Lady Nelson by Freezing Parrot - Amati/Victory Models - 1:64

[Freezing Parrot]

Here goes my attempt at a build log. I just finished the Artesania Swift, and looking back, I wish I kept a log for that build. Better late than never. As expected, the Lady Nelson kit seems to be very good quality, and the five detailed sheets of visual instructions are fantastic.

 

 

 

Following the advice on another build log, I numbered each piece with pencil, and am only removing parts as I need them.

 

The keel looks to be nice and straight, so I glued on the bulkheads using Titebond wood glue, which I put in an empty medicine bottle and applied with a cheap artist's brush. For now I left off the sternmost bulkhead.

 

The instructions recommend fairing the first and last bulkheads and the "plank termination patterns" (they need to come up with a simpler name for those) before glueing them on. I was going to, but had a hard time visualizing where and how much to sand off them ahead of time. I may have made more work for myself, but it will be easier for me to see what to remove if I can see the entire structure. I think.

 

 

These pics were with my phone, but I'll switch to a real camera for the rest. Hopefully they'll come out better. Now if the glue would just dry faster...

[drjeckl]

Welcome FP to MSW and the LN build club.  A few of us are active, some never heard from again.  I'm a first-time builder so it's been an exploration for me.  I have just finished the 2nd planking and about to publish an update to my build log.  I did a lot of researching  on this site before I got too far along.  There are two build logs that I highly recommend. 

 

The first is:

Vossie is a very experienced carpenter who sometimes goes off on way off tangents but I learned a lot about this hobby and how he built the LN from this guy.  Unfortunately, he fell off the map before completing the build.  But it's worth going through his entire log.

 

The other log is: 

Glenn is an experienced builder who got back into the hobby with the LN.  Same here: I learned a lot about this hobby and how he built the LN from this guy too.  His log is shorter but very informative.

 

Also, I highly recommend looking at Chuck Passaro's videos on edge-bending of hull planks.  Using his technique made a world of difference to my work.  

 

Good luck and welcome aboard...jce

[Freezing Parrot]

Thank you for those resources, John! I also have your build log bookmarked. It's coming along very nicely! I like how you did the margin plank on the deck. I'm glad to see that edge bending will work for that, as I didn't really want to piece those together. I'm also going to use your idea of the spirketing plank. 

[glbarlow]

Thanks for the reference. I’ll follow along and offer what help I can. The log was originally done on another site, I copied it and posted here on MSW so the posts appear a bit long since I combined them. 
 

There are some nuances to LN, I recommend reading through a few logs to take advantage of what others learned. My biggest recommendation for any modeler is to learn Chucks plank bending technique. It’s a game changer and worth the time. The 

LN is a nice model to learn it on. 
 

Have fun and don’t be reluctant to ask for help. Every experience level is represented in this forum. I’ve not met one that wasn’t willin to help. 

[Rick01]

One of the best bits about this kit is that it isn't a model of an actual ship. This means you can get a bit inventive if you want to and no-one can say "that's wrong" unless of course you start playing with ideas from another era.

 

Rick

[Freezing Parrot]

"It was supposed to be that way." If I say it with enough conviction, do you think I can convince myself? 😁

[Gregory]

I felt vossiewulf's Lady Nelson, though not finished, had some interesting  twists and turns..

 

 

I hope he is doing well..  He hasn't visited MSW in over a year.

[Freezing Parrot]

I enjoyed his approach as well. It helped me get in the frame of mind to think of the build as more than "here's how to assemble your new Ikea furniture".

[Freezing Parrot]

Update while waiting for glue to dry:

 

Yesterday I cut out a bending form from 5/4 pine I had lying around, tracing the shape of half the false deck. I cut and notched the form to allow for clamping, but didn't get the front notch at quite the best angle. It still worked fairly well, but the very front tip of the curve may give me trouble later. I soaked the bulwark strips for half an hour in hot tap water, then clamped them to the form (one at a time). Hopefully the curve is close enough to make the installation of the bulwarks easier instead of the opposite.

 

 

Today I worked on fairing the bulkheads, using 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around a small wood block and then around a piece of 1/2" copper pipe, which did a better job. It might have been easier to do the initial fairing of some pieces before installation, as the instructions suggest, but I don't think I would have got (gotten? gout?) the angles right anyway. I also sharpened a wood chisel and shaved down the stern area of the false keel so the planking won't make it too fat for the sternpost. That's the idea, at least.

 

I decided to attach the false deck before I do a final touchup of the fairing, so that the bulkheads are in the proper locations and stay there. I used a few of the included tiny brass nails to pin the centerline of the deck along the centerline of the false keel, then clamped around the edges. Once the glue dries, I'll attack it again. 

 

More than one build log has stated that time spent fairing is well worth it, so I will try out this "patience" thing I've heard about.

 

 

As a side note, any preference whether the pictures come before or after the description?

[PRS]

Looking good.

 

Yes take your time and it will be easier and better once you go further.

 

Once I learned to slow down and enjoy the build it was a lot more fun and things looked better.

 

Preforming those ply pieces will really help. I only had some issue at the front gunport hole wanting to crack at the top but the planking helped straighten it out.

[Freezing Parrot]

So, um, yeah. I just went to dry fit the preformed bulwarks, and realized I had prebent the WRONG END! So now it's decision time. Do I straighten and then preform them correctly, or do I just make the stern circular? Hmmm. On the one hand, since it's not a replica of an actual, historic ship, I do have some leeway with the design. On the other hand, it would totally mess up the layout of the cannons. I guess I'll redo the bulwarks. 🙄

[glbarlow]

Really not a decision you have to re-bend them. Nothing will work otherwise. 
 

