US Brig Syren by Peter Bloemendaal - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[Heronguy]

1 hour ago, knightyo said:

Are you and Doug copying each other? lol.  It does look like you two are in the exact same spot.   

 

Alan

I'm leading from behind

 

 

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks all,

Hi Doug,

I'm not sure whether I should slow down to learn from your next planks or keep going with the risk of you copying my mistakes....

Nah, I'll keep going. It will naturally slow down to 2 planks per evening as the gap gets smaller and there is more measuring and sanding to do.

It already feels like each plank is it's own little project. And I'm always a hand short trying to clamp the buggers.

Peter.

[Heronguy]

The clamping is the biggest challenge isn't it.  I received some funny looks last evening as I used the only clamp I could get to apply pressure at the stern - my thumb.  Trying to read a novel while cradling the siren and pressing down on the stern plank worked ok until I had to turn a page of my book (is should have read something on the iPad as I can single hand it better).  Carpenter's glue just doesn't set quickly enough sometimes!

 

Push on Peter - I'm here to learn!

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Hi Doug,

There is nothing wrong with cradling the Syren, trust me, I know.......

I cut up a cork sanding block to fit snug in the deck area and use a rubber eraser on the stern plank, When clamping these together nothing touches or dents the wood around it and the angles are still good enough for the clamp to stay in place...just.

I'll make a photo of it tonight. It doesn't look pretty but it's effective.

[Heronguy]

Yes please, if you have a chance for a picture I’d like to see it.  My attempts to clamp have included bar clamps, rubber bands, and a vice grip variant.  I’m still in the market for a method that works!

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Hi Doug,

Here are the clamp photo's. The trick is to use flexible materials that don't slide off when clamped on an angle. However, I lost count on how many time I had to get on the floor looking for the eraser, cork block or clamp. So far I manage to hold on to the Syren.

[Heronguy]

Very helpful. Thank you Peter 

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Well, I finished the planking today so here are some photo's. A nice milestone. I am really enjoying the journey so far.

Next, I will be spending some time working out the colours scheme and the treenails. I will make up a panel with some of the scrap planks and practice a bit before I go any further on the model.

Peter.

[Heronguy]

Nice job closing up the hull. It looks very good!

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Had a bit of fun last night making up a little cross section of the hull and trying out processes like Tree nails, paint, masking tape, colour mix etc. I felt a bit like a chemist diluting the stain to get it right. It all went well until I knocked over one of the container on the work bench and in the process of getting a rag knocked my toe a beauty.... Probably a reminder why chemistry wasn't my thing.

The drying times might have suffered a bit as well, I was not that patient. I'm glad I made the effort though because I learned a lot.

I have one question though. Does anyone warm up the wax stick a bit to make it softer. I'm a bit nervous of denting the wood when I press the wax into the holes. The wax seems quite hard. Or is there another trick to it.

Peter

[fnkershner]

Peter - Purchased both the Wax stick and the jar of soft putty. I found the stick hard to use. I found the putty perfect. I can rub it in with my fingertip or a screwdriver. I then wipe away the excess with a wet rag. If you go to my log you will see a picture of the putty I use. I am not sure if it is available to you down under. Let me know, if not I will send it to you by post.

[kscadman]

Beautiful work Peter

 

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks Richard,

 

Thanks for the offer Floyd. I had a look at your photo. It looks like just a wood filler. Although Minwax is not available here it shouldn't be too hard to find something similar. I'll get some and practice a bit more.

I just finished drilling 250 odd holes on one side of the model and they are patiently waiting to be filled. They may have to wait a little bit longer...

[svein erik]

Hi Peter 

you can also try to get this rep set fore wood floor 

its also wax putty avd it Comes in number of colors

there is a warmer and a scraper also provided and yoy can get it in the hardware store

 

Svein erik

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks Svein,

It's a great option but it must be a European thing because I haven't seen anything like it in our hardware store. And with our store less than 5 minutes away from work, I spent many lunch time breaks lurking around looking for ideas.

 

I was just thinking, with the money spent on wax sticks, drill bits, wood fillers, sandpaper, tools, etc., I wonder how much those tree nails are worth based on the amount that end up in the ship. On a per gram basis surely way more than gold. Maybe an idea for a new thread. What are the most valuable components of a ship, time not included. The tree nails must be up there...

[svein erik]

Aahhh,  it an European thing yes, but all the treenailsis an optional detail,

on my confederacy I diddent do the treenails

but I wil try dis om my brig syren

looking farward to see your builds

 

Svein.erik

[Peter Bloemendaal]

I felt like putting the holes for the mast in before adding the deck. It was a bit of a struggle because I only have the dremel drill stand (max drill size for the chuck is 3mm, the rest hand drill) and I used pine blocks. So the mast hole in the blocks were expectedly way out of alignment (no surprises here). I then lined the hole in the bottom of the block up with the location of the mast on the deck and screwed the block down. Next I added a dowel, loosened the block a bit and started adding packers under the block until I was happy with the alignment.

