Le Renard by Gaffrig - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:50

[Gaffrig]

Hello to all.

 

This is my first attempt at a build log for my current project.

This will be my third build, the first is the Bluenose by Billing Boats which is currently waiting for deck materials.

My second build was the Hannah ship in a bottle which is finished.

So while waiting for the Bluenose deck, I have started on Le Renard.

 

So, here we go!

 

First a picture of the box.

 

And it's contents..

 

Everything looks very good, no warped or cracked parts, and everything was well packaged.

The instructions looks great, one for the hull and one for the rig. There is no fullsize plan though.

 

 

So I started at page one, and that is with the basic hull skeleton assembly.

First I removed all the bulkheads and keel from their cutouts(?) and sanded off the little points that hold them.

 

 

One of the bulkheads had a little fault from the production of the plywood sheet itself.

I'll fill this with a thin piece of wood and glue..

 

 

Then dryfitting of all the parts, all the slots were a little loose, so the bulkheads will need clamping with a square while the glue dries.

 

 

 

As seen here the bulkheads lean left and right due to the loose fit.

At least the loose fit will give room for glue.

 

 

 

 

Everything seems to fit together, and it looks kinda like in the instructions, so time to open the glue bottle.

 

Don't you just love that new glue bottle all clean and shiny, and say to yourself, "this time I'm gonna keep it clean and the tip nice and open"

Yeah, at least I know how long that's gonna last..😁

 

 

First bulkhead glued in, all square and true!

 

Not a whole lot done, but I think it's a good start!

 

Stay safe out there and enjoy your models!

 

Gaffrig

 

[Gaffrig]

The build continues..

 

I've glued on all the bulkheads, one at a time using a square and clamps while the grue sets.

I'm using gorilla woodglue for this.

Everything seems square and true so far!

 

 

While waiting for the glue to dry, I've started to prepare the deck materials as the deck is the next step in the build.

These materials are 0,5 x 4 mm and I clamped 8-10 pieces together, gave them a light sanding and marked the edges with a charcoal pencil to simulate caulking.

 

I also started to prepare the gun carriages. These are to plywood pieces glued together without wheels.

Then I prepared the guns, which are metal castings that needed some filing of burrs and marks from the casting. I also gave them a little bigger bore as I think the original bore seemed a little small. So they are all ready for painting. Le Renard has ten guns.

 

 

 

When all the bulkheads had been glued, I sanded the top of the bulkheads along the sheerline of the boat to get a good surface for the plywood subdeck.

Especially the transom needed a lot of sanding to take the plywood deck.

 

 

 

Then I hit my first snag. The plywood subdeck has a notch that fits over a tab in the keelpiece in the stern. All well in that end...

The keelpiece also have a tab in the bow end, but the deck has no notch. In the instructions there is no tab on the bow... 🤔

 

 

So what to do?

First I thought I'll just remove the tab, but when my little brain had started working (this took awhile.. 😵) I decided to cut a new notch in the deck, as this would help me keep the deck in position while gluing and clamping. (for some reason I don't have a picture of this)

 

This worked fine and I glued the deck in place with the gorilla woodglue and kept it in place with rubberbands. and a couple of pins, making sure that the deck was pressed down on the bulkheads all the way.

 

 

 

So when the glue dries I'm ready for laying the deck.

 

Hope you all get a nice modeling weekend!

 

Gaffrig.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gaffrig]

Time for the deck.

 

When the glue for the plywood subdeck had dried, I started laying the deck planks that I had prepared.

I started with one plank along the centerline as the kit suggests, and worked from this and outwards on both sides.

 

I decided to make "frames" around the hatches/skylights as I think this will look good.

I had a little problem as the instructions didn't give a exact measurement of where the forward companionway hatch should be.

But looking at pictures throughout the manual I could guesstimate by measuring from other things. This is where I would really like to have a fullsize plan...

I cut the deck planks at a length of 120mm as this would be 6 m in fullsize at 1:50 scale.

 

 

I am using zap a gap ca glue to glue to the subdeck.

I don't know if this is the best glue for this, but it seems to work ok.

 

 

I am putting the butt joints at places where there would be deck beams on the real boat. Like fore and aft of hatches, the mast and so on.

