JohnB40

Hi Glen, I was at my library's book store this morning and purchased a book on Charleston during the civil war. There is a chapter on the ironclads attack on Fort Sumter. Here are a couple of pictures of the Keokuk from the book.....

I have used a soldering iron type of plank bender and a compact hairdryer for plank shaping in my builds. I have had my iron type for nearly 20 years of reliable service. When I had to form quite a few planks for the bow of the Confederacy,I remembered GaryKap's note in his log about using a one pound coffee can/tin ( a hard thing to find in this 12 oz world) for the 6" radius. Attached the can to my work bench. Soaked the planks for 10 minutes in a tall jar. Clamped one end of the planks to the can and using the bender worked them around the the can until the point where they matched the curve + a bit for spring back. I then clamped the other end at that point. Finally used the hair dryer to completely dry the plank. The can also heats up and drys the opposite side. I also use the electric iron to twist bend the planks for the stern runs. Wet the planks, clamp to bulkhead at the start of the run,heat and form to shape required.

Stunning work Danny....... I'm a retired Jag mechanic,so I have had a long love/hate relationship with V12's. I used to go to the Reno air races and there is nothing like the sound of a Merlin hammering full throttle overhead.

Hi Dennis, I can't believe I have somehow not found your build of The General till now. I have enjoyed catching up,very nice work. I have read books on the "chase" and it is interesting to see a detailed view of the locomotive. John

Nice one Danny.

Very nice Danny....Looking forward to the Merlin build

Another outstanding build Greg. Again,your attention to detail in that tiny scale is second to none

I've been busy lately,but now have some time to get back to hobbies...Spent a fair bit of time prepping the cast parts for the kit. I have removed all flashing,reshaped and painted them with matte black primer. I have finished some with matte black top coat,but many need drilling before assembly ,so I will wait until that is done to finish off the rest. I have now assembled the wagon bed. The kit supplies laser cut wood panels and nails to simulate the screws holding the cross braces in place. For some reason I painted the heads instead of using Brass Black. The nails are pushed through with a tiny drop of CA applied on the shank. They are then clipped off as close as possible and then filed flush with a mill file and sanded. The cross braces were aligned to the bed using brass rod through the corresponding laser cut holes and bonded together. I stained the wood with General Finishes water based golden oak. It is my first experience with water based stain after years of using Minwax oil based. I like the results. I am thinking of using it on the Confederacy build as I have only used oil based stain on the counter,so any slight difference in shade will not be noticed. The bed was finished with Dulcote. The seat assembly comes next....But I need to do a little more hull planking on the Confederacy before.

Hi, If you email John Garcia at jgarcia@modelexpo-online.com I'm sure he will send you another figure head. Get the part number from the parts sheet.

The first thing on the agenda is cleaning up the castings. There is a lot of flashing and general roughness to take care of. With the larger parts such as axles etc I used small amounts of JB Weld to fill in voids and imperfections. When cured,I cut it back with files and fine sandpaper. Then the castings are then cleaned in alcohol and sprayed with flat black primer. When all the cast bits have been through this process,I will use a finish of flat black enamel. I am unsure if I can use the cast rails for the seat/bed,or will have to make my own like Dan did on his stagecoach build. It will take a bit of time to get through all these small pieces. I will use Brass Black for the PE parts.

Greetings to all I needed a break from the hull planking on my Model Shipways Confederacy build. I really enjoyed building Model Trailways Chuck Wagon during my last hiatus and wanted to try another "wagon of the west". I always liked the look of MT's Buckboard,so when I saw it on sale I ordered it. The kit is nicely put together with good plans,instruction book,laser cut wood parts.photo etched parts and cast parts.

Well done! I have thoroughly enjoyed following your build and find your work second to none. You must have amazing eyesight to achieve that level of detail in that small a scale....I would be blinded if I attempted the same.

It was also my first plank on bulkhead model ship I made.....That was in the last century!

Welcome to MSW Nick, Le Hussard was my third build. It is a very nice model and I think a good one for your first attempt at constructing one. It is double planked which makes it easier to rectify mistakes in the first layer of planking,before adding the outer finishing planking of the hull. The instructions certainly look more comprehensive and easier to follow than the older version. Go slowly and walk away for a bit if it gets frustrating. Any problems or questions will be gladly answered and helped to resolve by the forum members. One thing I try to keep in mind that this is a hobby and not a job. Work at a pace you feel comfortable with. I don't want to admit how long I have been working on my present build! John

The hull sheaves were then made. I laminated some thin scrap hardwood. When cured I used a hole punch to make simulated sheaves,these were trimmed to fit in the slots of the frames. They were then stained golden oak. Once they are fitted to the hull I can start the planking........

The gun port frames were painted ochre using diluted coats of artists acrylic paint.

