The Black Swan by OcCre 1:75: Build Log

[Rob444]

Spent a bit of time using wood filer to fill some of the more egregious spaces.



Then went on to plank the rear area of the hull before the main planking is done.



This planking was shaped and sanded smooth,

 

[Rob444]

To start planking the hull I measured the length of all the bulkheads to taper the planks. It looks like it will take about 20 planks on each side to do the trick.


Reh thickness of the planks which are 5mm wide will vary from the full 5mm to 3.3 mm for the bow of the ship. To transfer the tick marks to each bulkhead I used a compass, setting the with that each plank will use at a particular bulkhead and marking them.





The first plank was soaked in water for a few minutes, the bow bent using an iron to wrap around the curve of the bow. The stern which curves down a bit was also curved slightly. The next plank in the stern will be made a bit wider to make up for that curve and produce straighter planks. I used CA glue to secure the front curved area and wood glue for the rest of the length.

 

[Rob444]

After laying down the first planks I realized that there is an unplanked space above the first planks where the gun ports are. This means the remains 19 planks will actually have less space in the bow that I calculated and will have to be tapered more. I remeasured the area and each plank will have to be about 2.5 mm in width at the bow.

 

[Rob444]

The planking continues slowly. The curve in the stern is slowly reducing. putting less need to curve the planks.

 

[Rob444]

A little while back I bought this mini plane trim the edge of the plank that lies against the hull bulkheads. Forgot where I first saw it, but I believe I picked it up on Amazon for about $4. It is 3D printed. You can adjust for the width of the plank you want and the angle of the blade which is just a replaceable x-acto blade. It works well. After passing the plank through the plane a few times I finish with a quick pass of sandpaper.

 

[Rob444]

Ro help shape the planks at the bow I soaked them in water for a few minutes and used a hot ironing device to curve them.

 

[Rob444]

I decided to start laying a few planks from the keel up. In my limited experience it is better to meet in the middle, so to speak, to more easier fit in the last few planks. The "garboard plank here is set very differently than other ships I have built. There is no rabbet to key the plank into. In addition on the bow the plank rises up above the keel on both sides forming a slot where apparently the false keel is placed. Of course this is really mentioned no place in the sparse directions but if you study the pictorial included and looking on their you tube building directions you can figure it out.

You can see in this picture how the planking in the front sets proud of the keel.


I soaked th stern end of the plank in water for a few hours to make it more flexible to bend 90 degrees to clamp onto the back of the keel piece. I first glued and held into place the plank along the main structure of the hull then clamped the stern part into place.



The bow part of the plank was kept a bit long so I could tack it in place and then trim it to size after. The piece was motioned and curved using a hot iron.



Slow progress is being made.