Half Moon by popeye the sailor - Billing Boats - 1:40 scale kit

[popeye the sailor]

of course,  that's not to say that the table doesn't get cluttered as well.  at times,  I barely have room to move.   I'm a certified pack rat...I never throw anything away.   you never know when even an oops part can be used 

[Jim Lad]

I think all model makers make good pack rats, Popeye.  You never know when something will be just the sort of piece you need!

 

John

[captainbob]

Finally found ya.  On with the show.

 

Bob

[popeye the sailor]

me 2 a t  John 

 

 

good your looking in Bob........you haven't missed a thing 

[popeye the sailor]

I thought I would do the deck planking ......and also get to the point where I can get the hull planking on as soon as possible.   I ended up have to put this off,  due to breaking one of the aft bulwark posts....on rib #11.   first,  the hull faring.

 

 

 

 

 

I was going to divide the deck spaces 2x,  but opted to do it simpler.

 

 

then planking began with the aft section.   the deck surface will be planked with light Annegre.....the cabin walls done in a darker mahogany.

 

 

 

 

I made up a frame for the upper deck hatch opening.......it is to be left open.  I'll need to see if anything else is to be done with it.  there is a grating and a hatch to be added to the main deck.  I'm going to throw caution to the wind,  and just plank the entire deck before putting them in place.......I hope it's not a mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

now it's time for the main deck

 

 

the fore cabin wall was done so the king plank would meet it.   note that I have offset the wall planking and the deck planking.   in the plans,  they are in sync,  but I thought I'd twist this a bit.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

There's just no stopping you, is there, mate!  I don't know how you keep up this sort of progress on so many models at once!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

the planking coniinued the next day......very easy to fit planking around the bulwark posts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I might wait on the bow planking.....but am thinking better of it.   there is a bit of a wall built up around the bow stem.   the doors are missing in the kit,  so I have to make them from scratch.

 

 

 

 

I can't seem to find the jig for bending the planks,  so I'm making another one.

 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John.......I enjoy building....what can I say!     I've even had the urge to bring out the Syborn and do a little on that one.   you probably noticed the cross plank on the fore deck........I was going to cement it in place the way I notched it out,  but that edge is curved and would show a little.   so, I flipped it around.......I'll have to trim it,  but I won't have to fill anything in that would other wise be exposed.

 

I'm hoping to get away with single planking and stain    thanks again John 

[augie]

Looks like your custom jig will work well.  But Popeye.......I can't keep up with all your builds  

[Sjors]

Hi Popeye,

 

When I see your planking and looked at Anja's build, you have big deck planks…...

Big steps, sooner at home?

Looks good my friend…..

Nice jig , I knew you are coming up with some thing!

 

[Anja]

Hello Popeye,

 

Love your deck planking. Very nice!

 

Anja

[mtaylor]

Popeye,

 

Two tall ships at once?  Very nice planking.  What did you use for the caulking?

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Mark......I'm using my archive pen with india ink.  haven't used crayon since John mentioned this to me.  I think Danny uses it as well

 

these are 0.7 x 5mm strips.   like I mentioned to Anja.....it will be interesting to see the differences in these two kits  thanks to you.....and to you as well,  Anja 

 

thanks Augie.......I wouldn't even try to keep up.......if they are there,  have a gander.   always glad to have you drop by,  my friend 

[Shazmira]

Looks very clean as usual Popeye, and appearing to move at an impressive pace!!!

[captainbob]

Popeye if you keep up this pace you'll finish before Anja.  Just remember, it's not supposed to be a race.

 

Bob

[riverboat]

Hi Popeye......  nice job on the decking....... looks real good... You probably know this already, but just in case, You mentioned you were

thinking about doing single planking on the hull, if you do , don't forget to bevel one edge of each plank so when it butts up against the preceding  blank it will be nice and tight, and you'll be pleased that you won't be using any filler to speak of.

Frank

[Jim Lad]

t

hanks Mark......I'm using my archive pen with india ink. haven't used crayon since John mentioned this to me. I think Danny uses it as well

 

Yeah, Popeye - it was Danny who gave me the tip!  

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

a big thanks to you.....AND Danny,  John.   and india Ink also works on rigging thread......I made quite a bit earlier,  but I may have to make more for this build.

 

thanks Sherry and Bob.......it's a feat just trying to catch up to her.........

 

I tried to do that with the AmericA build....I still got some plank lines.   it wa OK though,  I wanted the plank lines to show.   the thing that I'm concerned about, will be the glue ooze from between the planks.  I also want to stain  as well.   now,  I was trying to do this to full length strips......I wonder if it would be better done in short planks

[popeye the sailor]

I know I have been quiet these last couple of days,  but I think I have enough now to let you folks in on the state of the build.  since going through the misfortune of breaking one of the aft bulwark posts,  I have been hard at work getting the planking on the bulwarks,  to protect the post in question.  I wish I had a picture of the wood strips I'm using......it has a cool wood grain.......if memory serves me right,  it's the same grain that I used for the Gothenborg.  even with my primative bending jig,  I still ended up having to wet the wood again and bend it more by hand,  before cementing it in place.   in preparation for the day when it will no longer need the slip,  I assembled the stand.

