ZHL Royal Caroline

Hi Bob, like the others, I am following this as well.
Hi Donnie,

Bet you didn't expect this build log!ROTF It's coming along, slowly but surely. I've been planking the lower hull lately. Got both sides of the upper hull done from the wales up. Got to drill some holes in the deck sides though to pass the lighting wiring through before I close up the lower hull with planking. We'll post more photos in about a week.

Take care,

Bob
 
Just a quick update. I've completed the first layer of planking on the starboard side.

IMG_0787.jpg

If you look closely on the deck you will see some loose wires. Most of those wires have a very tiny LED on the end. There are two that have a small, square circuit board with a small LED in the center. The ones with the LED only on the end will become lights on the bulwarks of the two great cabin rooms. There will be three such lights in the aft room and two in the forward room. There are also 3 LED type lights that will come out the stern transom for the 3 lanterns on the transom. The two small circuit board lights will hang from the ceiling, one in each room in a larger type of light. There's also one of those lights in the main deck area that will go under the forecastle deck.

The lights are made by Woodland Scenics and are called Just Plug. They each have a small plug on the end of them. The resistor needed to operate the lights is part of the light itself covered by a piece of black shrink wrap. There's a master unit (box type) with four sockets for plugs. Each socket has a small knob that allows you to adjust the brightness of the LED's. You can only plug 4 lights into this main control box. However, instead of lights, you can plug a small sub-box into each of the 4 sockets and each of those sub-boxes can have 4 lights plugged into it. That's the route I took on my lighting which enables me to control 4 sets of lights for a total of 16 lights. However, I won't be using all 16 available sockets in the four sub-boxes.

I routed all of the wires to one of two locations at the bottom of two different bulkheads. One bulkhead is at the fore end of the hull and the other is at the aft end. At those two locations, the wires come out of the hull and down through a trough I carved out of the keel that will be covered over with the thin layer of laser cut parts designed to give the keel a more finished look. Those who are building the model will know what I'm talking about.

I plan to route the wires through hollowed areas in a cradle foot, one at each end. Then the wires will pass through a hole in the base and towards the front of the base where they will enter a box I plan to build that will house the control box with the four knobs to control the brightness of the lights. This entire setup is powered by an AC to DC converter type power supply which will be plugged into an outlet behind the table I'm setting the model on. I did a lot of research on lighting and this is the route I decided to take because it's modular and you can grow it easily. I also didn't want to fool with batteries hidden inside the model that had to be changed from time to time.

Here's a photo of the deck area showing all the LED's with wires coming out of the side of the bulwarks where they will be hidden inside the bulwarks.

IMG_0788.jpg

The last image shows how I finally figured out the carvings. The paper template was cut from two different sheets of plans and taped together.

IMG_0784.jpg

The carvings gave me a fit because of two reasons. First of all, the large side gallery window is actually larger than what is shown in this drawing. As you can see in the drawing, the bottom of the carving dips below the upper wale. In reality, it comes down to the second wale.

There are a lot of relationships between the carvings and other parts of the model. There are relationships to the wales in the case of the gallery windows carvings. There are relationships to the three windows in the great cabins and atrium between them. There is a relationship to the upper and lower mouldings above and below the carvings, When I started to lay the carvings out, I discovered an anomaly with the middle carving.There is a ribbon that flows up and down in the air beneath the middle window shown in the drawing above.

The problem for me was that that middle carving in my kit had additional parts to that ribbon and those parts interfered with the placement of that middle window. What I determined was that the carving itself had extra ribbons in it that should not have been there, and as a result, I could not get that carving to line up properly in relationship to the other carvings and to the middle window. Once I figured that out, I used my X-acto knife to cut the extra ribbons out completely which also required me to reshape the one remaining ribbon shown in the drawing.

After I made that adjustment, things began to come together. I needed to do this exercise because I needed to establish the top of the bulwarks, especially the added area where the two great cabins are. As you can see in this photo, I have trimmed the top of the bulwarks to match the top lines of the drawing except at the fore end which I will do when I add the second layer of planking and the final carvngs.

I say "final carvings" because what I also discovered is that the carvings have a lot of extra wood around their edges that I have to trim away very carefully. There's also the debate as to whether or not to trim away the clouds in the carvings as Maarten did and paint the clouds onto the blue background. Right now I'm leaning in the direction to leave the clouds in the carvings and paint them a light gray color.

I've also made the decision to paint my carvings gold with a heavy black wash over them to bring out the details in the carvings. I'm going for a more historically correct look because I believe that the real ship had the carvings gilded, not left natural, or they may have been painted in a fashion similar to the Wasa which we now know were painted instead of being gilded. In any event, I just like the look of the gold carvings which I saw in a POF version of the model scratch built in 1/2" scale so that's the route I'm going to take. I bought some special gold paint that is suppose to be more shiny than something like Testor's gold paint used by plastic model builders.

So I'm now planking the port side with the first layer of planking. That will take several more days to do. Then it's sand, sand, sand before applying a coat of Elmer's wood filler and sanding it out before moving on to the second layer of planking.

