Bob Cleek

I actually never understood the concept of a 'first' model, where one gets bored after a while and cuts corners. Either you toss this into the bin (with all the effort wasted) or it will be there as a constant reminder of not having done it right. When I built my first ship-model as an adult, which was semi-scratch), I had literally no source of advice, but went to the library and found books on how things were done in detail on real ships, I used this is guidance. And I tried to reproduce the bits and pieces as well as I could with the tools and materials that were available to me 40+ years ago. Today, one can get well-founded advice easily, access to tools and materials is to much easier now (though certain types of materials have disappeared from the market since), so that the need to 'cut corners' out of ignorance is greatly reduced. It's only one's lazyness and impatience to battle with ... and this is sad for those who genuinely want to help and provide the advice they wished they had in earlier times ...

I presume you are familiar with spiling plank for hull shapes. (See: 
 
Planking decks is done using the same principles as planking hulls, but, being as decks are more or less flat (discounting the deck shear and camber which at smaller model scales is usually so negligible as not to be a consideration,) it's actually easier. To plank a deck, however, there are several layouts. Primarily, the options are to 1) run the planks of equal width and parallel to the center line or 2) run the planks curved to the shape of the covering boards.  Then you have the options of 1) nibbing or hooking the plank ends at the covering boards (and king plank in one version)  to one another avoid pointed ends, which are to be avoided because of the difficulties they pose in caulking a tight seam. These options will be determined by the vessel you are building. Generally, curved planking dictated by the covering board curves is "fancier" and more labor intensive and would not generally be seen in larger vessels. You will have to research the planking method employed on the vessel you are modeling.  The plan you pictured is, on my screen at least, difficult to see in detail, but it appears that it is a "sprung" plank deck that generally follows the curve of the deck edge at the hull, but forward, where the curve is sharper, accommodates the plank ends by a notched covering board. In full-size practice, the deck planks would be straight and the entire plank bent (or in this case, "edge set") to the curve desired. In modeling scales, the deck planking can be "bent on the flat" with a plank bending iron or clothing steam iron, as in this video: 
 
Once the type of planking is determined, I find it easiest to draw a paper or card template of the deck (or each level of deck, as the case may be) and draw the covering boards, king planks and planks on the template and then trace the template to make patterns for the planks, etc. Generally, whether planking is laid straight or curved, the the planks are generally not tapered. In cases where tapering deck planks is done, they can be spiled in the same manner as hull planking and cut to shape. 
 
The use of a template also allows the deck framing to be drawn on the template so that the "schedule" of plank butts can be accurately represented on the model, making sure that butts fall on frames where there is some "meat" below to which they can be fastened. 
 
Particularly in smaller scales, some modelers find it convenient to use stiff card (or in larger scales even thin plywood) for the deck template and glue thin deck planks directly to the card (or plywood) template and then glue the entire "planked" section of deck to the model. It's a lot easier to work with thin "planks" and covering boards that can be cut to shape with a scissors or knife and glued to the deck template underlayment than to fiddle with scale thickness planks one at a time on the model.  Such "faux" deck planking may be gotten out by shaving long, thin, strips from the edge of a piece of suitable stock with a sharp, properly tuned hand plane. In this fashion, it's easy to produce long curled shavings of any length desired, limited only to the length of the stock you shave them from. These curled shavings can be placed in hot water for a few minutes and then, while still hot, uncurled and laid flat between a couple of flat surfaces (e.g. sheets of window glass) and they will cool and dry flat and uncurled, like veneer, suitable for cutting to shape as planking, covering boards, deck furniture trim, or what have you. The edges of the planks can be blackened with a pencil to simulate the seam stopping, if desired and the decking, once dry on the underlayment can be stained to the finish desired. For those who use "wipe on" finishes, it is far easier to obtain a good wiped-on finish on a flat, unobstructed deck built in this way before it's installed on the model.
 
But, as said, you have to ascertain how the planking was laid on the prototype, or may have been laid on the prototype if that is otherwise unknown, so you know what planking layout you will need to devise. It seems you have a plan which may have that information on it, so copying that deck plan will easily give you the template you need, particularly the covering board notching, and your deck frame spacing.

