Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Let's Build a Pirate Sloop Part III Upperworks

Having got the hull in order let us turn our attentions to the shape and style of the upperworks. With wide range of time and the different local traditions of construction you have vast latitude when it come top your choice for the model's upperworks. At a very basic level you could put a low railing around the stern and forecastles and call it a day, at the other extreme you have the option for fully enclosing both castles. I will show you both and you can decide. Let us begin.

 
the straight ends of the first model seemed too plain so I grabbed a paint jar and traced it onto the plank that I was going to use for the side of the sterncastle


NOTE: THIS POST IS VERY PHOTO INTENSIVE AND MIGHT TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD



to ensure they matched I traced the original onto the part that would be the opposite side


for tight curves it is often better to jab the razor knife downward
through the foam in a sewing machine fashion


holding the parts together while sanding helps ensure uniformity


placing the upperwork onto the model I marked where the plank overhung the stern


then I switched it across to the other side so that I could mark  the location
if you do not suffer from my life-long aversion to measuring
 you could just as easily have used a ruler 


one side in place, if you are using hot glue for this part be careful to use very thin strands as it will ooze out the sides and is very uncomfortable to wipe away while still hot and nearly impossible to remove once cooled


be sure that the upperwork conforms to the shape of the hull
you can see the mark I made to ensure that both sides are equally distant from the stern


with both sides in place we must now enclose the back, carefully cut a plank so that the angle matches the taper of the hull


then (if you are like me) sand it to get the angle right


hold the plank across the stern and mark the width of the gap on the piece
 (or just measure it with a ruler)


the mark helps ensure that the angle is correct


I cut mine just a bit large and sanded it down to fit


OK, it was more than just a "bit" large


double check the fir before gluing the part in place


because I am in a hurry I used the hot glue and so we are done


if you want time to be sure everything is aligned and true I would suggest using a good quality wood glue  and taping the parts in place while they dry


trim away the overhangs and give it a quick trip past the sandpaper to even off any rough edges


with the sterncastle completed we can now consider the forecastle


if you have decided upon railings there are two ways to go about it
well, actually, there are probably a thousand ways you could go about it,
I will show you two ways; the first uses 1/4" square stock


cut and carefully bend the stock to match the curve of the hull
, you will need an upper and lower rail


then you need to cut the upright parts,
I used a 28mm Pirate figure to ensure that the railing was the correct height,
use you first section as a marker for the rest of the parts
( or go ahead and measure it with a ruler)


after marking the length make a shallow cut all the way
 around the stick to avoid having chunks come off of it


after you have enough uprights it is now time to glue them in place


start with one on each end


then fill in the space between, being careful to evenly space the uprights


after the glue has set add the top rail

a quick bead of glue along the edge of the hull and you are done


the second way of making the railing gives a more scaled and elegant look (but it is one I would not greatly recommend) involves tracing the forecastle's outline onto one of the sheets of thin stock


then setting an inner radius


sketching the dots together


a lot of careful cutting around the curve


it came out OK, just a little rough


nothing our old friend, Mr. 60 Grit, can't fix


repeat the same on the inside curve


trim the end to square


a quick sanding


and back to the sheet stock to trace the matching part


don't try to use the edge from the last cut, it won't work out right....it's a geometry thing
after you have the top and bottom rail but you add the uprights just like the other railing and glue into place on the hull


for this model I decided on solid upperworks for the forecastle


after cutting to length I traced mu curve


more tight radius cutting,
if you have a hot wire cutter and steady hands this would be a great time to show off


assuming that you probably don't have one I went ahead and followed the harder path as well


side one completed


and promptly traced onto another piece of 1/4"plank


it wouldn't pay to have different curves on either side of the boat


again sanding the parts when they are held together
ensures that they will be matches of one another


rolling a small-section tube or rod along the back of the part will help it accept the curve


checking the curve one last time before gluing


this side as well


I burned myself pretty bad because I let a lot of glue spurt out and wiped it away with my finger
this is one of the reasons that the glue gun and I don't get along


I found a use for that railing I made earlier!


most of you got a small assortment of blocks in your kit


they can be used for companionways


or deck houses


or the helm station


I wanted a companionway so I glued mine on right here


then I added a railing behind it


I will cut a gap for a stairway later


that vast empty deck looks pretty boring


so I grabbed a bit of sheet stock


and drew a rectangle on it (yes, I measured it with a ruler)


now I had a deck hatch


but it still looked dull so I made a frame out of some surplus deck planking


and drew planks onto it with a pen


a dash of glue


now that is a good looking deck hatch


I still haven't decided on where it will go so it isn't glued down just yet


the companionway needs a door
(this would have been easier to do before I glued it in place)


so I quickly sketched one out


cut it free


added a window with my trusty ball-point pen


a dab of glue on the back


spread it around so it dries quicker


boom, you have a doorway


the hull is now complete, the next step is sanding and filling,
you may simply skip this step if you are happy with the look of the surface of the model




























2 comments:

  1. Great tutorial ! Great ideas !! I'm sure that I will not build such a ship but it gives a lot of ideas to make other stuffs, I think ...
    very inspirational !
    Thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for all the work you put into these posts. This is a great resource.

    ReplyDelete