One other thing I plan to do is to make panels using 1/16" plywood as their base to attach the interior bulwark planking and trim work. That way I can just install the individual panels onto the 1/16" thick strips I applied to the outer bulwarks interior when I cut off the upper portions of the bulkheads. That will enable me to leave most of the space between the outer hull planking and inner bulwarks void for the wiring and lights. I know it probably all sounds a bit confusing right now but in due time, you'll all see how I handled these things. I've been planning this build for well over a year before I ever bought the model, researching and studying other build logs I've found across the internet.

Oh, and I'd also like to mention that I'm finished with the carpet drawings for the aft cabin. Now all I have to do is plank the sunburst pattern shown in the plans the same way I did the fore cabin deck.

Take care,

Bob
 
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Thanks Bob!! I really like the idea of interior lighting for a large model like this one. It is also nice to hear you discussing "relationships" between various parts and how they fit and look. I remember that being one of the important things you taught us back at Lauck Street Shipyard.
Thanks Mike. This model screams of relationships because the carvings don't have a lot of wiggle room given the size and number of them. I've found that you can't rely on measurements on this model because every sheet of plans seems to be slightly in scale or out of scale. No two seem to match up. The one with the carvings on it was matching the model but it didn't show the wales and the one that showed the wales was way under scale. So I always turn to relationships when it comes to such complications and complexities.

Take care,

Bob
 
Thanks Ted and Kurt. I'm moving forward at a pretty good pace right now. I've got the forward half of the port side planked now and started working on the aft lower half this morning. I should have both sides fully planked by the end of the day tomorrow. I'm anxious to start laying down the second layer of planking. We'll keep you posted.

Bob
 
Bet you didn't expect this build log!
It's coming along, slowly but surely. I've been planking the lower hull lately. Got both sides of the upper hull done from the wales up. Got to drill some holes in the deck sides though to pass the lighting wiring through before I close up the lower hull with planking. We'll post more photos in about a week.

Take care,

Bob


well i sure didn't :oops: i heard rumors your were pressured in not doing it by some wacked out group

glad to see the log here your work has always been very professional and very helpful for many model builders.
 
Bet you didn't expect this build log!
It's coming along, slowly but surely. I've been planking the lower hull lately. Got both sides of the upper hull done from the wales up. Got to drill some holes in the deck sides though to pass the lighting wiring through before I close up the lower hull with planking. We'll post more photos in about a week.

Take care,

Bob


well i sure didn't :oops: i heard rumors your were pressured in not doing it by some wacked out group

glad to see the log here your work has always been very professional and very helpful for many model builders.


Hi Dave,

I can understand where they're coming from but look, it's a hobby. It's no espionage. No one is going to tell me what I can and cannot build, period. I've built the Le Requin and the Mayflower and scratchbuilt the Dutch yacht POF using Chinese CNC milled carvings. Anybody who's looked at the RC on the ZHL website knows it's not a cheap kit. So if certain people don't like it that I'm building it, well they'll just need to get over it, or not, I really don't care. Last I heard, this is still America, land of the free and I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as the model ship police.

So, yes, I'm building the RC, I'm enjoying it, and certain people did not want me building or posting a build log on a Chinese kit. What are they going to do? Trash me in their forum as they have so many times in the past? Probably, but that's a double edge sword because it's called defamation of character and I've already discussed that with an attorney.

Almost finished with the first layer of planking. Still making plans on the second layer. I ordered some whitewash stain for the lower hull planking. I don't want to paint it white but I also don't want to just leave it in its natural wood color. So I'm going to do some experimenting with the whitewash stain to see if I like it.

Take care,

Bob
 
G'day Bob
Thanks Ted and Kurt. I'm moving forward at a pretty good pace right now. I've got the forward half of the port side planked now and started working on the aft lower half this morning. I should have both sides fully planked by the end of the day tomorrow. I'm anxious to start laying down the second layer of planking. We'll keep you posted.
This is interesting! I've been doing model ships for almost 40 years, and when I started out, I was told to do the first planking on both PS and SS (2 rows on port, 2 rows on starboard);at the same time to prevent it bending the keel.
I have never tried to do it on one side and then the other, but sometimes I wish I could.
Do you have any bending issues? With your wealth of knowledge and experience, I assume not.
Happymodeling
Greg
 
HI BOB, ENJOYING THIS LOG GREATLY AS ARE SO MANY OTHERS, I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE WHIT WASH STAIN HOW IT GOES ON DO YOU HAVE TO MIX IT OR IS A BOUGHT PRODUCT. GOD BLESS, STAY SAFE YOU AND YOURS DON

Hi Don,

I bought it on Amazon at White Wash Stain . I've never used it before so I'm not sure if it's going to give me the results I desire or not. I'll let you know though and post photos of it.

