p_balag

Hi Glenn Great build..... I will follow it closely Cheers Bala

+1 Hi Richard Amazing for a first wooden build... I am sure to learn a lot from your build... I will follow it very closely! Cheers Bala

Haha... Well... the Wheelhouse is ready.. and this time I am really happy with the outcome... I placed it and the gratings to take the photo but not yet glued it in place I think the ladder could be a tight fit... so might glue them in place after i do the ladder... For some reason the grating looks warped coz i have not glued it... Sorry for the poor iphone photos Cheers Bala

Hi Sjors Thank you for following my build.... and I assume you mean Diluted PVA... It is such a good tip!! I will follow it. I agree with you. We dont want the gratings falling apart!!! Cheers Bala

hmmm.... So I have now done the grates and frames for them again..... I am happy with them... better than before for sure!!! I have not glued them in place yet... So you can see all the three decks with their gratings... I am working on the wheelhouse... once it is done, I plan to glue them all in place... So whatdoyathink?? Cheers Bala

Well Mark.... I did build my courage up and look what I did... I removed the Gratings.... and the Wheelhouse Thank you for encouraging me to do this... I was very afraid... but now that I have done it, Maaaaate.. Isocol is soooo coool!!! I never thought you could "undo" what you have done and re-do it... It has got to the extent that I plan to build the wheelhouse frame from scratch using the left over bits!! Fingers crossed! For those of you who are using windows computers... This is "Ctl+Z" and "Ctl+Y" However, I plan to leave the gratings in the main deck as-is... To be continued..... Cheers Bala

Hi Mark Thanks for your suggestion mate.. who knows? I might get the nerve up to isopropyl the gratings and re do it. I am currently using only PVA... Let me keep looking at the ship a couple of days more to get my courage... Coz the more I look at it and am unhappy, more courage to plunge right in!! hehe... Cheers Bala

Hi Gil! I have just quickly gone through your build and I have to say, like everyone else here, your skill is just amazing! But over and above this, you have taken your time to photo and explain in detail the steps as well .. You have no idea how valuable this information is... especially to a NOOB like me.. I thank you for this thread! I will read it in detail and hope to learn from it.. Cheers Bala

Hi Sjors I have to compliment you on the progress so far and your decking and wood nails technique... Well done Mate! I will follow your build with much interest indeed... Cheers Bala the "NOOB"

Hi Matt.. Thank you for the offer... I will accept it. Please PM me your addy and I will organise the cd pack... Cheers Bala

Hi Matt You are right... thank you for your comments.... I have rushed along a bit... in hindsight, i wish i had been a little bit more patient in fairing the bulkheads and took bit more care with the first layer of planking, it would have helped me a lot... I agree with you on the gratings... i wish i had the mitre box before, I could have cut the edges properly and attached them correctly. same for the wheelhouse as well. pity they are glued now... and I cant remove and redo them... I will take you advice on board and slow down a bit more and try the parts before I glue them on. Thanks again Cheers Bala

I pained the false gun ports black and glued them in place next. The planking of bottom half of the ship was better then the top... I had learned a lot more by then on how to pin the strakes in place, let them dry and then pin/glue them in place... I had achieved more symmetry in the bottom half as well... no bulges or dips... but still a bit of wood fillers was used to get a smooth finish. The bow was completed next. well have to tell you, was a bit of working to glue the flat bits in place and then chisel away till a rounded finish was achieved... I felt a good sense of accomplishment from this section. Then the first plank of the second planking was laid... YAY!!! I then laid the second planking in the stern... Note to self (again!!)... do not glue planks after dark!! you can see the gaps here.... Then I "fixed" them in the morning... in daylight! good news is.. the second layer has helped cover more of the mistakes in the first layer of planking.... hehe... It was a bit hard to get the planking done near the bow... Thanks for the tip on part no. 85 Matt.. helped me in getting the rounded shape using your tip... So this is how far I ave got to.... I then cut out the openings for the waterways and deck gun ports... Next is planking the bottom half of the ship... Plan to start it this weekend.. but before that, thought at least I will get up to date with my build here in my thread... Cheers Bala

Hi Matt Mate! all I can say is... your skills are amazing and you make it look so simple.... Only when someone like me is building the same kit will be able to appreciate what you can do... compared to how i am managing!! hehe... No doubt, I will follow your build like a hawk!!! (in a good way)... Cheers Bala

Oh.. BTW.... just wanted to let you all know.... the photos are from my iPhone 4S... no macro camera.. so please bear with me for the quality of the photos...

From all the lessons learned in this forum and books, I soaked the strakes before lining the hull... Pinning them in place before gluing them.. Not to self - for the next project.... make sure I spend more time fine fling the reinforcements and edge of the frames for good contact of the strakes... I finished the planking for the top half of the ship on the port and starboard sides. You can see that I also sanded and applied the wood filler to smooth the surface.... Still could not get rid of the slight bulge just around the gun ports.. I could not figure out how to cut the holes for the deck gun ports and the waterway holes.. all I had was a 6mm chisel and scalpels/cutters!! Off to the local hardware store and got myself a rotary tool kit for $39.00 YAY!!!! You can see the finish (or lack of it!!!) in the bow section... and the stern Lot of chiseling and sanding still to come.... Hehe Cheers Bala