Bluenose by 7Provinces – Billing Boats – 1:75 - first wooden ship build

[Mfelinger]

Just for information, at that place is located a spring that prevents breakage,

as well as for foremast.

 

 

 

Matija

[7 Provinces]

Thanks Julian, happy New Year to you too, and to all others stopping by 

Actually this was one of the first things that I noticed wrong in the kit (after the color scheme of course: I mean, gold below the waterline? really?), just by looking at the photographs from the Nova Scotia Archives, which are freely accessible and a very good source in my opinion. Just too bad Mr. McAskill did not take many more pictures..

[7 Provinces]

Yes thanks Matija, I already thought it would be the same thing as what you helped Julian with. Thanks for the confirmation, it is really hard to see from the pictures. 

[7 Provinces]

Schnu, 

 

I made this piece from a scrap piece of wood where the warpage is almost too small to see and will (I think) disappear when the piece is glued to the hull.

Today I took out the pieces of wood from under the books and weights only to see that they sprang back into the warped form in a matter of minutes. All effort in vain  .

So now I will have to search for wood. The scrap pieces are not big enough for the cabin and the cabin from the kit does not have the right proportions anyway and is pre-cut so there is nothing I can do, I need to build it from scratch. The main question however is where to get thin wood?

Would you happen to know where to get wood for hobby purposes, like 1 or 2 mm thick? I only know where to get balsa (and then only a few sizes and when it is in stock) and I was looking for something more "stable" like plywood, birch, beech, pear, cherry, ... 

In Switzerland it seems they only sell wood for furniture and construction, not really for modeling 

If you would know where to buy that it would be a great help.

 

Thanks!

Jan-Willem

[schnu]

I am almost sure that you can get thin plywood sheets at Bauhaus.

 

I only know one website for thin wood strips in Switzerland: www.smartwood.ch

 

Their prices are not the best and it might be worth ordering wood from Germany: www.arkowood.de

 

An other alternative would be to search on ebay.de the prices there are really good.

 

Another way to get wood is to go in Zürich at the wiesermodelbau, they sell wood for modeling, you could control the quality before buying it, but they may not have the right dimensions.

 

Did you try to iron the plywood (not sure if the heat is good for plywood), Karleop explained that method somewhere in my buildlog (normally used for planking)

Edited January 6, 2015 by schnu

[7 Provinces]

Thanks Schnu for the information. I have visited the websites. I did not find Smartwood, but I think this is Smartwood33 right? This looks quite good.

The thing is, I would like to source my wood from a local store when possible, which, it seems, is not. That is a pity since a local store gives you the possibility to check what you buy, compare different products and get advice on which to buy and you can buy only one strip if needed. this is also why I had not looked on ebay yet. But you are right, you can buy the wood much cheaper there. It is a bit tricky though since you are paying for shipping as well which makes buying small amounts not interesting but when buying larger amounts you will have to pay customs, taxes and handling fees at the border, since the offers are all from abroad.

 

I will check out the Bauhaus, but to be honest I fear it is not very different from Hornbach, Obi, Coop Bau & Hobby, etc. which do not sell wood for model buiding (some of the round wood or profiles may be usable though). The plywood they sell is very coarse, not thinner than 3 mm and more suited for hobbying in general than for model ships.

Did you already visit Wieser Modellbau in Zürich? It looks promising although I did not find wood in their e-shop amongst all the other materials they sell. I think I will just give them a call and see.

 

No, I did not yet try to iron the wood. I did read some threads on straightening out wood. One interesting article said only to soak the concave side of the wood. My problem is that the wood looks like a helix. So both sides are kind of concave 

But what the heck, I'll give ironing a try. I'll keep you posted on the results.

[schnu]

You are absolutely right, it is like playing lottery when buying wood from the internet, you never know what you will get. The taxes and transporting costs can be quite expensive too. Smartwood33 (I made a little mistake it seems) costs about 10.- for the "Porto und Verpackung". But I do not know if it is the volume or the weight of the parcel that counts.

 

 For an order of 100 euro (inclusive the sending fees) there was 26. - taxes and administrative stuff to import it in Switzerland (that one was from Arkowood I believe).

 

I visited Wiesermodellbau once and the staff was very nice, they seemed to know what they were talking about. But I guess it would be a good idea to phone them first, not to do the voyage for nothing. They also sell fittings and had a beautiful model stand.

 

I have also found another modelling shop in Switzerland: http://www.techobby.ch/technic_hobby_lausanne/accueil.html

But I don`t have any experience with them yet.

 

Good luck with the plywood again 

[7 Provinces]

Yesterday evening I was able to do something which had been bugging me for a long time now. Between the foredeck and the aft deck there is a step. The great beam, which is visible between the decks, had been painted grey like the waterways, as per the instructions in the kit. Looking at the Nova Scotia Archive pictures, this is not correct. I assume that this beam was natural, like the waterways and the deck. The visible part of the beam on my model is about 5 mm high, which is a little more than the width of 1,5 deck plank. So I cut some deck planks to length and in halve (laterally) since this also makes the bending easier in this cramped space and it allowed me to glue in three times the same strip per side, which looks better than one wide strip and one narrow strip.

