RMS Titanic's Lifeboat by monkeyman - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:35

[monkeyman]

Been having a read through this, your planking came out great, nice work.

 

And credit to you, I've not been brave enough to try a clinker hull...have hard enough time with caravel planking lol

 

 

Thanx, mate! I've heard, that carvel is even harder, so you may try clinker someday, since you're experienced carvel planker already :-)

[fifthace]

lol sorry...I didn't mean carvel...Im still half asleep.

 

Just standard planking...IE smooth hulled.

 

My knowledge of terminology sucks!

(Along with my spelling sometimes)

 

Edit: No I was right, carvel is smooth hulled.

 

Note to self, drink more coffee!

Edited January 29, 2015 by fifthace

[monkeyman]

Edit: No I was right, carvel is smooth hulled.

 

Yep, but it's single planking like clinker, as far as I know.

[monkeyman]

Thank you sir; I now understand clearly.

 

If you decide to build this boat and follow my steps, here's a little hint, that wil help you make it better: put the markes on the keel to make tapering even. There're 12 planks on each side. Maxmum height of the boardside is approximately 42 mm. So it'll be about 3.5 mm.

 

I didn't put marks on the keel, so my tapering is not even right now. It's not THAT bad, but with marks it can be close to perfect.

 

Also, I'd recomment to replace stock hull planks with more thinner ones. About 1 mm, not more. If you look at the original picture, you'll notice, that stepping was very small. But with 1.5 mm planks it looks a bit oversized. Plus 1mm planks are much easier to fix.

 

I'd do it this way, if I started this model right now.

[fifthace]

Yep, but it's single planking like clinker, as far as I know.

 

Ahh it THAT what the difference is? Always did wonder thanks.

 

In that case yeh I have built one or two single planked hulls, usually ones that are to be coppered/painted.

[michael mott]

Nice work on the lifeboat.

 

Michael

[monkeyman]

Nice work on the lifeboat.

 

Thank you, Michael! It really drives me nuts. I've spent too much time on it already and only the main task to hone my skills keeps me alive :-)

 

Seriously, all this planking and further painting made me hate this boat! But I'm a bit perfectionist, and looking to other blogs, especally Gil's HMS Victory furstrales (Wow! I love this word: FURstrates! Purr-purr!) me A LOT. But, as I said in my previous post, this is some kind of experiment, so I try to be less punishing to myself.

Edited January 30, 2015 by monkeyman

[monkeyman]

A little photoless update to my build.
 
I almost finished with my second attempt of painting this beautly. Of couse, it's not perfect, but a bit better, than the first one. Here's what I did:

• Removed the previous paint using mostly sharp knife. Sanding paper appeared to be not that effective.
• Covered the surface with the 1st layer of the primer and let it dry.
• Polished the primer with 600 grain sand paper.
• Covered the surface with the 2nd layer of the primer and let ir dry.
• Using airbrush covered with white paint. Had to do about 5-6 passes on each board for clean white effect.

It looks not bad in real life and, considering that I'm not a pro yet, might be left as is. Paint layer is so thin, that the whole hull should've been planked A LOT better for perfect results. But that's my first clinker, so I have to forgive myself for all the flaws, sorry :-)
 
A couple thoughts about the whole process:

• Wood filler is not THAT good for clinker. I mean, you shouldn't cover all the hull with it, but only a flaws. Stepping makes it much harder to sand and clean the surface, so any extra stuff like fillers will make this job harder.
   
• I would TOTALY recommend to trash the original planks and use the ones with 1 mm gauge. Less sanding, easier to fit = less flaws at the edges. This is the worst looking part after painting, but using other planks could improve the picture.

But the most part I love in this boat, is that it allows you to GREATLY improve your skills. Would absolutely recommend it to any first-timer of as a training ground. The original manual is stupid, you can trash it and use online pictures, blueprints and documentation. The more time you spend planning this model, the better it'll be. I did a couple mistakes in the process, but they were fixed more or less. Still, there're several things, that could be improved right now.

