Bluenose by genericDave - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64 Scale

[genericDave]

Bulwark Stanchions

 

While I've been trying to figure out mooring chocks, I've also been working on the bulwark stanchions.

 

Looks like my bulwark planking had a nice uniform height, so I was able to cut all the stanchions for the fore deck based off one measurement.  I built a jig to hold the wood strip and help me get consistent cuts.

 

 

I cut the stanchions for the fore deck, and went to work gluing them in.  Since I had cut scruppers while planking, I had already done all the work to determine stanchion placement, so this went really fast.  It was just a matter of gluing each one in.

 

After getting some in place, I realized that the trimmed bulkhead extensions just weren't good enough to pass for stanchions. No amount of wood filler or shims were going to make these look right.

 

 

The bulkhead extensions really stand out.

 

So, I went to work cutting those out.  I bent a razor saw blade to help get a cut flush with the deck, then did sanding/filing as necessary to smooth things out.  (I think you can buy specially shaped blades for this, but I was doing the stanchions on a Sunday and all my local hobby shops were closed.)

 

On the quarter deck, I modified my jig to cut the shorter stanchions, removed the bulkhead extensions, and glued in the new stanchions.

 

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  They look pretty uniform and clean.

 

 

 

The whole process of installing stanchions took a full day, about 8 hours of work.

 

Now on to the hawse pipes, mounting holes in the keel and mooring chocks.  Then I think it will be time to primer the hull and see how all that planking turned out.

[J T Lombard]

Dave:

I think you're on the right track with regard to the "mooring chock". I'm at the point of laying the 3rd & 4th deck planks on the quarter deck. I know to cut the planks approx. 12'', lay it along side the 1st planks & mark it where the 1st plank ends. At that point I cut a notch just deep enough for the 1st plank to nestle in. Where I'm confused is how far forward from that notch do I taper planks 3 & 4? Also do I taper the outside edge of planks 3 & 4? If so where do I taper them?

 

regards

 

J

[genericDave]

J,

 

For those planks, after I cut in the notch to fit around planks 1 & 2, I tapered that inside edge (that will sit against plank 1 or 2) from the notch back towards the other end, about 6 inches.  Then I tapered the outside edge on the short part past the notch, just enough to get the tip narrowed down to my liking.  I didn't want to taper the entire plank, then cut the notch, because I was afraid that I'd end up with too little material around the notch.

[J T Lombard]

Dave:

Thank you that explains it much better than the practicum. Sorry about hijacking your build log.

 

regards

 

J

[genericDave]

No problem!  Glad I could help!

[DBorgens]

Dave,

You have nailed it on the mooring chocks. I skipped them. Perhaps a simpler way might be to fashion a piece of styrene or a hard wood such as box.

 

Dave B

[genericDave]

Thanks Dave!  It all kind of clicked after reading J's description of where the lines would be tied off, seeing your photo with the location of the holes, and realizing that these metal castings are supposed to have a hole drilled in them.  

 

I'm going to take a stab at cleaning up the castings.  If they don't work out, I'll probably just drill the hole and shape the opening on the outside of the bulwarks.

[genericDave]

Hull Details and Primer

 

Well, after a flurry of work, I'm running into one of my least favorite parts of a build...waiting for paint to dry.

 

This week I focused on a few remaining details that needed to be resolved before I could paint the hull.  

 

I was focused on figuring out the mooring chocks this week, which was complicated by my complete lack of knowledge about actual ships.  (Never been on one, or even seen one in person.)  With the help of the board, I got my head around the kit's plans, and went to work installing the kit's cast metal mooring chocks.  They turned out awful.  

 

I think the pieces were just too small to work well as cast pieces.  So I ripped them out and tried a different approach.  Based on some research, it seems like these would have been some metal pieces to allow mooring lines to pass through without damaging the hull.  At 1:64 scale, the inside of the mooring chocks isn't really visible, so I focused on what would be visible on the surfaces of the ship.  I ended up fashioning some 'faceplates' out of brass.  They are about the right size, and they have holes punched through them.  The punch I used gave a nice, smooth, rounded edge that looks like it goes into a tube.  I trimmed away some wood on the hull so these will sit flush with the bulwarks, then set them aside.  I'll install them after the hull is painted.

 

I also drilled out the hawse pipe holes, and drilled holes in the keel for mounting on the pedestals when I'm done.  (I didn't do that on my last ship, and had to flip the thing over after it was fully rigged to drill holes - learned my lesson).

 

So, it is on to painting.

