaining some degree of colour.
I then sprayed many coats, many coats! about 20 in all.
If you do very light coats, which is a must to avoid runs then they dry in less than an hour, at least enough to do a further coat.
 
But as I mentioned in my log I am leaning towards a brush rather than an air brush in future.
The multiple tinned coats works pretty well when brushing and using the gun is a lot of extra faff.
 
Best of luck
 
Nick

Carl, Rob, Christian, Niles and the likes - thanks for your kind words, encouragement and patience on this slow voyage...
 
Jesse, Dave - Of course you are right, but no matter how many times I tell myself that it doesn't help...I probably have one of those personality disorders along the lines of "well he did it, so why can't I?"   And yes, its gets me into trouble with those fixes around the house that I maybe shouldn't be tackling.. 
 
Anyway a little update as I really can do no more to the bow at this point, which means I need to get back to the stern...then I remembered that that was basically the reason for me taking a break and starting work on the bow...There are a couple of questions at the end.
 
Once the cheeks and the rails were done, I needed to tackle hawse holes and the bolsters.  These had me really thinking, but first step was once again to shape from some thick stock, only this time I had to take it even slower as pretty much the entire interior face needed to fit tightly against the hull because any errors would be really obvious once the holes were cut.  The balsa filler blocks were also removed (Interestingly, you can see the outline of the recess that I had put in a long while ago to try to introduce a void behind the expected hole placement to look a little more authentic...seemed a good idea at the time but they would have been in slightly the wrong place)
 
The holes themselves are ~6mm in diameter, and taking a drill bit of that size was clearly out of the question.  The hole centers were estimated and I drilled with a 2mm bit in a hand drill.  This was large enough to get a round microfile in to gradually enlarge and then use a larger round file.  Once the holes were approx. 4-5mm and still quite rough, some tapered dowel was used with sandpaper around to again gradually enlarge until they were approximately the right size.  All the time doing this, the bolsters were held in place with fingers so everything would align - I didn't want to commit to gluing in place just yet.

Once again, I knew I'd be making my own out of castello, but continuing the trend I think the kit supplied parts are way undersized.

One other item to take care of is the Gamming knee, the kit supplied part was generally oversized, but it was necessary to cut a new piece because the back of the knee was undersized.  Not sure how much of this will be visible, but it fun to make.  The hole is for the mainstay collar, some alteration will likely be needed on the head timbers but that is for another day.  This is not attached yet.
And the final results...these pieces seem to really bring out the face of the ship and to my eye really add some character.

 
Some questions:
The bulwark are considerably thinner than they would be in scale, and although the photo makes it more obvious, this is apparent if you look for it.  Also, I know that the hawse holes were lined in lead, but I'm not seeing this as a feature standing out to me looking at models, in many it seems these were just painted ochre...would welcome other's thoughts and suggestions here.  I'm leaning toward a 'lead like' grey just on the inside of the bulwark but not extending over the bolster. For fellow Diana kit builders.  I placed the waste rail on the starboard bow side only as it seems to me that this could cause problems with the fitment of the bow grating against the hull - anyone have any experiences on this?  
 
 

Forget to say that one of the main sources of documentation is the model of the Museum of Annapolis.

We are already in December 2016

Make sure you check out Uschi's metal powder offerings, those kits are perfect applications for them. They are actually quite easy to use and can produce metal finishes that are exceptionally realistic.
 
This one shows off some of his leather decals and wood paints/decals.

Note both of these show a Mercedes D.IIIa/au engine as used by the Albatrosen and early Fokker D.VIIs  


And here's a guy doing a terrible job of using them on your 80hp Le Rhone kit, rough sanded with no undercoat and it still looks pretty good.

 
The only downside is metal finishes like this are the least forgiving in existence, and in fact if you had a need to find every single scratch on a surface down to near atomic levels, rub some metal powder on and you can see them pretty easily.
 
It's not quite that bad of course but you get the point, best results will be to use the same undercoats he recommends on a surface that's been sanded/polished to the highest grit you can stand. Novus Plastic Polish works very well here, you sand to maybe 1200/1500 and the #2 fine scratch remover will take out all of those scratches and leave you with a glass finish and can be done by hand but felt points of various shapes for your rotary tool can help speed up things considerably.
 
