HMS Winchelsea by James G (Jim) - 1:48

[James G]

Greetings!
 

I’m showing up a bit late to the party but hope this build log will still be relevant. I’ve enviously watched everyone’s builds since the group project began and have been working to improve my own skills to the point where I’m ready to take the plunge. I think now the time is right. I’m not getting any younger and after 3 POB builds of various scales I’m thinking why not? I’m pretty new to model ship building as I’ve only been seriously doing projects since 2019. I have grown to love the hobby and the quality of the work members of this forum post daily never fails to awe and inspire me.

 

Ok, a few basics on my build. I’ll be doing my version in Cherry and will mainly be purchasing Chuck’s laser-cut mini kits. In fact, I’ve already purchased the kits offered through Chapter 5 to keep me busy for a while. I’ll be using birch ply for the bulkheads. I’m dreading the faring but wanted the added strength. I’ve purchased a scroll saw and already have a Jim Byrnes Table Saw. I plan on cutting my own planks.

 

My wife and I are visiting our daughter and grandkids in Cincinnati now. I’m wrapping up an electrical project I’ve been doing at my daughter’s house. We return to Michigan next week and I then plan on making some sawdust.

 

Thank you for looking and more importantly for all the wonderful sharing so many of you have done over the last several years.

 

Best,

Jim

[Thistle17]

Welcome to the party Jim. I believe you will find this project both challenging and rewarding. There are plenty of build logs here to guide you along. I have used a number quite extensively. The key will be to sort out which to follow as there are many good ideas across the board.

You have already recognized the ordeal you will have in fairing the plywood you have chosen. yet it can be done with patience and deliberation. I too took an alternate path in the skeletal framing that fundamentally came out well but did have some trip points along the way. I would be glad to share them with you via the off line messaging sytem herein if you wish.

Joe

[scrubbyj427]

Welcome aboard Jim! Looking forward to seeing your Winnie progress. 
JJ

[Matt D]

Welcome aboard the Winchelsea project, my fellow Michigander!  You’re definitely not too late to the party.  You will see that we have someone working in every chapter at this moment, which is pretty amazing if you ask me.  So there are many sources of good advice for you.  As Joe has already mentioned, birch plywood is potentially a problem.  Do you mean high quality Baltic Birch?  Or are you talking about the birch plywood that they sell at Lowes and Home Depot, which is only veneered in birch and is much softer inside?  The former is much more like hardened blue steel appropriate for the hull of a battleship.  Fairing it will be a really hard job.  The latter is just about perfect for this project.  My first hull attempt was with Baltic Birch.  My second was with Home Depot birch.  

[glbarlow]

Welcome to the project, I’m only on chapter 4, you may be late but there is still a party. I agree with others the plywood may be a challenge. The design includes plenty of bulkheads for strength whatever the material on one hand and on the other careful and thorough fairing is crucial to your success later in the build. 
 

At any rate I look forward to following your progress, as noted and as I frequently do myself there are excellent build logs to help you along in addition to the monograph. 

[Edwardkenway]

Welcome to the group Jim, this build is a great learning curve, just take things nice and slow.

I also built my very first wooden boat in  2019, with a couple others under my belt since then. You're in good company here with some good logs to check.

Good luck and happy building. 

[James G]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I truly appreciate it along with the offers of help and support. You already are keeping me out of trouble! Sounds like I need to steer clear of using birch plywood for the bulkheads. However, since I have the inventory, I’ll use birch on the bulkhead former. I’ll source a softer plywood for the bulkheads. Appreciate the feedback!

 

Best,

Jim

[Rustyj]

Welcome aboard Jim, it's never too late to start a great build like the Winnie. I like the others look forward to seeing your progress.

[James G]

Thank you Rusty! Along with the others, I appreciate your warm welcome. Also, I followed your tip on scroll saw blades. I ordered the type you recommended in your build log from SawBird. Waiting for them to arrive so I can start to make some sawdust. Finally, your Winnie looks fantastic! Hoping I can get close to what you’ve accomplished.

