Albatros by WizardOfOs - OcCre - 1:100

[WizardOfOs]

Here we go again, beginning the next model in a journey toward learning this wonderful craft. I’m also continuing the trend of modeling something a little bit bigger with every new entry. 
 

 

The Albatros by OcCre. An American schooner which I do not believe is meant to directly represent any specific, actual ship. Still, a good deal larger than the smack I just finished before Christmas. 
 

The first step was to open the packaging and cut some parts free. 
 

 

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by the plywood. Maybe I was just spoiled by the previous kits but I’d gotten used to the solid wood. That didn’t stop me from plowing ahead and directly into my first challenge of the build. 
 

 

The central spine of the ship was curved, rather severely by my inexpert estimation. So I looked across other build logs here and found out a couple of things. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, and the most recommended correction is to use a jig of some type to hold the spine straight. I decided to take a different approach. I glued the first few frames in as squarely as I could and then proceeded to add additional bracing between them. 
 

 

Here, I have the deck temporarily in place to hold things square while the glue on those braces dry. Doing it this way was a slow, meticulous process but resulted in what I think was a very satisfactory result. 
 

 

They may not be perfectly even, but everything was square and the deck will be flat. The braces will ultimately be hidden anyway. Next came planking of my deck. 
 

 

The instructions recommended drawing lines on the planks every 100 mm. I opted for every 4 inches, which allowed me to divide that 4-inch span into 4 equal parts. Doing that would allow me to get a 3-butt shift pattern of 1-4-2-3. 
 

 

From there I could cut my “planks” into 4-inch lengths, colour the edges with graphite to simulate tar caulking, and start planking away. 

 

A little bit of sanding flat and I got my 3 deck pieces ready to go. I’d also skipped the wall where the cabin door will eventually go, so planked that the same way. 
 

 

Which brings me to where I stand now. The next step in the instructions is to glue the main deck in place, but I’m considering staining it first. The big decision there will be to use the “oak” or the “pine” stain. I’m not sure which would have been the more typical wood to use, so I’ll probably end up staining a few scraps to see which I like better before committing to the actual piece. 
 

Im excited to have a ship to work on again and I’m ready to jump into this next adventure.