Pride of Baltimore II by Blue Pilot - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[Blue Pilot]

You have a point. I will try and post some of my own when I can. Weather sunlight, filters, cameras all do make an impact but having been on the ship those Flickr photos are much as I remember seeing the ship when I toured it. Other options I am considering are:

 

1) stains called for in kit and kit wood. I have been experimenting with these but haven't found anything yet that's not to dark for the mahogany.

 

2) use Castillo Boxwood for the deck, stern knees, fife rails, windless and the patauk to simulate the mahogony. This wood be more in line with the colors on the plan.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

Here are a few personal photos of the deck area, enjoy!  

Edited June 23, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[jcoby]

Nice. At least the kit got the reefer white and cream colors right. Pretty much everything else is wrong.

 

The red trim is more of a burgundy and the decking and mahogany colors seem reversed. The mooring blocks are way darker than called out for. Now I'm curious what she looked like at launch. Have the colors changed over the years? I wonder how much was changed after the demasting as well. That must have been an awful mess to cleanup.

 

 

Also interesting that the post notches aren't like called on the plans. And the real ones are much easier to reproduce in scale. And that the blocking under the rails/winches is raised a bit over the decking. I don't think that's called out on the plans.

Edited June 23, 2015 by jcoby

[Blue Pilot]

Great photo!  Yeah I have been wondering the same things. I wonder if some of the original plans from the Pride of Baltimore that sunk could also be in the mix. My personal thoughts, that is just a hunch though is that the colors and recommendations on stain and paint in the plans was probably close to how she looked at launch and the rest is just time and age. I suspect these decks have never seen a holly stone!  When I was on her I was trying to establish the deck plank spacing. In some spots its 3, 4, or 5. I wonder if perhaps that is also from repairs over the years including the de-masting you posted a photo of. Speaking of photos I have not forgotten our long past conversation for photos.

 

I just asked the site Admin if I could post all my photos here. It is my hope this may serve as an archive of how the actual ship looks. I just received  the go ahead from Chuck. He told me to post them in museums and ship categories. You can look for that soon. That photo would be a good one to add.

 

Now I have a lot of photos to get to work on resizing.  I will post a link here in my log once I get that done.

Cheers!

[Blue Pilot]

Pride of Baltimore Photo Archive:

For many of us trying to achieve as accurate a replica of an actual ship present or past is the goal we strive to achieve.  However, many of the fine details and accurate historical information on so many ships has been lost over time or just hard to find.  These are just some of the troubles we all strive to overcome in this hobby.  That said some ships come to mind like the Pride of Baltimore II that can still be seen and visited today.

It is my hope that this will serve as a living archive of the ship, "Pride of Baltimore II".  A resource for all of us.  I hope you will also share your photos of this ship.  This will be a work in progress for me as I have a lot of photos and they all have to be resized, saved, and then uploaded.  There is a link attached to the title above.

Enjoy!

[Blue Pilot]

Update: I have made small progress on the ship but big progress in making up my mind on final design considerations. Another problem with the kit plank shear partly the fault of the kit and partly me sanding it too much when I planked the hull is it ends up flush toward the stern with the sides of the ship.  I glued some bass wood strips on to the plank shear sides then trimmed and sanded it down.  Some of this will be trimmed later to fit the trim piece at the stern but it should be flush with that trim piece.  I also attached the filler pieces for the hawse pipes at the bow.  These fit between the plank shear and the whale plank.  This could get missed if you don’t study the plans closely, so I did it now. I have also been adding some putty here and there and prepping the hull for painting.  It has been sealed here with one coat of wipe on Polly, two more to go.

 

As I mentioned previously I have been playing with a variety of stains and oil finishes on the Patauk, Castillo Boxwood, and the Bass wood in the kit.  This has been an education in itself.  Not as fun as working on the model but very enlightening!  That Patauk really changes drastically depending on the oil and finish.  While it is extremely beautiful it comes out either to red or to orange for my taste so I have decided on yet another change.  I have found two stains I like for the mahogany not sure which I want to use just yet.  One is on the golden side and the other more brown. The boxwood really does take the stain much better than the basswood.   When I get closer to that point I will have to decide.  I have also decided to use Castillo Boxwood for the spars, deck, and some of the deck furniture.  I have received some beautiful sheets from Crown Timberyard.  I have also finally broke down and purchased a Byrne’s saw.  I am now struggling to learn how to mill my own strips which is proving to be very challenging too.  I may not be making much progress but I am sure learning a lot and having a lot of fun!