 

I'll be airbrushing the hull.  I am horrible at painting with a normal brush, but airbrushing seems to give me a consistently good finish.  I'll start by applying a couple coats of primer to everything I need to paint (hull, bulwarks, waterways).  In between primer coats I'll be sanding and filling as necessary to get things smoothed out.  Once I've got everything primed, I'll start applying the actual colors.

 

So it begins...after a few hours of masking off the deck (and the tops of the bulwarks and stanchions), I'm off to the garage to start spraying on primer.

 

The next week will be slow.  Spray on a coat, wait a day, sand/fill, spray on a coat, wait a day...

 

 

 

[genericDave]

Painting...

 

Nothing to see here, just painting.  It's been two weeks of painting, waiting, sanding, filling, waiting, sanding, painting, waiting...

 

 

The entire hull got primered with multiple coats (grey), alternated with tons of sanding and some additional filling.  Then I painted the waterways a light grey.  Those got masked off, and I painted the bulwarks and waterline with white.  I've also painted the yellow stripe.

 

Everything has been airbrushed, mostly because I'm horrible with a normal brush.

 

Just waiting for everything to fully cure so I'm comfortable putting tape over the white waterline area to mask off the lower hull for red paint.  This part always goes slow because I have to do airbrushing in the garage, so I have to coordinate with the wife to have both cars moved out.

 

Hopefully I'll be done within the next week.  Once all the paint is on I'll get some photos up and list out which paints/colors I used.

 

 

[genericDave]

Painting...

 

After a month of painting, I'm getting close.

 

I finished the red on the lower hull last week.  Since I need to mask that off, I wanted to give it a good amount of time to fully cure so I don't damage the paint when I put tape on it.

 

After several coats of red, it started to look pretty good.

 

 

Once the tape came off, I was able to see the contrast between the white and red for the first time, and I'm pretty happy with it.  There are a few spots that need to be cleaned up manually with a brush, but I'm going to hold off until I get all the paint on, then do a pass to touch things up.

 

 

This morning I started in with the black.  I've masked off the red and the yellow stripe.  The first pass of black will paint between the white stripe and the yellow stripe.  Once this is done, I'll remove the masking above the yellow line, re-mask the yellow line, then paint the black between the yellow and the tops of the bulwarks.

 

I forget how quickly black goes on compared to other colors...even after two coats it is starting to look pretty good.

 

 

I probably have another week to go on painting.  My progress is slow on this because I can only get time to airbrush on the weekends, and I need time for paint to dry between coats.  This means I can typically only get a few coats in on a Saturday, and a few more on a Sunday.  Really looking forward to being done with this so I can get back to work!

[genericDave]

Paint Complete and Deck Staining

 

After weeks of masking, painting, waiting, sanding, and repeating, my Bluenose is painted!  It was very, very satisfying to remove the multiple layers of masking tape that I had piled on over the last month.

 

 

There was a good deal of touching-up required, especially on the waterways and bulwarks.  Those had been airbrushed early in the process, but there was some bleeding, so I touched those up by hand.

 

I still need to do some final touch ups on the yellow and white stripes on the outer hull, but I decided to ahead and get the deck stained first.  I went with a darker shade than originally planned on (kind of a last minute decision), but I'm really happy with how the deck turned out.

 

 

Hopefully I'll get those stripes on the hull cleaned up this week.  

 

I'm still debating if I should go ahead and get some poly on the deck now, or wait until later.  

 

The entire hull was airbrushed, and I decided on the specific colors after doing some tests on a large piece of basswood.

 

For black, I used Model Master's Flat Black (I know that 'midnight blue' is more historically accurate, but I didn't think I would be able to get a good shade of that).  The red portion of the hull was Model Master's Insignia Red (probably not the 'right' shade of red, but it was the one I liked the most).  For white (both on the stripe and on the bulwarks) I used Humbrol Flat White.  The yellow stripe was Model Master's Insignia Red (which wasn't my plan, I was going to use Humbrol Trainer Yellow, but grabbed the wrong bottle without realizing it).  The grey was Model Master's Light Grey.

 

After I get things cleaned up with the stripes, I still need to put some kind of clear coat on top, but I'm not sure what I'll use yet.

 

I'm excited to get things moving again!  

 

 

 

[Elia]

Dave,

 

Very nicely done! That is one smart paint job.

 

Elia

[genericDave]

Thanks Elia!

[DBorgens]

Dave,

Just caught up with your painting. Very nice and sharp in the photos. Of course, we examine our builds and find the tiniest imperfections.

