Planking a Billings II #600

[Chariots of Fire]

Although I am relatively accomplished as a 1/25 scale truck builder, building a model boat is new to me.  So far I have set up the bulkheads and decking on the model and am about ready to attempt the planking.  The kit has multiple sections of strip wood 3mm x 1/5mm that will be used for planking.  Using such small pieces does not seem to fit the methods described in many places on the forum but I need to start somewhere.  

Can anyone suggest some hints on this?  Perhaps this kit was not a good starter but someone other than me wants it built and I want to do it right.

[mtaylor]

Can you give us some help?  What model is a Billings II #600?

 

Actually, depending on the scale, a plank 3mm X 0.5mm could be about right.  

[ccoyle]

23 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

What model is a Billings II #600?

That's their Bluenose II kit.

[mtaylor]

Thanks Chris.  

[Chariots of Fire]

What I was looking for was some insight on planking the Bluenose from this kit.  The instructions are the bare minimum and for a novice ship builder it's not nearly adequate for my skill level.   But thanks to John for his sending my a link to his tutorial on planking.  

Edited June 11, 2019 by Chariots of Fire

[mtaylor]

There's also build logs on this ship in the kit section which would probably also help.  In the Kit section, at the top in topic for indexes.  Hit the wooden kit and it'll download a PDF to your computer.  Open the file and scroll down to the Bluenose listings.

[catopower]

Keep in mind that this is a kit from Billing Boats 600 series, so it's made to be built in two halves.

 

The planking you're expected to do is very simple strip planking. The shape of the hull allows for that very easily. You could try to get fancy and spile/taper planks, but if you're painting the hull anyway, you can get away with just laying the planks down as is, the way the instruction book shows. Still, you should soak the planks before bending. A little heat always helps too.

 

The hull of the Bluenose II is very easy to plank this way. But, of course, it's up to the builder. Once the planks are down, you can sand and use filler where needed to smooth out the hull and deal with any gaps.