DelF

I’m just using it on the second planking. You can get away with more on the first planking as it won’t show. Of course, for the same reason, the first planking would be a safe place to practice edge bending. Derek

Looking good! I always think models really come to life when all their masts are stepped and you get an impression of their overall size. I lived in Thanet from 1973 to 1990; and you're right, it hasn't changed much. Others will judge whether that's a good thing or not! Derek

Thanks for the 'likes', they're much appreciated. I've done a bit of work since the last post, but just realised that I've not photographed all the relevant stages so this entry will be a bit scrappy. I continued building up the internal planking above the thwarts, and did this in thin strips as recommended in the instruction manual. Although this makes the strips easier to bend into shape it inevitably leads to unevenness and gaps that require filler. Not a major problem as the wood will be painted; just a chore to avoid marking the thwarts and other unpainted surfaces. Fitting the cap rail was easier than I expected, with the soft basswood simple to cut out and glue into place. I wasn't sure whether the cap rail was meant to go under the seat back (where it overlaps the hull at each side) or butt up against it. In the end I decided it was easier to trim the seat back so the cap rail could slip under it, which meant I only needed to cut and fit one piece for each side rather than two. I left the glue overnight with weights in place to hold the cap rail in place against the curve of the hull, then trimmed and sanded the rail flush with the hull both inside and out. I'd already tried scraping a nice profile on a test piece and decided there was no way I could get a decent result with basswood. So I decide to make the profile in boxwood strip glued to the edge of the cap rail. This worked fine. The first picture below shows the scraper in action. The second shows the basswood cap rail and the boxwood profile fitted, and a prodigious amount of filling still going on! The scraper was simplicity itself to make - a piece of thin scrap brass with the profile filed on the edge. After more filling, sanding and painting the result was fairly neat, and I turned to the decorative frames. These are made from the same boxwood profile. As several would be more or less identical I used my trusty Preac saw to cut the mitres. Although I love my new Byrnes saw, I still like the Preac for tiny, delicate pieces like this. Here I'm using the thinnest blade (0.010"/0.25 mm) which produces very fine cuts, especially in boxwood. The mitre bar can be set quite easily with a protractor ( I use a surprisingly accurate digital protractor - surprising as it was only £6 from Aldi), and the horizontal black bar visible on the fence on the right can be set up as a stop to allow repeatable cuts. This approach worked well until I got to the cockpit area where the frames become less like regular rectangles. At first I tried to judge the necessary mitre angle by eye, with mixed (ie poor!) results. In the end measuring the angles properly and setting the saw up didn't take much longer than trying to bodge it. Next step will be finishing the decorative moulding in the bow area. I must say the pinnace is providing welcome light relief from Speedy, where I'm taking the second planking very slowly and carefully. Consequently I'm finding it rather nerve wracking and I need frequent breaks. I'll try to remember to take more pics in future. Derek

Hi LS I've just found your Victory log, and wanted to add my compliments on a great build so far. I'm particularly impressed that you've managed such a lot of progress in just 152 hours (I daren't time my builds as I spend far too much time faffing around and re-working!). Derek P.S. I used to live near you, in Cliftonville (sounds posher than saying Margate)

I'd certainly recommend Chuck's edge bending method. I've seen him use a hot air gun and a small travel iron. I've tried both, and both work, but I find the iron works faster and, as it literally irons the wood flat, it reduces any tendency for the strip to bend in a direction you don't want. Derek

Hi Great to hear you’re joining the ‘Speedy Club’. Chris covers your question in the instruction manual. Once you have completed the first layer of hull planking and are sanding it smooth, you should aim to reduce the overall thickness at the stern to 1.5mm. When the second planking is added that will match the width to that of the sternpost and rudder. The photos in the manual show this quite well. I’m working on the second planking just now and taking it slowly to get it as neat as possible, so there’s not much to put in the log. I may start doing some sub-assemblies for variety. Good luck with your build - I’d certainly be interested to see the videos you’re planning. Derek

I suspect you’ve considered making your own rope, and if so I wonder why you decided against it? I find it quite straightforward with Chuck’s Rope Rocket and you've got almost infinite options in terms of diameter, strands, lay etc. I appreciate that it is much simpler and quicker to buy rope, but making one’s own is much easier than some scratch building tasks (eg block making) and can be very rewarding. Just a thought. Derek

I think I'd like to see your maple deck once it's been varnished (or whatever finish you plan) before deciding which I prefer. You've started an interesting debate, though. Derek

Square tomatoes were bred to fit neatly into sandwiches. Derek

Very neat work on the seizings. Derek

Could this thread get any further off-topic? I love it!

