Chaperon by John Gummersall - Model Shipways - Scale 1:48

[John Gummersall]

Just completed the Secret Vessel "Morel".  What I call a "quick win" as it only took a couple months to complete.  For those of you who have not seen the Morel model, I recommend you check it out.   It is a quirky little model that is easy to build but looks really neat.   And a definite break from the usual year long builds of most models.

 

Anyway, Now it is time to put my "big boy pants on" and take on the Chaperon. 
 
I am by no means an expert builder - average at best, but as they say - the journey is the destination.   And I do enjoy the journey ..... or the build in this case.

I would like to say thanks to all who have built, and supplied excellent build logs, that have gone before me with the Chaperon model.   There have been some excellent Chaperon builds - I would say museum quality.  I will be shamelessly borrowing (stealing) some of the best ideas from those logs as I build my model.   I am still too new at building models to have many original ideas of my own.    My build will by no means compare to those who have gone before me, but I will have fun.   

 

With that in mind I will start right in with the unboxing....  Most people can just skip over this section unless you really are interested in the box contents.

 

 

There are 27 sheets of laser cut basswood.

 

 

Note on this sheet and others some of the boards have lines etched in them...  With this model they are to simulate planking.    Not sure if my model is odd or not, but to me those lines seem very thin (faint).   They look like after a coat of primer and paint they would be completely filled in.    We will see what happens when I get to that stage, but right off the bat this model may get (shall we say) "interesting".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Included with the last laser cut sheet is one large photo-etched brass sheet.

 

 

 

pins, eyelets, and some nylon line.....  Will probably not use this line as it seems to be pretty cheap.

 

 

 

 

A couple of britannia  life boats and assortment of other britannia parts.

 

 

An assortment of single and double wooden blocks

 

 

 

An assortment of wood strips and dowel rods for the build

 

Inventory list of all included parts

A 12 page manual with a brief history of the Chaperon and the build instructions.

 

12 sheets identifying each item on the laser cut wood pieces and photo-etched brass sheet.

 

Not shown, but included are 5 large plan sheets depicting the various stages of the build

 

On to the build....

 

As with most builds that are larger than the wood sheets, we start by gluing the keel made up of three 3/16 pieces.    The joints between the three pieces (under the weights) are reinforced with small reinforcement pieces (B1 & B2).   The ruler was used to help keep the keel straight.    As you can see, this is going to be a big ship.

 

 

With the glue dry and the weights removed you can see the reinforcement pieces (B1 & B2).    There are a pair of them on each side of the keel.   Each of the 29 bulkhead slots have been labeled to help keep track of the bulkheads as they are installed.

 

 

As so we begin the process of laying the bulkheads.   Be sure to remove all the laser charred marks on each bulkhead before installation to insure the glue gets a good grip on the wood.   I mention this now and will not mention it again, but that goes for all the laser cut parts.    Char marks need to be removed from each piece throughout the entire build.      Instructions say to start with the middle bulkheads and work your way out to the bow and stern.    This will take awhile as you need to insure each bulkhead is square and need to wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next bulkhead.   It is going to take a few days to get all 29 bulkhead installed.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by John Gummersall

[yvesvidal]

I will be following with interest as this is one of the model I would like to build one day.

 

Yves

[John Gummersall]

 

 

Yvevidal,

 

Welcome aboard....   Glad to have to follow along.

 

A few more bulkheads installed - 10 out of 29 so about 1/3 the way home.    I have to say these bulkhead fit very nicely into the keel.   There is a little slop in the connection so you will need some sort of square to keep the bulkheads straight.   A little slop is easily accounted for  with a metal square and a whole lot easier than having to file each bulkhead in order for it to fit into the keel.

 

In my case I used an angle plate to insure the bulkhead was square to the keel, but that is probably overkill.    Any square block will do the trick.   I have even seen some folks use the lego blocks or metal corner braces.. they are cheap and very square edges..

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by John Gummersall

[Cathead]

Cool, it's been a while since someone tackled Chaperon, the best riverboat kit out there. Looking forward to your progress. 

