Pride of Baltimore II by AndyMech - Model Shipways - 1:64

[lambsbk]

Very clean looking lines Andy. well done.

 

Dave

[billt]

Looking really good!

[popeye the sailor]

went through your log Andy.........pretty impressive for your first wooden build     you got the hang of it quickly.......and your painting skills really show here.

 

really nice work  

[Tigersteve]

Andy- I agree and am also enjoying your log. Very clean work and it proves that one can create something spectacular with basswood! It's more difficult but that challenge makes it fun. -Steve

[AndyMech]

Thanks for all the comments.  I made a little progress over the weekend, working on the Engineer Access hatch.  I seem to be ordering the hatches in order from most simple to more complex.  I will post photos when the portlights are complete.

 

Thanks to all for following my build - I wish I had more time to work faster.

 

Andy.

[AndyMech]

Ok, this weekend I finished up the Engine Access hatch.  

 

First, I created the 4 sides, lettering them to know which to glue to which:

 

 

 

I added a thin 1/32" roof, and stained and glued it to the frame, after painting the frame.

 

 

The plans call for 2 small 1/64" steel rods to be hung by some very very small mounts on the side of the hatch.  I used 26 gauge electrical wire from work, and made the wood mounts with lots of careful filing and sanding.

 

 

Finally, the top hatches - one on each side, and each has a portlight installed at the top.  I used 1/32" inch wood for this, and sanded the extensions down to 1/64 as best I could.  The top hatch covers were also sanded down to 1/64" thickness.

 

 

 

 

Andy.

[russ]

Very nicely done.

 

Russ

[Tigersteve]

Looking sharp!

Steve

[popeye the sailor]

very nice bit of progress Andy........those hatches look sweet!

[Karleop]

Hola Andy:

Your engine room access looks very nice, I just make mine following your steps 

 

Saludos, Karl

[Tigersteve]

Hi Andy, I am wondering what type of paint brushes you use.

Steve

[AndyMech]

Hi,

 

My paint brushes are nothing special - I bought a series of 4 at Michaels (local craft shop).  They sort them into different quality, so I got the highest available.  I also wanted to get flat "shader" brushes instead of rounder, pointed ones so I could do more precise work.  The 4 are all of different sizes, the smallest is the red one at the top : 4/0 I think.  The label has rubbed off.

 

Here's a photo -- I typically use the smallest head so far, but will use the larger on the bigger surfaces.

 

 

I hope this is the info you are looking for.  If not, I'd be happy to answer any other questions...

 

Andy.

[Tigersteve]

Yes- thank you. Trying to get an idea of what people are using brush-wise.

Steve

[AndyMech]

Next up in the hatch parade is the crew access/galley hatch.  This is a little more intricate, but not too bad.  Took me two weeks to complete.

 

First, I framed up the walls, added the stained roof pieces and some inner walls.  My sliding hatch doesn't move, so everything is glued down tight.

 

 

 

 

 

Next, hatches were added to the top - there are 3 here: a long, dual portlight hatch on the left side, a single smaller one on the right and frame for the galley stack also on the right.  A life ring is placed on the sliding flat portion.  I mixed my own orange color from the ship's yellow and red (too little paint to go out and purchase), and I also left the galley stack chimney the base metal color - seems to match the ship better than the bronze the instructions called for.

 

 

 

 

Finally, a shot of the ship as it stands right now, before I continue onto the next largest hatch:

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

[russ]

Very good job and beautiful details.

 

Russ

[popeye the sailor]

the layout is populating nicely.....the structures look very good.    good choice of color......it details them quite well  

[AndyMech]

Next up is the 2nd largest hatch - the main salon companion way and trunk.  This took me a little over 2 weeks to complete, it's the first to have a planked top and some very small and thin molding.

 

The main issue I had, after creating the initial box, was to get the edges to overhang by 1/32".  I wanted this to be as precise and consistent as possible.  The box itself is created with 3/64" thick walls, which one the forward and aft edges, meant there was only 1/64" of available gluing space for the 1/32" frame.  

 

Here was my solution:

 

 

I used clips to sandwich a 1/32" thick scrap piece between the edge of the frame and another piece to mark the edge of the piece to glue.  I did this on all 4 sides, then glued in the larger of the edge pieces first:

 

 

With those in place, I managed to glue the thinner fore/aft edging:

 

 

Now, I made each plank to fit the newly formed frame, labeled them and stained them before gluing.

 

 

The rest is more-or-less straightforward:  plank the top, create the sliding hatch and small access hatch with portlights:

 

 

 

 

 

Here it is on the ship:

 

 

Also, I did add 1/32" x 1"64" molding below the top by sanding down a 1/16" x "1/32 to 1/64" thick and the slicing it in half.  The resulting pieces are super fragile and difficult to manipulate, but I was able to glue them in well.

 

I hope to repeat these techniques for the final, largest hatch, at least for the framing and planking.  The hatches on top will be different, but no new skills required, I hope.

 

 

Andy.

[AndyMech]

Finally, I thought I'd post a larger picture of the current full profile length of my Baltimore:

 

 

Andy.

[Tigersteve]

Beautiful!

Steve

[russ]

The companionway is nicely done. Great work.

 

Russ

[popeye the sailor]

looks super nice!  

[billt]

Very nice

[AndyMech]

After a few weeks of work, the main salon trunk is finished.  I will leave the bell to later as I need some bronze paint for the currently-silver bell and it shouldn't be too difficult to add it later.

 

The progression of photos shows the construction order, I used clear plastic for the hatch windows even though you can clearly see the planks underneath it.  For some reason, that doesn't bother me overly at the moment.

 

Andy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

very nice Andy!      two things you can do about the planks showing through the windows..........you can use tinted cello.   I have the stuff they use for tinting car windows........that might hide it enough.    or........you can trace out the skylight...cut out and remove the planking,  and paint the open area flat black.

 

you did such a great job matching all the structures........very uniform and neat    hope you had a great Christmas!

[russ]

Andy:

It looks great. The color contrast is very attractive. I used that same color contrast on another model last year. Great work.

 

Russ

[Tigersteve]

Great work. Very consistent.

Steve

[AndyMech]

Popeye, I like the idea of using a tinted plastic or film, I'll keep my eye open for something like that. It should be easy enough to apply on top, likely won't even need to glue it. Good idea, thanks.

 

Andy

[popeye the sailor]

try and do it from the inside,  if the structure isn't cemented in place.   the window framing will add a nice effect  

[JPAM]

tinted cello is what they seemed to have used here with great results. 

I was once in the Great Chesapeake Schooner race where the Pride overtook us flying everything including her stuns'ls, she is so majestic. 

your model is looking fantastic. 

[AndyMech]

Popeye: the skylight has already been glued down - prematurely I suppose.  I'll keep my eye open for a good solution.  I suppose I could unglue it, but generally I hate to do that -it causes more work and mars the wood and I would be concerned of the planks also coming unglued.  I could also remove the planking from below the skylight as the whole unit is not glued to the coamings,  that will allow for access to the underside.  We'll see.

 

Moving forward:  

 

There are 2 vent boxes in the plans - without coamings, but with little feet bolted to the deck.  It looks like, from photos of the actual ship that something has changed and there are coamings now, but I went with the plans and used the feet instead.

 

 

 

 

These are just placed at the moment, not glued as there are other pieces of deck furniture to add.  I think I'll create all the rest of the furniture before permanently placing on deck.

 

Andy.