rvchima

Beautiful job Chris! I never paid much attention to card models - until now.

Beautiful job Chris! I never paid much attention to card models - until now.

The Big Reveal!
 
I'm not going to say much about the trials and tribulations of installing the canopy (ugh!) and the antenna aerials (ugh -- again!), because I don't want to scare off any potential card modelers. 😋  But, she is done now and has a seat on the shelf of honor next to the Oscar -- how fitting! Next up, I think I will drag USS England out and force myself to do some more work on her.
 
Enjoy the pictures!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Come inside the cockpit and fly the Wildcat with one of my favorite local guys, Kermit Weeks. If you go back and watch video parts one and two, he gives a great walk-around and explanation for all the aircraft features. He cranks like crazy at the beginning to raise the landing gear. It was a lot of work flying one of these old birds as you will see in the video. A lot for the pilot to pay attention to and do.
 
 
 

Getting oh so close to done now -- ailerons, stabilizers, and tail wheel added. Really only four things left to do, one of which is the propeller, which has 23 parts. Next update will probably be the Big Reveal.
 

Tim,
 
Before you launch this beauty, you should built a 1:48 scale destroyer escort that can drop model depth charges!  😀
 
Roger

17. Installing Ballast and the RC Gear
 
Bedford posted a reply a little ways back recommending that I ballast down the model to its waterline and let it float in the tub for a few hours to make sure there are no leaks. It was a good suggestion so I followed it.
 
I went to my local Bass Pro outlet and bought a selection of different sizes of lead fishing weights. I ended up using about 3/4 lb of the weights, all of them in the aft 1/3 of the hull since there is a pronounced “squat” on this hull - the waterline and the keel are no where near parallel. Just like on modern tugs, they wanted to get the prop as deep as possible to generate thrust, not bubbles. I ended up with just under 1/2 lb of weight in the aftermost section near the rudder tube and the rest went under where the motor will sit. I could only fit one of the two NiMh battery packs I ordered but even if there was room for the second pack there is not enough reserve buoyancy to support it - just one pack took care of bringing the bow and midships area down to the waterline.
 
The bathtub test worked fine - thank goodness. With that out of the way it’s time to start installing the RC gear.
 
The first thing I had to do was something I did not want to do. The biggest threat to running this model on my lake will not be wakes from real boats but one of these guys (the fish not the geezer - that's not me BTW):
 

 
There are a ton of Largemouth Bass in my lake, including a few big ones under my dock. They weigh 3-5 lbs, move fast and strike vertically at prey on the surface, including baby ducks (all together now “Oh No!! Not baby ducks!!) One of the most effective lures for catching them (bass, not ducks) uses brass blades that rotate as you retrieve it so it looks almost identical to what this beauty would look like while running:
 

 
So after sanding off the protective coating and adding spray paint my prop is now a boring black:
 

 
The motor was mounted to its pad with screws. Aligning the motor shaft with the prop shaft was easy to do visually athwartship but vertically took a combination of a small mirror and my finger to check for alignment as I turned the screw.
 
The battery pack is velcroed to its pad so it can be removed if needed but I plan on recharging it in place.
 

 
The ESC is also velcroed so it can be removed if I need to remove the battery pack (for a relatively large model there really isn’t all the much space to work with inside the hull).
 
Since the rudder servo will also experience torque it’s mounted with screws. The servo is placed so that its arm and the arm on the rudder stock align fore and aft.
 
The last item to add was the receiver - I placed it as far forward as possible to minimize electro-magnetic interference from the motor and ESC. Placing it there also allows  the 3 inch antenna to project vertically up into the deck house for (hopefully) better reception.
 

 
Next up will be installing the pushrod between the servo and the rudder.
 

Not As Bad As I Expected

 
I started those rails yesterday about 5:00 and had them done by 9:30, including dinner and dishes. I pre-painted the column stock. The column heights varied by about 3 mm from fore to aft, so I cut each slightly over sized and sanded for a snug fit. Like Rodgerdodger, I built a brass and wood jig for drilling the columns. Masking tape on the back prevented tear out.
 
Rodgerdodger used music wire for the rails. My instructions said that the rails were metallic thread. My kit has some very fine 0.2 mm brass wire, but also some 1 mm brass rod.* I used the brass rod, and pre-bent it to match the plans as closely as possibly. Then I threaded 4 rails through 6 columns in the proper order, arranged everything on the deck, and applied CA with a glue looper. I only broke two columns in the process.
 
*One problem with this kit is that it includes lots of parts with no explanation as to what they are for.

Not As Bad As I Expected

 
I started those rails yesterday about 5:00 and had them done by 9:30, including dinner and dishes. I pre-painted the column stock. The column heights varied by about 3 mm from fore to aft, so I cut each slightly over sized and sanded for a snug fit. Like Rodgerdodger, I built a brass and wood jig for drilling the columns. Masking tape on the back prevented tear out.
 
