BLUENOSE By Jerry - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[genericDave]

Looking great Jerry!

[GuntherMT]

 I'm following Bob Hunt's practicum for this build.  I haven;t even opened the kit's instruction manual as the practicum suggests to avoid the plans and kit directions unless specifically called out.  

Jerry

 

Hi Jerry,

 

I used Bob's practicum for the AVS, so I'd like to offer a word of caution.  His practicum was a very good guide that did a good job of keeping me on track and not only letting me know what to do next, but also had some great tips on different techniques he uses, but I would strongly advise that you ignore his suggestion to avoid the plans.

 

Learning the plans is key to this hobby, and there are many details on the plans that were just glossed over or not even mentioned in the practicum.  This isn't a criticism of the practicums, there is simply too much involved in a model ship to give detailed call-outs to every single thing you need to do, and being familiar with the plans is an excellent way to make sure you don't miss some small part/step that Bob didn't call out in his guide.

 

Bob also does things in a very specific way that he follows with all of his builds, that may or may not be the perfect way for you personally.  An example is his heavy use of CA glue while planking, while I prefer to use CA as little as possible in my build and not at all on the planking.  For this type of stuff it's good to be heavily into reading other build logs, and sometimes simply experiment on your own if you think you might have a better idea.  You might!

 

Take care, and keep on building!

[Jerry]

Hello Brian...

I sincerely appreciate the time you have taken to write to my log and to express your thoughts regarding Bob Hunt's practicum and method of construction.  I shouldn't have said what I said about not looking at the kit's plans and directions because I really did when I first opened the box.  As you may know, Brian. I have built several model ships before and I have always scrutinized the plans and directions.  What I should have said is that while I haven't looked at the plans and directions since starting the build, I certainly plan to use them as I get in to the details.  Constructing the hull is really old hat and as you said everyone has their own way of doing things.  I am enjoying Bob's practicum, especially the pictures (there are over 500 of them) since they have answered some of the questions I have had so far.  Thanks again for pointing out your feelings.

 

I too, very rarely will entirely use CA to entirely plank a hull.  It has depended on the type of model I'm building as to what cements I use.  In building the Victory, Half Moon and Bounty,  I found it useful to use white glue on the first layer of planking which was held in place with pins. These aforementioned projects were all double planked so the pin holes in the first layer were covered by a second layer of planking or copper plating.  I always use CA for the second layer or when adhering the copper plates.   I am using CA on the current model (only one layer of planking)  and in spite of messy fingers, it has worked out fine so far.  I have followed Bob's suggestion to wipe off any excess CA with a paper towel as I proceed and any mess left is easily sanded off the surface of the wood. I will admit that I am a heavy CA user usually and maybe that's why my admiral thinks I may be drinking too much.  She's about to start building the Nina so maybe we'll both get high together from all the CA use in the room.  

 

Again, thank you so much for writing to me and voicing your opinion s.  I hope you will continue to follow my build.

Best,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello Dave..

Thanks for looking in and for your compliment.  Hope all is well with you.

Best,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello Popeye...

 

Thanks for the good word...I did get  a little more done on the planking and will pictures later because my server isn't handling mail right now.  Have a great evening..

Jerry

 

P.S. Here are the pictures I promised...

Edited June 26, 2016 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Good Afternoon everyone..

Another, day, another dollar... Very good progress made today; the hull is planked and ready for good ol' Elmer's Wood filler.  I'll apply that tomorrow and let it dry overnight so Wednesday is final sanding of the hull day.;  Hope all is well with everyone else.

Best,

Jerry

Edited June 27, 2016 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello everyone...

As I mentioned above, I planned to have had the hull wood filled and sanded by today.  I used most of the 4 oz bottle of Elmer's wood filler to do the job and believe me the hull didn't look pretty.  My admiral let out a slight shriek when she saw the hull coated with wood filler and I assured her that after the final sanding it would look like a model ship again;  and it does.  I wish she would pay less attention to my project and get going with hers' which, as mentioned earlier,  is La NIna by Artesania Latina.  Anyway, I'm ready to move on which I think means planking the deck. Onward!!

Best,

Jerry 

Edited June 29, 2016 by Jerry

[genericDave]

Looks great Jerry!  Amazing progress - I bet you pass me up in the next week!

[Jerry]

Hello Joshua..

Nice of you to make the visit to my log.  And thanks for the compliment regarding the planking.  Truthfully while I'm glad the hull is finished i must say that this hull was much easier to plank then the ones I built before,  Most of the planks were able to fit without any tapering because of the type of bow and those that had to be tapered were done with some easy sanding.  I never used a knife on any of the planks except to cut them to size.  Good luck with your planking and if you have any questions please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Best,

Jerry.

[Jerry]

Hey Dave...

Many thanks for your nice words.  I just got through looking at your log and your work is absolutely stunning.  I'm concerned about the nibbibg as I have never done that before so I hope I don't screw that up.  I know your log is going to be very helpful.  Talk to you soon.

