Okay, nine days since the last post. I told you it'd be hit or miss here.

So, here's what's been happening. I've been at John's twice, working on Blue Toon. We have the keel finished, all the frames built, and on Thursday we installed all the frames except #10, which is also the transom. That one I've got here at home, and I'm covering it with a couple layers of basswood and balsa that will be shaped according to the plans. Once the transom is done, it'll be added to the keel. Here's a shot of the boat with five of 13 frames in place. The last is being held in place with the frame jig that I built.

And I've also made some progress on the MTB. I've got the hull pretty much completed, though there is still a bit of gap filling and sanding to be done. The next step on this boat will be to install the running gear, then the deck, but I had to buy new glasses next week - my first pair of bifocals(!) - so money is tight. Rather than shelve the boat til I have the cash to order the shafts, props, and rudders, I think I'll continue on and build the wheelhouse. I won't install the deck until I have all the running gear in place, because I want as much room as possible to do the work.

Here's a shot of Blue Toon from last night. The keel is finished, other than carving out the bearding lines, and the frames are finished. In this shot the frames are just loosely placed into position. They won't get fastened into place until after I finish with the bearding lines.

The three frames at the bow, and one at the stern, do not get set into slots in the keel, as do frames 2-8. Frames 0, 1/2, 1, 9, 9-1/2, and 10 are cut in half and fastened to the sides of the keel, which is why they have temporary cross braces to hold their shape. The three at the bow have fallen over in this shot, and the last two at the stern haven't been added yet.

John and I managed do get some work done last night, including dry-fitting most of the frames onto the keel. From last night's session, I've been given a worklist to complete before I go back for the next session, some evening next week. Again, I'll post a picture or two later on, on the status of that project. For now, here's a picture of the real Blue Toon:

For some reason, blogger doesn't seem to be able to link to the url for this picture, so as you can see on the bottom left, it's from MarineTraffic.com.

Today's work: tonight, I'll be going to my friend John's to do some work on one of my other models, Blue Toon. John is an excellent builder, and I am doing my best to try to learn some skills from him. To that end, he is leading me through a scratch-build of Blue Toon. As I've mentioned before (I think), the keel is finished, as are all the frames. The next step is to start placing the frames into the keel. To ensure that is done correctly, I've built a jig to help align the frames as they go in, which will help determine that the frames are not lopsided. I'll post a picture of that later.

Snow day! The kids are off school, and my wife left for work before the closure announcement was made, so, tag!, I'm it to stay home with the kids. I need to get some real work done, but I can also find time for model work. Just before lunch, I put the second bottom skin on the MTB. I'll post a picture later.

Now that the hull skins are going on, it's time to start thinking about powering this thing. To that end, I need to place an order with Cornwall Model Boats, my favourite supplier for such things. I buy most of my modelling supplies locally, but with certain things it's faster and easier to go with CMB. Their service is great, and they're fast. Here's the order:

2 x 10" prop shafts, 4mm @ 8.50 quid apiece;
2 x u-joints @ 2.00;
2 x 35mm Rivabo brass 3-blade props, one RH, one LH, @ 10.00;
2 x Graupner 35mm rudders @ 4.00;

That's about 50 quid for the lot. As for motors, a friend has a couple 550s he said he'd sell me, but I won't be seeing him for a couple weeks. If the motors aren't to my satisfaction, I'll add the following to my CMB order:

2 x CEM 550 motors @ 8.24 or;
2 x Mabuchi 545 motors @ 7.25.

A couple 550s should make this thing scoot right along, I would think.

A bit more progress on the MTB. I managed to get food poisoning on the weekend, which meant I spent the best part of 24 hours sleeping and running to the bathroom. On Monday I felt well enough to do a bit of work, so glued on several 1/2" thick pieces of balsa on the bow, which I later sanded to shape. Today, after work, I sanded the chine stringers flush with the frames, which allowed me to put on the first bottom skin. As the instructions suggest, I cut the bow section off the hull piece and fitted a piece from the stern to frame 2. This is now fixed in place with wood glue, and held with various clamps and pins. I'll let that set overnight, then repeat on the other side tomorrow.

Balsa. Did I mention in my last post that I had problems with balsa? Well, it happened again.

On the MTB 379 model, the top stringer is put on in two pieces. A 1/8" x 1/4" stringer is put on, then another layered on top of it to give a 1/4" square stringer. Yesterday I put on the first upper stringer on each side, glued from the stern to frame 3. Forward of frame 3 the stringer takes a bend to frame 2, more of a bend from frame 2 to frame 1, and a big bend from frame 1 to the bow. I test fitted the stringers numerous times and the 1/8" balsa had no problem with the bend.

