18th Century Longboat by Ryland Craze - Model Shipways - 1:48

[Ryland Craze]

Here is the start of my 18^th Century Longboat by Model Shipways.  I watched the development of this kit by Chuck Passaro on MSW v1.0 and was amazed to see the detail that he put into such a small boat.  I felt that this would be a fun kit to build and so far I am right.  As all of us on MSW know Chuck is an amazing ship model designer and I was glad to see Model
Shipways turn his design into a kit.  I ordered this kit as soon as it was available.  I was fortunate to see Chuck's Longboat at the 2012 Northeast Joint Clubs Ship Model Conference and Show.  It is a beauty and it won the Jim Roberts Award for the Best Ship Model in the Show.

 

The kit is in an 8" x 15 1/2" box.  Here are pictures of the contents:

 

 

All of the wood in the kit is basswood and it is laser cut.

 

 

Blocks, rigging line and preprinted friezes and stern decorations are included.

 

 

A 20 page instruction booklet with color pictures is included.  The instructions are written like a practicum, they are highly detailed in explaining the construction steps.

 

 

Three sheets of plans drawn by Chuck are provided.

 

 

Like I said, this is going to be a fun build.

 

[Ryland Craze]

The first step is to clean up the laser burn marks off of the basswood parts. It seems that most of the burn marks were on tne backside of the laser cut wood.

 

 

I used 220 and 320 grit sanding sticks to clean up the burn marks.  I was surprised to see them disappear with some light sanding.  Here are the parts after sanding the burn marks.

 

[augie]

He sure draws nice plans.  Thanks for posting, Ryland.

[Ryland Craze]

For staining the basswood parts, I used Minwax products as shown below.

 

 

I first applied the Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner to the basswood.  Then I mixed one part of Minwax Golden Oak Stain to three parts of Minwax Natural Stain and applied this to the basswood parts.  This darkened the wood very slightly and this was the effect that I wanted.

 

 

As you could see, the color of the frames were darkened very slightly.

 

Here is the keel stained.

 

[Ryland Craze]

Now the fun part starts to happen.  I am finally starting to assemble the kit.

 

I used some one inch "L" blocks to keep my frames square and at right angles to the keel. These pictures show how I assembled the bulkheads to the keel.

 

 

Here you can see the bow filler blocks that I installed per the instructions.

 

 

One good thing about this build is my old camera gave out.  I had pictures of each bulkhead being installed but they were blurred.  They said that my sensors had given out in the old camera, so I bought a new one.  The last three photos were taken by the new camera.

 

 

 

[Ryland Craze]

After all of the bulkheads were installed, it was time to fair them.  I used sanding sticks that I purchased from a beauty supply shop.  You have to use a light touch to do the fairing or you will loosen up some of the bulkheads.  I actually loosened up several of the bulkheads, but it was an easy fix to reglue them. 

 

Here are some pictures of the fairing process and the sanding sticks that I used.

 

 

Next step is to start the planking.

[Ryland Craze]

Augie,

 

Thanks for looking in. Chuck's plans and instruction manual are excellent as well as all of his kit designs.

 

I have been watching your Syren build and it is a masterpice. You have done a beautiful job on building this kit and I know you can attest to Chuck's plans and instructions.  I have the Syren kit, but I want to work on getting my skills to the level that I can do a good job on building it.

[augie]

Looks like you're ready right now  .  Save some of those stain products ----- you may need them on Syren.

 

But I want to follow this longboat 'til then. 

[slagoon]

That is stunning - I had sort of dismissed it as a small boat - but seeing all the detail included (due to Chuck's hard work) I think I shall add this to my wish list. I can't wait to see your build with it.

[Chuck]

Ryland...it is so great to see the log and your progress.  I will be following closely.  You have achieved a nice finish on the keel and it will look just great when completed...

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Chuck

[yvesvidal]

Ryland,

 

This is a beautiful Build Log. I love how you present the kit, the parts, the plans and all your step-by-step progress.

 

Darn, it makes my mouth water just watching you build that gorgeous kit. Once again, I am going to have to invest in Chuck Passaro, Inc.

