US Brig Syren by WalrusGuy - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64 - Second wooden ship build

[WalrusGuy]

Slowly progressing through Chapter 5. The treenails have been completed using toothpicks. I tried using filler in a sample test block but since the color was natural and not stained, the results were not as good.

 

First, each hole was marked and was drilled using a 0.55mm drillbit:

 

Toothpicks were inserted in each hole and were cut using nail clippers. In this part of the stage the ship slipped from my hand and the head of the stem knee broke off 😣. Thankfully I was able to glue it back on without much issues.

 

The leftover toothpicks were then sanded smooth: 

Finally, tung oil was applied. This darkened the toothpicks. I applied tung oil before installing the wales and sheer strake since I did not want to risk any tung oil being in contact with those strips. I am not sure how the oil would react with paint. 

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

The sheer strake, wales and stern post are now installed.

I deferred a bit from the instructions in two ways:

- after installing the wales and sheer strake I skipped ahead to glue in the pieces at the stern. I did not want to notch out the wales and sheer strake once they were painted as there is a possibility of some mishap.
- I glued in one fashion piece instead of two as the instructions suggested since the counter of my model was not curved and was straight instead. Here is a photo of what I mean:

Also from the above photo there are some slight gaps between the wales at the stern. I am still deciding on whether to put in filler in this space or not. 

 

Once I make my decision I will get back to finishing Chapter 5 by painting the model. Very nervous about this since I can be clumsy at times 😅

Edited May 8, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

It is looking good Wally, you are moving right along    

[WalrusGuy]

 

7 hours ago, NovaStorm said:

It is looking good Wally, you are moving right along   

Thanks Robin! Much appreciated!

[WalrusGuy]

Very close to finishing Chapter 5. Almost finished painting (just need a few minor touchups). 

 

First a waterline was marked (making sure the hull was horizontal with a level). I used a pencil strapped to a mug. Notice how two pencils were tied together. This helped me fine tune the level in which the pencil can mark the hull by rotating it. Also, the bow was lifted ever so slightly using some wooded shims.

Painters tape was then applied. For the waterline I cut a thin long strip of painters tape to extend throughout the entire side of the hull. Larger pieces were then applied below this thin strip. 

The hull was then painted above the waterline. For the application, I followed these steps pointed out by MSW user Alistair. 

 

For the paint I used ModelExpo's acrylic paints. I first started by diluting with water for the first coat, enough that the bare wood can be seen after the application. The paint was almost as runny as water at this stage. Two more coats of the same consistency paint were applied after waiting for the previous coat to dry. In between these two coats I lightly sanded the paint with 600 grit sandpaper (1200 was not available in my local hardware store). The next coats of paint were slightly thicker, but were still thinned with water to avoid any brush marks. This time, instead of sanding with 600 sandpaper, I polished the paint with some cotton cloths. 

Next was the most nerve-wrecking part, removing the tape, hoping crisp lines are the outcome. 

I was pleasantly surprised on how it turned out for my first attempt ever at painting a hull. As can be seen, there are a few spots in which the paint seeped through the painters tape, and some areas where the brush was not able to reach. These should be easy to sort out.

 

Once I finish sanding/removing the seeped paint, and paint some other small areas with a toothpick where the brush was not able to reach, I will reapply one more coat of tung oil onto the planks between the upper wale and sheer strake, and can move onward to chapter 6.

[WalrusGuy]

Finished removing the paint in the unwanted areas by sanding it, and also applied one more coat of tung oil on planks between the upper wale and sheer strake.

 

Good thing I applied the first coat of tung oil before painting. If I did not, sanding down the paint from the wood would be a total nightmare. The tung oil prevented the paint from being soaked deep into the wood and the paint was able to come off very easily.

 

Anyways, here are some photos before I continue with Chapter 6:

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[Edwardkenway]

Looking real nice, lovely painting and the treenails are superb 😁😁

[Voyageur]

Looks great! And may I say your photography is great, too. 

[jwvolz]

Nice job on the painting. 

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks all for the likes and the encouraging words. It really does mean a lot and motivates me to move forward. 

[WalrusGuy]

I made a temporary stand so the model can be upright when I work on it. To make this stand, I traced the outline from one of the sheets for bulkheads D and 16 onto a poplar hardwood (all I had available at the time). The outline was then cut using a rotary tool and sanded. These planks of wood were stuck onto a scrap wood:

From the above photo, it can be seen that the stern was planked. Here is a close up:

I also sanded down the fashion pieces to taper into the upper wale:

The stern planks were then painted red. The red in the photo appears much brighter than it does in person. I used the same technique from my previous post to paint this part:

Molding strips were sanded and installed using superglue. They were separated using multiple small 1/8" planks to ensure they are parallel while maintaining the slight curve.

And lastly, the second transform layer was added:

I tried to bend the cap rail onto the top of the transform, but it snapped in half due to the extremely steep curve. I think it was not soaked for long enough. So the strip is going to be soaked overnight, and tomorrow I will soak it in hot water. I hope this helps making it more malleable and resistant to cracking. We'll see. Any tips/suggestions on this part of the build would be more than welcome!

[egkb]

Hey There Walrus .. That full hull shot of her sitting on the new cradle is wonderful ! really gives a feel for her beautiful lines.

