Albatros by Papa Duke - OcCre - 1:100

[Papa Duke]

 1. Opening, material check ,cut out the hull piece's and dry fitted. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Papa Duke

[AndrewHenwood]

Hello Papa D,

I am building exactly the same model, and am only a little way ahead of you.  Moving slowly too, so I expect you will catch up and pass me soon.  This is my first model since 1964, when I built Cutty Sark from a plastic kit. I look forward to following you.

Andrew

[Papa Duke]

3 hours ago, AndrewHenwood said:

Hello Papa D,

I am building exactly the same model, and am only a little way ahead of you.  Moving slowly too, so I expect you will catch up and pass me soon.  This is my first model since 1964, when I built Cutty Sark from a plastic kit. I look forward to following you.

Andrew

Nice. Maybe we can team up solve issues and share tips and such. 

[Papa Duke]

2. Made myself a homemade vise to work with. Scarp hardwood and a couple bucks for screws. Works well for me. Got all the hull squared up and glued down. Very impressed with the quality of Occre material's 

[Papa Duke]

3. Needed a better workplace , forgot had nice wood bench collecting dust . Some progress over last few weeks , deck and hull all finished up. Started the planking process which honestly is so much easier for this scale of ship the the small Entry longboats I did prior. Lol few minor mistakes made but as I have learned as carpenter all these years wood can be fixed. One in particular is the stern it did split on me as I shaped it. Left soak for an HR in water. Just think I let it dry to much before I accidentally started the bend . But have a plan to fix. Few pics to follow ans always any tips or input is always welcome. 

[allanyed]

Thanks for the photos Duke!

The photo of the stern brings up an interesting point, at least to me.   Did ships ever have vertical planking at the stern like on the model rather than horizontal planking?  If they did, what did the stern timber framing look like that supported them?  Vertical planking looks like it would be far easier to do than forming and installing the curved horizontal planks.

Allan

[Papa Duke]

Honestly unsure , but from my knowledge vertical or many boards would mean more joints to seal therefore more spots for possible water leaks. 

[Papa Duke]

4. Well got the first run of planking finished. And all faired down only took well a lot of sanding lol. But for my first real ship think did well. Didn't clamp and set the planks flat enough so some kicked up to the side long ways. But a long file and some 60 grit sand block fixed that. The bow and stern were my weakness. As you can tell from the pics.I learned a lot so all is good. Little bit more fine sanding to do left I want the second planking to sit nice and flat. 

[RossR]

Looks like you have a great base for the second layer.  I just finished the second layer on my Frigate Diana.  I had a little trouble with some of the sapelli splitting when I trimmed it at the bow and stern. Be sure to have a sharp blade in your knife.

[Papa Duke]

1 hour ago, RossR said:

Looks like you have a great base for the second layer.  I just finished the second layer on my Frigate Diana.  I had a little trouble with some of the sapelli splitting when I trimmed it at the bow and stern. Be sure to have a sharp blade in your knife.

Thanks I've heard that about the sapelli. Hopefully I'll be starting the second ok layer this weekend.

[Sergey Karelia]

a good start! but these creases need to be fixed now. the finishing covering will not hide them.

[Sergey Karelia]

I'll add it. then you will not be able to install the gunwale and the waterways

[goatfarmer11]

It looks like things are coming along nicely Papa Duke.   I'll pull up a chair and follow along.

[Papa Duke]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:44 AM, Sergey Karelia said:

a good start! but these creases need to be fixed now. the finishing covering will not hide them.

Thanks didn't notice that , should have waited on some pics , I've done a lot more to the hull. Since I posted. Fixed the gap in the bow, filed down more on the hull so the planks are smooth and uniform both sides. I'll test the coverings on the sides to get the right coverage. And ty, I'm addicted to this. Oh and how do u recommend fixing the crease. What technique would you use.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Papa Duke

[Papa Duke]

5. Lots of progress and lots of mistakes. But learned so much in the process. Need to use a chamfering for the planks and the thin sapelli planks are easy to form but chip and split even easier. But I'm really satisfied with what I've accomplished. Had to spend some long times fixing mistakes but again as my first real build I'm learning. Couple months in about got the hull , bulwarks, planks and some trim on. But more real light sanding and then staining.i know the bulwark look like they have a sharper edge rather then a nice bend. I soaked them and formed a better with some scrap bracing. And formed a smoother bend . Test fitted the top rails on a few times and once I set em on they look good and no sharp bend showing.

[Papa Duke]

6. Been a bit since my last post. And by the pics come along way. Well not much really,lots of paint,stain etc. Almost have all the deck fixtures done. Still working on a few of them cannons etc. Absolutely loving this. Now my work not as good as you pro's but I'm really satisfied with how it's turning out. Had difficulty drilling the holes in such small pieces. Some are off center but I'm enjoying the learning process as well. Still need to do a good varnish before I place the fixtures on the deck. But still few days away from that or more . Never realized how bad my old mans eye site was. But good light and good reading glasses helps.

