vaddoc

Me again. Thanks for likes and comments! Always appreciated.
As can be seen in the photos below progress is being made. My goal is one frame per day. As of now, #30 is glued in place (yes, after the picture was taken) which means I'm not exactly up to target. After frame zero, actually no 22, I'm on the home stretch regarding framing. The hull shape is starting to show now.
Apart from that, not much else to report at the moment. Feeling quite well and been out MTB-ing a couple of times in the last week. Feels good!


 
 

I thought that it's time to treat the audience with a small update.
The "quick recovery" is unfortunately not what my body was in for. However, on the upside I've skipped the painkillers and I'm back to work tomorrow at 50%. Downside, I still need IV Mon through Fri, but I think that is about to change soon. My bowel is slowly going back to normal speed. Right now I'm only 10-15% above target. It has been 70-90% previously. And I still get (very) tired after any kind of exercise. 
 
Anyway, that about my health. 
Now about the build. 
Frames are coming along at a slow and steady pace. No 9 is in place. No 10 is what you see resting on the board. Before it got too crowded I took care of the keelson (laying beside the keel structure).
With No 10 in place I'm 1/3 done with building the frames. Parts for No 12 to 32 are already sawn and waiting for their turn. 
If you wonder, the ruler is set at deck level. I chose that as reference instead of any other line. Timber tops will need trimming and the waterline is secondary to the build I thought.
It can't be seen in this photo, but the timbertops are waywing a bit in and out. That will be remedied when the horizontal help beam is removed and sanding commence. 
Also, the templates are mounted to the frames with double adhesive tape. No too tricky to remove after sanding has taken place.

Finally, a Big thank you for likes, comments and well wishes!
 

No John, it's not! 😄
I have managed to build and mount three frames. It's a finicky business to say the least.
On another note, the surgery is done and I'm currently in the hospital. Will be released this weekend as it looks right now. Belly looks like a Swiss cheese with all the patches...
Restrictions are no lifting. No cycling. Nothing heavy for at least 4-6 weeks. Modelboat building should be okay though. 😉
Spirits are, if not high, on a modest level anyway.

Yes, sorry about that mess. Probably should sort it through also. 😋
 
On another note for those who are interested, not shipbuilding, I'm done with the chemo since last Wednesday. Follow up x-rays revealed that the tumor had significantly diminished in size. Next up will be a preop meeting with the surgery dept in 1,5 weeks. 
Still suffering from side effects though, and I'm still very tired. 
But the sun is shining!

Thought I better post this update since the fatigue-thing is unpredictable...
A bigger bench was called for. Here you have it. Also added a scale yard worker (hm... hands deep in pockets, not much work going on there I can tell) and a one meter rule for reference. John, just a tad bigger than your usual scale of 1:96 😄
 
Next I will focus on the stem. Define the bearding and rabbet lines in the wood and taper the forward piece. After that I can attach the keel to the stem and focus on the stern structure for a while before it also gets attached to the keel.
 

 

Indeed John. But then I've already prepared for that. Go back to the end of my other build log and you'll see 😉 
 
LOA 870 mm, and length between perpendiculars 750 mm. Yes @KeithAug, a lot of manageable detailing to come.

Best to try finishes and paints on scrap wood, not the model! You may have trouble gluing anything to varnished surface.
I personally would probably sand the wood to 400 grit and leave it.

I did not like rattle cans Mark, too expensive, easy to put too heavy coats, needs a lot of masking and makes a mess. Acrylics dry incredibly fast (so they do not trap dust) but their coverage is very poor compared to enamels. I need 12 coats vs 2 for enamels. I always tell myself I ll use enamels and always end up with acrylics. The depth of colour is much greater with enamels. Use the brands' thinners, do not make your own. Valejo hand brush range is fantastic.

Hand brushing is a good alternative, quite satisfying as well!
I have only basic painting skills and do not want to use an airbrush. I have had excellent results with hand brushing using Valejo colours following these rules:
1. Use very good brushes, with appropriate width for the job
2. Thin the paint (should be runny but not like water), avoid heavy coats.
3. For Valejo, use the hand brushing thinner, different and better than the air brush thinner. It congeals if left so must have resin in it (this is what valejo claims so not easily reproduced at home). Get the 60 ml bottle, it is not expensive.
4. Use a bit of retarder.
5. Start from dry and end on wet. Take your time, you can go over the area 2-3 times. Avoid puddles at the edges.
6. Trust the paint! Do not go over again to "correct" or smooth out brush marks. They will disappear. You ll probably need a dozen or more coats either way.
7. Best to seal the wood, I use a water based wood sealer sanded to 400 grit
8. I use plastic pots with caps that seal pretty well and are cheap. The paint stays wet for months.
9. Use only frog tape or Tamiya tape or equivalent. The paint will bleed under ordinary masking tape or electricians tape.
10. Acrylic paint is not tough so needs to be protected with varnish or some topcoat
 
Hopefully these will be of help to some. May not work for all but I was able to paint my 80 cm hull with almost no brush marks.
 
Vaddoc

Now this is very interesting. @Waldemar very elegant way of developing the plank overlap and frame notches.
The biggest problem is indeed finding the run of the planks. I fiddled with it recently but could not make it work. Of course, CAD programs can unroll a curved surface so the shape of all spilled planks can be created. @tabycz your planks look fantastic. How do you draft the run of the planks on CAD?
 

Now this is very interesting. @Waldemar very elegant way of developing the plank overlap and frame notches.
The biggest problem is indeed finding the run of the planks. I fiddled with it recently but could not make it work. Of course, CAD programs can unroll a curved surface so the shape of all spilled planks can be created. @tabycz your planks look fantastic. How do you draft the run of the planks on CAD?
 