 

I'll be following closely. By the time you are done, your Build Log will become the De Facto Practicum.

 

Yves

[Chuck]

Ryland...based on your "liking" of my post about this group build.  I have moved your log here.  I must now contact Ben to see if he wants to do the same.  I figure it will increase activity and the more the merrier.  

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks everyone for the comments. This is a nice kit and I am looking forward to continuing the build.

 

Chuck, thanks for opening up this forum to all of us that are building the longboat.  This feels like the right place for this build log.  I am looking forward to seeing more of the Club members posting their builds.  It will be good to see the techniques used by others.

[Timothy Wood]

Ryland,

 

Very, very, nice work!  Also your photography really does your build log great justice.  Keep them coming.

 

Tim

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks Tim.  Your comments about my photography, with you being a retired Navy Photographer, are real gratifying.  There are a lot of things that I need to learn about my new camera.  They just do not make simple cameras any more.

[Trussben]

Hi Ryland - Glad to see you are reposting your log, I think Chuck just moved mine into this forum as well so we are all a big happy family again!

 

ben

[Ryland Craze]

Hi Ben,

 

I am a big fan of your builds.  It is nice that all of the Longboats are grouped into one Forum.  There are a couple of Longboats that are nearing completion and I find myself looking at these builds as I plan my next steps on my Longboat.

[Trussben]

Yeh, I've almost finished mine now, just on the rigging now, damn tiny blocks!! But most of my building time ( not much at moment ) is spent in the Confederacy with occasional jumps back to the Longboat.

 

Ben

[the learner]

Looking good, Please keep post those great progress pictures

[gjdale]

Very nice work Ryland, supported by excellent photography. I have this kit in the cupboard, so it's nice to have an excellent log like yours for reference.

[TomShipModel]

Ryland,

 

Great job with the Longboat.  The photographs help greatly and show very well the steps that you are taking.  Your treatment of the basswood makes it look much better.  I have a longboat waiting but, it's a ways back in line.

 

Tom

[Timmo]

^{Nice work there Ryland.}

^{The post with the Minwax products was very informative. It's not one we have here in NZ but shots like that give a good clue to similar items here and the slight darkening of the basswood might come ion handy in future. I sure like the look of Chuck's boat so who knows I might give it a go one day. I'll let intrepid adventurers like you and others in this forum lead the way.}

^Wayne

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks Wayne. It is a fun little boat to work on. I am watching the other Longboat builders as they are turning out some beautiful models.  I have learned a lot from their build logs.

 

I have been following your Granado build log and I am amazed at your artistic talent regarding the painting of the quarterdeck bulkhead panels.  You really did a nice job on them.  They are going to add to an already excellent model.

 

[BRiddoch]

Looking great Ryland.  I can't wait to get home and start building again...2 more weeks.

 

                    Bob R.

[Anja]

Hello Ryland,

 

 

Happy birthday and have a wonderful day,

 

Anja

[Timothy Wood]

Happy Birthday "Old Man,"  glad to see you are still vertical...  Feel free to collect a Birthday Drink on me next Saturday after the  monthly meeting!    

 

Cheers,

Tim

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks Anja and Tim for the Birthday wishes.  I spent all day with the grandkids.  My two and a half year old granddaughter sang happy birthday to me about six times.  We lit the candles each time and she got to blow them out.  I made wishes each time and hopefully they will all come true.  All in all, a great day.

[gjdale]

A belated Happy Birthday Ryland. Glad to hear you had a good day with the grand kids. Hope your wishes come true!

[dcicero]

Hi, Ryland.

 

Just wondering ...

 

Where did you get those little true squares in the pictures from February 27?  Those look really handy, but I have no idea where I could find them.

 

Enjoying the build very much!  I've just started my longboat, so I'm watching all the activity here with great interest.

 

 

 

Dan

[Ryland Craze]

Dan,

 

I got these angle plates off of ebay many years ago.  I could not find any on ebay but I did come across some at this website.  Just click here: Global Industrial.  I ordered a pair of 1"x1"x1" and a pair of 2"x2"x2".  Mine were imported from India.  You can also make some angle plates out of legos.