Pen Duick by BobG - Artesania Latina - 1:28

[vaddoc]

Indeed, the rigging will have its complexities, especially the running rigging. With so much canvas it has to have bsckstays. But you ll figure it out!

[glbarlow]

On 5/17/2020 at 9:06 PM, BobG said:

I really like the Soft-Sander blocks.

Just got this set from Amazon - I haven't tried them yet but I like the concept, especially for curves.  Thanks for the suggestion.  

 

I'm look forward to seeing how your joggles go - I've never tried this and also not really sure how you go about cutting them other than the sharp chisel route.

[BobG]

Thanks for stopping by Glenn.

 

The mahogany king plank was hard and brittle so I decided to go ahead and glue it on before cutting the joggles into it so it wouldn't chip as easily.  It was a tedious task but I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I found that a sharp scalpel worked best for me. I decided not to cut joggles into the frames around the hatches though. I like the more simple look of having the joggles only in the king plank.

 

Best,

[BobG]

Not much progress to report in the past few days other than I have decided on the paint colors I will use. I've only used Vallejo Model Paints for brushing previously and I like them. So I decided to stay with what I am familiar with. I needed to order some paints for comparison and they finally arrived.

 

I painted the colors on some strips of ramin wood and then compared them side by side. I sampled 7 different greens, 3 blacks and 2 whites. The hull of the Pen Duick is aqua-green below the waterline with a white stripe separating it from the black above the waterline.

 

All of the 3 colors I ended up choosing to use are Vallejo Model Air Paints and I will be airbrushing the hull. The colors are Model Air 71.331 Cockpit Emerald Green "Faded," Model Air 71.001 White and Model Air 71.057 Black.

 

After I get the hull painted I will be spraying it with Vallejo Varnish. I have all 3 of their varnishes: matte, satin and gloss. I'll test some painted strips with different combinations of the varnish in an effort to try and find a mixture that will give the hull a semi-gloss sheen.

 

It's been scorching hot here in Sacramento the last few days with temperatures above 100 degrees F. So I will need to paint early in the mornings since I do my painting outside in the garage otherwise the fine spray could dry before it hits the hull. 

 

The second photo below shows the colors I will use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moab]

That hull looks so beautiful!!!...Moab

[vaddoc]

This is a very nice green, seems to have a blue tint. I like it a lot. How about matt bellow the waterline and satin above?

You could spray the whole hull satin and then spray matt on top of the satin to simplify masking etc

[BobG]

2 hours ago, Moab said:

That hull looks so beautiful!!!...Moab

Thanks Moab. To me the hull and the deck will be the main focal points of this yacht although the amount of sails she will have is impressive also. I will need to get these areas done well since they will stand out so much.

[BobG]

29 minutes ago, vaddoc said:

This is a very nice green, seems to have a blue tint. I like it a lot. 

I agree, the Emerald Green is a very nice color. I've seen models of the Pen Duick where the green is a very deep color and it looks good. However, I've scanned the internet looking at as many photos that I could find of the Pen Duick I, and the green section of the hull in those photos have a significant aqua blue tone to them so I went with the Emerald Green. Of course, a lot of things can affect the accuracy of the colors we see on our computers. I think it's a great color so I'll go with it.

 

There were even small differences in the blacks and the whites. My wife and I compared them side by side outside in natural light in order to get a more accurate look at the colors. That's how we went about making the final choices.

 

29 minutes ago, vaddoc said:

How about matt bellow the waterline and satin above?

I'm not sure how that would look since I believe that these resin, racing hulls were quite polished overall in order to make them as fast as possible. I'll do several tests with the varnishes on scraps and see what looks the most authentic to me before I put spray the final finish on the hull.

 

[BobG]

I marked off the the white waterline stripe using an Amati waterline marking jig to give me some lines to spay the general area that will be white. The white stripe will be marked again and then masked off before spraying the green and the black.