[gsdpic]

Nice start.  These river boats are growing on me.  I'll follow along and maybe somewhere down the line I need to do one myself.

 

Just a question....in that last photo, the slots out near the edges of the bulkheads look like they do not line up in a straight line.  Is that going to present a problem in the future?  Or maybe it is just an optical illusion.

[John Gummersall]

Gsdpic,

 

Thanks for the comment.   I appreciate it...   But in this case it is an optical illusion.  As I go I measure each bulkhead to insure each one is exactly 13/16 apart.  In addition I have a triangular ruler that I put in the slots to insure all is straight. 

I have been down that road before with uneven bulkheads.    If they are not exact you will keep paying for that mistake over and over again throughout the build.   It keeps coming back to cause problems.  

 

Do not hesitate to question anything you see in this build.   I am sure you will see errors that hopefully I can correct before it is to late.    Here is a picture of my ruler in the slots as a triple check of the alignment.

 

 

 

 

 

[mbp521]

John,

 

Glad to see you are under way with your Chaperon build, and great start so far! I finished mine a couple of years ago and have to tell you, this is a fantastic kit. There are a few minor things that you may need to tweak or add as you go, but nothing that will prevent you from completing a beautiful build, and as a bonus, there are plenty of steamboat knowledgeable people here on MSW to help you out along the way should you get stuck on something.

 

Really looking forward to following along on your journey.

 

-Brian

[John Gummersall]

Planking finally complete.   A slow process as I only glued a few bulkheads at a time - hoping to keep them straight.    Be sure to insure all bulkheads are straight  -  Should be a consistent 13/16" between bulkheads.    Next step is to  carve stern parts (28/29A/B) and bow parts 1A/B and glue them in. 

 

 

Below are parts 28/29A/B and ready to be glued to bulkhead 29.    Starting about bulkhead 27 the keel starts go up and gets much thinner between bulkheads 28 and 28.   When gluing  28/29A/B to bulkhead 29 be very careful when clamping the parts to the bulkhead and keel.   It is a very weak area..    Ask me how I know this   🙂

 

 

You guessed it,,,,, the keel between bulkheads 28 and 29 broke off.   I do not have a picture of the breakage, but below shows my repair.  In my panic I over compensated and decided I wanted a block (patch) that would be glued to both the Keel and bulkhead 28.    In reality you only really need maybe a 1/16" piece of wood on both sides of the keel between bulkheads 28 and 29.   In fact, I would suggest you do reinforce that area before you glue on parts 28/29A/B.

 

 

 

 

Below is patch after drying.   It still has to be trimmed, but it will be totally unnoticeable  when covered with planking and decking

 

 

 

Up until this point (if you ignore the breakage) the build has gone very smoothly.  Bulkheads fit easily into the keel parts.

 

But now it starts to get (shall we say) "interesting".   I started laying out the deck  pieces onto the hull just to see what we have going...   Two issues have popped up.

First issue is more of a Model Shipways issue.   The four deck pieces should all have etched lines on them simulating planking.    As you can see from the picture below, the port stern section (35P) has no etched lines.    Even though I plan to plank the Main and Boiler decks, you need the etched lines to show where the structures are to be placed.

 

Below shows part 35P with missing etched lines.

 

 

In contrast it's partner part (35S) has the etched lines

 

 

Model shipways is very good about replacing missing/broken parts.  I sent them a note today and I expect the replaced part to be within a week.   This is not really an issue.

 

Looking ahead, the second issue is more of a question...  There is a 1/16" x 1/4" rub rail that goes around the entire main deck.   Problem is,,,, For most of the hull, the Main deck extends beyond the bulkheads by 3/8".    And in the bow and stern sections the deck extend much more beyond the bulkheads.    I guess my question is, is this 1/16" x 1/4"  rub rail only attached to the edge of the main decking and just hangs down in the air?    Seems like that is not much gluing area and a rub rail should have some sort of backing.   I could always put some additional wood behind the rub rail but I figured I would ask the question of those who have built Chaperon before.    Is the rub rail really only glued to the 1/16" main deck edge?

