Thats great Colin. What an eye opener.
Thanks agasin for the info.
I recon by the last issue you should be called to the House of Lords mate

Bob

The lower planking info is also contained within issue 32 along with photos etc...

With the planking above the waterline in place, its time to plank the lower hull, which involves much tighter curves, but before you start, let’s look at the basic principles....

So far, you have been laying planks more or less parallel, even around the curve of the bows. Any slight gaps were easily adjusted by tapering the planks a little and chamfering their edges.
On the lower hull, the frames of the bows and stern form complex curves that can’t be covered with parallel planking. Instead, each plank has to be shaped to fit its neighbours. This is not difficult, so long as you take your time to fit each individual plank.

Basic concepts

Most importantly, your planking pattern will not be exactly the same as the one in
the steps or my diary build. This is because numerous small differences will make each model unique.
Do not try to replicate the planking in the photos, but use the techniques shown in the magazine to fit your planks to your own model.
Remember to plank evenly, on both sides of the model, (planking one side of a hull may cause it to twist from the force of the planks).

The bow and stern planks are bent in a tight radius, so choose planks with a straight grain, as they are less likely to splinter or crack. Use less-perfect planks in the middle of the hull, where the bend is minimal.
If you chose a natural wood finish, you may want to stain the lower hull. Ensure
you remove all excess glue from the planks, as generally glue does not take stain well.

Bending planks

Planks bend best in one plane, although it’s possible to give them a slight twist. Bend the planks to match the hull frames as closely as possible, but resist any temptation to force the planks to bend sideways. Gaps are a natural part of the process of planking the model, and should be dealt with by tapering the planks and fitting ‘droppers’ and ‘stealers’. Above all, do not use pins to force planks into place – this will result in strained glue joints that are liable to break easily.


Tapering planks

Take your time to taper each plank so that it fits neatly against the plank above it, and so that it lays flat on all the frames. One of the most common mistakes made
is not tapering planks enough. This can lead to ‘clinkering’, where the lower edge sticks out and does not sit against the frame. Only taper the top edge of the plank.
Leave the bottom edge straight as this will make it easier to fit the adjacent plank. Where possible, you can get a more accurate fit if you taper a plank before you cut it to the exact length. Do not reduce a plank to less than half its width, this leads to pointed ends that are hard to fix securely and look unrealistic.


Joints between planks

Stagger the plank joints so that adjacent planks do not start on the same frame. It is recommended to stagger the joints between frames 18, 17 and 16 at the bow, and 25, 24 and 23 at the stern (repeating these joint positions on each three layers).
Don’t forget to chamfer the sides of each plank so that you don’t get gaps between
them due to the curve of the hull. Remember to apply glue to the edges of each plank as well as the frames and to remove any excess glue as you go, to prevent it from marring the finish later on.

Dropper planks

The curves of Victory’s bow and stern mean that the ends of the planks naturally want to overlap, unless they taper to a point, which is not authentic. To overcome this, use ‘dropper planks’. This is where two planks are tapered as far as possible but stop short of the bow or stern, with a single filler piece (the dropper plank) continuing from this point, this is explained in detail on pages 12-13 of issue 32.


Stealers

The shape of the lower half of the stern means that planks will naturally want to
spread, leaving gaps. A stealer is a piece of plank specially shaped to fill these gaps, the magazine will explain how to fit a stealer when you come to planking the stern.

Thanks for info. It's good read.

Tom

I am getting nervous now I might stick my ship in a bucket of plaster and do a waterline version if it all goes wrong

Hi, Here is a drop plank on my HMS Surprise build. And then a tapered plank.

Chris..

Thank you Zeptrader, Tomick and Magpie.
I've followed your link Zeptrader to the 'Simple Hull Planking For beginners' and I'm going to spend a few days reading that now in between working on the fairing of the hull. Thanks Tomick for your input on the planking techniques which is underpinning what I am reading now. And Mapie, thanks for your photos, which really give a good visual explanation of what is about to happen.
When I started this project, I hadn't got a clue what was involved in building a model such as this - the TV advert made it look so easy - and with each new issue came more challenges and new skills to learn, and all you experienced modellers on the forum made it seem less daunting, although without a doubt, planking the hull will be the biggest challenge of the build so far.
Thanks guys
Daffy09