Grand Banks Dory by bbrennan737 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:24 - First Build

[bbrennan737]

Hi there -  new member and new to the world of wooden model ship building. Like many new builders I have some experience with plastic models, and went to school for aircraft maintenance. But knowing that wood requires an entirely different skill set I wanted to start fresh at the beginning and set myself up for success.

 

My interest in wood actually started back in the spring: after a visit to the Mystic Seaport Museum's model workshop and a long discussion with a gentleman (I can't remember his name) they had a free raffle for what I believe was a Midwest kit (I remember the signature yellow box, but not which model). I didn't win, but was inspired to get a beginner model anyway. After trying to find the same kit they were giving away I naturally found my way to the Model Expo website and was very pleased to discover their Shipwright Series. I ordered the 3-kit combo and as the cool weather begins I hope to enjoy the journey of developing the skills of this wonderful hobby. 

 

Beginning with the Dory has been a pleasure so far - glad to report I'm really enjoying it. Started the kit yesterday afternoon and have completed the bottom planks, stem, and transom. I also installed the frames on the building board. 

 

So far everything looks as though its dried square. I will come back tonight to remove the remaining char and make sure everything had stayed in place. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by bbrennan737
Changed title to add "finished"

[druxey]

Off to a flying start!

[bbrennan737]

Made some progress tonight - prepped and bent first planks. Pretty straightforward process. Sanded in a bevel and then soaked the planks in hot water for 5min as per the instructions. They bent easily and appeared to fit relatively well. Took some wrestling with some rubber bands and clips to make sure they would stay in place overnight. We'll see in the morning how they dry out. 

 

My first thought was to bring the planks bottom edge right up to the bottom boards, but the instructions mentioned to have a little extra over the side. I'm sure they will sand down nicely once glued and dry. 

[bbrennan737]

Progress continued this week. The broad plank went on nicely. I wanted to ensure that I had the correct fit and make sure the planks attached symmetrically so I went a bit ahead and sanded the bottom of the plank. 

 

Towards the stern you can see a pinch from the clamps - this was a nice reminder to check if the clamps are causing damage and to use some padding in the future. Thanks to other build logs I tried wetting the board and after a while the dent filled itself back out. 

 

 

I soaked and bent the remaining planks. Looking forward to seeing the drying results in the morning. o

Edited November 3, 2023 by bbrennan737

[FortressHarris]

Looking great so far! As others have mentioned elsewhere, be sure to keep in mind the ending look. Made a couple of mistakes on mine getting lost in the individual steps. I'll be keeping an eye on yours!

[JacquesCousteau]

Looks like it's coming along well!

[bbrennan737]

Got a lot done since my last post. Things are coming together well, but it hasn't been without its challenges. After all the planks dried there must have been a pull on the jig as one of the ribs snapped, similar to FortressHarris on his build. 

 

Thankfully it was a clean snap, and gluing it back in place wasn't much trouble. Once I was satisfied that everything had dried correctly I freed the hull and sanded and cleaned up spots I may have missed before. I added the false stem, which did take a bit of fiddling to fit straight. Next, I moved began fitting and attaching the side cleats - they went on and cut down without any trouble. When it came time to fit the bands around the top edges, and noticed a strange pinch near the stern from the clamps. I guess I didn't learn my lesson well enough from the previous dent from clamping. Wetting the wood solved the issue as it did previously.

 

It was at this point that I realized just how much wood glue had seeped onto the bottom as the planks went on. I did spend some time trying to wet and clean those spots up, but had mixed results. I know others use IPA to help remove some glue, I'll have to pick some up later. 

[bbrennan737]

Added the gunwale. I didn't have a chisel blade, but the exacto knife provided in the kit worked nearly as well. I worked slowly to not cause and damage the frames or poke into the planks. I then cleaned up the breast hook and beveled it best I could. Beveling wasn't an issue, but trying to get an exact fit proved difficult as the sides of the gunwale was angled more than I expected...which I'm guessing means the whole frame is more convex then it should be. The only solution I could think of here was to create a slight bevel on the gunwale. Sanding the top everything is nice and flush, but the final result does appear to need some filler. Looking ahead though I think adding the cap rail should cover the big gap. 

 

The camera focusing on the stern was a taunting coincidence - clearly the transom is in place higher then it should. Not sure what I did wrong here - did I overlap the planks more then I should? Or was there another fit issue along the way? I'll have to do some investigating. Regardless of what I did wrong I think it's still a serviceable model as I did a test fit of the cap rails and then appeared to fit pretty well. I'll take the time to explore where I went wrong and use it as a learning experience for future models. 

 

Now on to painting. 

[JacquesCousteau]

Looks great!