Rodgerdodger used music wire for the rails. My instructions said that the rails were metallic thread. My kit has some very fine 0.2 mm brass wire, but also some 1 mm brass rod.* I used the brass rod, and pre-bent it to match the plans as closely as possibly. Then I threaded 4 rails through 6 columns in the proper order, arranged everything on the deck, and applied CA with a glue looper. I only broke two columns in the process.
 
*One problem with this kit is that it includes lots of parts with no explanation as to what they are for.

Not As Bad As I Expected

 
I started those rails yesterday about 5:00 and had them done by 9:30, including dinner and dishes. I pre-painted the column stock. The column heights varied by about 3 mm from fore to aft, so I cut each slightly over sized and sanded for a snug fit. Like Rodgerdodger, I built a brass and wood jig for drilling the columns. Masking tape on the back prevented tear out.
 
Rodgerdodger used music wire for the rails. My instructions said that the rails were metallic thread. My kit has some very fine 0.2 mm brass wire, but also some 1 mm brass rod.* I used the brass rod, and pre-bent it to match the plans as closely as possibly. Then I threaded 4 rails through 6 columns in the proper order, arranged everything on the deck, and applied CA with a glue looper. I only broke two columns in the process.
 
*One problem with this kit is that it includes lots of parts with no explanation as to what they are for.

Not As Bad As I Expected

 
I started those rails yesterday about 5:00 and had them done by 9:30, including dinner and dishes. I pre-painted the column stock. The column heights varied by about 3 mm from fore to aft, so I cut each slightly over sized and sanded for a snug fit. Like Rodgerdodger, I built a brass and wood jig for drilling the columns. Masking tape on the back prevented tear out.
 
Rodgerdodger used music wire for the rails. My instructions said that the rails were metallic thread. My kit has some very fine 0.2 mm brass wire, but also some 1 mm brass rod.* I used the brass rod, and pre-bent it to match the plans as closely as possibly. Then I threaded 4 rails through 6 columns in the proper order, arranged everything on the deck, and applied CA with a glue looper. I only broke two columns in the process.
 
*One problem with this kit is that it includes lots of parts with no explanation as to what they are for.

Not As Bad As I Expected

 
I started those rails yesterday about 5:00 and had them done by 9:30, including dinner and dishes. I pre-painted the column stock. The column heights varied by about 3 mm from fore to aft, so I cut each slightly over sized and sanded for a snug fit. Like Rodgerdodger, I built a brass and wood jig for drilling the columns. Masking tape on the back prevented tear out.
 
Rodgerdodger used music wire for the rails. My instructions said that the rails were metallic thread. My kit has some very fine 0.2 mm brass wire, but also some 1 mm brass rod.* I used the brass rod, and pre-bent it to match the plans as closely as possibly. Then I threaded 4 rails through 6 columns in the proper order, arranged everything on the deck, and applied CA with a glue looper. I only broke two columns in the process.
 
*One problem with this kit is that it includes lots of parts with no explanation as to what they are for.

Here’s my story. I have been building plastic and balsa airplanes as far back as I can remember. My father was a true craftsman building R/C planes and I learned a lot from him. Over the years though, I yearned to build a wooden POB or POF ship. Back in the mid 70’s I bought a Cutty Sark (I forget the manufacturer), anyways with my meager and limited skills I tried to build this ship and failed miserably. So I shelved the idea of wood ship models and concentrated on R/C planes. Fast forward to 2020 and I was having a conversation with Nic of Bluejacket fame (he’s been a good friend for quite a few years), and he turned me on to this site. To say I was blown away is an understatement! There are so many talented builders and information and how-to’s, it was mind numbing. After reading so many inspiring build logs, I honed in on Chuck’s offerings (I also have 3 Model Shipways kits, which are Chuck’s designs). After reading about his Medway Longboat, I decided this was the place to start, and I’m not disappointed. I loved the lines and the support that is offered by those who went before me, which is truly amazing and appreciated! 
 
So some 40 years later, I started on my desire to build a wooden boat/ship. I’m currently on/off working on a Syren Medway Longboat and I’m just amazed with the results. While I know some skills are needed and more need to be developed, the design also contributes greatly to success. So while I believe there are many very good kits out there, I love Chuck’s approach to make modelers develop skills that greatly improves building skills. I’ve built a lot of kits in my time, but ship modeling building is on a different level that I’m enjoying to the max. So my experiences so far is with Syren Ship Models (I have Cheerful waiting in the wings), and has been my to go source. I also look forward to building my Model Shipways kits. Those are the only 2 vendors at this time I’ve gotten items from, but I’m eyeballing some from Vanguard Models as Chris’s approach are very unique. 
 
