USF Confederacy 1778 by WalrusGuy - Model Shipways - 1:64

[Nirvana]

Looking good though, just consider each strake as a single project has helped me getting through tricky planking.

[abelson]

Excellent work on planking. Keep it up.

[WalrusGuy]

On 12/16/2021 at 12:28 PM, Nirvana said:

Looking good though, just consider each strake as a single project has helped me getting through tricky planking.

 

14 hours ago, abelson said:

Excellent work on planking. Keep it up.

Thank you , Nirvana and Steven. And thanks all for the likes! The encouragement is much appreciated 😁 

[allanyed]

Walrus

Fear not on the last strakes.  If you spile the planks as described here at MSW by David Antscherl or heat bend the planks as described here at MSW by  Chuck Passaro you should not  have any tricky issues and certainly no need for clamps if the planks are done properly.    

Allan

[WalrusGuy]

I finally finished planking the hull... and what a ride it was! It was my first time single planking a hull and I am now completely humbled by this task. Other modellers make it look so easy! Cutting each plank got old by the time I was half way 😅. 

 

I've learnt planking is not my favorite part of the build, but closing up the hull with the last 2 strakes were so satisfying!! Also, as @allanyed pointed out, clamps were not needed. I just had to hold the planks at the stern and at the bow for a couple of minutes after microwaving the planks so that they retain the curve.  

 

Once I finished planking, I taped up the keel and exposed frames to protect them from scratches. I then sanded the hull smooth from 100 grit to 600 grit sandpaper.

Here are a bunch of pictures to mark this major milestone of the build:

Also, please do not hesitate to critique my planking. It will help me improve for my next models. 

 

Now, I am thinking of installing the 2nd layer of wales before I apply the finish to the wood.

Edited December 29, 2021 by WalrusGuy

[No Idea]

Lovely job I'd be very happy with that result - top job which was worth the effort 👍

[Moonbug]

Beautiful job!  Nothing to critique from me. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Moonbug

[Chuck]

Nicely executed

[Nirvana]

Happy to have the same model in my stash! Because this is true inspiration!😀

[WalrusGuy]

21 hours ago, No Idea said:

Lovely job I'd be very happy with that result - top job which was worth the effort 👍

 

20 hours ago, Moonbug said:

Beautiful job!  Nothing to critique from me. 

 

18 hours ago, Chuck said:

Nicely executed

 

15 hours ago, Nirvana said:

Happy to have the same model in my stash! Because this is true inspiration!😀

Thank you so much for the encouraging comments and the likes! 🙂 

[Gahm]

Beautiful planking job!

 

Thomas

[Brucealanevans]

Looks great! Congratulations. 

[WalrusGuy]

11 hours ago, Gahm said:

Beautiful planking job!

 

Thomas

 

8 hours ago, Brucealanevans said:

Looks great! Congratulations. 

Thank you, Thomas and Bruce! 

 

Also wanted to take this moment to wish MSW a prosperous new year!!! 🥳

[michael mott]

You have done an outstanding job with the planking, I also like the detail on the corners of the cut out to show the framing, a nice touch.

 

Michael

[WalrusGuy]

On 1/1/2022 at 9:12 AM, michael mott said:

You have done an outstanding job with the planking, I also like the detail on the corners of the cut out to show the framing, a nice touch.

 

Michael

Thank you, Michael! 😁

[WalrusGuy]

Thank you all again for all the likes and the nice comments! 

 

I have glued in the channel wales and black strake, and finished treenailing them. I then chamfered the edges with a sanding stick (220 grit sandpaper stuck on one side of a 1/2in scrap wood). I used a wedge to assist in keeping a constant angle on the sanding stick as I sanded the edges:

I tapered the planks to become thinner from about 2cm from the stem. This is because the wales insert into the stem rabbet in the real ship.

And here are some more photos:

Lastly, I applied wipe-on-poly on the hull. I damped the WOP on a piece of an old t-shirt, applied generously, then used a dry part of the cloth to immediately remove any excess.

 

I only put one coat for now. Here is a sneak peek:

For my next update I will apply tung oil on the planks above the wales, and finish with one or more coats of WOP on the hull below the wales.