 

If somebody will ever want to build this boat and have any questions, feel free to ask. I studied its pictures and all available blueprints so many times, that could make a replica of it in rel life. It might even save your life in the face of an iceberg! :-)

Edited January 30, 2015 by monkeyman

[monkeyman]

Ahh it THAT what the difference is? Always did wonder thanks.

 

I'm not super specialist in English shipbuilding terms since my native language is slightly different, but as far as I understood, carvel is single planking, but it's not the same as "double planking" despite it might look like at the end. In carvel you simply put one plank close to another without overlapping, but double planking is more like immitation of it.

[Salty Sea Dog]

Hi monkeyman - I came across your hilarious post in Matt's build and had to come see what you were up to. Your lifeboat is looking really nice. I can't wait to see how it looks in paint.

 

By the way, your English is better than most folks who speak it everyday. What is your native language.

[monkeyman]

By the way, your English is better than most folks who speak it everyday. What is your native language.

 

My native's Russian, but I live in a different country now. And thanks for the kind words, pal :-)

[monkeyman]

After a couple painting and woodstaining attempts I've decided to completely rebuild this boat.

 

My clinker build wasn't perfect and now I can do it much better. Wil all that marking of the tapering and stuff.

 

Also decision to build the deck first was partially right. It's much better to assemble the whole deck block separately and glue it at the end of planking. This might seem weird, but in my case, with all those improvements, separate deck building will allow to do everything much more accurate. Right now it's not, whcih I totally dislike.

 

Oh, and I should never EVER read this stupid manual! Painting the hull at this stage is suicide. All the painting and woodstaining should be made, when hull is completed. Otherwise you have a huge chance to spoil the white colored bottom of the boat. Which I did at the end.

 

And finally, my so super improved build required to add frame ribs (the ones above the deck) before bulding the deck. But again I looked in the manual and was a bit lost. But no more!

 

So I'm off for some programming right now and will return with the new version of the lifeboat. No idea, when it's gonna happen, for it's a supprisingly rare model here.

 

And the most important part: no rushing. Ever!

[CaptainSteve]

Hope to see you back soon, Monkeyman.

[monkeyman]

Hope to see you back soon, Monkeyman.

 

Actually, I'm already back, Stever :-)

 

Found a new box ot Titanic's lifeboat today and will continue posting soon. Studied clinker build a lot and will try a bit different technique and building order this time.

[dgbot]

You are learning and having a good time as well. Keep up the good work. Just remember this is a Hobby so take your time and have fun.

David B

[popeye the sailor]

double planking is imitation of the original planking....mostly done with thin strip of decorative woods over lesser woods like basswood or Obechi.   with earlier kits,  Billing's used to supply mahogany for hull planking.......sounds kinda nuts to me,  since it can be a harder wood to work with.  I'm not an accomplished hull planker either,  but I strive to be able to do a single hull planking,  rather than the double planking to refine the finish.   some kits even instruct you to do a double planking.   to me it seems like a waste of good wood......if you can do a satisfactory job with the first planking.......why do a second?   stains do a good job with wood color and texture.

 

I may be wrong.......but I think Carvel is a type of ship,  and not a style of planking.  there's traditional planking, where planks are butted against one another in mated strakes,  and clinker planking,  which is overlapped strakes.   I'm sure there are other types and methods,  but I haven't run across them yet    I was sorry to read that you had problems with your first build,......I am glad though that you haven't given up and are starting over    this is such a cool subject,  and I wish you better luck this time around

[monkeyman]

double planking is imitation of the original planking....

Well, you can call carvel an "original planking", I guess :-)

 

to me it seems like a waste of good wood......if you can do a satisfactory job with the first planking.......why do a second?   stains do a good job with wood color and texture.

Double planking allows you to fix the mistakes. You simply do it first time and then sand, fill, more sand, more fill if required. And only then you cover it with thin finishing stripes. Single planking is much less forgiving.

 

I may be wrong.......but I think Carvel is a type of ship,  and not a style of planking.

