Trabakul by donrobinson - FINISHED - MarisStella - 1:32 scale

[donrobinson]

Some progress has been made on the Trabakul, after taking off two weeks to work on Mayflower I have brought her to the front of the bench again.

 Since last I have started the ceiling(first four strakes) then installed the bilge keelson. I stopped there then went onto the floor in the fore and aft hatch, very important to do this now as if you were to finish off the ceiling you would have no way of getting fingers inside to put planks on the floor.

 Flooring in the aft hatch is complete and flooring in main hatch is partially complete, I'm working on the forward hatch now and expect to have it complete today.

 The aft hatch was done by installing the floor boards first, trimming them to fit stern( sort of a V shape) then finishing off the ceiling to meet the floor. This was accomplished by edge gluing four boards together then cutting to shape(kind of a four sided triangle) then bevelling the fore, back and top edges so they fit flush to adjoining surfaces. This took many attempts and lots of wood to complete and as always I kept my cool    .

 With all frustrations behind me I'm thinking things are going to be all good now. I will add that I am by no means a seasoned veteran but so far this kit has been my most challenging build to date and has been quite the adventure so far. 

 Next up after flooring is planking the bulkheads, will send more pictures soon

 

 

 

In these last three pictures you can see the bilge keelson(the oak planks) and also some of the centre flooring(lime wood) sanding is still required everywhere.

[Seventynet]

Off to a great start Don.

Best, Ian

[mikiek]

What a great kit. Thanks for the update Don.

 

I'm curious how you are finding the plans/instructions?  For instance you made mention of getting that decking in early. A few other build logs I follow have complained about things like that were not stated anywhere and it was difficult to impossible to add the decking in the steps listed.

[DocBlake]

Very, very nice, Don.  This is a very interesting model and judging by your progress so far, will be a real beauty.  Keep it up!

[donrobinson]

Thanks to all who have stopped by and thanks for all the likes

 

Ian: Thanks, it was hard putting the Mayflower aside being that is so close to being done but I kind of promised myself a two week on and two week off rotation(closest I'll come to the oilfields  )

Mike: The instructions seem to be good so far, the book is about 145 pages of which about 134 are pictures and the rest written. Following the pictures, plans and instructions guides you along enough so that you shouldn't back yourself into a corner. The only difficulty I've had so far is the stern floor and that was for the most part my fault trying to complicate things when not required. Overall I am extremely happy with this kit and how it is built, if I do see something I don't understand a quick e-mail to Zoran(MarisStella) and he clears things up for me, MarisStella's customer support is just incredible.

 

Dave: Thanks Dave, yes it is very interesting lots of different techniques and style of building It is making me a real MarisStella fan and with their newest kit, Barque Stephano, coming out soon I'm thinking my kits I have now maybe on the shelf a little longer  

[Cabbie]

Hi Don

That is great looking work and a wonderful kit to build.

I'd forgotten you started this. Too many good logs to follow and not enough time.

Speaking of time, what time is it over there now?, must be quite late?

Cheers Chris

[donrobinson]

Thanks Chris. You are 17 hours ahead of me so it is 06:15 here and 23:15 there. So right now I am enjoying a morning coffee and you are sleeping

 Have a Good One

Edited March 30, 2016 by donrobinson

[donrobinson]

Hello everyone, thanks to all for stopping by and for your comments and likes.

 Since last update I have been working on the floors and ceiling also the bunk rooms. It has been a lot of work but it all came together, I was expecting the floor to be the hard part, however, the bunks turned to be the hardest(for me at least). The six bunks took me about 10 hours to build even though they were laser cut. trying to hold the pieces in place in such a confined space to test fit proved to be a real test of the nerves. It was a good exercise in holding my breath and stretching my tongue

 I am really impressed with the planks, so far all have been milled really good and the color variation is almost non-existent I have yet to pick through to find a lighter or darker one.

 Even though this ship is a single planked hull it feels like I have one layer done already, I'm hoping the outside of the hull is as easy as the inside was to plank.

 The last 5 pictures show it finished with a fresh coat of brushed on wipe on poly.

 

 

These are the parts for the bow and stern bunks

 

 

 Next up is several more coats of poly then the hull begins

 

Have a Good One

 

 

 

[Seventynet]

Hi Don, lovely work as usual and a pleasure to follow. This ship looks super interesting to build and the materials look first rate. I'm getting that needy feeling again...

 

Best, Ian

Edited September 29, 2016 by Seventynet

[mrshanks]

I really like the look of the contrasting colors of wood.  Appears to be on par with Amati in materials..??  Question for you:  did you get Admiral approval prior to clamping your keel to the glass kitchen table?  Just wondering.... 

[mikiek]

That is gorgeous wood Don! The kit just gets more impressive. Thanks for the update.

[donrobinson]

Hi Ian, Thanks for your comments. Yes  I know that "needy" feeling" watching some of these builds here makes it very hard not needing more. I guess maybe the low Canadian dollar isn't so bad in this respect

[donrobinson]

Hey Mike, the wood in this kit really is awesome. It seems Marisstella actually puts pride in their kits something most other manufacturers should take note of.

