HALF MOON by jct - FINISHED - Corel

[SGraham]

That's looking nice. I like the dark stain. It's got a real old timey look to it, like an old ship's hull that's had regular applications of pine tar.

 

Steve

[jct]

Thanks Steve,

It is a departure from my original plan, natural wood tones polished with a oil finish, but It does kind of grow on you...I was able lighten it up a bit by rubbing out after the dye had set up...no pics yet, and I'm not sure if the difference will photograph clearly.

THX

J

[jct]

Made some progress on the Half Moon this week end...between snow shoveling excursions!
  I got the final rub stark added and all of them blacked out, also finished and installed the rudder, beak and decorative head boards. Those were a pain, getting the angles to match and the boards mounted in the same spot on both sides of the hull.
  Also blackened the hardware and made some frames for the gun-ports and resized the openings.  The frames will be mounted once I get the new diamond micro files I ordered to finish the resizing, next time I leave the openings in the hull!!  Thanks for looking in, pics follow.
THX
J

[jct]

more pics...

[jct]

Hi all,

Resizing the port openings for the new frames turned into a disaster.  The roto-tool got away more then once , 3 of the kit supplied backing pieces broke away and once set in place the frames showed the openings were anything but true, more filing or chiseling to true them would have left the openings way to large, so I'm backing up.
  I've striped of the outer layer of planking and plan to make new wood sleeves to fill the openings then re-plank up to the edges.  Pics follow
THX
J

[SGraham]

Thanks for documenting this setback, J. I find it encouraging (sort of in the misery-loves-company vein). With the attention you're giving those ports, I bet they're going to come out looking great. The new planking will give you a clean slate to work with.

 

Steve

[popeye the sailor]

hello J..........I had no idea you were here as well!  doing a swell job........all too happy to follow along 

[jct]

Thanks Steve, I understand completely and one can only hope, I'll continue to post pics of the fix as it progresses, but I suspect it will get uglier before is gets better...Hey Popeye, fancy meeting you here    I appreciate the support

J

[popeye the sailor]

yepper!   yea,  a reno like that can be scary........but when the dust clears,  the outcome will make it all worth it.

[jct]

Hello all,

Thought I'd post updates to my HM build, got the new gun ports made and installed.  Started by laying them out on some re-saw ceder I had laying around.  They were sized to match the kit supplied covers.  One side was left long to be trimmed down later...it is glued to the ships center support.  The hull openings were cut to accept the resized port sleeves,  the new ports were roughed in, sanded flush and filled.  Re-planking remains but that is for another day.

THX

J

[SGraham]

Great fix, J. Those are some nice, square, sharp corners.

 

Steve

[Anja]

Hello J.,

 

I'm sorry to learn of your setback.

But it looks you've got it under control again.

Nice fix.

 

Take your time and good luck with the re-planking.

 

Anja

[jct]

THX much to you both, I'm pretty happy with the way this fix worked, the planking work will begin shortly, got to make some more first though.  THX again for your interest.  

 

Good to see you back Anja, good luck with your new position.

 

J

[jct]

Updates on my HM build:
After the installation of the new ports I cut some new veneer strips and started installing the planking. After completing the planking I was just looking at the ship and something just didn't look right at the bow... the stem post was short of the peak, so since everything is going to need sanded and re-stained anyway I took the opportunity to extend the the stem. Pics follow.

THX for looking in

J

[DORIS]

Very nice model, I like the planking and color scheme, you have chosen.

Have a great time

Doris

[jct]

HI Doris,

Thanks for your kind remarks, it has been an enjoyable build even with the setbacks.

J

[SGraham]

Nice save, J. The veneer looks good, and so does the stem. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

Steve

[popeye the sailor]

nice recovery Jct......ya done good!

[jct]

Tanks Guys,

Next step is to do the color match...I know I've some  glue spots to deal with there, seems no matter how hard I try to be neat those little devils always appear!  Thanks again for your kind remarks and for checking in.

J

[jct]

  Got more completed on my HM build today, I had read that port covers should be planked the same as the hull, so the single pieces of plywood supplied would not be correct.

  I decided to use them as the interior part of the port cover, assembly photos follow.  I also got the rub stark applied to the hull.
THX
J

[jct]

Thought I'd post a few updates on my HM build,

I've completed the dyeing of the hull and have two clear coats applied, so while I was waiting for the hull to dry I thought I'd start on a few small items...My intent from first opening the package was to do something with the solid wood crows nest supplied by Corel.

 

  I initial thought was to simple cut them apart and use the pieces to make open nests, so that's where I started.  Unfortunately the wood these were turned from was not the best and I ended up with a handful of broken pieces.  After viewing Popeye's build log I figured I'd try my hand at scratch building new nests.  

 

I started by doing my layout on some stiff paper card, then applied veneer to each of the card pieces.  Some pics follow, the nest still need glued to their bases and I plan to paint them bulwark red, just to add some color to the tops, I'll post pics of the finished product later in the week, also pics of the dyed and cleared hull.  Thanks for looking in.

J

[jct]

additional pics promised yesterday

[SGraham]

J, Those built-up crows nests look oh so much better than the big solid monstrosities from the kit. I'm saving this idea for when I begin my Half Moon. The hull looks great. The gun port fix really paid off. I like the planked ports too. Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

Steve

[jct]

Thanks much Steve, I stole it from Popeye's HM build, so help yourself    I am pleased with the way the hull turned around...did have my doubts for a minute though...THX again

J

[popeye the sailor]

awwwwww.....you didn't steal it........play with it....have fun with it     try another approach...use 1/16 square stock for the railing / stanchions.   it will look more 'tubular' rather than 'finned'.   nice how you did the cap railing.......better than my approach .   it's too bad that you couldn't start with the bases I did in my kit.......it would save you from drilling all those holes.

[SGraham]

In the field of education we use the term "relocate" when we steal someone else's good idea.

 

Steve

[jct]

Thx for the suggestion, may do that, right now I'm in the middle of tearing off the kit timber-heads and the three rows of planking impacted by their removal.  I plan to plank inside the bulwarks and am not happy with the look, size, shape or proportion of the timber-heads...I know... should have done that before I planked the deck, but I've gotten really good at backing up!!

[jct]

Not much progress to report, been a busy week and busier week end.  I did decide to take Popeye's advise and replace the "fins" on the crows nest with square material.

 So I gave some thicker stock a ride through the band saw to create the stanchion stock.  From there I took apart the large nest and soon discovered that I lacked enough hands to hold everything in place and aligned while the parts were glued!   I predrilled the top rail on the large nest and made a spacer from corrugated cardboard, every other stanchion was inserted and glued once set it was rinse & repeat...

  Moving on to the smaller nest...I removed every other fin, which left the top rail and base firmly connected and spaced.  Next holes of the appropriate size were drilled through the rails and the new square stock inserted through and glued in place, once the glue set the remaining fins were removed and the process repeated.

 

 From that point it was a matter of filling and sanding, still have to prime and paint, pics follow, sorry about the poor lighting
J

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

looking good J! 

[SGraham]

J, that little detail change made a real difference. I like the process you detailed in going about it. Do you plan these steps out or just dive in and make it up as you go along?

 

Steve