USF Confederacy by Augie & Moonbug - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[Bill Hime]

I really like the color. Has an old world opaque and denseness to it without being sloppy and thick. Many colonial and pre-colonial colors were chosen because they were repeatable and durable.

 

 

Bill

[augie]

Thanks Bill.  Think I heard somewhere that the red was there to hide any blood that might be spilled during the fray.  Kind of like the red coats worn by the British (and Romans for that matter).  Probably just a romantic interpretation.  But it does beg the question ....... fresh or dried ?????

[augie]

Kind of like all the barns in the same area using the same red 150 years ago. 

[JPett]

Ahoy Augie

 

Interesting point. I wonder if the red used for ships was indeed that same barnyard red.

[Bill Hime]

Ah paint, hmm.. You know one has a good life when he has time to contemplate paint. I have no choice now but to look further into this !

 

Augie, in the beginning of this build log you mentioned there would be no ebony used in this build. That prompted me to do some searching on the situation surrounding ebony. I see that there are issues of over harvest and/or wasteful harvesting practices. I also see that there are some who are trying to improve this situation. 

What are your concerns or thoughts on this? I know this is more suitable for the "woods" area, but I was more interested in your take on this for your build.

 

 

Bill

[augie]

Bill-

 

My comment on ebony was in reference to the floor for the Great Cabin.  It's the black and white motif done in tile-like squares that was common for the period.  I have no ax to grind with ebony (no pun intended) sources of supply or harvesting practices.  It's just my understanding that it is difficult to work with and that some find the sanding dust to be quite irritating.  I don't need either so I'll use a different method to create the floor.

[Bill Hime]

Oh, good! I was wanting to incorporate ebony as the black portion of the hull possibly. Didn't want to use it if it was frowned upon by the modeling community.

 

Bill

[popeye the sailor]

I had great luck with painting 4 x 4 x .5 mm  tiles I made.  much better in your case,  with just black and white.........think of the dance floor I did in multi colors.  believe me Augie.......it's a lot of fun 

 

Ebony is a great choice Bill........but take great care in working with it.   dust particulates can really cause a lot of problems health wise.   there are methods where shoe black can be used to simulate it,  if you chose to do so.

Edited November 2, 2013 by popeye the sailor

[patrickmil]

Hey Augie, I really like the red color you have painted your gun ports in. I have found the minwax ebony stain to be great in getting the black color you are looking for with the tiled floor.

[mtaylor]

Catching up... again.  Great updates, Augie.   Ok.. so don't plank it.  Then if your Admiral is like mine, you be asked "aren't you going to finish that thing?". 

[augie]

Time to get started planking.  We are 150 hours into the build.

 

The stern lower counter is a good place to begin.  It has a rather significant curve throughout so I thought it would be best to edge bend the planks prior to installation.  Toward that end I made a simple bending jig from a piece of 1/4" hardwood by cutting a curve to match the plans.  Planks were soaked for about 15 minutes and put in the jib to dry overnight.  As the planks are 1/8 x 1/16 basswood, four planks could be done at a time:

 

 

Eleven planks were installed, notching those that form the outline of the 4 gun ports.  These ports are two different sizes and will receive hinges and rings down the road.  After planking, the counter was sanded smooth and given a coat of Minwax pre-stain then one coat of stain consisting of 30% Minwax Golden Oak diluted with 70% Minwax natural:

 

 

The overall result is not bad and gets me back into planking mode.  To complete the counter I need to apply some wipe on poly.  I considered treenailing the counter but have decided not to do so at this point.  I'll revisit that after I complete the planking of the hull above the wales.  Once that's done I'll also decide on the adequacy of the color --- I want all the planking above the wales to be darker than the lower planking.

 

Now we get to the real work.  I'm glad winter is just about here.

 

 

[Jaxboat]

 Nice jig for the counter planking curve, Augie  . Ben's log and warnings kept me from doing it wrong (thank you, Ben!  ) but yours is an elegant and simple  solution on how to ensure the curve is exactly correct. Thanks for the tip.  Your build looks great. Now you can look forward to planking about an acre of hull. I am almost through completing all of the wales planking. Ben told me it was lots of fun but I think he may have been exagerating :P    . And I haven't even begun spiling the lower hull  !!!

Best

Jax

Edited November 4, 2013 by Jaxboat

[realworkingsailor]

Very nice Augie

 

Let the plinking begin in earnest.

