mtaylor

Time for an update... been much going on in real life and in the shipyard. Janet's healing nicely and is ahead of therapy. She hopes to be back in the pool in about 2 weeks. Work is still a four-letter word. The gundeck is finally and completely planked. At least for now the planking is version MkIV there may be a MkV. Per the picture, the yard crew is sanding and holystoning the deck. The left side is in progress. The right awaits them and their implements of smoothness. Version MkI was an attempt at planking where the planks follow the run of the hull. The planks have a curve to them. I started by full-width at mid-ships and planned to taper at bow and stern. After about 50% planked, I found that I needed to do some drop planks so off I went.. However, at 1/8" (approx. 3mm) wide planks, I soon realized I was making mess and ripped out the planks. Which lead to MkII. Nibbed!!! I put in a margin plank and started nibbing. Again, the width of the planks became an issue along with, as I found out, the French at that point time didn't use nibbing. Yep... ripped it out. The, MkIII...hooked scarfs. Yes.!!!.. Hmm... er.. no. Needed wider planks. Nothing in stock. Rip out the few planks installed and back to the drawing board. So we come to MkIV. I've ordered sufficient stock of silver maple in boards of sufficient dimensions to permit hook scarfs. But decided not to wait. Figured since about 75% of the gundeck won't be seen ("uh-oh", the crowd mummers) I'd figure out a method. Got out the dremel and put a groove into the lower part of the waterway where it meets the beams thinking I could slide the deck planks into the groove and give the appearance of the waterway on top of the planks. That works. When the wood gets here, I'll make another executive decision on ripping it out and doing it right, or letting it go and do the forecastle and the quarterdeck "properly". The decision will be based upon how does it look with a ship's boat, guns, etc in place. Once the sanding is done, and I've made some cardboard cutouts to see exactly what's visable and what isn't, I'll decide. Before I get hit with "that's not the way the real ones were done"... I know. I'm taking similar liberties at this point much like H. Hahn. No knees for the deck beams, etc. His pictures show planking much like what I have done, but admittedly.. I'm no H. Hahn.

Excellent work on the wales. So, I'm assuming the agony was worth it?

Robbyn, Don't use the CA if you can help it. Fabric glue, PVA or clear varnish will work to hold the serving without making the line brittle and your lung clogged.

Danny, Lovely just doesn't do this justice, IMO... Fantastic and amazing is closer to what I feel. Thanks for the education on the rudder.

Dan, Silkspan is usually readily available at hobby shops that cater to the RC crowd. For nonskid... paint with finish color. While the paint is wet, sprinkle with baby powder and blow off excess before it dries. Then paint over it. I use to do this with Tamiya armor models.

Steve, It's not moved... always been here in the scratch area. Some call it the Twilight Zone, most of us call it the Darkside. but here it's been and here it stays.

JP, I quite agree with the others. That is one fantastic planking job. Go with what the others have said for the tallowed look. Oh...and lighten up on yourself. It's a known condition around here that we are our own worst critics.

Sweet, Popeye. Nice job on the sails.

Andy, Peggy is looking great! I find that power tools don't always make it better... sometimes faster. And then there's the times where it takes longer to set things up than do it by hand. But tools are fun.

Sjors, Three weeks? No pictures? No popcorn? But it's good to take a break and do something else. Say "hi" to Mobbsie for us and enjoy your trip.

Hi Danny, I asked about the heat treating since I thought the grinding would cause the bit to lose its temper and not stay sharp.

Matt, Stunning work on her. Just beautiful. Michael, Who needs a shelf. I'll bet you could put at least 6 models of that size on your cutter.

Ray, Have a look here: http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php There's several good articles on planking.

Nice work on the tapering. Your masts are coming along very well.

Keith, Go here: http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-furniture-and-deck-fittings.php about halfway down the page....

Happy Anniversary!!!! Have a great time.

Hi Pierre, I'm just following along. This is an interesting project. As I understand it, the drawings for her at the NMM are "incomplete" and that Aeropiccola based a lot of the decoration work on contemporary paintings. It's just fascinating to see this one being built. I have the Roebuck plans from Hahn and the NMM so even though they are the same class, they are similar but different. I hope you'll decide to finish her.

I can't speak for others, but the weathering is so fascinating that I missed the channnel location. But then again, it's the Victory and wouldn't know the proper place to begin with. Now about the finetuning... does this mean it will be better? Better than great!????

Ok.. show the wood the fireplace. If that doesn't work, flick a lighter while talking to them. Maybe have a chainsaw or a beaver next to you. Mention that you have friends who wear flannel and are lumberjacks. That should bring the wood in line. As for the drill part... take some sandpaper and round the wood so it fits in the drill chuck. My bad for not mentioning that in my previous post on this. It won't be perfect and won't take a lot of rpms, but should (or not) be able to spin the wood. Ooops... almost forgot... if the wood is not submitting, mention "woodchucks". Scares the hell out of those stubborn pieces.

Matti, I'm not commenting much.. been busy. But, I am following along. The folks at the Wasa museum are very helpful even by email. I really enjoyed doing my build of this ship. I'll have to do some digging, but there was someone from the old site who did cannons and some the other things for the museum. I'll try to remember and find out if they will repost their log.

I think Kevin's been kidnapped and stashed in the converted attic. The wabbits are running things now. Now where did I put those carrots... er... peace offerings?

Push the weather man into the rubber room and feed him Thorazine. The bipolar weather should mellow out. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Next best thing to a road trip... a boat trip. Have a great one and send us pictures from time to time.

Nice work on the rudders and the pintles came out especially nice. Did you heat treat the bit after trimming it flat on the end?

Nice work, Qwerty.