San Francisco by SiriusVoyager - Artesania Latina - 1:50 - Cross-Section

[SiriusVoyager]

This will be my 5th ship/boat model.  I wanted to keep things fairly simple and focus on improving model building skill.  This model isn't based on any specific ship and is supposed to be representative of a 17th century Spanish Galleon.  I know from some other build logs that there are historical inaccuracies.  I am not sure how much I will focus on that as my intent is to focus on technique.  I may make some changes inspired by some of the other build logs I have seen here.

 

 

My first impression opening the box was that everything looked very clean and well packaged.  I am not very thrilled about not having paper instructions and plans.  I downloaded the instructions to my phone and will have to use my computer if I need to look at the high res images on the CD (that is actually nice having those). 

 

Getting started, some of the outer layer of plywood broke off while cutting out the four frames.  I also found that two of the frames were bent, one sort of significantly.   I was able to flatten them out using some water and an iron while giving it a bit of bend in the opposite direction.

 

 

I started attaching the frames to the false keel.  I probably should have started with the inner frames, but it was fine.  The outer frames weren't supported on the outer edges by the false keel so care was needed to make sure that they were straight and square.

 

 

Middle two frames

 

    

 

sub deck sheets fit perfectly

 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

The next step is to plank the deck.  The instructions call for laying all of the planks and then drawing on the caulking.  I decided to cut the planking and do a 1324 pattern.  The deck is just over 11mm across and the strips are 4 mm wide which means I will need 7 of each size to get started.  The instructions call for each plank to be 50mm, so I will use that length.  That means the lengths for the four starting planks will be 12.5mm, 37.5mm, 25mm and 50mm.  Upon measuring the strips to cut the 50mm planks, I found that each of the "300mm" strips are closer to 299mm.  Of course I found this out after I cut the smaller planks.  I hate wasting material unnecessarily.  I also found that no matter how carefully I measured and cut, all of my planks vary in length by about a mm.  I suppose in theory, if I place them randomly it should all average out and not be noticeable.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

First level deck planking completed.  My intention was to do a 1324 pattern, but after about 6 rows I realized I was doing a 1234 pattern.  I decided that it would be more trouble than it was worth to change it since it won't be easily seen when two more levels are added.  For caulking I first attempted to use pencil lead on multiple strips being held together.  That didn't really work very well because most of the strips didn't get any pencil lead on them.  I then decided to try black paint.  That didn't work well either because the paint spread too much.  I went with the more time consuming method of running a pencil along each individual edge.  The remnants of which can be seen on the marked up scrap wood.  I gave it a once over with sand paper, but everything always looks worse once you look at it in a photo so I will go over it again prior to varnishing.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

I had previously thought that the hull would be planked on the inside, but looking at the instructions, it is only above the main deck that is planked on the inside.  I cleaned up some of the char markings in areas that would be visible.  The deck also has been varnished with a few thin coats of shellac.

 

 

The cross beams installed as well as two of the stanchions shaped and installed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

After making the first two stanchions by hand I decided there must be an easier way.  I don't have a lathe but I do have a new dremel.  The small dowel fit perfectly. I put a block with 60 grit sand paper in a vise and let it rip. It worked pretty well, I just had to be careful about leaving enough of the original dowel so that it held straight in the collet. 

 

 

 

One Stanchion was slightly too short so I added a shim that won't be visible.

 

 

I forgot to take a photo of the stanchions in place.  I used shellac to varnish them.

 

At this point I took a bit of a break to decide what to do next.  I had seen some build logs where people decided to make some of the crates and bundles prior to adding the next deck.  I had thought about doing this as it seemed like a good idea for obvious reasons.  Looking through the instructions I can sort of see why the manufacturer put the decks in first, though I can't really articulate why.  I decided to continue on with the decks. 

 

 

 

A little bit of sanding to make sure the edges of the seam were flush and the sub decking is installed.

 

 

I had seen on some build logs that people had problems with the sub decks not fitting properly on the cross beams.  Some of them were pretty significant, in a way that the deck was dramatically sloped.  Fortunately mine was minor enough that it is basically a none issue.

