ZHL Black Pearl 2020 Golden Edition [COMPLETED BUILD]

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Dec 28, 2020
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Location
Googong close to Canberra Australia
I hope someone will be interested in another build log of the BP, this will be my second wooden ship model the first was the Rattlesnake by Mamoli nearly 30 years ago.
This is the first time that I have attempted a build log so if there is anymore information required please advise. This build was started in October and I am currently working on the second planking. I will start the log from the beginning and try to point out how I have done things differently. The build logs on SoS have been a big help thanks to everyone who has posted one.


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When l joined the keel together there was a 7mm bow which meant l needed to keep the keel straight during assembly.

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I used two pieces of 6mm timber that held the keel straight while the frames where fitted.

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I did a lot of dry fitting to see how everything went together. This kit is made to a very high standard when the decks where fitted the bulkheads where all square to the keel, only one needed a little bit of material removed to fit.

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I have marked the keel to see where the parts go this will be a reference for glueing. The pencil lines on top of the slots in the keel and bulkheads will show the if the parts are fully engaged. File the edges of parts 3 & 5 but don't go all the way to the line.

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I found the best way to assemble these parts was to do them all together, bulkhead 6 and the deck was dry fitted to keep everything square. I also checked with a square all good, you can see the pencil marks on the keel and frame 5 show it is down fully. Before assembly I used a walnut stain on the top part of frame 4 and painted black under the grates.

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After the glue had set I glued frames 7-14 again dry fitting frame 6 and the decks to keep everything in place and square, now is a good time to fit the deck supports on frame 12. Finally frame 6 and the main deck can be fitted, this was the easiest way I found to do the tabs on the deck that fit into frame 6.

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The other frames at the aft needed a little bit of ajustment for the angles but went together well. The toothpicks are used because I could not get a clamp where I needed it.

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When all the bulkheads and main deck where fitted the bow on the keel was down to 2 mm if I clamp the keel straight during planking I will be able to fix this.

Next part I'll go over how I did the LEDs
 
Hello Tony, It looks like you must be or have been a machinist judging by all the interesting metal blocks and your tool chest. I shall enjoy watching the precision you use in building your ship.
 
I look forward to following your build. I am currently just starting my first layer of planking, so somewhat behind your build.
 
Nice to see another BP build. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to following your journey. Happy modeling.
 
Hello Tony, It looks like you must be or have been a machinist judging by all the interesting metal blocks and your tool chest. I shall enjoy watching the precision you use in building your ship.
Your right I have been in the manufacturing industry as a toolmaker and production technician, my last job was with Boeing Australia making parts for the FA18 and 787. After working with titanium and carbon fibre wood is really nice.
 
G'day installing the LEDs gave me a few headaches first I was not sure if I would fit them but it would be a good learning experience as I have never used them before. I ordered100 5mm yellow flickering LEDs from eBay but with the lock down delivery took over 3 weeks which slowed down the build.

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I made a test rig to run 17 LEDs on a USB, I chose USB because there's always a power supply or power pack around I'll have no trouble lighting this BP up. The wire from a Cat5 cable was used for the LEDs


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I soon realised I should have planned out the LED locations and wiring before glueing the bulkheads that way drilling the holes for the wires would be easy I also had to cut away some of the wood under the grates.

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I made a box to go under the grates with the LED on one side and reflective material to bounce the light up on the other side.


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For the lamps I drilled 3 2.5mm holes in part 17 if I hadn't glued it on slots may have been better, I also used the wire that came with the kit for these.


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6 LEDs have been used for the cabin, as it not fitted to the ship and there is a lot more work to do on it the LEDs can be easily removed.


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As I didn't want wires coming out of the hull I made two copper contacts on the bottom of the keel to power the LEDs.


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Ready for the next part
 
While I was waiting for the LEDs to arrive I started to plank the deck and some other small items. Only the main deck was glued in place at this time. I started from the centre working out on a 4 plank shift. As some of the bulkheads had to be cut down to deck level only the centre half of the deck can be done now. Each decking plank was cut to a length of 82mm the last piece was left long incase l needed some longer planks.


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The planks where stacked up and clamped to the bench where I ran a Sharpie across the edge. Some of the planks edges marked more than others but overall I was happy with the results.


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The front of the cabin was assembled and clear plastic placed behind the windows, this has to be installed before the top deck.


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Before removing the these parts I painted the gun supports black.

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A piece of 12mm Perspex was used to assemble them, I chose Perspex because the glue does not stick to it. Only one has to be glued onto the aft port of part 23 before it's assembled. I found some of the gun ports where close to the frames so it was better to glue them on after the bulwarks where in place.


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After the decks are fitted the bulwarks can be done. Check the alignment with the fore and aft frames. It is very important that part 26 only contacts half of frame 5.


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With the bulwarks in place the frames can be cut down and the decking finished. The walnut planks splintered very easily great care had to be taken while trimming around the openings.


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The insides of the bulwarks are now planked , at this stage I gave the decks a couple of coats of polyurethane to protect it during the rest of the build.
 