The only explanation would be artistic license taken in Geoff Hunt's cover art for Master and Commander, I suppose.  I never noticed it before, but there's definitely something fishy about that stern. He's omitted the overhang and curve of the gallery, which would accommodate the width for the windows, but even then, it's just wrong. Hunt appears to have painted the right vessel, a 14-gun sloop, and then added seven windows where there were never ever any windows at all, apparently in order to cover for O'Brian's confusing HMS Sophie with HMS Surprise. Sophie had no windows in her stern at all. It's Surprise and her prototype, the 24-gun HMS Porcupine class, that had seven.
 
O'Brian based his HMS Sophie on the 14-gun sloop, HMS Speedy. (Vanguard Models offers a well-respected kit model of HMS Speedy.) No kit bashing required, save painting the name "Sophie" on it.  Order 1:64 HMS Speedy – VANGUARD MODELS
 

 
(What may appear to be two windows on Speedy's stern are actually gun ports for deck cannon. She has no aft great cabin.)
 
If you want to build a model of HMS Surprise,  you should be building a model of a 24 gun Porcupine class Royal Navy frigate, which was, I believe, HMS Surprise's sister-ship.  I suggest you get a copy of The Anatomy of the Ship series, The 24-Gun Frigate Pandora. The 24-Gun Frigate Pandora (Anatomy of the Ship): McKay, John, Coleman, Ron: 9780851778945: Amazon.com: Books You'll find the complete plans in there for the actual vessel upon which O'Brian based his fictional HMS Surprise. Here's the stern of the actual vessel created for the movie, a conversion of the HMS Rose replica. I wouldn't trust Hollywood's accuracy, but you can see that a seven-window great cabin wouldn't ever fit on tiny little Sophie. 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
HMS Pandora went down on the Great Barrier Reef after rounding up some of the HMS Bounty mutineers. Her wreckage was discovered, 30% intact, in the late seventies and extensive archaeological excavations have been done on her. Consequently, she's very well documented. Here's a photo of the Constructo kit model of HMS Pandora, seven windows and all. HMS Pandora | Model Ship | STEPHENS & KENAU™ (stephensandkenau.com) 
 
 
 

To the extent possible, paint should not be allowed to run into the heel of the brush. This makes cleaning a nightmare and meticulous cleaning is imperative for fine finishing. If even the slightest amount of paint remains on the bristles, when the brush is next used, the flexing of the bristles will cause the dried paint to crack and flake off the bristles and contaminate the job. 
 
Natural bristle brushes are to be used with oil-based paints and varnishes and should be stored clean and oiled with mineral oil to hold their shape. They shouldn't  be used for water-based coatings nor washed in soapy water. Water softens natural bristles and soap removes the oil that natural bristles require to remain "healthy." (A "tired" natural bristle brush can sometimes be rejuvenated using hair conditioner.) Synthetic bristles are for water-based coatings. They don't absorb the water. They can also be used with oil-based coatings, but they won't hold as much paint in use. Natural bristles have the ability to carry more paint than synthetic bristles.
 
Detail brushes can be quite expensive. A squirrel or sable sign painting brush (called a "quill,") can easily set you back thirty bucks and there really aren't any substitutes for freehand lettering. Three excellent videos on conditioning brand new brushes and cleaning brushes for water based and oil based paints can be found here: Brush Care 101 | SIGN PAINTING SUPPLY CO. (bigcartel.com)  The use of quality brushes and oil paints were the way the modeling masters painted topsides and bootstripes in the days before airbrushes and masking tape. 
 
Fortunately, "dotters" and "spotters" and other very small brushes have become popular due to the ladies' fingernail painting fad these days. Consequently, there are a lot of inexpensive synthetic bristle "dotters" and "quills" for sale on eBay under "nail painting brushes." These you can abuse and throw out when their are shot. See: nail painting brushes | eBay
 

 

 
5pcs Nail Art Liners Striping Brushes Fine Line Drawing Detail Painting Blending 853506008793 | eBay

This may be an obvious observation, but you can use double your table saw's depth of cut by cutting one side, then turning it over and cutting the opposite side. The two cuts should overlap a bit and double the effective depth of cut. If that is still not enough, cutting a kerf on each side on the table saw and then cutting the remaining distance between the two table saw cuts by using the table saw cuts to guide the cut of your band saw will result in a very accurate cut particularly in paring off thin cuts from a billet.

