hamilton

Lovely detailing Bob! hamilton

No problem John! It's nice to time travel a bit and remember a fun build, particularly when I'm mired in a difficult planking job on my current one! hamilton

Thanks a lot Richard and Mobbsie!! (I guess you must have heard by now that auto-correct changes your name to "Mobbish"!) Anyway, this is a retrospective log - I completed the Gretel in December of 2011!! But since activity on the America has slowed to a snail's pace and since another MSW member expressed some interest in the Gretel and since I don't know of another log on this version of MSW I thought I'd go for it....There was a Gretel log back on MSW 1, I think......I remember checking it out when I was working on the model.....but it's always possible that the other log was on Dry Dock Models, which I was a member of before it closed and before I joined MSW.... Anyway, good to hear from you both - Mobbsie, I've been peering in on your Granado section - it is a real beauty! Bye for now hamilton

Before I started in on the build, I made a mock-up of the interior cabin so I could get a feel for what details I wanted to add, as well as for this kind of small scale work. I have to admit that I was not aiming for the kinds of fixtures that might actually have been found on a vessel of this period. It was more about trying my hand at something new. I imagine, for example, that the cabin would have sat deeper into the hull - but since this would have required some modifications to the centre keel and the bulkheads for which I was not prepared, I didn't do this. I started by making two separate floor templates out of 1/32" basswood sheeting. I measured the distance between bulkhead slots on the centre keel to get the width, while the length was determined by placing the widths in position atop the centre keel with the bulkheads fore and aft, marking the intersection between the floor piece and the bulkheads to get the widths port and starboard. I then cut another false bulkhead piece to separate the cabin into two sections. This bulkhead was also made of 1/32" basswood sheeting, and was made by tracing the outline of the kit supplied bulkhead frames onto the sheet (all of the bulkhead frames have the same shape on top). The height was the distance between the top of the centre keel and the top of the cabin bulkheads. I planked my floors and bulkhead using scrap .5mm walnut. I then made a rough door separating the forward part of the cabin into 2 sections. Here's a photo I decided, somewhat arbitrarily, that the port side cabin area forward would be a berth, so again out of scrap wood I threw together a bed, dresser and small night stand, along with a (ludicrously oversized) lantern and a painting of a lady-bug. The bed took a couple of tries to get to dimensions that I thought looked ok.... Here's a shot with a Canadian dime for scale comparison In the starboard side forward cabin area I thought to put a kind of study, with a desk/shelving unit, small chair and an L-shaped bench. I had thought to add a small table with the bench, but this didn't end up happening - would have made passage through very difficult....Here's the desk unit And here again with the chair and the bench just visible to the left And with the bench in place The aft cabin area I thought to make into a galley/dining area. Table and chairs, small stove and cabinet (not really ship shape at all....) and another painting, some (also oversized) lanterns and a makeshift chart (not accurate) of the Bay of Fundy - the waters where I learned to sail. And finally here's a not-very-good shot from the top. At the time I was very proud of my work - and I still am. But I think if I were to do this now, I might do a bit more leg work into two things 1. Better period-based representation of the fittings 2. Structural modifications to the kit to enable the work to be more visible on completion.... Anyway, thanks for reading/watching! hamilton

Thanks Bob! I'm thinking I'll have to invest in a small paint brush to apply the glue on the thin edges....I use weldbond PVA as my main adhesive for planking and it dries quite firm....but I think if I use a #10 or chisel x-acto blade as a putty knife I might be able to get as clean a result as you've achieved here! Thanks again for the tip! hamilton

Thanks Mark: This reconstruction of the build was inspired by another MSW member who expressed some curiosity about the model - this made me curious about whether putting a log together for a build from 3 years ago would be an enjoyable experience....we'll see!! hamilton

Hi Per: This is good to know - I was unaware of this during the build - and in fact, I recall another modeller noting the discrepancy between the flag and the notion that it was a "Dutch" yacht....I think both that modeller and I had assumed that "Dutch" referred to the jurisdiction under which she sailed not to the design. This adds a lot of clarity to things, and makes me feel marginally better about the flag! hamilton

Hi Per: Yes - the flag is wrong on another count too - it's Swedish, whereas the kit is advertised as a "Dutch" Yacht....I ended up keeping the Swedish pennant...but I was not, at the time, too concerned with accuracy, more with learning some new techniques.....thanks for coming along for this reconstruction hamilton

Hi there: For the sake of posterity and as a retrospective, I thought I would post this log of my Mamoli Yacht Gretel. This model was constructed between August and December of 2011, prior to the time when I joined MSW. I might have kept a log of the build over on LSS, when I was a member there.... Anyway, there are many features of the model that I can't recall - including the scale! But I do remember several things about the kit 1. The CNC bulkheads needed a lot of adjustment - they were very loose in the keel and needed significant shimming on their outside edges for the planking to run fair 2. The cast metal parts were very difficult to work with and I found them quite gaudy - I replaced the forward and port/starboard cabin windows, but ended up keeping the transom decoration, though in order to make it fit, I had to modify the transom slightly - the metal part is totally flat but the transom was curved and there was no way to bend these metal parts without breaking them..... 3. This was one of the first builds that I wanted to do some detailing on, despite the very small scale. So I designed, built and installed some cabin details (sadly not really visible on the finished model since I didn't really think about making structural modifications so as to make them visible). These were a lot of fun to make, though true scratch builders will notice a great many flaws in both scale and construction! I also seem to recall that the kit was a lot of fun to build - nice and simple but quite cute and a pretty interesting subject. I'll try to make weekly updates to this log to trace the build as it developed and to remember as much as I can about some of the quirks of the kit and my own construction strategies.....though I still have my Mamoli America to attend to, not to mention other "real world" obligations! Enjoy!

