USN Picket Boat No. 1 by Seems ok to me - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:24

[Seems ok to me]

Finished the Conestoga wagon and wanted to get back to something in the water. There are a few other really good builds of this kit but what the hey, let’s add an amateurish version to balance things out.  
 
The cats agree this kit is pretty sweet. Started the keel. Clothespins to the rescue. 

[Seems ok to me]

Some minor progress:

 

 

[John Gummersall]

I agree,,, off to a good start....   

 

I just completed my Picket build, but you are incorrect.    The Picket collection of models already had an amateurish version - Mine  🙂

[Seems ok to me]

Well dang it...

 

[Seems ok to me]

2 planks are starkly different than the others. It doesn’t show up as much in the photo. Otherwise some boiler progress. 

[ccoyle]

2 minutes ago, Seems ok to me said:

Well dang it...

 

Am I missing something? 🤔

[Seems ok to me]

I just have flipped two planks over when making the boiler and they take up stain dramatically different than the others.  I just read up on debonding glue or I could just use good old brute force. I think I’ll just put it aside for a bit. 
 

 

[turangi]

Natural wood always takes stain differently from board to board so it looks rather authentic. If you want a consistent color use a pre-stain conditioner. Looks fine to me.

[Seems ok to me]

I’ve joined the broken bulkhead club it seems. Just taking it out of the sprue, I knew that one was trouble. Otherwise coming along nicely. 

[Seems ok to me]

Coal bins and decking. 

[Seems ok to me]

Made a cannon and starting planking.

[Seems ok to me]

Still struggling with understanding spiling, watched all the videos and now muddling through. 

[John Gummersall]

I am by far no expert on spiling,,,, In fact far from it..   Most of my attempts at spiling have a lot to be desired....   But I have learned this,,,,  if you plan to paint the hull, no matter how good or bad your spiling looks,,,, in the end both good spiling and bad spiling all look the same under paint.    The better your spiling the less sanding you will have to do, but in the end it all looks the same under paint.

 

Try to keep learning you spiling skills (as I am),  but also try not to worry about it as you go.   Not worth the worry.   Remember, sanding and paint are your friends and your ship will look great in the end.    Everyone will marvel at your completed ship and you will look back and wonder why you agonized so much over the spiling.

 

[Seems ok to me]

I sincerely thank the words of encouragement as I continue to struggle. I’m trying to take my time and really understand what I am doing on this one.  The bulwarks have pre-notched lines for planking and I’m not sure they help or hurt a novice like myself. Putting a plank on...work on the other sub-assemblies...repeat. I need more clamps...

[Sea Hoss]

Looks very nice my friend...

[Seems ok to me]

The engine was a bit fiddly but came together nicely I think.  

[turangi]

The machinery looks great! Nice job.

[bruce d]

Nice job on the reversing gear. It all looks like a working piece of machinery.

👍

[John Gummersall]

I agree,,,, really nice job on everything I see,,,  Boiler and machinery look really good.    You have a far steadier hand than I did...  I had a hard time with those small parts...

 

As for you spiling,,,, that looks great too.   From the pictures you did a very good job at matching the planks.   To me pre-notched lines for planking were more of a guide that the absolute truth...   Main thing is to try to match the curve of the previous plank and have as small gap (or no gap) as possible between planks.    From what I can see, you have done an excellent job (and better than I do).

 

I will give one word of warning,,,, when it comes to painting the hull, no matter how much you patch and sand, even the smallest seams will show up and appear huge to you after the first prime coat.   It is easy to get discouraged after what seems like endless sanding and have a hull that looks really smooth, only to have the paint expose numerous seams.    Just keep patching,  sanding, and additional coats of paint.   Eventually all the seams will be filled and the hull will be smooth.

It may take 6-7 coats of paint,,,, but in the end, the hull will smooth and look fantastic.

[Seems ok to me]

Made some good progress on planking. I’m actually pretty pleased at how this is turning out. 

[Blackreed]

Looking great.

[Seems ok to me]

Planking done!  Filler and paint will hide my shame. I seemed to have flubbed the bottom few planks a bit but the remainder look good and all will be well when dressed in black. Also started work on the torpedo. 

[Seems ok to me]

Took a break to get outside chores done and then messed around painting the hull and generally being unhappy with how it came out. It looks too “plastic” but at some point I think you just have to move on. Did the coal box things like others before me and like how that looks. I just keep coming across small details like trim on the inside of the boat that I missed on the first dozen instruction reads.  Can’t say I’m a fan of written out instructions but this seems to be how many kits are done. Isn’t a picture supposedly worth some number of words?  
 

Not sure why all pictures are uploaded upside down. They are correct on the ol’ iPhone. 
 

A furry resident also had something to say about instructions...

[Seems ok to me]

Seems like things went quickly once I stopped mucking around with the hull.  All together, I am ok with this build. The steam engine was the most fiddly but also the most interesting. As mentioned above, directions are...lacking.  I used this as a learning project and discovered that I can’t make rope coils, suffer from “bad at planking syndrome”, and paint/stain decision paralysis.  

The torpedo looks nice though. 

[Roger Pellett]

Nice work!

 

The engine cylinder would be insulated both for thermal efficiency and personnel protection.  Wood strips, like those for your boiler were commonly used.  Later, cylinders were jacketed with brass, the jacket containing a low pressure steam blanket.

 

The exhaust line from the engine cylinder to the condenser would be considerably larger in diameter than the HP steam inlet line from the boiler to the engine.

 

All steam piping would be insulated; white or very light grey color.

 

Roger

[turangi]

Very nice job! Every model is a learning experience whether the first or the hundredth. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Nicely done!