Keith_W

Here is a bow on view of Surprise aka Ajax. Figure head is a work in progress. Copper hull plates are Caldercraft , about 850 of them. Not a hard job, took about a week.

VERY WELL DONE KEITH.
 
MARIO

Today was a happy day modelling. That is, until I received a phone call from my best friend's mother. He passed away from a motorbike accident - apparently he crested a hill and encountered a vehicle driven by a drunk driver travelling on the wrong side of the road: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/claremont-man-killed-in-albany-crash-20140322-359rc.html
 
I am completely numb at the moment. After I put down the phone I continued to work but my mind was a blank.
 
Anyway, i'll just leave these here:
 

 

 

 

 

 
I think i'll continue doing work. It was strangely therapeutic.

Thanks for all the comments and likes, everyone!

Anyway, I did some work on the carpenter's chest. I modelled it in the open position. I took inspiration from Cap'n Rat Fink's chest here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/849-hms-bounty-launch-by-teleman-116-bashed-completed/?p=12090 (copied the hollow lid idea), as well as Meredith's hinges here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/2160-hms-bounty-launch-by-meredith-modelshipways/?p=143922
 
At the time I was wondering whether I could make metalwork as fine as hers, but as it turns out ... I can't. Try as I might, I am not able to make two "F" shapes in the supplied brass strip, so I made an "I" and a "C" instead. Still, I think the result looks OK. 
 
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure or amusement. Probably the latter
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh well, looks like nobody could answer my question Anyway, I took a look at the Occre kit, and I noticed that they had deadeyes in the shrouds. So deadeyes it is.
 

 
Unfortunately, my soldering skills leave much to be desired. The iron doesn't get hot enough, and when the solder melts, it forms a little ball and refuses to go into the metal. I then read Russell Barnes' silver soldering tutorial then remembered I had some silver solder coil (not paste!) in my toolbox. After quite a lot of rummaging, I found it.
 
I then spent a few hours experimenting with different methods to make these damned things without burning the deadeyes. I came up with this:
 

 
I wrapped the deadeye in some tissue paper, then saturated it with water. The water cools down the wire around the deadeye, preventing it from burning. It worked a treat.
 

 
I have decided to make a bowsprit. McKay's plans include a bowsprit holder (whatever you call it). I fabricated one by forming a ring with brass plate, soldering it shut, then soldering a brass rod onto it.
 

 
After much shaping, this is what it looks like. I have yet to finish fine sanding and blackening - that will come later.
 

 
This is what it looks like attached to the bowsprit.
 

 
Unfortunately, my metal blackener leaves much to be desired. As the picture shows, it is the "Krick" brand. This picture shows some brass pieces which have been cleaned in methylated spirits, then detergent, then left in the blackener for one hour! As you can see it is nowhere near black. Only the copper has oxidized a little. Silver solder does not change colour at all, and "ordinary" solder turns grey, not black. About the only thing that turns black is wood!
 
Real waste of money. I wonder if anyone else uses Krick and whether they have had good results?

Thanks for the comments guys. Esion, if you could post a build log of your boat that would be helpful.
 
The hull is now completed, and I am about to start installing the floorboards, etc. I have been poring over the other Bounty Launch build logs on MSW with a microscope, and I note that Mario (Cap'n Rat Fink) repositioned the masts on his boat (see here). Did he make the right decision?
 

 
Photo 1: Model Shipways. This is an image from the Bounty instructions (the plans are too big to fit in my scanner). I have numbered the frames 1-15 as per the convention in the manual, but if you count the tween frames there should be 26. However, as noted in an earlier post I added two frames, so I have 28. Note the position of the mainmast relative to the windlass holder.
 

 
Photo 2: National Maritime Museum. This is an image of the plans of the Bounty Launch from the National Maritime Museum. The positions of the foremast and mainmast are not indicated on these plans.
 

 
Photo 3: AOTS: Bounty. These are the plans from Mackay's AOTS: Bounty. I have numbered the frames for convenience.
 
 
Comparing the three plans, a number of observations can be made:
 
1. The number of frames in each set of plans is radically different. MS has 26, NMM has 16, and AOTS:Bounty has 18. Also, the frames on the bow are canted on the MS kit, whereas they are straight on NMM and AOTS:Bounty.
 
