olliechristo

Remember that paint is a coating and does not dry to a perfectly flat surface. It will actually show up flaws in the underlying surface. I know....scary thought.
Ships and boats that are wooden have a wonderful set of curves inherent in their design. It is a precious thing and not something to mess with, it can ruin an otherwise good model.  Ask the guys!  I screwed up a few by being in a rush.   Gently does it.
Please don't get mad at me, I'd love to see this come out good for you!
 
Tom

I am contemplating same thing Ron.. I'm thinking cut lengths would look nice and more realistic.. I think it would be best to do tapering and fitting of full plank before cutting into the lengths..  Ollie

Thanks guys, I was a bit dubious about doing 5 planks without tapering like the instructions say but i suppose it is done like this  because wales follow these planks.  Is this okay what i have done, John what do you mean exactly by "run of the planking"?
 
I want the cutout side of hull to planked as good as i possibly can but other side is being painted and coppered, so not so bothered, i think i should do the painted sides planking first..  Regards Ollie

Thanks guys, I was a bit dubious about doing 5 planks without tapering like the instructions say but i suppose it is done like this  because wales follow these planks.  Is this okay what i have done, John what do you mean exactly by "run of the planking"?
 
I want the cutout side of hull to planked as good as i possibly can but other side is being painted and coppered, so not so bothered, i think i should do the painted sides planking first..  Regards Ollie

Okay, 3 hours added to build..   I have done my first 5, 2nd layer planks.. Another milestone.. They are not to be tapered till the 6th plank and i have decide to go for full length planks for ease of assembly.. 
 
I am quite enjoying the second layer planking in the thin strips.. that was an easy stretch though.. 
 
Also tidying up below deck, added some false tree nails and butt joints, thought i may as well. 
 
Ollie
 
 

Jibstay, martingale stay, bobstay and bowsprit shrouds and lot more!
I hope you like!
I also have all the yards turned and painted, so I have that I no longer play any tool to the end of this project, and whether some touch up paint at the end of everything. For the octagonal section of the yards I used thicker sticks to get the octagonal smooth turning and then I have the rest of the yard. The effect has been decent, not perfect but still very apparent.
Best regards...
 
 
 

Different stages in the rigging... you can see the stays, the mouses, the ratlines, the different collars served and the crowsfeet of the tops...For the rigging I followed the Petterson.
I'm gonna to upload these pictures in high resolution so you can appreciate better the details. They look better in large!
Enjoy!
 
Best regards!

Rudder was a little tricky, since the kit has been updated to include rudder straps, Amati could do with updating their Instructions. 1mm is too big to go through the rudder straps so I had to do a little bit of chopping and gluing. I was going to let the straps stand out a bit but now they are slightly botched, they have been painted white.
 
The Lady Nelson lettering came out okay. I painted the whole lot black and sanded it with a fine grade paper, I then touched in the yellow Ochre. The Walnut strip round the edge had been laser cut badly and it fell apart on one side, I fashioned a fix from some off-cuts and it doesnt look too bad now.
 
As for the swivel gun posts all I can say is Grrrrrrrr!!! Ive split 3 trying to get a 1.5mm hole through them. I have graded up the drilling but they are so brittle. Probably need sme painting first or something?
 
Next update will be deck furnishing, I have done a little already and for once it is going okay!
 
Concerned by putting a nail through the channels too, I can see some damage on the horizon
 
 

Excuse the dark picture was a little bit dark on Sunday. I have started making up some of the furnishings, I loved making up the deck gratings. I washed them in some diluted PVA once I had put them together and it seemed to work well. The cutting to shape I found a little tricky (must Invest in some more tools). I would have liked to arc them slightly but I will save this for next time.
 
The companionway made up fairly easily, I think on a second model I would have Invested a little in some nicer handles and hinges but overall I am fairly pleased. Getting used to cutting, sanding and drilling, seem to be getting a little bit more confident.
 
Flicked ahead in the Instructions and had a little look at the Bowsprit. How on earth I am going to shape it without a lathe at the moment is beyond me and if I had a lathe I wouldnt know how to use it!
 
The Instructions also make no mention of rigging the cannons so I need to research the rigging and work out the size of thread I would need and the length. I want to get the Cannons and eyelets in before I start gluing down the furnishings.
 
Thanks for looking in

After much deliberation I have decided to try and do a build log for my Lady Nelson. It took a while to summon up the courage for fear of having my hard work torn apart but I decided that it may help others that are new to ship building like myself and also I may be able to get much needed advice in order to get through my first build.
 
