Jump to content
MSW Spring Donation Drive

KenW

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,202

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by KenW

  1. KenW
    I just checked in on your build of this odd shaped boat. Looks like you doing well so I think I will just follow along. I enjoy reading the results of you historical research. Cheers.
  2. KenW
    Thanks Lou, Dave and Mark. Your comments lead me to believe that I'm on the right track. My strakes do get thinner at the bow; and my Walnut must be "old". It'll be interesting to see when the planks that I'm adding from the keel upward meet those that were added from the wales down. Cheers.
  3. KenW
    Magnificent! You did a lot apparently in one day. This will be interesting to follow along with. You know, if this turns out really well you're going to get a lot of requests for your "kit". Cheers.
  4. KenW
    I began planking the lower hull. The first step was to create a plan so that I knew how many strakes I would need and the size of each plank. The result was that I would need 16 strakes of 1/32 walnut, 3/16 inches wide. I started from the wales working down and had a problem right away. The walnut planks always broke when I tried to edge bend them. The bend at the bow is pretty drastic and while the holly I used for the lower wale was able to withstand the bend, the walnut always snapped. Even when soaked in water for a few minutes, the strip would snap. So, the only solution was to try to spile each plank at the bow. As I haven’t spiled before, I consulted an article on this site by Chuck Passaro and found that after a few tries, I could get a decent spile. I planked the first 7 strakes. But now I have a new problem/question. This ship has a unusual bow shape. The photo above doesn’t look too bad. But when I turn the boat over, the lower strakes look off. The lowest planks seemed to curve up. I don’t know if I should have included a drop plank, or if everything will look fine when the whole side is done. I was going to plank the upper half of the other side next, but I decided to do the rest of this side and see how it looks. That way I would only have to redo one side. If anyone wants to make some suggestions, please do.
  5. KenW
    Glad to see a long shot so I can see the whole boat. Excellent! Very impressive. I can go on but my fingers will get sore. Congratulations.
  6. KenW
    Great looking model, Bob. What is the link to Shapeways you used? Thanks.
  7. KenW
    Work on the hull continues. I installed the wales and then the planking above the lower wale. I intended to use the same hull color pattern as Clare, but I didn’t have any ⅛ inch walnut. So I decided to use boxwood above the wales and walnut below. I also found that I had to edge bend the lower wale in order to get to sit right at the bow. I figure that I might as well start practicing the edge bends since I’ll be doing a lot of that when planking the rest of the hull. I also carved the fashion pieces. They weren’t that bad - I just made them longer than necessary to make the bending easier. Also, if you look closely, you can see that I applied a natural color stain to the stem to bring out the color of the walnut. I sanded and applied polyurethane. (There is no polyurethane on the stem yet.) Next up is creating a hull planking plan and then on to the edge bending.
  8. KenW
    This boat is amazing! I wonder how long it took to build the actual ship back in those days. So much carving.
  9. KenW
    Thanks for your reply, Dave. I like that solution.
  10. KenW
    Very good precise work, my friend. Bring it to our next club meeting, please.
  11. KenW
    Dave: I think you model looks great. I also like the cabin windows. The Rattlesnake didn't have quarter badges either. One question - How did you install the fashion piece? Is it painted? Thanks.
  12. KenW
    WOW! That is awesome! The model looks great; and all that activity on deck is unbelievable! Great job - an inspiration to us all Cheers
  13. KenW
    Hey Dave and Lou: Clare's build on the Shipmodeler.worldress site is a little unusual. The most recent entry is the first entry you see. So the order, to me, is in reverse. But the information is there and there are some good photos. No photos of my second layer of planking since I have only done two strakes so far. Cheers.
  14. KenW
    Hey Lou: You can also check out a build log not on this site by Clare Hess. HIS log is here: https://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/category/ship-model-build-logs/als-independence-build/ I've started the final layer of planking, but I'm working slow. Good luck on your build. Cheers.
  15. KenW
    Thanks Lou. DocBlake showed me that it can be planked, but, at least on my first layer, I was not able to get planking that I found acceptable. Check out his blog; I can only hope that my second layer will be as good.
  16. KenW
    After applying lots of Wood Filler, the hull looks much better. Of course, you can’t see much original wood but the shape of the hull looks alright to me. And, at this point I think more sanding would be counterproductive. I also made the stem and keel pieces using my trusty coping saw and some sandpaper and files. The stem and keel fit together pretty well so I’m glad that’s over with. Finally, a photo of the boat with stem and keel attached, sitting on its new cradle. The cradle is simple and basic so I may decide to make something more fancy in future.
  17. KenW
    Every time you make another addition, the boat becomes more impressive. How do you do it?
  18. KenW
    The model gets more and more impressive with each addition. Great job!
  19. KenW
    Hey Dave: I know how hard it is to edge bend planks that are 1/32" thick because my first layer is 1/32 basswood. I've started with the wood filler and I'm using it to give strength in several places just because the strips are so thin. The problem is that my second layer will also be 1/32 inches; except it will be walnut. I hope that wood has a little more substance to it. As for the transom, I have some ideas I plan to try out. We'll see. (The metal piece is definitely out.) Cheers.
  20. KenW
    Thanks Lou. I hope your planking goes well. The only thing I can recommend at this point is take your time. Thanks to the 'likes' as well.
  21. KenW
    I had surgery back in April so modeling has been on hold. I had hoped to be able to get back into the shipyard sooner, but my recovery has taken longer than I planned. The planking on this boat is extremely challenging. Fortunately I'm double planking so I will have a chance to fix all my mistakes. The first layer is now complete; and I really made a royal mess of it. My planking plan was poor and skill at edge bending seriously lacking. The only thing I can say is that my bow does not look too much worse that the pictures on the photos of the AL kit’s bow. My goal is to make the final layer look as good as DocBlake’s bow. I will need a new and better plan and more patience when edge bending. But first, more sanding and then some Elmer’s Wood Filler. Some photos:
  22. KenW
    A great looking boat with an unbelievable crew as well. Must have taken some time just to paint all those figures. The overall look is quite impressive. Well Done!
  23. KenW
    You're pretty handy with a needle and thread.
  24. KenW
    WOW! I never considered this a scratch build. I'm copying the kit with the only difference being that I reduced the plans. I always thought of a scratch build as involving creativity. I don't feel like I'm creating anything. Anyway, I changed the title - how do I "ping a moderator"? Also a scratch build for me is POF, not POB.
  25. KenW
    Hey Dave. Good to hear from you. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago so modeling has been on hold. I hope to be able to get back into the shipyard soon. The planking on this boat is definitely challenging. Fortunately I'm double planking so I have a chance to fix my bad planking plan. I'll add another entry as soon as the first planking layer is done. Cheers.

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...