Duchess of Kingston by Delf - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Boxwood version

[DelF]

Thanks Bob. I’ll take stock when I’ve finished the starboard planking and make a final decision then. 

[DelF]

Starboard planking

 

Thanks as always for the supportive comments and likes.

 

Here's the starboard planking finished:

 

I've applied no finish yet, just wiped her over with white spirit to remove the dust.

 

I covered the methods I used when I described planking the port side. However there are a few points of detail I ought to mention.

 

In each strake I fitted the planks at the stem and stern first then finished with one or two planks in the middle. Getting the planks shaped properly at either end of the ship is much trickier so it makes sense to get these right first. I believe the last plank fitted in a strake was known as the "shutter" plank. Here's the gap waiting for the very last shutter plank on the starboard side:

The Duchess's hull calls for some very tight curves, and I previously mentioned using my electric plank bender to achieve some of these. On a whim, I thought I'd also try a tool I bought when I first started ship modelling - the Amati plank nipper. I very quickly stopped using it when I found it left obvious marks on the good side of planks, and produced a series of straight line segments rather than a smooth curve in the wood. It's been languishing in the bottom of a drawer ever since. To my surprise I found it worked well with the thicker, better quality 1mm boxwood in this kit. Using the nipper first to start a bend, it was subsequently much easier to impart a tight bend with the electric tool:

On one particularly awkward plank I found I'd left a narrow gap against part of the preceding strake, a gap that couldn't be closed by further edge bending. Rather than PVA and sawdust, I tried using a thin shaving produced with a little Veritas block plane. I glued it to the edge of the plank, trimmed it and fitted the plank as normal.

 

A prize to the first person that spots it!

I should point out that I staged this photo with a spare piece of plank after the event as I didn't shoot it at the time. In reality I had to use a double thickness of shavings to fill the gap.

 

The last point I wanted to mention was the rabbet. This is one of many clever design elements in this kit, producing a neat finish at the stem by hiding the ends of the planks. However it's important to be aware that the planks are likely to be slightly thinner than the rabbet, which means that if you glue the ends down tight against the first planking, you're liable to see a gap between the planks and the stem. It's better to leave a slight 'spring' in the ends of the planks at the bows and, assuming you're using CA like me, to avoid pressing your fingers against the first few millimetres. This will allow the plank to press up against the top edge of the rabbet, eliminating any potential gap.

 

And I still don't know whether or not I'm going to paint the darn thing! 

 

Derek

 

[yvesvidal]

Can I hire you to plank my Bellona? You did a spectacular job and unless you do my ship 😉 I will use your precious advices for Bellona.

 

Yves

[glbarlow]

Very well done, your craftsmanship is always inspiration, as are your clever solutions to solve problems. 
 

while my Flirt planking merited not planking the multiple problems with its stem required me to paint, plus I like the contrast of white, black, blue, and red. You have no such stem problem, you can easily not paint and it will look great either way you choose. 

[Rustyj]

Very nice job on the planking Derek. Very neat and clean. Sorry no help from me as I think it will look great either way you go.

[CaptnBirdseye]

Lovin your build diary and the tutorial on using the proportional dividers was inspiring (as in i am now looking to try that method!)

Paint or not to paint? That is the question. I love the colour of the natural wood but can understand why you would want to panit it. Either way, i'm sure it will look great 👍

RB

[DelF]

5 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Can I hire you to plank my Bellona?

Happy to help Yves. I'll be in the US next year and could do it then provided North Carolina isn't too far from Alaska  (geography was never my strong subject at school 😁). Seriously though, I've just looked at your log and you've got a big job on your hands planking Bellona at that scale. Good luck, and I hope my log is of some help.

 

3 hours ago, glbarlow said:

it will look great either way you choose

Thanks Glenn. I very much agree with the comment you made on David's (desalgu) Duchess log where you said that planking defines the model, with nothing standing out or showing more. Another reason why I'm still in two minds about covering it up.

 

3 hours ago, Rustyj said:

Sorry no help from me...

You've already been a big help Rusty, as I've got your Duchess log bookmarked and often refer to it. I hope you can get back to it soon. 

 

1 hour ago, RockinBudgie said:

the tutorial on using the proportional dividers...i am now looking to try that method!

Thanks Gary. I'll now use nothing else for planking! Any problems or questions, feel free to send me a PM or ask on the log.

 

Derek

Edited October 20, 2021 by DelF

[WalrusGuy]

Wow!!!! The planking looks amazing! Your work is really inspiring. I may also hire you to plank my Confederacy 😁

Edited October 20, 2021 by WalrusGuy

[DelF]

10 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

I may also hire you to plank my Confederacy 😁

Thanks! Looks like I might have a nice little sideline going on 🤑, if only I could figure out the geography. Is Alberta anywhere near Alaska? Or North Carolina?