The Model IS representative of a British cutter, maybe not a named one, but it’s still a cutter. There’s not that much flexibility other than a name on the stern. 

[Rick01]

Actually if you check the Gallery for contemporary models you'll find a number of variations for naval cutters, mainly in the deck furnishings, with one or two around the windlass. 😉 

 

Rick

 

[drjeckl]

Ouch!!!

[Gregory]

8 hours ago, Rick01 said:

Actually if you check the Gallery for contemporary models you'll find a number of variations for naval cutters, mainly in the deck furnishings, with one or two around the windlass. 😉 

 

Rick

 

Yes, but I don't think you will find any with the hawse holes as far back as the reversal of those pieces would put them..😁

[Jack12477]

If it was me, I would try to salvage the side pieces, first soak in water until wet, careful not too long or the ply might delaminate,  then using a hair dryer try to flatten out the curvature, one piece at a time, go SLOW. Once flat clamp between 2 pieces of 1/2 inch or thicker hardwood, cherry, oak, maple. Let sit overnight. Unclamp and see how it looks.   If necessary,  reclamp  and let sit for another 24 hours. 

 

It doesn't have to be perfectly flat since it will conform to hull curvature anyway.  

Edited June 28, 2021 by Jack12477

[Freezing Parrot]

Thanks for the suggestions! Straightening them back out ended up being easy. I soaked them for half an hour, laid them on my work table, and just put a chunk of wood on top of them. They were mostly straight when they came out of the water anyway. After dinner I'll make my second attempt, this time paying better attention. 🙂

[Freezing Parrot]

Maybe I should have left the bulwarks bent at the stern after all. Then I could modify the hull severely, and tweak a few other details to make the Lady Nelson II Party Ship. Initial deck plan as shown. Accepting investors to make this into a reality for the sailing public. 

 

[Rick01]

Here's what happens when you've kept the plans, have a pile of left-over timber and get bored.

 

 

Using the original plans, I re-modelled the deck layout, fitted heavier armament and jiggled a few other bits and pieces. 🙂 Must say I like the idea of the party ship! 

 

Rick 

[Freezing Parrot]

I like that a lot, Rick, especially the skylight. Nice use of "leftovers"!

[Acker]

Hi Mike

 

Thought I would have a look at your Lady Nelson build log. Love the modified version especially the hot tub. Can imagine sitting there just waiting for the rum bosun to shout "spirits up" again! 

 

Richard

[Freezing Parrot]

Thanks, Richard. Hey, if you can't have fun, what's the point?

[Freezing Parrot]

Okay, back on track. I rebent one bulwark, properly this time, and have the other one clamped. Dry fitting confirmed a good bend this time. While I was waiting around, I decided to make replacement crossbars for the anchors out of wood, instead of using the metal ones from the kit. A few wraps with black artist's tape and a coat of shellac, and I'm pleased with how they turned out.

 

 

 

After a little touchup sanding on the bow curve of the false keel, I glued on the keel pieces, using Titebond. Based on the advice in other build logs, I'm leaving the sternpost off until the first planking is done. I'm also leaving off the middle two stern counters for now, to avoid breakage.

 

I think I have the fairing and the bearding line right. I shaved the stern part of the false keel to a thin line along the keel, to allow for the two layers of planking. Does anyone notice areas that still need work?

 

 

[drjeckl]

Fairing looks good.  I suggest mask taping of the keel parts for protection.  I would also recommend planning on how your going to support mounting the hull to any display base and possibly take some action before you start planking.  There are some good ideas here:

 

[Freezing Parrot]

Thanks for the heads up, John! Neither these instructions nor the ones for the Swift seem to say anything about mounting to the included pedestals and base, which seems strange to me. Thanks for the link to a very helpful thread.

 

My plan is to support this model on a variation of a drydock frame, drawing inspiration from the pics below. I'm very sorry that I don't remember whose builds these are from, so I can't give credit where it is definitely due. If you know the name behind the picture, please let me know and I'll credit them. I love these creative ideas!

 

 

 

 

 

I aspire to the level of workmanship and creativity of these builders!

[Freezing Parrot]

This is the VERY dumbed down version of the above, that I made for my Swift model. I was disappointed that the Swift's sails were way out of scale (too big), so I didn't go crazy with extra details. I'll participate in that madness with the Lady Nelson. 🤪

 

[Freezing Parrot]

Back to the matter at hand. Port bulwark actually fit! I marked half the width of the prow on it, so I'd know how far into the slot to insert it, and just needed clamps to hold it in place, with just a couple areas needing slight pressure to get them tight to the deck edge. 

 

 

Question for the pros: Do I need to pad out the first two bulkheads to meet up with the back side of the bulwark? I must have been overzealous with the fairing, and removed too much material. I'm assuming I'll need to remedy that before planking.

 

[VTHokiEE]

8 minutes ago, Freezing Parrot said:

Do I need to pad out the first two bulkheads to meet up with the back side of the bulwark? I must have been overzealous with the fairing, and removed too much material. I'm assuming I'll need to remedy that before planking.

Yes, otherwise you're going to have some big issues. Fairing is critical at this juncture - take your time and make certain it is right.

[Freezing Parrot]

Thanks for confirming that, even though it means more work for me. I'd rather spend the time needed to make it right, rather than using that amount of time regretting later.

[Rick01]

A tip for making iron work such as shown on your anchors - matt black card cut in strips and soaked in PVA glue works wonders. It's all I use where strips of black iron are needed.

 

Rick