Yeah, you're a bit wrong, pal :-)

 

 

I was sorry to read that you had problems with your first build,......I am glad though that you haven't given up and are starting over    this is such a cool subject,  and I wish you better luck this time around

I'm not even starting over, I'm making it BETTER! Read a bunch of stuff on clinker and actually will try to reproduce it in real life. Or follow it as close as possible. Already finished the skeleton, but need something else to do before posting.

[monkeyman]

OK, let's start a new life or a new blog actually. And we will call it...

 

Building Titanic's Lifeboat 2: Duck the Manual

 

Here's a little background story first. Adam Sandler on the island fell in love with the coconut... walt, it's another story. Here's mine.

 

I did some serious research on clinker build and somehow liked it a lot. I don't know why, but watching people building clinker boats looks like a state of art to me. Super sexy!

 

For those interested, there's a Traditional Maritime Skills channel on YouTube. They have a 5 part video set, which shows you how to build a clinker boat. VERY detailed stuff, and I totally recommend to watch, if you want to understand, how to do this kind of planking. These are the basics, a theory of it.

 

I actually find information about clinker pretty scarce. I mean, in ship modelling business, not real life. Made me do a little digging before I started rebuilding the Titanic's lifeboat. Right now I'm planning to reproduce clinker built on my model and show all the steps in Advanced Clinker Planking Tutorial.

 

Will start posting stuff tomorrow, since I already begun.

Edited February 3, 2015 by monkeyman

[monkeyman]

I've prepared my new lifeboat for planking, considering all the previous changes, that were made during my first attempt to build this pesky model. As I already mentioned, the kit's false keel is plain stupid. Here it is:

 

 

So the first thing was to make it more close to the original one:

 

 

I've also strengthened the false keel at the bottom, bow and stern, which you can clearly see on pictures:

 

 

Then, of course, I did a little shaping:

 

 

And finally made cuts to some bulkheads, which will help me to remove the top parts after planking completed:

 

[dgbot]

A nice do over. We all have had to do that in the past. Keep up the good work.

David B

[monkeyman]

We all have had to do that in the past. Keep up the good work.

 

So you say, I'm not the only one, who had to start over? :-)

[dgbot]

I forgot how many times I had to redo a model over the years. I remember redoing the belaying pins on a clipper I worked done on my models. I remember redoing the belaying pins at least a dozen times until I got the size right to scale.

David B

Edited February 5, 2015 by dgbot

[monkeyman]

I've started with planking and this time the result is much better. It looks much more accurate, all planks and taperings are equal, I don't do too much sanding and glueing. I did learn some tricks and will post an advanced tutorial a bit later, as promised.

 

Just a quick peek on first planks:

 

 

Edited February 5, 2015 by monkeyman

[monkeyman]

Model authors were surely too high, when doing their project on Titanic's lifeboat. Planking is the worst part.

 

This is how boat's frame "fits" the deck:

 

 

And this is how they suggest you to handle their "original planking ideas":

 

 

See, that gap between bulkheads and planks? It's intentional and without it deck won't fit. Basically, you have to guess, how your planking will end!

 

Why, WHY did they do it?! I'm so kicking them in the groin for this!

Edited February 5, 2015 by monkeyman

[CaptainSteve]

Model authors were surely too high ...

 

MM,

You have just discovered the main trap which all kit-builders learn eventually. 

 

You are now, officially, ONE OF US !!!

[monkeyman]

You have just discovered the main trap which all kit-builders learn eventually. 

 

Ah, so THIS is the main ship-builder's secret, everyone is talking about? I see... Feeling myself at least like a mason (and under mason I mean the guy, attracted to free masonry) or rosicrucian, who have just learned, how to conquer the world :-)

[mtaylor]

So you say, I'm not the only one, who had to start over? :-)

 

I don't believe you are the only one...  welcome to the club.

[John Maguire]

I am glad to see you have this figured out for the rest of us. When you finally are completed and thank goodness you won't say so until it is perfect, I will benefit from your tutorial and build mine. It seems so simple but is not .  .  . but you are making it so.

