Phantom by lraymo - Model Shipways - 1:96 scale - New York Pilot Boat

[lraymo]

18 hours ago, Cathead said:

As another option, I strongly recommend the Northwest Short Line chopper:

Thanks, this looks like a great idea!  I can see alot of value in this, so I just decided to purchase it as a Christmas present to myself!  Thanks!!!

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, lraymo said:

I'm embarrassed to say that my "accuracy" problem is mostly from being too fast and too sloppy in my measurements!

 

Lynn, you don't get a 'thumbs up' for this post but you don't get an admonishment either. From time to time all of us rush parts of our project for whatever reason. Breath through your eyelids and release the beauty from within that block of wood. 

 

 I'm glad to see you're taking Cathead's advice and purchasing the chopper, I think it will serve you well. 

[lraymo]

On 12/7/2021 at 3:38 PM, Keith Black said:

Breath through your eyelids

LOL, I'm trying to breathe through my eyelids, but I keep falling asleep!  But with the help of my new "cutter" I am hoping to take my time and be more accurate in my cuts!

[Keith Black]

 I'm anxious to hear how the cutter works out. 

[lraymo]

Although the "workshop" has been put away for the holidays, the "Cutter" arrived today, and I just had to try it out!  It worked well, and I cut 10 very evenly cut "keel blocks" and I trimmed the 32 bed timbers to a consistent length.  They aren't perfect, but only because my original cuts didn't square off the ends very well.  (The Cutter does a nice job on the ends!)

I didn't want to continue to trim, as the 3" "target" length is now down to 2 3/4" and I figured no one would notice the slight imperfections in length!

Happy Holidays everyone, and see you again after the New Year!

[Cathead]

Glad to hear you like it! I was reminded of a bit of advice after using mine last night: the cutter can handle some relatively thick stock, but as you go thicker it gets easier for the blade/arm to deflect and produce a non-square end. It isn't like a miter box where the cutting blade is locked in place. So just be aware of that, at times I've needed to square off cut ends with a file or other tool. Other times I've used the cutter to mark a precise cut and then finished it with a miter saw to be sure the cut was square.

 

Also, change the blades as soon as you feel it's not cutting right. One of the  great things about this tool is it's designed to use basic razor blades, not some custom design, so it's easy and cheap to keep sharp.

 

Happy Holidays to you as well, I look forward to this project coming back on the table, so to speak.

[Keith Black]

 Lynn, are you going to 'weather' the keel blocks?

[robert952]

Just now jumping on board.  I think I have this in the closet for future build.  Will be following with great interest. 

 

Looks good so far.  A lot of useful info for neophyte to carving hulls.  

[lraymo]

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

are you going to 'weather' the keel blocks?

Keith, my plan was to use a light stain (Minwax Wood Finish "Golden Oak") which I have on hand.    Not sure how to weather... I would assume it would involve a grey stain, but what else would need to be done to achieve a weathered look?   It's a cool idea which I hadn't thought of!

[Keith Black]

 

 

 Lynn, I don't know if you're familiar with Gary's work? Above are two links, Gary does one of the better jobs of weathering I've seen. If you read his logs closely he goes into detail on his weathering techniques. I haven't had the right project to attempt weathering but should one arise I'd like to try because it looks like such fun. 

[lraymo]

Thanks Keith, I will read Gary's logs with much interest!

[BrianK]

Hi Lynn,

BrianK here and also jumping on. I too have this kit on the shelf so thought I would follow a few builds.....

 

I have used the NWSL chopper in model railroading for years and love it. The matching NWSL True Sander is a nice addition and reasonable: https://nwsl.com/products/the-true-sander.

 

There is  a new-ish sanding tool on the market that is pricey but very nice. I picked it up a year ago. It can also be set up for repeatable lengths with the optional jig. It is a hand-crank rotary sander. Its called the Ultimation Sander and the optional jig is called the "Repeater". It is made by a Canadian company and they sell direct if you are interested: ultimation.ca

 

 

[lraymo]

@BrianK, Hi, and welcome aboard!  Thanks for your tips about the sanders!

 

@Keith Black, I decided to try my hand at weathering, after reading Gary's incredible logs.  (What amazing detail!)

Anyway, I tried to use what I have on hand, and I came up with a few samples. 

I started by mixing some "Iron Cannon Black" with "Warm White" till I came up with a nice shade of gray.  Then took some scrap basswood, painted it with the gray, and then used a light coat of "MS 4831-White" brushed on sparingly.  (I tried to use the "tape" method described by Gary, but I didn't have much luck.)  But I like some of these samples, with #3 the best, followed by #4, #5, and #9.  Any thoughts? Do any of these look "weathered" enough to use for my Launch Way?

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Lynn, #'s 2, 3, 4, and 5 are my favs, #'s 4 and 5 have a bit too much gray. For first effort I think you have done an outstanding job and really think you're on to something. Do you have a small wire brush? If you don't mind, please try scratching a scrap piece with the wire brush to give the wood texture and then apply a dark brown, wipe off the high spots, and let dry. The play with lighter brown, gray, and white colors. 

[lraymo]

Thanks for the feedback, Keith.  I like your wire brush Idea.  (Fortunately, I have just the thing... a wire brush that I use to clean my golf clubs!)

What fun! Thanks!

[Keith Black]

 Lynn, this is the look. A little brown in the crevices/wood grain and the whitish gray on the surface. Gary (what a master and I'm glad you enjoyed his logs) will even go to the point of painting knotholes. I'm anxious to see the results of your next attempt. Happy New Year.......KB

 

[BrianK]

Love that look Keith. Reminds me of the old wood door and window frames in ghost towns in New Mexico.....

