Lightship #112 NANTUCKET 1936 by Jeff Preisler - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - Scale 1/8" = 1'

[Jeff preisler]

After the last several months away from ship modeling, I started building Bluejackets Lightship #112 Nantucket from 1936. This was a kit that I purchased at Bluejacket several years ago while vacationing in Maine.  After reading through the manual and studying the plans I proceeded to shape the hull.  This solid hull was very close to plans and very little wood had to be removed, therefore, according to manual, the use of hull section templates was not needed.  At the bow, I drilled out the hole for the central anchor hawsepipe boss and glued it in place.  Marked out locations of all portholes and drilled them with an 1/8 drill bit.  After gluing in the propeller frame/sternpost casting I proceeded to the next step but I'm a little confused.  Unsure of the ship's forefoot construction, the kit gives you a 1/16" x 3" x 6" piece of basswood for this step.  My question:  Is this supposed to be just a continuation of the keel around the curve of the hull, or is it to simulate an additional plate of steel that was welded to the hull in this area? 

[Jeff preisler]

As far as my question concerning the ship's forefoot, this is what I came up with.  I first soaked an oversized piece of that 1/16 basswood in water and used my heat gun to make the curve.  I cut that piece in 3 sections then glued it to the hull in that location.  Viewing images of other models, I just saw a continuation of the keel around the curve and up the stem and made my best educated guess.

[alross2]

Jeff, you have an older kit.  The revised kit uses .060" square styrene to form the keel and stem.  It's a lot easier to bend...🙂

 

Al Ross

 

[Jeff preisler]

3 hours ago, alross2 said:

Jeff, you have an older kit.  The revised kit uses .060" square styrene to form the keel and stem.  It's a lot easier to bend...🙂

 

Al Ross

 

Thanks Al, I was wondering about that as I saw one of the other build threads that styrene was used.  It all worked out fine with my heat gun.

[MrBlueJacket]

That's a really good start.

 

Nic

[Jeff preisler]

After thinning bulwarks and more sanding I proceeded to drill all necessary holes on deck according to plans.  Installed braces on bulwarks around foredeck, and carefully cut out the stowing port for the spare anchor.

[Jeff preisler]

I decided to brush paint the model using Liquitex cadmium red for the bulwarks and blue gray for the deck.  I did brush sanding sealer on entire hull before this step, but I did not use any primer.  I thinned down the paint with Liquitex fluid matte medium and paint brushed on rather nicely.  I will use the same red color for the hull, but I will see if I can thin this for airbrush use, if not brushing this will be ok.  I also plan on priming the hull with the Liquitex white gesso first.

[Jeff preisler]

Installed rubbing strakes and bilge keels and then cut out the starboard slot for the spare anchor.  After lots of sanding and some filling I brush painted 2 coats of Liquitex white gesso as a primer. Did some light sanding with 400 grit after gesso was dry, then I brush painted 3 coats of Liquitex red and black thinning with Liquitex matte medium to improve the flow.  I normally use an airbrush, but this time I thought I would brush this as I was curious about the end result using the Liquitex acrylics.  Brush strokes are minimal, and I am pleased with the end result.   After dry I mounted the hull to its temporary base.

Edited January 31 by Jeff preisler

[Jeff preisler]

Made some progress on the deck structures.  The Pilot house was a challenge with all the portholes so close together, I had to be careful here using my Dremel tool.  For the railings, I used a tiny piece of plastic strip behind the photo-etched railing to keep it away from the sides of the structures.  to simulate the porthole glass, I used Microscale Kristal Klear.  Not in the photos are the completed steps going into the pilot house and up to the bridge deck which I will add later in the build.  The structures are not glued down yet just checking the alignment and taking measurements as I still have to spray paint the forward deck house.

[Roger Pellett]

Very nice work

[Jeff preisler]

I spent several hours yesterday and today finishing up the pilot house and forward deck house.  After bending the brass railings to fit, (which took a lot of persuading), I sprayed them with Tamiya flat white primer and set aside to dry.   Installing the railings were a little tricky but came out Ok. The port and starboard lights is the only thing left and I will install these later.  The photos show I need a little touching up to do around the pilot house side portholes which I will take care of as well.  Now it is on to fabricating the stack.

[Laxian Key]

Did you add the drain pipes and the base strip on the pilot house/forward deck house or were they part of the kit? I am building a newer version of this kit and used 1/32" thick wood strip for the base strip and .020" plastic rod for the drain pipes. The model looks great by the way. 