This may be an obvious observation, but you can use double your table saw's depth of cut by cutting one side, then turning it over and cutting the opposite side. The two cuts should overlap a bit and double the effective depth of cut. If that is still not enough, cutting a kerf on each side on the table saw and then cutting the remaining distance between the two table saw cuts by using the table saw cuts to guide the cut of your band saw will result in a very accurate cut particularly in paring off thin cuts from a billet.

If we order custom blades one by one, I'm guessing that's going to be a pain in the butt for you and a pain in the wallet for us. If you are interested in production runs, you might consider connecting with Jim Byrnes of Byrnes Model Machines who makes the "industry standard" modeling table saw. Byrnes Model Machines Home Page If you can reproduce the old Thurstons, I bet he'd buy a bunch of them to equip his table saws, as before, and we'd all happily buy replacement blades from him. Bulk orders by Jim could reduce the production costs and "leave a little meat on the bone" for everybody.

If we order custom blades one by one, I'm guessing that's going to be a pain in the butt for you and a pain in the wallet for us. If you are interested in production runs, you might consider connecting with Jim Byrnes of Byrnes Model Machines who makes the "industry standard" modeling table saw. Byrnes Model Machines Home Page If you can reproduce the old Thurstons, I bet he'd buy a bunch of them to equip his table saws, as before, and we'd all happily buy replacement blades from him. Bulk orders by Jim could reduce the production costs and "leave a little meat on the bone" for everybody.

If we order custom blades one by one, I'm guessing that's going to be a pain in the butt for you and a pain in the wallet for us. If you are interested in production runs, you might consider connecting with Jim Byrnes of Byrnes Model Machines who makes the "industry standard" modeling table saw. Byrnes Model Machines Home Page If you can reproduce the old Thurstons, I bet he'd buy a bunch of them to equip his table saws, as before, and we'd all happily buy replacement blades from him. Bulk orders by Jim could reduce the production costs and "leave a little meat on the bone" for everybody.

I expect taping would work to stiffen some small brushes, but, all things considered, using a very small, short bristle brush (a "pointer" or "dotter") would be preferable. 
 
Some pros do wrap the bristles closest to the ferrule with masking tape for the purpose described and it works quite well. It improves the performance of regular brushes when the brush isn't as stiff as the painter would like. The proper technique for varnishing is different than that for finish painting. Varnish is applied more thickly in order to build the depth of the coats and so is said to be "flowed on" rather than brushed repeatedly to spread a thin coat evenly. The less you brush it, the thicker the coat will be and the less likely for bubbles to occur in the varnish coat. A stiffer brush which can carry more varnish makes this easier to accomplish.
 
Actually, there are specialized brushes made for varnishing and lacquering. They are high quality brushes with shorter bristles and are hand made with badger hair. Originally, they were made with bristles set in vulcanized rubber in a special ferrule which minimized getting the coating in the heel. (In fact, most untrained painters dip their brushes too deeply into the coating which is a major contributor to it working into the heel.) The old fashioned hand-made real badger hair brushes were quite expensive. Grumbacher made the best of them, but no longer makes genuine badger hair brushes. A Grumbacher size 4 artist's pure badger bristle brush used to sell for around fifty bucks and last I heard thirty years or so ago, a three inch badger varnish brush was pushing $100. 
 
There are now synthetic "badger" and blended real badger/synthetic badger varnish brushes with the bristles set in epoxy, which does not require the fancy ferrule of the old style, but I've yet to use one. They still cost quite a bit. The three inch synthetic badger varnish brush, pictured below, retails for close to seventy bucks.  The one inch one runs around $40. Obviously, wrapping tape around the heel of a decent standard brush is a good compromise, but I must say there is nothing sweeter than varnishing with a real badger varnish brush. 
 

Paint Brush Highlights: Badger Flowing (dynastybrush.com)
 

To the extent possible, paint should not be allowed to run into the heel of the brush. This makes cleaning a nightmare and meticulous cleaning is imperative for fine finishing. If even the slightest amount of paint remains on the bristles, when the brush is next used, the flexing of the bristles will cause the dried paint to crack and flake off the bristles and contaminate the job. 
 
Natural bristle brushes are to be used with oil-based paints and varnishes and should be stored clean and oiled with mineral oil to hold their shape. They shouldn't  be used for water-based coatings nor washed in soapy water. Water softens natural bristles and soap removes the oil that natural bristles require to remain "healthy." (A "tired" natural bristle brush can sometimes be rejuvenated using hair conditioner.) Synthetic bristles are for water-based coatings. They don't absorb the water. They can also be used with oil-based coatings, but they won't hold as much paint in use. Natural bristles have the ability to carry more paint than synthetic bristles.
 
