Sultana - Colonial Schooner, 1767 - by MS, Scale 1:64 [COMPLETED BUILD]

[moreplovac]

Started to paint the hull. Went with white color which i tinned down with some water so it would most likely need 5-6 layers of paint. Thinning is required so painting process will not leave those heavy brush lines if you use non thinned color.

Protected the hull..



First layer completed. Tomorrow a bit of a sanding and another thinned layer..





Also, completed all tree-nails on the bow deck.



Swivel guns were next. I cannot do much with a hull, might as well start working on other parts. Cleaned up guns, drill a hole in muzzle area and put a thin layer of black flat color.









Happy modeling..

 

[moreplovac]

A bit of a sanding and second coat of paint... Not as existing process as planking...



Good thing about pictures is that they actually reveals some areas in need of touch ups..

Swivel guns received a second coat of flat black; actually areas that were not covered with the first layer...



Happy modeling..

 

[moreplovac]

Swivel guns are ready for installation. Nice black color..



I was not happy with end results of hull painting so i decided to give it a good layer of white primer. Results might be even satisfactory so i might leave it with white primer. Will see tomorrow..

Hull protected with more tape...



End result still shiny but will see when primer dries out..



Then i started working on rudder hinges called pintles and gudgeons. Cut 6 stripes of copper even dough kit suggested to make them out of cardboard. I tried i did not like results but the making process was much simpler.

Strips were flattened and bend over 22 gauge wire and then bent over piece of wood left over from rudder making. That wood was the same thickness as rudder and that basically completed the whole process. They are identical except pintles will have a small wire glued into place.




I will paint them in white to match the hull so here they are, ready for a coat of paint..



The correct length will be cut later.

Happy modeling.

 

[moreplovac]

I have worked on rudder; hinges were assembled with 22 gauge black wire connecting pintles and gundgeons. Then they were cut to the correct length as per plan and with a help of few cyano drops, they were mounted to the rudder. Next, all together (rudder and hinges) were pained with white primer. I am more and more satisfied with results when using primer, more to show.






Mounting it on the hull..





Then i worked on wales; two wales were dipped into water for about 15 minutes, then twisted to the approximate shape in home-made jig..



The i applied several drops of cyano gel to the hull, and few drops of carpenters glue in between. The cyano gell with grab the wales amost instantly and carpenter's glue will help on the log run. It takes more to cure but it supposed to be very sturdy.



From the front..



In this process of wales mounting, the wales were pre-painted with modeler's black paint which was leaving a black mark on fingers and, in turn leave marks on white hull. Noticing that i decided to re apply white primer on the hull. Using masking tape i covered all ship parts except hull and run another layer of white primer. This will cover dirty spots, rudder and rudder hinges, and small scratches hinges were leaving on the hull.

Cap rails were mounted and sanded to the shape and dimension. They should be appr 4mm wide. Bellow pictures shows before sanding stage..





In the meantime i painted hull again and it is drying as we speak (or as i type)..

i also cover with flat black paint, the cap rail that will be mounted around transom..



Happy modeling.

 

[Donnie]

Fantastic work on the Sultana. Really nice on all accounts.

Donnie

 

[moreplovac]

Fantastic work on the Sultana. Really nice on all accounts.

Donnie

Thanks Donnie, appreciated.

 

[moreplovac]

Another layer of white primer was applied. It looks very nice, not shiny, small imperfections and scratched were covered, and i would safely say that part of hull below wales is completed.








Now i need to apply one more layer of flat black on wales and final coat of golden oak stain on hull planking.
Then a coat of varnish over the whole hull will seal it all nicely..

Happy modeling.

 

[moreplovac]

No much to report; i had a laser procedure on my eye so was not quite active in the shipyard. Today i just lay a layer of varnish to protest the hull from dirty hands and dust.





Next will "attack" wales with another layer of black, golden oak on hull planking and finish up with protective layer of varnish.

