Bluenose by hamilton - 1:64 - POB - from Model Shipways plans

[mtaylor]

Go to hear it's going well, Hamilton.  It sounds like you made the right call.

[hamilton]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Mark!

 

A quick update to say that I've finished installing the outer waterways, having removed the upper hull planking. The job is not entirely finished yet - I have to clean things up a little bit here and there, fair the outer edges of the waterways and re-install the hull planks. Then I can finally move forward - I'm going to do a bit of stern framing and install the solid piece forward for the hawse holes & knightheads. Then it's the transom planking, bulwarks and deck planking....it's be nice to have the interior structures covered up! Here are some photos - I'm happy with the overall results though they are not absolutely perfect.....

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello all:

 

So after installing the outer waterways between the bulkheads, I've now reinstalled the hull planks I removed up to the top of the waterway on the main deck and below the waterway level on the quarterdeck. At this point I wasn't sure what to do next - the bulwarks, the deck planking or the transom framing/planking and installation of the forward blocks for the hawse pieces/knightheads....I looked through many of the BN logs here on MSW, and found a lot of different approaches. The one that made most sense to me was to complete the transom framing and forward hawse blocks prior to both bulwark and deck planking. In the process I also completed the transom framing. This process was much more straightforward than I thought it might be. The transom framing was a little tricky, but I used a piece of scrap wood strapped across the transom with an elastic to get the right angle for the outer pieces, and then used a batten clamped to these once the glue was set to get the proper angle for the inner "stanchions". Other than that is was just shaping and test fitting the aft and forward blocks, which are now installed and ready to act as a decent landing place for the bulwark planks.

 

The plans suggest incorporating the extensions of bulkhead "A" into the forward block, but I decided against this, since the inner part of the extension would have been exposed and presented a harsh texture contrast with the basswood block. So in the end, I sawed off the extensions and installed these pieces as single blocks. I used 3/32 x 1/6 planks for the transom - the photos show it in an unpolished state - I'm going to sand it down and clean it up tomorrow. The inner transom planking looks quite messy (no photo), but since it will be pretty much entirely covered over by the main rail I'm not too worried about it.....

 

Photos follow - enjoy! Next it's on to the bulwark planking (not looking forward to filing out all those scuppers!), then the deck and finishing the hull, which I'm really looking forward to. Bye for now

hamilton

[Nirvana]

Very nice transom build up, crisp and clean.

[hamilton]

Thanks Per - I took a page from your build log in doing the transom! I've cleaned this area up now, though the inboard planking is very rough - fortunately it will be hidden in the end.....hope you're enjoying the weekend

hamilton

[hamilton]

So I'm now moving on to the bulwark planking and there are a couple of things to note - as other logs have noted. First is that, in line with the main deck, the bottom edge of the first strake of bulwark planking should be flush with the top of the waterways. The scuppers will be cut into the bottom edge of this strake - I will use my Microlux table saw to do this. Second, in line with the quarterdeck, this same strake should be flush at the upper edge with the waterways of the quarterdeck. The next strake up on the quarterdeck has the scuppers cut into it as with the first strake in line with the main deck. Third, planks of 1/16" thickness are used for the first 3/16 scale inches of the bulwarks, followed by a 1/32" x 1/8" plank just below the level of the main rails.

 

My model as built is such that, to use a single strake that both contains the main deck scuppers and comes into line with the waterways of the quarterdeck, 3/32 x 1/16" planks will be used. 2 strakes of 3/32" planks will be used to make up the full 3/16" width of the thicker planking strakes and will contain the scuppers. Then a single strake of 1/32 x 1/8" planking will be used for the remaining height of the bulwarks. 

