Frigate Confederacy by ir3 - Model Shipways

[Trussben]

Piece of advice when you start again Iran, make your own keel clamp that holds the ENTIRE keel, not a few points or half the keel, the entire keel!

I used some scrap wood screwed to a 2x4 which worked great for me, and don't take it out of there for more than a few minutes.

I look forward to seeing you start up again.

 

Ben

[augie]

Really sorry about this.  Didn't realize you had already tried 'brute force'.  Great idea to start with new pieces.....I'm sure MS can do something. 

 

Sub thread ----we already have at least two......why not another!!!!

[ir3]

Need help. I am having a problem determining which laser cut sheets to order from ME. The sheets that came with my kit have no WP numbers on them and no letters A - Z laser printed on any of the sheets. I can only identify the sheets by the thicknesses. I am sure I need A - G but I think on of them is a small sheet with the boat stand parts.

 

I think the false deck sheets are V and W.

The Shadow Box frame locators were cut on a separate small piece of 3/16 because the originals were not cut properly on the big sheet. These were on sheet B but were not cut properly.

The keel and bulkheads must be A - F. I no longer have the keel and bulkhead scrap.

The keel and stem timbers are on a 1/4 basswood sheet and could be either H or I.

The exposed frames are on a 3/16 sheet and this could be G.

The beakhead frame as well as some of the bow fillers and tramsom pieces are on a 1/8 basswood sheet and could be J or K.

The stern framing pieces are on a 1/8 basswood sheetand could be J or K.

 

After looking at what I need it appears that there is no ambiguity but if someone could confirm, it would be great. Otherwise it appears that I need the following: A - K and V - W.

 

Thanks,

 

Iran

[augie]

Iran-  this is tough because many of the sheets you need I no longer have.  They have either been used or trimmed down so that only the unused parts remain.  However, after examining what I have left and noting that you have not gotten to the sills and lintels for the railing, I agree you need A-K and V and W.   

 

Good luck!

[ir3]

Thanks for checking Augie. I believe that everything I will need is covered in my last post and it has been sent to ME Parts.

 

Iran

[ir3]

The replacement parts list has been sent to ME and it appears that it might be some time before I receive them so I am back on the submarine project for a while. The build log is on RCG: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1819581. I will be starting a thread here which will pick up at the current state of the build.

 

Thanks for the input up to now and as soon as the parts are in things will again move forward.

 

IR3

[ir3]

On Jan 9th I reported that I could not get the twist out and started the process of getting the parts to make another hull. In the meantime I left the anti twist device in the hull and left it clamped in the Dremel work bench. Out of curiosoty I removed the anti twist device this afternoon and I believe I am now ready for the home . With the anti twist device removed, the hull is perfectly straight. :) This is not to say the it will revert over time but just incase I left the anti twist device in and gave it another spraying of ammonia water. Since I am in the process of painting the hull of the submarine at the moment I will leave the anti twist device in for another 48 hours but checking regularly to make sure I do not introduce a twist in the other direction. With luck I will be back on the build in a day or two.

 

IR3

[augie]

It's a miracle.  Good luck with 2 builds!!!!!

[ir3]

I'm still here. A lot of distractions has kept me out of the shop for a while. Moving along, the Beakhead deck is planked and the beakhead former is also planked. The picture shows the anti twist device, a piece of 1/8 piano wire, in place for the picture. I am keeping it out now since a slight touch of twist in the wrong direction was noticed. With it out, the hull is perfectly straignt. This will go back in as necessary if the hull shows some evidence of the original twist returning.

 

 

Now on to the gunport openings.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[Trussben]

Yey

[Chuck]

Looks good.  But you you should absolutely taper that stem more where the figurehead will go.   It should be a gradual taper so the sten thins down quite a bit where the figure sits.

 

Chuck

[ir3]

The lintels and sills are in and faired. I am about to install the gunport framing vertical pieces. There are two basswood sheets with what appears to be the vertical framing pieces. They are not documented on the plans and not referenced in the instructions. I can't find any other references to using these in the instructions so I am assuming that they are the framing pieces. There are a lot more than are actually needed.

 

 

 

Hmm, the camera has distorted the spacing. They are all 3/8".

 

IR3

 

Found It!! First sentence in the section for gun port openings.

Edited January 20, 2014 by ir3

[ir3]

I just completed the quarterdeck gun ports and I am a bit bothered by the process. There are two sets of laser cut parts for the gun ports, some for the quarterdeck and some for the main gun deck. The number of parts for the quarterdeck is over twice the number needed and it appears that the main deck has a significant number too many. Also, each piece for the quarterdeck had to be custom fitted. Am I missing something and using parts that should go somewhere else? This is a bit confusing for me.

