18th Century Merchantman by RossR - NRG - 1:48

[RossR]

When I started building my NRG Half Hull, I didn’t know if I would do a build log on this one.  After the NRG had a sale on this kit a couple of years ago there were a number of really well done build logs and I wasn’t sure If I would have much more to offer.  I did take a bunch of pictures along the way, and now that I am a few weeks into it, I have decided to post a build log and share my experience.  

 

I don’t remember which build log mentioned this, but someone commented that they found building on the foam board suggested in the instructions difficult.  I had the same concern, so I decided to build my model directly on a piece of poplar that will be the permanent board for display after the model is compete. 

 

The instructions have you glue the print to the foam board.  Since my board will be the permanent display board I didn't want to glue the plan to it, but I needed to find a way to transfer critical points to the board I was using.  I taped the plan to the board and used a small awl to transfer critical points to the building board. 

 

 

I then connected the dots to have some reference points for gluing the various parts to the building board.  I then removed material from the keel, keelson, stem, deadwood and other related parts to create the rabbet.  After creating the rabbet, I glued the parts to the building board using the small marks made with the awl to get everything placed properly.  The board I used is big enough to accommodate a frame that I intended to add after the half hull was compete, so there was a significant distance to the edge and some parts of the model and clamping created some challenges.  I was able to get creative with a bottle of scotch to get a strong bond to the building board.  I used Titebond Wood Glue for almost everything on this model.

 

 

I will cover attaching the bulkheads next.

 

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Looking forward to following along with this build!

[RossR]

After gluing the keelson to the building board, I used some micro chisels purchased from Lee Valley Tools to deepen the notches that the bulkhead will fit into. 

 

 

I used a machinists square, legos and a few other items to keep the bulkheads square.  I was a little skeptical of how good of a bond I would get to the building board since there was no downward clamping pressure where the two items met.  I was pleasantly surprise at how secure the bond is.   

 

 

 

 

 

The kit came with laser cut pieces to glue between the bulkheads for added strength and stability.  I found these were just a bit on the small side to use.  At first I worried that it was because my bulkheads were not square, but I never ran into a situation when they were too big, so I decided they must just be a little too small.   I used scrap wood to create the parts needed.  

 

It became obvious that some of my bulkheads would require shims.   In at least one case it was because I didn’t make a deep enough cut in the keelson.  

 

 

 

 

I had some .6 mm sapeli left over from my Occre builds, and dimensionally it worked great.  It is so flexible it fit around curve of the bulkhead easily.   The only issue I ran into is the dark color made pencil marks difficult to see.  

 

 

Next up is fairing the hull.

 

 

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Nice work!

[RossR]

For fairing the hull I made some sanding sticks out of some paint stir sticks and some smaller ones out tongue depressors.   Those in conjunction with this flexible sanding tool were used to fair the hull.   

 

 

I think fairing a hull is the least enjoyable yet most important steps in building a model.   I found I needed to work in small amounts over several days.   Frequent checking with a plank and patience are the keys.   I shimmed a couple more bulkheads to get things right.  

 

After I was satisfied with the fairing I used a string to determine the line if the garboard strake.  I followed the instructions on the with of the garboard and the broad strake. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the broad stake was installed, I created tick strips for each of the bulkheads.  Starting with bulkhead A, I marked off 12 equal width blanks using the planking fan.  I then repeated that for each bulkhead moving forward.  Eventually I dropped one plank from the middle of the bulkhead 4A leaving 11 planks at the bow.  

 

I think one of the most important letters I learned on this project was to take the time to redo things if I am not satisfied with the results.  The first plank at the bow above the broad plank was created installed and removed 3 times before I decided the 4th one was worth keeping.  I was a little worried at that point thinking every plank was going to require 4 tries before I was successful.  However, I quickly became better at creating the tape template for the planks and cutting the planks out.  

 

Creating the plank above the drop blank was one of the more complex planks that I needed to create.  It took a couple tries to get one that fit properly, but I am pretty happy with the final result.

 

 

I will have more information on the planking on my next post.

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Nice job! You definitely won't regret taking the time to properly fair the hull.

[RossR]

Moving toward the rear, I added a small piece of backing between bulkheads F and G to support the steeler that was added at the stern.  Looking at the model now, I don’t think I made the steeler or drop plank look and elegant as I should have.  I think I was so focused on getting a good fit between planks I didn’t think about how the plank looked.

 

 

One area where I deviated from the plans was the method that I used to create the tape template.  The instructions used blue painters tape and a compass to mark the bottom edge of the plank.  Instead of traditional blue painters tape, I used Frog Tape brand Delicate Surface painters tape which is a translucent yellow color.  I start my process by making sure that the tick marks on the bulkheads are as dark as possible.  I then place the tape across the bulkheads.  The marks show through the tape.

 

 

I then use a carpenters pencil and lay the lead across the top edge of the plank below the one I am creating and make a pencil mark on the tape to make the mark for the bottom edge of the plank I am creating. 

 

 

I then trace the tick marks that represent the top edge of the plank on the tape.  I put the tape onto a light colored section of my cutting mat and use a french curve, ruler and anything else I can find that connects the tick marks with the correct curve. 

 

 

I then place tape on my basswood and use a scalpel to cut out the piece. 

 

 

 

I leave a little extra meat on each end and use my Ultimation sander to get the angle right so it meet up with the adjacent part and slowly reduce the length until I have an nice snug fit. 

 

 

A few months ago there was some discussion about knives and other cutting tools and after following the conversations I decided to purchase a scalpel handle and a box of blades.  The scalpel blades work great for cutting the 1/32 inch material for this model.  The blades are very sharp, but do not stay sharp as long as a good exacto knife blade.  You can buy a box of 100 for about 10 cents a blade on Amazon, so even though they don’t last as long, they are a good value.

 

below are pictures with the bottom two of three belts complete.

 

 

I will have more details on the planking process in my next post.

 

 

[RossR]

You may have noticed in some of my photos, the wale was installed using a darker colored wood.  I decided to buy some walnut and use that for the wale, cap rail and any of parts that were colored black in the prototype.  The wale will consist of 2 layers of 1/32 material.  After installing the first layer for the wale, I was not satisfied with the result.  I struggled to get a smooth edge.  I decided to remove the first layer and create the first layer with a continuous strip of basswood to ensure a nice smooth edge.  I used two 1/32 x 1/8 inch strips for the bottom layer.  I will complete the wale with the walnut on the second layer.  

 

 

Here is the model with the first layer of the wale installed and all of the planking below the wale completed. 

 

 

Above the wale I decided to use 1/32 x 3/16 inch basswood strips instead of cutting the pieces out of the basswood sheets.  

 

To create the template for the cap rail, I used a piece of cardstock and traced the outside line of the rail.  I then used a compass to create the the full width of the cap rail.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the hull with the cap rail installed.  I used 1/16 walnut for the cap rail.  I thought 1/32 material wasn't substantial enough for the cap rail.  I used a hobby knife to cut the cap rail, but that was difficult with that thickness of walnut.  I should have used my scroll saw instead.  

 

 

next I will blank the stern, add the second layer of the wale, and stain and varnish the hull.

 

 

[JacquesCousteau]

Excellent job, the walnut is a nice touch.