Phantom 1868 by Greg Davis - Model Shipways - 1:48 scale - New York Pilot Boat

[Greg Davis]

Today I received the newly released 1:48 scale Phantom New York Pilot Boat 1868 manufactured by Model Shipways. 

I wanted to build this kit for at least two reasons. First, in 2007, the 1:96 scale Phantom was the first wooden model ship that I completed (not the first I started!) and now after 17 years and many models I hope to do much better this time around. Second, I have a dog that I named after the boat and he is getting up in years - just turned 14 - so we don't know how much more time we will have with him. This model will help cement my memories of him. A young Phantom is the one on the left below; we lost Zargon, on the right, nearly 10 years ago.

 

 

So back to the kit! As noted above, this is a reintroduction of Phantom at a larger scale. One of the biggest differences is that the new 1:48 version is plank on bulkhead; whereas the 1:96 version is a solid hull model. The plan set has not changed, short of making enlargements from the 1:96 scale kit. Thus if you have built the small model, there is really nothing new in terms of documentation. 

The instruction book for the 1:48 scale kit features color photographs to aid the construction process.

It's sort of funny that Model Shipways continues to use the same basic material at the start of the booklet as they have for years. Once and a while they should update! For example in the Painting and Staining section, they still refer to making use of Floquil and Testers Model Master paints - both of which have been discontinued for years. Nevertheless, it appears that the construction is laid out in a thoughtful manor with many photographs to aid in the process. However, it won't be until the model is completed that I will really know how good they are (for me).

 

In terms of materials, there is a slew of limewood strips and several sheets of laser cut materials:

Note that the keel / stem / stern post components are separate from the false keel. This may simplify tapering of bulkheads and creation of the planking rabbet.

 

There is a sheet of photo-etched parts. Some I will likely discard, e.g., the wheel and deck houses as they deserve to be built with wood.

Finally, there is a collection of fittings, rigging line, etc. I'm not sure how much of this material will be used verses replaced. Certainly the blocks need to go and probably all the rigging material as well!

 

Hopefully soon the construction will begin!

 

[ccoyle]

I'm very interested to see how this goes for you. The very first POB kit I ever built was the old Katy of Norfolk kit, which was a conversion of the original solid hull kit. The POB conversion had a number of faults which made it a real challenge for a novice to build. That kit was eventually retired, and a new solid hull version has since been marketed. Hopefully this one will have fewer problems, if any.

[hamilton]

Glad to see that someone is starting a log for this - like you, the 1:96 Phantom was my very first ever ship model and the first I brought to completion - the one that hooked me! Have been tempted by this larger version, particularly since my old Phantom had to be consigned to the dustbin after a major accident....I did notice from the Model Expo website that the plans seemed to be identical to the 1:96 plans, just enlarged....did they at least add a sheet with laser cut patterns? In any case it'll be fun to see her come together here!

hamilton

[Greg Davis]

35 minutes ago, hamilton said:

Glad to see that someone is starting a log for this - like you, the 1:96 Phantom was my very first ever ship model and the first I brought to completion - the one that hooked me! Have been tempted by this larger version, particularly since my old Phantom had to be consigned to the dustbin after a major accident....I did notice from the Model Expo website that the plans seemed to be identical to the 1:96 plans, just enlarged....did they at least add a sheet with laser cut patterns? In any case it'll be fun to see her come together here!

hamilton

No, there is not a plan sheet with the laser cut pieces to scale. This is unfortunate both for checking the supplied pieces and for anyone that would have liked to scratch build based on a new plan set. It seems that this would not have been hard for Model Shipways to have printed and included. There are drawings of all the laser cut pieces in the instruction manual - but no scale is provided / it is not clear if there is any distortion in the drawings. They don't seem to be worth anymore than as part identification.

[hamilton]

Yeah - not sure what use that is except for locating parts.....I guess you could check symmetry of the laser cut parts on the line drawings included on the other plan sheet - but that would involve some lofting from the drawings....does the sheet with the line drawings on it have a scale measure on it to check for distortion?

hamilton

[hamilton]

PS - if Model Shipways' approach was merely to photographically enlarge their old drawings (which it kind of looks like it was), then there is likely to be some distortion in the 1:48 line drawings....though from what you show of them above they could, theoretically, be used to make templates to check against the parts.....

hamilton

[Greg Davis]

1 hour ago, hamilton said:

Yeah - not sure what use that is except for locating parts.....I guess you could check symmetry of the laser cut parts on the line drawings included on the other plan sheet - but that would involve some lofting from the drawings....does the sheet with the line drawings on it have a scale measure on it to check for distortion?

hamilton

I've taken some measurements on the laser cut frames and it seems that they are reasonably symmetrical and inline with the cross sections on the enlarged plans. It looks like they will be fine to work with as is. 