[DelF]

Decks, bulwarks and an experiment with wipe on poly

 

Not much time in the dockyard lately but I've made some progress. I decided in the end to use the etched decks supplied in the kit. Although I enjoy planking my own decks and did so on Speedy, the ones supplied with this kit seem such good quality I thought I'd give them a go. They fitted without issue along with the interior bulwark patterns, following the steps clearly set out in the manual:

Whilst continuing to dither over whether or not to paint the hull below the waterline, I decided I ought to at least apply a finish to protect the wood before I got on with other tasks such as painting the blue and red areas along the upper part of the hull.

 

I have used shellac for a long time and love the finish I get with the pale version. However I've seen the results other people achieve with wipe on poly and thought I'd give it a go. The ready mixed products aren't commonly available in the UK so after some research on the web and the forum I made up my own from a 50:50 mix of matt polyurethane varnish and white spirit (aka mineral spirits on the other side of the pond). Early results were not promising, taking ages to dry and leaving a less-than-impressive finish. I knew I must be doing something wrong, but rather than starting a load of hit and miss experimentation I asked @glbarlow, someone who clearly knows what he's doing as evidenced by his current (Flirt) and previous builds.

 

Glenn kindly sent me two detailed messages setting out his methods and advice. Straightaway I saw what I was doing wrong - I was wiping on but I wasn't wiping off! I tried again and soon, as they say in these parts, I was cooking on gas.

I'm sure Glenn won't mind if I paraphrase his method:

• Apply generously with a soft cloth (eg old cotton t-shirts cut up) AND (the real key to a nice finish) wipe it off before it dries, leaving only what’s absorbed into the wood. If you let it dry on thick the finish will look too artificial. 
• Leave to dry thoroughly before buffing with a clean soft cloth. It can take 12-24 hours to dry depending on conditions. You know it’s dry if you can buff it without it seeming gummy. If it is stop and wait longer. 
• For a deeper finish like on a hull, lightly sand with 400 grit making sure to wipe with a cloth to remove dust and then repeat the wipe on/wipe off process
• Use a brush on small nooks and crannies, but only if you can get in immediately with a cloth to wipe it off. 
• Two coats are better than one, with at least three on the hull. Different woods will vary in absorbing the wop so the key is simply to repeat the process until it looks right.

I experimented with matt and satin polyurethane. I found the matt a little too dull whereas the satin gave a beautiful silky finish. In both cases the varnish tins had been unused for a while and needed a lot of stirring to thoroughly mix the particles that give the matt/satin finish to what would otherwise be gloss. As I was just experimenting I used tiny amounts - I found 6ml of poly mixed with 6ml white spirit was more than enough for three coats on the Duchess. For measuring I used one of those plastic pipettes sold for model paints eg these at £2.99 for 50 from Amazon.

 

Here's some pictures:

It's difficult to convey just how silky smooth the result is, both to the eye and the finger. Glenn told me I'd know I'd done enough when after buffing I looked at it and smiled. I'm smiling now 😁

 

Derek

[Blue Ensign]

Nice work Derek, and a useful reminder re the application of wipe-on- poly. 👍

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

4 hours ago, DelF said:

when after buffing I looked at it and smiled. I'm smiling now 😁

I’m really glad my input was helpful.  The hull looks wonderful with that warm glow WOP provides when done right, which you clearly did. Well done!

[WalrusGuy]

On 10/21/2021 at 1:37 AM, DelF said:

Thanks! Looks like I might have a nice little sideline going on 🤑, if only I could figure out the geography. Is Alberta anywhere near Alaska? Or North Carolina?

It's exactly between Alaska and NC 😁

 

The hull looks amazing! Thank you for detailing the method on the application of the WOP. I'll be using it once I finish planking.

Edited November 9, 2021 by WalrusGuy

[DelF]

44 minutes ago, WalrusGuy said:

It's exactly between Alaska and NC 😁

Well that's great! We're in Alaska for two weeks so if the distances involved aren't too great we'll take a day off the trip to pop over and see you In Alberta and Yves in North Carolina (did I mention geography's not my strong point?).

 

Good luck with your own planking. You won't regret using WOP.

[VTHokiEE]

14 minutes ago, DelF said:

if the distances involved aren't too great

This reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes comic, from their Yukon Ho adventure. Calvin and Hobbes are looking at a globe trying to decide how far away from the Yukon they are. After Calvin finds the Yukon on the globe Hobbes remarks: "Look how close it is! This won't take any time at all!"

