Mike Dowling

I thought it was about time I did an update !
 
Columns and railings are now done, the instructions said 111 columns and 113 spacers !!!! That took a while and I know they are not all straight. The railings were pressed brass strip which had to be bent and painted and then 1mm square hand and foot rails put on each length. A fair test of wood bending I can assure you !
 
Just to make life harder for myself I have also put railings on the third deck which the Constructo model doesn't have but the real R.E.L did. I managed to get some extra strip from Constructo which is about the only good thing I have to say about them !!
 
There is some more varnishing to be done before the funnels and smoke stacks and rigging get done along with the gangplanks and a few more bits and pieces.
 
But, here she is to date.
 
 

Here goes then, next update.
 
The ventilation deck is now on and in the right place !! I had a senior moment when I first glued it on and managed to get it off centre. So, more soaking to get it off before replacing it correctly.
 
I have also included a photo using a 5p piece to show the 'right angle' bends that this kit requires I can tell you my wood bending skills have been tested with these. I have tried several methods but the way it has worked out has been to soak the wood in really hot water but only for about 15 minutes then bend really carefully using a hand held mechanical plank bender - the one with the blade - very, very carefully. If the wood isn't soaked enough it just snaps, if left too long it gets too soft and the 'blade' goes straight through it. I am very glad to say that with this particular wood I only have four more bends like those to do.
 
Plenty more bending to come for hand rails though with 1mm square bass wood and if I can't do it I will have to resort to styrene. Anyway that is in the future.
 
I have also put in one photo of the 'invisible' paddle wheels !! Someone else said it was an awful lot of effort for things that don't show and I am very inclined to agree with them !!
 
 

The rest of the photos for now

Well folks,
 
A fair bit of progress since last I updated this.
 
The basics of the second deck are now done and fitted. Those pesky little columns took ages !!! There are supposed to be 20 identical columns (!!!!) but,
 
I am simply not that clever. I did the best I could ! My first efforts after gluing them on the underside of the second deck proved to be 1mm too wide on each side which meant the deck wouldn't sit down properly !!!
 
So, I took them all off again after much soaking. About half of them broke so had to be remade. My second attempt just fitted width wise but some were then 1mm too short. Well, sorry to all you perfectionists out there but 1mm too short they are going to be !! I don't think it shows too much.
 
The stairs were good fun too as they had to be built up with individual wood pieces. Nothing like the Amati kit where they are pretty much pre made. Effectively they were scratch built off the plans and to my amazement, they fitted !!
 
The observant amongst you will notice that I am having to varnish as I go along as there is simply no way this could be done with all the twiddly bits that have to be done later.
 
I also thought for anyone wanting to try a Constructo kit that I would include a couple of pictures of the lovely pre warp problems that I have had with every flat piece so far. It makes planking them are real pleasure (!!!!) and they still don't want to lay flat after that.
 
Anyway - judge for yourselves !
 
 

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

I think anyone who scratch builds deserves a medal !

I think anyone who scratch builds deserves a medal !

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

I think anyone who scratch builds deserves a medal !

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

Of course I should have added that I take Mike's characterization as a compliment.

Boyd, you might want to pick up on this bit of methodology.... the hardest part for me in putting all those double blocks around the mast was being precise with where I would drill a pilot hole.  On one of them 13 holes needed to be put around the mast hole.  Being an anorak (see Mike Dowlings comments if you don't know that term) I thought the holes should be exactly spaced and in the same location as the plans showed.  And I knew I could not duplicate that visually and my pin vise tends to slip a little before digging into the already varnished deck.  So what I did was:  traced the plans onto a bit of tracing paper; making dots where the holes had to be.  Then I transferred that to another little bit of heavier construction paper, poking holes into the construction paper where the dots were, and punching a larger hole in the center which would be the mast hole.  Then, making sure I had the "template" oriented fore and aft correctly (cause the holes are not laid out symmetrically or evenly around the hole), I laid it over the mast hole and taped it to the deck.  So then I was able to put the drill bit into the little holes I'd poked and drill down into the deck.  Worked very well to get good spacing.  Still it was a tricky maneuver to insert the pins and hook the block's beckets into the eyes and close them up.  I chose to use brass eyebolts on the blocks rather than tie beckets with tread cause I know I couldn't tie 10 knots in that close quarters.  In looking at other builds and how blocks are attached to eyes, I know that this method is not authentic and is kind of the lazy man's way, but I'm just not good enough or don't have the right tools to get those knots correct.  As I build the masts and yards I hope I can do less of the brass eyes and more thread stropping of the blocks with beckets.