This is a glider I made painted Tamiya flat black and rubbed over with one of the powders. Tragically, being made of balsa, it moved way too much and the finish got all wrinkled a few months later. So not recommended over wood.

 
 

Good day Shipmates,
 
I thought I'd post my current progress as I will be away for a while. So, since last time I have double planked the deck, installed the deck rail, the timbers, the hand rail and the main hatch (not glued in place).
 
First layer of walnut planking. The 1.5 mm thick planks are continuous. They need to be sanded down by 0.5 mm. It becomes obvious here how important it is to get the bottom of the scuppers location right.

This is what happened when I accidentally dropped my feeler gauge (I'm forgetting the right name for it). I've had a good year's use out of it so the tears were brief.  Maybe the metal rods will come in handy.

Here is the second layer of yellow cedar decking completed; deck rails installed, hatches and entranceway holes and timbers glued in place. 

The approach I used for the final 0.5 mm yellow cedar deck planks was to cut them with a jig, square them with the Byrne's disc sander, and pencil the edges (not shown). I was not happy with the pencil approach so I will look for a different approach next time. If you're wondering about the rubber gloves...they gave me a better grip of these thin pieces.


The deck rail (the walnut on the periphery of the deck) is challenging to glue down because the 0.5 mm pieces immediately curl up upon gluing. The king plank is supposed to sit proud of the decking . The cap rail bow pieces were fiendishly difficult to bend but I got there eventually .

Thanks for looking in.
 
Best Regards,
Ian

So as promised here is what I have been up to on the bounty while awaiting final parts required and alongside my other little build the fast patrol launch
 

 
I am adding as many lines as possible to the masts off ship this will speed things up dramatically however it feels very commercial and I was happier with my previous build just to add one line at a time on ship and keep everything tidy ,even tho it does mean a lot of tedious fidely work
 

 
I am not going for super accuracy on the rigging ,more just as billings intended ,the ship is already inaccurate in many ways so I don't feel the need to spend three four five years rigging
I hope to keep the whole build down to under one year .
 
the last thing I need is the sails that came with the kit sewed up for me so I cut them all to size and took them to a seemstres I was quoted fifty pounds due to the work actually involved and I do understand that but was a bit shocked ,I have tried buying pre sewn sails in 1/50 but have been unsuccessfull
my mother has volunteered to give the sails a go and they are currently at her house so will hopefully get to show you them in next couple of weeks.
we will see how they turn out but I think I will use them regardless of how they turn out as it will be nice to have another family members touch involved in the build .
I have given my mother the pictures on the box and asked if she can replicate that ,they are far from realistic but I do like a ship to have sails
 


thanks for viewing
 
steve

And yet more-


Here's the finished paint job.
 


I have now moved on to the Channel Wales.
They have been cut bent and glued on.
Here I have masked the painted surfaces so that I can sand the Wales without a risk of marking the paint.


Now, after sanding them down I am giving them the tree nail treatment.
I used a piece of masking tape to mark the drill line as I went.


Now the Channel Wales have been fully tree nailed, filled and sanded.
You can also see here the Black Strake above the Main Wales, ironically not actually painted black.
I put this on after the painting so that I could get a sharp paint edge.
It is thinner than the Wale so I made them up fully, complete with tree nailing and sanding before fitting.

Finally to bring me right up to date.
These are the fancy profiles to go along the painted upper hull sides.
I have used Chucks scraper, supplied with the kit, to make the shape.
Here they are getting a coat of Danish oil before fitting.
I will be using Danish Oil for finishing all of the bare woodwork.
 
Thanks for dropping by
 
Nick
 

to continue-



Main wale both sides now sanded back and a small radius sanded in top and bottom.

Next job, remove some of the capping structure where it crosses the higher gun ports.
Here's on done and one waiting, first carefully saw them out.

Then a gentle sand back to shape.
The paint gets a touch up a bit later.


Now I can get prepared for some painting.
I am giving the painted surfaces a coat or two of Shellac sanding sealer, then a very fine grit sanding.
First time I have used this but I am pleased with how it worked out.
Here you can see the Wale coated and the upper works.