 

Cheers!

Edited July 13, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

I went back and forth for a long time on how to do my deck.  In the end I decided to not follow the practicum.  I am primarily relying on jcoby’s build http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1025-pride-of-baltimore-ii-by-jcoby-model-shipways-scale-164/ and Russ’s Biloxi Schooner http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/274-biloxi-schooner-by-russ-148-scale-pob/build logs for guidance and of course the plans.  I have also decided to go with Castillo Boxwood.  I am making the planks generally 4 bulkheads long which equates to planks 23' - 30' long and using a three but shift.  

 

When you look at those two Gentlemen’s logs they both do beautiful work!  Unfortunately, I fear I am a poor apprentice.  I am also milling my own planks and I never realized how much there is to learn when trying to mill your own planks.  I have ended up with varying widths and a lot of scrap.  Next time I will rip all the planks at once.  Thankfully the different widths have come in handy as my deck is less than perfect.  I have been discovering a multitude of errors that had eluded me previously.  Some are from the kit parts, wood and plans being off a tad, others are just my own mistakes.  Finding fixes to these problems is equal parts fun and frustrating.

 
That said I am learning a lot and trying new things and pushing myself to us the plans more and the practicum less.  I am also adding as many details as I can.    I am making a bit of a ham fisted job as this photo shows she looks like a bit of a sows ear at the moment  .  Once fully sanded, finished, and covered with deck furniture I think things will look ok.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

I had originally painted the plankshear red thinking this would make things easier. Instead it has caused me no end of trouble while sanding by getting into the wood planking. The Castillo Boxwood I received from Crown Timberyard was thicker than the plankshear supplied in the kit, so I had to sand things down quite a bit to fair things up which is where all the trouble began and I ended up sanding it off anyway . Live and learn.

 

The planking was fairly easy following the outline given to me by jcoby. Thank you sir once again for sharing your ideas. Once I got my head wrapped around it and got the first few rows completed it was fairly straight forward. The only difficulties were my hull was not quite equal on both sides of the center line so I had to finagle plank widths a bit as I previously mentioned and the last plank really takes some doing. After several failed attempts I made a template on card stock then traced that onto some thicker wood I ripped a tad wider than the plank. Then I rough sanded this down with my Dremel tool mounted vertically in the work station then finished it by hand.

 

While it’s not perfect, I have learned a lot and pushed myself to try something new and more challenging then my last build. I am very pleased with the results! I have a couple gaps I need to still fill with white glue and sand to try and hide the flaws. Is that the best course of action? However, for the moment I think its time for a nice cold Scottish Ale, sit back, relax and admire my work.

 

Cheers!

 

Edited August 10, 2015 by Blue Pilot

[jcoby]

Looking good. There's no guarantee I did anything right! I have no clue what I'm doing 

 

You may need to shave down the aft knees the thickness of the planking since you elected to install them after the planking.

 

Honestly, it doesn't have to be perfect. There is so much stuff that gets installed that you won't see much of the deck once the model is complete.

 

Are you planning on leaving the deck lights off? I am. The materials supplied with the kit for those are for costume jewelry and I could not think of any way to make them look decent. Maybe substitute some acrylic rod for the rhinestones for the lenses? I also considered painting them on or doing something along those lines but in the end they just don't add anything to the model.

[Blue Pilot]

You are right about the knees. I will be making new ones from box wood as only the two outboard get paint. I will simply take a little off the bottom and top then. Had not thought much about the lights. I had planed on just using the supplied lights but to be honest I have not thought mush about it.

[jdbondy]

I have found that pearwood with polyurethane on it does a very nice job of duplicating the mahogany pieces on the ship such as those transom knees. It has an imperceptible grain.

 

I hope your build is going well! Mine has been put away for about a year due to other obligations, but I hope to resurrect it soon. Good luck!

[Blue Pilot]

Its been a busy year so not much progress on my POB. I am of late making some small progress. I had decided to make mine look like the real,ship at port. Which would include props, radar, and sails furled, as if she was getting ready to sail. However, I am considering changing direction and rigging her with full sails. I have no history with this and the thought is intimidating me! So I am interested in bouncing the idea around here.