Detail brushes can be quite expensive. A squirrel or sable sign painting brush (called a "quill,") can easily set you back thirty bucks and there really aren't any substitutes for freehand lettering. Three excellent videos on conditioning brand new brushes and cleaning brushes for water based and oil based paints can be found here: Brush Care 101 | SIGN PAINTING SUPPLY CO. (bigcartel.com)  The use of quality brushes and oil paints were the way the modeling masters painted topsides and bootstripes in the days before airbrushes and masking tape. 
 
Fortunately, "dotters" and "spotters" and other very small brushes have become popular due to the ladies' fingernail painting fad these days. Consequently, there are a lot of inexpensive synthetic bristle "dotters" and "quills" for sale on eBay under "nail painting brushes." These you can abuse and throw out when their are shot. See: nail painting brushes | eBay
 

 

 
5pcs Nail Art Liners Striping Brushes Fine Line Drawing Detail Painting Blending 853506008793 | eBay

I expect taping would work to stiffen some small brushes, but, all things considered, using a very small, short bristle brush (a "pointer" or "dotter") would be preferable. 
 
Some pros do wrap the bristles closest to the ferrule with masking tape for the purpose described and it works quite well. It improves the performance of regular brushes when the brush isn't as stiff as the painter would like. The proper technique for varnishing is different than that for finish painting. Varnish is applied more thickly in order to build the depth of the coats and so is said to be "flowed on" rather than brushed repeatedly to spread a thin coat evenly. The less you brush it, the thicker the coat will be and the less likely for bubbles to occur in the varnish coat. A stiffer brush which can carry more varnish makes this easier to accomplish.
 
Actually, there are specialized brushes made for varnishing and lacquering. They are high quality brushes with shorter bristles and are hand made with badger hair. Originally, they were made with bristles set in vulcanized rubber in a special ferrule which minimized getting the coating in the heel. (In fact, most untrained painters dip their brushes too deeply into the coating which is a major contributor to it working into the heel.) The old fashioned hand-made real badger hair brushes were quite expensive. Grumbacher made the best of them, but no longer makes genuine badger hair brushes. A Grumbacher size 4 artist's pure badger bristle brush used to sell for around fifty bucks and last I heard thirty years or so ago, a three inch badger varnish brush was pushing $100. 
 
There are now synthetic "badger" and blended real badger/synthetic badger varnish brushes with the bristles set in epoxy, which does not require the fancy ferrule of the old style, but I've yet to use one. They still cost quite a bit. The three inch synthetic badger varnish brush, pictured below, retails for close to seventy bucks.  The one inch one runs around $40. Obviously, wrapping tape around the heel of a decent standard brush is a good compromise, but I must say there is nothing sweeter than varnishing with a real badger varnish brush. 
 

Paint Brush Highlights: Badger Flowing (dynastybrush.com)
 

I expect taping would work to stiffen some small brushes, but, all things considered, using a very small, short bristle brush (a "pointer" or "dotter") would be preferable. 
 
Some pros do wrap the bristles closest to the ferrule with masking tape for the purpose described and it works quite well. It improves the performance of regular brushes when the brush isn't as stiff as the painter would like. The proper technique for varnishing is different than that for finish painting. Varnish is applied more thickly in order to build the depth of the coats and so is said to be "flowed on" rather than brushed repeatedly to spread a thin coat evenly. The less you brush it, the thicker the coat will be and the less likely for bubbles to occur in the varnish coat. A stiffer brush which can carry more varnish makes this easier to accomplish.
 
Actually, there are specialized brushes made for varnishing and lacquering. They are high quality brushes with shorter bristles and are hand made with badger hair. Originally, they were made with bristles set in vulcanized rubber in a special ferrule which minimized getting the coating in the heel. (In fact, most untrained painters dip their brushes too deeply into the coating which is a major contributor to it working into the heel.) The old fashioned hand-made real badger hair brushes were quite expensive. Grumbacher made the best of them, but no longer makes genuine badger hair brushes. A Grumbacher size 4 artist's pure badger bristle brush used to sell for around fifty bucks and last I heard thirty years or so ago, a three inch badger varnish brush was pushing $100. 
 
