DelF

I think you should fully rig all 14 guns, just like you persuaded me to do on the same tiny ones on Speedy🤣😁 Seriously though, yours look great the way they are, especially the ironwork. I really must get hold of some weathering powder.

Thanks! Looks like I might have a nice little sideline going on 🤑, if only I could figure out the geography. Is Alberta anywhere near Alaska? Or North Carolina?

Happy to help Yves. I'll be in the US next year and could do it then provided North Carolina isn't too far from Alaska (geography was never my strong subject at school 😁). Seriously though, I've just looked at your log and you've got a big job on your hands planking Bellona at that scale. Good luck, and I hope my log is of some help. Thanks Glenn. I very much agree with the comment you made on David's (desalgu) Duchess log where you said that planking defines the model, with nothing standing out or showing more. Another reason why I'm still in two minds about covering it up. You've already been a big help Rusty, as I've got your Duchess log bookmarked and often refer to it. I hope you can get back to it soon. Thanks Gary. I'll now use nothing else for planking! Any problems or questions, feel free to send me a PM or ask on the log. Derek

Starboard planking Thanks as always for the supportive comments and likes. Here's the starboard planking finished: I've applied no finish yet, just wiped her over with white spirit to remove the dust. I covered the methods I used when I described planking the port side. However there are a few points of detail I ought to mention. In each strake I fitted the planks at the stem and stern first then finished with one or two planks in the middle. Getting the planks shaped properly at either end of the ship is much trickier so it makes sense to get these right first. I believe the last plank fitted in a strake was known as the "shutter" plank. Here's the gap waiting for the very last shutter plank on the starboard side: The Duchess's hull calls for some very tight curves, and I previously mentioned using my electric plank bender to achieve some of these. On a whim, I thought I'd also try a tool I bought when I first started ship modelling - the Amati plank nipper. I very quickly stopped using it when I found it left obvious marks on the good side of planks, and produced a series of straight line segments rather than a smooth curve in the wood. It's been languishing in the bottom of a drawer ever since. To my surprise I found it worked well with the thicker, better quality 1mm boxwood in this kit. Using the nipper first to start a bend, it was subsequently much easier to impart a tight bend with the electric tool: On one particularly awkward plank I found I'd left a narrow gap against part of the preceding strake, a gap that couldn't be closed by further edge bending. Rather than PVA and sawdust, I tried using a thin shaving produced with a little Veritas block plane. I glued it to the edge of the plank, trimmed it and fitted the plank as normal. A prize to the first person that spots it! I should point out that I staged this photo with a spare piece of plank after the event as I didn't shoot it at the time. In reality I had to use a double thickness of shavings to fill the gap. The last point I wanted to mention was the rabbet. This is one of many clever design elements in this kit, producing a neat finish at the stem by hiding the ends of the planks. However it's important to be aware that the planks are likely to be slightly thinner than the rabbet, which means that if you glue the ends down tight against the first planking, you're liable to see a gap between the planks and the stem. It's better to leave a slight 'spring' in the ends of the planks at the bows and, assuming you're using CA like me, to avoid pressing your fingers against the first few millimetres. This will allow the plank to press up against the top edge of the rabbet, eliminating any potential gap. And I still don't know whether or not I'm going to paint the darn thing! Derek

Looking good! Like you, I often get fed up with repetitious tasks like planking. However I’ve enjoyed Duchess, probably because I took it more slowly - almost treating each plank as a separate project rather than rushing to get the job done. I’m still looking forward to moving on to the next stage though! Derek

Brilliant. I'm not sure how I missed this log until now, but your great model has reminded me why I love the beauty of bare wood. I was also impressed with your attention to detail - I don't think I've seen such realistic snaking before for example. I'll follow your current build with interest. Derek

Rather than stones, I would suggest wet-and-dry paper stuck to a sheet of plate glass - see this. You don't have to worry about dressing stones to keep them flat, you can have as many different grades as you need, and sheets are easy and cheap to replace. Works fine with the Kell guide. Your planking looks great, btw! Derek

+1 for shellac for all the reasons Jaager and Bob Cleek describe. It really does impart a beautiful, deep warm glow to wood.

Looking good. Smart move making the false sheaves in your catheads before fitting them - unlike me with Speedy!

Type the @ sign immediately followed by their forum name. As you type, a list of members should come up matching the letters until you see the one you want. Click on it and youre done: @mtaylor Hope that’s what you wanted

Thanks Bob. I’ll take stock when I’ve finished the starboard planking and make a final decision then.

Touché Glenn. Actually, I just "dropped" that in to check if you'd got your nautical dictionary yet. Honest. To complicate matters, I've checked some of my references and I think what I called a drop(ped) plank is more properly called a diminishing stealer, ie because you go from two strakes to one as you move towards the bows. The drop plank is where an extra plank is inserted in the stern area to increase the number of strakes by one. Not to be confused with an expanding stealer which achieves the same effect. Differently. 🤪

I used 6mm rather than 4mm right at the stern, although they narrowed to 4mm midships.

Not at all - it's all part of sharing tips and ideas. Dropped planks and stealers are OK if you really need them, but you should aim to minimise their use. I took my garboard strake too far up the stem so I ended up having to use three dropped planks whereas I probably should have needed one at most. I managed to avoid stealers at the stern because I used wider planks in the first few strakes above the garboard. Derek