[bbrennan737]

Finished the second coat. I didn't have any spray primer, and I figured I'd try and see how it would be to hand paint the entire model. After the first coat there was some raised grain as the instructions said to expect. After it dried overnight I then took my time sanding, and applied a second coat. So far I'm thinking its coming along well. Will begin working on the seats and oars tonight while it dries again overnight. I'll see how it looks in the morning, but without any priming I'm expecting it to need to be sanded and a third coat applied. 

[bbrennan737]

Happy to report that the dory was completed over the weekend! After the second coat dried and was sanded down again, I applied the third coat and felt it looked sharp enough to call it the final coat. I did find that the supplied ME green paint went on heavy each time. I didn't make any adjustments with the paint this time, but I'm thinking if I use the bulwarks dark green in the future I'll add some water to the paint mix. As the cap rail was glued in place you can clearly see that it didn't quite match up on each side. I didn't have any filler on hand, and it will be something I can add in and touch up in the future. 

 

Moving on to the beckets - I definitely had some difficulty. Trying to get the supplied rope line into the holes was a challenge. Even after applying an appreciable amount of glue to the ends of the line, the rope still tried to unravel. It took several coats of glue to really shape the ends tight enough to fit, but I eventually got there. Once I was satisfied with the length and knots I glued the line and after holding the shape for a few minutes while it dried it has held its shape nicely. It was only after the fact that I was reading about a technique of gluing one end of rope to a small needle or toothpick - I will certantly try this tactic next time. 

 

 

Adding the thwarts, oars, and thole pins went smoothly. I did not add any decorative leathering to the oars - I was considering painting the detail on, but I think it will look better with some brown paper when I find some, so they are the only component that will stay unglued for now. Measuring and fitting the thole pins was simple enough, and by using a pair of tweezers installing them was a non issue. I used the supplied baseboard, and may apply a stain in the future. I think it looks nice enough as is, but I know I'm going to want to practice staining in the future and think it might give the base a more finished look. 

 

Here she is in her completed state: 

 

 

There were lots of mistakes and lessons learned. The stern sits higher then it should, and the cap rails could use some filler to polish up the look back there. And the big gap from the cap rails at the bow will absolutely need filler. But overall, I'm excited to have completed my first build! As a true beginner with no prior wood modeling experience I'd say this kit met its design goals as an introdcutory kit. It gave me challenges, but never felt overwhelming. The instructions were mostly clear, apart from some moments of thinking to myself "huh? what is this trying to explain?" I think it was well done and David Antscherl did a great job designing a "first kit" model. 

 

I really enjoyed the build - and think I'll be hooked on model building for a long time. The Norwegian Pram is next in the 3-kit combo, and looking through the contents and instructions the Pram looks like a perfect next step up from the dory. However, as I enjoyed this build so much, and knowing the mistakes and lessons learned I wanted to get just a bit more experience first. I ordered 2 of the rereleased Midwest kits from ME/MS. 

 

 

Both models look like a lot of fun, and will help ensure I get some more practice before tackling the Pram. I'm thinking I'll start with the Skiff as it's claimed to be at skill level 1, vs the Dinghy is advertised at level 2. However, looking at the contents and other logs they appear to be very similar in complexity. I'll likely get started on the Skiff this weekend, and will begin a new build log for the project. I'll see what research I can do over the next few days on some older build logs from the Midwest kits. Partly to learn and get a road map for my own builds, but also because I'm curious what differences (if any) are on these kits made by ME/MS vs when produced by Midwest. We shall find out soon!

 

Also, if anyone knows how to edit the log title to add "Finished" feel free to do so or let me know how - I can't seem to find a way to to it myself. Thanks! 

 

Edit - I figured out how to change the title. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by bbrennan737

[Paul Le Wol]

bbrennan! Congratulations on completing your dory. Looks great. Good luck with the Skiff.

[bbrennan737]

@Paul Le Wol thank you sir! Excited to begin work on the next one

[JacquesCousteau]

Congratulations, your dory looks excellent! I'll definitely be following along on your next build log, too.

[bbrennan737]

@JacquesCousteau thank you! I appreciate the support!

[Knocklouder]

Nicely done  Congratulations on your Dory it looks awesome   

[druxey]

An extremely respectable first model! You should be proud. Well done.

[AJohnson]

Nicely done, congratulations! 👏

[FortressHarris]

Well done! I've very much enjoyed your progress on the model.

[robert952]

Based on your work with the Dory and how it looks, either of the rereleased models will be easy enough and give you a learning experience.

 

I wonder if Model Shipways are true rereleases or did they do any changes.  (Not that there's a lot needed.) I also have some of the older MW models in my stash I may build...one day.

 

I am not sure why the two different skill levels.  I built the dinghy.  It is a good basic model, minimal tools required.  Maybe even easier than the dory you just finished. If I were to build it again, I'd tweak how the rope work was done to make it a bit more 'real looking' with proper binding.  I think that would add a bit of challenge to add that touch. 

 

Good luck.  I look forward to the build logs on these.