Saucy Jack by BrochBoating - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[BrochBoating]

Hi all,

 

This is my second kit. First was the Occre Polaris which you can see with the start of this project below. Really enjoyed that build and hopefully have learnt a lot from it to make this one better.

 

Today was my first session on this kit. All I've done is make up the skeleton of the hull. This was a very different experience than with the Occre kit. Vanguard is much tighter tolerance and I suspect a far better base to start from as it all locks together to keep things square from the start. All went as written in the manual without any fettling needed other than the start of fairing. Using a Dremel to sand to the provided lines was very easy.

I've a few ideas to make this my own but for now it's just sat curing for the next session.

 

 

 

 

Back soon I hope.

 

Simon.

Edited November 19, 2023 by BrochBoating

[BrochBoating]

Having a few thoughts about how to make this a little individual. Going to try some work in the well. At least then if I’m not happy the cover goes on and all is well. 
 

[JacquesCousteau]

Looks like you're off to a great start!

[BrochBoating]

A bit more decoration for later in the well. Fitted the sub deck and managed to knock one of the delicate stern pieces off. The sub deck itself was a perfect fit with no fettling needed. Stern piece refixed and then various pieces added that will be faired with the bulkheads once everything's cured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon

[BrochBoating]

More time than expected today! 

 

Got the bulkheads faired and deployed tape, clamps, bands to hold the first stern piece in place while glue sets. Finally for today painted the name on the stern, my theory being I can very gently sand to remove bleed once thoroughly dry and it'll be more obvious once in place.

 

 

 

 

 

Simon.

[BrochBoating]

My theory to pick out the name didn't work. Sure I can rescue it though

 

 

The stern piece fitted and faired well though

 

 

In better news the prow, keel and inner bulkhead parts seem to have gone together very well. I used pins to try and make sure they stick in place correctly. Not sure if I'll need to remove them. Pins are really tiny but the Modelcraft pen type pusher (I found the adjustable one too clunky) made the job very easy.

 

 

 

Simon.

[DavidG]

Quote

My theory to pick out the name didn't work. Sure I can rescue it though

It wasn't a bad idea but.. Before painting, one-two layers of gloss varnish would prevent the paint soaking into the surrounding wood. Then you can brush paint the letters, wiping off the excess in the process, finally finishing off with flat varnish.

[BrochBoating]

21 minutes ago, DavidG said:

It wasn't a bad idea but.. Before painting, one-two layers of gloss varnish would prevent the paint soaking into the surrounding wood. Then you can brush paint the letters, wiping off the excess in the process, finally finishing off with flat varnish.

Excellent that makes sense. Thanks. 

[BrochBoating]

Started off with some Danish oil to bring out the grain on some future pieces. Will probably matt varnish these tomorrow.

 

 

 

Then made a start on the first planking. From reading on here and the manual this time I'm trying to be much neater and started tapering at the bow. This seems to be going ok. Also made my first drop plank (is that right) to avoid stealers, hopefully, at the stern on each side. Pretty pleased with them for a first go. Will be the garboard planks first on my next session.

 

 

 

 

 

Might need some more fairing here.

 

 

 

[BrochBoating]

Bit of time today. Tried to pay attention but some mistakes got through. I was concentrating on trying to get the bow shape better than my last build and I think I succeeded but at the same time haven't tapered any of these lower planks. That said I did start to learn how to use CA gel which went well. Now I'm left with a space that's wide at the bow and narrower in the midsection which I'm not sure of the best way to fill. I know it's only the first planking but I'm trying to do it as well as I can to learn as much as possible and provide a good base.

If anyone can advise the best way to proceed here and any techniques to remove the pins I'd be grateful.

 

 

 

Simon.

[BrochBoating]

Weekend update.

 

Finished the first planking. Happy overall. Better than the first kit but note for next time is to leave the planks long at the stern to shape and trim properly not try and trim at fitting and leave a problem. As you can see I'll need to do work at the stern because of this but I think filler and sanding before second planting should rectify this. 

As you can see at the bow I have a problem with a gap between the planking and the bulwark. I can only assume I was at fault with the fairing. Not certain if this could/should be fixed before the second planking.

Didn't think I'd be able to but removed all but one of the pins after curing.

 

 

 

 

 

Simon.

[BrochBoating]

Made progress with stern plate painting. Paint and wipe didn't work so made a 'brush' with a brass pin stuck into some mast stock which made picking the name out in white easier. Once dried the paint had settled and looks better than here.

 

 

Began the sanding and got the first run with 220 all done. Got some wood filler on the way to make up for the poor work at the stern and will continue sanding once done.

 

 

 

Simon.

[BrochBoating]

Filling sanding and shaping after first planking done. Decided to add at the bow to make up for the fairing error (at least I assume that's what happened) before the second planking. Also shaped the stern to make up for the errors there too. Used 120 then 320 and 600 paper to finish. Looks good under a decent light and feels well blended. I prefer to use paper over finger tips rather than blocks so I can feel what I'm doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also made up and painted some of the parts for later and experimented with some light weathering. Painted plain grey then dry brushed with a darker grey, black mix.