So, today, I put glue at frames 2 and 1, bent the balsa strip into place, and it snapped at frame 2, sigh. I pinned it at frame 2, took off the broken piece, and went to work on the other side. That piece snapped at frame 1, aaargh! Did I mention I don't like balsa?

Okay, time for the contingency plan. One of the options for this model is to do away with the stringer from frame 1 to the bow and replace it with a solid block of balsa sanded to shape. The bow structure is a bit flimsy using just the stringers, so I'm going to opt for the balsa block, which I'll pick up at my FLHS tomorrow. So for the starboard side stringer, no worries as it now ends at frame 1. On the port side, I've glued in an extra piece along the top of  frame 2 to help support the stringer at that spot, and did likewise on the other side just because. Tomorrow I'll replace the section on the port side that broke ahead of frame 2. Since these are the first of two stringers, I'm not too worried because the second stringer put on top will allow me to retain the curved shape of the bow past frame 2 and up to frame 1. There will likely be a small gap between the two stringers between frames 2 and 1, which I can fill with an appropriate filler.

I also have to do the same thing down below with the chine stringers, so while I'm at the FLHS, I might just pick up some sheets of basswood, and do the chine stringers with basswood strips in lieu of balsa.

Okay, time for some project status pictures. Here's some of what's on the go. Sorry for the lousy pictures, but they were taken with my phone. I've got pictures of the work I did last night on Blue Toon, but they were taken with my BlackBerry, so I'll get to them later on.

This is the canoe model that I have underway. All the forms are in place, and the first plank has been attached on the far side.

The next step: start adding more planks.

Next, we have the Billing Boats model of the tug Banckert. I'm naming it the M. E. McIver, after my grandfather. The deck is just sitting on the hull, not yet attached. All the running gear is installed and working. You can see some BBs that I've put in for ballast. I'll pour them in all over the bottom and fix them in with epoxy to form permanent ballast. After that I'll add moveable weights for the final ballast adjustments.

The next step: a friend of mine built this model and said he had a lot of trouble with the deck. What I'm thinking of doing is cutting out the entire deck and replacing it with a planked deck, with better access holes to get at the electronics when necessary.

Next we have the Midwest Models kit of the USCG 47-footer, which I have already started to paint in Canadian Coast Guard colours. Because I'm Canadian, that's why. The hull is mostly finished, other than some paint touchups and the addition of the name and Canada wordmarks and such. I'll leave that til last. The wheelhouse is mostly built, and I'm now working on the fly bridge.

The next step: start building railings. This involves doing a lot of soldering of brass wire, which I don't do inside. I have no proper workshop and do much of my work on the dining room table. I don't want to get into soldering there, plus I have no proper ventilation, so things such as painting and soldering get done outside. Outside is snowy now, so I wait for warmer weather to continue.

Next up is the Traplet kit of the MTB 379. I've just started this a few days ago, and what you see in this shot is the two top stringers installed, but not yet trimmed to length at the bow, nor fastened at the bow.

The next step: trim those two stringers and attach to the bow, then install the chine stringers.

Next is the Dumas kit of the USCG 44-footer, which I will also do up in Canadian Coast Guard colours. This one will be somewhat retro, with a red hull and the SAR yellow wheelhouse, just to be different from the 47-footer which will have a white wheelhouse. At this point, the hull has just been built and coated in and out with epoxy. The outside has some Bondo filling in low spots, and it hasn't yet been sanded down properly, so it looks like crap. This hull was not without its problems. Dumas supplies balsa strips for planking the hull, 1/8" or 3/16", I can't recall. Anyway, the balsa is brittle and didn't take kindly to some of the curves in the hull, but with a bit of soaking I managed to coax them into place. If I were to do this again I'd go buy some basswood to plank the hull.

The next step: cut through the hull to install the prop shafts, then do some more finish work on the exterior of the hull.

That's it for now. What else is there? The Jane Burnyeat and the Blue Toon, I believe. Pictures on those later on.

More on MTB 379/74

Here's some more info on the two MTBs.

Firstly, here's a link to the Traplet Publications page for the MTB 379 kit:

http://www.trapletshop.com/gb/p/13748/vosper-mtb-379

According to uboat.net, MTB 379 was a Vosper boat, 73 feet in length. MTB 74 was a Vosper boat, 72 feet in length. This conflicts somewhat with the information from the Osprey book British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939-45, which lists 379 as a 70-foot boat, and MTB 74 as a 70-foot as well, both Vosper. Another book, Allied Coastal Forces of WW2, by John Lambert, seems well respected, so might have the definitive information. However, it's out of print and copies on Amazon are listed starting around $150.