Edited January 5, 2022 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

I applyied two coats of tung oil above the wales, and two coats of WOP below the wales. I only sanded with 600 grit sandpaper between the coats for the WOP. Here are some pics:

IMO, the tung oil darkened the treenails a bit more than I would have liked. There was no way of telling how it would look in a small test section I did beforehand. But lesson learnt! I think next time I'll be using WOP for the entire surface instead of tung oil. 

[mtbediz]

Excellent planking.

[tomganc]

Wow that is stunning planking job... I like the idea of exposing some of the hull ribs. Makes it stand out even more. 

I will be following your build closely

 

Regards

Tom

[abelson]

As usual, excellent work.

[Matt D]

It looks terrific, WalrusGuy!

[WalrusGuy]

Thank you for the kind comments, Matt, Steven, Tom, and Mustafa!

 

The main wales have now been glued, sanded flush, then I chamfered the edges. Once that was completed, I painted the wales black  and used Tamiya yellow masking tape on neighboring planks. The tape was amazing, very minimal seepage of paint onto the wood. I will be using this tape for all painting from now 👍

 

The black paint (which was bought with the kit) was diluted with some water before painting. I sanded with 600 grit sandpaper between each coat. For the last two coats, I buffed out the painted area with a lint free cloth 15-30 mins after I applied the paint.

 

I thinned down the thickness of the wale at the stern, and also at the stem so that it is flush with surrounding planks.

 

Here are some pictures of where I am at:

 

Next, I will be painting at the area above the treenails. I am very confused on the colors for these sections. The options I am thinking is to (1) paint it all black as it is the safest choice, and (2) have a thin red strip between the lowest two moldings, and (3) paint with the following black, red, and blue color scheme (I found this image somewhere on MSW, but I can't remember where it was):

I am currently leaning towards the last option as this is something I have seen on lots of contemporary models (as shown below), and it will be a bit different to other Confederacy builds. Another thing to note is that red is always above blue, just something I found interesting.

 

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-66278

 

Any comments/suggestions are more than welcome!

Edited January 9, 2022 by WalrusGuy

[Wahka_est]

Looks really nice, awesome job!

Also the speed of the build.... I remember when i was well ahead and now im way back

Keep it up!

 

Vahur

Hobbymill.EU

[WalrusGuy]

6 hours ago, Wahka_est said:

Looks really nice, awesome job!

Also the speed of the build.... I remember when i was well ahead and now im way back

Keep it up!

 

Vahur

Hobbymill.EU

Thank you, Vahur! 

[WalrusGuy]

A quick update..

 

I ended up trying out the 3rd option with the black, red, and blue colors. I was inspired to take the plunge seeing Antscherl's model of the Comet.

 

Here are some photos of the blue:

I found that the black ended up with some glossy parts at the top layer (as seen in the first photo), so I have currently sanded it a bit and will repaint. I think I added too many coats and that's why some areas seem a bit too shiny/polished when viewed from certain angles.

 

Once that is fixed, I will try creating a dark blue thin trim line on the top of the light blue section for some additional detail, then will start working on the red part with white pinstripes.

 

[JohnB40]

Very nice construction indeed.

[WalrusGuy]

10 hours ago, JohnB40 said:

Very nice construction indeed.

Thank you John. Your Confederacy is looking great! Do you have any updates on your build?

Edited January 11, 2022 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Here are some more quick snapshots with the red and dark blue trim (please excuse the messy desk 😅). What do you guys think of this color scheme? 

 

I left some wood unpainted between the colors so that the mouldings have some bare wood area it can glue on.

Next up is the white pinstripes on the border of the red areas. I have no idea if this is correct for American ships, but I just love the look on the contemporary models and I am not going for 100% historical accuracy. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by WalrusGuy

[No Idea]

I don't know anything about how ships were historically painted but I do think that the colours that you have chosen look very nice.

 

I'm a great believer in the fact that its your ship and you should build it the way that you want.  If you like it - keep it

 

Mark

[Gahm]

This color choice looks really nice! And I fully agree with Mark - it is your model.

 

Thomas