| The Bow finished I completed the bow first, and was quite pleased with how it looked. It was quite rough, but it would be sanded later. |
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| A reader asked me by e-mail why I did not paint the sides of the planks back, to represent caulking. In my opinion, on a ship model, once you account for scale, there is no way you would be able to see the caulking between planks. I think it is over-kill to blacken the sides of planks. For example, tar repairs on asphalt roads is jet-black when applied, but in a week it is grey. So exposure and drying would render plank caulking grey in no time. So I chose to go without, which I believe is correct for the scale. You can judge the results yourself, but I believe the deck tuned out very well. |
| Checking the Bulkheads I laid tape on the bulkheads to see if the deck would lay flat, and discovered that two areas on the bow were too low. To bring them up to the level of the other bulkheads, I applied a glob of auto-body filler onto the tops and then screwed the deck down. The next day, I removed the deck and everything underneath was now level. |
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| The Lower Decks The four lower decks along the sides of the hull were also planked, so these would have to be done individually. This photo is of Pommern in 1909. |
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| Deck Intro / Cutting the Planks / Planking / Lower Decks / Sanding / Water Gutters / Chain Runs/ Final Product |