 

 

[glbarlow]

3 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

detailing the method on the application of the WOP

You’re welcome🤣😂

[Thukydides]

Looks awesome, you are making me want to try the wop method. If you were painting the hull white below the water line would you do the wop first over the whole thing or would you do the paint then wop over the paint?

[DelF]

On 11/9/2021 at 9:15 PM, Thukydides said:

would you do the wop first over the whole thing or would you do the paint then wop over the paint?

I would do the WOP first. That way, if any white paint seeps through the masking tape it won't soak into the wood and it'll be easier to clean off. I might then apply WOP over the whole hull to protect the paint, but I'd experiment on a piece of scrap wood first to make sure the WOP would look good on the paint.  

Edited November 10, 2021 by DelF
Typo

[glbarlow]

2 hours ago, DelF said:

I would do the WOP first.

Yep

[DelF]

Gunwales, Rail Patterns & Wales

 

Thanks as always for the likes and kind comments. 

 

Before starting on painting the upper works, I wanted to do something about the laminations visible in the gunports. Their oval shape made lining them in the normal way with thin strips of timber a challenge, so I decided to disguise them with woodfiller. I used masking tape on the inner bulwarks to prevent filler and paint getting on to them, as unlike warships they will not be painted. Here's the filler I used, and the result:

 

For paint I used Humbrol Blue #25 and Vallejo Red 70.957. In the manual James used Humbrol enamel but I prefer acrylic for wood. I wanted to try to up my game on this job, using multiple coats of thinned paints rather than slapping on a couple of thicker coats and hoping for the best. Not easy to tell in the first picture, but hopefully the close-up of the starboard bow shows the result was smooth with no visible brushmarks:

I used Tesa tape for the straight and gently curved bits, and this Modelcraft flexible tape from Vanguard Models elsewhere. @James H recommends Tesa tape and after trying it so do I - a fraction of the price of other brands and it works just as well.

 

The next job was fixing the gunwales to the hull, three lengths each side. Although each piece is precut to shape, they take a bit of preparation before they can be fitted. There has been some discussion on other logs about the importance of removing laser char, even on parts that will be painted. However I've found that it is equally important to sand laser cut parts everywhere that will show because, although the wood is good quality, the finish isn't smooth enough for painting. Here's two gunwales to illustrate the point, one sanded with 240 grit, the other not. I also like to lightly sand edges and corners to make them less sharp:

 

As a further test, I cut two pieces from the sheet the gunwales came from, sanded one and painted both:

Hopefully the difference is obvious. 

The next job was applying the rail patterns, two each side. The technique as set out in the manual was fairly straightforward - soak the bow ends in hot water, clamp to the hull and leave to dry (I did this part before painting the hull) then paint and glue in place. The manual recommends allowing the patterns to dry overnight, but I got impatient and used a hot air gun to speed the process. Seemed to work OK. Here's the port patterns clamped up:

 

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that I'd already managed to break off all but one of the little dangly bits (nautical term 😁) under the windows. These patterns are incredibly well cut and detailed, but also incredibly fragile. Fortunately I was able to find all the missing parts, but I won't re-attach them until I come to fit the PE over them otherwise I'd be sure to snap them off again.

 

Before fitting the wales I wanted to finish sorting the gunwales. There are two places on each side where the for and aft gunwales dip down to the midships area, and in these places the laminations are exposed. Although I'd got them sanded fairly smooth I was still concerned that they would show through the paint, so I applied applied woodfiller, sanded it and painted to match the rest of the gunwales:

 

Lastly, it was onto the wales. These come precut to the shape of the hull, so after sanding, soaking in hot water, shaping on the hull and painting, I was left pondering how best to fit them. I knew from the plans and manual where the upper wales needed to go, but I was worried about getting glue on my nice WOP-ed hull. In the end I decided to use pins to fix the wale in position initially, tweaking the pin positions as necessary before committing to PVA. I used the 0.5mm pins supplied in the kit, and drilled 0.45mm holes. I drilled a series of holes in each wale first and inserted pins so they just poked through, then held one end in position against the stem. When it looked right I pressed on the first pin with a spare finger to mark the hull for  drilling. With the first pin in position, but not driven fully in, it became easier to repeat the process along the length of the wale. If necessary I took pins out, re-drilled their holes and repositioned them. Once happy with the upper wales I took them off the hull and applied PVA before pinning them back in place, this time driving the pins fully in. 

 

Next, I followed the manual's suggestion and cut a 3mm wide piece of spare limewood from the kit to act as a spacer for lower wales. This made positioning the latter easy.  Once all four wales were in place I filed the pin heads flush and painted them. Here's the current state of play:

I'm enjoying this part of the build, and looking forward to all the fancy decoration.

 

Derek

 

PS  I'm increasingly tempted not to paint the hull below the waterline. Anyone disagree?