2. The position of the windlass (expressed as a ratio to the length of the ship - larger number means the windlass is closer to the bow) is 0.55:1 on the MS kit, 0.56:1 on the NMM plans, and 0.55:1 on Mackay - all three sources agree.
 
3. The position on the mainmast, again using the same convention, is 0.38:1 on the MS kit, and 0.49:1 on Mackay. You can see the difference just eyeballing the photos.
 
4. Mackay depicts a bowsprit - this is not included in the MS kit. I have to decide whether or not to create one. Mario decided that the Launch is too small to include a bowsprit, but I will probably go with Mackay's plans.
 
5. The MS kit does not include a crane, or a windlass (but they do include plans, but not material for fabricating one if you wish). The booklet says that the crane and windlass were probably left on the Bounty when Bligh was set adrift - so these items were not included. Do I make my own? Decisions, decisions ...
 
6. Mackay depicts six thwarts and six oars per side. The oarlocks on Mackay are simply cutouts on the sheer plank. The NMM plans do not depict any oars or oarlocks, but does depict six thwarts. However - MS includes five thwarts and five pairs of oars. The oarlocks on Mackay are dowels insert in the gunwale. Interesting decision by MS - it is not too late in my build to severely kitbash and try to get my Launch to look more like Mackay's, but the very thought of fabricating a new gunwale takes the wind out of my sails. I will probably stick with MS - the gunwale they included looks nice.
 
I now have to decide whether to paint the inside of the Launch or not. My original idea was to stain the planks and floorboards, thwarts, etc. different coloured stains to make them stand out, but I am not sure if I should introduce another colour (perhaps red). Nobody knows how the interior of the Launch was painted, so I suppose that gives me considerable artistic license! It will probably end up as an aesthetic decision, more than anything else!
 
Now after all that, did Mario make the correct decision? Take a look at his boat:
 

 
Now take a look at what it would look like if built to the instructions provided by MS:
 

 
I think there is no question that the mast should be closer to the windlass. It even looks more correct. Unfortunately, repositioning the mainmast means that all sorts of things have to be fabricated or shifted - new thwarts have to be made, holes filled and moved, etc. My homework for tonight is to study the plans and see if I have enough material to do it.

Thanks Jeff-E
 
Anyway, I managed to do more work yesterday and today.
 

 
After installing the cant frames, I noted that there is a gap between frames 2-3, and 3-4 as per the plans. I then checked with McKay's AOTS Bounty and saw that the boat as depicted by MS differed from McKay. I am not sure which is more correct, but it sure looks strange - especially since the frames are visible on my build.
 

 
... I therefore bent a couple more ribs and taped them in place. They look MUCH better in my opinion. I therefore glued them in place.
 
 

 

 
After the hull was sanded down, I drilled dozens of little holes and started plugging them with treenails. I thought I would hate putting treenails in, but it's actually quite fun. Unfortunately, I ran out of walnut dowel to make treenails, so I had to substitute. This meant studying the plans to see which treenails were going to be visible. Anything below the waterline was not critical - I planned to paint it. That left the internal treenails. I made some more treenails with bamboo, and thought I would simulate treenails with woodfiller.
 
 

 
I was concerned that the treenails would look different, so I only used bamboo and woodfiller treenails on areas that would be painted over. Here is the hull after drying, about to start sanding.
 
 

 
Sanding is complete, and I stained the wood again. Once stained, it is quite difficult to tell the difference between bamboo and walnut, but I can tell you that it is MUCH easier to draw walnut through a drawplate than bamboo! It is just a more pleasant wood to work with.
 

 
This photo shows the difference between the walnut treenails and the simulated treenails using woodfiller. It doesn't really do justice - the real treenails look MUCH better in real life - it just looks more defined and sharper.

Thanks Cap'n Bob, Dan, Tom, Jeff, and Scott. I have had the whole week off for Christmas, Boxing day, and New Years - no prizes for guessing what I have been doing
 

 
I pre-stained the planks prior to installation. As you can see from the photo, the wood is porous enough to let the stain seep through from the other side. I deliberately stained some planks more aggressively than others to give some variation in colour between the planks when it is assembled. I am very happy with the colour of the stain - it is exactly what I wanted.
 

