Queen Anne Style Royal Barge c1700 by Keithbrad80 - Syren Ship Model - 1:24

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone, 

 

I decided to start another kit, this time it will be the Queen Anne Style Royal Barge by Syren Ship Model Company. This was the first time I had ordered anything from Chuck, and have never seen customer service or products like his, I ordered this kit and some deadeyes for my Flying Fish build on Monday and got them early Wednesday. The kit itself is very nice, the laser cut cherry wood is very precise and probably the best I have ever seen.

 

I chose this kit because I really want to build POF models, but don’t really have time to do all the research and prep work that goes into a proper scratch build. I am also working on another model as I mentioned before, but sometimes I get a little burnt out if I only have one thing to work on, and this picture specifically sold me on this kit:

 

 

 

I had to wait until this morning to really look at the kit. While I rummaged through every thing I took some of the more delicate laser cut sheets and put them in a plastic container, I then took that container and put it on a separate shelf in my garage, that way my clumsy hands wont destroy them by accident! 

 

 

Really the only thing I got done today on this build is some sanding, I started with the laser cut sheet with the 4 pieces that make up the keel, I used 220 grit sand paper and lightly sanded both sides of the entire sheet to remove all the laser cut char. I then used a #11 blade and cut each of the 4 pieces out, followed by another sanding along the edges to remove any more char. I made sure not to touch the scarf joints, these are laser cut to exact dimensions so I will leave them alone for now. 

 

 

The next step was to taper the keel from 5/32” to 3/32”, I used my calipers to mark a line along the bottom of the keel 1/32” from the edge on both sides, which acts as a nice guide when tapering. 

 

 

Well thats all I got done today, the Admiral and I decided to paint the interior of our house, so I will probably have to wait a few more days before real progress can begin! Thanks for reading. 

 

Bradley 

[MEDDO]

I think you’ll love working on this wonderful kit

[Chuck]

Enjoy the project...I will

follow along!!!

[glbarlow]

I have this on my shelf and will also follow along

[Ryland Craze]

I have this kit and look forward to following your build log.  It builds into a really nice model.

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone,

 

So I woke up super early because I thought I had a lot more taping off to do before we started painting, turns out I didn’t and had several hours to work on this awesome kit. 
 

First off I finished tapering all the pieces of the keel. The cherry wood that comes with the kit is top notch, it holds an edge very well and doesn’t take a ton effort to sand, which made tapering and clean up really easy. After everything was tapered I started glueing stuff together using PVA wood glue. I clamped the pieces at the scarf joints and hold them against two straight edges to ensure they were straight while I hit it with some hot air from the blow dryer. Once the keel was glued together I went back through with a large metal file to straighten the edge of my keel throughout and to make sure everything was homogenous. 
 

 

Things were still pretty fragile at this point so I made sure not to bump any thing while working on this step. Next up was the three notched pieces that make up the support for the frames (not sure if there is a name for that), like the keel I sanded both sides of the laser cut sheets with 220 grit paper. This removed any char on the outside, but I didn’t sand anything else on these pieces to avoid breaking them, except the small wood tabs. These pieces are 3/32” thick so when centered on the top of the keel there is a 1/32” gap on each side, I used a piece a scrap wood that was 1/32” thick as a spacer. As soon as these pieces were on everything was much stronger. I cut the transom out and like the rest just sanded the wood tab down so it was flush. The bottom of the transom has to be shaped so it will fit properly so I got that done with some more sand paper. Once that was glued the keel assembly was complete. 
 

 

I gave it 30 minutes or so for all the glue to set some more before I cleaned up everything with some 300 grit paper. This was fine enough to remove any excess glue and clean up any minor spots that may have been missed. Finally I finished this step with a coat of WOP, I contemplated a boiled linseed oil or tung oil but decided a WOP would look best. I’ll let this sit for a few days probably before I start on the frames. Thanks again everyone for following along!

 

 

Bradley

[BobG]

I'll follow along also. This model has always been on my radar.

[gjdale]

This kit is in my stash as well, so I’ll follow along with interest too. Looks like you’re off to a great start so far, Bradley.