Greetings to all, Well the rainy season has started in Oregon,so it is time once again for inside hobbies. I'm back at my workbench continuing my build of the Confederacy. Before my hiatus I finished the sills,lintels and uprights framing the gun ports. I also finished fairing most of the hull after fitting the Hance pieces. I fitted the sweep ports framing blocks using a batten aligned to the bulkhead marks and then faired them to the hull. Before cutting the sweep port templates from the plans I reinforced the area around the port cut-outs with clear tape. This made a more defined edge for the port outline which was marked on the framing.

I read a book about the US Army's campaign against the Sioux/Cheyenne in 1876. They were able to operate so far from their forts because they had the riverboat Far West at their disposal for supplies and communication. The Far West was a 'Missouri River Boat" which had a shallower draft than the Mississippi river type. In the book it explains the procedure if it ran aground or came upon a sandbar. The crew would erect strong timber pylons in the river ahead of the bow,they would then use a large bow spar and a steam driven capstan to lift the bow and dip the stern deeper. At this point they gave the engines full steam and the stern wheel would push the boat up and over the obstruction. I don't know if this procedure was used on boats like the L E Lee

I started to use artists acrylic paints in tubes after reading reviews on the forum. I have found them a lot easier to use and when thinned and applied with multiple coats give the best finish for brush applications. I had problems with coverage at first,but a nice knowledgeable lady in our local artist supply store set me straight. There are two types of this paint...Transparent and opaque. I hadn't a clue about this,but it is on the tubes for all to see. The type to use is the opaque one. She also recommended using M Graham & Co paints (or other quality premium paints),which is what artists use for painting on wooden panels. For priming I tried thinned gesso,but found it obscured detail and was a pain to sand. I settled on thinned wax free shellac,thinned 50/50 with 99% isopropyl alcohol,but I'm sure Tamiya primer will work as well.

Today I started on gun port framing. I had previously checked the laser marked guidelines on the bulkheads against the plans to verify. All checked out OK. I used a strip of 1/16 x 1/8 x 36 balsa to align the bulkhead marks,check the run of the sills and mark the outboard face of the bulkheads. I found it was easier to use balsa as it formed a curve better than basswood.The sills were trimmed to the correct length and marked in sequence from the aft forward. The false deck was also numbered at their corresponding place between the bulkheads. When I started to lay the sills,I found it hard to establish when the sills were level as the curve of the deck and bulkhead were confusing my trifocal eyes. The only way I could see overcoming this was to make sure my building bench was perfectly level. I then made sure the ship was level in its building jig. I used a couple of small levels on the beakhead deck and other points to check this. I shimmed the upright supports of my jig to get it spot on and then clamped them. I then aligned each sill with the bulkhead marks,used a 2" level to lay each sill in place. Each was leveled and aligned as I went forward. I can now use spacers to put the lintels in place and know and they are laying parallel and level to each other. As an additional check I made a small gauge from thin brass with a mark scribed at 1" which I could fit between the slot in the false deck and the bulkhead and double check the position of top of the sills. I will start on the lintels tomorrow.....

I got mine today....Thank you

The next task was to lay the four sections of false decking. I spent quite some time aligning the sections,making sure the joints were as tight as possible and the center joints were true to the center line of the bulkhead former. I used clamps on the outboard side and 1/32" brass brads down the center line,which were removed and holes filled after PVA had set The beakhead deck was planked,a #2 pencil used to create caulking. The beakhead bulkhead was planked on both sides. After looking at this part of the construction I decided to add some details like the doors ,hinges,frames and doorknobs. I thought it would be better done now owing to the small parts and easier access The inboard side was painted and hinges and doorknobs added. I couldn't decide whether to frame these doors...I might go back and do them. It took me a long time to decide on the interior bulkhead paint color. I chose an ochre acrylic artist paint in the end. I think this is more realistic color for the period after looking at many models on the NMM website. From what I read ochre pigments (from mustard yellow to brick red) were mixed with linseed oil to paint period ships. Bright red pigments for paint were not formulated until the late 1800's. I will be using Dulcote to matte down the paint.

Greetings to all, I have decided to restart my build log for my present project.... Model Shipways USF Confederacy. My 2 previous attempts disappeared from the forum without a trace and I'm hoping that 3rd time is a charm. I won't go back to square one,but will continue on from the last point I was at,which was completion of the stem,keel,false decks and bulkhead formers. The only thing I can add to this part of the build that might be useful to others was the use of AARP cards to keep a uniform distance between the exposed frames while glue sets. 870 kb · Done The bulkheads were then faired and a start was made on the stern framingand followed by fitting the rear lights sills and lintels. These were faired to the curve of the transom. The final fairing of Bulkheads 7 & 8 was finished too . The large and small aft facing ports framing was added and faired to follow the curve of the counter.

Looks very nice Gary. You have been making great progress with the build. I'm just about to fit the battens to frame the gun ports. So at my present pace,I should be where you are about this time next year!

Looking good Gary,starting to look like a frigate. Nice progress on the construction. I'm still messing around with stern,just a bit more filling and fairing to go. Seems like I have been at this for quite some time.