Armed Virginia Sloop - Lauck Street Shipyards, POF 1:32 Scale, Admiralty Style by DocBlake [COMPLETED BUILD]

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This is a log from 2015! I'm beginning my build log of the Lauck Street Shipyards POF kit of an Armed Virginia Sloop, an admiralty style kit in 1/32 scale. The kit arrived in it's box and it is heavy! The contents are high quality hardwoods (primarily cherry for deck beams, knees, carlings etc. and hard maple for the frames) with lots of strip wood of various species for planking, trim etc. There are also a large number of 3-D printed parts; this being the first kit to offer them. There are 5 sheets of plans, each 36" X 24" included. I may alter the kit, and add additional details and possibly substitute some different woods, but I'm basically going to build it out of the box. Comments, criticisms and suggestions are welcome!

Here is the box, and some shots of the maple and cherry billets containing many of the parts.


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This is GREAT to see!!!!!! Everyone remember this is from 2015 and after I built mine. I love how Doc says this will be and "out of the box" build. HA!! Just wait till you see all the detail he puts into it. Blows mine away!!
 
Wow, Doc I knew the Internet was slow, but 5 years for the build log to show up!.

Just kidding, I will be looking forward to seeing what you have done.

Just wish these outstanding kits were still available.
 
Thanks, guys!
As to this Kit: It's quite a bit different from the MS AVS. The kit differs from Bob's previous kits in that the frames are beveled before installation, making the fairing of the hull, both inside and out, much easier. The 3D parts are quite excellent. The detail is amazing. You'll have a hard time looking at typical MS, Amati, Corel Britannia metal castings and then using them. Photo below of the 3-D printed parts.5.jpg
 
Looking forward to this build log. I don't believe there are any kits that have been produced that are anywhere near as good as Bob's.
 
The first step in the build is to make the frames. They come attached to the hardwood billets by two tabs. I found the easiest was to remove them from the billet was to use a Dremel tool and a cutoff wheel. In the photo, if you look carefully, you can see the burned area on the billet where the parts had been attached. Each frame is made up of 9 or 10 parts. The tabs are then cut off of each part, and the parts lightly sanded. The first layer of parts is stuck to a template of the frame with double sided tape, and the second overlapping "sistered" layer of parts is glued to the first. The photo gives an idea of scale.6.jpg7.jpg8.jpg9.jpg
 
They come attached to the hardwood billets by two tabs.
Man... cutting off and sanding tabs from hardwood parts is a real pain. Pretty much every kit with CNC parts uses full-width tabs, even these great Bob Hunt kits. By "full-width" I mean the tab is as thick as the billet of wood the part is attached to. Any of you who get CNC cut parts from me will enjoy removing parts that have 3D triangular tabs. These are tabs carved just small enough to hold the part in and are very easy to cut and sand off. DocBlake can attest to this.

Check out this short video for an example of 3D tabs (I am sure Doc does not mind the repeat).

 
This is my method for glueing up the frames. This sequence is actually from my Blandford log. The process is the same:

I use Weldbond - it's easy to dissolve with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and easy to scrape off the wood with an X-Acto blade so it won't block any stain penetration, if you're using any.
I don't use a sheet of glass, but rather tape the frame plan to a flat surface. A piece of melamine shelving works great. Once in place, I lay down Scotch double-sided tape over the frame outline. The first layer of the framing is laid down congruent with the plans and the tape holds each piece in place. I put a small drop of glue on the abutting surfaces of the first layer. I lay the second layer of the frame on top of the first to ensure it's congruent. Once I'm sure, I remove the template paper. When that is done, the second layer of the framing is glued to the top of the first layer with glue at all the butt joints also. I place a piece of plywood on the glued up frame and weight it down. The frames can come out in about an hour, but I wait overnight to do any sanding or rough handling.


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I've started gluing up the frames. Frame 0 is amidships. The frame's number increases going forward from there. Frame A is just aft of Frame 0, and the frames proceed alphabetically moving aft from there. Frames 0, 1 2 and 3 are straightforward and require no beveling. The numbered frames forward of these (#4-11) require progressively more beveling as the bow is approached. The same is true for the lettered frames moving aft. The first couple after Frame 0, Frame A and Frame B, require little or no beveling. The remainder (C through Q) are beveled. I finished and glued up the first 4 frames, 0 through 3. I'll also begin gluing up the other frames, as well as constructing the building jig and keel. My frames are maple. The deadwood, rising wood, keel, stem and stern post are all cherry. I'll add a rosewood or ebony false keel. I will also blacken the joints of all the deadwood parts to simulate caulking. I think the contrast in woods will be nice!


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Thanks!

I am playing around with the deadwood assembly for the keel. The deadwood is made up of 4 parts glued together. I plan to blacken the joints between all the parts to simulate caulking, but I also think that some of the component parts of the deadwood can be broken down further than in the kit. For instance, parts SD1 and SD2 were probably each made up of smaller parts on a real ship. I'll simulate this by scoring lines in the parts and darkening the scoring with a pencil to simulate caulking between the parts.

Here's a shot from the practicum showing the deadwood, and my proposal to alter it's appearance . What do you think?


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The rising wood was carefully removed from the billet and all the appropriate frames were fitted to the slots. The slots were squared up and the keel is ready to be glued up. I went a little out of sequence here by fitting the frames to the rising wood before beveling them, but I don't think it makes any difference. The strip of dark wood in the picture is rosewood, which I will use for the false keel.

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Doc, I picked up a LSS kit #26 of the "Armed Virginia Sloop" from a ship modeler giving up the craft due to physical limitations. have framed the hull and added the transom. Was ready to start the planking when everything was interrupted by a restoration project that my ship modeling club has taken on. Will be interested in your progress.
 
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