Happy modeling..

 

[moreplovac]

Another layer of black paint was applied to wales, after masking the whole hull..

It took me more to mask the whole hull then to actually paint the wales.





After paint was dried i applied a layer of varnish to wales - to protect it from my fingers and other dangerous material..

Happy modeling..

 

[moreplovac]

I have noticed that i mounted rudder hinges in wrong order. Pintles should be above gudgeons so i will need to re-do the work on rudder, it just does not fit right as it stands today.

Also i have decided to re-do cap rails as well; i had to deviate slightly from practicum as it does not quite clearly provide process of installing scrolls in correct position when it comes to cap rails. I made cap rails narrowed than needed. Was able to locate another Sultana built log and fellow builder showed his method of completing this task (cap rails plus scrolls) with more info and pictures. And here we are. Making tiny scrolls with toothpicks was not a challenge after making 20+. I am sure i will find 6 that are similar in shape and size.

Hull with removed cap rails;new rails will be 5.5 mm wide.



Scrolls made out of sculpey and baked as per direction, ready for installation.



Today i will cut new cap rails in correct width, have a layer of black paint on the bottom side only and install them on the hull.

Happy modeling...

 

[moreplovac]

Rudder removed and hull ready for wood filler and sanding...







Then i cut cap rails, which were painted black on the bottom so i don't have to paint those tiny spots.
With this attempt i tried to make a little grove on each side of the cap rails; this should made scrolls easier to mount.









Then i started to mount scrolls, very tiny pieces...















And all is done...








I found out that these scrolls made out of sculpey are easy to sand if needed to make them flat so they can fit much better to allocated space.

Next step is to fill up all gaps between scrolls and cap rails and to paint all in black..

Well, that is for today...

 

[moreplovac]

Filling with wood filler and sanding volutes few times. Then wait and sand, and again...
This i believe will be the last layer of wood filler on volutes.






Then, some wood filler used on the hull to fill out holes left after removing the rudder. Not a big deal...



New rudder built from piece of basswood, thicker than needed. An another sanding exercise to bring it to the desired thickness.




Marked outlines of the old rudder and cut as close as possible to the lines; less sanding is better.






During the sanding process the top of the rudder broke and need a little fix. Another piece of boxwood and voila; all is good. But a bit of extra sanding will be required.



Hinge parts are cut and in need of flattening...



Flattened and ready for painting.



Rudder completed and first layer of white paint applied.









That is all for today..

 

[moreplovac]

Well, few things in the house that needed my attention and business trip set me away from Sultana..
But i am back for a short time, next business trip coming soon. So, here we are..

Sheet of boxwood that will be used for cap rail was cut and cap rail shape was curved by #11 knife. Once on the ship final size will be shaped.
The Sultana was placed on sheet of boxwood and traced to mark the cap rail. A 2mm line was marked outside from the hull traced line, and second line was marked inside. These lines will be used to cut the shape..



Using #11 knife i cut the rail that will be sanded to correct size once mounted on the ship.



Cap rail was mounted with carpenter's glue and cyano glue. Cyano to provide quick grip and carpenter' glue to bond it permanently. The cap rail was secured with rubber and two piece of wood (these are my home made sanding blocks).




Then i was working on hinges, bend them to the shape and put a layer of black paint.













And another layer of white paint was applied to rudder.



That's all for today.

Happy modeling.

 

[moreplovac]

Cap rail was shaped and a bit of wood filler was applied. Ready for a layer of black paint.



The kit supplied hatchets are made from metal and are very poor quality for my taste and decision was made to have them done from wood.
All hatches frames were cut from basswood, 4mm wide and 0.8mm thick. First one to attack was a main hatch, which will have 5 planks representing cover boards. Each board will have two eye bolts and rings made from 28gauge copper wire. Did not have black wire so bolts and rings will be covered in flat black color.
Once main hatch was assembled and glued, i added a ledge that will hold planks on top of it. Then a nice, light sanding was done. Planks were cut to the measurement, sanded them a bit so all 5 planks will fit correctly, the holes were drilled for bolts, and a matching layer of wood stain was applied.
The hatch was mounted on the deck. Before mounting i sanded two sides so the hatch will match (such a rime) the curve of the deck.

