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[jpdenver]

Now you know why I was "xxxxx" off at myself. 

So after sanding it down, I decided that I would like to apply a second coat,plus I figured out that I forgot to glass the transom. 

 I also had a "penetrating glimpse into the obvious"
 - you can not just put on a coat and walk away.
- you have to keep working the epoxy, gently brushing to smooth it out and keep it from forming a drip. 

So I did it again,  this time I stayed around for a 1/2 an hour until things started to cure and thicken. 
I also only did half of it and tried to keep the surface semi-horizontal so as to minimize the effect of gravity.

[JimG]

A simple tip for the next time you need to epoxy the hull. Use less epoxy , you only need to use enough epoxy to wet the cloth. Brush on the epoxy until the cloth goes from white to translucent, if there are any white patches left then spread the epoxy out to cover these. If it looks like there is enough epoxy to run then you can remove the excess using a toilet roll, roll it over the hull and the excess will be absorbed, the epoxy soaked paper can be unrolled leaving the unused dry paper on the roll. (Make sure you roll it the right way so the paper doesn't unroll onto the hull.) You are not trying to fill the weave of the cloth with the first coat and the weave should be visible when the epoxy hardens, the first coat is to stick the cloth to the hull and seal the wood. Then give it a quick sanding and add a second light coat, again not enough to run. This should then be rubbed down and if you are going to paint the hull use a filler primer first to allow you to sand to a smooth finish.
Jim

[jpdenver]

Jim, 

Thanks for the tips.  It may take a few tries, but I eventually catch on to a new technique. 

I applied the second coat to the other side of the hull, and it went much better. 
Very smooth, ready for primer and painting. 

To all my followers -

In the manual, the instructions take a side trip to work on the various pieces of deck furniture
and the various control panels, then moving on to the cabin/wheelhouse. 

So since I am following the manual in order, that is the path I will take. 

More to come - Christmas is coming - the goose is getting fat,  and I need to help finish the wrapping. 

Happy Holidays to all, 
see you on Boxing Day! 

Warm Regards from Frigid Colorado,
Jim Pope 
JPDenver 
Denver, CO  USA.

[jpdenver]

SO -

On to the next step.  Or actually a split in my focus. 
While I sand and smooth and get the painting ready on the hull, 
I am also going to start assembly of the various upper on-deck items 
as well as the wheel-house and rear deck structures. 

These are assembled in parts and then brought together. 

First are the fore-deck storage boxes.   
These can either be assembled"closed"  or hinges can be added to make them "open-able" 
I also need to establish a finish application routine to follow on all the
pieces and woodwork.  The wood in the kit is Sapele, which is a type of African
hardwood. 

A Woodworker's Guide says:
"Gorgeous mahogany look-alike with a slightly finer texture than Honduras Mahogany, 
and a typically interlocked grain. 
Sapele is also a lustrous wood that works fairly well in all operations -
planing, sawing, routing, sanding, etc." 
I have not worked with it before now.I did some sample finishes, 
and decided on the following technique: 

• 1. Light sand to remove edges where needed. 
  
• 2. If the dark "laser-burn" is not wanted,  sand to remove it. 
• 3. Assemble and confirm fits. 
• 4. Either glue with CA or Finish pieces and then glue. 
•    - If very thin pieces getting laminated I will glue first to avoid warpage. 
• 5. Use a water-based Poly as a "sanding sealer"  - 1 coat. 
• 6. Glue all pieces if not already done 
  
• 7. Use my favorite "India Spar Varnish"  -  a true varnish.  For 1 topcoat. 
• 8. Let sit 24 hours. 
• 9. Apply any hardware. 
• 10.  Add 2-3 topcoats of varnish.  Waiting between coats, buff with 1000 scotch-cloth. between coats. 
• Or something like that. 

 
Who the heck knows, I am making this up as I go.(as usual). 
  More to come,  I am going to re-read the manual and Dave Metcalf's construction article  to compare sequences. 
Regards,  Jim

[mike_victoriabc]

Starting to take shape!


Looks like an interesting build. A friend up island is working on his 52 inch model
but I have seen any recent photos.


Out of interest - what is the fiberglass hull for - looks like a tug hull?


All the Best in the New Year!

[jpdenver]

Thanks,
But I am not sure what hull you are referring to?
This hull is all POF followed by a fiberglass coat inside and out.
Jim

[mike_victoriabc]

Dec 23rd post - img 3374 - a small grey hull there beside your new one under construction.

[jpdenver]

Out of interest - what is the fiberglass hull for - looks like a tug hull?
 

If you mean this:
Then it is actually a stack of plastic trays I use to hold sub assemblies.

[jpdenver]

I started with the table for the rear deck:
before any finishes applied.

[mike_victoriabc]

Think I need to clean my glasses!
Looked like a hull at first!


Nice work on the table though!

[jpdenver]

Here is the table with a couple of coats and the fore-deck storage boxes. 

[jpdenver]

Got another set of boxes/benches done - this time the set that is for the table on the rear deck. 

[jpdenver]

Tuesday - Worked on the Control Panels and interior furniture.

[jpdenver]

The maker of this kit did a very nice job of marking the outlines of features by turning down the   
laser intensity and using it to draw on the surface. 

The next parts will be the exterior "fly-bridge" and wheel.
Speaking of wheels,  I really hated the white plastic 3d printed ones they provided.So I took some liberty and found a pair of wheel kits in my junk box.
They are only a couple of MM larger, and made of wood.  I stained them and added some   
brass tacks for decoration.  I know that the real wheels have more ornate detail,  but you 
work with what you have. 