Love the color of your deck? Is the photo color true?

 

Dave B

Edited August 20, 2016 by DBorgens

[genericDave]

Dave,

 

The deck color in the photo is pretty spot-on.  (While waiting for paint to dry, I invested in a new camera since I've been taking hundreds of photos during the build.  I finally got my head around correcting white balance to get colors right!)

 

I did the deck in Minwax Cherry.  It is darker, and redder than I originally planned.  It was a last-minute change I made after seeing some other Bluenose build photos online.  I was originally going to go with a 'natural' stain that just slightly darkens the natural color of the deck planking, but after doing a test I wasn't happy with it.

[genericDave]

Mooring Chocks and Bow/Stern Main Rail

 

I'm finally done painting and touching up.  I finished the bulk of hull painting a few weeks ago, but my waterline wasn't clean enough.  I did a pass at touching it up by hand, but wasn't happy with the results.  I ended up sourcing some 1/16" tape, re-masked the entire hull, and re-sprayed both the red and black.  This finally gave me an even, clean-edged waterline.

 

Finally I can stop masking and painting the hull, and get back to work.

 

A while back, I got some great help on understanding the mooring chocks.  I decided that I didn't like the cast metal pieces provided by the kit.  They were so small that they lacked detail and didn't clean up well.  The kit pieces were basically a tube that runs through the bulwark, with a 'plate' that is visible outside the hull.  I decided to only simulate the plate, since the tube/pipe wouldn't really be visible.  I measured and cut some small plates from brass, and added holes to simulate the pipe going through the hull.

 

 

I mounted these on both the outside and inside of the bulwarks, and painted them to match the hull.  (Shown here after the cap rails were started...more on that in a bit...).  The black one on the outside of the hull is barely visible in this photo, but these were not supposed to stand out on the ship, so I'm OK with these kind of 'disappearing'.

 

 

I also started work on the main rail.  This turned out to require some extra work!  The kit provides laser cut pieces for the bow and stern.  I cut those out, and did a test fit.  Turns out they don't fit my hull.  The bow piece wasn't far off, and could be made to work, but the stern piece just doesn't fit at all.  I tried sliding it forward and backward, but no luck.  It looks like my stern is a little wider than it should have been, so the provided piece doesn't fit.

 

 

So, I transferred the actual dimensions of the ship to paper, including stanchion locations, etc. I scanned this into the computer.  I also scanned in the applicable parts of the plans so I could get the actual shape of these pieces in the computer at the same scale.  Using the digital versions, I verified that the pieces had the same problems (in order to verify that my ship dimensions got imported correctly).

 

Next I re-drew the pieces to match my hull shape correctly.  I was careful to make sure the width of the rail was the same once it got out over the bulwarks.  The image below shows the original pieces (red) compared to my custom pieces (grey).

 

 

I printed out the templates for my modified pieces, cut them out, and verified the fit.  They looked good, so I fixed the templates to some 1/16" basswood sheets and cut out the new pieces.  

 

My custom pieces (top) compared to the kit provided pieces (bottom):

 

 

These were then sanded, primered, painted, and glued in place.

 

 

 

I've also started in on the rest of the rail, but I'll post that separately once I get it completed.  It is Labor Day weekend, so I've got some extra time to spend in the shop (when I'm not distracted by the start of college football).

 

[GrantGoodale]

I am always interested in those who paint the upper hull colour followed by the lower (or vice versa) and then mask and paint the boot topping. Wherever I try that, the result looks all wobbly. Now, I paint the hull black and mask off the boot topping with thin tape. You can get that tape in any place that caters to r/c cars - they use it for striping.

 

HTH

[Landlubber Mike]

That's looking really sharp Dave.  Very nice job!

[genericDave]

Grant - you're right - it was hard to get the waterline nice and straight using my original approach.  What ended up working was using some thin pin striping tape to mask the waterline, then paint the black and red.  I tried the more complex approach originally because I was worried about putting white over black, but I should have just kept it simple.  Doing it the hard way is why it took me 2 months to finish painting the hull!

 

Mike - thanks!  I'm finally happy with the paint job, and ready to get this thing moving again!

 

John - thanks!  I've seen other mentions of problems with the rail lining up.  If I were smart, I would have test-fit those pieces before I finished building the transom to make sure I had the shape right, but oh well  

 

I'm not sure about sails.  One of the things that led me to pick the Bluenose for my second build (aside from being POB and the ability to paint the hull and hide my first attempt at hull planking) was the option to add sails.  I went into the build fully intending to do the sails.  However, the instructions don't cover it in much detail, and the practicum I have doesn't add sails.  So, I'm going to hold off until I get the rigging started before I make the final decision.  I want to...but it may be a little too much for my second build.  I think the Bluenose looks good either way!