 
After 24 hours to allow the stain to dry, I soaked the planks and steam bent them, again using the frame as a jig. It took me a whole day to bend all the planks, and then I waited 24 hours for the planks to dry. In previous models I have attempted to install planks which have not been thoroughly dried. Bad mistake to make - wet planks expand. When they dry, they contract - leaving unsightly gaps in the planking. Given this is a single planked boat, I did not want this to happen.
 

 
Planking begins! The picture shows the garboard plank fitting snugly in the rabbet.
 

 

 

 

 
Since I am planning to treenail this boat, I thought I would make a treenail marking jig. I used some spare grating material from another kit. The pictures are self explanatory.
 

 
Planking continues. I was have read the other Bounty Launch build logs thoroughly and was very careful to follow the planking marks. The instructions suggest you can either alternate between planking from the garboard up and sheer down, or plank from the sheer down. I decided to alternate - so: 1, 10, 2, 9, 3, 8 ... etc.
 

 

 
I note that usedtosail had a problem with his shutter plank (see here). Well, I encountered the same problem. It appears as if the shutter plank is not the same size as depicted on the plans. Unlike Tom, I do not have any spare basswood in order to cut myself a new plank.
 
I will have to install a stealer. I am quite annoyed that I have to install a stealer on a kit which features laser cut strakes, but then none of the other modellers reported a problem - so perhaps it is my own fault. I'm not quite sure where I went wrong, but a word of warning for anybody planning to build this launch. Watch out for this - if it appears that you need to trim wood at the stern, DON'T. At least not until you get to test fit the shutter plank.
 
I am also annoyed that the stealer will be above the waterline. I was planning to paint the kit at the waterline, and stain everything above it. The stealer will unfortunately be quite visible!
 
In any case, I don't want to deal with it tonight. That will have to be a job for tomorrow. I'm off to bed now.

Peter, with no disrespect to Keith Julier, I found your RW resource much more helpful. For a start, your Interpretive Info contains logs from other modellers, and thus more than one interpretation of how the build should go. I am not sure I agree with you in all respects, e.g. my interpretation of the plans slightly differ to yours and Julier's. In time, my model might end up looking like some horrible cobbled together matchstick monstrosity (which would be my punishment for striking out my own way instead of listening to more experienced modellers), and everyone on MSW will be able to see it But then again, it may not!
 
Wombat, I am glad that my criticism of the kit has not dissuaded you. I would like to say again - I am not bashing Euromodel. Well, apart from my disappointment at some of the castings and parts. But those can be worked around. The subject of the kit is unique, and the model is beautiful. I had one look at Brian's, beheld the size of the thing and its sheer beauty (not to mention Brian's craftsmanship), and I was instantly smitten. You really need to see a well built model and you will be convinced.

I taped all of the decorative metal pieces on the starboard side to get a run on the hull. It took much jugling to get all of them in the proper locations and required a lot of measuring from plan sheets 2 and 17. I then drew a line along the bottom edge from stern to bow and removed the pieces. This line deliniates the top border of the second finish layer of planking. I will now do the same to the port side.
 
Vince P.

Check how full your inbox is. If it hits 100%, you won't be able to send or receive any more messages. Time to delete some old messages to free up inbox space.

looking for the jig for the jewelers saw I found the chap who I was looking for, William Robertson designed a special holder to cut dovetails and other joints with a jewelers saw, i am still looking for this jig but in the meantime enjoy his amazing work.
I think we could all use a set of these tools.

 
Michael

Heh, maybe I should say "vacuum cleaner"  
 
I built my very first model without any power tools. All I had was a box cutter, some surgical tools, sandpaper, and a file. And, I did this in a tiny apartment. I managed OK - but if I did not have a vac cleaner, my wife would have killed me! 

Louie, any scrap wood that you remove from your pear trunk can be used for smoking food. I often chuck pear chips into my Kamado smoker and get amazing ribs. I know this is REALLY off topic but here are some ribs I smoked with cherry wood:
 

 
So if you cut up your pear branch, first dibs on the offcuts! I'll even drive up to Ballarat to collect it
 
If you can't make a ship model out of the wood, you may as well use it to flavour your food, eh!!!

Louie, any scrap wood that you remove from your pear trunk can be used for smoking food. I often chuck pear chips into my Kamado smoker and get amazing ribs. I know this is REALLY off topic but here are some ribs I smoked with cherry wood:
 

 
So if you cut up your pear branch, first dibs on the offcuts! I'll even drive up to Ballarat to collect it
 
If you can't make a ship model out of the wood, you may as well use it to flavour your food, eh!!!

