Old Collingwood

Just been applying more 2nd stage hull planks down to the whale, but i thought i would mention a trick i do to aid stcking and drying of the planks - i use a hairdryer(the wife doesnt mind - honest) i find the heat helps to melt and harden the wood glew and bond alot quicker, kind of like a heat gun.

C.

A question - the planking below the transom that goes from port to larboard, sholud i paint this red ocre or leave wood? i know the the lower section near the waterline will be wood/dull white with a demarcation line. 

C.

More work on the ole girl, i decided to fit the poor part that fell off, and planked the rear section under the transom- slight color difference in grain due to using the other side of the planks without notic'ing, i have also completed two sections port and labord of the hull planking from the keel. 

Here's some pics...

The colour contrast looks great Collingwood - your modifications are really starting to pay dividends. I wish you had started this before me so I could have copied you! 

 

Are you planning on using the kit-supplied transom piece? Given what you've already achieved you should seriously consider scratch building one of your own....Either way, very impressive work!

hamilton

Hi hamilton,  im not sure yet about the transom i could sharpen it up with abit of scribing and then painting, but its darn hard to see even with glasses, the picture shows alot more detail than i can see with my eyes, then again im not brilliant at scratch building especialy as i have no acurate plans of this section.

C.

More progress this time with the other side of the hull continuing to cut out the gun ports using my usual needle file set, i use a cutting action working down between the lines till i get to the line at the bottom, but making sure its square, then i have added the bulwark/gun port posts to hold the top rail.

I have also shaped the rear cabin window casting and undercoated it to bring out the detail, incase i use it, also i have cleaned up the front keel section and adjust for - figurehead etc...

Here's some more pics, and back to color as requested.

C.

Hi all  Happy New Year,

i have been carrying on with the hull work shaping the bearding line especialy around the bowsprit til - "Crack" the bowsprit snapped away were the grove was for the bearding line, so i decided as it was off to leave it that way and tackle it as two seperate jobs, but i cut away and made a joining area first,  i have also been working on the rear of the hull with a bit of planking and shaping and will do the cutout for the rudder post arrangement, but question do i make the hole in the hull for the top of the rudder post round or fan like?. 

Anyway here a few pics in b&w because my camera processes better that way for some reason..?

C.

Seasons greetings to all,   i have been moving on to the bottom keel section and decided to cut out the bearding line for the garboard plank, i know i should have done this while flat but i have found  having the ribs in palce, act as a good guide for the groove, i was abit puzzled over the correct size/placement  of the garboard plank, but i decided on the taper ending on the second rib before the sharp curve upto the front of the forecastle. 

I also decided on a slope at the keel post insted of a slot (almost like something we call here a "ha ha") its an invisible drop when viewed from one side, this will help the hull planks to sit against the keel post at roughly the same thickness.

Heres two pics showing this stage...

C.

Very nice work Collingwood. I'm intrigued that the main deck does not seem to be planked when the upper decks are already installed. Or are those upper decks just dry fitted?

 

Where are you that gets a violent storm? There are so many these days you could be anywhere...

 

Cheers

Alistair

Hi Alistair,

Im in the uk and we have been getting alot of storm force winds 80-100mph and severe flooding leaving many people without power and flooded houses,  yep i fitted the bulwarks and painted them so that when i fit the planking over the false deck floor, i will not get any paint on the decking planks.

C.

Great. She looks really sharp. 

Thank you.

C.

I have been carrying on building through our violent storm we have here now, i have been working on shaping the gun ports and constructing the hand rail, this was quite technical as i had to build and attach some small stumps between the bulwarks and the rail, then fashion the rail from a length of 4x1mm then i had to bend this to follow the hull shape.

Here are the pics.

C.

Tony I honestly have no idea what you're talking about

hamilton

Me either ....

C.

Hi hamilton,  if i dont catch you - happy holidays have a great yule and all the best with the family and the new little one.

C.

Hi Collingwood - I tapered pretty much all the planks at the bow from the deck line to about 1/2 their width. I also soaked them overnight - 1.5mm is thick, but seems also to be standard first planking for Corel. I'll be starting the OcCre Dos Amigos and the first planking for that is 2mm!! This stock might end up getting replaced.....