Now this is very interesting. @Waldemar very elegant way of developing the plank overlap and frame notches.
The biggest problem is indeed finding the run of the planks. I fiddled with it recently but could not make it work. Of course, CAD programs can unroll a curved surface so the shape of all spilled planks can be created. @tabycz your planks look fantastic. How do you draft the run of the planks on CAD?
 

I think we're using quite similar methods, tailored to our respective CAD packages. As mentioned, I also corrected the two ends manually. I didn't find this too time-consuming in F360, I think it was mostly a case of projecting the guide rails onto a flat sketch, then correcting the two ends, plotting their positions on the end profiles, then remaking the guide rails to incorporate the ends.
 
This is what I did at the ends, compared to the centre profiles: I used exactly the same overlapping approach as for the centres, but without the clinker offset. I didn't shape the frames to the strakes, the strakes just sit on the frames. I don't know if this is how it is in real life? At this scale (1:100) you wouldnt be able to see the notching anyway.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

Tabycz, are you interested in talking geeky methodology? I know this can be very boring for some 🙂. I've just finished modelling a clinker built boat in F360 and had to jump through hoops to loft the planks, would be interesting to compare notes as I doubt my way was the best. Waldemar, that's the lifeboat you helped me with, couple of quick snaps below, whole moulding was perfect. I'm in the middle of painting them so the seats are not yet glued in but (IMO) these little boats look gorgeous once they're all painted up. I'll do a proper log entry when it's finished but I've posted photos of the gig and jolly boat on my cutty sark log.

Here's my method for clinker strakes. Actually, I have used its simpler variant, as my surfaces were much flatter and more or less vertical. It means that in step 4 I have made even dividing in vertical direction, and not along the frame profile. Consequently, in step 5 my cutting surfaces were horizontal, and not perpendicular to the surfaces to be cut.
 
step 1: two frame surfaces, inner and outer
step 2: frames created, outer surface left for the next steps
step 3: outer surface offset by roughly the plank thickness
step 4: dividing plan for both surfaces (must follow the run of the strakes set beforehand)
step 5: creating cutting surfaces
step 6: both surfaces split
step 7: lofting the inner surfaces of the strakes
step 8: inner surfaces of the strakes offset as solids
step 9: (Boolean) cutting edges of the strakes (optionally)
step 10: (Boolean) cutting of the frames
 
 

 
 

Wood data base suggests it would be the perfect substitute for boxwood so it must be great for modelling, suitable for pretty much all uses.
Lancewood | The Wood Database (Hardwood) (wood-database.com)
 

Thank you Keith. In pouring over all of the contemporary photos of these boats, I found that the outside decks were really quite busy, with plenty of tripping hazards. Especially the fore deck and fantail. I would venture to say that more than one sailor ended up in the water due to not paying attention to all of the ropes laying about. I've been on many museum ships and noticed that things were always stored away and tidy. Not having served in the Navy, I'm not sure if this is the way things were all the time on active ships, especially during wartime. Given the nature of the military, I would assume so. But, due to the limited number of photographs of the City Class Ironclads, they all seem to have a certain bit of clutter on the exposed decks so it's hard to tell if they kept the same standards at the time. 
 
 
I appreciate the kind words. I was hoping to make the build log as interesting as possible. The American Civil War is a dark time in American history, four years of brother against brother fighting. Growing up in south Louisiana (Baton Rouge) I was surrounded by plenty of reminders of this dark time. As a kid I was somewhat jaded to the fact that the South should have won and was resentful of the North for having done so. However, as I got older (and grew a brain) and studied more on the history of what transpired during that time, I realized that the Union was fighting to keep this country together. History has shown over time that countries that fight for separation from themselves, doesn't always work out like planned. Thankfully the US was able to stay together. No telling what things could have been like if the end result was different.
 
 
Thank you so much Johann. I still have a bit to go. I spent a few hours the other day creating a punch list of things that need to be finished. As it stands right now I have at least a couple of months worth of work to do. Lots of small details and touchup work. Also, with the weather finally starting to cool off here, more outside projects are taking priority which takes away from the build time. I am trying my hardest to get it done by December, but I'm not going to rush it. Either way, I will have small celebration on December 12 to commemorate the anniversary.
 
-Brian

Just caught up with your log Brian, what a fantastic model! But your log is by itself so very interesting. A moment in history that many of us across the pond were not aware of.

Wood data base suggests it would be the perfect substitute for boxwood so it must be great for modelling, suitable for pretty much all uses.
Lancewood | The Wood Database (Hardwood) (wood-database.com)
 

I am lucky enough to have Timberline a few miles away. They have lancewood, lime, English lime and Castello on the shelf plus plenty of others. 
I didn't have the opportunity to discuss their sources in detail but know from the past that they only deal in 'legit' wood. 
Back to lancewood, thanks Vaddoc, I find the wood database to be compulsive reading 👍. It mentioned good turning properties but in this hobby we all know there is always more to the story. 
Thanks 
Bruce 
 
 

Wood data base suggests it would be the perfect substitute for boxwood so it must be great for modelling, suitable for pretty much all uses.
Lancewood | The Wood Database (Hardwood) (wood-database.com)
 

Just caught up with your log Brian, what a fantastic model! But your log is by itself so very interesting. A moment in history that many of us across the pond were not aware of.

Just caught up with your log Brian, what a fantastic model! But your log is by itself so very interesting. A moment in history that many of us across the pond were not aware of.

Just caught up with your log Brian, what a fantastic model! But your log is by itself so very interesting. A moment in history that many of us across the pond were not aware of.

Just caught up with your log Brian, what a fantastic model! But your log is by itself so very interesting. A moment in history that many of us across the pond were not aware of.