From naval-history.net I get this picture of MTB 234. Though it's not a 70-foot boat, you can see that it has the torpedo tubes mounted beside the wheelhouse.

And here's a picture of MTB 74. Note the placement of the torpedo tubes on the bow of the boat in front of the wheelhouse.

The problem with the kit is that it's semi-scale, so doesn't incorporate the curved section that leads from the rear deck to the higher deck at the bow. The kit is simply a flat deck from bow to stern. So, can I make the conversion? I don't know. Once I get to that part of the build I'll make the decision whether to just go ahead with the flat deck, or risk screwing up the whole boat by trying to make the deck match the pictures. I have no plans to go by to do this, so would just have to eyeball the whole thing. Risky. For me, anyway.

So now I'm off to take pictures of various projects, and will post them later on. But first, there's a bottle of The Macallan cask strength that's calling me. It's happy hour.

Another one

I was just looking at my list and I see that I left off one boat. I am also working on a 1/32 scale model of a WWII motor torpedo boat. This is a kit, from Traplet Publications (the people who bring you Marine Modelling International magazine), and I decided to order both the plans for the boat, and their offered woodpack. This, I am hoping, will give me an easy build and help me get my arse into gear and get some building done. Over the last week or so I've built up the keel, added the frames, and on Wednesday night I cut some stringers from some 1/4" and 1/8" balsa stock. Two stringers have already been put on the boat.

This model is of MTB 379, which apparently was a prototype of a new design of MTB. A number of boats were made to this design, but I don't believe 379 ever saw service, though I could be wrong on that. Anyway, I was wondering if I could convert it to MTB 74, which was used in the commando raid on St. Nazaire in 1942. MTB 74 differed from other MTBs in that it carried its torpedo tubes on the bow in front of the wheelhouse, pointing straight ahead. With this design, they hoped to fire their torpedoes over torpedo netting in an attack on the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. When this attack didn't pan out, the boat was used instead on the St. Nazaire raid.

There are numerous challenges to doing this conversion, and I'm not sure I'm up to it. So, perhaps I'll just build 379 as is, and fit out the deck equipment a la 74. After all, it's just a model made for me to have some RC fun. I'm not entering it into any sort of model competition, and if anyone criticizes me for what I've done, I'll just tell them to fuck off.

Next step in this blog: upload some pictures of each project to show where I am in each of them. I'll try to do that this weekend. I'm new to this whole blogging thing so I'll have to figure out how to upload images and such. This being google, I'm sure they've made it pretty easy. I'll figure it out.

This blog will document my efforts to work on a number of model projects, in the face of several handicaps, namely:

- I work full time and occasionally have to travel for work;
- I have four kids, two of whom play hockey;
- my wife is a shiftworker, so I'm often left home alone with the kids. The kids are my priority, so kid time negates modelling time;
- I have a terrible time concentrating on some things, including modelling. This means slow progress;
- I don't know if it's a related problem, but I have a hard time finishing projects. I love starting them, but I have trouble finishing them. I have trouble finishing most things to be honest, but I've got four kids, so I can sometimes finish what I started.

You can expect me to jump from project to project to project. It might be maddening. Take comfort in the fact that I find my inability to concentrate on one project quite maddening too. But I shall keep trying.

Posts will be irregular. I might post daily for a couple weeks, then not at all for a couple months. Depends on how I feel and how successful I am at maintaining my focus.

So, in the spirit of full disclosure, here are the kits I have in progress at the moment, all in various stages of completion:

- a scratchbuild of the Peterhead (Scotland) pilot boat, Blue Toon;
- a Dumas kit of a USCG 44-footer lifeboat. This will be done in CCG colours;
- a Midwest kit of a USCG 47-footer lifeboat, which will also be done in CCG colours;
- a scratchbuild of a Thames River workboat, Jane Burnyeat;
- a Billing kit of the tug Banckert;
- a Bear Mountain kit of a canoe.

I have two other kits that might be tossed in here, namely a Dumas kit of the tug Carol Moran. This one will be taken to my cottage this summer where I'll begin work. Also, a Billing kit of the St. Roch. I plan on trying to copy the keel and bulkheads of this onto paper, in order to make a proper keel and set of frames. If successful, I'll continue with a scratch build of the vessel using the kit as a guide.

As you might have guessed, I have a strong interest in smaller vessels, such as tugs, lifeboats, and workboats.