We just ‘season’ cast iron ware when it’s new by rubbing in cooking oil then heating it (without food). From then on it seems to be almost non-stick when you wash it. Before I tried it I thought the seasoning trick was an old wives tale, but it seems to work. I wish you hadn’t mentioned steak - I could just eat one now and it’s only breakfast time here! Derek

Hi Jud It’s an induction hob. I’m not sure if that’s the same thing as a ceramic hob, but in any case it works fine with cast iron. It also works with stainless steel, so long as it is a magnetic grade. I have to say, it’s the best hob we’ve ever had, by far. Efficient, even heating and dead easy to clean. Hope that helps Derek

I've had a word with Chris, and he decided to go with vertical planking on Speedy based on his research which found many contemporary model pictures showing similar sized and period models with the stern planking running vertically, not horizontal or angled. Looking at my copy of the AOTS book on Alert I noticed that the transom had horizontal beams as well as vertical frames. The Alert book showed the transom planked horizontally, but depending on how the beams tied into the frames I imagine vertical planks would be just as possible as horizontal. I'm going to leave the planks as they are, mainly because of Chris's research, but also I quite like the alternating pattern of vertical-horizontal-vertical. Thanks again for raising. Derek

SpyGlass - thanks, now I’m in three minds! Blue Ensign - what you say about the stern planking needing to be horizontal to attach to vertical frames makes perfect sense. I’m afraid I was following the instructions, but not thinking enough about the result. On the other hand Chris has researched the ship extensively and there may be a good reason why Speedy doesn’t follow normal practice. I’ll see what I can find out. Thanks for spotting this apparent anomaly and pointing it out. Derek

Thanks Norway. Now I'm in two minds again! Derek

Hi SpyGlass Thanks for the comments and advice. you're making me lean towards PVA and no caulking. However I may try using dabs of CA to "spot-weld" planks in position whilst the PVA dries. I didn't chamfer the first planking - the strips seemed to fit together quite snuggly without it, at least in most areas. I will chamfer where necessary on the second planking. And you're right, I do leave the planks to settle after wetting and drying. Although I find boxwood is more stable than other woods in that respect, I find it holds the curve better if I leave it clamped up for a few hours. Derek

Stunning work. I followed your Royal Caroline build with great interest, but have only just discovered this one. You have moved to an even higher level with Le Gros Ventre. I also find it very encouraging that you achieve so much with Proxxon tools. I bought their micro-mill when I saw you using it on the Caroline - you should be on commission! One question. I've just read through your log from the beginning and in the first post you said the ship had no orlop deck, but now you are building the orlop. Is the apparent contradiction because the orlop is removable, and so not recorded as a deck? Derek

I've started the second planking - exciting stuff! I always like it when I get to parts of the model that will actually show, like these stern planks: Boxwood is a real pleasure to work with and it's commendable that Chris has provided it as an option. As Vane has mentioned in his log there is some colour variation, so I'm going to try to get the most uniform strips for the planking that will show. However I don't think this will be a problem as there are 60 strips to choose from and many will be hidden by the coppering and the wales. Next, I fitted the first strake each side. As described in the instruction manual, the top edges of these strips follow the guide marks etched in the plywood gunport templates: Before final fitting I wetted them, clamped them to the model and blasted them with a hot air gun to try to set the shape. I had to set them higher up on the gunport templates to give the clamps something to sit on, hence the extra pencil marks on the photo. Like Vane, I want to use edge bending and other shaping techniques to get the planks to sit as well as possible. For these first two I also used pins, as they won't show beneath the wales. I'm still not sure about gluing. Chris recommends medium to thick CA for all second planking, including the edges. It clearly works for Chris, but I'm not sure I trust myself to keep the stuff off the front faces of the planks (and my fingers!). I used my normal wood glue for the first two lengths, and I'll ponder a bit - and do some testing - before deciding what to use for the rest of the planking. My other quandary is what to do about caulking. I used the standard pencil-along-the-edges technique, but now that the stern planking is finished it looks too black and uneven to my eye. If I can't find a way of toning it down I might leave it off. I believe caulking at this scale should be subtle to the point of near-invisibility. I used an HB pencil - I'll experiment with something a bit softer/less black. I can see the second planking taking some time, but that's not a problem; I'm enjoying it, and this kit's too good to rush. Derek

