As a novice, I am curious as to why there are these two methods of planking. Is it to replicate a traditional ship-building technique or is it simply a model-building method?
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It's so that beginners have the opportunity to correct the first planking ( if needed ) with fillers then finally finish with the second planking,
Best regards John,
Best regards John,
Greetings, there is no traditional double-plank method. The ships were built with single planks only, When the ship was built, it had frames instead of bulkheads used in the ship model kits. To save money, kit manufacturers are using fewest bulkheads to form the hull. It makes it difficult to lay the planks naturally. Therefore kit manufacturers provide double-plank where the first layer is thick planks to form the hull. The modeler can apply filler to those imperfections spots and sand it smooth to make a foundation for the second planks.
ships with a wooden hull were not double planked
To give you an overview please take a look at a typical cross section
Ok thanks.
Kit manufacturers can also economise by supplying very thin strips of the outer planking which is usually a quality hard wood: walnut or (yuk) sapele. Used alone these strips would give little strength to the hull and probably show daylight through the seams. Thicker bass wood in the first layer is a cheap solution.
If you wish to build a kit with single planking the offerings from Syren may work for you. There are no kits better out there. There may be other kit makers that offer single planking but I am not sure and am curious to know if there are any. Many kits (not all) use the wood mentioned above for the outer layer but they are not easy to taper and pre-shape and are often very grainy so do not look realistic.
Allan
Single or double planking on PlankOnBulkhead (POB) model kits have only advantages or disadvantages during the building of the model.
If once the planking is completely done there is no difference visible.
For a beginner in ship modeling - double planking has some advantages, because you can correct all mistakes in the first planking, you often get a better and smooth hull form and also a complete closed surface for gluing and fixing of the second planking strips.
On single planking you have only contact areas (for gluing and fixing the planks) at the areas of the bulkheads.
PlankOnFrame (POF) kits have never a double planking, because here the two levels of planking would be visible.
If once the planking is completely done there is no difference visible.
For a beginner in ship modeling - double planking has some advantages, because you can correct all mistakes in the first planking, you often get a better and smooth hull form and also a complete closed surface for gluing and fixing of the second planking strips.
On single planking you have only contact areas (for gluing and fixing the planks) at the areas of the bulkheads.
PlankOnFrame (POF) kits have never a double planking, because here the two levels of planking would be visible.
Alan, the Bounty 1/48 from AL is a singe plank kit.
Batavia's planking:
Rule# one in shipbuilding: There are always exceptions.
To complicate the subject of double planking further, there is a hull repair method called girdling, in which second layer of plank was added to a ship for two reasons, 1) to strengthen the hull and 2) to increase the volume of the hull and thus the buoyancy of the vessel, and adjust the handling of ships whose beam (width) was too narrow to carry their sail, causing the ship to lean over more than desired under the force of wind.
Below left: ship hull without girdling. Ship is "tender", which means when tipped to the side, the force that returns the hull to vertical is weaker than desired. Right: After girdling, the hull is wider, and the force which returns the hull to vertical is stronger, plus the ship is a bit more buoyant because the hull displaces more water. In addition to strengthening hull, girdling can often have the added benefit of making the ship more stable under heavy sail wind load.
Girdling has no effect on how a model is chosen to be constructed. As other members stated above, double planked hulls allow a model kit to contain less frames so that hull shape can be corrected by filling and adding a second layer of planks. Also, beginners who are learning the skill in planking have an easier time making the hull shape properly without flat spots and hard, linear bends in the overall shape because filling can correct such problems before final planking is added.
The modeling purist can choose to make the hull using actual simulated ship frames instead of simple bulkheads, add first planking layer, then add girdling layers to demonstrate in their model the actual hull construction methods used on actual ships.
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A single plank kit is not a problem at all. As Uwe said, the first layer helps a beginner maintain a smooth hull and overcome some imperfections. However, a lot of us scale modelers use balsa wood blocks between the bulkheads and then shape the hull. It is extra work and extra cost for the material but gives a kinda 'solid' hull in both structure and shape. More experienced modelers use those 'filler' blocks only in bow and stern sections, where extreme curvature and irregular shapes.