Bit of a jump forward.
But hull masked and 20 coats of thinned (quite a lot) Admiralty dull black acrylic applied.
I used an air brush.
But I think that it will be the last time I do use the air brush.
I have been finding that the many thinned coat approach gives a perfectly satisfactory finish with a brush.
The Air brush is, to be quite honest a huge P.I.T.A.
Extra masking, dedicated painting area, constant clean between coats, who needs it.
Another shot from the bow.

I'm afraid it's been a while since I updated my build log.
But here we go with a few posts to bring it up to date.

This where I had go to.
All the above wales planking is now drilled for tree nails.

And I then sanded back and rounded out the holes with an awl.

Now they have been filled and again sanded back.


Next thing was to add the main wales.

For the strakes at the bow some special treatment is required.
First I need to edge bend them.
I have a jig with a couple of suitable radius guides glued on.
Put in the plank and use my hot air gun to heat it up, then gently push in the loose outer guide and clamp in place.

Once cool (I tend to leave for at least an hour but not really necessary) the plank comes out.
There is always a bit of spring back but that was allowed for with the guide.

Then I use the hot air gun to gradually work the required radius in for the planks position.
This method allows me to constantly try and adjust till I'm happy, heat it up - flex or twist a bit by hand - try in place - repeat.
Here is the wale at the bow finished.

And at the stern.

Because the wale will be painted I have been able to use a bit of filler to fill any small gaps etc.
 
Nick

Nice job on the plating.  Canons look much better with rings.
 
Regards

Thanks for the ‘likes’, comments and input.  Always welcome and appreciated.
 
Michael (MEDDO) – the equipment is not exactly mine,  but having access to it is the next best thing. The planner / thicknesser and I go back 40 years – and I believe it was almost 20 years old when I first used it!  I must have fed the equivalent of a small forest through it over that time …..
Christian – I agree that the black and the brown pens that I used on the aft deadwood are too dark.  I have found a set of ‘Furniture Touch up scratch repair’ marker pens that contain lighter browns and plan to experiment with these when they arrive next week.
 
In the mean-time the components for the bow structure are ready to be cut out.

I’ve been working on the false keel and keel parts this week.  All the scarf joints have been marked out and cut.


 
I have also made a temporary filler piece for the space between the fore and aft deadwoods, where the frames will go later,  to help with shaping the bottom edges of the keelson components and to aid with the alinement  of the various sub-assemblies when they are glued together.


I’ll be adding the tapers to the ends later.  They are ready for gluing now and once dry I plan to add the treenails to the joints.  Showing my inexperience here,  but should these be wooden pegs or copper wire? – I’ve seen both methods used …..
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham.

Thanks for dropping by Marc, here is yet another jig!
 
Decision made – I’m going to stick with the approach given in the manual and work up from the keel – thanks Steve for the ‘nudge’ that finally swayed me.
After several sessions I have now fitted about 10% of the copper plates. It was always going to be a long haul, but so far it’s been fairly straight forward and surprisingly therapeutic!
 
One aspect that has been giving me food for thought was how to deal with the keel. I wanted to cover the bottom of it with plates folded evenly over the edges. With the keel 5 mm thick and the plates 6 mm wide this means a ‘return’ of 0.5 mm on the side of each plate. Early attempts with flat pliers and then brass soft jaws in a bench vice failed miserably ……
With approximately 60 plates needing to be shaped some kind of simple former was going to be required. This is what I came up with:
 

 
The main body consists of two 60 mm lengths of 5 mm square mild steel bar. The lower part has a shallow recess equal to the length of a copper plate filed into it while the upper bar has two grooves filed in with a ‘three square’ needle file to provide clearance for the raised rivet heads that run across the ends of the plates.  I couldn’t find any small diameter socket headed machine screws to apply the clamping pressure in the workshop so resorted to cutting M3 x .5 threads on the pins of a couple of  plated brass ‘push buttons’ from old 1970’s telephones that were rattling around at the back of a cupboard – knew they’d come in useful one day ….. Clearance holes in the top bar and suitably threaded holes in the lower bar finish the former.
 
The plate is put in place, but first checked to ensure that the rows of ‘rivets’ on the side are equally spaced from the edges – this sometimes varies considerably.
 

 
After clamping the protruding edges are pushed by thumb in the right direction and then a piece of softwood dowel is rolled along the edge to complete the bend.
 


 


... and the job's a goodun...
 
