Seguin 1884 by rvchima - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - scale 1:48 - wooden steam tug

[rvchima]

Introduction

Back in May I was working to complete my Amati Bismarck model when my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I thought that something smaller, with plenty of wood to cut, and no plastic or photo-etched parts, would be a nice change. I had actually had my eye on Bluejacket's Seguin kit for a while and asked for that. I built Bluejacket's Arleigh Burke destroyer in 2016  so I know that they make quality products, and I have bought lots of miscellaneous parts from them in the past and know that they provide good service.

 

There are only two other build logs of the Seguin on MSW, and neither of them got very far. I hope to show some completed photos eventually.

 

What's in the Box

Instruction manual, flags, and nice gold-printed labels. There are lots of photos of cheap, souvenir models of the Seguin on line, but almost no nice photos of a completed model. The photo on the cover of the instruction manual is one of the best. The inside of the manual has been photocopied so many times that many of the photos are hard to make out. This really needs to be reprinted.

Two sets of (almost) full-size plans for details and framing. Note that the plans say "For identification only, images may not be actual size of lasered pieces." They are very close, but I always prefer to trust the plans over the laser-cut pieces.

Five sheets of laser-cut pieces, perfectly cut with minimal charring.

Nicely scored decking and paneling, miscellaneous wood stock, and (cherry?) cradles for a stand. The instructions say to take the large solid block and remove anything that is not a lifeboat. I may look for an alternative.

Laser cut pieces for the cabins.

Basswood and mahogany sticks, and dowels.

Cast prop and wheel, brass pieces, rigging thread, and poorly-cut model rocket body tubes for the stack. Oh no! There are some photo-etched eyelets in that bag!

My wife bought the optional paint set and cherry base. I usually rout my own base but this one is very nice.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by rvchima
FINISHED

[Cathead]

I remember seeing a finished version of this on display at BlueJacket when I visited in 2016. It caught my eye as a really attractive vessel and model. Great to see a build log of it here, BlueJacket often seems under-represented on MSW for the quality of their kits.

[gsdpic]

I'll follow along as well, as I have done several bluejacket kits.   Unless I am missing something, it looks to have a challengingly small number of frames/bulkheads.  And the other build logs you mention do not progress to planking.   Be interesting to see how you meet that challenge and any others that arise.

[hof00]

Hi Rod,

Nice change of pace for you.... 🙂

I'll follow along.

 

Cheers and Regards,

 

Harry.

Edited August 23, 2022 by hof00

[carlo_l]

It's gonna be an interesting adventure! Following this build 😃 

Cheers

Carlo

[mtdoramike]

Don't you hate it when builds are started and never seem to get finished, especially when the object of starting a build thread is to possibly help others building the same subject who might get stuck on something and need a visual aid to get them started again? Blue Jacket is top notch as far as kits go.

[rvchima]

Framing

Nice to see some new names. Thank you for following.

 

I actually started building in early August and have put in about 25 hours so far. The framing and rough planking are complete. I didn't take enough photos but here's what I have.

16 hours ago, gsdpic said:

Unless I am missing something, it looks to have a challengingly small number of frames/bulkheads.  And the other build logs you mention do not progress to planking.   Be interesting to see how you meet that challenge and any others that arise.

Yes, Gary, the model only has 5 frames, and one of them doesn't amount to much. The frames are built up out of laser-cut pieces and straight stock. They don't quite line up with the plans so you have to guess. The keel is built in 3 layers that leave a perfect rabbet for the garboards (first layer of planks.)

 

Assembling the keel, frames, and upper deck was really tricky. I cut a dado in a long board to hold the keel, then tack glued the frames in place. I glued the 4 subdeck pieces together, transferred the width between the frame uprights to the subdeck with dividers, and enlarged the notches to fit. I carefully put the subdeck in place and held it down with tape. Then I flipped everything over and glued the deck to the keel and frames from front to back with CA. Whew.

There are 2 heavy stringers for strength. Some of the pre-cut notches lined up, and some had to be enlarged. The joint at the bow took a lot of trial and error, mostly error.

The stern has 2 brass tubes for the rudder and prop. The rudder tube has a beam attached to the rear deck that is quite flimsy at first.

There is an interior tray for motor and servos. The plans show much larger pieces for the tray but it's not clear where they go. I am just building for display and won't use them anyway.

Bottom view of the frame.

Edited August 23, 2022 by rvchima

[yvesvidal]

Great model. I love that tug and the scale is perfect, too. I know you are going to do a masterpiece of it.

 

Yves

[rvchima]

Planking

Planking begins at the keel with the garboards. These are large, laser-cut pieces that didn't quite fit. The instructions say to score the aft parts of the garboards lengthwise on the inside to help them follow the compound curvature. I scored one, soaked it in water, and it promptly split when I tried to install it. That was patched later. The other side worked much better without the scoring.

