Adventure Pirate Ship by SexyAuthor- FINISHED - Amati - scale 1:60

[Sexyauthor]

For my third foray into building wooden ships, I chose this kit for grins and giggles.  Ever see the movie "Princess Bride"?  If not, rent it, find it on netflix or amazon, pop some corn and watch it - good family movie.  I'll wait.... 

Ok - so, my last name is Roberts, and my wife is a program manager whose has a reputation for being tough but fair.  She quickly gained the name "Dread Pirate Roberts" and she in turn began referring to the engineers in the lab as ROUSes.  I'm building this pirate ship for her to keep on her desk, proudly flying the Jolly Roger!

 

My first two build were both Constructo kits - very nice instructions and materials!  I was disappointed that the instructions for the pirate ship was VERY short on actual pictures, the main set of instructions are in Italian with a small English guidebook with some general build tips and lots of references to the original drawing in the Italian instruction book.  The part numbering system is very odd (for instance, one figure will refer to the wood for the deck planking as #90 - 0.5 x 3mm.  In the next figure it will refer to the top rail wood - which is 1x 5mm - as #90 also!  So, 90 means one thing in one figure and a different thing in the next figure).  Also, there are no lengths given, so it's a matter of figuring out which stick of wood to use, where it's supposed to go (given the drawn figure), measure twice, cut it and fit it.  I hope I don't make too many mistakes (or can reuse the mistakes in a later step) and have enough wood to finish the model!

 

Pictures to come...

[Sexyauthor]

Keel and bulkheads in place, decks planked, partial first planking of the hull...

 

 

[trippwj]

I'm in - inconceivable to not follow this build!!!@!

 

Off to a good start -

[Elijah]

This build should prove fun! I hope you post a picture of it on her desk when you are done!

[Sexyauthor]

First planking complete - sanding mostly done, a few minor adjustments needed before second planking...

 

 

[cobra1951]

Looking good

[Sexyauthor]

Second planking underway....

[S.Coleman]

Ahhhhhhhh this build brings back memories. Looks good. Nice work.

[Sexyauthor]

Thank you, Mr. Coleman.  Did you find the instructions lacking, as I do?  This is only my third build, and the two Constructo kit instructions seem so much more detailed (in both words and pictures, the latter being a fantastic help).  I guess experience will fill in the blanks on subsequent builds; for now, I'm taking my time and doing a LOT of test fittings before applying glue! :-)

[mattsayers148]

It's great to see another pirate ship! It's looking really nice. Corel is another company that can be confusing at times from Italian to English. Looks like we're neighbors as well(Cornelius Pass/Amberwood area).

[Sexyauthor]

Howdy Neighbor! (Close neighbors - Orenco Station area)

 

Depending on how this turns out, I may shy away from Amati kits in the future, at least until I get a few more builds under my belt.  I have to admit it seems to be going well, in spite of the poor drawings and instructions.  I'm almost done with the second planking and it's starting to look like a boat

 

Shiver me timbers!

 

Thanks for the kind words....

 

Have an awesome week!

[Sexyauthor]

Second planking complete.  Since the planks weren't very wide (3mm), I found it easier to work with them in batches.  I'd take 6 of them, side by side, and secure them together using Scotch tape (6 planks are almost the exact width of the tape).  This seemed to work pretty well.

 

 

 

[mattsayers148]

Looking great Brian!

[donrobinson]

Wow are you ever moving along, you'll be out on the high seas pillaging and plundering in no time . Looks good

[S.Coleman]

Hey Brian, Yes the instructions are very basic. Lacking a lot of information especially for the novice builders. Your doing great by the way. Good job.

[Sexyauthor]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement!  You guys are great!

 

Progress so far - gunports, guard rails/wales.  What do you think about the nails in the rails?  Also, I'm thinking about planking the cutwater.  Any thoughts?  It's either that or paint it as it is shown on the front of the box.

 

 

[S.Coleman]

I remember I had painted mine as the box had shown. I'm not too sure about the nails. Maby a few more of them closer together for the correct scale if you want to active that.

[Sexyauthor]

Need some input from the veterans....  Basically involves paint/stain and what to do...  See photo....

 

The photos on the box aren't much help.  It looks like the model was made using different wood than what was included in the kit, or the whole thing was heavily stained...  <sigh>

 

[Sexyauthor]

Cutwater, keel and rudder hardware in place.

 

The hinges for the rudder only open wide enough to fit the original keel frame (same thickness as the rudder), before the first and second planking).  So, I had to remove the planking and veneer (second planking) to accommodate them.  The drawing seems to indicate this is intended, although the drawing has hinges that are slightly different from the ones supplied.

 

[S.Coleman]

If I remember correctly I had faired down the stern post when I did the fairnig for the bulk heads. I had shaved it down until both 2nd planking starboard and port could fit into the supplied hinges. Nice work.

[S.Coleman]

Sorry I should of picked this up beforehand and warned you. I hope it's not a big task.

[Sexyauthor]

Scott, you're saying you shaved down the original 5mm stern post to roughly 2mm (so that with the (2) 1mm planks - port and starboard) and the (2) .5mm veneers you got back up to the original 5mm (the width the hinges fit)?  Or, are you saying that you didn't plank the rudder part and just used the veneer in that area (which would also work), so the 5mm keel just needed to be shaved down to 4mm (then the (2) .5mm veneers would bring it back up to 5mm).

 

 

Lesson learned....

 

Thanks,

-=b=-

[S.Coleman]

I had shaved the keel down to 4mm and built up to 5mm with the finale planking. 2mm was a bit to thin for my liking. Hope this helps.

[Sexyauthor]

Well, my solution (since I had already 1st and 2nd planked the rudder area) was to just cut channels for the "arms" of the hinges into the veneer and planking (basically getting back down to the original sternpost).  Now I have to figure out how I'm going to beautify it.    

[S.Coleman]

Are you going to paint the hull? This may help for that cause if needed.

[Sexyauthor]

I really like the beauty of natural wood, but I may paint the hull at the water line and below (as shown in the picture on the box).  This would solve that problem.

[Sexyauthor]

Here is the picture on the box cover.  Look at the rich mahogany tones of the wood - they must have stained the veneer to get these results... And what about the inside of the planks - those are that same rich hue.  I don't think any amount of stain will transform  those beige 1x5 planks into such beautiful wood! 

 

Also note that the two guard rails/wales (the 2x2 at the bottom of the gunports that runs from fore to aft and the 1x5  strip below that (also runs from fore to aft) are NOT painted black as the instructions suggest.

 

Ay yi yi!

 

[pollex]

Hello Squire Trelawney (aka S. Coleman);

The cutwater is never planked, as it's a "build-up" of timbers extending up

from the keel. It's painted like the rest of the hull, which in this case would

either be black (tar) or off-white cream (white-stuff). Hope this helps, Pollex

[Sexyauthor]

Progress report - I stained some of the veneer using "Cognac" stain.  I also stained the white rail that runs near the water line.  Made the deadeye things for the rigging; fashioned the posts that hold the pin rack; worked on the decoration for the stern...

 

 

[S.Coleman]

Those deadeye things are the chainplate assembly. They came up great. Nice work on carving the Bitt heads. Good work.