 

 

Done planking!

The charcoal dust gets everywhere, next time I'll probably use a regular pencil instead for the caulking.

Hopefully it will clean up in the sanding..

 

Edges trimmed away and ready for sanding.

 

After sanding, and it looks a lot better!

Got rid of most of the charcoal dust!

After sanding I gave it a thin coat of linseed oil. Haven't decided yet if this will be the final finish, or if I should go for a flat varnish of some sort.

 

 

Not perfect by a long stretch, but acceptable for my first try!

 

Next step, planking... 😎

 

Gaffrig.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gaffrig]

I seem to be getting a picture or two at the end of each post that shouldn't be there...

When I try to remove by editing the post, it keeps reappearing...

Anyone know why this is?

[Gregory]

6 hours ago, Gaffrig said:

When I try to remove by editing the post, it keeps reappearing...

Are you clicking on the little trash can by the image you want to delete at the bottom of your post where it says: " Uploaded images " ?

 

[Gaffrig]

No, I just removed the picture from the text, and clicked save.

Clicking the little trashcan did the trick!

thank you!

[Gaffrig]

Onwards with planking.

 

In preparation for planking I faired/beveled all the bulkheads using one of the hull planks as I went to see that it would lie nice and snug on every bulkhead.

I marked the bulkheads with a permanent marker first, to ensure that I didn't take off too much.

I used a scalpel to take the most of it and then sanded.

 

I decided to use filler blocks in the bow between the stem and the first bulkhead. I didn't have any balsa, so I used a piece of cedar for this.

 

Both the trick with permanent marker and filler blocks is something I have picked up here at this wonderful forum! 👍

 

 

 

 

Before I start the planking the instructions say to mount the plywood bulwarks. This because the bulwarks go past the deck and down on the bulkheads by 4-5 mm.

Then the planking starts from the bulwarks.

 

Dryfitting of the bulwarks.

These are made from 2 mm plywood and was surprisingly easy to bend. No soaking needed, just bend around the hull and clamp.

 

There is a second inner bulwark of the same 2 mm plywood that is glued to the inside later. This is first clamped to the outer one with the top flush, and a line is drawn on the outer one so you have a line to follow along the deck when mounting it to the boat to get the correct height. (hope this makes sense)

 

I'm using push pins to hold it in place.

Once I'm satisfied with the placement I'll remove them and glue them on with wood glue.

 

 

Looks pretty nice and straight, I was a little worried about this step as there are no tabs sticking up from the bulwarks to help me keep them in the right place.

 

Time for glue!

 

Gaffrig.

[Gaffrig]

So off they came, and back on again with glue.. 🙂

 

Making sure it's nice and snug along the deck and the bulkheads.

 

One side first, then the other.

 

There we are!

 

Starting to take on the shape of a boat!

 

Now to wait for the glue to dry!

 

Gaffrig.

[Gaffrig]

Thank you all who have been reading the log and giving it a thumbs up!

 

On with the planking.

The kit supplied materials are 2 x 5 mm battens of what I think is limewood. They are a lot stiffer than the ones supplied in my Bluenose kit, and since this boat has a bow that's a lot more blunt than the Bluenose I think I will need to soak and heat the planks for this build. This was not necessary on the Bluenose.

 

Le Renard has a single planked hull, as did the Bluenose.

 

So I measured the bulkheads, and divided so I ended up with 16 planks. This gave me a taper from 5 down to 3,2 mm in the bow, and nothing in the stern.

I tapered the first two, soaked them for about 15 to 30 minutes and bent them roughly in shape with the electric plank bender from amati.

Then I clamped them on the hull and left them to dry.

Once dry I took them off and gave them some fine adjustments and glued them on with the same gorilla wood I used before.

 

 

 

I keep forgetting to take pictures once I get going, but here I have two planks on both sides glued on.

 

 

 

I've sanded the keel to imitate a rabbet and have glued on the garboard strakes. There will be cut a grove in the garboards later to accommodate the keel.

 

 

 

Now it's "taper, soak, heat, shape, dry, glue and repeat" for a few days, and hopefully I'll end up with a planked hull!

