USCG Harriet Lane - Model Shipways 1:96 by DocTom

[DocTom]

I am about to start my build of the Harriet Lane as well (same kit). I note that the paddle wheels are only half wheels (the other half is hidden in the cover so it does not exist on the model). I am not sure I like this Idea so the first thing I will try to do is to construct full paddle wheels & incorporate them in the model. I also would like to light the model (LEDs) so I may consider incorporating a motor for the paddle wheels. I note another build had copper below the water line (Maybe????).
Anyway you are off before me so I will be following your build with great attention

I'd be interested in seeing your ideas for the paddle wheels. The ship pretty clearly had a coppered hull. The Model Shipways Hull Copper Red looks nothing like copper to my eyes, but it does look attractive against the black upper hull! I thought about copper tape, but I haven't yet investigated if anything available is appropriate for the scale, or how to simulate the rivets. Looking forward to your build log as well.
Tom

 

[Rob444]

I'd be interested in seeing your ideas for the paddle wheels. The ship pretty clearly had a coppered hull. The Model Shipways Hull Copper Red looks nothing like copper to my eyes, but it does look attractive against the black upper hull! I thought about copper tape, but I haven't yet investigated if anything available is appropriate for the scale, or how to simulate the rivets. Looking forward to your build log as well.
Tom

Tom, I have used copper tape on my Constitution cross section with great success. You can find it online at a very reasonable price. I used a small jig and a ponce wheel to make up "plates". I was happy with the result. People will say that at this scale the nails attaching the plates to the ship would not really be visible, but i always say it is my ship, my build. There are many logs on here and you tube talking about coppering a hull.

Rob

 

[Roger Pellett]

Omega: Which Model Shipways Harriett Lane are you referring to. The old 1:144 scale kit has solid paddle boxes so the half paddle wheels. The new 1:96 kilt has built up paddle boxes that allow full wheels.

Roger

 

[DocTom]

Actually they are still half paddle wheels. As built, the upper and lower halves of the paddle boxes are separated by the water closer substructure. I think you could modify the build to include a full paddle wheel, but it would be tricky. You could certainly create an upper half (more lke upper 3/8) paddle wheel to sit behind the PE cover of the upper box. The upper boxes are not complete half circles due to the water closet substructure.

 

[Omega]

Omega: Which Model Shipways Harriett Lane are you referring to. The old 1:144 scale kit has solid paddle boxes so the half paddle wheels. The new 1:96 kilt has built up paddle boxes that allow full wheels.

Roger

Mine only has half wheels but I purchased the kit only 3 Months ago. Have they sold me old stock?? Mine is 1:96 scale

 

[The Gavel]

Thanks for the pointer to the plans, and the encouragement. I will definitely seek out the plans.

Tom! I put links to the plans on page 19 of my log - Post #373 (I think ).

Blessings.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

Do you have any sense of how much the bulwarks should be raised?

Tom, I raised mine 1/8". 3/16" is actually how much you need to raise them to have the guns perfectly square in the ports. There's a long description of how I did it in my log.

Blessings.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

Post 2- A Question

I'm slowly making my way through the instruction manual, following Julia Childs' advice to "visualize yourself making the recipe," while identifying the parts used in each step on the basswood sheets. I remember from reading Harriet Lane build logs on the old MSW that there was an issue with the gun ports being too low for the guns to sit properly; people needing to cut off the bottoms of wheels to get them to fit! @The Gavel confirmed what I remembered. I may have found the issue in a cryptic sentence in step 7, where you attach the bulwarks. It says to "Line up the lower edges of the bulwarks with the edge of the deck." Of course the deck isn't installed yet, so the natural assumption is to line the bulwark up with the top edge of the bulkheads. Maybe you need to temporarily lay the deck or at least spacers) in place to get the correct height?

I think my solution will be to build one of the guns before I install the bulwarks, so I can set the height correctly. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Tom! What ho, shipmate! I have a few thoughts to share, if I may.

First, ignore the cryptice sentence in step 7. It makes no sense. The kit is designed so that you fit the premade 1/32" thick deck halves under the waterways after they are in stalled on the bulwarks. So make the bulwarks and do't worry about the lining up the lower edges business.

Second, you'll have read other logs about the pre-made deck. IMHO using the premade deck has not been as successful as planking is. The fixtures do not cover the location marks. There is no scribing to simulate planking. I went with 1/16" thick stock for the decks and had no problems as a result. You can determine the locations for things by measurement off the plans without needing the imprecise locators lase etched into your deck.

