Member postings for John W E

hi there

yes, deck planking in general does run fore and aft on the majority of sailing craft etc., but , like everything else in this world - there are 1 or 2 exceptions. Funnily enough 2 exceptions that spring to mind are The Russian round warship and also I recall seeing a model - I believe it may have been in Newcastle upon Tyne museum of a turret ship which was built in Sunderland and I am sure if my memory serves me right - there was part of the deck planking that went across the ship between the holes in the model. To be 100% certain I will have to look to see if the model is still on display - I need to find some pics of the deck and hatches.

John

Edited By John W E on 23/07/2020 17:28:03

hi there

nice model Dave, well built. I think we need to buy somebody a book on nautical terms try flag locker. Personally, its a very nice model. I am surprised that SLEC has chosen this model to go into production, unless of course its just going to be a limited run. As we all know there are numerous kits out there with this model and I cannot see it making a great impact because it is such a select field. The one thing that has been done is there is a good flag ship model by Dave to promote it and if they have the right photographs on the advertising - it should do a lot to help sell this model. The only thing I can ask is, not having seen the internals, could this be converted into say twin or triple screw - as in the original? without too much butchering of the inside?

From my recollections, the colour green that Dave has is roughly about the right shade after me walking on a good few naval 'green' decks. or, should I say after the paint had been chipped off and you saw the original colour of the decks.

John

Hi Ray and Bob

comments much appreciated - up to now the build plan is for the hull to be single planked and then coated with Zpoxy resin - with aircraft grade woven roven - and then that being sanded smooth - to use plasticard to assimilate the hull plating. That is the plan in theory - time will tell. hahah

As a gentleman once said to me - the sides of the road are littered with great plans, which have never been followed through.

we will see

John

hi ya Ray

just been looking back through some old photographs on Mayhem to look for my original bottle of Aliphatic glue and I could only find one which shows me bottle on the shelf (that is dated 2011) but I have had it a bit longer than that and I built roughly about 8 or 9 model boats since then - so its a pretty good bit of value for money - when you think about it - considering the length of time it has lasted. I cannot think of how much I paid for it at the time and I hope this new bottle I have just opened today lasts me as long. Sadly I have just had the last few drops from the original one, have a look on me shelf at the back of the model and you will see the bottle there.

John

Hello Brian

The planks I am using are Obechi - 9 x 1 mm and I bought them from SLEC hobbies and up to now they have all been pretty straight grained and fairly easy to bend around the hull. Normally, if I have any stubborn planks which don't bend easily - I soak in hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. This makes the planks pretty pliable and non-argumentative about being bent into shape.

The really really stubborn ones, I will stick in boiling water - normally an old kettle. Be careful trying this, as steam burns don't half hurt and make the skin go funny,.

John

Hi all still planking the plank - just taking me time - I have 52 on one side and 40 on the other - God help us

John

hi there

I also built this model many moons ago. My version was I.C. powered by an Enya 19 glow. The problem with the Surfury model is that it was basically designed to go 'fast' in a straight line. It doesn't like cornering very well and anything below plaining speed - it is like a 'waddling duck' to say the least. I have plans to rebuild it some time in the future along with many other projects - but - I was thinking I may go for the brushless motors this time. What size, I am not sure yet. Also, I was going to go Lipo technology batteries - and this may be all new to yourself - but - if not - I would suggest this is the way you go for this type of hull.

If you are dead certain sticking with the original motor that you have - I would be inclined to go for NiCad technology 9.6 volt and something like 5000 mAh doubled up - giving you 10 amp for longer running time. Have a look on Component shops website under ACtion they can give you a good idea of what you require for speed controllers etc.

John

if Bob wanted too and used the propulsion similar to nozzles - I suppose he could use the same propulsion system as was used on the Virgin Atlantic boat. Horseshoe shaped rudders - which are wrapped around the props - and give you the best of both worlds.

Hi Chas

Somewhere on this forum - someone has already made Vic Smeed's Guardsman and the build is somewhere on this Forum. As far as I recall her built it as per plan = bread and butter balsa wood hull construction and so forth. I think that gentleman kept the prop shaft at an angle We will have to try and locate the thread and find that out.

Many moons ago I myself built the Guardsman - but - I built it plank on frame and I do know I had the prop shaft parallel to the keel. To be honest to you, I don't think its made any difference, as long as you keep the propshaft well lubricated so the water doesn't seep through the prop tube into the hull.

What method you use for sealing the prop shaft is up to yourself. It can cause a lengthy discussion that one can - nearly as bad as where do you fit a fuse.

Going back to my build though, I also altered the location of the door on the bridge. On the plan, the door is on the front of the bridge and I put the doors either side of the bridge.

Couple of pics of mine.