There are now synthetic "badger" and blended real badger/synthetic badger varnish brushes with the bristles set in epoxy, which does not require the fancy ferrule of the old style, but I've yet to use one. They still cost quite a bit. The three inch synthetic badger varnish brush, pictured below, retails for close to seventy bucks.  The one inch one runs around $40. Obviously, wrapping tape around the heel of a decent standard brush is a good compromise, but I must say there is nothing sweeter than varnishing with a real badger varnish brush. 
 

Paint Brush Highlights: Badger Flowing (dynastybrush.com)
 

To the extent possible, paint should not be allowed to run into the heel of the brush. This makes cleaning a nightmare and meticulous cleaning is imperative for fine finishing. If even the slightest amount of paint remains on the bristles, when the brush is next used, the flexing of the bristles will cause the dried paint to crack and flake off the bristles and contaminate the job. 
 
Natural bristle brushes are to be used with oil-based paints and varnishes and should be stored clean and oiled with mineral oil to hold their shape. They shouldn't  be used for water-based coatings nor washed in soapy water. Water softens natural bristles and soap removes the oil that natural bristles require to remain "healthy." (A "tired" natural bristle brush can sometimes be rejuvenated using hair conditioner.) Synthetic bristles are for water-based coatings. They don't absorb the water. They can also be used with oil-based coatings, but they won't hold as much paint in use. Natural bristles have the ability to carry more paint than synthetic bristles.
 
Detail brushes can be quite expensive. A squirrel or sable sign painting brush (called a "quill,") can easily set you back thirty bucks and there really aren't any substitutes for freehand lettering. Three excellent videos on conditioning brand new brushes and cleaning brushes for water based and oil based paints can be found here: Brush Care 101 | SIGN PAINTING SUPPLY CO. (bigcartel.com)  The use of quality brushes and oil paints were the way the modeling masters painted topsides and bootstripes in the days before airbrushes and masking tape. 
 
Fortunately, "dotters" and "spotters" and other very small brushes have become popular due to the ladies' fingernail painting fad these days. Consequently, there are a lot of inexpensive synthetic bristle "dotters" and "quills" for sale on eBay under "nail painting brushes." These you can abuse and throw out when their are shot. See: nail painting brushes | eBay
 

 

 
5pcs Nail Art Liners Striping Brushes Fine Line Drawing Detail Painting Blending 853506008793 | eBay

That will do it, for off-model rigging jobs, at least. A similar effect can be achieved by simply blowing for a couple of seconds on a knot dampened with shellac. The alcohol evaporates very quickly. The same is true if one thins their white carpenter's glue with denatured alcohol. It's the water content in the thinned glue that slows the curing time way down.

I expect taping would work to stiffen some small brushes, but, all things considered, using a very small, short bristle brush (a "pointer" or "dotter") would be preferable. 
 
Some pros do wrap the bristles closest to the ferrule with masking tape for the purpose described and it works quite well. It improves the performance of regular brushes when the brush isn't as stiff as the painter would like. The proper technique for varnishing is different than that for finish painting. Varnish is applied more thickly in order to build the depth of the coats and so is said to be "flowed on" rather than brushed repeatedly to spread a thin coat evenly. The less you brush it, the thicker the coat will be and the less likely for bubbles to occur in the varnish coat. A stiffer brush which can carry more varnish makes this easier to accomplish.
 
Actually, there are specialized brushes made for varnishing and lacquering. They are high quality brushes with shorter bristles and are hand made with badger hair. Originally, they were made with bristles set in vulcanized rubber in a special ferrule which minimized getting the coating in the heel. (In fact, most untrained painters dip their brushes too deeply into the coating which is a major contributor to it working into the heel.) The old fashioned hand-made real badger hair brushes were quite expensive. Grumbacher made the best of them, but no longer makes genuine badger hair brushes. A Grumbacher size 4 artist's pure badger bristle brush used to sell for around fifty bucks and last I heard thirty years or so ago, a three inch badger varnish brush was pushing $100. 
 
There are now synthetic "badger" and blended real badger/synthetic badger varnish brushes with the bristles set in epoxy, which does not require the fancy ferrule of the old style, but I've yet to use one. They still cost quite a bit. The three inch synthetic badger varnish brush, pictured below, retails for close to seventy bucks.  The one inch one runs around $40. Obviously, wrapping tape around the heel of a decent standard brush is a good compromise, but I must say there is nothing sweeter than varnishing with a real badger varnish brush. 
 

