Virginia 1819 by dave87m - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:41 - First Build

[dave87m]

Good Evening - I'm Dave and this is my first build. I've been wanting to take on this challenge for years and finally got a kit a year or two ago. The kit has finally come off the shelf and Im ready to get going! There's several build logs which I have poured over and another person that has recently started the same build - Im glad there is plenty of resources to look to as I get started!

 

The Kit and workbench:

 

So first question... looking through the cutouts, I noticed the false keel is somewhat bent. If a lay it on the table and hold down one side, the opposite side is about 6mm off the table: 

 

 

I've looked through forums and found a few discussions with various methods to correct with seemingly various degrees of success. I also have the book Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth which suggests wrapping the piece in plastic wrap with a "small piece of cotton placed out of the way" and then leaving it under weight for a day. In all cases it seems I need to dampen the wood and then hold it in the correct position for a while. The plastic wrap keeps it moist but Im a little doubtful the cotton placed out of the way will properly distribute moisture to the whole piece. Any suggestions on best method? Is this necessary or can it be corrected as the build progresses? 

 

Anyway, plenty of time to straighten out the keel issue... When asked for Christmas stocking stuffers all I could think of was tools and supplies needed for this build. Of course now I have to wait a few weeks before I get my clamps and squares and etc to really get going... I suppose it will be a lesson in patience that will serve me well through this project. 

 

More to come!

Dave

 

[AntonyUK]

Hi Dave.

Welcome to MAW.

Nice choice of kit for you to start with.

Yes... sort the keel out first.

Dampen the keel and lay it on a flat surface with the bow and stern toching the surface. The gap should be in the middle now. Place a 4mm packing under each end of the keel. Now place a weight in the centre on the keel. And leave it for 24 hours. Basically over bending it and hold in position for 24 hours.

Take the opportunity to look at other builds logs.

 

Regards Antony.

 

[SardonicMeow]

Hi, Dave.  I started working on the same kit just a few days ago.  Like you, I'm a beginner when it comes to ship modeling, but perhaps we can help each other with the peculiarities of this kit.  Welcome to MSW.

[dave87m]

Overdue for an update... Thanks Antony- I used your advice and was able to get the keel to flatten out a good bit. After the weight was removed for a few hours, it would a bent again slightly but after a few days of fooling with it, I got it pretty darn close to straight. 

 

Peter- Ive been following your post since the start. You're a few steps ahead of me so Im not sure Ill will have to much help to offer but your page has already proved helpful to me!

 

Straightening out the false keel. 

 

I dont have the profile quite right on the stern frame yet. I dont have a small half round file yet so I wrapped sandpaper around a pencil but its been very slow going... Hoping a a file will speed up the process a bit. 

While waiting for glue to dry I skipped ahead a bit to the cargo hatch.... I think the three planks on top blend into each other a little too much. A good reminder to pencil the sides of the deck planks when installing...

 

Prepped the guide lines for the deck...

 

 

Ive glued on the knightheads and started to sand them down to shape. Im going to spend some time getting those and the stern frame into the correct shape before progressing further. 

Edited December 24, 2017 by dave87m
removing duplicate photos

[dave87m]

Today's update- Finally started on the hull which I've been excited (read: apprehensive) to start. So far it hasn't been too bad though a very slow process.... My process is below, any tips and tricks are welcome!

 

I started by soaking the wood planks in room temperature water for about 20 minutes. I then used binder clips to hold the plank into place and let the planks dry for about an hour. 

 

Once dry, I found the planks held the twists and curves pretty well. I then applied wood glue and binder clipped them back into place. In the middle frame which was the flattest, I found the binder clip would hold down the outer edge of the plank but not the inner edge. To solve for that, I used two large binder clips, a hex key and two pieces of balsa wood to put pressure on the full width of the plank. This seemed to work pretty well. See the top of the below picture:

As the glue was drying, I inserted the pins. I did this using a dressmaker pin to start the hole, and then needle nosed pliers to push the pins into place. This worked surprisingly well and was a lot quicker than using a micro drill bit and tap hammer. 

So far two planks in. This is a quite slow process. The wet planks took about an hour to dry, then another 20-30 minutes for the glue to dry before I could start bending the next wet plank. 

My side project was the little hut that will sit on the deck. The grain of the wood on the roof was 90 degrees off from the way I needed the roof to bend. This made it very difficult to bend. I used hot water this time and more balsa wood scraps and clamps to bend it. The balsa wood strips allowed for an even bend across the whole length of the roof....

After the roof was somewhat in the shape I tried it on the structure but the corners and edges were still not quite flush with the roof edge. Carefully, I used the balsa wood strips to apply pressure along the full length of the roof while glue dried. 

Thats it for today!

 

[AntonyUK]

Hi Dave.

That's a lot of progress.

Coming along very nicely. Take your time with the planking. Can Not rush it.

Nice work with the clamps above.

 

Have a nice new year.

Regards Antony.

Edited December 28, 2017 by AntonyUK

[dave87m]

Well after a year and a half hiatus, I think its time I get back to it... I moved to a new house and the kit sat in a moving box for far too long! The first a few photos I never posted from early 2018....

 

 

Quite a mess I had on these last few photos.... The bow was a trainwreck- I had no idea what I was doing. I think I quit this model 5 or 6 times before I got it somewhat cleaned up! There aren't any photos of that process as I dont think I was having very much fun on that stretch.  

 

 

These last three photos are what I found today after resurrecting this model from the moving box.

I'm going to spend some time cleaning up glue and prepping for the next step. Based on some other folk's posts, it looks like the keel is up next. Before that I will need to cut the very front of the bulwark as the two sides currently touch and it doesn't allow space for the stem. Then going to start thinking about the outer hull lining. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by dave87m