I hope this will be of some use to other builders.
 
Cheers,
 
Graham.
 

Hi,
Thanks once again for the generous comments and ‘likes’ – much appreciated as always. Michael - the Gloucester Javelin has a special significance. My dad worked on their electronic systems when he was in the RAF and I have clear memories of being taken to watch pilots practicing circuits and landings in them - this is probably responsible in no small way for sparking a lifetimes interest in aviation.
 
Meanwhile back in the marine world ,,,,, I need to start this post with an apology!  Throughout my career in teaching I have always been an advocate and proponent of the old adages ‘measure twice, cut once’ and ‘never assume …’  In my previous post I referred to the spigots on the dummy cannons being under size.  I have since found that this applied only to the 32 pdr cannons. Spigots on the 24 pdr cannons were bang on 2 mm. Consequently the holes in their deck have had to be re-drilled (No. series 44). At least they were under and not oversize.
 
Progress with my Victory has been a bit slow over the last couple of weeks. I have just returned to work after an absence of over a year, all be it now on a part time basis, and to be frank I have returned home most days well and truly knackered.  It’s been a long and at times difficult journey but the end is at last in sight.  Modelling activity recently has inevitably been a case of quietly browsing this site (always time well spent).
 
I have now started to add the copper plates to the hull. A strip of micro-ply as wide as the plates and marked with divisions equal to their length was pinned to the hull to help gauge the fall of the ‘part’ plates at the ends of the initial runs and to mark the width of the first line.
 

 
The plates are being attached with a couple of drops of c.a. glue applied before being pressed into place. I am still thinking about whether to follow the method described in the manual ie.  working up from the keel, or to plate some straight runs from the water line down as well.
 



Thirty one plates now in place, so just 2569 to go …..
 

 
Onward and upwards! 
  
Cheers for now,
 
Graham.

Thanks WackoWolf and mort stoll for the 'likes'.
 
A bit of progress made this week …..
With the aid of a couple of card templates,  plan sheet 2,  google images and several build logs the location for the dummy gun ports was found and marked onto the hull.  
 


 
 One of the most helpful logs was JJacobi’s – thank you!  I made a comment on his build log back at the beginning of March about how his build was a few pages further on in the instruction manual compared to mine only to discover that he was still in the process of uploading pictures.  In truth it transpires that he is way, way ahead! If my Victory gets anywhere close to his in terms of quality I will be well satisfied.
The outlines of the ports were incised with a sharp chisel as was the division between the double doors on the middle deck.

The ports were then painted. I’ll add the hinges etc. later on.
 

To drill the holes for the spigots of the dummy cannons some simple guides were made. These were produced from some hardwood offcuts trimmed to size to fit the ports and then mounted in a four jaw chuck on a lathe for boring. 



The manual suggests that the drill to use should be slightly larger than 2 mm.  Checking the spigots showed that they were well under this size coming out at about dia. 1.77 mm.  Trial holes drilled in a spare piece of ply from the kit resulted in my selection of a Number 49 drill bit (1.85 mm).  Although they still need painting I couldn’t resist pushing them temporarily into place.
 


I’ll be spraying the cannons at the same time as the upper gun deck barrels but first I have plans to modify these.  More details will follow once I’ve worked out how to achieve the results I am hoping for.
 
As for progress with my other project - I finally found a couple of UK based suppliers of T Track.  Neither have them I stock at present but at least they have been ordered.  I now have the base board ready and waiting for them, the parts for the gantry prepared and the set of 1:48 scales printed.  About time to start shaping some wood, I think, and another build log to begin …..
With the Victory build the next challenge is the copper plating – lots and lots of copper plating ….!
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham

Hi,
It’s been a little while since my last post – life can get a bit complicated at times!
Thanks’ for all the ‘likes’, they are much appreciated and a source of motivation when tackling those more challenging tasks.
 
Before starting to apply the paint I did a bit of improvising with the tools to hand and marked on the waterline.

 
Two coats of yellow ocher where brushed on and once dry, after several attempts to get the lines right, the edges of the black strips were masked off using Tamiya’s fine masking tape.
 


Two coats of black paint later the tape was removed and the gun port linings were then neatened up with red ocher and a very fine brush. My concerns that I might lose the definition of the different plank patterns on the wales proved unfounded.
 

