napoleonicfrigates

 

 The Wale is a key part of this kits shape. On the actual ship it will have functioned as a thin layer to keep other items (ships, docks) from damaging the hull itself. On the kit it has this visual representation but is also responsible for strengthening the gun port plank of wood along with the planks covering it. Later in this step we will be removing the upper sections of the bulwarks which to this point have been primarily responsible for holding the gun port section up. Therefore the planking needs to be strong enough to take the strain.

The instructions state that at this point that you should use the plan for this. In case you had not noticed the reason the plans are so huge are they are 1-1 scale with the ship. Therefore measure of the plan using a ruler the distance to the top of the wale and then translate that exactly to the ship. If you err then it is better to do so higher rather than lower. Once marked you should be able to see that the mark corresponds approximately with the deck line which is slightly higher than the level of the gun port bulwarks.

Typically my planking accuracy has improved at this point and I managed to get a nice tight fit. Bodes well for my next model at least... Also used a different glue for this part which was much faster setting and made the job of placing these planks much easier especially as ,unlike with the other planking sections so far, I was able to use some sort of clamp or pin to assist the positioning process.

Next up came the fun instruction to 'very carefully' remove all the upper bulkhead sections. This made me nervous and I did have pictures of one twist and the entire thing falling apart yet they actually came off relatively easily. The only tip here is to beware of over enthusiastic turns which may excessively knock the bulkhead and recently placed wale of sync. Then comes the thrilling job of sanding down ready for the inner bulwark planking.

The Bulwark inner planking went fairly smoothly, though again I would recommend turning the ship upside down at some point to check the upper levels of the gun port gaps are level as it is difficult to judge just from one angle. I also found it easier to always leave excess over the gun ports and then use a mini sand to sand closer before a hand file to ensure all thee levels were equal.

The Gunport lower quadrant sills were fun to fit in though I took an approach of sanding down until they fitted exactly before gluing.

Next up a sand before actually getting to apply paint. I chose to use the manufacturers paint and it is not bad. Good consistency, good colour. There is no major need to worry about marking the outside of the hull as a quick sand will soon sort this out.

The sloop is starting to get some character and I am looking forward to the next section - the planking of the deck..

Next deck planking and playing around with rudders