Miss Adventure by justaguyinvegas - Model Shipways - 1/6

[justaguyinvegas]

I am finally getting around to making this build log. I started this kit in 2016 and since then have had long stretches of time of not working on it. I am finally near to completion so I thought it was time to share my experience. I will be posting the actual dates taken from the meta data from my photos. I have done a moderate amount of kit bashing to this kit since I felt some things needed improving.

 

5-9-2016

 

Frame-up mostly done. It's a good idea to bend the stringers before you glue them on as not to create tension that can warp the frame

[justaguyinvegas]

5-14-2016

 

Frame-up finally done. It went pretty straightforward with no problems. (That's my yet-to-be-rigged Bluenose II in the background)

Edited June 4 by justaguyinvegas
typo

[justaguyinvegas]

5-14-2016

 

I figure now is the time to install the pushrod for the rudder since I wont be able to do it easily later. I decided to upgrade to a slop-free Sullivan Gold-n-Rod. I used a nylon armature from my box of old parts.

[justaguyinvegas]

5-2016

 

The thought of trying to make a decent planking job by just gluing to stringers and frames gave me a lot of anxiety so I decided, like many others who have built this kit, to sheet the whole thing in balsa so I have an even surface to plank to. Since the bow is such a compound surface I ended up using balsa blocks carved to shape. I sheeted the bottom and sides first because I plan on epoxying the inside of the boat.

[justaguyinvegas]

5-28-2016

 

I used a great amount of care in building the hatch covers. There is compound bends in them both and I made sure to have them done right. I sheeted each one in four pieces of balsa so the profile wouldn't be affected. The back part of the deck was sheeted all at once, then the cockpit was cut out of it.

[justaguyinvegas]

After epoxying the interior, it sat in this state for a few years. I just kinda lost interest for a while. Planking seemed like such a daunting task.

Edited June 4 by justaguyinvegas
clarification

[justaguyinvegas]

1-9-2022

 

Back at it! One thing that bothered me about this kit is that earlier versions of it came with mahogany planks long enough to plank the sides with one contiuous piece, where as later versions (like the one I am building) had shorter planks requiring you to butt some together to make the length. I ended up ordering the proper length planks from MACK products as well as some cockpit coming that was more true to scale than the one that came with the kit. Another departure from the kit is that used styrene strips to simulate caulk lines on the top deck. I felt like the finished model looked too much like a mahogany torpedo so I use the caulk lines to add some character. A word about the margin planks that came with the kit...they suck. They are not solid mahogany but very thin mahogany plywood which is very easy to sand through. I decided not to even touch them and left a little overhang from the deck to the sides. I also was careful to use the same plank all the way down the deck for consistancy.

[justaguyinvegas]

2-19-2022

 

I was apprehensive about planking the compound curves on the bottom of the boat until I saw some old plans for flyer class racers using a dihedral type planking for the bottoms of the boats. I decided to go this route and I am very happy with the results. It did require a bit of bending and mitering.

[justaguyinvegas]

2-26-2022

 

On to planking the sides. I noticed in the pack of extra long planks that I ordered that there were four planks that were lighter colored than the rest. I ended up using them as kinda racing stripes down the sides of the boat. I like the effect.  I had to come up with some creative means of clamping the planks to the model (I used Tightbond III throughout) so I used magnets and rubber bands.

[justaguyinvegas]

3-10-2022

 

Planking finally done. Whew!

[Nirvana]

Justaguyinvegas, 

I like your log, however one thing I would had done before any decking commenced, I would have epoxied the inside of the hull.

This to eliminate some possibility for the water to come through.

However, the finish does look amazing.

[justaguyinvegas]

@NirvanaOoops. I forgot to mention it. I did epoxy the entire interior for strength and watertightness. You can see the shininess of it in post #7.

[justaguyinvegas]

And so it sat for three more years while life got in the way. I gave me a lot of time to think about how I want to finish the wood.

[justaguyinvegas]

5-10-2025

 

Now we are getting more up-to-date. I decided on using Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane in a satin finish. It has good moisture resistance and durability. I prefer satin finish since gloss is pretty unforgiving of any imperfections. I plan on two coats of brush on and a final coat of spray. Here is the deck after the first coat of Urethane. I hate that the margin planks were not long enough the reach the back of the boat. I had to add a piece of mahogany planking to finish it out and it looks kinda janky. I may put some kind of fitting or hardware there to mask it.

[Nirvana]

I have used the same urethane on one of my rc yachts with good results.

That is a beauty, nice job!

[justaguyinvegas]

More Spar Urethane. I don't know why the camera makes it look this way. It looks much better in person.

 

[justaguyinvegas]

I started to get to work on some other stuff..

I didn't like how the kit used thick plywood for the rudder so I got some scrap brass, cut it to shape, then braised it to the rod. I still need to clean it up more.

 

I used pleather scraps and thin shipping foam to upholster the seats. I used a regular stapler to secure the edges. It's not great but I can redo it later. For expediency sake, this is fine.