USS Niagara by scott larkins - Model Shipways - 1:64

[mikiek]

The symmetry looks good Scott and I think at the end of the day, that's what is important. Don't know about you, but while I may have started each strake with one of three widths, I'm sure I ended up with ten to twelve varying widths. That transom was a beast wasn't it?

[scott larkins]

Yes, that transform was something different.  Where I could picture the symetry from the drawings, it just didn't come out that way in the end.  At least I think

 

I have now painted the outside of the hull.  Stage 1 is complete.

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2016 by scott larkins

[mikiek]

That's a big milestone! Just make sure you have plenty more paint on hand. It will get beat up as you move on to other tasks. Especially the black.

 

So what's next?

[scott larkins]

I have noticed that. My black does seem to chip off more than any other color. I wonder why? I'm very careful. Perhaps I need to bring a rag down to the shop to sit it on.

[mikiek]

Black is probably more noticeable. My hull is all black and it shows dirt, dust, fingerprints. Was planning to do 1 more paint job on the hull sometime down the road.

 

I've switched to a foam holder which does seem to protect the hull somewhat. All in all, I think dings and nicks are inevitable.

[scott larkins]

Okay I've started the deck work.  Here are my three structures.  Not much advise for you on these.  Simply follow the plans.

 

 

 

 

Yes, I chose to put in the brass wire window bars instead of painting them on the plastic I put behind them.  I had to be cautious about drilling the holes straight but I think I managed to pull it off.

 

 

 

 

 

yes, I built this structure to actually slide open and the front panel does come out.  Perhaps not practical for a model but it was fun trying to see if I could actually do it.

 

Edited October 9, 2016 by scott larkins

[mikiek]

Very well done Scott. I remember trying to do those bars - it was a nightmare. Or perhaps you have more patience. That little flip up slat was no fun either.

 

Best of all you did the real coamings. When you get the deck around that it will be more realistic.

[scott larkins]

Mike,

 

Thanks, yeah, I had to think a little ahead and use my engineering practices to make sure I had the plans set in my head.  But I did get it all up to snuff. For some reason they look a little roughly finished in those pics.  Not sure why.  I was very careful with my painting and sanded all of the sides so they looked smooth. Odd.

Edited October 10, 2016 by scott larkins

[mikiek]

Pix are very unforgiving!!! The slightest spec of dust looks like a boulder. The slightest splinter looks like a tree trunk and gouge looks like a ditch.

 

Frankly, I've found that's the best way to do a once over on a new piece of work.

[scott larkins]

I've started the deck work now.  The first thing I did, after cutting the deck plank to size was to use a sharpy to darken in the sides and ends of the deck plank.  I also use the sharpy to sharpen up the top edges to make it look like the tarred rope is pushed into the crease between the deck planks.  I used this method with my Rattlesnake.  I don't like using paint because, IMO, it gets too messy and IMO dark glue gets messy when you have to glue the sides and the bottom where it attaches to the ribs.

 

 

 

Occasionally I had an oops with the pen.  Fortunately in this case I ended up marking the bottom of the deck plank

 

 

This was the first small portion of the deck work.  I think it came out pretty well.

 

 

Half the deck is done.  I think it came out pretty well.  I will clean it up when I sand the deck.  The black marks are just some of the black that came off with the clue.  No biggy really.

Edited October 23, 2016 by scott larkins

[mikiek]

Looking good Scott. I wish I had laid my planks straight instead of tapered in the stern as the plans show.

[usedtosail]

Scott, the deck is looking great. I also like to use a Sharpie to simulate the caulk between deck planks.

[scott larkins]

Yea Mikiek, I looked at that tapper and how long it was and said no way, I'm not that good, especially at this scale.  May not look as realistic but one must know the limit of one's skills.

[mikiek]

Yea Mikiek, I looked at that tapper and how long it was and said no way, I'm not that good, especially at this scale.  May not look as realistic but one must know the limit of one's skills.

 

Actually my understanding is that most decks at that time were NOT tapered. The plans show the modern Niagara. Especially given the rush to completion that Niagara was under, it's a lot quicker to cut straight planks.

[jbshan]

Actually my understanding is that most decks at that time were NOT tapered. The plans show the modern Niagara. Especially given the rush to completion that Niagara was under, it's a lot quicker to cut straight planks.

Umm...., er...

Too late for Scott, Mike and for me, I found more examples of tapered than straight in an unscientific survey I did.  Everything was sawed by hand, no more work to follow a taper than a straight, the boards came out of tapered trees, longer thicker edge to fasten and plank at the deck edge, I guess.