 

Here are a couple shots of the deck pieces at the middle of the hull.   The 1/16" planking on each side of the hull will take up 1/8" but that still leaves a large gap and not much area to glue the rub rail.

 

 

 

 

 

[John Gummersall]

One additional comment for those who later are interested in building this model.    Below is an extract of one of the above pictures.   I would like to point out that in addition to the missing lines on one of the deck pieces, the pieces that are actually lined are very faint.   In the extract below, the lines more toward the center of the hull are OK, but as the lines go out to the side they get fainter.   I may be wrong, but to me if I was to prime and paint the deck, those lines would completely fill in and not show at all.    This is also true for some of the etched line on structure walls.   I will show those wall later on when I get to that stage.

 

I had an outside conversation with MBP521 and he indicated that for the structure walls that were to show the etched lines, he had to go over them with an scriber tool " to increase the depth of each line prior to painting.    Sound like that painful  process is in my future for the walls I plan on painting and want the etched line to show. - Ugh

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by John Gummersall

[mbp521]

16 hours ago, John Gummersall said:

Seems like that is not much gluing area and a rub rail should have some sort of backing.   I could always put some additional wood behind the rub rail but I figured I would ask the question of those who have built Chaperon before.    Is the rub rail really only glued to the 1/16" main deck edge?

John,

 

For the most part, the deck boards are all that the rub rail will be glued to. Since you are planning to plank the decks, this will give you another 1/32" more, but still not that much in relation to the width of the rub rail planks. On the real boats, there would have been support beams spaced along the sides to give more attachment surface for the rub rails, and for more realism you can add these if you want to. I chose not to add them since this area was not that visible. With the deck boards and added planking, I didn't have any trouble getting the rub rails to stay in place, especially with a liberal amount of CA applied.

 

3 hours ago, John Gummersall said:

In the extract below, the lines more toward the center of the hull are OK, but as the lines go out to the side they get fainter.   I may be wrong, but to me if I was to prime and paint the deck, those lines would completely fill in and not show at all. 

This definitely is an issue with the laser machine either not being set up correctly, or possibly the wood board used for the deck thinned a bit toward the outside edge. Either way, it is easy to see the piece was not processed correctly. Ed at Model Expo is excellent at getting replacement pieces sent out quickly, so hopefully it wont hold you up too much.

 

Glad to see that you were able to overcome your "mishap" on the keel. As you stated the repairs will never be seen. I can also neither confirm or deny the same thing happened to me during my build. 😁 But a word of caution, watch those deck extension that run along the sides of the paddle wheel. They can be a bit fragile, I may or may not have broken those a time or to as well. 😜

 

-Brian

[John Gummersall]

Brian,

 

Thanks for the confirmation on the rub rail and lack of backing.... 

 

As for breakage, I always seem to find the weakest points in every model the hard way...   Thanks for the word of caution on the deck extensions.  However, but even with that caution, I have a feeling I will be getting a first hand knowledge as to how weak they are.   🙂     I might look into, in addition to epoxying,  maybe also pinning them.   We'll see at the time what thing look like.     

 

john

[Cathead]

To follow up on what Brian said, here are a few photos showing how the deck extensions (called "guards" on riverboats) were structured. Beams ran outboard from the hull at close intervals, forming a solid structure supporting the decking above. Here's guard planking partly completed on my scratchbuilt Arabia:

 

 

And here's the completed underside:

 

 

And if you want a real-world photo, here's the Arabia wreck; look just aft (left) of the paddlewheel and you'll see the beams supporting the guard beyond the hull:

 

 

This is a sidewheeler but the concept was the same. I don't know exactly how it was on Chaperon, but you wouldn't go wrong adding a series of these beams if you're worried about strength and/or want to add some reasonably authentic detail.