[James G]

Good morning! A rookie question for the veteran Winnie builders. Did you use lite ply or birch ply for your bulkheads and bulkhead formers? I have a supply of both and am wrestling with which ply type to use. I’m weighing the ease of faring with lite ply verses the strength and smoother cutting of birch ply. I would appreciate any feedback that you all have on the directions you went and why. Thank you!

 

Best,

Jim

[Chuck]

Lite ply always.  Just make sure it isnt warped.

[James G]

A quick update on my progress over the last several days. I’ve been busy cutting and shaping the bulkheads and also the bulkhead former. Following Chuck’s and others advice I did use lite ply for the bulkheads and birch ply for the bulkhead former. So glad I followed the advice! The lite ply sands easy while the birch feels like sanding steel. This will definitely make faring easier. 
 

Below is a shot of the first section of the bulkhead former dry fitted with the bulkheads. They’re still rough but it’s a start. Also a shot of the knee. Still requires final sanding and shaping. I do love the cherry!

 

Thanks for looking and especially for sharing your expertise!

 

Best,

Jim

[Chuck]

Nice start

[glbarlow]

The process has begun, nice work!

[James G]

Good morning! I wanted to pass along a quick update on my progress over the last three weeks. I’ve finally finished cutting and shaping all of the bulkheads and bulkhead former. Wow! This certainly does take some time so be prepared if you plan to go this route. I did it because I wanted to purchase a scroll saw. If that’s not important I would recommend buying the bulkheads and former from Chuck. My bulkheads are pretty accurate but starting with laser cut versions would have been much easier. If I were to do it again that is the path I would take. Lessons learned, right? However, I certainly am having fun!

 

Thanks for looking and to all the Winnie builders thanks for sharing your wonderful logs!

 

Jim

[Matt D]

It looks like you've done a fantastic job on your bulkheads.  I agree with you that buying Chuck's laser cut bulkheads would be much easier, but you can't beat the feeling of having done it yourself.  Plus, your next model might not have that as an option, so now you know that you can make your own.  My own had many errors that I didn't recognize until I was fairing the hull.  I had to fill a few voids and file a few humps.  From these photos, I think you're in great shape.

[jfhealey]

I'll second Matt's thoughts.

I cut my own bulkheads for Winnie and purchased the Syren set for Cheerful. Buying in gets you off to a flying start but I do (slightly) regret not cutting my own in line with Chuck's "introduction to scratch building" philosophy.

Good luck.

Fred

[James G]

Thank you Matt and Fred for your kind words and thoughts on fabricating vs using laser cut parts. I agree with you both. I do enjoy the challenge and personal satisfaction of fabricating my own parts and have done a fair amount of kit bashing on my previous builds. With the Winnie where I get a bit frustrated is I still lack the tools to achieve the precision that Chuck offers with his mini kits. I haven’t invested yet in equipment like a laser cutter or cnc machine and don’t know if I ever will. Being still relatively new to the ship modeling world I’m still trying to figure out how much I want to scratch vs kit build. I guess time will tell. In the meantime it’s a fun question to wrestle with on an amazing model like the Winne!

 

Best,

Jim

[Edwardkenway]

6 hours ago, James G said:

I’m still trying to figure out how much I want to scratch vs kit build. I guess time will tell. In the meantime it’s a fun question to wrestle with on an amazing model like the Winne!

And the added bonus is, if you don't like the look of your scratch parts, there is always the safety net of Chuck's amazing laser cut parts!!

 

Your bulkheads and former do look excellent,  at first glance I thought you'd gone and purchased the bulkhead package!

Very nice work😉

[James G]

I’ve been experimenting with finishes and bolt types today. I’m building the Winnie with cherry and below are test finishes with linseed oil sanding sealer and wipe on poly. The jury is still out but right now I’m leaning towards the linseed oil. I really like the rich color it offers!
 

