Rattlesnake by MS

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
Fill'em in with shaped wood slivers and PVA glue and you're golden! Fill gaps and cracks with a mixture of sawdust and PVA glue and press it into the voids.

Looks awesome!
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Dude I have a container already filled with sawdust I've been saving for just this occasion. In your opinion should I be using watered down white or yellow glue?
 
Nice! I have carpal tunnel so I have to back off a building for a while
 
So after sanding with progressive finer grits on the port side I've noticed my planking came out better than I'd hoped. No depressions or humps that will require major construction. Normal wood filler and trimming is all I'll need. Tomorrow I'll do the same for the starboard side and do all required crack filling (not many of those), maybe I'll tape off the area I'm going to paint white.

Thoughts: I've been thinking of taping off the area to be painted white and spray painting. I'm convinced that will yield the most uniform and sightly finish. Any thoughts of that over hand painting coat after coat? I've bought a can of flat finish. Would satin be better?

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I think satin is best, and spray painting with an air brush would allow some of the wood texture and plank lines to show through. I always thought a glossy shine made a nice ship model look like a cheap Chinese made tourist souvenir. I can still seen some sharp bends where the bulkheads show through the hull, but filler can make these disappear. Which hardwood have you selected for the second layer?
 
Well, I filled and sanded, filled and sanded, filled and sanded. But my hull planking just wasn't good enough. I sprayed three layers of white for the bottom of the hull and each and every flaw in my planking comes right out clear as day. Once mounted in a case I doubt anybody would be able to pick these flaws out but I know they are there. I've found that copper sheathing and even an additional layer of hardwood for planking hides just about every flaw in the initial planking. Simple paint on a single layer of planking is the mark of a true master....I'm not there yet.

So, I'm going for a copper sheathing from the waterline on down. Waiting on pre-stamped copper tape I ordered from a supplier in Taiwan.

These pics show before and after painting. You can't see all the flaws but believe me they are there.

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Being a big fan of “build it your way” for a different look, I like the copper idea. I think it will give the ship a good look; However, I don’t see anything wrong with you first layer of hull planking. It would take a second layer of thin final planking no problem, walnut, mahogany, oak all would look great on that hull. Hull planking is a different animal, with many variables, lines of the ship, types of wood, glue, quality of wood, weather, the way you plank, soaked planks heat rolled on, I could go on & on. There are few out there who can plank a flawless hull. A master model shipwright ok they can expect to be flawless most of the time maybe, All I know is I think you did a good job on the hull. Besides a few plank lines gives a ship some character. Just my spin MOG
 
Nice and I for one think the hull looks good. In the real world, no wood planked hull is dead perfect. You still see planks and where they join. Trying to get a perfect flat smooth as baby's bum hull, is too me not realistic. And for copper plating, if the ship had it, do it. I hate to see a well built vessel that was copper plated, painted on. The only one I ever saw was built to a standard I have never seen anyone do like before or after. He painted onto the hull, 1 by 1 ea. plate, by hand w/oil, then detailed w/pencil. The end result was just un-real. Of course, he weathered the painted plates too. When it was done, you could stand there for hours looking this thing over. Oh yea, the guy was a real painter by trade and this worked best for him. I have wished many, many times I had of photographed that model.
Rick
 
David Lester said:
Hi Tkam,
I'm very fond of the Rattlesnake mainly because it takes me back to my childhood. My best friend's father used to build model ships and as a kid I was mesmerized by them. My favourite of his was his Rattlesnake, largely I think because of the name. I forgot the names of all his other ships, but I never forgot that one.

I built the Mamoli version. I can only compare the Mamoli kit to the MS kit by having seen several build logs of the MS version, but I would say that the methods of construction differ considerably between the two kits, but that the finished models look remarkably alike. I would love to do the MS version too, just for fun.

The Mamoli rigging instructions and plans are very specific and easy to follow, which is quite unlike the MS instructions and plans, as you have observed. I can tell from your picture that the plans for the Rattlesnake are of the same style as those for all of the MS kits I've worked on. I'm now studying the plans for my upcoming fifth MS kit (Pride of Baltimore II) and I can assure you that, as dense as they are, they are actually quite comprehensive and can be deciphered; it just takes a lot of work.

The first thing I do with them is take them to Staples and make copies. Then I can mark them up all I want, make notes on them, highlight things etc. without ruining the original set. Also, when they're printed on both sides, it's a lot easier to have separate sheets for each one.

With the rigging plans, I go over them many times and make notes. Eventually after several iterations, I distill my notes and create a set of detailed instructions for myself. I divide the process into two phases - the first is rigging the bowsprit and everything that can be attached to the other masts while still on the bench and the second phases is everything that can only be done once the masts are mounted. Here's a sample page for my upcoming Pride of Baltimore II.

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It is amazing how much information MS crams onto those pages. It takes a lot of detective work to make sense of it all, and you have to jump all over the plans to put all the pieces together, referring to the inset details etc. (remember that they're usually at double the scale. I once finished a set of trestletrees and crosstrees that were twice the size I needed before I noticed!) After about two MS kits with this style of plans, you'll develop a feel for them and find them not too difficult to work with.

Another advantage to pouring over the plans several times well in advance is the frustrating fact that you will find things in there that are not included in the kit. For example, so far I have discovered that the POB II calls for 3/32" bullseyes, a couple of triple blocks, turnbuckles and many thimbles (small bullseyes). None of these is included in the kit. It takes several times pouring over the plans before I find everything, so I develop a list of the missing things and try to get it as complete as possible before placing an order.

Here's my finished Mamoli Rattlesnake. It's also 1:64.

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I'm looking forward to your build of the MS version. Looks like you're off to a good start.
David
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Your right about the missing parts been running across that myself but on the good side I go to model shipways ebay store and buy there for the free shipping.
 
TKAM said:
I found this Ship's Launch kit on the Model Shipyard website. It comes in kit form and the quality and shape appears to be far superior to what was provided in Rattlesnake's box. All the instructions are in Russian but I think I can figure it out.

The length is almost exactly what the kit provided and it's far more detailed. I think I might go this way from now on with future projects too. MS has many of this type of kit in various sizes. This one was only $14.

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Looks like the falkonet kit you should try there blocks, while doing my Rattlesnake I found out that you will be short of blocks so I tried Falkonet's blocks and they are fantastic. at first I thought it was a Master Korabel lifeboat kit
 
firedog5213 said:
Looks like the falkonet kit you should try there blocks, while doing my Rattlesnake I found out that you will be short of blocks so I tried Falkonet's blocks and they are fantastic. at first I thought it was a Master Korabel lifeboat kit
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I bought a mess of blocks from Chuck Passaro and some trial blocks from China. About the same price, Passaro's are boxwood and excellent quality, I'm using them on my Syren. The Chinese blocks are also real good quality and are made of walnut. They do look a bit different so I'm gonna have to decide which to go with for Rattlesnake....but it certainly ain't gonna be the blocks supplied by the kit.
 
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