 

 

[John Gummersall]

Cathead,

 

Thanks for the explanation on the supporting beams.    I appreciate you comments and pictures.    And I really like the looks of your Arabia.   It is going to be a neat model.

 

john

[Cathead]

Thanks and you're welcome. I actually finished the Arabia in 2020, you can read the build log at the link in my signature and there's an album of completed images here. Be sure to check out Brian's current project, too, he's got a beautiful Cairo going (see link in his signature).

[John Gummersall]

Cathead,

Thanks for the information.  I will check out yours and Brian's latest builds.   As I have said earlier, I am somewhat new to this so I have a lot to learn.

 

It has been a few days since I last got a change to work on the ship.   At this point I have completed fairing bow parts 1A P/S and bulkheads 1 through 5.   The supplied etched lines on these part are pretty accurate.   As trimming progresses be sure to verify the angle with a piece of planking to insure the planks will have a good gluing surface..    Also completed was the fairing of the stern parts 29A/B and 28A/B on both the starboard and port sides.   As before this is pretty easily verified as you trim will a piece of planking.

 

Box sections:

 

 

Stern sections...  In the pictures they look to be a bit cock-eyed...   They are somewhat, but not as much as what is shown in the pictures.   Earlier when I repaired the stern section, I thought I had it square, but somehow in the clamping process a little bit of tilt came on.    I have dry fitted the decks above and from what I can tell, the very slight tilt either goes away or is not noticable.   

 

Having said that, I may still try to dampen the last part of the keel and try to get it back to square.   I have had issues on other models when the keel/bulkheads are not true.   It is an error that can really keep coming back to bite you throughout the entire build if you are not careful.    We'll see what happens.

 

 

 

Now the part that really terrorizes me....  As others have done I decided to use a 3 prong Tee nut and bolt for the stand.   As such it has to be done at this phase.    Below show the two blocks made to insert between the bulkheads with the bolts.

 

   

 

Main scary part of this process for me (at my still level) is cutting the two bulkheads where the blocks will be inserted.   The part to be cut out is shown in red below.   To strengthen the area a little bit before the cut I added a few strips of wood.    Basically the bulkhead will be cut down to the added strips and the block inserted.   Once the block is inserted and glued, the area will be far stronger than before, but during the cutting process, I easily could see me breaking what was left of the keel.

 

Anyway, I had a lot of fear for nothing.... with a fine tooth saw and a little patience, I was able to pretty easily cut out the section of the keel and insert the block without breaking the keel.   Below show the first block inserted and drying.   Tomorrow I will take on the other block.   As I do not have the final stand for the ship, with some scrap wood I will build a temporary stand to hold the hull while the decks are built.   That is the beauty of the Tee nut and bolt - easy access to take the ship on or off the stand.

 

 

 

 

Below will be the temporary stand for construction.   Basically one 1"x8" board on the bottom and two 1"x3" boards on top leaving a slot in the middle for the keel.   Bottom board is a little longer than the top boards to allow for construction of the paddle wheels at the stern.  I have drilled the holes and verified the ship will sit properly in the stand.    Ship will not be actually bolted to the stand until after the hull is planked. 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by John Gummersall

[John Gummersall]

That slight tilt in the stern got to bugging me.   I just had to try to fix it.    Below is my attempt.    I soaked the last four bulkheads and then jury-rigged up something to try to straighten it out.   We will see what happens tomorrow when things dry out.

 

 

More experienced modelers will probably get a good laugh at my expense,  but I have always had a hard time keeping track of the various wood strip sizes.   I have tried laying it out on a table, labeling them with paper and clamps or rubber bands.  Labels seem to fall off especially with the very thin wood that only has a few strips.    And over time, left over wood from previous models just adds to the confusion.

Nothing seems to be a good solution.   Seems I always end up digging through a pile of wood trying to find the correct piece.

