Rattlesnake by sport29652 - Model Shipways - 1:64

[lamarvalley]

Ah, now I see where your spending your time rather than on the San Fran. I like your cannon carriages better than the die stamped ones in the SF. Big improvement.

 

Randy

[sport29652]

Thanks Randy I'll be spending more time on the Fran soon. Thought I'd share my transom carving paint scheme. I like the black and white look saw someone else's build and it looked sharp. beside when the snake is sitting next to my Connie in a few years they will look good together

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

Nice "take" on the transom

 

It will tie in to the wales should you go with the black there too.

 

What did you use to get the color on the Basswood.

[sport29652]

It's just the lighting, no paint yet. When I do it will be ochre with white and black windows/trim.

[lamarvalley]

I like the black and white theme on the carving. Sometimes less is more and with so much to see on the transom, painting bright colors might distract. Good call.

[fish]

Eric,

 

The paint job on your transom looks great, nice work!

 

-Aaron

[sport29652]

So a quick update have been working on the knight and timber heads. I took another page out of Jpetts books and roided them out a little. I have spent many hours thinking these and came to the conclusion that they should flow into the rabbit and be able to be faired. They are currently lightly fair and once the lines of the upper hull are a little more defined I will finish the job. Have also worked a little on the transom windows. I used a piece of plastic baseball card protector as the window. Tested it with CA and the glue soaked into the wood with no frosting or trace the I used glue. I was expecting some fallout from using CA ? Don't know what kind of plastic it is but it cuts well and is stiff enough to be sanded on edge if need be.

I did paint part of the transom with some ocher to give me an idea about the final product. I want to ad trim around the windows and the name plate but I am concerned that this detail could or would be easily damaged. Any feedback ?

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

Thanks for the tip on the windows

 

As for your transom. Realize the bottom was cut by the same person who did the cannon wheels.

 

It does look good.

 

Just a warning: I broke stuff on my build while planking. I use pins and pushing them in had its moments. Being a newbie I am sure only added to the destruction.  Broke something today as a matter of fact. it used to bother me, now I just add it to the list and move on. I save the parts in a small box

[russ]

Eric:

The timberheads and stern windows look very good. The shape of the timberheads is coming along well.

 

Russ

[lamarvalley]

Your transom looks good Eric. I still like that b&w contrast. Windows look real too.

What kind of trim are you thinking of. Scrollwork, shutters of a sort? Creative paintwork... like some kind of crackle or weathering?

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

I found this and thought you might find it of interest

 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1572-plank-sheets-manufacturing-cheat-technique/?p=53139

 

Better than home made pizza

Edited May 12, 2013 by JPett

[sport29652]

So took a break from the San Fran rat lines and decided to start planking the hull. I skipped a couple of steps like attaching the transom and framing the gun ports. I fear these will be damaged and I see no reason why they can't be addressed later. So my first strake I left one peace to maintain a smooth curve to guide all other runs of planks. I lightly used CA to attach and should be easy to remove if its no good. Only got a couple of planks on. I am using dividers to measure and mark my tapers. Don't really have a belt "a" yet but will taper to meet this as close as possible.

 

As always any feedback is welcome

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

Looks like your off to a good start

 

Its a great trip

 

Enjoy it

[sport29652]

So things are flowing right along. Three planks in and so far it's seems ok. Definatly worried about the big S word (spilling). I left my planks full width from bulkhead d to h. I taper my planks before cutting them to size. i can how i would mess up the taper if i didnt. I would like to find a way to taper my planks without sanding.

[RiverRat]

Hi eric,

 

For neatly tapering planks, as opposed to sanding, I use this small plane. You can get it at "big box" hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot.

 

 

If you've never used a plane before, practice setting it up (blade depth) on scrap pieces. Set it up to make very thin shavings.

 

To do a taper, start by shaving off a short length on the tapered edge's end. Increase the length of the cut little by little until you get the taper you want. DO PRACTICE to figure out how this works.

 

These are also good for bevelling the edges of planks to avoid gaps and clinkering.

 

Brian

[lamarvalley]

Riverrat's right Eric, planes work great but, and I say it cause it needs saying and I don't know if you know it, but pushing the plane over the wood in one direction with the grain is right and the other direction against the grain is very wrong. You'll know when the wood bites and tears versus shusses along sweetly If you already knew that... good! otherwise...

 

Oh, and yeah, BTW, your planking is going nicely, looking good!