[Greg Davis]

Released all the bulkheads and false keel. Two of the bulkheads (5 and 8 )have doublers to accommodate the decking. The doublers and bulkheads have alignment holes that make use of round toothpicks. This is a nice touch as even this size piece of wood likes to slide around when the glue is wet.

 

Very little filing was needed to get the bulkheads to slide into place. I haven't worked with this type of wood for a long time and forgot how fragile it could be - when cutting out bulkhead 9, I accidently broke the piece along the grain near the bulkhead slot. 

The upper part of bulkheads 1 - 8 form a mould for the bulwark planking. After planking, they are removed. There are 'support pieces' 23 - 29 that fit between bulkheads 1 - 8. The support pieces do a great job in keeping the bulkheads square to the false keel.  Nicely, they didn't take too much adjustment to have a good fit. Again I was a little too forceful and almost broke one of these in half. 

In the above picture, the stern deck (13) and bow filler pieces have been set in place. The bow fillers are made from two pieces (on each side) and have alignment holes. 

 

The instructions suggest beveling the bulkheads before attaching them permanently. The method shown is to lay a plank over the bulkheads to see what the bevel should be. Then take off the bulkhead, bevel some, and put it back in place to check with the plank again. There is a picture in the instruction book on a bevel being made using a Dremel tool - with the wood being so soft, my guess is that the chance of over sanding in this manner is great. A lot of kits will probably be damaged at this point. 

 

I will be taking a different tack. I think a better plan is to mark the location where bulkheads 6 - 9 end on the false keel so that the aft portion of the false keel can be reduced for the planking rabbet. Then the bulkheads and support pieces can be permanently attached. Next doublers for the masts will be added - these are not suggested in the instructions. Following this, some filler blocks will be added between the bulkheads - the limewood / basswood bulkheads are quite flexible and without support will not keep square when planking. I also feel like I can get a better hull contour and planking surface using filler blocks. 

 

So next up, preparations / strengthening for the hull shaping process.   

[Greg Davis]

After making final check on bulkhead fit, bulkheads 1 - 9 and the corresponding support pieces were attached to the false keel. I brushed diluted white glue into all of the pre-aligned joints. This works better for me than to put glue on the slots and then slide the pieces back together. I also added the provided bow fillers using the toothpick alignment holes. Finally, I glued the two transom layers together. Then the structures were set aside to dry overnight.

 

This morning I did some work on the transom. First a bevel was sanded along the top. The laser cut pieces have lines to show were the bevel needs to be. In order to get the bevel as neat as possible, I sanded the transom on a piece of sandpaper attached to my work surface. This is one of those places were it is better for me to bring the work to the sandpaper, than the sandpaper to my work.

 

I clamped the stern deck to the false keel / bulkhead structure to check the bevel as work proceeded.

Once satisfied, I glued the transom to the false keel - but not the transom deck, using the back of the transom deck for alignment aid.

Now I will look for some filler wood to use between the bulkheads!

 

[Greg Davis]

On my way to making this into a solid hull just like the original model! I've used some harder balsa blocks to fill in between the bulkheads.

Here's a look after a Dremel sanding session!

A couple more, smaller, filler blocks to add along the edges and then a couple to fill in the rest of the bow are still needed.

[yvesvidal]

I am so glad they released that beautiful pilot boat in the scale of 1/48th. This, like many others, was my first Model Shipways kit in the scale of 1/96th, some 30 years ago. I probably will never build that boat (again) in that scale but I will enjoy watching your progress.

 

So many kits and so many ships, and so little time.....

 

Yves

[Greg Davis]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

I am so glad they released that beautiful pilot boat in the scale of 1/48th. This, like many others, was my first Model Shipways kit in the scale of 1/96th, some 30 years ago. I probably will never build that boat (again) in that scale but I will enjoy watching your progress.

 

So many kits and so many ships, and so little time.....

 

Yves

At one point I thought about buying the 1/96th version and building it again to see if ~20 years of model building has sharpened my skills!

 

My stash keeps growing as well: models bought > models built and even worse rate of models bought > rate of models built!

[Desertanimal]

I’m looking for my next build. I’m liking the look of this boat. I’ll be following along! Enjoy!

[Greg Davis]

Today I got a very good start on shaping the fillers on the starboard side of the hull. Also got a little done on the other side - if the weather is good tomorrow hopefully I will get that done as well. I like to do the bigger sanding activities outdoors if I can.

