Royal Caroline 1/47 Panart bashed by NMBrook

NMBROOK

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A introduction to another log I am posting.Unfortuneately I have a habit of not taking pics until the build is well underway.The kit is modified but I was determined to use as much of the kit castings as is possible.The first pics show the hull in first planking which is lime.Both lime and balsa were included for this giving the builder a choice,but the balsa was rubbish so I ripped it off and planked with the supplied lime.I will try to add text with the pics and this will take some time as I have over 200 images so far.

Regards

Nigel
 
First pics I took.The kit plywood falsedeck has been planked with lime to reinforce it.The deck will be finally be covered with boxwood veneer strips.You will notice the kit's plywood keel has been removed.This is to allow a replacement in solid Pearwood to be fitted.The kits laser engraved decorations have been fitted at this stage so they will sit flush with the second planking.The bulwarks have also been planked internally to increase their thickness.


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Kind Regards

Nigel
 
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The deck was planked with 3.4 x 0.6mm Boxwood strips and 0.5mm holes were drilled for treenails.I drilled a 0.5mm hole in a piece of thin steel.Cocktail sticks were inserted in the multitool and pushed into the hole in the steel with the tool running.Inserting the cocktail stick into the steel from the side with the burr on removes wood to produce a parallel peg.When glued into the hole in the deck,this gives a finer and more consistent result than simply gluing the pointed end of the stick into the hole.

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Hi Janos,Thankyou

Yes,you must not remember,we discussed this a long time ago somewhere else:DThis build is actually at fitting out stage now,these pics are 5 years old;)

Regarding the book,the kit is out in all different directions dimensionally.I had to achieve a compromise between the two.

Regards

Nigel
 
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I then produced the Transom.In the kit,this is flat whereas in reality it should curve across the back of the vessel.This was made of a combination of thin ply,pearwood and boxwood for the window details.
I wanted to do something a little different with this model.I developed a few techniques to recreate the 'aged' look of 17th century Navy Board models.The first was to use mica for the window glazing.This is glued with epoxy from the inside.A meniscus is then formed around the window on the outside using spirit based matt polyurethane varnish.When this is sprayed with further coats of the same thinned with white spirit,the window developes the old frosted look present on many of these old models.


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Whilst I was working on glazing,I 'knocked up 'the skylight that sits on deck towards the aft of the vessel.The mainframe is Pear with box details.I arguemented the fact that the windows were a loose hinged panel by shading the edges with pencil before assembling the units together.The 'hinges' are depicted with short lengths of 0.3mm propelling pencil lead,glued on with tiny drops of cyanoacrylate and sealed in place with varnish.Yes I did loose a few during this process

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With my transom glued on the model,I added a pearwood scratchbuilt keel and prow and also the wales made of solid ebony.These a 2mm thick.To bend them,I first removed the oil from the surface using acetone then soaked the pieces in water for 48 hours.These were clamped in a two piece former and heat applied gently with a blowtorch.You must use a two piece former otherwise the Ebony will break out on the outside of the radius.Unfortuneately I didn't but perhaps should have,taken pics of this stage.The wales are fitted now before second planking so the planking follows the edges of the wales.The first few second planks are fitted.These were cut individually from 1mm pear sheet.The planks were spiled where necessary,that is some are not straight,but cut out in a curved fashion to follow the hull contours without clinkering.The boxwood strip you see at the top is temporary.This acts as a spacer representing a trim strip.This is removed after planking leaving a 'channel' to insert the trim and also the deadeye channels into.

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Thank you Brian.Alas this log will have a bit of a 'jump' due to images lost into the ether.I hope,what I can show will give members some food for thought with a few tricks I have learnt from some great master builders and one or two of my own I have dreamt up in the 30 years on and off 'pottering about' with these models.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
I didn't take pics during the rest of the second planking.This process took 3 months to complete.Each plank was shaped individually from sheet,you could not achieve this planking layout with straight strips due to excessive 'clinkering'.I did notice the pear sheets had a different hue to them.I sorted them into light and dark piles.You need to wet an area of the pear to get an idea of what it will look like with finish on to be able to sort them.
I elected to use the light for the wales upwards and the dark for below.
Treenailing is replicated by drilling many 0.5mm holes after careful marking.Woodfiller is then pressed into these holes and sanded flush,I used a lighter tone of filler for the lighter wood.This subdues the finished result and stops it looking overpowering.The hull has been given several coats if matt poly applied by spraygun with lots of flatting down between each application.
As a side note,the red tinge is caused by light coming through the kitchen blind and not present in real life:D

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Thank you very much indeed Brian
These next images illustrate the construction of the forward bulkhead to the main cabin.As Janos touched on earlier,the kit differs in many respects to the Anatomy of the Ship book I am using for reference.Not least in this area.The cross section is different so I had to try and strike a balance between the two and produce something that was still convincing.
Construction is in Pear and Box.Ebony was used for the trim below the kit's laser engraved scrollwork.The profile was machined on the mill and the Dentil detail was then carved.My Proxxon miller was used to produce some details and others like the crowns on the doors were carved by hand using a scalpel.I did use the kit casting for the crest.A little fettling and some paint detail,overall I didn't think it came out too bad.

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There is quite a 'jump' now due to lost images.Further details have been added to the hull.The blue and red are artists acrylic mixed in various shades to create aged paint.Further 'ageing' was created by first spraying the model with matt poly then acrylic washes are then used.When dry the surfaces are burnished with superfine steel wool.This leaves wash deposits in the internal corners,areas where discolouration is more prevalent on 300 year old models as this is where the dirt collects.The model is then sprayed again with matt poly.
All the black trim in the pics is Ebony.
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Next up was the construction of the forward bitts.These go through the foredeck and I am pinning them to the maindeck.There is a timber between their base that supports the aft end of the bowsprit.The deck support structure is built around these bitts.The whole deck unit with bitts was built in the model but left removable to be fixed much later in the build.
The bitts are pear with boxwood for the pinrail and details.I fashioned sheaves from pear sheet.These are glued to a drillbit and 'turned' in the chuck of the multitool using jewellers files to shape them.The pins are chemically blackened copper using liver of sulphur.

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The deck beams are cut from pear sheet to give the required camber and notched into the sides of the hull.Further framework is then added but nothing is glued to the model,only to one another to allow the unit to be removed until later.
Last post for today

Kind Regards

Nigel

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Good morning everyone and thankyou Mike and Brian.Next job was to plank the foredeck.This was done in situ but care was taken not to glue the planks to the hull.I cut boxwood planks 1.5mm thick for this job as I didn't want a ply subdeck because the underneath is open.In hindsight it will never been seen but I knew it would look right inside.The complete unit was then removed and the deck sanded smooth.The underside has several coats of poly sprayed on.

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Next was the construction of the rails and catheads.These were made from pearwood with Ebony inlays.My Proxxon miller was used extensively for this work.I also added the bitts around the foredeck.These were shaped from Ebony.The chimney was carved from a block of limewood and later this was painted gunmetal grey.


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