Wow Tony, the deck looks fantastic! I was curios at how far the sharpie ink would stain onto the face of the decking but it sure looks ok. I'm going to run a sample on some Tanganyika decking for my next build and if no bleeding onto the face of the strips occurs then I've got my new procedure!
 
Wow Tony, the deck looks fantastic! I was curios at how far the sharpie ink would stain onto the face of the decking but it sure looks ok. I'm going to run a sample on some Tanganyika decking for my next build and if no bleeding onto the face of the strips occurs then I've got my new procedure!
Hi Daniel I found some woods absorb the ink more than others clamping the plank with firm hand pressure helps reduce the bleeding and makes the job a lot quicker. If the lines are to thick then try a thin coat of varnish on the planks first, this works well for the ends which adsorb the most also try putting the Sharpie on one end only. I liked the random thickness of the lines but it suits some models more than others lett me know how it works for you Tony
 
With the bulwarks in place and the decking finished I still had to install the gun supports on the bulwarks before I start the planking. This will be the third ship I have done although the last one was about 25 years ago.

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These are the first planks installed I found the wood provided was very easy to work with although it's length was shorter than the hull witch ment it needed joining. An old thermos flask was used to soak the strips in hot water then clamped to anything I could find that was the right diameter. After a few hours they were ready to use.

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This is a simple tool I made to help taper the planks. They are clamped in place while being cut, trying to use a rule didn't work for me.
I found it was difficult to get a nice run with the planks. Lots of stealer planks where needed. I tried measuring the bulkheads to work out the taper but the planks would not lay flat or straight on the forward part. The problem seemed to be the big change in profile on the first three bulkheads. In the end I went with a pattern where the planks lay flat on the bulkhead without twisting, maybe if the planks where a lot shorter it would have helped.

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Planking completed the planks where installed from the top and bottom meeting in the middle. The strips are laser cut and have black edges which look like gaps

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Sanding filling and more sanding first Planking completed.
 
Great job Tony. I really like your skew plank cutting jig, going to have to make one myself. If you want to see a really interesting second planking technique check out @dockattner Paul's Vasa-1:65 DeAgostini build log. Begin with his post #289.
 
Looking good @Tony H .... you are making great progress in your build. Continuing to follow with great interest.
 
Great job Tony. I really like your skew plank cutting jig, going to have to make one myself. If you want to see a really interesting second planking technique check out @dockattner Paul's Vasa-1:65 DeAgostini build log. Begin with his post #289.
Thanks Daniel that's an amazing log, I need to follow it. As I have already completed the second planking I will save it for my next model, after the next couple of entries my log should be up to my build.
 
Time to begin the second planking.

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Started of with the transom planked up to where the cabin would go.

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First problem was where to start the planking from, I decided to to run them parallel to the lower gun ports. I made a pencil holder to draw a line where I wanted the planking to start from.

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I was quite happy with the way the rear of the ship turned out but maybe 70% with the front. The planks layed from the keel up followed the shape much better than the top down but don't really like the pattern of the planks at the front.

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Before completing the rest of the planks I wanted to fit the cabin and plank around it. The cabin looked difficult to do as everything is on an angle and if it's not assembled correctly it won't fit on the transom. The cabin base and ceiling was test fitted to see where to start. The ceiling B1 looked ok for fit and position but the floor B2 needed a lot of material removed from the sides. As I removed material from B2 it moved lower on the transom, I kept sanding until the sides B3 & 4 fitted nicely. The sides B3&4 where then glued in place while the assembly was in position on the hull. Three pieces of Paulownia have been glued to the hull (see photo) to temporarily hold the cabin in position as the other parts are fitted.End pieces (window shutters) B7 needed all four sides angled to fit correctly these where also glued while in position on the transom.


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I made the roof from three pieces of the 12mm square wood provided. First I needed to remove some wood to clear the LEDs, I used a milling cutter in a drill press and two pieces of wood for clamps. I set the depth stop on the drill, cuts where made in a downward direction then the wood was moved along a bit and another cut taken. Great care must be taken if using this method keep fingers away from the cutter.


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The sides where fitted to the hull first, as they were to small on one side I added two pieces of Paulownia strip. When these fitted nicely I made a piece to go in the middle which was then glued to the other two pieces only. As I wanted to be able to take the roof off to access the LEDs I used six 1.5mm wooden dowles to locate it. Lastly I did the radius on the top using a gauge to check the profile.

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C1-4 was a bit fiddly to get right when finished it was fixed to the cabin floor.


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LEDs have been fitted and the roof glued in place. Windows are installed and the cabin is ready to install. The rear window B5 was placed in water for a couple of hours and bent to suit the rear of the cabin it will be installed after the LEDs have been connected


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Cabin has been installed and now I can complete the second planking.
 
Can anyone help me I've been making up some of the small parts for the deck and found the ships bell looks to big.

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I think I might have the part from the larger scale model, can anyone who has built either one check the size for me I have tried looking at photos but it's not clear. I can modify the part or message Max at ZHL if it's wrong. Thanks
 
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