 

While this is a big dusty project I'm glad that the fillers are going to be in place for the planking. I really don't think the bulkheads would have stayed perpendicular to the false keel otherwise. The false keel and bulkheads are made from 1/8" material.

[Greg Davis]

The whole hull has been rough sanded - I've made it to sanding bevels in most of the bulkheads. Tomorrow, I'll move to finer sandpaper.

 

[Greg Davis]

I am always worried about sanding too much at this point, but for this model I have no fear. In fact, I believe that there may be an error in the kit's development. On the plans, the lines are said to be drawn to 'outside of planking'. Last night I checked the bulkhead dimensions against this drawing and the claim that the model should be 5" wide. The mainframe dimension (bulkhead #5) matches the cross-section at that point and is just over 5" wide. In Chapelle's book The History of American Sailing Ships, his plans claim a moulded beam of 19' 8" - that would be just under 5" at the 1:48 scale. So it appears that the bulkhead that matches the plans cross-section really is the dimension outside of the planking. 

 

Adding the 1/16" planking will have the effect of widening the model by 1/8" or 6 scale inches - nobody that sees my model will likely notice, but I know that there are many on this forum that would like dimensions as close as possible to the actual ship if at all possible. More importantly, I would have expected that this would have been noted during the kit development by either the kit designer or someone in charge of reviewing the kit prior to release. 

 

The 'outside the planking' lines were correct for the 1:96 solid hull (no planking) model that was produced earlier by Model Shipways.

[Greg Davis]

I looked at many of the Phantom build logs on this site - most are for the 1:96 scale Model Shipways model.  One build log really stood out to me: Phantom 1868 by victory78 - New York pilot boat. This is a 1:50 scale scratch build project. Victory 78"s work is quite impressive; the build is not done yet, but presents a model built in a more advanced (but similar) manner to the new Model Shipways kit. Victory 78 is working with higher quality woods and this really enhances the product.

 

The work seems to be associated with a group build based in Germany and follows the book 'Working techniques for model shipbuilding' by Robert Volk and Peter Davies-Garner. I have procured an eBook version through Kobo.  It appears that they started with the 1:96 Model Shipway plans by Campbell together with the Chapelle drawings and enhanced them using information from a few publications noted in the books bibliography. The redrawn plans are not part of the book; however, looking at the book a number of changes (from the Campbell plans) can be seen. For example, a curved instead of flat transom, deck doublings, and a dropped cockpit. Some of these details I will likely adapt. 

 

My first impression of the book is that it is a nice practicum dedicated to Phantom. 

[Greg Davis]

I've finished sanding the filler material / beveling of the bulkheads to my satisfaction.

The underlayment for the stern deck has been added as well. Note the red clamp - it is holding a fix! During the sanding process I broke off several of the extensions that are to be used when planking the bulwarks. I don't think I was being overly careless when sanding, but I caught the edge of these a couple of times and they snapped at the point where the outermost laser cut ends. I may glue a horizontal strengthening strip to each before I plank the bulwarks. 

Next step in construction appears to be the addition of stem, keel and stern post.

[hamilton]

She is going to be sweet!

hamilton

[Ronald-V]

Nice lines! I'm curious to see what it looks like when a few planks are placed on it

[Greg Davis]

8 hours ago, Ronald-V said:

Nice lines! I'm curious to see what it looks like when a few planks are placed on it

Me too!

 

 

[Greg Davis]

Today I cut out and installed the stem / keel / stern post components. They where on a laser cut sheet of 1/4 basswood. Because of the thickness of the wood, I decided to release them from the sheet using my scroll saw. It looked to be easier than trying to get a knife through the wood.

After a little clean-up I started to attach the pieces starting with the stem - this mated well with the false keel. A small amount of adjustment with the scarph joint and the first piece of the keel was put in place. Next I put on the stern post - this piece was a little shorter than it really should have been, so there is a gap at the top that will disappear after planking. The last piece to put on was the aft portion of the keel. This piece was too long. To get it to fit properly, I made appropriate adjustments at the second scarf joint. With these pieces in place, there is a very nice and clean rabbet for the planking process.

The clamps are holding stiffeners, for the bulwark planking forms, as they dry.

 

Should be able to layout / start some planking tomorrow! 

[Greg Davis]

I started the planking work yesterday. First I discarded the planking instructions from the kit:

I think it is a bit of a disservice to modelers - especially new ones to promote such a poor planking scheme. I know that the lower portion of the hull is to be plated and the upper to be painted; however, this illustration shows a scheme that many would not even be satisfied for a first layer in a double layer planked ship. Would it have been too hard to present a more accurate / acceptable layout? If the modeler didn't want to go in that direction, a comment could be made that this fill up the space method could be used.