Take care,

Bob
 
G'day Bob
Thanks Ted and Kurt. I'm moving forward at a pretty good pace right now. I've got the forward half of the port side planked now and started working on the aft lower half this morning. I should have both sides fully planked by the end of the day tomorrow. I'm anxious to start laying down the second layer of planking. We'll keep you posted.
This is interesting! I've been doing model ships for almost 40 years, and when I started out, I was told to do the first planking on both PS and SS (2 rows on port, 2 rows on starboard);at the same time to prevent it bending the keel.
I have never tried to do it on one side and then the other, but sometimes I wish I could.
Do you have any bending issues? With your wealth of knowledge and experience, I assume not.
Happymodeling
Greg

Hi Greg,

That's an old wives tale as far as I'm concerned. I've been building model ships, both kits and scratch built, for 33 years now. My first kit was the small Mantua HMS Victory. I didn't even have internet service or know anything about the internet so I just started experimenting on my very first kit.

I've always planked one side first, then the other. It just makes sense to me. The first side you plank is kind of a test to better understand the shape of the hull. The second side lets you refine your planking layout and by then you should have a good feel for the shape of the hull and where you'll need to use stealers and joggle planks.

I've never had a keel warp on me using this method. Keel warpage isn't caused by how you plank the hull. It's caused by poor wood used to make the keel, poorly aligned bulkheads, and bulkheads that are too loose in the keel and not properly braced.

I should also add that I've never used any kind of heating tool to bend my planks. The first layer is soaked in water over night. I use a long tray generally used to wet wallpaper. You can find these online and they're about 24" long. I keep the planks in the water until the entire hull has been planked. I squeegee the water off by running the plank through my thumb and forefinger first, then wipe the plank off with a paper towel. This leaves the plank wet but not soaking wet.

Next, I determine if I need to taper the plank by holding it against the hull in the location I'm going to glue it. If it needs to be tapered, I mark where to start the taper with a pencil. For me, tapering is just a guestimate. I taper it with a #22 Xacto knife. Then I sand the tapered edge with my sanding block to smooth it out. I always taper the edge that will go against the previous plank I laid.

I coat the tapered edge with Zap a Gap super glue or Gorilla Thick Gel super glue. I've gotten so I like the Gorilla Gell better because it doesn't run. Then I put super glue on the bulkheads where the plank will be laid. The last step is to glue the plank in place. I try to keep the edge with the super glue on it pressed tightly against the previous plank and flush with it, but that's often not easy because (especially in this kit) you will find that not all planks are the exact same thickness in most kits.

I seldom have to use any kind of clamps using this method (which I've used for most of my model ship building career). When I do need a clamp, I usually use a small nail driven all the way in. After the planks have dried, I use my nippers to get under the nails and pry them up. You can usually pull them out with the nippers if you don't clamp them with the nippers too hard (which would result in cutting the nail in two).

That's about it. I don't really care if the hull planking looks bad because it's going to be sanded out and covered with Elmer's wood filler which is also sanded out once it dries. The purpose of the first layer is to get the hull covered and to learn the curvature of the hull. Once you know the curvature, the second layer will be much easier to layout and plank.

Stay tuned to see my second layer (white washed or not), but that's still a few weeks away.

Take care,

Bob
 
The white wash stain sounds interesting. I had been thinking about something like this but then I should also have to treat the stem, stern post and rudder with the same, so I decided not to do it.

Hi Maarten,

I know, that's what caught my attention. According to Minwax, it's not like paint. You can control just how transparent it is by the amount of time it's left on the wood and by how many coats you give it. Minwax makes a new kind that customers have complained about because it's more like a paint and dries too quickly. They say that by the time it's been applied, it's too dry to wipe off and it doesn't even look white after they do wipe it off. So stay clear of that Minwax stain.

I'm not even sure if my idea is going to work but the reviews of this particular Minwax stain were quite good. There were a few negative complaints but I take those with a grain of salt most times. I just don't want to paint the lower hull white because I like a natural finished hull, but I also want to give it an antiquish look and some resemblance of historical accuracy. So I'll see how this stuff works. It is suppose to be delivered tomorrow, 7/17/20.

Take care,

Bob
 
I'm also following this thread with interest.
In Denmark - also in other countries I assume - whitening, and not at least protection, of wood, e.g. floors, is often done with a strong alkali such as Calcium Hydroxide / Ca(OH)2 or Sodium Hydroxide / NaOH , sometimes mixed with Titanium dioxide / TiO2. I don't know if it could be used for ship models but maybe it could be worth trying in case the stain does not give you the desired result (to me it looks like it is a layer on the surface rather than something that penetrates).
 
I'm also following this thread with interest.
In Denmark - also in other countries I assume - whitening, and not at least protection, of wood, e.g. floors, is often done with a strong alkali such as Calcium Hydroxide / Ca(OH)2 or Sodium Hydroxide / NaOH , sometimes mixed with Titanium dioxide / TiO2. I don't know if it could be used for ship models but maybe it could be worth trying in case the stain does not give you the desired result (to me it looks like it is a layer on the surface rather than something that penetrates).

Sounds interesting Poul, although I'm not sure where to buy such chemicals here in the US. I'll keep it in mind. Minwax also makes what they call a pickling stain that is suppose to give an antiquish look but reviews I've read say that it doesn't look white, it looks more brown than white and that's not exactly what I'm going for. We'll see how this whitewash stain looks in a few weeks.

Take care,

Bob
 
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