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 Rank: Vice-Master     Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Sunday January 10th, 20216Yesterday I completed the setup of the building slip specifically designed for the initial hull assembly . . 01 10012016 P1100399.jpg  . . and later I put together the keel, made with two shorter elements and two small reinforcements to apply over the junction. 02 10012016 P1100402.jpg  A tough of class (!) . . a nameplate (very artisanly made) with the name of the model. 03 10012016 P1100405.jpg  Cost of these materials: € 1.00 for the base in 18mm plywood, € 0.65 for the 5 x 10 strip and € 0.30 for a small plywood table of 4mm, the same width of the pre-cut keel provided with the kit. to be continued . . Cheers, Jack.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Further considerations about this building board . . The keel of this model is very long and, with respect to its length, rather low. It is therefore quite flexible and can bend easily; and this isn't a good thing. As I probably have already written, the main function this building board must perform is to keep perfectly straight and 90° perpendicular the keel. This goal is achieved through the strips of 5x10mm. fixed over the 18mm. plywood basement and on the two lateral, vertical sides. Once the keel is inserted into the grooves, it is held in its position straight and vertical, with no possibility to alter this state. But there is another important feature in this keel: the lower part is not straight, as usually happens in the models of sailing ships that we are accustomed to build, but slightly arched, that's it tends to move up to the prow and poop, also presenting over its entire length a slightly curvilinear shape. How to glue the two pieces, that make up the keel, with the correct sheer ? Simple, just assemble them over the sheer drawing. But then who guarantees me that the keel will not flex within the building board ? And here come into the field the second function: make sure the building board prevents the keel to move in swing when a slightest pressure on it is applied. It is with this goal in mind that I have prepared two special curved elements, which perfectly follow the prow and poop curved lines and force their correct inclination. The four images here below "visually" clarify this particular feature. 01 10012016 P1100400.jpg  02 10012016 P1100403.jpg  03 10012016 P1100401.jpg  04 10012016 P1100404.jpg  That's all till now, but there is still another aspect to be clarified: how can I install correctly the bulkheads ? That means they must fit perfectly vertical with respect to the two axes of the keel, the longitudinal and the vertical ? And how do I ensure that the frames are set perfectly parallel to the bottom of the building board so that the two sides of the hull are 100% symmetric ? I'll describe my solution in the next message. Cheers, Jack.Aubrey Salutoni, Jack.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Treating the bulkheads and the keel The Gokstad ship, and probably all the Viking ships, once completed, were "sealed" using the caulking process. In those days this was through tar and animals fur: goats, sheep or similar. Once filled the cracks, tar was spread throughout all the hull timbers to provide also some kind of protection against the weather elements. Hence the characteristic "quasi black" brown color of these boats. To realise this model I therefore thought to stain the precut pieces before mounting and fix them. To stain I decided to use a walnut mordant, very very concentrated and dark. I've done this NOW, before to install, because if made after any glue residual would not allow a well done staining, especially so dark. But staining prior to bonding tends to melt with glue, so, to avoid this second problem, I also treated the stained pieces with one/two coats of vinyl glue diluted to 50% and immediately dried with a hair-drier. This trick avoids the occurrence of the problem just described. The same procedure was used for the keel and will be used for the planks. After the diluted glue, a light sanding to smooth the surface and spot the brown color. Below is an example of some frames treated this way. Areas not dyed will be hidden after the installation of the deck and planks. 01 11012016 P1100411.jpg  Frames positioning and installation . . In the previous message I raised the issue of how to precisely mount the frames on the keel. The problem is to mount them 90° relative to the keel, 90° with respect to their vertical and parallel to the building board basement, that means perfectly horizontal. To do this I prepared the instrument shown here below. On one side I signed a reference grid to help positioning horizontally the frames. Positioned and fixed in the right place on the building board, according to the lines drawn with a pencil on the same, this tool lets you mount and bond the frames rather precisely and stable until the glue hardens. After +/- ten minutes, it will be possible to switch to mount another frame and so on until the end. And it's what I'll do in the next steps. Sincerely, Jack. 02 1101206 P1100409.jpg  03 1101206 P1100407.jpg  04 1101206 P1100408.jpg  05 1101206 P1100406.jpg 
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 Rank: Pro   Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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Excellent idea Jack. Can't wait to see your progress. I am taking notes. Your attention to detail is amazing and your detailed explanation of your steps is incredibly helpful. Ron Best Regards,
Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator
Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT
In the Stash: Losing count...
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Thankyou very much, Ron.