Cutting and gluing hatch



Ledge was added..



5 planks were cut and sanded so they can fit correctly.





I did not make these planks perfectly; i wanted to look a bit used.. Then planks were put together with scotch tape so i can mark the holes for
bolts.









Then i started to work on bolts and eye ring. Had to make a sample of both so i can test the size..



10 eye bolts were made.



These are very tiny pieces, hard to keep them and work on them.. Need some jewellery's tools...



Mount them temporary for painting.. and here they are, completed.



Happy modeling.

 

[Donnie]

Moreplovac,
this is just an idea for you. I made a small jig (The length of finish tip is exactly 3.92 x diameter of 1.06 mm) to help make very small eyebolts. The jig will make a nice 1mm opening for eyebolts. I use .5mm brass rod and use a small needle nose to shape rod. If you are interested in something like this, I can make one for you.

​

 

[moreplovac]

Hi Donnie, thank you very much for your offer.
I was looking to finished eye bolts yesterday and did not like non uniform shape so ended up on Internet ordering wire wrapping mandrels (https://contenti.com/wire-wrapping-beading/wire-forming-tools/wire-wrapping-mandrels ). 3 bucks per piece and it should do the trick in the future but if you have nothing else to do and if shipping is not too expensive i would gladly accept your offer.

 

[moreplovac]

Not being truly perfectionist but close enough (but no cigar) i decided to make another set of eye bolts. Thanks again Donnie for your suggestion; i actually ended up using a nail to wrap the wire around it..
Did not like the shape of eye bolts i made yesterday and result flat black paint left on them. Also remembering that some time ago i purchased coper blackening kit so i decided to give it a try as well.
Using a 1.4mm diameter nail as a template for an eye, i made about 16 new.




Pour in a bit of a blackening fluid... and it starts the blackening process.



Few minutes is all that it takes, and drop them into water bath..



Then they were dried out on the piece of paper. Rings are next. I built one test set to see how it will fit on the plank..






Then i made a bunch of rings using a nail (this time 3mm diameter) as a template. By cutting them i got 20 rings. Good thinking since in the process of cutting i lost 4 of them..







Then i put rings to eye bolts and drop all sets into another blackening bath..



After few minutes in water bath, i removed them and put on piece of paper for drying.

So, here they are, planks and eye bolt/ring sets ready for tomorrow..



Happy modeling..

 

[Uwek]

Good, that you made a second trial, they are looking much better!

 

[moreplovac]

Eye bolts and rings attached and planks mounted on the ship. Very interesting and realistic results..






Making coamings for other hatchets are on the go. Kit supplied metal casting hatchets will be discarded.
I cut the planks to correct length, glue them over the block anvil to get perfect 90 degrees angle. Once all is assembled, sanded all sides on the piece of sand paper temporary fixed on an old ceramic tile.









That would be all for today..

 

[moreplovac]

Gratings, all about gratings.
Made nice strip of it; expected to be a bit out of scales since i dont have smaller than 1.5mm blades for my table saw.



Gave it a try, spent few hours making a cutting template, gratings, finding correct wood size...









And yes, they are out of scale for this implementation. I believe whole sailor' leg can go thru opening
I think they will be perfect for ships in bigger scale but for Sultana they just don't fit.
Following Chuck' suggestion, ordered gratings from ModelExpo...
Unless someone has a better suggestions how to make gratings in a smaller size (i was even thinking to put two blades together to simulate finger joint set but decided not to as it did not look like a safe move) i will wait for shipment to arrive...

Happy modeling.