Halifax 1768 by MEDDO - FINISHED - Lauck Street Shipyard - 1/4" scale

[MEDDO]

I am finally back home where I can start up this build log.  So lets give this thing a whirl!  I am definitely still a beginner although I have built a few models in the past.  These include the Swift (Artesania Latina), Indian girl canoe (Midwest), and various other small boats.

 

 

 

 

This will be my first plank on frame attempt. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

 

 

This is a now discontinued kit from Lauck Street Shipyard and Mr. Bob Hunt.  Mr. Hunt is better known for his “College of Model Ship Building” which is a collection of progressive practicums that start with beginner kits and progress all the way to scratch building.  At one time a few years ago he developed a series of kits which included this Halifax, The Fair American, Kingfisher and Fubbs (I think). 

 

 

 

 

 

The Halifax sloop of war in 1/4 scale plank on frame kit based on plans by Harold Hahn.  The parts are CNC milled and not laser cut which is nice and the wood quality seems a step above.  

 

 

 

 

 

I guess we always start with a close up picture of the Box:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The contents are very neatly packaged and all present:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The instruction in full color:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not too familiar with the site yet and If anyone has any tips just let me know.

 

[MEDDO]

I have made the keel which is pictured below.  It is made by layering up a few pieces which did fit together really well. Because the kit is CNC cut the wood billets need to be shaped quite a bit to get rid of the mill marks but the end result is pretty accurate.  

 

 

starting the frames with an example of the pieces.

 

Completed all the full frames. I did leave these fairly rough as I expect to be able to fair the frames down in a later step.

 

Next step is the half frames!

 

[Mike Y]

That is an interesting model! Where did you found that kit? Don't see it on the Lauck St. website..

[MEDDO]

That is an interesting model! Where did you found that kit? Don't see it on the Lauck St. website..

 

LSS has always been in the practicum business with the "College of Ship Modeling" series.  Different options and new content have come and gone over the years but this is the core business.

 

A few years ago he started a side business developing and producing these kits.  These were limited runs of very nice kits.  Apparently sometime in 2010/2011ish he sold or split off just the kit producing side of the business.  The College part stayed intact.  The only website that is still around for the kits ishttp://www.royalshipyard.com/Home.aspx  

 

I have no idea if they are still in business.  The website has some updates in 2011 but none since.  These kits are very nice (I also have a Fair American) I don't know if the cost per unit was too high or whatever but I am glad to have a chance to build these 2 wonderful kits.

[MEDDO]

Half/cant frames coming along.  Still leaving them rough for the final sanding.  I am being careful as they are on the plans as a single side only, and I have to make sure when building the pairs to make them mirror images and not exact duplicates. 

 

[MEDDO]

So I have been working on the half frames and have run into a bit of a snag.  When I did the initial inventory everything was there but I never flipped over the blanks.  Here is what I found.

 

So it seems the cnc was not set all the way to the right depth or the wood is a bit too thick.  End result is the cuts don't go all the way through.  Some places are pretty thin but a few were thicker and were a bit harder to get off the form.  I did accidentally break 2 frames in this process but a bit of glue later and you can barely see where they were split.

 

 

Tonight will be building up the rest of the half frames.

 

Cheers

 

 

[AndrewNaylor]

Michael

You are a lucky man to have one of these kits, I managed to buy a Fair American of a member of this site A great build.

I must have read the build manual 10 times before starting the project and at the time there where quite a few build logs on MSW 0.1 Enjoy your build, it might be the last build log of any of those kits posted.

I tried to buy some from the company that bought the rights to the kits But they lasted about 1 month before folding, a pity 

Andy

[MEDDO]

Michael

You are a lucky man to have one of these kits, I managed to buy a Fair American of a member of this site A great build.

I must have read the build manual 10 times before starting the project and at the time there where quite a few build logs on MSW 0.1 Enjoy your build, it might be the last build log of any of those kits posted.

I tried to buy some from the company that bought the rights to the kits But they lasted about 1 month before folding, a pity 

Andy

 

 

I am lucky enough to also have a Fair American on the shelf so I think we will see at least another build log of that one

 

Eventually

[MEDDO]

Finished the half/cant frames.

 

 

So now onto cleaning them up.  The instructions indicate I should put a few coats of wipe-on poly on each side now.  Next up the building board.

[patrickmil]

Michael, I think I would like to watch along with the others. This looks to be very interesting as you don't see many true POF kits out there.

[MEDDO]

I don't have the time to do the wipe-on poly today so I went for the building board.  It seems this would be pretty easy but it was more difficult than it looks.  