 

 

Simon.

[Thukydides]

It is hard to tell for sure from the pictures, but think you are still going to have problems with your second planking near the stern. Try holding test strips against it to test how they should run and then sand some more to get the correct shape. Compare your shape to the one you are trying to achieve, there is a nice clear picture of it on page 29 of the manual. You may find that you will have to sand it down so much that you will need to re-plank parts of the stern, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem just a bit time consuming and if you want the final result to good it may very well be necessary.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Thukydides

[BrochBoating]

18 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

It is hard to tell for sure from the pictures, but think you are still going to have problems with your second planking near the stern. Try holding test strips against it to test how they should run and then sand some more to get the correct shape. Compare your shape to the one you are trying to achieve, there is a nice clear picture of it on page 29 of the manual. You may find that you will have to sand it down so much that you will need to re-plank parts of the stern, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem just a bit time consuming and if you want the final result to good it may very well be necessary.

 

Thanks, I'll check again together with the stern piece that fits before the planking. It does blend well but I take your point.

[AJohnson]

Hi Simon, you are off to a great start!  These little Vanguard fishing boats are a joy to build and I see you have added some fish for your well; I added some “Cocktail stick” fish to my “Nisha” build, but they were not as nicely painted as yours.
Good advice on the stern planking up to the stern counter from @Thukydides, first planking is a foundation so no need to worry on looks just the correct shape, so trialling a few of the second planks is a good investment in time later on. 
Will follow your progress with interest. 👍

[BrochBoating]

20 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Hi Simon, you are off to a great start!  These little Vanguard fishing boats are a joy to build and I see you have added some fish for your well; I added some “Cocktail stick” fish to my “Nisha” build, but they were not as nicely painted as yours.
Good advice on the stern planking up to the stern counter from @Thukydides, first planking is a foundation so no need to worry on looks just the correct shape, so trialling a few of the second planks is a good investment in time later on. 
Will follow your progress with interest. 👍

 

Thanks  I\m intending to fill the well with resin and the 'fish' with some surface effects. If it' doesn't work out I can always close the hatch!

 

I think my next step is to fit the stern plate and then see how the secondary planks will mate to that. Looking (and feeling) again I still think the shape is good. I can see that if the shape between the two 'sides'  had less of a curve between them right at the stern then it might make planking easier but also looking down the line of the first planking the current shape is organic. The reason I resorted to shaped filler was purely that I made mistakes with the length of those planks and by the time I'd realised what I'd done I couldn't go far enough back.

 

[BrochBoating]

38 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

 

 

PS love your Nisha. Probably my next fishing boat as my late dad's family had one in Brixham. Unfortunately for the wallet one of the other Vanguard fishing boats was built about two miles along the coast from my village and another fished from our harbour so I think I'm obligate to really

 

[BrochBoating]

As a test I soaked (sucked on the end for 30 seconds) of the second planking and tried it out on the tightest section of the curve from various, vaguely correct, angles and all was well so hoping can proceed well. 
 

 

 

Simon. 

[AJohnson]

That looks doable for the planks. If they will bend up to the stern counter without stress then you should be fine. 
I’m really happy you have found Chris’s little fleet of fishing vessels, I know the ones with guns attract all the attention,  but the Saucy Jack etc. are just beautiful little projects and the source history from the likes of Edgar J March is still accessible and if you want to explore the Scottish trawlers then those books are worth a look. Not too bad price wise from the usual online suspects. 

[BrochBoating]

2 hours ago, AJohnson said:
I’m really happy you have found Chris’s little fleet of fishing vessels, I know the ones with guns attract all the attention,  but the Saucy Jack etc. are just beautiful little projects and the source history from the likes of Edgar J March is still accessible and if you want to explore the Scottish trawlers then those books are worth a look. Not too bad price wise from the usual online suspects. 

Thanks. The Vanguard kits seem to be so far beyond any other I’ve been put off looking elsewhere. Yes they’re a premium price but so obviously worth the extra. 
I’d rather model civilian craft so hopefully there will be more. 

[BrochBoating]

Weekend update.

 

A few errors now, no one to blame but myself.

Worst is trying to be prepared I painted as many components whilst still in sheets as I thought I should but didn't think about the the bow pear pieces of course only needed painting to the waterline. Had a look and was worried they were too thin to sand off so I've left them as is for now and I'll deal with it when painting the finished hull.

Fitted the cover pieces along the keel and all fit very well with the alignment pegs provided. A little fiddly but a good lesson in patience which worked out well overall.

 

 

 

Next was soak and 'dry' fit the stern piece. This seems to have shown that something at the stern wasn't totally straight. Not awful and I'm sure solvable once its all together.

