DocRob

Wow Carl, I have missed some steps on your build and have to say, you are motoring through the build and it's fun to watch, how you address the mishaps of the kit. It might not be up to Tamiya's, but with HK's price tags, there should be a bit more refinement. The extra detailing on the nacelles and LG payed really off, as it looks way better now. It's always good to see, how some relatively simple tweaks can enhance the appearance of a model significantly. The IP looks wonderful, seems to be one of the better Eduard offerings. Cheers Rob

Cool, but no pre-shading . Cheers Rob

No bench time today, as it was sunny and nearly no wind, so I tested my new SUP, instead of building. I had lots of fun and a fully grown soreness now, but had some hard achieved progress yesterday with applying the bulwarks. What I expected to be relatively easy proved in fact difficult and I'm very thankful, that I did a second soaking and pre bending of the bulwarks before. I glued the plywood down, using clamps, pins and rubber bands, and worked spar by spar on the larboard side from the bow, to the third spar. I then did the same for the starboard side, as I found it easier to apply the very helpful rubber bands for both sides. I destroyed the tabs of the third spar and had to rebuild them, as this is the area with the tightest curvature. After this was done, I continued on the larboard side for the next spars. The last spars will be much easier, as there is nearly no bending required. I used that sequential attempt, to get a sure bond of the glue in the bow area with it's heavy bending, before I continued to work my way to the stern. The spar tabs above the deck and the beams will be removed later and I hope, the bulwark will stay in place after that. Cheers Rob

This is way different from plastic kits Peter and there is a different skillset and preparation necessary than with plastic kits and obviously lots of different tools involved as well. Were a good plastic kit is in it's final shape, you have to exactly do everything to gain to that final shape with a wooden hull. Preparation and experience is everything, like with all craftmanship and hobby and where I lack experience, I try to get hold of the experiences of others. Luckily there are some WIP's existing for the DoK and like Mike shows, a lot of will to share own experiences, which is priceless. Cheers Rob

There are no filler blocks used by Chris, but lots of beveled supports in the critical areas. I have to develop a feeling, if this is enough. On my first ever wooden hull for a sailboat, I used some filler blocks. There is no rabbet in the classical way on the keel area. You install the first planking and then the keel is added, like a retrospective rabbet. I think, it is helpful to start planking from the deck downwards, but at least install a full plank as the last plank, where it later meets the keel. You have a good point, about possibly thinning stern part of the keel. I will build up the rudder, which will help to estimate the correct thickness of the stern post. I haven't finally thought about mounting the model later. The idea, pre installing screws is now planted in my head, but initially, I planned to use the supplied acrylic stand. For the construction phase, a second one made from MDF is supplied, but until finalizing the first planking it's obviously not of great help. With DoK you have to remove the bulkward tabs along the deck line. The kind of saw you suggested looks great, but I will try chiseling first. I have a set of very sharp and good chisels for woodwork and my only fear is, that while removing the tabs there is a twang sound and the bulwark is gone, lets see. Thanks again, for being so helpful and I plead guilty for hoping exactly for this kind of generous help, while starting the WIP. Cheers Rob

Thank you very much Mike, for your great support on this project. I'm eager to learn more and more about wooden ship modelling and would consider myself as an educated beginner , with not a lot of experience, but the general knowledge how to work with different material like wood, metal, plastic or others. I take my time with the bulwarks as it is like you said of great importance to do it right as the first step of planking. The used 0,8 mm plywood is very durable and rigid and not so easy to bend. After the first process of soaking in hot water and leaving to dry overnight, clamped to a tin, I found it necessary to repeat the process with a tighter radius. Other than your description Chris recommends to let the soaked and clamped wood completely dry, before installing it, because of the expansion of the damp wood. I followed his advice. I used a lot of pins and rubber bands along with clamps to get the contour glued correctly working from spar to spar, starting at the most complicated part, the bow. In the case of DoK leveling the bulwarks is easy, as Chris designed the temporary framing exactly the same height over deck as the bulwarks has to be assembled. These planking tools look great, IU will consider buying some, while getting my experiences with planking ongoing. My pliers thin the plank considerably while bending, but I only plan to use them near the stern for tight radii, where I think thinning is playing into my cards. Cheers Rob

Nice detailing on the undercarriage Kai. The light makes it look very special. I used Bare Metal chrome foil sometimes on earlier builds and changed now to Molotow chrome markers. The one with a 2mm tip let the color flow onto the part and looks even more chrome than BMF and it's far easier to apply. Cheers Rob

I second Martin, your Avenger is beautiful. I always liked the tri tone camo best, it's such a great canvas for weathering, which you mastered perfectly. BTW, welcome to LSM Dirk and make yourself comfortable among us. Cheers Rob

Thank you Gaz, the plywood bulwark parts are very rigid and preforming helps a lot to get them to fit perfectly, specially in the curved bow area. The decorative parts and the pre fabricated inner and outer planking for the bulwarks will be treated this way too. Meanwhile I decided, to preform the bulwark parts again, after trying to align them yesterday. I smaller radius will help in the critical bow area. I marked the positions of the spars on the plywood and drilled 0,5mm holes, to pin the parts to the spars. On the pic, the bulwarks were warped for the first time, a bit more is convenient, as I want the best possible fit with these parts. I also found my old plank bending tool, which will be handy to contour the stern ends of the planks, which are tightly curved. Cheers Rob