 

The reason I am thinking about this is my Mother commented she would like a model fully rigged for her home We have had a tough year as she has cancer. The good news is she is doing well and I am finally starting to think we are almost through the storm. I showed her pictures of other models and I am considering a scratch built or kit of the MS Bluenose or BJ Smuggler. I think a twin boomed schooner would be a fine model fully rigged. Of course this would mean parking the poor old POB II which progress is already slow on. So I got thinking maybe just keep going and add sails to the Pride. Its a beautiful ship with all sails set. I am just wondering if one of the other options would be more achievable. I see a lot of Bluenose models with sails. Any way just spit balling ideas here if you got an opinion I would welcome your thoughts.

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks for the idea jbbondy. I have a piece of Swiss Pear I am testing with wipe on poloy now. Any specific finish you would suggest

[Blue Pilot]

I have made some progress of late and all bulwark extensions are now in place 

Edited July 28, 2016 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

So after looking at the log of AndyMech I released the moat aft two extensions were on wrong.  This picture shows the incorrect orientation.  They should arc outward here to flow into the counter properly.  So after I debonded and reglued them I thought I would post here for others who may make the same error.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

The bulwarks have had me scratching my head as to how to do them.  While I have Bob Hunts practicum I have been deviating from it quite a bit and referring more to the plans.  I mention this now because the general idea is similar to how Bob does this in the practicum so I want to give him credit here, I do go about it somewhat differently and when I get to the bow I will not follow the practicum but do it as is drawn in the plans. The build log of other Pride builders like jcoby and AndyMech are also a wealth of valuable information. I would encourage all who read this to check out there fine build logs.  The kit plans are also of some help but are very vague.  Combine that with as others have stated the kit does not include wood cut to the size specified in the plans.  Finally there is the usual issues of lazar cut parts that don't always match up perfectly with the plans.  This hobby is all about problem solving and this makes it equal parts an enjoyable challenge and at other times infuriating and confusing!  

 

The bulkheads are a case in point.  So I took everything I could from jcoby, AndyMech, Bob, my previous AVS build, and the kit shook them all up, added a dash of Irish Whiskey, ok truth be told, maybe more then a dash  and came up with my own plan of attack. As I progress we will see if it works or is an utter disaster!   I am not saying this is the right way but its one way and I post it below just in case it may help others building the POB II and at the very least point out some of the trip falls.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

I started by gluing all of the stanchions in place. Not all of my stanchions are the same hight.  So I decided to work from the deck up in the hopes everything will match up at the cap rail or at least be pleasing to the eye when I finish.  The bulwarks are made up of five 1/32 planks and one 1/32 x 3/64 at the top. The later is not included in the kit.  I may rip one to size later. I decided to go with the kit provided 1/32 x 1/16 stock.  From the deck to the top plank the Gun Ports are approximately 5/16".  There is also a scupper drain that extends from Gun Port 2 to 5, which should be 1/64.  

 

I started by marking the Gun ports on the side of the hull for reference as well as the bulkheads. I then cut five pieces of 1/32 x 1/16 x 24 (the kit includes 20) to approximately the length between bulkhead 13 & 16 (gunport 3-4) then glued them together.  Then I marked of 1/32" and trimmed off just shy of that line (trying to get close to 1/64).  I made a couple shims that I sanded down to be approximately 1/64 thick.  Honestly for the scale and ease of the modeler I think if you just made the scupper 1/32 it would be just fine.  Next I trimmed one side even with the chopper and lined this up with the bulkhead.  I clamped that in place then marked the other side and trimmed and sanded it to be flush as well.  Then I placed my shims on the deck and glued the section in place.  I left a hair over the bulkhead and then sanded these flush once the glue dried.  I then did the same forward and aft completing the scupper.  The final photo shows this.  I will continue by doing the same on the port side then work forward and aft much the same way. I will have to see moving forward if I have a problem at the top edge on the rest of the portions that don't include the scupper.

 

Finally, I clamped a piece of the same 1/32 x 1/64 edge ways across the top to see how it looks.  This may be the way I finish the top rail or I may try and make a piece to size on the plans.  Then end result is my gun ports from the plank shear to this top rail measure out to be 5/16 so it matches up with the plans. 

 

Cheers!