 

Take care!

 

Gaffrig.

 

 

 

 

[Dutchman]

I see that you have Zap a Gap glue. When I do the planking, I soak and heatbend the planks and use the glue, not the nails. It works fine. It dries very quickly. So I prefer using Zap to nails.

[Gaffrig]

Hello.

 

That’s a good idea to use the glue. That would mean no pin holes in the planks. And it’s probably faster to plank that way.

I’m a newbie at this so I like to take the plank off after it has dried to shape and sand a bevel so it fits against the previous plank as best I can. 

But it’s definetly a good idea that I’ll put in my toolbox fore future use!

 

Gaffrig.

[Dutchman]

For me it's only the 3rd model I'm building. But it works for me. I pre-bend the (soaked) planks with an iron or use a nipping pliers to shape it.

[Arjan]

I have also recently bought the AL Renard kit so I'm following this thread with interest. Looking good so far ! My intention is to scale up the kit parts to 1/25 (simply a matter of enlarging them by 200 % ) and I may not even build the original 1/50 kit.

 

Regards,

 

Arjan

[Gaffrig]

The planking continues..

 

Got four more planks on both sides. Eight in total.

It's going slow but steady!

 

Not the prettiest planking, but I think it will smooth out when sanded. The camera seems to highlight all the bumps and edges...

 

In between waiting for the planks and the glue to dry I've continued on the cannons. Or carronades?

There is some photoetched brackets that I cut loose from the sheet and "folded" and blackened.

 

 

The little crosses are the back supports/adjusters to hold the backend of the barrel to the carriage.

I'm not too sure I like those..

 

When mounting the gun barrel to the bracket I got a problem with the gunbarrel tab being too wide to fit..

 

So I have to file down the sides of the tab on my newly painted barrels.. 😟

Oh well. It's one of those little setbacks that's a part of the hobby I guess!

 

12 hours ago, Arjan said:

I have also recently bought the AL Renard kit so I'm following this thread with interest. Looking good so far ! My intention is to scale up the kit parts to 1/25 (simply a matter of enlarging them by 200 % ) and I may not even build the original 1/50 kit.

 

Regards,

 

Arjan

That sounds like an interresting scratch build project! It will be a big model!

 

Between planking and guns I also started at the deckhouses/skylights. These are pretty simple affairs of lasercut plywood that fits together pretty well.

I'm jumping a little back and forth in the manual, but it's all gonna be done at one time or another.

 

The main deckhouse is all that got captured on "film" 😆

 

That's it for now.

Next update coming soon!

 

Gaffrig.

 

 

[Dutchman]

20 hours ago, Arjan said:

I have also recently bought the AL Renard kit so I'm following this thread with interest. Looking good so far ! My intention is to scale up the kit parts to 1/25 (simply a matter of enlarging them by 200 % ) and I may not even build the original 1/50 kit.

 

Regards,

 

Arjan

The life size lies in Saint Malo, France. I will definitely visit it in the near future! https://www.etoile-marine.com/notre-flotte/le-renard/

[Arjan]

I  prefer building models of boats that either exist as replicas or are well-documented. There are loads of detail pics of the le Renard replica to be found on the internet. I'm currently building BB's Regina Yacht and to my dismay I haven't been able to find any reference material on this particular ship type , even though BB claim this was a common 19th century Baltic sailing vessel .....

 

Regards,

 

Arjan

[Rick01]

Don't know if you've found this site http://renard.dechorgnat.com/index.html which covers some of the errors that appear in both the Soclaine and AL kits. Also there is no windlass and the anchor cable appears to go into the hull rather than onto the deck then down to the rope locker via a windlass. There wouldn't be room for a windlass below decks on a cutter so hoisting the anchor via a windlass or by hand appear to be the only option. Another possible error is with the siting of the various deck furnishings. Coming forward from the stern there's an item that may or may not be the binnacle housing for the compass almost directly after that is a companionway. These are sited so close together on the plan that you would not be able to open the doors on the companionway fully, in addition the binnacle is fixed to the deck but my understanding is that it would be lashed down and could then be stored below decks during any action. 