The offerings from Syren are not for everyone, and very limited, IMHO. You don't purchase a kit the way other companies offer, with fittings, and rigging lines. You will have to purchase everything separately, for example, the wood for planking, and mill to the correct size. Also, there are only a few models available out there, and not for beginners, IMHO.
The offerings from Syren are not for everyone, and very limited, IMHO. You don't purchase a kit the way other companies offer, with fittings, and rigging lines. You will have to purchase everything separately, for example, the wood for planking, and mill to the correct size. Also, there are only a few models available out there, and not for beginners, IMHO.
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as being said the use of double planking in kits is for structural support of the planking. Real ship are built with frames spaced close together and some are almost a solid wall of frame timbers. Bulkheads in kits are space far apart and the planks tend to lay flat between bulkheads distorting the shape of the hull. As Jim said it is best to either double plank the hull or use filler blocks between the bulkheads to give the planking support. (there are a number of examples on the forum).
as for double planking in real ship it has been used for a long time and is done to stiffen up the hull. It depends on what ship, the time and place it was built and what it's intended use.
as for double planking in real ship it has been used for a long time and is done to stiffen up the hull. It depends on what ship, the time and place it was built and what it's intended use.
Very interesting contributions. Thanks to all who posted
I was at the counter of Robbins timber (the UK's most extensive stockholder of hardwoods and marine ply for full size boats) and was irritated by people talking about "sapeelly". I worked in Nigeria and was a member of the Sapele country club. It is pronounced "Sappeli". As far as I know sapele timber is the closest you can get to mahogany (in the UK at least) which is as rare as hen's teeth these days thanks to forestry protection.
Through ignorance I have been mispronouncing it until your informative correction. Thank you.
For plank on bulkhead models, the first layere of planking is to add strength to the hull. Also, it should be applied as a template for the the second, finish, layer. You can see where difficulties might be avoided and stealer planks are needed.
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European kit manufacturers nearly always offer double-planked hulls. The inner (first) planking usually consists of economically sourced woods and an outer planking of 0.6 mm thin walnut veneer. The Europeans argue that this permits the model builder to cover mistakes made with the first planking and also to simulate many of the admiralty models found in European nautical museums. Why walnut veneer in museum models? Theory has it that the Admirals when deciding on ship construction and paint finishes rarely agreed. So, to avoid color the museum model builders chose a neutral finish .... walnut color. That's why most European kit manufacturers show photos of the finished model in walnut and include the strips in the kit. Personally, I cannot imagine why anyone would want to plank a hull twice.
I am the owner of Model Shipways dba Model Expo. When I acquired Model Shipways in 1988 I decided to convert all the ship model kits from solid hull to plank-on-bulkhead construction. At first, I thought it would be best to follow the European example of double planking but Jim Roberts and Ben Lankford advised against it. Their argument? "Real ships were single-planked. Real ships did not have walnut finishes but were painted. A good model replicates the original ship and should be historically accurate." Made sense. Now all Model Shipways kits are single planked in basswood and are to be painted. Thank you for reading. Marc Mosko.
Hi Mark.
As much as I respect Jim's and Ben's opinions, I completely disagree with their argument! You just cannot make an analogy with actual shipbuilding. The actual ships don't build upon the bulkheads, they have frames. If the kit provides sufficient amounts of bulkheads, then yes, a single plank would be sufficient to complete the hull. The number of bulkheads in today's kits is not enough, and the big gaps in the adjacent bulkheads make the single plank a battle, especially in the bow and stern areas. You are potentially at risk of losing newcomers because, from my personal experience, planking the hull for the first time with a single plank will be a disaster and might turn off the hobby. Obviously, a double-plank may not guarantee success, but at least the modeler knows he\she has ways to correct before the second layer.