Cheers, Jack.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 . . Frames installation.On the day that my daughter left Pisa for Los Angeles, where she will stay +/- for a full month, I started with "nostalgia" to install and fix a first batch of frames of my "Viking". Obviously I used the process I described previously and I must say that it works brilliant, at least until now. Here in Tuscany my new workshop seems to run well: till now I didn't need to use the electric heater because the weather feels more spring-like than winter. Only one thing confirmed its uncomfortability and impracticability: the chair, but in ten days will be discarged. 01 13012016 P1100416.jpg  02 13012016 P1100417.jpg  03 13012016 P1100418.jpg  04 1301201 P1100414.jpg  Regards, Jack.Aubrey
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 Rank: Super-Elite    Groups: Registered
Joined: 31/05/2010 Posts: 5,679 Points: 17,011 Location: Wiltshire
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Jack Looking really great. I am following with keen interest because depending on your experience i am keen to try out this one myself. Happy Modelling
BUILDING: Hachette Spitfire Mk 1A, Constructo Mayflower
SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETE (Awaiting building): USS Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, 1:200 Bismarck (Hachette)
COMPLETED: Porsche 911, E-Type Jaguar, Lam Countach
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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birdaj2 wrote:Jack
Looking really great.
I am following with keen interest because depending on your experience i am keen to try out this one myself.
Hi Tony, this model has a certain number of challenges, from the clinker planking to the relative fragility of its skeleton before all planks are installed. Stay tuned that I'll continue to post and, once finished to install the frames, the next step will be to develop the upsize down building board to allow capsized planking. Cheers, Jack.
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 Rank: Semi-Pro Level 2  Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/07/2015 Posts: 92 Points: 269 Location: Michigan
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Hi Jack, I'm looking forward to following your progress. I agree completely with Ron, your detailed explanations are very helpful. This hobby has been a non-stop learning experience, and well thought out and executed work such as this make for great learning material. Tim Tim Johnson I came here in peace, seeking gold and slaves. - Jack Handy Builds: Sovereign of the Seas, Amati Chinese Pirate Junk
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Thursday, January 14th, 2016Today was really a whole day with rain . . without any pause from morning until midnight. The small river close to me has nearly tripled its flow rate, although without absolutely no risk of flooding. So nothing better than close myself in the lab and do something. Then I finished installing and fixing, using the usual system, all the remaining frames and spending the idle time waiting for the glue by reading "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien's classic fantasy masterchief. The result can be watched in the attached pictures. What remains now to be fixed are the last two frames, those at the extreme bow and stern that have a different development from the others, and then I have to stop and think about what to do next. I tried to remove the hull from the building slip and immediately I got to see how it is flexible and very suitable to incidents. Therefore it becomes inevitable to adopt a new building board that will hold hardly and perfectly the hull in a capsized position. This is because I do not think it will be possible to apply the planks with the hull in a different position. In addition there is the problem of beveling many frames; fortunately this angle is not very pronounced, but only the simple action of smoothing one frame, without firmly holding it, is rather risky. The current building slip will be again useful later, after planking will be complete, allowing to work on the deck and its superstructure. Hence the need to think, and maybe for some time, on the next step: the building of this blessed new planking board. Of course I'll keep you informed as soon as there will be something new to show. Sincerely, Jack. 01 14012016 P1100419.jpg  02 14012016 P1100424.jpg  03 14012016 P1100422.jpg  04 14012016 P1100425.jpg  05 14012016 P1100420.jpg 
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 Rank: Newbie Groups: Registered
Joined: 08/10/2014 Posts: 2 Points: 6
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Looking at from the end, I'm wondering if putting in the "floorboard" (even if temporally) would stiffen it up during planking.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Sunday, January 17th, 2016 - Preparations for the second building board -A negative feature of this kit is the lack of some drawings that, at least in my case would be very useful. For example the drawings of all the individual pieces of plywood (keel, frames, etc) are missing. For this reason I have jealously kept, without altering it in any way, the plywood table where there were the laser precut pieces so that, if necessary, I can redesign them simply passing a very thin pencil tip inside. During the preparation of the keel, provided in two separate parts to be joint, to make sure to fit them at the right angle, I had to build the first building board properly. But later I continued my work forgetting to draw on paper the resulting shape of the entire keel. During the study phase for the second building board, I unfortunately had a need to detect the internal shape of the entire keel and, in absence of drawings from the kit and having lost the right time to get it when the piece was still traceable, I had to find a way to get this shape. I had two options, one of which was to obtain a complete picture of the keel on my computer in order to draw the piece to be cut out for the new building slip. If this system didn't work, I had an alternative but in practice I had no need to use it. I basically redesigned the two pieces of the keel copying them from the plywood frame tablet, then I scanned them with my computer and imported the files into AutoCAD. From there I started to work on their match. The result is the design reproduced below (bow at right and stern at the left) that, I saw later, proved perfect in all points . . computer power . . 01 KeelDesign.jpg  From this drawing I could then derive the key element I need to build the new building board, board to be used for the installation of the planking. Monday afternoon I cut the first pieces of the board and today I will proceed further. Stay tuned. Regards, Jack.
