DocRob

One milestone done, with finishing the first planking. Planking all the way down from the deck line to the keel, I stopped some planks from the keel and applied the keel plank as straight as possible to the keel position. In the firs pic you can see, that I used some plank pieces as spacer, to get as close to only inserting one last plank, to close the hull entirely. After inserting some very fine strips of plank residue, to fill the last remaining gaps, I prepared the keel planks to accept the keel, which is only loosely assembled on the following pics. After an overnight curing period, next up will be sanding the hull smooth and add some filler where needed, along with trimming the planks in the stern area. In case you wonder about the strange looking gray tape on the bowsprit, this is only to protect the part during the planking phase. Cheers Rob

Your Kingfisher looks extremely good, love the painting and weathering. I wanted this kit so often, but failed to grab one, but one day... I have only these little fellas in my stash, which are a part of Eduards recent USS Arizona boxing in 1/350. 3D printing is clearly the new wow. If they turn out a tenth as good as yours, I will be satisfied . Cheers Rob

Amazing detail with these printed parts. Your great painting reveals the quality of those parts. This pit is truly a kit in the kit and let me think again about getting the nose section without the redundant accessories . Cheers Rob

Almost there with the first planking, at least on one side. For the last rows, I inserted some stealers to adapt to the geometry. With only some planks to apply, I prepared the plank nearest to the keel, as I want that to be a full plank. I then added a second one upwards and have to close the remaining opening with tailored pieces of plank. It somehow looks a bit crude under my inquisitional lighting, but is smoother to the real eye, luckily, but I have to do a lot better with second planking. Cheers Rob

I hear you about the distractions, quite a few tempting projects. I will not start to count down mine, because I will abandon the DoK build only by studying the list . I keep it poco a poco, step by step, like the Spanish here say. I still work on the first planking, but I can see the end now. Some pics will follow later. Cheers Rob

Indeed Peter, it's like a guide book to me with the right chapter always opening at the right time. There is so much to learn about wooden ship modeling and it's best to learn from the aces. Cheers Rob

Nice little Albie Gaz, but c'mon, no rigging . I can only bow my head to modelers, who are able to rig their 72 scale planes. I only built the Fokker D.VIII from Arma hobby in this scale and there are only a few rigging lines with this. Your Albatros looks great though and you have to look twice to realize the scale. Cheers Rob

I feel with you Tim, having lots of different hobbies is a prob for me too. In the moment I feel perfectly comfortable with building the DoK, which is so positively different from plastic modelling. I will stay with polystyrene for sure, but I always loved working with different materials, be it wood or metal and a wooden ship to me is something special. Not utterly sorry about stirring up your emotions, about building a wooden ship . Do yourself a favor and get a good kit, which helps immensely and start a WIP, if only to receive as many golden tips, as I got here . Cheers Rob

You are absolutely right Mike, painting the lower hull makes the task much easier. The upper planks are relatively easy to lay down and the pear wood seems to be a fine and forgiving material. This will be assisted by having a fully sanded and filled hull as a base and not only spars to apply the planks on. Somewhere I have seen somebody using plastic headed thumbtacks for second planking, using the pin to push the plank up and the head to get a good bond on the first planking. I will try to lay the planks nicely in the underwater area too, as to learn something for future projects. I could not force myself into thinking about partial cut planks now, it feels somehow, that fitting the pars of the plank smoothly would not be too easy, but you seem to have mastered that perfectly. I beveled some planks,, but only one sided this time. For the second planking, I'd like to bevel both sides of the plank to achieve an even smoother result. Some hours ago, I claimed, I will use inserts (stealers) only if it couldn't be prevented. With my good side of the hull, I experimented with a two part filler made from scrap plank and I think at least in this area it makes life much easier for the following planks to lay. The inserts are only pinned now as is the last plank, which was soaked in water and now needs to dry. On the bad side, I pinned the next two planks, which were also soaked in warm water for an hour. I think I will add an insert here too. Cheers Rob

Peter, I can't express, how grateful I am for the help and knowledge shared by Mike. I learn a lot with every post and I couldn't have hoped for more support. Cheers Rob