 

 

 

I thought earlier that I might be able to doi the bow planking at a later time,  but I had found that there is a bulwark wall around this small portion of deck,  so,  I planked it .

 

 

 

 

the wrap around at the bow is pretty tight,  you can see a spur there.....hopefully I can rub that out,  or something will cover it {it looks like a good contact point for the trail boards and head stock}.  the third clamp aft is the broken post.

 

 

 

to trim the excess planking at the transom,  I used a flat headed pair of snips.......cuts it really close with just enough to sand flush.

 

 

to insure that there will be no glue boo boo's when it comes time to stain,  I'm trying to be extra lean with the glue between the planks.  the bow though,  is going to be a tough go.......it's a real pain in the transom.

 

 

I'm just putting some in the most critical of places.

 

 

 

for the upper section of the stern,  I precut these boards.  this will give the shape of the upper decks

 

 

 

I have been doing a little sanding here and there.   it will make it easier when I go to do the major sanding......I can just smooth out the rest of the contour.  there is one minor imperfection.....don't know how I could have missed it.  I thought to leave it.......but you'll get to see it get worse as I go along 

[popeye the sailor]

the angle of the bulwark cuts and the way they are shaped,  I will need to curve these planks to accept the top rail / pin rail {these two aspects are combined}.  these parts are going to be a tough go......they are made of plywood and very stiff.   note where the slots are.....rope stanchions are to be located in these slots.....too close to the ends to do an adequate bend.  I have an idea for this,  but I need these parts for refference.

 

 

 

note also,  that on the parts sheet,  that is all I have for the crow's nests.   rather than make the missing parts and have it look odd,  I'm going to scratch make all of the parts.......in this way,  they will all be the same.  this also will come in play later on.  the starboard side stern wall is built up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had made the same parts for the port side wall.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2013 by popeye the sailor

[Anja]

Beautiful planking Popeye.

 

Nice work. I like what you did with the port side wall. Cutting the planks at an angle.

Have to remember that.

 

Take care,

 

Anja

[realworkingsailor]

Quite the progress you've made there Popeye!

 

Excellent planking so far

 

Andy

[popeye the sailor]

in the last picture of the deck,  you get a glimpse of the problem......the post before the broken one is out too far and creates a gap between the bulwark wall and the deck.   at first,  I thought that the top rail would cover it.   but,  the more I looked at it,  the more it irritated me.   time to think of a remedy.

 

the bow is going to take some love to whip it into shape.  the first planks to be laid in place on the fore walls,  has a beveled leading edge that needs to wrap around the bow walls towards the bow stem.  it will stop short,  since the plank under it needs to be sanded to continue the bevel,  mating to the stem.

 

 

 

the starboard side is done here.......so you can see what I mean.......now the bevel will continue the rest of the way to the stem.

 

 

after a little sanding......the stern has a nice feel.   here is a good shot of the problem I need to deal with.

 

 

.....and then there are these.

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I had the fore deck walls finished,  but the port side had other ideas........the wrap around part of it decided to break away and stick out.   I had to add more glue to cement it back into place.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

thank you Anja and Andy     yea,  those diagonal cuts are gradual.......just as a head start,  since more has to be removed to create the curve for the top rails {at both ends}.  then there is the other curves for the upper poop deck.   I hope to keep a lot of the plank lines....really don't have a need to hide them 

 

 

the repair of that bulwark post turned out to be easier than I thought.  the planks were broken free of the post,  120 grit was threaded in between facing the post,  and pulled in both directions using the planks as a pressure point.  it wasn't going fast enough though,  so I used the x-actor to cut the curve out faster.

 

 

then the planks were glued back into place.

 

 

 

the bow is now back in order....so here is a shot.   the slope will mate at the stem when it's completely sanded.

 

 

as I was sizing up these pictures,  I got a nudge at the knees........seems Gibbs wants to go outside 

 

 

a nice sunny day........after the majority of the week being unsettled.

[Sjors]

Hi Popeye,

 

Great planking job!

And what about the inner side of the bulwarks?

Do you have to remove the noches of the frames?

 

[realworkingsailor]

Nice fix. And yes... Do take the dog out.... A nice sunny day and he's stuck inside.....

 

Andy

[augie]

Great progress there Popeye.  She's really shaping up.

[Shazmira]

Looking wonderful popeye, I was going to say that I had no doubts you would find a fix to the bulwark issue, and viola a couple pics more and all is well

[Jim Lad]

You're really rocketting ahead with this one, Popeye!  You'll be onto the rigging before you know it!

 

John

[mtaylor]

Looking good and making fast progress, Popeye.   I guess you don't need filler blocks on the bow?  Both sides look very symmetrical.