 

Any help?

 

Thanks,

 

IR3

[ir3]

It's just about ready for planking with just a bit of fine sanding to get good runs for the planks. A little heavy on the gun port red but thats what planking is for. I will be using boxwood which I will not have until around the first week in April so this will be set aside and full attention can be made on the Type VIIC.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[augie]

The red will be fine.  Sorry about the delay in getting the boxwood but the investment will surely pay off.  We'll be here when you return!

[ir3]

Thanks Augie,

 

I can always rig the cannons. That should take me up to April. :)

[augie]

.......or tackle the ship's boats.  Two months right there!

[Jaxboat]

Looking good! It's a great build. Enjoy!

Best

Jaxboat

[Trussben]

Hi

 

As Augie said, there's always plenty of other things to prepare for, ships boats if you intend to do them, making and rigging all the cannons would be a great one to get out of the way, just be sure to make a mockup and test on the model to make sure the heights are correct to your gunports before the production line starts cranking them out!

 

Ben

[ir3]

It has been a long while since the last update. Too much in the way but now pretty clear to continue on the Kingfiser. I have all of the boxwood I will need and I must say, not being an expert on woods, it seems quite nice. I am at the point of planking the lower counter. I tried to end bend the boxwood but it looks like it will not happen. I tried two methods to soften the wood, the first being soaking for about an hour. When they came out of the bending jig, the spring back was almost straight, with very little bend. The second method was to soak the planks, wrap them in a wet paper towel and microwave the package to try to get some steam penetration but alas to no avail. It looks like the boxwood does not like to be end bent. This worries me a bit when it comes to planking. Of course the wood will not be end bent for the most part but there are some planks that will have special treatment.

 

So for the lower counter I am using the 1/8 x 1/16 planking material from the kit. This worked quite well. I am not going to apply it until I get more information on preparing the boxwood as this is the wood I would like to use. Is there some special way the boxwood needs to be treated to get the appropriate bending?

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[augie]

I used the kit basswood.  On the boxwood, the only suggestion I can make is to try adding about 10-15% ammonia to your water, soak a little longer and give it at least a full day to dry in the jig.

 

Keep us posted.

[ir3]

Thanks Augie, that will be my next try.

[ir3]

Well, I did try soaking in an 80 - 20 mix of water to ammonia but the results were not much better. Still a lot of spring back and the wood was discolored. I can do the counter in basswood supplied from the kit and this should not be a distraction, especially if I decided to apply a very light finish. What I am warried about is what kind of difficulties I will have when I start the planking. Will I be struggling with some of the compound curves. I know that the boxwood has been used countless numbers of times but I have absolutely no experience in using this material and am wondering if I should just use the kit supplied wood for the entire model.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

IR3

[augie]

Sorry about the lack of success with the suggestion.  I haven't worked with boxwood for hull planking except above the wales where there's not much in compound curves.  I'm going to keep your experience in mind for the future.

 

If you do decide to go with the kit-supplied basswood for the hull planking, be sure to apply a pre-finish if you are going to put any stain on it.  It helps to avoid blotchiness.

[ir3]

The decision to go back to the supplied planking material has been made. On another note, the model has been sitting under the workbench in the garage for over three months and is still perfectly straight. The battle of the twist is over. The lower counter planking will now be going in.

 

Hats off to the great builders of this model on the MSW forum.   I studied all of the builds regarding the lower counter and noted Ben's problem that became a major headache. I just checked the shape of the stern area around the lower counter and found that it did not conform close enough to the plans. I will be doing some more sanding and shaping to get this area correct before the planking.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

Hi All,

 

It is a time for reckoning. My Confederacy is just sitting gathering dust. I keep saying to myself that I should get the first planks on and enjoy the rest of the build but it just is not happening. My strongest interest lies in Submarines, Merchantmen, Fishing Trawlers and several steam projects.

 

The hull is still straight after all of the problems I had earlier in the build. I am up to the step after planking the transom. The next step is to put the batten in to get ready for the upper planking. I would like to see this get into the hands of someone who will take the time to finish this model. I think I did a fair job on the hull so far and to carry on I believe would take very little effort as far as truing the hull. I even have the boxwood in all sizes that I substituted for the kit wood.

 

If anyone is interested, please let me know. You can get this for a lot less than the price of the kit itself.

 

Thanks for all of the support,

 

IR3