Hi there

The Aliphatic glue that I am using comes from a Company called M.D. Products and I have been trying to find a link for it - but - the only place I can find this product at the moment is on Ebay - I have the Deluxe version of this, which I will be using very shortly. The original bottle has about ran out after me using it for about 5 years - so not bad.

In the past I have used EvoStik brand of PVA when planking models but it isn't truly 100% waterproof but as long as it was covered well (I used to coat over the top with fibre glass resin to seal them). I have never had a hull fall apart yet (touch wood) when using EvoStik.

Sometimes when I am building superstructures etc I will use the cheaper Wilko PVA glue; I tend to only use superglue for gluing either metal or when I assimulate plating on a hull using plasticard. When I plank any hull longitudinal - I either use dressmakers pins/ brass pins to hold the planks in place. Brass pins are normally permanent but obviously dressmaker pins you take out when the glue is dry.

Depending on the planking a quick wipe with a wet cloth will close up the holes in the timber after dressmakers pins have been removed.

I did invest in a load of these fancy 'T building pins' for holding planks in place, but, I found anything harder than balsa wood they tended to bend so they stay in the drawer in readiness for building another balsa wood model.

I will carry on planking now my friends. John

Edited By John W E on 29/06/2020 09:24:47

I forgot to mention in my previous posting - the planking material is Obechi - 9 mm x 1 mm . The overall length of the model will be 63 inches (approx.) Roughly 9 inches beam.

The glue I am using is Aliphatic wood glue. I prefer this to trying to use superglue as with the Aliphatic glue it gives a bit of 'wiggle' time to put the plank in the correct position. You don't end up with your fingers glues to the planks.

The other thing is I plank - 10 planks either side at a time - and the way I do it - I plank 5 planks forward and 5 planks back over from the pre-laid planks. This I believe reduced the stress build up because as the glue dries and the planks dry out - they tend of shrink and tend to pull the framework. (That's my excuse anyway)

John

Hi

This is the beginning of a build which has been on the back burners of 'to do' for a long time. Its about time I did it - the Model is 1:48 scale and the plans I am using are from Norman Ough with the aid of several online articles plus a book Castle Class Corvettes composed by Norman Goodwin and edited by Steve Bush - ISBN No, 9781904459279.

The frames have been cut from 5 mm Birch plywood.

The keel is also made from 5 mm plywood - Birch again.

She has roughly 6 stringers per side - this aides for the diagonal planking. For those who haven't double diagonally planked - a round-bilged hull - the main thing to remember is the more stringers you have, the easier it is to hold the planks and to create the correct radius shape on the build. The other thing is - don't make the planks too wide - as if you make them too wide, as you bend the planks around they tend to try and lift away from the hull.

If you look at the pic, I have indicated where the plank is trying to twist away from the hull.

So, this the build so far…..

Edited By John W E on 28/06/2020 11:23:29

Hi ya, can anyone tell me why when I typed out my message - then come to add a photograph and then posted it. The wording had gone and all that was there was the photograph,. Hey ho.

Hi Ray, this is my excuse, I started off with a Model Maker magazine with the article in it for HMS Cossack - plus the plans on the desk - and alongside I had a Model Boats magazine with the build articles and plan for Vic Smeed's HMS Harlech Castle as well. I was debating which one to go for.

I took Norman Ough's book out to see what extra detail would have to be put in - or - how close it was to the exact vessel. This led to me obtaining a set of drawings for HMS Hedingham Castle - which in turn led to information being obtained for HMS Porchester Castle. Porchester Castle was the one Castle Class vessel used for the film the Cruel Sea - she was also built on the River Tyne - not even a stone throw from where I live. So, the magic pencils came out to draw the frames for Porchester Castle on a piece of plywood at 1:48 scale, just to give an idea of what it would look like. Consequently, now, there is mysteriously a 6 ft building board with frames set up on the work bench here - and I am in the process of diagonally planking it. This is a long way from building HMS Cossack from balsa wood - but she is still on my build list - so - we will just need to reschedule the builders for further employment at a later date .

This pic goes with my next posting

below

John

Edited By John W E on 26/06/2020 19:20:54

Edited By John W E on 26/06/2020 19:21:35

Hi ya there, just out of curiosity is your hull fibreglass - Is it one of Kingston Mouldings' ?

Brass props that are to scale will be efficient, especially if they come somewhere like Propshop or somewhere.

Keep us all uptodate

If you try to make this hull plane across the water, you are going to have to ditch the lead battery, unless the hull and internals are extremely light weight. Many years ago I built an RAF rescue launch - pre-internet days - and it was powered by 2 x 6 volt 4 amp batteries and the hull was the same weight as a 5ft span glider (very light) and it only stayed on the water for a matter of 4 or 5 mins and eventually one of the battery casings split, spitting its internals into the hull as the batteries were that hot you could fry eggs on them.

John