Hi Chris: I've coppered a few hulls, but never the Bounty, so I'm not sure I can help with the specifics, since each hull will be different. The main thing to keep in mind, depending again on the hull, is that the coppering would have gone on in sections separated by "gore lines". The gore lines define a band of copper plates working up from the keel - so start on the keel sides and work your way up. The gore will cut across the lower lines of copper plating and define a new line for the plates to follow fore and aft. Others will be more knowledgeable about these features than me - specifically in terms of how many bands might have been used on the Bounty, and how to locate the gore line(s) on a hull....On the hulls I've coppered, the gores have been featured on the plans, so I simply measured up from the baseline and transferred those measurements to the model..... Does the Amati kit contain a plan that shows the coppering? If it's a scale drawing (most likely a full profile) you might be able to lift the dimensions of the plates from the upper line of coppering, which should show the full plates and be at scale amidships. If the scale drawings contain a body plan that features the coppering, you should be able to lift the gore lines from that and transfer them to the model (harder to do on the profile plan, since the curves of the hull will distort the view....)..... Again - other more experienced modellers will have better (and maybe different) advice for you. Best of luck - Coppering is a very repotting business but rewarding when it's done! Find yourself some good music or podcasts to listen to while you're doing it! hamilton

Those sails look great! hamilton

Very nice work with the spilled planking Jason. It took me ages to wrap my head around the process and I still don't have it dialled - mostly I think because I may not be fairing to very exact lines.....but you can really tell the difference in your last photo - the amount of edge bending that would accumulate into the planking would make for a very messy job if left alone.....anyway, the hull is shaping up very nicely and that boxwood looks great! hamilton

She's coming along nicely there Bob! I have a (selfish) question about your gluing - I'm almost at the stage of bulwark planking on my America and face a similar challenge having to edge glue quite thin 1mm planks that will be exposed inboard. I'm kind of at a loss as to how to apply the glue and install the planks in a way that won't mar the inside faces of the bulwarks. In your case, was it just a question of lifting off glue as it squeezed out from between the planks? Was there a technique you used for applying the glue to the planks? Sorry to pester, and thanks for any advice! hamilton

Hi Bob: I've always been curious about this kit - followed the recent build mentioned by Brian above with great interest and will follow this one too. I have to say that's the worst warp I've ever seen in any kit supplied materials! When I saw it I immediately imagined one of those 16 ton weights I used to see falling on wile-e-coyote - hopefully you have some more practical solution to fixing it! hamilton

Hi Nigel: She's shaping up very nicely - the said will really liven her up hamilton

I have the Corel kit on the shelf and am excited to get to it at some point in the near future, but a 1:64 scale version would be amazing - especially given what I've heard of the quality of Chris Watton's other Amati kits.... hamilton

I thought there was talk of a 1:64 Bellona as well - there are some tantalizing shots at the beginning of this thread.... hamilton

Great precision on the planking and the stern ports, Jason hamilton

Excellent job Brian - a real beauty - be very proud! hamilton

Beautiful work on the stove - great improvement over the supplied part! hamilton

Off to a good start with the coppering - it'll really bring some life to your model! hamilton

So I've not been idle, which means very little work has been done on America....I've managed to proceed somewhat on the planking, but it is very slow going....I can only work one evening a week which is just enough time to fit 3 planks on each side - and I'm planking forward from mid-ships first and then the stern section after.....At this rate, it'll be 2 weeks till the forward half of the hull is done (1st planking) and likely another 5-6 weeks for the stern.....things will pick up after Christmas, since my Spring semester is a bit lighter than the Fall, but who knows! Anyway, the planking has gone alright so far. I've had to do some little tricks to get everything to run nicely and the wood is pretty splintery and soft which does not make it easy. After the first two strakes I noticed that the strakes really bent upwards, given the very sharp twist that each strake makes as it moves from the round mid-ship to the more dagger-like bow. The same will be the case in the aft section, where up to the turn of the bilge the strakes run from vertical to horizontal where they tuck in at the counter. The issues I keep turning over in my mind as the planking proceeds are: 1. Should the keel, stem & sternpost be planked with thin strips to form a rabbet for the first planking, or should the planks thin out and taper into them? The plans show the keel planked with the same material used on the hull, which makes no sense, since if I followed through on this the keel would end up being 8mm thick!!! I have thought of ending the first planking at the bottoms of the bulkheads and then using the .5mm second planking to line the hull including the keel, stem & sternpost. This would produce, I think, a more even and much more realistic result. 2. How to do the bulwarks. The first layer of planking is 1mm walnut. But I have to edge glue this to the hull planking to fit the strakes since I will have to remove the bulkhead extensions and can only dry clamp the strakes to the extensions to achieve the proper run. The inboard face of these planks will be exposed and if possible, I would like to leave them natural, which means I can't get any PVA on them....I'm at a loss as to how to apply the glue in such a way as to prevent it squeezing out and drying on the inboard face of the planks...any suggestions here would be most welcome. Anyways, here are a few shots of the progress to date - please keep in mind that the planking has not been worked on at all, so it looks pretty rough. Once the whole thing is planked I'll work it over with some filler and sandpaper and hopefully it will shape up nicely..... hamilton

Absolutely gorgeous work. This is such a fine kit - it really makes me wish I lived in a larger space!! hamilton

I guess with the wale extension you won't be adding the fashion piece? Either way she's looking beautiful. What are your plans for finishing the transom outboard? hamilton

I've been following emelbe's (sp.?) build log and I'll tag along with this one too - this looks like a really really nice kit hamilton