 As for clamping permission(       ) my navy no longer has an admiral so I was fortunate in this case permission wasn't required. Not to worry all is good only thing that has changed is it is no longer a "honey to do list" it is just a "do List" and it's not getting done either . 

[donrobinson]

Hi Mike: Thanks a lot. It is an impressive kit, I was a little scared about the size at first but now I am very happy with the size it is as some of this work would have been almost impossible at a smaller scale.

[donrobinson]

Hi Lawrence, Thanks for stopping in. I bought this kit directly from Marisstella in Split, Croatia. You can find their link on the main page they are one of our sponsors. The kit cost a little over $320Cdn and shipping was free so it has turned out to be a real bargain. I am pretty sure the free shipping still applies but that is something that you would have to check on.

 As for fairing the frames that is coming up next after a few more coats of poly on the interior. I am just not too sure whether I want to add filler blocks between all the frames as it is a single planked hull. The bow and stern call for blocks so I am undecided as to whether to do the rest or not.

 I followed your African Queen build and you did a fantastic job, scratch building the HMS Bounty will be a real undertaking I will look forward to following that.

[DocBlake]

Hi Don!  I'm just catching up after a week kicking back in Florida.  This kit continues to impress.  The wood quality appears excellent, and you're doing a great job.    Keep the progress reports coming.

[donrobinson]

Thanks Dave, it is really proving to be an enjoyable and challenging kit.

 I would also like to mention, that's about enough holidays and kicking back, time to get back into the shipyard  

Edited April 15, 2016 by donrobinson

[Elijah]

I have officially started a "To Build" list. Officially meaning on paper. This ship is on that list!

[donrobinson]

Elijah you go for it, you'll be more than happy. We could start our own Trabakul brotherhood

[mrshanks]

What's going on over here?  

[donrobinson]

Hey Buddy, how are you doing? I have been working on my Mayflower this past while and am about to update on that soon. Now that I have no Admiral house work gets in the way too   !! Since last post I have added three more coats of poly. I don't know how you do it with so many builds on the go I know my hands are full with two.

 Thanks so much for the concern Mike, I hope to resolve this problem soon.

 

Take care

Edited April 24, 2016 by donrobinson

[DocBlake]

Don:  Anxiously awaiting updates!

[donrobinson]

Hi Dave, I have a day or two left on my Mayflower and she will be done. After that I will be devoting more time to this girl then you have my word there will be more updates

[donrobinson]

 Well I think this hobby has gotten the best of me, I mean who wakes up in the morning excited about making filler blocks? It's just not right  .

 Before I jumped into this madness I did manage to get some of the outside work done so maybe I'm not totally over the edge yet.

 For the blocks I cut some pieces out of a 1x6 board to size then shaped by cutting one edge on scroll, and shaped the rest on the belt/disc sander. Finished shaping by hand then glued in place. In the pictures only the starboard stern side has been slightly faired I am leaving the rest of the fairing until I finish with installing all the filler blocks. I'm thinking that all in all I probably spent about 4-5 hours making and installing them.

 

Stern filler block

 

Bow filler block

 

Bow

 

Stern

 

Have a good night

Edited April 28, 2016 by donrobinson

[Dfell]

Hi Don - Nice work - nice kit. How are you able to do two builds at the same time - I find it hard enough just to concentrate on one

 

Regards

 

Doug

[cobra1951]

Nice neat job on those fillers Don

[donrobinson]

Thanks to all for stopping by and thanks for your remarks and likes

 

Doug: LOL it really isn't too bad having more than one on the go, it certainly isn't because I'm organized because I am not!! It helps when you get to some parts like planking and there is so much lag time waiting for glue to dry. I always have thought it would be nice to have several on the go at different stages then maybe a person wouldn't forget so many of the skills you have learned between builds  . And biggest bit is the encouragement and support here at MSW is what really helps one out.

[donrobinson]

Hi Bob, Thanks for that. I originally was going to use balsa until I found out the price. When I went to the lumber yard the smallest piece they had was approximately 3"x4"x4' and it would have been over $100.00, although I must say it was nicely wrapped in plastic . I decided to go with a 1"x6"x4'(unplaned) basswood board instead which cost $20.00) . I found it very easy to work with and it will have a better glueing surface versus balsa, not only that but I now have enough for several more builds  

[David Lester]

Hi Don,

I've been following along with interest.

 

I noticed your comments about balsa vs basswood. I prefer basswood regardless of the price. I ordered some balsa for my Constitution filler blocks, but quickly abandoned it. I find it hard to carve, despite its being soft. It tends to break off in chunks unless you're very careful. I went back to the basswood which isn't hard to carve and gives pretty nice results.

David

[donrobinson]

Thanks David: I have never used balsa before so after hearing what you said I'm sure I would have been very upset spending $100 on something that was useless to me. I am very happy using the basswood at least for this application.

 How did the trellis turn out?