Jerry

[popeye the sailor]

looking great Jerry  

[Jerry]

Thank you Popeye and Lawrence...

Today I decided to veer from Bob Hart's practicum and go out on my own a bit.  I started to plank the fore deck the way I like to do it even though I am conflicting with the practicum's directions.  In particular I am speaking about the method to create the look of caulking.  Bob Hart says don't use ink on the edge of your planks because it'll bleed through due to the nature of basswood.  He uses a black soft pencil lead which to me is too time consuming and offers very little to a caulking look.  I have always used a black, soft, felt edge marking pen which I realize is a permanent ink and could cause some bleeding. However, it is quicker more authentic looking and with care causes very little bleeding.  In the past I have taken advantage of the bleeding to create an older looking deck by blending the "bleed" into the surface with some very fine sandpaper. All of the other Bluenose sites I have seen have followed Hart's advice and the decks are beautiful but with all respect, look like they were just bleached or that the ship has never been to sea.  I like a deck that looks used and that has been in service for a while so I prefer my method.  I haven't progessed very far yet but I have attached a picture which should give one an idea of what I'm talking about. What do you think?

Best,

Jerry

Edited June 30, 2016 by Jerry

[popeye the sailor]

I took a tip from a few folks here,  who use archive pens.   these pens use India Ink.   I buy the medium tip pens and they work great......I even bought a bottle of India Ink and refuel the pen from time to time     the only trick I find,  is don't go too slow.....   I currently use this method.   I've used the crayon method......that works well too,  but the surface needs to be scraped a bit before sanding.  crayons are messy and leave crumbs.  I used to scrape off some of it though and blend the rest in through sanding.....gives a nice tone to the wood.    another method I've tried is the thin mahogany strip.......I had a Billing's kit that directed using this.   I like this method as well,  although it's very time consuming..

 

if I use a practicum at all.......I only look at the technical stuff.   the artistry,  I go by experience    perhaps that's why I like Billing's kits so much.......there's not a lot of text    

[Jerry]

Hello Popeye..

How are you doing?  Before I forget,Olive Oil said to say hello and wish you the best.  She's still running around but hasn't begun her new kit of La Nina yet.

 

I've made a little more progress on the fore deck and so far so good.  I think my method of "caulking" will be okay.  I'll post some more pictures a little bit later in the procedure. I think your method is a very good one as long as  you keep the "coloring" on the edges.  By using a marker pen the broad surface of the felt tip offers a nice bed to slide on the edge of the plank.  Later on, when doing the 4 step method on the quarter desk I'll also coat one end of the plank too.  

So have a great weekend in beautiful New Hampshire and I'll talk to you later.

Best,
Jerry

[Jerry]

Good morning, Lawrence...

The sweet lines you have referred to are growing.  It's now time to begin the nibbing.  Since I have never done this procedure before I am a little nervous about it but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  So here's the latest pics as to where this Bluenose stands.  I hope you have a great weekend as we celebrate our Fourth of July Holiday.  Charlene joins me in sending our best regards to Bernadette.

Jerry

Edited July 2, 2016 by Jerry

[genericDave]

Looking great Jerry!  The Bluenose was my first attempt at nibbing too.  The practicum was really helpful on this part.  Once you do a few, it gets pretty easy.  One word of advice - don't cut your planks to length until after you've cut the nibbing strake and tapered the plank to fit (and you are happy with the joint's fit).  I had to discard a few cut planks because the fit wasn't good enough.  If you wait to cut the plank to length and the joint is bad, you can just cut off that short tapered end and try again with the same strip.  The kit includes just enough material to do the deck planking, and the quarter deck requires lots of long strips.  Some other posters have noted that they ran short of deck planks.  Best to be really protective of your strip material until you get those long planks on the quarter deck in place.

[SWOHammer]

Jerry,

Your craftsmanship is awesome.  I watch this log with much interest as I intend on building the MS Bluenose when my confidence and skills increase.  I will indeed be using your build-log (as well as the other artists' build logs) when I start this bad-boy, though it is fourth at bat and the first batter just walked up to the plate.

 

By the way, where did you buy the clamp you are using to hold the ship?

Edited July 2, 2016 by Rob the SWO

[Jerry]

Hello Dave..

Many thanks for your visit and your good advice.  I did read elsewhere that one should not be wasteful with the deck planking as the supply was not overly generous.  However, I have begun the nibbing and have not done a very good job so far.  I have attached a picture to show what I mean.  I followed the practicum carefully but I find it difficult in any event.  I will probably rip out what I have done so far and start over again or I may just continue on from where I left off and chalk it up to a learning experience.  My patience is beginning to run out.  In any event, I will guard the deck strips with my life.  Thanks again for taking the time to write to me.

Best,
Jerry

Edited July 2, 2016 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Hi Rob,

I sincerely appreciate your kind words regarding my build but at this point I can't agree with you.  I have run into a process  (nibbing) which is driving me nuts and which has proven my lesser skill.  I will try and do better as I continue on but I must admit I do not enjoy this phase of the build.

