Stuntflyer

Hi Rusty,

I had the same thing going on with my gun deck planking. I don't think it's absorption that's causing the variance in color, but rather the planks being of a different color to begin with. The degree of color difference would be difficult to see whether you sand the wood or not.  The only way I know off to get around this is too apply some W-O-P to the planks before you put them on the ship.

I'm making slow progress on the head rails. There is a lot more going on here than I thought.

I struggled initially to keep things in place with rubber cement in order to view the relationship between the head timbers. Chuck suggested that I could set the center head timber vertical and then work the other two head timbers in such a way that it would look okay to my eye. With that in mind I did just that. After setting the middle timber I could see that the front one could lean slightly forward. I removed the fore end of the template which lies in front of the notch. A thin strip was placed between the back of the head timber and the template to angle the timber forward while at the same time keeping it parallel to the center timber.

The aft head timber was angled slightly rearward. I can now use this as a guide for the other side. Btw; notice the position of the main rail in relationship the timberhead on the forecastle just behind it. This worked out okay on my Winnie, though that might be different on your ship.

Mike

3 minutes ago, bdgiantman2 said:

I personally have never used chisels building a model ship and honestly hesitant to try.  

I felt the same way at first only to eventually find out just how useful they can be. You could start small.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/miniature-tools/chisels/72391-veritas-miniature-chisels?item=05P8501

2 hours ago, Chuck said:

Is it that much more difficult to produce say the lower apron traditionally with a vertical mill or by hand with a chisel? 

The only experience I've had is when I worked on Hayling. I used the mill and a chisel for the deadwoods and it was not hard to do. Doing the work with just a chisel is not something I would have felt confident about. The cant frame angles where done with the disc sander. A machinist square was used to check positioning. I think this is a very good way to go about it as long as one has the tools.

https://modelshipworld.com/uploads/monthly_2017_07/_DSC7015_sfw.jpg.18912c6b190c9821774c65e2d545a7d3.jpg

Thanks, Fred! If the second eye goes like the first, I will be extremely happy.

48 minutes ago, Chuck said:

Mike....dont rush to the finish on Winnie.

Not to worry, Chuck. After more than 4 1/2 years, I'm not about to rush the Winnie to completion. At the moment, I'm half way through my cataract surgery and get this. . For the past 3 years I thought that the background color of the frieze was predominately green. I was shocked to see otherwise. That's how much my eye lens had turned yellowish over the years. CRAZY! I will start again on the Winnie in a few weeks after the second eye is done.

I am very excited about being able to collaborate with you on the project. There will be so much to learn and that's half the fun.

Looking forward to seeing you and the guys after TG.

Chuck, it's great to see that you're starting another great project. One that will allow you to innovate and be more creative than ever.

I should be ready to start Speedwell by years end or shortly thereafter. My plan at the moment is to go with boxwood. Of course, this will make me an outlier with my own set of challenges.

Good luck with everything!

Mike

Most likely no issues at all since you went to 3/16” at the deck level. However, as Chuck suggested, 5/32” or so at the deck level and taper to 1/8” at the sheer. If it is not too late then that is something you could do now. keep in mind that 3/16" at the sheer will most likely produce a cap rail that is too wide.

Going wide at the gun dock could mean that certain laser cut parts might not fit properly. The checkerboard floor is one thing that comes to mind. Also, the bulkheads for the great cabin area might be too narrow to span the deck. Planking widths on the deck will most likely have to be modified. These are just a few examples of what could happen by simply reducing the width of the bulwarks to 1/8” or less at the deck.

Mike

4 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Frank, the 1/8 balsa I glued between the bulkheads from top to deck were useful guides in keeping me on track with the internal fairing.

Glenn,

As Chuck just pointed out, do not fair to 1/8" all the way down to the deck level. If you do that, there will be a few issues to deal with later on in the build. Trust me, I've been there!

Mike

Thanks, Chuck!

It was great getting back to a Saturday get together at your place. Nice to see old and new faces too.

I'm starting chapter twelve with the main rail. This is my first try at doing rails. I can only imagine the difficulties in doing them full scratch.

After assembling the first six sections I measured the width at the timberhead. It was too wide and needed to be reduced to 5/16". First, the outer face was reduced slightly to create a more gentle transition between the parts. Then the inner face was tapered to 5/16" at the timberhead down to 5/64" at the forward end. As you can see, it's flat on the inner edge. The timberheads were then shaped.