 

This side looks fine.

 

 

This side has a little gap on the middle two frames.

 

 

I am not sure what to do about the cross beams.  The plywood shows itself too well and doesn't look right to me.  I may stain it to hide the layers.  I definitely prefer the straigt basswood sheets used the Modelshipways kits over plywood used by AL and Occre.

 

I started laying the planks for the second deck.  This time I made sure to use the 1324 pattern. Tick marks are added to mark where to cut out for the mast.

 

Edited June 30 by SiriusVoyager

[SiriusVoyager]

I can understand why the instructions say to draw on the caulking for a casual builder.  Cutting and laying the individual planks do take some time, but I feel like it is worth it.

 

First gun deck planking finished, prior to finishing.

 

 

Sanded and varnished with shellac

 

 

Beams for the weather deck being installed.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Stanchions made and placed in the same way as above.

 

 

I tried by best to get them as aligned and vertical as possible.  I may have to try again on bottom right.  They are wedged in there pretty well so it may be a difficult task.  I don't think anyone would notice unless they were specifically looking to see if they are aligned.

 

 

 

The next sub deck didn't want to fit as nicely as the other two decks.

 

 

I had to make a little extra room for the sub deck to fit around a couple of the frames and it lined up ok.  It is a bit off at the mast opening, but that will be covered by the deck planks.  The frames being a bit warped (from the first post) required me to hold everything together by hand to make sure the frames were aligned and tight to the deck. 

 

 

Time for more deck planks.

[SiriusVoyager]

Weather deck  is completed.  Planking the hull next.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

The next step in the instructions is to lay the first layer of planking.  It calls for leaving a gap of 4mm to place the keel later.  I have played that game before with the Palamos and didn't like it.  No matter how hard I would try to leave the exact width of 4mm, something wouldn't be quite right and I wouldn't like the fit.  I cannot see a good reason not to simply place the keel first so that is what I did.  The length of the wood for the keel was 150mm so it had to be cut to 120mm first.  A razor saw with a miter box was great for this.  Here is the keel (first attempt) on the frame.

 

 

The keel didn't sit on straight.  I doubt it would have been noticeable in the end, but I didn't like it.

 

 

Fortunately I noticed it before it fully dried, so with a little bit of IPA and a hobby knife I was able to get a pretty clean removal without a lot of fuss.

 

 

Second attempt with some Lego (I don't like that the plural of Lego is Lego) to help keep it square.

 

 

While the keel was drying I prepared most of the strips needed for the first level of planking.  A very rough measurement shows about 18mm along the longest frame which means 36 strips per side.  I cut each strip about 123mm to have a little overhang to prevent accidentally cutting any too short.  I only cut 60 in case I need to make any adjustments towards the end.

 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

The keel looks much better now that it is square.

 

 

Planking started.  It is pretty straight forward being a cross section.  I narrowed one plank (so far) to keep everything aligned.

 

 

 

 

Beveling the edges is a bit tricky with the thin strips of wood.  I found it easiest to only bevel one edge.  Beveling may not be needed along the sides of the hull.

[SiriusVoyager]

I continued adding more strakes to the frame.  I came to another point where the width needed to be adjusted to keep everything straight.  I simply held a strake as strait as I could and marked where the overlap was. 

 

 

I used a straight edge to trim a line between those two points.

 

 

It's not exact, but it shouldn't be since the previous strake didn't have an angle at the overlap point.  Sanded down the high points and fine tuned to fit.

 

 

Nice and flush again.

 

 

The bulwark is tricky because there is supposed to be a curve in it. The instructions say to draw a curved line connecting the frames, but I don't really see any easy way to do this well, other than free handing.  Since I couldn't come up with a better way I drew a rough line, trimmed and sanded into the best shape I could.

 

 

 

 

First layer of planking trimmed and sanded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17 by SiriusVoyager

[JacquesCousteau]

Very nice job on the planking!

[SiriusVoyager]

9 minutes ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Very nice job on the planking!