In fact the AL kit seems to be a copy of the replica with its amendments to comply with current regulations not of the original.

 

Rick 

[Gaffrig]

On 5/29/2020 at 12:11 PM, Arjan said:

I  prefer building models of boats that either exist as replicas or are well-documented. There are loads of detail pics of the le Renard replica to be found on the internet. I'm currently building BB's Regina Yacht and to my dismay I haven't been able to find any reference material on this particular ship type , even though BB claim this was a common 19th century Baltic sailing vessel .....

 

Regards,

 

Arjan

You may not know of the "Treskibssammensluttningen" which is a organisation for traditional vessels in denmark. A lot of info at their site, (Mostly in danish, unfortunately) but also among their members. You might try them for specific questions you may have. www.ts-skib.dk

 

On 6/1/2020 at 3:47 AM, Rick01 said:

Don't know if you've found this site http://renard.dechorgnat.com/index.html which covers some of the errors that appear in both the Soclaine and AL kits. Also there is no windlass and the anchor cable appears to go into the hull rather than onto the deck then down to the rope locker via a windlass. There wouldn't be room for a windlass below decks on a cutter so hoisting the anchor via a windlass or by hand appear to be the only option. Another possible error is with the siting of the various deck furnishings. Coming forward from the stern there's an item that may or may not be the binnacle housing for the compass almost directly after that is a companionway. These are sited so close together on the plan that you would not be able to open the doors on the companionway fully, in addition the binnacle is fixed to the deck but my understanding is that it would be lashed down and could then be stored below decks during any action. 

In fact the AL kit seems to be a copy of the replica with its amendments to comply with current regulations not of the original.

 

Rick 

 

I looked a little at the site, (thank you for pointing it out to me) but my french is not very good. I could not find a language setting.

I think you are quite right that the Artesania Latina kit is a model of the replica, rather than the original.

The item that may or may not be the binnacle is very close to both the main companionway and the tiller. I think it may be a housing for modern navigation electronics. There is also what appears to be ventilation "pillars" four places around the deck.

As for the windlass situation, it may be that the replica has a modern electric or hydraulic windlass mounted below deck, and the anchor rode coming out of the hull.

 

I got the kit at a discount, as something to build while waiting for materials for the Bluenose.

I'll probably build the kit more or less as is, rather than going for historical accuracy.

 

About building the kit.. Here's a little update.

 

The planking continues, slowly but steadily.

 

Got a few more "laps" done during the weekend.

I have a little clinker effect going on in the bow, but I think it will smooth out with sanding.

 

While waiting for the glue to dry, I got bored and started another kit... 😎

 

It was in the same box though!

And if I do it right it should be the dinghy.

 

Got the parts out of their sheet, these are small, brittle parts.

 

-And started building the jig.

 

I just had to make some small adjustments... I gave the transom an angle and I cut away from the frames to give it more sheer.

We'll see how this turns out.

 

That's it for now.

 

Gaffrig.

[Gaffrig]

The strangest thing has happened... We've had several days of clear blue sky and warm weather! 😎

How enjoyable as this may be, it does cut into the time spent at the building table...

 

The good thing is that the time not spent at the buildtable is spent aboard the 1:1 scale pilotcutter!

Nice to get some work done there too.

 

Some progress has been made though, the planking continues and is close to finished.

The planking has started on the dinghy.

 

 

A few more planks, and I'm ready to start sanding. There is a few dumps and humps, but hopefully it will sand out smooth. If not, then I have a can of woodfiller!

 

The dinghy was (According to the instructions) to be planked with the same 4mm x 0,6mm material as the deck.

I found this to be a little wide for such a small boat, so i decided to use the 0,7mm x 3mm mahogany that I'm not using for the bluenose.

 

I tapered the planks "by eye" and felt my way as I went. The planks were then soaked and dried to shape on the jig.

 

 

Once the planks had dried, I glued them on with CA glue.

 

 

It shall be interesting to see how I end up with my "tapering by the eye" approach!

 

That's it for now!

 

Gaffrig.

 

[Gaffrig]

Hello everyone.

 

The planking of my Le Renard build is now finished!

The gap for the last plank on one side ended up at 6mm and the planks beeing only 5mm this presented a small challenge.

