Dapper Tom by EricWilliamMarshall - Model Shipways - Scale 5:32

[EricWilliamMarshall]

@Landlubber Mike, thanks for the kind words.

I've been working through how I'm going to plank the hull, looking for pictures, and examples. So not much to show but lots of dots on hull and lots of strips of paper on the workbench. I'm trying to get this part right, since it went off a bit last time. @Dr PR has put a bit of fear into me regarding reference material, so I've been hunting around on that front. 

And, Mike, I received a bit of PE finally (for a 1:700 battleship I have sitting in the stash), inspired by your work on the Shimakaze!

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I tried my hand at faux-gold leaf gliding of the carving. Not award winning but I learned a great deal from the attempt.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’ve ended my experiments with rope and threads (at least for now). For me the simpler Rope Rocket gives great results repeatedly of great quality; less so for my other rig. While I like the ‘set and forget’ aspect, the rope isn’t as nice. I’m tempted to mess around with tweaking gear ratios and ways to adjust tension, but I’d rather build ship models with my limited time. 
 

After a number of false starts and dearth of precise information I have a few planks down that I haven’t removed immediately. I was troubled by how to measure plank width to a spot in air, since I’ll need the planks to be a bit proud to attach the inside planks that go under the rails. Eventually, it occurred to me to use an bit of scrap on the deck to make measurements to.
 

When planking, I tried both full length strips and short segments. I found the short segments tough to bend after being cut but easy to position. I found handling the full length strip hard to handle to ensure accurate cutting. So my comprise is to cut the plank in two and add ‘false’ cuts to look like more segments. I have an old rescued heat gun, able to sit on its own, to which I have attached a on-off foot pedal. With a tap of the foot, it will start to wease and huff.  This way I can use two hands to find the twist or bend of the plank and simply tap the pedal and heat the wood and tap again to end the heat.. By holding the shape of the wood as it cools, there is less ‘bend back’. Originally I wet the wood, but recently I have skipped that step with no I’ll effects. The whole process take a minute per bend. The downside is I use longer pieces than strictly needed, but I now think one needs slightly longer pieces (than the final length) to get nice curves.
 

While this is all fine and good so far, we will see how things will go as the planks go up the side. I have found it rather labor intense and yes, the rabbet was too large. I found sand paper and chisels aren’t the best for trimmed the planks; I’ve been using a little palm plane so far. 

 

So having accepted I can’t yet manage the quality I would like, I will continue on to see what else I can learn from the whole process. On the plus side, the planking isn’t half as bad as the last project!! 

Edited April 1, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[Edwardkenway]

Wow Eric, you've been a busy man since my last visit to your build, the banner looks very nice, and your continued rope making is producing some very nice rope!

The planking you've started is  also looking good.

Congrats on acquiring the Medway Longboat. That particular model is on my wishlist 😉

Keep up the good work🙂

[EricWilliamMarshall]

@Edwardkenway I often feel like I’m getting nothing done! Thanks for the kind words! I’m excited about the Medway Longboat as well. I belong to the Ship Model Society of New Jersey and most of those folks have built the Medway - its beautiful the see and hold in the real world. It seems like a step up from other kits.

I’ve also have worked on trying to cut strips from brass sheet and keep it flat, ugh and I’m still wrestling with the best way to use my merger library on ship modeling topics to best advantage. Little by little.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Chuck made some sage suggestions regarding my wayward attempts, so I am replanking yet again. He suggested wider planks then what I was using and he noted that my garboard ran too far forward. 

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[EricWilliamMarshall]

My brother found a broken whimsy I made in my twenties in my parent's house which he returned to me. I have fixed it. When you turn the crank the airplane rotates and waves rise and fall rocking the small ship.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

While away I also fixed broken table my brother also rescued from my parent's home. I was lucky; all the parts were included!! There was some very fussy clamping involved!

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I also found a way to cut thin strips for brass without curling via a small shear I found on ebay!

[VTHokiEE]

You’ve been busy! Neat table

 

45 minutes ago, EricWilliamMarshall said:

a small shear I found on ebay

I’d love some more info on this

[EricWilliamMarshall]

8 hours ago, VTHokiEE said:

I’d love some more info on this

This is the shear I bought. I watched for a few weeks and when I saw a low price, I jumped. 
8 Inch Manual Mini Shear/brake Combination, Sheet Metal Brakes Shears Machine
https://www.kakaindustrial.ca/products/kaka-8-in-manual-mini-shear-brake-combination-sheet-metal-brakes-shears-machine

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I finished the repairs and the extensive cleaning of the older Dapper Tom. I decided to only repair what is existing and not add any new material. To clean the model, I dusted the ship with a 3/4 inch water-brush dry. Then water applied by a water-color brush and removed by a thin cotton cloth. While slow, just water worked wonders. That was sufficient so I did not proceed to anything stronger.