So here we go (I may live to regret this)
 
Firstly a quick thank you to Ray and Pnevrin and a few others whose logs helped me to get started. Its a shame that some of these have now disappeared but good to see Ray re-posted his. I think the new site is fantastic by the way so its not all bad news.
 
Kit arrived just after Christmas 2012, I was astounded by the quality of the parts and also scared stiff by some of the smaller parts, the first steps in to the world of Ship Modelling is a daunting path indeed.
 
So I set about making up the Bulkheads and found they were a pretty good fit, only a little filing and packing to get them straight was needed. I did not add Rabbet / Bearding line as, although I understood the concept it did not make sense to me until I actually started planking. I will definately do this on my next build though as I can see what a huge difference it will make. I did file down the keel a little but being a nervous newbie I probably could have been a little more ruthless
 
 

Well, Another few hours spent...  I have added my cap rails and extensions.. I am a bit dissapointed my keel at bow seems to have fallen a bit short of where it should be.. Stern could be a bit higher above rails also.   I dont know how that happened, I made my scratch built ones the same as kit supplied.. I shouldn't have cut it until now perhaps, i would next time.. as done with keel at rudder post, a valuable lesson for all.. 
 
I may try to fix this or let it go.. Any thoughts?    Regards Ollie

Hi all. Okay another 3 hours, wasn't happy with gun ports linings and another bit on frames where they met transom. So i fixed them so i was happy...
 
You may notice i left my frames proud of bulwarks because i knew there was no way i was going to cut them as accurate as i need... So i made a sanding pad with fresh 80 grit quality wet and dry paper and worked them down nice and flat all over now..  ( pad will get used for lots more sanding yet:) 
 
I have cap rails bending and use the soak, bend, dry technique. The ones in bowl are getting a head start..  Steam didn't seem to be that advantageous to me..   The square objects are lead weights.
 
5 days straight of rain here and plenty more to come, so good ship building weather..   Regards Ollie

I'm afraid I agree w/ John watch your run on the second planking it an be ruined real fast!.....Looks are everything on the second planking!
 
Tom
 
Great job on the stem extension...can't even see it!

That was a nicely done fix, Ollie.
 
Watch the run of the planking - it'll get away from you if you're not careful.
 
John

Okay, 3 hours added to build..   I have done my first 5, 2nd layer planks.. Another milestone.. They are not to be tapered till the 6th plank and i have decide to go for full length planks for ease of assembly.. 
 
I am quite enjoying the second layer planking in the thin strips.. that was an easy stretch though.. 
 
Also tidying up below deck, added some false tree nails and butt joints, thought i may as well. 
 
Ollie
 
 

Okay, 3 hours added to build..   I have done my first 5, 2nd layer planks.. Another milestone.. They are not to be tapered till the 6th plank and i have decide to go for full length planks for ease of assembly.. 
 
I am quite enjoying the second layer planking in the thin strips.. that was an easy stretch though.. 
 
Also tidying up below deck, added some false tree nails and butt joints, thought i may as well. 
 
Ollie
 
 

Okay and some after shots.. and comparison

Well, Another few hours spent...  I have added my cap rails and extensions.. I am a bit dissapointed my keel at bow seems to have fallen a bit short of where it should be.. Stern could be a bit higher above rails also.   I dont know how that happened, I made my scratch built ones the same as kit supplied.. I shouldn't have cut it until now perhaps, i would next time.. as done with keel at rudder post, a valuable lesson for all.. 
 
I may try to fix this or let it go.. Any thoughts?    Regards Ollie

Hi all. Okay another 3 hours, wasn't happy with gun ports linings and another bit on frames where they met transom. So i fixed them so i was happy...
 
You may notice i left my frames proud of bulwarks because i knew there was no way i was going to cut them as accurate as i need... So i made a sanding pad with fresh 80 grit quality wet and dry paper and worked them down nice and flat all over now..  ( pad will get used for lots more sanding yet:) 
 
I have cap rails bending and use the soak, bend, dry technique. The ones in bowl are getting a head start..  Steam didn't seem to be that advantageous to me..   The square objects are lead weights.
 
5 days straight of rain here and plenty more to come, so good ship building weather..   Regards Ollie

Thanks so much Jeff and ZyXuz.  I appreciate it...  I only use basic tools and a keen eye.
 
I am well into scratch building the barrels for under floor.. It s been 3 hours at least over 2 evenings..
 