 

I've also decided not to use the provided 1/8" wide planking strips - they are thinner than the plank width on the plans. I will be working with a midship width of about 3/16" instead. I'm guessing the 1/8" strips are provided because they can easily accept a great deal of edge bending.

 

So far I've fashioned and attached a garboard strake that was made from sheet stock. 

I will now mark out the rest of the planking scheme and get to planking this up in a slightly nicer fashion than in the instructions. Hopefully I won't need as much filler as they show either!

 

[hamilton]

Yeah - it seems like the planking approach they suggest is trying to reinvent what are much better approaches seen on this forum. Your garboard looks very well placed - it;'ll be good to see the planking come along

hamilton

[Greg Davis]

Finally back to the bench after a couple of weeks! Got to spend a week in Seattle for my son's wedding - that was a really good time. But, unfortunately, I've been asked to come back to work part-time to teach a section of Calc II - a good friend / colleague has taken ill and will not be able to work anymore this semester. I've got the class more or less back in control so now I can do a bit of modeling.

 

I decided to go with 3 planking belts, each comprising of 6 strakes. I divided up bulkheads into thirds and then went to work on the upper belt. I further divided this by two with tick paper and proportional dividers. Finally, I broke these regions into thirds by eye.

 

Today I was able to plank the upper belt completely. Because the basswood strips are fairly flexible, I am doing the work with a bit of tapering together with some edge bending. The 3/16" wide strips taper to just under 1/8" at the bow and widen to their full width midship. I chose plank lengths to be approximately 8" long - each spans the space between 4 bulkheads; so there are 1 or 2 planks per strake. It possible could be argued that 6" planks would have been better now that I think about it! No going back now. There is also a 4 plank shift that corresponds to the bulkhead locations - I'm shifting the butts for each strake one bulkhead (approximately 2") on the model. 

 

Here's a couple of pictures of the first stage of planking:

The striped pattern was unintentional - because the hull is going to be painted and coppered I have not taken the time to randomize the material and its just by chance that I have gotten this pattern. I doubt it will continue like this the rest of the way down the hull!

 

Currently, I find it easier on this type of model to taper / fit strakes from bow to stern with a single strip of wood. The butts are then located and cut before each stake is attached to the model. I do this because (for me) it yields smoother transitions at each butt joint. If the hull was to receive a natural finish and the planks needed to be splied, I modify the method a bit. I get wood wide enough to splie the plank. Several pieces are glued together where the butt joints belong, then the complete stake is laid out respecting the joint locations. Once laid out, the wood is cut / sanded to shape  - again smooth junctions at the butt joints are achieved - and the strake is then placed on the model.

[ccoyle]

56 minutes ago, Greg Davis said:

I've been asked to come back to work part-time to teach a section of Calc II

 

I'm thankful that my college major only required one semester of calculus. Graphing calculators had just come on the market, but our instructor was a monk and an old-school math guy who insisted on doing all of his calculations by hand (but, fortunately, he didn't require us to do likewise). For me, calc was one of those skills that I never had to make use of after college 😬. Mind you, I'm thankful for all the folks who do need it and know how to use it!

[Greg Davis]

Second / middle starboard belt of planking is in place.

The space at the stern post is 1.5 inches - if I use six planks in this belt as I had intended, I'll need to use 1/4" strips instead of 3/16" as the two other belts are. Otherwise, a stealer or two will need to be introduced (or a couple of wedges!). Now that I'm getting under the copper line, I'm not sure how much effort to put into the planking scheme.

 

While this work has gone well, one thing for sure is that this is more work / more of a challenge than the solid hull 1:96 Phantom model. I'm saying this with now having already planked over 10 models. So I'm curious if this is a good intro to model ship building or if Model Expo is now relying on their Shipwright series for that purpose. Someday, I would like to try a Vanguard model to see  how that would be for a beginner. At some point I hope to get my grand children to try a model, but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet in terms of minimal fussing and dust before the work is done.

[hamilton]

Planking looks great so far Greg

hamilton

[Greg Davis]

I've completed the starboard planking and given it a first smoothing.

The basswood planking is a bit soft / flexible even with the additional material between the bulkheads. I'm going to give the planking a 50% white glue / water treatment to stiffen the material up a bit. For now this should minimize chances of denting the planking while I continue work on the hull and later in the build it should provide an opportunity to get a smoother finish on the wood.

 

On to the port side planking!

 

 

[Ronald-V]

That looks beautiful!