 

The clamp or ship holder is made by an Italian firm, Amati .  It's called the Amati Keel Klamper and is sold by several ship model suppliers.  I have seen it priced between $65 and $80.   Just google Amati Keel Klamper and you'll find it.

 

Best,

Jerry

[GuntherMT]

Jerry,

 

Don't worry too much about running out of planking, just do your best, and if you end up running out, one of the big selling points of Model Shipways, is that if you contact them (I just use their web contact form) and tell them that you messed up the decking and ran out, they'll just send you another batch.  Takes anywhere from 10-14 days to show up in my personal experience, so if it looks like you are running low, and determine that you need to rip it out and have a re-do, go ahead and contact them at that point and get the replacements in the pipeline to you.

 

Only way to learn this is to have a go at it and keep trying, and re-do's are part of the process for all of us!

[Jerry]

Good morning, Brian.

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and good advice.  Looks like a good night's sleep was very helpful because I feel much better about things this morning,  I have decided to continue with the nibbing planking as is and try and improve  my work as I move along.  A little bit of a "dirty" deck isn't the worst thing in the world.  My admiral has also been very kind as she also has suggested that I stop "whining" and move along.  So, in the daylight of a new day I'll be off and running again and am thankful for all the support given to me.  I wish you a very happy 4th of July and much success.

Jerry

[Jerry]

Good afternoon everyone...

I'm happy to say that I have completed the planking of the fore deck.  I will admit that this phase of the build has not turned out to be a thing of beauty but I did learn a lot and if and when I need to do nibbing again I'm sure I'll do a better job; starting,  hopefully, with the aft deck.  The deck planking of the Bluenose is very different from any other model I have built and Bob Hart mentions this in his practicum  Most decks are planked without the necessity of tapering the strips until one reached the outer dimensions of the deck.  With this build, when doing the aft deck, the tapering begins with the laying of the very first pair of planks.  So with this type of process and with more nibbing to come I really appreciate the detail of this build.

 

So here are some pictures that bring my construction to completion of the fore deck planking, construction and placing of the "great beam" and the first pair of planks for the aft deck which have been cut to allow for the main mast tenon.  I felt it would be easier to work with these two planks if I glued them together first.  This made it easier to center them over the keel.

 

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Best,

Jerry

Edited July 7, 2016 by Jerry

[SWOHammer]

Jerry,

I think the foredeck planking looks great and you did a really fine job on the nibbing.  I'm watching this build closely because even though I'm a few builds away from gaining the confidence to tackle the Bluenose, she is on my shelf ready to rock and roll.  Thanks for sharing all of your lessons learned and I'll keep watching!
 

Cheers,

Rob

[Jerry]

Good morning, Rob..

Thanks so much for your kind words.  I hope that what I have posted will help you navigate through your build of Bluenose and that you have a wonderful experience doing so. This is definitely a very different kit than those I have tackled in the past and therefore a great learning experience.  The nibbing surely could have been better but I did learn a lot and I will try and do a better job on the aft deck.   I am actually looking forward to prove it.  By the way I hope you received the information about the Amati keel holder I posted for you.

Best,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello Joshua..

Your visit is much appreciated.  After checking your site I see every reason that you will do a great job with your PdN.  Many thanks ffor your compliment and please stop by again.

Best,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello Everyone..

One more post today as we are leaving for a short, one week holiday tomorrow.  So, since I won't be building or posting for awhile i thought it would be okay to attach some pictures that will bring my progress on Bluenose up to date.  My next notes will hopefully appear the week after next.  I have placed the center planks on the aft deck and when I return I'll be tapering and adding the planks that will approach the nibbing strake.  So far, so good; I haven't had any finger cuts or worse.  My doctor gave me an okay to go away for one week so the admiral and I are definitely taking advantage of that.  We'll be on a cruise ship tomorrow afternoon in Puerto Rico and spend the week sweating in the Caribbean.  Hopefully, I'll make it throught he week and see everyone in a week or so,

Best, 

Jerry

Edited July 8, 2016 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Hey Joshua..Have fun in the Canadian Rockies.  Been there and loved it.  Hope you make it to Lake Louise.  We were there several years ago and I had to wear my sheepskin jacket in July.  No bull!!!

Best,  J

erry

[popeye the sailor]

decking looks great Jerry...........I might give nibbing a try too,  when I get 'round to building my Bluenose.  have a great time on your trip!

[Jerry]

Hello Lawrence..

It looks like the weather in Canada has been having you guys sweat a bit.  Good thing that you do have A/C.  Good to hear from you.  So now I'm back home again and feeling much better and look forward to working on the Bluenose.  Please stay in touch.

Best,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hi Popeye,

 

So get with it man and start that Bluenose.  I hope to get back to work in a day or so.  We had a nice trip and I'm raring to go again.  I'll be seeing the eye doctor on Tuesday and look forward to a good report.  Thanks for the nice words and regards from the Admiral.

Best,

Jerry