Fair American by KenW - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:48 Scale

[GaryKap]

Hi Ken - Thank you for your reply.  I have decided to go with white - i think it looks good and is period correct.  And thanks for the picture of your solution to the three foot cabin door.  Looks great!  And the captain would like it too... .

 

I used the same hull planking method as you - soaking each plank, drying in place, and the glueing with yellow carpenter's glue.  I used small diameter T - pins to hold the planks in place while drying and also after glueing.  I used a T - pin at each bulkhead to keep the newly glued plank tight to the adjacent plank already in place.  But my job went faster because I am retired and have more free time to devote to the shipyard than you probably do.

 

I will soon be posting some photos on my build log showing my progress.  I was glad to get the cap rails in place and looking OK.  Now I KNOW there will be a ship model at the end of this process. 

 

I just hope we don't get too much snow in the storm coming tomorrow.

 

<<Gary>>

[KenW]

Well, I am also retired.  However, my wife now considers my time, her time.  I get a lot of interruptions.  

It looks like the storm here in Brooklyn may just fizzle out.  They now say it will head south of us ( toward your area).

I always enjoy the photos.

Cheers.

[GaryKap]

Hi Ken -

Here are two thoughts for our Fair American builds.  Both are illustrated in the attached photo.  First, a skylight and second, a ship's longboat.  A ship of her size certainly would have needed one.  Something around 5 - 6 inches (20 - 24 scale feet) would be about right.  What do you think?

 

Also, what did you use for the trenails?  Your end result looks great.  From this forum, I gather that folks use either dark wood putty or small bits of wood, or bristles from a brush or broom.  <<Gary>>

[KenW]

Hi Gary.  

As to the treenails - I used a #74 drill to make the holes and "Pine" plastic wood.  You could also use "Honey Oak".

I agree that the Fair American would have a long boat.  It would have been lashed to the 'gallows' during sailing.  However, I don't feel confident in my ability to create a long boat from scratch.  I may change my mind - But, I intend to build Chuck Pissaro's Syren model next.  That kit comes with a long boat and I may learn enough from that build to then attempt to build a long boat for my Fair American.  My intention for my model is to show the ship as if it was in harbor.  The long boat would be in the water tied by the steps or trailing from the stern.  (Or ashore with the captain.)

I haven't yet thought about a skylight.  I will think it over.

Keep me informed.

[KenW]

Gary:  About the sky light - I was thinking that the captain has four windows in the stern, two more windows through the 'quarter badges', and two gun ports that don't have guns in them but can be opened.  Also, the sliding top to the cabin door can be pushed back, weather permitting.

It's not like he's living in a cave. 

What do you think?

[GaryKap]

Hi Ken - Regarding long boats.  For my MS Rattlesnake, I tried building a Model Expo plank-on-frame lifeboat kit

(http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=MS0109) and failed miserably with it.  The rib former kept breaking and the ribs did not come out evenly, making the planking even worse.  I wound up chucking the whole thing and carving the longboat from a piece of basswood...and it turned out OK.  I think other posters on this forum have related their experience with the kit, so you may want to check. 

 

I like the skylight simply because the quarterdeck looks so NAKED and it needs something in that space.  And I'm sure the captain would like it too...

 

I installed the deck pad today.  My pencil "caulking" looks OK, but where the planks touch the waterway not so much.  Tomorrow I may shop for pine or honey oak colored plastic wood, if the weather allows.

 

<<Gary>>

[KenW]

Hey Gary:  I still plan to hold off on the lifeboat.  I don't know if I can carve one; my skills need some work.

I agree that the poop deck looks naked, but there will be the boom for the gaff sail there and some rigging eventually.

Again, I can change my mind later.  It seems that it will be possible to add one in the future if I want. 

For now, I am sanding the lower hull planking before going on a 4-5 day trip.  The weather here has been nice for the last two days, but they say that more cold will come tomorrow.  Bring on Spring!

[KenW]

I completed planking the lower hull.  It has been roughly sanded and wiped with a tack cloth.  More sanding is necessary.  I’m not really pleased with my workmanship and am tempted to paint the lower hull.  My son insists that I leave the way it is; he thinks that it looks good and you can tell that it is really a wooden model.  I am still undecided.  I guess if I decide not to paint I will have to do the tree nailing.

 

I think my problems started with the fairing of the hull.  I have to be more conscious of the shape of the hull.  It is not just that the frames are altered for the planks, but the entire shape of the hull is being determined.  Also, I didn’t do any spiling.  That may have caused gaps between planks.  If I spile my next model, what size planks do I need?  Will ½ inch be sufficient?  

Edited March 14, 2014 by KenW

[russ]

Ken:
The planking looks better than you think. As always, practice will help improve the results. Any modelers of any experience can learn something new.

 

As for the size of the planks, consider using wider sheets from which you can cut spiled planks. A 3 inch wide sheet will yield a good many planks with very little waste.

 

Russ

[KenW]

Thanks russ.  I'll keep that in mind when I get to my next model.

The planking on this model is much better than on my previous model.

Cheers.

