HMS PANDORA 1:72 - Modelship Dockyard

Hello, Grant. You are so right when you say that there is plenty of "ugly" that precedes the final product (in my case, at least, that is very much what takes place!) I know that this ship (and build) will only come alive when the final layer of planking is started, but until then ... it's a case of gritting the teeth! ROTF
I share your teeth gritting…..
 
I share your teeth gritting…..

Hello, Grant. You are so right when you say that there is plenty of "ugly" that precedes the final product (in my case, at least, that is very much what takes place!) I know that this ship (and build) will only come alive when the final layer of planking is started, but until then ... it's a case of gritting the teeth! ROTF

The modeling proces inherently contains the so-called Pilgerschritt method: one step forward and two steps backwards (or was it the other way around? I forgot...) The teeth gritting comes with the territory.
 
Hi Jack. The kit does look like it's going together well (so far) and what surprises me is how good the instructions have been so far. It is written in good English, and the illustrations have been clear and easy to follow. For now, I am using 401 - a Chinese CA glue which works very well (I still don't like the stuff, though!) For the serious planking (the wales and below the wales) I am considering using a CA glue/gel/epoxy which gives me a little wiggle room before it sets completely. Here, I will have to see though what is available in China.
I don't know if the question has already been made , but are there no modelbuilding clubs in China my friend, if there are, you might ask a question on their forum??
 
The modeling proces inherently contains the so-called Pilgerschritt method: one step forward and two steps backwards (or was it the other way around? I forgot...) The teeth gritting comes with the territory.
Oh yes, Johan, you are right. I did not know the fancy name of what my building is called, but now I know! ROTF I made such good progress today, and now in the final straight of the day's work, not two - but probably three or four steps backwards! :(
 
I don't know if the question has already been made , but are there no modelbuilding clubs in China my friend, if there are, you might ask a question on their forum??
Peter, my friend, I don't know about clubs as such, but most model manufacturing companies have their own forums where you can ask questions. I am very fortunate in that I can simply ask Wuxi (from Modelship Dockyard). I will do that when I get to that point of the build.
 
I was quite a few days behind but just read through a number of pages to catch up. It’s really interesting to see the combination of resin and wood parts come together, especially that view of the hull form from right ahead and the stern shot. You are moving along at an impressive pace, I like what I see.
 
I was quite a few days behind but just read through a number of pages to catch up. It’s really interesting to see the combination of resin and wood parts come together, especially that view of the hull form from right ahead and the stern shot. You are moving along at an impressive pace, I like what I see.
Thank you very much for the kind words, my friend. I have no issue with the resin parts per se, my only gripe is that it necessitates the use of CA glue which is something I dislike intensely. And tonight, that bit me hard. Progress is good - I am happy with that. I think that in some areas the resin parts definitely allow for faster progress, while in other areas (subjectively) it feels like there is more work involved. What i true though, is that there is far less room for error!
 
Okiedokie, so it is time to show the progress of the day.

The main job was to finish all the gunports by shaping them to the contours of the hull (both for inner and outer planking. This meant a lot of filing and sanding. Concurrent with that I also had to remove all the protrusions from the deck line and make sure that the transition from the resin parts to the planked hull is smooth.

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Earlier I neglected to show you the instructions page pertaining to the construction of the gunports, so here it is.

I also needed to build the bench/seating arrangement for the captain's cabin.

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As you can see, the instructions are really clear so far and up to this point there have been no confusing issues or the need to have anything clarified.

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No issues here. I am not sure what wood this is (maybe boxwood) and you can see that I added my own bent by adding a Pear wood strip between the seating area and the "backrest". With this done, I could fit the resin transom piece permanently to the hull. At the time that the picture above was taken, it was only dry fitted to the hull.

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I am really happy with the line that the resin "ribs" follow- this should make for a smooth and gradual curvature that the bulwark planking needs to follow. Seemingly (note my use of this word) everything seems symmetrical and in place.

