The Pinta by Torbogdan - FINISHED - Dusek shipmodels - 1:72

[Torbogdan]

This is my first real wooden ship model. I started with a Mini Mamoli Victory but that was a solid hull ship.

 

I´m fairly happy with it so far. The hull/planking could have been done a lot better.

 

I started in January this year. I should have been more careful planking the hull and done a better job of preparing the hull ( counting number of planks, better fairing and beveling and so on. Done a better scheme how thin I should have shaved the planks but in all I´m satisfied.

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Torbogdan

[reklein]

Torbogdan, thats a nice hull for a first timer. I hope you find that you like shipmodeling and that you'll remember your first mistakes. I had  saying in art class. "if I had known it was gonna turn out this well. I would have used better paper"  Bill in Idaho

[Torbogdan]

Thanks  . I like ship modeling a lot. I have already bought a new model to start on when this is finished. The "bad" parts is on the bottom of the hull so it is not visible on these pictures. According to Dusek it is an "advanced beginner kit" and I would agree with that. With care and some previous skill it is a good starter kit. 

[Elijah]

She looks great! Being a beginner, I don't see any mistakes .

[rschissler]

I think it looks great!  I would consider changing out the round deadeyes to triangular ones, though.

[Torbogdan]

here are two pictures of the bottom of the hull

 

 

 

I know what mistakes I made, I was too eager. I started planking without doing a proper job of counting how many planks  I needed or how to bevel or fair them or how to use stealers.

 

When I realisted my mistake it was "too late" to fix it properly. Oh well the mistakes of too much enthusiasm...

 

About the dead eyes, I thought about it but decided to use what was in the kit. I decided to build straight from the box before diving into aftermarket parts!

[Torbogdan]

I have started the rigging process. Great fun, I really enjoy it. Unfortunately the holes in each mast must be redone. I drilled them before I realized the must go from fore to aft… So I guess I need to fill them and drill new ones. Oh well, a minor mistake. 

 

[Torbogdan]

Making progress with the standing rigging, but no picture today. The rigging is coming along quite nicely. It is a bit fiddly and tweezers are a must. Although this is my first model and I have no experience with other manufacturers I think it is fairly "easy" to rigg. Not easy that it does not demand finger dexterity and a sharp eye but easy as in clear instructions and where each rope/thread/deadeye/block will go. I´m very satisfied with this kit and the instructions, they are good. And as I have said before the level advanced beginner is spot on. Not very easy but not too difficult either. But, I have no experience with other kits...

 

I usually seal each knot with a little white glue, is this "standard" or how do others do?

[Torbogdan]

 

 

[Torbogdan]

One of the metal hinges is missing from the cargo hold hatch. That needs to be replaced. It is a bit difficult to get all the rigging as tight as I want it.

[Torbogdan]

A bit of the running rigging. Everything is in 90 degrees to each other. It is just the angle of the photo that makes things look a bit crooked. 

 

[Torbogdan]

Thanks a lot for all the likes, I really appreciate it! I have done a bit more since this photo, had a day off from work so I got an extra hour work done. But now there is no more time until next week, lots of work and other things to fill my days, sadly as I really like rigging.

[Torbogdan]

Slowly getting there. I use blue tac to get some tension in the rigging. 

 

 

[Torbogdan]

Today I started on the sails. Having never done this kind of thing before I consulted my sister whose hobby is quilting. From here I got some good advice. So first I zig-zagged with a sewing machine all the edges on the entire piece of cloth. Then I made sails from paper to get the size correctly. After that I made thin lines with pencil across the entire piece of cloth and using the sewing machine did the vertical lines. 

 

After that I washed the cloth to get rid of the pencil lead and maybe shrink it a little if needed. Then I pressed it with an iron to get it completely flat. Using the paper sail I could mark out the largest sail on the cloth. Then using a steel ruler and a new, very sharp razor I cut out the sail. My sister recommended a tool that looks like a pizza cutter/razor"wheel" but I used a razor blade.

 

Then I did the first fold on the first edge of the sail, pressed with the steaming iron, did fold number two on the same edge and pressed again with the iron. This makes the  folds very flat and precise. Then I sewed with the sewing machine. Then I did the second sail edge the same way and third and fourth...

 

I takes some time as I alternate from folding to pressing back and forth and the sewing but i produces, I think, a nice seam.

 

Fastening the rope on the sail edge was pretty straight forward, followed the instructions and being careful.

 

[Torbogdan]

Almost done! I´m working on the rudder. I skipped that as I wanted to start on the rigging and then rigging was so fun I just postponed doing the rudder. But now there is no more postponing...

 

The last sail is almost done but I need to finish the last of the stitching. Flags are done and just waiting to be added.

 

So, to do is: rudder, the last sail and its rigging, add flags.

 

I´m actually pretty proud as this is my first wooden ship model, and it is almost finished.I´m satisfied with it and have learned a lot building it. I have already my next model lined up, just waiting to start on it. Which ship it is I will keep to myself for a while.

 

[Torbogdan]

Save one line/thread and snipping off some excess, DONE! So remaining working time approx 4 minutes.