 

I ended up gluing two planks together and that way I could make the plank to fit nicely.

 

 

That's it!

The whiskyplank is in! 🤪😝👍

 

Now time to sand when the glue (and whiskey) dries..

 

Work on the dinghy continues, and it seems like I will end up with the same amount of planks from stem to stern.

 

Here I have sanded lightly to see how it will look when finished, and so far I'm pleased with the result!

 

That's it for now.

 

Gaffrig.

[Dutchman]

Perfect combination, whisky and modelling! Islay single malt, no less! Personally I prefer the Irish single malts (Bushmill 16y or Redbreast 12y). Must be because I also love irish folkmusic (play it even)!

[Gaffrig]

I like the irish whiskey and folk music too!

The Admiral and I spent last summer sailing the westcoast of Ireland.

Really enjoyable! Lots of folkmusic and whiskey! And beer!

[Dutchman]

Great! I was in Dublin last summer. Had a few Guinness in the Temple Bar and a band was playing there. The craig was 90!

[Gaffrig]

So, now that the whiskey and glue has dried, time for some sanding!

 

Done on one side. Sanded first with 120 grit and then 240 grit.

 

Sitting out on the porch for this..

 

Both sides sanded. Looks pretty good, if I may say so myself!

 

I wanted to do most of the sanding before attaching the keel, stem and sternpost.

These are up next, and then a little filler before the final sanding with 320 grit or so.

 

Gaffrig.

[Edwardkenway]

I've just been catching up on your Renard.

She's looking sweet, your 1st planking is very neat 😁👍

[Gaffrig]

Thank you for your kind comment.

This model has only one layer of planking, so I tried to make it as nice as I could!

It’s been a little tricky at times, since the planking is 2mm thick.

But with soaking and heating and patience I got there in the end!

 

Gaffrig.

[barkeater]

Looks good. I use bourbon however.

[Tompslattery]

On 5/29/2020 at 7:41 AM, Gaffrig said:

The planking continues..

 

Got four more planks on both sides. Eight in total.

It's going slow but steady!

 

Not the prettiest planking, but I think it will smooth out when sanded. The camera seems to highlight all the bumps and edges...

 

In between waiting for the planks and the glue to dry I've continued on the cannons. Or carronades?

There is some photoetched brackets that I cut loose from the sheet and "folded" and blackened.

 

 

The little crosses are the back supports/adjusters to hold the backend of the barrel to the carriage.

I'm not too sure I like those..

 

When mounting the gun barrel to the bracket I got a problem with the gunbarrel tab being too wide to fit..

 

So I have to file down the sides of the tab on my newly painted barrels.. 😟

Oh well. It's one of those little setbacks that's a part of the hobby I guess!

 

That sounds like an interresting scratch build project! It will be a big model!

 

Between planking and guns I also started at the deckhouses/skylights. These are pretty simple affairs of lasercut plywood that fits together pretty well.

I'm jumping a little back and forth in the manual, but it's all gonna be done at one time or another.

 

The main deckhouse is all that got captured on "film" 😆

 

That's it for now.

Next update coming soon!

 

Gaffrig.

 

 

I really like the gun sleds that came with your kit as well as the etched transom piece. Much better than my renard kit 

[Rick01]

Quick tip for you. If you haven't put the bars in your deck furnishings yet, get a long .6 mm or .75 mm drill and run it through the holes that the bars fit in. I found that the holes didn't line up perfectly and had problems fitting the bars until I ran the drill through and effectively lined them up. As for the bars themselves I just heated them up til they glowed then cooled them, it gave an authentic iron colour without having to paint! Should add that I'm using a roll of .75 mm steel wire instead of the supplied item - you can afford to make a lot of mistakes cutting correct lengths when you've got 10 metres of it!

I'm a couple of steps ahead of you at the moment having just finished the hull painting.

 

Rick

[Rick01]

Tip of the day. 

Cut the hole for the rudder (page 41), BEFORE fitting assembly K (page 23). Less chance of splitting decking planks or finding the rudder post binds against the transom.

Not saying this may have happened to me , however ...

 

Rick 🙂