As far as bolt types below are samples of black monofilament line and copper. Given the limited number on the model I’m leaning towards the black monofilament. If more were required I probably would prefer the copper which seems more subtle.

 

What do you all think? I would welcome your opinions. Thank you for looking!

 

Best,

Jim

[scrubbyj427]

The linseed oil brings out the most color but pics are deceiving. I used wop and was happy as well. 
Im kinda partial to copper as it will age nicely and look authentic. I used both though, mostly by mistake. Either route you take the cherry will look great just like Rusty’s build. 

[jfhealey]

I just used sanding sealer and rubbed it down with fine wire wool. Its a very forgiving finish requiring no application skill whatsoever.

 

Best wishes

Fred

[glbarlow]

I use WOP and monofilament, as you can tell its just personal choice. I think one thing to avoid is a glossy sheen - satin and matte are typically better.

 

There's a lot to cover between hull and deck, so whatever you use should be easy and consistent to apply.

Edited February 16, 2023 by glbarlow

[James G]

@scrubbyj427, @jfhealey and @glbarlow thank you all for your feedback. Very helpful! Agree, a lot certainly does boil down to personal preference. I didn’t realize that the copper on model ships would patina over time. I like that! We restored a Victorian Queen Ann historical home we owned outside Cincinnati that was built in 1887. We renovated the gutter system and installed new copper downspouts. It was interesting to see how over just a few years they went from shiny copper to a greenish hue over a relatively short period of time. I’ll have to give the copper treenails a second look. Thanks again.

 

Best,

Jim

[FrankWouts]

Welcome to HMS Winchelsea Jim,

I always have the deepest respect for people that saw their own bulkheads.

You've done a beautiful and very exact job on them!

I can also notice you maintain a very tidy way of working.

So your build log will be worth following I'm sure!

Frank.

[James G]

Thank you for your kind words @FrankWouts! I’ve been enjoying walking through your build log of the Winnie. You are doing a truly masterful job. I’m especially impressed with how meticulous you are on your planking. Will certainly be referring to your log as I progress. Appreciate you checking in along the way!

 

Best,

Jim

[James G]

Greetings! An update on my progress. After cutting and shaping my bulkheads and bulkhead former I was getting ready to begin gluing in the bulkheads. However, when I put my bulkhead former on the blueprint after gluing the three sections together I noticed it was about 3/8” too long overall. Also, the positions of the slots that the bulkheads slide into were off by as much as 1/8” in many instances. It seems I had creeping sizing issues that became amplified when the three bulkhead former parts were joined. I’ve had this happen in the past and have tried compensate during subsequent steps and that just doesn’t work. I end up chasing the error the rest of the build which is miserable. So I cut out and shaped a second bulkhead former that exactly matches the blueprint. Version 2 is on the bottom in the attached picture. The one on top is version 1. The new one is spot on and will allow the bulkheads to be positioned correctly to Chuck’s plans. Thank you for looking, likes and comments!

 

Jim

[scrubbyj427]

Definitely the right move. Winchelsea is not a model you want to mess around with, chasing errors made early on later in the build will haunt you.

[James G]

Yes, @scrubbyj427. I’ve definitely gotten that message from you veterans on this build. Keeping everything tight along the way appears to make the journey much more enjoyable. Thank you for your feedback.

[westwood]

Hi Jim,
I'm building a cherry version too.
I would also like a wax or Tung oil finish. It really is not only a beautiful finish but I like the smell of it too.
But from a practical aspect, I finally used the classic WOP.
I was thinking that it would be difficult to glue other parts to an oiled surface.
I just applied the first coat yesterday and it looks nice. After application, the color of the wood became quite rich.
One or two more coats and then I'll take pics.

Also, it depends what version of cherry wood you use.
My laser cut parts from Chuck are darker colored and for planking I used a lighter cherry .
You'll see it better when you make a few planks to use for the planking.
But I'm  just a beginner at this...