To fix the thwarts I read that some builders used spacers to get them evenly spaced and square. Similar idea, but I used the filler strips that I knew I was going to have to cut anyway. I just measured the total gap between the thwarts, divided by four and cut eight strips of basswood. I'm using the kit-supplied wood as the planking above the thwarts will be painted. I dry-fitted to make sure I'd got the measurements right, and the whole lot went together well. Next I had a go at turning some stanchions to support the thwarts. Nothing fancy - I just chucked strips of 1/16" square boxwood in the lathe and turned the middles down with a file. I'm happy with the stanchions, but looking at closeups of photos is often a chastening experience. I can see from these pictures that the frames showing beneath the risers could do with a fair bit of tidying up, which of course I should have done before fitting the thwarts and stanchions. Blast. Next job (apart from trying to sort the frames), will be completing the internal planking above the thwarts. Derek

Getting back to the more serious topic... Here's my cast iron skillet, in which I could make square(ish) cornbread (if I knew what cornbread was ). Derek

Yves I agree - Chris is a top notch designer. I'm amazed that he can produce such great kits in his spare time! I hope he gets the success he deserves. Are you considering Alert or Speedy, or are you waiting to see what else Chris is developing? I assume you're also looking in on Vane's log - he's way ahead of me? Derek

Thanks guys. Chris - I wasn't complaining, honest🙂! I was happy with the material provided and managed fine, even though I snapped a strip. I was impressed that you had designed it so that the hull required an exact number of whole strips at midships - it certainly made fitting the final strakes easier. I might try an electric sander next time, at least when doing first planking where you can fill any mistakes. Derek

Thanks Steve and Blue Ensign. Having seen your work, compliments from you two are much appreciated. A little more work on the cockpit area, fitting the front of the trunk, cockpit seats and the trunk lid. I made these components from some small spare pieces of 1.5mm boxwood which fortunately were a reasonable match for the timber I used for the thwarts and other unpainted planks. I used the kit-supplied seats as templates, just tweaking them slightly to get a snug fit. For trunk front, the lid and the piece between it and the rear seat back I followed Chuck's suggestion and fiddled with pieces of card until I got the right shapes which I then transferred to the wood sheets. I scribed a line on the lid to give the impression of two planks joined together. The hinges will follow later. I've given all the unpainted surfaces a coat of french polish. I started using this on my Royal Caroline, and think it gives a more subtle sheen than polyurethane, although it will require several more coats to give proper coverage. This is the one I use (I just brush it on - no messing about with special french polishing pads): Next job (in between the Speedy) will be fixing the thwarts in place and planking above the riser. The latter will cover the tops of the frames where I didn't bother sanding off the 'fur'. Derek

Thanks Vane. I'm hoping that taking a bit of time with this layer will make the second planking and coppering easier. I've more or less finished sanding now: I'm reasonably happy with the result, although I may try to thin down the stern area a bit more. As you know, Chris recommends sanding this down to about 1.5mm so that when the second planking is added it will sit flush with the stern post. Chris also says it will take about an hour to sand the hull. I've no idea how long it's taken me, as I find I can't sand solidly for any length of time. It's not a physical thing - I just prefer to take my time, sanding slowly and with plenty of breaks. I know that if I went at it hell-for-leather and tried to get it done in one sitting I'd mess it up. I like leaving it for a while and coming back to it periodically with a fresh pair of eyes. I used to treat model building as a challenge where the aim was to finish as quickly as possible - now I try to take my time and enjoy the process (at least that's what I tell myself when I find I can't catch up with you even when you've been away for a fortnight!😀). Derek