HMS Sphinx by KurtH - Vanguard Models - 1/64 - First POB Model

[HardeeHarHar]

Nicely done!

[KurtH]

Thank you Brian!  I look forward to seeing your next post.

[ERS Rich]

14 hours ago, KurtH said:

This procedure will seriously compromise those engraved details

Try oil based stain as a sealer.  Absorbed by the wood fibers but will not fill the grain - unless it’s left to dry.  Doesn’t raise the grain.  Takes acrylic paint well.

 

Thanks

[KurtH]

Thanks for the advice.  That makes a lot of sense.  Unfortunately I am limited to water based products, as I do not have adequate ventilation facilities to use oil or solvent based products.

[KurtH]

The stern cabin bulkhead pattern and the stern cabin seat pattern are removed from their sheet, varnished, then glued into place:

 

1. The forecastle bulwark bulkhead patterns removed  from their sheet.

2. Parts #16 are glued into notches in the bow curve pattern.

3. Parts #37 are glued into place.

4. Part #17 glued into place.

 

Thinking ahead, I tried fitting the dowel which will be the bowsprit stub into the slot before adding all those little delicate parts.  The dowel was a bit too big, so I widened the slot slightly to accommodate it.  I dry fit the bowsprit step and fettled a bit until the dowel fit nicely.  I figured that doing this now would be easier then doing it when the time came.

 

 

Edited February 10 by KurtH

[KurtH]

The next step is to remove the gates which strengthened the bulkhead ears because they are no longer needed, and because they will obstruct installation of the upper hull side patterns.

Here is a before and an after pic:

Time to construct and fit the jigs which will keep the bulwarks properly aligned as work on the upper hull planking details progresses.

This composite photo shows the component pieces of the forecastle jig unit, and how the assembled structure looks when slotted into position. 

 

As you can see, the parts are all engraved with letters which guide you when assembling the unit. This parts fit together easily and precisely. but, as I was dry fitting the beams into the side pieces (#30) to check the fit, the port unit gave way at the "U" notch.  It seems that these pieces are vulnerable at that point, so caution is needed there.  I glued the joint back together with PVA, and reinforced it with one of the extra keys provided in the kit.

 

The jig beams at the waist have notches which fit over tabs in the longitudinal gun port frames.  The numbers engraved on the beams match the bulkhead numbers.  The J stands for jig.  Again, the fit is precise.

The jig beams at the quarter deck are secured to the bulkhead ears with the afore mentioned ply keys.  A number of extras are thoughtfully provided in the kit.  I glued these into the beams to keep them from getting lost when the jigs are not in use.  I was, of course, very careful not to let any glue get to the tongue which engages the bulkhead ears.  The glue was allowed to set and dry with these tongues partially inserted into the ear slots to ensure exact alignment.  It works.  I checked.  The numbers engraved on the beams match the numbers on the bulkheads the ears to which these beams attach.

 

Here is the current state of play:

No deck planking detail is visible in the photo but, as I have previously demonstrated, it is there.  Like the Nazca Lines of Peru, these details look a lot better when viewed from above.  

Now to begin fairing the hull.  I have no experience at this, so I intend to proceed slowly and carefully.  It may be some time before I post again.

 

Edited February 16 by KurtH

[cdrusn89]

Kurt - I have started building Sphinx (my first vanguard kit) but started on the ship's boats. I did not want to get to the end and then have to build the boats to finish. I followed a similar strategy on Confederacy and Winchelsea (although the ship's boat was not part of the original Winchelsea "kit"). Perhaps I am just to set in my ways.

 

I will let you "lead the way" going forward.

Edited February 19 by cdrusn89

[KurtH]

Gary - I have seen  several other builds in which the boats were done first (I forget which).   In most other boat builds, the frames serve as the ribs of the boat, and you break out a center piece.  In the Sphinx boats the whole piece except the bottom comes out and ribs are added subsequently.  I am guessing that you glue the planks to the stem and stern post and to each other edge to edge, avoiding gluing them to the frames.  Am I right?  Your boats look really good!  I can only aspire to do as well.

Edited February 20 by KurtH

[cdrusn89]

Kurt - you are correct, glue the planks together edgewise and not to the frames. That presents something of a challenge in trying to get the planks to conform to the shape of the frames without attaching them. I suggest you invest in a bunch of rubber bands and some scrap sanding sticks to use as leverage to put pressure on. the planks while the glue (I used slightly diluted PVA) dries. I say sanding sticks because the sandpaper helps grip the planks. Otherwise the leverage sticks tend to slide in whatever direction the rubber bands pull them which, as luck would have it, is usually in an undesirable direction.

[cdrusn89]

Hey Kurt - I am about to slot the lower deck onto the hull (Step 36). Once the deck is down and the glue has dried is there a reason why putting a coat of Wipe-on-Poly would be a bad idea? I know it will be Well Nye impossible to actually see the deck but I did take all the char off the surface and probably can't help myself hitting with the WoP.

Edited February 29 by cdrusn89

[KurtH]

Hi Gary.  I varnished that deck with the recommended Vallejo Matt Acrylic Varnish to protect it.  The fact that little of it will be seen was an advantage for me, as I am inexperienced when it comes to finishing, and I wanted to see what the result would be.  I do not see why WOP would not do as well if not better, but what do I know?  Fortunately there are many modelers who are expert finishers who would be glad to give you good advice.

Edited March 1 by KurtH

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Kurt - I have WoPed decks before so am familiar with what it looks like on Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC), Boxwood and basswood but not on what ever this deck is made from. Looks pretty close to the AYC.

 

Now that the gun port frames are providing some protection I will take a pass at some WoP before I install the coamings, which I will also probably WoP, out of habit.

