vaddoc

After a long break due to summer vacations I started again work on the boat. I finished and glued the mizzen mast step and the center board case cap that supports the middle thwart and also acts as mast partner. I also made and glued the two small boards to complete the floor. Next the thwarts were installed, I copied exactly the way the american team used cross beams secured to the frames and the side benches although later on I realised that I positioned the thwart aft of frame 6 instead of forward but no harm done. I must say I quite like the result! Next it was time to install the main mast and most importantly the small deck which I think will add a lot to the boat. This proved challenging mainly due to the cant frames which increased a lot the complexity of the built. Still a lot left to be done but I am looking forward to see the deck completed.

I think it looks fine! the gaff and boom seem a little flimsy to me but they are accurately scaled down from the plans

Patrick, John and everyone hitting the like button, thank you for your support. I decided to make the masts, booms and gaffs. I used walnut in the past but it is too hard and not readily available at this time. I ordered both beach and birch dowels, I did not like birch but I found beech to be a lovely wood. It has little grain but open pores and visible growth rings, this however does not matter at a scale 1:12. The masts and booms are tapered so a power tool and sand paper would be needed. From previous experience though, this set up is too unstable and tiring to use. I attempted to construct a simple jig to support the dowel First I made a support for the drill to keep it horizontal Then I cut a hole in a scrap piece of mdf and inserted a bearing Then aligned everything and secured the piece of mdf to the disc sander. Masking tape around the end of the dowel ensures it is snag and centered in the bearing. This setting worked beautifully, I got the main mast tapered and sanded to 400 grit in no time. The next pic shows the gradual taper from 8 mm to 5.5 mm Then the mizen and all the rest. There is extra wood in either end in all pieces but I will trim it later on, after I do some test fitting. In Tad's plans the mizen does not have a boom but the american team do have one. For the time I will follow the original plans but I might add a boom later on.

I somehow found time to get a large chunk of work done. The transom knee laminate came out fine, a solid piece of timber. No way I will lose my transom in heavy seas now! Test fitting all side benches and thwarts Then the transom thwart support went in, appropriately bevelled Then the transom thwart and the aft side benches I did of course forget the tree nails for the transom thwart which thankfully were easy to install later. Then the rest of the benches were tree nailed and installed To install the rest of the thwarts I will need to install the mast step for the mizen. Soon it will be time to start work on the small deck.

Patrick, it seems to me that your beautiful cupboard needs a model boat to sit on top, preferably one in a bottle. This is fantastic work!

Dear Ben, thank you for your very nice words and your suggestions, I really try to approach the built as if I was building the real thing and the large scale helps I think a lot. Certainly the boat will be in a cradle, it would break my heart to drill holes! But of course the scale creates problems e.g. taking pictures or thinking about how to display. Dear Patrick, when I read your question I knew there was trouble ahead and more uncharted waters to navigate. Displaying the boat in the shipyard's workshop is a great idea and making all the machinery, logs, sawn timber etc would be great fun but the diorama would probably be too big for my house, considering the boat is 60 cm long. Still it could be done. Another option could be with crew rowing. But either option would need figures so for the last few days I was researching how figures are made from scratch. I do not have a single artistic cell in my body but I will give it a try, although with 1:12 scale the figures will need a lot of detail which would be lost in smaller figures. More updates on this in due course! Back to the boat, with such classy company in the forum, the Butterfly Explorer absolutely needed a few hundred treenails. So here they are. I apologise for the quality of the pics, it is difficult to take good pictures with the mobile phone camera. I also continued work on the benches which surprisingly need a lot of fiddling to fit properly At this time I need to install to the transom the support for the aft bench but I realised I have forgotten to install the transom knee! This is a major structural element and in the plans it is a laminate (The american team again made it from solid wood) The shape was actually very easy to determine and my jig this time was much simpler!

That's a very cosy living room Patrick and the fireplace looks fantastic!

Dear Patrick I have not given it any serious thought, any suggestions welcome. I would like to make a few artefacts, life preservers, anchors, a chest (I have wanted to make a chest for very long) but I am concerned that the huge scale 1:12 may be a problem. Or it could make things easier! Letting the imagination go wild takes me to figures rowing but this is beyond my skills. Basically the answer is no! The floor boards and the centerboard are now installed. The photos are not very good but the boat is really too large for the iphone camera I could not resist a small comparison... I started work on the side benches that also support the thwarts. Very careful cuttings with the scroll saw were needed but the Dremel saw came through. Test fitting shows only minimal sanding is needed. With the right side bench roughly in place, I only now realise how large actually the boat is. There is lots of room and storage space. If built properly (the plans also call for fibreglass sheathing over the plywood bottom) this is a super strong design. I just realised I forgot to drill holes in the boards and insert nails. This now needs some thought.