Louie, any scrap wood that you remove from your pear trunk can be used for smoking food. I often chuck pear chips into my Kamado smoker and get amazing ribs. I know this is REALLY off topic but here are some ribs I smoked with cherry wood:
 

 
So if you cut up your pear branch, first dibs on the offcuts! I'll even drive up to Ballarat to collect it
 
If you can't make a ship model out of the wood, you may as well use it to flavour your food, eh!!!

Louie, any scrap wood that you remove from your pear trunk can be used for smoking food. I often chuck pear chips into my Kamado smoker and get amazing ribs. I know this is REALLY off topic but here are some ribs I smoked with cherry wood:
 

 
So if you cut up your pear branch, first dibs on the offcuts! I'll even drive up to Ballarat to collect it
 
If you can't make a ship model out of the wood, you may as well use it to flavour your food, eh!!!

Hi Keith,
 
I personally agree with this Kind of openness. It is important to know if there are some strange things about the kit - so I can decide clearly if I want to take this challenge or better not. Of course I would like to build kits like this as the amount of scratch (up to 50 percentr as it was mentioned before) and  it is good to know about it. How dissapointing would it be to purchase a kit and find out, that one cannot walk with the difficulties.
 
For me ist good to know also the "unsatisfying" or "bad" sides as I badly want to manage a Euro Model kit someday. Ist always the thing to Balance between "What do I get" and "What do I want". And therefore every Information is good.
 
Cheerio
 
Max

That's OK Brian, I know that you and others think that my assessment of this kit is overly harsh, and that I am being too critical - but I think it is important to point out where the pitfalls are for people who will follow. To me, I have always found the most helpful build logs are those which clearly point out "Beware of this! Don't make the same mistake as me!". If it wasn't for other build logs which have clearly identified problems and workarounds, my build would be even more sloppy than it already is!

Hi Wombat, interesting name for someone who lives in the UK Are you an Aussie expatriate by any chance?
 
The kit is "all right". It is certainly not a kit in the same way that something provided with Amati is a kit. As mentioned, the instructions are so poor that they may as well not have bothered. It would have been helpful if the instructions gave you a suggested build order, but they don't even do that. If you look at the build logs on MSW, you'll see that each of us are building it in a slightly different order. VinceP has completed the first planking up to the top deck before starting second planking. I plan to start my second planking before I reach this stage to avoid having to invert the model and damaging deck features. Just one example.
 
Things that you would expect to fit (e.g. all the laser cut parts) ... don't fit. This is a critical realization to make very early in your build because (if you are like most normal people), you would be taking reference and locating features off your laser cut parts. You need to accept that the laser cut parts are approximations, as shown by some examples I have highlighted during this build (e.g. the bow bulkheads not reaching down to the keel!). Instead, you absolutely MUST take reference off the plans. This in itself can sometimes be problematic, because the plans don't always clearly show where a feature should be located. A great deal of intuition, study of other builds, and prayer is needed.
 
None of these problems are insurmountable. A much more difficult problem is what you are going to do about some of those fittings! Some (e.g. the gun carriages) can be fabricated. Some others (e.g. gunport hinges) will have to be replaced with third party parts. And some others (e.g. the windows supplied as metal plates) will have to be discarded and made anew. But yet some others are not so easy - e.g. the fine filigree work at the stern, the stanchions, etc. All this could be avoided if Euromodel replaced these parts with photo-etch.
 
They say that Euromodel is more a scratch build than a kit build. That is certainly true, because some of the supplied parts are so substandard that you will need to scratch it yourself anyway.
 
In any case, I am sure it will turn out to be a fine model. I just don't think it is such a great kit.

Hi Wombat, interesting name for someone who lives in the UK Are you an Aussie expatriate by any chance?
 
The kit is "all right". It is certainly not a kit in the same way that something provided with Amati is a kit. As mentioned, the instructions are so poor that they may as well not have bothered. It would have been helpful if the instructions gave you a suggested build order, but they don't even do that. If you look at the build logs on MSW, you'll see that each of us are building it in a slightly different order. VinceP has completed the first planking up to the top deck before starting second planking. I plan to start my second planking before I reach this stage to avoid having to invert the model and damaging deck features. Just one example.
 