[Jerry]

Hello Dave,

I'm so glad that i got to see your log tonight.  You are doing such a nice job.  I particularly like the idea that you improvise when you need to. This kit as you darn well know leaves a lot to be desired but you look to have it under control and your workmanship is terrific.  It's good to have another build to learn from.

Take care,

Jerry

[genericDave]

Thanks Jerry!

[genericDave]

Main Rail

 

The main rail is complete!  

 

I ended up using some sheets of 1/16" basswood and tracing the curve of the hull onto the sheet.  I used those lines to draw out the shape of the rails, then cut it out so I had one long piece that ran the length of the ship.  I added in the joint to match the stern piece that was previously installed, then worked my way forward.  

 

 

Since I was using a single piece to make the rail, creating the scarf joints for the individual sections was easy - I just cut the sections apart in the shape of each joint.  I also added in the wider 'ledges' that will hold belaying pins, based on the plans.

 

 

Each side was done separately, just in case the curve was slightly different.

 

Once all six sections were cut, they got sanded down, primered, and painted.  Once they were glued in place, I used a metal file to make sure the joints were even.  I used a little wood putty to clean up the joints and fill any gaps, then did a final coat of paint.

 

 

 

On the color...the plans call for white on the main rail.  My research indicates the rails were almost certainly white (although a couple old b&w photos might show that the rail was black at some point...or those could just be misleading angles).  So I know that white would be more 'historically accurate'.  But, I've seen a lot of models that use black for the main rail, and I really like the look.  So I went with black.  At least it was a conscious choice

 

 

[genericDave]

Buffalo Rail

 

Moments after I finished the main rail, I started in on the buffalo rail.  The 'tip' is provided as a laser cut piece, and the rest is made from strip stock, so I had it all cut and cleaned up in no time.  Then I got a little lazy with painting, and didn't finish getting those parts painted for a few days.  

 

I also got distracted with a research project that started by me wondering what the most popular ships/manufacturers/kits are on MSW...which led to writing a bunch of software and researching 75+ kit manufacturers, 370+ ships, 500+ kits, and 1700+ build logs.  But that's a story for another day... 

 

I finally got around to finishing up the painting and sanding of the buffalo rail parts.  That's when I realized I had totally messed up.

 

During my alternating phases of primering, painting, and sanding, I apparently got a little crazy.  I ended up sanding the laser cut tip piece too much, and it was now too thin to fit with the other pieces.

 

 

(Ignore the pencil markings, that was from my repair work...)

 

I spent the next few days trying to cut a new tip piece by hand.  That didn't work.  So, I ordered the Proxxon scroll saw.  That made short work of it, and I had a new piece on the first try.

 

 

(New piece on left, original piece on right, obviously.)

 

This time, to ensure I didn't sand unevenly, I secured the pieces to a board using double-sided tape for the entire primering, painting, and sanding phase.  I covered the board with wax paper to make removal easier.  This helped me to sand the entire rail evenly.

 

 

After painting was done, I got the buffalo rail installed.

 

 

 

Buffer Platform Legs

 

I also had to make new pieces for the aft buffer platform legs.  Since I had made a custom piece for the aft main rail, the kit provided pieces were too short.  I cut these by hand, painted them, and got them installed.

 

 

Now on to the monkey rail...which should be fun since the thin laser cut piece provided with the kit broke as I was pulling it out of the wood sheet.  Not quite sure how I'm going to get the curves around the stern yet...

 

 

[genericDave]

Monkey Rail

 

The monkey rail is finished!

 

I wasn't able to use the laser-cut pieces provided by the kit because my stern has a slightly different shape.  I ended up bending some wood strip to make the monkey board.  

 

 

 

For the monkey rail, I cut a custom piece from some thin wood sheet.

 

 

The monkey rail's rounded 'caps' near the great beam were cut from some thicker stock, than sanded down to match the wood I was using for the rail.

 

 

 

All the pieces were sanded, primered, and painted before anything was installed.

 

 

Once everything was ready, I cut the scarf joints and sized the long pieces to fit.  The end caps were installed first, followed by the stern piece, with the long strips going on last.  I sanded the joints a bit, added some wood filler, then did a final sanding and some paint touch ups.

 

 

 

I think I'm finally done with the hull structure and ready to move on to other stuff!