Thank you Michel, the design helps as it is very fun boat to build. Ben I think you are right, the scale is somewhat lost in the photo, taken of course entirely by chance. I opened the slot a bit more so now the centerboard fits and I managed not to destroy the paint. I continued to work on the floor boards today as I find it a very enjoyable task. However, the aft side boards are very difficult to get right as they are curved and concave, with decreasing widths. Also, pear wood is hard and sands slowly. I think I got it reasonably close though.

All floor boards are cut! I installed the fore deck boards, 2 coats of renaissance wax were applied. I also finished painting the centerboard as it needs to be installed before the floor as the axle will be inaccessible. Before adding varnish, I tested the fit again. Yes, it does not fit through the keel slot! With all the coats of primer/paint it is now thicker. I will need to open the keel slot more risking damage to the paint work.

Patrick this is very nice. That engine, terrific work! I must say that fruit and boats actually go well together, somehow your photos always bring to my mind the National Gallery in London which is one of my favourite spots. Looking forward for the rest of the journey Vaddoc

Patrick, your support is very much appreciated, I just wish I had the skill to produce the immaculate models I see in the forum. Baby steps... A very quick update, I did a bit of work on the floor boards and laid paper patterns and immediately the boat interior took shape. Before I cut and install these though, the mast steps need to be prepared and glued in place. The pattern of the individual planks is (more or less) completed, I intend to have a very narrow space between the planks. The CA glue I used has produced some stains on the inside of the hull, I managed to scrape off the largest ones. I tested nail varnish remover but it does not work well so I guess I need to tolerate a few minor stains.

Thank you all, it sure is a huge relief to have completed this stage. Patrick and Ben, the admiral compromised with satin finish which actually came out more on the matt side so all is good Mike, you are right, I did some testing with tapes and indeed Tamiya is best, there is a discussion in the forum under "comparison of masking tapes" and there is also valuable contribution from others. The painting job is not as good as I would have wanted mainly due to my inexperience but also because with the little one now in the house there is limited time to complete a task. Still, it is done and it was a mountain to climb. I brushed 2 coats of humbrol satin enamel varnish and somehow I managed to use acrylic thinner to clean the brush. Thankfully the paint job seems not to be affected but I had to throw away the rest of the varnish as there was some contamination and precipitation. I removed the many layers of masking tape and cut some of the frame supports. I also trimmed all the rivets on the inside of the hull. I think that from very far away it looks quite similar to the american team's boat! Next, to paint and install the centerboard and then probably the floor boards.

Cheers both, very useful info

That was certainly helpful Paul. I managed to finish painting the hull of my model using Tamiya tape and a combination of Humbrol acrylic spray and enamels hand brushed (brilliant results with enamels). My conclusions: 1. Do not use car paint sprays, they smell too much and create very (very!) thick coats 2. Tuck the tape down well. Then do it again 3-4 times and go over that little area you think does not matter. It does and leads to a sloppy mess. Cutting off a new edge with a ruler and blade as you suggest might be needed 3. Tamiya tape is brilliant, but still creates an edge that will probably need to be sanded as you said in your video to mate the surfaces. (600 grit?) 4. A flexible tape is sometimes necessary and Tamiya is not flexible. In your video you show a very flexible one, could you mention the brand? Regards Vaddoc

After a lot of work all old paint and primer was sanded away and painting is completed. It is miles away from perfect but considering my non existent painting skills, I am happy. I must say the water line was much more challenging than I thought. The white paint is Humbrol spray matt acrylic and the red and blue Humbrol gloss enamel (This is what I could easily find). The enamel paint is just gorgeous, no brush marks, huge coverage and with the low odour mineral spirits it actually smells less than the acrylic spray. Certainly this is the way forward for me. I should have also sanded the border of the red paint before adding the blue to remove the raised edges but I was afraid I would make a huge mess. There is the problem that the white is matt and the colours gloss and I am not sure whether to use matt varnish or gloss. I would prefer matt but the admiral likes the blink! It is very important to make sure the tape is well tacked down. There was a leak at the bow but I managed to largely save it although a bit more attention is needed. Another milestone reached I think

