Sakonet Daysailer by Bulwark - FINISHED - Midwest Products - 1:24 Scale - "A Shakedown Cruise"

[Bulwark]

Starting with the instructions. Gave them a good read through. Had trouble with seperating the keel from the sprue and, snap. Elmers to the rescue. Letting that cure before forging ahead. 

 

This is my first wooden ship model. I'm no stranger to modeling, or miniature painting so i hope my skills at figure painting will do me service here. I may or may not be verbose in my descriptions. This is less a how to and more of a document of what i did right and wrong. 

 

Suggestions are welcome, naturally.

[husky1943]

Howdy Bulwark,

 

I like that...."shakedown."  Take her out there and work her bolts loose.  Ha!  Haven't heard "shakedown" in a while.

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Bulwark]

Keel is ready for the deck... sort of. I was pretty diligent with the use of the square to make sure the transom was perfect but alas it isn't. I committed to the bonding of it to the keel and am now going to pay for that. It isn't off a LOT, but it is off. in the close up the transom's misalignment is noticeable. The deck is not glued to the keel yet.  Should I grab the acetone and try to reapply the piece? Or move on and do a bit of corrective sanding. I'm leaning toward a redo, but there is the danger of damaging the wood of the keel. 

 

[thibaultron]

Acetone, for sure. It will make the fairing of the hull difficult, if not corrected.

[Bulwark]

After realigning the transom  (the first bolt to be shook loose it seems but not the last) it was time to glue the deck to the keel and those other bits. I had a problem which was I only had two hands (allegedly). I couldn't hold the keel assembly and the deck and glue every down. The deck conforms to a curved shape once fitted. I used rubber bands to hold and shape the deck so that it was easy to apply glue. This worked really well. Amazing how when deprived of tools a person can come up with little improvisations. Now at six pm I have a visit from my five year old nephew...

 

The other boat? That's my other hobby. Papercraft ships.  It is a work in progress. 

[Bulwark]

Planking is hard. Used a 50/50 Ammonia-Water spray to make the plank bend without cracking. Then I had to 'trim' the excess. There was a lot of excess. Used a razor saw after puzzling things over. Worked well. Beveled the edge to make it flush with the ribs (what ARE those called?). The other half is not wanting to behave. Can't get the glue to dry. I should be using thick CA, but I'm not. I'm using thin CA. So far it has worked. I need something to really hold those bit at the bow and stern in place. Mainly right at the point of the bow (prow? I need to brush up on my nautical terms).

[Bulwark]

Okay, the other side is done. Had a lot more trouble as I mentioned. Finally got everything to stick properly and trimmed the excess. Did some sanding to prepare it for the next plank.

 

[Bulwark]

I read that a beginners who lose interest in making ships do it after finishing the hull. I honestly can't imagine myself not wanting to continue. Once the hull is done then the real fun begins: details. I like little details. Going to get some wood putty today. I think there's a few places that might need it.

[husky1943]

Howdy Bulwark,

 

You are doing a great job, and what a unique subject!  Looks fantastic so far.  Get to them details!!

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Bulwark]

Okay, I broke somethin'. The coamings were a bit stiff and I had to bring two of them to meet at a single point. I ought to have used ammonia to soften it up but it wasn't called for in the instructions. Suffice to say I had a problem. I couldn't think of any way to make the broken piece look passable. So I took the die cut sheet and seperated the empty coaming bit from it. I found that there was enough blank space for another one and used the empty as a template. I made a new coaming, by golly and it worked. This time I used ammonia and while I couldn't figure out exactly how to get the two bits to meet (see the picture) I did my best. I wasn't about to risk breaking it again. 

 

Secondly the bottom planks: I trimmed them too short at the top. Wound up with a groove in the side of the ship showing the chine in a few place. So I got some plastic wood and applied. After it dried (the color was nearly a match, but this boat calls for painting) I sanded it smooth. 

 

 

During wait/dry times I worked on this tiny ship of the line miniature. 

 

 

 

UP NEXT! The mast! I am intimidated to all heck. 

[Bulwark]

Using a dremel and a really steadt hand i drilled the holes in the mast as directed in the plans. I did the jib boom and jib club as well. Sanded them and then lost my head and sanded the wrong way. My jib boom has a very narrow end ( goose neck attaches here). Well live and learn. Never let your assumptions drag you off the plans. The tiller came out nice. Other goodies were created. Next comes wood sealants and paint! Yep, that's what the instructions call for.

[Bulwark]

Well I lost internet for a few days. Without such distractions I was able to finish the Sakkonet! I'm not too happy with the paint job, but hey first timer here... lol. I'm happy with most of the details. It was challenging and quite fun to rig the ship. I put sails on it and am glad I did. The ship (christened the "Wodehouse" which is shakily lettered on the transom) looks like it is well underway and a few ghosts are having a good time.  Here are the finished bits and a few "in progress" pics I couldn't upload during the outage.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bulwark]

I started on something else... naturally tacking ahead. I will post that in another ship building log! Thanks for the guidance, mateys!