68mm 4-Oared Yawl by etsinko - FINISHED - Master Korabel - Scale 1:72

[etsinko]

Hello everybody,

this is a tiny build log that covers the assembly of the latest Master Korabel 1:72 lifeboat. I have never built this boat so, most likely, I'll make a few mistakes on the way but I hope those won't be fatal and I'll be able to fix them.

 

The first thing I noticed is that Master Korabel used a new technique for this model - the jig is not a part of the model as it was with the previous MK boats. It is more like a "building berth", a completely separate entity.
 

The kit itself consists of 2 pearwood billets and 1 plywood billet:

All boat parts are made of pearwood, while the jig is made of plywood. This is an upgrade compared to the previous MK boats, where parts of the plywood jig were incorporated into the final model.

 

1. The boat's center keel is made of three pearwood veneer layers. I simply cut them out and glued together as per instructions:

2. After that I assembled the jig. So far this was the most difficult part for me - the plywood is very fragile and crumbles easily, especially in the areas of the fore and aft bulkheads that need to be beveled. To prevent this problem I covered edges of the bulkheads with thin CA glue and waited for a few seconds until the edges turned into plastic. After that I beveled them without any problems.

 

Another woe was inserting the center longitudal element into the bullkheads.  It was a very tight fit and when I tried to file the notches a little bit the part started crumbling apart. Again, I generously covered both of its sides with CA glue and waited until it dried. Only then I was able to file the notches without destroying the whole piece:

Here is another thing which I found was not too clear in the instructions. The bulkheads have notches that are installed into the bottom flat piece and these notches have slightly different lengths. This is done so that the bulkheads are oriented properly:

[etsinko]

3. Next the instructions tell you to soak in water, slightly bend and insert the longitudal side supports into the jig. This was really hard to do. I didn't bother dryfitting these parts and after soaking they expanded a little, thus making it pretty much impossible to insert them into the notches. I ended up enlarging these notches with a knife and pushing the parts in. In the end, I was able to get them in. The lesson for me here is that I really should have dryfitted them first before soaking in water:

4. After that I covered the jig with plastic wrap to prevent glue sticking to it and installed the boat's center keel:

5. Compared to building the jig installing ribs was a trivial task. I soaked them in water, bent them slightly with hands and slid them through openings in the center keel and the jig. After that I applied tiny drops of CA glue in the areas where the ribs go through the center keel and on the outside edges where they touch the jig:

6. Once all the ribs were installed, I began planking. Planking was pretty straightforward thanks to the precut planks! I just needed to make sure that some parts of the plank are not glued to the ribs. All planks were soaked in water and their fore ends were slightly beveled:

Edited October 29, 2018 by etsinko

[etsinko]

7. The next step was not too straight forward. First, I cut free the "jig portion" of the top plank. Next, I cut notches in the ribs and glued a sheer strake plank to the protruding edges of the ribs and, finally, removed the hull from the jig:

8. The hull was sanded smooth and the center keel was assembled. The keel consists of 3 tiny pieces that are glued together:

 

9. After the keel had been glued, I started assembling the interior details. Sheer clamp was glued first:

Then the bulkheads and foot wailings were installed:

Then the risings, note that each one has a positioning jig attached to it. The jig is not glued to the hull!

Finally, I installed all the thwarts, side benches, the backboard, the knees, the fore grating and the breasthook:

 

[etsinko]

10. The rest was straightforward - I made the mast clamps and the pintles out of a brass strip provided with the kit, blackened them and attached them to the model, then I installed the oarlocks and the shoulders:

11. Then I made oars and masts, and finally the boat was done!

This is the smallest working rudder I've ever built:

Here it is along with the 75mm boat from Master Korabel that I built recently:

Edited November 1, 2018 by etsinko

[ccoyle]

These are really fantastic looking boats and a great option for folks who don't want to go the scratch route for replacing off-the-shelf kit boats. Great job!

[Mirabell61]

Lovely work Etsinko,

 

Nils

[lmagna]

Thank you for showing how it is done and how, with skill, these small kits can make small masterpieces.

[etsinko]

Thank you guys! 

Surprisingly, they were much easier to assemble at such scale than I had initialy thought.