 

I sprayed the white stripe using a .3 mm fan spray nozzle in order to give me a broader spray pattern but it still took a lot of passes to get good coverage. Upon closer inspection of the hull after it dried, I found some small imperfections that I didn't see before with the primer on the hull. I'm sure they will be magnified with a semi-gloss varnish as a finish coat so now I'm considering filling them and doing some more sanding which means probably priming the hull again. Maybe I can carefully sand them with 600 grit and see if I can carefully eliminate them. One step forward and two steps back....

 

These imperfections are very small and a couple of them are simply from the slight pressure from the pencil when I marked the white stripe. I'm on the fence as to whether I should try and get the hull even smoother and eliminate tiny imperfections like these, there are only a few but, knowing me, I'll probably take the long road and do try and make it better. Hopefully, I won't screw it up if I do.

 

Getting this hull perfectly smooth so it will look good with a semi-gloss finish is not an easy task. It looks gorgeous with the primer on it but the finish paints are showing up the tiniest little imperfections and that bugs me!

 

Should I or shouldn't I work on making it better...that is the question? I'll have to set it aside and think about it a bit...

 

 

 

 

[vaddoc]

Bob, these scratches need filler to disappear. You might be able to raise them with a wet towel and heat but I doubt it.

Whether you will go back depends how much it bothers you. I have previously sanded a hull after all paint coats were on! It was painful but had to be done. Now, for a couple of scratches it might not worth it but then again, you only have primer on.

Also, it kind of looks like your primer coat is very thick? It needs just to cover the surface.

Sometimes is the wood. I like maple and beech for planking because they are very flexible but also hard, sand nicely and keep an edge beautifully. Soft woods mark easily.

400 grit is plenty, will leave surface plenty smooth for a gloss finish. No need for 600. I would actually use a sanding sealer first, then primer, then paint, then varnish. The sealer will leave the surface glass smooth and seal the grain.

My 2 c! 

[BobG]

Thanks Vaddoc.

 

I'm using the the Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty that Kurt for small imperfections. I like it so far. I'm just smoothing on a tiny dab with my finger and then letting it dry before sanding it. I has a rather toxic odor so I'm using it outside. I think I should probably spray the primer again after I've finished touching up the hull.

 

 

 

[BobG]

I filled the all the tiny imperfections I could find and sanded the hull lightly with 400. Then I sprayed it again with Vallejo Gray Primer using a .5 mm fan nozzle. I also added some Vallejo Flow Improver to the paint at the rate of 1 drop per 10 drops of paint. It turned out well and the imperfections are gone!

 

 

[Ryland Craze]

The extra time you are spending on the hull will pay off big time when you apply your color coats.  This is a really nice build and I cannot wait to see the hull painted with the colors you selected.

[BobG]

Thanks, Ryland. I'm doing much better at not pressing ahead until I'm happy each step I working on.

[BobG]

I finally got the hull painted and I'm really pleased with it but it did not come without it's difficulties. I would have never thought it would take me so long to mask of the waterline white stripe which is quite large on the Pen Duick. 

 

I started off by using an Amati waterline marker but, because of the shape and contours of the hull that goes from vertical on the sides to horizontal at the stern, it wasn't getting it done for me. The wide, white waterline stripe on the Pen Duick is not a complete straight line since it goes from the bow and then curves sharply around the rudder post hole.

 

The first problem was that even the lightest pressure on the pencil would leave a noticeable scratch in the primer and, when I would only lightly touch the hull, the pencil would not leave a mark. It was also difficult for me to be able to see what I was doing where the waterline turned horizontal under the stern. So I went to plan B.

 

I found that I was better off measuring down from the gunwales and placing a few very small pencil marks on the hull. Then I connected the dots while essentially just eyeballing it while holding the boat in my lap as I laid down the masking tape. I used 3 mm Tamiya Masking Tape for Curves since there is a very tight curve around the rudder post hole. I was able to see the where I was masking on both side of the hull this way and it was easier for me to get one side symmetrical to the other.

