Montanes by BikerMart - OcCre - 1:70

[BikerMart]

Montanes pictured next to her old adversary HMS Vanguard.

I did not follow the instructions religiously because I wanted to plank the sides and clear out the gunports while I had clear access behind them.

I am slowly recovering from shooting myself in the foot. I thought that it would be cool to emphasize the planking ('lining strakes' according to OcCre) by rounding the edges slightly. In the event it did not look good and so I have applied filler. This has now been sanded with 60 grit and the sides are smooth to the touch. Probably a little more sanding is required and then the wales ('rubbing strakes' according to OcCre) will be fitted, followed by the gunport linings - these have been made up separately and are ready to be fitted.

The deck planks were laid according to the instructions and, when each plank was laid, I ran a pencil around the edges. This resulted in 'caulking' that is much finer than I had achieved on other ships, where the edges of the planking had been blackened with a Sharpie before being fixed down.

 

[BikerMart]

Added the upper wales today. Tomorrow I will add the upper gunport linings.

The cruel lighting makes the planking look rougher than it actually is!

Curiously, as I am typing this my wife told me to tell you how wonderful she is and how I don't know what I would do without her!

 

[BikerMart]

Upper gunport linings and decks added today.

 

[Daniel Kimmer]

You are a builder after my own heart, you have at least three ships going at the same time, and you appear to love building the hulls.  I currently have four that I'm building.  I seem to not be able to bring myself to start the rigging on any of them.  I look forward to following your build log. 

 

I see you are also from Michigan, have you found any good hobby shops in the state besides Riders in Flint and Grand Rapids, and J Bar Hobbies in Tecumseh?  Slim pickings for a good hobby shop other than what is on line.

[BikerMart]

Whereabouts in Michigan are you?

I don't know J Bar Hobbies but have used Riders in Flint a couple of times for railroad-related items. I do not know how they fare for model ship-related items. Sadly, good hobby shops are now few and far between. 

I have got my most recent ship purchases from Cornwall Model Boats in England. Tax- and import duty-free as long as the total amount does not exceed $800. And their service is good.

 

 

[BikerMart]

Lower gunport linings added today and a start has been made on planking the deck.

[RossR]

Your gun ports look fantastic.  Great job.

 

[BikerMart]

Decks planked and varnished and inner bulwarks lined. Tonight the bulwarks will get a coat or two of red ochre.

[BikerMart]

Poop deck added, bulwarks lined and painted. Made a start on hull planking.

Quite happy with OcCre at the moment. The model is quite 'chunky' and that appeals to me. Score one for buildability. Historical accuracy? Who cares? Last time I looked, there were no Napoleonic-era ship experts in my family tree.

 

[BikerMart]

Always a satisfying moment when the last plank is laid. Now for some sanding and then the fixing of the wales. I plan to either copper or paint the hull, so the fact that some gaps and pointy-end planks exist will not matter!

[BikerMart]

Final hull sanding is still required, but the wales are on. The bulwark capping, too, is fixed in place except for the fiddly bits. It was extremely difficult to edge-bend the 8mm wide strips for the forecastle capping, so I gave up and used 5mm wide strips and planed them to the correct width. Really pleased with my purchase of the 'Veritas' mini-plane. Pleased, too, with the 'micro-shapers' from Artesania Latina. They worked well on the edges of the bulwark capping - although I plan to use double-beading from BlueJacket rather than attempt to shape the rails along the hull from 2mm strips. The hull is partly masked ready for a coat or two of yellow oaker.

Question. Part of the back-end consists of a piece of etched brass detail which needs to be laminated to a piece of ply. Any suggestions for adhesive? A contact adhesive maybe? Can anyone suggest a good brand available here in the US? Thanks!

 

 

[BikerMart]

Hull side rails are on. As stated before, double beading from BlueJacket was used in place of strips of 2x2 sapele as suggested in the instructions.

I am forming the curved sections of the bulwark capping from laminations of .5mm sapele veneer and not the 2x2 sapele.

I was not looking forward to cutting out the section from the hull around the side galleries but that was surprisingly easy.

I opted to use superglue to laminate the etched brass sheet to the transom and that went well and I plan to install the transom today.

I also plan to attempt making the side rail scrollwork from the brass rod today.