 

I am debating about whether to cut the small 1/32"-3/64" cove into the thicker bulwark strakes just below the level of the 1/32" ones, or whether, as I see others have done, simple to paint a thin line of yellow along the outer bulwarks at this level. I might do some tests to see how things look before committing to anything. Anyway, I'll start on this tonight and see how far I get....photos later

hamilton

[Nirvana]

4 hours ago, hamilton said:

Thanks Per - I took a page from your build log in doing the transom! I've cleaned this area up now, though the inboard planking is very rough - fortunately it will be hidden in the end.....hope you're enjoying the weekend

hamilton

I am honored! Thank you. That transom is really tricky. Took me some trials before getting what I wanted. 

[hamilton]

So I've completed the bulwarks. They went reasonably well. One issue was that the height of the top of the waterways did not exactly match up with the bottom of the second 3/32" x 1/16" bulwark strake. At points, then, it seemed that the scuppers would have to be filed into the top of the first strake and the bottom of the second one at different points. I could, I suppose, have simple planked the transom and then drilled the scuppers out by hand - a tedious job, but one that would have resulted in more even scuppers. As it is, I went for the easier solution - the result is that on both the port and starboard side, there is a little step in the scuppers of the quartedeck about half way along. It's not totally unsightly, but it may prove to be annoying enough that I'll remove the bulwark planking and redo it, this time drilling the scuppers out (though with this technique they won't be the right shape....arghh!!)

 

Anyway, here are some photos. Apart from the issue with the scuppers, it's pretty rough looking at the moment. I'll spend a couple of days thinking about the bulwarks and cleaning them up a bit and then seeing how I feel about them overall before I decide whether to move on or redo them....bye for now.

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well my last update to this log seems to have been in September! Then, of course, work took over and I've had precious little time for any modelling until the Christmas break....over the last couple of weeks I've finally found some time to return to both my current builds - Syren and Bluenose. Most of this work has been re-do & repair work....

 

Syren has seen the sweep ports repositioned (I incorrectly marked them from the templates provided with the kit and so ended up planking over them and drilling them out in the correct spots....). I also planked the counter, but noticed that I made an error in the lower planks that abut the sternpost....so I'll have to re-do these eventually....ah well.

 

As for Bluenose, my last post documented the planking of the forward bulwarks and the cutting out of the scuppers forward. This went pretty smoothly with the help of the table saw. The quarterdeck bulwarks & scuppers were another story, though....the problem was with the fact that the quarterdeck bulwark planking did not come level with the waterways at all points. This meant that I had to file scuppers out of the bottom of the first bulwark plank at the forward end of the quarterdeck and out of the top of the upper-most hull plank aft....but because I did not do this as accurately or carefully as I could, there ended up being a small "step" in the scuppers at about the mid-point of the quartedeck bulwarks. Port and Starboard were roughly the same....

 

After looking at this for a couple of months, I decided I could not live with it and ripped the aft planking off. Laying a 3/32" x 1/16 planking strip along the hull , I marked the upper edge of the waterway along its length inboard and thus got a sense of where the scuppers should be positioned. Some of the scuppers can be fully filed out of the bottom of this first bulwark plank. The rest are only lightly scored and finished on the next bulwark plank up. At present I've managed to install the lower bulwark plank on the port side and it looks good - already I can see that it will be much better than my first attempt. I'm hoping to finish this work before the new semester starts (next Monday) and I get swamped with work again until the Spring....I'll post some photos once it's complete. 

 

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year and best for 2019!

hamilton

[hamilton]

So it has been a very long time since I've made progress with this build...I am hoping that with the coming of spring this year, I will find time to return to this build and to my Syren, which has also been languishing. I mentioned somewhere else that I injured my finger pretty badly while working on Syren several years ago, and since then my modelling progress has diminished - a product also of having a growing family, a demanding work schedule, and many other demands on my attention.

 

In an attempt to bootstrap myself back into modelling I started yet another project, which I won't announce yet here until it picks up more steam. But I've reached a stage on that project where it has good legs, and now I feel like it would be wrong to continue with it until I've picked up with Bluenose and Syren. I'm hoping that, even though this log has been languishing, that the good moderators of MSW will not weed it out.....