See below the before and after pictures:

 

[7 Provinces]

Thanks a lot for your input Schnu!

I have noticed that the wood that Smartwood33 sells, comes straight from Arkowood... 

 

The Swiss post is a bunch of criminals if you ask me. When you order from abroad they tend to sit on it for a week or so in Basel (opening the package to check, they do this as a service for the customs) and charge you around 20 CHF for the "service" plus the import taxes, which can be as low as 5 CHF.

Anyway, if the value of the package (including shipping!) is below 62.5 CHF you are safe. But you still might have to wait a week until they opened the package and checked it. Incredible service.

 

Thanks for the other shop's link: I think however that I will try my luck in Zürich, since the french language is not compatible with my mouth 

 

As for the plywood: I need to find another solution anyway, since the roof of the cabin is precut and too small/wrong shape. But, for argument's sake (and because I was curious) I took the iron to the wood and tested it.

What I found is that with and iron you can quite easily bend wooden strips etc. Just as long as it is one kind of wood. The problem is that plywood is a  laminate of different kinds od wood (often) and usually the grain of the layers are in different directions, which is what makes it relatively strong at a low weight. This however makes the process of straightening very hard. If you heat or soak one layer, mostly another layer is affected as well. 

So, what I tried is I ironed the sheet and it bent the other way. Then I ironed the other side and it bent back. But all the way back, still not straight  . So I ironed again and put 10 kgs of weight on it, maiking sure it was flat. After a while I took the weight off and it immediately sprang back to the original shape.

The last thing I tried, and this at least partly worked, was to lock one side of the sheet in a vise and iron the other side while pulling it into shape. I held it until it cooled down and this was a partial success; the warping has decreased by about 50%. See the pictures below, the top one is before, the second one is after. I think it would be possible to get a better result with a lot of effort and time, but I did not want to spend so much time on this test.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2015 by 7 Provinces

[mrcc]

Are the cabin sides also warped and if not I believe the roof shown in the picture will or can straighten out once you assemble the whole cabin. The smaller parts once cut out of the sheet may also be negligibly affected by the warpage.

 

Good luck!

[7 Provinces]

The sides are not warped or almost not. I am however afraid that the roof will prove stronger. You are right, the smaller parts are not as affected except for the 42's (I do not know what to call these).

Anyway I will build the cabin from scratch due to the size differences so the warpage will not be a problem. As a comparison and just to try it out I will also build the original cabin (or at least the basic structure).

[mrcc]

Don't forget that there is a very slight convex bend in the roof which is normal.

Looking at your pictures and having done the cabin already, I really believe that you will be OK using the supplied part given you will be gluing down the roof to the sides thus eliminating the slight warpage that is there. 

[7 Provinces]

Yes Julian, you are probably right.

And: the warpage in the roof has miraculously decreased even a bit further over night. I will probably be trying to build this cabin tonight just to see how it goes.

But still I will also build a cabin from scratch which will more closely resemble what I see on the pictures. Now that I have better information I just cannot stick to the kit's cabin. Same will apply to the hatches and the forecastle I am afraid. Last weekend I have started to modify the wheelbox as well.. 

[mrcc]

I am sure it will turn out fine!

 

Build the sides first and watch how easy that roof will fit on top!

 

Cheers,

[7 Provinces]

After ironing the plywood it has straightened out even a little more over night, especially the roof of the cabin trunk.

 

 

With this I have put the cabin trunk together (the structures on the roof not glued on). The roof does pull the corner up a bit as expected, but this could be overcome when gluing the trunk to the deck.

 

 

However, this was only a test. As described above the dimensions and details of the cabin trunk are not right so I will build one from scratch.

Edited January 9, 2015 by 7 Provinces

[Tuffarts]

Looking good 

 

This was the second kit I ever bought, I have it on my todo list at the moment, but I will be following along on your build.

Your kit looks similar to the kit I have, but I got bad wooden blocks to replace the plastic ones you have.

[7 Provinces]

Meanwhile, Howard I. Chapelle's "The American Fishing Schooners" arrived. I find the book interesting yet very complicated. Makes me feel I need to read a few books with basic nautical knowledge first to understand what he is writing about. Also most drawings and plans seem to match the logic and rules of design described in the book, but the photos from the Nova Scotia Archives often tell a different story. Seems that not all schooners were built by the rules, or, maybe more likely, several things were changed, repaired or exchanged over the years on a ship, which leads to the fact that the photographs show a different setup. Just a few examples which come to mind: on the pictures there are no straps on the hatches, only one portlight on the side of the cabin trunk and no windows in the doors, the rrofing of the cabin trunk is different, to name but a few.