 

Anyway, I think you're doing a great job - I'm really impressed with the time you've taken to plan out your modifications - I just kind of ran headlong into them  and thus confronted all kinds of little compromises.....bye for now

hamilton

Thank you hamilton, i realy appreciate your kind words.

C.

Agree, looks awesome.

Many thanks.

C.

Looking great Collingwood!

hamilton

Many thanks,    the planking of the hull around the bow has/is being a pain even with soaking the planks in boiling water, as at this scale 1.5mm x 5mm is abit un-flexible to bend, i should/have cut them in half to aid bending.

C.

More progress over the last two days, i have decked the forecastle with the correct planks  and carried on with parts of the first hull planking and sections of the second, i have also finished the inner bulwark planks and sanded ready for painting red ocre, i will do this before planking the main deck to keep piant off it.

Any way heres some pics.

C.

After discussing the correct color for aged period decking, i am posting a picture i took of a water pump at castle, i think it gives a good impression of how the decking may look after many years of the elements.

C.

really nice work u have got going there its nice and clean keep up the great work

Thank you,    its sometimes quite hard at this scale but i try my best.

C.

Looking good hamilton, how did you manage to bend the rail around the top of the bulwark on the forecastle bow, especialy as it is aginst the grain?.

C.

I have carried on planking the inside bulwarks and have reached the poop deck area, here i have stopped and concentrated on planking the poop deck instead, but - after checking the kits wood stock i noticed that i had used the wrong wood to deck the forecastle and the start of the poop deck, so off it came with a sharp blade underneath and abit of a light sanding and with the corect planks i started, after several hours i reached the outer edges and i decided to try to fit an outer edge of planking and cut the normal lengths into them, this was hard going at such a scale and thiness of planks  anyway i think i have done a fair job of it, so i sighed a deep breath and sanded and added a light wash of diluted pva to seal it.

I ve also revised my plans abit.

Hers the pics

I have started working on a pattern of -inside and out with the wooden planks for the inside bulwarks, and the first hull planking this helps with cutting out the full gun ports, with strengthening the walls.

Here's a couple of pics.

C.

Looks good Collingwood - I think your initial modifications and measurements have paid off. I would recommend at this point that you build one of the cannons and put together a few of the deck planking strips to set it on and measure the height of the gunports to see what kinds of adjustments (if any) are needed for the planking - particularly at mid-ships where you'll have the open ports....keep up the good work

hamilton

Thank you hamilton, hope all is good with you and the little one,   thank you for the compliment,  i have looked into the correct gun port hight to cannon sizing and have done just as you suggested(great minds think alike lol) and the top of the  darker strip represents the hight of the bottom edge of where the gun ports will be cut out to, and i will add a flat finishing wood rail supported on square section stubs that will go across the top of the gun ports.

Whats your feeling about the correct scale thickness of the tops of the hull walls?  i  think about 12-15 inches  or 3-4mm & 100 scale, if this is so it gives me scope to put in three thicknesses of planks - two outside(first and second planking) and an internal bulwark section, also what kind of hight would you construct both the  poop deck and forecastle?  i think about 6 feet.

C.

I have been carrying on with my first planking and managed to bend the second level around the bow/bowsprit and continued my way up the poop deck area so i could cut away the bulkhead extrusions stopping me from planking the deck of the poop deck over its full width, as i want to do this with the deck away from the build, to aid test bleaching to get the correct weathered finish i am after.

I just hope i am achieving the right look and shape of these attractive frigates?

Here's some pics...

C.

Hi hank,

Great build a very interesting a mighty ship to build,  have you also considered getting hold of a copy of Under Siege, as i believe that was filmed on NJ and should give some interesting viewpoints. 

C.

I have been carrying on with my first planking of the hull, with bending thinner strips one at a time(three in total) around the sharp angle of the bow, i have left them slightly thicker than the thickness of the normal first planking strips so i can sand them back to get a nice smooth equal profile, this has worked quite well as trying to bend the thicker planks around sutch a tight profile is tricky and the planks just kept bouncing back when set even with ca/strong gp  and wood glue.

I have cut a bearding line into the bowsprit now and this does help with holding the planks, so the desision now is - do i go with the normal thickness of first planking for the rest of the bow sections, or spend more time with thinner strips and as i have done just cut these back to the first buklhead, and join the normal planks thier?.

Anyway its coming on ok i think, slow but methodical and going in the right direction.