Phantom by Elijah - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:96 - New York Pilot Boat

[DocBlake]

The decking looks great, Elijah!

[EJ_L]

Excellent work on the decking.

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice work Elijah.  Very clean planking!

[captgino]

Looking good!!

[mikiek]

Elijah - did you ever decide if you were going to make the cockpit recessed?

[Jparsley]

Elijah she's looking great Planking is superb Are you going to age it like the hull just curious

[Elijah]

Mike- I decided not to because the plans don't show it recessed, and because I'm not sure if I am ready to do that level of carving.

Jparsley- I'm not sure how to give a deck an aged look, but I am open to suggestions!

Edited August 21, 2016 by Elijah

[mikiek]

I'm with you on that. It didn't make sense - seemed like a safety hazard.

[Seventynet]

Just catching up on your build. Deck looks great!

 

Regards, Ian

[vaddoc]

Very nice Elijah, both the hull and deck planking look really good. That garboard plank looks spot on to my uneducated eye. 

[Elijah]

Thank you everybody! I have finished the stanchions, and am working on the pintles and gudgeons.

Until next time, when I have the rudder installed!

[DocBlake]

Your stanchions look great, Elijah.  I'll be interested in how your rudder mounting turns out.  I hate metal work, so the method used to mount my AVS rudder is interesting in that there is no soldering involved in forming the gudgeons and pintles.   Here's a link:

 

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10979-armed-virginia-sloop-patrick-henry-by-docblake-lauck-street-shipyard-scale-132-pof-admiralty-style/page-11

[Elijah]

Hello all! In an effort to improve my log, I will start to explain how I build different things more. I built the pintles and gudgeons by bending a brass strip to the correct shape. Since I don't know how to solder, I used ca to attach the wire for the hinge system. I glued the parts to the hull and rudder with medium consistency ca. I used acrylic paint, but still had to do touch up work to make up for where it peeled of. The top set of hinges is slightly crooked, but there is nothing I can do now . Oh well, first model. I will be taking a break from the main build to make the launching ways. This will be the permanent base. It should be good that I do this now, as school has started, and I have less time for building. I'm glad I am doing this now because she has gotten a bit knocked about, and I don't want to lose any more copper plates ! Here are the pictures!

This is where I get to the fun part . Until next time!

[mikiek]

Elijah - you can use foam as a mount while you are working. Some of the hobby sites have some precut for boat hulls but you could easily make one yourself.

 

If you mount to something solid then you lose the ability to roll the hull around. The foam allows you to still do that and it protects the sides very well.

 

I started out with a good (and expensive) clamp style mount, but that is now gathering dust as I have found the foam to work better for me.

[EJ_L]

Those stanchions look great and you did an excellent job on the rudder also. I will second getting the foam to hold your hull. I use a couple things for mine. First I used a rotating bench vise so I could roll the ship to whatever position I needed for planking. Once the planking was complete I built a temporary stand to hold her upright. When I needed to work on a side I used foam that I had carved out an indention to hold the ship. This allowed her to lay on a side without damaging anything. Very important with canon barrels sticking out. It also helps to prevent the hull from getting scratched up.

[dgbot]

I was always a fan of foam for my models as well.  and as for your pintel and gudgeons you can try a little 3 minute epoxy.   Just make sure the brass is super clean with no oils.  I used to do my brasswork wearing a pair of white coth gloves.  It kept my oily fingers from the brass.  And check with Bob and kurt on soldering.  Bob has a nifty way of making his pintel and gudgeons.  As for your deck from what I have read those pilot boats were used hard and abused tremendoulsy.  Piloting was a cut throat and competitive business.  Those boats went out in weather that sane men would not do.  So go ahead and weather it.  I would advise experimenting with a wash on the deck.  Uising some dorty mineral spirits. But remember to be subtle.  Looking good.

David. B

[genericDave]

Hey Elijah!  It is coming along nicely!  Great job on the rudder - I messed mine up so bad I had to build it twice.  I love the way your planking turned out.  I captures the dark black look of Phantom while also looking 'real'!  Looks like you're just about done with the bulk of the hull work, which I remember being a big step.  When you move on to the deck structures, it feels like you're working on a completely different project because the kinds of things you're doing completely changes (that happens again when you start rigging).