[7 Provinces]

Thanks Tuffarts!

Getting new blocks is on my todo list. Probably will order those from Chuck's company.

[Tuffarts]

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8509-melb-new-kit-builder/

 

That is the thread I started here when I joined MSW

 

It has some pics of my Blunose 

[7 Provinces]

Hi there Tuffarts,

 

I think you have the same kit. I have answered in your thread including why I think your kit is the same.

If you need some help or advice about the kit or a copy of the instructions then please PM me. I'll try to help where I can.

 

Cheers!

[7 Provinces]

Last weekend I have started the construction of the wheel (gear) box. As to be expected the parts included in the kit have to be changed, some parts have to be added as well.

This is the original wheel box from the kit:

 

 

 

As can be seen from the picture I have glued the rear end not to the end but a bit forward and in the same angle as the front. This is where I will do a “cabinectomy” (thanks to Bob Ross for this term), which is in line with the photos and drawings which I have at my disposal (except the ones from the kit of course).

 

This picture below shows the new wheel box. I have changed the shape, made a new lid, cut a square hole in the front and added a tube for the wheel. The wheel will be mounted on a rod which fits snugly in the tube. I faked the coaming by mounting the box on a plate, because from the photos it is visible that the coaming was very thick and not so high in that place which I found easier to represent in this way. Also I used the blunt and rounded end of a scalpel to press the relief in the sides. Now I still need to paint it.

 

[7 Provinces]

I have now painted the wheelbox. The coaming is mahogany pickle mixed with chocolate brown, since this seemed to match the deck as well as the photos (as far as this can be judged from B&W photos). The sides have chocolate brown inlays and stripes, the main box is paintes in “old white” which is an off-white in a grayish (cold) hue.

 

 

Fitting of the tube:

 

 

 

Lid closed and compared to the photo of the real wheelbox:

 

 

 

Close-up

 

[Tuffarts]

I remember thinking the kit must be wrong because the wheel points the wrong way. You would be facing stern if it was used like a car as I thought it was years ago.

I only had the kit to tell me what to do.

[mrcc]

Hi Jan-Willem...

 

Great work, great attention to details, all based on great research!

[7 Provinces]

Thank you all for the likes and the kind words. 

Knowing that this model will always be limited because of some aspects of the kit and several mistakes made earlier which I do not want to correct anymore, I use this model to test how far I can go when it comes to being true to the original. All more or less in a playful way. After all this is my first build and I want to test and improve my skills as well of course. The likes and the nice words support me in my feeling that I am heading in the right way. 

Thanks!

[schnu]

Nice wheelbox, while reading through your log one can easily forget that this is your first model. Have you contacted Wieser Modellbau? 

[7 Provinces]

Thanks Schnu for the kind words. No I have not contacted them yet as I was busy with other stuff (I am a bit chaotic sometimes  ) and I did not have time to go to Zürich anyway. Plus I saw on some of the old photos that the roof of the cabin actually is made out of thick planks which are separately visible. You understand that with this knowledge I can hardly put a one-piece plywood roof on it... So this ended my search for thin plywood (for now).. But I have saved the page and surely sometime in the future I will give them a visit.

[7 Provinces]

After not being able to do anything on my Bluenose since 4 months I now managed to order a blackening solution and finish the wheelbox. After reading some articles about blackening brass, including the THE BLACKEN-IT TRIALS by E&T, I was under the impression that blackening is a very difficult procedure involving several toxic chemicals which requires meticulous preparation and cleaning work and precise work during the whole process and even then still yielding uncertain results. On top of that the blackening solutions I read about did not seem to be readily available in Europe. Then I found a blackening solution from Germany, saw some tests/instructions on Youtube and ordered a bottle. Just like on Youtube, it worked like a charm. Polish the brass part with steel wool (optional), degrease with acetone, brush on the blackening solution with an old brush, wait a few seconds and watch it turn dark-brown/black. Put more blackening solution on when needed, rinse with water when satisfied. Then it can be buffed, waxed, oiled, or coated with varnish to enhance / preserve the effect. I oiled my wheel tube, see the results on the pictures below.

 

The blackened tube in which the axle of the wheel will sit:

 

 

The almost finished wheel box still without the lid:

 

 

The wheel box with the lid on:

[dgbot]

What is the maker of you product?

David B

[7 Provinces]

I use a product called "Nerofor" made by a company called Ballistol. This is a producer of gun maintenance products like oils and blueing/blackening products. They also make what they call a "cold degreaser" (Robla) which I use but it smells like acetone so it is probably at least similar. I used their oil (called Ballistol as well) to rub the brass after blackening to give it a nice satin shine and for protection. 

There are some youtube films about this product which basically show how it works and the results. I was able to reproduce this without trouble. No hassle with muric acid, having to dilute the product or sweating of the brass afterwards. I am very happy with the results