HMS Prince by Eilelwen - Constructo - 1:61 - Firstish Ship Build

[Eilelwen]

Greetings all!

 

My dad got me this kit around 10 years ago I decided a month ago to bring it home finally and start working on it.  So far I have enjoyed the build.  Putting about a minimum of an hour a day and most days far more than that into construction.  Made a few mistakes but I think I can hide most of them later.  I may do some paint decoration but have not decided on that yet.

 

Been mostly happy with the wood although some of the hull planking had issues even after soaking for hours before I tried to bend it.  Not sure how the darker wood is going to go as I have seen some people comment that it is harder.  I'll be starting that tonight.

 

I made some changes to the deck planking scheme.  The instructions called for single pieces and then using a pencil to draw the lengths.  I ended up cutting the board to a length of 80mm as a maximum and doing it that way.   

 

I do wish the instructions and plans had a bit more detail.  Planking the hull has been interesting due to that.  

 

Last photo is a 1/600 scale Prince that I painted as a Dutch prize.

 

 

 

[Gregory]

You're off to a great start..

 

How much experience do you have with  wood ship models?

[VTHokiEE]

Great start! I really like the way your deck came out, much better than if you simply drew the lines in.

 

Have you looked into any of the planking tutorials? Of course I should caveat that with I read them all and still messed it up and had to restart my first layer.

 

http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php

 

Finally, I also really like the painted miniature. I'm going to take a shot at 1/1200 miniature at some point in the near (hopefully) future.

[Ryland Craze]

Welcome to Model Ship World and you are off to a good start on your Prince.  You made the right decision on using individual planks for the deck. You did a really good job on the 1/600 scale Prince.  I love the colors you used and cannot wait to see what you do with the 1/60 scale Prince.

 

[James H]

Definitely watching this one! 

 

[marktiedens]

I`ll be watching too,as I have this kit in my stash.

 

Mark

[WalrusGuy]

20 hours ago, Eilelwen said:

Been mostly happy with the wood although some of the hull planking had issues even after soaking for hours before I tried to bend it.  Not sure how the darker wood is going to go as I have seen some people comment that it is harder.  I'll be starting that tonight.

I saw on a YouTube video (on furniture making) that adding fabric softener to the water can soften the grains in the wood. I'm not sure if it carries over to the small scale but I did use this technique for a 90 degree bend in my Syren model. Hope this helps! 

[turangi]

Excellent start, I really like how the deck turned out! Look forward to following the build. Adding Ammonia to the soak seems to be helpful according to some although I have never tried it.

[Eilelwen]

22 minutes ago, Gregory said:

You're off to a great start..

 

How much experience do you have with  wood ship models?

So this is sorta my first build.  I have worked on the USS Rattlesnake but that is close to 12 years ago now.  That Project is still at my dads as I started building it with him and intend to work on it when I am over at his place.  It needs some repair work and the sanding job I did on the ribs was poor and needs correction.

 

23 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Great start! I really like the way your deck came out, much better than if you simply drew the lines in.

 

Have you looked into any of the planking tutorials? Of course I should caveat that with I read them all and still messed it up and had to restart my first layer.

 

http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php

 

Finally, I also really like the painted miniature. I'm going to take a shot at 1/1200 miniature at some point in the near (hopefully) future.

I have looked at quite a few tutorials and borrowed my dad's version of "Planking the Built'up Ship Model"  I figure if I do too terrible of a job on the lower portion that I will double plank it.  I believe I have the wood to do that.  I really enjoyed working on the 1/600 ships.  I have painted 21 of them most of them unnamed but there where quite a few based off real ships.  HMS Prince, Sovereign of the Seas, HMS Mordaunt, De Zeven Provinciën, Friesland and the HMS Resolution to name a few.

 

8 minutes ago, WalrusGuy said:

I saw on a YouTube video (on furniture making) that adding fabric softener to the water can soften the grains in the wood. I'm not sure if it carries over to the small scale but I did use this technique for a 90 degree bend in my Syren model. Hope this helps! 

If I have too much trouble with the wood I will try that!  I bent 4 pieces last night and didn't have any trouble with it so maybe I won't have to fight it too much.

[VTHokiEE]

3 minutes ago, Eilelwen said:

I really enjoyed working on the 1/600 ships.  I have painted 21 of them most of them unnamed but there where quite a few based off real ships.  HMS Prince, Sovereign of the Seas, HMS Mordaunt, De Zeven Provinciën, Friesland and the HMS Resolution to name a few.

I'll have to send you a PM (to keep this build log on track), but I picked up a handful of miniatures from Langton Miniatures and while I've read a handful of blogs and other articles I'd love any advice that you could share before I dive in (brushes arrived yesterday and paints arrive tomorrow 😁).

[Henke]

Welcome to MSW. You have had a clean good-looking start of a model not very common on MSW. I will be watching.

 

Regards

 

Henrik

[Eilelwen]

Spent a few hours last night working on the prince and made little progress.  Between making a mistake and having to take off the first plank to nails not being nails and then the wood not bending like I feared I only got two on.  I did prep 4 more pieces to bend and will try them tonight if they have issues I'll try again with some fabric softner!

[VTHokiEE]

Slow and steady does it, looking goo so far. Do the instructions say anything about sanding the false keel down a little past the bearding line (basically the run of the bulkheads)? This may help get your planking to flow into the stern piece nicely (or it may not really matter, hopefully someone with a little more experience e can comment).

[WalrusGuy]

Looking real good! Btw have you tried using hot water to soak the planks? That's what I've been doing for planking. You could try that and see if it makes a difference. You can also try steaming them. 