 

Anyway, I had some spare 1" PVC pipe around and started playing around.   Below is what I came up with... Not elegant,  and maybe even a little crazy, but for my simple mind it seems to work.   The taller pipes in the back are 14" and labeled with tape.    The shorted pipes in front are 3/4" and 5" long.   They hold the same size as the larger pipe in back but for wood strips shorter than 14".   I used tape for labels as it seems there are countless sizes of wooden strips and easier to change a tape label than if it was permanently marked.   In this rack there are 25 slots so I can account for a number of different sizes.

 

Once complete I added the wood from the Chaperon and other wood left over from other models.   I have to say, while some may laugh, I really like the idea of being able to go right to the size of wood I am after rather than continually digging through a pile of wood.    Just thought I would share... but I know some will think I am crazy.

 

[mbp521]

8 hours ago, John Gummersall said:

More experienced modelers will probably get a good laugh at my expense,  but I have always had a hard time keeping track of the various wood strip sizes. 

John, no laughing here. I do the same thing with a similar setup. Sure helps keep things organized and easy to find. 

 

Hope your jig is able to get the tilt out of your stern. Funny how the slightest things out of kilter can just nag at you until you finally give in and fix them. 

 

-Brian 

[Cathead]

You independently invented a very common solution to that problem, I too have a similar setup. 
 

If you search through MSW you’ll find various threads on wood storage with all sorts of creative solutions.

[John Gummersall]

Brian and Cathead....   Thanks for your comments,,,,, makes me feel better that I am not that crazy....

[John Gummersall]

Drying over night in my make-shift jig did the trick.   The stern piece is now parallel and no longer has a tilt.   Stringers are all in and we are ready to roll with planking.

 

 

 

For the planking I have the hull sitting on the temporary stand.   It is not bolted in, but it turns out the stand is a very level stable area to hold the hull.   Not sure I will plank the entire hull on the stand, but at this point it seems like a good idea.

 

 

And so the planking begins.... First two sheer planks at the bow section have been soaked and clamped into place to dry.   The 1/8 x 1/16 planking is so thin that only about 10 minutes of soaking is required and the plank is very pliable.    With 13 planks, I would expect it to take be about 13 days to complete the planking as each plank needs to be soaked, dry over night, and the glued to the hull.   I am not going to rush the drying time as I really do not want to risk the wood (if still wet) to shrink after it is glued to the hull.   Even though I plan to fill and paint the hull, I want to do the planking a even as possible with minimum gaps.    Practice for other hulls in the future that do not get painted.

 

[bobandlucy]

Good so far and I will be following, as well as making a wood storage system similar, because I am in the same boat as you regarding scrap and other wood!

 

Bob

[John Gummersall]

Bob,

 

Glad to have you follow along and feel free to ask me any questions as I go alone... especially if you see a place where I might have made a potential error.   I am by no means an expert builder.

Unfortunately this build has turned into one of those painfully slow logs.    Spring has come and with that goes all sort or tasks (indoor and outdoor) that now need attention after being ignored all winter.   I have not stopped, but updates may be slow in coming.

 

At this point I have completed the first 4 rows,,,,  I have to say, as the instructions indicate, with 1/8 x 1/16 planking, the planking effort is pretty easy.   As mentioned above, just soak for a few minutes, pin in place until dry, then glue.    Only trimming I did was on the the bottom of the planks (The part that is glued to the bulkhead).   Here I just took of the inside edges so the planks would fit better together over the hull bends.

 

 

 

 

And after the clamps come off,,,    I am resisting the urge to do any sanding until all the planks have been laid.

 

 

A few dents in the wood here, but being basswood, I am hoping after I apply a little water, that the dents will come out,,,, If not there will be plenty of filled later on before painting,

 

 

Since this is not a beginner model, I have a feeling what I am about to say will already be known, but for those of you who are in the market for some more clamps, I would like to point out some really good clamps.

My most recent purchase was some  2 "BESSEY Plastic Spring Clamps.   They really are useful for getting into those hard to reach areas.

