1/48 Plank on Frame NYC Pilot Boat Phantom, from Model Shipways

[Rileypilot]

Hi there,

I initially came here looking for a build log of this boat only to find there are none of this particular one.

So I figured I'd get one started.



Started out with assembling the false keel and frames, minor sanding of the slots was necessary to get the frames to line up properly, at least I think they're proper, the directions aren't always exactly clear on what the final outcome should be... more on that later.

The directions tell you to bevel the frames so that the planks eventually will sit nicely on them, but they tell you to do this before you glue the frames. I had a hard time not accidentally messing up the shape of the frame this way and elected to glue the frames and then sand them, carefully, to the correct angles.

Next I glued the aft false deck and the transom on taking care to shape the supporting frames and clamp it so that I got the correct curve of it. FYI the slot in the deck does not line up correctly with the tab on the false keel, so I shaved the tab down until it fit correctly. It's off by about 3/8 of an inch.

The directions then say to sand the deck even with the sides of the transom and provides a photo that is not very helpful at all, as a result I mistakenly sanded the deck even with all of the frames, which was incorrect. I was able to fix this mistake by gluing sections of plank onto the sides of the deck and reshape them again, no harm done! sadly I was not great about getting pictures of this part.



Next comes attaching the reinforcing blocks to the bow and beveling them which went very smoothly thanks to the toothpick holes provided for alignment



The bow end of the keel went on next, I took very careful care to match the curve of the false keel to the curve of the keel itself, requiring a little sanding here and there to get a nice fit.





The instructions would have you just glue the keel to the false keel but I was afraid this would be a little bit too flimsy so I carefully drilled toothpick sized holes in the centerline of the keel and matching holes in the false keel to reinforce it and it worked great!... for what its worth the parts on this model fit together very well so far with not much modification needed.



Then the directions have you glue these bits of planking to the corners cut out of the frames and level with the false deck edges. Best way I could to do it was to go from back to front and clamp and glue one or two frames at a time, this gave a nice curve to them.

That brings us up to now! Hopefully I can keep up with this build log. Thoroughly enjoying myself so far!

Thanks for looking!

 

[Roger Pellett]

Problems fitting this and other kits together don’t make any sense. They ( supposedly) use computer driven laser cutters. Either the tolerances on laser cutting aren’t what they should be, or there’s a mistake in their program. You’d think that try fitting parts together to gain confidence in their program and tolerances before offering the kit for sale.

Roger

 

[Rileypilot]

Problems fitting this and other kits together don’t make any sense. They ( supposedly) use computer driven laser cutters. Either the tolerances on laser cutting aren’t what they should be, or there’s a mistake in their program. You’d think that try fitting parts together to gain confidence in their program and tolerances before offering the kit for sale.

Roger

I really dont know the background of these kits or how long theyve been around and such, I just figure its a disconnect between the prototype scratch built model and the eventual laser cutter programming. Either way it was easily remedied once I finally decided that the problem wasnt me

 

[Rileypilot]

Next step is to glue two strips of planking onto the top of the square pieces to make what I assume is the rail. This only gets glued on the edge, not to the frames... at least thats what I tried to do anyway. It also says to make sure the pieces are flush with the inner edge of the square piece... I did the best I could but its not quite perfectly flush, nothing some sanding wont fix I guess.



These second piece of planking gets glued edge-on to the first, again taking care not to glue it to the frames.



It seems to me that ship modeling is really just finding interesting and novel ways of clamping and fixturing things!

 

[Greg Davis]

I really dont know the background of these kits or how long theyve been around and such, I just figure its a disconnect between the prototype scratch built model and the eventual laser cutter programming. Either way it was easily remedied once I finally decided that the problem wasnt me

I bought this kit when it was first released in late 2024 thinking that it would be a significant upgrade from Model Shipways long offered 1:96 scale solid hull version that was a first model for many (including myself). I had, perhaps the only, log on MSW before their site disappeared for awhile. I will say that I was honestly critical of the kit because I felt it was not actually an upgrade as advertised. Personally I feel that this kit was designed as a cheaper to produce version and while doing so little effort was made to remedy previous shortcomings; in fact, it is my belief that new shortcomings were engineered into the new version.

Perhaps it is not a huge problem at the end of the day, but it sets the tone for illustration purposes. The plans for the original model where made for a solid hull having lines drawn to the outside of the planking. These plans were simply enlarged - there are no new / revised plans for the 1:48 scale model kit - and bulkheads for the kit have been cut to the outside of the planking. Hence when you plank the model, you will have a hull that is a bit 'fat'. Now this is less than 1/8" in total and few will notice / see this; but it shows a lack of care in producing the kit.

It has been known for years that the deck plan in the kit - especially the aft deck - is drawn too short. This was not fixed. You will need to be careful when locating your deck furniture due to this.



