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Bluenose Schooner 1921 - Model Shipways 1:64 by TexBilly

My own idea would be to deal with the deck, then mask that to deal with the hull. I did that on my current build…

Tom
I’m taking Tom’s good advice on finishing the deck first so that means it’s almost time - which has me thinking about colors.

After briefly thinking about a light oak stain for the deck, then clear poly, I’m now going to go poly only. I tested a patch on the hull and really like the clean natural look.

As for the waterways, I was leaning traditional gray but now I’m thinking about clear poly there as well, with white stanchions and inner waist planks. I think I’ve seen Bluenose II photos with this scheme. I know “it’s my model” but I also want to show some respect for the prototype. Thoughts?
 
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Hi Folks, this is my first "big" build and log. Starting off oddly as I'm well into the journey but a ton of work still lies ahead with many challenges to conquer.

For my own good (and perhaps other rookies like me) I'll soon post a summary of lessons learned and positives that have quickly added to my education. I started about 3 months ago, a few hours during most evenings, more on the weekends. For now, sharing a handful of build photos (limited in the early stages I'm afraid).

Along the way...

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Today....

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I'm building the same kit and have completed the hull, deck and painting of the hull. You have been doing a great job! This kit is superb. I did a lot of research for the deck hardware from photos of the original that I found online. Plans details were a bit meager. Looking forward to seeing the progress of your adventure. Best wishes!

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Hi Folks, this is my first "big" build and log. Starting off oddly as I'm well into the journey but a ton of work still lies ahead with many challenges to conquer.

For my own good (and perhaps other rookies like me) I'll soon post a summary of lessons learned and positives that have quickly added to my education. I started about 3 months ago, a few hours during most evenings, more on the weekends. For now, sharing a handful of build photos (limited in the early stages I'm afraid).

Along the way...

View attachment 606625View attachment 606640View attachment 606639View attachment 606641View attachment 606642View attachment 606643

Today....

View attachment 606645View attachment 606644
Looking at your Bluenose 1921 model, the Bluenose 1921 was planked
with a King Board on the main deck which I do not see on your model .
Otherwise you are doing just fine.
I am scratch modeler by choice ,tried a kit or two and had to make so many
modifications ,figured scratch building for me ,plus many dollars saved
in doing so.
Cheers Winova
 
Welcome aboard from Connecticut. I am also doing the Bluenose, on and off when I visit my second home. I have found this blog and this you tube site to be very valuable for tips and insight.

Rob



Thanks for the plug!
 
Looking at your Bluenose 1921 model, the Bluenose 1921 was planked
with a King Board on the main deck which I do not see on your model .
Thanks for this information. You may need to educate me on the King Board. I vaguely recall a reference to the King Board somewhere (maybe one of the other SOS builds or the practicum I sometime use) and I thought it was referencing the two center and four notched planks along the centerline of the quarter deck. Is this right? If not, the Model Shipways kit may omit it? Thanks again.
 
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I'm building the same kit and have completed the hull, deck and painting of the hull. You have been doing a great job! This kit is superb. I did a lot of research for the deck hardware from photos of the original that I found online. Plans details were a bit meager. Looking forward to seeing the progress of your adventure. Best wishes!
Your BN is looking awesome! Agree on the lack of details. Curious, did your bow and stern main rail pieces align with your hull's shape or did you have to modify or rebuild them? From a brief dry fit, my bow piece looks pretty good but the opposite piece at the stern will have to be modified (my hull is a bit broader). Congrats again on a fine build!
 
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Dancing around pesky work obligations, I've been painting fake stanchions and waterways. I'm using Model Shipways primer and paints. Now, I consider myself a decently capable painter but…why is white paint so hard??? o_O

Thick paint/brushstrokes, poor color transitions, lots of obvious touch-ups. I gradually developed a method that works for me - especially with white paint.
  • Use quality brushes
  • Pick the right brush type/size
  • Dampen the bristles before loading paint
  • Pause and clean the brush often
  • Lots of thin coats.
Unfortunately, the starboard side of the quarter deck was where I had started and it suffered through the aforementioned education. I scraped off most or all of the paint twice, which also led to rough surfaces, misshapen stanchions, etc. Poor quality I just couldn't accept.

I sat down yesterday, took a deep breath and decided to start over. Hey, once you tear off the first piece it's easy! ROTF Once that band-aid was ripped off, I decided to use this as an opportunity built around pre-painting.

After some clean up and a bit of filler, I masked off the waterway and gave it two coats of medium gray paint. I knew I was starting with no stanchions for support so I gradually tacked the 1/16" thick bottom waist plank (pre-painted on the inside) to the top hull plank/deck surface in 6-8 spots using super glue and finally wood-glued the end onto the filler block at the transom. I followed the same method for the 1/32" top waist plank, keeping it flush with the inside of the bottom waist plank as much as possible. I had some minor paint touch up along the joint.

I had also pre-painted a strip of 1/8" square stock for the replacement stanchions and left one side unfinished, which will attach to the sides. I'll scrape a small area of the waterway and side at each location and probably use only spots of super glue. My hope is only light touchup will be needed. The stanchions shown in the photo are dry fit and I hope to complete this section of the deck in the next couple days.

This approach is a whole lot cleaner and neater and I'm pretty pleased. But now there is a real danger I'll want to do the same for the rest of the deck. Redface In fact, I'm already 99% sure I'll do the same on the port side of the quarter deck, for continuity. We'll see about the fore deck!

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Dancing around pesky work obligations, I've been painting fake stanchions and waterways. I'm using Model Shipways primer and paints. Now, I consider myself a decently capable painter but…why is white paint so hard??? o_O

Thick paint/brushstrokes, poor color transitions, lots of obvious touch-ups. I gradually developed a method that works for me - especially with white paint.
  • Use quality brushes
  • Pick the right brush type/size
  • Dampen the bristles before loading paint
  • Pause and clean the brush often
  • Lots of thin coats.
Unfortunately, the starboard side of the quarter deck was where I had started and it suffered through the aforementioned education. I scraped off most or all of the paint twice, which also led to rough surfaces, misshapen stanchions, etc. Poor quality I just couldn't accept.

I sat down yesterday, took a deep breath and decided to start over. Hey, once you tear off the first piece it's easy! ROTF Once that band-aid was ripped off, I decided to use this as an opportunity built around pre-painting.

After some clean up and a bit of filler, I masked off the waterway and gave it two coats of medium gray paint. I knew I was starting with no stanchions for support so I gradually tacked the 1/16" thick bottom waist plank (pre-painted on the inside) to the top hull plank/deck surface in 6-8 spots using super glue and finally wood-glued the end onto the filler block at the transom. I followed the same method for the 1/32" top waist plank, keeping it flush with the inside of the bottom waist plank as much as possible. I has some minor paint touch up along the joint.

I had also pre-painted a strip of 1/8" square stock for the replacement stanchions and left one side unfinished, which will attach to the sides. I'll scrape a small area of the waterway and side at each location and probably use only spots of super glue. My hope is only light touchup will be needed. The stanchions shown in the photo are dry fit and I hope to complete this section of the deck in the next couple days.

This approach is a whole lot cleaner and neater and I'm pretty pleased. But now there is a real danger I'll want to do the same for the rest of the deck. Redface In fact, I'm already 99% sure I'll do the same on the port side of the quarter deck, for continuity. We'll see about the fore deck!

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My respect for this major re-do, Bill. And the result looks very nice and clean. Sometimes you have to make big decisions, but it pays off very well.
Regards, Peter
 
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