Rattlesnake by Brian Parsons - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

What I meant is this.  If I plank the deck and do enough to go just past that wall, will it raise the wall too much and mess up the door lines or even push the door lines into the bottome of the quarter deck?  You are right, the plans and instructions so not say exactly how to tackle this.  As a matter of fact, this wall isn't even in the written instructions.  Probably my greatest frustration with wood ships, the lack of complete instructions.  Frustrating really when you are used to working with plastic models and every step is detailed.  Keep up the good work.  It is truely impressive.  I'll try to get those pics tonight.  I have agility dog training tonight so I'll see what I can get you.

[chompsalot]

Thanks Scott, no hurry on the pics. I'll check the height with some decking on tonight.

[scott larkins]

pics are up.  Hope they are what you want.  The wale plank is the one right under the pencil mark.  That pencil mark is the decorative piece that will butt up against the transom once I get all of the planking and molding done.  Hope these pics don't embarass me.  The longer planks are the hull planks that will be trimmed down once I get done with this portion of the stern.

 

 

 

Yes, the next plank underneath the wales are of different sizes.  I had to get the distances to the rudder post to equal out due to my misstep I mentioned earlier.  As I said, most people probably will not notice, especially since this area will be painted.  So I let a little secret out.

Edited April 1, 2014 by scott larkins

[chompsalot]

Thanks Scott. I think I might have tapered my filler block too much, which is weird since it matched the plans exactly.... That's about the postion I was checking. The plank seems to twist more than I think it should, which maybe it's suppossed to?. Yours looks like it flows nicely to where it sits.

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

Yeah, there was not much of a twist for that plank.  The real twistiing starts below that as the planks butt up against the bottom/back there.  They literally due almost a 90 degree turn.  Plenty of boiling hot water and a long soaking has helped the twist for me.

[chompsalot]

Here are the finished cabin doors. The best part about it is....they don't fit..lol  They are actually smaller than the plan, but are still too big. However, I can cut off the bottom tips on each side and they should work out. I'll wait until the deck and sides are planked and figure it out then

 

 

[scott larkins]

Well that stinks.  Thanks for the warning though.  I'll have to really watch this when I get to this step.

[chompsalot]

I think it might be a good to build everything except the two end pieces. Then adjust those to fit where you need them.

[chompsalot]

So I started planking the quarter deck area. I'm a bit unsure about the breast beam location. From the plans it looks like it goes all the way to the end of the bulkhead. If that is the case, then does the center rail rest on top of the beam? The second picture shows what I mean.

 

 

 

 

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

Looking good.   Looks like you did the same thing I did with that extra piece on the bulkhead of the quarterdeck.  Not saying that I know best.  Just that you did the same thing.

[chompsalot]

Well here is my latest bit of progress. All of the planking is now complete above the wale. I still need to add the trim pieces, but wanted to fill, sand, and put one coat of paint on it first. I should have faired the gun port framing a bit more, it was a bit bumpy here are there. But after sanding and some filler, I think it came out ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2014 by Brian Parsons

[scott larkins]

Making great progress.  Are you planning on painting the inside of the cannon and oar ports or leaving them natural?

[chompsalot]

Here are the colors I was playing with. Going to add black to the quarter deck sides once the trim pieces are on. Still debating on keeping the red.

 

 

[dgbot]

Came in late.  You picked an interesting model.  I have seen a few up at Manitowoc and it comes out nice.  However every modeler I talked with said that it can be a little tricky if you do not look and think ahead.   So far you are doing a geat job.

David B

[chompsalot]

Welcome David. There are a few things I wish I could do over. But it's a good learning experience.

[scott larkins]

Yeah, that's what makes this site so great.  You can see what others have done that are ahead of you so you get an idea of what works.  Yes, this model can be tricky, and I'm finding out from the planking below the wale line.  As I'm getting closer to finishing I'm finding some things out that I had no idea were going to pop up.  But the fun, or challenge, or anxiety, is trying to figure out how to fix things.   I think I can get the planking done but I'm definetly going to have to work on a fix.  But since this is my learning kit I'm hoping to get the skills I need and have better tuned for my Niagara kit that is waiting in the wings.  Keep up the good work Brian.

[chompsalot]

Added the handrail scrolls. Made them from 1/4 square stock. Added some filler around the gaps. Need to clean them up, but the idea is there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scott larkins]

Coming along great Brian.

[chompsalot]

So the more I looked at the colors, the more I hated the red. Still need a few more coats on everything, but I like it more now.

 

 

[chompsalot]

Scott, not sure if you've made these yet or not. If not, it seems you cannot make any mistakes because there is just enough to make the two pieces. Looks like I'm headed to the hobby store. 

 

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

Nope, not there yet but thanks for the heads up.  I'll make sure to triple measure and cut once.  I'm still on the planking.  I've got 5 more planks to put on, then sanding all of those lower planks, cutting and attaching the outside molding and then painting.  Been going slow lately due to the warmer weather and getting outside to clean things up in the yard.  Keep up the good work.

[chompsalot]

Yeah, the problem I had was those little tabs break off really easy. I've been putting off planking below the wale for about as long as I can. That's my next step I guess..lol

[scott larkins]

Yeah, the planking has been a new challenge, as others have said, and I've run into unexpected issues.  No dought my fault, but I'm getting through them.  Good thing I'm painting and not staining.  I'd be SOL if I was.  But since you have done some things I have not yet, I will be reviewing your log as well.

[chompsalot]

And we're off! Here is my feeble attempt and planking the lower hull. Nothing was really lining up, so once again I decided to wing it... I'm thinking about adding a second layer of of 1/32" planking after i cover the bulkheads. I'll see how it looks once I'm done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dgbot]

You are doing a great job. However You should take a look at the two planks at the stern near the stern and counter. The bends are a little pronounced. If you can take care of it now it will save you some grief later.

David B

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

I see that you are running into, what I thought was only my problem, where the planks come together there at the stern and get very thin in width.  I ended up thining down the two planks on either side of the one that was going to be less than 3/32 wide.  I ended up going to 4/32 wide and the other ones were about 4/32 was well.  I had to do a lot of measuring so as to keep my thinest plank no less than 3/32.  Otherwise I had to put in a piece that was wider and have the two planks come to it at 3/32.  Here are two pics of how I managed it.  I put in the blackened lines for you to see.  Or maybe the others will see this and tell you what not to do.  LOL

 

this is where the planks were getting too narrow and I had to do a little sanding so as not to cross over that 3/32 rule.

 

Here is where I had two planks that would end up coming together and being too narrow so I put in another board for them to but up to.  And I put in plank at the top there too.

 

Hope these help one way or another.

Edited April 27, 2014 by scott larkins

[chompsalot]

So here is my finished abomination of the lower planking..lol The strakes at the bow are not even close to being done correctly. However the shape looks good, so I might skip the second planking and use my new best friend....wood filler. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dgbot]

You are getting there.

[Martin W]

Hi Brian -- Planking is a challenge, always.  And if you decide to skip the second planking, then you're over one of the hardest parts of the build.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[scott larkins]

Brian,

 

Sanded out nicely I see.