Edited July 29, 2016 by Blue Pilot

[Blue Pilot]

Stern troubles:

 

So I had previously rough fit the transom pieces and everything seemed ok but as I started work on this section a few problems have developed. First I will be adding another 1/32 piece of square stock but it looks like the transom is going to be a bit to high and require sanding down to fit.  I am going to leave this for now as I have made the mistake before of sanding to soon!  The basic shape looks pretty good though in the first photo.  The next two shots show that I have an angle between where the new transom piece is and the counter.  I did not see this before I have looked at other build logs and ship photos and I can see this is wrong it should be a continuous flat area following the angle of the stern knees.  I can only think of one fix and it is simply sand the counter down.  Before I do anything hasty though thought I would run it by all of you.  I also had a problem with a gap between the knees and the Starboard bulkhead planking.  I had the same thing on the port side but the fix presented itself as I was fitting things together and the aft stanchion snapped off and went flying off into oblivion!  I still haven't found it.  This gave me the great idea to try and debund the stanchion on the starboard side to flatten things out rather then go for the putty fix.  As I tried to wiggle it loose it ripped apart  so I will be making some new ones from scratch.  Wow the gaps looks way worse in the photos.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Blue Pilot

[AndyMech]

I'm certainly no expert, but the height of the knees looks like it might be caused by putting the knees on top of the bulwarks and deck planking instead of planking around the knees. In mine, the knees were installed first, on the base filler blocks, so that effectively drops the height of them by a significant portion.

 

It may be too late to re-do this section (depending on your willingness), so this might be poor advice.  I don't feel qualified to recommend an approach to fix it other than sanding down to try to get the height under control.

 

Andy.

[jcoby]

I'm also having a hard time trying to figure out what's happening with your transom. It looks like you didn't sand down the counter enough perhaps?

 

Maybe these pics will help some? I'm happy to take other pics if they'll help.

Edited August 24, 2016 by jcoby

[Blue Pilot]

Thanks guys for the input. Andy I think your right I should have sanded them down a bit and that would have fixed the hight problem now that you mention it.

[Karleop]

Hola Mark:

I started working with the POB  over a month ago and I think the problem you mention is that the main rail at aft, is more rounded and much less wide than the planksheer (as I see from your pictures, you made it more squared), so the side knees carry much inclination inward. This makes the height thereof is decreased considerably.

I will begin a new Topic of the POB II these days.

 

Saludos, Karl

Edited September 21, 2016 by Karleop

[Blue Pilot]

Hi Karl.   I haven't worked on the POB II in a long time.  I kind of drifted out of the hobby but I always seem to drift back in.  My Pride took a bit of a tumble and got boxed away with my other models and tools but I hope to dust things off soon.  I am focused now on cleaning up the garage enough so I can set up some kind of a place to work again.  

 

The problem with the stern as I recall is a common one your reasoning sounds logical.  part of it could be the kit but it is a poor craftsman that blames his tools.  I am sure I am at fault.  That said part of the fun and frustration of this hobby is finding and fixing these kind of issues.  As you probably have found there are some other a few other logs on the POB II here.  I wish you well its a beautiful ship.

[Blue Pilot]

Sorry friends for my long absence.  Has it really been nearly 3 years.  A variety of pressures with work, family, and an aging mother were then and now continue to put pressure on my time.  So my loving wife recently told me "You need to get a hobby".  "Why don't you clean out the garage and set up a place to work on your ship models again. Something to you help you relax and ease some of the stress your under".   For any young newly weds out there when your wife so delicately starts saying such sweet words in your ear, what she really means is your are really becoming a pain in my backside and you need to do something about it, now!  I have a nagging suspicion this may have all been a ruse and her real master plan was just to get me to clean the garage.  Well be careful what you wish for sweetheart!  I am a dead mad if she ever reads this. 

 

So never one to go against the sensible wishes of my loving bride, I am coming back and diving in head first!  I spent today in part setting up a new hobby shipyard in the garage.  I still have a ways to go before I am up and running.  My poor POB II has been in dry dock these last few years and she is now safely birthed in her new home.  She is a tad worse for ware I fear.  Her stem post is broken as well as damage to the keel and transom and several bulkheads for the side rails have been broken off.  Happily there is nothing that can't be mended.  I will be painting her eventually so these and other scars should be well hidden.    I hope that eventually you all will have something interesting to see here.

 

Cheers!

Edited December 3, 2019 by Blue Pilot

[ccoyle]

33 minutes ago, Blue Pilot said:

Has it really been nearly 3 years.

Pfft! Amateur! I started my HMS Fly in 2006, and it's still waiting to be finished. 😉

[Blue Pilot]

LOL, Your in inspiration Chris!

[Capt. Mike]