Adding planks to a solid hull

[Samuel I]

Hello, I have just recently gotten into this hobby and I am now at the stage where I feel its time to paint/stain my ships hull and deck.  If you would like to see my progress so far you can check out my build log here.  Before I paint and stain I was curious if its possible to add the illusion of planking on a solid hull ship.  My kit is from Constructo and came with a pre-carved hull.  I would like to add some planking to make it seem more realistic before moving on. 

 

My plan was to take a nail or xacto knife and just make some markings along the hull but I wanted to ask here to see if any of yall have had a similar situation or have any better ideas. I have tried searching it up on this forum site but the only build log that i have seen that has attempted it is by the user moreplovac, and his build of the Sultana.  (Which is incredible) He takes a chisel to his hull to remove some wood and then adds planking in before doing anything else, however, i am far past the first steps of my build and this idea of mine is kind of an afterthought. 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[reklein]

A simple solution is to just add planking to the hull. Bluejackets Constitution is done this way. It would be similar to doing a double planked hull and will look better than trying to draw on planks using an awl or  some similar sort of instrument.

[Samuel I]

4 minutes ago, reklein said:

A simple solution is to just add planking to the hull. Bluejackets Constitution is done this way. It would be similar to doing a double planked hull and will look better than trying to draw on planks using an awl or  some similar sort of instrument.

Thank you for the response reklein.  If I do that would I have to double up on my lower wales? Adding planks straight onto the hull would make my wales flush with the rest of the hull. I do not have the extra material to do that, and I'm not sure of where to buy more of it, my local hobby shop does not have the material. 

[GrandpaPhil]

If you’re going to paint your model, basswood (or lime wood if you’re from Europe) works wonderfully for cheap planking material.

 

If you’re from the US, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s and Home Depot all carry basswood in the hobby section.

Edited August 16, 2019 by GrandpaPhil

[Srodbro]

I built a solid hull version of Niagara that I called Lawrence and planked over the solid hull. Had no problems. I made my own planking from clear white pine, cheap and readily available. I think it turned out well. 

With regard to using other woods in lieu of painting ... the red stripe below the gunports is Redheart, and the lighter stripe above is Osage Orange. I know both will darken over time, but I treated both with Hard Oil which will slow the process. 

 

[Jaager]

Access your available woodworkers suppliers.  My go-to is WoodCraft - it is a close drive, and has an active Web sales site.

The product that you want is hardwood veneer.  A species of wood with tight grain and closed pore.  In the US - the lower cost species = Black Cherry - Hard Maple.  Take care in the choice.  Most veneer is for the very characteristics that we need to avoid = high contrast and interesting grain.  Many of the species are also open pore.  When reduced by a factor or 50-100, the pores would be soup bowl size or shallow ditches. 

Factors that are desirable - natural,  quarter sawn or plane sawn,  no pre-glue backing,  as thin as can be had.

You will be adding a fixed additional thickness to the hull, so all planking- including the wale needs the treatment.  If the veneer is too thick, the rail will not appear to extend out enough. If you fatten it, it will be too wide.

If you copper the bottom - the thickness of the copper chosen may match the veneer and no planking needed under it.  If it is not too late,  consider not having the swimming body look like a smallpox survivor and use a smooth copper product - in place of an out of scale - too few anyway - embossed product.

 

The veneer will require a heavy precise straight edge and a sharp knife - most of us seem to prefer a #11 style edge.  Using a luthier's knife and a leather strop with gold or green compd - used frequently - will aid in developing better working habits.

[Samuel I]

Wow, thanks to everyone helping me out here. I will take what you have said and do some more research.  Im not sure if its something I want to undertake right now, or if If I want to wait to do some planking on my second ship.  

[JerseyCity Frankie]

In my build log of my Constitution restoration/rebuild I tackle the same issue and there’s photos of the steps I took to fake the hull planking. I faked the coppering too. My hull was dented and gouged so I used acrylic modeling paste then two coats of krylon spray primer. I painted the hull with acrylic then scribed the planking details. I put thinned acrylic dark paint over the hull then burnished/buffed it off with a rag when it was 80% dry and this left dark paint down inside the scribed lines which accentuated the planking. 

Edited August 17, 2019 by JerseyCity Frankie

[reklein]

For your Wales just add a plank over the existing planking. For more material Michaels,JoAnns or Hobby Lobby usually have Balsa and basswood display boxes.

[Samuel I]

18 hours ago, reklein said:

For your Wales just add a plank over the existing planking. For more material Michaels,JoAnns or Hobby Lobby usually have Balsa and basswood display boxes.

Thanks again everyone, I will check out those hobby stores and make a decision, I will update my decision on my Build-log. feel free to follow along if you want.