Newbie seeking help with 1:43 scale model of The Black Pearl!

[lee7]

Hi guys,

This is Lee from Northern Ireland, I have just recently joined the community and I'm looking to see if anybody could please help me with an issue I have.
This is my first post so hopefully everyone will keep me right here or steer me in the right direction, apologies if I have posted this is the wrong thread, please be constructive and I will move it if need be

I have built a few hand-made dioramas and model kits (eg 1:500 scale titanic / military tanks etc) but now I have decided to have a go at wooden model ship building and recently purchased the 1:43 scale of the Black Pearl.
I have learned that the model I purchased is from a company who apparently *pirated* the pirate ship so I cannot name any names of manufacture - some of you may already know who it is.

The 11 sheets of instructions are mostly made up of pigeon English which is very hard to follow and a lot of the components are not numbered or have no explanation as to where they are supposed to be placed.

My knowledge of ships is sparse so a lot of the terminology is tricky at the best of times (working on that at the min with a new book on the way) I am currently trying to lay flooring on the lower deck and my issue is I have 2 bales of flooring (decking?) one is Paulowina Wood (65 pieces @ 2mm X 4mm X 500mm) the other is Black Walnut (170 pieces @ 0.5mm X 4mm X 550mm)

Could someone guide me as to which bale should be used for decking and which should be used for the Hull? I have a feeling the Paulowina should be used for the deck flooring and Black Walnut for the Hull as it is thinner and easier to shape?

If I could find out this I could make a start and hopefully pick up more as I go along.

Thanks so much in advance!!
Lee

 

[robn1]

I'm not familiar with the ship, but it has a dark hull so it makes sense that the dark wood is meant for that. At 1/43 this must be a big kit.

 

[lee7]

Hi robn 1 thanks for getting back, yea I was thinking that myself not to mention its would be easier bending it round the outer hull, I don't suppose you have any advice on how to stagger the planks on the decking? Scale 1:43 is big, biggest scale I've built yet in fact, although I think I could have picked an easier model to tackle for my first attempt at a wooden ship. I'll post some pics of my progress.

 

[Teddz]

Hi Lee,

I've been building wooden ships for a while. From day 1 I had 2 books for reference by my side... "Ship modeling simplified" and "Historic Ship Models". The first book is packed with info on the how-to of the build process and the second is more of a historical reference for accuracy. I highly recommend you get the first one as it'll always help.

Next, is the kit a single or double-layer hull? If it's a double, then the final layer would be a very thin planking while the underside would be much thicker.

Bending the planks around the hull can be achieved by steaming or soaking the planks and using a hot iron with a special barrel bit with a wooden form to bend the plank into the required shape. Again, a lot of the how-to's will be in that first book I mentioned.

As for how to stagger the planks, you can try and see if there are any clear shots of the deck where you can see the joints. If there isn't, and you can't find any online reference, you can wing it and go with what usually works, and lay planks (2 bulkheads in length) staggered. Check out yj mojo's build... http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=215507

Best of luck

 

[Duncanator]

Hi Lee! Welcome to the RPF.
The Black Pearl has a special place in my heart because I was on the crew that built the models for the films. Let em know if there are any areas of the ship you need help with. I know it pretty well.

I'd love to see pictures of your build!

 

[Voodoocaster]