I might try that hairdryer method with the more warped planks, which are now to prepare. 'Unfortunately' the planks are completely perfect with Chris kits, no bends no nothing to take advantage off . As impressive, as I find your planking on the shown hulls, this is not for me, as I fight the material enough the conventional way. But it's good to see, how it could be done. I like to be prepared in case of... In my case, the first planking will be only the invisible base layer and I plan to paint the hull under the waterline with white color. I will pre select the second planks for consistent color and texture, using the not so perfect ones under water. Cheers Rob

I can't thank you enough for your extremely valuable input into this build. It's more than I ever hoped for, while starting this WIP. It's a new experience, like guided modelling . The best about it, the solutions you present are exactly in the timeframe, when I build the section, perfect for me. I also cannot understand, how people can get a decent job out of single planking. There are so many things to do at the same time. I try to use the first planking as a training for the second decorative planking. When I look for the differences between the better side of planking on my DoK, one obvious difference is the width of the planking in the bow area. All the planks are narrowed by cutting off a wedge of material from between the third and fourth spar forward. The good side is a bit more regular in width, a thing, I will keep in mind for second planking. For a better understanding of the geometry of the hull, I measured the distance from the keel to deck level on each spar with a piece of thread. The results show, that for an evenly planking, I need to narrow the planks on the bow to half their full width and approximately to two thirds in the stern area. With planking further down to the keel, I found the geometry from the V-shaped bow to the barrel shaped midship harder to maintain and therefore soaked the prepared planks in hot water and pin them on for drying, before I glue them to the spars.. The hull of your Rennomee seems to be nearly watertight planked, very beautiful work you made there. I try to get away with as few stealers and filling planks as possible for this build, lets see, how this works out. Cheers Rob

Sorry Gaz, I put it the wrong way, I meant the indentions and irregulations in the plastic, not your nice woodpainting. Cheers Rob

Hopefully the decals are still usable on your Ferrari Peter. I see, that there are substitutes available from Tabu, just in case of. My Brabham kit is the 2021 reissue with Cartograph decals, luckily, PE-parts and aluminum cylinder funnels. Tamiya announced to re-release their Renault RE-20 this year and I'm not sure, if I will buy one. I'm not a big friend of those turbo charged monsters of the time. Tiny engines, blown up by turbo power infinitely. I have not the biggest knowledge about the Ferrari, but I think the spoiler, rims and nose wings should be polished aluminum instead of chrome as provided in the kit. Cheers Rob

I pull out my popcorn Peter, when you start with the Ferrari. One of my next builds will be Tamiya's 1/12 Brabham BT44B, so I'm naturally interested how these big kits go together. Good look with the renovation work, it can be a pain, but this will be forgotten in a while, when you enjoy your 'new' home. Cheers Rob

I don't know about the shapes Gaz, looks Albatros to me. What I do like, is the slightly visible wooden structure of the fuselage. Have you done this or is this the kit plastic? Cheers Rob

Thanks Mike, I will plank from the bulwark down, but the last plank on the keel will be installed before, I finish planking down. You are absolutely right, the keel plank should be as easy to apply as possible, given all the geometrical issues in this area. I have to admit, that I fear second planking a bit, as I find it not easy, to get the planks aligned well. Most build logs of DoK mention problems in the stern area, but my problem zone is between the second and fourth spar on the bow side. I can't bend the planks enough, to get them glued perfectly to the spars. There's some torsion there and I have to address this for the second planking. The bow side has a perfect klinker planking, like a Viking boat should have, not good. The planking on the lright side was done today and was worse than the left side, although I tried to improve different things. I can definitely see, why filler blocks are not the worst to have, as it is very difficult to pin the planks to align onto the narrow spars. I may use the dampen - preform - dry - method you mentioned for second planking. The seven planks on the left side took less space on the bow, than their right counterparts. No problem while first planking, but I have to measure more exact for second planking. The often dreaded stern area was easier with a bit of beveling and will be smooth after sanding. Cheers Rob