 

hamilton

[mtaylor]

No rush, Hamilton.  Life does come first as this is only a hobby.   It could be that you have a bit of burnout so switching back and forth on models might help with that.  Stay safe from the virus.

[gjdale]

Nice to see you back Hamilton. I look forward to updates in due course - no rush.

[hamilton]

Well this is the third time I've posted something to the following effect - I'll soon be getting back to the Bluenose. Except this time, it has actually been happening! 

 

I dedicated some time over the summer to scratch building a small model of a rowing skiff - mostly to get myself back into ship modelling in general but also because it seemed like a nice, small, self--contained project that I could easily complete in a couple of months casual work. The skiff is now very near completion, with only a couple of things to go, and I've turned back once again to the Bluenose. 

 

Since my last actual update on the build, I have done and redone the bulwarks/scuppers three times...I found this very difficult to get right, and even now I am not happy with the results - but I also know that as the model gets built up the more obviously offensive aspects of them will begin to fade into the background so it is definitely time to move on.

 

And (at long last) move on I have. Once the bulwarks were done, I painted them inboard (white) and also finished the waterways (grey), after much sanding and a bit of filling. I also spent a bit of time making a stand and mounting arrangement for the finished model - using 3/4" ply with 3/4" x 1/4" hemlock as trim around the edges. You can see the stand a little bit in one of the photos below. The last thing I've done to this point is install the bulwark stanchions - as yet unfinished - that's the next step.

 

At the moment it is a bit rough looking, but a bit of tidying up will bring it up to a more or less decent standard. I'm very happy to back into the swing of modelling - I've missed it a lot in the years that my practice has languished - I only wish it were still Spring and I had a more regular 40-hour work week to sustain a more regular modelling practice - but...modelling will not put food in my kids' stomachs or pay my mortgage, so.....

 

Enjoy the pics

hamilton

 

[Jim Lad]

Great news to hear she's progressing, Hamilton.

 

John

[rlb]

Excellent!!

Ron

[Tigersteve]

It’s looking good!

Steve

[gjdale]

Great to hear that your Bluenose is once again underway. Looking good.

[hamilton]

Another update on Bluenose - finished the hull. I first applied a few coats of yellow paint to the bulwarks for the cove and a few coats of white along the hull's waterline region, then masked off where the white waterline stripe and the cove (yellow) are located using 1/16" masking tape. The 1/16" strip is too wide for the cove, but....

 

I then used a mix of two slightly different shades of red applied one after the other in four coats to get a slightly weathered look to the hull below the waterline and used Bone Black (a slightly bluish black) on the hull above the waterline (three coats here were sufficient). The test for me is always having the patience to wait to remove the masking and reveal the full finished effect. The waterline stripe worked out very well, but the cove needs touching up here and there - the port side is a bit better than starboard and I think a bit of fine knife work will help to clean this up to a decent standard. 

 

Next steps - finishing the mounting and adding framing strips for cabin and hatches on deck....nice to be moving on to more superstructural work! Bye for now and enjoy!

hamilton

[Tigersteve]

Looks like your technique paid off. Looks sharp and clean!

Steve

[hamilton]

Thanks Steve - definitely some clean up to do - the sheer strake is 1/32" thick while the remaining bulwark planking is 1/16". The cove runs along the top edge of the uppermost 1/16" plank so the bleeding of the black hull paint onto the yellow cove paint was a result of some uneven masking along the "step" between the thicker and thinner planks....a bit of sraping and filing and sanding and careful touch-ups will hopefully correct for the bleeding. 

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello all and happy Saturday

 

Quick update on Bluenose. Over the last couple of days, I've touched up the outboard hull painting, focusing specifically on the cove (yellow) and the waterline strip (white) to clean them up as much as possible - I only have a photo of the preparation of this and don't seem to have any right now of the cleaned up paint job....sorry!