I don't know if it is a double planked hull or not.
I personally would count all the hull planks on the line plan and see if there is enough timber in the kit for a double planked hull.
The best(most expensive and better looking)wood is usually used for the final layer of hull planking.
If your kit is a single layer hull,i would advise you to buy more timber.
Since this is your first wooden ship kit i assume you do not have enough experience in building a ship hul with strong curves(bow) so it could be very hard to finish the hull in a single layer and make it look top notch.
A double layered hull gives you more room for mistakes(glue spills,gaps between planks e.t.c.).
Wet wood shrinks when it dries so gaps between planks will happen ,unless you work slow(max.4 planks on each side and nail/pin and glue and clamp them down and wait untill all is dry)
You can sand and fill the first layer of "cheaper"and usualy easier to bend wood until you have the hull contours "correct"and finish the hull with the second layer of better looking wood(walnut/pear/ebony)
If you plan to paint/stain the hull you could go for less beautifull expensive timber for the second layer.
Crazy glue can be used to glue down hard to glue down parts but i would use it sparingly.
If possible use pvc/wood glue for all,...it dries slower but gives you time to move the glued parts in the right position.
Crazy glue dries fast but is bound to get brittle since you will use water to bend the planks,...eventually there might be a chance the planks will break or snap off since the brittle nature of the super glue(wood absorbes the glue),...also it will fogg up the wood which makes it hard to get a clean looking hull.
When using pvc glue,..clean the spills immidiately with water or it with stain the wood which doesn't look pretty either and makes staining/painting the wood a pain in the ass.
Also i would advise you to work on the hull planking both sides at the same time(one plank left side and one plank right side e.t.c.)to avoid warping of the hull.
This will also make it easier to plank symetrical on both sides(especially on the bow it will look"horrible" if the planks do not line up).
As far as the deck planking is concerned,...you could check out how the planks "butt up"by finding out in which period the brigg was supposed to be build and in which country.
There were different systems used for planking the hull and decks in history,..most countries used different planking techniques and also the period in which the ships were build dictates different planking techniques.
A common error made by "beginners" is planking the decks flat.
Period ships had curved decks in order for the water to run to the sides and leave the decks.
I don't know if the movie ship had flat decks or not but to me a ship model with a curved deck looks more"accurate"
For ease of construction you could check out which decks are visible or not in the final model and go for flat lower decks inside the hull and curved top decks.
Between deck planks ussually there was robe and tar.
Depending on scale you could use real black robes or black paper glued between planks or a dark pencil line to indicate this tar/robe filling.
When you decide to sand the decks i would advise against using real robes since it could tear the robe and leaves you with a mess of robe fibres sticking out between the deck planks.

There are some really good ship building forums found on the internet all experience levels of builders are welcome and most people are willing to help out.
Check them out!
Succes with your build

 

[lee7]

Hi Duncanator, thanks for your response, That's awesome that you worked on the movie ships, I have a feeling I will be asking you a lot of annoying questions over this next few months, I've never attempted anything like this before and to be honest I feel I could have picked an easier model to start off with but better just suck it up and get cracking at it I guess. Thanks again for your offer to help out.

 

[lee7]

Hi Teddz, thanks for your response, it says on the box that its a double plank on bulkhead kit, does this mean a double layered hull? I took your advice and purchased the first book you mentioned as I'm definitly going to need it and I dont want to be a pest with questions all the time.

 

[lee7]

Hi voodoocaster, thanks for your response, a lot of info in your post I didn't know which could save me from making some horrible mistakes so thanks again, I'll post a few pics of the box and what ive started so far, also the planks in question, let me know what you think, I know my feedback info is limited and its not making it easy for you but hopefully I'll pick up more as I go along. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned my experience building this type of ship as I have zero experience building ships at all let alone this particular model,
Cheers Lee

 

[lee7]

OK guys here are some pics to try and give you a better explanation of what I've been talking about.View attachment 571246View attachment 571247View attachment 571248View attachment 571252View attachment 571253View attachment 571254View attachment 571255View attachment 571258

 

[lee7]

 

[lee7]

This is the way I had planned to stagger the planks on the lower deck I just lay them dry to see what they looked like, does the formation look correct??

 

[vj mojo]

That planking is correct, it's the same way I did mine.

I used super glue to glue them down and two small lengths of 20mm x 20mm Aluminium tube, one to butt the planks hard up to each and the other one to keep pressure downwards, you will find that some are not too straight.

Looking forward to see more.

 

[Teddz]

Here's what a double plank on hull would look like while doing the final layer. The ship is the Mistral from Artesania Latina. I used a very strong contact adhesive for the final layer. I would only do 4 planks at a time... 2 on each side.

However, the MOST IMPORTANT thing in your entire build is the first few steps getting the keel and bulkheads assembled and square. If the keel is bent and your bulkheads aren't 90*, the ship will look twisted and the kit is a loss. Make sure everything is straight. Wood can be coaxed into shape but not after building it out.

As for the planking, looks like you're going for a 4-plank stagger... similar to what I did for a 17th century frigate. I used the 2nd book I mentioned to show me what was being done in the 17th century. Since the frigate had a split lower deck, and I had a bunch of other decks to plank, I made a jig and used carpenters glue to attach them. The hash marks indicate the stagger pattern. I cut up a bunch of planks into shorter sections and then mixed them up. I did this because I wanted to show variations in the planks.

planking done, but there's an obvious line running down the middle where the 2 halves meet. Had I thought ahead, that center line would have been covered with the #1 series of planks instead of having two #1 series planks butt up against each other. It bothers me a bit, but I'm not about to re-plank this thing and since it's the lower deck, isn't really visible.