Edited August 22, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[Chuck]

That looks great

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Following storm Ida's rude intrusion into my workshop, I stopped work on my model of the Dapper Tom. No one was hurt and we had less trauma than many of my neighbors.  I still have some of the kit, but my lumber, plans and the like did not fare well (or even survive) in the flooding.  Now that flood waters have left, I'm in the process of cleaning up and fighting rust and mold. Right now my living room looks like a junk shop. Below is a snapshot from early in the evening just when thing became exciting.  Once stabilized, I will start on projects once again.  Stay tuned!

Edited September 10, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[GrandpaPhil]

Sorry to hear about that.  Best of luck to you!

[BobG]

2 hours ago, EricWilliamMarshall said:

Following storm Ida's rude intrusion into my workshop,

 

Eric, I'm so sorry to hear that your home suffered flooding damage from Ida. What a mess!

 

We have several friends whose homes were threatened by the Caldor fire near South Lake Tahoe but, fortunately, were saved by the Cal Fire firefighters. Sadly, many of their neighbors were not so fortunate. Climate change is driving and magnifying these weather related disasters and time is running out for the world's nations to make the changes necessary to slow it down. Heaven help us all... 

 

I hope the clean up and drying out goes well and that no more devastating storms come your way. Stay safe. 

[Tigersteve]

So sorry to hear. Best wishes. 
Steve 

[Chuck]

Oh my that is awful.  We came out ok with just a minor roof leak.  But that lioks awful.  I hope you guys are doing ok.   
 

chuck

[ccoyle]

So sorry to see, Eric. I hope you get everything dried out -- mold can be a real booger.

[TomShipModel]

Eric,

 

Terrible that the flood did this.  I hope that you can dry out and recover most of what was damaged.

 

Tom

[Ryland Craze]

So sorry to hear about the flood damage to your home. These tragic events are happening too often.  Don't let this stress you out.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Almost ship-shape! The floor hasn't been this clean in years! The lost of material has led to a slight improvement in organization and I was able to add another work table (as seen to the left) although I'm still working through how best to arrange the power tools. Thanks to everyone for their kind support!

[BobG]

Looks great, Eric! You'd never know it had been flooded.

[Dr PR]

Looks like you turned a sow's ear into a silk purse!

 

Hope you can continue with the Dapper Tom. I love the topsail schooners.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Dr PR

[Hubac's Historian]

I was so glad to meet you today, Eric.  The Dapper Tom looks like a wonderful project and I will gladly follow along.  Thanks, again, for being such a gracious listener at the presentation, today!

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Marc, the pleasure was all mine! You gave a delightful informative presentation and I was amazed to to see how small your ship really is. The quality of your photos and the outstanding quality of your workmanship displayed in your build log give the impression of a ship model twice as big! Outstanding work and outstanding scholarship well presented. You are triple threat in the world of modeling!

 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Marc, I couldn’t find a way to quickly encapsulate my “sales pitch” for a visit to the Met but did find this set of images which give a feel for the collections I mentioned: http://paintandpattern.com/period-rooms-metropolitan-museum-art/ The Met is a treasure trove for anyone with an interest in historical European wood carving (but that is a niche community within another niche community possibly within another niche! ). In any case, the photos give a better feel than my ramblings do to allow you figure out if it would be worth the trip or not. It was a great pleasure to chat with you!
 

      

[Hubac's Historian]

Well, Eric, as I just mentioned in my log, I was really pretty nervous, but the fact that you had been following the project and were clearly interested did a lot to calm me down.  I really appreciate that and your kind words of encouragement!

[Hubac's Historian]

In the link you just sent, Eric, the first interesting thing I noticed in the very first image is that the room is painted in this really difficult to define green/grey/blue.  The period is a little later, but this is exactly the color that I believe the great cabin interiors of SR1 would have been painted.

 

So, yeah, I’m sold on a visit!

Edited October 3, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[EricWilliamMarshall]

For the time being, I’m shelving the Dapper Tom. The self-imposed planking project hasn’t been fun for a while nor as skill building I was hoping for. I have ordered plans and some more wood with the intent of returning and finishing but repairing the planking yet another time seems a waste without finding another approach to become more skillful. So I’m going to think on ways to work on the planking problem, ideally figure that out and return to the Dapper Tom. I might try the NRG’s half hull kit. We will see.
 

I’m now working on the USS Perry of 1843 - a raffle prize I was lucky enough to win last week at Northeast Ship Model Conference .