 

I also made templates of the deck superstructures from card paper, fixing them temporarily to the top of the bulkhead frames to mark out their positions and identify where framing strips need to be added between the bulkheads. I added this framing this morning after completing the finishing of the inboard bulwarks and stanchions. 

 

There are a couple of little clean-up tasks to complete before starting to build up the deck superstructures. First I need to sand down the stanchions to the level of the sheer - a tedious process, but unavoidable. Then I need to epoxy the forward mounting nut to the bottom of the keel. Then it's on to more fun stuff with the superstructures and deck planking! 

 

Enjoy the photos

hamilton

[hamilton]

Spent Labour Day working on Bluenose - specifically the cabin construction. I've not yet completed it - with the skylight, binnacle and stovepipe still to add - but so far this has been a fun little mini-build. It's a lot of fun to put these deck features together - one of my favourite parts of ship modelling (other than tying ratlines, obviously)!

 

I took patterns from the deck framing drawings for the general outline of all the superstructural elements on deck, then transferred these to card stock and made templates for the general "footprint" of these elements as well as for the fore and aft panels of the cabin, which curve in line with the deck camber. I started by edge gluing some 1/16" x 1/8" strips together, then trimming these built up panels to the correct size and shape. I then added internal reinforcements (1/8" square pieces) and also reinforced the whole assembly by adding a base cut from a sheet of 1/32" lime and some 1/8" square battens on this. After that it was pretty straightforward - I used some leftover parts for the portholes and went with a different colour scheme than the one suggested on the plans - neutral grey (like the waterways) in place of burnt umber. I made the companionway frames a bit too wide for the 3/16" door panels, but I had a 1/32" x 1/32" strip that worked perfectly as a divider...some brass nails serve as door handles. Anyway, it's a little rustic looking, but I'm decently happy with the results. Now that a new working year has begun, I'm going to have to restrict my modelling to weekend mornings for a while....in the meantime....enjoy the photos!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Another quick update on Bluenose. At this point, I've completed the cabin, adding binnacle, skylight and stove pipe - the latter made from some old dowelling I had lying around. 

 

I had thought to integrate the cabin, hatches and skylight/companionway into the deck planking, but in the end, I decided only to do this with the hatches and fit the other deck superstructures on top of the deck planking - planking around the cabin aft would have been pretty tricky given that the planking does not run parallel to the centre line on the quarterdeck, which the forward companionway and skylight are so small and close together, that (again) the finickiness of the planking was a deterrent. So I put together the hatches, fixed them loosely to the deck to begin the planking process and will fit them permanently once the deck planking has been finished fore and aft of them (this is to ensure that the planking runs evenly around them.

 

I still have not found a good replace for the now unavailable blacken-it product, with which I always had decent results. With the product I'm using now I feel like parts either don't really blacken at all (likely there is a lacquer or some other coating on the brass that needs to be chemically removed first) or they get really flakey, indicating a very loose chemical bond.....I've read through a couple of threads on blackening and will try some experiments with different ideas/products I've read about here....but I miss blacken-it! So simple.....

 

Anyways, After getting the hatches together I began on the main deck planking. The photos below show only the two centre strips but at this point I've laid down eight strakes of deck planking, which pushes the planks to the outside edges of the hatches. Now the hatches can be more permanently fixed and the deck planking will continue with the winch pads up in the bows, the nibbing strake run agains the waterways and the remainder of the forward deck planking. It looks a little rough (some bleeding of the simulated caulking seams through the action of the CA...Sanding has minimised this effect and the volume of forward deck features will likely make a lot of the little blemishes fade into the background as building continues....

 

Enjoy!

[mtaylor]

I'm playing catch up.  Looks great Hamilton.  

[hamilton]

Thanks Mark - I'm contemplating redoing the cabin as it is a little off plumb and the skylight looks like a half-baked cake to me...not in any rush to complete this build, so probably worthwhile to try a re-do while version 1 is still not fixed to the model.....we'll see....bye for now!