Paint Brush Highlights: Badger Flowing (dynastybrush.com)
 

I expect taping would work to stiffen some small brushes, but, all things considered, using a very small, short bristle brush (a "pointer" or "dotter") would be preferable. 
 
Some pros do wrap the bristles closest to the ferrule with masking tape for the purpose described and it works quite well. It improves the performance of regular brushes when the brush isn't as stiff as the painter would like. The proper technique for varnishing is different than that for finish painting. Varnish is applied more thickly in order to build the depth of the coats and so is said to be "flowed on" rather than brushed repeatedly to spread a thin coat evenly. The less you brush it, the thicker the coat will be and the less likely for bubbles to occur in the varnish coat. A stiffer brush which can carry more varnish makes this easier to accomplish.
 
Actually, there are specialized brushes made for varnishing and lacquering. They are high quality brushes with shorter bristles and are hand made with badger hair. Originally, they were made with bristles set in vulcanized rubber in a special ferrule which minimized getting the coating in the heel. (In fact, most untrained painters dip their brushes too deeply into the coating which is a major contributor to it working into the heel.) The old fashioned hand-made real badger hair brushes were quite expensive. Grumbacher made the best of them, but no longer makes genuine badger hair brushes. A Grumbacher size 4 artist's pure badger bristle brush used to sell for around fifty bucks and last I heard thirty years or so ago, a three inch badger varnish brush was pushing $100. 
 
There are now synthetic "badger" and blended real badger/synthetic badger varnish brushes with the bristles set in epoxy, which does not require the fancy ferrule of the old style, but I've yet to use one. They still cost quite a bit. The three inch synthetic badger varnish brush, pictured below, retails for close to seventy bucks.  The one inch one runs around $40. Obviously, wrapping tape around the heel of a decent standard brush is a good compromise, but I must say there is nothing sweeter than varnishing with a real badger varnish brush. 
 

Paint Brush Highlights: Badger Flowing (dynastybrush.com)
 

I have been using spotters for some years now. Interesting to know, that they also come in angled form - could be useful for touching up on the model.
 
I also use this kind of paint-brush soap, but don't dip the brush into, but rather take some on my index finger and gently move the brush on the finger - you don't want to stub the delicate brush down onto a firm surface in order not to break the hairs.

Painting my models is always one of the aspects I enjoy the most, but I have always been plagued by two persistent problems -
 
The first is I can never seem to find the right brush for very small detail work and the second is I can never seem to maintain a brush for any length of time. I believe I have found solutions to both problems. This will no doubt be old news to many of you, especially if you're also artists or painters, but it's a revelation to me.
 
First problem - finding a suitable small brush for detail work.
It seems that when I buy even the very smallest brushes, I still can't control them easily and often they still deliver too much paint. A little research online suggested that I have been using the wrong brush. Most of these small brushes that are readily available are called "round", but what I learned is that there is another brush called a "spotter." These are also round, but they have much shorter bristles. That makes them stiffer and as a result, it increases the control considerably. I discovered that not every art supply source sells them, and surprisingly, some had not even heard of them, but I did find some and I bought four sizes (l to r - 20/0, 5/0, 3/0, 0 - very small to small.)

 

 
They come in both straight and angled. I decided to try both and have been experimenting with them. So far, I prefer the straight, but I know the angled ones are going to come in handy in actual practice. (I've painted many hot water rads over the years and know how helpful an angled rad brush can be.)
 
Second problem - cleaning and maintaining brushes.
I have always found it hard to maintain my brushes. It seems no matter how careful I am, (which admittedly, is not always all that careful) they still end up looking like this in very short order.

 
That brush started out as a beautiful fine round tip and now it's virtually useless.
 
I discovered a product called Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver and I think it's going to be a game changer.
 

 
You clean most of the paint out of the brush in water (or solvent for oil)  and then rub it into the Masters. You can rinse and repeat as necessary. When the brush is thoroughly clean, you can leave some of the "soap" on the brush which will help to maintain its shape.
 

 
Here is the same brush again.
 

 
The hint of red that was still at the base of the brush is now gone, and it is somewhat restored to its original shape. In truth I fear this particular brush may be too far gone to be restored completely, but leaving the coat of soap on it will cause it to retain its shape and  is sure to make it still usable.
 