And after about 8 hours of filing and sanding, I had an upper hull that is ready for the planking of the bulwarks.

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When you look at the deck line you can see all the protrusions have been removed and the gunports have been sanded to their final shapes and dimensions. This picture also shows the transom permanently mounted.

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With the above done, it was time to move onto the deck installation, but that is a story for tomorrow - and also marks my first headache (a big one) of this build.
 
That is quite a bit of hand labor. The transition between the different build materials looks very smooth.

Jan
Yes, my friend. This was a lot of filing and sanding and dust - at one stage it made me think of when I had to sand the boxed hull of the WB. In any case, it's all done and "dusted"! ROTF
 
That has been quite a job my friend, and now you also have to sand the rest of the hull if i understood you correctly??
Absolutely correct, Peter. According to the instructions, it is now the fitting of the deck and the inner planking of the bulwarks that are up next. I have sanded the first two or three planks of the hull as they transition to the resin parts, but the rest will be done later.
 
Dear Friends

Not yet done for the weekend. there was still one item left on the day's agenda - the deck.

The challenge here is that it is a pre-lasered, pre-cut part (which looks stunning in Pear wood, I might add) and which has to be mounted in one go (remember the CA glue) with perfect accuracy. Bear in mind that there also the nibbed waterways that come into the equation. This raises a nice little question. Do you first install the two deck halves and then the waterways, bearing in mind that you have 4 scarph joints and large number of nibbed ends to contend with, or do you first attach the waterways to the deck halves? I chose the latter.

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Here the first four sections of the Port Side waterway are being joined whilst the rearmost section (closest to the stern) has already been affixed to the hull.

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This gives you some idea of high far the waterway extends above the deck line. The fitment of the five pieces that make up the waterway was perfect with all scarph joints and nibbed ends sliding perfectly into position. With that, I could drop the Port side half of the deck into place and fix it permanently as the fit was perfect.

I repeated the process for the Starboard side half of the deck, but when it came to fitting that piece, it was a different story altogether. All I can say is that it required a LOT of fiddling, sanding, measuring, trimming and sanding again to fit into position. And when I glued it into place (keeping in mind that I did not only have the waterway fitment to contend with but also where it joined the Port side half of the deck, I ran out of hands and fingers. The result was that where it butted up against the captain's cabin, the glue bit before I could fully press it into position. And no matter how hard I tried to loosen the glue (with acetone) the grip in other parts was so prodigious, that no adjustment was possible. The end result is that I now have a right hand-side deck half which sits approximately 1mm higher than the Port Side deck as it butts up against the rearmost bench. Even though it is barely visible, the problem is that the inner planking is done on top of the waterways and the first two rows of inner planking has to be level with the underside of the gunports. As it stands now, the Starboard side planking will protrude above that mark, so I will have to make adjustments when I get to that part of the inner planking.

In any case, this is what the ship looks like with the deck installed.

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Inspector Didi checking things out.

And with that my friends, my weekend has come and gone in the shipyard. Until next time, take care, build what you love; love what you build, give your loved ones a hug and a kiss and have a stunning week!
 
If Didi approves then it must be a quality job. Looks to me to be one of those “almost but maybe quite not” endeavors that drive you up the wall. However only you and some of us on SOS will ever know about that 1mm “ridge”. From my side of the world that deck looks absolutely terrific.

Jan
 
If Didi approves then it must be a quality job. Looks to me to be one of those “almost but maybe quite not” endeavors that drive you up the wall. However only you and some of us on SOS will ever know about that 1mm “ridge”. From my side of the world that deck looks absolutely terrific.

Jan
Hi Jan. There is no ridge between the decks, it is only where the deck butts up against the ribs and the captain's bench that the Starboard deck half sits that 1mm higher. To me it's frustrating, because after the Port side deck installation, I actually thought that a perfect deck fitment was on the cards. Alas ...
 
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