With the split deck temporarily in place, I fitted the bulwarks, which were made of plywood. To be able to bend them around the hull, I soaked them in warm water. This however made the various layers of the plywood separate.
Using white glue, I re glued them, put them between two slabs of wood which I clamped together. I also put a layer of newspapers to make sure the bulwarks do not stick to the wood (that would be a real disaster).
The following day I bent them around the hull and the fit was excellent.
Due to the sharp bend at the top of the bulwarks, I pre-soaked the planks and used my favorite plank bender (photo below). The planks were left to dry on the tin for 24hours.
To ensure a good bend, I fitted the planks all around the bulwarks and cut them above the bow-spirit, in place, once the glue was dry. I am very pleased with the result.
I now plan to plank the bulwarks and trim planking around the portholes before planking the hull.
Fitting of top deck will happen at a later date - definitely not before I am happy that the lower deck is complete. Would probably be a good idea to mark before.
Plan to split the false upper deck in two so that I can remove it after bulwarks are in place.
I will re-install when all hull planking is complete and the gun-deck (lower) is finished.
Hope I eventually manage to finish the planking around the upper deck edges in a neat way, considering the bulwarks will be in place at that point. If they are not 100%, I consider adding waterways all around the top deck. These are not in the kit, but should not be a problem to source.
After finishing planking the deck, I have now scraped the surface with a blade and finished it off with fine steel wool.
When I applied clear matt acrylic varnish, some of the 'permanent' ink used on the side of the planks to simulate caulking bled to the surface leaving a slight smudge.
When dry, I re-sanded with 400 sandpaper and finished off with steel wool once again to remove the smudges.
The second coat was much better as the black ink was sealed by the first coat.
After the third coat, the finish is even better.
I now plan to varnish individual planks before using them to plank the upper deck. That should minimize smudging even more.
Instructions say that the upper deck must be fitted in place before bulwarks, which is probably too early considering the area that will be covered. It will also shut off access to the lower deck canon port holes.
Ideally, will plank the hull and fit in bulwarks before, but not sure upper deck can be fitted in after that. Need to experiment a bit before concluding.