If I care for my brushes this way right from the start I don't think I will have many problems with them again.
 

 
For example, I have been practicing with these new brush extensively using both black and red paint and there is no trace of either near the ferule. (That's not black paint you see closer to the tip, it's just variations in the colour of the bristles) and the shape is as good as when I started.  The seller calls the bristles on these brushes "synthetic sable."
 
There are dozens of videos on Youtube demonstrating the use of Masters, which I found to be helpful.
 
As I say, this all might be old news to many of you, but it's new to me and I believe it's going to be so helpful, that I thought I would share it.
 
David
 
 
 
 

Steve,
I think that one answer is that it is up to you. 
If you are using a large bandsaw to do this resaw operation
If it is planking stock that you are producing
The easy way it to slice the plank width as the slice thickness - with extra for thickness sander removal
Then the plank thickness is what your Byrnes table saw slices off.
If the grain that will show is not what you want on display:
 
That a much thicker slice for the first cut from the board - one that is as thick as you are comfortable feeding into your bandsaw.
If you are stuck with using a 10" table saw - this slice is whatever the maximum depth of cut for you saw blade  ~ 1-2" usually
Rotate thisk stock 90 degrees.
Then slice the pre sander widths.   The Byrnes saw product will be the plane cut face  There could be no grain or grain arcs depending on your luck.
 
I hope that your Sycamore is the English species using that name - Acer pseudoplatanus 
If it is the American species using that name -  Platanus occidentalis   You really do not want it showing.  It is a bit brittle, it stinks,  another name for it is Lacewood - the grain is really busy.
The Acer is almost as hard as Hard Maple -  with Hard Maple - edge slices can show a variety of grain patterns - fire - fiddleback - all of the patterns that other sorts of woodworkers pay a lot extra for and that we do not want.   It is up to chance and depends on the way the tree rings are oriented to the plane of the blade.
For frame timber in the lower hull where there is a curve- there is no hope for invisible grain figures -  I just let Mother Nature win that one.
 
Your Pear looks like a challenge.
If you have an edger - getting a straight edge - will cost you a lot of wood
If you do not have an edger - you really want a bandsaw
a ~1/2" carrier board  to rife against the fence and be on the saw table.   Fix the Pear plank to the carrier - drywall screws if you gotta -  with enough beyond the outer edge of the carrier that the blade will get you your complete straight edge.
The outer cutoff and be against the fence too - slices from it will just be ever shorter and the end grain will be really angled  - but it will not be edger chips either.
 
The carrier board on a bandsaw is also way way to mill logs and branches.   Steel framing braces and long screws to keep it fixed to the carrier.

You should have no problem finding an electrostatic ("Xerox") laser printer at your local copy shop. These operate by creating a "picture" with static electricity and then blowing black powder across the surface, which the static electricity makes stick to the paper. The black powder is a sort of ground vinyl powder which, when heated, melts and bonds to the paper. 
 
If one makes a laser print, particularly one with the "darkness scale" adjustment turned up high, This piece of paper can be laid print-face-down on a surface, such as a sheet of wood, and ironed with a clothes iron. This will transfer the printed image to the adjacent material when the heated iron causes the black printer powder to re-melt. This, of course, produces a mirror image, so that has to be taken into consideration and a "mirror flip" done on the printer in one fashion or another if the mirror image is a problem.
 
As for veneer, I would be very hesitant to use it on a model for most purposes. Grain orientation is a problem with most all veneer because it isn't sawn off the tree, but rather it is peeled off the tree with a sharp knife as the tree is rotated in a lathe. The stability of the sheet is in great measure dependent upon the adhesive holding the veneer to the substrate. 
 
As for thickness, shaving off the edge of a plank or billet with a plane can yield a nearly transparently thin shaving for use as scale planking stock. I'd consider 0.48mm quite thick for 1:96 scale if one were using any sort of underlayment. At that scale, it's often a matter of faking the appearance artistically rather than duplicating full scale construction practices. I'd give great weight to Eberhard's advice above. He's one of the masters at what I call "artistic modeling" when the skills of an artist are brought to bear on the skills of an engineer to create a compelling impression of reality in miniature.