Edited February 20 by Laxian Key

[Jeff preisler]

2 hours ago, Laxian Key said:

Did you add the drain pipes and the base strip on the pilot house/forward deck house or were they part of the kit? I am building a newer version of this kit and used 1/32" thick wood strip for the base strip and .020" plastic rod for the drain pipes. The model looks great by the way. 

Thank you and glad you like it so far.  The kit that I have is supplied with .020' x .020" styrene plastic for the drainpipe and .020" x .10" styrene plastic for the baseboards.

[Laxian Key]

Correction, It was 1/64" thick wood for the baseboards.

[Jeff preisler]

More progress on the Nantucket.  Completed all deck structures. Instead of just glueing the life rafts to the radio house roof, I decided to add tie downs for more detail.  I also did the extra work and made a propeller and shaft out of scrap brass for the large whale boat, made some mounting cradles out of hardwood as well.  I'm probably wrong on my color choice for the boats flooring and benches as it was supposed to be the deck grey, but I went with red brown instead as I like the look.  At this point in my build the only deck structure that is glued down is the small engine room skylight, everything else is just positioned in its location.  Currently working on the boats davits then it will be on to the masts and rigging.  I'm really enjoying this build but looking forward to the finished product.

[Mirabell61]

very nice build Jeff,

 

Nils

[jerome]

Very nice workmanship Jeff.

a note for you regarding the thinning of Liquitex paint.

they do make a product that is specifically for thinning Liquitex paint so you can airbrush it.

I have never used said product but did see it on the display shelf.

[Jeff preisler]

Thank you for your information.  I will have to look into it, I saw a product called flow medium (Masters Touch) at my local Hobby Lobby which is supposed to thin but give I glossy finish per label.  I actually used Liquitex matte medium to lower viscosity, but it wasn't like using paint thinner, so I did not experiment and after brushing on some scrap wood I decided to brush paint as my impatience with trying something new got the best of me.  After reading your reply and doing some research, I found Liquitex does make an actual airbrushing thinner which my local hobby lobby did not have, I will order some and try it out. Thank you so much for your input and I will definitely try experimenting with my airbrush in the future.

Edited March 27 by Jeff preisler

[Jeff preisler]

The mast construction went fairly smooth, for added strength, I decided to solder the photo etch lantern frames and baskets together. Humbrol enamel matt 81 (pale yellow) was the color I used for airbrushing the masts, stack, vent funnels and davits. At this point everything is glued down and I got a good start on the rigging, completing the stays and shrouds.  I should have this completed in the next few days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Nice work!

 

Nic

[Jeff preisler]

Ok. here is my completed Lightship.  It took me nearly 4 months to get this done and I'm very satisfied with the end result.  Not much more to say about this build except that it was a pure joy and kept me entertained for most of the winter.

[schooner]

Great job!!!

The hull lettering looks very nice, are they decals? stick on letters? painting stencils or something else?

[Jeff preisler]

1 hour ago, schooner said:

Great job!!!

The hull lettering looks very nice, are they decals? stick on letters? painting stencils or something else?

The kit is supplied with adhesive backed lettering.  Very easy to work with and after applying pressure around any raised or recessed detail it will conform nicely.  Thank you for the nice compliment on my build and glad you like.

[Rick310]

Well done!!

Rick

[MrBlueJacket]

nice job, Jeff. YOur customer file now shows a 10% discount on the next kit you buy from us. BTW, that includes the Amati, Caldercraft and Vanguard models on our website.

[ccoyle]

Fabulous work, Jeff!

[Mirabell61]

Thats a beautiful build Jeff,

 

Congratulations to finishing this project. Your lightship is great. I like the superstructure and the fitting out very much. The lighting of the pictures is also very nice

 

Nils

[Jeff preisler]

9 hours ago, Mirabell61 said:

Thats a beautiful build Jeff,

 

Congratulations to finishing this project. Your lightship is great. I like the superstructure and the fitting out very much. The lighting of the pictures is also very nice

 

Nils

Thank you for your interest in my build and the nice compliment!  I'm by no means a photographer, but it was the evening, and I took the photos with the dining room lights off using just my camera flash.

[Jeff preisler]

9 hours ago, MrBlueJacket said:

nice job, Jeff. YOur customer file now shows a 10% discount on the next kit you buy from us. BTW, that includes the Amati, Caldercraft and Vanguard models on our website.

Thanks, Nic for your nice compliment and the 10% discount.

[Jeff preisler]

9 hours ago, ccoyle said:

Fabulous work, Jeff!

Thank you for your nice compliment and interest in my build.