Smuggler by Brianh526 - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/4" = 1' - plans by Erik Ronnberg Jr. - First wooden ship build

[Brianh526]

I used 1/16 x 1/16 balsa to build up the bullworks

[juhu]

This looks very interesting! I see you choose to cut off the bulwarks completely and replace them with stripe rather than tricky chiselling in order to get desired thickness. I may to apply the same in my case. Was thinking about it but was afraid of the results. How did you achieve the smooth and regular run of this new bulwark, if there is no inner support helping to follow the shape?

Do you plan to plank or paint the hull? Thx

[Brianh526]

Yes - In talking with Charlie Cook at BlueJacket, he suggested I build the bullworks using the 1/16 square stock.  I started by gluing them up on top of each other first.  I then cut out Scuppers on the bottom piece.  I glued the entire structure to the hule.  After attaching some of the timber heads I realized I need to add another 1/16 piece as my bullwork height is slightly under sized.  The hull will not be planked and is sealed with Zinzer sanding sealer (diluted lacquer).  I do plan on painting the hull.

[Brianh526]

Latest Progress

[Brianh526]

[jwvolz]

Nice work so far.

[Brianh526]

Thanks.  This is so challenging and taking all my skills and experience building models...and this is considered a beginner model!

[Brianh526]

Notice the 3 fails.

 

[ccoyle]

28 minutes ago, Brianh526 said:

Notice the 3 fails.

If four is what it takes, four is what it gets. Better than quitting after the third! 👍

[Brianh526]

[Brianh526]

FORWARD COMPANIONWAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brianh526]

HATCHES AND CABIN TRUNK

 

 

[Mahuna]

Very nice work and good progress.  I plan to follow along.

[BobG]

You are doing some very nice work on this wonderful sailboat. 

 

John Earl built a beautiful model of the Smuggler and you can see it on his website: http://www.modelboatyard.com/smuggler.html

 

I remember him saying that this model was deceptively challenging for him when he built it and it took him much longer than he expected. He builds gorgeous models with meticulous detail so it's not surprising that it took him quite a while to complete it.

 

I'm looking forward to following your progress on this build.

 

Good luck!

[jhearl]

Bob -

 

Thanks for the nice compliments, but if you want to see a truly beautiful model of Smuggler, take a look at the one built by Bob Steinbrunn. Truly amazing!

 

Cheers -

John

[Brianh526]

Thanks guys.  This has been a challenging first build.  I have a new respect for the engineering put into these ships and the complexity of these models.  I have such a desire to sail on one I googled old movies and found the classic Captains Courageous.  It was so great to see an old schooner up close with all the detail I've been trying to replicate.  Highly recommend the movie.  

[Red Rhino]

Check out Maine Windjammer Cruises. I sailed on the Grace Bailey a number of years ago. It was an amazing experience.

[Brianh526]

I'll check it out.  Thanks for the recommendation.

[BobG]

6 hours ago, jhearl said:

if you want to see a truly beautiful model of Smuggler, take a look at the one built by Bob Steinbrunn. Truly amazing!

WOW! What a stunningly beautiful model of the Smuggler! Thanks for the link, John.

 

I am always amazed at the patience, skill, and commitment that some models have in building their boats into masterpieces. I sure wish that he had made a build log here on MSW. His photos that chronicle his build are great but I would love to have read further explanations of what and how he was doing some of those steps. 

 

By the way, all of your work is exceptional also and your website is a delight to explore. 

[vaddoc]

You are doing a very good job, the boat is coming along nicely, clean and tidy work. 

[jhearl]

18 hours ago, BobG said:

. His photos that chronicle his build are great but I would love to have read further explanations of what and how he was doing some of those steps.

I"m not sure if you are aware, but if you click on any image to open it, you will see some icons at the top of the window. There's one that looks like a circle with an "i" inside it. If you click on that icon, it will bring up comments on the right side of the image where he explains what's going on in each image. 

[BobG]

Thanks, John, I had no idea of that.

[Brianh526]

PAINTING

 

Well this was more difficult than I thought it would be.  You really see your mistakes and careless glue ups when you have magnifying glasses and a micro paintbrush.  With the timberheads painted white, I began painting around them with Ocean Grey.  That turned out terrible as it was to difficult to get crisp lines and a quality look.  I then decided to use a 3MM masking tape to create the white "bands" on the deck along the rails.  This gave me a much better (albeit slightly less historically accurate) way to paint up to the rails.  The waterways are several coats of True North Grey Primer and the rest of the deck is True North Ocean Grey.  The trim on the Cabin Trunk , Campanion Way, and hatches is True North Sea Blue.  My next step is the hull.

 

 

 

 

[Brianh526]

I finished the Hull using Rust-Oleum Red Primer and True North Flat Euro Dark Green

 

 

 

[Red Rhino]

Hi Brian: Your Smuggler Hull looks great! It looks like you got the waterline perfect with no bleed through and tearouts. I also like the color choices, they seem spot on. What references did you use for the color differentiation on the deck? It is very interesting.

[Brianh526]

Thanks Red Rhino.  The color scheme for the hull was a real labor of love.  Aside from the recommendations from the manual I drew inspiration from Bob Steinbrunn and Rstrick's amazing models.  Additionally, John Hearl helped me find the right color red in this post.  After searching everywhere, turns out Rust Oleum makes a Red colored primer that was perfect.

 

 

[Brianh526]

TRESTLE TREES

 

Well these are really challenging.  I've never worked with metal construction of this scale.  I still have a long way to go, but thought this would be helpful.

 

 

[BobG]

Gorgeous boat, Brian!

[Red Rhino]

Hi Brian: The Trestle Trees look great. everything nice and aligned and tight.

 

Dave

[Brianh526]

Thanks Dave - just when I think I've been challenged I get to another step in the book.  This is really an amazing and rewarding process. 

 

Brian