Thanks! Being mostly straight helped, but  I definitely feel better about it than my previous builds. 

[ChuckCHS]

Eric...I'm doing a cross section of the Connie. But I'm afraid my skill level is not a precise as yours. Your build looks exceptional compared  to mine. I'm wondering, what is the source for this kit? I think I'd like to add to my stash.

 

Chuck

[SiriusVoyager]

8 hours ago, ChuckCHS said:

Eric...I'm doing a cross section of the Connie. But I'm afraid my skill level is not a precise as yours. Your build looks exceptional compared  to mine. I'm wondering, what is the source for this kit? I think I'd like to add to my stash.

 

Chuck

Thank you for the kind words Chuck.  I'm still a beginner and learning as well.  I am sure the Constitution is quite the complex build.  This kit is the Artesania Latina San Francisco Galleon.  It is a relatively simple cross section, which is why I figured it would be good practice for honing technique.

[SiriusVoyager]

Second layer planking laid, trimmed and sanded.  I am going to try to remove some of the iridescence of the wood to make it look a bit more realistic.  Maybe a raw umber stain.

 

 

 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Cutting the Freeing ports and gun ports on the starboard side is a little tricky through the sapele since it is so brittle.  In the future I will cut the holes before placing any sort of veneer to avoid breakage like this.

 

 

Measuring the gun ports and freeing ports on the weather deck seemed to match with the instructions almost exactly, but on the gun deck, I didn't think they looked right.  The line is based on the measurements in the instructions.  The two drill holes are where I estimated where they should be after doing some measurements of my own.  I think the drill holes are right where the bottom of the gun ports should be. 

 

 

 

All six holes cut, sanded and filed down.  There will need to be a little more fine tuning after the planking patch work dries, which I will do when I add the frames to the gun ports.  I may make small frames for inboard sides of the gun ports on the weather deck to make sure everything looks nice and square. 

 

 

I would definitely suggest to anyone else building this model to cut the gun ports and freeing ports out prior to placing the second layer of planking.  Also carefully drill a couple of pilot holes in each corner of the gun ports to make cutting them out easier.  The freeing ports are too close to the deck so I wouldn't recommend drilling there.

Edited July 25 by SiriusVoyager

[djford]

This is looking really nice Eric, the deck planking is especially impressive. Keep it up!

[SiriusVoyager]

3 hours ago, djford said:

This is looking really nice Eric, the deck planking is especially impressive. Keep it up!

Thanks!

[SiriusVoyager]

Continuing the work on the hull on the other side.  Drilling pilot holes to cut out the gun ports seemed to work ok some times and not so good other times.  I switched to a finger drill which was a better option than the dremel.  As can be seen in the photos below, most of the holes were fine, but one caused some damage.  Fortunately the frame seems to cover it all up, which I didn't expect.

 

 

 

There isn't enough room to cut out the gun ports from inboard side because the knife handle is too long, so it must be cut through form the outboard side.  This wasn't an easy task and caused some damage.  I decided to build some frames to make it look cleaner.  I tried to find images of gun ports from the inside of real and recreated ships and had a hard time finding any could be seen well.  I only noticed one with a frame and couldn't really find anything on Spanish galleons.  The inboard frames may not be historically accurate, but they look better.

 

 

 

I don't like the shiny iridescence of the sapele decking and also wanted it just a bit darker so I experimented with some acrylic paint stains.  I found that I liked plain ole brown the best. 

 

 

It is a subtle difference but I think it looks a lot better.  Hopefully in the next update or two, once the cap rails are in place and the outboard gun port frames are in place it will start to look better.

Edited July 28 by SiriusVoyager

[SiriusVoyager]

Four gun port frames glued in.  There were also some wales attached which were stained with a walnut stain.  The gunwale was also put in place as well as the chainwales.

 

 

 

 

 

The mast fife pin rail also needed to be made.  There was no laser cut puts here.  They had to be carved and drilled.  They came out better than I expected.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3 by SiriusVoyager

[SiriusVoyager]

The instructions call this the main yard support.  I am pretty sure there is a better term, but I couldn't find it.  I made this the same way as the stanchions for the fife rail.  I enjoyed carving these out.

