jpalmer1970

This will be my first build log on MSW so I hope I can provide something that may be interesting. As the title indicates this will be a build log of the Artesania Latina's Pen Duick. According to the article on Wikipedia, 'The YRA 36ft linear rater Pen Duick (formerly Yum) was designed by William Fife III and built in 1898 by Gridiron &B Marine Motor Works at Carrigaloe in Cork Harbour, Ireland for Cork yachtsman W.J.C. Cummins. The gaff-rigged cutter was quickly noted as a successful racer in Irish, British and French waters'. I like the fine lines and design of this historic yacht and decided to try a build of this type of vessel, and so hopefully I can do justice to this and end up with an attractive model. I have already received a lot of inspiration from the other build logs on this site and I will no doubt rely heavily on the work of @BobG, @hof00 and @Reci when progressing with this project. Here is a look at the kit. The kit comprises a plywood false keel and frames, and according to the pictorial guide a selection of basswood planking strips and some sapelli and walnut lasercut pieces and dowels. However, the parts list gives the woods as ramin, walnut and mahogany, so I'm not quite sure which to believe! (Or maybe they are just alternate names for the same thing?) There is also the usual collection of brass and other metal accessories in the familiar perspex box. The kit also comes with pre-sewn sails although a comparison of these with the plans show that they seem a little undersized. In my case they are also under represented, there are five sails needed for the rig but my kit only contains four! I am considering displaying the kit with sails which will be the first time I have tried this but that will be a long way down the track so I will see how things are going before deciding later on whether I have the skills to make my own sails. The kit comes with a leaflet of instructions in a variety of languages, a pictorial build guide and two large double sided plans. The plans detail the sail templates and a rigging plan on one sheet and a full sized profile and deck plan and mast and spar plan on the second sheet. As with many of the older Artesnaia Latina kits, the instructions are pretty basic, only one and a half pages of text for the whole build. Having come from building some of Chris Watton's fabulous Vanguard Model ships with their impressive manuals this will be something of a challenge again. I have built a previous kit from Artesania Latina though so if I was able to do that then I am sure I should be able to manage once more. I have bought a few items as upgrades to the kit offered accessories as the Artesania Latina components are not the best in the world. I have some blocks from Vanguard Models and rigging line from Syren. I also have some alternate strips available for planking as the kit provided ones are 2mm thick which may perhaps prove tricky to bend appropriately - I have some 1mm limewood planks which I may use. Thanks to the information in @BobG's log I have also been fortunate to collect a few resources to help with the build. These include a few French modelling and sailing magazines with useful articles about the Pen Duick and her history. There are also a lot of images available online which will help with the details of the deck fittings etc. Finally in this first post I thought I would also show my build area. This is in one of the spare bedrooms and is actually one half of the wardrobes - do many other modellers on this site work in a cupboard? Despite its size limitations it is actually quite convenient because when I am done for the day I can simply shut the doors and everything appears nice and tidy. It is therefore convenient sometimes to just to spend 20 minutes or so working on a particular part of the build and not have to worry about getting everything out and setting up a work area elsewhere in the house. On the downside the bedroom carpet has claimed an awful lot of small parts which find their way onto the floor! Oh, I'm also not a particularly quick builder so this may not be a log with regular updates but I will try to do my best to keep things ticking along!

Magificient. This is absolutely fantastic!

The mizzen mast isn't included in the kit but you can make one from scratch and store it on the deck like Blue Ensign did in his build. The Alert book does give a diagram of the mizzen mast and its yard but I decided not to make them for my model just to keep it less complicated. My reasoning was if I make the mizzen and yard should I then also make spare yards for the main? And then what about the cutter and longboat and mounting them on the deck? (I am making the cutter separately to display but not on the deck). If you do want the dimensions for the mizzen and yard I can look them up for you.

Thanks. That's a really interesting guide on how you add detail and depth with your painting.

Hello. Looks like your build is coming along nicely. I had to add a plank under the transom piece in my build as I also had a bit of a gap there which was making the sternports a little too low.

Welcome !

Yes, there are a few extra parts of various things in the kit to allow for breakage, or in my case dropping stuff on the floor and never finding them again

Awesome work, and thanks for the fantastic log too.

Looking good. It may just be the angle of the photo but you may perhaps need to take a little more off at the stern to account for the depth of the second planking so that this lies flush against the width of the stern post.

I have a couple of these little boats to make soon so this part of your log will be very helpful to me 👍

Congratulations - it is excellent workmanship

Hi Seventynet, This is a fabulous build and it is really encouraging to me that you are a first time scratchbuilder. My copy of David's Hayling Hoy book is due for delivery tomorrow so this will hopefully be my first scratch build too at some point in the future. Your log will certainly serve as inspiration and guidance for me!

That is very very impressive work !

Yes I am having the same sort of problem with browser bookmarks so I may give an adaptation of your system a try. Thank you very much.

That is an interesting way of storing references to different parts of other build logs - something to ponder 👍

Happy Birthday!

Congratulations. A great model and a wonderfully inspiring build log.

It looks like you are off to a good start. I hope the fairing is going well. I'm just starting the rigging on my model and I have enjoyed every minute of the construction so far - it is a great kit👍

Absolutely awesome.

Looks like a good start. I will enjoy following on with your log.

It looks fantastic!

Welcome! 😃

Hello and welcome. Hobbytools.com.au sell some Model Shipway kits so it might be worth checking them out. They are based in Victoria. There is also modellerscentral.com an online store based in NSW. They have a wide range of kits and accessories from a good selection of different overseas companies so getting an kit from a store based here might be an easier way around the international postage and customs thing? It may not be the cheapest way though...?

Looking very good Thukydides. I also bought the serving machine to use on this build so I'll be interested to see how you go with it. 👍

The hull painting looks great to me 👍I hope mine turns out so well!