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!

Personally, I feel the term "kit-bashed" is being completely misused in the model ship building community.
 
Coming from a model railroading background, kit-bashing means taking something and turning it into a completely different model. Usually multiple kits are used, but occasionally one kit is heavily rebuilt to reflect a different prototype.
 
What I find here, is most builds labelled "kit-bash" are in effect super-detailing projects. Taking something, and increasing the accuracy and detail levels. Fundamentally, the kit remains what it is, as stated on the box, but more closely reflects its prototype, even if a major rebuild is conducted.
 
In other words, Dafi's HMS Victory build is a classic example of a Super-Detailing project. I also consider JGerson's Rattlesnake a super detailing project.
 
A kit bash, would be taking a Revell "Cutty Sark" model kit and turning it into the Great Republic. 
 
I'll step down off Mark's milk crate (or is it soap box?) now.
 
Andy

Keith, no paint is planned.  Except of course for such things as barrels and other little tidbits.  I have spruced up the transom's decorations a bit with black paint.  That was for no other reason but to contrast a bit with the brass filigree stuff.
 
I do appreciate both your kind words.  It gives me encouragement to keep it up.  I've gotten away from describing all the pitfalls I run into and how I have worked around them.  My earliest posts were like a primer on how not to build a model.  Now when I run into difficulties I think its more from lack of foresight or plain inexperience.  The one thing I can't reconcile myself to is that so often the plans or instructions are just wrong.  I'm getting better at recognizing that and trusting in my own concepts and measurements. Having sailed my own boat for years I understand some things about how ships are put together and how things need to work, but that's a far cry from understanding an 18th century square rigger.

Thanks for another tip Danny.  I can't believe how much minute detail all this model building entails, most of it I'm sure being quite important in the end.  Of course what I showed above (bad photos I admit) is a sample and I'll definitely be watching out for those holes.

I think your boat looks brilliant as well !

Here we go again, my next project ! I decided to do another paddle steamer, this time a Constructo kit.
 
First impressions, not impressed by the plywood parts. They don't use laser cutting which means you have to cut most of the parts with a knife. The plywood is very thin and quite badly warped but, being so thin I should be able to flatten it OK. Nice bundled wood for the model as I found with the Louise.
Reasonable instruction book with photos and two 1/1 sheets showing side elevations and overhead deck diagrams.
 
So, first thing as usual is to put frames on the false keel which will lead to double planking of the hull.
 
 

I think your boat looks brilliant as well !

She's really looking lovely Boyd.

She looks great with all her chainplates in place Boyd! Still can't get past the over-all shots of her and how marvelous this ship really is!
 
Cheers

I thought it was about time I did an update !
 
Columns and railings are now done, the instructions said 111 columns and 113 spacers !!!! That took a while and I know they are not all straight. The railings were pressed brass strip which had to be bent and painted and then 1mm square hand and foot rails put on each length. A fair test of wood bending I can assure you !
 
Just to make life harder for myself I have also put railings on the third deck which the Constructo model doesn't have but the real R.E.L did. I managed to get some extra strip from Constructo which is about the only good thing I have to say about them !!
 
There is some more varnishing to be done before the funnels and smoke stacks and rigging get done along with the gangplanks and a few more bits and pieces.
 
But, here she is to date.
 
 

Thanks for the post Shihawk, I have to confess I will be pleased to see the end of this one !!!
 
My next project is in fact sitting next to me in it's box. I was bought for a 'large' birthday the Occre Santisima Trinidad cross section. Some might see this as a backward step but firstly I love models where you can see the insides hence my cutaway Bounty, secondly it will take up less space and thirdly I think it will be a good opportunity to improve my rigging skills ! I also think it's a great model and I do like Occre kits. I may have to build the whole S.T boat afterwards !!!