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| PART FOUR: THE EXTERIOR OF THE FUBBS | ||
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Moderators: Winston, jsillick
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| Author | Post | ||
| Gene Bodnar |
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  Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | FINE-TUNING THE EXTERIOR OF THE FRAMES Remove the ship from its jig. Sand the exterior of the frames until they are all smooth and even. Test the evenness of frames by placing a long length of thin basswood against a group of frames. The test-strip should sit nicely against each and every frame from bow to stern. If you find that one or more of the frames cannon be fixed by sanding them down smooth, it is still possible to fix the problem. If a frame is sitting a bit too deeply compared to the other frames, use CA glue to glue a strip of 1/32” basswood to the offending frame. If a frame is sitting to high compared to the other frames, try to sand it down to the level of the others. In any event, check the smoothness and evenness all around the ship at every point. When you are satisfied, return the model to its jig. Now mark the waterline on the Fubbs. Remember that the top edge of the building jig corresponds to the waterline, so simply make sure that the model is properly mounted in the jig, and then run a pencil line on all the frames all around the top of the jig. The vessel will be planked from the top of the ship down to the waterline; there will be no planking below the waterline.  | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | PORTHOLE OPENINGS There are 8 porthole openings in the main deck and 2 half-openings in the quarterdeck. Measure the outside diameter of the rings from the plans, and then drill these openings slightly larger than your measurement. These openings do not need to be precise because they will be covered on the interior with pieces of 1/32” basswood, and on the exterior by the hull planking. Now you need 10 rings to fill each of the portholes. It is fairly easy to make rings of almost any size, if you own a lathe. The technique that will be described can be used for any type of ring you may find on a model ship, including mast hoops, mast rings, or anything round with a hole in it. Step 1: Start with a block of wood about 3” long. Drill a hole of the size you need all the way through its center. Step 2: Place a touch of carpenter’s glue on the end of a dowel of the same size as the hole you drilled. Insert the glued dowel only about ¼” deep into the hole. Step 3: Chuck the dowel-end into your lathe. Turn the block of wood until it forms a ring of the appropriate outside diameter. Sand it smooth. Step 4: Using a razor saw, cut off pieces of the rounded block to about the length you need. Precision is not necessary; an estimate is good enough. Step 5: Now cut out squares of basswood larger than what you need for the porthole openings. The wood should not be thicker than 1/32”. You will need 8 pieces for the main deck. Stack them and drill the appropriate size hole through their center. Now glue a ring onto each of the 8 pieces, centering it to make sure the ring and the hole in the square match up perfectly. Step 6: Now measure and cut the square pieces to fit each of the portholes on the main deck. Measure each one, because there will be very slight differences from one to the next. After you’ve cut them all out, apply a coat of Natural Stain to the side that will be exposed to the main deck. Step 7: Apply CA glue to the inner side of the 1/32” piece and install it in place for each porthole, pushing from inside to the outside. Clamp in place until the glue dries. Step 8: Carefully sand the exterior side of the rings even with all the frames. The quarter deck contains a porthole ring on each side of the deck. Using a drum sander chucked into your Dremel tool, sand the half-circle carefully, a little at a time. The porthole ring should be sunken about half-way down into the planking. Glue in place with CA glue.           | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | THE FRIEZE AT THE DECK RAILS Three strakes of 1/16” planking was installed first on both sides of the vessel. A coat of sanding sealer was applied to the strakes and sanded lightly after it dried. The pattern for the full length of the frieze appears in the plans. Cut it out carefully. Use carbon paper under the pattern, tape it in place on the strakes, and use a sharp-pointed pencil to transfer the pattern onto the strakes. Then paint as desired. The results should look similar to that shown in the following two photos.   | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | DECORATIVE STRAKES BELOW FRIEZE The two gold strakes are made from lengths of 1/32” x 3/32” basswood. They are painted with Krylon Gold paint and glued in place with CA glue so they protrude slightly from the hull planking. The strake between the two gold strakes is the same size basswood, but it is given a coat of Golden Oak Stain and glued in place with CA glue so that the wider edge is attached to the frames.  | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | PORTHOLE DECORATIONS All portholes are surrounded by two youngsters holding hands around the opening. Since all of them are identical, I decided to carve one set out of apple wood, and then make the remaining sets from Sculpey, which is a clay that hardens when baked a low temperature (275F) for about 20 minutes in an ordinary kitchen oven. To carve the initial set, you will need a rotary tool that has a very slow speed. There is such a rotary tool on the market, called a Foredom, but its expense ($379 without accessories) precludes its use to me. Instead, I converted a SINGLE-SPEED Dremel to a slow speed Dremel by installing a dimmer switch. This will NOT WORK with a multiple- or variable-speed Dremel – it must be a SINGLE-SPEED Dremel. Now, a single-speed Dremel costs about $40 at Wal-Mart, and the cost of the dimmer switch conversion costs another $15. Therefore, for a total cost of about $55, you have a slow-speed rotary tool. A single-speed Dremel without any conversion rotates at something like 35,000 rpms – way too fast for carving fine details. Converting the tool with a dimmer switch, you will reduce the rpms to less than 500, which is quite suitable for carving. (If you would like to receive a set of instructions for installing a dimmer switch on your single-speed Dremel, just send me a PM.) You will also need a set of carving burrs. The set in the photograph costs about $25, and it is more than adequate for our purposes. I used apple wood to carve the two tiny figures. Simply trace the pattern shown on the plans onto the apple wood. Saw out most of the figure with a fine jigsaw blade, but leave a sort of handle on one end so you can hold onto it. Start rounding the edges. Notice the depth of each part of the figure, and make sure you allow for the various depths. If you need specific carving instructions, there are many practicums available on the web. Once you have carved a satisfactory set of figures, they can now be duplicated at many times as necessary by using Sculpey. You simply knead the Sculpey until is it soft and pliable. Flatten it out until it’s about ¼” thick to make a mold. Then dust the Sculpey with baking soda to prevent sticking, and then press the carved figures into the Sculpey. Remove it carefully. Bake the mold for about 25 minutes at 275F. Let cool. This is your mold. To duplicate the figures, simply dust the mold (every time) with baking soda, press a piece of Sculpey into the mold, remove it, and bake. Make as many figures as you need by repeating with more Sculpey. Bake all of them all at once. Sculpey can be polished, sanded, drilled, carved, painted with acrylics, or coated with Sculpey glaze. Do whatever you need to do to get a figure you like. Apply carpenter’s glue to a thin wooden ring and attached the two figures carefully. After the glue dries, apply a coat of Krylon Gold Spray paint. Glue the assembly in place on the model with CA glue. You may be required to do a little trimming on the protruding thin decorative strakes before installing the figures. Do this carefully.      | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | PLANKING THE EXTERIOR HULL All planking was completed by using 1/16” basswood. Most of the strakes are ¼” in width, except the one between the two wales which is 3/16” in width. I cut each strake to extend the full length of the hull and glued them on with carpenter’s glue. To hold them in place until dry, I pressed pins into areas that would be trenailed all along its length. After the glue dried, I used a single-edged razor to divide the strakes into individual planks, with none longer than about 20 feet on full-size scale. All planks are trenailed to every frame with bamboo dowels. All planking was given a coat of Golden Oak Stain. The wales are simply two ¼”-wide pieces of basswood glued on top of each other, with the top one given slightly rounded edges. None of the planks posed a bending problem, and none of the strakes were tapered.   | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | THE STERN All carvings on the stern were made from apple wood and painted with acrylic paint. They are all placed on a 1/16” basswood backing that was painted with Krylon Gold Spray Paint. The two gun ports are merely suggested with small squares of basswood. The remaining decorations were made of basswood. Personally, I am not satisfied with the stern carvings. This is my first attempt at doing such things, and I am rather disappointed with the results. Almost anybody could do a better job.  | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | QUARTER GALLERIES The window casings and all other parts are made from 1/16” and 1/32” basswood and painted Krylon gold spray paint. The spiral decorations are made from pieces of hand-wound rope painted the same color gold. The windows themselves are pieces of heavy clear plastic glued in place with jeweler’s glue. All decorations are made from ¼”-thick basswood shaped with a slow-turning Dremel.  | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | GANGWAYS Each step of the gangway is made from 1/16” and 1/32” basswood glued together with carpenter’s glue. Each step is dipped in Dark Walnut stain and glued in place with CA glue.  | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 04:20AMPosts: 225 | THE BOW The patterns for all the pieces for the bow are provided in the plans and they are laid out well. All pieces are made of basswood and assembled with carpenter’s glue. All pieces were painted gold after installation.  | ||
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