 

Once I thought it looked good, I would turn the boat right side up and eyeball it again to see if the line looked straight from the bow to where it curves sharply around the rudder post hole. If it didn't look symmetrical I would pull the tape and redo it. I just kept eyeballing it and adjusting until it looked good and it took me several hours to get it right. I'm sure there must be better methods but, in the end, it worked for me even though it was a very slow process.

 

I airbrushed the general area of the white stripe first and then taped off the lower line of the white stripe, masked off the rest of the hull and sprayed the Emerald Green. I was able to use my airbrush outside in the garage in the morning but, by afternoon, it was too hot so I set up my Homeright Spray Shelter in the kitchen and continued to spray the black above the white stripe.

 

 

 

The light was not the best for me for spraying the black inside the shelter and it was hard for me to accurately gauge the coverage I was getting. When I finished I noticed that I had a 2 inch sagging line where I over sprayed an area. I let it dry and was able to sand it smooth very carefully with 400 grit and then I polished it ever so lightly with 2000. After that I went back and sprayed that area again and it turned out great. There's no sign of any run at all and the black coverage is completely even.

 

I am super pleased with my paint job on the hull. I am a firm believer in airbrushing now and, even though I am a compete novice in using an airbrush, the hull turned out fantastic.

 

 

 

 

I will now need to clear coat the hull. I'll need to experiment quite a bit with my airbrush and figure what I feel comfortable using to get a satin to semi-gloss sheen on the hull. This step has me worried that I could easily mess up this nice paint job by goofing up the clear coat. I'll have my fingers crossed....

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

[vaddoc]

Great paint job Bob! The waterline came out fantastic, might took a while but you got it. Indeed, put some varnish on, you don't want scratches on this lovely hull!

Are there any raised edges between the colours?

[BobG]

Thanks, vaddoc! 

 

There is an extremely slight edge between the black and the white. You can not really see it but I can feel it with my finger. It's interesting that there is no edge between the white and the green though. The black paint was thicker than the green and I think I should have thinned it a bit more. The light was not real good for me when I painted the black also and I sprayed more than I needed too since I was having a hard time seeing the coverage very well. I need better lighting when I'm using my airbrush so I can judge the coverage better.

 

This is my first time painting a finish coat with an airbrush. I think the key to not getting any edges between colors might be to spray very light coats with well thinned paint and to have good lighting so I can see better when I've done enough. 

 

I'm really worried about spraying the varnish. I've been reading where people say that you have to be careful not to get bubbles and runs in the clear coat. I need to practice a lot before I spray it. I have some Vallejo varnishes that I'll practice with. There are a lot of choices and I've never done any clear coating on anything. Some modelers even swear by using Future Floor Polish!

 

I hope the black edge doesn't get magnified by clear coating on the hull.

[vaddoc]

I tried Future (or Pledge over here). Not impressed, it is really a very diluted varnish, looks like a form of acrylic or polyurethane. Best to use the proper varnishes.

For the Valejo varnishes, be a bit cautious with thinning. Polyurethane varnishes thin with water but you can only add that much, I think just up to 20% before the varnish bonds start breaking down. It is supposed to be thicker than paint and brushes rough but its levelling properties are amazing. I tried years ago their previous acrylic varnish and was not impressed. I think you have their high end polyurethane varnish, I have not used it. Not sure how these varnishes will react to spraying. The water based varnishes are nowhere near as tough or as consistent on behaviour as the enamel ones but are much easier to use. The matt varnish will need really good stirring, probably constantly as you go along.

Definitely experiment. I had a spectacular failure with my rudder where the polyurethane varnish congealed and separated. Not sure why, I did experiment with various ways of thinning (on the rudder!), adding retarder etc and the varnish did not like one of the combinations.