 
Finally I masked along the waterline and applied some copper paint.
 


Next task is to mark out the additional gun ports on the bow and come up with some kind of drilling guide for the dummy guns on the lower and middle decks.
 
Cheers,
 
Graham.

Hi,
With the gun ports now lined the construction manual recommends painting the hull before undertaking the copper plating and decking out the upper gun deck. With such a large area to deal with I had already made the decision that the way forward was to use an airbrush. Problem – never used one! Always up for a challenge, and able to access the equipment, the sensible decision was to have a go on something else first. My model ‘stash’ included two plastic kits - a Seafire bought primarily as a research source for detailing an electric motor powered R/C version  I was building, and a Gloster Javelin given to me by my department colleagues to keep me occupied while on extended sick leave. Haven’t built a plastic kit literally for decades and they have certainly come on in terms of complexity! These photos show the results.
 

 
Both kits had the feature of two colours meeting in a similar way to the black and yellow ocher strips on the Victory. To cut a long story short using an airbrush, like any new tool, requires plenty of practice. I got the hang of applying paint to broad areas but struggled a bit with achieving crisp lines where two colours meet. I resorted to having to touch these up with a paint brush. Rather than risk this on the hull I decided to modify my plans and use the airbrush to apply primer to provide a good base surface and then to brush on the final colours.
 
The first step was to blank off the open gun ports to stop the spray going into the hull. This was done with pieces of soft balsa sheet cut to size and pressed into place. The heal of a Swan – Morton scalpel handle proved idea for this task.
 

 
The stern fascia, the quarter gallery windows and the linings of the gun ports with lids were additionally protected with masking film.
Finally the top was sealed off with scraps of card and masking tape giving the hull the appearance of a prison hulk rather than a first rate ship of the line ……
 

 
The Admiral objects to me spraying paint in the house for some reason, although the same rules don’t count apparently when brushing or rolling emulsion, gloss etc. to walls, doors and ceilings ….mmmmm!  So, as I had to earlier with the plastic kits, a trip to the school workshops, currently empty of ‘clients’ due to the Easter holidays, was called for.
 
                        
 
The first coat of primer revealed a few gaps and blemishes that needed a little filler and a light sand before the second and final primer coat was applied.
 
                              
Job done!
 
                        
 
 
Next task – applying the colour ….
 
 
HMS Triton update. Made the journey over to the timber supplier I had found on-line and picked up a piece of cherry and some maple at a good price. A genuine Aladdin’s cave with some fantastic exotic hardwoods and as a bonus they have a range of wood turning blanks. Could have spent hours there! I’ll put details of the company in ‘Wood Discussion’ section. Now to try and source aluminium T track for the building board.
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham.
 
 

Hi Folks,
 
The last of the three ’Victory material’ challenges is the construction of three ‘pedestals’ on which the finished model will be mounted. Final completion of the model is still a considerable way off – but retirement is probably going to strike before this and it makes sense to tackle the task while access to the workshop equipment is still possible. (well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it…)
 
There are a number of unknown factors that could affect this mini project: Will it be possible to turn the metal in the first place? – I’ve come across some metals in the past that have a skin so hard it knackers the cutting tool in seconds, and what kind of finish will it be possible to achieve? Only one way to find out.
 

 
The rod as supplied…..pretty uninspiring, about four inches long and a little less than an inch in diameter.
First job is to face off the ends of the bar.
 

 
…..then skim the bar to remove the corrosion. First question answered – oh yes, it will machine. It cuts in a similar way to mild steel and is relatively soft ….
 

 


The finished billet is then cut into three blanks…
 

 
I’ve made the decision to turn the base of each column down and thread them M10 x 1.5 initially to enable each piece to be mounted on a mandrel for further machining, meaning I won’t have to hold the blank directly in the lathe’s chuck, and eventually to fix the pedestals to the wooden base.
 

 
Mounted between the mandrel and a revolving centre, each blank is machined to profile with a round nosed tool. The final finish is achieved using emery cloth followed by 600 grade ‘wet and dry’, and finally the same grade of abrasive paper lubricated with a light oil.
 


 Just like turning legs for Windsor chairs, the first one is quite straight forward – its’ getting the others to match that provides the challenge!
 

