The Ship Model Forum

Will soon make my second attempt at a larger size scratch model and this time I will base the hull on plank on frame construction similar to Iron Duke and want to clarify materials and sizes.....
1. Do the frames require marine grade ply from the model shop or can I use bass or similar wood. (think big box store)
2. Model should be about 45 inches in length so am thinking a wood keel about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Frames 1/8-3/16 thick.
4. balsa planking of 1/8inch. Some Bass same thickness for additional strength in different areas to be determined.
5. To achieve a very sharp edge at top of armor belt considering a small square x-section aluminum stringer.
Guidance on above ideas appreciated.
I have looked at the online builds for quite a while and found all inspiration throughout the board.

Hi, To me everything above seems o/k, are you going to cover it with anything, like , matting , resin, fibra paste.

Hello,

The sizes aren't quite my specialty, so i'll leave the answer on that to others.
I do know that height gives strength, so the wood used for the planking can be used to support the planks, as long as you place vertical.
Making a T-profile of them will prevent bending in the length-direction of the ship.
To make things a bit more clear i've made a scetch: Greetings Josse

ARH wrote:Hi, To me everything above seems o/k, are you going to cover it with anything, like , matting , resin, fibra paste.

All the above most likely. Knowing my abilities I will need the Bondo (fibra paste) to help blend shapes, resin most definitely to water proof, and a light matt exterior.
Two more questions Admiral. How thick was the matt/resin for Iron Duke as I will need to compensate. Second question, I've looked several times at the Duke build and I cannot figure out your deck construction/attachment. I see the false deck during hull construction. You then have another false deck (1/16th thick) with the wood deck overlaid to that. What I don't see is how you secured that deck while keeping it removable.

Tweety77: If I follow, place the wood grain vertically and run a brace horizontally to support.

Thank you both. Back to planning..........

Hi,

You can call me Josse.

That indeed is what i meant to say.

Greetings Josse

When I make the bollards I make two pins ,one in each upright, I drill two holes in the deckand slot the bollards in to the holes, this holds the deck down, works for me.

The matting is the thinest you can get, the resin does the work but the matting holds everything together and stops any cracking.


page 8 near the bottom of the page, making bollards

Thank you both again.

Hi SSN,

I never use balsa anymore for my planking, I build once a hull with this stuff, it stinks. Too light to be strong, unless you put fibreglass & resin.

As I want to avoid the fibreglassing process, I prefer to use ply for my planking, easy to cut in strakes with a cutter, easy to glue & to sand.

When fitting your frames, fit them at each 4 inches maximum, a greater space between the frames will weaken the planking.

Regards,

Laurent

Frames are scaling at just over 2 inch spacing. Have looked at Messina posts in scratch building and see he used 2mm which sizes to 1/16th inch. As I plan on glass over the top anyway would like opinion on using 1/16th instead of 1/8th. Also, anyone tried "Sintra" or "Gatorboard" for planking? Costs for balsa do not appear kind on any form of budget.