[mikiek]

But someone had to compute the taper before the plank was laid

[jbshan]

But someone had to compute the taper before the plank was laid

It's somewhat of a slow process, could have measured as they went, or just measure and divide by 20 or however many.  Check your numbers as the gap gets narrower.

[scott larkins]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.  It would be interesting to really know how the Niagara decking was done for the time, but as I said, there was no way I was going to, IMO, waste wood trying to taper those planks.  It was stressful enough tapering the hull planking in the bow area.  Pretty sure I messed those up.  Yeah, the sanding helped it look better, but a good modeler would probably laugh me into oblivion.  LOL.

 

I'm about 75% done now.  I'll have the finished pics up for the rough finish, the sanded finish and the stained finish ASAP.

 

For those following, my one advise for the deck planking, once you get to the first full deck plank, make sure the plank is as straight as possible.  All of the ones following on the outside will show any bends or unevenness. I say that because I made darn sure mine was.  It's the old "build a good foundation and everything else will be good" idea.  I'm sure you can picture how that is possible.  Good luck.

[mikiek]

Good point Scott. We are really counting on the woodcutter to get things right for us.

[scott larkins]

The deck is finished, didn't take as long as I thought.  I found out that I hadn't put my hatches on as straight as I first thought.  Not horribly off but I did notice the imperfection.  The decking between the hatches told me that a little but putting on that first full length plank made it obvious.  I was able to work it out though.  Unless I pointed it out most people probably would not see it at first glance.  The worst part of the decking was those itty bitty planks between the last hatch and the stern - right under the tiller.  Tough to fit those properly.  Below are the pics.

 

Here is the sanded deck.  Had a bit of a scare when it seemed that the sanding paper was dragging the Sharpy painted saw dust and staining the tops of some of the decking.  But I just made a better effort to clean off the sand paper more often and blow off the saw dust on the deck more often.  It was warm enough that I could hand sand the deck outside.

 

Close up of the sanded deck.

 

Stained with natural stain.  I looked at some color stains on some scrap pieces but I liked the natural staining the best.

 

The outside pic makes the stain look better.

 

I took the leap to cut the bow pieces like the plans showed.  Not easy.  If you do this, make sure to use a very sharp knife.  One slip and the little notching is messed all up.  And unfortunately once you make that first cut you can't just stop because having one notched plank and no others would look just silly.  It is a real leap of faith.

Edited November 1, 2016 by scott larkins

[6ohiocav]

Scott,

 

Your ribbing strakes look real clean. Great work.  I did not have the courage to tackle that challenge and simply lined the planks up to the edging. I like your choice of stain as well. Good call. 

[mikiek]

Well done Scott. I will say the structures are somewhat noticeable, however when all the other stuff is in place they won't be as 'in your face' as they are now. Don't forget to put on some finish on the deck now. After the guns are in place it's a lot harder to do.

 

Bring on the carronades....

[scott larkins]

Do you mean like a polyurethane finish?  Flat or semi-gloss?

[mikiek]

I'm using acrylic paints so I'm also using an acrylic polyurethane lacquer. How much shine you want is up to you but I personally don't care for glossy. Valejo makes a good matte and satin lacquer. It's more for protecting the wood over the long term than anything else.

[6ohiocav]

Mike and Scott,

 

I started with a flat poly, but even that has too much of sheen for my taste.  I have now switched to a tung oil. Nearly all of my wood however is cherry.

[mikiek]

The matte varnish has virtually no shine.

[scott larkins]

Here's an update. Working on the cannons.  OMG these are worse than the hull planking.  IMHO.  Doing everything 20 times is truly the definition of insanity.  It's already taken a few months and going to take a few more I think. Tied more blocks than I can count.  Well, not really, I did have to count them.  LOL.  I want to thank Ken for posting where he got the hooks from for these blocks.  Purchasing them saved me so much time from having to make them.  Plus they look so much better.  So I posted a few pics of my progress.  Yes, the ropes ends are glued to the deck.  I plan on putting coiled ropes down over those ends.  I did it for my Rattlesnake and I liked the way it turned out.

[mikiek]

Can be mind numbing at times...

[scott larkins]

Finally, after building a failed new Cosplay outfit for the 2017 motor city comic con,  no thanks to the vendor I hired to 3D print my helmet and he failed, and finishing home improvements for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner in my backyard, his wedding, a vacation to Disney, the start of my next and last cosplay outfit, I have finished all of the cannon work.  Pics to follow.  Man that took a long time.

[JerseyCity Frankie]

We’re you cosplaying an admiral from 1812?