Here is the first test fit after setting the forward end and then removing a small amount of the cap rail and fancy moulding. With the rail in place the area I removed cannot be seen.

I will probably need to remove a bit more from the back of the rail. It's a wee bit too tight going in right now.

Mike

For the most part, chapter eleven is finished. As I mentioned earlier, the lantern is still removable. but, that's it.

Without any adjustment the forward stock will angle out. I undercut the inner face and tapered it in order to make it sit more upright, basically perpendicular..

Mike

Another small update on chapter 11.

The lantern as seen here is removable from its support which was made from blackened 1/16 brass rod. The two 24ga wires that go from the lantern to the transom rail are omitted for the time being. I'm concerned about the lantern getting knocked about in transit, so I left it removable for now.

I started on the swivel stocks. The first four are now on the ship.

Mike

Another beautiful model from a master builder. Now, take a well deserved vacation and come back refreshed and ready to start the next project.

Mike

Nice work Rusty!

Your model looks great! Feel better soon.

Just a quick follow up on my last post. I changed the position of the fancy rail after realizing that I originally placed it incorrectly.

Mike

Progress has been really slow lately. I did manage to get the so called newel posts and fancy rails completed. I re-installed the QD rail, but this time I pinned all six posts. All that's left to do in chapter eleven are the swivel gun supports. Hopefully, I will get an adrenaline rush and finish those up soon.

Mike

Thank you all for the likes and kind words. Very much appreciated!

I'm still working my way through chapter eleven, though the end is in sight. .

I've been working on the gangways. The bottom edge of the small platform that sits underneath the breast beam sets the height of the gangway along the waist. I made no adjustments to it. Consequently, the top of the gangway sits flush with the lower edge of the cap rail rather than the upper edge. The gangway probably should have been higher, but I really didn't notice it until after that aft platform was already glued in. Hopefully that 3" step up wouldn't have created a huge problem for the sailors.😁

The ladder needed to be tweaked in order for it to sit somewhat in line with the deck planking. To do that, I reduced the depth of the top of the aft side (see below). I just needed to be careful not to take off too much.

You might have noticed that the QD Rail is missing. After leaning on it, I removed it while working on the gangway.

I found that the knee angles where basically one size fits all, but incorrect for my model. The disc sander took care of that.

Mike

I now have the boarding ladders completed. Chuck says that they are "pretty straight forward". I guess that in a way they are, but I needed to figure out how deep to make the profile for it to work. The back edge needs to be tapered in order for the tops to sit parallel to the building board. If the profile is too deep they would be too thin on the bottom after tapering. My first scraping was just that, too thin. I made another profile that was only half as deep and that worked out okay, I think. The I-Gauging tool help me to see when the top was parallel. The middle three ladders where later given a coat of Poly after being glued onto the hull. That strip of blue tape was just to protect the wales from getting scratched by my fingers while working.

I decided not to cover the top ladder with a frieze. Now that the ladders are in I will finish up the two dangling chain plates.

Mike

Very nice, Dusan!  Keep up the good work.

Mike

On 7/24/2022 at 9:34 PM, SJSoane said:

Some precision surgery needed to keep this intersection clean.

I remember feeling hesitant when I needed to cut out for the catheads. Using an ultra fine saw really made things a lot easier. No doubt yours will look great.

Mike 

As usual I'm working on a number of tasks at the same time. The Lantern is near completion and I should have some photos to share fairly soon. Meanwhile I've managed to complete the nailing of the chain plates except for two on each side which I left dangling. Also, I removed the moulding under them. When I start on the boarding ladders it will be easier to work in that area without the moulding. Besides, I prefer to shape the moulding to the profile of the ladders while off the ship rather than on. The billboard and fenders are done. The fiddly fenders required a lot of profile tweaking and I was very happy to be done with them.😏

Mike

I still have a lot more work to do on chapter 11. Here is generally where I am at as of today. Both main and mizzen channels are done (almost). Notice that the forward two chainplates are not attached to the hull. I'm going to remove that moulding where the second ladder goes. This will make it easier to both install it as well as shape the moulding that goes around it. All of the stools are in.

Keeping things Parallel

First attempt at chesstrees

Mike

Looks great, Thomas!