post deleted.
Last edited:
Soaking it in a cup of hot water, like that is exactly what I had to do on my model. Once wet, the planks tend to be quite pliable. Don’t break too many because you only have one extra plank to finish the model!
Not on mine. I started it before I was a member of these forums. There is a picture of it here though. I'm roughly at the same place you are in your build but I've not been able to work on it due to my move that I just made and my shop not being set up yet.
Link
Yeah, it bent like rubber rather than wood this morning. I clamped to dry in shape and it appeared to have held that twist about 80% once released maybe two and a half hours later. It is glued and clamped up very neatly now. I'll definitely soak any parts needing more than slight bends and clamp them up sans glue to form a bit from now on. Time consuming, but less than going through the broken plank repair cycle! It sounds like a bender would be a good investment if I wanted to speed things up.
Very similar indeed. Same number of cannon ports. Your stern blends into the keel smoothly while mine overhangs a bit. And your planks run so the rear of the hull bows more smoothly to the waterline. Mine is flat under the deck until the planking reaches the keel where it then requires the ~80 degree plank twist. I have no knowledge of the actual ships these models may (or may not) be representing. But I am now kinda curious if the two models represent different types of ships altogether or if they are different "revisions" of the same basic design produced over time, or from different shipyards, or what?
Unlike lime wood, whatever soft wood they use in this kit will spring a good deal of the way back to the original shape after drying, instead of staying at the new bend or twist you put into it. I have only two planks left over after planking the hull, so try not to break them often.
For guidance as to what the hull shape should be on a Baltimore schooner, look at the Artesania Latina model of the Harvey. That's what I'm going to use as a guide for masting and rigging:
I am pretty sure they are both of the "Baltimore Clipper" design
Or you can get pictures of the real "Pride of Baltimore II" when they pull it out of the water to replace some planks here very shortly.
Granted, it is a reproduction and not the original "Pride off Baltimore"The satin brown acrylic paint on the cannon carriages is turning out better than I would have guessed! Thanks to all for the advice. Brushed on thinned out it approximates stain very nicely. At this scale it shows more texture of the rough wood than grain probably, but exactly the kind of finish I was looking for. In the pic, the one on the left is a raw wood wash painted one. I like it best. The other is the re-paint of the previous stain trial that allowed for undesirable PVA un-stained areas to occur. Unfortunately, the stain also did not want to take the thinned acrylic, so I had to paint a bit thicker over that and the result was a bit heavier and darker than the one I prefer on the left. But it will do.
So did the original Harvey have the paint scheme shown in the pics of that Artesania Latina model? Or does anyone know of or have a color scheme reference for similar Baltimore Clippers in general?
So did the original Harvey have the paint scheme shown in the pics of that Artesania Latina model? Or does anyone know of or have a color scheme reference for similar Baltimore Clippers in general?
Yeah, DON'T do this. Those mini bar clamps are great in many applications. But I placed them to hold planks and the pressure was between the ribs. The wood in this kit deformed to the shape of the pressure! And so now I have two, flat, clamp shaped depressions in that plank. I've tried repeatedly to wet it hoping that would alleviate the stresses in the wood caused by the clamps. But it did not. The only way I can think to un-do the bends would be to apply a Force in the opposite direction. And I have no mini jackscrew type of solutions! And so I think I have to sadly sand the adjacent planks down to the depressions caused by those clamps.
Those clamps are very cool otherwise. Use with caution!
If someone has a better option, I am very anxious to hear it!
M.
Last edited:
Try to wet it and hit it with an iron. Sometimes the steam will pull the fibers out. Even a soldering iron should work. Just don't leave it in one place or it will scortch.
You could even try wetting a paper towel and placing it on the "crushed" spot and use the iron on the paper towel.
So this iron has got to be at least 30 years old. But it was still in the box of crap that has moved with me over two continents and at least five locations! It stunk up the house enough for my wife to call down to me in the basement to ask if I was burning something! And yet still worked like a charm.
Thanks, Corsair! Steaming the wet wood by applying heat from the outside helped tremendously. Not perfect, but a HUGE improvement. Much less sanding will be needed now.
Thanks again!
M.
Thanks, Corsair! Steaming the wet wood by applying heat from the outside helped tremendously. Not perfect, but a HUGE improvement. Much less sanding will be needed now.
Thanks again!
M.
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2023
- Messages
- 179
- Points
- 113
@mondrasek , FWIW, if your model used two layers of planking, consider using planking screws when doing the first layer. Kind of hard on the thumbs from all the screwing and unscrewing, but I've had great luck with them on kits that have sections thick enough to use them. I've had better luck with them than using clamps, and I can usually get them fitted into tighter spaces where clamps wouldn't be able to grab or fit.
I have one of those!
So you use small screws to hold the first layer planks in place on the bulkheads while the glue sets up? Or does "planking screws" refer to some other tool I have not heard of? And if they are just regular screws, what type/size do you use?
Sounds like a small electric driver would definitely be of benefit!
M.
Hopefully good enough for the Harvey, but I think they might have been made for the Halcon?
M.
Just a touch too small. I measure the wood ones in the kit at 22mm for the small ones and one at 29mm.
Just the same, I'm going to order them. Thank you for the info !
That made me go look again. Mine are all about 20~21mm. But you have one bigger cannon as well? Is it one of the 10 or an 11th unit? I've seen illustrations that may have indicated that Cutties (sometimes?) had a larger cannon on deck to roll up when the situation called for it?
BTW both of those are supposed to arrive for me tomorrow. I'll let you know if anything does not seem kosher.
M.
Even though there are 10 gunports, the kit has 7 cannons. 6 of the smaller size and one lashed on the centerline that is larger.