[BrianK]

BTW, I work with stains to age new wood for model railroading structures: India, brown, sepia, etc. It is impossible to get that great 2-tone affect with inks alone (at least for me 😃 ) 

 

There is a youtuber in the model railroading world whose primary interest seems to be extreme aged old structure modelling: Jason Jensen. His work is amazing.... https://www.youtube.com/c/JasonJensenTrains

[BrianK]

Sorry that should be inks, not stains, in the first line.

 

BrianK

[lraymo]

2nd try, and Keith, I really like the sample photo you posted. So far, I'm not able to get that look. One of my issues is that the "timbers" of the launchway are only 1/8" thick.  So not much surface to work with!

Anyway, my next try includes 6 pieces, with various shades of "brown" (I have to improvise with a red & black misture).  I made grooves, but again, not much surface to work with.  Could any of these work?

I like @ or 3, or possibly 5?

[lraymo]

@BrianK wow, I looked at Jason Jensen's modeling videos.  What a resource!  I don't have a multitude of paints or stains yet, but I can see i'll need to invest as I go forward.  Thanks for the link...  its great to see what can be achieved with skill and the right resources!  I will keep these videos in my "How To" notes!

[Keith Black]

 Lynn, I like #'s 3, 5 and 6. I'd like to see those three laid next to each other. The photo seems to be picking up a red tone? Without the camera's influence I think I like # 3 best but as I said, 3, 5, and 6 next to each other would make for a realistic look. The texture you added with the wire brush helps a bunch.

 

  

[Cathead]

Personally I like 5 the best if you're going for a raw wood, and 4 if you're going for weathered paint. The colors in 3 have too strong a contrast to my eyes, they look like new paint applied to old wood rather than old paint degrading off wood. But they're all good depending on what you like and just what effect you're going for.

[lraymo]

Here's 3, 5, and 6 next to each other. I think I can make each "timber" some version of these three, and then the whole "Launchway" will have a weathered look, with each piece having a bit different treatment.  The Kit shows a Launchway of raw wood, but I think the weathered look would look good against the copper bottom.  Thoughts?

 

 

 

[BrianK]

This is actually an interesting discussion topic Lynn. If the launch ways were relatively new, how do you capture the look of wood that has only aged a year or so (or maybe less). Not to mention the drips and scars from being under a full scale build for a while.....

 

I looked at this slight aging issue when I started building a bridge for a model railroad layout and I wanted the bridge to be modelled at about 18 months old, in 1886, in New Mexico. They would probably not have treated the wood with darkening preservatives for such a bridge at that time.  It is easy to find pictures of raw wood and of well-weathered wood, but finding "slightly" weathered wood photos is a bit more challenging. I was sitting in my kitchen contemplating the issue and looked out the window and started to laugh. Our back fence is a wood stockade fence and we had it replaced with new raw wood panels about 18 months prior. I grabbed the camera and headed outside. We live on the coast in north Florida where we get "seasons" which may include a frost or light freeze once or twice, but more significantly, we get plenty of humidity and sun. After playing around with inks, here is an outdoor photo of a test bridge member with some light ink on the fence. The bottom end of the member is un-inked. This is for 1/87 (HO) scale.

 

 

 

 

[BrianK]

Lynn I forgot to mention lighting when weathering wood. Consider the display location for the model and what kind of light it will have. It will affect the color of the wood.

 

Here are bridge frames sitting on the railroad layout with the lighting they live under. They have a different look than they did outside.

 

BrianK

 

[lraymo]

BrianK, first let me say your bridge frames look fantastic! Nice work! This whole idea of weathering has taken me on an entirely new path. I had put away my “workshop” (aka kitchen table) for the holidays, and thought I could ease back into the work by building the “easier” Launchway next, before starting back on the hull.

Little did I know I would discover I have limited talent for cutting accurate lengths of wood (hence the purchase of the “cutter”), and now I’m off on this interesting tangent to find the right colors for the timbers, thanks to feedback from you, Keith, Cathead and others.

You bring up a good point about “slightly” weathered wood. Your back fence is a good example.

Now I’m thinking a light stain might look good with the copper plating. But no matter which way I go, this has been a fun experiment!

The bottom two are samples of the only stains I currently have, and I think I like the lighter one better!   

 

[Keith Black]

In the end, it's Lynn's world. Us folks in the peanut gallery can express our opinions but It's your baby. You like stain, stain it. You like a weathered look, weather it. You want to use straight up paint, paint it. In the end, whatever course you decide to take, I'm betting I like it. 

[lraymo]

14 hours ago, Keith Black said:

In the end, it's Lynn's world.

 

Ha!  Thanks Keith!  You're always the voice of reason!  I was getting a little caried away trying to decide, but what I really want to do is get back to the main goal of working on the hull, the coppering, etc.  Now that I've got the launchway materials cut to length, I can keep them safely tucked away till i really need it, somewhere near the end of the project!  (And then I can match the treatment to the way the Pilot Boat looks when its painted and coppered!)

Today, I'm putting the workshop back together (I mean, really, meals don't have to be eaten at the table... the couch works just fine!!!)

[Keith Black]

 During those times when you need to take a break from the Phantom you can play around with different wood finishes for the launch and decide which effect best suits your taste. I look forward to the next Phantom updates, steady on.