Finally, the problem with the bulwark height is the difference between the Webb plans, the Kit plans and the "as built" result. Reviewing my log, I remebered that the kit plan has the bulwark height more or less correct. The problem was that, "as built," the bulwarks were short by 1/8". It makes a huge difference in how the guns sit in their ports. I am willing to accept that I am crap at the necessary precision in my builds (the truth never hurts ). On the other hand, I'm not so bad as to create an error of that size. My conclusion is, given that everyone has had the bulwark height problem, that the kit plan and the physical kit do not match. So, add back the 1/8" - 3/16" to the bulwarks so they match the plans. That also helps with adding 1/32" to the final deck height if you chose to plank the deck with 1/16" thick planks rather than using the 1/32" thick deck halves from the kit.

Blessings. Peace. Gratitude.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

he ship pretty clearly had a coppered hull. The Model Shipways Hull Copper Red looks nothing like copper to my eyes, but it does look attractive against the black upper hull! I thought about copper tape, but I haven't yet investigated if anything available is appropriate for the scale, or how to simulate the rivets.

Mine only has half wheels but I purchased the kit only 3 Months ago. Have they sold me old stock?? Mine is 1:96 scale

Tom! I got my copper tape from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters. I talk about the process in my log. The tape you can get scales out just fine. I think the simulation of the rivets will be too much business. Also, at this scale you wouldn't notice them.

Omega, we all built or are building the same 1/96 scale kit. With deference to our shipmate, @Roger Pellett the 1/96 scale kit is designed to be built with half wheels. That's all the kit gives you. The sponson is a solid piece. On the other hand, the wheel covering is not solid, so an intrepid builder can scratch build accurate sponsons and complete wheels. Omega, I love the idea! Watch out for the main axel placement through the main deck house. You might check the Webb plans to confirm the placment of the axel as well.

Tom, not trying yo hijack your log, but I thought pictures might help.



Blessings.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

People will say that at this scale the nails attaching the plates to the ship would not really be visible, but i always say it is my ship, my build.

Exactly!!!!! Some of the best advice a builder ever gets.

Blessings.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

Loved your build log Chuck. I have the old solid hulll Model Shipways Harriet Lane (still in the box) but after seeing your beautiful build, it looks quite pitiful in it's simplicity. Someday I'll get this kit.

Mary! What ho, shipmate! It may add to your thinking about which Harriet Lane to build, but have you seen @Peter Gutterman build of the kit you have? I used Pete's model as a model for my model! He put ton's of details in - no reason you can't, right? Either way you can't go wrong!

Link to Pete's build https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...log-by-peter-gutterman-completed-build.11909/

Blessings. Peace. Gratitude.
Chuck

 

[HenryC]

Omega,

The 1:96 is the latest version, coming out in 2021. That's the one Tom and I are currently building. From what I could find out on-line, there was an 1:144 and then 1:128 scales before the current 1:96. Those versions were the solid hull ones.

Henry

 

[DocTom]

Tom, I raised mine 1/8". 3/16" is actually how much you need to raise them to have the guns perfectly square in the ports. There's a long description of how I did it in my log.

Blessings.
Chuck

Chuck, Thanks. I'll be reading your build log while on my upcoming cruise. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions when I get back.
Tom

 

[DocTom]

Tom! I got my copper tape from Blue Jacket Shipcrafters. I talk about the process in my log. The tape you can get scales out just fine. I think the simulation of the rivets will be too much business. Also, at this scale you wouldn't notice them.

Chuck,
I found a Chinese company on Amazon that claims to have 1:48, 1:75 and 1:96 scale copper tape marked out in plates. The 1:96 scale plates are 14 x 4 mm. I ordered a set to see how they look. Not holding my breath, though.
Tom

 

[The Gavel]

Chuck,
I found a Chinese company on Amazon that claims to have 1:48, 1:75 and 1:96 scale copper tape marked out in plates. The 1:96 scale plates are 14 x 4 mm. I ordered a set to see how they look. Not holding my breath, though.
Tom

Tom! Pretty cool find! I set up a jig and cut the individual plates. Another method, less tedious, less time consuming, and therefore less enjoyable is to run the tape the length of the hull and use a stylus or a thumb nail to scribe the individual plates. Looks like the tape you're sourcing will allow you to run strips and be done! IMHO - do a test off the model to check for stickiness. The Blue Jacket tape sticks well without being too sticky - I was always able to lift off badly laid plates without damaging their neighbors.