I cut strips at angles and made them all in one tube.. because the lengths are wedges, when i sand the curve at ends of barrel it gives the appearance of planks narrowing and in fact they do, just not as they really woud, but working at this size you cant build like you would a fulll size item, so one has to improvise a little.
 
I used "sika" super glue. it is good quality, then i filled tube with an expanding glue that helped hold the small bits together.. These are not going to be seen from alll angles so i thought better not get too carried away,, i tend to do that..
 
The bands i'm not 100% sure on yet, i made prototypes out of hammered soldering wire but think i need a thinner guage,, the effect is great.. and very nice to bend around two angles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well after work today i scratch built a stairway from some cypress of some discription it has a nice fine grain.. They are built at 75degrees and seem about right, number of treads are matched with that in the picture.. about 6.
 
Next i will be scratch building some barrels to go in hull and trim out interior before planking, regards Ollie

Hi All,
 
This is my first proper wooden boat build, I say proper because some time ago I began building the Bounty from those magazines that came every week (you may be familiar with them) and though she turned out reasonable enough (I'm about 80% complete, just the Rigging to finish) the instructions (there was no 'plan', just text with photos) left a lot to be desired and makes even the simplest task awkward.
Last Summer I came across MSW and having read and followed many build logs I decided to buy a proper kit, in fact I bought 3 over the past few months! Sherbourne, Convulsion & Ballahoo all at 1:64 and all Smallish Vessels (This is just a personal preference)
Anyhoo, I have decided to do Ballahoo first, and possibly stagger the others over the coming months.
(The first time I opened the box and was hit by that pleasant wood smell, reminded me of those old wooden pencil cases from school   Oh! and it was great to unfold 'actual' plans too!)
 
Right lets begin..
 
Whilst the Keel and Bulkheads were still in their 'Matrix' (or whatever the wooden surround is called) I oriented the Matrix to the appropriate instruction sheet (in the Booklet) and numbered each piece, as some of those bulkheads may end up in the wrong slots on the Plywood Keel (am sure it would be easy to spot, but why take the chance)
I then removed the Ply Keel and all the Bulkheads using a Jewellers Saw (tried using a craft knife but ended up having to apply pressure, which didn't sound like a great idea) All items once freed got a light sanding and were then 'Dry' Fitted (see Photos) So Far So Good..
 
I shall cut a Rabbet and Bearding Line etc (as per Jim Smits and his Ballahoo) though the Plans/Instructions do not call for them, it seems logical when you take the Ply Keel dimensions and 2 layers of Planks into consideration.
 
Should anyone wish to offer advice, please feel free to do so.. it all helps and I would be very grateful.
 
Take Care
 
Eamonn
 

I see there is a pinned posting from David Antscherl at the top of this forum.  I'm not him, he's the expert. I have and love his books on building the Swan.  Therefore I post this with some trepidation.  
 
My thoughts on 2nd planking:  Spiling, or tapering, to fit a flat strip of wood on a surface that curves both front to back and top bottom is no small feat.  It defies the grain and natural tendency of the wood and is one of the more fascinating, though perhaps tedious, aspects of shipbuilding.  There are whole books written on this topic by modelers far more expert than me using precise methods that are far more exacting than what I do.  Nonetheless, I thought I’d share my process.  I did this for the lost log of the Pegasus and got some nice responses, so here it is again.  It's the result of the practice I've gained from completing 14 hull plankings (ok, 7 models twice planked:-)
 
First and foremost for the 2nd planking to look work you have to have had a good first planking, more than structure and shape it is the surface for the 2nd planking.  If it’s wrong you aren’t going to make up for it with the 2nd planking.  The first planking doesn’t need to look pretty, but it has to be shaped and sanded to be the hull you want the 2nd planking to become. 
 

 
The photo shows my pretty simple set of tools used for planking.
 
For a strip of planking to reach from the bow to the stern, the bow portion (and in some cases the stern) has to be splined or tapered.  In order to have the same number of strips at the wider waist as you have at the narrower bow.  The key is how to make the math work and how to achieve the double twist to accommodate both curves, deck to keel, bow to waist to stern.  I don’t do scarfing or lay battens, I’m too lazy for the first and don’t find a need for the second.
 