 

I'm still a complete newbie at this since I've only done two planking jobs so far so hopefully someone else can point you in a better direction. 

[Eilelwen]

12 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Slow and steady does it, looking goo so far. Do the instructions say anything about sanding the false keel down a little past the bearding line (basically the run of the bulkheads)? This may help get your planking to flow into the stern piece nicely (or it may not really matter, hopefully someone with a little more experience e can comment).

Yeah slow and steady.  The instructions are well lacking is the word I would use lol.  This step is basically amounts to plank the hull with the supplied planks.  Some sanding will be needed for the dark planks at the stem and stern.  End of instructions lol.  

 

10 minutes ago, WalrusGuy said:

Looking real good! Btw have you tried using hot water to soak the planks? That's what I've been doing for planking. You could try that and see if it makes a difference. You can also try steaming them. 

 

I'm still a complete newbie at this since I've only done two planking jobs so far so hopefully someone else can point you in a better direction. 

Cold water plus a heated tool to bend them.  If I go slow it works well but sometimes it doesn't seem to matter.  Steaming them is also something I will try 

[Eilelwen]

Progress has been slow.  I really dislike the dark wood that way supplied with this kit.  Of the 12 pieces I have tried 9 of them have broken while trying to get them to bend.  Tried boiling it, soaking it overnight and fabric .  Results have been disappointing.  I'm thinking of replacing it not sure what with.  Or maybe I'll try smaller pieces that I can completely soak or do something with.

While fighting thati have been putting on the marks for the gunports.  Almost halfway there!

[WalrusGuy]

The planking so far looks very good!

 

That's unfortunate that none of those methods worked to bend the wood with ease. By any chance did you try bending it very slowly? The slower it is bent the less likely it is to break. 

If the hull will be painted or covered with a second layer of wood, you could try using basswood for the rest of the planking. I've been using the supplied basswood for my Syren and it bends very nicely after being soaked in hot water. Otherwise someone else might have another suggestion.

 

Btw you can also try asking in this forum for planking tips: 

 https://modelshipworld.com/forum/14-building-framing-planking-and-plating-a-ships-hull-and-deck/

 

Hope you find something that works. Keep us updated!  

[marktiedens]

I agree - if you are going to double plank it,basswood would be a good choice for the first planking layer.  I don`t know your location,but if you have a Hobby Lobby or Michaels near you they both sell basswood strips in many different sizes.  If not,then Model Shipways has a large selection of basswood that you can get also.

 

Mark

[Eilelwen]

I do have the wood to double plank and it will have no issue forming to the hull so that is an option.  

 

I did find some of the dark wood that is softer more flexible then other pieces and I'm going to use those for the front of the ship were I need more flex.

[acaron41120]

Great work so far. Keep it up. I'll be ofllowing your build as my ship is just a wee bit behind yours. I do have one question on your deck planking. Did you have a false deck below the planks that you planked over? Or did apply the planking on top of all the bulkheads? 

[Eilelwen]

So there was a false deck.  The ribs are very spread out for planking directly.

[acaron41120]

My Santa Maria bulkheads are spaced out as well and I didn't feel like adding more false bulkheads. When you did you deck planking, did you start with the center )King) plank out or from the edge (Margin) planks out?

[Eilelwen]

I started from the king plank and worked out from there.  Yeah I thought about adding some fake bulkheads but decided against it.

[acaron41120]

Your doing a great job. Keep it up. 👍

[Bill Morrison]

I hope that I do half as well once I begin mine!  I have several projects I need to finish first.

 

Bill

[Eilelwen]

So not a ton of progress due to a trip and being a bit lazy on hobbies at the moment.  But progress is happening.  I have the next 6 pieces ready and will get those on tonight and tomorrow.  

[Louie da fly]

Looking very good, Eilelwen.

 

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with bending the planks. My understanding is that it's heat, much more than moisture, that loosens the fibres in the wood to allow it to bend more easily. But you may just have a dud lot of wood, and be better getting some more.

 

Just a point - before cutting gunports make sure that they are in the right location so your cannons (on their carriages) that rest on the upper deck and the false deck actually will fit through the ports. This is an issue that comes up fairly often - the gunport opening is a little too high or too low for the cannon to poke through. If it's dealt with early you can adjust the heights so it doesn't  become a problem later.

[Eilelwen]

1 hour ago, Louie da fly said:

Looking very good, Eilelwen.

 

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with bending the planks. My understanding is that it's heat, much more than moisture, that loosens the fibres in the wood to allow it to bend more easily. But you may just have a dud lot of wood, and be better getting some more.

 

Just a point - before cutting gunports make sure that they are in the right location so your cannons (on their carriages) that rest on the upper deck and the false deck actually will fit through the ports. This is an issue that comes up fairly often - the gunport opening is a little too high or too low for the cannon to poke through. If it's dealt with early you can adjust the heights so it doesn't  become a problem later.

This is something that I am very worried about.  I think I have checked each gunport about a dozen times now.  And before I start cutting them out I will probably check again!

 

I am almost finished with planking probably another 10-12 to go for the bottom.  Hopefully soon.

[Louie da fly]

2 hours ago, Eilelwen said:

I think I have checked each gunport about a dozen times now.  And before I start cutting them out I will probably check again!

Sounds like a very good idea.

 

Looking forward to seeing the planking complete!

[WalrusGuy]

Hi Eilelwen, hope you've been well. Would love to hear if you've made more progress on the planking!