18th Century Longboat by mr_pullings - Model Shipways - 1:48

[mr_pullings]

04/04/21

 

Well I wasn't planning on starting this one yet. However my airbrush is temporarily out of order. So for the moment I can't finish the Tamiya M4A3E8 Sherman I was close to completing. 😠

 

Again, this will be my first wooden kit. I may have done a plastic ship or two way back in the day. This is actually the Model Shipways combo kit that came with paint, glue, some tools, etc. The first thing I had to do was to take inventory and orient myself with what was what precisely. And it entailed using a ruler, some masking tape and a pen. I wish I had more exciting progress to post. But I'm still reading through the instructions (again) to come up with an outline. I will definitely have some questions right off the bat. For now, though:

 

 

Wish me luck!

Edited April 10, 2021 by mr_pullings

[Sea Hoss]

Good one to start with... After doing several wooden ship models, I think these smaller scale ones are as hard or even more tricky than larger models. It's just everything is SO small! Good practice though.

[Cathead]

Have fun! This was an early kit for me (see link in my signature) and I learned a lot. There are certainly lots of build logs to peruse. There are also lots of ways to make it "your own". Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[mr_pullings]

I'm unclear on the beveling of the false keel. Does the entire false keel, above and outward from the bearding line, need to be sanded down to ~1/32"?

 

I've looked at a few build threads and couldn't get a clear idea of this step.

[Cathead]

I don't have my instructions anymore. Any chance you  can post a photo of the step you're asking about?

[mr_pullings]

1 hour ago, Cathead said:

I don't have my instructions anymore. Any chance you  can post a photo of the step you're asking about?

 

This portion:

 

 

[Cathead]

Thanks, that helps. Yes, you do need to bevel the entire false keel. At the stern, the lowest plank will be parallel with the actual keel and ideally flush with it (a smooth surface from keel into planking). At the bow, the whole thing needs to be beveled so there's a "notch" into which the butt ends of the planks can fit, behind the keel (called the stem at the bow), helping hold them in place. See if this image from my build helps you see how this bevel looks. See how there's a shadow all the way along the false keel? Without that, the planks wouldn't have much to "grab on to" when you start attaching them. 

 

 

Does that help?

Edited April 11, 2021 by Cathead

[mr_pullings]

Ah, I see now. That's along the lines of what I was thinking. I just wanted to make sure before I began sanding off a bunch of this piece. Thanks!

[Cathead]

It's a good question, and good to ask before starting work as this piece would be difficult to replace.

[Cathead]

EDIT: Oops, looks like you deleted your latest question while I was responding to it, so the content below now seems rather odd! I'll leave it in case it still helps you or anyone else. This clarifies how and where the beveling happens.

 

You are correct, the "bearding line" laser-etched into the false keel is the point at which the bevel starts. From that line, you bevel down toward the outer edge of the false keel (toward the real keel, away from the inside of the boat).

 

So one point of confusion here is that I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "entire" and there are two possible answers. Are you asking (1) whether to put a bevel along the entire outer edge of the false keel, from stem to stern, or (2) whether to bevel the entire keel from top to bottom? 

 

I typed up a few different wordy attempts at talking through this before deciding just to draw out what you're supposed to do and hope that makes it clear. So here is the plan image you posted above, doctored to emphasize where the beveling should happen:

 

 

Dark red shows where the laser-etched bearding line is. I don't remember whether the kit extends this along the whole false keel, but the plan image implies that it doesn't, which may be what's confusing you. You are supposed to bevel all the way from stern to bow (this is clearly stated in the instructions you posted above). In brighter red, I drew roughly where the bearding line should be for the rest of the false keel. Everything below the red line should be bevelled down to the lower edge of the false keel.

 

I also drew two cross-sections to help you envision this. Forward, it's a small and sharp bevel, maybe 45-60º? As you go aft, the bevel gets wider and gentler, so that by the stern it's a very broad surface at a very shallow angle. To put it another way, start beveling at the stern and work forward. Once you get to the forward end of the laser-cut bearding line (where my dark line becomes brighter red), just keep roughly whatever that bevel angle and thickness is, going all the way to the bow. It might help to draw this in with a pencil or even scribe it with a tool. 

 

Does that help?

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Cathead

[mr_pullings]

Yes, this helps a lot. Apologies for deleting the question. I didn't think it was worded well (and I'm a little embarrassed).

 

My misunderstanding was thinking that the sanding would go *up* from the bearding line. Also, I clearly didn't understand what beveling meant. So thank you again for the illustration.

[Cathead]

No worries, envisioning hull geometry can be really hard until you get used to it (I still struggle at times). Here are a couple more photos to help you envision this. 

 

In the bow planking below, look at how the planks butt up against the stem (the part of the keel that curves up to the front of the bow). Those plank ends are actually inserted into the little beveled notch you're forming in the false keel. Without that bevel, they'd just butt right up against the edge of the stem and you'd have a harder time getting them to stay in place and getting a nice smooth joint.

 

 

In the stern planking below, see how the plank just above the keel (if the boat were right side up) is flush (smooth) with the keel? Again, that's the role of the bevel, it lets the plank slide in there smoothly. Otherwise, you'd be applying that plank to the original outer side of the false keel, and together they'd be wider than the actual keel, giving you a really awkward "step" between the two. All the way along, the bevel allows the planks to sit smoothly against the false keel and each other, giving a nice flowing compound curve to the outer hull.

 

 

Hope that helps!