Lady Isabella by palmerit - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Zulu

[palmerit]

My next Vanguard model, which I've had in my stash since last fall, is the Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’, one of the six fishing boat models Vanguard currently sells. Like the Sherbourne and the Ranger, this is a Novice kit. Its rigging looks to be a lot simpler than both the Sherbourne and the Ranger. This model is number 03, one of the first Vanguard models, so it'll be interesting to see how different it is from the other two models I've built. 

 

Of the fishing boat models, the Ranger (Novice) (which I just completed), the Lady Isabella (Novice), and Erycina (Amateur) are a bit larger boats, with the Lady Eleanor (Novice), Saucy Jack (Amateur), and Nisha (Amateur) a bit smaller boats - all are 1:64.

 

This kit comes with sails. The sails that came with the Ranger weren't the best. I had seen that sails are an option online on Vanguard's web site for the Zulu (and the Erycina, which I have in my stash). I reached out to Chris Watton and he said that the ones for sale online are premium quality (and that once the free sails have been used up, these kits will again be sold without sails). I think all the fishing boats have optional premium sails. I ordered a set for the Lady Isabella and for the Erycina to replace the sets that come with the kits.

 

I'm also planning to order blocks and rope from Syren for this one, maybe the next one too.

 

This hull seems to have a bit at the top that's left unpainted. My hope is that my planking skills are up to the challenge. Otherwise, I'll just paint again.

Edited September 15 by palmerit

[palmerit]

Like I've done on some - not all - other build logs, I'm going to have the second post be a place where I add some notes for other people who might be working on this boat so they don't need to search through the whole build log. No guarantees I'll add anything interesting here. But if I do, I hope it's helpful.

 

The first bit is buying the replacement premium sails. I don't know if they are sold anywhere but the Vanguard web site:

https://vanguardmodels.co.uk/products/zulu-lady-isabella

The shipping cost to the US isn’t too bad. These are cloth sails after all. 

 

 

Edited September 15 by palmerit

[Ronald-V]

Have fun with this new addition to your fleet!

[palmerit]

Reading is important. You make the superstructure and slot into the lower deck without gluing to make sure it has the right form. The photos might make you think you glue the superstructure to the lower deck. You don’t until much later, despite the photo. 

[palmerit]

With this Vanguard model you need to pull out the plans early to use plan sheet 1 to find where the parts are on some of the laser cut sheets. The Sherbourne and Ranger had the part numbers on the sheets. 

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey with this build, 

Bob  M.

[palmerit]

Putting together the bulkheads and other supports. I can see the engineering genesis from this early model (one of the first Vanguard models) to the more recent models in terms of the various kinds of supports and internal architecture. Thus one goes together really well and the bulkheads essentially go into place square, but these ones are glued into place whereas the Sherbourne and Ranger were assembled without glue and then glue was added later to where the pieces come together for some redundancy. 

[palmerit]

Some 3-2-1 block (metal, heavy) to weigh down the sub deck. 

[palmerit]

It’s interesting that the instructions don’t really describe “fairing” the hull - just sanding to ensure that all the bulkheads are bevelled (I know that’s the same thing). This is certainly the easiest hull I’ve faired. Now looking, I have a few spots to fix but it’s close. Thought I’d include photos in case someone new doing this model wondered what it should look like. 
 

As recommended, I’d definitely recommend “pre-fairing” the bulkhead pieces - easiest to do using a Dremel with a sanding cylinder. Only a few need to be done. The most extreme are the filling pieces front and back to secure everything tight. These pieces would be a hassle to fair from scratch on the model. 

[palmerit]

Note that on step 10 some of the pieces are mislabeled (29 in the instructions is 27 on the sheet, 30 in the instructions is 28 on the sheet). 

[palmerit]

One thing I like about this boat is how weird it is - at least to me. The diagonal section is where the rudder attaches. I don’t think I’ve seen a boat with a 45 degree rudder like that. The 90 degree on the other end is the bow. 

Edited September 21 by palmerit

[JacquesCousteau]

It's definitely an interesting hull shape. I have to wonder what purpose the sharply raked stern served.

[palmerit]

I shaped the bulwarks to the hull overnight (having soaked them in hot water for maybe 15min). Now they’re glued and clamped in place and I’ll let them dry overnight. Like the instructions say, you don’t add glue to the top tabs where the red clips are secured because those tabs will be removed later. 

[palmerit]

Progress on the first layer of planking. 

[palmerit]

One thing I have to say: the pin insertion pliers (from micro-mark) work infinitely better than the other style of pin pushers (I’ve tried two different kinds). 

[woodartist]

I whole agree. I bought 2 pairs and with the second pair I filed the v a little deeper to accept larger pins.

[palmerit]

More on 1st layer of planking. A bit more to do. 

Edited Sunday at 03:52 PM by palmerit

[palmerit]

The shape of this hull continues to confuse me. The end shown in the photo above is the front and the heavily angled end on the other side is the rudder. When adding the lower planks, I forgot that and was thinking the end shown here was the rudder end and left some of the planks short since those usually end up being sanded down quite a bit. That's not the case here. I'll add some filler wood. Thankfully this is just the first planking.

 

The instructions don't mention anything about doing any edge bending (really any bending whatsoever). In some ways it's not needed since this hull is small and straight. And since this is the first planking, any clinkering can be sanded out. The instructions in fact point out some clinkering in the photos and say not to worry about it - they'll be sanded. I did end up doing some edge bending on a couple of planks. I'm definitely going to do edge bending on the second planking.

 

On the second planking, I'm also going to try to do some planning of the planking. I'm going to try - no guarantees - to be able to leave the upper part of the planking unpainted (if I'm unhappy with it I'll paint it). So I want the planking to look the best I can.

Edited Sunday at 03:52 PM by palmerit

[palmerit]

First planking done. Next step will be removing the pins and doing some sanding - I’ll do a little bit of filling in a few places just to not have any gaps for when I put on the second planking. 

[palmerit]

Sanding down the first layer of planking. I might need to adjust a bit when adding the next layer of keel sections before the second layer of planking can be added. 

[palmerit]

Added the keel pieces, which forms the rabbet for the second layer of planking.