[genericDave]

Rudder

 

The last few days have been fun, as I've been able to start working on various random things.

 

I got the hawse pipe lips cleaned up, painted and ready to install.

 

I also built the rudder.  This required tapering the provided laser cut piece and installing the post to the top.  I also had to widen the hole at the stern to make the post fit, and notch the stern post to accept the rudder.

 

 

Pintles and Gudgeons

 

On my first build, I faked the pintles and gudgeons.  I just glued the rudder in place and used copper tape to simulate the straps.  This time I wanted to try and do it properly.  I'm not quite there yet, but I'm pretty happy with my test run.

 

I've never soldered in my life.  I knew if I kept building ships, I'd have to at some point, so I decided to take the plunge.  I cut and shaped some brass strips, drilled some holes, and took a swing at soldering in some brass tubing and rods.  It isn't perfect, but I think I've proved I can make this work.  Soldering ended up being no big deal - way easier than I was expecting.

 

 

 

I'm going to put the pintles and gudgeons on hold for a week though.  I'm not happy with my ability to drill the holes (and drilling them by hand with a pin vise is a pain - I can't imaging doing this for all them!)  I've ordered a new drill press with a an X/Y table, which hopefully will make drilling these holes easier.  Once that comes in, I'll trying making a real set.

 

I also did a test run with some clear coat for the hull.  I want to get that on the hull now that I'm done painting, and before I get things too dirty.  I painted a scrap piece of wood and tried out a satin finish (right) and a gloss finish (left).  I prefer the satin, so I'll probably go with that.

 

Name Board Decals

 

I also used my test board to try out using printed decals for the name boards.  I'm not happy with the result, so I'm going to try a few other things there.  My painting skill isn't good enough to let me paint those by hand, so I've got to get creative.

 

 

 

[DBorgens]

Dave,

Do not fear using printed decals. The nameplates on the bow hide between the main rail and the yellow stripe. The rail and texture of the hull will help hide the decal edges, along with a small retouch of paint. I also placed the stern name and home port plate between the monkey and main rails. I liked this version better since it is understated and easier to neatly apply.

 

Dave B

 

[genericDave]

Thanks for the reassurance Dave B!  I've been looking at photos of the actual Bluenose and Bluenose II, and it looks to me like the name plates on the bulwarks and the stern were actually separate pieces of wood that were applied.  They are actually raised off the hull a bit.  So I think you're right - if I'm careful to cut the decals in the shape of those name plate pieces, and I paint the edges black (to hide the white paper), it is probably a pretty good depiction of those being made from wood pieces.

 

The decal paper I was using had a very gloss finish, so I'm going to try some tests with some more normal adhesive paper and perhaps card stock to see if I can get the finish to better match the ship's paint.

 

I'm thinking I'll have to do the scroll work around the hawse pipes by hand though - from what I've seen that appears to be painted directly on the hull.

 

I'm hoping to knock these out over the next couple of days!

[genericDave]

Course Correction

 

There were many things I wasn't happy with on my first build, and since then I've learned that if you don't like something, fix it.  Wood can be removed or added.  Parts can be re-made.  Paint can be stripped and re-applied.

 

When preparing for this build, I was studying a practicum, and that practicum painted the main rail black.  Even though I haven't been following that practicum much, I had it in my head that black was OK for the rails.  Recently, as I've been staring at old photos of the Bluenose to decide how to tackle the name plates, I decided that black just isn't right.  The main rail and the monkey rail were white, and they should be white on my model.

 

So today I've started the process of stripping the paint off the rails.  Painting white over black is difficult, so I need to remove as much of the black as possible.  I started by masking off everything except the rails, including the entire hull (this took a while, and a lot of tape and plastic sheeting).  I've sanded the rails down with different grits to remove as much of the existing paint as possible, while being careful not to over-sand and make things too thin.

 

 

I've also applied a first coat of grey primer to cover up the bits of black that are left and give me an even surface to work with.  I plan to let that dry, sand it lightly, then apply another coat of primer.  Once that is sanded, I'll give everything a few good coats of white with my airbrush.  My progress may be slowed because it is Saturday, which means there is some college football that needs my attention...

 

I hope this works!  Will report back...

[Jerry]

Hello Dave,

 

Just one sentence for you....

 

I will never place my Bluenose alongside yours!

 

Have a great weekend,

 

Jerry

[genericDave]

Jerry, on the contrary, your Bluenose is looking great and you're making tons of progress, while mine has seemingly been stuck in neutral for months!