 

 

 

 

Outer bulwarks fitted as per manual without a hitch. Only change I made was to use CA gel at either end and along the bottom edge but white glue across the rest. Seems fine.

 

 

Onto making a start with the second planking. This time I'm fitting the plank, as in the length and shape at either end, then soaking and using a dry iron to set the curve as much as possible then using small amounts of CA gel along the back to attach.. Only done the first two top planks so far but I like the method so far. The work I did with filler at the bow to correct the fairing of bulkhead two seems to have been good. Stopped now to make sure I'm still happy tomorrow, or whenever.

 

 

 

A more tiresome problem is not realising/noticing that the plank stock varied in tone quite a lot. Noticed this when applying the second plank on one side. Now sorted by tone so hopefully with the offending planking being right at the top it'll not be too obvious.

 

 

 

Last job of the day was to etch prime the PE parts for later.

 

 

Simon.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by BrochBoating

[AJohnson]

Good start to the second planking Simon. 👍 What do you use for PE primer?  I’ve tried a few sprays but they don’t seem to stick, unless I need to clean the PE better. I’m back to using brass blackener this time on my current project. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by AJohnson

[BrochBoating]

8 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Good start to the second planking Simon. 👍 What do you use for PE primer?  I’ve tried a few sprays but they don’t seem to stick, unless I need to clean the PE better. I’m back to using brass blackener this time on my current project. 

 

Thanks Andrew I'll be happy tomorrow  Whatever happens I'm pleased compared to my first kit and probably can't ask for more than that.

 

It's this one. I'll leave it for a day or two to see how strong it is. I've not done any PE before and couldn't see a readily available product here so I was going to try grey prime then matt black sprays and touch up if needed once fitted. 

 

I must subscribe to your cutter build as I think that will be my next but I believe Santa has visited Vanguard for me too.

[BrochBoating]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:48 PM, AJohnson said:

 I’ve tried a few sprays but they don’t seem to stick, unless I need to clean the PE bette

 

Just a quick follow up after 24 hours. I'll confess I didn't realise I should have wiped the PE with alcohol to clean but that primer seems to be strongly bonded. Can't scratch it with a screwdriver anyway.

 

[BrochBoating]

Few updates.

 

First some battle damage while planking. Fortunately noticed quickly before either of the cats stole the piece. I'll refit later when it's safer.

 

 

Last time I used white glue, having tried the recommended (in the Occre instructions) contact adhesive which was awful, but this time I'm using CA gel for the second planking. Dabs of gel along the plank which I then use a piece of scrap to wipe that along the plank to try and avoid any splurge at the sides. Seems to work well so far.

 

 

 

 

Painted the black PE parts. Will do the white once that's dry.

 

 

Nearly done the second planking. Much happier than last time but definitely some mistakes. I assume the planks riding so high is because I've trimmed them too much for the curve? At least it'll be below the waterline and painted. Lesson learnt.

 

 

 

[BrochBoating]

Productive week.

 

First off with the second planking done it's time to fix the battle damage then prepare and fit the engraved deck. I used Danish Oil on the deck to bring the grain out. No adjustment needed for the deck, just some weight as it sets just in case.

 

Before

 

 

After 

 

 

 

Inner bulwarks fitted well. A little battle damage removing them from the sheet as I decided I wanted them painted but easily fixed with gel CA.

 

 

Now waterline and paint. A proper tool is on the list but forgot to order with latest Vanguard order so made my own. Mk1 was too wobbly but Mk2 worked well enough.

 

 

Masked hull and rudder then filled, primed and sanded & repeat until happy. Reached the point of chasing improvement after about 5 cycles so stopped. Now awaiting a can of white paint to move forward.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yes the little jolly boat got a priming too. One pass too close on the stern has caused bubbles so I'll fix that shortly.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by BrochBoating
Pic edit

[AJohnson]

That’s a nice looking finish to the hull Simon. Yes I forgot to get the waterline tool, but your “Mk.2” looks like the business. Fortunately my current build is painted up to the wales. 

[BrochBoating]

4 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

That’s a nice looking finish to the hull Simon. Yes I forgot to get the waterline tool, but your “Mk.2” looks like the business. Fortunately my current build is painted up to the wales. 

 

Thanks a lot Andrew. It stands up to a fair degree of scrutiny, just hope all is well once the tape comes off! Don't know about you but I really like making tools from offcuts and scraps. This was mostly the offcuts from the bulkhead sheet. I'm very luck and Santa arrived early and brought two new kits for next year. Speedy looks rather daunting (mainly the rigging) but will be more done before then so fingers crossed. Hope you enjoyed your tipple from one of our local breweries.

 

[AJohnson]

I did indeed enjoy the beer 🍺 Simon, and very aptly named it was too! 😉

You must have been a good boy this year to get two Vanguard kits for Christmas! 🎄 

Edited December 15, 2023 by AJohnson