[gjdale]

Fantastic outcome on the paint job Bob! Good luck with the clear coat. After doing some research myself, I’m going to do some trials using Liquitex high gloss acrylic varnish. It can be thinned with the Liquitex Airbrush medium. It can also be dulled down by adding some of their Matte varnish, so you can make your own recipe for how much gloss you want. I’m also going to put it through the mini spray gun rather than the airbrush. Not sure how it will go, but if it works the Liquitex is a heck of lot cheaper than the standard model paints/varnishes.

 

I’ll be very interested to see how your clear coat turns out. I’ll be cheering for you!

[Justin P.]

Wow...   I think Im convinced.   That paint turned out great.

[BobG]

Thanks to everyone for the likes and for stopping by to read my build log. I corrected a couple of the sentences is my previous two posts where I typed some words out of order and the sentences didn't make a lot of sense. Sometimes my mind gets ahead of my fingers and I end up typing words out of order especially late at night!

 

8 hours ago, vaddoc said:

For the Valejo varnishes, be a bit cautious with thinning.

Thanks for the heads up, vaddoc, I'll do some experimenting and will try a couple of options for clear coating.

 

3 hours ago, gjdale said:

After doing some research myself, I’m going to do some trials using Liquitex high gloss acrylic varnish

Let me know how your trials with Liquitex turn out, Grant. Any advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated since I'm anxious about spraying the clear coat. I've never clear coated anything in my life and I really don't want to mess up this hull!

 

2 hours ago, Justin P. said:

Wow...   I think Im convinced.   That paint turned out great.

If you don't have an airbrush yet, Justin, I'd highly recommend getting one. I'm a complete beginner and the ability of my airbrush to spray what looks to me to be a near perfect paint job amazed me. I've got a lot to learn but, even as a rank airbrush novice, you can get some impressive results from the start.

[BobG]

I've been worried about applying a clear coat to the hull but I finally pulled up some courage and did it this morning. 

 

I have 3 Vallejo Varnishes: matte, satin and gloss. I wanted to try and get a semi-gloss finish so I airbrushed some satin and some gloss on a piece of clean, clay pottery that had a similar matte finish on it as the paint I used to paint the hull. I thought the satin sheen was too low and the gloss was too high so I mixed them the two together in a 50/50 mixture and that looked good to me. 

 

I mixed the the satin and gloss varnishes in the cup of my airbrush along with 1 drop of Vallejo thiner to every 3 drops of varnish. I used a .5 mm fan spray nozzle and lowered the air pressure a bit per the advice I got from Joe Volz in this topic: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24604-using-an-airbrush-for-semi-gloss-or-gloss-finish/#comments

 

It turned out ok but I think it could be better. The sheen is good: somewhere between satin and glossy...just what I was hoping for but, when I look closely at it, it looks a bit rough and I can feel some roughness in the texture. I think I had the air pressure a little too high. Overall, it's pretty good and I think a lot of people would be happy with it but I'm now wondering if I should try and get it smoother.

 

It seems like there might be a couple of options. I ordered some Micro Mesh Polishing Pads that come with 9 flexible sanding pads that range from 1500 to 12000 grit and people seem to love them for polishing out hard surfaces from satin to high gloss. I thought this might be something to try. The second option would be to lightly sand the hull and spray it again and the third option would be to leave it alone since it looks pretty good as is. I suppose I could end up making it worse so it might be in my best interest to leave well enough alone!

 

It's been several hours now since I sprayed it and it still has a very slight tackiness feel to it so I'm going to let it sit until I can't feel any tackiness at all before I try anything. I feel like I've got a lot to think about...

 

I hope you can see the semi-gloss sheen in the photos below. The last photo is an extreme close-up that clearly shows the roughness in the texture. It looks awful in that photo but you really don't notice it unless you hold the hull up close and examine it.

 

So what to do now....??

 

 

 

[Moab]

The finish and color combinations look wonderful...Moab

[Voyageur]

I think it looks great and any attempts to make it better are likely to result in something else you want/need to fix. It really does look fantastic. Maybe sit on it for a day or two and decide how you Really feel about it.

[BobG]

Thanks, Moab and Vayageur.