Edited November 18, 2021 by DelF

[Blue Ensign]

It looks good to my eye Derek, and I do love that Boxwood finish.

I would  leave it unpainted.

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

Always your call if you’re satisfied with the planking you should leave it unpainted. I would with Flirt if it weren’t for the problems I had with the stem. The boxwood is so nice. 
 

Your painting looks great, nice tight lines.  As always, Derek clever with the filler to “line” the oval gun ports. 
 

What would be the point really if something didn’t break off for us to have to fix. 
 

The WOP job looks really nice as well. 

[Thukydides]

Personally I like it as is and so my suggestion would be to not paint white. But I am sure it will look really nice either way.

[Rustyj]

Very nice work Derek. Just like you anywhere there were laminations that would end up painted I coated them with wood filler just in case.

[DelF]

Bits & pieces

 

 

Thanks for the likes and supportive comments. I've finally made my mind up not to paint the hull white, so instead of struggling to get the waterline right I decided to amuse myself with a couple of odd jobs.

 

First, I had a go at the stern decoration. I'd seen and admired this in other people's logs and the prototype, and when I came to examine the resin casting closely I was struck again by how finely detailed and well produced it is. I dug out my smallest brush and held my breath for about two hours whilst I produced the following:

I followed the kit instructions on dipping the casting in hot water to soften it before moulding it to the curve of the stern, and on the painting technique. Humbrol #25 acrylic blue went on first, followed by Vallejo #793 Rich Gold thinned with a drop of isopropyl alcohol then sealed with Vallejo matt acrylic varnish.

 

Then it was on to the photo-etch decorations. The instructions suggest priming these in white then applying gold where appropriate. However I'd found a product called Metal Prep 4k by Vantage Modelling Solutions (VMS) that claims to prepare PE for painting more effectively than traditional primers and etchers, and to be more resistant to damage after painting. I gave it a go on four sheets of photoetch (degreasing first with acetone) and it seemed to provide a good base for the white and gold top coats. After applying the latter I was fed up with cleaning my airbrush so I painted on the matt varnish sealing coat with a brush. It remains to be seen how well this finish stands up to handling and fitting to the hull.

 

Again, I was struck by the incredible quality and detail in the photo-etch. 

 

 

Finally I had an enjoyable 30 minutes assembling the curved staircase. In previous models I've made my own stairs and ladders as kit offerings were invariably the wrong scale and too chunky. However with Speedy and now with Duchess Chris Watton has ensured that all the fittings are to scale. 

 

Although the staircase will be largely hidden in the final model, I wanted to clean it up properly for my own satisfaction, sanding off the char, smoothing the upper surfaces and gently rounding the noses of the treads. Obviously James didn't need to go to these lengths for the prototype, but it's worth showing the difference this preparation makes:

 

 

Next I'm planning to experiment with different glazing options before I fit the window frames and continue with the decoration.

 

Derek

[glbarlow]

A never ending source of good ideas and techniques. A really great job of detailed paintwork. I enjoy this work myself and appreciate others taking the time and having the skill to do it right. Nice work!

[DelF]

Kind of you to say so Glenn.

 

5 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I enjoy this work myself

You set the standard on paintwork and photography that I aspire to.

[VTHokiEE]

That stern decoration looks very nicely done. 

[DelF]

Quarterdeck Companion Rails

 

Having taken a break from the stern decoration by working on some odd jobs such as the curved stairs, I was tempted to tackle the quarterdeck  companion rails. These sit at the top of the stairs and have always niggled me since I first saw that they were made entirely from photo-etch. The PE makes beautifully decorative railings, but I felt the four balustrades looked flat and unnatural, albeit well detailed:

I decided to have a go at turning my own balustrades on the Proxxon wood lathe. I had a spare castello boxwood mast left over from Speedy which I turned down to just under 3mm. Then, using the PE as a template I started practicing with various turning tools and files:

I made quite a few before I had four that passed muster. Here are the rejects!

The next job was to cut the balustrades off the PE using a jeweler's piercing saw, leaving enough of a peg on the railings to fasten into the new balustrades:

To drill 0.6mm holes in the balustrades accurately I used a technique I described here in my Speedy log, employing a vee block and a micro drill attachment in my mini mill:

Next I prepared the coaming, sanding off the char and rounding off the sharp edges. The only slight change here was to the width. Because the new balustrades are thicker than the photoetch I had to glue strips of 0.5 mm boxwood to the long edges:

With the balustrades and PE glued up, painted and stuck to the coaming here's the end result:

This little side project has recharged my batteries and I'm ready to start on the hull decoration again.

 

Derek

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by DelF
Detail added on jeweler's piercing saw

[whitejamest]

A lovely and well executed upgrade.