Topic: Bluebird of Chelesa - My Winter Build (Read 20304 times)

jpdenver · « **on:** December 18, 2020, 05:42:20 pm »

Greetings again from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
Time for my Winter Build.

I chose to go back in time a bit and try my hand at The Bluebird of Chelsea.
This will be my 7th craft. and my second POF. I have spent much of the last
8 years in the Steam Forum, with various open launches.
This time is the first where I am going to try and keep things "historically accurate",
or close as possible, especially since the boat is still floating.

So for research I bought the book by Martin Summers, "Bluebird, a dream of a boat in six acts"
Then I searched on this site and found reference to a long series of articles in Model Boats. 1991-1992
and contacted Colin Bishop who was kind enough to send me the scans. (By the way, the series has been consolidated into a PDF if anyone is interested.)

This lead me to the plans that were available by David Metcalf, the author of the original article.

Finally - I found an actual kit out of China, at 1:18 on eBay. Since I had recently got a boost in my
"allowance", I decided to splurge on the kit and after almost a month of planning, now had what I felt
to be a good starting point.

Once I had the plans and the kit on hand, I needed to do a few things before I could start.

1. I had the plans re-scaled to 1:18.
2. I spent a week with Google Translator - translating the manual from Chinese to English.
3. Ordered in supplies for Glue, Epoxy, Glass Mesh, Sandpaper, etc.
4. Booked some vacation time with both my work boss and my home boss.

So - Here we go.

derekwarner · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2020, 07:42:06 pm »

An interesting project Jim......[880mm LOA?]....I can just see the Dogs & you lounging out on the aft Promenade Deck

Could be a distortion, but the aft set of portlights in the Chinese images do not appear in line with the fwd sets, whereas the Plans and photographs of the actual vessel confirm a straight line

Merry Christmas..... Derek

john44 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 18, 2020, 08:02:47 pm »

Hi jp, enjoy the build, I built mine from scratch from a 1/2” to the ft plan or 1/24th scale.
I really enjoyed the build and she sails like a dream.

John

Footski · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2020, 09:18:30 pm »

Looking forward to this. One of the boats I always wanted to build, but never got around to it....

jpdenver · « **Reply #4 on:** December 19, 2020, 02:36:22 am »

Thanks for the comments.
Derek - Using the drawing, if I make a line that bisects the forward portholes,
I find that the rear ones are actually about 1/8 of a diameter above the front ones.
Just enough of a difference to be noticeable.

Since most of the pics are at an angle, I think it is one cases where you think it should be even
and is just enough "off" to make you think.

Happy Holidays,
Jim

jpdenver · « **Reply #5 on:** December 19, 2020, 03:34:46 am »

I opened the box.

First impressions:

1. Lots of VERY thin sheets. Lots of intricate laser cuts.
2. The "fiddley bits" are either brass or 3D Printed.
3. More Photo-Etched parts than I have seen before.
Disappointments:
1. Would rather have cast parts in stead of 3D Printed. Given the topics on trying to create chrome on plastic.
2. No Drawings3. No Pics
However, since I had been in touch with the sellers in China, I had asked for some pics and drawings.
They had already sent me a PDF of the manual (in chinese) that I translated - one paragraph at a time.
I did this even before I ordered the kit.

There are ample pictures in it - that you will see soon -
But no drawings, which is why I bought the set of Dave Metcalfs drawings.

jpdenver · « **Reply #6 on:** December 19, 2020, 03:42:01 am »

More:

Martin (Admin) · « **Reply #7 on:** December 19, 2020, 07:33:52 am »

Footski · « **Reply #8 on:** December 19, 2020, 07:58:32 am »

That all looks very well put together and good quality parts too.

mike_victoriabc · « **Reply #9 on:** December 19, 2020, 04:11:17 pm »

There seems to be an interest in the Bluebird of Chelsea - fellow in Nanaimo has just started his build - we enlarged Dave Metcalf's plan to produce a 52 inch model and he's just at the frame stage.
There is another fellow in Europe producing a kit - Aquamarine RC Boats - on Facebook. One of our club members has built a couple of his other kits. You can see his builds on the Victoria Model Boats Facebook page.
I started a model about 10 years ago and hope to revive the build - got held up with other things.
Look forward to your build posts.

Daleb · « **Reply #10 on:** December 19, 2020, 06:25:46 pm »

She's a lovely looking boat and I'll be following your progress with interest,

keep the pics coming

Dale.

jpdenver · « **Reply #11 on:** December 20, 2020, 03:25:41 am »

This is where I got my kit:
https://ebay.us/hG4KV5

As I have said, the store was very easy to deal with.
But as usual the language difference was sometimes in the way.

After unpacking the kit I found that the thinner wood (Sapele) sheets were
very much prone to slight warping. So I had to be careful to keep thing flat and
under a little weight.