 

 

BTW I really don't like this material.  It produces a ton of dust/dirt/fibers but it seems strong enough.

[MEDDO]

So begins the Wipe-Fest!

 

 

I only had a few "domino events"  haha

[MEDDO]

The finish darkens the wood a bit.  It does look pretty nice.  

 

 

 

[MEDDO]

I think you are lucky to have that kit. The company that took over producing these kits ( royal shipyard ) was not continuing with them unfortunately.

 

I know I should of bought all the other ones when I had the chance. Luckily I have a Fair American on the shelf waiting.

[MEDDO]

First couple of frames placed!  Starting to look like a ship!

 

 

I should be able to get the rest up tonight.  Then start the work on the cant frames which are going to be a bit harder I think.

[MEDDO]

So taking a break for the rest of the night but I will be reading ahead to see about the cant frames.

 

[gjdale]

Looks like a really interesting kit Michael. Think I'll pull up a chair and follow along. You seem to be off to a great start.

[bigcreekdad]

If you want to do a scratch build, The Lumberyard has the plans and the wood (of your choice) for the Halifax. 

 

I wonder if Bob Hunt still has the rights to his course for this ship.

[MEDDO]

If you want to do a scratch build, The Lumberyard has the plans and the wood (of your choice) for the Halifax. 

 

I wonder if Bob Hunt still has the rights to his course for this ship.

 

 

Eventually going to proceed to scratch building.  The plan is to do a few kits then maybe heavily bash a kit then move to a Lumberyard timbering set.  Eventually moving to a scratch built section then a full scratch build......  (It will take a few years)

[Mike Y]

Just out of curiosity - if you apply the poly to frames now, how can you sand the internal side of the hull later? Or you will skip that step?

[MEDDO]

Actually the poly is more for the sides of the frames as once they are installed there is a really small area to work with (only 1/2 cm or so between the frames) if I was to do that later.  Also now when I am sanding/fairing the inside and outside of the hull I can see exactly where I have sanded as the poly does sand off nicely.  It can be reapplied after fairing and is no problem blending into areas which were previously poly'd.

 

I did just a few passes with the sanding stick on the second frame here and i think you can see in the picture where the poly was sanded off versus the area where it was still present.

 

 

Oh My!  The close up pictures really shows up the gaps and scratches....

[MEDDO]

Ok, first major mistake!  I was looking forward to placing the half frames on the stern area and I kept coming back to the area just posterior to the last full frame.  Something didn't add up.  After going back to the plans and going over some photos in the practicum I finally noticed what I had done.  Apparently when build up the stern post I had switched the 'deadwood' (term used in the practicum) around.  Having switched this "around" I had inadvertently left a gap between the deadwood and the rest of the keel.  You can see this in my previous photos as well as here.

 

 

So I used some 91% isopropyl alcohol to soak into the glue joints and was able to debond them.

 

 

Unfortunately I did break a very small piece of the sternpost off.

 

 

It was then a simple matter of letting them dry, sanding and fitting the pieces back together.  

 

 

Welp, you live and learn.  I think it looks pretty good for a redo.  It makes more sense as well.

[Timmo]

Nice recovery there Michael and a great looking build,

[patrickmil]

Great catch! The joints even look better than before.

[gjdale]

Yeah, great catch there Michael, and even better recovery. Looking good!

[MEDDO]

Nice recovery there Michael and a great looking build,

 

 

Great catch! The joints even look better than before.

 

 

Yeah, great catch there Michael, and even better recovery. Looking good!

 

 

Thanks everyone!  This is such a learning experience.  I am glad I found this site again.  I think looking though so many logs here has helped me with my "right/not-right" eye.  

[MEDDO]

Starting the bow frames.  I first roughed them in then dry fitted the lot before setting them in.  There is still a bunch of sanding to do.  I will let these dry before finishing that step.

 

[patrickmil]

That's a fantastic looking bow on your Halifax. I've a question for you though... I'm not completely familiar with frames for fully framed ships so what are the little squared off pieces of wood on each frame by the keel? Will these get sanded away eventually?

[MEDDO]

That's a fantastic looking bow on your Halifax. I've a question for you though... I'm not completely familiar with frames for fully framed ships so what are the little squared off pieces of wood on each frame by the keel? Will these get sanded away eventually?

 

Yup all of these are going to be sanded down eventually.  I think they are there to add "bulk" in the manufacturing/cutting process so there is less risk of accidentally breaking off a point or breaking a thinner piece.  Its always easier to take a bit off than to put some back i guess.

[patrickmil]

Michael, I will keep that in mind when I start a PoF build down the road. I may try to find one of these Halifax kits out there if they still exist.