Edited June 10, 2013 by lamarvalley

[sport29652]

Thanks guys, picked up a set of micro planes at harbor freight. The tools there are questionable but for $9 I don't think it will be to much of a loss. Will give them a proper edge and see if its more consistent

[Martin W]

These guys are absolutely right, Brian, try out the plane, and in fact try out as much as you can, since spiling is itself something to "try out" in the sense that by doing it you'll figure it out better than reading anything. A good bit of everything we do in modelling (in my view) is simply getting the feel of doing it so that it looks right, and when you get the feel, you'll know it.

 

Keep at it,

 

Martin

[sport29652]

So where to begin, let me start by saying the basswood is much easier to use while planking. With that being said it seems to be pretty easy to induce unintended waves in the planking. I have spilled several planks so far and is not that hard (using the scotch tape method). The hardest part so far is the area where the planking meets the stern. It's ugly, didn't attach a pic of it, little embarrassed and once I come up with a fix I might post. For those people following this log I would defer to Jpetts log for the right way to do it. Ttyl

[lamarvalley]

Hey Eric, we all have parts of our own ships that don't meet our expectations... it's only embarrassing if you accept sub-par attempts without caring and use words like "eh, that's good enough"... then I think its actually a maritime crime ... know what I mean?... from here it looks good

[Martin W]

I'm with Randy on that.  And the stern is the absolute hardest part to plank on this ship.  Almost every strake I measured twice, cut once, and dry fitted it, then when I feld happy enough to glue it, saw too late that it didn't look perfect.  Sometimes I ripped the offending piece out, and sometimes I looked at my dwindling wood pile and let it go.

 

Keep at it,

 

Martin

[sport29652]

So here I am now. Learned a ton on this hull. If you look closely u can see the spilling drop planks and cheating. Has anyone used gorilla glue ? I have found that it's a great gap filler. I will use it from the inside of the hull to attack some of the gaps that have formed. And then I have to address the rats ***. Took me a bit to learn to soak the basswood and then it will conform to whatever curve u have. Lastly I have not sanded the hull to show every mistake or as I like to think of them as beauty marks. Comments please

 

Edited July 20, 2013 by sport29652

[russ]

The planking looks good so far. Just a few bottom planks and that area will be finished. You have some sanding to do but that will probably serve to even out whatever bumps you have in the hull. Very good work so far.

 

Russ

[lamarvalley]

I think it looks good Eric. Some sanding will smooth out the slight uneven spots. This is a single hull right? Are you going natural or stain versus paint like model shipways shows.

I've used gorilla glue before but never on a model. I don't like how it expands and tends to go where I don't want it but for inside a hull where it will never see daylight... yeah, could work fine I guess

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

Almost home. Looks good too.

 

I too had some issues that required sanding on my hull. If it helps I took the sanding very slowly and put a finger on the inside of the planks that needed extra sanding. This way I did not sand too much. I also used PVA glue and coated the inside to strengthen these areas. It did a great job too. Read my post about this should you decide to do it. I had some concerns.

 

PS: I used toothpicks for my treenails and would not recommend them on Basswood. Edge grain is too dark.

[sport29652]

Last couple of planks added and ready to sand ! Good to hear from u guys your comments are appreciated. I'm going to get the larger bumps out of my hull first and then I will wet sand using watered down PVA. The resulting slurry will be worked into the slits and hopefully eliminate any cracks. Jpett, I love your treenail work but am going to pass I will paint my hull. I don't think I can even come close t your work. Ill be the ugly sister :-)

[Martin W]

Eric -- It looks good!  As the others have said, sanding will work wonders, smoothing out the mistakes and accentuating the wood's natural good looks. 

 

Treenailing is its own thing -- once you commit yourself you have to go all the way and resist asking yourself just how nutty you've become.  So paint is probably the healthier option.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[JPett]

Ahoy Eric

 

I think once you're done with the sanding I think you will find yourself very happy with what you have accomplished. This latest photo  really shows what a great job you really did.

 

Your use of PVA while wet sanding is an interesting concept. Did you come up with this or has it already been tested.

 

Also: I am saddened to hear you will not be spending the next 3 months doing treenails   Smart move

[sport29652]

I stole the wet sanding from another member (can't remember who). I hope to treenail something maybe the deck ? Just not gonna do the hull so ill get my taste of it at some point

[Martin W]

A small taste could last you a long time. 

 

Martin