Even though I translated the manual, I did not really read it. So the first thing I did
was to sit down and re-read the book. Then the MB Article. and finally the manual.
What I found was that even though the manual was translated, the word choice was sometimes
cumbersome. For example - the word "Bond" was used in place of Glue.
Also the word Polish in place of Sand. And in places the grammar would make your elementary school teacher cringe!
But - it was mostly understandable when you referred to the pictures in the manual and studied the other resources.

The manual (60+ Pages) is broken down into sections. Hull, Deck Features, Cabin Features, Cabin, Aft Deck, ForeDeck,
And each section can be completed independently until you have to but things together.

The author of the manual takes directly to you and tells you a number of times to slow down and be careful. Kind of amusing.

I am going to start with the Hull.

jpdenver · « **Reply #12 on:** December 20, 2020, 03:39:04 am »

The Hull.
Start by attaching the guide plates to a board.
Then glue the frames to the plates (make sure things are square)
Assemble the keel. and mount it to the plates.

This gives you a firm framework to plank.

jpdenver · « **Reply #13 on:** December 20, 2020, 04:21:58 pm »

More work on the hull last night.
Started by fitting the ribs. BTW - The translator dubbed them "Dragon Ribs" in the manual.
Then comes the planks.

jpdenver · « **Reply #14 on:** December 20, 2020, 04:25:13 pm »

Came down this morning to find that my youngest (Greyhound Puppy)
had found a piece on the floor and . . .

jpdenver · « **Reply #15 on:** December 20, 2020, 10:11:14 pm »

Luckily - there were two of these pieces.
So a copy was made - and the perpetrator blocked from free access to the workshop.

Onward to the planking the hull.
More to come.

Jim

jpdenver · « **Reply #16 on:** December 21, 2020, 02:30:21 am »

Planking the hull.
I am a rank beginner at planking a hull. Decks I can handle, but hulls and I are strangers.
The Bluebird has a painted hull. So I guess that as long as I fill all my mistakes and sand a lot,
I will be able to cover up my amateur efforts.

The plans say to plank, fill, sand, and apply epoxy w/fiberglass mesh.

So first is the planking:

jpdenver · « **Reply #17 on:** December 21, 2020, 02:33:32 am »

And More planking:

Yeah, that's a blood splatter on the wood.

I made a sacrifice to the "Spirit of the Machine" (or is it a Water Sprite?).

I am finding the wood provided by the kit for planking to be pliable but also
rough and not coming out as smooth as I had hoped. So I guess I had better
stock up with sand paper.

Footski · « **Reply #18 on:** December 21, 2020, 07:49:22 am »

That planking looks very good to me. It is amazing how some sand paper and filler transform the roughness of the hull into a thing of beauty..

RST · « **Reply #19 on:** December 22, 2020, 01:59:28 am »

Hi. Very nice and I looked at that kit before but I thought it had a ready formed hull. You are building at a very impressive pace, might this by any chance be a retrospective build blog?

jpdenver · « **Reply #20 on:** December 22, 2020, 02:47:42 am »

RST -

I am about 1 week behind in my posting.
However, I did buy the kit back in September and spent the last two months
getting all the ducks lined up. Reading the book, ordering Dave Metcalf's drawings,
getting ESCs and related gear not in the kit.

We are "Stay at Home" these days so I can spend 6-8 hours a day in the shop.But basically this is all real-time.

I have more to post, but at this point I need to do some cleanup on the hull.
I sort of botched my first attempt at applying epoxy and glass without my usual tutor,
a fellow member of my club with a lot more experience at glassing a hull.

It is rather embarrassing to see the drips I discovered on the hull after it dried.
So I am sanding it down and will pick up the posting after I get it cleaned up.
I may post some of the "errors of my ways" when I have a final version to
meet with everyone's approvals.
Regards,
Jim

jpdenver · « **Reply #21 on:** December 22, 2020, 03:29:54 am »

OK, So my wife reminds me that one of the reasons I post here is to
let the good be seen with the bad (or goofed).

So here is the sequence that brings us up to date on the hull progress:
First was to cut the hull off the stand that was created by mounting
the frames to the board.

Then clean up the inside and add the additional support stringers for the deck.

A coat of epoxy on the inside of the hull.

And then work on the outside with wood-putty.
Sand and reapply and sand some more.
Thanks,

Jim

jpdenver · « **Reply #22 on:** December 22, 2020, 03:54:16 am »

I sanded, filled again, and sanded some more:Waiting a night between sessions.

Then I tried my hand at glassing.

canabus · « **Reply #23 on:** December 22, 2020, 09:40:51 am »

Hi Jim
The boat very good, nice work!!!

I have two goes of planking and with diagonal and straight sanding like they do cars.

You will get a good smooth hull.

I use a car filler/primer to find all the little lumps and dips.

The primer/filler will sand a lighter colour than the dips and the lumps will go back to the resin coat.

Canabus

jpdenver · « **Reply #24 on:** December 23, 2020, 02:21:28 am »

I spent today sanding the hull down to get rid of the drips.
You can see the shadows in the next pictures.

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Author Topic: Bluebird of Chelesa - My Winter Build (Read 20304 times)

RST