Harriet Lane by jct - FINISHED - Model Shipways - scale 1:144

[SGraham]

That bouncing ideas around in one's head regarding solving a technical problem is one of the most enjoyable things about ship modeling, I think.

 

Steve

[jct]

I could not agree more

[jct]

As a wise man once said all things come to those who wait...so for those that have been waiting for an update of this build log here it is!  Thanks to all you you for your likes and comments, much appreciated.   I have finally taken some time and gotten back to this build, this installment will focus on my attempt at making copper foils plates... the kit comes with a roll of foil but it is very thick and is 1/2 inch wide, this would have needed cut down to a narrower width or would have been way out of scale, so I turned to my stained glass supplies.  Self adhesive foil is used to edge pieces of glass to allow them to be soldered together,  the foil I'm using is 3/8 wide and about .2ml thick.  

First thing I did was come up with a fixture to allow me to 'rivet'  the plate, a couple scrap planks 3/8 apart and a piece of plastic strapping glued on top with a 1/8 inch offset, this allows the rivets to be set to one side...

...which can be seen in the above pic...at that point the strip is set against the straight edge and the individual plates scribed in with a toothpick harded in CA... 

Once a batch are made I'll trim the ends and start the application...but before hand I wanted to pre-paint the hull bottom copper so that any small gaps that may occur wont be so obvious.  

While the hull and rudder dry, they will need a second coat,  I attached the outer facing to the paddlewheel houses, I picked the eagle out in gold and added a little graphite to the recesses to get them to stand out a little

then I figured I'd just bang out the fife rails, the kit supplies the end rails in a mystery metal casting and you have to fit a center beam of wood...what a pita these turned out to be, they are really small to start with and super bendy and the precast slots had all kinds of flash in them, a lot of file work was needed to clean them up.

 

 Glueing on the wood cross piece was a real challenge, I've stated in another log how I manage to get ca eeverywhere but where I need it and this was no exception...i must have glued the cross piece to my fingers at least 4-5 times, and when I would finally get them where they needed to be the damn things were crooked...I fought with the little beasties for over an hour, and they are not even drilled yet!!!  I fully expect them to collapse when I try that.   I truly hate these!!

Well that's it for now...gonna watch the ballgame, thanks for looking in.

J

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2017 by jct

[jct]

Quick update...while the second coat of paint was drying on the main hull I applied the copper foil plates to the rudder..pics follow

applying the foil

Rudder still needs finish paint

THX

J

[popeye the sailor]

good to see some progress J.   does the copper seem hard to work with at that thickness?   craft stores may have some that might be thinner.  this kit reminds me of my Thermopylae....some of the supplied parts look out of scale,  or hard to work with due to the supplied material.   try to scratch make the fife rails...you may find that you'll get better results.   glad to see your back  

[jct]

Hi Denis,

No the copper foil is fine, laying down well, I did consider scratching out some fife rails but thought I'd be ahead of the game going with the kit supplied parts...then it just become kind of a personal challenge to get the things to work, they are on the back of the bench for now, time will tell...a lot of the castings in this kit leave a lot to be desired wait till yo see the ship's boats, nasty cast

 

Thanks to everyone following along for the likes, appreciate them

[jct]

HI All...a correction to an earlier post...the foil I'm using is .002 in thick...not the .2 ml as posted...daaa, got ml on the brain from work...

[jct]

Thanks for the likes...

Started laying up the foil plates, starting aft moving fwd covering the keel first

a closer look

Laying down well...I just have to figure how to handle the upward sweep at the bow, maybe smaller plates??

Thanks for looking in

J

[jct]

Hi all, 

Thanks for the likes and kind comments, the foil plating is continuing, I've decided to make some and apply them and make some more...just to brake up the monotony of each process, I've also learned that the curvature of the hull prevents any more the two plates from laying properly so I'm laying them up two at a time......this process may take another two years!!

Pics follow

THX

J

laying up the bow

trimmed (man these look really ugly on camera)

laying up the stern

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

look'in good J.........I've never coppered before,  but you may find that you'll need to jog in another row for the mid ship.

[jct]

THX Pop, I think yo are correct maybe even more then one

[jct]

Thanks for the likes and comments, all are much appreciated...foiling/plating continues, with my normal 3-4 redos...in this case pealing of and replacing...the initial beltline was all wonky (sorry no pics) so I placed a tape guide line to butt against and laid in two courses for the beltline. 

bow close up

this next shot is the stern...question for you experienced copper plate installers..you'll notice the area in the oval, if I were planking a stealer would be called for, does this apply to plate as well ie should I cut a little pointy plate to install here? Or would it be more appropriate to just lay a full plate over top.   any assistance here is appreciated as my on-line research hasn't turned up anything... 

Well that's it for now, thanks for looking in

J

Edited September 10, 2017 by jct
spealing

[jct]

Thanks for the likes...another redo...some the copper foil I had applied to the hull began to lift and the copper paint I use to paint the bottom of the hull took on a gummy feel, thinking the two were probably related...the paint was pretty old, easily 10 yrs or so.  So the offending foil plates were stripped off and all the copper undercoat removed.  The hull then received a light seal coat and I started the process all over.

since I had to strip everything down I'm making a modification to my 'plates' I've switched to a smaller pounce wheel and am using much less pressure, they are still not to scale but much closer than the originals, you can see the difference in the pic below

 

So that's it for now...