I'm not sure if I would recommend doing it this way, because I am not 100% happy with the end result but I thought I'd share it anyway. When (if?) I get to the point of adding the masts, I don't think it will be too hard to fix the angles. At least they are in the right location and they line up across the length of the ship. So I got two out of three...

[Heronguy]

A very nice clean-looking build you've got there Peter.  Smart idea to deal with the mast holes - I shall follow your lead.

[Jim Rogers]

Very nice planking job and good thinking on the mast holes.

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks Doug & Jim.

I was struggling a bit with the next stage, which is the finish. I decided to use wax for the treenails. I left the wax stick in the sun for a while to soften it up a bit. So far so good. Marking up the waterline and painting the various parts black also went well. However, I was dreading applying the varnish. The problem was that I forgot to pre-select the best 14 strips for that area. In my enthusiasm I just got on with it (after the penny dropped, I quickly put 30 good strips aside for the deck...). In the process I ended up with a few pretty average planks and some colour differences as well. There is only so much sanding you can do, so in the end there was only one way to find out. Just go for it.

At the back of photo 51 you can see the variations.

So I'm not sure yet if I should just leave it, or lightly sand and try a second coat with the risk of making it worse.

Also what is the recommendation with regards to clear varnish. At which stages in the build would you apply that.

Any feedback would be great.

 

[Heronguy]

Peter, I don’t have any suggestions for you but I will say that to my eye your ship looks terrific.  Variation in the colour of the planks seems to me to be natural in real life and so for model.  I like that in wood!  The black wales really dresses up the hull too!  I hope you find the solution you’re varnishing concerns.

 

Great work.

[Jim Rogers]

Peter she looks great. You should be proud.

I have used a wipe on Poly,  a wipe on finish called “The Good Stuff” which I love and a spray on poly. The problem on when to apply is tricky because the build is not complete and sometimes, dependent on which you choose, you must sand off to glue on parts. And the flip side the finish does protect the paint. I would finish the hull now and again it is a beaut.

[fnkershner]

Peter - I know we are often our own worst critics. I punish myself over my work. From where I sit it look wonderful. All I can offer is what I have done. I started the treenailing. but I didn't finish because I had a deadline to achieve. Also like you I was anxious to see how it looked. Since then I have gone back and I am now finishing. I decided to use a number 74 drill (slightly larger than my previous effort) and I am using a different putty. I intend to put on 2 coats of the Oak stain and 1 coat of the Wipe on Poly. As Jim mentions above I am not sure when I will do the Poly.

[scasey88]

Peter, your Syren is looking great!!

[Tigersteve]

The coloring looks good. Don't forget sanding sealer before you copper plate. 

Steve

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks All,

The problem I have is that I become overly critical and start amplifying the "problem" in my head. The second problem is that in that state of mind I can't stop fiddling with the model to try to fix it. Straight after pressing 'send' on the keyboard last night I went to the shed and put a second coat on, which I don't think helped much. So I'm lucky I'm at work right now and can't touch it for a while...lol.

In my message I stated that I varnished it, I didn't, I only used a stain.

And you are all correct, it doesn't look that bad. I'll have another look tonight, maybe touch it up a little bit and then leave it to get on with the next chapter. Once the mind latches on to the next new challenges, this "issue" will get smaller and smaller.

I'm still undecided when to put a clear varnish on, so I'll wait for now.... I'll probably wrap the outside up to protect the paint while sanding and working on the stern & the inside.

 

[knightyo]

Hi Peter,

 

I had severe "blotchiness" after I'd applied stain (Minwax Golden Oak) to my Syren.  I was shocked.  However, by applying many layers of acrylic washes, the colors started to blend together much better.

 

Alan

[wool132]

Despite your efforts to convince us otherwise, I think your model looks great!

 

Jonathan

[Peter Bloemendaal]

So I went on with the next chapter and put the disappointment of the stain finish behind me.

Thanks for the compliment Jonathan.

Hi Alan, I am not sure what you mean by applying many layers of acrylic washes. I can't picture in my head what it would look like.

Here are some photo's on the progress on the stern.

I used a (very) simple way of adding a profile to the stern molding strips, which I showed in the last photo. It took a few attempts to get the screw tip in the middle of the channel, but once that was sorted, it went surprisingly well.

 

[knightyo]

Hi Peter, 

 

The below photo shows what my hull looked like after applying Minwax Golden Oak.  I believe that was after numerous light sandings and reapplications of the stain as well. It actually looked far "blotchier" in person than in the photo. The photo at the very bottom shows what my hull looks like now (although all of my trennails are now in. yes!) 

 

By carefully brushing very thinned down acrylic brown paints to my hull, I was able to "blend" the color together, so the finish looks more uniform.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2017 by knightyo