I seem only to be able to add three planks per session. I made the first three on the other side and will continue in the afternoon. It's a time consuming affair and test of patience. On the pic, I loosely attached some plank remains on the fattest part of the hull, only to check, where I land with a full plank in this area (of course, bended to shape). Seeing the result, I will continue full planking down to the keel, with tapering and beveling the planks near the bow and stern area. Some builders do it this way, others applied a neutral plank somewhere in the middle and fitted in the rest of the planks. Previewing the layout, I chose not to go this route. I will try to achieve a relatively homogenous planking with filler planks only if absolutely needed, because i think the planking layout looks more even and nicer than. This is especially important for the second planking and is done on the first for training. Cheers Rob

This was the seat comparison, I made at the time. Left: AMK Mig-31 kit, Right: Eduard Brassin from SU-27-UB - both 48 scale This was my solution, Aires bang seats with pilots, as it also solved the prob of the seat belts. You sometimes have to wonder about the tolerances in measurement in 48 scale. Cheers Rob

Until there is a fleet, I will rest in peace, I guess . Cheers Rob

Today arrived the new Eduard limited edition of the USS Arizona in 1/350. The plastic is from Hobby Boss and consists from astonishingly few parts. The reception of the original kit was mixed, but Eduard being Eduard and the edition being limited, addressed most of the shortcomings. There are five sheets of PE, 3D-printed parts, even two very finely printed KIngfishers and Master metal barrels. I ordered a wooden deck from Australia, because I couldn't find one in Europe. Next will be a test of patience and figure painting skills, with this figure from the Spanish company Rage, were I couldn't resist. Two figures from Bodi were also in the package, a German driver for my RSO and the absolutely weird looking British Husar, who will accompany my LRDG Jeep along some more British desert figures. Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike and in addition, if it gets messy with CA, it's much harder than the limewood and therefore difficult to sand. ...meanwhile, I planked down seven planks and thought this might be a good time to start the other side next. Each plank takes up to half an hour, with marking, tapering the bow, holding on for marking taper sections on the stern, tapering, beveling in case of tight radii and finally cut to length, but not before using my bending pliers to give some flex to the stern end of the plank, to bend it according to the desired shape. Than, gluing and pinning with the nails, followed by some glue brushed on from the inside as reinforcement. I try to practice the smooth laying down of the planks, which will help me with the second planking, which will be visible, at least above the waterline. For the second planking there are no nails or other helpers, so it better be good. Cheers Rob

The chassis and interior are looking very vivid and extremely nice. Bummer with the seat belts, but yours are looking fine as well. Generally, it seems to be a decent kit, but lacks some refinement in parts. I found that with all my Meng builds so far, their T-90 and the Komet, which is a bt astonishing, as they are no newcomer company anymore. I'm eager to see your bodywork on the Ford. It's so different from plane and armor builds and therefore a lot of fun for a change. Cheers Rob

I hesitated some time, but there is no way around, I have to plank the DoK. I started with the first plank down from the bulwark and tapered it on the bow side with a steel ruler and a sharp blade to half it's width. I used white glue to fix the plank to the spars and secured it with the supplied tiny brass nails. My self constructed pin pusher is of great help here. The lime wood is very flexible and relatively soft and good to work with. It doesn't splinter pushing the nails through, so no need for pre drilling. Tapering started neat the third spar. I added the next to planks and found it necessary to bevel the edges of the planks near the stern area, to get a good fit around the curved stern. After applying the third plank, I compare my results with the pictures in the manual and found, that these planks should have been tapered in the stern area as well. Unfortunately this is not mentioned in the text of the manual. The next planks will be tapered on both ends and I hope, I can get away with it. Mind, it's only a base layer, which will be filled and sanded to accept the second planking later. Today I will check the bond of the planks. I have chosen PVA glue over slow curing CA (which some builders recommend), because, it allows me to work on a slower pace and I don't like the general idea of using CA for wood very much. Cheers Rob

I mainly use an engineers approach, while planning and trying to find the best method to solve modelling problems. Practical, I'm more chaotic and to the end of a project, my bench is a mess. I clean it up between builds but rarely within. After I worked as an engineer, I had a few stints in big data analysis, including fuzzy logic. Some fuzziness must have been left over into me . Cheers Rob