Planking  continued down from the subdeck. I soaked the planks briefly in water, and glued them one frame at a time with medium CA and finger pressure. The gaps between the planks will require filler later. There is only one layer of planks, so no opportunity to fix this later.

 

Models of the Seguin on-line often show a beautiful varnished hull, but the planks would need to be varnished before assembly. The instructions say that the original color scheme was copper red below the waterline, and white above. That's what I plan to do.

 

"A little caulk and a little paint, make a carpenter what he ain't."

She looks pretty good after a lot of sanding, but still needs filler. The hull is flimsy with only one layer of planks. I coated the interior liberally with Titebond glue, but couldn't reach everything because of the sub-deck. It would be difficult to make this model watertight  for RC.

I had my doubts about planking the stern like this, but after sanding the shape looks fine.

The real deck needs to be fit before planking the bulwarks. I'll need to do some varnishing and painting before that. That means clearing out my spray booth, AKA garage, next.

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by rvchima

[Mirabell61]

nice lines..

 

Nils

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Rod, great job on the planking. I have the feeling that there’ll be a few more Seguin builds coming up after people see how you accomplished this. Very nice.

[hof00]

Hi Rod,

An awesome 1st Planking!!

I did wonder when I looked at the lack of Frames....🙂

After three layers it'll be pretty rigid!!

 

(What are the model dimensions?)

 

Cheers and Regards,

 

Harry.

 

 

[gsdpic]

Nicely done.  Looks like you met the planking challenges head on and got a wonderful result!

[mtdoramike]

In order to make it water tight for R/C use, you would have to fiberglass the hull and preferrably seal inside the hull as well.

[Prowler901]

NICE!  Looking forward to following along.

[Jim Lad]

You've made a very nice start there, Rod.

 

John

[rvchima]

Some Progress on the Hull

 

No, I haven't given up. We took a couple of long weekend trips and hosted a big block party, so between packing, driving, and yard work I haven't had much time to work on the Seguin. I have done a lot of filling and sanding on the hull, and just applied my first coat of primer. Then we'll see where the worst defects are.

I applied two coats of Famowood thick wood filler, and sanded most of it off. It's for major cracks and minor reshaping. Then I applied 2 coats of Aquacoat thin filer. It's really for filling open-grained wood but it gives a mirror smooth finish on basswood.

The hull looks pretty rough after the Famowood,

but much better after the Aquacoat. It's tempting to add some stain and leave it au naturale, but with the filler and CA residue, I am afraid that the finish would be blotchy.

I sanded the hull by hand with a thin foam sanding pad, and used my Proxxon oscillating sander for the details. Proxxon supplies some terrible sandpaper sheets with the sander, so I make my own with my favorite sandpaper and double-sided tape. I make long strips and just cut of a new piece when needed. I was having trouble sanding the tight curvature on the stern when it occurred to me to make tiny pads out of the foam. They work great! Why haven't I thought of that before?

 

While I was waiting for the filler to dry I stained the deck and some basswood strips for the gunwales. They go on after the hull is painted.

[hof00]

On 9/20/2022 at 9:08 AM, rvchima said:

Some Progress on the Hull

 

No, I haven't given up. We took a couple of long weekend trips and hosted a big block party, so between packing, driving, and yard work I haven't had much time to work on the Seguin. I have done a lot of filling and sanding on the hull, and just applied my first coat of primer. Then we'll see where the worst defects are.

I applied two coats of Famowood thick wood filler, and sanded most of it off. It's for major cracks and minor reshaping. Then I applied 2 coats of Aquacoat thin filer. It's really for filling open-grained wood but it gives a mirror smooth finish on basswood.

The hull looks pretty rough after the Famowood,

but much better after the Aquacoat. It's tempting to add some stain and leave it au naturale, but with the filler and CA residue, I am afraid that the finish would be blotchy.

I sanded the hull by hand with a thin foam sanding pad, and used my Proxxon oscillating sander for the details. Proxxon supplies some terrible sandpaper sheets with the sander, so I make my own with my favorite sandpaper and double-sided tape. I make long strips and just cut of a new piece when needed. I was having trouble sanding the tight curvature on the stern when it occurred to me to make tiny pads out of the foam. They work great! Why haven't I thought of that before?

 

While I was waiting for the filler to dry I stained the deck and some basswood strips for the gunwales. They go on after the hull is painted.

Hi Rod,

Nice "Foundation" work.

I have the same "Proxxon" device and cut my own Sanding pads also.

The foam idea is great!! (I'll file that one in the gray matter for later use!!  🙂)

 

Cheers and Regards,

 

Harry.

