Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack by cdrusn89 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1/24

[cdrusn89]

Eric,

I considered that approach but decided to use the tools at hand.

 

There will be of putty shortly.

Edited February 1 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

I completed the planking and have applied (liberally) thinned "Goodfilla" wood grain filler thinned with a little water (like 10 drops of water in .5 cu in of filler - enough so you can spread it thinly with a finger or piece of planking).

 

I essentially covered the entire hull with filler. The plan is to remove the filler with 220 grit sandpaper and then rinse and repeat until I get it smooth (more or less). I bought a can of spray primer with filler at an auto parts store which I used successfully (more or less) on the hull of the 1/35th scale Endeavour Americans Cup challenger. This hull is about 1/8 the area of that one where I think I ran through 5 cans. I know where the store is if I need more 😃

 

I added some scrap wood to get the stem up to the level of the deck. It will be trimmed back as part of the filler "sanddown".

 

So here is what the hull looks like now:

 

Edited February 1 by cdrusn89

[woodartist]

I really like the GoodFilla! It is water-based, drys quickly, sands easily and really seeps into deep narrow holes. I put it on with a stiffle paint brush to be ensure it gets in every crack. I comes in a multiple colors to match the wood type. I used the "cherry" for the pear wood supplied on my Lady Isabelle kit and it matched perfectly.

[Bryan Woods]

I believe sanding the hull down, feeling the curves, in my opinion is a relaxing task that finishes way before I’m ready:-)

[cdrusn89]

Sanddown of first pass with filler complete. Not bad (if I do say so myself).

 

I marked the areas where further attention is required with a pencil and will apply more filler in those areas than do a sandown with 320 grit.

 

After that comes the primer with filler and more sanding.

 

And yes Bryan I also find the sanding quite relaxing. That is why I use the finer grit sandpaper - anything harsher and I would sand through the planking - it is after all less than .030" thick.

 

One thing I noticed is that adding water to the filler seems to retard the drying time. I let the first pass sit overnight and plan on the same for pass 2.

Edited February 2 by cdrusn89

[GGibson]

Looking nice, Gary! Much improvement from your pictures yesterday! 🤣 Sanding does wonders.

 

On the four hulls I have now worked on, I have done the fill/sand/fill/sand/fill/sand routine religiously, working my way up from 200 grit to 320 grit to 400 grit to finally 800 grit.  It all pays off.  Carry on! 👍🏆

[cdrusn89]

Hull in the paint booth with the paint.

Edited February 3 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Round 3 of the filler/sand repeat as necessary.

 

This round is 400 grit paper. The next and hopefully last round is 600 grit or maybe 800 depending on how much filler is requiured after this round.

 

The beauty of the filler/primer is it dries in less than an hour so you can get half a dozen runs in a Saturday and still have time for a few odd jobs in between.

 

Hopefully one more pass will do the job here.

Edited February 3 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

Sanding the problem spots with 400 grit paper.

 

 

Don't ask me how I know but it really is possible to sand all the way through the planking even with 400 grit paper

 

 

[GGibson]

Yep!  If you sand hard enough and long enough! Oops! <shrug> 🤣

[cdrusn89]

Here is the hull after the second coat of the primer/filler but no sanding (yet).

 

I am considering leaving the transom "as is" because I do not want to "run out of plank" trying to remove all of the "border around the transom. I know there was plenty of plank overhanging the transom but given the very acute angles involved I do not to get to the end of the transom and then have the planking lose its grip and all the filling and sanding would start over again.

 

I will not try and remove the several "edges" that you can see on the sides. Again I do not want to sand through the planking (again) especially where any repairs will be highly visible.

I am considering painting the hull now rather than follow the instructions and wait until all of the "other" work on the deck, cabin, etc. is done. My plan is to paint the entire hull a flat red then mark the waterline and paint the upper hull flat dark blue. Then add a couple of coats of clear flat and cover the hull with delicate surface masking tape (the purple stuff). Hopefully this will keep the hull from damage and save a bunch of masking in the future. It also allows the rub rail to be a different color from the hull without having to mask off a 1/16" wide strip along the side.

