Hull building

[mauryd824]

 Building Arkit Uncle Sam Tug.  Fairly simple  hull lines, but kit offers only minimal instruction on planking.( which I have never tried before) Have looked at tutorials here and the job seem quite complex. Test fitting of planks gives me pause about results I can achieve.

 

would it be foolish to employ  monocoque construction technique regularly  used by model aircraft builders?  .  This would involve roughly fitting various size balsa plates to the forms, filling gaps and easily sanding to desired form — and then laying covering material ( in the case of the tug, mahogany planks) over the completed form.  I have done this on airplane models.  It is quick and easy and satisfactory, and
@age 86, I am looking for that.

 

eureka, or crazy?

 

 

[allanyed]

Maury,

It sounds like the model is plank on bulkhead, is that the case?   If yes, filling the space between the frames before planking is common and very good practice.   Even so, when planking, following the tutorials is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED as the way to go.  It is not as difficult as it may appear and it will avoid ruining the model.  Just laying the strake of planking without spiling or tapering and pre-bending to shape will have the planks buckle.  Or, to avoid that, the planking would have to be laid down in an unrealistic pattern and even so, could still be problematic with the buckling issue.   Ship modeling is not quick and easy, nor do I think it was ever meant to be.  Quick and easy  is not synonymous with satisfactory in this case, and more than likely would yield something totally unsatisfactory.   There are no rules, but this is just meant as some food for thought based on more than a few years of personal experience.

Allan

[Jim Lad]

Maury, some good advice there from Allan.  Just like an aircraft, a ships hull has very few flats or straight lines - I can only agree that your best bet is to check out the planking tutorial right here on MSW before you start the actual planking.

 

John

[mtaylor]

Maury,

See if this helps:  http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/plankingprojectbeginners.pdf   it's in the Database seems to have been missed as far as links the tutorials.

[Roger Pellett]

I’m not familiar with the vessel, but if it is one of the World War II era tugs it would have had a steel plated hull.  If that’s the case, I would fill in the areas between the bulkheads with wood blocks- basswood or pine and then shape the hull.  I would then plate it like the real thing.

 

Roger

[vaddoc]

On 7/17/2020 at 10:35 PM, mauryd824 said:

laying covering material

This is essentially planking of the hull!

Maury, you can do anything you want as long as you can make it work. Planking is challenging but entirely feasible (and for me, fun). If you spend some time working on it, you ll figure it out.