Gren Bewley

Hello Sjors, I am new to this site and I have been sifting through the various builds. My close friend has asked me for some help in completing his build. He is also building the Smitt Rotterdam, the only issue that we have with this build he started it about 14 years ago in a 1:50 scale scratch build from plans. Unfortunately he has lost the plans. That being said he has the bulk of the vessel complete, as you can see from the picture. We are trying to get some idea of the furniture on the decks so that we can realistically replicate this vessel. Would I be able to impose on you for some of the details as you get further into the build. I do realize that your scale is different from the one we are building. We would just like to be able to get some dimensions that we can modify and reproduce. Any assist would be much appreciated. Regards Gren

Hello Snoepert, Your model is looking great, Tell me where did you find the "build Jig" One of the issues that I had was using the Amati Keel clamp, and that caused a few problems for me. That jig looks awsome? Cheers Gren

Hello guys. I found this site pretty late into the build, however I want to add these as I continue and complete the build. There are a few steps missing in the pictures of the build, I will try to add more as I build. I ran out of parts for the soffits as they did not supply enough with the kit. I also found that the nails were pretty large, so adding in double nail sets was out of the question. In hind sight I should have ordered smaller ones. I also tried to replicate the deck seal buy adding a dark line on one side of each plank. Another lesson learned. Do not use an Ink marker!!! It will come back to bite you. At this point I completed the deck nailing and started to varnish the deck. Well lets say that I wanted to stain the deck to give this a more traditional look of a used and weathered deck. It was at this point that I obtained a wood stain……. Now some of you guys may laugh at this but again I learned a very valuable lesson. I thinned the stain using methylated spirits??? And proceeded to stain the deck. Needless to say that that was a very hectic day as I was trying to recover and prevent my deck from being destroyed. I managed to remove some of the black ink that spread all over the deck and re-sand and varnish the deck. The outcome was acceptable. Again lesson to be learned from planking, the result not too bad. No gaps. I had taken the model outside after sanding and varnished the hull. In hind sight oil would have been much better as I have encountered a few problems later in the build. The other issue I had was when I sanded down the nails on the Bass wood, they left horrible marks and stained the wood. Any advice on how to avoid this in the future other than using smaller nail heads? See the darker marks where the nail sets are. It just ruins the total look. I also ran out of nails and being Christmas I have to wait until the new year before I can order any more. The model was bumped of the stool by the dog. Fortunately there was very little damage and I had to rework the keel area and the stern. The deck came out a lot better than expected after that fiasco with the wood stain. You can see the darker stains on the deck around the nail heads but I managed to get it back to a reasonable look.

Hello Guys, Since finding this site I have spent many hours doing some research, and there some really wonderful models out there. It seem that I have a lot to learn, and following some of these builders logs certainly gives one inspiration to do a better job at what we are doing. I found that some of the builds actually ran into similar problems that I have come across. You guys are an inspiration to some of us, and there are a lot of really good builders out there. Thanks for the messages. Cheers Gren

Can someone tell me where to find the AL bounty build club info? Cheers Gren

Hello Guys, I am new to this forum and have recently found this site. I am on my second build having built a few plastic models in my time. I am now onto the tall ships and am really having fun doing this. I do sometimes run into some issues based on the lack of information from the AL model kits and there distinct lack of pictures and instructions. In hindsight I should have chosen an easier model or done some research into the build before actually starting. Never the less I am determined to complete this one and feel proud when its done. My previous was San Francisco 2. We moved from South Africa to Australia and I lost the plans and the balance of the parts. I just have some of the rigging to complete and she will be done. I also did not have the tools or the equipment at that time and have since added a good few tools to my workshop. The first model was made with a Stanley Knife and and a hack saw. She came out well enough. I will be following the builds from HMS Bounty builders. I see that I have the same issues as most of the other guys. Thanks to all. Gren ( Grenville)