THX

J

[popeye the sailor]

I have some Testor's copper paint that I've had for quite a long time.   my experience with metallic paints showed me how these paints take so long to fully cure.  they tend to dull out with handling and finger prints are a problem.  to solve this,  I give the surface a coat of semi gloss or flat clear coat {lacquer seems the best} to skin it over and dry to a touchable finish.  the smaller wheel looks better......somewhere on the site,  there's a conversation about the visibility of this much detail in coppered hulls.   most say that the rivets wouldn't be as visible,  but most modelers add it in anyway.   it's a lot like tree nailing.......lots of effort,  but the finished deck or hull usually looks the better for it  

[jct]

THX much Pop...yep I agree...debated with myself long and hard (drew some strange looks) about not adding them but decided to, but they do need to be subtle, besides no build of mine would be complete with out a least one tear down!

This is old Testers enamel, this is the first issue I've had laying it over a primer coat, I'll defiantly keep the sealer trick in mind,  not too many solvent enamels left though, switched to acrylics a few years back (the lungs have been grateful  )

[jct]

Hello to all,

Thanks for the likes and comments...another update to the HL build.  After doing some research on coppering a ship's hull I came to the conclusion that I was doing everything pretty much the wrong way!!   So since everything was stripped down anyway wasn't a big deal to start with a new layout.  First thing was to try to establish the plains where the plates would ly.

 

This hull is basically slab sided and flat bottomed with a very sharp curve transitioning between the two amidships, when trying to lay bands this created havoc.  

So I layed off a couple gore lines (before you ask I have no idea why they are called that) each one on the edge of each transition, and started plating to the lines and trimming any excess.  So far this is working well.  I do believe there will be a few runs that fight back though

gore lines at the bow...

and stern...

once the excess is trimmed at the gore line new rivets are run along the cut edge 

 

Another small detail...doors for the Wheel houses, these are copies of the kit supplied paper ones for the pilot house, glued to stiff card stock to add thickness...same applies to the headers added to each.  Each wheel house has two, as the real vessel has a large shaft enclosure blocking the fore-aft path.

Still have to add some trim to these guys but they are almost complete...

That's it for now, thanks much for your time and attention

 

Edited September 19, 2017 by jct

[jct]

THX for all the likes and comments...back to plating, the hull bottom is almost complete so I jumped up to the beltline to start laying in the upper rows, gonna try to fit in 4 rows lateral to the waterline, that should come close to completing the hull sides, then the plates that transition to the bottom...I thinking those rows are gonna be wonky   This process has been a lot more complex and time consuming then I ever expected...kudos to those who have gone before...hoping the end result is worth the effort!   Pics follow

 

 

 

[ScottRC]

I am glad you are doing this build log and would like to say that you are coming along very well and addressing some issues that I have been coming across as well with solid hull kits.  hopefully, I can get back to some ship modeling and to a solid hull of the Sea Witch.  I think it was wise of you to go with the primer on the hull.  Gloss lacquers or enamels do not work well with adhesives, so you end up either sanding the gloss finish or using a primer to create a surface the adhesive can "bite" into.

 

Best regards,

Scott

[jct]

Thx much for the kind comment and the likes Scott, gals to have you along for the ride, be sure to start a build log on your Sea Witch...she should be a good one being a ship of legend

[popeye the sailor]

looking good with the coppering....will be nice when done   

[jct]

THX much Denis...I think the tricky parts is still ahead though

Edited September 28, 2017 by jct

[jct]

Just a small update...the build hasn't been abandoned, just been off for a bit so I was focused on the Pinta.  The plating process continues albeit slowly...one row at a time the transitions between zones is still plaguing me a bit...not as easy as it looks Pic follows

 

 

[jct]

Hello all,

Well I finally made some progress with the plating of the HL hull and think I finally turned the corner. The bottom is complete and trimmed and new gore lines established to start up the sides.  

Shes to the point now where I think two more plating runs/side should finish the plating...the copper will then be weathered, haven't decided yet how I'm gonna do that

that's it for now thanks for looking in

J

[popeye the sailor]

really nice job with the coppering.  some folks let it age naturally,  some will dry brush it with med green,  olive drab,  or a lighter shade of green.....flats.   down strokes to the keel.   any other method,  and you'll need goggles and mits for it.   care for the mad scientist look?   

[jct]

It is one that suits me well...I may do some experimentation to see what gives me the best look

Edited November 17, 2017 by jct

[jct]

Thx for all the likes...the plating is complete..not perfect, i'm content with it though, not as easy as I thought it would be that's for sure, took me longer then I would have thought as well....but here it is for your perusal ...next step will be to paint the upper hull, then I got to figure where the heck I left off to knock the plating off in a 'couple days'...

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by jct

[S.Coleman]

Nice job plating. Especially in this small scale. Looks really good. 

[jct]

Thx Steve...thx to all for the likes

[jct]

Just a quick update ...the upper hull took quite a beating during the foiling process, which I did not realize until I hit it with a coat of paint...so out came the filler putty and sandpaper...so the fill,sand, prime process commenced.   I use a gray automotive grade primer for the fill steps and once smooth switch to a flat white primer, a couple coats and she's ready for the top coats.  That won't be happening right away as I want to finish dressing out the sponsons first Pics follow

[popeye the sailor]

what are those lines down by the copper......is that what needs to be addressed?