Post by swanrail on Nov 22, 2007 23:55:00 GMT 1
Planking the first deck at the stern (ref page 94 of the Anatomy of……..
Firstly, please note that planking the decks for real is very time consuming, very expensive, as once you start then the whole ship will have to be done. However, on the up side, the result is a better looking model, much satisfaction and can be achieved by even by novice builder using a bit of care and patience.
If you have never attempted this type of work before, I suggest that you read my basic instructions elsewhere on the forum.
You will need:
Scalpel and blades, metal ruler, circular hole cutter (cheap from Maplin), 1mm by 1mm planks, 1.5mm by 1mm planks, 100mm by 1mm by 1 metre sheet (all woods in lime), 2 part wood filler, Evostik weatherproof wood glue (or similar), 2 paint brushes, (one for artists black acrylic paint, one for wood glue), coarse and fine sandpaper, matt finish varnish, pencil B or 2B, tons of patience!!
To start with you will need a full size plan of the deck as published in the build link:
www.subifa.de/heftvorschau/die_bismarck_h60.htm
I downloaded this, adjusted and printed to eventually arrive at the correct scale (using plain A4 paper). When satisfied, I then printed out 2 more copies onto card to be used as templates.
Next step was to install all the margin planks. As the superstructure will sit ontop of the “printed” deck version, it is necessary, if replacing this with a proper deck to ensure that the centre section is also 1mm (or less) thick). I cut out the centre section from one of the card templates, making sure that this included the edge margins all round. Sitting this on the deck, checked to make sure that there was approx. 1.5mm of edging all round the superstructure.
The straight side edges were made from the 1.5mm by 1mm planks, glued flush to the outside edge, again using the card as a template.
The circular parts were more complex, and need a bit of practice on card to get a good result. I firstly adjusted the circular cutter to the radius of the outside of the circle at the stern end. Although meant for card, the cutter will cut through the 1mm sheet with little difficulty, so ending up with a circular disc of approx. 57mm diameter. I then reset the cutter to have a radius some 6mm less than this, and again cut out the disc.
Using the template, this narrow circular strip was glued into place and on the outboard end, trimmed flush to the wood.
A second 57mm disc was then cut with the second radius 2mm less than the first, to produce the side circular margins. Again, cut to fit the template, noting that 4 segments had to be cut and moved in slightly. The picture below shows the completed margins:
I next drew on the base plate the marks representing the plank joins. These are 30mm apart, and alternate planks are 15mm (or halfway between the first set), see next picture:
The next picture shows an example of the deck planks being laid, having been firstly painted on one of the side with the black acrylic. It is easier to use the 1mm by 1mm strip, but for economy sake (you get 2 for the price of 1!!) I am using 5mm by 1mm planks, then cut in half after painting with the minicraft sawbench.
It is important to make sure that each plank if held tight up against its predecessor, I held in place by finger power for about 30 sec while the quick acting glue grabbed the plank (but note it takes 24 hours to fully set). Also make sure that the painted side always faces the same way.
The next picture shows the planks fitted above, sanded down to just less than 1mm thick, and cut to represent plank lengths.
When the whole deck was completed, I then cut in the strange shapes for the gun emplacements, again using the template. I carefully cut out the wood between the two cut in lines, using the scalpel blade as well as a watchmakers screwdriver with a flat end ground down to make a miniature chisel. This “trench” I then filled with wood filler (a trick I learned from travelling on the Orient express where the white of the wood marquetry is done by this technique), and whole lot sanded down.
The deck now looks like:
I then sprayed with a satin finish varnish to complete the job:
Notes: the last picture shows the deck harsher than it actually is, a trick of camera!! Also note that due to variations in the lime, some parts of the deck are darker than others.
To use this technique of further decks will require card templates where margins are not obvious and straight. I am expecting this can only be done when we get the Hachette printed decks later on in the series (issues 60 thru???).
As the whole task is quite time consuming and demanding, I am hoping to spread this work over many months as an in-between the main build.
Also note that I cannot fit the side etchings until they have been painted, else I would have terrible masking problems to stop paint getting on the new decks!!! This will means keeping the etchings to one side until the deck above them is planked.