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone,

 

I got my COVID vaccine yesterday (the first shot) and I finished my kitchen this weekend so talk about sore! 
 

I’m very happy with the progress I have made over the last two days. I have all the frames assembled and half of them glued to the keel, I thought these would take longer but once I got the hang of their construction the frames were pretty easy to get together. There are 1 piece and 2 piece frames on this model, the one piece frames are really easy to install I just cleaned up the part that will glue to the keel and the build board where the tabs sit. 
 

 

the two piece frames were more complicated than the 1 piece but were not very difficult to get right as long as I took my time. I started by sanding both sides of the laser cut sheets with 220 just as before, the wood tabs that held all the frame pieces were very small so I didn’t have to do a ton of sanding to remove those marks. First I sanded the build board to ensure a proper fit of the frame. Both the futtocks and floors have a rounded tip? I’m not sure how better to explain them or the name but they look very nice when all the frames are done, these rounded tips have to be sanded now as this is the only time I can do so. I got those parts sanded and once I was happy with the futtocks I cut out the floor for that frame and after sanding glued them together. These are really easy to align because chuck has provided a laser etched reference line that you align a metal straight edge with and there you go it’s pretty much aligned, from there I made sure to fine tune any alignments and make sure everything was ready to go. I did this for every frame 0-10 and again A-J. There are two 0 frames and two A frames, the frames changes direction though between the two 0 frames. 

 

I only used yellow wood glue for this btw, after the glue was applied in a thin layer I clamped them with those weak red tipped metal clamps everyone has. I used the admirals hair dryer to quickly dry the joint, and moved onto the next one. 
 

 

Once all the frames were put together I took them out one at a time and fit them to the keel, the spot they glue to is a little too narrow so I used a small file to clean that up. I also removed any dried wood glue I might have missed earlier, on the keel I must have missed a spot because there is a small spot in the poly coat. After the frames were done with their final adjustment I glued wood blocks to the bottom of the build board, this should give me some clearance when sanding and planking. Once all the frames were back in the build board I did a dry fit with the keel and moved the frames to their correct locations, I probably spent an hour doing this for the aft half. Once I was sure everything was aligned properly I removed the keel put a little glue on frames 0-10 and glued the keel in place. Before the glue set I made sure to go through and get everything exactly where it needs to be. 
 

dry fit #1 

glued in place

 

This is where I stopped for now, I’ll finish fitting the remaining frames before glueing them in place later, than hopefully tomorrow I can start fairing the hull. Thanks again for following along!

 

Bradley

Edited March 3, 2021 by Keithbrad80

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone, 

 

So I spent several hours today fairing the hull, chucks method of using sand paper with rolled edges worked really well! 
 

First I glued the forward half to the keel, this went ok. Later there were two or three frames the moved a little bit while fairing and I had a lot of work to do afterwards. I must not have had enough glue in joint. That’s ok though, I think it looks pretty good! 
 

Here it is fully assembled:

 

afterwards I started fairing the frames, these frames are super fragile so I made sure to take my time with this process. The cherry wood supplied with the kit is very nice, so it held a super crisp edge while fairing. This was probably my best job yet at fairing the hull of a kit, once everything was sanded I cleaned it up with a coat of WOP. 
 

 

that’s it for today, hopefully tomorrow or Friday I can start looking at the planking. Thanks again everyone!

 

Bradley

 

[BobG]

I love the cherry wood. We have cherry cabinets in our kitchen. I've always thought it is one of our most beautiful types of wood.

[Blue Ensign]

Looking very smart Bradley,  nicely done  👍

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

Very nice work. Cherry is such beautiful wood. I’ve used it on two models, I like how it ages, looks even better after a few years. 

[Chuck]

Its looking great....I just got pictures from a friend of mine also building the barge.  He used a 50/50 mixture of shellac and mineral spirits on his cherry.  It looked very good.  Although I used WOP.   My barge has gotten considerable darker since I finished it.  

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone,

 

So yesterday I started planking and I think overall things went ok. 

