19th Century 31-ton Revenue Cutter by CharlieZardoz - Scale 1/64 - building as USRC Active based off Doughty plans and BlueJacket Shipcrafters kit

[CharlieZardoz]

You may be right, let me look into it more and confirm

[CharlieZardoz]

So according to Dan the style on that model isn't wrong per se but its a French/Dutch style whereas the English/American had all planks taper to meet the stem. Interesting stuff thanks for pointing it out.

[mtaylor]

Charlie,

 

I think you're making the same mistake a lot of us have with the assumption on kits materials reflecting reality.   Go with the research and ignore what is in the kits would be my advice.  With all the badly scaled parts in a kit, why wouldn't the planking also be wrong?   

 

I find I have to watch myself when doing planking and check the drawings and other resources continually.  If I fall back on my kit experience, I'll normally be wrong. 

[CharlieZardoz]

I completely agree with you and that's just the point. I like to know the history of what shipbuilders really did but that doesn't always help me understand what modelbuilders do. For example treenailing is usually done offscale to what was really used on historical ships like with Harold Hahn's models. They look great but the nails would be smaller almost undetectable. Same with planking a lot of models use planks a bit bigger than what was historical so I am mostly concerned with what other models of this ilk were built with and try and work with what the greats before me came up with. And I am aware some kits are hardly accurate but just got info from Dave regarding Lively which I was told that model designed by Jim Roberts used 5/32" planks on the hull, with 1/4" inch at the hull bottom and 1/8" by the sheer (the Lively is 1/48 scale). So it's kind of the same it just means me having an inventory of planks at various sizes and use what fits at certain spots so I am going to have a bunch from 3/32 to 9/64" with the majority falling around the 7/64 to 1/8" margin (or about 3mm if you want metric). He explained the idea of cupping to me and why planks needed to be a certain width at certain places that 7-10" might be to big but again that's historical a model on a kit that works out well.

Edited December 1, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[FriedClams]

Hello Charlie,

 

Your hulls are turning out great and I admire the attention to historical detail in colors and plank width.  You've started some very interesting discussions here. 

 

Gary

[CharlieZardoz]

Thank you sir, it's all just puzzle pieces and determining how this stuff goes together, each model is it's own little quandary but I'm not trying to overcomplicate things but develop a system I can rely on while I get to more and more complicated models. Even with this little cutter I am learning planking is not as easy as slapping some wood strips on a hull, the wood curves, tapers and changes in certain spots. I figure if I'm 110% prepared and get 90% results on these early models then hey should look nice!

Edited December 1, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

I've decided on the deck material for all ships to be 1/8" rather than 9/64"  Although the kit plans seem to indicate 9/64" I also see a lot of models using thinner strips including this lovely scratch model of Alabama a 52 ton cutter which strips appear to match 1/8" at 1/64 scale (that's me counting planks and using a ruler on my plans. 1/8" keeps things simple at any rate I am looking at the deck furniture and calculating what planks work best around them (6 planks fit the hatches perfectly). The only thing I may need to do is modify the margin plank a bit but it should all work better in the long run

Edited December 2, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Took the weekend after a bad bout of manflu to redo my work station. New and improved with happy whale pencil holder!

Edited December 4, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[archjofo]

Very clean!

[CharlieZardoz]

Modified carriages with spongey tape and white felt so the hulls can lay on after planking without being sratched

[CharlieZardoz]

Neat overhead pic of all the hulls lined up (the 3rd is just an image for comparison). Left to right the Active 48.6', the Dallas 56.4', the Eagle (or Alert) 69.5' and Sultana 51'

Edited December 6, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[mtaylor]

That is impressive.  You'll have a nice fleet when you're done. 

[CharlieZardoz]

Thank you as long as I don't start any more. I promised myself no more than 3 at a time though I already know what the next 3 will be hehe.... (Nibbles nails)

 

Btw waiting on planking materials

[mtaylor]

I trust the next three won't be 74's....    

[CharlieZardoz]

Oh the Pennsylvania 1/64th scale of course!

[John Cheevers]

You know it's a sickness.....right?   Keep up the good work.

[CharlieZardoz]

You mean I can have 9!?  We'll considering I have one Marine model, some plastic, resin and sci-fi kits lurking about I am quite guilty lol

Edited December 6, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[shipmodel]

Hi Charlie -

 

The stands came out nicely.  They will support your models through all the tribulations yet to come. 