Thanks for reading,
Jim Pope   
JPDenver 
Denver, CO USA


 

[jpdenver]

And moving on to the Main Control Console in the cabin.

[Martin (Admin)]

 
                 

[jpdenver]

Thanks Martin.
Here are the pics of the assembly of the Skylight and Access Hatch.
The Hatch is the first piece to get planks.  The kit calls for the use of walnut veneer on edge as
the caulking between planks. 

Easy to do on the small portion. Interesting.  Going to be a different story when I get to the full deck.
More to come. 
Nice to have a shop in the basement rather than a shed like many of my counterparts in the UK. 

Regards,

Happy New Year. 

Jim

[jpdenver]

So -  a review of the build so far. 

1. The kit (chinese-ebay)  is very well engineered, but the build instructions suffer from 
   the need for translation of the translation.  The laser cutting is spot-on. 

2. The kit did not include any plans, so the set available by Davis Metcalf are invaluable. 

3.  The Model-Boats series of articles give a great bit of additional information and observations.

I find myself going back and reading and re-reading the article for details, then checking the manual. 
At the beginning there is a good series of explanations and pictures.  However near the end of the manual 
it is almost like the author got tired of writing and so there are a number of procedures skipped.  Like an explanation
of how they intended you to insert the windows. 

So while you have a all the pieces nicely precut -  you still have to find them on the sheets, and figure out exactly how they are meant
to be combined. 

I was a little concerned that this build would be very simplistic as a most of the pieces are pre-cut. 
However, since the pieces are all there, I can concentrate on the elegance of the assembly rather than the
process of cutting the parts out of sheets of ply and veneer. 

The only fail so far is that some of the pieces are too thin and break when seperated from the sheets. 
But things come back together as you need to laminate multiple layers which firms things up.
The other thing I have noticed is that I have some of the metal bits wrong.  The photo-etch is all brass, 
but some of the fixtures are supposed to be chrome.  It was not until I had built all the control panels
that I figured that out.  so - I am just going to try and determine the correct finish as we go. 

Thanks for reading, 

Jim




 

[SailorGreg]

Lovely job Jim.  I think this will be a very impressive model.  I can still remember reading the original Model Boats articles way back in a previous century, and thinking how lovely it would be to build and own that model.  At the time it was a little beyond anything I had built (mainly plastic kits then) but perhaps I need to revisit Bluebird now I have a few more projects under my belt.  Thanks for posting your build here.


Greg

[jpdenver]

Thanks Greg.
I discovered this model pretty much by accident.  And there was an instant attraction. 
I find in the world of model making that I prefer the "assembly" process in stead of a "fabrication" process.
Except when it comes to the power plant and electronics. (remember I started as a "steam guy")

The kit relieves me of a lot of the "figure out the dimensions" part of building.
 But I do find I spend a fair bit of time saying "where the heck is THAT part".

From what I can figure out, the manufacturer first designed this kit as a 1:12. 
Then later re-scaled it to 1:18.  I have not been able to find it still at the 1:12 scale, 
but who can figure out the Chinese market?  The manual and parts layout sheets were for
the 1:12 version, and when they produced the 1:18 version, the parts sheets got re-arranged to
 accommodate the changes, and you get to figure it all out.   

Unlike the major manufacturers, this kit appears to be in limited edition,  last night I only saw 
that there were 2 left available.

So -  Still more to come - starting to assemble the main wheel-house.

Still a happy New Year.
Regards to all,
Jim



 

 

[jpdenver]

The Wheel House - 

Starts by laminating frame details onto the walls, 
the window frames include a small extra piece of frame to support the "glass".

The kit builder also used the laser to mark where certain features go and also to
give you a hint as to bevels for when yu put things together. 

However, as I said before - not a lot of explanation, so I spent a lot of time fitting
prior to glue.  Even then I am not sure yet if I am getting it right. 

After laminating each wall, the pieces got a base coat of water-based polyurethane  as a "sanding sealer" 
followed by multiple coats of Spar Varnish. 

Then I fitted the windows getting them ready after the next coat.

[jpdenver]

The final individual deck pieces are the steps -
2 pairs  -  1 pair going to the bow and 1 to the stern.

also built the sliding panel for the roof of the wheel house. 

Then I fitted the window panes to the various panels,
but decided to wait until I finish the coats of varnish. 
The panes are nice and thick, and cut very close to size.only needed a little shaving from a side in able to fit.

[jpdenver]

Now for the wheel-house.
First the deck.
The sub deck has pre-scored to mark the position of the planks.The kit includes planking - also precut.  Assembly process calls for the use
of walnut veneer as caulking.   

All of my models have a specific piece of inlay as a kind of "signature". 
The checkerboard strip somewhere on the deck. 

I decided to put it on the floor of the wheelhouse. 

While applying the planks, I notices that the deck had developed a slight warp. 
To combat this I put two beams under the floor to pull it back flat. 

Then I applied the sealer and a couple coats of varnish. 

[jpdenver]

The wheel house fit together rather well. 

The side walls have a sliding door.  The kit used rather flimsy
pieces for the slots so I substituted some small brass "U" channel.
Then I adopted the same strategy for the "moon roof". 

But -   I found that the walls ended up being a larger in circumference by about 1/32nd of an inch on all sides. 
but that was enough to throw off the roof.  So so I put in an insert in the roof. 

Some Pics: 

[jpdenver]

and a few more.