 

Re the Cap Rail, I went over to Dubz's Syren Build (Post #88) where he looked through his own wood collection for an easy to bend strip.. Just bear in mind that Dirk does famously 'De-Construct' every so often so the final result may not be the one you originally thought, you need to keep reading through his log to see any 'De-Construction' changes as he describes in detail almost every step   .. I learned a huge amount from his Build Logs !

 

All The Best

 

Eamonn

[English Rebel]

On 5/11/2020 at 2:19 PM, WalrusGuy said:

Very close to finishing Chapter 5. Almost finished painting (just need a few minor touchups). 

 

First a waterline was marked (making sure the hull was horizontal with a level). I used a pencil strapped to a mug. Notice how two pencils were tied together. This helped me fine tune the level in which the pencil can mark the hull by rotating it. Also, the bow was lifted ever so slightly using some wooded shims.

Painters tape was then applied. For the waterline I cut a thin long strip of painters tape to extend throughout the entire side of the hull. Larger pieces were then applied below this thin strip. 

The hull was then painted above the waterline. For the application, I followed these steps pointed out by MSW user Alistair. 

 

For the paint I used ModelExpo's acrylic paints. I first started by diluting with water for the first coat, enough that the bare wood can be seen after the application. The paint was almost as runny as water at this stage. Two more coats of the same consistency paint were applied after waiting for the previous coat to dry. In between these two coats I lightly sanded the paint with 600 grit sandpaper (1200 was not available in my local hardware store). The next coats of paint were slightly thicker, but were still thinned with water to avoid any brush marks. This time, instead of sanding with 600 sandpaper, I polished the paint with some cotton cloths. 

Next was the most nerve-wrecking part, removing the tape, hoping crisp lines are the outcome. 

I was pleasantly surprised on how it turned out for my first attempt ever at painting a hull. As can be seen, there are a few spots in which the paint seeped through the painters tape, and some areas where the brush was not able to reach. These should be easy to sort out.

 

Once I finish sanding/removing the seeped paint, and paint some other small areas with a toothpick where the brush was not able to reach, I will reapply one more coat of tung oil onto the planks between the upper wale and sheer strake, and can move onward to chapter 6.

I don't know if you can get it where you live, but Frog tape is the best one to use as there is no bleed through whatsoever and it leave a crisp sharp line. https://www.frogtape.com

[NovaStorm]

9 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

I tried to bend the cap rail onto the top of the transform, but it snapped in half due to the extremely steep curve. I think it was not soaked for long enough. So the strip is going to be soaked overnight, and tomorrow I will soak it in hot water. I hope this helps making it more malleable and resistant to cracking. We'll see. Any tips/suggestions on this part of the build would be more than welcome!

You are going to have to apply heat to do the bend required. What have you got, try an iron, or fat section of a soldering iron if you don't have the plank bender they sell. Try not to fry the wood when doing it. 

Also a nice trick for painting sharp edges is to first take the tape and run it down a mirror or piece of glass. Run a straight edge down one side and with a new blade take the edge off. Then apply and paint

Cheers it is looking good what you have done! Keep up the good work... ~

[Cathead]

Nice cradle. You might consider lining it with strips of felt or similar soft cloth to help cushion the model and prevent any scratching.

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks all for the suggestions! I don't have any wood of similar dimensions I can use, so will have to try something else. The strip I had soaked overnight cracked again when bending it slowly, so I will try the iron method next. Hopefully this works, otherwise I will need to shop around for easy to bend strips or look for an alternative method.

[WalrusGuy]

I managed to bend the cap rail. I tried using the iron trick but was not sure the best way to go about it, and due to inexperience using this technique, the strip cracked again. So I contacted Chuck for some advice and he mentioned that the strip I was using might be too thick and should sand it to 3/64" from 1/16". Also, I watched some YouTube videos on plank bending (for furniture) and someone mentioned to soak planks in fabric softener to soften the wood, which I also followed.  Here it is tied around the transform to preform its shape.

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

Wow that looks great way to go!

[WalrusGuy]

Chapter 6 is now completed. Here are some photos of the stern transform complete and painted. Also, I put masking tape on the cradle to prevent scratches, and to be ready to accept copper plates in the coming few weeks.

 

 

[hamilton]

She's looking really great - clean and precise! Very well done

hamilton

[egkb]

Sweet ! .. Great job on the Capping !

 

Eamonn

[Voyageur]

Wow! Looking great. Very precise and attractive work.

[Cathead]

Beautiful

[NovaStorm]

You nailed it 

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks all for the comments and the likes

 

I took a few days break but am back again! 

 

I started planking the bulwarks. Not too happy with the how the first wide plank was installed, especially at the bow and stern. It was very tricky getting it to stick since I had to hold it by hand as I did not have clamps or pegs to reach that far low. Also I needed to cut and stick small sections of this plank since I could not get the correct curve with a long strip. I might redo this plank at the stern, but lets see... It might turn out not as bad as I imagine and I may be overthinking things. Here are some progress pics:

 

[WalrusGuy]

Finished planking the bulwarks. Did not turn out as bad as I had thought it would from the installation of the first plank from my last post. Here are some photos:

I'll be doing some finishing touches tomorrow including sanding it smooth and applying filler in any gaps before painting it red. I also need to retouch some areas with black paint where I had to lightly sand some glue residue off.

[WalrusGuy]

The planks have been painted red, here are some photos:

Next step will be working on the cap rails.

[NovaStorm]

That looks some sweet

[Ronald-V]

It looks really good so far!  

[Voyageur]

Outstanding workmanship. Really beautiful!