Rattlesnake Instr. Manual - Nature Coast Hobby Shop

BEFORE YOU BEGIN
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO START CONSTRUCTION
The Rattlesnake is a very beautiful ship
and makes a splendid model. The
plank-on-bulkhead hull construction
with laser-cut parts offers a unique
building experience. It assures an accurate
hull form, and develops an understanding
of how real ships are constructed.
The kit is supplied with a set of Britannia,
brass, and wooden fittings to eliminate
problems in making or machining
such parts from scratch, which
may be beyond the ability or resources
of the average modeler. Many of these
fittings, however, will require final finishing
before they are suitable for installation
on the model. This will be especially
true for the Britannia fittings
and will be discussed later.
This kit will provide less experienced
modelers with the opportunity to acquire
some scratch-building techniques.
As an aid, various techniques
will appear throughout the instructions.
While the modeling progresses,
you will see where you may want to
substitute some of the kit fittings with
your own creations. By all means try
them, especially if you think you can
improve the model. The worst that can
happen is a little lost time. But, the experience
gained will be most valuable
for future projects.
If you are a beginner, take your time.
This model has a fair amount of detail
and small parts. Make sure you complete
one stage before moving to the
next. When things go awry, consider
doing it over.
The following tools and supplies are recommended
for the construction process.
Modelers who have built before may
have their own favorites.
A. Knives
1. Hobby knife
2. No.11 blades
B. Files
Set of needle files
C. Clamps
1. A few small C-clamps
2. Wooden clothespins
3. Rubber bands, #16 and #33
D. Tool Set
A small carving tool set or
individual gouges and chisels
for carving center keel rabbets,
the counter block, stern and
bow filler blocks, tapering the
stem, and carving the ship's
longboat.
E. Sharpening Stone
Necessary to keep tools razor sharp
F. Boring Tools
1. Set of miniature drills: #60 to #80
2. 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8" drills
3. Pin vise
G. Miscellaneous
1. Tack hammer
2. Tweezers (a few)
3. Small fine pointed scissors
4. Miniature pliers
a. small round
b. flat nose
5. Bench vise (small)
6. Soldering iron or torch
a. solder
b. flux
7. Sewing thread (for seizing;
other rigging in kit)
a. black
b. tan
8. Beeswax block (for treating
rigging lines)
9. 1/2" or 3/4" masking tape
10. Wire cutters (for cutting fine
wire and strip metal)
H. Sandpaper
Fine and medium grit garnet or
aluminum oxide sandpaper
(#100 to #220)
I. Sail cloth
Light weave cotton or linen cloth if
you intend to add sails. A suitable
cotton cloth is available from Model
Expo.
J. Finishing
1. Paint Brushes
a. fine point for details
b. 1/4" to 1/2" flat square
for hull
K. Supplies
(will be covered in detail in the
Painting & Staining section and
throughout the instructions)
1. Paints
2. Primer
3. Stains and varnish
4. White or Carpenter's (yellow)
wood glue
5. Super glue
6. Five-minute epoxy glue
7. Wood filler
Note about glues: White glue, or Carpenter's
wood glue (yellow in color; also
available in tan color), will suffice for
most of the model. Five-minute epoxy
provides extra strength for gluing fittings.
Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue),
such as Jet, can be used for quick adhesion
and is ideal for adding a touch to a
rigging seizing to hold it in place. The
best super glue for most applications is
a medium viscosity gap filling type. The
watery thin type is recommended to fill
a narrow crack by capillary action, and
for quickly securing hull planking to the
bulkheads.
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