Atlantic 1903 by KimW - ITC/BlueJacket Shipcrafters -1/96 kit-bashed schooner yacht

[KimW]

This is my second vintage plastic kit that is in progress.

 

I have lusted after Blue Jacket Ship Crafter’s kit for a long time. My reviews of build logs for the Bluejacket kit left me feeling that this kit was beyond my abilities due try glaucoma. I just could see how I could handle the accurate carving needed.  I came across the UTC kit on eBay. When I looked at the photos and started comparing dimensions, the hull was darn close, the deck furniture had possibilities.  The stand and masts would have to go, along withe motorized features and related details. I decided to order the kit. Then I contacted the good folks at Bluejacket and purchased a set of plans for their kit. When everything arrived, I started comparing.

 

The overall dimensions were spot on, except the length, which was a little less than 1/4 in longer. The operating rudder and surface detail would have to go. The deck would have to be lowered. There was an odd foot molded into the keel. It might have been some sort of counterweight and it was also used hold one leg of the three legged stand. The completed model would be on a baseboard with brass pedestals, so the foot would have to go as well.

 

Then I contacted Nic at Bluejacket to see if I could just order the parts for his kit. He looked into it for me. He contacted me and it would be cheaper just the kit without a hull. I said yes added two sheets of his glued up decking to the order.

 

This is the background of this build. It is up to me to see if I can pull it off. I love a challenge!

 

Installment one  coming soon!

 

 

[ccoyle]

Good luck! And this is the first time an ITC kit has been featured in the forum.

[KimW]

 This installment one of my schooner Atlantic build.

 

This kit has what amounts to a solid, one piece hull. The rudder is a separate piece, and it will need to be discarded. There is an access door on one side for the propeller shaft, which was lost somehow.  This space Will need to be filled and a new shaft fairing installed.. As far as  the material  removal itself, I tried using a Dremel tool. It did more melting than good, and created more repair work. The best method that worked was to use a short bastard file and large flat sanding sticks in coarser grits, augmenting with wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around various shapes.

 

The next point of difficulty was the foot was  that it was not centered on the keel, requiring the removal much more material on one side than the other. As removal proceeded on the thick side it became clear that hull was getting too thin. The interior spaces were strengthened with two coats of epoxy on the inner hull filled with epoxy everywhere it could be stuffed. As removals  continued, the thick side was truing up nicely, when I broke through into what proved to be long, longitudinal bubbles running parallel to the keel. A lot of epoxy putty and removal of overly thinned hull material, eventually produced an acceptable shape. Then I test fit the pedestals. This  exercise revealed, that ,while the pedestal fit nicely, it had t be thinned out vertically a good three quarter inch. As  work proceeded, I encountered small bubbles filled with compacted white  powder. CA fixed these bubbles well.

 

As the final shape resolved itself , the really beautiful lines of the hull emerged. I drilled out all of the porthole locations to accept the after market portholes I purchased. I also drilled out pin installation holes  for the foremast chainplates. Hull strakes, ornamental items, such as long arrow on both sides of the hull, were formed out of half round strip styrene and carved cut styrene sheet.  This was a better option, than using brass rod and the photo etched parts from the blue jacket kit.

 

Moving-on to the deck installation, all deck detail was removed. I also opened up the locations of the various deck houses. Then the glued up deck sheeting was marked and cut to fit the deck. Because the width of the deck was too wide, I made a pattern and split  the wood deck along the center line. The makes for a seam along the centerline. The wood deck material also had ro be thinned before use in this build.  The wood decking was laminated to the plastic deck with epoxy.
 More on this to come!

 

 

 

[king derelict]

Looks like this kit is working you hard but it is paying off with a beautiful hull.

alan