Note that some of the drawings in the Anatomy show the deck planking, allowing some forward planning.
Firstly, please note that planking the decks for real is very time consuming, very expensive, as once you start then the whole ship will have to be done. However, on the up side, the result is a better looking model, much satisfaction and can be achieved by even by novice builder using a bit of care and patience.
If you have never attempted this type of work before, I suggest that you read my basic instructions elsewhere on the forum.
You will need:
Scalpel and blades, metal ruler, circular hole cutter (cheap from Maplin), 1mm by 1mm planks, 1.5mm by 1mm planks, 100mm by 1mm by 1 metre sheet (all woods in lime), 2 part wood filler, Evostik weatherproof wood glue (or similar), 2 paint brushes, (one for artists black acrylic paint, one for wood glue), coarse and fine sandpaper, matt finish varnish, pencil B or 2B, tons of patience!!
To start with you will need a full size plan of the deck as published in the build link:
www.subifa.de/heftvorschau/die_bismarck_h60.htm
I downloaded this, adjusted and printed to eventually arrive at the correct scale (using plain A4 paper). When satisfied, I then printed out 2 more copies onto card to be used as templates.
Next step was to install all the margin planks. As the superstructure will sit ontop of the “printed” deck version, it is necessary, if replacing this with a proper deck to ensure that the centre section is also 1mm (or less) thick). I cut out the centre section from one of the card templates, making sure that this included the edge margins all round. Sitting this on the deck, checked to make sure that there was approx. 1.5mm of edging all round the superstructure.
The straight side edges were made from the 1.5mm by 1mm planks, glued flush to the outside edge, again using the card as a template.
The circular parts were more complex, and need a bit of practice on card to get a good result. I firstly adjusted the circular cutter to the radius of the outside of the circle at the stern end. Although meant for card, the cutter will cut through the 1mm sheet with little difficulty, so ending up with a circular disc of approx. 57mm diameter. I then reset the cutter to have a radius some 6mm less than this, and again cut out the disc.
Using the template, this narrow circular strip was glued into place and on the outboard end, trimmed flush to the wood.
A second 57mm disc was then cut with the second radius 2mm less than the first, to produce the side circular margins. Again, cut to fit the template, noting that 4 segments had to be cut and moved in slightly. The picture below shows the completed margins:
I next drew on the base plate the marks representing the plank joins. These are 30mm apart, and alternate planks are 15mm (or halfway between the first set), see next picture:
The next picture shows an example of the deck planks being laid, having been firstly painted on one of the side with the black acrylic. It is easier to use the 1mm by 1mm strip, but for economy sake (you get 2 for the price of 1!!) I am using 5mm by 1mm planks, then cut in half after painting with the minicraft sawbench.
It is important to make sure that each plank if held tight up against its predecessor, I held in place by finger power for about 30 sec while the quick acting glue grabbed the plank (but note it takes 24 hours to fully set). Also make sure that the painted side always faces the same way.
The next picture shows the planks fitted above, sanded down to just less than 1mm thick, and cut to represent plank lengths.
When the whole deck was completed, I then cut in the strange shapes for the gun emplacements, again using the template. I carefully cut out the wood between the two cut in lines, using the scalpel blade as well as a watchmakers screwdriver with a flat end ground down to make a miniature chisel. This “trench” I then filled with wood filler (a trick I learned from travelling on the Orient express where the white of the wood marquetry is done by this technique), and whole lot sanded down.
The deck now looks like:
I then sprayed with a satin finish varnish to complete the job:
Notes: the last picture shows the deck harsher than it actually is, a trick of camera!! Also note that due to variations in the lime, some parts of the deck are darker than others.
To use this technique of further decks will require card templates where margins are not obvious and straight. I am expecting this can only be done when we get the Hachette printed decks later on in the series (issues 60 thru???).
As the whole task is quite time consuming and demanding, I am hoping to spread this work over many months as an in-between the main build.
Also note that I cannot fit the side etchings until they have been painted, else I would have terrible masking problems to stop paint getting on the new decks!!! This will means keeping the etchings to one side until the deck above them is planked.
Note that some of the drawings in the Anatomy show the deck planking, allowing some forward planning.