 

I´m pretty proud, It ended up quite nice. I´m satisfied with it as it is my first wooden model ship. Planking was difficult and there was a few snags but in the end it went ok.

 

As this is my first model I have no comparison but I´m very very satisfied with this Dusek kit. "advanced beginner" was a very correct description. I consider myself a veteran plastic model builder but a beginner with wood so "advanced beginner" would suit me well I thought and it was right.

 

Instructions was clear and easy to follow. Taking some time and reading and understanding the instructions was easy and there was basically nothing to worry about. One major thing I was worried about before starting out was that the instructions would be unclear or ambiguous. But that was not the case.

 

On tuesday I start on my new project. Duseks "Hansa Kogge". I picked this on purpose as it is "clinker style" hull. I want to learn that technique. Well not "learn" after one model but at least have some knowledge about it.

 

I know this sounds like I´m paid by Dusek (which I´m most certainly not.) But having such a good experience with this model I found no reason to not buy a Dusek as my second project.

 

One thing that could be improved is the flags. With the printers available the detailing on the flags could be a bit better and more "crisp".

 

In the end I want to build a huge ship (like everyone else I believe…

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a "building log" for the model with a few advice (maybe) or things I noticed.

After a while I stopped updating this as it was not really needed. The instructions was so good I don´t think I can really add something. Read the instructions, understand them and you are good to go.

 

Building log the pinta

 

Punched out all hull parts and sanded all the edges where the laser had cut.

 

I read that you do not get a good glue bond if you do not sand as some. Also not that lasers do not cut a precise 90 degree angle.  This has to be corrected with some sanding.

 

Also punched out and sanded the keel parts. Same here, sand away the ”burnt” and black from the wood. Using an engineers square you will notice that the laser does not cut at 90 degrees.

 

It is close to 90 degrees but not perfect, putting several pieces together and you will get a warped look.

 

I glued pieces 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in place. Try to avoid laying the hull on the table and just glue the piceces in place. These five pieces are slightly wider than piece 0 so if you lay all the pieces flat on the table all the excess will be on one side. Try to get an equal amount of wood on each side of piece 0 when viewed from the front.

 

 

Then I glued pieces 6-12 in place. Note that these pieces can ”slide back and forth” a bit as the cuts in piece 0 is slightly wider than the thickness of piece 6-12. ”Dry fit” ( using no glue) pieces 17 and 18 so that these two pieces can be put in place without unnecessary tension. I had to make a few of the cuts in pieces 17 and 18 wider as the cuts and the ”horns” on pieces 6-12 did not match up perfectly.

 

Also be very careful that all pieces are in 90 degree angles towards each other! Make very sure pieces 6-12 are not at crooked angles.

 

Pieces 13-16 are easy to fit.

 

Make sure that before you fit pieces 17-18 the area which these pieces will cover is flat, no bumps, glue blobs or such.

 

As you fit pieces 17 and 18 (and testfit see above) make sure the oval opening is to the right on the ship model. This opening must match with the opening in piece 20.

 

Planking the stern. Nothing to mention, work carefully. I made each plank slightly too long to be sanded to perfect shape later. Maybe 2 mm extra on each side.

 

Starting to plank the hull. I followed instructions and have seen and read quite a few planking tutorials. This is not a tutorial for planking so read and watch other tutorials.

 

Finished the planking, it went fairly well.

 

I glued the deck in step IVb in place. Had a little trouble with it curling up at the edges. So I hade to keep it pressed down until the glue had dried. The hatches went together fine. Anchors and rudder presented no problem, just followed the instructions.

 

Drilling the holes for the gunbarrels were straightforward but check carefully where the holes are drilled so that the gunports are not behind  wires for the dead eye blocks. So check step Ve before drilling the gunholes/ports in step Vd.

 

Also I had a slight problem with the drilling the holes in bulkhead no 15 to fix the end of the gunbarrels. I do not know if I drilled in the wrong position or so but the bulkhead nr 15 was too ”deep” into the ship for the gunbarrels to stick out. So what I did wa sto cut of a about 15mm long piece of round wood and drilll a hole in it and put the gunbarrel in that piece of wood. This wood piece was the glued to bulkhead no 15. Make sure the piece of wood is of a smaller diameter than the gunport hole…

 

Glueing piece 41 and making the dead eye blocks went without a hitch. Same with everything else in step Ve and Vf.

 

So far so good.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Torbogdan

[Torbogdan]

A short add on.

 

The material in the box was enough for building the model (of course, as it should be) But, i would have liked a bit more of the basic wooden sticks. The 3mm times 2 mm. they were enough but I would have liked a few more spares. I did not "waste" any but still had to "ration them" a bit at the end. A few more sticks would have been nice. At the end I had to be a bit careful to use small pieces of scrap wood and keep the last long ones for the hull.

 

Same with the rope that line the sails. It was enough but not enough if I had made a mistake or would have to "redo" a sail. Same here, a bit more to allow the builder to make a mistake and still have some extra without having to order more from Dusek.

 

But, it is still a very good kit,