I haven't heard recent recordings, but have seen them live on stage several times in Berlin some years ago. I liked the concerts and like their analogue approach while recording in studio with vintage equipment, which is audible in their vinyl's. Louis Armstrong, such a character, what a voice, love his recordings, which are so soulful and plain beautiful. All of that and Beethoven is music to be best digested on a good turntable or live on stage. Cheers Rob

Nice Phil, but these flaps can be fiddly and you should work out the sequence of bendings very thorough, guess how I know. Cheers Rob

Beethoven and Scotch seem to be not the best match for airbrush sessions. I like both, but not while working on kits. I like the paintjob minus the spill and I think Martin is right, with some very light sanding and respraying all will be fine. Have to go to prepare a Tuxedo and have some Kitty Daisy and Lewis on the turntable. Cheers Rob

Nice work on that beautifugly plane Phil, the design is - err - lets say unique , but I like the shape of the Lysander and the work yo put into yours. About the wings, I would say, a lot depends on the scheme you chose. The wing struts are maybe more in the way, than the wing itself. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Carl, it is indeed very different, from our usual stuff, but I like to widen my skills permanently and get easily bored with too much repetitions. In the moment the DoK build feels great and keeps my wandering mind occupied. Cheers Rob

Thank you for the tip Mike, the tool looks absolutely gorgeous, sturdy and good to handle. I will try to buy one or to grind a bit on an old pair of pliers. I suspect my self made tool is not overly robust with the protruding brass tube. You are absolutely right about re using the pins. My tool drives them in halfway, same like it looks with these pliers. Cheers Rob

Thank you Phil and I have my doubts about my ability in planking as well. You might not have done yourself a favor, building a tiny ship, which naturally leads to tiny radii and a lot of tapering and beveling of planks. I guess yours had only one planking, which is more difficult to get a decent result off, than double planking, where you can sand and fill the first layer and using very fine strips of noble wood for the decorative second planking. I hope, I can manage to find solutions for the difficult parts of the build, trying to plan ahead and peek a lot in other build descriptions, mainly in MSW. The very same . Cheers Rob

We had a very cold day yesterday and I decided, a bit of sanding would warm me up a bit and it did. Using 120 grit sanding paper on a block or simply by hand, depending on the curvature of the hull, I produced a lot of dust (using a mask), while shaping the spars and filler blocks smooth to accept the planking later. After three hours, I liked the result and checked with a plank, if all is fine. I will review the result today, as I think, these steps of preparation are critical for a good planking job. Planking starts with the upper bulwark pieces, which following the manual, I soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and then clamped it to a tin and leave the parts for drying for a whole day, lets see, if this will be sufficient, as there are many more parts, which will be pre bended this way. Cheers Rob

Like Kai, I like the setting of the figures close to the tank. I probably wouldn't let them march in the near exact row, they form on your base. The size of the base isn't too small, I may would make it even more crammed with an old boulder wall on the side, to have a condensed atmosphere. Large bases with unused space, often look uninteresting to my eye. Dio setting is not only about being overly realistic, it's also a snapshot, like a photographers view and a photographer wouldn't want a boring picture. Cheers Rob

This is what's in the Special Hobby boxing. Good enough for me, with maybe a bit of drilling out the barrels. Yours look big on the pic compared to the tools, but maybe this is only optical illusion. Cheers Rob

Ernie started a WIP on Speedy Peter. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, by the way, I discovered the wheel - err - bummer, it's existing since a long time, somebody told me . Actually time was the trigger, as I need the pin pusher soon and to get one to my remote part of the world would have taken three weeks, I guess. Generally, I like to work with metal and wood, specially very fine things. When I was in my late teens, I made a mini replica of my Camera (Minolta X-700) from brass. It was only three cm wide and consisted of ca. 20 parts. By the time, I started my apprenticeship as an engineer and had access to all the machinery needed and it was one fun project among others. Cheers Rob

I followed your progress with Speedy by the time Ernie and am really sorry to hear about your setback. Will it be possible to remove the boxwood planking or do you plan to sand it down or even do a third planking onto it. Thanks for the warning about the rudder, I will check that out on my DoK when planking. When I see all the angles and curved contours, specially in the stern area, I have some sweat pearls on my forehead. The manual though claims, that only one plank has to be tapered in the aft area, let's see... Cheers Rob

I didn't knew about the Mr. Kopecek' passing. Sad news, I bought the saw and mitre blocks a year ago and they became irreplaceable tools on my bench. Cheers Rob

I would go for brass barrels, as I like to burnish it. It looks way better than painted. Cheers Rob

I always have to be prepared, so I build my own pin pusher to easier set the tiny brass nails in place and be able to push them into the wood without the nail slipping away, while holding it with tweezers or pliers. I used Albion Alloys brass tube with a inner diameter of 1,1 mm and micro sawed it in my tiny mitre (which will come in handy for making my own turnbuckles). I inserted a 1 mm brass rod of appropriate length and glued it into the tube with CA. This assembly was then glued into a round wooden grip, et voila, pin pushing the easy way. Cheers Rob