 

I mentioned it to Ben a while ago, but Polyscale has a whole range of acryic washes (if you can still find them) one of which is a "basswood" colour. It might be something to consider below the wales to mute some of the differences in tone on the various strips.... should the need arise.

 

Just a thought

 

 

Andy

[patrickmil]

That counter planking is looking very nice!

[Jim Lad]

Planks, planks!  Now we're getting somewhere!

 

John

[Trussben]

Well done Augie, looks like you achieved the curve needed, any chance of a pic the right way up and further away?

 

Ben

[augie]

Thanks everyone. 

 

SJORS -  don't need a pillow.  Took care of that problem 30 years ago   .  May need earmuffs though  

 

JAX-  Stay patient.  This is where I usually start screwing up.

 

BEN-  We aim to please:

 

 

I'll be trimming off those port and starboard ends as soon as I figure out where the hull planking falls ---- it overlaps the ends of the counter planking.

 

 

[Chuck]

Looks good. Make sure you sand the tops of the sills for the stern windows level. They shouldn't slope down or up....flat and level. Otherwise the model is looking really good. Wonderful work. Try not to rush through the planking. I know that is going to be tough because mid way through...you will want it to be done. Two-thirds done and you will starting mumbling all sorts of things.

[kiwiron]

Great start Augie,she looks real good,page 47 already.

[augie]

Thank you for both the kind words and advise Chuck.  I'll get those window sills level.  And yes, I'll try and be patient on the planking as you are exactly right.  She looks about as big as the floor in Madison Square Garden right now.  I'm really hoping that spiling guide you were nice enough to supply gets me through the lower hull.  But that's a long way off.

[ChrisLBren]

Hey Augie,

 

Looking good - from the photo - the stern windows look off - I could be wrong - but if you plan on using kit supplied lights - you may have issues.  

 

If its any encouragement - I really enjoyed planking my Confederacy - and had no issues using a jig to bend a hard wood and did not have to spill planks.  In fact i think the amount of drop planks and stealers I used was identical to Chucks which i followed exactly.   I did take my time - my only suggestion vs Chucks method - I built up the two layers of the wales along with the black strake first (since I was dying them black) before advancing further with hull planking - that way I avoided masking - other than at the stem.  

 

Have fun,

Chris

Edited November 4, 2013 by ChrisLBren

[augie]

GREAT SCOTT ! 

 

OK, ok.  But I'll have you know that getting this angle threw my titanium back out of alignment.  Strong memo to follow

 

[augie]

Thanks for checking in Chris.  I had checked the windows against the transom and they looked ok but I'll take another look.

[Chuck]

Now that I see it at that angle...its still tough to be sure.  But eaxamine the curve of that lower counter as it should mimic the bottom of the transom.  The upper counter should be a consistant width when done.  One thing I notice is that most folks dont create enough of a curve on the top of the lower counter.   It should be curved as such to make the upper counter consistent in height.  One way to check this is to place a copy of the transom from the plans....with all the carvings etc.   Attach it to the stern frames so you can better see that curve at the top edge of what will become the upper counter.

 

This will than leave an area between the lower counter and the transom for you to examine.  It should be the same height and have a consistent curve to it to match that template.

 

Hope that makes sense.  I placed some green lines on your image to show the curve I think it should look like.

 

Chuck

 

[texxn5]

Wow, that's cool Chuck. What do ya think Augie????

[Trussben]

You got there before me Chuck!

 

The angle looks a little shallow, just like what I ended up with, Augie - photocopy the rear transom plan and hold it over your counter, the lower fancy molding below the confederacy name is the curve you are looking for.

As for the ends of the planks where the hull planking meets it, look back through my log and you will see many pics about that.

 

Photo from directly astern looking from below up at the counter to be sure.

 

Ben

[popeye the sailor]

great start on the planking Augie.  I'm sure you'll be able to square away the small counter problem.........you've done very well so far 

[augie]

Thanks for all the interest and advice.  This is just a great place.

 

OK........  First checked the laser cut transom against the stern light framing.  The openings look to be the right height.  Chuck had a sharp eye though as the lower frames needed to be leveled just a tad.

 

Then checked the cutout of the stern lights against the frames.  Very, very close.  The actual window frames fit ---- may need a last minute tweak .  I'll hold on that for now but wont forget.

 

Ben - I'm all out of film for today

[mtaylor]

Excellent start on the planking, Augie.  Will she be treenailed?  Enquiring minds and all that....

[SkerryAmp]

Augie,  wonderful job on the planking so far - VERY neat and tidy and looks just fantastic!!