With most ships as with the Vanguard the planks closest to the deck will fit full width, the key is not to take too much advantage of this, you pay for it later by not being able to get the lower planks to work out right. I first set the planks for the main wale as full width (actually the base, the wale is achieved by doubling up on those planks after sanding the fully planked hull), below that I tapered, above it I went full width.  I chose to go up from the wale first and then down, but either way works.  I cut and overlap lengths above the wale to show the butt joints similar to the decking, but choose to go the full length of the ship below the wale, just my choice.
 
The second thing I do is the garboard, a full width plank along the keel.  I usually cheat a bit and put a second plank here, tapering the bow side only slightly.  The garboard is historically accurate, but in the case of modeling ensures you have a good base and a consistent point to measure from for tapering the planks below the wale
 

 
The color differences are due to variation in the planks provided with the kit, since I'm painting the hull it's just the one I picked up next.
 
Measure what?  I use a piece of paper and measure the distance from the bottom of the wale to the top of the garboard at the waist and divide by 5.  Since I’m using 5mm wide planks I then know me how many planks I’ll need to cover the ship.  So if the measurement is 100mm, then I need twenty 5mm planks to cover the waist.
 
I do that same measurement at the bow and divide that number by the number of planks above.  If the length was 60mm I know the plank width at the bow has to be 3 mm to get those same 20 planks to fit to the stem of the bow. 
 
Pretty simple.  All I have to do is use my Exacto knife with a really sharp blade (I change blades a lot) and cut the plank from 5 to 3 mm wide.  Here’s the trick though, where to start the cut to begin the taper.  I’m sure there are much more methodical and mathematical ways to do this, but I just let the plank tell me.  I cut the angle required at stem, bevel it, then matching the end of the plank to the bow, lay the plank along the length of the one above it.  It fits snug along the waist and for most of the length of the ship, where it crosses the plank above as it closes in on the bow stem is where I mark with a pencil to start the taper.  I mark a 3 mm width at the stem end, lay my heavy steel rule across the two marks I’ve now made, and cut the taper. 
 
If the taper start point is too close to the stem, it will be very hard to get the plank to lay flat, if it is two far from the stem a S-curve will begin to develop with the distance between the last laid plank not being proportionately equal at the waist and bow.  If this happens I can adjust by where I cut the next plank or if I see it happening soon enough, toss that plank and cut a new one.  As long as I carefully locate my marks it doesn’t happen, its just when I get rushed or bored.  I re-take the measurements every 5 planks or so to make sure I’m still on target, it doesn’t vary much but its worth checking to avoid very narrow stem plank widths as you reach the garboard.
 

 
Measuring in this way gives me a good looking bow, doesn’t require battens, is simple enough to do, and is made possible by using cyano, not PVA glue.  The cyano can be a bit messy, I may be a little over generous with its use, but this comes off easily with sanding and allows the process to move along more quickly.  I’d be more careful with the cyano to avoid staining if I was leaving the hull natural (as I did using cherry wood with the Pegasus) but since I’m painting, smooth is all that’s required.
 
This same process applies to the stern for some but generally not the majority of planks. Here is more important to let the plank follow its natural flow.  This will create triangular gaps that are filled with stealers.  Simply cut triangles cut to fit the length and width of those gaps unless you want to go all  out and scarp them in.  Again, I’m painting and scarping the hull, this would be wasted effort for me (unless you enjoy knowing and doing it then by all means).
 

 
I do all this knowing that no matter how careful I am, I have always had to fill in some area at the waist with partial and oddly cut planks that don’t reach stem to stern.  This fill is on the bottom and won’t be seen once its on the stand so I don’t worry about it, the perfectionist in me adjusts and accepts.
 
So that’s my two cents.  I’m sure as always there are better, more precise, and more expert ways to plank and several of those are included in this forum.  But this way works for me and the speed and pace I chose to work.  For what its worth I share it with you.

There are no rules laid down for the width or length of hull planks on British merchant ships - only the thickness and the spacing of the plank butts.  In practice, a plank width averaging about 8 inches would be OK - this would be about 4mm at your scale.  Remember that the planks on a ship are not parallel sided, but vary considerably with the shape of the hull.  The widest planks will normally be found at the stern and the narrowest at the bow.  With an average 4mm wide plank you should aim for no more than about 6mm for the widest planking and narrowing to no less than about 2mm.  The average plank length would be no more than 25 to 30 feet in real practice, which would equate to roughly 150 to 180 mm on you model.  When planking the 'shift of butts', you should try and plan for a minimum plank length of about 6 feet, or about 36mm on the model.
 
John

Okay and some after shots.. and comparison