When I got to the deck, I did not plank directly to the bulkheads, instead I made thin plywood deck plates on which I marked the planking pattern I wished to use (inspired by Chapelle's writings). I milled thinner planking material to keep the total thickness the same as what would have been with the kit supplied material. I also added waterways and sunk the cockpit.



There are also some problems with the height of bulwarks - inner vs outer - that may or may not cause issues with scuppers.

Nevertheless, the finished hull after planking / painting / coppering is sleek!



I sort of shelfed the project at this point because of other projects that took precedence. I don't think it will take long to build the deck furniture. I will not be using the photo-etched material that is provided. The rigging is straightforward as well.

I wish you al the best on your build and look forward to watching it progress!

Greg

 

[Rileypilot]

I am actually interested in adding waterways and was wondering how that would be done for the more dramatic curves. I guess drawing a piece on plywood and cutting it out would be the way

 

[Greg Davis]

I am actually interested in adding waterways and was wondering how that would be done for the more dramatic curves. I guess drawing a piece on plywood and cutting it out would be the way

Here's what I did: First I cut a plywood sheet to fit the deck space. Then I marked where the waterways / planks and deck furniture would be. My aft waterways are made from thin Swiss Pear wood, the deck was then planked using Holly. Here is the aft waterway made from 3 pieces of wood:



The fore deck was done similarily, except that here the planks are nibbed into the waterway:



Perhaps this will help you make some decisions!

 

[Rileypilot]

Thanks!

 

[MisterCA]

Hi there,

I initially came here looking for a build log of this boat only to find there are none of this particular one.

So I figured I'd get one started.

View attachment 622839

Started out with assembling the false keel and frames, minor sanding of the slots was necessary to get the frames to line up properly, at least I think they're proper, the directions aren't always exactly clear on what the final outcome should be... more on that later.

The directions tell you to bevel the frames so that the planks eventually will sit nicely on them, but they tell you to do this before you glue the frames. I had a hard time not accidentally messing up the shape of the frame this way and elected to glue the frames and then sand them, carefully, to the correct angles.

Next I glued the aft false deck and the transom on taking care to shape the supporting frames and clamp it so that I got the correct curve of it. FYI the slot in the deck does not line up correctly with the tab on the false keel, so I shaved the tab down until it fit correctly. It's off by about 3/8 of an inch.

The directions then say to sand the deck even with the sides of the transom and provides a photo that is not very helpful at all, as a result I mistakenly sanded the deck even with all of the frames, which was incorrect. I was able to fix this mistake by gluing sections of plank onto the sides of the deck and reshape them again, no harm done! sadly I was not great about getting pictures of this part.

View attachment 622843

Next comes attaching the reinforcing blocks to the bow and beveling them which went very smoothly thanks to the toothpick holes provided for alignment

View attachment 622840

The bow end of the keel went on next, I took very careful care to match the curve of the false keel to the curve of the keel itself, requiring a little sanding here and there to get a nice fit.

View attachment 622842

View attachment 622844

The instructions would have you just glue the keel to the false keel but I was afraid this would be a little bit too flimsy so I carefully drilled toothpick sized holes in the centerline of the keel and matching holes in the false keel to reinforce it and it worked great!... for what its worth the parts on this model fit together very well so far with not much modification needed.

View attachment 622841

Then the directions have you glue these bits of planking to the corners cut out of the frames and level with the false deck edges. Best way I could to do it was to go from back to front and clamp and glue one or two frames at a time, this gave a nice curve to them.

That brings us up to now! Hopefully I can keep up with this build log. Thoroughly enjoying myself so far!

Thanks for looking!

Thanks for stepping out there with build log! I know it's a lot of extra work on a build. I have always appreciated the pics, comments, and techniques other builders post.

 

[Rileypilot]

Planking is underway, I haven't found a really good way to speed up this process, so it's just going to have to take a while!



I've tried a few different types of clamps for this and these Amati clamps seem to work the best, so far, at keeping the plank edge tight against the previous one and in the position that I want it as well. Sometimes I still get stuck just holding two pieces where I want them for a while.

 

[Rileypilot]

I noticed today that the first bulkhead at the bow seemed to not be shaped right and if I glued the planks to it it would end up with an odd curve at the bow and it didnt line up with the keel right either:



Obviously when I tapered this I took too much off.

This is the one I attempted to taper before gluing according to the instructions before I decided not to do it that way.

so to fix that I thinned a piece of planking that I had cut off to make a shim. My work area is severely space limited so I found a teeny tiny belt sander on Amazon and its already paid off!



Anyway, I glued the shim on and now im much happier with the shape:



One of my many jobs is airplane mechanic. I tell people all the time that the major hurdle to overcome when learning to be a mechanic is just learning not to be afraid of messing something up, because you can fix it!