USRC Harriet Lane Model Shipways 1:96 scale circa 1863

Here is the copper plating in progress. I wore latex gloves the whole time to avoid any fingerprints developing later. The BJS copper tape has a nice adhesive backing so all I did was press a plate in place with my finger initially and then burnish with a piece of balsa wood. The modeler I was following used a seam roller for wall paper to do his burnishing. I decided to forego the expense. In the end, I am happy with my result even though the balsa left tiny scratches in the copper surface that really catch the light in the right conditions. I think, however, that I had better pressure control with the balsa stick - I could feel the hull flexing at certain points!

Copper plate 1.jpgCopper plate 1.jpgCopper plate 2.jpgCopper plate 5.jpgCopper plate 4.jpgCopper plate 3.jpg
 
Gore lines.

As I mentioned, while researching how to copper plate, I found a nice YouTube video demonstrating a technique for establishing the gore line with masking tape and being able to plate over the line so that you only need to run a sharp blade over the line to lift off the over-plating. It worked like a charm! On the other hand, I had the same problem with the primer peeling away that I had at the water line. Neat thing about the copper tape is that is is super thin. Not so neat, unless the undersurface is perfect, is that once burnished it shows everything underneath. So, even using the copper plates to, among other things, hide the imperfections in the hull I built, I still have some of the imperfections showing through AND the areas of primer peel :eek:.

The first image is what I used to try to set a proper gore line. Under the heading "I wish I had . . . ." I wish I had been more patient. I looked at the picture and then relied on my memory to place the gore line. A close look at the picture shows that there were many gore lines.
Ship drawing 1.jpg
 
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Here's the rest of the story. I planned the gore line to leave a depth of 3 plates to the waterline and so that, viewed head on or dead aft, the plates look like a continuous run. When I started, I placed about 10 plates at the gore line and then started the 2nd row adding 6 plates and the final row with 4 plates. I found that my overlaps were making a mess and the lines were quite wavy. I peeled all of them off and started again from the sternpost stacking one plate at a time. This allowed me better control of the overlaps with the plates as they approached the waterline. Although I misjudged the width to be covered between the gore line and the waterline at the stern (the overlaps in that section approach 1/32" :rolleyes:) the overall effect is what I was going for.

Copper plate 8.jpgCopper plate 9.jpg
 
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The rudder.

Initially, though I knew I would copper plate the rudder below the waterline, I figured to use the black construction paper method of simulating iron gudgeons and pintles. As I researched, however, I learned that iron and copper and saltwater don't mix well. There would have been terrific corrosion where the iron met the copper on the hull and the rudder. What to do?

I lost a couple night's sleep (I kid you not) trying to figure out how to make copper gudgeons and pintles in scale and with a representation of bolt heads. My first idea was to use the same copper tape I used for plating. I would simply put the tiny dots of glue on the tiny strip of tape!

Experiment number 1. Epic fail. Two things. First, the tape was too thin in width (a hair less than 1/16") and thickness to be able to work with without destroying it. Second, the glue dots looked like glue dots. (No pictures of this embarrassment ;) )

I then thought about using the black construction paper and painting it.

Experiment number 2. Epic fail. No copper paint even looked close the the color of the copper plates on the rudder and hull. (Again, no pictures ;)).
 
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After losing sleep another night it occurred to me to try to put the copper tape over the black construction paper with the simulated bolt heads underneath. The worst that would happen is that the tape wouldn't conform to the sides of the gudgeons and pintles and I would only need a tiny bit of paint along those edges.

I give you Experiment number 3 during which I found that the copper tape DID conform to the edges!Rudder 1.jpgRudder 2.jpgRudder 3.jpg
 
And now the rest of the "beauty shots":
Peter Gutterman said:
Well done!
I don't miss the rivets(divots?) At this scale way too busy. (IMHO :rolleyes: )
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Thank you, Pete!

Agreed! What I found was that the copper tape generally had a little ripple along one edge. I used that edge as the overlap edge. I got a result where the light catches that edge without the busyness. IMHO as you say ;)
 
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rtibbs said:
Coppering is definitely a tedious job but you pulled it off nicely.
As you found out a great finish begins with a smooth surface. As I learned, the hard way, paint doesn’t cover anything only magnifies what is underneath.
Nice job!!
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Thank you for the compliment! Next time do better! Happily, knocking on wood, there's always a next time ;)
 
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