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello there:

 

Work on Bluenose has slowed as I've had to reduce my modelling hours to Saturday mornings - October-December is a very busy time at work and home so I'm feeling like a very dull boy indeed with all work and no play....

 

In spite of this I've managed over the last couple of weeks to plank the main deck. The joggling of the deck planks adds a significant amount of time to the process, and I'm not sure about the results - from a distance they're adequate and (judging by the photos below) my camera lens is extremely forgiving. But like everything in modelling it's about practice and getting a better feel for things with each attempt. And once all the deck furniture and fittings are added later things will blend in.

 

The quarterdeck planking is not laid parallel to the centre line like the main deck planking - it curves more or less in line with the tapering of the deck towards the stern. This will no doubt take longer even than the main deck, but I won't have a chance to start on this until next weekend, unless by some chance I can carve out some modelling time tomorrow. In any case, slow and steady.....

 

Enjoy

hamilton

 

[mojofilter]

Hello Ted -

It's Tim in New Mexico (Schooner Yacht America).  It's been a long time since I've been to the forum but it's great to see the progress you've made on Bluenose!  Top notch work!  Also great to see all the experts still building and contributing.  After about 2 1/2 years hiatus I've been thinking about opening up the shipyard once again.  Cutty Sark has been in mothballs all this time and I'm digging around to try and remember where I was, and the sequences I had figured out to proceed.  One immediate task is to find all the reference pictures I had stashed here and there - hundreds of pictures (from the actual CS) from a number of forum folks.  Unfortunately that was two computers ago, and I've lost those links.  I'm sure I can reconstruct but that'll take a while.  I remember now that this kit is so bashed that the kit plans are useless.  I was following Longridge with lots of help by Lou and Hof and Nenad and Keelhauled, and a bunch of others here.  I'm sure It will all come rushing back as soon as I pick up the Xacto knife again.

Anyway, thought I'd say Hi and that I'll be lurking about.  Looking forward to seeing the progress on Bluenose - and hopefully Syren at some point.

Best,

- Tim

[hamilton]

Hello Tim:

 

Thanks for coming bye - great to hear from you! And great also to hear you're coming back to the shipyard - I took a long hiatus too - at least from regular modelling and active participation here (though constantly a "lurker" in 90s internet parlance). I hope that, if you get going on CS that you'll start a build log here - I'm meditating on what to do when Bluenose is done (even though at my current slow pace this won't be for some time) and I think it will either be the Corel Bellona or the Model Shipways Flying Fish. If it ends up being the latter maybe we'll be building in parallel once again! Still very thankful for the extra parts you sent for my America and hope to be able to return the favour one day! Bye for now

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hellooooo! 

 

From my last post, I see it's been over a year since I've updated this log. In the meantime, I've commenced on a kit-build of HMS Bellona (Corel) (which I've also had to take a break from given demands of work these past months), but the Bluenose has not been too far from my mind, and as Christmas approaches and the end of my semester looms, I'm looking forward to getting some work done on BN. 

 

Before the lengthy hiatus from this build, I had started on the quarterdeck planking - laying only the first two strakes along the centreline. The planking pattern of the quarterdeck follow the narrowing of the ship's beam aft, and since I'm a little "spatially challenged" as my kids might say I'll need to do some studying to work out how to approach this properly. I'll be returning to the workbench tomorrow to start this. More to follow shortly

hamilton

[hamilton]

Well - this was a lot longer coming than I had hoped or anticipated....but finally I'm ready to post some progress on Bluenose. The deck planking is now complete - it took me a while to work my head around the tapered planking on the quarterdeck, but once in the rhythm of things it went more or less smoothly - not the neatest work, but seeing the framework sealed up is satisfaction enough for me. Now the real fun parts can begin!! 

 

I'm going to re-do the cabin, which I built over a year ago because it turned out a little bit asymmetrical, but before installing it for good I'll add some external hull and interior bulwark details and the caprails. In the meanwhile, enjoy the photos

hamilton