Model Ship Building

The world of model shipbuilding is very diverse - from plastic kits where the only extra required is some glue and maybe some paint, to the more elaborate wooden kits where a vast array of tools and some expertise and a lot of patience is required.

This is the Mantua plank on frame model of the Le Soleil Royal, and the finished article is at a scale of 1:77, being 1030mm long, 440mm wide and 765mm high.

The kit comes in a box, containing detailed plans, the various wooden components, brass fittings and rigging cord.

 

This particular model is double planked. The inner planking of pale lime wood forms a rigid supporting layer and is hidden once the second layer of thinner darker walnut is glued on top. The wood for the planking is in strips, with wooden rods for the masts, square wooden dowels of lime and walnut for various fittings, and other shaped pieces of plywood to form the hull and decorative fittings, which you release from laser-cut sheets using a sharp knife.

The best piece of equipment to have when building a model like this is a Dremel with plenty of miniature drill bits and cutting and sanding wheels. Recommended additional equipment is a small hammer, tweezers, craft knives, clamping pegs and masking tape. Wood glue, superglue, satin finish wood varnish, and paint are extras you do need to buy. And a well-balanced, weighted clamp to hold the ship keel firmly is a must!!
I strongly recommend using a mask and apron as wood dust gets everywhere and walnut dust is particularly bad to breathe in.

OK, now to the construction!!
The first job is to cut out, slot together, and glue the skeleton of the hull and internal decks.
Then the first layer of planking. It is important that this is as smooth and even as possible before you move on to the second skin of planking. A combination of water, gentle heat and carefully applied pressure with plank benders are used to shape the lime strips, hopefully without them breaking in the process. The deep curve around the bow is particularly tricky.
When the correct bend is achieved, the strip is glued into place and held with a combination of clamping pegs and tape until the glue is sufficiently set to be able to do the next plank.

This is my own model at that stage in construction.

When the entire hull has been planked with lime, and any imperfections filled and sanded smooth, it is time to repeat the process over the top of that with the much easier to work with thin walnut strips.

When that is done, the next job is where a Dremel comes in very handy: cutting the gun ports for the cannons!!

Then it is time to plank the decks and make the deck fittings, including the hatches and the cannons on their wheeled carriages.

The next task is the wooden strips along the side of the hull - some in pale lime wood and some in walnut.

The cannons are glued into place on the lower decks, with muzzles protruding from the gun ports and little hinged doors made to fit the openings, planked with walnut and painted on the inside. They are held in the open position by short pieces of cord.

Then it is time to start on the railings, which are cut and shaped from the square dowels of lime wood. The rear galleries are planked and then painted, as are the appropriate sides of the ship. The brass fittings can be glued along the sides, and the figurehead fitted.

The ship begins to take shape, with the bottom sections of the masts shaped from the walnut dowels and glued into place through the decks. The other upper deck fittings and railings are crafted and put into place.

The lanterns and the rear brass fittings can start to be fitted.