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[David220747]

Notes of my build using the guidance of "Bluebird of Chelsea - my winter build

[David220747]

I have started building the 1:18 scale Bluebird of Chelsea, making heavy use of Jim Denver's posts. I cannot achieve such a detailed description, but instead will seek to add some footnotes to it. I have finished the keel and hull framework.  Although at times difficult to understand I am impressed by the manual - it is quite detailed and compares very favourably with the perfunctory manuals that came with two of my previous Dumas kits (the USS Crockett and the Dauntless), where again I drew heavily on good online forums and liked the resulting models very much.  The hull positioning plate on which the framework is built is very helpful.  Note that the piece "L13" should be positioned within the ribs before they are glued down.  To bevel the ribs, I used a spindle sander.  The 6x6mm paulownia "dragon ribs" would not easily bend to match the tight curve at the bow, so I used a steam wallpaper stripper to soften the wood and then bend it to shape.

[derekwarner]

G'day David...& welcome to MBM


Reading Jim Denvers previous work will assist greatly!


Keep us posted with images as the build progresses 


Derek

[David220747]

Photos of current planking progress.  So far all has been done with full length planks, bow to stern.  To complete it the planks now have to be cut to match the variable gaps, trickier!

[David220747]

Initial planking complete.  Main tools used are shown: clamps, spring clips, modellers' pins, weights and aliphatic resin.

[jpdenver]

JP Denver here -  I can only say how pleased I am that my work is appreciated.  It has been a while since I was active here and
I have been working on some larger land-based steam projects. 

I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.  I will say that I took a bit of "artistic license" on some of the
details on my build.    So I look forward to watching your builds. 

Regards to all.Jim Pope(JPDENVER)Denver, Colorado USA

[David220747]

Hi Jim


Thanks for the reply.  Stlll moving on.  Have sealed the inside and now face sanding, filling and glassing. The instructions suggest that the deck should be temporarily attached so that the whole thing can be sanded true, but this is intimidating.  I will look at the practicalities during the week.  Any advice?

[jpdenver]

David,
If I remember, I fitted the deck temporarily just to make sure it lined up.  Then I removed it. 
Then I planked it. I think you can see that I did not use the method of "caulking" they proposed which was to gluepieces vertically and then sand them down.
I bought the styrene caulk pieces and used those.  That caused the planking to be a bit wider, so then I cut the outside edges down to fit.
I also used a liberal amount of 1/16 x 1/16 inch mahogany as gunnels and trim all over the place. 
I waited to cut in the portholes and also chose not to use the ones provided I got more substantial metal pieces and fiddly bitsfrom RBModels.
In general I used a lot of brass trim from my own stock.  1/16" and 1/8" angle pieces.
Also note that the original Bluebird only had one rudder. 
Oh, and the motors provided with the kit were pretty bad, I replaced those.   

On the hull, I smeared wood filler all over it on the outside and then sanded and sanded and sanded.
When I was done I epoxied it, inside too.

Yours looks great so far.
Regards,
Jim

[jpdenver]

Another thought -
If you are going to light up the bow cabin, make sure you place the wires and lamps before youseal up the deck.  I also packed the bow with foam for buoyancy. I put white parchment behind the
portholes so you did not see the raw guts when the lights were on.
Later,Jim

[David220747]

Thanks Jim, it is over 35 degrees here this weekend, the opposite of your description, so I will not be doing much, except think through this step fairly carefully.  Like you I have rejected the accompanying motors and bought two MFA 385 low noise motors which I hope will work out ok. I think I will stick with two rudders although I am a bit dismayed about how they came in the kit, requiring the blades to be soldered to the shafts.


On the filler, I am currently planning to use car body filler which I have used on other boats but will make a final decision once I have worked out how much is needed after sanding.


I quite like the appearance/shape of the hull.


A long way to go ...............


David

[David220747]

Further limited progress.
I planned like Jim to buy a tender rather than construct it, but my favoured source, the marketplace on Shapeways, has gone, so I have built it from the kit. It is small and the structure is delicate causing lots of difficulties for older, bigger hands. The result is, shall we say, average so later I make look for a more presentable option.
I have pretty much completed sanding the hull, with one more careful check needed to make sure that all roughness has been ironed out.  According to the plan, I should now slash through the hull to make spaces for the two stabilizers ("anti-sway fins"). But I would hate to do that and looking over the hull and keel I am convinced it will be stable without these additions.  So, like Jim, I will exercise some licence and leave them out.  I hope this does not prove to be a mistake.
So next will be the fiberglass.
I have had some difficulties with the kit. I agree with Jim's overview that what is supplied is of really good quality and the whole thing is very impressive in its detail, although of course this does make quite high demands on the builder. The kit I received seemed to omit some bits and in communication with the sender I have received some replacements.  But I have also chosen to buy other materials locally (there is a superb model boat shop nearby called Float a Boat, don't know what I would do without it).  It is actually quite difficult to check whether the kit is complete when it is opened.  There is so much to check, and the really very comprehensive instructions and list of parts are not all that easy to understand - for example, the instructions cover both scales of kit and some parts have been re-engineered from the original version.