Command Deck.- Mantua / Panart #709

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok more work done today. I colored knobs and hinges on front wall off cabin section



Next I glued inside hull planking to frame

 

[Kurt Konrath]

I also got the outside hull planking stained in oak. Needs second coat before attaching but I did a test fit to see how it looks

 

[Kurt Konrath]

While waiting on glue and stain to dry I cut out pieces for cannon carriages. Lots of parts as each side is two pieces and the Quine starts as three pieces to glue up.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok so I glued in the front bulkhead and the small piece that is in front of it as bottom of deck planks

Hard to see under breath upper deck part. This left a double layer front edge that didn’t look correct (small gap in places). So I decided on my first bash of the project.

I cut a small piece of the frame the deck parts came from and stained with some reddish stain/poly combo I got. I then installed false front piece on the forward end to cover the two layers of the decking.

 

[dockattner]

A nice improvement Kurt. Well played...

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok next up in my work on multiple little tasks while glue dries slowly!

I started prep wok on lower deck shot locker for lack of better definition. The sides are designed with tab and slot inter lock and didn’t fit well. So I cut them off and used scrap from sheet frames to make corner posts. Stained them a different shade to try to make them stand out. During assembly I added more scrap as inside corner braces to hold it together. The walls glue inside a small deck trim piece and when glue had dried I finally added top cover. I used fine tip marker to highlight hinges engraved in the wood. I left off the thick trim frame on what would be the hinges section as it looked too out of place. So here is what it all looked like

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok also at same time I stained and glued the outer hull planking on the frame. I learned care must be taken when assembling frame from first steps or you get ends that are not straight up and vertical and too long overall. Just had to deal with it at this point

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Other tasks worked on in last few days was liners for upper gun ports. The lit comes with two thin strips of wood to be cut for liner boards. Instructions call for 15mm pieces which was about correct. I measured to verify and used calipers to mark first boards to test fit. Since the sides were going to be my first pieces I sanded a piece to fit and tested in openings. Then I marked it with V for vertical. Repeated with one for bottom after I temp fitted two sides. Marked it H for horizontal. Then I pulled out my NW chopper and made full sets of V and H’s and marked them. After some light sanding I painted them flat red befor installing.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

I also took time to glue the sides half’s of gun carriages together and the 3 pieces of the quons together. After some sanding I stained them a dark walnut and set them out to dry

 

[Kurt Konrath]

After the glue on sides had dried I added the wales and trim boards and rail tops. Another upgrade was I stained and glued some pieces of excess wood from gun port lining to make a better looking bannister for front of the deck. From deck below will later be covered and painted black

The rail caps are four pieces and one must be curved to fit the side. I heated these two up in hot water and bent them around old piece of 1” PVC plumping pipe I had laying in shop. After some sanding of small piece above the curved one I got them glued in and then added my upgrade

 

[Kurt Konrath]

And lastly I started working on pieces for skylight for Captians cabin. Cutting out sanding and test fitting. Next to stain and assemble when dry

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok now for tonight’s work update!

So first I did a test fit of red gun port liners. Looked ok and fit well. I need a second coat of paint and should have them installed next week

 

[Kurt Konrath]

I spent some time working on blanking panels for end of model. I found some thin sheet stock and cut a piece out and then trimmed to fit. I then painted it flat black and when dry will install. I also started on rear blanking panel but didn’t finish yet. Have to get sanding on end frames to get flat installation. As I mentioned in another post the frame skeleton sections seem a touch longer than inside and outside panels so anyone planning to build one needs to measure parts before gluing frame so adjustments can be made



I also started gluing gun carriage parts together so see how they will fit. I got one half assembled to point I could test fit a cannon barrel. Not bad but minor filing of slot to get pivot pin to drop fully down will be needed. Next step it to see about adding wheels. And I will have to get with Dry Dock models to order some proper scale blocks for them

 

[dockattner]

A handy tool that little chopper! Don't forget to paint the edges of the red inserts (?).

 

[Kurt Konrath]

A handy tool that little chopper! Don't forget to paint the edges of the red inserts (?).

Yes I have that in the plan. This kit comes with frames for outside and I had planned to install them and paint all the inside and ends red.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Ok more prep work for cannons. First I cut new trim ion pins from 1/16” brass stock on hand as kit supplied were too short. Then after a cleaning in vinegar and drying it as off to a bath in Brass Black. After washing and drying I did a test of cannon with wheels and axles installed

 

[Kurt Konrath]

While on subject of cannons I almost laughed at method shown to secure cannon to carriage and hull. First off I have never heard of chains for recoil use and the cross crossing of rope and no pullies to haul out the cannon is so whimsical

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Last thing I decided was the lower deck has a pin rail on front and they are normally for masts and sail lines. So I decided to install a stub mast section and use the ring the kit provided to go around the ships wheel base. Thought it would make a good mast collar. Now to get some 3/8” dowel for the mast

 

[Dean62]

Looking good Kurt, very interesting kit!

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Yes it is and the methods of some things are just plain wrong, I am working to fix what I can, and work around things I didn't notice up front.

Correcting the cannon mounting and the way the kit shows to attach ropes to lower gun port lids are a few and I plan to add some color to make things less "plane Jane"