 

The first thing I needed to do before I really thought about planking was to transfer the plans to the frames using tick strips. I cut a couple dozen strips of white printer paper maybe an inch by 3 inches. These didn’t need to be precise as long as it has two straight edges at 90 degrees. I held the tick strips up the plans and copied the placement of the different strakes over to the frames one at a time.  Moving on. 
 

 

The planks have all been pre cut and pre spiled by chuck so that is super helpful. There are 7 planks for both the the port and starboard side that have all been numbered. The bottom two planks are planked clinker styler and so the bottom strake has a reference line where you need to taper the edge. These planks are already super thin at 1/32” but I had taper them to about 1/64” so that top edge of the plank is very thin, I used a small sanding board To sand the edge square. 

 

After all the edges of the plank were sanded, I started to bend the planks. First is the bend which is not very much, just some bending at the bow. I used a little bit of water and the blower while holding the plank in position against the frames, which worked really well. 
 

Next job was twisting, this was also not bad. I clamped the planked the table added a little water and hot air and held it in place while twisting in the right direction. 
 

Final step for plank one was to cut it to length. I held the plank against the frames as I slowly worked my way back to the first 0 frame. I marked the plank at the center of the frame and cut the plank to length, I am finally ready to glue the plank! 
 

Chuck suggests CA which I was concerned about at first but I know it can be easily hidden with WOP if I make a mistake. Getting the plank glued in place at the bow stem and frame 10 was really tough, it probably took me 20 minutes per plank to get it right so now I see the need for CA. I worked my way back referring to my lines I marked earlier, after getting the plank glued at every spot I felt pretty good, everything looks great! Once the starboard side was glued, I started with the port side by holding the plank in place at the bow stem and using a small clamp with some card stock to hold it in place while I glued frame 10.... Disaster struck!

 

 

I’m sure you notice the plank at frame 10, I think the clamp was to strong and I forgotten how thin I had sanded them. Oh well, no going back now, and after a small break I attempted to fix the plank. It broke in a nice configuration so hopefully I can fix it. It’s not that big deal though, recently chuck shared a photo of a build his friend is working where the planks have been painted white, I’m considering doing the same now that the plank is broken right at the front of the model. Thanks again everyone!

 

Bradley

[gjdale]

I honestly can not see your “disaster” Bradley, so either it’s not that bad, or you did a superb job with your fix.

[Blue Ensign]

What a nuisance Bradley, hope you fix it ok, it is in an awkward position.

I suppose you could get a replacement from Chuck to restore your options.

 

B.E.

 

[Keithbrad80]

Hello again everyone,

it’s almost as if chuck knew something like that was going to happen because he sells an extra set of exterior planking, so I just placed an order for that. I used CA glue to hold the planks in place so I’ll use a debonder to remove the plank and hopefully I can sand away any trace of the planks on the frames. At least from now on I’ll have two tries at each plank! Hopefully I can retry in the next week or two, thanks again!

 

Bradley

 

[Chuck]

You shouldnt need to clamp each plank at all.  Too risky.   A small drop of CA will do the trick if you have pre-bent the plank properly.   No clamping is needed.  Just glue the plank on a few frames at a time slowly working from the bow to mid ship.  But dont forget to measure the length of that plank and cut the aft end so it falls on the frame center first ....before you start gluing it on.  

 

Your new planks will ship out this morning.

[Keithbrad80]

1 hour ago, Chuck said:

Your new planks will ship out this morning.

Thanks chuck! 

[Keithbrad80]

Hello everyone, 

 

Well I got my new planks this afternoon, but life once again stands in the way of decent progress. Thankfully I’m patient enough for a nice afternoon in my ship yard. It will probably be a solid week or two before I can sit down and get some work done, not to mention my other ship model that have been starving for attention! Thats it for now, just want to let you all know I haven’t given up, thanks again. 

 

Bradley 

[BobG]

Hey Keith, I was just looking at your build log again and noticed that it's been nearly 2 years since your last post. It's been a tough couple of years with pandemic and all and I hope all is well. I'd love to see you continue on this beautiful build. All the best.