Granado by RMC - FINISHED - Caldercraft - 1:64

[Papa]

Perhaps the clamps have been improved. I purchased mine quite a few years ago.

 

[RMC]

The second planking is not going particularly well. The boxwood is certainly easier to work with than walnut. However the stains I have tried to make it slightly darker are not really satisfactory, so I will go with the raw wood. As there may not be enough boxwood to complete the whole job, I have used to walnut for the wales.

 

The dentist drills have proven to be perfect for making the rabbets. (Why the preceding sentence is underlined and why I can't get rid of it is a mystery.)

 

The wales have now been painted (photos to come) and the second planking is proceeding - not all that satisfactorily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Kenny]

Looks great. If you are interested you may find my videos on building this model useful. Keep up the good work. Kevin

[RMC]

Thanks Kevin.  I'll take a look.

[Kevin Kenny]

There are 47 videos do here is the one on planking

 

 

[RMC]

Thanks very much Kevin - most helpful. You've done a lovely job.

 

Bob

[RMC]

Here is progress.  The wale has received six coats of paint so far and a protective coat of polyurethane. I will eventually put on some fake tree nails then another couple of coats eachof paint and poly.

 

This shows the first four of the second planks.  Though the second planking will probably turn out acceptably, it's fortunate that below the wale most of it will be painted as the planking is not going all that well. The yellow masking tape marks the approximate position of the waterline.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Kenny]

Yes its unfortunate that your good work will all be covered up. Having said that it facilitates the finishing of the bottom of the boat with various fillers to give a fantastic finish. Some builders may object to this but personally i like perfection when possible. 

[flyer]

Looking at those pictures of the second planking I can understand your slight frustration - especially after your fantastic Vanguard. But allow me a perhaps stupid question: Are you sure that your wood stripes for the second planking are truly boxwood? Judging by the pictures it looks more like lime to me, which would be rather coarse-grained for a second planking.

I had much fun with my Granado kit myself and would like you to have too. Please feel free to ask for more information or pictures. Unfortunately I made no build log - only a gallery file.

Cheers

Peter

[Beef Wellington]

Hi Rob, I think Peter's question is a good one, that does not look at all like boxwood, European or Castello.  From my experience it always has very sharp edges and flaky/splintery edges are never seen.

[RMC]

Thanks for the comments Peter and Jason.   The stuff was sold as boxwood, but I really have no idea what it should look like.  The first planking is lime and this is very similar, though with a slightly less coarse grain. I would have preferred a darker colour, but staining did not prove to be satisfactory - so here I am.

 

I am now really locked in to whatever timber it is.  While most is below the waterline, some is above - about four strips near the stem and perhaps a dozen around the stern below the wale.  I can't then use the (poor quality*)  walnut above the wale as it obviously doesn't match the stuff below, so I'm stuck with what I have. 

 

If it doesn't eventually turn out, I'll send it off the the breaker's yard.

 

* The wale was done in the walnut supplied.  You can see how coarse it is in the photos above despite 6 coats of paint, sanding between each coat and a coat of poly.  In mitigation, the grain (and the mistakes) are however magnified by a factor of at least 4 in all of the close-up photos.

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by RMC

[OrLiN]

Morning RMC,

This is my first ever posting on this forum so if there are any breaches of good manners etc. please excuse them.

I have built from many kit suppliers over the years and have usually been saddened by the strip wood supplied including a lot of the walnut.

My build of Granado also ended up in the bin though I did keep all of the fittings for my spares box.

For my last three builds I have bought replacement wood for the planking, both hull and deck.

Any walnut I use is painted black (Admiralty Paints) after sanding and filling.

I tend to research and "kit bash" as much as possible and usually end up with a reasonable result but I wouldn't want to enter it in any sort of competition.

Good luck with the rest of the build, I will be watching.

 

[RMC]

Thanks for taking the time to comment OrLin - and do use and comment  in the forum in future.  It's useful for all of us.

 

This is the first time I have had a real issue with the quality of the timber supplied in a kit.  The timber supplied for my Amati Vanguard was very good (the walnut was beautiful - pity it was painted - have a look at my early Vanguard log) and  Mantua's for the Royal Caroline and the Astrolabe was quite acceptable. With hindsight I cwish that I had bought the Amati version of the Granado, though I think this one will probably turn out OK.  I guess - aside from me - it's for others to judge.

[flyer]

Don't give up the ship!

 

You could try to take off those offending stripes of the second planking. Soaking them in water would help to loosen them a bit and then you could get a scalpel between first and second planking and lever the stripes off. Then scratch the first planking clean and try again.

 

Sometimes when trying to get a smooth finish for the planks I get better results by scratching them clean with a very sharp knife (scalpel) held vertical and moved like a plane (the tool, not the aircraft).

