Mayflower by Tigersteve - Model Shipways

[rcweir]

Thanks for all the photos.   I have my own build of Mayflower going, somewhat behind yours, so you are helping me quite a bit.       I've taken some photos of Mayflower II over the past 3 years during its overhaul at Mystic Seaport.   I doubt that they'll help you - mostly they show framing and planking - but I've got some closeups of the main top and masthead before the mast was stepped along with other odds and ends of things.   I can send them to you or post them in the appropriate place on MSW if there's any interest.

 

Bob

 

[Blue Ensign]

Coming along beautifully Steve, nice progress.👍

 

B.E.

[RichieG]

looking great, Steve. I also am building this model, but have been away from it for about a year. I'm planning to get back to it soon, and I will follow along with you here!

[Tigersteve]

Thank you for the kind words and the likes. I just applied one coat of gray water based primer using one of my wife’s old foundation makeup brushes. Very smooth bristles (works great for painting). I applied straight from the jar.
 

This will allow me to see any areas that need filler and sanding. After further filling and sanding, I will reapply the primer and repeat until a completely smooth surface is achieved. After this, deck planking can begin. 
Steve

[Stuntflyer]

Steve,

 

Following up on our recent pm, remember that your not looking to have a completely gray surface after sanding. Use the filler as an color indicator to fill the low spots only. After that you could spray or brush a blanket coat of gray which will make it easier when painting tallow white.

 

Mike

[Tigersteve]

Yes- I believe we are on the same page. My next step is filler and sanding then primer to see where the low spots are. I’m not trying to get a solid coat of primer. Thank you again, Mike. You are always a great mentor here. 
Steve

[Kurt Johnson]

Steve, How nice your wife lets you borrow her brushes. I hope you don’t wait to get them back.

 

Coming alone really nice.

 

Kurt

[Tigersteve]

Borrow? Lol These are mine now!

Steve

[Tigersteve]

A few progress photos. Getting closer to a completely smooth surface. Several sessions of wood filling and sanding. Checked the surface twice with a coat of primer. What’s been helpful is flipping the hull upright in the light to reveal surface inconsistencies. 
 

If I could go back I would have spent more time during hull planking to create tight plank joints. My haphazard (it’ll fill and sand fine) approach has created a lot of extra work. 
Steve

Edited February 15, 2020 by Tigersteve

[Tigersteve]

Just about finished coating the hull with flat white. Many watered down coats were applied with a foam brush. After every few coats the hull was sanded lightly with 400 grit sandpaper. 
Steve

[Tigersteve]

I finished coating the hull in white. After removing the tape, I sanded the unpainted strakes and applied another coat of Wipe-On-Poly. Building a cradle to hold the model is next. Chuck applied a thin wash of brown paint to his hull and quickly wiped it off to dull the brightness of the white. I will do the same after the keel is in place. 
Steve

Edited March 4, 2020 by Tigersteve

[Kurt Johnson]

Steve, Its looking good! I was always partial to this kit. It really builds up nicely. I have one kicking around, but it has the usual warps and twists. I even ordered some “good” plywood to replace things but it came warped too.  I have to see if I can straighten it out. It got me thinking of the old days when plywood was plywood. I took a picture of a planking clamp I made years ago from 5/8” birch ply from Ace hardware. It has twelve layers to it!! Of course I had to walk 10 miles in three feet of snow in bare feet to get it. Or maybe that was going to school, I forget.

 

Maybe I can talk Chuck into making a 3/16 or 1/4 inch version of it. 
 

Kurt
 

[Tigersteve]

Made a cradle out of some packing material I had saved from a 3D printer at work. This should be sufficient to hold the hull while I work on the deck planking. 
Steve

[Tigersteve]

Forecastle and poop deck are completed. I laid the planks first then created the hatches off model. Hatches were sanded from 1/16” to 1/32” after installation. Hatches were placed according to plan sheet two, but I think they are a hair too close according to a late look at the other plan sheets. Too much risk of damage to remove the hatch at this point. I guess I’ll be the only one who notices this on the model aside from you trained modelers. I sanded the rest of the unpainted model to knock off the shine of the wipe-on-poly. Have to make sure to do a better application of poly next time. 
Steve

Edited March 31, 2020 by Tigersteve

[Tigersteve]

After applying the finish. 
Steve

[rcweir]

Steve, Have you noticed that the planking around the forecastle deck on the Model Shipways kit is different from the Mayflower II and Baker's plans?   In the kit there is a planked strip that starts about 1/8"  above the aft end of the deck, then 1/8" gap, and then 3/16" of railing and planking above.     So the space is roughly in thirds with the middle third open.    On Mayflower II, however,  the space is divided in half and the lower half is open.   I'll attach a photo of the ship as it was in 2017 and which is consistent with Baker's plans from 1957.   For a real vessel, the Baker plan would drain much better.   I'm not sure which way I'm going to go on this myself but I wish I had seen it earlier.  

 

 

[Tigersteve]

I will clarify by including a photo of Chuck’s plan sheet. He explains his rationale for the design.  I still have all the photos you sent me of the replica. I am still considering adding the scuppers if I can do it cleanly. 
Steve

[6ohiocav]

Steve,

Your Crown Timber cherry planking looks fantastic. Great choice of wood. I will be following along.

[Baker]

Indeed, the planking looks great.

 

Nice work Tigersteve

[Tigersteve]

Thank you everyone for the support. I really like working with the Cherry. I think it might be easier to work with than the Maple I used on the English Pinnace. I’m considering this wood for the next project. (Scratch built Confederacy)
Steve

Edited April 14, 2020 by Tigersteve

[Bossman]

Steve, excellent work Sir. She is looking very nice. 

[Overworked724]

Really nice work, Steve!  So clean and crisp!

[jgilchrist800]

Very nice work. Can't wait until I start my kit, after finish the USS Conny, not in it's 7th year! Maybe 6 months more and than I can start.

[LCdr Dave]

TigerSteve,

This post comes at an opportune time as I try to navigate my, apparently, old version of a Billing Boat Mayflower. When I searched for other build logs I didn’t see yours until I Googled ModelShipway plans… Go figure. Anyway, I will now be following eagerly. So far, it is looking great.

Dave

[Tigersteve]

Thanks Dave! I’m looking forward to getting back to this project in the coming months. 
Steve

[wool132]

Yippee!!!!

 

Jonathan

[Tigersteve]

Finally back to work on this project. Bulkhead construction in progress. You’ll see my new plank bending jig via Chuck’s design. It has been working well with the travel iron instead of a hair dryer. 
Steve

[Tigersteve]

Bulkheads are almost done. I just need to add the door handles, which have been a struggle. I purchased 3/64” cherry grating strips from Model Expo. You can see them on the Forward Cubbridge bulkhead.

 

It’a interesting how much is not seen with the naked eye, but all shows on the macro photos. 
Steve

Edited February 13, 2023 by Tigersteve

[Chuck]

Nice progress.  

[allanyed]

On 1/29/2023 at 3:08 PM, Tigersteve said:

You’ll see my new plank bending jig via Chuck’s design.

I like to use this method as well in a number of situations.  I have used an iron and hair dryer but find a hot air gun from the hardware store to be easier than a hair dryer or an iron.  It gets hot enough to burn wood at the highest control setting so I go to just under that setting and it works really well and quickly.   In the end, whatever works is a good way to go and it is nice when we have choices.

Allan