Respectfully,

John Maguire

Seattle

[monkeyman]

I'm starting to write Advanced Clinker Planking tutorial, but it'll take some time. Right now tutorial is marked as uncompleted and will be updated.

 

Advanced Clinker Planking Tutorial (Uncompleted)

 

This planking tutorial is based on real life clinker built and covers all important stages. The order of described operations solely depends on your model's scale. For example, 1:35 scale were not enough for th Titanic's lifeboat to go easily with nails, had to imitate them (see below).

 

First of all I'd like to share some tips & tricks, which will help you get through clinker planking smoothly.

• Use PVA only! This is the only type of the glue, which allows you to fix flaws. Just use hot iron (2 dots tops), warm up glue a bit and move your planks any way you want. You can even remove planks, carefully warming and pulling them slowly.
   
• Do NOT install the keel! It'll make you sanding life WAY worse. You'll also spoil your model's keel for sure, despite that in real life they plank the boat with keel installed.
   
• Use thin planks, for they are easier to fit. In this very model the original planks are 7 x 1.5 mm. Despite that this particular model has 1:35 scale, I had to soak planks for a while, which took a lot more time to do the job. On my second attempt to build Titanic's Lifeboat I used 1 x 6 planks and didn't even soak them.

1. Tapering marks

 

Before you start with planking you have to put tapering marks on false keel. This will help you keep tapering even. The most tricky part here is to count the number of the planks on each boardside. You can either try to figure out yourself or see the blueprints.

 

NOTE: the more the difference between visible plank width in the middle and tapering value, the less planks will fit. For example, on this very boat 5 mm at the middle / 3 mm tapering will allow you to have about 12 planks. But 4 / 3 mm will get you to 13-14 planks.

 

 

2. Beveling

 

In real life, when you put a next plank, you make a bevel on the previous one. This is because new plank must be installed with an angle, not just straight forward. I'd suggest to do a little beveling on the model as well. It's pretty easy: just  use a sanding paper or any other sanding tool on the edge of the plank.

 

NOTE: Starting from the middle of the board you'll have to increase the angle of the bevel, otherwise your hull will go sideways and become too wide.

 

 

3. Initial glueing

 

This step is pretty straighforward. Just glue the plank at the center and fix with clamps for a while.

 

NOTE: Remember, that at some point planks will also bend vertically. You can either soak them before glueing or do the dry bending slowly glueing small parts of the plank. For example, for this boat I did dry bending: added some glue, fix approx. 2 cm of the plank in required shape and position, wait for a while, add another portion of glue, etc.

 

 

4. Pre-sanding

 

Sand down both edges of the plank, but not too much. This will help you A LOT with fixing the plank to bow and stern, because plank becomes much more flexible. You'll have to sand it down anyway, so just make it two-part job.

 

NOTE: If you sand too much, plank may crack, when glueing. Don't worry, this is not a big deal. Just add some glue in the crack and sand it later - won't leave a trace.

 

 

5. Final glueing

 

Now you can fix the rest of the plank. It should go very easily. If not, use iron to fix unwanted stuff (see the tips above).

 

 

6. Final sanding

 

Sand down the plank, when it's glued compeltely.

 

NOTE: Try to do final sanding with small overlaping of the false keel. It'll help you later, when installing a keel.

 

 

7. Adding ribs and nails

 

When you finished with planking, you may remove bulkheads and add ribs instead. It'll make your boat look more realistic, especially if its boards are mostly visible from inside. Titanic's lifeboats didn't have much of a board visible, when deck installed, but in many other cases you can clearly see it.

 

[cool picture is here]

 

Ribs can be fixed with nails, if your model's scale is high enough. But if it's not, you'd better imitate nails with toothpicks like this:

 

[cool picture is here]

 

NOTE: This step will require a lot of patience and some skill, so be prepared.

Edited February 8, 2015 by monkeyman

[monkeyman]

Uuuugh! I hate this model developers with all my heart! Had to remove a couple planks on each side, because the final result made it impossible to fit the deck.

 

Meanwhile, I've updated my advanced tutorial with some fresh tips. God, give me strength to finish all this!