 

You could also try to order some better quality wood from outside of Australia. E.g.

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk

delivers worldwide - perhaps even to former colonies. At least you shouldn't be treated worse than me as we belong both to the same group of customers: 'Rest of the World'.

 

Cheers

Peter

[RMC]

Peter: I am now leaning towards taking off the poorly done strips as you suggest and replacing them with what I hope will be a better job.  I have experimented with a number of alternative fillers and none really do the job well.  I am now conducting my last experiment and if it does not give a satisfactory result then it looks like the removal option.

[RMC]

I have stripped off and replaced the original second planking around the bow where the problem is most obvious.  The result is better, but far from perfect.  The wood I find ultimately comes from Artesanialatina and is certainly labelled boxwood.  In the following photos the wood has been 'painted' with dilute PVA glue to harden its surface, which otherwise was absurdly soft and tended go into strips when sanded.  This appears to solve that problem.  The planks in the photos however, have not yet been sanded back.  Bear in mind too, that the photos are close-ups and exaggerate the faults.

 

Here are the results.

 

 

 

The tape in the following photo shows the approximate position of the waterline.  The planks above it are the only ones to show once the model is painted below it.  They are really the only ones about which I am concerned.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2018 by RMC

[RMC]

The second planking below the wale is now finally finished. I am not at all pleased with it.  The wood is a bit of a disaster - it's far too soft -  and I did give a thought to buying the Amati version of the Granado to take what is best from both versions.  Sanity prevailed.

 

I had hoped to do the planking in an 'authentic'  manner but it simply didn't work out.  The planking that will be above the waterline however is of the appropriate pattern, and I hope after sanding and painting, the result will be acceptable.  Here the wood has been coated with dilute PVA and has dried overnight which I hope will provide a firmer surface for sanding.

 

The result prior to sanding:

 

 

 

 

 

The apparent gaps in the planking in the photo below are caused by stain from my staining experiments.  There are, in fact, no gaps.  Almost all of the planking here will be filled and painted.

 

 

[RMC]

I have now sanded the second planking and applied a coat of polyurethane.  To my pleasant surprise it has turned out well.  In the following pictures the parallel planks are the only ones which are of relevance, and of those, only a few at the bow and the stern will be seen.  The rest will be painted.  I have yet to do the waterline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by RMC

[Jim Rogers]

After all your woodstrip issues it turned out really well. Looks great, I like your stealers.

[RMC]

Thanks for the comment Jim - always appreciated.

[RMC]

I have now done tree nails below the wale and above the waterline (photos later).  Progress now will be delayed for about 10 days during the school holidays - those with small grand children will probably understand.

[Kevin Kenny]

Looks very nice

[lmagna]

29 minutes ago, RMC said:

those with small grand children will probably understand.

No excuse RMC. I have grand children as well! (I suppose in my case it doesn't count as they are also adopted, so in reality they are just "kids, part 2").... Never mind carry on with vacation time.

 

Lou

[RMC]

Here is work-in-progress. Despite appearances the tree nails in the second photo are vertical.  The tape serves both as a guide and to stop the drill bit slipping.

 

 

Once the holes were drilled I filled them directly over the tape to avoid the filler spreading over the wood surface. Below is an experiment. It worked reasonably well, but provided the hull is coated with polyurethane before filling, it's probably not necessary.  Photos of the result will have to await the return of the menagerie.

 

 

 

 

[RMC]

Well 10 days with two hyperactive munchkins proved .... diverting.  Despite this, a little progress has been made.  'Treenails' have now been put in the wale.  I suspect it's hardly worth the effort, but anyway it's done.

 

Again I have used Tamiya tape, both as a guide and to prevent the bit slipping.

 

Below are the results before a coat of polyurethane.  The treenaills can only be really seen under direct light shining on an angle.  The polyurethane will probably further obscure them - but at least they're there.

 

 

 

 

[Jim Rogers]

Your hull is turning out great. Way to persist.

[Altduck]

"The treenaills can only be really seen under direct light shining on an angle.  The polyurethane will probably further obscure them - but at least they're there. "

 

Looks good to me.  Especially on a part of the ship where they are painted over, I like them that way. 

 

 

[RMC]

Jim and Richard: thanks for the encouragement - it's always appreciated.

[Old Collingwood]

Very nice tidy work,  that hull just looks sublime  so smooth.

 

OC.

[RMC]

Thanks for the very kind comment OC.

 

The treenails above the waterline are finally done after quite a few tribulations. Next is to do the painting which is usually rather nerve-wracking.

 

Here are photos of progress.  Had I done the second planking properly I would have extended the treenailing to the keel.  However, given the result of the treenailing for the wale - where it is all but invisible under the paint - it probably would have been a waste of time.