 
Last task is machining the slot for the keel to fit into, using a universal milling machine fitted with a 4mm slotting bit. The final slot was 6mm wide. The pedestals have been previously been drilled on the lathe to take the 1/8th” silver steel rods that will extend up into the tubes set into the hull structure (see my first ‘post’).
 


Done and dusted….
 

 
Cheers for now,
 
 
Graham 

Hi Folks,
 
The second challenge, the copper plates…..

The scrap of copper I received was from the edge of a plate complete with fixing holes punched through. A small section was cut off making the remnant a bit more symmetrical. This will eventually be mounted on the display base.
 

The off-cut was far too thick so I resorted to beating it by hand, hammering it to a closer match to the thickness of the kit’s plates. This required frequent annealing of the metal. The process resulted in a significant increase in surface area to the extent that instead of producing just a couple of plates I ended up with eight.
 


The next step is to try and work out how to produce the simulated rivet pattern.
 
First task was to cut the piece of copper into strips.
 


……this was achieved with a cutting guide and a sharp craft knife.

Another guide, together with an engineers’ square, helped trim these strips to length.
 
 
 
A jig was made to replicate the rivet pattern. Each indentation was produced by taping a short steel pin in through the top of the jig.
 

 


The resulting plate is shown on the right, a blank in the centre, and an original kit’s plate on the left.
 


The bottom plate was the first attempt where too much wellie with the hammer pushed the pin right through the copper!
 
 
Cheers,
 
Graham.


 

Hi Folks,
 
The first of the challenges I chose to undertake was the
rudder – to replicate the kit’s original piece, on the left, using the Victory
oak.
 

 
One side was cleaned up, the thickness then cut narrowly
oversize with a band saw, and then the timber was sanded down to its final
thickness of 5mm using the jig. The aroma of old oak (with a hint of tar?)
added to the pleasure of the task.
 

 

It was going to be a tight fit!
 

After transferring the outline the shaping was done using a
powered fretsaw and needle files.
 

Job done! The finished rudder is mostly copper clad with the
top section painted black – I’ll probably leave some of this upper area
unpainted and just apply matt varnish; but that’s way off in the future….

Next – the copper plates.
 
Cheers,
 
Graham

Hi,
 
Seasons greetings to all - I hope Santa has responded to the hints you may have been dropping recently as he (she) did for me - a quality razor saw that will help me rectify a minor issue with the upper gun deck inner bulwark gun port patterns.  I'll explain more  when I get this build log in sync with actual progress.
 
Meanwhile, to continue the story.....
 
Where do I start?

Ever since I began this build I’ve had a nagging thought in the back of my mind – wouldn’t it be great to find a way to incorporate a piece of the original ship into the model.  Did a bit of research (hours of ‘googling’) - but to no avail…
 
….then …..
There I am at an ‘exhibition of Contemporary Design’ (craft fair!) playing the dutiful ‘Sherpa’ (chauffeur, guide, provider of credit card and carrier of purchases) and found myself having a chance discussion with a stallholder that culminated
in an absolute RESULT!
 
To cut a long story short I am now the proud owner of a Certified piece of oak from the good ship herself from which I aim to make the model’s rudder. It gets even better. I also have a small scrap of the original copper hull plating and a piece of iron rod also from HMS Victory.

I now have three challenges-

Fabricating a rudder for the model from the piece of oak.

Replicating a couple of the hull plates and use them in the model’s copper cladding.

Incorporating the iron as part of the three pedestals  that will eventually support the completed model on its display stand.
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham

Hi,
 
Construction of the Quarter Galleries went as per the instructions, which proved to be very accurate:
‘Time and care will be required…..’
Oh yes, and as many arms as an octopus wouldn’t go amiss! However, the effort was rewarded by the results and I must admit that that there’s much satisfaction, and a sense of relief, once the juggling of components is finished.
 

 


The upper stern counter pattern fitted easily, and to achieve the slight concave curve on the lower stern counter pattern I decided to increase its pliability by wetting it and then zapping it briefly in the microwave. I then left it, suitably supported, under a cylindrical weight to cool down and fully dry out. The photos show the result.
 

