18th Century Longboat by Steven Brand - Model Shipways - 1:64 - Bashed

[Steven Brand]

Hello everyone and welcome to my build.

 

This is the place for some background and statement of build objectives.

 

As background, I started my first wood model ship 36 years ago (unfortunately unfinished due to a foreign job relocation) and only recently recently finishing an Occre Calella, previously an Occre Buenos Aires tram plus an unfinished Occre cross section.

 

This has been, now close to retirement, the time to start a hobby and ship building was a no thought proposition for me. After all in my youth I was a Sea Scout, built a small sailing boat (from a Popular Mechanics plan set),  went to Antarctica in a wooden motor/sail vessel (R/V Hero).

 

Very early I purchased Occre’s Endurance to begin a stash of future builds (affection that seems quite common among modelers 

). Then an incredible sale from Model Expo tempted me to buy the Longboat and decided to build it prior to the Endurance, as practice.

 

[Steven Brand]

Of course some time elapsed till it was time to start the Longboat build, by then I had voraciously read many build logs and decided that I wanted to personalize the build by substituting the kit wood by Alaskan Yellow Cedar one.

 

Model Expo was unenthusiastic about burning for a fee the kit in the new wood, so cutting them by myself with a jeweler saw was going to be the way to go. Ordered the wood from Modelers Sawmill (what a nice smell fresh cut wood has).

 

Now that it was the time to start the project. It was beginning very confusingly for a metric person (that refuses to learn the “alphabet” of inch fractions, an ancient Roman measurement derived from the width of a thumb) I do not know why but  I noticed that if the Inch fractions converted to mm and 25% added gave an almost close even mm measurement.

 

So the plan changed, I would have to build a 25% bigger model.

 

This was not the original plan when buying the wood but when I start sawing the planks I can use mm and make do with what I had and some more to come.

 

These are the pictures from try setting the cut offs to the first one.

[Steven Brand]

Then as I was happily starting this project a doorbell announced the arrival of a box that I had not read about it’s arrival.

 

What a beauty !!!

[Steven Brand]

Back to the model, with the new sander and manual sanding gave it the final shape. The chisel is the perfect size.

 

A pity it cracked when sanding it with the file (and have to redo) but the proof of concept is there.

 

I hope that this project does not exceed my grasp.

 

Also I am aware that alignment and fairing will be difficult but doable.

 

It will take while till I finish the cutting of all the pieces and will be able to continue to posting, I really want to see the green “Finished’.

 

(Worst comes to worst I can still give the kit’s model a chance)

 

 

 

 

[Tigersteve]

I look forward to your build in AYC. A great reference log for this kit is by Bob F. 
Steve

 

 

[Steven Brand]

Thank you for pointing out this build.

There is a real trove of information within all these Longboat build logs

[Steven Brand]

 

 

Being a slow builder and thinking that it would be a chore to cut the parts I found it was very enjoyable and rewarding.

 

Finished the rough sanding now to the slow finishing sanding.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Steven Brand

[Steven Brand]

I am aware that my bulkhead’s interior “rough” sawing will call for a lot of sanding when assembled, what really worries me is the fairing.
 

[Steven Brand]

Finally the French curves I had purchased awhile ago came in handy to transport bearding line to the other side.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Steven Brand

[Steven Brand]

Although not pictured the bulkheads have bee sanded down to size.

 

Built a support jig for the project.

[Steven Brand]

Unfortunately the sawing of the keel has parallax problems that may be beyond correction and although I have resisted buying a scroll saw due to space considerations, I may need to reconsider that decision.

 

Now a one month interlude, going to Washington D.C to see my grandchildren and also fit in a visit to the US Navy Museum at Annapolis.

 

 

[Steven Brand]

Back to the ship yard.

 

A lot of sanding to correct this:

 

[Steven Brand]

Slowly, after dry fitting them, starting to glue the bulkheads.

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Steven Brand