Attached are a few Medway pictures.
 
Best Regards …. Rick

All glued up! Putting all the parts together reminded me of my fisheries work days when we used to regularly visit a hatchery that had crisscrossing lines suspended at different heights over the raceways full of fingerling tout and salmon -- the crossing lines supposedly played havoc with the depth perception of the local kingfishers. Well, these crisscrossing rods and struts definitely messed with my depth perception as well!
 

 
I won't place any weight on the struts until the glue has cured for 24 hours.

Fairings, fairings, fairings . . .
 
First we have a couple of the flat parts, a bunch of partially shaped ones, and the scribing tool I used to help shape them.
 

 
Did you know that a Wildcat has eighteen underwing fairings in five different sizes? 😑
 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Third Deck Planking
The technique of gluing planks to a paper backing is working extremely well. The 2 mm walnut strips supplied with the kit are about 20" long, and I am gluing up 10" segments of 2, 3, 4, and 5 strips, plus segments of 1+2+2+1 mm strips that fit the doors and windows. I put a stop block on my cutting board to cut pieces to the height of the cabin.  I saw with paper side down so the wood doesn't tear when the saw cuts through.

Another big advantage is that when I mess up and glue something crooked, it cuts off easily through the paper backing and just requires a little sanding to remove the paper.


I planked the forward cabin, sanded and oiled it in two days. Then painted the window interiors and added the windows and doors in a couple more hours.

The flat planks on the walnut cabins look SO much better than the chamfered planks on the painted cabins. The next deck is back to white, and I will totally forget the chamfering.

I planked the aft cabin in 3 hours.


 

First Level Painted, Windows, Doors, and Paddle Wheels Installed - 112 hours over 36 days
 
I painted the cabins with 2 coats of Tamiya white primer and 2 coats of Krylon gloss white, all from rattle cans. Red trim was painted in full strips with Testor's red spray, cut to length, and touched up after installation. Window backgrounds were hand-painted with black acrylic, and windows installed with a touch of medium CA.

Paddle wheels installed and cabin placed back on the hull. The instructions recommended chamfering the edges of the hull planks. That leaves obvious gaps between the planks, and spray paint just doesn't get in there. The next couple of decks are natural walnut, and I think I'll leave the planks flat.

Colonnade and raised cabin installed in front of boiler room. The boiler room has 8 turned brass view windows (portholes) over 8 firebox doors. One of the portholes went flying in my shop, never to be seen again. After hours of searching I made a replacement out of nested pieces of brass tubing. It looked almost perfect, and you can't see it  back there anyway. I suppose firewood (or coal?) was stored under the raised cabin right in front of the firebox doors.

Rear cabins installed.

Everything completed so far.
 
 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Onward and Upward
Building this ship is like baking a wedding cake - you just keep adding layers on top. (Not that I've ever baked a wedding cake.) The layers from my previous post have all been attached, a layer of skylights has been added, and another layer of cabins is framed. The smokestacks are just there temporarily.


There will be four brass rails going through 12 wooden columns around this rear deck. Previous builders have commented on how difficult they are to build. I am not looking forward to that.

The sidelights are white metal castings about 2.5 inches long. Every little hole had to be cleaned out with a tiny square file. The red trim pieces are supposed to be made of wood, but there is no way to bend wood around those sharp corners, short of laminating thin strips. I did what other builders have done and used styrene strips. They were painted with the same red paint used elsewhere but came out shinier, brighter, and, well, plastic looking.

The ship has 14 staircases made from beautiful wooden strips that must have been cut on a CNC machine. They have to be cut to length and have side rails added. I stained everything with a walnut stain.

 

Just found this while looking for recently started build logs to support. You're making good progress on a complicated model. Think of all the planking work as a tradeoff for all the rigging you won't have to do, compared with a typical three-masted sailing ship.

Third Deck Planking
The technique of gluing planks to a paper backing is working extremely well. The 2 mm walnut strips supplied with the kit are about 20" long, and I am gluing up 10" segments of 2, 3, 4, and 5 strips, plus segments of 1+2+2+1 mm strips that fit the doors and windows. I put a stop block on my cutting board to cut pieces to the height of the cabin.  I saw with paper side down so the wood doesn't tear when the saw cuts through.

Another big advantage is that when I mess up and glue something crooked, it cuts off easily through the paper backing and just requires a little sanding to remove the paper.


I planked the forward cabin, sanded and oiled it in two days. Then painted the window interiors and added the windows and doors in a couple more hours.

The flat planks on the walnut cabins look SO much better than the chamfered planks on the painted cabins. The next deck is back to white, and I will totally forget the chamfering.

I planked the aft cabin in 3 hours.