[KennyH78]

Ken, I must agree with your son; the planking looks really good. Keep it up

 

Kenny

[aliluke]

Hi Ken

I'm voting with your son too. I think you are right - the bigger issue is the fairing of the frames. Painting won't fix this. It is one big advantage of double planking I guess, you get two goes.

 

My other points though: First it doesn't look that bad at all, it actually looks pretty bloody good to me. Second, you look down on a model not up at it - so your photos are highlighting stuff that can't been seen when it is displayed. Third, you'll go crazy painting it and curse yourself for investing in holly and then painting over it (I promise you I'm going through this by coppering over boxwood ). Forth, when you come to your next hull you can climb underneath this one - or use a dentists mirror - and figure out what planking lines you'd improve on - you can't see them under paint. Fifth and finally, all of the other detail on the model is such a visual feast that the issues now will fade into insignificance on completion. In my opinion stay natural and move on!

 

My last thought is to be careful with the sanding - it is surprising easy to sand right through  a mistake which led to my natural hull turning into a coppered one. If you sand through there is no way back...Go slow, increase fineness of grit and be prepared to say "that will do".

 

Cheers

Alistair

[GaryKap]

HI Ken -

 

I think your planking job looks much better than you give yourself credit for.  I also think it would look good either way...its up to you.  One option would be to put a clear finish of your choice on it and see how it looks and how you feel about it.  If you don't like it, you can still paint it.  Certainly another consideration is why you are making the model and who you are making it for.  Only you can answer that. 

 

Whichever you decide, it will be a beautiful model.

 

<<Gary>>

[KenW]

Thanks Kenny, Gary and Alistair.  And Gary is right - I am really making the model for myself. 

I also appreciate the advice from Alistair. I definitely have some ideas on how to improve on my workmanship on my next model.  For now, I will not paint. 

[KenW]

The Model Ship World site was updated and unavailable over the weekend.  When the problems were resolved and the site on-line again, there were problems with some of the photos in my build log.  The "work-around" is to find the entries with references to photos, rather than the photos themselves.  Then 'Edit' the entry, go to 'Full Edit', and delete the old references;  Then re-attach the photos creating new references.  I corrected my build log (which only has 9 pages), but I can see that for some builders, this will be a real hassle.

But I want to inform as many people as possible so they can fix their build log.

Good Luck.

[KenW]

The lower hull has been sanded and treenails drilled and filled with plastic wood.  So I am definitely not painting the hull.  Also, since I did a bad job on the rudder, I made a replacement out of spare wood from one of the pieces that contained the frames.  The new rudder is visible in the first photo.

[GaryKap]

Hi Ken -

Very nicely done!!!  Your hull planking and trenailing look great.  I bet you are glad you didn't paint the hull like I did... .  But then again, I had more to "cover up".  So what's next?

<<Gary>>

[aliluke]

That looks great Ken - a fantastic unpainted result.

 

Cheers

Alistair

[rafine]

The planking and treenailing look wonderful Ken. You should be proud of this work.

 

Bob

[KenW]

Thanks Gary, Alistair and Bob.  It doesn't look as bad as I originally thought.\

Next I plan to mount the rudder.

Cheers.

[alde]

Nice planking job. That will look great in a natural finish.

[KenW]

 I completed and installed the rudder.  Again, I made the straps from 1/16” strips cut from a manila folder.   The chain was my first time using “Birchwood Casey Brass Black”, and I had no trouble using what seems to be the standard procedure. Clean the chain (and eye rings) by soaking them about 15 minutes in Muriatic acid, wash clean with tap water and then put the chain into the Brass Black.  Wait until it looks the right shade and remove.  Clean with water again and try on a paper towel.  Next time I will dilute the Muriatic  acid, however.    I may dilute the Brass Black as well.

[russ]

Ken:

The rudder and chains look very good. Nice work all around.

 

Russ

[rafine]

Very nice work on the rudder and chains Ken.

 

Bob

[KenW]

Thanks Russ and Bob. 

I have been retired for two years and I'm finally getting it through my head that Russ is right: " T'aint a hobby if you hurry."

Cheers.

[scott larkins]

All really nice and clean work.

[KenW]

Thanks Scott. 

Are you currently working on a build?

[WackoWolf]

Your planking and tree nail work is of top quality (not sure I spelled that right), the chain and rudder is right on, it paid off by doing the rudder over now instead of later. Keep the pictures coming.

[KenW]

Thanks Joe. 

Are you currently working on a build; and do you have a log for it?

Cheers.

[KenW]

The newest additions to my Fair American are the poop deck rail, the gangway steps and chess tree.  This completes the outside of the hull (except for the quarter badges).   The poop deck rail follows the painting scheme of the Rodger’s model, which I like. I painted the cavil black, as well.  The gangway steps are made from a 1/32 inch piece of boxwood laminated to a 1/16 inch piece.  They are unpainted except for the upper one which is painted black.  I used a round file to shape them.  The chess tree was made from two pieces of 1/16 inch boxwood since I didn’t have a boxwood 1/8 inch square plank.

Next up are the timber heads, knight heads and the cat heads.