Syren Hull Assembly

[Charley54]

Ok. So I started my Syren a few days ago and things are going well except for a few small difficulties.  I had a nasty warp in the bulkhead former which I struggled with for a couple days. I finally got most of it worked out with some water and an old sealing iron I use when covering the RC aircraft I fly. However, there is still a little twist I need to get out towards the stern.

 

I have been closely following and reviewing the great Syren builds that are up  on MSW and they have been great. However I have a question I would appreciate some help with.

 

I am about to attach the bulkheads to the Former and was planning on ( as suggested in the directions)  using filler blocks between the bulkheads to straighten out the little twist I still have in the bulkhead former. However , as I read the directions one is supposed to fair the hull with the bulkheads only temporarily in place. After this step then one is to glue in the bulkheads and proceed with the addition of the filler blocks. Ok, after that huge introduction, my question is; if I fair the hull first then straighten out the warp ( with filler blocks) after I glue the bulkheads wont that throw everything off?

 

My intention was to just glue everything in, add in the fillers to get rid of my warp then worry about fairing the hull.

 

Maybe I have just been looking at this to long. I don't know why it seems so difficult. My head hurts and I am starting to dream about bulkheads and rabetts     Anyway, I would appreciate some input .  Thanx

[augie]

Hello Charley!

 

Always best to do your thinking before you grab the glue or sandpaper.  I built Syren but still had to go down and dig out the instructions before I sent you a reply.

 

Chuck has had the bulkheads pre-marked with approximate fairing or bevel lines scribed on one face.  He instructs to remove some of that material prior to fairing the hull.  That's a good idea.  Then it does get, at least to me, a little murky when it is suggested to temporarily fit the bulkheads to the former and do the actual fairing.  To me, that wasn't where I wanted to go.

 

So after the off-ship pre-trimming of the bulkheads, I squared them up and glued them in.  Then glued in the filler blocks making sure the bulkhead former was dead straight.  Then I went to the typical fairing, checking all along with some planks to see the run of things.  It's the only way I could think of to make sure everything was true.

 

That's my experience, hope it helps.  Take you time on the fairing.  Things depend on it later.

[Charley54]

Thanks for the advice Augie. This is the way I was thinking but its nice to get  some confirmation.

 

I found this site right at the end of your build log and have really picked up a lot from yours as well as all the other Syren builds I have found. What a great service.

[Pygothian]

I've been reading the instructions downloaded from model expo, and that confused me also. I would of thought you would have to glue and make sure everything is square before fairing, as I thought the process of fairing would move the bulkheads if they are not fixed.

 

Thanks

Rowan

[Chuck]

There are many way to do this...I just described the one that I use.  I find it easier to fair a bit before gluing.  Especially when you have the angles pre-determined somewhat.  Then do the last bit once the are glued into position.  I find it easier to do when I can hold the bulkheads in my hand to tweak them.   But it is of course no the only way.   I dont think anyone should read a "how-to" and feek it is the only way.  Just one written example of how one person did it.  You should always try the method that is most comfortable for you.

 

Chuck

[Pygothian]

Thanks for the tips Chuck. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my ship!

[Charley54]

Thanks for the input Chuck, I guess its just first ship jitters. Anyway, I just did it the way that felt right and its turning out pretty good. At least I finally got rid of the wicked twist/warp. The filler blocks took care of that. I must say I love the kit  and I am having a blast

 

Thanks

[McSpuds]

I did as one author did. I did most of my sanding before adding any glue... I then did the final sanding, and sanding, and more sanding after I had glued the bulkheads into place and had my filler blocks in place. This also seemed to be stiffer and gave a more solid base to sand with.

Edited October 16, 2013 by McSpuds

[Larry Van Es]

My build log from from MSW1.0 is lost but when I did this I made my glue blocks to where they were within a few thousandths of an inch of ideal. I'm really anal - I do everything with a digital caliper. But by doing this my glue blocks when placed in position would stay without any glue. This press-fit of all the glue blocks not only took the warp out of my bulkhead former, but allowed me to take out and then replace any bulkheads that needed extra fairing. I did this because I was new to ship model building and didn't know any better, but on the next model I'm sure I'll do it this way again. The little time that I spent in making the glue blocks more than made up for the time spent in straightening and fairing