[Papa Duke]

7. Still working progress, need to get the back of threading small thread threw small drill holes and such. Been dabbing the end of the thread in ca glue then trimming a point been working for me . And good tweezers I found out. But just a bit more to the decking , guns and some small paint and stain touch ups . But I'm no where close to the skill level and detail that I've seen on here but I couldn't be happier with my progress. Being retired I needed something to occupy my time and money LOL . Not sure how most newbies to this hobby fair or even finish their ships. But this old guy is loving it. I'm looking but holding back on my next purchase. But plz comment tips and issues learning more every day.

[Sergey Karelia]

you have a good build for the first job!

of course there are minuses, the main thing is not to lose motivation and finish the model. and then you will build the next ship

[Papa Duke]

On 6/9/2023 at 2:17 AM, Sergey Karelia said:

you have a good build for the first job!

of course there are minuses, the main thing is not to lose motivation and finish the model. and then you will build the next ship

I haven't, got a lot done since that last post I need to update it. But ty

[Papa Duke]

8. Now seems I'm into the slow portion, masts and rigging. Lol bowsprit almost done haven't permanent fixed it yet , have finished the formast and parts . My thread work sucks but I'm learning it and getting better ever time. It is in no way perfect as such I've seen but still loving this . Haven't had as much time to work this past month or so but I'm in no hurry. Going to start main mast and onto ratlines next. Need to stain and mount the masts before. Just doing as much research on this before hand. Almost debating leaving off the sails at the end. With so many I've seen they seem to cover up so much of the details and work you've done. But then again I need to learn how to attach them. Well going to relax , watch build videos and read up by my pool for the day. Enjoy my fellow builders. 

[Papa Duke]

Oh and for some unknown reason I spend a lot of spare time looking into which build I'm going do next. Dang hobbies. Lol 

[Scuttlebutt]

This looks really nice! I am newbie here and to Wooden Ship modeling as well. I have this ship on my radar for my first build 🙂. Would you say that this is a good ship for a beginner?

 

Do you plan on doing the rigging and sails as well?

 

Cheers!

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Scuttlebutt

[Papa Duke]

Its a good kit , definitely worth it. As for ur first build well that's up for debate. This gives u a bit of everything from double hull planking, ratlines , etc. Do alot of reading, all the YouTube videos u can handle. I did a small simple plank on kit , like 20 bucks on Amazon first just to get my feet wet. But long as u have patience, read videos and ask questions before u start or move to the next step . You'll be fine . This is my first major kit . Lots of mistakes but almost all can be fixed . It is a wood kit. But hope this helps. If you do this same kit as me I'd be glad to help whenever u need. Oh going to do the rigging, unsure about the sails. Kinda like the sailless finish product.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Papa Duke

[Scuttlebutt]

@Papa Duke thanks for your reply and feedback. I  might just hit you up when i need assistance. So far i have completed gluing the bulkhead frames to the false keel. This went rather well. I need to buy some contact cement tonight to begin working on the deck. I plan to upload some pictures in my build soon. i will share the link, so you can maybe give me some tips. Would love to have them.

[allanyed]

1 hour ago, Scuttlebutt said:

I need to buy some contact cement

Why not use any of a number of great wood glues?  There has been a good bit of discussion here at MSW in recent weeks on the virtues of various glues, but contact cement does not seem to have any advantages for ship modeling, even if it is suggested by at least one kit manufacturer.  Of course it is your choice in the end, but consider reading the many posts about the plusses and minuses of various glues before getting "stuck" with one that does not work for you.

Allan

[Scuttlebutt]

@allanyedThanks for the tip 👍. I will have a look into this. Just stumbled across a thread i am currently reading through!

 

Thanks again!

 

 

[Papa Duke]

On 7/26/2023 at 7:57 AM, Scuttlebutt said:

@Papa Duke thanks for your reply and feedback. I  might just hit you up when i need assistance. So far i have completed gluing the bulkhead frames to the false keel. This went rather well. I need to buy some contact cement tonight to begin working on the deck. I plan to upload some pictures in my build soon. i will share the link, so you can maybe give me some tips. Would love to have them.

Anytime, don't check constantly here but I do ever few days so give me time to reply . But like everyone here on this site I'll help anyway I can

[Papa Duke]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:01 AM, allanyed said:

Why not use any of a number of great wood glues?  There has been a good bit of discussion here at MSW in recent weeks on the virtues of various glues, but contact cement does not seem to have any advantages for ship modeling, even if it is suggested by at least one kit manufacturer.  Of course it is your choice in the end, but consider reading the many posts about the plusses and minuses of various glues before getting "stuck" with one that does not work for you.

Allan

Agree white glue for deck boards and such in my opinion, learned from mistakes contact glue doesn't give enough time to get wood placed right if u don't have it perfect the first time. Used white gorilla glue for about everything now except for , very small pieces eyes , rigging and such. But like said in most discussion everyone has their preference