Endeavour by Bill97 - OcCre - 1/54

[Bill97]

A wise carpenter once said “you can never have too many clamps”!  I believe he as correct. Next deck installed and clamped in place b

[wvdhee]

Looking nice Bill 😊

[Bill97]

Thanks wvdhee. 

[Bill97]

Last of the four decks installed and now working on the bulwarks. The bulwarks are made up in 3 separate layers of wood. First time I used my small nail pusher. Handy little tool. 

[Bill97]

Bulwarks installed and lining added to the inboard side. I checked pictures online of the replica and saw that the inboard side is painted red. To avoid messing up my weathered deck I painted the lining wood strips before gluing them in place and trimming. The Endeavour has a very distinctive snub bow. 

[Hubac's Historian]

This all looks fantastic Bill - nice and clean!  You did an excellent job of fairing the sheerline.

[Hubac's Historian]

Are you considering balsa fillers for the lower (below waterline) portion of the bulkheads?  As you say, she has a very bluff bow and the bulkhead spacing is a little sparse.  Fillers would make the under-layer of planking much easier to fair and secure.

[Bill97]

Yes Marc. The kit actually comes with the blocks of balsa to glue in the bow then trim down to the correct shape. 

[Bill97]

Marc you complimented me above on my deck weathering. I am looking at this picture of the replica of the Endeavour. As you can see the deck has a certain light brown weathering compared to mine that leans more gray. Of course I guess I would need to consider what harsh conditions the real Endeauvor deck experienced over the years at sea. The replica spending most of its time in Sydney harbor, I think. I am wondering which color would be more realistic. Should I attempt to add a light brown wash and risk screwing it up, or just leave it as is. Again I know we continue to say it is our build and we should do what we want. 

Edited March 23 by Bill97

[Mike Shea]

Looking great! Really like the weathering on the decks.  

[Bill97]

Thanks Mike. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Or, can you simply wash back the grey a but with a little solvent?  Always test in a little scrap decking, or the underside of the actual decking, if it’s not already glued in.

[Ian_Grant]

I've always wondered about these grey decks. Yes museum ships sitting outside nowadays may have a grey appearance, but in the actual period crews of king's ships holystoned and rinsed the deck  daily, at first light. My deck out back is grey after the winter, but when I wash it even just with dish soap and a scrub by broom it is brown again. There are many mentions, at least in Forrester's books, of "snowy white" decks on admirals' three-deckers.

 

Just putting this in for discussion.

Edited March 23 by Ian_Grant

[Bill97]

Marc it is already glued down with several layers of clear matt varnish. I am concerned if I put solvent to it I am just going to “F” it up. I may toy with a little light brown wash on one of the lower decks that will not be seen to see  if I can just warm up the appearance a little. Will keep you posted. 
 

In the meantime I framed the hatch at the front and built the ladder that goes down to the lower deck. OcCre has you make the ladder by cutting the steps and gluing to the stringers. The instructions had a simple butt joint at the corners but I opted to mitre the tiny pieces. The hatch has a little shine to it because the varnish was still wet. 

[Bill97]

I toned down the grey with a little sand ivory wash. I like it better. 

[wvdhee]

Yes, lighter is better imho 

[Bill97]

Worked on framing in the main hatch. The instructions recommended cutting the brace that passes under the hatch opening. I would think that such a brace, if cut, would be supported by columns so I added them. I then framed in the hatch again using a mitre cut for the corners. Slats with rings will be added to close the hatch. 

Edited March 25 by Bill97

[Hubac's Historian]

Lighter wash was the way to go!

[Bill97]

I think so too Marc. Will remember that on future builds. I was used to acrylics on plastic decks on all my previous builds. Actual wood stain on wood is a whole different thing. With my wood working experience I should have known 😊.

[Bill97]

The main hatch cover boards with ring bolts cut, stained, top coated, and put in place on the main hatch cover frame. Also painted red, to match the inboard side of the bulwark, and trimmed out the two step ups between the decks.  Getting close to starting the hull planking process. 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Bill, is everything so far part of the kit, i.e. the boards, ring bolts? The re-washed deck was definitely a good choice, it looks very much like the deck on the actual Cutty Sark and I think you’ve got the colouring spot-on.

[Bill97]

Yes Kevin. So far everything has been part of the kit. Got a big box of different size wood, a sort of plastic tackle box filled with all sorts of  bits and pieces hardware, and an instruction book telling me the size to cut the wood. Great thing I have a caliper!  The instructions might call for a 2x5mm piece of wood for example to complete a task. There are numerous bundles of sizes. Some 2x4, 2x5, 2x6, etc. Caliper makes that part easy. Very different from a plastic kit with pieces attached to sprues. Yes I like the deck better as well. As I told Marc it was different working with wood instead of plastic. 
 

Always great to hear from you Kevin. I continue to check in on your build but don’t always comment. Beautiful work as always my friend. 

[Bill97]

First planking in progress. This process definitely employs my woodworking skills!  Especially shaping around the stern. Have yet to decide if I am going to sink the nail heads or pull them out with needle nose pliers. 

[Ian_Grant]

So far, so good!

[shipaholic]

Looking good so far. I didn't use the nails on the planking because they are a nuisance when sanding the planks later. I held the planks in place with dress making pins which are easier to pull out after the glue sets

[kiwiron]

Going great there. It's a good kit to build. Go by the plans for measurements not the color booklet. 

[Bill97]

Thanks shipaholic and kiwiron. I have both of your builds bookmarked for reference. 

[Bill97]

Planking of upper half of starboard side completed. Nails sunk and holes filled. Still need to sand, fill all the seems, and give final sanding after all the planking complete. 

[wvdhee]

The bow isn't done? Just the balsa?

[Bill97]

That is correct. Balsa blocks are glued in the bow and sanded to shape.