 

Keep up the great work, I'm really enjoying seeing your Phantom come together!

[DocBlake]

Your rudder turned out great, Elijah!

[Elijah]

If I don't build the permanent stand now, when should I build it?

[EJ_L]

It is not so much building the stand as that is fine but it it requires the boat to be permanently mounted to it then I would hold off on that. If it is just a cradle type stand where the boat can be removed easily then go ahead. The main thing to think about before mounting your ship is what work still needs to be done? If there is work that is easier to do with the ship on it's side then mounting it on a stand should wait. However, if all of the hull work is complete so that you do not need to turn it onto a side then go ahead and mount it.

 

You decide how you want to build and what is comfortable to you. I have had some models that I mounted on a permanent stand just as soon as the hull was built. My current one is in a temporary cradle to hold it upright but I can still pick it up and turn it over if needed. The final stand has not been built for it yet and probably won't be until I am getting ready to start rigging.

[Sjors]

Very nice Elijah.

 

You have do a lot and good work !!!!!

 

Sjors

[Elijah]

Thanks! I will also be working on small fittings and such while I'm at my Papa's house, as I do not feel very comfortable taking my hull from place to place every few days.

[mikiek]

Elijah - E.J. nailed it. I think you are still going to need to be able to roll the hull over to one side or the other once in a while. So fixing the hull to something stationary will limit the mobility. Even when you get to rigging you may need one side up to get to the belaying pins easier. And that cutout in the foam will really do a good job of protecting your copper.

 

Go ahead and build your stand (maybe a good project at your papa's), just don't glue the hull to it yet.

[genericDave]

On the launching ways, I'd agree to not actually mount it yet, but I would go ahead and get it built.  On my Phantom, I waited to build the launching ways until the ship was finished (I was using a custom-made cradle while I worked, so I didn't see the point in building the stand until I was done).  But, the launching ways for the Phantom have two brass 'pins' that need to go into the bottom of the hull.  This requires drilling two holes into the keel.  I had to carefully flip my ship on its side, with all the masts/rigging in place, and drill those holes.  Much easier to drill those before you've got stuff on the deck, but since those pins go into the beams of the launching ways, it would be hard to get those holes lined up 'just right' on the keel unless you had the completed launching ways ready-to-go with the pins in place.

 

My recommendation would be to build the launching ways, complete with the pins.  Then get the holes drilled in your keel (much easier to do before you've got deck structures, masts, and rigging!)  Then put the launching ways aside until you're done with the build.  Plus, building the launching ways is pretty fun, quick side-project that can be done easily with just a few strips of wood.

[Elijah]

Thanks! Next trip I will, but right now (not literally at this moment) I am building 3.5 mm cleats.

[robnbill]

I mount my ships to their base once all the deck furniture is on and the painting has been completed. I found that once I started the rigging I needed it on the base. Granted you do need to tilt it back and forth as well as turning it around to get to the various areas, however, having a stable base on the ship is great insurance as you do move it around. Just watch the nose. I broke the Connie's bowsprit completely off and had to rebuild and-re rig it. That was just my clumsiness. I know I would have broken more if I had not had it attached to it's base.

[Elijah]

Hello again! I have been building the cap rail, but am unsure as to how to proceed. The wood is cherry and 1/32" thick. I need to carve and sand it closer to the bulwarks, but it is in a tight spot. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

[EJ_L]

I'm guessing it is glued in place? If so they have pencil sanders that could help or just fold a piece of sandpaper down to a small square and sand it down close by hand. You could also take a hobby knife and use it too shave slivers off the edges to get it closer. Just be careful and go slow especially when going with the grain as the wood can split deeper than intended along the grain quickly.

 

The other option is if you have a Dremel, you can use a drum sander to shape it quickly.

[Elijah]

Yes, it is glued in place. Thanks!

Edit: What are pencil sanders?

Edited September 7, 2016 by Elijah

[mikiek]

I would probably stick to sanding. The interior edge looks slightly concave so a block with a convex surface would do well. Long, slow, careful strokes. At the bow and transom - where the curve is sharper - sandpaper on various sized dowels can work.

 

I suspect it's not going to take much effort to remove material, so caution is the word.......