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 31/05/2010 Posts: 5,679 Points: 17,011 Location: Wiltshire
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So looking forward to seeing this one being planked. At this stage it looks so delicate. Happy Modelling
BUILDING: Hachette Spitfire Mk 1A, Constructo Mayflower
SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETE (Awaiting building): USS Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, 1:200 Bismarck (Hachette)
COMPLETED: Porsche 911, E-Type Jaguar, Lam Countach
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Monday, January 18th, 2016I started to assembly the basic elements of the new building board . .The first element is the usual poplar plywood table of suitable thickness (18mm) that will become the board base. In the following image a preview of how the skeleton, overturned, will show once the building board will be completed . . 01 19012016 P1100427.jpg  The famous component that reproduces the internal shape of the keel, made in playwood obviously of the same thickness of the keel of the model: 4mm . . 02 19012016 P1100430.jpg  The lower part of the base, where I added two elements to keep the basement raised, allowing the bow and poop tips to stick out without protruding from the base, avoiding to touch the working table. 03 19012016 P1100428.jpg  The element shown in picture 02 mounted on the basement, perfectly perpendicular to it, while the glue is drying. . 04 19012016 P1100431.jpg  To be continued . . Cheers, Jack.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Thursday, January 21st, 2016Second building board completed . . Finally, after a couple of days that I could not stay working in my workshop due to a cold weather, yesterday I found the right conditions and I finished setting up the building board, board that will be exclusively used to apply the planking. As you can see from the pictures below, with this building slip the keel and frames assembly is rigidly fixed to it so that all the pieces are firmly stuck in the (hopefully) correct position and unable to move. I believe that with this method it should not be difficult to avoid any kind of deformation on the three main axis of the model. Starting from now I can proceed with the planking, obviously after beveling where necessary. Now comes into play the quality of the kit builder project. My aim was to put the pieces so far mounted in the best position to apply strakes, which, as you can see the first images back in this topic, are already pre-cut to the correct shape, as they are not the usual straight strips. If the Dusek kit project will be good, then it should be a simple walk (just to say), otherwise. . Also for the planking there is the problem to dye the wood before its application, as for the keel and frames. We will see how to proceed along the way. Now, however, I expect a few days of other commitments and probably I will produce few interesting thing for a while. Here follow a batch of images showing this new building board in detail. I hope its architecture sounds clear. If in doubt, just ask to me. Regards, Jack.Aubrey. 01 21012016 P1100447.jpg  02 21012016 P1100445.jpg  03 21012016 P1100450.jpg  04 21012016 P1100446.jpg  05 21012016 P1100444.jpg  06 21012016 P1100448.jpg  07 21012016 P1100449.jpg 
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Friday, January 29th, 2016In the last days, I proceeded to apply planking with the famous method called "clinker": I was a little worried, however, so far, it has been going pretty well. The pre-cut strips, already shaped, until now worked in an excellent way. The only flaw is that each strake is composed of two strips, one long and another shorter. And this fact required a joint and only after some time I finally realized that the shorter strip had exactly the same shape as the initial part of the long one and then I could put alternately forward and aft as desired with, in my opinion, a better result. The poop is smoothly evolving, except for some points to be finished after the stern wheel, while the bow is much more tricky: its evolution is different than that of the stern and the strips must be forced a bit more to follow the water lines. According to me the prow strips had to have a different shape for this zone, not equal to that of the stern. But for now that's fine too. After have installed a pair of strakes I should be able to detach the model, it should not move anymore, from the board so I'll can install inside the deck and then proceed with the sides with the hull upside right. However I need to proceed quite slowly, maximum a few strakes per side each day . . but it is better than I thought. Regards, Jack. 01 29012016 P1100451.jpg  02 29012016 P1100452.jpg  03 29012016 P1100453.jpg  04 29012016 P1100454.jpg 
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Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/01/2014 Posts: 5,060 Points: 14,980
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More stunning work Jack  I really enjoy your updates which really show off your skill and patience with how clean and immaculate your work is 
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 31/05/2010 Posts: 5,679 Points: 17,011 Location: Wiltshire
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Wow, looking really nice now the planking is going on. Hope this part of the build goes well for you. Happy Modelling
BUILDING: Hachette Spitfire Mk 1A, Constructo Mayflower
SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETE (Awaiting building): USS Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, 1:200 Bismarck (Hachette)
COMPLETED: Porsche 911, E-Type Jaguar, Lam Countach
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/05/2014 Posts: 938 Points: 2,823 Location: Milan (Italy)
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Thanks to all of you for your kind comments about my work, greatly appreciated. Jack.Continuation . . Further images of the clinker planking . . 01 29012016 P1100455.jpg  02 29012016 P1100456.jpg  03 29012016 P1100457.jpg  04 29012016 P1100458.jpg  Regards, Jack.
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 31/05/2010 Posts: 5,679 Points: 17,011 Location: Wiltshire
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Really enjoying seeing this one come together. I can see now how the stepped ribs are helping achieve the clinker planking effect. It really does look a brilliant kit. Not sure that manufacturer is available in the UK but i will keep looking as i would certainly like to get hold of this one. Hope the rest of the build goes well. Happy Modelling
BUILDING: Hachette Spitfire Mk 1A, Constructo Mayflower
SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETE (Awaiting building): USS Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, 1:200 Bismarck (Hachette)
COMPLETED: Porsche 911, E-Type Jaguar, Lam Countach
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