 

26 minutes ago, Voyageur said:

think it looks great and any attempts to make it better are likely to result in something else you want/need to fix. It really does look fantastic. Maybe sit on it for a day or two and decide how you Really feel about it.

Good advice. My perfectionism can get in my way at times! I'm going to give it a rest as you suggested.

 

BTW, I see that you live in Indianapolis. I grew up in in the small town of Elwood about 45 miles northeast of Indianapolis and my sister lives near Fishers. I have basketball in my veins and still follow Indiana and Butler.

 

 

[Voyageur]

23 hours ago, BobG said:

BTW, I see that you live in Indianapolis. I grew up in in the small town of Elwood about 45 miles northeast of Indianapolis and my sister lives near Fishers. I have basketball in my veins and still follow Indiana and Butler.

 

 

Lol, my coworker is from Elwood and we have fun with that! We’re on the north side not far from Fishers. Although, we are Purdue fans 😀 But we’ll root for Butler too. 

[BobG]

56 minutes ago, Voyageur said:

Although, we are Purdue fans 😀 But we’ll root for Butler too. 

I root for all the Indiana teams but favor the Hoosiers and the Bulldogs a little more. 😏

[BobG]

I worked the deck hatches while I'm waiting for an order of Micro Mesh Polishing Pads and Tamiya Polishing Compound and Cloths so I can try and polish out the very slight orange peel effect that I got on my paint job of the hull.

 

My kit was missing the port hole for the forward hatch but I was find one that fits well with just a tiny bit of enlarging the hole. I like it better than the one should have been in the kit. I've looked closely at deck photos of the Pen Duick and the flange around the port hole is flat like the one I was able to buy instead of being more rounded like a rivet. It also has clear plexiglass in the port hole which adds a little realism too. 

 

I took some .18 mm (.007") crystal clear, plastic sheet and cut out strips to place in the windows of the amidship and aft hatches. I think they also add a bit of realism since the real boat had glass or plexiglass in those hatches. You can see the clear windows when the light hits them at an angle and I'm pleased with them.

 

Now I need to scratch build some tiny hinges for the hatches next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BobG]

I wasn't sure if I should attempt to try and polish out the slight orange peel effect I got when I sprayed the Vallejo Varnish since you really couldn't see it unless you examined it up close. However, my perfectionism got the best of me and I decided to try and polish it out with the Micro Mesh Polishing Pads I that I just received. That didn't go as planned though. 

 

I started wet sanding very lightly with the 1500 pad and it quickly took off the orange peel but it also sanded through the black paint in in few small spots. So I decided to simply polish off the varnish entirely and repaint the hull again. I used the 3600 pad and wet sanded the hull very smooth. Then I went over it lightly with 600 grit sandpaper to give just a slight bit of tooth but still remain very smooth. After that I masked off the green and the black and airbrushed the white waterline stripe again and it turned out really well.

 

I made a couple of changes in how I used the airbrush this time. First of all, I replaced the .5 mm fan nozzle with a .3 mm fan nozzle to give me a smaller, broad spray pattern. While reviewing the instructions I realized that I had the been using the .5 mm fan nozzle with the air horns on the spray cap in the wrong orientation for a vertical spray pattern. I should have had them in a horizontal position to get a vertical spray pattern and I had it just the opposite. So my previous spray pattern was laying down a lot of paint in a horizontal pattern and that probably contributed to me putting on too much paint when I was trying to get good coverage. I also added 1 drop of thinner and 1 drop of Flow Improver to each 10 drops of paint. It worked well and the white stripe is very nice.

 

I'll paint the green tomorrow and, hopefully, the black as well. I could have left the hull alone but, so far, I'm glad I'm redoing it...at least I think I am at this point!

 

[Voyageur]

19 hours ago, BobG said:

...That didn't go as planned though. !

 

 

I tried to warn you! 😀

I’m sure you will pull this through exactly how you want it. And I have no doubt it will be a picture of perfection.