Blessings.
Chuck

 

[The Gavel]

Chuck, Thanks. I'll be reading your build log while on my upcoming cruise. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions when I get back.
Tom

Tom! Enjoy your cruise! Happy to help out!

Blessings.
Chuck

 

[DocTom]

Post 3 - A start

In between bouts of packing and organizing prior to vacation I've managed to sneak in some time in my new, dedicated work space, an unused laundry room in the basement that is now "Tom's Shipyard." I was working on a worktable set up in our shared office.



The alcove is directly behind dry chair. It's small, but all mine!

I cut out the pieces needed for step 1, gluing the horizontal pieces A, B and c to the central spine. You use some of the half bulkheads to help line them up. Icleaned up the char on the edges that will be glued and dry fit everything. Ran into my first problem with bulkhead 3 - the slot for piece A is about 2mm too low:



Same way on both sides. I widened the top of the slot with a razor knife to get the proper fit,


And then shimmed the bottom edge with a piece of 1/16 x 1/8 basswood


I'll probably need to do some more shimming on the top when I glue the bulkheads, but now it's good for aligning the A piece. Overall, the 5 bulkheads used for this step fit much better than did the bulkheads on my Lobster Smack. I dry fit everything in place




She's gonna be a big girl! Certainly bigger than I'm used to. That's it for now. We leave for the airport in 2 hours. Will hopefully have some updates soon after we return on July 4.

 

[Peter Schaap]

Post 3 - A start

In between bouts of packing and organizing prior to vacation I've managed to sneak in some time in my new, dedicated work space, an unused laundry room in the basement that is now "Tom's Shipyard." I was working on a worktable set up in our shared office.
View attachment 612807
View attachment 612809 View attachment 612808

The alcove is directly behind dry chair. It's small, but all mine!

I cut out the pieces needed for step 1, gluing the horizontal pieces A, B and c to the central spine. You use some of the half bulkheads to help line them up. Icleaned up the char on the edges that will be glued and dry fit everything. Ran into my first problem with bulkhead 3 - the slot for piece A is about 2mm too low:

View attachment 612810

Same way on both sides. I widened the top of the slot with a razor knife to get the proper fit,
View attachment 612811

And then shimmed the bottom edge with a piece of 1/16 x 1/8 basswood
View attachment 612812

I'll probably need to do some more shimming on the top when I glue the bulkheads, but now it's good for aligning the A piece. Overall, the 5 bulkheads used for this step fit much better than did the bulkheads on my Lobster Smack. I dry fit everything in place

View attachment 612813
View attachment 612814

She's gonna be a big girl! Certainly bigger than I'm used to. That's it for now. We leave for the airport in 2 hours. Will hopefully have some updates soon after we return on July 4.

Have a good vacation Tom!

 

[HenryC]

Tom,

I'm doing the anchors and discovered the instructions regarding them have not been updated. Apparently, the stock for the anchors were laser-cut limewood pieces which are still included and to which the instructions discuss. My kit also had white metal anchor stock, listed on the parts list, which already have the square pre-drilled hole for the anchor and more detail. Those are the ones I used.

Henry

 

[Magic Mike]

Post 3 - A start

In between bouts of packing and organizing prior to vacation I've managed to sneak in some time in my new, dedicated work space, an unused laundry room in the basement that is now "Tom's Shipyard." I was working on a worktable set up in our shared office.
View attachment 612807
View attachment 612809 View attachment 612808

The alcove is directly behind dry chair. It's small, but all mine!

I cut out the pieces needed for step 1, gluing the horizontal pieces A, B and c to the central spine. You use some of the half bulkheads to help line them up. Icleaned up the char on the edges that will be glued and dry fit everything. Ran into my first problem with bulkhead 3 - the slot for piece A is about 2mm too low:

View attachment 612810

Same way on both sides. I widened the top of the slot with a razor knife to get the proper fit,
View attachment 612811

And then shimmed the bottom edge with a piece of 1/16 x 1/8 basswood
View attachment 612812

I'll probably need to do some more shimming on the top when I glue the bulkheads, but now it's good for aligning the A piece. Overall, the 5 bulkheads used for this step fit much better than did the bulkheads on my Lobster Smack. I dry fit everything in place

View attachment 612813
View attachment 612814

She's gonna be a big girl! Certainly bigger than I'm used to. That's it for now. We leave for the airport in 2 hours. Will hopefully have some updates soon after we return on July 4.

Dr. Tom, I love your new workshop! Fresh air when you want it with the upper window, new work bench and a great storage area! You just need to add a little smooth jazz in the back ground as you work away! Regards, Magic Mike