 

 

[rvchima]

I Digress...

We visited Kitty Hawk, NC over our Labor Day holiday earlier this month. Kitty Hawk is where the Wright Brothers made their powered flights in 1903. The sand dunes there are still a popular location for hang gliding, so my sons, their wives, and I took lessons and each made 5 flights. This is me on one of my recent flights,

and back in 1971 in a hang glider that I made. That's my wife below my right foot.

[rvchima]

Hull Painted, Garboards Built, 65 hours, 51 days

 

I put in about 20 hours since my last post, and the hull is looking quite nice.

I opened my spray booth, AKA garage,  primed the hull and painted the upper part white.

My wife bought the optional cherry baseboard from Bluejacket. It was nicely made, but it was not as wide as the laser-cut cradle pieces. I dadoed the base, trimmed the cradles to fit, and stained the base with Watco natural penetrating stain. Very pretty.

 

My wife also bought me the paint set from Bluejacket. It came with a 0.5 oz bottle of "anti-foul red" enamel that looked a lot like the paint on my Marie Felling tug. I still had half of a rattle can of that paint and used it on the bottom of the Seguin.  After painting I attached the deck, waterways,  bulwarks, about 80 vertical frameheads, and the stern planking.

 

The nearly-complete hull weighs 8.8 oz or 249 grams. I'll bet that if I filled it with helium ...

 

Next comes hand rails, side rails, and rub rails in natural mahogany. The side rails will cover the gap between the lower white and upper stained parts of the hull.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by rvchima

[hof00]

Hi Rod,

Your build loks very nice indeed!!

 

Cheers....HOF.

[yvesvidal]

6 hours ago, rvchima said:

 

You were like the Wright Bothers.....

 

Yves

[rvchima]

Hull Completed

All the mahogany rails are attached and stained. I also attached 6 coal scuttles to the deck.

The rudder is attached. I made an amateur error of gluing the hinges directly to the painted surfaces, and of course they peeled right off. I had to scrape the epoxy and paint off everything, reglue, and repaint. The white metal prop came with the kit. I painted it "brass" but I'm not happy with it, so I ordered a Raboesch prop from Cornwall Model Boats in the UK. While I was at it I ordered a lifeboat kit to replace the block of wood that came with the kit, and a wooden barrel.

I added a spring to keep the rudder centered,

and covered it with a great grate. I intended the grate to hide the joint in the deck but it came out misaligned. Oh well.

 

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up, Rod. She looks very nice, indeed.

 

John

[yvesvidal]

Superb work Rod, as always with you.

 

Yves

[MrBlueJacket]

On 9/27/2022 at 5:37 PM, rvchima said:

I added a spring to keep the rudder centered, and covered it with a great grate. I intended the grate to hide the joint in the deck but it came out misaligned. Oh well.

 

A coil of rope hides many errors.

 

Nic

[Mike Collier]

You’re doing a great job on the model. I like the way it looks!

[rvchima]

Cabin & Pilot House

The cabin and pilot house are made from 0.96 mm laser-cut ply skinned with 0.86 mm scored basswood decking. The doors and windows are laser-cut 0.5 mm ply with a lot of char to sand off. That always leaves a charcoal mess.

 

The cabin and pilot house fronts are framed with basswood, with the ply bent around wet and glued with CA. Easier than I expected. Last night I thought I stained everything, so of course today I found the pilot house on my other bench unstained.

The roofs will be painted light gray. Here they just have a coat of primer and need to be sanded. The instructions say that the companionway (stairs) is optional, but the roof already has a hole cut for one. So you are going to make a companionway.  There is no corresponding door cut on the starboard side, so I had to assemble the entire cabin with masking tape to see where the door should go. You can see it framed in on the left of the photo above. There is a rough sketch of the stairs in the plans but no dimensions or parts.

Here's what I came up with. Those are mighty steep steps. Again this just has primer and needs sanding. Maybe I'll add a brass rail after it's painted.

 

[rvchima]

Alternative Parts

Some of the parts supplied with the kit were not as nice as I'd like, so I bought alternatives from other vendors.

 

Lifeboat

Kit: Block of wood

Alt: Lifeboat kit by Mantua with a plastic hull and wooden inserts

 

Prop

Kit: White metal prop painted with brass paint

Alt: Real brass prop by Raboesch. Shape is not quite accurate but it looks good.

 

Barrel

Kit: White plastic barrel that's shaped more like a 55 gal. drum

Alt: Traditional wooden  barrel

 

Stanchions

Kit: Brass tube and bent pins

Alt: Turned brass stanchions by Krick

 

[yvesvidal]

A block of wood for the lifeboat....? They must be kidding !!

I like your alternative much better.

 

Yves