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| Mediator - first wood ship model | ||
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Moderators: Winston, aew, bikepunk
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| Author | Post | ||
| Doug W. |
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 Registered Member #4661 Joined: Mon Sep 28 2015, 01:13amPosts: 24 | Greetings all! This is my first thread and for my first wood model ship, I decided to go with the mediator plans from this site. Please feel free to comment, suggest, and critique! In the interests of display space, I decided to reduce the plans to half size in photoshop. I am using basswood since it is easily and cheaply available at my local hobby retailer (especially with a 40% off coupon), but will probably use a few other woods for planking and details. So far, I have cut out almost all of the bulkheads, and the backbone part. I decided that for my first attempt, my skills aren't up to grafting the bulkhead extensions onto the bulkheads as a seperate part, so I cut each bulkhead as one piece. I meant to take some pictures of the parts before I got started assembling, but got ahead of myself, so here's where I am so far:  I've already pitched plenty of pieces across the room in anger after splitting off a corner or whatnot, but I'm making progress. After reading about it in another thread here, I made myself a rig with legos to square up my bulkheads:  One question...the narrow top portions of the "backbone" tend to twist side to side between the bulkheads while gluing. So far I have been eyeballing them and trying to use my legos to keep them in line, but is there some sort of trick to keeping the backbone straight down the center line?  | ||
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| Bob H. |
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 Registered Member #624 Joined: Mon Jan 11 2010, 07:32pmPosts: 59 | I've found that this twist depends on the type of wood you are using. Basswood tends to twist more than a plywood will because the plywood has opposing grains in the different layers. I'm developing a Mediator kit that uses soft plywood for the center keel and bulkheads and have found no twist problems with the soft plywood (which is made of poplar). Take care, Bob | ||
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| aew |
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aew   Registered Member #1929 Joined: Wed Nov 30 2011, 03:05pmPosts: 2734 | It shouldn't really be a problem even if it does twist in the direction you've marked, as long as it stays straight fore and aft. Keep an eye on it when you start planking and plank the two sides evenly. | ||
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| Winston |
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winston Registered Member #1 Joined: Sat Jun 13 2009, 02:08pmPosts: 2292 | Although its a little extra work it also wouldn't hurt to put little spacer blocks between the bulkheads to keep things squared up. It can be a bit of a tedious job to get them just the right size, but they also provide some additional support when fairing the hull so that extra work can be worth the effort. (just a thought) | ||
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| Doug W. |
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| Registered Member #4661 Joined: Mon Sep 28 2015, 01:13amPosts: 24 | I've added all the bulkheads (except in the cabin), and have started fairing in the hull. I obviously didn't do a terrific job either cutting or assembling (or both), so I'm having to shim up low spots with slivers of wood: What does everyone think about different species of woods vs. stains? Basswood is cheap, easy to get, and seems easy to work, and I've seen plenty of people use stain to break up the single color look, but I also like the idea of using different woods. Is it more difficult to work things like cherry and walnut for rails and wales and whatnot? | ||
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| bensid54 |
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 Registered Member #2957 Joined: Wed Jun 13 2012, 05:43amPosts: 964 | If you think you are doing a lousy job you should see my work, I normally cut/repair, assemble/repair then start over again and get it right the second time. So from what I'm seeing you are doing fine and better than many. | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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 Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | The wood and finish you use is purely a matter of personal choice. Some folks love to use a variety of different woods, and they get great results; some, like myself, prefer basswood with a variety of stains and paint. It pays to experiment; eventually, you'll find what you yourself like. Your model looks just fine. It is definitely more difficult to build a smaller model, like you are doing, but if you take your time, be creative, and have lots of patience, you will build a fine model. Your Lego T-square is certainly creative tool for the size of the model. Gene | ||
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| Doug W. |
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| Registered Member #4661 Joined: Mon Sep 28 2015, 01:13amPosts: 24 | Gene Bodnar wrote ... Your model looks just fine. It is definitely more difficult to build a smaller model, like you are doing, but if you take your time, be creative, and have lots of patience, you will build a fine model. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Gene As for building small models, I'm no stranger to it...this is just my first attempt at anything in wood. Smallest thing I've ever done was in paper:   | ||
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| Gene Bodnar |
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| Registered Member #126 Joined: Tue Jul 21 2009, 11:20amPosts: 1782 | Now that's incredible! Gene | ||
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| Doug W. |
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| Registered Member #4661 Joined: Mon Sep 28 2015, 01:13amPosts: 24 | bensid54 wrote ... If you think you are doing a lousy job you should see my work, I normally cut/repair, assemble/repair then start over again and get it right the second time. So from what I'm seeing you are doing fine and better than many. Thanks for the encouraging words! I really do try to make each piece the best it can be, but that does end up in a high number of pieces that get thrown across the room in fits of anger. I keep telling my wife that model building is relaxing, but she ain't buying it. Anyway, I tend to work slowly, but I have made some more progress. I've got the bulkheads in, sub-decks glued down, and bow blocks in and shaped. I've also faired the bulkheads on the front half of the hull. I did run into a bit of a problem. Due to what I assume are gross errors in cutting or assembling, the front edge of the rear deck (quarter deck?) sat right down on the main deck with no room for the cross-deck beam as shown in the plans. I ended up gluing down strips to the tops of the three forward bulkheads of the quarter deck and then fairing them in so the front of the quarter deck was higher, and then used a strip of 1/32 wood for the beam. I also accidentally broke off a few of the deck edges that extend between the bulkheads. I'm just amazed that I haven't managed to break off one of the bulkhead stanchions yet.   I havent started putting in the cabin bulkheads yet, but I have put together a little jig to get the rear bulkhead at the right height and square with the stern. I also cut a very shallow groove in the front face for more positive location on the center piece.  | ||
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