It's not an "either/or," but rather a "both/and" kind of thing. These volumes are simply collections of reprints of the "Shop Notes" section of the NRG Journal over two spans of time. (They should be due for another volume one of these days soon.) The subject matter is not highly organized in terms of distinguishing between highly sophisticated techniques and those which "will help the newbie most." (All will eventually be helpful to a newbie, but some will appeal primarily to the more experienced builder.) These books are goldmines of useful how-to-do it information, but step-by-step tutorials for newbies they are not.
 
Each volume can be purchased for $35 from the NRG Store online. Nautical Research Guild (thenrgstore.org) Used copies in good shape cost perhaps half that on average, but, by the time you cover shipping, you might as well spring for a brand new copy in good shape. If buying Volume I used, try to get a later printing which is spiral bound. It's helpful if the book will lay flat with the covers turned all the way back, reducing the space the book will take on your bench and making for easy copying of pages if that is desired. My Volume 1, purchased many years ago, was the glued paperback binding and it sheds pages, a problem I've solved with a couple of binder clips.  If cost is a limitation, used copies of both volumes are readily available on eBay and Amazon used books. See: Ship Modeler s Shop Notes 9780960345618 | eBay and Ship Modeler's Shop Notes: Edson, Merritt, Lankford, Ben, Mueller, Edward, Rubin, Norman: 9780960345618: Amazon.com: Books
 
To answer your question directly, if you can only afford one, I'd suggest Volume II, since it is the more recent selection of Shop Notes articles. Some of the material in Volume I, while still useful, can be somewhat dated. The level of sophistication in ship modeling has increased markedly in the last couple of decades. You can then buy Volume I later, as both remain in print. 
 
If you pursue the hobby for any length of time, you will quickly discover (and apparently already have) that an adequate research library is an essential tool for the ship modeler. Beware: IMHO, most of the newbie "how to do it" books advertised as such are not worth what they ask for them. Use the forum search engine to find threads on which books to buy for a decent reference library and start by buying the classics in your area of interest which you will find identified there. It's a good idea to develop the habit of making a "budget" for building your reference library and stick to it. By committing to $25 (or more) a month, which in today's money is no more than the old "three martini lunch" plus tip, and scouring for used books on line, you will be able to painlessly buy a book a month or so.

You should have no problem finding an electrostatic ("Xerox") laser printer at your local copy shop. These operate by creating a "picture" with static electricity and then blowing black powder across the surface, which the static electricity makes stick to the paper. The black powder is a sort of ground vinyl powder which, when heated, melts and bonds to the paper. 
 
If one makes a laser print, particularly one with the "darkness scale" adjustment turned up high, This piece of paper can be laid print-face-down on a surface, such as a sheet of wood, and ironed with a clothes iron. This will transfer the printed image to the adjacent material when the heated iron causes the black printer powder to re-melt. This, of course, produces a mirror image, so that has to be taken into consideration and a "mirror flip" done on the printer in one fashion or another if the mirror image is a problem.
 
As for veneer, I would be very hesitant to use it on a model for most purposes. Grain orientation is a problem with most all veneer because it isn't sawn off the tree, but rather it is peeled off the tree with a sharp knife as the tree is rotated in a lathe. The stability of the sheet is in great measure dependent upon the adhesive holding the veneer to the substrate. 
 
As for thickness, shaving off the edge of a plank or billet with a plane can yield a nearly transparently thin shaving for use as scale planking stock. I'd consider 0.48mm quite thick for 1:96 scale if one were using any sort of underlayment. At that scale, it's often a matter of faking the appearance artistically rather than duplicating full scale construction practices. I'd give great weight to Eberhard's advice above. He's one of the masters at what I call "artistic modeling" when the skills of an artist are brought to bear on the skills of an engineer to create a compelling impression of reality in miniature.

This may be a sacrileg here on this forum, but at a 1:96 scale it may worthwhile to look into alternatives to actually planking the deck.
 
One option could be to look for a piece of veneer or thin plywood with very little graining or virtually no graining, sand and dedust this carefully and then using a method called thermo-transfer to 'print' on the pattern of seams. There special thermo-transfer papers for laser-printers. The print-out is then put face down onto the wood and the pattern is iron-on - much like what the T-shirt guys do. So far, I have not done this myself for decks, but I used the technique to transfer drawings onto heat-resistant materials.

Hmmmm! That's something I'll definitely look into, wefalck. I don't have a laser printer, but I can find out if someone else does.
 
Thanks!
 
Tony