[KurtH]

This is my idea of the fairing of the hull.  It is my first attempt, so I will not know for sure how well I did until planking commences.  Based on what I could determine using card stock strips, I should be OK, but we'll see.  The advantage that I see of a plank on bulkhead arrangement as apposed to a solid hull kit is that accuracy of the hull shape is assured as long as the shape of the bulkheads is not altered.  To begin with, I sanded the components making up the bulwarks flush with the bulkhead ears.  To avoid taking off too much material below the deck level, I left a thin line of char on the aft edge of the forward bulkheads and on the forward edge of the aft bulkheads.  This may reduce the bearing surface somewhat when the planks are glued in place, but I think it should still be sufficient given how strong the bonds have proven to be using PVA on MDF and pear.  I used my own technique for getting the angles right on each part of each bulkhead, which I am reluctant to describe until I am sure that it worked.  It is time consuming, and I am sure that experienced modelers could do just as well much faster.  I just did not trust myself to get it right doing it quickly.  The process did not take three weeks however.  There were other delaying factors which I need not go into.  At any rate, here are shots of what I have done: 

 

[ERS Rich]

10 minutes ago, KurtH said:

This is my idea of the fairing of the hull

Hi Kurt, it looks like you’re on the right track.  Looking forward to the plank installation.

 

-Rich

[KurtH]

Thanks Rich!  Good to have your assurance!

[Ronald-V]

Yeah you can always take it a bit further when laying the first foundation of planks. The flow of the planks will reveal the spots that aren't faired enough. Especially the bow and stern were for me a point that I needed to correct. But like I said...that isn't to difficult to do it then.

[ERS Rich]

Hi Kurt,

 

A couple of things if I may.

 

Following up on our conversation about finishing.  Understand avoiding oil based products and sticking to acrylics.  Shellac is another alternative.  It’s alcohol based, so the alcohol evaporates quickly, but there are fumes to manage, though they can dissipate quickly when applied in small amounts with a brush.  I use rattle can shellac on hulls, applied outside.

 

Regarding planking.  My results improved after understanding the concepts of belts and plank width/tapering.   “Planking the Built Up Ship Model” by Jim Roberts is a big help, sold by Model Shipways.  And I invested in a pair of proportional dividers - my Constitution Hull build log, link below shows how I used them.  And plenty of info about this on MSW.

 

Thanks, have a good day,

 

-Rich

[KurtH]

Thanks Rich!  I appreciate the info.  I also have a couple of books on the subject - one by Donald Dressel, and one by Kieth Julier.  An alternative to measuring and dividing is described by Chris Watton and James Hatch in the instruction book.  It is good to have a variety of techniques available to consider.  I will take my time and think carefully before I proceed.  As there are two layers of planking, I can try one way on the first one, and, if that does not produce a good result, I can try another way on the second.

[KurtH]

The inner bulwark gun port openings have now been trimmed to match the MDF framing:

This took longer than I expected, but that's ok.  I am not trying to set any speed records here.  It seems to me that now would be a good time to ream out the holes for the gun tackle eyebolts.

[KurtH]

The next step is to install the ply upper hull side patterns:

1.  Upper hull side patterns

2. Upper hull side patterns after having been soaked in hot water for 90 minutes and clamped to the hull.

 

Upper hull side patterns installed:

Next comes the first hull planking.  I did hull planking down to the waterline in my BJ Connie build, but this will be my first foray into planking below the waterline.  There are many methods and philosophies as to how this should be done, but I am inclined to go with what is described in the manual.  I would like to proceed as if this were the final planking to get the practice of exacting tapering and bending so that when I actually do the second layer, I will have learned some lessons and will be in a position to do my best.  I anticipate using filler to fill in dips and hollows but not the small gaps between strakes, as the final layer will hide these.

 

[Ronald-V]

The side patterns look great...nice and tidy, starting to look like a ship!  

[KurtH]

Thanks mugje for the compliment and the like!

[KurtH]

I was hoping to complete the first planking before I had to put this project aside in order to do my yearly video projects, but it looks like I am just to slow to make that happen.  So here is the current state of play:

 

Stealers to be added aft after the planking is complete.   I expect to resume in mid July.  Meanwhile I will follow all the great Sphinx builds which abound on this site.

 

[KurtH]

No, I have not abandoned the build.  I am just a very slow worker.  I finished laying the first layer of planks:

 

I will post a similar set of shots when I have sanded down the protruding edges and humps, and filled in the dips and hollows.  As I am not experienced at this, the funky fettlin' near the keel is not that surprising.  It will not win any prizes for authenticity, but it should suffice as a base for the second planking, and it will not be seen.

Edited August 17 by KurtH

[KurtH]

Here are some shots of the model after sanding and filling:

I was not as concerned with small gaps between planks as I will be when I do the second layer.  I guess I will discover whether or not I sanded and filled enough when I do the second planking.  Hopefully, all will be well.

 

 

Edited September 5 by KurtH

[JeffT]

Nicely done

[KurtH]

Thank you Jeff.  I appreciate your encouragement!

[Ronald-V]

Nice clean first layer!  

[KurtH]

Thank you so much Ronald.  I will be one smug self satisfied modeler if my second layer looks anything like yours!

[KurtH]

The inner lower counter pattern has been soaked, taped to a cylindrical container, and allowed to dry, and is now glued in place:

I believe I got the placement right.  What looks like the ends of the counter patterns sticking out is really the bottom of the slot.

The keel pattern fit very nicely into the slots.  It was slightly warped, but the garboard strakes captured the tabs and held the pattern straight, so no problem.  The prow pattern and sternpost pattern also slotted into place very well.  Thanks to Chris's wonderful design, the prow pattern is quite strong once the glue set.