 

Here are the other sides of the hull as it stands now - one more round of at least sanding then a coat of gray primer (no filler) then the finish coats.

[cdrusn89]

The toe rail will be next whether or not I finish paint the hull now or wait.

 

Instructions say use steam to bend the 3/32" square stock for the toe rail. but I think water alone will work so I laid the hull on a piece of 1 X 4 and traced the deck edge (could have used the deck carrier sheet as well) and then put some nails along the line and clamped the wet stock to the nails. I used the masking tape to make sure the nails do not rust overnight although even if they did the toe rail is painted so maybe the masking tape is overkill.

Edited February 4 by cdrusn89

[SiriusVoyager]

I’m not sure whey the instructions say steam is required. The wood strip is fairly flexible already. I soaked it for five minutes then used an iron to add heat. It held its curve just fine. 

[cdrusn89]

Thanks Eric - my bending jig worked just fine although they were none to generous in length for the toe rail. I think there is less than an .5 inches to spare.

 

What I hope will be the final round of fill and sand.

 

The starboard side looks "okay" while there are a few spots on the port side and at the stern that hopefully some thin filler and 600 grit sandpaper will take care of.

 

[druxey]

Looking better and better. You might want to fill and sand the transom ends of the planks until you have a nice flush surface as well.

[cdrusn89]

Transom is proving to be more difficult than I had hoped.

 

I think the tapered ends of the hull planking are making getting a smooth finish a challenge.

 

Nothing more filling and sanding can't solve but it may take a few more "rounds".

 

 

[GGibson]

Yep, it's getting there, Gary! Multiple "rounds" are paying off. 👍

[cdrusn89]

I think I got the transom this time and both sides look pretty good in the photos.

 

Filler is still wet so I need to review again in a few hours after I am sure it is dry.

[cdrusn89]

I think I finally got the transom smoothed out.

 

And the rest of the hull looks pretty good as well.

 

I intend to go over the entire hull (lightly) with some 800 grit paper and then put the flat red on (bottom paint) the entire hull. Put a coat of clear flat on the bottom part, mark the waterline, mask and paint the upper hull a flat dark blue. And then several coats of clear flat followed (when dry of course) with the purple delicate surface masking tape to protect the hull moving forward.

 

Which brings up the question of the toe rail.

 

I am going to leave the toe rail off until I get the hull painted. I plan on mimicking the instructions (painted toe rail to look like mahogany) except I am going to use varnished boxwood for the toe rail. It will provide a nice contrast with the dark blue hull. It is also my intent to use varnished boxwood for the rub rail.

Edited February 6 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

First (and final) coat of hull red.

 

I added the rudder since it will be the same color as below the waterline. Although it is not called out in the instructions I reduced the rudder thickness in a taper towards the stern. I doubt the real rudder was the same thickness along its entire length.

 

I am going to let this "cure" overnight then give it a coat of clear flat before proceeding to mark the waterline in preparation for painting the upper hull.

[SiriusVoyager]

It looks like the rudder is upside down.  Hopefully it can be fixed easily, but otherwise the hull looks great!

[druxey]

Check the photos in the instructions for how the rudder should look!

[cdrusn89]

Thanks - easy fix, I glued the brass rod with the long part on the wrong side. Should probably have noticed myself or made up some rational like getting all the rudder edges painted- it is REALLY obvious.

Edited February 7 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

So I painted the entire hull the flat red (spray can of Red Primer from Walmart) then when that was dry I sprayed a coat on clear flat on the lower hull, marked and masked the waterline and sprayed the flat dark blue on the upper hull area. Speaking of the waterline since there is no drawing of the hull I guess you are supposed to use the marker provided with the hull on the display strand to get the waterline. I tried this without much success so I put the hull back in the Amati holder, measured and replicated as best I could the angle produced by the display stand and used my own waterline marker. Looking at the pictures below I am not really sure I got it right but "it is where it is".

