Bluenose Build Log

Cutting and installing the 110 false frame timbers turned out to be easier than expected. For some reason, when I have to do a very repetitive task I sort of get on a roll and just knock it out. My kit did not have any 1/8" thick parts billets to use for the head timbers. I improvised by gluing together 2 1/8" x 3/16" stock I had in my lumberyard. A single piece would have been better for the future drilling of the hawse pipe but I think it will be fine.

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Thanks for the views.

I was intimidated about building the transom. I ended up mulling over the practicum and plans for a couple days to make sure I understood fully what Bob was describing. I prepared the three pieces and glued them to the hull with my favorite brands then sanded it out. Surprisingly, it came out really well. My fit wasnt as perfect as Bob's so I used a small bit of wood filler in the bottom corners where the transom meets the deck and bulwark. When I laid the model on top of the plans I was very pleased to see that the overall shape and size of the ship to be spot on.

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Thanks Zoltan.

That completes Chapter 5. The build so far has been straightforward and I'm super pleased with the results. I'm excited about moving on to chapter 6 and painting... finally a chapter with something that I feel is my forte. I may deviate from the practicum some on the painting and will be sure to share my technique for others to consider.

Build duration this step: 13 hours
Total build duration: 113 hours

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Prep and painting is an area where I will do things a little differently from the practicum. The first step I did was to completely mask the deck. I used a product from the plastic modeling world that I call Tamiya Tape. This tape is of a very thin material and has a little stretch that allows it to easily conform to compound curves. I've been using this stuff for years and like it for its ease of use and minimal (if any) paint bleed. Tamiya Tape comes in different widths and can also be cut into custom sizes. If you need to trim in any areas (such as the forward most point) always use a brand new #11 Xacto. Need to stress a brand new blade here as even a slightly used one can cause tearing of this very thin tape. After I've applied the tape I always come back over it with a burnishing tool (or something similar) to make sure the edges are sealed well. I will leave the deck completely masked like this for the duration of the upcoming priming and painting. It also provides some protection against inadvertent marring of the nicely finished planked deck surface. One of the other features of this tape is that when we remove it later, it will not leave behind any sticky residue.

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I used a product from the map/chart world called Mark-It to mask the tops of the false frame timbers. I then gave the entire ship 2 coats of white primer including the inner bulwark area. I followed the practicum for filling, sanding, priming, repeat until I got the hull to an acceptable amount of smoothness.

Mike Shanks

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Next I masked the waterline using a special 1/16th inch fine line striping tape used for automotive work. The product I used comes from Germany and is called FBS ProBand Fineline. 3M also makes a similar product but the FBS is easier to handle. I used the eyeball method for masking the waterline and although not perfect, it looks good enough for me. I also masked off the inner bulwarks and the entire top of the ship. Then, I airbrushed a swath of yellow along the upper hull to accommodate the future decorative line shown in the plans. I also glued on the hawspipe rings.

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I once again used the fineline tape to mask the decorative yellow line. With everything masked, I flipped the ship upside down and spray painted the area below the waterline hull red. After allowing a day for the red to dry I then masked off the entire area of the ship below the waterline using the original waterline mask as the starting point. I then painted the area above the water line black. After waiting for the black to dry, I removed the hull and waterline masks to reveal the red lower hull, black upper hull and both the white waterline and yellow decorative strips very finely demarked. I was very happy it came out this good.

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I applied 3 light coats of Minwax Polycrylic - Satin spray finish. The gray waterway area was the only part that I hand painted. After drying overnight I removed all the remaining masks and did minor touchup work. You can remove any slight paint bleed by very lightly scraping with your hobby knife. With all the primary painting now completed, I can move on to the cap rail and beyond.

Build Duration This Step: 14.5 hours
Total Build Duration: 127.5 hours

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Awesome paint job Mike,alway something new to learn,now I have to buy an airbrush too,my bucket list is growing.
 
Excellent paint job Mike. I am nearly ready to resume work on my BN and I hope I can master the air brush as well as you.
I do have one question which is not unique to your model. Why does everyone finish the BN with a satin-smooth hull when the pictures clearly show a planked hull? With my planking skills I will probably be doing that too but I am curious with all the attention to the deck planking why is the hull smoothed over? This is not a criticism of your beautiful finish, just a curiosity of the thinking of the group overall.
Keep it up, truly inspiring me.
Doug
 
Hi Doug. For me it's mostly the illusion of scale. If you stand a good distance from the real Bluenose you would not be able to see the individual planking. At a normal viewing distance from the scale model it looks the same. At least that's my explanation. :)
 
mrshanks post_id=22883 time=1506117337 user_id=4809 said:
Hi Doug. For me it's mostly the illusion of scale. If you stand a good distance from the real Bluenose you would not be able to see the individual planking. At a normal viewing distance from the scale model it looks the same. At least that's my explanation. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I think we are basically at the cusp of that scale. Can't wait until I get to make that choice. :lol:
 
Today I completed the caprail exactly as described in the practicum. This officially brings Chapter 6 to a close. I also applied 3 coats of Minwax Poly (with light sanding between coats) to the base. Went with a gloss finish this time.

Build duration this step: 4 hours
Total build duration: 131.5 hours

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