 


The next task was the middle gun deck planking. I wanted to simulate the treenails and the caulking between the planks. I’ve followed the various debates relating to how appropriate it is to have them on model of this scale but I like them and feel they are worth the effort.  Little of this work will be visible once the hull is finished but it seemed like an ideal opportunity to try out different techniques in preparation for later in the build. For the caulking I went down the black thread route, running a line down each edge of the plank runs and also gluing a short length of thread to one end of each plank where it would butt up to the next.
 


One minor problem was the side edges of the planks which were often slightly beveled, a bit rough or marginally wider than 4mm. Fine ‘wet and dry’ glued to a piece of MDF and a sanding aid sorted this out.
 


The most successful method of simulating the treenails started with the marking of their positions on the ends of each plank. Another jig and a small watchmaker’s screwdriver ground to a point enabled the positions to be impressed, and these marks acted as the equivalent of centre punch marks on a piece of metal – enabling a 0.5mm PCB drill bit in a mini-drill to line up and make the hole without slipping. This drilling was done after all the planks had been glued down.
 

 

 
The treenails themselves were made from slithers of teak veneer. These were dipped into PVA glue, then pushed into place and cut almost flush with a pair of side cutters. The adjacent photo shows the last one going in.
 


Once the glue had had a chance to fully set any remaining protruding material was sliced off with a sharp chisel.
 


Sanding the decking risked catching the caulking thread so a smooth surface was achieved by careful use of some scrappers. After any dust had been brushed or vacuumed the surface was sealed with a coat of matt varnish after which it proved safe enough to resort to fine glass paper between each of the subsequent two coats of varnish.
 

 


The mast sleeve was fitted after the varnishing was done to make sanding the deck easier. To get the sleeve to bond to the varnished surface I resorted to rapid drying epoxy resin.
 
These photos show the lining of the entry ports.
 

 

 


The next stage, and one I’ve been looking forward to, is the second planking. Following the advice of other builds on this site (thanks to all!) I’m going to replicate the 30’ plank lengths. If my maths is right this makes a full plank 127mm long, with an overlap that works out at 2 inches. (apologies for mixing units of measurement – that’s just how my old brain works these days!)
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham.
 

First Planking

With the bulkheads set and the ply gunport patterns all glued in place the chamfering of the bulkheads were given a final ‘tweak’ prior to starting the planking. To help with this, and with the earlier shaping of the bulkheads, I put together a jig that held the model securely on its side. I found this helped with resisting the forces exerted when pushing the temporary pins in and could be used for the majority of the hull.
 

 

 


Following the advice given on this site concerning tools I invested in a pair of plank nippers. A bit of practice quickly proved what a useful piece of equipment these are, although I wouldn’t use them on the ships boats as the inside of the first planking of these is visible and the small groves the nippers leave would show. I have to date finished the first planking of the launch and some of the second planking.
The first couple of planks are laid without any need for tapering but to avoid forcing the initial planks into place I started by putting ‘stealers’ at both the bow and stern.
 

 

 
For the most of the planking the procedure was:
• Trim the plank end to match the stem
• Taper the top edges (with a slight undercut as well) for the first and last four or so bulkheads by anything from 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the plank’s width as determined by offering the plank up to its position. Leave plenty of overlap at the stern for later trimming
• Holding the plank in place pre-drill or bradawl (I used a map pin for this) pin holes through the plank and into a manageable number of bulkheads. (4 – 5 usually)
• Apply glue to four or five bulkheads at a time where there will be contact with the plank
• Apply glue to the matching length of the edge of plank
• Pin plank to bulkheads, and use clips between bulkheads to ensure good edge to edge contact.

Off-cuts of planking make great glue applicators!

Keep telling yourself – it’ll be fine when its sanded……..it’ll be fine when it’s sanded….
 

 

 


A few ‘stealers’ where required, especially at the stern, but these were no problem to cut to fit the gaps.
 


Sanding the hull to shape turned out to be more straight-forward than I anticipated but as it is a messy job the hull had to be transported to work for the task – you get some funny looks walking across the car park with one of these tucked under your arm! My only regret was filling blemishes with filler that was a bit darker than it could have been which tended to emphasize defects but as the whole lot gets covered with the second planking and subsequent painting it does not matter too much.

Next installment - juggling the components that make the Quarter Galleries.
 
 
Cheers for now,
 
Graham