2nd deck of the frigate... All the planks for the many decks I was planking were individually beveled on the bottom side so they would sit flush up against each other. It had to be done because the timber supplied isn't exactly top-notch.

2nd deck done and varnished a bit. All the hours spent sanding the planks resulted in an oh-so-satisfying finish.

And here's the top-deck of a cross section with the same sanding done to the planks. After sanding and varnish, it looks so nice.

Remember, take your time and have fun... and ALWAYS, measure twice - cut once.

 

[Teddz]

My knowledge of ships is sparse so a lot of the terminology is tricky at the best of times (working on that at the min with a new book on the way) I am currently trying to lay flooring on the lower deck and my issue is I have 2 bales of flooring (decking?) one is Paulowina Wood (65 pieces @ 2mm X 4mm X 500mm) the other is Black Walnut (170 pieces @ 0.5mm X 4mm X 550mm)

Forgot to mention, in my experience, the 2mm x 4mm would be used as the first layer of planking for the hull with the .5mm as the final layer. The .5mm could also be used as the planking on the deck, but I'm not familiar with the kit to tell you 100%, I'm just assuming since there are 170pcs of that and only 65 of the 2x4.

You want the thick wood on the hull for a couple of reasons... one of which is strength and the other is sanding. The first bit is obvious as it's very easy to poke a hole in a hull that's only .5mm thick. As for the sanding, even if the bulkheads are all sanded to shape, you'll still need to sand the 1st hull layer. It's going to be a chore to bend the 2mm planks, but that's what water, steam and/or heating iron with shaping tip and block are for. If you soak & pin to the bulkheads, let them dry before gluing.

 

[lee7]

Thanks for the pics Teddz, the planking looks awesome,I never thought to bevel the edges, great idea and professional finish. Making a jig would save me a lot of hassle also.

 

[Voodoocaster]

Instead of sanding the decks(or any wooden part) with sanding paper you could scrape the deck with a piece of glas or razor blade.
This will give you a smoother finish,...make sure though you scrape in the direction of the grain and make sure the wood is dry.
Also i would advise to sand or scrape the decks before you install them in the hull.
This way you can reach all over the deck without any problems and it will save you a lot of time cleaning up all the wood dust in the hull.
I would also advice before you install or glue anything in or on the hull make sure it is "perfect" in your eye or in construction,...take your time and keep measuring everything twice or more.
Working slow and tidy will really pay of in the end.
When you finish constructing the bulkheads and keel take your first plank and lay/press it flat on the bulhead sides,..if you see any knicks or squared bends on that plank this means the bulkhead sides need to be sanded more in a curve.
The planks need to bend/curve smoothly over the bulkheadsides in order to get a nice smooth curved result in order to glue them down securely and in order to sand the planks smoothly.
If you forget/ignore this step the planks will wobble/give or move when sanding, which probably results in sanding through the plank or uneven sanding results

 

[PHArchivist]

Great thread!

 

[lee7]

Progress is slow but learning so much as I go along. I was going to fix in place the top deck and sides soon and was wondering should I be putting anything in the lower deck other than the cannons before I do, such as barrels or chests?? I'm not leaving a side open for viewing nor am I adding lights as this is my first wooden ship attempt. Here are a few more pics of my progress.

- - - Updated - - -

 

[Voodoocaster]

Are the canon portholes pre-cut in the hullplanking?
If not i would wait until you finish the hullplanking before putting anything permanently on the decks.
If they are precut i would wait with installing the canons until the hull planking is done anyway,so you can line the canons properly.
Make sure the canon barrels face slightly upwards or at least level with the horizon when placed on the deck,..this will look more authentic and the canonballs will not roll out of the barrels into the water:lol
If i were you i would put stuff a lot of stuff inside(when looking through the portholes you can see inside the ship at certain corners,.it would be nice if you can create a sence of interrior)
Pulling and stopping ropes attached to the canon carriages are great and also ropes on the porthole lits,canonbal stacks in wooden triangles,piles of rolled up ropes,barrels,buckets etc.
Even if you can't see some of the stuff you know it is there which is great.
Anyway i would build first the hullplanking up intil the level of above the lower deck canonports and then start decorating these decks.
Great deckplanking man! This will be a great looking ship