Things that you would expect to fit (e.g. all the laser cut parts) ... don't fit. This is a critical realization to make very early in your build because (if you are like most normal people), you would be taking reference and locating features off your laser cut parts. You need to accept that the laser cut parts are approximations, as shown by some examples I have highlighted during this build (e.g. the bow bulkheads not reaching down to the keel!). Instead, you absolutely MUST take reference off the plans. This in itself can sometimes be problematic, because the plans don't always clearly show where a feature should be located. A great deal of intuition, study of other builds, and prayer is needed.
 
None of these problems are insurmountable. A much more difficult problem is what you are going to do about some of those fittings! Some (e.g. the gun carriages) can be fabricated. Some others (e.g. gunport hinges) will have to be replaced with third party parts. And some others (e.g. the windows supplied as metal plates) will have to be discarded and made anew. But yet some others are not so easy - e.g. the fine filigree work at the stern, the stanchions, etc. All this could be avoided if Euromodel replaced these parts with photo-etch.
 
They say that Euromodel is more a scratch build than a kit build. That is certainly true, because some of the supplied parts are so substandard that you will need to scratch it yourself anyway.
 
In any case, I am sure it will turn out to be a fine model. I just don't think it is such a great kit.

Here are a couple more minor kit issues. 
 
 
 
The middle gun deck is supplied pre-cut with a rounded bow section. However, as you can see, the rounded bow section will clash with the front bow filler block. The solution is to simply cut the deck and discard the piece. 
 
  
 
The keel describes a sloppy fit with the false keel. After checking with the plans, and confirming that the top of the keel is supposed to rise to the level of the main deck (if the bowsprit wasn't in the way), I shaved away the area painted in red. I now have a perfectly fitting keel. 
 
 
 
The kit doesn't include a mizzenmast support, so I fabricated one and installed it. 
 

 
My wife returned from a day of shopping to find that I had turned nearly every spare inch of floor space into reading space for Royal William plans! She was not very impressed, especially since I had not kept the modelling door closed and the dust was in the main living area. I had to put a stop to my modelling and vacuum the house.

OVERVIEW AND GENERAL KIT IMPRESSIONS
 

 
The box is really large and heavy, and arrives absolutely packed. Every bit of spare space is taken up by ... peanut foam. I filled up a plastic bag full of these annoying things and was able to get at the kit. 
 
First, the bad: 
 

 
The instructions are not very good (to say the least). For a kit of this complexity, the rather thin instruction booklet only contains THREE pages of instructions, of which the first page is taken up by the history of the ship, and some congratulatory notes. This shot is of the second page, and contains nothing that no experienced modeller wouldn't know. OTOH the plans (see next post) are excellent, however many diagrams in the plans could have been printed on smaller pieces of paper and bound in a booklet instead. As it is, all 17 sheets of plans are too large, unwieldy, and hard to find - which is why I took the trouble of making an index for myself (and for others who may follow). 
 

 
The ships boat is a cast resin item. Whilst it is well cast, other kit manufacturers are offering plank-on-frame boats. Oh yes, only one boat? For a first rate ship? 
 

 
Some of the castings are not very good. Look at how chunky this window is. This will have to go into the bin - I can only hope my skills are up to making a replacement from scratch. 
 

 
Likewise, the ship's lantern is a clumsy looking affair. 
 

 
These are meant to be gunport hinges. 
 

 
And these are meant to be gun carriages! 
 

 
The flags are printed on cloth. I am a little indifferent to the quality of the printing. 
 

 
However, the wood is of decent quality. On some older RW kits, the masts are pre-tapered. On this brand new RW kit, fresh from Italy, the masts are not. No matter, I have a lathe!
 

 
The bulkheads are unbelievably thick and sturdy - 10mm thick! 
 

 
Some other castings, like the figurehead, are excellent. 
 

 
And so are the castings for the stern decorations. 
 

 
... and the side decorations. 
 

 
The blocks are probably the best I have ever seen included in a model kit. Unfortunately, they are all mixed up in a bag. I will have to carefully sort them and put them away. 

Just go to google and type "1/32" into mm". That's it.

Hi Everyone,
 
I thought one final picture of The Sovereign of the Seas in her final display spot would be appropriate.