Life has again gotten in the way of model building so very little progress to show. After some thought and testing (results posted to the forum) I have a better idea how to approach painting the hull. Masking now is definitely more efficient. The hull is now masked, primed and ready to paint. I plan to have a red strip for the waterline and paint the bottom dark blue. I will probably use enamels and brushes as I find difficult to control the spray cans. They also leave a very thick layer of paint

I use Americana acrylic sealing sander, water based, one coat only and cheap. It works great

Thank you all for your comments. I finally found some time to complete this test. I got some Tamiya tape which seems to be identical to frog tape but as Kurt said Tamiya tape is thinner so much better for modelling purposes. I used the plywood sheet from the previous trials to see how the tapes behave on painted surface. I also prepared a new plywood sheet that was primed and sanded to 400 grit. I did not include the ordinary masking tape as it has already proved terrible. I used this time Humbrol enamel applied with brush Painted surface first The Tamiya tape left an excellent line (upper edge of white) but the electrician's tape bled (lower edge of white) Next the painted surface where I also used the frog tape. Same results really, Both Tamiya tapes were good with the wide frog tape showing some bleeding where it was not tucked down firmly And the electric tape bled Of note, the consistency of colour is much better when applied on primed vs just sealed wood Bottom line: Never use ordinary masking tape or insulating tape, Tamiya tape is the way forward, try and prime your surfaces. Masking film might be another good option. Regards Vaddoc

This is amazing work Thanasi. I feel the green monster of envy poking my side. Some more detailed photos would certainly help us poor amateurs, however you do it it certainly works

Thank you all for your suggestions. It seems that Tamiya tape is the most popular choice. The purpose of this exercise is to see the effectiveness of low tech widely available (and cheap) solutions. Grsjax, this should really work well, I however have never used or seen clear paint. It seems that extra care should be taken with the frog tape, it should be kept in the plastic case it comes with to make sure the edge does not get dirty and worn. I will try cutting patterns to see if the sealing properties are maintained. Tamiya and frog tape look identical, could they be the same product? More testing to follow when time permits

I can see that having a fixed boom would make sailing simpler. Was there a centerboard or keel weight? It looks there is enough sail area to cause problems

Beautiful boat Thanasis. Any thoughts as to why this kind of rigging evolved? It does not look much simpler than a standard boom although probably it allows more space on the deck when not sailing.

Dear friends following a disastrous attempt at painting the waterline I decided to take a step back and do a bit of testing. My main problem was bleeding of the paint under the masking tape. It seems that the consensus is that Tamiya masking tape works and it was also suggested to me to use masking film which seems a great but expensive option. However I first thought of testing tapes that are cheap and widely available, a general purpose masking tape by 3M, insulating (electician's) tape and frog tape (low tack). I intend to test these tapes on common modelling substrates, that is sealed and sanded wood, primed wood and cured paint. I will also use red auto paint (Halfords) and modelling acrylic white paint (Humbrol), both spray cans. It might be useful to post a few photos with the results. I prepared three pieces of plywood, (sanded to 400 grit, then acrylic sanding sealer, followed by sanding to 400 grit) First test is the sealed wood surface. I applied the three tapes, white is insulating, blue is masking and yellow frog. I painted one half with the red auto paint and the other with the white acrylic (2 coats each). The red paint was applied first and the two halves were separated with the 3M blue masking tape well tucked down. Although unintentional it is evident that a lot of white paint has bled and the line is not sharp. In the next photo the blue masking tape was top and the frog tape bottom. The masking tape bled a lot with both paints but the frog tape was almost flawless. In the next photo the insulating tape is top and the masking tape bottom. The insulating tape was better but still there was some bleed with both paints. Also, the tape left glue residue on the wood. On sealed wood the yellow low tuck frog tape is the clear winner and the only real option, allowing crisp lines for a cost of £6 for 41 m (24mm). The dead cheap insulating tape if extra care is used may have reasonable results but is far from perfect. The ordinary masking tape simply should not be used for masking purposes. Of note, the Humbrol paint left a raised edge when the tapes were removed but not the Halfords one. Next comes the same on primed and painted surfaces.

I somehow always smile when I see your photos Patrick, your models have this feelgood aura that is difficult to put into words. Vaddoc