 

 

 

Belaying pin rails made and installed.

 

 

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

I have been jumping around the instructions at this point.  The capstan in the instructions didn't resemble any capstan I had ever seen. 

 

 

I am pretty sure they didn't use metal handles at the time either, so I modified it a bit.   I cut out two circles and 4 wedges, glued them together and sanded them into shape.  I also made 4 wooden handles.  The caps were scrap pieces of laser cut sheets.  The wedges and the handles are two pieces of scrap planking glued together and cut, carved and sanded into shape.  I used "special" walnut stain to color it.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I am slowly getting better at this.  The capstan is simple and may not be totally accurate, but I think it looks better than how the kit designed it.

 

I also started working on the hatch grating.  I was hoping the piece would all simply fit together, but they do not.  The space between the teeth is just a bit too narrow.  I used a piece of 150 grit sand paper folded four times to floss between the teeth.  It seemed to make the spacing just wide enough.

 

 

I also attempted to blacken brass for the first time.  I was a bit intimidated at first because I was worried about messing it up. 
 

First I cleaned the brass parts with a wire brush attachment on a dremel.  I then soaked the pieces in isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes to clean off any contaminates.  Next I used cotton swabs to apply Brass Black to the cannons.  After about 20-40 seconds when they started to look black I dipped them in distilled water then let them dry on paper towels.  For the wheels I placed them all in diluted Brass Black and then rinsed. 

 

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised that the blackening worked out pretty well, and was pretty easy.

[JacquesCousteau]

Nice job, the captsan looks much better and well done with the brass!

[SiriusVoyager]

1 minute ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Nice job, the captsan looks much better and well done with the brass!

Thanks!

[SiriusVoyager]

The upper capstan attached to the deck.  8 guns half way made.  The guns just need the rigging and installation.  A couple of the axles look like they need to be trimmed.  If needed, I will touch them up with a dab of black paint.

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

I blackened what should the last of the brass parts.  Mostly eyelets and nails. To do it quickly and efficiently, I used an old film canister with holes drilled into it.  I then lowered it into a jar of a very unscientifically measured 1:3 Brass Black and distilled water.  Swirled for a few seconds until blackened to my liking, then dipped in distilled water to stop the reaction.

 

 

 

There is also a coat of shellac on the nails and eyelets as well.

 

Next was blackening the chains for the dead eyes. The model kit uses a pieces of brass wire to make the chains.  I didn't want to blacken the wire first because of concerns with ruining the finish while working.  I was also concerned about blackening after the wire was installed due to possible staining of the dead eyes.  I decided to try out blackening the installed chains with the dilute solution of Brass Black with a cotton swab.  It worked ok, and solution was dilute enough that there is no noticeable staining of the dead eyes.

 

 

One side of the chains installed into the channels.  I will have to make sure that the dead eye and lanyard aren't blocking the gun port once rigged.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Footings added around the capstan.  The instructions called for using 1.5 x 1.5 mm strip.  I either couldn't find the strip or there wasn't quite enough supplied as I had already used 3 in making crate frames.  I used some planking scrap and cut out my own strips.

 

 

The aforementioned crates seemed like they would be relatively straight forward to make.  In theory they were, but in reality making so many sides exactly the same size was tricky.  It seemed that no two pieces could be cut the same size, no matter how many times I measured, measured against each other, and made sure the blade was just in the right spot.  Every piece was a different size.  At this size, half a millimeter is a large error.  I found the simplest thing to do was to cut every piece slightly oversize then sand until everything fit more precisely. 

 

Edited August 16 by SiriusVoyager

[Yann Kermeur]

hello,

very good job !

I really like the way you have modified the capstan, very creative and deft.

[SiriusVoyager]

3 hours ago, Yann Kermeur said:

hello,

very good job !

I really like the way you have modified the capstan, very creative and deft.

Thank you!