 

But you also need a way to hold and support the hull upside down when you are doing the planking.  The easiest way I found for a small hull is to temporarily screw a square cut "handle", maybe 1" x 1", down the centerline of the deck.  You can position the screws so the holes will later be covered by deck houses or other fittings.  Then the model can be flipped over and the handle held in a vise.  I see you have a Keel Klamper device, which may work for you.

 

As far as planking widths, here is another wrinkle - the plank that runs along the keel is called the 'garboard strake' and is wider, about 1 1/2 times the width of the majority of the hull planks.  The next plank up, known as the 'first broad strake' is also wider than hull planks, but not quite as wide as the garboard.  This is rarely seen on a model, especially since most are either painted below the waterline to simulate the tarry stuff used to combat teredo worm, or the hull is coppered, covering everything. Not an important nit to pick, but you seem to want to get the details right, a mindset that I applaud.

 

I am enjoying watching your progress.

 

Dan

[CharlieZardoz]

Thank you kindly Dan! Yes I actually learned about the garboard strake rather accidentally when getting the plank measurements of Lively from Dave S. I then looked through the practicum he has of Lively (a very similar ship to these cutters) and noticed the explanation on applying the garboard so to accomplish this I ordered a sheet of veneer which I can cut out whatever is needed.  This will be partly coppered over and any mistakes shall be hidden thusly, but the process will teach me the mechanics of planking which I will then transfer to Sultana which doesn't have copper.

 

And yeah I'll probably drill and add a handle of some sort over where the hatch is

Edited December 7, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[shipmodel]

Charlie -

 

The planking looks great.  Nice even tapers and a fair run back to midships.

 

Congratulations.

 

Dan

[CharlieZardoz]

Greetings everyone! Will make a ship model update soon. Basically last few weeks have been difficult ones as our 4 cats got ill suddenly all started vomiting stopped eating an drinking. Antibiotics cured them however my oldest boy of 19 was too frail and weak to recover and passed shortly in his kitty bed. Then after that one of my closest friends was hit by a car and has sustained significant injuries. Keeping positive and will be getting back to work (waiting on my Crown Timbreyard wood anyhow) and just trying to make it through the holiday season... :/

Edited December 23, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[mtaylor]

I don't want to "like" this.   Sorry about cat and friend.  Those things aren't good no matter what time of year. I hope your friend has a full and complete recovery.

[CharlieZardoz]

Thanks Mark! So far so good he's out of ICU but he has a lot of recovering to do. It's been quite a crazy year for sure.

Edited December 23, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[Cathead]

I'll "like" it as a gesture of respect for the bonds you felt and feel with those important to you. As an obvious cat lover myself, I empathize with your loss. Best wishes to your friend as well; over a decade ago I worked to recover from a serious neck injury that might have changed my life (well, it still did even though I fully recovered).

 

Merry Christmas or Solstice or whatever else floats your boat (as farmers and land managers, we're partial to the solstice ourselves). I'm looking forward to reading more about your ambitious project whenever life allows you to get back to it.

[CharlieZardoz]

Ill be updating soon and thank you for the kind words same to you and yours as well. For the moment Im doing minor hull corrections for the 30 ton ship as the bow and stern need to be built up a bit (sagging a bit at the ends) then finalizing the shape very minor stuff until the planking arrives. Crown Timbreyard offers offwhite holly strips which I think look more natural as decking material so excited to do my first plank work and learn from it

Edited December 24, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Ok guys so here's what I've been up to. Having to make minor corrections to the hull before the planking arrives. So this was my approach, cut out two side profiles one with the keel and one without to fit the hull in. The deck is the dotted line so I made sure to cut the top following that shape exactly. As you can see the bow and stern both need to be built up a bit plus there is a small bulge towards the bow that needs sanding. Easy fixes!

Edited December 25, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Basic approach was to take a thin veneer sheet of basswood and then sand to create a flat wedge. Glue it on then shape it to become part of the hull.

Edited December 25, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

For the record I've been using two types of wood filler, the left one is a white powder and dries very hard, good for providing strength when adding to the wood. The second is a soft filler using wood fibers and good for shaping and sanding.

 

Regarding glue I've come to prefer the instacure for the thin pieces. Water based glues will take a thin strip and warp it the same way one does when plank bending. Which in the case of this process is not desirable. That said, watch out the stuff dries fast with little time for resetting!

Edited December 25, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

And that's about it. I added enough to make the joint perfectly smooth no way of telling there was a piece added. I will do the same for the bow piece shortly. Once you think of wood as clay sculpting, you can add and subtract as much as you want. And fingers of course always work best!

Edited December 25, 2016 by CharlieZardoz

[mtaylor]

Looks like your methods work well and have provided me with some food for thought.