 

No particular problems, the Tamiya masking tape kept the blue out of the red. There is one area near the stern on the port side where it looks like it got neither color (still grey). I may add a white tape strip to the waterline to cover this. Not really interested in trying to "fix" this by hand.

 

When I am sure this is completely dry another coat of clear flat and the mask off the entire hull to keep it "clean" as we move forward.

Edited February 9 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

It all started when I broke the gaff during the "dowelerizing" and then could not manage a repair that looked "good enough" since the gaff is going to be quite visible (at least com to the boom).

 

So I cut a new square "blank" from the carrier sheet and proceeded to dowelerize it and then taper to match the drawing. Which leaves the jaws. Although I have only limited personal experience I have seen several gaff rigged sailing vessels at full scale and I believe most (if not all) had the gaff (and boom) jaws as separate pieces rather than the single piece provided in the kit. Easier and cheaper this way no doubt.

 

So I cut the jaws from the provided gaff and cut them as close to in half as I could manage and then sanded the inside to get a very small section at the rear. I cut the new gaff pole to the length shown on the drawing, min us the jaws then flattened two opposing sides and glued (after several rounds of adjustments so they were as nearly symmetrical I as I could get them) the two jaw halves to the gaff. I will add some simulated bolt head (using 30# black monofilament fishing line) before the gaff is mounted.

 

I was so enamored with the process that I decided to do the same thing for the boom.

 

Here is the completed gaff and the boom before final assembly, stain and vanish.

 

 

[cdrusn89]

I did add a 1/16" white tape strip at the waterline except at the very most forward part at the bow. I just could not get the tape to lay flat as it went around the keel at the stem. I will deal with that "later".

 

I removed the rudder and covered the rest of the hull in delicate surface (purple) masking tape.

 

Not very elegant but if it projects the hull while the rest of construction proceeds it will be worth looking at this ugly picture.

 

With the hull protected the next items are the toe rails. I want the toe rails natural and the deck painted so I better paint the deck before I try installing the toe rails.

 

I ran a 1/16" strip of masking tape around the edge of the deck to keep free of paint an area to glue down the toe rail.

 

I then put two coats of sanding sealer (320 sandpaper between) and then two coats of MS 4824 Clipper Blue (320 sandpaper between).

 

I may add another coat once I get a chance to see how this looks in better (aka natural sunlight) light. I left the hatch cover area partially unpainted for the same reason I taped off the area at the deck edge.

 

Edited February 12 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

While looking through my "parts bin" I found the bolt heads (for HO/O scale railroad engines) which appear to be the correct size for the gaff and boom jaws connections.

 

Here's how the gaff jaws look now.

 

Edited February 14 by cdrusn89

[cdrusn89]

I added the eyebolts to the gaff (and bowsprit and boom - still working on the mast).

 

I added bolt heads to the underside of the gaff since the eyebolts were very likely through-bolted due to the load they carry.

 

Unfortunately all I had left in the parts bin were square bolts. So the gaff has hex bolts on the jaws (see post above) and square on the eyebolts.

 

The rest of the spars will have all square bolts.

 

Edited February 16 by cdrusn89

[GGibson]

Square bolts give it a bit of character! 👍🤷‍♀️

[cdrusn89]

I have deferred installing the rub rail because I am not completely satisfied with the hull paint job and may do it over after the rest of the deck materials are installed - that is when the instructions would have you paint the hull anyway.

 

So I fabricated new oarlock pads and Sampson post from boxwood to keep the topside materials consistent.

Here they are after the first coat of WoP.

 

I did notice that the oarlock pads pictured in the instructions appear to be considerably thinner than the ones provided which are about 3/32" tall.

 

I also added the fair leads at the bow, also of boxwood - they still need WoP in the "grooves and at the rounded end aft.

Working on the cabin coaming - I decided to try and get the coaming bent off the ship - I have a feeling that trying to get it both bent and fitted at the same time might be more problems than doing them one at a time.