US Brig Niagara by rfolsom - Model Shipways

[NenadM]

Two builds? Very brave .Keep on

[rfolsom]

Added the first outside planks, port and starboard, immediately beneath the gunport sills.  Noticed after the fact they should be 1/8" wide, I used 3/32".  Oh well...

These will be the bottom most prepainted planks; I will pre-paint the planks above in order to save the tedious masking around the 1/32" port trim, as I did for the inner bulwarks.  Also, this plank, and the one beneath, (and the topmost) will be the last continuous planks, as I plan to cut the hull planking and stagger the butts when planking the belts.

[Rich_engr]

Very good!  Coming along really well!!  

[rfolsom]

First two strakes immediately beneath the gunport sills, port and starboard are laid.  Been whacking my head against a post trying to find the right (right in MY mind, too!) shade of yellow.  The yellow ochre from the MS. paint kit is too dark, in my opinion, and I hate mixing my own colors..;   I finally found (with the help of my Admiral) a yellow, second from left, called "Golden Straw".  This will be my yellow for the Niagara...

 

Bob

[rfolsom]

Satisfied with the yellow paint, I started the outside bulwark planking, in a similar manner to the inside;  I pre-paint the fiddly little 1/32" square port trim and install; and individually fit and pre-paint the planks.  This is to avoid the tedious masking, (which I hate, and am not good at).  I'll be really glad when the port trim is complete; I enjoy the planking, but these trim pieces are a pain.  I found out that the planking from the stern to the aft edge of the last gunport requires tapering;  narrowly avoided having to tear out planks in that area- just tapered the topmost three- I think it will be presentable.

 

Bob

[texxn5]

Hi Bob, nice to see the progression here. Since this will be my next build I'm enjoying following the log. Thanks for the pictures.

[popeye the sailor]

looks like your doing a fine job.........you'll get used to it 

[patrickmil]

The yellow you've picked out works very well in contrast to the black. I really like how clean the line is between the yellow and black. 

[rfolsom]

Ok, here's some pics of what happens when you're not watching every last detail, from every angle,  plus looking into the future...

 

Top picture shows a yellow plank in position;  looks ok from the outside, but...

 

Second picture shows the same plank from the inside, 1 mm higher than the bottom of the sweep port (middle arrow).

 

This is due to my first hull strake, supposedly even with all the gunport sills (laid as one long plank) rising up in that one particular area. (outside arrows).

 

I had thought I had laid this plank accurately, but in this one area, I overlooked the rise, and the problem will compound itself;  I will try to strike a happy medium by sanding this outside plank slightly before adding the sweep port trim, and maybe slightly sanding the two planks above so the planks will evenly frame the ports.  I do not want to sand into the even run of a plank, because this is not the effect I am looking for, as it was not necessary on the real ship.

 

After final painting and touching up, hopefully this mistake will go unnoticed..

 

Bob

 

[lb0190]

Hi Bob,

 

I have the same issue but in my opinion much more noticeable than what you pointed out. Once I seen my problem, going backwards was more painful to me than trying to make it look like it belonged that way. As Captain of this ship I'm good with it being this way on my second ship build! I figured the vast majority of people who look at my ship will never know and I simply chalked it up as a lesson learned.

 

Your ship is coming along very nice and my advice is, ask the Captain what he wants to do about it – it's his ship!   :)  

[rfolsom]

Larry;  I agree with you totally... I also know that I had a good heads- up from all you guys further along in your builds about the gap problem between the planksheer and the outer planks at the gunport sills, and was able to sand and shim them into place with the info you provided;  so I tried to point out some of my goofs to the newcomers to the Niagara.

 

As I posted in my other log:

Mistakes?  You can:

 

Fix them.

 

Hide them.

 

Ignore them. :mellow:

 

Pretend they're supposed to be there.

 

Blame it on someone else.

 

Whatever works, enjoy your builds!!

 

Bob

[lb0190]

Now that is a good list! I'll use everyone before this build is complete. Wait a minute, I already used them several times. . .

[popeye the sailor]

as long as you found a good resolve,  then it's a job well done

[rfolsom]

Ok.. Most of the bulwarks are now planked, inside and out.  I need to finish planking the outside between the stem and the first gunport, so I decided to take a piece of 3/8" square stock and sand it to the 21/64" square bowsprit dimension and cut the bowsprit hole...

[rfolsom]

Here's the bowsprit hole after cleaning up...

[rfolsom]

I intended finishing the planking of the outside bulwarks with the placeholder bowsprit installed, but I believe I will try my hand at fabricating the bowsprit itself;  this is the piece with the plan's pattens affixed to the block..

[NenadM]

Challenge

 

Keep on

[lb0190]

Good morning Bob,

 

Your Niagara is looking good!

[rfolsom]

Larry:  Thanks for the nice words!  Nenad:  I will return to the CS build in the next couple of days (don't worry)!

 

Today I test fitted my roughed out bowsprit to the hull. (I wanted to take pictures of the bowsprit alone after the carving I did last night, but my camera batteries needed charging.)  With the bowsprit taped into place, I will complete the outside bulwark planking.

Edited November 19, 2013 by rfolsom

[rfolsom]

Here's a picture of the distal octaganal portion; tough to get the octagon without turning it completely round;  we'll see how it looks once the "bandages" are removed.  The oversized block at left will be cut off once I'm satisfied with shaping.. The excess made a convenient handle to hold on to.  The tape wrapped around the bowprit at right was used to protect the rounded portion while shaping the octagonal portion.

[rfolsom]

Holes for the cleats and chocks were also drilled while the patterns are still in place...

[Rich_engr]

Nice work Bob!!!  Your pictures of the bowsprit will definitely help give some good insight into its shaping!  Planking and everything else seems to be coming along really well!  

 

Great work!  

[lb0190]

I agree with Rich! Taping on the drawing to assist with the shape looks like it will work well. Thanks for sharing the idea, I'll try this approach.

 

 

Edit: did you glue on the top sheet, cut the side profile then added the side sheet?

Edited November 20, 2013 by lb0190

[rfolsom]

Thank you, Rich and Larry (aka class clown ).

 

Larry: I squared the 3/8" stock to 21/64"; added the top sheet on my flattest surface, and glued both side sheets on (one flipped horizontally in Photoshop to make a mirror image).  As the top of the bowsprit is completely flat, i then used the scroll saw to rough out the bottom angles, and then did the side tapering.  The side tapering is much less than the bottom, so angle errors are not too great- also, most of my shaping at this time is concentrated on the proximal end of the bowsprit.  I used a glue stick for ease of pattern removal later on..

 

Bob

Edited November 20, 2013 by rfolsom

[lb0190]

Thanks for the details Bob. This part looks difficulttome, I'll use your process.

[Rich_engr]

Yeah- I'm with Larry on this one.  Definitely looks like an approach we can tackle.    I like it!

[Bill Hime]

Hey Bob,

Smart move on doing the overlay. Solely noted !

 

 

Warm Regards,

 

Bill

[rfolsom]

Happy Thanksgiving, for all that support it!

 

~Bob

[keelhauled]

Really looking good!  Tackling two ships at once!?  How do you find the time?

 

Great work

[rfolsom]

Thanks, Marc;  Lately, I haven't found much time...  Picked up the Inner bulwark panel strip for the CS tonight, and 2 hours later set it down in frustration, so now it's time to turn back to the Niagara...