 

They are listed a 2" clamps, but as you can see, they are about 4" in length.   I assume the 2" refers to the grip.    You can get them are various places online, but I found the best price is directly from Acme Tools even with the $6.49 shipping.   The shipping charge is not much if you are ordering a bunch of them.    I my case I ordered 12, but at this time only have 2.    The other 10 are backordered.   Supply chain issues,,,   Web site says they should ship in 3-5 weeks.   That was 2 weeks ago, so we will see how accurate that information is when they actually arrive.

 

And of course every modeler has these clamps..  If not, you need to get them right away...  They are used on every model.

 

 

 

 

An finally, these clamps are also very useful when planks need some extra (shall we say) "persuasion".

 

 

[mbp521]

1 hour ago, John Gummersall said:

I am resisting the urge to do any sanding until all the planks have been laid.

Guilty, on every wooden model I have ever built. Something about the lure of creating sawdust and seeing the uneven planks laying there tempts me to get them sanded immediately. I just can’t help myself. I’m going to have to look into those clamps. I like the pointed ends on them. 
 

-Brian

[bobandlucy]

I have two of those Bessy clamps and will get more. I use them very often- because of their shape they can be used in areas other clamps won't reach.

 

Bob

[John Gummersall]

I forgot to mention that on Acme Tools they cost $2.45 each....   If  only need a couple the $6.95 may not be worth the cost, but I could not find them anywhere else for anywhere near that price.   Be sure to check out Acme Tools  (https://www.acmetools.com/plastic-spring-clamp-2-inch-capacity-xcl/091162000687.html).     As mentioned earlier they are currently out of stock for online shoppers...   11 of by 12 clamps are waiting on back order...   We will see if the 3-5 week wait time they listed is anywhere near accurate.

 

john

[John Gummersall]

23 hours ago, mbp521 said:

Guilty, on every wooden model I have ever built. Something about the lure of creating sawdust and seeing the uneven planks laying there tempts me to get them sanded immediately. I just can’t help myself. I’m going to have to look into those clamps. I like the pointed ends on them. 
 

-Brian

Brian,

 

I only said I have resisted the urge to sand the planks at this point.....  I say that now,,,, but I will no doubt be sanding in the near future.    I too have never been successful holding off sanding the hull until all planks have been laid.    Just can not help looking at those uneven planks and  resist,,, "just a little sanding".    That is what I tell myself each time,,, and then end up sanding the hull as I go along.  🙂

 

We will see how far I get into planking before the sandpaper comes out...   I can hear it calling my name even now...

 

john

 

 

[John Gummersall]

I am back,,,,,,,   Early on I mentioned this would be a painfully slow log, but I did not realize just how slow it would be.    With Spring in the air all sorts for outdoor clean-up tasks have been pulling me away for the boatyard.   Seems the workers have gone on strike.    

 

Have completed planking to row 11.   As other logs have indicated, with 1/8" planking, the planking effort is a breeze.   With only a minimum amount of soaking, they ben very easily.   Although for the first 10 rows they do not need to be bent very much.    Even around the bow and stern sections, just wet, bend and clamp the planks until dry.    After that they easily are glued into place.    Only rows 10-13 require some real bending and twisting at the bow area.   

 

With the planks that are to be bent around a curve (bow/stern sections),  be sure to trim the lower inside edge of each plank so they fit together better around the curve

 

At this point

 

A few bow shots

 

 

 

 

And a few stern shots

 

 

 

 

Here is one of the planks a the bow section in row 11....  Did I mention earlier they had some bend/twist to them?

 

All 13 rows have been completed....  Next need to trim up the stern section and start laying the bottom  1/2" planks

 

Did I mention "you can never have enough clamps"?

 

 

 

This clamps with the screws really worked well keeping the stern planks in place.

 

 

 

 

 

[John Ruy]

Nice work John…

 

I’ll be following along, nice to see another steamboat build. 🍻 

 

John

[mbp521]

John,

 

Glad to see  you back at it. Nice job so far on the hull planking.

 

You are correct, you can never have enough clamps in this hobby.

 

-Brian

[yvesvidal]

Nice progress on the hull. Compared to a period ship, that hull seems relatively easy to plank... 🙂

 

Yves